ã€ŠAnother hero Tale: Nephilimã€‹


 Chapter 1: Awakening

    Nathan Lowell shook his head feeling disoriented, he had just awakened from a dream he couldn''t recall, for that matter he didn''t remember going to sleep. He looked around, but could see nothing due to how dark it was. He wasn''t afraid of the dark, but he wasn¡¯t sure where he was, that was a little unsettling. The bed he was on didn''t feel like his, way too comfy, apart from that he couldn''t hear anything, dead silent. He put a hand to his to try to ward off the pounding headache and thought back. Nathan had just gotten off from work late due to work overload, missing the last bus he decided to walk home, instead of using what little money he had for a taxi. Turning into the city park for a quick shot straight home and veering off the set path into the trees for his so called short cut, he didn''t notice the hole in front of him until it was too late.

    "Crap, did they already start the renovations for the park, they should at least put up caution tape, a couple cones would be nice."

    Someone must have found him and called an ambulance. That at least explained the silence, since he was in a hospital he could be in a ¡°ICU¡±, but that didn''t account for the darkness. Hospitals are the one thing that should never be pitch black, at least not the ones in the city.

    "Hello....uhh, Nurse........Hello?"

    Nathan felt around the bed for a call button. He wasn¡¯t getting up, running around in a hospital, in the dark, didn''t sound like a good idea. In his haste, his hand swiped against something knocking to the floor with a loud crash.

    ¡°Oops¡­¡­.my bad.¡±

    It sounded like he knocked over some water or something, whatever was would sure to attract some attention. And as if on cue, a door swung open.

    "Oh no. Look at this mess, I knew I shouldn''t have left that there."

    "Sorry about that, can¡¯t really see anything in dark, I can help clean it up, if you won''t?"

    Nathan tried focusing, but it was just too dark to see who it was. At least from the voice he could tell it was a woman, most likely the nurse.

    "No, it''s fine. It was just water I going to use to wipe you down. I''ll just retrieve some more later."

    "You were gonna do what now!?"

    "Well I have been neglecting to do so for some time now, so it must be done today."

    "Some time, how long have I been here?

    "I''m not sure, you were here long before I arrived."

    "Then how long were you here?"

    "A ¡­.... very long time.¡±

    Nathan laid his head back down in a huff, he was getting nowhere with the nurse and his headache was picking up. That fall must have been worse than he thought. Just how long was he here, and just where exactly is here. He was getting a sneaky feeling that this might not be a hospital.

    "Alright, then I''ll be back with fresh water and a cloth."

    "What, listen lady, you¡¯re not wiping me down, not while aware, and sure as heck not in the dark."

    "Nonsense, the dark is of no consequence to me."

    "What, you have night vision?

    "Yes."

    "Yes!?"

    "So if that was your only concern, I¡¯ll be right back with the water."

    "Wait, I gotta bunch of other concerns."

    "If you¡¯re worried about.......that, there is no need for concern, I''m very gentle.¡±

    "Excuse me!?"

    " I¡¯ve read up on just how delicate they are to men; I take the utmost care when handling¡­¡­...sensitive areas."

    ¡°I reiterate, EXCUSE ME!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m referring to what¡¯s in between your legs, your testi- ¡°

    "And, I gonna stop you right there.¡±

    Nathan put a hand to his face, this nurse was something else entirely, he took a deep breath and calmed himself.

    "Listen, I get it, you get paid to do this but, I¡¯m can wash myself."

    "Don''t be ridiculous, how is a sleeping person supposing to clean themselves?"

    "¡­.................By being ¡°AWAKE¡±."

    "Awake...........................Your awake!?"

    "You really just notice!?"

    Nathan could not believe this woman; how could someone be this much of a goof?

    "Uhm are you okay."

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version."Ah yes, it just your finally awake, I¡¯ve waited so long."

    "You were waiting for me to wake up, do I know you, no, actually before that, can you turn on the lights, talking in the dark is kind of awkward.

    "You can''t see?"

    "Of course not, I¡¯m not a cat, and why is it so dark anyway, isn¡¯t that bad for a hospital, what are you going to do about surgeries and people on life support?"

    "Surgeries, life support?¡±

    "Yeah, won''t it be bad for a hospital, if patients start dying?"

    "I''m not sure about any of which you speak but, I can assure no one has died, at least not here, seeing as how were the only two in this place, as for the lights, one moment please."

    "Only two people here?"

    His suspicions were confirmed; this wasn''t a hospital. Furthermore, they were the only two people here, why would they be the only two here, and for that matter who has he been talking to. As he contemplated what to do, the entire room was bathe in a blinding light. It took him a minute but his eyes adjusted and he finally got a look around. It definitely was not a hospital, or any other place he recognized. It didn''t have any medical equipment, no furnishing besides the desk sitting next to the bed, no clock, no windows, so he could not even tell what time it was. Nathan looked around for the owner of the voice from before, but the woman he had been speaking too, seemingly vanished.

    "uhh, where¡¯d you go?

    "I''m here."

    Nathan looked around again.

    "¡­........are you invisible¡­¡­¡­.. a voice in my head?"

    " Of course not, look above you."

    "Above.........huh, Who, what are you?

    "What am I, have you never seen a fairy before?"

    "Fairy?"

    "Yes. I''m am a fairy."

    "No............no you¡¯re not."

    "I¡¯m sorry?"

    "You don''t exist."

    "Ah, how rude, rather impolite to question another¡¯s existence."

    "I''m not questioning your existence, anymore then I''m questioning my sanity."

    Nathan gave himself a quick pinch, it hurt, he wasn''t dreaming. This was way to vivid, too much detail. He looked up again, just above his bed, fluttering around, was a real fairy.

    " Are you okay?"

    "Yeah I''m fine ¡­........ well as fine as anyone who just met a fairy, who for their entire life was told they aren¡¯t real, and I threw away all those teeth, somebody owes me five bucks.¡±

    Nathan stared at the fairy, he had to admit, the stories about a fairy¡¯s beauty were no joke. She was a little enchantress.  Hair like frost, that shimmered in the light, her eyes were a violet color. Nathan thought she was pretty attractive, if only she was five feet taller. The fairy watched Nathan silently, she did not interrupt, rather she let Nathan decide for himself. She didn¡¯t like the idea of being thought of as only an illusion, but such things did not matter, her job was to watch over him, and so she shall.

    ¡°Hey, can I ask you a couple of question?¡±

    "Yes. I¡¯ll answer everything to the best of my ability. As is my duty, as guardian."

    ¡°Guardian?¡±

    "Yes. My duty was to watch over the Hero until he has awakened."

    "Hero, I thought you said, we were the only two here?"

    ¡°*Giggle* I was not informed that the Hero told jokes."

    "Wait, you think I''m this Hero guy?"

    "Of course, you are the one and only Hero I have been task with guarding."

    ¡°And when you say Hero, you mean like saving people, fighting evil, rescuing princesses, stuff like that.¡±

    ¡°It is as you say.¡±

    Nathan nearly bust out laughing, but he held his breath and shook his hand back in forth.

    "No, no, no, your mistaken."

    "I¡¯m am not mistaken, I assure you, you are the Hero of Legend.¡±

    ¡°Legend, that¡¯s for people who did something worth recording.¡±

    ¡°Yes, and by defeating the Demon Lord, you have become such an existence.¡±

    ¡°Say what now?¡±

    The fairy fluttered down to eye level with Nathan.

    ¡°You are the ¡°Hero of Legend¡± that defeated the ¡°Demon Lord¡±.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Huh?¡±

 Chapter 2: Nameless Fairy

    For the last five minutes, Nathan just couldn''t stop laughing, the cause was The fairy¡¯s story. Long story short, Nathan was summoned to a world known as ¡°Leseres¡±, a demon lord known as "Elphina¡± had nearly wiped out the four races of this world and he arrived just in time to defeat her. Nathan bust out in a fit of laughter when she finished, the fairy who for the first time in her life was laughed at, was infuriated, though her adorable anger only served to ignite Nathan¡¯s laughter. With her cheeks puffed out and arms cross, she floated above the bed. Nathan began to settle down, out of breath and tears streaming his face, from laughing so hard.

    ¡°Hey look, I''m sorry I laugh at you, it just I never heard anyone tell such a story and mean it so wholeheartedly."

    "It''s not a story, you are the "Hero" who save this world from the demon lord.¡±

    "And I''m telling you, you got the wrong person, in fact, I think you have the wrong country, by about~¡­¡­¡­¡­... six thousand miles.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    "Well, where I¡¯m from, in stories when someone gets summoned, usually there from¡­¡­...you know what, never mind. Look, if I did something like saving the world I have some recollection of what you¡¯re saying, now wouldn''t I, I mean I did save that cat from a tree, even though it really just jumped into my arms, and I helped that little girl, find her mother at the mall, she gave me fifty bucks, but I know for sure I didn''t duke it out with no demon lord."

    "¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I understand."

    Nathan clapped his hands together, they were getting somewhere.

    "So you get, I''m not the ¡°Hero¡±."

    "Of course you are, it is as you say, you just do not recall your heroic deeds."

    " What, like amnesia, I don''t think that my head injury was that bad."

    "You had much more than just a head injury. Compared to your other injury, your head injury was minor."

    " What other injury?"

    "Your chest, there was a hole."

    "What!?¡±

    Nathan for the first time since he woke up took a good long look at himself, namely his chest. No wound, no scar, definitely no hole. He attempted to get up to examine himself further, only to have his legs collapse underneath him.

    ¡°Hero, are you alright, I will assist.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, just need to get my bearings.

    His legs felt like twigs ready to break, like he had been lying down for years. It took him a minute but he eventually got back to his feet. He felt around his chest again, there were no sign of him being injured. This fairy must be pulling his leg; who could survive a hole in their chest, he felt stupid for considering such a thing. Content with his observation, he had a sudden realization, the entire time he was examining himself, he has been bare ass naked. He hurriedly tried to cover himself, though it didn¡¯t matter, the fairy had seen him from the very beginning, although she did wonder why he suddenly became so desperate.

    "Hero is there something wrong, why are you hunched over like that?"

    "W-Why the hell am I naked?

    "Ah well, after I finished bathing you, it became a hassle to disrobe and robe you every time, so I just left you disrobe, that made the process much more efficient.

    "Well I really would like them back if you don¡¯t mind?¡±

    "Are you sure not in any pain, as your guardian I must adhere to any and all problems you may experience, no matter how minor, please, remove your hands."

    "N-No, j-just bring me my clothes."

    The fairy was confused on why Nathan was so desperately trying to hide his injury from her, his face was slightly red, did he had a fever, but that wouldn¡¯t explain why he was covering his lower half. Then, she got a glimpse of exactly what Nathan was trying to hide, in that moment she had an epiphany.

    ¡°Could you please, just get me my clothes, please?¡±

    "Ah, I see, very well, I will bring your clothes¡­¡­ I shall also make preparation for that.

    "Thank you very much¡­¡­... wait what?

    Before Nathan could inquire any further, the fairy had flown down the hall and out of sight. Grabbing the sheet from the bed, he wrapped around his mid-section, anything was better than standing naked in the middle of some unknown room, with a stranger. Now that he thought about it he never got the fairies name. He be sure to ask when she return and as like on cue she did.

    "I''ve brought your clothes, just as you left them."

    "Just as I left them, no, no their not."

    The clothing, looked like his, but it all seemed as though it had been through war. The pants weren¡¯t too bad, as well as his new pair of shoes, a little bit of dirt here and there, however that was entirely different story, for his favorite hoodie and shirt. They had dirty black splotches all over them, though Nathan was more concerned the hole in the chest, it went straight from the front, out through the back. It''s as if something went straight through his chest. He took a whiff of the clothes.

    ¡°Blood.¡±

    Back in his world, he was witness to a hit and run, as he tried to keep the woman from bleeding out, the smell of rusty iron invaded his senses, just like how his clothes smelled at the moment. He was beginning to believe this amnesia idea was so farfetched, what the hell happened after he fell in that hole. He tried thinking, but it only served to bring about the headache, whatever happened his mind was doing its best to keep him from remembering. A mental block, Nathan compared it to that of a bolted door, sealed shut. Nathan let out a sigh, someday he¡¯d have to break down that door, for now, he¡¯d see what he can learn from the fairy. He started putting on his clothes, he didn¡¯t want to wear the blood splattered clothing, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers.

    "Hero, one moment please, before you robe, we must take care of ¡°That¡±."

    " What are you talking about¡­¡­¡­. why are you so flushed?"

    Before Nathan could inquire any further, the sheets he was using were ripped away.

    "Whoa, what the hell?

    In second the fairy had move from her positions herself, mere inches from her target.

    " I-It will not take long, I just have to¡­¡­.H-Huh, I-it''s flaccid?"

    "What, of course it is, what the hell were you thinking?

    Nathan jumped back and covered himself. He lost sight of her, it was if she had teleported. He only realized where she was, once she spoke again.

    I-I thought perhaps, ¡°IT¡± had once again, sprung to life.

    "¡­¡­¡­¡­...What!?¡±

    ¡°I-I read that it very painful for men in times like that, and that they needed relief, however you were asleep, s-so as your guardian, it was my duty to help with said relief.¡±

    "Y-You¡­¡­¡­¡­. while I slept¡­¡­¡­ did what to me?"

    "D-Do not worry, I made a few mistake in the beginning, however my technique has greatly improved to a point where I don''t require the ¡°The Lubricant", It''s only because you''ve awaken, I''m not sure how you¡¯ll react, but I''ll strive to bring relief when ¡°IT¡± once again becomes¡­...spirited."

    "Please, please, stop talking."

    Nathan wanted to cry, never in his life did he consider that one day he would spoiled by a fairy, actually he pretty sure no one would have that thought. Moreover, he was surprised just how prepared the fairy was, the container with the liquid she had dubbed "The Lubricant¡± had already been emptied into her hands, they glistened and shined as she rubbed them together. However, the most noticeable thing, was the sheer disappointment on her face, when she saw that Nathan didn''t have any life in him at the moment.

    "H-Hero are you okay?"

    "I¡¯ve been, touched by an angel."

    "I don''t understand."

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original."Don''t worry about it, just would you mind stepping out for a minute, while I get dressed?¡±

    ¡°You do not require assistance?¡±

    "Oh, don''t worry, you¡¯ve assisted plenty."

    "¡­........I understand, I''ll right outside if you need my assistance."

    The fairy turned and fluttered out the room, but as she left Nathan swore he heard her suck her teeth.

    _

    _

    "Hey I been wondering for a while, when been talking and it should have come up earlier, I never got your name."

    "Name?"

    "Yeah a name, I can''t just keep calling you fairy all the time."

    "I don''t have a name."

    "Ridiculous, everyone has a name.¡±

    ¡°Well, if I have one, I¡¯m not aware.¡±

    ¡°Well, what did your parents call you?¡±

    ¡°I never met them.¡±

    "Then how did you end up here?"

    "I never really thought about it, my first memories, were of this Study.¡±

    "Wait, were you born here?¡±

    "That¡¯s a very distinct possibility, for as long as I can remember I have been watching over you in this "Study"."

    "Someone left a baby, to watch me all by themselves?"

    "Oh no, we fairies do not experience infancy, from the time we are conceived we have a basic understanding of the world around us.¡±

    "Regardless, that doesn''t change the fact that you were here since you were born, you didn¡¯t even get a say in the matter, aren¡¯t you upset?¡±

    "Of course not. It is a great honor to watch over the "Hero".

    ¡°Still¡­.¡±

    ¡°Hero, if you believe I hold any hostility towards you, please put your mind at ease.

    Yeah, but, you never even been outside these walls.

    ¡°Hero, nothing would exist outside these walls, if you had not been here to save us, I would not be here, and to be injured to such an extent for us, this is the least anyone could do, no one in this world could harbor any ill will towards such an existence, as yourself, now, no more talk of this, ever.

    Nathan blushed a bit, he never been held in such high regards before, he had to admit, it didn¡¯t feel too bad. He still didn¡¯t like the fact, that he kept her from living a life, but he had the feeling that if he kept speaking, she would get angry.

    "So, if you didn''t meet anyone, how did you know I was the "Hero"?

    "Ah, that was through "Lady Amelia''s" instructions."

    ""Lady Amelia", (ugh), who¡¯s that, (ugh)?"

    "She is the owner of this "Study¡±. ¡°She left instructions on what to do while you slept."

    "So she was the one who left a child here huh, I''d really like to speak to her, where can I find her (ummpff)?"

    "I can''t say, since she was gone before I open my eyes and left nothing for me except details on how to take care of you."

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I wish I could be of more use.¡±

    "Oh don''t worry about it ¡°Iris¡±, I''m sure we¡¯ll meet her one day, and me and her, (ughn), are going to have a nice long talk."

    "Iris?"

    "Yeah, your name, I was thinking since you don''t have one, we''ll need something to call you, and I figured, it the least I could do, you like it?"

    ¡°I do not mind, you may call me what you wish?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure, this is your name were talking about, you don¡¯t want to think about it a first?¡±

    The fairy never really thought about it before, there was never any real reason, since she was all alone. If the Hero decided to bestow her with a name, then she would wholeheartedly except, no matter what it was he chose.

    ¡°Yes, the name will suffice, but is there any particular reason you chose this name?

    "Well(ughn), basically it because you have really pretty eyes.

    ¡°Huh!?

    ¡°Yeah, there a really pretty violet, but to be completely honest you¡¯re really attractive, (What the hell going on?).

    This time she turned completely red, this was the first time she was ever complimented on her looks, though Nathan was the first person she ever met.

    "Well then Iris, nice to meet you."

    "Y-Yes, g-glad to meet you as well."

    "Are you okay, your voice is all shaky?"

    "J-j-just fine."

    ¡°?..........Well okay."

    Iris was lost in her own little.

    ¡°Iris, did you do something to my clothes, these pants don''t fit at all, frickin tight."

    She wasn¡¯t listening, enticed by a simple compliment.

    "Hey, Iris you there?¡±

    "¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...Ah, y-yes?"

    Iris took a deep breath and re-entered the room. Nathan had nearly finished dressings.

    "These clothes, the shirt feels like it¡¯s gotten bigger and the pants don''t fit at all, their too small."

    Iris took a quick look to access the situation.

    "Oh, no it''s not the size, your tail is in the way, you should make an incision to accommodate it.¡±

    "Hardie har, har, quit joking, I¡¯m being serious."

    "Jokes!?"

    "Yeah. Jokes, how could I have a tail?"

    While Nathan struggle with his clothes, Iris floated around to his rear.

    *grasp*

    "Awoooooo!?¡±

    Nathan let out a surprised yelp from the sudden sensation. He felt as though he was being fondle, but unless he was blind, he would definitely notice if someone was playing with his manhood. It was far from unpleasant, but it was at the moment, negating all other senses, all of his body functions ceased, he was even losing his ability to stand.

    ¡°My apologies Hero, I was not aware that you were so sensitive.

    ¡°Your causing this, how are you doing that¡­¡­¡­¡­. from behind me!?

    ¡°I was trying to show you your tail.¡±

    Nathan looked at what Iris was holding, and as sure as day it was a tail. He took it from her, and as he did the feeling subsided. Iris stared on as Nathan examined his tail, the expression on his face made, it seemed like he could not comprehend what he was holding. Iris decided to give him some advice.

    Hero, if you make an incision on the back of your trousers, it should easily accommodate your tail.

    "¡­......................."

    "Hero¡­¡­¡­. Hero?¡±

    "¡­........................"

    "Are you alright?"

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. WHAT THE FUCK!?¡±

 Chapter Three: A Heros Legend

    Chapter 3: A Hero''s Legend?

    Iris watch on nervously; she wasn¡¯t sure what to do. Nathan hadn''t said anything for the last fifteen minutes, he just stood there, grasping his tail. Laser focused, he pulled, twisted, poked and bent it every way possible.

    "¡­.................Iris, I have tail."

    "Y-Yes "Hero", what you have is indeed a tail.

    "¡­¡­¡­¡­Iris, do you have a mirror?"

    "Mirror, not that I recall but, give me a moment."

    With that she flew over to the bucket of water. Her hand began to glow and the water began to rise out of the bucket. With a wave of her hand the water became ice. Another wave of her hand and the ice split in two, one half became a solid circle, while the other became a frame. Finally, placing the two pieces together, she looked over her handy work, then turned to Nathan.

    "Is this to your liking?

    "What was that?¡±

    "I made a mirror, is that not what you ask for?"

    "No, how did you do that?"

    Element manipulation is basic in the arcane arts.¡±

    ¡°Arcane¡­¡­¡­¡­Magic!?¡±

    Iris nodded in confirmation.

    "Magic, the same thing you did with the lights earlier?

    "It is as you say."

    Magic, of course there would be magic in a world where fairies exist. He had so many question to ask, but first he needed to check his appearance. He step in front of the mirror.

    ¡°Who!?¡±

    What Nathan saw, was a young woman staring back at him, he waved his hand to confirm, it was him. Long black hair that cascaded down his back, slender body like a doll, his dark skin was basically the same but his face, it was something he rather forget. More surprising, his ears had change position, from the side of his face, to the top of his head, and they were no longer human ears.

    "What happened to me, why do I look like this?

    "Is there something wrong with your appearance?"

    " My physique, these ears, my hair, a tail, why do I look like this?

    "I don''t understand, are these not common traits for all races?"

    "Of course not, what human you know has a tail..........well, there was the special on tv about that one kid............but he definitely didn''t have ears like a do-, wol-, Canine.

    ¡°You think your human?¡±

    ¡°Of course, what else would I be.¡±

    "Are you not, ¡°Lycanian¡±.

    "Lycanian, what is that?¡±

    "Lycanian is a race among the "Therianthrope"

    "Therianthrope, I don''t have a clue what you¡¯re talking about, but I can assure you, I¡¯m human and I was not like this before I fell in that hole.¡±

    Iris was still a bit skeptical, no matter what he said, his appearance said otherwise, but who was she to question the Hero, if he believes himself to be human, she would not say otherwise.

    "Iris, was I was like this when you first woke up?"

    "It is as you say."

    "Well, I didn''t have it before I fell asleep and you didn¡¯t do it, so "Amelia" must have done something to me before you awoke and while I slept?"

    " "Hero", you don¡¯t trust ¡°Lady Amelia¡±.

    "Well it''s not like she given a reason to trust her, she locked both of us in here, she left you to take care of me, and I¡¯ve been violated¡­¡­¡­¡­repeatedly.

    Nathan looked back to the mirror and turned to examine the rest of him. A beautiful petite girl was all he saw, truth be told, Nathan always was a bit feminine. With looks like his model of a mother, he had often been misunderstood by men and women alike. Some would even go too far in their assumptions, leading to Nathan putting them down. Many times he had to Judo flip grown men away just to get them to leave him alone, this lead to the rumor of a ¡°Man Hating Doll¡±. Eye witnesses had saw a petite doll like girl in a red dress, throw a man twice her size, clear across a parks fountain. Similar rumors started to pop up around the neighborhood, all of a doll like girl throwing men. He could have ended the rumor, but he had been modeling dresses for his mother whenever his sisters were busy, and to clear the rumor, would be to admit to wearing a dress.

    ¡°Is your new appearance unappealing?¡±

    ¡°Well no, to be honest, I kinda, sorta, like it, it¡¯s just, tell me how you would feel if you woke up to discover that you had been remodeled?¡±

    "I would ¡­.... find that most unpleasant."

    "Exactly, Wouldn¡¯t you want to know why you looks have change so drastically, and the person who could give you all the answer, is nowhere to be found?¡±

    Iris nodded in confirmation, no one would want to wake up looking like a different person, especially when they had no problems with their original looks.¡±

    ¡°¡°sigh¡± Well, standing around venting is not going to help, if we can¡¯t ask Amelia, then maybe that legend has some information.

    Iris eyes lit up.

    "Hero, you want to know your legend?"

    "That¡¯s the plan, it might have some information as to why I look like this, besides, how many people get a chance to know their own legend, you usually have to be dead, do you mind?

    "Of course not, it would be a pleasure. If you will follow me I take you to the library."

    With that she excitedly flew out and disappeared down the dark hall.

    "¡­..................IRIS THE LIGHTS!"

    _

    _

    _

    "Hey, can I use magic?"

    "Huh?¡±

    After a few adjustments to his attire, Iris begin leading Nathan through the study. Nathan was sure from the way things looked that this Lady Amelia was very wealthy, this place was huge. The ceiling itself must have been twenty feet, the walls and floor were paved with glistening stone he had never seen before, it was like a mansion more than a study. The main hall they had enter had a giant staircase that lead down two floors. It also acted as divider for the entire Study.

    Each floor had two halls, one to the left and right or the stairs respectively. He had to think Amelia must be someone of high status if she called a place like this a study. Nathan would think about these things whenever he drifted off from Iris''s hero ranting, it''s only so long one can listen to much praise them person before they begin to tune it out. He needed a subject changer and this was the best and most interesting thing he could think of. Though really who from a world without magic wouldn''t want to learn.

    "Can I learn magic, like you did with the water and lights?"

    "I don''t believe so."

    "¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Oh.

    "Hero you misunderstand, it is possible for you to learn magic, just not the magic I utilize."

    "FOR REAL!?"

    Iris who hadn''t seen Nathan so excited since he had woken up was startled at his sudden outburst. With a gleam in his eye and a wag in his tail, she subconsciously compared him to a dog, yet it was another thing she would keep to herself.

    "Actually where we are headed now there are tomes that have magic that may interest you.

    "Alright, if It''s one thing that anyone who has ever come to a different world must do, it would be to use magic.

    I¡¯m happy your excited, but please do be careful, it could be dangerous.¡±

    "Yeah I¡¯ll be careful, but like I told you earlier, fairies and magic don¡¯t exist in my world and the closest we get to it are parlor tricks, you can¡¯t expect me, not to be excited.

    As they arrived at the study¡¯s library. In front of them set of doors, twelve feet tall and at least in a foot thick. One of the doors had been pushed open slightly, indicating Iris¡¯s constant travels. A simple wave of her hand was all it took to the fully open the sturdy obstruction.

    Nathan¡¯s jaw dropped upon seeing the huge Library, books upon shelves, upon walls of literature, that seemed that stretch on forever. With no hesitation Iris flew in and disappeared around a shelf of books. Nathan on the other was slowly progressing, these bookshelves were pretty high and bulging with books, he reached for the closest book to him, shapes he never seen decorated it¡¯s cover, he couldn¡¯t tell if they were words or not. He opened it and it was more of the same, just like the cover, he could not make out the inside. Try as he might to comprehend, it was nothing more the symbols to him, he reached for another, but placed it back wants he saw Iris retuning.

    "Hero, this is it."

    "That was fast.¡­. Whoa!"

    Floating behind Iris, was a monster of book.

    "This is a really big book; no way this is all about me."

    "Of course not, this book contains the history of this world.¡±

    ¡°Oh, how old is it?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, right here on the spine it says 859 X.D., though even from this I cannot tell how old it is, this study has no means in which to tell time.

    Nathan was well aware of that, to begin with their not a single clock, the study must be underground since there isn''t a single window to be found, so no daylight which rules out any natural ways of telling time. It was as if the very concept of time did not apply, you could be here for decades or just a few hours, yet nothing changes, besides the two nothing can be heard. One would go crazy under these circumstances, at least the old him would, the him right now he wasn''t so sure. On the other hand, Nathan thought Iris was pretty strong for not losing it long ago, she must have the patience of saint. Iris herself was busy flipping pages, only to stop at the section she needed with pinpoint accuracy.

    "(Exactly how many time did she read this monster?)"

    "Hero from here is where your tale begins."

    "Oh let''s have a look......................................Iris it seems we have reached an impasse.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    "I can''t make heads or tails of this."

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it."The Hero...............is illiterate, I had no idea."

    "That''s because I''m not, I just can''t read this language. I''m not from this world remember."

    "Then how will you allow me to read it for you?"

    "I was just about to ask before you offered, if you don''t mind?"

    "It would be a pleasure."

    "Well in that case."

    Nathan turned the book over to Iris who promptly turned the book back to the first page to begin.

    "Wait, hold up a sec. Just to clarify I only want to hear about me becoming the hero."

    The world around Iris shattered, in the light in her eyes dimmed.

    "¡­.................sigh, I understand."

    _

    _

    _

    _

    Spring, 1101, two years after the other worldly heroes vanished without trace, a Lycanian by the name Elphina, claiming herself to be the new Demon Lord, sent envoys declaring war on the world war on the world. Not many knew about Elphina or where she came from and fewer still took her threat seriously. Humans, Demi-Humans, Beastmen and Therianthrope the four races of the world, though each were sent envoys, the fourth race the Therianthrope were the only race to begin preparations for war urging the others to do the same. This action only brought about ridicule for the fourth race and Elphina''s threat were only seen as the rantings of a fool.

    Winter, 1101, The cold weather had taken its toll on the Human capital of Ziltharth, Elphina with three followers and a horde of ¡°Regrest¡± made good on her threat and attacked the Human capital city Ziltharth. The human army, boasting the strongest military force in the world with their ranks stretch across the continent due to the sudden appearance of low to mid rank Regrest, were completely outmatched. The human leaders, were quick to lead an evacuation, even if they were to call their army back, with the heavy snowfall, none would arrive in time.  Elphina in the course of two days had decimated one of the world''s largest cities.

    Reaching out for support from the other three races proved futile, for at the same time the Beastmen capital Suvari, the Demi-Human capital Vlladd, as well as the Therianthrope capital Anorera were also under siege. The Demi-Human saw little reason in recklessly fighting an enemy of such large force decide rather to abandoned their city then to needlessly waste lives on a war they did not prepare for. The Beastmen suffered the heaviest losses due to their prideful nature and fighting to the end, though civilian casualties were low, there armies were nearly completely decimated. The Therianthrope to the world''s surprise, were able to push back the invasion, despite their small numbers. Even without the therianthrope capital, with three of four capitals¡¯ now under her control, Elphina begin her siege on the world.

    Spring, 1102, Elphina with her forces had nearly completely cease their expansion. It seems that once she controls over the capital and the surrounding cities all attempts for conquest had stopped. Attempts to reconquer their capitals were seen with heavy resistance. Those who were foolish enough to try were overwhelmed and decimated. It seemed as long as they stayed clear of the capital and its surroundings, Elphina would not pursue.

    With Elphina''s sudden cease fire, the leaders begin their search for the four summoned heroes who had left them, as well as summoning the fifth Hero, who they had failed to summon before. These efforts fell in vain, with no news of their whereabouts, many believe they were abandoned, others believe that Elphina had already felled the Heroes. As for the fifth, no matter how many rituals they performed it seems their cries fell on deaf ears. The people of the world believe that all hope was loss.

    Summer,1102, With no hope left, the Therianthrope the only race that was able to repel Elphina, sent envoy to each of the other races. Elphina had made another attempt on the Therianthrope capital. With almost all their resources exhausted and military might be dwindling, it seemed as if Anorera would fall. However, with victory assured, Elphina''s forces suddenly withdrew. The Therianthrope leader a wise man believed that this was suspicious move and urge the other races to unite. The leaders of the other nation were appalled, such a course of action as unheard of, but the Therianthrope leader believed that if they were to come together, they could reclaim their lands. With reluctant hearts the world leader''s agreed and the coalition was formed.

    As easy as it had been taken, the world was being reclaimed. One after another each races respected land was being recover, almost as if Elphina was letting them win. With almost little effort the coalition had proved to be a remarkable success and in what seemed like no time at all the capital''s taken back from Elphina''s forces. At this time the Therianthrope leader urge the other races to check their treasuries, during the last attempt on their capital, the Therianthrope discovered that one of the four sacred relics had vanished. The therianthrope leader believe this to be the true purpose behind Elphina''s conquest. If the four relics were ever brought together they become an ancient and powerful weapon that could ripped the planet asunder. As he had predicted the relics had been stolen, the entire war was nothing more than a ruse, given Elphina enough time to search and seize them. Accomplishing her goal, Elphina and her followers abandoned the cities leaving just enough Regrest to leave the world believing she still took up residence within their walls. The world begins a massive manhunt for Elphina, they needed to locate her before she could utilize the weapon, but alas, no matter where they search, all sign that an Elphina had even existed was gone. Even with their cities recovered, a death cloud hung over the world, with no way to trace the sacred relics and Elphina in the wind, all they could do was bide their time until Elphina decided she wanted to be found.

    Summer,1104, When all seemed to have gone quiet, word of a powerful magic being erected on the central continent, had spread across the world. Such a tremendous spell could be no one other than Elphina. Though the world leaders were reluctant to send their armies into the unknown territory that was the central continent, they had no other choice. With a combined army of 550,000,000 troops, the coalition marched on the continent, two months¡¯ travel, the world''s army arrive in a desolate area, the ground scorched from failed spell attempts. In the center of this tainted land, an altar stood, as if erected fairly recent it seemed completely out of place. Atop this massive altar, Elphina and her three followers, each holding one of the four sacred relics, took no heed of the approaching army and continued to chant.

    Elphina herself was within sight, yet no one seemed to notice, above her, hovered a massive ball of energy. Glowing an ominous red, every pulsation like the beating of a heart, an oppressive aura covered the area, it robbed of air and replace it with a burning suffocating smog. Drawing energy from the sacred treasures and growing with every passing second, at any moment the mass could be unleashed and all would be lost. They could allow this to go no further, Elphina, whatever the cost she must not be allowed to finish her spell. It is with this thought the leaders of the world gave their army the signal to charge.

    Autumn, 1104, The battle rage for months, as the coalition forces drew ever closer to the altar, not once did Elphina or her three followers take notice of the battle that rage around them. This was a most frustrating to the leaders of the army, with no knowledge of the spells length and the red sphere growing ever larger, they feared the inevitable conclusion. They sought to redouble their effort, the leader''s pulled back one thousand of their strongest warriors and spell casters to begin preparation on the strongest spell known to the world "Nirvana". It is a long range spell and would take days, if not months to complete, and they had no other choice but to thin out Elphina''s forces before they could utilize the spell.

    Though the requirements were less than optimal, but there was no other choice. In a desolate area of the battlefield, far from the main battle but close enough to alter the small force begin to cast "Nirvana". In a day''s time some of the Regrest had taken notice of the spell and begin an assault, though small in number the warriors who were chosen were nothing if not elite. Encircling the mages, the, the warrior saw to decimate any who drew near. At the same time, some of the main army had gotten close to the altar, and were shocked to find that a barrier of unknown origin was preventing any form of attack.

    Word of this got back to the leaders of the coalition, though they were unfazed. They had already deduced that Elphina''s sheer disregard for their approach, had taken measure to assure she would not be disturbed. They merely told the army to continue to thin the hordes of Regrest from around the altar. Within days Nirvana would be complete, they only prayed that it be enough time.

    Autumn,1104, The battle had reach a standstill, with neither side giving way, the main armies morale was fading. With a death cloud over their heads and no news from their leader''s the main forces had begun to despair. In that moment a blue light had could be seen to the east. It was Nirvana, it had been complete. The leaders quickly sent word to their forces to withdraw. With their armies clear, Nirvana was activated. A blast of immense energy ripped through the heavens.

    Once it had reach optimal height, it descended. It barreled toward the altar in which Elphina stood,        with an earth shattering devastation, Nirvana hit its mark. It was a sight to behold, an azure light enveloped the area, clearing away the what remained of the ¡°Regrest¡±. The leaders of the world along with the coalition, begin to cheer in victory, for nothing could survive such a massive explosion on energy. However once the smoke had cleared, all forms of cheer had cease. The altar, Elphina along with her followers, all remained untouched, not only did they fail to stop, it seemed as though the energy from ¡°Nirvana¡±, was absorbed by red energy ball causing it to double in size.

    The mistake they had made became increasingly obvious, the four women standing atop the begin to laugh, not a sinister laugh, no it was a very endearing laugh, such joyful laughter that one would believe it to be children at play. Such a warm and gentle laugh, did nothing but to fill those surrounding with a since of dread, with the extra energy from the world¡¯s strongest spell, the energy ball rose into the sky. Blocking out the sun and bathing the world in a velvet curtain, in a last desperate act leaders of the world ordered their armies to attack, to end this madness, but what could they do. There was nothing left, if Nirvana could not wipe out the barrier, let alone Elphina, then nothing could. All they could do was watch on as Elphina ended them.

    As the world lost all hope a mass of light descended from the sky. Like a meteor, it soared across the sky, a radiant blue light that cut that cut through the curtain of red. Everyone eyes were locked the object, even Elphina who had ignored the armies, looked up at the dazzling azure object. The meteor headed straight for the Altar, but none expected much, if Nirvana who mana output was hundreds of times stronger than this, what chance could have. To everyone surprise the hurled itself into the barrier, and shattered it as if it was glass, but as it shattered, the light around the object vanished revealing not a comet but something else. Even with the impact with the barrier, the object did not stop. Not believing what had just transpired, Elphina was slow to react and met the object head first, knocking from her perch and rendered her unconscious. With one pillar of energy gone, the flow of energy that once flowed in now seeped out. The three followers could not support the energy alone, having nothing to contain it, the energy disperse and the sky slowly returned to its former self.

    The area became dead silent; no one was sure of what to make of the situation. Suddenly, a new form replaced the meteor, a man of unknown origin, rose from the smoke. Everyone wonder, who this man was, then one word was muttered ever so lightly ¡°Hero¡±. No knew who uttered it first, but with came a thunderous cheer, whether that statement was true or not did not matter, he had single handedly done what the world could not do united. With the barrier now gone, Elphina was defenseless, the leaders would not miss this opportunity, with renewed vigor, the coalition charge the altar.

    Victory was assured, they just needed to fight alongside this man, Elphina would not stand a chance. However, as they were mere moments away from reaching the altar, a rage infused scream could be heard atop the altar. Elphina, with her plans lost, went into a maddening rage, and with almost no effort plunge her hand through the back and out the chest of the man, ripping his heart from his body and crushing all in one motion.  Instantly, the life from his eyes vanished, like a marionette, the body dangled from the arm that pierce it, as the blood cascaded to the ground.

    The army, could not believe what they had just witness, altogether went into a murderous rage. Their eyes blood red with anger, stormed towards the altar, this was no longer a fight to save the world, but now a manhunt, they wanted only to spill blood one who took away their savior. Several feet away, yet another scream was let out from Elphina, a sorrowful scream, of horrified disbelief, as if she had made a terrible mistake. However, that did not matter to the coalition, their blood lust was too great for them to even take notice. Right when the armies were in attacking distance, a burst of light blinded them for only a moment, it was in that moment that Elphina, her three followers, even the corpse of the Hero all vanished without a trace. Elphina, her followers, as well as the Hero body all vanished.

    With each leader, reclaiming their respective relics, they immediately set for home, where they would begin a massive manhunt, but Elphina would never show her face again. To add to the grief of the loss of the Hero, with no body, the world could not even hold a proper memorial. The world which to show their thanks, with his name unknown, those who witness his decent that day bestowed him the title ¡°Azure Comet¡± and to this day is he is honored, the man who gave his life to stop a mad woman, in her senseless plan. Those he will remain a mystery, his deed that day will always never be forgotten, in the worlds darkest hour, they were gifted with a Hero.

 Chapter Four: Common sense

    Chapter 4: Common Sense

    "A head-butt!?"

    "Hero, what''s wrong?"

    "The demon lord, who brought the entire planet to the brink of destruction, who took over all major cities in no time at all, who should have absolutely, positively, without a doubt should have won in that situation, was brought down¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...with a head-butt!?"

    Nathan shook his head in disbelief.

    ¡°Heh, heh, heh¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    "You tell such funny jokes, you of all people should that was not a head-butt.

    "Then, what did you call colliding head first into someone?

    "Well of course, it was the¡­¡­. ¡°Azure Strike¡±."

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­What?¡±

    ¡°Hear let me demonstrate.¡±

    Iris flew up to the ceiling and then positioning herself with her head towards the floor, then hurled herself towards the ground. With her arms crossed over her chest, she crashed right into the mirror and shattered it, then somehow landed on one knee, sliding for several feet before coming to a stop. With her eyes still close stood up and looked in Nathan direction.

    "¡­......................¡±

    "See, it was a ¡°Azure Strike¡±, though I fall short compared to yours by a large margin.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Why did you break the mirror?¡±

    Nathan thought to himself, there is no way in hell he did something so embarrassing.

    "There is no way in hell I did something so embarrassing and "Azure Strike, (what a stupid name), I wasn''t diving, I was falling. There was nothing heroic about it."

    Nathan let out a sigh, it figures, his legend came down a glorified wrestling move. No grandeur feat, no heroic battle, he didn¡¯t even get a cool entrance, the only thing he did right, was to arrive in the nick of time. Iris took notice of his frustration.

    "Hero, I think you are misunderstanding the term Legend.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    One doesn''t become a legend by how the feat is accomplished, but instead what they accomplish. Rather you were fallen or diving, nothing changes the fact that you''re the reason why Leseres exist today. To me, no to everyone in this world, you are legend and none may say otherwise.

    Iris bowed her head.

    So, on behalf of the world, "Hero", Thank You for saving us."

    Nathan turned red again as he rushed to stop Iris from bowing, if some willing to go that far, it kind of hard to be depressed.

    "Stop that, you¡¯re making me blush."

    "Hehehehehe, oh hero there something I don''t understand, if you say you were falling, how exactly did you crash into that barrier with so much force, the legends say you were like a comet, you must have been diving and just forgotten.¡±

    "Diving, shmiving, I was thrown."

    "You were¡­¡­¡­thrown?"

    "Yeah, halfway through that light some woman grabbed my hand and with some herculean like strength, threw me like I was a light as a feather, over her shoulder, as hard as she could, downward, I mean seriously though who just go around throwing people¡­¡­¡­well I guess I do, but those guys had it coming, I swear.¡±

    Nathan continued to rant, Iris stared at him in surprise.

    "Hero, you remembered."

    "Huh, remembered what?"

    "You said a woman threw you."

    "I did, ah!"

    "Are sure you can''t remember?"

    "I¡­¡­¡­¡­...don''t know, it feels like it''s right there, but I just can''t seem to grasp it.

    Nathan strained, but all he accomplished was to bring back his headache. Just what would cause him to forget something so important, what did he see. Thinking about just depress him, and the more he thought, the more it felt like he was forgetting.

    "Ughhh, well, my headache came back at least."

    "Hero, I''m sorry, if I had not mentioned it you would not be suffering."

    "Meh, don''t sweat it, you were just trying to help.

    "Still."

    Iris begin to become depress, Nathan quickly intervened

    "Stop, you apologize again and I''ll head-butt you, so says my legend."

    "It....... was an "Azure Strike¡± and thank you.

    Iris once again bowed.

    "I get it, I get it, no more bowing. Sheesh!"

    "Heheheheh, it seems we are going in circles."

    They both begin to laugh, with it, the depressing air was cleared.

    "Though there¡¯s something I don¡¯ get, If the demon lord took my body when she vanished and I''m here now, doesn¡¯t that mean that mean that Amelia had something to do with Elphina?"

    "I thought so as well, I''m not too sure, I believe after your body vanished, Amelia retrieve you and brought you here for recuperation."

    "Yeah, but how did she get me back from Elphina, was she really that strong of a person to pull one over on someone who nearly destroyed the world, if she could get to me and get away from Elphina intact why was she not mentioned in the legend, now that I think about it no one besides races were mentioned in it"

    "Ah, that was due to relations with each race, to keep one race from claiming a bigger role in the war then they actually did, all names of important people were left out so that one may focus on the hero''s deeds. As for Amelia, again I''m not sure."

    "This Amelia is looking real suspect right now, Okay I get she saved me but, come on, if the entire freaking world couldn''t stop her, how the heck could Amelia by herself retrieve me, ridiculous."

    "Even so that does not change the fact that you are here now, which means at some point she must have retrieve you."

    Iris just was not getting it; Nathan had already come to a conclusion about Amelia but, either she was really strong or she had something to do with Elphina. Common sense would dictate those to options, but for right now he would keep his thoughts to himself.

    "Well we found out sooner or later for now let''s talk about something more important."

    "Something important?"

    "Magic of course. Where are the spell books?"

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings."Um, there three rows down and to the left but how will you-

    Before she could finish her sentence, Nathan was already half way there. Making a beeline to the shelves, he was amaze at the sheer quantity of them. Even if he didn''t trust Amelia, he had to respect her for this. While he stared up in awe, Iris caught up to him.

    "Hero."

    "Come on Iris, speed up.

    "Hero I was trying to ask, how exactly where you plan on reading these books?"

    "With my eyes, I imagine.¡±

    "But, did you not say that you can''t read this language?"

    "¡­...............................dammit."

    Nathan was about to collapse on his feet when a light bulb when off.

    "Iris you can just read them out to me, like with the history book?

    "I don''t believe so, these tomes are special, the one who reads them firsthand, will be the one to learn the spells within, reading them aloud, will only benefit me.

    And with that Nathan collapsed into heap on the floor. Fate just seems to never be on his side.

    "Hero", even if you can''t read this language, maybe you could read one of the others."

    "These books aren''t all the same language?"

    "No there are abundance of languages in this world, this place reflects that. ¡°Perhaps there is a language among them that is similar to your worlds................."Hero"?"

    Nathan was no longer paying Iris any mind, with will renewed vigor and fire in his eyes he begins to search each book, careful not to miss anything.

    "¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...Hero I''ve already combed this area and these books all have the same language I''m afraid."

    Nathan walked over to Iris and began pulling on her cheeks.

    "Would please stop leaving out details and tell me everything at once."

    "Sorry, thib waiy leag tu difrenb languges."

    Iris with red swollen cheeks, lead Nathan to a different part of the library.

    "Here we are, these languages differ from the one before."

    "Alright."

    Nathan wasted no time open the closes book.

    "Crap, can''t read this one, or this one, or this one. No, no, no, no, no, oh come on.

    "Hero don''t give up, I''m sure will find at least one."

    "Don''t raise death flags."

    Nathan continued his search, shapes and symbols outlined book after book, yet there is nothing here that was remotely identifiable to him.

    "¡­......................I give up, none of these books are readable."

    "Hero, why don''t you learn this world language, then you could read at least the books from before."

    "I already thought of that, but trying to learn another language from my world is tedious enough, but a language from another world, symbols I never seen before, practically impossible."

    "Yes, but if you want to learn these spells, there is no other choice. In the meantime, you''ll just have to make do with your own default magic."

    "Yeah I guess you right....................wait what default magic?"

    "You know, the spells that are displayed on your Status Screen.

    "Status Screen, I have a Status Screen?"

    "*Giggle*, Of course you do, everyone has one, it''s common sense, you speak as if you didn''t know"

    Nathan grabbed Iris''s cheeks and stretch them out, once again.

    "Of course I don''t know about it, your world and my world common sense is completely different. No more leaving anything out, explain it."

    "owb thab hurd. On yod chesb. Lef shuler, insidnia."

    "My left shoulder¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. what the, she gave me a tattoo as well?"

    On his there was an insignia, it was a simple circle with four lines stretching from the cardinal points and stop halfway from meeting in the center. Nathan wasn''t in the least bit surprised anymore, of all the changes in his body this was the least fazing.

    "Just place your hand on its surface."

    Nathan did as he was instructed.

    *Shiiiinnnnngg*

    "¡­............................Awesome."

    Name: Nathan Lowell   Level:1                                           HP:2000      MP:300

    Race: Human/Lycanian

    U. Skill: Tweak

    Legend: Nature''s Blessing

    M. Abilities: Phytokinesis, Heal, Therapy, Tranquil, Plant Growth

    P. Skills: Photosynthesis, Threat Detection, Clearmind, Enhanced Reflexes, Hyper Senses

    Skills: Persuasion 0%, Bribery 0%, Thievery 0%, Charisma 10%, Finesse 0%

    Stats                                                                              Party

    STH 60

    DEF 100

    INT 50

    AGI 85

    Luck 75

    Titles: Hero?

 Chapter 5: Magic Study

    Chapter 5: Magic Study

    "Hero?"

    "¡­.................................."

    "Uhm..................."Hero"?

    It''s has been fifteen minutes and Iris could not get any reaction from Nathan. He was entranced, grinning ear and releasing a laugh that made Iris feel completely uncomfortable. He had a Status Screen, not a video game but and actual one and most importantly he had magic, though he had to admit nature type magic wasn''t his top choice or a choice at all, but beggars can''t be choosers. Most of his magic consist of recovery magic, though he would rather have an attack, all and all keeping oneself at peak condition during a fight would make a huge difference. Not to say he didn''t have any form of attack magic, Phytokinesis basically is control over plants and the ability to manipulate them.

    This give him many different ways to attack. Nature is everywhere and so many forms and shapes, it would be a clear advantage if he had to fight in a forested area. Besides that, he had plant growth, this is good for times when there aren''t many plants around, he¡¯d just grow what he needed whenever he needed, only downside is according to the description is that he had to consume a plants seed in order to make one of his own, meaning that as of now he couldn''t even grow grass, not that he could grow anything here anyway, since this area was completely void of nature of any sorts, so he had magic but couldn''t use it. Though he thought, there was something he could try and he had the perfect test subject.

    "HERO!"

    "Ahhhh...sheesh Iris, you trying blow out my eardrum or something!?"

    "I do apologize, but I''ve been calling out to you for a while now, you talking to yourself and making a very unpleasant expression.

    "Sorry about that (unpleasant expression), actually I was just about to speak, I need you to do me another favor, a very important favor."

    "If it is in my power, I will do anything.¡±

    "Cool, wait here."

    Nathan went down in around a corner, he returned moments later with the history book they were reading from earlier.

    "Okay Iris, make this book levitate."

    "Understood¡±

    "Good now send up about fifteen feet."

    ¡°A-alright.¡±

    "Okay, now move it forward about two feet, aaannnnnd perfect, let it go."

    "Pardon!?"

    "Let it fall."

    "¡­........................Hero, sorry for questioning you, but from my position, it looks as though if I were to let this book fall, it would descend onto you.

    "That''s the plan, drop it.¡±

    "¡­......................................."

    Iris slowly let the book back to the ground and quickly floated over to Nathan.

    "You must still be confused, here lie down."

    "I''m not confused you goof, and where''d that pillow come from?"

    Nathan explained to her his magic.

    "Ah, I see, by causing injury to yourself, you were going to use "Healing" ability.

    "Exactly."

    "Here please lie down, you¡¯re confused."

    "Knock it off, I just need a little bump just to test if my magic works."

    "Hero you are not allowed to injure yourself, nor will I cause you injury."

    "If you¡¯re worried about me getting hurt don''t I''ll be-

    "HERO.........YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED........... TO INJURE YOURSELF."

    Iris smiled down at him, at least it looked like she was smiling. The aura she was releasing made seem as though she was not informing him, it felt more like she was threatening him.

    "Y-You know what, hurting myself, n-not a good idea, I-I don''t know what I was thinking, I swear.

    "How Wonderful, it seems you have come back to your senses, I''m glad."

    Nathan made a mental note, to never intentionally harm himself, in front of Iris. He was sure he would not like the outcome. Iris made a gesture to Nathan.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere."Hero, please follow me.¡¯¡¯

    ¡°Okay?¡±

    ¡°I didn''t want to, but if you dead set on using your abilities, then I have no choice.

    "Where are we going?"

    "Just down the hall here at the end are where the Magic Tomes are held.

    "Magic Tomes", more spell books?"

    "These spell books are special, they are mana infused, utilize primarily when someone is unable to learn a spell. They can also be used for quick spell casting from the many spells in the tome."

    "Wait, I thought you said I had to be able to learn the spells first hand and order to utilize them.

    "It¡¯s better and safer that way. Using a spell tome is mainly for rapid spell casting, no incantations or practice needed, just as long as you know the spells name written in the tome, you can utilize. However, magic tomes mana is not everlasting. Eventually the tome will lose its mana and the spells will become unusable.

    "And since I never learned the spell myself, if it came to a fight, I would be in a bad situation, but couldn''t I just infuse more mana into the tome, that way I could keep casting.

    "Mana Infusion is not such a simple process. To infuse a tome with mana, one must first know exactly how much mana is needed for each spell. Then you must decide how many times you wish to utilize each spell. If you want to use a certain spell a multiple number of times, you must infuse the amount of mana needed for that many uses. However, if you add to much mana the tome itself may not be able to handle the

    strain. Worst case scenario, the tome might explode.

    ¡°Sounds rough.¡±

    ¡°The process becomes very tedious over time, but if you learn the spell and since your mana restores in time, you could unleash as many time as you need, just at a much slower rate, plus you can put as much mana into any spell you¡¯ve learned, making the most basic of spells, something to be fear.

    "So basically tomes let me spam a certain spell as long as it has enough mana, while if I learn the spell, I could unleash the spell as many times as I want, just really slowly, but with a lot more punch.

    Nathan thought that the tome was a better choice, sure the mana would run out, but if you were in a fight, the one to finish their incantation first would be victorious and with no casting time, unless they prepared ahead of time he wouldn¡¯t lose. In addition, his attack was sixty, for a level one he thought that was pretty strong, but he couldn¡¯t deduce anything until he sees someone else¡¯s stats.

    "It is as you say, however what I understand from your actions, you don¡¯t have any grandeur reason for using magic, it just that you want to cast a spell."

    "Well yeah, that''s all I want to do, I learn would I need to later but right now, just want to try to throw a fireball."

    Iris stopped and turned to a section of books.

    "Well then, here is the section for fire magic tomes. Each tome has its own unique spells within the domain of fire, from body enhancing to summoning, though you can''t use any spell above student level while in the study."

    ¡°Huh, why not?¡±

    ¡°I do not know the reason, just that the study prevents it.

    " Okay, that''s fine, as long as I can cast a spell."

    Iris handed Nathan a book, it was still in a language he could not read. According to Iris, all he needed was to recite the spells name, to unleash it, which she relayed to him. Nathan placed a hand out in front of him, he aimed it at the back wall, as far away from the books as he could.

    "Flare¡±

    To their surprise huge fireball took form in front of Nathan. Before they could react, the massive object sped down the aisle and then exploded with a force that shook the shelves. The wall had become black where the fireball had struck. The charred area was roughly the size of one bookshelf. Nathan and Iris looked at the wall, then to Nathan''s hand, then once more at the wall.

    "¡­................Iris?"

    "Yes "Hero"?"

    "That was a student class spell, right?

    "It is as you say."

    "¡­...................Hollee shit."

 Chapter 6: Scribe Eater

    Chapter 6: Scribe Eater

    "Hollee crap Iris, exactly how was that a student spell¡­¡­¡­¡­.........Iris?"

    Iris had already begun to put out the small fires that had broken out because of the spell, she was using from earlier to put out the small fire, instead of water for the sake of not damaging the books more than they already were. They had agreed earlier that since it was a student grade spell that because this placed was enchanted and the books were as well that even if he was to fire off several they wouldn''t do much damage, neither expected the flame to be that size or have that much power. Iris looked over each book that was caught in the flames path, no real damage was done except a surplus amount of ash on the covers. With this knowledge she breathes a sigh of relief, then with a stern look turned to Nathan.

    "Hero", what were you thinking releasing such a blast, you could have damage something or worse cause injury to yourself."

    "How the heck was I supposed to know that it would be that frickin huge, you think I was trying to fire a "Vulcan Shock Ignition" or something, you said just say the name and that¡¯s what I did.

    "Well, it doesn''t look like their much damage to anything, and you are also uninjured I assume?"

    "Yeah, I''m good, but man this place is really sturdy, that huge of a flame and nothing got wrecked, ¡°Amelia made this place too last, huh?"

    "Still, I would rather refrain from incidents like this happening, so we''ll have to avoid using any fire element spell tomes."

    "Does that matter?"

    "Yes, though tomes were created to be a way to cast a spell regardless of knowledge, the other benefit is that it can amplify one''s own elemental affinity. Since your affinity is fire, with book in hand a student spell could be devastating."

    "No, it''s not."

    "I''m sorry?"

    "My elemental affinity is not fire, in fact I have absolutely no fire magic whatsoever."

    "Then how were you able to conjure such a blaze, what is your affinity?"

    "I don''t know. Nothing on this screen talks about anything like what you¡¯re saying."

    "It wouldn''t, your elemental affinity would be a reflection of you Legend.

    "Ooooooooohhh, well then that''s an even bigger problem, since it''s not an element at all.

    "I don''t understand"

    Nathan begin explaining his stats to Iris, making sure to unnecessary thing like his thievery and bribery skills. He didn''t know how the hero loving fairy would react to such unheroic like abilities. He left out his unique skill as well, not that he didn''t trust Iris, but after reading the description, it didn''t seem like something he needed to mention, no need getting sidetracked.

    "Amazing, I never read anything about the ability to control nature itself, wouldn''t it be best to not use any tomes."

    "What, I can''t practice anymore?"

    "Of course not, no matter which of the tomes you use, the results will be the same, Having the ability to manipulate nature, is the same as wielding all the elements. We might have been able to escape with minor damage this time, but no one can say what would happen if we were to try again. I rather we put off your practice for a later time."

    "Well do you have any spells outside of the elements?"

    ¡°Spell for ¡°Element Zeros¡±, I highly doubt it. Since there so many different Element Zeros, there is no way real way to categorize them."

    "Damn, guess that''s it for now, well I at least got to try it, most people....no one could say they ever done something like that, is there anything else we need here?"

    "As a matter of fact, there is."(Point)

    Nathan looked back at the trail of books he had thrown about in his search. With a nod he got to work re-shelving them, as did Iris.

    "You know Iris, I thought you said you didn''t read all of these, yet you knew where all of them were exactly."

    "It''s nothing special, while you slept, whenever I wasn''t attending to you, i past the time here."

    "Iris, you never thought of leaving?"

    "Leaving?"

    "Yeah, I mean if it was me I would have at least look for a way out, you must have been just a little bit curious?"

    "I can''t say I have, I mean I did wonder of many things, but never to a point where I would abandon my mission, beside theirs a barrier at the top of the stairs that prevents anyone from leaving or entering. All I have to do is wait.

    "Until I woke up?"

    "It is as you say, wants you have awakened only then shall you journey to the outside world. Those were her words, and though it has been a long time, my patience has been rewarded with your awakening. And like I said before, it is a great honor to guard the hero while he slept"

    "Gonna make me blush again, but to read all these just too past the time, such bookworm.

    "That''s a very rude thing to say."

    "No, it not an insult, I was called one as well, it means you eat books.

    "Why would I ever want to consume a book?"

    "Not literally, it means you like to read. Bookworm are people who read a lot, mostly just for fun, they don''t actually consume a book."

    "I see; I was concerned for a moment."

    "What that I would start eating books, don''t be ridiculo-"

    "Hero is there something wrong?"

    Iris took a look at what Nathan was holding, it was one of the books and it was damage. Not by the flames from earlier but what looked like something had been nibbling at it. Nathan turn the book around, it wasn''t one of the books he looked at earlier, it must have fallen off the shelf when he had pulled all the books from earlier. He placed the book back down and took the one that would be next to it on the shelf. It had the same damage from the other book but a lot more extensive, this one wasn''t even legible anymore. From the bite marks Nathan thought it had to be something pretty small, something like a Fairy.

    "Damn Iris, I was just kidding.¡±

    ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±

    ¡°You really eat books.¡±

    "This wasn''t my doing."

    "No need to lie, everyone has a weird thing they do when no one''s looking, is this why you don''t want me to try every spell, too hide the damage books?¡±

    "Of course not, this was not me."

    "So the books were like this before you arrive?"

    "All the books were and the best conditions when I first entered?"

    "Then something else chewed on these books?"

    "To my knowledge, there are no others here besides you and I."

    "¡­.............Look Iris, I''m not judging, if you want to eat a book, eat a book, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s very nutritious, and the ink probably bad for you, but hey, to each his own.

    "Hero, I don''t know what happen to these book, from time to time, the damage appears and I can''t figure out why. But I can assure you, I DON''T CONSUME BOOKS."

    ¡°Th-thump, th-thump¡±

    ¡°Th-thump, th-thump¡±

    "Huh?¡±

    ¡°The thought of someone defiling a book is in itself ludicrous.¡±

    ¡°Then there must be something here besides us."

    "I don''t believe so, if anything else was here I would feel it."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I can sense the mana flow of all things. Since every living thing has mana flowing through them, if there were any others here I would know. It''s one of the many abilities of the Fae."

    "Okay, then what if there was someone that could hide from you, like hide its mana from being detected, are their spells like that?"

    "I suppose that could be the case, but if someone was here why would they not show themselves?"

    "Maybe it was scared and too small so it keeps to the shadows, to keep attention away from itself.

    "Hero, you speak as if you know the cause of the books damage."

    "shhhh!"

    Nathan tiptoed over to the book on the farther side of the shelf, and while being as quiet as possible, as quickly as he could he removed it.

    "squeeeaak"

    "What was that?"

    "Take a look."

    Coming closer, she peered at the creature that was nothing more than a frightened little mouse. A black nose, brown fur, floppy ear mouse gazed up at the eyes of the two larger creatures that had just the discovered it. It was much larger than any mice he¡¯d seen before. Shivering uncontrollably as it looked up at Nathan, but he had no intention of harming it.

    "Hero, how did you know it was here?"

    "I heard it, I can hear really good, It''s my hyper-senses ability. My senses are like on overdrive, I didn''t notice it before, but when we found the book earlier the little things heart beat sped up and I could tell it was neither us since both our hearts are beating at the same pace, so by the process of elimination. And here it is, just a mouse, its cute.

    "Hero you should move away, it''s dangerous."

    "What this little thing, how could it be dangerou-¡­......WHOA!

    Before Nathan could finish his sentence a fireball the size of a fist came flying towards him, if not for his enhanced reflexes that allowed him to dodge he would have taken that to the face. Nathan now a few steps back looked at the mouse, face in complete shock, because it''s surprise attack had failed and the larger creatures were aware it could use magic. Even with almost no distance between them the giant was able to completely avoid its spell.

    "Hey, don''t just suddenly shoot off spells."

    The mouse was startled by Nathan sudden scolding must have forgotten that the shelf had a back, for in its haste to get away turn and crashed head first into the back of the shelf. It collapsed on its side, it''s eyes spinning.

    "Bwahhahahahahahahah!"

    "Hero, stand back, I''ll handle this."

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road." Heh, heh, heh, handle it, wait what are you doing?"

    "Do not worry, I''ll will simply end its life.

    Iris took aimed, ready to incinerate the rodent.

    *Thwap*

    Nathan had swiftly chopped Iris on the head much to her confusion. Then as carefully as possible lifted the thing from the shelf.

    "Hero, you want to take care it yourself, you need not strike me, I would gladly relinquish its demise to you."

    "I''m not going to kill it, and neither are you, we don''t need to."

    "But, did it not just attack you, and all the damaged books?"

    "Books can be replaced and as for me, I''m fine, the spell didn''t even touch, you saw me dodge right, it was all like Neo. Besides, it only attacked because we scared it, plus were like fifty times its size.........well I''m am anyway, if something that big found and cornered you, wouldn''t you resort to attacking, it¡¯s basic survival instincts, nothing to be upset about¡­¡­¡­¡­. so could you please put away the spell?"

    Iris was holding a fireball in her hand, still with every intention of using it. She reluctantly complied with Nathan and the fire fizzled away, besides she couldn¡¯t fire the spell while Nathan was holding it.

    "Well¡­¡­. if you say it''s fine."

    "Thank you, so about this mouse, it special right or is it common for animals to use magic?"

    "No, most animals that use magic are those who have become Regrest.¡±

    ¡°Regrest, I remember mention them back when you were reading, what are they?

    ¡°Regrest refer to creature¡¯s who mana flow became unstable; this happens when a two different mana flow become entwined, the second mana flow attempts to take the place of the original, leading to a war between flows. The body and mind cannot handle the burden of a second mana flow and this slowly eats at the creature mind. Most would just die from the pain that follows, however if the flows are able to find a balance, the Regrest are born. However, this particular species of rodent is known as Scribe Eater."

    "Scribe Eater, I see where you¡¯re going with this, basically they eat the books and whatever book they consume they learn, so since eat ate that spell book it could utilize the spell, plus since the book itself has as much mana in them as needed for the spell, I assuming it the mana as well. They literally are what they eat.

    "It is as you say, very well put."

    "I''m a fast learner, so why is it not a Regrest, the mana from the books should have turned it.¡±

    ¡°Books to a scribe eater, is no different than if you were to drink a mana restorative drink. Your inner magic flow isn¡¯t interrupted, just replenished.

    ¡°So it a matter of living, you can¡¯t be too upset with it doing what it needs to survive.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t so much hate it, as much as I dislike the sheer number of books it has chewed, not eaten mind you, but just nibble from one page and would move to another.¡±

    It can¡¯t be that many.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Nearly one hundred books have been destroyed by this Rodent.¡±

    "Iris.............your expression is scary."

    As they spoke, the Scribe Eater came out of its daze and was horrified at the sight. Not only was the to larger creatures had found it now she was captured as well.

    How had it come to this, when the smaller one was by itself no matter how much she looked, she never found it, but the larger one finds it with no problem. This was bad, but there was a shot at escape, while the creatures converse the mouse could leap the floor and run, with that thought the mouse got ready. Lucky for the mouse Nathan palm was wide open given the mouse plenty of room to maneuver while. And now with the ideal positioning the scribe mouse rolled over and leaped to the floor. Unknown to the mouse was Nathan quick reaction time, the second the mouse left Nathan¡¯s hand, he instinctively reached out and caught the Scribe Eater, much to its dismay. Though the mouse did not give up and made a second attempt, but was once again captured.

    Squeeeeeeeek, squeek, squeek, squeeek!?"

    "Ay, ay, ay, calm down, your gonna hurt yourself."

    "It looked like it was trying to get away from you."

    "Yeah, I got that after it jumped the second time, I just want it to calm down so I can set it free, don¡¯t want it knocking itself loopy again.

    The Scribe Eater was way too panic; it was always the same for her. No matter where she was, those who were big and strong bullied the small and weak, the only way to survive is if you¡¯re willing to fight. The Scribe Eater open its jaw as wide as it could and with all the strength it could muster, bit down on Nathan¡¯s finger.

    "OUCH!¡±

    Nathan flicked his hand from the sudden bite, inadvertently tossing the Scribe Eater high into the air. With a high pitch squeal, it rose to the ceiling. Wants the Scribe Eater had reached the max height in which the toss let it rise, gravity took over and it plummeted back towards the ground.

    The Scribe Eater looked on to the fast approaching ground, it wasn¡¯t going to survive the fall.

    ¡°Why, what did I do to deserve this? It all their faults, those fucking giants, they don¡¯t care for anything smaller than themselves, those damnable creatures, all of this is your fault, the reason I''m alone, the reason I''m trapped here, the reason I''m about to die, IT¡¯S ALL YOUR FAULT).¡±

    The Scribe Eater close its eyes not wanting to see, a moment later, everything stopped. The Scribe Eater was pleasantly surprise, she was sure hitting the ground, would be a much more painful experience.

    "Phew, man that was close, a second later and you would have gone splat."

    The Scribe Eater opened its eyes and couldn''t believe it. The giant who had captured it, the one who she had bitten, had just save her. She stared up at the Nathan as he stared down.  Nathan placed his hand to the floor and dump the Scribe Eater off.

    "See, I''m not going to hurt you."

    The Scribe eater wasn¡¯t sure of what was going on, why was the giant behaving in such away. He must be trying to trick her. Nathan reach out with a piece of cloth, the Scribe Eater cringed at this, but it remained in place, from her experience a moment ago, if the giant wanted to catch her then he would. He wiped away the blood that remained on its face from biting him. Once he finished he reached up and grabbed the chewed on books, then set them next to the Scribe Eater who looked at the books and then back to Nathan.

    "Take it, I can''t use it anyway, seeing as how you already ate most of them."

    The Scribe Eater stared at Nathan, this was suspicious.

    "Come on, take it.

    "This is a trick?¡±

    "No trick, you can have them if you want."

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie, I know how your kind wor¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Wait, you can understand me!?"

    "Hmn, oh, well yeah, I guess I can.

    " How, No, that doesn¡¯t matter, why are you giving them to me?"

    "Like I said, the books are useless now, if we¡¯re just going to throw them away, might as well let you have it."

    "No, I mean, why aren''t you upset with me, don''t these belong to you?"

    "Hmm, well I did want to learn, but I can''t read this world''s language, plus Iris already said because of my affinity no more spell casting, and it''s not like you were ruining them for the heck of it, everyone''s gotta eat, who am I to get upset over someone just for being hungry?"

    ¡°No, I don''t believe you, you have some agenda, an ulterior motive for given me these."

    ¡°*ppffftttt*Yeah, that¡¯s what I''m doing, plotting against a mouse."

    ¡°Well, whatever, I don''t need your charity, I never except anything from a giant, I''m not even hungry.)"

    *Guuuuuuuuurrrrrrgghhh~*

    "¡­............................"

    *bluuuuuussssssh*

    "Ahhhaahaahahahaahahahahaha, looks like your stomach don''t agree with you."

    Nathan took the book from the top of the stack, sitting it in front of the Scribe Eater.

    "Eat first, then you can run away or whatever you want.

    The Scribe Eater reluctantly grabbed a book and begin to nibbling at it, careful not to take her eyes off Nathan. She thought he was weird, he didn¡¯t give off the feeling as the giants before. It wasn''t in unpleasant feeling, more like what she felt from Lady Amelia, yet she still didn''t trust him, no matter what kind of feeling she had, nothing would cause her to let down her guard, though Nathan held no ill will.

    Nathan was just interested in the Scribe Eater itself, beside from Iris, this was the only other living creature he had come in contact with. Now that he thinks about it, he had not heard Iris say anything for a while now and as if on cue, he felt an aura that sent shivers through his body

    "¡­...................Actually, I take that back, you should runaway, Right Now."

    " Why?"

    No sooner did the Scribe Eater speak did she see what was wrong, she nearly soiled herself from fear.

    "Unforgivable, how dare you, to turn down the Hero''s generosity, even after you had the audacity to harm him.

    Nathan looked down to the Scribe Eater.

    "¡­.................Seriously, RUN."

    "Squeeeeeeeeeekkkk!"

    "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE, YOUR DEATH SHALL BE SLOW AND ahh, Hero what are you doing, release me."

    While Nathan held down Iris, the Scribe Eater with a book in tow, ran for as fast as it ''s legs could carry it, looking back she watched as Nathan try his best to keep Iris restrained. Her eyes met Nathan and he just smiled and waved to her with his free hand.

    The Scribe Eater raced down the hall and disappeared from sight, she stopped when she felt she was safe again.

    "RODENT, I SHALL FIND YOU, AND WHEN I DO, I WILL END YOU."

    "Iris, you sound like a villain".

    With that the Scribe Eater ran down the hall once again, leaving the area and the weird giants alone.

 Chapter 7: "Origin"

    Chapter 7:"Origin"

    "Please.¡±

    "No."

    ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Nathan and Iris had left the library behind to search for a way out of the study. Iris still wanting to wipe out the "DESPICABLE FILTHY RODENT" or so she called it, has ceaselessly berated Nathan on his action and demanded to know it''s whereabouts. He didn¡¯t have to locate the mouse, Nathan could tell from the smell, since they left the library the Scribe Eater had been following them, at a safe distance.

    "But, eating book, the spells aimed at you, but most importantly your injury, and the entire time all you done was show it kindness, such disrespect, even if you don''t want me to, I promise, it will rue the day it bared it fangs at you."

    "Rue, thanks for the number one villain clich¨¦.

    ¡°Hero, please be serious, you could have been seriously hurt.¡± The day I let a mouse seriously injure me, is the day I stop correcting people about my gender. Like I said so many times, it was scared, my hands healed already, and we have more important things to do than waging war on a mouse."

    "I understand you want to leave but, do you know of a way out?"

    "No, but I think if we search this place from bottom to top, we''ll eventually come across something, how many rooms are in this place, anyway?"

    "I not really sure, I only went where was necessary, anything else was of no interest to me."

    "What, come on, you had to have gone somewhere else besides to this library and back to me."

    "Well there was one place but, I rather not go back to that room."

    "Oh, how come?"

    "To be honest, I had a bad experience with that area."

    "Say no more, we''ll just avoid that room all together, for now let''s head back to where I slept, we can start their and head down.

    ¡°Right.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    "Alright then, first door, you ready?"

    With a nod from Iris, Nathan took hold of the handle.

    *creak*

    "Huh, it''s the same as the room I woke up in.¡±

    "It is similar, but this is indeed a different room."

    Nathan left the room and headed for the next door. On the other side of the hall, was the same exact layout of the room before.

    "Okay I get it, Iris were skipping this area, pretty sure were not going to find anything here?"

    "Understood."

    "We should cross the stairway to the other hall, we can begin again."

    "Hero, I believe that if we should try another floor all together."

    "Why?"

    " The area across the hallway, is where the medical items are stored."

    "I thought you didn¡¯t explore?¡±

    " The room I wish to avoid, is in that direction as well."

    "Ah, gotta, lead the way."

    "Yes"

    With that they headed to the staircase to head down to the second floor, Nathan would have explored the area himself, but with no way to distinguish what¡¯s helpful and which is not, it would prove fruitless. Plus, he honestly believed, Iris would follow him no matter what, despite her clear trauma. It didn''t take long for them to reach. Soon they arrived at the first door, this room seemed a little more promising, shelves and pedestals lined with various antiquity.

    "Now, this is more like it, let''s get this done, Iris.

    They begin searching the room for anything that was of useful. With her abilities, Iris was systematically reading each items mana, she said she that whatever they needed to remove the barrier keeping this placed secured, would have to have a significant amount of mana.

    "This isn''t going to work out, were moving way too slow."

    "I apologize; I shall redouble my efforts."

    "What, no, Iris your fine, it''s me, I really no use right, seeing as how I can''t read mana."

    "Hero, there is no need to be upset, if you wish, I can finish this myself."

    "Yeah, but it was my idea to search in the first place, how would I look leaving someone else to do it, *sigh* it''s time like this I really wish this was a game.

    "How could that help?"

    "Well in times like this I would just pick up something like this mask and then found out everything I need by saying something like "Scan" or "Examine"."

    *Ding* *Ding*

    <u>Mask of Devoid Class: Unique</u>

    <u>Mask worn by the race known as "Voidians". Because of their unique physiology, they must wear the mask until or risk fading from existents.</u>

    <u>Effects: Intangibility, Ghostly state.</u>

    <u> Effects Wear off, if contact is made.</u>

    "Holee crap, it''s works."

    "What works?"

    Nathan explained his findings.

    "This is wonderful, now you don''t have to worry about feeling useless."

    "Even though I know you didn''t mean anything by it, that still kinda hurt."

    "Let''s continue and move on to the next room, theirs¡¯ nothing here of use."

    "Actually Iris, I think we should split up."

    "What, there''s no need for us to separate."

    "True, but I want to search back on the first floor down that hallway, ¡°Examine¡±, I''ll be able to search alone."

    "Nonsense, it is my duty to accompany you wherever you go, and that exactly what I shall do, my feelings on this matter are inconsequential."

    This wasn''t going as Nathan thought, he had an ulterior motive for separating from Iris, but she was dead set on following him, though he had an idea.

    "Iris, just like you don''t want me to get hurt, I don''t want you to get hurt either. How do you think I would feel if I knowingly lead you somewhere you didn''t want to go? It would fill me with so much guilt, that it hurts. So by allowing me to hurt you and in turn, hurting myself, that would mean you, the one who¡¯s supposed to guard me, is the one to cause me pain?

    ¡°I would never do such a thing.¡±

    ¡°And yet you insist on following me, oh the guilt, so painful.

    While acting like he was in pain, Nathan took a peek at Iris. She was definitely confused, contemplating Nathan¡¯s words, not sure of what to do. Nathan took full advantage of this, it was time for the finishing blow.

    ¡°Iris, if you of all people, cause me to get hurt, rather it be physically or mentally, that would mean¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. YOU¡¯RE NOT DOING YOUR JOB.¡±

    Iris looked as though, lighting had struck, the one thing she could not live with is, failing in here duties and Nathan knew it. Someone like Iris who set around for, who knows how long, carrying out her duties, would not be able to live with the thought of failing.

    ¡°So, knowing all this, will you still follow?¡±

    ¡°I-I will continue searching here.¡±

    *Ding*

    <u>Persuasion has increase +2!</u>

    That surprised him, all that crap he made up on the fly, raised his skill. This was good, even if it¡¯s a tiny bit, higher levels only make the job easier next time.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    "Cool, so Iris you finish here, I hid over to the other hall and work my way up from there, then we''ll hid down to the third floor, okay?"

    "U-Understood."

    Nathan turned in left the room leaving Iris still a little disoriented, but she got over it and begin her work anew.

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan had made to the other hall and took a quick look back, to make sure Iris didn''t catch on to his word trick and come after him. Confident that she didn¡¯t he decided to call out, to the one following him.

    "¡­..........You can come out; she''s not following me."

    "¡­............................."

    "Fine, act like you¡¯re not there."

    Nathan kept walking and turned down the corridor. A second later a small shadow stalk across the floor and veered around the corner, right into Nathan, who had been lying in wait.

    ".................... *smirk*"

    "Squeeek" *Bam*

    From Nathan startling her, The Scribe Eater jumped back, head first into a wall.

    "Bwahahahahahahahah, are you going to do that, every single time we meet."

    "Y-You damn giant, how dare you."

    "Well, you wouldn''t come out when I called for you, so I came to you."

    "Hmph, why should I come when you call."

    "Still don''t trust me, huh?"

    "Of course not, why would I ever trust you despicable creatures?"

    Nathan actually was hoping the Scribe Eater would be more open to him, even just a little. He wanted to ask her some question about this place, she should have been here as long as they have, if he could get some information from her he might find what he was looking for faster. However, it didn''t seem likely. By now the Scribe Eater had moved a safe distance from Nathan. He shrugged, and turned to the first door.

    "................Whoa!"

    Swords, the room was filled with swords, none of them look to fancy but still, this was more than Nathan ever seen. The Scribe Eater who entered after him was less enthusiastic, these killing instruments brought back bad memories for her. Nathan didn''t take any notice of this and went on about his business, he grabbed the first blade on the shelf.

    "Examine."

    Iron Sword Class: Common

    A standard blade with good durability.

    No special effects

    Atk: +5

    Def: +2

    Acc: +3

    This sword was nothing special and looking across the shelf, the entire row had swords that were similar to this one, he thought of checking them all, but after the first three, he knew there wouldn''t be much different. Now that he took a closer look, though there were a lot of swords, the types of swords were not that vast. Besides from the irons swords there were three other types, Nathan decided just to check the first of each type on the shelves.

    Basterd Sword Class: Common

    A sword with a sharp blade, use primarily for amputation.

    Effects: Inflicts Dread

    Atk: +8

    Defense: +2

    Acc: +5

    Short Sword Class: Common

    One handed blade. Good for beginners.

    No Effects

    Atk: +2

    Def: +2

    Acc: +3

    Claymore Class: Common

    A heavy blade. Good for fighting armored enemies.

    Effects: Armor Break

    Atk: +12

    Def: +8

    Acc: +1

    "Crap, none of them have it.

    Not one had what he needed, he thought that one of the swords would have like an ability to slash through a barrier.

    "Hmph, how quickly you giants lose your enthusiasm when things are not to your liking, typical."

    "I''m not upset about that at all."

    Nathan sighed heavily, he looked around, to be honest he¡¯d like nothing better then to swing these blades around, but he had to wait, at least until they found a way out. He left the room and went to the second, the Scribe Eater, now closer to Nathan then before, followed. Much like the last room, it was also full of swords, though they were the same blades, their stats and effects were different. Still, none of them had any kind of barrier break.

    "Oh right, I almost forgot the reason I wanted to split from Iris."

    "What?"

    "You."

    "Me?"

    "You''ve been here as long as Iris right, and unlike Iris, you didn''t spend all your time taking care of me, so, you¡¯ve had the run of this place.¡±

    "True, I know this place well."

    "Great, then you probably know of a way out."

    "Huh, how would I know, something like that?"

    "You never tried to find a way out?"

    "Of course not, I''m here by choice."

    "You chose to be locked in here, why?"

    "That is none of your business."

    "Well, what about some special item, something giving off a unique aura?"

    "Perhaps, but why should I do anything to help you?"

    "Because, if we find a way out, we''ll leave you to your own devices, you have free run of the library and most importantly, Iris won''t be able to kill you (For which she has vowed)."

    "I lived here a long time, and I know any and all escape routes, I will not be so easily caught, plus even if I were to show you, if you break the barrier, that mean anything on the outside could get in, I want take that chance, even if that means being stuck here with you."

    He should have just been searching on his own, but even with his abilities, he still might miss something. He needed the Scribe Eaters help and he knew just how to get it.

    "Ooooh, I get it, you can''t tell me, because you don''t know."

    "What?¡±

    ¡°All that high and mighty talk and your just as clueless as me.¡±

    ¡°I know more about this placed then anyone, I could find anything.¡±

    "*Sigh* Well, guess I''ll keep searching, seeing how you don''t know anything."

    "I told you, I do."

    "Sure~, keep on telling yourself that, someday you''ll even fool yourself into believing your lies.

    The Scribe Eater was boiling mad, how dare this giant doubt her, but she would not be fooled. He was trying to bait her into leading him to "That". She laughed under her breath, this giant didn''t know who he was dealing with if he believes she would fall for his silly acts of provocation, he was even more ignorant then she had thought.

    "Well I guess Iris was right.¡±

    ¡°The fairy, was right about what?¡±

    Well, she said, there''s no point and asking an INSIGNIFICANT, FILTHY, DISEASE RIDDEN, RODENT for help since, there have about as much intelligence as they do SIZE, meaning you must have a very TINY, PEANUT BRAIN, well since you¡¯re so SMALL, her words, not mine.

    "....................................."

    _ _ _

    Nathan stared excitedly at the chest he had overlooked on his first time he searched this room. On the other hand, the Scribe Eater was crestfallen, how could she fall for such obvious provocation so easily, ashamed could not begin to describe how she felt this moment. Though there was one good thing that would come from, only one person could touch that chest, let alone it''s content. A curse placed upon it, will kill anyone who touches it instantly, except the owner. It would serve him right for tricking her.

    "Hey, what''s your name."

    "My name, why?"

    "Well, I want to thank you properly for leading me to this."

    "I didn''t lead you anywhere, you tricked me."

    "Yeah I did, and I''m sorry for that, but in the end it was because you that I found this, so for that, Thank You.

    The Scribe Eater''s blushed a bit, never in her life had she been shown such gratitude, and by a hateful giant no less. Here he was wholeheartedly thanking her and she wishing for his death. Ever since these they met he had done nothing but be gracious towards her, and what did she do, show utter and complete disdain for him because of a past he had no part in. She had to stop him, sure she was ready to let bygones be bygones, but at least wouldn''t let him die.

    "Wait a minute giant, don''t touch that chest."

    "Hmm, why, should I have not opened it?

    "What, how are you still alive?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "A curse, there''s a curse on that chest."

    "Oh, yeah I know, but it should be fine, well for me anyway (Wait, was she trying to kill me, just now?).¡±

    "But only the Hero can touch that chest, let alone that sword, then that means, you¡¯re the Hero (Good, doesn¡¯t look like he realized, I was trying to kill him)?¡±

    "I guess; I know you heard Iris call me that several times.¡±

    Now that she thought about it, the fairy did refer to him as such. She never realized it, due to the near death experiences that manifest, whenever she got close to Iris. Although even if she did hear Iris, Nathan himself was an enigma, it made absolutely no since. Nathan left the Scribe Eater, whom seemed to be in deep thought herself and turned back to the chest.

    "Another sword huh, "Examine""

    Origin Lvl: 1 Class: Joker ?????

    A gift from the goddess Xana to the Hero of Legend. Forged from pure celestium, it is said, to be able to split heaven and earth, with unmatched power.

    Effects: Heroic Spark, Critical

    Skill: Dire Strike, Charge,

    Atk: ???

    Def: ???

    "No way, this is it, this plain looking thing, is the Hero Sword?"

    Nathan didn''t know much about swords, but he could help but be disappointed by lackluster blade. He did notice that unlike the other blades, this one had a level system, so there was hope, but it could have at least shined or something. The skill was not too different from the skills of his world video games. Dire Strike gives you your attack a boost when in a desperate situation, though the criteria for activation, rather he had to be at death''s door or if he had no other way to attack, he prayed it was the latter. Charge is just what it says it is, you can charge your attack to do more damage, however it''s not instantaneous, so it would be better to use it when your opponent is incapacitated.

    The effect ¡°Heroic spark¡± was very vague in its description, simply saying deeds deemed heroic, that could mean a number of things, from fighting a demon to saving a cat from a tree. He took a quick look inside the chest for a sheath, but nothing, but a moment later, the chest in which the sword was placed begin to shine and change shape, into that of a sheath. When he examined it, he found that the conditions had changed slightly, instead of death upon touch, it will only take effect if someone besides him tries to use the blade, this is good just in case he loses it.

    Nathan back and forth between the sword and sheath. He chuckled a bit as he sheaths it, the presentation of the sheath, was better than the sword itself. Nathan placed the sword in the sheath and placing the strap connected to the sheath over his head and across his chest. The sword didn''t have any barrier breaking skills, but no matter how plain it looked, no way he was leaving it behind. Nathan turned back to the Scribe Eater, who for some reason was staring at him, like he was a ghost.

    "Uhh, you okay?"

    "How, how could you be the Hero?"

    "I don''t know, because I was summoned, I guess?"

    "Inconceivable, how can a Lycanian be summoned, you break all the rules."

    "What do you mean?"

    "What do you mean, what do you mean, a Hero has always been and forever will be a Human."

    "Well then, I''m not breaking any rules, since I am Human?"

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?

 Chapter 8: Exploring The Study

    <u>Chapter 8: Exploring The Study</u>

    Nathan explained to the Scribe Eater the circumstances behind his appearance as he continued his search for something that would let them out of the study. With "Origin" in tow headed for the furthest doors at the end of the hall. The Scribe Eater, now that she was confident he was the Hero and not just Iris¡¯s delusions, her entire attitude changed.

    "So, if you were human before you woke up, how did you come to look like this, what was your appearance before?"

    "Well, to be completely honest, besides the tail and the ears, I look pretty much the same, with little less mass. I had enough muscle to let most people recognize my gender without a second look, with this slender body, I can foresee many awkward situations."

    "Perhaps "Lady Amelia" could tell you, when she returns."

    Nathan stopped walking.

    "Amelia, you mean she¡¯s coming back here?"

    ¡°Of course, this is her home, after all.¡±

    This was weird, if Amelia lived here and was planning on returning, then why would she tell Iris that she would be able to leave wants he had woken up. She could have let them out when she got back, there was no need to leave any instructions. Somethings not adding up.

    Hey, did Iris ever speak with Amelia, face to face?"

    "No never, Lady Amelia has not returned since the fairy awoke."

    "Did she return often before then?"

    "I wouldn¡¯t often, but to be honest, this has been the longest she¡¯s been away."

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Oh boy.¡±

    Amelia wasn¡¯t coming back, she wasn¡¯t the Scribe Eater held her in high regard from the way she¡¯s talking, yet Amelia didn¡¯t tell her she was leaving. She was looking worse and worth to Nathan; he couldn¡¯t understand why these two respect her so much.

    "Nathan, is there something wrong?"

    "Oh no, nothing let''s just keep sear-¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. wait, did you just called me Nathan?¡±

    "Ah, yes, you don¡¯t like it?¡±

    "No, it¡¯s fine, I''m just, pleasantly surprise. I thought you thought my name was Giant or Human.¡±

    "How could I be so disrespectful to the Hero, and the way I been acting until now, please forgive me."

    As Nathan listened to her apologies he laughed under his breath, it sounded more and more like, she was trying to keep him from incriminating her.

    "Hmmm, I don''t know, I was really upset you know, fireballs thrown at me, bitten, continuously distrusted, all the name calling, I think I¡¯ll have a chat with ¡°Amelia¡±, you know, about how you acted, while she was away.¡±

    "Please, Please, not that.¡± *BAM*

    The Scribe Eater in her haste too prostate herself, rammed her head into the ground and knocking herself out, once again, while Nathan just laughed.

    _ _ _ "Uuh, ooww.

    "Ah, your awake."

    "Awake, h-high!?"

    The Scribe Eater looked down at the stairs and the scenery of the ground moving further away.

    "T-The ground, so high, why am I?"

    "Calm down, you¡¯re in my hood, I put you there after you knock yourself out, again."

    Nathan was glad that Abigail knocked herself out when she did, he didn''t have to tell her about Amelia just yet, even though it¡¯s not what he expected, they just started to get along and he didn''t want to ruin it. He decided to explore the area he and Iris skipped earlier, she said that what they needed would have a very large mana projection, but after examining the sheath for "Origin" he discovered in ability called "Nothingness". The ability can erase all traces of the object, no detection skills could locate it, basically the only way to find it was if you knew where to look or had extremely good luck. Though there is one way around this ability, someone who had a special link with the item the sheath/chest was protecting.

    P-Please p-put me down, how could I be so disrespectful as to ride the hero."

    "Nonsense, I put you there, besides did you here would I ask you?"

    "N-No, I didn''t."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "Please tell me your name."

    "Anais.¡±

    "Anais, that''s a very human name, your parents named you that?"

    No¡­¡­¡­¡­.it was Lady Amelia.

    "Amelia, why not your parents?"

    "They ¡­...........aren''t here anymore."

    "Oh, I am so sorry."

    "No, Master Nathan did nothing wrong, but I appreciate the sentiment.

    "Master, no you don''t need to call me that, Nathan¡¯s fine."

    "I cannot simply keep referring to the Hero without showing him due respect, never again."

    "I swear, you and Iris worry about the weirdest things."

    "Speaking of the fairy, how could she allow Master Nathan to walk around, looking like that?¡±

    "She didn''t, like said, I woke up like this."

    "No, your clothes, those rags are not fit for someone of your status."

    Nathan had forgotten all about his appearance, and over the course of his exploration, their condition had worsened. Abigail leaped from the hood to the floor.

    "We need to find you something else, and it just so happens that where were headed now has just what we need."

    "Oh, well lead the way."

    Abigail scurried down the hall and Nathan followed. As they passed by, Nathan notice one of the doors was slightly open. That must be the room Iris had the bad experience in. He be sure to check that room on his way back; he really was curious as to why she would not want to come back here.

    "Here, this is it."

    Abigail slid through the gap beneath one of the doors. A wardrobe waited inside, many different style of clothes that range from simple robes to sturdy armor. Amelia is a woman, so seeing this wasn¡¯t too surprising. He himself, once lived with a family who designed clothes, he was use to such things. It looked like every other room from the outside but the inside was far larger. Though Nathan had a sneaky suspicion, he took down one of the green hoods closest to him.

    "Examine"

    <u>Wind Cloak </u><u>Class: Queen </u><u>??</u>

    Cloak imbued with wind element.

    Effects: Wind Resistance, 50% Wind Damage Reduction

    Just as he had thought, various garbs in here were magic. With all the magical items Amelia had stored in this study, there was no way she had a wardrobe of completely normal clothes. Nathan search through each searching for something not enchanted, something that was similar to what he wore in his previous world.

    "Master Nathan, over here, this is perfect for someone of your stature."

    "Oh yeah........... I mean, oh no."

    What Anais had chosen was without a doubt, the single gaudiest armor he had ever seen in his life. It shined like gold, it looked heavy, absolutely no maneuverability. Nathan thought it was similar to the armors you get towards the end of an ¡°RPG¡±, the one you work so hard to get. Extra side quest, unnecessarily strong mini-bosses, trading, trading, and more trading. Only to finally get it and in order to use it you have to do something stupid to activate it, like losing money every step, strong attack but terrible traction so you slide, leaving you open for attack, boost one of your stats to the max, but lowers all others, or the worse, does absolutely nothing, but looks good. Nathan looked down at Anais, her eyes had a sparkle in them, as if they were saying "praise me".

    "Ughhh, Anais, I don''t really like to stand out, do you think you could find me something less conspicuous."

    Abigail''s ears flopped to the floor.

    "Y-You don''t like it?"

    "No, no, no, no, I-I love it, you did a great job and finding it, however it''s so nice that I would hate to ruin it while looking for a way out, I mean look at what I wearing now, you don''t want this nice armor getting ruined now would you?"

    "True, that would not be good."

    Exactly, so let''s find something that I can wear right now, something similar to what I''m wearing, and save the armor for another time."

    "Hmm okay."

    With that she turned and begin her search anew. Crisis Averted.

    Ding, ding, ding.

    <u>Persuasion Increased +3</u>

    "(Shut up.)¡±

    "Master Nathan, I found something."

    This time around he hoped it was something normal. When saw what she pointed out she found that it was actually something good. It was simple hooded robe outfit, a black robe and pants. Nathan examined it, no special effects.

    "Do you like it?"

    "Yes, this is perfect." *fwip*

    ¡°W-What are you doing?"

    "I''m putting on the clothes, what does it look like?"

    "Y-You can''t just drop your pants in front of me, wait until I leave."

    Abigail, hurriedly, rounded a corner, but Nathan didn''t mind, undressing in front of a mouse was not something he thought as embarrassing.

    "Your reactions are really maiden-like, much different than Iris."

    "The fairy is accustomed to seeing your bare body, with all those perverted acts she performs, of course she would not be surprised.

    "Sheesh, she can be a little... excessive, but a pervert, she was just taking care of me. She just got some bad instructions, it¡¯s not her fault.

    "You don''t know because you were asleep, the things she did to you were the acts of a deviant.¡±

    "Oh yeah, she won''t be doing that anymore."

    "She told you!?"

    "Yeah, I know about¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­."The Lather", I dumped it all out."

    "No, dumping it out doesn''t matter, she can just make more, plus ¡°The Lather was only the beginning of her perversion. After she finished she doing that would then, begin scrubbing you down. Sure it sounds innocent enough, but that only refer to your upper body. Once she gets to the lower half, her skill becomes God-Like. Every move, every touch, so calculated. In her expressions, the flushed face, the heavy breathing, the drool, all as she so joyously strokes your dic-

    "Stop, don¡¯t say anything else.¡±

    Anais was loss in her memories, completely tuning out Nathan¡¯s cries for her to stop.

    "She just keeps repeating over and over, almost clean, almost clean, so focus, the room become hot, so much sweat, her strokes so precise, as she nears goal, and then she picks up the pace.

    "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!¡±

    "Up, down, up, down, twist, twist, twist, jerk and squeeze, jerk and squeeze, until finally, ERUPTION!

    "Please, please, for goodness sake, stop explaining.

    Nathan stood there, cupping his face, now beet red either from embarrassment or shame. He needed to have a long chat with Iris when he gets back. Nathan fully dressed step around the corner, he could see the expression on Anais¡¯s face, she was still lost in her mind. Then a thought hit him.

    "¡­..............................Anais, how could you know all this with such detail, unless you witness it firsthand?"

    "..............................."

    That question snapped her out of her delusions. Anais looked up to Nathan, made no excuse and once again, prostrated herself.

    "I''m am sorry¡­¡­.I-I couldn¡¯t look away.¡±

    Nathan just stood there, cupping his face.

 Chapter 9: Slip up

    <u>Chapter 9: Slip Up</u>

    Nathan took a look around, a second ago he was waiting for Anais to come back with some water, now he was in a vast empty space. A great white nothingness, stretch far as the eye could see.

    "Hmm, that''s strange, I don''t remember taking the Red Pill."

    "Ah, finally you¡¯re here, what took, you so long, I''ve been try to contact you for two weeks now."

    "Who, ah, it''s You."

    Nathan was surprised to see someone standing there, since no one was there moments before. He was more surprised to recognize who it was.

    "You¡¯re that Judo girl."

    "Judo, you¡¯re talking about that light toss?"

    "You call flipping someone over your shoulder and literally turning them into a living comet a light toss, apologize to martial artist everywhere."

    "I''m sorry for that, but I don''t have much time, go........third........left........sixth........door.........before.......wardrobe.......bottom."

    As she spoke, she begun to fade in and out of sight.

    "What, wait, I can''t hear you, Hey, Hey!?"

    _

    _

    " ¡­¡­¡­..than, ¡­¡­..ster Nathan, Master Nathan, are you alright?"

    "Mhm, ugh, A-Anais, where am I?"

    "You¡¯re here, in the study, you were asleep."

    "Asleep, that was a dream?"

    "What was?"

    "That......... wait, what was it again?"

    Nathan could had sworn he was dreaming, but could not recall one thing about it. He had a feeling he was forgetting something important.

    "I have the water you requested."

    "Oh.... yeah, thanks"

    "Nathan drank down the bowl filled with water, he felt like he hadn''t had a drink in years.

    "Ahhhh, much better, I really needed that."

    "Shall we continue the search."

    "Ugh, yeah, search, let''s go."

    Nathan started to leave, he was going to dwell on a dream he could not remember.

    "Master, only three more rooms to go and we can meet up with the Fairy."

    "Oh, right, she should be on the third floor by now, I''d like to see her reactions to my new clothes."

    "It''s was a good thing I was around; you would have never found them without my help."

    Anais stuck out her chest emphasizing her greatness.

    "No, I was searching this area anyway, I would have found it eventually."

    "Yes, but it''s because of my outstanding fashion sense, that you found that outfit."

    "(Outstanding fashion sense?)"

    "It would have taken you forever to navigate that huge wardrobe."

    "Maybe not forever, but I would eventually found something to where in that................wardrobe?"

    Nathan stop walking, he thought he remembered something.

    "Master Nathan, are you alright?"

    "Wardrobe, something about a wardrobe."

    The word wardrobe kept flashing in his mind, he didn''t know for certain what it meant, but he could easily find out. He turned in made a beeline for the room. Upon reaching, he began to examine all the clothing within the room. Just like he had checked earlier there was an assortment of enchanted and normal outfits.

    "Master Nathan, we''ve already cleared this room."

    "I know, but I get the funny feeling we overlooked something."

    "Something like what?¡±

    "Just look for something outta place, something that catches your eye."

    "Okay?"

    Anais begin to search as well, they search the entirety of the room, every rack, every hanger, even in the pockets of various garbs, still nothing.

    "Master Nathan, are you sure there''s something here?"

    "No, I''m not sure, it just a feeling, that''s all, wait, I know, "Origin".

    "What does the hero sword have to do with our predicament?"

    "Absolutely nothing, but the method it was found could be it."

    "Method, I found that blade and it was completely by luck."

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    "If we''re going to find whatever''s in here, will have to find, completely by luck."

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t saying anything.

    "¡­................Art thou dull-witted?"

    "Talk normal!"

    "Are you stupid?"

    "What happened to not insulting me anymore!?"

    Nathan looked at his status screen.

    "See, right here, a luck stat, you have one too, right?"

    "Well yes, but I don''t know how to use it."

    "You can''t just utilize it, it¡¯s a stat, luck just happens, so for now just walk around the room and do as you feel, if we¡¯re lucky enough, you¡¯ll find it. By the way how high is your luck, if you found Origin it''s gotta be over one hundred."

    "Two-hundred twenty"

    "¡­................... Yup, you got this."

    Anais wanted to speak out against this silly plan, but after seeing Nathan expression, she gave in.

    All she had to do was walk around and hope something would happen, but there were so many problems with this plan. First as Nathan said himself, luck is something that can''t be utilize, so the fact that she completely aware of what she trying to make happen, is in itself the exact opposite of luck. Second, when she found Origin it was because she was looking for a way to get to the library, her task at the time was completely different, right now Nathan wants her to find whatever their looking for by coincidence. She continued to ponder these things, completely ignoring her surroundings.

    *Bump*"Ouch, that hurt."

    Anais looked up at the drawer she crashed into.

    "Anais, did you find something?"

    "A headache, listen Master Nathan, I don''t think this is going to work, there are too many things wrong with this plan, can we please find another solution?"

    "Why, you did a great job, you found it."

    ¡°A drawer, there are plenty these all throughout the study.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but this particular drawer was the one you ran into.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It like this, when you originally found Origin, I bet that you were just walking around, when something startled you, then not knowing what was happening you ran around and crashed head first into something, like you usually do, knocking the chest from where it was sitting and into that corner where we found it, and when you Examined it you found that it was curse, leaving you to believe that it was something important, correct?¡±

    Anais, looked at Nathan, she was dumbfounded.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..How, could you know that?¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m right huh, I figured I¡¯d make a plan so doomed to failed, that you would over think things and crash into something and whatever you crash into would be what we¡¯re looking for.¡±

    Nathan begin methodically searching the drawer, taking it apart drawer by drawer.

    ¡°Master there is no way you will find somethi--¡°

    ¡°Found it.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    In Nathans hand was a small bag, the rattled with gems as he shook it.

    ¡°No way, you actually found something?¡±

    ¡°Yup all thinks to your clumsiness.¡±

    ¡°Clumsi-, you think I¡¯m a klutz?

    ¡°You¡¯re not?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not, I don¡¯t crash into things on purpose to incite my luck, it completely by accident.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the very definition of a klutz.¡±

    Nathan reached into the bag and pulled out what look like a diamond. As he stared at the gem, he notices some weird swirling darkness on the inside.

    ¡°Examine¡±

    Spatial Rend Gem Class: Joker

    A gem containing a man-made black hole with an incalculable amount of space. Use to store away unused items. Some items cannot be stored within the gem<u>.</u>

    ¡°It¡¯s an Inventory.¡±

    ¡°An Inventory, ah, Spatial Rend Gems and so many?¡±

    ¡°Are they valuable?

    ¡°Valuable, their priceless, only a very wealthy individual could afford such a thing and she has a whole bag.¡±

    Nathan look closely at the gem; the vortex was a little scary being so close. He was a little worried, he didn¡¯t won¡¯t to be holding a black hole. Anais took notice of his discomfort.

    ¡°Master Nathan, you won¡¯t be suck in by the vortex contained within.¡±

    ¡°Oh good, really don¡¯t want to be lost in a light consuming void.¡±

    Nathan took an armor down from the shelf and wave the gem around, then he tried touching the gem to the armor, followed by various sayings, nothing was working.

    ¡°Master what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°What does it look like, I¡¯m trying to store the armor, but why isn¡¯t it working.

    ¡°It¡¯s not active yet, try touching it to the center of your insignia.

    ¡°My insignia?¡±

    Nathan did as he was instructed, the gem sank into his chest, leaving behind a second insignia of a diamond.

    ¡°Now, take a look at your status.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Name: Nathan Lowell Lvl: 1 HP: 2000/2000 MP: 300/300

    Race: Human/Lycanian

    Skill: Tweak

    Legend: Nature¡¯s Blessing

    M.Abilities: Phytokinesis, Heal, Therapy, Tranquil, Plant Growth

    P.Abilities: Photosynthesis, Threat Detection, Clearmind, Enhanced Reflexes, Hyper senses

    Skills: Persuasion 5%, Bribery 0%, Thievery 0%, Charisma 10%, Finesse 0%

    Stats Party

    STH 60 Inventory

    DEF 100

    INT 50

    AGI 85

    Luck 75

    Titles: Hero?

    ¡°Oh, okay, I see it.¡±

    ¡°There should be a new storage window, correct, now place your hand over the armor and think ¡°Store¡±.

    Nathan placed his hand over the armor as Anais instructed.

    *Ding*

    <u>Breastplate has been stored!</u>

    ¡°Cool, how do I take it back out?¡±

    ¡°Just think the opposite, ¡°Withdraw¡±.

    *Ding*

    <u>Breastplate was withdrawn!</u>

    ¡°This is amazing Abigail, you sure know a lot about this, did Amelia teach you.¡±

    Abigail stuck out her chest, and stood proudly.

    Nope, I once ate a book that had a lot of information on such things.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess that¡¯s good too, just don¡¯t ever mentioned that in front of Iris¡­¡­¡­.ever.¡±

    Nathan returned the armor in his Inventory and begin to systematically store several more as well. Nathan thought about this before, he wanted to travel this world, but like everywhere you are you will need money, and that where this comes in. Nathan wasn¡¯t greedy, he wouldn¡¯t take everything, but he will take enough to sell and make a profit.

    *Ding*

    <u>Thievery Increased! +3</u>

    ¡°Wait, seriously?¡±

    Nathan wasn¡¯t expecting that, but none of this stuff is his, so even if Amelia never said he could take it, technically speaking, he is stealing. Well he wasn¡¯t going to stop, this place was like one of those secret treasure rooms that you miss in games, and by the time you figure out how to get to it, the stuff you find is obsolete.

    Plus, he thought this will be the only chance he¡¯ll get to raise his thievery skill, he seriously doubted that Iris would allow him to steal anything. Nathan decided to take ten of each armor, he would sell half and keep the rest just in case. He was just about done when Aanis came over to him.

    ¡°Master, if you plan on taking these, don¡¯t forget that.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡­¡­¡­oh that, how could I possibly forget that?¡±

    Nathan walked over to the gaudy armor, and reluctantly place it in his inventory.

    *Ding*

    <u>Thievery Increased! +10</u>

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Nathan was just about done and decided to head back down to the second basement. He headed back the rooms full of weapons and begin to methodically place them in his inventory, all the while his thievery was steadily increasing, much to Nathans delight.

    ¡°Master Nathan, do you think it¡¯s right to take so much, when Lady Amelia return, she might not like that so much is missing.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t take everything, I don¡¯t know the cost of living in this world, so I¡¯ll take what I need and what I don¡¯t need I¡¯ll return.¡±

    ¡°You, plan to sell them, isn¡¯t that stealing?¡±

    ¡°Well, I do plan to sell it, but once I can make a profit I plan to reimburse Amelia for everything, so it not stealing, but borrowing.¡±

    <u>Persuasion increased +5</u>

    ¡°Well, as long as you plan to return what you take.¡±

    ¡°Yup, besides I doubt she we¡¯ll ever notice.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Wait, what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°Why would she not notice her things are missing?¡±

    Nathan swore under his breathe, how could he be so stupid as to say that. Watching his ability rise, made him stupid.

    ¡°Master Nathan, why would you say that?¡±

    ¡°I-I meant that there was so much stuff, she wouldn¡¯t notice if a coulpe of things went missing.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Master Nathan, what are you not telling me?¡±

    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Master, if you really wanted her not to notice what you took anything, you wouldn¡¯t leave the rooms looking so obviously ransacked. More than that, the golden armor, there¡¯s no way she what not have notice it was missing and you don¡¯t seem like a person who would leave such obvious clues.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..*sigh* you know, you¡¯re really smart, all because of one slip up.¡±

    ¡°So, there is something, please tell me.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Well you see--¡°

    _

    _

    ¡°Lies, Lady Amelia wouldn¡¯t do that, she would not just abandon this place.¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry for not telling you, but that what was in this message.¡±

    ¡°And where is this message, the fairy claims she was left with instructions, but have you ever seen proof, she could have lied and you just take what she says at face value.¡±

    ¡°Why, would she lie?¡±

    ¡°Why does anybody lie?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t answer a question with a question.¡±

    Anais had a point, Iris dedication to him seem to be without reason, she said it was because he¡¯s the hero, but would someone really willing dedicate their entire life to taking care of someone, when they had no real obligation to do so.

    ¡°¡­¡­..I trust her.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°For god knows how long she took care of me, she didn¡¯t look for a way out, she didn¡¯t complain, with absolutely no real way of knowing if I would wake up, even though she has no real reason to, she took care of me, you may not trust her, but I at least owe her the benefit of the doubt. I¡¯m sure you understand how well she did, seeing how you were WATCHING.

    Nathan words much have reach Anais to some extent. She was indeed watching and Iris was taken good care of him while he slept. She took a step back, as if she was going to run.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Anais, come with us.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Even if Amelia not coming back, that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t go look for her, right.

    ¡°No, I-I can¡¯t, I have to wait until she comes back.¡±

    ¡°Anais, shes seriously not coming back, I know-- ¡°

    ¡°NO, YOU DON¡¯T KNOW ANYTHING, LADY AMELIA WOULD NEVER ABANDON ME, SHE WOULDN¡¯T LIE TO ME, SHE NOTHING LIKE THE REST OF YOU GIANTS, ALL YOU DO IS LIE AND DESTROY, NOT CARING FOR THE SMALLER LIVES YOU TAKE, NO, I WON¡¯T BELIEVE IT, SHE¡¯LL COME BACK, SHE PROMISED¡­¡­¡­¡­..SHE¡¯LL COME BACK.¡±

    ¡°Anais, wait.¡±

    Anais scurried down the hallway and outta sight. With his senses, Nathan sure he could track her, but it didn¡¯t seem like it would help. She needed some space and he wouldn¡¯t deny her that.

    ¡°Smooth move dumbass, the second person you meet and you screw up.¡±

    Nathan took one last look around the room before heading off to meet up with Iris.

    <u>Thievery increased +4</u>

 Chapter 10: The Way Out

    <u>Chapter 10: The Way Out</u>

    Nathan made his way to the third basement. Though he and Iris agreed to search each floor separately and then meet in the middle, he was pretty darn sure Iris did nothing of the sort. As he headed down the right hall, the first door in the hall was left open, Iris must be in there. Peeking inside, the room wasn¡¯t nothing like the rooms above. It was a bedroom fully furnished and fit for a queen, most likely Amelia¡¯s room. Nathan enter and begin to search for any hidden treasures. No matter what world you were from, this was a common practice. Nathan made over to the bed covered by a vale, he started to lift the mattress, but was surprised to hear a soft moan, coming from atop the bed.

    ¡°Iris?¡±

    Lying atop the bed fast asleep was Iris. He decided the leave her be and place the mattress back in place, opted rather to search the closet. Stepping around and opening the closet door, it was full of hooded cloaks, nothing even remotely ladylike. ¡°Amelia must not care that much about her appearance, he thought as he pushed the cloaks aside. Nothing in the closet and the only place he could check were the drawer¡¯s. Closing the closet back he looked back to make sure he had not woken up Iris, Nathan made his way over to the dresser and looked inside.

    ¡°What, she has nothing but cloaks in her closet, but she wears this underneath, I must reassess my image of her.

    Nathan held up a pair of sexy black panties. He wasn¡¯t a pervert but he had to admit, he wouldn¡¯t mind seeing her in these or any women for that matter. The rest of the draw were filled with similar sexy apparel, each more eye catching then the next. Though this was a pleasant experience, this was not what he was looking for, he began to remove everything from the drawer¡¯s only to find nothing of value. He pulled the drawer from its track, it could have a false bottom or something, but it did not. He systematically begins to remove each drawer, finding nothing but undergarment. Nathan gave up, maybe the rules about valuables in your room didn¡¯t apply here. For the first time since he started he notice the mess he made, panties and bra¡¯s thrown every which way, some even clung to him, if someone were to see this, they would definitely get the wrong idea. He was about to begin cleaning when he got a sudden felling he was being watch.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. Hero, what are you doing.¡±

    Cold sweat ran down his back as he turned and saw Iris now awake, staring at him.

    ¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t what it looks like.¡±

    ¡°This is most unbecoming of someone of your status, Hero.¡±

    ¡°L-let me explain.¡±

    ¡°Even, if Lady Amelia does not return, that does not mean we can leave a mess.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯M NOT A PER---¡­¡­¡­wait, what?¡±

    Iris begin to pick up the scattered lingerie and begin placing them back in the dresser.

    ¡°Honestly, why must you make a mess with everything you do.¡±

    ¡°......Yeah a mess, I was making a mess, let¡¯s go with that.

    Nathan could not tell if Iris was completely innocent or an extreme deviant, this is definitely not a reaction of a women walking in on a man covered in women undergarments. She casually removed the apparel clinging to natahn and stuck them in the drawers, before returning them all to their tracks with a waved of her hand.

    ¡°Hero, your appearance?¡±

    ¡°Huh, ah yeah, I found it during the search, pretty good?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very nice, and that blade, ¡°Origin?¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah, it is, forgot I had it.¡±

    ¡°That must have been the reason for that energy surge.¡±

    ¡°Energy surge?¡±

    ¡°Yes, while finishing my search of the second floor, for a few moments, there was a really powerful mana release coming from your location, I was sure you had discovered what we needed to leave, but as abruptly it appeared, it vanished.¡±

    ¡°And, you think was this weak looking thing.¡±

    *shinng*

    Nathan withdrew the sword, still as disappointing as it was when he first saw it.

    ¡°Yes, I am most certain, what I¡¯m feeling right now, has the same signature as before.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything, how is it?¡±

    ¡°It is¡­¡­..a simply splendid feeling.¡±

    Iris was an awe, as the sheer present of the sword was breathtaking, it was like she was in a trance. Nathan returned the sword to its sheath, releasing Iris from her splendor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know it doesn¡¯t look that grand to me, didn¡¯t do anything when I found it.¡±

    ¡°Hero, what exactly did you expect would happen?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, something like a triangle appearing on my hand, suddenly becoming a paladin, hell, I¡¯d settle for sight beyond sight, well it has a leveling system, so I guess that¡¯s something.

    ¡°*giggle*¡±

    ¡°What so funny?¡±

    ¡°Hero, you are doing the same thing you did previously upon learning your legend, it not the appearance of the sword that matters, but who and how the blade is wielded. You are the Hero and you now possess the Hero Sword as well, no matter how you see yourself, the people of this world as well as I, will never see you any other way.¡±

    Nathan face turned slightly red.

    ¡°You are really embarrassing you know, you must really like hero¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I love them.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­.You love me?¡±

    ¡°Ye-, NO, not love, it¡¯s admiration, respect.¡±

    ¡°Ahahahah, I know what you meant.¡±

    ¡°Hero, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Well, enough this, since you¡¯re here I guess that dream was wrong.¡±

    ¡°Dream?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right you don¡¯t know, well it¡¯s this.¡±

    Nathan explained his dream, or what he thought he dreamed.

    ¡°I see, so Spatial Rend Gems.¡±

    ¡°Yeah pretty good find, so after finding out that, I thought more about the dream and remembered something else, but since you here, I guess was wrong.¡±

    ¡°Something about me?¡±

    ¡°Not you per se, more like what you¡¯ve done, if you are here, then the clues about the left hallway on the third basement don¡¯t matter now, this last couple of rooms are our only hope.¡±

    ¡°What clues?¡±

    ¡°Third, left, sixth, door, these words keep playing in my head, over and over, there was more, and it lead me to th gems, so I was thinking the rest would lead to the way out, so if we think it through the words would mean, third basement, left hallway, sixth door, but now I have to rethink it if you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Actually Hero¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. I never checked the left hallway.¡±

    ¡°What, wait¡­¡­don¡¯t tell me you skipped the entire left side, just so you could me up with me faster?¡±

    ¡°It¡­¡­¡­¡­.is as you say.¡±

    ¡°Iris.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°This is great; we still have a shot.¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re not going to pull on my face?¡±

    ¡°Not this time, come on, let¡¯s walk and talk.¡±

    Nathan headed for the door with Iris close behind. Thank to Iris overprotectiveness, they might just find something to finally get out of the study.

    ¡°So Iris, about Amelia, the message she left for you, what exactly was it, a letter, recording, maybe something visual.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was a letter.¡±

    ¡°Great, where is it?¡±

    ¡°It was reduced to ashes.¡±

    ¡°You burned it!?¡±

    ¡°No, once I had finish reading it, the letter burst into flames.¡±

    ¡°It just combusted, no help.¡±

    ¡°Yes, the letter did provide details about you, I thought maybe she did not won¡¯t anyone else to know.¡±

    ¡°What were the details?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°What, why not?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡­¡­¡­.just can¡¯t, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Nathan stopped and stared at Iris, but she refused to make eye contact.

    ¡°*sigh*, fine I won¡¯t press, someday I¡¯ll meet Amelia and ask her myself.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry.¡±

    ¡°Stop, apologizing, well I guess that¡¯s it, if the letter when up in smoke, then I guess she won¡¯t believe me.¡±

    ¡°Who won¡¯t believe what?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just venting.¡±

    ¡°I wish I could help more, maybe if the other letter was address to me, I would be able to give you an answer.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess that would help.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Nathan and Iris continue down the hall for a few more steps in silence, before Nathan grabbed Iris and begin stretching her face.

    ¡°Iris, there¡¯s another letter, why didn¡¯t you mention it?¡±

    ¡°Isd wassun ashress chu me, I cudden opesh id.¡±

    ¡°(It wasn¡¯t address to me; I Couldn¡¯t open it).¡±

    ¡°Who was it address to, me?¡±

    ¡°No, If I remember correctly, it was address to an Anais.¡±

    ¡°Seriously, where is it now!?¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s back in the room where you slept.¡±

    ¡°Well, go get it.¡±

    ¡°Right now, but what about the room, should we not go examine it first?¡±

    ¡°And I will do that, but I really need that letter, Please?¡±

    ¡°I-I understand.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you, I go ahead and check the room, once you¡¯ve retrieve it, meet me there.

    With that Nathan turned and headed down the left hall. He was feeling pretty good right now, with any luck whatever was in that letter would definitely help him with cheering up Anais, and knowing her, luck would not be a problem. But for now he focused on getting to that room, Nathan notice while walking that there were less rooms down this hall, the rooms were no longer across from each other. This would make things easier for him, since the layout was like this, the sixth room would be the sixth room. He finally arrived at the door and he wasted no time and opening it.

    The layout was similar to a Museum, thirteen pedestals lined the room. Six pedestals on either side, with the thirteenth placed in the center. Each pedestal encased a piece of jewelry, each more amazing then the last. Nathan walked right past the first twelve pedestals, sur he would examine them all, but there was no doubt in his mind that the amulet within the last pedestal was what he was looking for. Nathan didn¡¯t know much about jewelry but it was an amazing sight. An ivory colored eye shaped amulet, took it place at the top. Nathan held his breath.

    ¡°Examine.¡±

    Alssein Eye F Class: Joker????

    An amulet said to hold the spirit of infamous thief and escape artist, Alssein.

    Skills: Barrier, Barrier Break, Safe Zone, Conceal, Unlock

    Effects: Drains mana when in use.

    ¡°HELL YEAH!¡±

    Nathan sudden outburst shock both Iris and Anais who could hear him shout from where they were. All that searching paid off, with this they can get out of here and finally see what there is to see. Nathan could barely contain himself while he removed the glass casing. Taking the amulet from the pedestal he tried putting it around his neck.

    *Bzzzt*

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    *Bzzzzzzt*

    *Bzzzzzzzzt*

    Every attempt to place the amulet around his neck, ended with a weird buzzing noise. What was wrong, maybe he didn¡¯t have enough mana, if that was the case he could just level up and try again, but there really wasn¡¯t a way he could level while stuck under the barriers influence. No, this can¡¯t be right, there was no way Amelia would make so he could find what he needed to get out, only to not be able to utilize it. He must be missing something. Nathan examined the ¡°Eye¡± again, nothing stood out, except the single ¡°F¡±. Then it hit him, back in his world, sometimes and games he played there were items like this, if what he thought was right, there was no way in hell he could use this.

    ¡°Hero, are you alright, what was that shout earlier?¡±

    ¡°Iris, perfect timing, catch.¡±

    Nathan tossed the Eye to Iris, who left it floating in front of her.

    ¡°Hero, this is?¡±

    ¡°Our ticket out of here, try it on.¡±

    ¡°Okay, oh and here is the letter.¡±

    ¡°Ah, thank you very much.¡±

    Iris placed the letter in Nathan¡¯s hand and then began to place the amulet around her neck, simple and easy.¡±

    ¡°How do you feel, any changes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the amulet, it seems to be draining my mana, but I don¡¯t feel the effects of the barrier any longer.¡±

    ¡°So, I guess I was right, this item is female only.¡±

    ¡°You, couldn¡¯t wear it?¡±

    ¡°Nope, every time I tried to, I would hear a buzzing sound, so if figure that the lone ¡°F¡± meant female only.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Well, that all she wrote, let¡¯s do some last minute preparations and get the hell out of here, oh and take this too.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and the bag full of Spatial Rend Gems were in his hand. He gave one to Iris.

    ¡°Go get whatever you think is necessary and meet me in the main hall.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Anything?¡±

    ¡°Yup, I don¡¯t care, it your inventory, do what you like.¡±

    ¡°I-I understand.¡±

    Iris begin to pull on her shirt revealing her chest, prompting Nathan to turn away. Placing the gem on her status insignia, the gem sank into her chest, just as it did with Nathan.

    ¡°Done, okay well see you in a few, I got some last minute shopping to do.¡±

    With that Nathan ran out the room and down to the main hall, he stopped at the stair case.

    ¡°*sniff, sniff*¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Got it.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan found the familiar room with the door still cracked. He had in his haste forgotten to explore it earlier, but now he had a legitimate reason for coming this time besides curiosity. Nathan opened the door all the way, the inside look like a laboratory. Beakers filled with unknown substances lined the shelves and tables in the room. Nathan lifted one of the bottles off the shelves, he didn¡¯t see what was so bad about this room that would warrant a bad experience. Then he noticed that one of the walls and the area around it were charred black. In the center of the charred wall was a peculiar outline, like that of a small man. Nathan also notice a shelf full of beakers that had been knocked to the floor, a line of devastation leading straight to where the charred wall was. Nathan put two and two together.

    ¡°Hollee crap, she blew herself up.¡±

    Nathan ever so carefully placed the bottle back where it belonged and slowly moved away.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­. What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Whoa, Anais, don¡¯t scare me like that, I could of blew myself up.

    ¡°Like I would care what would happen to some lying Giant.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­...Back to calling me giant huh?¡±

    Anais turned in walked further in and Nathan followed.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Here, this is for you.¡±

    Nathan bent down to show Anais what he had. She couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing.

    ¡°Th-This is Lady Amelia¡¯s hand writing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for you, Iris had it.¡±

    ¡°The fairy, she hid this from me?¡±

    ¡°No, she didn¡¯t know who you were or that you were even here until recently, she probably would have given you the letter, if you had not hid all this time and had just a tiny bit of faith.¡±

    Anais look down at the letter went over the cover.

    ¡°We found a way out, we¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡±

    ¡°So, that was the outburst from earlier.¡±

    ¡°Abigail, you should come with us, this place¡­¡­..it¡¯s safe, it¡¯s probably secluded, and once were gone you¡¯ll have free run of it, plenty of books to eat, and no one around to hurt you, but you shouldn¡¯t stay. I don¡¯t know what happen to you, but giving up and locking yourself away just because it¡¯s safe, living in fear of everything¡­¡­¡­¡­.you shouldn¡¯t. Honestly you don¡¯t have to come with us, just don¡¯t stay here, alone, hoping for someone to come, when you just could search them out.¡±

    Anais looked up at Nathan, he just smiled down to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to grab a few more things here and there, then I¡¯ll meet Iris in the main hall, I really hope to see you there.¡±

    Nathan turned in left he to her thoughts, before he left he saw on a table, filled with different bottles of different colored liquid. He did a quick scan of each. What he saw made his jaw drop, walking over to the table, he stored every bottle in his Inventory.

    <u>Thievery Increased +10</u>

    He took one last look at Abigail who as now head deep in the letter before leaving for more last minute scavenging.

    _

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan sitting on the steps in the main hall, he finished grabbing everything he thought would help wants they were out, he set waiting for Iris, who surprisingly was taking a while to return. Though this wasn¡¯t bad in a way, if Anais decided to come along and arrived before Iris, he could hide her on his person, Anais might not like that but, if Iris see her, she will no doubt end her.

    ¡°Hero, I have returned.¡±

    Iris came floating down from the first floor.

    ¡°Did you get everything?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, e-everything is good.¡±

    ¡°You okay, your voice is shaky.¡±

    ¡°N-no need for c-concern, I¡¯m am w-well.¡±

    ¡°Well okay, well let¡¯s go.

    Nathan begin ascending the stairs. Iris let out a sigh of relief, she was glad he didn¡¯t inquire on what she was bringing along. No matter what she was his guardian, and nothing would stop her from fulfilling that role, not even the Hero himself.

    Nathan reached the top of the stairs and looked ahead at the set of doors similar to the ones of the library. He reached out for the doorknob, but before he had a chance to grab hold, Iris using her powers pulled him away.

    ¡°Hero, you can¡¯t touch that, the barrier is still active, you would have been seriously injured.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well thanks for that, so how do we break it, do we just touch the pendant to it?¡±

    ¡°Nothing so simple, give me one moment.¡±

    Iris closed her eyes and as she did the pendant begin to glow. The glow intensified, until a small beam of light flew from the pendant and against the door, or more accurately the barrier. As the beam collided with the door, the door begin to glow, then slowly, the glow begin fade. Then as quickly as it started, the beam slowly dissipated. And with it Iris eyes reopened.

    ¡°Well, did it work?¡±

    ¡°I believe so, Hero, try to open the door.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Nathan walked back up to the door and grabbed hold the handle, he wasn¡¯t dead so he guessed it worked. Opening the door a gust of wind rushed past all the way he stared out, it was dark but he could tell it was a cave. Iris floated into the door way and with the same spell she used to light the study, she cast it into the cave. It was quiet, empty.

    ¡°Here we go, Iris are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes, let us depart.¡±

    Iris began fluttering down the path, Nathan took a look back, instead of closing the door he left it slightly ajar, he still had hope she would come He turned and jog to join Iris who had made quite far down the path. Neither of them spoke a word, they just kept moving forward. Nathan jog down the path, Iris was unknowingly speeding up. The end of the tunnel was insight, a starlit night, a sweet scent, though he had experience these things so many times before, it felt as though he was truly seeing them for the first time. Nathan took a look around, it was dark, but the moon and stars let him at least see around in the clearing.

    ¡°Finally, outside at last, to bad its night time and were in a forest, we better stay right around this cave clearing, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there, you hear me Iris¡­¡­¡­¡­Iris?¡±

    Nathan looked over at Iris and smiled, she was over taken by all the new sensations she had never felt before. Her reaction was in reason; her emotion must be hyper drive. Nathan just left her to herself, she come out of it soon enough, no need to ruin it for her. He opted rather to watch the cave they just came down, praying she didn¡¯t decide to stay.

    ¡°Hero, are you okay, you seemed saddened.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you came out your daze, you were gone there for a moment.

    ¡°Apologies, it was a very overwhelming feeling, I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I could oh¡­¡­¡­..here, wipe your face.¡±

    ¡°What, ah, why am I?¡±

    Iris felt her face, she was completely oblivious to the fact that she was shedding tears. Even if Iris did not understand, Nathan was happy for her.

    ¡°Hero, what should we do about the study, should I reformed the barrier?¡±

    ¡°Why not leave it open?¡±

    ¡°We could, however I don¡¯t think Lady Amelia would want anyone going inside, all the treasures are bound to attract attention.¡±

    Nathan knew Iris was right, most of the things in the study are items one wouldn¡¯t get in the games from his world, until you were halfway through the game. Nathan let out a sigh, if she did not come out yet, she wasn¡¯t coming. Nathan gave Iris the okay to reform the barrier. She closed her eyes once again and the familiar light emerge from the pendant, Nathan could not see it but he could tell that the barrier was slowly reforming.

    ¡°Hero, you still look disheartened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡­¡­..I guess.¡±

    Iris was nearly finish, one small section was left. Right as she was finishing, much to Iris¡¯s surprise, a small shadow came speeding out towards her from within the cave, leaping into the air and passing through the small gap that was left, right before it was sealed shut. The shadow, upon landing did not stop, darting passed Iris, it crossed the clearing and disappeared into some bushes.

    *Crash*

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Iris didn¡¯t know what just flew past her, but whatever it was, ran head first into something.

    ¡°Hero, did you see that?¡±

    ¡°Ppfffftttttttt, aaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!¡±

    Iris kept confused as to what just happened. No matter what she asked him, Nathan just continued to laugh.

 Chapter 11: A New World.

    <u>Chapter 11: A New World </u>

    The sun cast in early morning light, but it was not met with the usual tranquility. With bows on their backs and blades by their side, four figures moved swiftly through the trees. If one could see their expressions all would come abundantly clear, the four were being hunted. Every so often one of them would look back, they couldn¡¯t see their pursuer, but his present was clear. Not far behind them, not long after they passed a part of the forest, the scenery would turn from a lush and colorful, to that of a dry, water deprived wasteland. Then one of the men let out a horrible scream, looking back, they watch as his body was turned to stone within moments. The leader signals them to keep moving, but one did not heed his warning. He would rather be die then leave his companion.

    The last two came across two large stones overlooking a creek. Jumping behind each stone, they could hear the sounds of battle, though it only lasted a moment before another scream and another companions demise. Weapons were drawn, they knew there was no escape, any further and they would run into the inhabitants of the forest, the beast would not give up, their only option was to fight. The area grew silent, slowing their breath, the two waited for the moment to strike.

    The air grew dry, an intense heat began to encase the area, the water from the creek begin to quickly dry up. It was there, the creature grew closer, scorching the area around as it moved towards the stones. When the beast was almost directly upon them, the two struck, what was left of the water in the creek, instantly became ice spikes that erupted from below the beast. Though it did nothing to harm it, it did succeed in trapping it. Now anchored, it was unable to dodge the barrage of blue flamed arrows, as they fired arrows continuously at the creature, began to cast a spell that rained frozen pillars down on the creature. This was their final attempt, they had battle the creature long into the night and were nearly exhausted of mana.

    The constant attacks rose up a cloud of dust that restricted sight of the creature. Both cease their attacks, the dust began to settle. When it had cleared the beast was nowhere in sight. One man turned to his companion to signal their escape, yet the other did not moved, he could not move. The man looked on in horror to his friend who body now completely turned to stone. The man had no time to grieve as the creature was now upon him as well.

    The creature eye now focused completely on him, he could no longer escaped. Its eye began to glow signaling the mans end, with nothing left, the man took blade in hand and swung it. Much to his surprise the creature began to howl in pain. Every attempt at harming it, failed but now it was howling in pain. The man understood instantly, but as he went to strike again the beast closed its eye and spinning rapidly, hurled itself into the man, sending him careening into the stone behind him.

    Trying to stand and run he realized his leg shattered from the force of the blow. With the gash in his chest and the blood raining from his head, he wasn¡¯t going anywhere. He needed to let someone know, how to harm the beast. With his finger he drew, as he did the creature hovered overhead, angered from being hurt the creature drop itself down, crushing what was left of the man¡¯s leg. He screamed in pain but continued his work. He turned and look the beast in the eyes and the familiar glow came once again. Then just as his friends before, he was turned to stone. The creature hovered above the body before coming down on the man¡¯s stone body. It bounced on the crushed man several more times, who was now nothing more than a pile of rubble, before deciding to stop. The creature looked at its handy work, then hovered slowly away, leaving the area now a mere shadow of it former lush.

    _ _ _ _ _

    ¡°Hero, what do you call this?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­. That¡¯s a Tree.¡±

    ¡°Amazing so tall, what are these?¡±

    ¡°Leaves.¡±

    ¡°Wondrous, and this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Dirt.¡±

    ¡°Astonishing.¡±

    ¡°Aheheheheh, that¡¯s the first time I heard someone call dirt, astonishing.¡±

    The morning had come much sooner than Nathan had thought. At first light, the two had started walking. Iris was excited to say the least, upon seeing something, she would immediately ask Nathan what it was, much to Nathan amusement. This was a side of Iris he had yet to see, it was extremely funny.

    ¡°Hero, what that¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the sky.¡±

    ¡°So vast, why is it blue?¡±

    ¡°Because, air particles reflect blue light.¡±

    ¡°Air particles?¡±

    ¡°Well it least in my world, that the reason, in a world of magic, it could be anything.¡±

    ¡°Your very knowledgeable, Hero.¡±

    ¡°Not really, it¡¯s just common knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Hero, if answering my question come to bother you- ¡°

    ¡°Stop right there, I have absolutely no problem answering anything you ask me, it refreshing watching your child like interest in everything, and some your question are downright funny.

    ¡°*Blush**cough* I was wondering, what are those white objects, that obscure the sky.¡±

    ¡°Those are clouds, but you know Iris, trying to sound more mature want change or make me forget, how you were acting all morning.¡±

    Nathan laughed out loud as Iris turned red with frustration. She had not realized how she was acting and that made it all the funnier to Nathan. Iris floated up higher so as to escape Nathan laughter. From her knew height, she could see pretty far off and more importantly a path. Looking back towards the Nathan, she noticed something moving in the bushes just ahead of him. Something long and wiggling back in forth and it look as though it was aiming to strike.

    ¡°HERO, LOOK OUT.¡±

    Iris attempts were in vain, for Nathan was already within the creature¡¯s strike zone. The wiggling creature stretch out towards Nathan with an incredible speed, Iris ready her spell to strike the creature once it had grabbed him, but it didn¡¯t have a chance. Nathan who had already knew of the threat grabbed hold Origin on his back and with just as much speed as the creature, if not more, struck. As ¡°Origin¡± pass through the air, Unbeknownst to Nathan, the sword began to glow. When it struck the creature it released a devastating force that shook the air around them. Iris stared at the blade.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­. Whoa.¡±

    ¡°Hero, are you all right?¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Iris, did you see that, it like shock waved, that was so op¡¯ed, and I¡¯m only on level one.¡±

    ¡°Hero, that was not you¡¯re doing, did you not feel it?¡±

    ¡°Feel it?¡±

    ¡°At the time when you swung Origin, it released an incredible power.

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Even now, the power is overwhelming, it more discerning feeling than what I felt while in the study, amazing.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Nathan sheathe the sword.

    ¡°Is it gone?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t even tell it¡¯s in your possession.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, maybe I should stop looking at appearance, and just wait for the results.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, Hero, speaking of appearances, briefly, when you wielded Origin, your hair change color.¡±

    ¡°Really, I don¡¯t remember screaming really loud, yellow or blue?¡±

    ¡°No, neither, it became green.¡±

    Nathan grabbed his hair, if was green before, it was black now, he really wanted to see, but he couldn¡¯t risk it. Looking over to Iris to make she was okay, she looked back at him puzzled.

    ¡°Well, I guess I won¡¯t be using Origin.¡±

    ¡°Huh, why not, such power would be a great asset, would it not?¡±

    ¡°I guess you didn¡¯t notice it.¡±

    ¡°Notice what?¡±

    ¡°Iris, whenever I draw the blade you go all gaga, you freeze up and become transfix on the blade. You forget your surroundings and just stare at ¡°Origin¡±.

    This was a shock to Iris, she was aware that she was acting strange.

    ¡°If were fighting and I use ¡°Origin¡±, there is a chance you¡¯d get hurt, so for now I¡¯ll leave it alone and opt for another Sword.

    Iris didn¡¯t how to feel about this, she didn¡¯t want to be the reason that the Hero was unable to use the weapon that was made specifically for him. She silently promised herself to overcome this inhibiting reaction. Nathan walked up to the tentacle that attack him.

    ¡°What is this, is it a monster?¡±

    Nathan walked over to the shrub from which the tentacle struck from.

    ¡°Huh, it just a plant, then that means, *Examine*!¡±

    Snyare Species: Plant

    Description: It stretches and ensnares anything foolish enough to approach. Wants coiled around its prey, it secretes a highly poisonous, highly digestive enzyme to slowly dissolve whatever it traps.

    "A poisonous plant that would eat me, given the chance, I¡¯m glad I got first, dissolving sound painful."

    ¡°Hero, we should be careful, if that plant was poisonous, it would be better if you don¡¯t touch it, there could be more of them around here, we should leave the area.¡±

    ¡°*Munch* hmm, not bad.¡±

    ¡°Dabfffffffffft!?¡±

    ¡°Iris, what language was that?¡±

    ¡°H-HERO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, T-THE P-POISON!?¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°Quickly, spit it out before you get sick.¡±

    ¡°Before I get sick¡­¡­¡­¡­unh-hunh, you weren¡¯t listening to me this morning at all were you, such a lengthy conversation we had.¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do with your consuming poison, please spit it out?¡±

    ¡°Everything, like I said last night, I can¡¯t get poisoned or sick for that matter.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡°How could it be possible that you didn¡¯t hear me tell you all this, this morning?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry Hero, I was not myself these past few hours.¡±

    ¡°Iris, I¡¯m not angry, I¡¯m glad that you excited about being outside, but I don¡¯t feel like saying all that again so for now, just bullet points.¡±

    Both of them headed towards the trail Iris pointed out earlier. Along the way Nathan gave Iris the short version of his talk prior. While she spent the few hours watching the night, Nathan was exploring his status screen, he wondered why certain abilities like his ¡°Examine¡± ability didn¡¯t show up on his screen. He did a thorough inspection and found that his magic, titles, along with his magic abilities all have their own sub screens.

    The Titles give him an in depth look at which each individual ¡°Title¡¯s¡± effects are when they are equipped. Like if he were to equip his ¡°Hero?¡± title he would receive an additional 5 points to his strength and defense stats. It also gives a small description of how the title was acquired.

    The ¡°Magic Ability¡± screen did the same as if he were to look up each ability individually. Instead it has all abilities in one easy to access screen.

    The ¡°Nature Blessing¡± screen showed a list of passive abilities that were unique to his specific magic. This is where he found his passive ability ¡°Remedy¡±, with this ability he cannot be poisoned or infected with any type of disease or toxin. He was actually worried before he knew of this ability, seeing as how he needed to consume a plant or it¡¯s seed in order to utilize them and at times they could be poisonous or the fact that this world would be home to diseases he never heard. Nathan had a lot more to say, but since Iris didn¡¯t seem worried anymore, he¡¯d tell her the rest at another time.

    *Ding**Ding*

    <u>Snyare plant: 15 min</u>

    ¡°Yup, figures.¡±

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a time limit until I can make a seed; I was thinking something like this would happen.¡±

    ¡°How long must you wait?¡±

    ¡°Not long, at least it wasn¡¯t one of those, I had to wait until I¡¯ve reached a certain level restriction.

    Nathan took a quick look around.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there was a path up ahead?¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, we¡¯ve walking the path for a while now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan took another look, path wasn¡¯t right. The branches were sliced, the bushes were trampled and shredded, it looked as though a group of something sliced their way through here. There were no footprints, it looks like something slithered across the ground.

    ¡°Hero, are you okay, you seemed distress?

    ¡°Iris do you sense anything around us, anything alive?¡±

    ¡°Uhm, everything around here has a mana flow.¡±

    ¡°Then what about any mana flow that has irregular movement, anything.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll try¡­¡­¡­¡­. Ah, yes there are at least six, they seemed to be moving in this direction.

    Nathan was getting worried, why was something moving toward them from behind, when the trail suggested they were up ahead.

    ¡°We need to go, get off th trail.¡±

    Nathan was about to plow through the bushes, when something inside him yelled stop.

    ¡°Hero, why did you stop?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. we¡¯re being watched.¡±

    Nathan looked around, nothing. Iris said there was nothing moving around them, they must more than six, they were waiting for them to get on the path. The moment he stepped back into the bushes, whatever was watching them would end them, but staying on the path was bad, since the six whatever was heading this way. He couldn¡¯t make it out anything except trees and bushes, he had to find a way to smoke them out.

    ¡°Hey Iris, I need you to throw a fireball in the direction we just came from and then fly up, just out of reach of the trees.¡±

    ¡°What, I will not abandon you, I refuse.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, but only if you do this, once you get up higher you¡¯ll be in a better position, trust me.¡±

    Iris did not like or understand this plan of Nathan¡¯s, but she reluctantly begins to chant. She had successfully created a fairly large fireball and with confirmation from the Nathan she hurled the fireball in the exact location from wince they came. Immediately upon firing Iris begin to rise as quickly as she can, at the same time Nathan took off, in pursuit of the fireball.

 Chapter 12: First Encounter

    <u>Chapter 12: First Encounter</u>

    Nathan sped after the fireball, its flames burning everything in its path. He made sure to keep far enough, so as not to get burned himself, but also close enough so as to make sure his plan came to. He needed get back to the clearing they had passed through earlier, but the bushes had something lurking within. Nathan plan was simple, nothing in a forest would be foolish enough to stay in the path of a fireball of this magnitude. He simply had to follow it out and anything that would have attacked would be sure to avoid.

    Just as he predicted, as the fireball travel, several shadows jumped out of the way. His planned had worked almost flawlessly, upon exiting into the clearing one of the shadows made a swipe at him. Nathan was able avoid losing his arm, but he was not able to escape injury. Whatever it was able to slit his arm. He took a look, blood flowed and drip to the ground, the pain came slowly, it was a good reminder, he was in danger and this was no game.

    Nathan watched the bushes, now that he was in the clearing, the creatures had no choice but to come out of hiding. Six creatures emerge from the trees and screech at Nathan. Standing six feet, with huge gaping mouths, and arm like sickles, they slither toward Nathan. Nathan thought they looked a lot like a ¡°Venus flytrap¡± from his world and he pretty damn sure they were not into eating bugs.

    He looked back at his arm, the pain was slowly fading and the wound was healing. Nathan reached back and grabbed the other blade he had on his back and ready himself, whatever these things are, they were not going to let him go. Nathan watched carefully, this was his first encounter, no way was he going to lose. Something caught his eye, one of the creature¡¯s sickle had a weird coloration, a spot of red.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that caught me, so I¡¯ll deal with you first¡­¡­¡­..is what I would say, but I don¡¯t think she will let me. The rest you might want to move away from him/her.¡±

    A moment later a, a flamed lance, pierce through head of the creature that had cut Nathan, bursting into flames, leaving nothing more than ash. The other¡¯s looked up to see Iris floating above them, enraged.

    ¡°HOW DARE YOU HARM THE HERO, UNFORGIVABLE¡±.

    Iris was ready to clear the battle field, when one of the creature swung its sickle that stretch all the way up to where iris was poised. This took her and Nathan by surprised and she was barely able to avoid being split in half. The creature made a second attempt, but Nathan was already upon it and with one slash, he tore through the creature like paper.

    Nathan, with creatures distracted by Iris¡¯s power, took this chance and began to pick off the creature¡¯s one by one. In the blink of an eye he had taken out two of the five remaining. Loping off their heads was a quick way to end them.

    Nathan targeted the next closes, with a speed he didn¡¯t think possible, he approached his target, but the creature was ready and swung both arms. Like a pair of scissors, it attempted to lop off his head. Nathan ducked, barely avoiding decapitation. Swinging his arm around, he proceeded to chop off both arms with great precision. The creature now armless and unable to strike, opted rather to bite off Nathan head, he dodged and back away. That was all it had, with no way to protect itself, it was a simple task ending its life. Nathan looked over, the last creature took a shot at Iris.

    The blade never reached her, Iris had already unleashed a spell. Crimson colored arrows rained from the sky, ripping the creature to shreds. With the creature defeated, she slowly descended from the sky.

    ¡°Hero, are you alright, your bleeding, quickly, we must stop the blood, clean the wound to avoid infection.¡±

    ¡°Hold up, I¡¯m good, look, it already healed.¡±

    ¡°Hero, never again will I allows such a plan, honestly using yourself as bait.¡±

    ¡°It worked didn¡¯t it, I knew there was a chance I get hurt and that whole stretching thing caught us by surprise, but all and all it went about as I thought it would go.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, no more using yourself as bait, understand.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±

    *Ding**Ding*

    Name: Nathan Lowell Level: 4 HP:2075/2075 MP:310/310

    Race: Human/Lycanian

    Legacy: Nature¡¯s blessing

    Skill: Tweak

    M.Ability: Phytokinesis, Heal, Therapy, Tranquil,Plant Growth, Gardener

    P.Ability: Photosynthesis, Threat Detection, Clear Mind, Enhanced Reflexes, Hyper senses, Co-op

    Stats Party

    STH: 63 Inventory

    DEF: 106

    INT:53The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    AGI: 90

    Luck: 79

    Skills: Persuasion 9%, Bribery 0%, Thievery 30%, Charisma 10%, Finesse 5%

    Titles: Hero? Sweeper

    ¡°Oh, I jumped three levels and I have some new abilities.¡±

    Nathan look over his status; he still couldn¡¯t tell if he had really good or really bad stats. Though, the results of the battle were basically one sided, they had the upper hand the entire time. With enemies like this, there was no way to tell how strong he really is. He would have to wait until he meet someone people, he could compare his stats to theirs.

    ¡°Hero, I have also leveled up, by two levels.¡±

    ¡°Well, I did defeat three to you two.¡±

    ¡°Hero, you defeated three and I defeated two, but were there six creatures that emerge from the bushes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, one of them ran away while we were offing his friends, seriously, we made quick work of them, it probably saw that they were losing and went to get reinforcements.

    ¡°Then we must make haste, we need to finish it before it can call its companions.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, were going to wait for them to come back, besides, it could have already met up with its friends and if were to just run off after it while we know nothing about the area, we could get ambushed.

    ¡°Hero, the odds of that thing, returning with a greater force are high, should we not prepare ourselves.¡±

    ¡°No need, in about thirty seconds, numbers won¡¯t matter, but we should do one thing before they come back.¡±

    -

    -

    -

    Nathan laid out in the grassy field, the sun was at highest point and the effects of his ¡°Photosynthesis¡± ability was in top form. He basked in the warmth and relaxed, or so he tried. Just a few feet from him, Iris was on high alert, doing her best to watch every inch of the forest surrounding them. The constant motion of her head made Nathen dizzy from watching.

    ¡°Iris, would you quit worrying, come over here and lie down next to me.¡±

    ¡°I refuse, I honestly can¡¯t see how you can be so calm, even though we have been completely surrounded.¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t been completely surrounded, I don¡¯t smell any in that direction, looks like there not taking any chances this time, they won¡¯t attack until they are sure we can¡¯t escape, but it¡¯s I keep picking up this really strange scent?¡±

    ¡°Strange scent?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, oh nothing, it probably just me, oh look that their starting to move.¡±

    The creature, now having surround the two intruders begin to move. There were only six last time, but now around twenty. With a force this big there was no longer any reason to fear and the creatures charge towards the two.

    ¡°Hero, now?¡±

    ¡°Wait for it.¡±

    Unexpectedly, none extended their arms, instead opted for a full on charge, they were not risking losing their limbs against Nathan¡¯s speed. This worked out better for Nathan plan, the creatures were nearly in striking distance.

    ¡°NOW!¡±

    Iris, once again took off into the sky and began to chant. The creatures instantly ignored Nathan and begin to focus on iris. The creatures were naturally weak to fire and were not going to give her a chance to finish her spell, all at once they extended their arms towards her, intending to strike her down. No matter how fast Nathan was, with so many blade aim at her, at least one would connect, or so they thought.

    None of the blade ever reached their target, for at the same time they launch their attack, Nathan sprung his trap. Tentacle like vines sprung from beneath ground, the ¡°Snyare¡± Nathan had eaten earlier, was now wrapped and coiled around the creatures, successfully halting their movement. Somehow, a few were able to cut themselves loose, in an attempt to escape, poison the poison the Snyare secrete was preventing that. Nathan began cutting down the creature closes to him, with the creatures now immobile, they were easy pickings. One by one each were decapitated, Nathan felt no remorse as he swung his sword. After Literally cutting the force in half, Nathan stepped back.

    ¡°Alright Iris, let it go.¡±

    ¡°Understood, ¡°Crimson Squall¡±!

    With her word, fire rain from the sky, the creature, now almost dead from the poison, could do nothing as fire rain down on them. They didn¡¯t stand a chance, even with their numbers, Nathan and Iris had the complete advantage over the situation. Nathan thought as Iris floated back over to him, did he even need this plan?

    ¡°Wow, that was some crazy spell Iris, ¡°Crimson Squall¡± was it, I never heard shout the name before.¡±

    ¡°It easier to envision if you call out a spell name, it helps the concentration.¡±

    ¡°It made really quick work of these things, another massacre.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it seems such a spell was unneeded.¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking that, but I can¡¯t tell if we¡¯re really strong or these things are really weak, we¡¯ll need to find some people to gauge our strength, But in the meantime, look souvenir!¡±

    ¡°Hero, is that a piece of those creatures?¡±

    ¡°Yup, snag it before you fried them, good thing too, Bon appetite.¡±

    *Smack*

    Iris slapped the piece of the creature out of Nathan hand and then with a spell, burn it to ash.

    ¡°Hey, I was going to eat that.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Iris, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°Hero, I allowed you to eat the Snyare from earlier, I understand the reasoning behind it, however- ¡°

    Nathan started backing away, she was really pissed.

    ¡°HOW, COULD YOU SO CASUALLY ATTEMPT TO EAT A CORPSE, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, HAVE YOU NO COMMON SENSE?¡±

    ¡°B-but it, it looks like a plant, so I was just thinking I could- ¡°

    ¡°RIDICULOUS, just because one looks like another, does not make it so, it seems you need a lesson in this worlds biology.¡±

    Iris waved her hand and several books appeared.

    ¡°(I knew she filled it with books.)¡±

    ¡°Please have a seat Hero.¡±

    ¡°Iris, m-maybe we should wait for another time to- ¡°

    Iris turned to Nathan, though she was smiling her eyes were not.

    ¡°Hero, please have a seat.¡±

    Nathan sat down immediately, Iris set and front of him and started to read. As she read, a little way¡¯s off in the bristle, a figure watched the two for a while, bewildered by the strange sight of a fairy lecturing a Lycanian, the figured decided against showing themselves, opting rather to wait for another time and simply left the two to themselves.

    ¡°*Sniff* *Sniff* That smell again, where?¡±

    ¡°PAY ATTENTION!¡±

    ¡°R-Right.¡±

    Iris continued her reading, while Nathan tried not to get killed.

 Chapter 13: A World Shaken

    <u>Chapter 13: A World Shaken</u>

    <u>Human capital, Ziltharth</u>

    Set away from the hustle and bustle of the city, a small building, with neither window or door to view in or out, in an enclosed room, safe from prying eyes, stood three hooded figures. Two dress in white hooded robes while the third, the leader of the three, wore a robe, as black as the night. The expression on their faces, filled with confusion, each staring into a ball of light, which occupied the center of the room. No one spoke, not one was sure what to say or think. Finally, One of the white robes turned to the leader.

    White Robe 1: ¡°Lord Sebastian, this isn¡¯t right, that doesn¡¯t make any sense, could we have made a mistake?¡±

    These words, brought the other two of their stupor.

    White Robe 2: ¡°Fool, you dare doubt Lord Sebastian!?¡±

    White Robe 1: ¡°You¡¯re the fool, you saw it, how such a reading be right, I¡¯m not questioning my lord skills, it just¡­ it¡¯s just not possible.

    Sebastian was a Great Sage, second only to two. His influenced spreads across the continent, he was knowledgeable in all matters of the arcane and with his foresight abilities, he was the natural choice when choosing a leader for the king¡¯s council. Removing the hood from his head revealed young man, no more than twenty years of age. With his red hair and polished features, few would guess that such a man would be the world-renowned Sage.

    Sebastian: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m heading to the castle, Cecil, Morgan, both of you will be accompanying me, we must deliver this news to the king at once.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°Calm yourself nephew, is there any need to rush?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Uncle?¡±

    Cecil was an elderly, but spry, uncle of Sebastian. His knowledge of the arcane, far exceeded Sebastian¡¯s, years of honing his skills left him with a rather extensive knowledge. Alas he mana capacity was lacking and most of his knowledge of the arcane is all but useless, when it came time for the king to choose his advisors, he was first to nominate Sebastian. He decided that if he could not use his knowledge himself, he would teach what he knows to his nephew. Sebastian was one of the few who¡¯s mana capacity was way beyond average. He was then chosen for the second seat and now works with Sebastian, for the king.

    Cecil: ¡°For once, I must agree with Morgan, such a reading, and the location¡­¡­¡­. It is too soon to make judgement.¡±

    Morgan: Is your age finally dulling your mind, or did I just hear you agree with me, it¡¯s about time you recognize my greatness.

    Cecil: ¡°Still looking for recognition, still a child at heart, you will never become a women, with such a mindset, although¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. there is more than one way to become a woman, such curvaceous splendor, I would be happy to assist, heheheh~¡±

    Morgan: ¡°*blush* Y-You perverted bastard!!¡±

    Morgan cross her arms to her chest, trying and failing to hide her assets. She was a beautiful, blonde, in a body befitting a of god, she was the third and final member of the council. Morgan was a specialist in witchcraft. Her hexes, knew no rival and her curses were said to follow you to the grave. It was an unusual for such a beautiful woman, to obtain a seat on the king¡¯s council. Many believe that she used immoral means to obtain the king¡¯s favor and challenged her for the position, these individuals were quickly obliterated. She did not tolerate such rumors and would immediately end them. Sebastian himself, would rather not engage her, however unbeknownst to him, she would not dream of physically harming him.

    Sebastian: ¡°Ahem, Everyone, the king specifically stated that if we were to receive such a reading, we were to notify him immediately.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Yeah, yeah, we were all their when he said it, but the reading we felt only happened once, plus it was barely noticeable, I¡¯m confident that if not for the three of us working in tangent, it would have not even been discovered.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°I agree, if we are to present our findings to the king, we should be sure our findings are concrete.

    Morgan: ¡°See, the lecher gets it.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°I understand, however, if some else was to pick up on the reading we just received, and acts on it, we will be held accountable.

    That was true, they could tell the king of the reading, but if it ends up being nothing but a farce, they could end up humiliating the kingdom and/or ruin themselves. On the other hand, with holding the information could lead to another kingdom beating them to the punch. The king would not like being left in the dark, while their enemies move.

    Sebastian: ¡°For now, let¡¯s just send the king a message, telling him that we had a small reading, however, we are not sure of its authenticity and that he should not act on this until we have absolute proof.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Are you kidding, the king couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut, if he was thrown in a pool of horse shit.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Don¡¯t be disrespectful.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°Crude as she may be, she is right, the king would not miss a chance to up his popularity with the masses.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°That is true, however, we are his council, it is our job to persuade the king not to take such an action, if we cannot, what good are we?¡±

    Sebastian words could not be refute. Both nodding an agreement with Sebastian, he began writing the letter. He wrote down their other findings and urge the king not to reveal them just yet. With his letter written he sent a servant to deliver it, whilst Cecil, Morgan and himself began their readings anew. Standing around in the center of the room, once again they began to chant.

    Sebastian: ¡°We will scan the that area once more; we must be absolutely sure that we have located ¡°Origin¡±.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    _

    Pristyne Capital-Suvari, Primeval Castle,

    The sun was at its peak, as a child made his way through one of the castle¡¯s courtyards. He was a skinny little thing, his ears and tail reminiscent of a squirrel. He had a couple of bruises on his faces, although his unkempt, dirty brown hair made it hard to tell. Strap across his back was a large sack, the contents shook and rattled as he moved along. He enjoyed walking through this courtyard, it was the only one he could enter, but it was the largest of the three and the most extravagant. It housed a tower that set as a separate structure from the rest of the castle.

    A cyan colored tower, standing fifteen stories. The tower set on a lone island in the middle of a pond. Far enough away from the walls of the castle, promising seclusion from the rest of the world, that was his destination. A lone bridge connected the island and as he cross stared up at the tower with a child-like wonder, for as long he could remember, he had been going back and forth from this tower, and yet it never ceases to amaze him. Towards the end of the bridge, like always, two guards stood by the entrance as he approached. Both Wolf Beastmen, though if they knew he referred to them as Beastmen, he would be in a lot of trouble. Calling them anything but ¡°The Pristyne¡± was considered, an insult among insults.

    Upon reaching the door, he bowed his head to his masters, the guards stopped conversing and looked down at the scraggy therian child, though that only lasted a moment. The Wolfman on the right, turned and opened the door to allow passage. The guards, paid no more attention to the boy and renewed their conversation. With the doors now open, whilst keeping his head down, he entered the structure and breathed a sigh of relief. He never knew what might happen with those wolves, he was glad they were so deep in their conversation.

    The doors closing behind him always made him jump, sometimes he thought the guards slammed the doors, just to get that reaction. As he walked down the hall, the torches on either side of him, lit as he past. He always wondered what sort of magic, allowed these to know when someone past, but question like that would only bring about a beating and he had enough of those already. At the end of the hallway was a staircase that lead up to the only room in the tower. Leading fifteen floors up, carrying his heavy bag, one would think this was a strenuous job, however, with amazing vitality, the boy began to bound up the flight of stairs.

    The bag on his back meant nothing and in only minutes he had climbed nine floors. Being a member of the Nibblian race, such feats came naturally, plus it also helped that, at the stop of the stairs was one of the only benefits of his life. Upon reaching the top floor he, yet another set of doors, set in front of him. He casually walked up to the door and gently knocked on the door, waiting moment he then entered.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Squirrel boy:¡± Miss I returned, it¡¯s time for your bath.¡±

    He looked around once, and thing placed his bag on the ground, he didn¡¯t see her, so the only place she could be, the balcony. As he approached the sun cast a shadow on the drapes that lead to the balcony, the silhouette of a woman could be seen. It was an enchanting sight; just her shadow was a thing of fairytales. The boy came out of his delusion and walked outside. Just as the silhouette foretold, a beautiful Pristyne woman set upon the balcony. As he approached, she turned and smiled.

    Pristyne woman: ¡°Ekorn, I did not here you come in, since when did you arrive?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°J-Just, a moment ago, It¡¯s time again for your bath.¡±

    Pristyne woman: ¡°Is that time already, my, how time flies.¡±

    The pristyne woman rose from her position and headed inside, Ekorn, step aside so she may enter and then entered as well. He went over to his pack and emptied it of its contents. A single crystal the size Ekorn¡¯s head was produce, a flowing crystal, capable of producing gallons of water with a touch. Setting the crystal to hover above the bath, he turned back to the woman only to find her completely nude, he quickly covered his eyes, the pristyne woman took notice of this and giggle.

    Pristyne Woman: ¡°Come now Ekorn, you¡¯ve seen me plenty of times, am I not appealing, are you disappointed?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°O-Of course, t-that is impossible.¡±

    She was a stunning thing to be hold, white fur coated her body, like silk that flowed from head to tail, a cute face, and eyes a golden brown, all complimented her model like figure, if any man was disappointed with her looks, he would not be in to woman. Yet with such beauty, not one man has ever laid eyes upon her, no man besides her father, and of course Ekorn. She loved to tease him, she was always alone in this tower and Ekorn¡¯s daily visit were the only entertainment she received. Every time she would tease him this way. She loved his reactions, it always made her feel beautiful. Ekorn kept his eyes covered, not because he did not want to see but, if he left here feeling aroused, he sure the wolves would notice.

    Ekorn: ¡°Pl-please Miss?¡±

    Pristyne Woman: ¡°Ekorn, I am as much a prisoner as you, no need for such formalities, how many times must I say this, it¡¯s Viviana¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°M-Miss please, let me do much job¡±

    Viviana: ¡°No, not until you call me by my name, I¡¯ll stand here, naked.

    Ekorn: ¡°Why must we, go through this process every time, can¡¯t you be just a little bit more cooperative.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Why can¡¯t you, just call me by my name, Hmph.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°*Sigh*, Viviana please, your bath.¡±

    She smiled, finally getting her way, but she pushed further and flop down to the floor.

    Viviana: ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m so weak, there is no way I can make all the way over to the bath.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°You know what- ¡°

    Viviana: ¡°Please~?¡±

    She held out her arms, beckoning Ekorn to come. He sighed heavily and submitted. Viviana would not give in until he gave her what she wanted. Lifting her from the floor, he carried her over the short distance to the bath, she nuzzles his face and purred. He didn¡¯t truly dislike what she did to him, yet some lines should not be cross. Viviana was of a rare breed amongst the Pristyne, being a ¡°Ligress¡±, her very existence was taboo. Mix breeding, was without doubt the worst crime that could be committed amongst the Pristyne, if not for her natural talented and her father being the current leader, she would not have lived this long. Though she will spend her life entirety in this tower and the only contact she will make with the outside world, is Ekorn. Though that depends entirely on Ekorn, so long as he doesn¡¯t cross any lines, though most of the time, Viviana makes this endeavor quite difficult.

    Sitting her down in the tub he walked over to the bag and pulled out a small container. Pouring the contents into his hand, he worked the lather into her scalp and down her back, his hand gliding across her fur with gentle precision. Viviana adored every second of this, even more today than usual, she was unusually happy. Usually through her flirtatious play, there was a solemn demeanor, but today she was genuinely upbeat.

    Ekorn: ¡°You seemed to be in a cheerful mood.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Really, well, to tell you the truth, I have some good news.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Oh, and what is this good news?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°I¡¯m not telling~¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What, if you won¡¯t tell me then it¡¯s not news, it¡¯s a secret, and we agreed there would be no secrets between us, did we not?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°That agreement, is only necessary, when I need information.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°The agreement, works both ways.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°How about a different deal?

    Ekorn: ¡°Denied.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°I didn¡¯t even say anything yet.¡±

    Ekorn: Yeah, but I¡¯m pretty, sure I¡¯m not going to like it.

    Viviana: ¡°Buuuuuuuuuuuu~¡±

    Ekorn ignored Viviana¡¯s chatter and dump some water over her head, washing away the soap. Shake the water from her face, she was hit with inspiration.

    Viviana: ¡°Then, how about you join me?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Also, denied.¡±

    Viviana puff out her cheeks. Ekorn turn to grab a brush, Viviana immediately, turned the flowing crystal on Ekorn, dousing him in cold water.

    Ekorn: ¡°Why you, I¡¯m gonnaaaaaaachhhooooo!¡±

    Viviana: Look like someone¡¯s coming down with a cold, you should out of those wet clothes and into a nice warm bath~ ¡°

    Ekorn glared at Viviana, getting sick was one thing he could not afford to be and she knew it. He reluctantly undressed.

    Viviana: ¡°*Whistle*¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°C-Cut it out.¡±

    Viviana giggled as Ekorn finished undressing and walked over to the bath. One way or another, it always turned out like this, Viviana always got what she wanted from Ekorn. The second he was in the tub, Viviana pounced, grabbing him and pulling him in close and holding him down. Ekorn try to pry himself away, but it was useless.

    Ekorn: ¡°Why, must we always end up like this, you know we are not allowed to do such things.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Do you hate this?¡±

    Ekorn: I¡­¡­¡­¡­I don¡¯t hate it.¡±

    Viviana: Than it¡¯s okay.¡± *splash* *grasp*

    Ekorn: ¡°H-Hey, w-what you doing?¡±

    Viviana smiled deviously.

    Viviana: ¡°You cleaned me, now, I¡¯ll clean you.?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°HEY, NO, UGHN, MMN, WAIT, STOP, AH, HEY, YOU¡¯RE ONLY FOCUSING ON THAT ONE SPOT.

    _

    _

    Viviana stretch out across her bed, all her stress from the week now gone. Ekorn laid with his head face down, he had given up fighting her, allowing her do as she pleases.

    Ekorn: ¡°We have to stop doing these things, someday we¡¯ll get caught.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Being caught will not be a problem soon.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What do you mean, another vision?¡±

    Ekorn looked up at Viviana, who expression was so serious, so focused, it must be really important.

    Ekorn: ¡°Viviana?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°We¡­¡­.will be taken away.¡±

    Ekorn jumped up, in shock of this revelation. Had they been found out, he knew this day would come, but was hoping it would have more time.

    Ekorn: ¡°We must escape.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°What?¡±

    Viviana stared at him confused, she realized her wording brought about a misunderstanding.

    Viviana: ¡°Ekorn, you misunderstand what I said, we should wait to be taken.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What, you want to be killed!?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°No, not killed, abducted.¡±

    Ekorn: Huh?¡±

    Viviana crawled in close, whispered into his ear, what she saw in her vision.

    Ekorn: ¡°WHAT, ORIGNNNNNMMMMMMPHHH!?¡±

    Viviana quickly cover his mouth, in fear that someone might hear him. Once he calmed down she released him.

    Ekorn: ¡°When did you find this out!?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Earlier today, not to long before you arrived.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Wait, how do you know it¡¯s ¡°Origin?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°It was ¡°Origin¡±.

    Ekorn: ¡°Your vision showed, us being taken by the wielder of Origin?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°All I truly know is that he, was Origin and the figure I saw was a Lycanian.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..A Lycanian?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Yes, a dark-skin Lycanian.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­............¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Ekorn, aren¡¯t you excited?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Uh yeah, I was thinking, this explains why you were much bolder than usual, but we still can¡¯t afford to be found out, not just yet.¡±

    Viviana: Yes, I apologize, I was just so excited to see you and tell you, we will be able to leave this place, but I wasn¡¯t thinking.

    Viviana felt a little dejected, her actions could cause real problems for Ekorn, he could lose his head. Ekorn didn¡¯t like seeing Viviana upset.

    *Smooch*

    Viviana: *Gasp*, Ekorn!?¡±

    Ekorn got up, his face as red as Viviana¡¯s.

    Ekorn: ¡°When we are free, we can do as we please¡­..so until then, be satisfied with that.¡±

    Viviana was pleasantly surprise by the kiss. Ekorn had never initiated and she was audibly happy. Ekorn begin to pack everything up for his trip back to his room.

    Ekorn: ¡°If you had such good news, why¡¯d you look so serious earlier?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Earlier¡­¡­¡­¡­oh that, well while you were laying on the bed, your butt was sticking out of the towel, I was so focused, I forgot what we were talking about for a moment, such a cute butt.

    Ekorn was at the door, ready to leave the pervert to herself.

    Viviana: ¡°Huh, wait Ekorn, don¡¯t be mad, there¡¯s nothing wrong with havinga cute, little, butt.?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°SHUT UP!¡±

    Ekorn rushed back down the stairs, as he descended, he could still hear her, talking about his backside from half way down. Reaching the bottom, he knocked on the door for the guards to let him out. He bowed in thanks, before heading away, keeping his down so the guards won¡¯t notice his expression. He calmed down after a while, his mind wonder over to everything Viviana told him, it was all ludicrous. For the first time, ever, her visions were wrong. What she said made absolutely no sense.

    Ekorn: ¡°How can a Lycanian, of all things, possibly come to save us, the entire race was wiped out thousands of years ago.¡±

 Chapter 14: Reunion

    <u>Chapter 14: Reunion</u>

    Iris was at her wits end; this was the twelfth attempt and she still could not make any head way. Nathan and Iris had been out for about a week, on they fourth day out, they came to their first obstruction in the form of a wall. A thirty-meter-high, wall of a cliff impeded progress. There was absolutely no way they would be able to climb, Nathan suggested they walk around, every wall had an end. They decided to split up, if one came to the end first they would go back for the other. The time limit was one day, and so they both took off and opposites direction.

    One day later the two had reunited, neither of them were able to reach the end. This brought them to their current attempt, if Iris could fly high enough she could see to where the wall extends. They wouldn¡¯t have to walk its length; they could cut a path through the forest. Though this idea was slowly unraveling, for once Iris reached the ten meters¡¯ high, gale force winds would immediately begin to blow. She had tried several times already, each ending in failure, but she had no plans of giving up.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, you can stop if you want, we can try something else.¡±

    Iris: I appreciate your concern, but I¡¯m alright, I have an idea, for my next attempt.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay~¡±

    Iris landed and begin reciting a spell and began to glow.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s she up to?¡±

    Wind encircled Iris, like the eye of the storm, the wind engulfed her completely. Once she had been completely surrounded by wind she took off once again. Within seconds she had climbed the ten meters, and the winds kicked up, once again. Surprising enough, Iris continued upward, she had slowed to a crawl but she was gaining altitude. The wind barrier she erected was working well, given this was the first time she cast it. It was doing fine job of keeping the winds at bay, however she could move no faster while elevating. Inch by inch, she climbed.

    Nathan was tired of watching, she was barely moved any higher. He laid in the grass and fiddled with his status screen, she would eventually make it to the top, whether he watch or not, and if she failed this time, she would just try again. Nathan made a mental note, he would reframe from asking Iris to do certain things in the future, or she would keep trying until she accomplished what he asked.

    Since they had left the study, besides the first attack by the plant monsters, they haven¡¯t had many encounters. Most likely do to them being at the outer edge, there was a lot less foliage so if anything approached they would see immediately. Though they did come across, two more of the plant creatures, which Iris reluctantly let Nathan fight by himself. Just as he had figure, it was absolutely no problem defeating them, and thanks to that he was able, to rise one level.

    Nathan Lowell Level:5

    HP:2105/2105 MP: 330/330 SB: 20/100

    Race: Human/Lycanian

    Legacy: Nature¡¯s Blessing

    Skill: Tweak

    M.Ability: Phytokinesis, Heal, Therapy, Tranquil, Plant Growth, Gardener

    P.Ability: Photosynthesis, Threat Detection, Clearmind, Enhanced Reflexes, Hyper Senses, Co-op

    Stats Party

    STH 66 Inventory

    DEF 108

    INT 56

    AGI 93

    LUCK 77

    Skills: Persuasion 9% Bribery 0% Thievery 27% Charisma 10% Finesse 10%

    Titles: (Hero?) (Sweeper)

    After he reached level five, a new bar with initials ¡°SB¡± appeared. He asked Iris did she have it as well, but she did not, she said that she had never read anything about having a third life bar. He tried pressing on the bar, but nothing happened. As they traveled, it gradually rose, he thought it rose from walking around, but even now as he laid in the grass the bar is still increasing.

    He had a hunch what it was, whenever a player was in a tough situation or on the brink of death in games, pressing a button would allow them an extra burst of strength and sometimes complete invincibility for a limited time. This allowed them to pull off fantastic special attacks, which could turn the tides of the entire battle. Though the effects were temporary, in the long run, it was mainly use as method to restore health to the party.If this bar was like that, he hoped he never need to use it, the condition was one he did not want to initiate. He was dumb enough to come near death door, just to see if his theory was correct.

    He also got a new ability, Gardener, but it wasn¡¯t anything special. All it does, is make the plants better then if they grew naturally, like anevolution.But for some reason, the ability works through his blood, like water, but needing only a drop. So basically, his blood, has essentially become plant food. Well he did plan on selling a bunch of plants from this area, higher quality plants, means he can raise the prices. He had tried it several times already, being careful to avoid Iris''s, watchful eye, but to be honesty he couldn''t tell the difference between the higher quality and the normal.

    He looked up at Iris, she had gotten to the halfway point, though, she still had a considerable amount to climb. Iris made it high enough to see, pretty far out. The area was expansive, the walls continued far off into the distance, with no end in sight. Far off amongst the lush green, there was a strange discoloration, but she could think too deep about it, she had to focus. The winds had picked up considerably, to the point where she was almost at a complete standstill. Though she would no failed in the task the Hero had given her.

    As she rose higher, dark clouds begin to form above her, she ignored them and continued upward. Nathan on the other hand begin increasingly worried. He told Iris about rain clouds earlier on, but he didn¡¯t understand why clouds were forming, only above Iris and nowhere else. No sooner did he think to call her back, did lightning ripped through her barrier.

    Iris: ¡°KYAAA!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS!?¡±

    With her barrier destroyed the winds took her and sent her barreling toward the ground. Nathan raced towards her, catching her right before she crashed. Her eyes weren¡¯t open, he began to cast heal, she was just unresponsive.

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS, IRIS, HEY IRIS!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Ughn, Hero, why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, thank goodness, you had me scared there for minute, how are you feeling?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I-I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you sure, normal people don¡¯t get struck by lighting and be okay.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, it never touched me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I saw it hit you.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, all it did was destroy my barrier, but now that I know that will happen, I can prepare for it.¡±

    Iris flutter away, ready to start again, only to be grabbed out of the air.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t, you¡¯re not doing that again.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Of course, I am, the lightning will not be a problem wants I prepare for it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t care how prepared you are, that lighting, wasn¡¯t natural.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You said that lightning is a natural occurrence during a storm.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but look at the sky now.¡±

    Iris looked up, the clouds had vanished and the sun had come out again.

    Nathan: ¡°Those clouds didn¡¯t appear until you were half way, to reaching the top of the wall, there wasn¡¯t a drop of water to be found, and they didn¡¯t cover the entire sky, they just hovered above where you were.¡±

    Iris: You, believe the lightning, was aiming at me specifically?

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, and I don¡¯t hear the wind anymore, it¡¯s was like some sort of security system.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Security system?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It what people use to keep treasure safe, it drives away intruders.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I see, but were not after anything like that, and were trying to leave.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, anything trying to get over those walls, will be attacked, even if you happened to get past the lightning, there might be something worse higher up, will just have to find another way out.

    Iris: ¡°Hero, if I may try once more I¡¯m sure-¡±

    Nathan: Stop, stop, stop, enough of that, you¡¯re not attempting to fly through that again, there has to be a way out of here that doesn¡¯t involve gale force winds, lightning or would ever come¡¯s next, Amelia got in and out, we just need to find out how.

    Iris: ¡°Then we should move through the forest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, you saw something?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It¡¯s what I didn¡¯t see, I¡¯m afraid.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    _

    _

    After hearing out Iris, they both made their way to through the forest, apparently, she had saw a large area filled with water. Nathan figured she must have been talking about a lake, he suggested they head there. The element which brings life, would sure to have life near it. Maybe they could find someone, they could get out and get some information about the world as well, books were okay when you needed information on past events, not so much for current.

    On the way, Nathan would collect any piece of fruit he could find, he wanted the seed of anything edible. Reaching up and grabbing a piece of fruit from a tree, he looked over to Iris. He didn¡¯t want to get another sermon, but it seems she wasn¡¯t worried about fruit so much as she was worried about him eating a corpse.

    Nathan: ¡°Examine¡±

    Cassi Class: Fruit

    <u>Cassi fruit, typically grow in secluded areas with lots of sunlight, though their appearance is similar to a common orange, they are extremely bitter.</u>

    Nathan: Aw man, well, I guess some on will eat. *munch*

    *ding* *ding*

    <u>Cassi seed consumed, Duration time: 3 minutes </u>

    Nathan: ¡°Blegh, bitter, definitely.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re doing this, you don¡¯t need to eat, there¡¯s no reason to keep subjecting yourself to displeasure.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just because I don¡¯t need to eat, doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t want to, I mean do you need to read those books, it¡¯s the same thing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°True, but why are you collecting the seeds?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m going to sell them.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Sell?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Along with the fruit, if I could make a profit from them, I want have to sell all these armors (and I won¡¯t upset Anais.).¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, Lady Amelia Said, you were free to take what you want.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Nathan:¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­What, why didn¡¯t you tell me that earlier!?¡±

    Nathan pulled on Iris¡¯s cheeks.

    Iris: Sobby, iy thaw yush wsh awez.

    (Sorry, I thought you were aware).

    Nathan: If I knew, I would be worried about upsetting her.¡±

    Iris rubbed her sore cheeks

    Iris: Lady Amelia is really nice; in fact she may have gather those, just for you to take.

    Nathan: I wasn¡¯t talking about her, *Sigh* well I guess it doesn¡¯t matter anymore, I¡¯ll still collect the fruit, the number of armors I have are limited and you should always have a backup plan, right?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Alright.¡±

    Nathan: Right, so I¡¯ve collected fourteen so far, so let¡¯s go for an uneven fifteen, and I see lucky number fifteen, right over there, look at that thing.¡±

    Straight ahead, was a large flower, the biggest they had seen so far.

    Iris: ¡°My, it¡¯s lovely.¡±

    Nathan: It kind of look like my worlds Tulip, except Tulips don¡¯t get this big.

    The Tulip set four feet high, three stems connect at the base, and each head had its own distinct color.

    Nathan: Now, how am I supposed to get the seed from this thing without hurting it.¡±

    Iris: Hero, look here.¡±

    From underneath a petal, a small hole was seen, and from out that hole, set a row of seeds, each one in a separate pod.

    Nathan: Perfect, good job Iris.¡±

    Iris: It was my pleasure.¡±

    Nathan reached down and took hold of the pod

    *shriiiiiiippppp*

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa, Its heavy, like a rock¡±.

    Iris¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...Hero, step away, somethings wrong.¡±

    Nathan: Huh, WHOA!?

    Looking over his shoulder, two of the heads were facing directly at him, whilst the third was aimed at Iris. Nathan took a few steps away, however no matter which directions he moved, the heads would move in tangent.

    Iris: Hero, shall I burn it?¡±

    Nathan: Give me a sec, should have did this in the first place, ¡°Examine¡±

    Uzy Class: Plant

    A very beautiful, very rare flower. They spread their seed by shooting them across long distances and form a small network. Seeds grow and bloom quickly. When it feels threaten they will fire their seeds in rapid succession, at the threat.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Oh boy.¡±

    *Click-click*

    Nathan: IRIS, MOVE!

    A flurry of seeds, exploded from each head. Iris took to the sky, whilst Nathan begin to duck and dodge the incoming projectiles. Iris who wasn¡¯t as fast as Nathan, invoked a flame cloaked shield, which burned majority of the seeds.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, cast a spell!¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood¡±

    As soon as she began to chant, the two heads chasing Nathan, turned and fired on her. The multitude of shots began to shred her barrier.

    Iris: ¡°Tch, I can¡¯t concentrate"

    Nathan: "Forget it, I¡¯ll, whoa!?"

    As Nathan reached for his blade, one head begin to fire at him, but with only one, Nathan was able to move forward. When he was nearly within striking distance, all three heads fired on him, pushing back, and it would change targets in tangent, with who was ever targeting it. After a few minutes the barrage ceased.

    Nathan: "Screw this, I got the seed, lets run."

    Iris: "Right!"

    Both took off in the direction they came from, only to stop as quickly as they started. The seeds that the Uzy fired off, had all sprouted and now locked on to the two.

    *click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click*

    Nathan: ¡°Shit.¡±

    *ratatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatata*

    A maelstrom of bullet likeseeds was unleashed, Iris invoked, barrier after barrier, but the seeds rip through them, almost as fast as she created. Nathan tried his best to avoid them, but was failing miserably. What made things worse, every seed that missed, two more would sprout. After a short while they were completely boxed in, Seeds came from every direction, avoiding was next to impossible. ¡°Not even ¡°Origin¡±, could help, plus with Iris around, he could risk her freezing up. He decided he was going to send her away, if she flew up high enough she could get away.

    Iris: ¡°HERO, THIS WAY!¡±

    Iris barrier started to expand, Nathan took this opportunity and leaped through the opening she created for him.

    Nathan: "I didn¡¯t know you could do this."

    Iris: "Nor did I, however were still in danger."

    Nathan: "Yeah, I say were worse off."

    With them both now in close proximity, the full force of the barrage, was squarely on the barrier, slowly whittling it away. With just her, she could regenerate it fast enough so that not many bullets could pass, but to regulate a barrier to accommodate them both, was proving taxing.

    A few seeds made it through before iris could close the barrier, Nathan begin cutting down the ones that got through, however they were still being nailed and still even more Uzy were sprouting. Soon the area around had become nothing but a flurry of seeds, nothing could be heard through the sound of shattering seeds. Sooner or later, Iris would run out of mana and they both will be gun down within seconds.

    *rrruuuuuuuummmmbbbbbbblleeeeeee*

    Nathan: "What the hell!?"

    The ground begin to shake and crack apart. Columns of rock shot up from th ground, Iris and Nathan watch as the pillars encircled them. The flurry of bullets stopped, now being blocked by the pillars, shattering on impact with the rock. Iris let down her barrier for the moment, visibly sweating from mana use. Nathan check his health, he was shocked to see that, he only had five hundred points of health left. That was ridiculously low, the bullets, didn¡¯t really hurt, it was just the sheer volume that done it. Even as they spoke, the sound of seeds impact on the rocks was deafening.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a little tired.¡±

    Iris landed to catch her breath, just like him she must have low health. Nathan, let her rest, he walked up to the columns and checked how solid they were.

    Nathan: "*knock knock* Iris; why didn¡¯t you do this in the first place?"

    Iris: ¡°I didn¡¯t, I thought you did it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know any spells, remember, but if you didn¡¯t¡­¡­..* sniff ,sniff, sniff*, no way?¡±

    Iris: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not what, who.¡±

    Nathan Jumped to the top of the rocks and peered over top.

    Iris: ¡°Careful Hero, they are a few still firing at us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    Nathan looked around, some of the uzy were still firing at them but, from the way the direction they were firing they couldn¡¯t hit him. He looked around and could not see at first, but a second later shadow darted through some bushes. The figure would appear than vanish and a fireball took its place.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit, that¡¯s not going to work, there¡¯s just too many.¡±

    She was smarter than this, no way she thought, she could take them all out, firing off random shots. Nathan kept watching, closely but carefully.

    Nathan: ¡°Could it be, are you okay, I need your help.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine now.¡±

    Iris was still breathing pretty heavy, but he needed her.

    Nathan: ¡°I need you to fire off the ¡°Crimson Squall¡± Spell.

    Iris: Um, understood.

    Iris steady herself and began to chant. Firing the spell, Nathan watched to confirm his theory, and as he thought none of the uzy even bother to protect themselves from the fire rain.

    Nathan: They don¡¯t react to random fire, it not seen as a threat, since no one targeting them directly, they just burn.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That why he¡¯s missing so many shots, then I shall continue to firing blind?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but we need her to stop first, it great that she showed us how to get out, but her random moving is making things worse.¡±

    Iris: ¡°(Her)?¡±

    The figure was darting around the area, ducking in and out of cover, Iris could mistakenly hit her.

    Iris: ¡°If she would just join us in the shelter she erected?¡±

    Nathan: Don¡¯t worry, and I¡¯m pretty, damn sure, that klutz is going to stop real soon.

    Iris: ¡°What do you-¡±

    *Bang*

    Iris looked over to the sound of the loud bang. She stared in disbelief, the figure that was running around randomly, the figure that saved them with the spell, was a little, brown hair,Theriangirl, who was now laid out on the ground, eyes spinning, from running head first into a nearby tree.

    *Click-click-click-click-click-click-click*

    Iris: Hero, with must help her, they¡¯re going to fire.

    Iris words fell on death ears, for Nathan had known she was going to crash and had already jumped out to save her. Moving as fast as he could, he reached her right before the bombardment arrived. Scooping her off the ground he sped back to the blockade, but not before taking more shots. Leaping over the pillars, he found iris already casting the spell, much bigger than last time, fire rained once again burning another few dozen plants. Iris continued to fire off her spell, while Nathan tended to the girl. Though her appearance had change so drastically, her scent stayed the same.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, Anais, wakeup.¡±

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wakeup, you klutz.¡±

    Anais: ¡°WHO¡¯S A KLUTZ¡­¡­huh, how did I, what happen?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like always, you crashed splendidly, barrier you created, thanks for that, by the way.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Behind, no, we need to get out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We will, as soon as Iris thins them out, they can¡¯t get us from behind here anyway.¡±

    Anais: ¡°They will soon enough, this barrier won¡¯t hold, the spell wasn¡¯t perfect, it could crumble anytime now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan looked around, sure as she said, large cracks could be seen all around, and the pillars were coming apart.

    Nathan: ¡°Shit, I not at full health, I seriously, can¡¯t take another bombardment.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why don¡¯t you just control them; don¡¯t you have that ability?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but in all this chaos, I never ate the seed, even if I eat it right now, we won¡¯t make it in time?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Nathan explained his abilities with more detail.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­YOU IDIOT!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You can¡¯t help insulting me, can you?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, I agree with this girl?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Et tu, Brute!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You mean this entire time; you haven¡¯t been controlling any of the plants you came across!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, I have, but not until I eaten them.¡±

    Iris: Hero, what you¡¯re doing and what you¡¯ve describe are not the same.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Your ¡°Plant Growth¡± allows you to grow and control plants you¡¯ve consumed; they have become a part of you, of course you would be able to control them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then think you idiot, why would you need two, of the same ability?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Ah!¡±

    That¡¯s right, Nathan didn¡¯t understand how this world work, but having two of the same ability, unless the abilities stacked which they did not, there was absolutely no reason for this. ¡°Phytokinesis¡± and ¡°Plant Growth¡±, he has been looking at them as one whole, instead of two separate abilities.

    Nathan: ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t understand how to utilize it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, there is no how to you just do it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Excuse me, whoever you are, but the Hero is from a world without magic, he doesn¡¯t fully understand the concept.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Shut up, Fairy, servants are seen, not heard.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Excuse me!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I already Know that, but look around, we don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Iris: ¡°And I understand the urgency of the situation, however it would be reckless to ask him to attempt something he hasn¡¯t fully grasp.¡±

    Anais and Iris continued to argue on about him. Nathan looked around, the walls that were cracked were now visibly crumbling. Soon the whole thing would be no more and they will be caught in the onslaught. No matter how many Iris burned away with her spell, firing blind means you will always miss, even if one is left, it could easily become hundreds, within seconds. If he was going to make it in this world he would have to learn how to do this eventually, why not right now when his life depended on it.

    Iris: ¡°No, I will not allow the Hero to risk his life for something like this.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then I guess you want to die, because that exactly what¡¯s about to happen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I¡¯m going to do it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, don¡¯t let this girl persuade to do something you¡¯re not ready to do.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Rather he¡¯s ready to do it or not, it won¡¯t matter unless he tries.¡±

    Nathan looked over the crumbling barrier, per Iris and Anais, it was as simple as breathing to this. He concentrated, thanks to the effects of ¡°Clearmind¡±, Even the constant assault of seeds on the barrier was blocked out. He sent a command to the Uzy closes to him, over and over he told it to stop, but no matter which way he said, the melee continued. He didn¡¯t realize, that the piece of column he was leaning on was about to give way, until it was too late. The top part of the column crumble, leaving Nathan head exposed, he was instantly greeted with several shots to the face. He quickly jumped back down, he checked his health, two hundred points of damage, in so little time. Why couldn¡¯t he do it, he slumped down on the ground in frustration.

    Iris: ¡°Hero, are you okay, look what you¡¯ve done, he¡¯s hurt.¡±

    Anais: ¡°How is this my fault, he was the one who can¡¯t control his abilities, something any child could do from birth.¡±

    Iris: ¡°How many time must I say it, he comes from a world without magic, something that we understand from the time we were young, won¡¯t come as simple to him.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s why at times like this, he should try his best to understand, before he comes time his life depends on it, which it does.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, but losing his life, in the process, won¡¯t solve anything.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°QUIET!!!!¡±

    Iris and Anais both jumped from Nathan the sudden outburst.

    Nathan: ANAIS, I DON¡¯T GET IT, I NOT FROM THIS WORLD, YOUR CONCEPTS, UNTIL A LITTLE WHILE AGO DIDN¡¯T APPLY TO ME, MAGIC AND ITS ENTIRETY, WAS AN OBJECT OF FANTANSY, I KNOW YOUR JUST TRYING TO HELP, BUT IT NOT AS SIMPLE AS BREATHING.

    Iris nodded her head in agreement, until Nathan turned to her.

    Nathan:¡± IRIS, ANAIS IS RIGHT, SOMETIME IN THE FUTRUE I¡¯M GOING TO NEED TO DO THIS, I KNOW YOU WILL HELP IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE, BUT IT WOULD BE FOOLHARDY TO RELY ON YOU FOR EVERYTHING. I NEED TO DO THIS. BUT WE DON¡¯T HAVE MUCH TIME BEFORE THESE WALLS CRUMBLE, AND YOU TO ARGUING ISN¡¯T HELPING. SO THE BOTH OF YOU JUST¡­..STOP!¡±

    Iris and Anais turned away, Nathan knew he was taking his frustration out on them, he couldn¡¯t do it and it was eating at him. In the stories he read, everyone learned their abilities so naturally, you¡¯d think they had them since birth. However, this wasn¡¯t a story and he wasn¡¯t going to get it on the first try. He would apologize later for yelling at them, but for now while it was completely silent he could concentrate, no yelling, no noise.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­. It¡¯s quiet!?¡±

    The girls looked to each other, in confusion.

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Is this not what you wanted?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Make up your mind.¡±

    Nathan: No, girls, it¡¯s completely silent¡±

    Then they understood, the sound of bullets colliding with rock had stopped. All three looked over the top in different directions, the uzy who had pinned them down, had all ceased fire. Even as they looked straight at them they were not being fired upon. Nathan wasn¡¯t going to waste this moment.

    Anais: ¡°Why did they suddenly, h-hey, put me down.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, kyaaa!?¡±

    Scooping them both up, Nathan sprang over what was left of the walls, with everything he had he took off, at an incredible speed. He had run past several uzy, not one turned toward him, like statue¡¯s they stayed in the same position. Maybe he done it, was this because of him, some outside force, a fluke, none of that matter, he wasn¡¯t going to wait around to figure it out. As he ran off with Iris on his shoulder and Anais flailing in his arms, he remembers the seed he had yet to eat. After what they put him through he was definitely, going to add them to his arsenal.

    *Crunch* *ding* *ding*

    <u>Uzy seed consumed, Duration: 30 seconds</u>

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Bwahahahahahahaha, what¡¯s up with that, you gotta be kidding me!?¡±

    Anais and Iris looked on confused, as Nathan sped away from the area, laughing away his frustration.

 Chapter 15: The Roaming Forest

    <u>Chapter 15: The Roaming Forest</u>

    Deep in the forests of the central continent, surrounded by mountains, sit a small forest. A lush forest, untamed and untouched by man. Rare species are abundant, living without fear of being hunted. ¡°The Garden¡± is what it is called by the inhabitants. It is within this the Nymphs made their home, safe from prying eyes, they were free to roam and play, going about their days in seclusion. However, such joyful times were scarce as of late, for the forest has begun to go through changes, changes brought on by three intruders.

    In certain parts of the forest, water was nowhere to be found, leaving the area dry and desolate. As the days go on more areas become desolate, making less and less areas habitable, are bringing about conflict amongst the nymph, those who would once call themselves sisters, would now partake in petty squabbling. Something must be done; it is with that thought that the nymphs decided to congregate and the largest lake of the forest. Still on touch and the furthest away from the creature, it was perfect to come up with a plan to stop the intruder from destroying anymore of the forest. Although they were supposed to be discussing how to deal with the situation, the sound of arguments echoed throughout the area.

    Water Nymph: ¡°How could you have messed up so badly, their wasn¡¯t nearly enough to stop them, you dummy.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°I messed up, I wasn¡¯t the one who placed the traps so far apart, that was your team, you dummy.¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°Who you calling a dummy, you dummy!?¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Only a dummy, would call someone, a dummy.¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°Then I guess you¡¯re a dummy.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Right back at you dummy.¡±

    Nymph Leader: ¡°ENOUGH, we don¡¯t have time to fight with each other, as we speak are homes are being destroyed.¡±

    Both jumped at the sound of Saria shouts, she was the eldest sister and was de facto leader of the entire area, she was the one who brought together her sisters, when they were close to fighting.

    Water Nymph: ¡°Then what do you suppose we do ¡°Saria¡±, nothing we tried is working.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Not only have they escaped all the traps we¡¯ve set; they also have one of our own held captive.

    Saria: ¡°What of the ¡°Grassvalley Tribe¡±, have they arrived.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°No¡­¡­ we haven¡¯t seen any signs of them.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I was sure I sent them a message, why have they not arrived.¡±

    The area became quiet, a growing panic within them, they were out of options.

    Saria: ¡°We have no choice¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­we¡¯ll have to wake mother.¡±

    An audible gasp could be heard throughout the area.

    Water Nymph: ¡°How are you going to do that?¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Celes is nowhere near old enough to wake her, plus she doesn¡¯t know where mother is sleeping, none of us do.¡±

    They were all nodded in unison, Celes was the youngest amongst them, but also her duty to awake their mother if need be. Though given her condition now, there was no way she could complete the act.

    Wind Nymph: ¡°By the way, where is Celes?¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°What you talking about, she right over there, Huh, where she¡¯d go, she was just hear.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Don¡¯t tell she ran off to that forest again?¡±

    Water Nymph: That Forest, that the direction, two of the intruders are heading, they could reach at any time.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Why are you to worried, that forest would never allow Celes to be harmed.¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°I¡¯m aware, but they both move extremely fast, they were able to dodge ¡°Uzy¡± fire, not completely, but do you think that slow forest would be able to catch them?¡±

    Saria: ¡°You two, take some of our sisters and retrieve her, now.¡±

    At her words, two groups set out to find Celes, hoping they did not run into the intruders.

    Saria: (How in the world, did a ¡°Lycanian¡± and a ¡°Roden¡± get in her, let alone take one of us hostage).¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Nathan and company set down to rest, there was an awkward silence between the three and Nathan decided to break it, he bowed his head to Iris and Anais.

    Anais: ¡°For?

    Nathan: ¡°I couldn¡¯t control my powers and I took my frustration out on you two, so, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, please raise your head, there is no need for apologies.¡±

    Anais: The fairies right, were not upset, but if you feel the need to apologize, then apology excepted.

    Nathan: Oh¡­¡­..okay.

    Wants that was done, the awkward silence continued, then Nathan realize, it wasn¡¯t the awkward between the three of them, just between Iris and Anais. It was like a strange tension between the two. Did something happen between the two of them when he wasn¡¯t looking, decided to investigate and the best way to was to ask straight up ask.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey are you two okay, your acting like strangers.¡±

    They two looked at each other.

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not me, it¡¯s the fairy that acting weird.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris is something wrong?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I assure you, I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just what?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Who is this girl?¡±

    Nathan & Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I feels as though I met her before, her mana signature is familiar, but I know that this is impossible.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wait, wait, wait, you never told her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Me, I thought you would introduce yourself.¡±

    Anais: ¡°When would I have had a chance, since we reunited we¡¯ve been getting attacked, besides it would be better coming from you, she hates me remember?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She doesn¡¯t hate you, she hates what you did.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Is that going to change her reaction?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Excuse me, but could someone please explain to me what going on?¡±

    Nathan and Anais turned to Iris, Anais ushered Nathan to tell her.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you see you do know her, not as well as me, but you have met.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Stop beaten, around the bush.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay¡­¡­ well, Iris, Anais here was the¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.third occupant of the study.

    Iris expression change to that of frustration.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero please don¡¯t question my intelligence, there were only two people in that study, you and I.¡±

    Nathan: No there was a third she just wasn¡¯t a person yet.

    Iris, thought for a moment, she look over to Anais, a mouse therian. Then as if struck by lightning, she realized exactly who she was.

    Nathan: ¡°This is Anais, the Scribe Eater.¡±

    Iris: ¡°The Rodent!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Who¡¯s a rodent, stupid fairy.¡±

    Iris: ¡°How did this come about, there was no mention of such an ability.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah about that.¡±

    Nathan explained to Iris how her transformation came about, she wasn¡¯t sure herself, she had suddenly transformed a couple of days prior to their meeting. She didn¡¯t understand but once she had transformed, she could locate Nathan where ever he was. Like a beacon, she found him with pinpoint accuracy. That how she found him when they were being attacked. Nathan must have cause her to undergo the transformation, the only thing that made since was his blood.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    She had ingested some earlier, plus for the past few days Nathan had been activating his ¡°Gardener¡± ability periodically. By activating the ability, he caused her to mutate or evolve, it was a stretch, but the description never said it couldn¡¯t work on anything outside of plants.

    Iris: ¡°I see, the results of the rodent injuring you, your blood effects more than just plants.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Isn¡¯t it great, now Anais don¡¯t you have something to say to Iris?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nope.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Come on, apologize.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why should I, I was hungry, and they were the only thing around to eat, Besides, they weren¡¯t her books anyway.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No need to worry about that, Hero.¡±

    Nathan: Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°An apology is not needed, she was correct, the books are not mine and she has no reason to apologize.¡±

    Nathan was surprised, she was so angry about the books before, although most of that anger was probably about his injury. Still, he was proud that she took the mature path, this time around.

    Iris: ¡°Honestly, Hero I don¡¯t what you expected, an act such as apologizing, is far beyond mental compacity of ¡°VERMIN¡± such as her, her outer appearance may have change, but that doesn¡¯t her intelligence is still that of a RODENT.¡±

    *lighting strikes*

    Nathan laugh to himself and sighed, this was just your classic case of thinking a little to soon.

    Anais: ¡°You sure like to say such complicated words, but I guest INSECTS have to make themselves sound smarter, otherwise they just come off as annoying PESTS.¡±

    *more lightining*

    Nathan wanted to intervene, yet his mouth would not move. At the moment the aura the both of them was emitting, was so frightening, Nathan was sure he saw them take physical form. The two continued to spit venom at one another, with a smile so terrifying, Nathan decided it was wiser to just walk away. Though that didn¡¯t help much, for as he started walking, the two auras followed. He knew it was not directed at him, but something inside him screamed ¡°Don¡¯t look Back¡±. He just kept on moving forward, keeping a safe distance and his head locked straight ahead.

    _ _ _ _ _

    Nathan: ¡°Come you two can¡¯t, you get along?¡±

    Iris & Anais: ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*sigh*¡±

    Nathan and the girls, were nearly to the lake Iris had seen earlier, though the path to the lake was dense with trees, Iris said it wasn¡¯t away around, so they had no choice but to past through. All the time they walk Nathan would look back to the same thing, Iris and Anais scowling or just plain ignoring each other.

    Nathan: Well eventually you¡¯re going to have to get along, when we form our team, we¡¯ll have to work together.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Team?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, you plan on traveling with us right, why not form one?¡±

    Early while Iris scope out ahead, Nathan decided to ask Anais about the content of the letter, but she wouldn¡¯t tell him much. Just as he did with Iris, Nathan didn¡¯t push for information, but what could Amelia have told them that would make each of them put on such a face, was it about him, something about themselves, he was curious and if they couldn¡¯t tell him he would find out on his own.

    Iris: ¡°I was not aware of this.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry, I forgot the part where, I have to tell you anything ¡°BUG¡±.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I was not speaking to you ¡°RODENT¡±.¡±

    Nathan: Seriously, how are we supposed to get anything accomplished if you keep fighting.

    Iris: ¡°Oh hero, I won¡¯t do such a savage act, that is left to those, born in holes in the ground.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That goes double for those born from a pulsating, fluid cocoon.¡±

    The two continued staring daggers at each other, Nathan just continued on, he had to think of something that would bring the two together, a common interest.

    Nathan: ¡°There has to be a way to get you both to be friendlier.¡±

    *smack**smack*

    Nathan: ¡°Awroooooo!?¡±

    Iris: Are you okay!?

    Anais: What was that noise you just made?

    Nathan: *Blush*¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. When I said get friendlier, I meant with each other.

    Iris & Anais: Huh?

    Nathan, face flushed red, half frustrated, half embarrass. He looked at the both of them, playing innocent, as if they didn¡¯t just slap him on his butt. Nathan took a deep breath and let it go, they must be playing a game or something if that helped them become closer he wouldn¡¯t pursue , but not again.

    Anais: ¡°Did he ever do that before, make that noise?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, that was the first I heard that noise, it was¡­¡­¡­ really-¡±

    Anais & Iris: ¡°(Cute)¡±

    The girls giggled, playing the sound over in their heads. Though that only lasted a moment, they remembered they hated each other and went right back to that. Nathan, looked back, they had stopped giggling and went back to fighting. They need to hurry up and decide if they want to be friend or not. If they were going to hate each other right after, why do it at all.

    *smack**smack*

    Nathan: ¡°Awroooooo!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, why do you keep making that sound (not that I mind)?

    Nathan, turned around this time he was heated.

    Nathan: ¡°A-Alright, fool me once, fool me twice, both of you, in front.

    The two stared in confusion, they didn¡¯t understand why they were being scolded, but they walk in front.

    Nathan: ¡°Sheesh, you¡¯re doing the same thing the woman of my world did, every chance they got, there is a such as too friendly.

    Iris: ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t have any idea what your referring too.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t do anything at least.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhn hunh, keep playing innocent. ( I wanted them to getting along, but not over slapping my ass, I expected better from them¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. well better of Anais anyway).

    Nathan felt his backside, it didn¡¯t sting too much, but it was noticeable.

    *Smack**smack*

    Anais: ¡°*Gasp*¡±

    Iris: ¡°Kya!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong now?¡±

    They both stared at accusingly at Nathan, both their faces now the same as Nathan¡¯ moments ago.

    Anais: ¡°Now who¡¯s being overfriendly?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb, you just smack us on the ass.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that and even if I did, the two of you just did the same thing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, I did not.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Nor did I, I would never do such a thing.¡±

    Nathan & Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Iris: ¡°How cruel.¡±

    Then out of nowhere, Anais conjured up a fire ball and tossed it amongst some nearby trees.

    Nathan: ¡°What was that about, don¡¯t just throw fireballs in th middle of a forest.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Something moved, do you sense anything.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, just flowers and trees, you sure you¡¯re not seeing things.¡±

    Anais: ¡°My senses might not be as good as yours, but I confident enough to tell when the scenery shift.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, there is a mana signature slightly different from the trees we¡¯ve seen earlier.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Well when I scouted out before we entered the forest, it should not have taken more than fifteen minutes or so, however we¡¯ve been walking for quite a while, and I still cannot see the end of the trees.¡±

    Nathan looked in every direction, it was true their was no end in sight, plus he was sure they were walking in a straight line, why was the path gone. Nathan turned towards a nearby tree.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, somethings wrong, with this forest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, Hey Iris, where do you feel that signature?¡±

    Iris: ¡°That direction.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, were head in that direction, let me know how close we are.¡±

    The three begin walking, they walked for about ten minutes.

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t understand?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Iris: ¡°We are still the exact same distance away from the signature, its not moving any closer.¡±

    Nathan looked up, it was pretty, dark in this forest. Except for a few spot where the sun showed through, you couldn¡¯t really tell, unless you paid close attention.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­This forest, it¡¯s alive.¡±

    Anais: ¡°All forests are alive.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I mean this forest is following us, look over there.

    In the direction Nathan was pointing was a tree that had a small purple mark on it, it¡¯s not even noticeable, if Nathan had not pointed it out.

    Anais: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When I checked out that tree earlier, I smashed a berry on it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So, we could be walking in circles.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Perhaps, but I got an idea.¡±

    Nathan scooped Iris out of the air, set her on his shoulder and picked up Anais.

    Iris: Hero, you¡¯re going to-¡±

    Anais: W-Wait put me down I don¡¯t-¡±

    Before they could finish, Nathan had already taken off at full speed. Nathan speed stat was undoubtedly his best. At his current speed, he could dodge a bullet. Though his speed wasn¡¯t as much of a rush to his compatriots, as sped through the trees they were feeling sick. But, it was working, the trees that had hidden it movement so well, were now openly trying to keep up with Nathan. Some branches even made swipes at him, though now that he was fully aware, they were useless.

    Iris: ¡°Hero, we¡¯re getting close.¡±

    Up ahead Crouching behind a branch, was a green skinned little girl, her hair darker green with roses sprouting from her head. As the three approached, they could see the fear on her face. The trees must have caught her and now keeping her prisoner and were attempting to impede any form of rescue. As Nathan passed by Anais reached out and grabbed hold of her, pulling her close enough for Nathan to grab her up in his other arm and continue his sprint.

    The trees in the forest let out a roar that startled the trio, roots and limbs begin to grow and every which way, trying desperately to keep them from escaping. In comparison to the Uzy, the trees were basically standing still Nathan would agilely ducked and leaped over anything he could and what he could not was burned down by Anais and Iris.

    Nathan: ¡°Damn, ass slapping trees!¡±

    Anais: ¡°This girl must be really important to them.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What could they possibly need her for?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, were not letting them get her.¡±

    Nathan took a large leap, successfully propelling him from the forest, but right before he landed a root coiled itself around his leg. Nathan quickly tossed both girls from his arms before unsheathing his sword, attempting to cut the

    Girl: ¡°(NO PLEASE DON¡¯T)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    *shnap*

    Nathan stopped for a moment from the sudden voice, in that instance,the tree creatures was able two grab Nathan hand, forcing it to his side to and entangling itself around his entirety. Iris was ripped away from his shoulder and was being dragged, back into the trees, they were having more trouble with Nathan, who refused to be caught.

    Anais: ¡°NATHAN!!¡±

    Anais ready her spell, it wouldn¡¯t do much damage normally, but a fire spell no matter how weak would still burn wood. Just as she was about to release the flowered haired girl moved to stop her, grabbing her hands and preventing her from firing. With the interference, Nathan and Iris who were still trying to on tangle themselves, with a loud *Schwip* were swallowed up by the trees, sealing the spot with roots. Anais who had miss her chance to save them, curse out loud. Turning to the girl, she gave her a quick strike to the face, before kicking her away and freeing herself from the girl¡¯s grasp.

    Anais: ¡°WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO; WE WERE TRYING TO SAVE YOU.¡±

    The girl held the spot where she had been kicked and looked up at Anais who was, who was readying another strike. The girl braced for the blow, but it never came, for in her rage Anais had forgotten the roaming forest was drawing closer and was also caught and bound. She tried desperately to aim her spell at the girl, but to no avail. The trees had her and just as her companions before, she too was swallowed.

    The girl stayed down for a moment before rising to her feet, the spot where Anais still throbbed, but she fought through the pain. The trees now had become still and quiet once more. With a wave of her hand, a small opening was made amongst the limbs and the girl casually reentered the forest, sealing the entrance behind.

    A little way off, three nymphs watch the entire scene fallout. A moment later one of the nymph turned around and begin flying away, the other two followed.

    Water Nymphs: ¡°Quickly we must tell Saria, Celes caught the intruders.¡±

 Chapter 16: Control

    Chapter 16: Control

    Anais: "That bitch, we were trying to saved that overgrown piece of broccoli, wait until I get loose."

    Nathan: "Calm down, Anais.¡±

    Anais: "Oh, I¡¯ll calm down, after I rip all the flowers, off her head.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re really upset huh?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Of course I¡¯m upset, we¡¯ve been captured, by someone we were trying to save and also,you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Me?¡±

    Anais: "You had it, one swing would have split that tree in half, but you froze up and now we''re caught.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Nathan decided it was best to let her vent, who could blame her. It was his choice to save the girl and his choice not to slay the tree. He had a reason, but it seemed that if he tried explaining, it would fuel her anger. He had a more pressing issue. For some reason, Iris was not with them, with his hyper senses, he had her scent and knew her general area, but no specific.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, where¡¯s that stupid fairy, she hasn¡¯t contradicted me at all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(You really just notice) She was taken, when we were captured.¡±

    Anais: "What, why would they split us up, not that I¡¯m complaining.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I hope she¡¯s okay.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Iris: "Hero, Hero, can you hear me, where are you?¡±

    Iris struggle to free herself, worried at the fact that she was separated from the Hero. She was distraught, ever since they left the study she had failed in her duties as guardian and the constant failure was taking its toll. She continued to scream out for him, until the branches begin to move, bringing her along with them. Lifting her high above the tree line, where she was met once again with the light of day.

    Her eyes adjusting to the bright sun, she surprised to see several girls floating. Besides some differences, they resemble the girl they attempted to rescue earlier. However, there was one thing that drew her attention away from their appearance, not a single one of them, were wearing clothes. Why were a group of girls, in the middle of a forest, roaming around without clothes? She came to a quick answer.

    Iris: ¡°Could they be the ¡°Perverts?¡±

    Among the books, she read to take care of the Hero, ¡°Lady Amelia¡± mentioned something that is reminiscence of this moment, she didn¡¯t understand why, but she did notwon''t the hero to see this. One of the older looking girls approached, she was more developed then the ones behind her. Beautiful, pale-skin, with silver hair that blew around,where there was no wind, as if it had its own air current, though her hair did cover some essential spots, it still something she felt, the hero shouldn¡¯t see. She stared at Iris as if she was, trying to see through her, then a smiled crossed her face, she turned to the rest.

    Saria: ¡°Celes, has successfully rescued our sister.¡±

    The statement was immediately met with cheers and applause, Iris stared on dumbfounded. She didn¡¯t understand what was going on, however if this girl was foolish enough to turn their backs on her, she was not going to waste the chance. Almost immediately upon invoking a spell, did the nymph move closer.

    Saria: ¡°Calm yourself sister, there is no need to fight, the enchantment the intruders have placed, on you shall be removed.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I Don¡¯t understand what you speak of, however, I have every intention of-¡±

    Before she could finish her sentence, the girl placed a hand to iris¡¯s head. Her hand begins to admit a light, prompting Iris to move back, as to avoid attack.

    Saria: ¡°Huh¡­¡­.what is this, sister, you aren¡¯t under any spell?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I was never under any spell, nor am I any sister of yours.¡±

    Several of the girls let out noticeable gasps.

    Saria: ¡°Inconceivable, surely you don¡¯t mean to say, you were helping them, of your own free will?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this, if we have no quarrel, then I shall take my leave.¡±

    Iris turned and attempted to leave, when several of the other girls moved to impede her.

    Water Nymph: ¡°You have betrayed us, you side with the intruders?¡±

    Iris: ¡°As I explained, I haven¡¯t the faintest, to what you are referring, but if you continue to impede me, then you shall be moved.¡±

    The nymphs of the forest were not sure how to react towards Iris. Though they bicker from time to time, never has a sister been so incline to raise their hands to another.

    Saria: ¡°Enough!¡±

    The girl from before floated between iris and the rest.

    Saria: ¡°Sister, what have they done to you, that you would raise your hands against us?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I am not your sister, move or be moved?¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    The Nymphs of the forest stood their ground, though they were not used to battle, they believe they could best one of their own.

    Iris: ¡°Very well,you''re end shallbe swift.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Celes touched her side, pain shot through her. She had never been kicked that hard or at all before. She cringed at the thought that happening again, but as luck what dictate, she might not have to. On the off chance, while visiting her Treant friends, she was surprised to find that the intruders who wreaked havoc on their home. She immediately thought to leave and let Saria know, but by the time she returned they would have escaped the forest. The river on the side, connects directly to their home, surely, they would find it.

    She made her choice, she would attempt to capture them and with some minor setbacks, she was successful. First and foremost, she immediately separated her sister from the two others, now that Saria has arrive she can undo the control they have on her. So, for now she will watch the other two, until Saria¡¯s done.

    Anais: ¡°A voice in your head, that¡¯s why you stopped?¡±

    Nathan: Yeah right before I swung, I swore I heard someone yell stop.

    After Anais calmed down a bit, so Nathan explained his actions from before.

    Anais: ¡°So, you led us to be captured, all because you heard a voice, in your head, urge you not to kill, the thing that was trying kill us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When you put it like that, you make it sound like I¡¯m crazy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh good, I¡¯m glad you understood, that¡¯s exactly what it sounds like.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I deserve that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You deserve a lot more, but it can wait until we get out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, we need to find Iris; I have a filling they were targeting her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Who would target the fairy, more, why would anyone targeting us, we didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Nathan: I don¡¯t know but, we¡¯ve been having too much bad luck, too be calling it coincidence¡­. huh? *Sniff* *Sniff*¡±

    Nathan looked around, it was pretty dark besides the small areas where sunlight showed through, but he didn¡¯t really need to see what he was smelling. He knew exactly what this scent was.

    Anais: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I smell flowers.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Of course you do, idiot, we¡¯re in a forest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me I know your there, could you come, we want to talk, if we¡¯ve done something wrong, could you please tell us?¡±

    Celes nearly jumped out of her skin, was she addressing her, she must be, there¡¯s no one else in the forest.

    Anais: ¡°Who are you talking to?¡±

    Celes didn¡¯t want to show herself, but she does have them trapped, what could they do to her.

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s that broccoli bitch, wait until I get loose, I¡¯ll kick your ass again.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, calm down.¡±

    Anais: What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Clearly theirs some, huge misunderstanding going on and you threatening to beat her up, is not helping, look.¡±

    Several tree limbs have reason from the ground and were aimed right at the two.

    Anais: *Whisper*¡°How do you plan to clear it up?¡±

    Nathan: *Whisper* I¡¯ll just talk to her, we need to clear the air, until we can move or arms, we¡¯re at a disadvantage, violence want help.

    Anais knew he was right, right now trying to fight their way out would prove fruitless, more so when one of them were missing, so for now she would bite her tongue. Nathan looked down at the young girl, she stood peeking out from behind a large branch, most likely retreating from Anais¡¯s threat.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey there, my names Nathan and my angry friend is Anais.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Tch¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Can you tell me your name?¡±

    She shook her head no, though he couldn¡¯t get her name, the fact that she acknowledged him meaning she was willing to listen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My friends and I are new to the area, we not sure what we did to offend you, are you willing to explain?¡±

    She moved into plain view, she stood staring at Nathan, as if she was trying to see if he showed any signs of deceit. With a waved of her hand, the branches lowered to the ground, they unravel from around the two, although a wall of tentacle like branches, stood between the two and the girl.

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you very much, now what exactly have we done that offended you so.¡±

    The girl shook her hands and head vigorously, followed with movements, similar, to dancing.

    Anais: ¡°The hell, wrong with her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe, she communicates through dancing?¡±

    Celes, nearly toppled over from them misunderstanding, her face flushed from embarrassment. She pointed to her mouth and shook her head once more.

    Nathan: ¡°Could it be, you can¡¯t talk?¡±

    Celes nodded in confirmation.

    Anais: ¡°Now what genius, if she can¡¯t talk, then we can¡¯t talk a way out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, we just need to keep our questions simple.¡±

    Celes was shocked at her bravado, directly in front of her stood the intruders and yet she didn¡¯t feel frightened in the least, well she was still scared of being struck by the smaller girl, but the tall girl was much, more pleasant. She didn¡¯t seem dangerous in the least, now that she thought about it, when she was grabbed by her earlier, she didn¡¯t feel fear at all. Though that could all be hearsay, it most likely because she had complete control over the situation.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I¡¯ll start off simple, is Iris okay?¡±

    Celes looked confused, Nathan took notice of this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The fairy you separated us from, she our important friend, is she okay?¡±

    Celes nodded in confirmation, now realizing he was referring to her sister she rescued, but something was wrong. This human looked genuinely relieved to hear that. Was she not their captive?

    Nathan: ¡°Thank goodness, so is there any chance you could bring her here?¡±

    Celes expression turned stern, shook her head vigorously. They both were a little taken back, she had looked nervous since they begin talking, but now she was adamantly denying their request.

    Nathan: ¡°Is there something about bringing her here, that you don¡¯t like?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I tell you what it is, she¡¯s keeping her hostage.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Think about it, as long as she holding the fairy, she¡¯s in a position, to get whatever she wants from us.

    Nathan had no reason to contradict Anais¡¯s assessment. That would explain why she let them down so easily, if she has Iris, they couldn¡¯t risk starting a ruckus. Her nervous demeanor slowly evaporating, her facial expression, indicating how angry she had become. She stared daggers at Anais, who did the same. It was as if she was throwing the accusation right back at them.

    Celes: ¡°(How dare you, I would never do such a thing. You two are the ones holding hostages.).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, that voice in my head, it was you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nathan, this is no time to be going crazy.¡±

    Nathan: Hey, how you doing that?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What is she talking about, I haven¡¯t done anything)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°See, you did it again, talking in my head and I¡¯m not a girl.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about, I don¡¯t hear anything.¡±

    Nathan was sure she was the one, but it seems the girl was unaware of what she was doing.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey try saying hello to me, but do it inside your head.¡±

    Celes didn¡¯t understand what she meant, saying hello to someone in your head didn¡¯t seem to make sense. Nathan listened for anything, but nothing came through.

    Celes: ¡°*sigh*(So, this girl is crazy as well, so much for getting information.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That was more of an insult, but at least I heard you and I¡¯m NOT a girl.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What, y-you can really hear me)?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, it was really clear that time.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(A-Amazing, you can actually here my thoughts).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, and I think I¡¯m starting to understand.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Will someone please explain, what¡¯s going on?

    Nathan: ¡°So I can hear her thoughts, but only when their directed at me, like if we were having a normal conversation When she yelled stop, though she did it unknowingly, but since she directed toward me, I could hear it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Okay, Mr. cozy with the enemy, I get it, just ask her about letting us go.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right, so uhh, what should I call you?

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, yes, I am Celes.).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well Celes, what exactly have done to offend?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Well, let me ask you this, how did you to end up here)?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We don¡¯t know, after leaving the study, we just walked around for weeks. We tried to leave but, the areas, encased an impassable mountain range.

    Celes: ¡°(Study, surely you don¡¯t mean Lady Amelia¡¯s home?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, you know Amelia, well that will speed things up.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, what about Lady Amelia¡±?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She knows who she is.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey do you know, where she Is?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I don¡¯t know, no one has seen her, since she left the ¡°Garden¡± years ago, but if what you say is true then).¡±

    Nathan explained to Anais what Celes said, though she was unhappy being unable to discern Amelia¡¯s whereabouts. Celes was not sure what to believe, if they are telling the truth then, how exactly did that creature end up here? But all thoughts were silence by a sudden mana surge, a spell so strong that Nathan and Anais felt it as well. Nathan recognized this energy immediately.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell is going on, you planning to attack us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, Anais, this is Iris, she¡¯s fighting someone, above the forest.

    Anais: ¡°How did she escape?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(She did not escape, I¡¯d never hold my sister prisoner, I was just trying to separate her from you two).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your sister!?¡±

    This was news to Nathan, Iris never mention the fact that she had siblings, did she not know, but that didn¡¯t matter right now.

    Nathan: ¡°Listen, there are some big misunderstandings between us, but you need to let me go, right now. Iris is undoubtedly looking for me and whoever or whatever is in her way, will be removed.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Then removed the spell you have on her).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What spell?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(The one you¡¯re using to control her, release it and she won¡¯t attack.).¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s this about a spell?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She thinks were controlling Iris, with a spell.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Why else would she ally herself with you)?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She said she was assign to be the Hero¡¯s guardian.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(The hero¡¯s guardian, you¡¯re the Hero!?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That what she, keeps telling me.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Ridiculous!)¡±

    Nathan: Really, I am.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I know how she feels; it was so hard was so hard for me to believe you were the hero as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not helping.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Then if what you say is true, you would have proof, otherwise I cannot allow you to leave.)

    Nathan: ¡°As of matter of fact I do, all I need are my weapons back.¡±

    If Nathan could get her to give ¡°Origin¡± back, he could not only prove who he was but also allow iris to locate him.

    Celes: ¡°(No.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why not?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Though don¡¯t seem to be a bad person, it would be foolhardy, to return your means attack.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I won¡¯t attack.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I just might.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Again, not helping.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t risk it, I will not relinquish control, over the situation.)¡±

    Nathan sighed heavily and lift his arms into the air. As he did a snyare plant shot out from beneath Celes and curled themselves around her legs. TheTreant tried to react, but the snyare had already launch her into the air, tossing her towards Nathan. As she flew, more branches attempted to catch her, however each branch had been met with a snyare that would coil itself around them,preventing her from being rescued. Celes fell towards Nathan, and with open arms he, received her. Anais looked on awe struck, she was surprised how easily he caught her.

    <u>Finesse Increased+4</u>

    <u>Charisma Increased +5</u>

    Celes: ¡°(W-What how did you-)¡±

    Nathan: Ever since we entered the forest, no, after since we were attacked by those ¡°Uzy¡±, I been spreading these seeds around, just in case something or someone,decided to attack us.¡±

    Nathan set Celes on the ground. Her fear had frozen her in place, her nervous demeanor had returned, no longer did she have the protection.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry about that but, this was all could come up with. If I wanted to harm you or escape I could have, the moment you put us down. I stayed to clear up any misunderstandings you have about us.¡±

    Celes thought she had understood her position, everything happened so fast, she never had any real protection, she never had control, the entire time he was allowing her to hold them. She looked around at her forest, everything was now entangled with Nathan¡¯s snyare plants, she was completely at his mercy.

    Nathan: ¡°Listen if you please return my stuff, I can clear up everything, you don¡¯t have to trust me, let me earn it.¡±

    Celes was sure she had a choice anymore, she raised her hand and the branches covering Nathan¡¯s weapons were removed. He walked over and picked up both and immediately removed the scabbard from one sword. Celes immediately forgot everything else, her attention was immediately drawn to the blade.

    Celes: ¡°(Amazing)¡±.

    Nathan immediately sheath the sword, allowing Celes to come to her senses. If she was Iris sister, he was confident that, it would have the same effect on her.

    Celes: ¡°(That was Origin, it was¡­. It was, Simply breathtaking.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Now do you believe me?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, there can be no mistake, you are, who you say you are.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, then about letting us out.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Y-Yes, right away.)¡±

    A wave of her hand and the trees parted, allowing light to shine in freely once again. Nathan was amazed as how just how much of effect ¡°Origin¡± had on fairies. Just seeing it would make them wholeheartedly commit to it.

    Anais: ¡°Finally, took you long enough, let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, all the fighting stopped when I pulled out Origin, but I really hope she didn¡¯t hurt anyone.¡±

    Nathan and Anais rush out of the forest, with Celes following close behind.

    Anais: ¡°What the Hell!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa!

    As they exited they, the area filled with girls, like Celes. Some floating in midair, other semi submerged in the river and others just standing around. But the most surprising thing to Nathan and Anais, not even one of them were wearing clothes, everything out in the open, all for Nathan to see. A moment later, Nathan spotted Iris who sped towards Nathan, at a blinding speed and at the same time Anais jumped at him.

    Iris and Anais: ¡°DON¡¯T LOOK!¡±

    Nathan reflexes took over and he completely dodged them both, sending them crashing into one another. He turned back around to the field of women and smirked.

    Nathan: ¡°Way too late for that.¡±

 Chapter 17: Where the Fae Fly

    Chapter 17: Where the Fae Fly

    After Celes explained to everyone who Nathan was and after Nathan preventing Iris and Anais from murdering anyone, things became relatively tamed.

    Saria: ¡°Umm, Hero?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You need something Saria and please call me Nathan.¡±

    Saria: "No, not particularly, it¡¯s just-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I was just wondering, is it comfortable to walk like that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Heheh, no Saria, it is not.¡±

    As they followed Celes and Saria back to their home, surrounded by the flying naked woman, Anais and Iris had made it their personal mission, to allow Nathan to see absolutely nothing. Each of them covering ones of his eyes respectively, if not for his abilities, this would be completely unbearable.

    Saria: ¡°We apologize for causing so much trouble, so much has happened at once, we jumped to conclusion.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Celes said something about an eyeball and you thought it was us?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wait a minute, before that, I liked to address the elephant in the room.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But, we¡¯re not in a room, or at least that what I last saw before you two jumped on my face.¡±

    Iris: ¡°And we be more than happy to remove our hands, as soon as they do something about their appearance.¡±

    Saria: ¡°There something wrong with the way we look.¡±

    Suddenly, the pressure on Nathan¡¯s eyes increased.

    Nathan: ¡°Oww, okay that¡¯s enough!¡±

    Nathan ripped them both from his face, he was met with Saria, systematically checking every nook and cranny of her person, putting herself on full display.

    Saria: ¡°I don¡¯t see anything wrong, do I like weird?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­. As he stared deep into the ¡°Valley of Passion¡±, a lust came over him, he dared to step forward, as he did, three simple words were uttered, I¡­¡­¡­.am¡­¡­¡­MAN!

    Anais And Iris begin pinching Nathan on his sides, their reactions right now were just too funny he couldn¡¯t resist teasing them.

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me Saria, are you aware that I¡¯m a man?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Huh, no I wasn¡¯t, such a beautiful man.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t say that, you¡¯ll make me cry.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the confusion, but your gender doesn¡¯t matter, does it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nope, if your cool with it, then so am I.¡±

    Anais & Iris: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan pulled Iris and Anais in close.

    Nathan: ¡°*whisper* Listen, obviously, they don¡¯t have much interference from the outside world, they probably don¡¯t understand the concept of clothing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But Hero, I think they might be¡­¡­¡­ ¡°The Perverts¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the pot calling the kettle black.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Iris looked completely confused from that remarked, Nathan was mind boggle just how clueless she was.

    Anais: ¡°Okay, then how do you explain the Broccoli, isn¡¯t she wearing a dress?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, hey Celes, what you¡¯re wearing, where¡¯d you get it?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(This, it was a gift from Lady Amelia, is it strange?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, but, do you know why she gave it to you?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Lady Amelia said I looked cute, so I should wear cute things. But, to be honest I don¡¯t understand how you can stand wearing them, they are a nuisance, always getting snag, the wind blows it all around, and it¡¯s so restricting. However, it is a gift, so I will put up with the annoyances).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see.¡±

    It¡¯s like Nathan figured, he explained it to Iris and Anais. They were still reluctant to listen. Nathan told them to consider the fact that they were guess, forcing your way of life on someone else just because you find something immoral or indecent, is just telling them, there way of life is wrong. They were taken aback, but they couldn¡¯t rebuke. They just had to deal with it, until they got out.

    <u>Persuasion Increased +3</u>

    Iris: ¡°Hero, by any chance are you enjoying this?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh Iris, Of course I am. I am a man after all.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Saria: ¡°Our entire lives are spent behind these walls, with little to no interference from the outside.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Called it.¡±

    Nathan smirked over to Anais and Iris, who both looked increasingly annoyed. Ever since he said he was enjoying this, they both have been pouting and occasionally pinching his side, whenever he was staring too long.

    Saria: ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, inside joke, please continue.¡±

    Saria: The walls cannot be scaled, and any attempt to fly over them, is met with an impassable storm. We don¡¯t know much of was happening beyond those walls, only what the ¡°Grassvalley Tribe¡± has told us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Grassvalley Tribe?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, they act as the guardians, they live at the end of the only exit and entrance to the ¡°Garden¡±, which is why were so surprise when we first saw you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And this eyeball, arrived not long before we arrived, so when one of your sisters saw us, you set traps to capture us?¡±

    The question caught Saria off guard, she wasn¡¯t expecting to be found out so quickly.

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Think about it, when been getting into dangerous situation, one after another, way too many to be coincidence. The Snyare plant that seemed to appear right in our way, the scythe creatures that attacked Iris and I, at first it seemed like nothing but bad luck, but when we ran into the Uzy, it all made sense. The Uzy sprouted way too fast, for it to be the only one in that large field.¡±

    Iris: ¡°So, someone planted it there, knowing full well you would interact with it, someone must have been watching us, they would have seen you eating the seeds from plants you¡¯ve encountered, the chances of you walking by was unlikely, all they had to do was wait.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Nathan: Right, but they didn¡¯t count on Anais showing up.¡±

    Anais: Right, I wasn¡¯t with you when you were walking around, my ability to hide my presence, kept me outta there sight, so when I showed up, the onslaught which should have killed you, was avoided.

    Nathan: Yeah, but why are you not fighting yourselves, Iris spoke highly, about your fight earlier.

    Saria: ¡°We live our lives in seclusion, for what need would we learn to fight. Any intruders, are dealt with long before they enter.¡±

    Nathan: So, if that¡¯s the case, how did that eyeball get in and where is this Grassvalley Tribe?

    Saria: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. That¡¯s a good question.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    As they came to the clearing, a feeling when through Nathan, it only lasted a moment, however he couldn¡¯t tell if it was internal or if it was just what he was seeing. Much different from the lush beauty they had been in just moments ago, this area was dry, the flowers and trees were wilted or dead. A suffocating wind, that seared your throat, with every breath.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell happened here?¡±

    Saria: ¡°This is a result of the giant eye, wherever it travels, if water ran through the area, this is what happens. The moment water enters the area, it quickly evaporates.¡±

    Nathan look up stream, surely water was flowing down towards the area, but as it entered the area, it was instantly gone. Nathan walked over to spot where water would enter, he knew it was bad, but watching that much water instantly gone, was kinda cool. He looked down stream, it looks like something big made its way in that direction.

    Nathan: ¡°So, if it dries up when it enters this area, then how does any water get further downstream?¡±

    Nathan waited a minute for Saria to answer, when he looked to his side, she wasn¡¯t next to him anymore. He turned back to everyone, no one had stepped a foot past the edge where the lush met the wilted.

    Nathan: ¡°Uhh, aren¡¯t we going to continue?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, please come back, it¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    Nathan looked around for what Iris was talking about.

    Nathan: ¡°There¡¯s nothing here, Iris.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Stop looking around, get back over here, you idiot.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Saria: ¡°How, are you okay in that heat?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean, sure it¡¯s hot, but the heat never really bothered me before, is that why your all standing over there, a little bit of heat?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I like to know your definition of a little bit of heat.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Saria, the Hero can¡¯t sense the enchantment?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Enchantment?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, the area your standing in has an enchantment placed on it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really?¡±

    Saria: Whatever enter the area will immediately begin to dehydrate, to the point where all moisture in your body would have evaporated within seconds, yet you¡¯re okay.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, Celes is okay too.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What, CELES WHEN DID YOU?¡±

    While everyone was focused on Nathan, Celes had entered and now was standing next to him.

    Nathan: ¡°See, she¡¯s fine.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Celes is a ¡°Dryad¡±, her ¡°Plant Physiology¡±, offer her a resistance to the heat.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Nathan looked at his status screen, he was under the effects of some heat curse, but he also has a ¡°Plant Physiology¡±. Thanks to his ¡°Legacy¡¯s effects, he had a 75% resistance to the Enchantment. He would be fine, as long he did exert any unnecessary energy. Nathan turned to Celes she was unnaturally close. The whole walk here she had kept her distance, hiding behind Saria the entire time. Now she wasn¡¯t even two feet away.

    Celes: ¡°(¡­¡­¡­¡­ Plant Physiology¡± is exclusive Plant type nymphs.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Exclusive?¡±

    Celes: ¡°Yes, it allows, us properties of all plants that exist. There not active always, just when we need them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see, SO, ¡°PLANT PHYSIOLOGY¡± IS EXCLUSIVE TO PLANT NYMPHS, I UNDERSTAND.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Why are you speaking so loudly)?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It makes me sound big.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Okay?)¡±

    Nathan looked over to Iris and Anais to see if they caught on, they both nodded to him. They understood, they would keep that he had the same ability a secret, for now.

    Celes: ¡°(So, how are you able to enter?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well to tell you the truth, I don¡¯t know, can it have something to do with being the hero?¡±

    Celes: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Perhaps, maybe that¡¯s it?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Hey Celes, come out of there, right now.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You, come out as well, Hero.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, come on, Celes.¡±

    Nathan started walking back over to everyone, while Celes followed behind, she was lost in thought, there was something about Nathan that she couldn¡¯t put into words. It was like, she was looking at another Dryad.

    -

    -

    -

    After going back and circling around the Enchantment, it took another thirty minutes, before reached their destination. They were greeted with the crisp air that surrounded a large lake. With crystal clear water, a waterfall which split into smaller ones, all flowing into small pools. Nathan thought it looked like a waterslide, he had a sudden urge to climb it and jump off. A sweet scent invaded his nostrils, relaxing and distressing him, with every breath.

    The area was filled with large flowers of different color and sizes, some coming close to rivaling trees. The pedals were turned towards the ground and acted as walls, forming little houses. It was something right out of a fairy tale, anyone from his world be entranced with the sights. Though, for the inhabitants of the forest, none of that mattered, since right now he seemed to be the center of attention.

    In the sky, water, peeking out from inside the houses, Nymphs were everywhere. Different types, different age groups, different sizes. Just like the group from earlier, not a single article of clothing to be found. Though some of them natural feature seemed to conveniently cover essential parts. As Saria lead them to her home, he could feel the eyes of everyone on him. None more so than, two sets of eyes behind him, that seemed to pierce his soul.

    Nathan: ¡°How long do you two, plan to drill holes in the back of my head.¡±

    Iris: ¡°As you said, we shouldn¡¯t force others to change, to fit our way of life. That does not mean I have to like it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t understand why we¡¯re still following them. She said the way out behind that waterfall, we can leave¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­right now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She also said, the Grassvalley Tribe, lives on the other end, how do we explain to them, how we got past them or do you think the three of us could take an entire tribe?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Unh hunh, whatever keeps us here longer, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get it, I told you I enjoyed this, but if we could leave without having to fight, I would.¡±

    Iris: ¡°We can save this talk for later, we should be prioritizing, keeping you off her radar.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Observe.¡±

    Nathan looked up ahead, he was being watched by Celes, who quickly turned away, when their eyes met.

    Nathan: ¡°Crud, she¡¯s suspicious of me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°If what she said is true, they will want to know how you were able to use an ability exclusive to ¡°Dryad¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°Is there a way to steal a Legacy?¡±

    Anais: ¡°None of the books I ate ever mentioned that ability, but I can¡¯t say for sure that it can¡¯t happen.¡±

    Iris looked aggravated upon mention of the ruined books, Anais just ignored and kept the conversation moving.

    Nathan: Then I guess it¡¯s a blessing she can¡¯t speak, after I stupidly, walked into the enchantment, she will probably put two and two together sooner or later.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not to mention, how you outright controlled the plants, that captured her so easily.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I never told her I grew them, just that I planted them, there could be other means to control them.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Regardless Hero, we should tread lightly, they might have an alternate form of communication.¡±

    Nathan looked back over to Celes, who was watching him yet again. She quickly turned when their eyes met.

    Nathan: ¡°If turns out, the way to take another ¡°Legacy¡±, is something extremely bad, it won¡¯t turn out well.¡±

    They soon arrived at a flower hut, larger than the others they passed by. Saria ushered everyone before entering herself.

    Saria: ¡°Please make ourselves at home, Celes, come with me, we¡¯ll get some drinks for our guess.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Nonsense, you are our guess, I¡¯ll be right back.

    Saria ripped a giant berry growing from the wall, before disappearing into another room with Celes close behind.

    The inside was bigger than it looked on the outside. It was like a miniature garden; the furniture were just smaller flowers. Nathan tried sitting, he was surprised to see appendages sprout from beneath the flower, adding needed leverage to support his weight.

    Anais: ¡°With all these flowers they might as well live outside.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t criticize our guess.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, are you plan on helping them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The giant eye thing, wasn¡¯t thinking about it, why you think I should?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I believe, that we should not get in over our heads, we¡¯ve just begun, no need to rush into battle, but if we can help, I won¡¯t be against it, it is always a good thing to help others.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Forget it, this is none of our business, plus they have their own guardians, we should see if they could get us passage through the tunnel and be done with it. Like you said earlier, we should avoid fighting if we can.¡±

    Nathan was

    Not a moment after they finished talking did, Celes and Saria enter the room. Carrying a tray, Saria set cups down in front of the three. The cups filled with, a red liquid that smelled of wild berries. Nathan took a sip.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s good.¡±

    Anais and Iris each took a sip as well, both agreeing with Nathan, it was very good.

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m glad your enjoyed it, it¡¯s not much, but it all I have at the moment.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Because of the eye?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Ah, oh no, I don¡¯t eat much and we don¡¯t get guess often, but if there¡¯s anything else you need.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, its fine.¡±

    Nathan finished his cup.

    Nathan: ¡°Lets finish our conversation, shall we?¡±

 Chapter 18: To Ask a Request

    Chapter 18: To Ask a Request

    Saria: ¡°Three months ago, a huge earthquake, shook the area. Such things are rare not unheard of, it was quickly put aside once the shaken had cease. If I had paid more attention, we would not be in this predicament. Not long after the earthquake, some of my sisters reported smaller lakes in the area had been completely dried.

    Nathan: ¡°Do the lakes in the area, ever dry up?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, Lakes that at times would overflow, had all its water evaporate overnight. Tatia my sister in charge of the southern areas, informed me that many of our sisters had witness a boulder, with spikes covering its body, hovering away from sites, in which the lakes had dried.

    Nathan started to form an image in his mind, at least what he thought it might look like.

    Nathan: ¡°And then you¡¯d called for help?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, not at first, I wanted to be sure that there was actually a threat, as I¡¯ve told you, we don¡¯t normally have any trouble within these walls, if someone told you a boulder, floated away all on its own, would you have believed it.

    Nathan: ¡°No, probably not, but didn¡¯t anyone attempt to pursue the boulder, to be sure of its existence?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I did just that, the story was ridiculous, but there was no reason for any of us to lie in such a situation, I directed the water nymphs to repair as much as they can, while I follow

    Nathan: ¡°And you found it?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, it was just as everyone had said a floating boulder, with spikes protruding from its body, silently hovering around, then it would open its eye, completely black, like staring into a void, pulling into the black.

    Saria was noticeably shivering, Celes shook her a bit to snap her out of it. Saria smiled and patted her head.

    Saria: ¡°But the creature was different from how I imagined, not the way it looked, just how it acted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How so?¡±

    Saria: ¡°When I finally caught up to it, it was just hovering along, many of my sisters had flown right by it, one had even fell right in its path, but it paid them no mind, it just continued to dry up all the water in the area, as if we didn¡¯t exist.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s a good thing, it isn¡¯t hostile.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, but it still wouldn¡¯t stop drying out the pond, in a matter of seconds it was done, then it just moved on. I immediately sent word to the Grassvalley Tribe, to ask for assistance, that was a nearly a month ago.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Does it usually take this long?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, never, they would usually respond within a few days.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wait, something doesn¡¯t add up, why didn¡¯t the eye boulder, cast the same enchantment on all the other areas, as it did that one area, it wouldn¡¯t have to keep drying up your water sources, right?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, I wondered that as well, in fact nothing it does make sense, the directions it takes, the lakes it dries are ones that are stand alone, they were made by us, to make water more accessible in those areas. It avoids the larger lakes all together, except ¡°Lake Vitae¡±, the largest lake in that part of the ¡°Garden¡±. All the smaller lakes and ponds that we repaired, the eye just circled back around and dried them out, once again. It¡¯s like it doesn¡¯t want to leave that area.¡±

    As the Anais and Saria converse, Nathan glanced over to Iris, she looks as though she wanted to say something, but Nathan signaled her not to. Given her nature, he could, pretty much guess what she wanted to ask, but it would most likely cause unnecessary strain.

    Saria: ¡°Nothing made sense, that was until you arrive.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, when I showed up, you were thinking something along the lines, I sent the creature to make preparation for my arrival, to make an area where I could rest or something, right?

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­You have a very keen intellect, as if your reading my thought.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I catch on fast, but what I don¡¯t get is, why would, having Iris with me, bring about immediate assumptions, that I¡¯m holding her prisoner, why would you think that?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, to be honest its isn¡¯t normal. For any ¡°Fae¡± creature to be so close to human, it is unheard of.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I was chosen to be the Hero¡¯s Guardian.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, but at the time we didn¡¯t know that, Fae, especially Fairies are usually captured and made into slaves for humans and the like, seeing you with one, we had assumed the worst.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Everyone looked to Nathan, for his sudden outburst, he didn¡¯t realize how loud he was being.

    Saria: ¡°I see, you really don¡¯t know, Fairies are one of the few Fae who have a high Mana capacity, when they are captured, they are used as mana deposits. I¡¯m not too keen on the details, but I heard that some occasion, we are used to, restore objects that need mana to be utilized.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you kidding me!?¡±

    Nathan was really surprised by this revelation, all the fairies he read about were always revered or allies of men. To think someone had the idea of turning them into batteries. The thought of that, really upset him.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, she¡¯s not my slave, I can assure you of that and she never will be.¡±

    Unbeknownst to Nathan, his declaration had cause Iris to turn red. She turned her head to one side, to keep from being discovered.

    Saria: ¡°I see, forgive me for my accusations.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I swear people in this world apologize way too much, let¡¯s get back on topic.¡±

    Nathan, felt as though Saria constant apologizing, was a ploy. It felt like she was trying to get on the best of terms. She wanted to ask something of him and he knew exactly what that was. He would beat her to the punch.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if the eyeball boulder, is willingly confining itself to one area, all you have to do is wait for your guardians to arrive and take care of it.¡± There is absolutely no need to provoke it, right?¡±

    Nathan knew that they were planning to ask him to try and fight it. To be honest, half of him wanted to try and fight, it would be nice to help and it could give him a boost in Exp. On the other hand, he could end up getting completely outmatched, plus Iris and Anais would definitely follow him, completely ignoring his pleas for them not to go. The last thing he wanted to do is lead them into a slaughter.¡±

    If only he weren¡¯t surrounded by Fae, he probably could fight it. He noticed that it¡¯s only the Fae that get entranced by ¡°Origin¡±. Anais can feel its power, but she still completely coherent when he unsheathes it. Having them closing in on the blade while he¡¯s trying to use it, would make it completely useless.

    Saria paused for a moment.

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­No, I guess there isn¡¯t.¡±

    Saria, looked down to Celes, who smiled back, she had lost her chance to ask for assistance, but it felt more like, he deliberately said what he said, to keep her from asking him to help. She wanted to reclaim her sister¡¯s home as soon as possible, but she failed, asking someone to fight a battle that could be avoided, was ridiculous.

    Nathan: ¡°So, now that we¡¯ve cleared all misunderstandings, I liked to ask if you can provide us passage to the exit?¡±

    Saria was shocked, they were planning to leave right away, this was bad. She wasn¡¯t sure when the Grassvalley Tribe would show, she could still ask for assistance, if worse comes to worse. If he left now and things change, she doesn¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t have to do anything, but tell the truth.

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m sorry, but I have no control over that.¡±

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°I you kidding me, a barrier, a wall, and now, a stupid door, that can only be opened from the other side.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing for it, we¡¯ll just have to wait.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What if they try and attack us, once its open, should we fight back?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I keep saying, we can¡¯t take on a tribe, that¡¯s why I needed to clear the misunderstandings with Saria, if she vouches for us, she can secure safe passage, but for now we¡¯ll just have to deal with it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Even after you deliberately avoided, her asking us to fight, we just might end up doing just that, this sucks.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m surprised you caught on to that, Anais.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, did you think I was only as smart as the books I eat.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Of course not.¡±

    Anais: ¡°WHAT WAS THAT PAUSE!?¡±

    Nathan continued poking fun at Anais. He looked over to Iris, she was lost in thought, floating along in auto pilot.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s going on with her, it¡¯s not normal for bugs to be quiet.¡±

    The remark snapped Iris from her thoughts.

    Iris: ¡°I would not expect rodents to understand, such complicated matters.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What did you call me!?¡±

    Nathan stepped in between the two, as usual.

    Nathan: ¡°Calm down girls, Iris, Anais, is just worry about you in her own way.

    Anais: ¡°Yeah right.¡±

    Nathan bopped Anais on the head.

    Nathan: ¡°Let me guess, you upset, that not once in that talk did they ever attempt to rid their home of the threat themselves, right.¡±

    Iris: ¡°It as you say, how could they be so incline to have others do a job that they could do themselves, they have all that power but they don¡¯t even use it when they need to.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, they leave in a Paradise, until now every threat has been dealt with before they even knew, I¡¯m pretty sure they still don¡¯t know half of them, you can¡¯t expect them to just suddenly take arms, when they never did so before.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I understand, but it¡¯s just so infuriating, to think she was moments away from asking you to fight a fight she had no intention of fighting.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s what happens, when you live your life protected by others, you will depend on them for everything, you can¡¯t blame them for how they handle situations, it¡¯s not their fault.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Even, still.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t get so upset, wants that Grassvalley Tribe gets here, we can leave and you never have to come back, so for now let¡¯s chill.¡±

    The three decided to split up for now, Saria provided them each with there on housing plant, as Nathan suggested. Iris, didn¡¯t want to be apart from Nathan, but Nathan was against sleeping in the same housing, it was wat too dangerous for him, to sleep in the same place as Iris, but he didn¡¯t say that out loud. A reluctant Iris, gave in to Nathan¡¯s demand after arguing for fifteen minutes and only if her plant could be right next to his.

    After they all went their separate ways, Nathan rested for a bit. He couldn¡¯t sleep as usual, but the flower bed was pretty, comfortable. He chuckled at his lame pun and pulled up his status screen, all his time he spent fiddling with it and he still didn¡¯t understand half of it. Having such a perplexing Legacy made it twice as hard, there were lots of Passive abilities compared to Magic abilities, but a lot of them were cryptic or not explain at all.

    The fact that he, could enter the enchantment and not even realize its effects on his body was scary. If not for his ¡°Threat Detection¡±, he could stroll into an area and be completely unaware of the danger. It appears abilities, he would use most often were kept on main screen, while others were kept in sub screen and only make themselves known when there active. Though he had to be sure, it required experimentation and he knew exactly where to go for such exercises. Plus, everyone was right about the enchantment, why would it choose, only that spot to enchant. Maybe, he could find something while exploring that could give these girls, a little bit of peace, he¡¯d be, killing to birds, with one stone.

    He wanted to sneak out, but he had the sneaky suspicion he was being watched, by a certain Fae. He moved aside a pedal covering a window ever so slightly. And sure, as hell, Iris had her eyes, locked on his room.

    Nathan: ¡°Fricking, sentinel.¡±

    Any chance of sneaking out was impossible with Iris watching his every move, but luckily, he thought ahead. Earlier that day, he asked Saria could she provide him with a bag full of seeds of all the plants in the area. Most of them were fruit and some rare flowers, but he struck gold with one particular, flower.

    Lillaby Class: Plant

    Lillaby, release a very soothing, almost undetectable aroma. When exposed to the scent, one slowly fall, into a deep slumber, completely unaware that they are. If ground into powder, its potent enough to instantly, put targets to sleep, for days.

    Effects: Sleep, Refresh

    All he had to do was plant a couple around her room, but with all the bustle going around him, he¡¯d be instantly spotted. He needed to find a way to covertly plant them. He took another look over his sub-screens.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh right, let¡¯s try that.¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan step out into the moonlight, the breeze felt good on his skin. He strolled the short distance to Iris¡¯s room, careful not to step on the nymph¡¯s asleep on the ground. His ¡°Pollination¡± worked a little too well, he had meant for the seeds to be distributed around Iris¡¯s room, instead, the wind carried them across the area. Now, all around him, naked girls, laid sprawled across the ground, completely defenseless. He knew he looked like a woman, but it was times like this, that he was glad he was a man. These were moments they dream of.

    He peeked inside Iris¡¯s room, she sat in seiza, positioned so she can see out the window. Soft breathing could be heard, as her head sloped to the side, indicating the flowers did its job. Nathan snickered, she was dedicated, even fast asleep she still held her position. Quietly, he strolled over to her, lifting her up and gently placing her on the bed.

    Nathan: ¡°*Whisper*Sorry about this, you can scold me later.¡±

    He exited her room and casually headed away, enjoying the scene. The moonlight, made the scene, look like something right out of a painting. As he reached the edge of the area, he took one more look back, before walking away, disappearing into the night.

 Chapter 19: Gorgons Eye

    Chapter 19: Gorgons Eye

    Celes held her dress down as it blew in the wind, she wanted to take it off, but that would be rude to Lady Amelia. After Listening on the conversation earlier, she wanted to get away, she went for a stroll to clear her mind. Saria, had completely missed her chance to asked the Hero for his assistance. If she apologized wholeheartedly, she could then ask a request, that was the plan anyway. Though it was not to be, the hero caught on and interrupt her. In the process, making asking him seem like a waste of time.

    Celes sighed, if only she had said something, but Saria said she would handle it. Luckily, they were stuck in here until the Grassvalley Tribe, opened the door. Though even with that fact, she still felt as though they had loss in the conversation.

    Celes suddenly jumped out of her thought, another gust of wind took her dress. She restrained her dress and looked around, she hadn¡¯t realized, that she had walked so far, that she nearly walked right into the enchantment. It wouldn¡¯t affect her much, however she disliked going in. Against Saria¡¯s wishes, she had secretly ventured deep into the area, once before. What she had seen that night, thinking back to it just made her want to scream, if only she could. If she could speak, she could tell what she saw, maybe someone could understand what it is. But there¡¯s no one liked that, at least not until recently.

    If she could get him to follow her in there, maybe he could help her understand what she was seeing. Although with all the avoiding she been doing, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he hated her. Suddenly, footsteps could be coming up behind her, she instinctively jumped behind some trees. She waited a moment until the figure was in view. It was Nathan, who strolled up to the enchantment and begin looking around, did he come looking for her?

    Her question was immediately answered, when Nathan casually enter the danger area and continued, on his way. This was her chance, if she followed him she could ask him to help tell the others what she saw. She stayed to the shadows and as quietly as she could, followed Nathan into the enchantment.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, so far, so good.¡±

    Nathan walked through the area, every so often checking his status. His assumptions were correct, whenever situation he was in, his ability he was current using, would relocate to his main screen. That was fine, but it would be better if it alerted him of the change, but he thought every little aspect can¡¯t be like a game.

    As he walked along, he noticed that some of the plants in the area still had a little life in them. Others had already shriveled up from the lack of water. He wondered, since his ¡°Legacy¡±, allowed him resistance would it do the same for plants he grew.

    He closed his palm and then opened it up. A small ball of light had appeared, these were his seeds. He let it fall from his hand and as if the ground didn¡¯t exist, phased into it. A small flower rose from the ground almost instantly and in that same instance died.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I guess that, answer that.¡±

    Celes: ¡°*Gasp*¡±

    Nathan turned around fast, he was surprised to see Celes, but more importantly, she had seen him. How did he not know she was there, its hard to get the nymphs scents, they were basically element incarnate. Thought that didn¡¯t matter, she had seen him. There was no use denying what she saw, he just waited for her reaction. Though, her reaction was not one he was expecting. She smiled a big, happy smile.

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, what are you doing in here?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..I wanted to check out the area, while everyone slept.¡±

    Celes: ¡°I see, wait everyone¡¯s asleep, I didn¡¯t think it was that late.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d be surprise.¡±

    This is not the reaction he envisioned, was she not going to bring up what she had just saw, did she even see? Maybe he jumped to conclusion way tooo fast, she could have just been surprised to see someone in the enchantment. Well if she didn¡¯t see there was no reason to stay.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, see ya.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, wait a moment, please)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Can I come, with you?)¡±

    Nathan nearly fell over, he wasn¡¯t sure what he just heard.

    Nathan: ¡°¡°YOU¡±, want to come with ¡°ME¡±?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°ALONE?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Is there a problem?)¡±

    Nathan looked for any signs of deception, she was dead serious. Somethings not right, but he couldn¡¯t think of a reason to turn her away.

    Nathan: ¡°If your fine with it, then its fine.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Thank you.)¡±

    Nathan turned to and continued walking, much to his surprise, Celes ran up and was walking next to him. The girl who had a literal wall between them, who would not even look him in the eyes, who made sure there was always someone, between her and him, was now walking next to him joyfully. She turned to him and their eyes met and smile cross her face once again.

    Her smile was like a child who had just seen their parent for the first in years. He was about to ask her why is she so happy, when the wind blew. Several leaves smack him in the face. He wiped the leaves from his face and checked on Celes. Her dress had blown up and Nathan got a quick glimpse underneath. When Amelia gave her the dress, he guesses she forgot the undergarments. Celes got herself together and huffed at her dress, Nathan was on borderline, ready to bust out in laughter. He needed something to stifle his laughter.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Celes, are you okay?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, I¡¯m fine, this happens often, I become accustomed to it.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No not that, I was just wondering why you wanted to tag along?¡±

    Celes had nearly forgot, after witnessing Nathan grow that plant, her original mission had all but faded from memory.

    Celes: ¡°(There is something I want you to see, its further ahead.)¡±

    Celes, began walking ahead of Nathan, who added yet another thing she would never do, show him her back. This was getting stranger every second, what could have cause such a change in her attitude?

    _

    _

    _

    From a smile refreshing smile to, to a state of solemn, this was the current Celes. Nathan just could not understand her, what is up with her mood swings. Nathan thought himself to be clever, he could tell what most people were thinking just by situation. Celes was something else, the worst part was that he could actually hear her thoughts, most of the time.

    He moved his focus away from Celes, who seemed to be in deep thought and notice there was a really exotic looking plant. It was purple color and pedals that formed a bowl, which held a mysterious purple liquid. This plant was without a doubt poisonous, but it was still alive. It looked like the purple liquid was keeping it hydrated, Nathan reached his hand in.

    Celes came out of her thoughts, after hearing a small splash. She turned around horror struck. Nathan currently had hand submerged in the extremely toxic juices, of a ¡°Grimviolet¡±.

    Celes: ¡°(NO, STOP!!)¡±

    Celes rushed over and pulled his hand from the pool, inadvertently splashing herself with the toxic juice.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa, hey, calm down.¡±

    Celes now panic-stricken looked his arm up in down, why hadn¡¯t the poison taken effect. The poison from Grimviolet, usually kills in second, absorbed into the body upon touch. He was showing no symptoms, what so ever, if was as if he was immune.

    Nathan: ¡°Uh, would you mind letting me go?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, sorry.)¡±

    Celes let him go, she must not have realized how hard she was squeezing.

    Celes: ¡°(What on Leseres were you doing, that water is extremely toxic.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uh, yeah I know but, the seeds is located on the bottom of the pool.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(You can eat the seed, of a poisonous plant?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can eat almost anything, poison or otherwise.¡±

    Now she was sure, he wasn¡¯t a Dryad. However, he must have been blessed by her ¡°Mother¡±. Though its seemed as if he doesn¡¯t know himself.

    Celes: ¡°(Is this why you¡¯re here, to find seeds she might have missed?)¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Nathan: ¡°No, actually.¡±

    Nathan explained to Celes the reason behind him coming here.

    Celes: ¡°(So, if you remove the object that causing the enchantment, it will disappear?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If this place is anything like I think it is, that should do it. Like you all said, its odd that only this place has enchantment, there something here that the eye doesn¡¯t want anyone to get.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(That sounds plausible.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It didn¡¯t count on someone being able to, enter for such a long period of time.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(If that¡¯s the case, then I really want to help, I¡¯m glad I followed you.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You were following me; how did you resist the Lillaby?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Huh, what Lillaby?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, I get it.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you see I kinda accidentally, not on purpose, put everyone to sleep trying to sneak out, I was only aiming for Iris.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Using Lillaby, that explains why no one¡¯s come to find me yet.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ok, so you weren¡¯t there, when I put them to sleep.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(No I wasn¡¯t, I went for a stroll to clear my head after our conversation, when I saw you enter here, I wanted to ask you to follow me somewhere.¡±

    Her expression change again, this time she looked nervous. She must be afraid Nathan would not lend a hand.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..I don¡¯t mind, lead the way.¡±

    Celes ¡°(Really?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah it¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Thank you, it¡¯s this way.)¡±

    Celes turned and headed deeper into the enchantment. Nathan decided to trust her for now. Somehow, he got the feeling her nervous attitude, was about not wanting to go alone.

    As Nathan walked along, he checked out all the damage cause by the enchantment. Many of the plants were now dried up from the lack of moisture. Some of the trees were alive, but their leaves were scatter along the forest floor. Every step took, was met with a hearty crunch, as they tread upon the tread onwards.

    Even if they were to end the enchantment, how long would it take this area to return to its former glory. The nymphs who made this area would not be able to return for some time. Nathan notice that, he had come to a hill, looking up he realize that Celes had already made it half way up. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn¡¯t realized she had gotten so far ahead. He jog up to catch her, it would be a chore trying to find her again, especially since her scent in the area blends so well, he could hardly tell them apart.

    Nathan had caught up to Celes and as they came to the top of the hill, Celes locked her arm around Nathans, as they gaze at the scene. Over the hill were a dozen or so statues, either broken or missing limbs here and there. She squeezed down harder on his arm, she was shaking. With her arm around his, he walked over to one. Upon closer inspection, notice that the shape of the ears.

    Nathan: ¡°(Elves)?¡±

    Though the ears and apparel were similar to elves description in his world, the faces did nothing of the sort. Elves were said to be extremely beautiful and graceful, however the facial expression was twisted and warped, either in intense pain or that of horror. As they made their way through the field, he¡¯d would find himself drawn to the faces of each piece.

    Nathan was not an art critic or a critic at all, but the sight of these statues with such detail expression of agony, made it feel like they could come to life at any moment. It felt as if they were pleading for help, like they were trapped in a state of constant torment. He didn¡¯t know rather to respect the artist or punch him in the face, for such twisted artwork.

    Nathan looked back over to Celes, she was uncharacteristically close, but more than that, Nathan could feel her shivering even more. She kept her head down trying her best not to look at any of the artwork, he didn¡¯t really understand though. Sure, the statues made one feel uneasy, but to Nathan, Celes look as though she was on the verge of collapse, were they that frightening, then why would she force herself to come here?

    Nathan: ¡°This artwork, if it¡¯s so frightening, why would you come here?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Artwork?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, in my world, statues are considered art, it¡¯s not the same here?¡±

    Celes looked at Nathan in disbelief, what on Leseres was he talking about? He couldn¡¯t possibly believe these were statues, but considering his eyes, she understood, he could not tell. She then recalled Iris mentioning that Nathan could not read mana signatures, at all. She grabbed him by his hand and pulled him towards the statue.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Celes said nothing and simply placed Nathan¡¯s hand upon the statue.

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, what are you doing?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Don¡¯t you feel anything)?¡±

    Nathan looked between Celes and statue, trying to figure out what she was talking about, but as his hand moved across the hard gravely surface, nothing. Maybe if he examined it he could get something.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­What the!?¡±

    Nathan tried examining the statue several times to no avail, that was weird, he picked up a piece of one of the statues. He knew his ¡°Examine¡± had limits, but the only clear limit was that he could not examine any specific person or creature. Manmade, inanimate objects and plants should be fair gain, so he should be able to examine these. Then as if lighting had struck Nathan had realization, he immediately dropped the piece of the statue and backed away. He looked around, the facial expression made it more apparent, he now understood Celes feelings.

    Nathan: ¡°These statues, were¡­¡­¡­ are people, what the hell happened here!?¡±

    Celes: ¡°This¡­¡­¡­¡­.this is where the Grassvalley Tribe first confronted the eye creature.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It turn them to stone, hollee shit, wait¡­¡­¡­ a fricking ¡°Gorgon¡±?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(You know what is?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not the same exact thing, but my world had myths about creatures like this.¡±

    Of all things, it could have been, it had to be a Gorgon. Gorgons were on a short list of things Nathan never wanted to meet, right next to Behemoths, Berserkers and that green tentacle creature, that could really use a mint. He really did not want to end up like these people.

    Celes stayed like to Nathan arm. Nathan started taking in more of the scene. seeing signs of battle, they must have put up some resistance, but it seems like the efforts were futile.

    Nathan: ¡°This is why, they haven¡¯t shown up, they all been taken out, but this¡­¡­¡­. this can¡¯t be the entire tribe, where are the reinforcements?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(The only one who can contact them is Saria, she usually sends a message on the wind, but-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She has no idea that this happened, because she can¡¯t enter here, why haven¡¯t you told her?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(How am I to do that, I can¡¯t talk)?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then, write her a message.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I don¡¯t know how.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, then draw a picture, dance or something, your telling me that you have no means of communication?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Until now there was no need to, before the eye appeared they was no danger what so ever, and even if something dangerous did attempt to invade, the ¡°Grassvalley Tribe¡± would have dealt with it long before we knew anything about it. The most we needed to communicate was saying yes or no.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT AN EXCUSE!!!¡±

    Celes was on the verge of tears, Nathan felt bad for yelling, but this was ridiculous. Not communicating with the outside world was one thing, but not being able to communicate with each other was definitely not okay by any means.

    Nathan: ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell her, but rather you could speak or not you need to find a way to converse, this is absurd.¡±

    Celes kept her head down as they started to walk away, still gripping Nathans arm. To say Nathan was irritated, was putting it mildly. Locked away, few ways to communicate and according to iris, during her fight with them they can¡¯t even coordinate. They leave all theirs trouble to someone else, what did they think was going to happen if their guardians failed?

    *Ruuuuuuuuuuuuummmmble*

    Celes: ¡°That¡¯s strange we don¡¯t usually get tremors in this area.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Get behind me.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What¡¯s wrong)?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That wasn¡¯t a tremor.¡±

    Nathan ¡°Threat Detection¡± was going crazy, something was coming. As if responding to Nathans thought, a huge stone came flying towards them. Nathan quickly grabbed Celes, jumping out the way, avoiding it with ease. Immediately after it passed, its trajectory change and it veered around for a second attack, however Nathan was too fast, he easily avoided that attack, as well the several others.

    Nathan: ¡°Enough of this crap!¡±

    Nathan unsheathe the sword on his back and just as the stone ball range, Nathan swung the blade, though his attack connected, he was nearly thrown off his feet. The force of the blow sent the boulder spiraling in the opposite direction, crashing into a tree.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell is that?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I Don¡¯t know, it was never here before.)¡±

    As they said, a boulder with spikes protruding from all over its body with a rough rugged surface. Then, its eye opened, black as void, with a pulsating red pupil. A giant floating eyeball, a thing of nightmares. Since its feature were so drastically different from his world description, he decided to call it a ¡°Gorgons Eye¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact definition, but I thought docile meant, doesn¡¯t attack unless provoked, so why is it attacking?¡±

    The Gorgon blinked a few times, then focused its gaze on Nathan. Nathan was positive it was aiming at him, but why was it attacking. Then he noticed, some of the spikes protruding from its entirety had been crushed or broken, also there were a few cracks across it. That must have been cause by the Grassvalley Tribes fight, it must think Nathan has come to finish the job.

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, I need you to go hide.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What!?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not going to let me leave and if I try to run, it could come after you.

    Celes: ¡°(No, I wish to help).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You would just be a hindrance, plus while its fighting me you can escape.¡±

    Nathan words came down on her like bricks, it felt like being stabbed. She reluctantly complied and disappeared into what was left of the forest.

    The Gorgon begin rotating midair, then like a bullet shot off towards Nathan. He jumped to the side and slashed it as it passed, but his attack did nothing. It swung around for another attack, Nathan slashed at it again, but still no effect.

    It tried several more times, but none of it attacks were hitting Nathan, but Nathan felt something was wrong, why hadn¡¯t it tried to turn him to stone? There was no way these slow attacks were going to catch him. Nathan was done dodging, the next attack he stood firm, he was going to hit it as hard as he could, but this was a mistake. Midflight, the Gorgons speed doubled, Nathan was reflexes didn¡¯t kick in fast enough and had no choice but to block.

    The force of the impact was like being struck by a car and Nathan was thrown back several feet. He caught himself mid fall, and flip back up only to be met with another blow. This time he took the force hid on, Celes watched in horror as Nathan was smashed in the chest with stone spikes, skidding across the ground, before coming to rest. Nathan lay motionless on the ground for a moment, before slowly rising to his feet. The blow had lowered his health by fifty points, it would have been worse, if he had not taking precaution earlier and equipped that ¡°Chainmail¡±. Those spikes would have pierced right through his chest.

    Nathan: ¡°Damn that hurt.¡±

    Nathan looked over at the Gorgon, it had reopened its eye and its pupil was flashing several colors. Nathan quickly looked away, he understood now, it attacks it foe and when they are recovering, it tries to turn them to stone. Nathan must have recovered to quickly, for it shut its eye again and begin rotating.

    Launching another attack, just as it did before, its speed doubled midflight. Nathan wouldn¡¯t be caught twice and easily dodge the onslaught. Now that he understood the Gorgons strategy, it was simple to avoid. But he still had a huge problem. Nathans attacks did nothing, even with all the cracks Nathan could do nothing. If only he could break through his armor defense.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh crap, I forgot.¡±

    Nathan quickly scrolled through his inventory and found what he needed to turn the tide.

    <u>Claymore was Withdrawn</u>

    Nathan smirked, this was going to turn the tables, or so he thought. Lifting the blade, quickly realized it was heavy. He could lift it fine, but fighting with it was a whole different story.

    This was supposed to be the game changer, but in the time, it took him to swing this, the Gorgon would have already dealt him a blow he needed to slow it down. With that thought, he began releasing seeds.

 Chapter 20: Method of attack

    Chapter 20: Method of Attack

    Celes watch in hiding, as the battle between Nathan and the Gorgon rage. Though the fight was at a standstill, neither opponents was doing any damage. Nathan had grown accustom to the Gorgons speed, he would dodge every attack flawlessly. Having to switch back to his original weapon, at some key moments, he would attack but the blade could not pierce the stone shell of the gorgon. Any attempt at striking the pupil, would cause it to immediately close its eye. The only hope was the ¡°Armor Break¡± strike.

    The battle soon became a game of attrition, that Nathan was sure to lose. Thanks to his plant physiology, he could hold water longer, but under the effects of the enchantment, that was slowly dwindling away. Nathan could not tell if the Gorgons shell was being damage with his strikes, though he refuses to believe it was impenetrable.

    To make matters worse for him, he had been spreading seeds around, but none were sprouting, the one from earlier sprouted almost immediately, the gorgon must be causing it. If the seeds aren¡¯t sprouting, maybe being close to what¡¯s causing enchantment, the Gorgons inhibiting him. He had one other option, but it was risky.

    Once the Gorgon had stopped its flurry of attacks, Nathan took the opportunity to cut his hand. With the same hand, he released some more of the seeds and let them fall to the ground. Almost instantly he felt it, now he just needed to spring his trap.

    The Gorgon stopped moving and began to glow.

    Nathan: ¡°What are you up to?¡±

    Nathan remember that glow, it happened whenever Anais or Iris were going to cast a spell. He leapt backwards second before stone spikes shot from beneath where he ws standing. He kept jumping around, for everywhere he landed, stone spikes would spring from the ground, threatening to skewer him.

    Nathan: "Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me, it could use magic!?¡±

    Nathan jumped around the battle field springing around, while he was jumping, his bdy suddenly jerked andas ifunder a spell his entire body rotated to the side. The Gorgon had launched itself at Nathan while he was distracted with the spell,he narrowly avoided getting his head knock off.

    Nathan: ¡°I must apologize, you''re a lot smarter than you look.¡±

    The Gorgon opened its eye for a moment, before closing it tight. Why did it keep doing that, did it need to open its eye to check where Nathan was positioned before it threw itself at him? He didn¡¯t have time to think about it he had to get the Gorgon in position. He didn¡¯t know how long the seeds would last, even with his blood, he needed to end this soon.

    Nathan decided to go on the offensive, heSped towards the Gorgon, blade in hand,but the gorgon didn¡¯t seem worried. Inan instant Nathan switch blades. The Gorgon must had felt that it was in danger, right before Nathan could strike, it moved out of range of the blow.

    Nathan: "Damn."

    Nathan was half hoping that would have work, if he could just hit it once with the Claymore, he knows he could beat it.

    The Gorgon began to glow again, but Nathan wasn¡¯t going to wait, he sped towards the Gorgon again, hoping to strike whilst it prepared its spell. The Gorgon immediately stop its spell and moved out of range. Right after Nathan¡¯s strike missed, the Gorgon launched a counter attack.

    Just like before it hurled itself at Nathan. Nathan was to slow to move and had no choice but to block with his sword.The blade took the brunt of the impact, but he was still thrown back several feet. He took some damage, but it was worth it. The point where he was standing a moment ago, was where Nathan had laid his trap, Snyare¡¯s burst from beneath the ground and ensnared the creature.

    The gorgon began fighting to free itself, but thanks to ¡°Gardener¡±, not only had the Snyare been able to fight the enchantments effect, they became much stronger, easily holding down the beast. The Gorgon realizing it couldn¡¯t break its restraints, stopped struggling and the spikes covering its body began to grow. Some of the snyare began to rip as the spikes pierce through them, it was slowly cutting itself free.

    Nathan, wasting no time leapt into the air had leaped into the air. Seeing this it immediately shut its eyes and tried to harder to get free, but it was too late. With an ear splitting crash the Claymore made contact with the Gorgons stone body. The force of the blow, knock the Gorgon to the ground. Nathan who had been thrown back from the force of the blow, took in his handy work.

    The Gorgons body was in ruins, cracks now covered its entirety. Bits and pieces were falling to the ground and even with its eye close, large cracks in its eyelids kept its weakness on constant display. It was in such a sad state, Nathan almost felt sorry for it.

    The gorgon stopped and opened its eye. It stared at Nathan then begin to glow and its pupil began to pulsate and change color.

    Nathan: ¡°The hell, you still wanna go?¡±

    Nathan was no fool, staring into the eyes of a creature that could turn someone to stone was dumb. What the point in doing this, Nathan wouldn¡¯t willingly look? But unbeknownst to Nathan, the Gorgon wasn¡¯t aiming at him.

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, something wrong, I-I can¡¯t look away.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, why are you still here?¡±

    It hurled itself towards Celes, bypassing Nathan all together. Nathan caught wind and tried to intercept, but it was like trying to stop a cannonball in flight.

    Nathan: ¡°CELES, MOVE!¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I c-can¡¯t.)¡±

    Nathan sped towards Celes, speeding past the cannonball and grabbing her seconds before the Gorgon struck. He looked her over, she didn¡¯t seem like she was turning to stone. She had this weird look and no matter what he did she would not stop staring at the Gorgon. It must have done something to her, like he thought earlier, no one would be willing stare into its eyes. It must do this to force its targets to look, but why didn¡¯t it work on him.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, Celes, get a grip.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(B-Behind).¡±

    Worrying over Celes, he lost track of the gorgon for a moment, but was late to react and was stuck from the side. This was the hardest he had been hit up until now, but Gorgon wasn¡¯t done. Getting above Nathan, it landed on him crushing him into the ground. Nathan Body bounced from the impact and the Gorgon crashed into him once more. Nathan was sent careening right into a rock, blood spaying from his mouth from the impact. Pain shot through his body, it was nothing like last time. Why didn¡¯t his reflexes kick in, it always before?

    Finally, he noticed, he was breathing heavy, sweat ran down his face and evaporating as it dripped from his chin. He had been fighting under the enchantment for too long and the effect were starting to show. He checked his status screen, those hit, followed by the impact with the stone, took nearly a thousand points of damage hundred points of damage from him.

    Nathan: ¡°Heal¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Nathan¡¯s Health shot up by five hundred points, but it didn¡¯t matter, the Enchantment was wearing him down. To make matters worse, since it was dark out, ¡°Photosynthesis¡± wasn¡¯t working.

    ¡°This must have been why it would stop its attacks and open its eye. It knew the enchantment would get to him eventually, it would check to see how far along the effect was. He was played, tricked into thinking it was attempting to turn him to stone, when it was just waiting for him to exhaust his energy.

    Nathan wasn¡¯t going out without a fight, he tried standing, using his arms to brace himself, his hand slipped on a pile of rubble. He slid back down on to his butt. He cursed and push the rubble away, on closer inspection, it looked like the remains of someone¡¯s hand, next to it was some markings in the dirt. Someone had drawn a picture in the dirt of the Gorgon.

    Nathan: ¡°This is?¡±

    He looked up at the Gorgon, it floated right passed Celes, who was still not moving. Though it didn¡¯t it didn¡¯t have any interest in her, it instead focused on Nathan. It was pissed off, Nathan had decimated its trump card, it was going to let that off. The gorgon approached Nathan, carefully watching. while he remained motionless. As it drew closer, the pupil began flashing colors once again, but then it pupil vanished, leaving nothing but a black.

    Celes could do nothing but watch, eyes full of tears, as the Gorgon prepared to end the Hero, but something unexpected happened. The Gorgon began to cry out in pain, Nathan had struck, plunging the sword deep into the Gorgons eye. It howled in pain and thrashed around, but Nathan did not let up he kept pushing, plunging it deeper into the retina. Blood splashed him in the face, like a fountain it doused him. The Gorgon pulling back and bouncing around, flinging Nathan like a rag doll.

    Even with his body being thrown every way, even with the Gorgons body crushing him into the ground, even with his HP decreasing, he held on. Slowly its thrashing and screams ceased, the Gorgon twitch a few times and then it curled over dead. Nathan stabbed into it once more for good measure, making sure it was good and dead. Now sure it was dead, he pulled himself from its eye socket, collapsing on to the ground, kicking the Gorgons remains away from him and wiping the blood some blood from his face. He looked at his HP, he had only three hundred points left.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that, EVER AGAIN¡±

    *ding ding*

    <u>Level Increase!</u>

    <u>Level Increase!</u>

    <u>Level Increase!</u>

    <u>Finesse +5</u>

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. Well, one more time can¡¯t hurt.

    Celes: ¡°(Heroooooooooooooo!?)¡±

    Nathan: Celes, you came out of your trance, that¡¯s gre- WHOA!?¡±

    Celes Jumped right at Nathan, knocking him on his back.

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, what was that for¡­¡­¡­. wait why are you crying, you hurt?

    Celes: (I¡¯m so sorry, so sorry, if I had move away from the battle like you said, you have gotten hurt, it¡¯s all my fault

    Celes kept apologizing, eyes full of tears Nathan just burst out laughing, .

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, I just save you and your apologizing for it, I think you got it backwards.¡±

    Celes: (What?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I think the proper procedure, is to smile and say thank you for saving me.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(But you got hurt because of me.)¡±

    Nathan: I got hurt because I was attack by Gorgon, it was bound to happen, I¡¯m not invincible, so no more tears, okay?¡±

    Celes nodded, she shed a few more tears, before letting Nathan up.

    Nathan: ¡°Now try again.¡±

    Celes: (Right.)¡±

    Celes smiled and bowed her head.

    Celes: ¡°Thank you, for saving me.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s better.¡±

    Nathan started healing himself and fiddling with his status screen. Celes turned her attention over at the Gorgons corpse, blood still pouring out of its eye socket.

    Celes: ¡°(How?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How what?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(How did you know how to kill it, I watch when the Grassvalley Tribe fought, they could not attack its eye directly no matter what they did.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, you were here when they first fought?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, they first fought not far from hear, I didn¡¯t stay long, but from what I witness, what they could do was limited.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, one of them figured it out, he might have just been too late to act on it.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I don¡¯t understand.)¡±.

    Nathan pointed over to the picture. The picture depicted the gorgon without its pupil and an arrow pointed towards it.

    Nathan: ¡°I figured if the pupil was gone, that meant attack, so I did.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Foolishness, how could you do something so reckless, what if it didn¡¯t work?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then I would be a statue right now, I had no other choice, I was almost out of strength, the enchantment was taking its toll, even with everything I did, the chance of me losing was higher.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Well the enchantment effects are disappearing)¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°Really?¡±

    Celes: (Yes, it went away a little bit ago, did you not feel it?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ not really good, with things like this.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Well, everyone else felt it, there headed this way.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, I tell them I defeated the Gorgon and to yell at them about the state of affairs around here.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Wait, Hero this is-¡±)¡±

    Celes thoughts were caught short, with the arrival of Saria and Iris. They looked at them both in horror, both covered in blood and banged up.

    Saria Iris: ¡°ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?¡±

    Saria and Iris, went over checking each of them for any signs of injury, completely ignoring Celes and Nathan¡¯s assurance that they were fine. Anais and a few other slowly began to arrive.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I¡¯m fine I promise, just a little tired.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, what were you thinking, sneaking off like that and fighting this thing by yourself.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, sorry, but at least its dead now, all of you can sleep easy from now on.¡±

    Saria didn¡¯t hear a word of what he was saying, she was too busy taking in the scene. Then the most unpleasant smell invaded his nostrils, he looked around and curse again. The broken bodies that were once stone were now reverting to their original fleshy state. Nathan had completely forgot about it. The group who had arrive, many of them began to scream in horror at the piles of flesh that was once their guardians. Nathan raised his hand into the air.

    Nathan: ¡°Tranquil!¡±

    A white veil of light was cast over the area, as it did the nymphs began to calm themselves. Nathan placed a hand on Saria¡¯s shoulder, grabbing her attention.

    Nathan: ¡°SARIA, GET A GRIP!¡±

    Saria: ¡°H-Hero, this¡­¡­.this is.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I understand, but for right now you need to order them all to leave, they don¡¯t need to see this, can you do that?¡±

    Saria Nodded and began telling all her sisters to leave the area and the eldest to keep everyone out. With the help of his abilities, everyone slowly came out of shock. Their reaction was how Nathan had pictured it the people who she had been calling for days, had already arrive and were all scatter across the area, bit by bit. But she doesn¡¯t have the luxury to collapse, she must lead her sisters or they will fall apart. Nathan had no idea, the statues would revert when the enchantment disappeared. If not for his abilities he would be just aa shock as them.

    Anais: ¡°This is what nightmares are made of.¡±

    Nathan heard Anais muttering to herself, as she walked over to him, he couldn¡¯t agree more. He walked over to Saria. ¡°Tranquil¡± kept them in a calm state of mind, but it doesn¡¯t help what they¡¯ve seen. This moment will be locked in their memories forever.

    Nathan: ¡°Saria, I know this is hard, but it will get better, with the Gorgon dead, you can live in piece wants again.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Hero, we graceful that you were able to reclaim this area, but nothing is finish.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, it is, it¡¯s dead, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, I was trying to say earlier, that was not the Gorgon we know.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    ????: ¡°Saria, we have trouble?¡±

    Everyone turned to see a water nymph, flying toward them with a panic expression. Arriving at the scene her face went pale, she held back a scream, tears flowing down her face. Nathan cast his magic on her, as well.

    Saria: ¡°Calm down Lynn, look at me, tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°T-The eye, I just got word from our sisters keeping watch, it started to move.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me.¡±

    Lynn nodded her head in confirmation.

    Lynn: ¡°It¡¯s coming this way.¡±

 Chapter 21: Mothers Hand

    Chapter 21: Mother¡¯s Hand

    Nathan stretch out and leaned back against the rocks. After the battle with the Gorgon, Saria showed him to a spring where he could bathe. Apparently, the Gorgons blood had a foul smell, it became all to obvious, when only Iris would approach him.

    He stared up into the night sky, looking for anything that could distract him, but he couldn¡¯t relax. His mind wondering back, to conversations prior. Like a recording, it played over and over.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Your telling me, there¡¯s more than one of these things!?¡±

    Everyone around jumped from, Nathans sudden outburst. He didn¡¯t realize it just how loud he was, but Saria¡¯s revelation was just that shocking.

    Saria: We are just as surprise as you are, we only know of the one.

    Nathan: You didn¡¯t think to search the area for anything else, anyone else?¡±

    Saria: Of course, but we haven¡¯t found anything suggesting there was more then one, I wasn¡¯t even aware of any of this.

    Nathan looked around at the other nymphs, faces in disbelief or tears. The Grassvalley tribe, that they were counting on to suppress the Gorgon, laid in pieces, scatter across the area. With the enchantment removed, the bodies had returned to their original fleshly forms. The smell of death overpowered the senses, it was truly a grotesque sight

    Nathan: ¡°You live at the only entrance, how could not know?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, we only taking refuge there at the moment, if anything ever happens in the garden, everyone is to meet there, until matters have been dealt with.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, your telling me, that no one saw them enter, except the only person who can¡¯t speak and you have no real means to communicate with her, so she couldn¡¯t tell you, this is ridiculous.¡±

    Nathan anger couldn¡¯t be more clear, he wanted to scream at their carelessness he took a deep breath and calmed himself before he became irrational. He needed to get a handle on things.

    Nathan: ¡°Saria, send a message to the Tribe, tell them to send reinforcements.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Uhh, r-right.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, help them clean this place up, take the bodies and burn them.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What are you doing!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They can¡¯t stay like this, or can any of you sort through all the pieces, to give them each a proper burial?¡±

    Saria held her tongue, Nathan words spat like venom, it was best not to argue and just do as he says. Iris begin burning the bodies and scattered pieces, this is not something you make a girl do, he rather do it himself, but he doesn¡¯t have any fire magic. He also noticed a fair amount of elven weaponry scattered around. He would be sure to stop by here later to confiscate it all, no need letting it go to waste. He turned to the water nymph from earlier.

    Nathan: ¡°Lynn, right?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Y-Yes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How long will it take for the Gorgon to arrive?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Uh, well, at its current pace, three days.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, with any luck, the Grassvalley Tribe would have arrived by then, for now, once we done cleaning we should all head to where its safe.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Lynn, Saria, and the others were visibly confused by Nathan, which intern confused him.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Are you not going to fight the beast yourself?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, why the hell would I do that, I barely beat this one?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°But, aren¡¯t you the ¡°Hero of Legend¡±?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Well then, isn¡¯t it your job to fight in time like this, regardless if you win?¡±

    Nathan ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan submerged, forcing himself from the memory. He couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say after that. He was summoned here to be this worlds hero; the people would have certain expectations. Whenever there was trouble he would save the day, putting himself in harm¡¯s way, not caring for his life and putting everyone else¡¯s first. Even now, all the nymphs are expecting him to fight the other Gorgon, that what the one with the title of ¡°Hero¡± supposed to do.

    Nathan: ¡°BULLSHIT!¡±

    Nathan words echoed through the trees. Why did he have to fight some giant eye, even after they seen what happened to their guardian, they still want him to jump in front of it. Nathan shook his head, he was going to stress himself out once again.

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe, I should wait it out in the Study, *sigh* I sound like a coward.¡±

    He pushed those thoughts away and focus on getting the blood out his fur. He started scrubbing himself clean and was having a particularly troubling time with his tail. At several times, he had even managed to slap himself in the face, trying to keep hold of it.

    Nathan: *Splash*, Come on dammit, stop running, damn tail.¡±

    After several attempts, he gave up, he scrubbed at his ears and settled back into the water.

    He was embarrassed at the thought that he looked like a dog chasing his tail. The water glowed an eerie green, it was beautiful to say the least, he scooped up a hand full and splashed it in his face.

    Nathan: ¡°How is this water even hot, there no way for Heat to flow enter?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(It¡¯s not a natural made hot spring, the minerals in the water, heat up when exposed to water.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Celes: (Mhm, the green glow is a prospect of gasses escaping from inside the mineral, the gasses also have restorative abilities, so it nice to soak and take in all the benefits.)

    Nathan: Okay, cool, thanks for the info, Celes.

    Celes: ¡°(No problem.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Celes: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Nathan: ¡°CELES!?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes?)¡±

    Nathan covered himself, but remembered he was wearing a towel.

    Celes: ¡°(What¡¯s wrong?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s wrong, when did you get in?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(We got in at the same time.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, and no one tried to stop you.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Why would they?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. Iris and Anais were right, you guys are way to defenseless, you should really think of your age.¡±

    Celes: ¡°Well, being only three-hundred, makes me the youngest, I can¡¯t really do anything about it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, what your age is three-hundred, hold up, how many years is that in human years?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Celes: ¡°(I don¡¯t believe there¡¯s a difference.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And the days here are twice as long as Earths, so your actually six-hundred.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I guess?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That means, all the hot girls around here, are ¡°OLD ASS GRANNIES¡±.¡±

    _

    _

    *Crash*

    Saria picked up the cup she just broke.

    Lynn: ¡°Sister are you okay, you dropped a cup, that was very uncharacteristic of you?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s the strangest thing, I suddenly feel really angry.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°I know what you mean, I feel it as well, a seething fury.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, truly Strange.¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan moved further away, no matter how old she was, it wasn¡¯t like was interested in her undeveloped body, plus he was respectful to woman, even if they didn¡¯t know why. Though as a man he still thought of the possibilities, he rather it be Saria or that Lynn girl, both were way more pleasing to the eyes, even if they were ¡°OLD¡±. The understands all the stories of men falling into traps set by nymphs, if they all look like those two, they probably fell on purpose.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t mind those two at all.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Mind what two?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa, why did you get so close?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(You moved away, so I followed, I thought we were bathing together?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that.¡±

    As Nathan moved around, Celes would follow. This was strange, she was acting way too familiar, even for a child. He soon gave up trying to get away from her, he was exerting energy, that he did not want to.

    Celes stared on as Nathan leaned back against the rocks. He was a sight to behold. Long black hair, that dripped water down on to his flawless brown skin, a face the would make the gods, go mad with jealousy.

    Nathan: ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡±

    Celes: (You are breathtakingly beautiful, like a goddess.)¡±

    Celes words were like daggers in his chest.

    Nathan: ¡°You could have, at least said god!¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Oh right, sorry, I keep forgetting you¡¯re a man.¡±

    Now they felt like swords, into his soul. Celes produce soundless giggles, towards Nathan¡¯s animated reactions.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Okay, what¡¯s going on with you?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°First time we met, you built a literal wall between us, we cleared the understanding, you still kept your distance, but the moment I grow a flower, your personality did a complete three sixty. I know that you know I have ¡°Plant Physiology¡± as well, but that can¡¯t be all it takes to garner so much affection.

    Celes: *giggle*¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What so funny (Did she just think laughter)?¡±

    Celes: ¡°You¡¯re funny, pretending like you don¡¯t know, now and before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Know what?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Come now, the fact that you can grow plants, is a clear sign that you have my ¡°Mother¡¯s¡± blessing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, your mother?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Of course, she is the only one who could have given you your ¡°Plant Physiology¡± or the ability to grow plants.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, that what due to my ¡°Legacy¡±. Iris told me, everyone received a Legacy at birth, rather I from another world or not.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, but it is impossible to be born with the ability to manipulate plants, like you do, without my mother¡¯s say.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why not?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Hmm, well the simplest answer, is that, my mother has control over such things and she deemed it, too omnipotent.)¡±

    Nathan thought he could argue that magic in general could be consider omnipotent, but in a world where magic was a part of everyday life, maybe not. Though he didn¡¯t think he could or would ever do anything that damaging, he had to be careful how he uses his powers, worse he could think of right now, was he could change an entire ecosystem, if he felt like.

    Celes: ¡°(Don¡¯t think too deeply about it, she would not have given you the power if she thought you would use it that way.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, this is why you¡¯ve been so familiar.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Does it bother you.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not particularly, at least now that I know the reason, but now that you¡¯re not afraid anymore, can I ask a favor?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Sure, if it¡¯s for you I¡¯ll do anything.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay first, don¡¯t ever say that to a man, while in a bath together. Second can you show me how to manipulate plants, like you did with the trees?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(You can¡¯t?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t it¡¯s just, I don¡¯t get how, do you mind.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I not sure of what I can do, but I don¡¯t mind trying.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, how about tomorrow morning.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, that¡¯s fine.)¡±

    Nathan stood up to get out, luckily, he had a towel wrapped around himself, just in case a certain fairy tried to enter or a certain mouse was watching. If Celes mother was the one, to give him his abilities, she had something to do with saving him, he now had a reason to stay and help, but he still did not want to fight another Gorgon.

    Celes: ¡°(Aren¡¯t you going to finish?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m clean enough, plus I want to speak with everyone while it¡¯s still early.¡±

    As Nathan turned to leave, Celes notice that Nathan¡¯s tail still had clots of blood. He was struggling with cleaning it earlier, at least from what she witnessed. She could help him by cleaning it, she took the initiative and grabbed hold of his tail. Nathan yipped, nearly falling over from the sensation.

    Nathan: ¡°W-What are you doing?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Don¡¯t worry, I notice your struggles earlier, allow me to wash it for you.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°N-no, p-please let go, its fine.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Nonsense.)¡±

    Nathan words fell on deaf ears, as Celes started to vigorously scrubbing his tail. Pulling, twisting, wringing, so focused she was completely unaware of what she was doing to him. He tried to pull himself free with the little bit of strength he had, but she had him held tight. What made things worse is that this was nothing like Iris, she was genuinely trying to help, however the feeling was pushing him closer to his limit.

    Nathan: ¡°C-Celes please let g-go.)¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I¡¯m nearly got it, it¡¯s just a few knots in your fur, Gorgon blood is really difficult to get off.)¡±

    She started scratching at the knotted fur, but wasn¡¯t doing anything. Irritation, started to overcome her, which in turn made her try harder.

    Iris: ¡°NO, NO, NO, YOU¡¯RE DOING IT ALL WRONG.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Miss Iris?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh god, no.¡±

    Iris, who had been watching from afar, decided to make herself known, she could not stand to watch such sloppiness any longer. She floated over and snatch the tail away.

    Iris: ¡°Observe, you must gently move your hand up and down at steady pace, wants you work in a fine lather, then you add a wringing motion to remove excess water, while at the same time working in the lather.

    Celes watched enthusiastically, as Iris did her job. Her flush face from concentration, her heavy breathing indicating the energy she was exerting, her chanting ¡°Almost clean¡±. Celes understood immediately she was a pro.

    With her godlike precision, iris was effortlessly removing the stains and at the same time tending to the knotted fur. Celes grabbed the tail and begin mimicking Iris¡¯s motions, she would master this, even if she had to continue long after the tail was clean, which they both did.

    Anais: ¡°YOU IDIOTS, LOOK AT WHAT YOUR DOING!¡±

    Both girl turned to Anais, who was hiding her presence.

    Celes: ¡°(Lady Anais?)¡±

    She was pointing to Nathan, who lied face down, floating on the water¡¯s surface, motionless.

    Celes: (HERO!?)

    Iris: ¡°HERO!?¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°So I know you all were wondering if I was going to help.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Actually, Hero, before that, what¡¯s from with them.¡±

    Saria was referring to Iris, Celes and Anais, who all had noticeable bumps on their head, that looked increasingly painful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry I just knocks some sense into them.¡±

    Saria: ¡°If you say so?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Now for what I was going to say. Yesterday I was asked if I was the Hero, why won¡¯t I fight the Gorgon.¡±

    Everyone stared an anticipation, it must be some serious reason that he would not live up to his duty.

    Nathan: And the truth is¡­¡­¡­.. I don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Group: ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Almost everyone in the area screamed out suddenly, except for Anais who was chuckling.

    Lynn: ¡°But you¡¯re the Hero, you were summoned to do these things.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I was summoned to defeat the demon lord and according to the history books, I did and died in the process.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Well, yeah that¡¯s true but?¡±

    Nathan: ¡®But what, are you telling me that I should risk my life once again, as long as I save you, everything is okay, that I should just fight the Gorgon because I carry the title of Hero, I don¡¯t know about you, but in my world, we called that being selfish.

    Nobody spoke, a word, it was true, everyone had the same thought. He is the hero so he must fight for the good of the world, protect this world, live for this world, die for this world. These thoughts are what he didn¡¯t like, doing something because someone said you should, will always result in that individual death. He sure he would have to say all this again in the future, might as well start with them. Wants what he said had time to fester he took the floor.

    Nathan: ¡°However, I will help you.¡±

    Everyone stared in confusion, he just said that he didn¡¯t want to fight.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not straight out fighting the Gorgon, however, I plan to buy time for the Grassvalley tribe to take action. The only reason they lost before, was information on how to defeat it. But, I have obtained such information. Now that we know how to fight and kill it, we can be sure the Grassvalley Tribe will succeed. So don¡¯t give up hope on your guardians, they will reclaim your homes. Believe in them, as you did before.¡±

    <u>Charisma Increased +10</u>

    Eye¡¯s around the area lit up, the Hero had successfully defeated on Gorgon and with his help, the Grassvalley Tribe could do the same. The girls around the area had mixed expressions, some took Nathan words to heart, while others still looked pale. Nathan told everyone to prepare for tomorrow and Left them behind. He took Iris an Anais with them, to form a plan.

    Iris: ¡°Are you really not going to fight, if we work together I¡¯m sure we could defeat it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Even if we could, we can¡¯t Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Why?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Does he have to spell it out, these girls have been depending on their guardians to fight their battles all their life, what do you think would happen if Nathan out rights kills the thing that they lost too?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, they may lose faith in them, even worse if they all, decide not to help, they would never learn to fight for themselves.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Exactly, I not going to make them fight the thing head on, I just show them how to slow it down. These girls are much more powerful then they realize, Celes can command an entire forest to do her bidding, imagine how strong everyone else is. If we help fight, instead of fighting for them we might give them a little confidence. However, I can¡¯t say that we might not end up in a battle, so before that.

    Nathan held out his arm to both girls.

    Nathan: ¡°Lets form a party.¡±

 Chapter 22: Party Of Four?

    Chapter 21: Party of Four?

    Nathan, Iris and Anais, crossed hands nothing happened. They tried high fives, fist bumps, secret hand gesture, even a dance he remembered he saw on tv.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­This is stupid, I quit.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Come on, we can do it, just the tip of our fingers should touch, forming in ark, then we both go, HAH, like this see?¡±

    Anais: ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to form a party, don¡¯t make us look like idiots in the process.¡±

    Iris: ¡°The Hero is trying his best, we should all try as well.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Please, you don¡¯t to do that stupid dance as much as me.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That¡¯s beside the point, a stupid dance is better that doing nothing, I rather look like an idiot then give up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, it is stupid, I thought was cool when I was younger, but I¡¯m just an idiot, so long my childhood.¡±

    Iris: ¡°HERO NOOOOOOOO!?

    With dead eyes, Nathan curled into a fetal position, while Iris told off Anais and Anais not listen to a word she said. Celes who had been spying on them, nearly fell over in laughter from the spectacle.

    Anais: Listen, in order for us to form a party, first you designate a leader and even after that to be an official party you would need-¡±

    Celes: ¡°(A Unit Crystal.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A Unit Crystal?¡±

    Anais: A Unit Cry¡­¡­¡­.. if you already knew, don¡¯t make us do stupid dances?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, she just told me.¡±

    Celes had made herself known to the rest of the group.

    Celes: ¡°(I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, could I be of assistance?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You were spying on us?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Sorry, I wasn¡¯t trying to, when I came over, you were all dancing. You were so funn, focused, I didn¡¯t want to interrupt).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why did you just correct yourself?¡±

    Celes handed Nathan a small crystal.

    Nathan: ¡°This is?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ah, a Unit Crystal?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This is it, you just conveniently had this lying around?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(No, this was giving to me by Lady Amelia, I think she wanted us to meet.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Amelia, huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Lady Amelia, she knows where she is?¡±

    Anais: ¡°She doesn¡¯t, we already asked her, back when we were trapped.¡±

    Iris: Right¡­¡­¡­¡­.back then.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, you okay?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, there is no need to worry.¡±

    Nathan: Hmm¡­¡­¡­¡­.. well, okay.

    Nathan turned back his attention back to Celes, He could tell Iris was holding something back, but she would tell him if he needed to know.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay so how do I use this?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I will tell you on one condition?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And that is?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I want to be in your party.)

    Nathan: ¡°Say what now?¡±

    Nathan was a little surprised by her declaration, she didn¡¯t seem at all like the type to want to fight.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Celes held her head down in clench her fist.

    Celes: ¡°(I¡¯m tired of being protected, I want to try fighting for myself.)¡±

    Nathan:¡­¡­¡­¡­.Ah, you over heard us talking earlier after the meeting and your trying to prove yourself, if that¡¯s the case th-¡±

    Celes: ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT IT.¡±

    Nathan grabbed at his head, it felt like she screamed in his ears. Her eyes beginning to water.

    Anais: ¡°Hey fairy, let¡¯s step away.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, will leave it to the Hero.¡±

    Iris and Anais walked a little ways off. Even if they couldn¡¯t hear, they felt as though they shouldn¡¯t be listening. Celes

    Celes: ¡°(Yes your right, I did over hear your conversation, but more than that I¡¯m tired of being protected. Since my voice cannot be heard, everyone always assume I can¡¯t do anything. When you fought the Gorgon, not once did you think I could be useful, you said it yourself, I had so much power, but you still saw me as nothing but a burden. And the worst part is that I don¡¯t ever try to prove them wrong.)¡±

    Her head rose, her gaze meeting nathan¡¯s.

    Celes: ¡°(I want to learn to protect myself, even if it just a little. I want to prove that I¡¯m not just some voiceless weakling, in need of protection.)¡±

    The look in her eyes, she was infuriated, with the people who saw her as weak and angry at herself for letting them believe that. Nathan thought, everyone wants to protect, she was no different.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..No.¡±

    Celes word came crashing down around her. His single word echoed through her soul.

    Celes: ¡°(Why, why can¡¯t I fight.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I¡¯m not saying you can¡¯t. Celes, I said so earlier, I have no intention to fight directly with the Gorgon, I¡¯m happy that you found your courage, but after hearing what you said, letting you in the party would be completely redundant. I mean, if I did let you in, I¡¯d feel like I¡¯d be wasting your feelings.¡±

    Celes tear were flowing down her head, she poured her soul into that speech. Nathan placed his hand atop her head.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, hey, hey, cut that out. Listen, its good enough that you have this feeling, there will be a time in the future when you¡¯ll need this feeling, don¡¯t waste it on something like joining our party.

    She looked up to Nathan, he smiled down at her, a warm smile that made her feel a little better. Celes wiped the tears from her face, she still wanted to be a part of his team, even if they did nothing. Her gaze fell to the crystal in her hand, she had forgotten about it. Then her face lit up, she thought of something.

    Celes: ¡°(I understand, I show you how to use it.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, I thought you were going to say no after turning you down.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I could never turn you down Hero.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Thanks Celes.)¡±

    Nathan turned and called the girls back over.

    Celes: ¡°(First, have you decide on a leader?)¡±

    Nathan: (No we haven¡¯t.)¡±

    Iris: ¡°Haven¡¯t what Hero?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She says we should decide a leader.¡±

    Anais & Iris: Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I said, we need to decide a leader.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What the hell are you talking about, you¡¯re the leader.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, since when?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Since ever, we were following your lead, this entire time.

    Nathan: ¡°When did I ever lead you anywhere?¡±

    Iris: ¡°When we search the study, when we fought those plant creatures.¡±

    Anais: ¡°When we escape the Uzy, when you escape the forest.¡±

    Celes: (When you were fighting the Gorgon, when you decoded to help slow the Gorgon.)¡±

    Nathan thought back to all those instances, he wasn¡¯t really trying to lead. He was just thinking of ways to help get everyone to safety, plus some of those instances, he was going off information he receive from everyone else.

    Iris: ¡°Whenever we fought your always so calm and collected, like it all came naturally.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You don¡¯t panic in situation where you are at a disadvantage, I was surprised how easily you dealt with the broccoli when we were trapped.¡±

    Charisma Increased +1

    Celes: ¡°(She¡¯s still calling me broccoli.)¡±

    Nathan face went flush, he didn¡¯t realize he was held in such high regards.

    Celes: ¡°(Are you okay, your all red?)¡±

    Nathan: I fine just a little, taken aback.

    Nathan turned away from everyone for moment to fix his expression.

    Nathan: Alright if you two are okay with following me, then I¡¯ll will leader.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I planned to just that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not like, we weren¡¯t already doing it in the first place.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright now that we have that settled, how do we do this?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, first to activate, you must supply it with a bit of mana, once you have done so, on your status screen, the ¡°Party¡± screen should appear.)

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I already have that?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What?)¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s already there, I can enter it but I don¡¯t know how to add anyone.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Hero, could I see your hands?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhh, sure?

    Nathan held out his hands to Celes. She examined each closely, poking a small hole in her hands, she placed them flat on his. Both their hands begin to admit a blue light, that faded after a while. Celes smiled a huge smile and jumped back.

    Celes: ¡°(It seems, my help is not needed, Hero just have each of them place their hands atop yours, your hands must be on the bottom. They also need a drop of blood to confirm the contract. Also, let them know that, once they enter your party, you be able to view their status screen.)¡±

    Nathan took a look at his hands then back to Celes.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s it, hey wait, where are you going, Celes?¡±

    Celes ignored Nathans cries and ran off, a huge grin on her face.

    Anais: ¡°What was that about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have no idea, but she told me to let you know that if we form a party I be able to see your status screens?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Anais face turned pale, she never even thought of the possibility that this what happen.

    Nathan: ¡°Why are you freaking out?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I-Its nothing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Anais, if you don¡¯t want me to look at something I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t even need to tap your ¡°Name Bar¡±.

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: "Well, it showed me a lot of personal information, some things I didn¡¯t even know, I can only imagine what it will tell me about someone else. So, I won¡¯t look, that goes for you as well, Iris."

    Iris: ¡°I do not share the same concern as the rodent, feel free to gaze upon me as you like, my body is yours to do with what you will, I shall bare it all, is it is what you wish.¡±

    Anais: ¡°THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I forbid from ever saying that again.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You upset, that¡¯s strange, Lady Amelia¡¯s books said that you would love that phrase. My body is a temple and the Hero should be free to roam the halls at his leisure, maybeIshould start with that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I forbid you from reading anymore books from Amelia.¡±

    While Nathan scolded Iris Anais got her thoughts together.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Fine, as long as you don¡¯t look.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I won¡¯t and thanks for trusting me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not like, I trust you or anything, anyway how do we do this?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, you place your hands on mine and some blood to form a contract.¡±

    Iris went first, she made small pricks on her hands and then placed them atop nathan¡¯s. The same blue light and just as quickly went out. Anais did the same, the same light shined, then went out.

    Anais: ¡°Is that it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well yeah I guess.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hero, a moment, didn¡¯t Celes do the exact same thing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, she was demonstrating?¡±

    Anais and Iris looked to each other then back to Nathan, he didn¡¯t get it.

    Iris: ¡°Oh, Hero.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hahaha, she got you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Got what?¡±

    Nathan thought for a moment suddenly got a thought, he quickly brought up his party menu.

    Nathan: ¡°That, little¡­¡­¡­¡­.what the hell?¡±

    Name: Celes Adea Level:13

    HP: 250/250 MP: 8000/8000

    Race: Wood Nymph

    Legacy: Natures Heart

    M. Ability: Forest Manipulation

    P. Ability: Photosynthesis, Ecofriendly, Overgrowth, Nature Rant, Celestial Veil

    Stats:

    STH 5

    DEF 15

    INT 67

    AGI 17

    LUCK 34

    Name: Iris Level: 8

    HP: 800/800 MP: 50000/50000

    Race: Fairy

    Legacy: Mana Force

    M. Ability: Enchantment, Elemental Mastery, Sensory Adept

    P. Ability: Mana Absorption, Celestial Veil,

    Stats:

    STH 18

    DEF 43 Inventory

    INT 74

    AGI 25

    LUCK 35

    Name: Anais Myrddin Level: 7

    HP: 500/500 MP: 125/125

    Race: Scribe Eater

    Legacy: Record Keeper

    M. Ability: Intelligence Thief, Shadow Step

    P. Ability: Sensory Block, Knowledge Eater

    Stats

    STH 35

    DEF 32

    INT 105

    AGI 67

    LUCK 175

    Nathan: ¡°(The hell is this?)¡±

    Nathan stared at the screens, mouth hanging open. These stats were completely ridiculous. Nathan knew Anais¡¯s luck stat would be high, but she must be the single luckiest person in existence, she could probably win the lottery over and over. Her intelligence was high as well, was it because of all those books she eats?

    Then there was Iris, her stats were not to dramatic, but she had so much Mana, she was like the final boss in a game. Though think about it a second time, fairies were always known to have I levels mana reserves, some to the point where they seemed to have an inexhaustible amount. That fact that she could run out, made her a little less god like, though if she had so much, why does she always look so tired after she cast spell in succession. Maybe she just gets tired like everyone else, even if she almost never runs out, it still would cause fatigue, constantly using it.

    Nathan hand begin to glow, on the back of his right hand the initial of each of his party member were set. When he touched one of them, it showed there HP, MP and ailments. This was convenient, this way he doesn¡¯t have to keep pulling up the entire status screen, to check their conditions.

    On his other hand appeared a circle and three arrows. Each arrow directions aimed directly at one of his party members. This way he could tell where they were at any given time.

    Iris: ¡°Hero, is everything alright?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You better not be looking at anything you¡¯re not suppose to.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No I¡¯m just surprise by some of your stats, I¡¯m am seriously impressed.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Really, are they that surprising?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well yeah, neither of you could beat a butterfly in, a fist fight, but you more than make up for it with other stats.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Are you complimenting us or insulting us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A little bit of both, but this is okay, I can¡¯t learn any magic for now, but if we¡¯re in battle, I can lead while you two cast spells.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t like this formation.¡±

    Nathan: We don¡¯t really have a choice, I have the highest defense and the highest amount of HP, if you get attack head on, you wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. I have a plan for that, but it can wait until tomorrow.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well, Lady Amelia probably never thought I would become a human and the Fairy probably wasn¡¯t even a thought.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah I was thinking the same, so for now will be taken the brunt of attacks, Sorry Iris, I know you don¡¯t like me getting hurt.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, your formation is the most efficient way.¡±

    Iris smile her normal smile, but Nathan felt as though she was straining.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, both of you go get some rest, I tell everyone my plan in the morning.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What about the broccoli?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Meh, she did trick me in to it, but if it means that much to her, I¡¯ll let her stay for now. Seriously, she''s gonna be disappointed when we don¡¯t fight."

    Afterwards they all split up, they made their way back to their respeactive rooms. Nathan decided to knock down his room, he didn¡¯t needed, plus if he really wanted to add this plant to his list, it would come in handy later on. Thought that wasn¡¯t the only reason he didn¡¯t need it.

    He promised Iris that they would stay in the same room, only if she didn¡¯t follow him anymore tonight, she agreed instantly andNathanregretted immediately. He didn''t have a choice he needed to something and he didn''t want anyone else to know.

    He invited Saria to talk, he wanted to ask her something about Celes, something he neglected to tell Anais or Iris. Something about her abilities, from what he read, something wasn¡¯t right.

    Once everyone was sleep, Saria flew over to where Nathan was. He was sitting back in the area where the enchantment once was, sitting atop of the rock he was slammed into earlier. He had come earlier and recovered all the elven weaponry he couldn¡¯t grab earlier. Now that water ran through the area again, he could watch it slowly becoming green again.

    Saria: ¡°Sorry Hero, my sisters took a little longer to fall asleep.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°With all that¡¯s happening, I¡¯m surprise that anyone can sleep.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m actually glad we could talk, I feel my sister¡¯s reaction towards your declaration was disrespectful, I wanted to apologize on their behalf.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, that¡¯s fine, the Hero saying he wasn¡¯t going to fight, you never dream of hearing that.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, you were right, all this time we¡¯ve never thought to fight ourselves, even now, I praying for the Grassvalley Tribe to arrive, before the creature does. Though, slowing down the creature, is a great of a plan as any.¡±

    Saria stared at the river, until recently this area was so dry, the speed in which it was returning to normal, was abnormal.

    Saria: ¡°Hero can I tell you something?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Saria: ¡°To be completely honest............ I¡¯m scared, not once has something like this happened, at first I thought to wake mother, but after seeing Celes capture you, I thought I could fight too, but then, the Grassvalley Tribe¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. all this time.¡±

    She began shaking, she pulled her knees in and buried her face.

    Saria: ¡°So Many thoughts ran through my head at that moment, my sisters could end up this way, I could end up this way,I froze up,I justdidn''t know what to do."

    Saria was now shaking terribly.

    Nathan: ¡°You still want to protect, its hard being the oldest huh, plus the responsibility of being leader.¡±

    Saria: ¡°But as you said, we just have to stall the Gorgon, until the Grassvalley arrive to destroy the beast."

    Nathan smiled disappeared, he was thinking he might have regretted saying that. He stared down a the water rushing by.

    Nathan: ¡°................Are the Grassvalley Tribe really protecting you?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Of course they are, what a thing to ask.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t mean to sound rude but, after seeing Celes status, something doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Her status, how?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Earlier tonight, Celes tricked her way into a party with me, I got a pretty good look at her abilities. After what I read, I think I might have been lied to.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Celes, I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get you might not be able to tell me everything, but seeing as how she now in my party and the fact that so many problems are coincidently keeping me from leaving, I have to ask¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. are you all prisoners?¡±

 Chapter 23: Dont Call Me Hero

    Chapter 22: Don¡¯t Call Me Hero

    Saria: ¡°Prisoners!?¡±

    Nathan wasn¡¯t sure how she would react, but he had to know. There were too many reason why they couldn¡¯t leave and not enough ways to leave.

    Saria: ¡°I don¡¯t understand, sure we don¡¯t leave the Garden, but not because we cannot, most of us have little to no interest in leaving?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You want me to believe that no one here has even a slight curiosity as to what¡¯s over these walls?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say for sure, but why would you think, that we are imprisoned?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­...There¡¯s a thirty-meter wall, that can¡¯t be scaled, if you fly too high, your met with an impassable storm. The only way out is hidden behind a waterfall, that leads to a door that can only be opened from the other side, not to mention the tribe of armed elves that wait on the opposite end and now I see Celes has some crazy ability that she can¡¯t control.¡±

    Saria thought a bit, after hearing all of that, it did sound like they were imprisoned. She shook her head, that just was not the case, but she was more concerned with her sister.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Celes, what does she do?¡±

    Nathan stared into Saria¡¯s eyes, she seemed like she honestly didn¡¯t know, had he gotten his assumptions wrong. Saria being the leader and the oldest, should know of this.

    Nathan: ¡°She involuntarily creates forest and makes them grow out of control.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Creates a forest, I don¡¯t see the harm in making more forested areas.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Saria, what if she decides to visit a city?¡±

    Saria thought about it, but Nathan was a little impatient at the moment.

    Nathan: ¡°I had wondered why this area became green again so quickly, what if this entire area was replenished, just from her having walked on it?¡±

    Saria Never really thought of it before, the Gorgon had systematically dried up area after area and right after they would work to fix the damage. Though they never fully restored an area before the Gorgon came by again, the rate in which the area became green again was unnatural.

    If Celes was the cause of that phenomenon, then if she was to step into any settlement, she could involuntarily wipe out an entire area.

    Nathan: ¡°Though some good news, it look like she can¡¯t bypass natural obstruction, like thirty story cliffs, probably why you have such high security¡±, to keep her ability in check. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.She can¡¯t leave.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Now you get it, someone knew of her powers and then placed her hear so she wouldn¡¯t get out.¡±

    Saria: ¡°But, if this was a prison, then why would Lady Amelia have her study here, it wouldn¡¯t make sense.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I may not be from this world, but even I can tell, that study is for rare treasure, if I wanted to keep them safe, a place like this with such high defenses, would be perfect.¡±

    Nathan leaped over to where Saria, making her flinched. He stood over her, his expression, scared her to no end.

    Nathan: ¡°Saria, I need you to be honest with me, I don¡¯t like being lied to, if this place is a prison of some sort, everything I been told up until now could have been false, which would make the fact that I¡¯m helping you, the fact that I made Anais and Iris help, the fact that I almost died completely unnecessary.¡±

    Saria heart rate went up, she hadn¡¯t lied up to this point, but everything he brought up, screamed the opposite. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, but her voice would not come out.

    Nathan: Saria, so from everything I told you, all the security and Celes abilities are¡­¡­.. you¡­¡­¡­ prisoners?¡±

    He was right over top of her now, she was afraid. She had told the truth, but after what she did earlier, trying to trick him into helping instead of just asking him, he wasn¡¯t going to believe anything she was saying. She could lose everything in the moment, the hero trust, his help and with the Gorgon on its way, her sisters could be hurt she just couldn¡¯t afford to make a mistake.

    *Tears falling*

    Nathan: ¡°Huh!?¡±

    Saria: ¡°UWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH, I DON¡¯T KNOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!¡±

    A storm suddenly kick up surrounding the two, like the eye of the storm the spot between was calm, but the area had become a hurricane.

    Saria couldn¡¯t control her emotions anymore, she was as scared as everyone else, possibly even more, but everyone was looking to her and she had to be strong. The stress had built up to far and she couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Nathan¡¯s berating had taking her over the edge and she was literally a storm of emotion.

    Saria: ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW, I¡¯M NOT LYING, I¡¯M DOING MY BEST, BUT NOSTHIN GOWIN RIGHT, MY SISTERS ARE SCARED, THE TRIBE WAS WIPED OUT AND THE ON PERSON WE HAVE LEFT IS LEAVING, I CAN¡¯T LOSE YOUR HELP TOO, BUT I DON''T KNOW WHAT SO SAY,WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°HEY, HEY, CALM DOWN!¡±

    Nathans words fell on deaf ears, he went about this the wrong way. What was he thinking, trying to strong arm a girl?

    Nathan grabbed hold of her, he had to calm her down. Looking around, a few trees and water from the river had been thrown into the air and now circled dangerously overhead. This was getting out of control quickly, He forced her to look at him.

    Nathan: ¡°SARIA, I¡¯M SORRY.¡±

    Saria: ¡°*sniff* What?¡±

    The storm winds slowed down, but they hadn¡¯t stopped completely.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I jump to a conclusion and aimed all my frustration at you, it was wrong and I¡¯m sorry, so please stop crying.¡±

    Saria sniffled and wiped away her tears, her crying ceased and with it so did the wind. Unfortunately, that meant they could no longer support the trees.

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Ah, Hero, what are you-?¡±

    With Saria in hand, Nathan quickly leapt away from the falling debris, seconds before they crashed down. Once they were clear, Nathan sat Saria down. Looking around at the damage, it scared him to think all this was just her throwing a tantrum. He turned back to Saria, getting herself together. He offered her hand.

    He understood he was wrong, from her appearance and her age he assumed she was more mature then she actually was. Right now, she was like a kid who got blamed for something she didn¡¯t do. They were comparable to Iris, at least she had instructions from Amelia.

    Nathan: ¡°Feeling better?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Y-Yes, sorry you had to see that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it, in truth if this was my world, a semi naked girl crying like that, while a man stood over her, I¡¯m am truly glad no one saw this.¡±

    Nathan was felt like scum, jumping to conclusions and trying to force the answer he wanted to hear, when she was probably telling the truth the entire time or at least her truth.

    Saria: ¡°No, I can see how anyone would believe what you did, but I can assure we¡¯re not prisoners. I know this to be fact, the one who made this our home was our mother.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your mother huh, Celes mentioned her earlier, apparently, I¡¯ve met her at some point.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What, where was this!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry I honestly don¡¯t know, I can¡¯t remember anything between falling in a hole and waking up in the Amelia¡¯s study.¡±

    Saria: ¡°If you had met that means, mother is awake, wait, how is she so certain you¡¯ve met?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well it¡¯s kinda hard to explain, well¡­¡­. let me just show you instead.¡±

    Nathan close his hand and then reopened them, the usual ball of light appeared. Nathan made several more, the at once tossed them to the ground. Each phasing into the ground and rising back out as fully grown plants. With the enchantment gone, his abilities were back at full power. He looked over to Saria and was shocked, she had that exact same reaction as Celes. One of disbelief and then a huge smile.

    Saria lunged towards Nathan, he reflexively dodge, but she change her trajectory as fast as he dodge.

    *Squiiiiiiiish*

    She grabbed him and with snake like vice, smashed him into her bosom. Hugging him tighter and tighter, every squeeze cutting off his circulation.

    Nathan: ¡°MMMMMMMPPPPPHHHHH, *Deep Breath*, H-HEY, LET GO, SUFFOCATION, NO BREATHING, THEY WENT SQUISH!¡±

    Saria: ¡°Mother, she here, her blessing, so happy¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°LOOK HERE, TAPPING OUT, I¡¯M AM TAPPING MMMPH MMMMPHH!!!¡±

    Saria continued her embrace, long after Nathan stop fighting back, or moving at all.

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan on hands and knees, sucked in breath after breath of air.

    Nathan: ¡°This is the third time tonight I almost died, well at least two of them would be a blissful end.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what came over me, I was just so happy.

    Nathan watched as this girl could not control her excitement, even now she continued to fidget.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you gonna be okay?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes I am, I¡¯m just fighting the ¡°Extreme Urge¡± to embrace you once again.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Nathan: ¡°Please don¡¯t lose that fight, your hug was dangerous¡­¡­.in more ways than one.¡±

    Saria Eventually got herself together, but just in case, Nathan planted some Snyare for protection.

    Nathan: ¡°Now, if your mother was the one who built this Garden, then I can safely assume she knew about Celes.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, Mother would definitely have known, however, Celes is amongst the youngest of us sisters and the Garden was here way before her time. Mother is many things, but a clairvoyant she is not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If you¡¯re not prisoners, then if by any chance the Gorgon was to make the entire area uninhabitable.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I truly hope it doesn¡¯t come to that but if that happens, then we would have no other choice but to travel to another Garden.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°There are more?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes including this one there are four. We are in the southern most Garden.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Do you keep in contact with them?¡±

    Saria: Yes, in fact my last message was right after all the trouble begun, I wanted to see if anything had happened to them as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And?¡±

    Saria: Nothing, they reported everything was fine, only our Garden was in trouble.¡±

    Nathan started to formulate a thought, but he needed a little more information to put things together.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, I know this is off topic, but is there anything of importance here, something the other Gardens don¡¯t have?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Nothing I could think of, oh, Lady Amelia¡¯s study.¡±

    Could that be it, but if then if that was the case he knew exactly what was going here.

    Saria: ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s also Celes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What about her?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well she is next in line to become Mother.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your sister going to be your mom, how¡¯s that workout!?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Huh, ah, ahahahahahahahahah.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you misunderstand, though I refer to her as mother, it is not what your assuming.

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Saria: ¡°The term Mother is use in reference to our queen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your queen?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, she rules over all nymphs and guide us with her power to control and wield nature itself. She not our actual mother, she just is referred to as such. Celes will inherit the title along with the power, if anything were to happen to the queen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Something like death?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if she so powerful where is she right now?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I don¡¯t know, the last time she was here she said, she would be sleeping, but when I checked the bottom of her favorite lake, I couldn¡¯t find her, until now, I thought she went to one of the other lakes to sleep. If she had awoken she would have come to greet us like always.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Bottom of the lake)Have she ever slept this long before?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, we sleep for several hours like anyone else, but she has been sleeping for several years now. Though at some point she must awaken.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why is that?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, she replaced your Legacy with her blessing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Saria: ¡°You understand how at birth everyone is gifted with a Legacy, even those from other worlds.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Mhmm?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, in some instances, there are a few powerful beings who can rewrite ones Legacy, if it suits their needs.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So she gave me these abilities, because it benefits her, sounds a bit selfish.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Selfish¡­¡­¡­¡­. I guess you could see it that way from your point of view, but to be honest, I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t think such thoughts.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll keep my thoughts to myself (This is the third time, what is with this world and doing what they want to me while I sleep).¡±

    Nathan was feeling the same frustration from earlier, everyone keep saying that the modifications to his body are a good thing. He doesn¡¯t actually hate them, but he wished someone would ask him if it was okay.

    He shook his head and focused, he didn¡¯t have time for this, he needed to figure out some stuff about Celes.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Wait a minute, if Celes is next in line doesn¡¯t that make her a princess?

    Saria: ¡° Yeah, I guess so, why does that matter?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Because, I just bathe with her and seen every nook and cranny, not to mention she pretty skillful with her hands.) AS IF I COULD SAY THAT.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Is everything alright!?¡±

    Nathan: Yes, I just figuring some stuff out, thank you for your help, oh and sorry for holding you, also if I offended you in any way.¡±

    Saria: ¡°There is no need for apologies, this was a very engaging conversation.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well then, should we head back.¡±

    Nathan had gotten what he needed, he initial thought were flawed. The ones he had now were way more solid. Plus, he really wanted to get away from her.

    Saria: ¡°Actually, c-can I ask a request?¡±

    Saria twiddle her fingers, blushing as she got waited to hear his answer.

    Nathan: ¡°Uhh, sure?¡±

    Saria: ¡°If it¡¯s at all possible, might I embrace you wants again?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Nathan smiled to Saria, hop down from the rock and took off running.

    Saria: ¡°Hey, why are you running away, Hero?¡±

    Nathan ignored her and disappeared into the trees.

    _

    _

    Nathan opened his eyes, the familiar white void stretch out into the horizon. He remembered running to his room after Saria ask to suffocate him with affection and now he was back in this white space.

    Nathan: ¡°There better be guns this time.¡±

    Girl: ¡°What¡¯s a gun?¡±

    Nathan turned around to find the same girl from last time.

    Nathan: So, it is you again.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Who else were you expecting?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Tall guy, dark skin, bald head, black clothes, really cool pair of shades and a shit load guns.¡±

    Girl: ¡°That¡¯s a very distinctive image.¡±

    Nathan laugh a bit from her reaction.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So are you gonna tell me something important, or are you going to fade from existence again?¡±

    Girl: ¡°Actually, I¡¯m just here to talk, you gotten out of the Study, that¡¯s great.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but you could have told me the way out, if you knew.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Yes, but would you have explored and found all those wonderful items, even if you did, without my help you would have no way to transport it all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you could have just told me everything.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Sorry, I was in a bit of trouble, I couldn¡¯t stay long, but now I¡¯m free to chat, tell me what¡¯s troubling you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m don¡¯t really have anything to talk about.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Really, not even about, how you made some girl cry?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aheheheh, you saw that huh?¡±

    Girl: ¡°More like you won¡¯t stop thinking about it.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah I really jumped the gun on that one, everything that happened, it all seemed way too-¡±

    Girl: ¡°Convenient?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like everything was set up for that conclusion, me having to fight.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Like I said, if you need to get something off your chest, I can lend an ear.¡±

    The girl ushered Nathan to sit, he scratched his head, maybe she could offer some unbiased feedback. He began telling her about the fight he had with the Gorgon, follow by the conversations he had after wards and all his worries about him being the Hero.

    Girl: ¡°Why don¡¯t you give up?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Ok, that¡¯s not what I was expecting to hear.¡±

    Girl: What else is there to say, only an idiot would get caught in someone else¡¯s melodrama and risk their lives for a complete stranger. I¡¯d wouldn¡¯t want to fight for anyone who couldn¡¯t give a shit how I feel and then expect me to fight and die for them.¡±

    She started flipping middle fingers into the nothingness. Nathan was surprised that her train of thought so aligned with his.

    Girl: ¡°I have a solution.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Girl: ¡°Your trapped in the Garden right now, right?

    Nathan: ¡°Right?¡±

    Girl: ¡°Then that means no one outside the Garden knows who you are or what you are, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, I see where you¡¯re going, a simple plan, but it should work.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Right, right, see it not that hard, plus this way you can do what you need done, without drawing attention, just make sure you don¡¯t do anything to crazy.¡±

    Nathan breathed a sigh, it was such a simple thing to do, but the results should suffice.

    Girl: ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Actually, mmmmmmph!?

    Girl: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Huh?¡±

    Suddenly, Nathan felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe, like he was being smothered. All at once, the white along with the girl seemed to fade and was replaced with giant white puff, the looks an awful lot like marshmallows. Out of nowhere they had surrounded him, crushing and smothering him in a soft embrace. He tried to scream, but the marshmallows were relentless, quickly muffling his voice. Harder and harder it became to breath and then he was falling. Down along with the suffocating feeling.

    *Thud*

    Nathan: ¡°What the Mmmmmmph, *Deep Breath*, SARIA, mmmmmmmph!?¡±

    Nathan, awaken to find himself back in his room, within Saria¡¯s embrace. He had fallen off the bed, subconsciously trying to break free of her grasp. She hug him tighter every time he pulled away, unconsciously shoving her chest in his face.

    Nathan: ¡°SARIA WAKE UP, SUFFOCATION, NO BREATHING, MARSHMALLOWS!¡±

    The doors that separated his and Iris¡¯s room burst open.

    Iris: ¡°HERO, WHATS WRONG, *Gasp*!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What the hell are you doing!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°IT¡¯S NOT WHAT YOU THINK, GET HER OFF OF MMMMPPPHHH!?¡±

    Celes: ¡°*Yawn*¡±

    All eyes turned towards the sound, Celes sat up in bed, the sheets falling off her as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around, half asleep and then smiled to everyone. All eyes fell back onto Nathan.

    Nathan: I¡¯M TELLING YOU IT¡¯S NOT THAT, MMMMMMPPPH.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Y-you, w-with th-the b-both o-of th-them?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master....how could you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°NO, IRIS IT¡¯S NOT THAT.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Even the we¡¯re in the same house, HOW COME THEY CAN SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM, BUT I CAN¡¯T?¡±

    Nathan&Anais: ¡°YOUR WORRIED ABOUT THE WRONG THINGS!!!!!¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°You want us to stop calling you hero?¡±

    After clearing some misunderstanding and separating from Celes and Saria, the three decided to head over to discuss the plan of action.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I thought about it and this the best thing for me.¡±

    Anais: What do you mean?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The other day I told everyone that I wouldn¡¯t fight because I didn¡¯t want to, that was only half of it. The truth of it all is, I hated that they believe that since I hold the title of Hero that I should confront the Gorgon on those bases alone.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ah, that water nymph, who said it was your job.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t want the title to dictate the actions that people think I should take. If am going to fight anything or save anyone, I wanted to because I decided to do so. So, when we¡¯re outside of the Garden, neither of you are to call me Hero.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t call you that anyway.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but I was actually saying this for her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Huh, oh boy.¡±

    Iris floated along with a dead smile, she had tuned out the conversation, right after Nathan said to not call him Hero.

    Nathan: Iris, I know you don¡¯t want to but you have to.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Have to what ¡°Hero¡±?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Come on Iris, say my name.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why you being such a stubborn pest?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Rodents may be disrespectful and call him without a title, however, I shall not.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Anais suddenly had an idea, she smirked deviously.

    Anais: ¡°You know, you¡¯re being really disrespectful towards Nathan at the moment?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hold your tongue Vermin, I would never do such a thing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh yeah, well the hero is asking you to do something for him, but by not obliging, you are causing him unnecessary strife in the foreseeable future. He¡¯s asking you, not to refer to him as such, yet you completely and utterly refuse to comply with his wishes. So, in this moment you are without a doubt showing him, DISRESPECT.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, Iris don¡¯t listen to her-¡±

    Nathan might as well have been talking to himself, Iris ad already taken Anais¡¯s words to heart.

    Iris: ¡°(Is it truly disrespect? By referring to him as Hero I¡¯m showing him the utmost respect, but he himself wish for me not to. Though a mere guardian, calling the Hero by his name is a complete show of disrespect. But continuing to call him Hero, I¡¯m going against wishes, that is without a doubt disrespect, but as a guardian I must, but at the same time, I mustn¡¯t. Doing what he asked me not to do, but having no choice but to just that).¡±

    Steam began flowing from Iris¡¯s head, she was nearing overload.

    Nathan: ¡°She having a meltdown, Anais, why did you do that (Aww, my persuasion points)?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Daaaaahahahahahahahahaha!¡±

    Anais rolled around on the ground in laughter as Nathan tried to bring Iris out of her continuous looping chain of disrespect.

 Chapter 24: To Each Her Own

    Chapter 24: To Each Her Own

    The area was filled with the chatter of girls, as they assembled for Nathan¡¯s plan. Iris still was having problems, calling Nathan anything other than Hero. There pace had slowed to a crawl, so Celes had come to see what was taking so long.

    Nathan: ¡°Come on try again, say Nathan.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Na, Na, Na, Na,NaNaNaNaNaNathero.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nathero?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Nathero?)¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ppffftttt!

    Iris cover he face, attempting to hid how red it¡¯s become. She knew this was not something difficult, but she just not come to terms with calling him outside his title. She took her duty seriously and Nathan could respect that, but this had to be done.

    Nathan: ¡°Nathero, sounds like the villain in a D&D game.¡±

    Iris: ¡°*blush* M-My apologies.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No its fine, just keep trying, you¡¯ll get there.¡±

    Iris: *sigh* Right, Na, Na, Na, Na, NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNERO!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m a puzzle demon now?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Daahahahahahaha, my ribs, can¡¯t take it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, stop laughing and help us would you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Aheheheheh, whew that was great. Alright listen, I could care less, but for the sake of moving things along, why don¡¯t she just call you Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Master(If I recall, Anais called me that for a little while?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Another form of showing respect, she won¡¯t call you by your name, this way she can still show respect, without calling you Hero.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm I guess, wait that means the reason you stop calling me master, is because you stop respecting me?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Huh, oh yeah, my respect for you went waaaaaaaaaaaayyy down.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So honest it hurts.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master¡­¡­. Yes, I think that will work, the rodent has shown some form of intelligence, I had no idea she possessed it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. She just said I was stupid.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, she understood, the surprises continue.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You arrogant little-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Cool it, Iris you okay with this?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes Master, though it¡¯s not as respectful as your esteemed title, it shall suffice, are you okay with me addressing you as such?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, it takes some getting used to, but its fine for now. Well, with that out the way, Celes I¡¯m glad you showed up. I want to try something.¡±

    Nathan fiddle with his screen then selected a few things.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, ¡°Co-op!¡±¡±

    The three girls lit up for an instant, a warm feeling ran through them, making each gasp from the sensation.

    Anais: ¡°What did you just do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I use Co-op, it let me share two passive and magic abilities with you, I want, prepare just in case, we end up fighting.¡±

    Nathan pulled out origin and unsheathe it. Iris and Celes instantly became entranced, then he picked up two stones and tossed them at Celes and Iris. Both dodge the sudden attack. Nathan smiled and re sheathe the sword.

    Nathan: ¡°It worked.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wow.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why did you throw stones?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My passive ability ¡°Clear Mind¡±, it keeps you level headed in times of strife or in this occasion, keeps you from getting completely entranced.¡±

    Anais: ¡°But it didn¡¯t look like they had complete immunity.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, for some reason ¡°Co-op¡± halved the abilities power for all of you, I don¡¯t get why but that¡¯s why I gave you the second passive skill, ¡°Enhanced Reflexes¡±. It¡¯s also halved but, at least it will make up for the lag in your concentration.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well, now they can be of some use, but that still doesn¡¯t account for the hundred or so other nymphs in this forest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hopefully, ¡°IF¡± we have to fight, we¡¯ll try to fight in an area away from everyone else. Okay, now it¡¯s all of your turns.¡±

    Girls: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan press another button and a screen popped up to each girl.

    *ding*

    <u>Co-op activated, Selections: 1</u>

    Nathan: ¡°You all can decide one ability to share with the party, you can choose what you want another time. Right now, Iris, you choose ¡°Celestial Veil¡±, Anais, you choose ¡°Sensory Block¡± and Celes, you choose ¡°Plant Physiology¡±.¡±

    Each girl chose their respective abilities and everyone lit up and the sudden sensation again.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay with this, Because of Iris¡¯s ¡°Celestial Veil¡±, we can¡¯t be seen by anyone we don¡¯t want to be seen by, namely the Gorgon. Though the ability doesn¡¯t completely hide our present, if one were to concentrate or has an ability similar to Iris¡¯s ability to detect all mana signature no matter what, we¡¯d be screwed if the Gorgon had an ability like that.That¡¯s where Anais¡¯s ¡°Sensory Block¡± comes in, because of it she was able to keep herself concealed from Iris for so long in the study because of it, it blocks alldetection type abilities, this means we could approach the Gorgon without being noticed."

    Anais smirked in iris¡¯s direction, who in turn scowled back at her.

    Nathan: ¡°Last but not least, Celes¡¯s ¡°Plant Phisiology¡±. It just like my ability, so when we approached the Gorgon, if it does that enchantment thing again, will all have some resistance to it. With Celes¡¯s ability stacked on mine, I should have complete immunity to it, so I¡¯ll be able to go all out. All of you will just be resistant, however since you three will be further away using magic and spells, as long as I keep its attention, it shouldn¡¯t target any of you, less movement, means more time you can last within the enchanted area.¡±

    <u>Charisma +5</u>

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    All of the girls were staring at Nathan, dumbstruck.

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Amazing.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°To come up with all this, in a single night, truly remarkable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, this is just a worst-case scenario, I have no intention of doing any of this, if I can at all help it."

    Anais: ¡°Still, that doesn¡¯t make it any less impressive, see this why we followed you, even before you were officially leader, you truly aren¡¯t as dumb as you look.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I''m not taking that as a compliment.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(But an all seriousness, you are simply amazing, I¡¯m am truly honored to be in your party.)¡±

    Nathan quickly turned his head, trying to keep his face hidden. The girls just, didn¡¯t understand the heart of the modest.

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, his all red.)¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ha-ha, he¡¯s blushing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Poor Master, he¡¯s just not good with compliments.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sh-Shut up, we¡¯re done talking, let¡¯s get to the meeting.¡±

    Nathan, started walking ahead, blushing even more at the sound of the giggling girls, following behind him.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°So, I come up with some strategies for keeping the Gorgon from arriving before the Grassvalley Tribe does, but first let me explain why I think its here.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Before, why are the two of them so close?¡±

    Celes and Saria had taking their seat next to Nathan, much closer than either of them should be okay with. Needless to say, with every shift, Nathan could make out every inch of their bodies, right down to the essentials.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Please don¡¯t mind it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wha!?¡±

    Moments before the meeting, they came to tell him they would announce his abilities during the session, but he swiftly told them not to. Nathan made a deal with them, they were allowed to be close with him as long as they don¡¯t reveal to their sister what he could do. Even if their sister¡¯s faith in him rose, he didn¡¯t want the absolute affection, that came with it. The way Celes and Saria acted when they realized it, he could vividly see the soft, squishy, marshmallow nightmare, that would rain down upon him.

    Saria: ¡°Anais, there nothing wrong with being close with the Hero, the Hero himself even wished it to be so, isn¡¯t that right.¡±

    Celes nodded happily to Saria¡¯s words and Nathan turned his head from Anais¡¯s accusing glares. Nathan was surprised Iris had not done the same, but she was drifting in and out of her own little world. He wasn¡¯t too sure, but he swore he heard her say ¡°Master¡±, repeatedly. Anais said nothing more, that is nothing more anyone else could hear. She began throwing insults under her breath, Insults Nathan could hear all too well. He could also tell that a few of the nymphs around especially Lynn, did not like their sisters so close to him, but he made a deal and would just have to deal with it.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Nathan¡± *Ahem*, So as I was saying, everyone wants to know how the Gorgon enter this area, you said it fell from the sky, but that doesn¡¯t make since. Sure it fell from the sky, that parts accurate, but that would mean that it was flying, when it fell for some reason.

    Anais: ¡°That doesn¡¯t make since, if it could fly there would be no reason for it stay, with its high defense and how heavy it is, the storm should be no problem, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Exactly what I thought, so if it hasn¡¯t left yet, I can only assume one thing, it can¡¯t fly. The fact that at no time during my fight with the other one did it take flight, made this all the clearer.

    Lynn: ¡°But if it can¡¯t fly, why did it fall from the sky?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I have some good news and some bad news, bad news first Simple reason why its here, someone or something, put it here.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s the only thing I can think of, I have hard time believing this thing scaled those cliff, I mean maybe it could, but why go through all the trouble, when you could just float around. However, if it did scale the cliff, that doesn¡¯t explain the crater it made when it arrive, to make a crater, you need some massive force to collide with the ground. I think it was made to be land here via an outside force.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That makes a lot of sense, if it had just climb down a cliff, it would have fallen or hovered down the other side.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Are you saying we¡¯re being targeted, but why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I thought of three possibilities. One their trying to get you all to leave, Saria told me that Fae are used as batteries, if you all left a place with such high defenses, maybe it would be easier to catch you while on your way to safety.

    Saria: ¡°No, even if we left I¡¯m sure the Grassvalley tribe would escort us anywhere we traveled.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, that¡¯s what I thought, they wouldn¡¯t go through all this trouble to force you out, if they could just force their way through your guardians. This brings me to my second theory, their after Amelia¡¯s study.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Amelia has a lot of valuable treasures, plus until recently, a very special occupant.¡±

    Iris snapped back into focus, her daze completely vanishing.

    Iris: ¡°You believe them to be after you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not saying specifically, just an assumption.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, getting through the barrier is one thing, but I would never allow someone to take you, while under my watch.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for that, but if they really meant to take anything out, it would have been better to not cause a commotion. After they found out about the Gorgon, you all search for anymore intruders right, if they were meaning to go unnoticed, they should not have done that. Which can only leave one possibility.

    Nathan cleared his throat.

    Nathan: ¡°Think about what the Gorgon is doing, it going around and drying lakes. What could the outside force want that drying up a lake could yield.

    There was a notable gasp from everyone around.

    Saria: ¡°Mother, there aim is Mother.

    Nathan: ¡°Right, you told me she usually rest at the bottom of the lakes that reside around the Garden, but which one she chooses is completely random, if the Gorgon was to go around and dry up every single lake in the Garden, surely they would find her.

    Saria: ¡°Wait, but the creature has secluded itself to the south and only recently, started to move.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s the good news, the outsiders didn¡¯t count on the Gorgon to do something like that, they probably expected your Mother to be awake by now.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Good heavens, so if I had located her earlier and had Celes wake her up-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You probably, would be dealing with something far worse.¡±

    Saria covered her mouth, the thought that she had nearly put her sisters in worse danger was a terrifying thought. Nathan placed a hand atop her head.

    Saria: ¡°Hero?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t think too deeply about it, you were doing what you thought was best for your family, no one can fault you on that.¡±

    Saria fought back her feelings and raised her head, she need not worry about would could of happen, she only need to worry about what¡¯s to come.

    Lynn: ¡°Um, I have a question, why hadn¡¯t the Gorgon did what it was supposed to do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It couldn¡¯t, it had something more important to deal with, in the form of child.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°A child?¡±

    Nathan: Let me tell you what I think happen, I think someone or something Somehow launched this creature into your home, their objective was to allow it to roam the area and dry up every lake until your mother revealed herself. However, what they failed to realize is that at the time the Gorgon they use was pregnant.

    Girls: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You said that there was only one Gorgon that came out of the crater, I can only assume the smaller one was a baby who had yet to be born.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Then, the Gorgon that you killed was the child of the larger one.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Unfortunately, though I had no other choice, thanks to your protectors, it thought I had come to attack, it had signs that it had battled earlier, I¡¯m sure it was there doing the first scuffle.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Don¡¯t talk bad of the Grassvalley Tribe, they did what they did to protect us.¡±

    Saria: ¡°LYNN, you will show the Hero, respect.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°But?¡±

    Saria glared at Lynn and she immediately settled down.

    Saria: ¡°Hero, I must ask you, not to disrespect our guardians.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not trying to, I just think they jumped the gun when they arrived. Celes which Gorgon did you see them fighting when you were here?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(It was the larger one, I didn¡¯t see the child.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It probably had already retreated, I¡¯m thinking that when your guardians arrived, they first came across the baby Gorgon. They must have thought that it was the intruder and immediately moved to rid the garden of its unwanted occupant. A battle broke out between your guardian and the baby. But, I don¡¯t think the baby can turn people to stone just yet, seeing as how it didn¡¯t turn me. At some point the larger one showed, saw its child being attack and destroyed its attackers, turning them into stone. Then, sense it child was hurt from battle, it made the enchantment to keep everyone out and its child safe, while it could go recuperate from child birth or from the battle with the Grassvalley Tribe. I found a picture depicting when to strike at the Gorgon for a one hit kill. Someone must have figure it out, I can only assume they attack in some last little effort to fight and realized the weakness, but was not able to finish the job. But again. this is all just speculation.¡±

    Nathan took a chance to look around, everyone was staring at him, even Anais and Iris, were dumbstruck, again.

    Nathan: ¡°Why are all of you looking at me like that?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Amazing, all of this from such little information.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Much smarter then he looks.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Again, not taking that as a compliment.¡±

    Iris: ¡°As always, Master is outstanding.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°C-Cut it out with the praise, its speculation, speculation.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°What happens when the mother arrived and finds it child is no longer of the living.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well of course, she going to find whoever killed it and end them.¡±

    There was an eerie silence that crept around the area, like sound itself had become a myth.

    Lynn: ¡°Then you need to get away, you¡¯ll doom us all.¡±

    Saria: ¡°LYNN!¡±

    Lynn: ¡°I¡¯m sorry Saria, but I can¡¯t, I understand you feel indebted to him, but if he truly has a death cloud over him, he shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    Saria: ¡°HOW DARE YOU, HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN, WHAT HE HAS JUST DONE FOR US?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN, WHAT THE BEAST HAS DONE TO THE TRIBE?¡±

    Saria flashback to the scene of the massacre, she hadn¡¯t forgotten, she just refuses to think about. Lynn on the other hand could not, the scene played over and over in here head, this could also be said for another handful of Nymphs also could not help recalling the horrific scene. Lynn stood up defiantly and turn her attention to Nathan.

    Lynn: ¡°Hero, I thank you for your assistance with reclaiming some of our home, but I ask please leave, I won¡¯t ask you to fight the Gorgon, but please don¡¯t bring its wrath down on us.¡±

    Saria and Celes shot to their feet, but Nathan stop them from doing anything.

    Saria: ¡°Even after he helped us, you throw him aside, how could you even think that?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°We never ask him to enter the enchantment and fight the child, he did that on his own.¡±

    Saria: ¡°But, did we not all agree, that we would ask him to fight the parent, how is this any different?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°The difference is location, to the south where our sisters have evacuated, no one could be hurt, but he¡¯s here sitting among us, surely the Gorgon will find this place. What happens if it dries up this lake, it¡¯s the source of all water in the Garden, goodness forbid mother is asleep here, then if what he said is true, we could end up with something else much worse.¡±

    Saria: ¡°And your answer to this, is to cast aside the only person who might be able to do something?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Saria¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I am not the only one.¡±

    Celes and Saria looked around, sure as she said, a lot of her sister agreed with Lynn. Most of them were the ones who had seen their guardians in that state. She understood their frustration, so many horrible things happening at once, the last straw was the Grassvalley tribe. Then the Hero tell them, the creature is coming after him, of course they don¡¯t want to be anywhere near him.

    Lynn: ¡°Saria, I implore youthink of your sisters, if he really is the reason the Gorgon has moved, should we not rid ourselves of his company?¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­.You are absolutely right.¡±

    Anais and Iris nearly leapt to their feet, they were seconds away from putting down everyone in the area. Nathan held them both back once again if it turned into a fight then, then they can go wild.

    Some faces around the room started to light up, while others were surprised. Lynn was ecstatic, she didn¡¯t understand Saria and Celes affection towards the Hero. He may have save the world, but they were worshipping him as if he was ¡°Mother¡±. It was this that led Lynn to disdain for Nathan, how dare he trick her respected elder sister and soon to be Mother younger sister, into acting so shameful. She could not stand it, but she was happy now, it seemed that her affection for him wasn¡¯t as strong as she believed.

    Nathan glanced around, more accurately at Lynn and her sister who agreed with her. He didn¡¯t need a genius to tell these girls did not like him much. It probably had something to do with the two leaders, giving him so much attention. Nathan could care less about how they felt about him, he was sure if they knew what Celes and Saria knew about him, they would be acting the same way and he did NOT want that.

    Saria: ¡°But, even if we wanted to push him away, there is no way out at the moment, do you have a plan?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Of course, Lady Amelia¡¯s study, there is no one living near there, if the Hero heads in that direction, it will take at least another day for the Gorgon to reach him. In the meantime, we¡¯ll be safe here and then when the Grassvalley Tribe reinforcements arrive, we can send them to his aid.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­.Actually, that is a pretty good idea.¡±

    Every head snapped in Nathan¡¯s direction, both sides looked at him as if he had just admitted to murder.

    Nathan: ¡°What, its pretty good, if what I said comes about, then having more time to prepare would be great, plus to be honest, I was actually looking for some places to set the traps. If for some reason, I end up fighting, having it here would be seriously bad, wouldn¡¯t you all agree?¡±

    Lynn was in sheer disbelief, why would the person she was trying to get rid of, agree with a plan, concocted out of spite. He must not be a smart as everyone thought him to be. Well it didn¡¯t matter to her, if he goes away, everything fine with her.

    Lynn: ¡°S-See, the Hero even agrees, he can fight his battle there.¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Fine, if the hero wishes it, ¡°WE¡± shall move our plan to the far east.¡±

    Lynn, along with a few of her sisters did a silent cheer, they had suceesfully gotten rid of the Hero, they didn¡¯t wish death on him, but with this they can keep their sisters away as well as the Gorgon.

    Lynn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Wait Saria, what do you mean by, ¡°WE¡±?

    Saria: It¡¯s just as it sounds, I along with anyone else will be following the Hero, to prepare for the Gorgons arrival, the rest of you will stay and send the Grassvalley Tribe after us.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°N-Nonsense, there is no reason to do this for him, we can just wait here where its safe.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Enough, those who wish to join, after we¡¯re done here, please prepare yourselves for departure, everyone else, return to your rooms.¡±

    Nathan begin to discuss his plan to slow down or trap the Gorgon. It was rather simple and he would provide everything necessary, everyone else just had to prepare. Saria soon dismissed the assembly and she, Celes and many of her sisters, prepared to follow Nathans team toward Amelia¡¯s study. Lynn and the ones who stayed behind, watched on as their sister prepared to put themselves in harm¡¯s way.

    She just could not understand, Saria saved them every time she made a call to their guardians. She watched the Hero as he walked away.

    Lynn: ¡°(This is all his fault.)¡±

    She gritted her teeth at the thought that the Hero had change them so much, they had literally change overnight. He was more of a menace then the Gorgon had ever been. She could not stand for this, nor could any of her group. Something must be done, she would see that her sisters stayed out of harm¡¯s way, rather they wanted to or not.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, is everything alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, oh yeah I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Already formulating your plan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but more, I wanted to thank you two, every time someone bad mouth me you reacted, thank for looking out for me.¡±

    Iris: ¡°It was my pleasure, Master.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hmph.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, Anais I need you to do me favor.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan continued chatting with everyone, but he was half thinking about the plan, half thinking of something else. During the meeting, every once in a while, his ¡°Threat Detection¡± would spike and then quickly fade. Every time it happened it, it arose from the same person, ¡°Lynn¡±. But, it felt different, less like threat and more like, murderous intent.

 Chapter 25: A Heros Duty Part: 1

    Chapter 25: A Hero¡¯s Duty Part 1

    Nathan Lowell Level: 8

    HP:2115/2115 MP: 207/338 SB: 75 /100

    Title: Sweeper

    Race: Human/Lycanian

    Legacy: Nature¡¯s Blessing

    Skill: Tweak

    Ability: Phytokinesis, Heal, Therapy, Tranquil, Plant Growth, Gardener

    Ability: Photosynthesis, Threat Detection, Clearmind, Enhanced Reflexes, Hyper Senses, Co-op

    Stats Party: 4

    STH 71 Inventory

    DEF 111

    INT 62

    AGI 99

    LUCK 80

    Persuasion 12% Bribery 8% Thievery 45% Charisma 31% Finesse 19%

    Titles: (Hero?)

    Nathan: ¡°Heheheheeheheeheehehe, aheheheheheheheheheheh!¡±

    Iris: ¡­¡­¡­¡­..Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Hero?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(HERO?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°AHH Celes, don¡¯t scream thoughts at me.¡±

    Celes: (I¡¯m sorry, could you please stop that creepy laughing?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡­.. sorry.¡±

    Nathan laugh awkwardly, everyone¡¯s eyes were on him. He was so absorbed in his levels he had not realize he was even making a sound. He decided to equipped one of his title and "Sweeper" was the perfect fit. It increases his strength by three points, but the best thing about this title, it increase finesse by three percent. The higher his finesse the easier it was to deal critical and one-hit strikes.

    Nathan got up, he was going to continue creating seeds, all towards completing his strategy, but was stopped by Iris. His plan is the same as the one he was captured by, but with all the plants grown by him. This way he has complete control over the area, but he had to rest for a moment or more like he was made to rest.

    He had produce a lot of seeds and making each one stronger with his blood. He had to be honest it was tiring and it wasn¡¯t like all this was free. Making seeds usually two to ten mana points, depending on the seeds variety and function, plus he needed a drop of blood for each individual seed to activate his Gardener ability, which also use twenty mana points.

    If he heals himself, he will be wasting even more mana and ¡°Heal¡± doesn¡¯t replenish his blood. Even with ¡°Photosynthesis¡± refilling his mana, fatigue from blood loss was apparent.

    Iris, decided he was going to take a break after making all the seeds and leave prep for everyone else. She was incredibly annoyed right now, Nathan hurting himself was the single thing she just could not tolerate. She understood the reasons like always, but the second he was done, he made him sit and watch.

    As he watched everyone getting things ready, he felt the need to help.

    Water Nymph: ¡°Oh my, Miss Iris, the Hero¡¯s not resting.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, tattletale.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, didn¡¯t I tell you to rest, please stop making things difficult.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh come on, it¡¯s my plan I should help, besides how do you plan on lifting this?¡±

    Iris pointed to the pile of wood, it lifted from Nathan¡¯s hand and move next to Iris.

    Iris: ¡°No need for your assistance, please continue resting Master.¡±

    Nathan ¡°Grrrgggh, darn independent women.¡±

    Iris lifted levitated Nathan off the ground and sat him back over on the pillow she had brought with her.

    Iris: ¡°Now, ¡°Master¡± this is the fourth time, please just rest.¡±

    Iris floated away to finish, while Nathan sat there, hands on his chin, sulking. Every time he would attempt to help, one of the girls would rat him out to Iris and she would fly over and sat him back on the pillow. He still felt tired from the blood loss and his mana wasn¡¯t at full compacity yet, but he couldn¡¯t just sit and watch a bunch of girls work on something he though up.

    ????: ¡°Psssst!¡±

    Nathan looked over to find someone waving for him from behind a tree.

    Nathan: ¡°(Now what could she want)?¡±

    Nathan checked to see if anyone was watching, sure that there wasn¡¯t he snuck away towards his caller. Coming into the area he saw her, trying to stay out of sight.

    Nathan: ¡°What can I do for you, Lynn?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°You mind if we move a little further away?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Sure?¡±

    Nathan was a little worried, he didn¡¯t feel it at the moment but she definitely at that time, she was definitely throwing invisible death threats. Following her into the darker parts of the woods didn¡¯t seem too smart though it was too late for that he was already behind her.

    They walked a littles way off, just out of hearing range. There were a few more nymphs around, all the ones who decided to stay behind. Nathan put up his guard, he was still a little tired, but if he had to, he will defend himself.

    Nathan: ¡°So, what did you need?¡±

    Lynn bowed her head.

    Lynn: ¡°I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier, I did not mean to sound ungrateful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s fine, I wasn¡¯t particularly worried about it, if you could please everybody, ¡°Disagree¡± would lose its meaning, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s all you wanted?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°No, actually-¡±

    She paused, like she was trying to find the right words to say.

    Lynn: ¡°I-I want you to send Saria and the rest of my sister¡¯s home.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°You must understand, that all this is fruitless, the creature want be stopped by these traps and your actions are putting them all in needless danger.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me, my actions!?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Come now, because you put these silly thoughts of fighting in their heads, there willing to put themselves in harm¡¯s way, thoughts like this never occurred until you arrived, it could only be your fault.¡±

    Everyone around agreed on what she just said. They pleaded for him to comply with Lynn wishes, they wholeheartedly believe, Nathan was responsible for their sister¡¯s change. His words might have awoken something in them, but he never asked them to move. He doesn¡¯t remember doing anything to warrant these accusations and all of them casually saying it was his fault, like it was a given.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­..Well, I¡¯m outta here.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Wait, what about my sisters.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeaaahhh, I¡¯m not going to do that.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Complying with your selfish wishes, would mean I would have to step on their ¡°Determination, which I won¡¯t do. And to be honest, to be honest I don¡¯t like you or owe you anything.¡±

    Water nymph: ¡°How dare you speak to Lynn that way!?

    Nathan glared over to the spectators, who instantly quiet down upon eye contact. He turned back to Lynn.

    Nathan: ¡°If you want Saria to go back, then tell her yourself, she¡¯s your sister.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°BECAUSE, SHE WON¡¯T LISTEN TO ME.¡±

    Lynn outburst shock the other girls standing around, she was angry.

    Lynn: ¡°I went to her, right after you finished talking, I ask her, pleaded for her to not go, let you and the guardians deal with it, but she wouldn¡¯t listen. But she listens to everything you say, like as if you were Mother, she doesn¡¯t doubt a word you say.¡±

    With that, Nathan started to get it, it¡¯s because no one knows about his relations to their queen except, Celes and Saria. If it¡¯s like this, it would be better to just come clean. A little extra affection, wasn¡¯t worth dividing these sister¡¯s faith.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, listen about that, actually-¡±

    Lynn: ¡°STOP, I DON¡¯T WANT TO HEAR IT!¡±

    Nathan jumped from that, that was truly startling. Lynn tightened her fist, her emotions were coming out.

    Lynn: ¡°The way she looks at you, her affection, the way she clings to you, even to climb in the same bed. Why¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ why, does she do that for you, WHEN I WANTED HER TO DO THAT TO ME, ALL THIS TIME!?¡±

    Lynn, it took her a second but then realizing what she just said turned bright red.

    Nathan: ¡°(¡­¡­¡­.Ooooooooohhhhhhh.)¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Iris: ¡°Master, there you are, huh, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Iris and Celes came looking for Nathan, after noticing he was gone. Upon their arrival, all the girls dipersed, except Lynn who pointed to Nathan, still beet colored.

    Lynn: ¡°I-I-I-I WANT GIVE HER TO YOU.¡±

    Lynn flew off with those words, leaving Nathan stupefied.¡±

    Iris: Master, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Wasn¡¯t that Lynn, why was she here?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..I think I just became the heroine.¡±

    Celes&Iris: ¡°(Huh?)¡±

    _

    _

    Iris: So, childhood friend(Lynn), who grew up with the main character(Saria) secretly harbors feelings for her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(And the new transfer student(Nathan), who the main character, had a sudden interaction with, like seeing them naked, running to school and crashing into each other, her suddenly materializing in his tub completely naked, lead to the main character having feelings for said transfer student.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right, right.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, the childhood friend who won¡¯t give up, has come to declare war on the transfer student, creating the clich¨¦d love triangle, that you had no intention of joining!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, yes, now do you get it?

    Celes and Iris look to each other.

    Iris&Celes: ¡°(No.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Augh, if Anais was here it would be easier, seeing as how no one can hear your thoughts but me, Celes.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(No, I¡¯m sure she would not understand either.)¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why is she so focused on stopping everyone from bettering themselves?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°In my world we have a saying, ¡°To stand on one¡¯s own feet¡±.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What does that mean?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s what you and everyone here is attempting to do, you all decided your tired of being protected. Your guardians are MIA and you can¡¯t just sit around watching other people fight your battles. Even if all you can do is slow it down, you still want to know that you at least tried to protect the ones you love with your own to hands.

    You want to be that wall between them and whatever seeks to cause them harm. That feeling, that fire, that rages inside, the one screaming, I WILL PROTECT, that is the only reason someone should rush into battle. Even if you fail, right now all that matters is you tried, because in the end, it¡¯s better to have tried and failed then to have never tried at all.¡±

    <u>Charisma +10</u>

    Nathan: ¡°What the?¡±

    Nathan looked up, he was startled to find everyone that everyone was staring at him, they had heard every word. The girl began to double their efforts, there would do what they had to do to protect their home.

    Iris: ¡°What an inspiring speech Master.¡±

    Celes: ¡°Yes, you certainly have a way with words.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, I honestly was not trying to inspire anyone, you all need to stop eavesdropping.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Alright, I shall get back to coordinating the plans, please excuse me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll join youuuu?¡±

    Nathan was once again lifted of the ground, floating over to the pillow and drop off.

    Iris: Master, you have not yet recovered, please wait and rest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhh!¡±

    Iris bowed and then flew off and continued her work. Celes watch on as Nathan groan in boredom.

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, I know I said this before, but thank you for everything.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not really doing anything but, your welcome I guess.¡±

    Celes shook her head in disagreement.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(To be honest, until you arrived, we would have never thought to do this, we just sat around doing nothing).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But you did, you caught me in a trap twice, I wouldn¡¯t call that sitting around doing nothing.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(We only moved, because we thought you were holding our sister hostage, otherwise we would have avoided you as well.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, if you were listening to me at all a minute ago, that should be the ONLY reason you throw yourself into danger.¡±

    Nathan patted her head and smiled.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You all felt you needed to save your sister and was willing to fight in order to save her, even though you were scared. You guys always had it in you, you just needed the right reasons to act, you did a good job, stop doubting yourself.¡±

    Celes hid her face, as Nathan rubbed her head, no matter how many times she thanked him, he always came up with a reason why she shouldn¡¯t.

    *Shwip*

    Nathan froze in horror, while rubbing Celes¡¯s head, he accidentally ripped out one of the flowers.

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, there goes another one.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°AAAAAHHHH, I¡¯M AM SO SORRY, DID THAT HURT, ARE YOU GONNA BLEED OUT, IS THIS REGICIDE?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, please calm down. You didn¡¯t hurt me, it was just time for them to fall out, it happened every so often.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really?¡±

    Celes: ¡°Yes, these ¡°Genobes¡± keep my body pure and get rid of any infestation.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah hunh?¡±

    Celes: ¡°Once they¡¯ve turned completely black like this, their job is done and they fall out and are replaced. See a new one has already appeared.¡±

    As she said, another one, had started to grow.

    Nathan: ¡°When you say infestation, you mean like poison?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, poison, insects, parasite, whatever inside me that shouldn¡¯t be, the Genobes will eradicate it.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡­.. very helpful indeed(Gross).¡±

    Celes: ¡°(And if you remove the flower, when it first grows.)¡±

    Celes pulled the newly sprouted flower from her head and placed it to the ground. A root grew, and buried itself into the ground, making a new flower.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, try placing two seeds in the pod).¡±

    Nathan did as he was told, he placed to seeds on the flower. The pedals close around them, then begin to twinkle. When it reopened it there only one slightly larger seed, but it had turned completely black and lifeless.

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, so it was a dud, I guess those two were not compatible.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A dud, oh, it crossbreeds.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Right, when they cannot perform their first function, they move to their second function, the ability to cross to plants. However, as you can see here, not all seeds can be crossbred, the results will be a dead seed like this one.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, sound a lot like ¡°Crafting¡± in games.¡± Not everything mixes so you have to experiment, but when you do find the right mix, the result could are almost always something truly unique.¡±

    Nathan down at the flower, after hearing about it, he really wanted to have it. It would come handy later on, if he found the right combinations, he could add something to his arsenal. Right now, the Snyare and the Uzy was all he had that could cause damage, he could use his blood, but constantly doing that was definitely not a good idea, plus Iris would kill him.

    Celes: ¡°(Go ahead, I don¡¯t mind if you eat it.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°OH, I was that obvious huh, as long as you don¡¯t mind?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Please, I insist.)¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t hesitate, and casual chewed on the flower.

    *Ding*

    <u>Genobe consumed, Utilization countdown: 234 hrs </u>

    Nathan: ¡°(Whoa!)¡±

    He thought he could use this to help with the plan to slow the Gorgorn, but there was no way. While Nathan, fiddle with his screen, he had noticed Celes face. The thought, that a part of her was now a part of him, made her face flush.

    Celes: ¡°(Ehehehe!)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±

    Celes: (I¡¯m fine, n-nothing¡¯s wrong.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But, you¡¯re all red?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(It just the heat, I-I should get back to work, I¡¯ll leave you to rest.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If your hot, you shouldn¡¯t keep working.¡±

    Nathan words fell on deaf ears, Celes quickly jumped up, she hurried off to join the others, leaving Nathan to rest.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Wait, aren¡¯t we both resistant to heat?

    _

    _

    It has been a few hours and still Iris forbade nathan to work, he was bored out of his mind.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m outta here.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Ah, Miss Iris, he got up again.¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°He¡¯s trying to sneak away.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Bunch of snitches.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, this becoming a nuisance.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not trying to help, I know when I not wanted, I¡¯ll just going for a walk.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Then, I shall accompany you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No that¡¯s okay, I¡¯m just going to meet up with Anais, the study isn¡¯t that far from here and your needed here.¡±

    Iris: ¡°My first and foremost responsibility is to you.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Miss Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hmn?¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Sorry to disturb, but would mind showing us the layout for the traps once more?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I will be escorting Master somewhere, I help once we returned.¡±

    The wind nymph looked around.

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Umm, where is the Hero?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh, ah, master snuck away.¡±

    Iris began scanning the area for his signature, but could not pinpoint his location.

    Iris: ¡°For shame, using abilities I gave you, to avoid my detection.¡±

    Iris looked down at her hand, he could hide from everyone else, but not his teammates. Currently he was making a beeline for another arrow. She sighed and turned back to the nymphs, as long as she knew where he was and how to get there, she could meet up with him at any time.

    Nathan reappeared a little ways off and looked down at his hand. He was sure, she would be tracking him with the mini map on her hand, but she must had decided to stay behind.

    He looked down at his hand, his MP was nearly filled, but he still felt tired. Maybe spilling all that blood just to beef up his seeds, wasn¡¯t such a good idea, he could have only evolved what was necessary.

    He shook his head, right now, there was no such thing as unnecessary. If he wanted to get through this without fighting, he would have to suck it up. Besides if Anais brings what he asks for he, the Gorgon would be powerless to locate anyone.

    Nathan look up, the study was in view, he never took the time before, but it was a pretty wondrous sight. A tree atop a small hill, whose roots stretch down to the caves entrance, acting as a sought of natural camouflage. For someone from his world, this was a wonderful sight.

    *rustle**rustle*

    Nathan: ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Nathan turned his head towards the sound, the wind was blowing, but that was way to distinctive to be the wind.

    ????: ¡°Kyaa, *thud*¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan walked back into the woods, he found a nymph, sprawled out on the ground from tripping over some bushes.

    Nathan: ¡°You again?¡±

    Lynn quickly got herself together, completely ignoring the fact that she had just fell.

    Lynn: ¡°I wanted to speak with you once more, to make sure there was no other way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Hey, are you okay, you don¡¯t look so good?¡±

    Nathan, look her up and down, she looked as though something terrible has happened. A few hours ago, she was full of energy, now it look like she could collapse at any moment.

    Lynn: ¡°I-I¡¯m fine, j-just are you going to admit what you did and send my sister home?¡±

    There she goes, accusing for no apparent reason, he went from worrying to irritated instantly.

    Nathan: ¡°Second verse, same as the first, well, I¡¯m outta here.¡±

    Nathan turned to walk away, but then stopped. Now was as good as time as ever to explain why Celes and Saria were all over him the past few days. As he turned around, he was met with Lynn face to face.

    Lynn: ¡°*Fwooh*¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*cough cough* What the hell, why did you do that?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you should have done your job.¡±

    Nathan body suddenly felt heavy, like his legs couldn¡¯t hold him up. What the hell did she just throw at him. Nathan looked up to Lynn, her face half anger, half afraid.

    Nathan: ¡°Ugunh, I-I don¡¯t understand, I can¡¯t be poisoned.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Y-You can¡¯t, well it doesn¡¯t matter, I didn¡¯t poison you, nor would I. How can you performs your duty as Hero, if you¡¯re sick?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then what¡­¡­¡­?¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, he fell unconscious. Once she was sure he was a sleep she called out to her sisters. Two wind nymphs, crated an air current, that gently lifted Nathan off the ground. The wind encircled him and as if becoming the wind itself his body vanished without a trace. The two wind nymphs vanished as well, leaving Lynn alone. She hugged herself, trying desperately to type her shaking.

    Lynn: ¡°If you had just done your job, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

    *Fwossh*

    Lynn: ¡°AH!?¡±

    The ground in front of Lynn, burst into flames, causing her to fall backwards. She turned to see the brown haired Therian girl, hands aflame from the spells she had yet to unleash.

    Anais: ¡°That was a warning, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with you and I really don¡¯t care, but you¡¯re going to call your sisters back, right now.¡±

    Lynn shook on the ground, she had never been attack like this before and the Therian girl was closing in.

    Lynn: ¡°Stay back!¡± *splish*

    Lynn swung her arms and a small torrent of water, surge towards Anais.

    Anais: ¡°Tch!¡±

    Anais tossed the remaining spells at the wave, but it did not stop.

    Anais: ¡°Dammit!¡±

    Lynn watched as the flood over took the Therian girl, it swirled around her and she was soon encased in a giant bubble. Lynn saw that the girl was struggling trying to get out, but to help her, she didn¡¯t know what to do. She was panicking, not knowing what to do, she took to the sky flying away and leaving the girl to her fate.

    Lynn: ¡°Th-That wasn¡¯t my fault, she attacked me, I didn¡¯t know that would happen, it wasn¡¯t my fault.¡±

    Surely now the girl should have drowned by now, Saria would be sure to hear of what she¡¯s done, she we be upset with her actions.

    Lynn: ¡°No, that girl was a part of the Hero¡¯s party, if she dies, it meant she wasn¡¯t strong enough, weaklings shouldn¡¯t be in his party in the first place.¡±

    She repeated this over and over as she flew away. That what she will say to Saria, she would definitely understand her after this.

    Lynn: ¡°She¡¯ll see the light, just you wait sister, I¡¯ll make everything normal again.¡±

 Chapter 26: A Heros Duty Part: 2

    Chapter 24: A Hero¡¯s Duty Part 2

    Lynn: ¡°Where is it, it could have been moved, could it?¡±

    Lynn, along with a few others were in the area where Nathan had killed the Gorgon child, attempting to locate the body, but their efforts seemed to be for naught.

    ????: ¡°Hey Lynn, maybe we shouldn¡¯t do this.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°What are you saying Karri, do you want our sisters getting hurt?¡±

    Karri: ¡°No, but I just don¡¯t think, we should go through with this, it too dangerous.¡±

    Karri a pretty little water nymph, not that much younger than Lynn, but yet to become as defined. Just like all her sisters, a jewel hidden from the world. Lynn and Karri were closer than any other, always glued to each other but as of late, Karri felt something was off with her sister. Even now, what she was proposing they do, though she did not say, she felt it was borderline insanity.

    Lynn: ¡°Yes, it is, can¡¯t you see, he even able to influence me. I ask him to send our sister home, tell them that he didn¡¯t want their help, but he just turned his back on me. If he would just send Saria away, everyone would follow, but no, he¡¯d rather have her clinging to him all the time, just the thought of them together, make me so angry. Why won¡¯t she realize he¡¯s deceiving her?¡±

    Karri sighed deeply, she knew how badly Lynn wanted Saria¡¯s affection, she to wished for some as well, but not to the extent that Lynn wanted. This was probably the biggest reason for her hate for the Hero. Karri didn¡¯t hate the Hero, but she did agree that he should be fighting the Gorgon, but he out right refused them earlier, he even blatantly disrespected Lynn. Karri try to confront him, but all he had to do was look at her and she stopped immediately.

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Lynn, Karri, bad news.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Karri, Lynn, very bad news.¡±

    Both girls turned to the two wind nymphs, hurrying towards them.

    Lynn: ¡°Aira, Brisa did you find out anything?¡±

    Aira and Brisa were nearly identical, both born from the same gale, they were always mistaken for one another. It was only Lynn who could tell them apart, even before they change hair styles. Ever since, they look up to her and believe wholeheartedly that what she says is always correct.

    Aira: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we just learned, earlier when the Hero and his associates were cleaning the area, they witness, the Hero hand the Therian girl something.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°So?¡±

    Brisa: ¡°She touched whatever it was to her chest, then waved her hand over the corpse and it was gone.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°They beat us to it?¡±

    Karri: ¡°Well, what do we do?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°HOW SOULD I KNOW, THAT WAS ALL I HAD.¡±

    Lynn pounded the ground in frustration, her plan to give the corpse of the child to the parent was ruined. It was an insane plan, there was no telling what the parent would do upon receiving the corpse, but she couldn¡¯t think of anything else. In the off chance, it worked she would lead the creature to the Hero, then he would be forced to fight.

    Lynn: ¡°(Now what do we do, the Grassvalley Tribe could not defeat the creature, but surely the hero could. If only he would do his job, if only he would understand his role, why can¡¯t he just do what he supposed to? If he won¡¯t) THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT IN SUMMONING, YOU!?¡±

    Lynn beat her fist to the ground, she would have to grovel to the Hero once more, that thought drove her up a wall, she even accidentally revealed her feelings to him and declared that she would win Saria¡¯s affection. If she went back now, she would just make a bigger fool of herself.

    Karri: ¡°L-L-Lynn, Lynn, Lynn.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°What is wrong with you?¡±

    All at once she felt it down her back, a dread, a rage that drilled into her back. Tears begin to roll down her face, she did not want to turn around at all cost, but her body would not listen.

    She turned and was met with a deep black void of unimaginable darkness. As if her entire being was being drawn into the emptiness, she stared unable to look away. Blinking had become impossible, moving was no longer allowed, she stared helplessly into the eye of the Gorgon.

    The Gorgon so massive, casting an eclipse on the four nymphs, it looked around the area, it was not how it left it. The most important thing was nowhere to be seen. There were further signs of battle and then it¡¯s eye fell on a small blackened area. Slowly moving over to the spot, it could tell immediately. this was the dried blood of its child.

    It turned back to Lynn, its anger, its utter rage was apparent. It had no voice, no audible sound was made, but the message was all too clear, ¡°Where is my child¡±?

    As if the Gorgon was allowing her to speak, Lynn felt some lax on her body. Turning to her other sisters, they all remain frozen, eyes still locked on the Gorgon, unable to look away, she was the only one allowed to move. How did it even arrive so fast, they should have one more day before it had reached this point?

    What was she to do, she felt as if she told even the smallest lie, they would all meet their end, here and now. She could tell it where to find the Hero. Right now, the hero was currently setting up for the Gorgons arrival, it has been several hours since she talked with him. He could still be there, but so could her sisters, she couldn¡¯t lead it there. Then she had an idea, she didn¡¯t have to lure it there, she could lure the Hero away. She needed just the right words, so it knew who to direct its anger at

    Lynn: ¡°Y-Your ch-child is no longer of the living.¡±

    The Gorgons eyes narrowed on Lynn, as if understanding exactly what she had said. She felt the tension return, had she just doom them all.

    Lynn: ¡°Pl-please, if you allow us, I would like to offer you, your child¡¯s murderer.¡±

    The Gorgon stared deeply into her eyes. As if probing her very soul. Then altogether the feeling vanished. They were all freed from it gaze. Several of them falling flat to the ground, unable to stand.

    Lynn, breathe a sigh of relief, but she wasn¡¯t finished yet. She had to lead it somewhere, away from her family. She turned to the Gorgon, falling to her knees, she prostrated herself.

    Lynn: ¡°To the southeast of here, there is a area. Its surrounded by thick forest, but a path between two hills, will allow entry. If you head there, by the time you arrive I will present you the killer.¡±

    The Gorgon made a low growling sound, as if anger from being told what to do. Though, as silently as it arrived, it turned and left, heading southeast.

    Karri: ¡°Lynn, what just happened, Lynn?¡±

    Lynn couldn¡¯t stop shivering, she had bought them some time, but she still needed a way to get the Hero there. She took off in direction of their home, the other three getting themselves together, followed.

    Karri: ¡°What do you plan to do, the Hero will never follow you to those plains. That¡¯s right in the middle of the grasslands, where the ¡°Reapers¡± make their home.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Karri, Aira, Brisa, I have an idea, if we use those flowers the Hero use on us, we might have a chance.¡± We just need to be quick, we might even get what we want in the process, the Hero will fight for our sake. He doesn¡¯t have any other choice now¡­¡­¡­¡­..neither do we.¡±

    The girls all agreed, if they did not deliver with the deal they made, the Gorgon would surely come looking for them. It was either him or them, with that thought, the four raced off, desperate to defy their fates and seal the Hero¡¯s.

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°Finally, something that fits.¡±

    Anais turned around in the mirror, several times, she had search for something that could replace her current attire, it was way past its expiration. When she first met up with Nathan outside the study, he tailored the cloak he had with him to make an outfit, but it was always temporary. Looking through Amelia personal affects, she came across a robe that fit her just right.

    Most likely from Amelia younger days, it hugged her body, but it was like elastic silk, whenever she twisted or turned it would comply, highly maneuverable. She smiled, as she posed in the mirror, at first, she hated the thought of being a giant, but she soon become accustomed to it. Though she did wander why her features weren¡¯t as defined as Saria or Lynn, even the fairy was bigger, though she was so much smaller in stature.

    Anais: ¡°Damn Bug.¡±

    Anais was starting to depress herself, after picking out a few more things she decided to find what Nathan sent her here to get. She left Amelia¡¯s room and headed to the second floor.

    She went to the room with weapons and armor for the second time, nothing could fit her, but she could at least find some weapon she could use to protect herself.

    She looked around, but everything she tried was way too big or way too heavy. Putting back the sword she was playing with she noticed a small shelf aligned with short blades. A shelf full of Knives, all still accounted for. Nathan must not have thought to take any of these when he left before.

    She picked one that caught her eye, a short-curved blade, that thinned out towards the tip. But, what caught her eye was the purple gem embedded in the hilt. She swung it around, it was perfect, she grabbed the sheathe and put it away, while she was at it, she grabbed several more and placed them in her inventory.

    Satisfied, she decided to do what she was ask to do. Nathan told her it was in one of the rooms in the left hallway but he wasn¡¯t sure which one. She stepped into the first room, artwork loitered the room. She had never been in here before, there was never any need to. No food, no shortcuts needed, so she never needed to come this way. She didn¡¯t see what she was looking for, so she continued on to the next room. She searched just like before, this time she found it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why the hell would he need, a stupid mask?¡±

    She looked it over several times, but it didn¡¯t seem at all special. Putting the mask on, she looked around, nothing happened.

    Anais: ¡°Piece of junk, whatever.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    She waved her hand, instantly the mask was gone.

    *ding**ding*

    <u>Mask of Devoid was Stored!</u>

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s one, there should be seven more.¡±

    The masks were scattered across the room, she began to relocate each on into her Inventory. When Nathan, gave her one, she was surprised he ask her to remove the Gorgon corpse. It was a strategic advantage, but still it sucked to know she would be carrying it around. She headed down to the third floor, to the other room Nathan ask her to visit. The room with all the jewels and accessories.

    She relocated several accessories into her inventory, he didn¡¯t specifically ask for anything, just to grab what she could. With everything done she headed for the exit, on her way she passed by the library, Iris was not around, she could go for a snack.

    All she had to eat were the fruit from around the area, not that it wasn¡¯t good, she just missed the scratchy texture of the books she chewed on for so long.

    She shuffled to the bookshelves with higher grade spells and indiscriminately cleared out shelf after shelf. She stopped on a tome, wind spells, she doesn¡¯t have many wind spells, she might as well fix that now.

    *Chomp*

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Blegh, awful, what the heck?¡±

    She spat out the foul taste and brush her tongue, did she lose her taste for books.

    Anais: ¡°Ah, right.¡±

    *Poof*¡±

    Instantly, her mouse form had returned, she had forgotten her giant form doesn¡¯t like the taste of books or anything outside of food. She nibbled on the book and smiled in satisfaction, it was the taste she loved. She opened her stats screen, spell after spell was being added, more than half the spells she knew could not be utilize due to the lack of MP, but it never hurt to have them.

    After finishing her book, she took one more look around for anything important, before heading to the exit. The door at the top of the step, still open from the times before, let in a warm breeze, a breeze she had become accustomed to her from her time outside these walls.

    She left it open, no need to close it with the barrier in effect. Walking down through the cave, she hadn¡¯t realized how dark it was. Her first time through here was a race against time, she was nearly locked in.

    Reaching the end of the tunnel, she pulled out the ¡°Alssein Eye¡± and placed it around her neck. As Anais channeled here mana, the amulet began to glow. A familiar light shot towards the invisible wall, creating a small hole, big enough for her to fit through. She didn¡¯t have as much power as the fairy did but that¡¯s was fine, without unlimited power, one has a clear view of their limits and are able to improve on them.

    Stepping through the opening, she looked down at her hand, Nathan was heading towards her and he wasn¡¯t too far off, she headed toward him, they would meet before long. Then suddenly he stopped moving, somewhere in the brush.

    Anais: ¡°Why are you doing, stopping in the middle of nowhere?¡±

    He moved a little ways off and then stopped again. Stepping into the brush, she peered around, it wasn¡¯t dark but the lack of sunlight cast a quiet shadow. Pushing through the bushes, she spotted a few nymphs hiding around the area.

    Anais: ¡°The hells, going on?¡±

    Whatever they were doing they were looking pretty nervous about it, they scanned back in forth, watching for movement. Anais sense something was wrong and went to investigate. Not wanting to be spotted she activated ¡°Shadow Sneak¡±. With it activated as long as she kept moving, she could move through people blind spots with no more than a passing glance She circled around the group in went to the other side.

    She peeked over and couldn¡¯t believe she was seeing. Nathan floating in mid-air unconscious, while the group of nymphs surrounded him. Anais didn¡¯t understand what they were doing, but she instantly conjured some fire. Though she was a second too late Nathan along with the nymphs, vanished, leaving the nymph who spoke up against Nathan before. Anais was not going to let her escape as well.

    *Fwoosh*

    Tossing a fire ball, it landed right in front of the nymph, startling her and knocking her off her feet. Anais decided not to fry her, she needed to get Nathan back, then she could fry her.

    Anais: ¡°That was a warning, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with you and I really don¡¯t care, but you¡¯re going to call your sisters back here, right now.¡±

    Anais stared down at the water nymph, she couldn¡¯t remember her name, but she did remember the way she looked at Nathan. So much hate, she clearly had it out for him and whatever she and the others were doing, she was not going to let happen.

    The nymph shook as Anais stared down at her, Anais took a step towards her.

    Lynn: ¡°Stay Back! *Splish*

    A torrent of water splashed towards Anais.

    Anais: ¡°Tch!¡±

    She threw her fireballs, but they were instantly snuff.

    Anais: ¡°Dammit!¡±

    She tried to jump out the way, it was too late. She was engulfed, the water swirled around, trapping her in a giant bubble.

    Anais: ¡°*Gurgle*¡±

    She looked over to the nymph, their eyes met for a moment, before the Nymph turned and took to the sky. Anais tried to scream in rage, but that only help to shorten her breathe. The Nymph disappeared into the trees leaving Anais to her fate.

    She pulled out the knife and stabbed at it.

    Anais: ¡°The hell¡­¡­.why ¡­¡­won¡¯t¡­¡­. you¡­¡­.bust?¡±

    Every motion she made work against her. Thanks to the ¡°Plant Physiology¡± she could hold her breathe longer, but she needed to get out.

    Anais: ¡°(What the hell is wrong with her, she kidnapped Nathan and she¡¯s trying to kill me, does Saria know, no, I don¡¯t have time for that now. Have to get out.)¡±

    She needed something to rip apart this bubble, but she was too far from the ground to use ¡°Jagged Edge¡± spell, the rocks pillars would destroy the bubble, but once you unleash the spell, you lose control, there a chance it could skewer her in the process. The knife she had did nothing to the bubbles interior, she was at a loss.

    Her body began to feel heavy, she was almost out of time. Her lungs screamed at her, begging for air.

    Anais: ¡°(Ah, air.)¡±

    She remembered, she had just gotten a spell the might be able to help, it was a long shot, but it was this or die. Anais channeled her Mana, as she did the knife in her hand begin to glow, the jewel shine, as if reacting to her mana.

    Anais: ¡°(Wind Scythe!)¡±

    A storm of wind surged around Anais, slicing and cutting the bubble to nothing. The spell continued further, slicing everything in its path, when it subsided, the area around her had been leveled. She fell to the ground, coughing and spurting, gasping for air as she tried to stand.

    Anais: ¡°*COUGHING* Bitch, where did you go?¡±

    She looked at her hand, three arrows, three teammates. She emptied her lungs and took off after the single arrow. It was moving away very fast, much too fast. She was not as fast as Nathan, but her ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± more than made up for that. She looked at her hand, it seemed Iris and Celes had noticed Nathan moving away, they had started converging on his location.

    She tracked Nathan arrow for a while, running at full speed, keeping ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± activated constantly. This was actually the longest she had ever kept it activated. Her Mana was running low, her lungs burning, screaming for her to stop. She ignored this, continuously looking

    As she continued her chase, Nathan¡¯s arrow came to a stop. Had they reached their destination? She looked around, a lot of the forest was dried up and dying. She stopped running, she knew all to clearly what the dead forest meant and what had passed through here. If that¡¯s the case, the reason why she took him was all too clear.

    Anais: ¡°That Bitch¡­¡­¡­. she set him up.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan held his hand to his head, he was back in the familiar white space.

    Nathan: ¡°Augh, Dammit Lynn, what the hell did you do to me?¡±

    As Nathan vented his frustration into the nothing, spinning around as he floated along in the vast white space.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit, I should have seen this coming.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Yes, you should have.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°WHOA, you need to stop appearing in my blind spots.¡±

    Girl: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we have no time to speak, you need to wake up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I know that, but I kinda just floating along here, how do I stop?¡±

    Girl: ¡°If you can¡¯t, that means that someone is moving you while you¡¯re asleep.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Lynn, what the hell are you thinking?¡±

    Girl: ¡°You shouldn¡¯t stay while someone is messing with your body, wake up now, your life is in danger.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, as long as I¡¯m floating, I not in any danger, well, any immediate danger.¡±

    Girl: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She said so before I passed out, she wouldn¡¯t hurt me, because she wants me to fight. I¡¯m such an idiot, why didn¡¯t I see this coming, all the signs were there. I was so focus on what I knew she wasn¡¯t capable of, I didn¡¯t stop to think of another way?¡±

    Girl: ¡°You can blame yourself later, do you know what she plans to do with you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, it¡¯s a pretty dumb idea, but it¡¯s the only thing I can think of. If she take me to it, chances are, she¡¯ll be killed right along with me, I can only hope. But if I can wake up now, while I¡¯m still floating¡­¡­.. huh?¡±

    Just as he said it, Nathan felt himself slowly being lowered to the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Sonuva.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Quickly, we need to wake you up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shit, that stuff she blew in my face she made from the ¡°Lillaby¡±, it could keep me to sleep for days, she probably didn¡¯t know that when she did it. Something must have happened to her, she think this through at all, how can I fight if I¡¯m asleep?¡±

    Girl: ¡°All you need do is rid yourself sleeping agent, then know of a way, the problem is it could take a long time, depending on your ¡°Blessings¡± strength.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s not like I have any other choice.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Then let¡¯s start immediately, lie down here.¡±

    Nathan did as was told and lied flat down. She placed her hands over him, her hands emitted a light which slowly engulfed Nathan. As the light intensified, he felt sharp pokes from his sides, like something stabbing him from within.

    Nathan: ¡°Oww, is it supposed to hurt?¡±

    Girl: ¡°If you truly have her blessing, then you should be able to do this as well, its early, so will have to force it to happen, it will be painful, but you must bear with it.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Saria suddenly stop moving, she closed her eyes, as a breeze brought her hair to life.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What on Leseres?¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.The Grassvalley Tribe, they¡¯ve arrived.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, you should go, I¡¯ll handle things here.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, there is no need for that, I¡¯m sure Lynn will deliver greetings and get them up to speed, I¡¯ll remain here.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, so you were unaware?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Unaware of what?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Lynn is here, she and Master were speaking not too long ago.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What!?¡±

    Saria looked shocked, For Lynn to come here and not speak with her, she not one to change her mind, she would definitely not come here. Something was off, she called a few of her sister over.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Why had none of you, informed me that Lynn had arrived and was speaking with the ¡°Hero¡±?¡±

    Water nymph: ¡°Lynn was here?¡±

    Wind nymph: ¡°That¡¯s weird, she was so adamant about not helping.¡±

    Water nymph: ¡°And to have a conversation alone with the Hero, very uncharacteristic of her.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Celes hearing the commotion, came over to listen.

    Wind nymph: ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were unaware, Lynn and the others were not very fond of the Hero.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What!?¡±

    Wind nymph: ¡°Come now, everyone¡¯s notice how affectionate you and Celes were being to him. A lot of our sisters did not like that.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I was being affectionate?¡±

    Water nymph: ¡°You really didn¡¯t notice, you two were clinging to him all the time. They probably felt like he was stealing you away from them, but the others here knew you had a reason behind it, you wouldn¡¯t just latch to him for nothing.¡±

    Wind nymph: ¡°If she having a secret conversation with the Hero, it¡¯s probably about you.¡±

    The nymph around began to converse about the situation. Saria indeed had a reason behind being close, but she didn¡¯t realize she was being affectionate, she was just thrilled to know that ¡°Mother¡± was still close to them. That was the only reason behind it, nothing more, she had no idea her sister had view it as such.

    After hearing about this, Iris had the sudden urge to check on Nathan. Searching for his mana signature, she was surprised to find he was moving so far away, so quickly and that there were so many other signatures around him.

    This did not make sense to her and before she even realized, she had taken off and pursuit. She checked her hand, one arrow was moving fast in pursuit of Nathans, that must have been Anais, something was definitely wrong. With that thought she sped up.

    The nymphs watched on puzzled by her sudden departure, without a word, Iris had left them.

    Water nymph: ¡°What do suppose, that was about?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Something happening, but first I¡¯ll go greet the tribe, you guys finish what you can.¡±

    Saria than flew away, for the first time ever she had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen.

    Water nymph: ¡°Why¡¯d miss Iris fly off like that?¡±

    Wind nymph: ¡°Not sure, but Celes took off her after her."

 Chapter 27: Arrivals

    Chapter 26: Arrivals

    ??????: ¡°I don''t understand, I can¡¯t sense them anywhere?¡±

    A group of men, one by one emerged from behind the waterfall, one after another, each with the same confused face as the first young man. The youngest looking amongst the group, his long blonde hair dancing in the breeze, brushing against the tip of his pointed ears. The elves of the Grassvalley Tribe received the message and had arrived, but they could not feel the presence of their tribesmen. The young boy closed his eyes, he listened closely, there was some strange signatures, two or three he didn¡¯t recognize, but what worried him is what he didn¡¯t feel.

    ??????: ¡°Edwyrd.¡±

    The boy turned to his father, approaching with to others alongside him.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Father, what does this mean, the daughters of the garden and our brothers¡­¡­.. I don¡¯t feel them at all.¡±

    ???????: ¡°It seems the message was indeed urgent.¡±

    ?????: ¡°Prince Edwyrd, Lord Gaelin.¡±

    They both turned to a soldier who had scouted out earlier.

    Gaelin: ¡°What do you report?¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°My Lords, there are few nymphs in the vicinity.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Troubling, well do any of them know anything?¡±

    Eleven: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, none of them will approach, fewer even spoke.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°We should locate the eldest daughter, she will be able to explain the situation.¡±

    Eleven soldier: ¡°My Lords, there above.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Is that not her, heading here right now?¡±

    Edwyrd look to the skies, sure as his father spoke, Lady Saria was heading directly towards them.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my late arrival, please excuse me.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Nonsense Lady Saria, we are here because of your message, as from the scarcity of your sisters, I presume they are in hiding.¡±

    Saria: ¡°So, she really isn¡¯t here, I was hoping they were mistaken.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria?¡±

    Saria: I sorry, there is much to explain, but time is of the essence, I urge all to follow me.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria wait, what in Leseres is happening in this Garden?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡®Edwyrd, I believe our answer will be answered if we follow her.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Right.¡±

    With that the Tribe of elves followed Saria into the forest.

    _

    _

    Anais slowed her pace, running a marathon so close after nearly drowning was not a good idea. Checking her hand, she breathe a sigh of relief. Nathan hadn¡¯t move from his position, plus two arrows were closing in on her, Celes and Iris were not far behind, but she wasn¡¯t going to wait. She jumped back to her feet and pushed her way through some shrubs, then as quickly as she did she stepped back in.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell, why are they here?¡±

    Anais peered through the bushes, hundreds of the plant creatures were passing just on the other side. One creature suddenly looked in her direction, jumping back she didn¡¯t notice the low hanging branch.

    *Bang*

    Anais: ¡°OWW!

    Three of the plant creatures took notice of the noise coming from the bushes and step in to find what was there. Anais, held her head in pain, looking up she was met face to face with one of the plant creatures.

    She held her shriek in, cold sweat ran down her face, the monster staring directly at her, but unable to see her. After a while, deciding it was nothing the three creatures moved on.

    The second they were gone, Anais let her breathe out, clutching the back of her head in pain. It was strange that so many of them were heading in that direction, way to strange to be a coincidence.

    Activating her ¡°Shadow Step¡±, she bounded to the top of the tree. She peered over the trees, the group of Plant creatures were all heading in one direction. The same direction, in which Nathan had stopped.

    Anais: ¡°This isn¡¯t good, they all converging on him,.¡±

    It was true that if Nathan, her And Iris were together they could possibly take out these things, to be honest, they weren¡¯t much of a threat once Nathan tied them down, they could just burn them all. What worried her was why such a large number would happen to be heading for the exact location Nathan had stopped. She had to get in front of them, she checked her mana bar, she still had Seventy-five mana points left.

    She quickly activated ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± again, leaping from tree to tree, completely bypassing the plant creatures all together. Tree by tree she made her way to the middle of the pack. She stopped again, out if the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow, a lot bigger than any of the plant creatures, Hovering along in the crowd. Form her angle she couldn¡¯t make it out, bounding to the top of the tallest tree she could find, that when she saw it. The spiked mass of stone, even from that distance, it was plain as day. She was right, Lynn had set Nathan up to fight the parent Gorgon and for some reason, the plant creatures were moving with it.

    From where she was, in order to reach Nathan with such a large force, they would have to move around a set of large hills off in the distance. She could beat them there if she traveled through the woods, recover Nathan and they could get the hell out of there.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    She stayed to the trees, it was much faster traveling then running along the ground and with abilities active she could travel great distances, if she used it right. She didn¡¯t know how far she had ran she didn¡¯t know how far behind the wave of enemies was, but somehow, without her realizing it she had reached the plains. Checking her hand again she, deactivated ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± and moved towards him.

    There he lied, in the middle of the field, peaceful and serene, unaware of the danger approaching. She reached him, he didn¡¯t look like he was hurt at all, just blissfully sleeping in the middle of nowhere.

    Anais: *gasp*gasp* Hey wake up, this is no time to be sleepin, Nathan, hey!¡±

    She shook him, but he would not budge. She had pushed herself to hard, her body wasn¡¯t complying, no strength came to her arms.

    Anais: ¡°COME ON YOU IDIOT, WAKE UP!

    *shhhhrrrriiiippp*

    Catching her breathe, she heard something, the sound of fabric being torn

    Anais: ¡°What the hell, you got to be kidding me?¡±

    She looked to Nathan¡¯s sides, this was why she couldn¡¯t move him, something was sticking out his side and burrowing into the ground.

    Anais: ¡°The hell, roots, why the hell are they coming out of you?¡±

    *Loud Roar*

    Turning around, Anais could see a small number of monsters trickling onto the plains. It wouldn¡¯t be long before they reached there.

    Anais: ¡°DAMMIT NATHAN, WAKE UP!¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°What the Hell!?¡±

    Girl: ¡°Focus!¡±

    Nathan: Did you not her the blood curdling roar and Anais she screaming my name?

    Girl: ¡°Concentrate, your only half-way there, if you want to wake up this is the way to do it.¡±

    Nathan reluctantly closed his eye, the pain from his sides had reach a peak. Even worse, Anais voice kept ringing in his ear, he tried to drown her out, but she sounded scared and he worried.

    Girl: ¡°Don¡¯t listen you need to keep your mind clear, take a deep breath.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I can¡¯t do it, DAMMIT this all my fault, if had just told them earlier, my connection to their mother she would have never done this, I could still getting ready for the damn Gorgon and this hurts.

    Just as Nathan, finished venting, the familiar sensation washed over his body, the feeling of being in danger. Nathan put a foot to the floor, but the girl quickly mounted him, pushing to the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°Get off me!¡±

    Girl: ¡°You need to focus.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How am I supposed to focus with all this shit going?¡±

    Girl: ¡°DO YOU WANT TO SAVE HER OR NOT!¡±

    Nathan: OF COURSE, BUT I CAN¡¯T DO ANYTHING, LYING AROUND HERE, I DON¡¯T EVEN KNOW IF THIS IS WORKING.¡±

    Girl: ¡°IF YOU STAND RIGHT NOW, YOU WILL BREAK THE CONNECTION. IT WILL TAKE YOU TWICE AS LONG TO FINISHED, DO YOU HAVE THAT MUCH TIME¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Girl: ¡°The fact that you could hear her voice, the fact that you can sense you¡¯re in danger, it means you are borderline conscious. If you get up, you ¡°Will¡± break the connection, if you do¡­¡­¡­you are as good as dead, trust me please.¡±

    The girl stood off Nathan, she would not hold him down any longer, if he decides to get up, it will be because he chose to. Nathan could still hear Anais, still screaming for him to wake up, he could still tell he was in danger, but he didn¡¯t stand. He placed leg back doesn¡¯t and took a deep breath, he couldn¡¯t silence the voices, they were to definite, but instead use them as a push to keep going.

    Girl: ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve decided.¡±

    The girl sat down next to Nathan once again.

    Girl: Now as I said, imagine yourself, you are becoming one with the earth, you burrowing deep into embrace. Once you have become one, let it heal you, all that ails you, seeps into earth, let it flow away.¡±

    Nathan slowly fell in to a trance as the roots that sprouted, begin to extract the sleeping agent, forcing it out of his body and into the ground. As he fell deeper into the trance, little by little, the white space, along with the smiling girl was fading away.

    _

    _

    Iris: ¡°Why, why, why, why am I never there when he needs me?¡±

    Iris flew through the trees desperately trying to close the distance between her and her master. Looking down at her hand, for the tenth time in less than a minute, she was just shy from reaching him. She was sure she would have caught up to the rodent, but at some point, Anais¡¯s speed had increase to a point where she could no longer tell how close she was.

    She looked back and glanced below, Celes was still close enough for her to see, Celes was probably the only one in the garden who couldn¡¯t fly, but she made up for that with an ability to swim through the trees and shrubs. Every so often, Iris would see here dive into a group of trees, then as a shadow move through them with a form like swimming.

    She didn¡¯t use this often, it tires her out pretty quickly, especially at night, but it was an emergency. Whenever she didn¡¯t have any more trees she would dive into the shrubs below, with her pace she was easily keeping up with Iris.

    Iris turn her attention back to the matter at hand, ever since she left the study, failure after failure, never their when she needs him and when she was there she wasn¡¯t much help. She just couldn¡¯t take it, every single time, staring at her Master¡¯s back as he stood in front of her. And the worse part, not one complaint does he make, he even continuously thanks her, even though she does nothing to warrant it.

    Caught in her own thoughts she nearly crashed into Celes who had jumped out ahead of her.

    Iris: What were you thinking, don¡¯t you see I¡¯m trying to-

    Iris, stopped talking, as Celes urge her to look, hundreds of the plant creatures were heading directly for the area Nathan was in. Though, just like Celes, they were only noticed second, mixed in with the hoard of plant creatures, the Gorgon.¡±

    *Loud Roar*

    They both held their ears from the sound, that thing was without a doubt, in control. Iris change objective, instead of heading to Nathan, she could instead seek to destroy the threat. If she removed the threat, Nathan would be all the safer. She immediately changed the direction, but was grabbed by Celes.

    Iris: ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING, RELEASE ME.¡±

    Iris tried shaken Celes off, but she would not let go, in their struggles, Iris smacked into a branch and they both tumbled to the ground. Iris, now infuriated turn to Celes.

    Iris: ¡°Why are you hindering me, I have to stop them before they reach Master. If I can slow them down even a bit, it might just give him-¡±

    Celes: ¡°NO!¡±

    Iris: ¡°What, you spoke!?¡±

    Celes was just as surprise as Iris, she had never done something like this, but she had to stop her, she was seconds away from a suicidal charge. Iris tried to speak again, but felt she was unable to. Celes took hold of Iris Hands

    Celes: ¡°(I know you can¡¯t hear me, but you cannot try to take that on by yourself and I know you know the Hero would have none of that.)¡±

    Iris wasn¡¯t sure, but she could swear she could hear her voice.

    Celes: ¡°(I won¡¯t presume to know how you feel, but I can say with all honesty, the Hero needs you. If he didn¡¯t, do you think he wouldn¡¯t have said otherwise?)¡±

    Celes looked over to the horde monsters, she had an idea how to stop them. She turned back to Iris, she smiles a pain filled smile. Unlike Iris, she knew, Nathan did not need her.

    Celes: ¡°(You may think your useless, but at that time if it were you¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­he would have counted on you to fight alongside him. Go to him, I can¡¯t do much, but I can at least slow them down.)¡±

    She took a few steps and then dived into a tree and Iris watched as she disappeared down below. She couldn¡¯t hear her voice any longer, but she believed she understood. Taking to the sky, in the distance, a battle taking place around Nathan general area. She couldn¡¯t make out who was fighting, but she had a pretty good guess. She looked back to the horde, she would leave that to Celes, for now, she took off towards her Master.

 Chapter 28: All for You

    Chapter 27: All for You

    Gaelin: Lady Saria, What on Leseres?¡±

    Saria arrived to the area where they were setting traps for the Gorgon, with the Grassvalley Tribe. A few of her sisters came over to greet her.

    Saria: ¡°Has the Hero returned?¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°No, Celes and Miss Iris have not returned either.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What is keeping them?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria, are you sure this man is the Hero?¡±

    Saria: ¡°He wields the blade of the Hero, I¡¯m sure you know that no one else can.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria, surely you know that only a human could wield that blade and of all things, a Lycanian, a race that¡¯s said to be extinct?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Edwyrd enough, until proven otherwise, you have no right to question her.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°My apologies Father, to you as well Lady Saria.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, you have the right to doubt, I have no proof.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Actually, there have been several signatures, that prove your claims. They didn¡¯t last too long, but they were ¡°Origin¡¯s¡±.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Indeed, However I wished they were present, it would be easier to explain.

    Water Nymph: Oh, no one from the Hero¡¯s party has shown, but Lynn and Karri have arrived they¡¯ve been waiting for you to show up.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Lynn, where is she?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Sister!¡±

    Lynn came rushing over, happy as can be to see her Saria. Behind her was Karri, she looked as though she did not want to be here.

    Saria: ¡°Lynn, what are you doing here, why were you not with our sisters?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°They¡¯re fine, I sent them all back home not too long ago.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I just came from there, it was vacant.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Yes, you have missed them, seeing as how they were all coming from the south.¡±

    Saria: ¡°The south, Lynn what were you thinking, the Gorgon?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°The Gorgon is heading further southeast, we never saw it.¡±

    Saria: ¡°It turned around?¡±

    That was strange, the Hero said it would definitely come looking for its child, that was how they planned to lure it here. For it to suddenly abandoned its pursuit.

    Saria gazed over to Karri, who quickly turned away, refusing to make eye contact. As if she was afraid to look at Saria all together, something was amiss.

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Karri, what¡¯s wrong, it¡¯s not like you to shy away from me.¡±

    Karri: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not feeling well.¡±

    Saria could tell, she was hiding something.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Pardon me ladies, but do either of you know of the Lycanian¡¯s where about?¡±

    Karri nearly jumped out of her skin, on mention of the Hero, but Lynn just smiled a big happy smile.

    Lynn: ¡°I had a talk with the Hero earlier.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I heard, listen I think there been some misunderstandings about my relationship with the hero.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°No, there is no need to explain, the Hero and I have come to see eye to eye.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°As we speak, the hero and his party are battling with the Gorgon.¡±

    Lynn and karri both jumped from the sudden change in Saria¡¯s aura. She made a face that Lynn had never seen her make in her direction. A face of unbridled rage. Saria was angry, because she knew for a fact that the Hero was adamant about not confronting the Gorgon. He would definitely not change his mind on the subject.

    Saria: ¡°Lynn¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.what did you do?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Sister, why do you look at me that way, you should be happy, I convinced the Hero to do his job and now the Grassvalley tribe is here as well, surely they along with the Hero could-¡±

    Saria: ¡°LYNN!!¡±

    Saria outburst drew attention from everyone around, especially Lynn. Clouds had formed above her a moment before dissipating, she was infuriated.

    Lynn: ¡°I-I¡¯ve done nothing.¡±

    Saria stepped around Lynn and next to Karri.

    Saria: ¡°Karri, what happened?¡±

    Suddenly she was the center of attention, she looked to Lynn for support, but Saria snap her head back towards her.

    Saria: ¡°Look at me, what happened to the Hero.

    With no support and all eyes on her, she confessed all that transpired.

    _

    _

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.What have you done?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°I-I did what needed to be done, none of you would listen, don¡¯t you all see, this is how it¡¯s supposed to be.¡±

    Saria stared at Lynn, she truly believed what she did was right.

    Saria: ¡°Lynn, with that concoction, he will not wake up for days, you¡¯ve sentence him to death, don¡¯t you understand that?¡±

    Lynn: ¡°No, with the therian girl and Miss Iris, they will be able to hold their own and the Grassvalley Tribe has arrived, surely all of them together-¡±

    Saria: ¡°YOU FOOL!¡±

    Lynn stepped back, the winds around Saria for the briefest of seconds nearly blew her away.

    Saria: ¡°Lord Gaelin, please we must go to their aid at once.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Lady Saria, I understand your plight, but surely would it not be wise to wait for us here?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, I made a promise to protect my home and the ones I care about.¡±

    A bitter taste overcame Lynn¡¯s mouth upon hearing Saria¡¯s words.

    Lynn: Why, WHY, does he mean that much to you, that you would risk your life for him? You have change sister, I know that man has gotten to you, but he¡¯s making think these insane thoughts, we don¡¯t need to fight or protect, that¡¯s what the Hero is for, the Grassvalley Tribe, we need only to wait until there victory. Or are you to blinded by your love fo-¡±

    *Slap*

    The sound of the slap echoed across the area, everyone stared in shock, the nymphs, the Grassvalley tribe, but most of all Lynn. She reached for her face, now hot and red from the blow. She looked into Saria eyes, a storm kicking up above.

    Saria: ¡°YOU KNOW NOTHING, CELES IS A MEMBER OF HIS PARTY!

    Lynn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­What!?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria, is that true?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, she is a member of his party, she will surely go to his aid and fight to protect him.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°SARIA, DON¡¯T YOU GET IT, TO EVEN ALLOW CELES, WHO¡¯S NEXT TO BE MOTHER TO DO SOMETHING SO CRAZY, CAN¡¯T YOU SEE WHAT HE¡¯S DONE TO ALL OF US?¡±

    Saria: ¡°NO, HE DIDN¡¯T ALLOW HER ON HIS TEAM, HE EVEN FLAT OUT REJECTED HER, SHE HERSELF FORCE HER WAY INTO HIS PARTY.¡±

    Surprise and confusion was abundant, for the shy Celes to do something like this is unheard of.

    Lynn: ¡°Ridiculous, why would Celes do something like that. It¡¯s make no sense?¡±

    Saria: ¡°The only one who doesn¡¯t make sense is you, I have not change, but you, you¡¯ve lied, made deals with the enemy and even if not by your hands, you attempted murder. The Lynn I know would never have done any of these things.

    Lynn: ¡°I¡­¡­..I did it all for you, Saria.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No¡­ you did it for yourself, you a coward, who couldn¡¯t stand watching those around her standing up for themselves. Such a sister, I don¡¯t need.¡±

    Lynn: ¡°Saria¡­¡­..y-you don¡¯t mean that.¡±

    Saria turn her back and walked away. Lynn grabbed Saria shoulder, but was immediately smacked away. Saria didn¡¯t even look back as she casually knocked her hand away.

    Lynn world crumble around her, every step Saria took away from her, another piece of her broke. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face. Her beloved sister, the one he cared for the most, the one she could not live without, the only one she would die for, just told her she was not needed.

    Lynn, couldn¡¯t take anymore and ran away, she could no longer stand to be here. Off she flew, leaving a trail of tears behind. Saria didn¡¯t even look at her as she disappeared into the forest. Karri looked to Saria, then turned and flew off after Lynn.

    Saria: ¡°Lord Gaelin, please we must go to their aid.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­As you say, Lady Saria.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Everyone else continue to prepare, even if the Grassvalley tribe has arrived, we still may need the traps to be completed.¡±

    On Saria¡¯s words, her sisters got work on the plan, while she and the elves of the Grassvalley Tribe began their track south.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Eleven soldier: ¡°It seems this Lycanian Hero, has made quite the impression on the daughters of the Garden.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Yes, I truly hope we won¡¯t have to take his life?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°What was that, father?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Nothing, let¡¯s hurry.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°R-Right.¡±

    _

    _

    As the heat of day shine down, the horde of monster marched. They destination set, they continued, in dazed like state, as if they¡¯re marching was not of their own volition. The Gorgon had entered the area only to be ambushed by reapers time and time again. Every single one that attacked, had there will robbed from them and now march at the Gorgons leisure.

    Unbeknownst to them, beneath them, within the blades of grass, a shadow moved swiftly and carefully.

    Celes now using the tall grass as a means to continue forward as a shadow amongst the many, was currently heading towards the front of the pack of reapers. She had made it about halfway, when she came close to the Gorgon. Even though she knew she could not be seen, it still was a frightening to see up close. The child size just did not compare, it was on a whole different scale.

    Seeing such a thing, it was hard to turn your gaze away. She forced herself to turn away from it and continue on, just as she moved way, she felt the mana slipping away. She had been diving too long, and she was low on mana, with what she had left she could not possibly get to the front. Some had even managed to enter the plains, but she couldn¡¯t possibly get that far ahead.

    She had to do what she had come to do here, it wouldn¡¯t stop all of them but it would divide them up, with most of them left behind including the Gorgon.

    She arrived at the entrance, diving deep beneath the earth, she descended to depth she never knew she could, deeper than she ever dived before. She curled into fetal position then all at once, a light was admitted from her chest. Taking the light in hand she forced it downward and then she started to ascend.

    On the surface, the Ground began to shake causing many of the reapers above to lose balance. In wake of the quake, the ground split open, as roots rip through to the surface. The roots twisted in every direction, skewering those unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. The ground cracked further as the roots continued skyward.

    When they stopped, they easily rivaled that of the wall and with this the roots begin to entwined. Leaves were abundant, as the limbs stretch in every direction. Soon they had finished and what stood now was a mighty tree.

    As the towered over everything else around and as Celes planned had successfully halted the reaper hoard. Tree had grown right in the middle of the march, dividing the force, leaving most on the opposite side. Some had also been crushed by the many limbs. The roots at the bottom, sprawled over the hills on either side, making now impossible for a large force to moved forward.

    Either way Celes had completed her task, through the roots of the tree she moved up to a branch high above. She phased out of the tree and collapsed onto the soft leafy limb, close enough to the ground, so the defenses would not activate. Out of breath and nearly out of mana she laid there atop her masterpiece.

    She looked down and smiled a big happy smile, she had never done this before, for that matter she was not sure she could do it. Sure, she couldn¡¯t imbue the tree with any special abilities, but the fact that it would take the hordes majority, twice as long to reach Nathan, meant she had did her job. The ones that had already made it through, were few and would definitely be taking out by Anais and Iris.

    She looked up ahead, the sign of battle was apparent, someone was casting spells, keeping the horde at bay. When she caught her breath and the sun filled her mana bar, she would head over as well. For now, she would enjoy a job well done.

    Celes: ¡°(What do you think Hero, am I still useless?)¡±

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°Crimson Squall¡±

    Fire rain from the sky, reducing the latest dozen or so plant creatures to ash. It was followed by the familiar ringing sound, indicating a ¡°level up¡±. Anais caught her breathe, with her latest sweeping, she had a moment of rest, but most of it was due to the sudden appearance of a very large tree. With its appearance, the river of monsters had been reduced significantly, no more than a few dozen were left.

    Her task of protecting Nathan had become a lot easier, but it wouldn¡¯t have come to this, if he hadn¡¯t fallen into a trap. She rested while standing, she refused to sit down. She felt that if she sat down for a moment, she would undoubtedly collapse. There were a few minutes before the next wave got in range of her spell and she still hadn¡¯t fully recovered from earlier.

    Anais: ¡°*Deep breathes* (How could they see him anyway, not one of them target me, all our abilities working in tandem is preventing that, but for some, they can see him, how?¡±

    *ROOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR*

    Anais neck snapped in the direction of the roar, the Gorgon must be angry that its route had been blocked. The plant creatures who had already entered the area were, slowly but surely being wiped out. But something happened that quickly dissipated her relief. The plant creatures, everyone left, were now moving full speed in her direction. She didn¡¯t know if was because of the roar, but she couldn¡¯t rest anymore.

    She quickly released another spell, burning most of them down, but a few moved to quickly and easily got passed her.

    Anais: ¡°Shit!¡±

    They converge on Nathan, scythes raised, ready to end him.

    *shnnnnnnngg*

    Sparks flew as each scythe collided with a barrier. The other creatures all struck at the barrier, but each attack just bounce, if was easy enough for her to burn them all away while they were distracted. Anais knew it was impossible to guard Nathan and at the same time fight the horde. She instead, erected a barrier around Nathan so she could focus on the plant creature elimination.

    Though the barrier wasn¡¯t perfect, it would suffice for time being. Or so she thought, after just a few strikes, the barrier had already begun to crumble. It wouldn¡¯t even stand another attack and she couldn¡¯t afford to fix it, if she wanted to do anything about these monsters, she had to focus the remainder of her mana on spell casting.

    *Fwossshh*

    She checked her hand, she had enough to cast the spell two more times, that wouldn¡¯t be enough and even now, they were closing in.

    She pulled out her knife, she couldn¡¯t burn them all, but if it came down to it, she could cut down anyone that came near. She had brought the knife for that reason.

    Anais: ¡°Crimson Squall!¡±

    Anais released the spell, but she felt something off, a sudden burst of energy was release. A storm of fire, stronger than ever before wreaked havoc down on the reapers. Fire poured from the sky, completely out of her control.

    *Fwooosh*

    Anais: ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa!?¡±

    Anais quickly jumped back, she was nearly caught up in her own spell. She patted at her seared clothes, she almost burned herself to death.

    The fire fizzled out and the smoke started to clear, she could see some of the damage cause by her. The range of her spell was twice as far then normal and the power was unlike anything she had released before. No, she thought there was one other time, when she was trapped in the bubble. She was thinking it was just the power of a higher-grade spell, but this spell proved otherwise.

    She looked at the dagger and caught a glimpse of the glow from the jewel, before it went out.

    Anais: ¡°This jewel, what is this?¡±

    *Groooooooowl*

    Anais instinctively dodge, a scythe arm flew by, nearly lopping off her head

    Anais: ¡°What!?¡±

    Anais jumped back as another scythe, smashed into the ground where she just stood.

    Anais: ¡°How the hell are they seeing me?¡±

    Using the smoke as cover, the plant creatures attack her. She was almost out of mana, dead tired and she still had to protect Nathan. If she take them few out it would be over, she could rest and possibly get back some of her strength.

    She moved further away from the smoke cloud, she wasn¡¯t dumb enough to stay close, even if they could stretch their arms, it still needed to reach her. She ready herself, the second they launched an attack on her, she would in them. She breathes in heavy, catching her breath, sweat dripped from her chin. But nothing came, not one attack.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell why are they¡­¡­¡­..Nathan!

    Just as she thought, some of the creatures weren¡¯t seriously attacking her, they just wanted her out of the way, so they could swarm him. She moved around and got in firing range.

    Anais: ¡°Crimson Squa-, no wait.¡±

    If she fired her spell right now, if it went out of control like last time, there¡¯s a chance Nathan would get caught in the blast.

    Anais: ¡°Fine then.¡±

    Dagger in hand she activated Shadow Sneak, just like last time the jewel came to life.

    Anais: ¡°Huh, Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!?¡±

    Thanks to the Dagger, the power burst made her overshoot her target, she was headed on a collision course with a plant creature.

    Anais: ¡°Shit, *Slice*!¡±

    As if it was paper, she tore through one ofvthem, landing and rolling on the ground. She looked at what she done and then down at the dagger. She could not do something like that before.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Heheheh!¡±

    She checked her Mana, she didn¡¯t have much, but Shadow Sneak cost less than any of her spells. She could do this, with this dagger she could save him, she took off again, slicing down a few more of the creatures, but she couldn¡¯t get use to the burst of power. The ones she missed were only a few feet from Nathan, but that didn¡¯t matter anymore. She was nearly done a five more and she would have cleared them all.

    Anais: ¡°Okay, just one more time.¡±

    She took off aiming for the two closes to Nathan and with one slash each tore through them. With ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± still active she turned around to finish the job.

    Anais: ¡°Huh¡­¡­¡­..*Thud*!

    Midflight, her ability deactivated and she crash into the ground, rolling several feet. She tried to stand, but she had absolutely no energy left in her.

    Anais: ¡°Wh-What¡¯s going on?¡±

    She looked at her hand, she had run out of mana. That was impossible, she had more than enough to keep her ability active for at least another five minutes.

    *Smash*

    She turned around, to her horror, the three plant creatures were on top of Nathan, destroying what was left of the barrier.

    Anais: ¡°STOP, GET AWAY!¡±

    She received no more than a passing glance, as the three creatures raised their arms high. With absolutely no hesitation, they brought their arms back down.

    Anais Could do nothing but watch as the plant creature skewered him. The horrible sound of the scythes digging into flesh was stomach churning. She couldn¡¯t even watch. As she laid there refusing to look, she heard a cry of pain, not from Nathan but from the plant creatures.

    Anais stared in confusion, she was sure that the scythe arms came down, but Nathan was still alive, still asleep unharmed. The monsters standing around him now writhe in pain. The sound she heard was that of the Plant creatures arm being ripped from there sockets, with a green liquid pouring out like a fountain.

    Iris: ¡°How dare you?¡±

    All eyes heads shot to the heavens, seemingly entranced by the voice. Anais breathe a sigh of release, she never thought she would be so happy to see her. Like an archangel ready to pass judgement she descended from the sky.

    Iris: ¡°HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HARM MY MASTER!?

    Iris levitated each creature before sending them flying away from Nathan. She was infuriated, using wind instead of fire, she proceeded to rip them each apart piece by piece. The screams as they were slowly torn apart intensified. She didn¡¯t care, she even seemed to enjoy it, ripping off as little as possible to keep them alive, but enough to keep the screams ripe. No mercy, never when it comes to her Master. Slowly the creature¡¯s lives came to an end, as did Iris¡¯s stress, she had a lot built up and now it was all nearly subsided.

    Anais: ¡°THE HELLS WRONG WITH YOU, IF YOUR GOING TO SAVE THE DAY, COME EARLIER, I WAS SCARED DEATH, HEY YOU HEAR ME, I¡¯M TALKING TO YOU.¡±

    Iris looked to her master who was unharmed, turning to Anais who was yelling obscenities, she laid out on the ground, unable to move. Iris approached Anais and place a hand on her chest.

    Anais: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Iris hand began to glow and slowly Anais felt her power returning.

    Anais: ¡°What did you, just do?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I removed your fatigue, I can¡¯t return your mana, but it the least I could do.¡±

    Iris bowed, an action the completely shocked Anais.

    Iris: ¡°Ro, no, Anais, I sincerely think you for protecting Master.¡±

    Anais mind went blank, clouds blocked out all thought. She thought and thought, but th fog was just too thick. She could not believe what she had just heard. She stared trying to find any forms of sarcastic gesture, but this was genuine.

    Anais: ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me, it¡¯s not like I did it for your sake anyway.¡±

    Iris: Rather it was for my sake or his, I still want to show my gratitude.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Please stop, this is, really weird.¡±

    Iris flew over to the Nathan leaving I Anais to her stupefied state.

    Iris: ¡°We must leave, that tree Celes grew, hold off the main force, but they will get around it sooner than later.¡±

    Anais: ¡°The broc, Celes did that?¡±

    Iris attempted to move Nathan but found it to be impossible.

    Iris: ¡°What on Leseres?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You can¡¯t move him, I already tried, look he¡¯s anchored himself to the ground.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Are those roots?¡±

    Iris looked at several roots extending from Nathan sides, in burrowing into the ground. She conjured some fire.

    Anais: ¡°NO, YOU CAN¡¯T¡±

    Iris: ¡°Why not?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Think about it, the roots are coming out of him, he must be doing this to himself, I think it might have something to do with whatever Lynn did to him.¡±

    Iris: ¡°So, it was Lynn.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah her and her little following drag him here, after knocking him out, I witness the whole think, I-I couldn¡¯t stop them.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, you are not to blame for this, but why did she leave him here?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I could only think of one reason.¡±

    *RROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR*

    *RUUUUUUMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE*

    The girls turned their attention towards the tree. A loud noise could be heard from its direction. Something large was currently rolling its way over the large trunk of the tree, even from this distance it was still plain as day what it was.

    No more detours, the Gorgon dug its spikes into the tree, allowing it to scale up and around the other side of the tree. Its spikes pulled away and the Gorgon crashed to the ground and rolled in their direction, ready to end this.

 Chapter 29: Unstoppable

    Chapter 28: Unstoppable

    The ground beneath them shook, the rumbling growing louder every passing second. This was it, in a few minutes, the Gorgon would be on top of them and Nathan still wasn¡¯t waking up.

    Anais: ¡°I know what I just said but forget it, I ripping the roots up.¡±

    Iris: ¡°NO, you were right, they might be important.

    Anais: Then what are we going to do, if we don¡¯t move right now, we¡¯re done for.¡±

    Iris: ¡°We¡¯ll slow it down.¡±

    Iris familiar glow surrounded her, then she placed a hand to the ground. Wall after wall of rock rose from the ground, creating a defense grid, completely blocking the Gorgons path. Iris hadn¡¯t really tried anything like this before without a spell, but Nathan told her that with her abilities, spells would only hinder he power. She only needed to unleash everything she had.

    Iris: ¡°That should by us some time.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Since when could you do that?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I could always do it, per Master.¡±

    The Gorgon, moments away from the blockade, didn¡¯t slow down in the least, moreover it seemed to speed up.

    *Smash*

    Anais: ¡°What was that?¡±

    *SmashSmashSmashSmash*

    Iris: ¡°Impossible.¡±

    As if they didn¡¯t exist, wall after wall was demolished and the wake of the Gorgons vendetta, it¡¯s was moments away from its revenge, nothing was going to stop it.

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not working.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I noticed.¡±

    While Iris was distracted with the Gorgon, Anais went against her better judgement in pulled at the roots. Iris delaying tactics wouldn¡¯t last long and it couldn¡¯t be any worse than the situation.

    Anais: ¡°You gotta be kidding me!?¡±

    Two more roots replaced the one she pulled out, she tried it on more time and got the same results. This was bad what could she do to move, she turned back to Iris, who was not slowing the Gorgon at all.

    Fire and wind did nothing, water instantly evaporated once it drew near, and wall after wall were plowed through.

    Iris tried altering the terrain, but no matter what she did, the Gorgon was not stopping.

    Iris: ¡°I can¡¯t stop it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Rip it apart, like you did those plant things.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m trying, its moving too fast.¡±

    It was close, too close to stop anymore. Iris quickly raised the barrier.

    *Crash**SKkkkkkiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrr*

    The Gorgon rammed into the barrier and for the first time was stopped, the force of the blow throwing Anais off her feet. The barrier was holding it back, but as it rotated, more and more of it was being peeled away. Every second, Iris had to focus on the barrier, if she stopped reinforcing it for a moment, the would all be crushed. Iris held her ground as best she could, as the Gorgons and its entirety was crashing down on her.

    Iris: ¡°S-So ¡­¡­¡­..h-heavy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You have to hold it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Can¡¯t¡­¡­¡­¡­ to¡­¡­¡­.. heavy!¡±

    The ground beneath them started to crumble, the sheer weight of th Gorgons body was forcing them below the ground. Iris fought with everything she had but she was nearly at her limit. Anais cursed her inability at the moment and Nathan laying there, blissfully unaware of his impending doom.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, wake up, if you don¡¯t wake up right now we¡¯re dead.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master¡­¡­¡­¡­..please.¡±

    The Gorgons speed intensified, the cracks on the barrier were appearing faster than Iris could fix them.

    *Crack*

    Anais: ¡°Wake up!¡±

    *SLAP*

    Anais slap Nathan slap Nathan several times.

    Iris: ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?¡±

    Anais: *Slap*¡°WAKE UP!¡±

    *Crack*Crack*Crack*

    Anais: ¡°Wake up!¡± *Slap*

    *Crackcrackcrackcrackcrack*

    Anais: ¡°WAKE UP!¡±

    *Shatter*

    Time stood still, as if the world wanted them to live this moment forever. Moments away from death, neither girl took notice of Nathan¡¯s condition. The roots tethering Nathan to the ground, retracted.

    The Girls watched on as the gorgon tore into the ground, a cloud of dirt and dust filling the air. The Gorgon barreled deeper into the ground, making absolutely sure, everything beneath was reduced to mulch.

    Anais: ¡°W-Wait how are we watching this, we were just there?¡±

    Clarity set in, as both girls realize that they had both been saved. Further clarity was made, as both had we¡¯re being held up in someone¡¯s arms.

    Nathan: ¡°Hollee shit¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. That was close.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Iris: ¡°Master!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, did you see that, we almost died, oh and are you okay?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m fine now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s, great, Anais¡­¡­¡­¡­.you look angry, even when your crying.¡±

    Anais: ¡°SHUT THE HELL UP, GUESS WHO¡¯S FAULT THAT IS, HAVING TO BABYSIT YOU ALL THIS TIME, WHAT TOOK YOU FUCKING SO LONG!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I would have woken up sooner, but right at the end, someone broke my concentration, slapping me several times.¡±

    Anais: ¡°YOU DESERVE IT. DAMMIT, YOU HAD ME WORRIED.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, I didn¡¯t arrive until moments ago, Anais was protecting you until then.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I know, I heard her screaming.¡±

    Anais: ¡°If you heard me, then answer.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, thanks for keeping me safe.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just go, Iris can you create more walls to hide our escape?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No wait, it still hasn¡¯t notice us, I¡¯m going to try something.¡±

    Anais&Iris: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Look at it, it¡¯s still in grinding in that hole, it really wanted us dead, but I can get a clean hit, if it stays like that.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ridiculous.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Iris attacked it several times, she didn¡¯t do any damage at all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah with magic, it has armor on, you have to break it first.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and removed the Claymore from his inventory.

    Nathan: ¡°And with this, I¡¯ll do just that, Iris, take Anais and cover me.¡±

    Nathan walked away but had sudden realization and went back to the girls.

    Nathan: ¡°You two were calling each other by name, I¡¯m so proud.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nathan.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master.¡±

    Nathan picked up his sword, it felt lighter than before. He checked his status, he had gone up three levels. He could now use it in battle without holding back. They worked hard while he was out cold, now it was his turn. Just like last time, Nathan took off at full speed, Claymore in hand. His fatigue from earlier gone, from the Lillaby¡¯s Refresh effect he could was at peak condition.

    The Gorgons rotation had slowed, soon it would realize that no one was beneath it, it was now or never. Leaping high into the air, Nathan came down, blade ready to strike.¡±

    *Snap*

    Nathan: ¡°What, no way!?¡±

    The force of the blow, smashed the ground around the Gorgon, but for the gorgon itself, besides a few cracks, it¡¯s body stayed intact. Nathan looked at his now useless blade, breaking from the impact with the Gorgon. He didn¡¯t understand, with ¡°Armor Break¡±, it¡¯ body should be crumbling?

    Nathan quickly jumped back, there was no way the Gorgon wouldn¡¯t have noticed that. Just as he thought, the Gorgon shot up from the ground, turning around to the source of the attack.

    It examined the hole, no mangled bodies, no blood, no justice.

    Nathan: ¡°Confused, don¡¯t be, not to be arrogant but I¡¯m damn fast.¡±

    Upon Nathan¡¯s words, its anger rose, its child murderer, still draws breath.

    *Rooooooaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr*

    The Gorgons eye split apart, revealing a gaping maul, aligned with jagged teeth, drool dripping down and coating its pupil.

    Nathan: ¡°Your eye is your mouth, it must hurt to eat.¡±

    Nathan notice on the bottom part of its eye, a wound that had yet to heal. The elf from earlier left its mark in two places. Nathan brought out another sword, but the Gorgon immediately close its eye again, just like the child it won¡¯t be course off guard. Each taken a battle stance, they stared each other down.

    Nathan: ¡°(If the first sword broke then no doubt the second would as well, as long as it has that armored body, magic won¡¯t work, so as I see it, there¡¯s only one thing to do.) ¡­¡­Later.¡±

    Nathan turned and took off running, scooping up Iris and Anais as he did. Full speed he jumped into the woods, leaving the Gorgon behind. The Gorgon ready itself, waiting for a surprise attack, that would never come.

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°I told you, we should have run away in the first place.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re running away now, how¡¯s the prep going, did they finished?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m unsure, I left during the final stages, but it should have been completed by now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I hope so, it should be figuring out we¡¯re not coming back.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You give that thing too much credit, how long do you think it¡¯s going to take that thing to figure it out?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well-¡±

    *RROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR*

    Nathan: ¡°Now.¡±

    Anais: ¡°This is ridiculous, how the hell can it see us anyway?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It probably has a different way to see us besides sight, don¡¯t just assume a giant eye only can see, you say the plants only attacked me?¡±

    Anais: ¡°For the most part, but in one instance they did attack me, right after my fire spell went out of control.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s easy, they probably just saw your silhouette in the Smoke, we still have physical forms, they just so happen to see yours.

    Anais: Oh Yeah, the how were they able to find you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet, but it¡¯s different then how they found you.¡±

    Off in the distance, trees were being mowed down. The Gorgon had ceased waiting and was now in pursuit. Nathan began planting seeds, he knew they would do nothing to slow it down by themselves, but with that large body, in this dense forest and his plants, they might just lose it.

    Anais: ¡°What are we gonna do, if magic doesn¡¯t hurt it and your sword snapped, it¡¯s not gonna matter where we lead it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°There¡¯s also the matter of Lynn.¡±

    Anais: ¡°All of this is her fault, wait until I find her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯ll deal with her when the time comes right now, we need to focus on not dying, what¡¯s Saria up to right now?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, right, the Grassvalley Tribe arrive she went to greet them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, finally.¡±

    Nathan leaped out of the deep forest, he turned and listened, it was still coming their way.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do, Iris take Anais and head back and let them know, after a little while, I¡¯ll be by to drop off this thing.¡±

    Anais&Iris: ¡°No way!¡±

    Iris: I¡¯m not leaving your side, have you learned nothing?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You always get into trouble the second we¡¯re gone, why do you keep doing this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, this is no time to argue, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Iris&Anais: ¡°No.¡±

    Nathan and the girls stared one another down, but Nathan knew, neither of them were going to back down. He had to hit them with logic.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, you don¡¯t have any mana, your useless right now and Iris, I can take a blow or two and you can¡¯t, maybe with a barrier up, but there¡¯s a high chance the Gorgon will ignore you altogether. Knowing you, you¡¯d jump in front of me whenever you see me about to get hurt and get yourself killed, I don¡¯t want that.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Even still-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And to be honest right now, neither you are thinking straight, your so focus on protecting me, you not even considering your own safety, what the point of staying here, if you can¡¯t do anything? I don¡¯t need babysitters, I need partners who will trust me, as I trust them.¡±

    Persuasion +4

    Nathan: ¡°Plus¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. if I¡¯m not there, how can I possibly stop either of you from being so violent?¡±

    Anais&Iris: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan gave them both a devious smile and they both knew exactly who was talking about.

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯re okay with this?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have no feelings on the subject, besides no matter what you do, nothing will compare to what Saria¡¯s gonna do or already did. Oh, how wish I can see the look on her face.

    Iris: ¡°I-I understand, come as quickly as possible.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not too fast, I need say goodbye to a couple of people.¡±

    Iris levitated Anais up, they both taking one look back before taking off. Nathan knew that the grudge they had for Lynn would be good bait for them to leave, hewatch them leave then turned back to the forest. The gorgon was nearly there. He had no reason to wait, he turned and sprinted away, he¡¯d give them fifteen minutes, then rather they were ready or not, he was coming. With that door behind the waterfall open, he had no reason to stay. The second he catches it in the traps, he was taking Anais and Iris and leaving this place behind.

 Chapter 30: Fight and Flight

    Chapter 30: Fight and Flight

    Nathan leapt up into the trees, only to have it come crashing down to the ground. Leaping from the collapsing tree, he quickly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the massive boulder that been trying to crush him for fifteenth time.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, give me a chance to catch my breath, would you?¡±

    The Gorgon around and continued its pursuit.

    Nathan: ¡°Guess that¡¯s a no.¡±

    Nathan has been trying to lose the Gorgon, but no matter what he did or where he went, the Gorgon always seemed to find him. If he wanted to get away he had to figure out how it was tracking him. Good news, was it seemed to know who killed its baby, that meant it wouldn¡¯t target anyone else. It so blind with rage, Nathan wouldn¡¯t be surprise if it completely ignored any other attacks.

    The Gorgon speed increase and like always, Nathan planted some seed in its path. The Uzy didn¡¯t do any harm, but the Snyare, with enough of them could hold for a split, given Nathan a chance to get out of it way. Though it wasn¡¯t as fast as Nathan, in this forest, nothing but tree stood as obstacle for sprinting. Nathan having to interweave through the forest, was putting a halt on his speed and going out into the opening wasn¡¯t a strategic move when you¡¯re trying to lose someone.

    Nathan jumped up another tree and got ready to jump to the next, when he stopped hear the Gorgon crashing behind him. He looked over, the Gorgon remained stationary.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm what¡¯s it up to?¡±

    The Gorgon opened its eye and Nathan quickly looked away.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t know about your baby, but I know you can turn me to stone, you need to try something else if you¡¯re going to kill me.¡±

    Suddenly, Nathan¡¯s ¡°Threat Detection¡± activated, something was off, but he couldn¡¯t risk looking. An intense light shined all around,in the shadow of the tree he wasn''t sure what it was.Wasting no time, he quickly jumped away from the tree, only to have the tree and several others, disappear in the wake of an massiveenergy blast. The wave tore through the tree line, destroying everything caught in its path.

    Nathan: ¡°A fricking laser, of course the giant eye has a fricking laser.¡±

    Nathan quickly leapt from tree to tree, as the beam followed him, wherever he went. Then beam prove too slow to catch Nathan, so the Gorgon change its tactics. Aiming the energy towards the ground quickly blasting away the base of the trees, toppling the green giants. With the trees now all falling, Nathan was too late to take foot hold and was in free fall.

    Nathan: ¡°Shit!¡±

    The turned its beam back to Nathan, still falling. Nathan quickly pointed to the ground, as he did one of the Snyare he planted quickly whipped up and snatched him down, narrowly avoiding being caught. The plant flung to the side, another Snyare caught him and flung him once again.

    Nathan: ¡°Woohoooooooo!¡±

    Around and around Nathan was toss, no matter where the Gorgon aimed the beam, Nathan had a seed planted which joined him in his game. Soon the Gorgon loss track of him all together and slowly the blast subsided. The Gorgon¡¯s mouth close and the Gorgon hover to the ground. It couldn¡¯t see him but it could tell he was close. As it looked around the Gorgon caught a shadow from above and immediately closed its eye.

    *Shhhhlllllsssssshshshhhhhhh*

    Nathan was surprised to see how easy it was jumped onto the Gorgon¡¯s back. Slashing downward Nathan blade collided with the hard-outer shell of the Gorgon. Before it could react to the strike Nathan, thrusted the sword into its eyelid, to his surprised, the sword penetrated a bit.

    Nathan: ¡°So, your eyelids are brittle huh, good to know.¡±

    *Slash**Bam**Bam*Bam*

    Nathan mercilessly bashed at its eyelids, chipping away with each strike. The Gorgon rotated to the side, attempting to shake him off, causing Nathan to lose his grip. Nathan stabbed and slashed at the Gorgon, before being tossed away, but to his luck, the sword remained, it wasn¡¯t too deep, but it was enough to keep it lodged. He quickly manipulated his Snyare to take hold of the sword, pushing it deeper, trying their best to shove it through. Catching himself, Nathan watched on as the Gorgon tried is best to get away. However, something wasn¡¯t right, it seemed to be having more trouble than he thought it would.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, no way you should be having this much trouble or maybe, your still weak, aren¡¯t you? Yeah that¡¯s it, no way you recovered from child birth, then a fight, using all that mana and firing that beam didn¡¯t help, did it?

    A low groan could be heard, Nathan was pretty sure this thing understood what he just said. The Gorgon rotated continuously, ripping plant after plant to shreds.

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re going be all day that way, I pollinated this entire area while I was tossing myself around. You can keep shredding them, they¡¯ll just keep sprouting up. At least for a while anyway, you could just open your eye and let the sword fall out.¡±

    The Gorgon continued to spin, it rotated until it felt the blade was no longer being grabbed. Smacking the blade against a tree, the blade was dislodged, but not without leaving a gash in its eyelid. The Gorgon turned around several times, but Nathan was nowhere to be found.

    Sensing his whereabouts, it found that Nathan was moving away from the area. Moments after speaking Nathan, took off leaving the Gorgon behind with its struggles. Like always, he had no plan to fight it and saw no reason to stay.

    *Loud Roar*The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    _

    _

    Nathan sped through the forest, he watched as animals scampered away, hearing the Gorgon roar, mostly likely from frustration.

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, no, tantrums will get you nowhere.¡±

    Nathan believed his stalling tactics, were working a bit too well. The Gorgon had become blind with rage back there, wasting a trump card and allowing Nathan to do a bit of damage. Soon he would hear the sound of trees being smashed, he¡¯d just keep up this tactic until they reached the trapping area.

    He still didn¡¯t understand why it could find him so easily, since its weak, it never opens its eye, in fear of being attacked, he dismissed that idea. But, it didn¡¯t matter, once he gets back, he would be leaving this all to the Grassvalley Tribe. Upon that thought Nathan stopped dead in his tracks, a thought occurred to him.

    Nathan: ¡°What if they don¡¯t confront it?¡±

    This thought hadn¡¯t crossed his mind before, why would they fight on his behalf, the Gorgon hasn¡¯t actually targeted any of the nymphs. Even if they are waiting for him, there no guarantee they were friendly. There was a high chance that they would leave him to the wolves, after all, Lynn, just did the same thing. They could even upfront and attack him.

    Nathan: ¡°Shit, I need a way to make them fight.¡±

    The wind blew past Nathan and he instinctively reached for his blade, he had the feeling again, he was going to get attacked.

    *Swish*

    Nathan reflexively dodge, then swiftly took out his blade and slashed at its attacker. His blade met its target and his assailant was spilt in two. He was suddenly bombarded with attacks from all sides. Nathan dodge around them, casually slashing at whatever came near. Bounding to the trees tops, looking back he saw that the forest floor was now littered with those plant monsters from before.

    Nathan was sure Anais said she wiped them out, this must have been the force that was stopped by the tree. Nathan reflexively dodge again, leaping to a nearby tree, they were in the trees as well, he was completely surrounded. The roar wasn¡¯t from anger, it was call for reinforcements. Nathan soon heard the familiar rumbling.

    Nathan: ¡°If you can¡¯t catch it, suppress its movement, pretty damn smart.¡±

    *Growl*

    The plant creatures all got ready to attack. Nathan Raise his hand and did Uzy pop up from the ground.

    *Click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click*

    Nathan: ¡°Fire.¡±

    Seed bullets swept over the area, filling anything caught in the flurry with holes. Nathan quickly leapt to the ground, an area now cleared of monsters, staying in the trees wasn¡¯t good, they provided cover for the ones still amongst there branches.

    *Ding**Ding*

    <u>Level Increased!</u>

    <u>Level Increased!</u>

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll checked that later, that rumbling getting to close for comfort.¡±

    Nathan ran off again, as he did, the plant creatures that survive continued after him. He also noticed that there were a lot more up ahead. He no longer had the luxury of running through the trees, he had to go out into the open. He could take the plant creature, but why risk on of them getting lucky, plus they were a nuisance enough for the Gorgon to catch up to him. Taking them on while simultaneously avoiding the Gorgon, was something he wasn¡¯t willing to do.

    Nathan jumped out of the woods, only to meet up with the Gorgon coming right at him, it must have figure he come out and went on ahead. Nathan jumped out the way, only to be swiped by one of the Plant creatures, that had followed him out of the forest. The swiped through off his landing and he, couldn¡¯t completely dodge the Gorgons attack. The force of the blow threw him several feet and he quickly caught his balance. He checked his Hp, even with the armor equipped, the amount of damage he took was way over what he estimated.

    Nathan: ¡°Heal!¡±

    More and more of the plant creatures poured out of the forest, launching attacks as they did. Nathan quickly grew some Uzy and had them fire into the trees, soon the wave of plant creature slowed, but it wouldn¡¯t be long before they come around. Nathan sped off once again, trying to put as much distance between him and the forest, but the Gorgon wasn¡¯t going to let him.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit, get out of the way.¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t shake the Gorgon, it couldn¡¯t catch him, but it wasn¡¯t going to let him get away anymore. No matter how Nathan looked at it, no matter which way he went, he would eventually end up back in the woods and waiting for him would be the Horde of plant creatures.

    He needed a way to sever the link that they have with the plant creature.

    Nathan: ¡°No, I don¡¯t need to server the link, I just need to figure out how they seeing me, if I can stop that, I can avoid them all together.¡±

    What was it, what could they possibly be using to locate him. As Nathan neared the middle of the open area, a river came into view. It wasn¡¯t large and with those large stones, he could easily jump it. Nathan looked behind him, the Gorgon still hot on his trail. It wouldn¡¯t belong, but the Gorgon would have to stop before crossing the river. Nathan took his chance in leaped to the first stone. Casually landing on the first, he immediately jumped to the second, but immediately wished had had looked before he leapt. Several Plant creatures were hiding in the blind spot of the stones.

    Nathan: ¡°(How did they?)¡±

    Nathan thoughts was cut short, as they all attacked, Nathan pulled out his sword and blocked the attack, but the force sent him spiraling to the waters below.

    *Splash*

    Nathan quickly got himself together and stared up from beneath, something seemed strange. The Gorgon along with the plant creatures all seemed disoriented, as if they couldn¡¯t pinpoint his location. Was it because of the water, if that was the case he now understood why they could find him. They were tracking his scent, surprising since none of them possess anything that look like a nose, but the Gorgons eye did turn out to be its mouth as well.

    While he still underwater, he moved up stream as quick as he could. Thanks to his abilities, he could stay underwater for long periods of time, as he swam away he could see a lethal number of plant creatures flooding the area behind him. As he thought, the plant creatures began launching blind attacks. Normally this wouldn¡¯t do any good, but with so many, if he had stayed, one might have gotten lucky.

    That was only one of the reason he wanted to get away, besides the crowd of Plant creatures, there was one other thing he was sure was going to happen eventually. Sooner or later, when it got its strength back, it would activate that enchantment and this river will be instantly gone. In that moment, it would find him.

    Nathan continued up stream, taking a quick breath before diving back down, hoping nothing around him notice. He didn¡¯t know how far he swam away, it has been about Twenty-five minutes since he last saw anything. Plus, the current wasn¡¯t particularly strong, he could keep swimming like this for miles if he wanted to.

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, waaahh, ooph!¡±

    Instantly, the water around him was gone, dried up suddenly from the intense heat, which also immediately stopped. The heat wave had only lasted a second, but that¡¯s all it needed to dry up all the water around. The forest around him seemed completely fine, it didn¡¯t last long enough to cause any harm, even as he now, the river was slowly filling again. Nathan Jumped up out of the rising water and took off into the forest.

    He was sure they pinpointed his location and now that they know which direction he traveled, the river wouldn¡¯t do any good. Now he had a head start, he wasn¡¯t going to let it go to waste, activating his ¡°Pollination¡± ability, he zig-zagged through the forest. From this point on, anything following behind him, will be decimated.

 Chapter 31: "Myfetus"

    Chapter 31: ¡°Myfetus¡±

    Water Nymph: ¡°Miss Iris, Miss Anais, your back, Saria has just returned as well.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Are the Grassvalley tribesmen with her?¡±

    Water nymph: ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take you to them.¡±

    Anais and Iris followed the nymphs towards she was busy having a conversation with a group of men. The conversation ceased, once they both drew near.

    Saria: ¡°Miss Iris, I¡¯m happy to see that you are alright and Miss Anais, it is great to see you as well, but where is the Hero, is he alright?¡±

    Anais: ¡°He¡¯s fine, no thanks to your crazy murderous sister.¡±

    Sarai: ¡°There nothing I could say to excuse what she did, but still I¡¯m sorry for everything.¡±

    Iris: ¡°There is no need for you to apologize, but I can¡¯t say I will forgive the guilty party, has she returned yet?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, she was here at one point, but she flew off long before you arrive.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh yeah, where did she go?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I don¡¯t know and really don¡¯t care, I have nothing to say to her any longer. What she has done, simply will not be forgiven, by you or by us.¡±

    Iris and Anais were shocked at her reaction, murder or not, they were still sisters. Other nymph¡¯s around her nodded in agreement with Saria, she was now completely shunned by her sisters. This must be what Nathan meant when he said, ¡°Nothing you do to her, will be as bad as what Saria would do¡±. It was as if she had lost her place amongst her family. More importantly, she lost the one she cherished most.

    Saria: ¡°If you need to speak with her, I send someone to find her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh yeah that would be-¡±

    Iris: ¡°For now, we¡¯ll set that aside, Anais could you step over here for a moment?¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Whisper) Why¡¯d you cut me off?¡±

    Iris: ¡°(Whisper) We shouldn¡¯t reveal our intention to anyone here, especially the ones standing behind her.

    Anais glance over to the Grassvalley tribesmen. They seemed to be discussing amongst themselves. If they knew that they wanted revenge, it could pose a problem. Iris doubted they would sit idly, while one of the ones they meant to protect was attacked.

    Anais: ¡°She almost killed me and Nathan, you want me to just let it go?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I would not ask you to do such a thing, however there is always a time and place, neither of those are right now. Master needs these men in order to realized his plans, having them at odds because of our vendetta, would that not be problematic?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Fine, but one day I will get her for what¡¯s she¡¯s done.¡±

    Iris: ¡°In on that day, I¡¯ll shall accompany you.¡±

    Saria wonder what the two were whispering about, until she caught a them looking at the Grassvalley tribesmen.

    Saria: ¡°Oh my goodness, it completely slipped my mind, Miss Anais, Miss Iris, these are the men of the Grass valley tribe, Lord Gaelin, Lord Edwyrd, these are the member of the Hero¡¯s party.

    Gaelin: ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Saria did not tell me one member was a fairy, I must say I¡¯m surprise.¡±

    Iris: Nice to meet you as well, I¡¯m Iris the Hero¡¯s guardian.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°(A Fairy as his guardian, this may prove troublesome.)¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Ah, you must be Anais, you¡¯re a guardian as well?¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, it just benefits me to travel with him, but we have more pressing matters, you all hear the rumbling getting closer?¡±

    Saria: ¡°The Gorgon?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master is luring it here as we speak, if everything is ready. we should evacuate everyone as far from here as you can.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Right away.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°We will assist in the evacuation.¡±

    Saria got to work evacuating her sister, with the help of members of the Grassvalley tribe.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Excuse me, Miss Iris, Miss Anais, have any of you come across Celes?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Did you try that huge tree?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Yes, but, not long after we arrived, she left to meet up with all of you.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, but if so she most likely going to meet up with the Master if so they would be arriving here soon.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°I see.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Are you worried about her?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Of course, she the next Mother, if she got hurt.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nathan wouldn¡¯t let her get hurt, he¡¯d most likely send her away, as soon as they met up.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Iris: ¡°For now, I would like to explain to you the plan.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan sped through the forest, the Gorgon hot on his trail. The Gorgon was going as fast as it could to keep up with Nathan, but he was just too fast. It didn¡¯t help that three of its ambushes were completely destroyed by Nathan. Nathan knew the Gorgon would try this pincer thing again, after realizing that the area he was in was the territory of the plant creatures, he understood that there would always be some ahead of him.

    Using his plants, he fired random shots all over the area. No matter where it landed, as long as it grew, anything passing by would be annihilated. Over time, more would grow. Now every so often, Nathan would hear the Uzy firing off in the distance and he¡¯d come into a clearing littered with fallen plant creatures. Nathan simply leapt across them and continued forward, the Gorgon rolled right over them, shredding what was left of them.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, they fought for you, respect the dead.¡±

    His words fell on death ears, the Gorgon would not be stopped, he hoped that the girls arrive and was prepared. He needed to lose it for a moment, sure it couldn¡¯t catch him, but he needed to arrive before it could, at least by a few minutes.

    Coming into the next clearing there were a field with patches of flowers. He hadn¡¯t seen any of them before, Pink with long petals that pointed at the end. It was strange that some of his plants were around, but not one corpse, as if they avoided this field all together. Was it because of the flowers, but he didn¡¯t feel any particular threat from them. They looked nice, but it was a shame, it was far too late for him to change directions, he and the Gorgon were going trampled right through. However, as Nathan tread into the field, the Gorgon suddenly stopped.

    Nathan: (Huh?)¡±

    Celes: ¡°(NO, YOU MUSTN¡¯T!)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Celes?¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    *poof* *Tsssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    A cloud of green smoke and dust, exploded all around.

    Nathan: ¡°Ahhh, the smell.¡±

    The smell was terrible and burned at his eyes. Nathan quickly cleared the patch of flowers and rubbed at them, but that did nothing he was blind. Unable to see and losing his footing, he fell to the ground and skidded into a tree. He jumped back to his feet, but now he couldn¡¯t see and the rumbling was getting louder, he brace for impact.

    Ruuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmbbbblllllleeeeeee

    Nathan: ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Huh?¡±

    Nathan stood confused, by the sound of the Gorgon rolling right by him. Nathan wasn¡¯t going to waste the chance, but at the moment he couldn¡¯t see and the chance of running into the Gorgon was high. Time was of the essence, though highly unlikely, if the Gorgon was to open up its eye right now, he would be screwed.

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, Hero, if you can hear me, you must remain quiet, the beast is looking for you. Please raise your hand into the air.)¡±

    Nathan did as he was told, as he did he felt something wrap around his arm and then lift him into the air. Slowly he ascended and pass along as one thing after another grabbed him. After a minute, he was gently sat down.

    Celes: ¡°(Okay, you can speak.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Celes, what are you doing here?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(One moment Hero.)¡±

    *Splaaaassssssshhhh*

    Nathan: ¡°Puh, puh, Hey, warn me if you¡¯re going to do that.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Sorry for that but, it should help with your eyesight. How is it?)¡±

    Nathan wiped away the water, slowly his vision came back.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, that did it, where are you?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I¡¯m here.)¡±

    Nathan watched as a large shadow moved along the tree toward him. Phasing out of the tree she stepped down on to the branch.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa¡­¡­¡­¡­since when could you do that?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(I could always do it, it just I don¡¯t unless there an emergency and thinks to a few levels I was able to extends its duration.)¡±

    Nathan notice there was an odd distance between them, she seemed straining to smile.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Celes, why are you standing so far away.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Well you see, the Spores from the ¡°Myfetus¡±, have a truly foul smell when released and you have been cover in it.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Those plants huh, so I stink?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Don¡¯t worry the smell is only temporary, it will vanish in a time. Until then, I¡­¡­¡­¡­shall keep my distance.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see, that¡¯s why it didn¡¯t kill me, it lost track of me.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It can¡¯t see us, our abilities are in effect, it¡¯s been tracking me by scent.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Ah, so when you were douse in the Myfetus gas, it covered up your scent.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right, this is a blessing, while it can¡¯t locate me, I¡¯m going to get away from here, stay here and recover, that ability really drains your mana.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Right.)¡±

    Nathan got up, but then stopped and looked back at Celes. Nathan cleared the space between them. Celes cringe from the smell, but all her sense besides touch stopped working the moment Nathan patted her head. She looked up at him as he smiled down.

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for saving me.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(N-n-n-no pr-problem.)¡±

    With that Nathan leapt from the tree and took off once again. Celes sat there, face flushed. She felt the top of her head, the spot was still warm, she smiled a goofy smile.

    Celes: ¡°(Hehehehehehe)¡±

    *ruuuuuuummmmmmbblllleeee*

    Celes: ¡°(Huh?)¡±

    *Crash**Smash*

    Celes: ¡°(HERO!)¡±

    The Gorgon smashed through the tree Celes was atop, with no time to react, she was thrown from the branch and crash into the ground. The fall knock her unconscious and she laid there as the Gorgon plow through the debris towards her. Nathan hadn¡¯t made it far away, came just in time to see the Gorgon nearly atop Celes, he quickly pulled her out and move out of the way.

    With the smell, the Gorgon couldn¡¯t get a lock. Nathan stood still watching the Gorgon float around trying to pick up his scent, slowly it moved further away, but he didn¡¯t understand why it attacked Celes. Iris nor Anais were ever targeted, for that matter he has been the only one targeted. For it to suddenly decide to change targets was strange, there must be something. Nathan look down at Celes.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Celes, get it together.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, you saved me again.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course I did, okay, up you go.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Kyaa!?)¡±

    Nathan lifted Celes up into his arms, who quickly turned red.

    Celes: ¡°(H-Hero put me down.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No way, you can¡¯t keep up with me and I¡¯m not leaving you behind again.¡±

    Nathan looked over to the Gorgon, it was confused again, wondering around.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t get it, it doesn¡¯t attack Anais or Iris, it¡¯s soul target was me, but it loses my scent and attacks you, why?¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t wrap his head around it, if it attacked Celes, then is not tracking them by their scent. What was the difference between them and everyone else.

    Celes: (Hero, could we leave the area, I know we¡¯re safe for the moment, andno offense, but I would like to move away from you as soon as possible.)¡±

    Celes clenched her nose shut. Nathan laughed at her attempts to block the smell.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I had a whiff of it earlier, but now I can¡¯t smell anything.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Trust me, it is there and it is awful, please hurry away from here.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hahahahahaha, you sound like Saria, right before she made us take that bath.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Well, we were both covered in blood.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah we we-¡±

    Nathan stared off into space, before he face burst into a smile.

    Celes: ¡°Hero are you okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s it, I know why it attacked you and if that¡¯s the case, then we need to go this way.¡±

    Nathan took off back in the direction he came.

    Celes: ¡°(Hero, why did it attack me?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Celes its simple, it attacked you, because you stink.¡±

    Celes''s heart drop into her stomach, she could not believe what she just heard.

    Celes: *(I-I-I do not, I bathe thoroughly every day.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, you¡¯re not getting it, I stink too.¡±

    Celes stared at Nathan, a blank expressionless stare.

    Celes: ¡°(¡­¡­I see this is what Anais and Iris meant when they said you have¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Moments where you babble.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I gonna have a real long talk with them later. Blood, it tracking us by the scent of its child¡¯s blood. Remember everyone saying it had a foul odor, maybe the scent never fully went away, even after we washed.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(That could be the it, but if that¡¯s the case, it will come after us the second the smell wears off.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I know, so will have to prevent that.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(How do you plan to do that?)¡±

    Nathan smiled down to Celes.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­You might want to close your eyes and hold your breath.¡±

    Celes caught to his plan and looked ahead, they had re-entered the field of Myfetus.

    Celes: ¡°(HERO, NO DON¡¯T DO IT.)¡±

    Nathan: We have to, it¡¯s the only way to put some distance between us.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(NO, I BELIEVE IN YOU, YOU CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you for that vote of confidence, but this will guarantee we get away, at least for a little while.

    Celes: "(SOMEONE HELP, THE HERO''S GONE CRAZY)"

    Nathan:"Here we go.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(NOOOOOOOOOOOO!)¡±

    Nathan leaped into the air, landing right into the largest flower bed. Instantly both were engulfed in a cloud of spores.

 Chapter 32: True Selves

    Chapter 32: True Selves

    Iris: ¡°Master, you¡¯ve come.¡±

    Nathan came running out of the forest, carrying Celes. As he came closer, a very unpleasant smell, invaded the nostrils. They jumped back away from Nathan, who just laughed out loud at their reactions and kept moving closer just to get one.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell, you stink.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hahahaha, blunt as always.¡±

    Anais: Whatever, just stay away.

    Iris: ¡°What is that awful smell?¡±

    Saria: It¡¯s the Myfetus plant, when you disturb them, they release spores that have a extremelyfoul smell.¡±

    Saria step close to Nathan.

    Anais: ¡°How can you stand that?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I have a small air current circling around me, its keeping the smell from reaching me, otherwise I couldn¡¯t do this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What the?¡±

    Saria dropped to her knees and bowed her head as low as she could.

    Saria: ¡°There is nothing I could say or do that could possibly make what has happened okay, still I¡¯m truly sorry for what you have gone through.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, please stop doing that.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I will not, how could you possibly forgive what she did, in my name?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Get up, Get up.¡±

    Nathan picked Saria up off the ground, he had to force her, she just refused to stand.

    Nathan: ¡°Listen I¡¯m not forgiven what she did, it¡¯s just not your fault. She chose to do all those things, but if anything, I should apologize, I can¡¯t guarantee the next time I see her, she¡¯ll will come out unscathed.¡±

    Saria shivered a bit, he just blatantly told her that he planned on hurting her sister. She hated her for what she did, but she didn¡¯t want to see her hurt. However, she also had no right to say anything, because of her actions, they all were nearly killed, he had every right to see to his vengeance. Saria looked down she didn¡¯t know what to say, so she just silently nodded.

    Back to her feet she looked down, Celes was in his arms, she looked okay physically, but her eyes were dead and soulless.

    Saria: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, oh she¡¯s fine, she¡¯s just being dramatic.¡±

    Nathan sat her to the ground and she ran and jumped at Saria, who quickly stepped to the side. Celes landed flat on the ground, she looked up to Saria, teary eyed, feeling betrayed that she dodged.

    Saria: ¡°Celes, I¡¯m am truly sorry, but the current only works at a certain distance.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It was the only way to lose the Gorgon and keep her safe.¡±

    Saria: ¡°The Gorgon went after her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I figured out that the Gorgon, tracking us by scent, more specifically, its babies blood.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Blood, you two were the only two who came in contact with it, it didn¡¯t make much sense to me how it knew exactly who killed its child.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Exactly, even though we wash, the smell must not have faded completely, that¡¯s what is tracking and why we smell like this right now.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Is there a way to get rid of the smell, I dying here.¡±

    Saria: ¡°The smell doesn¡¯t last very long, about twenty minutes or so.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Once it¡¯s gone, the Gorgon will be sure to head this way, we should get ready, where are your guardians?¡±

    Saria: ¡°They will be here momentarily, they making sure that all my sisters are safe and accounted for.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°All right, once they tag in, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Saria: ¡°So sudden.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not really, I had no intention of watching the outcome. No offense, but I had enough of this forest.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­I see.¡±

    Nathan turned to Celes, she looked pretty devastated by the news.

    Nathan: ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be saying goodbye soon, we won¡¯ be able to talk anymore.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(You don¡¯t have to leave right away, do you?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, but we need to go.¡±

    Celes shook her head.

    Celes: ¡°(No, it¡¯s okay, however I really wish I could travel with you. When I¡¯m able to control my abilities, can I join you?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, so you did know?¡±

    Saria: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan explained to everyone their conversation.

    Iris: ¡°Such power, so this entire forest and how lush it is, is all due to her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Most likely, it would be a huge problem if we left with her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, the moment she left the cave and step foot on the ground, the area around would explode.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Yes, I just ask that you don¡¯t remove me from the party.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Remove you from the party?¡±

    Nathan stuck out his chest and raised his chin.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, I have no idea how to do that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s not something to be proud of.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Heheheheheh.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But hold up, it¡¯s a passive skill, is it possible to get control over it?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, I can¡¯t stop it, but there is a simple solution to prevent it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, what?¡±

    The girls looked at him in confusion, he usually figures things out right away.

    Iris: ¡°Come now Master, surely you of all people know the answer?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be asking if I knew.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s so simple.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, then tell me.¡±

    Saria: ¡°There nothing really to tell, it¡¯s obvious.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Out with it ladies.¡±

    The girls all slowly smirked at him, he really didn¡¯t know. They figured out something before him and all silently decided not to tell him. Nathan realized immediately from their smiles, what they were doing, but seeing them so happy about it was pissing him off.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, I get it, I figure it out eventually on my own, but in the meantime.¡±

    Nathan put his hands out, then jumped the girls.

    Nathan: ¡°GIVE ME A HUG!¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Nathan grabbed at each one of them and pulling them into his embrace. They all held their breath, not wanting to smell the Myfetus as they tried to break away, but he squeezed them and force them to gasp for air.

    Anais: ¡°Let me go you¡­¡­¡­¡­. Don¡¯t stink?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Nathan let them down, they took a whiff of the air around him.

    Saria: ¡°Ah, the smells gone.¡±

    *Loud Roar*

    Nathan watch as the birds scattered, from the Gorgons roar. He turned to the girls, they each given a nod, indicating they were ready. Saria and Celes took off to retrieve the Grassvalley Tribe, while Nathan got into position.

    Nathan: ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Edwyrd: ¡°Father I don¡¯t understand, is that really a reason not to help?¡±

    Edwyrd argued with his father, who decided that they would not interfere with the Fight until one or the other was dealt with.

    Edwyrd: I agree, that some of the problems were due to the Hero¡¯s character, but regardless, we should at least attempt to rid the area of the beast.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Edwyrd, have you heard even one report of any of the daughters being hurt? If I recall, they have only lost their homes.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Yes, they were reclaimed due to the acts of the Hero.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Which he reclaimed by killing the Child of the beast, who now has a vendetta squared solely on the Lycanian. Why should we interfere, when allowing the two to fight and kill one another greatly benefits us?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Greatly benefits¡­¡­..you mean to slay them both.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Edwyrd took a step back in shock, how could his own father say such a thing. Gaelin sighed at his son¡¯s reaction.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Father, he is the Hero, he saved us all from the Demon Lord, this entire world owes him a debt we could never repay.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°And what do you know of such a debt, you who is only 150 years of age, why you were not even born, let alone a thought, you dare to lecture me about such things.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°True, but could you say I would have even been born if not for his actions?¡±

    *Slam*

    Gaelin slam his cup down on the able, he glared at his son.

    Gaelin: ¡°Edwyrd, what are the duties of our tribe?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°T-To protect the daughters of the garden and remove all forces that would do them harm.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°And what of those intruders, what do we do with them?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..The knowledge of the garden must be held in secrecy, only to be known by members of the tribe. Intruders must be dealt with accordingly.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°You know our duty and you would be wise to remember them. By your words, you have your answer and with it our discussion ends, you''re dismissed."

    Edwyrd clenched his fists, he bowed to his Father and left his tent. As he strolled past his men he could fear their eyes on him. Surely they heard their discussion, but he didn¡¯t care what they thought, to kill someone, who intention were sound.

    Edwyrd: ¡°This is wrong.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Lord Edwyrd.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria and Lady Celes, thank the Heavens.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry we don¡¯t have time, you must get your forces together, the Gorgon is here.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m afraid that will not happen.¡±

    Saria and Celes looked to each other, they weren¡¯t sure of what they heard.

    Saria: ¡°I beg your pardon?¡±

    Edwyrd explain to her what Gaelin had said, but before he could tell her what he thought, Saria was on a beeline towards Gaelin¡¯s tent.

    Saria: ¡°Lord Gaelin, is it true what Edwyrd has told me, you will not be helping the Hero.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Lady Celes, I¡¯m glad your alright.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Gaelin.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°What he said is true, we are your guardians and will only act as such. This Gorgon, has only attack the Lycanian, he is not nymph, so we shall not act.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Then know this, the Hero has no intention of fighting, the moment the Gorgon is trapped he will leave and not come back for anything.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°We will not allow him to do such a thing.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Rather you allow it or not, he will leave, through the Waterfall entrance.¡±

    Gaelin chuckled along with a few other men around.

    Gaelin: ¡°He wouldn¡¯t make it through their, my guards a stationed all through that tunnel, anyone unfamiliar traveling through those tunnels, will be stopped. On top of that, the exit leads right into the village, he has no chance.

    Saria: ¡°You be surprise at what he is capable of, however, I doubt your guards will have the time, if he runs through that tunnel, take a wild guess on what will be following him.¡±

    Gaelin nearly dropped his cup, no doubt that creature, will undoubtedly follow him through the tunnel and rampage right through their village.

    Saria: ¡°On second thought don¡¯t do anything, either way you still technically protecting us, even with your own livelihood.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Edwyrd, tell the men to get ready.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Right away father.¡±

    Edwyrd ran off, throwing Saria a smile as he went by. Saria look at a now irritated Gaelin who glance back in forth between Celes and Saria, both smiling.

    Gaelin: ¡°¡­¡­.It seems his influence, stretches further than just two sisters.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No Lord Gaelin, we were always like this, all of us, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Gaelin face turn to a sly smile, he always thought of her as a child, but here she is, standing up to him.

    Gaelin: ¡°Yes, I believe we were.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    The Gorgon rolled through the forest, the smell of blood deafening. Somewhere far off there was another faint smell, but the Gorgon would not pursue. The person who wounded, the smell of its child blood was thick and pungent, so much it was sickening. The smell polluting the Gorgons air, fueling its rage, thicker and thicker it became, until it arrived.

    Nathan: ¡°Took you long enough.¡±

    Nathan called out to the Gorgon as soon as it arrived, positioning himself on the far side of the area, only thing in between them was air. The Gorgon looked around several times, something seemed wrong.

    Anais: ¡°Why isn¡¯t it charging you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Be patient.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯ve been patient for months now, I want to get the hell out of here.¡±

    Anais Complained next to Nathan, Iris and she remained invisible to the Gorgon. The only two it could pinpoint location for was Celes who wasn¡¯t here and Nathan. The Gorgon was acting strange, it didn¡¯t know there were traps set up, but it did come to understand Nathan a bit. It understood that he would never face it head on and that since he remained here, there was something he was hoping it did. It moved to the left.

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan moved to the right as the Gorgon slowly moved to the side.

    Nathan began goading it to move, but it was not going to fall into another trap. It opened its eye which took the three by surprise. Taking a real look around, from what it could tell there was no one around. However, not long after looking around, Jagged rocks came flying towards it. It shut its eye to avoid an attack, but it understood now. This person, who it has been chasing did nothing but use plants during their chase, he can¡¯t use magic. There was someone else around, someone it could not see.

    Nathan: ¡°Why did you do that, that¡¯s not why I gave you a Mana potion?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, she was taking the intuitive, it was an honest mistake.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I saw an opening, I took it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but now it knows someone else is here, it was going to before, it won¡¯t approach now.¡±

    Anais: ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can¡¯t use magic, it probably noticed that and since you just fired off a spell, let¡¯s assume it knows you¡¯re here.¡±

    Iris: ¡°We need something to provoke it, otherwise the tribe will arrive before we¡¯re ready and be massacred.¡±

    Anais: "Something that would make it hate you."

    Nathan: ¡°It already hates me. *sigh*I didn¡¯t want to do this, even I think its low, that¡¯s why I gave it to you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you¡­¡­¡­. no way?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Take it out and then both of you move away, I have absolutely no idea how it will react, but we don¡¯t have any other choice, do it.¡±

    The Gorgon stood idly, it wasn¡¯t going to foolishly charge, but as it sat there, the smell of blood grew to a new level. It was as if the entire area had become engulfed with it, the air completely taken oven with the smell of blood. The Gorgon opened its eye in was instantly taken with a rage that could frightened the gods. Across the field as plain as day, the corpse of its child laid. Nathan prop up his foot on the dead and stared into the eyes of the Mother.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ belongs to me.¡±

    In that moment, within the Gorgon all functioning brain cells, all feelings were nulled, except one. Before it even knew what it had done it was already charging him. The desecration, the lack of respect, no more, if nothing else in this moment, it would end this man¡¯s existence.

    *Snatch*Snatch* Snatch*Snatch*Snatch*Snatch*

    Hundreds of Snyare¡¯s shot from the ground and ensnared the Creature. For a moment, it looked as though it would keep on going unimpeded by the plants. But, the Snyare held tight, not one ripped, it seems Nathan bloodwork had done the trick. The Gorgon rage within its restraints, bouncing around maniacally, roaring and glaring at Nathan. Every inch of its being wanted this man dead, but the plants would not rip.

    The Gorgon Eye was wide open, in its rage it had thrown away all caution which made everything easier for Nathan. He raised his hand and the Uzy shot up from the ground, took aim and fired. With the eye, wide open every shot made contact, though he wasn¡¯t sure how much damage they were doing.

    Anais: ¡°Is that it?¡±

    Anais and Iris walked up to Nathan, but keeping their eyes on the Gorgon.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah that¡¯s it, look at that.¡±

    Nathan pointed to the snyare¡¯s, they were releasing a corrosive enzyme, that sank into the cracks of the Gorgon outer shell. With it slowly been destroyed from the inside and the Uzy chipping from the outside, soon it would be useless.

    Nathan: ¡°Come on we¡¯re getting out of here, put that back.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Your taking it!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course I am, it description said it will make great armor.¡±

    Iris: ¡°This feels wrong.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I know what you mean, but consider, that lots of things are made with raw material such as this, weapons, armor, but this is how we survive.¡±

    Anais waved her hand over the Gorgon corpse and restored it in her inventory.

    *Maniacal Roar*

    The three heads turned around to the Mother again, a clear liquid pouring from its eye. They couldn¡¯t tell rather it was saliva or tears from the corpse of her child disappearing once again.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Are we not waiting for anyone to show?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No need, we did what we said we would do, anything else is up to them. Besides,somethings telling me we should sneak away, make sure you change your abilities so you can¡¯t be seen by the Grassvalley Tribe.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just a feeling I have, for now, consider them enemies.¡±

    The Girls did as they were told and with the sound of the Gorgonraging behind them, the three headed off towards the waterfall and their way out.

 Chapter 33: Evolution

    Chapter 33: Evolution

    Celes stared down at her arm, they were all taking a roundabout way and heading in their direction. They must have been successful in subduing the Gorgon and were now taking their leave. She was a little upset that they were not even going to say goodbye, but after hearing what Gaelin planned to do, she wouldn¡¯t dare call them back here.

    Saria: ¡°Were they successful, did they trap it?¡±

    Celes looked up to Saria, nodding yes to her question.

    Saria: ¡°Thank goodness, were all they now?¡±

    Celes tried her best to explain to Saria, lucky for her, it seemed Saria understood that they were taking their leave.

    Saria: ¡°If they are leaving right away, the Hero must have realized the Grassvalley tribes plan, even still, I will make things easier for them.

    Saria whipped up a wind, her mouth moved, but no sound came out. After she finish a gust wind blew pass them both, satisfied she turn back to Celes.

    Saria: ¡°With this, no one should stop them.¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Watch it.¡±

    Nathan pulled Anais over, she had nearly bumped into a member of the Grassvalley tribe. Even though she didn¡¯t touch him, the man looked around.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Did you say something?¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Uh, uh yes, I said watch it, you nearly step on the poor flower.¡±

    The Elf look down, there was a flower not far from where he stood, but he could have sworn there was nothing there a minute ago. Nathan had actually grown that plant the second he heard the nymph mention it.

    Elven: ¡°My apologies, I will be more careful.¡±

    Wind nymph: ¡°Please do.¡±

    Satisfied the Elf continued forward, the wind nymph with him looked turn to Nathan and bowed. She then followed behind the man leaving them, careful not to look back. As they continued onward, similar accident occurred. An elf would search an area they were in and a nymph would kindly redirect him or her, each time the nymph would bow or mouth out ¡°thank you¡±, before continuing on.

    Anais: ¡°The hells going on?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This is Saria¡¯s doing, since they could still see us, she let them know to lead their guardians away from us.¡±

    Iris: ¡°It seems your intuition was correct once again.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Even though they should be heading to finish off the Gorgon, they are still actively looking for something else or someone else. There are really out to get us, after all we¡¯ve done.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, were just three intruders, who must be we dealt with.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Somewhere as secure as this, must be kept secret, if by chance they were to escape and reveal its location, trouble would undoubtedly come is probably what they believe.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We need to move, I¡¯m pretty sure they have more guards around, the waterfall, I like to get there before one of them figured out why those nymphs keep bowing to nothingness.¡±

    Anais: ¡°If it comes down to it we might have to take on a army.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m hoping it doesn¡¯t come to that.¡±

    Saria might be helping them, but chances are, someone will catch on and start asking question, like why is there a nymph following each member of the Grassvalley tribe.

    _

    _

    As three members of the Grassvalley came into the clearing, weapons ready, they were surprise to see such a sight. Hundreds of vines holding it down, whilst a barrage of seeds rain down on its collapsing body. The creature laid motionlessly, as it body slowly gave away to the barrage. Even in this state, there weapons remained in hand. From the stories, they heard no chances were being taken.

    Elven soldier A: ¡°What a sorry sight.¡±

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°If he had done this much, why not just finish the job.¡±

    Elven Soldier C: ¡°I heard the details from Lord Edwyrd, it seems the daughters had lost faith in us.

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°Lost faith, from one defeat?¡±

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°Not just that, this Lycanian Hero, was said to slay one of these.¡±

    Elven Soldier C: ¡°From our fallen brother¡¯s death, seeing them in such a sorry state and the fact that this so called Lycanian Hero, was able to do away with another. It would seem this man is trying to restore their faith in us, by letting us deal the finishing blow.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°It¡¯s that why they¡¯ve all been following us around?¡±

    The three men looked back, several nymphs were watching them from afar. None of them seemed eager to approach, the men could see why. Even though it was incapable of moving, the size was still unsettling.

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°That may be the case, but have you notice how strange they¡¯ve been acting?¡±

    Eleven Soldier B: ¡°Like bowing into thin air or redirecting us slightly, I wonder about that.¡±

    Elven Soldier C: ¡°Wonder about it later.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    He directed both their attention to their comrades approach.

    Elven Soldier D: ¡°We just got word, Lord Gaelin is heading this way, along with Lord Edwyrd. They want us wait until they¡¯ve all arrived.¡±

    One the soldier looked at the Gorgon and then back to her team.

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°I¡¯m not sure how we¡¯re supposed to do anything once they¡¯ve arrived. With the vines covering its body are as tough as steel, and the Uzy have yet to cease fire. If we foolishly get close, we will be caught in the crossfire.¡±

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°And d I¡¯m not sure about cutting them down, normally when provoked, Uzy tend to fire on its provoker.¡±

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°Regardless, we¡¯ll move once everyone¡¯s arrived.¡±

    As they spoke, the sudden cease fire of the Uzy drew everyone¡¯s attention. Everyone¡¯s of the flowers had gone dormant, then several of the vines covering its body retracted leaving the eye exposed. It was now a matter of approaching the Gorgon and finishing it off. The Gorgon moved slightly, causing all 5 to draw their weapons.

    Elven Soldier C: ¡°Careful.¡±

    Even with it still tied down, the Grassvalley tribesmen were vigilant. One of the soldiers begin to chant, slowly each member was covered in a barrier of water, they heard of the Gorgons abilities and were not taking any chances. After a minute, tension slowly begin to fade, until an arrow pierced a part of the Gorgons flesh. It shifted once again.

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°What are we doing, clearly this thing cannot defend itself.¡±

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°Stop, don¡¯t approach it needlessly, are you disobeying our lord¡¯s orders.¡±

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°The vines have retracted and the Uzy have ceased fire, there¡¯s a chance they might start attacking again. We might not get this chance again, let¡¯s finish it while we have a chance.

    Two of the others agreed with their brother and decided to close in. As they approach, a huge chunk of the outer armor crumbled to the ground, exposing more of its flesh, this startled the three, but they quickly got over it and moved in. Sword in hand one stabbed at the flesh, the Gorgon turned wants more and another huge chunk of armor, crashed to the ground, again did nothing. After that he another plunge her sword deep into its flesh. The Gorgon just allowed itself to be stabbed, it never once tried to fight back. The third jumped atop the Gorgon, using his hand he pried away more of the outer armor and began to stabbed at it.

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°This is revolting.¡±

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°Lord Gaelin will be here soon, obviously stabbing it isn¡¯t doing much.¡±

    Elven Soldier C: ¡°Then try casting spells, where its flesh is exposed.¡±

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°I will have no part in this, I follow orders.¡±

    The three scoffed at her remarks and continued their attack. One of the men approach the Gorgons eye, subconsciously they were avoiding being caught in its line of sight, but now a little more confident of them strolled around to its eye. What the man saw, almost made him drop his weapon. Those eyes weren¡¯t the eyes of someone who had given up. An unbridled rage, a undying fire, this creature was not on the brink of death.

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°Shit.¡±

    The Man quickly jumped back, something was wrong and no sooner did he think that, he heard one of his teammates scream in pain.

    He quickly checked on her, he was shocked to see that her arm was no longer attach to her body. Blood sprayed from the socket as she fell from the Gorgon and collapsed in agony.

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°What the hell just happened?¡±

    Looking to the other, he found that his head was no longer connected to his body.

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°MOVE AWAY FROM IT NOW.¡±

    Looking into the Gorgons eye once more, He quickly thrust his blade into the eye.

    *Clang*Snap*

    As if ramming his sword into a boulder, it shattered on impact with the pupil. The Gorgon rolled over, crushing the girl with what remained of its armor. With the remainder of the armor falling off, the snyare lost their grip and the Gorgon was now free once again.

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°I¡¯VE GOT YOU.¡±

    A huge gust sent the man soaring over to the others, once he was safely next to them, they released their spells. A mountain of ice crashed down on the now armor less Gorgon. The spells did not stop, as a torrent of water engulfed it.

    Elven Soldier A: ¡°HEY, GET YOURSELF TOGETHER WE NEED TO RETREAT.¡±

    He watched as the water and ice were slowly evaporating, it would be free in a matter of seconds. She shook him several times before he got his composure.

    Elven Soldier B: ¡°I¡¯m fine, lets *Drip*¡­¡­¡­what ?¡±

    The put a hand to his head, blood was pouring down his face, but he was uninjured.

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°My god.¡±

    Looking up he could see straight into the sky. A huge hole had been opened in her chest. She slumped over on to him and he moved aside.

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°HELP ME!¡±

    Turning to his comrade, he watched helplessly as he was slowly in cased in stone.

    Elven Soldier E: ¡°GET TO OUR LORD, TE-¡±

    Before he could finish his statement, he had become a statue. A moment later, an unseen force smashed him into a pile of rubble. The man looked around, in mere moments, all of them had be eliminated. Turning to the Gorgon, he didn¡¯t even try to fight as the same force came for him.

    Just as he was about to be killed, the Uzy that had went dormant had all reinitiated there assault, along with the snyare that tried to capture the Gorgon once again. However, every vine was torn to shreds by the same force that killed his comrades. Th Uzy were useless, the armor that fell off was replaced by what seemed like a metal. It wasn¡¯t crumbling from the attack, it was shedding the parts it didn¡¯t need. It had evolved to a point, where armor was unneeded. With steel like flesh, it had become all, but impenetrable. This was the worst-case scenario, if he had heeded his comrades words waited, they might all still be alive.

    The man did a quick look around, sure that the Nymphs had fled, he too got up to run, he had to worn his lord of what transpired. Even with only half a sentence, he understood his friend¡¯s final words. With everyone¡¯s help he would take vengeance on the creature.

    As he ran away, he felt a surge of mana past by him. The barrier of water surrounding him begin to fail. He understood what was happening, he tried to out run it but the area of effect was to large It was futile, the barrier around was gone, and before the he could think, an intense heat over took him and all moisture in his body cease to be. Instantly reduced to a mummified state, a searing pain took over but only for an instant, the next instant, he life had ended.

    In a matter of minutes, with absolutely no effort, five members of the Grassvalley tribe were killed. With no other obstructions, the Gorgon silently floated away, leaving behind a nightmarish scene.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, why¡¯d did you both stop¡­¡­¡­¡­..what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Iris and Anais looked back, then two at one another.

    Anais: ¡°Did you feel that?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Impossible, how could have summoned this much power?¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t need an explanation, from their conversation he pretty much understood.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­..It¡¯s coming, we should just run.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But it will just follow us, wherever we go.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not our problem anymore, let the elves deal with it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But if they should all fall in defeat, it will surely come after us.¡±

    They both turned to Nathan, he had his hand to his face. It seemed fate was just not on his side.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­. Your both right, it¡¯s not our problem anymore, but if the Grassvalley gets demolished, it¡¯ll just come after me again. It¡¯s not going to give up.

    Nathan turned and ran back, Anais and Iris right behind him. No matter what, it had to end here or else there will always be a target on his back.

    Nathan: ¡°I seriously doubt all them elves were wiped out. When we arrive, will stay far enough away to keep clear of the fight, but close enough if we need to step in. Screw helping them keep their pride. I refused to be hunted any longer.¡±

 Chapter 34: The Grassvalley Tribe

    Chapter 34: The Grassvalley Tribe

    Edwyrd: ¡°Father, everyone¡¯s in position.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Good wait for my mark.¡±

    The Grassvalley Tribe were master at fighting in the forests, as they were now, no one could tell they were hiding amongst the trees. An ambush had been set for the Gorgon, after coming across their fallen brothers, they viciously chase after the Gorgon. However, they caught up to the creature rather quickly, due to its new form, it could no longer roll across the ground. The Tribe decided to get ahead of it and set up an ambush.

    As they waited for the Gorgon to arrive, they begin to set up a spell, a spell would destroy it in on blast. The Gorgon had decimated five of them in no time at all, not one of them were by any means a weak, if they were so easily taken out, that just goes to show how powerful the Gorgon had become.

    *Whistle*

    That was the signal, everyone ready themselves, the Gorgon was far off. Readying their weapons, they all remained completely still. As if a part of the forest itself, no unnatural motion to be seen.

    Then as if materializing, the Gorgon appeared, moving slowly, as in no particular rush. A silent hover as it moved along, its size made smaller by the lack of armor, but not any less intimidating. As the Gorgon was nearly in position, Gaelin got ready to give the orders, but just then the Gorgon suddenly stopped. The sudden stop cause Gaelin to halt, had it noticed them?¡±

    The Gorgon looked around, closely watching the tree lines. Searching for anything amiss, it found nothing, however a familiar scent was noticed, a scent the Gorgon had come to loathe and it was drawing closer.

    Its pupil pulsated, Gaelin didn¡¯t understand why the Gorgon was suddenly spoke, there wasn¡¯t any possible way they were notice, but he gave the word and the ambush was launched. A spell was immediately cast over the area, a the same time the Gorgon activated each enchantment. When the two collided, the Gorgon was surprised to find its enchantment had been cancelled out.

    From the trees archer took aim and rained arrows down on the Gorgon. The arrows simply bounced off the Gorgons body. By firing the arrows, the Gorgon determined their location. Just as be for an invisible force smash through several trees, forcing them to the ground. As the trees crumbled to the ground, the Gorgon was suddenly attacked from another side.

    What was going on, it was sure the rain of arrows was coming from the other side but another volley of arrows begun fire from another direction. The arrows again had no effect, but they did distract the Gorgon long enough for the first volley to retreat, keeping out of the Gorgons line of sight. This was done several more times and the Gorgon was becoming irritated, its eye pulsated once more, it has had enough. Below where it hovered hundreds of arrows littered the forest floor, strangely every head was stuck into the ground and their tails glowed a white light. The Gorgon hadn¡¯t taken notice, still ready its laser to fire, it would reduce the area and everything in it to a pile of debris.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°My Lord, everything is ready.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Good, capture.¡±

    At his word, several of them began to chant, the arrows below the Gorgon began to glow. The intense glow stole the Gorgons attention, but was much too slow to react. Beams of light shot out from each arrow, forming an arch over the Gorgon, before connecting to an arrow on the opposing side. When all was done, in a cage of light, the Gorgon was trapped once again. It attempted to fire its laser, but found that it couldn¡¯t summon any energy, it was powerless within. Some of the tribesmen, made their presence known, including Gaelin.

    Gaelin: ¡°This thing gave the so-called Hero so much trouble, what a farce. Edwyrd have the men get in position, we will wipe this creature, off the face of Leseres.¡±

    Edwyrd did as he was told, the tribe began to chant. As Edwyrd watch the Gorgon for any sudden movements, he looked down at the arrows that littered the ground. Some of the arrows had been snapped in half, looking back to the barrier, if you weren¡¯t looking close enough you wouldn¡¯t have notice. Several of the links had been destroyed.

    Edwyrd: ¡°(What?)¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°How can this be, this defies all logic?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Looks like we didn¡¯t have to come back after all.¡±

    Iris: ¡°They did what it took us three days to do in mere minutes.¡±

    Nathan and the girls, sat on a tree watching the battle take place. Even though it took only minutes and it was over. They had managed to trap it and now were preparing a spell to take it out.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that, I meant the Gorgon. Whoever heard of the first boss having a second form, this defies the ¡°Gamer Logic¡±. I mean if it had two forms to begin with, but no, this is an evolution. Who does she think she is, the final boss?¡± The Gamer in me will not stand for this.¡±

    Anais and Iris just allowed him to vent, they honestly didn¡¯t understand what he was talking about.

    Saria: ¡°HERO?¡±

    They all looked down, Saria and Celes was waving at them from below. Using the wind, Saria guided Celes and herself up into the tree.

    Saria: ¡°Why are you all still here?¡±

    Anais: ¡°We wanted to make sure it was dead?¡±

    Iris: ¡°The mana surge earlier, wasn¡¯t too comforting.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What about you, is it safe to be here?¡±

    Saria: ¡°We understand, however just like you, we won¡¯t to confirm its demise. Many of my sisters are hidden and keeping an eye on the battle.¡±

    Nathan took a quick glance around, he spotted a few nymphs here and there, they were all uneasy and couldn¡¯t just leave, they had to be sure .

    Saria: ¡°Well, are surprised to see that everything is fine?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Truly, I didn¡¯t believe they would do so well, their execution of their trap was practically flawless.¡±

    Saria smile proudly, she was happy they thought highly of her guardians. A sudden mana spike drew everyone¡¯s attention. The spell the tribe was preparing was nearing peak strength.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Anais: ¡°What are the chances that spell actually does the job.¡±

    Iris: ¡°To be honest I¡¯m not sure. The amount of man is extraordinary, however, the raw energy I attack with, did nothing to slow it down.

    Anais: ¡°And I feel like, if it were to attack them, from inside the cage, it could possibly fail.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Do not worry, the cage prevents any attacks from within, each individual arrow has a dampening effect. When linked together, magic is completely nullified.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What about physical attacks?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No matter how heavily armed, I do not think it wise to try to physically bust you way out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What if it attacked from the outside?¡±

    Girls: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I think that possible.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You say that, but look, weren¡¯t their more beams of light before?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Looks the same to me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m telling you, there were more.¡±

    The girls stared into the cage, as far as they could see, the cage remained the same. Nathan was sure that the beams were fading, but with so many, it seemed no one else had noticed. Furthermore, there was something moving fast, circling the cage, it wasn¡¯t very big, about the size of a fist. For a while now, every time it did a lap, one or two of the beams of light would fade, it must be what¡¯s causing it.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Saria, could you get a message to whoever¡¯s in charge?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, either Lord Gaelin or Lord Edwyrd?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Send it to both, tell them this.¡±

    Saria listened to the message and then send on the wind.

    Anais: ¡°Are you sure about this, they know we¡¯re close by?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s too late now, besides, don¡¯t you think it will be easier to elude them then Gorgon? I want them to win, if that huge group loses in though they have the upper hand, how well do you think the three of us will hold out?¡±

    _

    _

    Gaelin: ¡°How long before the ¡°Oblivion¡± is complete?¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°My Lord, ten more minutes or so.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Good, as soon as we¡¯re done here, I want everyone to search for the Lycanian.¡±

    The soldier bowed and went on his way, as he left Edwyrd came over to his father.

    Gaelin: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°I believe something is wrong, several of the channeling arrows have been destroyed.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°What?¡±

    Gaelin turned to the cage, as he son said, it¡¯s hardly noticeable, but several of the cages links had been severed.

    Gaelin: ¡°How is this possible, it cannot attack while inside the cage.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Yes, something on the outside is attempting to sabotage us.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Impossible, nothing could approach, without being noticed.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°And yet, links lie broken on the ground.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Gather some men, we need to locate it at once, the creature must not be released before the spell is complete.¡±

    As they spoke, a cool breeze blew pass them, both surprised by the voice that followed.

    Edwyrd: ¡°This is, Lady Saria?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Edwyrd, you are one of our best archers, I¡¯m counting on you.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°You trust what he says?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°I trust, he wants this creature dead.¡±

    Gaelin was feeling annoyed, not only did he reveal himself, he even gave them advice. He was without a doubt underestimating them. Edwyrd nodded and climbed to the top of nearby tree, from there he could see the entire area. He began searching the area, watching every movement, every shift, every single motion that was being made. Closely, careful not to miss anything, then he saw it. Moving at an extreme speed, zipping in and out of sight, a sphere, no bigger than a fist. Without being notice, the sphere would zip in and destroy a link before disappearing again.

    By now, everyone could tell that the trap was being sabotage, yet Oblivion was not yet ready. Edwyrd took out is bow and filling his arrow with mana he lined his shot, if it were allowed to destroy any more links, the entire cage would be destroyed. He waited, the moment it came back into sight he would have it. Seconds went by, minutes, Edwyrd concentrated, nothing would distract him, then like a ghost the sphere appeared and made a beeline for the final link.

    Edwyrd, like a bolt of lightning, the arrow ripped through the air , piercing the sphere and shattering it. The suddenly impact sent all eyes in its direction, Gaelin smiling at the sight, knowing his son had done his job. Edwyrd up in the tree breathe a sigh of relief, he had successfully stop the Gorgon from freeing itself. Gaelin was about to give his men the order, for them to reestablish the links that were broken, but as he did, several of his men preparing the spell, collapsed in a pool of blood.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°My Lord we¡¯re under attack.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°What!?¡±

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°Nice shot.¡±

    Saria: ¡°You see, you should not underestimate them, they were chosen to protect us for a reason.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong, aren¡¯t you happy.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING?¡±

    Nathan sudden outburst scared everyone around.

    Saria: ¡°Hero, what¡¯s wrong, they destroyed the sphere like you said.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, Saria I think you misheard me. I didn¡¯t say sphere, I said spheres, there were four of those things flying around.

    Just as he finished talking, the sound of people screaming in pain, made it to their ears. The cage had been destroyed and the Gorgon went on the offensive, firing a laser that scatter in several directions. The laser fire was random and some shots went unimpeded.

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS!¡±

    Iris: ¡°RIGHT!¡±

    Iris surrounded all of them with a barrier, protecting them from the random fire of the laser.

    Nathan: ¡°SARIA, TAKE YOUR SISTERS AND MOVE BACK!¡±

    Saria: ¡°Right.¡±

    Saria took her sisters and moved to safer area further away, whilst Nathan group relocated, things weren¡¯t looking good, they might have to jump in at any time now.

    When the lasers finished firing, several elves were injured or dead. Others began to heal them, while they did, the ones who avoided being injured, begin trying to re-establish the cage.

    However the Gorgon was having no more of that, systematically attacking or disarming anyone taking a shot. But, it couldn¡¯t look in every direction at once, the three spheres circled the battlefield, taking out anyone, the Gorgon was currently attempting to mow down.

    *Fsshhh**Boom*

    Another sphere was destroyed, Edwyrd had taken out another one and was aiming to take out the third. The Gorgon stop firing, upon its destruction. Using this as in opportunity, Gaelin commanded his men to counter fire. Several of his men fired spells, though they weren¡¯t effective, the distraction bought the others some time.

    Their efficiency was amazing, right to preparing another cage, even with such a tragedy, the Grassvalley tribe regroup and were ready to retaliate. Arrows rained down on the Gorgon once again. The Gorgon fired its scatter laser once more, this time aiming for the arrows, destroying several, it would not be caged again. What the Gorgon didn¡¯t know was, hidden within in the barrage of arrows were several mana infused arrows, these shots were fired directly into its eye.

    The shots made contact, and the Gorgon winced in pain. For the first time, the Grassvalley was able to hurt it. Gaelin figured pure mana shots would work, seeing Edwyrd destroying them with the same Tactics. Gaelin pointed to the creature.

    Gaelin: ¡°Know this beast if you believe us to be weak or disheartened, you will pay the price. We will see you fall.¡±

    The Gorgon was angry, turning to the man who address it, a smirk on his face.

    *shcrack*

    Gaelin¡¯s hand had been ripped from him. For a moment, he hadn¡¯t even noticed, until the pain set in.

    Edwyrd: ¡°FATHER!?

    He dropped to one knee, several of his men ran to his aid, leaving them open for attack. Edwyrd dropped what he was doing and was also moving to aid his father.

    Gaelin: ¡°STAY FOCUS.¡±

    From his shout his man stopped in their tracks. Blood flowing from his arm, Gaelin rose to his feet.

    Gaelin: ¡°DO NOT FALTER, THIS IS A BATTLE, WE MAY BE STRUCK DOWN, BUT OUR MISSION STAY THE SAME.

    The warriors of the Grassvalley Tribe, realizing their mistakes, quickly got back in to position, their Lord was not one to fall to such an injury. Edwyrd moved back into the trees, he would not let his father injury again. Gaelin turned to the Gorgon.

    Gaelin: ¡°MARK MY WORDS BEAST, WE SHALL SEE YOU FALL.¡±

 Chapter 35: Two Birds

    Chapter 35: Two Birds

    The battle had become a deadlock, each side not gaining any headway. The Grassvalley has tried and failed to recapture The Gorgon. Even with superior numbers, every opportunity was systematically stopped. The two remaining Spheres that has been circling the battlefield, has been successfully destroying as many links as the Grassvalley tribe been making. Furthermore, with the random firing of the lasers from the Gorgon, was making progress impossible. Though some of the mana infused arrows hurt it, no real damage could be done.

    Edwyrd who had destroyed two of them, has been having a rough time with the other two. After the first two were destroyed, the Gorgon had instead kept the spheres close to the other members of the tribe. If Edwyrd were to take a shot while so close to his allies and miss, it could unintentionally kill one of his own.

    The battle continued slow, then the Gorgon suddenly stop firing its laser and turned to on direction. It stared in this one direction, completely ignoring the Grassvalley tribe¡¯s attacks. Gaelin stared in confusion, but quickly realized what it was looking at. Because of earlier problems, the group who were preparing the spell had moved further into the woods, the direction it was currently string in was there general positioning.

    The Gorgon open its mouth once again, it started gathering energy and Gaelin immediately understood the situation.

    Gaelin: ¡°DON¡¯T LET IT FIRE.¡±

    The Grassvalley tribesmen, fired the remainder of their arrows, infusing them with mana, but it worked against them. The arrows were absorbed into the already massive ball of energy, inadvertently speeding up the charging process. With the amount of energy it received, the Gorgon was nearly ready to fire.

    Gaelin: CHARGE IT, WE CAN¡¯T LET IT STOP THE SPELL.

    With it mouth wide open, there was no fear of being turned to stone and several of them rushed it. As they drew close, several of them were rddiled with holes, while others were sent flying. The spheres, now having destroy enough links, returned to their original objective, attacking anyone who would cause the Gorgon harm.

    Though it didn¡¯t matter anymore, the Gorgon was done and Gaelin watched on helplessly as the energy was fired. It tore through the trees, barreling right for the group spell casters.

    *Snatch*Snatch*Snatch*

    Gaelin: ¡°What!?¡±

    Spectators watched on as the Gorgon unleashed the massive amount of energy into the sky. Right before impact , the meamed suddnely veered skyward. As the beam die down, attention was drawn back to the Gorgon, who was once again strapped down with vines. Snyare plants had appear beneath it an was now forcing it to face towards the sky. It didn¡¯t take long for the sphere to rip away the plants and then launch an attack at the source.

    The Grassvalley tribe watch in confusion. The Gorgon was now firing laser and magic, but it wasn¡¯t aiming at nothing. To the men and women of the tribe, it looked as though the Gorgon was attacking air, however, Gaelin and Edwyrd caught on quick enough. This monster was too intelligent to fire randomly. Something or someone was drawing its attention, an invisible foe to all, but the Gorgon.

    Gaelin: ¡°Fall back, don¡¯t engage.¡±

    The men did as they were told, moving out of range of the flailing beast. Gaelin order his men to heal themselves and keep away. He then turned to the Gorgon, it had all but forgotten them, a rage in its eye he had yet to see. Edwyrd joined his father, he was fatigue from all the energy he was using.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Are we really going to just watch?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°He bought us some time, I won¡¯t needlessly interfere. However, when the spell is ready, rather he is clear or not, I will end this.¡±

    _

    _

    *Boom* *Crash* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

    Nathan dodge continuously, the moment the Gorgon saw him, it has been launching attack after attack. Nathan knocked back one of the spheres still flying around, causing it to crash through several trees. Just as he did the other came around for an attack. Nathan reflexively dodge it, but the attack was not done. The Gorgon quickly fire the scattered lasers at him, Nathan attempted to avoid them, but there was just too many.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh crap.¡±

    *Wroooom*

    A barrier rose up around him, shielding him from the lasers.

    Nathan: ¡°That was close, thanks Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, why must we do this, did you not say we wouldn¡¯t get involved unnessasrily?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You see how it reacted when it notice that spell, whatever there preparing, it might hurt it¡­..a lot.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Surely you know, they have no intention of allowing us to vacate before, they unleash it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Which is why I have Anais watching them, she¡¯ll let us know when to move. Right now, we need to worry about this keeping it distracted and who better to distract it, but me?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It sounds as if you¡¯re proud.¡±

    The lasers fire wasn¡¯t dying down, the scattering fire was weaker then the full blast. The shots couldn¡¯t break through the barrier or maybe Iris just became stronger from all the recent level up. Either way the laser wasn¡¯t a big deal, however the spheres that protected it were, Nathan could dodge them to a degree, but with a force that could rip off a man¡¯s hand, he didn¡¯t want to risk being struck. Nathan turned his attention to the Gorgon for several seconds, he felt something was off. Something simple it wasn¡¯t doing, something everyone does involuntarily.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, when I say so, I want you to place a barrier around the Gorgon.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯ll see, here they come get ready.¡±

    The two sphere, arranged themselves next to each other, before spiraling straight into the barrier. The Barrier was shattered and Nathan and Iris quickly moved away. The Gorgon laser stopped for a moment, realigning itself, it prepared to fire again.

    Nathan: ¡°NOW!¡±

    A barrier rose up once again this time encircling the Gorgon. All its laser fire was successfully stopped. Just as he predicted the Spheres may a beeline for the barrier, attempting to smash it, in that moment, Nathan took off. The spheres spiraled once again and smashed through the barrier, as soon as they did Nathan was there.

    *Shink*Slash*Slash*Slash*

    The Gorgon surprised, was helpless as Nathan slashed it several times.

    Lucky for Nathan, two of his slashes seem to do more damage. Blood sprayed from the wound Nathan made, it was grotesque watching blood pour from an eye, but at least he knew he hurt it. Plus, he figured out what he had suspected.

    After his assault, Nathan quickly jumped away, as he did one of the spheres tried to take off his leg.

    *Fssshhh**Bang*

    A well place fireball, knocked the sphere off its course, narrowly avoiding Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for that, Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t do such things.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This was worth it, get this, I don¡¯t know why, but that thing can¡¯t blink.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was thinking something was weird, normally when something makes contact with your eye, they will involuntarily close, but not once did it do that.¡±

    Iris: ¡°If what you say is true, why would it allow itself to become so vulnerable?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Those spheres flying around, they were probably supposed to make up for it.¡±

    Nathan watched as the Gorgon slowly recover from his attack, the rage for him slowly returning.

    *Loud Roar*

    Iris: ¡°Its infuriated.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry it can¡¯t charge us anymore. If it can¡¯t close it eye, it can¡¯t roll.¡±

    The Ground shook began to shake, Nathan jumped up, the ground beneath him exploding with jagged rock. With so many, he had nowhere to land and was straight into the thick of it. Nathan use his remaining snyare to grab him and toss him away, planting more in his flight path. He tossed himself around and around, just like before the Gorgon could not keep up, but the spheres could. During one of his toss, a sphere shredded the snyare in its back swing, throwing off Nathan¡¯s trajectory. The other sphere headed straight for Nathan. Nathan waved his hand and several Uzy popped up, firing at the sphere and causing it to veer in its flight path, only able to swipe at him.

    Nathan got back to his feet and they stared it other down. However, that was short lived. The energy from before, had become even stronger and stole alls attention. The Gorgon, quickly launched the spheres at Nathan, who dodged the obvious attack effortlessly. The sphere continued their assault, not giving Nathan any chance to counter. In the middle of fleeing, Nathan stole a glance at the Gorgon.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh no.¡±

    The Gorgon had open its mouth and was preparing to take out whatever was gathering that energy. Nathan dashed toward the Gorgon, only to be stop and forced back by the Gorgons defense spheres. Nathan try to force his way through, but it was useless.

    Iris: ¡°Master, get back.¡±

    Nathan turned to Iris, who had several small stones circling her. Nathan got clear and the stones were launched at the spheres. It didn¡¯t do any damage, but they did distract them long enough for Nathan to get away. With the interference gone momentarily, Nathan made another attempt for the Gorgon.

    *Fssshhh*

    Nathan: ¡°What the!?¡±

    Nathan jumped back again, several fireballs had landed in front him forcing him away from the Gorgon once again. Turning, he saw Anais running toward him, hand still aglow from the attack she just launched.

    Nathan: ¡°What the Hell, Anais?¡±

    Looking in her face as she drew near, she was panicked.

    Anais: ¡°GET AWAY FROM IT!¡±

    Nathan needed no more explanation, he quickly ran towards Anais, Iris right behind him. Then, his Threat Detection was going off, one of the strongest vibes he had so far. From above, like a holy figure, it descended casting a veil of light all around, bright even in the day.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡­crap.¡±

    Nathan Scooped them up and dash away, he didn¡¯t get far before the the spell tough down. Engulfing the Gorgon, the blast continued outward, destroying everything in the vicinity.

    Anais: ¡°MOVE FASTER!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯M TRYING, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WARN US BEFORE THEY FIRED.¡±

    Anais: ¡°NO IT WAS A SET UP.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    ANAIS: ¡°THEY KNEW YOU WERE FIGHTING AND THEY KNEW I WAS WATCHING, JUST LIKE YOU SAID, THEY WERE AIMING TO KILL US.¡±

    Even with his speed, Nathan couldn¡¯t outrun the blast, it was catching up to him and it would soon overtake him.

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS, TAKE US UP!¡±

    Iris: ¡°WE WON¡¯T MAKE.¡±

    The area behind them erupted, throwing him into the air. That was it, when he hit the ground, the energy would overtake them, it was over. While falling, he grabbed the girls and braced for impact. As he was about to hit the ground, he noticed his shadow, with the intense light it was definite.

    Nathan: ¡°(The hell?)¡±

    He thought he was hallucinating, because not only did he have two, one looked as though it was reaching out toward him. It took a second, but he recognized the silhouette.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.(Celes!?)¡±

    _

    _

    Saria: ¡°Gaelin, what have you done?¡±

    Further away, out of the blast range, the Grassvalley tribe watched as the area had been leveled. They had quickly evacuated all the nymphs in the area, telling them that the Hero said to them to move away. Gaelin figured that they would move if they thought the hero was telling them to.

    Gaelin: ¡°Lady Saria, it was necessary and we both know that this entire area will return to normal within days.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Don¡¯t play coy, you knew he was down there and you lied to my sisters to remove them. They would have never allowed you to do that if they knew he was still there¡±

    Gaelin smirked to Saria.

    Gaelin: ¡°Who on Leseres are you referring to, the only thing ¡°I could see¡± was the Gorgon and for some reason the thing went mad and started attacking thin air, it was very strange. So, I took the opportunity and gave the signal, do you mean to say I shouldn¡¯t have, was there any particular reason why? Was there someone there?¡±

    Between where she stood and Gaelin, lightning struck, the men around jumped back, but Gaelin stood calmly and confidently. He knew she would not strike him down. To everyone around, Saria anger was unwarranted, it seemed she was angry over the Gorgons death. Realizing getting angry would do more harm than good, she calmed herself and the lightening stopped. She and Gaelin locked eyes for a moment, she knew he knew exactly what or who was down there. She said nothing more, then turned and flew away, heading down towards the site.

    Saria: ¡°(Celes, I hope you made it in time.)¡±

    As she flew away Gaelin called some of his men over.

    Gaelin: ¡°Follow her, if there is anything alive and it¡¯s not a daughter, kill it.¡±

 Chapter 36: Persistence

    Chapter 36: Persistence

    Saria: ¡°No, no, not there, where are you?¡±

    Saria flew over the devastated area, now a massive crater in the wake of the attack. Except for a few trees that manage to stay intact, nothing else was left. From he point of view, all coud be seen and to her dismay nothing moved. No sign of Celes or the Hero, slowly but surely she was losing faith. As she moved deeper in she came across something strange. Something was moving towards epicenter, she could see something but she couldn¡¯t make it out. As she stared, it shifted a bit, it wasn¡¯t much, but I definitely moved.

    Saria: ¡°Could it be?¡±

    *Ruuuuuummmmmmmmble*

    Saria: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Below where Saria was floating, the ground caved in on itself. Saria landed nearby, opting to investigate since it was closer. As she walked around it the ground would shake for a moment, nothing like an earthquake, more like something burrowing below the surface. Louder it became, until the dirt was cast aside and a hand reached out from beneath.

    Saria: ¡°KYAAAAAAA!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why are you screaming?¡±

    Saria: ¡°H-Hero!?¡±

    Nathan push more dirt aside and pushed himself out from the hole. With his other hand, he pulled up Anais, Celes and Iris, each gasping for air as they popped out of the ground.

    Anais: *Cough**Cough* Couldn¡¯t she had found a better way to save us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Be grateful, we would have died, if she didn¡¯t show up when she did.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And we almost died again, when she ran out of mana, while we were underground. If Iris hadn¡¯t shifted the earth to make a pocket for us, we would have suffocated.¡±

    Nathan picked up Celes, too tired to move from the lack of mana. While they were moving below ground, if Anais hadn¡¯t checked her hand, they wouldn¡¯t have notice that Celes was draining her mana quickly.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I not saying I¡¯m not grateful, but she just trying too hard to impress you.¡±

    Anais turned to Celes.

    Anais: ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, just say so, will make do.¡±

    Celes nodded her head in response.

    Anais: ¡°And stop trying so hard to stay, if Nathan wanted you gone, he would have said so.¡±

    Celes nodded wants again to Anais as she climbed out of the ditch. Nathan took a look at his hand, Celes mana was filling rather quickly. With both their Plant Physiology stacked, it wouldn¡¯t take long for her be at full strength again.

    Saria: ¡°Hero, I¡¯ll take her, quickly.¡±

    Nathan handed her over, he wondered why she was so frantic to get her.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Lady Saria?¡±

    Everyone turned to see several elves walking their way, weapons drawn. Nathan understood, it would have been weird if Celes was floating there by herself. Nathan, Anais and Iris got ready to fight, but Saria shook her head, putting a hand behind he back, she signaled them. Nathan nodded and went to the girls.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Is everything all right with Lady Celes, was she caught in the blast?¡±

    Saria: ¡°No, it seems as though she dove into the earth to avoided it. However, it seems she very tired from over exertion. Why are all of you here, did you follow me?¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°The Lords orders, to make sure the spell had done its job.¡±

    The elves looked around, nothing alive except the two nymphs.

    Saria: ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Why was she here in the first place, we had evacuated all the nymphs prior to the attack?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯ve said so before, she was a member of the Hero¡¯s party. She would have without a doubt returned to aid him. As you can see¡­¡­¡­. she arrived too late.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°The Hero, he was here?¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, it seems he didn¡¯t make it.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°¡­¡­.You don¡¯t seem too upset about it.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Do presume to know how I feel, you can¡¯t even begin to understand my anger or would you rather lighting rain down.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I spoke out of line, my apologies, if you allow us, we would like to accompany you to safety.¡±

    Saria: ¡°That will not be necessary, I am more than capable on my own.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°¡­¡­..I see.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Ah actually, further towards the center, I didn¡¯t see something moved, maybe that is worth investigating.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Really, then we shall search there.¡±

    The elf looked to Saria, cold sweat ran down her face. She wanted them to hurry and leave.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Well then.¡±

    The elves began to walk away, Saria breathing a sigh of relief.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Oh, I almost forgot.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What!?¡±

    *fsssshhhhh**boooooooom*

    The area within the ditch exploded. The elf had fired several spells, turning it into an inferno.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Sorry, just something Lord Gaelin ask me to do.¡±

    Saria stared horrified, then to the elf who fired the shots.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°I guess we will take our leave, please excuse us.¡±

    For the second time and for truth, the Elves took their leave, heading for the center. Saria using her control over the rain, summoned a cloud, that douse the fire with rain water. Looking back to make sure the elves were out of earshot, she turned to the sky.

    Saria: ¡°It seems Gaelin still thinks you¡¯re alive.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Told you it was a set up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, you can put us down now.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Right.¡±

    Iris slowly set them both back on the ground. Nathan figured they would try to attack them, but he didn¡¯t know how. So, he decided that they wouldn¡¯t be on the ground when they attacked.¡±

    Saria: ¡°That also, what I thought. Not long before they set off that spell, I heard that several of the tribesmen came over to my sisters who were watching. Telling them that the Hero said for them to moved away.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Obviously, I said no such thing.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Obviously, we could all clearly see you fighting, after that laser fire, they believe what they said to be truth. My sisters would have never have moved if they knew, our guardians were attempting to hit you with that as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, you said they knew you were watching, why did you think that?¡±

    Anais: ¡°It turns out the guy¡¯s I were watching were complete fakes. That mass of energy we were felling was just a ruse, made too look like a mass of energy. The real spell was being cloaked further away.¡±

    Iris: ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Anais, stuck out her chest.

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate my deductive skills, I understood immediately upon seeing spell, that it was a fake.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.You ran head first into one of the elves while spying and decided to follow them, because they were acting suspiciously, right?¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Anais: ¡°Wh-What are you t-talking about th-that¡¯s not how it went at all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t avert your eyes, you klutz.¡±

    Anais: ¡°WHO A KLUTZ!?¡±

    Saria: ¡°The fact remains, they will try again if they believe you are still alive, I think it would be best if you were to take your leave.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°Agreed.¡±

    Everyone began to head away, there were finally getting out of the Garden. All they had to do was get past the few elves guarding the exit, no one on the other side would be expecting them, so as soon a they get past them it was a cake walk.

    *Loud Roar*

    Anais: ¡°No way.¡±

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Impossible, Nothing could survive that.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Apparently, it could and has, though from the sound of that, it seems to be close to death.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Iris, Saria, fly up as high as you can, see if any of those plant creatures are nearby.¡±

    Saria: ¡°The Reapers, why, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That wasn¡¯t a ¡°Agh, I¡¯m dying¡± roar, that was a ¡°Calling for backup¡± roar.¡±

    Saria and Iris did as they were told, surveying the area, but after several minutes, nothing was approaching. They returned to Nathan.

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there was no Reapers moving toward us.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t be, that¡¯s good news.¡±

    Iris: ¡°However we could see, the tribesmen, though they were acting strange.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How so?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Well, there just standing around the dying Gorgon.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why aren¡¯t they attacking it?¡±

    Saria: ¡°They could just be waiting for the rest of the tribe to to arrive before they engage, last time it didn¡¯t go so well when they attack with such small numbers.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What should we do Master¡­¡­¡­.Master?¡±

    The girls turned to Nathan, he was lost in thought. He was sure that was the same sound it made right before he was ambushed by the Reapers before. Something was up, he needed to know why, better yet still he decided he was going to kill it. No more worrying about their pride, he was actually doing it for the nymph¡¯s sake, but all bets are off after he was nearly blown up.

    He began to walk off, the girls following behind him, confused to his expression. Saria set Celes down she had gained some of her strength back and was sure she could take care of herself, allowing Saria to follow Nathan.

    Nathan jogged the way over towards the Gorgon, being closer made it all the more pitiful, was a wreck. Even from where he was standing, he could tell the blast had did substantial amount of damage, it couldn¡¯t even move, let alone attack. He couldn¡¯t even tell if it was alive, if not for the roar earlier.

    Nathan turned to the elves standing around it, it was an eerie sight. It was just strange, the Grassvalley elves were standing with their backs to him, just staring at the Gorgon, unmoving. Nathan picked up a nearby rock and tossed at one of the elves, but they didn¡¯t even flinch we it hit.

    Anais: ¡°Kinda creepy up close, why are they standing like that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before.¡±

    Everyone snapped their necks in Nathans direction.

    Anais: ¡°Where have you seen this before?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°In¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.a MOVIE.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What¡¯s a Muvy?

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later, but just like this, all the cultist standing around the fire, muttering incoherent nonsense, all entrance by a disembodied voice and then¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­A HAND REACHES OUT OF THE FIRE AND PULLS THEM ALL TO HELL AND LAUGH MANIACLLY AS THER BODIES ARE SLOWLY CONSUMED BY THE FLAMES.¡±

    Nathan turned to the girls, faces gone completely pale.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­.Just kidding.¡±

    Anais: ¡°If that happens, I¡¯m blasting you with fire.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯ll go see what¡¯s wrong.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s wise.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, remember, the tribe can¡¯t see you, but it can.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, it can only see me, you stay here, it¡¯s clearly somethings wrong, they can¡¯t see us, we should be the ones to investigate.¡±

    Saria: ¡°But, what about the Gorgon?¡±

    Nathan looked at the Gorgon, pitiful.

    Nathan: ¡°That things in no condition to fight.¡±

    Nathan slowly moved towards the elves, not one moved as he approached. Anais and Iris each moved towards one of the elves. Moving to the one who was speaking with Saria earlier, moving around to the front he found that the man¡¯s eyes were open, but it was a soulless state Nathan waved a hand in his face, he didn¡¯t move.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey!¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Whisper) What the hell are you doing!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Its okay, there gone.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What do you mean, there alive.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah but their minds aren¡¯t, just some empty husk.

    *Grrrrrrrr*

    Nathan turned and his eyes met the Gorgon, at least he thinks they did. With its skin melting around it and the half its body seemed to be below ground, Nathan could only make out so much of it. Nathan quickly unsheathe his sword, he knew this thing could heal itself and he wasn¡¯t going to give it the chance.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m am honestly surprise you survive, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m putting you out of your misery.¡±

    *Loud roar*

    Anais and Iris jumped from the sudden sound, but Nathan stood fast, he wasn¡¯t going to missed this chance he quickly stabbed at the Gorgon. As soon as his blade made contact with its flesh, Nathan¡¯s Threat Detection started going off, but the he was preoccupied.

    Anais: ¡°Flare!¡±

    *Fwosssh**Boom*

    Anais: ¡°Nathan get back!¡±

    Nathan turned to see one of the Members of the Grassvalley tribe, still smoking from Anais¡¯s spell. She had attempted to lop off Nathans head while his back was turned. Nathan pulled his sword from the wound he had inflicted on the Gorgon and swung it at the woman. Their blades crossed, Nathan kicked her away. Between her burns and Nathans blow, the woman collapsed to the ground, but another elf quickly replaced her, also swinging their blade at Nathan. Nathan Jumped back, while he was midair, his body jerked to the side, reflexively dodging an arrow aimed at his head.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on?¡±

    All seven of the elves who were standing around the Gorgon, had begun attacking the three.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris!¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood!¡±

    Iris Clapped her hands together and mighty gust of air surge forth, throwing several of the elves into the air. Nathan quickly grew the snyare, snatching up midflight and tying them down.

    Anais: ¡°How the hell can they see us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They can¡¯t it can, just like the reapers, their seeing us through its eyes. And for some reason it can see you now too, but it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Nathan wasted no time, as soon as they were in the air, he sped towards the Gorgon. His wound a moment ago, wasn¡¯t deep enough, but this attack will end it. Just as he approached, something came flying towards him, he ignored it, another arrow wouldn¡¯t make it to him in time. Just as he thought, the arrow whizz right by him, only to change course and chase after him. Now, moving much faster it caught up to Nathan, he quickly blocked it with his sword. However, the force was incredible, it pushed Nathan back, forcing him to regain his footing further away.

    Nathan: ¡°Crap, forgot about those things.¡±

    A single sphere was left, floating around the Gorgon, its last sentinel.

    Iris: ¡°Master!¡±

    Nathan turned to Iris, all the tribesmen had been cut down. It didn¡¯t miss earlier, it was freeing all Nathan¡¯s captives. Nathan turned back to the Gorgon, their eyes meeting wants again.

    Nathan: ¡°Persistent.¡±

    _

    _

    Gaelin: ¡°ALL OF YOU, STAND DOWN!¡±

    Gaelin tried in vain to keep the situation under control. For some reason, almost half of his men had suddenly started assaulting their brothers. A few of them had already fallen from the initial attack, while others fall, not wanting to hurt their fellow man.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Haaaaaaaah!¡±

    Edwyrd clashed with several of his subordinates, trying his best not to hurt them, although this was becoming increasingly difficult. While he struggled with one of his men, he witnessed another stabbing someone several times in the chest. He pushed his subordinate away and ran over to the dying man, but it was too late. Around him, the screams of others meeting their end was definite.

    Edwyrd: This is madness.¡±

    Brothers who moments ago, stood beside him in combat, were now cutting down one another.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Stop this.¡±

    One of his subordinates charge him again, sparks flying as their blades clashed.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Get a hold of yourself!¡±

    His words fell on death ears, as the elf continued his assault. Thrusting his sword, Edwyrd parried the blow and using the hilt, smashed his subordinate in the face. The elf fell to the ground, blood flowing from the wound on his face, but even with the wound, the elf stood up once more. More of them slowly surrounded him, Edwyrd knocked each one down, only to have them stand up over and over.

    Edwyrd: ¡°(Why¡­. Won¡¯t¡­¡­ they¡­¡­..stay¡­¡­¡­down?)¡±

    Edwyrd continued this pattern, every time he knocked one down, they would rise back up again, hurt, bleeding, but no matter, they attacked again.

    Gaelin: ¡°EDWYRD!¡±

    Edwyrd turned to his father, who was busy subduing several of his men, even with one hand, he was formidable.

    Gaelin: ¡°THIS BEGAN RIGHT AFTER THE BEAST ROARED, SURELY IT IS THE CULPRIT. I WILL HANDLE THIGS HERE, TAKE WHO WILL GO AND END THIS MADNESS.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°But, Father?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°DO AS I COMMAND!¡±

    Edwyrd made no more attempt to argue, along with a few others, he broke through the line of his corrupt brothers. Gaelin look back making sure his son had left the area, he sighed in relief. The truth was, he didn¡¯t know if he could subdue all of them without striking them down, he also known that Edwyrd would not be able to do what was necessary. Even if he were to slay the Gorgon, it still may not due away with whatever is afflicting them. If he must, he will do what must be done.

    The few who still had their reasoning, rallied beside the Lord, awaiting his order.

    Gaelin: ¡°Subdue who you can, who you can¡¯t¡­¡­put them to rest.¡±

 Chapter 37: Expendable

    Chapter 37: Expendable

    Nathan: ¡°MOVE!¡±

    Nathan jumped and booted the elf in the face, at the same time using the momentum to flip over top two others. Once he landed he made an attempt for the Gorgon, or so he made it seem. One of the elves had begun healing the Gorgon, it was slow healing, but slowly but surely the monster was being restored. As Nathan made a dash for the elf, he rose several of his plants to fire on the Gorgon. The Uzy shots were quickly blocked by a barrier, but while casting the barrier, the elf had stopped healing the Gorgon and she was wide open.

    Nathan sheathe his sword, not wanting to kill the woman, just stop her from proceeding. Swinging his blade, struck her mid-section, Sending her spiraling into the air. Nathan grew a snyare grabbing the woman and tossing into the nearby trees, at the same time, he dodge the attacking sphere, using his plants to distract while he got some distance.

    Nathan looked around, already the woman he had thrown was making her way back over, but she didn¡¯t get far, as several of Nathans plants would grab her and tie her down.

    *Smash*Smash*

    Nathan: ¡°Owwww!?¡±

    Nathen jumped back as shards of ice assaulted him, using his sword to deflect some of them, keeping the damage to a minimum.

    Nathan: ¡°Girls, what happened to ¡°Leave the spells to us¡±?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Negative Pulse!¡±

    A black mass, appeared in front of Anais, she jumped back and the mass of energy began drawing in the spells being fired at her, along with Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Whoa, the was awesome, do it again.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Can¡¯t, too much energy to cast consecutively and we¡¯re trying our best here, but it not that easy when they can see us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Being seen is normal, deal with it.¡±

    Iris conjured a mini tornado, that gather up a few of the men and tossing them into Nathan¡¯s Snyare trap.

    Iris: ¡°This would easier if you allow us to end them, why show them sympathy?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Saria and Celes ask me not to kill them, so as long as we don¡¯t need to, we won¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan continued his battle, spark flying as he clashed blades with the elf. As the elf raise his blade to strike again, a snyare grabbed the man¡¯s arm. The man, quickly switch hands, cutting it down only to have another grab him. Several more grabbed at him and flung him into the air. Nathan didn¡¯t even wait, as soon as the man was out of the way he charged toward the Gorgon, leaving his plants to do their job.

    He had to be quick, knew that with all the elves being tied down, the sphere would act to free them, but it couldn¡¯t if Nathan kept attacking the Gorgon mercilessly.

    He slashed at the Gorgon and as he thought, the sentinel opted to save the Gorgon then to free the elves. Nathan wasted no time, speeding to a different spot to strike, Nathan launched several more attacks, each stopped by the sentinel sphere. Nathan kept up this routine, not given the sphere anytime to free the captives.

    Anais finished rounding up the elves watched Nathan assault play out.

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s his plan, if it can¡¯t free the captives, then it can¡¯t heal itself.¡±

    Iris finished sending the rest of the elves into the snyare plants and joined Anais. As Nathan jumped about, small lights were falling from him and fading into the ground.

    Iris: ¡°He¡¯s gonna have them fire on the half dead monster, there no way it would with stand that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, half dead or not, he doesn¡¯t know if they will hurt it and probably won¡¯t risk it. He will most likely deliver the blow himself, with all those plants, he probably aiming for that sphere, as soon as he gets a chance.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Let¡¯s make things easier, we can distract the ball thing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, don¡¯t, our spells have no effect and we probably make ourselves targets, let¡¯s leave it up to him, he know what he¡¯s doing¡­¡­¡­.I think, lets just work on keeping them tied up.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Miss Iris, Miss Anais!¡±

    Saria came flying towards them, Celes close behind.

    Iris: ¡°Saria, neither of you should be here.¡±

    Saria: ¡°I understand, but there¡¯s trouble, more of our guardians are headed this way, they seem to be fighting one another.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It seems what¡¯s happened here, has also transpired there as well. They most likely realized the roar was the problem and come to put an end to it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°The ones who are still sane aside, if more of the mind controlled ones come here right now, it will be a problem.¡±

    Saria: ¡°What do we do?¡±

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯ll slow them down, Anais watch them and make sure they don¡¯t get loose.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Do not worry, I won¡¯t foolishly approach, I¡¯ll maintain my distance.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, I¡¯m surprise you would willing move away from him.¡±

    Iris turned back to Nathan, still clashing with the Gorgon.¡±

    Iris: ¡°As it is now, we would only get in the way if we interfere, I would be of more use elsewhere, Saria, would you please lead me there.¡±

    Saria nodded and the two flew off, leaving Celes and Anais behind. Anais turned to the elves still captive. There bodies completely wrapped in vines.

    Anais: ¡°If only we had more¡­¡­¡­hmm?¡±

    Celes was jumping up and down, trying to get Anais¡¯s attention.

    Anais: ¡°What you have something that could help?¡±

    Celes smiled and nodded, turning to the group of elves, she raised her hand. Trees shot up all around them elves, their limbs twisting and tangling around all caught in their path. When it had finished, a miniature forest had been made. The elves were barely visible, they had become a part of the forest. Celes turned back to Anais, who stared dumbfounded. In a matter of seconds, she had created another small forest.

    Anais: ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡­..that¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Celes had recovered in so little time and now able to perform feats like this. Anais was beginning to understand, just how powerful Celes was.

    _

    _

    _

    Edwyrd: ¡°Keep moving, don¡¯t get surrounded.¡±

    Edwyrd pulled one of his men to their feet, some of the mind controlled brothers followed them and were now preventing them from moving forward. To make matters worse several of them had bypass Edwyrd¡¯s group all together and was now on their way the Gorgon.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Open a path, we cannot let them arrive before us.¡±

    Edwyrd¡¯s group tried their best to move forward, but with everyone they knock down another would take their place, their advance had almost come to a complete stop. Slowly, his numbers were depleting, refusing to kill his mind controlled brothers, was taking its toll.

    *Shwip**Stab*

    Edwyrd stumbled, a sharp pain in his arm made him drop his weapon. An arrow lodge in it and he groaned in pain, who was currently loading another arrow.

    *Swooshh*

    Edwyrd shocked by the sudden arrow, now lodge in his attacker¡¯s chest. The elf slowly fell to the ground, blood leaking from his wound. Edwyrd turned to his subordinate, he didn¡¯t speak a word just stared.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°I will protect My Lord.¡±

    Edwyrd couldn¡¯t speak up, but he had no right. In all honesty, his life was just saved. Looking around, he saw that many of his men were also putting down their brothers, he then understood. His father had told them to do what was necessary, to keep his son safe.

    Elven Soldier: ¡°What is this!?

    Edwyrd turned to see what he was talking about; a cold chill ran down his spine. With the arrow still lodge in his chest, the elf stood back up and ready his bow once more. Even with such a wound, they were force to fight, they would fight to the death, against their will. The soldier quickly place a barrier around Edwyrd and himself, blocking all incoming attacks.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Forcing them to fight in this state?¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°My Lord, don¡¯t move I need to stop the bleeding.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°I¡¯m fine, we need to break through this force, but any spell capable of doing that, all need time to cast, which we don¡¯t have.¡±

    Elven Soldier: ¡°My Lord, over there.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°What in the world?¡±

    Up ahead of them, a funnel of wind had formed and heading directly for them. Such a thing to happen all of the sudden, someone must have cast a spell, but to cause such a thing in such little time. The mind controlled elves, were slowly thrown into the air and caught up in the winds. Then the funnel, circled the area, sucking up everyone outside of Edwyrd group, transporting them away from the area.

    Saria: ¡°Lord Edwyrd?¡±

    Edwyrd look to the sky for the source and found Saria descending toward him.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria, this was you¡¯re doing?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°I¡¯m fine, but, what did you do with my men.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No need to worry, I set them down in a nearby lake, they¡¯ll be just fine.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°I see.¡±

    Edwyrd watch as the funnel continued to clear away more of his brothers. He was surprised that Saria could do such a thing, he knew she was capable, but it was never this develop nor this precise. Her wind, usually amount to an uncontrollable storm, taking down the immediate vicinity. Right now, her back was to it and yet, she was accurately gathering only his mind controlled brothers to go from that to this, he found it extremely unlikely.

    Edwyrd: ¡°¡­¡­.Lady Saria, are you truly controlling this storm?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Ah, Edwyrd you should hurry along while the way is clear, some of them were able to get through, I handle things here, you should go.¡±

    Saria completely avoided the question, more than that, it was as if she wanted to get rid of him. She would glance away ever so often, he pretty much understood what was going on.

    Edwyrd: ¡°As you say Lady Saria, Everyone, Lady Saria has cleared a path, we will proceed with our mission.¡±

    At his word, they all once again advance towards their mission. Edwyrd wound was healed and he also began his march, but he stopped turned and bowed.

    Edwyrd: ¡°I liked to thank both of you for your help.¡±

    Edwyrd then walked away, hearing two distinct gasp, from his statement.

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°(The hells with all them trees, is Celes here? No, gotta concentrate, I¡¯m all most ready.)¡±

    *Crash**Cling**Clang**Smash*

    Nathan fight with the sentinel sphere, preventing him from finishing the Gorgon. Nathan stole another glance at the Gorgon, their eyes met for a moment, before the Gorgon painfully turned away. He smirked, it must know it was at death door. Trying to hold on for some sort of miracle, sooner later Nathan was going to get an attack through and it seemed sooner rather than later, he was finally ready. With a swing, he knocked the sphere away and charge the Gorgon.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, here I go.¡±

    Nathan leaped high into the air and he sentinel took the bait. Jumping up like that, he left himself wide open or so he lead the sentinel to believe. The sentinel shot up towards Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°(Gotcha.)¡±

    Nathan Quickly switched his weapon, pulling out the Claymore, he turned it to its broadside and with everything he had swung at the sphere.

    *BAM*

    The sphere was smashed into the ground, but Nathan didn¡¯t stop, landing he brought his sword down again, plowing the sphere deep into the ground.

    *Ratataatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatata*

    The second he finished he jumped away, bullet after bullet bombarded the Sphere, with so many the weight was preventing it from dislodging itself from the ground. It was pinned, at least for now, but that was all he needed. Nathan walked over to the Gorgon, but found that the Gorgon had shifted in a way to keep his eye out of sight.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s not going to do you any good.¡±

    *Stab**Stab**Stab*

    Nathan stabbed at the Gorgon over and over, but all he felt was flesh. This thing was just to resilient, it was a mess, barley clinging to life and Nathan was stabbing it, yet it refused to die. After a while the Gorgon couldn¡¯t stand the pain and revealed its eye once.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s a good flesh ball.¡±

    As Nathan circled around, he got the usual feeling, he was in danger.

    *Shift*

    Nathan: ¡°What the!?¡±

    In a surprising show of dexterity, the Gorgon quickly twisted around to Nathan. The second Nathan came into the Gorgon line of sight, it fired off the scattered laser once more. Before Nathan could comprehend, his body was already reacting, jumping back, but wasn¡¯t quick enough. The lasers met their mark, nearly at point blank range.

    Nathan: ¡°Aghhhh, Dammit!¡±

    Nathan winced in pain, he had taken nearly the full blow of that attack, His arm had received most of the damage, his sleeve no longer there riddle with holes and his flesh burned in spots across his arm. The Gorgon, exhausting all its energy, groaned in exhaustion.

    Nathan: ¡°(It healed that much, that was my fault, shouldn¡¯t get careless.)¡±

    Anais turned to run to his aid, when she was tackled by Celes.

    Anais: ¡°THAT¡¯S THE SECOND TIME YOU DID THAT!?¡±

    Celes pointed ahead of her, the ground was burning. Looking over, the forest that had sprouted around the captured elves, was now riddle with holes and collapsing. That was it plan it wasn¡¯t aiming to kill Nathan, it was aiming to free the elves. One had fired at Anais, if she had taken one more step, should would have been hit.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t let them get close.¡±

    The elves, some had been hit with the lasers, wounds as clear as day, but still were making their way over to Gorgon. Burn down what was left of the forest, inadvertently setting themselves on fire, they simply continued their marched, paying no attention to their burning flesh.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais!¡±

    Anais: ¡°I know, Cascade!¡±

    A wave of water wash over the forest, dousing the fires as it flowed. The elves who were caught in the flow were washed away, as well as stopping the flames from burning them.

    Celes: ¡°(To make them fight, in that state)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What did you expect?¡±

    Nathan hadn¡¯t recover from the hit, but he didn¡¯t have to move from that spot. Several of his plants sprouted up around the Gorgon. They wrapped around its body and pulled it from the ground, Nathan then handed one plant his weapon.

    Nathan: ¡°I should have done this in the first place.¡±

    Positioning his weapon, Nathan held down the Gorgon, facing the eye away from him, no more shifting, no more surprises. With everything his plant could muster Nathan stabbed at the Gorgon eye. A sickening, but satisfying squelch as the blade pierced the Gorgon, driving deeper and deeper. His plant couldn¡¯t exert as much of a force as he could, but as long as it did its job, it didn¡¯t matter how long.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Hey, where the tone?¡±

    Nathan waited a moment for the expecting ding, but it never came. He couldn¡¯t believe it, a monster as powerful as that and he didn¡¯t get one level up, something was wrong. Nathan shifted the Gorgon around, careful not to get any surprise attacks.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡­¡­¡­.. how, where!?¡±

    Turning to Celes and Anais, they had succeeded and rounding up the elves. Nathan counted them, seven, they were all there. It didn¡¯t make sense, slumped over on his blade, jammed through his stomach, blood dripping down his body, was an elf. From out of nowhere, one of the tribesmen had thrown themselves in front of Nathans blade. Nathan had his plant let go of the sword and the elf crumpled to the ground, dead.

    Nathan looked on as several more Grassvalley tribesmen began to show up, one by one they stepped in front of the Gorgon, each the same as the one who just died. Some ready to attack while others without weapons of any sort, just stood directly in front of the eye, living shields. He made a promise, not to kill them, but he knew, the second he went for the killing blow, they would throw themselves in front of the blade. Just like before he would unwillingly kill.

    Anais: ¡°Nathan, there more coming.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I noticed.¡±

    Anais: ¡°We¡¯ll keep back as many as we can. Can you handle things here?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine, just take care yourselves.¡±

    Nathan Nodded and the girls moved towards the incoming horde. Though he said that, he was a little freaked about the murder, but he just has to keep that buried, right now he had to deal with the crowd of people.

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re really willing to use all of them as shields.¡±

    Right after three of the elves charge him. Nathan had his plant toss him his weapon. The second he caught it, he blocked the incoming strike. On his right another slashed at him, he jumped out of the way.

    *Slash*

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell!?¡±

    The attacker that missed Nathan, inadvertently slashed one of his friends across the chest. The bleeding elf, didn¡¯t even flinch, ignoring his bleeding and turned to attack Nathan again. Similar situation begin to happen, whenever Nathan dodge or block an attack, the attacker would cut his friend by mistake.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, are you working together or not?¡±

    The attacks continued, but each of them recklessly, swung their swords, not caring at all for the others safety. An attempt to run Nathan through, without the slightest hesitation, stabbed right through his friend. The one who was stabbed, shimmied forward on the blade still trying to attack Nathan. It didn¡¯t even come close and he curled over on the blade. The elf who stabbed him, pulled his sword free from his gullet and shoved the body aside, not caring in the slightest.

    Nathan: ¡°T-That, that is so messed up, you just gutted your own friend and you don¡¯t even care, no, your made not to care.¡±

    They were trying to murder him not too long ago, at least they were willing doing it, but being forced to stab your brothers and sisters and not having any say in the matter, didn¡¯t sit well with him.

    The elf charge Nathan again, they were just blindly rushing him. The way things were going, they would kill each other, he just had to avoid their attacks. As his blade collided with the elf again, he suddenly let go of his weapon.

    *Grab*

    Nathan: ¡°The hell, let me go.¡±

    The man grabbed Nathan arm and held him down, trying to overpower Nathan¡¯s smaller size. Turning to the side, Nathan stepped closer to the man, using his body weight against him, flipped the man over his shoulder.

    Nathan: ¡°That was strange.¡±

    *Grab*

    Nathan: ¡°Ughn, what!?

    The Man quickly recovered from the throw and latch himself onto Nathans leg.

    Nathan: ¡°The hell are you doing?¡±

    Nathan Threat Detection started going off, he turned around to several more elves lounging at him. He tried to pry himself free, but the elf held him.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry about this.¡±

    *Crack*

    Nathan brought elbow down on the man¡¯s arm, hearing a definite crack, but he still wouldn¡¯t let go. He should not be able to move that arm, let alone apply strength and yet, he would not let go.

    One after another they latched on to Nathan, holding him down.

    Nathan: ¡°GET OFF ME!¡±

    Nathan Wrestled with the group, but they held him down, locking his arms in place, so he couldn¡¯t break loose. He didn¡¯t understand, they had him locked down, why wasn¡¯t he being stabbed. Then suddenly every one of their heads turned to face the Gorgon.

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    The Gorgon eye was facing right towards them, its pupil pulsating and before Nathan could react, a flash. In the blink of an eye, the pile of elves that were holding Nathan had all been turned to stone. With all the bodies frozen, it had become a stone prison. They were holding down so he couldn¡¯t escape the Gorgons gaze, but it didn¡¯t work on him, he wasn¡¯t a statue. Nthan stared at the pulsating pupil, it wasn¡¯t affecting him.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.You can¡¯t turn me to stone.¡±

    Nathan wanted to slap himself, he should have figured it out a long time ago. It wasn¡¯t that the baby wasn¡¯t able to turn Celes and him to stone, it was that it couldn¡¯t. For some reason, the two of them were exempt, now that he thought about it, he has looked the Gorgon in the eye several times before and was never effected. Would made it worse, is that the Gorgon already figured it out. That¡¯s why it stopped trying so long ago and switched to more traditional means of attack. Now he was stuck, just like he had done so many times to the Gorgon.

    The Gorgon, eyes began to glow the familiar glow, in a few seconds it was gonna fire that charged laser shot and there was no avoiding it.

    Nathan: ¡°Aw, shit.¡±

 Chapter 38: Bane

    Chapter 38: Bane

    Elven Soldier: ¡°Lord Edwyrd, up ahead.¡±

    Edwyrd groups, with help from Saria and Iris, had just about reached their destination. However just a small track from them, the mind controlled brothers were now doing battle with living trees. The trees whip their limbs around, knocking back anyone¡¯s attempt to pass. The elves would constantly, cast fire spells, but once the trees were hit, they would burrow beneath the ground and resurfaced wants the flames were gone.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Those are Lady Celes¡¯s trees.¡±

    Some of the trees begin to converge on Edwyrd¡¯s group, they were ready to attack.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Celes, if you can hear me, please stand down, we are not here to fight.¡±

    The trees advance stop, Celes must have heard, the trees stood aside allowing them to pass. Once they were through, the line was reestablished and the trees reinitiated their attack. On the other side of the line, Celes waited for them to approach.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Celes, what on earth are you doing in such a dangerous place, alone?¡±

    Celes tried to explain, but it was hard without a voice. However, Edwyrd got the bottom line, just like Saria earlier, she was preventing anyone from reaching the Gorgon.

    Edwyrd looked around, on his way he had notice some of his brothers had been frozen, from the neck down something the Celes could not do. She must be with Iris or Anais, they are still hiding their presence. It looked as though they could handle themselves, he would leave them to it, Saria should be heading this way soon, they will be fine.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Celes, my men and I will go on ahead.

    Celes stood confidently, she would not let any pass. Edwyrd understood and he and his men left her to her devices. Celes was a little disappointed, she was sure he asked her to come with him. She had the strangest feeling something was wrong.

    Anais: ¡°You felt it too, huh?¡±

    Celes turned to Anais, now free to talk since Edwyrd left. Celes nodded to her question.

    Anais: ¡°Somethings wrong with Nathan, he¡¯s in trouble, I think we should head back. Can your trees fight while you¡¯re not around?¡±

    Celes nodded, the trees were told not to let anyone pass and they will do that until told otherwise.

    Anais: ¡°Alright, lets catch up with that Edwyrd guy, they shouldn¡¯t be too far ahead. I don¡¯t like the thought of them being there with Nathan.¡±

    They both took off after Edwyrd, leaving Celes¡¯s trees to do their work.

    _

    _

    Saria: ¡°Miss Iris, are you sure it was wise to leave that way?¡±

    Iris and Saria, flew across the sky Iris suddenly had a feeling something was wrong.

    Iris: ¡°We cleared out most of them, and it will be a while be for they get out of that water. More importantly, I feel somethings wrong.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Is it the Hero, is he hurt!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°He did get hurt earlier, but health has already recovered, it¡¯s something else.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Big Sister!¡±

    A wind nymph flew up next to the two.

    Wind Nymph: ¡°The Hero, he¡¯s trapped.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Trapped!?¡±

    The nymph explained to them, Nathan¡¯s fight with the Gorgon.

    Saria: ¡°Despicable, all those people, just to capture the Hero.¡±

    Wind Nymph: ¡°Celes and Miss Anais, arrived moments ago, but our guardians are preventing from getting to him. They keep throwing themselves into their attacks, Lord Edwyrd is trying his best as well, but I don¡¯t know if they will make it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hurry!¡±

    Saria: ¡°Right!¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Ughn, erm, argh, come on dammit!¡±

    Nathan tried in vain to break loose, but the dozen or so statues were just strong for his strength. In front of him, eyes still pulsating, the Gorgon, sight lock dead on Nathan. One of the elves has healed it to the point where it could float again. They also burned down the Uzy that were keeping the sphere pinned, now free it circled the Gorgon. Nathan was at a loss of what to do, the moment the it was done charging its energy, it was over. Making sure it had ample enough time to finish, the Gorgon had several of the mind control elves to place layer upon layer upon layer of barrier around itself and around Nathan. Even if he was able to break free, he¡¯d still have to deal with that.

    Nathan: ¡°Come on, breaaaaaaak, ugh it¡¯s no use.¡±

    I was no use, he was stuck, he wasn¡¯t even able to rotate his wrist. His head was the only thing that had any wiggle room and that wasn¡¯t helpful at all.

    Looking around he could see several elves fighting amongst each other. Some must have kept their sanity, instead of killing each other, they chose to knock them out cold. Then Nathan caught a glimpse of Anais not far behind them. Using them as decoys, she was moving around the fighting trying to get closer. However, the second she had got too close, the sphere took off toward her.

    Nathan: ¡°ANAIS, GET BACK!¡±

    Even with her reflexes, there was no way she was dodging that.

    *Smash**Smash*Smash**Smash*

    Seconds before impact, several trees popped up in front of her. The sphere smashed through them, but it speed had been drastically diminished, giving Anais more than enough time to avoid it. Activating her Shadow Sneak, she moved away as quickly as possible, wants out of a certain range, the sphere would stop attacking.

    Anais: ¡°Shit, can¡¯t get any closer thanks for that.¡±

    Celes smiled to Anais, she had grew more trees and encircled the two of them, keeping the attacks from reaching.

    Anais: ¡°Still, with that thing flying around, how are we supposed to get close enough to free him?¡±

    It wouldn¡¯t stray too far away from the Gorgon, plus more than just Anais, others were trying their luck, but without the quick reaction, they were easily smashed through. Along with the sphere, spells were constantly being thrown at them, they could wait for them to run out of mana, but the Gorgon could fire that energy at any time, they couldn¡¯t wait. Anais looked over to Edwyrd in his men, trying to force their way through the line of elves.

    Anais: ¡°Oh right him, Celes if he can destroy that sphere, I can get close enough to destroy that barrier, do you think you can convince him to try?¡±

    Celes shook her head.

    Anais: ¡°Right, can¡¯t talk.¡±

    It would take too long for her to try without talking and they couldn¡¯t risk it.

    Saria: ¡°Celes, Miss Anais!¡±

    Working her way over to the two, Saria was accompanied by another nymph.

    Anais: ¡°Saria, where¡¯s Iris?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Up there!¡±

    High above them, Anais could make out Iris¡¯s figure. It take long for her to figure out what she was doing, she was about to unleash hell.

    Anais: ¡°Saria, I need you to me two favors.¡±

    Anais explained her plans and Saria took off, first up to Iris. She was building power, careful not to be noticed, before she was ready.

    Saria: ¡°Miss Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Miss Anais, said wait to fire.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Why?¡±

    Saria relayed the message to Iris.

    Iris: ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll wait for her signal, but no more.¡±

    Iris from above could see, Nathan struggling to get free, she wanted nothing more to rush down there, but that was suicidal. She held back her urge and did as Anais asked. Saria hen flew away heading right for Edwyrd.

    Saria: ¡°Lord Edwyrd!¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Saria, you shouldn¡¯t be here.

    Saria: ¡°I have a favor to ask, the thing flying around, could you take it out?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°That thing, you mean the sentinel, not now, I can¡¯t leave my men, that will have to wait.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Please it¡¯s a request from Miss Anais.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°What?¡±

    Saria explained what was happening to Edwyrd.

    Edwyrd: That pile of stone the Gorgon is aiming at, is the captured Hero!?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, if you can take out that thing, we can free him.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°¡­..I understand, I do what I can.¡±

    Saria took off again back to Anais, while Edwyrd explains to his me. He left them to find a more advantage spot to fire. Saria, said he know went to shoot, all he had to do was wait.

    Anais: ¡°Hah, He complied much easier than I thought he would.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Yes, his views on the Hero, drastically differ from his father.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Meaning?¡±

    Saria: ¡°He doesn¡¯t wish you dead.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Good to know.¡±

    Anais pulled out the Dagger she was holding, it drained her mana faster, but right now she could not do without. Dagger in hand she took off towards Nathan. With the Dagger in hand, ¡°Shadow Sneak¡¯ was amplified, giving her greater speed and distance when traveling. She made a beeline for Nathan once again, ducking past all completely unseen, except for two. Nathan notice her immediately and so did the Sentinel.

    Nathan: ¡°WHAT PART OF STAY BACK, DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!?¡±

    Anais ignored and Nathan and continued, darting around the area. The sphere immediately began pursuit, chasing her around Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°(This is no time for Tag, wait do they have Tag in this world?)¡±

    Anais followed a set path, careful not to deviate, everywhere she went, the sphere tried its best to take her out. Anais checked her mana, it was half gone, but she had run enough, by now he should have gotten the pattern down. Anais checked her hand, she had to put the dagger away or risk running out of energy. With the dagger put away, her speed drop dramatically and the Sphere was closing in on her.

    Nathan: ¡°ANAIS!¡±

    ¡°swoosh**Smashed*

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­What?¡±

    Suddenly, an arrow pierced through the sphere, but it didn¡¯t destroy it. The Sphere swiveled in the air and then, crashed to the ground. With the sphere down, Anais dash towards Nathan. The elves keeping the barrier around Nathan, dropped the barrier in order to stop her, but as soon as they did, Anais Activated Shadow Sneak again, darting past all of them with ease.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, I know your trying to save me and all, but how exactly are you plan on stopping all of them?

    Anais: ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Another barrier was erected, stopping anyone from reaching Nathan or Anais within.

    Nathan: ¡°That might stop them, but it¡¯s not going to stop that blast.¡±

    The Gorgon was still building power, it was confident that they could not free him in time and Nathan also knew it. He was pretty strong and he couldn¡¯t move an inch inside of the cluster of elves turned stone. Anais ignored him and fired off spell after spell, chipping away at the stone little by little, still it wasn¡¯t going to be enough, maybe if those elves all tried, but he doubted they risk their lives for his. Nathan looked back to Anais, she was breathing heavy again. After running around and now trying to break the stone, she was exhausted.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..This isn¡¯t working.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I said, shut up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Listen, there is no way you¡¯re going to break this before he fires and this barrier not going to hold them back much longer, now that I think about it, since when can you make barriers?¡±

    Anais: ¡°First, don¡¯t worry, when I see that its ready to fire, I will definitely get out of the way, rather your free or not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Ouch.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Second, I didn¡¯t make this and its only here to buy some time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°For?¡±

    Suddenly, one of the elves trying to get them, was sucked into the air. Then another, one by one they were all lifted into the air. Up above, a funnel of wind had appeared and was clearing away everyone surrounding the Gorgon. The funnel let them out some ways away, where Edwyrd group, Celes and Saria, kept them from returning. There was now nothing protecting the Gorgon, it was open for attack. Nathan searched the sky until he found what he was looking for.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Now, she said the barrier she made, won¡¯t be destroyed by anything she does.¡±

    Iris gather a large amount of energy, so much, that it drew the attention from everyone below. It wasn¡¯t how strong it was, it was the amount she had gather within moments. The nymph around trembled, that had witness this before, she nearly did the same thing to them when they first met. Edwyrd¡¯s men were using the moment to take down the rest of their mind controlled brothers, who were distracted by the spectacle. The Grassvalley tribe has always known that Iris was powerful. The fact that she was following Nathan around, calling him Master, was baffling to them.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Anais continued her work, smashing away at the stone. Little by little she was destroying some of the rock.

    Anais: ¡°(Alright some progress, I¡¯ll work down from this. With all that energy she¡¯s gathering, all we have to do is get him out before those elves can regroup.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS, STOP!¡±

    Anais: ¡°What the hell, you scared me, she can¡¯t hear you from here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Run to Saria, get her to fly up and stop her from firing that!¡±

    Anais: ¡°WHY, SHE CAN END IT IF SHE FIRED NOW!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°ALL SHE GOING TO DO, IS SPEED UP ITS FIRING RATE.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°DON¡¯T YOU REMEMBER, THE ARROWS THE GRASSVALLEY SHOT, QUICKLY STOP HER.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s too late.¡±

    Everyone watched as the massive ball of energy descended. The ball of mana fell towards the Gorgon, engulfing it in an intense light. However, something was wrong. As the energy drew close to the Gorgon, it was absorbed right into the energy the Gorgon was preparing. With the amount of energy, the Gorgon was moments away from firing.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit!¡±

    Anais: ¡°It didn¡¯t work.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course not, there was absolutely no way it didn¡¯t notice that, do you think it would have allow Iris to continue to make that if it thought it was in danger. Its absorbing all that raw energy, I going to fire sooner than before¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master!¡±

    Iris came soaring down to him, face full of confusion.

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen..¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Forget it, both of you need to move.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, I¡¯ll get you out of there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No time, just move.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Just give me a minute, I-I can break this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What happened to get out the way when its ready to fire!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Shut up and let me do this.¡±

    Nathan turned to the Gorgon, it was just about done absorbing the energy, even with them both hammering away, he wasn¡¯t getting out. Nathan notice his hand had some wiggle room, they had managed to chip away enough for him to do so, maybe there was a way.

    Nathan: ¡°Girls¡±

    Anais: ¡°I said shut up¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aim for my hand, if I could get it loose, then I can use my plants.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Right.¡±

    They both aimed there spells at Nathan hands, chipping away at it, it was nearly free. Across the battlefield, Celes and Saria was watching the two hammer at the stone, it looked like they were making any progress.

    Saria: ¡°Please hurry.¡±

    The energy was finally ready and the Gorgon ready to fire.

    *Shatter*

    Iris: ¡°It¡¯s free.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Now, do it.¡±

    Nathan threw two seeds to the ground, two snyare plants whipped up and grabbed both girls.

    Iris: ¡°What!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you-¡±!¡±

    Nathan whipped his plants, tossing both girls out of the way. No sooner did they clear the blast, the Gorgon fired the energy. The massive wave barrel down towards Nathan. It was only about three seconds, but it felt like it took an eternity for the energy to reach him. The intense light stole most of his vision, but he swore could make out was a silhouette of something, moving of head of the blast.

    Nathan: ¡°YOU IDI-¡±

    The mass of energy engulfed him, takt out everything in its path. The Elves who weren¡¯t fast enough, were erase from existence. Everyone around covered their eyes, the intense light blinding them. As the energy slowly subside, the Gorgon fell to the ground, unmoving.

    All eyes turned to the spot where the Nathan should be. The stone elves, the fauna and Nathan, none of it remained. All that was left was the scorch earth left from the energy waves path.

    Anais: Dammit, I should of guess, so stupid.¡±

    Anais beat her frustration into the ground, she had known by now that He would do such a thing. Anais grew angry, but it was short lived. A feeling came across her, a feeling of complete fear, so much so that she could barely move. She turned to the source and was surprise to see Iris. She looked normal enough, but Anais knew something was wrong. She had this blink stare, no reflection of light, a deep, dark, void. All she did was stare at the Gorgon, after killing Nathan It just laid there, even as the Edwyrd and his team approached it did not move. After killing Nathan, it seemed its lust for life has faded. Iris raised her hand, and Anais begin to panic. She didn¡¯t understand why she was panicking, she just believes something was about to happen.

    Saria: ¡°Miss Iris, Miss Anais?¡±

    Saria flew over to the two and landed in front of Iris¡¯s stretch out hand, completely unaware of her presence self.

    Anais: ¡°Saria, get back!¡±

    Saria: ¡°Listen I have to tell you, the Hero wa-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°SOMEBODY HELP!¡±

    That voice was definite and several ears as five heads turned in the wake of it. Nathan was across the battlefield, pulling himself from beneath the ground. His frantically pull himself loose followed by Celes.

    Iris: ¡°Master!¡±

    Anais And Iris ran over to Nathan, Anais taking a glimpse at Iris, the feeling she had a moment ago, was completely gone. She wasn¡¯t one to let something go, she was going to have to watch out for her later.

    Nathan: ¡°HEAL!¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nathan, what¡¯s¡­. hollee.¡±

    Saria: ¡°CELES!!!¡±

    Saria screamed hysterically, tears rolling down her face, as she stared in disbelief. Nathan frantically casting heal on Celes, in her ditch effort to save Nathan, though she was able to save him she was mortally wounded. Her leg, all the way to the side of her stomach had been blown away and the attack now Nathan could do nothing but slow the bleeding. Try as he might, his healing could not grow back limbs, she was dying.

    Nathan: ¡°GET EDWYRD!¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°LADY SARIA!¡±

    Edwyrd was already rushing over, he heard Sarai scream and was worried His worry was accurate coming closer and seeing Celes.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Celes!¡±

    Nathan ¡°Shut up and help.¡±

    Edwyrd was shocked by the voice from nowhere, but did as he was told. HE cast elven healing on Iris, with his help the bleeding had all slowed tremendously, but it still wasn¡¯t enough.

    Nathan: ¡°Celes you idiot, why did you do that?¡±

    Celes: ¡°(Heheheheh!)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This is not something to laugh about.¡±

    Celes: ¡°(It¡¯s just like you said, I just saved your life and your apologizing, I think you got that backwards.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Celes.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°GET DOWN!¡±

    Iris put up a barrier, just as laser fire got close, the Gorgon who had given up on life, suddenly spring up and fired at them. Over and over, it fired lasers at them, completely ignoring the crowd of elves around it.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Why, it had just given up?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Because I¡¯m not dead.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not going to stop, until I¡¯m dead.¡±

    Nathan stop healing for a moment.

    Anais: ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Keep healing her.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master.¡±

    Nathan jumped from behind the barrier and dash away, but to his surprise, the laser fire did not follow him. Instead, it remained solely on the barrier everyone was behind. It wasn¡¯t after him, it wanted whatever he was, so desperate to protect. Nathan dashed towards the Gorgon, he wasn¡¯t going to let it do what it wanted.

    *Woosh**Crash*

    Nathan jumped to the side just as the sentinel crashed down.

    Nathan: ¡°DAMMIT, GET OUT OF THE WAY!¡±

    Nathan clashed once again with the sphere sentinel, even with an arrow piercing its core, it was still able to stop him. Nathan took a look around, Edwyrd men were pinned by their brothers and everyone else was caught in the Gorgons cross fire, as things stand he wasn¡¯t going to make it in time. Nathan weighed his options and quickly decided.

    *Unsheathe*

    Everything suddenly stopped, as if time itself stood still. All eyes had turned to Nathan, hair now a shimmering green, holding a blade glowed in enchanting light. Origin the blade of the Hero, drew all eyes to its radiance, except for Nathan, who was extremely confused. He poked at the sword and turned I over a few times, it didn¡¯t look like this before.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.This is new.¡±

    Anais watched from afar, she to hadn¡¯t seen it like that.

    Saria: ¡°So beautiful.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Saria, wait!¡±

    Anais grabbed ahold of Saria, who was moving towards Nathan, completely disregarding Celes. The blade had that much of a hold on her.

    Edwyrd: ¡°Lady Anais, is that the Hero?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You can see him, you can see me us?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t realize the Hero was a woman.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t let him hear you say that and pay attention.¡±

    Anais held down Saria, who continued to move towards Nathan. The blade was just to enticing, she had completely forgotten Celes, only able to stare at the sword.

    Anais: ¡°Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Iris was the same as Saria, only she wasn¡¯t moving towards Nathan, she still has some composure.

    Anais: ¡°IRIS, FOCUS¡±

    Iris: ¡°YES, R-Right, I¡¯ll help hold her down.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, I have her, you have to stop everyone else.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Everyone else?¡±

    Iris looked around, out of the forest, hundreds of nymphs were slowly making their way towards Nathan, each completely taking over by the radiance of the blade.

    Anais: ¡°NATHAN, HURRY UP, I DON¡¯T KNOW HOW LONG WE CAN KEEP THEM BACK.¡±

    Just like he feared, nymphs were entering the battlefield despite the danger, even Saria wasn¡¯t immune to it, whatever he was going to do he should do it fast. Lucky for him, the Gorgon finally decided to pay attention only to him. It seemed it¡¯s radiance had no effect on it, but the power was a threat.

    As Nathan got ready, the sphere came back around for an attack. Nathan didn¡¯t understand if it was the sword or the arrow piercing its core disrupting its performance, but the sphere had slowed down to a point where Nathan didn¡¯t need to even get ready.

    *Slash*

    With one swing Nathan cut the sphere in two, both pieces falling to the ground and shattering. The Gorgon, fired laser after laser at Nathan, but he just dodged and what he couldn¡¯t, was knocked away by the sword. Nathan was getting close and the Gorgon begin to charge its attack, it couldn¡¯t compare to the last one, but it was better than nothing. Nathan just kept speeding right toward it.

    Gaelin, having finished his duty, arrived at the battlefield, just as the fight was ending. He could tell right away the blade, that was radiating power, but was in disbelief when he saw the wielder.

    Gaelin: ¡°(Impossible, how could she be here?)¡±

    The Gorgon fired and Nathan took the blast head on. The beam was stopped completely by Origin. The two were at a standstill, the energies would not give way, each pushing one another with everything they had.

    As the two clash, the Nymphs were drawing ever closer. Nathan glimpsed around, more and more of the Nymph¡¯s were closing in on him.

    Nathan: ¡°(Shit, if I move, it¡¯s over.)¡±

    There were way too many for Iris and Anais to keep back, if they got any closer, he would be forced to stop or risk them getting caught up in the fight.

    Iris: ¡°MASTER, LOOKOUT!¡±

    Nathan turned to several of the Grassvalley tribe members aiming arrows at him. Gaelin and several of his men were ready to fire, but it was strange, his Threat Detection wasn¡¯t acting up.

    Gaelin: ¡°Fire!¡±

    The arrows completely bypassed Nathan, raining down on the Gorgon. With the sudden attack, the Gorgon staggered and the wave of energy stopped. It quickly got itself together and prepared to fire again, but it was too late. Nathan had already closed the distance.

    Nathan plunge his blade deep into the pupil, slicing through the flesh as if it was air. The light from the sword flowed from the wound, as the blade sank deeper. As the light Faded, Nathan pulled himself free, he took a step back to see what had been done. The Gorgon didn¡¯t move, no scream, no sound, just nothing. Nathan stood on guard, expecting the monster to rise again, ready to fight. Then, the body shifted and Nathan lunged toward it, but the body just toppled over to the ground. Nathan stared in confusion, should he attack now or is it readying another surprise attack?

    *Ding**Ding*

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    <u>*Level Increase*</u>

    <u>*Level Increase*</u>

    The tension in his body, slowly began to deplete. He took deep breath, in his effort to stay alert, he had forgotten to breathe. Finally, it was over but he had no time to celebrate. Celes was still injured and he needed to heal her. He quickly re-sheathes his sword, bringing the nymph out of their trance, it looked like the Elves who were being controlled were also stop. As Nathan turned to leave, he notices a blue orb of light floating next to the Gorgons corpse.

    Nathan: ¡°What is?¡±

    Before he could react, the orb shot towards him like a splash of water engulfed him with a blue aura.

    *Ding**Ding*

    <u>Sub Legacy available, do you except? </u>

    <u>Yes No</u>

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Hero come quickly!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this.¡±

    *Ding**Ding*

    <u>Sub Legacy ¡°Daemon Eye¡± Acquired</u>

    Saria: ¡°HERO!¡±

    Nathan ran back over to Celes, Saria in tears, as she stood over Celes.

    Edwyrd: ¡°¡­¡­. It¡¯s no use, it¡¯s not working anymore.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°No matter how many times he heals her, she keeps bleeding out.¡±

    Nathan check her stats, it was true, no matter how much they refilled here health, once they stopped, it would just keep dropping.

    Nathan: ¡°We can do it together, with two healers it should be fine, right?¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°¡­¡­¡­We can continue to heal her, but we¡¯re just delaying the inevitable.¡±

    Saria: ¡°No¡­¡±

    Nymphs from all around, now free from Origins trance, gather around, shocked by the sight of their dying sister. Nathan racked his brain, going through his abilities trying to find anything that could help her, but their was nothing, he couldn¡¯t save her.

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Your Blood?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Saria: ¡°Doesn¡¯t your blood work on plants and she¡¯s a plant?¡±

    Nathan shook his head.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t think it works that way.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It could, I mean look what it¡¯s done for me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, you weren¡¯t dying.¡±

    Saria: ¡°Hero, please try.¡±

    Nathan looked around, eyes on him, he wasn¡¯t sure what they were hoping for, he seriously doubted it would work. As Nathan contemplated his choice, around the battlefield, the mind controlled elves were coming to their senses.

    Eleven Soldier: ¡°I KILL HIM!¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Elven soldier: ¡°My Lord, she came out of her trance and began ranting.¡±

    Female Soldier: ¡°This is no rant, EVRYTHING IS HIS FAULT.

    She pointed over to the Hero, But Gaelin was confused.

    Gaelin: ¡°Let her go.¡±

    The men controlling her let her go.

    Gaelin: ¡°Now explain yourself, how is this his fault?¡±

    Female Soldier: ¡°When I was under its control, I was still aware of what I was doing, everything, everything. More so, I could also feel, its hatred, its anger towards that man.

    Gaelin: ¡°The Gorgons?¡±

    Female Soldier: ¡°Everything it did, every move it made, was only to see him perish and every time he survived, it¡¯s rage grew, I-i could feel it. Everyone it killed, everyone it made me kill, their blood staining my hands, IT¡¯S ALL HIS FAULT! That image, that one image of him stepping on the corpse of its child, him taking the corpse away, its engraved in my head.

    Everyone who was mind control saying the same things, Gaelin wasn¡¯t sure their anger was just. He couldn¡¯t tell if they were angry for their falling comrades or if it was residual anger from the Gorgon. However, he was sure that in this moment, they were out for blood. Either way, he found a means to justify ending the Hero¡¯s life. From what he saw of his appearance, he was doing this world a favor.

    Nathan, unaware of was happening around, due mostly to the fact of all the nymphs around him, begging him to try using his blood. He honestly didn¡¯t believe it would work, it wasn¡¯t miracle water, it had its limits. Celes hp was down to fifty and dropping fast. He looked to Iris, she knew what he was thinking, they both nodded and Nathan Made his choice. Biting his finger, he placed it of her mouth and a single drop fell in.

    Moments went by, but nothing happened. Nathan looked at his hand, her health was down to the last ten.

    Iris: Master, look.¡±

    Nathan looked up to find a single flower sprouting on Celes¡¯s chest. Then, several more begin to sprout all over her.

    Nathan: ¡°What is-¡±

    *Ruuuuummmmmble*

    All at once a massive tree spring up, Celes¡¯s body disappearing in its wake. Everyone jumped back, not wanting to be caught up in the process. The Grassvalley tribesmen turned to watched the spectacle, surprised by the sudden and beautiful tree. Every branch covered and green leaves and roses of all colors sprouting all over. When it finished, within a hollow, an orange liquid filled it to the brink and then crystalized. Nathan stared at the beautiful sight, horrified at what just occurred.

    Nathan: ¡°Wh-what I just do, Saria?¡±

    Sarai walk up to the tree and put a hand to it, the crystal began to pulsate and glow. Several other nymphs did the same.

    Saria: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..This is fine.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, how is this fine!?¡±

    Nathan looked around, the nymphs, the dread they had on their faces, was gone, in fact they seemed happy. How could they act like this, he just turned Celes into a tree, they should be angry, but not one felt that way. One of the Nymphs flew over to Saria and said something to her, something shocking.

    Saria: ¡°Hero, you need to go.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But Celes, I turned her into a tree, shouldn¡¯t you be worried about-¡±

    Saria grabbed Nathan hand and stared him in the eyes.

    Saria: ¡°I said so before, this is fine and I meant that. Please, right now my guardians are slowly surrounding you and they mean to kill you.¡±

    Edwyrd: ¡°Hero, what she says is true, they are out for blood, you need to leave. I¡¯m not sure of the situation, but if Lady Saria says so you should believe her.

    Nathan looked around, they were really thankful for what he had just done to Celes. A moment later his ¡°Threat Detection¡± activated.

    Nathan: ¡­¡­..Anais, Iris, hold your breath and close your eyes.¡±

    They both took a deep breath, as they did hundreds of Myfetus plants, shot up all around the area. Nathan had been spreading along with everything else. There was a group gasp from the nymphs, Saria use her wind to send Edwyrd up and then she and everyone else all of them immediately took to the skies. The Grassvalley had no time to react, before Nathan stomped one of the flowers, causing a chain reaction.

    *poof*poof*poof*poof*Tsssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh*

    Spores flooded the area and the sound of everyone eyes and noses being invaded was instantaneous. The stench overtook the senses and blinded everyone around. In the confusion, Nathan scooped up Anais and Iris, then before anyone could react took off.

    Gaelin: ¡°*Cough cough*DON¡¯T LET THEM*cough* ESCAPE!¡±

    His shouting meant nothing, by the time anyone could react, the three had left the Garden behind.

 Chapter 39: A World Awakened

    Chapter 39: A World Awakened

    On the far edge of the Northern continent, amongst the constant snowfall, a castle stood strong. A massive structure, hidden by the blankets of white. Approaching the castle was a man, his feature hidden by a cloak. His breath visible thanks to the cold, the man looks up at the structure. As he did, snow fell from the roof, causing a small avalanche. The man ignored this, the snow was of no consequence to him, each flake disappearing before they could touch him.

    ?????: ¡°Why must she live in such a secluded place.¡±

    He approached the door only to find it open. He sighed heavily, he understood exactly what had transpired, if the door was open. Pushing the door open, he found something stopping it from opening all the way, but it had open enough for him to enter. Behind the door laid a body of a maid, the contents of her head, oozing out of her ears. The man took no heed of the body continued further inside. As he walked more bodies littered the hallways, maids and butlers alike.

    ???????: ¡°Disgusting.¡±

    Stepping around and over bodies, he continued up a flight of stairs, where off in the distance he could hear the sounds of crying, no doubt the reason for the bodies. Along the baluster, a layer dust had form, it had been at least a week since anything was cleaned. Finally reaching is destination the crying was definite, laying on the floor blocking the way inside was another maid. The inside of her skull, now painted the floor, as her hand held on to the door knob preventing her from hitting the floor. The way she was placed, it look as if she was trying to escape death, but failed completely. The man shove the body to the ground, using it as a stepping stone to avoid the brain matter on the floor.

    ???????: ¡°WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, SPIKEEEEEEEY, WHY DID YOU DIE, WAAAAAAAAAAAAH.¡±

    On the other side of the door, a woman down on her knees, bawling like a newborn child. Though she was a beautiful woman, right now, with snot and drool running down her face, from her constant crying, that would be a hard statement to prove.

    ??????: ¡­¡­¡­.Aria.¡±

    Aria: ¡°SPIKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEYYYY!¡±

    ??????: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    *KICK*

    Chantelle: ¡°OW, WHO DARES, ah, Alle?¡±

    ????????: ¡°Stop that noise and don¡¯t call me Alle. Its Alexander and nothing-¡±

    Aria: ¡°Alllllleeeeeeeee!¡±

    Aria leapt towards Alexander, who immediately dodge, Letting her crash head first into the door frame.

    Aria: ¡°That huuuuurrrrrrrt, why did you dodge!?¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Don¡¯t touch me, your disgusting.¡±

    Aria: ¡°How cruel, is this any way to treat your sister.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Sister, the only thing I see here is some mucous monster, crying her eyes out.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Ouch, your words sting, but I forgive you, but listen here, Spi-¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Hold it, I want here anything until you clean yourself up, looking at you hurts my eyes and do something about the bodies lying around here, they are giving off an awful stench.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Uggghh, fine.¡±

    Aria rush off, disappearing into another room. A moment later, the sound of running water, could be heard. Alexander looked around her room for a place to sit, but opted to stand, after seeing everything covered in dust. She emerged several minutes later. A stunning beauty, with scarlet hair running down her back, that dance with every step she took. She set down on her bed and nonchalantly removed her towel and finished drying herself. Alexander didn¡¯t even bat an eye, more irritated about the state of the mansion, every second being amongst this filth was a year taken from his life.

    Aria: ¡°Jackal?¡±

    At her call, a black furred beast appeared next to her, the look of a wolf, but twice its size.

    Aria: ¡°Could you gather everyone and clean up for me, oh and fetch some new servants as well?¡±

    Jackal nodded and disappeared once again.

    Aria closed her door, pushing the body out into the hall, then proceeded to get dress.

    Alexander: ¡°Now what exactly happened, that was so dire, you had to summon out to the middle of nowhere?¡±

    Slipping on her under garments, she began to let out tears again.

    Aria: ¡°It was ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Spikey.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Spikey?¡±

    Aria: ¡°My Familiar, she was kidnap and then sh-she died, uuuuuuhhhhhhhh.¡±

    Her eyes begin to water, from the thought.

    Alexander: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Huh, wait.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Are you kidding me, you called me out here for one of your pets?

    Aria: ¡°Nooooooooooooo, you have to help me.¡±

    *Grab*

    Aria tackled Alexander to the ground.

    Alexander: ¡°ARIA, QUICKLY, GET OFF ME!¡±

    Aria: ¡°DON¡¯T LEAVE, I NEED HELP.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°OKAY, BUT GET OFF, YOUR NN-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-NN-N-N-N-¡±

    Aria: ¡°¡­.Naked?¡±

    Alexander: ¡°N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-NOSE, THERE A LONG STRAND OF MUCOUS, COMING OUT YOUR NOSE, HURRY UP AND GET OFF ME, BEFORE IT TOUCHES ME!¡±

    Alexander gasp for air once he was free, acting as if he was in a life or death situation. He immediately had her blow her nose, and move to the other side of the room.

    Aria: ¡°Look like your fear of dirt, has gotten stronger.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Shut up and tell me about your pet, when did you realize it was dead?¡±

    Aria: ¡°About a week ago, the same time I found out she was gone from her home.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°A week ago?¡±

    Aria: ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s so sad, she was due to give birth, I hope at least the child¡¯s okay.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°A week ago, that was around the same time as that massive energy surge from the central continent.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Yeah, actually, it happened right after, I felt the connection between us severed.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, this may be more trouble than its worth.¡±

    Aria: ¡°HOW DARE YOU, SPIKEY WAS ONE OF MY FIRST, ITS WORTH EVERY BIT.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Sister, you do realize, that the energy surge, was no other than ¡°Origin¡±. That would mean the one who killed your pet was, none other than the Hero. A Hero who hasn¡¯t been seen, for nearly five thousand years, he won¡¯t be easy to find.¡±

    Aria: ¡°UUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!¡±

    As Aria cries rang out, all around the mansion, objects began to shatter from the voice. For miles around, anything living within ear range, fell to the ground, the inside of their skulls, leaking out their ears. Alexander, stood only a few feet from the screaming, but the area around him stayed intact. When she finally stops, the mansion inside, had been destroyed, but slowly began to repair itself.

    Alexander: ¡°Please, refrain from doing that in my presence, debris keep falling on me.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Fine, sooner or later, he¡¯ll let out that huge energy wave again, the moment he does, I¡¯ll Kill him. Then, I find whoever kidnap spikey and they will meet the same fate.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but please do get dress sometime today.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    Aria started getting dressed again, while Alexander waited around contemplating their next move. He and his sister would benn going against one of the strongest being in existence.

    Alexander: ¡°(I wonder if only two Demon Lords will be enough?)¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Pristyne Capital; Suvari-Primeval Castle

    Pristyne Soldier: ¡°Move your feet, Mutt!¡±

    Ekorn Nearly fell over from the kick he was given. With chains around his neck and legs, it was all he could do to keep himself from tripping. He had been summoned by the king, per usual he was dress in his slave attire. After a long walk, he arrived in a small room, use for meeting and the such. As he entered, the eyes around the room fell on him. The pristyne hierarchy, glared at him with eyes of disdained, the filthy Therian in their presence. Ekorn held his head down, making eye contact with anyone, would result in another beating, but even without eye contact, the pressure felt in the room full of Beastmen was heavy.

    Pristyne Soldier: ¡°Lord Gryphon, we brought him as you commanded.

    Gryphon, A lion Beastmen, was the current Head of the Pristyne, any faction or races leader answered to him. One of the few Pristyne leaders able to hold their positions longer than a few years, being in his mere presence, was enough to qualm most challenges to his throne. For everyone else they were crushed. Two the left and right of him, sat several lionesses, all handpicked for him alone, though to be honest he cared not for any of them.

    Ekorn looked up for only a moment, his eyes meeting with Gryphon. Gryphons mouth twitch for a moment, Ekorn noticed this and quickly dropped his head back down.

    Gryphon: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Leave.¡±

    His voice was definite and demanded respect and quick action. Everyone except Ekorn, quickly got up and left. Once everyone had made their way out, the doors were shut tight, making sure they would not be disturbed. Gryphon stood off his throne and moved down to Ekorn. Ekorn stood up, he no longer had to kneel, now that everyone had left. Looking up, his eyes once again met with the colossal Lion Beastmen.

    Gryphon: ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHA, EKORN ME BOY.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°My Lord, it is great to see YOuuuuuuu!?¡±

    Gryphon grab up Ekorn tossing him into the air, like a child. He was overjoyed seeing him again and had no qualms with showing it to him.

    Gryphon: ¡°How you been lad?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Your Grace, please put me down.¡±

    Gryphon placed him back on the ground, whenever he was alone with Ekorn, his entire demeaner change. The stoat, fearsome aura he portrays, completely shatters when with Ekorn.

    Gryphon: ¡°Just happy to see you.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Don¡¯t be to joyous, you nearly drop the fa?ade earlier. If I didn¡¯t quickly look away, we would have been compromise. You must be more careful your Grace.

    Gryphon: ¡°Yes,yes.¡±

    Ekorn sighed deeply, it was abundantly apparent where Viviana obtained her, carelessness. He was surprised they were able to keep the ruse going for so many years, but they haven¡¯t been found out yet.

    Gryphon: ¡°How is little Vivi doing?¡±

    Ekorn: She fine and as audacious as ever.¡±

    Ekorn told Gryphon, everything about Viviana that he could think of, Gryphon enjoying every word.

    Gryphon: ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHA, that¡¯s my daughter, by the way, the guards have been saying they¡¯ve been hearing some pretty rambunctious noises, coming from the tower.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Th-they have.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Yes, also how you tend to have a very sweet scent, evry so often when leaving the tower.¡±

    Gryphon nudged and poked Ekorn sides, making him turn red.

    Ekorn: ¡°*Blush*, Y-your Grace.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Don¡¯t be bashful me boy, her mother was just as untamable. Ah, that woman, as beautiful as she was strong and fearsome on the battlefield to boot.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Your Grace.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Lying with her was a battlefield of its own, as our bodies entangled, every motion was a bid for supremacy, but that¡¯s a Tigress for you.

    Ekorn: ¡°Your Grace.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    She was one of the only people, I ever submitted to, let me tell you, she really knew her way around a man¡¯s me-¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°YOUR GRACE!?¡±

    Gryphon laughed hearty at Ekorn¡¯s embarrassment.

    Gryphon: ¡°So anyway, I had the guards bring you earlier then a previous meeting, I¡¯m sure you know why.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°That massive energy surge from the central continent, days ago. Something that powerful, would surely not go unnoticed.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°That power was supposedly, Origin, the Sword of the Hero. If it has resurfaced after so much time, we can be assured that the Hero is wielding it.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t understand, why would it concern us?¡±

    Gryphon walked over to a nearby window, Ekorn joining him.

    Gryphon: ¡°There¡¯s¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. been talk, to prepare for war.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What!?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Some of my people believe, that with the coming of the Hero, the humans may use this time to attack. As you know, though we say it isn¡¯t war, small skirmishes had been fought, over claim of your homeland by the two races.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Yes¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I know.¡±

    The Therians homeland, had been taken from them, after the Demon lord laid waste to the world, a lot of blame was giving to the Therian, namely the Lycanian race, from which she hailed. As a result, a rumor has spread that the Therian who were able to fight back the attack, were actually in league with the Demon Lord. Rumors, soon turned to hate and it wasn¡¯t long before the small race was driven from their land. But, the real truth of the matter was, the lands are rich with resources, resources the rest of the world no longer had after the attack, resources that they wanted to claim.

    Gryphon: ¡°The Hero may have save the world, but in the end, he is a Human, summoned by Humans, to fight for Humans. If he were to take part and the Humans, were able to take claim, of your entire homeland, they may come for us next. If that should happen, I fear that those who wish for the throne, will take actions to claim it.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Viviana.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°She is only alive, because I am king. If I should fall, I fear for her life.¡±

    Gryphons was a strong, proud and fearsome, but when it came to his only daughter, he was just any other father. His solemn wish, is for his daughter to live a life outside of that accursed tower, but as thing are now, her life within the tower is threatened. Ekorn stared down at the floor, he couldn¡¯t think of anything to say.

    Ekorn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..No wait, her vision.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Vision, you mean Viviana saw a vision?¡±

    Ekorn explained to the king what Viviana had saw.

    Gryphon: ¡°C-can this be true!?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°I never known her to be wrong, but this time I wasn¡¯t show sure.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°It¡¯s true that the Lycanian race was said to have been wiped out, thousands of years ago, but a few could have always escaped. Ekorn, you of all people should know, things like this could happen lad.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°But how could anyone but a human lay claim to Origin, let alone wield it?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, if there is even a slither of hope for the two of you to live, I will act on it.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Two?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°If Viviana¡¯s vision should come to pass, you will accompany her, protect her as you always do.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Ekorn, you are one of the few people I trust, if her vision comes to pass, promise me you will protect her.¡±

    Ekorn was surprised to say the least, trust was not a word use often amongst Pristyne. To have a Pristyne, let alone the king himself, put his trust in you, was simply unheard of.

    Ekorn: ¡°You have my word.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Thank you, my daughter has chosen a fine mate. I fear we¡¯ve spoken too long, will ended here today.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Your Grace, you are forgetful as always. You must perform our ritual.¡±

    Gryphon grimaced, he had hoped the boy had forgotten.

    Gryphon: ¡°Must we do this every time, I truly abhor this?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°For the sake of your daughter we must keep up our fa?ade.¡±

    Gryphon sighed heavily, he stared down at Ekorn, smiling patiently for what¡¯s to come. Gryphon hesitantly raised his fist into the air.

    *Smash*

    The force from the blow sent Ekorn crashing into the ground. Ekorn stood, only to be smashed several more times. Just like always, those standing outside laughed at the sounds of the beating. They never understood why he wish to do so without anyone watching, but he sounds were much more definite, when you couldn¡¯t see.

    After a few minutes the crashing stop, signaling the end of the beating. A moment later, Ekorn walked out, his head was down, but it couldn¡¯t hide the bruises covering his body. As he disappeared down the corridor, the laughter continued.

    Pristyne Soldier: ¡°Man I can¡¯t believe there is someone who can those blows. How does he take those beatings, time and time again, is his Grace going easy on him?¡±

    Pristyne Servant: ¡°Wait you didn¡¯t know, Nibblian have one of the highest defenses and the world. The truth is, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising, if the blows didn¡¯t hurt in the least.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Grassvalley Village, Lenora

    In a council room far from prying ears, the elder¡¯s council, sat around discussing matters of the pass week. Though they were the oldest of the tribe, not a wrinkle any face. Among was Gaelin, he had lead the group to assist the daughters of the Garden. Gaelin explained to them everything that transpired within the Garden, each council member, boasting a different expression from his story.

    ??????: Such a terrifying beast, was able to penetrate the defenses and cause such destruction, how?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Orist, I haven¡¯t discerned that yet, according to the daughter, it arrived one day from the sky. However, they say the Lycanian had theories on why it was there. Once my men finished there report, I will be able to give more in-depth answer.¡±

    Orist: ¡°And what of the Lycanian, where is he now?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°During my stay in the garden, he, along with his associates, were able to completely hide their presence at times, I believe he is already way out of our territory.¡±

    ???????: ¡°Such a disaster under your watch and yet no one seems to question it.¡±

    Gaelin turned his head to the source of the ridicule.

    Gaelin: ¡°If you have something to say Respen, please by all means.¡±

    Respen: ¡°Several of your men are dead, twice that are injured. Four Nymphs, unaccounted for and the man who could have been very well responsible for everything, has escaped, yet we speak of dead beast.¡±

    Orist: ¡°Respen, no one could have guess such a thing would take place.¡±

    ??????: ¡°Yes, but is it not our job to, cope and prevail?¡±

    Orist: ¡°Ava, you as well.¡±

    Ava moved the hair out of her face, she was the only women with a seat on the council.

    Ava: ¡°The casualties were to great and according to reports, this Lycanian did most of the work, while you yourself spent the time, battling your subordinates. Your entire campaign was a complete disaster.¡±

    Gaelin sat and patiently waited for them to finish, what they said wasn¡¯t wrong. These two did not like Gaelin, he was the youngest among them, but had been chosen for a seat on the council.

    Respen: And to make matters worse, you allowed the Lady Celes, the one to be Mother, to become fatally wounded. What do you have to say for yourself?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.What you say is true, however, was it not your subordinates who entered the Garden before me?

    Both of them gasped out loud.

    Gaelin: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am not here to pass blame, but as I recall, the first group was supposed to be reconnaissance. However, for some odd reason, they decided to engage the creature and was superbly wiped out. If I recall, that group was a mixture of both your men, if they had done what they were sent to do, my men would have been more equip to handle the situation, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Both of them were fuming, but just like Gaelin before they kept their composure.

    ??????: Calm down everyone, we need not bicker with on another.¡±

    The voice, was none other than the head of the council, Aeson. Aeson was the eldest of the five and also the Leader of the tribe. When he spoke, all arguments were immediately quelled.

    Aeson: ¡°Now, tell me about the daughter reaction to this man.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°To be honest, they were highly protective, making every effort, to keep us from him. Further still, it seems the reason Lady Celes was hurt, was only because she was attempting to save him.¡±

    Aeson: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Yes, also, after he had made his escape, I find that Lady Celes had become a tree.¡±

    Aeson: ¡°She has begun to Bloom, that¡¯s wonderful news.¡±

    Orist: ¡°My lord, you know what it means?¡±

    Aeson: ¡°I do, it is a wondrous occasion though there has been rather strenuous, we will recover from this ordeal. For now, I like you all to return, we will discuss this further another day, with far less tension I hope.

    There were many more things to discuss, but as things were, they would just argue once again. They all did as they were told, each filing out in there own directions.

    Aeson: ¡°Gaelin, could you join me for a moment?¡±

    Gaelin nodded to him and they both walked off toward the balcony. From there they could see the entire village, a beautiful city amongst the trees, a sight to behold.

    Aeson: ¡°I¡¯ll will be heading out soon, there been a call for all tribes in the area to meet.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°I see, what do you need from me My Lord?¡±

    Aeson: ¡°Hahahaha, come now Gaelin, I might have called for you, but you¡¯re the one who needed to speak. Your face said there was something you wanted to say, something only for me.¡±

    Gaelin wasn¡¯t the slightest bit impressed, Aeson had always been one to see behind the fa?ade, not missing even on twitch of the face.

    Gaelin: ¡°When I arrived on the scene, I saw him for the first time, I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes.¡±

    Aeson: ¡°Believe what Gaelin?¡±

    Gaelin explained what he believed he saw, Aeson expression changing to that of worry.

    Aeson: ¡°Did anyone else notice?¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°I don¡¯t believe so, they were all much too young to remember, but he was this spitting image, whilst he held the blade.¡±

    Aeson: ¡°This is troubling, for now don¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    Gaelin: ¡°Yes, my lord, but may I as what you plan to do?¡±

    Aeson: ¡°I¡¯ll will speak with the other leader, be calm Gaelin, we will get to the bottom of this.¡±

    Gaelin nodded again, before tuning and leaving. Aeson looked up into the sky, as grey clouds begin to form.

    Aeson: ¡°It seems, yet another storm is on its way.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Human Capital, Ziltharth

    The streets were bustling and filled with excitement, everyone awaiting the speech that was said to happening today. The news had spread across the world and none one happier than the people themselves. High above the troves of people, set a majestic Castle, decorated with the most extravagant d¨¦cor, it sheer magnificent stole all visitor eyes from their surroundings.

    It was within these castle walls; a meeting was about to take place. Sebastian, along with Cecil and Morgan, have ask for an audience with the king, but have yet to hear word.

    Morgan: ¡°What the hells, taking so long, we¡¯ve been here for twenty minutes. Is he taking shit or something?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Morgan, please.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah.¡±

    Morgan flopped down into her seat, Sebastian sighing deeply. It has never taking this long before, he was beginning to wonder if they would make it in time. Over by the window, Cecil was looking down to the city, Sebastian joined his uncle.

    Cecil: ¡°To think, so many people came here today for this speech, it boggles the mind. How someone can just set aside, everything they were planning, just to hear someone speak.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°It¡¯s not everyday something like this happens, most are just looking for confirmation.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°Confirmation, I believe the energy surge a week ago, was confirmation enough. There is not one person in this world who wouldn¡¯t recognize that power, it¡¯s like it was embedded into their souls at birth.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Everyone already knows, but the actual reason for the, is for the king to toot his own horn?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°That is why we¡¯re here, we must dissuade him from doing this. It¡¯s one thing to state the obvious, its everything else I worry about.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°I pray, one of those two return before our current ruler does or says something, something-¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Completely and utterly Stupid.¡±

    Cecil: I was going for idiotic, but I like yours better.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°You, two-¡±

    *Door opens*

    Servant: ¡°Lord Sebastian, the king will see you now.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Thank you, we¡¯ll head out right away.¡±

    The mans bowed his head and reclosed the doors. Moments later Sebastian and his company, exited the room and headed for the throne room. A s they walked the hallways, people move pass them, scurrying around preparing for the event.

    Morgan: ¡°Is there something else besides the speech?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°I yes, later afterwards, there will be a banquet, to celebrate.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Banquet?¡±

    Cecil: ¡°Exotic dishes from everyone the world, a feast for a king.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Alright, I can¡¯t wait.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°Don¡¯t get to excited, we won¡¯t be attending any of the festivities, you know we still have mountains of work to attend to.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Awww, come one, can¡¯t we live a little?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Do not fret, I take us out to eat later tonight, how does that sound?¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Really!?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Yes, the three of us, right after we finished.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.The three of us?¡±

    Cecil: ¡°What, you thought the two of you would be alone together?¡±

    Morgan: ¡°Sh-Shut up, Geezer.¡±

    The three approach the throne room doors, the guards letting them pass right by. Within the throne room, the King sat in his seat reading something, no doubt trying to memorize his speech. As Sebastian approach, the king looked up.

    ???????: ¡°Sebastian, welcome, I truly busy as you can know doubt tell, but I still have time for you.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°And I thank you for that.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°(Whisper) What are we invisible?¡±

    Cecil: ¡°Shush.¡±

    The current King, Lorne Rselaia was not by any means someone would call a king. Stubborn, self-serving and the not least bit humble. The only thing he had going was the beauty his family were all unfairly blessed.

    Lorne: ¡°Speak, you know how important this day is.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Yes your Majesty, if I may, I would to read the speech that had been prepared.¡±

    Lorne: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Oh, what for?¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°As a part of your council, I would like to be sure that, what has been written does not offend.¡±

    Lorne: ¡°Ha, why would I care about offending someone, I am there king.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°True, but they may be visitors among the masses, one who may not take kindly to your words.¡±

    Lorne: ¡°I speak only truths, but if you really wish to read it, you can read it while we walk. Here have it, I already memorized it, ah the glorious me.¡±

    Lorne got up from his throne and began his walk towards the balcony that overlooked the Kingdom. Sebastian walked, behind him skimming through each line, looking for anything that would be offensive.

    Sebastian: ¡°My Liege, who wrote this?¡±

    Lorne: ¡°Well I did of course, what truer words then one from the king himself.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°My liege I don¡¯t think it wise to read this.¡±

    Lorne: ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to read it; do you not see the many people are down there waiting to hear the words of their king.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°But, some of this is complete ridicule, some other races are extremely proud, this may offend.¡±

    Lorne stopped walking, he turned around to reveal a big grin on his face.

    Lorne: ¡°What better time but now to show our might. The mutt¡¯s homeland, have been shared for way too long. We need to show those filthy Beastmen what we are capable of.

    Sebastian: ¡°I do believe they called themselves the Pristyne, my Liege.¡±

    Lorne: ¡°Haahahahahaha, oh yes I¡¯m sorry, the Pristyne, hahahahahahah. However, no matter what you say, today I will be making a claim for those lands, it will be ours. With that success, no one will be able to deny my lordship.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Still, I think it would be wise to adhere, one or two lines, we can still show our might, without being insulting, using such words is unbecoming of a ruler such as yourself.¡±

    Lorne turned back to Sebastian again, putting a hand to his shoulder, he smiled.

    Lorne: ¡°You¡¯re right, how could I the king possibly stain my lips with cursing, See this is why I need your advice¡­¡­..most of the time.¡±

    Lorne turned and continued walking, leaving Sebastian with Cecil and Morgan. He handed them the speech and let them read it as well.

    Morgan: ¡°That idiot!¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°Morgan.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°This speech is appalling, I glad you were able to stop him from saying the most deplorable things, however no matter how you say it, if The Pristyne were to hear this, as hot blooded as they race is, surely there will be back lash.¡±

    Sebastian: ¡°He trying to cement his claim to the throne, the timing right now is perfect and I¡¯m sure that most of the Pristyne have realized his motives.¡±

    Cecil: ¡°I say its way to early, most of the central is unexplored, it would be foolhardy, to assume he will just show up at our door.¡±

    Morgan: ¡°The only other thing we can hope for, is that one of the two rightful heirs return, what are the chances of that happening?¡±

    No one spoke, the chances after four years were pretty slim, as things are now, the future was bleak.

    *Loud Cheers*

    Sebastian: ¡°Its starting, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The three headed down the hallway, the cheers growing louder as they approached. They step on to the balcony, careful not to be sighted. Lorne stood right where everyone could see him, basking in the cheers. This was how it should be, cheers as soon as his presence is known.They were so loud, if he were to speak he sure he would not be heard, but for now he only needed to say four words. He took a deep breath and as loud as he could shout it.

    Lorne: ¡°THE HERO HAS RETURNED!¡±

    END OF PART 1.

 Chapter 40: The True Beginning

    Chapter 40: The True Beginning

    ?????: Ahhh, so bored.¡±

    As the sun move across the sky, a carriage carrying five, slowly moves along. The five each passing the time in their individual way. The carraige wasn''t necessarily small, but the long trip was starting to take its toll on the occupants.

    ?????: ¡°Elise how much longer until we reach the next town?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Um let me check, let see, about three days after you stop asking me that, Shane.¡±

    Shane: ¡°I can¡¯t help it; this route takes so long and I really need a drink.¡±

    ???????: ¡°And your complaining makes it go by so much faster.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Huuuh~, you say something ¡°Tin Man¡±, I couldn¡¯t hear you over your knitting needles.

    Tin Man: ¡°Saying the one wearing the clothes I made.¡±

    ??????: ¡°Enough.¡±

    At her word, both of them settled down turning back to their own devices. Beatrice could qualm any in fight amongst her party members, all of them knowing how powerful she was and refraining from getting on her bad side.

    Beatrice: ¡°You all know why we took this route and how long it would take, deal with it, I¡¯m talking to you Shane.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know we¡¯re trying to avoid any suspicious eyes, but this route is way too far out the way, Rinka Plains, we might as well be on the edge of the world.¡±

    Though he was annoying, no one refute his claims. The Rinka plains was basically how far south you could go on the Central continent. With its wide open fields, that stretch for miles, it was almost always completely abandoned. The last time they saw anyone, was two days ago and they were only passing by.

    Elise: ¡°With the cargo we have, we can¡¯t risk wondering eyes or any of the checkpoints of the Northern route.¡±

    To be honest, the Northern route wasn¡¯t any faster, but it did have a lot more life traveling its path. More towns, more roadside inns and more places to drink.  With no such places to rest, many would rather take the northern path, then risk camping in the dark fields. If not for the cargo currently, the northern path would have been chosen.

    Shane: ¡°Damn cargo, if it wasn¡¯t for you, I could be drinking fright now.¡±

    Shane kicked at the cage closes to him, causing the occupants to stir and bang the cage right back.

    Beatrice: ¡°Cut it out you idiot, if something happens to that-¡±

    Shane: ¡°I know, I know.¡±

    Shane leaned his over the side of the cart, looking at the scenery go by upside down. It was another slow day and he had at least three more days to go. Not far from the them a forest could be seen, ¡°Dyrek Woods¡±, a forest said to be home to a variety of powerful regrest. Though from where they were, Regrest were never known to appear, still everyone who traveled this road would always be on the lookout.

    Elise: ¡°Stop.¡±

    Beatrice poured on the reins and the carriage came to a stop.

    Beatrice: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Elise close her eyes and held up her staff, a small glow coming from the orb on the end.

    Elise: ¡°Someone¡¯s coming, straight toward us.¡±

    Everyone grabbed their weapons and ready themselves.

    Tin Man: ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone.¡±

    Shane: ¡°False alarm?¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, I¡¯m sure someone¡¯s getting close, there, there coming from that direction.¡±

    Elise pointed towards the forest they were passing by. This sent everyone into a quiet panic. They never heard of anything coming out onto the plains, from the forest. They weren¡¯t very close, but they weren¡¯t far enough away to escape anything that came out of there.

    Elise: ¡°It¡¯s almost here, be on guard.¡±

    Everything went quiet and then rustling could be heard, it got closer and closer, until it burst out from within the forest.

    Nathan: ¡°Finally, we¡¯re out, hurray to forestless field.¡±

    The occupants of th carriage, watch as the person threw their arms up in rejoice. They were all stunned, first that someone emerge from that forest and second that it was such a beautiful woman. Brown skin, long black hair, a figure the gods would envy, she was gorgeous. On her shoulder their set a little brown furred mouse, trying to keep itself from falling from the woman shoulder.

    Shane: ¡°I think the lack of alcohol is getting to me.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°That¡¯s not how alcohol works.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Then tell me why, I am seeing a Lycanian?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah so good to be out of that damn forest, hmm and to top that, people.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°She¡¯s coming over.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Be on guard.¡±

    As Nathan approached alarms in his head started to go off, he slowed his pace and kept calm. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he was attacked.

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?¡±

    Elise: ¡°What did she say?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I said. could you tell me where I am?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Oh, well, um-¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°You¡¯re on Rinka Plains.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Rinka Plains.¡±

    Nathan took a look around, wide open fields as far as the eyes could see. It was really open compared to the forest he spent the last week, trying to navigate. As Nathen gazed around, the five-people occupying the carriage had eyes solely on him.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Shane: ¡°(Whisper) A Lycanian, a real Lycanian, I can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Elise: ¡°(Whisper) A dark- skinned Lycanian at that. What do we do, it doesn¡¯t seem like she wishes to fight?¡±

    TinMan: ¡°She looks more confused than anything, do you think he¡¯s-.¡±

    *Squeak**Squeak*

    All eyes went to the mouse currently sitting on Nathans shoulder, cause a fuss and nipping at Nathan¡¯s cheek.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, what is it?¡±

    *Squeak*

    Nathan: ¡°Oh right, yes could you tell where I could find the nearest settlement?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.If you head straight down this path, you can¡¯t miss it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks.¡±

    With that Nathan started to walk away, headed in the direction she pointed.

    Shane: ¡°H-Hey, you¡¯re not planning on walking there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, is it far?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Well, it¡¯s three-day travel by carriage, if you travel on foot, I don¡¯t know how long it will take.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, well I guess I get there eventually, the paths a hundred times better, then trudging through the forest.

    With that Nathan turned and walked away once again.

    Shane: ¡°We can¡¯t just let you walk there, ho about this?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    _

    _

    The carriage continued down the road, now with its sixth occupant. The band had offered to give Nathan a ride, he could have said no, but couldn¡¯t think of a reason, plus they were headed in the same direction, apparently. As they travel along, they were all eerily quiet, all eyes squared solely on Nathan.

    Nathan was currently staring too, his eyes solely on the large bird pulling the cart. Like a giant baby chick, with black and white feathers, it strolled along, pulling a cart with six occupants and to large cages. It must be pretty strong to be able to handle such weight and trot along so easily. Though, he was amazed by the bird he was more worried about Iris, she had kept herself invisible since she exited the forest. She was now happily buzzing around the giant bird, since she only ever read about them. Like a kid in a candy store, she happily played around, it was actually pretty funny, but he held his laugh, didn¡¯t want to look crazy.

    She and Anais, who was currently in her mouse form, decided to stay incognito and only to act when needed. Plus, the fact that Iris was a fairy, he didn¡¯t want anyone to know she was there.

    Beatrice: ¡°Your staring like you never seen a Aveon before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aveon?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°The one pulling the carriage, his name is Quincy, say hi Quincy.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeh¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nice to meet you, Quincy.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Anyway, we should introduce ourselves, I¡¯m Beatrice, the leader of this group. That my sister Elise.

    Elise: ¡°Pleasure.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Over there¡¯s Tin Man.¡¯

    Tin Man: ¡°Hello.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°The one driving the carriage is Cerin.¡±

    Cerin: ¡°*Nod*¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°He doesn¡¯t talk much, but great in a fight.

    Nathan looked around as each was introduce, he tried to be subtle, but the hulking metal frame of Tin Man was drawing his attention from everything else. He was huge guy, armor keeping any distinguishable characteristic hidden. But, what was more shocking was the sewing needles in his hand.

    Nathan: ¡°Well nice to meet you all, I¡¯m Nathan and this here is Anais.

    Anais: ¡°*Squeak**Squeak*

    Elise: ¡°Aw, she so cute, can I hold her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhhhhh-¡±

    Anais looked up at Nathan, with an expression that ¡°I will kill you if you say yes¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry she doesn¡¯t really like strange people holding her.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Awww, that¡¯s too bad.

    Shane: ¡°So, you were coming out of DyRek Woods, how the hell did you do that?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Shane.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What, we were all dying to ask.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t really know how to answer, I been running through theses woods for a week. I just ran wherever my feet took me.¡±

    Shane: ¡°And they took you through Dyrek Woods, you must be pretty lucky.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why, was it because of all those giant deer?¡±

    Shane: ¡°WHAT, YOU SAW THEM!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but their deer, as long as you leave them be they won¡¯t bother you.¡±

    Everyone stared at Nathan in shocked, as if they had just seen a ghost.

    Nathan: ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡±

    Elise: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Can I ask you a question?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sure?¡±

    Elise: ¡°You¡¯re a Lycanian right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I guess.¡±

    Shane: ¡°You guess?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, sorry my memories are a bit fuzzy, I haven¡¯t seen my appearance since I woke up.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Well, you sure look like a Lycanian.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is that strange?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Hell yeah, you and your entire race was said to be exticnct.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, that¡¯s news to me.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Hey you said you don¡¯t remember anything, since you woke up, how long were you sleep?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Again, I don¡¯t know, I woke not too long ago and don¡¯t remember anything before that.¡±

    Nathan was half lying, but he needed information and he can¡¯t very well say he was living with Fae for months.

    Elise: ¡°Could it be, a curse.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Curse?¡±

    Elise: ¡°A sleeping curse, if he was place under a sleeping curse, then it could very well have given you amnesia.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That might have been the case.¡±

    Nathan was happy such a convenient excuse was given, now there was no way he could messed up what he was going to say. They would also let down their guards. He noticed that even though they invited him to travel, not one of them had their weapons out of arm¡¯s length. They must not have a danger sensing ability. All he had to do was play his cards right and he could get some information.

    Shane: ¡°A curse huh, sheesh who the hell did you piss off?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, what do you mean?¡±

    Elise: A curse is a very personal type of magic, it need a strong type of emotion towards another. Hatred, sorrow, jealousy, envy, these are usually the emotions that designates a curse. Basically, if someone were to curse you it would probably some sort of grudge.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t think I pissed anyone off.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Hmm, well, there is one other option.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh.¡±

    Elise: Recuperation, if you for some reason were mortally wounded, then placing you under a sleeping curse, while simultaneously healing you, it should by enough time to save your life, however that¡¯s highly unlikely.

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Elise: ¡°It requires a lot of mana, more mana then anyone person has, a curse is one thing, but healing someone constantly would need a lot of mana and time to pull off.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see, you¡¯re really smart, Elise.¡±

    Elise: ¡°*Blush* I-i-i-i-it¡¯s nothing, I just like to read.¡±

    Elise put the book to her face, trying to hide the red in her cheeks. She pretty much got it right, it¡¯s a good thing she dismissed it though, if they knew he was hurt and slept to recuperate, the next question would be who had enough mana to do so?

    Beatrice: ¡°And you sure you can¡¯t remember anything?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmmmm, oh I know.¡±

    Shane: ¡°You thought of something?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I remember, something like a battlefield.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Battlefield, there been some recent skirmishes between the humans and the Pristyne, maybe you were fighting in one.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, oh wait, I remember a name, E-Elphina?¡±

    The carriage suddenly stopped and Nathan had to hold on to the side to keep from tipping over. When he looked up everyone was staring at him, different than before. Did he make a mistake, He doesn¡¯t know how long he was sleeping, but if he could figure out how long ago the war with Elphina was, then he could get an idea. However, there reactions were way to distinct, each of them at a loss for words.

    Beatrice: ¡°Are you sure, the last thing you remember is the war with Demon Lord Elphina?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uh, maybe?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Not maybe, its either yes or no.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry maybe I said something I shouldn¡¯t have, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, you miss understand, I don¡¯t know how to say this, but if what you say is true, then you been sleep for millenniums.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Well¡­¡­..the war with Elphina, was at least Five thousand years ago.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 41: Living Legend

    Chapter 41: Living Legend

    Nathan: ¡°FIVE THOUSAND YEARS!??

    Nathan said that way louder then he meant to, but for good reason. He had been asleep for five thousand years, that was impossible. Nothing about his appearance indicated a five-thousand-year sleep.

    Beatrice: ¡°Hey, are you gonna be okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but are you sure?¡±

    Elise: ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, the Demon Lord Elphina, brought the entire world to the brink of destruction and was ultimately defeated by the Hero. That battle took place, five thousand years ago, give or take a few hundred years.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But, I¡¯m still young.

    Elise: ¡°Under the effects of a curse, age wouldn¡¯t matter, all time stop for something like a sleeping curse, when you awake, you would retain your appearance, from when you first slept. Think about it, if you died, what would be the point of putting you to sleep?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No way.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Hey are you sure going to be alright, you look a little weird?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah I¡¯ll be fine, I just need to think about a few things.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°How about we rest, the suns going down anyway, we¡¯ll stop here for the night, you guys know the drill, get it done.¡±

    As the Carriage came to a stop, everyone filed out and when off in different direction, leaving Elise and Nathan alone. Anais tugged on Nathan¡¯s collar, she wanted to talk.

    Nathan: ¡°Actually I¡¯ll think I¡¯ll go for a walk.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Huh, I¡¯ll come with you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, why?¡±

    Elise: ¡°It would be safer if we were together.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no that¡¯s fine, besides, I have to, you know.¡±

    Elise: ¡°O-okay, please be careful.¡±

    Elise reluctantly allowed him to leave. Nathan nodded and hop of the cart, he walked off into the trees, not too far off he could see Shane gathering wood and Cerin foraging. He needed to move further away, didn¡¯t want anyone overhearing. He walked a few more minutes and then looked around, making sure no one was watching.

    Iris: ¡°It¡¯s okay, we are out of ear range and I can sense where they are, we can speak freely.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, how could you two, not realize you were in the study for thousands of years?¡±

    *Poof*

    Anais: ¡°How were we supposed to know it¡¯s been so long, there is absolutely no way to tell time while inside the study.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Five thousand years, I get why Iris is okay and Elise said the curse would keep me in a stasis like state, but how are you still living after all this time.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t know, after I escape the war, I never thought about leaving again, I was content with life, why would I care how long it lasted?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Lady Amelia was supposed to be very powerful, perhaps she did the same thing to her study, that she did to you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe, either way what are we gonna do now, anyone we could ask for information about Amelia, would be long gone.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well I¡¯m not given up, I didn¡¯t leave the study for nothing, I¡¯m going to look for her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying give up, I¡¯m just saying the trails is five thousand years cold, we¡¯re going to have a tough time doing anything, we need to set another goal.¡±

    Nathan turned away and stuck a seed into the ground, a moment later a vine sprouted with fruit.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m going to bring it back to the carriage, its will help to keep suspicions down.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You don¡¯t trust them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not really, they¡¯re trying way too hard to get me to come with them, that Shane practically beg me to ride.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I think he thinks you¡¯re a girl.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No I¡¯m pretty sure they all do, if they didn¡¯t, they wouldn¡¯t have let me in their carriage so easily. As much as I hate it, I¡¯m gonna let them keep thinking it for now, it will be easier this way.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Is it easier, to get someone to lower their guards as a woman?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Somewhat, but it¡¯s even easier to let your guard down around a pretty face. Will stick with them a little longer, if I disappear, they¡¯ll probably come looking for me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, and that four-eyes was reluctant to let you wander off as well.

    Iris: ¡°Then we leave as soon as we can, I don¡¯t like those two cages on the back.

    Nathan: ¡°You can¡¯t see inside them?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, something is preventing me from seeing the contents, but I can tell that whatever inside, have some fairly strong mana signatures.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, they¡¯re probably Hunters, so it¡¯s not something we should be mindful of.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Hunters?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°In my world (In games) they specialize in hunting rare and exotic monsters and sell them for profit. Those cages are probably their latest catch.¡±

    Iris: ¡°If what Saria said was true, people like this won¡¯t think twice about capturing me. So, it would be best if I stayed out of sight.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, wouldn¡¯t want them to get any ideas, you too Anais.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±

    *Poof*

    Back in her mouse form, Anais scuttled back up to Nathans shoulder, Nathan turn and headed back. With the sun going down, the woods were becoming dark again.

    As he got closer to the carriage, he could here someone¡¯s voice and his name being mentioned. Due to his abilities, he could hear some of the conversation from ways off, ¡°Why¡¯d you let her leave¡± is what he heard clearly. Though someone must have notice him coming, because all the arguing stopped as he came into view.

    When he came into sight of thee carriage the scene, everyone turned to him. Elise looked nervous, but lightened up, when she saw Nathan approaching.

    Nathan: ¡°Everything alright?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Yeah everything¡¯s fine, just a little disagreement.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, something bad?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Nah, everything¡¯s cleared up, what do you have there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I found them growing in the woods, I thought we could eat for dinner.¡±

    They had started a fire and was preparing something in a large pot, Nathan took a peek inside. Some meat and vegetables, simmering in a broth, it smelled wonderful.

    Shane: ¡°Wild stew, smells great, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, not too bad.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Taste even better.¡±

    They pulled out a couple of carved wooden bowls, filling each with the stew and passing them around. Nathan took a bit of the stew, a umfamilar but, delicious mixture dance around his tongue, Since he didn¡¯t need to eat, it had been so long since he had a hot and hearty meal like this.

    Nathan: ¡°Delicious.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Shane: ¡°Aint it, compliments of yours truly.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Mixing meats in vegetables is all your good for anyway.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Well, at least my meals don¡¯t give everyone food poison.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°You need to let that go.¡±

    Shane: ¡°You put tree bark¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. in the stew, I will NEVER let that go.¡±

    They all laughed and joke while they ate, Nathan given Anais some of his portion and Iris sneaking a taste out of the pot.

    Shane: ¡°Hey, do you have any plans?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Plans?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Some destination, you must have had some family before, the war right, there could be someone left, right.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not sure, actually, I wanted to ask you something.¡±

    Elise: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You said earlier there was some skirmishes between Humans and Pristyne, who are the Pristyne?¡±

    Elise: The Pristyne are what the ¡°Beastmen¡± call themselves nowadays.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The Beastmen, why?¡±

    Shane: They said it was because they wanted a name that was a prideful as they were and being called beast was degrading to them. But the truth of the matter is the ¡°men¡± part, too close to human.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, makes since, but why are they fighting with humans.?¡±

    Elise: ¡°It¡¯s a war over territory.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Territory, that¡¯s weird, they each had their own continent, why they need to fight over territory?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Oh, um, well, you see-¡±

    Shane: ¡°Their fighting over ¡°Amylgum¡±, the Therian homeland.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Shane!¡±

    Shane: ¡°He¡¯s asking us about the war, it was going to come out either way.¡±

    Elise gave Shane a disapproving look, she understood what he meant, but there were other ways to do so.

    Nathan: ¡°How are they fighting over land that belongs to the Therians?¡±

    Shane: ¡°It¡¯s their homeland in name only, shortly after the war, the humans armies along with the Pristyne ran them out their land.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Resources.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Resources?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Let me explain.¡±

    Elise begin explaining what transpired thousands of years ago, basically everything he had Iris tell him from the Legend. He got some new information as well, like the aftermath of the fight with Elphina. Apparently, a lot of backlash fell on to the Therian race after the Demon lords defeat. Since they were the only race able to hold their own and since the demon lord hailed from the dark skinned Lycanian race, most believed they had plotted with her.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Sounds like a convenient excuse. The Therian took the least amount of damage, since they took the threat seriously and in the end remained mostly intact. While the other races didn¡¯t have the resources to keep their countries together, so by telling everyone the Therians helped Elphina, they were able to invade under the guise of retribution. It¡¯s a pretty solid plan, crude, but effective.¡±

    Nathan looked up at their faces of the ones around him, they looked amazed.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Your pretty strange.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I am?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°We just told you that your homeland was taken from you under false pretenses, yet your saying how good the plan was.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You said I¡¯ve been asleep for thousands of years, rather I am upset or not is inconsequential. What transpired thousands of years ago, I assume in this day in age is an establish fact, even if I did get upset, anyone I could vent at are long dead. Why waste time being angry at events I had no control over?¡±

    Elise: ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­very thought out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have more question, do you mind?¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, not at all, I¡¯ll answer them to the best of my knowledge.¡±

    Nathan asked question after question, little by little, he was understanding the world. It turned out his questioning continued long into the night, until everyone had slowly fallen to sleep. Cerin, was the only one besides NAthan still awake, he didn¡¯t speak, but just stared at Nathan, it was awkward to say the least. Nathan got up to walk away, spurring a reaction from Cerin. Nathan gestured that he had to take a leak and Cerin nodded to him.

    Nathan walked off once again, headed away from the fire. When was a distance away, Anais change back into her Therian form.

    Anais: ¡°That¡­. Was Sooooo boring, hearing talk endlessly about history.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, we needed to know the state of things, the books in the study, only told us so much. But, I guess we did talk a little too long, I barely scratch the surface of this world current affairs.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I would be best if we found out where we are as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Lets hold off on that until we get to the town, I rather them not know we plan to leave as soon as we get the chance.¡±

    Anais: ¡°We really don¡¯t them finding out you¡¯re the Hero, you appearing up right after, is too coincidental.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No it should be okay, remember, only humans can wield ¡°Origin¡± and I don¡¯t look human.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Still, what she said was really crazy.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, that was surprising, I didn¡¯t think the Origin¡¯s power could be felt around the world.¡±

    Iris: ¡°There was a massive amount of energy released during your fight, but to stir the entire planet, truly awe inspiring.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No wonder people act the way they do. When the Hero is involved, with such strength, whichever side your fighting for, basically wins the conflict.¡±

    Iris: ¡°This makes it nearly impossible to use Origin, everyone will come searching the moment you unsheathe it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well, according to Four-eyes, they¡¯re already searching, where ever we go, we might come across someone who¡¯s been looking for you.

    Nathan: ¡°Which why I¡¯m not going to use it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why don¡¯t you put it inside your inventory, in case of incident?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I already tried, the second I stuck it in, it made this bzzzt sound and came flying back out. It nearly took my head off, when I tried to force it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No good, then we¡¯ll just have to be careful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, reframing from using the sword should keep my identity as the Hero safe, but my appearance will be a problem. I not sure if it will be a positive reaction or negative.¡±

    Anais: ¡°The good news, No one will think a Lycanian is wielding the Hero sword, bad news, you¡¯re an extinct Therian, who happens to be the same race as the Demon Lord.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Problems will arise either way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll just have to deal with them as they come, we¡¯ll think more tomorrow. And, when we arrive in that town, we can say our goodbyes to all of them.¡±

    With that the three headed back to camp. The night breeze was cool and refreshing, as they strolled along. The forest was pretty silent, beyond the sound of the trees shifting in the wind, you really couldn¡¯t hear any wildlife. Nathan thought it would be more alive, compare to the forest he ran through to escape the Grassvalley, it was practically dead. As quickly as that thought cross his mind, the silence was broken.

    Anais: ¡°Do you hear that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Some buzzing sound¡­¡­¡­and someone¡¯s fighting.¡±

    Nathan ran back to the carriage, the sounds of battle definite in their ears. The buzzing sound from before was loud and consuming, drowning out most sounds.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell are those things?¡±

    Nathan watched from some little ways away, while Beatrice and her party battled, what looked like giant hornets. Black as night, with eyes and stingers that glowed a dark blue. There stinger, three pronged and jagged edge, like a hidden blade, they were sharp and deadly. Nathan thought it was pretty amazing seeing the blue streaks as they zipped around. Like a cars show, only in the air. Nathan was going to help, but then got a thought.

    Iris: ¡°Are you not going to help?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, give them a minute.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise, start chanting, Shane, don¡¯t let anything near her, everyone else take out as many as you can.¡±

    Shane: ¡°It would be easier to aim if I had some more light.¡±

    Shane drew his bow, lining three arrows at once, fired.¡±

    *Stab*Stab*Stab*

    Three hornets fell to the ground dead, several more came falling to the ground, all with arrows through their bodies.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be having problems.¡±

    Shane: ¡°I said, it would make it easier, not that I couldn¡¯t do it.¡±

    *Clink*Clink*

    One of the hornets tried to stab Tin Man through his, armor but to no avail. Use the great, he split the bug into and in the process felled to more, with one swing. On the spot where he was stabbed was a blue liquid, that he casually brushes off.

    Tin Man: ¡°Be careful of their stingers, it¡¯s releasing some blue liquid.¡±

    Nathan laid eyes on Cerin, only form him to disappear and reappear some ways off. Every time he reappeared, another few hornets would fall to the ground, severed in two.

    Beatrice was remarkable, as if dancing, she flew across the ground, killing anything unfortunate enough to come within proximity of her blade.

    Elise: ¡°Everyone I¡¯m ready.¡±

    The book Elise was holding, floated mid-air as she ready her spell.

    Elise: ¡°Bird of flame, bestow thy power, Phoenix Shower!¡±

    Fire rain down from above, incinerating what was left of the giant insects. Elise breathe in deeply as sat down from exhaustion. As quickly as they had begun, everything ended. The field now decorated with insect carcasses.

    Beatrice: ¡°We¡¯re done here. Everyone start searching for Nathan.

    Shane: ¡°I really hope she didn¡¯t get hurt.¡±

    Iris: ¡°They seemed to be worried for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­..Yeah.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think the way they fight was a little strange?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

    Iris: ¡°What was strange about it, they seemed very coordinated and took down their enemy in a timely fashion.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can¡¯t put my finger on it, but it felt weird and what was that incantation, all I ever hear is from you two is gibberish.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not gibberish, all the spells in Lady Amelia¡¯s study, I know and understand by heart. I don¡¯t need any incantation, in the time, it took her to say that spell, you could have attack her.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Same for me, although, saying the incantation does help with concentration, but I just need to say the name of the spell.

    That made a lot of since, there was no way Nathan would allow someone to cast a spell on him if they had to say all that. He would undoubtedly attack, which is the reason why she was being so heavily guarded.

    Iris: ¡°All and All, they did remarkably well.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but, I gotta say, that fire spell was a terrible idea.

    Anais&Iris: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I mean, it was practically a beacon, now I get why the forest seem so dead around here. I wouldn¡¯t want to leave around these things either.

    Iris: ¡°Master, what are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Can¡¯t you hear it?¡±

    The familiar buzzing sound returned, much louder than before. A swarm of the hornets was heading right for five of them. Three times as many as last time.

    Anais: ¡°Are you going to help them now?¡±

    Nathan closed his hands and opened them again. He made a few seeds and tossed to the ground.¡±

    Nathans: ¡°Looks like it.¡±

 Chapter 42: Refusal

    Chapter 42:  Refusal

    Elise: KYAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Beatrice: ELISE, HOLD ON!¡±

    Beatrice, sliced down several of the hornets, before making a dash towards Elise, only to be attack from behind in her mad rush. Several hornets drove their stingers into arm.

    Beatrice: ¡°Dammit, move.¡±

    Beatrice cut the hornets down, but everyone she cut down, was replaced with two more, she couldn¡¯t protect herself, let alone her sister.

    Tin Man: Don¡¯t worry, I got her.¡±

    Tin Man¡¯s armor was too thick for the Hornets to penetrate, it was simple for him to get to her. However, Elise was currently being swarmed, as hornet after hornet, stabbed at the barrier she erected. She had to protect herself, along with the cargo and it was draining. There was just too many and the one source of light they had was making it difficult to see.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°THERE¡¯S TOO MANY WE HAVE TO RUN.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°IT¡¯S TOO DARK, IF WE MOVE AWAY FROM THE FIRE WE WON¡¯T BE ABLE TO FIGHT BACK.¡±

    Shane: ¡°AND WHAT ABOUT NATHAN?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°WE CAN¡¯T RISK IT, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER.¡±

    Shane: ¡°THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LIKE THIS AND YOU KNOW IT, THIS COULD BE IT FOR US.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°ENOUGH, I¡¯M NOT RISKING OUR LIVES FOR A PA-¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°BEATRICE!?¡±

    Beatrice found herself unable to move and a numbing pain, running through her body. Looking herself over, the blue liquid had spread through her body. She tried moving, but the pain was too much and she was defenseless as the hornets circled overhead.

    Elise: ¡°Beatrice, somebody help her.¡±

    Shane: ¡°HANDS FULL!¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°D-Dammit.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°EVERYONE GET DOWN!¡±

    Recognizing the voice right away, everyone did as they were told.

    *Ratatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatatat*

    Elise: ¡°(What is that?)¡±

    The sound was overpowering the buzzing from the hornets. As they looked up they couldn¡¯t make out anything, but th fading mass of blue streaking lights. Hornets corpses rained down all around, as each one was killed off. As the last few lights faded away, the area became quiet again.

    <u>Finesse +8</u>

    Shane: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    A moment later Nathan came running up out of the darkness.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you all alright?¡±

    Shane: ¡°What the hell was that, what did you just do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Worry about that later, she doesn¡¯t look too good.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Beatrice!¡±

    The blue liquid had spread across her skin, she couldn¡¯t even speak.

    Nathan: ¡°It looks like that stuffs paralyzing her.

    Elise: ¡°Tin Man, check the bag for anything that could treat this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan put his hand over Beatrice.

    Nathan: ¡°Therapy!¡±

    A green aura circled around Beatrice, and slowly the toxin cleared away, receding back down her body, until no sign of it was left.

    Nathan: ¡°That should do it, how do you feel?¡±

    Beatrice sat up and check herself, the numbing feeling was gone. Nathan moved back allowing her to get up.

    Beatrice: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­.I feel fine.¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, chant, no incantation, how on Leseres did you do cast that spell?¡±

    Shane: ¡°And what Weapon skill did you use, to take out all those bugs?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, that wasn¡¯t any spell or anything, I just use some of my abilities and what hells a weapon skill?

    Elise: ¡°Abilities!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know, the ones that come with your Legacy?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°LEGACY!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa!?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Legacy, y-you have a Legacy?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Doesn¡¯t everyone?¡±

    _

    _

    _

    The Morning didn¡¯t come soon enough, Nathan didn¡¯t normally sleep, however, this night, no one slept. Nathan had come to learn that, nowadays it is uncommon to have a Legacy. Originally, it was birthright, completely unheard of not to have one. However, sometime after Elphina¡¯s attack, people just stop being born with them.

    No one understood, if it was a curse from Elphina, or the natural order of things, mostly due to the fact that some few would be born with a Legacy. Eventually, people just took this as the status quo, but without there Legacy¡¯s, Weapon skills and spell became two of the only ways to use Mana.

    Anais: ¡°No wonder their fight looked weird, they weren¡¯t using Legacy¡¯s. I felt they were consuming Mana, but they were channeling it through their weapons.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is that effective?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I never heard of weapons skills.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t get it doesn¡¯t everyone need their Legacy?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hmm, I guess not. Basically, a Legacy¡± gives one a specific direction in which to channel their Mana, depending on what element it was based on or element zero, they could focus their effort on pursuing that element. However, without one, there is no way to accurately tell what you excel at, so you just have to experiment.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Saying it like that, you make Legacy¡¯s sound like a crutch.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Precisely, it¡¯s not really need it, but at the same time I can¡¯t imagine life without it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I could, it still feels strange having these abilities. Back in my world, magic itself, was just pretend, as far as I knew. Even something that seemed like magically, was basically technology. We didn¡¯t have so many lush forests as these and most of the worlds been modernized.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No magic, sounds inconvenient.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hahaha, you get used to it, still, without Legacy, it makes everyone seem a little less godlike, putting effort into anything, is without a doubt a mortal trait.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I guess, but what does that make us, all three of us have one.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, it¡¯s too late for me, they already know, but we can still hide the both of yours. Here go grabbed those.¡±

    Anais jumped down from, Nathans shoulder gather the tree branches before bringing them back to Nathan.

    Anais: ¡°Why are we doing this again?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So Iris has enough time to hear their conversation.¡±

    Beatrice asked Nathan to gather some wood for the stock, but and all honesty, Nathan believe she just wanted to get rid of him, so they could talk. After yesterday, he wondered if they would continue to let him travel with them.  It didn¡¯t seem like Anais or Iris notice their exchange during the fight, but heard it crystal clear. Whatever it was, it was about him, no doubt. He hoped they want to part ways, this way he wouldn¡¯t have to run away.

    *BZZZZ*

    Nathan: ¡°(Oh shit!)¡±

    *Grab*

    Anais: ¡°What are you-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shh¡±

    Nathan jumped behind a bush, holding Anais in his hands. She tried to wiggle free, but when Nathan repositioned so he she could see, she settled down. Two of the Hornets from last night, flew by completely unaware of th two. Soon, the two hornets disappeared leaving the two to reemerged

    Anais: ¡°Let¡¯s go before they come back.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, they looked like they were in a hurry, they might be attacking someone.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So, who cares?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Come on.¡±

    Nathan ran off after, the insects, Anais reluctantly following behind him. As they got closer the battle became apparent.

    Anais: ¡°Well, it not human.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Some sort of wolf?¡±

    Sinking its teeth into another hornet, before ripping its flesh away. Some wolf creature was taking on five of the Hornets by itself. It body racked with wounds.

    *growl*

    The wolf spat the carcass out onto the ground, watching the hornets circle above. Then all at once they descended, the wolf ready itself and leapt out of the way. The Hornets didn¡¯t stop and came back around for another attack, it leapt out of the way once again, but as they past, the wolf charged forward, sinking its teeth into one of the stragglers. The jaw strength crushed right through the hide, killing it and tossing the corpse at the incoming group.

    One hornet was unlucky enough right into the corpse, crashing to the ground, the others dodge around the corpse. The wolf leapt up and grabbed one midflight and pulled it down, smashing it into the ground. It wings were broken and it took nothing for the wolf to rip a chunk of flesh from it as well.

    *stab**Stab*

    The wolf yipped in pain as, the hornet that was knocked out of the air, stabbed it twice in its hind leg. The wolf quickly smashed its head, but the damage was done. The venom from the stinger, begun to paralyze the wolf as it spread up its body.  The last two must have understood the situation, fore they stayed airborne, waiting for the toxin to do its job.

    The wolfed swayed back and forth before falling to the ground. When the wolf stopped moving, the hornets took this opportunity and dove, with their stingers ready they attack the defenseless, creature, or so they thought.

    *Bite*

    The moment one was in range, the wolf jumped up and crunch down on the hornet¡¯s abdomen, at the same time, getting a mouth full of venom. It didn¡¯t care in the lease, as it bit down even harder, completely shredding the body. Spitting it out, the blue liquid leaked from its mouth, but it had taken its toll. Unable to see, unable to move coherently, only by sheer will was it able to stand. However, it couldn¡¯t tell where the hornet was, it was on its last leg.

    The hornet, came in with its stinger ready to end it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°LOOKOUT!¡±

    Both the hornet and the wolf was shocked by the sudden scream, the hornets stinger missing its target and instead only grazing the wolf, but that was all it needed. The second it felt the pain, its teeth snapped in that direction, snatching off a piece of flesh. The hornet crashed to the ground and thrashed around for a moment, before growing still.

    The wolf staggered a few feet and then, it too fell over, exhausted and out of energy, it laid there dying.

    Anais: ¡°Why did you do that, what if it came after us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m pretty damn sure I can take out one of the bugs, I took out a whole group yesterday. Besides, I wanted to help, that was amazing, it too out all those by itself, with all those wounds.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I guess, but it still died in the in, was it really a win?¡±

    *Whimper*

    Nathan: ¡°No way, it¡¯s still alive?¡±

    The wolf whimper as it tried to move, but the venom had already spread throughout its body. Nathan walked out from the bushes and up towards the wolf. Its purple fur knotted with blood and the venom, as it laid there in pain. Up close the, Nathan thought the wolf was small, no bigger than a Terrier from his world. He stared down at the doomed creature, as it forced in breath after breath, trying its best to remain alive.  Nathan was but he swore they eyes met for the briefest of moments.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Therapy!¡±

    The green aura encircled the wolf and slowly the toxin begun to fade.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m healing it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No real reason, I just¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I just like it. ¡°Heal¡±.¡±

    A white aura encircled the wolf and its wounds begun to heal. Soon all the wounds were gone and what was left was its dirty unkempt fur.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Okay, that¡¯s done, let¡¯s get outta here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No wait, look at all of these, yesterday they pulled off all the stingers along with their eyeballs, it could be worth something and we¡¯re going to need money.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Them tell them to give you all the ones from yesterday, they¡¯re technically yours.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But, I didn¡¯t know they were worth anything, I can¡¯t just take them all back. Let¡¯s just collect these ones then we can leave.¡±

    The wolf to come to and witness the two strangers fighting not far from it.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Nathan.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, uh oh.¡±

    Nathan tried to move back, but the wolf leaped towards Nathan, teeth ready.

    *Chomp*

    Nathan: ¡°Ouch!¡±

    The wolf sank its teeth into Nathans arm and refused to let go. Nathan just took the attack and let it finish. Fresh blood drip down its arm, as the wolf held tight.

    Anais: ¡°What are you doing, get it off!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, I¡¯m not going to heal it, just kill it.

    The wolf took notice, that despite its attack, it felt no ill will from the stranger. More importantly, the pain from before had vanished. Realizing it mistake the wolf release its hold on his arm, Nathan blood dripping from its mouth. Nathan gave the wound a second to heal, before turning to the wolf.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey.¡±

    The wolf took no me heed of the strangers, if they were here to fight, it had no reason to stay and swiftly turned and ran off into the forest.¡±

    Anais: ¡°See, that what you get for being a good Samaritan, bitten and then ignored, if we had just left, that wouldn¡¯t have happened.

    *Trip*Crash*Bam*

    Anais tripped over a carcass and crashed face first into a tree.

    Nathan: ¡°See, I can¡¯t tell if that¡¯s karma or just your inner klutz.¡±

    Anais: ¡°SHUT UP!

    Nathan laughed, as he continued to pull apart the Hornets bodies.

    Nathan: ¡°Look at this, their eyeballs are like gems. And the stingers, really pointy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s great, but stop waving it around. That blue crap all over your clothes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She said whilst here on clothes were stained.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, crap, it¡¯s all over me, wait it¡¯s not  working on me, I immune?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No you goof, I¡¯m immune, your resistant, remember. You should get those clothes off before it starts to take effect.¡±

    Nathan waved his hands and produced a new set of clothes, which he tossed to her. Taking the clothes, she runs behind a nearby tree to change. Nathan continued gathering, cutting up the carcass, some of the blue venom was dripping from a piece of flesh of the hornets. He wanted to test his earlier theory and with Iris not around, it was now or never. Nathan made sure Anais wasn¡¯t looking before, bring up to his mouth.

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m telling Iris.¡±

    Nathan, quickly tossed the piece of flesh away, cursing under his breath, Anais laughing at him.

    _

    _

    _

    Elise: ¡°Your back.¡±

    Nathan strolled up to the carriage, bundle of wood slung over his shoulder. All eyes fell on him as he put them in the cart.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry it took so long.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°No worry¡¯s, we just finished too.¡±

    Beatrice pointed out the two jugs of water sitting in the corner of the carriage, he figured they used that as cover to throw him off, about what they were really doing. Nathan glanced over to Iris, she had stayed behind on Nathan¡¯s order. She knew everything they were talking about and the second they got a chance, she would let him know.

    Beatrice: ¡°Alright Cerin, let¡¯s get moving. We got enough supply to last us until we reach ¡°Ream¡±, we won¡¯t be stopping again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is Quincey going to be okay pulling for so long?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Quincy can take it, he probably more aggravated we been stopping so much.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Qweeh!¡±

    Beatrice pulled the harness and off they went. Their speed had increase, not full on running, but still the carriage was moving faster.

    Beatrice: ¡°Hey Nathan can we speak?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sure (Here we go).¡±

    Nathan moved up to the front of the carriage, Cerin moving to the back to make space. Even though they tried their best to look away, Nathan could tell their eyes were on him. He had a few ideas what she wanted, but he decided to play coy.

    Nathan: ¡°What can help with?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°First of all, quit that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°We all know you aren¡¯t as clueless as you make yourself out to be, I pretty sure you got some idea about who we are.¡±

    Nathan looked back at the cages on the end, from the time he met them, they been making it a goal to never let him see what was under that sheet. Every time they fed it or anything, they would do so, when he wasn¡¯t around.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry I try not to judge, whatever you do, is none of my business.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°And thanks for being so considerate, but I want to make it your business.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°In our line of work, we come across a lot of situations, like yesterday, that was amazing. Taking out so many with one shot and that flower I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.  More importantly, you saved my life, all of our lives.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it(Besides I kinda watch, while you got your asses kicked), no big deal.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°It was to us.¡±

    Nathan suddenly understood, the conversation was going in the complete opposite direction he thought it would.

    Beatrice: ¡°So I¡¯m not going to beat around the bush, I want you to join our party.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°................No thanks.¡±

 Chapter 43: Ream

    Chapter 43: Ream

    Shane: ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So this is Ream?¡±

    The town of Ream, a quaint and quiet slice of life. Farms sprawled across the landscape, growing all manners of produce, some he recognized, others didn¡¯t seem like produce at all. There was a unpleasant smell of farm animals, but he chalked it up to his strong senses, the smell didn¡¯t seem to bother everyone else.

    Besides from the farmers working their fields, not many people in the area. Everyone wearing a warm smile, the few they rode by, waved to them as they passed. The Carriage stopped at a shack not far inside, you aren¡¯t allowed to ride the carriage around the city, streets were pretty small. Nathan jumped out of the carriage and Anais and Iris sitting on each of his shoulders respectively.

    Shane: ¡°Alright here what we¡¯re gonna do, those hornets eyes should be worth a lot, so were gonna go cash¡¯em in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh okay, but is she gonna be alright?¡±

    Nathan pointed to Beatrice, who was sulking in a corner of the carriage.

    Elise: ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, she just not very good with rejection.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Better question, are you gonna be alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I know, I¡¯ll keep the hood over my face, things could get complicated if someone sees me, ever since the Demon Lord dark skinned has been shunned. Though it¡¯s not as bad as it once was, but you should still be careful.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°You didn¡¯t have to quote me word from word.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How could I not, you repeated nine times.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Bwahahahahaha.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Well, excuse me for being cautious.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Alright, alright, for now, Elise, head over to the inn and get rooms for everyone.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Right, Nathan you can come along with me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You meant me too, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Nonsense, you saved our asses back there, what we get is as much yours as it is ours.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, just head on over to the inn and will be by in a little while.¡±

    Elise and Nathan strolled away, Nathan taking a quick look back, seeing everyone else disappear down another street. Nathan looked to Iris, giving her a signal to follow them. She immediately flew off in pursuit, disappearing down the same street.

    Elise: ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I was just a little curious about where everyone else were off to.¡±

    Elise: ¡°I see¡­¡­¡­..well, the hornet eyes should be worth some money, so will get a price on them and there a few other things we have to get sorted out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The cages?¡±

    Elise: ¡°I can¡¯t tell you anything more, but if you join our party-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No thanks.¡±

    Elise: ¡°So quick to reply, is their a specific reason why you want?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes.¡±

    Elise: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Is it us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I said I didn¡¯t care about your jobs.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Then what is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡­¡­really can¡¯t say, something personal.¡±

    Elise: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..*Sigh* Okay, I won¡¯t pry any further.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I thank you for that.¡±

    Nathan and Elise continued down the street, chatting about nonsensical affairs, soon they arrived at the inn. It was pretty big compared to the other buildings around, which made sense, it had to be one that was big enough to house so many people.

    Elise and Nathan entered the building, instantly being greeted with a bow.

    Receptionist: ¡°Hello, welcome to Staryd Inn, the best and only inn in town. I¡¯m Kiera the receptionist for the evening, how can I be of service?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Yes, I, huh¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Nathan?¡±

    Nathan looked around, disgusted. It was faint, but a foul smell had wafted from inside the building. It wasn¡¯t unbearable, but noticeable.

    Kiera: ¡°Is everything alright?¡±

    Nathan looked at the four women surrounding him, none of them seem to notice it, another thing his strong senses picked up on that no one else did.

    Iris: ¡°*whisper* Master, is everything okay?¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Uggghh I smell it too).¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uh, I guess.¡±

    Nathan step up to the counter next to Elise, who puzzled by Nathan strange reaction.¡±

    Kiera: ¡°So again, how can I help you?

    Elise: ¡°Yes can I have two rooms, both three beds?¡±

    Kiera: ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, we only have three rooms available. One single, double and triple respectively.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Ah, oh no.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t remember seeing that many people in the street.¡±

    Kiera: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, because of the tournament in Loegrey, many guess book rooms in advance.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Ah right, it is around that time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What tournament?¡±

    Kiera: ¡°Huh, you don¡¯t know about the Loegrey Champion¡¯s tournament?¡±

    Elise: ¡°She¡¯s not from around here.¡±

    Kiera: ¡°Oh I see, well in any case, the rooms have been booked in advance and the occupants should be arriving anytime now. We can¡¯t very well rent the room out, I¡¯m very sorry for the inconvenience.¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, will just take all three rooms the boys can sleep in the three room, my sister and I in the two and you can have the single.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that, I can bunk with the guys.¡±

    Elise: ¡°What!?¡±

    Kiera: ¡°Goodness.¡±

    Elsie and Kiera both made faces both went beet red.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah it¡¯s no problem.¡±

    Elise: ¡°A-Absolutely not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Elsie: ¡°It most certainly is not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, I don¡¯t mind sharing a bed.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Sh-sh-share a bed.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s really not that big a deal, I done so before.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Before!?¡±

    Two people sleeping in one room, wasn¡¯t uncommon back in his world. Whenever he went on a trip with friends, to avoid paying extra for rooms, a lot of the time, he would have two or three people to one room. He remembered playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the bed while the rest slept on the floor.

    Kiera: ¡°*Ahem*Sorry to interrupt, but we don¡¯t allow more customer in a room then there are beds.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Well that, settles that, the three rooms please.¡±

    Kiera: ¡°Right away.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(What in perverted things are they thinking?) Hey Elise, you don¡¯t think-¡±

    Before he could finish, Elise dangled the room key in his face.¡±

    Elise: This is your room key, room six.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But-¡±

    Elise shove Nathan away, she wasn¡¯t hearing anymore of what he had to say.¡±

    Elise: ¡°No buts, off you go, really, sharing the room with a bunch of men.¡±

    Nathan walked away, turning down the hallway and heading for room six. Anais peaked out of his hood, where she had been taking a nap.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, you should have cleared things up with her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She didn¡¯t really give me a chance, even so, I don¡¯t think any of them are the type to jump a woman, except Shane, but I could put him down easily. More importantly, do you smell that?¡±

    Anais: ¡°That really awful smell, is this why you stopped earlier?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, it was faint earlier, but it a lot more potent now.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It must be your senses, I only smell it faintly right now.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Nathan held his nose as he walked to his room.

    Nathan: ¡°Here it is, room six, lets hurry inside and get away from this smell.

    The moment he opened the door, a foul smell invaded his nostrils.

    Nathan: ¡°UGHHH!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Aw, the fuck is that!?¡±

    ?????: ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Nathan turned to fine a burly woman standing behind him, she was wearing the same green and white maid outfit, the receptionist was wearing.

    Nathan: ¡°Yes miss, um?¡±

    Merla: ¡°You can call me Merla.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, Merla, Inside, there this awful smell.¡±

    Merla: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Merla stepped in the room and sniffed around for a moment.

    Merla: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t smell, anything.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean, I can smell it out here in the hallway.¡±

    Merla: ¡°Well seeing as how, I just clean this room, I don¡¯t see how it could.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You cleaned it, you sure?¡±

    Merla: ¡°Excuse me!?¡±

    Nathan and Merla stared each other down, both in complete disbelief of the other. The smell was definitely there, yet Merla is denying it.

    Nathan: ¡°You know what, that was rude, I apologize. Maybe there is something wrong with the plumbing?

    Merla: ¡°Plaming, what is that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Y-Your joking, right?¡±

    Merla had just about enough of the customer in front of her. Insulting her cleaning skills, not to mention making up words, she was livid.

    Merla: ¡°Miss, I really don¡¯t have time for games, if you have a problem with the room, you can just leave. Now if you will excuse me.¡±

    With that, Merla left the room in a huff, leaving Nathan standing in the hall.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That ass, how can she not smell that¡­¡­..Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..She didn¡¯t know what plumbing was.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So, I don¡¯t know what that is either.¡±

    Nathan looked down into Anais¡¯s eyes, she was telling the truth. This gave Nathan a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nathan held his nose in enter the room, it did indeed look clean, but the smell was just all consuming. Further in was another room, as he moved closer, the smell grew stronger.

    *open*

    Anais: ¡°Ugh, it got worse, what is tha- Whoa!?¡±

    Anais found herself tumbling to the floor, for Nathan was knocked unconscious, foaming from the mouth.

    Anais: ¡°Nathan!?¡±

    _

    _

    *Knock**Knock**Knock

    Anais: ¡°The door?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The window.¡±

    Nathan opened the window and Iris fluttered inside. Iris went to greet Nathan, but was surprised by the rooms d¨¦cor.

    Iris: ¡°Master, why is this room so decorated?¡±

    All around the room, all manner of flora, covering the room entirely. In an adjacent room, the plants created a miniature forest, with no possible way to enter.

    Nathan: ¡°So that I can breathe, this world doesn''t have plumbing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, since your back I presume everyone else has returned as well?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, there all downstairs, having a meal.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, we have some time, tell me about their conversation from the other.

    Iris: ¡°Right.¡±

    Iris went through in great detail of the conversation they had while Nathan was away. From before and after they learned that Nathan had a Legacy, it seemed their views on him had change dramatically.

    Anais: ¡°They were thinking of trying sell him off?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, since your race was considered extinct, they would stand to make a lot from selling you off.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then wait, the cages on the carriage-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Most likely unfortunate individuals, who they captured before we met. Did you get a look at them?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m sorry even I couldn¡¯t get a glimpse, without rousing suspicion.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, so after they found out about your Legacy, they opted instead to recruit me.¡±

    Anais: Well like they said, having a Legacy is a rarity among rarities, no matter how insignificant, they are treated with the highest esteem.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Having someone with a Legacy on their team, would raise their parties fame.¡±

    Iris: ¡°In addition, it seems many who were found to have a Legacy were taken by something called a ¡°Church¡±.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m not sure, they never delve deep into the subject. Just that they don¡¯t want the church to find out about you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit I wish I¡¯d figured out what was strange about their fight, before I stupidly reveal my abilities.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No Master, I¡¯m the one to blame, I was the one who taught you that it was birthright, for that I¡¯m truly sorry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you, Iris. It just I rather fight the five of them, then deal with a Church.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, you know what it is?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I got some ideas, none of them good.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It be even worse if they found out about your second Legacy.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, since I still haven¡¯t figure out how to use it.

    Iris: ¡°Yes, I foresee trouble in the future, we should leave as soon as possible.¡±

    Anais: ¡°But if we were to disappear suddenly-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They would try to track us down and it will become the same situation we had with the Grassvalley.¡±

    The room went quiet as they thought back to a few weeks ago. Running through the woods for days, being hunted the entire time. At all cost they wanted to avoid a situation like that.

    Nathan: ¡°Let¡¯s change the subject, did they do anything else besides earn money?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, yes, they did go somewhere else, if I recall it was called ¡°Sylph Note¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sylph Note.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And what did they do?¡±

    Iris: ¡°To be honest. I¡¯m not sure. When I flew inside, Shane handed a man behind a counter something, the man took it and put it into a green box and they all left and came here.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And you couldn¡¯t see what it was?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Only that it was a piece of paper.¡±

    Anais: ¡°A piece of paper?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Let¡¯s just go find out, we¡¯re going for a walk.¡±

    Iris and Anais jumped on Nathans shoulder as he got up to leave.

    *Open Door*

    Elise: ¡°Ah!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Elise, what are you doing?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Uh, well we were all sitting down to eat, we were wondering if you were going to join us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhhh, sure, but I gonna go for a walk first.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Oh, okay, do you wnat me to join you?"

    Nathan: ¡°No, I¡¯m good, just, really need some fresh air."

    Elise: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Nathan jogged away, leaving Elise to stroll back down to her friends. Heading into the eating area she sighed, hearing a bunch of giggling women. As usual, Shane had several women sitting all around him, a big stupid grin on his face, as they swooned over his every word.

    Tin Man: ¡°Elise I finished mending your clothes, I placed in your room.

    Elise: ¡°Thanks as always.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Where¡¯s Nathan, is she coming?¡±

    Elise sat down at the table next to Shane¡¯s, where everyone else sat.

    Elise: ¡°Yes, but she had to take care of something first.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°What, what could she possibly need to do?¡±

    Elise: ¡°It not our place to ask, but she seem strange at times.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Like wanting to be in a room full of men.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Which by the way I was okay with.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Ugh.¡±

    The girls around Shane laughed at his remarks.¡±

    *Slam*

    Beatrice, brought her mug down on the table hard, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention. She threw a death glare at the woman around Shane.

    Beatrice: ¡°Leave.¡±

    All the girls around Shane left instantly, leaving Shane behind.

    Shane: Dammit, Beatrice, every time.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Shut up and get your ass over here.¡±

    Beatrice lifted the cup back up to her face, taking another big gulp of her ale. She always drank when she was depressed and she.

    Shane: ¡°Tsk, don¡¯t take away my fun, just because you got rejected.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°*cough, cough, auuuuuuuuuu, I wasn''t rejected, she got other things to do.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Why did you say that, you know shes not good with alcohol.¡±

    Shane sulking sat down next to Cerin, While Beatrice cried into her sister embrace.

    Beatrice: ¡°I¡¯m good leader right, right Elise?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Yes,Yes.¡±

    Beatrice: "Why did she reject me so fast, aaaauuuuuuuu."

    Elise patted her sisters head, as her Liquor induced emotinal state continued.¡±

    Shane: ¡°So, what was strange about her?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Well, just a second ago, when I was coming to get her, it sounded as though she was having a conversation with someone.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Did you see anyone?¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, but I didn¡¯t get a good look inside either.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Perhaps you were hearing things?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Maybe?¡±

    Merla: ¡°Can you believe that customer in room six, rude.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Room six, Nathan?¡±

    They over heard one of the staff, complaining to another. Venting her frustrations, to her coworker.

    Elise: ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Merla: ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry was I too loud?¡±

    Elise: ¡°No, no, about the customer in room six?¡±

    Merla: ¡°You know her, you need to teach her some manners. Telling me that the room I just cleaned smelled awful, the nerve of some people.¡±

    Kiera: ¡°Merla, please.¡±

    Merla: ¡°You should be upset to, not even a thank you after you gave her directions.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Directions?¡±

    Kiera: ¡°Yes, she just asked for directions and left in a hurry.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Where was she trying to go?¡±

    Kiera: ¡°She was looking for some where to sell goods. Oh yes, she also asked where she could find ¡°Sylph Note.¡±

 Chapter 44: Choices

    Chapter 44: Choices

    Iris: ¡°Master, here it is.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This place huh?¡±

    Nathan walked up to the building, making sure to keep his face hidden. He looked up at the sign, he couldn¡¯t read the words, but the emerald wings decorate each side, caught his eye.

    Anais: ¡°Are we going in?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I¡¯m sure by now, they probably found out I was looking for this place and if by any chance someone they know works there, they will expose us.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So, what do you want to do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Simple, Excuse me Sir?¡±

    Nathan called out to an elderly man on the street.

    Old Man: ¡°Hmm, yes, can I help you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry I¡¯m looking for a place to send a message, could you point me in the right direction.¡±

    Old Man: ¡°I can do you one better, Sylph Note, that building right there, they¡¯ll get your message where it needs to be.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, really, I was so close, thank you, oh also is there anywhere I could get some information?¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Information?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like books and maybe a map of the area?¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Sorry, nothing like that. This here mostly farmland, not much need for something like that around here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Oh, but if I remember correctly, over in Loegrey, theirs a library. They all the books you could want and I¡¯m sure someone could sell you a map too.

    Nathan: ¡°Really that¡¯s perfect, thank very much.¡±

    Old Man: ¡°No problem, anything for a pretty lady, have nice day.¡±

    The old man stroll away, before Nathan could correct him.

    Nathan: ¡°Aw, well, at least we know where we need to go now.

    Anais: ¡°How did you know they were sending a message?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Educated guess, the cages on the carriage, they have to get in contact with the buyers, to let them know they got the merchandise.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master look.¡±

    Nathan turned back towards Sylph Note. Beatrice, Shane and Elise all entered the shop in a rush.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Right.¡±

    Three of them vanished right before Beatrice rush back outside, followed by Elise.

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Nothing, she wasn¡¯t here. Not a trace of her mana signature, she was never here.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Heard that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, come on lets go.¡±

    Nathan walked back down the street, completely unnoticed by Elise. Turning the corner, he made his way back to the inn.

    _

    _

    Nathan: Ah, this feels nice.¡±

    Nathan stretch out in the bath, soaking in the heated water. It wasn¡¯t as relaxing as the mineral water from before, but still felt good. When he returned he decide to take a quick dip in the bath.

    After not bathing for such a long time, it was a welcomed affair. Nathan refused to use the personal baths found in his room, settling for the public bath. The maid staff said it was okay for him to go in, so he took up the offer immediately. He had Anais keep an eye on Iris and vice versa, he couldn¡¯t be too careful with those two around.

    He had gather quite a bit of information today, from various sources, the town of Ream was the furthest town south of the central continent. From here if you head on the northern road, in a day you¡¯ll reach either Loegrey or Borise, depending on which road you take at the fork. From what he heard, Loegrey seemed to be bustling at the moment, with the tournament going on, Nathan couldn¡¯t get much information about it, but with so many people, slave traders would definitely stay away. So, when he decides to leave, he should head for Loegrey, with any chance he should be ready in a day.

    *Open*

    The door to the bath opened, the steam was obstructing his senses, but he paid it no real mind, another person or two wouldn¡¯t ruined his bath.

    Nathan: ¡°No wait, I can¡¯t let them see my face.¡±

    Nathan quickly grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his head, grabbing another towel and wrapped it around his body. His arms and legs, he will just have to keep submerged for now.

    Beatrice: ¡°Nathan, so you were in here.¡±

    Elise: ¡°The staff was right.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just Elise And Beatrice.¡±

    Nathan unwrapped his face and lied back down in the water.

    Nathan: ¡°No wait, wrong reaction, ELISE AND BEATRICE!?

    Beatrice: ¡°Taking a bath, what else?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not the women¡¯s bath yet, I couldn¡¯t have been in here for more than fifteen minutes?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Huh, but the women¡¯s bath started forty minutes ago.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, ah!¡±

    Nathan slap himself in the head, he himself forgot he was mascurating as a woman. It wasn¡¯t surprising to see a few more woman walk in behind the two. However, this was a problem, if anyone got to close, his true gender would be reveal.

    Elise: ¡°Nathan, is everything alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, just a little hot, I¡¯m just gonna get out.¡±

    Elise: ¡°What?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Nonsense.¡±

    Beatrice quickly stopped Nathan from leaving, grabbing him and throwing him back into the water.

    Nathan: ¡°*gasp*, hey that¡¯s dangerou-¡±

    Nathan could now see Beatrice up close in personal, she was very sculpted woman. Her physique, not doubt the outcome of her line of work. Though it didn¡¯t impede or out shine her feminine assets, she was undoubtedbly beautiful. He felt a twinge when he looked at her stomach. Nathan tried for years to obtain such a physique, but could not obtain it, no matter how hard he tried. No matter how hard he tried. Abs were a dream to him.

    Elise lack the muscle her sister had, but she made for it in other aspects. Elise was much more endowed then her sister. even whilst only wearing a towel, her bosom threatened to reveal them selvesThis tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Beatrice and Elise followed Nathan¡¯s eyes and how intensely he was staring at her chest. Then they both looked down at his chest.

    Beatrice: ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡­¡­.so sorry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Elise: ¡°D-Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get some someday as well, will have them. It¡¯s different for every girl.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What are you on abo-¡­¡­¡­..Oh, no, no, no, that is not it. You can¡¯t even begin to comprehend this misunderstanding you¡¯re having.¡±

    Nathan made sure the towels was tight around him, as he stood up to leave.¡±

    Elise: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?

    Nathan: ¡°I just need to leave before-¡±

    Beatrice step in front of Nathan again.

    Beatrice: ¡°Before what?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Before things get complicated.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°There is nothing complicated about a bath.¡±

    Nathan attempted to move pass Beatrice, but she continuously barred is exit. Beatrice smirked down at Nathan, pissing him off.

    Nathan: ¡°(Okay enough of this. All this because I rejected her offer.)¡±

    Beatrice:

    Nathan leaped out of the bath, but was quickly grabbed by Beatrice. Unlucky for him, she only succeeded in grabbing his towel. Having his towel yanked away, Nathan instantly activated Shadow Sneak. He was glad that he had Anais give him this ability, the moment the towel was gone, Nathan had vanished.

    Beatrice: ¡°What!?¡±

    All Beatrice could make out was a black blur, bounding all around. She tried to grab at him, but he was too fast. Nathan leapt across the bath and then out the door.

    Elise: ¡°What was that, she moved so fast I couldn¡¯t see her.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°(It couldn¡¯t be)¡­¡­¡­AH!?¡±

    Elise: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    *fwip*

    Beatrice: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I still have her towel.¡±

    Elise: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Oh dear.¡±

    Nathan kept Shadow Sneak active all the way back to his room. Hurrying inside slamming the door and locking it.

    Nathan: ¡°(I can¡¯ believe I just ran through the building stark naked)¡±

    Anais: KYAAAAA!?¡±

    Nathan turned to see Iris staring at him.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah that¡¯s right.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wh-wh-why are you n-naked!? Show some decency.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Both of you, stop staring and get me some clothes.¡±

    _

    _

    Girl: ¡°Ahahahahahahahahahaha!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not funny.¡±

    Nathan very annoyed to find himself being laugh at, once he had return to the whit space. After telling the girl what has transpired, she burst into laughter, rolling on the floor laughing her ass off.

    Girl: ¡°Oh man that was great, you ran through th lobby full of people stark naked, I can just imagine it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shut up, sheesh, I wasn¡¯t that funny.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Ahehehe, okay, okay, but hey, all this mean you made it out of the Garden, I¡¯m glad.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but it brought its own share of trouble.¡±

    Girl: ¡°What, the people you met turned out to be slave traders, that had every attention to sell you off as an exotic pet. However, after witnessing your power, they decided to make you a party member.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That pretty much sums it up. I also can¡¯t forget Anais and Iris, both of them are in it as much as I am. If worse comes to worse I might have to do something I don¡¯t want to do.¡±

    Girl: ¡°You know, there, a simple solution to all your troubles.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I already thought of that.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Then just leave, you know where to go to make the most impact.

    Nathan: ¡°Their going to chase us.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Probably.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They could have friends that will help them.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Possibly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I going to have to fight.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Most likely, but you can handle them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*Sigh*, I just got here, but it feels like I been doing nothing but fighting.¡±

    Girl: ¡°Get over it, you got plenty more fighting to do, as early as when you wake up in fact.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nathan, wake up.¡±

    Nathan eyes opened to find Anais standing over him, as always, he couldn¡¯t recall who he was talking to or what she looked like. All he could remember were bits and pieces of the conversation, the parts that mattered.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, get up we have a problem.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*Yawn¡± What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, while you slept, a message came for our friends and they all left. I follow them again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Looks like there deal fell through.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Iris explained the situation to Nathan. It seemed as though, the buyers of the merchandise went back on their end of the deal. Now they were stuck with two pieces of merchandise they couldn¡¯t sell.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, that¡¯s bad for them, but how does that affect us?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Turns out, they decided to sweeten the deal, with an item so rare it hadn¡¯t been seen in thousands of years.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Where are they?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Their still at the Slyph Note.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Right now?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No reason to stay, I got out share of the money from Cerin. We can make our way to Loegrey.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and the fauna around the room disappeared. Placing the pouch full of coins in his inventory. He ran down the steps, bumping by the employee from earlier.

    Merla: ¡°HEY, watch it!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m checking out.¡±

    Merla: ¡°What, hey!¡±

    Nathan bolted through the lobby and out the door. Merla ran outside behind him, but only catching a glimpse of him before he was gone.

    Merla: ¡°So rude, good riddance.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Shane: ¡°Did she answer?¡±

    Elise walked past Shane, Shaking her head as she past.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Is she even in there, I¡¯ll knock.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Stop, if she didn¡¯t answer before, more knocking won¡¯t help.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Tch!¡±

    Shane reluctantly gave up and followed Elise down stairs. Elise was pretty upset with him and he knew it. Because of him, they were now forced to return to their previous plan of selling Nathan off. Though it was a short time, Elise had grown fond of having him around and at some point,  he could have change his mind about joining there party. However, they no longer had that luxury.

    Shane: ¡°Hey, I get your upset, but you know we can¡¯t afford to lose her now.¡±

    Elise: ¡°I have nothing to say to you.¡±

    Shane and Elsie, walked in silence, back to her room, where everyone was waiting.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Everything alright?¡±

    Elise: ¡°She didn¡¯t answer, I think she might be sleeping.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Well, we¡¯ll just let her sleep, come tomorrow, her freedom will be forfeit.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Is there no other way, none us agreed on doing this, it was force on us.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise, you know we don¡¯t go back on deals.¡±

    Elise: ¡°I know, it¡¯s just.¡±

    Shane: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..You shouldn¡¯t have gotten attach.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Who are you to talk, you practically begged her to come with her .¡±

    Shane: ¡°So I wanted to fuck her, I didn¡¯t waste my time becoming friends. That¡¯s all there is to it, you don¡¯t want to harm your new friend.¡±

    Elise: ¡°SHUT UP, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING SELFISH. OH, RIGHT YOUR SHANE OF BOOZE AND BOOBS.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Selfish, SELFISH, THEY WENT BACK ON OUR DEAL. AFTER ALL WE DID, ALL THE SHIT WE HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET HERE, ALL THE TIMES WE ALMOST DIED, WAS NEARLY THROWN AWAY BECAUSE SOME ASSHOLE IN ZILTHARTH, DECIDED HE DIDN¡¯T WANT TO. I took the iniative and save our asses.¡±

    Elise: ¡°IT WASN¡¯T UP TO YOU; OUR LEADER DECIDES WHAT WE DO.¡±

    Shane: ¡°OUR LEADER YOUR SISTER, WHO SAW THE WAY YOU OPENED UP TO NATHAN, WE ALL KNOW WHAT SHE WHAT HAVE DONE FOR HER SWEET LITTLE SISTER.¡±

    *Punch*

    Shane was smashed in the face by Beatrice, sending him crashing into a corner.

    Beatrice: ¡°Watch it Shane, don¡¯t ever questioned my leadership. Elise.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Sister?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Feelings aside, the deal has been made. Tomorrow we¡¯ll will do what we have to do, I won¡¯t ask you to do anything you don¡¯t want to, but at the same time I expect it. Shane, this is my party, I decide what we do next, not you. Don¡¯t let it happen again.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Tch.¡±

    Elise put her head down when Beatrice looked over to her. She understood what she meant, but she just didn¡¯t like it. It was there way of life and she had to come in turn with the fact that they were going to do things they didn¡¯t like, so is the life they¡¯ve chosen.

    Beatrice: ¡°Tomorrow, Nathan becomes our target. No feelings, no holding back.¡±

    The five of them went through a plan to capture Nathan, seeing as how they only saw a glimpse of his Legacy, they had come up with one way to counter it, it¡¯s with this plan they all went to sleep. Come tomorrow, they would have to do something they already regretted

    _

    _

    _

    *knock**knock*

    Elise: ¡°Nathan, is everything alright?¡±

    Elise and Tin Man stood outside Nathan¡¯s door continuously, something was wrong.

    Tin Man: ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s in there, maybe she went for a walk?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Maybe?¡±

    Merla: ¡°Can I help you with something? Can¡¯t have you all crowding the hall like this.¡±

    Elsie: ¡°Ah, yes, by any chance have you seen the girl who was staying in this room?¡±

    Merla: ¡°Hmph, did I ever, she nearly knocked me over leaving yesterday.¡±

    Elsie: ¡°What!?¡±

    Before she could inquire further, Shane came running up to them.¡±

    Shane: ¡°WE GOT A PROBLEM!¡±

 Chapter 45: Rocky Travels

    Chapter 45: Rocky Travels

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for giving us a ride.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Absolutely no problem, you did pay me after all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That I did.¡±

    After leaving Ream earlier the night, he came across a wagon, the old man who had given him information earlier was pulling it. He gave the man a hand full of coins for a ride, apparently way too much, from the surprise on the man¡¯s face. He had come to learn his name, Jacob, Jay for short. They had converse, while Iris and Anais did their own things. Anais took to taking a nap, it was pretty late. While Iris, excitedly fluttered around the horse¡¯s head, happy to finally be up close to one. It like they had completely forgotten they were being chase. In the back of the wagon was an assortment of produce, some he recognizes, some he didn¡¯t.

    Nathan: ¡°You grew these?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Sure did, best produce in these parts.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, the best?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°The hell if I know, but my blood sweat, and tears went into everyone, I¡¯ll say there the best, until the day I die.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You make these trips often, to Loegrey?

    Jacob: At least twice a week, or sometimes Borice, but I rather go to Loegrey.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Borice, it doesn¡¯t look bad on the surface, it¡¯s still a cradle for unsavory types if you catch my drift.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Borice, that probably where Beatrice was headed. They should have all gone to bed by now. The fact that they think I¡¯m clueless to what they were going to do, they should have put down there guard.)¡±

    Nathan took a look back, as he did every so often. Nathan sighed with relief, when he saw no one coming.

    Jacob: ¡°You expecting someone?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Jacob: You keep looking, like you expect someone to come up from behind.

    Nathan: ¡°Hope not.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Miss, are you in some kind of trouble?¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If anything happens, you can leave me behind.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°I maybe old, but it will be a cold day in hell, before I leave a woman behind to fend for herself.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s very chivalrous of you, but I¡¯m not a girl I¡¯m not worried about getting hurt.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°What?¡±

    Jacob looked Nathan up in down, he couldn¡¯t see his face because of the wrap, but he could tell he was a beauty.

    Jacob: ¡°Gender confusion?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know, I am not opposed to striking old men.¡±

    Jacob looked like he was having a hard time believing Nathan and it was completely warranted. Nathan looked back, Anais had woken up from her nap

    Jacob: ¡°Still, at least let me try to help.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine.¡±

    Jacob pointed over to blanket

    Jacob: Damn it young¡¯un, I¡¯m gonna help rather you like it or not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But-¡±

    Jacob: ¡°PIPE DOWN!¡±

    Nathan continued trying dissuading Jacob from doing anything unnecessary. Nathan wasn¡¯t sure that Beatrice would find him, soon or later they are going to come down this road. When that happens, it will be up to Nathan rather Jacob got involved or not. But, if he learned from the elderly in his world, was that they were all stubborn.

    Jacob: ¡°Besides, all that money you gave, me it¡¯s the least I could do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I knew I gave you too much.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Hahahhahahah, I wouldn¡¯t expect a runaway to think this was too much money.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A what?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°No need to play the game with me.¡±

    Nathan looked at the Jacob in confusion, but Jacob just huffed.

    Jacob: ¡°You handed me eight hundred renny like it was nothing, your hiding your face, trying to keep a low profile, which by the way isn¡¯t working.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Wrapping your face is just going to draw more attention, I¡¯m pretty sure everyone you walked by, thought you were a runaway.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, no.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Come on, your obviously, a runaway, don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t get anything from turning you in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Listen I don¡¯t what you¡¯re talking about, but, well, I¡¯ll just show you.¡±

    Iris and Anais eyes went wide with surprised, as Nathan removed his wraps allowing Jacob to see his face.

    Jacob: ¡°Well aint that something, a Dark skinned Lycanian, I thought you all were extinct.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So I¡¯ve been told, but your reaction, you¡¯re not that surprised.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Damn if I aint, just too old to be startling myself, notion for early grave, but go ahead and put that back on.

    Nathan looked up ahead and quickly rewrapped his face, as a wagon and some travelers, pass by.

    Jacob: ¡°I might not be the be judgmental, but most aren¡¯t like me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m surprised that anyone would recognize an extinct species.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°When that race is the same as the Demon Lord, it¡¯s not something you grow up not knowing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I suppose, but five thousand years is a long time, you think it would have fell into legend.

    Jacob: ¡°You¡¯ve been living under a rock sonny?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, it was a tree.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan use the excuse Elise came up with, a sleeping curse was way more convenient, then anything else.

    Jacob: ¡°Sheesh, who¡¯d the hell did you piss off, a sleeping curse is just pure and utter spite. Well, anyway, the Demon Lord nearly destroyed the world. Do think even for a second they would let something like that fade to legend?¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t refute that, back in his world, there been crazy dictators, terror attacks, wars for freedom, all happening hundreds of years prior to his birth. These occurrences were still told to him in his youth days, multiple times in fact.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you that.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°But even if you weren¡¯t a Lycanian, the fact that you¡¯re a rouge, would be surprising enough.

    Nathan: ¡°What does that mean?

    Jacob: ¡°It means, in Loegrey, you¡¯re going to attract way more attention, rather you got that thing on or not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*Mumbling*That might actually help.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°What was that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing, you mind if I rest in the back?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Sure, don¡¯t let me stop you, we got about an hour or two before the sun comes up, get some sleep.¡±

    Nathan climbed into the back of the wagon, he couldn¡¯t sleep, but stretching out felt good. Nathan could see the light of dawn starting to light up the sky. It would be morning soon and that meant it was almost time for them to get up.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Nathan: ¡°Here we go.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Shane: ¡°FUCK!!!¡±

    Shane screamed at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of the people standing around him. He didn¡¯t care, there stares were inconsequential compared to the problem he was in right now. Running through the streets, looking in every direction, interrogating everyone he met, no signs of Nathan. Shane cursed himself for not going in her room last night, he blamed Elise, but kept it to himself. He didn¡¯t have the time or luxury to vent. Running back to the inn, he found Beatrice and Elise finishing getting Quincy. Tin Man and Cerin had returned as well.

    Shane: ¡°Did you find anything?¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°No.¡±

    Cerin shook his head no, they were coming up short all around and the more they stood around the further Nathan got from them.

    Beatrice: ¡°Our friends and Borice said they didn¡¯t see anything suspicious on the road north. But I put out a reward for any information.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Dammit, why did she suddenly run away?¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Could she have figured out what we were up to?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°That could explain some suspicious behavior.¡±

    Elise: ¡°But how could she have known, I¡¯m sure we never said anything, that would draw suspicion?¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°No we did all the time when she wasn¡¯t around. I remember reading, that Lycanian had rather good hearing. It¡¯s possible that she over herd our conversations.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Then it would explain why she disappeared a times.¡±

    Shane: ¡°None of this matter, rather she knew or not, we still have to find her. Someone had to have seen her, we need to find that someone.¡±

    Youth: ¡°Hey, you the ones with the reward for the information?¡±

    They all turned to find a child had called out to them.

    Shane: ¡°What do you want kid?¡±

    Youth: ¡°Like I said, you the ones looking for information and given out a reward.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What, you have it?¡±

    Youth: ¡°If you got the reward, you get the information.¡±

    Shane: ¡°This aint no charity kid, buzz off.¡±

    Youth: ¡°Suit yourselves, I¡¯ll just keep my information about the dark-skinned woman.¡±

    Everyone looked surprise, though they told everyone to look for something suspicious, they never said any specific details, especially not that they were looking for a Dark-skinned woman.

    Beatrice: ¡°Wait, what do you know?¡±

    Youth: ¡°Unh-unh, lol first.¡±

    Shane: ¡°You little shit.¡±

    Beatrice reach in her pouch and presented the boy with a hand full of silver coins. The boys eye lit up as each coin fell into his palm, like he had never seen that much money in life.

    Beatrice: ¡°Okay, tell us what you know.¡±

    Youth: ¡°Yes, me in my dad were heading back from Loegrey early last night, when we saw another carriage coming the other way. There was a passenger who hid their face as we went by. She was extremely beautiful, my father thought so as well, but he said it was too bad she was dark skinned.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Beatrice, if what this boy says is true-¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°If she gets to Loegrey, it will be impossible to snatch her.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Then what are we standing around here for, we gotta go.¡±

    For once, everyone agreed with Shane, they didn¡¯t have any time to waste. If Nathan got to Loegrey, with how heavily guard it is now, it would be nearly impossible to catch her. Jumping in the carriage, Beatrice patted Quincy¡¯s head.

    Beatrice: Quincy, as fast as you can go, please.¡±

    Quincy cried out, then with a huge burst of speed, took off, leaving the boy standing in the street with a palm full money.

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡­¡­¡­¡­.Shit.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°You awake youngster, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan Jumped up and looked back, in the distance he could see someone coming up from behind. They were moving really fast.

    Jacob: ¡°Wow, must be an Aveon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aveon?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Yeah, it the only thing I can think that could be moving that fast.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­.Then this is where I get off.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°What, hold on there, are they the ones your running from?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, thanks for the ride, I¡¯ll take it from here.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Dammit you, what part of I¡¯m gonna help you did you not understand.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°There¡¯s nothing you could do.¡±

    Jacob: ¡° Shut the help up and move them vegetables there.¡±

    Nathan reluctantly pushed the produce aside.

    Nathan: ¡°This?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Still think I¡¯m no help.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    *Neigh*

    Jacob: ¡°Watch it ya idiot, I can¡¯t stop this thing right away.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Sorry about that old timer, I wanted to ask you a question.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Look more like you had a death wish, get out the way.¡±

    Jacob tried to move his cart on by, but was prevented, Tin Man stepping in the way.

    Elise: ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry for the inconvenience, we were just wondering if you had anyone pass you on the road?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Plenty of people travel this road little miss, I don¡¯t keep track of everyone who passes by.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Dark skinned, wearing a wrap around their face.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°If no wraps, then someone extraordinarily beautiful.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°A beauty you say, I can honestly say I haven¡¯t seen any woman going down this path. Especially, any extraordinarily beautiful woman, you don¡¯t come by those every day. Now, could you tell your friend to get off my wagon?¡±

    Cerin was surprised to find that Jacob had notice him. He stopped looking through Jacobs things and backed away from his cart. Shaking his head, signaling that he didn¡¯t find anything.

    Jacob: ¡°Are we done here?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Yes, sorry we stopped you.¡±

    *Neigh*

    Elise stroke the horse mane and offered it an apple, which it quickly scarfed down.

    Jacob: ¡°Yeah, me too.¡±

    Jacob pulled the rein, edging the horse to move on.

    Beatrice: ¡­¡­¡­..Wait.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°What?¡±

    Beatrice stepped up to the front.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°We never say it was a woman.¡±

    Cold sweat ran down Jacob back, but he kept his composure. Looking Beatrice right in the eye, no showing the slightest bit of doubt.

    Jacob: ¡°Taking things outta context, I doubt your giant friend would be calling a man extraordinarily beautiful¡­¡­¡­ unless of course he prefers-¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Aheheheheeheheh, quick answer, just messing with ya, a little payback after you stopped me for no reason. Well, if there¡¯s nothing else.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Yes, sorry for the trouble.¡±

    Jacob grabbed the reins and off he went again, leaving the group of hunters behind. Glimpsing backwards he saw them take off in the other direction. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to disappear back down the road. Sure that the close was clear, Jacob knock several times on the wagon.

    *open*

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s hot in there.¡±

    Nathan pop up out of a secret door on the bottom of the wagon, glistening from sweat.

    Jacob: ¡°Everything alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Besides needing a shower, I¡¯m fine. Real convenient you have a hidden compartment installed.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Comes in handy when you got something important, you don¡¯t want stolen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, thanks for that, for second there I was getting ready to jump out.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°No problem young¡¯un, to be honest, I almost lost it there, that woman, she was scary.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah she is.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Still, what the hell did you do to them, was they the ones you stole that money from>¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, they gave me this money, but my problem with them, I met them.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    *neigh*Neigh*

    Jacob: ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s wrong girl?¡±

    Jacobs horse begin to jump all around, bucking and pulling the wagon around. As she jumped around, produce was sent flying each in every way.

    Nathan: ¡°HEY, WHAT THE MATTER WITH YOUR HORSE!?

    Jacob: ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW, DALIA CALM DOWN!¡±

    Jacob tried his best to calm her, but she wasn¡¯t having any of it. She dragged them around and as quickly as it begun, the horse drop to the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°Hollee crap, does your horse do that often?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Never, that the first I¡¯ve ever seen that, what the hell happened?¡±

    Jacob jumped down to see what was wrong. She had tried herself out and was now out of breath. He couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong with her, until saliva dripped out her mouth.

    Nathan: ¡°Green saliva, is that normal?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Don¡¯t daft, of course not.

    Jason got down close to the stuff, giving it a big whiff.

    Jacob: ¡°*Sniff* Where the hell did that come from?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Somehow, she got her hands on some ¡°Viim¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Viim¡±?

    Jacob: A drink, good for an extra burst of energy. I drank some when I need to keep that pep in my step. Problem is when it where off, your fill shit tired.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s for horses too?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Hell no, the effect on animals is too strong and abrupt, it¡¯s basically poison to them. It¡¯ll give them the energy, but well you see what happens, the get bat shit crazy. It could last all day or just a few seconds, looks like it¡¯s the latter. The bigger problem is the after effects, they just collapse. We¡¯ll be stuck here until it works it way through her system.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So how do you get this Viim?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°You could get it anywhere, but I didn¡¯t have any and there no way I would let her drink any.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if it¡¯s just poison, then I have a solution.¡±

    Jacob watched as Nathan stuck his hand to Dalia¡¯s head.

    Nathan: ¡°Therapy!¡±

    A white aura covered Dalia and as encompassed her, her breathing slowly return to normal.

    Jacob: ¡°What in the world?¡±

    Soon Dalia was back on her feet, back to her original condition.

    Nathan: ¡°That worked faster than I thought it would, I also fixed that pain she had in her leg, she should be better than before.¡±

    Jacob stared in awe, he had never in his life witness such a spell.

    Jacob: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Who are you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The horse is up, we can leave right?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Y-Yeah?¡±

    Jacob made sure that everything was fine with his horse and then climbed back on to the wagon, with Nathan climbing on back. Giving the reins a tug, and they were off again.

    Jacob: ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me are you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Probably for the best.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Probably.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, but, this Viim, can you put it in food?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, it will still have the same effect, but, I wouldn¡¯t give her anything like that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How fast is the reaction?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Almost immediate, I¡¯m not sure for animals, but probably the same.

    Nathan: ¡°Then it could have been what she ate.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Sonny, when been traveling for hours, I haven¡¯t feed her since last night, when we met, what could she have possibly¡­¡­¡­¡­..no wait.¡±

    Jacob face looked as if every light in his head went on, his horse did just eat something recently.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°That girl.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, she gave your horse a poison apple.¡±

 Chapter 46: Five Vs One Part 1

    Chapter 46: Five Vs One Part 1

    Jacob: ¡°You sure you¡¯ll be okay, I don¡¯t mind taken you the rest of the way?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°But-¡±

    Nathan put his hand up.

    Nathan: ¡°Look at your cart, your horse, your livelihood. This all happened because of me.

    Jacob¡¯s wagon wasn¡¯t in the best of shape, after his horse went crazy. Most of his produce was smashed or on the road.

    Nathan: ¡°They wanted to slow you down, before you got to Loegrey, they were suspicious of you.

    Nathan: ¡°Your carriage is the only thing headed this direction, big enough to hide a person. If they do a more thorough search, probably with magic, they would find me and you might lose more than just your wagon.¡±

    Nathan reached in his sack and pulled out four more coin. He tossed them to Jacob.

    Jacob: ¡°What, I¡¯m not taking this, I didn¡¯t even earn the first pay.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Keep it, its payment for these.¡±

    Nathan showed him the smashed pieces of fruit and vegetables, he had picked up.

    Nathan: ¡°If I gave you more than necessary again, just think of it as wagon repair.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°You are something else, you know that?¡±

    Jacob stuck out his hand toward Nathan.

    Jacob: ¡°I¡¯ll see you in Loegrey.¡±

    Nathan smiled and shook his hand.

    Nathan: ¡°Of course you will.¡±

    Jacob grabbed the rein, Given them a tug, the cart slowly pulled away.

    Jacob: ¡°The Fork is about a mile up, make sure to take the right path, the left leads to Borice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Jacob waved Nathan as his cart pulled away. Nathan watched as the wagon slowly disappeared up ahead and then he started to make his way down the road as well. He wanted the cart to be out of sight completely, just in case Beatrice showed up. If they saw the wagon so close, to be honest, they didn¡¯t seem like the type to harass the elderly, but Nathan wasn¡¯t going to make the same mistake again.

    *Poof*

    Anais: ¡°Walking sucks.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Said the one riding on my shoulder.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That was an awful thing that happened to that man. Master, I will deal with them when they arrive.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You aren¡¯t doing anything.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I beg your pardon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, did you forget the whole battery thing or were you just not listening.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Regardless, I will not sit aside and watch you two fight.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to, but with your crazy power, if you did anything, don¡¯t you think it would draw attention. How many of those guards did we ride passed. However, there is one thing, but only when we start fighting and not before.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What is it?¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Shane: ¡°Shit, shit, shit.¡±

    Shane continued screaming profanity, as they all hurried down the road. They searched this road back and forth, there was no sign of Nathan. They didn¡¯t believe he would go off trail, he might have jumped out of the woods, but he didn¡¯t seem too eager to go back in.

    Shane: ¡°I knew I should have bust in their yesterday, he couldn¡¯t have gotten such a hid start, Dammit.¡±

    Elsie grip put her head down, she felt like everything was her fault, and Shane wasn¡¯t making her feel any better. She was stuck in a separate state of mind, on one hand she didn¡¯t want to find him, if he¡¯d stayed away then they wouldn¡¯t have to do what needed to be done. On the other hand, Nathan was essential to finish their deal, if they don¡¯t deliver, it could harm their credibility. Credibility, is without a doubt, the most important in their line of work, without it, no trust, no work, no income.

    Tin Man: ¡°If he didn¡¯t go off the trail, then it can only be that old man.¡±

    Elsie: ¡°But I didn¡¯t feel any other signatures and Cerin, didn¡¯t find anything, when he search the wagon.

    Tin Man: ¡°There are ways to hide a mana signature and we all know, there are some things a merchant would rather not have out in the open.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Then, it was wise to laced that apple, his horse should have collapsed by now. We should see him soon.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.You know I don¡¯t think we need that old man at all.¡±

    Not far up the road, Nathan was making his way down the track, casually walking along.

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise call out to her, on the off chance she doesn¡¯t know what we want, just try to get her to come with us.¡±

    Shane: ¡°And if she doesn¡¯t come?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Then we have no other choice.¡±

    Elise swallowed hard, this was it she was going to fight, she had made up her my to do so. She checked herself then called out.

    Elise: ¡°Hey, Nathan.¡±

    Nathan turned around and gave an innocent smile. He waved back to them and the carriage slowly pulled up.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, you guys heading this way.¡±

    Nathan looked over their faces, the sheer relief in their eyes from finding him, made their intentions all too clear. However, Nathan decided to play dumb, there was no danger just yet.

    Nathan: ¡°I should have figure you were coming this way, it is the only road.¡±

    Elise: ¡°If you were planning to leave, you should have said something.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry about that, it was a spur of the moment thing, you were all gone, I just didn¡¯t have any real reason to stay in Ream.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Where did you plan on going?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°To Loegrey, I ask around town and they say I could find a library there.¡±

    Elise: ¡°A library?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I need to catch up on a lot and what better placed then there?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Well, then how about Borice instead?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Borice?¡±

    Elise: ¡°Its where we¡¯re heading, if you need a library, they have one as well.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    This was it, Nathan had already figured that they were going to Borice. If what Jacob said was true, going there would be bad news.

    Over in the carriage, Beatrice and everyone stood ready, weapons in hand, but out of sight. Nathan had taken down a swarm of monsters, with the greatest of ease. They didn¡¯t know the full extent of his Legacy, but from what they saw, they were in for a fight. They only had one night to plan, but from what they can tell, Nathan ¡°Legacy¡± was plant based. They ready every fire based spell or weapon in their arsenal. If Elise couldn¡¯t get him back into the carriage, they would have no other choice.

    Nathan Threat Detection went off immediately, it would come to a fight if he refused Elise offer. Nathan glanced down to Anais who nodded her head, then he looked over to Iris signaling her to let him and Anais to handle things. She reluctantly stood down, but par their agreement, the moment she believe they were in trouble she would intervene.

    Elise: ¡°We could give you a ride, it¡¯s much better then walking, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nah, that¡¯s okay, I already have might sight set on Loegrey, besides, you all have things to deal with, no reason for me to be getting in the way.¡±

    Elsie: ¡°That¡¯s no problem, we don¡¯t mind at all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, no, you guys get back to your job, you don¡¯t need me around. And like I said before I¡¯m not interested in joining, no amount of times going to change this.¡±

    Nathan stuck his hand out to Elise, she seemed disheartened, but that was a given.

    Nathan: ¡°So this is good-bye for now.¡±

    Elise grabbed Nathan¡¯s hand and shook. Nathan waved to everyone else and continued on his way. It didn¡¯t take him even ten steps, before he leapt out of the way of several arrows, embedding itself into the ground.

    Shane fired several more shots, each easily dodged by Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, if you need me alive, you¡¯re sure doing a lousy job of showing it.¡±

    Shane: ¡°That little bitch, so you did know the entire time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You were trying too hard to hard to keep me with you, even after I refuse to join you, who wouldn¡¯t find that suspicious?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Will make note of that for next time, but now, you will have to come with us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, but, I rather not be sold off, because you can¡¯t keep a deal together.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking.¡±

    Elise moved over to her sister, she also ready herself for a fight. Nathan and her eyes met, for a moment she looked hesitant, but a quick shake of the head and she was resolute once again. Elise began to chant while Beatrice charged Nathan. Nathan pulled out his sword and met Beatrice blade. She was strong, her blade heavy against his, but he stood his ground.

    Their swords clashed as Beatrice try to end it fairly quickly, she was surprised to see Nathan matching her blow from blow.

    Beatrice: ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would be this good.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, me either.¡±

    *swish*Cling*

    Cerin, eye widened in surprise, as did Beatrice. She believed she had successfully drew his attention, but he was still able to avoid Cerin¡¯s sneak attack.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you sure you guys aren¡¯t trying to kill me?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°You can heal yourself afterwards.¡±

    *Cling**Clang**Cling**Cling*

    Nathan simultaneously clashed with Beatrice and Cerin, his quick movements along with Beatrice¡¯s head on swordsmanship, made for a deadly combo. If not for his reflexes, he was sure he wouldn¡¯t have been able to accomplish this, however, this was enough. Nathan leaped away, as his Snyare plants shot from the ground and ensnared Beatrice. The plants went for Cerin as well, but he avoided them seamlessly. Cerin pulled out several knives that glowed red, simultaneously, throwing at Nathan and Beatrice.

    Nathan knocked the knives away, but looking at his blade, the area where the knives struck were giving of heat.

    Nathan: ¡°Fire daggers?¡±

    The knives hurled at Beatrice burned away th vines holding her, she landed back on the ground. Nathan wasted no time, several of his Uzy popped out the ground. All their hearts jumped a bit when they saw the flower spring up. These were the flowers they had seen that morning after the monster attack. Most of their plan last night was about defending agaist this and they could think of only one way.

    Beatrice: ¡°Tin Man!¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Right.¡±

    Tin Man began to give off a green aura, that slowly encircled Beatrice and Cerin. Nathan wasted no time, his plants let loose a volley of bullets.

    *RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA*

    With speed and accuracy, they found their targets, but something was wrong. The bullets were heading, but no one seemed phased by the unslaught.

    Nathan: ¡°What the-¡±

    Before Nathan could figure out what was going on, the volley of bullets stopped. Nathan turned to find his plants had been burned down. Arrows, covered and fire had taken them out, Shane staring down at Nathan with a smirk.

    Shane: ¡°What else you got?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well those two plants were pretty much it for attacking. Oh, but don¡¯t worry I got plenty more.¡±

    Several more Snyare and Uzy sprung up, a lot more than last time. Nathan wasted no time and letting loose, even with their counter measures, they still needed to enact them. With all of them distracted Nathan took off for his real target. Elise had been sitting idly for a while, that didn¡¯t bode well. Closing the distance, Nathan sheath his sword and swung the sheathe blade at her. However, they had planned for that.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry about this Elise.¡±

    Elise: ¡°So am I, Flame Burst!¡±

    Nathan¡¯s Threat Detection, activated mid swing, but it was too late. A blast of fire, erupted around Elise sending Nathan flying. Smashing into the ground Nathan quickly got to his feet and checked himself, it wasn¡¯t a lot, but it did some damage. He had several burns, which he quickly took care of and looked of Elise confused. He was sure he hadn¡¯t heard her reciting any spell, how did she do that?

    Elise: ¡°So it was true, you were watching us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Elise: ¡°We were unsure how much you knew, but we assumed everything, even, the fact that you watched us fight that night. It was just too much of a coincidence that you showed up when you did, you know. You saw me reciting the spell and presumed I hadn¡¯t prepared. Truth is, I prepared beforehand. A Delayed Spell.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You can save your spells and used them later? I know we¡¯re fighting, but that¡¯s pretty cool. You really got me there, I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    Elise became flustered and went slightly red in the face.¡±

    Elise: ¡°O-oh well it was nothing, it just something I¡¯ve been working on. I can only use it once for right now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wow, really¡­¡­¡­¡­..good to know.¡±

    Nathan rushed to attack her again, catching her off guard. He quickly toppled her, Elise screaming as she was tossed to the ground. Grabbing her staff, he attempted to break it, she seemed to depend on it to cast spells.

    Elise: "NO, PLEASE!!"

    *Fwssh*

    Nathan jumped out the way, as sevral arrows whizzed by. However thes arrows changed direction and began chase. Nathan swatted them down, but they didn''t stop them the readjusted and continued chase. Nathan was waiting for them to get close, then he could cu them down.

    Nathan: "Huh, whoa, whoa, whoa!?"

    Elise staff, attempted to yank it self from his grasp. Nathan tried to hold on, but with the arrows coming he had no choice but to let it go. Nathan chopped down the arrows and looked around the battle field. The plants he had left, had all been burned down and the group reunited, relatively unscathed. They had taking some damaged, it look like whatever Tin Man had done, wore off mid fight. Elises staff was back in her hands, she somehow called out to it back to her, which Nathan thought was cool.This was becoming a burden, with all the fire based attacks, his plants were getting the business. It didn¡¯t matter how many he grew, if they keep getting burned down.

    Nathan was amazed how well they were fighting together, with a plan they put together in one night. Every move was so fluent, you believed they were one in body and mind. Rather it was Beatrice swordplay, Cerin¡¯s assassin like strike Shane¡¯s archery, Tin Man¡¯s defense or Elise¡¯s magic, the team was well put together. None of their attacks, hindered the others.

    While Nathan was busy being amazed about them they were being shocked by him. While clashing blades with Beatrice and Cerin simultaneously, he was accurately dodging or knocking away every arrow Shane fired. In addition, the Flame Burst spell that he took head on, but came out with only a few burns was mind boggling. Since they begin, they were not able to deal him any real damage and the fact that he didn¡¯t looked the least bit tired made things seem worst. However, they were in no position to give up, it was do or die.

    Nathan: ¡°Listen, you do understand, that on the off chance you succeed in capturing me, I have no plans to go along with what you or anyone else tells me.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, once the trade is made, it out of our hands.¡±

    Shane: ¡°And what do you mean of chance, you¡¯re coming with us, the easy way or the hard way. And from the way you¡¯re fighting, you like things hard. Maybe if you give in now, I¡¯ll let your last night of freedom, the best night of your life.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ughh.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Don¡¯t be that way, tell you what, we settld all out problmes back in my room? Don¡¯t that sound more fun than this silly fighting.

    Nathan: Ok, so done with this, I¡¯m a Man, you idiot. I only pretended to be a girl to lower your guards.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Yeah, sure you did and I have fourth leg.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh for the love of¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    *unzip*

    Nathan, much to the surprise of everyone, yanked down his pants, revealing himself to the world. The shocked on everyone face, seeing it swing between his legs.

    Elise: ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAA!¡±

    Elise quickly covered her eyes. Shane stared stunned, the flirting, the fantasies, all was done to a man.

    Nathan: ¡°You still wanna go, as you undoubtedly notice, I¡¯m rally good in a sword fight?¡±

    Shane: ¡°*Vomit*¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah that¡¯s what I thought.¡±

    Nathan was surprised how much of a stunning move that was, he would use this opportunity. No sooner did he think to attack, did Beatrice come flying at him, sword ready.

    Nathan: ¡°Woah!?¡±

    Nathan quickly dodge all the strike for his neck, using his sword to block the last one. He looked into Beatrice face, she was beet red.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you trying kill me, because I flashed you?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°SHUT UP YOU PERVERT, LECHER.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Ba-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ba?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°YOU SAW US IN THE BATH!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The bath¡­¡­¡­¡­..oh yeah, forgot about that.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°F-Forgot!?Bastard, how could you forget something like that!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯ no big deal, I was surrounded by naked woman every day for months, not long before I met you guys. Not to say I didn¡¯t enjoy seeing you both, but after constantly seeing it all the time for months, it doesn¡¯t have that big of an effect anymore. There nothing special about it.¡±

    Nathan was unaware of the hole he was digging, but the damage had been dealt. Beatrice and Elise had never felt so humiliated. It was at that moment, both girls swore they would not ever let him forget them, EVER.

 Chapter 47: Five Vs One Conclusion

    Chapter 47: Five Vs One Conclusion

    Elise: ¡°Fire Shot!¡±

    No sooner did the words leave her mouth, several fire balls flew toward Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Ha!¡±

    Did they really believe Nathan would allow that spell to hit him? Nathan jumped out of the way of the attack, only to have the fire balls turn in his direction.

    Nathan: ¡°Ooooh.¡±

    Nathan cut down several fire balls, several more still chasing him.

    *swoosh**Cling*

    While Nathan move to dodge the attack, flaming arrows and knives struck his blade as he knock them away. Nathan plants, a lot more than his initial patch, popped out of the ground while he smacked the way the arrows and knives, the remainder of the fire balls were shredded by bullet seed fire.

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise get ready.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Right, ¡°Roaring spirits of flame, heed my words.¡±

    Nathan turned it towards Elise and fired. Tin Man quickly stepped in front of them, the bullets colliding with his armor. It had the same green aura as before. Beatrice and Cerin Backed off, while Shane continued firing arrows.

    Nathan volley of bullets increased, now targeting Shane as well. He quickly jumped behind Tin Man kept taking the attack.

    Nathan: ¡°You overestimate that armor.¡±

    There was no way he wasn¡¯t being hurt, if not for that green aura, compared to the Gorgons armor, it might as well be aluminum. Tin Man checked his hp, slowly but surely, it was depleting. Nathan looked around, Beatrice, Shane and Cerin had ceased attacking.

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise.

    Elsie: ¡°Right, ¡°Searing Shroud¡±!¡±

    A red light shot out all around, encircling the five and expanding towards Nathan. Nathan put his hands up to avoid it, but the light simply passed right through him. Elise collapsed, the spell had taking a lot of mana, more then she could recover from quickly. He looked around, nothing had change or, so he thought. No sooner did he think that, did he begin to burst into flame.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, shit.¡±

    Nathan quickly begin to heal himself, clearing the burns from his body. He waited a moment, but nothing happened.

    Nathan: ¡°(Was that it?)¡±

    Nathan looked over to everyone, their expression said that something else was up. Beatrice suddenly ran towards Nathan, her sword drawn. Nathan reached for his sword, only to have his sleeve ignite. He swatted away the flames, but doing so made more flames. All the time Beatrice had closed the distance. She swung her sword at him, which Nathan quickly blocked. His hands begin to burn as the hilt of his sword had become hot to the touch.

    Beatrice: ¡°I¡¯m surprised, yours clothes didn¡¯t burn away yet.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I tweaked them a bit. The question is, why aren¡¯t you burning and please don¡¯t say something like her spells don¡¯t affect her party members.¡±

    Beatrice punched Nathan and his side, breaking his stance and causing him to gain some distance. His clothes bursting into flames as he did. He patted ou the flames and healed himself.

    Beatrice: ¡°Nothing as convenient as that.¡±

    Beatrice held up her arm, showing off her bracelet.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Ember stone, makes us fire resistant, all I feel is a heat wave, we only have four, but Elise can just stay away.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Surprised?¡±

    Shane, walked up next to Beatrice, the fire not bothering him either.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not really, I kinda figure you would do this.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you obviously wanted to come up with counter measure for my plants. Let me guess, it was an area effect spell, that will set anything made of wood or plants ablaze, make water and ice spells less effective, make fire spells more effective along with fire weaponry, yada, yada, yada?¡±

    Shane and everyone looked a little shock, he had pretty much guess everything.

    Nathan: ¡°I can tell from your faces, I¡¯m completely right. Only thing I can¡¯t figure out is why I¡¯m not on fire right now? At first, I thought it was because I was going for my weapon and reacted to my intent. But, I caught fire while I was making some distance between Beatrice and myself. Why was that?

    *Swish*Swish*

    Shane fired some arrows at Nathan who dodge them easily, it was like he was trying to shut him up. Though it did cause his clothes to set fire again. This time he figured it out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Movement, it reacts to large movements. So, the more I jump around, the more I catch fire. Wait, you based this off of how I moved in the Bath. You thought I was gonna be leaping around like a madman, trying to escape. Was this your trump card?

    Beatrice: ¡°So what if you know, it won¡¯t matter.¡±

    Shane: ¡°It doesn¡¯t make it any less effective, it¡¯s over, the areas to wide for you to escape, like we let you in the first place.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So this is your trump card.¡±

    Shane: ¡°That¡¯s right, this is the end, you¡¯re coming with us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh thank goodness.¡±

    Elise: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Negative Pulse!¡±

    Between Beatrice and Nathan, a black orb appeared. Everyone turn to find a therian girl, who seemingly appeared from nowhere.

    Shane: ¡°Who the fuck!?¡±

    Elise: ¡°What is this?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Beatrice: ¡°Elise, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Elise: ¡°That thing, my spell!?¡±

    The Black orb pulsated and begin to dispel the area effect. Slowly the intense heat surrounding Nathan, faded.¡±

    Elsie: ¡°W-What was that spell?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, try asking the one who cast it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I told you, doing that cost too much mana.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, it did the job, right?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Bitch, who the hell are you?¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°How is she even here!?¡±

    Beatrice had paid off some of the guards, making sure no one was able to travel the road.

    Nathan: ¡°This is Anais, she is one of my party members.¡±

    Elise: ¡°You have a party member; how did you do that and so quickly?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not quickly, she been traveling with us since the beginning.¡±

    Elise: ¡°Don¡¯t lie, I felt no one else with you since we met.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame your lack of skill on other people. You just wasn¡¯t strong enough to sense me.¡±

    Elise felt a twinge, from her words, did she really not notice her or were they messing with them?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°So, this is why, you didn¡¯t join us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not the main reason, but one of them.

    Anais: ¡°Not that he would join, such a weak team anyway.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..What?¡±

    *Bonk*

    Anais: ¡°Ow, what was that for?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That wasn¡¯t nice.¡±

    Shane: ¡°YOU LITTLE BITCH, WHO DO YOU THINK YOUR TALKING TO!?¡±

    They didn¡¯t like Anais¡¯s insult and were ready to attack to defend they¡¯re honor.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Look, now they¡¯re upset.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Who cares, they already in your trap anyway, what can they do?¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Trap!?¡±

    Beatrice took a quick look around, she didn¡¯t notice anything wrong.

    Shane: ¡°Your bluffing, he¡¯s just trying to by time.¡±

    Nathan faced palmed and shook his head.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan said something to her that the rest could not hear. Elise¡¯s spell had left the ground in a sorry state and it was taking Nathan¡¯s plants a little longer to grow. The trap hadn¡¯t been sprung just yet and she revealed it to them haphazardly. Once they were done, Anais began sweating nervously, an expression on her face that told everyone there, she messed up.

    Tin Man: ¡°Beatrice!¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°Right.¡±

    They ready themselves to attack, something was wrong, and they weren¡¯t going to waste the chance.

    Nathan: ¡°They¡¯re coming, get back.¡±

    Shane and Cerin begin they¡¯re assault on Nathan. Cerin closed the distance between him and Nathan fairly quickly. They clashed for moment, before Nathan was forced back by the arrows being shot at him. Surprisingly enough, Tin Man had joined the fray, Cerin and Shane pushed Nathan right toward him. Tin Man swung down his slab of metal he called a club, Nathan blocked with his sword, but immediately regretted. The wait of the club was heavier than anything he felt so far and he arms were going numb.

    Tin Man: ¡°Cerin!¡±

    While Nathan was pinned under the weight of the attack, Cerin, moved in to finish him off. Nathan did the only thing he do and let go of his weapon and jumping away. Nathan avoided Cerin¡¯s strike, but in the process lost his weapon. Nathan, breathe a sigh of release, having the off his arms. Their method of fighting seemed to have change a bit. They were actively trying to hurt him now, it seems they gave up on trying to capture him unharmed.

    Shane picked up Nathan¡¯s sword and looked it over.

    Shane: ¡°This is a really nice sword, I think I¡¯ll keep it.¡±

    Tin Man: ¡°Draw your other sword, we won¡¯t attack you disarmed.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, how noble.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and another sword appeared in his hand. The three-looked stunned once again, seeing another sword appear in his hand from nowhere.

    Nathan: ¡°The one on my back is for special occasions.

    Tin Man: ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m Nathan, I thought I already established that.¡±

    Tin Man was beginning to believe they had chosen the wrong person to cross, but it was too late for that. Anais¡¯s words must have hurt they¡¯re pride, he was glad that Beatrice had stupidly went after Anais. If she was with them, they might have caught him just then.

    Anais: ¡°Jagged Edge!¡±

    Stone spikes, shot up from the ground, the moment Beatrice got within striking distance of Anais. She quickly backed off, jumping away to avoid the attack

    Beatrice: ¡°(It would take here a moment to cast another spell after this. As soon as she finished, I¡¯ll put her down, I have you respect us.)¡±

    Anais: ¡°Cold Snap!¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°What!?¡±

    Before Beatrice realized what was going on, ice formed around her feet and was advancing up her body rapidly.

    Beatrice: ¡°How, there was no incantation?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t need something like that.¡±

    The ice Beatrice quickly smashed the ice her legs, in that short time they had gone numb. She had messed up, she had never heard anyone who could cast a spell without incantations. Even if Elise was up to fighting, she would be no match for someone who could cast spells in such quick succession. Too bad for her, Anais wasn¡¯t letting up, casting her spell again.

    Anais: ¡°Flare Royale!¡±

    A rune appeared up above, raining fire down on Beatrice.

    Beatrice: ¡°Aaagghhh!¡±

    Elise: ¡°Beatrice!?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Shit!¡±

    Shane turned to fire on Anais, who was distracted by Beatrice.

    *Smash**Smash*

    Anais: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Anais was surprised by the sudden impact on her barrier, she glared at Nathan.

    Anais: ¡°Hey mind your own fight?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me, it¡¯s not so easy fighting three people.¡±

    Nathan continued clashing with Cerin And Tin Man. He had momentarily gotten distracted. He Glanced down at the ground, any minute it would start taking effect. Swatting at Tin Man¡¯s leg, he was able to knock him off balance, giving him a chance to get away.

    As the dust cleared around Beatrice, she was on her knees. Gritting teeth, she smashed her fist into the ground in anger. That attack, completely missed, not one fire ball hit her.

    Beatrice: ¡°Why¡­¡­¡­..Why did you miss?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, Mr. pacifist didn¡¯t want to hurt you. He made go easy on you.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°What, why!?¡±

    Nathan sheathe his sword.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not a killer.¡±

    Beatrice: ¡°DON¡¯T FUCK WITH ME, YOU THINK WE¡¯RE SO WEAK YOU NEED TO GO EASY ON US!?¡±

    Nathan gave Anais a look, she just shrugged her shoulders. Her earlier remarks about them being weak, cut deeper then he first thought. He didn¡¯t think they were weak, he was impressed how fluent their attacks were. None one of their attacks got in the way of the others. It was just that after fighting the Gorgon, they didn¡¯t feel as life threating. Though, he was sure, that excuse wouldn¡¯t fly with them. They¡¯re plan revolved completely around Nathan, stopping him from using plants, but it was easily thwarted by Anais.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not going easy on you, but you probably won¡¯t believe that huh? It¡¯s over, I¡¯m not going with you.¡±

    Shane: ¡°It¡¯s not over. You think you¡¯re just going to walk away?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°In about five seconds or so, you won¡¯t even notice.¡±

    Shane went to draw his bow, suddenly his eyes felt heavy. He felt he couldn¡¯t fight closing them and it wasn¡¯t just him, Tin Man and Cerin felt the same.

    Shane: ¡°What did you do to us?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re not in danger, your all just going to take a little nap.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Elise, what¡¯s he doing to us, Elise?¡±

    It was no use, Elise was laid out on the ground, having already lost consciousness. Soon after Shane, Cerin and Tin Man all collapsed as well.

    Beatrice was the last to fall, watching her party lose consciousness, one after another. As she fought to keep he eyes open, Nathan stooped down next to her.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything to you while your asleep, though I¡¯ll be long gone by the time you wake up.¡±

    He picked one of the Lillaby he had been growing and waved it in Beatrice¡¯s face.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t come after me, I somewhat forgiving, but the two I¡¯m traveling with are not. If they see you again, there will be nothing I can do to stop them and trust when I say, they will end you. You have been warned.¡±

    Beatrice cursed to herself, as she fell into unconsciousness.

 Chapter 48: Quincy

    Chapter 48: Quincy

    Anais: ¡°Well that was easy.¡±

    Anais clasped her hands together and looking around at the five bodies spread around.

    Iris: ¡°I really wish, you would let me join in as well.¡±

    Anais: ¡°If you did, they would have all been obliterated, all that mana would draw attention and he be mad at us.¡±

    Anais and Iris continued to converse, while Nathan got rid of all the Lillaby he had grown. With a wave of his hand they all retracted into the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t make me the bad guy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh, trust me, I know you¡¯re not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay I get it, if they show up to attack us again, you two can do as you like.¡±

    Anais crossed her arms and ceased her nagging, it wasn¡¯t exactly what she wanted, but it was close enough.

    Iris: ¡°Ah, there someone coming.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then we¡¯re leaving, I finished cleaning up the Lillaby. Wouldn¡¯t want people falling asleep, everytime they come through here.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t feel like walking, how about we take this cart, its better then walking?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Certainly not, we cannot have Master stealing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about, he took all thAMMMPH!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing, nothing. (Whisper) Anais, don¡¯t mention that I¡¯ve stolen anything to Iris. Think about how she will react, it would be catastrophic.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That only applies to you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just shush.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Fine, whatever.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, we leave somewhere they can retrieve later, right now we have to look the part like we weren¡¯t the ones who cause this. The people coming could very well be someone they know, better to look inconspicuous.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I suppose.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Alright its settled, hop on.¡±

    Nathan and Iris hopped up on the cart and Anais grabbed the reins.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Giddy up, Quincy.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeh!¡±

    Quincy didn¡¯t move an inch, no matter how many times Anais flipped the rein, he just stared at her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What the hell¡¯s wrong with this bird?¡±

    Quincy: Kweeeeh(There is nothing wrong with me.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­You can talk?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You picking a fight?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not you, Quincy.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh (Oh, ho, you can understand me, it not often that people can speak our tongue.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°See, he just did it again.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I not hearing anything, maybe it¡¯s like the time with Celes. You¡¯re the only one who can speak to him.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Quincy isn¡¯t a plant.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, you speak to Anais and her mouse form all the time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You don¡¯t understand her?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, all I ever hear are squeaks.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Anyway, if you can hear what its saying, ask why he¡¯s not moving?¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeeh(I don¡¯t mind taking you where you need to go, but only if you place my masters on the carriage. I will not leave them behind.)¡±

    Anais: ¡°What did he say?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He said, we hafta bring them with us.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, no way!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Either that or we¡¯re walking.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Someone¡¯s getting closer.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Awwwww, dammit.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    The wheels of the carriage, creaked as it made its way down the road. Anais pouting after giving in and letting Beatrice and company back on the carriage.

    Anais: ¡°This suck, you know they tried to capture and sell him off right, yet we have to bring them along.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeeh.(I deeply regret my masters put you through, on their behalf I would like to apologize.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He¡¯s apologizing for them.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Apologize, well we don¡¯t accept. I won¡¯t forgive them, you shouldn¡¯t either.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I concur, because they failed in their negotiation, they used my Master as a bargaining tool.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t forgive them, I meant what I said, if they come after us again, you both can do what you want.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh!(My Master, way of life has cause them to terrible things, things I¡¯m sure they did not want to do. However, we Kwiey, don¡¯t choose our Masters, nor do we question their lifestyle. We simply take them where they need to go. It is a small purpose, yet one I¡¯m am proud of.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Kwiey?¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeeh(It what we call ourselves, Aveon is what you humans call us.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, make sense. Hey, why are you being so nice to me, I just knocked out your masters, don¡¯t you want to attack me or something?¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh!(Lets¡¯ be honest, since the fight started you had no intention  of actually harming them. If so, you would have let miss Iris take care of things.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You can see her.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh!( Oh yes, who wouldn¡¯t notice someone playing around on their head. She a fairy is she not, with a wave of her hand, she could have obliterated all of my masters. You told her not to, I should be asking you why you didn¡¯t, even if you didn¡¯t kill them, your actions are that of a saint.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not so noble, I just think too much."

    Quincy: "Kweh?"(Think too much?)"

    Nathan: "Except from what i seen or what they told me, I don¡¯t know much about them. Do they have friends, are these the only members in the party, they could be part of a bigger organization that¡¯s waiting for them to return. If I was to outright kill them, I could have in entire group of people, I know nothing about gunning for me, gunning for them.¡±

    Anais: ¡°We can take care of ourselves.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So can I, but that didn¡¯t stop ¡°Her¡± from doing what she did, did it?

    Anais eyes shot in surprise, realizing who he was referring to. It wasn¡¯t too long ago and the event was still fresh in his mind. She hadn''t realized, because Nathan was always upbeat.

    Iris: ¡°Master.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweh.( I¡¯m sorry, did I say something I shouldn¡¯t have?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, I¡¯m sorry, its nothing. Basically, why take a chance when i can avoid it."

    Quincy: "Kweeh.( Thinking of the future oppose to instant gratifcation, youth today, are much mature then my day.)"

    Nathan: "I was just thinking, you talk like an old man."

    Quincy: "Kweeh!" (And blunt as well.)

    Nathan: "You don''t seem to dislike them, even though you know they do bad"

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeeeeeeh(I have no reason to, they always taking good care of me. Despite their actions, they are very good people.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, as long as you aren¡¯t their target.¡±

    Quincy laughed squawked out loud, he was laughing at Nathan.

    Quincy: ¡°(Ha, ha, ha, I really wished things had not turned out the way they did, even if you did not travel with us, the times we reunited, I believe I would have enjoyed your company.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I sure I would enjoy yours as well, but we can¡¯t go back to that.¡±

    Quincy: Kweeh!(I understand.)¡±

    Quincy, begin to slow to a stop, right up ahead was a fork that split the road.

    Quincy: Kweeh!( We have reached our destination.)¡±

    One path leading down a curved road, while the other took you over a small hill. Nathan hopped out of the cart and look stared down each path.

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh(The path to the right will take you to Loegrey, my masters has some business to take care of in Borice, I¡¯ll be taking them that way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you very much for the ride Quincy.¡±

    Quincy bent down and nuzzle Nathan cheek, he in return petting him.

    Nathan: ¡°They should wake up, in about a day, by then we should be in Loegrey and out of their reach.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Come on let¡¯s go, I had enough of being around them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, alright, see ya Quincy.¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeeh?(Actually, I know I have no right, but I have a request.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Nathan followed Quincy¡¯s eyes to the cages on the back of the carriage.

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh.( I ask that you set the two in those cages free.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Won¡¯t that be bad for your masters?¡±

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh(Not at all, the deal they made, cannot be completed without you. Right now, they are unnecessary baggage. It would be worse if the ones they took them from, were to catch up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If you¡¯re sure, hey Iris, take those cages off please.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Iris quickly floated both the cages to the ground, which Nathan went to unlock.

    Nathan: ¡°Actually Quincy, you should leave, the things you captured might have a grudge against them and have no intention of protecting them, if anything happens.

    Quincy: ¡°Kweeh(Yes I will do as you say, thank you very much for sparing them, somehow, I feel as though you are much more capable then you let on.)¡±

    Quincy bowed his head before taking off down the path, turning into a bend and outta sight.

    Anais: ¡°What was that all about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Apparently whatever¡¯s in here, isn¡¯t worth anything anymore and he want me to set them free.¡±

    Anais: ¡°How are you going to open it, without a key?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris waved her hand and the Alssein eye appeared. Opening any lock, was child¡¯s play, with a wave of her hand, each lock was removed. To open the cages now was as simple as turning a lifting hatch.

    Anais: ¡°I wish we could see inside before, we open this thing, but these cloths won¡¯t come off.¡±

    Iris: ¡°The cloths have mana running through them, only those designated can remove them, as were those locks. If not for the Alssein Eye, we would have to chase down Quincy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Whatever¡¯s inside, could be dangerous.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t think Quincy would leave us and not say if they were dangerous.¡±

    Iris: ¡°If they were able to catch it and we beat them, doesn¡¯t that make us stronger then what¡¯s inside?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°One way to find out.¡±

    *Ka-chink*

    Nathan opened the door and peered inside.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A girl?¡±

    Before Nathan could inspect further, the girl leapt out of the cage. She was a small thing, no bigger than Anais. Short hair, like white gold, that match the color of her eyes. Lizard like scales ran down her neck, disappearing behind the cloth she had wrapped around her body.¡± She stared at the three of them, a fire in eyes, a feeling of rage protruding from every inch of her body.

    Nathan: ¡°Uhm?¡±

    Before Nathan could get a word in, the girl turned and bounded away, disappearing into the trees.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell, she was a kid?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Despicable, I feared the worse, but, that was just awful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, she¡¯s free now, let¡¯s get the other one.¡±

    Walking over to the second cage, Nathan un did the latch.¡±

    *Ka chink**Crash*

    Nathan was smashed in the face with the cage door and knocked to the ground by the force.

    Iris: ¡°Master!?¡±

    Iris flew over to Nathan who held his face, rolling on the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°Ow, ow, ow, that hurt!¡±

    ???????: Scoundrels!?¡±

    Through his fingers, Nathan looked over to find yet another girl stepping out of the cage. She was much older, and much more endowed then the first girl. Long black hair, and eyes a hazel brown. Her skin Scarlet red, made her seemed as though she was on fire. From each side of her head, horns protruded and curved towards her forehead, giving the illusion of a crown.

    Nathan: ¡°Scoundrels?¡±

    ????????: ¡°YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR DISCEAT!?¡±

    The girl leapt high into the air, higher then Nathan had ever jumped, barreling down right towards him. Nathan move out of her landing spot, easily avoiding her, having her smash fist into the ground.

    *SMAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSH*

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa!?¡±

    As her fist collided with the ground, the impact shook the area, Nathan, grabbing Anais quickly jumped away, as the ground caved in beneath them. When the shaking subsided, a massive crater had formed where the girl struck. In the center the girl rose up and turned to Nathan. An anger in her stare, same as the girl before.

    Nathan Looked at the crater, the girl made with her fist.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, boy.¡±

 Chapter 49: The Braekuhr

    Chapter 49: The Braekuhr

    ?????: ¡°RELEASE ME AT ONCE!¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, can I pleas-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°For the final time, you can¡¯t launch her into orbit.¡±

    The girl continued to flail about, as she was floating midair due to Iris. Iris beg Nathan over and over to send the girl into orbit, however Nathan refused every time.

    Iris: ¡°She hit you in the face.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The door hit me in the face.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Because she struck the door.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Because she thought, I was the one who put her in that cage.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Even so, she didn¡¯t even try to listen to your explanation, as she attacked you over and over.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if someone locked you in a cage and try to sell you off to some stranger, if you had a chance to get out, would want to sit around talking?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I-I can¡¯t say I would.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°However, I won¡¯t be to heartless to you, Iris, why don¡¯t you take her for a spin.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Spin?¡±

    Nathan motioned his finger in a circle, it took a second, but she understood.

    ??????: ¡°PUT ME DOWN, PUT ME, huh, WAAAAAAAAAH!?¡±

    Iris begin to spin the girl about, in all random direction, she was twirled and flung about. At some points, Nathan would lose track of her.

    ??????: ¡°STOOOOOOOOOOP PLEASE STOOOOOOOOOP!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Keep it up Iris, until she¡¯s ready to talk.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Gladly.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, did you finish?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, the terrain is back to normal and Iris threw those cages in the woods.¡±

    Nathan looked over the area, as Anais said, all the craters had been filled in. Nathan let loose some seed, that grew and recover the area in flora.

    Nathan: ¡°Good we¡¯ll be long gone, before anyone arrives.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I thought someone would have arrive, due to all the quakes she caused.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Quite the contrary, they¡¯d probably sit and wait it out far away, the people that Iris felt approaching will probably not show up for a while.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Good, then let¡¯s get the hell out of here, what are you going to do with her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s a good question.¡±

    ???????: ¡°PLEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEE STOOOOOOOOOP, I FEEL SIIIICCCCKKK!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay Iris, that¡¯s enough.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Iris let the girl back to the ground and she immediately collapsed.  Iris looked satisfied.

    Nathan: ¡°Feeling better?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Much better.¡±

    Nathan walked over to the girl on her knees, trying to regain her equilibrium.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, are you ready to talk, or should we shake things up agian?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Lame.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, shut up.¡±

    ??????: ¡°J-Just give me a second.¡±

    Seeing her face, Nathan quickly stepped back.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t look at-

    ??????: *Vomit*

    Anais: ¡°Aww, Gross!

    Nathan: ¡°I said, don¡¯t look.¡±

    _

    _

    ?????: ¡°Ughhhh.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have happened if you had just listened.¡±

    Nathan handed her some water, which she snatched out his hand, prompting a reaction from Iris. She flinched, but Nathan quickly calmed Iris down.

    Nathan: ¡°So, first could I have your name?¡±

    ???????: ¡°Traditionally, when asking someone¡¯s name, you say yours first.¡±

    Iris lifted her off the ground.

    ???????: ¡°OKAY, OKAY!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris let her back down to the ground, quickly risen to her feet and dusting herself off.

    ???????: ¡°It¡¯s Ena, Ena Braekuhr.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, Ena, I¡¯m Nathan Lowell, this is Anais and Iris. I¡¯m sorry about what happened to you, but, I wasn¡¯t me one who did this to you.¡±

    Ena: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.I-I knew you weren¡¯t, the group of five I saw your fight with them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You did, through that cloth?¡±

    Ena: ¡°You can¡¯t see in, but I can see out?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then why attack us, if you knew we weren¡¯t with them, you could have run away like the other girl?¡±

    Ena: ¡°I don¡¯t believe I had any chance of escaping this man. The way you fought, battling those people. It was like you weren¡¯t even trying, you even ended the battle without any bloodshed.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Nathan: ¡°Then you know I wouldn¡¯t have hurt you.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about you, you who suddenly appeared out of the forest, who took down a horde of monster and so easily bested a group of hunters, with absolutely no problem.

    Anais: ¡°You thought they were strong?¡±

    Ena: ¡°I¡¯ve been their captive for a while, much longer than that other girl and I can assure you, those five are very capable.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sounds like your praising them.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Not at all, I despise them with every fiber of my being, I just understand how strong they are. And yet you¡­¡­¡­¡­ I figured that if I had any chance of escape, I would have to knock you out.¡±

    Iris: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, if you were able to do such a thing, I would have swiftly Ended you.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Eeeek!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, please stop scaring her, so you¡¯re a Therian?¡±

    Ena: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your horns, like ram or something?¡±

    Ena: ¡°I am no Therian, I¡¯m am a proud member of the Ogre Clan of the Rokaka Mountains.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No way, you¡¯re an Ogre, a real Ogre, I don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Ena, was flabbergasted, Nathan denial seemed rude. Anais and Iris were a bit shock too, he surprised seemed a little harsh. He had done the same to Iris before, but the circumstances were completely different.

    Anais: ¡°That was rude.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Iris: Master, I told, you shouldn¡¯t deny someone¡¯s existence.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh¡­¡­..ah, no, that¡¯s not it.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Then what exactly, were you saying?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m just surprise just how beautiful you are.¡±

    Ena: ¡°WHA!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re really pretty, the Ogre of my world, don¡¯t do you justice at all.¡±

    Ena: *Bluuuuussssssh* S-s-s-silence you fool, have you no shame, trying to woe a woman you just met?¡±

    Ena put her hands to face, attempting to hide it and the goofy smile decorating it.

    Anais: ¡°Wait, I thought you said nothing like us existed in your world.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not a real Ogre, I was referring to books, you all exist in my world as fantasy.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Then what did the Ogre of your worlds fantasy look like, were they pretty as well?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Gawd no, they were Fat, beer bellied, baby barf green-skinned, rock eating, saggy faced, buck tooth, loincloth wearing, yahoos. Plus, they were ugly.¡±

    Anais: ¡°TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But don¡¯t worry, you look nothing¡­¡­¡­ huh, where¡¯d she-¡±

    Before Nathan could finish, his reflexes took over, leaping out the way moments before Ena came crashing down.¡±

    Ena: ¡°YOU BASTARD!¡±

    Ena begin chasing Nathan around, trying her best to smash him into the ground, until Iris finally decided to stop her.

    Nathan: ¡°What took you so long?¡±

    Iris: Anais, said to give it a minute.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Since when did you, listen to Anais? And you, I almost died.¡±

    Anais shrugged off Nathan¡¯s complaints. He turned to Ena who sat on the ground, exhausted.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, you free now, you can go back home or whatever.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    With that she bowed and swiftly walked away, but not far from them she suddenly stopped.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ena: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Do you know where we are?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, we¡¯re on a road leading to Loegrey.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Ah, I see thank you very much.¡±

    Ena put her hand to her chin, she looked like she was contemplating something and then Nathan figured out what it was.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, could you possibly be lost?¡±

    Ena: ¡°W-What, o-of course not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you sure, I mean if you¡¯ve been captured for so long, obviously you would end up in a place you know nothing about.¡±

    Ena: ¡°SHUT UP, I¡¯M FINE, I JUST NEED TO GET MY BEARINGS.¡±

    She continued down the path in a huff, she didn¡¯t won¡¯t to admitted, but she had absolutely no idea where she was or even how to begin the trip home. She was without a doubt lost.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­(Sigh) Hey.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Iris: ¡°Master, we¡¯re here.¡±

    Nathan looked off into the distance, in front of the was a marvelous city. From the large walls that surrounded the city, to the castle they stood, towering over all others, it was something right out of a story.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Amazing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, it is breathtaking.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well, let stop gaping and go already.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait.¡±

    Nathan took off his hood, revealing his face.

    Anais: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Letting everyone see my face, so my existence is known.¡±

    Anais: "Was this the plan?"

    Nathan: "Yup, with all eyes on me, who would dare make a move?"

    Iris: ¡°What about me?¡±

    Nathan: "You stay hidden, the last thing I won¡¯t is for someone to get antsy and think they¡¯ve hit the jackpot.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And Ena, uhm?¡±

    Trailing far behind was Ena, making sure to keep her distance.

    Nathan: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Miss Iris, said I should walk this far behind, so as to not breath her ¡°Masters¡± air.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhn-huhn, well, when we get to the city, we can find out some information on how you can get home, you should be able to make it there with that, right?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Y-Yes, that should be enough.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The short walked to town was awkward, having Ena walk so far behind like a stray .

    Nathan: ¡°Can¡¯t you forgive her just a little?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I won¡¯t, I honestly don¡¯t understand why you decided to help her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It just a little, I won¡¯t pry to deep, just some directions and maybe a map, to make up for the things I said.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So you did, understand you were in the wrong.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get it, I¡¯ll apologize later.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Whatever, are you sure about helping her, last time you tried to stay away you got drawn in anyway.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s because my secret was known, before I realized it was secret. Right now, absolutely no one except you two know, who I really am. As long as that stays hidden, it should be fine.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Well, I suppose.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Anyway, were here, you ready?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, here it comes.¡±

    As Nathan moved closer to the gate leading into the city, a crowd of people stood on the outside. They were waiting to get in, but there was kind inspection. The line was long most were chatting or counting inventory while they waited.

    That all changed wants Nathan came closer, first it was one, then it was five, but soon all eyes were on him.  Shock, disbelief, awe, these words described every single passerby. Nathan thought someone would say something, maybe someone screaming, but they just stared, as if they couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing.

    Anais: ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Nathan made his way up to the front of the line, as if parting the waves, everyone stepped out of his way, as he walked. Nathan didn¡¯t particularly like this, but Anais did, stepping in front of Nathan, to make it seem as though she was the one causing it.

    Jacob: ¡°Youngin, you made it.¡±

    Nathan turned to see a familiar face waving him down.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Jacob.¡±

    Nathan strolled over to the old man waiting by the gate talking to a guard. As he moved closer, the face of the guards, was incredibly funny, but Nathan held back his laugh.

    Jacob: ¡°It¡¯s about time you got here, I held up the line long enough. Hey guard, this is them, the ones I told you about.¡±

    Guard: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Hey, you listening?¡±

    Guard: ¡°Y-Yes, your credentials are fine, your clear to p-passhed.¡±

    The guard held his mouth after biting his tongue,as a dribble of blood, slipped out.

    Nathan&Anais: "Pffftt!"

    Jacob: ¡°Watch it sonny, thats the only one you get.Everyone hop on.¡±

    Nathan and everyone hopped on the cart and Jacob road on through.

    Nathan: ¡°You waited for me?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Figured you be on your way, didn¡¯t won¡¯t the guards to stop you from getting in. I told you, not everyone is as open minded as me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for that.¡±

    Nathan took a peek back, the guard whispered something to another, who ran off down a side street in a panic.

    Jacob: ¡°Psh, don¡¯t think twice about it. So is everything alright.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, it should be. What, you were worried about me?¡±

    Jacob: ¡°As if, I waited for ya, didn¡¯t I. Knew the entire time, you were coming.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sure you did.¡±

    Jacob: ¡°Shut it.¡±

    As Jacob, steered his carriage, the number of eyes increased as they came into the city. As if they had no control over their heads, everyone turned in Nathan¡¯s direction.

    Jacob: ¡°You¡¯d think you were royalty, you¡¯re the center of attention.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I think the plan work a little too well.¡±

 Chapter 50: Problems in Loegrey

    Chapter 50: Problems in Loegrey

    The streets of Loegrey was bustling with excitement.  Everyone hearing the news that shook the city to its core. From the slums to the west, to the noble quarters of the east, everyone was speaking of the same thing.

    Boy A: ¡°No way.¡±

    Girl: ¡°It¡¯s true, I saw her at the south gate.¡±

    Boy B: ¡°You think will fall for that, no wonder your still just a little kid.¡±

    Girl: ¡°No I¡¯m not, I¡¯m telling you the truth.¡±

    Boy A: ¡°Right, like we¡¯re gonna believe a dark skinned Lycanian walked into the city.¡±

    Girl: ¡°She didn¡¯t walk in she road in on a carriage.¡±

    Boy B: Either way, we¡¯re not gonna listen to your lies, right?¡±

    Boy A: ¡°Liar, liar.¡±

    Girl: ¡°*tearing up* But, I¡¯m not lying.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You should be a shame, making a girl cry.¡±

    Boy A: ¡°Huh, who the hec-¡±

    Boy B: ¡°Ah!?¡±

    The two boys looked up to Nathan, who glared down at them.

    Boy B: L-L-L-L-L-L¡±

    The boy continued to stutter his words, while the other just stared in disbelief. Nathan meant to ask them for directions, they were the only ones who didn¡¯t suddenly walk away when he tried to speak to them. However he overheard their conversation and decided to help the girl out. She stood their staring at him at well, but her expression wasn¡¯t like everyones elses, she seemed more excited than stunned.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, could I ask you something?¡±

    Girl: ¡°Ah, y-yes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m looking for the library, I was told it was somewhere around here.¡±

    Girl: ¡°It¡¯s right down the street, it the big building with the high stair case and large pillars.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, then I was pretty close. Hmm, oh, I think I see it, thank you very much.¡±

    Nathan waved to the girl and off he went. The girl looked at her friends triumphantly, they both still babbling like idiots.

    Girl: ¡°*Sigh*Boys.¡±

    Nathan strolled back to their meeting place, not long after they entered town, they split from Jacob. It¡¯s that they weren¡¯t grateful he got them into town, but the amount of attention they were getting, could cause problems for him and they wanted to avoid that.

    After splitting from Jacob, they themselves would split up and another some information. While Nathan didn¡¯t plan on gathering any information, everywhere he went he was being stared at, but as soon as he approach, they would turn and walk away or rather they would scream and run away.

    Nathan: ¡°(This is going to be a problem, I figured this would be the outcome, but if they are too afraid for me to approach, it gonna be hard to do anything myself.)¡±

    As, Nathan strolled absentmindedly down the street, A group of people made their way over to him.

    ??????: ¡°You there, a moment.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Walking towards Nathan was a man, with several women walking behind him.  A confident man, by the way he walked and the fancy armor he wore, his was wealthy as well.

    Nathan: ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    ????????: ¡°No, my friend you cannot, for I am here to help you.¡±

    Young Woman: ¡°Look isn¡¯t that Zane, the famous adventurer?¡±

    Girls: ¡°Kya, Zane!

    As if out of thin air, woman suddenly appeared around him, as if from then air. Swarming him as if he was prey and to them he probably was. He was indeed an attractive man, most women in his world would swoon over him and there was no difference in this one.

    Zane: ¡°Now, now ladies, I was having a conversation, you must all wait your turn.¡±

    Zane stepped around them, bringing his attention back to Nathan, along with several death glares thrown his way.

    Zane: ¡°I beg your pardon milady; our conversation was interrupted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, (Milady?) you said something about helping me.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Why yes, I know you have notice the stares all around you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, an extinct race, suddenly showing up, it would be more shocking if they didn¡¯t react.¡±

    Zane: ¡°I so you know, wonderful, then this will be short. I don¡¯t like to brag but I a pretty big deal around here. Fame, respect, noble blood.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And yet, your trying your damnedest to brag.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Hahahahaha, point taken, but alas, I must mention for my request.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Which is?¡±

    Zane: ¡°That you join my party.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I refuse.¡±

    Zane: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Zane stared at Nathan as he could not comprehend what he said.

    Nathan: ¡°Is that all, then I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Wait one moment please.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Something else?¡±

    Zane: ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you would refuse, I have no ill intent. From what I¡¯ve gather, you been asking around for information, however you been getting treated as you were cursed.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t wrong, it was terrible trying to get any information at the moment. Yet his request was not an option.

    Zane: ¡°Your expression says I¡¯m right, if you join my party, all such problems will disappear. You could have anything you want, and with me standing beside you, no one would avoid you or question where you need to go.¡±

    Nathan looked to the women crowding around him, they were all attractive. Though what he said sounded righteous, his entourage told another story.

    Woman A: ¡°Hey, what¡¯s so hard about it?¡±

    Woman: ¡°Yeah, Zane is a wonderful Leader.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Ladies please, bragging, domestic or otherwise, it is all the same.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Nathan: ¡°And all those women are in your party?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Why yes, my own little garden.¡±

    Girls: ¡°Oh, Zane, you¡¯re so wonderful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And what about men.¡±

    Zane: ¡°None, not that I¡¯m against it, but for some reason, none of the men I ask seem to want to join and the few who did never stayed long, it¡¯s strange.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah I wonder why?¡±

    Nathan was getting this weird feeling coming from the women, they were wearing smiles and cheerful, but it felt weird. A similar feeling, he felt with Lynn, a hidden malice. It seemed Zane was oblivious to this fact, they were probably no men ever joined his party. Though Nathan thought this to be a blessing in disguise.

    Nathan: ¡°Then, I don¡¯t think it will work out this time either.¡±

    Zane: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you suggesting you¡¯re a man?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not suggesting, I am.¡±

    Zane burst into laughter, he couldn¡¯t believe some why could lie with such a straight face. The woman around him began to laugh as well, a forced laughed.

    Nathan: ¡°Something funny?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Ahahahaha, I¡¯m terribly sorry to go so far as to lie about one¡¯s gender, just to refuse my offer, I could do nothing but laugh or it would just be insulting.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I¡¯m a man.¡±

    Zane: ¡°And as I said, I have no qualms with you being a man, so that argument was invalid.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°Zane, we have that appointment.¡±

    Woman B: ¡°R-Right, we mustn¡¯t be late.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Ah yes, it nearly slipped my mind entirely, I supposed I shall give up for today.¡±

    Zane grabbed a hold of Nathan¡¯s hand and brought up to his face. Nathan quickly pulled away, avoiding the kiss to his hand. Zane simply smile and bowed.

    Zane: ¡°We will meet again, I hope you¡¯ve reconsider by then, come ladies, we have business.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t count on it.¡±

    Zane turned and walked away, with his party members swarming after him. It seemed, some of the woman believe what he said and were hurriedly trying to leave. A few them gave a death stare or said something obscene, but Nathan just let it go, they did unknowingly help him out. IT didn¡¯t seem like Zane was gonna give up, but those woman would be right there to stop him.

    Nathan: ¡°Another bunch of idiot, who can¡¯t believe I am man.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Can you blame them?¡±

    Anais Iris and Ena, walked up to Nathan, returning from their information search.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah your back, weren¡¯t we going to meet at the fountain?¡±

    Iris: ¡°We were, but we saw you were having conversation with that gentlemen there.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You should try harder to get your point across.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Could you not just show proof?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t have any proof.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You most certainly do; all master must do is pull down his trousers.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are saying!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I can¡¯t do that.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You done it once before, it did wonders when proven your gender to Shane.¡±

    Nathans faced flushed, as did Anais, recalling the spectacle and turning her head in embarrasment.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, yeah it would, but that was a spur of the moment and the cicumstances are different.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Iris, he can¡¯t do that in the middle of the city, its about morals, don¡¯t you know shame?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t know much on morals, but you know as well as I know, he has nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone woud be overjoyed to witness your marvelous-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And that¡¯s where I cahnge the subject, I found the library, did you get anything?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nope, apparently, no one¡¯s ever heard of the Rokaka Mountains.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, well there¡¯s always the library, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Nathan lead the girls down the street, Ena tapping Anais on the shoulder and slowing her walk. Her faced flushed and fiddling with her fingers Iris took notice and slowed as well.

    Ena: "Is it really tha marvelous as she says?"

    Anais: "D-Don''t ask me that. How would I know?"

    Ena: "But, she said you knew."

    Anais: "I know nothing."

    Iris: " If its about my Master,you could of just ask me, I can tell you everything their is to know. I can tell you about, every single inch of his-"

    Nathan: "You think these ears are for show?"

    Girls:"Ah!"

    Nathan: "I SAID, THE SUBJECTS BEEN CHANGED!"

    _

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°Admission fee, to read a book?¡±

    Guard: ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Nathan watch on as Anais spoke with the women standing front of the library, refusing them entrance. Nathan let her do all the talking, if he tried, he sure the woman would feel threatened. Every so often, she would glance at Nathan, it seems she was trying her best to keep her posture, but she was no guard.

    Anais: ¡°Okay, then tell me why they get to walk right in?¡±

    Several people walk passed the fuss, even with the guard eyes searching for help, everyone turned they head away, while some watch from afar.

    Guard: ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry, but I just I-¡±

    Nathan looked up toward the building, he couldn¡¯t read the engraving, but he sur it said something like library. The building was big, four huge columns lining the top of the large stairs case. The design reminded him of Amelia¡¯s study, the main hall having a similar layout.

    Nathan: "(Huh?)¡±

    In the second story window, or the briefest of moments, Nathans eyes met with someone staring down from above. As soon as the shadow realized their eyes met, they ducked out of sight. Nathan turned back to Anais, still arguing with the timid looking girl, on the verge of tears.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Anais, let¡¯s just go.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, but we need to get in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Come on.¡±

    Anais glared at the guard, making her jump, before turning away and following Nathan down the stairs.

    Anais: ¡°I can¡¯t believe this, charging someone to read a book, a hundred Rydt each.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t believe it, I think she was told to do that to us specifically.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, why would she do that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, were heading back over to that fountain, when I¡¯m out of sight, someone should come out and speak to her, listen to what they have to say, please.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Nathan lead Ena and Anais, around the corner, not long after they were out of sight, someone from inside the building walk out in talk to the girl.

    Anais: ¡°You thinking it was because of you?

    Nathan: ¡°Probably.¡±

    Anais: ¡°This is so tiring, if not one thing it¡¯s another.¡±

    Iris listened until they all entered the building. She rejoined NAthan in company, back over by the fountain.

    Iris: ¡°It was as you said, the moment you were gone, someone came out, she was forbidden, from letting all of us in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I figured, it was because of me, right?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, actually it was all of you, Therian are not allowed inside.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, but there were Therian amongst the ones who went in.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t understand the terminology, but he referred to you as Rouges.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Rogues?¡±

    ??????: ¡°Yeah, Rogues?¡±

    A therian man walked up to them, a cat judging by his appearance. Red hair and fur, with a smile on his face and a glint in his eye, Nathan could tell, he wanted something.

    ??????: ¡°Sorry, just happened to overhear. Your trying to get into the library, but they¡¯re not going to let a bunch of rogues walk around, I¡¯m surprise you didn¡¯t get stopped by the guards on the way in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, who are you?

    Ash: ¡°Oh, right, names Ash, nice to meetcha.¡±

 Chapter 51: Joining the Guild?

    Chapter 51:  Joining the Guild?

    Ash: ¡°What do you mean no!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know you are the third person within a week to ask me to join their party, all of them turned down just the same.¡±

    Nathan followed Ash through the streets, refusing his every offer to join his team. From what Nathan could tell, he was a red headed cat type therian, with a care free personality.

    Nathan: ¡°I have absolutely no interest in joining any party.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Why not, I can Definitely get in if you did.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Regardless, I still won¡¯t join.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Aw, come on, don¡¯t be that way.¡±

    Ash groaned with disappointment, he thought he had finally found the way, yet again, it was denied.

    Ash: ¡°*sigh* Well, shoot, it thought for sure you want to, it¡¯s not every day you see three rouges all together.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, what exactly is this Rouge you been calling us?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have asked if I did.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, look around at the therians, what the difference between them and me?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Uh, Species?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Can¡¯t say that¡¯s wrong, but look closer.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.. There wearing chokers?¡±

    Anais: ¡°A choker?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The thing there wearing around the neck.¡±

    Every single Therian roaming the streets, didn¡¯t matter age, were wearing a choker.

    Ash: ¡°Right, basically a rouge is a Therian who isn¡¯t affiliated with Loegrey Midheim or Hyborne through, being one with either, means one with all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You mean, it comes down to having identification?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup, its to keep a certain group of individuals from, well, vanishing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So we just need to register citizenship?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Impossible, none of the Therian are citizens, just affiliated, if you catch my drift.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Ah.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s it Anais, let¡¯s not delve any deeper, lets saved this talk for later.¡±

    Nathan had the strangest feeling, the conversation, was about take a turn for the darker side of things. He was sure, that the conversation best be left for private moments.

    Anais: ¡°Hey wait, you¡¯re not wearing a Choker, that means you¡¯re a Rogue too.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not so fast their shorty, I have something better than citizenship and what I was gonna suggest you all do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And that is?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Join the Guild.¡±

    _

    _

    Ash: Here it is, the adventurer¡¯s guild.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?

    Nathan looked up and down the three-story building and was completely unimpressed. It completely lacked luster, just your everyday, four wall, red brick structure, with a sign he assumed read adventurer¡¯s guild.

    Anais: ¡°This place looks plain.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t let the appearance get you down, it¡¯s the inside that houses all the magic.¡±

    Ash strolled on in, with Nathan and company following behind. As they strolled in, all eye fell on them, more specifically, on Nathan. Then, the whispering started, the one thing Nathan minded was how acute his hearing was. He could hear every word, even the ones he didn¡¯t want to hear. Half talking about how they couldn¡¯t believe he exist, the other how beautiful they thought he was and what they would do to him.

    The smell of a meal being prepared, wafted through the air. It came from a room to the far end of the building, a sort of cafeteria for adventurers. As they approach the counter, Nathan notice that some of the people staring, weren¡¯t staring at him but at Ash.

    Ash: ¡°Hey, Belle.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ash, hello.¡±

    *Boing**Boing*

    Nathan: ¡°(Whoa!)¡±

    The receptionist standing behind the counter bowed when they entered. Like most of the woman he met in this world, she was highly attractive as well. However, what stood out most of all was her sizable chest, that bounce with every motion. Nathan never seen such a massive set, he would have been enthralled if not for the daggers being stared into his head. He attempted to look away, but his eyes always trailed back to them.

    Belle: ¡°Ah, are these friends of yours, you didn¡¯t tell me you were friends with the Lycanian? She¡¯s so beautiful.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I just met ¡°him¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Him, you¡¯re a man, amazing so beautiful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m surprised Ash, your one of the first to get it right.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Naw, I thought you were a girl, I just happened to overhear your conversation with Zane.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Well what brings you here today?¡±

    Ash: ¡°They¡¯re here to join.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ash, you know the rules, you know they need at least four party members.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What rules?¡±

    Belle: ¡°You don¡¯t know, honestly Ash, did you not explain anything.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I was gonna.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What is she talking about?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, in order to become an adventure, you need at least a party of four, two party members above level fourteen and there¡¯s a small fee.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, I told you I¡¯m not joining your party.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You tried to trick us into joining with him.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it a trick per se, more like hurrying things along.¡±

    Anais: ¡°More like trick us into signing up with you.¡±

    Ash: ¡°True, but no one said you had to stay a four-person team once you become one. As long as you had a party of four, you can always leave it afterwards, people joining other parties, is not unheard of.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Belle: ¡°Yes, but if you fail to join another party within a certain amount of time, you lose your membership.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And how long before you lose yours?¡±

    Ash: *Mumbling*

    Nathan: ¡°So that¡¯s it, huh?¡±

    Ash turned his head, it was too obvious what his goal was.

    Belle: ¡°So, you three will be forming a party with Ash?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, can I ask you something miss, what are your procedures when it comes to personal information?

    Belle: ¡°Unless adventurer say otherwise, personal information is kept by the guild, full non-disclosure policy. This includes levels, status, titles, class and any other information you wish to be withheld. However, if anyone wanted to hire you specifically, though we won¡¯t show them any information, we will point them in the general direction of anyone who fits their criteria.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What about the guild higher ups?¡±

    Belle: ¡°They will have free reign when it comes to your information, but with a pact, they aren¡¯t allowed to discuss anything they see, with anyone other than other higher ups but a pact will cost you two hundred Rydt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So it comes back, to money.¡±

    Belle: I¡¯m afraid so, no matter what we do, we¡¯re are here to make money, a business is still a business.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°True, Could I ask you one more thing, it¡¯s a big sensitive so I rather they didn¡¯t hear?¡±

    Nathan moved in close and whispered in her ear, she look a little surprise by the question?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes it still counts, but sir, if what I¡¯m understanding is true, the fee will be cut in half.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes usually we charge one hundred Rydt, but you only have to pay fifty if what I understand correctly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh that sounds great, I don¡¯t have the money right now, but I want to join.¡±

    Belle: ¡°That¡¯s fine, come back whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Wait, what!?¡±

    Nathan left, with Ash bewildered about what had just transpired.

    Ash: ¡°What did he say just now?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ash, you know well, that I can¡¯t tell you that, confidentiality, you know?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, why did you say she only had to pay half?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Well, if someone already has a party, then there no need for us to sell them a ¡°Unit Crystal¡±.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Party?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, from what I understood, he leads a party.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No wonder, but high in the world did he find a Unit Crystal, I thought the guilds were the only ones who knew how to make them?¡±

    Belle: ¡°As far as I know that is true, it is a bit odd.¡±

    Back outside in the streets, Nathan pulled out the bag of money.

    Nathan: ¡°I wonder if this is enough, Ena could you tell how much this is?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Ah, well, you have a little over a hundred Rydt here, it¡¯s enough to pay the way.¡±

    Anais: ¡°But, that would leave us not much left, we still need some food and some place to stay, so we should hold off on joining the guild.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Agreed, but then again, I might just sleep outside. Aint no way in hell, I¡¯m staying at any inn.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, now that I think about it, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Ena: ¡°You¡¯re going through all this trouble for me, why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not just you, I probably would have ended up joining either way, but at least now I have a legitimate reason to join.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, this isn¡¯t about you, please do not flatter yourself.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Eugh.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Cut it out, okay what should we do, you think I could sell some produce, grow something to earn a little money.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not without a license you¡¯re not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You still following us, I¡¯m sure Belle told you already.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That you already have a party, no wonder you won¡¯t join anyone, sorry about before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, so what was that about a license.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, the country has strict regulations on merchants, if you were to try to set up shop, they throw your ass and prison and confiscate everything you own.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And this license cost money?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Your learning.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well that sucks, how am I supposed to make some money.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Simple, sell one of those swords.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My swords.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You can¡¯t start a business, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t sell your possessions to already existing shops.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So what, I should go to some random shop and sell them something, hoping they give me a good price?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t be that way, I¡¯ll show you to some of my favorites, I¡¯m sure you find a good price.¡±

    Ash then proceeded to lead Nathan around town, stopping at his favorite shops. Nathan showed each shop the sword, they would make a face and look at Nathan as if he was a fool. They would give Nathan a price that sounded good, but something was weird.

    One by one he dismissed every proprietor Ash took him to. Soon Ash ran out of stores to show and began trying random ones, but still Nathan dismissed them. Everyone made a face, like they were looking at an idiot.

    Ash: ¡°Well, that was the last one, do you really want to sell it or not?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just get the feeling they were all trying to take us for a ride.¡±

    Ash:¡± I don¡¯t know about the last ones, but the first three stores, I think they always give me good prices.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, every, last one of those merchants lied to us.¡±

    Anais: ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t really understand it myself, but I can just tell. Hey Ash, what do you think of this sword?¡±

    Nathan handed his sword over to Ash, who turned it over several times. Taking out his blade he could tell that Nathan sword was of higher quality, but not much else.

    Nathan: ¡°Well?¡±

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s a good sword, better than mine anyway.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing stands out about it, (Then what was with that look in their eyes and their reactions)?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What do you want, it¡¯s not like I have an appraisal type ability.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You don¡¯t?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No, of course not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What about those store owners?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised, not a full-on appraisal ability like ¡°Examine¡±, but maybe something that showed them the basics of any item.¡±

    Anais: ¡°But, Nathan haSHMMPH!?¡±

    Nathan quickly scooped up Anais, stopping her from finishing her sentence.

    Ash: ¡°What was that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing, nothing, are their anymore merchants.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well we can¡¯t go to the noble¡¯s district, not that they would let us walk around that area. The only other place I could think of¡­¡­..but that place is.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, lead the way.¡±

    Anais broke free from Nathans grasp.

    Anais: ¡°*Whisper* Your gonna have to stop doing that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t say anything about what I can do, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m supposed to them.¡±

    Ash lead Nathan through streets, the clutter if people lessening as they traveled further east. Also, the condition of the structure seemed to deteriorate, but that was mostly about one particular structure. The structure seemed to be on its last leg, the walls were visibly crumbling, the sign the roof, there was a hole. Ash was heading straight to the building, meaning that this was the shop he mentioned.

    By the look on Ash¡¯s face, said everything.

    Anais: ¡°This place is a piece of crap.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t say out loud what we all were thinking.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, its seen better days, but it the last shop, sooooo-¡±

    Nathan followed Ash into the shop, it wasn¡¯t any better on the inside. The shelves were barely stocked and what was there, didn¡¯t look usable. It seemed whoever was here was going out of business.

    Anais: ¡°Where¡¯s the shop keep?¡±

    Ash: ¡°He¡¯s probably in back.¡±

    ?????: ¡°Ah!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°HMM?¡±

    On the other side of the room was a therian child. A face that went from shock to pure excitement. He quickly rushed out the door

    ????: ¡°Brother, Brother, we have customers.¡±

    ??????: ¡°What!?¡±

    As someone stampeded into the room, their was a symphony crashing, smashing and profanity. Stepping into the door way was another Therian.

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re the shop keep?¡±

    The man face, lit up at the sight of customers, from the look of it, he hadn''t had any in a while. He bowed his head, like so many merchants before.

    ???????: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Ramol and this is my little brother Kyr. Welcome to Medly.¡±

 Chapter 52: The Merchant Ramol

    Chapter 52: The Merchant Ramol

    Nathan went around the store along with everyone else, looking and prodding at whatever they could. Ramol stood in attention watching and waiting, with an expression that screamed ¡°Ask me anything¡±.

    Nathan picked up one of the weapons and compared it to his sword, it had a lot to be desired. Most of the weapons and armor around his shop weren¡¯t bad, it just, if this were a game, it could be compared to the starting town weapon shop. Leather armors, Short sword, Bandanas, it was a shop for beginners.

    Nathan glanced over to the shop keep, he was staring at Nathan, the same expression he was getting in town. Ramol jumped out of his stupor, once he realized he was staring.

    Ramol: ¡°T-take your time, only the finest here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Actually, were not here to make a purchase.¡±

    The smile on Ramol¡¯s face vanished, replaced with a look of despair.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Oh¡­¡­..I see, well was there anything else I could help you with?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, I not sure if you can, after seeing this place.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I see, yes with such an appearance, it would be hard for anyone to, but let me decide rather I could help you or not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, well, I was trying to sell off this sword, but I been having problems a with finding a buyer.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Oh, but there are many merchant that would buy weaponry in Loegrey.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but they weren¡¯t any good deals.¡±

    Ramol sighed heavily, he remember getting customers like this.

    Ramol: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but maybe it was just the quality of the blade, just because you believe the blade is better than it should be, doesn¡¯t mean it actually is.¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t refute that comment, but at the same time he wanted to say it was because he could tell when someone is lying. Nathan grabbed his sword and tossed it to Ramol. Ramol looked the sword up in down, it was indeed a fine blade, in fact he had never seen such a fine sword. Maybe there was some truth to what Nathan was saying.

    Ramol: ¡°Examine.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Huh, ah your surprised, it¡¯s not often you see someone using Examine ability?¡±

    NAthan: ¡°Huh yeah, I was told that it was really rare.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It is, most merchants need an appraisal tool in order to see the stats of any item. I one of the few lucky ones who obtained it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, lucky you.¡±

    Ramol examine the blades stats and went wide eyed. He looked at Nathan and to everyone else in his group. His expression was similar to all the others keep, but there was something else.

    Ramol: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Is this really your sword?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I was completely wrong about what I said, and I can now see why ask the other merchants were looking like that. They probably thought you were an idiot.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What did you call me?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, could we speak on the next room, just you and me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I want to clarify something, please.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sounds suspicious.¡±

    Ash: ¡°He could just talk out here.¡±

    Ramol placed his hands together and bowed his head. Nathan looked him up and down, he couldn¡¯t feel any hostility.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Fine.¡±

    Ramol handed the sword back and headed toward a room deeper inside, ushering Nathan to follow him. Nathan turned to Iris, she had remained quiet this entire time. Though she can¡¯t be seen, her voice can still be heard so if someone¡¯s around, she can¡¯t speak. Nathan and Iris entered the room, while the other three waited out in the main hall.

    Ramol shut the door wants they entered in then ushered Nathan to a seat. Iris landed next to Nathan, sit on the armrest of the chair.

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry about this, this is not something I normally do.¡±

    Ramol shut the curtains, dimming the room, but it was still bright enough to see.

    Nathan: ¡°No, its fine, so what about my sword that makes everyone make that face?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°First, let me ask¡­¡­..are you a thief?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, of course not.¡±

    Ramol breath out deeply.

    Ramol: ¡°Yeah, figured as much, no one who¡¯s a thief would be dumb enough to try to sell this blade in broad daylight.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, insulting me, right in my face.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I am terribly sorry, I really don¡¯t mean to insult. But, why would you so callously, sell this sword?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I need the money, it¡¯s really all I have.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Money, something like this is worth so much money, even if I was a noble, I couldn¡¯t afford it and if I could, I would never use it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s that great?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Of course it is, blade like this doesn¡¯t even exist anymore.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s so special about it?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah I see, th other owners didn¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Ramol leaned over the table, as if he didn¡¯t want anyone else to hear.

    Ramol: ¡°This sword¡­¡­..has stats.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..What?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Its true, it even has a few abilities.¡±

    Ramol looked at Nathan, as if he had told him the secrets of the universe. But Nathan didn¡¯t understand.

    Ramol: ¡°More importantly, this blade doesn¡¯t have a durability meter, it doesn¡¯t have to be sharpened in order to stay in top condition.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So?¡±

    Ramol was flabbergasted when he heard that.

    Ramol: ¡°What do you mean so, a blade like this doesn¡¯t just appear every day. It¡¯s one in a million.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, but I have a ton of them.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, swords, spears, bows, rods, even armor and accessories, I have plenty more to use.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Absolute nonsense, no one would have such a huge stockpile of weapons.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand, he pulled out another sword, one with the same stats as the one he was selling. Ramol nearly jumped out of his skin, seeing the blade appear out of thin air.

    Nathan: ¡°See?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Wh-Wh-Where did that just come from?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My inventory, that where I keep all my stuff.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Your what?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know, A Spatial Rend Gem¡±.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°SP-SPATIAL REM GEM!?¡±

    *Bam*

    Iris jumped from the sudden outburst. Ramol had thrown himself backwards, tumbling comedically across the floor in his shock and smacking his head on a nearby desk. He held his head in pain, while Iris held Nathan mouth shut, preventing him from laughing.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Ramol: ¡°The same Spatial Rem Gem, the legendary item of infinite space for storage. The same item that said to have vanish, for nearly four thousand years?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Uh-oh) Yeah.¡±

    Nathan messed up again, another item he didn¡¯t realize was legendary, was now revealed to another stranger. He really need to find out exactly, what he should and shouldn¡¯t mentioned. Right he had to find a way out of this mess.

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t know they were legendary.¡±

    Ramol: What, how could you possibly not know?¡±

    Nathan told Ramol, about the sleep curse, how he had been asleep for such a long time, that the thing he knows as common, are legends as of today.

    Ramol: ¡°Ah, I get it, so you had just woken up recently?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, I not aware of the last five thousand years, I know mostly nothing.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Okay, things are starting to make since, but you should be more careful. If what you say is true and you have a huge stockpile of such weapons, you shouldn¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    Nathan: I¡¯ll keep that in mind, but I already waved the sword to every store owner I passed on the way here.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°That¡¯s not too bad, as it goes now, only the Merchant Guild probably knows.  They will just hound you to sell it to them. The worst will probably be the Thieves Guild.

    Nathan: ¡°Neither of those sound good.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well, you said you have an inventory right. No one and I mean no one will think you have one. So as long as you keep it stored it should be fine.¡±

    While Ramol was getting his thoughts together. Nathan had Iris head outside in keep watch. No doubt, the news of him trying to sell that sword has spread around town. He made have made a bunch of enemies.

    Nathan: ¡°So, are you willing to buy the sword?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Willing, absolutely, able, absolutely not. Like I said such a blade is a marvel, there is no way I could give you a proper amount for this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, darn, you¡¯re the first person I really wanted to sell it to.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re the only shop keep, to honestly tell me the value of the blade. And, you don¡¯t seem like a bad guy, you even let me know to watch out from these guilds.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well, that¡¯s probably be the reason why I don¡¯t get customers. I believe honesty is the best policy.¡±

    Besides from the poison he spews now and then, Nathan was liked this guy if only he had the money to buy it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I know, how about I give you this sword, to sell?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°What!?¡±

    Ramol jumped up and struck some crazy pose, causing Nathan to laugh.

    Nathan: ¡°You sell the sword and we split the profit.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just give it a try.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°You seriously want me to do this?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I¡¯m definitely not going to be able to do it and like you said, I might have someone watching. Not that I can¡¯t handle myself, but it seems like hassle to have to watch my back all the time (I had enough doing that). Plus, I have a lot more weapons, I could use your help with that too.¡±

    Ramol looked Nathan over, it didn¡¯t seem like a scam. An opportunity to sell such high-grade items, don¡¯t come around too often and he would be a fool to pass it up.

    Ramol: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Well, if we¡¯re going to do this, then we going to do it right, Kyr.¡±

    Ramol¡¯s little brother poked his head inside the room, almost immediately.

    Kyr: ¡°Yes brother?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That was a really fast response, was he just waiting there.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°No, I was wondering why all your friends were standing by the door, when my brother called.

    Nathan then heard the sound of someone running away. Ramol chuckled awkarwdly, while Iris just sighed.

    Ramol: ¡°Kyr, could you bring me a parchment.¡±

    Kyr nodded and ran off.

    Nathan: ¡°Parchment, why do you need that?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°A supplier¡¯s contract, basically, whenever you have merchandise you wish to sell, you give it to me and I¡¯ll sell it in my store.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can only sell to you, what if I¡¯m in another country and I have to sell.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No it doesn¡¯t bind you to me specifically, it just the items you acquire, that you can¡¯t sell by normal means, everything else you can sell at your leisure. Plus, I can decide how much everything cost, so you always get a fair price. Depending on the quality of the items you bring me, I might be able to charge a bit more.¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t see any downside to this, he was planning dungeon diving as often as possible. He sure he come across a lot of monsters and treasure, their will always be lot to sell.

    Nathan: ¡°I see, but we don¡¯t need a contract for this, I could just, bring you anything I find.¡±

    Ramol shook his head.

    Ramol: No, no, no, with that¡¯s not a good idea, there are those who become aggressive, if they think you¡¯ll be a worthwhile client. Like I said, waving that sword around all day, you probably have a lot of admirer¡¯s right now. It not unheard to have your clients stolen from you, in unethical ways.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah but, I walked around all day and no ones done anything.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°My friend, don¡¯t make likely of what you are. Everyone knows of the Dark-skinned Lycanian, they would never be foolish enough to approach, especially with so many people hanging around you.

    Kyr: ¡°Here you are brother.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Thanks, now let¡¯s do this.¡±

    Kyr handed Ramol piece of parchment, that he began to right down some information, something Nathan couldn¡¯t read.

    Ramol: ¡°Okay, we need to decide on what I¡¯ll be selling, so far it just weapons, but that won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Ramol: You might obtain a small profit now, but in the long run, I¡¯ll need a steady supply of merchandise. You might have a lot of weapons now, but over time, they will dwindle.¡±

    NAthan: ¡°Yeah that¡¯s true, what about the material I get from monsters?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°You plan on becoming a monster hunter?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get attacked here and there, I could just give you what I gather, in fact.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and retrieved the Azure Stingers material he had acquired.

    Nathan: ¡°How about these?¡±

    Ramol made another funny expression.

    Ramol: ¡°Woah, these are all really how quality, how did you get them so clean.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t know, my inventory does that for me.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°So convenient, it¡¯s really tough to get material that doesn¡¯t have a bit of flesh, blood or some smell coming off it.

    Ramol turned over every piece,checking for any inconsistencies. Ramol was getting excited, he couldn''t believe his luck today. For such a client to fall into his lap, it was truly an act of god.

    Ramol: ¡°Yes these will work, if you can bring me such clean material, I could sell them to the Merchant¡¯s Guild or even the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. If that happens I could raise my reputation and acquire more clients, then I could pay of-¡±

    Ramol quickly stopped what he was saying, a fact that Nathan caught on to. It sounded like he had money issue, it wasn''t to hard to tell from the state of this store. However, it didn''t concern Nathan, he would leave it alone for now.

    Ramol: ¡°W-We can think about that later, for now, will make do with what we have.¡±

    Ramol begin writing on the parchment, of course Nathan couldn¡¯t read it, however Iris could. She watched closely, making sure he didn¡¯t add anything suspicious. Nathan trusted Ramol, but you should always make sure. Iris nodded to Nathan that it was okay, once Ramol stopped writing.

    Ramol: ¡°Okay, I just need you to sign here and were done.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sign huh?¡±

    Nathan scratch his cheek, Ramol looked at him confused.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really sign anything.¡±

    Ramol: "Huh?

    Ramol was confused for a moment, was he backing out of the deal. Nathan scratched face.

    Nathan: "I don''t know how to write."

    Ramol: "Ah, your illiterate."

    Nathan: "I am not illiterate."

    Ramol looked confused for a moment but decided not to go further.

    Ramol: ¡°That¡¯s okay, just stick your thumb here.¡±

    Nathan did as he was told, pressing his thumb to the parchment, a black thumb print being left behind when he removed it. A moment later the thumb shifted and was replaced with symbols.

    Nathan: ¡°Woah.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Alright, Mister Nathan Lowell, with that our deal is set.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, okay.¡±

    Nathan stood up along with Ramol and extended their hands.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°May our endeavor prove fruitful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, so do you want the weapons now?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I don¡¯t think you should off put your stock right now, I¡¯m not sure I can protect it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, are you low leveled?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Pretty much, as you can see, merchants don¡¯t go into battle often. But the raw material, I could go to the guild and get tomorrow and see how much their worth.¡±

    NAthan: ¡°I see, I can come with you if you like.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea, when I show up with such quality material, there will be a lot of people who want to know the method I use to clean them. I can¡¯t very well say that you use your inventory.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Not to worry I¡¯ll be fine, if I¡¯m dead, the method to clean the material will die with me, or so they will think.¡±

    Nathan squinted his eyes after hearing that plan.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t like this plan, it¡¯s sounds like your protecting me.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Of course I will, at least for now, I have confidence that no won will try to kill me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean, but I still don¡¯t like it.¡±

    Ramol brushed it off, but it still sounded dangerous. Nathan didn¡¯t like people risking their lives for his.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, I got an idea, but first can we call everyone else to come in.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Ramol ushered everyone into the room.

    Anais: ¡°Is everything okay?¡±

    Nathan its fine, but I have a request.¡±

    Nathan cleared his throat and spoke.

    Nathan: ¡°Ena, Ash, And Ramol, I want the three of you to join my party.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was thinking I about it for a while, I keep making mistakes when it comes to common sense, I can¡¯t have that happening. Ash is good with eveyday affairs, seeing as how he been around. Ramol¡¯s a merchants, who know what my weapons was worth and will be handling all of my money issues. Ena, I¡¯ve decided to help you get home. To be honest, I just want that strength you have, I would be a big help.¡±

    Nathan clapped his hand together and pleaded.

    Ena: ¡°I¡¯m fine with it, you save me and even helping me to get home, I have no qualms with joining.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m good too or rather, please let me join.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I can¡¯t help out with any fighting, but I can appraise with the best of them, if you¡¯ll have me.¡±

    Nathan looked at Anais, he was waiting for her reply.

    Anais: ¡°Do what you want.¡±

    Nathan looked at Iris, who simply nodded.

    Nathan: ¡°Then let¡¯s get to it.¡±

    The same process was the same, slitting a hole in his hand and placing them on each of there, giving Nathan permission to access their status. Within moments the ritual was complete, and they were now all members of his party. Anais, Iris and Nathan, watched the three faces of their new party Members, jumped up out of their seats, wide eyed and shocked. They looked at Nathan then back to the screen four times, completely unabe to comprehend what they were seeing. Then all at once, they pointed in his direction.

    Ash: ¡°No Way!¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Impossible!¡±

    Ena: ¡°Inconceivable!¡±

    Ash,Ramol,Ena: ¡°YOU¡¯RE THE HERO!?¡±

 Chapter 53: Common Sense 101

    Chapter 53: Common Sense 101

    The following was a bombardment of questions, both for him and Iris, who had shown herself. Nathan just started from the beginning, his experiences and what he be doing now on.

    Nathan: ¡°I keep getting into trouble, because I don¡¯t know what goes for common sense, in this world.

    Nathan turned to Anais and Iris.

    Nathan: ¡°And Iris and Anais are no help.¡±

    Nathan sucked his teeth at Anais and Iris, veins popping on their foreheads as he did it.

    Iris&Anais: ¡°HEY!¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, that is not fair.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not like we were locked up for thousands of years, oh wait yes we were.¡±

    Iris and Anais swarm Nathan, who told them he was just joking amd laughed at their reactions.

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, you okay?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡­¡­¡­. you¡¯re the Hero of Legend, the one who Defeated the Demon Lord and I¡¯m in his party.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really?¡±

    Sweat ran down Nathan face as Ash seem to slip from reality once more. Ramol and Ena weren¡¯t any better, Ramol kept to bowing his head to Nathan after every word. And Ena, refuse to get close, hiding behind a desk and ducking behind every time Nathan looked in her direction.

    Anais: ¡°Nathan, maybe you should, you know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right.¡±

    Nathan raised his hand into the air.

    Nathan: ¡°Tranquil.¡±

    White light wrapped itself around the three and returned them to a calm state mind.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, everyone calmed?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry, its just so shocking, the Hero, in my shop and he¡¯s a Therian, well half Therian, I still don¡¯t get that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was human and woke up as Therian, I don¡¯t know how it happened¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not what he means, but let¡¯s not go into that topic. Let¡¯s just focus on the fact that you¡¯re the Hero. Look at your stats their crazy.

    Nathan: ¡°They¡¯re really that good.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yes, you have two Legacy¡¯s, I never heard of such a thing. Your stats are comparable to someone¡¯s level in their early fifties and your only level twenty-three.

    Ramol: ¡°Not to mention all five of you have a Legacy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Five?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yes, you, Anais, Miss Iris, Miss Ena and Miss Celes.¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Why didn¡¯t he call me miss?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ena, you have a Legacy?¡±

    Nathan brought of his stats screen and looked through hs new party Members.

    Nathan Lowell    Level: 23

    HP:2215/2215       MP: 473/473            SB: 100 /100

    Title: Sweeper

    Race: Human/Lycanian

    Legacy: Nature¡¯s Blessing/Daemon Eye

    Skill: Tweak

    M. Ability: Phytokinesis, Heal, Therapy, Tranquil, Plant Growth, Gardener, Intimidation,

    P. Ability: Photosynthesis, Threat Detection, Clearmind, Enhanced Reflexes, Hyper Senses, Co-op, Keen Sight,

    Stats                                                                                                     Party: 7

    STH 93                                                                                                 Inventory

    DEF 130

    INT 88

    AGI 124

    LUCK 95

    Persuasion 16% Bribery 8% Thievery 45% Charisma 41% Finesse 19%

    Titles: (Hero?)

    Name: Ena Braekuhr   Level: 15

    HP: 555/555      MP: 90/90

    Race: Ogre

    Legacy: Black Inferno

    M. Ability: Berserker

    P. Ability: Attack Mode, Iron Defense

    Stats:

    STH 540

    DEF  300

    INT 43

    AGI 100

    LUCK 19

    Name: Ash Etrears    Level: 21

    HP: 157/157      MP: 98/98

    Race: Felideax

    W. Ability (SS): Critical Strike, Flame Slash, Blunt Blow

    P. Ability: Predator intuition, Stealth Tactics

    Stats:

    STH 31

    DEF  28

    INT 59

    AGI 44

    LUCK 10

    Name: Ramol Anook   Level: 10

    HP: 90/90      MP: 50/50

    Race: Huligan

    P. Ability: Enhanced Touch, Skeleton Key.

    Stats:

    STH 23

    DEF  28

    INT 27

    AGI 17

    LUCK 11

    Name: Celes Adea   Level: 26

    HP: ????/????      MP: ?????/?????

    Race: Wood Nymph

    Legacy: Natures Heart

    M. Ability: Forest Manipulation

    P. Ability: Photosynthesis, Ecofriendly, Overgrowth, Nature Rant, Celestial Veil

    Stats:

    STH ?                                                                             Status: Incapacitated

    DEF  ?

    INT ?

    AGI ?

    LUCK ?

    Name: Iris       Level: 19

    HP: 1020/1020      MP: 50,009/50,009

    Race: Fairy

    Legacy: Mana Force

    M. Ability: Enchantment, Elemental Mastery, Sensory Adept

    P. Ability: Mana Absorption, Celestial Veil

    Stats:

    STH 23                                                   This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    DEF  19

    INT 170

    AGI 39

    LUCK 54

    Name: Anais Myrridin   Level: 18

    HP: 560/560      MP: 250/250

    Race: Scribe Eater

    Legacy: Record Keeper

    M. Ability: Intelligence Thief, Shadow Step

    P. Ability: Sensory Block, Knowledge Eater

    Stats:

    STH 23

    DEF  28

    INT 163

    AGI 99

    LUCK 208

    Nathan: ¡°Holy crap Ena, you¡¯re crazy strong.¡±

    Ena puff out a sizable chest, with pride.

    Ena: ¡°Of course, the Ogre¡¯s are known for they¡¯re strength.¡±

    Ena flex her arms, though they didn¡¯t show any muscle mass matching her stats. A shiver ran down his spine, not to long ago, that strength was aimed at him. He would have been smashed if she had connected.

    Ash: ¡°You see the difference, it¡¯s crazy, with these stats, no one would doubt you¡¯re the Hero, well except being a Therian.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So will it be hard to blend in?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, nothing except your high-level healing abilities, as long as you pick in choose where you use them you should be fine.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are they really that powerful?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Truly, you have the three strongest healing abilities, not only that you have one for each type, physical wound, status changers, and mental affliction. Even the churches bishops, don¡¯t have such extreme abilities. More importantly, you can cast them on multiple people at once, rather there in your party or not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see, what about my ability to control plants, won¡¯t that be a problem?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Could you show it to us?¡±

    Nathan nodded his head and left, grabbing a handful of soil from outside, he returned. The usual routine of closing his hand and reopening it, producing a small ball of light. Placing into the soil, to everyone¡¯s amazement, a flower sprouted up in his hand, in seconds.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Amazing.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.So, you can grow any plant you want?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I have to ingest the plants seed or the plant itself, there¡¯s also a time limit, before I can utilize it the first time. However once that¡¯s over, I can recreate it indefinitely.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Aw, well damn.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, what do you think?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No, it should be fine, it¡¯s basically an Element Zero. They aren¡¯t that uncommon, I¡¯m sure everyone else will think the same. Do you have to create the seed every time you use it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes or I can control the plants and the immediate area, but I don¡¯t have complete grasp over my powers yet.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Then its fine, as long as they see the seeds being made, it will fall into the category of preparation. Even if you have to make a show of it, make sure someone¡¯s sees you do it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, anything else.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well obviously, Miss Iris has to stay invisible. A fairy showing up, will cause an up roar about the same as you revealing yourself to be the Hero. Anais, do you have anything special about you, besides your Legacy?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She¡¯s a klutz, is that common?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey!¡±

    Anais jumped at Nathan, who laughed while catching her.

    Ash: ¡°Than everything should be good, basically what we told you just then, for everything else, you can just play the country bumpkin.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you guys so much, actually there one more thing. I need to know about money, I don¡¯t really know anything about it, so I¡¯ve been spending it unknowingly.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Leave that to me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I want to hear too, money is always interesting.¡±

    *Poof*

    Anais transformed and ran up onto Nathans shoulder.

    Nathan: ¡°Uh¡­¡­¡­Anais?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais turned to see everyone staring at her.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell¡¯s wrong with them?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sh-Sh-She turned into a mouse!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, she is a mouse.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°What!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°And you can understand her, when she¡¯s like that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Not common sense?¡±

    Ramol&Ash: ¡°Not common sense.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    After a more thorough explanation of the events up until now, they were able to get back to the topic of profit. First, he explained the worth of each coin

    Bronze Coin = 1 USD

    Silver Coin = 10 USD

    Large Silver Coin 100 USD

    Gold Coin = 1,000 USD

    White Gold Coin = 10,000 USD

    Jade Coin = 100,000 USD

    Nathan: ¡°Hey aren¡¯t there weapons and accessories made from these metals, what¡¯s stopping them from being counterfeited?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah well, I don¡¯t really know, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone successfully counterfeiting currency.¡±

    Ash: ¡°To be honest no one even knows where they come from, it¡¯s just one of those things everyone takes as the norm.¡±

    Nathan wasn¡¯t satisfied with their answer, but if they didn¡¯t know, it wasn¡¯t something he needed to know. Next, he explained rules while traveling. When entering major cities or crossing borders, there is usually a five-silver tax, for each person. Though, if you¡¯re a member of the Adventurers guild the that tax is annulled. Adventurers take request that could lead them anywhere, so they get free admission when traveling. Nathan thought, that why Jacob was waiting for them to arrive before entering, he used the silver he was given to get them into the city.

    Unfortunately, Merchant guild members do have to pay a tax on any goods there bringing into a country.

    Nathan: ¡°You have to pay for your goods, not yourself?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way, I¡¯m not a part of your country and I come to your city, sell wares that are already available. However, I sell them for cheaper and than leave wants I made my profit. What do you think the people will do?

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, the country doesn¡¯t make a profit.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yup, long ago, merchants would ride into major cities by day and by night, leave after making a profit. The government issued a tax on any thing coming into the city. Most merchants stay in one city their entire life and would only journey out, after they were sure they can afford it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ramol, you¡¯re going off topic.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I know, just want him to understand a little, with our contract, this will come in handy later.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhm, no I don¡¯t think this is going to apply to me.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°With my inventory, I could have infinite amout of anything and get in and out without detection.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!?¡±

    Ramol sudden outburst made everyone jump back. He just realize just how great of an opportunity he has here. With the inventory he could get anything into the city, without paying a single dime.

    Ramol: ¡°¡­¡­.Salt and copper.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Salt and copper?¡±

    Ash: ¡°The Nobles and the Church, buy them in bulk, but both are hard to come by. If you come across some, while adventuring, you could become rich overnight.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°If you ever come across either of these on your travels, bring it to me.¡±

    Sweat ran down everyone¡¯s face as Ramol had this crazed look in his eye. Staring at Nathan, as if he had just won the lottery.

    Nathan: ¡°O-Oh, I¡¯ll remember that.

    Ramol continued explaining things to Nathan, a long conversation, that took well over an hour to complete. By the end Nathan was sure he had learned enough, the do¡¯s and don¡¯ts were finely edged into his skull.

    Ash left, stating he had business during the conversation and Anais took a nap in Nathan hood. When all was said in done, Nathan decided to help Kyr with cleaning. While he tidied up, Nathan happen to glance out the back window.

    Kyr: ¡°Thank again for the help.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No problem, hey did you sell produce?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°We did long ago, but not recently, why do you ask?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh I notice, out your back window, looks like someone tried farming.¡±

    Kyr came back inside and Iris took his place, Ramol and he were the ones who ran the shop and knew the ins and outs of the business. Kyr was an energetic little boy, featuring the same round ears and black stripe brown tail as Ramol.

    According to his brother, he too was a licensed merchant, the age restriction was eleven, but it seems Kyr is a lot older than his appearance lets on. Looking around the empty store, it was big, it seemed as though sold more than just weapons and armor at one point in time.

    Nathan: ¡°Did it not go well?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Uh no, it¡¯s just that, neither us are good with farm work, <mumble> it was always their job.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°¡­¡­..Sorry my brother doesn¡¯t like me to talk about it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, okay?¡±

    Kyr gave up the question rather quickly, but Nathan could tell that was a lie, but something in Kyr¡¯s voice, told Nathan that it was a difficult topic.

    Nathan: ¡°Where is Ramol anyway?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°He¡¯s out finalizing the contract, once it¡¯s done, our contract will be official¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If I can supply you with produce, can you sell it?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Yes, but we¡¯ll need a steady supply of merchandise, will you be able to do that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Probably not, I don¡¯t plan on staying here forever, I can come back, but your right, you will need a steady flow of merchandise.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°When, its comes to produce, it all depends on how fresh it is, every day you have to resupply your stock or risk losing stock.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, how about I give you a massive stock and then you sell it as need be, if it¡¯s about storage then-¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Welcome back, brother.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is everything ready?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yes, I notified the guild and we¡¯re good to go, Kyr could you grab the bags I left out front?¡±

    Kyr nodded and went on his way, happily on his way.

    Ramol: ¡°Is everything alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry, you had this expression.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh well, your brother said I shouldn¡¯t bring it up.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Shouldn¡¯t bring it up?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The farm outback.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah, I see, sorry he has trouble getting over it, he uses me as a way to avoid talking about it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡±

    Ramol: "Its fine, see we use to be an all-around shop, back when it was the four of us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Parents?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Two sisters, Mia and Kyra. A long time ago, each of us siblings took care of a certain aspect of the shop, each having our own area of expertise.

    However, Kyra became ill and only a rare herb could produce the medicine needed to cure her. The two them had to go away for a while, they were supposed to be gone no more than a month, but that was seven years ago. It¡¯s been so long, Kyr just assumed the worst.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You tried looking for them?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No chance of that, not long after they left all travel to that area was prohibited.¡± Even if I wanted to, no one would take me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So they could still be alive?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I like to think that, but he¡¯s given up a long time ago.¡±

    Ramol was smiling, but it was a sad smile.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I probably shouldn¡¯t have brought it up.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Oh, it okay, it¡¯s actually nice to talk to someone about it. I just wish he wouldn¡¯t give up.

    Nathan was staring to understand, why this store was so big, they must have been a pretty good place to shop long ago, but now it was a shadow of what wants was.

    Ramol: ¡°Anyway, neither of us are good with farming, I mean we tried and failed spectacularly. Every once and a while Kyr would go clean it up, but it¡¯s just empty space now.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Not for long, we¡¯re gonna fix that, but first let me give you this.¡±

    Nathan reached out and handed Ramol a gem.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°What can this be?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A Spatial Rend Gem.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­WHAAAAAAT!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That was the loudest reaction so far."

    Ramol held to the gem and his hand, it wouldn¡¯t shatter or anything if he dropped it, but he still held on for dear life. Nathan loved his reactions, they were so funny.

    Ramol: ¡°YOU GIVEN ME SUCH A TREASURE!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you said you needed somewhere secure to place the merchandise, now you do.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°But this Gem, it worth so much money.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry I have a bag full of them, not that I had any plans to sell them.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°BAG FULL!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, here this is what I have.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and on the floor appeared several different types of weapons and armor, some accessories only known in legends and some vials of different colored liquids. Ramol nearly fainted, never in his life did he think he would see such a stock pile of legendary items. Kyr returned and screamed, when he entered the room, the same expression Ramol had, making Nathan laugh again.

    Kyr: ¡°Brother, these bottles, these are health potions, and these are Spiryts and the clear one, isn¡¯t that the Panacea?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°How, how, how!?¡±

    Nathan shrugged his shoulders.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, they were all gifts for me, so I took what I pleased, um, are you two gonna be okay?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Please, put those away, if you keep pulling out such things, my heart cannot take it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay?¡±

    Nathan placed the vials back in his inventory, he had plenty for himself, but it seemed they were just too much for them. Nathan decided to withhold the elven weaponry, since he outright stole all of it.

    Ramol placed the Spatial Rend Gem to his chest, watching it slowly sank into his crest. With it ready he placed his hand over the weaponry, one by one they disappeared from the floor.

    Ramol: ¡°Hehehehe, Amazing, simply amazing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°With that you should have no trouble keeping everything safe. And one more thing, I know what we could sell, I surprised I didn¡¯t think of it first.

    Nathan pointed out the back window

    Ramol: ¡°Outback?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Farming, I can make this garden grow.¡±

 Chapter 54: Welcome to the Guild, HERO!?

    Chapter 54: Welcome to the Guild, HERO!?

    Anais: ¡°Waah!?

    Anais squeak in terror, she turned over in Nathan¡¯s hood the wrong way and experience a sensation of falling, startling Nathan in the process. She refused to wake up this morning, so Nathan stuck her in his hood. They had business to attend to and they all needed to be there.

    Nathan: ¡°You okay?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, where are we?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re heading over to meet Ash.¡±

    Anais: ¡°*Yawn* Hold on a second.¡±

    Anais jumped down from his hood and scurried out of sight, returning in her Therian form.

    Anais: ¡°Much better.¡±

    Anais wrapped one arm around another, as she stretch them high into the air.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Mmm, did we get any money from Ramol.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not yet, even with the contract, it¡¯s still gonna take some time before they can sell anything, it will take about a week to make a profit.¡±

    Anais: ¡°A week, seriously?¡±

    Last night, Nathan planted several fruits and vegetables, he had gathered along the way. Nathan grew crop after crop, sending them all into Ramol¡¯s inventory. They don¡¯t rot and stay as fresh as when they were pulled from the ground, plus the Inventory sorted them and clean them, so they were ready for sale. Nathan wanted to keep going all through the night, but Iris forced him to stop, much to the relief of Ramol.  Before they stopped him, Nathan had grew and stored a year worth of produce. He now had plenty to sell and trade.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯re gonna be real busy for an entire week, I just got some juicy bit of info.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master!¡±

    Iris fluttered down to Nathan and Anais, since no one but those she permitted can see her, it was fairly easy to get in and out of places. Nathan ask her to find anything she could.

    Iris: ¡°Are we done at the shop?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°For now, but more importantly, what did you find out?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It seems it will be opening, three days from now.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A Dungeon.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Dungeon?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, while I was helping Ramol and Kyr with their garden, they told me all about it.¡±

    Nathan spoke of what he heard, how dungeons was places around the world, that open once every year. Filled to the brim with treasure and traps alike, not to mention all the monsters that lurk with in.

    Anais: ¡°And you want to go inside?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not really, what¡¯s the point?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I was wondering that as well, it doesn¡¯t see any reason to go inside.¡±

    Nathan looked as he was struck by lightning, he was so excited about the dungeon, he didn¡¯t stop to realize, there wasn¡¯t a reason to go inside.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, we need money.¡±

    Anais: ¡°We¡¯re about to get paid at the end of the week, why risk it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Because, we also need experience.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That could be obtain in our travels.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, what if we had to go in later, we should get a fell for it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°All that could be learned in books.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I-I can¡¯t read.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Don¡¯t worry Master, I¡¯ll read it to you."

    Nathan couldn¡¯t believe how logically they were destroying his reasoning. Nathan tried desperately to think of a reason for going inside, one that would satisfy these two. He had spent much time exploring the one in video games, the thought of exploring a real one, was a dream come true.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, we, ur, um."

    Iris and Anais sighed heavily, as Nathan fumbled over his words. Anais clapped her hands together to get Nathan¡¯s attention.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Nathan, if you want to go inside, just for the sake of it, just say so.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, I-I don¡¯t know what your t-talking about.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s so obvious that you just want to go inside.

    Iris nodded in agreement.

    Iris: ¡°If that all you want to do is experience it, I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Nathan scratch his cheek, he had been completely seen through, it no use playing coy at this point.

    Nathan: ¡°Then yes, I really, really want to go inside.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sheesh, you¡¯re like a big kid.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I think it¡¯s wonderful, to have a sense of adventure.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aheheheheheheh.¡±

    Anais shrugged her shoulders, as they started walking again.

    Iris&Anais: ¡°Ah!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s wrong.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Nothing at all.¡±

    Nathan started walking again, his tail wagging happily to in fro. The girls decided not to say anything, it was more amusing this way.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re here.

    Anais looked up at the familiar structure.

    Anais: ¡°The Adventurers guild, why here?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I signed us up.¡±

    Ash walked up to the bunch, dawning a toothy grin.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, everything went well?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Thanks to Ena, if you hadn¡¯t sent her with me, I don¡¯t think Belle would have believe me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°When you¡¯re a liar, those that tends to happen.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t lie, I tell half-truths.¡±

    Anais: ¡°A half-truth is a whole lie.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You, stinking rodent.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Who you calling a rodent, Furball.¡±

    Nathan stepped in between the two.

    Nathan: ¡°Cool it you two (There a joke hear about a cat and mouse) where¡¯s Ena anyway?¡±

    Ash: ¡°She¡¯s inside, she was having an arm wrestling contest with some of the adventurers.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s sounds bad.¡±

    *Pain ridden scream*

    Nathan: ¡°That sounded worst.¡±

    Nathan rush inside, finding some man clutching his arm on the floor and Ena hovering over top of him.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ena, what did you do?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Hmph, they challenge me to a test of strength, I couldn¡¯t refuse.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hold on I¡¯ll he-¡±

    Nathan was stopped by Ash and Anais alike, both silently reminding him about what they talked about earlier.

    The man clenched his arm and pain and stood up.

    Burly man: ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about me, I challenged her, she did nothing wrong. Besides, it was my fault for taking her lightly.¡±

    The other adventurer all agreed, it a friendly competition. The man turned to Ena, the feeling returning to his arm.

    Burly man: ¡°You got some crazy strength there young lady.¡±

    Ena: ¡°It¡¯s not that big a deal.¡±

    Ena acting turned her head, trying to hide her glee.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    After that, several adventurers step up to take her on, which Ena was more then happy to accept.

    Ash: ¡°See, everything worked itself out, be careful from now on, no healing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right, let¡¯s hope she doesn¡¯t rip somebodies arm off.¡±

    Ash laughed awkarwdly, realizing that was a distinct possibility.

    Belle: ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Nathan turn to find belle waving at him.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, Belle.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Hello to you again as well, if your all ready, I can begin the registry. The fee has been paid and were all ready.¡±

    Anais: ¡°We paid, with what money?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Mine of course.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You paid for everything?¡±

    Ash put an arm over Nathan¡¯s shoulder.

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m a part of the team now, I don¡¯t mind contributing, plus *whisper*I saw all the things you gave Ramol. We¡¯re gonna be rich after a week.¡±

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Gold Digger.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Shut up, I was on the team before I knew of your stockpile, I just needed to be part of the team.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    Belle: ¡°If you could step up to the counter, please?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±

    Belle: ¡°So Nathan, I was told that you are leader, is this correct.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Belle placed her hand over a stone slab, that started glow slightly when she removed it.

    Belle: ¡°Okay, the same way you added a party member please place your hand here and will need a drop of blood. It will then read your stat chart and register your party, by the way do you have a name?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, Nathan.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Huh, Pfft!¡±

    Belle placed a hand over her mouth as, she laughed, much to Nathan confusion. He turned to Ash, who was snickering as well.

    Ash: ¡°She meant your party, a name for your party?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I haven¡¯t thought of that, do I need it to register?¡±

    Belle: ¡°No, but without one it would be hard to get quest recommendations.¡±

    Ash: ¡°There are some special people who ask for parties specifically, Quest Givers if you want.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But, I sign for confidentiality.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, they don¡¯t care what your stats are, nor are they allowed to see it. As long as you made a name for yourself and accomplish some truly magnificent feats. Most of the time, the reward is much bigger then the normal quest from the guild.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get it, but I don¡¯t have one for now, could I wait until later?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, please continue then.¡±

    Belle handed Nathan a knife. Slitting his finger, moved it towards the glowing surface, he suddenly stopped and looked to Belle.¡±

    Belle: ¡°I-Is there a problem?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Are you the type of person to freak out?¡±

    Belle: ¡°I-Im sorry?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you easily surprised?¡±

    Belle looked extremely confused, was it something to do with his stats. She never seen a Lycanian¡¯s stats, however she was a professional. Seeing abnormal stats was apart of the job, with that thought she shook her head.

    Nathan: ¡°Just try not to freak out when you see.¡±

    With that Nathan placed his slit finger on the slab, he felt a warm sensation the cold, then hot.

    Belle: ¡°That it¡¯s you are now Registered, welcome to the Adventurers Guild.¡±

    Belle pulled up a screen, Nathan watched her carefully, as did everyone else. Confusion, shock, and then disbelief, the usual symptoms. Belle turned to Nathan, her head moving like a sprinkler resetting to start. He waved to her, causing her to step back and hit her head on the wall, turning to Nathan and everyone begging her to be calm. However, they could tell, she was about to scream out the taboo words. Nathan quickly reached out in took her hand.

    Nathan: ¡°(Tranquil).¡±

    It took immediate effect, Ash held her mouth, as to keep her from saying anything. As Belle expression began to grow calm. He had stop her from yelling but, she was still in disbelief.

    Nathan: ¡°Confidentiality, Confidentiality.¡±

    Nathan pleaded to her, she took a deep breath.

    Belle: ¡°R-RIGHT!?¡±

    Belle slowly made her way back to the counter, scrolling down the list at the members, she could barely keep on her feet. The Hero, a nymph, a fairy, what was this craziness?¡±

    Ash: ¡°(Whisper) Belle are you okay?¡±

    Belle: I-I-I-I-I need to go speak with the guild leader, could all please wait in the lobby?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is everything alright?¡±

    When Nathan spoke to her, she jumped back and hit her head again.

    Belle: ¡°YES, FINE, Just, Master, guild, get I.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll wait in the lobby.¡±

    Belle step from behind the counter, smacking into the door frame. Holding her head in pain, she got herself together and made her way up the steps, half-way up, the sound of her falling back down stairs, startled those standing by.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Well that happened.

    Ash: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Would it be rude if I laughed?¡±

    Everyone: ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­The hell with it, Bwahahahahahaha.

    Nathan laughed his way over to the lobby, ignoring everyone telling him to stop.

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s taking so long?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Beats me.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Could there be some complications?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Could they be telling others about who I am?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No way, they won¡¯t step beyond the confine of the contract, unless the be cursed.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You could be cursed for breaking a contract?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup, contracts in blood anyway, why do you think everyone, sticks to their contract, no one ever knows what a curse will do. It could be as simple as not being able to eat a certain food, to losing the ability to use magic. The bigger the contract, the stronger the curse.¡±

    That made sense, no wonder Beatrice was so set on finishing their deal. Since they added me to their deal, but didn¡¯t come through, one or all of them, probably had something bad happen to them.

    Anais: ¡°Why would anyone, sign something that could curse them?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Before contracts such as these, it was common for someone to back out on a deal whenever they wanted. Say you hired someone to go into a dungeon for you to get something, but then they back out deciding they want to keep whatever it is for themselves or ask for more than what¡¯s you agreed upon. With contract the way they are now, one can guarantee, they get what they ask for.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It sound more like demanding compliance.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Pretty much.¡±

    Ash and Nathan continued their conversation unaware of the crowd forming around them.

    Anais: ¡°Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What wrongs¡­¡­.uhm¡­.can I help you?¡±

    ?????: ¡°Can she help us she says?¡±

    The man and his group began to laugh at a joke Nathan doesn¡¯t remember saying.

    Ash: ¡°Aw man, its Gaunt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Gaunt?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°The one and only.¡±

    Gaunt begin flexing his muscles, and posing in front of Nathan and he smiled and wink at Nathan, causing him to shiver.

    Nathan&Anais: ¡°Is he for real?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sadly so, he one of the few high leveled adventurers around here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Him!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°But your still way stronger, but be careful with how you deal with him, he may not look like it, but he has a lot of power around here.¡±

    Gaunt was a pretty big man, his clothes looking as if his muscle ripped his shirt sleeves and instead of getting new ones, he idiotically left them that way. Sliding into the seat and placing his arm over Nathan shoulder, he gave Nathan a smile that sent shivers throughout body once again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your touching me.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Don¡¯t sweat something like that, hey listen I¡¯m here to make your day, see Z-man little birdies told me you were looking for some to help you get around town.

    Nathan: ¡°Z-man?¡±

    Ash: (Whisper) He¡¯s talking about Zane.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(That douche bag from earlier, his little birdies¡­¡­¡­¡­those bitches.)¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°So I thought I help you out, I mean who wouldn¡¯t want to help such a lovely woman.¡±

    Gaunt looked Nathan up and down, he couldn¡¯t help himself. Beautiful brown skin, long luxurious black hair, he thought she was lacking in the bosom department, but with looks like hers, who needed it. He had to have her and with his skills and his level he knew he would.

    Gaunt: ¡°What you say, wanna give it a try, who am I kidding, of course you do. I mean I¡¯m me, who wouldn¡¯t want to try? So, shall we head over and make this thing official, when you¡¯re a member of my party I give you some special privileges. How would you like that?¡±

    Nathan moved closer to Gaunt, showing him a cute smile. Steaming coming out of Gaunt¡¯s nose as they got closer.

    Nathan: ¡°How would you like to eat my farts?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And who are you kidding with that way of talking, fucking gross.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I said your fucking Gross and gave you permission to touch me, you pig. Do think your impressing anyone like that, get over yourself. You, muscled bound, butt chinned, colossal pile of horse shit.¡±

    Iris: ¡°(Master.)¡±

    Ash: ¡°(Now you¡¯ve done it.)¡±

    Anais&Ena: ¡°PFFFFFFHHTTTT!

    Gaunt just stared mouth wide open, like he had become a statue. Trying to process what he had just been told.

    Belle: ¡°M-Master Lowell, the guild master would like to speak with you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thank the heavens, the rest of you head back, I¡¯ll head over right after I¡¯m done. Let get out of here before someone starts explaining why this gaping asshole is so great.¡±

    Nathan removed Gaunt¡¯s arm and was careful to avoid touching him. In moments, Nathan and everyone removed themselves from the lobby, quickly filing out, a few of them laughing out loud at Nathan said

    As they had cleared out the men and woman in his entourage turned turn back to Gaunt, still frozen in the same position.

    ???? : ¡°Gaunt, are you okay?¡±

    Gaunt: Earl, what did that woman just say to me?¡±

    Earl: ¡°Oh, um, well she said¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Gross.¡±

    Gaunt begin to shake, as the world echoed through his head. Here he was trying to bring meaning into her existence and she said something like that to him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

    Gaunt: ¡°That bitch.¡±

    _

    _

    Iris: ¡°I never seen you like that before, Master.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, was it too much?¡±

    Iris shook her head.

    Iris: ¡°Not at all, if you hadn¡¯t done that, I would have ripped him apart.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh¡­. Then everything¡¯s good (I wonder how she can say such terrifying things?).¡±

    Iris: ¡°It just surprising, witnessing you spew such obscenities.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It just that, he just like the people who hit on me back home, the way they look at me and how they so casually touch me. If not for keeping a low profile, I would have put him on his head.¡±

    Nathan and Iris continued their conversation while Belle lead the way. She seemed a bit tenser, he couldn¡¯t tell if it was because of him or because of their conversation.

    Nathan: ¡°Belle, are you okay?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Y-Yes, it¡¯s just a little unsettling to hear the disembodied voice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She still can¡¯t see you, she knows about you already?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t see the reason, she may know I¡¯m here, but there is no need to show her my form. However, if you want me to, I will do as you say.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not gonna make you do anything, who you choose to show yourself to is up to you.¡±

    Belle: ¡°I-I-I¡¯m am fine as well, no need to on my behalf it¡¯s just.¡±

    Belle stopped walking in turned around, causing her chest to ricochet back and forth.

    Nathan: ¡°(Whoa!)¡±

    Belle: ¡°Such amazing people suddenly show up, I¡¯m just trying to keep calm, if you could please do the thing you did earlier, standing here I feel as if I¡¯m going to faint again.¡±

    Nathan activated Tranquil again and re-calmed Belle, her demeanor once again returning to itself. Back to normal she bowed.

    *boing**boing*

    Belle: ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m much better now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No problem (Whoa, just, just whoa.). Iris can stay camo, it¡¯s probably for the chest.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Chest?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°BREAST, BEST!¡±

    Belle looked at Nathan confused, she wasn¡¯t sure what he was talking about or why his voice level kept rising and falling.

    Iris: ¡°*stare* Ahem.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, please continue.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, please this way.¡±

    Nathan continued to follow Belle down the hall, sweat running down his face, as he avoided eye contact with Iris.

    Coming to a double door, Belle knocked lightly.

    Belle: ¡°Master, I brought him.¡±

    ??????: ¡°Please come in.¡±

    Entering the room was extravagant, compare to the rest of the building, the d¨¦cor looked as though someone put work into its design. However, there was an unnecessary amount of blue. Standing in the center of the room, was an older gentleman. A welcoming smile on his face, he walked up to Nathan and bowed.

    Matthew: Welcome Hero, I¡¯m am the Loegrey branch guild master, Matthew Rhyshere, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±

 Chapter 55: Guild Master Matthew

    Chapter 55: Guild Master Matthew

    Belle: ¡°Here you are.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Belle offered Nathan a cup full of tea, a dark brown concoction, that smelled of wild berries invaded his nostrils as he took a sip.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s good.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it, Lym tea, with wildberry extract. It¡¯s extraordinarily simple, yet that aroma gets me every time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Lim, that the herb the tea comes from?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Why yes, not much other use then a brew of tea, still it a very rare herb, only known to grow in one or two places in the world.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Even if I told you, it would be impossible to reach.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Darn, I would mind having such an herb on my list.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I must disagree, with your abilities such as yours, the herb would definitely lose it status.¡±

    Matthew smiled wryly, as if he had said something meaningful, but NAthan had no doubt this man had looked his status over.

    Nathan: ¡°Indeed it would, but enough of this, what is it that you want from me. I¡¯m pretty sure you didn¡¯t call me just to talk about tea.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I like to ask a few questions, if that¡¯s okay with you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m find with it, as long as they don¡¯t cross any lines.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I¡¯ll try not to.¡±

    Matthew dismissed Belle, who retreated as quickly as possible, Nathan glancing over to her as she left the room.

    Matthew: ¡°Nice, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°You know, her chest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*Sputter*.¡±

    Nathan did a glorious spit take, emptying his mouth of its contents.

    Nathan ¡°*cough**cough* W-What, are you saying!?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Come on, we¡¯re both men here, tell me you weren¡¯t staring.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well-¡±

    Nathan suddenly stop his sentence, for next to him, a dark murky aura had arisen. Iris drilled holes into the side of Nathan¡¯s head with her eyes. He didn¡¯t need hear her to speak, but the message was all too clear, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare answer that question wrong¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°I-I hadn¡¯t even notice, i-it is inappropriate to stare or speak of such t-things.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Bullshit, there isn¡¯t a man alive who wouldn¡¯t notice those things, in fact I¡¯ve believe this branch is so popular with the males, because of her.

    Nathan knew that, Matthew knew that, the entire male population knew that, but for the sake of his well-being, Nathan continued to deny his claims. Sweat poured down Nathan¡¯s head, as Iris¡¯s stares practically spilt his skull. Matthew wanted to talk more, but he could see that Nathan was uncomfortable with the topic.

    Matthew: ¡°Well, I guess we should talk about it another time.¡±

    Matthew took another sip from his cup, a prolonged sip, as if trying to keep his composure. His posture and way of speaking was suggested he was a noble. From the clothes he wore to the way he presented himself, it was clear that he took care of how he seemed to other people. However, none of that meant anything, through Nathan¡¯s abilities, he could tell that he was extremely nervous, but it was different from belle¡¯s. It was as if he did not want to mess up anything he said and whatever he wanted he was praying he got it.

    Matthew: ¡°So let¡¯s get to it. Are you the same Hero who defeated Demon Lord Elphina?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Beats me.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That what I was told by Iris.¡±

    Matthew looked off to his left, looking through Nathan¡¯s party members.

    Matthew: ¡°Iris¡­¡­¡­¡­ the fairy, where is she now?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I right here, I been here the entire time.¡±

    Matthew eyes widen, hearing a voice coming from nowhere, but somehow kept his composure.

    Matthew: ¡°I see, let me apologize for ignoring you.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No apologies needed, how were you supposed to know I was here?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What you say is true, so miss Iris, how could you know that he was the Hero from then?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Someone very trustworthy, told me this fact.¡±

    Matthew couldn¡¯t see, but Iris was nodded her head a matter-of-factly. Matthew put a hand to his chin.

    Matthew: ¡°And you just believe this person, wholeheartedly?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Not to be rude, but believing something to be absolute truth, without any proof, sound rather foolhardy.¡±

    Nathan quickly placed a hand on Iris¡¯s shoulder, he could tell she had become irritated by the question. At this point Iris revealed herself, shocking him from her sudden emergence. He had never believed he would see a fairy in his entire life, it was rather enchanting, even with the rather displease expression she had currently.

    Iris: Pardon me, but your line of questioning, make it seems you doubt Master is the Hero.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Oh no, from what I see here, he is indeed a Hero, it just your very existence, brings about skepticism. I¡¯m sure you heard by now, the Hero concept was created by humans for humans, the fact that a Therian is the Hero, any human would be shocked to hear this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well be for I awoke I was a human.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I see from your status, it says your both, which in itself odd.

    Nathan explained to Matthew his situation, excluding anything he shouldn¡¯t reveal.

    Matthew: ¡°I see, I didn¡¯t know such a thing was possible, but if it is, why would she change your appearance so drastically?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, that one of the reasons I¡¯m trying to find her. She didn¡¯t leave any real clues to her whereabouts in her study.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I can¡¯t imagine, a five-thousand-year-old trail, would be easy to follow.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nor do we, but it¡¯s all we have got as of now, but she seemed to have written numerous books, I figured a library would be our best bet.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Where is this study, maybe there¡¯s something you misse-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Stop right there, I can¡¯t tell you where it was, plus I¡¯m not even sure how to get back there (Not that I want to go back.). There is a huge forest between here and there.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°(Huge forest) The center of this continent, is almost completely forested, perhaps you came from there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, I was lost for a long time before I found my way out. But the people I met were surprise that I came out of the forest.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Their reactions are not surprising to me at all.¡±

    Matthew got up from his chair and walk to his desk. He moved his hand out of sight.

    Belle could you bring me a map of the area south of Loegrey?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Right away, Mr. Rhyshere.¡±

    A few moments and Belle promptly returned with large rolled up parchment. She handed to Matthew before making her self scarce once again. Matthew unrolled the parchment and spread it out across the table. Nathan eyed the map passionately, as did Iris. As he thought, he couldn¡¯t read it, he could make out landmarks, but the words escaped him.

    Iris¡¯s eyes rolled across every inch of the map, sadly, it was lacking all the content they needed. Loegrey was settle towards the top, while the rest were roads, villages, forest, all south of the city.

    Iris didn¡¯t know what to make of this, she recognize the name Bourice, off to the west of Loegrey and Ream just southwest. However, there were a few other villages she didn¡¯t know was there, or so she was told wasn¡¯t there.

    Matthew: ¡°Could you point out the general area you emerge?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t make his or tails of what this says.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Your illit-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I am NOT illiterate.¡±

    Iris: ¡°He is not accustomed to this language.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh but, I can tell you I was three days by carriage from a town called Ream.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Ream is that farming town southwest of here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was told it was the southernmost settlement and by carriage from where I was it would take three days to reach ream.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What, there was be some mistake.¡±

    Matthew pointed out several points on the map while he talked. Drea, Ream, Eam and Meard are all south of here. In fact, they are really close together, you might even call them one city.¡±

    Nathan and Iris were surprise to hear this, why would Beatrice tell them that it was only one city down there?

    Matthew: ¡°Let¡¯s see, three days from Ream, this must be the section you came from, Dyrek woods. The deeper you go, the taller the trees, but besides that surely you came across the Twelve Horns.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Those giant deer things, yeah I saw them, but deer don¡¯t usually attack if you don¡¯t show any aggression.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Is that true?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if there is any danger, I would know, I gotten pretty close to those Twelve Horns, even running underneath one, there was no aggression on their part what so ever.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I see.¡±

    Iris: (Master?)

    Iris gave Nathan a glance, she didn¡¯t understand why he had just done that.

    Matthew: ¡°Still, the forests towards the center map, are known for the high-level monsters, even the strongest adventurers avoid heading into its depths. The deeper you go the stronger the monsters and at some points you may also run into elves.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Elves?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Elves are very territorial, though you might see a few around here, they are mostly explorers and runaways. If by some chance you make past the high leveled monsters, elves will vigorously hunt down trespassers who head toward the center.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Make sense, but why aren¡¯t they attacking now?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I¡¯m not really sure of the reasons, but as long as we stick to the shores, we don¡¯t have to worry about such dangers, rarely does anything exit the forest and if it does, there are forts and the such stationed to keep watch.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Isn¡¯t still risky to settle here?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, I understand for the Therian, but your human, why would you all risk leaving here?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Trade.¡±

    Matthew set back in his seat.

    Matthew: ¡°As you probably all know, not all the races are on the best of terms.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°From the eastern shore of this continent, you can get to [Umbrya] to the north, [Dreyd] to the east and both Trosan and Atoa to the south.

    Nathan: ¡°So Loegrey acts as sort of a hub for various region to receive goods from other¡¯s regions, with little to no contact.¡±

    Mathew: ¡°Precisely, Midheim and Hyborne as well, even if the races are hostile towards one another, there are just resources one cannot do without and by some godly coincidence, each continent has a resource the others do not. This way, no one has to come into direct contact, the central continent is a neutral zone. All the under the control of both the Merchant guilds and Adventurers guild.¡±

    Nathan listened and couldn¡¯t believe how ridiculous he sounded. In a way that system work, but there were just so many things wrong with the situation. It was just a convenient way of keeping segregated while getting what you wanted. Nathan changed the subject, if they kept talking he would have said something that offended everyone.

    Matthew: ¡°I think it¡¯s quite amazing you were able to make it through all of that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m really lucky, anyway, we¡¯ve talked long enough, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Matthew: Ah wait, how long you were planning to stay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not sure, a friend suggested I do a few quests and I was planning on entering the dungeon, but I think will probably head north afterward. I know will be staying for at least a week or a couple days more.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I see.¡±

    Matthew thought for a moment, there were a few more things he needed to ask.

    Matthew: ¡°I know your keeping your hidden for now, but do you have any plans of revealing yourself?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°None what so ever, I come to realize nothing good would come of it.¡±

    Matthew didn¡¯t let it show, but he breath a sigh of relief. Having a Therian come out as the true Hero, would bring nothing but a headache.

    Nathan: ¡°Besides, it not like I¡¯m needed, there no demon Lord as of now, right?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Actually yes, several in fact.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..What, no way!?¡±

    Matthew had answered the question so nonchalantly, it took him a minute to realize how stun Nathan was.

    Matthew: ¡°Well, even though they are called Demon Lords, they aren¡¯t what I would call a threat.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You don¡¯t call a Demon Lord a threat?¡±

    Matthew ushered Nathan too calm himself.

    Matthew: ¡°To be honest, Demon Lord is no more than a title. Their just individuals with extreme amounts of power, that could rival the churches appointed Heroes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°There are Heroes too and what do you mean appointed by the church?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I could explain it all to you, but it might take a while.¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t care, he wanted to hear.

    Matthew: ¡°The disciples of Riga Morte, would scout individuals who they found to have a Legacy. Eveyrone who joined were named Heroes and given the highest esteem, while those who refuse were dubbed Demon Lords and ostracized by the people.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, just like that and they¡¯re considered Demon Lords, that¡¯s really messed up.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I agree, but it would be foolhardy to challenge their declaration.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Just like the guilds, the Church is a separate power from the governments of the world. And unlike the segregated governments of the world, the church has influence, spanning the globe and a private army that dwarfs any one races army.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So it¡¯s okay to ruin people¡¯s lives, just because they refuse to join their rank, that¡¯s bullshit.¡±

    Matthew continued talking about the churches influence. He also told him of another church, The house of Valenus and their worship of the Goddess Xana. They were originally the only church that existed, until about a thousand or so years.

    Nathan: ¡°The Riga Morte church, caught up to them and only a few  thousand years?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Well, with their ability to locate Legacy owners, it wasn¡¯t difficult for them to gain favor with certain individuals. And since the Valenus, refuses to appoint Heroes and instead just give blessings and healings, the  adventure guild hold them in high esteem.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So you are all protecting Valenus?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Not officially, but there are a lo of adventurer, who owe the church their lives, myself included. I don¡¯t they will just sit around and watch the church come under attack.¡±

    Nathan got the gift of the situation, the Adventurer Guild won¡¯t up right say they¡¯re protecting the church, but if push comes to shove, they would act to defend it. Nathan also wonder about that ability the Disciples had, the ability to locate Legacy owners didn¡¯t sound to good, the minute he was done here, he was invoking both Anais and Iris¡¯s abilities on Everyone in his party with a Legacy.

    As they spoke more about the church, Matthew ran, through Nathans stats over in over, they were ridiculous, in fact, three others were incredible as well. However, his eyes kept coming back to one in particular, not only a fairy, but a nymph as well. For such a thing to even be possible for him, he would have had come from the deepest parts of the continent.

    Matthew was sure Nathan wouldn¡¯t tell him and due to the non-disclosure contract, he couldn¡¯t investigate to thoroughly without revealing some information.  He didn¡¯t quite understand why the Hero of all people would join the Adventurers guild instead of revealing himself as the Hero, not that he wanted that at this point.

    Nathan: ¡°Do you need anything else or did I meet your expectations.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Please don¡¯t question my intelligence, you weren¡¯t really all that interested in what I had to say, you¡¯re just trying to get a feel for my character. More than that, you seemed to care more about the Fae in my party, I notice how you reacted to Iris. So, let¡¯s talk about what you really want to talk about.¡±

    Matthew smiled wryly, he was seen through much easier then he anticipated.

    Matthew: ¡°From your status I can see that you are rather strong, ridiculously in fact. I have a proposition, thing of it as a quest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°It pays extremely well, you have every right to refuse, but I really hope you will do this for me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Sorry, I won¡¯t give you any details, unless you agree.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I won¡¯t agree to something I know nothing about. For all I know you could ask me to kill someone.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I assure its nothing so sinister, how about this, if you return to me in eight days, I¡¯ll tell you all the details. However, I can say it is a truly important person.¡±

    Nathan Suspicion about Matthew were half correct, this was a test. He was definitely trying to figure out his character. Nathan didn¡¯t hate this type of person, the Hero suddenly showing up, with no money, wanting to join, but keeping his status under lock and key, it sounded too sketchy. However, he without a doubt wanted his power for something.

    Nathan: ¡®Do you mind if I ask you a question?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°You realize, that was actually a question?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Nathan gave Matthew a look for his lame joke.

    Matthew: ¡°Couldn¡¯t help myself, but in all seriousness please.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you think of me, no what do you think of the Hero?¡±

    Matthew looked taken aback by the question, he wasn¡¯t expecting such thing to be asked.

    Matthew: ¡°I don¡¯t think you will like what I had to say.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Let me decide that.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..In all honesty, its unneeded. The purpose of the Hero was someone strong enough to defeat the Demon Lord, which you did. Sure, there are Demon Lords now, but in name only. For hundreds of years, not one has made any malicious movement however, soon that may change, after your worldly emergence, some might take that as a threat. Nations on the brink of war, may now come to clash, all because you idiotically reveal yourself.

    Nathan quickly grabbed Iris and held her small body to his chest, she hadn¡¯t moved, but his reflexes activated anyway. Matthew was startled by the sudden reaction, more so Iris, who was now held firmly to Nathan¡¯s chest.

    The anger in her being replaced by embarrassment, as the warmth of his body, radiated onto her skin. She tried to pull away, but the more she pushed the more she was smushed to him. Nathan realizing Iris had calmed down, let her loose a bit, urging Matthew to continue, assuring everything was fine. As second longer and he was sure Iris would have blown him away.

    Matthew: ¡°I find it skeptical that you want to hide your identity, but at the same time, I wish you would have stayed hidden all together. In this peaceful day and age where war was only your existence is a hindrance.¡±

    *Bzzzzzzt*

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS!!¡±

    Matthew could no longer keep his composure, as a large ball of energy appeared in front of him, then just as quickly dissipated. The killing intent Iris just shot their direction was enough to make one pass out. Her rage was only sated, by the hands holding her down.

    Nathan quickly jumped up, they had to leave.

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you for that, I think I might take you up on your offer, but we¡¯ll leave for today.¡±

    Matthew looked completely flustered for a moment and then smiled. It was better to end the conversation, whilst Nathan had Iris held down. He notice Nathan was carrying two swords on his back.

    Matthew: ¡°That sword, is that the Hero sword?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, it is.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Is there a chance you could show it to me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Absolutely not, if I unsheathe it everyone will know I¡¯m here.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Ah I see (So that power from before was the blade.). You have my word, I will keep your record in the utmost of confidentiality.

    Matthew snapped his fingers and moments later Belle arrived.

    Nathan: ¡°(Is she the only one working here?)¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Belle, would you be so kind as to finish telling him all the information he needs?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes Master, Ryshere.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°It been a pleasure meeting you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And you as well.¡±

    Nathan stood to leave, following Belle out and down the hall. Matthew grab his cup and finished what was inside.

    Matthew: ¡°Nathan Lowell, interesting.¡±

 Chapter 56: Fun Times

    Chapter 56: Fun Times

    Nathan decided to hold off Belle explaining anything, he would return later after retrieving everyone.

    Leaving Belle behind, Nathan left only to find, Anais had stayed behind to wait. She was standing outside when they exited the building. Why they walked Nathan explained their conversation.

    Anais: ¡°That sure was along talk for nothing, but to meet you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Can¡¯t blame him, the Hero showing up to your door, asking for a job, well, at least I got a look at a map.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And discovered, you can¡¯t read it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t make sound like I¡¯m all around dumb.¡±

    As Anais and Nathan, prattled on, Iris set on Nathans shoulder, Matthew words replaying in her head.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, nothing, I¡¯m just tired.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Does it have something to do with that massive surge of energy from earlier.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You felt that?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Along with everyone else around, it was huge pressure for a split second.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it just the things he said.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris I asked him to. Besides any rational person would think the same way. Though I¡¯m am curious to about what he was talking about (About those nations moving), but any rationale mind person would definitely have similar views about the situation. I¡¯m pretty sure, I hear even worse things in the future.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I understand that, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to enjoy hearing them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for getting mad for me, it means a lot.¡±

    Nathan rubbed the top of Iris¡¯s head. her face flushing ever so slightly.

    Nathan: ¡°(But in all honesty, I didn¡¯t like the way he looked at Iris.)¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, why did you tell a lie?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Lie¡­¡­¡­.ah that?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What did you lie about?¡±

    Nathan explained about Dyrek woods and the Twelve Horns.

    Anais: ¡°We were invisible and undetectable almost that entire time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, so I didn¡¯t technically lie, I just didn¡¯t tell him every little detail.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Were figure it out in eight days, heheheh.¡±

    Nathan cackled evilly, much to Anais and Iris¡¯s discomfort.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais where are we going anyway?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ash said he treat us to dinner before we head back to Ramol¡¯s.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll pass, don¡¯t need it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ash said you¡¯re not allowed to bail.¡±

    Anais quickly grabbed Nathans hand and pulled him along

    Anais: ¡°Let¡¯s go, free meal awaits.¡±

    Anais lead everyone down the street, more people filling the paths as they continued. Most of the people about seemed to be Therian, unlike the human and Pristyne, the Therian didn¡¯t try so needlessly to avoid him, but the amount on eyes on him didn¡¯t change. As more people crowded the street, it became a lot more difficult to move without bumping someone.

    *Bump*Snatch*

    Nathan: ¡°(Huh?)¡±

    *Snatch*

    <u>Thievery +7</u>

    <u>*ding ding*</u>

    <u>Conditons Met ¡°Pickpocket Lvl1¡± Now Active</u>

    Nathan stopped walking and looked back, looked down at the small bag in his hand, jiggling the bag he snickered.

    Iris: ¡°Master, is everything okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh nothing, just remembered something.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What ya standing around for, move people.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡±

    Nathan placed the pouch in the now free slot on his side and hurried after Anais.

    _

    _

    ?????: ¡°So cool, I can¡¯t believe you just did that?¡±

    ?????: ¡°Forget the praise beat, check to see if someone notice her.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Don¡¯t boss me around Jazz and of course there no one.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Another clean heist, eh Viola?¡±

    Viola tossed the bag of coin up and down, smirk on her face revealing her two front teeth.

    Viola: ¡°Is there any other kind.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°So how much did we get?¡±

    *jingle**Jingle*

    Viola tossed the bag to jazz, who wasted no time emptying the contents into her hand.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°What, is that it, a few lousy silvers?¡±

    Beat: ¡°We gotten more robbing the nobles.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s not about the money, who else can say they robbed a Lycanian. More than that, I don¡¯t feel like dealing with Bernard and his little dog pack.¡±

    Beat: ¡°I guess, well we can get something to eat, who¡¯s hungry?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Yeah dinner sounds good, lets head back.¡±

    Beat&Jazz: ¡°Right boss.¡±

    Viola: ¡°I told you to stop calling me that.¡±

    Beat and Jazz followed after Viola out of the alley. She was in a good mood, the Lycanian hadn¡¯t been here, more than a few days and she had already left her mark. She loved robbing people more than anything, it wasn¡¯t the treasure, it was the rush that gave it purpose.

    Regret wasn¡¯t in her vocabulary, her philosophy, if it could be stolen, then consider it gone. After she report this, she was sure to move up in the Theives Guild. The person who said mutts will always be just that, would soon choke on their words.

    She, a Therian was the first to steal from the Lycanian race, in five thousand years. Besides, sporting such a flimsy pouch the Lycanian was asking for it. If they really wanted to keep it safe, they would put it out of sight like she does.

    *Pat**Pat*

    Viola: ¡°Eh?

    Viola patted her side, her face going pale as she searched herself.

    Jazz and Beat watched as Viola begin to pat herself all over, reaching into her clothes indiscreetly fondling her assets. Several people took notice as at her as they walked by. Even as a ¡°Rodentia¡± she was not at all unpleasant to the eyes and though not as well-endowed the curves were still as enticing.

    Jazz: ¡°Viola, what¡¯s up with you.¡±

    Viola ignored her friends and continued her search, there was no way she dropped it, so the only conclusion, the item was lost amongst her clothes. In thus, she began to disrobe. Lifting her shirt, her plain white bra came into view.

    Crowd: ¡°OOOOOOOH!¡±

    Jazz and Beat went wide eyed, over the same matter but for difference reason. Jazz wondering what was wrong with her boss, Beat mind in sync with the crowd of men around.

    *Poke*

    Beat: ¡°MY EYEEEEESSS!¡±

    Jazz pulled he fingers from beats corneas, as she hurriedly went over and pulled Viola¡¯s shirt back down.

    Jazz: ¡°Don¡¯t look, you assholes, Viola, what are you doing in the middle of the street?¡±

    Viola: ¡°It¡¯s not there then it must be-¡±

    Viola didn¡¯t even finish her sentence before she tugged her pants half way down, exposing her butt. Unless her chest, that was nothing special, her butt was threating to burst from her pants. Another collective hoot from the crowd and Beat alike, as they cheered her on.

    *Poke*

    Beat: ¡°MY EYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!¡±

    Jazz grabbed Viola, before they both turned into a shadow and vanished, leaving the crowd wondering where they are. A moment later they appeared in alleyway not far from where they were. Beat arrived as Jazz finishing force dressing Viola, tears in his eyes from being poked repeatedly.

    Jazz: ¡°What were you doing in the middle of the street?¡±

    Viola: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Gone, it¡¯s gone.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°What¡¯s gone?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Our money¡­¡­..it¡¯s gone.¡±

    _

    _Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell is going on, we¡¯ve been waiting for twenty minutes.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It doesn¡¯t usually take this long, I wonder what¡¯s up.¡±

    Ena: ¡°This is unacceptable, I¡¯ll make them hurry up.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t do that, it just a busy night, look this place is pack. On the way here, I saw a bunch of other places, they¡¯re all packed.

    Ash: ¡°Must be cause of the tournament, it always like this around this time.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So, I saw people come in after us already get served.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your all forgetting one thing.¡±

    Nathan pointed to himself, prompting a few enlightenments.

    Anais: ¡°Oh right, forgot about that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can leave, you¡¯d probably get some service.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Denied.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, I told you, I don¡¯t need to eat.¡±

    Ash: ¡°As weird as that is, it¡¯s not the point, I said I was treating you so let me.¡±

    Ash tried futilely to get someone¡¯s attention, they just didn¡¯t want to approach Nathan. Outside the restaurant, Nathan could hear a conversation with a group who wanted to get a table, but the table were all full.

    Nathan notice that a few tables in the corner, with grills and fire pits, but no one seemed to want to sit there.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey ash, what¡¯s up with those tables?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hmm, those tables, there self-serve tables. The restaurant provides you with ingredients at a reduced price and you just cook for yourself. Why?¡±

    Nathan: Perfect, let¡¯s go there.¡±

    Ash: ¡°But, I can¡¯t cook.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can.¡±

    Nathan quickly shuffled over to the table, quickly setting up the grill and checking the pots for damage.¡±

    Ash: ¡°How am I supposed to treat you if you¡¯re the one cooking?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°By purchasing all the ingredients.

    Nathan told ash of what he needed, he went up to the counter to grab what he needed. Since everything was uncooked, the price was reduce and he could get a couple of extra things.

    Nathan saw out the corner of his eye, the group who was waiting outside took their old table and get helped almost immediately.

    Anais: ¡°What these dirty-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Forget it Anais, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Here¡¯s everything you asked for.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Nathan got right to work, slicing meat into chunks, before seasoning them and putting them on grill. Placing a pan under the meat, he gathered the juices, into another pot, whisking it together with flour and added some water. Soon the pot came to a boil and the smell began to waft around the restaurant. Next, he chopped some vegetables and place them on the grill for a few minutes, before dumping it into the pot, along with all the meat.

    Everyone watched as he worked, finishing one task and moving on to the next. People around the restaurant, couldn¡¯t help but take notice. The tantalizing smell drew eyes.

    Finesse +4

    Charisma +5

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, so mundane work as well.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What was that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing, slice that bread and hand me those bowls.¡±

    Nathan poured the stew in to each bowl handed one to everyone.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, that was fun, eat up everyone, it¡¯s been so long since I did that.¡±

    Everyone took a bite of the food and eyes lit up.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So good~¡±

    Ash: ¡°I never had or seen food prepared in such a way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, this is an everyday meal, where I come from.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Are you kidding, the stew in this place isn¡¯t even as good as this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It that what was being served here?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not this good, I kinda glad we didn¡¯t get served.¡±

    Nathan watched as his dishes were demolished. What he prepared was a meal one would eat at an outing in his world. To be held in such high esteem, was a bit surprising.

    *ding*ding*

    Title Acquired: (Cooking Hero)

    Nathan: ¡°(New title not bad)¡±

    Nathan looked over his new title.

    (Cooking Hero)

    Finesse +8

    Stat Booster

    Nathan quickly switched to the new title. Higher finesse made every move he made, more refined, so every attack was a lot more precise. He didn¡¯t get the ¡°Stat Booster¡±, when he looked at his stats nothing had change. He would need to experiment to figure out what it meant, but that could wait until later.

    Nathan looked to his shoulder, Iris was staring down at the food prepared by him. She couldn¡¯t eat right now, seeing as how, a floating food disappearing into nothing would be too suspicious and incredibly scary. Thinking about it again, it sounded extremely funny he was tempted to do it, but ultimately decided against it. Nathan put some fairy sized portions in a bowl and then sent it along with a bowl for him into his inventory, Iris watched him and confusion.

    Nathan: ¡°We can both eat later.¡±

    Iris smiled and silently thanked him, neither needed to eat, so waiting for a meal wasn¡¯t at all bothersome as it was for everyone else.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Ash, you know that little sound that happens when you level up?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You mean ¡°God¡¯s Text¡±, who doesn¡¯t know it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I received a new one, it said Condition met. I have a vague idea of what it meant, but could you feel in some blanks?¡±

    Ash gulped down some ale, clearing his throat of the food.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup, I know that one, it¡¯s a little different from normal task. You know your second sub screen, where all your lesser skills and abilities are located. Some of them you can¡¯t use or see, right?¡±

    Nathan nodded in confirmation, his Legacy had several abilities he couldn¡¯t use, see or for that matter figure out.

    Ash: ¡°Well, those abilities are only usable after you perform a certain action. There is no way to know what kind of action you need to take in order to make it available, it could be as simple as walking backwards to killing a dragon.

    Ash lend in close.

    Ash: ¡°*whisper* I only have a few based on my existing skills and abilities, but those with Legacy¡¯s have a lot more. Both from the Legacy and from your existing skills.

    He leaned back into his seat.

    Ash: ¡°But, you have to experiment with a lot of different things, take for instant my Critical Strike has a sub ability ¡°Instant Death¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°Sounds Powerful.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, but in order to use it, I need to know the targets weak spot and get a clean hit with ¡°Critical Strike¡± for it to activate. You¡¯d think it would be something like the neck, but no. I found out I had this is power when, I stabbed a ¡°Rock Crab¡± in the butt and made a crack in its shell.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Pfftt¡±

    Anais did a spit take onto Ena¡¯s shirt, quickly apologizing to the ticked off ogre.

    Nathan: ¡°You had to do, what you had to do?¡±

    Ash stopped drinking in stared at Nathan.

    Ash: ¡°Do you know what happens, when you crack open a Rock Crabs shell, it explodes with a noxious purple gas. Now imagine the scene, where your sword is stuck, when all that gas leaked out, from the on crack you made at is ass? The gas was so concentrated, the tip of my blade stayed purple. My old party started calling it the Mauve Avenger.¡±

    Anais was out right laughing, while everyone else were trying to hold it in. Ash covered his face, recalling the incident.

    Ash: ¡°They said every time I swung it, I was Reeking Havoc on the enemy and them. I had no choice but to throw my sword away because of the smell.

    Anais burst in to laughter, nearly choking on her bread. Soon everyone else was laughing out loud as well. Ash flustered and drowning himself in ale, as he recalled the incident that left his sword unapproachable.

    Ash: ¡°Anyway, experimenting is the key. But if you can¡¯t figure it out, don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t anyone has ever figure out every last ability available to them.¡±

    Nathan patted Ash on the shoulder.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh Ash, I really hope, my experimenting, doesn¡¯t lead to fart stained swords.¡±

    Ash playfully grabbed Nathan around the neck, as another round of laughter erupted. Nathan poured Ash some more ale, as they continued talking. It was a fun old time, as they made merry. Moments like this, flash through Nathan¡¯s head, but as they continued his smile slowly vanished. He shook his head back in forth, to drive away the thoughts, any deeper and he would have remembered something he wish to forget.

    Anais: ¡°Uh, Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, what is it?¡±

    Anais: ¡°You haven¡¯t notice?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s the spices right, I knew they were too strong, but cut me some slack, I had to work with what we had.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not that, look around.¡±

    Nathan realized that several people were now hovering around their table. Even a few of the staff had come over.

    Nathan: ¡°Can we help you with something?¡±

    Several people pulled out money and set it on the table.

    Customer: ¡°Yeah, how about you make us some of that?¡±

    Nathan was taken aback, weren¡¯t they just shunning him a minute ago? Now they were asking for food he made.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Y¡¯all tripping.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan with the girls walked along, they were on their way back to Ramol¡¯s shop. He had generously offered to let them stay with them. Nathan was more than happy to take him up on his offer, he was in no hurry to stay in an plumbingless inn. He found it strange that that Ramol store didn¡¯t stink as well, but quickly got over it, if it didn¡¯t stank, who cares.

    Ramol and Ash spilt up after lunch, each having their own thing to do, Nathan told them that Belle was waiting for them, but Ash told Nathan he¡¯d stop by and let her know they would swing by tomorrow. After that meal, as things went, they would all fall asleep during the lecture.

    Anais: ¡°Ahahahaha, did you see their faces when you said no.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Serves them right.¡±

    Iris: ¡°After ignoring us for so long, what did they expect.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That, and it sounded like a demand.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well, all and all, it was a good time, but I didn¡¯t see you eat much.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ate before you could get some.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, nothing like that, I save myself some along with Iris and Kyr, no reason they shouldn¡¯t eat either.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I didn¡¯t see that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That because you were stuffing your face like a piggy.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, that was great~¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, this os the part when you refute my piggy claims.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Call what you want, good food, is good food.¡±

    Anais stretch her arms out, before letting lets hurry back I¡¯m getting sleepy.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Hey!¡±

    Ena: ¡°Who she?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah.¡±

    Nathan recognize the scent immediately, it was the same as the pouch he was carrying. Earlier today, someone bumped Nathan and stole his wallet. Nathan immediately retaliated, stealing the criminal¡¯s wallet in the same moment. He wasn¡¯t expecting the thief to be a bunch of kids. They were Therian, somewhat like Anais, but they¡¯re ears were a little pointed and the tails were slightly larger.

    Anais: ¡°You talking to us?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I¡¯m talking to the bastard, their, shorties should shut up.¡±

    A vein appeared on Anais¡¯s forehead as she stepped forward.

    Anais: ¡°Who you calling shorty, Gaps.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°How dare you.¡±

    Jazz put her hand over her mouth, hiding the small gap between her teeth. She went red from embarrassment and stepped up to match Anais, before Nathan step in front.

    Viola: ¡°Jazz, enough.¡±

    The girl back off on Viola¡¯s word

    Nathan: ¡°Anais chill, you girls go on ahead, I have some business with her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You know her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, we met briefly earlier, it will only take a second.¡±

    Anais: ¡­¡­.Fine, come on Ena.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Ah, okay.¡±

    Anais and Ena continued on their way, leaving Nathan behind.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You too Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll be fine promise.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Un-Understood.¡±

    Iris took off from Nathan¡¯s shoulder, catching up to Ena and Anais. Once he knew he was out of Anais¡¯s ear shot, he took the bag of money from his pocket. He tossed the bag up and down and his hand, prompting aggravated grunts from the children.

    Nathan: ¡°I believe you want this.¡±

    Beat: ¡°He really did take it from the boss.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I never seen anyone get the drop on the boss.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Quiet.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Here you can have it back, as soon as you give me mine money back.¡±

    Viola reached in her pocket and pulled out the small bag of coin, tossing it to Nathan, he checked its content. It was the same amount he had earlier, satisfied he tossed their bag back to them.

    Viola: ¡°It¡¯s short.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I use a bit for dinner.¡±

    Beat: ¡°You bastard, how dare you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the one who stole from me, just think of it as retribution.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I show you some retribution.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Cut it you two, we can¡¯t take him, let it go. Thank you for returning the money, will take our leave.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t see that every day, a thief being humble.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, I heard the rumors and I know it¡¯s not the best thing to mess with you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Rumors?¡±

    Viola: ¡°There¡¯s a rumor in Borice that you took out a group of Hunters with ease.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Borice, no way, that¡¯s where Beatrice party went, no way they talked about me.)¡±

    Viola: ¡°I tried to steal from you and failed, I want start unnecessary trouble, if you¡¯re willing to let us go. It not being humble its being smart.¡±

    Nathan could to tell how frightened they were at this moment. They were visibly shaking, it looks like they might run at any moment. He could tell it was a sizable amount of money in that bag, he was planning to keep it, but Iris would without a doubt question the money. Well, he did get a new ability, so he wasn¡¯t to upset about giving it back.

    Viola: ¡°If you will excuse us, will be leaving.¡±

    The children turned down the street and disappeared down an alley. Nathan sighed walking done the street. He believed that Beatrice would keep his exploits secret. It was surprising, he didn¡¯t think someone would willing vocalized that they lost a two vs five fight. This meant that for sure, they would come after him again. It was just a matter of time and the minute they showed up, Iris and Anais would crush them indefinitely.

 Chapter 57: Explanation and Confrontation

    Chapter 57: Explanation and Confrontation

    Nathan: ¡°Belle were here.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ara, welcome, are you all ready.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, all accounted for.¡±

    Belle: Then, allow me to present you with these.¡±

    Belle handed each one a metallic card, edge on it was each of their names and a bit of information. Notably, the spot next to party name was left vacant, seeing as how he still hasn¡¯t come up with a name for them.

    Belle you are all now officially Adventurers.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, what about the test Ash told me about?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Guild Master Matthew, decided to waive the test.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯ll answer that, the test to join is basically a show of strength, not everyone can become an adventurer and to help find the best, they¡¯ll have you fight a higher leveled adventurer. But the goal isn¡¯t defeating the opponent, it just to prove you have what it takes. Each of you is a monster in there on right, what do you think would happen if you all took the test?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Fare point, we¡¯re really strong, huh?

    Belle: ¡°Frightfully so, I believe just the four of you, could take on anyone in this building.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They don¡¯t look weak.¡±

    Belle: ¡°, your all just that strong. Not by your level, it¡¯s just your stats are frighteningly above average.¡±

    Ash: ¡°The fact that you all have Legacy¡¯s don¡¯t help either. You would have demolished anyone in here. So, it¡¯s better to skip the test and avoid the suspicion.¡±

    Nathan felt a little anxious, he was expecting as much, but he was hoping against. Being strong, brings unwanted attention and with the church being Legacy hunter, the last thing he wanted was to beat a higher ranked individual.

    Anais: ¡°What does ¡°Pawn¡± mean?¡±

    Anais¡¯s question brought Nathan out of his thoughts.

    Belle: ¡°That is your current Adventurer level, ¡°Pawn¡± is the beginner class. As you complete more quest your rank will rise allowing you to take higher leveled quest.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, we can¡¯t do any one we want from the get go?¡±

    Belle: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±

    Belle place her hand on the tablet, prompting a screen to appear.

    Belle: ¡°As you can see here, quests are ranked by difficulty, ¡°S¡± being the most difficult, while ¡°F¡± being the least difficult. As your adventurer ranking rises, you be able to take on higher leveled quest. As ¡°Pawns¡±, your options are ¡°F¡± and ¡°E¡± ranked only. When you rise and become Rooks, you can then take on ¡°E¡± and ¡°D¡± ranked quests, along with the previous ranks available quests.  Once you complete a certain amount of the highest ranking quests matching your current rank and pass your ranking trial, your rank will rise allowing you to take higher level quests. That means you can¡¯t be ranked as Rook and rank up by only completing ¡°E¡± and ¡°F¡± ranked quests.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit tedious? Why not just base it on your level, the stronger you are, the easier time you¡¯ll have?¡±

    Belles shook her head, she knew this was coming, so many beginners say the same thing

    Nathan: ¡°Those who rely on Strength, often forsake strategy.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Oh.¡±

    Ena: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She saying you need experience, it not always the strongest who gets the job done, but the one who plans ahead. Example, with if you had to fight an enemy encased in stone and had only one, heavily guarded weak spot?

    Iris and Anais perked up, understanding exactly what Nathan was referencing.

    Ena: ¡°Hah, stone is of no concern to me, I will just smash my way through.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, but with if in that instant you strike, you were suddenly turned to stone, what then?¡±

    Ena was stun a bit by the question.

    Ena: ¡°Well, umm.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When you¡¯re facing a new enemy and you have no idea what its capable of, it better to observe then rush and blind sword a blazing.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Right, higher levels does not mean experienced fighter. If you rush into a situation you¡¯re not ready for, it will almost always mean death.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I-I see.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡®m surprised you understood so quickly, I have heard the same question so many time before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I catch on fast.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Good for you, the first she said it to me, i didn¡¯t know what she was talking about.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And most likely, you still don¡¯t.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hey!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, what do we do when we completed a quest, do we have to come all the way back here?¡±

    Belle: ¡°I¡¯m afraid so, it was different long ago, but there were to many incidents where individuals didn¡¯t report back. Leaving other adventurers to take quest that have already been completed. Now, the rewards are held here in the guild, forcing the adventurers to report in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh that¡¯s going to suck, having to come back here every time.¡±

    Belle: ¡°You don¡¯t have to return to this guild, any city with a guild will do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but what if I¡¯m not near any cities, I have to slug my way back here. It must be hard to get any progress.¡±

    Nathan hated systems like this, some of the games in his world had similar systems. Having to return to town after every quest just to get the reward was tedious. There wasn¡¯t any fast travel, so he couldn¡¯t conveniently teleport back in forth.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Actually there is a way to continue on and still report back in the field.¡±

    Belle walked over to the shelves behind her. Reaching in she pulled out a bracelet and set it on the desk.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This is?¡±

    Belle: ¡°This is for the adventurer on the go, ¡°Braiv¡±. It uses a similar rune to the one in ¡°SlyphNote¡±, but it communicates with us instead. It also can receive and store your rewards. With it no matter where you are, except inside of a dungeon, you can be in touch with us.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Anais: ¡°That sounds really convenient, what if we need to gather something for someone?¡±

    Belle: ¡°As long as we get confirmation from the Requestee, everything is fine.¡±

    Nathan thought that it sounded a little too convenient. Nathan watched a few people walk by, none them seemed to be wearing a Braiv. Which could mean only one thing.

    Nathan: ¡°This thing is expensive, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Belle: ¡°One White Gold.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡¯s way expensive, for that price, I could get an entire weapons set¡­¡­¡­..twice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why is it so expensive?¡±

    Belle: ¡°This bracelet is a combination of copper and a solvent made with salt, which are to extremely rare commodities. We couldn¡¯t possibly sell it for less.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s not possible right now, maybe at the end of the week, but not now.¡±

    Belle: ¡°I see.¡±

    Belle returned the Bracelet back to it place, she seemed to be upset about it.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all, can we start excepting quest?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ah, wait one more thing.¡±

    Belle grabbed a bag and handed each of them, a large marble.

    Belle: ¡°This is a ¡°Battle Orb. They act as your replacement Health points during ¡°Duels¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Duels, against adventures?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, some Adventurers like to duel each other over the rights to quest, this system was created to lessen the bloodshed. With the Battle Orbs, critical wounds are negated, the pain is still there, so it¡¯s possible to knock one¡¯s opponent unconscious. That one way to win, the other is disarming your opponent of their weapon. If the weapon hits the ground it¡¯s your loss.

    Nathan: ¡°What about martial artist?¡±

    Belle: ¡°In that case, the first choice is an option, having their HP drop to zero or finally having them submit to you. We rather our members not kill each other over such trivial matters, so please take care to issue the duel before you engage your fellow adventurer.¡±

    Belle bowed and smiled.

    Belle: ¡°That¡¯s all for my explanation, welcome to the Adventurer¡¯s guild. If you¡¯re ready to get started, in the room on the left, is all the postings for available quests, when you¡¯ve chosen, please let me know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That room, alright, thanks Belle.¡±

    Belle: ¡°It was my pleasure, please be safe in your travels.¡±

    With a bow Belle went about her business, leaving Nathan and friends to check out the room. Upon entering, Nathan found screens like the one Belle was using. Hundreds of postings, for quests or so Nathan believe. He still couldn¡¯t make out anything written. Next to each screen was a small slot, Nathan watch as someone placed the card in the slot. Tapping the screen, their template slid out, just enough so they could grab it.

    Nathan: ¡°Should have known I couldn¡¯t read anything, Ash, you¡¯re up.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ok, what are you looking for?¡±

    Nathan: Something simple, but not any fetch quests.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see, hmm, no that hunt will take too long, this one is too far out of the way. Bandit subjugation, not worth it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, Bandits, that sounds like it¡¯s worth a lot.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Forget it, it way too complicated to deal with bandits. It may sound like a subjugation, but it¡¯s really a mass hunt for ghost.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ghost?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Think about it, you don¡¯t know how many there are, where their hiding or who their leader is. Even if you did happen to find them, you could be over whelmed by their numbers. And the off chance you did beat them and perhaps you got their leader. There¡¯s no guarantee you were able to get every single one. For all you know, you might let one join your party and they gain your trust before stabbing you in your sleep. It¡¯s a complete gamble.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I seriously doubt that last part would happen.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Most certainly an impossibility.¡±

    Iris chimed in as a matter-of-factly.

    Nathan: ¡°But I see where you¡¯re coming from.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Right, now let me find something good.¡±

    Ash systematically went through each quest¡¯s, looking for something interesting. It was Their first quest in he didn¡¯t wanna

    Iris: ¡°Master look there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.ugh.¡±

    Across the room, Gaunt was watching Nathan, along with a few of his entourage. Nathan completely ignore them and their existence entirely, he wanted nothing to do with them.

    Ash: ¡°Found one, look here.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Bun-bun subjugation?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup, this quest is a group quest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Group quest, you mean other parties will be taken part?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, since subjugation usually have you, fighting a huge group of monsters. Since its your first quest, it would be better to work in a huge group, instead of running off blindly.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Hey, you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I guess, but won¡¯t the reward be low, if there are so many people?¡±

    Ash: ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, right now, you should all be focusing on going up one rank. Only Rooks and above can enter a dungeon.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, Seriously?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup, the first floor of the dungeon can have monster anywhere between levels one to thirty, depending on where you are. And not just one, it could be an entire group of level thirties. So, to keep losses at a low, if you¡¯re a member of the guild, you have to be a Rook to enter.¡±

    Anais: ¡°A member, then if we hadn¡¯t become adventurers we could go in anytime we wanted?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, but you couldn¡¯t except quests if you weren¡¯t, it just easier to raise your rank and safer. If your ever in trouble, there¡¯s a function on your card, it will send out a beacon, requesting assistance.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Fine, let¡¯s sign up, how do we do it?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You¡¯re the leader, so you have the parties card, insert it here.¡±

    Nathan did as he was told and slid the card in. Some symbols appeared on the screen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What does it say?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Its asking you, how many people are coming with you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh right, good question, any of you want to stay here, I¡¯m not forcing you to come?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I have no problem with it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Of course I¡¯m going.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°You deaf or something?¡±

    Nathan looked to Iris, she made a face that said, ¡°You don¡¯t even need to ask.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Okay, then hit the top choice.¡±

    Nathan tap the screen and confirmation sound was heard. The card slid back out and Nathan took it back.

    Ash: ¡°And that¡¯s it, we¡¯re officially apart of the quest.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Hmm, it says they¡¯re meeting on the Deldel Fields, that¡¯s the fruit growing orchard east of here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How long do we have?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well the subjugation, starts in four hours and it will take us about forty minutes to walk there from here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright then, Ash do you have anything to do before we leave.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nothing besides getting a bite to eat.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Me too.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I can also use something to eat.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright then you all get something to eat and me and Iris will head over to the library. Now that we¡¯re an official team, they have to let us in. Will all meet up at the eastern gate.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You know how to get there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, but you do, and I can track party members wherever they go.¡±

    With that they all headed out, going their respective directions. Nathan and Iris walked casually down the street. Nathan, still drawing attention, much more then what he cared to have. His mind drifted back to the thieves, the rumors that were spread about him, he wandered just how many people avoiding him knew of them.

    Iris: ¡°Everything alright, Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah I was just thinking about stuff. Oh, you know you¡¯ll be doing most of the work, when we get to the library, right?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I am well aware, it will be my pleasure assisting you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Glad to hear it.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°YOU BITCH DON¡¯T IGNORE ME!¡±

    Gaunt ran over and jumped in front of Nathan, blocking his way.

    Nathan: ¡°What do you want I don¡¯t have time?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Who do you think you are ignoring.¡±

    Nathan pushed pass Gaunt, leaving him fuming from the ears.

    Gaunt: ¡°That¡¯s it¡­¡­ NO ONE IGNORES ME.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t care, about your self-centered delusions.¡±

    A crowd started to form around the two, Gaunt was starting trouble again. It always happened when someone ignored him, he would then proceed to crushing them. Not far away Zane was browsing his favorite armor shop. He noticed a crowd forming outside, but what caught his eye was the cause of the crowd.

    Zane: ¡°(That¡¯s.)¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Get this through your head, you are just some rogue pawn, no ones gonna take you seriously. But I can forget your past insults if¡­¡­.HEY,DON¡¯T, WALK AWAY

    Nathan: ¡°Whatever, Ass chin.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Wha-¡±

    Several people started laughing, Gaunt growing angrier by the second. Not only has she ignore his advances, now he¡¯s being humiliated. This was the last straw.

    Gaunt: ¡°You bitch, I¡¯ll show you your place, I Challenge you to a duel.¡±

 Chapter 58: The World Leseres

    Chapter 58: ¡°The World Leseres¡±

    Young Man A: ¡°Here we go again.¡±

    Young Man B: ¡°Yup, another victim.¡±

    A crowd formed around Nathan and Gaunt, conversation indicating Gaunt challenges people frequently.

    Nathan: ¡°A duel?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°You think you can just say what you want and get away with it, you will show me respect.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t have time for your tantrums, I¡¯m outta here.¡±

    *shinnng*

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan tried to walk away but found himself unable to. There was a wall preventing him from moving any further.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    Suddenly the Battle Orb at side, flew high above his head. Another one flew from Gaunt and floated up next to Nathan¡¯s. Two green bars appeared from each, beside that were some symbols Nathan couldn''t understand.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell, did you do this?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°What are you telling me you don¡¯t know, Hahahahahahahahaha, now who¡¯s the idiot. I issued you a challenge, neither of us can leave until the challenge is over.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I refuse.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°W-What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I refuse, why should I listen to your demands?¡±

    Zane: ¡°He out ranks you, you don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Zane approached Nathan, answering his question.

    Nathan: ¡°Zane?¡±

    Zane: ¡°You remembered me I¡¯m honored.¡±

    Zane turned to Gaunt with a scowl.

    Zane: ¡°Gaunt have you no pride, challenging a beginner to a duel.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°No one asked you, move along pretty boy.¡±

    Zane and Gaunt glared each other down, obviously they weren¡¯t very fond of one another.

    Nathan: ¡°You say he outranks me, you mean the guilds ranking?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Correct, you just became an adventurer recently right, let me explain. To avoid in fighting amongst adventurers, if someone makes a challenge and they outranks you, the lower rank can¡¯t refuse.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No way, so I have to fight this dumbass? And what¡¯s up with this system, isn¡¯t it backwards?¡±

    Zane: ¡°On the contrary, higher ranked individuals, usually avoid challenging lower ranks, at least majority of us do.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°That¡¯s it, no more talk, draw your weapon.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Cease your barking, there weren¡¯t any wages made.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°I didn¡¯t need one, I just wanted to humiliate her¡­¡­¡­¡­but now that I think about it.¡±

    Gaunt looked Nathan up in down, he goals from earlier coming back to him, along with a bunch of other thoughts. Blowing steam out his nose, he imagined all the things he could make Nathan do.

    Gaunt: ¡°When I win, you have to join my party (I treat that body of yours real nice hehehehehe.)¡±

    Nathan shivered at his expression.

    Nathan: ¡°Gross, Ass-chinned, pervert, I can practically read his thoughts.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°If you want, you can select someone else to fight for you, however if they win they have a debt over you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t plan on losing.¡±

    Nathan step up and ready himself, he couldn¡¯t use magic, he hadn¡¯t thought of a way to keep his Legacy from being discovered. He needed to in this fast, people will become suspicious if they take too long.

    Nathan: ¡°(Oh, yeah, I haven¡¯t tried this yet, let¡¯s give it a go.)¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Confident are we, hurry and draw your weapon, let¡¯s get this started.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    The crowd around them begin to whisper, Nathan over heard someone call him arrogant. To them it seemed arrogant, but Nathan was positive he wouldn¡¯t have to move from this spot.

    Zane: ¡°You shouldn¡¯t look down on him, contrary to his appearance and actions, he is a formidable opponent.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not, I just don¡¯t think I need too, just watch.¡±

    Gaunt placed his weapon in front of him, a rather large broad sword, the blade had a brown coloring, giving it a rusted look.

    Nathan: *(Examine)*

    Edgeless              Class: Common

    A blade that is almost entirely dull. What it lacks in sharpness, it made up in durability. Use primarily for defense and blunt strikes.

    Effects: Stun

    Durability: 149/ 210

    Skill: Bash

    Nathan: ¡°(It doesn¡¯t have stats and Ramol was right about this Durability.)¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°I teach to look down on me.¡±

    Nathan close the screen, just in time to see Gaunt charging at him. Gaunt raise his blade in the air, ready to strike. Nathan just stood there, unmoving, unfazed. Nathan simply closed his eyes, then opened them once again

    *Whoooom*

    *clingclangcling*

    Zane: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Gaunt who had taking the imitative, suddenly stopped mid charge and dropped his weapon. As he looked into Nathans eyes, a feeling came over him, fear, no terror. He legs were glued to that spot, feeling like the second he moved, his life would be forfeit.  Slowly his leg gave out and he dropped to his knees, turning his head down afraid to look up.

    Zane: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­That¡¯s it, Gaunt has willingly let go of his weapon, he has conceded.¡±

    The crowd stared in utter disbelief, what had just transpired? No one could believe it, but Gaunt had lost.

    Nathan: ¡°(Holee Shit, gotta run) Well, if that¡¯s all then I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Wait a moment.¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t say anything else, feeling for the wall that was holding him in, he found it had vanish. He then walked away, as if he was parting seas, the crowd open a path for him. Gaunt was one of the strongest in the city and Nathan beat him without so much as a single strike.

    Zane called out to Nathan, but he was already gone. Looking back to Gaunt, still on the ground, but behind him a few of group members were also in the same condition. Two of them had soiled themselves, one was mumbling incoherently, another just simply fainted.

    Zane: ¡°Just what did he do to them?¡±

    _

    _

    Iris: Master I¡¯ve never seen that before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Because that was the first time I use it.¡±

    Nathan had reached the Library and was climbing the steps, while he and Iris conversed.

    Nathan: ¡°Intimidate, it one of my new abilities, when I activate it, it induces Terror, paralyzing anyone caught in my gaze. They lose their will to fight and there will to escape, they become content with death. Though, I really wasn¡¯t expecting it to be that strong. I was planning to use it, then while he was stun, quickly disarm him. Because of that, I had to run away a quickly as possible.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Either way, that was really impressive¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, it has some limitation, like if the target doesn¡¯t know fear, if they have an ability like my Calm Mind. Plus depending on their level compared to mine, the length and strength of the effects differentiates.¡±

    Nathan and Iris made it to the Library, as Nathan explained his ability to Iris.

    Not long after climbing the steps, the same woman from before moved to block him. She was still as nervous as before, maybe more so. Nathan didn¡¯t waste any time, pulling out his card.

    Librarian: ¡°Huh, you¡¯re an adventurer?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, as such, I can enter as I please, you can¡¯t stop me.¡±

    The women turned back forth, looking for someone to help her, but it didn¡¯t happen. As a rule, all adventurers were given free access, to prepare for any quest they had.

    Nathan: ¡°Then if you will excuse me.¡±

    Librarian: ¡°Ah, w-wait, you can¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan ignored the women and continued on his way, she had no legal way to stop him from entering anymore. Walking through the open doors Nathan came into a large hall. It was huge, like a museum for books, the layout was similar to Amelia¡¯s. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he swore he was back in the study.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, it looks like Lady Amelia¡¯s library does it not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was just thinking that, maybe she got the layout for her from this one.¡±

    Connecting from the main hall were five corridors, each leading to there own section of books. Above each enterance were words, most likely, what each hall leads to.

    Nathan: ¡°Does anyone of them say anyhting about maps?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The it looks like we¡¯ll have to ask for directions.¡±

    That was easier said than done, ever since he entered, the staff seemed to be doing their utmost to make him understand he is not welcome.

    Iris: ¡°How there they?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, the more they insist on avoiding us, the longer I¡¯ll be here.¡±

    Someone must have heard Nathan, because a few minutes later, the woman who was sent out to bar him passage returned.

    Nathan: ¡°So you drew the short straw, they sent you over to help, huh?¡±

    Librarian: ¡°N-No, we value all our visitors, I am doing this of my own free will.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Say that again, but this time look me in the face.¡±

    The girl refused to make eye contact with Nathan, slowly but surely pissing Iris off in the process.

    Nathan: ¡°Whatever, could you just tell me where could find maps of the world?¡±

    Librarian: ¡°Maps, you¡¯re not here for Magic tomes?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for those did I, maps please.¡±

    Librarian: ¡°R-Right, uhm, if you head down this corridor, you will find everything you need to know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This one huh, thanks.¡±

    Nathan turned and went down the corridor, it was a long narrow hallway, with large columns sticking out from the walls, nothing spectacular about it. It was rightfully quiet, Nathan nodded to himself, no matter the world, libraries are notoriously silent.

    A few people pass by Nathan, the usual shocked faces as they passed by. However, Nathan was getting the feeling that their glances were off, as if they weren¡¯t looking at him at all. Nathan looked back to find the Librarian creeping behind him. When their eyes met, she quickly jumped behind a column.

    Nathan: ¡°(Is she for real) Can I help you, with something?¡±

    Librarian: ¡°N-No, I just happen to be heading the same way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Nathan continued on, ignoring the fact that she was following him. Entering the hall, Nathan found himself on a balcony, looking down, rows and rows shelves, pack with books. Nathan nudge Iris and off she went, while Nathan turned in went down the steps, leaving the librarian.

    As Nathan walked through the aisle, the librarian watched his every move from the balcony.

    Nathan: (What is up with her?) Nathan quickly ducked out of eye sight and waited around a corner. As sure as he believed, the girl came peaking around the corner, looking for him.

    Librarian: ¡°W-Where did he-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right here.¡±

    Librarian: ¡°EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!?¡±

    Nathan jumped down from the bookshelf, scaring the Librarian half to death.

    Nathan: ¡°So you were following me huh?¡±

    The librarian couldn¡¯t deny the accusation and quickly prostrated herself.

    Librarian: ¡°I¡¯msorry,I¡¯msorry, I¡¯msorryI¡¯msorryI¡¯msorryI¡¯msorryI¡¯msorry~

    Nathan: ¡°Woah, breath.¡±

    The girl took a huge breath, between Nathan scaring her and prostrating herself, she was turning blue.

    Nathan: ¡°So, why are you following me?¡±

    Librarian: ¡°I-I was told to by my boss, I just doing my job.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Librarian: ¡°Because my boss said so.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I meant why do I need to be watched?¡±

    Librarian: ¡°I don¡¯t know why, I just do as I¡¯m told.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, so if they told you to jump off a cliff, you do it.¡±

    Librarian: ¡°As long as my pay is at the bottom, then yes.¡±

    Nathan was feeling a little irritated, did they think he was going to steal or was it because he was a rouge. Nathan felt a tap on his head and looked up. Iris pointed in a direction, indicating she had found something. Nathan got the message and turned back to the girl. She was shivering on the ground, she was like a hamster meeting a cat. Nathan felt the urge to tease her.

    Librarian: ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt me, I-I was just doing my job.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m really mad right now, I just feel like beating someone up.¡±

    Librarian: ¡°Eeeeekkkk!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Phfffffffttttttt¡±

    Nathan held back his laughter, it was fun to tease this girl. She was a petite thing, with long blonde hair, that was done up in twin tails. Every movement Nathan made prompted a squeal from her, making all the more fun.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°A-Ashley Warmwether.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well Ashley, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You were told to watch me, right, just follow behind, you don¡¯t have to hide.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°N-no, I can see fine from up above.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh!?¡±

    Nathan made a face as if he if she had said something disrespectful. Ashley quickly fell in line behind Nathan, while he quickly turned away to hide his amusement.

    Nathan: ¡°Ahhhh, this will be fun.¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Man this, blows just feeling beating someone up.¡±

    Ashley walked behind Nathan, as he made his way over to Iris. Occasionally, he would blurt out things that would scared her something fierce, but he just laughed quietly at her reactions.

    Nathan quickly shuffled over to Iris. Coming into the aisle, the books had been replaced with tubes, each filed in their own individual cubicle. The area was rather small compared to the rest of the library, most likely due to their being much maps then books. Iris floated up a shelf and pointed out a specific tube. Nathan turned to Ashley, a mischievous grin appearing on his face.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey I need a map, get that ladder for me.¡±

    Ashley looked to the ladder, it was only two feet from his position.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°B-But its right beside you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ashley began to sweat, as Nathan stared at her like she had just said the dumbest thing in the world. She quickly grabbed the ladder and moved it closer to Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°No, not there, move it five feet to the left.¡±

    Ashley did as she was told, but Nathan continued to direct her. seven feet that way, twelve feet this way, she lost track of the number of times she rearranged the ladder. When all was said and done, the ladder had been placed, exactly two feet away from Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Perfect.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°(BUT THIS IS ITS ORINGINAL SPOT.)¡±

    Nathan held his mouth, he knew exactly what she was thinking and ot was all he could do to stop himself from laughing.

    Iris: ¡°*Whisper* Master was you stop torturing the poor girl?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, couldn¡¯t help it.¡±

    Grabbing the ladder from Ashley, Nathan climbed up to a shelf and pulling out a scroll. Sliding down the ladder, he went to a nearby table and unrolled the map.

    Nathan: ¡°What this?¡±

    To his and Iris¡¯s surprise, the map was barren. Except a few mountains, most of it was desert.

    Nathan: ¡°(Whisper)What going on here, no cities, no landmarks, no nothing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°(Whisper)Perhaps you grabbed the wrong map?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Whisper)Maybe.¡±

    Nathan quickly shuffled back up the ladder, further in the slot, was another tube. Nathan quickly grabbed that one and back over to the table.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s the same as the first. Hey, Ashley?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Y-Yes!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Do you have any up to date maps?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°All of our maps are up to date.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then what;s wrong with these?¡±

    Ashley shyly walked up to the table and looked at the map.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°This is the eastern continent.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°There nothing on it.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is the most up to date map we have of this continent.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°The eastern continent is almost entirely desert. Because of its harsh cilmates ,not to mention a certain beast makes that continent home, many avoid travel there. Only those trying to escape the law, make the effort.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, so when we eventually get there, we¡¯ll be on our own.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°You plan to go there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup.¡±

    Nathan ran back down the aisle, leaving Ashley behind, she was confused as to why anyone would want to go there? A barren land, with little to know resources to speak of was not a place someone would want to casually visit or explore. The only reason she could think of was to escape the law.

    Ashley: ¡°(He¡¯s a criminal and he¡¯s trying to make a run for it. Why else would he want to go there? I have to go and tell someone.¡±

    Ashley turned and begin to walk away, running right into Nathan.

    Ashley: ¡°GYYAAAAAAAAA!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shush, you¡¯re in a library.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°I, uh, want, er, ta, ge-¡±

    Nathan and Iris did not understand a word she was saying.

    Nathan: ¡°Your done watching me?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Oh, ah, yes, that¡¯s it, I¡¯m done watching, so if you excuse me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, do you sell your maps here?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Yes, the duplicates are available for purchase, but I don¡¯t know the prices.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s good enough, thanks for the-¡±

    Ashley ran off before Nathan could finish his sentence, he must have tease her too much, but it couldn¡¯t be helped, it was just too funny.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, we can talk freely again.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Let¡¯s get to work then.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This is a map of the world.¡±

    On the map showed the general shape of the world, six continents and several smaller land masses, islands. Nathan clearly could make out the Dreyend, Atoa, Umbryyr, and Trosan, corresponding to Matthew earlier conversation.

    Iris: ¡°Master, just like Matthew told us, neither this or the continent to the east have names.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah and there no direct routes to that Continent, how did Beatrice get there and back?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Maybe they have their own means of transportation?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe, but they don¡¯t seem like the type to own their own boat and why would they travel on land if they did have one?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Perhaps they needed to resupply?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I doubted, I don¡¯t they wouldn¡¯t pack enough in the first place.¡±

    Iris: ¡°True.¡±

    Nathan pointed to the eastern parts of the map.

    Nathan: ¡°I think there¡¯s maybe a camp of sorts somewhere around here, along the eastern shores, but we probably shouldn¡¯t go there.¡±

    Nathan look up and down the map, there had to be a way to get to that island legally. Iris searched as well, her eyes falling on an island off the coast of Umbryyr.

    Iris: ¡°Teef Chatr island, isn¡¯t this pretty close to the eastern continent?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This island, it¡¯s pretty far north, you think we should risk it?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It¡¯s the only land mass close to our designation, what choice do we have? And it would be safer then traveling the same route that Beatrice party frequents.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then to the north we¡¯ll go, let¡¯s see here, what this by the water?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It says, Satsayl Port.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Port meaning, we can most likely get a boat. Let¡¯s head there, from there we can travel to Umbryr or maybe to that island itself.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Alright, are we purchasing  this map?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nah, not me anyway, I pretty sure they gonna charge us a hefty price. We¡¯ll get someone else to do it later.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood, then we should me with the others and discuss our findings.¡±

    Nathan placed the maps back in the tubes and back in their places on the shelf. He proceeded to leave, running into Ashley on the way out. He didn¡¯t stop, but he did make it seem like he was running straight for her, as if to attack her.

    Ashley: ¡°KYYYYAAAHHHHH, DON¡¯T KILL ME!¡±

    Ashley coward in fear, only to have Nathan whizz by her, shushing and snickering at her reaction. Back out in the streets, Nathan bounded down the stairs. Looking at his hand, he sprinted off to find his friends.

 Chapter 59: Cheshire

    Chapter 59: Cheshire

    Nathan: ¡°Hey!¡±

    Ash: ¡°About time you caught up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, sorry we got everything straighten out.¡±

    Nathan told what he discovered, it wasn¡¯t much, but it was a enough to get started.

    Anais: ¡°And all we have is this roundabout method?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Unless, you want to try and find out how Beatrice¡¯s moved, then yeah.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t, a lot of bandits make the southern and eastern shores home. If you do find something over there, it wouldn¡¯t be any good.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And somebody might have seen Ena before and contact Beatrice.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I am no longer restrained, if anyone tries to interrupt us, I¡¯ll will crush

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for that, but we¡¯re trying to get you home, not start a fight. Besides, Umbryyr is home to the Demi-Human, they the foremost species for the magic artes right? We might find something about Amelia there.¡±

    Anais: ¡°But, Amelia is human, shouldn¡¯t we go to places with lots a humans.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What, are you crazy, you wouldn¡¯t last five minutes there, hell you probably won¡¯t even make it a shore. What did just get finish telling you? A group of Therian going to Dreyd, the thought itself is laughable.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡­¡­right.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, what this?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Remember the other day, when we met, and we were talking about the collars.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, the slavery thing.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, she asked me about it later.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah I see, you okay?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m fine, but you already know?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I kinda guess after I saw all those people wearing collars. There are only three reasons for a collar, a pet or enslavement.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That was only two, what¡¯s the third one?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when you¡¯re older.¡±

    Nathan smirked at Ash, as he sucked his teeth, unable to get Nathan to slip up.

    Anais: ¡°What, you didn¡¯t think I should know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, no, we were in the middle of the street back then and all eyes and ears were on us. Some topics are better left private, like when it¡¯s just us walking down a road, with no one else who can hear us. Some of your opinions on the therian being willing slaves, may, no will definitely offend and the last thing we need right now is more trouble.¡±

    Anais nodded, after what she heard from Ash, it wasn¡¯t a topic you brought up within earshot of strangers.

    Nathan: ¡°Anyway, how long before we get there?¡±

    Ash: ¡°We should be arriving soon; the subjugation starts in about fifteen minutes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Great, need to hurry and become a Rook, can¡¯t wait to check out the dungeon.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You really excited about such a boring place?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Boring, you think dungeons are boring?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No, just this one, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll will find anything interesting there. But, what would you expect from a dungeon nicknamed ¡°Farmers Market¡±¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s the name of the dungeon?

    Ash: ¡°Just a nickname, ¡°Viridy Wilds¡± is its actual name.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Viridy Wilds, what so bad about it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well¡­¡­..oh well, this road leads to it, perfect, look at the people up ahead.¡±

    Nathan took a look around, groups of well-armed men and women, but their were a few who were out of place. No weapons, no armor, dress in clothes similar to what Ramol was wearing.

    Nathan: ¡°Merchants?¡±

    Ash: ¡°And farmers, surrounded by the adventurers they hired to protect them as they traverse the Dungeon. Viridy Wilds¡± is home to a variety of rare plants and herbs. Herbs they can sell for a profit and plants that produce similarly rare produce.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So there¡¯s nothing for adventurers to explore?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m not saying that, but it just anything worth getting is past the second floor and no one risk going down there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Beyond the second floor, the monsters you fight, could exceed level fifty-five. One might not be a problem, but a lot of them hang in a group.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, that works fine for me, any plant or herb I find, I can just add too my collection.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Suit yourself, but I really rather not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, I go by myself.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I come with you Master.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks as always Iris. What about you?¡±

    Anais: ¡°No thansk, while you¡¯re there I¡¯ll be spending my time in that library. We might find something, that could lead us to Lady Amelia.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I don¡¯t know, no one¡¯s heard of her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, if one of those books have her mark on it, I¡¯ll know. After tears of eating the books with her mana infused in them, I can tell her works immediately.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t eat any of the books, if they catch you eating a book, its gonna get noisy. If you find anything, see if they can¡¯t be purchased.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±

    Ash: ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This don¡¯t seem like a lot of people.¡±

    Downhill was a farmhouse with a patch of trees, stretching far off into the distance. A small group of men and women standing just before them. A few turned to Nathan group as they approached, It was the usual so they just ignore them.

    A variety of fruit and nuts, hung from the branches of each tree. Some of the fruit Nathan recognize but others were new to him. Approaching the tree reached up to pull down one he didn¡¯t recognize.

    Ash: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, oh shoot, sorry. I didn¡¯t even realize I pulled it down.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ??????: ¡°It¡¯ll cost ya.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    ??????: ¡°What do you mean what, there¡¯s no point and protecting them if your gonna destroy the trees yourself.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, my bad Ma¡¯am.¡±

    ??????: ¡°Ma¡¯am I¡¯ll be having none of that, the names April.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah, the one who post the quest.¡±

    April pulled her hat back and smiled a toothy grin. For a middle-aged woman, she was pretty big, but it didn¡¯t make her unattractive, if anything it added to her looks.

    April: The one and only, you here for the subjugation?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes we are, so we¡¯re protecting the trees?¡±

    Aprils: ¡°That¡¯s right, though its sounding like you didn¡¯t know. You snagging one fruit earlier.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll pay more attention.¡±

    Nathan handed the fruit over to April, who tossed it into a nearby cart.

    April: ¡°No need for apologies, my trees are the best around these here parts. Would have been more offended if you didn¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, what exactly are we hunting, shouldn¡¯t we get started.¡±

    April: ¡°Don¡¯t know how ya could, them Bun-Bun Devils don¡¯t come out until evening. Yup, we got about another hour before they start showing up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Bun-bun Devils?¡±

    April: ¡°Yup, nasty little critters, not usually a problem I can¡¯t handle by myself, but wouldn¡¯t you know my neighbor about a mile down the road, his farm all but died, meaning them all now congregated right here. Worse still, it¡¯s their mating season, them varmint, multiply faster than I can clear¡¯em out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get rid of them in no time, where are they right now?¡±

    April: ¡°If you head down here, you¡¯ll come across a whole mess a holes, you¡¯ll find them in there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Perfect let get them while they¡¯re asleep.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Hah, you think know body else though if that, but, what could you expect from a bunch of Pawns.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, why is he here?¡±

    Gaunt along with his group, strolled up t Nathan in company.

    Gaunt: ¡°What else, I¡¯m here for the subjugation.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Why, would a Bishop, do a rank ¡°F¡± quest?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°None of your damn business, why.¡±

    The truth was Gaunt didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near Nathan, after what transpired, but he had already signed up for it, to help some of his newer recruits gain a few levels. It was too late to back out now, with his rank, if he backed out he would probably become a rook again. Even if he didn¡¯t want to be here, it wasn¡¯t worth the demerit.

    Ash: ¡°But anyway, he¡¯s right, we can¡¯t get to the Bun-Bun devils. There entire home is a series of tunnels, with the nest being in the deepest and most secluded area. And with all those holes, they could escape out anyone.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then we can just cover the holes.¡±

    Ash: ¡°They aren¡¯t dumb, they probably have several escape routes we can¡¯t even see. It would be pointless.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then I guess we¡¯re waiting, do you mind if I take a walk through your patch.¡±

    April: ¡°As long as you keep from sampling, by all means.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I won¡¯t and thank you.¡±

    Anais, Ena and Ash weren¡¯t up for the walk, they were going to rest until the time. Only Iris remained on his shoulder, she smiled and signaled that she wasn¡¯t leaving his side. They all quickly dispersed Nathan entered the orchard, with all the fruit growing everywhere. Nathan notice some of the fruit had fell to the ground, he was tempted, but With Iris in his shoulder, he decided not to.

    Iris: ¡°It¡¯s pretty.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The trees, yeah they are, I never seen leaves such colors.¡±

    As he walked deeper, admiring the orchard, a rustling came from the tree tops. Nathan turned his attention and found a branch moving in a strange way. The branch was bending down, as if someone was sitting on it.

    Nathan: ¡°Strange.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This tree, looked up there do you see anyone?

    Iris searched the tree lines, but nothing shifted or moved, however she been with Nathan long enough to trust his instincts. She began to scan the area around them and sure enough, she found something.

    Iris: ¡°You were right Master, someone¡¯s here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°From the subjugation party?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, someone with a powerful Mana signature.¡±

    ???????: ¡°You think I¡¯m powerful, coming from monsters like the two of you, I¡¯m flattered.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who?¡±

    No sooner did Nathan hear the voice, a purple mist rolled in.  Before he had even realized, the mist had completely surrounded them.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, Ash?¡±

    Nathan called out to his friend to no avail. He had only been walking for a few minutes, he¡¯s wasn¡¯t far enough away to be out of earshot nor was the patch of trees dense enough for no one to notice the mist.

    Iris: ¡°Master up there.¡±

    Sitting up the branch Nathan had notice earlier, was toothy grinning cat Therian. With a raven colored hair and whisker protruding from his cheeks, he swung his legs back in forth humming some unknown tune.

    ???????: ¡°Hehehehehe.

    ????????: ¡°Hello Nathan Lowell or would you prefer Hero of Legend?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Nathan¡¯s fine, so we know who I¡¯m am, then who are you?¡±

    ???????: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, but first, could you tell miss Iris, not to kill me?¡±

    Iris had from a small orb of energy in her hand, ready to unleash it the moment the boy made a move.

    Nathan: ¡°After you tell us who you are and why you¡¯re keeping us prisoner.¡±

    ???????: ¡°But I¡¯m scared to speak with such malice been thrown my way.¡±

    The boy hid behind a branch, but Nathan wasn¡¯t playing his little game. The boy puffed out his cheeks, pouting because neither then were playing along.

    ???????: ¡°Buuuuuu, you guys are no fun.¡±

    The man jumped down from the branch, gently floating down to the ground, unimpeded by gravity. Removing his hat, he bowed to them both.

    ???????: ¡°My names a little difficult to pronounce, Souive Ichsim, but I prefer you call me Vex.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay Vex, what do you want?¡±

    Vex: ¡°Why to give you a little bit of advice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No thanks.¡±

    Vex: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No thanks, if you wanted to give me advice, you could have done it without the smoke and mirror.¡±

    Vex: ¡°But, I wanted to speak privately, just you and me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What is this a confession?¡±

    Vex flushed red and put his hands to his face, and turned them bashfully side to side.

    Vex: ¡°Kya, so you already knew of my feelings, so embarrassing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t make me clock you.¡±

    Vex laughed out loud at Nathan reaction.

    Nathan: Enough of your crap, let me out of this mist.¡±

    *woosh*

    Vex: ¡°You sure, is very good advice~?¡±

    Vex vanished and reappeared next to Nathan, startling Iris, who couldn¡¯t keep up with his movements. On the other hand, Vexx never left Nathan¡¯s sight.

    Vex: ¡°Wow, you were able to follow me, that second Legacy of yours is amazing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get it you know who I am, what do you want? If your trying to blackmail me, I not listening.¡±

    Vex: ¡°Sorry, sorry, just having too much fun.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You have a lousy way of doing it. Right now, I don¡¯t really want to hear anything you have to say.¡±

    Vex: ¡°Okay how about this, I¡¯ll tell you something about your second Legacy, it¡¯s really good information. A show of good faith.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Vex: ¡°Right now, if you wanted to, you can view the status screen of individuals outside of your party.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And you expect me to believe that?¡±

    Vex: ¡°Believe, me if you want, but I assure you, it¡¯s the truth.¡±

    Vex floated back up into the tree, his toothy grin never leaving his face.

    Vex: ¡°All I ask, is that you return here, before you head into ¡°Viridy Wilds.¡±

    Vex body begin to fade away, with his grin and top hat being the last to fade.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, you didn¡¯t say how to activate it.¡±

    Vex: ¡°Beats me, it¡¯s your Legacy, till next time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait don¡¯t leave, hey!¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, I¡¯m calling you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais?¡±

    Nathan looked around, the purple mist had vanished, the orchard had returned to their original state. Anais walked to them, aggravated look on her face.

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t what me, I kept calling out to you and you both just ignored me. You just kept staring at that piece fruit in your hand.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh¡­¡­.sorry.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Whatever, April says it time. Let¡¯s head back.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Its time, I recall her saying it would take in hour.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah and it¡¯s been about an hour.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, it¡¯s only been about five minutes since we started walking.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about, you guys have been walking around for fifty minutes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, I saw you pass by, not too long ago. You walked around the trees several times.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We walked around the orchard?¡±

    Nathan and Iris looked to one another, they couldn¡¯t have been talking to Vex, for more than a few minutes. It couldn¡¯t have all been an illusion, Nathan abilities prevent such things. Or, maybe it was something like the Lillaby incident, something meant for one purpose use for another. At the same time, he made it seem like they were walking around aimlessly.

    Anais: ¡°Are you both okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.lets go, i need you to tell me what i was doing for the last hour.¡±

    Nathan turned to walk the short distance out of the patch, throwing the piece a fruit away. Vex, whatever he was, he was way stronger then he was letting on, he didn¡¯t understand what exactly he wanted, but what he said was truthful, he would at least hear what he had to say.

 Chapter 60: First Quest

    Chapter 60: First Quest

    Nathan: ¡°Spy¡­¡­¡­appraise¡­¡­..inspect¡­¡­¡­¡­scope.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Okay, you have to stop that, your creeping everybody out, me included.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s so creepy about it?¡±

    Anais: ¡° It¡¯s like your piercing their souls with an all-encompassing gaze.¡±

    Looking around, several groups have made some distance between his party and themselves. Nathan constant staring and mumbling had scared everyone away.

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯re not gonna just come across it, just because some creep said you¡¯ll be able to do it. What you should be worried about is how he knew so much about you.

    Nathan: ¡°I know that¡¯s a problem, but if there is just a small chance he was right, ¡°Scan¡±.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What did he even want, to make you hallucinate for an hour?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He said he wants to talk before I go into ¡°Viridy Wilds¡±, he wants something from in the dungeon, something he think I can get for him.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Then why not just retrieve it himself?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t know, we can ask that if we decide to go back. If I can just get this ability to work, ¡°Survey¡±.¡±

    Anais: ¡°If you even have it.¡±

    Nathan went back to staring and reciting any word he could find the meant examine, but still nothing worked. He was becoming abundantly clear that he didn¡¯t possess the ability. Then what could be the reason Vex did that, I didn¡¯t make sense.

    Earl: ¡°Hey Gaunt, look that Lycanian chicks checking you out.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Really, I mean, who cares, I¡¯m done with that bitch.¡±

    After being humiliated in the duel, being near Nathan was the last place he wanted to be, but he couldn¡¯t afford the blowback from canceling the quest. Ever since then his right hand man Earl was trying his best to cheer his disheartened friend.

    Earl: ¡°You sure, she given you some intense looks. Maybe she was just shy before. She didn¡¯t want all her little friends to notice, but she secretly can¡¯t take her eyes of you.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Y-You think so?¡±

    Earl: ¡°I know so, look at her now, maybe you should give her a show.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Y-yeah, I mean who can resist this?¡±

    In his quest to uncover the words to activate his ability, his eyes had fallen on to Gaunt.

    Nathan: ¡°(What the fuck!?)¡±

    Gaunt had begun to strike poses flexing his muscles and winking in there the direction.

    Anais: ¡°What the fuck!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ahahahahahahaha, looks like somebody once to give you a show.¡±

    Gaunt continued his show, much to the discomfort of Nathan and his friends.

    Anais: ¡°Now look what you did, cut it crap out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Fine, I guess for now, I¡¯ll stop trying to ¡°Pry¡±.¡±

    *shinnnng*

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Name: Gaunt  Terone   Level: 36

    Job: Adventurer

    HP: 233/233      MP: 73/73

    Race: Human

    <ol>

    <li>Ability: Defense Break, Charge</li>

    <li>Ability: Strength X, Defense X</li>

    </ol>

    Stats:

    STH 67

    DEF  78

    INT 36

    AGI 26

    LUCK 13

    Nathan: ¡°It worked!¡±

    Ash: ¡°Gaunt''s posing!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, hells no, how could that be!?¡±

    Gaunt couldn¡¯t hear their entire conversation, but he did hear that last part and fell to his knees.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m talking about his stats, I can see them.¡±

    Nathan tried again on several people around, he could see each of their stat screen fine. All of their stats varied by quite a bit, more importantly, they were all incredibly weak. None of their stats match up to most of his team members, Gaunt had the highest around, but even his stats failed in comparison to Nathan¡¯s and the members in his party.

    Nathan tried to pry deeper, going pass the first screen. The first screen showed all his basic abilities, but the screen below, showed the bonuses and such that came with their abilities. Like Nathan¡¯s Pollination, it was a tag on ability to Nathan¡¯s Plant Growth.

    Adventurer: ¡°Huh, what the!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Damn.)¡±

    Nathan quit using his ability, his target seemed to have notice Nathan and was looking around for the culprit, eyeing everyone suspiciously.

    Iris: ¡°Master, are you alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m fine, just testing my limit, so Vex wasn¡¯t lying?¡±

    Anais: ¡°So what, you still shouldn¡¯t trust him.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, that man knows entirely too much.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Regardless if he was following us or not, how could he found out something, you didn¡¯t know yet?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I intend to find out when I go back.¡±

    Iris: ¡°When you go back?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°R-Right, he could have information we were searching for. If he knows about me, then he probably knows about Amelia.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That may be true.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hmm, if that¡¯s the case I¡¯m coming with you. If he knows anything about Lady Amelia, then I want to ask myself. Don¡¯t go without me, okay?¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Nathan: ¡°No problem, we¡¯ll hid back once I¡¯ve ranked up, this farm is on the same road leading to the Dungeon anyway.¡±

    The three agreed, Vex was an early chance and it would be foolhardy not to probe him for information.

    *rumble*rumble*

    Anais: ¡°What was that?¡±

    Nathan ¡°Threat Detection¡± activated, at almost the exact same time the ground began to shake. A moment later, April ran up to the crowd of people.

    April: ¡°There coming, don¡¯t let the near my orchard.¡±

    Nathan party positioned themselves, some of the other adventurer looked nervous. Nathan thought the devils must be terrifying or it could be just the rumbling coming from underground. As the rumble got louder, the hole erupted and out poured the Bun-Bun Devils.

    Nathan: ¡°No¡­¡­¡­way?¡±

    Nathan rubbed his eyes over and over, he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. A huge swarm of bunny like creatures emerge from the hole. They weren¡¯t scary in the least, in fact they were incredibly cute. With there big sparkling eyes, they were as menacing as a plushie, mostly because they look like plushies. The devil tails, the fangs and the tiny pitch fork, just added to the cuteness. The only real thing was that there were a lot of them, hundreds, Nathan thought of the saying from his world, about bunnies multiplying, but this was ridiculous.

    Nathan: ¡°Pry.¡±

    Bun-Bun Devils

    Lvl: 2            Class D

    Sth 1

    Def 1

    Ability: Poke-Poke

    [Though weak by themselves, they¡¯re numbers will increase exponentially if left unchecked.]

    Ash: ¡°Get ready.¡±

    Several of the Devils came towards, readying their pitch forks.

    Bun-Bun Devils: ¡°Chekeh¡±

    Nathan watch on as the creature attack his feet, desperately trying to cause him harm. Each strike took one damage, some of the attacks just didn¡¯t hurt or missed completely. Nathan contemplated what to do, he didn¡¯t think he had the strength to strike these things down. It felt like he was going to kick a puppy or slap a baby, those were just things you don¡¯t do.

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait Ash I-¡±

    Before Nathan could get another word in, Ash took off. Brandishing his dual blades, instantly, he cut down several of the devils.¡±

    *Keeeeeeeeeeeh*

    Nathan watch in horror as the light from the sparkling eyes faded as they¡¯re lives ended.

    Ash: ¡°How was that?¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s Nothing, watch this. ¡°Flare Royale!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais wa-¡±

    A fireball erupted from Anais hand, crashing into another group of devils. The agonizingly cute sound, now something demonic, as the bunnies scream in agony as they were burned alive.

    Ena: ¡°Haaaaaaah!¡±

    Ena had begun to smash her fist into every one that had approached her.

    Ena: ¡°Hahahahah, this is fun.¡±

    Ena and Anais, with girlish delight, mercilessly eradicated the poor creatures.

    Soon, the entire battle field was filled with the sounds of the dying Bun- Bun Devils. Rather it was young or old, they were wiped out one after another. Nathan was horrified, how could they all so easily snuff out the life of such a creature?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Master, lookout.¡±

    Iris put more urgency into her warning, then Nathan thought was necessary. Several of the devils had approached now, with weapon in hand and began to stab at Nathan¡¯s legs, a pricking sound from every attack. Nathan checked his health, the sun hadn¡¯t completely gone down, so his ¡°Photosynthesis¡± was in fool force. No matter how many times they stabbed, Nathan health would instantly refill. Not to mention the armor he was currently equipped with, they were absolutely no threat at all. Nathan simply shook them off his legs, seeing no real reason to be excessively violent, like everyone around him

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan reflexes activated, and he involuntarily reach out and grabbed at something. When he turned to look at what he caught, he found a particularly small Bun-Bun Devil.

    Its expression in complete shock, after failing its sneak attack and being caught in the process. Its eyes began to water, as it tried to wrestle itself from Nathan¡¯s grasp, poking him with the tiny fork.

    *Snap*

    Bun-Bun Devil: ¡°Chekeh!?¡±

    Suddenly the pitch fork snap in half and fell to the ground. The shocked on it face, followed the waterfall of tears on its face, as it turned to stare at Nathan accusingly.

    Nathan: ¡°(Don¡¯t look at me like that, I didn¡¯t break it.)¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, why are you letting them attack you?¡±

    A few adventurers had taken notice of the situation and was staring in horror, as the devils continued to poke at Nathan¡¯s body.

    Adventurer: ¡°What the hell is wrong with her, why is she letting that happen!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What are you doing, defend yourself.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t stand there like an idiot, fight back.¡±

    Nathan looked at Iris, over to Anais, towards the group of adventurers and then back to the Devil, crying its eyes out over the lost of it precious pitch fork.

    Bun-Bun Devil: ¡°Chekeh!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do this.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Gaunt: ¡°Ahahahahahahahaha, you should have seen her, scared stiff.¡±

    Back at the adventurer¡¯s guild, a group of adventurers were all laughing after hearing what happen. The story went, that the Lycanian was so frightened, she stood idly by whilst she was attacked. It was up to his party to save her, from the weak Bun-Bun Devils. The truth of the matter was Nathan didn¡¯t want to slash something that looked like a plushie giving life. He thought it was strange that everyone here could so easily,

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t get it, you¡¯ve fought plant creatures, giant insects, a freaking giant eye, you even ran through a forest of colossus and actually wanted to stop to admire them. All that and you can¡¯t beat a creature that doesn¡¯t even come up to your knee.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. have no excuse.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No need, it¡¯s not unheard of for people to freeze up on their first quests. We more then killed enough for you, don¡¯t sweat it. But I gotta say, it didn¡¯t help your reputation. Gaunt¡¯s been busy spreading your freeze around the entire guild, it¡¯s only been a few hours, but almost everybody knows.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well whatever, I don¡¯t really care.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Good, keep thinking that way, you¡¯ll need it.¡±

    Ash put his across Nathan¡¯s shoulders and whispered in his ear.

    Ash: ¡°But, to think you had such a sensitive side.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Ash smirked at Nathan, he had figured out why he froze.

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re not the first to freeze for that reason. A knew another guy who couldn¡¯t bring him to cut them down either.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your not gonna, say anything?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m insulted that you think I would.¡±

    Ash showed Nathan a small bag of coins.

    Ash: ¡°I got my share of the reward, I¡¯m heading out, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Later.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Ash waved, as he disappeared out the door. Nathan walked over to Ena and Anais, as they collected their share of the reward.

    Anais: ¡°We¡¯re gonna go get something to eat, will meet you back at Ramol¡¯s afterward.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, I get the reward and accept a few more quests. This is the last night before the Dungeon opens and there still a bit of daylight left.

    Anais: ¡°You sure, after what happened today?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°As long as I avoid quests that deal with Bun-Bun Devils.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Avoid, are you afraid of them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Not in the traditional way.¡±

    None of the girls understood, but Nathan refuse to elaborate. Anais and Ena parted, leaving Iris and Nathan alone. Nathan looked around as they approached the reception desk, a lot of the faces that once looked nervous, were now smirking and laughing. What ash said was right, news had spread and taking effect rather quickly. Iris stared at them with cold eyes.

    Iris: ¡°End them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Tch!¡±

    Nathan waited in the line for his turn, which came soon enough.

    Belle: ¡°Welcome back, I have your reward waiting.¡±

    Nathan looked up to find Belle, looking him over. As she squatted down, her cleavage was level with his line of sight.

    Nathan: ¡°Belle?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, I heard what happened, I wanted to make sure you were okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine. Just some first-time jitters.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ah, I see, those things happen to even you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But anyway, thanks for worrying about me.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Oh not at all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So I¡¯m guessing it wasn¡¯t enough to rank up, huh?¡±

    Belle shook her head.

    Belle: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, sorry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just have to forget going in the first day. I¡¯m going to grab a few more quests and then head out okay.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, Good luck.¡±

    Nathan placed the coin bag in his pocket and waved goodbye to Belle, before heading into the next room. There wasn¡¯t as many people in the room as there was earlier.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Right, hmm let¡¯s see, this one, this one, this one and this one.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Only four?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, but the rest are collecting quests, if I recall earlier, you weren¡¯t fond of those types.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can¡¯t afford to be picky right now, let¡¯s take as many as I can.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Nathan slid his card into each of the slots Iris indicated. Nathan signed up the entire party, rather they went with him or not didn¡¯t matter. It would better if they all rank up at the same time, then to do so individually. Done with his choices, he looked for a few that could be done immediately, then he would call it a night and get a fresh start in the morning. Paying little mind to the people still laughing at him and holding down Iris, so she wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone, Nathan waved to Belle as he left the guild disappearing down the city streets.

 Chapter 61: Failed Fox Trap

    Chapter 61: Failed Fox Trap

    *Wrrryryyyyyyyy*

    Nathan slashed the flaming loogies as he ran towards the ¡°Burn Boars¡±. The Burn Boars roared, as their attacks were knocked away and dodge, so much that they all begin to charge at Nathan. As they ran their bodies ignited encasing them in flame. At this point, it was nearly impossible to touch them, but Nathan was waiting for this and readied the barrels the quest giver provided him.

    Nathan: ¡°Little closer.¡±

    When the boars charge brought them tightened to the point, where they were basically touching one another, Nathan had his plants whipped the barrels up into the air, smashing them down on the Boars. The barrels had been filled with a green liquid, that put out the fires, leaving the boars vulnerable. They tried to reignite, but the green liquid was preventing ignition, sticking to their bodies like glue.

    It was nothing for Nathan, to use his vines to then, whip the boars up into the air, where his Uzy, could pelt them with a barrage of bullets. After a few minutes, the bullet seed did its work and the boars hung lifelessly in the air.

    Nathan: ¡°Phew.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Is that all of them?¡±

    Iris floated over to Nathan, just as he finished

    Nathan: ¡°On my side, what about you?¡±

    Iris puffed out her chest, with a prideful smile.

    Iris: ¡°Of course, they were no trouble at all, a simple twist of the neck, was all it took.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You say some scary things sometimes. Well, good job anyway.

    Iris: ¡°Thank you, a good job to you as well.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head back to the village and collect our reward. I¡¯ll start piling these up,you go grab your share and will head off.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Right.¡±

    Nathan piled the Boars onto a cart, that he borrowed from the village and began to head back.

    Iris: ¡°Master I¡¯ve brought them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Iris, the quest was only for eight, right?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It is, as you say.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then tell me why you have, one, seven, fifteen dead boars there!?¡±

    Seeing dead bodies floating behind Iris was a horrifying sight on its own, but the fact that there was unneeded amount, made the seem all the more terrible.

    Iris: ¡°Well, when I finally chased them down, I was lead to the group you see here. I had no choice but to fight back, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*Sigh*Fine, just put them on the cart.¡±

    Iris hurriedly placed the boars on the cart and joined Nathan at the front.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go, I hope the village can do something with all the extra meat.¡±

    _

    _

    Old Man: ¡°Thank you so much, we been waiting so long for help, we didn¡¯t thank anyone would come.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It was nothing.¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Here, let me see your adventurers card.¡±

    Nathan pulled out his card, handing it to the old man. The old man pulled up a screen typed in something and then the screen flickered twice. He then handed it back to Nathan.

    Old Man: ¡°There, now you can claim your reward at the guild, again thank you so much.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No problem, what about your fields, those Burn Boar kinda wrecked it. You want help rebuilding?¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Hahahahah, don¡¯t worry about that none, we may be a small village, but we¡¯re pretty handy when we work together.¡±

    Villager: ¡°Mayor, we brought it.¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Ah, right on time.¡±

    Several villagers wheeled a cart up to Nathan. The extra boars had been cut and stripped, meat, fur and tusks piled the cart.

    Old Man: ¡°Take these with you as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I couldn¡¯t possibly-¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Nonsense, I won¡¯t take no for an answer, even though the extra is helpful, how could we possibly not share the spoils with you.¡±

    Nathan wonder how he was gonna carry all this extra stuff, he had to wait until he got out of town before he stuck them in his Inventory. Lucky for him, they let him keep the cart. It wouldn¡¯t take much to pull it down the road.

    Nathan took a look around and frowned, the fields around had been trashed by the Burn Boars.

    Old Man: ¡°What the matter youngster?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re gonna be okay with this?¡±

    Old Man: ¡°I already said were good, you done enough lass, let us take care of the rest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, alright, I hope things go well, take care.¡±

    Old Man: ¡°Thanks, again.¡±

    The few people in the village, saw Nathan off, waving to him as he walked away, hauling the cart.

    Young girl A: ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t she the rumored Lycanian?¡±

    Young girl B: ¡°Yeah, but she not as scary as the rumors say, but she is really beautiful.¡±

    Young girl A: ¡°Yeah, even as she¡¯s leaving the village, is like little lights are dancing around her.¡±

    The Old man listening was taken aback, he thought that it was just his delusion, but others could see the small lights dancing off her. It was quite enchanting, like tiny fairies dancing around their queen.

    Charisma +3

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I wonder what I did?¡±

    Iris: ¡°He said he didn¡¯t need help, but you went and pollinated their fields anyway. Won¡¯t they find it strange that their gardens regrew so fast?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Won¡¯t matter, I placed a delay for about two hours. By that time, I¡¯ll be long gone, and they will just count it as good fortune.

    Nathan stop letting seed out and continued down the road, soon leaving the village behind.

    _

    _

    Anais and Ena climbed the steps to the Library, the girl from before nowhere in sight. It figures she would only come when Nathan was around. After they entered they stared up in amazement, I was as large as Nathan had describe.

    Ena: ¡°I¡¯m not that fond of books.¡±

    Anais turn to Ena, who had an expression of discomfort.

    Anais: ¡°You the one who volunteered to come.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I know.¡±

    Ena had every intention of helping, they were basically help her get home for free. Even if they say it was on the way, it was still a kind gesture and she planned on helping out every chance she got, even with the dreaded books.

    ?????: ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    The girls turned to find a bespectacled woman dressed in a white robe, calling out to them.

    Anais: ¡°Yes, do you know where I could find books on the races of the world?¡±

    Bespectacled Woman: ¡°Why yes, any race in particular your looking for?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Race similar to Felideax.¡±

    Anais had come here, per Nathan¡¯s request. He wanted her to find any information on Vex, if she could. There had to be a reason why he knew so much about them and they were gonna find out.

    Bespectacled Woman: ¡°Hmm, I think I know just the section your looking for, if you would follow me, please.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Cheria?¡±

    The three turned to find a Petite blonde girl coming towards them.

    Cheria: ¡°Ashley, you know better to run in the halls.¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Ashley, she was the one barring our entry.)¡±

    Ashley: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but your being summoned. Victor''s in need of your assistance.¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Is it urgent, I¡¯m in the middle of something?¡±

    Ashley shook her head.

    Ashley: ¡°He said it was extremly urgent.¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Oh dear, then can I ask you to finish up here, while I go see what he wants?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ashley, for the first time took notice of the two, standing behind Cheria. She had the strangest feeling she seen the two before, but she could not recall where and when.

    Cheria: ¡°Take them to Area 3, please.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°R-Right, I¡¯ll will do that.¡±

    Ashley recited where to go in her head as Cheria turned to leave.

    Ashley: ¡°If you could follow me please.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Ena and Ashley followed Ashley down the hallway, the area growing quiet the deeper they traveled. Ena stared drill into the back of Ashley¡¯s head.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    Ena: *Whisper* Hey, could it be that she doesn¡¯t remember us?¡±

    Anais: *Whisper* Doesn¡¯t look like it, even after we argued.¡±

    Ena: ¡°*Whisper* Do you think we should say something?¡±

    Anais: ¡°*Whisper* No, best not to poke the hive.¡±

    Ashley felt shivers down her spine, starting right after the two girls began to whisper. She couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying, but she had the strangest feeling they were talking about her.

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, this is taking way too long.¡±

    Nathan complained, as he searched the forest floor for a certain herb. They had been slogging around all morning and only accomplished five of the fifteen quests they had taken.

    Nathan: ¡°This never took this long, when I did them in the games, then again, is not technically me. Is this how the game characters feel when we make them slog up in down the same areas, grinding and farming for exp and material for hours on end with no breaks, day after day. Virtual protagonist, now I understand your pain.¡±

    Sweat ran down Iris face, as she watched Nathan ramble on nonsensically, over his newly discovered revelation, apologizing to a faceless sky.

    Iris: ¡°If we were to ask the others, we could have divided the work.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais went to the library looking for clues on Amelia and Ena went with her, saying that if we were going to help her get home, she could at least make it easier. I also asked them to find out anything on what Vex could be.

    Iris: ¡°And what of Ash?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash is doing his own thing, I¡¯ll let him do as what they want, I am the only one who wants to go in the Dungeon anyway.¡±

    Iris: ¡°If that is what you wish.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It is, lets just continue trying to finish as many as we can, but at this rate, I won¡¯t finish enough until the third day.

    Iris: ¡°Right, but how many quests it will have to finish before we¡¯re aloud to rank up?¡±

    Nathan Suddenly stopped walking, upon Iris¡¯s inquiry, he realized a huge problem.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Crap, I never asked and it will take forever if we run all the way back to find out. Tch, oh well, let just finish this, we can ask once we get back.¡±

    Iris nodded and took to the sky, being able to see long distances, all Nathan had to do was look at the back of his hand and follow her for an instant shortcut. Walking through the small but dense wooded areas was very calming, with the sun partly hidden from the trees, it was very serene.

    Along the way Nathan picked up any quest item he could, along with any new seed he came upon. Slowly but surely, he was accumulating a good list of items to grow.

    Nathan would emerge from a part of the woods only to end up on the roads again, but just as soon as he was back, he was treading off path again.

    The roads of this world were very inconvenient, they zig and zag, avoiding wooded areas all together. Partly due to the fact they weren¡¯t as technologically advance as his world. Cutting down large trees, removing their stumps and roots, then paving a road, would take a lot of time. Though, they did have magic, one would think they¡¯d find a way.

    Nathan looked down at his hand, Iris was just above him somewhere, he couldn¡¯t see her through the thick trees. Walking along, his "Threat Detection" went off.

    *Rustle**Rustle*

    Nathan: ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Woman: ¡°Pl-Please.

    Out from the bushes a therian woman stumbled. Her clothes were ripped and hanging off her, exposing her shame. She stumbled forward, only to collapse on her feet.

    ????????: ¡°Please you must help me, please.¡±

    The girl threw herself into to Nathan¡¯s arms and begin to cry.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you okay, what happened?¡±

    Girl: ¡°*sniff**sniff* We were on our way to Loegrey, when bandits attacked us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Bandits?¡±

    Girl: ¡°They chased us into the woods, I only barely escaped. But, they still have my brother, please you have to help him.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You poor thing, here, will go get help.¡±

    Girl: ¡°N-No you can¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to save your brother?¡±

    Girl: ¡°OF COURSE I DO. Ah I¡¯m sorry, but if we run off to find help, I fear it might be too late.¡±

    Nathan "Threat Detection" was still going off, no matter how he saw it, this was a setup. Her clothes might be torn, but they looked self-done, all the rips were done in the front, all within hand reach. And her story didn¡¯t make sense, she said they were chasing her, but Nathan didn¡¯t feel anyone else around.

    Nathan looked down at the girl, from the shape of her ears and tail, she was similar in appearance to a fox, the one that appears as the heavens messengers in the anime, he loved watching. She was putting on a good show, trying her best to get Nathan to believe her tall tale, so much that he decided to go along with it decided.

    Nathan: ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll go save your brother.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°You will?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I will, in the mean-time, if you head in this direction, you will get to the road, get there, get help.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°What, but how will you fine him, I need to come along.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Naw, that¡¯s okay, you need to get yourself looked at, wouldn¡¯t want your brother to worry.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°I-I guess you¡¯re right.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, I¡¯ll be off.¡±

    Nathan took off and to the bushes, he had her scent, so all he had to do was follow it backwards. He was heading deeper into the wood, much deeper then he or Iris planned, deeper than anyone could here. With his Threat Detection going off, he could tell that he was being surrounded. Nathan begin releasing, letting the breeze take them and scatter them around.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, that¡¯s done.¡±

    Coming into a small clearing Nathan ran into a child, out cold in the middle of nowhere. As he walked he listened out for a certain sound, at first it was quiet, but slowly the sound came across clearly. A boy was sitting alone crying for his mom.

    Nathan: ¡°(Okay, this is stupid, it would have been more believable if the boy was surrounded by thug like men/women. This right here, is just screams trap.)¡±

    Nathan put a hand to his face and sighed, it was to clich¨¦ for words. He approached the boy, just to be sure, but as he thought, just like his sister, he didn¡¯t have any wounds. His clothes were tattered and his face dirty, but otherwise he was fine.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey are you okay?¡±

    Fox Boy: ¡°*sniff, sniff who are you, what do you want?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your sister sent me to help.¡±

    Fox Boy: ¡°She''s safe, thank goodness.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, now let¡¯s get you outta here. (Cue trap dialogue in five, four, three, two, one).¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°That want be necessary.¡±

    On cue the girl from before showed up behind Nathan.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You, that was fast you got help already?¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°I¡¯m afraid there won¡¯t be any help.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t understand?¡±

    Fox Boy: ¡°Oh man how dumb could you be?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It not nice to call your savior, dumb.¡±

    The boy hopped to his feet and strolled over to his sister, both of them smirk triumphantly.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on here?¡±

    Fox Boy: ¡°Don¡¯t you get it, we played you, lured right into our trap.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°We¡¯ll be needing you to come with us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A trap you two, what do the two of you think you can do to me?¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°Not just us.¡±

    The girl snapped her finger, with a smug look on her face, but nothing happen after several seconds of waiting

    Fox Girl: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­What?¡±

    The woman tried snapping several more times, but nothing happened.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on? Hey com out!¡±

    Fox Boy: ¡°What¡¯s going on was this a part of the plan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pfffffffttttttt,bwahahahahahah.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your reactions, I can¡¯t help it.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When you snapped your finger you were calling for these people right?¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and from the tree tops, several men and woman were lowered into view. Coiled around their bodies were vines, tightly binding them from head to toe. Muffled screams coming from them as they try to say something. The therian girl and boy looked panicked stricken, seeing their allies tied up all neatly. Nathan on the other hand was laughing away.

    Fox Girl: ¡°Wh-what is this?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Their your friends right, they seemed very dangerous, so I tied them up.

    Fox Boy: ¡°How did you-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Did you really think I believe that story, come on, there are guards walking up in down the roads all the time.

    Both of them took a step back, they had chosen wrong, after seeing the therian in town, trying to such high-quality weapons, they followed him, only to find him being friendly with the Lycanian who was causing in up roar. They figured the weapons came from him and if they could get him alone, he could lead them to it.

    Nathan: ¡°So what are two rogues doing with a group of humans?¡±

    They both look to each other and made their decision, but Nathan caught on.

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, you¡¯re not going anywhere.

    Two vines shot up from the ground, attempting to ensnare the siblings, but with some incredible acrobats they dodged the attempts.

    Fox Girl: ¡°Don¡¯t take us lightly, you find were not as easily caught by one of those.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah, how about fifty, no wait, let¡¯s make it a hundred.¡±

    Hundreds of vines erupted from the ground, like a rampaging forest. Though they tried their best, but the number of vines were too overwhelming and soon they were captured.

    Nathan use his vines to search their bodies, looking for anything they could use to escape.

    Fox Girl: ¡°P-Pervert, where are you making them touch!?

    They¡¯re faces flushed both with embarrassment and in rage, but Nathan ignore that and continued the search. Finding nothing he lowered them down.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, since you did this, I assuming you heard the rumors from Borice?¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan stared at her, but he couldn¡¯t find any traces of a lie.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s not it, then why did you try to attack me?¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not saying anything huh, well how about I ask you instead.¡±

    Nathan turned his attention to the younger sibling, the sister perking, as he strolled the short distance to the kid.¡±

    Fox Girl: ¡°LEAVE HIM ALONE, IF YOU WON¡¯T ANSWERS, ASK THEM.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I would, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get anything out of them.¡±

    Nathan pointed over to the men and women tied up, they had all passed out, below them were a bed of flowers neither of them had seen before.

    Nathan: ¡°I was too hasty, I couldn¡¯t get anything from them if I tried now. So that just leaves you two. Either you tell me what I want to know, or I turn you over to the authorities, which I¡¯m sure won¡¯t go over well for a couple of rogues.¡±

    From what Nathan could tell, being a rouge was bad enough, but a rogue found committing crimes seemed like a death sentence.

    Fox Boy: ¡°Sister, maybe we should-¡±

    The older sibling glared at her brother, her stare silencing him. Nathan was getting the feeling that the two weren¡¯t as crooked as he had thought. The look on the older sister¡¯s face, it said she was scared, but not of him and the little brother¡¯s willingness to talk, meant they weren¡¯t loyal to the rest of them.

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Nathan looked up, above him floated Iris, just in time. After realizing Nathan had stop following her, she came looking for him.

    Iris: What happened here?

    Nathan: ¡°Iris could you do me a favor?¡±

    The boy and girl watch as Nathan seemingly had a conversation with himself.

    Fox Girl: ¡°Huh, hey what¡¯s going on!?¡±

    Fox Boy: ¡°Big sis!?¡±

    The vines entangling the girl, began to move, pulling her out of sight. Right after her all the other tied up individuals, also were being pulled out of sight.

    Fox Girl: ¡°Kou, don¡¯t say anything, no matter what, don¡¯t say anything.¡±

    The woman disappeared into the trees, Iris doing as Nathan asked and following the group into the trees. With everyone gone, only Nathan and Kou remained.

    Nathan: ¡°So, your names Kou, huh?¡±

    Kou: ¡°What did you do with her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry she¡¯s fine, I just need to talk to you, man to man.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Man?¡±

    Nathan ignored his response and let the vines holding the kid loose, except a few that were binding his arms.

    Nathan: ¡°So, you were about to say something earlier, speak freely.¡±

    Kou: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Staying true to his sister¡¯s request remained silent, but Nathan didn¡¯t believe he would hold up for long.

    Nathan: ¡°Come on kid, I want to help you.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Help me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes help, you see I don¡¯t think you and your sister are doing this willingly. You were way too willing to speak earlier, for me to believe your loyal to them. I think, you were forced to lure me here, I also think that you and I can help each other.¡±

    Kou: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So if you tell me why there after me and where they are, I¡¯ll will go deal with them.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Why would you do this, for me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m doing it for me. If there are more people like this and there out looking for me, I¡¯d rather go deal with it now, then to have them bother me later. So, it¡¯s really just for me, but if I get rid of them and it helps you, I don¡¯t see the downside.¡±

    Kou: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..And you¡¯ll make sure they go away?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sure will.¡±

    Nathan smiled a gentle and pleasant smile, making the kids heart skip a bit. Nathan knew he had got him, back in his world, his sisters taught him, with his appearance, all it took was a genuine smile to get people to do what he wanted. Within a few minutes, the familiar tone, rang out in Nathan¡¯s ears.

    *ding*ding*

    <u>Persuasion +3</u>

    <u>Bribery +2</u>

    Nathan: ¡°(Oh, I didn¡¯t expect that. A bribe¡­¡­. I guess you could consider this a bribe. I see, I was sure I have to put money into this skill, but if I use ¡°Persuasion¡± alongside it, I can get around that problem.)¡±

    Nathan looked to Kou, he went quiet and had his head down, probably getting his thought together.

    Kou: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.My parents.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Parents?¡±

    Kou turned back up to Nathan, a pained expression on his face.

    Kou: ¡°THE BANDITS HAVE OUR PARENTS!¡±

 Chapter 62: Fox Family Affair

    Chapter 62: Fox Family Affair

    Nathan: ¡°So, you and your family were traveling through the area, when you were ambushed by a group of bandits. They held your parents and forced you siblings to lure travelers into the woods, where they could rob them.¡±

    Kou nodded, unable to form coherent sentences because of his crying. Nathan handed him a piece of cloth, to wipe his face. After hearing Kou¡¯s story Nathan had come to a conclusion.

    Nathan: ¡°So they wanted to sell me off as a slave, looks like I have no choice but to deal with them.¡±

    Kou: ¡°*sniff* No, they didn¡¯t want you as a slave, they were searching for your treasury.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, I don¡¯t have any treasury.¡±

    Kou: ¡°You don¡¯t have a stock pile of weaponry?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Where did you hear this?¡±

    Kou: ¡°There¡¯s a man in town selling high grade weaponry, but when they tried to find where he was keeping them, all they found was you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Wait, is he talking about Ramol?)¡±

    Nathan smacked himself in the head, he stupidly left Ramol without any protection.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Iris floated down from the trees, bringing the older sibling along.

    Kou: ¡°Ai¡±

    Ai Spoke, but no sound came from her mouth.

    Nathan: ¡°Did you do that?¡±

    Iris: ¡°She kept screaming profanity at you, it seemed the only way to keep here quiet.¡±

    Kou: ¡°(Where¡¯s that voice coming from?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Undo that, then go back to town and tell Anais to find Ramol and watch over him.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°These two were being forced to lure me here, because someone saw Ramol selling my weapons. Tell her to stop anyone from looking to deep, anyone asking any unnecessary questions, send them away.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Will you be alright?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, just make sure they are alright and stay near them in case something happens, at least until they get home.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood, I will return as soon as I¡¯m able.¡±

    Iris took off disappearing into the trees. Leaving Nathan alone with the two siblings.

    Kou: ¡°Ai, your safe.¡±

    Ai: ¡°Kou, what did you do?¡±

    Kou: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ai: ¡°Why did you tell him, don¡¯t you understand, you¡¯ve killed our parents.¡±

    Kou: ¡°N-no sis, he¡¯ going to help us rescue them.¡±

    Ai: ¡°And you believed him, naive. He just saying what you want to here, once he found out what he wants he¡¯ll just turn us over to the authorities and if that happens, our parents are as good as dead.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your parents are as good as dead anyway.¡±

    Ai: ¡°Bastard, shut your mouth.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your parents lives depend on you, as long as your useful they live, they said something like that right?¡±

    Ai: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ha, I was right. I bet they said that once you do enough, they let you and your parents go.¡±

    Nathan had their attention now, he was saying almost exactly what the bandits said to them.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, think about it, why would they let your parents go or you go for that matter? They got the best deal, you lure people into the woods, you knock them out, then they take their belongings and kill them. And on the off chance that someone escapes, the only people who will catch any punishments are the two who the witnesses can point out, you two.¡±

    The siblings turned Paled, the more Nathan spoke, the grimmer their expression grew. The way it they looked made Nathan a little hesitant to say the rest, but they needed to hear it.

    Nathan: ¡°More importantly, in all this time you been working for them, have either of you checked to see if your parents were still alive?¡±

    Kou: ¡°Wh-What are you saying?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m saying, that did either of you constantly asked for proof of your parent¡¯s life. Their bandits, they live a life of scavenging, do you think they going to want to waste the little resources they have, taking care of someone else?¡±

    Ai: ¡°N-No way, they wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they, all those people you lured to them were killed, do think they would think twice about doing it? I can hear them now, laughing at the both of you, carrying out their dirty work, for a reward your never get.¡±

    Ai: ¡°SHUT UP!¡±

    Ai gritted her teeth as tears poured down her face. What she had just heard was too much and she couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore.

    Ai: ¡°What are we supposed to do, they have our parents, the guards in the city won¡¯t help some rogues and we don¡¯t have any money to make a request at the guild?¡±

    Kou had begun cry too, Nathan let the few snyare holding here in place sink back into the ground. Kou ran to his sister¡¯s embrace, tears flowing to the ground around them. Realization after realization, they were coming to understand how cruel the world was to them. Nathan scratch his head, he understood, that the both of them had jumped to conclusion.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, get your upset, but could you lead me to the bandit¡¯s hideout.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Why, their no reason to go anymore.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, don¡¯t you want to save your parents?¡±

    Ai: ¡°STOP FUCKING WITH US, YOU JUST SAID THEY WERE DEAD!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When did I say that?¡±

    Ai: ¡°CUT THE SHIT!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You have a foul mouth for a little girl.¡±

    Ai: ¡°SHUT UP, YOU JUST TOLD US THAT THEY WEREN¡¯T ALIVE.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I said, there a chance they¡¯re dead. But, there is also good chance their still alive as well.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Huh?¡±

    _

    _

    _

    ??????: ¡°Hahahahahahaha, you wanna what?¡±

    ??????: ¡°M-My children, I want know there okay, I just want to see them.¡±

    The man laughed down at the Therian, as if he had said the best joke he had ever heard. The other men around were laughing down at the therian as well, he ignored and kept his bowed.  He wanted desperately to see his son and daughter, ever since his family were capture by the group of bandits, he and his wife were forced to steal for them.

    ???????: ¡°That wasn¡¯t the deal Kashiro, you get your children back, when you finish what we asked you.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°But we¡¯ve been stealing for you for months, how much more must we steal? Please just let me them see me, so they know I¡¯m still here.

    ??????: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.You know what, I¡¯m touched, hey bring they¡¯re children here.¡±

    Kashiro couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing, were they really letting them go.

    ???????: ¡°But, only an eye, the rest of them stays there.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°NO PLEASE, DONT.¡±

    ???????: ¡°Huuh, but didn¡¯t you wanted let them know everything will be alright, don¡¯t worry a hand isn¡¯t that important.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°Please, I¡¯m sorry, I want ask again, just, just don¡¯t. Please Gideon.¡±

    Gideon, the leader of the BloodFang bandits. Despite the rumors, Gideon wasn¡¯t the bit intimidating at first glance. With his relatively small build and charming features, no one would guess that he was the leader of bandits or any criminal activities. Though behind his appearance was a cruel sadistic man, who drew pleasure form others submitting to him.

    Gideon petted the head of the Therian woman sitting next to his chair, dress in extravagant clothing, they were like dolls. He rubbed their heads lovingly, but every touch sending shivers through their bodies, though neither dare not move, for pulling away, was met with swift discipline.

    Gideon: ¡°I just don¡¯t get you mutt, I give you a way to finally see your children and you basically refusing my kindness. It¡¯s Like your spitting in my face. It hurts, you know.¡±

    Gideon¡¯s men pretended to console his fake emotional state. Soon they all burst into laughter, both at the spectacle and Kashiro. The laughter soon died down and Gideon turned back to Kashiro.

    Gideon: ¡°So, how are you gonna earn my forgiveness, rejecting my kindness comes at a cost.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Come on, nothing? oh, I know, your quota for this month has just been doubled.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°What, but we can barely find anyone as is, to double it would be impossible.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Of course it is, lucky for you, the tournament will be starting soon. You will have plenty of victims.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°But they will all be high leveled warriors, I won¡¯t be able to do anything against, even with my wife¡¯s help.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°I¡¯m sure you find a way. Or we can always go with the offer I gave you when first met. I would enjoy that immensely.¡±

    Kashiro gritted his teeth, it took all his will power not to lunge at Gideon. Gideon noticed the sudden change and Kashiro posture and smiled. He hoped the Kashiro would try to attack him, but his hope¡¯s were dash, as Kashiro held his composure.

    Gideon: ¡°*sigh* If you get it then hurry up and go. The next time you waste my time, I ¡®ll give your children back. Piece by piece.

    ¡°Kashiro¡¯s face went pale, upon hearing that. Gideon would definitely do it and make him watch as he carved his children up.

    Gideon: ¡°You only have until the end of the week. If you understand, I suggest you get up and get it done.¡±

    Gideon waved him away, prompting two of his men to pick up Kashiro and lead him out. The toss Kashiro to the ground, laughing as they walked back inside. Gideon stretched out in his chair, he always enjoyed the mutts that asked him for favors. They¡¯re reactions were funny, each time becoming much more hilarious. He felt it, it wasn¡¯t long Kashiro surrender to him, then he would add another trophy to his collection. He estimated, within the next four days, Kashiro will willing offer his wife for his brats.

    He laughed to himself, everything was going smoothly.

    *Door open*

    ?????: ¡°Gideon!?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Jonathan, what is it?¡±

    Jonathan caught his breath and fixed his glasses back on his face, before looking up to Gideon.

    Jonathan: ¡°There¡¯s been an accident.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Kashiro: ¡°Dammit!¡±

    Koshiro bang his fist against a tree, his hand going numb from the impact. He ignored the pain, compare to the situation, the ache was nothing. He continued his trudged through the woods, heading back to the meeting place he set for his wife. Upon the thought, he remembered is wife, what would he say to her, how could he tell her that he failed again. He had refuse to take her with him, she was Gideon¡¯s current object of desire. Even if she was there he doubt the outcome would have change, it might have actually been worse. These thoughts ran through his mind, his body was on auto pilot. Before he knew it, he had made it to the meeting area.

    ????????: ¡°Kashiro?¡±

    Kashiro was pulled from the depths of his mind, with the soft voice penetrated his ear. Looking up he sight was blesses with the sight of his wife. Her fox tail and ears a snowy white, like scene out of myth, she sat atop a large root, only moving wants she had notice her husband.

    Kashiro: ¡°Sari.¡±

    Kashiro didn¡¯t want to look up into his wife eye and tell her, yet again he failed to see their children. Sari was ecstatic to see her husband again, this time he returned to her relatively unharmed. He had a few scratches and his face was dirty, but he was okay. Though when she moved closer, Kashiro turned away.

    Sari: ¡°Kashiro?¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I couldn¡¯t see them.¡±

    Sari was saddened by the news, but she was not surprise. Many times, they have attempted to see their children and each time they were denied. Sari didn¡¯t say anything else, she wanted to see her children, probably more than her husband, but she knew anything she said right now, would hurt him further.

    Kashiro: ¡°He doubled the amount we have to gather.¡±

    Sari: ¡°What, by the end of the week, we couldn¡¯t possibly do that.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°He knows that.¡±

    It was impossible, they could barely finish their original quota on time. To double the amount was, Gideon purposely setting them up for failure. Putting them in a corner, leading to the inevitable conclusion.

    Sari: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°What, no, Sari, we will find a way.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Kashiro, there is no other way, you know as well as I, that he has no intention of letting us leave as a family. If we are to see the kids again, we have to do this. Please understand.¡±

    Kashiro pulled Sari in to his embrace, hugging her tightly.

    Kashiro: ¡°Don¡¯t you understand what he will do to you, I won¡¯t in good conscious ever try to understand. This is exactly what he wants, you.¡±

    Sari: ¡°My love, if we go on like this much longer, we we¡¯ll lose everything, if we are to save our children, we must be willing to sacrifice.¡±

    Kashiro: ¡°Then let it be me who is sacrificed, please Sari, I¡¯ll give him whatever he wants.¡±

    Kashiro held her, refusing to let her leave, the moment he did he would lose her. Sari was tempted not to break his hold, the warmth she felt, would disappear. But, her mind was set, removing herself from his embrace, Sari turned and walked back the direction of Gideon¡¯s hideout.

    Sari: ¡°Kashiro, there is only one thing he wants you to do.¡±

    Watching her back as she made her way, Kashiro reached out his hand grabbing at her form, but she was already beyond his reach. She had made up her mind to save their children and nothing he could say would change that.  He wished for a way to stop her, some way for them all to get away alive, but, no help what come to them. This world stop caring about their kind, long ago.

 Chapter 63: Foxes Savior?

    Chapter 63: Foxes Savior?

    Nathan: ¡°You guys sure you know where you¡¯re going?¡±

    Kou: ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it was this way.¡±

    Nathan Followed Kou and Ai, who were supposed to be leading him to the bandit¡¯s hideout, though they have been walking for a few hours. It is a good thing most of what he needed for the last few quests were herbs and berries obtainable through foraging while he walked. This way he could focus on finding the bandit leader.

    Nathan remember Ash telling him not to get involved with bandits, but they were targeting him, so he really has no choice. He was tired of being hunted and the best way to do that was to wipe out the hunters. He would deal with any consequences when they came, right now, he was taking the initiative. Furthermore, subjugating bandits sound like it¡¯s worth a rank up.

    Ai: ¡°Hey, if what you say is true, then our parents are being told the same thing we were being told.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Probably, you said there were other Therian being held captive as well right, he¡¯s making you all steal for him. It most likely the reason why, he never gets caught.¡±

    Kou: ¡°And if they¡¯re there, you¡¯ll save them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I won¡¯t make promises, but if I can, I will. I just need to deal with the guys coming after me, I¡¯ll see about saving everyone afterward.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡­.. I understand.¡±

    Ai: ¡°Stop.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Ai, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ai: ¡°What¡¯s wrong, he¡¯s what¡¯s wrong. If you¡¯re not gonna save our parents, then what¡¯s the point of us showing you the way? We¡¯re risking our lives here and our parents, but you don¡¯t even care, do you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, not really, I mean, you did attempt to trap me. I understand you were made to do it, but I¡¯m not just gonna be all buddy-buddy and reunite your family.¡±

    Ai: ¡°Why you.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Stop it Ai.¡±

    Ai: ¡°Kou, why are you placing so much trust in him?¡±

    Kou: ¡°I¡¯m not, but he never said he was going to rescue our parents.¡±

    Kou turned back to Nathan, he didn¡¯t like him upsetting his sister.

    Kou: ¡°He said that he was going to take care of the bandits and that¡¯s all we need. We can get our parents back ourselves, can¡¯t we?¡±

    The group walked in silence, as they made their way through the forest.

    Nathan: ¡°(Hmm, we strayed a little.)¡±

    As they walk Kou and Ai were slowly but surely changing direction. Nathan found it odd that they weren¡¯t heading directly there, but it could just be traveling the path the bandits lead them through. It was a good way to keep people from backtracking to their hideout.

    Nathan just kept following them, but eventually their direction had change so drastically, that they were walking back the way they came. Nathan became irritated, they must be taking him for a fool.

    Nathan: ¡°Ok, what are you doing?¡±

    Kou: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why are we walking in a circle?¡±

    Ai: ¡°What the hell are you talking about, we¡¯ve been walking straight east.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Stop messing around, you guys are walking in a¡­¡­¡­¡­..circle?¡±

    Nathan was becoming suspicious, something wasn¡¯t right. And as if aligning with his thoughts, the all too familiar signs of danger, his ¡°Threat Detection¡± rang out in his head. Faster than the two could react, Nathan grabbed them both and whisk them up into the trees. Quickly, he grabbed their mouths, signaling them both to be quiet.

    If was strange the no one was coming for them, even thought they had entered the bandit¡¯s territory. No patrol, no traps, it could only mean one thing. Suddenly, several men and women jumped out of the woods, weapons drawn.

    Bandit A: ¡°What the hell, there¡¯s no one here?¡±

    Bandit B: ¡°The illusion, should have put them around here.¡±

    Bandit A: ¡°I¡¯m sure there was someone over here a moment ago, they couldn¡¯t have gotten far. Spread out in search for them.¡±

    Ai and Kou were genuinely surprised, seeing several people jumped out of the woods. Nathan decided to trust them a bit more and apparently, they trusted him a bit more as well.

    *Ding**Ding*

    Charisma +3

    From what he just heard the Bandits placed a spell on the area, forcing wanderers, to walk in circles, until their inevitably caught.

    Nathan signaled both them to stay here, they nodded, and Nathan vanish before their eyes. They both looked all around, but no sign of him being there. Then Ai notice one of the Bandits down below, was now laid flat on the ground out cold. Same for Kou, right before his eyes, another Bandit

    fell to the ground and his body was drag into the bushes. The similar pattern played to several more bandits, each being knockout cold and until only one remained.

    *Dong* New title (Prowler) obtained

    Nathan: ¡°(Oh, I¡¯ll checked that out later.)¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Hey, where the hell are you guys?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know if your yelling like that, someone¡¯s gonna notice.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Who said that, show yourself?¡±

    The bandit looked all around, but he couldn¡¯t locate the voices origin. The fact that no one else was around, mean something had happen. Something was able to subdue them all and he wasn¡¯t going to stick around to find out. He started to run away, only to trip over a vine, crashing to the ground.

    Bandit: ¡°Shit, blasted tree, huh whaAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡±

    The vine suddenly wrapped around his leg and hoisted him into the air, dangling him from a branch.

    Bandit: ¡°What the hell is this, this aint no plant I ever seen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡±

    Nathan finally revealed himself, stepping out from the trees.

    Bandit: ¡°Wh-What, you¡¯re that Lycanian, everyone been getting on about.

    Nathan: ¡°And you¡¯re that bandit, who told me all the information on his hideout, his bosses whereabouts and how you knew we were coming.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°I-I¡¯m not telling you a thing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh you will, or else, these vines are gonna invade every major orifice major your body and melt you from the inside out.¡±

    Nathan smiled sadistically, a grim look appeared on the bandit¡¯s face, as the vines slowly begin to position themselves.

    Nathan: ¡°And I do mean ¡°Everyone¡±. Your call.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Gideon: ¡°So you think the Lycanian took them all out by herself, Jonathan, do you hear yourself?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°B-But Terrence.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°I told you not to call me that, I¡¯m Gideon.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Whatever, no one¡¯s around and this is more importantly, no one¡¯s hurt, however some of our Therian got away.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Gill, we lose a few every month, we should be working on getting everything moved quicker, we only got a few more weeks before Loegrey, sweep through this forest. No matter how many counter measures we¡¯ve prepared they will get through. I don¡¯t really have time to care about such things.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Jonathan: ¡°You should, they¡¯re-¡±

    *Knock**Knock

    Bandit: ¡°Boss, she¡¯s here, just like you said.¡±

    A smile crept across Gideon¡¯s face, he didn¡¯t expect her to return so soon, but it was a welcomed arrival. Gideon turned to Gill and put a hand on his shoulder.

    Gideon: ¡°See our stock is replenishing already.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Wait I have to tell you-¡±

    Jonathan could not get a word in, as Gideon hurried out the room. Jonathan frustrated headed out behind him. Walking through the cave, he walked past the hall full of woman in cells, all being kept as pets and trophies for Gideon¡¯s pleasure. The same old situation for each, being held with the promise of being freed, if their loved ones stole and pillage for Gideon. For all cases it ended the same, their family either abandoned them or died trying to save them. However, that just how life was for a mutt, it also didn¡¯t help that his brother had such a strange hobby. Jonathan hurried caught up with Gideon, already, in the middle of taunting, Sari and Kashiro.

    Gideon: ¡°Well you returned ahead of schedule, you mean to tell me you finished everything, in such a short amount of time, it¡¯s only been a few hours.¡±

    Kashiro clenched his fist, they both knew he couldn¡¯t have finished everything in a single afternoon. They all knew why they were there, Gideon just got some thrill out of it.

    Sari: ¡°A-About the offer you made, we are willing to accept.¡±

    Gideon tilted his head and looked at Sari like he was confused.

    Gideon: ¡°Offer, I don¡¯t recall making you an offer. Kashiro, I did make you an offer, come let¡¯s talk like men.¡±

    Kashiro stepped up to Gideon, a huge grin on Gideon¡¯s face, seeing the sheer frustration on Kashiro¡¯s face.

    Kashiro: ¡°M-My children for my wife, I¡­¡­¡­.I want to take you up on the offer.¡±

    Sari understood it was her idea to take the offer, but hearing Kashiro say it out loud, made her heart stop for a second. As it did for Kashiro, the words that left his mouth were like venom, swirling on his taste buds.

    Gideon on the other hand, his heart was a flutter. Every single time this happened he felt his very being shiver with a pleasure indescribable.

    Gideon: ¡°Ah, I knew you¡¯d come around, they always do.¡±

    Gideon patted Kashiro shoulders as if they were old friends, as he laughed.

    Gideon: ¡°Well, let¡¯s not waste any time, Jonathan go get this man his children, I bet they been missing dear old dad. It¡¯s been so long, I hope their still remember your face, always the neglectful father, aren¡¯tcha

    Jonathan shook his head no, much to Gideon confusion.

    Gideon: ¡°A moment please.¡±

    Gideon step away and pulled Jonathan aside. Jonathan chanted, in encased them in a sound blocking bubble.

    Jonathan: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°I was trying to tell you, the ones that got away was his children.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°What!?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°The men who were taking out said they went off with the Lycanian, they were talking about rescuing their parents.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Which means they headed here?¡±

    Gideon¡¯s smile returned, he had thought up a plan, to get what he want and a little extra.

    Gideon turned back to Sari and Kashiro, both staring in confusion to the whole scenario.

    Gideon: ¡°Kashiro my dear friend, it seems we have a small problem.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, so according to this guy, the guys we left back where we met, apparently I didn¡¯t get all of them and they got away. They took a path to get here ahead of us and now they know we¡¯re coming.¡±

    Nathan kept the man tied up, but let down to the ground, he didn¡¯t even have to go through with his threat before he told him everything. A few miles west of the current position, was a set of caverns, that¡¯s where they made their base. It used to belong to a group of monsters, but they were cleared out. At the speed Nathan could currently travel, he could be there within a few minutes.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, from this point on I¡¯m going alone.¡±

    Ai: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can get in, get the drop on leader and be done, faster than anyone could react. But, you both would be a liability.¡±

    Ai: ¡°But, our parents.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When I subdue the leader, everything else should fall in line. I¡¯ll send you parents this way and I¡¯ll take all those bandits back to the guild. My ranks sure to go up after this. So, no following and stay in this tree and out of sight, if you get caught, I not coming to save you.¡±

    Nathan disappeared in front of them again, leaving them both u in the trees. It didn¡¯t take It wasn¡¯t too far away, is was surprising no one had discovered them before, they were pretty deep in the woods, but not too deep, that they couldn¡¯t be found if some looked hard enough. That spell that made one travel back the direction they came, would only get so far. Eventually, someone would catch on to the trick and they would be caught, it felt more like no one was trying to stop them.

    It was just like Ash said, no one cared enough to do anything about it, they would just let the government handle it. That was a lazy excuse, while they set around and waited, many people are getting their lives destroyed by this group. Since majority of the ones being affected are Therian, no one seemed willing to risk their lives, not even their own kind.

    Nathan: ¡°*Sniff sniff*, What the?

    Nathan looked around, frustrated by the familiar scent he picked up. Kou and Ai, seemed to completely disregard what he had told them.

    Nathan: (Wait, how could they be following me, they can¡¯t track me while I¡¯m invisible¡­¡­¡­¡­..unless.)¡±

    Nathan traveled in the direction of the scent and was met with a pleasant surprise. A Therian man, the same type as Kou and Ai, wandering through the woods. He must be their father.

    Nathan: ¡°Well that was a lot less difficult than I thought.¡±

    Nathan was about to jump down, when a thought occurred, why was he wandering around the area. If Nathan assessment was right, the bandits wouldn¡¯t station the parents so close.

    To avoid risk of the family meeting, Nathan would put them Northwest of Borice, since the children were southeast of Loegrey. He didn¡¯t look like was headed in any direction, he just kept circling the spot he was in, like he was waiting for something to happen.

    This was too suspicious, Nathan decided it was better he didn¡¯t reveal himself. At least he wasn¡¯t dead, the kids will be happy to know that. However, Nathan finding him so easily felt more like he was placed there to be found. Nathan decided to take a quick look around, but it didn¡¯t take long for him to find what he was looking for.

    Nathan: ¡°Another Ambush, what are they even thinking right now?)"

    Someone must have got the wrong idea, believing Nathan was here to rescue him. They set him free, to lure Nathan into the trap, but Nathan had no interest in this man, accept the fact that he was alive. Leaving the trap behind, Nathan finally located the bandit¡¯s hideout. A cliffside with several cavern entrances, meant to confuse intruders.

    He was surprised the amount of people on guard, it wasn¡¯t a lot of people, but it was still a fair amount. Nathan looked around, none of the people walking around, match the description he was given. The leader must still be inside. Nathan activated ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± and quickly bounded pass the groups, heading into, one of the lesser guarded tunnels. The entrance he entered was narrow and out of the way. He wasn¡¯t sure if it leads deeper inside or just a one-off cave, either way he could only find out if he searched.

    As he moved about the corridors, just as he thought, there weren¡¯t that many guards. The fact that he took out two groups of them so easily, must have gotten around. They were all outside, unaware that Nathan had already made his way inside.

    The corridors were on dimly lit, which normally wouldn¡¯t bother Nathan. However, for some odd reason, Nathan was finding it difficult to navigate. He was sure he was heading in one direction only to end up going backwards or smacking into a wall. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t see, it was as the cave was shifting around him. He checked his status, to make sure he was okay, but nothing was wrong.

    Nathan: ¡°(What th hell is going on?)¡±

    Nathan put his hand to a cave wall, only to be pricked by a sharp rock. He turned to see what he hurt him and found it to be some type of crystal. He couldn¡¯t tell what color it was, but there was a lot of similar crystals protruding from the cave walls.

    Nathan: ¡°(Examine)¡±

    Echo Crystal Rarity: Common

    [Sort after for its mirror like qualities. Unfortunately, because of its mirror like qualities, it¡¯s difficult navigate the cave system in which they are found.]

    Nathan now understood why this entrance was the lee guarded one, it was naturally protected by th crystal. Since this illusion is of natural occurrence, his abilities weren¡¯t allowing him to see through them.

    Nathan: ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s going on, now I¡¯m totally lo-¡±

    Nathan quickly stopped himself from finishing his statement, he nearly activated an ability he was trying so hard to never activate again.

    Nathan: ¡°(That was close, nearly screwed myself.)"

    Nathan wonder around, trying his best to navigate, but to no avail. He thought about smashing all the crystals, but after initial try, it was confirmed it made to much noise. Plus, the moment he smashed one, another took its place. He was becoming frustrated all he had to do was find the bandit leader, but, there hideout natural defense was interfering with it. As he continued stumbling around, he heard a noise, like a child crying. To sound was bouncing off the walls, making it difficult to pinpoint the location. However, he did a way to track the sound with his eyes, but he truly hated that ability.

    Nathan was slowly coming to the realization that he couldn¡¯t put off using it any longer. Someone might come searching at any time, he didn¡¯t have time to be picky.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit. I¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m Lost.¡±

    *Shhhhhnnnng*

    The moment he said that, the ability ¡°Sensory Overload¡± activated. It allowed him to see smells and sounds with his eyes, but it gave him a huge migraine. It only activates under strict conditions, conditions he wasn¡¯t aware of, until he said he was lost and accidently activated during a rain storm and passed out from the sudden rush of information being received all at once.

    Lucky for him, the cave he was currently in was quiet. Except for the crackling of the few torches, who¡¯s sound looked like mini fireworks, or his footsteps, that looked like vibrations on the floor, there wasn¡¯t any real noise, so his migraine was a mild headache.

    Then he heard the crying again, and a dripping dark blue color, splashed around him like waterless rain drops. It wasn¡¯t pleasant, but he now he could follow the sound and locate the girl.

    With the ability active it didn¡¯t take long to find the source.

    Nathan: ¡°Found it.¡±

    Right after he spoke, ¡°Sensory Overload¡± shut itself off, but he didn¡¯t need it anymore. At the end of the hall, he came across a prison. Iron bar cages outlining the walls and in everyone a Therian woman.

    Nathan was surprised to see, even thought they were captives, their appearance didn¡¯t match, their predicament. No bruises, no ragged clothes, no, dirtied faces, they even wore jewelry. As much as their appearances didn¡¯t match the situation, their expression, didn¡¯t match their looks. Lifeless, fear, hopelessness, none them had even a fraction of color left in their eyes. Nathan felt sorry for them, but he had to find the leader he didn¡¯t see outside, once he had him, everything else would fall into place, including their rescue.

    Just as Nathan turned to leave, the same familiar scent wafted through his nostrils, then there were footsteps. Someone was coming, Nathan didn¡¯t have to worried about being seen, however why take the chance. He quickly moved to the far side wall ducking behind a nearby crate.

    Gideon: ¡°Here we are.¡±

    Into the room stepped to man hauling a therian woman, the man fit the description of the leader he was given, and the woman smelled like Kou and Ai. Nathan watched as the man pushed the woman inside the room.

    Gideon: ¡°Welcome, to my Trophy room.¡±

 Chapter 64: The Fox Hunter

    Chapter 64: The Fox Hunter

    Sari: ¡°Trophy?¡±

    Sari looked around the room, the Therian women behind the cells bars, were all exceedingly beautiful, and the jewelry they wore, if not for the cells, she would have believed them to be nobles.

    Gideon: ¡°Why yes and you the newest member. Aren¡¯t you just overwhelmed with joy?¡±

    Sari: ¡°But, Kashiro, what you told us?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°I meant every word of what I said.¡±

    Gideon had made yet another deal with Kashiro, they learned that the Lycanian had apparently saved their children and were now on the way to rescue their parents. They had heard of the weapons cache, the Lycanian was rumored to have. Jonathan suggested they make a move to obtain said Cache. However, Gideon was much more interested in the tales of her beauty. The more he heard, the more he wanted her. If Kashiro could lead the Lycanian into a trap, then he would allow for them all to go free.

    Gideon: ¡°But you see, I don¡¯t think Kashiro will be coming back.¡±

    Sari: ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Well, it turns out, that the Lycanian killed your husband, it was unavoidable, he just couldn¡¯t get away in time.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Nonsense¡­..how could you know!?¡±

    Sari saw the cynical smile, plastered on Gideon¡¯s face and understood what he meant.

    Sari: ¡°No.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Yes, it is tragic, but if he dies, he can¡¯t keep up his end of the deal, so why should I?¡±

    Sari dropped to her knees and begin to cry while Gideon stood over her, with an expression of peer ecstasy. Nathan watched this all play out, he now got a good idea of this man. Everything from his mannerism to his expression were repulsive, getting off watching people despair. Now he understood the women reaction to this man, there was fear, but more so then that, there was a word that came to mind when seeing him.

    Nathan: ¡°*Whisper*Disgusting.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Oh shit.)¡±

    Gideon turn his attention from Sari, making a beeline in Nathan¡¯s direction. Nathan ready himself, only to quickly realize, he wasn¡¯t the target. Gideon hurriedly opened the cell closes to Nathan and jacking up the young girl inside.

    Gideon: ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­. did you say something?¡±

    Young girl: ¡°N-No!¡±

    *slap*slap*slap*slap*slap*slap*

    Gideon begin to assault the girl, slapping her over and over, with a calm face full of confusion.

    Gideon: ¡°Strange, I could have sworn trophies don¡¯t talk, how could it say no?¡±

    Woman: ¡°P-Please stop, it wasn¡¯t her.¡±

    Gideon, surprised by the women who occupied the same cell, let the girl fall to the floor and begin slapping the other women, as much as the girl before.

    Gideon: ¡°I must be going crazy, this trophy just spoke too, absolutely mindboggling.¡±

    The sound of the slaps echoed throughout the chamber. The other women trying their best to not reacted or suffer the same way. Sari watched in avid horror as the two were assaulted over and over, but after a while, the slapping subsided. Gideon turned to each woman, their faces swollen, but they remained motionless, not so much as a tear, nor a sound pass their lips, this made Gideon smile.

    Gideon: ¡°Aha, so I was hearing things, but now look what I¡¯ve gone and done, I¡¯ll have Jonathan buff out these dents later.¡±

    Comparingly different from his handling moments ago, he gently placed the two back in their chairs, before leaving and locking the cell. With that done he turned, back to Sari, a terrified mess on the floor. She had never been so afraid in her life as she was in this moment. Her brains screamed at her, begged her to run, but her legs just would not get a signal.

    Gideon: ¡°Sorry about that, sometimes I hear voices coming from the trophies, which we know is impossible.¡±

    Gideon picked Sari up off the floor and lead her over to a vacant cell, tossing her inside. Sari turned back, just as Gideon locked the door behind her.

    Gideon: ¡°Now, you stay right there, you¡¯ll have a guest soon enough and then we can begin the engraving process. The engraving will be handled later in my room, it¡¯s actually one of my favorite parts.

    Gideon gave Sari a little wink, that sent a shiver down her spine.

    Gideon: ¡°Then you will officially become a part of my collection.¡±

    Gideon then turned and walked out of the room, leaving the girls to themselves. Nathan came from behind the barrels and looked around the room, even if it was not definite, the sheer relief on everyone¡¯s faces was all too apparent. Nathan turned towards the two who had been beaten, their swollen faces from being slapped repeatedly, looked awful. Nathan put a hand in through the cell bars and down next to the two.

    Nathan: ¡°(Heal!)¡±

    The women were surprised to suddenly be wrapped in a white aura. They were afraid at first, but as their pain subsided and their swollen faces return to normal, the fear went away, leaving only confusion. From nowhere, the wounds healed all by themselves. Nathen didn¡¯t reveal himself, there was no need to, but he had to at least heal them. After all, it was his fault they were beaten.

    Nathan turned to find some of the women, staring at him, or more so at the two behind him and their miraculous recovery. He stepped away, no reason to tempt fate and have himself spotted, but as he walked away, one set of eyes seem to follow his movements. He stepped back and forth, and then he was sure, Sari could see him. He was perplexed¡­..no one¡¯s been able to see him so far, her children couldn¡¯t, so why could she?

    Nathan: ¡°(Pry!)¡±

    Sari: ¡°(Huh?)

    Name: Sari ????? Level: ??

    HP: ???/??? MP: ????/????

    Race: ???????

    Legacy: Aura SketchHelp support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Ability: ????, Flames of Purification

    Ability: Aura Observer

    Stats:

    STH ??

    DEF ??

    INT ???

    AGI ??

    LUCK ??

    Sari jumped in surprise, she felt that Nathan had just done something to her, but she wasn¡¯t sure what. There was no malice, but it was still an unpleasant feeling. Soon, the feeling subsided, Sari looking herself over for any problems.

    The Lycanian all the bandits have been talking about, had shown up and is no one seemed to notice him. Even after he healed those girls, they were all oblivious.

    Nathan was baffled, he could barely read her status screen, even her level was invisible. He didn¡¯t think she was super high leveled, if she was, she could have maybe, taken on that Gideon guy. He should be able to, the only way he could think of that he couldn¡¯t, if she herself were knowingly hiding it. That could be it, after all he couldn¡¯t read Iris¡¯s last name, maybe it was the same thing.

    He would have to check later, right now, he needed to get after that man, all he needed was him and he could claim the reward for capturing the bandit leader. Nathan turn to leave, he still had his scent and since he was out of the area where the Echo Crystal is located, he could easily track him.

    Sari: ¡°W-Wait!¡±

    Nathan and looked back, Sari was surprised he stopped, she wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Nathan wander why she would call out to him, if she wanted him to let her out, she was out of luck.

    Sari: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Nathan was surprised by that, he didn¡¯t expect her to do that. He thought for a moment before taking off, she must be apologizing for agreeing to help capture him. However, from her conversation with Gideon, it appears as though he was planning to kill her husband regardless of the outcome. If that was the case, she must have felt that she needed to apologize for going through with it. Sari watched on as Nathan, disappeared down the hallway.

    Sari: ¡°(His aura, could it be?)¡±

    _

    _

    Gideon was ecstatic; he was soon to have to new trophies to ogle. Both beauties and both rare species, he couldn¡¯t wait. Though, Gideon was wondering what was taking Jonathan so long to return. How long does it take, to capture one Therian girl? His patient was getting the best of him, he would just have to go there himself and speed things along.

    Grabbing his sword, he headed for his door when he noticed that it was slightly ajar. He clearly remembered shutting the door. He made no sudden movements, but took a quick look around. Nothing seemed out of place, had he been mistaken? Looking at the door, he noticed a piece of wood had fallen off and was sticking out toward the door frame.

    Testing it, he found that the piece of wood, prevented the door from shutting. It must of stop the door from closing earlier, they been using theses caves for years, it was common for a little wear and tear. He knocked the piece of wood away and shut the door behind him as he left.

    Nathan stood back from the door as Gideon came out and breathe a sigh of relief, he wasn¡¯t expecting him to be so observant. Nathan had in fact, opened that door to sneak in and it was completely by luck, that the door happened to be damaged.

    As he walked by Nathan readied himself, all he had to do was knock him out and he¡¯d have all the evidence he needed.

    Just as he was going to strike him, his ¡°Threat Detection¡± kicked in, but it was too late. His hand collided with an invisible force, which repulsed Nathan¡¯s attack and forcing him bacwards. Nathan quickly recovered, but Gideon was on him. Both drew their swords at the same time.

    *clang* clang*clang*

    With no introductions needed, the two just begun clashing blades, every strike verberated through the cave. Gideon, brought his sword down putting his wait into his swing, trying to knock the shorter statured Nathan off balance. To his surprise, Nathan not only held his ground, he was able to push right back.

    Gideon: ¡°So there was someone here and to my surprise it¡¯s my soon-to-be trophy. Making me use the last of my barrier rings¡­.how did you get in here?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I walked in, like everyone else.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°I can guarantee, you did no such thing, but if you¡¯re here, then my men are on a fool¡¯s errand. No matter, this way I can discipline you myself, it will be a much more rewarding pay-out taming you directly.¡±

    Gideon smiled that smile again, the hideous smile that brought only one word to mind.

    Nathan: ¡°Disgusting.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°That voice¡­¡­..ah, so that was you back there. That means I dented my trophies for nothing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for your fetish, you fucking pervert. You get off on hurting people, I saw your face when you were hurting those women.

    Gideon: ¡°Fetish, don¡¯t mock my love of trophies, as something so vulgar. And those things are not women, they are my wonderful collection, that I work tirelessly to acquire.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And by acquire, you actually mean, tricked or stole from their families?¡±

    Gideon: Be quiet, do you know how hard I¡¯ve worked? How difficult it is to keep up th maintenance on them, their daily cleanings and polishing, stealing only the finest in jewelry, to adorn them with? Not to mention, the engravings I have to constantly keep up with them or fear it losing its shape of my glory.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..What!?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Yes, every day for my shape, to stay edge into their bodies, I have to constantly, drive my insignia deep into them. Yet every day again and again, it reverts to its original shape. I just can¡¯t understand why they refuse to edge my glory into their bodies, perplexing to say the least.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡­¡­.do you even hear yourself!?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°*sigh* It seems you don¡¯t understand either, but you will, I think I have both you and Sari at the same time. Although, Sari will take a little more maintenance. Having to clean out anything Kashiro might have left behind will prove bothersome. Hopefully, these days of stress have left her inner walls undisturbed.¡±

    Gideon lunged at Nathan, attempting to stab him. Nathan dropped to the ground, from his low position, Gideon¡¯s chest was wide open to attack. Taking the opportunity gifted to him, Nathan ran his sword vertically down Gideon¡¯s chests.

    Gideon: ¡°UGH!¡±

    It was a shallow wound, but blood still trickled down his chest, staining his clothes. Gideon had moved to the side, to avoid major injury, but Nathan wasn¡¯t giving him time to recover and kicked him in his wound.

    Gideon: ¡°Gah!¡±

    Gideon smacked into the cave wall, before rolling to the ground. A definite crack, could be heard, when he hit the wall, the sound bringing Nathan back to his senses. Once he saw Gideon sprawled out on the ground, he remembered how he needed him alive. What Gideon said, had angered more than had thought it would.

    Gideon wobbled to his feet, the wound had gotten worse from the kick, blood now flowing steadily. He held his side in pain, but he could still move, so wasn¡¯t enough to put his life in danger. Didn¡¯t matter either way though, because Nathan, would make sure to heal him up later.

    Gideon: *Cough* You, you fucking mutt, you¡¯ll pay!¡±

    Gideon raised his sword into the air, from that distance It wouldn¡¯t reach, but Nathan¡¯s ¡°Threat Detection¡±, warned him otherwise.

    Nathan: ¡°Woah!?¡±

    Nathan jumped out of the way, as several beams of energy flew at him. Looking to where the attacks had landed, everything the attack struck, had been split in two.

    Gideon: ¡°Ugh, well I¡¯m surprised, it been awhile since I¡¯ve been injured and even longer since anyone¡¯s dodge that attack.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What was that?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Now why on Leseres, would I tell you that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Fine then, (Pry)!¡±

    Gideon: ¡°What this?¡±

    Gideon quickly notice the magic and launched another beam, stopping Nathan ability from working.

    Nathan: ¡°Shit!¡±

    Nathan avoided two of the attacks reflexively, the last put a gash in his arm.

    Nathan: ¡°Damn!¡±

    Nathan healed the wound, stopping the blood. He only got a glimpse of his status screen, but he got what he needed. ¡°Blade Beam¡±, basically from its name, he can fire off beams a sharp as blades. More than that, Nathan¡¯s clothes were tweaked with a Chain Mails defense, yet the blade was able to cut through his sleeves. He couldn¡¯t afford a direct hit from that in the wrong spot.

    Gideon: ¡°Oh, you can heal as well, that will come in handy, I won¡¯t have to waste as many tomes or hear Jonathan¡¯s complaints. That said, that magic, just now, what exactly we¡¯re you trying to do to me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why on Leseres, would I tell you that?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°You are starting to irritate me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If this irritates, you¡¯re gonna be seething, when you see my big surprise. (All jokes aside, this isn¡¯t good).¡±

    This wasn¡¯t going as planned, he wasn¡¯t expecting this to take so long or for him to be so formidable. He looked around, the cave walls were covered in rock and only a few places he could grow plants. He had been setting them up, but it wasn¡¯t enough. He could only hope Gideon¡¯s men, didn¡¯t catch on just yet or it would get a lot tougher.

 Chapter 65: Fox Rebellion

    Chapter 65: Fox Rebellion

    Kashiro walked his circle, for the twentieth time. Turning every which way hoping for some movement, but nothing happened.

    Kashiro: ¡°Almighty Xana, please for the sake of my family, let her show.¡±

    Kashiro was a nervous wreck, taking Gideon¡¯s offer to free his family, by helping to capture the Lycanian, it didn¡¯t sit well with his wife. However, truth be told, Kashiro had other ideas. Kashiro thought about it and what Gideon said, didn¡¯t make a whole lot of sense. The Lycanian abducted his children and now she was headed to confront the ones who set the trap. Why not just leave, why not tell the guards in Loegrey, why come alone, none of it made sense.

    Kashiro has spent enough time with Gideon to understand, some of his train-of-thought. Kashiro, knew of the rumors of the beautiful Lycanian, if Gideon wants her alive, he must want to add her, to his collection. Furthermore, why abduct his children, the would be an obvious hindrance? It would be more plausible, if she was helping them instead. It was the only reason he could think of, that what warrant them, using him as bait.

    If he was right and the Lycanian was coming here to rescue them, this was his chance. If he could just find her, he would then betray Gideon and help the Lycanian save his family. He wouldn¡¯t let Gideon have his way any longer, for the sake of reuniting his family, he will turn against his captives.

    Jonathan, not too far off from Kashiro, waited impatiently for something to happen. He was told that the Lycanian race were great trackers, at least that what was written in documents, he had read. So why hadn¡¯t she shown yet?

    Jonathan: ¡°Something isn¡¯t right.¡±

    No matter how you put it, from the area the Lycanian was last sighted, she should have reached this area by now. Kashiro¡¯s scent should be similar to his children, so there¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t have not notice. She should have made herself known by now, could she be on to them? Even, if that were so, nothing has happened. Jonathan looked around carefully, none of his men had fallen asleep or disappeared. Furthermore, the plants in the area hadn¡¯t change, as far as he could tell. He had his spell books filled with fire magic, just in case, the need arises. Jonathan mind ran a mile a minute, trying to figure out what was taking so long.

    Jonathan: ¡°(Wait, why would she help someone who led her into a trap? Not to mention take on a group of bandits by herself, unless there was something else she wanted?)¡±

    Jonathan looked up to Kashiro, it had been way too long, perhaps Kashiro wasn¡¯t the target. They did have a stockpile of stolen riches, if that was the target then Gideon could be in trouble.

    Jonathan: ¡°We¡¯re heading back, you three, come with me, the rest, keep watching Kashiro.¡±

    Jonathan and the three he chose began to head back, before Jonathan stopped and turned to one of men.

    Jonathan: ¡°If no one shows within the next twenty minutes, you know what to do.¡±

    With that said, Jonathan hurried away, the man he assigned the job, pulling out a dagger, ready to end Kashiro.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Gideon: ¡°You can¡¯t dodge forever.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s debatable.¡±

    Gideon continued to launch attack after attack, preventing Nathan from countering, but it helped in a way to. While he was bouncing around, any spot he could find soft soil, he would leave a seed and he nearly had enough. The flowers were beginning to sprout and soon would take effect. Nathan just continued to dodge the assault, while pretending to counter attack, but if he did land a hit, all the better.

    Gideon: ¡°Well, how about this?¡±

    Gideon launch in attack, aiming for where Nathan was landing. Nathan threw his sword at the incoming attack, it negated the beam but the force of the attack, sent the sword flying off, out of reach.

    Gideon: ¡°Looks like you lost your weapon, but I see you got another on your back. If you take to long to draw, I must just cut you down.

    Nathan: ¡°Hah, Like you could. I¡¯d never soil that blade with your disgusting bodily fluids; I¡¯m sure it would decay.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Gideon: ¡°Why you-¡±

    Nathan continued to rouse Gideon to attack, keeping him distracted from his plan. He finally had enough seeds and placed, all he had to do was maneuver Gideon, into the right position.

    *Shwiiiiiiiiiiip*

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Gideon launched another attack, but not at Nathan. With lightning precision, he cut down all of Nathan¡¯s sprouting plants.

    Gideon: ¡°Do you take me for a fool? You think I didn¡¯t know, about your ability over plants? I lived in these caves long enough to recognize what doesn¡¯t belong, plants are on the very top of the list.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Tch.¡±

    Nathan was running low on time, his plants getting cut down wasn¡¯t helping either. But then, Nathan notice something, Gideon was breathing loud and heavy, but had he not notice it himself?

    He must be running low on Mana, the constant flurry of attacks, must be taken its toll. This could work, there was a shot, he didn¡¯t have his plants, but with his speed and abilities he could do it. He just needed to allow Gideon, to take himself out.

    _

    _

    Kou: ¡°Ai, where are you going?¡±

    Kou chase after his sister, yelling for her to stop. She had become impatient and decided to head over to the bandit¡¯s hideout.

    Ai: ¡°Stay here, it¡¯s not safe.¡±

    Kou: ¡°But, what are you going to do, you can¡¯t save mom and dad by yourself?¡±

    Ai: ¡°And you want to leave it up to that woman, she blatantly said, she had no plan to rescue them. Even if she catches the leader, what about the rest? You think they will just let her walk out if there?¡±

    Kou: ¡°But, mom and dad, might not even be there. You remember what she said? Gideon was using all of us, to steal for him. What happens if we go there and mom dad aren¡¯t there? We would just get in the way.¡±

    Ai: ¡°It¡¯s better then, sitting around here waiting for something that might not happen.¡±

    Kou: ¡°No, she said she will send them our way right, I think she plans to rescue them.¡±

    Ai: ¡°That¡¯s not reassuring, Kou.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Then why even say that, after she said she wasn¡¯t going to save them, doesn¡¯t it contradict?¡±

    Ai thought a little, it was strange to say, she would send their parents this way, if she had no intention on setting them free first. However, that vague chain of thought, wasn¡¯t enough for Ai, she needed something concrete and what was more concrete than doing it yourself?

    Kou grabbed his sisters hand, forcing her to stop. She tried to shake him loose, but he refuses to let her go.

    Ai: ¡°Kou, let go.¡±

    Kou: ¡°No, we need to wait here.¡±

    Ai: ¡°They¡¯re not coming.¡±

    Kou: ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Well I do, and I can guarantee you, they are not coming.¡±

    Ai and Kou, turned to see several people step out of the woods. Ai cursed herself, the warning Nathan left them, about sticking to the trees, stab her in the chest.

    Bandit: ¡°Well, Jonathan was right, we been looking for you kids. We¡¯ll be needing you to come with us, we¡¯d like to hear more about the Lycanian¡¯s plan for our boss.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Ai.¡±

    Ai: ¡°Stay behind me.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Look here kids, we don¡¯t want to have to hurt you, so none of that fancy foot work, okay?¡±

    Ai signaled Kou to moved, with there leg work, they could both as easily make it to the top of the trees, as Nathan did.

    *Bam*

    However right before they could make a move, Ai was suddenly, smashed in the head from behind, knocking her to the ground.

    Kou: ¡°AI!?¡±

    Ai tried to get up, but the woman who hit her, quickly pinned her back down.

    Bandit: ¡°Alright kid, if you don¡¯t want us to hurt your sister, no fooling around.¡±

    Ai: ¡°KOU, RUN, AAAAHHHHHHH!¡±

    The woman began bending Ai¡¯s arm in an awkward position, causing her to scream in pain.

    Kou: ¡°Ai!¡±

    Ai: ¡°K-Kou, GAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!¡±

    Kou: ¡°Stop, you¡¯re hurting her. I won¡¯t run, just stop.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Good boy.¡±

    The bandit woman, stopped her assault on Ai, but kept her pinned down. The man, walked over and reached out for Kou, who put his head down. With his sister capture and the Lycanian gone, there were as good as dead.

    Bandit: ¡°What the hell, AH, AAAAAAHHHHHHH!?¡±

    Kou¡¯s head snapped up, the bandit who reached for him, his hand began twisting in an unnatural way. A moment later, the woman holding Ai, started to scream as well. Soon, the rest followed, screaming in pain, as their arms were twisted in awkward positions. Free from the bandit¡¯s grasp. Ai quickly shuffled over to her brother, while rubbing her sore arms.

    Ai: ¡°Kou, how are you doing this?¡±

    Kou: ¡°Me, I thought it was you.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Its¡¯ neither of your doing.¡±

    Ai and Kou jumped at the voice, it took a moment, but they both recognize it. The anonymous voice from before, belong to the invisible person, the Lycanian was speaking to had returned.

    By some unseen force, the group of bandit¡¯s arms and legs, were being twisted in unnatural ways. Iris twisted them in a way, that brought them extreme amounts of pain, without breaking them.

    Kou and Ai stared in fear and amazement, wondering who the voice belong to and how she was doing what she was doing.

    Iris: ¡°You gather in groups to assault on children, let¡¯s see how much you enjoy, your arms twisted in awkward positions.

    Iris made an unseen turn, towards Ai and Kou.

    Iris:You two, please avert your eyes and cover your ears, the following, will not be particularly pleasant.¡±

 Chapter 66: Fox Hunters Downfall

    Chapter 66: Fox Hunters Downfall

    Gideon: ¡°Stand still!¡±

    Nathan jumped around the room, continuing his pattern of dodging, attacking and planting. While avoiding the attacks, Nathan lost balance for a moment, but that was all Gideon needed.

    Nathan: ¡°Gaah!¡±

    Nathan groaned in pain as one of Gideon¡¯s attacks put a gash in his side. It wasn¡¯t anything that he couldn¡¯t heal right away, but it leads Gideon to believe, he was doing damage.

    In fact, Nathan was allowing himself to be hit; the more it looked like he was hurt, the less likely Gideon would pick up on what was happening. As he was allowing Gideon to actually hit him, Nathan, replanted his seeds but unfortunately the moment they sprouted, they got cut down. Nathan continued misdirecting Gideon¡¯s attention in this way and whenever he got close enough, he would misdirect his attention a little more.

    *Bam*

    Gideon: ¡°Ugh!?¡±

    Nathan quickly delivered an elbow to Gideon¡¯s chest and a cracking noise could be heard on impact. Nathan went for another strike, but Gideon quickly swung his blade at Nathan but Nathan avoided his attacks, keeping distance, while Gideon tried desperately to hit him with his attacks.

    Gideon held his hands to his chest in pain, another one of his ribs had been fractured from the attack. By now, Gideon, was a mess with two cracked ribs, blood trickling from his wounds and his fatigue increasing he had still yet to notice these wounds. However, Gideon did notice something; none of Nathan¡¯s attacks were lethal. Now that he thought about it, when they¡¯d first met, she hadn¡¯t had her sword drawn.

    Gideon: ¡°*Pant**Pant* I don¡¯t get you¡­if you wanted to save these people here, killing me would be the easiest way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hah, I¡¯m no hero or have any interest in saving the people here. My only reason for coming here is you. And you¡¯re no use to me dead.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°What, you¡¯re not here for Kashiro and Sari?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Didn¡¯t I just say that..? I¡¯m here for the bounty on you.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Huh, you¡¯re an adventurer?...your trying to complete that quest?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Haha¡­hahaha¡­hahahahahahahah!¡±

    Nathan looked on in confusion as Gideon began to laugh out maniacally.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­I missed the joke.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Fool, I know of that quest. They are looking for Therian bandits and they won¡¯t believe a word you say.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re the fool; I¡¯ve got plenty of proof in these caves.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°There¡¯s not much left; almost everything we¡¯ve taken has been moved out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not talking about your gold, dumbass; I¡¯m talking about what you got locked in that room back there.¡±

    Gideon¡¯s face twitched in which Nathen took notice of.

    Nathan: ¡°I bet the guards in Loegrey would love to see it; I¡¯ll bet they¡¯ll confiscate them, one of the guards might even try his a little of his own engraving.¡±

    Nathan quickly jumped out of the way, as several blade-beams were shot in quick succession towards him.

    Gideon: ¡°YOU BITCH; NONE SHALL TOUCH MY TREASURES, WITH THEIR FILTHY HANDS.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, someone looks angry, well, at least the face now matches your personality.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°SHUT YOUR MOUTH, MUTT!¡±

    Nathan took off again, Gideon immediately launching his attacks. Gideon was wildly lashing out, the finesse of his attacks, gone. Nathan easily avoided the attacks, but however to his surprise and delight, Gideon was foolishly, closing the distance between them himself. In his rage, he had moved within Nathan¡¯s striking distance.

    *Bam* *Thwack* *Crunch*

    Nathan smashed Gideon three times, the third hit sending him skidding across the ground, crashing into the ground.

    Gideon: ¡°Gagh!¡±

    Gideon coughed up some blood, as he looked up towards Nathan in shock. He couldn¡¯t believe how fast Nathan had got; it was as if those last three strikes were invisible. He tried to stand and lift his weapon, but it felt heavy. Then it hit him; he was too tired, exhausted in fact.

    He checked his health; it was half gone. More importantly however; his mana, was nearly empty. Nathan hadn¡¯t gotten faster, he¡¯d had gotten slower. It had been so long since anyone had been able to dodge his attacks that he never thought to check his status. He had grown too cocky; believing no one could touch him and this was a much-needed reality check.

    Nathan: ¡°Looks like you finally noticed; too late for that though.¡±

    Gideon couldn¡¯t take much more, but he still had a small chance. A head-to-head battle will bring his defeat to fruition. It would take almost all the mana he had left, but no one has ever survived this attack. He took a stance and readied himself, Nathan wasn¡¯t going to let him do what he wanted and launched himself towards Gideon.

    Gideon: ¡°Sword Rain!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?

    Gideon made one large vertical swing of his blade. An uncountable amount of energy blades barreled down on Nathan. There were too many, too much than he could dodge. The attack, took up the space in the cavern and its entirety, leaving no room for swift evasions.

    Nathan: ¡°Shit!¡±

    Nathan did the only thing he could do and that was retreat. He activated ¡®Shadow Sneak¡¯ and bounded backwards. Jumping into a side cavern he nearly avoided being skewered by the attacks. The attack continued in a straight path, kicking up a cloud of dust, as it tore the cavern apart.

    As the attack subsided, Nathan, emerged from the side cavern to find the attack had carved deep impressions into the cavern walls. The walls had been carved out, no rubble or debris left. Without a single blemish, the walls were smooth to the touch.

    Nathan expected to see Gideon laid out on the floor. After that attack there was no way he had any mana remaining. It was a last resort ability, if he ever saw one, and a desperate attack for a desperate situation. Once the dust settled, to his surprise, Gideon was nowhere to be found.

    Nathan: ¡°What the¡­? Where¡¯d he¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. shit, he got me.¡±

    Nathan took off after Gideon, the attack was a distraction and he was trying to escape. However, Gideon didn¡¯t know that with the blood he was losing, Nathan could track him as easily as breathing and with seconds, caught his scent. No matter how many different corridors he took, Nathan would soon be upon him.

    *Step*Step*Step*

    Nathan: ¡°There you are.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Nathan could see Gideon¡¯s back, desperately running along, while holding his arm. Just as Gideon ran through an opening, Nathan made a grab for him, only for his ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ to activate.

    Gideon: ¡°NOW!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nathan instinctively leaned forward, as two blade wielding bandits, tried to take his head off from either side. In his down position, Nathan bent on his hands, kicking one bandit in the face, before kicking the other. Nathan got back to his feet, just in time for the next group to attack. Nathan caught the bandits arm, as he attempted to stab him with a dagger.

    Bandit B: ¡°HOLD HER STEADY!¡±

    Another bandit tried to stab him from behind, still holding the man¡¯s arm, Nathan pulled the bandit forward and step to the side.

    Bandit A: ¡°Whoa!?¡±

    Bandit B: ¡°Watch it!¡±

    With weapons drawn, the two collided with one another, each injuring the other with each¡¯s blade. Nathan had no time to rest, as he reflexively avoided an arrow aimed for his head.

    Gideon: ¡°Watch it you idiots, I don¡¯t want her dead.¡±

    Bandit C: ¡°S-S-Sorry.¡±

    Several more were fired in his direction, which he avoided.

    *Swoosh**Swoosh**Thwick*

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh!

    Nathan ducked behind a large rock, but not before taking an arrow to the arm. He had goofed; Gideon wasn¡¯t running away, he was leading Nathan into a trap. Nathan pulled out the arrow, allowing the wound to heal. He tossed the arrow to the side as he was a little surprised¡­who would have guessed the arrow hit right where his clothes had been ruined. Someone was extremely skilled or just extremely lucky.

    *Ding* *Ding*

    <u>Conditions Met!</u>

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­This is?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Terrence¡­you alright?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°*Pant**Pant* Do I look alright?¡±

    Jonathan pulled out a tome and placed a hand over Gideon.

    Jonathan: ¡°Recover.¡±

    Slowly, Gideon¡¯s health began to rise, but he was still dirt-tired, his mana would take some time to recover.

    He was tired and broken, but it didn¡¯t matter now. Jonathan and the rest of his men had arrived, a subtle army and more than enough to take out the Lycanian.

    Jonathan: ¡°Drink this.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Agh, Viim, you know I hate that stuff.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Shut up and drink.¡±

    Gideon reluctantly took a sip of the green concoction. Slowly, he felt a bit of his exhaustion disappear and was able to lift himself off the ground.

    Gideon: ¡°Did you get her?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Yes; it looks like one of the arrows met its mark, it should be taking effect any moment now.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Good.¡±

    Gideon got himself together, returning to somewhat of his former self.

    Gideon: ¡°Lycanian¡­it seems our fight is over¡­you¡¯ve nowhere to run.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Nothing to say¡­? You just gonna give up or is it something else?¡±

    Nathan continued to stay quiet, making Gideon snicker. The poison from the arrow, must have taken effect. He signaled several of his men to investigate. Slowly they approached the rock.

    Jonathan: ¡°Be careful, unless you want to end up like those two.¡±

    The two who had stab themselves, were lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.

    The two men gulped loudly, it was only a moment, but they saw what Nathan was capable of; taking out two of their men in an instant.

    However, they gave a sigh of relief when they saw the Lycanian laid out on the ground behind the rock. Cautiously they approached, nudging him a few times. When he didn¡¯t respond, they signaled it was okay and brought Nathan over to Gideon.

    Gideon smiled so bright. He had just claimed another trophy. It had been a bit strenuous, but it was worth it. Such a beautiful trophy was now his.

    Gideon: ¡°And to think you were so full of yourself just moments ago.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Quickly, take her to a cell.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Huh, so soon?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Regardless, of how you feel, that poison could wear off any minute. Do you really want her to wake sooner than later?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Hmm, I guess you¡¯re right.¡±

    Gideon gave the order and the men hurried off.

    Bandit C: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Bandit A: ¡°She¡¯s wet, this sticky shits¡¯ dripping down my shirt.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°It¡¯s called sweat you fool, deal with it.¡±

    The bandit reluctantly continued towards the entrance of their base.

    Gideon: ¡°Right, what of Kashiro, is it done?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Yes, I had it taken care of it, they should be back momentarily.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°You didn¡¯t do it yourself; that¡¯s very unlike you.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Fine, next time, I won¡¯t come to your rescue.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Whatever, I didn¡¯t need you help anyway.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Said the man who was hal-¡±

    Bandit B: ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Gideon and Jonathan turn to his men, the one carrying Nathan, had suddenly come to a stop.

    Jonathan: ¡°What are you doing, get moving.¡±

    Bandit A: ¡°Gehege!?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..QUICKLY, SUBDUE THE WOMAN!¡±

    Jonathan¡¯s scream fell on deaf ears, Nathan had sprung up. Using the bandit¡¯s body as leverage, he leapt high into the air. The bandit collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed from the neck down.

    Jonathan: ¡°SHOOT HER!¡±

    Gideon: ¡°NO, DON¡¯T SHOOT HER!¡±

    Due to Jonathan¡¯s and Gideon¡¯s contradicting orders, everyone hesitated. Nathan took the chance and faced his palm towards the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°Venom Burst!¡±

    A rune symbol appeared in front of Nathan¡¯s hand and from it a mass of purple ooze emerged. Like an oversized drop of rain, it splashed around and outwards after landing next to Gideon. Jonathan, who was standing next to Gideon, jumped away from the splash zone, but was caught a bit with the purple liquid.

    Like a small wave, the ooze continued outward, knocking a few people over.

    Gideon: ¡°What is this?¡±

    Gideon, along with several of his men, waited for something to happen yet all was calm. Gideon was disgusted, being covered in the purple ooze, but after nothing happened he turned his attention back towards Nathan. Nathan stood there, smirking, as he watched the group dismiss his attack. However, he felt a bit tired, he had used a lot more mana then he needed to, but it was his first attempt at magic.

    Gideon: ¡°Hah; was that it¡­? You should work on your aim.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No need for aim, give it a sec.¡±

    The only one who looked worried was that Jonathan guy as he rummaging through a pack he had slung over his chest. He must have understood the urgency of the situation, but it was too late.

    Bandit: ¡°Gaabhghh!?¡±

    Similar to the bandit from before, another bandit spoke something incomprehensible before falling over.  Soon, everyone who had been caught by the purple liquid, fell over as well. Gideon and Jonathan had also fallen over and Gideon was confused as to what had happened. However, Jonathan, was quick on the uptake.

    Jonathan: ¡°Poison?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like I¡¯d tell you that, but I will say that you help me to do it. I¡¯ll take this.¡±

    Nathan grabbed the bag Jonathan was clinging to. Inside the bag was a mess of papers and small bottles. He couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of the papers, but a quick ¡®Examine¡¯ would be able to discern the content of the bottles. Nathan noticed that Jonathan was still clutching one bottle in his hand. When he reached for it, a familiar voice from above, distracted him.

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Iris floated down to Nathan, a worried expression on her face as she approached. Nathan clothes were ragged and he was breathing heavily.

    Iris: ¡°Master, are you alright? Did they hurt you? Shall I dispose of them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, no and no. Iris I¡¯m fine, just a little dirty.¡±

    Iris hovered around Nathan, looking for injuries, all the while Nathan assuring her he was fine.

    Iris: ¡°What exactly happened here?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I poisoned them.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Poisoned?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, I¡¯ll give you the details later, what took you so long?¡±

    Iris: ¡°My apologies, it was much tougher then I suspected. A good number of people heard the rumors about Ramol. I had no choice but to help tidy up the riff-raff. Ah, also, I came across the children you were with previously. They were being assaulted by a large group of bandits, so I helped them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You revealed yourself?

    Iris: ¡°I didn¡¯t.  I lead them by using my voice, but I ran into some trouble as there were a bunch of bandits hiding in the woods. I disposed of them, but there was a man who looked similar to the children. However, before I could say anything, the children and the man, all embraced one another. I didn¡¯t feel like waiting for them, so I left them there.¡±

    That man must have been their father; they¡¯ve must have been too busy with their reunion to notice Iris had left.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s good. Leave them, they most probably need a moment. In the meantime, could you do me another favor?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Of course.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If you go in through that entrance, you¡¯ll find a set of cells, could you open all of them. Oh, and there will be one woman in there, she¡¯ll probably be able to see you, could you let her know her family¡¯s waiting.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Iris took off into the caves, leaving Nathan with the unconscious group of bandits.  He was originally going to go open the cells himself and make Gideon watch as he helped them out. However, it wasn¡¯t that funny, but he would wait for him to wake up.

 Chapter 67: Freedom?

    Chapter 67: Freedom?

    Sari: ¡°Ai, Kou!¡±

    Ai & Kou: ¡°Mom!¡±

    With tears on their face, Kou and Ai, jumped into their mother¡¯s embrace. Koshige soon joined them, no words were spoken, after months of enslavement the family was reunited.

    Other women emerged from the cave, shielding their eyes from the sunlight. A few dropped to their knees, after being held captive for so long, they had forgotten the warmth of the heavenly body. Nathan walked up to the women who emerged, surprised it was the Dark-skinned Lycanian, the bandits had been raving about.

    Women: ¡°Are you the one who set us free, our new master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nope, none of that, you¡¯re all free to go. I don¡¯t really know where, but your free to decide.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Hmmmph, hhhhmmmmmppppphhhhhh!!!!¡±

    Gideon begin to flail again, seeing his trophies being set free and walking around, sent him over the edge. While they slept, Nathan tied him all down with vines, to prevent escape. The vines around him began to tighten, but he didn¡¯t care. The women flinched from the sight, but Nathan quickly cracked him across the skull, knocking him out.

    Nathan: ¡°Fricking idiot; don¡¯t go killing yourself before I get my reward.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Reward?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, remember that quest about Therian thieves? These are the real masterminds behind the attacks. With this and whatever I can find in that cave, I¡¯m gonna be able to rank up.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Then should we retrieve the ones I left in the woods?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You said you¡¯d deposed of them?¡±

    Iris: ¡°They¡¯re still alive, there just unable to move.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, then yes. The more I turn in, the less there will be that could retaliate.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What will happen to them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, after I turn these guys in, they¡¯ll be free to go anywhere. I¡¯m sure most will probably go looking for their families, but they most likely won¡¯t get the reunion they were hoping for.¡±

    Nathan watched all the women that looked around for any signs of their families, others just stared at him confused and scared. Nathan said they were free, but that was a hard thing to accept. Many of them had spent years with Gideon, their families they once had, possibly now just a distant memory. A lot of them were abandoned and if they showed up now, as cruel as it is, they could be seen as nuisances to their families who long since moved on.

    While thinking about things, the fox family¡¯s reunion had come to an end.

    Iris: ¡°What do we do about her; it¡¯s a problem that she can see me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet.¡±

    As if on cue, Sari, strolled over to Nathan and Iris together the rest of her family in tow.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Sari: ¡°We would like to thank you for what you¡¯ve done.¡±

    Koshige: ¡°Yes, without your help we wouldn¡¯t be able to be together.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No need for that, I wasn¡¯t really trying to help. It just so happened events turned out this way.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Still, thank you very much.¡±

    Kou tugged at Ai¡¯s clothes and pulled her in front of Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Kou bowed his head.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Kou: ¡°Even if you say otherwise, thank you for saving our parents.¡±

    Ai looked away, but the prodding from her brother made, forced her forward.

    Ai: ¡°T-Thanks I guess.¡±

    Still bowing, Kou threw a stern look at Ai, who quickly bowed as well.

    Ai: ¡°No, I apologize for the way I acted, my sincerest thanks for all you¡¯ve done.¡±

    Nathan gasped loudly at Ai, pretending to be shocked.

    Nathan: ¡°What? You can be sincere¡­? Who are you and what have you done with Ai!?¡±

    Ai: ¡°Y-You!?¡±

    Ai flailed her arms, while Kou held her back, Nathan laughing at her reaction. While he fooled around, one of the women approached him and tap his shoulder.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Women A: ¡°Hey, are we really free to leave?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah sure, if your worried about him, he won¡¯t be coming after you, I¡¯m turning him over to Loegrey.¡±

    Women B: ¡°Then, have you seen anyone else, people being forced to steal?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Besides those two, no-one, they¡¯re probably out stealing. I¡¯m sure besides around here tied up, everyone else is still unaware of the situation here.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to save them too?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything of the sort. I got what I came for. Like I said, I didn¡¯t come here to save you, my prize is the people tied up here.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°Then what are we supposed to do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whatever you do, it better be away from here. Sooner or later, more of those bandits are gonna show up and if they catch you again, no one¡¯s coming to your rescue.¡±

    Nathan words seem to hit home, they would surely be delivered back to hell, if more of the bandits showed up.

    Sari: ¡°Wait.¡±

    Everyone turned to Sari, calling for them to stop, as they were about to disperse.

    Sari: ¡°Please, come with us. It not safe for you out there.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°It¡¯s not safe anywhere for any Therian.¡±

    Sari: ¡°No, there is. Our home, a safe haven for all Therians, we can take you there.¡±

    Koshige: ¡°Sari?¡±

    Koshige was surprised to hear Sari mention their home. Something like this, he¡¯d never heard before.

    Sari: ¡°Everything¡¯s fine my love, these women need our help.¡±

    Woman C: ¡°Thank you, but I need to find my family.¡±

    Sari: ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea, she¡¯s captured the leader, but there are more of them still out there.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°So, you expect us to just abandon our families?¡±

    Sari: ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, it¡¯s just the current circumstances--¡±

    Sari trailed off her sentence at the end, but Nathan pretty much knew what she was going to say. However, Nathan had said his peace, what they did now was of no concern to him.

    Woman A: ¡°Then what, if you have nothing else to say then, I have to go.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Please wait.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°Enough, I waited for seven years, not a minute more.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just go with her, you can¡¯t do anything about your family anyway.¡±

    Everyone turned their attention to Nathan, he felt the conversation was going to be unnecessarily long and he needed to hurry. Some of the women didn¡¯t like Nathan¡¯s remarks, it seemed heartless, but he didn¡¯t care. They were acting like idiots.

    Woman A: ¡°Who the hell do you think you are.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The one who just set you free.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°And thank you for that, but you said you will do nothing else, so I have to do it myself. I gonna find my family.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And do what exactly? Get yourself captured again? Because that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen if you go looking for them.¡±

    The woman looked away, understanding that was a distinct possibility.

    Nathan: ¡°Once I turn him in, the news will spread about it to all the others in his gang. When that happens, your family will have a chance to get away.¡± When you¡¯ve healed and got your minds together, go look for them then. Right now, you¡¯ll just end up getting yourselves killed for nothing.¡±

    The woman sucked through her teeth; she hated it, but Nathan was right. They couldn¡¯t do anything for their families right now and getting caught again wouldn¡¯t help anyone.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, then again you can do what you want, I won¡¯t stop you. It¡¯s getting late so I¡¯m gonna get going.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Ah, before you go, may I have a word in private?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, I actually want to speak to you as well.¡±

    Sari: ¡°My love, could you help get them ready to leave?¡±

    Ai: ¡°We¡¯ll help dad.¡±

    Kou: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Koshige understood and lead the children away, the three consoling different women, in an attempt to get them ready to leave. Sari and Nathan stepped away, just out of ear-shot.

    Nathan: ¡°You want to ask about Iris?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Yes, but I was more interested in you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Nathan stared at Sari, he couldn¡¯t think any other reason she would want to speak with him. She could see both Iris and him in their invisible states, it wasn¡¯t too far-fetched to assume she knew he was the Hero.

    Nathan: ¡°What could possibly want from me?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Well, I¡¯m just a little confused about something. All the others I¡¯ve met said the races of our world are nothing like their world. What reason what they have had to lie to me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They?...what are you talking about?¡±

    Sari looked puzzle for a moment, but after she spoke, Nathan¡¯s reaction said everything.

    Sari: ¡°I¡¯m referring to you being a traveler, aren¡¯t you from Earth?¡±

 Chapter 68: Broken Trophies

    Chapter 68: Broken Trophies

    Iris: ¡°Earth, what is that?¡­¡­¡­¡­Master?¡±

    Nathan was at a loss for words, to hear someone casually mention Earth.

    Iris: ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Earth¡­..it¡¯s the name of my world, you know?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Yes, other¡¯s like you, who were summoned to Leseres, told me tales of Earth.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Others from Earth?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Yes, the few of us who know them refer to them as ¡°Travelers¡±. Like you, for no apparent reason, they were all brought here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No reason, they just showed up one day?¡±

    Sari: ¡°From the accounts I heard, most said they either woke up here, or had suddenly appeared her without any indication on how they arrived.¡±

    Nathan had already come to that conclusion, it would have been strange if he was the only one who¡¯s ever arrived from Earth. However, the way they arrived here, didn¡¯t sound like a summoning. Since she believes he¡¯s a traveler, that means she doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s the ¡®Hero¡¯.

    Though, the thought of being suddenly brought to a strange world, while going about your day, it must have been stressful for the ones arriving and the ones being left behind. Nathan was all too familiar with people vanishing without a trace, this could very well be the cause.

    Nathan: ¡°(No, no, don¡¯t go there, you¡¯re past this.)¡±

    He shook his head, to clear his thoughts, he nearly took himself to a place he didn¡¯t want to go again.

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m fine Iris, hey do you know where they are?

    Sari: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, though I can tell who they are, I don¡¯t know where they might be at this moment. It was during my travels, they may no longer in the places where we first crossed paths.¡±

    Nathan was half disappointed half relieved, he didn¡¯t want to get distracted and with this he wouldn¡¯t.  While Nathan was getting a grip on his feelings, Iris flew in front of him if to protect.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°You, how did you discern Master was not a resident of Leseres? You conveniently left that point out.¡±

    Nathan quickly realized he had dropped his guard while lost in thought. However, Iris was having none of that, she was on-point, and Nathan could feel the slightest bit of mana gathering around her. Sari must have felt the hostility, she threw her hands in front while shaking her head hurriedly.

    Sari: ¡°Wait, wait, it was his Aura.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My Aura?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Elaborate.¡±

    Sari: ¡°The color of your mana, it¡¯s what is referred to as your aura. Everyone has a color, a set color that does not change. However, his is multitude of colors, a characteristic only those from Earth share and a certain other group of people. Since he¡¯s definitely not one of them, he can only be from Earth. That¡¯ how I can tell he isn¡¯t from Leseres.¡±

    Iris: ¡°And would you know he not one of ¡®them¡¯?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Please believe me, if he was one of them, I would definitely attack you, without fail.¡±

    Iris¡¯s gaze sharpened, but Nathan quickly caught her.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris stop, she¡¯s telling the truth.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, think about it, she clearly doesn¡¯t want to fight you. Think of all the people who have met you so far, besides Matthew, who amongst them actively said something so provoking to your face? She was just speaking the truth, if I was the other thing she was talking about, she would have attacked already.¡±

    Iris glared at Sari, but for now, she stopped gathering mana. Nathan was right, no one would actively threaten Nathan, if they knew Iris was there. Feeling the energies return to normal, Sari breathed a sigh of relief. Nathan grabbed Iris and placed her on his shoulder, so she could settle down and he could continue the conversation.

    Nathan: ¡°So, what color is my aura?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Well, when I first met back in the cavern, it was a blue color.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And now, I bet is green.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Now, its pink.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pink!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with pink?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Everything¡¯s wrong with pink, how do I change it back to blue?¡±

    Sari: ¡°You can¡¯t, at least I don¡¯t think you can, it changes on its own.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, I have to walk around looking pink, I''m not even a panther, I have canine features dammit.¡±

    Nathan was dejected, of all the colors it could be, it had to be pink.

    Sari: ¡°Ah, it changed.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh thank goodness, something besides pink I hope.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Magenta.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°THAT¡¯S JUST A DARKER PINK!¡±

    Nathan dropped to his knees in defeat; why must everything lead to the most feminine of outcomes, as if universal forces were conspiring against him.

    Nathan: ¡°What are trying to say Universe?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, I think your aura color is great, it suits you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I thought we were friends.¡±

    Iris was trying and failing to cheer Nathan up, inadvertently hurting him more with her attempts.

    Sari: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, like I said, your aura color will change, plus, not many people can see aura¡¯s. See, it changed again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah, what is it this time, a lighter pink?¡±

    Sari: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..But, it¡¯s still shocking to see a Therian with such an aura, everyone from Earth I conversed with, stated soundly, there are only humans on Earth.¡±

    Iris: ¡°(The subject was changed.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(She just changed the subject.)¡±

    Cold sweat ran down Sari¡¯s face as she cast her gaze away from Nathan hoping he would take the bait.

    Nathan: *sigh* ¡°Well I¡¯m not really a Therian.¡±

    Sari: ¡°What!?¡±

    _

    _

    _

    [Five minutes earlier]

    *Bonk*Bonk*

    Gideon: ¡°Ughn?¡±

    Gideon stirred in his sleep, he woke up to fine, himself being pelted with pebbles. It didn¡¯t hurt, compared to his other wounds, but it was increasingly annoying.

    Jonathan: ¡°It took you long enough.¡±

    Gideon turned over to find Jonathan, the source of the pebble barrage.

    Gideon: ¡°Jonathan, stop throwing shit at me.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Quiet down.¡±

    Gideon came out of his stupor and realized he couldn¡¯t move, both him and Gideon; along with all his men, were tied down. Then suddenly, all the memories rushed back to him and he immediately called out to Jonathan.

    Gideon: ¡°The Lycanian, where-¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°I said quiet, you¡¯ll get us caught.¡±

    Gideon noticed Jonathan¡¯s odd movements; he was slowly trying to get his hand free from the plants coiled around him. Earlier he had tried to cut it, but the moment the blade touched the vine, it reacted by grabbing the blade and tossing it out of reach. For now, it didn¡¯t look like anyone noticed, but he was not going to try that again.

    Koshige was having the women gather together, but it was proving difficult. Some of them were refusing to move, having lost their will, but Koshige would force them to move, if it came to it. Ai and Kou were busy retrieving the weapons from the tied-up bandits and tossing them away. Most had woken up and struggling with the vines, if by any chance they were able to escape, they were making sure they had nothing to fight with.

    It took a few minutes of experimenting, but Jonathan came to realize that as long as his movements weren¡¯t too sudden, he could slowly shimmy free. Too fast and the vines would tighten, too slow and he risked being caught. It was a stifling process, but within a few minutes, he was able to get one hand free. Once he got free, he and Gideon could escape, while the Lycanian wasn¡¯t watching. However, in the next instance, the dream of the both of them escaping went up in smoke.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    Gideon: ¡°Why the hell are my trophies doing out of their cases?¡±

    Jonathan along with everyone else, turned their attention toward Gideon. The man who kept them captured for years, the man who took away their humanity and turned them into nothing but trinkets, was enraged. Even with him being tied down and unable to harm them, when they looked into his eyes, they subconsciously stood still. The training they went through for so long, wasn¡¯t so easily forgotten.

    Gideon: ¡°Do you all understand what you¡¯re doing right now, the effort I put into keeping you so beautiful, by exposing yourself to air, DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU¡¯VE DONE!?¡±

    The moment he screamed; several of the woman lost the feeling in their legs, but Koshige, who was close by went to their aid. Ai and Kou, assisted their father doing the exact same thing, comforting the fragile state Therian women.

    Gideon: ¡°Koshige you bastard, don¡¯t touch my property with your filthy hands.¡±

    Koshige gritted his teeth.

    Koshige: ¡°Your property? No one here belongs to you.¡±

    Koshige took a step towards Gideon.

    Koshige: ¡°You hold no more power over these women. Once were done, were taking them somewhere you will never find them. Then we¡¯ll search for their families and you will go into a deep dark dungeon, where you¡¯ll rot for the rest of your life.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Heheheh, hahahahahahahah.¡±

    Gideon despite the pain, he began to laugh. With his lungs being squeezed, his laughter, sounded something demonic.

    Koshige: ¡°Something funny?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Search for their families what a farce. Koshige do you consider yourself special?¡±

    Koshige: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Really Koshige¡­do you think you¡¯re the only one I offered that deal?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°I did do a little experimenting with your family, but the deal was almost completely the same.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°Wh-What he is talking about.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°How many times must I tell you, TROPHIES DON¡¯T TALK!¡±

    The tone and his voice, was enough to shut up the woman who spoke, he still had a hold on their hearts even now. Their reactions brought a smile to his face, a bit a pleasure mixing in with th pain.

    Gideon: ¡°You belong to me, mentally and physically that was the deal I made with your kin. They go free and I can keep you.¡±

    Woman A: ¡°L-Lies, my husband, my son would never do this.¡±

    Gideon: ¡°What reason do I have to lie? I own you, if you don¡¯t believe me, check that bag.¡±

    Gideon brought their attention to the bag next to Jonathan, who¡¯s mouth was agape of the idiot he was lying next to. One woman went to grab the bag, but Koshige stopped her and went for the bag himself. Ruffling through the papers, Koshige couldn¡¯t believe what he was reading. While lost in the documents, the woman made a grab for the bag, accidentally knocked the bag to the floor and spilling the contents onto the ground

    Woman A: ¡°That¡¯s my husband¡¯s name, why would he sign something?¡±

    She didn¡¯t understand most of what was written, but one particular line, drew their eyes.

    Gideon: ¡°In order to escape, every single one of you were given to me by your family and added to my collection.

    Woman B: No, my husband wouldn¡¯t do that he-¡±

    Gideon: ¡°Loves you? Is that what you about to say? Ha! Rather it was your husbands, your sons, your brothers, they didn¡¯t even last a month before they were ready to leave you, hell some of than escaped the first chance they got. I actually respect you in that regard Koshige. No matter what kind of bull-shit I put you through, you have every attention of leaving here with your entire family. That¡¯s more than I could say, for these poor souls.

    Young girl: ¡°No, my brother¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­he left me here and ran off?¡±

    Koshige: ¡°No, don¡¯t listen to him, this bastard would say anything right now.¡±

    Koshige continued to try to persuade them that it was all fabrication, but it fell on deaf ears. They were losing themselves, as they read the papers over and over, each time drawing ever closer to despair. It wasn¡¯t a legally binding contract or anything, it was the thought of someone you loved, abandoning you without out a second thought.

    Young Girl: ¡°Mommy, that man¡¯s lying right? Father and Brother are coming?

    The little girls question went unanswered, as her mother wept while holding her. No family, no home, exactly what were they hoping for in a world that no longer needed them?

    Gideon: ¡°You are all nothing more than objects, a collection for the sole purpose of bringing me pleasure. The only place you belong is on display in my trophy room.¡±

    In that moment something snapped, an inaudible sound, yet clear as day. The change went unnoticed by everyone except Jonathan, who redoubled his efforts to get himself loose. Koshige was at a loss of what to do, he had destroyed what little hope they had left and Gideon, despite the pain from the vines, just wouldn¡¯t shut up.

    Young girl: ¡°Mommy?¡±

    The woman hugging her child suddenly stood up and walked slowly over towards Gideon.

    Kou: ¡°Dad.¡±

    Koshige: ¡°Kou, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Kou pointed and Koshige turned to see the woman standing over Gideon.

    Koshige: ¡°What is she doing?¡±

    Gideon: ¡°I know you, you¡¯re the trophy I dented earlier, but your healed? Who the hell performed maintenance on you without my permission?¡±

    She clicked her tongue at Gideon¡¯s words, she did not like what he had to say. The unbridled rage in her eyes, as she pulled out the dagger she took off of one of the unconscious bandits.

    Woman: ¡°I¡¯m am not a Trophy.¡±

    Koshige: ¡°STOP!¡±

    Koshige called out far too late, as the woman brought the knife down.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Circumstances, lead me to look this way, but I¡¯m am on hundred percent human.¡±

    Nathan had just finish telling Sari why he looked the way he does, not that he really knew. All he could tell her was what he was aware of.

    Sari: ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware such a thing was even possible. A sleeping curse that lasted for thousands of years; used for healing? I never heard of anyone using thus way.¡±

    Sari had so many questions, but she didn¡¯t think he would give her any answers.

    Iris: ¡°Master, are you sure we should be telling her this. What if she speaks of it to someone else.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, she is also hiding the fact that she has a Legacy.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Sari: ¡°Eh?¡±

    Sari was surprised to hear him say that; how could he had found out? She could think of only one instance when that could have happened.

    Sari: ¡°Back then, in the cage, I thought you had done something to me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you looked straight at me when I was invisible. I also noticed that there were some parts of your status I couldn¡¯t read. I wanted to ask what it was, but only you could tell me how you do that.¡±

    Sari: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t disclose that information, it a secret passed down in my family.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your family? But I don¡¯t have the same problem with them.¡±

    Sari: ¡°No, not my husband and children, they are different from me, I¡¯m sure you understand from how different we look.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, you mean your fur?¡±

    Sari nodded in response and Nathan left it at that. They both had things they weren¡¯t going to reveal to one another.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh well, anyway, I just want to make sure were on the same page, I don¡¯t talk about you and you don¡¯t talk about me.¡±

    Sari nodded in confirmation.

    Sari: ¡°I¡¯m fine with this arrangement, but I wouldn¡¯t have spoken of you either way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That could be the case, but why take a risk, didn¡¯t you and your husband plan to trap me earlier?¡±

    Iris: ¡°What?¡±

    Iris turned to Nathan with an annoyed expression. Clearly upset that she¡¯s finding out about this information so late. Sari just stared at the ground, not wanting to meet their eyes.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Iris, she already apologized, no need to get upset.¡±

    Iris sighed, the annoyed expression still painting her face, Nathan placed a hand on her head in a move of apologizing to her, but she settled back down. Iris fluttered over to Nathan¡¯s shoulder, close to Sari, not taking any chances.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s done is done, anyway about the other Earthlings. How long ago did you last meet one?¡±

    Sari: ¡°The last time, I think it¡¯s been about ten years ago, near the central forest, close to Midheim. I believe his name was Bartz.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Bartz eh?¡±

    Sari: ¡°He was a burly old man and he wore armor like the guards who protect Midheim.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If he joined the city¡¯s guard, then it might not be hard to track him down.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Do you plan to meet him?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If I can find him, I¡¯ll be heading that way eventually.¡±

    Nathan understood, that his way of arriving was different, but they could be another hero among them. Iris said that in the legend, the original Hero party, vanish shortly before Elphina showed up, then there might have been another summoning, after he supposedly died and now.

    Sari: ¡°Actually, if you go there, try finding a Charmcaster.

    Nathan: ¡°What, why?¡±

    Sari: ¡°To find the owner of your curse. A curse like that must have some residual effects. Have you ever fallen asleep and something strange happens?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Now that you mention it.¡±

    Every time Nathan slept, he remembers being in a vast white emptiness. He recalled talking to someone, but could never remember the conversation or the one he was speaking to, just a feeling of enlightenment whenever he awoke.

    Sari: ¡°That¡¯s due to the curses influence, if I recall correctly, there was someone in Midheim who could track residual magic, with a curse as powerful as this, I¡¯m sure it would be no problem finding the culprit.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you serious!?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, does that mean-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We can find her.¡±

    That was some extremely good news, without a doubt, the one who cast the curse on him was Amelia. If they could track down this Charmcaster, they wouldn¡¯t have to search about randomly, they could focus on getting Ena home.

    Nathan: ¡°Then we will definitely will go, thank you so much.¡±

    Sari: ¡°This much is the bare minimum, compared to what you have done. I wish there was more I could do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Trust me, this was a big help. It will save a lot of time.¡±

    Nathan pumped his fists; hidden goals were being handed to him one by one. Turn in Gideon, get the reward, rank up, head for the dungeon. Then off too Midheim to find the Charmcaster, then get a boat towards the north and head over to the Eastern continent. He also planned to search the bandits camp for anything of value. There is no such thing as a bandit who hasn¡¯t pillaged and he was planning to take everything they had.

    While thinking of these things, a scent wafted passed Nathan¡¯s nose. It was an unpleasant scent, a familiar scent, but more importantly, a scent that shouldn¡¯t be there.

    Iris: ¡°Kyaa, Master!?¡±

    Iris and Sari both were shocked and confused, out of nowhere, Nathan took off running. The smell grew thicker as he got closer, the pungent smell of spilt blood.

    Bandit: ¡°Please no, gaghhh.¡±

    The first thing Nathan witnessed is the sight of a woman plunging a blade into the neck of a bandit. A sickening squelching sound as she retrieves the blade only to plunge it into a different part of his body. Though it only stole his attention for a moment, the one scene was only a small portion of the entire portrait.

    Sari, catching up to Nathan, looked on in horror. Her children huddled together up trying to drown out the scene by closing their eyes, while her husband fought the weapons away from anyone he could.

    Koshige: ¡°ALL OF YOU, STOP!¡±

    His words fell on deaf ears, as bandit after bandit, all were experiencing the same thing. Rather, it was a sword; a dagger; an arrow head or just a blunt object, every woman now held one of these items. And with every swing of their arms, the object was plunge deep in to bandit.

    Nathan ran down into the massacre, he cared nothing for the bandits being killed around him, only for the one he needed.  He twisted his head around, searching for his prize. Then through the crowd of women, Nathan eyes fell on a particular two, the mother and daughter that were punished earlier.

    Within seconds he was on them and with little effort he threw them aside. Nathan, being far too late, the body beneath him was nothing but a corpse. However the only reason he could tell it was Gideon, was because of the clothes he wore. One, two, ten, he couldn¡¯t tell how many times they brought the knife down, but every slash, every cut, every stab aimed only for his face. The two women had made it abundantly clear, they never wanted to see it again.

    Nathan: ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Nathan stared at Gideon, or what was left of him, but not in disgust, not in fear, the only thing he felt at that moment was anger. Everyone must have felt it as well, for even within their crazed state of mind, they could feel his rage and ceased all their actions. The area grew quiet, no one spoke a word, they just waited for Nathan to speak.

    He stood up, he didn¡¯t turn his head, but when he spoke, everyone¡¯s heart skipped a beat.

    Nathan: ¡°What the fuck did you do?¡±

 Chapter 69: Square One

    Chapter 69: Square One

    *Early Afternoon*

    Anais: ¡°It should be somewhere around here, right?¡±

    Iris: ¡°This is the market place, where else would he setup shop?¡±

    Upon Nathan request, Iris retrieved both Anais and Ena from the library. They had arrived at Loegrey¡¯s marketplace and were currently trying to locate Ramol¡¯s stand.

    Ena: ¡°This would be a lot easier, if he were to sell at his shop.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No-one goes to that side of town and even if they did, the shop is in no condition to accommodate anyone. He needs money to renovate, but he won¡¯t see any real profit for a while, let alone at the end of this week, when he promises to pay us.¡±

    Iris: ¡°A profit won¡¯t be made, if he cannot sell due to interference from some ruffians, we have to make sure no harm befalls them. We should make haste and locate the siblings.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ah, right, I keep forgetting.¡±

    Anais looked at the back of her hand, Ramol was a member of Nathan¡¯s party, so she should be able to locate him with it. Three arrows were dead center of the sensor, showing the three of them and one other arrow was not far off from their position.

    Anais: ¡°Ah ha, this way.¡±

    Anais pointed down some street and began walking in that direction with Iris and Ena following behind. They walked for a few minutes taking in the plethora of sights and smells; coming from the many stalls and stands. Fancy weapons and armor, as well as accessories, which had many different effects.

    Anais: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Iris: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Aw crap, the arrow started moving, better follow it.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that little brother over there?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Kyr.¡±

    Over by a stand, surrounded by people, Kyr stood selling produce after produce. He seemed to be getting swamped, by the constant flow of customers, buying out all the fruit and vegetables they had at the stalls. Some of the customers had begun fighting over said produce.

    Man: ¡°Boy, I¡¯ll take these.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Y-Yes, that will be thirty-three rydt.¡±

    Maid: ¡°Excuse me, I heard you were selling Stratos berry.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Yes, have to check our stock, it will be a moment before I can get away.¡±

    Maid: ¡°But, I been waiting so long already.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Sorry, sorry, I will retrieve them as soon as I can, please be a little more patient.¡±

    Young man: ¡°HEY, THAT WAS MINE!¡±

    Mature Woman: ¡°It belongs to whomever purchased it boy and that exactly what I¡¯ve done.¡±

    The woman quickly handed Kyr some coin, before taking her leave, giving a snarky laugh as she disappeared into the crowd.

    Young man: ¡°Hey, kid, hurry and get me another.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Sorry sir, I can¡¯t restock at the moment, please be patient.¡±

    Young Man: ¡°You think I got the time? Forget it.¡±

    The man picked up several fruits and began to walk away.

    Kyr: ¡°Sir, you have to pay for those.¡±

    Young Man: ¡°Shut up, you owe me for letting that bitch get away with that.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°You can¡¯t just-¡±

    Young Man: ¡°I can¡¯t just what?¡±

    The man placed a hand on his sword, causing Kyr to back down.

    Young Man: ¡°Yeah, that what I though, fucking mutt.¡±

    Kyr did a quick look around. But no one made a move to stop him, everyone going on about their business.

    Young Man: ¡°Owww, what are you doing you crazy girl!?¡±

    The man began to scream, his pant leg had burst into flames.

    Anais: ¡°Crazy¡­said the guy who¡¯s blatantly stealing.¡±

    Anais had tossed a Flare spell at him, causing the fire. The young man dropped all the fruits he was carrying while at the same time trying to put out the fire on his leg.

    Young Man: ¡°Dammit, you¡¯ll pay for that. Huh?¡±

    Ena began to gather up the produce that had rolled all around.

    Ena: ¡°A good rinse and they will be as good as new.¡±

    Young Man: ¡°Hey, Mutt!¡±

    The young man drew his sword and went for Ena.

    Anais: ¡°Ena look out!¡±

    Ena: ¡°What?¡±

    Ena turned to Anais, completely disregarding the man coming at her with his sword.

    *Swoosh**Smash*

    The crowd and man looked on in shock at what just took place. When the man struck Ena with his sword, it broke right in half on her head.

    Ena: ¡°Huh, what the hell?¡±

    Ena turned to the man, feeling the itch on her head and notice his sword pointed at her. Seeing his blade broken on the ground, she put two and two together then smiled a big happy smile.

    Ena: ¡°Hey, I can fight him right?  Like Nathan said; if they strike first its okay to strike back.¡±

    Nathan feared for the lives of anyone that got hit by the crater-inducing punch that Ena could deliver, placed a restriction on her. She couldn¡¯t blatantly start fights, however if someone else started one, it was okay. Someone breaking a sword over her head was within the conditions, and she was ecstatic to fight after so long.

    Young Man: ¡°W-What the hell are you?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Oh wait, let me return the fruit to Master Kyr, then we can brawl. Wait right here.¡±

    Ena happily skipped over to Kyr¡¯s stand, excited about the soon to-be clash. The man just stood there, with a stupid look on his face, along with the crowd with equally stupid looks.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, um I know you were just trying to take our friends stuff, but I gonna give you some words of advice, Run.¡±

    The man looked at Ena talking to Kyr and placing the fruits back, then to the broken sword on the ground and the over to Anais. He quickly bolted through the crowd, not wanting to fight Ena in the least.

    Ena: ¡°Alright, I¡¯m ready, hmm¡­where¡¯d he go?¡±

    Anais: ¡°He had to go, but he said he¡¯ll fight you next time.¡±

    Ena: ¡°What, but I didn¡¯t get to do anything, I wanna fight.¡±

    Ena crossed her arms and pouted. She hadn¡¯t been able to let-loose in a while and was craving for a fight.

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be other chances, come on, let¡¯s help Kyr run the stall.¡±

    Ena, still visibly upset about the man running off, followed Anais and Iris up to the stand. The crowd opened up and let the two through as they approached the stall.

    Kyr: ¡°Miss Ena, thanks for helping me, you too Miss Anais.¡±

    Kyr turned to Iris, but she quickly signaled him not to regard her. Kyr got the message and silently thank her instead.

    Kyr: ¡°What brings you all here, do need anything?¡±

    Anais: ¡°We heard you were having trouble and came to see if we could help.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Ah, yes, things like that have been happening a lot recently, mostly when we switch over to selling the weapons; well trying to sell them. Usually my brother takes care of things, but he¡¯s been leaving a lot lately.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I was just about to ask about that, where did he go? He was here a minute ago, right?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Uh well-¡±

    Old man: ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯d like these.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Yes, be right there. I have to get back to the customers, would you mind waiting?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we aren¡¯t going anywhere.¡±

    Kyr smiled and left to tend to the customers.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Iris: ¡°What do you suppose¡­what could possibly pull Ramol away and leave his younger brother by himself?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not sure, but I¡¯m gonna go look for him. You two wait on Kyr, so nothing like that will happen again.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Okay, but hurry back. I¡¯m unable to do much, without drawing suspicion.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure no one wants to mess with the boy, who¡¯s friends with a girl, who¡¯s fine after having a sword broke over her head.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, that is true.¡±

    Anais then checked her hand and walked off into the crowd. From what she could see on her hand, Ramol wasn¡¯t too far off. Just as she was about to find him, his arrow began to move once more, but it didn¡¯t matter.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, Ramol.¡±

    Ramol was surrounded by four other men who walked down alley and disappeared off the main road.

    She followed them down the alleyway and as she came closer, she could hear someone arguing.

    Ramol: ¡°NO, YOUR DEALINGS ARE WITH ME AND ME ALONE. LEAVE THE LYCANIAN OUT OF THIS!¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Ramol?)¡±

    _

    _

    Sari ran over to her family, relieved to see them okay.

    Koshige: ¡°Sari!¡±

    Koshige stood there holding his children tightly, them doing the same, only releasing each other once they saw Sari.

    Ai & Kou: ¡°Mom!¡±

    Sari, though her arms around her children, happy to see they were alright.

    Sari: ¡°Koshige, what happened here, this, this is appalling?¡±

    Koshige shook his head.

    Ksohige: ¡°We tried to stop them, but more and more just followed their lead. He told them, about the deal he made with their loved ones.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I said what the fuck did you do!?¡±

    Sari and Koshige¡¯s conversation was cut short. Right after Nathan screamed, vines shot up from beneath the ground, entangling all the women there. They let out surprised screams as they were hoist into the air.

    Sari: ¡°What are you doing, you¡¯re hurting them!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Kinda the idea.¡±

    Sari: ¡°But-¡±

    Nathan threw Sari a look, and she quickly backed down. He was angry. Everything he had accomplished went up in flames. Some of the women let out groans of pain, as the vines tightly gripped their bodies. Nathan made his vines bring down the mother-daughter duo who had killed him. They were scared as they were forced to face him.

    Nathan: ¡°Why, he couldn¡¯t hurt you anymore, why?¡±

    Young girl: ¡°H-He deserve it, ughn!¡±

    Nathan made the vines squeeze a bit tighter when she said that.

    Nathan: ¡°He deserved a lot of shit, but what I want to know, is why you thought that was up you decide¡­you had no right-¡±

    Young girl: ¡°WE HAD EVERY RIGHT!¡±

    The girl yelling caught Nathan off-guard, tears flowed as she looked down to Nathan.

    Young Girl: ¡°He held me and my mom here for years, doing whatever he wanted to us¡­¡­.we couldn¡¯t fight back. Every day we were made to sit in those chairs, dress in pretty outfits that were forced on us and everyday he would open those cages and take one of us away for the night.

    He would strip us down and do what he wanted with us, his so-called act of ¡®engraving¡¯. And the entire time we sat there, unmoving, forced to look up at his smiling face as he-¡±

    She trailed off at the end, unable to say what he did to them. Tears streamed down her face as she was forced to remember the events that had happened.

    Young girl: ¡°But if we made a sound, moved in anyway, he would discipline us and would continue until he was satisfied. Smiling¡­smiling¡­as he beat us over and over, to the point where even we couldn¡¯t even control our bowels.

    Young girl: ¡°Not just him, any of his men who he thought deserved a reward, over and over and all we could do, is to pretend we couldn¡¯t see, unmoving, emotionless, while a man, or a woman, had their way with us.¡±

    By this time Nathan had lowered the women back to the ground, where they each immediately collapsed, not from the pain of being squeezed, but from the memories.

    Young girl: ¡°And now we come to find out that our families, left us here. They didn¡¯t just abandoned us, they signed over lives over to him. My brother, my father¡­¡­¡­¡­..they left us here.¡±

    The girl continued to repeat her last words, lost in her thoughts. Koshige showed Sari the documents, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to believe what was written.

    Sari: ¡°No, you can¡¯t believe this, you can¡¯t give up.¡±

    Woman B: ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say, your husband, didn¡¯t run.¡±

    The tension in the air thickened upon that remark.

    Sari: ¡°T-That¡¯s-¡±

    Woman B: ¡°Hooray for you, your family never gave up on you, no matter what bull-shit he was put through, he had every intention of leaving with his family intact.¡±

    The last part was a quote from the deceased Gideon. Sari wasn¡¯t sure what she could say right now, for in the end, she was still surrounded by her family.

    Woman B: ¡°Don¡¯t give up, can you begin to understand how we feel? You were there for¡­what a month? In that time, how often did he touch you, dress you up, beat you, take you to bed, or leave you to his men? You just sat in your cell, looking all pitiful, like the world was coming down on you, I would have killed to be in your position.¡±

    Sari didn¡¯t know what to say, the entire time she had no idea how good she had it, compared to the others. Gideon wanted her, but only after he broke Koshige, would he want to take his wife.

    Koshige: ¡°Hey, I get your upset, but I won¡¯t stand you taking your anger out on my wife.¡±

    Woman C: ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, her husband. Willing to do anything for his wife, even sell out the Lycanian.¡±

    Koshige: ¡°Guh!?¡±

    Koshige turned to Nathan, who and turn looked at him.

    Woman C: ¡°That¡¯s right, he made a deal, with Gideon. If he helped to capture the Lycanian woman, he¡¯ll let his entire family go.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t try to rile me up, I already knew that.¡±

    Koshige: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot, I saw all of you back in the woods looking for me.¡±

    Woman C: ¡°And you still came to save us, even knowing that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Did none of you hear me earlier? I¡¯m not here to save you. I am here for him.¡±

    Nathan pointed to the mutilated mess that was Gideon.

    Nathan: ¡°I was here to turn him over to the guild.¡±

    Woman: ¡°You¡¯re an adventurer?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s right. I had no idea any of you were here or that you needed saving. I only wanted to increase my rank.¡±

    Nathan took a step forward towards the girls, the ones standing taking a step back.

    Nathan: ¡°So you can see why I¡¯m upset, to go through all just trouble, to end up hurt, for what exactly, a bunch of woman throwing a tantrum?¡±

    Nathan could feel himself growing angry again.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯ not that I don¡¯t feel for you, in all honesty, what happened to you is really fucked up. However, what you did, would have probably have happened back in the town, plus I would have gotten my rank up. Oh, and here¡¯s a little bit of trivia for ya, who now have to live their lives on the run, along with the families, BECAUSE THEY KILLED THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN PROVE THEIR INNOCENCE!?¡±

    Everyone finally realizes the rash and foolish actions. Even if they wanted to search for their families, the men in their family, had been made to steal. With Gideon dead, there was no one to who could authenticate Nathan¡¯s claims, so there was no way to clear their names. In addition, if the women returned to society, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for the authorities to seek them out, in order to find the significant others. Damned if they do, damned if they don¡¯t. As of now, they were officially abandoned, not by just their families, but by the world itself.

    Nathan: ¡°So you can see why I¡¯m upset, you don¡¯t get what you want, but more importantly, I don¡¯t get what I want.¡±

    Woman C: ¡°W-We didn¡¯t know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You didn¡¯t know¡­you think that¡¯s an excuse? Because he¡¯s dead,¡­¡­Huh (The hell, my body)?¡±

    Nathan was suddenly impeded by Sari, who stood between him and the woman.

    Sari: ¡°Please, don¡¯t hurt them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°hwaaa?¡±

    Nathan let out a stupid sound when Sari said that. She along with her family stepped in front of the woman and child.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this, you¡¯re making me look like the bad guy here.¡±

    Sari: ¡°Please, there must be another way, to get what you want.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, yeah, a whole bunch of different ways, but you see, this way was the less tedious, ugh (again, my body).¡±

    Koshige: ¡°Regardless of taking your anger out on them, won¡¯t bring him back to life.¡±

    Nathan understood that clearly, but it was just incredibly frustrating, everything he had gone through was for nothing. They killed every single one, no way to prove anything was accomplished back at the guild.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.What?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master this is-¡±

    Nathan notice something he over looked in is haste. Next to Gideon there were some vines, but there was no corpse. Looking it over her quickly noticed the trail of blood, heading back into the hideout.

    Sari: ¡°Hey!?¡±

    Nathan wasted no time and took off into the cave. He was losing a lot of blood, from what Nathan could tell. Nathan sped up, there was a good chance he would bleed out if he didn¡¯t hurry. Down each corridor, if there was no blood, he quickly back-tracked and took another corridor, soon he could hear  foot steps up ahead.

    Nathan: ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t need the blood anymore so he sped up, closing in on the culprit. He needed to hurry, but the look of the pools of blood, it wouldn¡¯t be long before he bled out.

    *slam*

    Nathan caught up just in time to see a large door being shut and lock with a *ka-chink* sound. From the other side, it was effectively locked. Nathan looked up at the stone impediment, it was like any other wall in the cave. If he had not seen it shut just then, he would have probably thought as such.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Iris had already equipped the ¡°Alssein Eye¡± and with a wave of he hand, an encore of the *Ka-chink* sound was heard.

    Nathan: ¡°Hnnnnnnnnnngggh!¡±

    Nathan swung the door open and was rewarded with a wonderous sight. All manners of gold and Jewelry were sprawled out across the floor, without doubt all the treasure they pilfered over the years. Though it was tempting, Nathan skipped past it all the treasure and headed straight for the adjacent room.

    Jonathan: ¡°Shit.¡±

    Opening the door Nathan found a room full of all manners of parchments and to the back of the room, was the bespectacled man from before. From his look, he didn¡¯t seem like a grunt. HE was searching the shelf, only stopping when Nathan entered.

    Jonathan: ¡°Ugh!¡±

    Jonathan held his gut in pain, the blood dripping, had cease to stop, Nathan had to stop, or he would bleed out soon. However, the moment Nathan took a step forward, Jonathan open the book he was holding. Nathan could guess from just the look of it, a Magic Tome.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, you sure you wanna try fighting in your condition. Your just gonna make things worse.¡±

    Jonathan just held the book up in front of him.

    Nathan: ¡°Look, you can¡¯t move around so much, you¡¯ve lost too much blood. I can heal you, but I need to get close.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Thanks, but I¡¯ll take my chances.¡±

    Jonathan activated the spell, but it was difference from any Nathan had seen before. He ready himself, whatever it was, he wasn¡¯t gonna let it stop him.

    Jonathan: ¡°I want forget this, you will regret making an enemy of us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hah, you think you¡¯re getting pas-¡±

    Nathan instantly realize something important. His Threat Detection wasn¡¯t activated. Nathan moved to stop whatever Jonathan was doing, but it was too late.

    Jonathan: ¡°Relocate!¡±

    Just as Nathan got within reach, Jonathan vanished leaving nothing, but a blood spot. Nathan looked around, but it was a silly thing to do, Jonathan was gone, but just then, his Threat Detection activated. Turning quickly, he found one scroll was left unraveled in the lone table in the room. The scroll began to produce smoke and Nathan went wide eyed, realizing what it was.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°IRIS!¡±

    *Booooooooooooom*

    An explosion rock the room, tearing it apart and bursting out the door into the hall. The earth shook and parts of the ceiling caved in, burying everything inside, as the blast took its toll on the building.

    As the dust begin to settle, pieces of the ceiling continued to fall. However, in the middle of the room was a giant bubble, encasing both Nathan and Iris.

    Iris: ¡°Master, are you okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Iris took down the barrier they had erected around them, shielding them from the blast. Nathan looked around at the devastation, the room was non- existent. The tomes and scrolls that were littered about¡­not one survived the explosion. Entering into the larger room, Nathan found that most of the gold and jewels were still intact, but the artifacts were destroyed, broken and thrown about by the blast.

    Nathan didn¡¯t care; it was just the booby prize. He leaned against the wall before banging against several times. Gideon was dead, the glasses guy had run away, and he was caught in an explosion. Thinking about how everything went south so quickly Nathan screamed out, echoing through the demolished cavern.

    Nathan: ¡°FUCK!¡±

 Chapter 70: Gracious Punishment

    Chapter 70: Gracious Punishment

    *knock**knock*

    Matthew: ¡°Come in.¡±

    At his word Belle enter the room, a stack of papers in hand. Matthew stopped writing and stared at the rather large stack of papers

    Belle: ¡°Master Matthew, a few messages came for you?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°That is a lot more than a few, do you mind reading them out to me?¡±

    Belle sat the pile down and reached for the first on. Removing the seal, she looked over the content.

    Matthew: ¡°Has it slowed down?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, only a few adventurers come in this time of night, only those who had a special request.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I see, well; if you need to get back, don¡¯t hesitate to stop.¡±

    Matthew continued filling out the papers on his desk, whilst Belle looked over the letters. Recently a lot of work had been showing up on his desk. With the upcoming tournament being such a rare event, almost every adventurer from his guild was attending with so many quests that were being left undone. If they hadn¡¯t already accepted, it was a good chance there would be at least two to three weeks before anyone even looks at a quest that would take more than a day to complete. He thought about forbidding anyone in his guild from joining, but the backlash from such a decree was holding him back and by now it was far too late.

    Belle: ¡°Oh, its seems the prince will be in town to view the tournament. He¡¯s requesting Gaunt Silverein as an escort during his stay.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Not him again, when will he be arriving?¡±

    Belle: ¡°It¡¯s says within the next two days.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°That fast?...all we need right now is that hot head and the brat to start trouble. Okay send Gaunt the request, more importantly, not so subtly let the Therian in town know, that the prince is coming, so they can prepare.¡±

    Belle: ¡°You mean warn them that he¡¯s coming and to steer clear of him at all cost, for he is a notorious Therian hater and disgusting individual.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°How do you spit such venom with such a calm expression?¡±

    Matthew smiled wryly, Belle just continued to the next letter in the pile.

    Belle: ¡°Lily and Charis are finished with their errands and will be arriving shortly.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°That was rather quick; I wonder did they even find anything.¡±

    Bell put a hand to her chin.

    Belle: ¡°Does it really matter?...we found what you were looking for, or rather the answer found us, would be more accurate.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Yes it was god-send that Nathan ended up here. I do hope they aren¡¯t too upset when they return.¡±

    Matthew shivered when he thought of how the two girls would react upon returning. If they had just waited a week more, the journey they were sent on would not have happened. When Origin¡¯s power was first released, Matthew sent them off to the other guilds, to see if either of them had any idea on what actually happened.

    Belle: ¡°Lily will forgive you soon enough, however I doubt Charis, will be pleased with having to exert unnecessary energy.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Yes, I am well aware of his laid-back disposition, it¡¯s what I¡¯m most afraid of.¡±

    Belle snickered at Matthew, while she continued on to the next few letters. Nothing of importance, a few invites to parties that Matthew quickly disregarded. The all-so-familiar death threat that he¡¯d received from ex-communicated adventurers, which Belle would glance over and quickly dispose of.

    Matthew: ¡°By the way, when the two return, how about you take a well deserved vacation?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Vacation?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I mean, you basically run this place all by yourself, you must be exhausted. I wouldn¡¯t be against some time-off.¡±

    For the last month Belle had been attending to the Guild by herself. Besides the financial and official aspect, which Matthew takes care of, and the cook in the waiting area, the everyday accommodation for the adventurers was provided by her.

    Belle: ¡°Thank you for the offer, but there is no need.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Quite sure, I am neither tired nor burdened by the current arrangement. Besides, do you believe those two will be all that interested in working, once they find that their trip was a fool¡¯s errand?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°N-No I guess not.¡±

    Matthew grimaced at the thought, while Belle continued organizing the mail. Half through the pile, Belle came across a peculiar letter. A green wax seal, with a bird shape she¡¯d never seen before. A wax seal was only used by royalty or by government officials. Matthew, noticing Belle stopped moving, looked up from his work. When he saw the wax sealed letter, he frowned.

    Matthew: ¡°Belle I¡¯ll take that one, *sigh* so it¡¯s finally come.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Master is everything all right?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Will see.¡±

    Belle handed Matthew the letter, who promptly opened. Belle continued with going through the stack, glancing at Matthew every so often. His facial expression was changing and becoming much more irritated as he finished. He rubbed at his temples, already agonizing over the future.

    Matthew: ¡°Belle.¡±

    Belle: ¡°What is it Master Matthew?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°We need to prepare for some guests.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Guests?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°The leaders of both Midheim and Hyborne guilds, will be visiting.¡±

    Belle blinked in surprise, it was unheard of for the guild leaders to meet, unless of course it was a situation that was far beyond the power of any one guild leader to handle. The only other time she could rightly remember, was in the case of the ¡°Quest Killer¡±. If they were meeting, in Loegrey, then something terrible must have recently happened or Matthew himself has done something.

    Belle: ¡°What exactly has happened?¡±

    Matthew turned to Belle, the only other person who be able to understand the situation at hand.

    Matthew: ¡°Effective immediately, they won¡¯t get a full explanation as to why the Lycanian asked for a Confidentiality Agreement and why I allowed it.¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan walked down the path towards Loegrey, it was dark out, but small lanterns were placed on the road leading out of the city. Since he could see in the dark, rather the lanterns were there or not didn¡¯t really matter. After gathering up what was left of the treasure and digging his way out of the cave, he headed back.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Sari and her family were attempting to dig him out when he emerged, but he didn¡¯t thank them. He did notice that all the women were nowhere to be found, not even their scents. In the time it took him and Iris to dig themselves out, they had moved the women away.

    Sari and her family attempted to say something, but he was barely listening to them. He didn¡¯t care anymore, he didn¡¯t say anything, nor did he look their way.  He just left; there was nothing else for him.  He didn¡¯t want to be thanked by them or hear what they had to say as it would just make him angrier, so he just walked away, Iris following behind him.

    Iris: ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry things didn¡¯t turn out the way you wanted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s nothing you have to be sorry for, its sucks, but things happen.¡±

    Nathan sighed heavily as he entered the gates to Loegrey. He was still getting looks from everyone, but he¡¯d come to accept it. With the walk, his attitude had cooled off enough to think logically about what had just transpired and came to a conclusion.

    Nathan: ¡°Actually Iris, I want to apologize to you.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh, whatever for?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Back then, when I was closing in on that mother and child, for a moment I couldn¡¯t move my body, that was you, right?¡±

    Iris eyes widened, she didn¡¯t believe he had noticed, she immediately bowed her head.

    Iris: ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry -¡±

    Nathan patted Iris on the head.

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh?

    Nathan: ¡°To be honest, if you hadn¡¯t stopped me then, I don¡¯t know what I would have done. Most likely I would have probably hurt everyone there regardless of there circumstances and regretting it soon after. I bet you didn¡¯t want to see me hurt someone who didn¡¯t deserve it?¡±

    Iris didn¡¯t say anything in response; to tell the truth, she sympathized with them. She felt that what they did, though rash, was justified. They didn¡¯t deserve to be hurt for wanting revenge on someone, who had done such atrocious things to them for so long.

    At the same time, she understood the frustration Nathan must have felt, when his goals he¡¯d worked towards were ripped from him the moment he turned his back.

    Nathan: ¡°Well in all honesty, if I had been in their position, logic wouldn¡¯t matter, as long as I could get my revenge. I¡¯d just take it in an instant. And that fool, he just wouldn¡¯t shut up, not even to save his on life.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well yeah, Koshige was saying something like he provoked them with something. If that idiot would have kept his mouth shut, he¡¯d probably be still alive.  So, in a way, it¡¯s kinda not their fault, after all he did to them, seeing him so vulnerable, can¡¯t say I don¡¯t get why they took the opportunity. So yeah, thanks for stopping me back then.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, I turned my powers on you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah so, you¡¯ve done that before.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Those times were different; it¡¯s just, just-¡±

    Nathan scratched his head, she was taking using her powers on him really hard. The other times were always only for disciplinary purposes, so it was a little different, but not to the point where Nathan was hurt an anyway.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll just have to get up bright n¡¯ early and do some more quests, I still have one day before the dungeon opens. And you¡¯ll be helping me all day, as punishment for hurting me of course.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Punishment?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What? You thought hurting your master will come without consequences? Certainly not. You¡¯ll be worked mercilessly the entire day without break nor gratitude, you have no right to refuse.¡±

    Nathan smiled down to her, letting her know that it was okay and that she did nothing wrong. Iris who just wiped her face and smiled back.

    Iris: ¡°Of course, I will accept this punishment and complete it without fail.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, now let¡¯s get the hell out of here, the stares around us, have changed from wonder to ¡°What the hell is wrong with that guy.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Iris looked around and sure enough they were getting some awkward stares. Iris can¡¯t be seen, so from a bystanders¡¯ perspective, Nathan¡¯s motions and the conversation they were having, looked like he was crazy.

    Iris: ¡°Yes, let¡¯s hurry on.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright¡­lets head over to the guild, then, we¡¯ll go back to Ramol¡¯s. Anais is probably still guarding him; I wonder how much they were able to sell.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Actually Master, about that-¡±

    ???????: ¡°You there, halt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You talking to me?¡±

    Nathan turned to find several people walking toward them. Each donning armor with a weird bird creature flying through a sun, across the front. Slowly, but surely, the men surrounded Nathan. Nathan didn¡¯t flinch. His Threat Detection didn¡¯t go off so that must mean they didn¡¯t want trouble.

    ???????: ¡°Yes, we like to ask you a few questions.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ???????: ¡°I¡¯m am captain Bernard Syms, of the Trinity Guards, Loegrey Branch.¡±

    Bernard¡¯s features were hidden from sight, due to the armor, except his red beard and mustache. He was big man, towering over Nathan like a tree.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, what¡¯s this about?¡±

    Bernard: ¡°We got a complaint saying ¡®a Lycanian¡¯ was creating a scene in the middle of the street as by making strange movements while talking to herself?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aheheheheh.¡±

    Nathan laughed awkwardly, it seems Iris and his chat, stood out much more then he realized.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry about that, I was just leaving.¡±

    Bernard: ¡°Actually, we like to speak to you on another matter, if you could just follow us then we could talk in private.¡±

    Nathan looked Bernard up and down, he was sure it wasn¡¯t a good idea to go with him.

    Nathan: ¡°No that¡¯s okay, I¡¯m fine talking here.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Hey, I don¡¯ think you understand-¡±

    Bernard: ¡°Silence.¡±

    Bernard quickly stopped his subordinate form causing a scene. While gathering information, he had come to learn that Nathan had made several visits to the guild. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to assume he was an Adventurer and was currently returning from a quest. Harassing a guild member wasn¡¯t a good idea, especially with so many eyes watching.

    Bernard: ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    If he were just another rogue, taking him into custody would be simple enough, but on the off-chance he was to take a guild member into custody for no apparent reason, things could become complicated.

    Bernard: ¡°Are you acquainted with one, Ramol Anood, the merchant?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..I am.¡±

    Bernard: ¡°Through the course of this week, he was found trying to sell high grade weaponry. Weaponry that no mere merchant, of his stature, could obtain. Sources say that you are the source for said weaponry, is this correct?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±

    Bernard: ¡°I see, so where exactly did you acquire such a large amount?¡±

    Nathan thought [of course], it was only natural someone would wonder where he got those weapons from at some point. Nathan noticed a lot of ears around, probably wanting to know where he got the weapons. Bernard must have noticed as well, he moved his hand and several of his subordinates began to disperse those unwanted ears, however it didn¡¯t matter if he did or didn¡¯t.

    Nathan: ¡°None of your business.¡±

    Bernard: ¡°Excuse me!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°None of your business.¡±

    Bernard looked surprised at Nathan¡¯s answer, he was sure she would try to weasel her way out. This could be considered suspicious behavior, but Nathan just out right refused. Nathan wasn¡¯t going to tell anyone where he got the weapons.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t have to tell you anything.¡±

    Bernard couldn¡¯t refute that, there was no crime being committed, none that had been reported and there had been no reports of theft and as far as it went the Lycanian had no reason to tell us.  As it was quite frustrating however, he wasn¡¯t quite done.

    Guard: ¡°Come now, you expect us to believe you acquired the weaponry, without a criminal act?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you accusing me of something?¡±

    Bernard turned to his subordinate, causing him to back down again.

    Nathan: ¡°Have you received any report of theft?...I didn¡¯t think so. If you had, you would have been a lot more forceful.¡±

    Bernard glared down at Nathan, who in turn glared right back.

    Bernard: ¡°I understand.¡±

    Bernard took a step towards Nathan, trying to intimidate Nathan, but Nathan didn¡¯t feel intimidated; nor did he back down.

    Bernard: ¡°Please refrain from any disturbances in the future. Next time our conversation will be a lot less pleasant.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hah? Now your threatening me?¡±

    Bernard: ¡°No threats here miss, just a fair warning. I am the Captain of the Guard. I do only what is right for Loegrey and its ¡®Citizens¡¯.

    Bernard emphasized the word ¡®citizens¡¯, wanting Nathan to understand, that if he messed up even once; he would be on him.

    Bernard: ¡°It is getting late; I¡¯ll leave it at that. Please be safe on your walk home. Move out.¡±

    Bernard said nothing else and turned to leave, his men soon falling in behind him. Soon they hadn¡¯t gotten far from Nathan and one of his subordinates spoke up.

    Subordinate: ¡°What should would do now sir; she didn¡¯t budge even a bit. I have never seen a Therian be so blatantly disrespectful.¡±

    Bernard: ¡°When we return, send a message out to the other districts, have them keep a close eye on that woman.¡±

    Once the guards were out of sight, Nathan turned back and headed down the street.

    Iris: ¡°Master, the guild is this way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯ll do that tomorrow, I just don¡¯t feel like it now.¡±

    Nathan turned down a street with Iris flying over and sitting on his shoulder as they their way back to Ramol¡¯s to call it a night

 Chapter 71: When the day is done

    <u>Chapter 71: When the days done</u>

    Nathan: ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡±

    Nathan arrived back at Ramol¡¯s [Medly], to find everyone up and waiting for him. They told him about what happened today and how everything turned out.

    Ramol: ¡°I¡¯m really sorry this happened.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. It was because of me that all this stuff happened as it did.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What did you think would happen, if some Therian just showed up out of nowhere with shelves full of high quality produce and weaponry?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was thinking that no one would try anything in broad daylight, didn¡¯t think it would be the guards.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Bernard¡¯s one of the imperial Guards assigned to Loegrey. He¡¯s not one for any type of disruptions in this city. With him around, the minute you cause any disruptions, he¡¯ll probably dog the place.¡±

    Ash nodded his head as if confirming his own words.

    Ramol: ¡°It didn¡¯t help that I had to step away for a moment, by the time I returned, most of the produce was sold. As soon as I brought the weapons out, everyone mobbed the place. When someone attempted to buy one thing, someone would start a fight with them over said item and soon a fight would break out and then-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The guards would come and shut you down.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Eheheheheheh, *sigh*.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Still, couldn¡¯t you sell one, all thanks to the guards and a bunch of idiots?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well¡­¡­that¡¯s half the reason, heheheh, ugh.¡±

    Ramol clenched his side and groaned in pain.

    Kyr: ¡°Brother!?¡±

    Kyr helped Ramol as he tried to stand up.

    Nathan: ¡°Ramol, your hurt, what happened?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no you¡¯re not.¡±

    Nathan disregarded Ramol¡¯s claims and checked his stats.  His health was refilling, but a at very slow pace. On his side was a fairly large bruise. Nathan put a hand on Ramol¡¯s side.

    Nathan: ¡°Heal.¡±

    A white light wrapped around Ramol and Nathan watch as his health went to full.

    Nathan: ¡°There, how do you feel?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah, the pains gone, thank you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, sheesh man¡­what did you do to yourself?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Hahahaha, looks like I¡¯m a bit of a klutz. I wasn¡¯t paying attention and ran into a cart of crates. Sorry about the worry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, just pay more attention, you need to take better care of yourself.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It takes a klutz to not see a cart in front them.¡±

    Nathan sighed out loud, as Ramol just laughed at himself.

    Nathan: ¡°Anyway, what do you mean about ¡®that was half the problem¡¯ ?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Right, after today, I realized there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to sell these.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Ash: ¡°There¡¯s no way, anyone besides nobility, would be able to purchase these weapons, at those prices.¡±

    Nathan cocked his head in confusion.

    Nathan: ¡°Those prices, how much was he selling them for?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°The lowest price, a bit over nine thousand Rydt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°WHAT, NINE THOUSAND!?

    Nathan¡¯s voice came out a lot louder then he meant to, but he had absolutely no choice. With such a legitimate reason to say that line, how could pass it up saying?

    Anais: ¡°*Squeak*(Why the hell are you screaming?)¡±

    Anais jumped up from the bed she made from a pile of torn clothing, she¡¯d found in a bag.

    Nathan: ¡°(Those are my old clothes.) Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to wake you, but had absolutely no choice.¡±

    Anais: ¡°*Squeak*(What the hells with that)?¡±

    Anais jumped over to Nathan and landed on his lap in her mouse form.

    Anais: *Squeak*(I glad you woke me up, I need to tell you something, bring Iris and meet me later tonight).¡±

    *poof*

    Anais returned to her Therian form, since she had said that while still a mouse, in that she didn¡¯t want anyone else to hear. Whatever she needed talk about; she wanted to keep it from Ash, Ena and Ramol for some reason. Nathan noticed that she remained sitting in his lap, even after changing.

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, I guess it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Anais shrugged her shoulders and turned back around. She must not had realized it herself, but it didn¡¯t bother him either way.

    Ash: ¡°We¡¯re telling him about today.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah back to that, why are they so expensive?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Weapons with stats, let alone status effects, are completely unheard of nowadays.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Correct, such weapon are usually left to royalty and knights of the highest ranks. Until a couple of days ago, I had never seen one. To sell them at anything lower would be a crime.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why don¡¯t people just make more?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Impossible, only a certain race has the ¡®ability¡¯ to place stat and special effects on weaponry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, isn¡¯t that what weapon skill basically do?¡±

    Ash shook his head back and forth.

    Ash: ¡°Weapon skills, are basically spells without the need of an incantation. All the mana comes from the user. Like my ¡®flame slash¡¯, the sword itself can¡¯t make the flame, I make the flame and channel it through the blade. It¡¯s difficult for me to outright fire off a spell, but it if use my sword as a conduit, then I can make better use of my mana.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see.¡±

    Ash: ¡°However, weapons that have their own attributes don¡¯t need to be infused with mana. The powers they have are permanent and can be used at will without a steady flow of mana. Weapons like that require ¡®Imbuing¡¯, which is a skill exclusive to dwarves.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Dwarves?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup a race who were extraordinarily gifted at blacksmithing. Long ago, they made weapons so fierce, they could kill a Regrest with ease; there were those who even said to have slayed dragons. The weapons of today couldn¡¯t even compare to then.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Okay, so why not ask them?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong, don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re extinct?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No, nothing like that, it¡¯s just...well, what I¡¯ve heard, is around nine-hundred years ago, the dwarves, like the elves, turned their backs on the four main races. It¡¯s really vague, but apparently someone of importance was kidnapped and accusations were thrown at everyone.

    Ash: ¡°In the end, the Dwarven King at that time couldn¡¯t trust anyone, so he and his people returned to their country; deep in the mountainous regions of the northern central continent.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Let me guess, they live near some kind of strong monsters and no one wants to make the effort?¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡­and their home is a mass of land floating in the center of a giant bottomless chasm, that saps mana away if you try to cross it.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Because they are the only ones who know how to imbue weaponry, it is impossible to find any weapons like these. I can¡¯t sell them for any less, my pride as a merchant won¡¯t allow it.¡±

    Nathan scratched his cheek; it did sound like a lot just to get an imbued weapon. However, Anais who had been listening to the conversation, tapped Nathan¡¯s leg to get his attention.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you do this ¡®imbuing¡¯ thing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not really, I mean my ¡®tweak¡¯ ability is similar, but from what they¡¯re saying, the dwarves didn¡¯t need any source material or have limits. I just take the attributes from one item and place them on another.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So it¡¯s useless without source material?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°For the most part.  I can¡¯t do it from nothing like the way the dwarves do it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Wait, wait, wait, what are you two talking about?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Like I said, Nathan can imbue things.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And like I said it¡¯s not really imbuing, hear I¡¯ll show you.¡±

    Nathan waved his hand and a breastplate appeared in front of him. He placed a hand to it and for a moment his hand let off a light.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash come here for a sec.¡±

    Ash did as he was asked. When he was close enough, Nathan placed his hand on Ash¡¯s clothes in which he was wearing, the dull light vanishing upon touching. Nathan then waved his hand and pulled out a red cloak, repeating the process. The same dull light and then Nathan sighed heavily.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay done.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Done what? What did you do to me?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯ll see; alright Anais, blast him.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Alright, Flare!¡±

    Much to Ramol and Ash¡¯s surprise, Anais suddenly fired off a spell, right at Ash.

    Ash: ¡°Uwaaaaaaaaaaaa!¡±

    *Bwoosh*

    The fireball hit him point-blank in the chest, knocking him to the floor. Ramol, not knowing what was going on, jumped back in fright.

    Ramol: ¡°Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ramol¡­calm down and look.¡±

    Ramol did as he was told and was surprised to find Ash was okay. He was coughing a bit , but otherwise, he was okay.¡±

    Ash: ¡°WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?, I COULD HAVE DIED!?¡±

    Anais: Oh, shut up you big baby, you¡¯ll be fine. Nathan already imbued the clothes with fire resistance.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not imbuing, tweaking, tweak-ing.¡±

    Ash looked at himself and checked his HP. Anais was right, he had almost no damage and his clothes now had ¡®flame-resistance¡¯.

    Ramol: ¡°Examine¡±

    *ding*

    Travelers Clothes+                           Tier: Uncommon

    Clothes favored by travelers which are both fashionable and also comfortable. Perfect for those long journeys¡­

    Fire-Resistant, +14 Defense.

    Ramol: ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Fire-resistance and plus fourteen defense in everyday cloth.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I took the properties from the breastplate and the Elven-cloak and put it in his clothes. And the breast plate here-¡±

    *Smash*

    Nathan easily punched a hole through the breastplate, smashing it to pieces.

    Nathan: ¡°Whatever I take from, if I don¡¯t leave something behind, it becomes like this.¡±

    Anais furthered his explanation, by burning the cloak, which no longer had its fire resistance.

    Ramol: ¡°Such an ability¡­remarkable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I thought so also at first, but it has its share of disadvantages. Everything has a certain amount in which I can tweak it. I called them ¡®Notches¡¯, like mine and Ash¡¯s clothes , in that they only have two times each in which they can be ¡®tweaked¡¯. That means, I can¡¯t change their attributes any more than that and what I¡¯ve placed can¡¯t be taken out. I wish I¡®d known that before I used up two slots for defense.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Incredible, but I think it¡¯s a waste to destroy such great armor.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡­Ramol¡­¡­.have you ever worn armor?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well, no?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then you don¡¯t know.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Armor is¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­extremely uncomfortable to wear.¡±

    Anais and Ash, nodded in unison, agreeing wholeheartedly with Nathan.

    Ramol: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Have you ever tried any?...It¡¯s like the worst¡­ when the sun beats down on you it makes it hot and extremely uncomfortable.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Its heavy so you can¡¯t move exactly like you want.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Also taking it off and not to mention putting the damn thing on in the first place.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But the worst thing by far¡­¡±

    Ash & Anais: ¡°The smell.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right, the smell¡­it¡¯s so damn hard to get rid of.¡±

    The three nodded as a matter of fact. Ramol just faced-palmed. These were problems everyone had to deal with, it may be uncomfortable, but it wasn¡¯t made for comfort. It was made for defense. However, for the sake of not breaking into arguments, he kept his mouth shut, while the three voiced their complaints about armor.

    Ramol: ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s this, I never heard of such a tier ¡°Uncommon¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Tier?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It a leveling system for items, indicating how valuable they are. By the way¡­all your weapons are ¡®rare¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They are?¡±

    Nathan thought back, when he had checked his weapons before, they were all ¡®common¡¯ tier. If Ramol believed them be a ¡®rare¡¯ tier, either his examine skill is telling him something different or maybe it was because how both of them acquired their ¡®examine¡® skills. Ramol¡¯s was given to him, while Nathan got his naturally. Was the ability just basing its categorization off from 5,000 years ago? when the weapons were common place.

    If that¡¯s the reason then, how does he fix it? More-over, who categorized such things, the description couldn¡¯t write itself could it?

    Before he even realized it, he was lost in his own thoughts, blissfully unaware he was being called over and over.

    *Bonk*

    Anais smacked Nathan on the head, bringing back from his thoughts.

    Nathan: ¡°Ow, Anais!¡±

    Anais: ¡°Welcome back.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You okay? We thought we¡¯d lost you there for a second?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just¡­..just thinking about somethings.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Wanna fill us in¡­?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s too far off from the topic, right now we need to find a way of selling the weapons without being swarmed. Oh wait, the produce, how did you make out?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°They sold pretty good; they flew off the shelves faster than we can stock them, the Stratos Berries sold the most.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°They use as ingredients for fancy food, but they¡¯re most popularly use in tea.  Since they only grow deep in heavy forested areas of dungeons, they are hard to come by.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Stratos Berry huh¡­I¡¯ll grow more of them then.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No, don¡¯t do that. If we sell them in large quantities, people will wonder where we got them all from. If not for the fact that we can immediately harvest everything you grow and the high fences you placed around my garden, I¡¯m not sure how we could keep it all secret.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, then can you show me which ones I should focus on growing?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yes, for the most part.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then we can sort through all the produce I can grow and find the most valuable ones. While I¡¯m at it¡­I can give you some herbs.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Now, it¡¯s nearly midnight, shouldn¡¯t we wait until morning?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course not, I¡¯ll be super busy all day tomorrow, so many quests to complete so that I can go in the Dungeon at least by the second or third day.¡±

    It had been a long day, even with so many setbacks, both his side and the side of his friends. It wasn¡¯t all bad though, he did get something out of it in the form of magic, but it wasn¡¯t really a good idea to share what he could do right now,

    At this rate he¡¯d only have a few days to explore the dungeon before it closed again and fighting all those bandits didn¡¯t get me crap in the end, so I¡¯d have to work twice as hard.

    Ash, who¡¯d been barely paying attention, perked up upon hearing what Nathan said.

    Ash: ¡°Wait, what bandits?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Crap.)¡±

    Nathan had let it slip out by accident, rushing to the back door to leave, but Ash caught on and quickly jumped in front of him.

    Ash: ¡°For all that is good, please tell me you didn¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, I didn¡¯t.¡±

    *bonk*

    Nathan: ¡°Ow (Why does everybody keep hitting me?).¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t lie, you ass. I told you not to go after them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I-It was just a spur of the moment thing, I didn¡¯t mean to go after them.¡±

    Ash faced palm, and sigh heavily.

    Ash: ¡°Please tell me, you didn¡¯t do anything too drastic?¡±

    Sweat poured down Nathan¡¯s face as he spoke.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, there a funny story about that?

    Ash: ¡°What, what did you do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I kinda accidently got their leader killed.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.YOU DID WHAT!?¡±

    Ash screamed bloody murder, he could not believe what he heard.

    Ash: ¡°You killed the leader of a group of bandits, which ones?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The ones from the quest back at the guild.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Just them?...well if it¡¯s only the Therian bandits, it might not be too bad.¡±

    Ash breathed a sigh of relief, it wasn¡¯t fair to say, but if it just Therian, they won¡¯t have the lee-way to seek revenge on them.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, *mumble*.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, there¡¯s an even funnier story about that, it turns out that it wasn¡¯t a group of Therian bandits, but a bunch of people being made to steal.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Jonathan: ¡°Ughn, what?¡±

    Jonathan opened his eyes, his vision hazy, his head pounding. He eyes darted back in forth, trying to figure out where he was. He was lying on a bed in a candle-lit room, no furnishing except for a lone desk next to the bed. He sat up only to be met with a searing pain. He hand ran over the source of the pain, which was now neatly bandaged up.

    Jonathan: ¡°Ah, what the hell is this?¡±

    His inquiry didn¡¯t last long, as memories of what had happened came flooding back. Gideon, the woman he antagonized and the Lycanian who cause everything to go wrong. They had only a few days left before they were going to move everything north of Loegrey to avoid the guard¡¯s inevitable search for them. However, Gideon refuse to leave, until he could acquire that damnable fox. And because of his stupid fetish, the Lycanian showed up and ruined their plans. The more he recalled, the angrier he got eventually slamming his fist down in anger.

    *Bam**Crash*

    Jonathan turned to the desk he had hit, a cup of water that was placed there was knocked to the floor. Moments later, footsteps could be heard, then the door to his room was thrown open. Into the room a girl walked in, holding a few blankets she looked down at the mess and frowned.

    ?????: ¡°Jonathan don¡¯t make more work for me.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Not now Jenn.¡±

    The woman¡¯s name was Jennifer, with her long black hair rolled into a bun, entered into the room and set the blankets down on a nearby chair. Jonathan glanced at her, her facial expression was as stiff as always, never really changing all that much, except for when she was upset. Reaching into the apron she was wearing, she pulled out a glove and began to pick up the shards of glass, followed by a cloth to wipe up the water.

    Jennifer: ¡°Not now, I get angry too, I don¡¯t go around smashing things.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Tch!¡±

    Jonathan fought through the pain and sat up in the bed, just as Jennifer finished wiping up the water. She went on about her business, cleaning and changing the linen on other beds in the room.

    Gill: ¡°How long have I been out?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°A few hours, your wound has healed, but only on the surface, it needs time to recover. You lost a lot of blood.¡±

    Jennifer finished her chores and turned to Jonathan.

    Jennifer: ¡°So, you¡¯re the only one who came through, so I guess everyone else is dead?¡±

    Jonathan turned to see her scowling, but Jennifer didn¡¯t flinch in the least. She dealt with people like him all day, he was the least intimidating.

    Jennifer: ¡°*sigh* You can move, then hurry up and get dressed, Simon wants to talk to you.¡±

    Jonathan, despite the pain, turned away and got up. He didn¡¯t want to, but hearing Simon¡¯s name was a good motivator.  He could only guess what he wanted, if the Emergency Transport Scroll was used but the one using it wasn¡¯t Gideon, something must have gone terribly wrong. The spell he used was meant for emergencies only; when there was no other choice. The fact that he was alone when he arrived here, could only mean one of two things. Either everyone was dead except for him or he left everyone one behind to escape. Since Jonathan was never known to be a coward, the latter didn¡¯t seem plausible, at least to Jennifer.

    Everything went wrong the moment the Lycanian woman showed up.  He put his clothes back on and fetched his glasses from the desk drawer. When he was done, Jennifer ushered him out. He stepped into the dimly lit hallway, waiting for Jennifer to finish her tidying. A minute later, after fixing the bed Jonathan was lying in, Jennifer emerged from the room. She silently shut the door, then turned to him.

    Jennifer: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Jonathan and Jennifer silently walked down the halls; she noticed Jonathan didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood to speak, so she let him be. To Jonathan¡¯s left, there were windows , but Jonathan know there was nothing but dense forest for miles around and the moon didn¡¯t shine from this side, but the stars were always so clear out there. He never understood why they had these windows installed, nothing but an endless sea of trees could be seen and during the day and at night it was an ocean of stars.

    He looked ahead, Jennifer wearing her standard housekeeping set up, a plain grey dress, under a white apron, in which she held a number of cleaning utensils. Ever since they were children, she was one of the only person he would meet in these halls or navigate them. Which made sense, she was never allowed to leave this place and could only watch as Jonathan and Gideon came and went. He thought of starting a conversation, but inevitably decided against it. He just walked behind her in silence, the occasional groan of pain escaping his mouth, as he clutched his side in pain.

    Truth be told he always hated coming here, but as the right-hand man of the bandit group, whenever Gideon was summoned to the ¡°Thieves Guild¡±, he was forced to come as well.

    He used the emergency transport scroll to get away from the Lycanian, but at least she was dead, no one could have survived that blast. It was a pity he had to blow up all the valuables, but as soon as he got back, he could collect whatever was still intact. That is, if Simon allowed him to go back after this incident.

    Jennifer: ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    Jonathan looked up to the double doors that lead to the inner most chambers. When Jennifer open the door, the bright light compared to the hall was blinding. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the unnecessarily extravagant room. A long table stretched out before him; however, he was surprise to see several people sitting at the table. Men and women, infamous thieves and bandit leaders, filled the chairs at the table. They only came together when a discussion of the utmost importance was to be held.

    When the two walked in, all eyes fell on Jonathan. He held his hand to keep it from shaking, it was an intimidating sight to say the least. He didn¡¯t understand how Gideon, always strolled through here so care free.

    Jennifer: ¡°Master Simon, I brought him.¡±

    Simon sat at the head of the table, resting his chin on his crossed hands. He wore a pleasant smile, but a hidden malice poured out from either side of his lips. The longer one looked at him the more fighting the smile became.

    Simon: ¡°Thank you Jennifer, standby in case I need you.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Jennifer stepped aside leaving Jonathan as the center of attention.

    Simon: ¡°Come now Jonathan, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous, please have a seat.¡±

    Jonathan did as he was told and sat down, trying his best to avoid eye contact with anyone there.  The moment he sat down, Simon got to the point.

    Simon: ¡°Now, let¡¯s hear your excuse; about that Lycanian and how she utterly humiliated you, destroyed your hideout and how you let her kill your brother.¡±

 Chapter 72: The Merchants Circumstances

    <u>Chapter 72: The Merchant¡¯s Circumstances</u>

    Iris: ¡°Where exactly are we going?¡±

    Anais: ¡°We¡¯ll get there soon.¡±

    Anais leapt across the roof tops, Nathan and Iris, following right behind her. After everyone had long gone to bed, Anais led Nathan and Iris out into the streets. She didn¡¯t explain where they were going, but the look on her face, she was angry.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    As they followed, Nathan <u>noticed</u> that they were being followed. However, after quickly realizing who it was, he just continued on after Anais.

    After a while, they arrived in a new section in town, a section still as bustling as if it was daytime. From above it was a wondrous, using magic to turn the surroundings building to a sea of lights. Noble and commoners alike walked the streets, searching, for just the right place to relinquish their compensation.

    Iris: ¡°It really beautiful, their attire.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s how they get you.¡±

    Beautiful women in alluring outfits, so enchanting even the most steadfast of men would fall to sin, approached each and every man they saw. A battle of seduction, with the eyes of a prowler, they each expertly led man after man to their individual places of business. As they were searched for a companion for the night or until dawn, like moths to the flame, men fell to temptation.

    Iris: ¡°What do they want to get?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhhh, I tell you when you¡¯re older. Anais, where are we going?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Over there.¡±

    Anais pointed out a building, lacking the luster of the others; in fact it was stand alone amongst the other building decorating the area. It would go complete unnoticed, if one weren¡¯t searching for it amongst the rest.

    Nathan: ¡°What about it?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Earlier today, when you ask us to go protect Ramol, he wasn¡¯t there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°He had left Kyr to work the stall by himself while he went off. I followed after him and-¡±

    Anais stopped short of what she was going to say, as if something had been lodged in her throat.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, what happened?¡±

    Anais: ¡°He asked me not to tell you, but you both need to hear this. What I saw earlier today.¡±

    _

    _

    Ramol: ¡°¡°NO, YOUR DEALINGS ARE WITH ME AND ME ALONE. LEAVE THE LYCANIAN OUT OF THIS!¡±

    Anais: ¡°(Ramol, what the hell is going on?)¡±

    Anais made her way over to the alley but found one of the men standing at the entrance. He didn¡¯t look like he was planning to let anyone walk by. Everyone who walked by acted as if they didn¡¯t notice what was going on and continued on their way. Anais thought she could take him out easy enough, but hurting him might alert the others. She quickly ducked out of sight, taking a quick glance making sure no one could see her.

    *poof*

    Changing to her rodent form it should be easy for her to walk right by, but why take the chance. Activating ¡®Shadow Sneak¡¯ together with a few bounds, she had quickly made her way into the alley, the guard none the wiser.

    ?????: ¡°This is not a negotiation Ramol.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No, I won¡¯t do it.¡±

    Coming around the corner, Anais found Ramol arguing with one of the men. He was weird looking man, with cheeks that looked like a squirrel after they stuffed it with nuts. His clothes notably better than the other three, was a gaudy green color jacket over a black shirt. He stood there, a finger up his nose as he barely gave Ramol¡¯s argument the time of day.

    ?????: ¡°Listen Ramol, what problem is there with a meet and greet, all we want to do is have a word with the Lycanian see. But, word around town is the Lycanian is hard to persuade, says she does business with only a few people in town. It was just my luck that the same person she¡¯s doing business with, I¡¯m doing business with. So, I thought to myself, this is what I thought, why don¡¯t we all go into business together? I, for one, think it¡¯s a fine idea¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Our business is done Morty, I paid you back every coin I owed you.¡± Morty wagged his finger back and forth.

    Morty: ¡°Oh Ramol, did you forget¡­? You still owe the interest from being late.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Late? I paid you your money on time, on the first of every month, always.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Ramol, must I bring up our contract, it doesn¡¯t say ¡°on¡± the first, but ¡°by¡± the first. What that actually meant was, you were supposed to give me the money the day before the first.

    Ramol: ¡°Nonsense, that¡¯s a stretch and you know it.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what you say, it¡¯s not my fault you signed something without properly understanding it, see this is why mutts are so easily taken advantage of. You think they learn after so many years.¡±

    So, from what Anais understood of the situation, Morty lent Ramol some money, which Ramol paid back, but now they were trying to force him back into debt once again. This way they could get him to set up a meet with Nathan. After Nathan¡¯s stroll around town to all the merchants, he settled on Ramol and didn¡¯t even think about ever selling anything of value to anyone else.

    So, it¡¯s not too far-fetched that someone would believe, getting in business with Ramol, would lead them to Nathan. However, that won¡¯t be the case at all, for Nathan can see through lies as easy as breathing, he would never go into business with someone he didn¡¯t completely trust.

    Morty: ¡°But I¡¯m willing to forget all this if you do as I ask.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work, Na-, the Lycanian is extremely cautious, it won¡¯t go like you think, they are all very untrusting of anyone.¡±

    Morty: ¡°That¡¯s where you come in, show her what a great business opportunity the three of us could build together.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°You are not listening, the Lycanian won¡¯t-¡±

    *Snap*

    *Bam*

    Ramol: ¡°Augh!?¡±

    With a snap of his finger, one of Morty¡¯s men move around to the side of Ramol. Anais jumped up, as one of the men smashed Ramol on his side, causing him to drop to his knees.

    *Smack*

    The other man kicked him in the back, knocking Ramol to the ground.

    *Stomp*

    Ramol: ¡°Agrh!¡±

    Morty stepped his head, grinding his foot into Ramol¡¯s head.

    Morty: ¡°NO Ramol, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re listening. See, this isn¡¯t a negotiation, this isn¡¯t a request, this is just you doing as I say, because our business is DONE WHEN I FUCKING SAY IT¡¯S DONE!¡±

    Morty took the time to grind that last part into Ramol¡¯s skull. Anais took a step forward; she had seen enough. It was time to put these assholes in their place. Just as she was about to move, her eyes met with Ramol¡¯s. It took a moment, but he realized who¡¯s she was and urged her not to interfere.

    Anais: ¡°*Squeak*Ramol?¡±

    Morty: ¡°Hmm, hey lookie here, looks like your cousin, come to watch, you guys look so much alike, even the dirt cover faces are similar.¡±

    Morty laughed out loud at his ridicule of Ramol, a laugh that sounded just like a pig with ¡®buhii¡¯ sound. To see a mouse running around was nothing special and had no idea that it was Anais.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Morty: ¡°Ramol. I don¡¯t like doing this to you, honest I don¡¯t, but you gotta understand your place in the world. You came to me in your time of need, and I being the gentlemen that I am took pity on you. I mean sure you paid me the money back, but you kept your business partner a secret from me and honestly that hurts.¡±

    Morty wiped a strained tear from his eye, as he continued.

    Morty: ¡°Because if there one thing I can¡¯t stand with business partners is secrets, cause when they get out and they will, someone¡¯s, gets, hurt.¡±

    After grinding the last few words into Ramol, he finally steps off his head.

    Morty: ¡°So in light of this, let¡¯s say you owe me one.¡±

    Anais was enraged as this point; every word coming out of his mouth was completely unreasonable. Ramol begged her to stop and it took every inch of her will power to do just that.

    Morty: ¡°You say, she doesn¡¯t do business freely?......then find a way to make her more trusting. Cause I really hope the next meeting we have is strictly business. All this violence, it¡¯s just not something I could ever enjoy. I¡¯m off to get a new pair of shoes, this smell¡­like wet mutts, ugh.¡±

    Morty laughed out loud as he left Ramol there on the ground. Ramol looked over to Anais as he stood up after the men were gone, wiping some dirt from his face.

    *poof*

    Anais returned to her Therian form, attempting to help him to his feet. Ramol kept his head down, refusing to talk, so Anais spoke instead.

    Anais: ¡°Ramol-¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say, but Nathan has already done so much for me, I can¡¯t in good conscience have him bail me out once again.¡±

    Ramol bowed to Anais, as low as he could go.

    Anais: ¡°Ramol!?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Please keep what you saw today, quiet. This is something I got myself into and I¡¯d rather deal with it myself. Please, I beg you.¡±

    _

    _

    Anais: ¡°And that¡¯s what happened. After what happened, I followed them here.¡±

    Anais finished her story and Nathan just remained quiet.

    Iris: ¡°Dreadful.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They wanted to get in on the money making, so they did that. Dammit Ramol, why didn¡¯t you say something?¡±

    Honestly Nathan could understand his pride, but pride can¡¯t stop a beating and from what Anais told him, they planned on beating him every day he refuses.

    Anais: ¡°Because of our meeting with him, he was able to pay them off; he didn¡¯t want to get you involved with his problems any further.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, they only returned because of us¡­the problem just escalated beyond what he is capable of handling.¡±

    Nathan grinded his teeth, it was his fault Ramol had to deal with this. He had finally gotten away from the ¡®loan sharks¡¯, only to be brought back because of him.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if they want a meeting with me so badly, then let¡¯s go meet them.¡±

    Anais & Iris: ¡°What!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°After what they¡¯ve done, you gonna meet them!?¡±

    Nathan smiled with malicious glee and both the girls instantly understood, dawning similar smiles in expressions in turn.

    Nathan: ¡°If they want to go into business with me that badly, so be it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wait, we can¡¯t rush right in, I¡¯ve seen a lot of people going in and out of that place earlier today.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, that could be a problem. Fine, a little reconnaissance never hurt anyone. Let¡¯s spilt up. You three; scope out the building. I¡¯ll look up on a familiar scent I passed earlier.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Three? What are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan pointed to a chimney nearby, where familiar pair of horns was sticking out.

    Anais: ¡°Wait is that Ena¡­? You followed us!?¡±

    The horns disappeared upon Anais¡¯s question.

    Ena: ¡°M-Meoooooowwww~¡±

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯re not fooling anybody.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pffftt!¡±

    Nathan, with the three of them behind him, jumped down from the building and then took off down the street.

    _

    _

    Noble: ¡°Give back my money, you thieves.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Damn, run faster Jazz.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I know already.¡±

    Jazz and Beat, with they¡¯re not-so-clean heist, were being chased through the streets by their target. Their thieving skills weren¡¯t on-par with Viola; hence the chase that was currently happening. It didn¡¯t take long for their target to realize his money was stolen and, shorter still, too figure out who had pilfered it.

    Beat: ¡°You were supposed to distract him; it was supposed to be clean getaway.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Well, if you hadn¡¯t knocked over the barstool on the way out, it would have.¡±

    Noble: ¡°I said stop you brats.¡±

    *Fwoosh**Splat* *Crash*

    Noble: ¡°Gaaaaah!?¡±

    Beat and Jazz turned, to see the noble crash head-first into a stall. He had been hit in the face with a rotten piece of fruit, causing the accident.

    Beat: ¡°Where in did that come from?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Over here.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Boss.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Don¡¯t call me that and get over here.¡±

    They did as they were told, quickly shuffling over to Viola. The noble had recovered just in-time to see the duo disappear down a small street.

    Noble: ¡°You¡¯re not getting away.¡±

    The Noble men quickly got his bearings and gave chase. They ran down a dark street; a dark street the noble was all too familiar with. He knew that this particular street lead to a dead end and that were cornering themselves. He drew his weapon as he came around the bend, only to be met with nothing.

    Noble: ¡°What¡­where could they have gone?¡±

    The noble was sure they had turned down this way, he knocked over some crates nearby and looked for any hiding spot, but they had just simply disappeared. He quickly turned and went back the way he came. If they weren¡¯t there, they must have turned down the other street. However, what the noble failed to see, was the rope slowly ascending and disappearing over a building.

    Viola ¡°Looks like he¡¯s gone.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Phew, what a relief. Thanks for the assist boss.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Yeah, We¡¯ll be more careful the next time we go out.¡±

    Viola: ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have been out here at all.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°What?¡±

    Viola turned to the two startling them, she was pissed.

    Viola: ¡°What were you two thinking? Coming out here by yourselves? Don¡¯t you know what would have happened if you were caught? You¡¯re lucky I found you when I did.¡±

    Beat: ¡°But, but boss-¡±

    Viola: ¡°I don¡¯t won¡¯t to hear it and stop calling me boss.¡±

    Viola looked over the roof, checking for any signs of the man who was chasing them.

    Viola: ¡°Looks like it¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s get off the streets. I swear sometimes you two are just too troublesome.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­No, I¡¯m not going.¡±

    Jazz glared at Viola, she was at her limit.

    Viola: ¡°Jazz, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me, what¡¯s wrong with you lately?¡±

    Viola: ¡°What?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°We¡¯ve messed up before, and you would just tell us where when went wrong, but now you just get pissed. That¡¯s not the Viola I know.¡±

    Viola: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°More than that, you haven¡¯t stolen anything in days and all you do is sit around the hideout, sighing and staring into space. So, we try to cheer you up by getting an easy score.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Easy score, two kids and the middle of the red-light district, what other reason besides trying to rob someone would you be there for? Your mark would have pegged you a mile away.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°At least we¡¯re trying to.¡±

    Viola: ¡°So you go out by yourselves and nearly get caught and you¡¯re mad at me for worrying about you?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Worried? We¡¯re thieves¡­we should be worried every time we step outside. We know the risks; it¡¯s the life we live.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Um, can we just get out of here, before we¡¯re caught?¡±

    Viola & Jazz: ¡°Shut up, Beat.¡±

    Beat quickly stepped away from the bickering woman, no longer having any confidence in stopping him.

    Jazz: ¡°It¡¯s her fault, right?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Her?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb; the Lycanian. Ever since she stole from you, you¡¯ve been sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. No one¡¯s been able to get one over on you before, but since someone finally did, you sulk around like it¡¯s the end.¡±

    Viola: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Is that what I¡¯m doing?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°If it isn¡¯t, what exactly is going on with you?¡±

    She didn¡¯t quite understand herself either, this feeling she had whenever she thought of the Lycanian, the tightness in her chest and her racing heart. She didn¡¯t think she was so conceited, but she had also never been stolen from before. Maybe that was the case, but she wasn¡¯t completely sure.

    Viola: ¡°I don¡¯t really know myself, this never happened to me before; I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me. This feeling, I just don¡¯t understand.¡±

    When Jazz and Beat saw her strained expression, they understood that Viola had no idea what was wrong with herself, but she knew how they could find out.

    Beat: ¡°¡­¡­.Then let¡¯s go figure it out.¡±

    Viola & Jazz: ¡°What?¡±

    Beat: ¡°Let¡¯s go see the Lycanian again, if you meet her again, we might figure out what¡¯s going on with you.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Yeah that might work, and if it doesn¡¯t work we could always try to rob her again. Beat you can have good ideas sometimes.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Thanks¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Hey!¡±

    Viola thought about it and it didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea. If seeing and robbing the Lycanian would help get her out of her funk, then so be it. With that decided she decided to clear up a misunderstanding that the two were having.

    Viola: ¡°Let¡¯s try it, but first¡­you two do know right¡­that woman is actually a man.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°What?¡±

    Viola: ¡°The Lycanian is not a woman but a man.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I get ya, she a tomboy right.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Yeah, she even talks like a man sometimes, you heard about how she bashed Gaunt at the Guild the other day right?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°How can someone so beautiful, say things like that.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Doesn¡¯t match her image at all.

    Viola faced palmed, they weren¡¯t hearing her at all.

    Viola: ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean, his gender, is male.¡±

    Beat: ¡°What, are you okay boss, something wrong with your eyes too!?¡±

    Viola: ¡°I¡¯ll belt ya one Beat, the Lycanian is a man.¡±

    Beat: ¡°No way, you think someone so pretty is a man?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re gonna be okay?¡±

    Viola: ¡°I¡¯m just hella pissed, I¡¯m telling you he¡¯s a man.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She¡¯s right I am a man, I¡¯m surprised you notice, like genuinely surprised.¡±

    The three turned and were shocked to see Nathan standing on the edge of the roof.

    Jazz: ¡°The Lycanian!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Would mind just calling me Nathan?¡±

 Chapter 73: Too Much Information

    <u>Chapter 73: Too Much Information</u>

    Nathan: ¡°Hey can we talk?¡±

    Nathan hopped down from the ledge and moved towards the three. Jazz immediately stepped back, alongside Beat.

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, I just want to talk. I need some information.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Like we¡¯d give you anything.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, just a little info won¡¯t hurt.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Stay back!¡±

    Nathan put his hand out, trying to show that he meant no harm; Beat and Jazz were being overly cautious. On the other hand, Viola hadn¡¯t moved since he¡¯d arrived, she just been staring at him intensely.

    He didn¡¯t recall doing anything that would make them so afraid. Yes, sure he stole from them, but they had done the same to him.

    Nathan: ¡°Sheesh why are you so afraid of me, I just want to talk.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Talk okay, let¡¯s talk about what you did to Boss.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pfft, Boss?¡±

    Viola finally came out of her stupor upon hearing Nathan laugh.

    Viola: ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡±

    Viola reprimanded Beat, before turning back to Nathan. He was still chuckling a bit, he thought that being called Boss, didn¡¯t fit her image. She became irritated, more than that, the feeling was returning. The tightening in her chest had returned and now her heart was close to bursting . So, it was true, it was the Lycanian¡¯s fault, if she could figure out what it is, she could figure out how to stop it.

    Viola: ¡°Are you done?¡±

    Nathan hearing the irritation in her voice settled down.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Whatever, if you want information, what do we get in return?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, how about this?¡±

    Nathan pulled out a small bag and tossed it to Viola.

    Nathan: ¡°One hundred Rydt. It¡¯s all I can afford, right now hope its enough.¡±

    Viola and company quickly checked the contents; the sight of money was slowly returning her to her former persona. She smiled down at the coins before tossing them to Beat. It was way more money then they were gonna ask for, but they weren¡¯t going to tell. Even Jazz who was against at first, change her tune after seeing the money.

    Viola: ¡°We¡¯re listening.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What can you tell me about someone named Morty?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Morty? That joke of a slum lord...?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Joke?¡±

    Viola crossed her arms and nodded her head in confirmation.

    Viola: ¡°He¡¯s strictly small time; he gets his jolly harassing Therian¡¯s, mostly because it¡¯s the easiest and securest way to make money and steer clear of the big-time loan sharks. He stays secluded in Loegrey, it has the highest Therian population around these parts. He¡¯s also a well-known Therian hater.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Any affiliations?¡±

    Viola: ¡°None that we know of; none of the big guys really gives him the time of day. As long as he stays in his little area, he¡¯s pretty much isolated.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s good. (No one will care if he suddenly went out of business)

    Nathan smiled; he found out all he needed to know. With this he could move on Morty without any lasting repercussions.

    Viola: ¡°Why do you care so much about Morty?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He¡¯s hassling a friend of mine, so I¡¯m gonna make him stop.¡±

    Viola: ¡°What?...you gonna take him on by yourself¡­? He may be a small-time crook, but he is in no way a push-over.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your worried about me?¡±

    Viola: ¡°O-Of course not, who would worry about you.¡±

    Viola¡¯s faced went flush, as she firmly denied Nathan¡¯s claims. Nathan just shrugged his shoulders.

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks for worrying about me, but I¡¯ll be fine. I think that¡¯s all I need, thanks for the info.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Your leaving?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, why? Do you want something else?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Well, I,I-¡±

    Viola try to say what she needed, but the feeling from earlier was returning.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Tell us what you did to Viola.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Yeah, what did you do to our boss?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What are you talking about, she looks fine.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°No ever since she met you she¡¯s been acting strangely, it¡¯s interfering with business.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t think I did anything to her.¡±

    Nathan turned to Viola, when their eyes met, her face flushed red. Nathan took notice of this and approached Viola, the second he got close; she went red in the face.

    Viola: ¡°Wh-wh-wh-what!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Calm down.¡±

    Her breath was short, so her words came out broken. Nathan could hear her heart beating rapidly the closer her got, she was sweating an awful lot, not to mention her face being so red. To him it looks like she had a fever, at least what he could tell from her symptoms. However, he didn¡¯t understand why they¡¯d think he¡¯d done something to her, all he could recall was the number of times he¡¯d been sick in his life, none of which were of Leseres; as his memories were of Earth.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, there does seem to be something wrong with you, does this happen often?¡±

    Viola: ¡°Ah-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°She says it only happens when she thinks of you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, it was that bad!?¡±

    Nathan was a little startled by this, was him stealing from her that big of a shock? He heard of professional being bested at their profession tend to go into a similar shock, but he read that most come out of their rut.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Jazz: ¡°Viola¡­tell him?¡±

    Jazz pushed Viola forward, forcing her to explain the symptoms to him. Viola began to explain everything that was wrong with her to Nathan. It was broken and some of what she said had to be translated, but Nathan was slowly beginning to understand.

    The more he heard, the more he understood and soon he knew exactly what was wrong. It was so obvious he was fighting the urge to blush himself, but saying what it was would make it really awkward. Their faces were full of worry for their, but it was absolutely not something to worry about. He raised a hand to Viola¡¯s chest, causing her to turn beet red.

    Viola: ¡°WH-WHAT THE!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Tranquil.¡±

    Viola was wrapped in a white aura and slowly her heart beat calmed and the flush in her face disappeared.

    Viola: ¡°Ah, the feelings gone.¡±

    Viola thought for a second there that he was going to rub her chest, but it felt like he cured her. Nathan took a few steps back from Viola, quickly creating some distance between them.

    Nathan: ¡°For now, I but best leave before the symptoms return.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°So you admit it, you did do something to her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes and no, it¡¯s really not my place to say, you should try to figure it out on your own.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°If we could, we would have already, just tell us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that; look do you have any older girlfriends?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, she could explain to you what she¡¯s feeling right now; trust me, it¡¯s best if I¡¯m not around when you figure it out. Figure it out on your own or ask a lady-friend, if you find out any other way, you¡¯ll probably regret it. And with that, I¡¯m outta here.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°Dying, wait!?¡±

    With that Nathan quickly jumped down from the building, wanting to get away from the awkward situation only he was aware of. His faced flush a bit, when he thought back to what she told him.

    Nathan: ¡°Awkward girl¡­ why am I the only one who realized your confession?¡±

    _

    _

    Iris: ¡°Your back.¡±

    Nathan waved at the girls as he returned from his information gathering. The three girls looked as though they had just returned as well.

    Nathan: ¡°I got the information; how did it look around the building?¡±

    Iris: ¡°There¡¯s quite few men in the building, most of them are on the first floor in a room by the entrance and a few patrolling the grounds outside.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It won¡¯t be at all difficult to get inside and we can take out the guys at the entrance, no problem. But we have to be careful about how we go about it. There seems to be a lot of innocent people in there as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Innocent?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Children and the like, there some acting as servants, while the rest are held in a room on the second floor.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He kidnapped them?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Didn¡¯t look like it, the ones walking around don¡¯t seem like they are in any discomfort, I think they might be people who owe him money.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Damn, then we can¡¯t use plan A.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Plan A?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Have Iris, lift the building into the air and launch it into the horizon.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t you think someone would notice a building fly off into oblivion?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if they don¡¯t know who did it. Well I guess we have to use plan C.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You mean plan B.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No that plan was to have Ena go in and then demolish the building with them in it or have you rain hell-fire down upon them. Since we can¡¯t do anything like that let¡¯s go with this plan, C.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Nathan closed his hand and then opened it to reveal a small glowing ball, which he then tossed into the air.

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, Iris, would the two of you be so kind as to make a little wind, don¡¯t want to knock out the entire area.¡±

    Anais and Iris did as they were asked as the ball of light fell off of Nathan, Anais and Iris would cause a breeze that would send them right towards the targeted building.

    Nathan: "Heh, heh, I saw them do this in a movie once."

    _

    _

    Morty: ¡°Ah this is delicious. You boy!  Go fetch me something to eat.¡±

    Therian Boy: ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    Morty sipped at a glass cup, savoring every bit of the drink in his cup. The Therian boy quickly shuffled out, heading for the kitchen as Morty fanned the air as if the boy left behind a stench. His wine tasted particularly good today, it was the day before his special business opportunity, the one people like him dreamt of.

    For the longest time, he had been dealing with low-level debts from the high population of Therians. They weren¡¯t particularly wealthy, but they were safe and easy to target. Who would have thought from such a small-time business that he would catch such a break? It was a god-send that he happened to be collecting from a particular Therian who just so happened to be partnering up with the illusive and infamous Lycanian.

    Merchant after merchant approached the Lycanian every day since he¡¯d arrived with the high-level weaponry, but one after another, no matter how good the deal, they would be immediately shut-down. The only chance they had, would be to cozy up next to Ramol, but Ramol refused to partner up with anyone who wanted to meet the Lycanian and since that¡¯s the only reason they would partner with him, he remained exclusive.

    However, Ramol had borrowed some money from Morty, and with the interest rate of five percent increase every month, he was just recently able to pay it back. However, Morty being the genius he is, decided he rather go into business with the Lycanian through Ramol. All he had to do was tweak the terms of the contract, a loophole. Sooner or later Ramol will give him what he wanted, if not, he¡¯ll would just have Ramol roughed until he did, violence was always a great negotiation settler.

    Morty: ¡°Buhii, soon I¡¯ll be the most prominent loan shark in this town and then I can spread my network beyond the walls of this disgusting mutt ridden town. I can just imagine: Midheim, Hyborne, maybe even Ziltharth, oh the possibilities. Maybe I should look into Sterling, I hear they¡¯re slowly rising to prominence. *Guuuuuurrrrrrr~*

    Morty: ¡°Hey, where the hells my food?¡±

    Morty slammed his hand down on the desk, as his stomach growl in protest.

    Morty: ¡°You hear me?...get your little ass in here with my food.¡±

    When no answer came, Morty breathed a sigh of contempt.

    Morty: ¡°I allowed these mongrels into my home, so they can work off their debts, a little bit faster and yet they spit on my hospitality.¡±

    Morty began to grow angrier by the second, but after a moment he realized, everything had gone quiet.

    Morty: ¡°What the hell, hey anyone out there?¡±

    Again, no one answered his call. This wasn¡¯t too un-common, most of his men would spend their time enjoying the locale¡¯s many pleasure facilities. However, they did that only when he¡¯d dismiss them from duty, which he did not. His stomach growled for the last time, before he got up. He walked out into the hallway, to find it void of life.

    Morty grew a bit nervous; he quickly journeyed back inside his room and retrieved a book from his desk. With it tucked under his arm he headed through the facility, listening for anyone or anything.

    Morty: ¡°I swear, you¡¯d all better be dead, making me leave my room.¡±

    Coming down the steps he caught sight of one of his men sitting in a doorway, asleep on the floor. The moment he saw him, nervousness was replaced with anger.

    Morty: ¡°HEY, DIDN¡¯T YOU HEAR ME CALLING YOU, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING YOU FOR?¡±

    The guard hadn¡¯t reacted to Morty¡¯s calls, probably dead drunk and passed out, from whatever was in the cup next to him. Morty stomped towards the man, smacking him in the head in his fury.

    Morty: ¡°Hey you, what the hell are you doi-¡±

    Morty cut his sentence short; as he watched the guard¡¯s body crumple to the floor. He had been knocked unconscious from what looked like a hard blow to the face.

    Morty: ¡°W-What the hell!?¡±

    Around the entry way, several other men were sprawled out in the same way, all unconscious.

    *Crash*

    Therian Boy: ¡°Master Morty, what on Leseres?¡±

    Morty turned to find the Therian boy he had sent to get him food.

    Morty: ¡°You Mongrel, what has happened here?¡±

    Therian Boy: ¡°I-I don¡¯t know¡­this is the first time I¡¯m seeing this. I just went to the kitchen to retrieve your meal.¡±

    On the floor in front of the boy was a plate of food, meant for Morty.

    Therian Boy: ¡°I apologize for the wait, but I was attending to your guests.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Guests¡­? What guests?¡±

    Therian Boy: ¡°Um three women. They say you wanted to meet with them to talk business. I lead them to the waiting room.¡±

    Morty: ¡°You idiot, they were the ones who did this, and you let them walk right in?¡±

    Therian Boy: ¡°They were already entering the guest room when I arrived. I quickly prepared some tea, then went to fetch your meal.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Is there anyone else in there with them?¡±

    Therian Boy: ¡°Some of the people who work for you are.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Good, good. Clean this up and then get a bucket of water and throw it in each one of their faces. While you¡¯re at it, find everyone outside and send them to me.¡±

    Morty left the boy with that and headed for his guest room. He didn¡¯t know what women that be stupid enough to enter his home and incapacitate his men, but they would regret it. However, he remained cautious, to infiltrate his home, knockout the guards watching the door and do it all without alerting the rest of the house, they must be pretty strong. Having reached his guest room, he found a group of his men and the three women, all turn to him when he walked in.

    Right now, his men were being subdued by two of the three women. Some frozen to the wall, others floating in mid-air and the last being man-handled by another woman, as if they were children.

    ???????: ¡°Ah good you¡¯re here.¡±

    Morty nearly lost feeling in his leg; he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn¡¯t seeing things. Sitting in a chair casually sipping at a cup of tea, was the infamous Lycanian.

    Nathan: ¡°Come, don¡¯t stand there like an idiot, sit down. You wanted to talk to me right¡­?¡±

 Chapter 74: Going out of Business

    Chapter 74: Going out of Business

    Nathan continued to sip at the tea as Morty had yet to gain back his composure. Anais and Ena, had already subdued the men in the room and were busy eating and sipping tea. The Therian boy was kind enough to bring them some refreshments while they waited, they saw no reason not to indulge.

    Anais: ¡°Hey Ena, don¡¯t eat all the sandwiches, you have to share.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Sha-ree, if thod thef weer meen.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I can¡¯t understand you with your face stuffed.¡±

    Ena: ¡°*Gulp*, ahh, delicious. I said sorry I thought they were mine.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You thought a whole tray of sandwiches were yours?¡±

    Ena: ¡°He set them down in front of me, what was I supposed to think?¡±

    Nathan chuckled at the two, while he secretly handed some snacks to Iris, letting her eat while not having to be seen.

    Morty stood there in silent shock. The women were sitting there in such a relaxing mood. No one would think they had just entered a slum-lord¡¯s house late at night and took out a bunch of his men, without no-one noticing.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey what are you waiting for; come, let¡¯s talk.¡±

    Morty snapped out of his trance, he coughed a few times to clear his throat. He wasn¡¯t too clear on what was happening, but he wasn¡¯t going to pass up a chance to get in bed with the Lycanian.

    Morty: ¡°E-Excuse me, I wasn¡¯t expecting visitors so late at night, pardon me for a moment.¡±

    Morty ducked out of the room for a second. On the table in the hallway was a candle, that he lifted to expose a rune.

    Morty pressed his thumb to the rune, causing it to glow faintly, before replacing the candle and heading back to the room. He took a quick look down the other side of the hall, none of his men had arrived yet.

    Morty: ¡°(Where the hell are they?)¡±

    Morty couldn¡¯t be away from the room for too long, with none of his men around, he himself, had to keep an eye on the women. However, with the activation of the rune, he didn¡¯t really need them.

    Returning to the room, he found the women still idling sitting around enjoying themselves, eating away at the snacks his servant had prepared.

    Morty: ¡°I see my servant has brought some treats, I hope there to your liking.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Mhm-mhm.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No more for you, gimme that.¡±

    Anais took the tray away from Ena, grabbing up the last few sandwiches for herself.

    Morty: ¡°Good, good, I¡¯m glad you like them.¡±

    Morty glanced behind him, still, no one had arrived yet. The servant should have warned the men on the outside to come in by now, what was taking them so long?

    Nathan: ¡°If your waiting for your guys to show up from outside, I assure you, they won¡¯t be joining us.¡±

    Morty: ¡°E-Excuse me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They all decided to take a nap, some voluntarily, most involuntarily knocked un-conscious.¡±

    Ena snickered a bit, she found this way of doing things much more amusing then just destroying things. Not that she didn¡¯t like just destroying things, but it lacked a certain finesse. She didn¡¯t know what a ¡®moovee¡¯ was, but it got her a free meal, so she was content.

    Anais on the other hand wasn¡¯t as amused, she guessed Nathan was trying to be discreet, trying to avoid anyone from outside noticing anything and bringing the guards around. Technically speaking, they were all trespassing in someone¡¯s house late at night. If the guards were to arrive, it was a fifty-fifty chance they would be punished for the invasion. That would bring problems not just to them, but anyone associated with them.

    However, unlike Anais, Nathan didn¡¯t witness the events from earlier. Anais¡¯s rage was growing every second that Morty, was not writhing in pain. Though she did find some amusement in seeing him so confused and unable to cope with the situation.

    Morty: ¡°Th-This is a very unorthodox way of beginning a business meeting.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I agree, but honestly speaking, is your way of doing things any better, Mr. Loan-shark?¡±

    Morty could do nothing but reluctantly agree, like he said, most of his methods when dealing with debtors were what a common man would called orthodox.

    Morty: ¡°Regardless, a guest that steps beyond set boundaries, to any other persons, this would be the actions of intruders, more than that an invader.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I suppose that is true okay then, I guess we¡¯re invaders.¡±

    Morty doubled-back in shock, to openly admit it to his face, she must be incredibly stupid.

    Nathan: ¡°You have a face like you just thought something rude.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Just surprised, so what exactly could I have done to warrant such malice?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What? I heard that pigs were pretty smart, maybe you¡¯re a rare species of unintelligent ones?¡±

    Nathan gave a blissful smile, upon saying that, which only stood to piss Morty off.

    Morty: ¡°Fine, if you won¡¯t answer, since you admit to invading my home, then as such allow me to act accordingly.¡±

    Morty snapped his finger and the floor began to glow. A rune symbol appeared in and encircled the room.

    *Shnnnnnnnng*

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, what¡¯s this?¡±

    Morty: ¡°Foolish Mutts, do you enter someone¡¯s else domain without a thorough investigation? Your more foolish than I thought, to think I wanted to work with you.¡±

    Morty snorted, like a pig, a Buhii sound being made, as he began to laugh.

    Nathan: ¡°Is that his laugh?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sounds like a pig gargling mud.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Or trying to gnaw at its own leg.¡±

    Morty: ¡°SHUT UP FUCKING MONGRELS, YOU SHOULD BECAREFUL NOT TO PISS ME OFF. NOW TELL ME WHY YOU ARE HEAR¡­¡­.or else!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Or else?¡±

    Morty: ¡°One snap of my finger and that rune will detonate, causing an explosion strong enough to level this building.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ha, you don¡¯t say.¡±

    Nathan tried to move out of the circle, but found he was unable to. A wall was preventing them from escaping the trap.

    Ena: ¡°What ? You¡¯re in here to, you¡¯ll just kill yourself along with us.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Dear girl, do you relay think I¡¯m stupid. The explosion will only happen within the rune, the rest of the building will be fine.

    Anais: ¡°What about all your men, there still in here?¡±

    Morty: ¡°They can be replaced simply enough.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Stand back everyone, Flare!¡±

    Anais fired a spell, only to have it dissipate on contact with the rune-wall.

    Morty: ¡°Forget it child, your little spells won¡¯t put a dent in my rune.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh yeah, well let¡¯s just how much it can-¡±

    *Pwuumph¡±

    Nathan mushed Anais on the stop of her head.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t do that, any of your other usual spells will attract too much attention.¡±

    Anais stood down. Nathan was accurate enough; her next spell would have destroyed the room before Morty could. Nathan turned back to Morty, a belittling grin painted across his face.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Nathan: ¡°You seem pretty proud of yourself, think your pretty smart?¡±

    Morty: ¡°I¡¯m smarter than you anyway. I just hope I¡¯ll be able to scrape you all off my walls when this is done, unless of course you¡¯re willing to except a few terms?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Terms?¡±

    Morty: ¡°Your weapon stash, where is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Weapon stash?¡±

    Morty: ¡°Where do you keep all of your weapons, tell me and I¡¯ll let you live?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is this why you beat Ramol, for my weapons¡­?¡±

    Morty: ¡°Ramol, this has nothing to do¡­¡­¡­¡­.wait is that why you¡¯re here, retaliation for the failing store owner?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That failing store owner, is a good friend of mine, who you are taking advantage of.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Hahaha, this is great, we rough him up a bit and goes crying to a bunch of women to fight his battles. Forget being a mutt, he¡¯s not even a man at this point. What a joke for being taken advantage of¡­dear.  All our transactions were done through a written contract, with terms both parties agreed upon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A contract with enough loopholes, to keep everyone who signs it, in your debt for as long as they live.¡±

    Morty: ¡°*snort* I have every intention of completing the contracts, as soon as their debts are clear. It¡¯s not my fault their so money hungry, they forget to read the fine print.¡±

    Morty started to laugh, a disgusting sound like a pig with its mouth stuffed with food. As he laughed his cheeks would bounce in rhythm with his laughter, a sight that brought ample amounts of discomfort to everyone watching.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you laughing or gargling?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Sounds like he¡¯s chewing mud.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Chubby cheeked, pig face, piece of shit.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Your little insults won¡¯t hurt me girls, regardless of what you say-¡°

    Anais: ¡°Ugly, fat lips, gargle laugh, Stuffed face-¡°

    Morty: ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP, FUCKING MUTTS, NO MORE TALK, NOW TELL ME WHERE TO FIND THE STASH.¡±

    Anais: ¡°We¡¯re not telling you anything, BLLPHT.¡±

    Anais pulled on her eye lid and blew a Raspberry.

    Morty: ¡°Oh yeah, maybe this will loosen your lips *snap*.¡±

    At the snap of his finger, a spot on the rune began to constantly change its symbol, every second.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s happening there?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Numbers, there counting down.¡±

    Morty: ¡°As soon as the countdown stops, the rune will detonate, wherever you tell me or not. I can stop it, as long as you tell me where it is.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If you kill us, you¡¯ll never find what you¡¯re looking for.¡±

    Morty: ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m sure you let Ramol keep the ones you gave him, I¡¯ll just beat him until he tells me where he hid them.¡±

    Nathan could tell in Morty¡¯s voice that he was angry. He had crossed his boiling point and now he didn¡¯t care anymore about what happened. However, this is what Nathan was waiting for.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, you twisted my leg. Why don¡¯t we sit down and talk this over.¡±

    Morty: ¡°The time for talk is over, you will tell me where the weapons are or die.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, I must insist you join us over here.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Do you take me for a fool, as if I would be stupid¡­¡­¡­.huh?¡±

    Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Morty began to walk forward.

    Morty: ¡°What is this¡­? I can¡¯t control myself?¡±

    He tried to stop himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not gain control of his body.

    Morty: ¡°NO, NO, STOP, STOP.¡±

    Morty¡¯s cries fell on deaf ears, for within the last few steps; he had entered the rune right alongside Nathan and his company.

    Nathan: ¡°So nice of you to join us.¡±

    Morty: ¡°What have you done, we¡¯re all gonna die?¡±

    Morty was down on all fours looking up at Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Now you have a choice, stop the detonation or be blown to bits with us.¡±

    Morty: ¡°¡­¡­*Mumbling*¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your gonna need to speak up.¡±

    Morty: ¡°I SAID I CAN¡¯T!¡±

    Morty screamed in frustration.

    Morty: ¡°It can¡¯t be stopped, once the countdown starts-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It can¡¯t be stopped unless you deactivate the rune in the hall, under the candle, right?¡±

    Morty mouth went agape, that was the exact way to deactivate the rune.

    Anais: ¡°You ass, that meant you were gonna blow us up, whether we told you or not.¡±

    Morty: ¡°You already knew, then you let yourselves be caught.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°To lure you to start the sequence, so that you can trap yourself inside.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Nathan, this is amazing, it went as exactly as you said it would. Could this be ¡°Future Sight?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, nothing like that.  Idiots like him are the easiest to fool. They never believe the can be out-smarted by someone they believe to be inferior

    Morty shook on the floor in rage. The Lycanian had made a fool of him and now are he acted as though he was the only doomed one.

    Morty: ¡°YOU IDIOTS, YOU DOOMED YOURSELVES; ALL FOR THE SAKE OF THAT FUCKING MU-¡±

    Before he could finish, Anais stomped down on the back of his head, grinding her foot into his skull. Morty groaned in pain as his head was roughly dragged back and forth across the floor.

    Anais: ¡°What ? Don¡¯t like the taste of dirt, but you recommended so firmly to Ramol, I thought you would have loved it.¡±

    Morty try to fight back, but the more he did, the more force Anais placed on his skull.

    Morty: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what you do, all of you will all die in a minute.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan walked up to the edge of the rune and Morty watched in utter shock as he left the rings interior. Ena as well walked out of the barrier, followed by Anais, after mashing Morty¡¯s head into the ground a few more times.

    Nathan: ¡°See¡­we will be fine.¡±

    Morty recovered and ran up to the barrier only to be stopped and forced back by the runes barrier-wall.

    Morty: ¡°H-How, why, why can¡¯t I get out?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What are you talking about?...of course ¡®you¡¯ can¡¯t get out.¡±

    Morty: ¡°Please, the rune, deactivate it, I¡¯ll do anything, please.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Did it slip your mind?...you¡¯re the only one who can stop it, right.¡±

    Several different liquids escaped the orifices of Morty¡¯s face. He looked pathetic as the haughty persona from a moment ago vanished after he saw the countdown drop below twenty seconds.

    Morty: ¡°Please, I¡¯m sorry, let me out¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.LET ME THE FUCK OUT!¡±

    Ena: ¡°Ten seconds left.¡±

    Morty watch in avid horror as the rune ticked down in the final moments and then the others began to countdown, alongside it, laughing and smiling as they did.

    Anais: ¡°Five, four, three, two, one.¡±

    The rune lit bright and engulfed Morty.

    *Boooooooooooooom*

    The explosion was confined only to the inside of the barrier just like Morty had said. However, the explosion was much louder then Nathan had thought it would be, so loud that he had to cover his ears in protest.

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, your back, how did it go?¡±

    Nathan had sent Iris away during his time with Morty; he needed her to search his office on the second floor for something like a safe. With all the contracts he had, he must have stored them somewhere and nowhere was more secure then right next to you while you slept.

    Iris waved her hand and out popped a satchel, filled to the brim, with the contracts of all Morty¡¯s debtors.

    Nathan: ¡°Is that everything?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I cleared the room just as you instructed.¡±

    After letting everyone out of the runes confines, Iris went off to investigate the second floor and, with a little searching, found where Morty stashed all his debtor¡¯s contracts.

    Iris handed over the satchel and Nathan swiftly tossed the bag into a nearby waste basket. Nathan gave Iris the go and she immediately set the contents ablaze. The contracts were slowly burning to ash and with soon they would be just lot of ash.

    Iris: ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That should solve Ramol¡¯s problem and anyone else who owed this guy anything.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m glad, if that¡¯s all, I would like to take another look around the premises. I lead the people upstairs outside; however the loud explosion might have drawn attention.¡±

    Anais: ¡°When you weakened the spells strength, shouldn¡¯t the sound have been weakened as well?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I apologize. I didn¡¯t have much time; it seems I need to work on my rune creating.¡±

    Before Morty had entered the room or even came down stairs, Nathan and his friends had already located the rune and, with a little manipulation, weakened the explosions effect. Even if they were caught in the blast, it would not have done much. They also extended the count down, not by adding more time, but instead manipulating the time in which the runes changed.

    They lead Morty to believe he was winning and that the blast would be fatal. It was no reason for him to doubt this fact, since he himself made it. All they had to do was just wait until he started the unstoppable countdown. Once he did, Iris would walk him into the trap with her abilities and then use the Alssein Eye to let everyone out.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; all it really needed to do was make him think he was going to die, and now look at him. That blast could not have hurt that much, and yet he is unconscious.¡±

    On the ground, although unconscious, was Morty still very much alive. He was no worse for wear, his clothes were a mess and a foul odor wafted up from him. During the blast, it seemed Morty had lost control of his bodily functions. Everyone took an involuntary step backwards upon seeing him.

    Anais: ¡°Aww, sick.¡±

    Ena: ¡°It¡¯s stinks.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Well, I think I¡¯ll go help you Iris, with making sure no one¡¯s around.  Do your thing Anais.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know the plan, only you can do this, we¡¯re counting on you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Just copy my ability¡­don¡¯t act like you can¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡­¡­¡­ can¡¯t hear you¡­it seems the blast has messed with my hearing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me!¡±

    Nathan quickly grabbed Iris ad exited the room, leaving Anais and Ena behind with the mess.

    Ena: ¡°I¡­I think I¡¯ll go help-¡±

    Anais: ¡°Aw no you don¡¯t, I need you to hold him up, so I can work.¡±

    Ena: ¡°But, but, but.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Come on, hurry up.¡±

    Ena relunctantly held up Morty, for Anais while fighting the urge to gag, Anais stuck her hands on either side of Morty¡¯s head.

    Anais: ¡°I never done this before, so I¡¯m not sure what will happen.¡±

    Ena nodded, ready to move away if something went wrong. Anais then activated ¡®Intelligence Thief¡¯ and began probing Morty¡¯s mind. With this ability, she could steal information straight from her targets¡¯ mind and, if she so chose, permanently delete it with no chance of recovering it.

    She planned to remove the events of tonight from his mind, but while she was at it, she deleted every bit of information he had obtained during his time as a loan shark. His debtors, together with all the men under his employ and any partners he had, all being erased. This would insure that he would never go into business again.

    She didn¡¯t have to, but the fact that she didn¡¯t help Ramol earlier that day was getting too her and she wanted to punish him further. What better way than by destroying the little empire that he¡¯d built stepping on the Therian.

    Ena: ¡°Hey, hey, what¡¯s wrong with him!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hmm, what the!?¡±

    Anais opens her eyes to find Morty convulsing while Ena tried to hold him down. Ena dropped him and Anais lost her connection and Morty flopped around like a fish out of water.

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­.Oops?¡±

 Chapter 75: One More Push

    <u>Chapter 75: One More Push</u>

    Anais: ¡°*squeak* (Nathan would you slow down, your making me sick).¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ugh~.¡±

    Iris and Anais held on for dear life as Nathan sped through the city. He was heading back to the Adventurers Guild, to report on all of his completed requests. Nathan looked, back at the two on his shoulders, seeing them hanging on as he ran down the streets.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoops, sorry girls.¡±

    He quickly grabbed them both up, holding them in his arms as he ran towards the Guild. He wasn¡¯t planning on slowing down for them or anyone else for that matter. Today was the day the ¡®Viridi Wilds¡¯ opens, and he was still ranked as a ¡®Pawn¡¯. Ash said it took him about a month to become a Rookie class, but the dungeon was only open for a week; eight days to be precise. It would take him an entire day to get to the dungeon, so to get the most time to explore its depths, everything had to be done today.

    Nathan reached the front door of the guild and ran right in, easily dodging the people who were exiting.

    *Chime*

    Nathan: ¡°Belle!!...¡±

    Belle was startled by the sudden shout, but she had turned her back to the counter after just finished helping a customer, but Nathan didn¡¯t care at the moment, he would apologize later.

    Nathan: ¡°Belle, I finished a bunch of quests, can you check and see if I can ¡®rank¡¯ up now?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ah, yes, right away.¡±

    Nathan walked over to the counter and placed his Adventurers Card on the stone tablet from before.

    *Shhhhhhhhhhnnnnnng*

    Belle: ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡±

    Belle checked over the results of Nathan¡¯s work, while Nathan leaned over the counter an anticipation.

    Adventurer A: ¡°Hey did you hear about what happened to that puffy-faced bloater?¡±

    Adventurer B: ¡°They said he was messing with runes and blew up his home.¡±

    Adventurer A: ¡°Yeah, the explosion that shook the red-light district last night, just when I finally saved enough up for a fun night.¡±

    Nathan and company listened in on the conversation of two adventurers.

    Iris: ¡°It seems as though word has gotten around rather quickly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And no mention of us at all, It went better than I thought it would.¡±

    _

    _

    [Late last night]

    Ena: ¡°Nathan.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ena, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan turned to fine Ena waving him to follow.

    Ena: ¡°We have a problem.¡±

    Nathan followed Ena back to Morty, to find Anais standing over him, only turning around once they arrived.

    Anais: ¡°I think I over did it.¡±

    Morty was on his knees, with his head down. Nathan lifted up his head to look at him, only to find a blank expression. His pupils had rolled to the back of his head, drool running down his face and a small absent-minded groan escaped his lips.

    Nathan: ¡°Morty, hey Morty, *snap**snap*, Leseres to Morty.¡±

    *Slap**Slap*

    Iris: "Master what are you doing?"

    Nathan: "What, its how they do it in the movies."

    Girls: "(Moovees, again)."

    No matter what Nathan did, Morty wouldn¡¯t respond, he just continued to groan and sit there.

    Ena: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­He¡¯s dead.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I hear him breathing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I mean he¡¯s dead from the neck up. Whatever you did, you fried his brain.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, when I scanned him again, I couldn¡¯t find anything at all, it was like his mind was devoid of any and all thought.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What were you trying to do?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Like you said, I removed everything about us and Ramol. While I was at it, anything that had to do with his business.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.Well, you reap what you sow, it was your first time, your just probably at a high enough level to prevent this from happening or you just don¡¯t know your limits. He got what he deserves, you don¡¯t have to feel sorry for him.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t, but as things are now, if anyone comes inside and sees him like this, they will know something was up. A little investigating will prove that the rune wasn¡¯t the cause of this.¡±

    Iris: ¡°We don¡¯t have much time; Master and I witnessed several torch lights heading this way.¡±

    Ena: ¡°And we have to do something about that kid, he was the only one who saw us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hm, you¡¯re might be right¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..okay, we¡¯ll ask the child to cooperate, if we could I would ask you to erase his memories, but-¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t mind doing it for scum like him, but as for the child, I refuse.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Fine, Ena, Iris, could you wreck the house for me, make it look like it fell in on itself.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Sure.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, what will this prove?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The inevitable conclusion of a house falling on you.¡±

    _

    _

    Adventurer A: ¡°And get this, they say he can¡¯t even think anymore. The whole place came down on top of him. They been questioning him all night, he just sits there with his mouth hung open with a ¡®dead¡¯ look on his face and bandage wrapped around his head. The knot on his head, it freed up all source of space upstairs, if you catch my drift.¡±

    By the destroying the house and placing Morty in front of the rune, it seem to everyone, that he was experimenting with runes, but something went wrong. People took the incident as they saw it. Some of Morty¡¯s men got caught and the collapse and were injured, but with their boss the way he is and they were no longer getting paid, none of them were gonna stick around to be interrogated or incarcerated.

    Belle: ¡°Master Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, how¡¯s it looking?¡±Stolen novel; please report.

    Nathan turned his attention from the men talking and back to Belle, from who he was hoping to hear good news. However, Belle¡¯s expression said otherwise.

    Belle: ¡°You completed fifteen requests, that¡¯s outstanding in such a short amount of time. Your earnings equal up to five hundred fifty rydt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, thanks, but is it enough to rank up?¡±

    Belle: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your just short of the margin.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit, wait, the other day I cleared out a bandit camp, is that worth anything?¡±

    Belle: ¡°A bandit camp, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be any request for a bandit subjugation on your card.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t actually take the quest, but circumstances lead me to take them out.¡±

    Belle: ¡°I see, then do you have any proof?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Only the treasure I was able to recover, Ash is sorting through it now.¡±

    Ash suggested Nathan leave the treasure at Ramol¡¯s for him to sort through. No doubt that everything there was stolen, and it would cause a ruckus if the wrong person saw something he had. Money wasn¡¯t a problem, but the jewels and accessories needed to be investigated and possibly returned, no need to make unnecessary enemies. But, it didn¡¯t matter, Belle was shaking her head.

    Belle: ¡°Sorry, but their not saying you didn¡¯t just raid the bandits and then just returned.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t, I destroyed their camp.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Even still, I¡¯m sorry, without physical proof, my hands are tied.¡±

    Nathan put is head down, he was crestfallen. If he could have just brought Gideon here, everything would have been fine, if his face hadn¡¯t been made so unrecognizable. Without a rank-up, he couldn¡¯t go into the dungeon, he was staring to wish, he¡¯d never joined the guild.

    *Chime*

    Ash: ¡°There you are.¡±

    Ash ran up to Nathan, out of breath and he¡¯s hand bracing his knees.

    Nathan: ¡°What are you doing here, I thought you were sorting through the treasure.¡±

    Ash: ¡°*Gasping * You are some crazy kinda fast, the second you left the house I found something, but you were already too far out of ear-shot.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My bad, what did you find?¡±

    Ash reached into his pouch and pulled out a small glass ball of sorts. Inside of the ball was what look like a black rose. Belle went wide eyed and cover her mouth in disbelief.

    Belle: ¡°Ah, Rselaia.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who¡¯s Rselaia?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Rselaia, it¡¯s the surname of one of the human royal families.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Royal families?¡±

    Upon the mention of Royal families, some other adventurers had taken notice of the glass ball and went wide eyed.

    Ash: ¡°I remember this from when I first came here. There¡¯s a request for the return of this stolen emblem, everyone was scrambling to find it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?

    Ash: ¡°The reward was one jade coin, one-hundred thousand Rydt, do you know what this means?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I could rank-up and go into the dungeon, if we complete the quest?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What, who cares about that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I do, you jerk, that¡¯s the whole reason I¡¯m doing this.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    Nathan face palmed and turn back to Belle.

    Nathan: ¡°Will it be enough?¡±

    Belle: ¡°More than that, this is an S-class quest, if you were to complete it, your rank could jump up to ¡°Bishop¡±.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not to mention, we could get in good-standing with the Rselaia family.¡± However, there is a problem.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What problem?¡±

    Ash: ¡°The problem is we can¡¯t officially except the quest.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes, you can¡¯t directly except an S-class quest because of your ranked as ¡°Pawn¡±, but if you return the emblem and we receive confirmation from the Quest-Giver, will have no choice but to close the quest and rather your rank allows it or not, give you the reward.¡±

    Ash: ¡°There was a loophole like that?¡±

    Belles: ¡°Yes, but please do be quiet about it, it would be terrible if under-ranked guild members attempted to complete S-class quest before their ready.¡±

    Nathan pumped his hand and excitement, after all the crap he had to deal with, he finally caught a break.

    Nathan: ¡°Then let¡¯s go immediately.¡±

    Ash: ¡°On it, no way I¡¯m missing this pay day.¡±

    Ash went to check out the information for the quest, while Nathan waited for him, talking to Belle.

    Iris: ¡°*whisper*Master?¡±

    Nathan looked down to the occupants still in his arms, Anais was still recovering from Nathan¡¯s mad dash, but Iris was urging Nathan to look around. Nathan notice a few adventurers leaving the building, eyeing him as they left.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Belle, do fights normally happen in here?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Absolutely not, it is strictly prohibited, why do you ask?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just wondering, what about quest, can more than one party apply for the same request?¡±

    Belle: ¡°There¡¯s no rule against it, but unless it¡¯s a subjugation quest, it doesn¡¯t happen very often.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why is that?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Well, besides a gathering or retrieval quest, it¡¯s difficult to fight for the item. Dueling for the rights of protecting someone or subjugating monsters don¡¯t happen very often or never. Those who need guarding usually choose the party they are familiar with and in the case of subjugations, the party may not specialize in fighting that monster, so its best left to those who are. However, it¡¯s not uncommon for gathered and retrieved items, to be fought over.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh¡­¡­no.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What are you two talking about?¡±

    Ash walked up to the counter, smiling from ear to ear. Completely oblivious to the looks of the adventurers leaving the building.  It didn¡¯t take long before the guild had grown quiet from all those who had left. The few that stayed were whispering or laughing under their breath.

    Ash: ¡°Alright, man I got the information, let¡¯s head over to the noble¡¯s district¡­¡­¡­.. why are you making that face?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, would you fly around outside and if you see anything suspicious, let me know.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Iris took-off flying out in open window.

    Ash: ¡°What¡¯s wrong, woah!?¡±

    Nathan dragged Ash into the request room, Belle was curious, so she made sure there was no customers around before heading into the room as well.

    Nathan: ¡°This just got annoying.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Why?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I think we just acquired a bunch of competition.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Huh?

    Belle: ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master!¡±

    Iris flew into the room.

    Iris: ¡°The people who were in here, are now waiting outside.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What going on?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I pretty sure the second we step out of this building, were gonna have to fight a bunch of adventurers, aiming for that emblem.¡±

    Ash: ¡°They¡¯re gonna jump us when we leave, bastards.¡±

    Nathan ran back out and took a peak out the window.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, I don¡¯t see anyone.¡±

    There were no clear signs of anyone waiting for them, when he looked out.

    Iris: ¡°They are further down this road and some waiting around the other side of that building as well.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡¯s the way to the noble¡¯s district; they are trying to cut us off.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So what, let¡¯s just take them all out.¡±

    Anais returned to her Therian form and smacked her fist together.

    Belles: ¡°Fighting amongst fellow adventurers is prohibited.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not if everyone challenges us to a duel, then it¡¯s fine?¡±

    Belle: ¡°That is a distinct possibility.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And if I lose a duel, could it hurt my rank?¡±

    Belle: ¡°No, you¡¯re already at the lowest rank, no penalties will happen, but if you lose, you forfeit whatever you gambled.¡±

    Nathan thought for a moment and at this moment, several different adventurers were waiting for him to exit so they could take the emblem from them.

    Nathan: ¡°(As if I¡¯m gonna let that happen, I just caught a lucky break, no way I¡¯m giving that up.)¡±

    Seeing as how his rank was at the lowest, that meant that anyone could challenge him. Asking why it was so backwards, Belle replied that several groups of lower ranks would band together and fight a higher ranked adventurer back to back. Once they had been worn out, the lower ranks would reap the rewards for defeating higher ranked adventurers. Though she did admit it to be backwards, by making so only higher ranks could challenge lower ranks, they made it so that if the higher ranks lost, their ranks could, in turn, decrease.

    They wanted duels to happen less frequently, after all the goal of the guilds were to build a place where it could help with problems that the populace had, problems the government would not normally intervene. It was not a place built for battle and personal gain.

    Belle: ¡°We can¡¯t outright forbid it all together, but we can at the very least dissuade them from engaging in such dishonest activities and focus more on clearing requests.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see, well it looks like that won¡¯t be the case now.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I could go out and remove them all.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Miss Iris, I implore you not to do that. It¡¯s way too dangerous.¡±

    Iris puffed out her chest and raised her chin.

    Iris: ¡°Nonsense, it will be a simple task, with minimum effort.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, I don¡¯t think she meant it was dangerous for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No need Iris, I have a plan. Belle can you tell me everything you can about the ¡®duel system¡¯¡±

    Belle: ¡°Of course.¡±

    Belle began to explain everything about the system to Nathan. Once she was done; Nathan explained his plan. It was so simple, yet it appeared one hundred percent fool-proof.

    Nathan: ¡°Everyone got it?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Amazing, to come up with the plan in such a short time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not that big a deal.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Aw man, how I draw the short-straw?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Stop complaining, its half your fault we¡¯re in this mess. Or did you forget running into the guild screaming: ¡®jade coin¡¯, ¡®jade coin¡¯.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Guh!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Ash, the other half of the problem lies with me, so I¡¯ll be right there; next to you.¡±

    Nathan smacked Ash on the back, attempting to cheer him up. Arming themselves, Nathan and Ash made their way to the guild exit.

    Belle: ¡°I wish you all the best of luck.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, everyone ready, let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 76: Moon Shiners

    <u>Chapter 76: Moon Shiners</u>

    The streets from the perspective eyes of the people of Loegrey, was calm and peaceful. But, that was just a facade gifted to the untrained eye, for amongst the adventurers in the city, a rumor had taken root. A rumor worth 100,000 rydt. The dark-skinned Lycanian, that had taken the city by storm, had now become even more infamous.

    So, it went that the Lycanian had excepted a request, which the reward was one Jade coin. Upon hearing that adventurers from all over the city had flocked to the streets surrounding the guild so the moment the Lycanian made herself known, adventurers would jump at the chance to duel her and take the item worth for themselves.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°You ready?¡±

    Ash: ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be.¡±

    Nathan and Ash stepped out into the streets of Loegrey, within seconds Nathan¡¯s Threat Detection rang out in his head.

    Ash: ¡°Woah, this feeling. I don¡¯t understand it, but I know there¡¯s danger nearby. It feels weird, like something crawling under my skin.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it, but you can sense properly?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No doubt about it.¡±

    Nathan use his ability ¡°Co-op¡± to lend Ash his ¡°Threat Detection¡±, along with his ¡®hyper¡¯ reflexes. Though their strength was halved, the two abilities were working side by side, making it nearly impossible to land a hit or be snuck-up on. Ash could tell right away, the group of people coming towards them had hostile intentions.

    Nathan: ¡°Here we go.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°Lycanian. We challenge you to a, WOAH!¡±

    Before the adventurer could finish his sentence, Nathan and Ash jumped into the group with both of them landing right in middle the group, with a dynamic entry. The adventurers were so stunned by the sudden movement; they forgot to finish issuing the challenge, before both Ash and Nathan took off running.

    Adventurer: ¡°Hey, wait! After them!¡±

    Ash: ¡°They¡¯re coming.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like they¡¯ll catch us.¡±

    Nathan and Ash easily out-ran the slow group and  several other groups who were giving chase. Belle had informed Nathan of a loophole that existed in the dueling system. A loophole, so simple, you would have believed it to be a joke.

    _

    _

    [Five minutes earlier]

    Belle: ¡°Just run away.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.What?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Belle, you can¡¯t run from a duel, the adventurer I.D. prevents that.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Let me finish¡­it¡¯s true that it does prevent you from running away, but only if the challenge is issued. Right before a duel, what is the thing everyone says before they issue the duel?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I challenge you to a duel¡­or something similar?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Right, a challenge can only really be issued verbally, but what do you think will happen, if the one they¡¯re challenging is not there to hear it?¡±

    _

    _

    Adventurer: ¡°Lycanian, I challen-¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nope.¡±

    Adventurer Youth: ¡°Ash, I chal-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Denied!¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°I chal-¡±

    Ash & Nathan: ¡°LALALALALALALALA, CAN¡¯T HEAR YOU!¡±

    Nathan and Ash ran passed everyone who attempted to duel them, leaving all of them confused as to why the I.D.¡¯s weren¡¯t reacting to their challenges.

    Ash: ¡°I cannot believe this is working.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t complain, we¡¯re free from all duels from now on.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m not complaining, I just wish I known of this sooner. Oh, all the stuff I¡¯ve lost in those past duels.¡±

    Nathan awkwardly laughed, as they continued their mad dash through Loegrey. They had made it to the center plaza, but found several adventurers now blocking their path. Regardless of what they did here, a duel was inevitable.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright Ash, just like Belle told us.¡±

    Ash nodded as they made their run toward the first group. Nathan quickly used: ¡°Pry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The highest is level nineteen.¡±

    Ash: ¡°And they are ranked lower than me, they are beginners.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°Stop, we challenge-¡±

    Nathan & Ash: ¡°WE CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!¡±

    _

    _

    [15 minutes earlier]

    Belle: ¡°If you find yourself with no other option but to duel, make you issue the duel. That one who issues the duel can set the wagers.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So just bet the duel for something else.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Exactly, since you can¡¯t challenge the same person twice in one day, if you take advantage of both of these loop holes, then you will have no unforeseeable problems. Just be careful not to use up your three challenges, if you have to fight, take them out a quickly and as effortlessly as possible. A show of power will dissuade weaker opponents from challenging you.¡±

    _

    _

    Ash: ¡°The wager is one bronze coin.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°What, I don¡¯t acce-.¡±

    *Shnnnnnnnnng*

    The adventurers¡¯ party¡¯s cards all lit up, meaning the duel was issued. Now that it was official, they had no way to stop it, unless they¡¯d submit.

    Nathan didn¡¯t have to worry about a witness, there were so many people around, you¡¯d think they were a main-event match.

    Adventurer: ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on, this isn¡¯t what we wanted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter¡­Fights On!¡±

    Nathan was on the leader faster than anyone could react in which he swiftly brandished his sword and swung upward towards the man¡¯s chest.

    Adventurer: ¡°Woah!¡±

    It was a solid hit, but thanks to the duels rules, no blood flowed from the hit, however the dueling orb, showed that the hit was successful. The man fumbled backwards, leaving Nathan to deliver a kick to his chest.

    Adventurer: ¡°Gah!¡±

    The man flew and skidded across the ground, his sword sent flying out of his hand. The loss of the sword meant he¡¯d lost the duel.

    Gasps could be heard along with hushed conversations as within seconds, Nathan had taken out one of the members of the five-man party.

    The other four went wide-eyed, seeing their leader being made short work of. In their stupor, they stupidly stared into Nathan¡¯s eyes. Nathan wasted no time activating ¡®Intimidate¡¯, in as he did the four felt their legs lose strength, a fear growing ever stronger took them over.

    *Clink**Tack**Cling*

    Three weapons thumped to the ground, all three had submitted. The last one standing, barely held-on to his weapon and it took nothing for Ash, to walk up behind him and knock the weapon from his hand.

    With that, the match was decided. All the people standing around went wide-eyed. They had heard of the rumor, Gaunt being defeated by the Lycanian with only a glare, but witnessing it was on a level all its own. Nathan looked down at the five people sprawled on the ground in front of him; it was one less party he had to deal with.

    As the duel aura disappeared, Nathan sent Iris the signal. From high above, Iris began fulfilling her role. Without being noticed, for the breifest of moments, she held everyone in place as they tried to be the next to challenge Nathan.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Nathan and Ash took the chance to sprint away; leaving the group of people behind. Iris quickly let them go, leaving the people to believe that the reason they weren¡¯t moving was due to fear and not because they were being held in place.

    Ash: ¡°You sure this is okay? Even I was surprised by the way you fought?¡±

    Nathan looked behind them; the crowd had become sizably smaller. It seems the psychological part of the plan was working flawlessly.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, the crowd is way smaller, only the parties who think they have a chance are giving chase.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m worried about.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ash wasn¡¯t as confident as Nathan. He didn¡¯t believe himself to be weak, but seeing Nathan fight, he could only think someone troublesome was going to challenge them. He prayed it wouldn¡¯t happen.

    _

    _

    _

    Far off on the other side of the city, a man sat silently alone in the middle of a of a park. His eyes shut as a warm breeze rolled across his face

    ??????: *sigh* It¡¯s lonely without you Ghost.¡±

    The man had a sad look, his pet familiar had recently passed away, and he was reluctant to get another. For as long as he could remember, Ghost his Scouting hawk, had been with him, wherever he went. However, like all things, Ghost¡¯s life came to a sudden end. He now sat around his home sulking. While relaxing, he noticed someone nearby. He waved his hand and the wind ceased, the breeze he¡¯d felt disappearing all at once.

    ??????: ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Heeding his words, a women dress in a maid¡¯s uniform stepped up to him.

    Maid: ¡°Master Virgil, a messenger, he wishes to speak with you.¡±

    Virgil looked puzzled at the woman; he could have sworn that he told all his servants that he wanted to be alone. It wasn¡¯t like his servants to disobey, meaning that whoever was here to see him, was someone he could not ignore.

    Virgil: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Fine, lead on to the meeting room, I will see them.¡±

    The maid bowed and left Virgil alone once more. Virgil set for a minute more, before getting up and headed for the meeting area. He passed by a few servants who kept their distance from him, bowing as he passed, but he paid little attention to them. He was used to people keeping their distance from him; it was for their own safety anyways.

    Virgil opened the door to the meeting room and found his maid serving tea to a short heavy-set man. The man seeing Virgil, immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to him and bowed deeply.

    Messenger: ¡°Master Virgil, it is a great honor to meet you. I heard much of your endeavors in Ziltharth. Most impressive.¡±

    Virgil had recently accepted the title of Hero, two years ago from the Disciples of Riga Morte and was one of eight others. After that his life took a turn, where everywhere he went, he was greeted by everyone with a bow. His status henceforth had been reasoned to that of a Duke; wealth and land was given to him to do with as he wished. He didn¡¯t really care about such things, in fact he turned them down initially, but there was no room for argument. To the people he now stood next to, having the title of Duke, but not the wealth and land, was strange.

    He hated their smug attitude and stuffy lifestyle, so the first chance he got, he sailed away from Ziltharth and to the Central continent.  He couldn¡¯t escape his title and lavish lifestyle, but he could escape the stuffy faceless people, straining for his attention.

    Virgil: ¡°Enough, why have you come.¡±

    Messenger: ¡°R-Right.¡±

    The messenger bowed again, while holding out a letter.

    Messenger: ¡°Master Virgil, I have a message from Guild Master Matthew.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°A message from Matthew.¡±

    Virgil spirit seem to rise when he heard Matthews¡¯ name. Ever since he had become a Hero, his actions as an Adventurer had ceased, in fact he wasn¡¯t allowed to pursue such ventures while he held his title. He had written to Matthew a few times, they were old friends, when he was young, and he mentioned in a letter that he was so bored. Fighting Humans and Pristyne all the time had begun to take its toll on the once vibrant adventurer.

    Taking the letter, he couldn¡¯t help but smile as he read; the chance he was looking for had finally arrived. He had the maids escort the messenger out while he prepared for a trip. He may just get a little taste of the good old days.

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Haah!¡±

    Nathan swung his sword around, as he fought simultaneously with two adventurers. One wielding a metal whip with jagged fang-like thorns, while the other, a rapier.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t get why you¡¯re so upset¡­Veronica was it?¡±

    The woman wielding the whip recoiled back into her hands. She turned to Nathan, flipping her scarlet red hair out of her face, as she pulled at her whip.

    Veronica: ¡°I was lured in by the money, but, you will pay for making a mockery of our name.¡±

    Veronica was unlike other adventurer¡¯s Nathan had dealt with today. Ash had informed Nathan that she was the leader of the party ¡®TwinMoons¡¯ and that they were currently ranked second-strongest amongst the bishop ranks. A group of four beautiful women, experts in their field, however not in battle cries. Nathan burst into a fit of laughter when he heard them, stirring the wrath of the team.

    Veronica: ¡°Come Aeria, let us finish this.¡±

    Aeria: ¡°Yes, Sister.¡±

    Aeria, rapier in hand, thrust it towards Nathan, who parried her attack with his sword. Aeria followed with a flurry of thrusts, which Nathan began to effortlessly dodge, much to Aeria¡¯s dismay.

    Aeria: ¡°(How is she doing this?)¡±

    Aeria had fought many opponents before, but never had she met someone who moved so fluently. Every thrust was avoided or parried in ways she didn¡¯t think possible; in fact they shouldn¡¯t had been. She moved as if she knew exactly where the strikes would land. That wasn¡¯t too far from the truth, Nathan was simply allowing his abilities Threat Detection and Hyper Reflexes, work in tangent. As he left it to these to abilities he was virtually untouchable.

    Lost in her thoughts, Nathan used that moment to parry her full-force attack, breaking her stance and leaving her open to attack. He quickly moved to rend her weapon from her hand, when suddenly his weapon stopped.

    Nathan: ¡°What the!?¡±

    Veronica had her whip wrapped tight around Nathan¡¯s sword preventing his movements. She tried to yank it away, but Nathan would not let go.

    Veronica: ¡°Tch. Aeria.¡±

    Aeria quickly fixed her posture and thrust towards Nathan, but Veronica had underestimated his strength. Nathan forced his blade forward, catching Aeria¡¯s rapier thrust, but he didn¡¯t stop there. He forced Aeria¡¯s weapon down towards the ground, leaning forward and using his weight to seal it there.

    Aeria: ¡°That won¡¯t stop me.¡±

    Aeria¡¯s rapier was much thinner than Nathan¡¯s broad-sword and she easily retracted her weapon.

    Nathan: ¡°Wasn¡¯t trying to stop you, just getting out of the way.¡±

    Aeria: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Veronica: ¡°Waaah, AERIA!?¡±

    *Whomp*

    Aeria looked up just in time to be met with the skull of Veronica. When Nathan swung forward and down, Veronica who was still firmly holding on to his weapon with hers, and thus her weapon was forced into the air. Nathan was leaning forward, to both block the attack and take Aeria¡¯s focus to her weapon, so she didn¡¯t see Veronica coming until it was too late.

    Aeria: ¡°Owwwwwww!¡±

    Since they were both down, Nathan went for their weapons, it was over.

    ????????: ¡°Solemn sprit of the frozen north, take aim, Frost Arrows!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Woah!?¡±

    Not far from Nathan, another team member had finished her spell, leaving a flurry arrows burling down on Nathan. He easily knocked away or dodged the flurry, but in doing so gave the two women on the ground enough time to recover.

    The girl clicked her tongue, she was annoyed how easily her spell was destroyed, but she did allow her team to recover.

    Veronica: ¡°Melissa, good work.¡±

    Melissa: ¡°Ah, thank you sister, Veronica.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, what the hell!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Flame Slash¡±

    Ash had coated his blades in flames as he swung. A woman with a great-sword met his blade head on, enchanting hers with mana. Their powers collided and both were blown-back. Upon landing they shot off towards each other, clashing blades for the umpteenth time.

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I got my hands full here.¡±

    Ash continued his clashing with the light armor-cladded, shield-bearing, sword maiden, Hilda. Meeting her blow for blow, or so it seemed. Ash didn¡¯t want to admit it, but she was strong, he knew they were Bishop-rank adventurers, but he was with the Hero. So, when Nathan said they would both take on two and he would fight the two strongest, Ash thought it would be okay.

    However, the sword-maiden Hilda; did not let up for a moment, allowing Melissa to throw spell after spell at them.

    Veronica: ¡°Melissa, sister Hilda has the stray pinned, focus your attacks on the Lycanian.¡±

    Melissa: ¡°Yes sister.¡±

    Veronica: ¡°Come Aeria, We will feel the power of the TwinMoons. Our ¡®Moons¡¯ are shining so bright.¡±

    Aeria: ¡°¡¯Mooning¡¯ you through the night.¡±

    Melissa: ¡®¡°Mooning¡¯ you, with all our might.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pffftt, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, here¡¯s hoping, yaw can moon me all day.¡±

    Nathan¡¯s mockery of their name was solely based on his world¡¯s humor. Ever since they had begun the duel, there battle cries consisted of phrases like, ¡°Prepare for your mooning¡± or You will be thoroughly mooned. Nathan couldn¡¯t stop laughing every single time they said it. No one understood the real reason he was laughing, but it didn¡¯t matter. Every time he laughed he just fueled his opponents¡¯ anger and of those watching the battle.

    Veronica: ¡°CEASE YOUR MOCKERY, YOU WILL BE MOONED, AND IT SHALL BE GLORIOUS MOONING!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And I keep saying, I¡¯m cool with this.¡±

    Veronica whip lashed through the air, Nathan dodged the initial strike, but the whip danced like a snake around him. Veronica¡¯s control over her weapon changed, she began to move around more fluently. Back and forth, left to right, she no longer needed to recoil to strike again.

    Nathan could no longer afford to stand in one spot and was forced to jump around. If he stayed still too long, the whip would coil around him.

    Veronica: ¡°Coiling Serpent¡­do you like it Lycanian?...I channel my mana into my whip and it gives it a life all of its own.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Already figured that out, it not that amazing you know.¡±

    Veronica¡¯s attack was a good way to keep your opponent at a distance. With no way to plant seeds on the stone ground, he couldn¡¯t effectively get close. However, Nathan felt Veronica was trying too hard to keep him at bay and her whip seem to be leading him. He figured what they were up to and decided to take the bait and go where she wanted.

    Veronica: ¡°*mumbling*A little more.¡±

    Aeria: ¡°Got you!¡±

    Nathan twisted his body to the left avoiding the attempt to knock his weapon away.

    Aeria: ¡°What, Gah!?¡±

    Nathan hit Aeria directly in the stomach, breaking her balance. Nathan closed the distance between them and grabbing and twisting her wrist hard.

    Aeria: ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±

    *clinkclink*

    Her rapier fell out of her hand, she was out, but Nathan held tight to her.

    Nathan: ¡°Next time, don¡¯t announce you¡¯re going to attack.¡±

    Nathan swept her legs, knocking her off balance. Using her momentum, he flipped her over and flung her at Veronica.

    Veronica: ¡°Aeria!¡±

    Aeria flew towards her with no way to stop; Veronica had no choice but to catch her. As soon as she was distracted, Nathan closed the distance and quickly disarmed her.

    Veronica: ¡°Dammit.¡±

    Veronica cursed out loud at their loss, but Nathan was already gone. Melissa was his next target; she was trying to finish her spell.

    Melissa: ¡°B-Bird of flame-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nope.¡±

    Melissa wasn¡¯t a fighter, so when Nathan swung his sword, she shut her eyes. The attack never came, with her eyes closed, it took no effort for him to pry it from her and tossing it to the ground. Melissa¡¯s legs gave out, visibly trembling as Nathan stood above her. Nathan paid her no more heed and turned to the last one.

    Aeria: ¡°I¡¯m sorry sister, its my fault we lost.¡±

    Veronica: ¡°It is no one¡¯s fault but mine; I failed to see the truth.¡±

    Veronica understood, from the way Nathan moved, she never stood a chance. He had effortlessly disarmed three of them within seconds. Not only that, he had seen through their plans and use it against them. But the worst case was the fact that he wasn¡¯t taken anyone seriously, even now, he could be ending the fight by helping his partner yet he was standing and watching. She could only think of one reason why the Lycanian would sit and watch or continue to dodge, instead of ending it sooner.

    Veronica: ¡°(The Lycanian is stalling.)¡±

 Chapter 77: Stalling Tactics

    <u>Chapter 77: Stalling Tactics</u>

    Ash: ¡°*Heavy breathing*.¡±

    Ash took a look around; Nathan had already taken out the other members of TwinMoons and from the looks of him, with little difficulty.

    Ash: ¡°*Mumbling* At least make it look hard.¡±

    No sooner did he take his eyes off her, Hilda launched an attack.

    Ash: ¡°Tsk!¡±

    Ash swung his blade, but Hilda ducked under it. Hilda thrust her blade forward; Ash turned to the side avoiding it and at the same time swung his second blade down. Hilda raised her shield, but that was exactly what Ash had wanted.

    Ash: ¡°Haah!¡±

    Ash activated ¡®Blunt Blow¡¯, in ability made specifically for destroying defense. Hilda must have caught on to his intention, for in the last second, she elevated her shield, to ward off some of the attack force. Sparks flew as the sword ran the length of the shield and smashing into the ground, but the impact with the shield was enough to break Hilda¡¯s stance.

    Ash: ¡°We¡¯re Not Done!¡±

    With one more smack from his other sword, Ash successfully knocked the shield away leaving Hilda open for attack. Ash swung his blade for a decisive blow, however even with her footing lost, Hilda brought her blade up clashing with Ash¡¯s blade. Using the force of Ash¡¯s attack colliding with her own, Hilda let herself be blown back, getting injured, but gaining some much-needed space. Hilda was now without her shield, her hands felt numb from Ash¡¯s attacks.

    Ash wasn¡¯t in a good state either, using ¡®Blunt Blow¡¯ consecutively took its toll on his mana. It wasn¡¯t too bad, he had to be careful.

    Hilda at a higher level, she had more mana in reserve, so she was better off, but she didn¡¯t understand how he was able to clash with her for so long. Ash was notorious around Loegrey, never in a party for more than a few months, before being kicked out. She had witnessed him duel no more than three weeks ago and his movements was completely different. She was sure he never showed such skill before, yet he was able to hold his own against her.

    She glanced over to Nathan, he hadn¡¯t moved since he took out the rest of her team. She thought Nathan must be the reason; she was a component swordsman, so she understood he was strong. If he was to join the fight, she was sure he would lose. In comparison, she was a better swordsman, but it was the way he moved that she feared. As if predicting every attack, she witnessed him dance circles around her sisters. She would need all her strength to take him down, she couldn¡¯t waste time on Ash anymore.

    Nathan watching the battle, but something felt off about Hilda. Her sword seemed un-natural, but he couldn¡¯t figure out why, it felt like an impediment. On the other hand, he was wondering what Ash was doing, he was struggling way too much.

    Nathan: ¡°(What is he doing?)¡±

    Veronica: ¡°What a fool, this will be over quickly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hey, how about we call it even, even if you beat me you still have to fight him.¡±

    Hilda: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not talking huh¡­then guess we¡¯re doing this.¡±

    Hilda took her sword in both hands, then for a moment disappeared, from Ash¡¯s sight.

    Ash: ¡°Woah!?¡±

    *Clang*

    Ash brought his sword out just in time to catch Hilda¡¯s, however Hilda began forcing him backwards. Ash jumped back to get some room, but Hilda easily caught up with him and attacked before he was ready.

    Ash: ¡°GAH!¡±

    Ash stumbled from the blow, falling backwards and then Hilda was over top of him, bringing her sword down. With cat-like dexterity, Ash placed his hand to the ground and forced himself to spin himself to the side avoiding the finishing blow. Ash quickly got to his feet, just as she began a relentless assault, Ash barely able to meet her blows head on, even with his two-blade advantage. She effortlessly met him strike for strike. Ash was baffled from the sudden change, he knew that she was ranked higher than him, but only moments ago, they were somewhat on equal terms, then her attacks had suddenly become sharper. Nathan, watching the clash, noticed as well. Hilda seemed like a different person. Each strike faster than the last, it was as if she had been holding back the entire time.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    Veronica: ¡°It is as you see; she is no longer handicapped and able to show her true power.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Handicapped, Ah?¡±

    Nathan understood what she meant and why, her blade looked unnatural. It was a two-handed sword, but she was swinging it with one-hand, but with the shield gone it was now being used correctly. With her true skill, Ash could do nothing but defend.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s that much of difference without a shield?¡±

    Veronica: ¡°Hilda only uses a shield upon my request; she was originally a vanguard for our party, until we lost a member. In a one on one duel like this, your friend has no chance.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine (Were stalling for time anyway, but if Ash just let go, he wouldn¡¯t be having this problem.)¡±

    Ash was tired and pissed off, oddly enough ¡®Hyper Reflexes¡¯ didn¡¯t seem to be working. He didn¡¯t feel any sort of enhanced dodging ability, just his own. It was taking everything he had to keep her from getting a solid hit, instead she was slowly chipping away at his health.

    Hilda, on the other side, kept pouring on attack after attack, though the attacks were becoming significantly weaker. Ash was constantly using his ¡®Blunt Blow¡¯ with his strikes and with every passing moment, Hilda felt her arms growing numb. It had advanced to a point, where she couldn¡¯t even tell how hard she was gripping the sword. Still, she continued attacking, disregarding her weakening strikes.

    Ash jumped back as Hilda slashed at him, gaining some distance, his ability must have taken its toll because Hilda did not chase after him. She needed a bit of time to regain some feeling in her hands. Ash, noticing this, decided to end the fight. Activating ¡®Critical Strike¡¯, he readied himself, Hilda noticing the surge of mana and did the same. Ash didn¡¯t need to find a weakness while fighting another person, the neck was without a doubt everyone¡¯s weak spot. However, in order for him to do it he had to disregard his defense.

    Everyone watching could tell from their stances, this would be there final clash. For a moment they watched both, the tension growing ever thicker. Then with an unknown signal, the two took off at one another. Drawing every closer, the two raise their weapon to strike, however Hilda¡¯s attack was just a little bit faster.

    *Bam*

    A loud sound resonated through air. Moments later a sword flipped through the air, before smashing into the ground. Hilda dropped to the ground, there was no blood, but she still felt some pain. She could not understand what had just transpired, she was sure she had him dead too rights and yet, with all said and done, Ash stood over her victorious. Her sword had reached him first, but in that last moment, Ash had made some godlike movement, completely avoiding her attack.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    With that, TwinMoons were defeated and the duel had ended. Nathan walked over to Ash, who was standing there motionless, looking back and forth between himself and Hilda, he couldn¡¯t understand what had just happened.  Nathan smacked him on the back, releasing him from his thoughts.

    Nathan: ¡°Nice going there; for a second I thought I was gonna have to fight.¡±

    Ash: ¡°W-What just happened, she had me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m sure her blade got to me first, I was sure I was hit¡­¡­.but I wasn¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, so you didn¡¯t figure it out, it was a fluke?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Figured what out?¡±

    Nathan shook his head and placed a hand on Ash¡¯s shoulder.

    Nathan: ¡°Hyper Reflexes¡± you weren¡¯t using it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I was trying to use it, but it wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No you haven¡¯t, from what I could see, you¡¯ve only been using ¡®Threat Detection¡¯.  It looked like you were fighting against Hyper Reflexes.¡±

    Nathan explained his abilities to Ash, Ash listening and going wide eyed hearing how to utilize it correctly.

    Ash: ¡°So because I decided to ignore my defense and put everything into my attack-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡¯Hyper Reflexes¡¯ moved you accordingly, it will help you avoid most attacks, as long as you fight the urge to dodge yourself. You¡¯re so used to avoiding attacks, using your own instincts, that you continued to do so the entire fight.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Tell me things like that sooner.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, I thought it would suit your fighting style, seeing as how you use two blades.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s too difficult to utilize, I don¡¯t know how you fight the urge to avoid an attack.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It really is hard right?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You¡¯d have trouble using it too.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sometimes, like you said, it¡¯s hard to fight the urge to avoid a potentially dangerous moment.¡±

    Melissa: ¡°Hilda¡­are you alright?...¡±

    Ash and Nathan¡¯s attention was brought back to the TwinMoons; helping there sister up from the ground. Hilda nodded that she was alright, as Melissa helped her stand. The dueling sphere aura was disappearing, allowing them to leave.

    Hilda smashed her hand against the ground in frustration, throwing Ash a death glare. Veronica rested a hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention.

    Veronica: ¡°Hilda you were marvelous, I proud of you.¡±

    Hilda nodded to Veronica as she rose to her feet. Nathan approached the group, licking their wounds from the latest defeat.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey you lost¡­where¡¯s the money?¡±

    Veronica sucked her teeth and looked away, as did her sister.

    Nathan: ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have it, you were that confident in your victory that you bet a hundred thousand without having he money?¡±

    Veronica: ¡°We will get you your money, the terms of the battle never specified that we had to give you the money immediately.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡­? How under-handed, using loopholes to weasel your way out.¡±

    Ash: ¡°(Even though we¡¯ve being doing the same thing all morning)¡±

    Veronica: ¡°We plan to give you your money, just be patient or I just might spill your little secret.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Secret, what are you talking about?¡±

    Veronica approached Nathan and Ash, to make sure no one could hear her.

    Veronica: ¡°I mean, you wouldn¡¯t want anyone finding out, I¡¯m not the only one betting what I don¡¯t have, right?¡±

    Ash and Nathan jumped back in surprise, cold sweat running their faces. Veronica smiled deviously, seeing their reactions, her sister along with the crowd, wondering what she had said to garner a reaction from the two victors.

    Nathan: ¡°How?¡±

    Veronica: ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, will you be patient?¡±

    Nathan looked to Ash, who nodded and defeat.

    Nathan: ¡°W-We¡¯ll be patient.¡±

    Veronica: ¡°Good, good, glad you see things my way.¡±

    Veronica walked back over to her sisters.

    Veronica: ¡°We¡¯ll be withdrawing for now, but we will meet again. The glorious TwinMoons will shine even brighter and next time we do battle you will be thoroughly mooned. A mooning so glorious, you will go blind from its intense light.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pffftt.¡±

    Ash, held Nathan¡¯s lips, preventing him from laughing out loud again. The girls of the TwinMoon stared daggers at the two, but they were too tired to continue their fight, plus they had to wait an entire forty-eight hours before they could fight them again. Without another word they turned and left, supporting each other as they disappeared into the crowd. Once they were a distance away, Ash let Nathan go.

    Ash: ¡°You can¡¯t help yourself, can you?

    Nathan: ¡°Nope.¡±

    Ash: ¡°*Sigh*¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, that¡¯s that¡­let¡¯s go, while Iris is doing her thing.¡±

    Nathan took off running again.

    Ash: ¡°Wait¡­can¡¯t I catch my breath first.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sure, let ask those adventurers who were watching us fight, if we could take a breath?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Point taken.¡±

    Ash took off, behind Nathan, a few adventurers even given chase, but most had given up after witnessing the fight with the TwinMoons.

    Ash: ¡°By the way, what was so funny about the TwinMoons?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about this world, but, where I come from, mooning someone means something else.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan moved over to Ash and told him what it meant on Earth.

    Ash: ¡°So every time they said it, you were thinking that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Your world is so weird.¡±

    _

    _

    Virgil casually strolled down the road, humming to himself as he walked. He hadn¡¯t been in such a good mood in a long time. After receiving the letter from the guild leader, he immediately left to meet them. It was a long walk from his home to the guild, it was basically across town. However, he didn¡¯t care, it was worth the walk.

    He did notice there was a buzz going on around town, something was happening, and his ears wondered from conversation to conversation. Apparently, someone in town was attempting to complete a quest worth a Jade coin. News like that would have perked his interest two years ago, but once becoming a Hero his activities as an Adventurer had ceased, no, were forbidden. The church doesn¡¯t allow their hero¡¯s to do any guild work, only Hero like work that they assigned. Virgil honestly wished he had known such a thing before he agreed, he loved adventuring, but it was far too late for regrets.

    As he left the nobles district, the identity of the adventurer was confirmed. The Lycanian, which had been the talk of the city, was the adventurer currently dueling all over the city, but something didn¡¯t seem right. From what he heard the adventurer was headed in the exact opposite of the noble¡¯s district. The street he was walking down, was the only one that lead toward the district and yet it was calm.

    He could think of only one valid reason why, the Lycanian was leading everyone on a wild goose chase. The item he was trying to return wasn¡¯t with him, he was having it delivered some other way.

    Virgil looked around; no one seemed out of the ordinary or in any particular hurry.

    *Smash*

    *Squeeeeeeaaaak*

    Virgil: ¡°What on Leseres?¡±

    Virgil looked next to him; a stack of boxes next to him suddenly fell over and made the strangest of noises. Then something tumbled out from the pile, its eyes spinning from the collision.

    Virgil: ¡°A mouse?¡±

    Virgil stood over the confused thing, a browned-furred large-eared mouse, with a patch of white on the top of its head and stomach. The mouse shook its head, regaining its composure from the crash.

    Virgil had been living here on the noble district for two years, not once had he ever seen a rodent running the streets. It was always clean and vermin-free. Virgil pulled out his knife, he didn¡¯t really care if it got away, but it could very well make it way to his house.

    *Squeak*

    The moment Virgil pulled out his weapon, the mouse turned his way bared its fangs.

    Virgil: ¡°What!?¡±

    Virgil was shocked to see a rune circle suddenly appear in front of the Mouse. Then a moment later, several fireballs were heading straight for him.  His ¡®Gale Force¡¯ circling him he, prevented any attack or anyone from attacking him head on. The fireballs were in blown away, by the spiraling winds, but a second later the earth began to shake. Virgil leaped away as jagged stone spires rose up from the ground, threatening to impale him. The attack only lasted a moment, but when Virgil had turned around, the mouse was no longer there.

    Virgil was awestruck; there were creatures out there that could cast spells, but never in such quick succession. More than that, the mouse fired its first spell, then immediately switched to a spell that could counteract his wind. It analyzed him in seconds and acted accordingly and the moment Vigil was distracted, it escaped.  Virgil smiled, a feeling came over him, excitement. He had a prior engagement, but this was too good an opportunity. He was in-the-market for a new pet and this would be crime to pass up.

    Virgil looked around, ignoring the passerby¡¯s who had witnessed the event. He had lost track of it. He scattered the winds surrounding him, acting as a sensor, the wind blew through the area looking for even the smallest of un-natural movements. Nothing on the ground, but as the winds traveled higher, for a fleeting moment, something had, caught his attention and with that he leapt high into the air to go investigate.

    Virgil: ¡°Will find out what you truly are.¡±

 Chapter 78: Men and Mice

    <u>Chapter 78: Men and Mice</u>

    High above, a small shadow bounced along he rooftops. Nimbly and accurately, the shadow bounced about, sometimes erratically, sometimes consistent. Then as quick as it was moving, the shadow stopped. The black mass it once was had now become a mouse. Feeling dizzy, it shook its head before looking around. North, south, east, west, no matter which way it looked, it could not find its way.

    *Poof*

    Anais returned to her Therian form, scratching her head she sighed heavily.

    Anais: ¡°Ugghhh, Where the hell is this house?¡±

    She waved her hand and a map appeared. Unrolling it, she looked at the crudely drawn map. A small red building, a fountain, a giant gate and a green building with a giant flower, these was the symbols use to illustrate her destination. She turned the map every which way, but it was just terrible and the more she tried to figure out, the more irritated she became.

    She took a step over to the edge of her perch and looking down onto the street, she could see the fountain, but according to the map she should be southeast from the fountain. However, because she wasn¡¯t paying attention, she crashed head-first into a pile of crates. To add injury to insult, several of the crates fell on top of her, knocking her loopy. She would have been okay from that, but, for some reason, the moment she regained her senses, the borrowed ability ¡°Threat Detection¡± went off.

    A blonde-haired good-looking man was standing above her, dagger drawn. She took the initiative and pelted him with fire, however, there was some weird mana-flow circling the man. The moment the fire balls touched it, they were shredded. She quickly assessed that the mana was protecting him from all fronts, except right below. With her next attack, she aimed for that weakness, this time she was successful and the man leapt away to avoid the attack.

    Anais took that moment to activate ¡°Shadow-Sneak¡± and with a few bounds she had jumped to the rooftops to escape him. Good-news: she successfully escaped; bad-news: in doing so she had lost her way. She couldn¡¯t tell which road she had to take in order to reach her destination.

    Anais: ¡°Damn that Bastard.¡±

    Anais cursed the unknown man. She racked her brain for a solution; she could go down and ask for directions, but, in doing so she would inadvertently let people know she was searching for the Rselaia estate. She waved her hand once more and a badge appeared with a flower emblem. She sighed recalling the plan.

    _____________

    Thirty minutes earlier¡­

    Anais: ¡°What, why can¡¯t Ash do it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Because he can¡¯t go as undetected like you.¡±

    Anais stood there fuming, she wanted to fight, but the plan kept her from doing so. While Nathan and Ash distracted the adventurer¡¯s, Anais and her ¡°Scribe Eater¡± form would take the badge to the Rselaia estate in the noble¡¯s district. It was a simple, yet efficient plan.

    Anais: ¡°Why do you always leave me out of the good stuff?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais, you have the most important role here, no one else can do this, it all counts on you.¡±

    Anais turned her head towards Nathan.

    Anais: ¡°Are you sure, you wouldn''t want a klutz like me, handling such an important item.¡±

    Nathan took Anais¡¯s hand and placed the emblem in it.

    Nathan: ¡°But you are the single luckiest klutz in the world, you''ll find it, most likely by complete accident.¡±

    Anais scoffed at Nathan¡¯s remark, while he patted her head.

    Ash: ¡°She¡¯ll probably knock over a cart or something on her way there.¡±

    Iris: "Ash, you shouldn''t say what we''re all thinking.

    Anais threw them an in-appropriate finger, as they made fun. Nathan asked Belle to draw a map for her which she then placed it in her inventory. Turning into her mouse form, she bounded out a side window, rolling her eyes at Nathan saying ¡®good luck¡¯ as she bounded away.

    ______

    Anais: ¡°So much for that. This map¡¯s only good if I head back to that fountain. It says a green building, but there¡¯s no building that fit the description as far as I can see."

    Anais sighed again, this was becoming more complicated then she needed. She would just have to risk going back to the fountain. There was a good chance that ¡®man¡¯ was still there, but as long as she kept her presence hidden and avoid crashing; everything should be fine.

    She didn¡¯t have time to wait around, even while she stood there, Nathan was fighting battle after battle. She looked over the map once again.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯d think a giant flower would be noticeable from up here.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Maybe I could be of assistance.¡±

    Anais quickly turned around and brandished her dagger. She was stunned for a moment seeing the man who had attacked her moments ago. He smiled wryly as he stepped onto the roof.

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s close enough, who are you?¡±

    Virgil: ¡°You don¡¯t know who I am, that¡¯s rather surprising.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Consider yourself enlightened, again who are you?¡±

    Anais held her dagger higher, readying herself for a fight, or so she made it seem. She was sure her mana couldn¡¯t be sensed, she should be invisible to the naked eye, not to mention she had used ¡°Shadow Sneak¡± to run from him. And yet, he had found her, how did he do it?

    Virgil: ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t wish to fight.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then leave me alone.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s not every day you find such an unusual creature.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Virgil: ¡°You¡¯re the mouse who fired off the spells from earlier¡­¡±

    Anais stepped back, she was positive no-one was around when she had transformed. Anais decided it she wasn¡¯t going to wait around to find out.

    *Woosh*

    Virgil: ¡°Please don¡¯t leave, I wish to talk.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, Virgil was in front of her, holding the map she was clutching.

    Anais: ¡°Flare Royale¡±

    A rune symbol appeared above her, as several fireballs flew towards Virgil. Just as before, right before they reached them, the fire dissipated. Anais could see the swirling mana and wind, shredding the fire as it came within reach of him. However, just like before, the winds from below.

    Anais: ¡°Jag-¡±

    Virgil: ¡°No, no.¡±

    The wind surrounding Virgil quickly expanded, forcing Anais to dodge or be shredded. Before she even landed, Virgil was already there quickly subduing her and stopped her from casting.

    Anais: ¡°LET ME GO, DAMMIT!¡±

    Virgil: ¡°I¡¯m sorry; casting that spell here would be dangerous, mostly for the people below.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What!?¡±

    Anais had forgotten that she was atop a roof, if she had used that spell, there was a good chance it would have caved-in and anyone occupying the building would have been crushed.

    Virgil: ¡°You didn¡¯t even need an incantation, the time between your spell and release is non existent and your instinct are on point as well. Most can''t tell that there is a constant wind current, swirling around me, until it''s too late, but you reacted instantly and change tatics. Simply Marvelous."

    Anais: ¡°I SAID; LET ME GO YOU FUCKER!¡±

    Virgil: ¡°A lady shouldn¡¯t speak in such a way.¡±

    Anais wrestled herself free, before readying another spell.

    Anais: ¡°Cold-Snap!¡±

    The temperature around Virgil instantly dropped, Virgil quickly leapt away, as a mass of ice appeared right where he had been standing. Virgil leapt away several more times, as the spot he would land would suddenly freeze. After a few more times the spell subsided, and Virgil settled down. Anais turned into a ¡®shadow¡¯ bounding to the opposite side of the roof.

    Virgil: ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that spell before, another spell that ignore my winds and attack me head on, you are full of surprises, I must have you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What the hell!?¡±

    Anais stared at Virgil; he was smiling at her, a smile that sent shiver down her spine. She didn¡¯t understand what he meant by needing to have her, but she did understand one thing, he was dangerous in many ways.

    Virgil: ¡°Like I said before, I just want to talk.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t speak dagger.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Ah that, I apologize wholeheartedly about before, I was just doing my civic duty, if I had known you were the mouse, I would have not done so.¡±

    Virgil bowed deeply towards Anais.

    Anais: ¡°If you want to apologize, then give me back what you took from me.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Yes, sorry again.¡±

    Vigil rolled the map up and tossed it back to Anais, she still didn¡¯t trust him, but she could at least tell that he was sincere.

    Anais: ¡°I have things to do, so if you got something to say, be quick about it and keep your distance.¡±

    Virgil smiled the cringe inducing smile, delighted that she was allowing him to speak, but just as quickly the smile faded. Someone was coming and with his status it would wise to no be caught by the specific resident.

    Virgil: ¡°About however, I must apologise, it seems we¡¯ve run out of time.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Out of time?¡±

    Virgil: ¡°I would really like to get to know you, but for now I must make myself scarce. But before that.¡±

    Virgil bowed once again. He would really like to get to know her, however they would soon be interrupted, plus he had prior engagements.

    Virgil: ¡°The place you¡¯re looking for, it¡¯s a lot closer than you think.¡±

    Virgil said nothing more and left, leaping down to the street.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, what the hell wrong witht that gone. Oh well, at least he''s gone.¡±

    ??????: ¡°Stay where you are.¡±

    Anais turned to find several armoured guards pointing weapons at her.

    Anais: ¡°What the hell do you want?¡±

    Guard: ¡°That¡¯s our question; you are currently trespassing on the Rselaia estate.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What? This is the Rselaia estate?¡±

    Guard: ¡°Freeze.¡±

    Anais ignored them and walked over to the edge of the roof. She couldn¡¯t tell because of the black roof, but the sides of the house were indeed green, even more so, the giant flower she was looking for; was actually a design of the front gate. Anais look at the map again, Belle drew the florwer and gate seperate, with and arrow leading from one another, trying to indidcate they were together.

    Anais: ¡°WRITE IT DOWN THAT WAY THEN...SO MISLEADING!¡±

    *Thwap*

    Anais screamed as she tossed the map to the ground, the guard unsure of her intention watch her carefuuly.

    Guard: ¡°This is the last time child¡­why are you here?¡±

    Anais reached into her bag and pulled out the emblem and held it up for the guards to see. A collective gasp as they recognize what was in her hand.

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m here for the reward.¡±

 Chapter 79: The Cerulean Sword

    <u>Chapter 79 The Cerulean Sword</u>

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, what gives?¡±

    Nathan looked all around, but no-one was coming. The huge crowd that been chasing them around for the last hour and a half, had almost completely dispersed.

    Ash: ¡°Maybe they caught onto us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe¡­hey, let¡¯s ask them.¡±

    A group of three adventurers had shown up, heading straight for Nathan and Ash. Nathan challenged them and the made quick work of the team. The three sat on the ground trying to recover, until Nathan approached them.

    The truth of the matter was, after defeating the Bishop-ranked ¡®Twin Moons¡¯ party, a lot of teams decided to give up on the chance. Some newbie parties believe it was worth the risk the risk, believing that Nathan would be tired-out after fight while running around all day; however, Nathan was still spry as ever. After questioning them, Nathan left them to themselves, as he and Ash made their way down the street.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, how do you like that, looks like we¡¯re in the clear.¡±

    Ash: ¡°So what, you want to head over to the guild?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not yet, we still haven¡¯t any word back from Anais.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You think she found the place?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She¡¯ll find it, via accident, but she will find it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well then, let¡¯s just head over to the noble¡¯s district, just in case anyone¡¯s watching.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright.¡±

    Nathan followed Ash, he didn¡¯t know where the noble district was, so there was no choice in the matter. Nathan looked around, a few people were out and about, but as he looked around he felt something was off. He couldn¡¯t put his finger on it, but something didn¡¯t feel right.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Ash, it¡¯s pretty quiet, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I guess, but so what, it¡¯s better than the screaming and shouting from earlier.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just got this weird feeling, like something isn¡¯t right.¡±

    Ash looked around, he didn¡¯t see anything particularly wrong. The streets were a little less populated, but that could be because of earlier disturbance.

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything; ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ isn¡¯t active either.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well when you figure it out, let me know.¡±

    *Guuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrgh*

    Ash held his stomach, to stop the noise.

    Ash: ¡°But for now, I¡¯m getting me something to eat. There¡¯s a food stand over there, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Nathan nodded as they continued down the street. Nathan kept darting his head around, but he just couldn¡¯t figure it out. Ash left Nathan to himself, while he went to the nearest vendor selling skewers. The vendor smiled and pulled the large sun hat down over his face as Ash approached.

    Ash: ¡°Hey, let me get three of these and two of those.¡±

    Vendor: ¡°Coming right up.¡±

    Ash ordered several for both and immediately scarfed two down.

    Nathan looked around one more time, when he caught a glimpse of someone on the street looking at him covertly. As if he was keeping an eye on him, the man stacked some wood on a cart, slowly and waiting for something. Nathan finally realized what was wrong, he wasn¡¯t getting the looks from earlier. Usually there would be hundreds of people staring at him, but now it was as if everyone around him was intentionally averting their eyes.

    Something was about to happen, but Nathan¡¯s ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ still hadn¡¯t kicked in. Suddenly as if out of thin air, the battle area flashed around; locking him in.

    Ash: ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan turned to Ash; the vendor he had ordered the food from had stepped from behind the cart and removed the sun-hat, revealing a young blue-haired man.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash¡­¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sorry Nathan, the vendor suddenly challenged me to a duel, I had no time to interrupt him.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it Ash, I only just figured out myself.¡±

    Nathan turned to the man, the smile from before gone. He removed his sword and spoke.

    Nathan: ¡°It must have been hard getting the towns people to help you get us into a duel.¡±

    ?????: ¡°Not really, most of the people walking around, are members of my party.¡±

    Several of the disguised adventurers, revealed themselves. It was a large party, much larger than any of the parties they¡¯ve dealt with so far.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, you know these guys?¡±Stolen novel; please report.

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re the party ¡®Radiant Sky¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡¯Radiant Sky¡¯?¡±

    ??????: ¡°Yes, we are ¡®Radiant Sky¡¯ and you will pay for your mockery.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Mockery?)¡±

    The blue-haired man brandished his sword and immediately attacked Nathan. Nathan pulled out his blade and swung it; countering the man¡¯s slash.

    Nathan: ¡°Hold up there Cerulean, you didn¡¯t even wager anything.¡±

    The man ignored Nathan and continued his attacks, slashing in every direction. The man took one wide horizontal swing and in that moment, Nathan disappeared from his line of sight.

    Cerulean: ¡°GUH!¡±

    Nathan flipped backwards and brought his foot forward, kicking the man in his chin. Blue hair didn¡¯t lift into the air from the blow like Nathan thought he would, but Nathan didn¡¯t stop and was already in front of him. With a quick slash, Nathan aimed to knock the weapon away from the man, but he narrowly avoided the upward slash. He decided to distance himself from Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Nathan pursued him indefinitely, refusing to give him a chance to recover. Nathan brought his sword down and successfully struck his sword-arm.

    Cerulean: ¡°Ugh, Dammit!¡±

    He refused to let go of his weapon even as he winced from the pain. Nathan quickly looked around, even as their friend was hurt, no one seemed to make a move.

    Nathan: ¡°Are none of you going to attack?¡±

    No-one said anything and just stared on at the battle. Looking back Nathan saw Ash readying himself to move, but as soon as he moved, several people reached for their weapons.

    Ash: ¡°Seriously, this many people against me?¡±

    A silver-haired girl that was done up in a pony tail, stepped forward.

    Silver-haired girl: ¡°We won¡¯t move, as long as you don¡¯t attempt to interrupt Alvin¡¯s fight.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I know you, you¡¯re the leader of ¡®Radiant Sky¡¯, Estelle Lygial.¡±

    The woman was outfitted with light armor, sheathed her weapon before waving her hand and her subordinates did the same.

    Estelle: ¡°Lycanian, we apologize for our method was a bit unorthodox, but it seems you to would never stop running around and avoiding our challenge.¡±

    Nathan did recognize some of the scents around him, they must be a team he ran past today. If the group was too large, Nathan would run by them without a second thought.

    Estelle: ¡°Alvin did not mention the wager, we do in fact want the emblem, but more than that, Alvin wishes to challenge you one on one.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You want to fight one on one, you got like two dozen people here and you want to fight one on one?¡±

    Estelle: ¡®Be that as it may, we all agreed to let Alvin fight you himself.¡±

    Nathan turned back to Alvin, he had been waiting patiently for him to finish his conversation. Nathan didn¡¯t get was going on, he had avoided a bunch of people all day. Was he one of the ignored, and just wanted revenge for ignoring him?

    Nathan: ¡°So if I beat him, you guys will just walk away?¡±

    Estelle: ¡°That is the deal.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sounds fair enough, Ash, go ahead and finish your meal.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You sure?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well in hope of not being jumped by like twenty people, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    Nathan ready himself as the ¡®Radiant Sky¡¯ members, along with passersby, encircled the two.  Nathan wasn¡¯t going to take a chance, he wasn¡¯t sure what kind of trick Alvin had up his sleeve waiting, but he wasn¡¯t going to let him.

    Nathan simply charged him and thrust the sword toward Alvin¡¯s side. Alvin quickly moved his blade to block the attack, but with no force added, he was knocked back. Nathan quickly jumped forward again, trying to knock the blade away.

    Alvin: ¡°Not again.¡±

    While stumbling back, Alvin swung his weapon down to meet Nathan¡¯s. A loud clang resounded as the blades met.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa!?¡±

    The force of the blow, sent Alvin crashing to the ground, but in the same instance, Nathan retreated. Nathan looked at his health bar, up at the battle Orbs, some of his health had disappeared, but he was sure he wasn¡¯t hit.

    Nathan: ¡°(What the hell did he just do!?)¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t understand, he had to see it again. With that thought he charged Alvin. Alvin brought up his sword to meet Nathan¡¯s again. The swords clashed once again, but this time, Nathan was the only one that was blown back. No, he leapt back himself, he looked down at his chest, he had been cut twice.

    He couldn¡¯t figure it out, he was sure Alvin didn¡¯t attack three times and yet, it felt like he was attack more than once. Something was happening, it did used, the one that hit everywhere, it felt more like several people were attacking consecutively.

    Nathan: ¡°(Pry!)¡±

    Nathan attempted to spy on Alvin¡¯s Stat-Screen.

    Alvin: ¡°What is this feeling? What are you doing to me?¡±

    Nathan continued, but Alvin wasn¡¯t having any of it, he attacked Nathan, bent on stopping whatever he was doing.

    Nathan: ¡°Tch!¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t want a repeat of last time, so he dodged the attack. However, as he stepped out of the way, he felt an attack coming from behind. Ducking forward, he felt another attack coming from above. He quickly spun to the side, only to feel another attack.

    Nathan: ¡°Enough of this!¡±

    He stuck his hand out on the ground and with a twist, kicked out towards the source, but was met with air. Nathan was half-surprised by this, he knew nothing was there, but at the same time he felt attack coming from there. Nathan hopped from his hands to his feet, Alvin looked at him surprised.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell is this, why do I feel like I¡¯m being attacked by a gang of people?¡±

    Nathan looked around, from what he could tell n one had made any moves toward him, they were seemingly keeping their word, as far as he could tell.

    Alvin looked shaken, he needed to finish this before Nathan figured out what was going on. Nathan didn¡¯t want to get close yet, so he kept his distance, but Alvin slashed his blade anyway.

    Nathan: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Nathan had a feeling and quickly swung his blade to the left, but again felt Nothing but air. The same feeling as before; this time coming at both his sides. He leaned backwards, but before he could move, another attack aimed at his feet knocked him to the ground.

    Then he was surrounded, as attacks came from all direction, he blocked what he could, but three got through. Nathan leapt away, clutching his chest in pain. He looked it over, it felt as though he had been impaled. He looked at the floating ¡®Battle Orb¡¯s, his health had been reduced twenty five percent. It made sense, he did just take three stabs to the stomach, if this was a real fight, he would have been dead.

    There were also a few shocked faces in the crowd, including Ash. Alvin was also shocked, but for a different reason.

    Ash: ¡°Nathan, what is going on with you?¡±

    Ash couldn¡¯t tell what was happening, it looked as though Nathan was just randomly jumping around and attacking nothing. Then suddenly, in one go, his health was reduced significantly.

    Ash: ¡°A Legacy?¡±

    Estelle turned to Ash and scoffed.

    Estelle: ¡°This is no Legacy, this is just Alvin unique ability. No one has ever defeated it, the Lycanian will fall soon enough.¡±

    Estelle said that, but she was honestly surprised. Never has she witnessed someone dodge so many of Alvin¡¯s attacks, not to mention perceiving where they were coming from. If any of Alvin¡¯s attacks had a solid mass or form, she was sure Nathan wouldn¡¯t be hurt like he is now. She watched Alvin, he was breathing hard, using it the ability so much must have taken its toll, he had to finish this soon.

    Nathan noticed as well, he was low on health, but Alvin was low on mana, even with his god-like dodging abilities, the attacks seem to know exactly where and when to strike with such precision, he would be stupid to believe he could keep dodging until he had completely run out of mana.

    Nathan had to prevent him from doing it again and he knew exactly how. It was risky, but he had to try. With that thought; Nathan charged at Alvin.

 Chapter 80: It is to Laugh

    <u>Chapter 80: It is to Laugh</u>

    Nathan danced around Alvin; he had come to understand his abilities¡¯ trigger. Right before every attack, Alvin would swing his sword at least once in Nathan¡¯s direction, even if the strike didn¡¯t connect, the ability would activate. More than that, after every attack, the amount would multiply, to the point it felt like he was fighting a gang of invisible assailants. However, from the way Alvin was breathing, his ability must be a mana drainer.

    Ash: ¡°What¡¯s going on with him, why won¡¯t he attack?¡±

    Estelle: ¡°No, it¡¯s a good strategy.¡±

    Estelle, not far from Ash, answered his question.

    Estelle: ¡°¡¯Army of One¡¯, it¡¯s an ability Alvin invented; with a swing of his sword he can create mana duplicates of himself, undetectable by the naked eye and continuously multiplying the longer it is active.¡±

    Ash: ¡°So what¡­Nathan being attacked by some invisible mana clones?¡±

    Estelle: ¡°Precisely, but it seems like the Lycanian has figured out the conditions for avoiding it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Which is?¡±

    Estelle: ¡°That I will not reveal.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Tsk!¡±

    Alvin tried to chase Nathan, but he couldn¡¯t keep up with Nathan¡¯s speed and as long as he kept moving like this, it was impossible for Alvin to activate his ability. The initial sword swing acted as a homing beacon, allowing the ability to follow its target where ever it went. However, if the target was moving faster than Alvin could follow, the attack wouldn¡¯t register. He couldn¡¯t keep up with Nathan, so he begun to focus on the inevitable. Nathan would eventually make a move, he just had to wait until Nathan attacked, the moment their blades crossed, with the little bit of health the Lycanian had left, he wouldn¡¯t last another attack.

    Plus, the amount of duplicates Alvin had at the moment was around thirteen, with that many he would exhaust almost all of his mana, but no one has ever made it to this amount of duplicates and he sure even Nathan was close to his limit

    Nathan was close enough, with one last step, he leapt at Alvin. Alvin aimed to meet Nathan¡¯s strike and immediately activated his ability. At that same moment, Nathan stuck his hand right in front of Alvin¡¯s face.

    Nathan: ¡°Venom-Burst¡±

    A rune symbol appeared and from it a yellow glob, splashed right into Alvin¡¯s face. The ooze hit him dead center, invading every orifice on his face.

    Nathan reflexively dodged the invisible attack after firing off the poison. It didn¡¯t take immediate effect, so Nathan had no choice but to dodge the incoming attacks. Two, three, four, five, by the sixth duplicate Nathan was barely able to dodge. And with the next attack Nathan felt he was stabbed right in the chest.

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Two attacks came at the same time and Nathan couldn¡¯t dodge both, instead taking the blow to his arm, rather than risking the one to the head. Nathan was on his last leg, he didn¡¯t need to look at the ¡®Battle Orb¡¯ to know he was on the verge of losing. Nathan looked over to Alvin, wiping the poison from his face in disgust, but the poison didn¡¯t seem to have taken effect. He didn¡¯t understand, as with the bandits it was almost immediate. He only could dodge up to a certain amount of invisible attacks, last time it took seven to finally catch him and right now he was up to six.

    An invisible thrust to the back of his head, Nathan ducked forward to avoid, but the second he did, from all sides, he was pinned and with nowhere left to run Nathan pushed off the ground with his hands, launching high into the air. This was it, he¡¯d avoided as much as he possibly could, but from the way his ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ was going off, the moment he landed it would be over and the ground was closing in fast.

    Nathan: ¡°(Shit)¡­¡­¡­.Huh?¡±

    Just when he thought it was over, Nathan smiled realizing all traces of invisible threats were gone. Turning to Alvin, who was now on all fours, who was barely keeping a hold on his weapon. All over his body, yellow veins were appearing, letting Nathan know the poison was working.

    Nathan: ¡°Wow, I¡¯m surprise you didn¡¯t faint.¡±

    Alvin: ¡°W-What have you done to me?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Poison, I recently acquired it. It paralyzes your opponent, sending an intense pain spiraling through their body every time they try to move. But, don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll end this before you get that far gone.¡±

    Crowd: ¡°Foul play!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan turned his attention to the crowd; they raised up a fuss calling him a cheater.

    Nathan: ¡°How exactly am I cheating?¡±

    RS Member: ¡°How did you not, using poison in a duel, despicable?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, he was using invisible attacks and that¡¯s fair!?¡±

    RS Member: ¡°That is fair, it was clearly one of his skills?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay now you¡¯re just nitpicking.¡±

    Estelle: ¡°Silence.¡±

    Estelle yelled for her man to stop with their false accusation.

    Estelle: ¡°Clearly the poison was fired from the rune symbol that appeared. It was magic, how exactly was it cheating?¡±

    RS Member: ¡°But Estelle, I¡¯ve never heard of ¡®Poison Magic¡¯.¡±

    The members of ¡®Radiant Sky¡¯ all agreed, along with the city folk who witness the fight.

    Estelle: ¡°Just because you never heard of it, doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t exist. On the contrary, we just saw it demonstrated first hand. No one has any right to call it foul play.¡±

    Nathan looked over to Estelle who just scowled at him.

    Estelle: ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand; I didn¡¯t do that for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Didn¡¯t think you would, now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯m gonna finish pummeling your friend.¡±

    Estelle obviously raged at Nathan¡¯s words, but he ignored her as he walked up to Alvin.¡±

    Alvin: ¡°N-No I can¡¯t lose, you have to pay for what you did.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, you said something about mocking you earlier¡­did I do something to you, I¡¯m damn sure this is our first meeting?¡±

    Alvin: ¡°Not me, you dare mock my sister.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I never met you, let alone your sister.¡±

    Alvin banged his hand on the ground, which surprise Nathan, since every little movement, causes intense pain. He looked at Nathan, eyes full of hate.

    Alvin: ¡°M-Melissa, my sister is Melissa.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Melissa¡­¡­.ah.¡±

    Nathan memories, of earlier today, the Twin Moons party had a member named Melissa, their spell user. The memories of that fight also brought about the battle cry the girls kept screaming at them.

    Nathan: ¡°Pfffffffttt.¡±

    Nathan started snickering, drawing animosity from everyone around. Nathan just couldn¡¯t help himself, anyone from earth would have burst into laughter as well.

    Alvin: ¡°Bastard.¡±

    Alvin Jumped to his feet swinging his sword wildly. No longer there was the skill from earlier, so Nathan easily avoided it. Nathan kept dodging Alvin¡¯s attacks.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, I know I¡¯m your opponent, but you shouldn¡¯t move so much. With all that poison in you, it must hurt like shit.¡±

    Alvin: ¡°SHUT UP, YOU¡¯LL PAY FOR HUMILIATING MY SISTER!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Humiliate!? She challenged me and lost fair and square. That¡¯s the nature of a duel. But seriously though¡­you should really stop moving.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Alvin ignored Nathan¡¯s warning and continued to swing wildly. After a minute or so, Alvin body was at its limit. Alvin screamed in pain as he fell to the ground, coincidently, he hadn¡¯t let go of his weapon and fell unconscious. Nathan took this opportunity and closed in on Alvin, not wanting this to drag this on any further.

    *Dong*

    Just as Nathan went for the sword, a tone rang out. Suddenly the battle area disappeared, and the Battle Orbs flew to their respective owners.

    Estelle: ¡°Alvin.¡±

    Estelle ran up to Alvin, who had fallen unconscious, only after the battle was over. Several other members ran up to him as well, while Ash walked up to Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t know battles had time limits.¡±

    Ash: ¡°They don¡¯t, it only ends if someone is defeated or maybe-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Ash: ¡°The battle could end in default, if the item wagered, is no longer in the possession of the opponent.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais must have completed the quest, so the plan worked.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It took her long enough.¡±

    Estelle: ¡°Alvin, stop.¡±

    Alvin: ¡°NO, THIS ISN¡¯T OVER, NO ONE MOCKS MY SISTER.¡±

    Alvin was breathing heavy, barely conscious, and yet eh still tried breaking free of his party members grip.

    Alvin: ¡°I heard the rumors, you made them out to be a laughing stock, toying with them as you battled.¡±

    Nathan sighed out loud. He admitted he was laughing, but not at their skill. They were as formidable as any opponent and the only reason he was laughing was because of their battle cries. However, there was no way to explain to them what the joke was without admitting he was from another world and then he doubts they would believe him anyway.

    Alvin was still raging to fight, but the battle had ended, and they couldn¡¯t challenge Nathan again for another twenty-four hours. If he were to start a fight now, they would be penalized by the guild. However, that wasn¡¯t anything that Alvin was worried about as he broke free of his friends grip.

    Estelle: ¡°Alvin!¡±

    Estelle¡¯s cry fell on deaf ears as Alvin had already made it to Nathan.

    *Bunk*

    Alvin let out a pained grunt as he collapsed over Nathan, smashing their skulls into each other.

    Nathan lost his balance and fell backwards, catching himself on a cart behind him, but Alvin falling toward Nathan cause the cart to tip and they both toppled to the ground.

    Estelle: ¡°Get him up.¡±

    At Estelle word, several of her team members grabbed Alvin up and begin to walk away, while Estelle walked up to Nathan, who was looking into the sky in a daze.

    Estelle: ¡°You okay.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯M FINE, I¡¯M FINE.¡±

    Nathan screamed at the top of his lungs, that he was okay over and over. Everyone except Ash, who had looked up were confused as to why he had suddenly started to yell. High above, from Iris¡¯s point of view, it looked as though Alvin had attack Nathan after the fight was over and she was readying to attack, but quickly stopped upon hearing Nathan¡¯s declaration. Nathan got up, the fall didn¡¯t hurt that much and the pain from the skull-bash was subsiding.

    Nathan: ¡°For the record, I wasn¡¯t laughing at him.¡±

    Estelle: ¡°I had a feeling.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So what now?¡±

    Estelle: ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Estelle said nothing else, she un-tied a satchel from her side and tossed it to Nathan. After that she just turned and walked away to catch up with her party. Nathan looked in the bag to find a few hundred ¡®Rydt¡¯

    Ash: ¡°What the hell was that for?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe she felt like she needed to repay us.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No not her, I¡¯m talking about you. There no way you couldn¡¯t dodge that collapsing hothead, why¡¯d you let him fall on you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I felt bad.¡±

    He understood why he did it, to everyone watching or opinion, Nathan was the bad guy at this moment. Because Nathan was from a different world, meanings of words and phrases were different. So, every time he laughed at the ¡®Twin Moons¡¯, it seemed as though he was mocking them.

    Nathan called Iris down from above and the three made their way back to the guild. Anais would be waiting and they could collect their reward.

    Belle: ¡°Sir, Mr. Virgil has arrived.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Thank you Belle, send him right in.¡±

    Belle bowed and moments later Virgil entered room, a smile on his face.

    Virgil: ¡°Matthew, it¡¯s been too long.¡±

    Matthew returned his smile and reached out his hand to shake Virgil¡¯s.

    Matthew: ¡°Much too long, I heard of your exploits across Dreyd.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Mostly exaggerated, I assure you.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±

    Matthew smiled wryly before the two began laughing. Belle knocked on the door before entering with tea for the two. Matthew ushered Virgil to a seat while Belle filled their cups.

    Virgil took a sip and let the warmth from the cup wash over his body.

    Virgil: ¡°Marvelous, as always Belle, how about you come work at my estate? Your wages will be much better the anything he could afford.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t call you here to scout my receptionist.¡±

    Virgil ignored Matthew and kept trying to persuade Belle.

    Belle: ¡°Sorry, but I enjoy my job at the moment.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Aw that¡¯s a shame, well if you ever change your mind.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°That will be all Belle.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Yes Master.¡±

    Matthew hurriedly got rid of Belle, before she fell for the pretty boy. Virgil just snickered at his reaction.

    Virgil: ¡°By the way; all that noise outside, you¡¯re not going to do anything about it?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°They will tire themselves out eventually; let it run its course.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Run its course?...that doesn¡¯t sound like the Matthew I know; the man who incorporated the dueling systems together with those ridiculous restrictions.¡±

    Matthew took a sip of his tea.

    Matthew: ¡°I had to do something to get you fools to stop fighting each other for riches and complete the damn quest. You¡¯d be all out of work if the people lost faith in us while you all squabble over riches.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°What can I say, we were all young and-¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Stupid?¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Misguided.¡±

    The two bickered back in forth for a few more minutes, reminiscing about when they were younger.

    Matthew: ¡°Ahem, so Virgil, do you remember our discussion?¡±

    Virgil turned to Matthew whose expression had turned stern as he recalled the conversation immediately. He could only think of one reason he would ask that.

    Virgil: ¡°You¡¯ve found a way?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°A slight possibility, I can¡¯t know for sure just yet, but I have high hopes for this information.¡±

    Virgil¡¯s eyes widen a bit, Matthew wasn¡¯t one to bullshit when it came to something like this.

    Matthew: ¡°I need your help, if I¡¯m to see it finished.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Is this about your plans in a week?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°No, not at all, you know as well as I know, if you showed up there, neither of us would get out unscathed.¡±

    Virgil let out a sigh of regret. Due to him becoming a Hero, he could no longer engage in the activities of an Adventurer. Like all others found to have a Legacy, he really didn¡¯t have a choice. Being forced the title of ¡°Demon Lord¡±, meant living ostracized from common society. Under the churches influence, there were many restrictions placed on those that refused their offer. It wasn¡¯t an official restriction, but for reason many didn¡¯t understand, people dubbed ¡®Demon Lord'' would tend to stray from society due to such unknown restriction.

    Virgil: ¡°If I had known what I known then, now, I would have never taken up the mantle.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Even if that meant being called a ¡®Demon Lord¡¯?¡±

    Virgil: ¡°It¡¯s better than losing my freedom to some religion.¡±

    Matthew: ¡®Should you really be saying that?¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Who¡¯s going to tell? But enough of this, what have you found?¡±

    Matthew straightened his posture.

    Matthew: ¡°From ¡®Dyrek Woods¡¯ southeast of here, I want you to journey as close to the center as you can.¡±

    Virgil rubbed his chin.

    Virgil: ¡°Those woods are hundreds of miles deep and just beyond that forest, lay the domain of the ¡®Twelve Horn¡¯.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Ah, so you know.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°I know that an exploration team scoured those woods and found those nothing but a nest of strong monsters. And deeper still they came in contact with the ¡®Twelve Horn¡¯. They are very ¡®majestic¡¯, but also very large.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°If the stories are correct, about the size of a small mountain.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°And because of their size and there sensory abilities, no one wanted to go anywhere beyond the ¡®Dyrek Woods¡¯. How do you suppose I get past them?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°If my informant is correct, you can just walk pass them.¡±

    Virgil eyes widen disbelief at what he had just heard. Walking passed such monster, if it had not come from Matthew, he would have just excuse himself.

    Virgil: ¡°And who is this informant that spoke something so ludicrous?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Sorry, cannot tell you that.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Not even me?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Not even you.¡±

    Virgil looked into Matthew eyes, he didn¡¯t blink nor shift his sight. He wasn¡¯t going to tell.

    Virgil: ¡°So what are you looking for?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Nothing in particular, I just need you to see how deep you could travel, without aggression or need of return.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°You just need a scout, why not just ask an adventurer?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I rather keep this off-the-books.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Matthew¡­¡­¡­do you know what you¡¯re asking?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I¡¯m asking you to ignore the rules of the church and do an off-the-record quest for me.¡±

    Virgil could not believe what he was hearing; Matthew a stickler for the rules; would he go so far? What could have caused him to do this?

    Virgil: ¡°This could go bad, if the church or any other Guild Master hear of it.¡±

    Matthew didn¡¯t bat in eye, he knew of the consequences, but if, for a fraction of the information, was true¡­the reward would be well worth the risk.

    Virgil: ¡°I have some conditions.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Name them.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°For now, I want to take some people with me.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Fine, but no adventurers from any guild.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°I¡¯ll choose them myself; it will be safer for us that way.¡±

    Matthew nodded an agreement.

    Matthew: ¡°Anything else.¡±

    Virgil: ¡°Not at the moment. No wait; do you know anyone good at beast taming?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Beast taming, if it¡¯s just that, I know a few. Any specific beast you wish them to specialize with?¡±

    Virgil smiled a very pleasant smile.

    Virgil: ¡°Someone good with Rodents.¡±

 Chapter 81: Two Steps Forward

    <u>Chapter 81: Two Steps Forward</u>

    Belle: ¡°And here we are; one Jade coin. Congratulation on a job well done¡±

    Belle handed Nathan his reward for completing the quest. He stared at the dark green coin, it was larger than any of the other coins he seen so far. He noticed a couple of people had gathered around him as if they¡¯ve never seen a jade coin before and were eyeing it like vultures, but the one eyeing it the most was Ash, drooling a bit from staring at it.

    Ash: ¡°So what are we getting?...I was thinking maybe a castle.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why would we do that?¡±

    Ash: ¡°So we can stop mooching off Ramol, since you refuse to stay at the inns.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well as soon as the inn acquires indoor plumbing, I¡¯ll gladly stay there.¡±

    Nathan tucked the coin out of sight; to those watching, it looked as though he stuck it in his pouch, but instead placed it in his inventory.

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t do this for the money remember. Belle¡­my rank¡­please tell me I can rank-up?

    Belle looked over at her screen with Nathan leaning over the counter in anticipation. She stared at the screen for a moment, before looking at Nathan with a difficult expression. She fixated on him which seemed like for moments, Nathan getting the impression something was wrong, started to frown.

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not enough?¡±

    Belle: ¡°¡­¡­Huh, not enough, oh right¡­yes¡­the rank-up; yes there is no problem, you can rank-up at any time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yessssss!¡±

    Nathan pumped his arms, absolutely ecstatic after hearing the news. He jumped around for bit, before finally being forced to settle down by Iris.

    Belle: ¡°Congratulations to you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thank you Belle. For a second there you had me worried.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know, you blanked out for a sec, scared the crap out of me.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Ah that, no it was because-¡±

    From behind Nathan, Anais and Iris shook their heads, telling Belle not to speak. She had become fixated on Nathan, his tail wagging and even his ears were flipping back ¡®n¡¯ forth, as he watched Belle in anticipation. It was incredibly adorable and cute, she couldn¡¯t look away and only snapped out of it when he spoke.

    Belle: ¡°I was feeling a bit under the weather.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really?¡±

    Nathan scanned her and couldn¡¯t find any abnormalities, if he did, he would cure it for her.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, but your status says your fine.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Oh w-well.¡±

    Nathan looked at her fidgeting trying to come up with a plausible excuse and then came to a realization.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah I see must be that time of the month.¡±

    Belle: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..Time of the month?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, nothing, never mind.¡±

    Nathan decided it would be better not to continue any further, it was understandable that they weren¡¯t familiar with the saying. No need to bring up sensitive female topics.

    Nathan: ¡°So anyway, back to the rank-up, how do we do it, do I have to fight someone? Quickly bring them out.¡±

    Nathan smacked his fists together, ready to quickly take-down whoever they sent out.

    Belle: ¡°No, no, actually, the rank-up trials are usually retrieval quests. I would usually assign one, however the Master wants to assign your rank-up trial himself.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Matthew does?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sounds suspicious.¡±

    Belle: ¡°I assure you not so much. It¡¯s just well. It¡¯s about your performance on your first quest.¡±

    Nathan let out a weird noise; his first quest was a colossal failure for the simple reason was that he could not bring himself to murder plushie-bunny. In his mind it was equivalent to kicking a puppy or slapping a kitten. Who could possibly do that with joy in their heart? At least know one he knew from Earth.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­..Oh, well there were extraneous circumstances that would not allow me to move in that situation.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Like what?...you seemed pretty capable fighting all day today.¡±

    Ash: ¡°He must have just been feeling a little under the weather, that day.¡±

    Nathan silently thanked Ash, he himself just smiling and understanding. Ash was the only one who understood his plight with the ¡®Bun-Bun Devils¡¯Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Belle: ¡°Master Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, what is the problem, I completed all the other quest I had afterwards, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    Belle: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but if you need anything else you would have to talk about it with Master Matthew.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Fine, is he in his office?¡±

    Belle: ¡°He is, but he¡¯s in a meeting right now, could I ask you to wait until it has concluded?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah sure.¡±

    Nathan sighed again, he really hoped he could get whatever needed to be done by today, the dungeon had officially opened, and it didn¡¯t look like he would be able to make it just yet. Nathan left the counter and headed off to the lounge with everyone following behind him, completely unaware of the looks he was getting from Belle. What he said about the ¡®time of the month¡¯ had her lost in thought, but she quickly shook her head in defiance.

    Belle: ¡°(No, there no way a man knows about something like that.)¡±

    _ _

    Ash: ¡°Well, since we have some time, how about we go shopping?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shopping?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You¡¯re going in the dungeon, then after that you¡¯ll be mostly traveling, right? ¡°You will need provisions.

    Nathan: ¡°We don¡¯t need anything like that?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What are you saying? You¡¯ll need cooking and camping supplies, everyday essentials, not to mention all the monsters you will come across.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh right you don¡¯t know...¡±

    Ash: ¡°Know what?¡±

    As they sat around waiting Nathan explained to Ash, what he could do with his plants. From fighting to eating, to shelters, he could grow all of those things. Ena and Anais were the only two who needed to eat; Nathan didn¡¯t want to cook for them every night, so he already planned to by a book of recipes and have Anais eat it. That way she could make meals for the two of them if they needed to.

    Nathan: ¡°Wait I never asked, Ash are you planning to come with us?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hmm, probably not, do you want me to come with you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not if it¡¯s an inconvenience to you, actually I wanna to know if you could stick around to protect Ramol and Kyr. I have Ena doing it now, but she won¡¯t be once we leave.¡±

    Right now, Nathan had Ena stay close to Ramol as he went about his day. However, the reason their leaving is to help her return home.  If everything goes right with his rank-up, within the next few days, they would be departing for a long while.

    Ash: ¡°Well, I don¡¯t actually mind it, plus it gives me a place to crash instead of spending my money on inns all the time.

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks, I send you money for your help.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Send money¡­how are you gonna do that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯m gonna being buying all of us a ¡®Braiv¡¯.¡±

    Everyone: ¡°WHAT!?¡±

    Nathan covered his ears just in time, they all simultaneously screamed at him.

    Nathan: ¡°Guys, I was always planning on buying it, I¡¯m just gonna wait until we had enough money and we have it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°But, all of us, that¡¯s-¡±

    Ash started counted out in his head, Anais looked at him with pity.

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s forty-thousand Rydt, fifty thousand if you¡¯re including Ena.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I am.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡¯s half the money gone.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, its the most essential thing I need. I don¡¯t plan on settling down no time soon and I plan on taking quests as I travel. It would be a pain if I have to return to town every single time I finish a quest. This way we can finish the quest and keep moving, it¡¯s not like I plan to avoid towns altogether, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit tedious to have to visit everyone, just to see if they have a guild where I could except quests or collect rewards?¡±

    Ash: ¡°That sounds reasonable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Plus, I¡¯d, really like to lower my fame.¡±

    Ash understood that all too well, after today there could be a lot of crap coming his way. It would be best to get the hell out of dodge.

    Ash: ¡°Well, we wouldn¡¯t have to go through all that, if someone didn¡¯t take so long.¡±

    A vein appeared on Anais¡¯s forehead.

    Anais: ¡°It¡¯s not my fault you ass! It was because of this stupid map. Not to mention that jerk who attacked me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You got attacked; did you turn back into your Therian form when I told you not too?¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, while looking for the estate, I accidently knocked some crates on top of me.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Damn, you win the bet.¡±

    Ash sucked his teeth and tossed Nathan a few coins, prompting several more veins to appear on Anais face.

    Anais: ¡°Anyway, when I came-to, your ability that I borrowed, told me someone was aiming at me. So, I immediately attacked them; then escaped.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°In your ¡®mouse¡¯ form?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yup, but after I escaped, no sooner had I caught my breath, he appeared behind me. Even though I had changed into my Therian from at this point, he still was able to track me.¡±

    Ash: ¡°So you did transform back?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not until after the fact, the problem was he was able to find me, even though with Shadow Sneak, I was able to make it pretty far from there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good, he tracked you, but he didn¡¯t go after the emblem?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Perhaps he was unaware she had it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, but she was always around me while we went around town. I¡¯m sure by now, except Iris, everyone who¡¯s been hanging around me, has been followed and reached-out to.¡±

    They couldn¡¯t deny that, almost every time, that when they went off on their own, someone stopped them to enquire about Nathan. Rather it was merchants trying to cut in on Ramol¡¯s profit or someone wanting to scout Nathan out for their party, they had all been constantly harassed.

    Nathan: ¡°So this might be our last time sitting here, I plan on leaving as soon as I¡¯m done with Matthew. Once I get my fill of the Dungeon, we¡¯ll continue north and get away from this city.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, there was no real conclusion to that fight since it ended early. He¡¯ll probably try again after he recovers.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Which is another reason why I want to leave.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Speaking of that fight, since when could you use magic, poison no less?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, it happened while I was fighting Gideon and his gang, I met some conditions and acquired it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°So it not a spell?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, it¡¯s something called ¡®Bane¡¯, from what I got so far, that I can generate a variety of poisons, ¡®Venom Burst¡¯ is how I generate it offensively. Besides that, I can make it come out of my skin like sweat; so I can pass it by touch. There are a few other ways, but they don¡¯t seem useful since I can¡¯t control it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°So you can just make any poison you want?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m a bit thirsty, must be from all that running around earlier. Iris, would you mind asking Belle to bring us a pitcher of water please ?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, yes, one moment please.¡±

    Iris soared away to the receptionist desk, leaving Ash a bit confused.

    Ash: ¡°That felt less like you needing water and more like you were trying to get rid of her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s because he was, he doesn¡¯t want her to know how he obtains the poisons he can generate.¡±

    Ash: ¡°How does he obtain them?¡±

    Ash looked back ''n'' forth between the two, Anais uncrossed her arms and nudged at Nathan to speak.

    Nathan: ¡°Well the conditions aren''t very conventional. Just don''t freak out."

 Chapter 82: One Last Errand

    <u>Chapter 82: One Last Errand</u>

    Ash: ¡°Are you crazy?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s the only way to get a new one, I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    Iris had yet to return, leaving the three free to talk. Ash now knowing the truth behind Nathan¡¯s abilities, held his head like he had a headache.

    Ash: ¡°She¡¯s gonna be so pissed off when she finds out.¡±

    The three glanced over to Iris, moving about with Belle, blissfully unaware of their conversation.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m not telling her for now, at least until I told all of you.¡±

    When Nathan first obtained the ability ¡®Bane¡¯, he was surprise at the conditions. For every new poison he wanted to obtain, he had to be infected with the poison from an outside source; simply meaning someone besides him had to dose him with it. And similar to the time limit with his new plants, where if he opted to eat the plant or the plants¡¯ seed, depending on how much poison he is infected with, the time limit is longer or shorter.  However, the worse of the conditions was the types of poisons he could utilize. The only poisons he could use are poisons created by man for the purpose of being used as a poison; meaning that natural toxic substances couldn¡¯t be used.

    Ash: ¡°So only poisons created for the purpose of poisoning someone or something can be added to your repertoire.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What a convoluted condition, you have to be attacked in order to use it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re the one who said it could be anything and I had to experiment.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I didn¡¯t say get shot with a fricking arrow, I hope you¡¯re not planning to let people attack you just to see if you can obtain more poison?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not if I had some friends who were willing to help me out¡­?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What? Wait. Is this why you¡¯re telling me¡­? You want me to attack you with deadly poisons?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not attack me, just a prick in my finger with a poison needle would suffice.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You sound like you already tested it.¡±

    Ash turned to Anais, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

    Ash: ¡°Are you kidding me, you really did it!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I didn¡¯t know what he wanted; he just came to me in the middle of the night and ask me to prick him with a pin. It wasn¡¯t until after the fact, that he told me what I did.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°If I had told you, you wouldn¡¯t have done it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t have, willingly injected you with poison.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Even though i keep telling you guys over and over, I¡¯m immune to being poisoned.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Okay, then why don¡¯t you say the same thing to Iris?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I will, I just need all of you to help me convince her.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You think we can help change her mind!? Why would she listen to us over you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, the thing is I don¡¯t have a good track record when it comes to experimenting with my abilities.¡±

    Nathan turned his head away from Ash, trying to avoid eye contact.

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    Anais: ¡°He means he¡¯s done stupid things before.¡±

    Ash: ¡°How many stupid things?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not that many.¡±

    Anais: ¡°A lot.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t over-exaggerate.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Exaggerate? Let¡¯s see, you tried dropping a 3,000+ page book on your head to test your healing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That was one-off.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You tried eating corpses of monsters multiple times.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They all looked like plants.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You healed a wild monster and was bitten in the process.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I thought it was cool-looking.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You get into your ¡®experimenting¡¯ in that you throw caution to the wind and just try anything you can think of.¡±

    Ash looked at Nathan in disbelief.

    Ash: ¡°No wonder she so overprotective, you¡¯re a walking disaster.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No he¡¯s just stupid.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, I get it. I do stupid things, but I really can¡¯t help it this time. I need both of your help to convince her, pleeeeeeeeease.¡±

    Nathan put his hand together and pleaded with them. Anais looked at each other and then sighed simultaneously.

    Anais: ¡°Fine, will help you, but only to convince her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°And if she says no, I won¡¯t be helping you go behind her back.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, thank you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Here¡¯s the water you asked for.¡±

    Iris returned with Belle, who set a pitcher of water on the table, along with several cups for their use.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Do you need anything else?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, no, but thank you for the water. Has Matthew finished with his meeting?¡±

    Belle: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, I¡¯ll have to ask you to wait a little while longer.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, I¡¯m done here, gonna finish helping out Ramol, before you guys leave, let me know if you change your mind about shopping.¡±

    Ash whisper to Nathan on his way out.

    Ash: ¡°We should wait until will all together, that way everyone can co-operate.¡±

    Nathan nodded in agreement, as Ash waved his hand and walked off. Nathan sat back down then grabbing a cup; he filled it with water and took a sip. He glanced over to Iris who had begun conversing with Anais, until she noticed him looking.

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Nathan leaned back in the chair, while Iris and Anais when back to talking, leaving him alone to rest. He didn¡¯t notice until now, but he was a little tired; the morning events must have taken more out of him than he thought.

    While he had time, he decided to fiddle with his abilities for a bit, namely his ¡®Tweak¡¯. Right now, all he really knew about it was that he could add and subtract stats from armor and weaponry, along with removing and replacing special traits. He began to test a lot of things, but he was coming up short.

    The one thing he really wanted to try was to see if he could possibly change around the stats of a person, but there was a risk. If by chance it worked, he could permanently change some stats, with no way to reverse them. He would have to try this on a subject he thought that wouldn¡¯t matter and the only thing he could think of that would fit this would be a random monster.

    That would take some doing, since the monster won¡¯t just sit there and let him do what he wanted to do. He had to hold off for now, at least until he was in the dungeon, then he could find his un-willing subject.

    Belle: ¡°Excuse me.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Nathan: ¡°Yes? Is Matthew done with his meeting?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Not yet, but Miss Anais has received a message.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Me!?¡±

    Belle: ¡°It seems the Rselaia family wishes to meet with you, in person.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Belle: ¡°They want to thank you for returning the emblem.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ah, sound tedious, no thanks."

    *Bonk*

    Anais: ¡°Ow, what was that for?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean?...They want to thank ¡®you¡¯ in person. It probably meant a lot that you returned it. The least you could do is meet them.¡±

    Anais rubbed the back of her head.

    Anais: ¡°But, you¡¯re the one who actually got it back for her, so you should go.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But, they asked for you and I have to wait for Matthew.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Actually, she wishes to meet with everyone involved.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, but it¡¯s almost noon now, I¡¯ll miss the meeting.¡±

    Belle: ¡°There is no set time for the meeting, Master Matthew may be done by the time you return.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But-¡±

    *Bonk*

    Nathan: "Hey, what was that for?"

    Anais: ¡°But what¡­they want to thank you in person, it must have meant a lot that you returned it, the least we could do is meet them~¡±

    Anais spoke sarcastically, throwing Nathan¡¯s words and actions, right back at him.

    Nathan: ¡°Sigh, fine where is it?¡±

    Belle: ¡°It seems they want to meet in the park just past the gate leading into the noble district. If you want, I could make you a map.¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, that¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll just ask for directions.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Are you sure, it¡¯s no trouble?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Absolutely, let¡¯s go guys, we don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Anais hurriedly pushed passed Belle and out of the lounge, pulling Nathan out on to the street.

    Nathan: ¡°What was that about? We could have used a map?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Trust me, no we couldn¡¯t have.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan, Anais and Iris made their way through the noble districts, by now haven gotten used to the stares and whispers, but now they had to deal with the constant guard watch.

    Iris: ¡°Did we do something wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, it¡¯s probably that Bernard guy, there wearing similar armor.¡±

    Anais: ¡°The one who ask about your weapons?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s been keeping an eye on us, ever since that night.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What, I don¡¯t remember seeing anyone like them watching us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course not, we are being watched all the time now, we¡¯ve gotten too use to it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°And they wish to start trouble now?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They could, but they probably won¡¯t, at least not until we finished our business.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Speaking of business, where the heck are, we?¡±

    Anais asked an obvious question, with an obvious answer.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s been in this part of town.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I was exactly stopping to take in the sights.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That and you found it by accident, right?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Let¡¯s just ask someone for directions.¡±

    Iris: ¡°She avoided the question.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So I was right then...¡±

    Anais: ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Looking around, there were only guards and the citizens of the noble district. If they asked a guard, they would in turn ask a million questions and report any little thing they said back to their superiors. Also, if they say something that either of the girls didn¡¯t like, it could lead to an altercation. That only left the nobles, but they were avoiding them like the plague, choosing to stare at them from a distance.

    Iris: ¡°Master, why not just follow the scent?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ve been trying too, but it¡¯s hard to make out with this ink, not to mention this paper.¡±

    The paper itself wasn¡¯t too bad a smell, but the ink was a whole different story. It was an extremely overpowering smell, that was destroying the scent of the writer. It was akin to the smell strong smells produced by hardware chemicals from his world, a dizzying, headache-inducing and nostril-wreaking smell.

    Anais: ¡°Then just use your eyes to see the smell.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What? In the middle of the city¡­are you crazy? You know what happened last time I did that here.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You passed out drunk.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wasn¡¯t drunk, I was extremely dizzy and disoriented.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s what I said; drunk.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wasn¡¯t drunk, you know what; I don¡¯t care. Cause¡¯ I¡¯m not saying it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯re not saying what?¡±

    Nathan made a deflated expression, one of Anais¡¯ over-used tricks.

    Nathan: ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll fall for that?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Tsk!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t suck through your teeth at me.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Anais, what are you trying to do to Master?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t lie, she¡¯s trying to trick me into saying the phrase that will activate the ability.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What phrase is that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She trying to get me to say, ¡®I¡¯m Lost¡¯¡±.

    *Shnnnnnng*

    Nathan: ¡°DAMMIT!¡±

    Nathan eyes were flooded with information, as the sounds and smells of the word became visible. Nathan held his head as the headache started to arrive.

    Iris: ¡°Master what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Good job Iris, the plan worked.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, Iris was in on it, huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°What!? I haven¡¯t the faintest idea what¡¯s happening.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sure, let¡¯s just get this done so this ability shuts off.¡±

    Iris tried desperately to explain that she wasn¡¯t involved, but Nathan ignored her as best he could. Her voice along with every other sound and smell around him was seen as a multitude of different colors. Like a million-color-rainbow they danced around him, but he had to admit, it wasn¡¯t as bad as when he was in the storm, far from it. He focused on the invite letter; the ink color was a bold black that encased the entirety of the letter, even spots where no ink rested. However, the unpleasant sight of the ink was nothing compared to what he was seeing from the letter writer.

    He had found the trail, but it came to him as a black, intangible mass. Like a swarm of insects, it danced all over the paper and rose into the sky. Nathan shuddered looking at the mesh of black, it was extremely uncomfortable sight and he wanted nothing more but to toss the letter aside and move quickly away from here, but at the same time he was curious as to what the black mass meant.

    Iris: ¡°Master did you hear me? Hey wait¡­Master?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Come on let¡¯s follow him?¡±

    Anais and Iris took off after Nathan, who followed the plague-like scent. Though extremely unpleasant to see, the black mass consumed every other color that came close. No matter how unpleasant, it made it easier for Nathan to concentrate on following and soon enough, he arrived at a park. The black mass danced around the area, but Nathan caught onto the tail-end of the scent.

    Iris: ¡°Master.¡±

    Anais: Why¡¯d you stop?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The scent, its circulating around here.¡±

    Nathan watched as the trail lead around the park, zigging in and out of sight.

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯ll just have to search the area, until we find the source.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Will you be okay, until then?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No choice, once the ability activates it won¡¯t stop until I¡¯m no longer lost.¡±

    Nathan held his head and walked around the park, Anais and Iris following behind. Iris held Anais back, so that they may speak out of ear-shot.

    Iris: ¡°Anais, you shouldn¡¯t have made him do this if it causes him so much pain.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯ll apologize later, but I¡¯m really doing it for him. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird to have an ability that hurts from using it?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It is¡­¡­¡­¡­ a bit strange.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Right, but on the other hand, it¡¯s extremely useful ability. I was thinking the reason why it hurts when he uses it, is because he still getting used to all the information he¡¯s experiencing. When I ate a book for the first time, the information that flew into my head all at once, made me feel like my head was splitting open. But after continued use, slowly the pain went away, to the point where I don¡¯t even notice I had the information, until it¡¯s brought up. It may be painful, but such a useful ability should be use when needed.¡±

    Iris: ¡°And if the pain doesn¡¯t subside and he continues to pass out over and over, will you take responsibility?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Iris flew a bit ahead of them and turned to Anais with a cold stare.

    Iris: ¡°I mean exactly that; will you take responsibility?¡±

    Cold sweat round down Anais¡¯s neck, she had forgotten how scary Iris was when it came to Nathan. However, the fact that she didn¡¯t attack meant that she trusted Anais to an extent. but still she nodded here head.

    Anais: ¡°I-I will.¡±

    Iris seeing the determination in her eyes, conceded and return to her original demeanor.

    Iris: ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll leave it for now, however, in the future please refrain from designating me as an accomplice in your schemes.¡±

    A small bit of malice spilled from Iris, enough for Anais to catch on too.

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯ll be more careful.¡±

    With their talk finished, the two caught up with Nathan. Nathan had found the source of the black mist, but because of the amount of mist, he couldn¡¯t make out the figures behind it. The two entire body was encased in a mass of crawling black; that hid their figures entirely. It was repulsive, seeing the insect-like color crawl around in a human shape, but he was unable to look away.

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why¡¯d you stop?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I think I found it.¡±

    No sooner did he say that, did the ability de-activated, the swarming mass of black dissipating in an instant. With the ability inactive, Nathan could finally make out two figures. One was a young woman with blonde hair and a white and black dress, sitting on a bench watching children play.

    Anais: ¡°Ah, that man?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Man?¡±

    Standing next to the woman was a handsome man sporting a light brown armor and a long sword on his back. His un-tamed short red hair danced un-tamed in the wind as he watches over the young lady, ever vigilant.

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, he was with the guards at the estate, he¡¯s the one who took the emblem.¡±

    The man quickly took notice of Nathan and Anais. He informed the young lady sitting on the bench who turned and smiled brightly. Standing right up, she made a beeline towards them with the gentlemen following close behind.

    Nathan watched the two headed towards him, he thought the pair looked like characters right out of a fairy tale. The ¡®princess¡¯ and her ¡®knight¡¯, seemed the perfectly as they made their way toward him.

    ?????: ¡°Kya!?¡±

    *Fwomp*

    Nathan¡¯s group: ¡°Ah!¡±

    Suddenly the girl with absolutely no obstructions, fell, flat on her face. To add injury to insult, the wind swept over her, leaving her panties open for the world to see.

    Anais covered Nathan¡¯s face, keeping his eyes closed, until the girl was squarely back on her feet. He didn¡¯t understand why she covered his eyes; the image of panties was etched firmly into his brain.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, I honestly was not expecting black, not bad, two thumbs up.¡±

    Anais: ¡°NATHAN, SHUT UP!¡±

 Chapter 83: Trials and Tribulation

    <u>Chapter 83: Trials and Tribulation</u>

    The group had sat down at the bench, the girl covering her face from embarrassment of being seen.

    Nathan: ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so embarrassed, I for one thought you made a marvelous choice very mature, OW.¡±

    Anais and Iris simultaneity pinched Nathan¡¯s arms, as the girl blushed still a deeper red.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, sorry, sometimes I just can¡¯t help it.¡±

    Young lady: ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand it was amusing, you may laugh if you wish.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t, I¡¯ll wait until your out of sight then I¡¯ll laugh, OW.¡±

    Iris and Anais pinched Nathan once again.

    Knight: ¡°Ahem, anyway, thank you for meeting us here, we would have met at the estate, however we thought it would be a more pleasant affair, but I seemed to have made a spectacle of my master.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I enjoyed the show, OW.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Could you stop?¡±

    Nathan rubbed his sore arms, stepping away from the two; threatening to do it again.

    Melanie: ¡°Let¡¯s began again, greetings to you my name is Melanie Rselaia and the gentleman standing here is my guard Audrey.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°A pleasure.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Miss Anais, I wanted to thank you in person, for the return of my family emblem.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Ah, no need, it was all his doing, he returned it.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°He?¡±

    Melanie turned her attention to Nathan, as did Audrey.

    Nathan: ¡°Contrary to my looks, I am indeed a man.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°O-oh, I see, so a man, my apologies.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone gets confused over it, some more than others, no matter how many times I say it.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°It sounds rather tiring.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I bet you could relate.¡±

    Audrey made a shocked expression, Nathan just smiled wryly.

    Melanie: ¡°Either way, thank you for returning it, when those bandits robbed our transport, I didn¡¯t know what we would do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s really that important?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Yes.¡±

    Melanie hugged the emblem to her chest, as if to keep it from running away. Anais made small talk with them as Nathan pondered about the two. He still didn¡¯t understand why they had that black mass around them. The mass was gone, but it was replaced with a truly unpleasant smell. Repulsive, but strangely familiar smell. They were some suspicious aspect about them, but nothing seemed so bad. He ran through his memories, trying to place the smell, until he finally could. However, what he remembered about the smell, the girls didn¡¯t fit it at all, Nathan decided to take a little peek.

    Nathan: ¡°(Pry)¡±

    *Bzzzt*

    Nathan: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Anais: ¡°You just got it back, is that safe carrying around?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°I rather it never leaves my side again and since I come to this park every day, so shall it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Everyday?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Yes, it such a wonderful to watch the children play, also many people make their way through here, going about their day, it¡¯s refreshing to watch.¡°

    Anais: ¡°I see.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Ah, you must think I¡¯m weird, watching people all day?¡±

    Anais: ¡°No not at all, don¡¯t you think so too, Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. You¡¯re sick.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Geh!¡±

    Nathan words hit Melanie like an arrow to the head, jumping right past weird. to mentally ill.

    *Smack*

    Anais smacked Nathan on his back.

    Anais: ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go that far, it¡¯s only a little weird.¡±

    Anais followed up with a second arrow, aiming at Nathan, but unintentionally striking Melanie.

    Audrey: ¡°Milady!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sorry, he didn¡¯t mean it, he careless at times.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, no, I didn¡¯t mean her hobbies.¡±

    Nathan took a few steps toward Melanie, sniffing the air around her. Melanie surprised by Nathan looked at him puzzled as ever.

    Nathan: ¡°I mean you¡¯re really sick¡­¡­¡­. terminal?¡±

    Audrey and Melanie both went wide eyed for a moment.

    Melanie: ¡°How could you-¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Milady, I think it¡¯s time for us to take our leave.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Ah, but-¡±

    Audrey began to hurriedly, push Melanie along.

    Audrey: ¡°Sorry for taking up so much of your time, thank you for coming.¡±

    Anais: ¡°N-no problem.¡±

    Audrey then made a hefty retreat, giving Nathan a sideways glance as they walked off and disappeared around a corner. Once out of sight Audrey¡¯s paced slowed. She looked back to make sure they weren¡¯t being followed. Melanie clutched her hand to her chest, trembling from shock.

    Melanie: ¡°Audrey.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°I know my lady, I¡¯ll look into it immediately.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Iris: ¡°Master, you were rude, to even tell her to her face, her hobbies were weird.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais was the one who said that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Only by mistake, master she¡¯s sick in the head.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, that part I wasn¡¯t making fun of her, she was really sick, both of them in fact.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sure and you just happen to say it with such precision.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Exactly.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Anais and Iris stared dubiously at Nathan, who simply gave up afterwards. To be honest, he couldn¡¯t keep his mind off those two. After peaking at their stats, he notices two things, first-off is that they¡¯re both sick, but not by natural means. Both are being poisoned, it¡¯s slow, but will surely kill them. Melanie was closer to death, then Audrey, but they will both be dead soon enough.

    Nathan checked through his list of poisons, the poisons they were infected with was called, ¡®Hush Vapor¡¯, it circulates in the air a short distance from the source. The poison was particularly strong from what Nathan could see and works slowly, it could take years for the poison to take a life, but perfect for an assassination. The second thing he noticed, they were both really strong, their levels were crazy high. Melanie¡¯s current level was one-hundred and eight, while Audrey¡¯s was one-hundred and twelve. This proved to Nathan that the level cap wasn¡¯t ninety-nine, if it wasn¡¯t for their poison, he wouldn¡¯t be a match for the two of them. In fact he thought he wouldn¡¯t be a match for them even while poisoned.

    Nathan decided he wasn¡¯t going to meet them again if possible, if someone wants them dead and had reverted to underhanded methods to accomplish it. Best not get involved, or he becomes a target, even though poison wouldn¡¯t work on him, it would be a hassle to get involved with them.

    While thinking about this, Nathan and company arrived back at the guild and like always when he entered, they were greeted with a smile.

    Belle: ¡°Welcome back, you arrived just in time. Master Matthew¡¯s meeting has just ended and is waiting for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Have Ena or Ash arrived yet?¡±

    Belle: ¡°No, but I will send them right up when they arrive.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s great, you look busy right now, we¡¯ll let ourselves up.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Please do.¡±

    Nathan walked passed the desk and then climbed the stairs, Anais and Iris right behind him. As they made their way down the hallway, a door suddenly opened and out step a girl. She stretched her arms up into air and yawned out. With a dazed look, she absentmindedly scratch at her head, ruffling her hair.

    ???????: ¡°Ah, naps after a long journey are always the best, hmm?¡±

    The tanned-skin beauty of a girl turns to Nathan and company with a tired face. She wore the same outfit as Belle, but the aura she gave off while wearing was different.

    Tan-skinned girl: ¡°You people lost or something?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uh, no we have a meeting with Matthew?¡±

    Tan skinned Girl: ¡°Oh last door, on your left.¡±

    The girl said nothing more and passed by them, heading down the stairs while still yawning and stretching her arms out. Nathan and company stared at her back until she was gone.

    Anais: ¡°Who was that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have no idea, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Nathan made it to the end of the hall and knocked on the door to Matthew¡¯s office. Getting the okay, they all entered. When they entered Iris dropping her camouflage, allowing herself to be seen. Matthew trembled a bit seeing her due to after their last encounter, but he was a man of composure.

    Matthew: ¡°Welcome back, I hear you¡¯ve been working hard.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, just a few more things and I¡¯ll be ready.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Ah good, good.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh we just pass somebody in the hall, some girl who wore a uniform like Belle, you hired some help?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°No, that was either Lily or Charis, I had them run an errand. They just now returned.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hah, and here I thought you had Belle, doing everything by herself.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that, what do you take me for, a slave driver.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your words not mine.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Please sit down.¡±

    Nathan did as he was asked and sat down across from Matthew, snickering over Matthews irritation.

    Mathew: ¡°Sorry about the accommodation, I figure you wouldn¡¯t mind skipping the tea.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You figured right, so what the trial?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Ah right to it then, it¡¯s simple really, I want you to retrieve a goblin accessory.¡±

    _

    _

    Aria stretch her hands high into the air, as she rose from her bed. She looked around the candle-lit room, not recognizing it but only for a moment.

    Aria: ¡°Oh right, this where were staying for the day.¡±

    Aria turned to the side and rose out of bed, giving her body a much more through stretch, before dis-robing and heading to the bathroom to shower. Opening her door, she was greeted by a man holding a candle. The man, seeing Aria, quickly bowed before her.

    Man: ¡°G-Greetings madam, was your sleep a pleasant one?¡±

    The man tremble uncontrollably, causing the candle to dance about in its holder, which made Aria giggle.

    Aria: ¡°Why yes, I¡¯m off to take a shower, has the water been prepared?¡±

    Man: ¡°Y-Yes, it¡¯s ready anytime you wish.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Thank you very much.¡±

    The man continued to tremble, as Aria left him behind. It had been several months since the vampire¡¯s siblings came to this house and commandeered it along with the family and servants. There was a small act of rebellion from the household, but was quickly silenced, seeing as how Aria had made a show of the draining the lord of the house¡¯s body of every last drop of blood. Some people tried to escape but were immediately seized by her servant Jackal and torn to shreds.

    With just the duchess, her daughter and the few servants that remained they realized quickly that there was no escape and soon came to treat the siblings as if they were the master of the house. The Duchess of the house decided to seclude herself within her bed chambers, a mental breakdown from watching her husband die, leaving her daughter to the whims of the siblings.

    Aria finished her shower and got dressed, heading own stairs to find her brother. Coming into the dining room, she found her brother having a drink, via the houses only daughter, Mary. Ever since he arrived, he found that her blood was particularly tantalizing and would gorge himself whenever he wasn¡¯t working, careful not to let her die by drinking too much.

    Aria: ¡°Morning Alle.¡±

    Alexander bit down harder on heiresses¡¯ neck, hearing his hated nickname his sister refuse to stop calling. The heiress let out a groan of agony, as the fangs of the vampire drove deeper into her flesh.

    Alexander: ¡°How many times have I told you not to call me that?¡±

    Mary¡¯s face slowly returned to normal, no longer held by Alexander¡¯s vice-like grip and teeth no longer embedded in her neck. Mary lost her footing, hardly able to stand after being drained. Alexander having lost his appetite, called for some servants to escort Mary to her room to rest, until he called for her again.

    Aria: ¡°Did you find anything yet?¡±

    Ignoring her brother¡¯s frustration, she got right to the main topic; Alexander sighing for the umpteenth time, began his report.

    Alexander: ¡°No, the Hero has yet to re-emerge, since his last occurrence. The humans have begun a mad dash to find him, but alas, nothing has come of their search.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Brother, my patience grows ever thinner, how long must I wait to have my revenge?¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Nothing for it, until we get some real information, traveling this land would prove problematic.

    Far to the north where snow falls year around, the siblings enjoyed a blissful life where they could travel the lands without worry. Though such an activity proved impossible on the central continent, an adversary of incalculable strength and fortitude, hindered their movement on a daily basis, this being namely the sun. Upon realizing that direct sunlight was a sure way to end their eternal lives, the siblings thus felt it needing to take refuge. The home they were currently occupying, the windows had been boarded and closed tight; preventing even a slither of the sun¡¯s harmful rays. Some of the inhabitants had took a chance to try escape at sunrise, however, a vampire¡¯s familiars had no such weakness to the sun and were more than capable of pursuing and ending anyone foolish enough to run.

    Alexander: ¡°Not to mention, I have yet to recover from the boat ride, which I remind you wouldn¡¯t have been needed if you hadn¡¯t destroyed our teleportation rune, with your silly tantrums.¡±

    The original means of travel was rendered useless, after Aria¡¯s Latest Tantrum over the death of hear familiar. With no other means to travel, Aria acquired a boat for them to travel on, much to Alexander¡¯s dismay. Running water and vampires don¡¯t mix, so even though they can cross with a boat, it leave them in a weakened state.

    Aria: ¡°B-But I want to avenge Spikey now.¡±

    Aria eyes began to water, indicating she was about lose herself.

    Alexander: ¡°Before you shriek and turn this building and all its occupants, into a crater, let me finish speaking.¡±

    Aria: ¡°*Sniff*What?¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Though I couldn¡¯t find anything on the Hero, I did find something interesting. Apparently not long after the Hero¡¯s making himself known, a dark-skinned Lycanian, appeared.¡±

    Aria: ¡°What?...you¡¯re supposed to be searching for the Hero, yet your looking up some baseless rumor, you know as well as I know that such a thing could not possibly be true.¡±

    Alexander: ¡°Exactly, so what exactly are these reports I been receiving?¡±

    Aria: ¡°Who cares, tell your familiars to focus on the mission. They don¡¯t need to listen to stupid human rumors. So dumb, to report such nonsense.¡±

    Alexander became angry, over his sister¡¯s spiteful words.

    Alexander: ¡°Well, at least mine are still alive.¡±

    Aria: ¡°Ah, how could you say such a thing so hurtful, but I love you, so I¡¯ll forgive you.¡±

    Aria flopped down on the chair, she thought about her poor dead familiar, but she couldn¡¯t say she wasn¡¯t curious about what her brother had just said.

    Aria: ¡°Jackal.¡±

    With his name said, the black furred wolf-beast appeared out of the shadows.

    Aria: ¡°Brother here says that there is a dark-skinned Lycanian running about.¡±

    Visible surprise could be seen in Jackals eyes, but with a low growl slowly it morphed into anger. The anger in his eyes made Aria smile sadistically, the sheer mention of such a rumor to Jackal, was reminiscent of a dagger to the heart.

    Aria: ¡°You and I know full well that this can¡¯t be true, but for the sake of my brother¡¯s piece of mind, could you be a dear and check?¡±

    Jackal nodded with confirmation, then began to merge back into the shadows.

    Aria: ¡°Oh and you have permission to speak, at least until the mission is done, okay?¡±

    Jackal: ¡°As you command Lady Aria.¡±

    Jackal then disappeared again into the shadows from which he came. Aria puffed out her cheeks upon hearing Jackal speak

    Aria: ¡°Ah, yes that¡¯s why I forbid him from speaking, that tone of his is un-becoming of a servant, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Alexander: ¡°What do you expect, your forcing him to do something so audaciously cruel.¡±

    Aria: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have to if you would focus on finding that familiar killer. At least now you can focus.¡±

    Aria then leaped up from the couch and rubbed at her stomach. A warm feeling rose from within.

    Aria: ¡°Besides, it may turn out to be true and he could run into a relative.¡±

    Alexander looked to his sister as she left the room with a sour face.

    Aria: ¡°Absolutely wicked.¡±

 Chapter 84: Please Leave

    <u>Chapter 84: Please Leave</u>

    Matthew: ¡°I want you to retrieve a Goblin Accessory.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Goblin Accessory?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Yes, I want you to retrieve one and bring it back here to me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A Goblin¡­I¡¯ve never seen one.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°You wouldn¡¯t see one anywhere near the major cities or the villages surrounding them, they were subjugated long ago. Goblins are terrible creatures, if left alone, they multiply to a point where they could be called a kingdom, plus they have a terrible rate of food consumption. Within months they could destroy an entire ecosystem and wanted, they can no longer find food, they will move on in search of more. They have even been known to raid small villages, wiping them off the map with sheer numbers.¡±

    Nathan gulped a few times, he never thought that Goblins would be that dangerous. They were always low-level mobs in the video games he¡¯d played, but real-life ones seemed rather terrible.

    Matthew: ¡°Worst is, they¡¯re a race able to copulate with almost any other races¡¯ women, I don¡¯t think I need to explain further.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And you won¡¯t let me to go after these things, am I being punished?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°On the contrary, this is a reward.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You and I have very different definitions of reward.¡±

    Matthew laughed at Nathan¡¯s retort.

    Matthew: ¡°Listen though; everything I said is true. Goblins themselves are very weak creatures. Its only when there given time to grow and, multiply, do they truly become difficult to handle. And it¡¯s not like I actually need you to hunt one, you just have to steal the accessories they adorn themselves with.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Didn¡¯t picture them as jewelry makers?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wait, before that, they care about fashion?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I would call it fashion, its more of a show of pride. They tend to fasten the bones of their victims to a piece of string and make things such as bracelets and necklaces. The more accessories the more kills and the higher their position in there colonies.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay then where can I find one?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Like I said, they were subjugated a long time ago and if the slightest trace of them is found, the knights will immediately set out to subjugate them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then there¡¯s no way to get one.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°No, but you could find some scattered across the ¡®Viridi Wilds¡¯ ¡±.

    Nathan: ¡°The dungeon, I can¡¯t go inside, until I finish the trial, right?¡±

    Nathan looked at Matthew, who just smiled wryly.

    Nathan: ¡°Your letting me go in under-ranked?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Not at all, this is an official trial and as guild leader I can choose where the trial will be held regardless of rank, as long as I believe you are capable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And you think I can do this easily enough¡­?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Your first quest, was less then optimal, but right after, not even into days after, you were able to not only finish fifteen requests, you also miraculously subjugated a group of bandits.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I thought no-one believed me?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°At first, but the Rselaia Emblem, that you returned, which was well known to have been stolen, people searched far and wide for the culprit, but you found it in less than two days. Meaning with in a span of two days, you completed fifteen low-rank requests and two high-ranked.¡±

    Nathan thought about it and from someone else¡¯s standpoint that sounds impossible. They might not be thinking that he was the Hero of Legend, but they may believe a Legacy holder, which is the truth of the matter.

    Matthew: ¡°I think you are more then capable of handling yourselves in the dungeon, this trial is a waste of time. This way you can kill two birds with one stone.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, you say you could but, isn¡¯t all this favoritism bound to draw up questions? I mean you¡¯re already allowing us to enter the guild without taking the first trial?¡±

    Matthew put his hand together and rested his chin on top of them.

    Matthew: ¡°It¡¯s not about favoritism. I retracted the trial for entering, because it would have done more harm than good. It¡¯s not unheard of for other parties to watch-in on a trial, seeking possible additions to their teams. However, if you do a trial that¡¯s in a dungeon it would be difficult for anyone to find you.¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t put his finger on it, but he felt there was something hidden behind Matthew¡¯s words. It didn¡¯t seem malicious; just it felt as though he had another agenda.

    Matthew: ¡°So I give you a trial that¡¯s seemingly difficult, but at the same time, given you exactly what you want. This way no-one can doubt your accomplishments.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Could I ask you one thing first?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get that your trying to help accomplish my goal, but why are you doing it?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What, is that not what you wanted, to enter ¡®Viridi Wilds¡¯ as quickly as possible?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah it is, but there is absolutely no reason to give us a mission for the dungeon, since without a doubt, I would make a beeline for it the moment I ranked up. If you worried about appearances, then sending us away would be counter-productive.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Anais: ¡°Now that you mention it, it would be simpler just to give us a task that was difficult but much closer to home.¡±

    Iris: ¡°The circumstances have changed from when we first arrived, a show of power and skill would actually be beneficial in expelling any doubt anyone may be harboring.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Exactly, it may a have been be fine for the first trial, since I didn¡¯t know much back then, but now it seems un-needed and down-right counterproductive.¡±

    Matthew didn¡¯t utter a word and just listened to what they had to say. He laughed internally; he had forgotten how good Nathan¡¯s was at reading into others word and realizing their true intentions. This led to the inevitable conclusion.

    Nathan: ¡°Matthew¡­not that I¡¯m trying to accuse you, but are you trying to get rid of us?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Giving us what we want so we would leave quicker, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Matthew crossed his arms and sighed heavily.

    Matthew: ¡°*Sigh* Really, was any of this really worth a deduction, I was only giving you what you wanted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So you are trying to get rid of us.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°That much is true, but I assure it nothing nefarious. Truth be told, there will be someone here that I¡¯m will be forced to entertain.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What and you don¡¯t want us to meet?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I absolutely don¡¯t want that, the things I¡¯ve done for you are by no means restricted, it¡¯s more of a taboo.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Taboo, hiding my information?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°In the past someone used this system as a way to commit heinous crimes, while still reaping the beneficial non-disclosure contract that came with being an adventurer. And since the contract was signed with a curse, the information could not be divulged, much like our contract. Right now, a certain select group wants me to undo this immediately.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s different we¡¯re not out to commit any crimes.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Right, Master would never do such things.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Its not about what he would and would not do, they still want his information all the same.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who are they?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I don¡¯t want to go into specifics, but everything would go a lot smoother if you were nowhere to be found for the next few days.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Matthew if someone¡¯s trying to force you to give out my information, I¡¯ll gladly-¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Stop right there. I appreciate the sentiment and I know well enough that you three alone could swiftly deal with them, however, I am on friendly terms with them and wish to remain that way. I have no intention of giving them the information on you or damning myself with the curses backlash. However, things will go a lot smoother if you do not make contact.¡±

    Matthew put his hands on his lap and crossed on leg over the other.

    Matthew: ¡°Do you accept my trial?¡±

    Truthfully Nathan wanted to know who Matthew was referring to, but he was sure that anything else he wouldn¡¯t answer. If Matthew didn¡¯t want them to meet, then he owed it to him to make himself scarce.

    Nathan: ¡°I accept.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Then I wish you the best of luck.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Is there a time limit on the trial?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°No, we want guild members to rank up, why would I create a situation where they couldn¡¯t?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then, we¡¯ll finish preparing for departure and head out.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Oh, before you head out, have you thought about my proposition?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have, but I haven¡¯t made up my mind just yet.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°No need to rush, there is still six days until the requested time, the aforementioned group should have departed by then.  If you make up your mind, please let me know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Oh and Nathan, a bit of advice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Advice?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°I get that you are great at reading others and seeing what lies beneath the fa?ade, but perhaps you should learn to restrain from divulging such things and just go along with it, at least until it no longer benefits you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯ll take that to heart.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan and company made their way down the street, heading towards Ramol¡¯s for last-minute preparations. It was still basically midday, they had plenty of time to get packed and head out for the dungeon before nightfall.

    Anais: ¡°Are you gonna be able to make it back in time to give Matthew your answer?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I should, the dungeon is only open five more days, and there will be one more day remaining. If I decide to help, I¡¯ll return. But Anais, you¡¯re speaking as if you¡¯re not going into the dungeon.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been thinking about it and I don¡¯t really want to go. I actually would like to spend that time in the Library. There a lot of interesting books I didn¡¯t get a chance to read.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re not planning on-¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m not gonna eat the damn books, I just want to read them, okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well that¡¯s fine; you do what you want.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, of course I will be joining you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks as always, Iris.¡±

    Nathan petted Iris¡¯ head, much to her delight. As they continued to converse, Nathan felt eyes on him. With everything that happened this morning, the stares directed at Nathan had changed from ones of curiosity to disdain. The news of him laughing at ¡®Twin Moons¡¯ and ¡®Radiant Sky¡¯, must have spread further than he expected. However, beyond that, he felt as though someone was following him.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Huh?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why¡¯d you stop?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shoot, I left something back at the guild.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Some of my rewards for the quests.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Shall we head back and retrieve them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I got it, you two head back, I¡¯ll run and get them.¡±

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..Well alright, come on Iris.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But-¡±

    Anais: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Anais picked up Iris from Nathan¡¯s shoulder and sat her down on hers, holding on to her as she walked away leaving Nathan behind. Nathan then turned and walked back down the road, but made a detour down a side-street. Just as he thought, he heard two pair of footsteps follow him down the small street. Now that he was closer, he recognized their scent, the same extremely unpleasant scent from earlier today.

    Nathan: ¡°If you wanted to talk, you shouldn¡¯t have run off earlier.¡±

    Audrey along with Melanie rounded the corner, surprised that they had been found out.

    Melanie: ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry we mean no harm.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I know, you wanted to talk right, about how I know you¡¯re sick?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°So earlier was no mistake, you know of our affliction.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Before that, do you mind if we go somewhere else, it¡¯s really not a good place to talk. Let¡¯s go somewhere a little brighter.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Ah, yes, of course, if you don¡¯t mind, we could speak back at my home.¡±

    Nathan nodded with confirmation and followed the two as they headed towards the noble¡¯s district. Nathan actually really wanted to move from where they were but the three of them were being watched and he wasn¡¯t sure of what the others intentions were. In fact, Melanie and Audrey weren¡¯t the ones he was expecting to run into in that alley.

    When they appeared, he realized that the only reason he was being watched, was because the two of them were following him. Nathan was surprised when first met them, even then they were being heavily watched. Nathan didn¡¯t want whatever this was to follow them back to Ramol¡¯s. He would quickly answer a few questions and then be on his way, or so he hoped. He was more sure then earlier; he definitely did not want to get involved with them.

 Chapter 85: The Cursed Rose?

    <u>Chapter 85 The Cursed Rose?</u>

    Nathan was led back to the Roselia estate and invited inside; there he was ushered to a room with a luxurious d¨¦cor. He was offered a cup of tea, while he waited for Melanie and Audrey to return. Nathan eyes scanned the room, taking in all he could until eventually they settled on the maid who have given him tea. She remained standing by the entrance to the room and only moving once Nathan¡¯s tea cup had been emptied. When she was close enough he got a whiff of her scent, she had been one of the people following them, back in the alley. Now that he thought about it, a lot of the scents he caught on to were floating around this mansion.

    Nathan: ¡°(Why are they all right here in the mansion? Are they just being protective of her¡­?)¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡±

    Melanie, now having changed her clothes, to a more comfortable looking dress, sat down across from Nathan with Audrey standing right next to her. The maid poured Melanie a cup, before lighting a candle and taking her leave.

    Nathan: ¡°No it¡¯s not a serious problem, but I do want to leave as soon as possible.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Then I will get right to the point. How did you know? This has been going on five years and no-one has been the wiser. However, you picked up on it immediately.¡±

    Nathan sighed out loud, rather she was doing it purposely or impulsively, her tone made it seem like an interrogation. Nathan thought it might as well be, the fact that they were hiding that they were sick made it all the clearer. Nathan should have not said anything. Matthew was right, he should really learn discretion beyond his on-kept secrets.

    Audrey: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I knew you were sick, because of your scent.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Our scent?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, it was a very unpleasant smell. Its¡¯ similar to a scent I picked up before, the smell of death, but I didn¡¯t know for sure; until now.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t a lie per-say, he did actually find out from their scent, it just ¡®Pry¡¯, showed him everything else.

    Melanie: ¡°Yes, I do believe I read that Lycanian¡¯s had particularly strong senses. So what do you plan to do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Plans, for what?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°About us, what do you plan to do with it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I don¡¯t plan on telling anyone, I mean why would I want to?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Really?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I have nothing to gain from it. If I had known it would cause you such distress, I would have kept it to myself.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Thank you, the last thing I want, is for people to know of our curse.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Curse?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Yes, it happened a few years prior.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So it¡¯s a ¡®curse¡¯ is it?¡±

    Nathan was confused, from their status; it clearly said that they were poisoned. Maybe they just couldn¡¯t tell and the truth is only revealed to him because of his abilities.

    Audrey: ¡°If you¡¯re worried about contracting the disease, put yourself at ease, the curse¡¯s sickness cannot be passed on.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And you were cursed too, why?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°I am with Milady at all times, surely there is no other reason, not one that I can deduce.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not really a good reason if you ask me.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°As Milady¡¯s Knight, even in sickness I will be there to protect her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So what?  Making you sick as well, could make it all the easier to kill you both?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Or so my train of thought, but i digress, we appreciate your discretion on the matter.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No problem.¡±

    Nathan finally understood, someone is definitely trying to kill these two, by making them believe they were sick. There was no curse; they are just being slowly poisoned to death. What Nathan didn¡¯t understand is how they are still administering the poison. To make it seem like they¡¯re slowly dying of a disease, they should still be given small amounts every so often, just enough as to not draw attention from the targets.

    Nathan continued to think about how the poison was being introduced, while he conversed with the two. Just as they were deep in conversation, Nathan finally got a whiff of the candles fragrance, it was very calming, but only for a moment. A second later Nathan¡¯s ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ activated.

    *Ding ding*

    *Poison acquired ¡®Hush Vapor¡¯*

    Nathan: ¡°(What?)¡±

    Nathan turned to the source of danger, his eyes landing on the candle.

    Melanie: ¡°Ah, are you interested in the candles fragrance? It is my favorite, imported from my home. It called Pale Lavender, a flower that only grows in my home country.¡±

    Nathan stared down at the candle; he doubted they would be burning a candle from a poisonous flower. The only thing he could think of was that someone mixed the poison into the candle¡¯s wax. The maids was the one who lit it before leaving, perhaps she is involved. He needed to prove his theory, so he reached for his tea cup.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah!?¡±

    *Smash*

    Nathan pretended to fumble his cup, knocking it over and letting the contents spill onto the candle, before letting crash to the floor.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I am so sorry.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Oh my, no don¡¯t worry about, these things happen every so often.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh and I ruined your candle.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°I have one of the maids find a rag to wipe up the mess and we have plenty of candles. You think she would have heard the crash and come in already.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Audrey went to the door and peered into the hall.

    Audrey: ¡°That¡¯s strange?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°The maid who usually waits here is gone. Good help is hard to find, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    Audrey was about to leave when a maid step in front of her.

    Audrey: ¡°Where were you?¡±

    Maid: ¡°Sorry, I step away for a moment, is there something I can assist with?¡±

    The maid looked to be breathing irregularly, short quick puff like trying to avoid breathing in the room.

    Audrey: ¡°A tea cup was knocked over and its contents spilled out all over. Please clean it right away.¡±

    Maid: ¡°Oh, it looks like your favorite candle is ruined.¡±

    The maid, who saw that the candle had been only put out, took a noticeable sigh of relief, at least to Nathan anyway. It confirmed that she knew of the poison and was a part of the plan to kill them. Nathan was thinking it was time to go, he didn¡¯t know how many attendants they had or how many were crooked and he didn¡¯t want to know.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m sorry for this, but I must be on my way.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Oh really? Well then I will escort you out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, what about the maid?¡±

    Maid: ¡°There is no trouble, please don¡¯t mind me.¡±

    The maid went on about her business cleaning, while Melanie and Audrey led Nathan out.

    Nathan: ¡°Is she the only attendant you have?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°No, there are many more, but we keep to the bare minimum, when in contact with us, to prevent accidents.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I thought the charm prevented such things?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°It does, but why take the chance?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why don¡¯t you just get rid of the maids, you two don¡¯t seem to be in  a state where you need them as of yet?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°We¡¯ve tried, but my family insists, just in case of the worst case scenarios. Though it¡¯s true we don¡¯t seem sick, according to our physicians, it could take years before we are bedridden. More importantly, I tend to leave every so often and need someone to take care of the estate while we¡¯re away.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, why¡¯s that?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Ah, well-¡±

    Audrey: ¡°It¡¯s best if we kept it secret, its rather sensitive issue.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see¡­forget I asked.¡±

    Nathan and company had reached the front door and stepped out into the estate front yard.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I wish you the best, thank you for the tea.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Thank you for your silence and once again for the emblem.¡±

    Melanie bowed to Nathan. It was a shame she was being poisoned by her family and being constantly watched by her attendants. Both of them unknowingly caught in a death-trap, with their enemies hidden in plain sight, it was surprising they were still alive. Nathan was starting to want to help them, but any thing he did would have to be in secret and, as if the universe was expecting it, an opportunity presented itself.

    Nathan: ¡°You a really good girl.¡±

    Nathan patted her head, causing her to quickly stand and flush red.

    Melanie: ¡°Huh!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, force of habit, did I offend you?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°N-No just a little surprised.¡±

    Melanie attempted hide her flustered face, but Nathan had already seen it.

    Audrey: ¡°Please refrain from touching Milady as you please.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You sound almost jealous, one for you too.¡±

    Nathan did the same to Audrey, causing her to step-back in a fluster and knocking his hand away.

    Audrey: ¡°C-Cease that at once!¡±

    Audrey grabbed at her sword, her face going flushed as well.

    Nathan: ¡°Ahahahahahaha, oh that reaction, that was great. I wish you the best of health; see ya ¡®Ladies¡¯.¡±

    Melanie & Audrey: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan quickly turned to leave, laughing his way out onto the city street. Audrey regaining her composure cleared her throat.

    Audrey: ¡°It seems he has seen through my disguise, as easily as he saw through our situation. It seems he will be a troublemaker.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Oh come now, he isn¡¯t that bad, I find him rather pleasant.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Truly, even the fact that he saw under your dress, I thought you would be more distressed after realizing it was a man?¡±

    Mealnie: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Milady?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Audrey, simple things like that are of no real concern to me.¡±

    Her words didn¡¯t match her actions, sinking down into a standing fetal position. Audrey helped her master back to her feet; Melanie¡¯s face now a crimson red after just realizing that was the case. Then recalling everything he kept saying made the shame of the situation all the tougher to bear.

    They walked back to the room, the mess from earlier now gone. The candle had been replaced and lit. The fragrance had already wafted throughout the room calming Melanie down immediately, but Audrey looked rather cross.

    Audrey: ¡°Again, disappearing, right after she finished. What part of ¡®wait in attention¡¯, does that maid not understand?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Do not fret over such a thing; be thankful she even chooses to stay with us, even after knowing our situation.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°*sigh* Milady, please to be a little more intolerant with the help.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    A little past noon, the sun was still high in the sky, showering Loegrey with its eternal heat. During days like this, it was common for the people to move at a slower pace, rather than stay at home altogether. A simple defiance to the sun, as if saying ¡®You won¡¯t get the best of us¡¯, however, the ball of fire was all too eager to continue its assault on the inhabitants of Loegrey.

    Amongst the common folk, one individual was running at full speed down the streets. She was wearing a traditional maid outfit, her bonnet threatening to fly off her head, while she held her dress at the knees, to avoid tripping. One would only give her a passing glance, this would be a strange sight if it was someone else, but it wasn¡¯t uncommon for servants to be rushing around town for the sake of their masters. The only real thought they gave her was pity, being forced to run so frantically out in this weather, but it was their duty, so there was nothing for it.

    However, if anyone was to see her expression, they would definitely have noticed the panic. She had messed up, done something that could jeopardized her life. She needed to immediately get in contact with her superiors.

    After running for a good while, she arrived in front of a small building. Paying no heed to her surroundings, she quickly entered. The interior was devoid of any furnishing, except for a lone desk in the corner of the room. A small vase that could hold only a single flower was placed on top. The maid reached in her pocket and pulled out an envelope. Opening the drawer, she placed the letter inside. Then she removed a single rose from her pocket and placed it in the vase. With that done she turned and left the building, she needed to hurry back to the estate before her master realized she had left.

    She held her hands to her chest, she was anxious. She had made a grave mistake of allowing someone else besides her master and her guard, breathe in the vapors of the poisonous candle.  Moreover, the one she had poisoned was none other than the Lycanian. Usually this wouldn¡¯t be a big problem, but the way the Lycanian had acted led the maid to believe, that she knew of the candles poison.

    From where the candle was placed and the distance it was from the Lycanian, the dousing of the flame, with a cup of tea, should not have happened and yet it did. However she did what she was told and replaced the candle, unconsciously lighting the poison candle. The Rselaia estate never had visitors before, so the need for a normal candle never came to be. Even though they had a stock of normal candles, the muscle memory of constantly retrieving the poison candles every single day, caused her to make the fatal mistake.

    When she arrived back at her master¡¯s estate, the guard at the gate waved her over. The expression on his face, led her to believe something was wrong.

    Guard: "Captain Audrey is looking for you; you left your post too abruptly.¡±

    Maid: ¡°There was no other choice; it was a most pressing matter.¡±

    Guard: ¡°I understand the urgency, however if the two were to grow suspicious of us-¡±

    Maid: ¡°They won¡¯t.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Let¡¯s see that they don¡¯t, you are the closest to them. If the plan fails, we will all face the consequences for your mistakes.¡±

    Maid: ¡°I get it; I don¡¯t need to be told by you, just make sure someone is watching the Lycanian, we don¡¯t want her coming in contact with the master.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Are you telling me how to do my job?¡±

    Maid: ¡°No more than you are telling me.¡±

    The maid sucked air in through her teeth and continued inside. She knew of the consequences all too well; however complications were bound to arise and it was best to nip them in the bud immediately. For now, she made work for herself, to curve away any suspicions of her whereabouts. It would take a few days, but she was sure that the Lycanian problem would be dealt with by then.

 Chapter 86: A Tail of Two Nobles

    <u>Chapter 86  A Tail of Two Nobles</u>

    Nathan held his head as he walked down the street; it was the effects of using too much mana. In helping Audrey and Melanie with their problem, he had drained almost all of his mana. His body felt heavy, his movements were sluggish and every so often he would stagger.

    ¡®Therapy¡¯ was usually the best for dealing with poisons; however that¡¯s only a one-time deal. Due to the maid lighting the candles every day, they were slowly being poisoned to make them actually believe they had a deadly disease. Even if he cured them today, the maid would just re-infect them tomorrow. A different method was required this time, a method that was a lot more mana consuming. Which now brought him to his current predicament.

    Nathan: ¡°Damn, why is Ramol¡¯s home on the other side of town?¡±

    Nathan held up as best he could, his mana was slowly refilling, but not fast enough for his liking.

    Beyond his dizziness, he was having the weirdest hallucinations. For some reason he could swear that people he was near and by were trying to prevent him from walking in certain directions. They would, step in his way or block it with whatever was convenient, but Nathan just shook his head, to what end would they do that? He tried his best to keep a straight line, but his body wasn¡¯t listening, not to mention his hallucinations.

    Nathan: ¡°Woah!?¡±

    *Bump*

    Nathan bumped into someone and lost his balance. However before he hit the ground, he was caught around his mid-section.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, sorry, and thanks for catching¡­¡­¡­¡­.me?¡±

    Nathan¡¯s grateful attitude quickly subsided when he saw who had caught him.

    Gaunt: ¡°Of course, I¡¯m always here for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aw shit¡­¡±

    _

    _

    Ten minutes earlier¡­

    Gaunt sighed heavily for the fourth time in the last five minutes. Being a noble meant he had to keep up appearances. This particular moment, due to his parent¡¯s connections, Gaunt was forced to show a childhood friend around Loegrey. The young man walking next to him was the son of the ruling house of Midheim, Rufus Fillmore, the closest thing to a prince or royalty. As they walked down the street, those who walked by, would bow ever so slightly to Rufus. He would sneer at them, yet no-one reacted, knowing full well the consequences of that action.

    Truth be told, no one in Loegrey liked Prince Rufus. He resided in the castle-town of Midheim but came to Loegrey on occasion. While here he would say and do what he wanted, from taking a merchant¡¯s hard-earned wares, with promises of payment at a later time, to sexually harassing any woman who caught his eye, wherever they were in a relationship or not. And if you were Therian, it was best to avoid him all together as Rufus¡¯s solemn belief was that they were inferior to him, inferior to all races. Every chance he had to make a Therian¡¯s life miserable he would joyfully take it.

    That¡¯s why every Therian made it their mission to know exactly where Rufus was when he visited, to avoid crossing paths at all cost, it was an unwritten rule to those living in Loegrey as to deny Rufus any chances of coming across one. That¡¯s why everyone who walked the street were only human or the Pristyne.

    Rufus: ¡°Must you walk so slowly?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°R-Right, sorry.¡±

    Gaunt sped up his pace to match Rufus¡¯, to which Gaunt often wondered how such a rounded-man could move so quickly. Then again, Gaunt wasn¡¯t in any particular rush to reach their destination. He was only supposed to watch over Rufus, so that he could view the tournament. Gaunt, being a well-known adventurer, would detour any threats to Rufus. However, Rufus had other plans in mind, for the moment he was allowed to walk about freely, he made a bee-line for the ¡®Adventurers Guild¡¯.

    Rufus: ¡°We¡¯re about to see a beauty among beauties. I¡¯ve never known you to be depressed about such occasion.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Well, I not particularly fond of this one.¡±

    Rufus: ¡°What? Dark unblemished skin with black hair like silk with sweet smell of flowers together and beauty that rivals that of a goddess. What is there too not be fond of?¡±

    Gaunt¡¯s depression rose as he thought of the beauty Rufus spoke of. The Lycanian that shot Gaunt down on numerous occasions, who defeated him in a duel without lifting a finger, he was now being forced to meet her once again. It took a while, but Gaunt finally got the message, the Lycanian was not into him. If he could describes her feelings for him in one word: Disgust.

    Rufus: ¡°Unless of course the rumors I heard of you being vocally and physically rejected by the beauty are true.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°What?¡±

    Rufus smiled wryly.

    Rufus: ¡°Did you really suspect such rumors would not reach Midheim? The Ace of Loegrey, Gaunt Silverein, was bested in a duel by the dark-skinned Lycanian. Rumors say she didn¡¯t even attack, you simply fell to your knees.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°If you know all of this, why make me relive it?¡±

    Rufus stopped, his expression turning stern.

    Rufus: ¡°Did you forget yourself? You are Silverein, one of the wealthiest houses in Loegrey. The Ace of Loegrey and my best friend, yet you allowed yourself to be humiliated by some mutt. We are of noble blood, the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me, commoners should do nothing but bask in our glory. Moreover, a simple Therian, no matter how beautiful, should submit to you willingly and thank you for taking the time at all.¡±

    Rufus turned in pointed a finger in Gaunt¡¯s face.

    Rufus: ¡°We will find this woman and to her betters she will submit, right?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°R-Right.¡±

    Rufus then put in arm over Gaunt¡¯s shoulder and leaned close in so no-one could hear what he was about to say.

    Rufus: ¡°Then perhaps, we take this beauty and introduce her to the beast?¡±

    Rufus grinned deviously, Gaunt immediately catching onto the meaning behind his words. Afterwards, Rufus continued towards the Guild, Gaunt now with a little extra pep in his step.

    Rufus was right. He was noble, and he should start acting like it. The next time he saw the Lycanian, she would show Gaunt the respect his status so rightly demanded.

    *Bump*

    Not paying attention, Gaunt bumped into someone. Without thinking he quickly reached out and caught the stumbling person, stopping their descent. Then he realized just who he¡¯d caught, the person that the two was just conversing over.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, sorry and thanks for catching¡­¡­¡­¡­me?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Well this has to be the first act of gratitude you ever showed me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aw Shit¡­¡±

    _

    _

    As if the heavens themselves, wanted such an occurrence, Gaunt ran right into Nathan. Nathan yanked back away, of all the people to run into, it had to be Gaunt.

    Nathan: ¡°Of all the bad luck.¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Is that how you speak to someone who helped you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I said thanks, what else do you want me to say?¡±

    Nathan¡¯s attention was brought to the portly man standing next to Gaunt. The man stared at Nathan in wonder, as if he had seen an exotic animal.

    Rufus: ¡°So this is her¡­you truly are enchanting.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uhh yeah, well I¡¯ll be leaving.¡±

    Rufus stuck his hand out and grabbed Nathan by the wrist.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Rufus: ¡°Hahaha, no my dear you cannot leave, until I Rufus Fillmore, wishes it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Let go.¡±

    _

    _

    Beat: ¡°Come on Jazz, I heard they were over here.¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡±

    Beat and Jazz, the two thieving cohorts of Viola, were currently running down the street of the noble district. Usually they stayed away from the area, since the guard patrols were so heavy. However, today was the day they longed for; today Rufus was coming to town. That meant a ¡®big score¡¯. Every time he came, the thieving three would always make a plan to steal from him and every year they were successful with their endeavors. One would think it would be tough, but Rufus had made many enemies in Loegrey in the wake of his lifestyle, many whom were guards.

    So, on this particular day, any guard that would usually stop them, would rather let the thieves swipe the portly nobles¡¯ ill-gotten coin, rather than allow him to use and abuse the town with it.

    However, happening upon the prince, they came across an awe-inducing sight. At that spot, Rufus currently held the Lycanian by his wrist and from the looks of it, much to the his dismay.

    Beat: ¡°The hells¡¯ going on?¡±

    Jazz: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it looks interesting.¡±

    Beat: ¡°Jazz, wait.¡±

    Beat chased after Jazz, who skillfully ducked behind some nearby crates, with Beat right behind her. From their vantage, they could see and hear everything that was going on, through the crowd.

    Nathan pulled his arm away, irritated by Rufus unnecessary touching.

    Nathan: ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not feeling well, so I¡¯m going to let that slide, but if you do that again, I guarantee you¡¯ll regret it.¡±

    Rufus: ¡°Are you threatening¡­¡­¡­¡­.me!?¡±

    Rufus voice was pretty loud, drawing more attention then there was already.

    Rufus: ¡°Listen here ¡®mutt¡¯, do you know who I am?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who cares, I¡¯m done here.¡±

    Nathan turned to leave, however Rufus quickly jumped in front of him.

    Nathan: ¡°(Woah, he can move for a big guy.)¡±

    Rufus: ¡°Listen plebian, I am Prince Rufus Fillmore of Midheim. You will show me and my friend the respect we demand.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A Prince¡­¡­you?¡±

    Rufus sneered down at Nathan, now that ¡®she¡¯ had realized who she was talking to, Rufus was sure she would change the way she spoke.

    Rufus: ¡°I heard that you gave my friend here a hard time, you will apologize and beg for his forgiveness and while you¡¯re at it, beg for my forgiveness.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.What?¡±

    Rufus: ¡°*sigh* I guess beauty, does not warrant intelligence.¡±

    Nathan¡¯s look made for a shocked expression.

    Nathan: ¡°Did you just call me stupid?¡±

    Rufus: ¡°Ah, you understood that¡­and still you have yet to apologize. I¡¯m afraid after this, an apology will no longer suffice.¡±

    Rufus looked Nathan up and down. Rufus noticed the sheer lack of bosom, but the beauty made up for it, his nostrils flared thinking of the things he could do to such a woman.

    Rufus: ¡°But, I think we can find someone to¡­¡­..consolidate. Wouldn¡¯t you agree Gaunt, is there something you would like to remind her of.

    Gaunt: ¡°R-Right, yes, I¡¯m am Gaunt Silverein, I will not tolerate any more of your slander against me. I demand you kneel.¡±

    Nathan stared at them both, stupefied, he was at a loss for words. Nathan¡¯s expression put Gaunt into a better mood. It made him believe that she was scared, however the following moment crashed all his hopes.

    Nathan: ¡°Go¡­¡­¡­.fuck yourself.¡±

    Rufus: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s what I should be saying. You demand me to apologize, to you for him. Hah! You meet some and then tell them that they have to bow and beg for forgiveness for nothing, are you idiot?¡±

    Rufus: ¡°How dare you! I am royalty, I demand respect.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I ¡®respectfully¡¯ tell you to take your demands and shove them up your ass. And you¡­¡±

    Nathan turned to Gaunt, who flinched at the sudden attack.

    Nathan: ¡°You hit on me, get rejected, then pick a fight with me and when things don¡¯t go your way, you sick your royalty, and make out your supposed one of the best adventurers Loegrey has to offer?

    Rufus ¡°He is the best, he¡¯s the Ace of Loegrey, you know why they call him the Ace?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..He miraculously combined, his ¡®Ass¡¯ with his ¡®Face¡¯.¡±

    Rufus: ¡° Exact- NO!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well I couldn¡¯t care less, ace or not, what you¡¯re doing right now, it¡¯s pathetic.¡±

    Gaunt, gritted his teeth while holding his head down. He couldn¡¯t refute, he went looking for comfort after being humiliated and confiding in his friend just to make himself feel better about his wrong-doings. Nathan held his head, he was still tired from earlier and a headache was slowly taking over.

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this, I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    Nathan turned and walked away, he had thoroughly humiliated both a Noble and a member of Royalty. Gaunt seemed somewhat ashamed of his actions, he wanted nothing more than to get away from the stares of the crowd. However, Rufus was fuming from the ears.

    Rufus: ¡°Wait you! I demand you come back. Do you hear me?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡±

    Rufus: ¡°What!?¡±

    Gaunt: ¡°She¡¯s not worth it, let¡¯s just go enjoy the tournament.¡±

    Rufus: ¡°I will do no such thing. I am Prince Rufus, and no mutt walks away from me.¡±

    Nathan was making his way down the street, groaning from the use unnecessary energy he used up talking with those idiots. In his fatigued state, he didn¡¯t notice Rufus made a grab for him and took hold of his tail.

    Nathan: ¡°Aaarroooooooooooo!?¡±

    The noise Nathan let out; drew the attention of everyone around. It was the outcome of having his tail pulled, quickly lost feeling in his legs, he dropped to his knees. Rufus quickly let go of Nathan¡¯s tail, surprised by the sudden arousing sound. Nathan went red in the face, both from embarrassment and anger, even the crowd, some of the faces had gone flush, embarrassed for him.

    Rufus didn¡¯t quite understand what he had done, but he did understand he had caused that to happen and smiled with a toothy grin. Then he began to talk, throwing oil into an inferno.

    Rufus: ¡°For all your big talk, even you melt in my hands; rather quickly I might add. You even took the knee like you were supposed to, was that really so difficult?¡±

    Faster than anyone could react, Nathan stood in front of Rufus.

    Nathan: ¡°FUCK OFF!¡±

    *Bam*

    Nathan punched Rufus, square in the face with all he had, sending him flying.

    *Smash*

    Rufus crashed into a pile of wooden crates, the crates disintegrating into pieces from the force of the impact. Rufus was knocked loopy from the attack, eyes spinning as he lay amongst the rubble. Everyone¡¯s jaw dropped, no matter how wrong he was, or how much he deserved it, Rufus was in fact the ruling house of Midheim.

    Gaunt: ¡°Rufus, what did yo-.¡±

    Before Gaunt could finish his sentence, Nathan had grabbed hold of him. Then with strength that went against his build, he hurled Gaunt right at Rufus. Gaunt smashed into the crates and Rufus as well, leaving both unconscious and a pile of rubble.

    Nathan: ¡°*pant* Ugh!¡±

    Nathan dropped to one knee, he felt terrible. The over-exertion, after using so much mana, was stupid. He had absolutely no choice in the matter, his tail had just been grabbed and by a man of all things. It was somewhat fine when it was a woman, but the utter disgust he felt for Rufus had to be unleashed.

    Over in the pile of crates, a crowd had formed. People staring down at the two men that lay unconscious on the ground, imprints of Nathan¡¯s fist embedded in their faces.

    Guard: ¡°What¡¯s going on over here?¡±

    The guard made his way through the crowd, his face turning to shock at what he saw.

    Guard: ¡°Lord Gaunt, P-P-P-P-PRINCE RUFUS, WHAT HAPPENED!?¡±

    The guard¡¯s words fell on deaf ears, as the crowd quickly dispersed, not wanting to get involved. Furthermore, because of his bad reputation, no-one was willing to explain what had happened. Not that it mattered, by the time the guard had even arrived, Nathan was already long-gone.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, put me down, I can walk.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No you can¡¯t, you can barely stand.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I rather wobble down the street, then be carried like luggage.¡±

    Ash had Nathan slung over his shoulder as he made his way down the city streets. He was getting a few stares but Ash didn¡¯t mind, but for the one being carried this was extremely humiliating.

    Ash: ¡°Okay then, hop down, but the first time you lose balance I¡¯m gonna carry you in my arms like a princess.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No wait, should I do piggy back? Which one you think is more humiliating?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay I get it, sheesh, you suck.¡±

    Nathan crossed his arms as Ash laughed his way down the street. He had to admit, he really didn¡¯t feel like walking, but he wished the alternative wasn¡¯t so humiliating.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey where are we going, Ramol¡¯s is that way?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m taking you to the exit, you do realize who you just punch out royalty right.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*groan*He grabbed my tail, ugh, I had absolutely no control over my actions.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Either way, your gonna catch a lot of crap when news gets around. And with Bernard trying to find a reason to get his hands on you, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you¡¯re really relaxed for the ¡®dire¡¯ situation your explaining.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, it¡¯s gonna be a couple of hours before those two wake up, after a hit like that, maybe even in entire day, man the sound it made when smacked, *Whistle*.

    Ash began laughing recalling the scene, when he arrived after hearing that Nathan headed towards the noble¡¯s district, he was greeted to the wonderous site of Rufus, taking one to the face. Seeing how Nathan was so tired, Ash quickly scooped him up and got out of there, preventing any further trouble.

    Ash: ¡°Even if they know that you did it, I doubt anyone in town will be willing to speak about what happened. The Prince doesn¡¯t have many friends in this city, except maybe Gaunt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Ash: ¡°They probably won¡¯t get any answer until they put up a reward, but knowing Rufus, he¡¯ll demand everyone¡¯s cooperation for days, refusing to give up money to the commoners or plebeians. And they will without a doubt, not comply. Either way we should still make ourselves scarce.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, but I need to write a message and give it to someone before we leave.¡±

    Ash: ¡°A message?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, if I don¡¯t, come tomorrow morning, all my exhaustion from today will be for nothing. They have to get it bright in early tomorrow¡±

    Ash: ¡°I can write it for you, but I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re planning to get whoever a message if we¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Simple we ask those two.¡±

    Nathan pointed over to a pair of children, Jazz and Beat who had been watching him since earlier, quickly ducked-down upon being spotted.

    Ash: ¡°Who are they?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Some friends.¡±

 Chapter 87: Returning to Deldel Fields

    <u>Chapter 87:  Returning to Deldel Fields</u>

    Ash: ¡°I brought him.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Why are you carrying him that way?¡±

    Ash sat Nathan down into the cart they recently acquired and sat next to him.

    Nathan: ¡°That was really uncomfortable, never again.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve done to end up this way, but we should go on and get out of here, we should get a good head-start.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Head-start, what did he do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault.¡±

    Ash: ¡°He punched out Gaunt and sent both him and Prince Rufus flying.¡±

    Anais: ¡°He punched out Gaunt?  Nice.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°P-PRINCE RUFUS!?¡±

    Ramol, who was sitting up front, turned around after hearing the name.

    Ramol: ¡°You knocked out the Prince of Midheim. What were you thinking!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice, he grabbed my tail.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Your tail?¡­ah¡­you made the noise, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It wasn¡¯t on purpose, it just came out.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well whatever the reason, we should get going and don¡¯t even think about coming back for a while.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What? Then how am I supposed to get into the Library?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Just come to Midheim with us, the library there is way bigger than this.¡±

    Ramol tugged at the reins and the horse began to move. Kyr was taking a nap besides him as they made their way down the road. They made small-talk to pass the time, Nathan explained to them the events that had taken place, as he spread out on the carriage floor, too tired to move.

    Anais: ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could plant seeds into people.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well Celes said that they help keep her healthy and they were growing out of her head, so I figured it would work, so I slipped the seeds on them when got the chance.¡±

    Iris: ¡°My Master, you make such a great Hero, I wish you wouldn¡¯t deny it so.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s not the title, it¡¯s the baggage that comes with the title I don¡¯t want.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Um, won¡¯t they find it strange to suddenly have a flower growing from their heads when they wake up tomorrow? If it were me, I would immediately remove the thing.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s not so easily removed. As for any other problems, Ash and I took care of that.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I didn¡¯t really do anything but write a message. Are you sure we should have just handed them to them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It will be fine, besides, she¡¯s the only person I know who can deliver it, without being caught.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Do what, give someone a message?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Give someone a message without them realizing it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan smiled wryly and just stayed quiet, while the rest talked. Soon the topic turned to Ramol¡¯s plans for the future.

    Ramol: ¡°So in the end, I think it would be best to auction them off instead of selling them. No one was willing to buy them at the price I displayed and, to be honest, the constant customer fighting and hassling from the guards was becoming troublesome.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry to have put you two through so much trouble, if I hadn¡®t asked so much of you-¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Are you kidding..? If it wasn¡¯t for you, I still be in debt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°You were the reason why those debt collectors backed off right? Miss Anais, Miss Iris and Miss Ena as well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So you figured it out huh?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It wasn¡¯t too difficult to figure out. The way they acted when you were around, it was pretty obvious. Plus after hearing what happened to Morty, right after our¡­¡­¡­business meeting, I had an idea.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°When Anais told us what happened, we couldn¡¯t very well leave it be.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No, it was my fault, I shouldn¡¯t have borrowed money from them; then none of this would have happened. I won¡¯t blame you for my mistakes or trying to help me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, but make sure you let us know in the future if you¡¯re having any problems, thats what we¡¯re here for, you know?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll remember that.¡±

    Ramol took what Nathan had said to heart, it had been awhile since he¡¯d had anyone willing to help him. Both Ramol and Kyr were more thankful to him then he could possibly know or ever would.¡±

    Ramol: Alright, it¡¯s off to the ¡®Viridi¡¯ Wilds.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Actually Ramol, there somewhere I need to go first.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Okay, just tell me where.¡±

    _

    _

    Ramol: ¡°This is the place, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, this is it.¡±

    Nathan looked down the hill to the farm-house where he failed his first quest. It¡¯s had only been a few days, but it felt like forever since they¡¯d been there.

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯ll be right back; we got some business with someone who lives there.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Take your time, we not going anywhere.¡±

    Nathan waved back to Ramol, as he made his way down the hill.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, how do you both know if this ¡®Vex¡¯, is even still here?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he said to come back, before we head inside the dungeon. I think we just have to take a walk through the orchard.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Not much of a plan.¡±

    Iris: ¡°In all honesty, I¡¯m not even entirely sure it was real. I couldn¡¯t sense him before or after he appeared, not to mention that purple mist surrounding us.¡±Stolen story; please report.

    Nathan: ¡°No scent, no sounds, only what we could see in the immediate vicinity. It¡¯s hard to even begin to describe it.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well the two of you remember it happening, so he was there; but from where I was standing, you were both just standing there staring blankly into the trees. No mist, no character up in the tree.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you¡¯ll see soon enough.¡±

    April: ¡°Hey.¡±

    The three looked up toward the farmhouse, to see April walking down to greet them.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, April¡­how are you doing?¡±

    April: ¡°Ah¡­can¡¯t complain. What brings you folks back here?  Thought you¡¯d gone found yourself a fancy rock to sleep under. Surprised to see your faces after the flop from the other day.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aheheheheheheheh, *sigh*.¡±

    April: ¡°Don¡¯t let it get you down; you wouldn¡¯t be the first to freeze up when come to hurting them little fellers.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    April: ¡°Whadda you mean¡­whadda ya mean? Wasn¡¯t the reason she didn¡¯t fight them was because they were ador-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°APRIL, I couldn¡¯t fight them because I got the first-time jitters.¡±

    Nathan gave April a desperate head nod, trying to get her not to finish her sentence. To his plight, April let out a hearty laugh.

    April: ¡°Bwahahahahahahah, yeah them first time jitters, right, that¡¯s what happened hahahahahaha.¡±

    Nathan face flushed, as April laughed out loud at his little secret. However, since Anais and Iris were none-the-wiser as to the true reasons behind his freezing on that day,  he let her laugh to her hearts content instead of explain to them the reason.

    April: ¡°Anyway, what can I help you with?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uh, yeah, the other day, I think I might have lost something while walking around your orchard, if it¡¯s okay with you, I was wandering if we could go take a look?¡±

    April: ¡°That¡¯s not a problem at all; go on, I won¡¯t stop ya.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thanks very much, we shouldn¡¯t be long.¡±

    April: ¡°Take yer time, if you need anything let me know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    With that April picked up the basket of fruit and headed into a different part of the orchard.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get over there.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I believe it was this way.¡±

    With Iris leading, they stepped into the orchard, like before it was a wondrous sight-seeing; the variant tree fruit and colors which were decorating the tree-tops and ground alike. Just like before, Nathan was tempted to take a bite of some of the fruit, but the judging eyes of the two girls on either side of him dissuaded him.

    Nathan: ¡°This is the spot.¡±

    Anais: ¡°So what do we do ? Just wait?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I guess.¡±

    Iris: ¡°It didn¡¯t take long last time, it happened before we were even aware it was happening.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I hope not too long, will Ramol make it in time for that Auction?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He didn¡¯t specify a time, so I don¡¯t think we have to worry. Let¡¯s just wait for a bit and see what happens.¡±

    With that, the three began to wait for any indication that Vexx was around. Nothing was happening, even after they waited for fifteen minutes, nothing but the sound of wind and the sweet smell of fruit.

    Anais: ¡°Oh come on¡­How long is this going to take?¡±

    Iris: ¡°You¡¯d think that Vexx would have shown up by now.¡±

    Nathan sat down on the ground, stretching out as they waited, when Anais tapped his shoulder.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, what is it?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think it would be a good idea to tell her about that?¡±

    Nathan looked over to Iris, who was hovering nearby.

    Nathan: ¡°That?¡±

    Anais: ¡°The poison you fool, the poison.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, not right now, I need everyone to help convince her.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Stop procrastinating, rather everyone helping or not doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, that¡¯s true.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What was that about poison?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, nothing, don¡¯t wor, Oww!?¡±

    Anais pinched Nathan, nudging him to tell Iris what was happening.

    Iris: ¡°Master, what is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*sigh*, well it¡¯s like this.¡±

    Nathan explained to Iris his ability and what he had to do to utilize it. Iris¡¯s expression change various time throughout the explanation, but by the end she closed her eyes and went into deep thought.

    Iris: ¡°Then if there is no other way, but to infect yourself with it. Then I¡¯m fine with it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris I don¡¯t have a choice, I need to do this or I can¡¯t use it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I understand and again, I¡¯m fine with it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Wait really?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Yes, I know of your immunity to poison, so I don¡¯t have to worry about your health.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well¡­¡­¡­..that was a lot easier than I thought it would be.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You doubted I would consent?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well yeah, all the other times I wanted to test my abilities, you were completely against it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, the key word there is ¡®test¡¯, dropping a heavy book on your skull, trying to eat a corpse, continuously draining yourself of blood to test the limits of your plants, these are not things a rational person does.¡±

    Anais nodded and agreement with Iris¡¯s assessment. Nathan was always one to absorb and wanting to test his limits, he didn¡¯t even realize what he was asking others to do.

    Iris: ¡°However, this is the first time, where it is actually required to perform a dangerous act; a dangerous act to everyone else but yourself. I¡¯m not against you becoming stronger Master, I just don¡¯t agree with your reckless methods or your injury sustaining experimentation.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I-I see.¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t know what to say, thinking about it rationally, his actions did make him seem a little touched in the head.

    Iris: ¡°I ask that while you strengthen your abilities, you only act as required. No theories or testing, that¡¯s all I ask.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­..I got it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Then we are in agreement.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m glad you finally said something, sticking anything he finds lying around in his mouth, he¡¯s like a newborn.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, your gonna compare me to a baby?¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, I think even newborns would spit out anything foul-tasting, Master would just continue on with his experiment, regardless of taste.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, how could you?¡±

    Nathan, annoyed, turned away from the two and their teasing. He guessed he was a bit over-zealous when testing his abilities. From this point on; he would consider his actions a little more before acting.

    Iris: ¡°Master, just how much longer were we supposed to wait?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, oh yeah, I guess we¡¯ve been waiting for a while, well, I guess he isn¡¯t coming, lets head back.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Wait¡­¡­¡­.. which way is back?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean, that way¡­¡­¡­huh?¡±

    Just like before the trees seemed to have no end and the once-seen exit to the orchard had vanished.

    Iris: ¡°Just like before; he is coming, next comes the purple mist.¡±

    As if on cue, the purple mist begun to roll-in and soon encircled the trio.

    Everything, but what was in the immediate area, was consumed by the mist, sound nor light could enter, however this is what they were waiting for.

    Anais: ¡°So this is that ¡®purple mist¡¯ huh?¡±

    Anais made a grab for it, but the mist receded from her grasp, only returning after she pulled her hand back.

    Anais: ¡°No wonder I couldn¡¯t see it last time, this is someone¡¯s ¡®Room¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A Room?¡±

    Anais: ¡°A personal magic space someone can create, though it¡¯s no more than an illusion, a fancy place for one to speak directly with someone over long distances. Done right, it can go completely unnoticed by everyone else, making it a perfect place to speak covertly. But this one has been half-assedly. The projection of where we were just now only stretches so far, the reason why the scenery disappeared is because whoever cast this doesn¡¯t have enough power to copy the area in its entirety.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So the purple mist is the boundary of Vexx¡¯s power?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Right, the only way for someone to enter, is permission by the creator themselves, but once inside of this space; they are in complete control. But it¡¯s still just an illusion, look these bodies of ours; they aren¡¯t even real, just a projection. Our real bodies are probably staring stupidly in the sky right now.¡±

    Iris: ¡°And how do you know so much about this?¡±

    Anais: ¡°One of Lady Amelia¡¯s books; she spoke about these in great detail. I think she was trying to create one. I don¡¯t know if she succeeded, but from what she wrote, she couldn¡¯t figure out a way to stop the time variation or the memory loss side-effects from bringing someone inside.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Memory loss?)¡±

    ????: ¡°You are very well informed, this is indeed my ¡®Room¡¯ and I apologize for the wait.¡±

    Just like before, from up in the trees, a figure began to fade into existence. The same top-hat, purple furred ears, tail together with the long whiskers. Wanted the figured had become present, they were greeted with a stoic expressionless face, gone was mischievous smile from before and like before, it leaped from the tree and slowly floated to the ground.

    ?????: ¡°I had some troubling matters to take care of, but I¡¯m have arrived as promised.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey this wasn¡¯t what I was expecting, judging from the way you two were speaking, i was expecting alot less Boing.¡±

    Iris: ¡°A crude way of putting it, however,we are just as baffled as you are.¡±

    ?????: ¡°...........Is something wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Uh yeah, last time we were here, I was pretty damn sure you weren¡¯t a girl.¡±

 Chapter 88: Sibling Affairs

    <u>Chapter 88: Sibling Affairs</u>

    Nathan and company stared confused at the person before them, no matter how much he looked similar, the person standing before them was not, Vexx. Saying she didn¡¯t look like Vexx was the contrary. Except the feminine assets, she was the spitting-image of Vexx. The major difference¡¯s besides the gender was the blank expressionless face, the smile and whimsical nature Vexx had had before, she seemed to be the exact opposite.

    Anais: ¡°Nathan, what part of that looks like a boy to you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She isn¡¯t Vexx, right Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It is as you say, the person we met before was indeed a man.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then who the hell this?¡±

    Overhearing their conversation, the girl cocked her head to the side in confusion.

    ?????: ¡°Pardon me, but is it my understanding that Vexx, said nothing of our circumstances?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Forget your circumstances, he barely told us his name.¡±

    The girl side with exasperation, holding her hand to her fore head to hold it up.

    ??????: ¡°That¡­¡­¡­ Fucking Idiot!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa there, you okay?¡±

    ?????: ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this shit and yet he keeps on with these stupid customs.¡±

    Nathan, Anais and Iris listened on as a surplus of profanity left the girls mouth, all about how she felt about Vexx. When she finally calmed down, the girl turned back to Nathan and bowed.

    ??????: ¡°I apologize for the misunderstanding, let me introduce myself, I¡¯m Irkia Vexx¡¯s little sister.

    Iris and Anais: ¡°Sister?¡±

    *Boing*

    Nathan: ¡°Little?¡±

    *Smack*

    Anais: ¡°Where are you looking?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about that, (Although I wasn¡¯t not talking about that either).¡±

    Nathan rubbed is head, after being smacked. Compared to her brother, Irkia seemed like the older sister. Her maturity both physically and mentally, out scaled Vexx¡¯s child-like looks and mentality. Anyone would assume she was the eldest, if not told otherwise.

    Irkia: ¡°Vexx, left me to believe that everything about our situation had been previously explained. I should have known better then to trust stupid idiot.

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, Irkia.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, where is Vexx if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°He is currently sleeping. It¡¯s a good thing. I rather him not speak with you again or at all, if possible.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sleeping?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°He is only awake when I¡¯m asleep, and vice versa. This body can¡¯t support both of us being conscious at once.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, your sharing a body?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Even this was not explained!? Why make it so difficult for the ones that were asking for help? There is no other choice.¡±

    Irkia had a cold look on her face, a face of complete contempt. She was growing increasingly frustrated at her elder brothers¡¯ whimsical nature, even in dire straits.

    Irkia: ¡°Currently, because of circumstances, both my brother and I are sharing the same body.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sharing the same body?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°A certain group of people had stolen a ¡®jewel¡¯ from me. A jewel that contains the soul of a ¡®Cheshire¡¯, in other words: my body.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But¡­your right here, and front of us.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°To save me, my brother allowed me to share his body with his. However, the gems are not meant to hold more than one soul. Eventually I will have to vacate his body or risk hurting him. At that point of time; I will inevitably die.¡±

    Nathan went wide eyed for a moment, as did Anais and Iris. She was rather nonchalant on the subject of her possible death. To them, it didn¡¯t even seem like she cared.

    Nathan: ¡°That seems extremely serious, are you afraid?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°I¡¯m am I afraid, if at all possible, I would like to return to my body as soon as possible.

    Anais: ¡°And should you just be telling people this, it seems like a easy way for someone to take advantage of?¡±

    Irkia: Its fine, I know that the ¡®Hero¡¯ and the members of his party are not such unscrupulous individuals. More importantly, this matter is actually the reason we need your help and my idiot brother should have told you this before. There is a group of people that want us to find something for them, but we are ill-equipped to obtain it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You can¡¯t go inside the dungeon yourself?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Ah, so you know already?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, not what you need, just where you want me to go.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Then let me enlighten you. The item we need is known as ¡®Twinkle Sand¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Twinkle Sand?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Yes it can be found in and around beach-like areas located in the Northeast area on the fifth floor of ¡®Viridi Wilds¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, the fifth floor?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I had no intentions of journeying that far down.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not against helping you, but from what I heard, no-one¡¯s even made it to the second floor, let alone the fifth floor. Sorry about I¡¯m gonna have to turn you down.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really? Don¡¯t you need the sand?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°I do, so if by any chance you end up there, could you fulfill my request?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I just said I not going.¡±

    Nathan wasn¡¯t going to change his mind about this; he was definitely not going past the first floor. Though he did find it suspicious that she would ask him even after knowing what he¡¯d planned to do.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, how about instead of going to the fifth floor, we go after the group that took the jewel away from you?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°What?¡±

    Iris: ¡°That does seem to be the more rational decision.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Catching thieves seems easier than going that far into the dungeon.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Irkia: ¡°Impossible, please do not attempt something so dangerous.¡±

    The tone in Irkia¡¯s voice had changed dramatically, the melancholy, replaced with fear. The oh so stoic character they had just met, was now shivering in fear, the color draining from her face almost instantly.

    Iris: ¡°You¡¯re asking us to travel down into a monster-ridden dungeon, is that any safer?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Absolutely, the group who stole my precious jewel, are far more dangerous than anything the dungeons could possibly spawn.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who are they?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°What they are; I do not know, but the moment they showed themselves to us, we understood we had no chance against them. They call themselves ¡®Nephilim¡¯.¡±

    _

    _

    Deep in the jungles of Suvari, deep in a cave untouched by the sun warmth, three figures stalked around in the dark. With hoods obscuring their features, the garments they wore looked to have a will of their own. Even without any light source, the three navigated the caves¡¯ corridors with relative ease. The damp humid cave had become their pseudo-home as of late, at least until they had fulfilled their objective. An objective that had kept them in the caves depths for month¡¯s on-end.

    ?????: ¡°Just how much longer do have to stay in this fucking cave?¡±

    ?????: ¡°Hecca, why must you complain every second?¡±

    Hecca: ¡°You¡¯re not the one rotting away Scias, look what the humid air done to my torso.¡±

    Unbuttoning her shirt and flashing her companions, amongst the pale purple skin, a giant black spot was above her left breast. An unknown fungus was protruding from the rotting flesh, that wasn¡¯t there earlier, which she immediately pulled out. Pulling it out caused a black ooze to spill out onto the floor as well drip down her body, but she ignored it.

    Hecca: ¡°Scias, you think this is poisonous?¡±

    Scias: ¡°Who cares, just rip it all out and be done with it, nothing can be done about your condition until we return home.¡±

    Scias didn¡¯t even turn around; he simply dismissed the situation all-together.

    Hecca: ¡°And just when will that be? We¡¯ve been walking around these stupid ass caves for months. I¡¯m tired of this shit?¡±

    ?????: ¡°*snicker*

    Hecca: ¡°Haah, you think something¡¯s funny, Ansiel?¡±

    The smallest hooded figure snapped his head side-to-side, denying the accusation, surprised upon hearing his name being called.

    Ansiel: ¡°N-no nothing at all, I just sneezed.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°A sneeze huh?...whatever.¡±

    Ansiel breathed sigh of relief, believing that he had fooled her, at least until Hecca grabbed him.

    Hecca: ¡°As if I believed that idioooooooot, how dare you laugh at your big sister?¡±

    *Thump*

    Ansiel: ¡°Ow, stop hitting me.¡±

    Ansiel broke away and ran, but Hecca quickly caught up to him.

    Hecca: ¡°No escaaaaaaaaape!¡±

    *Splush**Splat*

    Ansiel: ¡°Hecca, don¡¯t throw that at me, gross.¡±

    Hecca pulled out her rotting flesh and threw it at her younger brother playfully, taking delight in his attempts to dodge. Scias was eyeing some of the caves fungi. Taking out a scroll, he looked at the drawing, then quickly dismissed the fungi, it wasn¡¯t the one they were looking for. Just as he went to put the scroll away, a piece of rotting flesh soared by, hitting the scroll out of his hands and smearing a part of it with its foul ooze.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°What? You call your lovable older sister gross¡­Blasphemy.¡±

    Scias: ¡°Will you two cut it out? Why did I have to get stuck with these children.¡±

    Ansiel: ¡°Sorry, brother Scias.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°Don¡¯t act all mature mister¡­you¡¯re only two days older.¡±

    Scias: ¡°That¡¯s two days more mature than you Hecca.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°Phhbpt.¡¯

    Hecca stuck out her tongue, pissing Scias off in the process.

    *Growl*

    In the darkness, a low wet growling could be heard.

    Hecca: ¡°Did you hear that? We must have missed some of them, I was sure we killed everything here already.¡±

    Scias: ¡°They could have entered from outside or there could have been just more, further inside.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°Whatever¡­ just hurry and find what we¡¯re looking for, big brother~¡±

    Scias: ¡°If you two would help me, we could be done already.¡±

    Hecca shrugged her shoulders, letting Ansiel go for him to wipe and spit out the flesh from his face and mouth respectively.

    Hecca: ¡°We should have tried to break into the ¡®Garden¡¯ again, this new plan suuuuuuccckkkksssss.¡±

    Scias: ¡°Our plan was compromised; we had no other choice but to abort.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°And after we went through all that trouble to obtain that gaudy golden eyeball-monster thingy. Though I got to say, hearing that vampire girl screaming her brains out after she found it missing was incredibly funny. But it died so all that effort for nothing.¡±

    Scias: ¡°The Hero showing up was not a part of the plan, but it can¡¯t be helped. With the increased security the elves have displayed, we have no choice, but to find an alternate solution.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°And now we¡¯re looking for a stupid mushroom in this stupid cave, on this stupid hot and humid continent. How the hell do the beast-men stand it with all that damn fur?¡±

    Hecca picked up the mushroom that was growing on her chest and threw it at the wall in frustration, which ricocheted and smacked Scias right in the face.

    Hecca: ¡°Whoops.¡±

    Ansiel: ¡°Pffffftttt!¡±

    Scias: ¡°DAMMIT HECCA, YOU LITTLE¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.wait.¡±

    Scias pulled out the scroll, looking back in forth between the mushroom and the scroll.

    Scias: ¡°Idiot, this is what we¡¯ve been looking for. Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±

    Hecca: ¡°How was I supposed to know what it looks like mister ¡®I¡¯ll hold onto the scroll because I¡¯m so much older and more mature then you two¡¯ bleh, bleh, bleh snarky remark, bleh, bleh, bleh superior tone?¡±

    Ansiel banged on the ground, attempting to hold in his laughter, cause by his sibling¡¯s comedy routine.

    Hecca: ¡°Well, since we have what we came for let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

    Scias: ¡°We need way more than just this, where did you get it?¡±

    Hecca: ¡°I don¡¯t know, it was growing in my chest. Weren¡¯t you listening at all? Now who¡¯s the idiot? You put those glasses on your face to shame. Tsk, Tsk.¡±

    Scias became pissed, Ansiel, noticing the change took a few steps away from Hecca.

    *Grab*

    Hecca: ¡°W-What are you doing, let me go.¡±

    Scias: ¡°If you don¡¯t know where you contracted the fungus, then I guess you¡¯ll just need to incubate it.¡±

    Hecca went pale, as Scias attempted to shove the fungus back into her chest.

    Hecca: ¡°NOOOOOOOO, STOOOOP IIIIIIITTTTTTTTT, I JUST CLEARED IT OUT!¡±

    Scias: ¡°You were the one who wanted to leave so badly, take one for the team. Consider this a contribution to our efforts, you don¡¯t want brother to find out that you weren¡¯t any help?¡±

    Hecca: ¡°ANSIEL HELP ME, DAMMIT.¡±

    Ansiel: ¡°Y-Yes.¡±

    Scias: ¡°If you do, you¡¯ll be the next incubator.¡±

    Ansiel: ¡°H-Huh!?¡±

    Hecca: ¡°DAMMIT, YOU BETTER HELP ME OR I SWEAR I MAKE YOU REGRET IT.¡±

    Ansiel was stuck between a rock and a hard place, the way it was going; he would get punished either way. It all depended what he was more afraid of¡­becoming an incubator or Hecca¡¯s wrath, it was a no-brainer.

    Ansiel: ¡°G-Good luck big sis.¡±

    Scias: ¡°Good boy, now go deal with those pests who¡¯ve been stalking us for a while now.¡±

    Ansiel: ¡°R-Right.¡±

    Hecca: ¡°DAMMIT ANSIEL, I¡¯LL GET YOU FOR THIS YOU TRAITOR!¡±

    Ansiel turned and left the cavern, leaving his siblings to themselves. Hecca cursed Ansiel¡¯s name, thus leaving her to her fate.

    He entered the next room, quickly shuffling away from his siblings, baiting the creatures hiding in the dark. Just as he thought the moment he¡¯d moved away from his siblings; the distant growling drew closer. Several giant lizard creatures lurked in out of the darkness. Crawling in from every direction, their bodies, being able to compress, allowed them to slip through the thinness of cracks in the cave walls. So they appeared from everywhere, along the floor ceilings and walls of the cave.

    Ansiel didn¡¯t flinch or cower, after seeing this sight and ever since they had entered the caves with having to keep killing off these creatures and since had got used to them appearing out of thin-air. The creatures slowly surrounded Ansiel to which he just simply raised his hand and a small black mass gathering in his palm.

    *Swoosh**Sloosh*

    Ansiel: ¡°Ah!?¡±

    Ansiel made a surprise yelp, as his arm that was gathering the black mass, suddenly appeared on the ground. The biggest of the lizard-creatures had whipped out its razor-sharp tongue out of its mouth and slashed off Ansiel¡¯s arm, before retrieving it and swallowing it in one gulp.

    Ansiel: ¡°H-Hey give that back, I need it for grabbing.¡±

    Ansiel looked at the spot where his arm used to be, no blood was spraying out, but instead a mass of black smog.

    Ansiel: ¡°Now you¡¯ve done it. I can¡¯t stop it from spreading anymore, but I guess I don¡¯t need too, I¡¯m supposed to kill all of you anyways.¡±

    The other smaller lizards were readying to rip Ansiel apart, when they heard a pain-writhing scream. The other lizards turned to see their boss, suddenly writhing in pain, throwing up the contents of his stomach along with vast amount of blood and organs.  The biggest lizard¡¯s skin started to turn black and soon, all-together, it stopped moving as its eyes fogged up and its life left its body.

    Ansiel hurriedly retrieved his arm, wiping off as much of the lizard¡¯s innards before putting it back in its place. Testing it a few times, he moved his arm back and forth. It was a little sluggish, but that was to be expected with all the blood he¡¯d just lost.

    The other lizards looked on with stunned faces at their now dead leader, completely unaware of how he had died.

    Ansiel: ¡°Um, do you all really have time to worry about him? It¡¯s had plenty of time to enter your body by now.¡±

    Just as he finished, black spots begin to appear on the lizard¡¯s bodies, as the lizard¡¯s cried out in pain. Soon, like their leader, they curled over lifeless. Ansiel looked at his handy-work, it wasn¡¯t as clean as his elder siblings, but he¡¯d finished his task. He smiled and nodded, seeing all the corpses.

    Ansiel: ¡°I should ask sister to clean this up or maybe not¡­she must be still mad. Ah, but if we will soon be leaving, then this is fine. Still, I¡¯ll will have to seal this cave off, wouldn¡¯t want it to spread outside. We still have need of this continent.¡±

    Ansiel turned to leave, heading back to his siblings thus leaving the corpses to nature and the disease, he¡¯d passed to the lizards, free to spread throughout the cave-system.

 Chapter 89: Fated

    <u>Chapter 89: Fated</u>

    Nathan: ¡°The Nephilim?¡±

    Irkia nodded her head in confirmation. Nathan took a mental note of this, if what she said was true, it was best he stayed away from them.

    Irkia: ¡°They are far too dangerous to fight head on.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So what? How do you plan to get your jewel back?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°That¡¯s what the ¡®Twinkle Sand¡¯ is for. We retrieve it for them, and they return what¡¯s mine.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡­your being forced to do this and you just believe them?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°What other choice do we have, confronting them head-on is a route to a quick death and we have no means of entering the dungeon as we are now.¡±

    Iris: ¡°You attempted to fight, and the result was you losing your Soul Gem.¡±

    Irkia nodded in confirmation to Iris¡¯ question. So at the moment she was basically being held hostage and if they attempt to retaliate, it could very well lead to her demise. They had no choice, but to reply with the Nephilim¡¯s demands.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, like I said, I¡¯m not going to the fifth floor, so I don¡¯t know how we can help you.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°No matter, I have complete faith in you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey, are you deaf or something, we said we¡¯re not going.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°I understand, please do your best.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you understand at all.¡±

    Nathan and company were blatantly telling Irkia they weren¡¯t going where she wanted and yet she still asked them to complete her task. It was a similar irritation they had felt with Vexx, but at the same time different. She clearly could not take a hint and kept thinking of them for something they weren¡¯t going to do.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­You can predict the future.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re so confident that I¡¯ll retrieve the item you ask for, you know I¡¯ll end up on the fifth floor.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, and that was how Vexx knew who you were and where you would end up.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°No, no, we can¡¯t do anything of the sort.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then how do you know so much about us is you¡¯re not clairvoyant?¡±

    Irkia lifted off her hat and turn it upside down.

    Irkia: ¡°Vexx and I aren¡¯t able to see into future, but if there something we need done that we cannot accomplish ourselves, we use this to be able to see who what have the best chance of accomplishing it for us.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Huh, so it¡¯s ¡®predicting¡¯ the future right?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°No we can¡¯t actually see what will happen, it only shows us who we could ask to realize the best possible outcome.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So it¡¯s just chance, a probability. So right now, I¡¯m the best suited for the job, because somehow I¡¯m gonna end up going down to the fifth floor.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°That is what we see.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So how did you know I would help you, your brother didn¡¯t really make it easy to trust, spilling all of my information.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°After realizing you were the best choice, we check to see which way would be the best to get you to help us. Multiple options showed themselves; one was revealing to you we knew you were the ¡®Hero¡¯ and having you find it or we let everyone else know or another was telling you about an ability you wanted prior to our meeting. Either had a good chance of getting your attention, but the first option felt like blackmail.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Felt like my ass! That is absolutely blackmail.¡±

    Irkia put a hand to her head as if she was getting a headache.

    Irkia: ¡°I opted for the latter, but that idiot and his stupid games decided to stick to our tradition and rile you up and instead of using one or the other he used both and made it seem as if he was doing you a favor, when all he did was garner suspicion about our agenda.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You don¡¯t seem too fond of your brother.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°*sigh* Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love that idiot, but we¡¯re in a crisis and have no time for Impish bullshit.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I-I see.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Anyway, all I ask is if circumstances lead you to the fifth floor, please take the time to recover what I need.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°From what your telling me, it seems like I don¡¯t have a choice in the matter.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Thank you in advance.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all-¡°

    Irkia: ¡°Wait I wish to give you some information, since it will help you in your future endeavours.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°More probability?¡±

    Irkia nodded and confirmation as she placed her hat back atop her head.

    Irkia: ¡°When you enter the dungeon, you will meet someone who will change your life for the better.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, who is it?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Its best if I keep it to myself, if you knew you may unwilling change the probability of your chance meeting.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Makes sense I guess.¡±

    Nathan kinda understood, if it was supposed to happen by chance and he actively searched for the person, their original interaction may take a turn in another direction. Similarly like surprises, if you know in advance, then ones reaction changes significantly.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay I¡¯ll keep my eyes open for such an event.¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Please do, oh and just remember it¡¯s their ¡®first time¡¯. So, please be gentle.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be plen¡­¡­¡­wait what!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°First time!?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Ah, there will be a bit of blood loss, but it should be fine after a while.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Blood, who will bleed!?¡±

    Irkia: ¡°Oh and the bites marks should disappear after a while, it seems the taste was quite surprising and caught them off guard, since you didn¡¯t give them a warning. But don¡¯t worry; in time they will grow to love it. And it seems you really enjoyed it as well.¡±

    Anais: ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU MAKING PEOPLE DO!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯M NOT MAKING ANYONE DO ANYTHING, I SWEAR.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Blood loss, blood from who, blood from where and who¡¯s going to bite you where?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°HOW SHOULD I KNOW!?¡±

    Anais looked at with suspicion, while moving away from Nathan, while Iris continued her questioning, worried for his safety.

    Nathan: ¡°DON¡¯T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, I HAVEN¡¯T DONE ANYTHING YET!¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yet, huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°AT ALL, AT ALL!¡±

    Irkia: ¡°With that, I¡¯ll now take my leave, I need to rest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°OH NO YOU DON¡¯T, YOU GET BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN THINGS TO THEM! HEY!¡±

    Irkia, disregarding Nathan, shouts and slowly faded away, as did the purple mist. Soon they had returned to the orchard they knew and Anais quickly made an exit.

    Nathan: ¡°Wait Anais, listen to me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Get away from me, I might get pregnant.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s a misunderstanding.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What about the blood, and the taste of what, Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris stop asking me that, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll explain everything to you Iris, come here for a sec.¡±

    Anais whispered something to her, making her blush.

    Iris: ¡°Oh my, well Master is a man after all?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°ANAIS, WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING HER!?

    Nathan chased after the two, trying to prevent Anais from escalating things more than they already had.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Nathan: ¡°DAMMIT IRKIA, YOUR JUST AS BAD AS YOUR BROTHER!¡±

    _

    _

    Ramol: ¡°But honestly, you guys were down there forever, I was starting to get worried.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah sorry about that.¡±

    When Nathan, Iris and Anais returned to their party, they were told that a few hours had passed. The sun that was once above them and had made it way considerably across the sky.

    Ash: ¡°We looked around that place several times, but we couldn¡¯t find you, seeing you suddenly appear out of the orchard was really surprising.¡±

    According to Ash, unlike last time when Nathan and Iris were just found standing in a daze, this time they had vanished all together, they let it go as Vexx¡¯s mischievous nature. Nathan explained what had happen, leaving out some of the finer details, Anais was throwing him dirty looks while Iris just flushed. Ash, catching on to the awkward situation, whispered to Nathan.

    Ash: (whisper) ¡°When you get a chance, tell me what really happened.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, but no jokes.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Absolutely no promises.¡±

    Nathan also left out the part about the Nephilim, he would ask Ash about it later when he was alone.

    Ash: ¡°Well, that aside, are you gonna go through with it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well I-¡±

    Iris: ¡°Absolutely not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It¡¯s out of the question, how could they ask us to believe a word they say. And to travel to such a dangerous place for a chance encounter, why would we do anything to help them?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I get your feelings, but the way she spoke, it¡¯s like its gonna happen anyway.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Probability huh¡­well you know, like I said before, there¡¯s only one way to the lower floors and that¡¯s from a gate being guarded by the floor guardian. So, getting to the fifth floor would mean fighting each of those on each level, not to mention the higher-leveled monsters running around.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Exactly, so why should we even risk it? I¡¯m firmly against it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like I said; I¡¯m not going to go.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Do you truly mean that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously Iris, I just want to experience the dungeon, not conquer it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°As long as you seek nothing more, I won¡¯t object.¡±

    Iris said nothing more on the subject, even with her doubts, she trusted Nathan to stick to his conviction. However, to be honest, Nathan had his doubts. He honestly had no intention of going any lower than the second floor at most; however the way Irkia spoke was if it was inevitability.

    Nathan didn¡¯t believe in fate, but all he could think of himself was ending up on the fifth floor by accident. He forgot to ask Irkia just how high was his chances of making it, but she most likely wouldn¡¯t tell. She said he had the greatest chance, but that could just mean the highest of low chances, so it could still not happen. For now, he planned to avoid the area with the gate to the lower floor.

    Nathan: ¡°*mumble* But whatever happens, happens.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hey Ramol, how much further¡­we¡¯ve been riding for a while now?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well, we lost a lot of time when you guys disappeared.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anyways, we could gain back the time, like a¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Not that I can think of, we might not even make it to the rest-site at this rate.¡±

    *Ruuuummmmble*

    Nathan: ¡°An earthquake?¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡¯s unusual for this area.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°True, should we be worried?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t sense any danger, it should be fine.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Alright, but I¡¯m slowing down just in case.¡±

    Anais: ¡°But, that¡¯s gonna take even longer.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Awwwww.¡±

    Anais slumped down into her seat as they continued on. Every so often there was a quake, but no signs they were in danger. The travel was slow and soon a few of them fell asleep, excluding Nathan and Ramol, who continued making small-talk while they traveled.

    Ramol: ¡°Uh-oh, that doesn¡¯t look good.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No¡­it does not. Hey guys wake up.¡±

    Ash: ¡°*yawn*, what is it?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What going on?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Looks like a road-block.¡±

    Up ahead, a bunch of travel-carts had been stopped, a blockade had been placed on the road, prohibiting passage. Ramol stopped his cart and looked around at the situation.

    Nathan: ¡°You think this is Rufus¡¯ doing?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t know how information about what happened could have gotten to Midheim before us, but I can¡¯t deny the possibility.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°No it doesn¡¯t seem like it, if it was, they would be letting people through as they were cleared, but there not letting any through; look over there.¡±

    On the field not too far from the blockade, several groups had set up tent, preparing to wait out the road closure.

    Nathan: ¡°Well there¡¯s only one way to find out.¡±

    Nathan placed the hood over his head and hopped out of the cart.

    Ash: ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We need to ask around to see what¡¯s going on. With Rufus looking for us, we can¡¯t sit around here too long.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well then let me do it, someone might recognise you.¡±

    Ash approached a group near the blockade.

    Ash: ¡°Hey buddy, can I ask you something.¡±

    Merchant: ¡°Who the hell are you?! Go away, I¡¯m busy.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I just want to know what¡¯s going on¡­?¡±

    Merchant: ¡°Are you hard-of-hearing or you are looking for trouble.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ask someone else.¡±

    Ash left the man alone and headed into the crowd, but no-one was paying him any mind. No matter whom he asked, he was given the same treatment.

    Ash: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Ash returned to the cart, defeated.

    Anais: ¡°How did it go?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Assholes¡­All I could get was that they¡¯d been sitting here for hours and the heat¡¯s getting to them. They could at least tell me what was going on.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So nothing huh, let me try. I¡¯ll keep the hood over my head to hide my identity.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Okay fine but be careful.¡±

    Nathan left on that note, Anais and Iris accompanying him. He moved through the crowd, making sure not too stand out. Not trying to get the attention of anyone, but just as Ash said they were being assholes.

    Nathan: ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Villager A: ¡°Huh? Beat it kid I¡¯m busy.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I just want to ask-¡±

    Villager A: ¡°Go on get out of here, mama calling dinner ready and her bosoms plump and ready.¡±

    With Anais and Iris on Nathan shoulders, Nathan quickly patted them on the head to keep them from attacking that man. They didn¡¯t however, as Nathan walked away, he chose to overlook the man suddenly falling over and smacking into the ground for no apparent reason. Looking to his shoulders, he saw two girls smiling deviously at their handy-work.

    Nathan kept up his search, but only met with more irritable people upset and in no mood to talk. Looking around he noticed that off to the side of the road there was a much more methodically crafted tent. And in front of it were two men arguing about something. A Guard and what he thought was another merchant; from the way he dressed. Nathan made his way over towards them, but as he did, the guard and man began heading back towards the crowd while still arguing.

    Merchant: ¡°How much longer do we have to wait; we¡¯ve been here for hours?¡±

    Guard: ¡°For the last time, I can¡¯t control the weather. You¡¯ll just have to be patient until we get the word that it¡¯s safe.¡±

    The situation looked tense, irritated merchants and guards alike. The way things were, Nathan didn¡¯t think he would get any answers the normal way.

    Nathan: ¡°(Guess I¡¯ll try that, it¡¯s been awhile though I hope I still got it.)¡±

    Nathan decided to use something he hadn¡¯t used since he was on earth, but it should work just as well. No matter where you were humans were still human. He cleared his throat and approached the guard.

    Nathan: ¡°Uhm, excuse me.¡±

    Iris and Anais made a surprise look at Nathan when the girlish voice left his lips. However, it did the trick, for the beautiful voice had drawn ample enough attention.

    Nathan kept his features covered except for his face, he smiled an enchanting smile combined with the voice he just spoke with, instantly charming the people around him. Like under a spell; the tension seemed to clear up instantly.

    *Ding*

    <u>Charisma +5</u>

    Guard: ¡°Y-Yes how could I help you?...¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was wondering what was the problem? I would really like to go through if it¡¯s okay with you.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Sorry miss, but there been a case of ¡®turbulence¡¯, I¡¯m afraid the road will be closed until it¡¯s cleared up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh my, ¡®turbulence¡¯ you say? How dreadful.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Indeed it is.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s good that we have men like you to keep us safe in times like this.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Hahaha well you know, it¡¯s my duty.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sooooo~ reliable.¡±

    Nathan had no idea what ¡®turbulence¡¯ was, but it seemed like a common event that happened, so it was best to play his cards right, to avoid any suspicions. He¡¯ll just ask Ash later on what it was, but for now, he continued to play the guard.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah but you see, I¡¯m in somewhat of a hurry, is there any way around the barrier?¡±

    Guard: ¡°Sorry miss but, there¡¯s no other way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Really, are sure there isn¡¯t any other way?¡±

    Guard: ¡°Well, there is another way, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. It¡¯s been abandoned and lots of monsters appear on that road, it¡¯s pretty dangerous.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Monsters? That doesn¡¯t sound good at all. However, would you mind telling me anyway? I¡¯ll see what my compatriots decide.¡±

    Guard: ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±

    Nathan felt that the guard was about to cave-in, just one little push.

    Nathan: ¡°I would be ever so appreciative if you did, please~¡±

    Nathan moved closer and smiled up at the push-over of a guard.

    *Ding*

    <u>Persuasion +5</u>

    Guard: ¡°Y-YES!¡±

    The guard sauntered off to the tent, Nathan following behind him. Inside the tent he found the guard, searching through a trunk of scrolls, before pulling one out.

    Guard: ¡°This should help you find the road, this is one of the extras, so don¡¯t worry about returning it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°For me?...Thank you so much.¡±

    Seeing Nathan so thankful, the guard try to push further.

    Guard: ¡°*Ahem* If you wanted, I wouldn¡¯t mind escorting you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s okay, thanks for the map, bye.¡±

    Nathan quickly took the map and shuffled away, waving to the guard as he walked off, leaving him mid-sentence with a stupid grin on his face.

    Nathan opened the map and looked over it.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris was does this say¡­¡­¡­.Iris?¡±

    Nathan looked to his left and right, both Iris and Anais who changed back to her Therian form were speechless.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you two?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with us?! What the hell was that back there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh that¡­men and women are very easy to persuade, if you know where to aim.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯ve done stuff like that before?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°My mom and sisters taught me that.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Your mom and sister?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, they said it is an effective way to get men and women to do what you want, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I think that guy was just a really stupid to fall for something like that¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your right Anais, I was thinking the same thing. You¡¯re so smart and cute, I¡¯m so glad to have someone as intelligent as you in my party.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Well you know, I do eat a lot of books and Lady Amelia always said I was super-cute, so being cute in this form is a given-¡±

    Iris: ¡°Um Anais, is Master Nathan not doing the same thing to you, as he did to the guard back there?¡±

    Anais: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.HEY YOU JERK!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Bwahahahahahahaha!¡±

    Nathan laughed out loud, Anais, frustrated for falling for it so easily as well.

    Iris: ¡°My master is a man of many¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ mysteries.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I agree.¡±

    Nathan just continued laughing at the two girls.

    Nathan: ¡°Me too.¡±

 Chapter 90: A Road Less Traveled

    <u>Chapter 90: A Road Less Travel</u>

    Ash: ¡°Watch it Ramol, your driving¡¯s giving me ass-blisters.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry, but these roads no worse for wear.¡±

    Nathan: "What do you expect from a decommisioned road?"

    Ramol whipped the reins as he made his way down the separate road, littered with all manner of debris. After consulting the map, they were able to find an unused road that lead through the woods. The road had been abandoned because of the frequent monster attacks and such were in a terrible condition and the fact that it was twice as long as the one before, it was just not worth the money to maintain.

    However, realizing the road was closed off do to Turbulence, Ramol and Ash thought it was for the best, as did a few other merchants. Several other carts, merchants and adventurers alike decided to follow Nathan after they discovered the secondary road, deciding it was for the best. One particular cart, had sped by them having beng pulled by a team of Avian, the speed was so great, they weren''t able to make out who it was. However, the cart did clear away some of the debri, making it easier to travel, but not by much.

    Ramol: ¡°So ¡®turbulence¡¯, that would explain the tremors.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So what exactly is turbulence? I know what it is in my world, but yours seem a little difference?¡±

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s when the mana veins of the world are in flux, causing the air around to become un-traversable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Kyr: The world, Leseres, has its own mana-flow, which travels to vein-like channels deep beneath the ground. Most things in nature have mana because of that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Kyr?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Ah, I-I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no its fine, please continue.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Well, you see, deep underground are veins in which the world¡¯s mana travels and for the most part that where it remains. However, sometimes the veins deep underground, for some reason, close off and that is what we call a Flux.  Because of that, the mana in that area will have nowhere to go and slowly build up until it bursts out and each reaches the surface. Tremors and the like, that¡¯s one of the first signs of Flux, other signs are creatures leaving the area to avoid being caught up in the mana flow. Once it reaches the surface, the area is flooded with the world¡¯s mana, at that point it becomes ¡®Turbulence¡¯.

    Nathan: ¡°So when it¡¯s underground and building up its flux and when it reaches the surface it becomes turbulence.¡±

    Kyr: ¡°Right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s the big deal, why don¡¯t we just travel through it?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°You can¡¯t, you will be affected by the worlds Mana. We all have our own natural mana flow, specific to us constantly flowing through our bodies. However, if we were to enter ¡®Turbulence¡¯, the world¡¯s mana flow will flow through us as well. There will be two different mana flows and our bodies can¡¯t handle the pressure. As your mana flow fights for dominance, it will feel like your body¡¯s being ripped apart. You would go mad as the mana of the world slowly corrupts your body. That is how Regrest come to be.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Regrest?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°For the poor souls unable to escape in time, their mana and the world¡¯s mana fight to travel the limited space in our own mana channels. Just like the world itself, we also have mana channels, albeit not as big as the world channels or as strong. When that happens, the victims lose all traces of themselves losing themselves to the extreme pain of having to different mana flows forcing there way through your body. They go insane and can no longer be reason with, they will attack anything that comes into sight. So even after the Turburlence dissapate, the road would still be close, so the knights and or Adventurer can search the area and finish anyone or anything that beacame a Regrest."

    Nathan: ¡°Regrest huh¡­but Iris can do stuff like restore mana, why doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡±

    Kyr: ¡°She¡¯s not really giving you her mana, but instead refilling yours. It¡¯s easier to say she accelerates the rate in which it is restored.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wow, Kyr, I never knew you were this smart.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Of course¡­why do you think I leave most of the document work to him?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I can think of a few good reasons.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anyway, Kyr, that was well put-together, I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    Kyr, acting bashful, being praised by everyone returned to sit next to his brother.

    Nathan: ¡°Well I guess from the other carts that have past us and the one behind, it¡¯s gonna be awhile before the road opens back up.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It could, I heard of times when Turbulence lasted for two whole weeks and that one just started today.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How long was the shortest?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Um well without a doubt it lasts for at least one whole day.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Then we would have been there all night, that could have been trouble.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It¡¯s a good thing Nathan returned with the map, how you get the guard to give it to you?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah¡­he wouldn¡¯t even give me the time of day.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡­ appealed to his gentlemen-like nature and oh so kindly asked him to set his duties aside to help the fragile-like me to continue their journey.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­What?¡±

    Anais: ¡°He tricked him into given him the map.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah, gotcha.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Still feeling bitter about it, huh? And right after you said all that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Keep it up, and I¡¯ll teach Iris some ways she could better ¡®serve¡¯ her Master.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡±

    Iris: ¡°There are ways I can better serve Master!? Please enlighten me¡­¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Like hell I¡¯m gonna let you learn them.¡±

    Nathan and Anais bickered back and forth, with Iris confused on the topics as per usual.

    *Kweeeeeeeeeeeh*

    Anais: ¡°What was that?¡±

    Up ahead the sound of battle could be heard. The carriage that had passed them earlier was under attack by a group of giant lizard-monsters. They were blocking the way; it seems that their nest was alongside the road. There were some adventurers defending the cart, but they were clearly outnumbered.

    Anais: ¡°Should we help?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, we are all traveling the same road, I think it¡¯s only fair.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You gonna be okay¡­? You haven¡¯t fully recovered yet, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s cool. I got this. Iris and Ena, you come as well. Anais, you and Ash protect the cart, just in case there are still some hiding in the woods.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Okay.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Nathan threw down some seeds to which some Uzy and Snyare plants popped up from below. With that, he jumped out of the cart and sped up the road. He reached the cart in no time. The adventurer party was cutting down the lizards one by one, protecting their employer, per their contract. However, they were completely surrounded by the lizards.

    ??????: ¡°Careful you fool¡¯s, don¡¯t let them near my carriage.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Don¡¯t worry Mr.  Fynel, we¡¯ll be sure to deliver you, and your wares, to our destination safely.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wait, Zane?¡±

    Zane, and his entourage/party, were clearing away the lizards; dutifully keeping their benefactor safe. Upon hearing his name, Zane turned in Nathan¡¯s direction, a smile appearing the minute they made eye contact.

    Zane: ¡°Why, if it isn¡¯t my stray flower, we meet again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. We just saw you stopped and wanted to see if you needed help.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Zane: ¡°Perish the thought, these beasts are but a minor inconvenience, we shall be rid of them momentarily.¡±

    Zane continued slaying the lizards while talking with Nathan, from the looks of things; they didn¡¯t need help at all. Even the girls around him, were making quick work of the lizards. Realizing they were being slaughtered the remaining lizards began to flee from the fight.

    Zane: ¡°Alright ladies, start collecting whatever valuable material from the lizards. When we¡¯re done, burn the bodies.¡±

    The girls all went off, breaking into groups, cutting and shredding the corpses.

    Zane: ¡°Mr. Fynel, we will be done momentarily, please wait a bit longer.¡±

    Fynel: ¡°Whatever, just hurry it up.¡±

    Fynel re-entered his carriage, shutting the door behind him. Once he was safely back inside, Zane made a beeline for Nathan¡¯s group, who were busy chatting amongst themselves.

    Nathan: ¡°He¡¯s pleasant.¡±

    Zane: ¡°He¡¯s just weary, it¡¯s been one thing after another with the roads lately.¡±

    Zane sighed loudly, stress from the multiple road closings he¡¯d had to deal with.

    Ena: ¡°We didn¡¯t even get to fight anything, I came for nothing.¡±

    Ena was sulking over the lack of battle, with Nathan trying to console her.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, when we get to the dungeon you can fight to your heart¡¯s desire.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Your parties also heading for ¡®Viridi Wilds¡¯?¡±

    Zane had come close enough to hear their conversation and overheard their plans, not that it mattered.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, just for a few days. You¡¯re headed that way too?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Yes, we were contracted to escort Mr. Fynel around the dungeon so he can collect materials for his shops.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Mr. Fynel?¡±

    Zane pointed towards the carriage.

    Zane: ¡°The man who just entered, he¡¯s a well-known merchant in both Loegrey and Midheim alike. We were hired to escort him through the dungeon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I see, well since you cleared out the lizards, will you be heading onward?¡±

    Zane: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, for the lizards weren¡¯t the reason we stopped, they are much too slow to keep up with a striding Avian.¡±

    Zane began to walk, and Nathan followed, Iris breaking away from the group to go play with the Avian. Moving to the front of the cart, Nathan saw what was prohibiting progress. Several trees had fallen over into the road and were preventing travel. Not even Ramol¡¯s significantly smaller cart could fit through.

    Zane: ¡°This is rather troubling, on one end ¡®Turbulence¡¯ and on the other, a natural blockade. It seems either way it¡¯s gonna be a while before we pass.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nope, this shouldn¡¯t be a problem, I could clear this right up now.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Really?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, hold on...¡±

    Nathan walked up to the pile of trees; it wasn¡¯t going to be a problem to remove. Opening and closing his hand, producing several seeds, which he tossed onto the ground. The seeds passed into the ground before several large vines sprouted from below.

    Zane: ¡°What!?¡±

    Zane, along with his party, stared in shock of the vines, but Nathan just ignored them. Manipulating his vines, he instructed them to grab hold of the trees and one by one lifting them and tossing them onto either side of the road.

    Nathan: ¡°This shouldn¡¯t take very long; I¡¯ll be done in a little bit. Although this looks like it happened fairly recent.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Remarkable, I never seen magic like this before, an affinity for plants is quite rare.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Forget that, did you hear what I said? This blockade looks like it only recently happened.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Now that you mention it, where they¡¯ve fallen from, it looks as though the ground crumbled and sent them falling.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whoever built this road, should have removed those trees, beforehand.¡±

    Zane: ¡°True, but this road was all but forgotten, rather the trees were there before construction or after, has yet to be determined.¡±

    Nathan and Zane continued contemplating the issue, Zane¡¯s admiration for Nathan was growing ever fonder, to the point where the girls of Zane¡¯s party were now throwing Nathan death stares. Nathan ignored them and continued his work, clearing the road.

    *Rumble*

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Zane: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan swore he heard a rumble coming from beneath the trees, and has he thought that, a crack sprung from beneath the trees and as it did, his ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ became active.

    Nathan: ¡°GET BACK, EVERYONE GET BACK!¡±

    Zane: ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°NO TIME, MOVE YOUR CART BACK NOW!¡±

    *Ruuuuuuuuuummmmmmmble*

    Zane did as he was told and order his party to move the carts back. NO sooner did it start rolling away, the ground began to collapse beneath them, dragging with it the trees and debris. Nathan and Zane leapt back just in time to not fall in, with everything else, but they lost some of the materials they had gathered from the lizards.

    Zane: ¡°Is everyone okay?¡±

    Zane did a head count and found everyone to be safe. By this time a few other carriages who¡¯d followed had shown up and had seen what happened.

    Anais: ¡°Nathan!¡±

    Anais ran over to Nathan, who was already being hounded by Iris. Nathan assured her he was okay and to remember to keep quiet, less someone would hear her.

    Nathan: ¡°Everything¡¯s fine Anais. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What happened!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Looks like the tremors knocked down the trees on to what looked like a bridge.¡±

    Fynel: ¡°WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, YOU¡¯VE RUINED SOME OF MY MERCHANDISE YOU CLUMSY GIRL!!¡±

    ???????: ¡°YOUR LUCKY I WAS ABLE TO SAVE IT AT ALL OR WOULD YOU RATHER EVERYTHING HAD GONE OVER THE EDGE!?¡±

    Fynel: ¡°INSOLENT WENCH!¡±

    Nathan turned to see one of Zane¡¯s girls arguing it out with Fynel. When Zane gave the word, she hurriedly moved the carriage, but the sudden U-turn caused some of Fynel¡¯s merchandise to be destroyed.

    Fynel: ¡°IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR THIS YOU FOOLISH WOMAN?¡±

    Fynel raised his hand to strike the girl, which at that moment Zane stepped in front of Fynel.

    Fynel: ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Zane bowed apologetically to Fynel.

    Zane: ¡°Mr. Fynel I humbly apologize for the loss of your merchandise, please feel free to deduct the necessary funds from the reward.¡±

    Fynel: ¡°Of course, I was already going to do as such.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Good, now then.¡±

    Zane stood back up and scowled down at Fynel, causing him to jump in fright.

    Zane: ¡°I ask that you refrain from raising your hand to a member of my party. Any and all complaints are to be directed to me, and me alone.¡±

    Fynel: ¡°H-How dare you, is this how you speak to your employer?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Well, then shall we end our employ here?¡±

    Fynel looked to the girl and then sucked air through his teeth as he climbed back into his coach.

    Fynel: ¡°WHATEVER, JUST HURRY THE HELL UP AND GET MOVING. DON¡¯T LET HER STEER MY CARRIAGE AGAIN!¡±

    *SLAM*

    Zane sighed out loud and then turned to the girl standing next.

    ???????: ¡°Zane, I-I¡¯m sorry, I was-¡±

    Zane placed a hand on her shoulder.

    Zane: ¡°Jasmine, you did well.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°But his merchandise-¡±

    Zane: ¡°Can all be replaced, unlike his life, which you saved with your quick reaction, just. So, don¡¯t get yourself down.

    Feeling better, she headed over towards the rest of her party members to finish gathering materials. Zane turned to Nathan, who alongside his party were looking at the path ahead.

    Ash: ¡°So you think you can do it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well I can try, I¡¯ve done something similar before, but to support the weight of the carts, I have to reinforced them somehow.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Everything alright?¡±

    Nathan and company turned to Zane as he approached them.

    Nathan: ¡°I could ask you the same thing.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Oh, no. That is of no pressing matter, he¡¯ll be fine as soon as we get moving again. Still, to raise my voice to my employer is unacceptable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But you did anyway?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Though I¡¯m not proud of it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, sticking up for your party, and though it might hurt you in the end, I might have to change my impression of you.¡±

    Zane: ¡°If my Stray Flower¡¯ opinion of me changes for the best, then it was well worth the risk.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And you lost me, stop calling me Stray Flower.¡±

    Zane looked over the edge to find that there was river down below. The river was deep and raging, it could not have just been made from the debris. As from where he stood, there was no way to cross on foot, but the path lead right across it.

    Zane: ¡°There must have been a bridge here, the falling trees must have smashed it and been sent down the river.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That is what we¡¯re thinking too, we¡¯ll need to make a bridge that will let us pass over for ourselves.¡±

    Zane: ¡°That could take a while and the Turbulence won¡¯t be ending for another thirty-eight hours.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not necessarily, I can build a bridge out of vines. My Snyare plants are really strong and could easily support the weight of carriages.¡±

    Zane: ¡°But?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I have no idea how to build a bridge. I mean I can just make some vines to stretch to the other side, but I don¡¯t know any of the intricacies to make it an ¡®effective bridge¡¯.¡±

    Zane: ¡°That¡¯s an uncertainty we have to remedy if we wish to cross.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we ask any of the other cart occupants if they know of a way of building a bridge, a bunch of them just showed up, there could be some ones who know about construction.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Most of the people who followed are merchants, and their hired Adventurers, which are heading for the dungeons, I¡¯m not sure if they will be of any help.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Worth a shot.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, while you do that, I¡¯ll get things ready.¡±

    From there, they all split up and started to ask around the various carts. They were more cooperative than they thought they would be, mostly was because they didn¡¯t want to have to go back and wait for the turbulence to end. After about thirty minutes, they had successfully found several people who had experience building bridges and returned to Nathan to find him no longer there.

    Nathan: ¡°HEY, OVER HERE!¡±

    To their surprise Nathan was now on the other side of the riverbank waving to them.

    Nathan: ¡°DID YOU FIND ANYONE?¡±

    Ash: ¡°A FEW, THEY¡¯RE WILLING TO SHOW YOU WHAT TO DO, JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°JUST GETTING THINGS READY.¡±

    Zane: ¡°MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DID YOU GET OVER THERE?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I WAS THROWN!¡±

    Nathan could see the confusion on his face and decided to demonstrate.

    Nathan: ¡°JUST STAND BACK A BIT, I¡¯LL SHOW YOU.¡±

    Everyone did as ask but they were confused as to why. Surely Nathan wasn¡¯t able to leap across this gap.

    Nathan walked up to his Snyare plant which grabbed him.  Everyone thought they heard a loud squeak, but that was quickly forgotten, as watched in shock as the vine began to rapidly spin. Then they watched in horror as the vine unravel from around Nathan and sent him soaring into the air.

    (Group): ¡°WHAAAAAAAT!?¡±

    Nathan soared into the air, easily clearing the river before reaching cleanly on the other side with a light tapping sound when he landed. Anais who had changed into her rodent form, tumbled from Nathan¡¯s hood and collapsed onto the ground, eyes spinning from the journey. Nathan graciously picked her up and silently apologized, before turning to the group who were still in shock from the spectacle, Zane and Ash included.

    Nathan: ¡°What are you all doing gawking like that, are we building this thing or not?"

 Chapter 91: The Night Before

    <u>Chapter 91: The Night Before </u>

    It had taken three hours, a bunch of mistakes and a close call, but Nathan finally built a sturdy bridge on which everyone could make it safely across the river. It took some convincing on his part; many believing thought there was no way vines could make an effective bride. However, after many adventurers tried cutting the vines to no avail, slowly he was able to change their minds.

    Nathan and several others were all standing on the bridge and found it sturdy enough, but they needed to test it with the carriages. Problems in which even with their own bodies being supported, no one was willing to test their carts or carriages. In the end Ramol volunteered and slowly he drove the carriage out onto the bridge. It was a scary moment in his life, but his fear was misplaced. The carriage rode cleanly across the bridge to the other side.

    Soon everyone else had followed and soon everyone had crossed the bridge. Not far up ahead was a large forest and I was told that this was the forest in which the dungeon lay. We were on a round-about path, but it would get them there sooner than later.

    Nathan: ¡°Almost there?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°More or less, this is a really round-about path, it takes us full circle around Lake Viridi.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°There¡¯s a lake?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yup, but this road takes us all the way around it to reach the dungeon.¡±

    Ash: ¡°They weren¡¯t kidding when they said it was round-about way, but at least we¡¯re past the Turbulence.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yeah, but at this rate we won¡¯t even make it to the rest stop.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Rest stop?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not too far away from the dungeon, there is a designated safe-area where you can rest and setup tent for the night. But he¡¯s right; we might just have to make camp for the night.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I Think your idea; has already been put into motion.¡±

    Up ahead, they once again spotted Fynel¡¯s carriage on the side of the road. Their tents were out, and they were setting up for the night.

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Zane, you guys are gonna camp here?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Indeed, this area has the making of a safe-zone. If we press on any further, we will have to travel the unfamiliar road at night.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Then we¡¯ll join you, ah, if that¡¯s okay with everyone.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No other choice, the suns about to go down and not all of us can travel at night.¡±

    Kyr, Ramol and Ena were unable to see in the dark as well as everyone else, so if they were attacked, they couldn¡¯t do much. They pulled they¡¯re cart over to the side of the road and started to clear the area for camping. It didn¡¯t take long for them to rid the area of grass and debris, with Anais and Iris¡¯s magic they had cleared an area much larger than they actually needed. Before they knew it, several other carts had taken up residence in the unused area, not before making sure it was okay with Nathan and party.

    Ash: ¡°Okay, who¡¯s gonna set up tent?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nobody.¡±

    Nathan opened his hand to several seeds Ash hadn¡¯t seen before. Nathan then spread the seeds out over the area. Ash, and several others, watched as a large flower sprouted from the ground. The flower head turned towards the ground and created walls to what looked like a small cabin. Two petals folded up from the ground creating an entry way so the occupants could enter. When all was done, three housing plants had been magnificently grown.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright guys, one for the girls, one for the siblings and one for me and Ash.¡±

    Ash: ¡°W-What the hell are those!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Housing plants, it what I was talking about before. The petals are strong and prevent anyone from seeing inside as the head of the plant is luminescent, so there is plenty of light if you want and also it cures fatigue, which I desperately need right now and more importantly, it a natural safe-zone, nothing dangerous will come within ten meters of this baby.¡±

    Ash took a look inside, it was much bigger on the inside to find it full furnished, a bed made from petals and leaves respectively, a desk-like stand sticking out of the wall and even a place to store all his weapons on the wall.

    Anais: ¡°Hey, you don¡¯y have a kitchen.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, no-one¡¯s cooking besides me right now and I thought you all would like to sprucen-up, so I made a shower instead. Though I couldn¡¯t get it up to Saria¡¯s standards.¡±

    Saria¡¯s housing plant had a kitchen and separate rooms all in one plant. Also, she had a design with little intricacies Nathan just couldn¡¯t replicate. Nathan could have made a kitchen, but then he couldn¡¯t have made the shower and he couldn¡¯t make a third room at all. It was all he was capable of at the moment, but it was a good first try anyway.

    Ash: ¡°Did I ever tell you how much I enjoy being a member of your party?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You can stand to say it a little more. Well with that done, all we need is something to eat.¡±

    Ash: ¡°We got plenty to eat, let¡¯s go gather some fire wood, while there still some light left.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Actually, I gonna take a walk and plant a few seeds, just to make sure we don¡¯t get attacked while were resting.¡±

    Nathan and Iris left them behind and walked the perimeter of the carts.  Once he was out to the outer edge of the area, he placed a seed and walked around placing several more as he walked the perimeter.

    Iris: ¡°Master, do want your plants to attack the other adventurers?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Only if they warrant an attack, I¡¯ll ask Zane to spread the word not to approach threateningly.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Okay, but after this you really need to rest. I¡¯ve been keeping your mana from running out, but you look exhausted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Building that bridge took a lot out of me, I¡¯ll rest as soon as we get back.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I will make sure you do just that.¡±

    They continued there walk around the edge of the camp, planting some seeds along the outer perimeter. If anything tried to come towards them while they slept, they would be instantly alerted by the sound of ¡®Uzy¡¯ fire. With the security finished, Nathan began to gather some firewood. Ena and Anais stayed behind to watch the housing plants and Ramol and Kyr were preparing the ingredients to be cooked. That left Ash to gather firewood by himself, he could only carry so much by himself and it would be too suspicious if he came back empty-handed after using his Inventory.

    Anais: ¡°YOU SONUVA BITCH!¡±

    Ena: ¡°GOTCHA YOU PERVERT!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Nathan ran back to camp, Ash hearing the screaming came running over as well. When they returned, they found a group of people huddled around their housing plants. Pushing passed them they found Ena and Anais, holding someone to the ground. Soaking and wet, with a towels wrapped around their bodies ignoring their current state, they stood atop Fynel the merchant. Nathan quickly had the petals come down and hid the two from sight.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Right, alright people, move away, nothing to see here, time to get going. Hey, Hey, Hey, I see you peeking, get outta here.¡±

    Ash, Ramol and Kyr cleared the crowd while Nathan approached the girls. Zane had also come over, to find his contractor on the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°Ena and Anais, what the hell!?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What are you doing to our contractor!?¡±

    Anais: ¡°This fucking pervert was spying on us in the shower.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Mr. Fynel?¡±

    Fynel: ¡°GET OFF ME I DID NOTHING WRONG! HURRY UP AND GET THEM OFF ME.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, Zane.¡±

    Zane: ¡°I understand, we will get to the bottom of this, but first; could you let him up, he is still in my care.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Nathan nodded and the girls let Fynel get up.

    Fynel: ¡°HOW DARE YOU LET THEM TREAT ME THIS WAY, DO LOOK SO POOR AS TO BE INTERESTED IN THESE FILTHY WOMEN!?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Can I crush the pervert already?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Both of you go back inside, your drawing a lot of attention. The petals can only do so much.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s stopping him from trying again?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, go finish your shower.¡±

    Ena and Anais reluctantly walked back inside, giving Fynel a death glare as they disappeared inside. Zane lead Fynel away, still yelling about what had just transpired. Nathan stood outside the girl¡¯s plant, giving them a piece of their mind.

    Iris: ¡°Master, you said-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I promise I¡¯ll rest after this.¡±

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Fine.¡±

    Nathan: As always, thanks for worrying about me.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No need for thanks, it¡¯s a given.¡±

    _

    _

    Nathan was able to take his long-earned rest sitting around the campfire listening to his friend¡¯s conversations while they ate. The sun had disappeared and campfire around was the only source of light.

    Anais: ¡°Fucking pervert!...should have burnt him to a crisp.¡±

    Ena: ¡°We had every right to stomp him flat, I wish you hadn¡¯t stop us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Just wait until Zane comes over, he¡¯ll get to the bottom of this. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to clear things up.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Are you taking his side right now?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, he definitely did something wrong, I¡¯m just saying if he was trying to spy on you there was easier ways to do it, but he took the time to climb up on the roof. It was still plenty of daylight out; no way no-one didn¡¯t see him up there.¡±

    Anais and Ena explained to Nathan, that while they were showering, they heard a noise on the roof and when they went to investigate, they caught Fynel on the roof spying on them.

    Anais: ¡°That does seem kind of unnecessary.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right?¡±

    Anais: ¡°If I were going to spy on you I wouldn¡¯t be up there, I would have walked around back where no one could see me and peaked under the flower pedals. The walls my not let you see through them from the way there overlapped, but the pedals could still be lifted up a bit.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, Yup.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And then in my rodent form I would he gone under them and climbed around to the back of the shower head where I could have a birds-eye view while still staying well out of sight.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s enough Anais, you can stop.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Or if I wanted a lower position, I hide behind the flowers coming out of the walls near the floor; it would be the best place to watch as you moved to wash-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°ANAIS, PLEASE STOP TALKING!¡±

    Anais came out of her thoughts to see all eyes on her, except Nathan who had his hand in front of his face, hiding his shame.

    Anais: ¡°I-I mean that how would do it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hey hold up¡­what was all that detail?

    Ramol: ¡°Master Nathan, please explain what that was.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°At any point, did your ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ activate? It should have; with any malicious intent.¡±

    Ash: ¡°(He ignored us.)¡±

    Ramol: ¡°(We were ignored.)¡±

    Both girls shook their heads, saying no, while Ramol and Ash noticed Nathan¡¯s subject change.

    Nathan: ¡°Then it¡¯s a good chance, he wasn¡¯t out to see you both naked. I¡¯m not on his side, what he did was wrong and he needs to pay for it, I¡¯m just saying it probably wasn¡¯t his goal.¡±

    Zane: ¡°So he claims.¡±

    Walking towards the group. Zane appeared, with his usual smile gone.

    Zane: ¡°Evening all, might I join you?¡±

    Nathan tossed a seed and a large flower they were using for chairs sprouted up from the ground.

    Zane: ¡°Amazing as always.¡±

    Zane took a seat and Anais wasted no time and asking.

    Anais: ¡°So what happened, where¡¯s the pervert?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Yes about the incident¡­¡±

    Zane stood back up and bowed deeply toward Anais and Ena.

    Zane: ¡°I whole-heartedly apologize for the shame my client brought down upon you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Huh, why the hell are you apologizing?¡±

    Ena: ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So what, he admitted to spying?¡±

    Zane: ¡°No, in fact he still firmly denies the accusation, saying he had no interest in the women. Though he did see you, it wasn¡¯t his intention. It seems his only interest was that.¡±

    Zane pointed over to the housing plant.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, what for?¡±

    Zane: ¡°He wanted to know where you got them and how it functioned. He thought they would make excellent items to sell.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I figured that was what he was after.¡±

    Zane: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, Ramol¡¯s been telling me how valuable most of my plants are.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Of course, mobile safe-house, that you can carry anywhere in your pocket, not only does it have a comfortable interior, it even comes with facilities and always have a pleasant flowery smell. More importantly, monsters won¡¯t come near it and it takes absolutely no time to set up, the sheer capitol I could make on those alone, is tremendous.¡±

    Ramol kept preaching about the benefits of selling them, Nathan turned back to Zane, who understood what he was saying.

    Nathan: ¡°But, only ¡®I¡¯ can make them.¡±

    Nathan closed his hand and pretended to chant under his breath. He then opened his hand to reveal a ball of light.

    Zane: ¡°Ah, this is what was flowing from you earlier today.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yes, this, what I call a seed. It¡¯s how I use my magic plants. In order to make the plants I need these.¡±

    Zane: ¡°I see, and if you don¡¯t plant them.¡±

    As if on cue, the ball of light in Nathan¡¯s hand faded away.

    Nathan: ¡°It disappears, but that time it was only because of me, but even if I didn¡¯t do it, given enough time without being planted, they would vanish.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Ah so it is indeed impossible.¡±

    Zane understood immediately that they were in sellable, there was no need to go into further detail.

    Nathan: ¡°Then again, even if it I could sell them, I wouldn¡¯t sell to him.¡±

    Zane: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Even if by accident, he did peek on my party members and he didn¡¯t even have the decency to apologize. How could I, in good conscience, even acknowledge the idea of working with him, when he can¡¯t even apologize for his own mistake?¡±

    Zane: ¡°A valid point, I will not bring up the topic again.¡±

    Zane stood up and bowed once again.

    Zane: ¡°Then I will take my leave.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah.¡±

    With that, not really accomplishing anything, Zane turned to leave.

    Iris: ¡°That man apologizes an awful lot.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I get apologizing for your party members, but for Fynel, it¡¯s a little strange.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He probably thought he needed to do something to compensate, he feels responsible, because he was supposed to be guarding him.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Adventurers shouldn¡¯t be made to cover for their clients actions. Our job is to protect them and nothing more.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I agree, but on the other hand, I might have done the same thing, that just how valuable the plants you grow are.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°But I think you at least have the decency to apologize afterwards.¡±

    Anais and Ena gave Ramol a death-stare.

    Ramol: ¡°O-Of course, I would.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I hope so; I¡¯ll just have to force an apology out of him.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not yet, when Zane¡¯s contract is done, how about the two of you pay him a visit.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Oh that sounds like fun.¡±

    Ena: ¡°I¡¯ll get that pervert, just you watch.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hey Ramol, come here for a second.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°M-Me?¡±

    Ramol walked over to Nathan, who promptly whispered something into his ear. Upon hearing what he had to say, Ramol went wide eyed.

    Ramol: ¡°Yes that would actually help a lot.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright, hey girls, Ramol here gonna help you out with your revenge thing.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Help us out?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, knowing you two, you probably go after him, spells and fist a blazing.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Nothing wrong with that.¡±

    Anais: ¡°It worked with Morty.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Except Fynel, isn¡¯t a scumbag. ¡°

    Anais and looked at Nathan as if he were stupid.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay he is a scumbag, but he¡¯s a respected scumbag and we can¡¯t have our vendetta get in the way of Ramol¡¯s business. He being associated with us and all might not sit well with his guild if we were to hurt their profit by openly pummeling him.

    Ramol: ¡°Yes, that is a distinct possibility.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So I suggest this instead.¡±

    Nathan talked a while longer, explaining his plan to them.

    Anais: ¡°A long term problem, instead of a short-term pummeling, I like this plan.¡¯

    Ena: ¡°But there so much waiting, I want to punch him now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Be patient, you just have to make do with the monsters in the dungeon. You can punch him later.¡±

    Ena: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..Fine.¡±

    Ena set there pouting for a while, not getting to cause bodily harm to Fynel really got her down. After a while she cheered up, mostly because the food Nathan prepared. They didn¡¯t remember who it was, but somebody yawned. After the initial yawn, the contagion spread like wildfire and soon everyone was heading off to bed. Everyone headed off except Nathan who decided to take a walk. He promised Iris he wouldn¡¯t stray from the safe-zone, it was the only way to get her to let him walk by himself. He strolled around, staring into the distance.

    Not far off was a lake, the moon¡¯s reflection off its surface was an enchanting sight. The night time wildlife was alive with the sounds of monsters and animals alike, it was eerie yet ambient sound as he stared at the lake. It was just past that that he would finally be at the dungeon. After all he been through, a three-hour cart ride didn¡¯t seem like much. The anticipation was driving him wild, if not for his Calm Mind, he would be pumping his fist and jumping around.

    He took one last look and decided to head back, any longer and Iris would come searching.

    *SLAP*

    Nathan: ¡°What the?¡±

    Nathan was confused as to why, but without a doubt, that was the sound of someone being hit in the face. In the darkness Nathan could see a few figures huddle around a dull light. If not for his excellent sight, he wouldn¡¯t have even noticed it. It was a little beyond the distance Iris wanted him to travel, but his was curiosity was getting the best of him.

    He decided to take a look, quiet ducking behind some bushes to see what was happening. Getting closer to the light source, he found it was a group of women, more precise it was Zane¡¯s entourage.

    ????????: ¡°You fool!...do you have any idea what you done?¡±

    Reaching the area, Nathan was taken aback by what he was seeing. Much like a mob, the group of women was huddled over the girl Nathan recognized as Jasmine. She was on the ground and holding her hand to her face; from the pain of being slapped.

    Nathan: ¡°(quietly)What the hell are they doing?...¡±

 Chapter 92: Morning Blossom

    <u>Chapter 92: Morning Blossom</u>

    Melanie: ¡°Mmhmm~¡±

    Melanie stretched her arms high into the air as she leaned up in bed. She didn¡¯t understand what it was, but she felt oddly refreshed this morning. The sluggishness cause from the illness usually left her weak and in need of assistance to get out of bed, but today she was up early, the sweat that leisurely covered her body was not there, she felt like a brand-new person.

    Melanie: ¡°I haven¡¯t felt this well in years, what could be the reason?¡±

    Melanie thought about it for only a moment, before casting the thought aside. There was no need to know the reason why, only that she felt well. With a spring in her step she sprang out of bed, doing a quick morning stretch, before dis-robing and heading off to the shower. The morning air was chilly on her bare skin, but for once she enjoyed the feeling. Stepping into her bathroom, she turned on the shower, letting it run and giving it a chance to warm up. As she reached out to test the waters¡¯ temperature, she turned to her bathroom mirror. For a moment her mind went blank, because what she was seeing was so surreal, she thought she was still dreaming. But the moment soon passed and realization kicked in.

    Melanie: ¡°KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?¡±

    Melanie¡¯s scream echoed through the hallways of the mansion, alerting several of the staff who made a beeline for their master¡¯s bedroom. Barging into the room, they looked back in forth for their master.

    Guard: ¡°Master Melanie!?¡¯

    Melanie broke from her shock just in time to shut and lock the bathroom door, right before the guard barged in.

    Guard: ¡°Master Melanie, what¡¯s wrong, please open the door.¡±

    Melanie wanted to cry, just when she thought the day was going to be a good one, her reflection in the mirror made her thought otherwise.

    The guard tried vigorously to open the door, to no avail.

    Melanie: ¡°I¡¯m fine, please leave.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Master please open the door, we need to make sure you¡¯re okay.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Captain Audrey.¡±

    Audrey stepped into the bedroom which was now full of staff-workers, donning a rather strange head piece, not strange as in how it looked, but the fact that Audrey was wearing one at all.

    Audrey: ¡°All of you, leave here at once, I will handle things.¡±

    Guard: ¡°Captain Audrey, apologies, but we have secured our master safety before-¡±

    Audrey: ¡°I will do just that, you may go.¡±

    The guards were hesitant to depart, but a glare from Audrey sent them scurrying away. The guards went on about their duties, but Melanie¡¯s personal maid-staff remained outside the room. Once she was sure everyone was gone, she unlocked the bedroom door before heading over to the bathroom.

    *Knock Knock*

    Audrey: ¡°Master Melanie, there all gone, please open the door.¡±

    Melanie didn¡¯t budge, in fact she wasn¡¯t even at the door, she had gone back to the mirror and was staring at the foreign object sprouting from her head. She didn¡¯t know what to do and she didn¡¯t want anyone to see what had happened, but Audrey words in that moment sent her flying to the door.

    Audrey: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Master, I know, there¡¯s no reason you should be worried, everyone has one or two blemishes on their bodies.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°What?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°It¡¯s true, even if they it ¡®sprout¡¯s from the top of your head, they are nothing to worry about.¡±

    Audrey¡¯s odd choice of words seemed to confuse the maids standing outside the door, but Melanie seemed to understand. She quickly opened the door, Audrey immediately entering and shutting and locking the door.

    Melanie: ¡°How-¡±

    Audrey: ¡°How do you think?¡±

    Audrey looked up to see the same thing sprouting from Melanie¡¯s head was a white flower, with the tips slowly turning black. Melanie then watched as Audrey removed her head gear revealing the same thing, a white flower that was slowly turning black.

    Audrey: ¡°See, I too have a similar blemish, but its best to let things like this, tend to itself.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°What on Leseres is happening to us?¡±

    Audrey reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handing over to Melanie. She placed a finger to her lips, imploring Melanie to remain silent.  Audrey then began to cast a spell that kept anyone from hearing what they had to say.

    Audrey: ¡°This morning there was a noise outside my bedroom window, when I went to investigate, I found this. Melanie took the paper, viewed its content, her eyes went wide with shock.

    Audrey by the time you read this I will have left the city, it was too dangerous for me to speak up before, so burn this letter after you read it. You¡¯ll probably notice the flower now sprouting from yours and Melanie¡¯s head, it was my doing, but do not pull it out. The flower is slowly cleansing your and Melanie¡¯s body of the poison you are being infected with. Yes, neither of you are sick, or have an incurable disease, your both were being slowly poisoned to death to make it seem like an illness. Your favorite candle is the way they introduce the poison to your body and by ¡®they¡¯ I mean the people who are working for you. I realized this when we sat down to chat, the poison is released every time you light the candle, that is also the reason why you are never disturbed by any of your staff or why they promptly evacuate the room after lighting it. I don¡¯t know how many there are, but from the moment I entered your home I felt eyes observing me, even when the three of us were alone, I always felt eyes on us. Someone wants you two dead and they wanted it to look like natural causes. I don¡¯t know who, but I wanna at least give you a fighting chance. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can yank the flower out and be done with it. Otherwise, you and Melanie should leave quickly and quietly, before they realize what the flower is doing to you. Again, you¡¯re in danger, get out as soon as possible and get somewhere safe.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    -Nathan

    Melanie looked back in forth between the letter and Audrey in disbelief.

    Melanie: ¡°Do you believe this?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°I didn¡¯t at first; however I made a strange discovery this morning.¡±

    After reading the message this morning, Audrey quickly made a beeline for the storage room. Making sure she wasn¡¯t spotted by any of the staff, she entered the store room and secured it so no-one may enter. Upon her investigation, she found that, the candles that should have been stored there were nowhere to be found.

    Melanie: ¡°We received a supply of them just this month, how can they not be there?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Exactly, there are no other store rooms for such things, besides the one for the staffs personal effects, sadly my investigation won¡¯t permit me entering there without drawing suspicion.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°What¡­I¡­but why?¡±

    A sudden feeling of dread came across Melanie, for the longest time she believed she was dying. If what Nathan said is true, then someone close to her wanted her and Audrey dead.

    Audrey: ¡°Milady, please calm down, breathe.¡±

    Melanie took a deep breath and regained her composure.

    Melanie wouldn¡¯t waste time pondering who it was that wanted her dead, when there were only a few who would go through such a meticulous method. What they needed to do now was to leave in a way that would not look suspicious, a way that they were sure not to be followed.

    Melanie: ¡°Is there anyone here we can trust?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know where to begin. Many different servants have one time or another, lit that candle several times throughout the years. It would be impossible to tell who exactly is trustworthy and who is not.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Then we must assume that, everyone except the ones hired off-hand is.

    Audrey: ¡°Master.¡±

    Melanie was angrier than she had ever been in her life. She had come to believe the people here as her family, but the entire time they were out to kill her and Audrey.  She should have guessed this long ago, where she came from there is no one you can trust. Melanie tossed the letter into a waste basket and then quickly tossed a fireball in, burning the contents to ash.

    Audrey: ¡°I have already begun preparation, we are leaving.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Audrey?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°It hard for me to say, but I no longer believe I can protect you here. A ocean between us and that family is still causing us problems. We are surrounded by invisible foes, hiding in plain sight. However, if you wish to stay, I could slay everyone in this mansion; it wouldn¡¯t take much effort.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Audrey, you can¡¯t, some of them could be innocent.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°And it¡¯s with thoughts like that we must leave, as quickly and as quietly as possible, for your sake and theirs.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Alright what do we do?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°First we get out of this bathroom and get you dressed, I think been nude long enough.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Ah!?¡±

    Melanie blushed a bit, realizing for the first time that she was standing there buck-naked. She grabbed a towel and wrapped around her, taking another towel and wrapping it around her head to hide the flower.

    Audrey: ¡°Just continue the day as if you would any other, I will come for you later this evening. Everything we¡¯ll be ready by tonight, take anything you need, but remember to carry light.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Where will we go?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about that just yet, for now let¡¯s just get as far away as possible.¡±

    Audrey suddenly turned her attention to the door.

    Audrey: ¡°¡­¡­¡­..We¡¯ll continue this later.¡±

    She walked over to the door and place an ear to the door, she could hear the sound of people just outside. Even after she cleared them out, a few seem to have returned.

    Audrey: ¡°Get yourself together, I¡¯m opening it.¡±

    Audrey opened the door of the bathroom to find several of the maid staff, waiting outside.

    Maid: ¡°Master, is everything alright?¡±

    Audrey: ¡°She¡¯s fine, she happened to find a blemish in an undesirable place.¡±

    Maid B: ¡°Oh, dear.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°It was dealt with; she was just a bit surprised.¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Yes it was as Melaine says, I¡¯m sorry to worry you all.¡±

    Maid A: ¡°Master need not apologize; I too overreact on occasion in the case of problematic blemishes.¡±

    Maid B: ¡°Yes, it is all too common, especially you¡¯re first. I¡¯ve never see one on you before.¡±

    Melanie laughed awkwardly, as the maids made small talk about similar situations.

    Maid B: ¡°Then shall we get you dressed?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°Ah, today I will deal with it myself, you need not worry.¡±

    Maid A: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Melanie: ¡°I still a bit embarrassed, I rather no one sees it.¡±

    Maid A: ¡°We don¡¯t really mind, but if that what you wish then we will excuse ourselves.¡±

    The maids bowed their heads respectfully and with peace of mind let the bedroom.

    Melanie: ¡°If they are indeed wolves, they play sheep exceptionally well; they could have very well been sincere.¡±

    Audrey: ¡°nevertheless, this will be the last time. I must go finish preparing, continue to play the sheep until tonight. Be ready, it will be difficult now that the ignorance of yesterday is gone.¡±

    Audrey bowed to Melanie before leaving the room, after which Melanie swiftly locked the door. She immediately went to her drawer and pulled out some clothes and other essentials and stuffing them into a sack she had for carrying. Then she got dressed, stuffing the sack under her bed and out of sight. She then got dressed and headed out of her room. On her way-out, Melanie, took notice of the empty candle holder, which just last night a candle was there, slowly killing her under the guise of therapy.

    She thought back to just how much she loved the scent of those candles and how she would burn several a day and, just like those times, she would have to let the candles burn throughout the day. Melanie felt a since of dread, the thought of allowing herself to be poisoned all day made her go pale, but what choice did she have. Anything but the usual would seem odd, so for the last time she would grin and bear it. To allow death one last embrace; before their joyful parting.

    _

    _

    Ramol: ¡°Is he always like this when he sleeps?¡±

    Ramol, Iris, Anais, Ash, and Kyr watched on as Nathan lay down in the cart asleep. He remained asleep, even into the late hours of the morning. The cart had already been packed and they had continued on their way, with only thirty or so minutes until they reached the dungeon.

    Anais: ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s fine.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t wake him, we¡¯re almost there?¡±

    Iris: ¡°That isn¡¯t necessary, Master doesn¡¯t sleep much to begin with, so I want him to get as much as he can when he does.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It kinda weird, the way he doesn¡¯t move or react to anything at all. It¡¯s like he¡¯s dead. Why does it seem like that?¡±

    Iris: ¡°He says that whenever he sleeps, he has a dream he could never recall, but he always feels as though he understands what he should do next. As if he was enlightened¡±

    Ash: ¡°Like a prophetic dream?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far, it not like he knows what going to happen next. It¡¯s more like the choices he has to make; he makes one and sticks with it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah I gotcha, so how long before he wakes up¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t know, it could be hours or a few minutes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Mmm.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Or right now.¡±

    Nathan leaned up in the cart and stretched his arm into the air.

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s going on, we left camp already?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hours ago.¡±

    Nathan looked around with a blink stare, before it suddenly dawned on him what Ash had just said. He quickly turned to the front of the cart, with up ahead being a forest and they were headed straight into it. It looked like any other forest, but if they were headed toward it, it could only be one thing.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s it isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°That¡¯s it. The dungeon known as Viridi Wilds.¡±

 Chapter 93: Young and Restless

    <u>Chapter 93: Young and Restless</u>

    Nathan¡¯s head spun around a mile a minute, as he tried to soak in everything that he saw. They had entered the forest and not long after had reached an open area where booths and stands had been set up. It felt like a festival as Nathan watched the comings and goings of merchants and adventurers alike, and at the center of it all was a pair of stone steps that led up to a platform; that was the entrance to Viridi Wilds.

    Nathan: ¡°Finally¡­after all the crap I had to put up with, I¡¯m finally here.¡±

    Nathan¡¯s tail wagged back and forth as he stared up the stairs, it was so steep and high that he couldn¡¯t see from where he was situated.

    Nathan: ¡°So that¡¯s the entrance?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yup, Viridi Wilds is right on the other side.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve seen this before.¡±

    Anais: ¡°You too, I just had the same feeling, something similar to this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, for now I¡¯m going up.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hold up, you have to go over there first.¡±

    Ash pointed towards a booth where a few adventurers would stop for a moment before heading up the stairs and into the dungeon.

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s a booth where they sell a dungeon map.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They¡¯ve mapped out the entire dungeon?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s your own personal map that only fills in the path you¡¯ve taken.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very efficient.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well the inside of the dungeon is huge and it¡¯s only open for a week. Unless you wanna be locked in for a year, then you better be out of there before the gate closes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No its fine, basically it keeps other people from finding some sort of secret you stumbled across. If you find something valuable and for some reason need to retrieve it later, since we don¡¯t share maps, it¡¯s a good chance it will still be there when you return.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Th-that it exactly, why do I even explain things to you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No I¡¯m grateful; it¡¯s just the some games in my world¡¯s map-systems¡­work like this.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Ah, I see you¡¯ve all made it.¡±

    Nathan¡¯s group turned to see Zane and his party passing by. Zane then stopped and came over to speak, once he noticed Nathan.

    Zane: ¡°You took your time getting here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I ended up sleeping-in, I was up a bit late.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Tsk, tsk, such is the whims of a stray flower, but one such as yourself should take care not to wonder the midnight hour. Although I do believe, it would be a divine sight, to witness you dance amongst the moonlight.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t call me Stray flower.¡±

    Nathan ignored Zane while watching the carriage go by. Fynel was sitting outside of the carriage, but quickly looked away in fright, trying to avoid eye contact with Anais and Ena, who were making sure he saw them glaring at him. However, Nathan was looking at the ring of girls walking beside the carriage, notably Jasmine. Her face now donned a bandage, one on her cheek and she wore a cloth that hid her neck, but with what happened last night, Nathan wasn¡¯t surprise in the least.

    _

    _

    Midnight, last night¡­

    Nathan stared through the hedges to the group of women, surrounding another on the ground.

    Jasmine: ¡°Elenora, what the hell?¡±

    Elenora: ¡°Shut up, because of you, Zane had to scold our benefactor¡­our benefactor.¡±

    Elenora shook her hand, recovering from the numbness in her hand from slapping Jasmine. Jasmine held her face, now a stinging red from the blow. The other girls stood about, not one moved to help her, not wanting to incur their senior¡¯s wrath.

    Elenora: ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time, before words gets out about Zane¡¯s conduct. Now the most prominent and beneficial Quest-Givers will be hesitant on assigning us jobs, all because you couldn¡¯t drive a carriage. Why are the young ones these days so foolish as to talk-back to the one who will be paying them?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I saved him, he should be thankful that we didn¡¯t fall into the river. You have no right to do this.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°If he can¡¯t sell some of his wares so what,  at least he can still sell them.¡±

    Jasmine glared up at Elenora, even while being surrounding she stood what little ground she had.

    Elenora: ¡°Heh, watch how you speak to me child.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Or what, you think I¡¯m afraid of you, old lady?¡±

    Elenora: ¡°O-Old Lady!?¡±

    Elenora kicked at the girl on the ground, making her slide back.

    Elenora: ¡°Me? Afraid of you? What do I possibly have to be afraid of?¡±

    Jasmine smiled wryly.

    Jasmine: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but hey we only met after I joined the party.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Elenora swiftly kicked Jasmine in her side, several time in anger.

    Elenora: ¡°YOU LITTLE BITCH, YOUR ONLY IN THIS PARTY BECAUSE OF ZANE¡¯S KINDNESS, IF I HAD KNOWN YOU WOULD HAVE-¡±

    Elenora breathed in deep, and then out again, regaining her composure. Jasmine on the other-hand cringed in pain from the kicks.

    Elenora: ¡°So sorry dear, did that hurt?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°You think Zane will be okay with this?¡±

    Elenora: ¡°Hahahahaha, did you hear that girls, the little one gonna tattle.¡±

    Elenora¡¯s words garnered laugh from the girls around them.

    Elenora: ¡°It¡¯s your word against mine child, do you know who your talking to? I¡¯m am Elenora Fairre Staffon. I have been by Zane¡¯s side before you were even a stain in your mother.

    Jasmine: ¡°And yet you can¡¯t stand the fact that you had no say when it came to me joining. Your little test and tribulation meant nothing in the face of Zane''s will.¡±

    Elenora: SHUT UP YOU LITTLE BITCH DON''T PRESUME TO KNOW  WHAT ZANE WANTS! STAND HER UP.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Let me go, let me go.¡±

    Elenora began to chant silently, as the other girls got Jasmine into position.

    Elenora: ¡°You won¡¯t be saying anything to Zane after this, in fact you won¡¯t be saying anything at all.¡±

    Elenora reach for Jasmine¡¯s throat, as a blue mist escaped her hands and entered Jasmine mouths. Jasmine felt a burning sensation around her neck and in her throat, but she couldn¡¯t utter a sound despite the pain. Elenora held tightly to Jasmine¡¯s throat, the urge to strangle her growing stronger every second. However, she wouldn¡¯t give into the urge, Zane would undoubtedly search for her killer for as long as it took, for now she would just take her voice, a lesson she so desperately needed. Elenora did not understand what Zane saw in Jasmine, her attitude along with her conduct, is not befitting of their party.

    Elenora: ¡°And yet he didn¡¯t even ask¡­¡­¡­.I don¡¯t know what happened to make him act this way, but if it must be this way, you will learn your place either way, little girl.¡±

    *ruuuuuuuuuumble*

    Woman A: ¡°Did you hear that?¡±

    Woman B: ¡°Hear what, Hmmm, Waaaaaaaaaaah!?¡±

    Elenora and the rest stopped what they were doing, after seeing a vine curl around one of their friends and hoist her high into the air. In shock, Elenora, let go of Jasmine, who sucked-in some much needed air.

    Woman C: ¡°Kyaaaaa!?¡±

    Woman A: ¡°Heeeeeelllppppp!!!¡±

    More women began to cry as they were also hoisted into the air by the vines.

    Elenora: ¡°Dammit, these must be the plants from the bitch. I didn¡¯t think they were here as well. How big is the safe zone?¡±

    Everyone was told to stay away from the plants while they kept monsters at bay, so she just assumed that they were attracted to the spell she just cast. Elenora cut down any plants that came near her, as did several other women. However, for everyone they cut down, two more took their place.

    *Tssssshhhhh*

    Woman B: ¡°Hey my clothes, my clothes are disappearing, what is this stuff, so gross?¡±

    Woman A: ¡°No I just bought this.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°What in the world?¡±

    The women watched in shock as the captured women¡¯s clothes started to dissolve. The enzyme the tentacles were releasing were slowly dissolving the fabric, giving the tentacles free rein over their bodies.

    Woman A: ¡°Ughn, n-no not there, don¡¯t touch there.¡±

    Woman B: ¡°Stop, you perverted plant, I lose my maritable status.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°What the hell is wrong with that women..? Why would she make such, huh, Kyaaaaaaaaa!?¡±

    Shocked by the sight, Elenora was grabbed by one of the vines. She went to cut it, but several other vines grabbed her wrist and made her lose her weapon.

    Elenora: ¡°Let me go, dammit let me go!¡±

    Elenora looked around and realized she had been the last one standing. All the other women had been captured and had their clothes dissolved and their assets out for the world to see. Sensual moans and heavy breathing filled the air, as the tentacles crawled over every inch of them, covering them in a slimy secretion.

    Elenora¡¯s face went pale when she noticed that a few of the tentacles were snaking their way over to her. She looked down to where Jasmine was but couldn¡¯t find her. Unbeknownst to them, that one particular vine had ensnared Jasmine, and pulled her out of sight of the group of women and towards Nathan.

    Nathan put a finger to his lip, signaling Jasmine not to scream. Jasmine nodded in confirmation and Nathan let her loose, though at the moment she couldn¡¯t scream if she wanted to. Nathan looked over her neck, it was slightly purple from where Elenora had grabbed her so that the hand print, left from how hard she was squeezing, looked awful. Nathan put a hand on Jasmine¡¯s neck; she flinched at first until she felt the soothing aura envelop her. Nathen use ¡®Heal¡¯ to both get rid of the blue spot, heal her throat and where she had been repeatedly kicked.

    Nathan: ¡°There¡­that should do it, how does it feel?¡±

    Jasmine felt her neck, the pain was now completely gone. She also didn¡¯t feel the sting from the slap or the kicks.

    Jasmine: ¡°Y-Yes¡­thank you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good then let¡¯s get out of here, put some bandages on your face and neck, for appearances¡¯ sake, you wouldn¡¯t want them to get suspicious.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Wait, what about them?¡±

    Nathan: "What about them?

    Jasmine: ¡°Your, not gonna leave them like that?¡±

    Nathan looked at her confused; she was still worried about them after what they did.

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re worried about them, from what I just witnessed, they don¡¯t seem all that friendly.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I¡¯m not really; it¡¯s just Zane will be worried.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they will be fine. The vines won¡¯t actually hurt them, I changed the mucous to only dissolve clothes.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Wait, you did that on purpose?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I saw what they were doing to you, so I intervened, don''t tell anyone.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Thank you¡­again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No problem, you still wanna go back and help them? The vines were instructed to *Pffttt* lubricate them a little longer, but if you¡¯re really up for it I can stop it early.¡±

    Just then a few provocative words were heard coming from the bushes.

    Elenora: ¡°Ah, no stop, not there, only Zane is allowed to touch there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wow.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°That woman, is that all she thinks about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, I thought that¡¯s what you all thought?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What? I¡¯m not with Zane for ¡®that¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, my bad, it¡¯s just¡­¡­.you know never mind sorry for saying it.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like any of the girls give anyone a reason to think otherwise.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anyway, you really want me to let them down?¡±

    Jasmine heard Elenora¡¯s cries and remembered how she had been treated.

    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.No, she needs a little lubrication, her skin tends to dry easy at her old age, in a way I¡¯m helping her look that much more, as Zane would put it ¡®radiant as the sun¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pfftttt, he would wouldn¡¯t he?¡±

    Nathan stifled a laugh as he led Jasmine back to camp. She smiled to herself as her fellow teammates moaned into the night.

    _

    _

    Jasmine waved to Nathan and he smiled in return. On their way back to camp they chatted a bit about her circumstances and the reason why Elenora held so much disdain for her. It was a silly reason, but Nathan wasn¡¯t about to pry any deeper than he already had.

    Zane: ¡°You seem to have made friends with Jasmine.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah she¡¯s not so bad.¡±

    Zane: ¡°She could be your closest friend when you finally decide to join my garden.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Zane, it¡¯s like every time I say no; what you seem to ¡®hear¡¯ is: maybe later or I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    Zane ignored Nathan¡¯s comment as if it was a given. Zane¡¯s parade had nearly finished passing, allowing for Nathan and his friends to head towards the booth. Zane smiled as he watched all his party members walk by.

    Zane: ¡°Though I have to say, that my flower garden seems to be even more ¡®radiant¡¯ today than ever.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Like a ray of sunlight, shining so brightly, it absolutely stunning.¡±

    Nathan turned his head away and held in his laugh after listening to Zane. With no way to get rid of the mucous from Nathan¡¯s plants, the girls looked like they had shiny skin. Though it drew the eyes of many of the people around, the truth of the matter was something they were never going to reveal.

    Nathan: ¡°Your right, they are positively glowing.¡±

 Chapter 94: Approaching Danger

    <u>Chapter 94: Approaching Danger</u>

    Nathan stared up at the entrance of the dungeon, sprawled around it were large tree roots. A large tree hugged the far side of the altar, as if trying to consume it, the massive tree trunk and roots completely blocked of the northern half of the large altar, leaving the steps on that side untraversable. The other three sets of steps also had roots, but not so much that the couldn¡¯t be climbed.

    Ramol: ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be heading out tomorrow so if you need us, we¡¯ll be over there.¡±

    Ramol pointed out a small building nearby, where those who were planning to explore the dungeon for the entire week could stay. He made a reservation for one day, so he could head out after a quick look inside.

    Nathan: ¡°You want us to wait for you?¡±

    Ramol had decided to enter the dungeon, with the inventory he planned to gather as much of the vegetation he could in the ¡®Farmer¡¯s Market¡¯.

    Ramol: ¡°That¡¯s okay, I need to park the cart and check in, also I need to put Kyr to bed, I¡¯ll catch up with you later.¡±

    Ramol waved to us as he along with Anais, Ena and Kyr, headed over to the building, leaving around else to head up stairs. Anais and Ena planned to escort Ramol around the dungeon, while Nathan, Iris and Ash planned to complete the trial as quickly as possible; before doing some blind exploring.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright here we go.¡±

    Nathan made his way up the steps, his anticipation growing ever higher. This fact was relayed to everyone else by the force of his tail, creating a small gust as he continued up the stairs, passing under a large root that acted as an arch above the stairs. A large tree¡¯s roots sprawled all around the platform, as if trying to keep it from escaping. At the top of the stairs, Nathan found a platform with several rune circles sprawled across it. All around him groups of people would enter a respective circle before being enveloped in light and vanishing from sight.

    Ash: ¡°NATHAN!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Woah!?

    Nathan turned to Ash, annoyed at him for screaming in his ear.

    Nathan: ¡°Why are you shouting, you gonna bust my ear-drums.¡±

    Ash: ¡°We¡¯ve been calling out to you for a while now, you¡¯re leaving us behind.¡±

    Iris: ¡°We know you¡¯re excited, but please pay attention to your surroundings.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Nathan let everyone catch up, he didn¡¯t realize just how far ahead of them he had gotten. He watched in awe as group after group of people, appeared and or disappeared.

    Ash: ¡°Alright let¡¯s go, you ready?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Dumbest question ever.¡±

    Nathan approached the closest circle to him, ready to be teleported.

    Ash: ¡°No¡­not that one.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, why?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Look at the colors of the circles.¡±

    Nathan looked back and forth, there were a group of red circles, while others were green, the color of the one he was currently standing on being the former. While he examined them, the red one he was standing in began to glow.

    Ash: ¡°The red colored are for exiting while the green are for entering. The glow you¡¯re seeing is someone trying to get out, but being stopped because you¡¯re standing there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oops.¡±

    Nathan hurriedly jumped off, the light erupting from the ground no sooner than he did, forming into a group of adventures and they all turned to look at Nathan.

    Adventurer: ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your problem?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sorry about that guys.¡±

    Female Adventurer: ¡°Hey, well if it isn¡¯t Ash.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°Ash, is this one of your team¡¯s members? What¡­? You were kicked off so many teams your now working with ¡®amateurs¡¯ who don¡¯t even know how to enter a dungeon ?...¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ahahahaha, thems the breaks, but you have to make do huh.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°Hey¡­wait isn¡¯t that the dark-skinned Lycanian?¡±

    Female Adventurer: ¡°The one everyone¡¯s been talking about, my¡­such a little cutie.¡±

    The female adventure poked and prodded Nathan who tried to fight her off.

    Female Adventurer: ¡°Look at you, we sure you would have quit this by now, but here you are...?¡±

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s all I know.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°Well do us a favor and teach him how to be a proper ¡®adventurer¡¯, but first of all; how to get in and out of a dungeon. I mean even a child would understand that. Just how much of a beginner are you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Miss, I really need you to let me go.¡±

    Female Adventurer: ¡°Oh, trying to act tough for big sis, so adorable.¡±

    The two began to laugh out loud at Nathan, the female still holding Nathan in an embrace, while the man continued to ridicule Nathan. While this was happening, Iris was becoming increasingly angrier, every moment the woman was over familiar with Nathan, an anger both Nathan and Ash quickly took note of.

    Ash: ¡°W-Well, nice seeing you, but we got to get a move-on.¡±

    Adventurer: ¡°Alright, good seeing you Ash, seeya shorty, don¡¯t jump in the wrong circle again, the next people who come out might not be as kind-hearted as us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    Female Adventurer: ¡°Bye cutie~¡±

    The woman blew Nathan a kiss , before the two headed off on down the stairs.

    Nathan: ¡°Friends of yours.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You could call them that. Sorry about them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No problem, I mean it¡¯s not like I¡¯m upset or anything. And they weren¡¯t wrong.¡±

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Oh dear.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Iris: ¡°It completely slipped my mind, but I must speak to Anais immediately.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You forgot something? That¡¯s pretty surprising.¡±

    Iris: ¡°These things happen, now if you will excuse me-¡±

    Iris glanced back down the steps at the two who had spoken earlier, a glance that both men caught on to.

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯ll be right back after I speak to Anais, why don¡¯t you two go on without-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Aw, no you don¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan quickly grabbed Iris up and held her tight.

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re not going to blow them away for something silly like this.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, Master¡­the sheer audacity¡­¡­ I mean, what ever do you mean. I merely wish to convey some things to Anais.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your true intention slipped out there.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Nathan held on to Iris, struggling to get free from him, as Ash lead onto an unoccupied circle. Once they were all in the circle, the circle began to glow and then they were enveloped in light.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris I¡¯m not letting you go, so quick struggling.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Curses, I will make them regret what they did to you. Mark my words, they shall rue the day they made light of my Master!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Rue?) What did I say, about talking like a villain?¡±

    When the light subsided, the three had vanished like all the others.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Nathan looked back and forth, what he saw before him was a huge green land. Plains stretched on for miles on end, rivers, mountains and forests laid out into the distance. The area was busting with flora, plants Nathan had never seen and was all too eager to add to his collection, but that could wait for later.

    Ash: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s wrong, we¡¯re back outside.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hold up, calm down, there¡¯s no mistake, this is dungeon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, we¡¯re back outside.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It only looks that way; see, look the landscape has changed completely. This is the ¡®Viridi Wilds¡¯ aka ¡®The Farmers Market¡¯¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, this is a dungeon...?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What were you expecting?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A huge cave with lot of different tunnels, with traps, dead ends, treasure chests and things like that.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Then where would all the flora grow?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, I guess that¡¯s true.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well its not like it doesn¡¯t have those things, I¡¯m sure will come across each while we explore it.¡±

    Nathan looked around in awe, it was beyond his expectations. Much different from the dank dark dungeons of the video games he¡¯d played in and now in which he was rewarded with a vibrant landscape right for the picking.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright I¡¯m going exploring.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Wait, let me fill you in on some things, some rules of the dungeon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Rules?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not actual rules just things you should be wary of.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Wary of, you mean monsters and traps?¡±

    Ash: ¡°More than that, beware the people.¡±

    _

    _

    _

    Jonathan: ¡°Hurry up, we can¡¯t keep stopping.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°If it¡¯s such a bother just leave me behind, that way I don¡¯t have to hear your complaining.¡±

    Jennifer used a staff to prop herself up, as they made their way through the streets of Loegrey. From the hideout they had walked from, being a good two miles, she was now exasperated. She had never left the hideout her entire life and now she was forced to exert energy she previously had never needed to. That and her constant interest in the world around her, the mission that they were on was being delayed, by a good three hours.

    Jonathan: ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, we¡¯ll be on our way. Or you can accept our friends offer to carry you again.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°So he can keep feeling me up!?...I rather drop dead.¡±

    Shane: ¡°I wasn¡¯t feeling you up; I have to hold your bottom to keep you up.¡±

    Shane pushed his hat up and smiled his usual toothy grin, veins appearing on Jennifer¡¯s face as he put out his hand to help her up.

    Jennifer: ¡°Then I guess every time you squeezed my ass, you were read-adjusting your hands?¡±

    Shane: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Hey that¡¯s a good excuse, I¡¯m gonna use it from now on.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Can I kill him now? I¡¯d really like to kill him now¡­¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°You know can¡¯t, my da¡­..Simon, your boss said we had to work with him.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Tch¡±

    Shane: ¡°So sad, now about that ride.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH ME!¡±

    Jonathan sighed and held his head; they were making no progress with the constant bickering. As if he needed another reason for his father to get upset.

    _

    _

    [Midnight 2 days prior]

    Simon: ¡°And just once I think I couldn¡¯t be even more disappointed with you, you let something like this happen.¡±

    Jonathan gritted his teeth, listening to his so-called father speak. After Jonathan finished his report, his father began to ridicule him. Every single time without fail, whenever they spoke it was nothing but spite that left his mouth. His newest so-called failure was completely the making of his now deceased brother, whom Jonathan repeatedly warned him of his actions.

    Simon: ¡°On top of letting your brother die, you lost almost all your men who are now most scattered about, and the mountain of treasure you acquired was stolen.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Stolen, ridiculous, they should be buried under tons of stone and dirt. No-one could have gotten to it that fast.¡±

    Simon: ¡°*Sigh* And yet, when we went to investigate, a tunnel had been made and all the treasure gone.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°A tunnel?¡±

    Jonathan was surprised by this, not only was someone able to build a tunnel through collapsed caves, they were able to locate the hidden room that was separate from the rest of the cave.

    Simon: ¡°Warmwether, if you would please?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Huh me, I-I mean right.¡±

    Ashley stood up from her, fumbling with the documents in her hand. The nervous wreck of girl hardly able to keep her bearing after suddenly being called out to.

    Ashley: ¡°Ah, wait, no not this one, oh no¡­I dropped it.¡±

    Simon: ¡°Any time today Ashley dearie.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°R-RIGHT!¡±

    Ashley, quickly finding the right document, read aloud all the information.

    Ashley: ¡°Upon arriving at the caverns, we found the deceased, Gideon, along with several of our men, stabbed to death with their own weapons. Furthermore, a tunnel had been located leading directly to the treasure chambers, where all of its content had been emptied out. Upon further investigation we found that the tunnel was dug from the inside-out.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°The inside-out¡­¡­¡­¡­impossible.¡±

    Simon: ¡°Which brings me to your third failure; letting the Lycanian, who killed your brother, get away with all of the treasure you acquired over the years.¡±

    Jonathan¡¯s eyes went wide, he couldn¡¯t believe it. No one could survive that blast and if by chance they did they should have been crushed by the mountains of dirt and stone that was made to fall. And yet the Lycanian was able to do so while carrying all of that treasure.

    Jonathan: ¡°Impossible.¡±

    Simon: ¡°Is that all you can say¡­it seems your time away has somehow made you even more incompetent then you were before. I knew it was a bad idea to take you in, but Gideon was so kind-hearted and talked me into it. He so wanted a brother and honestly, I could have given him one no problem, there are no shortage of women who I could use to accomplish the task. But no, he wanted you, some mangy street garbage who he came across one day, just because he showed a bit of intellect. And look where that lead him¡­dead, while you still live.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°YOU-¡±

    Jonathan couldn¡¯t take anymore and jumped to his feet in his rage, but his neck quickly met with the edge of a blade. Jennifer had cleared the distance between them and held the blade to her friend¡¯s neck, if he moved any further, she would end him. Simon smiled at the display, both at the situation and the outcome.

    Simon: ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing¡­sit back down boy.¡±

    Jonathan reluctantly sat back down, as Jennifer retracted the knife, standing behind him, rather then moving back to her original position.

    Simon: ¡°But I do admit, Gideon was somewhat at fault, his ¡®trophy¡¯ collection, came back to bite him. I told that boy over and over, if you going to keep such a thin; you have to break them completely, not just mentally but physically as well. But alas, he wanted them to be beautiful and I guess removing an arm or leg, would in fact steal away that would it not?¡±

    Simon turned back to Jonathan.

    Simon: ¡°But as his strategist, you should have come up with a counter-measure for his hobbies, a way he could indulge himself and live to tell the tale, but you failed. And because of it, my son is-¡±

    Simon trailed off for a moment quickly bringing himself back to attention.

    Simon: ¡°No matter, I have many children, though I must say Gideon was the best of the bunch, but you have to deal the hand your dealt.

    Jonathan wanted to launch across the table, but he knew the moment he moved, Jennifer would end him. His on son was dead, but only a moments thought and then its business as usual.

    Simon: ¡°Anyway, since leaving you, the Lycanian has thwarted yet another of our dealings. And even before that, he messed with our obtaining some really rare merchandise. We¡¯ve been tracking one of them , the other is traveling with the Lycanian. So, here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen. We learned that the Lycanian will be heading into the dungeon soon. That is where you will go.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Simon: ¡°You¡¯re going to finish what you started and end that mutt¡¯s life. I have some men waiting for you upon arrival and take Jennifer with you. Oh, and if you can retrieve the merchandise along with the treasure she stole,do so. You will leave immediately.¡±

    It didn¡¯t show on Jennifer¡¯s face, but she was honestly surprised when he called out for her. She knew what it meant, that she was being sent with him and though she didn¡¯t like it; she would complete it without fail. Jonathan on the other hand was livid. He had no chance to talk and before he could even fully heal, he was being made to travel again.

    Jennifer: ¡°Yes master.¡±

    Simon: ¡°Good, oh and I hired some help for you.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Assistance?¡±

    Simon: ¡°Someone who¡¯s spent some time with the Lycanian and who also needs to repay a debt to us. He will meet you in Borice and will be helping you with your task. That¡¯s all. You may go.¡±

    Jonathan wanted to speak, but Simon was done with him and turned to the other members at the table, ready to begin their meeting; although he did say one thing to his adopted son.

    Simon: ¡°Don¡¯t fail me again.¡±

    _

    _

    Jonathan: ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Jonathan¡¯s wound still ached, being forced to travel, before his wounds could properly heal. But what could he do? Simon was not someone he could defy, at least right now.

    Shane: ¡°Well, I want Nathan dead more than anyone, he ruined the deal I had with your pops, now I¡¯m stuck in debt until its done.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Even more of a reason we should hurry along, the sooner we¡¯re done, the sooner when can go our separate ways.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Aw you hurt my feelings¡­parting with you will be so depressing. Especially you Jenny, that ass of yours is just so magnificently plump, I really want to give another squeeze.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Grrrrrrr, let me kill him, I reaaaaallllllllly want too.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Come on, we¡¯re wasting time.¡±

    Like this, the strange trio, headed for Viridi Wilds, Nathan completely unaware of the danger closing in on him.

 Chapter 95: The Fallacious Trek

    <u>Chapter 95: The Fallacious Trek</u>

    Nathan: ¡°Haaaaah!¡±

    *Bzzzzzzzz-bzzzzz-bzz*

    The buzzing of its wings ceased, as Nathan shoved his sword deep into its head of the giant insect. Nathan yanked out the blade, just in time to dodge an incoming attack from another insect. The Flinging Gnats, with its spiked mace-like lower bodies, they swarmed around Nathan and Ash flinging themselves at the two with reckless abandonment. Though, however hard they were on their bottoms, the top of their bodies was not. It didn¡¯t take long for Nathan to figure out the trick to beating them was simply to side-step as they passed and sever their upper and lower bodies from one another.

    *Shwoosh*

    Nathan quickly jumped to the side, as another Gnat smashed into the ground right where he was standing. After smashing into the ground, the monster became unable to move, which was convenient for Nathan. With a single slash; Nathan quickly ended another insect.

    *Bzzzzzzzzz*

    Nathan: ¡°Are you fricking kidding me?¡±

    Nathan ducked, weaved and jumped as countless gnats buzzed around him. No matter how many he killed, it seemed like there was no end to them.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit Ash, I thought you said this was easy?¡±

    Ash: ¡°It is easy, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s fun.¡±

    Ash with his dual blades and cat-like agility, was swinging his dance around the battlefield. Every time he swung his blade, another gnat would fall; sometimes he would miss the enemy on purpose, just to play around. He was like a house-cat, playing with its food before finishing it.

    Nathan: ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m having fun?...¡±

    *Bzzzzzzzz*

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa!¡±

    Nathan turned his blade to the side and smashed it into the fly coming at him, sending it hurdling into several others. But it barely made a dent, as the gnats just kept coming.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit, screw this.¡±

    Nathan let his seeds fall to the ground, quickly sprouting two ¡®Uzy¡¯, much to Ash¡¯s dismay.

    *Click-click*

    Ash: ¡°No wait, don¡¯t do it, I haven¡¯t finished yet.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s already done.¡±

    The next moment, bullet seeds unleashed hell on the swarm of insects, bodies dropping riddled with holes. After a few minutes of the continuous bullet-storm, the last of the insects had been dealt with.

    Nathan whipped his sword around, flicking off the access blood staining its blade, before taking a cloth and wiping it down. Nathan then, with a wave of his hands, sent his plants back into the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°And we¡¯re done.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Damn it, always with the plants.¡±

    Nathan ignored Ash and wiped his sword down, before sheathing it.

    Nathan: ¡°Leave it to you, to wander right into a swarm of bugs, ¡®Don¡¯t worry, there low-level monsters, we should finish them in no time¡¯.¡±

    Nathan mockingly repeated what Ash had said to him earlier.

    Ash: ¡°They were easy, we were killing them in one hit.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, for ten minutes straight, it doesn¡¯t matter how easy it is if it takes an hour to beat them.¡±

    Ash: ¡°These guys turned out to be real ¡®hard-asses¡¯ in the ¡®end¡¯.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It wasn¡¯t funny earlier and it¡¯s not now. Go ahead and do your thing, I¡¯m gonna check on Iris.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Fine, *mumbling* I thought it was pretty funny.¡±

    Nathan turned and walked over to a large tree who branches were as thick as girders and were high as fifteen feet off the ground. No normal creature could reach that high, but for Nathan it was as simple as breathing. With a leap, Nathan launched himself high into the tree, landing on the lowest of branches. Sitting on the branch was a fairy, breathing heavy and a flush of red on her face. She had a pained smile appearing on her face as he arrived.

    Nathan: ¡°How are you feeling Iris?¡±

    Iris tried to move toward Nathan, only to flop back down onto the branch.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa, no need to get up. So, you still can¡¯t move.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah, y-yes, I¡¯m feeling much better, in fact I think I can-¡±

    Iris tried to get up only to slip on her hand.

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re not better at all, maybe we should-¡±

    Iris: ¡°No we can¡¯t ¡­*Heavy Breathing*¡­ you worked so hard to come here, I won¡¯t allow anything to force you to stop, least of all myself.¡±

    Iris eyes pleaded with Nathan not to leave because of her; though he really wanted to stay he didn¡¯t like seeing her like this.

    Nathan: ¡°Fine, but if you don¡¯t start to get better soon, we¡¯re leaving. Just rest here for now.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No buts, lie down and get better, I¡¯ll be right below.¡±

    Iris tried to speak, but she felt it too difficult and just laid back down and quickly went to sleep. Nathan seeing her resting leapt down from the tree and headed back over to Ash, who had finished disassembling the lizards before their bodies turned into light particles and rose into the sky.

    Nathan: ¡°That would be a pain if we were gathering material for real. Having to quickly remove and store the pieces from the monster before it fades into the ether.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No not really, it usually takes longer for them to vanish, but with the handy-dandy inventory, all I need to do is point at the part use for material. Besides, accept for the flora, that¡¯s all too abundant in Viridi Wilds, people just usually try to gather residual mana that sometimes appears and store it in Catalyst Gems.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Residual mana?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sometimes, there is a ball of light that quickly dissipates when you kill a monster in a dungeon. If you¡¯re quick enough you could gather it up and it sell for a decent amount or keep for a good power source. If we had some Catalyst gems, we could try to gather some, but alas they are way too expensive.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I didn¡¯t want to anyway, from how you described it; it takes a lot of time.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, yeah you could fight all day long and never see a ball of residual mana.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then I won¡¯t even waste any more time.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Nathan put the idea to rest, he didn¡¯t like faming in games, why would he enjoy it for real.

    Ash: ¡°How is she?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°In all honesty, she looks worse. I thought you said it only lasts for a half an hour or so?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well usually it does, our bodies have to adjust to the denser mana found in the dungeons, so for a while we have a hard time moving, along with a headache and redness in the face, like we have a fever.You don¡¯t feel the effects anymore right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No.¡±

    Earlier after they entered, Nathan started to feel his body get heavy. Ash explained that it was a common occurrence for people first entering the dungeon, but it would soon pass. However, even after Nathan started to feel better, Iris¡¯s condition did not change.

    Nathan: ¡°It looks like a high fever, but I just don¡¯t get why.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You want us to leave?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I already asked her, but she refuses to leave, at least until I finish the trial.¡±

    Ash: ¡°And if we take her back out and come back, she¡¯ll probably just follow you back in.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Probably nothing. She will definitely follow me back in.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, let¡¯s give it a little more time, if she doesn¡¯t feel better, then forget what she said; we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m done here, go grab her and we¡¯ll head out.¡±

    Nathan leapt back up into the tree, where Iris was sleeping. Gently lifting her up he placed her in his hood, before climbing back down the tree; slowly. Coming back over to Ash, he found him checking his map. Nathan, back outside the dungeon, had obtained a map as well, but it wasn¡¯t what he thought it would be. It was a magic tool that slipped over the ear like a headset. As you move about in the dungeon, the map would fill out the path you traveled. When activated, it projected a holographic-like map that can be freely manipulated by the user.

    Compared to Nathan¡¯s map he recently obtained, Ash¡¯s map was a lot more detailed.

    Ash had been inside Viridi Wilds several times before, giving him a much more time to explore and therefore, for the moment, they were relying on his map.

    Ash: ¡°Hmm, here.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Ash pointed on the map to a small landmark. Pressing on the mark, the map zoomed-in on the spot giving Nathan a better view.

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s a lone mountain; last time I was here, I found this cave. It was a goblin nest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So, we¡¯re heading there?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah it¡¯s been a year or two, since I went back, so I don¡¯t know if they are still there or not.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It¡¯s better than nothing, the faster we find it the faster we can leave.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Hearing you say that after wanting to come here so badly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris is way more important to me then my desire to explore.¡±

    Ash looked in Nathan¡¯s hood, just like he said, she looked as though she had a high fever.

    Ash: ¡°She does look bad, then let¡¯s be off; it¡¯ll take about an hour to get there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Alright let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ash lead on as Nathan followed, making their way to what he hoped would be his trials¡¯ completion. Hopefully it was.

    _

    _

    _

    Nathan and Ash continued on, their trek bringing them to an area like a rain forest. Nathan was surprised at first by the heavy rainfall raining inside of the dungeon, but there were things like daylight without sun; so rain wasn¡¯t as far-fetched as one would believe. Iris was awake now and currently riding at the front of Nathans cloak, when the rain started, he had no choice but to move her to keep her from getting wet.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you able to stay dry, Iris?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Y-Yes its nice and dry. It¡¯s warm and smells really nice, very pleasant.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad and its nice to know I don¡¯t stink. So Ash we couldn¡¯t walk around the rainforest, why?¡±

    Ash: ¡°This was the path I took to get there, if I knew of a way around it, I would have gone that way.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°All this damn rain is annoying.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I thought plants liked water.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not a plant and I didn¡¯t mean me, it could make Iris¡¯s fever worse.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I-I¡¯m fine Master, no need to worry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You. Hush.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah!?

    Iris try to protect her head, as Nathan playfully used his chin like a hammer, to pelt her further down into the cloak.

    Ash: ¡°I get your worried¡­but fever-like symptoms and an actual fever are different. The water won¡¯t make a non-existent fever worse.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well whatever, as long as your shortcut gets us there as soon as possible.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I been through plenty of times. It¡¯s exactly one hour from here to there and we¡¯ve been walking for about twenty minutes, so not much longer until we find the exit¡­as long as we don¡¯t get distracted.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I am trying to get this done as soon as possible, nothing could distract me.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­What about a large treasure chest?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That was a random thing to say.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Not really.¡±

    Ash pointed into a small clearing, there sat a large treasure chest. Similar to what you found in games, a red chest with gold-colored lock stood not ten feet away from the three of them.

    Nathan: ¡°Okay got to admit, that¡¯s slowing me down.¡±

    Ash: ¡°How lucky can we get? A treasure chest as soon we start? And that coloration; never seen a red and gold chest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What are they normally?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Just basic wooden chest, but this one, its got to be something super-rare, right?¡±

    Ash was overly excited and though he wasn¡¯t letting it show, so was Nathan. The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to keep from smiling, but his excitement was slowly taking over.

    Nathan: ¡°Wait Ash, didn¡¯t you come through here before and you never saw it, its right on the route you took.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No I usually stick to the trees when coming through here, but all that jumping sround would be bad with your passenger right now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, how considerate.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I know right, well¡­we found it, so it¡¯s ours for the taking.¡±

    Ash made a bee-line for the chest, ready to pounce on the riches inside, with Nathan not far behind him. When they were no further then two meters away, their ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ kicked-in and the two quickly jumped away.

    *Thwick**Thwick**Thwick*

    Nathan: ¡°The hell was that?¡±

    Right where they just were, two arrows were stuck in the ground. Turning, Nathan saw a woman running up to them in a panic, a woman Nathan recognized instantly.

    Ash: ¡°Who the hell?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Jasmine!¡±

    Ash: ¡°You know her?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She¡¯s one of Zane¡¯s girls.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well, is she looking for a fight, because that¡¯s what she¡¯s gonna get if she¡¯s think she¡¯s getting this chest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, you think she¡¯s after the chest?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised; like I told you earlier, you have to be wearier of people.¡±

    Ash, pissed at being shot at, drew his weapons. Jasmine stopped running; seeing him running towards her, but started gesturing with her hands.

    Ash: ¡°What is she doing?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°She¡¯s saying, be quiet.¡±

    She kept putting a finger to her lip, signaling them not to make a sound. Nathan didn¡¯t feel any immediate threat, beside from the initial arrows, everything seemed fine.

    Ash: ¡°Who cares what she wants, she¡¯s not getting our treasure.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Cool it Ash¡­Jasmine¡¯s not like the rest of them, she must have had a reason.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Reason, she just tried to kill us and don¡¯t say she wasn¡¯t aiming for us, because then ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ wouldn¡¯t have kicked in.¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t deny that, they were definitely the target of her last shot, but Jasmine wasn¡¯t someone like that; at least that¡¯s the impression Nathan got from her the night prior. Currently Jasmine was signaling for them to come to her, still stressing for them to be quiet. However, Ash wasn¡¯t going to give up the chest.

    Nathan: ¡°Look, she isn¡¯t coming any closer; I¡¯ll go see what she wants.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Fine, then I¡¯m gonna check out the chest.¡±

    Ash and Nathan went their separate ways, but the moment Jasmine saw Ash heading back, she knocked her bow.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa, Jasmine what are you doing!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I knew, she¡¯s after the chest. HEY, THE CHEST IS OURS, YOU HEAR ME, RUN ALONG TO ZANE AND LET HIM KNOW!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°ASH!¡±

    Jasmine was shocked with Ash¡¯s screaming, after she so urgently warned him to be quiet.

    Jasmine: ¡°Dumbass, I said be quiet.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I DON¡¯T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, WE FOUND IT, SO ITS OURS.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°CALM DOWN ASH!¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°IDIOTS, I DON¡¯T WHAT THE DAMN CHEST, I¡¯M TELLING YOU TO GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Thing?¡±

    Ash: ¡°See she does want it, she just admitted it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ASH GET AWAY FROM IT!¡±

    Nathan dashed towards Ash, still oblivious to the situation. From the time they had turned to Jasmine and from the time they turned back to the chest, somehow the chest ended up no more than a meter behind Ash.

    Ash: ¡°Huh, how did the chest-¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, the chest lid flipped open, revealing rows of jagged teeth and a fleshy green interior, with a single eyeball staring right at him. Ash¡¯s Threat Detection kicked in and his reflexes quickly threw him backwards onto the ground, barely dodging the chest that just lunged at him.

    The chest pounced, aiming at Nathan, but quickly closed its lid again to avoid two arrows aimed at its interior.

    Jasmine: ¡°Dammit!¡±

    Ash: ¡°What the hell is that thing!?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What I was trying to warn you about, it wasn¡¯t a chest, it was a Mimic.¡±

 Chapter 96: The Mimic Part 1

    <u>Chapter 96: The Mimic Part 1</u>

    Mimic: ¡°Gorrrggggh!¡±

    The Mimic made a sound like a roar that was underwater, as it leapt towards Nathan. After missing its first target, it immediately went for Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa!¡±

    Nathan barely dodged it, as it lunged at him trying to bite his head off. He was careful not to lose his passenger as he gained some distance. After he was out of range, the Mimic went dormant and remained completely still, as if what had transpired had never happened.

    Nathan: ¡°So that¡¯s a Mimic¡­fricking scarier in person.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Dammit were trapped.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Now that it¡¯s awake, it won¡¯t let us go so easily. Whatever you do don¡¯t look away, the moment you do, it will attack.¡±

    Ash: ¡°If you knew what it was why didn¡¯t you say something?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I didn¡¯t want to wake it, hence why I was telling you to stay ¡®Quiet¡¯.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Oh yeah, and shooting us with arrows would shut us up, did it occur to you that we might scream in pain?¡±

    Jasmine pulled out her arrow and showed him the tip. A rune was edge into its head and the point pulsating purple.

    Jasmine: ¡°It has a silence spell edge into it, the moment it hit, the spell would go active. Also I was aiming for your feet, though I didn¡¯t expect you two to dodge so easily. More than that, I¡¯ve never seen anyone dodge a Mimics lunge so perfectly before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You thought that was perfect?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°You still have all your limbs, so yeah.¡±

    Ash and Nathan both grimaced upon hearing her speak. It was true that they dodged the attack, but that had to be the closest call they¡¯ve ever had. It was almost instantaneous when it lunged at him, Nathan actually lost sight of it for a moment.

    Nathan: ¡°(Pry)¡±

    _________________________________________________________________________________________

    Mimic        Level: N/A                              Type: Semi-Solid Being _________________________________________________________________________________________

    HP: 1000/1000   MP: 0/0

    Taking on the shape of various treasure chests, they lure curious and unsuspecting souls into their range to be devoured whole. It greedily hoards anything valuable and the more treasure it holds, the more extravagant the outer appearance.

    ATK: 0                                                                 DEF: ¡Þ

    Abilities:    Lunge, Bottomless Appetite.

    Weakness: Susceptible to Poison

    _________________________________________________________________________________________

    Nathan: ¡°(Are you kidding me?) So what, how are we supposed to escape this thing?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ don¡¯t actually know.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I mean, I never seen anyone escape a Mimic.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No-one¡¯s ever escaped one? Then how do you know so much about it?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I¡­¡­. that doesn¡¯t matter, I never seen anyone escape it while it was awake is what I¡¯m saying.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What, you want us to stand here until it falls asleep.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I don¡¯t know of any other way. As soon as we turn away from it, it will lunge. Once it¡¯s has a target, it will never stop chasing it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The lets give it another target.¡±

    Before Jasmine could inquire, Nathan lifted his hand and plants erupted from the ground. Uzy, as well as Snyare, shot up as so there was so many so that the mimic was no longer visible. A subtle ¡®living forest¡¯ had sprung up in front of them and Nathan had every plant attack the Mimic.

    Jasmine: ¡°Amazing, this is what you did last night, I never imagined you could create so many.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Nathan: ¡°No time. Run now, gawk later.¡±

    Jasmine snapped out of her daze, with the sound of bullet fire, as she joined the two and beat a hasty retreat, getting as far away as possible from the Mimic.

    _

    _

    Jasmine: ¡°*Heavy breathing* Oh come on, can¡¯t we take a short break?¡±

    Nathan and Ash turned back to see Jasmine out of breath from sprinting, to jogging, to speed-walking they had all been doing for the past ten minutes.

    Nathan: ¡°No we need to keep moving, were not out-of-the woods yet. Pun intended.¡±

    Ash: ¡°(And he thinks my jokes were bad?)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you sure this is the right way?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It¡¯s not the same exact path I took, but yeah, we are still headed in the right direction.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Why can¡¯t we rest? We should be far enough away from the Mimic by now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No we¡¯re not.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What?¡¯

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s been following us for the last few minutes.¡±

    Ever since Nathan and Ash had started running, no matter how far away from the Mimic they thought they were moving, their ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ had yet to cease its activation. Nathan thought his plants would be able to hold it off, but not long after they had run away, Nathan and Ash quickly notice, the sound of bullet fire had ceased. They hadn¡¯t moved nearly far enough away, not to hear the seeds pelting the Mimic, and yet with the passing of the rain, the forest had grown eerily quiet.

    Jasmine reluctantly started to walk again, she didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but they seemed so sure. It¡¯s just what they were saying didn¡¯t match with the information she knew. A Mimic doesn¡¯t usually track someone to this extent, unless of course certain conditions are met and from what she could tell, none of them fitted the conditions.

    Nathan: ¡°Do you think will be able to get back to your trail, once we get her back to Zane?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t know, we¡¯re completely off-course from the path I usually take. We could try to get back there, but will be traveling blind. Not to mention our stalker at the moment.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s no better than where we are now. Plus when it¡¯s just us two, we can avoid the mimic much easier, no offense Jasmine.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It¡¯s strange...¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Not really, if it was just us two, we could just stick to the trees.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No not that¡­¡­..are you sure there is something following us?¡±

    Boys: ¡°Definitely.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Then whatever it is, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the Mimic.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Mimic¡¯s usually don¡¯t attack unless someone gets within range. Also since we got away, I don¡¯t think it will go through the hassle of chasing an enemy this far away, at least not for a meal.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Then you¡¯re saying that it could necessarily pursue someone, if the conditions are met?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Yeah, but from what I can tell, none of us fit that condition.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And what are these conditions?¡±

    Jasmine looked them over one more time and then she was sure, they were not meeting the conditions. However, when she spoke, both the two knew that the Mimic was still hot on their trail.

    Jasmine: ¡°Treasure.¡±

    Boys: ¡°Treasure?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°If there¡¯s anything that a Mimic will chase you for, it¡¯s definitely treasure.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What like gold and jewels?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well, obviously, but weapons, accessories, high grade potions, unique armors are all attractive to it. Anything at all with a high enough tier would definitely fit the bill, especially something from the legendary class. If we had things like that, it would absolutely chase you all through the dungeon and the more you have, the more obsessed the Mimic.¡±

    Boys: ¡°(Oooh, Shit.)¡±

    Nathan and Ash began to sweat profusely. Everything she just mentioned, the two were currently carrying. From the massive of amount of high-tier equipment in their inventories or the clothes that they wore that had become a class that did not exist until now, not to mention the sword Nathan had strung over his back(Origin), they were basically mimic-fodder. Sure Ramol had some of what he had, but there was still a lot more in Nathan¡¯s inventory.

    Jasmine: ¡°So whatever is chasing us is not the Mimic, still we should be careful of the other creatures that lurk in the forest. From where we are, if I remember correctly, from what Zane told about the flora, we should be right around their territory¡­¡­¡­.. what¡¯s wrong with you two?¡±

    Nathan and Ash faces were distorted in a way that made them look constipated.

    Nathan: ¡°Faster, we need to move faster.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sorry about this girly.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Kya, what are you doing put me dowaaaaaaaah!?¡±

    Ash and Nathan took off, not at full speed, but still quite fast. Nathan stuck his hand to his chest, holding Iris in place, as he sped through the woods; While Ash carried Jasmine in his arms. Jasmine tried to get them to stop, but to no avail. Although she had to admit being carried around like a princess wasn¡¯t all that bad.

    Jasmine: ¡°Wait no, listen put me down, we need to go back.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh no, back is definitely not the direction we need to go.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Forget the stupid Mimic, it¡¯s not following, but if we keep going in this direction, we¡¯ll end up with a bunch of ¡®Broken Harts¡¯.

    Ash: ¡°What are you even talking about right now?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re running away from an enemy, not my first love after she rejected my confession, I worked so hard on for days, in front of all my friends and laughed at me for even attempting afterwards, so my sisters secretly beat her up a few days later in retribution and anybody who made fun of me.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Oddly Specific, I want to hear about it later.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°N-Not that kind of heart, you idiots and that sounds really entertaining, I want to hear about it too.¡±

    Just as she was about to explain, she saw several more shadows go by.

    Jasmine: ¡°Dammit, it¡¯s too late, they¡¯re here.¡±

    In the next moment, a large animal leaped out of the brush at Nathan. Quickly brandishing his sword, he swung it just in time to slash at the creature. The creature cried out in pain, from having a part of his antler lopped off and smashed into the ground. Nathan and company stopped moving, now with the large creature blocking there path.

    Nathan: ¡°The hell¡­is that a deer?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Not a deer, it¡¯s what I been trying to warn you about, we just entered the Broken Harts territory.¡±

 Chapter 97: The Mimic Part 2

    <u>Chapter 97: The Mimic Part 2</u>

    Jasmine: ¡°Are you guys trying to die or are you just unlucky?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Anais isn¡¯t with us, so probably the latter.¡±

    The large deer staggered to its feet. Now with half of its left antler gone, it became enraged. It was much bulkier and larger than any deer Nathan knew and with its black and red fur, it was a menacing sight. However its antlers were white and seemed to have a slight glow to them, it was strange offset to the more dread-inducing sight of the actual body and it growled and bared its teeth like a dog as it stared them down with an insane expression. Nathan was thinking that when several more of the creatures, jumped out of the woods, looking to charge at them at any moment.

    Ash: ¡°This won¡¯t take long.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No wait, this is the herd Zane was looking for.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Zane wanted these things?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Mr. Fynel, commissioned us for this reason, he wanted to gather their antlers for profit. There worth a ton of money if you can get them the right way.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah say no more.¡±

    Ash unsheathe his weapons and took off, as did the Hart that had its antler chopped off. With its powerful charge, it closed that gap between them fast, but with ¡®Hyper Reflexes¡¯ Ash reacted faster.

    Jasmine: ¡°NO WAIT DON¡¯T!¡±

    Ash slashed at the Hart several times, its body falling to the ground mid-charge and slowly its life faded away. Ash smirked at his handy work and while keeping an eye on the rest of the herd. Seeing their companion so easily slain, caused the herd to think twice about charging the group.

    Ash: ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    The once white, glowing majestic-looking antlers that once were set atop the Broken Hart, had become dull and black.

    Jasmine: ¡°I swear, would you two just listen to me? I was trying to tell you, the antlers only shine when they¡¯re cut off, while the beast is still alive. The Antlers are like that to the creature¡¯s mana and there is no mana without a life-force. If you kill it, no more mana.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who cares if its dead?...it, along with the rest of them, are currently blocking our path.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I do, like I said we need them to complete our request.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well that not really our problem, these things are about to charge and really don¡¯t have the luxury to try an¡¯ keep them alive.¡±

    Nathan grew his plants, ready to fire at the deer. He¡¯d had enough on his plate with the trial, Iris¡¯s condition and being hunted by the mimic; which he was damn sure was still following them. He didn¡¯t have the time to worry about others¡¯ problems. Even though she did save him earlier, he didn¡¯t have the time to repay that debt right now.

    Jasmine: ¡°No wait please, just let me hunt them for a bit, just to gather enough antlers. Then you could do whatever you want.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I really can¡¯t.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nathan just let her do it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, are you kidding with me right now?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m not saying we have to stay, just use your plants to hoist them up into the air. Their out of our way and she can stay here and hunt them.¡±

    Ash then moved in close so only Nathan can hear.

    Ash: ¡°Besides, you and I both know, the Mimic is still out there and with her around, we can¡¯t out-run it. The Mimic should follow us if we leave and she will be safe to gather.¡±

    Nathan looked over to Jasmine, she was pleading with her eyes, for him not to kill them all. Nathan looked down to Iris, who had fallen back to sleeping and sighed out loud. Then with a wave of his hand his Snyare plants shot forward. The Harts, let out noises and one by one there were hurled into the air, before vine after vine entangled them.

    They struggled to free themselves but the more they struggle the tighter Nathan had his plants squeezed. After a little while the deer lost consciousness and Nathan turned to Jasmine who was elated.

    Nathan: ¡°There this should make up for saving us earlier.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Thank you so much, this will do just nicely.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Jasmine pulled out a knife and began the process of removing the Antlers from the deer. She raised the knife into the air and then with one quick slash, cut off the antler.

    Nathan: ¡°Well, you have fun, we gotta go.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What¡­you don¡¯t want any of these? I wasn¡¯t planning on taking them all¡­¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Its fine, just keep them, with this we¡¯re even.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well if you¡¯re sure, see-ya then.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, Nathan and Ash left Jasmine to her work, allowing them to assumingly lead the Mimic away.

    -===-

    Nathan: ¡°Finally, we¡¯re back on track.¡±

    Since leaving Jasmine behind, Nathan and Ash were able to cover more ground and soon they had made it back to their original path.

    Ash: ¡°See, traveling through the trees is much faster.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How was it Iris, was it too bumpy?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Not at all, it was rather exhilarating I¡¯d have to say.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then I guess you¡¯re feeling better, the red in your face is gone as well.¡±

    Nathan smiled down as he looked Iris over, she seemed to be getting better. She still was to weak to fly, but was a minor concern. The red in her face had gone away and she stopped drifting in and out of consciousness, it seems liked the worsed had pass, just like Ash said it would.

    Ash: ¡°Though I gotta say the few times when you slipped or missed a branch was really funny.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, it¡¯s a fricking rainforest, of course its slippery, but I¡¯m surprised you caught onto that, since every time that happened, Iris caught me.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ah.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®ah¡¯ me, even if you¡¯re feeling better, don¡¯t over-exert yourself for something so silly as this.¡±

    Iris: ¡°What if you would have fallen?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know I wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But, ah, Master stop.¡±

    Nathan started to playfully hammer her on her head with his chin, Iris using her hands to hold his chin up, only to sink into his clothes from the wait. She resurfaced only to have him do it again. Iris using her abilities would another good sign of recovery, so he wasn''t truly upset, but found it fun to tease her all the same.

    Nathan: ¡°No buts, no more of that until you¡¯re feeling better.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nice to see you guys flirting again.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who¡¯s flirting?¡±

    Ash ignored Nathan¡¯s retorts and turn and search the tree line behind them.

    Ash: ¡°Do you think it¡¯s still out there?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it if what Jasmine said was true, then there¡¯s absolutely no way it wouldn¡¯t keep chasing us. Actually, she knew an awful lot about it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah but ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ stopped a while ago.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That just means, it¡¯s no longer within range to attack.¡±

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Could it have found a new target?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Who else would it target, Jasmine?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, right?¡±

    When Nathan and Ash ran the thought through their minds, it could actually be the case. They¡¯re ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ stopped soon after leaving her behind, but they thought it was of how much ground they were covering and that the Mimic simply couldn¡¯t keep up and was just lagging behind. Nathan and Ash looked toward one another as they both came to a stop, both looking really nervous.

    Nathan: ¡°No, no, no, that can¡¯t be it right, she said that it hounds for treasure? And who has more treasure then me?¡±

    This wasn¡¯t Nathan being conceded, from what he took with him from the study and what he took from Gideon¡¯s vault, he held a king¡¯s ransom in gold, jewels, weapons and many other valuables. There was no doubt that he was the most valuable target for the Mimic.

    Iris: ¡°Yes, but what¡¯s to say the Mimic even knows what you have inside of the inventory? The Spatial-Rend gem is a space all its own, wouldn¡¯t it be hard to detect? With it being inside our Insignia¡¯s, no one should even been aware of its existence?¡±

    That was another fair point, the inventory is activated through our Insignia¡¯s and without prior knowledge, no one should know about it.

    Ash: ¡°Well, she doesn¡¯t have anything of real value back there, right?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°R-Right.¡±

    Nathan and Ash stood still thinking, only moving once Iris spoke.

    Iris: ¡°Didn¡¯t she say, the antlers she was harvesting from those creatures were very valuable? Could they be a reason it goes after her?¡±

    Boys: ¡°SHIT!...¡±

    Nathan and Ash tore off running back the way they came. Solidifying their worries, their ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ ability did not go active, meaning the Mimic was not following them.

    Ash: ¡°Ah, so stupid¡­what were we thinking? Of course it would target her.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No it¡¯s my fault, I was in such a rush, I wasn¡¯t thinking things through.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Now is not the time for that, you must quickly return to help her.¡±

    Boys: ¡°Right.¡±

    Nathan and Ash leapt up to the tree tops and took off back in the direction, praying that they would get there in time.

    -==-

    Jasmine: ¡°Shit, shit, shit, why is it still following me?¡± It was just supposed to be a simple antler gathering?¡±

    Jasmine sped through the forest, at full sprint as she tried to escape with the bag of Hart antlers on her back. She glanced back, hearing some rustling, but saw nothing. Her breath had grown heavy and she felt like falling over, but she couldn¡¯t afford to stop, even if she couldn¡¯t see it; she knew it was there and still hot on her trail.

    Then she heard it, the sound of something charging toward her, coming in fast. She quickly grabbed her bow and fired just as a shadow leaped out of the bushes. To her surprise, the shadow screamed in pain, stopping to see what she shot, she found a Broken Hart laying on the ground after the arrow penetrated its side. Then another Hart jumped out of the bushes and leaped over its friend before heading directly at Jasmine. She quickly nocked her bow but stopped when she realized the Hart had no intention of confronting her, it was fleeing and there could only be one thing it was running from.

    *Gooooorrggggghhhhh*

    Turning back around, Jasmine was met with a magnificently frightening sight. Where the Hart once was, now set a gold and red chest, causing a small ruckus. Inside of the chest currently was the Hart, slowly being chewed to bits. The grotesque sound of flesh being ripped apart and the sound of the Hart screaming in pain as it wresltled around inside of the Mimic. The scene gave Jasmine renewed strength as she begun to run away.

    Taking one look back at the Mimic, still fight-eating its current meal, before she doubled her efforts to escape, unless she wanted to end up like the Harts that were unable to escape the vines. She cursed herself for not listening to them, she was crying about them not listening and she turned around and did the same thing.

    *Goooorrrrrrrggggghhhhhhh*

    With that scream she realized the Mimic had finished its meal and now returned to hunting her. She didn¡¯t know when it would attack, all she could do was prey that she got to a clearing, before the Mimic got to her.

 Chapter 98: The Mimic Part 3

    <u>Chapter 98: The Mimic Part 3</u>

    Nathan: ¡°We need to split up here.¡±

    Iris & Ash: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan handed Iris over to Ash, before waving his hand and a large sword appeared in his hand. It was almost the length of his body; he needed both of his hands to wield it.

    Ash: ¡°Woah, split up, what are you even talking about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re not gonna make it back in time, worse case; we¡¯re already too late. We need a distraction, something to draw the Mimics attention, I¡¯m gonna make one.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Wait I will go with yo-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You are not in any shape to come with me and before you say anything Ash, I¡¯m faster than you. It would be much easier for me if I just ran on the ground. More importantly-¡±

    Nathan placed the large sword on the ground.

    Nathan: ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell you earlier because Jasmine was around, but the Mimic is weak to poison.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah, Poison Magic.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right.¡±

    Ash and Iris understood immediately; with his Poison Magic, Nathan had the best chance of killing it or at least getting away from it and with one target, it guarantees that the Mimic will target him.

    Ash: ¡°You think it will even come after you?¡±

    Nathan touched his hand to the sword on his back; (Origin).

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t think it will possibly pass it up and that¡¯s why you can¡¯t be here Iris.¡±

    Iris was shocked for a moment, but gained much needed clarity from his gesture. Origin, the blade of the Hero, forged by the gods, was a sword that had an unnatural charming effect of the fae, including fairies. Even with Nathan¡¯s ¡®Calm Mind¡¯ ability she was borrowing, it still entices her with its luster. If Nathan was to unsheathe it with her around, though she hated to admit it, she would be in the way.

    She gritted her teeth at her inability to fight the charm; if she could she could always be by his side.

    Iris: ¡°I¡­¡­.I understand.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You think Origin could kill it?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Definitely.¡±

    Nathan lied, he knew that the sword wouldn¡¯t work, but if he told them that; Iris wouldn¡¯t let him go.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, head back towards Jasmine, I heard something in the distance that might give us a chance to get rid of it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t do anything too crazy.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Please exercise caution.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know me.¡±

    Ash & Iris: ¡°All too well.¡±

    Ash, taking Iris to his shoulder, leapt high into the trees and with one last look back he leapt away into the distance. Once Nathan was sure the two were a good distance away, he took a deep breath and then unsheathed Origin.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    _

    _

    Jasmine: ¡°Dammit, hit!¡±

    Jasmine fired off volley after volley of arrows at the Mimic, but it was no use. It was indestructible from the outside and with its mouth always closed, except when it means to swallow its prey, there was no way to get a clear shot. However, Jasmine had bigger problems with that, after consuming the antlers of the Broken Harts, followed by the Harts themselves, it had taken on a new form.

    Beneath the chest was a monstrous-like body, feet with the toes on either foot and long claw-like fingers, that made it easy to both slice and/or capture its target. Jasmine wasted no time aiming for the new body in an attempt to cause it harm, and was happy to see the arrows riddle the Mimic¡¯s body. However, that happiness soon faded into dread, as one by one the arrows sank into its body and vanished.

    After seeing this, after it ate all the antlers, Jasmine realized why a Mimic was in this forest. It too was hunting the Broken Hart in order grow stronger and it was only Nathan and Ash¡¯s bad luck that lead them to it. This was the reason why the deer that usually run through theses woods was so scarce this year, they were being hunted long before Zane had come along.

    *Gooooooorrgggggghhhhh*

    Jasmine had scurried up into the trees like Nathan had warned her before, even with its new limbs, the Mimic seemed reluctant to climb trees, which was a stoke of good luck for Jasmine. However, with its long claw-like fingers, it began to claw away at the tree, the shock from the blows forcing Jasmine to hug the tree.

    She still had the bundle of antlers on her back and wasn¡¯t planning on letting them go. This was also the reason why the Mimic was still hunting her, but she wasn¡¯t going to relinquish them to anyone but Zane.

    From her quiver, Jasmine pulled an arrow from the pocket where she kept the magic arrows. Pulling out a single arrow, one with a strange purple hue, she nocked her bow ready to fire. The Mimic must have sensed something dangerous, because it stopped what it was doing and tried to step back;, but it was too late.

    Jasmine¡¯s arrow, just like before, pierced the Mimic¡¯s body, but this time a spell was activated.

    Mimic: ¡°Gorgh!?¡±

    *Bam*

    With a loud sound, the Mimic smashed into the ground, as it was engulfed in a purple light. Jasmine was delighted to see that her Gravity spell was working. When a target is hit with the arrow, its weight is then doubled, forcing the target onto the ground. Though she was a little upset, when she used this arrow before, the targets body usually would be crushed under the intense gravity, allowing her to retrieve the arrow later. However, the Mimic was now fighting back from the spell and retrieving it seemed impossible.

    Jasmine: ¡°Dammit, but whatever, now¡¯s my chance.¡±

    Jasmine climbed back down the tree. Looking to the mimic, she could see that the arrow was slowly, but surely, being sucked into the mimic¡¯s body. She didn¡¯t know if the spell would still have an effect after it was gone, so without wasting anymore time she took off into the forest. She didn¡¯t bother to look back, but if she had she would have noticed the mimic currently aiming its palm at her.

    *Swoosh**Thwick**Thwick

    Jasmine: ¡°AAAGGGHHHHH!?¡±

    Jasmine screamed in pain and tumbled to the ground, sliding backwards into a tree. She curled in pain, from the impact and also from the throbbing pain her leg. Turning over she was shocked to see two arrows sticking out of both sides of her leg. What was even a bigger surprise, it was two of her own arrows, the ones she had fired off into the mimic. It wasn¡¯t using the arrows she shot, to attack her with.

    Jasmine: ¡°H-How!?¡±

    *Swoosh**Thud*

    Jasmine looked up in time, ducking the arrow aimed for her head, but she didn¡¯t have time to think.  The Mimic still had her in its sight and a moment later a volley of arrows was fired. Using what little strengthed she had, she quickly moved behind the tree, the sound of arrows stabbing into the tree, coming from behind. Soon the volley stopped and Jasmine got to her feet, even with the throbbing pain in her leg, she couldn¡¯t afford to sit around. She peeked around the tree, finding the Mimic still under the spells effect. Counting the arrows in the tree, she realized it was the amount she had shot into it earlier, it was out of ammo or so she thought.

    Just as she was stepping out, a much larger object was caught in her peripheral vision and she quickly move back as it whizzed by her.

    Jasmine: ¡°What the hell was th-¡±

    *Thud*

    Jasmine jumped in shock as she looked behind her. She stared in disbelief, taking a moment to understand what she was seeing. Sticking out from one side of the tree to the other, was a long sword. If she had stepped back even a bit further, it would have gone straight through her head. Turning back around, she looked at the other thing that pass by earlier and discovered a large axe sticking out of a rock.

    At this moment Jasmine realized something, something that should have been obvious to anyone. The Mimic had other weapons it was hoarding and could, in turn, utilize them all.  The second she tried to run away she would be impaled and with her leg hurt, she couldn¡¯t move how she wanted, not only that, but in any moment the gravity arrow would be consumed and then she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape at all. She was trapped and unless she thought of something soon, she would soon be the next thing hoarded by the Mimi

 Chapter 99: The Mimic Part 4

    <u>Chapter 99: The Mimic Part 4</u>

    Jasmine: ¡°Dammit, run out already!¡±

    Impact after impact bombarded against the large tree, for several minutes now, as the Mimic, seemed to fire off an un-exhaustible amount of weapons at Jasmine.

    Jasmine ripped the two arrows out of her leg, wincing in pain as fresh blood poured from her wound. Grabbing a piece of cloth, she tied it tight to her wound effectively stopping the blood. Using the tree as cover, Jasmine had moved away and leaned on an adjacent tree. With the sudden bombardment of weapons, several had penetrated straight through the tree, like the first long sword, but soon enough the barrage ceased; either the mimic had ran out of usable weapons or just ones it was willing to relinquish. Across from her the tree that now resembled to be what looked be a spike-like torturing device from the dark ages which looked mad from the various weapons that was able to penetrate through it.

    Fighting the pain in her leg, Jasmine stood up and readied herself to run. The last time she peaked around the corner, the arrow was just about gone. The magic arrow was taking much longer to be absorbed, because of the spell; the Mimic couldn¡¯t absorb it as fast. However, the spell wouldn¡¯t last much longer and soon the Mimic would be back to get her. However, within the last few minutes, she had devised a plan. She had exactly four magic arrows left, the spells embedded in them weren¡¯t of any use right now, but all she needed was time.

    The Mimic absorbed magic arrows slowly and while consuming them it remains immobile to focus on whatever it was consuming. Every deer it ate earlier was a slow and methodical process and now with the magic arrows she could get away. Only problem was, if she wanted the best delay, she would need to fire all the arrows at once that would require about a five second window of clear shots without the chance of being impaled by flying weapons.

    Luckily for her, the tree that weapons were embedded in had taken enough damage as to be able to be knocked over with a fierce enough push. With her leg in the way it was she couldn¡¯t run at it with her full strength, but if she lowered the amount of mana she placed into the magic arrows to activate them, to the bare minimum, she could infuse enough mana into a normal arrow giving it just enough power to help with knocking over the tree.

    Jasmine: ¡°Ugh, alright¡­here we go.¡±

    Jasmine grabbed an arrow from her quiver and slowly infused it with mana. As she did, the arrow began to let off a faint glow and she casually ready her bow. With quick aim she fired the arrow at the tree and with a loud bang, it smashed into it, splintering what was left of the base.

    *Creak**Crack**Crack*

    The tree slowly began to fall over and as soon as it moved, Jasmine ran at it. She stepped down hard on her wounded leg, pain shot through her body, but it did not deter her; but it did weaken the impact of the blow to the tree, not to mention having to avoid the weapons that could impale her. However, she had accomplished what she wanted and the tree began to fall towards the Mimic, but at the same time, she also heard a sound of death.

    *Goooorggghhh*

    The spell had worn off and the Mimi was free once again, just in time to stop the massive tree falling towards it. With a wave of its claw-like hand, the Mimic fired another weapon up toward the tree, splintering it and careening it safely out its way, but that was fine; Jasmine was ready. As soon as she had a clear shot she would fill it with the last of her arrows and then bring it back to Zane. However at that moment something drew her attention, not just hers, but the Mimic¡¯s as well.

    An enchanting power, a power beyond anything else they had encountered or could think of. A power so overwhelming that even the strongest on the planet could do nothing but gawk at it. Jasmine felt this power once before. Half a year ago, this power shook the world and moved it into a new era.

    Jasmine: ¡°The Hero¡­¡­¡­¡­is in the dungeon!?¡±

    The loud sound of the tree smashing to the ground, brought her out of her stupor and brought her back to her dire situation.

    Jasmine: ¡°Damn!¡±

    A clear shot had already been gifted to her and she was late to fire. She quickly shot off her last desperate act of defiance and, lucky for her, the Mimic seemed to be still entranced by the Hero¡¯s presence.

    *Thud**Thud*

    The arrows hit their target, activating on contact. The spells were nothing that could help, but with this she had occupied its time and with it still fixated on the Hero she had plenty of time to escape.

    Jasmine: ¡°Thank the heavens.¡±

    She quickly turned to run, but the strangest thing happened; she couldn¡¯t move. Then it came; a sudden pain from her side and looking down she was horrified to find yet another arrow, lodged in her, an arrow with a purple hue. She didn¡¯t even have time to react before the gravity spell activated sending her smashing into the ground under an intense weight with all of the pain ensuing. She screamed internally, mostly because her face was now eating dirt and she couldn¡¯t speak, at the crushing weight of the spell.

    Jasmine: ¡°(What? How? It¡¯s not even paying attention?)¡±

    Then she remembered that the Mimic fired something at the tree earlier, it must have been the arrow and from sheer bad luck or that the Mimic was aiming at her the whole time, it hit. Her luck had went from bad to worse, as the enchanting feeling from the Hero subsided. With that, the Mimics attention returned to her and slowly it began to approach her. Before it got to her, it methodically collected all of the weapons it had fired off.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    *crack**crunch*

    Jasmine: ¡°GAAAGHH!¡±

    Jasmine bones have finally given way and her ribs her caved into her lungs. Not only was she now in extreme pain, she couldn¡¯t even breathe properly.

    Jasmine, turning her head to the side, watched as the Mimic made its way over to her and with it; claw-like hands reached for her. However, instead of grabbing her it took the bag of antlers, her bow and quiver and anything else of value she was carrying.

    Jasmine: ¡°N-No.¡±

    It swallowed everything and then looked back to down to the half-crushed girl on the ground, trying her best to lift an arm in an act of defiance.  Another sickening crunch as more of her bones gave in to the extreme gravity. The Mimic than reached for the arrow and ripped out from her, ridding her of the arrow¡¯s effects, before swallowing it as well.

    It wasn¡¯t out of mercy, it just wanted to add to its collection and even so, the girl below it didn¡¯t have much longer to live. Seeing no point in wasting time, the Mimic turned and left, heading in the direction of the power it felt earlier.

    Jasmine laughed a wheezing laugh as she watched the Mimic walk off leaving her to die. It didn¡¯t even care enough to give her a swift death. If she had just heeded Nathan¡¯s warning and given up on the antlers, she thought that she might not have ended this way. It was because of her stubbornness that she ended up in situations like this all the time.

    Jasmine: ¡°(Dammit it, I don¡¯t have time for this, need to hurry.)¡±

    She put those thoughts aside for now and with her last bit of strength she reached for the dagger she used to cut-up the Hart. Coincidently, it was the only thing the Mimic over-looked, also incredibly convenient for her. With it she could quickly put herself out of her misery. Though, for how convenient it was, when the Mimic snatched her stuff away, it knocked the dagger away as well. The knife was just out of reach and with her body, in the way it was, every inch toward it was agony.

    In spite of that, she had no choice, so ever so slowly and agonizing, she inched herself towards the blade.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Since when¡­¡­did this thing¡­..GROW LEGS!?¡±

    Nathan dodged out of the way as the Mimic swiped at him, more accurately his sword. This was the Second Great-sword had Nathan pulled out of his inventory. The first one was absorbed by the Mimic, the second he went to cut one of its appendages off, since then he has been careful not to touch them. He was surprised to see these features, though he had wondered how the Mimic was getting around.

    Nathan: ¡°(It looks just like the Mimic from that one game that shall not be named. I hate that game.)¡±

    Besides that, Nathan found the Mimic to be way more extravagant than it once was. The gold and red coloring had a dazzling sheen to it now and the bolts were now jewel-white; the hinges looked to have become actual gold. The antlers must have powered it up significantly compared to earlier.

    He found that staying to higher ground was a good way to keep the Mimic at bay, he didn¡¯t know why, but it never seemed follow him up, choosing rather to knock the trees down. This was a good way to avoid direct confrontation; however, he didn¡¯t really need to fight it head-on as he was just baiting it to follow him. If his hearing was accurate, the way to get rid of the Mimic was up ahead.

    This gave Nathan ample amount of time to aim and he didn¡¯t waste any time.

    Nathan: ¡°Venom Burst.¡±

    Nathan fired his magic attack, the amount was more then he intended, but that was all for the better. However, the next moment proved it futile.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Nathan watched as the Mimic was hit point-blank with poison, but nothing happened. In fact the Mimic made a noise like it didn¡¯t understand what Nathan thought he was doing with that attack, a sound of sympathy.

    Nathan: ¡°D-Don¡¯t you pity me.¡±

    The Mimic wiped away the poison it could, and licked at what was on its face.

    That¡¯s when it happened, the second its tongue retracted with the poison, the Mimic screamed and curled over in pain.

    Nathan: ¡°Huh!?¡±

    After a moment of watching Nathan finally understood.

    Nathan: ¡°I have to get the poison inside of its mouth!?¡±

    Nathan thought back to its description and it said it was invincible, but that only extended to the outer portion. That meant he could only hurt it when its mouth was open. This was bad news, because the only reason the Mimic ever opened its mouth was to eat. and earlier whenever Jasmine fired an arrow, it would immediately snap shut. So, in order to get a shot off, he would have to fire while it was about to eat him.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit, and now that it knows I can do that it; will start being cautious.¡±

    *Swoosh**Swish*

    Nathan¡¯s body sudden jerked forward and then backward again as two large objects whizzed passed him, nearly taking his head with it. Looking over he was surprised to find the Great-Sword he lost earlier and a large axe stuck in the tree behind him. Looking back down at the Mimic, he found that its palm was raised at him, prompting his [Threat Detection] to activate.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh no.¡±

    Instincts took over and Nathan quickly leapt away, right as a series of arrows tore through the empty space he had just occupied, followed by that was a volley of random weapons the Mimic continuously fired from its palm.

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, nice cheat move, you op¡¯d sonuva, WHOA!¡±

    Nathan continued to dodge, leaping around as a wave of weapons flew passed him. He kept dodging, until finally the weapons ceased to come at him. Looking down, Nathan found the Mimic had begun to recollect the things it had fired off, methodically absorbing everything it could get its hands on. Nathan realized that it must of ran out of things it could fire or what it was willing to. It wasn¡¯t worried about being attacked, probably because it knew it couldn¡¯t be hurt from the outside, this gave Nathan a great idea.

    The Mimic had finished collecting most of the smaller weapons and then moved towards the larger ones. Just as it made it to its first weapon, Nathan appeared.

    Nathan: ¡°Yoink.¡±

    Nathan touched his hand to the axe the Mimic wanted and stored it in his inventory. The Mimic made a shocked noise seeing the weapon disappear and even more, as Nathan darted to the next and making that one disappear too.

    Nathan: ¡°Finders keepers.¡±

    What followed was a series of events, where the Mimic would reach for a weapon, only to have Nathan comically claim it before it could. The Mimic would attempt to fight him off, but it was futile, as long as Nathan was in range, he could send what he wanted into his inventory.

    Nathan: ¡°Too slow, nope, that one¡¯s mine, denied.¡±

    Slowly, but surely, the Mimics treasure was being taken from it. Due to it having no face its expression could not be displayed.

    However, as its hoard was being depleted and the one responsible for taking its treasure from it was mocking it at the same time by dancing around it, laughing. It was in that moment the Mimic felt in insatiable rage. In the wake of this, the Mimic roared.

 Chapter 100: The Mimic Finale

    <u>Chapter 100: The Mimic Finale</u>

    *Smash**Bam*Crash**Boom

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa¡­maybe this wasn¡¯t such a good idea?¡±

    Nathan leapt from tree to tree as the Mimic knocked down each and every one right after he leapt to the next. The forest was being demolished as the Mimic rampaged after Nathan, who had stolen away its treasure and in its pursuit nothing stood in its way as it ripped everything apart with its claws.

    Nathan¡¯s plants were of no use, as the Mimic tore through everything he grew as if it was paper. Nathan needed a chance to counter-attack, but as things stood, if he stopped for a moment, the Mimic would be on him.

    Nathan: ¡°Dammit just give me one chance¡­what do I have to do ? Mess up myself?¡±

    Nathan stopped his ranting as one of the Mimics weapons smashed the branch he¡¯d leapt to, sending him into a free-fall.

    Nathan: ¡°I WAS JOKING!¡±

    With an opening like this, the Mimic quickly leapt up to meet Nathan; mouth agape ready to swallow him whole. Nathan quickly raised his palm and a rune appeared from of his palm.

    Nathan: ¡°Venom Burst.¡±

    A Blob of yellow liquid shot forward towards the Mimic. Sensing danger, it suddenly pulled its appendages back into itself, before shutting tight. However even with its quick action, some of the poison managed to get into its mouth and the effect was instant; as the mimic crashed into the tree. Nathan quickly took hold of the Great-Sword he¡¯d recovered and, as hard as he could, smashed the blunt side into the mimic¡¯s head.

    *Bam*

    With the help of the free-fall, the mimic smashed into the ground, however Nathan wasn¡¯t done. As soon as he landed, he turned and swung the sword as hard as he could at the mimic, sending it flying and smashing through the debris the mimic had created. Nathan understood the outside of the mimic was invincible, but maybe a blunt enough impact could hurt it. He pursued the mimic and continued to bat it around the forest.

    Nathan: ¡°I know this probably isn¡¯t working, but it¡¯s still great stress relief.¡±

    Nathan started to rant as he batted the mimic around the place.

    Nathan: ¡°You probably don¡¯t understand, but I really hate mimics. Not just here, but in general.¡±

    This was the first real mimic Nathan had met, but he still knew of them back from his world.

    Nathan: ¡°You stole my weapons, chased me around the forest, and more importantly, because of enemies like you; I never beat that game. Do you know how many times I¡¯ve seen that damn game-over screen because of you!? I KNOW I DIED, I DON¡¯T NEED YOU TO TELL ME GAME!¡±

    Nathan began ranting, while at the same time venting his frustration on the Mimic.

    Nathan: ¡°I MEAN AFTER ALL THE CRAP I HAD TO DEAL WITH, HOW ALL ANYONE EVER SAID WHEN I ASKED FOR HELP ON THE FORUM¡¯S IS ¡®GIT GUD¡¯ OR ¡®LOL NOOB¡¯. THE ONE THING I THOUGH I COULD TRUST, THE ONE THING I THOUGHT HAD MY BACK, FREAKING TOOK A BITE OUT OF ME. ISNT THIS GAME TOUGH ENOUGH ALREADY WITHOUT THEM!? HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT WAS ALIVE? FUCK GAME DEVELOPERS!¡±

    Nathan smashed the mimic one last time, sending it crashing through a tree with a loud crash. The tree, with several others, toppled over; crushing the Mimic under their weight.  Nathan was sure that those trees wouldn¡¯t hold it very long, but he was hoping that with that combine with the poison and his barrage of attacks, it would buy him some time.  Leaving the mimic behind, Nathan leapt to the top of a nearby rock. Closing his eyes, he listened towards into the forest. With his enhanced hearing, if he concentrated, he could hear for miles around, but right now he didn¡¯t even need to hear that far.

    Nathan: ¡°Just a ways off.¡±

    He had gotten close to his destination, the one thing that could get rid of the mimic once-and-for-all. Now all he needed was to get the mimic to charge after him with reckless abandonment, and there was one sure-fire way.

    *Gooooooooorrgggghh**Craasshhhh*

    Nathan turned back to see the mimic smashing through the trees, as he clawed its way out of the debris. Once out, the Mimic wobbled back in forth, barely able to stand on its two feet. The poison Nathan had shot at it was the paralyzing toxin he recently obtained. Without a doubt, the mimic was feeling the effects of the poison full-force. Though since he didn¡¯t know if the mimic had veins or blood, the places where the poison did its best work, it still looked to be hurt.

    The mimic wobbly looked around, until its eyes fell on Nathan, standing atop a rock. The mimic wasn¡¯t going to fight Nathan head-on anymore; it opted to rest for now and began to pull in its legs and arms into its body. It could find Nathan later and will pursue him indefinitely, right now it was going to rest and regain its strength.

    Nathan: ¡°(That¡¯s probably what its thinking, but I can¡¯t risk you getting healthy again.)¡±

    *Snap*

    The mimic turned towards Nathan upon hearing the sound. In Nathan¡¯s hands was one of the weapons he¡¯d stolen from the Mimic or what was left of it. Nathan had broken the weapon in half, rendering it useless and worthless. Nathan threw the broken weapon away and pulled out another weapon.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah, that got your attention.¡±

    *Snap**Break*

    Nathan checked the status of the weapons the Mimic had had, not one of them were as good as the weapons he personally held, so he had no problem snapping them in half. If taking the weapons from the Mimic sent it into a rage, then doing this should bring about raging fury, his theory had immediate results.

    *Roaaaaaaaar*Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Nathan¡¯s ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ went off the charts, as the mimic roared at him.

    Nathan: ¡°Hollee-¡±

    *Smash*

    Nathan jumped out of the way just in time, as the rock he was just standing on had been simply destroyed. The mimic had lunged at him from more than a 9 meters away and was almost successful in ending him. However, it seemed because of the poison, the mimic¡¯s landing wasn¡¯t as impressive and it smashed right through the rock and hit the ground.

    Nathan ducked down as one of the mimic¡¯s claws passed by him barely.

    Nathan: ¡°You can stretch, since when could you stretch!?¡±

    Then as just quickly jumped to the side as the hand smashed into the ground where he had just been standing. Nathan didn¡¯t waste time as he took off into the forest. He wasn¡¯t aware that the Mimic could stretch and wasn¡¯t going to test its range, but that wasn¡¯t up to him.

    The mimic¡¯s arms, like whips, lashed around Nathan as he sped through the forest; leveling the forest as it attempted to ensnare Nathan. It was coming dangerously close to catching him each swing. As the distance between them shrunk, the Mimics attacks were becoming more and more precise.

    However, the mimic wasn¡¯t going to just him skewer alive, it was going to consume him. It wanted to gnaw on the flesh of the creature that dared to take its treasure¡¯s from it and retrieve the sword that the creature had across its back.

    Nathan: ¡°Almost there.¡±

    *Swish*

    While still attacking him with its claws, the mimic lunged forward and at that exact moment, Nathan stopped and leapt straight up into the air, avoiding the mimic¡¯s attack , and at the same time, successfully lured the mimic into his trap. The mimic realized that the ground had vanished from beneath it and replaced with a large waterfall leading into a gaping abyss.

    Nathan watched as the mimic soared off the cliffs edge, unable to stop its momentum after its attack and earlier, while running around, Nathan could hear the sound of rushing water and figured it was something like a waterfall. All he needed to do now was to get the mimic to lunge at him near the cliff and gravity would take care of the rest. This was how it should have gone.

    *Grab*

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    While Nathan was still air-born, the mimic spun around and grabbed Nathan¡¯s leg, smashing him into the ground and pulling along and to the cliffs edge. Taking his sword in-hand, he plunged it into the ground, stopping himself from being pulled over. The mimic tried to pry him free from the make-shift grapple, but Nathan wouldn¡¯t budge.

    Nathan: ¡°Hghn, let go.¡±

    The mimic climbed its way back up onto the ledge, using Nathan as leverage. His plan failed, not only did he fail to send the mimic plummeting into the abyss, he had also effectively been captured. Now still holding onto Nathan¡¯s leg the mimic whipped Nathan up into the air, successfully wrenching him away from his weapon.

    Nathan: ¡°Whaoooooaaaa!¡±

    *Baam**Bam**Bam*

    The Mimic smashed Nathan into the ground, before lifting him up and into the air and started repeating this action. It seemed as Nathan had done this earlier to the mimic, it returned the favor and continued to whip him back ¡®n forth.

    Nathan: ¡°Gaghh!¡±

    The mimic then finished him off with one final smash into the broadside of a tree. Nathan went limp in the mimic¡¯s hand; as it reeled him in. Dangling him in front of its face, shaking him to gauge a reaction, however nothing came of it. The mimic then dropped him on to the ground and when Nathan didn¡¯t move or try to escape, it knew it had successfully killed him.

    The Mimic reached for the sword, but immediately pulled its hand back when it felt a force  coming from the sheath. It couldn¡¯t touch the blade, but that wasn¡¯t going to deter it. The Mimic picked Nathan up and then dangled him over near its mouth, before dropping him inside and snapping shut. It had plan to devour him anyway, separately though. Trying to consume both at the same time would prove tedious, but now it was too late. It would just enjoy its meal.

    Mimic: ¡°Gorgh!?¡±

    Suddenly as the Mimic went to digest its meal, a foul taste crept across its palette. The digesting taste of poison, the taste it experienced recently, spread throughout its mouth and was quickly filling; draining its strength.

    It went to spit out the foul substance, but just as it tried to open, vines shot up around its feet, and quickly wrapping around its head preventing it from opening. It tried to claw at the vines, but no matter how many it cut down, two more would take its place.

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve been there, food poisonings the worse.¡±

    The mimic made a shock-like sound hearing the muffled voice coming from inside, Nathan was still alive. After being caught by the Mimic, Nathan immediately thought of this plan. The poison he secreted wasn¡¯t as strong as the poison he could fire off, but it was poison non e the less. No one but Nathan or who he allowed, could remove the sword from him, which mean the only way to claim his prize is to swallow them both together.

    Nathan: ¡°Speaking of poison, Venom Burst, Venom Burst, Venom Burst¡­¡±

    Nathan shot-off spell after spell inside of the Mimic, flooding it with poison, so much that even without attacking; the Mimic¡¯s HP was depleting rapidly. It was only a matter of time before it fell over dead.

    Zane: ¡°FOUL BEAST, RELEASE HER.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(Huh, was that Zane!?)¡±

    Nathan was surprised in hearing Zane show up out of nowhere and even more shocked when suddenly light was cast onto him. An attempt to save Nathan, Zane had released a flurry of sword slashes, cutting away all the vines holding down the Mimic and then jumping back, when the mimic began to throw up the contents of its mouth.

    Nathan along with poison and spew from the Mimic rained down onto the ground. Zane quickly ran over to Nathan, who was coughing from the poison that had got in his mouth.

    Nathan: ¡°*Cough*Aw sick.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Stray flower I¡¯m glad to see you in one piece.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. What are you doing here?¡±

    Zane: ¡°I explain later, right now. ¡°

    Zane turned his blade towards the mimic, who was at Death¡¯s door. It had absorbed way too much poison, even after it ejected most from its insides; it had long become unable to move.

    Zane: ¡°I shall vanquish this soul-less creature. ¡°

    Zane charged at the Mimic and began slashing at the beast, but being unable to move, the Mimic had no way to avoid the charging man. Nathan didn¡¯t care anymore, he was tired from the consecutive magic attacks he used and could barely stand, not to mention being swung around like a rag doll.

    From where the Mimic was positioned, a few more hits would send it over the edge. He would let Zane finish it for him, after using so much magic he was too tired to do anything anyways. He flopped backwards onto the ground, reaching to his back to remove the obstruction but quickly rose back up.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Nathan felt his back and a since of dread ran through his body as he realize there was no obstruction he had to move aside to touch his back. The ¡®Hero Sword¡¯ was gone. He quickly got to his feet and looked around, he couldn¡¯t find it, but he was sure he¡¯d had it on his back when he was eaten.

    Nathan: ¡°*Gasp*¡±

    Nathan turned back to Zane and the Mimic, the mimic was now on the edge and Zane ready to strike.

    Nathan: ¡°ZANE, NO!¡±

    Nathan yelled way too late as one final strike from Zane¡¯s sword sent the Mimic soaring over the cliff and down into the abyss below. Nathan quickly ran over to edge and looked over, but it was futile. The Mimic had fallen and disappeared. Nathan stared over the edge, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

    Zane: ¡°Do not worry my stray flower, nothing ever returns from this abyss.¡±

    Zane¡¯s statement just made the situation all the more shocking to Nathan. The weapon that symbolized the great Hero of Leseres, ¡®Origin¡¯, was gone forever; lost to the void.

    Nathan: ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡­shit.¡±

 Chapter 101: The Mimic Epilogue

    <u>Chapter 101:  The Mimic Epilogue </u>

    Belle ran down the streets of Loegrey, desperate to reach her location, unaware of the gazes she was drawing from the men around her as they watched her chest. She had stepped out only a moment for last-minute preparations for their special guests arrival, however some troubling news had reached her ear; news that she needed to relay to Matthew at once, before the guest arrived.

    Belle: ¡°*Gasp* Oh no.¡±

    Belle¡¯s hopes were dashed as she laid eyes on the guild, more precisely, the luxurious carriage that was parked outside of it. That could only mean the guests have arrived and were now waiting inside. Belle walked briskly over to the guild and walked directly inside. The scene was of one rather familiar to her; a beautiful, red headed women, currently holding an elderly man up by his collar.

    ?????: ¡°You absolutely never learn, old man.¡±

    ?????: ¡°*Gack* Y-Your mistaken it wasn¡¯t me.¡±

    There standing next, just off to the side, of them was a petite and timid girl trying her best to diffuse the situation. Lily one of the three servers working in the guild, with her eyes spinning flailed her arms with a sound like*Awawawa*, only stopping once she saw Belle.

    Lily: ¡°Belle, Welcome back.¡±

    Lily couldn¡¯t hide her relief from seeing Belle calmly approaching. With the proclamation the woman and man turn in their direction as well.

    ?????: ¡°Belle darling, it is wonderful to see you.¡±

    Belle: ¡°You as well, it is always a pleasure Madam Alexandria.¡±

    Belle cursed as she spoke, bringing a smile to Alexandria¡¯s face.

    Belle: ¡°I hope you are in good health?¡±

    Belle¡¯s question was nothing but pleasantries, anyone with eyes could tell that such a woman was the impediment of feminine charm. She had hair like scarlet flame, that danced atop her head with a lavish dress that hugged her voluptuous curves, she had an ageless beauty that drew the gazes of all that passed.

    Alexandria: ¡°Always at my peak, well at least until a moment ago.¡±

    As she said that she hoisted the elderly man higher into the air.

    Belle: ¡°And I see you are up to your old antics as well, Maxwell¡±

    Maxwell: ¡°B-Belle please save me from this brute of a woman.¡±

    Maxwell, currently being choked out by Alexandria, despite his appearance as a rather refined old Dandy, had a rather difficult time keeping his hands to himself. Though he seemed rather dapper in his gray-black attire and claimed to be just a harmless old man with deteriorating senses, he tended to grab ahold of female assets with pin-point accuracy and a grace that made most believe it was accident. However, both Alexandria and Belle knew better, Maxwell was spry and limber as ever and that he was the enemy to all women.

    Belle: ¡°I don¡¯t know what has transpired, but I feel Madam Alexadria is in the right.¡±

    Maxwell: ¡°B-But you misunderstand, m-my hands really slipped this time. I really didn¡¯t mean to grab that glorious bouncing globes you call a  boto-gahh.

    Alexandria: ¡°So all the other times were on purpose huh?¡±

    Maxwell: ¡°Air, need¡­air.¡±

    Belle: ¡°I will go inform Master Matthew of your arrival.¡±

    Alexandria: ¡°No need darling, Charis has gone to inform him already, although, she has been gone for a rather long time.¡±

    Belle made a silent sigh; she was sure Charis had gone to sleep half way to her destination and that was the reason why she had not returned.

    Belle: ¡°Be that as it may, I will still let him know. When you are done here please make you way up to the waiting room.¡±

    Alexandria: ¡°I¡¯ll do that, thank you my dear.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Thanks is not needed. Lily please mind the reception desk, there is no need to intervene any further.¡±

    Lily: ¡°Ah, but-.¡±

    Lily looked to Maxwell begging to be helped, then back to the reassuring smile of Belle.¡±

    Lily: ¡°U-Understood.¡±

    Maxwell: ¡°Belle, you can¡¯t leave me here.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Please reflect on your behavior.¡±

    Maxwell: "My behavior is no different than any man when presented with such a sight.

    The male adventures around vigourously shook their heads, furiously denying Maxwell''s accusations as the glares of the women around turned there way.

    Maxwell: "Traitors."

    Rather it was true or not every man in the room was willing to agree, in the wake of the malice spilling from the women around, now being directed squarely at Maxwell.

    Alexadria: "Take your punish like a man."

    Maxwell: "Hiiiiiii!"

    Belle then took her leave, heading up the stairs, listening to Maxwell beg for mercy.

    Maxwell: ¡°I-It couldn¡¯t be help, it¡¯s not my fault, you shouldn¡¯t such a grabble ass-bogu!¡±

    Belle sighed as she listened to the pummeling Maxwell was receiving for his misdeeds. She picked up pace, as she needed to urgently tell Matthew the news, but her feet stopped as she came to a particular door.  The room in which the meeting will take place is also the favorite resting spot for Her follow employee.

    *Knock, knock*

    Belle: ¡°Charis, please get the room ready, our guest on their way up.¡±

    She said nothing more and continued down to Matthew¡¯s door, knocking before walking in.

    Belle: ¡°Master Matthew, our guests are here.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Yes, I was informed.¡±

    Matthew was finishing the last of the paper-work on his desk as Belle entered. Getting up from his desk, he quickly looked himself over. Belle quickly moved towards him, pointing out and fixing the small wrinkles in his clothes and re-adjusting his collar.

    Belle: ¡°I have rather urgent news that you should know before the meeting.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°What is it?¡±

    Belle: ¡°Apparently, the ¡®Hero¡¯ had made an appearance in the dungeon and apparently Nathan was spotted in the same area as well.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Matthew immediately frowned upon the news.

    Matthew: ¡°Any witnesses?¡±

    Belle: ¡°From what I heard, they only felt the presence of the Hero and the sound of a battle taking place in a forest. Though there were a few who witness the Lycanian and her party member enter the forest long before the battle took place.¡±

    Matthew put his hand to his chin.

    Matthew: ¡°Where did you hear this information?¡±

    Belle: ¡°A few adventurers returning from Viridi Wilds, began spreading the rumor. From what I can tell its been a few hours since the battle ended.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°Then for now, leave it as is.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Should we not try to regulate, as to keep the information from spreading?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°If they came from Viridi Wilds, then it¡¯s a good chance the information has been relayed to Midheim as well. Since Viridi Wilds is between here and there, regulating won¡¯t do much good at this point. Let it spread, the Hero was in the dungeon. That¡¯s all they will know.¡±

    Belle: ¡°Maxwell and Alexandria will grow further suspicious. They will believe not believe this a coincidence.¡±

    Matthew: ¡°No; they won¡¯t come to any immediate conclusions. At most they will believe that the Hero and Lycanian have some relation to each other. Regardless of their suspicions, it will be hard to refute hundreds of years of established facts and believe anything otherwise.¡±

    Matthew headed towards the door.

    Belle: ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    Matthew: ¡°The Hero can be of no other race, but human.¡±

    -==O==-

    Nathan: ¡°You¡¯re telling me she just ¡®ran¡¯ off into the forest herself?¡±

    Zane: ¡°That¡¯s it how it went; I had absolutely no intention of letting her come in here alone.¡±

    Ash: ¡°And, you just realize she was gone?¡±

    Nathan and Zane returned to Ash and Iris, after defeating the Mimic. Though they were both surprised to see Zane carrying Nathan around and more surprised that he was allowing it, but they remembered he had yet to recover from his battle and it was the only way and after being handed to Ash, Nathan berated Zane for his stupidity for allowing Jasmine to enter the woods alone and letting her fall into needless danger. She was the reason they were able to get away from the Mimic, but she still should not have been there.

    Zane: ¡°Eleanora had only informed me of her disappearance later, she was with her protecting the carriage and warn Jasmine from entering the forest by herself, but they couldn¡¯t stop her from venturing in¡±

    Nathan: ¡°(I can¡¯t believe you believe that?)¡±

    It was obvious to Nathan that Elenora purposely waited to tell him, in hopes of Jasmine not returning.

    Nathan: ¡°I immediately entered the forest to find her, but not long after entering, I suddenly felt the presence of the Hero.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ngh!?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Though it was short, I at least was able to determine which direction to travel and headed off in search. I had hope she was headed that direction as well¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What do you mean; can¡¯t you track your party members?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Jasmine isn¡¯t an official member yet, I¡¯ve yet to perform the contract. So as I investigated the sudden Hero presence, I found you being ravaged by the foul Mimic.¡±

    Ash: ¡°(So that¡¯s why he doesn¡¯t know.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°First off, no one was being ravaged, it was my plan.¡±

    Zane: ¡°You planned to be consumed by the Mimic!?¡±

    *Ggugugugugugugu*

    Instantly upon Zane words, a sudden miasma sprung up from the fairy sitting on Ash¡¯s shoulder. She slowly shifted her gazed towards Nathan, with malice that took form of a skull above her head.

    Nathan: ¡°I THOUGHT IT UP ON THE SPARE OF THE MOMENT, I SWEAR.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Why on Leseres are you screaming?¡±

    Zane couldn¡¯t see Iris, so he was unaware, of the death stare she was currently giving Nathan. She said nothing, but her deathly stare told him everything he needed to know: ¡®I will hear about this in great detail later¡¯. Nathan shivered thinking about what¡¯s to come, as did Ash, who was caught in the crossfire.

    Zane: ¡°Either way, I¡¯m glad you are safe¡­¡­ Now Ash, I believe we should be getting close to our destination?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Huh¡­oh right; yeah. It¡¯s right past these falling trees, that¡¯s where I left her.¡±

    The group climb to the top of the fallen trees, a small clearing had been made in the middle of them and with how large the tees were, they made a makeshift fortress against unwanted guests.

    Ash: ¡°I just wish we could have made it here sooner, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Zane: ¡°No. The fault is mine alone, where is she?¡±

    Ash pointed to a single tree left standing after the Mimic¡¯s rampage through the area. It didn¡¯t take long for him to spot the person lying beneath its branches.

    Zane: ¡°Jasmine.¡±

    Zane jumped down from the logs and hurried over to his party member, Nathan and company joining him after moment. Zane stood over her, with her eyes closed and head turned slightly to the left and a gentle smile as if she was having a pleasant dream. Zane couldn¡¯t help but bring a hand to her cheek. Despite the circumstances, Nathan thought the scene was similar to a fairytale from his world, the prince holding over the princesses¡¯ body as her life slowly slipped away in his hands. However, the next moment shattered that illusion.

    Jasmine: ¡°Achoo!¡±

    Jasmine sneezed, leaving a string of mucus dangling from her nose.  She looked dazed for a moment before turning her head to her visitors, the strand of mucus bobbing to and fro as she did.

    Jasmine: ¡°You brought him Ash; and Nathan too, why is he carrying you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Pffft, D-Don¡¯t worry about it, are you okay?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Yup, I¡¯m just fine.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Before we continue any further; please wipe your nose.¡±

    Zane handed her a piece of cloth to, as Jasmine finally realized the string hanging from her nose. With a slight blush and a strained laugh she wiped her nose of the obstruction.

    Jasmine looked herself over, except for a few wrinkles from napping on the ground, everything else was fine.

    Nathan: ¡°Ash told me the Mimic didn¡¯t even attack you, it just took all your stuff and then the Hero appeared then drove it away.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Then I would really like to thank the Hero, though unintentional, his intervention saved your life.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ugh y-yeah, that¡¯s right the Hero. When he appeared the Mimic took my stuff and ignored me completely.¡±

    Jasmine turned her head away with a strained laugh. Nathan found that suspicious, but more than that, the scent in this area was telling him a story, a story that didn¡¯t match up with what he was told.

    Nathan: ¡°(Hmm?)¡±

    Zane: ¡°However, you should not have run off by yourself, the forest is dangerous.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well, some things happened and I needed some time to myself.¡±

    Zane: ¡°There are safer places to think.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°But, I was able to get the antlers, but that damn Mimic...everything but my dagger was taken.¡±

    Zane: ¡°You¡¯re lucky it had no interest in you. Once we return, we will have a nice long discussion about this.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°But-¡±

    Zane placed his hand on her head.

    Zane: ¡°Please don¡¯t do this again.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Zane: ¡°I¡¯m glad your safe.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°This is a very wholesome scene, but could you please lead us out? I¡¯ve had it up to here with this forest.¡±

    Nathan jumped down from Ash¡¯s back, having regained some of his strength back, stretching and checking to make sure he was mobile.

    Zane: ¡°Right, I have most of this forest mapped out, please follow me.¡±

    Zane began to walk away, with Jasmine soon joining behind him. As she passed by, Jasmine looked towards Ash, a look Nathan caught in the instance that she did it. Ash nodded and followed behind them, only to be held back by Nathan.

    Nathan(*whisper*): ¡°So you going to tell me what really happened with Jasmine?¡±

    Ash(*whisper*): ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Nathan(*whisper*): ¡°Ash¡­there was no way I wouldn¡¯t notice the thick scent of blood around here, especially, she washed can wash away the stains, but she can¡¯t get rid of the smell that easily. And you and I both know that Mimic would not just leave her alone, she herself said as much.¡±

    Ash(*whisper*): ¡°Sorry, she asked me not to tell anyone what I saw.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why, what happened?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Sorry man I can¡¯t.¡±

    Nathan(*whisper*): ¡°Fine.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, I will tell you what you want to know.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Right, she can¡¯t see you so you so you made know promise.¡±

    Iris: ¡°It is as you say, I will tell you all that has occurred.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nathan, what¡¯s wrong with you? It¡¯s not like you to care so much¡­¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master risked his life to lure the monster away, he is at least owed an explanation as to why she is not hurt or all he went through would be for naught.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You want her to be hurt?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What? No. It¡¯s just that, if is how you say it is (then me losing the sword would be for nothing).¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nathan?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Would you be satisfied to find out all your efforts were for nothing, that you placed yourself in needless danger for reason¡¯s no-one cared to explain?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Fine I get it, but I won¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I will tell him everything; there is no need for you to break your promise.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Come, we must make haste, if we are to exit the forest while there still daylight.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re coming. We¡¯ll talk when we get out of here; I also have something to tell you guys.¡±

    With Zane leading them, Nathan and friends make their way out of the forest, heading toward Zane¡¯s campsite.

 Chapter 102: Brooding Thieves

    <u>Chapter:102 Brooding Thieves</u>

    Jonathan: ¡°A Mimic¡­¡­.. in this forest?¡¯

    Bandit: ¡°Yes sir, I seen it myself.¡±

    In a part of the dungeon, far from Nathan, tents were set up as a temporary base for Jonathan and his underlings. At the moment, one of his men were debriefing him on Nathan¡¯s current positioning. They strayed a bit from the tents to avoid prying eyes and ears, he may be in charge of them, but it would be foolish to find completely loyal members in a guild of vagabonds. Ever since they entered the dungeon, they had been tracking Nathan, being careful not to stray to close in fear of detection. However, they had lost him upon his entrance into the forest, only relocating him later, when he was battling the Mimic.

    Jonathan: ¡°Where is the Mimic now?¡±

    Bandit: ¡°The adventurer Zane, sent it over the edge into the abyss.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°She was swallowed by a Mimic and was able to escape. I never heard of such a thing was possible.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Several times throughout the fight, she would periodically fire off a spell of purple or yellow goo.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°That¡¯ the poison she used on us.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Every time she was successful at getting it into the Mimics mouth, the Mimic would move as if it was hurt.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Mimics are weak to poison.¡±

    Jonathan though about it for a moment, if that was true, this information could prove valuable. Mimics are incredibly dangerous, but at the same time incredibly valuable, due to they are one of the three living treasure troves and like all of them, house a variety of treasure or if the information is correct, tamed and used for security. There have been no documented cases of anyone successfully capturing a Mimic, let alone killing it. This information could greatly expand the thieves¡¯ guild¡¯s ambitions. Which is why it must be kept a secret.

    Jonathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­Does anyone else know about this?¡±

    Bandit: ¡°I don¡¯t believe so, just me and my squad members here.¡±

    Jonathan glanced at the three other men standing behind the one talking.

    Jonathan: ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    Bandit: ¡°Sir?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°The Hero showed up, were you able to locate him?¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Hearing the potential profitable news about the mimics, it had completely slipped Jonathans mind that the Hero did in fact show up.

    Bandit: ¡°S-Sorry but no we weren¡¯t able to find him at all. We only felt his presence for the briefest of moments and if we searched for him, we would have missed the fight between the Lycanian and the Mimic.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Well that¡¯s fine, the information you¡¯ve obtained is way more valuable than the Hero for the guild. You all did good.¡±

    Jonathan turned towards Jennifer and nodded to her. Stepping forward, Jennifer retrieved her dagger.

    Jonathan: ¡°Which is why is truly regrettable you all have to die.¡±

    The faces of the Bandits contorted upon Jonathan¡¯s word, but before they could a word out, Jennifer had disappeared.

    *Swoosh**Slash x4*

    In an instant, blood sprayed from the necks of the four men and before they could comprehend what had happened, they were already dead. Jennifer took out a small cloth, using it to wipe clean her dagger before placing back in its holster.

    Jonathan: ¡°Burn the bodies, wouldn¡¯t want them re-animating.  Tell the men we will be moving, we¡¯ve been compromised, betrayed by our comrades and our location leaked to the Lycanian.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°I¡¯ll report the information to Master Simon immediately.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Not just yet. If Mimics are indeed weak to poison, then once tamed they could be extraordinary assets to the guild, but we can¡¯t go on their word alone. Is it all poisons? A specific one or is it just what the Lycanian could produce? We¡¯ll need to verify these accounts ourselves before making any plans about telling Simon.

    Jennifer piled the bodies atop each other and then with a single Flare spell she set them ablaze. Absolutely no emotion as she went about her task of erasing her comrades.

    Jennifer: ¡°How do we do that? It¡¯s not like there is another Mimic just sitting around.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Yes...there is that. Maybe Shane knows where we can find one, he was once an adventurer. Where is he anyway?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°He said he was going for a walk. It would be great if he did not return.¡±

    Jonathan sighed upon Jennifer¡¯s comment.

    Jonathan: ¡°Can you at least try to get along with him...?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°No.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Not even an ounce of hesitation in your response.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Just showing my sincerest thoughts on the subject.¡±

    Jonathan shook his head, as they both strolled away from the burning corpses.

    -=O=-

    Ashley: ¡°*sigh* That was so scary.¡±

    Ashley spoke out loud as she shelved various books left by the library¡¯s visitor. Although she absolutely didn¡¯t mind, in fact she loved it. It had a calming effect for her and after that meeting with her superiors, she needed some time to calm down.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Ashley: ¡°Why would Master Simon call me? Anyone could have read that report?¡±

    Though she said that, it was obvious she would be called to explain. Gideon¡¯s death might have been closer to Borice, but seeing as how it didn¡¯t have a library nor a Thieves Guild informant stationed there. Most of the information that happens in the area, go¡¯s to her. Compared to Midheim, Hyborne and Silverein, Loegrey didn¡¯t have a heavy deal of information coming through, so she jumped on the position immediately. Her primary duty was to get any new information from the library, that was stored and in secure locations, and relay it to the Thieves Guild, which was rather simple since after a few years ago, she gained clearance to enter all restricted areas of the Library.

    However, in recent months her precious peace had been stolen from her. This was all thanks to the Lycanian, because of her constant meddling, the Guild had lost some valuable commodities; a business deal was destroyed, and the leader¡¯s own son was killed. It was if the Lycanian was actively starting a conflict with the Guild.

    Now the order had been given to kill her and all activities and updates about said venture were funneled through Ashley and thus she blamed everything on the Lycanian. She¡¯d met the Lycanian a few days ago and hated every minute of it. Just remembering the way the Lycanian bullied her the entire time.

    Ashley: ¡°Maye I should ask for a transfer to Hyborne.¡±

    Cheria: ¡°You want to quit?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Ah, Cheria?¡±

    Ashley turned to find her fellow librarian and only friend at work, Cheria. Like always she was wearing her large framed glasses and the libraries customary white robe.

    Cheria: ¡°Is there something your uncomfortable with, would you mind telling me?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°No, No, No, I-I¡¯m just fine.¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Are you sure, you just said-¡°

    Ashley: ¡°P-Please disregard, I was just thinking of places for some down time.¡±

    Ashley spoke quickly and through har teeth, trying to convince Cheria otherwise and failing. Cheria clearly heard her say ¡®transfer¡¯.

    Cheria: ¡°(But she seems to be trying hard to avoid, so I let it slide for my cute subordinate) Is that so, well alright.¡±

    Ashley gave a sigh of relief, having successfully fooled her, Cheria having a quiet laugh at her relieved face.

    Cheria: ¡°Anyway, why don¡¯t you take a break...?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°A break?¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Yes it¡¯s seemed a friend has come to visit, she¡¯s waiting at the front desk.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Huh, a friend.¡±

    Ashley quickly realizing who it was, immediately finished her work and followed Cheria out. No matter how fast she wanted to arrive, she needed to walk the long halls to the main hall. Except for them, there was no one else around, so Cheria made conversation.

    Cheria: ¡°We have received confidential information from the Guild, after lunch as always I need your help sorting and sealing it.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Confidential information from the guild?¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Though I can¡¯t go into detail, the Guild wants the information sealed in the Vault.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°The Vault?¡±

    Ashley thought that this was her moment. She had received a mission from her guild and that mission was to send them any, and all information, from the Adventurers Guild that came through. The guild usually keeps documents and such sealed tight within their walls. However, some secrets are just too important to be kept in such an unsecure place, that¡¯s where the ¡®Library Vaults¡¯ come in.

    There was room for debate, the Library vault was impenetrable. Any and all documents placed within was guaranteed to stay secure for as long as the client so wished it. And all manner of documents were sealed, rather they be illicit or otherwise, as long as the client provided the funds, there secrets were guaranteed to remain out of the light.

    Ashley: ¡°(If they brought it here, it can only be the contract surrounding the Lycanian.)¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for people to find out that the Lycanian had signed a confidentiality contract. The Thieves Guild had tried several times to hire the Lycanian for any personal quest, only to find that any information on the Lycanian, such as her magic affinity, party members and race, were all withheld.

    This was unusual since, they were the two things, most Quest-givers were allowed to know, to let them understand who exactly they were hiring and who was best fit for the job. However, the only information allowed to anyone was level and rank within the guild.

    Ashley: ¡°(What exactly would the Lycanian need to keep hidden¡­¡­.. doesn¡¯t matter. Maybe after I find out Master Simon will give me a break.)

    Ashley sighed dejectedly; she knew the answer to that without even asking. Coming down the long hallway and reaching the front desk she smiled seeing the Therian girl waiting for her.

    Ashley: ¡°Viola.¡±

    Hearing her name, Viola, turned to find Ashley waving and rushing over to her. Smiling back to her friend, she began walking towards her, meeting her halfway. Ashley and Viola had been friends for a few years now, becoming close after a particular incident.

    Whenever they could, they would just meet up, talk and spend time with one another, usually Ashley talking about how experiences dealing with the many adventurers that come through and Viola laughing at Ashley¡¯s reactions when she told her about how she stole from said adventurers.

    Ashley: ¡°Viola it¡¯s so wonderful to see you, it¡¯s been so long.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Yes, it has, but you¡¯re always so busy lately, it¡¯s hard to visit.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Yes it has, will you listen? Life is so hard.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Actually, Ashley, I need some advice.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Advice from me?¡±

    Viola: ¡°I haven¡¯t been feeling well lately. Someone told me that I should speak to a girl about it and you¡¯re the only other girl-friend I know and since you¡¯re so smart I figured you¡¯d know what¡¯s wrong with me.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Well I don¡¯t know how much help I will be, but if I can help, I¡¯ll be glad to.¡±

    Ashley wasn¡¯t the best giver of advice, in fact, she couldn¡¯t recall one time where she¡¯d ever gave anyone advice. However, her friend was willing to give her a go, so she would try her best. More than that, she believed she knew exactly what¡¯s wrong, its typical for girls to have this problem, hence why she wouldn¡¯t go to a man for advice. However, Ashley recalled they were around the same age, give or take two years and such problems have already occurred within Ashley, but she soon let it off as Viola being a late bloomer.

    Viola: ¡°It¡¯s about this boy.¡±

    *Glass crack*

    Ashley: ¡°A B-B-B-B-Boy!?¡±

    Ashley¡¯s confidence instantly shattered, as the single toughest topic amongst the spiraling mass of inquiries the universe could blink into existence was suddenly thrown in her face. In the wake of such a monumental topic, Ashley had frozen to the spot she was currently occupying.

    Viola: ¡°Ashley?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Viola: ¡°Ashley if it¡¯s too much, we don¡¯t have to talk about it.¡±

    Ashley: *Gasp*, NO, ITS NOT TOO MUCH!¡±

    Viola: ¡°R-Really?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Y-Yes of course, but let¡¯s move somewhere else to talk, I¡¯ll buy us some lunch.¡±

    Viola: ¡°Ah, okay, thank Ashley.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°N-No problem. (OH CRAP, OH CRAP, WHAT AM I GONNA DO? I DON¡¯T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT B-B-BOYS. IS IT SOMEONE SHE LIKES..? OF COURSE IT IS, WHAT ELSE WHAT IT BE WHEN IT¡¯S A TOPIC ABOUT B-B-BOYS. SO, SHE NEEDS ADVICE ABOUT LOVE. IT¡¯S ABOUT LOVE ISN¡¯T IT? BUT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER. THIS THE WORST POSSIBLE TOPIC FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE).¡±

    Ashley felt she was walking to the guillotine; she knew nothing on this topic and soon Viola would know as well. She could only imagine how Viola would react when she found out she knows nothing.

    Ashley: ¡°(SOMEONE SAVE MEEEEEEE!)¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Oh-my, this seems like a rather interesting topic, do you mind if I join you?¡±

    Ashley: ¡°C-Cheria, w-here did you come from!?¡±

    Viola: ¡°She was standing there the entire time, you didn¡¯t notice? Hello, I¡¯m Viola. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Cheria, and the pleasure is all mine. So, do you mind if I join? I may be able to help you come to understand what¡¯s wrong.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°(Cheria, you angel sent from the heavens above; thank you for coming to my aid).¡±

    Viola: ¡°I don¡¯t care, if it will help the more the merrier. Ah is this okay, Ashley I originally came for your help, but I acted on imp-¡±

    Ashley: ¡°IT¡¯S FINE!¡±

    Viola was startled by the sudden scream, which made Ashley read just from her tone.

    Ashley: ¡°I-I mean you can never have too much advice and it might be better to have two different viewpoints to help better understand what happening to you.¡±

    Cheria: ¡°Then that¡¯s settled, thank you for allowing me and lunch will be on me.¡±

    Ashley: ¡°Then, shall we be off?...¡±

    On that note the three headed out of the library. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief as she descended the stairs, one that Cheria caught onto.

    Cheria: ¡°(Ashley is so cute when she panicky.)¡±

    From the way she was acting, Cheria figured Ashley had absolutely no experience with men. She also figured she would be doing most of the talking when they began their chat. But she didn¡¯t mind, she was more than willing to help out her cute subordinate.

 Chapter 103: A Deaf Ruler

    <u>Chapter: 103 The Deaf King</u>

    Pristyne Capitol, Suvari; Ravagers Colosseum:-

    In a colosseum, adjacent to Primeval Castle, a battle was reaching a conclusion. The crowds scream was a mass of primal roars and shrieks, totally enthralled by the stunning display they had just bared witness to.

    Sprawled out across the enter stadium ring was a mass of bodies. Many Pristyne laid unconscious, beaten and thrown about by the lone figure left standing in the center of the ring; Gryphon Ro¡¯Ark Braivly, the undisputed strongest amongst the Prisytne. Gryphon needed no introduction, nor did he boast his might to prove a point, he was the strongest, simple as that. Even though this was the undisputed truth, as of late, challenger after challenger had come to his doorstep and demanded a battle for the throne, which lead-up to the events of today.

    Pristyne after Pristyne swarmed Gryphon in an attempt to de-throne him by besting him, but with little effort Gryphon easily defeated every challenger. No matter the strength they boasted, they were no match for him. Gryphon looked down at the many bodies that laid at his feet and grimaced. Next his eyes rose to the stands as the many spectators screamed at him, not cheering for his victories, but for his defeat. For many years he had ruled these various men and women and, as of late, they had shown disdain for his rule.

    Spectator A: ¡°WEAKLINGS, TO BE STRUCK DOWN BY SUCH A COWARDLY RULER!¡±

    Spectator B: ¡°WE DON¡¯T NEED A KING AFRAID OF HUMANS!¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Do you all really want war so badly?¡±

    *Doors open*

    Gryphon was brought out of his reverie as the next challenger entered, but quickly going wide eyed when he realized who it was.

    ?????: ¡°It¡¯s been a while old friend.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Thorn!?¡±

    Thorn, one of Suvari¡¯s fiercest warriors and current general of the Berserkers. And being a member, ¡®Urserk¡¯, a hulking bear of the Pristyne race, the size was incomparable to most of the race. With arms as thick as a tree trunk and strength enough to shatter rock, an attack from him would kill most.

    Spectator D: ¡°General Thorn is here, the one who stood side by side with Gryphon during the great movement. Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be on Trosan defending our claims?¡±

    Spectator E: ¡°He came back after hearing the humans¡¯ declaration. He must be here to take Gryphons place as ruler. Thank the gods; someone dependable showed up.¡±

    Spectator C: ¡°To hear of his sworn friend¡¯ cowardly actions, he must be deeply ashamed.¡±

    Gryphon paid the spectators no mind, as he was too focus on the only other person standing the center arena.

    Gryphon: ¡°What is the meaning of this Thorn?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Gryphon, we¡¯re standing in the middle of a battle arena, the intention is obvious; even an idiot could that.¡±

    Thorn snorted as he raised a hulking hammer onto his shoulder. ¡®Crimson Herald¡¯, Thorn¡¯s weapon, that was never more than five feet from his person, a simply massive weapon that most couldn¡¯t even wield, fit perfectly with in the hands of the hulking bear-man.

    He began a slow walk toward Gryphon; all the while the cheers from the spectators grew louder.  Arriving a few feet away from Gryphon, Thorn stopped. Gryphon tightened his fist as he turned his gaze to meet Thorn¡¯s.

    Gryphon: ¡°You of all people, would challenge me?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Don¡¯t get ya cape in a knot. I¡¯ll most certainly be the last challenger, don''t you worry.¡±

    Thorn laughed as he looked at the various losers finally being dragged from the ring, making room for the upcoming clash.

    Gryphon: ¡°This is no time for your jokes, Thorn,¡±

    Thorn: ¡°No my friend, no jokes this time.¡±

    Thorn raised his hammer high into the sky and then brought it down.

    *Boooooooooom*

    The stadium shook and many of the spectators went silent upon the impact of Thorn¡¯s hammer. A massive crater now lay where the hammer had struck, but unsurprising to Thorn was the lack of bodies.

    Thorn: ¡°Still light on your feet I see.¡±

    Thorn wasn¡¯t even a bit surprised when he turned to see Gryphon standing just beyond the crater, completely unscathed.

    Thorn: ¡°But this¡­is only the beginning.¡±

    Thorn lunged for Gryphon with his hammer ready to strike but, just like the first time, Gryphon effortlessly avoided the strike. What followed was a series of blows from Thorn followed, by an effortless dodges from Gryphon.

    Gryphon: ¡°Enough of this.¡±

    The moment Thorn swung his hammer, Gryphon quickly bypassed the strike and close the distance and planted his fist deep into Thorn¡¯s abdomen.

    Thorn: ¡°Gophh!¡±

    Thorn skirted back, from the force of the blow.

    Thorn: ¡°Hehehe, still hurts like shit.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°You¡¯re¡­..still standing?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Yes, you were trying to knock me out what that puny punch? Insulting is what it is.¡±

    Thorn touched the spot where he¡¯d been struck, it had been a long time since he¡¯d felt such an impact.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Thorn: ¡°Alright then, enough of the warm up; let¡¯s get down to business.¡±

    Thorn lifted his hammer once again and as he did, a series of crackle¡¯s emanated from his hammer. A crimson red aura began to engulf the head of the hammer, crackling like lightning. Gryphon stood dumbfounded at the sight, not that he had not seen it before, he could believe Thorn would willingly against it on him.

    As if answering his question; Thorn swung his hammer down.

    *Boooooooooooom*

    An eruption less destructive than the first, however where it lacked in force; it made up visuals and sound. Like thunder had struck in the immediate vicinity, many spectators, skipped a breath in fright. That was a part of the attack, the initial sound was meant to disorientate your opponent. However, Gryphon knew full well of Thorn¡¯s fighting methods and of his ¡®Crimson Thunder¡¯ or so he called it. He would first strike the ground, this was used as an intimidation method. The thunderous sound work to startle most into acting a second later, but Gryphon wasn¡¯t most people.  He didn¡¯t even flinch from the noise, so he was ready when Thorn appeared in front of him.

    Thorn was as forward as a straight-line when it came to combat and preferred to be up close and personal with an all-out assault. Even Gryphon himself had to admit it was dangerous to stay in his range for too long and only enter it when was time to strike. So, when Thorn had closed the distance, ready to strike, Gryphon had already prepared himself; or so he thought.

    Thorn brought his hammer down, the crimson-lightning radiating as it tore through the air and smashed down right where Gryphon was standing. Gryphon had again; dodged the attack.

    *Bzzt*

    Gryphon: ¡°(What?)"

    Gryphon had a weird feeling for a moment, in his peripheral vision, he thought he saw red sparks in the air around him. Not only that, as he moved out of the way of Thorn¡¯s attack. However, he didn¡¯t have any time to think as Thorn was hot on his tail, swinging the lightning-covered hammer at him. His attack pattern was the same as ever, except each swing seemed to be arriving faster and faster.

    Gryphon: ¡°(No, he isn¡¯t any faster, I¡¯m slowing down.)¡±

    At the rate they were going any moment now the hammer would catch him, if that was the case, he just needed to counterattack. Just like before, Gryphon closed the distance with Thorn an in instant, if he was going to hold back like he did before, he would be knocked out with this punch.

    *Bzzzzzzzzt*

    Gryphon: ¡°Nghn!¡±

    Gryphon instantly pulled his fist back right before contact, but it was too late. Electricity crackled as Gryphon was engulfed in red lightning. The surge shocked him down to his core and paralyzed him for an instant and that all Thorn needed. With one mighty swing, the large hammer smashed into Gryphon, batting him across the arena and smashing him into the wall.

    Cheers erupted all around as the spectators looked on at their king now buried in rubble from the destroyed wall.

    Thorn lifted the hammer to his shoulder in snorted, waiting for Gryphon to emerge.

    Thorn: ¡°Come now Gryphon, we both know that such an attack wouldn¡¯t do you in.¡±

    Answering his statement, Gryphon emerged from the pile of rubble. As Thorn had stated; Gryphon didn¡¯t look remotely hurt, except for a few scrapes, he was fine.

    Thorn: ¡°Oh come on¡­I know what I said, but only a few scrapes? At least pretend to be hurt.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°What did you do to me Thorn?

    Gryphon was no fool, he wasn¡¯t mistaken with what he saw. Even without direct contact, somehow Thorn was able to slow his movements.

    Thorn: ¡°A little something I¡¯ve been working on just for people like you Gryphon. You¡¯re one of the few I know that like to get so close to me without a problem, so i found away around that problem.¡±

    As he spoke he raised his hammer into the air, loud crackling as he swung it around. He then charged at Gryphon again, swinging wildly trying as he tried to smash him.

    Gryphon: ¡°(What is he doing?)¡±

    Every swing Gryphon felt himself slowing down, but the way Thorn was swinging his hammer seemed odd. Thorn was a veteran fighter, but his attacks now had no rhythm, more so that some of the swings would out-right miss.

    *Bzt*

    Gryphon: ¡°(Again that charge in the air, wait could be it be?)¡±

    Thorn made one large horizontal swing, Gryphon believed he could avoid it easily, but found the hammer had made it to his side.

    *Bam*

    With another booming smash Gryphon was hit in the side with the hammer, however unlike last time he didn¡¯t go flying off into a wall. In fact, it seemed as though he was moving closer to the hammer as Thorn, wound his arms for another swing.

    *Bam* *Smash* *Thwack*

    Gryphon was smashed with the hammer repeatedly as he was sent flying, before being pulled back by some unseen force and smashed again.

    Thorn: ¡°WHAT¡¯S THE MATTER GRYPHON? DIDN¡¯T EXPECT THIS? I WASN¡¯T JUST TWIDLING MY THUMBS WHILE I WAS AWAY. I MADE THIS JUST FOR YOU AND ALL THOSE OTHER SPEEDY TYPES. NO MORE FRILLY DANCING AROUND.¡±

    *Smash*

    Thorn: ¡°EVEN YOU CAN¡¯T KEEP UP WITH THIS FOR TOO LONG?...¡±

    Thorn continued his volley unbeknownst to the fleeting power of the pulling force. With every smash of the hammer, Gryphon felt the strong pull slacking. After he was hit by the hammer, Gryphon used the momentum from him being pulled back to his advantage. With some god-like dexterity he avoided in the swing of the hammer in mid-air.

    *Smash*

    Thorn: ¡°Gagh!?¡±

    Before Thorn realized what was going on, Gryphon had already kneed him in the face. Gryphon didn¡¯t stop, with a quick spin he kicked Thorn, sending him rolling backwards. Thorn came out of the roll by smashing his hammer into the ground, vaulting himself up off the ground, to find Gryphon on top of him ready to strike again.

    *Bzt*

    Gryphon quickly jumped back from Thorn, giving up on finishing the fight. However, with that exchange he was able to figure out what was happening. Every time Thorn smashes his hammer into an object, it sends off an electric charge that attaches itself to anyone close by, evident by the red sparks Gryphon witness around him every so often.

    Then as he swings his hammer around, the charge pulls the target towards the hammer, growing stronger everytime he strikes make contact with the ground. It was why Gryphon felt as though the swings were getting faster each time, he was being pulled toward the hammer as the charges were attracting one another.

    Lastly the reason why he couldn¡¯t strike Thorn when this was happening, for some reason the charge around their bodies was repulsing each other followed by a discharge from having come so close to one another, leading to a small electric shock.

    Thorn looked Gryphon over, shaking the air as he laughed out loud.

    Thorn: ¡°Seems you figured me out, aye? You always were making that face when you¡¯re thinking. As stoic as ever.¡±

    Thorn continued to laugh out loud, thinking how much his friend hasn¡¯t changed in the time he was away. Even the things he started to say, were nothing if not ¡®Gryphon Ro¡¯ark Braivly¡¯.

    Gryphon: ¡°Enough Thorn¡­lets end this foolishness, there is no reason for us to fight.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Aye, but there is, can you not hear it?¡¯

    Gryphon didn¡¯t understand what he was talking about. The only thing he could hear was the sound of the war-thirsty citizens of his kingdom, screaming for him to lose. He had grown deaf to their rantings as of late, refusing to listen to their banter. No matter how much they scream at him to go to war, for their sakes he stopped listening.

    Gryphon: ¡°The foolish ramblings of  peace soaked fools, who know nothing of war and what it entails.¡±

    Thorn frowned when Gryphon didn¡¯t seem to understand what he meant and sighed heavily. Truly he didn¡¯t want to fight either, but Gryphon was just too dense to figure things out without being smacked around.

    Thorn: ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like you can hear them at all.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°What?

    Thorn: ¡°It seems your ears are clogged. No matter¡­¡±

    Thorn raised his hammer again, crimson sparks shooting off as he did.

    Thorn: ¡°I, being the great friend that I am, my partner and I here will help    unclog them.¡±

 Chapter 104: Right-hand Man

    <u>Chapter 104: Right-hand Man</u>

    Gryphon: ¡°This is ridiculous, the fight has been decided, you can barely stand.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Barely standing just means I haven¡¯t fallen. And before I do, I will have you bolster your strength unrivaled.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°What nonsense.¡±

    With that said, Thorn charged Gryphon once again; Gryphon as unmoving as always and with his still posture, it was nearly impossible, to predict what he was going to do, and Thorn knew this better than anyone.

    After figuring out that Thorn needed to smash his hammer against an object to build an electric charge, Gryphon made sure not to let that happen as much as possible. Every time Thorn tried to strike the ground to build a charge, Gryphon would throw himself at the hammer. Sure, it hurt and there was a slight dis-charge, but it was insignificant compared to what he could build up from continuously striking the ground. With the discharge now a no longer a real threat Gryphon was free to pummel Thorn whenever he got close. After a while, the winner became clear as Thorn just couldn¡¯t build up enough charge to cause any real damage.

    Thorn: ¡° *heavy breathing* Th-This isn¡¯t over. (This will get him.)

    Raising his hammer into the air, with all his strength he hurled it at Gryphon. Surprised by the attack, but not hindered, Gryphon stepped out of the way of the the weapon smashing through the wall of the arena with great force. Gryphon never took his eyes off Thorn, undistracted by the hammer impact with the wall and with that impact, it had charged enough to affect Gryphon, but it was useless, if not wielded. This was it; Gryphon was going to end this fight with his next attack, quickly closing the distance.

    Thorn: ¡°Predictable.¡±

    *Clap*

    Thorn placed his hands together, as the mana within him began to surge. Just as it he did, ¡®Crimson Herald¡¯ began to crackle with electricity.

    *Bzzzzzzzzzt*

    Gryphon stopped his charge as the air around began to crackle with electricity. The hair on his body stood on end as the static cover his body.

    Gryphon: ¡°What?¡±

    Then all at once, electricity filled the area between the hammer and Thorn, with Gryphon caught between the two points, was bombarded with red lightning. Like a crimson cage, the electricity held a spherical shape, with Gryphon right in the middle.

    Gryphon: ¡°Gaagh!¡±

    The cage of electricity crackled madly, like thousands of chirping birds as the spectator¡¯s roars were drowned out by the mass of electric crackling. Even with electricity, Gryphon remained standing, refusing to take to a knee.

    Somewhere in the audience, someone, screamed for him to fall, then another. Soon the entire coliseum was screaming for him to fall, but still, Gryphon would not submit. Falling here would seem him replaced and in the wake of that the young people screaming for him to lose would be made to fight a senseless battle.

    Gryphon: ¡°I will not let that come to pass.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°(That¡¯s right Gryphon, don¡¯t fall, show them.)¡±

    Amongst the screaming of the spectators and with the searing pain from being bombarded with electricity, Gryphon who should have been paralyzed and unable to move, defied all odds and took a step forward. Gritting his teeth, he took another and another, slowly closing the distance between him and Thorn.

    Spectator D: ¡°H-Hey, this is crazy right, how is he able to move?¡±

    Spectator C: ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s weak, I mean he was pushing back Thorn.¡±

    Spectator A: ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s sure to fall from this right, he couldn¡¯t possibly keep standing.¡±

    Gryphon nor Thorn could hear it, but a gradual change was happening amongst the spectators. It was faint, but those who were witnessing this battle, a question was forming.

    Seeing Gryphon draw closer, Thorn unleashed even more lightning, the sphere growing larger and threatening even to swallow up the audience and Thorn as well.  Even with Hammer pulling, Gryphon didn¡¯t stop, his fist releasing a blue aura as he came closer to Thorn.

    Gryphon: ¡°I¡­will¡­.not fall. They know not the horrors of war. Thorn my old friend, you can¡¯t possibly want to see us return to that time.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°I will NOT have my people go through such a thing ever again, and that is why, I shall heed this throne to no-one.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t just spout pretty words, show me your convictions.¡±

    Thorn let out even more electricity, as Gryphon was standing right next to him. With blue aura raging around his fist, he brought it to the edge of the sphere.

    *Boom*

    A thunder-like sound was omitted when Gryphon¡¯s fist struck the side of the sphere, forcing his fist through the wall of lightning. Thorn poured on the power into the sphere, but the stronger lightning, the more intense Gryphon blur aura grew.

    The struggles between the two intensified, merging into a violet light before exploding. The violet light blinded everyone, forcing them to cover their eyes from the light.

    When the light died down, all eyes fell back to the center of the arena. One man remained standing, with a smoldering fist. It was Gryphon, as he stood over the unconscious Thorn. In the wake of their mighty clash Gryphon stood supreme and as they did before the spectators let out a flurry of disdain and venomous words.

    Spectator B: ¡°So even the mighty Thorn has fallen to the coward.¡±

    Spectator E: ¡°Just how far have the mighty fallen to be laid out at this man feet.¡±

    Spectator F: ¡°Humiliation doesn¡¯t even describe how I would feel. Useless Thorn. No wonder he wasn¡¯t king back then.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°FOOLS!¡±

    *ROOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR*

    With a mighty roar, louder than anything they¡¯d heard before, Gryphon brought everyone in the stadium to their knees. Not just the stadium, far around the city many were shaking and brought to their knees by the sound. Those outside the arena all turned their eyes to the coliseum, while those within its walls were unable to lift their heads out of fear.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Gryphon: ¡°You dare speak of Thorn in such a way?¡±

    The venom and disdain from before, instantly evaporated and replaced with fear. His voiced was carried with its fierceness that dominated all who would oppose. He could deal with the mockery towards him, it was a given when one ruled over the many, there was bound to be such thoughts amongst them. However, it was a different story when it came to his long-time friend

    Gryphon: ¡°All who mocked him, do any among you valiant enough to challenge me as he did?¡±

    The stadium had gone quiet upon his query. From shifting in their seats to coughing, many had even held their breaths in fear of being acknowledged in this moment. They may have mocked him and called him a coward, but subconsciously they knew, there was none mightier than Gryphon Ro¡¯ark Bravly.

    Gryphon bent down and with great ease lifted Thorn off the ground and carried him off.  Grabbing Crimson Herald, on the way, the sound of the metal sliding & skidding across the ground, echoed through the silent stadium, as he lifted it to his arms as well. Only the sound of his footsteps could be heard as Gryphon made his way out of the stadium, carrying his friend. Even after he had gone, it remained silent, the fear they felt, still fresh in their heart and soul.

    _

    _

    Thorn: ¡°Hmm, where am I?¡±

    When Thorn awoke he found himself, laid out on a bed and bandaged up. He winced in pain as he tried to sit up. He chuckled under his breath; the force of that blow was just as strong as he remembered.

    Thorn: ¡°Hahahahaha, you still got it old friend.¡±

    Over in the corner of the room, ever watchful over him, sat Gryphon. He stared at his friend, not sure what to say.

    Thorn: ¡°Come now Gryphon, I¡¯ve been hit by you many times, why would this one be any different? Think I¡¯ve grown old?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Why did you make me do that?¡±

    Thorn face turned serious upon the question.

    Thorn: ¡°Gryphon when we were fighting, what did you hear?¡±

    Gryphon thought back, all he remembered hearing is the drove of people screaming.

    Gryphon: ¡°Droves of people cheering for you.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°No Gryphon, they¡¯re cheering for me, they want to dethrone you.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°I know that.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°No, no you don¡¯t.¡±

    Thorn leaned up in bed, fighting the pain.

    Thorn: ¡°You know of the Hero, he has been active as of late, and upon this, the humans are inciting war and yet, the people see they¡¯re King doing nothing for it.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Thorn, surely you don¡¯t wish for war, you know better than most of all the horrors of war or is that scar on your face not a big enough reminder? And the Hero is of no threat to us.¡±

    Thorn ran his hand unconsciously across his face. When the Pristyne went to war with the humans, over the bountiful resources found on Trosan, many had lost their lives in the beginning. While all three sides battled one-another for the sake of their individual races.  It wasn¡¯t until two sides made truce to oust the Therians. Thorn was so lucky just to only come out with a scar.

    Even now, small skirmishes weren¡¯t unheard of, but it was done on Trosan and would usually end with both sides backing down, never really escalating. A stupid and drawn out pissing contest. A full-out war with the humans now would see the fighting brought to the shores of Atoa and Gryphon would not stand for a battle in his own frontyard, if not for the sake of his people then for the sake of his daughter.

    Thorn: ¡°Rather he is or isn¡¯t, that¡¯s not the problem. The problem is the people see a threat and they see a king doing nothing about it.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°What would you have me do, incite chaos? Throw the people into a mass frenzy over the thought of war?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Things are already that way.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°THEN WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO!?¡±

    Gryphon roared, the simple act of him yelling, sending a shockwave, through the room.

    Thorn: ¡°ACT LIKE A KING!¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°WHAT DO THINK I AM DOING!? IGNORING THE RAMBLING OF THE HUMANS, IT WOULD BE FOOLISHNESS TO PAY THEM EVEN A BIT INTEREST.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°AND IN THE WAKE OF THAT, DAY AFTER DAY, YOU¡¯VE HAD BEEN CHALLENGED FOR THE RIGHT TO THE THRONE.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°AND I¡¯VE DEFENDED THIS THRONE THROUGH COUNTLESS ASSAULTS, YOU INCLUDED.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Gryphon¡­¡­¡­ since when have anyone dare challenge you to a battle for the throne?¡±

    Gryphon suddenly froze, he had not though about it.

    Thorn: ¡°I remember a time when the name Gryphon was revered and respected across the many Pristyne races. No one would dare challenge you to a fight.¡±

    Thorn coughed a bit before leaning back against the head board.

    Thorn: ¡°They think you¡¯ve gone weak Gryphon. The humans, they preach war, yet you do nothing in return. Not even so much as to address the issue. Their scared, they think their king is afraid and they would sooner see someone else sit there, rather than lose to the humans.¡±

    Gryphon sat back down, holding his hand to his head. He was by no means weak and was afraid to respond to the human¡¯s foolish call for war. However, from the prospective of his people, he seemed too afraid to even talk back.

    Addressing an issue is dangerous as well, given heed to the humans display at all, is equal to saying it is a plausible threat.  He, as well as Thorn, knew rushing head-first into a war, was the impediment of foolishness.

    Yet to the people who knew nothing of the horrors brought about by war, it would be an act of a true king.

    Gryphon: ¡°Again, I ask, what would you have me do?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°There is no need, you have already done everything you needed to do, at least for now. One such as I, my plan should have already come to fruition

    Gryphon: ¡°What?¡±

    Thorn smiled a big toothy grin.

    Thorn: ¡°A show of power, an unrivaled strength, we need to show them you are still as strong as you have always been.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°A show of power¡­ you wanted me to injure you, have you gone mad!?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Call it what you will, but with such a mighty display, there will be no more talk for the throne.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Thorn, I¡¯ve struck down many a challenger, let alone you.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°Yes, but every time, it was done with your prissy way of battle. Countering and strategy bah, the people wish to see raw might, not your frilly dance. What greater challenger to best, with said might, than I the mighty Thorn?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°My dancing is not frilly; I mean my fighting methods is not dancing or frilly.¡±

    Thorn laughed out loud at Gryphons, who was growing even more angry by the minute.

    Thorn: ¡°Be that as it may, today, you demonstrated a might so fierce, it shook the air and ground alike and to deliver such might to one of your strongest, no the strongest general amongst the Pristyne. With such a display, who would dare challenge you? Heed my words, surely the masses opinion will change from ¡®he¡¯s a coward who doesn¡¯t want to fight¡¯ to: ¡®with strength like our kings, why should we worry about the humans Hero.¡¯¡±

    Thorn laughed a mighty laugh, praising himself, ignoring Gryphon¡¯s stares.

    Thorn: ¡°With you on that throne, the Pristyne knew an age of peace. Nothing like that war monger who started a fight for some stupid magic stones and land we don¡¯t really need. It may now be threatened, but now I have no doubts, you are the man to see it comes again.¡±

    Thorn put his hand out, for Gryphon who took hold with a mighty grip. His closest friend and ally, Thorn, one-step ahead of him as always. Even with his doubts, his loyalty knew no bounds.

    Thorn: ¡°Alright enough talk, I¡¯m going to take a long-needed nap, I think you busted a few of my ribs.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°A few, I was sure I busted all of them?¡±

    Thorn gave Gryphon and annoyed look.

    Thorn: ¡°You wait until I¡¯m healed, I¡¯ll pay you back in full.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°Rest well my friend.¡±

    Gryphon stood up to leave.

    Thorn: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if the Hero shows up, me and you can take him down with ease.¡±

    Gryphon suddenly stop remembering something he had forgotten to tell Thorn. Something his daughter Viviana had told him.

    Gryphon: ¡°Thorn, about the Hero, actually-¡±

    Gryphon began to explain things to his sworn friend. How the Hero, isn¡¯t with the humans and how his daughter had foreseen, events where he could be consider and ally. Thorn face becoming stuck in a permanent state of shock. Then he let out a roar that could be heard though the halls of the castle.

    Thorn: ¡°WHAAAAAAT, I DID ALL THAT FOR NOTHING¡­? SAY THINGS LIKE THAT BEFORE I TRY TO SAVE THE DAY, YOU BASTARD.¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°IF YOU HAD WARNED ME YOU WERE COMING, I COULD HAVE EXPLAINED, YOU IDIOT.¡±

    Thorn: ¡°WHO¡¯S AN IDIOT, DUMBASS, YOU FRILLY DANCING FOOL!?¡±

    Gryphon: ¡°YOU, YOU¡¯RE THE IDIOT, ARE YOU DEAF. AND MY DANCES AREN¡¯T FRILLY, I MEAN MY FIGHTINGS STYLES NOT DANCING!?¡±

    Thorn: ¡°SO DON¡¯T DENY THE FRILLY!?¡±

    Several people heard the two roaring at one another from far into the corridors of the castle, however none dared to enter or go near the room of the two most respected Pristyne screaming at each other like children.

 Chapter 105: Defying logic

    <u>Chapter 105 Defying Logic</u>

    Ekorn: ¡°And then his fist started to glow, and he threw a punch so strong, it shook the ground beneath and blinded everyone in the stadium.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°And then, and then?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Of course Lord Gryphon stood victorious, letting out a mighty roar daring anyone to face him, but nobody dared.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°I¡¯m glad, with this, maybe the call for a new king will stop.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Now that that¡¯s done could you let me go?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Hmm, why?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°You said that you were scared your father might lose and that you wanted me to console you while I told you what happened.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Oh yeah, I did say that didn¡¯t I?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Don¡¯t forget your reasons, let me go.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°You can¡¯t, Kyaaa I¡¯m so scared.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Liar.¡±

    Ekorn tried to pull away, but Viviana held him tight to her bosom.

    Viviana: ¡°Sorry, sorry I just wanted you to realize it, but it looks like you haven¡¯t noticed.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What?¡±

    Viviana smiled a seductive smile leaning close to Ekorn¡¯s ear to whisper.

    Viviana: ¡°As of late, ¡®they¡¯ have gotten bigger.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°They!?¡±

    Ekorn¡¯s body began to focus on the soft mounds poking at his back. He increasingly flustered, as Viviana pushed ¡®them¡¯ harder into him, trying to get him acknowledged what she was speaking of.

    Ekorn: ¡°Wha-wha exactly a-are you t-talking about?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Honestly Ekorn, are you really gonna make a girl say it out loud?¡±

    She smiled a devious smile, she was messing with him, she wanted him to slip up so she could tease him. As soon as he said something perverted, she would correct him about it being something else in the room. It¡¯s a good thing he¡¯s been with her so long and knew of the game she was playing; a quick observation of the room and he was easily able to deduce what she was talking about.

    Ekorn: ¡°Yes, the plants I gave you have gotten much bigger, you¡¯re doing such a good job taking care of them.¡±

    Viviana looked at him dumbfounded, Ekorn smiled victoriously. She thought he didn¡¯t notice and wanted him to say something perverted, but he was too smart. The old bait and switch routine, Ekorn was much too smart to fall for that.

    Viviana: ¡°No silly, I was talking about my chest.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°I know, it was obvious you were talking about your¡­¡­CHEST!?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t you feel me pushing them into your back? I thought I was making it blatantly obvious.¡±

    And then all his thoughts shattered in an instance. He forgot, when it came to him, she was more than happy to shove every bit of her body in his face, with reckless abandonment. Viviana puffed out her cheeks in a huff, pouting from him not understanding when she was making it so blatantly obvious even an idiot would understand.

    Viviana: ¡°I can¡¯t believe you really didn¡¯t notice; this call for drastic measures.¡±

    *Cloth drop*

    Ekorn: ¡°Drastic measures, what you sayiMMPPPHHH!?¡±

    Vivana quickly turned Ekorn around and hugged him even tighter.

    Viviana: ¡°Obviously, I just have to try harder.¡±

    Viviana grabbed Ekorn and snuggled him into her bosom.

    Ekorn: ¡°Hmph, mmmmph!?¡±

    *squish*

    Viviana: ¡°See, see, see how they can almost encompass your entire head?¡±

    Ekorn tried to pry himself away from her chest, but she only allowed enough leeway for him to breathe before hugging him tight once again.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Viviana: ¡°Ah, speaking of which, this is perfect, while you¡¯re here you can take some measurements. I gonna to make my bra a size bigger than before, the ones I have now are a bit restraining.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°I CAN¡¯T DO ANYTHING UNTIL YOU LET ME GO, MORE OVER CAN¡¯T DO THAT YOURSELF!?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°But, I want you to do it, it will be more fu- it will be much more accurate measurement if.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°YOU WERE ABOUT TO SAY FUN, JUST THEN, WEREN¡¯T YOU!?¡±

    Ekorn and Vivana, wrestled across the bed, Ekorn desperately trying to escape and Viviana playfully preventing him. Wrapping her legs around him, she pinned them together in a tight embrace.

    Viviana: ¡°Now you will get those measurements.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°MmmmmPh!?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Ah Ekorn, your breath is warm on my chest.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°*gasp*Th-This is inappropriate, what is someone sees?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Then I guess you better get those measurements done.?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Milady mmmph please, hmmmph.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Kya, Ekorn don¡¯t nibble the tip. ?

    Ekorn: ¡°THEN STOP THROWING THEM IN MY MOUTH, MMMMMMMMPPHHH!¡±

    _

    _

    Ekorn tried to catch his breath, finally able to escape Viviana¡¯s grasp. He turned to see the Tigress, smiling impishly at him, utterly satisfied with today¡¯s brand of teasing the Therian boy.

    Viviana: ¡°OH well, I guess we¡¯ll just have to try again some other time.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°They¡¯re will be no next time.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Sure there want be~¡±

    He found it utterly humiliating to be toyed with by someone younger them him, even if he was vertically challenged. However, it was his job to put up with Viviana¡¯s whimsical nature. Though the constant skin-ship was slowly driving him to madness. The male mind could only take so much, before it loses all rationality and start acting on instinct alone.

    Viviana rolled on to her back, wearing with nothing but her undergarments, Ekorn was finding it hard to keep his eyes from wondering. He began packing away the plates and cups from the meal they had right before, as Viviana rolled around trying to get him to look. Realizing he would no longer budge, she gave up and simply rested.

    Ekorn: ¡°Viviana, can I ask you something?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Hmm~¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°The wielder of ¡®Origin¡¯?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°What about him?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Are you sure he was a dark-skinned Lycanian?¡±

    Viviana was taking aback by the question; it was a strange question to say the least.

    Viviana: ¡°You doubt me?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°It¡¯s not doubt, I just want to be sure.¡±

    Ekorn went back to his duties afterward, Viviana staring him down as he did. Before he knew it, he was being hugged from behind, this time though it wasn¡¯t the playful teasing from before.

    Viviana: ¡°Making sure is second only to doubt. Ekorn what¡¯s wrong, you never needed to make sure before?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°N-Nothing I just wanted to-¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Ekorn?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°I have something to show you.¡±

    Ekorn went over to his bag and returned to Viviana, now sitting up on the bed.

    Viviana: ¡°This is?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°It¡¯s a record of sorts, detailing the events of the war against the Demon Lord and events subsequent to said war.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Oh, so everything is written in this book?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Not everything just the most important moments¡­¡­¡­.like the extinction of the Lycanian race.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°The Lycanian¡¯s, for various reasons, were wiped out. There aren¡¯t any left.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. There must be some mistake.¡±

    Ekorn flipped to the page for Viviana, who began reading. As she then flipped the pages, her expression would change ever so slightly. When she was done, she sat the book to the side and stared into space for a moment, desperately trying to recall her prophetic dream.

    Viviana: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­.was wrong?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°No that¡¯s not it. I believe that the wielder of ¡®Origin¡¯ will come, it¡¯s just, maybe instead of a Lycanian, maybe a race of Therian with similar traits.¡±

    Ekorn thought he had made a mistake; Viviana didn¡¯t respond to his words at all. However, Viviana wasn¡¯t entirely upset by the news, in fact she was happy.

    Viviana: ¡°*mumbling* If I truly was wrong, then maybe father will-¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°What?¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Ah, nothing.¡±

    Ekorn couldn¡¯t hear what she said, but she dismissed it as mumbles.

    Ekorn: ¡°Viviana, I believe in you more than anything, if you say we will escape then, we will.¡±

    Ekorn had been thinking a lot and this is the conclusion he came to. Not every one of her dreams were precognitive, there was always the chance of her mixing her dreams together in her unconscious state of mind.

    Viviana: ¡°Do you believe so?¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Without a doubt, we can be certain Origin¡¯s wielder will show, just not as a Lycanian.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Thank you Ekorn, for trying to cheer me up.¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°Not at all, I¡¯m always here for you.¡±

    Viviana: ¡°Really, then about those measurements, I-¡±

    Ekorn: ¡°O-Oh darn, look at the time, I promised to meet with your father.¡±

    Ekorn quickly ran towards the door, while Viviana just snickered at the scene. Ekorn gave Viviana one last look before leaving and latching the door behind him. Viviana, listened to his footsteps as they bounded down the steps, before heading to the balcony and watching Ekorn disappear into a corridor.

    She stood there thinking about her dream and turned solemn. It¡¯s not that she didn¡¯t believe what Ekorn showed her, but her dreams were always right, no matter how she felt about them. There was a clear and precise difference between her dreams, a difference she alone knew. However, for the first time ever, there was an honest opposition, an irrefutable fact of the world in the form of extinction. Maybe this time she thought, it will be different. She was inwardly thrilled to hear Ekorn¡¯s truth on the matter, for they were another part to her dream, that she hoped would not come to be.

    Viviana: ¡°No¡­¡­it will not deviate, regardless of fact, my dream will come to pass.¡±

    . But the feeling quickly went away as realization came into play, her dreams are never wrong. She placed her hands to her chest, trying to suppress the feeling of dread rising from deep within her heart. Her dream would soon come to pass and there was nothing anyone or anything could do to change the outcome.

 Chapter 106: Rebirth by Fire

    <u>Chapter 106: Rebirth by Fire</u>

    Jasmine: ¡°Watch-out!

    Ash: ¡°I got it!¡±

    Ash turned around just as a giant bird bared its talons in his direction. With pin-point accuracy, he evaded the attacks and with extremely fast movements, severed the talons from the rest of the monster¡¯s body.

    *Screaaaack**Thwick*

    The giant bird screeched in pain at the loss of its limb and slammed into the ground. The screeching continued until an arrow pierced its chest thus silencing it.

    Ash: ¡°Nice shot.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I know.¡±

    Jasmine quickly got to work pulling the feathers from the bird¡¯s body and dismantling it.

    Ash: ¡°You¡¯re really good at this.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Not really, but after a while you learn which parts are useful and which aren¡¯t. The feathers of a ¡®Giant Vulture¡¯ help in making light armor, while the talons aren¡¯t particularly good for weapons, but when grinded down it can be used in lots of monster-warding concoctions.

    Jasmine finished her work and no sooner she finished, the remains of the ¡®Giant vulture¡¯ turned into light and faded into the sky. She stuffed everything into her bag that she had brought with her, before turning back to Ash, who was patiently waiting for her to be done.

    Jasmine: ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want any, that¡¯s the fourth one we took down?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Its fine, I¡¯m sure Nathan¡¯s gotten plenty. You hear that?¡±

    Jasmine didn¡¯t have to listen too hard; it was the sound of the Giant Vultures screaming in pain not too far off. Ash grabbed the bag up for Jasmine, who relunctantly relinquished the bag. After a short walk they came across an amazing sight.

    Jasmine: ¡°Ah, I see.¡±

    ¡®Giant Hawks¡¯ were being shot out of the sky, one after another, by several large flowers. The flowers fired at them constantly, disrupting any sort of countermeasure they could make. Aiming for their wings, the Uzy made it impossible for them to fly in any direction or evade. Also, when the birds could take no more and thus fell to the ground, they were quickly ensnared with vines. The vine would then proceed to strangle and/or snap the necks of the birds before ripping away the talons and feathers from each one. A nice little pile had been made; one for feathers, the other for talons respectively. Like a disassembly-line the plants did their work methodically.

    Sitting in the middle of all this commotion was Nathan, not even paying attention to the monster-parts gathering machine he¡¯d just randomly created. His head only raising, whenever the tone signaling a level up went off, only to immediate turn attention back to what he was holding.

    Ash: ¡°Nathan.¡±

    Ash called out to Nathan who turned and saw them coming. He quickly and carefully tucked something out of sight, before turning to welcome them.

    Nathan: ¡°Everything good?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ugh, yeah¡­¡­. looks like you didn¡¯t need my help at all.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course we did, I don¡¯t know which parts of any of these things were important, I¡¯m just glad you decided to come with us.¡±

    After returning to Zan¡¯s camp, Nathan and Ash wanted to quickly head off, but since they were so off-course from their original path, Jasmine volunteered to show them the way. Zane was reluctant to allow her to go, but after a little persuading on Nathan¡¯s part and a promise not to separate, she was allowed to accompany them for a while.

    Jasmine: ¡°Yeah I guess, but how did you attract so many? They, don¡¯t usually group together like this; for a living prey.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I use this:¡±

    Nathan showed the, two bottles of purple liquid.

    Ash: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A concoction I made from that flower you said attracted them, just added them to some boiling water.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°You made this from the ¡®Carra¡¯?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yup, I rubbed it on my skin.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, I grew some myself and strengthened the scent a bit, to attract them all here. Then I took them out. Also, it turns out this Carra plant extracts is good for the skin, keeps it moisturized and the scent is pleasant as well. I think I might get Ramol to try and sell it.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Oh, really!?¡±

    *Snatch*

    Nathan: ¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡±

    Jasmine began applying Carra extract to her skin, with extreme enthusiasm, leaving Nathan sitting in a huff.

    Nathan: ¡°She seems really lively for a dead person.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nathan.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, yeah. I won¡¯t let her hear me talking about it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Please don¡¯t, I promised not to tell and there is no way to explain how you found out.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get it; Sheesh. I won¡¯t let her find out I know.¡±

    After returning to camp and resting for the night, much to Ash¡¯s dismay, she told him what she had seen when they arrived at Jasmine¡¯s location.

    _

    _

    Yesterday evening¡­¡­:

    Ash: ¡°Oh my gawd, Jasmine!?

    Iris: ¡°Oh no, are we too late.¡±

    Arriving on scene, Ash and Iris had come across the worst-case scenario. Lying in a pool of blood; was the body of Jasmine. She had been struck multiple times with arrows, with a large wound on her side as if something had been ripped out of her. However, the crux of the matter was the dagger that was plunged deep in her chest.

    Iris: ¡°Wait, did she stab herself?¡±

    Ash: ¡°It looks like it. Dammit, if only we were sure she wasn¡¯t being targeted by that monster.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Ash, we can¡¯t blame ourselves for this. She was the one who chose to stay despite the danger. We all knew the dangers, even if she didn¡¯t survive it; it was her choosing choice to face it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I know, but it doesn¡¯t really make me feel any better. I¡¯ll have to relay this to Zane. For now, we should burn the body.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Not bury it?¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Ash: ¡°Absolutely not, corpses tend to spring back to life in the dungeons.¡±

    Iris: ¡°They come back to life?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I know what it sounds like, but it¡¯s not what you think it is. Let me get a fire going, we need to hurry, so we can help Nathan.¡±

    Ash went to gather some stuff to start a fire but stopped when he heard Iris gasp in surprise. Turning back around, he pulled out his weapons and took a battle stance. Jasmine¡¯s body had sprung up and then Ash was ready to cut it down when suddenly white flames covered her body. The flames burned at her clothes, but not her body. The flames burst from her wombs, throwing the knife off to the side as they covered her body. They both watched in amazement as the wounds on her body began to fade, as if being healed by the flames. The blank stare in her eyes as she looked all around began to fill with life as she came back to her senses.

    Seeing Ash standing over her, she had a look of sheer fright, as she noticed the flames surrounding her had yet to vanish. The outside might have healed, but the inside was still very much in need of repair, as so evident by the pain she felt from her broken ribs that have yet to mend.

    Ash pulled out a cloth from his pack and tossed it over Jasmine to cover herself with. For caution¡¯s sake, Ash held tight to the dagger in his hand ready to move if she attacked.

    Jasmine didn¡¯t lift her head, but instead have just reached for the blanket and wrapped it around herself.

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. Jasmine¡­¡­¡­your still ¡®you¡¯ right ? Not, one of those ¡®things¡¯ ?¡±

    She said nothing and just nodded her head. That was enough for Ash to realize she hadn¡¯t turned and was still in her right-mind. However, the confirmation lead to the inevitable next question.

    Ash: ¡°What the hell was-¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Please¡­¡­don¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone? What am I supposed to tell? You just came back from the dead, not as one of those things, but honestly back to life. And that white flame, I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Please.¡±

    Ash thought were going a mile a minute, the same went for Iris, as they had many questions, but quickly changed their tune looking down at the naked girl. Jasmine was shivering, not from the cold, but from fear of her secret becoming public knowledge. Ash scratched the back of his head and looked over to Iris, she left the decision up to him to what he would do, as she couldn¡¯t be seen, so the choice fell on him alone.

    Ash: ¡°*Sigh*

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°Healing white flames that bring you back from the dead. If it¡¯s like that; I really didn¡¯t need to fight the Mimic or lose my sword.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Kidding.¡±

    Ash shook his head at Nathans tasteless joke. After they told him, Nathan immediately used Pry on her to see what could find. However he found something strange about her stat screen.

    Name: Jasmine ?????  Level: 28

    HP: ???/???      MP:  ????/????

    Race: ???????

    Legacy: (?????  ????)

    <ol>

    <li>Ability: ?????????, Flames of Regeneration</li>

    <li>Ability: ?????, ??????, ?????</li>

    </ol>

    Stats:

    STH ??

    DEF  ??

    INT ???

    AGI ??

    LUCK ??

    Nathan was surprise to see this for two reasons. One, the Magic ability seem similar to what he¡¯d seen before with Sari; except for a few words being different, they were almost identical. However as far as Nathan could tell, Jasmine was human, well at least he thinks thought she was. Jasmine¡¯s race was hidden so he couldn¡¯t be sure, but she doesn¡¯t have the distinct characteristics of a fox-like Therian Sari had, so why would they have similar sounding abilities?

    Which brought him to the second reason. Jasmine was a lower level than him, which meant his thoughts about someone being a lower level in that it would be easier to read their stats. However, he couldn¡¯t de-bunk that completely, he couldn¡¯t see Sari¡¯s stats and he was sure he could take her if they got into a fight. Otherwise, it would be no reason for her to be captured by Gideon.

    Nathan: ¡°(Maybe there is a rule when reading certain people that I can¡¯t read without a certain privilege. No, that wouldn¡¯t make sense; Pry was made to invade someone¡¯s privacy without consent or knowledge to a certain degree. Some will react badly to my magic if I pry too deep, it¡¯s basically like looking into your soul, at least that¡¯s how Anais and others put it. So there must be another reason why I can¡¯t see their stats. Maybe something to do with those flames? White flames¡­sound¡¯s very holy if you think about it. What exactly are white flames and who''s preventing me from seeing their stats?)¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nathan.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ay, Nathan did you hear me!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, ah, sorry¡­you said something?¡±

    Ash: ¡°How many did you kill?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, oh, I wasn¡¯t really paying attention, I just gathered a bunch of that Carra, and they just kept coming. I just hope I don¡¯t mess the dungeons eco-system or something. Got four levels out it though.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the monsters of the dungeon return back to the dungeons as mana, but they respawn over time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, good to know.¡±

    Jasmine having applied the Carra plant extract to her skin took a whiff of the scent.

    Jasmine: ¡°So that what it was.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I thought you smelled nice today.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m being insulted?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No not at all, I was just saying the scent of flowers is stronger than usual.¡±

    Nathan cocked his head to the side in confusion. He sniffed at himself but didn¡¯t smell anything but the Carra plant extract.

    Nathan: ¡°I smell like flowers?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, all the time.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, no one told me.¡±

    Ash:  ¡°I thought it was intentional.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why would I intentionally make myself smell like flowers?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Because it fits your image so well.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You¡¯re oh-so alluring feminine persona.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°For the sake of our friendship, I gonna forget you just said that.¡±

    Veins popped on Nathan¡¯s forehead, after being angered by Ash¡¯s remark. Then taking a few steps back, but laughing about it anyway.

    Jasmine: ¡°Okay, okay, enough of that. Let¡¯s just get back to our goal. I¡¯ll scout ahead.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine, but stay close to my plants while searching, they will protect against any surprises.¡±

    Jasmine walked off, weaving through Nathan¡¯s plants. When she was far enough away, Ash turned to Nathan.

    Ash: ¡°Any better?¡±

    Nathan nodded and turned to move the blanket. Iris was asleep, her face flushed red once again.

    Ash: ¡°Well her heavy breathing stopped at least.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t get it, she was doing so well, why the relapse?¡±

    Ash: ¡°You think it was because of the Origin? She seemed really upset about it.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Upset does not even come close to how she acted.¡±

    Once they had gotten to Zane¡¯s camp and could rest for a bit, Nathan told Ash and Iris about Origin. Iris¡¯ reaction startled both of them as she reacted like a madman. Nathan had to actually chase her, after she took off into the forest and physically stopped her from heading down into that abyss by herself. Despite Nathan¡¯s pleas to tell her the reason why she acted in such a panic, she just kept repeating that ¡®it¡¯ had to be with him at all times. That wasn¡¯t really an answer and Nathan became a little frustrated about not getting a straight answer and about something that involved him. Usually he wouldn¡¯t worry about it, but seeing Iris act so out-of-character, he wanted to know why. This led to an argument in which Iris suddenly fainted, returning to her original state before they entered the forest.

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you two argue before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We weren¡¯t arguing, just a heated debate.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I get that it¡¯s the Hero sword, but it¡¯s not like you constantly use it? And you can¡¯t really if you plan to stay incognito. Do you think it has something to do with the effect it has on Fae?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe. (It¡¯s probably has something to do with Amelia?).¡±

    Back at the study where he met both Anais and Iris, said there was something Amelia didn¡¯t want them to tell him in the message she left them. That¡¯s one of the only possible things he could think of that Iris wouldn¡¯t tell him. However, Nathan didn¡¯t like the fact that she was willing to keep a secret to the point of becoming sick.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ay, Nathan you okay?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, oh yeah, just thinking.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah you¡¯ve been doing a lot of that recently.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡±

    Nathan carefully placed Iris in the hood of his cloak, before rising to his feet.

    Nathan placed most of the material he¡¯d collected and the rest into Ash¡¯s bag, to keep up appearances.  Ash and he then went to catch up with Jasmine, who was waiting patiently for them to finish their business. When she noticed them coming, she made a quick glance between the two of them before, smiling.

    Jasmine: ¡°Your both ready?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yep Ready, and thanks again for coming with us.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Its¡¯s fine, things have been a little strained between me and the other girls since the other day, more so then usual anyway. I really needed to get away from there.¡±

    Jasmine swung her bags¡¯ strap over her head, before affixing it to her side. Then the three headed off, with the goblin nest so close, they were closer than ever to completing the trial, unaware that a ways off, a certain group pf people watched their every move.

 Chapter 107: Dangerous Attraction

    <u>Chapter 107: Dangerous Attraction</u>

    Gobagh!

    The goblin let out an intangible mass of sound as the vines wrapped arounds its neck, strangling it. It was the second of a group of six that had been stealth-killed by Nathan. Nathan had his plant squeeze down on the neck of the creature, preventing it from yelling out to its companions, as its life slowly slipped away. Nathan pulled the bodies of the dead goblins out of sight and quickly moved away. He didn¡¯t know why, but ever since they arrived in goblin country, just like blood hounds, the Goblins began to track Nathan everywhere he went. Nathan decided to go up ahead of the rest, while the goblins searched him out, Ash and Jasmine can keep watch and figure out the reason why.

    Goblin: ¡°Garabggah!

    Nathan watched as the Goblins arrived in his sight. With unnatural precision, the four Goblins made a bee-line for Nathans hiding spot.

    Nathan: ¡°(How the hell are they doing that?)¡±

    Nathan quickly moved away from where he was and headed to the adjacent side, only to have the goblins quickly turn and follow him. He was happy they didn¡¯t find the goblin bodies he had stash nearby, but this was ridiculous. Even if he remained invisible to the naked eye, if they continued to follow him around with pin-point accuracy, it would make things unnecessarily difficult.

    Nathan looked off into the distance, where his party was hiding and watching.  Ash and Jasmine was keeping a close eye on the goblins movements as they made their way over to Nathan. Making eye contact with the two, they both shook there his heads. They couldn¡¯t figure out why the goblins were able to deduce Nathan¡¯s location so easily. Nathan sighed and change direction, heading to where he set some plant traps.

    In the distance Ash and Jasmine, converse on what exactly what was happening.

    Jasmine: ¡°You¡¯re sure he¡¯s invisible, there basically following right behind him?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I doubt they wouldn¡¯t be attacking if they could see him. But I get, they are a bit close for comfort. Do Goblins have some sort of ability to track?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What, of course not, their the lowest of the low, bottom feeders; prayed on by anything and everything. The only thing they got going for them is there extreme numbers, due to the fact that the little puke-bags can do the deed with almost any other species.¡±

    Even the strongest could be taken down by a horde if not careful. If even one report of a goblin sighting near a city, the city guard will immediately move to exterminate the lot of them.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I know about that, but that none of that tells us what¡¯s happening here.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well, we won¡¯t figure it out if we lose them.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, but make sure to go unnoticed, we aren¡¯t invisible right now.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Right.¡±

    They lost sight of Nathan just up ahead and by the time they arrived; Nathan had already killed the goblins and was currently searching the bodies. He turned to the two with an annoyed face.

    Nathan: ¡°Good job with the stealth, it was almost like you weren¡¯t even here.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Whatever, did you figure something out?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nope, you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°This is the strangest thing I¡¯ve seen; goblins aren¡¯t usually so good at tracking.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A lot more intelligent than I thought they would be.¡±

    It was a six-man squad, with two lookouts that were watching both the front and the back in case of frontal attacks or ambushes from behind. Nathan didn¡¯t think they would be this organized.

    Nathan read a lot of fantasy novels back on his original world. Besides a choice few, most stories depicted goblins as lowlife, unorganized group of scavengers, with no companionship beyond what¡¯s needed to survive. However, the goblins he just killed seemed just the opposite.

    Nathan: ¡°And none of them have an accessory.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Accessory, you mean the bone filled necklace things?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I guess, not sure what it looks like.¡±

    Ash: ¡°His trial was to get a Goblin accessory.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°That¡¯s what you want, you want get one from any of these mobs. The accessories worn by goblins is a sign of leadership, you would need to at least find a Goblin Chief to get one.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A chief.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Bad news for you, since the goblin chiefs hardly ever venture out of the nest.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously, did you know this?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No, I told you, I only know a little about goblins. The city guard usually handles all business with them.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°The library has plenty of info on them.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Why would I learn about something I had no intention of engaging?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°*sigh* So I guess will have to just go into the nest.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What, are you serious?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I need the accessory, why would I joke?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ugh, because going down into a goblins nest is suicide, not right now anyways.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I¡¯ll show you what I mean; you need to see it before you decide to do something like that.

    _

    _

    Nathan, Ash and Jasmine watched from on-high, up in the trees, as several stubby green-skinned men stood across from one another. As they ventured closer to the nest, the amount of times they ran into Goblins had doubled. Ash and Nathan noticed a particularly large group coming their way. Ash quickly swept Jasmine off her feet, and together with Nathan, quickly bounded right up into the tree tops with Nathan quickly having released some seeds to the ground as he went. Moments later the situation, a group of goblins stalked out of the bushes, searching for undoubtedly for Nathan.

    Ash signaled to Nathan that the Goblins were in position. Just as the goblins looked up toward the trees, Nathan activated the trap.

    *Goraaaaaaa*

    The goblins screamed in terror as they were suddenly hoist into the air and ensnared. The confusion on their faces quickly turned to pain as they were being crushed. They were being squeezed so hard that soon they couldn¡¯t even scream. A sickening snap filled the air as the bodies of the goblins all went limp. Nathan gave them all a few more squeezes in making sure they were good and dead, before he and Ash hopped down from the tree.

    Ash placed Jasmine back on the ground, allowing her to walk on her own.

    Ash: ¡°Sorry about grabbing you so suddenly.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Not at all, thank you for saving me.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°How is this Jasmine?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Jasmine: ¡°Let me see.¡±

    Jasmine did a quick survey of the corpses, making sure there was no broken skin.

    Jasmine: ¡°Yes, this is fine, with this we won¡¯t have to worry about them showing up for this.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, I didn¡¯t think that the scent of blood was a type of alarm.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I¡¯d say more like send them into a frenzy. Goblins are hunted by anything and everything, so if you just haphazardly cut them, you¡¯ll just be luring more to your location. God help you if you get any on you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So to keep from being swarmed-¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Make their death swift and soundless.¡±

    Nathan searched the body of the goblins as Jasmine spoke, hoping that he would get lucky.

    Nathan: ¡°How close are we to the nest?¡±

    Jasmine: Not far, you see the tip of that mountain? They make their nest in the caves that run through it. Once we get over these hills we should see the bottom.¡±

    Just as she finished speaking, Nathan gave-up on his search of the goblins bodies.

    Nathan: ¡°What are the chances that one mob goblin is wearing an accessory?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°If a goblin was wearing an accessory and it wasn¡¯t a chief, then that mean that goblin was planning to challenge one of the ¡®current¡¯ chiefs for their position.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Chiefs¡­as in more than one?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°There are at least seven Goblin Chiefs, at least in a nest this big.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s good; we got a good chance of finding one when we go inside.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Wait.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get that its dangerous, but I don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well it¡¯s not usually that dangerous for someone as strong as you, as long as your smart, but it¡¯s just that there¡¯s something going on with the goblins right now.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­.Do you hear that?¡±

    It was faint, but the distinct sound of battle was resonating throughout the area.

    Jasmine: ¡°Ah, perfect, what a stroke of luck, come on.¡±

    Jasmine lead them up a hill, keeping low just in case, and sticking to the foliage for cover. As they got to the top of the hill, Ash and Nathan were shocked to the sight.

    Goblin A: ¡°Gorbagggghhhhhh.¡±

    Goblin B: ¡°Jiejiegh.

    Nathan: ¡°What the?¡±

    Down to the bottom of the hill a battle was taking place. A small army of Goblins were taking on another army of goblins. Nathan watched as one goblin bashed in the head of another, then the goblin itself was smashed from behind and beaten to death by two others. Many other similar scenes were happening below. The stench of blood and death was rank as each side furiously slaughtered each other. Nathan looked down at the hellish landscape in confusion as to what was going on.

    Ash: ¡°Why the hell are they killing each other?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It¡¯s what I wanted to talk about. Right now two tribes are fighting. The Northern goblins nest run by a ¡°Goblin Don¡± is currently being invaded by the forces run by a Goblin Shaman of the southern nest.¡±

    Ash: ¡°A fricking Goblin Don and Shaman, when did such powerful variants show up on the first floor?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Where have you been, people knew of this for a while now. Why do you think, most of the adventurers are staring clear of this area?¡±

    Nathan thought it was weird that he hadn¡¯t been seeing any other people. Except for Zane¡¯s group, he hadn¡¯t really seen anyone else, but even Zane hadn¡¯t come this far.

    Nathan: ¡°Damn that Matthew, (When he said he wanted us gone he meant it. This is gonna take much longer than predicted.)¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t think he knew; he wouldn¡¯t send you to do something like this. Not against something like a Don or a Shaman. They¡¯re both pretty damn strong.

    Nathan: ¡°He would, if he believes a certain ¡¯someone¡¯ was with me at all times.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah, if you put it that way.¡±

    Matthew probably thought that with Iris with him, Nathan could readily accomplish any task without much problem, but at the moment, she was out of commission.

    Jasmine: ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, well.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That¡¯s not important. Right now we should think about what to do.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No way we¡¯re getting past all of them without being noticed.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What to do...¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can try to put them all to sleep?¡±

    Ash: ¡°But that won¡¯t help with the ones on the inside, we don¡¯t know how far it goes down. Oh¡­what about using your poison?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Same problem, don¡¯t know how many there are inside, I might run out of mana by the time we even get half of them. We can try sneaking in.¡±

    Ash: ¡°But you¡¯re attracting them, even if get inside, they will come looking for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We don¡¯t have to be there long, just enough to find a chief, steal their necklace and get out.¡±

    Ash: ¡°We don¡¯t know where they are, we don¡¯t know the layout of the caves and the entire time we will be chased by goblins looking for you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°At this point, we really don¡¯t have a choice. If we head back to Loegrey now, I feel like something troublesome will happen in the guild, not to mention that idiot prince.¡±

    Nathan and Ash passed back and forth suggestions, but Jasmine decided for them.

    Jasmine: ¡°Look, it seems you two still plan on going inside no matter what. So if you really want to get inside unnoticed, then-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°You know of a way inside?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well, it¡¯s not easy to get to, but if you can reach it, there¡¯s a way into the nest that is completely unguarded. I¡¯ll show you, but it¡¯s up to you from there.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s fine; we won¡¯t ask you to go inside

    Jasmine led Nathan and Ash away from the battle scene, to a forested area not far away. Along the way, they ran into random Goblin enemies, but they made short work of them.

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    As Nathan moved about the forest he had the sudden feeling that he was being watched. No, it wasn¡¯t a feeling, the scent was faint, but there was definitely someone following them.

    Ash: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°There someone who¡¯s been watching me for a while now.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They¡¯re keeping their distance, just close enough to observe.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Another group of Adventurers?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Maybe, but it¡¯s strange they would intentionally come here doing this goblin riot. Well don¡¯t mind it too much; where we¡¯re going there no way they can actually follow us.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Okay, I guess.¡±

    Nathan kept his wits about him. Though Jasmine said to ignore them, it was difficult to ignore the obvious attempt to follow them. Never getting closer or farther away, the mystery people stayed just out-of-sight, no matter what, Nathan couldn¡¯t get a bead on their exact location.

    Jasmine: ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Here?¡±

    Ash and Nathan looked around, they had made it to the base of the mountain, but all they could see is a wall of mountain.

    Nathan: ¡°There¡¯s nothing here.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No entrances.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Look up.¡±

    Nathan and Ash turned their heads skyward and was quick to locate an entrance above them. The entrance was on a cliff which was nearly twelve stories off the ground and with no walkable way up. The only way to reach it was to climb straight up the side of the mountain.

    Ash: ¡°Yes that would definitely be a pain to get to.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Also the reason why, most just enter through the front. Climbing this thing is nearly impossible. No would want to waste their time doing it.¡±

    Nathan: Well, yeah, if was anyone else.¡±

    Nathan planted two seeds into the ground, which quickly sprouted ¡®Snyare¡¯ plants. Jasmine grimaced upon seeing them wrapped around Nathan¡¯s and Ash¡¯s torso.

    Nathan: ¡°Alright Jasmine, this is where we part ways, are you gonna be okay heading back?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ugh, about that, I¡¯ve decided to come with you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t really been gone that long and I rather not go back too early.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What about all that stuff you said earlier, about it being dangerous?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°And we still haven¡¯t figure out why their attracted to me, so it will probably be a lot of fighting.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well I still owe you for the Mimic thing and for other things as well.¡±

    She glanced towards Ash, who figured out what she was speaking of.

    Jasmine: ¡°Plus, heading there by myself, might not be the best of ideas.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well then.¡±

    Nathan grew another plant that went to wrap around Jasmine, but she dodged the first attempt that it made to grab her. Nathan snickered at Jasmine¡¯s reaction, no doubt the results of the other night.

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry Jasmine, these ones won¡¯t do ¡®that¡¯, I promise.¡±

    Jasmine looked back and forth between Nathan and the plant and reluctantly allowed the plant to ensnare her. Once all three plants were safely coiled around them, they began rising high into the air. Nathan and Ash were calm, seeing as how they were both under the influence of Nathan¡¯s abilities. However, Jasmine was not and she flailed around restlessly while they rose, half worried about the height and the other half about the Snyare that coiled more around her body, trying to prevent her from falling because of her flailing around. When they finally reached the ledge, Jasmine dropped to her knees.

    Ash: ¡°You gonna be okay there?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°We just rose several stories into the air, the question is, how are you two okays?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±

    Nathan placed a hand on her shoulder and activated ¡®Tranquil¡¯, wrapping her in a white aura, returning her to a calm state-of-mind.

    Nathan: ¡°Is that better?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Huh, yes much better, thanks.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your, not gonna ask what that was?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It calmed me down, who cares what it was?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmmm, I think we¡¯re gonna be good friends.¡±

    Nathan had his plants retract back into the ground before joining the others as the entrance to the cave. It was dark and soundless tunnel, as far as Nathan could hear.

    Nathan: ¡°Both of you ready?¡±

    They both nodded to him in confirmation.

    Nathan: ¡°Here we go.¡±

    With that, the three entered into the cave, plunging into a nest of Goblins

 Chapter 107: Aromatic

    <u>Chapter 108: Aromatic</u>

    Henchmen A: ¡°Sir, they¡¯ve entered the nest.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°As expected. What of the girl from Zane¡¯s party?¡±

    Henchmen A: ¡°Yes, she also entered.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Good, good, have the men ready for when the Lycanian exits the nest.¡±

    Jonathan was entering the last phase of his plan. Now that they were inside, it wouldn¡¯t be long before they have to fight the Goblin Don. No matter how strong the Lycanian was, fighting a Goblin Don with three people would surely be a difficult task. Not to mention the countless Goblins they would have to fight through to; get there and back out. They will all be exhausted and in no shape to fight when they finally get out, that¡¯s when they will have to deal with Jonathan¡¯s group.

    Studying the Lycanian ever since he returned to Loegrey, Jonathan decided on plans based around these facts. To counter Nathan¡¯s plants, they had a plethora of fire-based spells to burn down anything he could grow. The Lycanian was also known to be fleet-footed, along with the members of his party, they were able to run around Loegrey for hours, without being caught. This would undoubtedly be a problem if they couldn¡¯t catch him, so traps were being set all around the area, specifically designed to capture fast moving targets.

    That just leaves the Lycanian¡¯s poison, which to be honest; he didn¡¯t have a counter for. Sure, he held a plethora of solutions to counter act poisons, but he was unsure of the types of poisons he had. He only witnessed the one that was used on him. The others were claims from others who had seen in town.

    Jennifer: ¡°We will just have to make do.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Jonathan?¡±

    Jonathan turned to Jennifer, who pointed out to Shane; who had returned. With his usual smart-alec smirk, he waved to them both, prompting them to walk over.

    Jonathan: ¡°Where were you? You¡¯ve been gone for hours¡­¡±

    Shane: ¡°Sorry about that had to run an errand.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°An errand?¡±

    Shane patted the chest he brought with him.

    Jonathan: ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Well, I was thinking when your strategy ultimately fails, I thought it be good to have a backup plan.¡±

    The sides of Jonathan mouth twitched a bit, him being a bit irritated from what Shane said.

    Jonathan: ¡°What makes you think my plan will fail?¡±

    Shane: ¡°For one, I¡¯m sure Nathan¡¯s knows your coming.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Yep, I don¡¯t know how he does it, but for some reason, everything we did to capture him, it was like he knew what we were gonna do. I doubt the guys you had watch him went unnoticed.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Elaborate...¡±

    Shane: ¡°Not much to say, from the time we met, to the time we departed, it was like he knew what we planned to do and was just a step ahead of us. It was like, like he had an extra set of eyes and ears.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°So what, a precognitive ability...?¡±

    Shane: ¡°No I wouldn¡¯t say that, sure he was able to predict ours move to an extent, but we were still able to catch him off-guard a few times. It was more like a reaction, what¡¯s the word I¡¯m looking for?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°A reflex?¡±

    Shane: ¡°That¡¯s it, a reflex. That what it was like; he was able to dodge our attacks, but when we cast a spell that wasn¡¯t aimed at him or something that couldn¡¯t be dodged, we were able to catch him.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Your saying he avoided all your attacks? Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but there was a member of the ¡®Muonshi Clan¡¯ amongst your party.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What¡­¡­gotta admit I¡¯m surprised you knew that. No one outside of the five us should know that.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Do not underestimate our guild.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Cerin, a former member and yes he was and even with him we couldn¡¯t land one hit on him. Besides that, you have to worry about his invisible friends and weapons.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­What?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Laugh about it if you want, but while we were fighting, we manage to disarm him, but then out of thin-air another weapon appeared.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Are you sure it wasn¡¯t the other sword he has on his back?

    Shane: ¡°I never once seen him take that sword off his back.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°If what you say is true that¡­¡­could it be?¡±

    If what Shane said was true, then Jonathan had an idea of what it was. However, such things were only known in legends. Since he can¡¯t be sure for now, he will keep it to himself, saying anything right now, it may be heard by the unwanted.

    Shane: ¡°Last but not least, we have to deal with the other members of his party. Especially the Rodentia and the Ogre. The Rodentia can turn invisible and cast high level incantation-less spells. In the middle of our battle she appeared out of thin air and began casting spells and in quick succession, so quick that my former leader couldn¡¯t even close the distance between them before she cast another spell.

    Even Jonathan was surprised by that. Beatrice was a well-known female swordsman and she was defeated by a mage. Everyone knew that mages had a distinct disadvantage when facing a swordsman. Incantation especially for more powerful spells, took time to complete, time that no competent sword wielder would allow.

    Shane: ¡°And the ogre, her strength is unparalleled. Not too long ago, in the market, the place that someone broke a steel sword over her head, and she didn¡¯t even flinch. Now tell me, how do you expect any of the things you suggested to work?¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Jonathan: ¡°No need to worry, neither of them entered the dungeon with him. Only the Felidae accompanied him.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Yes, but there no way they will be away that long. They will be there. And the Felidae¡¯s no push-over either. Fighting solo with Hilda of the ¡®Twin Moons¡¯ is no easy feat, winning is a whole different thing entirely.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°So what, you sound like your scared to fight even if we have the advantage.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Did just hear anything I said, I¡¯m telling you, you don¡¯t.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°So what do you propose?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Simple, if Nathan¡¯s gone into the nest, all we need to do is make sure they don¡¯t come out and what I have in this trunk here will do just that.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°That seems highly improbable.¡±

    Shane smirked, as he opened the trunk letting the two to peer inside. Both went wide eyed seeing what was inside.

    Jonathan: ¡°How exactly did you obtain this amount?¡±

    Shane: ¡°I know a guy.¡±

    Jonathan put a hand to his chin, as simple as this plan was, with what he was looking at it would prove extremely effective.

    Jennifer: ¡°Jonathan, if used correctly, these could in fact be a good way to deal with this matter.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Agreed, Shane, what will you need to put this in motion?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Nothing much, just anyone and everyone who can fire a bow.¡±

    __

    __

    <u>Level up</u>

    Nathan watched his level rise from strangling to death a few Goblins. They were unfortunate enough to have come down the path the three adventurers were currently using, no sooner did they appear that Nathan¡¯s plants whipped out of the ground and crush their bones and snapped their necks. However, there was something that no-one seemed to bring to attention. A situation he could no longer stand and needed to make himself heard and let the issue be known.

    Nathan: ¡°It stinks.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Really?¡±

    Ash and Jasmine raise their noses into the air.

    Ash: ¡°All I smell is you.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Me too.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well, I smell a mixture of dead rotting things and the backside of all things in existence.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Didn¡¯t need to know that.¡±

    Ash: ¡°With that Carra plant extract on you, the flower scent is way more noticeable.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here or else we would be smelling what your smelling.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sooo glad I can spare your noses with my air freshening abilities.¡±

    Nathan who couldn¡¯t smell the scent he was giving off and held his nose as they made their way. The battle that was taking place outside must not have ended yet, for there were barely in goblins left inside. However just like before the goblins they came across seem to home-in on Nathan like moths to a flame.

    Jasmine: ¡°Hmmm, could it be¡­¡­¡­no it couldn¡¯t be as simple as that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Jasmine?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I think I might know why your attracting goblins.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It¡¯s your scent.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Like the giant Vultures from before, how they couldn¡¯t help themselves, but come to you.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The Carra extract, but you¡¯re wearing it too and none of them seem to be coming at you.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Yeah, but there a big difference between me and you.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ah, your flower scent.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Right, his flower scent and the Carra are mixing together, giving off an aroma that attracting the Goblins. Goblins to have a good sense of smell and given the state of this place, your scent, it¡¯s probably intoxicating.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t use words like intoxicating to describe the situation. It¡¯s already creepy as it is.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ahahaha, men, women and now goblins, does allure know no bounds?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s it let take this back outside.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Calm down you two, we just have to find a way to mask it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Mask, what could possibly cover up that scent?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Hmm, well-¡±

    Jasmine was at a loss, the pleasant aroma coming from Nathan was just too ferocious to be tamed and within this close space, it was definite. She didn¡¯t think anything could cover it up, at least anything they had with them.

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­. Actually, I might have a way.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan closed his hand and reopened it to produce several seeds, which he the planted into the ground. After a moment several flowers sprouted from the ground.

    Ash: ¡°What kind of flowers are these?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Yeah I never seen these before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ugh, their special flowers, that only grows in a certain place, so once I use them, I have to remove them. Can¡¯t have anyone stumbling upon them.¡±

    Jasmine let out a sound of amazement. The flowers were very pretty, pink petals that pointed at the end, they were sight for sore eyes amongst the dreary cave walls.

    Jasmine: ¡°They are pretty, but how are they gonna help you?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They produce a pollen when you disturbed the flowers, the spores on the pollen act as awarding agent when airborne.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It keeps monsters away?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh yeah, (Along with friends, family, lovers and any other creature that needs to breathe).¡±

    Nathan kept his mouth shut, for the flowers he just grew was none other than the Myfetus. With a stench so bad, anything and everything in existence would avoid you like the plague.

    Nathan: ¡°I just need to step in the and set them off.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well what are you waiting for?¡±

    *Shove*

    Nathan: ¡°What Waaaaa!?¡±

    Nathan was surprise and unready as he was shoved forward into the patch of flowers. He had no way of stopping and fell faced first into the Myfetus. He instinctively held his breath, fearing the stench, but to his surprise, no spores came out.

    Nathan: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan carefully stood up, not wanting to set off the plants, but again nothing happened. He took a few careful steps and still nothing happened.

    Nathan: ¡°That¡¯s weird, that should have set them off.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Nothing happened.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I wonder why.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Maybe it did, and we just haven¡¯t noticed?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh no, we would have most definitely notice, that distinct smell cannot possibly go unnoticed.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Why? What does it smell like?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I don¡¯t¡¯ get it, it worked last time.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°(Did he just ignore me?)¡±

    Jasmine eyed Nathan, who just kept ignoring her.

    Jasmine: ¡°(Suspicious.)¡±

    Ash: ¡°What was different between now and then?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing really, no wait, I was being attacked.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Then that¡¯s probably it, it¡¯s your flowers, they don¡¯t sense any danger so there not being set off.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°(Why would it take danger to set them off? Sounds like a defense reaction.)¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So since I grew them, they won¡¯t trigger, make sense.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well it¡¯s a good thing we¡¯re here. We can set them off for you come on Jasmine.¡±

    Jasmine jump back to her senses, when Ash started pushing her forward.

    Jasmine: ¡°Wait Ash¡­s-somethings up with these plants.¡±

    Ash: ¡°We can¡¯t wait, more goblins could be on their way, we don¡¯t have time.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No just a second we nee-¡±

    Ash shoved Jasmine forward unwilling, pushing her into the bed of plants. Time seem to stand still for her, but what she took notice of was Nathan. He bowed his head in clasped his hands together apologetically.

    Nathan: ¡°*Silent* (Please forgive me).¡±

 Chapter 108: Growing Suspicions

    Chapter 108: Growing Suspicions

    Fynel: ¡°Careful with that, don¡¯t you know how rare that is? I could buy a hundred of you for the price of that.¡±

    Fynel yelled and complained to the women in Zane¡¯s party as they harvested the many different flora situated around them.

    Zane: ¡°Mr. Fynel, we understand the value of your merchandise, we are treating each with the utmost of care. However, I must insist that you cease your baseless claims¡±

    Fynel: ¡°Hmph.¡±

    With a snort Fynel went to survey an area, Zane assigning to of his party members to follow and protect him. Since they enter the dungeon, Zane and Fynel had begun a power struggle, Fynel testing the boundaries of what he could say or do. Zane on the other hand, was stuck between his responsibilities towards the guilds and his love for his party members.

    It was hard watching his girls get yelled at for what was no real reason, but they all agreed to the assignment, so it wasn¡¯t as if they didn¡¯t know what they were getting in to. Though to be honest, his mind kept drifting away from the current situation.

    As they went on their way, Elenora walked up to Zane, as he sighed for the umpteenth time in a row.

    Elenora: ¡°Zane, it¡¯s not like you to sigh so much, what¡¯s wrong? Surely you¡¯re not letting this simpleton cause you such grief.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s not that we¡¯ve dealt with such characters before. I¡¯m just worried.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°Worried, whatever for?¡±

    Elenora smiled soothing smile, urging Zane to relinquish his worries on to her. Like always, she was there for him whenever he was feeling down or confused on an issue. And just like always she would push him on the right the direction, or more times than not the direction she wanted him to go.

    Zane: ¡°It¡¯s Jasmine.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°Oh?¡±

    The corners of Elenora¡¯s mouth twitch upon hearing her name. Outwardly, she acted innocently enough, inwardly she curse her name, ever since she arrived the dynamic between Zane and herself was slowly being broken. It wasn¡¯t mush except for a few choices Zane had made was based on her guidance. It drove Elenora up a wall whenever Zane took her advice, as small as it was, it was a nuisance. She had spent too much time molding Zane into the man he was to have him stolen away, however she had to play the long game.

    Elenora: ¡°Oh my, Jasmine, is about yesterday¡¯s debacle, that nothing to worry about. Everyone is entitled to a mistake or two.¡±

    Zane: ¡°It¡¯s not that, I worried about her being off on her own.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°She not alone, she with two very capable individuals. (As much as I hate that bitch, I have to admit the Lycanian is strong, if only she would stay away from my Zane) She will return as she always does (No matter how much I want her to disappear).¡±

    Zane: ¡°Yes, the stray flower is truly capable, ah perhaps through her friendship with Jasmine, she will be willing to join.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°Perhaps.¡±

    Contrary to Zane¡¯s plan, Elenora was doing the exact opposite. She was hoping that Jasmine and Nathan become good friends, so good the Jasmine would leave willingly and join Nathan¡¯s party. Elenora nearly wretched in her mouth, spewing that bullshit to Zane, but if it cheered him up, it was nothing for it. Jasmine would never fit in with the girls, because Elenora deemed as so. She wanted that infuriating girl gone as soon as possible. And what better way than to make her understand that she is not welcome.

    Party Scout: ¡°Master Zane?¡±

    Just while they were taking, one of the girls came running up to them in a panic.

    Zane: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Party scout: ¡°There is a large group of people about half a mile away.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°It is not uncommon for large parties to move through the dungeon.¡±

    Party Scout: ¡°That¡¯ just it, I don¡¯t think they are. The way their moving is strange as well.¡±

    Zane: ¡°How so?¡±

    Party Scout: ¡°I watched them for a good while and they never moved out into the open, like they were avoiding detection. Then without warning they split into the smaller groups and took off in different directions.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Sounds like they didn¡¯t want to be followed. On a rough scale, how many men.¡±

    Party Scout: ¡°At least three or four dozen.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°A large-scale subjugation, maybe a boss raid?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Then why spilt up?¡±

    Zane quickly activated his map.

    Zane: In what direction were they headed?¡±

    Party Scout: ¡°Roughly in this direction.¡±

    The girl pointed out the general direction of each of the groups. Even as they spilt off, they all still seemed to be heading northwest.

    Zane: ¡°There are no boss monsters in that direction.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°Your right, the direction there headed, its roughly the Goblin territory, right? Why would anyone go there now, everyone should know that the goblins are fighting right now. They should be avoiding that area altogether not to get caught up in the conflict. What could they possibly be after?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re after whatever the Goblins are fighting over.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°What, who would want anything like that? It wouldn¡¯t be worth much.¡±

    Zane: Yes, but Goblins going to war, is not something that happens every day.¡±

    Elenora couldn¡¯t deny that, since goblins are constantly being hunted by anything and everything, they tend to group together whenever possible. For them to fight, it had to be something so valuable, that they would be willing to destroy the already constantly declining race.

    Zane: ¡°I¡¯m going.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°What, why?¡±

    Zane turned to leave grabbing and jumping onto a horse.

    Zane: ¡°Whatever there doing, Jasmine may get caught in the middle.

    Elenora: ¡°I doubt Jasmine would willing interfere with whatever¡¯s. In fact, she may be on her way back as we speak.¡±

    Jasmine was only meant to escort the Lycanian to the nest and then head back immediately. She could arrive anytime now, if she immediately decided to return.

    Zane: ¡°Still, diving into the nest with stray flower isn¡¯t beyond a possibility. If so, it would be better to go now.  Something is about to happen if I head back through the Giant Vulture nest, I could catch up to them.¡±

    Elenora: ¡°By yourself, at least let me come with you.¡±

    Zane: ¡°I need you here, we still have a duty to fulfil.¡±

    Elenora knew he was right, as much as she didn¡¯t¡¯ want him to go anywhere for that girl, she was happy that he trusts her to complete their assignment.

    Elenora: ¡°I-I understand, please be safe.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Move the client east of here, just in case of any complications.¡±

    The Avian then shot off down the path. Zane didn¡¯t understand why such a lost force was heading that way, but whatever they were after, he would not allow Jasmine and company to be caught up in their affairs.

    Fynel: ¡°WHERE THE HELL, IS HE GOING, WITH MY BIRD!?¡±  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Nathan: ¡°Sorry guys, really. But it worked right?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I said it was cool, it is doing exactly what we want it to do, we haven¡¯t seen a single Goblin since we were sprayed.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, see you get it, it was a tactical plan.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Tactical?¡±

    Jasmine turned back to Nathan who flinched when he saw her face. She was absolutely livid.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°We smell like the backside of Burn Boar. I don¡¯t care how tactical it was, nothing is worth smelling like this.¡±

    Jasmine took short quick breath, trying her best to avoiding the smell entering her nostrils. Nathan told them that the smell won¡¯t last long, having experience the smell before. He offered Jasmine a piece of cloths to stick in her nose like he did, but she said that it was stupid looking, and she wouldn¡¯t do it.

    Ash: ¡°Well we made it extremely far in without being spotted once, at least there¡¯s that.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°A little too well, I hope the Goblin chief don¡¯t avoid the smell.¡±

    Jasmine: They won¡¯t, they never lead the mating chambers except to eat and maybe if there being threatened. Besides, this flower smells, but not compared to the smell of that place.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Worse than this?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Worse than anything.¡±

    Nathan wasn¡¯t too keen on entering anymore, but if he wanted that accessory, he didn¡¯t have a choice. Jasmine waved at the two to wait, as a group of Goblins appeared. They were beaten and bloody, most likely a group who survive the battle that took place outside. They spoke in an intangible language before disappearing down an adjacent corridor. Jasmine made sure the close was clear before she guided them into another area of the cavern.

    Jasmine: ¡°Hey, what do you think the goblins are fighting over?¡±

    Ash: ¡°What?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°You know, why would they fight, from what I been hearing about them, you think they would stick together.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Good question, as far as I know, they only care about food, sleep and mating. Beyond that, I don¡¯t know what a goblin would find valuable.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Maybe territory, they are growing in size, so maybe they need more space?¡±

    Ash: ¡°That could be it.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense, why would the Shaman, trek several miles out of that forest that shall not be named, through areas with things that prey on goblins, for some territory? If they wanted more territory, it would be simpler to just expand their nest in the south.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Well yeah, I guess. Then how about dominance, there can only be one leader or something like that.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°That could be the case¡­¡­. darn, yeah the more I think about it, the more it sounds plausible.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Your upset about it?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Well, I was just thinking, if had something they would be willing to fight over maybe, just maybe it¡¯s something valuable and it just so happens, their treasure rooms not far from here.¡±

    Jasmine looked back to find that Nathan and Ash had ceased walking and were staring at her disbelievingly.

    Jasmine: ¡°What?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are you serious right now, you wanna go look for treasure?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Right after you just promise Zane to stay out of trouble.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°W-What, I would never disregard Zane trust.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Said, miss run into a forest for antlers and almost get killed by a mimic.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°That was circumstantial, and you know it. Besides I wasn¡¯t going to run off again.¡±

    Nathan and Ash gave a dubious look, believing her for a second. Zane made perfectly clear, that she was to avoid all unnecessary detours, treasure hunting would count as such.

    Nathan: ¡°Then why bring it up?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I just making conversation, some food for thought.¡±

    Ash&Nathan: ¡°We¡¯re not hungry.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°F-Fine, forgive me for making conversation. Hmph!¡±

    Jasmine turned around and walked off in a huff, Nathan and Ash resuming following her.  They had gone deep into the goblin nest and as they moved along, the number of goblins they ran into decrease. Nathan would make quick work of them, making sure to kill them quickly and quietly. Lucky for them, after the skirmish, wounded goblins were found more often, along with some who had succumbed to their injuries and now lied dead in the corridors.

    With such a stroke of good luck, they only way for them to be caught would be if they allowed one of the goblins to call for help.

    Jasmine: ¡°*whisper*Good we¡¯re almost there. From this point on we shouldn¡¯t run into anymore mobs. Regular goblins aren¡¯t allowed near here.¡±

    Jasmine walked halfway down the hall, veering around the corner she was surprise by the sight.

    She put a finger to her lip, making they kept quiet as they moved to look. Not far off was several goblins, who seemed to be guarding a room. The goblins themselves didn¡¯t seem that strong however there several guarding that room. It seemed a tad bit unnecessary to have so many guards or for that matter why guard a mating chamber at all?

    Jasmine: ¡°That¡¯s it, but what the hell going on?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Why are there so many guards for a mating chamber. And why do they look so different?¡±

    Unlike the Goblins from higher, these goblins were bigger and better built then the one on higher levels.  instead of the sticks and makeshift clubs, the goblins

    Ash: ¡°Shit, those are Goblin Elite.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Are they bad, (Pry)?¡±

    *Ding*

    Goblin Elite        Level: 14                             Type: Fiend

    A rank above normal goblins, they dawn basic armor and weaponry stolen from unsuspecting travelers. Mimicking adventuring parties, they work together in small groups, preferring skill over sheer numbers. Will call for Reinforcements.

    ATK: 15

    DEF: 13

    Ability (Rally, Narrow Escape)

    They didn¡¯t seem too bad stat wise, but that ¡®Narrow Escape¡¯ ability seemed Annoying. The ability that guaranteed at least one would escape when fighting as a group, meaning no matter what, if we can¡¯t take them all out at once, one will escape and return with reinforcements.

    Ash: ¡°They would at least put up more of a fight than ordinary goblins. We definitely would not get pass them without being noticed and the second they since danger they group together and call for backup.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Jasmine, you sure this is the mating room?¡¯

    Jasmine: ¡°What, of course it is, what else would it be!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I mean, you didn¡¯t lead us over to the treasure room for the thing you think is valuable?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I-I didn¡¯t, I mean I thought about it, but I decided against it. This should be the mating chamber and I was wondering the same thing. I¡¯ve never seen it this heavily guarded before.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°So this isn¡¯t normal?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No, they would usually only two or three regular Goblins here, this is over kill.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Could the Don, be in there and these are his guards?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I don¡¯t know, I never actually came across a Don before, but this could be his guards.¡±

    Ash: ¡°So what are we gonna do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­I will go alone.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What, are you crazy, how do you plan to get in alone?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ughhh, turn invisible and walk in.¡±

    Nathan demonstrated as he told her, Jasmine forgetting the fact that he could do that.

    Jasmine: ¡°Oh, right.¡±

    Ash leaned in close and whispered to Nathan.

    Ash: ¡°You want me to take care of Iris?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, I¡¯ll keep her with me.¡±

    Ash: ¡°You want to take a girl, in there!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No, but if you need to fight, unless you plan to abandon Jasmine, your gonna need your hands free. She will be safer with me, since I be invisible the entire time.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ah, oh no, we have to move.¡±

    Nathan and Ash turned back around to see, two goblins elites break away from the group and was currently headed in their direction.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Did they notice us?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No, only the two are coming, they¡¯re probably going on patrol.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Than we should go or else we¡¯ll be caught.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Alright be careful.¡±

    Nathan nodded to Ash and then vanished, while Jasmine and Ash made their selves scarce. He strolled on over the goblins, none of them the wiser as he slipped right passed them. One or two did catch the scent of the Mefytus and began to argue with one another over who cause the unsavory scent.

    Inside the chamber, Nathan found a slope, that lead down into a pit. Larger rock jettisoned from the ground, obscuring visions and leaving blind spots.

    Various sounds and smells drifted up towards Nathan, neither of which were pleasant to the senses. True to what Jasmine said, it was horrid smell and with Nathan¡¯s senses heightened it was all the worse. Even with his nose blocked it was still coming through, but at least it was bearable for no, plus he wouldn¡¯t be here long.

    There were few goblins in the room, he counted out six. Two of them were passed out on the floor, while the rest were busy pleasuring themselves by assaulting female monsters, that were unlucky enough to be captured. Amongst them a bird like creature, a bipedal lizard and another that look like a giant humanoid mole, were all fighting to free themselves as the goblins held them down and had their way with them. There were others female bodies, but it seems their lives had long slipped away.

    Nathan didn¡¯t have time to feel sorry for the miserable monsters, his targets were insight. Each of the goblins down below sported some sort of makeshift jewelry. Made of bones and stones, they hung around either their necks, legs or arms.

    Nathan: ¡°(They must be it.)¡±

    Nathan pumped his fist, all he had to do was to go below and simply remove the accessory from his chosen target. However, Nathan was extremely reluctant to go down below. They weren¡¯t all to hygienic and the goblins didn¡¯t seem to care about the mess or the fact they were merrymaking in a pool of they¡¯re juices and continued their activities without much other thought then self-gratification.

    Nathan: ¡°(Yeah, I¡¯m not setting foot and that, never ever.)¡±

    Nathan had absolutely no thoughts of heading down into that veritable cesspool of goblin copulation and opted for a less disgusting route.

    Nathan planted a few seeds, producing several Lillaby. He didn¡¯t have any type of wind source, but from above it was enough to just have the pollen from the flowers float into the pit.

    It took a while but soon enough, the occupants in the pit were fast asleep. Even whilst still entwined with their captives, soon they all slump to the ground, falling into a deep slumber. Making sure that everyone below were asleep, Nathan moved further down the slope before he planted a Snyare which reached down into the pit.

    Nathan attempted to grab hold of one of the accessories and lift it off the goblin, but it was proving more difficult then he thought. He was never that good at the crane games and even with more control of the crane he still was having a hard time keeping a grip on the accessory. The goblins would twist and turn in their sleep making it difficult to keep from waking up while pulling the accessory free.

    Nathan: ¡°*Sigh*(This is gonna take a while)¡±

 Chapter 109: A Friend of a Friend

    Chapter 109: The Friend of a Friend

    Ena: ¡°Are you sure this is the right way?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure, on your left.¡±

    Ena grabbed an ape creature out of the air and smashing its head into the ground crushing and killing it.  As it faded away into the sky, another one leaped toward her. Ena, quickly turned and aimed a punch right for its chest caved it in and sending the poor thing flying into another. Ena smiled a big happy smile as she turned toward the pack of ¡®Rage Apes¡¯. Red furred ape¡¯s monsters with strong long arms like an orangutan, but with build of a gorilla. Several of them attempted to ambush Ramol, while he was busy picking fruits and valuable herbs and flowers. However, with Nathan¡¯s ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ ability they always have with them, they were already well aware of the apes.

    Ena: ¡°Wahahahahaha, so much fun, should have come with Nathan earlier.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Don¡¯t have too much fun, we still need to catch up with Nathan. Hurry, and finish up Ramol, can¡¯t hold them off forever.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Than I shall feast on this battle like none have feasted before.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yeah you do that. Ramol, hurry up.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°I-I¡¯ll be right there miss Anais.¡±

    While Ena continued to decimate the monster, Ramol was busy collecting every manner of fruit and herb he could acquire.

    Anais: ¡°We should have met up with him forty-five minutes ago.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry miss Anais, but I really never had a chance like this, the inventory is such an incredibly convenient item. Lookie here, these ¡®Papra¡¯ berries only last so long after being picked, that makes the but with the inventory I can keep them fresh for sweet ¡®Papra jam¡¯. Oh, and these herbs are used in medicines, but they quickly lose moisture and dry out and these flowers are-¡±

    Anais: ¡°Okay, okay, I get it, just gather what you want a little quicker.¡±

    Given the okay, Ramol continued to fill his Inventory wit whatever he could grab. Anais turned back to Ena, who was nearly done slaying all of the ¡®Rage Ape¡¯. She had so much built up frustration from the lack of battle, that she wasn¡¯t letting even one escape. Anais breathe out heavily, she wanted to find Nathan as soon as possible.

    After what Irkia had told them, she wanted to keep an eye on him. If anything, happen like what Irkia explained, she had to be there to witness it.

    Anais: ¡­¡­*Mumbles* Wait what am I thinking, it¡¯s not like I want to watch, but I have to make sure it¡¯s nothing perverted. Yeah that¡¯s right what If something does happen, I have to be there to¡­¡­. observe, yes observation, that¡¯s all. It¡¯s not like I want something to happen or anything. I just need to observe and make sure to stop it when the need arises, but I have to be absolutely sure its perverted, so I must carefully observe for a while to make sure.¡±

    Anais continued trying to convince herself that her actions were true, she hadn¡¯t even notice Ramol had returned and decide to keep I distance. He couldn¡¯t hear what she was saying too well, but she was releasing an aura, that one would not want to approach.

    Ramol: ¡°Miss Anais, are you okay?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Huh, of course why do you ask?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Sorry, you just keep mumbling I¡¯m here to observe. What are we observing?¡±

    Anais: ¡°N-None of your business, are done with whatever?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Y-Yes, everything of value has been stored. Oh, and I found this while searching.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Ramol pulled out a hat with a wide flat brim tall crown and a fading brown color. Anais went wide out, snatching the hat from Ramol.

    Anais: ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Anais shook the crushed Papra berry off her hand, the hat was covered in it.

    Anais: ¡°Where¡¯d you get this?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Um, just in the bushes over there, is something wrong?¡±

    Anais: ¡°I know this hat; I mean I know a hat like this.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It belongs to an acquaintance of yours?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Definitely not an acquaintance, that would be an insult to any actual acquaintances.¡±

    Anais gave the hat a one over, she couldn¡¯t rightly tell if it was or not. She couldn¡¯t get the scent all she could smell was the berries.

    Anais: Its similar, but I doubt it belongs to them. That person would never take it off, it was like it was adhered to their head.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well, I think I¡¯ll just keep it. I¡¯ve been wanting a hat lot this for a while now¡±

    Anais: ¡°Do what you want.¡±

    Anais tossed the hat back to Ramol, who happily placed it on his head.

    Ramol: ¡°Well, what do you think?¡±

    Anais: ¡°It looks fine.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Just fine?¡±

    It didn¡¯t look bad on him to be honest, it¡¯s just it left a sur taste in her mouth every time she thought of it.

    *Drip*

    Anais: ¡°Ugh, Ramol.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Huh, uwa!?¡±

    Ramol quickly removed that hat and began to wipe away the berry¡¯s juices running down his head and face. Anais snickered as he relunctantly put the hat aside.

    Ramol: ¡°*sigh* I clean it later; shall we get going?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Okay, hey Ena, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Okay~¡±

    Ena had completely dismantled most of the Rage Apes in the nest, with the rest running away in fright. The last of the bodies turned to light in vanished into the sky, leaving Ena with a refreshing smile from having so much fun. As she made her way back over to Anais and Ramol, Ena caught sight of Ramol newly claimed hat and gasp in shock.

    Ena: ¡°That hat, isn¡¯t that-¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    *Kweeeeh*

    Anais: ¡°What the hell is that?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°It¡¯s an Avian, and that¡¯s Zane.¡±

    Zane seeing Nathan¡¯s friends slowed his dash.

    Zane: ¡°It¡¯s you.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Please, do you have any way to get in contact with Nathan, its rather urgent?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why, what¡¯s happened?¡±

    Zane: ¡°A compatriot of mine is traveling with her and I really need to speak with them. Time is of the essence, please.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Sorry, not right now.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Regrettable.¡±

    Zane got ready to gallop away, when he abruptly stopped by Anais.

    Anais: ¡°Hold up, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Nothing for it, there is a group of unsavory types moving through the dungeon incognito. They seemed to be headed in the Stray flower¡¯s general direction. Please be careful.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Zane: ¡°You aren¡¯t worried for her?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Nathan can handle himself well enough, there nothing to worry about (Not to mention Iris is with him, I doubt she would allow anything to happen to him.)¡±

    Zane was unaware of Iris¡¯s existence, like all other outside of Nathan¡¯s party. The members all knew of the incredible power Iris wielded and that as long as she was around, she would allow no real danger to befall him.

    Zane: ¡°Still I rather see for myself.¡±

    Anais: ¡°I¡¯m telling you its fine, but if you want to rush off, go for it. You know where to go?¡±

    Zane: ¡°Yes he was headed for the Goblin Nest north of here.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Yep that¡¯s right.¡±

    Zane: ¡°Sorry to take my leave, but I must be off.¡±

    Zane pulled the reins and the Avian, took off. Anais and company watched has Zane disappeared off into the distance.

    Ramol: ¡°He still believes Nathan is a girl, shouldn¡¯t we correct him.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Hard to correct someone who refuses to believe.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Nathan is rather beautiful for a man; I would be hard press to believe it myself if I were an outsider.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Whatever, he will find out one way or another. We should get moving too.¡±

    On her word the group continued. They walked at a leisurely pace, no longer stopping, but Ramol still gather what he could as they walked. Thy came across a large rainforest but avoided it completely. According to the rumor, a huge battle had taken place recently where the Hero had made an appearance. To the three, that was undoubtedly Nathan, but it has been hours since then, so he most likely moved on by now. With that thought they avoided the forest, in instead took the long way around to avoid the forest all together.

    After a while Ramol started to look nervous, Ena had been staring daggers at him for a while.

    Ramol: ¡°Miss Ena, is there something wrong?¡±

    Ena: ¡°That hat where did you get it?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Oh this, I just found it, isn¡¯t it spiffy?¡±

    Ena: ¡°No not that, is just similar to that person¡¯s hat.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Miss Anais, said the same thing, are you sure it¡¯s not theirs?¡±

    Ena shook her head and waved off the thought immediately.

    Ena: ¡°Impossible, they would never take that thing off or lose it. It was like it was glued to their head.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Also exactly what Miss Anais said. Who is this person?¡±

    Ena: ¡°He and his group trick me and my family and was planning to sell me off as a slave.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah, that did happen to you, I¡¯m sorry I brought about bad memories. I discard of it immediately.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Ah, no need, I¡¯m not upset or anything, besides you look like you really want it.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yeah, ever since that group came into my store to shop the other day and one of them were sporting the same hat, I¡¯ve been fixated on obtaining one.¡±

    Ena: ¡°Oh?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Someone shopped at your store?¡±

    The sheer disbelief in Anais¡¯s voice, cut right into Ramol¡¯s chest.

    Ramol: ¡°I-I get the occasional customer from time to time. He would come to the store whenever I was alone, and we would chat about things and the hat just came up here and there. Eventually it led to him telling me how much good luck it brought him in life. More so with the ladies, and how they would swoon over him.

    Ena: ¡°You¡¯re wearing a hat it to get a girlfriend?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°N-No, I just like the hat is all *mumbles* If it brings luck with ladies, who am I to deny.¡±

    Anais: ¡°The foolishness, a hat will not help you to get a girlfriend, that just stupid man fantasies. Are you comparing women to pigeons, we only like shiny things? That a hat will have us flocking to you. What a ridiculous notion, wooing a girl with a hat, idiot.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Guh!¡±

    Ramol was taking blow after blow from Anais, Ena agreeing what Anais but decided to spare him any further damage.

    Anais: ¡°And someone actually came into your store to shop, there¡¯s nothing but crap.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°That hurts even more!¡±

    Ramol was on the verge of crying, but Anais just ignored him. She was as ruthless as ever, but it was insulting sort of fantasy towards women, so she had no qualms with utterly destroying his dreams.

    Anais: ¡°You¡¯re a smart man Ramol, but your friends gonna cause you problems, if you keep listening to his crap.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°*sigh* You are merciless Miss Anais. Mister Shane said everybody has the right to dream and a hat like this would help with fulfilling it.¡±

    Anais&Ena: ¡°Shane!?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Uwaaa!?

    Ramol was frightened by the sudden outburst, Anais and Ena screaming at him simultaneously.

    Ramol: ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Your telling me, the guy you met was Shane?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah, you know Mister Shane?¡±

    Anais: ¡°What else did you talk about?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°M-Miss Anais, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Shane is one of the people who tried to sell me.¡±

    Anais: ¡°And kill Nathan.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°What, I-I didn¡¯t know, I thought you said they were a group of five. He only ever came alone, ah except the other day, the day we left Loegrey, he brought two others.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Forget it, what else did you talk about?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Ah, ugh, well, let¡¯s see, stories of his adventures, the times he with various women. Nothing else.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s it really?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yeah that¡¯s all.¡±

    Anais stared confused, why would Shane go to Ramol¡¯s shop and speak to him about nonsense and ask nothing of Nathan.

    Ena: ¡°Could it have been another Shane?¡±

    Anais: ¡°No, way too many coincidences to be someone else. What about the other two, was it a big guy with full metal armor or another covering his face?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Or a strong warrior woman, with mage girl with a with a abnormally bulging bosom for her age?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Why are you bringing up her chest?¡±

    Ena: ¡°Do you think any man would forget ¡®Those¡¯?¡±

    Anais: ¡°Point taken, answer the question Ramol.¡±

    Ramol: ¡°N-No it was a man with glasses. An intellectual type and a woman, who seemed to be a servant.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Man with glasses?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Yeah, he seemed extremely intelligent, always seemed to be in deep thought, as he walked about the store, he was the one who was actually buying my items. Shane would just talk with me, anytime he came.¡±

    Anais: ¡°What about him?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Well, sometimes he would ask about how my business was going. I tell him, better in the recent month, but I still could use a little more capitol He was actually the one who gave me the idea to auction off the weapons in Midheim. Nathan did come up in our conversations, but nothing more than how strong he was and how unique his fighting style was. Using plants and poison was rare or so he said. And the women, she was beauty, but she seemed to blend into the background at times, like as if she would suddenly disappear.¡±

    Anais: ¡°Disappeared?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°Not really disappear, she would just head outside from time to time. Then once she returned, they would finish their business and leave.¡±

    Anais: ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    Ramol: ¡°That¡¯s all.

    Anais: ¡°You didn''t find them suspicious asking about Nathan?"

    Ramol: "No, it wasn''t the first time anyone asked about him. There were other adventurers who wanted know if he had any weaknesses. Of course i never told anyone anything like that, but they didn''t seem intrested in his weaknesses, they was just saying how amazing they thought he was."

    Ena: ¡°They don¡¯t match."

    Anais: ¡°But Shane definitely does."

    Neither descriptions sounded like anyone from Beatrice party. Except for Shane, the other two were a complete mystery. However, the fact that Shane was there in the shop meant he was up to something and that alone was enough for her.

    Anais: ¡°Zane was right, we have to hurry and find Nathan, somethings about to happen.¡±

 Chapter 110: Early Warnings

    Chapter 110: Early Warning

    Jennifer: ¡°It is a complete waste, OF RESOURCES!¡±

    Jennifer screamed the last part right in Shane¡¯s face, who just stuck his fingers into his ears block her voice.

    Shane: ¡°A women wouldn¡¯t understand, this is a man¡¯s problem, this isn¡¯t just one of your prissy little trinkets you women like to decorate yourselves with.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°You did not just say that.¡±

    Shane waved at Jennifer dismissively, pissing her off even more than she already was.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°You two, again!?¡±

    Hearing about the commotion from one of his men, Jonathan relunctantly, came to see what was wrong. Unsurprising he found Shane and Jennifer at each other¡¯s throats as per usual.

    Jonathan: ¡°The operation was supposed to begin fifteen minutes ago, and yet neither of you are in place.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°It isn¡¯t my fault; this fool is holding things up with his stupid problem.¡±

    Shane: ¡°See this is why I don¡¯t keep women around longer then needed. They just don¡¯t understand a man¡¯s pride at all.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°What a low standard for pride.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Enough, tell me what¡¯s going on, now.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°We were on our way to a respective destination, when I notice that I was missing around ten of the men under my command. Lo and behold, this fool had sent several men from both our teams to search for his stupid hat.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°A hat?¡±

    Shane: ¡°It¡¯s not just a hat, is a symbol of my very existence and has been a staple and helping me to woe the ladies.

    Jonathan: ¡°¡­¡­What?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Lookie here youngster, imagine yourself riding into town on your trusty Avian. The lady¡¯s curiosity has been peeked as you approached, wondering what lies just beneath the rim. Memorize by the stranger that riding past, they can do nothing but stare in anticipation, looking for any chance to get a peek the face just beneath, then you stop right in front of them, their hearts skip a beat. With just enough suspense built up, with a flick of your finger and side smirk, you reveal the devilishly handsome face that lies beneath and then before you even spoken a word, you already have them hooked, there yours and that night they will make sure you know.¡±

    Shane raised his head after finishing his dramatization, a sparkle in his eye leaving Jonathan stupefied. Jennifer turned to Jonathan and pointed at Shane; she didn¡¯t even need to speak for Jonathan to understand what she wanted to say (Do you see how stupid he is).

    Shane: ¡°And that is why, I had no choice but to send the men to find my hat, it is essential for image, and I cannot do without.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Shane, we don¡¯t have time for this, as we speak the Lycanian is exploring the inner caverns of that Goblin Nest. We don¡¯t know when he¡¯ll return, and we only have one of the three exits being patrolled. Stop messing around and get to your post.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Nothing doing, until I get my hat back, I just don¡¯t feel whole, ya know.¡±

    I the blink of an eye, Jennifer had a dagger to Shane¡¯s neck. Working together or not, she has had enough of his antics.

    Shane: ¡°Now what are you going to do with that thing?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Enough of your games, send for our men at once.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Jennifer, stop.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Jonathan, we told by master to work with him, he never told us to put up with his crap. Perhaps he to be educated on exactly where he stands.¡±

    Jennifer drew the blade closer to Shane¡¯s neck, she had it with him, but quicker than she could move Shane caught her arm and moved the knife away from his neck. He leaned forward bring Jennifer with him, before flipping her onto her back with a ¡°fwump¡± sound. Jennifer quickly got back to her feet but found that the dagger she was using had been taken by Shane. Smirking triumphantly at Jennifer, as he balanced the dagger on the tip of his finger.

    Shane: ¡°You should be careful, these things are sharp, now what would you have done if I died?¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°Tch!¡±

    Jennifer raise her dress, showing of her long beautiful legs, she grabbed two daggers from the holster in her thigh.

    Shane: ¡°*whistle* Trying to seduce me, if was that sorta lesson, you should have led with that.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°That¡¯s it, you¡¯re¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°ENOUGH, WE HAVE KNOW TIME FOR THIS RIDICULOUS ACT. BOTH OF YOU GET IT TOGETHER, WE HAVE A JOB TO DO!¡±

    Jonathan went and grabbed the knife from Shane and tossed it back to Jennifer.

    Jonathan: ¡°Go back to where I stationed you, I will deal with him.¡±

    Jennifer: ¡°But-¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Now.¡±

    Jennifer stared down Jonathan for a moment before conceding. She quickly put it away, before walking off and given Shane a death glare. Jonathan than turned back to Shane who was shrugging his shoulders.

    Shane: ¡°That one¡¯s has a fire in her.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°I ask you to stop messing around.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What, she¡¯s the one brandishing daggers and showing off her legs, not that I¡¯m complaining about the latter.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°You could simply have told her the truth of the matter and that you actually sent those men to watch and stall anyone heading this way, namely the companions of the Lycanian.¡±

    Shane: ¡°That might have come up, but mostly I want my hat back.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Be serious, did you finish what we need?¡±

    Shane: ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±

    Shane open up the chest he had and pulled out an arrow. The heed was wrapped in a red cloth with a rune symbol.

    Shane: ¡°These exploding arrows were expensive, so you only get three.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Will they do the job?¡±

    Shane: ¡°If they don¡¯t, then I just wasted a shit ton of raw material for nothing.  Just make sure your archers don¡¯t invoke the incantation until their ready to fire. You won¡¯t want to waste a second of time before the explosion.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Understood.¡±

    Shane: ¡°Oh and make sure they don¡¯t miss, they explode contact obviously enough.¡±

    Jonathan handed one off to his men to catch up with Jennifer and kept the other for himself.

    Jonathan: ¡°And stop annoying her or I might not be able to stop her next time. I¡¯ll explain to her what you were really doing.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What, I honestly lost my hat, and I honestly told the men to keep a lookout for it.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Unbelievable.¡±

    Shane: ¡°What, it¡¯s my pride and joy.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Just get to your post, you take care of the highest exit. Fire only after you hear the first tw-

    Shane: ¡°I know, I know, until I hear two booms, got it.¡±

    Jonathan took his leave ignoring Shane as he walked away.

    Shane: ¡°Tch, they just don¡¯t get it, what¡¯s a man without his hat *sigh*.

    Shane picked up his trusty bow, give a good once over before taking a short walk. A little way off he found the group of bandits under his command and with of wave of his hand he order them get ready. Ahead of him was the lone unguarded entrance to the Goblin nest. Several feet off the ground, it was a difficult shot for any other archer to hit, but not for Shane. He smiled deeply thinking what was to come. It hadn¡¯t been that long, but it felt like an eternity since they saw the man who ruined his and his parties¡¯ lives.

    The sheer amount of bullshit he went through in the last few months, stem from Nathan ruining that deal.

    Shane: "All he to do was be a good little endangered species and live a life of captivity, he would have gotten to live and i would have raked it in. But no, he had to go in ruin everything, like a selfish mutt and screw over the wrong people.And after all we did for him."

    Shane contiued to mutter to himself, much to the discomfort of the men and women around him, all of them unsure if he was talking to them or to himself.

    Shane: "We didn''t have to give him direction or let him a ride free of charge and what did he do he ruined us."

    Lucky for Shane he also happened to piss off the Thieves Guild as well, best part is, he probably doesn''t even realize it.  Shane would never forget the humiliation he felt that day, being beaten so easily defeated and sent on his way without a scratch, like he and his party were no real threat.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    *Thwack*

    Shane drove his fist into the nearest tree over and over again, until his fist was bloody and soar. His subordinates looked on in confusion as Shane continued to ram his fist into the tree. After a few minutes, he stop and shook his hand to get rid of the numbing sensation. His part might have given up on this, but he sure wouldn''t let it go.

    Shane: ¡° Just you wait mutt, I¡¯ll make damn sure you regret ever taking me lightly.¡±

    _

    _

    Ash: ¡°Are you done yet?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Just a little longer, there got to be something here.¡±

    Jasmine sorted through the pile of what most would consider garbage. Somehow, while avoiding the Goblin patrols, they ended up hiding in the treasure room. When Ash realized where they were,he was pissed, but she swore that it was absolutely a coincidence. It has been around fifteen minutes and Jasmine had yet to give up sorting through the so called treasure of the Goblin. She did come across the occasional jewel or gold piece, but nothing screamed amazing treasure.

    Ash: ¡°Give it up already Jasmine, there¡¯s nothing here.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Argh, there really isn¡¯t anything here, I guess the really are fighting for dominance. That¡¯s so lame.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well since your done sorting through trash, lets head back over, Nathan could be coming out any minute now..¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Uggghh, fiiiinnnne.¡±

    Jasmine sluggishly got to her feet and followed Ash out. She didn¡¯t hide how disappointed she was, she was truly hoping for treasure.

    Ash: ¡°The Goblin Elites should have finished their rounds, but we should still be careful while walking through.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What were you expecting, there just goblins. Them having some incredible treasure that no one was aware of, doesn¡¯t it sound a little far-fetched?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I guess, but Elites, Dons, and Shaman don¡¯t appear every day, not at the same time and sure as hell not as enemies. And to all crowd this one nest, i was sure their would be something here.¡±

    Ash: ¡°What are you saying, you think there not fighting over territory?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No they probably are, but I think there fighting over this territory specifically. The Don isn¡¯t trying to take the southern nest. Adventurers are still able to hunt in the south without fear of goblin skirmishes, right?¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­¡­. You think that there¡¯s something here the Shaman wants and it sending it forces to retrieve it.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Right, there not fighting over expansion for their hordes, there fighting for something specifically here in this nest. And I figured it would be held in their treasure room, *sigh* but guess I was wrong. No treasure there, not even a single guard, what a waste of time.¡±

    Ash: ¡°¡­..Maybe you were looking in the wrong place.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No, I¡¯m sure this is the treasure room. I''ve been here a few times before and thats where they stash all there treasure.¡±

    Ash: ¡°The thing they were fighting over, wouldn¡¯t it be in a place with high security?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What, the mating chamber, those guard are there to protect the Don right? Beside that place is super gross, I wouldn¡¯t store anything of value in there.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Maybe not you, but if a goblin wanted to protect something, I would keep it close and surround it with my strongest men, right? And I don¡¯t think goblins give a crap about how gross something is if there fine living in this trash heap.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Then what are we suppose to do, there''s no way we¡¯re getting past all those guards.¡±

    Ash: ¡°We¡¯re not doing anything.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I haven¡¯t changed my mind, if there really is something there, then we should live it alone, in less you want hordes of goblins chasing you everywhere you go.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Jasmine moaned in frustration, she thought maybe Ash had come over to her side of things, only to be shot down instantly.

    Jasmine: ¡°Can¡¯t at least make sure?

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s not worth the risk, we can¡¯t take on all those goblins by ourselves.¡±

    *Tok Tok*

    Jasmine: ¡°More goblins are coming.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ash turned to leave , but as he did, he also heard footsteps coming adjacent tunnel.

    Ash: ¡°From both sides, Shit, back in the treasure room.¡±

    Jasmine followed Ash as they both ducked back inside the treasure room to hide. Peeking out from inside, they found two groups of Goblin Elites patrolling, walking right pass one another. Jasmine and Ash breathe a sigh of relief as the two groups ignored the treasure room all together and instead headed away in opposite directions.

    *Gurgle*

    All of a sudden one of the goblins grabbed at its stomach, hunch over from the sudden pain. The other goblin stared at him in confusion, as did Jasmine and Ash who were still watching from afar. The goblin stepped to the side and squatted down, grunting  as several unpleasant sounds escaped its backside.

    Jasmine: ¡°Eww.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Like I said, they don¡¯t give a crap.

    *Clonk*

    The other goblin smacks the one squatting on its head and they began to yell at it in an intangible language. Jasmine though gross out, couldn¡¯t help but snicker at the scene.

    Jasmine: ¡°Heheheh, Ash are you seeing this¡­¡­¡­¡­. Ash?¡±

    Jasmine stared in confusion, as Ash look around in a panic. He looked to one end of the room, to the ceiling then down at the floor, over and over again.

    Ash: ¡°(What is this feeling?)¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Ash, what¡¯s wro-¡±

    *shrieking*

    Out in the hall, the goblins were still arguing, one now clutching its bottom trying to hold back. The other goblin spoke and pointed toward the treasure room.

    Jasmine: ¡°(What!?)¡±

    The goblin clutching its stomach began to head toward them

    Jasmine: ¡°Crap, hide.¡±

    Jasmine dove into a corner, out of sight, but when she turned back, she was shocked to see that Ash hadn¡¯t move. Before she could even call out to him, the goblin had already run right passed him. Standing over a pile of garbage, the goblin began to relieve itself. The expression of bliss on its face from finally reliving itself, faded as it turned to Ash. At the same time Ash eyes fell on the goblin, finally coming out of his trance.

    *Thwick*

    Goblin: ¡°Gragh!?¡±

    An arrow lodge itself in the goblins neck, killing it instantly. Falling over into a pile of its own waste, Ash stared stun as fresh blood poured out of the wound.

    Ash: ¡°Jasmine what did you do?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What did I do, what the hell were you thinking standing there like an idiot?

    Ash: ¡°I was-¡±

    *Shriek*

    Ash moved back towards the entrance and peaked out and as if to answer the question, the goblin standing outside, after catching the scent of blood from its falling comrade, began to shout and scream for reinforcements.

    Ash took off and quickly made it over to the screaming goblin and swung his blade. The goblin held up its weapon to meet Ash¡¯s sword but failed to account for his second blade. With a squelching sound, Ash drove the sword deep into the goblin¡¯s side, before kicking it away to retrieve his sword. He was able to stop its shouts for help, but the damage was already done. When Jasmine caught up to him, the sound of shrieking from the other goblin patrol heading back their way was already echoing through the caverns.

    Jasmine: ¡°Crap.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Forget it, we got to get Nathan and get out of here, somethings wrong.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I can hear fine, looks like that other patrol cause for more, they¡¯re going to start swarming us any minute.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the goblins.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ash took off in the opposite direction of the footsteps, with Jasmine close behind. However, honestly the goblins were the least of his worries. For whatever reason, ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ was active and every inch of the cavern, was setting it off.

    Ash: ¡°What this hell is going on?¡±

    _

    _

    Mating chamber, five minutes earlier

    Nathan: ¡°(Are you fricking kidding me!?)¡±

    Nathan tried for the umpteenth time to raise the accessory from the goblin but was finding it much more difficult than anticipated. The items were made as to not be removed so easily, hugging the goblins limbs so tightly on would think it would cut off blood flow. However, it wasn¡¯t the same for the necklace and Nathan was having a much easier time grabbing and removing that, however the costing tossing and turning of the goblins in their sleep.

    *slip*

    Nathan: ¡°(Dammit¡­¡­¡­who am I kidding, this isn¡¯t gonna work. But the only alternative is-)¡±

    Nathan sigh in frustration, it was becoming increasingly obvious what he would have to do, since this wasn¡¯t working. Looking down into th pit Nathan shiver as the floor of the pit was completely drenched with the foulest of substances. Lucky for him, there were large boulders sprawled all around, perfect for him to use a steppingstone.

    Nathan checked to make sure his plant was still sending the pit down into the pit before getting his vines to wrap around him. He rose high into the air and on the side of the wall grew several vines, creating a makeshift foothold large enough for a small person to lie comfortably. Unhooking the hood holding Iris from his cloak, Nathan placed her on the vine platform and had several wrapped around her to keep her from falling.

    With Iris secure Nathan descended into the pit, using his vines to carefully place himself atop some boulders. Jumping along the rocks nicely, searching for a viable target. With a quick little jump Nathan arrived right in front of one of the sleeping goblins.

    With its crazy sleeping position, its foot was hanging up in the air, decorated with an anklet.

    Nathan: ¡°(Perfect.)¡±

    Nathan placed a hand on the anklet and tried to send it into his inventory.

    *Bzzt* *Bzzt*

    Nathan: ¡°(Huh, it¡¯s not working?)¡±

    Nathan attempted several more times to send  it into his inventory, both waving his hand in front of the anklet and touching it directly, but it wasn¡¯t working.

    He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on, he was sure that as long as he touched or waved his hand in front of the items, he could send it into his inventory, but maybe he was wrong. No matter what he did it kept making that noise and telling him the object cannot be placed in inventory.

    Nathan turned to a bone nearby and waved his hand over it and the bone disappeared. It went in without a problem, so why wasn¡¯t I working with the accessories.

    Nathan: ¡°(Screw this.)¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t want to waste time trying to figure it out, he simply went for the next target.

    Nathan laid eyes on the last of the Goblin chiefs, sleeping up against a rock, he had moved away from the others, but still caught the effects of the flowers Nathan planted.

    Nathan: ¡°(No way).¡±

    Nathan didn¡¯t know if it was an act of god or just sheer luck, but the necklace that was so secure around the others, dangle half off down the goblin¡¯s chest. One side was still around its neck and being held in place by the wall, but that shouldn¡¯t pose too much of a problem. As long as he didn¡¯t¡¯ make contact with the goblin his invisibility would not come undone. Then again, it was asleep, so even if Nathan was visible, it wouldn¡¯t matter much.

    Nathan got ready to head down,  slowly lowering himself  careful not to get to close to the pit of fire in fear of losing his lifeline.  Touching the floor, to his surprise, the area of the floor was he was standing was surprisingly less filthy. This Goblin Chief at least kept his filth to a minimum, except the discarded remain of its meal. Nathan stealthily moved around the debris and headed toward his prize, the goblin completely asleep and drooling.

    Reaching for the necklace, a gust of hot air blew pass disturbing the goblin. Drew his hand back quickly, as the goblin flipped over in his sleep. It quickly settled down, but to Nathan¡¯s surprise the breeze had yet to cease.

    Nathan: ¡°(What could be causing that so deep in the cave?¡±

    Nathan couldn¡¯t see any other entrances except for the one he entered, he was about to dismiss it, when sudden movement was caught in his peripheral vision. It was subtle, but particularly large boulder was moving ever so slightly, rising and falling like calm breathing. Then defying everything Nathan knew about boulders, it flipped entirely over, and he was able to make out what I really was.

    Nathan: ¡°(Hollee Shit, that¡¯s not a boulder, fricking huge monster.)¡±

    Nathan stared in amazement at the massive goblin lying in the corner. With tusks protruding from either side of its mouth and huge gut that shook we it turned over. He wasn¡¯t feeling a breeze, it was the breath of the huge goblin.

    From Nathan¡¯s perspective, he couldn¡¯t see the legs, for that matter he couldn¡¯t see any of the lower half of its body. The Goblin lower half was hidden in a den like hole in the wall. With its arms crossed in it lying down the way it was, no one what have guessed it was alive.

    Nathan: ¡°(That must be the Don, he is absolutely massive.)¡±

    Nathan wouldn¡¯t have noticed the monster had he not seen or felt its breathing and would have made a horrible mistake if he had grabbed for the necklace and became visible. For even with the Nathan''s flower doing their job, the massive Goblin in front of him, was wide awake.

 Chapter 111: Crushing Defeat

    Chapter 111: Crushing Defeat

    The Goblin Don, wiht its massive body looming over Nathan, moved it head back and forth as it looked about the room.The pollen from the flowers had reached here, the proof was the goblin adjacent from the Don was still asleep.

    Nathan: ¡°(Pry)¡±

    *Ding*

    Goblin Don        Level: 70                            Type: Fiend

    A variation of goblin evolution, with or without support it is a force to be reckoned with. Boasting unparalleled strength and defense amongst Goblin variants, its mere present raises the strength of most variants of goblins under his command and its roars send them into a berserk state, simultaneously inflicting dread on enemies. Contrary to its size, surprisingly fast when attacking and aims for quick decisive blows.

    ATK: 395

    DEF: 300

    Ability (Bellowing Shock, Smackdown, Big Order).

    Resistant: Sleep, Paralysis

    Nathan: ¡°(Nope.)¡±

    There was no way he could take that thing as he was now. If Ena was with him and if he had ¡®Origin¡¯ it might have been able to hold their own, at least until all the other goblins showed up then they would be in trouble. The ¡°Bellowing Shock¡¯ ability not only did it summon more goblins it sent them into a frenzy state, in which they would ignore any mental status effect. Not only that, by fighting under the Don''s command the goblins all get an attack boost.

    This was an impossible feat as of now, with Iris out of commission, he had to avoid fighting this monster at all cost, but it might be too late for that. As Nathan stared at the monster for a while, he noticed that the Dons seemed to be searching for something. His head moved ever so slightly back in forth, staring the goblins off in the distance, and then up to the ceiling. Nathan followed the eyesight of the beast and came to a scary realization.

    The flowers and vines that Nathan had grown around the room were not invisible and the Don was silently watching them sprout around the room and move about. It was only curious about the sudden flora, at least until they began to poke and prod at its subordinates. The latest vine coming too close for the Don¡¯s comfort, the one that was currently holding Nathan.

    The Don had realized something was wrong, plants it had never seen before appearing. Nathan was glad he didn¡¯t grab the chain, if he had, he wasn¡¯t sure how it would react.

    Right now, it was eyeing the bundle of vines hanging high on the ceiling, the bundle of vines that held on to the Iris. It was the first to appear and the most abundant, so to the Don most likely the source of all the others.

    Nathan was worried that thing would stand up, but the Don had no intention of removing itself from the hole in the wall that hid its lower body from sight. What Jasmine said earlier must extend to the Don as well, never leaving th mating chamber, must apply to it as well.

    Though Nathan did wonder how such a large creature was able to move about. The rooms were large enough, but the tunnels and entrances to the various caves would not be able to accommodate such a large body. Even the entrance to this room was so small for such a large body, its was impossible for him to leave.

    Nathan: ¡°(Wait, what am I doing, I need to get this necklace, before that monster becomes curious enough to investigate.)¡±

    Nathan turned back to the still sleeping goblin. He needed to grab the necklace without making contact with the goblin or his invisibility would come undone. Nathan took another look back to the Don; its attention had turned back to Nathan as his movement cause the vines to move. He needed a distraction and that was a simple as getting several snyare to move slowly toward the Don. Just as he believed the Don attention were immediately taken by the approaching vines.

    They dance around him, inching slowly toward the Don, but not to close, Nathan didn''t want him to get to agitated, just distracted. With its attention taken, Nathan went for the necklace, but he had misjudged the Don Goblin. The Don wasn¡¯t just going to let the unfamiliar flora encroach on his space, so with the vines growing ever closer, the Don picked up a boulder.

    *Swoosh* *Boooom*

    With great force, the Don Goblin launch a boulder right at the vines, ripping them to shreds before the rock smashed into the wall alongside the boulder.

    Such an action didn¡¯t go unnoticed, as the Goblin, closes to the Don had woken from his slumber. Standing up, it quickly grabbed for its necklace that was sliding off, but Nathan was having none of that. Nathan quickly had his vines snatch the chief into the air, just as it reconnected its chain.

    Nathan: "To bad for you now i have to do this the hard way.

    Nathan moved to crush the Goblin with his vines, which proved difficult. Surprisingly the Goblin Chief was fighting back, preventing himself from being crushed, until the snyare plants secretion began to eat through its skin. However, the moment the Don saw what the vines was doing to its subordinate, he reached for another rock and launched it at his subordinate.

    Nathan: "What the hell?"

    Nathan didn''t understand what the Don was thinking when launch the boulder at his subordinate. He succeeded in destroying Nathans vines, however he inadvertently smashed the Goblin Chief as well. The boulder shredded the vines and took the chief along with it as each smashed into the wall on the other side of the room, crushing the goblin and burying Nathan¡¯s prize in a pile of rubble.

    Nathan: ¡°Are you fricking kidding me, I was this close you stupid, fucking...............What!?"

    Nathan suddenly had an overbearing since of danger. His ''Threat Detection'' was going off, but he couldn¡¯t tell which direction the danger was coming from. According to his ability the threat was coming from every direction at once. Nathan didn¡¯t understand how something like that was possible, except for the goblin Don, their didn¡¯t appear to be anything dangerous.

    Nathan: ¡°(What the hell, how could the entire cave be a threat?)¡±

    Nathan knew that Threat Detection didn¡¯t activate without reason, so if it was active, then there was danger somewhere around him. So, if it said the entire area is dangerous, then it was.

    *Smaaaaaash*

    The Goblin Don¡¯s lobbing boulders around brought Nathan to his senses. On the far side of the room, piles of rock and dirt, crash to the floor below. However, the sight that was hit was not so far off from where Iris was resting. It was like the Don was aiming for Iris and missed by a hair.

    *C-Crack*

    The Don picked up a much larger boulder than what he had thrown before, determined to take out the invading flora, even while refusing to get up.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris!¡±

    Without  thinking, Nathan launched himself at the Don, throwing his body into the don¡¯s arm just as he flung the rock.

    *Smaaaaash*

    The large rock smashed into the wall, barely missing Iris again. Nathan had smashed into the goblin Don¡¯s arm with enough force to throw off the trajectory, but in doing so made contact with the Don. Coming in contact with another, undid the invisibility and with it gone, the Dons sight fell right on to Nathan.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    The Don  looked down at Nathan, a look of surprise seeing him just suddenly appear from nowhere.

    Goblin Don: ¡°*Growl*¡±

    Nathan: ¡°N-No need to get up, I was just lea-¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Nathan quickly jumped back as the Don swung his arm trying to crush him into the ground.

    *Booooooom*

    Nathan was able to dodge, but the attack shook the ground from the sheer power of the blow.

    Nathan: ¡°Aw come on.¡±

    As soon as Nathan landed, he quickly jumped to the right as a large rock passed by. Several more rocks were thrown at Nathan, with Nathan narrowly avoiding them. The Don toss the rocks with reckless abandonment, the smashing into walls and causing more rocks to fall down, with yet another chief along with the female monster to be buried under the rubble.

    Nathan: ¡°Stop it you idiot, your killing your own people.¡±

    Nathan words fell on death ears, as the Don continued to lob rocks at him. Unsurprising several of the room¡¯s inhabitants had woken up and were trying to avoid the debris, unfortunate was the ones bound by chain.  But more than that, the cave was beginning to fall,  as the massive boulder smashed all around.

    Nathan: ¡°No choice than.¡±

    As he said that Nathan had several snyare plant shoot out of the ground, they coiled around the Don arms and ensnared him.

    *Tsshh*

    The Goblin Dons skin began to burn as the snyare secrete its acid like digestive fluids that cause flesh to melt or so they should have.

    *Snap**Snap**Snap*

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    Nathan watched as the don snapped the vines, ripping them apart with greatest of ease. Nathan was seriously surprise by that, several of his vines while wind together was able to support several fully packed carriages and yet thy were uprooted without much of an effort. With its hand loose the goblin began its assault once again, Nathan was tried to use his plants as a makeshift shield, but the rocks tore through the vines like tissue. But as luck would have it, the Don had run out of things to throw, as the area around it was void of rocks.

    Nathan: "Looks like you¡¯re out of ammo, well than I¡¯ll just be going. Don¡¯t get up I¡¯ll let myself out.¡±

    Since the Don seemed adamant on not getting up, Nathan took the opportunity to vacate the area.

    *scratch**scratch*

    Nathan: ¡°Huh, Whoa!?¡±

    Nathan jumped out of the way as a clump of dirt flew pass him. Having run out of rocks, the Don opted to hands full of dirt, literally digging up clops of dirt and hurling it.

    Nathan: ¡°Seriously.¡±

    Nathan grew some more vines, this time blocking the dirt was a lot easier. The vines were successfully able to block the much softer dirt but just barely, the Don throwing strength was that great.

    Nathan had several of his Uzy grow out of the ground alongside snyare, to impede the Dons throwing and try to cause any damage to it if they could. for as much as possible. Using the vines to mask his movements, Nathan made his way back up to the vines where Iris lay to find her awake from all the noise and holding her head.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, your awake.¡±

    Iris: ¡°M-Master, Threat Detection, i don''t understand?¡±

    Just like Nathan, ''Threat Detection'' was also affecting her. If that was the case, there could only be  one thing that could cause all of them to activate at once.

    Nathan: ¡°That idiot chucking boulders is going to cause a cave-in. We gotta go.¡±

    Turning back to the Don, Nathan found the Don ready to throw the contents of its hand at him.

    Quickly scooping up Iris Nathan leapt away, using the vines from the wall to stop the dirt from hitting them. He made a beeline for the exit, with everything that has happened, he would have to try to get the accessory some other way. However, currently standing in the entry way, the goblin Elite after hearing all the noise, poured into the room, eyes set on Nathan.

    Nathan: ¡°Shit.¡±

    Nathan was currently holding on to Iris and with his ''Threat Detection'' still ringing in his mind, he was in no position to fight with his hands.

    Two of the goblins charged at him, while another shot arrows from the entrance. Nathan had his vines swat away the arrows aimed at him and then dealt with the Goblin charging him. They attacked simultaneously, slashing from either side. Nathan simply leapt into the air and using the goblins head as a steppingstone quickly got behind them where another was waiting  stab at him as he landed, or a should have.

    An Uzy plant Nathan had grown had begun to fill the area with bullet seed. The Goblin Elite attention was successfully stolen,  Nathan planted his foot into its face, knocking it back and allowing the Uzy to assault freely

    Iris: ¡°M-Master, ugghh this feeling.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah, sorry Iris.¡±

    Nathan aerial dodge had not set well with Iris in her current condition. With the Uzy, now that several more had sprouted up, now sent a storm of bullet seeds down the narrow tunnel, causing most of the elites to retreat, except for the few that were dawning shields and armor who tried to withstand the bombardment, to no avail. Though it was cutting a path through and any moment Nathan would be able to get through. However, that hope was cut short as hundreds of goblins came running down the tunnel. The sheer number of them was enough to block any attempts at an escape.

    Nathan: "Dammit, there no way to get through."

    Every goblin the Uzy shot down three more would take its place, it was never ending. End with the plants behind him slowly but surely give into the weight of the Dons bombardment, he was rightfully stuck.

    Iris: ¡°Uggh, Master.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hold on just a bit, I¡¯ll have the way clear in a second.¡±

    Iris: ¡°No master there''s something wrong...........can¡¯t hold it any.......................longer.¡±

    Iris felt a pressure building inside her, she had never felt anything like it before. It wasn¡¯t painful as much as it was unpleasant, a bubbling unpleasant feeling. Without anyway to resist, the pressure came to its peak.

    Like a cork, the pressure burst to the surface and dispersed. It was only for a moment where she lost control, but after each release, the pressure became tolerable if barely and she was able to regain control. In fact she felt great, better than she did for the past few days, like a weight  had been lifted, she felt her strength returning. She wasn''t fully recovered, and the headache was still there, but she could at least move better than previously.

    Nathan: ¡°.....................Iris?¡±

    Iris: "Master I feel.........what¡¯s wrong?"

    Iris turned to Nathan, to find him staring ahead with a stunned expression. Looking ahead she found that the tunnel vanish, like a chunk of it was ripped away. And the Goblin Elites that were attacking had mostly vanished, the little that remained, stared at them in horror.

    Iris: ¡°Master, what happened?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What happened, you don¡¯t remember?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Remember?¡±

    Nathan looked at her in confusion, she really didn¡¯t remember what had happened. The cave being widen along with the vaporizing of the Goblins, was done by her.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris, you just-¡±

    *Rumble*

    Nathan: ¡°(Oh, no.)¡±

    The room began to shake violently, the walls and ceiling crumbling around them. Nathan leapt out of the way as a particularly large rock crumbled out of the wall and down into the pit below. He knew it, the boulder tossing triggered a cave-in and what Iris had done might had been the final straw. The stability of the cave has been destroyed and it was coming down.

    The goblins began to panic, screaming and stumbling over each other as the tunnel leading into the chamber collapsed and buried them alive. Nathan hopped backward as the tunnel disappeared along with its occupants.

    Nathan: "Really glad, I didn¡¯t just run down there, but now there¡¯s no way out."

    Iris: ¡°Master, I¡¯ll-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Stop don¡¯t do anything!¡±

    Iris: ¡°But-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No buts.¡±

    Nathan was half worried, half scared, he definitely did not want Iris to do what she did a second ago. He leapt around, avoiding fallen debris, as he tries to find a secure spot amongst the crumbling cavern. With the exit blocked there was no way for him to get out and digging could cause more trouble than not.

    Nathan turned back to the Don and to his utter surprise, had come out of the hole in the wall. Or more so forced out of its spot, from the constant shaking causing the floor to collapsed beneath him where he had dug up the ground, it looked desperate, searching for something while tossing around debris, but Nathan couldn¡¯t tell what is was. Completely ignoring the rocks falling around it, it frantically searched the floor for whatever it lost.

    *Crash**Boom*

    The cave-in had reached its apex, the ceiling was coming down and there was nowhere left to run.

    Iris: ¡°M-Master.¡±

    Nathan: "Hold on"

    Plant shot up around Nathan and Iris, covering them as much as possible, but it didn¡¯t matter. Nathan, Iris, the Don and the rest of the occupants of the room, could do nothing as the ceiling finally gave and came crashing down, burying all occupants of the chamber and stone and dirt. Once the rumbling had ceased, everything fell silent as the mating room was no more.

 Chapter 112: The Goblins Treasure

    Chapter 112: The Goblins Treasure

    *Craassssh*

    Ash: ¡°*Cough*, Jasmine are you alright?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I-I will be, as soon as you remove your hands.¡±

    Ash looked down at the angry and flushed face of Jasmine.  Both his hands found their way to Jasmine chest and was given each a nice firm squeeze.

    Ash: ¡°Woah!?¡±

    Ash leapt to his feet, releasing Jasmine from his grip.

    Ash: ¡°S-Sorry, I-I really was trying anything.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°It¡¯s fine, I know you didn¡¯t mean it, thanks.¡±

    When the tunnel collapsed, Ash grabbed Jasmine and threw himself the remaining length of the tunnel. His gamble did save them from being buried, however his chivalric action lead to their current state.

    Jasmine got up and dust herself off and readjusting her shirt, a face still a bit flush from the feeling of Ash hands, still fresh on her chest. Ash turning around to assess the situation and also to get her some privacy. Now there was nothing, but a dirt wall and the tunnel was no longer accessible.

    Ash: ¡°Well, we¡¯re not getting back through there.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No we¡¯re not, you still getting that funny feeling?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Funny feeling, oh the danger¡­¡­¡­¡­.. no, it seems like where we are should be safe or as safe as could be after a cave-in. And I the Goblins got caught in the cave-in.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Not all of them, some of them went back to cut us off up ahead and call for reinforcements.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Then it¡¯s a good chance they will be coming here any minute now, we should go.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What about Nathan, he was back down there.¡±

    Ash Checked the party status list and was happy to see that Nathan and Iris were both still alive. However, he couldn¡¯t tell where they were. They were in the mating chamber, but he didn¡¯t¡¯ know if Nathan escaped when Threat Detection went off.

    Ash: ¡°He¡¯s alive at least.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Oh good, he made it out.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t , our party search hasn¡¯t been working right since we entered the dungeon, it¡¯s been even worse since we entered this cave. I don¡¯t know if his down there or not.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Then we need to go help him.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Calm down, Nathan has been buried alive before, and he was able to get out then, I doubt he wouldn¡¯t be able to this time. But  we should work to get him out but not from here. If we stay here, will be trapped if the goblin horde shows up. And honestly I¡¯m more worried about that sudden mana spike.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Yeah I felt too, that was crazy, I¡¯ve never felt anything like that before in theses caves. And it came from below, I wonder what could cause such a thing.¡±

    Ash had a pretty good idea who could do that, but what he wanted to know is why. Nathan usually doesn¡¯t like her letting out so much energy at  once since it¡¯s so conspicuous and hard to explain away. But if Iris was willing to do it in spite of that, there must have run into a real problem. And the only thing he could think of that would cause her to do that, would be if they came across something way too powerful for Nathan to face on his own, namely, the Goblin Don.

    Ash: ¡°Is there another path into the mating chamber?¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Jasmine: ¡°Not that I know of, just the one way in, oh but there was this new tunnel I notice on our way down. It was dug out recently and way larger than any I¡¯ve seen before.¡±

    Jasmine brought up her map and took a look, it was filled in pretty much already. Ash wondered just how many times she ventured into this place before she met Zane.

    Jasmine: ¡°From what I can tell by the layout, it seems to come out somewhere right below the mating chamber.¡±

    Ash: ¡°It¡¯s our best bet, lead the way.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Right, before that feeling of your come back.¡±

    Ash followed Jasmine down the cave, glad to be away from the collapsed corridor. Ash was honest with Jasmine a moment ago, the Threat Detection was still going off, just not as strong as it was earlier. There were more of these cave-ins to come, so regardless of Nathan having procured the Goblin accessory or not, they had to get out of there immediately. Before whatever cause that cave-in to happen again.

    Jasmine: ¡°Hold it, you hear that?¡±

    Ash listened out and heard what she was speaking of all to clear. The sound of a horde of goblin running down an adjacent hall.

    Ash: ¡°Are they coming this way?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°No, they are heading down a different hall. Let¡¯s look.¡±

    Coming to the end of the hall, they found that the tunnel they originally came down with everyone, the intersection was half caved, only a portion of it was traversable and it would take some doing to pass through. Lucky for them, because of how much work it was to move through it, the goblin took a different path. Climbing over to a safe spot, Jasmine peeked around to see the horde of goblin running down the path in a panic.

    Ash: ¡° What do you see?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°They look¡­¡­..panicked. Because of the cave-in?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Maybe, they¡¯re probably running away from the collapsed area.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Good for us, this path leads to the new corridor and this cave-in keeps us from being spotted, we should hurry before one of them decided to climb over.¡±

    Jasmine pointed down the tunnel that led to the to their destination. With the wall here, even if they wanted to leave, they would have to dig, but right now the other side was crawling with goblin and it wasn¡¯t worth it. Ash knew that Nathan¡¯s plants would be their best bet, so there was no choice but to head toward him first.

    Jasmine: ¡°Come Ash, your falling behind.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Ugh right.¡±

    With the sound of the panicked Goblin horde behind them the duo headed off to find Nathan. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble digging him out.

    _

    _

    Nathan: ¡°*Sigh* Who else could say they¡¯ve been buried alive twice.¡±

    Nathan set and the darkness holding on to Iris protective stance. Currently he was in a small area surround by boulders and rocks, held in place by many vines and a mana barrier.

    Nathan: ¡°Iris I told you not to.¡±

    Iris: ¡°But you were in danger, I had no choice.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I get that, but you will never get better if you keep straining yourself, I¡¯m worried about you. For my sake please rest.¡±

    Iris: ¡°U-Understood.¡±

    When the ceiling came down, Nathan quickly surround Iris and himself with as many of his snyare plants as he could. He knew that his vines could hold lots of weight when weave together, so all it took was for him to weave as many them together to act as a makeshift cocoon shaped shelter from the falling ceiling. However, at the same time, in spite of Nathan telling her not to, Iris erected a barrier around them to further support the vines.

    Honestly, he was thankful for the assist. He knew his vines could withstand a lot of weight, but he never tested to such an extent before. Either way he was both upset and thankful to Iris.

    Nathan: ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    Iris: ¡°A little better, the headaches still throbbing, but not so much that I can''t function.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good, because we still have a problem and I¡¯m gonna need you to stay calm.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I¡¯m well aware of our predicament and I shall remain calm as long as they do not make a move toward us.¡±

    They were safe from the cave in for now, but an additional problem had arisen. While creating his safe area, right before he was done sealing it, they were invaded. And right now, these three individuals were staring at him from the other side of the safe area. Note, the safe area wasn¡¯t that big since it wasn¡¯t meant to accommodate more them him and Iris and he only had a few seconds to expand it.

    So even thought they were on the other side of the cocoon, they were still relatively close.

    There were huddle together staring at Nathan as he stared at them. They weren¡¯t causing his Threat Detection to act up, but he still kept his guard up. To be honest they look so human one would doubt it upon first glance, however according to their status window, the three little girls were a variant of Goblin that trump all other goblin variants he met so far.

    Nathan: ¡°...................Hollee Shit.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong, what are they?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°They¡¯re¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡®High Goblin¡¯?"

    Iris: "High Goblin?"

    Naathan: "Yeah and from what I¡¯m seeing they¡¯re probably the treasure the goblins are all fighting over.¡±

 Chapter 113: Little Survivalist

    Chapter 113: Little Survivalist

    Nathan wasn¡¯t sure what to do about the situation right now. Currently he was digging his way out, using his vine to push aside the rock and dirt as he made a path through the unstable terr. He had to be careful how he moved though, the ground around him was still loose and moving the wrong thing could prove disastrous. However, his worries soon faded, since his plants easily slither through the soil, carefully pushing aside what was necessary, plants had in infallible sense when moving through the earth and Nathan was taken full advantage of that.

    No, the problem was the three goblin girls that was currently following him as he made his way along. They kept their distance, but they still followed him with cautious resolution, not that they really had a choice. It was safest to follow behind Nathan or so he assumed after reading their descriptions.

    High Goblin        Level: 12                    ?? Type: Fiend

    Though they are very human in appearance and ability, their strength and learning capabilities easily outclass that of other races, excelling in their chosen study. High goblins do not get along with other goblins variants and tend to stick together in small groups, however, have the unique ability to hasten the evolution of goblins of lower rank and strengthen higher rank. It is for that reason they are constantly pursued and restrained by other goblin variants.

    ATK: 58

    DEF: 63

    Ability (Survivorship, Evo Bolt, Quick Study).

    Resistant:  Mental ailments.

    Nathan was sure they were following him thanks to that ability they had. Their ¡°Survivorship¡± was telling them that their best chance of survival was with him. It¡¯s the same reason why they jumped into Nathan¡¯s vine cocoon without any rational thought, they instinctively knew it was the safest place to be during the cave-in.

    It was similar to Nathan¡¯s ¡°Threat Detection¡± but different in a way. Nathan ability when the danger is present, something that could cause immediate harm so he can only act after effect. However, their ability unconsciously pushes them in the best path for survival purposes. In other words, if a fire was to occur, before they even started, ¡°Survivorship¡± would have led them away before anything happened, a subconscious foresight.

    Nathan didn¡¯t mind them following him to get out, however their appearances, if not for their dusky blue skin and pointy ears, they would look like human children. Which made it difficult for him, since none of them were wearing any clothes. Nathan had no idea how goblins mature, but right now, anyone would think to be adolescent. Beside that on their arms and legs were chains that held tightly around their limbs and a collar around there neck. They were able to carry them, but it seemed to still slow them down, even if just a bit.

    They had been imprisoned and they must have taking the chance to escape when the cave-in happened. Nathan figure they why the Don Goblin was ignoring the cave falling and searching so enthusiastically

    Iris: ¡°Master what should we do about them?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I told you they don¡¯t mean us any harm, not that they could do anything with those stats.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Those filthy creatures will grow in strength as long as their around.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°¡®If¡¯ their around, right now they seem prone on escaping. I¡¯m betting they were why the Don refuse to get up. He was keeping them trapped in that hole and close while they help him evolve quickly.¡±

    Iris: ¡°That¡¯s a rather odd way to trap them.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What else you gonna do when you¡¯re so big. He couldn¡¯t run the risk of other goblins watching them and end up evolving and producing further competition. Though I do feel bad them, can you imagine being stuck next to that things ass all the time?¡±

    Iris: ¡°I prefer not to.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It must have been awful; goblin already stink but to be trapped right next to it.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master, please stop.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Oh, my gawd, what if he farted and they were right in the blast zone?¡±

    Iris: ¡°Master¡­¡­.. I¡¯m am begging you.¡±

    Nathan laughed at Iris, as he continued to feel her head with nightmarish imagery as she covered her ear to drown him out.

    Iris: ¡°Do you believe the Don has fallen?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I doubt it, those rock were falling on its head didn¡¯t even flinch, he was desperate to find them. He¡¯s could still be searching below us somewhere. It¡¯s only a matter of time before he realizes they¡¯re not there anymore.¡±

    Iris: ¡°Which is why we should be rid of them quickly.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Stop, they haven¡¯t done anything, and we can¡¯t kill them just because of something they were forced to do.¡±

    Iris: ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to kill them, I meant we should get away from them as soon as possible. If the Don is still alive, he may be below us searching for them. If we are here when he arrives, they will be no doubt of the action he will take.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°We kinda don¡¯t have a choice in the matter, we are all stuck in here. It¡¯ll be fine for now, plus I want to wait until we find Ash before we go any further. I need to  talk to him about what we should do.¡±

    Iris: ¡°*sigh* Well, perhaps in the meantime, you could give them something to wear?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Trust me Iris when I say, I¡¯ve been searching my inventory for just that. I¡¯m not about to explain why I have three naked little girls following behind me in chains.¡±

    Iris looked back at the three high goblins , following from a distance, stumbling over the chain¡¯s semi sealing their movement. Iris could tell they wasn¡¯t a threat, but she still wishes he was a little more pessimistic at times like this, but because of his ability to react to danger immediately, he wasn¡¯t too worried about the outcome of bringing them along. However, if he was a little more vigilant, and acted accordingly, he wouldn¡¯t be caught so many times in battle.

    Iris: ¡°(Perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have lost ¡®Origin¡¯ as well.)¡±

    Iris gasped at herself in disbelief, right after the thought of Nathan going the extra mile to protect the sword over himself cross her mind. Nathan¡¯s safety was much more important to her than anything else, yet for a moment she placed it below a weapon. It could it only be due to Lady Amelia¡¯s message and how she stresses the importance of the Hero, once obtaining Origin that they remain together.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    She wasn¡¯t told specifically of the consequences of them being apart, but the message made it clear, it would be catastrophic.  However, it wasn¡¯t his intention to lose Origin, it was an accident that couldn¡¯t be avoided. Maybe she could just tell him a bit of what Lady Amelia had said in the message. She wouldn¡¯t reveal the most crucial of parts, just a gentle nudge to expedites Origin¡¯s recovery.

    Iris: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Master?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s wrong Iris, you¡¯re not looking too good. Stomach queasy?¡±

    Iris: ¡°N-No it isn¡¯t , about Origin, I-¡±

    H.Goblin: ¡°Groba!¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What!?¡±

    H.Goblin: ¡°Groba, troci!

    Nathan turned to the high goblin in surprise. The one who look the oldest was equally surprised when Nathan turned around so quickly.

    Iris: ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I¡­¡­¡­I understood her.¡±

    Iris: ¡°The intangible nonsense?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It wasn¡¯t intangible to me, I¡¯m sure she said, ¡®No, don¡¯t go that way¡¯.¡±

    Nathan had his plants stop their digging; he was sure she asks him to stop. It was strange that he was able to understand her. He had heard many of the grunts and moans of the other goblins around here and was able to make heads or tails of what they were saying. However, he understood that clear as day.

    Nathan: ¡°(What is going on?)¡±

    -[]-

    The high goblin panic for a moment not sure of what to do now that she had his attention but decided to tap the wall.

    H.Goblin: ¡°G-Groba, taakii.¡±

    The eldest High Goblin tried her best to tell him what she meant, but she wasn¡¯t sure if he understood. She wanted him to know that if he continued in that direction, it would be dangerous. The three of them didn¡¯t want him to get hurt, he was their best chance at survival at the moment and his death could result in theirs. Thought they had to admit, in a way, this was strange.

    Since they could remember their instinct always had them steer clear of anyone else except for the rare occasion where sticking to someone for a time was beneficial. Rather it was goblin, human or otherwise, they were always led away after a while, never to approach them again. And for good reason, the moment they went against their instincts they were always, most recently captured and enslaved by other goblins. They weren¡¯t hurt this time around, but their freedom was stripped from them and  they were forced to do things they didn¡¯t want to do.

    However, for the first time ever, there instinct had directed them toward someone with a different kind of feeling. A funny looking human with beast like traits, like ears and a tail like a wolf. He didn¡¯t attack them like the others did, yet he remained cautious around them, as were they around him. He let them follow him and didn¡¯t try to chase them away.

    Even now, when they tried to talk to him, he didn¡¯t seem repulse or ignore them, if anything he looked surprise.

    H.Goblin: ¡°G-Groba taaki, taaki.¡±

    The oldest of the three goblin sisters kept petting the wall, trying to tell him that they should head in this direction, but it seemed useless. However, in the next moment, she took a step back as the man started to walk toward them, followed by squiggling vines. She and her sisters began to shake uncontrollably, they were technically no place for them to run if he did not understand them and decided to attack. He was right and front of them now and the eldest looked up and stared into his eyes.

    H.Goblin: ¡°T-Taaki.¡±

    The man placed a hand to the vine wall, above where the high goblin held hers.

    Nathan: ¡°This way, huh?¡±

    Redirecting his vines, the man started to dig in new direction. The looked down at the three goblins, who stood they¡¯re in shocked, what they were trying to tell him had gotten through.

    *Rumble*

    Not seconds after the man moved away did the area he was in cave in further, as a large pile of dirt and rock came down, after a loud unsettling crash.

    Nathan: ¡°Whoa that was close, we were almost caught in that. Is this your ability telling you which way to go huh? Well if it¡¯s the safest route I don¡¯t mind following.¡±

    The High goblins couldn¡¯t understand what the man was saying, but he seemed to understand them to a degree, seeing as he was gesturing them to lead. They were still afraid, but as far as they could tell, the human in front of them meant no ill will toward them and that funny feeling from before was bubbling to the surface once again. Though they had to admit it odd, seeing him talking to himself for long periods of time,though they weren¡¯t well informed about human customs to understand if that¡¯s normal or not. Either way for now they had no choice, but ot follow him, for the only other route that assuered them safety, was a life of captivity.

    Nathan: ¡°But before we go any further, I really need to something about this.¡±

    The man swung his hand and clothes appeared in his hand, similar to what he was wearing.

    Nathan: ¡°If your wanna keep following me, you gonna have to wear some clothes.¡±

    -[]-

    Ash: ¡°Aw crap.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°I said it was new.¡±

    Ash and Jasmine made it to the end of the tunnel, only to come across a dead end. It was difficult time getting here, they had just made it to the crossroad for this tunnel right before a large group of goblins pass them.

    Jasmine: ¡°Little creeps, they didn¡¯t even finish digging it out.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No I think they did, look at his wall, its looks more like it was blocked purposely.¡±

    Looking at the wall, there was a part that was uneven with the rest. From the other side a large rock had been placed, preventing anyone from continuing down that path.

    Jasmine: ¡°Why would they build a tunnel and then block it off with a huge rock?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we may have to leave ahead of him.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What!?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m not seeing much of a choice here, we don¡¯t have much time, before those goblins realize we¡¯re here. And that flowers scent is wearing off it¡¯s not as strong as it was before, you didn¡¯t notice?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°*gasp*

    Jasmine hadn¡¯t realized it until now, but true to what he said, the scent was fading. Any minute the goblins would pick up on their scent and head their way.

    Jasmine: ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t live him here.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Trust me, he will be fine with it, with the cave-in that just happened, he would probably wonder why we stayed.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Even still, you can¡¯t just leave your friend behind just because-¡±

    Ash: ¡°Wait¡­¡­¡­¡­ do you hear that?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Don¡¯t try to change the subject.¡±

    Ash: ¡°No seriously.¡±

    Jasmine couldn¡¯t hear it at first, but soon enough there was a slight rumbling coming from the tunnels wall

    Jasmine: ¡°Another cave-in?¡±

    Ash: ¡°No its something else.¡±

    Ash¡¯s Threat Detection was still going off, so he wasn¡¯t sure what the rumbling signalized. However, he wasn¡¯t going to wait around to find out.

    *Crash*

    Before could move the rock was smashed through from the other side.

    Jasmine: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well shit.¡±

    What appeared was several vines, coiled together making a drill like shape. Jasmine was a bit confused, but Ash knew right away what it was. However, when the vines uncoiled, he was surprise to see three little girls pop their heads out, more than that they were three little goblin girls.

    Jasmine reacted like any normal adventurer and drew her bow to fire.

    Ash: ¡°Wait!¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What, are you crazy, can¡¯t believe they found us already.¡±

    The three girls quickly ducked back inside as Jasmine fired her arrow. Though it didn¡¯t matter, since the vines easily batted down the projectile.

    Nathan: ¡°What the hell, wait you three come back its fine.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Nathan!?¡±

    Nathan seeing the bow in Jasmine hand quickly realized what had happened.

    Nathan: ¡°Shoot first ask question later huh?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Three goblins came out of the wall, so yes.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t have to be afraid of them, they¡¯re my friends. Jasmine out the bow away they¡¯re not dangerous.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Who, what are they?¡±

    Given the okay the three girls stuck there heads out of the hole. Nathan climbed out first, then helped each one of them out onto the ground, the hole set a little high off the ground. Jasmine and Ash were stun for sure, they had never seen such goblins. If not for their goblinesque feature, they would look like human girls.

    Nathan: ¡°Ah they are they goblins have been fighting over.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°What their fighting over, wait your saying-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Good job, you almost killed your treasure.¡±

 Chapter 114: Retreat to the Surface

    Chapter  114:  Retreat to the Surface

    Nathan and company were making their way out of the goblin caverns. Not being able to obtain a goblin accessory was a stroke of bad luck , but after hearing from Ash, that just like Iris and him, ¡®Threat Detection¡¯ has yet to ceased, they decide it was best to beat a hasty retreat. At any minute there could be another cave-in and they still didn¡¯t know what could cause it, so they wanted needed to get out as soon as possible.

    Lucky for them, the goblin trio were now with them. With their ability to discern the safest route, there trip out remained relatively safe.

    There was the occasional run in with goblins, but the three made short work of them. Thanks to the cave-in it seems a lot more of the goblins had been hurt and with the constant injuries, the goblins could no longer discern where they were from the freshly spilt blood of their fellow goblin. And since there were dead goblins all around, the death cry didn¡¯t seem to work, because, even as they screamed, no other Goblins showed up.

    Jasmine: ¡°Are sure we should be following them; I mean they are still goblin?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, don¡¯t you see these chains, clearly they were imprisoned. I doubt they have any thoughts of leading us astray, since we¡¯re currently protecting them.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Because there the treasure, all the Goblins have been warring over, I get it, but I just don¡¯t¡¯ get why we¡¯re following them?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well with the cave-in the path we took is impassable, so if you think you can get us out, without leading us into a crumbling cavern or a horde of goblin, your free to lead.

    Jasmine: ¡°¡­¡­Fine, (still doesn¡¯t answer my question though.)¡±

    As discomforting as it was to trust monsters, Jasmine followed relunctantly. While semi listening to Jasmine grumble, he listened to Nathan explain to him what had happened.

    Ash: ¡°The mana spike was when Iris blew up the entire tunnel!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°It wasn¡¯t blown up, she erased the tunnel, along with every goblin in it, I thought she had actually caused the tunnel collapse. ¡±

    Nathan looked down at Iris, who had fallen asleep once again in his arms. She was sleeping peacefully compared to earlier, where she looked to be in pain.

    Ash: ¡°Okay, at this point I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s up with her, I never heard of it lasting this long or showing symptoms like hers. Then again, I never known a fairy before. Will she explode again?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Don¡¯t know, she didn¡¯t even know she did it. I remember right before I was fighting a horde and she said the pressure was building  while clutching her stomach.¡±

    Ash: ¡°That sounds an awful lot like a far-¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I¡¯m just saying.¡±

    Nathan shoved his elbow into Ash side, causing Iris to turn in his arms.

    Ash: ¡°If she does, it will be a good way to clear all of the goblins, maybe?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Yeah, along with you, me, Jasmine and anyone else caught in the blast. If your willing to risk it, be my guess.

    Ash grimaced at the thought.

    Ash: ¡°On second thought, let¡¯s forget that idea.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Probably for the best. Then again we won¡¯t really have a choice if it happens.¡±

    Nathan may have seen calm about the situation, but honestly, he was really worried. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with Iris and now she might randomly erase everything in sight. She had a lot of mana, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if it happens again, it¡¯s a lot bigger and more destructive.

    Nathan: ¡°I think I¡¯ll walk in front, just in case.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Good idea.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Huh, what¡¯s  up with you all of the sudden.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nothing I just think if I¡¯m leader I should walk in front, right?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°But, the goblins know the safest way out, right shouldn¡¯t they be leading?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I can understand them a bit, just say left or right when you need to, okay?¡±

    The three High goblins looked at Nathan in confusion, as did Jasmine. Looking back to Ash, he just shrugged his arms, acting as if he didn¡¯t know why. Jasmine figured it was due to their secret conversations they tend to have now and then. She was struggling to hear, but all she could tell is that they were talking about the mana spike that happened earlier.

    Jasmine: ¡°(Whatever) By the way, where did they get those cloaks, they look¡­¡­new?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ah¡­¡­ right well they just had those since I found them down there.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°You found them, huh?¡±

    Jasmine glanced over the cloaks; they were rather clean for something found in a goblin nest. More than that they looked eerily similar to ones she saw Nathan and company  wearing whilst they were in the rain forest. She didn¡¯t know why he was pretending like he didn¡¯t give the goblins those cloaks. He should have just come out and said it  that he gave them the cloaks. It makes him look more suspicious that he¡¯s trying to  avoid the truth, since from what she can tell, they aren¡¯t wearing anything else underneath those cloaks. Which meant that he found them stark naked.

    What Jasmine was thinking was half right. The other reason was what he didn¡¯t think about until just then, but he couldn¡¯t think of a way to explain where the cloaks had come from. He was so focus on getting them dress, he didn¡¯t stop to think about that. He didn¡¯t have a way to explain the reason why without revealing some things to Jasmine and he was hoping that she didn¡¯t push any deeper into it.

    Lucky for him, she was too suspicious of the goblins in general to think too deeply about it. The path they were taking wasn¡¯t as short as they originally trek, but there was way less encounters and to get out as quickly as possible, that¡¯s what they needed. Jasmine let it slide for now, but she kept her hand on her weapon just in case.

    Jasmine: ¡°What could be so important about these little girls?

    Jasmine meant to say that under her breath, but with such good hearing, Ash and Nathan couldn¡¯t help but hear it. Nathan had told Ash everything about what the three girls were and what they could do. He was incredibly shocked to find that they were High Goblins, since such a variant of goblin was the thing of myths.

    Of the stories he heard of Goblins, he¡¯s known no one to have actually seen one, they were even rarer than seeing a spirit outside of a summoning. More than hearing what they were, the fact that they could force goblin evolution just by being near them for a fixed period of time was a scary thought indeed.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    After hearing, it was obvious to him why the goblins were at war and why so many goblin variants were appearing. Elites, a Don and a Shaman all appearing at once was a strange thing to happen, since goblins don¡¯t usually live long enough for so many evolutions to happen. So, the only way that could have happened, is if they had their evolutions sped up by the High Goblins.

    From the looks of the chains and cuffs, they were forced and then imprisoned to ensure they were always there when needed. Nathan tried to remove them already, but he couldn¡¯t, but at least made the chains more accommodating for the three to move around. Having them drag around was an easy way to attract attention.

    Things can¡¯t stay the way they are, they had to separate them from the rest of the goblins, it would be pandemonium if the first and only floor explored of the Viridi Wilds was overrun with high level goblin variants.

    Ash: ¡°What are we going to do once we get them out?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°I was thinking of taking them to Matthew for now. I would just let them go where they want after we leave the dungeon, but there are goblins outside the dungeon too, which would be way worse since it would be a mad scramble to capture them.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Wait, when you said take them out, you meant out of the dungeon?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Of course, what you thought we were just going to take them out of the cave and let them go. They would just get capture again.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Well then we have a problem, monsters can¡¯t leave the dungeon.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°What, why?¡±

    Ash: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but no one¡¯s ever been able to just take a monster through the gate. Why do you think they try so hard to gather material before they fade away? If we could take them out, we would just weaken them and carry the monsters out and gather material at our leisure.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Then how did the monster outside the dungeon get out?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nobody knows, they just appear.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, this isn¡¯t good, we can¡¯t leave them here.¡±

    Ash: ¡°I get it, but what else can we do?¡±

    Nathan: ¡° *sigh* For now let¡¯s just get out of here, we at least need to inform Matthew, see if he can do anything about it.¡±

    Ash: ¡°And before for whatever has Threat Detection going off happens. It¡¯s been ringing non-stop and  giving me a headache.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m surprised your both still here. If there was a cave-in you should have left immediately.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Yeah, stupid us. Let¡¯s just go, before we have another cave-in.¡±

    *Rumbbbleeee*

    Jasmine: ¡°Again!?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Nice going, you Jinx.¡±

    Ash: ¡°This isn¡¯t my fault.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Wait, the rumbling its different from last time, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Nathan and Ash listened  carefully and true enough it di sound completely different to the first cave in.

    Ash: ¡°Your right and its coming from beneath us?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°And it doesn¡¯t sound like a cave in. The cave-in was like rumble, rumble, this is more like boom, boom, boom.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Boom, boom, boom?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Do you have a better way to explain it?¡±

    Despite her childish example, she was right. Sure, there was a rumbling, but they were only a byproduct of the booming.

    Nathan: ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard a similar sound before, can¡¯t quite remember where.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Now that you mention it, it does sound familiar.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Would you guys pick up the pace, you think about once we¡¯re out.¡±

    Nathan and Ash picked up the pace but with the booming noises from below becoming more and more frequent, the harder it was to ignore.

    Iris: ¡°Mhmm.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Iris?¡±

    Back in Nathan¡¯s hood, Iris was drifting in and out of consciousness. The repetitive booming sound was prying her awake and annoying her, causing her to speak in her sleep. Nathan turned away from everyone, trying to prevent them from hearing her, but it didn¡¯t matter in the least.

    Iris: ¡°Ena, would please cease that infernal racket?¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Huh?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ena? *gasp*¡±

    Like a lightning bolt, it came to him and the urgency of the situation.

    Jasmine: ¡°Did you hear that voice just now?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Never mind that, remembered where I heard that noise and we need to go now. Pick up one of the goblin girls, they won¡¯t be able to keep up with us.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Oh now you want to speed up.¡±

    Nathan: ¡°No time to say you were right let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ash: ¡°Nathan?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°Ash, remember when Ena decided to vent some frustration on the ground after being unable to fight for so long?¡±

    Ash: ¡°Oh right that¡¯s it¡­¡­..I mean oh no that¡¯s it.¡±

    Nathan and Ash had both picked up the shocked goblin girls ready to run. The sound was extremely similar to Ena smashing her fist into th ground after being unable to take part in various battles. With her strength she was literally beating a hole into the ground, until Iris stopped her, annoyed by the sound and dirt flying everywhere. Since Ena wasn¡¯t around, there was only one other individual able to cause such a sound.

    Jasmine: ¡°Woah, you two, we can¡¯t just go running full sprint. Besides, it already stopped, listen.¡±

    Nathan and Ash looked to each other as they confirmed what Jasmine said. The rumbling had ceased, which meant it was too late.

    *ROOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR*

    The three High goblins ran over to Nathan and huddled around him, shivering uncontrollably, they knew what that was all too well.

    Jasmine: ¡°Wh-What the hell?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°He¡¯s coming for them.¡±

    Jasmine: ¡°Who?¡±

    Nathan: ¡°The Goblin Don knows we have them and he¡¯s pissed.¡±

    _

    _

    *ROOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR*

    Jonathan: ¡° Get ready.¡±

    Jonathan watch from high  as the goblin hordes desperate flee into the caves. After they had blown up one of the entrances and sealing it shut, the goblins outside began to enter the other available entrance. However, thanks to the bellowing roar that rose from the depths of the caverns, the goblins retreat was hastened as the once panicked horde, appeared to have gone feral. Jonathan found this to be very accommodating, as he wanted as many of them trapped inside with Nathan as possible to assure his demise.

    With the last little bit entering the cave, Jonathan decided that it was enough.

    Jonathan: ¡°Fire.¡±

    On his word the archer let loose the arrow. The arrow flew through the air, a red glow as it spiraled towards its target.

    *Booooooooooooooommmmmmm*

    A sizable explosion as the arrow made contact with the walls of the entrance. A cloud of rubble in dust mix with the sounds of screaming goblins, unlucky enough to be caught in the blast.

    Jonathan: ¡°Amazing.¡±

    He hadn¡¯t seen the first blast firsthand, since the first detonation was done by Jennifer¡¯s group, but now he could. It was amazing the sheer force it exuded upon impact was outrageous for something non-magical. He had heard of such things through his guild, but seeing it was another story.

    The fact that Shane was willing to let him use this just showed how much he despised the Lycanian.

    Honestly, Jonathan didn¡¯t care for any of it. He had seen what the Nathan could do firsthand and wanted no parts of that. It was one of the reasons why he chose to do everything covertly, nothing should track back to him. He had already told all of his men what to say if they got captured.

    Jonathan attention was drawn away from the scene, as one of his men came to report.

    Bandit: ¡°Sir, Miss Jennifer wanted you to know, she has already headed out to intercept any parties who were attracted by the explosions.¡±

    Jonathan: ¡°Excellent.¡±

    Because of the fight in the forest nearby, that included the Hero, a lot of people have been associating any and all loud sounds as chances to meet him. This was a problem for Jonathan, seeing as how there has already been two explosion and one more to come. He didn¡¯t want to take the risk of being seen by a curious adventurer.

    Jonathan: ¡°Very good, clean up any messes and you all head out as well. As soon as we finish here, we will be leaving.¡±

    The man nodded his head and ran off to complete his assignment. Jonathan turned back to the situation down below, the dust had just about cleared, but he could clearly see that the tunnel had indeed collapsed. Some of the goblins were attempting to remove all of the debris, but  it was a fool¡¯s errand. Nothing was getting in or out of that. Even Nathan who had dug his way out of a cave in before, would have a hard time fighting and digging his way out at the same time. All that was left is to collapse the last entrance and we have completed his assignment.

    Jonathan: ¡°Any time now Shane, Jennifer will only able to stall his friends for so long.¡±