《The Roamer》 Chapter 1- Arrival The Roamer CHAPTER 1: Arrival Walking through the cells, Aeollus headed towards his own. He had recently been sold to a rich and confident lord, one who reigned above all. Aeollus had no recollection of what had befallen his family, or where he may even find them. As of right now, Aeollus had none to rely on, walking to his cell with his head down. Back in the village, Aeollus had been told by his grandparents that his name had something to do with the wind, something going on with the Greeks. He didn¡¯t care much for the rest of the meaning, so he had forgotten it. He sorely regrets it now, as he realizes that his name might be the last thing representing who he was now. "New kid, get over here!" yelled a guard at Aeollus. Aeollus doesn¡¯t understand what he says, as he did not grow up with this language, but the hand gesture from the guard is enough for him to understand that he is supposed to go there. He walks there, actually, limps there, as he had been beaten plenty on the way here, and his leg did not quite turn out well. ¡®One day I¡¯ll escape, and roam this world freely¡¯ he thought to himself. He remembers the feeling of the village, the wind roaming around him, making him feel as if he could simply flap his arms, and soar through the sky! It had a mystical feeling to it, that he could no longer feel in this new location where he was destined, no, forced to work for a wealthy lord. Apparently, the guard thought he was moving too slow, so he whips the wind against Aeollus and his back, sending him flying to his destination. The village he came from was a free village separated from the rest of the world, so peace was one of the main things they believed in. For that reason, the elders and the adults never thought learning to evolve and cultivate their vitality and spirit would fit in the village, not teaching it to the young. ¡®Wasn¡¯t peace a reliable thing to work around in this world? If so, why is peace not as widespread as the villagers said it would be in this world?¡¯ were the thoughts running through his head as he had finally reached his destination. The guard punches him this time, sending Aeollus and his face against the barrel to the side. "Take this axe and go cut trees!" says the guard in a loud, yet somewhat patient tone, which Aeollus definitely did not expect from someone such as him. He then tosses an axe towards him, and points towards the woods while preparing a spell to send Aeollus flying in that direction. While doing that, he turns around and talks with what seems to be woman, though it¡¯s not like he could tell from all the hair that¡¯s covering their faces. ¡®Ah, he¡¯s using me to show off to woman¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself. It now made sense in his head that he was just a scapegoat even for a simple guard. Like that, Aeollus got smacked out by some wind towards the woods, preparing to cut some wood out, though he doesn¡¯t know what type so he prepares to get a mix. He smiles to himself, thinking about escaping from here. Sadly, through the short period that he has been here, he has already seen two men that looked like midgets try to escape and get thoroughly cooked into edible meat by some lightning that formed from a cloud, even though it was a sunny day, so it didn¡¯t seem like escape was an option for those who were weak. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Aeollus sighs and heads towards his first tree. It¡¯s a fine ebony, that seemed as if it had just been grown recently. He chops at it, hopping to bring it down in a single strike, for he remembers that he chopped many tree back in the village to build huts for the growing population.Not surprisingly, the tree gets chopped down by the axe. Though his small village did not focus on cultivation of vitality and the spirit, the inhabitants did spend most of their time doing manual labor, so they were more than ready to cut down a few trees. Aeollus continues to cut for the rest of the day, with no break, food, or even water provided. ¡®This is already bad enough for me, I wonder how the rest of the village is doing?¡¯ constantly repeats through his head, his worry rising. Even though the lord he got sent to is ruthless, and is considered extremely cruel even among other slave owners, the other owners still have the arrogant and cocky attitude towards them, so the villagers should still be under pressure, just like him. He finally heads back for the day when he saw many people walking towards the prison when a bell rung. All the slaves begin to line up, and hold out their hands towards the guards. ¡®There seems to be a guard for every prisoner, who seems to that takes their wood¡¯ he realizes in his mind. Accordingly so, a guard is also in front of him and waiting for his wood. He unloads the wood from his back and begins to bring it towards him. No matter how strong he was, he still wasn¡¯t strong enough to carry a whole log with just his two hands, so he thoroughly dragged each log towards the guard. After about half an hour of the guard casting spells on him and whipping him to hurry it up, Aeollus had finally passed along all the wood he had. Just like all the other slaves that finished before him, he heads inside the prison building. It is built in the shape of an octagon*, so there is accordingly eight entrances into the prison. The prison seemed to be in the middle of the forest, maybe a jungle considering the type of trees he saw out there. If you looked out far enough, you could see cliffs and waterfalls, which was quite the elegant scene for a so called ¡®prison¡¯. According to the sign above the gate which leads into the prison, he heads in from the south east entrance. He sees that the rest of the slaves, which had also arrived today, each walk up towards a guard, which then leads them to a cell for themselves. Aeollus follows their example, and walks up towards a guard. The guard thoroughly checks him for anything that he might be carrying which could help him escape, or so he assumes. The guard is then finishes patting him down, and puts a sword to his back while shoving him towards his own cell, just to make sure Aeollus doesn¡¯t try anything rash. Aeollus reaches a cell that isn¡¯t that deep, and is accordingly put in there while having the gate locked behind him. ¡°The cells of this so called ¡®prison¡¯ are weird, they each barely have enough space for a bed and some hole¡± he mutters to himself. Apparently, someone from an opposing cell to his hears him, and replies ¡°yeah, it sure is cramped¡±. Aeollus looks the man up and down, and sees nothing special about him, only the fact that he resembles all the other prisoners, which could be considered special in some regard. ¡°Excuse me sir, but can you explain how this prison works?¡± he says to the man who replied to him before. ¡°I¡¯d be glad, if you can give me some of your wood tomorrow to pass off as mine.¡± the man says, seemingly shameless. Of course, it is to be expected thought Aeollus, as this so called ¡®prison¡¯ is just a collection of slaves. ¡°I¡¯ll find someone else then¡± says Aeollus. How could he give the man some of his wood when today, after he worked with no breaks, he was still one of the last people to finish? ¡°Suit yourself little guy¡± Replies the man. He then proceeds to slump onto his thin, little bed made of straw and begins to sleep. Aeollus, seeing that there seemed to be nobody else willing to communicate with him, also goes to sleep, preparing for the future of his pitiful life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXPLANATIONS *#1 octagon: An eight sided figure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing, and also accordingly the first chapter. I will continue writing chapters for now, and try my hardest to continue on. Chapter 2: Struggle Begins The Roamer CHAPTER 2: Struggle begins Aeollus woke up, ready for the next day. After the first day, he realized that life here might not be as bad as he thought. He walks out towards the woods, ready to pick up an axe and cut down some trees. His stomach rumbles, clearly disagreeing with the action of work. Of course, which stomach wouldn¡¯t rumble if you were only offered a cup of water and a loaf for dinner, with no breakfast and lunch included? ¡°New kid, stop right there!¡± calls out a guard. Upon further inspection, Aeollus discovered that it was the same guard who gave him the axe, and collected his wood. ¡®Each slave probably has a guard assigned to him from now on¡¯ went through his mind. Of course, Aeollus still doesn¡¯t understand him, so he just walks up to him, ready to get whipped like yesterday. He closes his eyes, and turns his back towards the guard, preparing for the whip which he assumes is coming. Surprisingly, a whip doesn¡¯t come, but a parchment is shoved into his face. Aeollus inspects this parchment deeply, probing for anything that he can understand. His face turns a deep purple when he discovers that he can understand what this parchment says, as if the sky had just fallen upon him. Throughout his childhood, he had been told multiple times that the language that the village speaks is barely known and spoken in the outside world, so he should try to learn another language as soon as possible if he were to ever roam out there. It was already shocking enough that the man last night understood his language, but it seems that even more people understood the language as well, furthering his doubts on what his people taught him. He reads the paper, slowly digesting the information on it into his mind, and after a minute or two, has read the whole thing. He looks up at the guard and shakes his head violently, clearly showing that he was not willing to do this. What he read on the paper stated that starting today, he would stop being a woodcutter, but would instead become a fighter in some sort of arena! Since he was a slave, his option was immediately denied, since this was an order from the higher-ups. The guard smiles at Aeollus, as if he immediately took joy in his despair. Next thing he knew, the guard hit him on the back of his head, and he was on the ground before he even knew it, his vision dimming into nothing. --- Sequence 2 --- Aeollus wakes up in a cell, though this cell is not the one he had slept in last night. He looks around and realizes that this cell is much better than his old one, containing more space, some books, and even a window, though the window was, of course, shut off. ¡°Next up, we have a brand new fighter that has just arrived yesterday! Will he be able to compete against this brand new rookie who had arrived only a few weeks before him? Introducing, Aeollus of the tributary village!¡± yells some man floating in the air. As soon as he saw this man, he was flabbergasted at the powers one could show when they took the time to cultivate, as this man was even able to float in the air! The iron gate to his cell is unlocked, even though nobody was there to unlock it, and opened up. This event reminded Aeollus of the wind of the village, which was free and unrestrained, and he felt that the wind in the village definitely had an aura of mystical things lying within it, just like the breeze that blew past the gate just now. ¡°God, this world truly has some indecency in it, just like the elders of the village said¡­¡± he says to himself while walking out of the gate. ¡®This place truly is filled to the brim, the amount of people just sitting around the arena already surpasses the population of our village by tenfold!¡¯ he thinks to himself, unsure of what to think of this, though it definitely is surprising! ¡°Come at me newbie, let me show you the experience of a battle!¡± yells the person standing across from him. The arena isn¡¯t as big as one would think usual arenas are, only being about 15 feet in circumference. For that reason, everyone around the arena heard him, and truly thought he was a daring man! ¡°What a youngin, daring to talk like that in his second battle!¡± Yelled some man in an arrogant tone. ¡°If only I had the guts he had, I could be a wealthy lord that could also attract women!¡± said another man in an envious tone. ¡°How could such a cute man become a slave? I wouldn¡¯t have minded him serving me¡­¡± muttered some girl watching the battle. Many people had their own comments about the words he said, but most thought that he was a courageous, and a tidbit of an arrogant young man, even though he was a slave. Aeollus did not know how to reply in words and in gestures, as this was his first time in a fight, thanks to him being raised in a peaceful village. What did surprise him though, was that he could understand everything the people were saying. ¡®Are some people casting some sort of translation spell?¡¯ he thought to himself, but was also thankful for letting him understand their language. Aeollus musters up the courage to say one sentence, which would turn out to be ¡°Do we really have to compete with one another? I say we work together and find a peaceful way out of this!¡± he says to the other man opposing him.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. At his words, the whole crowd looks at him as if he was some sort of creature that did not understand how things worked, while some others laughed as if what he just said was really funny. ¡°Child, you really are new to this world aren¡¯t ya?¡± Says the man opposing him. ¡°Since you and me are in this arena, the only thing left to do is to fight. If you want to walk out of here, you can, though it will have to be with my head in your hands!¡± yells the man at Aeollus. This surprised him, as he had never heard or seen people as vulgar as these. ¡°Alright then, but there really has to be someway for me to leave without disrupting the peace in this world, right?!¡± Aeollus yells out loud, as he really did not wish for this to go any further, as it might end up with his head on the ground, or maybe the opponents. ¡°Fair brown hair, a tall posture, while also possessing some muscle. Above all that, you seem dirty, and your eyes are brown, so most people can¡¯t make it out. Pretty boys like you are spoiled in this world, and have not seen the truth yet, so I do not blame you for being naive, but it is because of that, that if you leave, you will not survive in the world anyway!¡± The man opposing Aeollus yells out loud, as if it was obvious. Though it may have seemed obvious for the man opposing him, to Aeollus, this was a slap to the face. ¡®Were the villagers really wrong? ¡®Were we all truly naive, not even viable enough to survive in this world!?¡¯ he repeated in his head over and over again. However, no matter how much he thought, he realized this as the truth. After spending a day here and experiencing how all these people lived, he realized that peace truly wasn¡¯t a viable option in the outside world, as the people here already seem to have dropped the idea of peace down a well. ¡°Still, even if I am naive, is there really no way to make it out of here alive, you and me?¡± Aeollus said this one last time, truly hoping for the other side to agree and find a way out of here. ¡°Young child, you truly have not experienced this world. I somewhat pity you, but at the same time, I still have my duty as a slave to obey the master, so stop talking right now and come here so I can behead you!¡± yelled the man, clearly fed up with answering the Aeollus again and again. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stop trying to make peace, I¡¯ll find some other way!¡± Said Aeollus. ¡®Even though the other side refuses to see the world in a better way, I¡¯ll still try to figure it out!¡¯ he thought to himself. Suddenly, the opposing man ran at him, and flung an axe at Aeollus. At first, it seems to be going slowly, but begins to speed up midway during the throw. Aeollus blinks repeatedly, not daring to believe what he just saw. ¡®Is this also what someone can do if they cultivate? Even if we were peaceful, I¡¯m sure there are some benefits to cultivation besides just fighting!¡¯ thought Aeollus, while wondering why they really didn¡¯t learn how to cultivate in the village. Even though it sped up, Aeollus somehow still avoids it, though he had to drop onto the ground to avoid it. The man jumps above Aeollus, holding an axe in his left hand that was clearly meant to penetrate through Aeollus while he was on the ground. Aeollus tries to roll out of the way, but realizes that he bumped into something. Not having the time to look at what he bumped into considering there was literally an axe coming down to show his livers to the world, he immediately threw his arm in the way of the axe. *SPLAT* Aeollus screams, while his arm rolls on the ground. Everything past the elbow had been cut off, basically rendering his right arm useless. Fortunately, he was left handed, so it was only painful and did not truly affect him. He stood up, and began to run, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation. He then thinks of climbing into the stands where the crowd was spectating, and running from there. ¡®If the crowd was able to enter from somewhere, then there should also be an exit, right?¡¯ was what he thought. He began to try and climb, but fell the first time considering he was missing an arm. He then jumped up and reached out towards the edge of the stands, and grabbed ahold. The man opposing him had picked up the axe he had thrown at Aeollus at the beginning of the match, and throws it again! ¡°Hah, too bad for you, you won¡¯t be able to catch me once I climb up here and escape!¡± Hollered out Aeollus, while he began to pull his whole body up. Suddenly, the audience sitting in front of him, began to move into action. Most of the woman vomited, considering that they couldn¡¯t stand the smell and look of his right arm, while the men began to move in on him. ¡®Could they truly be trying to¡­ no¡­¡¯ he thought to himself, not willing to believe it! ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± he yells out, but it was too late, as the men had already shoved him back into the arena, and went back to holding their women. As Aeollus was falling, he truly understood something now. He was fed up with his village¡¯s ideals, as they clearly weren¡¯t going to work and keep him alive. All the events that had happened ever since he came to this so called ¡®prison¡¯ let him understood that it was truly a waste of time, all those years which were used to teach him about peace. ¡°This world¡­ truly does not accept peace.¡± He muttered to himself, while turning around to confront the man with the axe. ¡°It¡¯s about time I begin to get stronger once this battle is done.¡± He said to himself, as was truly steadying himself and readying himself to walk on the path of strength. ¡°You¡¯re finally done running? I¡¯m sorry youngin, but peace, at least in this region of the world, will not be accepted!¡± yelled the man, with a sorrowful look in his eye. ¡®I see¡­ he truly does wish for the better good of me and to understand that my ideals will not work in this world¡­¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, while at the same time, saying these words to the old man: ¡°Thank you elder, for teaching me how this world works!¡± Suddenly, the elder stopped moving, and muttered something in a voice that only Aeollus could hear, and ran towards the guards for some reason. The guards pulled out their weapons, and thoroughly dealt with the old man. Aeollus was thoroughly surprised, and ended up vomiting, while also tearing up. For right before the elder died, he muttered to Aeollus these very words: ¡°Aeollus, our village ideals won¡¯t work in the outside world, and as an elder of the village, It¡¯s about time I head to the next world to leave a spot for youngins like you. Don¡¯t stop living, and rise as high as you can in this world, while keeping the village in your heart.¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AUTHOR NOTES
  1. Idk about the direction of this story and how it will turn out, but for now, I¡¯ll keep going in hopes of seeing where this will take me and this novel
  1. I¡¯m going to try and keep a consistent load of chapters for this novel, as I really wanna see how far I can take this.
  1. Also, I¡¯d be pretty thankful if y¡¯all could spread this novel around on anywhere, whether it be social media, friends, or something else.
THANKS FOR READING! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing, and also accordingly the first experience. I will continue writing chapters for now, and try my hardest to continue on. Chapter 3: Realization The Roamer CHAPTER 3: realization ¡°You can head on back to your cell, for it seems that the other opponent lost his mind at the end of the battle.¡± Said the person who was previously floating in the air while introducing Aeollus and the elder. While he didn¡¯t seem to really care about the elder dying, he did seem a bit disappointed, but Aeollus couldn¡¯t quite understand why he was so disappointed. On the other hand, in his mind, Aeollus was having a mental breakdown. ¡®At the end of the battle, those words that he muttered resembled those of elder Cane, the wistful elder¡¯ Aeollus thought over and over again. ¡°It can¡¯t be, did I truly witness the end of a life with my own eyes? Not only did someone die for the first time in my life, it was someone that I had known¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, as he did not have the confidence to speak out loud. ¡°Brat, I said you can return to your cell now, unless you wish to receive a certain whipping?¡± said the man, who then began to float in the sky. Suddenly, wind began to revolve around him, and mini hurricanes seemed to form around him, with killing intent that pierced through the heavens. ¡®This¡­ Cultivation can reach such a level?!¡¯ Thought Aeollus, as he was truly surprised that not only could humans fly, but they could even summon mini hurricanes and fill them with killing intent! This was truly a surprise for Aeollus, who had really never seen or heard of such a thing before. ¡°No sir, I¡¯ll be heading back now.¡± As Aeollus said this, he turned around and began to head back towards the cell. The man floating in the sky turned around towards the audience and said ¡°Sorry for the inconvenience, for it seems that one of the slaves did not have the will to live or fight anymore, so we will immediately bring in a new fight to pay you back!¡±, while shoving Aeollus into the cell with a jolt of electricity. As soon as Aeollus was in the cell, everything outside the cell turned black, and it began to shake. After about a minute or two, he could see outside the cell and see that he was in a different location! ¡®His cultivation allowed him to even warp locations, furthermore, something as big as this cell!?¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself. It was truly unbelievable that he had learned almost nothing about cultivation back in the village, yet it seemed to have so many uses even if you didn¡¯t fight! After a while, he realized it was night time, and he was back where his original cell was located, except the cell now had a window and bookshelf, as if it had never been different. He then walked towards the bookshelf, and picked up a book. Since the bookshelf only had about a dozen books, there wasn¡¯t much of a variety to pick from, so he just picked some big green book that seemed to be the closest. However, as soon as Aeollus laid eyes on the title of the book, his eyes widened to a state that they had never reached before. ¡°The disparity in cultivation¡± was the title, and as soon as he flipped it open, the table of contents showed a total of 246 pages, which were all about cultivating the human psyche! ¡°This is truly a treasure trove for someone such as me, and these dozen or so books should last me quite a bit!¡± he said out loud, which immediately awarded him with a ¡°SHUT UP!¡± from another slave. Aeollus embarrassingly began to lower his head, but raised it back up again. ¡®Now that I know peace is not a viable option with these people, I cannot back down anymore in hopes of peace. Starting today, I will cultivate with all the information these books grant me, and by the end of it all, I¡¯ll be one of the strongest slaves in this prison!¡¯ He thought to himself, and imagined the future along with it. ¡°Elder had come here weeks before me, and even took the hit for me¡­ he was the one who was in charge of me, and had always taught me to keep a balance between peace and knowledge in my mind, yet he is also the person who told me not even an hour ago that peace won¡¯t work anymore¡­¡± Aeollus muttered to himself. It truly was ironic that such a turn of events could occur, while also saddening. ¡°For the elder and the rest of the villagers, I¡¯ll take the hit from now on and stray from the path of peace, and become strong enough to force peace around me!¡± he yelled out loud, which earned him a jolt from a guard nearby. With all these thoughts in his head, and all his recent experiences that had occured, his path of true understanding of cultivation had begun as a slave. --- Sequence 2 --- Four months had passed, and Aeollus had read and learnt all the books had to offer. Within the books, there seemed to be an explanation about something called a ¡®birth date¡¯, and from that he thoroughly understood that he was ten and a half according to the birth system. While cultivating with the books, he still had to fight to the death everyday with someone. At first, he saw it as a hindrance, but after a while he began to use the battles to use what he had learned through the books, which honed his senses of battle and engraved them into his soul. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Along with using it to cultivate, he saw battles to the death as vulgar at first, and still didn¡¯t want to take lives, but living here for such a long period of time truly honed him and shattered his ideals of peace, making him comfortable with taking lives. One of the books he had read had taught him about mantra, a symbol that represented a type of energy, and how he could engrave them into his soul to form his own techniques which came from the soul. About two months deep into his cultivation, he had learned to float a bit because of mantra, although it only lasted about two seconds. Comparing himself to the other slaves, he had now reached an average level in cultivation, and could compare with the rest. When it came to applying his skills in cultivation in battle, he quickly adapted to it and became better than most of the slaves, as he was a bit too young to rely on his physical body. One of the main things he understood was that all attacks and techniques had an affinity with some part in life. The main affinity he understood was wind, and that it related to being free and unrestrained. His comprehension of the rest couldn¡¯t even come close to his understanding of wind, which thoroughly changed his mindset to a more calm and passive tone. ¡°Are you ready to fight? This time, you are fighting one of the top five hundred slaves, more specifically being number 423!¡± said the old geezer across from his cell. At first, after he demanded some wood in exchange for teaching him about the prison, Aeollus thought that he was stingy, which he was, but he also had a good side to him. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll finish the job in one fell swoop.¡± said Aeollus in a tone that only he and the geezer could hear. ¡°Listen brat, if you beat him, you get to move on to a better cell, but it also increases the risk, as the deeper you move into the prison, the less strict the rules get. At the very center of the prison, the only rules are to not cause harm to guards and to not escape, so there have been many killings in the center!¡± said the geezer in a tone which was very strict and serious. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it will benefit me. If they all have cultivations that are as profound as mine, no, even more profound than mine, then if I can get ahold of their spirit and blood, I can go through an evolution of cultivation that almost none have gone through in this prison.¡± said Aeollus calmly, while truly wishing to further his cultivation so that none could cause him trouble anymore. ¡°Brat, I have a feeling that you might leave this cell and advance into a better cell deeper into the prison, so take this with you¡± said the geezer as he handed Aeollus some sort of parchment. At first, Aeollus thought it was just some note that was supposed to help him get on the good side of the guards deep inside, but as he laid his eyes on it, he was surprised deeply! For on the top left corner of the parchment, there was a stamp of royalty, with a dog carved onto it! Throughout the months of reading books, he learned that stamps on documents or other items represented that the cultivation they had on them were above average, and the creature on the stamp was a type of ranking. The lowest level would be a rat, representing that it reached the lowest level of filth, barely above average. The second lowest layer would be a dog, representing that they were more vicious than a rat, a bit more above average than the rat. The third layer was a tiger, which stood above the dog and rat, ranking higher in the world of cultivation, and even these were somewhat rare in this world. The fourth layer would be a lion, which represented the king of the jungle, which showed that it was the best that most normal people would ever achieve. The fifth layer was a rhino, which stood above the lion, and showed that the people who could achieve such a technique were ones who would have influence, though not much. The sixth layer was a bird soaring through the skies, and the skies represented all the layers below it. The seventh would be a divine bird, which would peck on the little bird below it. Anyone who could achieve such a level would usually be considered the best in towns, but definitely not the majority of the world. The eighth layer would be an angel, when someone can reach shaking influence, and become the best in a city, and maybe even a capital if strong enough. The ninth layer would reach higher, and had a deity carved onto it. People who had this type of object and cultivated what was on it would at least be the strongest within a capital, and might even be the strongest within a region! The final layer, which can be called the tenth layer, had a god on it, and it could be any of the gods above their lands or below! People who had ever reached this level numbered around ten thousand in all of history, but they stopped counting people who reached this level about two centuries ago, so nobody knows how many people had reached this level now. Before, Aeollus was just cultivating the basics of cultivation, the very foundations. Even getting a rat would be considered lucky for him, yet he got a stamp with a dog on it! To him, this was enough to flip his world around, as he could now begin to compete with people who weren¡¯t slaves in this world, though it would probably just be limited to small village people. ¡°Thank you so much old geezer, but how did you get something like this into the prison?¡± Aeollus said towards the geezer while expressing his gratitude. ¡°Heh heh, I just hid it inside my skin, as I had fused with it before I entered this prison!¡± Yelled the geezer, who Aeollus slapped right after for being too loud. ¡°Oi, respect the person who gave you something that you wouldn¡¯t achieve in all your life as a slave!¡± said the geezer who was seemingly angry. ¡°Sorry, can¡¯t be attracting guards now can we?¡± Said Aeollus, who clearly was unsettled after the loud yell, worried that some guards might come and take away the second layer scroll. ¡°Still, don¡¯t be too happy, as this isn¡¯t a technique, but just an attack. Though it isn¡¯t bad, it still is far from enough to guarantee you a good time deep in the prison.¡± muttered the old geezer. ¡°Besides, if you end up dying and lose the parchment, then it¡¯ll all be useless anyway, so be wary youngin!¡± said the old man in a serious tone which even Aeollus took seriously. ¡°I¡¯ll try my hardest to win this battle and walk out of the arena alive.¡± said Aeollus in as confident a tone as he could muster. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m giving this to you for free though, as I require that you bring me five of the books that you have been reading these past few months!¡± said the geezer in a strict tone, clearly not intending to give away a second layer attack for nothing. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ve already cultivated everything those dusty things had to offer anyway, shouldn¡¯t be much of an issue.¡± said Aeollus, as he crossed the hallway to grab five books. As he was dumping the five books onto the geezer, a guard came from behind him and zapped him back into his cell. ¡°Time to fight little brat!¡± Yelled the guard in the language that Aeollus previously didn¡¯t understand, though he did understand now thanks to one of the books concerning world languages. As he was forced into the cell by the guard who was still stronger than him, the world turned dark outside the cell until he heard the familiar words that he would hear everyday: ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the arena!¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXPLANATION I didn¡¯t go too in-depth in techniques and attacks, so basically this is it. Attack: Just a simple move that usually has some sort of cultivation along with it. EX: Fireball Technique: Something that uses his whole body and can continuously be used during the whole battle. EX: some sort of form a person maintains during a battle. Just like before, try to spread this novel on social media, friends, family, dogs, lasagna, or any othr way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 4: Decisive Battle The Roamer Chapter 4: Decisive battle ¡°Today, we have the rookie who has been rising through the ranks, Aeollus, along with one of the angels of this prison who has risen to fame, Klatra!¡± yelled the announcer in an excited tone. Of course he would, just the rank of Klatra within the prison would bring in a lot of money from the spectators. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s begin already!¡± yelled some old man with a beard. ¡°No need to stall, begin the battle!¡± Yelled another hidden within the crowd. Many people within the arena couldn¡¯t wait anymore, as battles with the top five hundred included in them were above average, both in combat standards and blood! ¡°Oi rookie, wanna turn ¡®round before you piss yourself?!¡± yelled some drunken geezer in the stands. ¡®They¡¯re always like this, I wonder how they¡¯d react if I were to really win¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, truly fed up with all the criticism from the people. ¡°Oi Aeollus, may I peak into your cultivation?¡± asked Klatra who was opposing Aeollus. ¡°Why would you want to do that? Trying to steal from my soul?¡± countered Aeollus, as he wasn¡¯t willing to let Klatra look into his cultivation. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stop trying to peak¡­¡± muttered Klatra, clearly let down from not being able to look at Aeollus¡¯s soul. ¡®This¡­ is quite the weird opponent I stumbled upon today.¡¯ Aeollus muttered in his own head, while wondering if the top five hundred were all weird. ¡°The battle may now begin!¡± yelled the announcer in a dominant tone, while floating away. As soon as the announcer said that, Klatra disappeared from the eyes of the people. ¡°What?!¡± yelled out Aeollus, not willing to believe that someone can just disappear. Suddenly, from his right, he got punched and sent flying, his left arm hitting the wall extremely hard. Fortunately his bones still seemed fine, and he could move it. ¡®How does this work, how can a man just disappear while still hitting?!¡¯ yelled Aeollus in his mind, not knowing how to counter this. ¡°Brat, you still have not entered the realm of true cultivation, you¡¯re still just a newbie who doesn¡¯t understand anything yet.¡± said Klatra in a calm tone from who knows where. ¡°As of right now, you don¡¯t have the abilities to step into the top five hundred, much less move deeper into the prison by much.¡± Klatra muttered in a voice that everyone could hear. ¡°I¡­¡± Aeollus was flabbergasted and truly didn¡¯t know what to say, only replying with that. ¡®Is it true? Did I truly try to rival people who were way above me in standards and mindset?¡¯ was replaying through Aeollus¡¯s head over and over again. ¡°Brat, the most powerful thing you have isn¡¯t even a first layer attack, much less a technique. Right now, I¡¯m using a first layer technique, so of course you can¡¯t rival me right now.¡± said the man in a obvious tone. ¡°I see¡­ the difference between someone who has reached into the layers of cultivation and someone who hasn¡¯t is truly too big, I can¡¯t make up for this that easily¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, who was beginning to understand why he was being overpowered so easily. ¡°Continue the battle, don¡¯t just stand there muttering!¡± yelled some woman holding a baby. ¡°It seems that the audience wants the battle to continue, so we should please them!¡± yelled Klatra in an overbearing tone, knowing that someone who hasn¡¯t even delved into the layers couldn¡¯t compete with him. Right after Klatra yelled that, some golden light flashed Aeollus¡¯s eyes, disabling his vision. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Klatra appeared right in front of Aeollus after that, and pulled out a dagger which would end up digging into Aeollus¡¯s stomach. ¡°GOD DAMN IT!¡± yelled Aeollus, who knew he couldn¡¯t do anything, but still tried. Aeollus suddenly thought of something he had read in one of the books, which said that he can give up some of his spirit temporarily to form an attack that could turn out to be any level, but there would be side effects. ¡®This¡­ I have to go with this or I won¡¯t even have a soul to give up in a bit!¡¯ Aeollus steadied himself to give up a part of his soul for now, in hopes of getting it back and the side effect not being too bad. He closed his eyes, and reached deep into his soul. He reached the outer edge of his soul, which was a green tinge hazy mist. The soul would be as strong as the person, and the deeper you went in, the stronger it would be. Since Aeollus didn¡¯t even know a first layer attack, the outer layer was extremely weak, only being the basics. If he were to sacrifice this part of his soul for now, at most, only a foundation level attack would come out, which wasn¡¯t all that useful to him. He wished that he could form techniques using something like this, but the soul didn¡¯t give you techniques for sacrificing it, only attacks. While he was searching in his soul, the dagger in his stomach went out, along with some of his guts. *BLEGH* Aeollus vomited, but was still trying desperately. Finally, he realized that his soul had turned into a yellow tinge, which he assumed was the mid-layer. Since his body was weak, this would at most summon a first layer attack, but only if he was lucky. It was only a bit of an upgrade from the outer layer of his soul. He kept moving deeper and deeper, until he finally reached the center of his soul. Even though he was weak, the center of any soul would at least guarantee a first layer attack, and that applied to everyone. Although, the sacrifice at the center would be the biggest, and there were higher chances of getting a really bad side effect here. He absorbed some of the orange tinge mist, and sent it flowing through his arm. He could feel something throughout his whole body dimming, which was probably his soul. ¡°Wait¡­ something¡¯s going on with your body!¡± Klatra yelled out loud, realizing something was off while backing off. ¡°Since I¡¯ve already sacrificed some of my soul, you¡¯re not getting away now!¡± Yelled Aeollus in a determined tone, while chasing after him to put an end to his life. Attacks from the soul would not have an affinity with anything such as wind, fire, or other elements. Instead, just a hazy mist tinged in whatever part of your soul it came from would appear, and the hazy mist would have some sort of power. The power it released would feel like a fist was hitting a person in the foundation layer, so he wondered how it felt as a first layer attack? As Aeollus released the hazy mist to chase after Klatra, he immediately backed up and left the mist handle it, while trying his hardest just to stay awake, as he still had injuries. ¡®This is my final attack¡­ if this fails, this just means it was as far as I could go¡¯ went through Aeollus¡¯s head, as his whole body realized this was an all or nothing situation. As the hazy mist approached Klatra, he tried to deflect it with his own first layer attack, which was a mere fireball, while using his first layer technique to dissappear from everyone¡¯s eyes. Surprisingly, the hazy mist went right through the fireball, not being affected by it at all and continued to go towards Klatra, even though he had disappeared from the human eye. In truth, the technique he learned did not allow invisibility. All the technique taught him was a breathing and foot pattern that would force the human eye to not notice his body, but it couldn¡¯t fool the hazy mist as he literally looked like a monkey jumping around to it. *AHHHHHHH* The hazy mist hit him head on, and he released a toe-curling scream. His whole left side of the body was extremely mangled, and only his right side was somewhat ok, except for some toes and fingers that fell off. ¡°STOP THE PAIN, STOP IT!¡± Klatra yelled out loud, truly seeking some way to stop this. Meanwhile, Aeollus had slumped to the ground, and was about to faint. The blood loss was extreme to him, and losing his guts didn¡¯t exactly benefit him. One of the rules of the Arena was that as soon as someone fainted or got knocked out, that would count as a loss, but it was a way to escape death. The only way to still die if you got knocked out or fainted was if your opponent were to still attack you, or if you did it on purpose, which the rules did not allow. Aeollus truly couldn¡¯t hang on any longer, and closed his eyes to sleep. --- Sequence 2 --- Aeollus woke up, back in his cell. He tried to sit up, but he felt a blasting pain down near his stomach. He looks down, and realizes that the hole where his guts were coming out from were closed, and there was no bloody sight, but it still hurt terribly. ¡°This¡­ how did the battle turn out?¡± wondered Aeollus, as he truly had no news as to how it turned out. ¡°Youngin, you were the first to faint, so you lost the battle and were returned here. The guards didn¡¯t even bother to patch you up, and left you to die. You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m such a nice man and helped you out.¡± said the old geezer who was always across from him, while winking at him. ¡®So I lost? Not only did I sacrifice some of my soul, though it may be temporary, I also had my guts falling out, yet I still lost¡­¡¯ muttered Aeollus in his head, truly disappointed at how this turned out. ¡°Oi geezer, do I still get to keep your second layer attack?¡± asked Aeollus, wishing to know if he still had a chance to cultivate what was on the parchment. ¡°Youngin, I¡¯ve learned that attack long ago, so it¡¯s no longer of use to me. Besides, I¡¯ve already read one of the books you gave me fully, so I can¡¯t just take it back with only me benefitting and you getting nothing.¡± said the geezer, allowing Aeollus to keep the parchment. ¡°Thank you old geezer, I¡¯ll learn this attack and reach into the top five hundred!¡± yelled Aeollus, with a wistful look in his eye, truly regretting the end of the battle. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a purple liquid dropped in front of him, and on it were words. He remembered that in the book he read about sacrificing the soul, the side effect would be shown to him through some outside force. This purple liquid seemed to be it. The liquid began to spread out through the floor, enlarging the words on it. However, as soon as Aeollus set his eyes on the words that came with it, he was flabbergasted at them. The words said something that would forever cut off his future, stopping his rise to glory. The purple liquid stated this very sentence: THE RISE THROUGH CULTIVATION WILL CEASE HERE, YOU ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO CULTIVATE ABOVE THE THIRD LAYER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 5: Digging in The Roamer Chapter 5: Digging in ¡°What?!¡± roared Aeollus, clearly unwilling to believe what this drop of purple liquid that spread on the floor said. ¡°I can¡¯t cultivate past the third layer?! This can¡¯t be, my career can¡¯t end so early!¡± yelled Aeollus, trying to force things to go back to normal. ¡°Youngin, by any chance¡­ did you give up a part of your soul?¡± asked the geezer, with a worried look in his eyes. ¡°Yes, and I didn¡¯t expect the side effects to reach such a level!¡± screamed Aeollus, while probing his soul and trying to fix this. ¡°I¡¯m sorry young lad, but the verdict that the soul gives is final, as it is the key to your power. If it has given up like that and told you that you can¡¯t cultivate past the third layer, you weren¡¯t going to become much anyway.¡± said the old man in a sorrowful tone, clearly regretting how a thing such as this could have happened. ¡°I¡­ I sacrificed my soul and my guts, and not only did I not win, my future in cultivation has been wiped out¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, still unwilling to believe this. ¡°For now child, just cultivate to your limits, and then see where you can go from there on out.¡± said the old man, clearly trying to think of a solution to such a matter. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re right, for now I¡¯ll continue to cultivate until I hit the limits of the third layer.¡± said Aeollus in a confident but wistful tone, clearly not believing that he can achieve much in such a state. ¡°For now, it¡¯s time to go to your cell, as the guards will be doing rounds to check what''s going on soon.¡± said the geezer while shoving Aeollus out of his cell. ¡°We can talk about this more in the morning, just give me some time to think of a way to solve the predicament.¡± said the old man, while lowering his body onto his straw bed, and pulling out a book. Aeollus went back into his cell, and closed the gate. A guard came later on and locked it, signifying it was time to go to sleep. Of course, you didn¡¯t have to sleep, you were just forced to stay in here until morning. ¡°For now, the old geezer is right, I should cultivate what I can until I reach a bottleneck¡­¡± muttered Aeollis, steadying himself for what is to come in the future. In truth, not only can attacks and techniques have layers, but so can the vitality and soul of a person. The only difference was that the layers that a person could reach went up to a hundred, and progressed much slower than attacks and techniques. Along with that, the layers of a technique would also represent the layers of the organism cultivating. For example, a first layer rat was the equivalent of layer one to ten for an organism, and so on. ¡°Right now, I haven¡¯t even reached the first layer of cultivation of my vitality and spirit, so I¡¯ll have to work on that first. Though it said I can¡¯t cultivate past the third layer, it might only apply to my body and spirit, but not attacks and techniques.¡± he said to himself, still holding some slimmer of hope towards the future. ¡°Well, might as well begin to cultivate this second tier attack the geezer gave me¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, while pulling out the parchment that contained the second tier attack. He then began to recite the gesture and feeling on the parchment over and over again, while comprehending the laws of the affinity. The night went along with him cultivating the second tier attack the geezer gave him, which turned out to have an affinity with leeches, which Aeollus was quite comfortable with. Of course, with his heavy injuries, only about an hour passed before he hit the straw bed and fell asleep. --- Sequence 2 --- ¡°Ah crap, I hit the straw bed before I even knew it.¡± said Aeollus, clearly displeased with himself for not fully cultivating the second tier attack. ¡°Prepare for the next battle, it will be hosted in two hours slave!¡± yelled the usual guard at him, warning him for the next. ¡°I still have to fight, even in this condition? I haven¡¯t even gotten my lost soul piece back, what¡¯s the meaning of this?!¡± yelled Aeolis, knowing that he wouldn¡¯t stand much of a chance like this. ¡°No complaints! If you¡¯re fed up, you can go and die to your opponent like the maggot you are!¡± screamed the guard, clearly not tolerating that a mere slave talked back to him. The guard than whipped him with air, which shook Aeolis up a bit. ¡°I got it sir, I¡¯ll fight!¡± yelled Aeolis, clearly not willing to put up with this for even a second more. ¡°Good, now start preparing!¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Screamed the guard while walking away. ¡®In two hours, I have enough time to cultivate a bit more of the second layer attack, so I should focus on that while recuperating¡¯ he thought, while putting the plan into motion. For the next two hours, he merely sat on the ground and ogled the parchment while not doing any strainful action to his body, keeping in mind that he was not healthy in the least right now. Just like always, everything outside his cell turned black for a minute or two, and then he appeared in front of the arena within his cell. ¡°After yesterday¡¯s fight, this man had slumped to the ground with his guts leaking, unwilling to stand for even a second more, which resulted in his loss! I present to you Aeolis, who will be competing against number 654, Tereolis!¡± yelled the same old announcer that has always been present for this stuff. On the other side, some person wearing a helmet came out of a cell, and held a rapier in his hand. In truth, the arena contestants were allowed to pick armor and weapons before they came, but Aeolis never did this as he was most comfortable with his fists. ¡°You¡¯re the maggot who put good ol¡¯ Klatra in the grave, ey?¡± yelled Tereolis, clearly praising, although ridiculing at the same time, Aeolis. ¡®Wait, Klatra died?! Then why didn¡¯t I move up in cells?!¡¯ Aeolis thought, clearly surprised by the turn of events. ¡°Ooh, confused by the events huh? Basically, ya went and fainted before Klatra died, so it was considered a loss!¡± yelled Tereolis in an overbearing tone. ¡°This¡­ this world truly does not know the meaning of balance! He died, but just because I fainted a couple of seconds or minutes before it happened, I end up losing? So nobody won, except for an idiot who hit the grave early!¡± roared Aeolis, clearly upset with how things turned out. ¡°Hah hah, you crack me up you naive child!¡± said Tereolis while tearing up from laughing, as if things couldn¡¯t get much funnier than this. ¡®My opponent this time¡­ he¡¯s also brand new here, and came in two days before me. There¡¯s a huge chance of him being stronger than Klatra, yet not being able to prove it to the public since he came in after Klatra himself.¡¯ Thought Aeollus, who had his mind set on the worst possible scenario. ¡°Ooh, you got a smart mind don¡¯t ya brat? Well, I can prove it in this match!¡± roared Tereolis, while charging at Aeollus. ¡°Wait a minute, he said what was on my mind before too¡­ is this some kind of technique or spell he¡¯s using?!¡± asked Aeollus into the wind, clearly thinking of such a possibility. ¡°Even if you figured it out, it¡¯s not like you can just blank out and think nothing!¡± roared Tereolis, who fully well knew that Aeollus had figured it out. ¡°You¡¯re quite right, I¡¯ll just have to put up with it!¡± Aeollus roared back with the same domineering attitude, while slapping Tereolis in the face! ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re quite the cheeky bum ain¡¯t ya?!¡± Yelled Tereolis, clearly dis-pleased that a brat had slapped him. Suddenly, Aeollus jumped backwards and focused within his soul, as he focused on the fingerprints he had laid onto Tereolis. ¡®Use the second tier attack, focus on the fingerprints and cast it on him!¡¯ he roared within his mind, trying his hardest. He still had issues with his body, and his guts could begin to leak at any moment, so a physical confrontation wasn¡¯t quite possible, but the second layer attack saved him. It was a one time contact move, where all he had to do was touch the opponent, and focus the second tier attack on him, which would then insert two leeches into the opponent''s skin at the location he had touched. The leeches would then begin to roam around his body and devour everything, as they grew bigger and bigger in size, until the opponent died, in which case they would die too. Just as soon as Aeollus began thinking about it, the leeches had already appeared within Tereolis¡¯s skin, beginning to devour everything they saw. ¡®Second tier attacks really are powerful, it barely took any time to set the attack in motion¡¯ thought Aeollus in his mind. It was true, just floating in the sky would take about ten seconds to prepare, even though he could only float for about two seconds. Yet, a second layer attack took almost no time to prepare, and happened almost as immediately as he thought about it. ¡°Of course, this may only be the situation with this second tier attack, and others may take longer¡­¡± he muttered to himself, trying to not get too cocky with such an attack at hand. Meanwhile, he could also see where the leeches were inside his body, and where they were planning on going. Though he couldn¡¯t control them, it was already enough to be able to put them into the skin and wait for the opponent to die. ¡°What is this, why is my skin bulging and ticklish down at the cheeks?!¡± yelled Tereolis, clearly confused. Though he could read his opponent¡¯s mind, he couldn¡¯t reach deep enough into his power where he could read the spirit and soul of a body. For that reason, he did not know that Aeollus had casted a second tier attack on him. ¡°This¡­ is stronger than I ever thought something could reach!¡± said Aeollus, while running away just to make sure Tereolis did not catch him. ¡°Come back here brat! Whatever you used on me will disappear the second your head flies off!¡± boomed Tereolis, clearly unwilling to let the battle end like this. For Tereolis had already felt that his arm was weakening while something was crawling inside of it. Two minutes later, his whole right arm collapsed and fell off his body, and he didn¡¯t even notice it until he looked down. ¡°What?!¡± said Tereolis, not willing to believe that such a thing had just happened. ¡°You¡­ is this an attack from one of the layers?!¡± hollered Tereolis, truly unwilling to believe that fate had damned him to such a powerful attack. ¡°If it was, what would you do about it?¡± roared Aeollus right back, with a grin on his face. ¡°If you die and I win, then the guards will immediately restore the vigor in my body and return my arm, so die now!¡± roared Tereolis while throwing the axe in his left hand at Aeollus. *KSHH* It laid right into the thigh of someone in the stands, and they began to scream out loud. It also took away some of the hair of Aeollus, along with a bit of the scalp. ¡°You¡¯re quite a powerful thrower for a person with a single arm, I wonder if it would¡¯ve hit me with two arms?¡± teased Aeollus, knowing that his opponent had lost all his weapons. Suddenly, the axe pulled out of the bystanders thigh, and began to fly towards Aeollus. ¡®Crap, he¡¯s using his affinity with the wind to send it flying towards me!¡¯ thought Aeollus, while running as hard as he can. However, right before it punctured him, it stopped flying and hit the ground. Aeollus looked in the direction of Tereolis, and saw that he lost both arms and legs, and half of his torso was missing. ¡°Those leeches really did their work huh?¡± said Aeollus. ¡°The winner of today¡¯s fight is Aeollus, with a glorious come back into the arena!¡± roared the announcer with the money of the bystanders going left and right because of the bets. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXPLANATION
  1. From now on, layer can also be used as tier.
EX: second layer = Second tier First layer = First tier ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 6: The future The Roamer Chapter 6: the future ¡°Put your hands up for Aeollus, for this slave has proved himself in the arena today!¡± yelled the announcer, clearly searching for the enthusiasm within the crowd. Just as he demanded, the crowd began to cheer and clap, but not for Aeollus himself, but at the lord seated all the way at the top who had bought these slaves. ¡°My lord, host another one for today, throw in an extra!¡± yelled some spoiled brat. ¡°I¡¯m willing to carry your children, just ask me when!¡± yelled a flirtatious woman. Just from looking at the crowds faces, one could clearly see that they all loved the arena, and didn¡¯t feel sorrowful at all when they saw the death of at least one person every single day. Once again, this dis-aligned Aeollus, who really was fed up with these people. ¡®Thank god I got out of this one alive, but it still isn''t enough. I need to become much stronger, as this is merely a prison of slaves! What¡¯ll be the case of my life if I were to ever reach out into the world, and try to fight someone?¡¯ thought Aeollus to himself, clearly not satisfied that he couldn¡¯t escape injuries even with a second layer attack. ¡°Young slave, you may head on back to your cell so that we can begin the next battle¡± said the announcer in a domineering tone which only he and Aeollus could hear. ¡®He¡¯ll be one of the first people to die if I were to ever rebel from this prison¡­¡¯ muttered Aeollus in his mind, truly fed up with the announcer who had two sides to him; The one meant for slaves, and the other to please. ¡°Yes sir, I¡¯ll head back now¡± muttered Aeollus, truly unwilling to entertain the announcer and the crowd with his suffering. Besides, he was mentally tired from using his first second layer attack, as he didn¡¯t even know how to use it and made a wild guess when he delved into his soul. ¡°Anyway, I should earn a rank up with this, reaching into the top seven hundred now, maybe even six hundred if I¡¯m lucky¡± said Aeollus, which was true. Right now, he was only within the top eight hundred out of a thousand slaves, which meant that he was one of the weakest. If he could truly reach higher and higher within this prison, he was guaranteed more books to read and cultivate from, the only downside being two death matches a day if he bursted into the top five hundred. Since the top five hundred hosted the most popular fights, the lord tried to milk them for money the most, hence the two death matches a day. Suddenly, he got shoved into the cell, but this time it was with a wave of water. The announcer then went down to pick up the dead body of Aeollus¡¯s opponent, and the next scene surprised Aeollus himself. For the announcer had closed his eyes, and Aeollus could have sworn that there was a hazy mist flying from the dead opponent into the announcer. ¡®This¡­ is he absorbing the mantra and essence of the soul of him?¡¯ thought Aeollus, still not willing to believe what he had seen. Yet, as soon as the announcer stood up, there was a more invigorating aura to him, as if he had just woken up from a nap and the aura from before was a joke that he cracked. ¡°I see, so the absorption of the soul is a possibility too huh?¡± muttered Aeollus, clearly seeing the future benefits of such a thing. If he could truly absorb the soul of people, not only could the hope of removing the side effect of soul usage rise, but he could even further his power. Meanwhile, the normal ol¡¯ trick of transporting the cell to a different location had already happened, yet he was now in a different location than usual! Aeollus looked across the hall, but realized that the geezers cell was not there anymore, disappearing as if it had never been there! His usual guard walked up into him, yet he now wore a different set of armor, and a much stronger weapon was on his back. ¡°Oi slave, you¡¯ve been promoted into the top six hundred, which is two leagues above from what you were before, so your cell location has moved two leagues deeper into the prison!¡± yelled the guard in an overbearing, yet excited tone. ¡®Ah, I¡¯m being used by this guard again!¡¯ Aeollus wondered why he sounded excited, but as soon as he looked at the armor and weapon, he realized that it must have been a reward for raising a decent slave. First, this guard used him to show off to some woman, and now he is being used to get an upgrade in gear! Most of these benefits are towards the guard and not him! Still, he couldn¡¯t complain at all, since he was a slave at the end of the day. Besides, he got thirteen new books, along with a cultivation mat. In one of the books that he read before, it had said that cultivation mats would boost the rate of cultivation by at least five percent! Though this percent may seem slow now, it would definitely be useful in the future when it got harder and harder to cultivate to the next level, and could end up saving hours and maybe days! Although, with his current predicament of not being able to cultivate past the third layer with his spirit and vitality, it wasn¡¯t quite as needed by him. ¡°For now, I¡¯ll go to bed and wake up in the morning to cultivate off the information the books grant me¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, who truly didn¡¯t want to stay awake for even a second longer after such a grueling battle that ended in them just running around in circles with one trying to catch the other. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He went to sleep and woke up the next morning, and began to cultivate earnestly off of the books he had earned. --- Sequence 2 --- Aeollus woke up in bed, with long, scruffy brown hair rolling down him. It had been seven months since he got here, and three of them were spent cultivating the new books he had earned with his promotion. Even though he had more books to learn then before, when he had a dozen books, the cultivation mat truly had helped him cultivate better. Along with his deeper comprehension of the soul and vitality, it didn¡¯t take him long at all to understand what the books were trying to teach. At last, he only had a single book left, with only fifteen pages remaining to read. He promptly sat down and began to read the final pages, as this book taught him a foundation level technique! Though it wouldn¡¯t be as impressive as the technique Klatra had used since his was a tier above his, it would still be better than learning a first layer attack! While a first layer attack would indeed be a layer above a foundation level technique, the foundation level technique could be used throughout the whole battle, while attacks were simply multiple one-time uses. Attacks took time to prepare, and you had to avoid what the enemy was throwing at you while preparing the attack, as they surely wouldn¡¯t just stand still and let you prepare it. On the other hand, techniques are second nature to you, and it barely takes concentration to maintain them throughout the whole battle, letting you mostly focus on the battle itself! ¡°Bratty slave, are you ready for your fight today?!¡± roared the guard, clearly enthusiastic at the thought of more rewards from him winning. Of course, throughout all the time Aeollus was at the prison, he mostly used his cultivation to not die in a death match, and rarely did physical confrontations with the enemy. In the end though, he was still winning, so the guard also got his share of rewards, which he got for literally just being assigned to him! ¡°Yessir, just give me a minute to prepare.¡± said Aeollus in a low tone that was as calm as he could be. His affinity with many elements were rising, but his affinity with wind was rising at a rate much faster than them, so he kept his passive and calm mind. ¡°Since when did you think a slave like you had the authority to ask for some of the audiences precious time?!¡± roared the guard, who was clearly displeased that this slave was beginning to have thought of talking with him on the same level. ¡°Sorry sir, it won¡¯t happen again¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, while hiding the contempt that was about to emerge from his eyes. At this point, he was definitely stronger than the majority of the prison, but he was just waiting for the higher-ups to let him fight one of the top five hundred. He learned this through experiencing other peoples battles by sneaking out of his cell and wandering into the arena. Most of the slaves who fought in the arena didn¡¯t use techniques, much less attacks which took more focus to use than techniques. Only when you witnessed fights with the top six hundred in them would you begin to see more attacks and techniques. As always, everything outside of the cell turned black for a minute or two, and he emerged out at the arena. ¡®This¡­ what happened?!¡¯ he thought to himself when he saw the arena ground. Everything was rubble and dust, that was unwilling to clear up. ¡°Put up with it slave, the fight between numbers 342 and 311 caused this, and we don¡¯t got the time to fix this, and you can consider it a decoration, so it¡¯s fine.¡± said the announcer in a domineering tone, clearly not willing to let Aeollus say anything. ¡°Yessir, I¡¯ll do my best even within this territory!¡± yelled Aeollus, not willing to retaliate and receive some jolt or lash of wind to the back. ¡°Whether or not you say that is useless, as you are just a slave that is destined to die in this arena someday to another slave¡­¡± muttered the announcer in a tone that only he and Aeollus could hear, which really threw Aeollus off. ¡°Still, did I miscalculate comparing myself to the other slaves?¡± muttered Aeollus, considering the wreckage in front of him. If he and someone else were to fight, the most he could do was put a bit of a crack in the ground, or maybe melt it when using something related to the affinity of fire. At his level, he couldn¡¯t destroy anything this much. ¡®And neither of them were even in the top one hundred¡­¡¯ Aeollus thought, while clearly noticing that he had overestimated himself. ¡°I can¡¯t compare to these people yet, and I¡¯ll probably have to cultivate more to achieve a level comparable to theirs!¡± he roared at himself in an attempt to influence himself to try harder. ¡°Stop muttering to yourself and step up you brat, I¡¯ll teach you the power of someone within the top five hundred!¡± yelled an old man standing across from Aeollus. Aeollus¡¯s face twisted into some sort of monstrosity when he saw the person standing in front of him. It was because the man standing in front of him resembled Klatra, an old opponent who had died long ago, too seriously. ¡®Could it be that he somehow reincarnated? That shouldn¡¯t be possible at anyone''s level within this prison, and not even high ranking nobles in the world should be able to pull off something like that!¡¯ yelled Aeollus in his head, not believing the sight in front of him. ¡°You and my grandson battled, and all you ended up with was a hole in the stomach and some leaking guts, while my grandson fully died!¡± hollered the old man in a sorrowful tone, along with some hand gestures that could be considered quite offensive. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re just the old geezer of Klatra, not the real thing, thank god!¡± said Aeollus, who had a smiling expression on his face for some reason. The reason for that would be that if someone really had the person to reincarnate people, then he might not even be able to come close to him, much less beat him in a battle. For that reason, he couldn¡¯t help but smile when the old geezer told him the truth. Unfortunately, the geezer took it the wrong way and thought that Aeollus was ridiculing him! ¡°You brat, you won¡¯t leave here even if you had eleven heads and fourteen arms!¡± yelled the geezer while lifting his hand and pointing a finger at the throat of Aeollus. Suddenly, the area seemed to have become really warm, and flames began to appear from the ground! ¡°As number 521, I¡¯ll make sure to thoroughly put an end to your life and career within this arena!¡± roared the geezer, clearly not willing to let Aeollus to go on any longer. ¡°Hmm, I guess this is a good chance to look at the technique.¡± said Aeollus in a calm tone, clearly not letting the old man get to him. Though he hadn¡¯t finished the book and still had a few pages left, he thought he could handle the rest himself and figure it out. He let his body feel as if it was water, and started to wiggle like some worm coming out of the ground. Suddenly, the flames rising from the ground burst, and a huge explosion came along with it! ¡®I see, he¡¯s using the dust from previous battles to cause explosions¡­¡± thought Aeollus to himself while the explosion was nearing him. ¡°Too bad, as this technique has already been learnt by me at this point!¡± roared Aeollus, while slithering around and avoiding the fire, and floating above the explosions. The new technique he had learnt gave him the feeling of becoming actual water, as he had a smooth flow with everything, which raised his perception and let him dodge attacks better! ¡°What?! How could a brat like you have such a technique?!¡± yelled the old man while watching Aeollus avoid most hits, and only getting his shirt singed. ¡°I¡¯m coming for you, you damn geezer!¡± yelled Aeollus as he closed in on the old man. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 7: Evolution through combat The Roamer Chapter 7: Evolution through combat As Aeolus closed in on the geezer, he prepared to touch him #anywhere, so that he could hurry up and inflict his second tier attack, which he named ¡®leech curse¡¯. Meanwhile, the geezer closed his eyes, and suddenly disappeared from the location! It was highly reminiscent of his son, so Aeolus immediately remembered how that technique worked and prepared to slip through it with his own. He felt a killing intent from above him, so he immediately lowered his head and jumped back, just to be safe. As expected, a old geezer was in front of him with his fist stuck in the ground. ¡®This geezer has the exact same technique as his son, but his physical prowess and planning during combat are far superior, even going as far as to utilize the dust from the previous battle!¡¯ thought Aeolus, keeping his guard up for this old geezer of an opponent. The geezer once again disappeared from the human eye, but Aeolus was prepared even more this time. He focused most of his spirit into his eyes, and he was immediately able to detect him, although it wasn¡¯t very well since he could only see the afterimages of his technique. Aeolus then began to infuse some of the #mid-layer of his spirit, and was able to see the old man vividly now. The geezer was closing in on him from the front, and held his palm out towards Aeolus. Aeolus ducked and avoided the palm, but took a knee straight to the chin. He went flying, but he was able to touch the old geezer, and was preparing to inflict the attack. ¡®Too late now, I¡¯ve alre-...¡¯ was going through the head of Aeolus, but he suddenly felt extremely dizzy, and his eyesight became blurry. He could barely stand anymore, but he was trying his hardest to stand just so he didn¡¯t give the match to the geezer. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to move until the next time I make contact with you brat, as that knee to the chin really messed ya¡¯ up!¡± yelled the old man in a domineering tone, which clearly indicated that he had the upper hand. In reality, the knee to the chin got transmitted through Aeolus and his body, and was one of the weak points of all human bodies. Even a light fist would be enough to put you in a state similar to the one Aeolus was in, so a knee was really bad for him at this point! ¡°Meet your demise you brat!¡± roared the old man, and threw a flaming fist right towards the chest of Aeolus. Suddenly, the geezer began to feel something was wrong, and began to back up in fear of Aeolus suddenly standing up and attacking. *KSHH* The geezer had guessed wrong, as it was not Aeolus that was the issue, but the leeches going through his body that were the issue! The leeches had already dropped his flaming arm onto the ground, and had moved onto the nerves throughout his whole body, ready to disable his body. ¡°Then you can just die before the leeches kill me!¡± roared the geezer, and once again began to move, this time even faster so that he could stop the spread of the leeches quicker, since killing the caster would immediately disable the attack. In reality, even attacks that brought in living creatures such as leeches were able to be cancelled if the caster died, as the living organisms that had been created during the attack were ultimately just a part of the spirit of the caster, and would immediately return to the body if the caster died. Fortunately, Aeolus woke up just in time to see the incoming attack. Though he had fallen into a dizzy state, he was still able to keep a portion of his technique since it really did take almost no concentration to keep up, so he immediately tried to dodge the flaming fist coming at him. Though he didn¡¯t get a hole in chest thanks to the technique, he still took a hit to his shoulder, but it wasn¡¯t much of an issue except for pain since the arm from that shoulder had been cut off in his first ever battle within the arena. ¡°Old geezer, it¡¯s about time that you drop dead and give me your number within the slave prison!¡± hollered Aeolus, clearly ready to deliver the final blow. He then pulled out the wind symbol from within his spirit, and began to utilize his comprehension relating to the affinity of wind, and took flight. Though he could only fly for about eight seconds, that was more than enough to utilize a foundation level technique he had learned from one of the books, and began to spread his spirit throughout his whole body, and keep it in constant flow. This technique allowed him to infinitely heal his injuries, although it would take ten minutes even to heal a scratch, so it really did go by slowly. Still, this technique allowed him to slowly heal his shoulder, so it was better than nothing. Along with that, since the spirit was just flowing through his body, it wasn¡¯t actually being consumed, which meant he could use it as long as he didn¡¯t rashly use all his soul in one attack. Aeolus dropped down onto the ground, and began to utilize both the flowing water and spirit infusing technique, as the latter didn¡¯t even take concentration. He rushed towards the old geezer, who seemed to have lost control of his left leg, probably from the leeches. ¡°Take this, you damned geezer!¡± yelled Aeolus as he threw a punch infused with spirit. A creature could infuse spirit into anything, even things such as a simple punch or flick of a finger, so his punch was already strong enough to shatter rocks and trees, although they couldn¡¯t be too big. If he was already able to shatter stuff like that while he hadn¡¯t even reached the first layer, just how much could he destroy with a single punch once he reached the third layer?Stolen novel; please report. The punch connected with the old geezer, and sent him flying into the wall. His right arm was stuck in it, along with his left leg, so he couldn¡¯t quite get out. At this point, the match had basically already gone to Aeolus. Yet, the old geezer still struggled, clearly not willing to give up. ¡°You¡­ even if I lose this match and die, you won¡¯t be leaving here alive either!¡± roared the old geezer, clearly unsatisfied with such an end result. Suddenly, some purple tinged haze came out of the old geezers body, and gave chase to Aeolus, not willing to let up. ¡°This¡­ did he release an attack directly from the soul?!¡± yelled Aeolus while running from the attack, clearly not willing to take the risk of taking that attack head on. Based on the geezers attacks from before, along with his quick thinking, his cultivation should be extremely strong, and could probably get a first layer attack easily even from the mid-layer! Unfortunately, the hazy mist was extremely quick, and all he could rely on was floating into the sky and the flowing water technique to escape. Aeolus first stalled as much as he could with the flowing water technique so that the leeches would hurry up and finish the job, hopefully soon. At some point during the stalling, the hazy mist seemed to become stronger, and Aeolus knew he couldn¡¯t handle it, so he took to the skies in the arena to escape it. His affinity with the wind, along with his experiences of floating before, immediately let Aeolus become faster than the hazy mist, avoiding it for the eight seconds he could float in the sky. As soon as he reached his limit in floating, he threw a fist with a layer of spirit infused within at the hazy mist. In reality, almost nothing in the world is able to make physical contact with a spirit, so that¡¯s why you¡¯d have to cover whatever it is you¡¯re throwing at a spirit in your own spirit to make contact. ¡®What is this?!¡¯ Thought Aeolus, reluctant to continue trying his luck against this spirit attack. For as soon as his fist and this spirit made contact, his fist immediately got pushed back, and even the layer of spirit surrounding it was beginning to shrink down. As soon as the layer of spirit completely disappeared, the attack would finally make contact with his physical body, and the true assault would begin. Yet, he couldn¡¯t do anything else, so all he could do was continue to try his luck with his level of cultivation against this spirit attack. In reality, the old geezer probably went to the center of his spirit and somehow came out with a second tier attack, which was extremely lucky! A few seconds later, his spirit layer thinned even more, and was only as dense as a sheet of paper. Aeolus could tell that it couldn¡¯t take more than ten seconds now, but he truly had nothing else to rely on, so he didn¡¯t know what to do. After ten seconds, his spirit layer finally disappeared, and the spirit attack was beginning to make contact with his fist! *KSHH* Suddenly, on the other side of the arena where the geezer was at, his head had fallen off, and nothing was left of his torso, except for a few bits of flesh that had fallen from his body, and his spirit. The hazy mist that was confronting Aeolus and his fist disappeared, and what replaced it was a cold feeling at his fist. Aeolus looked at his fist, and saw that two of his fingers had completely disappeared, and were nowhere to be seen, while the rest were all mangled terribly. Still, this didn¡¯t matter at all to Aeolus as he ran towards the old geezers soul to test out what the announcer had done before, to suck in the spirit of a body! The announcer had clearly gotten a power up back then, and his supreme aura had risen by a lot! It was clearly more than the announcer could conceal, since it was just oozing out of him by the second. Aeolus reached the geezers body, and extended out his arm towards the spirit which looked like a flickering ember floating in the sky. He sent out his own spirit towards it, just to test the waters out. As expected, nothing weird had happened, except for an odd drunk feeling, but Aeolus already knew that he was about to get drunk from the amount of spirit he was about to absorb! The spirit he had sent into the geezers soul had come back, and brought with it most of the spirit the geezer had! The spirit moved to enter his body, but as soon as it did, a pain that Aeolus had never felt before began to appear and disappear. It felt as if his whole body was rupturing from within; All the bones, flesh, and liquids within him were spasming crazily, and he immediately threw up a puddle¡¯s worth of blood. ¡®Since this is my first time absorbing another¡¯s soul, this should be the lashback from my own soul which has never done something like this before!...¡¯ thought Aeolus while holding on for his life. The pain then began to disintegrate, and was almost fully gone after a minute or so. It seemed that the lashback was gone, and that he had successfully taken in some of the soul, but lost a majority of it since it was his first time and he didn¡¯t know how to control it. If he had to guess, he had probably only kept about thirty percent of the amount that came in. Still, this was a plentiful gain, and was even more impressive when the two spirits began to merge. ¡®It seems as if two spirits couldn¡¯t remain separated within the body, so they probably have to merge!¡¯ thought Aeolus, who was suddenly beginning to comprehend what was actually going on. Just like he guessed, as soon as he looked within his soul, all the layers seemed to have grown in size, especially the outer layer within his soul. He had also noticed that only the center of the geezers soul merged with his center, while the mid-layer merged with his mid-layer, and that the outer layer merged with his own as well. ¡®So all the specific parts of the soul merge together, and since the outer layer is naturally the largest part of the soul, that part has become the biggest!¡¯ Aeolus realized, and immediately began to memorize within his head, for this information would probably be useful to him in the future. Suddenly, the very center of his soul began to shake, and the mid and outer layer began to shake as well after a bit. Some sort of circular object than emerged, which looked to be some sphere. The sphere just sat there and floated in the center of his soul, and didn¡¯t move at all. Although it seemed as if it was nothing big, just a sphere forming in the center of his soul, Aeolus immediately understood what was going on, and all the questions he had before were immediately answered, as if the sphere had brought some wisdom to him. ¡°This¡­ this is the first layer that I have formed!¡± yelled Aeolus in a excited tone, as he clearly couldn¡¯t believe what had happened. Before the sphere had formed, he had already powered up quite a bit just from absorbing some of the geezers soul, but after the sphere had formed, he felt as if his power had increased by three fold, maybe even four fold considering the amount of spirit he felt surging through his body. ¡®With this power, I feel like I can reach not only into the top five hundred, but probably the top three hundred as well!¡¯ thought Aeolus, who¡¯s mind was currently filled to the brim concerning the current situation. ¡°Slave, hurry up and get back in your cell!¡± yelled the announcer at Aeolus, not willing to spare a second more. ¡°Yessir¡­¡± said Aeolus who was clearly not paying attention, while walking to the cell. At the same time that he had formed his first layer, he also realized that he could now sense the spirit of others even if he didn¡¯t try to take it for himself. For that reason, as soon as he felt out the spirit of the announcer, he felt as if he would shatter just from the aura. ¡®The announcer¡­ is much stronger than I thought, maybe even stronger than every slave within the prison¡­¡¯ thought Aeolus, who was clearly reluctant to try and rebel in the arena. ¡°He¡¯ll definitely be one of the issues that I¡¯ll encounter when I try and break out of this prison one day¡­¡± muttered Aeolus as he sat within the cell. Just like always, everything outside the cell turned black, and he then appeared at his usual location, the cells of the top six hundred. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Anyway, as a side note, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 8: The Awakening The Roamer Chapter 8: The awakening As soon as Aeollus got back to his ordinary cell, everything outside once again brimmed to life, and he could see outside his cell again. He stood up, and tempered within his soul, to see more precisely the changes that had taken place deep inside. ¡®Ah, my spirit feels much easier to control, and the soul infusion technique seems to have strengthened, as the scars from my body are also beginning to heal now too. Even the beatings from the announcer that usually leave obvious red skin with me forever are beginning to heal!¡¯ thought Aeollus, who was clearly pleased with his current situation. At that moment, he remembered how he infused mantra into his soul some months ago, and thought about doing it again. Back then, just trying to create a mantra to infuse within his body was depressing enough, and when he actually had to infuse it, it was painful enough to probably kill a goblin. Yet, at this point, he felt that not only could he infuse mantra into his soul multiple times, he could probably do it while sustaining minimal injuries to his soul, and his physical body! Just from that feeling alone, he had already gained a major benefit from creating his first layer. Aeollus took out the cultivation mat from below his straw bed, and sat in a cross-legged position. He than closed his eyes, and began to focus on his soul. He began to infuse mantra into his flowing water technique, just to test the waters before he applied mantra throughout his whole body. He began to infuse the symbol, and prepared for the lashback that was to come. As expected, the lashback immediately struck back, and he felt a stinging pain, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as painful as before! ¡®Either the attack has become weaker, or I¡¯ve just become that strong!¡¯ he thought to himself, as he continued to infuse the mantra into the bone. A couple of minutes later, he had finished, and moved onto the next one. ¡®I¡¯ll test them all out once I finish with it all¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, while continuing to infuse mantra into every attack and technique he had, and also infused some onto the spirit in general. After about half an hour, he had finished infusing everything with mantra. Even though it didn¡¯t hurt as much before, after doing it for that much, his muscles were extremely sore, and he had even spit blood out a couple of times. ¡°Alright, I need a battle to test this out in. I¡¯ll keep it hidden until I¡¯m scheduled to fight someone within the top five hundred, so I can thoroughly surprise them and beat them down!¡± roared Aeollus, clearly proud and confident of how the whole process turned out. ¡°SHUT UP!¡± hollered the man opposing Aeollus and his cell, while throwing something at the bars of his cell to indicate that he was displeased. ¡®Oh right, it¡¯s night time right now¡­¡¯ thought Aeollus, as he slumped into his little straw bed. ¡®By tomorrow, I¡¯ll see who I¡¯m scheduled to fight, and hopefully it¡¯ll be someone who is worth using all my powers on!¡¯ Aeollus thought excitedly, and couldn¡¯t wait to test out his new powers. Just like that, Aeollus fell asleep and prepared for the next day. --- Sequence 2 --- Aeollus woke up in bed, and was clearly drowsy from infusing techniques. He looked around, and saw that nothing exciting was happening, as usual. ¡°Nothing exciting happens in this prison except for the arena matches, and we slaves don¡¯t even get to watch it if we don¡¯t sneak in!¡± complained Aeollus, who was clearly disappointed with the entertainment here. In the end though, he was just a slave that had no rights or opinions. ¡®I¡¯ll just use this opportunity to look over the battle from yesterday¡¯ The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. he thought to himself while sitting back down onto his straw bed. He began to imagine the fight from yesterday, and recalled his experiences within it. Suddenly, he remembered something that he had tried within the fight that he never tried before. ¡°Yesterday, I had covered my fist in a layer of spirit and threw it towards the geezers soul attack, but now that I think about it, is that necessary?¡± Aeollus thought to himself, while remembering every single thing he had learned in the books relating to the physical body in cultivation. He then got the cultivation mat from below his straw bed, and laid it on the ground while crossing his legs and sitting down on it. He once again began to infuse his mantra, but he directly applied it onto his physical body. ¡°If the situation is like I think, then there is a reason that it¡¯s called the cultivation of the spirit and vitality. So far, I¡¯ve only been focusing on the spirit and learning new attacks, along with some other stuff. Now, what if I focus on the vitality part of the cultivation? That couldn¡¯t have just been added in to sound cool, so there should be something relating to the physical body directly when it comes to cultivation!¡± yelled Aeollus, who had clearly reached a conclusion concerning his thoughts. Just as he thought, the mantra covered his whole body, and emitted a faint glow, as if he was a firefly in the middle of the night. The glow strengthened by every passing minute, and did not seem like it was going to stop growing at all. He continuously chanted mantra with his lips and within his brain, and applied them onto his physical body. The skin kept absorbing it, and at times, some mantra that was applied to his skin would not be sucked in, but instead left on the outside of his skin, leaving a tattoo of a mantra symbol. ¡®This is gonna be an issue, opponent¡¯s in the arena who are experienced enough will immediately know what these mantra tattoos symbolize, and will put their guard up the moment they see them¡­¡¯ muttered Aeollus in his head, while thinking of a way to cover up the tattoos. After an hour or two, the mantra infusing into the skin had completed the process, and there was nothing else left. He had powered up his soul and skin as much as he could at the first layer, and would probably have to wait until he reached the second layer to achieve a phenomenal break through once again. ¡°Still, even if this is the end of what I can achieve right now, it was still amazing enough to consider my past self a mere ant!¡± roared Aeollus with vigor, as he sent his whole spirit flowing through his body, unconsciously activating the spirit infusion technique. ¡°Hurry up and prepare for battle you damn slave, don¡¯t expect anything good from the next match though.¡± After a few minutes of lying around in his room, the usual guard came and told him to prepare for battle. ¡°Your opponent is number 453, a monster who has been rising through the ranks recently, though not as fast as you. You know, for a slave, you sure do seem to be cultivating successfully well!¡± said the guard in a surprised tone as soon as he saw the tattoos along Aeollus. ¡®I knew it, even this fool of a guard was able to notice such a change! My opponent is number 453, so he¡¯ll definitely be able to realize all the tattoos running through my body!¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself while thinking of a solution to this predicament. After a few minutes of thinking, he just wrapped himself in spirit, and forcefully concealed the mantra that had been left on the outside as tattoos. When he did that, Aeollus suddenly thought up an idea and began to work on it. Using the soul infusion technique would require a person to have spirit circulating throughout his whole body on the inside, which was understandable, as the spirit had to be able to reach the injury to heal it. Now, what about if he used his spirit and covered himself with it on the outside? Not only would it be able to conceal the mantra, he could strengthen his whole physical body, and if it could reach the point where doing such a thing was merely second nature, then the gains could amount to being more amazing than the gains from even the first layer! After a few more minutes of fantasizing, everything outside the cell turned black, which indicated that Aeollus was being sent to the arena. Just as expected, after a minute or two he appeared within an arena. He stepped out of the cell, and looked straight at his opponent. He seemed to be a burly man, and had a #beard that resembled a beard of some magical school instructor, though he couldn¡¯t remember who¡­ As always, the announcer did his introductions to the audience, and got out of the way to let the two fight. Aeollus immediately began to sense the soul of his opponent, and didn¡¯t find anything special at all. In fact, his opponent seemed to be many levels below him. ¡®Oh, he hasn¡¯t even stepped into the first layer¡­¡¯ thought Aeollus, clearly disappointed with the current situation. Of course, on such an opponent, he wouldn¡¯t dare to reveal his true powers, as the actual strong slaves within the prison would be alerted. Considering that, he merely used a foundation base attack of wind, hoping to not try and get too carried away toying with his opponent. Fortunately, as if the gods had smiled down on him, his opponent¡¯s head immediately popped from the pressure, and dropped to the ground, stopping him from toying with him. ¡°This¡­ I might have gotten too strong for the people above the top three hundred, no, maybe even two hundred to compete with¡­¡± muttered Aeollus in a disappointed, yet excited tone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPLANATION #1 To anyone who can realize what I¡¯m referencing with this, you are a god. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 9: Elites The Roamer Chapter 9: Elites ¡°This¡­ how did someone like you power up so much in such a short span of time?¡± asked the announcer, with confusion ringing loud and clear in his voice. He then proceeded to sense the spirit of Aeollus, and was greatly shocked. When he had fought against the old geezer of an opponent before, the announcer had sensed that Aeollus had developed his first layer when his aura began to overflow the arena, and considered it a good thing since his fights would probably rake in more money. Now, he was even stronger than yesterday, maybe four fold stronger? He didn¡¯t know how a mere slave could not only have the resources to reach one of the layers, but also become so strong in such a short time once he achieved the layer. Little did he know that Aeollus was using mantra symbols, which would surely shock him. In reality, mantra symbols had been dropped long ago, and almost nobody used them because of the fact that they were extremely risky. Even with a layer or two, one would feel a stinging pain just from making one, and infusing them into their spirit and body would be even more painful. For that reason, the announcer did not consider mantra symbols a valid conclusion as to how Aeollus had gotten this strong, as he surely would not have survived mantra symbols that had enough power to make him this strong. Yet, even though he thought that he was right, Aeollus was indeed using mantra. ¡°I¡¯ll just take my leave and step into my cell¡­¡± muttered Aeollus, who was clearly displeased from the looks of the audience and announcer. He realized that he did not like fighting in front of an audience, and that he could probably perform better in a fight with nobody looking. ¡®I¡¯ll have to shake off that feeling, as I¡¯ll surely be doing even more battles with a whole audience watching¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, being displeased with his mentality for becoming uncomfortable from such a thing. ¡®I¡¯ll just have to become even more domineering and arrogant with this slave, to show that I¡¯m not going to back down, along with the fact that the slave prison won¡¯t falter in front of him!¡¯ thought the announcer to himself, while preparing to frighten Aeollus terribly from his power. The announcer suddenly unleashed all his aura, and the whole arena was covered in it. In fact, the aura that was radiating was so strong that most of the audience was vomiting and running, not wanting to stay here for a second longer! ¡®This¡­ is he trying to intimidate me?¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, and a scornful look appeared on his face. He knew that the announcer was stronger than him, but now that he realized that he was also on the first layer, which was the same as him, most of his fear disappeared into nothingness. Aeollus than realized something else, that the announcer did not have Mantra anywhere in his body when he sensed his soul! ¡®He¡¯s either so much more powerful than me that I can¡¯t see or sense his mantra, or he doesn¡¯t have mantra at all. Judging from his aura, he clearly isn¡¯t that much stronger than me, so it must be the latter!¡¯ Aeollus thought in himself, while showing a shocked look. ¡®If the announcer reached the first layer and got this strong without mantra, then what did he do to achieve such a level?!¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, while wondering about the secrets of the announcer. In reality, he knew mantra was rarely cultivated in this world because the book had told him, but he suspected that there were still many people who did cultivate it, while judging the announcer as one of the people who did. Now that he knew the announcer became so strong without using mantra, he wanted to find out the secret of the announcer and use it for himself! The announcer whipped him with a gust of wind strong enough to tear down a house, and sent him flying into the cell. This time, he completely smashed through the cell, and the whole thing broke down into rubble. ¡®He really is becoming wary of me, so much that he is willing to how all his power to intimidate me!¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself with a pleased expression. This was clearly hinting towards him, sooner or later, overpowering the announcer! Meanwhile, the announcers face had turned dark since the cell was broken. He had expected to embed Aeollus into the wall, but his body was so sturdy that it didn¡¯t stop at being embedded in the wall, but broke down the whole thing! Above all that, he even stood up from the strike almost immediately, as if it was just a big push that he used on him! ¡°This¡­ you can not be allowed to live much longer!¡± roared the announcer, clearly displeased with how this slave was turning out. At this rate of growth, the slave would become a monster in the future if he didn¡¯t put an end to him now! In reality, Aeollus was more than enough to get into the top ten of the slaves, maybe even taking first place! This child was truly preposterous, as the number one slave in this prison had cultivated for forty years just to become the strongest, moreover in a prison!Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Yet, this child came in here and stayed for a few months, and even went as far as developing his first layer, which most wouldn¡¯t do until they were around twenty! He was years ahead of schedule to develop a layer, and he had also somehow powered up the layer to such an extent! Aeollus realized the meaning of the words that the announcer had spouted, and realized that if he didn¡¯t escape the prison now, he most likely wouldn¡¯t even be able to keep his life if the announcer constantly wanted his life gone! He immediately transitioned from his peaceful state to a passive, calm state even deeper than before. Before he had formed the first layer, his blood would always be pumping right before he began a fight, and it would pump him up. Now that he looked back on it, doing something like that destroyed his calm headedness during the battle, leading him to making rash decisions. He began to use the soul infusion technique even stronger than before the battle began, and began to put his body into a liquid like state to begin the flowing water technique, so that he could take the least amount of damage possible. He ran into the announcer, throwing his body outwards. As expected, the announcer sent out some sort of attack at him, and planned on decimating him. He thoroughly avoided it, and ended up on the other side, with the announcer standing where he was before. Aeollus noticed something extremely precious in that small amount of time, and that was the change that had come to his flowing water technique. When he passed the announcer in that confrontation, he had noticed many weak spots on him, as if they were always there. They glowed a vibrant red color, which he realized because of the confrontation. One of the spots seemed to be the announcers lung. ¡®Perhaps he has a lung issue going on?¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, clearly entertaining himself with such thoughts. Aeollus then rushed into the announcer, and threw his spirit infused fist at the announcers lung. *BANG* A sound like an explosion came out, surprising the remaining audience. They didn¡¯t know what that sound was, and were scared by it. Only the announcer knew that it was Aeollus breaking through the sound barrier, which was an impressive feat for someone at his age and layer. The punch collided with the lungs of the announcer, and blood immediately came out of his mouth. He was vomiting blood insanely, and could not believe the sight that came into his view when he looked down. Blood was pouring heavily out of him, and not only from his mouth. It seemed that the punch had left a hole where it had landed, and all his guts seemed to be hanging out like sausages for sale. He looked up, and realized another fist was coming towards him. Knowing that he couldn¡¯t pull off any advanced maneuver, he just fell to the ground to dodge it. He dodged the attack, but once he hit the ground, he didn¡¯t even have the power to stand up again. Aeollus leaned down, and began to prepare his soul for the absorption of the announcers soul. He only realized this after the fight with the old geezer, but a soul from a living person was much stronger than the soul of a dead person, hence him preparing to extract the soul before anything happened. Suddenly, a hazy mist that was somewhat solid came out of the announcers body, and Aeollus immediately knew that he was attempting a soul attack. He inspected the soul to figure out which layer it was from, but was immediately surprised by the result, he couldn¡¯t realize which level it was on! If someone couldn¡¯t identify which layer or tier the soul was on, it meant that the opposing soul was stronger than your soul by at least a layer! ¡®He must have gone to the center part of his soul and got lucky with a second tier attack!¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, clearly surprised with such an outcome. He knew that the announcer was a first layer human cultivator just like him, so there was no way he could not identify the spirit of any of his attacks unless he got lucky and ended up with a second tier attack from the center of the soul! Aeollus quickly rushed at it, and threw a spirit infused fist towards it. He planned on destroying it and absorbing his soul, but the next thing he realized was that he could not contest with this thing at all! The hazy mist immediately broke through, and went deep into his soul! Aeollus delved deep into his soul to try and counter it, but only managed to do so once it reached the mid-layer. All the techniques and attacks he was using were gone, none remaining. Not even the spirit infusion technique, which was second nature to him, was happening anymore. ¡®I¡­ relied on my spirit too much¡¯ he thought to himself, clearly disappointed with himself. In his mind, he was a humongous idiot for just relying on his soul. One day, his soul could just disappear, and all he¡¯ll have left is his body, yet he still mostly relies on his soul. In his mind, this was too pitiful to bear. The announcer was in a terrible state and probably wouldn¡¯t last until tomorrow unless someone at least at the second layer specialized in medical magic were to help him, but he didn¡¯t have any connections with someone like that. On the other hand, Aeollus was also in a pitiful state, with the majority of his soul being ripped apart, along with all spirit attacks and techniques being cut off from him, so he had nothing to kill the announcer with besides his bare fists. As soon as the announcer saw that Aeollus was still standing, he knew that he had lost hope of surviving this battle. He would¡¯ve roared in displeasure at such a result, but knowing that he was the one who instigated this battle brought peace to him, as he had chosen this for himself. He closed his eyes, preparing to die. He kept them closed for about a minute, yet he felt no pain or anything happening to him. He opened his eyes, and realized a sight worse than even death. The brat was crouching before him, and extracting his soul! Now that he looked deep inside himself, he realized his whole outer layer was gone, along with half of the mid-layer. At this point, he was barely on the combat level of a first layer, and was about to be demoted into the foundation levels. As expected, a few minutes later, his spherical core rejected his body for being too weak, and disappeared into nothingness. He was now nothing more than a foundation level weakling. On the other hand, Aeollus was experiencing the biggest evolution in his whole life. Though he wasn¡¯t developing a second layer, and was far from it, just the fact that he could absorb the soul of someone who was stronger than him was more than enough for him to know that he was going to double in power, maybe triple. However, he then found the announcers first layer, and his face dropped into shock. In the books, they clearly stated that a layer would disappear if someone wasn¡¯t strong enough to maintain them, and he was pretty sure that the announcer was only at the foundation levels, yet the spherical object representing the layer was still there. ¡°I wonder¡­ can I absorb his layer?!¡± said Aeollus, clearly surprised but content at the current situation. If he really could, then wouldn¡¯t that be his second layer right there? Sadly, he couldn¡¯t form it into a second layer, but got something else instead. Once he got the layer, he suddenly learned every cultivation secret, attack, technique, and more that the announcer had! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 10: Grand Escape The Roamer Chapter 10: Grand Escape ¡°This¡­ this is amazing!¡± roared Aeollus with vigor in his voice, with a smiling expression on his face. He felt that he had just taken a step into true cultivation, as if everything from before was a lie. ¡®Is this how the soldiers of an army feel?¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, no daring to overestimate himself. Right now, he was definitely one of the strongest in the prison if not the strongest, but in the outside world, he¡¯d probably be considered normal, and he¡¯d be considered weak in even more places. In fact, just comparing himself to an army soldier was already an overestimate, and he wasn¡¯t at that level quite yet, but closing in. To become a soldier of the army, you need a minimum of two layers, and though he has a layer that¡¯s extremely powerful due to absorbing another, it still couldn¡¯t compare with two layers. Aeollus stood up, and flew towards the sky. He knew that he could no longer stay at this prison as he had probably angered the lord and many others. After developing his first layer and absorbing the announcer¡¯s spirit and layer, he could fly for a whole minute now, which was good enough to get a fair distance away. He dropped down to the ground on some rocky road that was surrounded by buildings. He looked left and right and saw many things that he did not know the reason for. For example, he didn¡¯t know the purpose of the butchery. ¡®Why sell meat? Just give it to people or eat it!¡¯ As these thoughts cluttered Aeollus and his head, he heard footsteps rushing towards him from behind, like a stampede. Just like he thought, he saw an army of at least fifty guards chasing him, probably trying to bring him back or execute him. He immediately booked it once he sensed their spirit, as every single guard was at least at his cultivation level, or higher! ¡®I knew it, everything outside the prison is much stronger than within, I was living in a small conceited world when I was in there..¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, while realizing how vast the world truly was. Even the normal people roaming the streets were at least foundation level, and many of them could mess up the slaves above the top four hundred as if they were nothing. He suddenly reached a towering stone wall, which he assumed was the edge of the village. He flew over it, and landed on the other side. As it seemed that the guards did not have as good an affinity with the wind as him, so they had to open the gate and rush out, saving him some time. He ran into the forest in front of him, and saw a glimpse of the location that he first worked in when he came to the prison, when he was cutting down trees. He continued running, hoping to lose the company behind him, and finally roam this world free. *** Meanwhile, at the slave prison, the top ten slaves were assembled together for some reason, and they did not know that reason. Suddenly, the grand wooden door to their left burst open, and the person who walked in scared them to death, for he was a person who had reached the tenth layer! Along with that, he was also the person who controlled everything from the shadows within this tiny little town, the lord! He strolled through and took a seat, and as soon as they made eye contact with him, they knew he was furious. ¡°Excuse my ignorance master, but may I ask what is the issue you¡¯re facing that needs us here?¡± asked number eight, who was currently pissing himself terribly. He truly couldn¡¯t handle the aura of a tenth layer, and most of them were about to vomit blood out as well. ¡°Damn slave, I¡¯ll talk when I want to!¡± roared the lord while inflicting his aura onto them, making all of them vomit blood, while some experienced broken bones. If they were to truly fight this lord, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to fight and would faint just from his aura! ¡°I-I-I am sorry for my insolence master!¡± said number eight in a stuttering voice, with his bones breaking more and more the longer the aura stayed. ¡°Fool, just stop talking completely!¡± roared number nine, with a clear hint of fear in his voice. ¡°You slaves dare to act so foolish in front of the master?¡± asked a servant within the mansion, who was preparing to blast them all away. All the slaves faces turned pale white, as they knew that they could barely handle anybody in the world outside of the prison. ¡°I¡¯ve summoned all of you worthless scum to hunt down a slave that is escaping as we speak!¡± roared the lord, while stopping all the chatter within the manor with that one roar. ¡°Master, may you please give us an appearance and number?¡± asked slave number 6, with clear killing intent in his eyes. He wanted to kill the lord, but wanted to kill the slave that escaped even more since he was the one who was causing this whole commotion! ¡°Servant, speak!¡± roared the lord at the servant who was warning the slaves before. ¡°Yes, my lord. The slave that escaped has brown hair, brown eyes, and a somewhat muscular appearance. He is but a young boy, maybe around twelve?¡± said the servant, with apprehensiveness in his eyes. ¡°He also managed to worm his way into the top thousand of the leaderboard, and there have been rumors circulating around that he has developed a layer.¡± the servant added in with a calm physique. On the other hand, most of the slaves were grinning, with only one of them not showing any facial expression. It was slave number four, the most careful of them all.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡®All the others heard his age and began to smile calmly, but if he¡¯s strong enough to cause such a commotion, he¡¯s surely not some normal child, and the first layer rumor is also an issue if it turns out to be true¡­¡¯ thought number four to himself, then looked toward the lord again. ¡°My lord, is there anything else for us to know?¡± he asked willingly, as he truly thought that he needed to gather all the information he could get before attempting to tackle this child. ¡°Hmm, when he escaped from the arena, we found the body of the announcer there with blood flowing out, and his spirit completely gone.¡± said the servant in the place of his lord while giving number four a spiteful look for daring to ask the lord instead of him. ¡°This¡­ did the child kill the announcer?¡± asked slave number six, clearly intrigued by the situation. It had been a while since he fought anybody good, so he wished to loosen up his body with a good opponent. ¡°Even if he did, killing the announcer if a joke to all of us!¡± roared slave number two, clearly pleased with the situation. In fact, only the top hundred knew this, but one had to have two layers to enter the top twenty. Above that, all the people within the top ten had achieved the third layer, which was uncommon even in the real world. Number one had even reached the fourth layer! ¡°Do we know where this slave has gone to? Any leads or directions?¡± asked the only female of the group, number six. ¡°Heh, me smash the little human!¡± roared a troll, which would turn out to be number 3. Though this troll was only on the third layer like the rest, he was definitely the best within the top ten when it came to the physical body! ¡°Above all that, the lord will be issuing freedom and a first tier parchment with an attack on it to you all if you do manage to catch him!¡± yelled the servant in a domineering tone, clearly trying to gain their attention once again. ¡°Gee, master is too nice to us slaves to give us such delicacies!¡± roared slave number eight with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, as if he had just heard food was about to be served. ¡°All right, now get going you useless hogs!¡± roared the lord, clearly fed up with sitting in the same room as such filthy beings. Though all the slaves were powerful compared to the other slaves, they definitely weren¡¯t in a position to stand up against the lord. They piled against the door and got out. With the introduction to the escapee and his might be layer, all of them headed out in different directions. Only one of them stayed in town, number four, to carefully plan out what to do next, and besides, the escapee might be risky and hide in town, so he had to check out carefully. ¡°Ooo, the bodies of guards huh? Either one of the top ten came here before me and massacred them, or the escapee went this way!¡± yelled number seven, who had a silly expression on his face while staring at all the bloody bodies. He then looked forward, and saw that this patch led to the mountains, and realized that they could be a good hiding spot for the escapee, heading in that direction. Meanwhile, the only slave to head in the right direction would be number nine, who had found traces of some sort of struggle near an edge of the town leading towards the forest. He had always been known as the most perceptive of all the slaves, his five senses rising to what he claims to be, ¡®the very top¡¯. He sniffed blood up further ahead, and saw some broken trees cut in half by seemingly nobody. ¡®This escapee, how powerful is he?¡¯ he thought to himself, and began to raise his guard. Just like that, he headed into the forest, and ultimately towards Aeollus. ¡°So, his self proclamation of being the utmost sensitive wasn¡¯t completely off huh?¡± said number four to himself while watching number nine walk into the forest. He was witness to the look on number nines face, and realized that he might have actually found the escapee. He immediately leaped into action, and jumped onto a tree, trailing number nine. --- sequence 2 --- Meanwhile, Aeollus had just emerged from the forest on the other side by covering his legs in spirit, letting him triple, no, maybe quadruple his speed. He looked up, and saw an ocean. ¡°This¡­ is this what all the elders in the village called an ocean? It really is gorgeous!¡± he said to himself, while pleasing himself even more by continuously staring at it. Suddenly, he sensed a powerful killing intent from behind him, and he realized that he might not have completely lost the guards. He immediately jumped into the ocean, trying to lose his pursuer, whoever it may be. Just as expected, a minute after he jumped into the ocean, some person walked out of the forest sniffing the ground like crazy! On the other hand, Aeollus was crazily swimming towards the shore that was way off from where he had jumped from. Since he had jumped into the ocean, his pursuers sense of smell should be ruined by now, and he won¡¯t be able to find traces of broken branch and sticks now! Aeollus then booked it towards some rolling hills with many trees and a beautiful scenery. He could tell that his pursuer, whoever it may be, was definitely stronger than him, and could wipe him out in a single fist. For that reason, even using techniques to try and close up the gap was impossible to him. What he needed right now was a safe place to understand everything that the announcer had within his layer, which was something that he could not find. The area he was in was a beautiful area with many open spots, barely any trees in sight. For now, he¡¯d just have to keep running until he found a safe place. ¡®I¡¯ll break a few branches in this direction and try to throw my pursuer off, sending him on a bit of a goose chase!¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself while doing exactly what he was thinking. He even chopped a tree or two in half, just to make sure it captures the pursuers attention. Suddenly, some person jumped out from the ocean behind him, and made eye contact with him. Though Aeollus could tell that it was not the same man that was sniffing the ground crazily, it was definitely someone related to him, as he also radiated an extreme killing intent! ¡°Brat, do you know how far I¡¯ve been trailing that damn hound for?¡± asked the mysterious person while pointing his finger at the figure crazily sniffing up on the cliff. ¡°The amount of times he almost caught me was too much, you shouldn¡¯t be rude to your seniors like that!¡± roared the mysterious person, while disappearing from Aeollus and his eyes. Aeollus immediately recognized it as a technique which lets person go invisible, so he infused some spirit into his eyes to try and capture it. Yet, even after he did that, he could only see layers of spirit, but no body. ¡°Could it be¡­ he isn¡¯t using any technique, but just his physical power and raw spirit?!¡± Aeollus hollered loudly, while turning around to run after realizing he truly couldn¡¯t confront him. If just his opponent¡¯s physical body and spirit could do this, just how freighting would it be when he began to use attacks and actual techniques? This was definitely not an opponent Aeollus could handle anytime soon, so knowing that, he flew into the sky and tried to escape. His opponent then flew after him, which shocked Aeollus greatly! ¡®This person also has a decent affinity with the wind to be able to chase me in the sky!¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself after flying for about half a minute with this mysterious man chasing after him. At that moment, he realized that his opponents wind affinity might exceed even his, which made his face as pale as one could get. ¡°Wait a minute, you said something about being my senior¡­ could it be that you¡¯re also a slave?!¡± Aeollus thought to himself, not willing to believe it at all. He turned around to see if his opponent would confirm it, but was instead met with a fist. Aeollus was sent flying a thousands of meters away, and crashed into a building. It seemed to be some sort of inn, as the smell of drinks filled the air. He looked down at where he was punched and saw that there was just a big, bloody hole left there. ¡®Well, at least it isn¡¯t the guts again¡¯ Aeollus thought to himself, while screaming in pain. Then, he realized another thing that was extremely important. ¡°This area, this road, that huge destructed arena¡­ did he send me flying with a single punch all the way back to town?!¡± Aeollus roared, not willing to believe that his fate was going to be sealed like this. Meanwhile, the other top ten slaves also sensed a weak aura coming and going extremely quickly, and realized that something, no, someone just flew past them. They realized who it could be, and all of them began to return to town, ready for the final confrontation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 11: Roam The World The Roamer Chapter 11: Roam The World Aeolus stood up, and tried to walk away. After a few seconds, he dropped to the ground and couldn¡¯t stand up for a bit. He looked up and tried to stand up, but as soon as he saw the person standing on front of him, he knew all hope was lost. For as soon as he looked up, he saw the person who sent him flying grinning at him, as if what he just did was comparable to an older brother sending a little brother flying with a punch. He lifted up Aeolus from the arms, and flung him into the arena. ¡®Ah, I¡¯m back here again¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, with the blood coming out of his mouth increasing even more. He realized that he truly might not make it out of this situation, and began to regret everything. ¡®If only I hadn¡¯t been so cocky and I chose to break out later, I might¡¯ve been strong enough to actually do it¡­¡¯ he thought to himself, clearly disappointed at how weak someone like him could be. ¡®If I survive this, I swear to never relent on my training or enemies ever again¡­¡¯ he thought to himself, giving a pledge to himself to never slack off again. He closed his eyes one last time after seeing the person walking toward him, prepared for death. He kept them closed for about a minute or two, and he realized that he didn¡¯t quite die. He opened them up into a peak, as if he was a shy little boy. However, the scene in front of him was not something that a shy little boy could see. He see a clutter of bodies in front of him that were not here when he battled the announcer, and saw man standing among them. The man was radiating an aura so intense, that if Aeolus was standing any closer, he would begin to throw up even more, and probably bleed out faster too. The man noticed him looking at him, and smiled toward him. He then walked towards him, and crouched down to him. ¡°Child, you tried to escape from my masters manor, and you¡¯re finally back.¡± He said to Aeolus, and was clearly pleased, as you could tell from his face. He picked up Aeolus, and began to lift him out of the arena. After a couple of minutes of running, they arrived in front of a manor. Though it seemed that it was quite close, it actually wasn¡¯t, and was a few miles off. It¡¯s just that the old man was so strong that he could reach here in a few minutes, which was amazing. He dropped Aeolus on the ground, and yelled in a very loud voice: ¡°Butchers, come out here and fetch Aeolus!¡± Aeolus and his whole body paled to a shade never before seen, and he could easily see the end of his life coming. At this time, there was nobody on his side, and literally everyone wanted him dead. As expected, many people who seemed to be ¡®butchers¡¯ came out and picked him up. They had machetes and huge knives in their hands, and some sort of white hat on top of their heads. They marched him into the manor, and took some stairs down. ¡®This¡­ how are we going underground?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, as he was clearly never introduced to a basement before. They finally reached a room full of blood and reeking of the smell of meat, and when Aeolus opened his eyes, he saw many bodies of cows and pigs hanging, along with humans here and there! The butchers laid him on top of a table, and began to prepare to cut him open. Aeolus closed his eyes, and dreamed of all the things he could have done if he was still alive somehow. Suddenly, a huge rumbling sound came from seemingly nowhere, and the whole manor shook. All the butchers fell to the ground, and some even killed themselves when they stabbed each other.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It¡¯s an attack from the vapor nation, they launched an attack on us!¡± roared someone within the manor. A bit after that, a shrill scream came out, and his voice did not appear any longer. ¡°We need to get out of here, we¡¯re going to die and become meat like this brat if we don¡¯t book it!¡± roared a butcher, who dropped everything and ran up the stairs. Many of the others did the same as him, and booked it up the stairs. Meanwhile, Aeolus had lost so much blood that he could barely open his eyes, his condition was terrible. He then heard a bunch of screams upstairs, who he assumed was the butchers scream. He then saw someone descending the stairs, and walk towards him. ¡°You miserable creature, let me help you out a bit.¡± the strange person said, and then began to transmit his soul towards the soul of Aeolus. After a few seconds, his body began to heal at an extraordinary rate, and was finished in a few minutes. ¡®Just who is this person?¡¯ Aeolus said quietly in his mind, not daring to offend this person. If they had so much power that they could save him from a situation as perilous as that, then they were likely great figures within the world. ¡°I am Sao, of the Vapor nation.¡± he introduced himself to Aeolus, and a spark ignited within the mind of Aeolus. ¡®I see, the vapor nation must be an enemy to whatever nation I¡¯m in!¡¯ Aeolus suddenly realized, and he found a hope. ¡°I am Aeolus, a slave who tried to escape from this lord and failed terribly.¡± He said in a cowardly tone, as he knew he failed because he was too weak. If he could, he wish he could go back in time and plan it out more, and succeed in the end. ¡°I see, a damned slave. Today is your lucky day, as you¡¯re not a part of my enemy.¡± Sao said to Aeolus, then proceeded to turn around and walk up the stairs. ¡°This¡­ am I really free?!¡± Aeolus said to himself, clearly surprised by the turn of events. He never thought that the world could flip this easily. Sure, the world did flip easily when that person sent him flying back to town, but it flipped positively once again! Aeolus ran up the stairs, and burst out of the gates. He looked up towards the sky expecting to see a beautiful view, but he didn¡¯t see anything like that at all. Instead, there were humans soaring through the skies, and releasing attacks at the manor he just came out of. In fact, a fireball was coming at Aeolus right now, and at a speed that he could not dodge. He initiated the flowing water technique, and avoided the fireball using it. He then pumped more spirit into his body, as he knew that he¡¯d need the soul infusion technique to get out of this without grave injuries. He ran as fast as he can, and he saw the buildings burning. He looked left and right, and civilians were being killed off like cattle. A person also tried to approach Aeolus and behead him, which would¡¯ve worked if it wasn¡¯t for the flowing water technique saving him. ¡°Come back here you damn midget!¡± screamed the person who failed to behead him, while probably assuming that Aeolus was an adult that was extremely short. In reality of course, Aeolus was just a child. Aeolus took to the sky, which turned out to be a good choice since it didn¡¯t look like his opponent had as good an affinity with the wind as he did. He then soared above the clouds expecting to get away, but he did the exact opposite of what he wanted. He saw a dragon soaring through the clouds, heading in the direction of the town. He and the person riding the dragon locked eyes, and Aeolus felt his ribcage caving in on the inside. ¡®This person is strong, even stronger than the servant of the manor!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, with a shocked expression on his face. The prison truly was too small, so small that he thought he was actually powerful. In reality, he was but a flea in this world that would be ignored in most places he went. He flew below the clouds, and immediately felt a stinging feeling behind his back. He assumed that it was the dragon trying to attack him with fire, so he immediately stopped flying completely, and fell to the ground to avoid it. However, doing so rendered flying useless, as he had completely used up all his time in the air. He tried to aim towards the thing closest to him, but no matter where he looked, landing would, at the very least, break at least a bone or two. Fortunately, he was strong enough that he wouldn¡¯t die the second he hit the ground, unlike humans who didn¡¯t cultivate. He decided that he had no way out of this instead of just breaking some bones, so he immediately went to the highest location so that he would lessen the time he could gain speed. He locked his eyes on a mountain top, and pushed himself in that location. He landed on the mountain top, and immediately felt a stinging pain in his back. He already knew where the bone had broken, and it was in the worst location it could break in. He stood up, but began to slump since his back was really experiencing issues. Thankfully, the soul infusion technique was at work, and it would take a bit more than an hour to fix this up. He headed down the mountain, and walked on a path leading into the woods. He looked to his left, and saw in the far distance, a town burning. He pitied it a bit since it was his home for a while, but immediately stopped since it was forced to be his home, and he wasn¡¯t willing. He continued walking down the path, and eventually reached the ocean once again. He stood on the edge of the cliff, and looked toward the horizon. He could see bountiful islands and lands ahead, with no end to them in his sight. ¡®This world is truly huge¡¯ he thought to himself, while smiling like a sly racoon. He then jumped into the ocean, and swam to the shore. ¡°From here on out, nothing will stop me!¡± he roared to the whole world, and decided to roam the world. ¡®The village is long gone, and all the villagers are either slaves or dead.¡¯ he thought to himself, not daring to hope that they all escaped just like him. ¡®I¡¯ll roam the world and try to find the villagers, all the while getting stronger!¡¯ he roared within his mind, and motivation that he had almost never felt before began to bubble up. From this day on, he would roam the world in search of strength and allies. ¡®I guess you could call me¡­ A Roamer¡¯ he thought to himself, and set out on his journey to conquer the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPLANATION 1. From here on out, he''s going to be called Aeolus. Google Docs always auto correcting me, and my friends who have read the book also say that it should be changed to Aeolus, so there you guys go. Hope you adapt to the name soon! Chapter 12: True beginning The Roamer Chapter 12: True beginning It had been a few months since Aeolus broke out of the prison, and he was currently in the vapor nation. He was still roaming the world, in search of strength and villagers. Currently, he has not seen or heard any news of his family, but has been finding the strength he wanted to gain when he set out on this journey. He was currently at the end of the first layer, and was about to make breakthrough into the second layer any day now. His brown hair had grown long, long enough that it could go down to his shoulder. He was in some town in the vapor nation called ¡®Swindela¡¯, a weird name for a small town. He was staying at a tree within town. Not an Inn, but a tree. He still found money useless, and didn¡¯t carry it with him. He made everything himself, including shelter. He was just sleeping under a tree every night. He didn¡¯t worry about anyone robbing him since he had literally nothing, except for a few chunks of meat, though they were raw and somewhat spoiled, so he didn¡¯t think anyone was desperate enough to want those. He had just woken up from a nap, so he did his usual routine of finding some sort of fight. He had been training himself through these fights, and the occasional meditation if he were to ever find parchment with attacks or techniques on them. Though his leech attack used to be his strongest, he had now replaced it with many attacks stronger than it. His most powerful attack at this time was what he called ¡®Solar Flare¡¯. Something that released a stream of magma with a pressure strong enough to shatter mountains. ¡®Even after all this time, I remember my days as slave vividly¡¯ he thought to himself, remembering the dreadful memories. He finally found an opponent to find in the slums of town, some punk beating up other people and robbing them. By now, Aeolus was almost twelve, and would become it by next month. He was definitely enjoying himself these days, but still kept to himself for the most part. The most social interaction he would have is when he said ¡®hi¡¯ to someone walking by, or trash talking his opponents. ¡°Brat, you looking to get a beating?¡± asked the man mugging the people. He held a knife towards Aeolus, clearly threatening to stab him. ¡®That knife is the equivalent of rubber in front of me, it probably won¡¯t even hit me¡­¡¯ Aeolus muttered in his head, disappointed that his opponent was so weak. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking to get a beating.¡± Aeolus said in a dull voice, with the clear expression of boredom on his face. He didn¡¯t even put this person in his eyes, as he used a knife. To begin infusing spirit into weapons, would would need to reach the fifth tier at the very least, which he was clearly not at. So, either he was at the fifth tier, or was a person who barely cultivated, and even a knife was stronger than his cultivation. ¡°You damned brat, give me your money too while you¡¯re at it!¡± yelled the man, and began a mad dash towards Aeolus. He reached out towards Aeolus with his other hand, clearly preparing to check him for what he had. Unfortunately, in front of Aeolus and his soul infused eyes, this was as slow as snail. He easily dodged the attack without even using the flowing water technique, and ripped out his opponents soul. He didn¡¯t need to gravely injure his opponent to absorb his soul this time since he was so weak, so the process was over quickly. The man dropped to the ground and fell unconscious. Of course, anybody, no matter how strong they are, would drop to the ground and faint after their soul is ripped out. He began to invigorate himself with this man''s soul, and ended up with a small advantage, which was a small boost in soul, and some attack that let him move faster when he lunged forward. Though this may seem small for weaklings, this was huge for the stronger people. At some point, a person stops using attacks based on power, and uses even the small attacks strategically. This attack was an example. For a weak person, their speed would barely be faster when they used this attack, but would be huge for strong people, as even a one percent increase in speed was plenty to strong people. He then looted the man''s body, and found more of the useless thing these people called ¡®currency¡¯. Though it was useless to him, he wasn¡¯t so big an idiot that he thought it was completely useless. He understood that currency was one of the big things in this world, and would be useful in most cases. Sadly, it wasn¡¯t quite as useful for him as, one, it took space to carry, space that he barely had. Two, collecting this currency would be an annoyance, and he didn¡¯t want to quite deal with it. Third, if he can cause more commotions and refuse to pay for something, he could trigger a fight which could lead to him getting stronger. For that reason, he just threw it on the ground towards the people he had mugged, and began to walk away. ¡°Th-Thank you so much sir, I would¡¯ve become a beggar if I truly lost all my money!¡± yelled someone at his back, trying to express his gratitude as much as possible. ¡°No problem sir, just get stronger so that you don¡¯t need me the next time.¡± Aeolus said to the man, trying to advise him as best as possible. He then turned out of the alleyway, and disappeared into nothing. The grateful man in the alley tried to give Aeolus some money, but as soon as he turned the corner after Aeolus, his face turned pale when he saw Aeolus nowhere. ¡°He has to be a bigshot, being able to teleport into nothingness!¡± the man suddenly realized, announcing out loud that he had been assisted by someone big within this world. Meanwhile, Aeolus was soaring in the sky towards the next town. He only spends a week in each town, and moves on. He that that was enough time per town to experience the best it has, so he had to keep such a schedule to keep himself in shape. The time in that town had just ended, so he was now going to soar through the sky until he saw another town on land. His affinity with the wind had rosen extraordinarily, to the point where he could fly for thirty minutes straight! He was much more powerful with attacks and techniques relating to the wind, and since wind and water had some sort of connection, his flowing water technique had improved heavily too. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Although he was only at the first layer, his experience and wisdom wasn¡¯t at the first layer, but could be considered at the fifth layer! It was just that he wasn¡¯t taking the time to break through, but if he did, he could probably break through to the third layer in one go. His attacks and techniques were also not something someone at the first layer should have, and had only acquired them through repeatedly fighting and stealing another person''s soul. At this point, he should be able to compete, and also probably overwhelm the person who had sent him flying back to the town before. He wanted to meet that person again, and show him that he should regret messing with someone like himself at such a desperate time. The only issue was that he didn¡¯t want to breakthrough into the next layer, as he wanted to make sure his foundation was strong enough. Since he could only cultivate to the third layer, he needed to be as strong as he could be when he broke through, so he would get the biggest effect when he broke through. As he was thinking about all this, he finally saw a town below him. ¡®Ah, my next home for the week.¡¯ he thought to himself, clearly believing in what he was thinking. He descended into the town, and the scene he saw was a bit unconventional. He saw no functional buildings, and all of them seemed to have plants or trees growing out of them. He saw that it wasn¡¯t a ghost town and that there were people, but all of them were wearing rags and didn¡¯t look good. Above all that, the population seemed a bit low, only one or two people on each street. He walked for a bit, and saw big manor brimming with life, and many people within it, numbering around a thousand. Everyone was rich and enjoying themselves within there, and nobody seemed like they came from the same town. ¡°I see, one of the places where the rich are the only one who get things while the poor get nothing¡­¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, displeasure on his face when he compared the poor town to this rich manor. All these people were probably taking the money of the people and using it for themselves, resulting in the situation they were currently in. Of course, they probably had no choice but to give money since these people were too strong. ¡°Well, I may be able to deal with at sooner or later¡­¡± Aeolus said out loud, which attracted some attention towards him. ¡°Get out of here stinking brat, we¡¯ve seen people who are at the seventh layer try and help us, yet still end up with failure!¡± yelled some old man wearing rags at Aeolus. He was clearly mad that a simple child thought that he could help them out of this situation, when even a seventh layer couldn¡¯t. ¡®I see¡­ they¡¯ve been doing this situation for so long that they¡¯ve given up on all hope¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself sadly, while trying to understand the despair these people were going through. Moreover, they probably didn¡¯t have the supplies and power to migrate, so they¡¯re stuck here. ¡°Sorry sir, I was clearly overestimating myself.¡± Aeolus said to the old man in an apologetic tone, while understanding that if he said more, the old man would truly try to get angry. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry youngin, it¡¯s just that this town has experienced so much despair that most of the hope has been lost, I didn¡¯t mean to insult you like that¡­ but please don¡¯t go and lose your life for us, the people of this place are too much for us to handle¡­¡± the old man said to Aeolus in an apologetic tone as well, clearly trying to show that he was grateful for the kid even thinking about helping them. ¡®This cannot be allowed, I¡¯ll stay here for as long as possible until I can take down these people!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself with his motivation surging through him. He knew the feeling of these people, to be so weak in cultivation that some people from nowhere come and screw them over. ¡°Old man, I¡¯ll be going now, but don¡¯t expect me to be gone forever!¡± roared Aeolus, and then soared towards the closest mountains he could find. He landed on it, and began to walk towards the closest boulder. ¡®To truly have a chance, I need to make my brain believe that spirit running throughout my whole inner body is second nature, along with it running outside second nature as well!¡¯ Aeolus hollered within his mind, and began to train on a rock. He continuously had spirit covering his whole body, trying to achieve a state of mind so perfect that he could constantly have spirit running through the inside, and outside of his body. Having spirit continuously flowing through his whole body was already second nature, but it just wasn¡¯t enough to stop there. He needed to make spirit naturally cover his whole body as well, which would make him more durable and stronger physically. At that point, he will take less injuries, and even just a normal punch will be able to bring down houses and buildings. --- sequence 2 --- Just like that, he trained for weeks, while also going to different towns to absorb spirit and grow stronger. He continuously had spirit covering his body, and it was nearing the level of second nature. He had constantly been refining his attacks and techniques, and he was getting stronger by the day. ¡®In a few more weeks, I¡¯ll be able to bring down that manor!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and sent motivation spiraling throughout his body. Right now, he was flying towards a different town to gain more spirit from other fighters, just to bolster his chances more and more. He found a town, and descended into it. This town was called ¡®Wake-Walker¡¯, which was unique compared to some other town names he had found. He walked in, and saw that it was bustling with life! Everywhere you looked, you could see people eating somewhere, buying something, or just walking with friends and family, very different from that town that was completely sucked up and used by the powerful rich people. He walked through the town, and found something that no other town had. There seemed to be some stadium, and there were people cheering within it. He saw a huge opening in the stadium, and he could tell that it was the way to enter the stadium. He walked up towards it until he was stopped by a guard. ¡°State your purpose for coming here!¡± the guard spat in Aeolus¡¯ face, clearly not showing respect to him. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t mind at all since he was used to this behavior, and just wiped it off his face. ¡°I¡¯m here to participate in a fight sir.¡± Aeolus replied calmly, his temper like the wind, extremely calm and soothing. ¡°We have fights scheduled until the next week, and you won¡¯t be able to fight for a while. If you wish to fight, schedule now, and come back later!¡± roared the guard, an unpleasant look on his face. He clearly hated that Aeolus replied calmly even after he spat on his face on purpose. ¡°This isn¡¯t worth my time, I can find better fights elsewhere¡­¡± Aeolus muttered to himself after seeing the fight within the arena. It was two men using weapons, and they weren''t¡¯t soul infused. That meant that they were weaklings who hadn¡¯t achieved a first layer, so even weapons were stronger then their bodies. ¡°Then be gone, damned idiot!¡± hollered the guard into Aeolus¡¯ face, and kicked at him too while he was at it. ¡®Well, you do seem to have achieved the first layer, wouldn¡¯t be bad to have a fight with you!¡¯ Aeolus thought in his mind, and immediately dodged the attack. Surprise came up on the guards face, but then he threw a punch and backed up, trying to get his benefits back. However, Aeolus grabbed the fist that was flying at him, and ripped off his arm. The man began to scream, and was about to faint from the immense blood loss. ¡®This child isn¡¯t normal, he must be far above the first layer!¡¯ the man realized, and immediately bowed onto the ground and kowtow. ¡°Please, spare my life!¡± the guard yelled, not willing to lose his life here. He truly didn¡¯t expect this child to be able to beat him this easily, and he wasn¡¯t willing to summon other guards who were like brothers to him and have them killed, so he accepted the loss. ¡°Your life isn¡¯t even worth taking, but your spirit is!¡± Aeolus roared, and immediately sent his spirit in and began to absorb the essence of the guards spirit. The guard couldn¡¯t do anything, and he was weakening by the second, his first layer about to disappear any second now. Yet, at the very end, Aeolus also snatched his first layer, and infused it into his. As usual, the layer became bigger, and appeared to be more vigorous then before. However, something different also happened this time. He felt that a technique he had acquired from this guard was reacting to his soul infusion technique, trying to merge or something. He also realized that both of the techniques had an affinity with life, and that they both had to do with regenerating the body. He immediately sat down and crossed his legs, and began to let them merge, even though he had never experienced this before. He also inspected the technique from the guard, and found that it was only foundation level. Yet, it had a pretty unique thing that it did. It would require a person to have spirit flowing throughout the body, but instead of healing it, it will make the mind clearer, and try to keep them at peace. Of course, your mind wouldn¡¯t keep peaceful at many parts as it was only a foundation level technique, but if it were to ever become a layer technique, your mind would probably be peaceful in many more situations than before. At the end of it all, the technique had fully merged, and Aeolus tried to use the soul infusion technique. Now, along with it healing his body even stronger than before, it seemed to give him a serene, calm feeling. He also sensed something growing down at his right arm, and looked down. The scene shocked him however, because it was his arm slowly, but surely, growing back! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 13: Replacement Arm The Roamer Chapter 13: Replacement Arm Aeolus immediately stopped his arm from growing back the second he saw it coming out, and cut it back off. This was because he realized something heavily important when he sensed his arm growing back, something that he never would have thought possible. When his arm was growing back, it seemed to be dramatically stronger than before, maybe enough to destroy a house with just it¡¯s physical prowess alone? He realized that it might relate to his spirit, and that depending on how much spirit he had, his arm would regrow bigger and stronger. He looked at his left arm and thought about chopping it off and regrowing it, but he immediately swallowed the thought back. This was because he didn¡¯t know if such a thing had a limit, maybe it could only regrow and become stronger than before once, so he didn¡¯t want to risk it. However, he did focus on his right arm, and tried something new. He tried to infuse spirit and make it stick out of the nub of an arm he got left, and make a spirit arm! It would be an arm that is just made out of spirit, yet it could function just like his normal arm. Of course, that was only in theory, as Aeolus didn¡¯t know exactly how it would turn out. As soon as he tried it, he felt his soul tearing up, and a pain so immense that even a giant would probably cry came up. He immediately stopped it, and began to breathe heavily. He didn¡¯t think that he would have to give up a part of his soul to do such a thing. Well, at least he now knew that it was possible to make a limb out of spirit! He moved down from the center layer, and tried to make an arm with the mid-layer spirit. A tearing pain pierced through him, though it was less painful, and the chances seemed somewhat good. Unfortunately, to do such a thing, he would have to stop using all techniques since they needed spirit to use, so the soul infusion technique would stop whenever he began to tear out a piece of his soul, making it irreparable, so he stopped once again. He finally gave up on getting a somewhat decent spirit arm, and went to the outer layer. Here, there was still a pain, but it wasn¡¯t as painful as before. Still, it was extremely powerful, as if someone was whipping him with a tree over and over again. However, he held out this time, as he knew this was as weak as the pain got, and there were no more options. After a minute, he had successfully ripped out a piece of spirit from his soul, and sent it into his right arm. A few seconds later, some wispy white arm appeared from the nub that had nothing connected to it before, and he could operate it extremely well, almost as good as a normal, physical arm! ¡°Heh, this turned out successful!¡± Aeolus said to himself, while also proud of himself for being able to withstand the pain. His soul infusion technique was currently at work and trying to repair his soul, which would probably take many days to reproduce the spirit he had ripped out. He then laid down, and began to sleep, the fatigue clearly reaching him. He removed the spirit from his eyes, and was about to close his eyes, when he realized something. He looked towards his spirit arm, but it was gone! He immediately put spirit into his eyes once again, and he could see the spirit arm again. ¡®I see, people can¡¯t see it if they don¡¯t infuse spirit into their eyes!¡¯ Aeolus realized, and then thought about how he could strategically use it. He got up, and punched towards a wall to see what would happen since spirit couldn¡¯t make contact with solid objects, but the next scene that happened shocked him terribly. His arm went through the wall, and he sensed the spirits of many people within the building. ¡°Right, spirit can¡¯t make contact with solid objects, only spiritual objects¡­¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, clearly depressed at how useless this spirit arm was. Of course he would be upset, he couldn¡¯t even punch the enemy with this arm! However, he realized another thing once again, and brightened up. He realized that he didn¡¯t have to attack the enemies physical body, but could instead attack their soul! This way, he could stop their techniques momentarily, and maybe even knock them out. He tried it on himself, and threw the fist towards the spirit which was being used by the soul infusion technique. As expected, it immediately disrupted the soul infusion technique, and all the spirit that the technique was using returned to his soul. He could use this arm for things that his left arm couldn¡¯t do! He walked out of the alley since he didn¡¯t feel like letting someone see how he was acting and get suspicious, and soared out of the town. He immediately thought more and more about his spirit arm, and finally compiled a list of disadvantages and advantages that his arm came with. First of all, he couldn¡¯t make contact with physical objects, and it would probably be the most severe disadvantage of them all. Second of all, he had to keep spirit within his eyes, or not only would he not be able to see the arm, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sense it either! Still, even though he couldn¡¯t sense it, it was clearly still there, and keeping spirit in his eyes was second nature except for when he sleeped, so it wasn¡¯t much of an issue. However, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. For one, he could use this arm to directly stop a technique, something he had considered almost impossible before. Second of all, he could directly attack the soul, which was something that he could not do before. Third of all, the enemy wouldn¡¯t even know he had an arm unless they were experts and always had spirit in their eyes. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Besides, having a spirit arm was better then not having one at all. Aeolus smiled to himself and soared towards the mountains, planning to refine himself once again. He landed on the mountain, and sat cross-legged, and began to temper with his soul using his spirit arm. He found that he could pull out the layer within his soul and play with it, though that probably wasn¡¯t that useful. Other then that, he had already found out all the features of the spirit arm, and understood it enough to use it in a battle well, or so he thought. ¡°I¡¯ll try and challenge the people within that manor now!¡± he yelled at the sky, and immediately descended towards the poor town. As soon as he descended, he saw that the town was even worse then when he first came. People were lying on the ground with their bones showing from their stomachs, and the buildings that had plants and trees growing out of the were crumbling even more. ¡®This¡­ these people have truly been living in such a situation for too long!¡¯ Aeolus motivated himself, thinking of how he had once been ruined by other people too, and how he and the villagers had been separated. He immediately made a dash to the manor, and arrived in a few minutes. He tried to walk in the manor, but one of the guards stopped him. The guard then pushed him back, and went back to where he was standing before. Aeolus tried to get in again, but the guard did the exact same action. ¡°Why¡¯s a damn peasant like you trying to get into this manor?!¡± roared the guard in Aeolus¡¯ face, with displeasure written all over his face. ¡®He¡¯s probably mad that I¡¯m not leaving by now¡­¡¯ Aeolus muttered within his mind, and reached out with his spirit arm. He reached towards the soul of the guard, and forcefully ripped out the whole thing. He left only a shell of it, and absorbed the rest for himself. The guard immediately died on the spot, but who wouldn¡¯t after they had their whole cultivation ripped out? The other guard immediately saw what happened, and his face turned pale. The man standing in front of him had killed one of the guards stronger than him so easily, just by reaching out with his nub of an arm! He immediately turned around and booked it, trying to notify the people within the manor. However, Aeolus shot out some spirit using his mind, and that guard fainted. He then ripped out the soul of that guard and absorbed it as well, thoroughly ruining his years of cultivation, and ending his life. Aeolus proceeded onto the manor, and many guards had tried to stop him while he was walking towards it, but none of them came out of it successfully. Meanwhile, Aeolus had already powered up a lot since the last time he came, but absorbing the soul of around twenty or so guards really did power him up quite well, satisfying his thirst for power. He immediately opened the manor door, and nobody within paid him much attention at first, since many nobles and lords were constantly coming here to chat with others. However, after they saw his appearance, they immediately knew something was wrong. For this man was wearing rags just like the people in the town, and he definitely did not seem like a lord or noble! At first, everybody was staring at him with shocked expressions, but after a bit, everyone roared with laughter. ¡°Were the guards drunk or something and let him in?!¡± roared a man, while beginning to tear up with laughter. ¡°They must have been if they let a peasant like him in!¡± replied another person, who then dropped onto the ground and began to pound it while laughing. No matter who it was within the manor, everyone could tell that this peasant did not get in with conventional ways, and the guards had probably been drunk or something. Finally, some man radiating gold descended down some pair of stairs, and made his way towards Aeolus. ¡°Damned peasant, I don¡¯t know how you got in here, but I demand that you leave!¡± roared the man while radiating his aura, immediately making Aeolus vomit, although not quite as severe as the other times. However, all the other people within the manor seemed fine, and Aeolus quickly realized that he had been rash to come here. ¡®I was the only one to vomit from his aura, so all the other people are clearly stronger than me!¡¯ Aeolus realized, and quickly began to call himself a fool. He had really overestimated himself coming into this manor, of course lords and nobles would be powerful! ¡°S-sorry sir, it¡¯s just that the guards invited me in¡­¡± Aeolus muttered, with anxiety in his eyes bursting out. He immediately excused himself by using the guards as an escape, and burst out of the manor, but the man radiating gold clearly didn¡¯t want to let Aeolus get away as easy as that, so he immediately floated Aeolus back in here. ¡°For a peasant like you to step into my manor is a humiliation to me, so I¡¯ll take it upon me to whip you before you leave!¡± roared the man, while forcing Aeolus to kowtow using his aura. He finally made a whip that seemed to be made out of golden spirit, and began to whip Aeolus. Aeolus kept kowtowing the whole time, as he knew that if he tried to do anything, he would receive even worse punishment! Thankfully, the man was going easy on Aeolus, clearly thinking that he was just another weak peasant who wasn¡¯t even at the foundation levels! Thanks to that, the pain wasn¡¯t very severe at all, and felt like he was getting slapped. After a few minutes of whipping, the man raised Aeolus onto his feet, and sent him flying out of the manor. Aeolus had fainted from the force that the man sent him flying out with, which clearly showed how strong it was. Aeolus¡¯ body finally landed, and he still laid asleep, not knowing what was going on around him. --- sequence 2 --- After a few hours, Aeolus finally woke up, and started his day off with vomit coming out of him. He immediately remembered what had happened, and began to get angry at himself. ¡°How could I be so weak that literally everyone within the manor was stronger than me!¡± Aeolus roared, clearly disappointed with the events that had happened. He had never thought that he would lose bitterly, and even had the thought of victory within his mind, yet he was now lying on the ground and about to vomit again. ¡°All those months in the prison, all those months going from town to town absorbing spirit, and all these techniques that I have, were they all for nothing?! Why can¡¯t I even beat a damned lord or noble when I plan on becoming the strongest?!¡± Aeolus hollered into the sky, clearly fed up with how weak he was. No matter how hard he tried, whether it be forming his first layer, absorbing new techniques, learning new attacks, and even forming a spirit arm, he still couldn¡¯t even beat someone at that level! ¡°My current ways aren¡¯t working, it¡¯s not experience that I need, as experience won¡¯t help me when the opponent is that strong. What I need is a true explosion in power, one that will bolster my cultivation greatly!¡± Aeolus hollered, quickly realizing what he needed. ¡°I have enough experience, I¡¯ve been fighting for months on end with no break, it¡¯s just that I need a good opponent, one whose soul is so amazing that my soul and spirit will reach new levels easily!¡± he yelled out, with his eyes flickering left and right like a mad-man. ¡°What I need¡­ is a challenge strong enough that he or she is on equal grounds with me, not lower or higher.¡± Aeolus calmed himself down, and finally understood what he needed. He then stood up, and soared towards the sky once again, but he wasn¡¯t going to the town he had just been sent flying out of this time. This time, he was going back to where his path in cultivation had begun, where he had first experienced good opponents. Aeolus was heading back to the slave prison. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! Chapter 14: Spiraling down The Roamer Chapter 14: Prowess Aeolus was currently soaring through the sky, and heading in the direction of the town where it all began for him with cultivation. After about half an hour of flight, he finally found the town, and landed in it. He landed on a stone path that this town had everywhere, and looked left and right. He saw the shop that the mysterious person had sent him flying into, and it seemed to have completely repaired. ¡®Looks like this town isn¡¯t doing too bad after that incident¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, pleased with the situation that the town was in. If the town was still in chaos and experiencing issues, he could definitely get into fights, but not good ones. Aeolus began to head in the direction of the slave prison, while admiring the scenery of the town around him along the way. After two minutes of walking, he finally reached the slave prison. Of course, him walking was the equivalent of a fit person who didn¡¯t cultivate running, since he always had spirit surrounding his body on the outside and inside, powering him up. However, the slave prison did not seem like much of a¡­ slave prison, to be honest. The arena was gone, and in its place was a huge colosseum that seemed to pierce the clouds, and many people sitting in the stands watching two people fight. Aeolus saw a guard standing around there, and walked up to him while planning on asking what had happened. ¡°State your purpose of coming here!¡± said the guard to Aeolus, in a somewhat respectful tone, expecting Aeolus to say he was a civilian trying to watch the battles. ¡°I¡¯m new in this town, so I don¡¯t really know my way around places. Can you tell me what the purpose of this colosseum is?¡± Aeolus asked respectfully, trying to match the amount of authority the guard gave him. ¡°That¡¯s weird, you seem like a peasant, but you say you came from another place? For you to have been able to reach here, you must have encountered many difficulties on the way here¡­¡± the guard mumbled suspiciously, with caution in his eyes. He didn¡¯t know if he could trust Aeolus at this point. Aeolus, realizing that the guard was raising his guard, hurriedly tried to think up an excuse. After a few seconds of thinking, the best thing he could come up with was: ¡°I¡¯m a cultivator who came here to fight, so of course I would at least be strong enough to brave the journey of coming here!¡± Aeolus yelled at the guard, while acting somewhat offended, just like most nobles when people questioned them. ¡°A-ah, sorry sir, I didn¡¯t even think of that possibility¡­¡± the guard said embarrassingly, while also looking at the ground, since he knew that he was the one in the wrong for just assuming he was a peasant. Still, he never suspected that such a feeble looking kid could be a cultivator! ¡®Well, he is clearly here to fight, so I guess I¡¯ll introduce him.¡¯ the guard thought in his mind, and began to prepare his throat for the long explanation he would always give to people asking about this colosseum. ¡°This colosseum was built on top of the ruins of an old slave prison and arena, where slaves would fight to the death for the entertainment of the spectators. A few months back, the mighty vapor nation attacked and took control of this town, and they didn¡¯t like the idea of slavery. For that reason, they destroyed the slave prison and arena, and instead built a colosseum where people could fight if they were to wish it.¡± the guard said, and then took a heavy breath. ¡®I deserve a raise for giving every asking person such a long explanation.¡¯ the guard thought to himself, while also somewhat proud that he could pull off such a feet constantly. On the other hand, Aeolus had a shocked expression on his face for a bit, which he quickly concealed so that nobody would notice it, especially the guard. Though, even if he hid the shock on his face, he couldn¡¯t hide the shock in his mind! ¡®The vapor nation attack that happened while I escaped was actually successful, and this is the result?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while also being displeased. If that was the case, all the slaves were probably set free and were not anywhere near close to this place. Of course they wouldn¡¯t be close, who would want to stay in a town where they had memories of being a slave for months, maybe even years? ¡®Still, there should be some who couldn¡¯t think of anything else to do in life and stayed¡­¡¯ Aeolus muttered in his head, while also looking up to the guard. ¡°So how do I fight in this colosseum?¡± Aeolus asked the guard, with a motivated expression on his face. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to take a simple test first, to see if you even qualify to fight within this colosseum. Besides, we can¡¯t have weaklings fighting in here.¡± the guard said, with a somewhat disappointed look on his face. This was just a kid, yet he was thinking of getting in here? Still, he would support him as much as possible, since he couldn¡¯t just insult a person who wished to entertain the spectator with a battle. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The guard led Aeolus inside the colosseum, but not into the huge circular area in the middle where two people were currently fighting. Instead, he soared into the sky, and Aeolus directly followed. ¡°Well, the kid can at least fly, so he should be able to pass the foundation level test¡­¡± the guard muttered to himself, while truly hoping that this brat would either back down from the test or succeed in the test, as he didn¡¯t want to see a brat who hadn¡¯t even matured break down in front of him since he couldn¡¯t even succeed at such a test. After flying for about a minute, they reached a platform that was flying within the sky. Aeolus was a bit surprised at first considering there was just a flying platform way up here, but quickly calmed down his mentality, as cultivation should definitely be able to do something like this. They both landed on the platform, and on top of it, was a man who Aeolus recognized, while also feared. The man in front of him was the mysterious person who had sent him flying back to this town when he first tried to escape the prison. ¡°You¡­ why¡¯s someone like you here?!¡± the mysterious man roared, with anger on his face. He still remembered very vividly how big of a commotion and headache this brat caused for everyone when he tried to escape. Once he heard a direct confirmation from the servant of the manor that he had been killed, he was calmed down. Yet, the brat who was supposedly dead was standing in front of him, and even more so, seemed to be perfectly healthy, maybe even stronger than before! Such a scene angered him down to the bones, and he continually asked himself why he couldn¡¯t kill such a brat back when it was essential. ¡°It seems like you¡¯ll be the one testing me?¡± Aeolus said to the mysterious man, with the confusion on his face radiating like a sun. Of course, who wouldn¡¯t be confused after running into a situation? The same man who had sent him flying back to town was now testing him, who exactly was he? On the side, the guard was also thoroughly confused, as he did not expect the brat and the tester to have some sort of relation with one another. ¡°Alright then, since I¡¯m forced to do this or I¡¯ll die, I guess you¡¯ll just have to be tested now.¡± the tester said while gritting his teeth, wishing he could grind them on the bones of this child. However, even with this thought running through his mind, he still didn¡¯t dare underestimate this kid, as he truly was special. Back when him and the other nine slaves were hunting him down, he had found out that this brat had already formed a layer, even while being so young! The kids cultivation speed was pretty amazing, doing what most people wouldn¡¯t do until they were twenty at an age so young! ¡°So what am I supposed to do to qualify?¡± Aeolus asked, while wishing to get this over with and move on. He truly had only bad feelings and memories for this man, so he wished to get away from him. Though, there was also a side to him that wished to beat him down to death. ¡°Easy, just beat me and you¡¯ll qualify. Of course, you won¡¯t have to beat me at full strength. You¡¯ll have options to pick from, with the weakest option being foundation level, and the strongest being the third layer. Whichever option you pick, I¡¯ll lower my spirit to the realm of that option, and fight with you. If you win, you will be allowed to fight within the colosseum. The weakest option allows you to fight with the weaker opponents, with the strongest letting you fight with opponents extremely strong.¡± the man explained, with a complicated expression on his face. ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick the hardest option, let¡¯s get on with this.¡± Aeolus said, and immediately jumped towards the man, not willing to waste even a second. Such a surprise attack out of nowhere had a chance of paralyzing the opponents brain for a little and giving him an opening, and that was what he was betting on. Just as expected, number four didn¡¯t know what to do for a while, but immediately sprung into action after a bit. Sadly, it was a bit too slow, and Aeolus had already punched him deep in the guts. He then used his second tier leech attack, and sent three leaches into the man''s body. However, two of them immediately disintegrated, with the last one being weakened. At first, Aeolus was surprised, but he immediately adapted and kept on fighting. ¡®Since he is at the third layer, it would be impressive if any attack below that layer had even a decent effect on him, so wonder my leach attack is less effective.¡¯ Aeolus realized within his mind, and completely threw away the thought of using the leach attack. On the other hand, the man was fuming with anger at how suddenly the brat jumped at him, and prepared to fight with everything he had. He activated his technique, silky web, and set traps all over the fight. The technique basically let him shoot out web during a fight, though it couldn¡¯t do anything if it made direct contact with the opponent. It was meant to only limit the enemy''s movements, and nothing more. However, Aeolus easily avoided most of the web and still moved unhindered thanks to the flowing water technique, though he wasn¡¯t perfect enough to avoid all the web, slowing him down a little here and there. The times he slowed down were still perfect for his opponent however, as the man easily launched attacks at Aeolus and landed them, one after another. Along with that, even his spirit arm was of no use, as the technique his opponent had used was, after all, made of spirit. Aeolus quickly jumped back after realizing the chances of directly attacking and working it out were low, but behind him was some big glowing thing that seemed to be ticking. His face fell, and after a single second, the glowing thing stopped ticking, and began to absorb everything. Aeolus tried to get out of the way, but the force that this weird attack was applying onto him was really pulling, not willing to let him go. ¡°That right there is an attack with an affinity linked to the darkness. Once you get sucked in, you¡¯ll be sent to the outer layer of hell, the abyss! This attack takes ten years off my life, but is well worth it if I don¡¯t die in this fight thanks to you!¡± the man roared at Aeolus while laughing maniacally. In reality, at a certain point into the fight, he had realized that this child was definitely on equal grounds on him, and was likely to even be above him. After realizing that, he realized he would die if this child were to have a bad temper and decide to kill him thanks to all the previous events, unlike all the other contestants that succeeded by just making him faint. When he realized that, he set the attack behind Aeolus while setting up the web within the fight, knowing that Aeolus would eventually have to jump back thanks to his web. Unfortunately, this wasn¡¯t very good for Aeolus. He was slowly being sucked into this mini black hole, and after a few seconds, half of his body had been taken in. He roared with a voice that made surrounding clouds back off, but his final stand wasn¡¯t strong enough to resist the mini black hole. It fully sucked him in after a few more seconds, and nothing was left in the area where it just was. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 15: Welcome to Hell! The Roamer Chapter 15: Welcome to Hell! Aeolus was currently falling deeply into something, and everything appeared to be black and white. There was no color no matter where he looked, as if he had gone in the past to the times where even earth didn¡¯t exist! After an hour or two of falling, he finally hit the ground, or something similar to it. He looked down, and just saw a black ground. He looked up, he saw a rocky ceiling with spikes hanging from it. He looked left and right, and only saw the same black and white scenery. ¡®Did he really just send me to hell?!¡¯ Aeolus roared within his mind, clearly mad that such a situation had occurred. How was he supposed to conquer the world when he was down here? This truly was an abuse of power that the man had, and he even wasted a decade of his life to send him here! Aeolus tried to yell in frustration, but he realized that he couldn¡¯t even speak. Actually, it wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t speak, it''s just that the gravity here was so strong that he couldn¡¯t even open his mouth. Now that he thought about it, he was struggling to just sit up too. ¡®This¡­ is quite the issue I¡¯ve just stumbled upon.¡¯ Aeolus mumbled in his mind, and then tried with all his power to stand up. After a minute or two, he had finally stood up, though he was slouching. He tried to walk, but even with using all the techniques he had, he could barely take a single step. ¡®Well, at least I can still use my spirit¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself just so he could comfort his mind. He sat down after realizing that struggling was futile, and began to just harmonize with his soul. If he couldn¡¯t go anywhere, then he¡¯d just take this time to improve his spirit. Besides, he didn¡¯t even know where he was and had no way of getting information either, so it would be dumb to just walk around and risk something happening in this unknown location. He began to comprehend his soul to a deeper level, one that he had almost never reached before. In reality, he rarely just sat down and peaked into his soul like this since he liked to be active, so he hadn¡¯t gained as much as he could using this method. After a while, Aeolus found something deep within his soul, information from one of the many people that he had taken the souls of. The information was that techniques and attacks could be fed to other techniques and attacks to bolster their power, though the techniques and attacks that were fed would disappear forever. Once he realized this fact, he felt as if he had just gained enlightenment at the level of unlocking a whole new layer. He thought of the spirit infusion technique and flowing water technique, and along with his leach attack, he began to fuse every other attack and technique he had into them. To be honest, he rarely used attacks, and would mostly just use his spirit infused body to fight, so it wasn¡¯t that big of a loss for him when it came to attacks. Techniques, on the other hand, were somethin he utilized a lot, so much that most of them had become second nature. However, he knew it was worth it when it came to evolving the two techniques and main attack he used the most. After about half an hour, he had fully infused every single attack and technique into the main ones. Suddenly, his soul within his body began to grow out and extend, so much so that even his outer layer of body was covered by it. He finally saw what his soul looked like in person, so he was very surprised at the sight. All the layers were changing in size, and the colors of the layers changing into a deep green and blue, probably representing his affinity with the wind. After ten minutes, it seemed to have finished, and went within his body. Aeolus took a deep breath after it came back to him, as he understood that his spirit just had a rebirth. He saw his spirit arm more vividly, as if it was becoming a real arm at this point in time. Aeolus felt around his body for the spirit flowing through him, and saw that the power had a dramatic increase. It was especially so when he checked his outer layer, and saw that the thin layer of spirit covering his whole body had expanded so much that it almost gave him his own domain, forming a bubble around him. ¡®I¡¯ve powered up so much that the first layer couldn¡¯t handle it anymore, so it had to undergo a rebirth just to handle me!¡¯ Aeolus realized, while also smirking to himself. He had truly broke the boundaries, it was like blackmailing a person to give him money. He forced his soul to rebirth and get stronger if it wanted to handle his power. Of course, this doesn¡¯t come without risks. Doing such a thing will set you up for failure in the future, as the amount of layers you¡¯ll break through will probably decrease from exhausting your soul into rebirthing, but this didn¡¯t matter to Aeolus as he was only going to reach the third layer anyway, so might as well be as strong as possible with those three layers. Of course, he was handling it brilliantly. He was probably already stronger than the man who sent him here with his black hole attack, and he was at the third layer! If each of his layers had this type of power, then by the time he reached the third layer, he¡¯d have the power of a ninth layer cultivator! Of course, since he only had the potential of three layers, he wouldn¡¯t just casually form the last two layers, as he wanted to power up as much as possible before he formed them, so they would be as powerful as he could get them. Suddenly, he heard a howling to his left, and immediately stood up and booked it. Powering up so much let him feel as if this environment was almost nothing now, so he was good to go, though he was still breathing hard. He ran into some cave he found, and camped within it, waiting for the creatures to pass by.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. They began to pass by the cave, and their appearance was horrifying. Some were huge winged beasts, while others seemed to be skeletons, and some were just blobs full of random things, including human organs. Aeolus began to feel his head throbbing, and he could understand why. His mind just couldn¡¯t believe that such a sight was real, how could it be real? Yet, it was all right in front of him, and passing by him. He tried to hold his breath as long as possible, as he didn¡¯t know how strong their hearing was, maybe even a breath was enough for them to hear him. After a few more minutes, the horde had passed, and he finally released his breath. He immediately rushed out and ran in the direction they came from, trying to avoid them as much as possible. ¡®Actually, how do I know that they are bad?¡¯ Aeolus questioned himself, not fully sure that they were definitely enemies. Maybe they were other unfortunate people who had experienced a fate similar to his, and this was their end result? ¡®Well, I¡¯m going where they came from, so there might be some sort of village or town where they came from?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and thought that it made sense. He began to run even faster, wishing to reach his new goal faster. -- sequence 2 --- After a few days of running, he found some sort of village, with many other odd creatures within it. He took a deep breath and began to prepare himself to run if they were truly hostile, and walked into the village. He attracted many weird and hostile looks, as if he was an enemy from long ago. ¡°Why is a human here?¡± asked someone within the crowd, who Aeolus clearly heard. Actually, the more that he listened into the crowd, the more he heard about comments relating to his humanity. ¡®Crap, did I mess up by coming here?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, with sweat dripping down his forehead. Still, he kept walking forward, knowing that if he just roamed around, he would find no way to get back. ¡°Cease damned human, explain yourself! How did you get here, and why are you here?¡± roared some weird monster that had a halberd the size of a fully-grown person. Sweat began to trickle down Aeolus¡¯ forehead even faster, as he realized that even the little beasts were stronger than him. ¡°I was brought here by some attack on earth that sucked me in and dropped me here.¡± Aeolus replied honestly, not willing to risk lying. If these things had the power to read minds as well and found out he was lying, who knows what would happen. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since a human has come into hell, and whenever they come, it¡¯s unconventional. However, your way of entering is even more unconventional.¡± the guard said with a confused face, not quite understanding what was going on. ¡®Basically, this human was fighting with another human, and his opponent sent him down here?¡¯ the monster thought to himself, not quite sure about what to do in such a situation. Usually, humans only came once every decade or so, and it would be through a summoning of a random human. However, not only had he not been summoned here, he came here only a month or two after the last human left. He had truly broken the balance of the rules of hell, so he didn¡¯t know about what to do. After a bit of thinking, he decided to tell the lord of this town about the news. He excused himself from the human, and immediately flew towards the lord. After a few minutes of flying, the monster had reached some huge castle. He entered the castle, and immediately rushed into the grand hall. There, he found the lord dining with lords from other towns, thanks to an invitation he sent out to dine together. He rushed to the lord, and bowed on the ground. ¡°Speak, why are you here?¡± the lord asked calmly, not willing to give the guard trouble. ¡°Sir, a human has arrived in our town, and I don¡¯t know what to do in such a situation.¡± the guard replied immediately, not willing to waste even a second of this great figure. On the other hand, every single lord within this grand hall had faces that made it seem like they were about to fight the greatest enemy within the world. ¡°How can this be, didn¡¯t the last human just leave a mere month or two ago!?¡± roared the lord, not willing to believe in such a thing. Even he didn¡¯t know about what to do in such a situation, so he just rushed out to meet the human, with the other lords following. They talked telepathically with each other on the way, and came to a decision about what to do. After a minute or two of flying, they reached Aeolus, and descended onto the ground. They all observed him, and found him to look quite different from the ones they summoned. He was only wearing rags, and was extremely dirty. ¡°Uh, excuse me, but can you tell me where I am and how to get out?¡± asked Aeolus in a shy tone, as if he was a boy asking a girl out on a date. On the other hand, the lords were feeling an even bigger headache rising in their head, how come this brat didn¡¯t even know what this place was?! Even if he had only heard of it in words and never actually learned about it, he should have been able to relate the words he heard to this place. ¡°Child, do you truly not know your current situation?¡± piped the lord of this town, who had a headache rising by the minute. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I got sent here during a fight due to one of my opponents attacks, so I didn¡¯t come here on purpose¡­¡± Aeolus said to the lord, while pointing his head down. He knew that he was the one intruding in on their home, so of course he wouldn¡¯t hold his head up arrogantly and order them around. ¡°I see, this is truly unpredicted¡­ well, you won¡¯t be able to get out of here for at least two years since you probably just got here, because we demons have to set up the gate for you humans to leave. Meanwhile, we decided to let the audience and lords pick who gets to house you while we prepare it.¡± the lord replied as calm as he could, as he could not seem weak in front of a mere human child. He looked towards the audience, and nobody looked like they wanted to take him in. Aeolus turned his head towards the lords, and only one or two were actually contemplating it. After a few more minutes of silence, everyone had yet to decide who would take him in. A monster the size of Aeolus stood out, and raised his hand. Everyone looked towards him, and were immediately scared off. This old monster was currently one of the weakest monsters in town, but used to be one of the strongest in all of hell. He was an old instructor of the demonic army who had retired, Quachiong*. Even the lord''s couldn¡¯t rival him before, but they could easily squash him now. Even a newborn monster had a chance of squishing him till¡¯ he died. ¡°You¡¯re quite the amusing little human, so I¡¯ll teach you a few things about cultivation before you go.¡± Quachiong said, while gesturing to Aeolus and telling him to get to where he is. ¡°This¡­ do I really have no say in this?¡± Aeolus muttered, clearly not willing to go with the old man. Unfortunately, as soon as he looked towards everyone, they all turned their heads away, so he realized nobody else was going to take him in. He didn¡¯t hold his head up, and walked towards Quachiong. On the other hand, Quachiong was inspecting Aeolus¡¯ soul. ¡®This brat is quite impresssive already, but I can refine him to a stage many times higher then this.¡¯ Quachiong thought to himself, and then showed a smirk to Aeolus. Starting from this day, he was planning on ruthlessly refining Aeolus into a monster during battle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPLANATION *1: Literally just made that name up on the spot, but watch me get some sort of copyright even for doing that XD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 16: Training begins The Roamer Chapter 16: Training begins ¡°Old monster, any chance you can tell me why you wanted to pick me?¡± Aeolus asked curiously, as he truly didn¡¯t understand why an old man like him wanted to take him in. ¡°Quite easy, I want to refine you from a coal into a diamond!¡± the monster said, while shining a smile at Aeolus. At first, Aeolus thought that the monster was a senile old monster, but he was now scared that this monster might be gay. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t swing that way sir!¡± yelled Aeolus in an apologetic tone, which confused the old monster. After thinking for a little bit, the old monster realized what Aeolus was referencing to, and began to laugh. ¡°Youngin, you got quite the head on you to think I meant that!¡± the monster said while tearing up from laughter. After about half a minute, the laughing piped down, and the old man kept walking. At some point, they left the village, and after another half hour, they reached an old shack. ¡°Old geezer, is this where you have been staying?¡± asked Aeolus, while looking it up and down. It resembled a home back in the village he came from, so he felt warm feelings radiating from this house. ¡°That''s right, and no complaints either. I took you in to train you as much as I can until two years have fully passed!¡± the old geezer answered him while also telling him the goal of him taking him in, which shocked Aeolus greatly. ¡®For what reason does this old geezer want to train me?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and put up his guard. He was scared that he would just begin to suck up his soul, and he didn¡¯t want all his progress to go away, so he was ready to jump out of a window or break down a wall. ¡°Calm down, I don¡¯t want your soul. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve said before, I¡¯ve seen all your abilities and think you have a chance to shine even better than now.¡± the old man replied to the aura of Aeolus, which was filled with caution and wariness. ¡°For now, let¡¯s start with this. Right now, you have a limiter on how far you can go in life when it comes to cultivation, and you can only go to the third layer. Though that may seem weak, for some reason, you only have a single layer right now, but it¡¯s power is greater than three layers combined. Just what have you been doing?¡± the old man asked, while also showing that he understood the situation Aeolus was in. ¡®I should lower my guard for now. Besides, even if he does want to take my soul, with the difference in power we have, he can easily catch me no matter what I do.¡¯ Aeolus calmed himself, and began to talk about all the experiences he had went through. --- Sequence 2 --- After an hour or two of describing all his experiences since he came to the slave prison, he had finally finished. The old geezer had nodded most of the time, and rarely spoke up to question all of it. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s about time that your training begins now that I know your situation. Since you can¡¯t break past the third layer with your spirit, we¡¯re gonna have to make you strong using a different technique. You¡¯re going to, altogether, just stop cultivating.¡± the old man said, as if it was the most normal thing within the world. On the other hand, Aeolus was seriously considering running or suicide, as he truly wished to just cut off the head of this geezer! Just who did he think he is, going on about stopping my cultivation? ¡°Don¡¯t go killing yourself now, that¡¯d be a waste. You¡¯re just not going to go down the path of cultivation, but something different. If you continue cultivating now, then you won¡¯t become so powerful in the future. What we¡¯re going to do is focus on you, physically and mentally!¡± the old man yelled, while also spitting onto Aeolus¡¯ face. The old man led Aeolus out of the shack, and they walked for a couple of hours before they reached some desert area, though it was also black and white. ¡°Sadly, you won¡¯t be able to fit in with the rest of your humans, not even the ones who came before you, down into hell. You¡¯re going to have to stumble down another path since your cultivation has been cut off. In this area, there are creatures that are absolutely terrible, and even I won¡¯t survive against most of them. Now, get in there!¡± roared the old man, while kicking Aeolus¡¯ ass and sending him flying a mile or two. ¡°This old geezer, he truly doesn¡¯t know the limits I¡¯ll go to just to kill him¡± roared Aeolus in an angry tone so loud that even the geezer who was so far away heard him. ¡°Well, I better book it!¡± said the old man while laughing, and then made a mad dash back into the shed. Though, right before he left, he sent a message to Aeolus telepathically, saying only one thing: AFFINITY INTO SOUL. Aeolus was confused at what such a message meant, but stopped questioning it. He stood up, and thought of escaping here first. However, no matter where he looked, he saw monstrous creatures even worse than the ones at town, and he would even see titans who were taller than the clouds every now and then. ¡®This old man truly needs a whipping to his ass, that damned monster!¡¯ Aeolus willed himself in his mind to beat the old man until he actually died, and went to a place worse then even hell. While thinking of all this, he seemed to have attracted some attention from the creatures within the desert area.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I¡¯ve been damned by the gods, and even the creatures down here are kicking my ass into such a location! If I don¡¯t get out of here and kill them, then who will?!¡± Aeolus roared towards the rocky ceiling, while rushing out of the area. He tried to fly into the air, but he was still too weak to do such a thing. ¡°Right, didn¡¯t that damned geezer say something about putting affinity and soul into one?¡± Aeolus questioned himself, trying to think of how to do such a thing. After a while, he still had no idea on what to do, so he just winged it. At first, winging it hurt quite a bit, and that didn¡¯t really help when he was trying to outrun some creatures, but after a while of just doing random stuff, he came up with the idea of sending his affinity into a layer, specifically. He had tried sending his affinity into all of the layers within his soul at once, and it didn¡¯t look like a good idea when he was throwing up blood afterwards. However, as soon as he did this, he automatically gained insight into something. Once he fused an affinity with a layer, he wouldn¡¯t be able to switch it out. Basically, whatever affinity he used would be stuck with him, forever. After realizing this, he immediately ran as fast as he could to escape from the monsters and think deeply, as he couldn¡¯t just make up his mind about such an important thing while running. After a day of running, he finally found some weird trench thing and jumped right into it. He then began to dig a hole deep inside, and covered himself underground in dirt, as if he was trying to become a fossil. He then closed his eyes, and focused completely on his spirit. He began to see the layers, and all of the spirit flowing through his body thanks to the soul infusion technique. He wandered into the center of his soul, and contemplated what to put in there for a while. ¡®To be honest, my affinity with wind is the best, and will probably continue to be my best for a while, so I¡¯ll infuse my wind affinity into the center.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and thought that this conclusion was the best. He then began the process of inserting his affinity, which he could feel lingering within his body, into the center layer. After about ten minutes of pure torture and suffering, he had fully infused the wind affinity into the center. The size of the center seemed to have grown extremely small, and he didn¡¯t understand it until he inspected it a little. ¡®I see, once you link an affinity to a part of your soul, the amount of spirit within the layer of the soul it¡¯s linked to is up to you. I can put as much spirit as I want into it, and as little as I want while I¡¯m at it too.¡¯ Aeolus realized within his mind, and smirked at himself for actually understanding something like this. Right now, even though he was only a first layer cultivator, he had the amount of spirit a third layer at the very top would have, so his current situation was pretty decent when it came to spirit. He put all of his spirit into wind right now, because he wasn¡¯t going to be linking another affinity for a while. He felt like he should give it some time to find out more affinity and then proceed to link them, considering that his selection of affinity to pick from was pretty limited at this point in his journey. He saw the center layer of his soul, and it was much bigger than before, maybe tenfold the size? Now that he could distribute spirit between the layers, he could make any of them different sizes, though the center was still the strongest. He began to shoot himself out of the little hole in the trench, and succeeded terrifically. He soared into the sky, not being held back like before now that his affinity with the wind was pretty amazing. He then began to just fly around the desert like area, just to examine the area itself, while also seeing how long he could fly. After an hour, he was still flying, and felt like he had barely scratched the tip of the iceberg when it came to how long he could fly. ¡°Now that wind has became my main affinity in cultivation, my level of doing things related to the affinity are much higher than before!¡± Aeolus hollered into nothingness, but still beaming with excitement. After all, he was still just a brat, so he couldn¡¯t hold in the excitement. He then descended onto the highest point he could find while scouting the area, and began to walk down from the little hill. He saw a group of monsters, and immediately rushed towards them. However, while rushing, he had felt that he could do more with his affinity with the wind. In fact, he felt like he could fuse the wind into the layer of spirit covering his whole body, including the spirit within. He backed off before the creatures could detect him, and flew into the sky. He then began to tinker with his wind affinity, and found that he could lead his wind affinity into the spirit outside of the layers as well. He began to send the wind affinity into his inner body spirit first, and could feel it slowly strengthening, but the speed increasing dramatically with each little drop of spirit. After a minute or two, he had fully infused wind into the spirit flowing throughout his body. Though he did gain a major boost in strength of the spirit, the biggest boost was speed. The spirit flowing throughout his body was going so fast, that even if you infused spirit into your eyes, you would still struggle to see it unless you infused wind affinity into your eyesight. He then began on the outside, and felt the same effects again. Strength was rising slowly, while speed was rising at a tremendous pace when he walked. For every step he took, he went farther and farther, until he could literally walk a mile in a single step. He looked at the spirit around his body, and saw wind circling around it, forming a mini hurricane sort of domain around him. He ran into the creatures just to test out the power, and was immediately dumbfounded. Running was simply too much, as he had lost full sight of them. If he had to guess, he had probably just went tens, or maybe even hundreds of miles away. For god''s sake, he wasn¡¯t even in the dessert area anymore! ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to learn about controlling that.¡± Aeolus said, while taking steps and running in circles. After about half an hour of it, he thought he had gotten used to it. He immediately went in search of monsters that he could fight, and found some in a few seconds a couple of miles off. He rushed into them, this time controlling his speed so that he didn¡¯t just fly past them. It was a success, as he had appeared behind them before they even noticed. He punched towards a blob monster, and before he could notice it, the blob was completely gone. At first, he thought that it had used some sort of technique, but after seeing a spirit lying on the ground, he realized what had really happened. ¡°I¡­ completely obliterated it with a single punch.¡± Aeolus said to himself, while sighing at the same time. This wasn¡¯t even considered training anymore, this was just straight bullying. He proceeded onto killing the rest of the monsters, which wasn¡¯t much of an issue when they couldn¡¯t even keep up with him. He then absorbed all of their souls, and began to wander in the direction that he believed was the shacks. All the while, he was absorbing the spirit of the souls he had just absorbed, because he had never seen a monsters soul before. He found many techniques and attacks, but what intrigued him more was the affinity behind them. Some of them were called monster, while other affinities could also be found, such as sludge, vampirism, and more. Of course, he still wouldn¡¯t pick any of those affinities, as he still wanted a wider variety. Just like that, his first true experience with affinities had been set in stone, and Aeolus had taken a mighty step on his journey. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPLANATION *1: Literally just made that name up on the spot, but watch me get some sort of copyright even for doing that XD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 17: Weapon of Choice The Roamer Chapter 17: Weapon of choice After a few days of flying in a specific direction, Aeolus had finally found the old shack that he had been searching for. He walked in, and found the old monster slouching on a chair, with some sort of bottle in his hand. ¡®They even have drinks down here in hell, huh? Guess I¡¯m going to get used to this sight for the next two years.¡¯ Aeolus muttered in his mind, reminiscing about the memories he had back on earth. He really wanted to go back to the surface from the bottom of his heart, but he knew that this trip to hell would benefit him tremendously. ¡°Old geezer, wake up!¡± Aeolus yelled into the geezers ear, or what looked to be the monsters ear. The old monster woke up with a start, and smashed the bottle into Aeolus¡¯ head. ¡°Why would you do that?!¡± the geezer roared in anger, while preparing to jump Aeolus again to teach him a good lesson. ¡°Why would your first reaction be to smash a bottle into my head?!¡± Aeolus roared back, unwilling to back down. He was the one slouching, when he had clearly vouched to train him for these two years. ¡°Ah, now that I think about it, you being here means you survived! Any chance you got ahold of what I meant when I gave you the tip?¡± The old man suddenly realized, and asked if Aeolus had understood what he meant when he linked affinity to the soul. ¡°Yes I did, that¡¯s how I got back here so fast. My body is full of vigor, and my speed is amazingly well now!¡± Aeolus said back while smiling, as if he had just forgotten the whole argument that had began just a few seconds ago. ¡°That was the last bit of cultivation you¡¯ll be working on in hell. From now on, it¡¯s all going to be focus on your skills and control in battle, while not trying to rely on techniques such as the flowing water you have. You can¡¯t just rush head-first into the enemy, and expect to land a hit.¡± the old man explained, and at the same time began to snore again. ¡°Don¡¯t go back to sleep after that long explanation, you damned geezer!¡± Aeolus roared, while breaking the chair the geezer was sitting in. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s get to work then. First of all, we¡¯re going to evaluate your potential with each weapon. While you may think fighting with your fists is good, just sticking with your fists will not allow you to go past the fiftieth layer without extreme conditions. For that reason, the earlier you get a weapon, the sooner you can get to work.¡± the old geezer once again began an explanation, and once again began to snore right after it. Aeolus picked up another bottle, and smashed it into the old geezers head this time. This thoroughly waked him up this time, and he didn¡¯t look like he was going to sleep again anytime soon. ¡°Let¡¯s go outside and duel, so I can see how you fight. Depending on your techniques and control, I¡¯ll pick a weapon for you that is best adapted.¡± the old man said, while gesturing for Aeolus to go outside. Aeolus followed the gesture, and walked out the door first. The old geezer suddenly jumped Aeolus, and sent him flying out of the shack. Aeolus didn¡¯t stop flying until he suspected a couple of miles passed, and he began to steadily control himself. However, the old geezer suddenly appeared in front of him, and put him into the ground. ¡°As soon as I said we would fight, you should have put your guard up. For the second that I said that sentence, I became an enemy to you.¡± the old monster explained with a tone that made it sound like he had just said the most obvious thing in the world. Aeolus jumped up, and rushed at the old monster. He threw his fist out towards him, which easily missed him. He threw a fist again, and willed himself to focus even more to not miss. He missed again, but he noticed something was slightly off. ¡®It isn¡¯t that I¡¯m missing¡­ it¡¯s that he¡¯s moving so fast that I can¡¯t even notice it!¡¯ Aeolus realized, with his face becoming as dark as space. This old monster was so far out of his league that even when standing in front of him, he can¡¯t land a hit. It reminded him of some old opponents he had fought while on earth, where they were so far out of his league that they were simply toying with him. ¡°Ok brat, the duel ends here. I¡¯ve evaluated you and your opportunities, and I think I got the perfect weapon for you. Follow me, we¡¯re going back to the shack.¡± the old man said, while gesturing for Aeolus to head on back. Aeolus messed up just like last time, and the old man sent him flying back towards the shack. ¡®I am too naive, he pulled the attack off twice!¡¯ Aeolus complained in his head, lamenting about his perception of things. The old man appeared before him once again, and Aeolus saw a rush of wind coming in behind him. At this time, he realized that the old man was not teleporting, but was moving so fast that he couldn¡¯t even see him, hence the wind blowing behind him. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Come with me, we¡¯re going down below the shack.¡± the old man said, and lifted the shack with a single arm. Right where the shack was originally, there was a hole the size of an adult. The old man threw the shack away, and jumped into the hole. Aeolus followed suit, but prepared himself for any unexpected things from the old man. Fortunately, as he jumped down the hole, nothing jumped out at him or jumped him in general, so that¡¯s something good. Once he reached the bottom of the hole, he was in an oval room, and no matter where he looked, there were weapons hanging on the walls. ¡°This one right here, seems to be a good fit for you.¡± the old man said to Aeolus, while holding some sort of strings in his hand. They were not connected to anything, and were literally just string. ¡°Old man, are you joking with me right now? I see halberds, katanas, swords, bows, and all of those, but I¡¯m stuck with something I can buy with mere human currency?¡± Aeolus complained to the old geezer, displeasure written all over his face. He really wanted a cool weapon to end up with him, because no matter how you looked at it, he¡¯d look way better holding it while in battle. ¡°Child, you underestimate what string can do. Most of you humans, including us demons, do not know the uses of string. Though, I for one, know how immensely well it can serve it¡¯s wielder in a battle. You just don¡¯t know the many uses of string, which I will teach to you starting tomorrow.¡± the old man explained, while frowning at Aeolus for complaining about such a weapon. In reality, all weapons are good, it¡¯s just the users of the weapon that are the issue. Whether or not they can make the weapon good is up to them, not the weapon itself. You can wield the sharpest sword in the world, but if you don¡¯t know how to use it, then it¡¯s as good as a stick. ¡°For now, go back to the shack and go to sleep, we¡¯ll start training as soon as you wake up and eat breakfast.¡± the old man muttered to Aeolus, with his pride still hurt after Aeolus complaining about his weapons. Aeolus followed orders, and immediately rushed up the hole. He found the shack a couple of miles off, which he did not believe the old man had thrown that far, and he went inside and slept on the ground, awaiting the next day. --- sequence 2 --- Aeolus had woken up and eaten breakfast, and ran outside while grabbing the string from the table the old geezer had left it on. As expected, standing out there and waiting for him was the old geezer, with an aura coming out of him that was enough to kill a person who didn¡¯t cultivate. ¡°Use the string in the way that you think it should be used, and I¡¯ll begin to teach you on how to use it depending on how you wield it in this fight.¡± the old man told Aeolus, and strengthened his aura once again. This time, even the outer layer of Aeolus¡¯ soul was vibrating quite a bit. ¡®This old geezer is still holding back quite a bit, I¡¯m probably not going to reach his level by the end of the year, but maybe by the end of the two years.¡¯ Aeolus daydreamed of the day when he could beat the old geezer silly, just to pay him back for all the times he¡¯s going to jump him while living here. Aeolus rushed at the old man with the string in one of his hands, and used it to tie him up after thinking of how to use it for a bit. The old man had lowered his power to reach the fifth layer, so he and Aeolus were on equal grounds right now. He was struggling for a bit to escape at first, but then he began to cut it up with a sword. ¡®He couldn¡¯t escape with his bare body, but could escape with a weapon. Weapons truly do power up cultivators to an extreme degree¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while agreeing with what the old man had previously said about weapons making a cultivator stronger. The old geezer rushed at him, and cut toward his spiritual arm. He had infused his sword with spirit, so it could make contact with the spiritual arm. Aeolus didn¡¯t know what to do in such a situation, so he just formed a fist with his spiritual arm and sent if flying at the sword. His spiritual arm had lost the conflict, and had sent all the spirit that made up the arm back into his body. Aeolus then wrapped up the sword in string, and tried to bring it down to the ground. Unfortunately, a weapon that was not fused with spirit definitely couldn¡¯t compete with a weapon that was fused with spirit, so the string had just been cut through. Aeolus didn¡¯t know what the old geezer was planning to do next, so he backed up for the meantime. However, the old geezer did something unexpected, and sent his sword flying towards Aeolus, at a speed which Aeolus could barely see. He dropped down to the ground, knowing that it was his only way to avoid it. When he looked up, the sword had flew past him, but the old man was jumping onto him. He couldn¡¯t avoid it, and got pinned down to the ground, which meant that the fight was probably over. ¡°I told you, it¡¯s not the weapon that¡¯s the issue, it¡¯s the wielder of the weapon that can be an issue.¡± the old monster said to Aeolus, while cracking a sly grin at him at well. He got off of Aeolus, and pulled him back up to standing. He gestured for Aeolus to pass the string to him, and Aeolus just tossed it to him, not willing to be jumped by walking up to him. The old geezer whipped his hands around a bit while holding the string, and stopped after a few minutes. He then looked towards Aeolus, and smiled at him. ¡°Try to approach me now, you brat!¡± the old monster yelled at Aeolus, while laughing like a maniac. Aeolus got a little angry, and began to rush at the old geezer. However, after a second of running, he seemed to have been caught in something in the legs. He looked down, and saw some thin, nearly invisible string holding him back. He tried to swat it away, but it felt like hitting metal. He looked even closer, and saw that it was infused with spirit. ¡°Still think you can reach me now?¡± the old geezer hollered at Aeolus, while beginning to hit the ground laughing. This angered Aeolus even more, and he took to the skies to dive bomb the old geezer. However, when he began descending towards the old man, he made direct, extremely painful contact with a string that had hit him in the stomach. He threw up blood, and hit the ground. After a while, he surrendered, realizing that the string really was too mighty, just that he was using it wrong. He fainted on the spot, while fantasizing about the day that he could wield string like that. Right before he fainted, the old geezer whispered into his ear a line that excited him terribly: ¡°For the next two years, we will focus on your control of the string, and how to move your body with it.¡± the old geezer said, and Aeolus fainted in the spot, happily dreaming of the future. Just like that, his extreme training with his first weapon had begun. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 18: two years, new me! The Roamer Chapter 18: Two years, new me! After two years of training with valor and virtue under the orders of the old geezer of a monster, Aeolus was now amazingly well with the string. He was even better than the old geezer himself, which was quite the surprise when it came to experience. Of course, the old geezer only spent about a few months training with each weapon that he had, or thats whats he said, so it was only expected that he surpassed him with the string. ¡°Stop, you damned brat. Today''s training is over, and we demons have prepared the gate for you to leave.¡± the same old mentor Aeolus always had muttered, while breathing heavily from the beating Aeolus was giving him. Aeolus had far surpassed the old geezer even when he used a weapon, though he had limited himself to the fifth layer to be on equal grounds with Aeolus. This meant that if Aeolus were to be on the same layer as him, no matter which it was, he would be able to beat him thanks to the skills and control he had gotten. ¡°Heh, you¡¯re almost nothing now, you damned geezer! When I first came here, you¡¯d always catch me off guard and send me flying miles away, but now it¡¯s the exact opposite! You¡¯re not in the same league as me anymore, not when you¡¯re at the same layer as me!¡± roared Aeolus, while laughing really hard, as he truly was waiting for the days when he could beat this old man down. ¡°For now, we¡¯ll go towards the center of this layer of hell, and see if the gate is prepared for you. If it is, you can roam the world with no issues, and experience it for yourself once you¡¯re out of here.¡± the old man said, with a little bit of hesitation in his voice. This was one of the few times he had actually seen a human in person, and the only time he had actually interacted with one. Just like that, the duo began to walk towards the center of hell. One was experiencing great excitement, while the other was reluctant to let him go. The feelings were all over the place, but both knew that a solution would be found at the center of hell. Throughout their journey to the center, they had experienced many battles, but it ended with a single flick of a finger most of the times when the old demon used his full power. Along with battle, Aeolus really wanted to explore hell, so they got delayed a little because of his curious nature. Finally, after a month of enjoying themselves, while also refining themselves throughout battle, they had finally reached the edge of the center of hell. Aeolus used his wind affinity to start running, as he truly couldn¡¯t wait to get back to earth, while the old man followed along. After another week of running and other issues that popped up, they finally reached the core of hell. When they reached a core, they saw a humongous, black circle floating in the air. The old man sighed and looked down, while Aeolus immediately realized that the circle would be his gate. A bunch of other demons began to approach Aeolus and the old geezer, and when the old geezer realized one of them, he immediately got down on one knee. Aeolus, realizing someone important was standing in front of him, immediately followed suit. ¡°My liege, the human is here and ready to go back home.¡± the old geezer said, while Aeolus stayed quiet and listened to the conversation. ¡°Good, and he seems to be decently powerful. It seems you have not lost your touch when it comes to refining creatures into mass murderers.¡± the king said, while a satisfied look was all over his face. He fired the army instructor years and years ago, because he thought that he couldn¡¯t handle training later generations. However, things seemed to be different now. ¡°My liege, may I go back to earth now?¡± Aeolus said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, just to show his respect. He really feared the figure in front of him, as he couldn¡¯t even sense his cultivation. If that was the case, he either had no cultivation, or he was so strong that he couldn¡¯t even sense it. Since he was a king, it was probably the latter. ¡°Ah, yes, there is the case of you going home. However, may you do something for me before going back?¡± the king asked, while also putting a little respect in his voice. He really wanted to see something from this human.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Whatever it is that you need, I will try to fulfill it.¡± Aeolus said, knowing that he could not refuse the king a request. ¡°I want to see the old instructors new soldier, and compare him to my current soldiers. I want to see if the old instructor can compete with the new one. Just so we don¡¯t bother you, we¡¯ll do it here so you can leave right after.¡± the king said, while trying to make it as nice for Aeolus as possible. When Aeolus heard this offer, he didn¡¯t get mad that going home was being delayed, but was instead getting excited. He was finally going to fight a soldier of an army, and it would be a soldier of a demonic army! He began to prepare for the upcoming fight, with vigor and spirit flowing throughout his whole body. After a minute or two, he saw something with red wings soaring through the sky. It began to descend towards them, and he finally saw that it was a monster. It created a huge impact right in front of Aeolus, and stood up and looked him in the eye. Its skin was a dark red, and it had piercing, black eyes. ¡°My liege, is this the human you wish for me to fight?¡± the demon asked, while getting on one knee to show his respect to the king. ¡°Yes, my soldier, I command you to fight this human, as a test of strength!¡± the king bellowed, his orders clear. He wanted to see just how far humans could go in strength, especially the children, even though he knew that they couldn¡¯t go far at such a young age. Yet, this child in front of him had surpassed most of the children that had come here before him, and he surpassed them all greatly. Though he only had a single layer within him, the king could sense that the layer was equivalent of five layers somehow. If this child wielded a weapon, his potential within a battle would likely be even better! ¡°Let¡¯s start this battle already!¡± Aeolus roared, while preparing himself and his weapon. He had sensed that this demon had developed five layers, and was extremely powerful. Still, even though Aeolus himself only had a single layer, he knew he could compete with this demon. He pulled out the string from his spiritual arm, which was where he had been storing it, and set up an arena for the battle. On the other hand, the demon was greatly shocked by such a scene. The young human had set up an arena with just string, and it was around fourty by fifty feet! There were even bleachers, which was where the king and the rest were staying while also watching the battle with shocked expressions. The only one who wasn¡¯t shocked was the old instructor, though that was to be expected. The demon rushed at Aeolus, not fearing the arena at all. Besides, it was just an arena, what could it do? However, him underestimating this arena would turn out to be the issue within the battle. Every step he took, he either got injured by string, or tripped and got attacked by Aeolus. Though the injuries weren¡¯t that bad thanks to his physical body strength, each and every string trap he stepped into had cut him in vital spots. ¡®This human¡­ is he predicting where I¡¯m stepping, and setting up the string appropriately?!¡¯ the demon suddenly realized, and stopped moving. If that was the case, then he was likely to die if he kept moving forward, and wouldn¡¯t even land a hit. Just like that, he took to the sky to try and avoid the attack. However, another unexpected thing happened. The string shot out towards him, and pierced him in many locations on the body, including the joints. He lost all the feelings within his limbs, and he dropped to the ground, and laid motionless. He tried to say that this was his loss, but it seemed that his neck had been pierced terribly as well, and he couldn¡¯t even speak. ¡°I was expecting something better, way better. How could you disappoint me like this? Summon someone stronger, my liege!¡± Aeolus roared, with an unsatisfied feeling rumbling throughout his whole body. He didn¡¯t want it to end here, and wanted to find a decent opponent. ¡°You¡¯re amazingly good for a human, and even better for a child! Unfortunately, this gate will close in a few minutes if you don¡¯t hurry up and go, so I can¡¯t spare you anymore playmates.¡± the king replied calmly, as if he was expecting all this. In reality, as soon as Aeolus set up the string arena, the king saw all the traps, and knew that his soldier was going to lose terribly. The only thing that caught him off-guard was when the string followed after his demonic soldier when he soared into the sky. ¡®If I was in his position, I would¡¯ve been pierced as well. The only good thing is that the string is so weak that it wouldn¡¯t even penetrate my skin.¡¯ the king thought to himself, while realizing just how well off this human child was. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be going now.¡± Aeolus said, and soared towards the huge black ring floating within the sky. After a minute of flying, he was basically breathing into it. When looking at the gate, he could see the high mountains he used to sit and cultivate on, and everything else that came from earth. ¡°Old geezer, thank you for everything!¡± Aeolus roared down towards the geezer, with a smile on his face. The old geezer began to cry, as this was the soldier he had dedicated the most time too, but it was a human that had to go. He had the most potential out of any soldier that he had met before, so this child was going to become something when he grew up. ¡°If fate thinks it well, then I¡¯ll break back into hell later, and we can have a drink!¡± Aeolus roared, and then proceeded to wave. After all of that, he soared through the gate, and appeared back at the mountains. He looked behind him, and he saw the portal slowly closing, until it fully disappeared. He turned around, and took a deep breath, and exhaled. After all this time, he was finally back at earth. He couldn¡¯t believe how much he had gone through during this time, so he was happy for all the memories. ¡°I¡¯m back to conquer earth once again!¡± he roared into the sky, and began to fly towards a certain town. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 19: Revenge The Roamer Chapter 19: Revenge After a few hours of soaring, Aeolus had reached the town of ghosts, or that was what he called it. It still had trees growing out of the windows of buildings, and there were even less people roaming the street, the others probably dropping dead. Anger seeped into Aeolus, and he couldn¡¯t take it much longer. All these people were forced into the same situation as him, no, a situation even worse than him, but he recieved help from the vapor nation, but they didn¡¯t. This situation they were living in was truly depressing, and he was going to deal with it today, no matter what. Just as he thought that, he saw someone begin to drop to the ground in front of him. He saw that the person was in rags, and they were also, probably, a part of the town. He ran forward, and caught the person before they fell. He saw it was a woman, but she was so thin that she looked like a beast comparable to hell. He immediately sent some strings into her body, and connected them to her heart. After that, he sent spirit running through the string, and gave her power. Just like that, her condition began to get better at a rapid pace. After a while, she opened her eyes vigorously, and saw that a man was holding her, and immediately jumped away from his hold. She then began to examine her body, and realized that she was in a better condition then she was throughout her whole life. She looked up to see who was the man holding her, but he was already gone. She turned left and right, and she didn¡¯t see anybody. She was wondering if this was a dream, and slapped herself. Surprisingly, she slapped herself with vigor, and it actually hurt, as if she had power! Meanwhile, Aeolus had rushed out of the scene, because he knew that it would get annoying when she tried to give him something as a gift to say thank you, and that he would be annoyed. Though they were just trying to show their appreciation to him and his support, he really didn¡¯t want anything that they could give him. In a single second, he had reached the manor. He walked towards the front gate, and got stopped by a guard. ¡°Brat, who do you think you are to try and enter this manor?¡± the guard replied, while being weary of Aeolus. If the brat turned out to be related to one of the nobility within the manor, then he¡¯d begin to treat him with the utmost respect. However, the brats reply completely wiped that possibility off the table. ¡°I¡¯m here to kill everyone within, or at least take away their cultivation.¡± Aeolus said, with no change to how his face looks. Just the fact that a kid that looked as young as that can say such a thing without flinching at all, the guard knew he was facing a killing monster. He didn¡¯t even bother to try and compete with this brat, and immediately ran into the manor to try and get one of the strong people to come out and deal with this brat. A minute or two after he ran in, he came back out with a noble from within the manor. He looked around, and the scene he saw scared him to death. All around this brat that he had left for a mere minute or two was bodies that were covered in blood, and fresh blood at that. However, when he inspected the bodies further, he saw that they were all guards of this manor! ¡®Thank god I ran away early¡­¡¯ the guard thought within his head, praising his intuition and intelligence. He turned to the noble that was standing behind him, and saw that he had an ugly look on his face. He began to walk towards the brat, and didn¡¯t say any words. He stood in front of the brat, and stared him dead in the eyes. After a while, he threw a fist at Aeolus, preparing to shatter him into many pieces. However, to his dismay, his fist was immediately cut in half, by seemingly nothing! ¡°Did you think that a mere spoiled noble like you can beat me?¡± Aeolus said, with contempt appearing within his eyes. He would protect the people who needed help and were treated unfairly, and bring down the people in control of all of this. These people have endured this kind of treatment for long enough, and it was time that they were set free to live their life. The noble backed up, and realized that there was blood floating within the air, with no spirit infused into it! However, he looked even closer, and realized that it was hanging on string, the same way someone would hang out clothes to dry! He turned around and began to run towards in the direction of the manor. Aeolus immediately sent all the string flying at him, and pierced through him. He then walked up towards him and absorbed his soul, furthering his cultivation. However, the boost this time was truly amazing! All these people were layers above him, so the amount of good their soul did was beyond great. Though his layer was enough to compete with a fifth layer person, it still benefited from absorbing souls with actual layers way more than souls with just one layer that was extremely powerful. ¡®Today, I¡¯m gonna hold a feast for my soul inside this manor.¡¯ Aeolus muttered in his mind, with killing intent flashing within his eyes. Now that he had the power to rival the people within this manor, he would not let them go so easily without a fight. With those thoughts in his mind, he walked into the manor. As soon as he walked in, he was greeted with stares from all the people within the manor. All of them saw the rugs he called clothes, and the blood that seemed fresh stained on them. They began to yell for guards, but nobody came. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Enough with your yelling, you people messed up the second you decided to put this town into such a pitiful state.¡± Aeolus muttered, and sent the head of a person flying while saying so. --- Sequence 2 --- ¡°Brat, just who do you think you are to kill off someone of such importance!?¡± A woman roared within the manor. Though women weren¡¯t respected in this world usually, women with power were respected immensely! ¡°Try and kill me then, damn woman!¡± Aeolus roared, with fury and spirit soaring within his body. If he didn¡¯t kill each and every single one today, even after so much time of training, then he would definitely not let himself live for much longer. With those thoughts in his mind, he stood still, and waited for them to approach. As expected, many people stood up and began to rush at Aeolus, with the thoughts of putting an end to his life clearly in their minds. However, all of them seemed to have either died or suffered grave injuries from rushing at him. All the people who hadn¡¯t got up and rushed at Aeolus were startled by this brats power. ¡°Interesting, let¡¯s try and beat this brat shall we?¡± some man stood up from a table, along with the others in his table standing. Many others also began to stand up, but not from wanting to beat this brat dead. Instead, they wished to experience a somewhat good fight, and they all realized that this child could provide such a thing. ¡°Interesting indeed, come at me!¡± Aeolus roared, with killing intent in his eyes, but a smile on his face. No matter how much he hated these people, he always loved a good fight, so he wouldn¡¯t outright turn them down. Just like that, most of the people in the manor began to run at Aeolus with either killing intent in their mind, or the thought of gaining more experience from him. On the other hand, Aeolus was setting up string within the manor so fast that even after infusing spirit into their eyes, they were still struggling to see it for a little bit. However, it wasn¡¯t just them not being able to see it and it being fast, it was due to the wind affinity located within Aeolus. During his two years training, he had learned to infuse spirit into his weapons, along with affinity. He used his affinity to speed up how fast he could set up the string, hence him setting up the string arena in hell extremely quickly. Basically, his wind affinity was a good fit with his string. Many bodies were hitting the ground, and other people were also getting hung on the wall thanks to Aeolus. However, there were moment when people were breaking through the string at times, and landing a somewhat decent hit on him. After all this time, the accumulated damage was starting to rise, but it was still good as long as he had the spirit infusion technique with him. In reality, without the technique, he¡¯d be on the ground vomiting blood at this point. ¡°This brat, how does he have so much string?¡± the same man who said this was interesting was watching this battle and not actually getting into it, as he was beginning to realize something. After a few more minutes of bodies dropping and his thinking proceeding, he had finally figured it out. He definitely had a lot of string, and it was hidden throughout his whole body. He definitely had enough string to cover the entirety of the inside of the manor, but it wasn¡¯t the amount of string that was troubling him. He sensed spirit within the string, and realized that this brat was infusing spirit into his weapons, which was something only a person with power at the fifth layer could do! Above all that, he could sense some sort of affinity located within that spirit. Though it was impossible for someone at his skill level to identify what affinity it was, it probably had something to do with speed, hence how he could keep setting string up so fast. After realizing this, the man jumped into the air, and began to dive bomb towards Aeolus. Aeolus didn¡¯t do anything, as he had already set up string within the air to prepare for such a thing. However, the next scene shocked him. The man was weaving through the string, as if he could see it! Aeolus realized that this man knew that he was using string, and began to try harder with him. He sit up string in random areas that even he didn¡¯t know he was going to set up, just so he could randomly close off the path of this man sometimes. Still, he could see through it all, and finally reached Aeolus. Aeolus sent all the string within the manor flying towards this man, as he knew he could spare a few seconds without getting hit by the others. However, the man immediately disappeared, as if he had never existed! Aeolus looked around, and realized that he was nowhere. He then appeared in front of Aeolus, and cut off Aeolus¡¯ spirit arm which was reaching towards his soul. The arm immediately dissipated into nothingness, as if it was never there. Aeolus, now fighting and sending out string with a single arm, was forced into a tough situation. He knew that he couldn¡¯t hold on much longer, and that he had to make a certain move soon, or else he would lose this battle, and life. The man once again rushed towards Aeolus, with a maniac like smile on his face. He was clearly enjoying this battle, and gaining as much experience as he can, considering this was his first time fighting a person who used string as a weapon, which was a very odd choice that he had not even heard of before. However, his rush didn¡¯t gain the expected results that were within his head, but something else. He had rushed head first into string, and the top of his scalp had been cut off. Realizing that he had been overestimating himself and stopped fighting seriously, he immediately focused once again. He once again rushed at Aeolus, but tried to maneuver through the string as well as he could, but what he got instead was a bone sticking out of his left arm. He didn¡¯t understand how such an event was happening, he was constantly infusing spirit into his eyes, and he could see the string clearly. However, Aeolus knew everything that was going on. He had evolved once again through this fight, and began to do something that he had not tried before. Instead of just using this string to set up the battlefield, he also used it personally on the opponent. Basically, after the opponent passes a string and lets their guard down for the brief moment afterwards, he¡¯d send in a string from one of their blind spots, which they would not expect since their guard was lowered unconsciously, and they were unable to control that. Just as the man stopped moving and began to think about what was going on, Aeolus pulled off his trump card, knowing that he had to get out of here soon. A huge string arena was set up, and everyone fighting him was within it. While the peoples eyes were taking in what just happened, string shot out of everywhere, from every single direction. ¡°Thanks for helping me evolve during this fight, damned nobles!¡± Aeolus roared his passing words to them, and they all knew that they were being damned to hell at this very moment. Even the man had realized death was here, and closed his eyes and accepted his loss. Everyone that was within the string arena died, and Aeolus was at peace for now, considering he realized his limits. He began to fly away, knowing that he could not fight much longer no matter how he persisted. Just as he was flying away, he heard this very sentence from the manor: ¡°We¡¯ll meet again, and it¡¯ll be soon.¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 20: New System The Roamer Chapter 20: New system Aeolus ran even faster after hearing such a thing. The voice was so calm, yet he could hear it so far. Whoever said that was extremely powerful, and it was probably the manor owner. Though he could have beaten all those people even quicker if he used string arena quicker, he knew that it would not have that big of an effect on the owner of the manor. ¡°I need to power up even more before I try and challenge that place again, get a new affinity or something¡­¡± Aeolus said to himself, thinking of all the affinities that could work. Then, he suddenly realized something. ¡®I¡¯ve only been focusing on the affinity I¡¯m most comfortable with, but since string is my main weapon, I need to focus on an affinity that links with it really well. I got lucky since string worked well with the wind affinity, but now I need something else.¡¯ Aeolus realized within his head, and realized what he needed to go for now. Right now, his string was an issue when it came to actually stopping opponents. It barely delayed the opponents, and that delay wasn¡¯t even a second. The most benefits he was getting out of the string was damage, but that wasn¡¯t even the main purpose of the string. He first set out on conquering the use of the string to make it so he could dance through a battlefield while fighting, but he wasn¡¯t able to do it. He needed something like a spider web, which would actually catch the opponent and stop them while he did what he wanted on the battlefield. ¡°I think I know what affinity I want know.¡± Aeolus realized within his mind, and began to search for an affinity related to poison. If his string could not only damage opponents, but even poison them, then it would work in the direction that he wanted it to go. After the opponent accidentally touched the string, they would be poisoned and slowly die, and all he would need to do is stall. Still, the amount of poison affinity he could apply onto the string was minimal, as the string couldn¡¯t hold much. Depending on the power of the poison, it would take many minutes for the opponent to become numb with their body with it. If he could get an affinity that could slow down the opponents when they touched the string, it would be best. ¡°I¡¯ll have to find a place to calm down and rummage through my soul, and check all the souls I have absorbed. I¡¯m sure that there is an attack that is linked to the affinity of poison and time in there somewhere.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and soared to the nearest mountain he could find, and came down to sit on it. He then began rummaging through his soul, hoping that he could find what he needed. At first, he found a bunch of somewhat useful affinity attacks, along with many techniques that he thought were good. Of course, he didn¡¯t use much techniques anymore, since he was mostly just standing still and letting his weapon do the job these days. However, after the last battle, he realized how important techniques were. He had overestimated himself and thought that he wouldn¡¯t need to use any other technique besides the soul infusion technique, but if he had used the flowing water technique, he could have avoided many of the injuries he had suffered, and could have possibly saved his spirit arm as well! ¡°I need to focus on making the flowing water second nature, as if it¡¯s not a technique anymore, but just my natural body.¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, while still searching for affinity attacks. After a while, he found a poison affinity attack, and immediately began to learn how to use it. He spent an hour or two comprehending the attack, and then used it. It was simply just spitting out extremely acidic poison, but it was so lethal. It had immediately melted much of the surface of the mountain he was currently on. ¡®This poison affinity will work just fine. This is just a first layer poison attack, yet it can do so much. Think of all the types of poison I could concoct in the future with this affinity!¡¯ Aeolus said to himself in his mind, while imagining all the possibilities for the future when it came to this affinity. He began to infuse the poison into the outer layer, and saved the mid-layer for the time affinity, because he thought it was more important to proceed towards his goal when it came to using string as a weapon. After half an hour or so of fusing the poison affinity into his outer layer, he was done. He realized that his body was more resistant to most of the affinities, and he was doing pretty good at this point. He stood up, and shot out the string in all directions. If you looked with spirit infused eyes, you couldn¡¯t sense the poison at all, and could only sense it once he was actually hit by it, though he was resistant to poison, so it did nothing. ¡°This strings power when it comes to being a trap has become much better. This can go even further as a trap if it could also be used to slow down the opponent.¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, grinning like an idiot. He was making so much progress recently that he didn¡¯t know how to feel, but it was definitely something good. He stood up, and soared in a direction he had never been to. He didn¡¯t worry about losing this area at all, because his string had him covered. From now on, no matter which town he went to, he would always attach at least a single string, and made sure that it would stay there, separated from his body. Though it was separated from his body, he could still sense the spirit infused into it, considering that it was his own. For that reason, he deemed it a good idea to set up some sort of check marks with the string. Just like that, Aeolus was moving onto the next part of the world that he had never seen, beginning his roamer career once again. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. --- Sequence 2 --- It had been a month, and Aeolus had went in and out of many towns. He left a piece of string pinned somewhere within every town he went to, just so he could know where to go if he ever wanted to go back. After a month of traveling, he had made his way into some sort of desert area, that seemed to stretch on for hundreds and hundreds of miles, maybe even thousands. If he looked back and sensed the piece of string he had left in the ghost town, he could not even see a single tree in that direction, so he was definitely deep into this desert territory. By going through all these places, he had also figured something out concerning him. Apparently, the people at the manor were displeased with him, and he had a bounty hanging on the wall no matter where he went, so he was somewhat known wherever he went, his reputation building up. He had studied a little of the human culture, and understood the bounty on the paper said seven million ven was the reward, and he knew that it was a pretty big reward. The paper even came with a picture of his face, though it was a bit different from how he looked now. Out of nowhere, a town appeared in the horizon. Aeolus, recognizing it as his next destination, soared even faster to reach it. He still needed to find something related to the affinity of time, which he did not have. Thanks to the books he had found and stole from towns here and there, he found out that the time affinity is a rare one, that can barely be found in many locations. The town he was approaching seemed to be huge in size, bigger than any he had ever seen before. Suddenly, he thought of one of the things he had learnt from hearing people and reading books. ¡®Could this be what they call a city?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, curiosity barraging his mind and soul. Cities were said to be much bigger than towns, and were way safer and secure. The people in a city would usually be happy, and there wouldn¡¯t be much issues thanks to the extreme security. ¡®Crap, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to get into a fight easily in such a place.¡¯ Aeolus realized within his head, and began to think up ways to get into fights with strong people. After thinking and flying for a bit, he had arrived in front of the city. He walked through the gates, and was astonished by the scene in front of him. There were many huge buildings, and on top of a mountain near the middle of the city, there seemed to be a huge castle. The whole city was enclosed by walls, so the defense was tight, and there seemed to be children running around and playing. However, Aeolus wasn¡¯t completely deceived by this view, as he knew every town or city had it¡¯s dark places within. He kept walking down a stone path, and found some center area with a fountain in the middle. There was some man selling sculptures at the fountain, kids jumping in and out of it, and lovely couples just enjoying some food or cuddling together. No matter where you looked, things were happening within this city. ¡®Towns really can¡¯t compare with cities.¡¯ Aeolus noted in his mind, acknowledging the power and influence of a city. He then saw some sort of stadium, and began to walk towards it. He was still an impatient brat though, so he reached it in a single second due to him using spirit. He walked up to the guard who was patrolling around the stadium gates, and proceeded onto asking him about it. ¡°Excuse me sir, can you tell me the purpose of this stadium?¡± Aeolus asked, trying to be as respectful as possible. He would not disrespect someone or beat them down unless they were truly snotty and bad people. ¡°This stadium houses tournaments and battles alike, and the winner of those events comes up with a reward. This stadium is not for the weak of hearts to watch battles, and especially not for the weak of heart to fight in.¡± the guard explained, not being rude at all. ¡®I see, it¡¯s like an arena, but way bigger. Rewards are also included, so this is way better!¡¯ Aeolus acknowledged the stadium, and began to walk in through the gates. He saw many people lining up at stands to purchase food and other stuff, and people walking to seats so that they could watch the fights within the stadium. Aeolus saw a line full of buff people, who seemed to be signing some paper. He realized that this must be where fighters signed up, so he lined up as well. Some people gave him some curious and suspicious looks, while others just began to laugh. Still, Aeolus didn¡¯t care, as he would just kill them within the stadium. ¡°Kid, do you even know where you are?¡± some man asked, with worry in his eye. He didn¡¯t seem to be making fun of Aeolus, but was instead worried. Aeolus was somewhat grateful for this person, so he replied nicely. ¡°Yes sir, I know where I am and what I¡¯m doing.¡± Aeolus replied respectfully, since this was the only person who was actually worried about him and not being suspicious or making fun of him. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯m just checking.¡± the man said, and turned around and went to find a seat. ¡®What a nice guy.¡¯ Aeolus thought, and then turned to look at the back of some men who were in line just like him. After about ten minutes, he had finally approached the woman who was holding the paper that he had to sign. ¡°Hello sir, would you like to join the tournament? The reward varies depending on where you place, but it¡¯s good to get any reward at all, am I right?¡± the hostess asked, trying to lure in more fighters for the tournament. In all honesty, she was struggling to find fighters for the tournament, since one specific man had signed up for it. He was an almighty being, one that nobody could even dare to stand against. He had unlocked his thirtieth layer recently, and was a monster in this city that almost nobody could handle. ¡°Can you tell me the rewards ma¡¯am?¡± Aeolus asked, interested in such a thing. First of all, he had never participated in a tournament before, so he might be able to enjoy himself and gain some good experience. Along with that, he¡¯d even get a reward for participating, so why not? ¡°At first place, you get a third layer attack with whatever affinity you please. At second place, you get a second layer attack with any affinity you want as well. At third place, you get a first layer attack with any affinity you want as well, and every other place up to tenth is just an affinity banquet.¡± the hostess explained, while trying to lure him into the tournament desperately. ¡°Can you explain what an affinity banquet is?¡± Aeolus asked, not knowing what to expect of it. ¡°It¡¯s food that is instilled with any affinity you want, and once you consume it, you¡¯ll gain the affinity, although it will only be at the foundation level.¡± the hostess explained, while losing face. Such a thing would probably not attract this child at all, and she was prepared to let him go. ¡°I¡¯ll sign up for the tournament then, when is it going to be held?¡± Aeolus agreed, and even seemed a bit excited. The hostess¡¯ face lit up, and she held out a pen and paper to him to sign up. Aeolus took the pen and paper, and read the list of fighters. It listed names and layers, but that was all. Aeolus looked at the first person who signed up for the tournament, and his jaw dropped. ¡®The person at the very top had achieved his thirtieth layer?!¡¯ Aeolus muttered in his head, not daring to believe that he would have to stand against such an opponent in this tournament. He couldn¡¯t even achieve such a layer due to his curse, and even if he could, it would take him at least a year to reach such a level. ¡®Everyone else is below the twentieth layer, with the second highest being the eighteenth layer.¡¯ Aeolus noted within his mind, and was steeling himself for the upcoming tournament. He had anything third place and above out, he knew he could not reach such a level. Still, all he needed was the last affinity to instill in himself, and he would be good. At that point in time, he would be able to wield the string as he wanted when he first picked it up, and massacre his opponents. All he had to do was reach the top ten, and he would be able to get what he needed, even if it was weak. ¡°It¡¯s time I finally finish my set of affinity.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and left the city to wait until the day when the tournament would begin, which was in a week. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 21: Tournament The Roamer Chapter 21: Tournament During the week that Aeolus had to wait, he didn¡¯t have much things to do, so he just wandered off to other towns and even another city, fought even more, and slept a lot. After wasting a lot of time, the week had finally passed, and the tournament was at his doorstep. He immediately went in the direction of the string he left at the city, and appeared there within ten minutes, the tens of miles not mattering. He made his way towards the stadium, and saw a line of people standing in front of the stadium gate, and nobody at the stands, even the hostess gone. ¡®The preparations for this tournament really are extreme huh.¡¯ Aeolus thought, acknowledging just how much people had to leave their stands to set up this thing. Either that, or they just ran once they saw all the participators of the tournament. Aeolus just lined up like the rest, and it didn¡¯t attract attention from any of them. ¡®They¡¯re all experts and professionals, they probably noticed my spirit and didn¡¯t say anything.¡¯ Aeolus realized all these peoples¡¯ potential, and just how good of an opponent they would all make. This was going to be an exhibition of strength, that was for sure. Once you counted all of them, there were only twenty in total. The strong people at the top really scared off most of them from what he was seeing, and he was happy about that. His chances of getting into the top ten were higher because of how little people there were. The gate they were all lined up in front of opened up, and the person at the front of the line was the first to walk in, with the rest following. Aeolus was the absolute last person to enter, and he saw the stadium in its full glory. It was big enough to house millions and millions of people, which was amazingly big. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the participants who are in this tournament!¡± some man floating above the arena said, with many people in the stands listening to him and clapping. There was even a location within the stands reserved just for nobility and royalty, and some of them began to clap! ¡°Now, we will have to go over the rules of this tournament. First of all, no killing allowed, and a battle ends when a participant faints or surrenders. Second of all, everything within the stadium is the battle area, leaving this area will result in your loss as well.¡± the announcer explained, while flashing a smile at the crowd watching this tournament. He then looked down at the participants, and gave them a thumbs up. ¡®Much different from a certain announcer¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and remembered the days of the slave prison, which seemed so long ago. Comparing himself to the Aeolus of those days, he was like a god. Aeolus grinned at how far he had come, and looked towards all the opponents. All of them seemed worthy of standing here, with the most menacing one seeming to be a man with silver hair. Aeolus could not sense his spirit, so he assumed that he was the one who had unlocked his thirtieth layer, but then again, he couldn¡¯t sense the spirit of seven people excluding him, so he wasn¡¯t certain. ¡°First of all, we¡¯ll let fighters pick who they¡¯ll fight, and both have to agree. Once they both agree, the match-ups will have been decided, and we will start with the pair that agree to battle first!¡± the announcer said, and brought in an uproar of applause. The whole audience had also heard of the thirtieth layer man, and wanted to see the power of a true man. All the fighters began to move around, and began to select opponents. Surprisingly, not many came up to Aeolus, and the ones who did were extremely weak. ¡®It seems like the ones who are truly strong are avoiding me, since they don¡¯t know what to expect of a child cultivator.¡¯ Aeolus acknowledged all of the ones who had not come to challenge him, and realized that even reaching the top five seemed to be a fleeting dream right now. ¡®I¡¯ll just try my best to win.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, and set his eyes on a blond woman who wanted to challenge him. He first felt out her soul, and found that she was at the fourth layer. ¡®This will be too easy if I choose her, so let¡¯s go for someone who is somewhat close to me in cultivation.¡¯ he thought to himself, and continued to search the people who wished to challenge him. Finally, he set his eyes on a red haired person, who seemed to be in his twenties. He had a grin on his face, and didn¡¯t really seem to care about anything. ¡°You, I agree to your challenge of fighting.¡± Aeolus said, and stood side by side with him. ¡°May I know your name, esteemed brat?¡± the man asked sarcastically, while Aeolus looking at this man with a curious face. He peeked deep into the soul of this person, but found nothing that hinted towards him putting up a fake face. That meant that this person was actually like this, and not just putting up an image.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®What a freak.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while replying to him. ¡°My man is Aeolus, may I know yours?¡± he said, while looking at the man with a face full of expectations. This man truly seemed weird, and Aeolus was curious about his origins and why exactly he was here, because he seemed to already be fulfilled with life. ¡°I¡¯m Quasar, nice to meet you.¡± the man said, while smiling at Aeolus. Once again, Aeolus checked his soul to make sure that he wasn¡¯t putting up an image, but it seemed as if every emotion he was showing was the genuine truth. The more Aeolus learned about this guy, the more cautious he became. ¡°Which pair would like to be the first to battle?¡± the announcer said, while eyeing each of them with interest. He knew everyone here would put up, at the very least, a good fight. For that reason, not only were the thirtieth layer man and his fights going to be interesting, everything was. ¡°We¡¯ll go first.¡± said the silver haired man Aeolus was eyeing before, and began to walk forward. His opponent, the blond chick that was considering fighting Aeolus, was with him. ¡°That girl is screwed.¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, but it seemed as if the red haired man heard it. He immediately flashed killing intent towards Aeolus, but Aeolus paid him no heed. Besides, who would dare to kill in this tournament when everyone was watching, and there were other opponents ready to catch him? The announcer announced the beginning of the fight, and the girl jumped at the silver haired man. To her horror, however, as soon as the fight began, the guy had three different clones! She didn¡¯t know which one was real, so she just rushed at one. The one she rushed at easily avoided the attack by jumping into the sky, and stomped on her back while descending. Her spine easily shattered, and the end of the battle had appeared. All of the spectators watched with mouths wide open, while only the royalty and nobles not appearing that surprised. The fighters and the announcer were unfazed, since they were all used to fights, and had seen much worse. The announcer then prepared his throat, and looked at the audience with a grin. ¡°That is the end of the first battle, can we get a round of applause for the winner?!¡± the announcer yelled into the stands, and got a reply right away, as always, and cheers came in from the stands. He then looked down towards the fighters, while calling in some people who cultivated the life affinity, to take care of the woman. ¡°Now then, who is going to fight next?¡± the announcer said in a curious tone, unable to hide the excitement within his voice. He was like a little kid who couldn¡¯t wait to get his gift on christmas, he was giddy and jumpy. ¡°We¡¯ll be going next. Isn¡¯t that right, Aeolus?¡± Quasar said in a sly voice, as if he was luring Aeolus into a trap. Aeolus nodded his head, and began to walk forward. Quasar followed right after him, while waving his hand towards the audience. However, his tone would be flipped after the fight, but that was just the thought going through Aeolus¡¯ mind. ¡°Isn¡¯t that kid to young to participate in such a thing?¡± a noble in the stands asked others nearby, clearly suspicious of such a thing. Just how did a child get into such a tournament? However, when he looked towards the other fighters, they all seemed to have accepted it, and didn¡¯t care about the fact that he was a kid, which raised his suspicion even further. In fact, it wasn¡¯t just him, but many of the people spectating this battle were doubtful that this kid could put up a decent battle. Some even began to cover their eyes, as they didn¡¯t want to see a child so young get beat down. However, Aeolus paid all of it no heed, and stopped in the center of the stadium. ¡°Let the battle begin!¡± the announcer roared, and Quasar jumped straight at Aeolus. However, Aeolus was ready for such a thing. The string was already set up, as he had predicted such a situation happening. However, the next move Quasar did shocked him. Quasar hit himself, and went flying into the sky. Aeolus didn¡¯t know why he would do such a thing, but he was prepared to fight him off. Some string had already been set up in the sky ever since this battle began, and was ready to cut him down. As expected, while Quasar was in the sky, he pointed himself at Aeolus, and was dive-bombing. He was about to pass the first string that Aeolus had set up. He did it successfully, but not even a second after that, he hit the ground. Aeolus utilized his experience from the battle within the manor, and used the time when his opponent let down his guard unconsciously after passing a string to pierce him with one from a blind spot. However, Quasar wasn¡¯t fully out, as he didn¡¯t faint or give up. Aeolus was nice enough to just pierce his abdomen, and not go for the heart or head. However, even though Quasar wasn¡¯t bleeding that badly due to the only hole in his body not even having a diameter of a centimeter, there wasn¡¯t much places for blood to go. However, on the inside, he was being messed up terribly. Something had come off the string, and was spreading through his body. ¡®This brat, he has the affinity of poison fused to a part of his soul?!¡¯ Quasar roared within his mind, the poison spreading. However, to his surprise, the poison wasn¡¯t all that painful, and he felt it going downwards in his body, not up, so that meant it wasn¡¯t going towards the heart or head. Just when he thought he had avoided a tragedy due to Aeolus¡¯ inexperience, he tried to stand up. However, he couldn¡¯t, as he had lost all feeling within his legs. He tried to push himself up, but even his arms didn¡¯t move. ¡°This poison¡­ this is meant to just numb me, this doesn¡¯t damage me at all!¡± Quasar realized, although it was too late. At that point, even his mouth was numbed, and he could feel himself beginning to slumber. The pain from his abdomen was rising, and he thought it was a good idea to just faint, so he did. ¡°Just like that, the victory goes to our little friend!¡± the announcer roared, astonishment within his eyes. He knew that the kid was probably not normal, but he didn¡¯t think he was this strong. He had just beat red-hair without even getting a scratch on himself! He was far out of red-hairs league, and he even began to pity the loser. The crowd clapped vigorously, clearly impressed with such an exhibition. Many of them had looks of suspicion on their faces before, but now, all they had was inspiration flowing throughout their bodies, as this child was truly fascinating. Most of the spectators reminisced of their days as children, and wished that they had even half his powers today. Meanwhile, the other fighters who were still in the tournament had something develop in their heart, but it wasn¡¯t hate or fear for this child. Instead, it was utmost respect. Just the fact that a child so young could reach a level so high was amazing, and a lot of them clapped. Of course, there were some within the fighters who didn¡¯t clap, because they knew that this child still couldn¡¯t compare to them, so they quickly lost interest in him, but still kept a note in their head to be wary of this child in the future. If he was given more time to mature, he could truly become a killing machine that was known far and wide. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 22: Conquest The Roamer Chapter 22: Conquest After Aeolus and his match, everyone else had fought, and it had reached the strongest point now. Right now, Aeolus was guaranteed an affinity bouffet no matter what, so he was clear. However, he was still going to try his hardest, because if he could reach even third place, it would be amazing. ¡°Now that everyone has fought their battles, pick your next opponents!¡± the announcer yelled in an excited tone, still as giddy as a child. Aeolus smirked at the thought of him being more childish than himself, and began to walk towards the silver hair. ¡°I see, one of the most interesting characters of this tournament wants to challenge me?¡± he said, with a grin on his face. Aeolus sensed his soul, and could see curiosity within, but there was something even stronger within silver-hair, that he just could not identify. Though, that aura he was sensing did seem a bit eccentric. ¡°Is there any issue if I want to challenge you?¡± Aeolus asked, while being respectful. He wasn¡¯t going to start talking crap with someone who talked to him nicely, he had his own manners. However, the next thing that silver hair said completely pissed him off. ¡°No issues, it¡¯s just that you might not walk out of it victorious.¡± he said, with a sly grin on his face. He was clearly toying with Aeolus, and not taking him seriously at all. Aeolus was interested in this character, so he decided to agree to his challenge. ¡°Now, who would like to come up and fight with their partner?¡± the announcer said, while looking at all the pairs expectantly. Some crimson haired person with a body built to the extreme walked out, along with some normal looking man. They began to battle, and while battling, many of the fighters who were watching were clearly taking notes. At this point, Aeolus realized something. The more he fought here, the more he would expose his trump cards and secrets. In fact, this applied to every fight, it was just that Aeolus had never realized this before. He considered giving up and just taking his reward to leave, and decided to go through with it. ¡°Excuse me, mr. announcer?¡± Aeolus roared into the sky, and attracted the announcers attention. He immediately descended towards Aeolus, and stood right in front of him. ¡°What is it that you need, esteemed fighter?¡± the announcer said, with both respect and arrogance in his tone. Though he was excited to watch their fights, that didn¡¯t mean that he couldn¡¯t put up a fight himself. If necessary, he could mop the floor with at least half of the fighters here. ¡°I¡¯m going to drop out at this point, so do you mind giving me a plate full of affinity food?¡± Aeolus said, while carrying some disinterest in his tone. He just wanted to get out of here and hide his trump cards, and there was also the matter of the wanted poster. Previously, he was oblivious to it all, but he acknowledged anyone could realize him. ¡°Are you sure you want to drop out?¡± the announcer said, disappointment painting his face. Aeolus was one of the more interesting characters in this tournament, so him dropping out was basically him declaring that he¡¯ll take away some viewers from this tournament. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. I can¡¯t risk showing off more of my abilities; There might be a day when I will have to fight against all these people, so them knowing how I operate isn¡¯t something I need.¡± the brat sure was decisive, as he didn¡¯t even take a second to doubt himself. ¡®Sadly, we never said fighters couldn¡¯t drop out, so I¡¯ll have to allow it.¡¯ the announcer said in his mind, and sighed. He really was excited for this brat to fight, but now that he was gone, he would probably not get the chance again. ¡°Here¡¯s a list of all the affinities we could instill in the food, take your time to pick one.¡± the announcer said, while handing over a paper with a list of names on it. Aeolus looked at all the affinities, and found the affinity of time perfectly in the middle. ¡®Right now, time seems to be the best for me, but I may be narrow visioned right now, so I¡¯ll just check the rest of the list for now.¡¯ Aeolus said within his mind, and continued to look through the list. He didn¡¯t really expect to find other affinities that might be worthier then time, but he was wrong. There were many that interested him, such as life and death. Some of the more minor ones would be teleportation, reincarnation, and etc, but those wouldn¡¯t be as helpful to him. The life one gave him the power of a healer essentially. He could instill it into the string, and steal the vigor of someone whenever the string hit them, and take it for himself. However, he already had the soul infusion technique, and the poison affinity would ruin the opponent¡¯s body and make it less healthy, so he scratched that one out. The only ones left that he was seriously considering was time and death, but he didn¡¯t know how to pick between them. Time let him accelerate and decelerate as he pleased, including any items that he forced it on, though he couldn¡¯t apply it onto another creature directly. Death was very special, he could raise anything that had died within the last hour into his soldier, and they would get stronger as time went on if he let them experience it. In all honesty, he was imagining skeletons wielding strings with him, and just how strong he and his army would become. However, there was something that he had to also consider. These affinities were exceedingly rare, and many people would hunt him down if he were to ever become famous throughout the world, as many would want the affinity for themselves. Above all that, there was probably many places where affinities such as these were banned, as some affinities were classified in the god realm, something that some places thought was not right. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡®I think I¡¯ll go with death, if I can become an overlord in with my own views, things can get exceedingly good for me.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and began to recognize the benefits and disadvantages of the death affinity. However, the announcer to his side said something that terrified him. ¡°May I just say, if you are to choose any of the god realm affinities, you will immediately be hunted down within this city, as they are not allowed here?¡± the announcer said, with a smile on his face that seemed to be maniacal. Aeolus was immediately terrified, but the next thing the announcer said comforted him a little. ¡°However, unless you actually have the affinity, we are not permitted to make a move against you.¡± the announcer said, calming down Aeolus. In reality, he wanted Aeolus to take a god realm affinity, since he wanted to see just how far he could make it. However, rules were rules, and he would try to enforce them if Aeolus were to eat the plate. ¡°I¡¯ll take a plate instilled with the affinity of death, when will it be ready?¡± Aeolus said, decisiveness in his eyes. He was going to book it the second he ate the plate. Besides, he could just come back when he was strong enough for cities to do nothing. He could already see it, a day when he could use an army of undead, and throw them at the walls of this city. However, it didn¡¯t take any time to prepare the plate, as the announcer seemed to have just summoned it. He extended it towards Aeolus, with a smile on his face. Aeolus took it, and flew towards the sky. He was going to leave the city and eat it, since that sounded so much easier. Only, some damned idiot and his screaming seemed to have screwed him over. ¡°Wait a minute, isn¡¯t that brat on a wanted poster?!¡± screamed some nobility who was spectating the tournament, while looking up at Aeolus. Aeolus immediately booked it before anyone could confirm what he just said, so that nobody would cause him any issues. Considering that his main affinity was wind, he was average in speed when he was flying in the air. However, compared to others, such as the announcer, who didn¡¯t even have the wind affinity, he was like lightning. The announcer couldn¡¯t even reach out towards Aeolus, as the second he was about to touch him, Aeolus disappeared from sight. ¡°God damn it!¡± the announcer roared, clearly unpleased with what just happened. The nobility would probably be mad that he let him escape, and would punish him or something. Frustrated at how such a thing could happen, he didn¡¯t want to accept it, and continued to soar in the sky, searching for Aeolus. However, Aeolus was already long gone, and was now tens of miles away from the city. After going on for about ten more minutes, he found a cave, and soared into it. He then sat down, and held the plate with food on it. However, the food really wasn¡¯t normal. He could sense an aura coming out of it, and it was so stifling that he felt some weird emotion growing within him that he had never felt before. ¡°Now that I have this plate, I can finally finish my affinity set, and I can walk on my path of cultivation with these assisting me.¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, and began to stuff himself. It tasted a little like chicken, but considering that he was stuffing himself with slop, it had a mix of everything. After thirty seconds, he had fully stuffed the plate into himself. He could sense something growing within his soul, and immediately checked it out. Inside his soul, he looked at the mid-layer. As expected, there was something within it, and Aeolus focused even deeper onto it. He saw that it was some black mist, and it was slowly growing. He sent some spirit towards it, but the black mist seemed to have rejected it, and shot it out. Aeolus was confused at the phenomenon, and sent in some spirit again. However, it was shot out again, and this time, the mist seemed to have grown huge enough to cover the whole mid-layer. ¡®So, it really sticks to its name, huh?¡¯ Aeolus muttered within his head, slowly acknowledging the affinity of death. It didn¡¯t accept anything that was living near it, including his spirit. How it was staying in his soul, Aeolus didn¡¯t know, but he couldn¡¯t power it up using his spirit. ¡°I¡¯ll need to find dead bodies, or kill some people, to test this affinity out. I haven¡¯t fully understood it yet, and I don¡¯t know the consequences it will place on me, so I¡¯ll stop playing with it for now.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and stood up. He then soared out of the cave, but he immediately stopped, and dropped to the ground. He felt a throbbing pain in his soul, and he once again looked. However, the next scene he saw shocked him. The sphere that was resting in the center of his soul, which represented his layer, was being sucked into the mid-layer, which was where the affinity of death lied. It began to be sucked into the black mist, and disappeared completely. Then, out of nowhere, a black, misty sphere replaced it. Aeolus sensed his mid-layer, and saw no sphere within it. Aeolus began to put things together, and realized what had just happened. ¡®The affinity of death sucked in the sphere, and gave birth to it once again. Now, it¡¯s a sphere that dedicates all its power to the death affinity!¡¯ Aeolus realized, and began to worry that he had lost all the spirit and vitality the sphere had given him, but he still had it. In fact, if anything, the amount of spirit and vitality it gave him now was much better. Along with that spirit and vitality, there seemed to be a boost in power towards the affinity of death. Aeolus realized another thing at this point. The sphere and affinity were helping each other, as the sphere powered up the affinity of death, while the affinity of death gave it more vitality and spirit. ¡°If I can do this for all of my affinities, my power will definitely seem weak now compared to myself in the future!¡± Aeolus acknowledged the potential of such a thing, and began to dream about using it in the future. However, now was not the time to do such a thing, as he still had the affinity of death to test out. This time, he soared into the sky without failure, and went to a town that he had left string in. On the way, he was contemplating whether or not he should use a dead body, or kill someone. After two minutes, he had arrived at the town, and decided to kill someone. That way, he could absorb their soul, and also try out the affinity of death. He began to stroll through the town, until he found a certain alleyway that he always trusted to find people in. He turned the corner, and found a guy mugging a woman, while also doing some questionable things to her, which was probably molestation. He sensed the soul of the man, and figured out that he was only at the first layer. Aeolus smirked, and continued to move ahead. He concealed his presence so that this man would not sense him, and continued to approach. The man finally noticed him with hearing, but by the time he turned around, he already died to string. Aeolus leaned down towards his body, but did not know what to do with it, besides absorbing the soul. At that point in time, he sensed an urge from his mid-layer, the dark mist jumping around. Giving into the dark mist, he took some of it into his fingertips, and sent it into the dead man. After a minute or two, a scene that looked like it came out of a litrpg book happened. The man who was supposedly dead stood up, and all the color in his eyes was gone. His skin seemed to be extremely pale, and his hair color was white. He kneeled down in front of Aeolus, and seemed to be trying to mouth out words, but failed terribly. He then stood up, and seemed to have been sucked into Aeolus. Aeolus checked within his soul, or more specifically, his mid-layer, and noticed him there. He was just floating within the dark mist, as if it was where he belonged. Aeolus stopped looking into his soul, and took a deep breath. He then cracked a sly grin, while beginning to laugh like a maniac. He then muttered a sentence that could give even a young, vigorous person a heart attack. His very words were: ¡°It seems my conquest of the dead begins here.¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 23: Building a Soldier The Roamers Chapter 23: Building a soldier Aeolus reached into the dark mist, and pulled out the body this time. He could feel something leaving his body, and saw that, in front of him, something was being built. After a second passed, the body of the man had been fully built. It was standing right in front of Aeolus, and staring at him. The body then kneeled, and looked towards the ground. ¡°What do you need of me, master?¡± the body said, and shocked Aeolus greatly. Before, it couldn¡¯t even make sounds using its mouth, but now it could speak full sentences? He didn¡¯t understand any of it, but he had a feeling that the body in front of him understood. ¡°Explain to me everything, my soldier.¡± Aeolus muttered to the body, while waiting for an explanation to come out of its mouth. ¡°In this world, life and death are exceedingly rare to find. Cases like yours are even rarer, since many people would not be idiotic enough to use such a rare affinity as a reward, though it is against the city¡¯s rule to have such an affinity.¡± the body began with its first explanation, and finished it with Aeolus understanding most of it. ¡°Life is used to bring the life out of someone, while death is used to bring the dead back. Among the two, death is the one looked down on the most, hence it being the rarest. In this world, only about two percent of cultivators have anything to do with the two affinities, and even less actually having them.¡± the body continued to explain, leaving Aeolus a little cautious of the future. If he were to run into other people with such an affinity, he would run into issues. ¡°Now, we¡¯re going to focus more on the affinity of death, since it¡¯s the one you have. When you bring someone back, they only have half the power of when they were alive. However, through the body continually experiencing battles and the such, they can grow to be as strong as they were when they were alive, and can even surpass their previous strength.¡± the body said, and then tilted its head downard and stared at the ground. Aeolus took this as a sign of it being done, and he began to comprehend everything it said. ¡°Ah sorry my master, but I forgot to say one thing. A body cannot become stronger than the master no matter what, and if half the strength of the monster that is brought back is stronger than the master, a limiter will be placed on it to weaken it.¡± the body said, and looked down again. Aeolus gave it a few seconds this time, to make sure it said everything it needed. After seeing that it wasn¡¯t talking, he took it all in and began to understand it. ¡®So, if I want it to get strong, It¡¯s going to have to fight in my place?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, seemingly satisfied. Having an army fight for him, while he didn¡¯t fight at all, was indeed an image that he could use to show that he was strong to the world. He then thought of something that he realized in the arena, and pulled out some string. ¡°Here, have this string. I¡¯m going to need you to wield it in future fights, and you can even experience some of my fights to grow.¡± Aeolus said, while handing the string to the body. He¡¯d just go to some store and steal some more string for himself, so he¡¯d be fine. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, I can¡¯t just watch master fight and grow. We bodies are brought back with twenty-five percent of the masters combat knowledge, so I already know a little about the string. Still, we can not watch other people fight and learn from it, we have to be in a fight ourselves to grow. Everytime we bodies fight and survive, we gain two percent of masters spirit and combat knowledge, until we gain everything the master has. At that point, we bodies will be as strong as master¡± the body explained, trying to make Aeolus realize this fact. However, Aeolus certainly understood it, and was troubled by it. ¡®This means that I must stand back for some fights and let it fight.¡¯ Aeolus realized, and was somewhat angry. He would have to sacrifice some future experience to his army if he wanted to grow it. However, he was mostly pleased, as it seemed to progress so fast. ¡°We¡¯ll dedicate all fights to you until you¡¯re as strong as me, then we¡¯ll continue on with me getting stronger.¡± Aeolus decided, and sucked the body back into him. He had decided that he would train the body for a couple of weeks, until it was as strong as him. Just like that, Aeolus began building what would, in the far future, be his ultimate soldier. --- Sequence 2 --- A few weeks had passed, and the first soldier of his body had grown to ninety five percent of Aeolus¡¯ power and knowledge, so it was doing extremely well. Aeolus also figured out that when he fought with it, it would still gain things from him, but only a single percent, instead of two percent. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡®By tomorrow, if we run around enough, we should be able to give it all of my power.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, pleased with how this whole death affinity situation had turned out. He also found out that, although the soldier couldn¡¯t figure out what he was thinking, it could feel out the emotions radiating from him. Along with that, he found that the closer it got to one hundred percent of his power and knowledge, the more it remembered from its past life, including techniques and attacks. It had already long ago surpassed its past self, and had the power of six layers. Once it reached one hundred percent, it would have the power and knowledge of a seventh layer combatant. ¡°Master, surely just me won¡¯t suffice?¡± the body asked, confused by Aeolus¡¯ actions. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Aeolus asked, not knowing what to make of what the body just said. Just this one body was plenty, as it was basically the equivalent of him. ¡°If you wish to truly conquer the world, just me won¡¯t work. You¡¯ll need more underlings, more people who can attack the whole world because of their loyalty to master.¡± the body said, with a tone that made it seem as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Of course, Aeolus knew all this, but he had a different thought process. He¡¯d create an army, but he¡¯d go one by one, making each soldier into a mega soldier. If each soldier of his was enough to destroy a city, then an army of them could definitely stand against the world. The only issue he would experience is the life and death affinity users throughout the world, but he should be able to handle them. ¡°For now, just don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll be the one worrying about the army.¡± Aeolus said, waving off everything the soldier had just said. ¡°Yes master¡± it replied, while kneeling down on the ground. ¡°Now, what we need is to get in three more fights for you, and you¡¯ll hit one hundred percent.¡± Aeolus said, while sucking in the soldier. After a second, the soldier was fully inside his mid-layer, and he soared towards the sky. He had already spent a week in all the towns that his string was located in, so he flew in a random direction. After an hour of flying, he found some big body of water, no, humongous body of water. Aeolus realized that this might be the ocean, and didn¡¯t dare to cross it. Even people with the affinity of water would struggle in the ocean, as the monsters located within were terrible creatures that could rip up most people. Considering that, Aeolus turned right and kept flying along the coast. After a minute or two of flying, he found a city. It seemed to be just as impressive as the last city he was in, and smirked at his luck. The only thing he didn¡¯t quite enjoy was that there was a chance he would be banned due to his affinity, but he could just book it if it¡¯s illegal in there. He descended towards the city gate, and landed in front of it. He walked into the city, and began to observe everything there was to it. After walking for a while, he found something that made his body ache. In front of him, was a slave prison. He could see an arena, and many slaves within. He looked towards the log cutting area, and saw that there were indeed slaves cutting away. He sighed, and was about to turn around, but something caught his eyes. He looked hard at some person wearing a hood, and he could swear that it resembled an old uncle that lived in his village. ¡®It can¡¯t be¡­ is that uncle Sheng?!¡¯ Aeolus realized, and was shocked by the turn of events. His spirit immediately flared, but he calmed it down. Though he wanted to save this uncle of the village, he couldn¡¯t do it like this. He would definitely be caught and killed if he were to do it so directly. ¡°It seems that I¡¯ll need to stay in this city for a bit longer than a week.¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, and turned around. He definitely would not be able to save uncle Shen anytime soon, and would need to plan out what to do. He found an inn to stay at, and paid to stay for two weeks. After he did that, considering it was still day-time outside, he left, and soared out of the city. After flying for a bit, he saw nothing no matter which direction he looked in, and grinned to himself. He brought out his soldier, which immediately kneeled in front of him. ¡°What is it that you need of me, master?¡± the soldier asked, with a pale expression on its face, as usual. ¡°I want you to duel with me, and don¡¯t use any of the techniques or attacks that you used to have. Only use my knowledge and powers, I wish to see my weaknesses through this battle.¡± Aeolus said calmly, while beginning to bring out the new string he had bought at a store. ¡°As master wishes, I will duel with you using only the skills I have gained from you.¡± the body said, and stood up. As soon as it stood up, it shot string towards Aeolus, which pierced where he was just standing. Aeolus tried to rush in, but as expected, the string stopped him from doing so. Aeolus tried to back out of this, but he couldn¡¯t. He looked behind him, and there was string that wasn¡¯t there before. Aeolus had never thought of using the string like this, so he was happy with this soldier of his. However, before he could be happy for any longer, he felt a piercing pain coming in from all sides, and realized that he had already been trapped in the string arena. Aeolus quickly moved through the string using the flowing water technique, and soared into the sky. However, string didn¡¯t shoot at him as expected, but his soldier was behind him instead. Aeolus had already set up string in that area, so he was good to go, but he was wrong apparently. The soldier used the flowing water technique to avoid it all, and punched him back down towards the ground. He landed on the ground, in the middle of the string arena. Before he could even stand up, string was shooting towards him. He tried to resist it by deflecting some of the string using wind, but it was futile. He was immediately pierced in all directions, and was screaming in pain. Fortunately, the soldier had avoided all the vital spots, so Aeolus was only suffering from pain and blood loss at this time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry master, but I do not have the affinity of healing, so I can¡¯t help you.¡± the soldier said sincerely, while digging its head into the ground. It clearly felt guilty because of what it just did, but its master had ordered it to do so, so it was forced into it. ¡®It¡¯s ok, just leave me on the ground and let the spirit infusion technique do its work.¡¯ Aeolus said in his head, and his emotions reached the soldier. The soldier nodded and stood up, then sent itself into Aeolus. It then began to contribute its spirit to Aeolus, which sped up the process of soul infusion. ¡°To think that even a soldier who isn¡¯t as strong as me knowledge-wise or power-wise was able to beat me down without me landing a single hit¡­¡± Aeolus said, while shutting his eyes to get some sleep, considering that he did not have the energy to fly back towards the inn. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 24: Learning from Experience The Roamer Chapter 24: Learning from experience Aeolus woke up, and looked around. He saw that nobody was around, not even his soldier. He check within his soul, and sure enough, his soldier was right there, floating in the dark mist. Aeolus smirked to himself, and summoned him. It immediately began to kneel, but Aeolus stopped it this time, being as direct as possible. ¡°I need you to teach me how to optimize my efficiency with my weapon.¡± Aeolus said calmly, looking at the soldier expectantly. Without having all of his power and knowledge, the soldier still beat him without getting a scratch. This clearly wasn¡¯t a question of knowledge and power, but just skills, actual skills. ¡°Master, if a soldier such as me teaches you, I¡¯d have to stop being loyal to you. It¡¯s already an embarrassment that a mere soldier is able to beat you, but you want it to teach you?¡± the soldier said, with a disapproving look on its face. Aeolus looked back on what it said, and found it logical. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll have to continuously duel you to try and figure it out.¡± Aeolus said, while sending his emotions toward the soldier. The soldier picked up on one of the emotions, and realized Aeolus wanted a duel, so it got into its fighting stance. Now that Aeolus observed it, even it¡¯s stance was very, very different from his. Aeolus rushed at it, and avoided most of the string using the flowing water technique, and continued to rush towards it. However, this time, he was shut down even faster than the last fight, and it was to something he didn¡¯t even see coming. He dropped to the ground, with blood coming out of his mouth. However, it quickly healed up, and Aeolus stood up back up and rushed towards the soldier. This process repeated six times before Aeolus found something out that the soldier was doing. He found it while falling to the ground one time, and realized how he was dropping to the ground without even seeing where he was hit. It was utilizing his technique to hit the opponent after they passed a string, right in the blind spot. That way, their guard would be lowered, and you could puncture them easily. Instead, it changed something there. It would send in string from everywhere, so that even if he noticed it was coming in from the back, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it. Above all that, the soldier himself moved his body, and it would be floating in the sky just in chance Aeolus did escape. Using this information, he began to set up a new string formation. This time, he rushed in, but stopped using the flowing water technique. He identified the string himself, and avoided it. The flowing water technique wasn¡¯t strong enough right now, and when things were coming at it from all sides, it would begin to falter, resulting in him getting punctured. At that point, it was better to just go without the flowing water technique. He was always on guard this time, not letting it cease for even half a second. After a bit, he jumped over a string, and realized that objects were moving in towards him from all sides. He did something a bit new this time, and strengthened his wind and poison affinities to their limit. He then sent string flying out towards the string coming toward him, and began to deflect them all away. Of course, the soldier just sent them back in. However, Aeolus expected all of this, hence the use of poison and wind affinity. The wind affinity was being used to make sure his string could keep up with the soldiers string, and the poison would continuously rot the soldiers string, until it all rotted away. After continuously doing the same thing for about five minutes, the soldier had exhausted all of its string, so much so that it was about to begin reeling back the string it had set up on the battlefield as traps to fight Aeolus. However, when it tried to reel in all the string it had used to set up traps, it couldn¡¯t. However, Aeolus knew why it couldn¡¯t quite perfectly. Power-wise, he was still a bit superior to the soldier, so his string could keep up with its string even without the wind affinity. The wind affinity was used so that some of his extra string could go around and destroy the traps that the soldier had set on the battlefield. Now, the fruits of his effort were showing, and he realized he was evolving at a rapid pace. He once again rushed at the soldier, which put its hands up. Knowing that it had run out of string, it couldn¡¯t just turn around and begin to run, or surrender, so it decided to fight hand-to-hand with Aeolus. However, Aeolus did not have enough mercy to stop using his string and fight with it directly. Aeolus was just rushing to it and using himself as a distraction, while the real move was being set up around them. However, by the time soldier had realized this, Aeolus had already flown up, and it was pierced by all sides, disintegrating back into Aeolus¡¯ soul. Aeolus had used his ultimate move, ¡®string arena¡¯, and killed it off by using himself as a distraction. He healed up the soldier well enough, and summoned it back out. ¡°You are truly impressive master, I expected at least fifty more rounds before you could even come close to victory.¡± the soldier said, speaking as honestly as it could. Even if it didn¡¯t speak, Aeolus could hear its thoughts, so there wasn¡¯t anything it could hide from him.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Now that you¡¯re superior to me knowledge-wise, power-wise, and skill-wise, there isn¡¯t much of a chance left for me or any other soldier to beat you.¡± the soldier said, with the truth embedded in every word within the sentence. It seemed to kneel even deeper this time around when talking to Aeolus, but this just represented that it respected him even more now. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that you can teach me anymore, and I think I¡¯ve surpassed my limits enough in this one session. We¡¯re going to go free that uncle from the slave prison.¡± Aeolus said calmly, with a wise look in his eyes. He felt as if he had truly gained enlightenment during this session. It wasn¡¯t all about knowledge and power, it¡¯s about how you use it as well. Aeolus absorbed the soldier into the dark mist, and flew towards the sky. He detected the string he had left in that city, and soared towards it. After a minute or two of flying, he had crossed the necessary miles, and arrived in front of the city. He didn¡¯t stop flying though, and kept going until he detected the slave prison deep within the city. He wasn¡¯t patient enough to sit down and calmly strategize a plan, as in the end, he was still a kid who moved based on his emotions. He wanted to free this uncle from the village so much, so even though he didn¡¯t come in blazing, he didn¡¯t come in calmly either. He hid his aura and passed through the guards easily. He arrived at the cells, that seemed exactly like the ones he used to stay at when he was in the top six hundred. Thinking back to those days, Aeolus smirked to himself, and kept moving on. He didn¡¯t know what cell his uncle was in, so he had to stop and take a look in each one individually. After doing it for about half an hour, he had finally found the cell where the uncle was lying in. He had a stomach that looked extremely thin, and a beard that made him look like the master of a certain magical school. Aeolus kept staring at this uncle, with a wistful look in his eye. He didn¡¯t know how his village had fallen so low, but he was dedicated to saving them. He cut the bars using his string easily, and walked in. The uncle seemed surprised, but he clearly didn¡¯t have the energy to even move his legs, which nearly brought Aeolus to tears. ¡°Y-Y-You, who are you¡­?¡± said the uncle in a dying voice, his life force clearly exhausted. Aeolus didn¡¯t blame him, as he was also exhausted, but he had only stayed for months, not even a year. However, this uncle had been staying here for nearly three years, so he had every right to seem and act tired. ¡°We can discuss that when we get out of here.¡± Aeolus said, and picked up the old uncle. The shackles on the uncle were beginning to radiate, and the uncle released a pained moan. Aeolus cut them off right away, not willing to see his uncle in more pain. Aeolus sneakily escaped the slave prison, and flew off back towards the cave where he had stayed and fought the soldier out of. While flying, he was sending spirit out of his fingertips and into his uncle, who was healing at a rapid pace. Even if Aeolus did not have an affinity related to healing, just the strength of his spirit was more then enough to heal a person who hadn¡¯t even reached the foundation levels. After flying for a few more minutes, he arrived in front of the cave. He landed down, and brought out his soldier. He ordered the soldier to also infuse spirit into the old uncle using his emotions, and the soldier followed suit. After ten minutes of just kneeling over the uncle and infusing spirit into him, he had finally woken up fully. ¡°Aeolus¡­ is that you?!¡± the uncle roared, now fully healed. In the slave prison, he seemed like a seventy year old, but now he looked like his normal age, a forty year old. He couldn¡¯t believe that it was Aeolus who broke him out of the slave prison, and much less that he was the one who healed him. ¡°Yes uncle, it¡¯s me.¡± Aeolus said calmly, not willing to invoke any emotions within the uncle that were too severe. Who knew what would happen if he got such strong emotions right after he healed, he could have a heart attack, or something along those lines. However, just him confirming that he was Aeolus had already invoked an extreme emotion in the uncle. ¡°H-How did you get out of slavery? Why are you so powerful, at least in healing, and why?!¡± the uncle was extremely confused, and did not understand the situation at all. Aeolus, who had realized he needed to explain everything, sighed and put the soldier back into the dark mist. He then sat down with the uncle, and began to explain everything in detail, so that he wouldn¡¯t pester him with more questions. Of course, Aeolus knew that the uncle was just worried and confused, so he didn¡¯t blame him. Thus, Aeolus began to recite his whole tale from scratch. --- sequence 2 --- ¡°I see, so that''s how we ended up in such a situation. Still, wasn¡¯t peace the way of our villagers?¡± the uncle asked, this time with wisdom and knowledge in his eyes. After Aeolus had described everything that had happened in the period of time when he was a slave, even he felt like he got younger, just from the information! ¡°Peace is the way of our village, but this world refuses to accept peace. I¡¯ll be the one to break the peace within the village, while the rest can maintain their ways. For now, I need you to tell me something uncle.¡± Aeolus said, with a serious look emerging on his face. The uncle realized just how much Aeolus had matured, considering that he used to be a rotten boy who would wipe his snot all over his shirt. He began to listen intently, ready to answer any question that may be launched at him. ¡°Can you tell me if any other villagers have become slaves within the prison?¡± Aeolus asked, with killing intent rising. If there were any more, he would fly back right away, and save them all. However, the uncles sad look immediately influenced the killing intent within Aeolus to rise. ¡°There were others who came with me, but they were all women. Most of them have¡­ gone away. Only one of them remains, and she is a concubine to one of the nobles of the city. She also happens to be my wife, Christine.¡± the uncle replied honestly, not hiding anything to Aeolus. He realized that if the village were to ever continue, considering Aeolus¡¯ power, he would be the one in charge. For that reason, he trusted him fully. ¡®This¡­ is a far worse situation than I had imagined.¡¯ Aeolus said to himself in his mind, while his killing intent was literally leaking out in the form of spirit. She had placed herself in a far worse situation then being a slave, and was being used as a mere toy! Aeolus tried to calm himself down, because he knew he couldn¡¯t even begin to compare against the nobles, much less the guards of the nobles. However, he couldn¡¯t calm down, as he had even more motivation now then when he saved the uncle. ¡°Two months, that¡¯s all this city will get before I raid it and decimate it.¡± Aeolus decided, not sparing any mercy on such a low-life city. If he didn¡¯t teach the world manners now, then when would he? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 25: Preparations The Roamer Chapter 25: Preparations ¡°For now uncle, you¡¯ll stay in this cave. Once I save your wife in two months, we¡¯ll find a new place to grow the village.¡± Aeolus said decisively, not leaving any space to argue with him. The uncle wanted to go back to their old village, but after remembering how they got caught in the first place, he knew that going to their old village would only result in them getting captured once more. ¡°What¡¯ll you do then, Aeolus?¡± the uncle said, curious of how Aeolus was going to save his wife, in two months as well. Aeolus smirked at his question, and began to reply. ¡°I¡¯ve been stuck in the first layer for a long time. Every layer has the same amount of power, so the more layers you get, the more powerful you are. If only my first layer is the equivalent of seven layers to a normal person due to it surviving extreme conditions constantly, then my second layer will also be the equivalent of seven layers powerwise.¡± Aeolus explained, not leaving out anything. If he could, he really wanted to motivate the villagers to cultivate. Even if they didn¡¯t fight using their cultivation, it could help out even when it came to the normal life of a person! ¡°However, breaking through too early is why I haven¡¯t formed the three layers yet. I want to take my time so that I don¡¯t acquire weird side effects once I form them. However, I should have taken enough time to myself that forming the second layer should not be an issue. For the third layer, I¡¯ll still have to give it a couple more years before I form it.¡± Aeolus explained, with a determined look shining on his childish face. The uncle, once again, acknowledged Aeolus as someone superior to him. ¡°So you plan on forming your second layer?¡± the uncle asked, confused at what Aeolus was hinting at. ¡°Yes, I plan on that. However, we¡¯re also going to do some additional affinity training. I¡¯m going to try and then fuse my wind affinity with a layer, which should get me to the power level of a nineteenth layer fighter if done successfully.¡± Aeolus explained even more in-depth, trying to finish up everything on this end. He knew that breaking someone out of a slave prison and someone out from royalty was completely different, as the latter probably had way better defenses. For that reason, he wanted to make good use of his time, as he only had two months. Sure, he could stay longer than that, but it would then stall the amount of time he had to roam the world, and he wanted to experience a lot of this wide world. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ll be going now. I¡¯ll bring you provisions every day, and make sure that you stay alive and safe.¡± Aeolus said, comforting the uncle as much as he could. He then stood up, waved, and flew away. ¡®Now that I stopped uncle from worrying, I need to get down to the real business.¡¯ Aeolus muttered within his head, a serious look casting over his face. He tried to hide the fact that things weren¡¯t looking good at all to his uncle. In reality, even with reaching such a high power after forming his second layer, it probably still would not be enough. ¡®What I need to do now is make use of the affinity of death, and raise not an army of undead, but an elite team of undead.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while nodding to his thoughts. In reality, he never liked the thought of having an army, and would rather have a team of loyal, strong fighters who vary in skills. ¡°They¡¯ll all need to have different affinities, attacks, and techniques to get the most out of them. I don¡¯t want to have an elite team that surpasses much more than a thousand, no matter what. Having too much troops will be uncomfortable with me, and requires too much control and handling for me to take care of.¡± Aeolus continued to explain the plan to himself, trying to memorize it as much as possible. He really didn¡¯t want a huge army, he didn¡¯t think that he would fit into such a scene. ¡®In these two months, I want to experience at least two more battles that take my skills to the limit, and evolve myself. Battles with opponents strong enough to make them into one of the people belonging to my elite team as well.¡¯ Aeolus went even more in-depth, continuously making up the plan as he went along. After a few more minutes of thinking, he got a lock-down on what he was searching for. --- sequence 2 --- He had been flying town to town, but didn¡¯t stop to fight people unless they had at least three layers. He was having issues with his plan, as there really were almost no strong people in towns. After two weeks, Aeolus stopped moving in the middle of the sky, and descended.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡®If I can¡¯t find people to join my undead elites, then I¡¯ll just focus on myself.¡¯ Aeolus thought in his mind, and was preparing for the second layer. In reality, he could have already broken through to the second layer a long time ago, but he was holding it off. Now, he really needed a breakthrough, and this was a perfect situation to use it in. ¡°I need to find some safe location to breakthrough in. I can¡¯t just leave myself as an open target right now.¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, and continued to fly. He then remembered the cave the uncle was in, and his eyes lit up. He sensed out the string he had left on the uncle, and soared towards it. After twenty minutes of flying, he finally arrived at his destination. Aeolus dropped onto the ground, and walked into the cave, all while thinking that this cave was his treasure cove. Just think about it. He had evolved rapidly fighting is soldier here, used it as a shelter for his uncle, and was now about to use it to develop his second layer. ¡°Aeolus, you¡¯re safe!¡± the uncle roared, tears running down his face. In reality, everytime Aeolus brought provisions to this old man, he would always bust out crying. He really was a sensitive uncle. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m safe uncle. You might want to leave this cave now, I¡¯m developing my second layer now.¡± Aeolus said, while using the wind affinity to lightly shove the uncle out of the cave using wind. He then sealed up the cave behind him using string, to make sure absolutely nobody enters. ¡®I can¡¯t be distracted during such an important event.¡¯ Aeolus muttered in his mind. He went to the deepest part of the cave, and found a dead-end. He smirked to himself, and sat down cross-legged. He closed his eyes, and focused on his spirit. He was trying to remember how it felt to make the first layer, and was slowly grasping it. He took in all the leftover spirit in his body, along with some spirit coming from each layer within his soul. He then looked at the first sphere, or his first layer, and focused on molding the spirit into such a thing. However, Aeolus stopped to think for a bit. ¡°Who said that a layer has to be represented using a sphere?¡± he asked himself, and began trying something new. He began to mold the layer into something he remembered long ago, a goddess from his village. He molded the spirit into a shape resembling her very slightly, and after four hours, had finally perfected the shape. It looked exactly like the goddess, with the silver flowing hair, the pale white face, and right body. However, it quickly disassembled, and a voice entered his head. ¡°Don¡¯t try to mold your layer into something resembling me, you¡¯re still not strong enough to challenge and de-throne the gods. Mold your layer into me once you achieve the power to at least beat a lower god.¡± some woman said in Aeolus¡¯ head, and disappeared. ¡°Wait, what?!¡± Aeolus roared, but it seemed the voice of the woman was gone, as he didn¡¯t hear a reply. Aeolus began to calm himself down, and after a minute or so, he busted down laughing. The issue was that, even he couldn¡¯t tell why he was laughing. ¡®I need to calm down once again, and begin molding the layer again.¡¯ Aeolus said in his head, and, once again, began to mold the layer into the shape of the goddess. This so called goddess wasn¡¯t there to save the village from going into such a situation, so he had no loyalty towards her. ¡°You still dare to mold it into something representing me?¡± a womanly voice appeared once again, and sounded pissed off by quite a bit. However, Aeolus nodded to it and began to converse with it. ¡®When all the villagers were captured, where were you to help us? You¡¯re the villages goddess, yet all that happened without you interfering and helping.¡¯ Aeolus said, with some anger swelling up in him. He hated thinking about the village and its situation it was in, and wanted to reunite everybody and make a new village. Now, however, it seems that some villagers had already died. However, the goddess didn¡¯t reply, and stayed silent. Aeolus, wondering if the goddess had heard him, said the same thing outloud. Who knows, maybe she couldn¡¯t hear what he thought? Still, there was no reaction or reply from her at all, so Aeolus just began to ignore her a this point. He had fully molded the spirit into something resembling her, and began to force it into the center layer. Just like before, his whole body and spirit began to rip and tear, while the pain was excruciating. However, Aeolus held on, as he knew that there would definitely be some kind of gain for molding the layer into the shape of a goddess. After thirty minutes, the layer had been fully formed, and looked natural while floating in the center layer. Aeolus smirked at himself, and knew that even though he couldn¡¯t sense any change, he had just doubled in power. He looked at the soldier within the mid-layer, and saw that he also had some advancements in power. ¡°You¡¯re a gutsy human, one that needs to be put down. Hurry up and achieve the hundreth layer, so that you can enter the heavens.¡± the goddess said, anger evident in her voice. However, Aeolus¡¯ reply to such a thing surprised her. ¡°No, I don¡¯t wanna go to the realm of the gods. How about you gods come down here, and we can talk this out?¡± He said in a calm, teasing voice. The goddess merely giggled, and disappeared. Aeolus, realizing that he was now all alone, ran out of the cave to rejoice with his uncle. ¡°Did you do it, Aeolus?!¡± the uncle screamed, excitement in his expression. Aeolus had been in the cave for so many hours, so he was worried something wrong had happened. However, with the sly grin on Aeolus¡¯ face, he could tell it was a success. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you want some of this?¡± Aeolus said, while throwing a booze that he had been storing in his soul towards his uncle. The people at the village were a rowdy bunch, and loved to party. For that reason, he knew that the uncle would probably get hammered today. He did end up partying all day and night with Aeolus, and it let him reminisce about the days of the village. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 26: Undead formation The Roamer Chapter 26: Undead formation ¡°Now that I¡¯ve formed my second layer, It¡¯s time I get a move on.¡± Aeolus said, and began to float. However, his uncle reached out towards him. ¡°Wait, where are you going?!¡± he said, confused at what Aeolus was going to do now. He always left and came without warnings, so he barely had any time to actually interact with him. Thankfully, he actually caught him before he flew off this time, so that¡¯s something. ¡°I¡¯m going to get at least two more undead comrades, to prepare for the breakout of your wife.¡± Aeolus said calmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. However, the uncle was having an emotional breakdown. Sure, he wanted to break his wife out of such a life. On the other hand, he didn¡¯t want to risk the life of Aeolus, who in the end, was still just a kid. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it uncle, I¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s your wife that you should be more worried about.¡± Aeolus said, while flashing a smile in the direction of the uncle. On the other hand, he was not nearly as calm in his mind. He knew one of the comrades he wanted to get for the undead elites, but didn¡¯t know the other. ¡®First, I¡¯ll go get the one who sent me to hell.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, while showing a supreme grin on his face. There was an old slave who also had the same origins as him, and it was about time he paid him a visit to pay him back for everything he did. First, he sent him flying back to the town, and he also sent him to hell. Although, he was a bit thankful for the hell part. ¡°According to my string, he¡¯s to the east. I¡¯ll be heading out now uncle, take care.¡± Aeolus said, while soaring into the sky. He then began to fly in the direction of the string, while acknowledging all the advantages of the slave he was about to make an undead comrade. He definitely had some strange affinity or attack to be able to release an attack sending a person to hell. With that thought in mind, Aeolus knew that the other slave escapee was special, and that he would be a valuable asset to his small, elite army in the future. He had a goal in his mind, one where each and every single comrade in his army was able to take down a city themselves. ¡®Sooner or later, this dream will become a reality once I reach the very top.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, but worry immediately clouded his mind. He remembered something from when he developed his second layer, and was extremely worried about the goddess. Humanity clearly wouldn¡¯t be his final challenge, and from the way she worded things, there would be some sort of war with the gods later on for him. That is, if he survived until then. ¡°I¡¯ll live until then, no matter what.¡± Aeolus said to himself, instilling conviction into the deepest part of his body. He was dedicated to becoming the strongest, all while saving the villagers that he shared memories with. After thinking about all of that, he had finally reached the location where the string was located. He saw a big city, and was still impressed by its size. It was his first city he had seen, so of course he would be impressed. Along with that, it was the location where he began his journey to hell. ¡®I¡¯ll need to pay a visit to hell again, I bet there¡¯s more to it then what I saw.¡¯ Aeolus thought in his mind, while walking through the city gates. He remembered he had fought on top of a floating platform, so he took to the sky. As expected, there was a floating platform up here, with the same old slave escapee just sleeping there. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s his home as well, as if he¡¯s some sort of guardian.¡± Aeolus said, while remembering all the bad things that this slave escapee has done to him. Some rage bubbled up within him, but surprisingly, he felt as if he was more grateful for this person then hateful. ¡®Of course I would have emotions like that, it was all because of him that I had become so powerful with string.¡¯ Aeolus said within his mind, and flew towards the floating platform. He landed, and walked toward the sleeping slave. He had hidden his aura, so a mere fourth layer would definitely not be able to identify him. ¡°Hmm, you¡¯ve formed your sixth layer?¡± Aeolus said, while inspecting the power of the former slave. Indeed, he definitely seemed much stronger than before. Aeolus was pleased with that, as it wouldn¡¯t take as long to get him to the his level now. Aeolus stabbed his head with his hand, and pulled it out. He was thoroughly dead, with his eyes wide open.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡®Poor guy, woke up while he was dying.¡¯ Aeolus said, pitying the poor slave. He then began the process of bringing him back from endless death, and after a couple of minutes, it was successful. The body stood up, and kneeled in front of Aeolus. ¡°Master, what do you wish of me?¡± the body said, while Aeolus was beginning to giggle to himself. He sure can do some crazy things with this affinity of death. He then absorbed the body into the dark mist within his soul, and soared towards another, very specific location. --- sequence 2 ---- He was heading to the old ghost town that he had visited two years ago, before he went to Hell. He wanted to capture the owner of the very manor bringing devastation to the people within the town. Anger began to bubble up in Aeolus, but he was being extremely calm about the situation, so he wasn¡¯t that angry. ¡®I¡¯m just going to take everything out of the manor, all life will be decimated.¡¯ Aeolus said calmly in his mind, as if this was common sense. In reality, he was taking a dark turn in life, and he wasn¡¯t realizing it. Before, he would probably just tell them to stop doing it, while sparing their lives. These days, he never even considered peace, and would immediately begin ripping heads off. After flying for about half an hour, he finally left the desert and was back to the green, lush lands. He looked left and right, and saw towering mountains, while seeing towns far, far off. Aeolus smiled to himself, because this land is where he originated from, or so he thought. He saw the town that he was heading for, and frowned. Everytime he came back, it really did get worse. At this point in time, there weren¡¯t even buildings anymore, but just rubble. He saw so many bodies on the ground, that he didn¡¯t know whether to laugh out of insanity or go cry in a pit. Rage began bubbling up in him, even though he had soothed it before. He saw the lit up manor, and could see many shadows within the windows. It was currently night time, and it was lit up like a candle in the middle of a dark room. Meanwhile, everything outside of the manor was rotting and dying, like the people lying on the ground who weren¡¯t breathing. Before going into the manor, Aeolus grieved for all the dead people, and even buried some. Along with that, he also found some bodies that had breathing going in them, so he immediately restored life in them. Essentially, he was tidying up the town. After about ten minutes of doing so, he finally decided that this manor needed to be eliminated. He soared above the manor, and began setting up a string arena so big that he ran out of string. He summoned his first undead, and took its string as well. Only after using nearly all of it, did he finally form the string arena. It was humongous, it was almost surrounding the whole town. ¡°Anybody who tries to run out of the manor will immediately be executed.¡± Aeolus said within his mind, while calling out his new undead that he had just got. It was currently at the third layer since it lost half of its power, and it didn¡¯t remember any attacks or techniques. The most use he could make out of it was to give it a weapon, and let it continuously use soul attacks. Thankfully, it was already dead, so there would be no defects to doing such a thing. He sent it in first, as a distraction for the people in the manor. As expected, he heard some attacks being launched in there. Unfortunately for the living, the soldier he sent in was undead, so unless they completely destroyed its body, it would regenerate. A little after that, he began to see people running out of the manor, and their faces turning dark with horror. He began to giggle a little, as it seemed like his string arena really did scare them. The string immediately shot out, and every person who stepped out died immediately. After a bit, he realized that the soldier he had sent into the manor was back in the mid-layer. Aeolus, realizing that his soldier had been beaten, wasn''t that surprised, and was in fact waiting for it. Besides, it was only at the third layer, who expected it to survive for long? He brought the soldier back out, and descended towards the manor with the two undead. He landed in front of it, and blasted away the doors. He saw the grand stairs, lobby, and everything else within. He also saw that there were four bodies on the ground, while smirking to himself. ¡®My new undead comrade did good huh?¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, while vibrating his emotions towards the undead. ¡°I am forever loyal to you, master.¡± the undead said, without kneeling at this time. Even the undead, who didn¡¯t have much of a brain left, still understood that this was a serious situation, and didn¡¯t dare to put their guard down. ¡°It seems we have uninvited guests at the manor.¡± Some man wearing golden robes descended the stairs, and Aeolus knew the final battle for this town was here. He began breathing heavily, because he remembered the power this man had vibrated. However, excitement was also flowing throughout his body, because he knew that this man would be brought down. ¡°It¡¯s about time the people of this town experience freedom.¡± Aeolus said, while sending in both his undead. However, they were both immediately smited, though it was to be expected. Of course they wouldn¡¯t survive long, they didn¡¯t even have weapons! However, his first undead, surprisingly, didn¡¯t completely lose out, and landed some sort of curse on the master. However, the master of the manor easily brushed it off, literally. He brushed it off his arm, and laid it on the undead. Just like that, its head exploded, and it came back into Aeolus¡¯ body. Aeolus immediately retracted all the string that was being used for the massive arena, as he definitely would not survive this battle without a weapon. ¡°Come at me when you¡¯re ready, former slave.¡± the master said, with what Aeolus could swear was a sadistic smile. However, what Aeolus didn¡¯t realize was that he also had this smile on his face, and it was beaming even more so then the masters. Both were excited for the battle, as they realized that they might experience a fights that needs them to break the limiters on their body. ¡°I¡¯m ready to die today!¡± Aeolus roared, and ran in, inciting the final battle for this town. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 27: Battle of Destruction The Roamer Chapter 27: Battle of destruction Aeolus had already set up the string while rushing in towards him, so he was fully set on running towards the master. He reached out with his spirit arm, and thrusted it towards the master. However, he easily evaded, and seemed to karate chop towards his neck. Thankfully, Aeolus had already prepared the flowing water technique, and avoided it. Still, there was blood leaking from his neck, showing just how skilled his opponent is. Aeolus sent in his strongest soldier, which had the power of an eighth layer, along with his second soldier. He was stalling for time, because he knew there was more to this neck injury than meets the eye. If he left it like this, his throat would eventually clog up, and he¡¯d choke on his own blood. If he didn¡¯t solve the issue now, who knows what would happen later on during this battle. After a minute or two of stalling, Aeolus had finally healed fully. He stood up, and rushed into the scene, which didn¡¯t look that good. His first undead comrade was missing an arm, while the second one seemed to have half of his head ripped off. Aeolus pulled them out of the situation, and threw himself in. ¡°That won¡¯t be able to hit me!¡± the master roared, and swung his fist towards Aeolus. However, Aeolus jumped away, and got away with his plan. String surrounded the master, and locked him in. However, it didn¡¯t work for long, and he broke out. Still, Aeolus¡¯ poison had set in, putting his plan in motion. ¡°This little poison won¡¯t be able to affect me for a long, long time.!¡± the master roared, while sending out a spirit attack. The situation was really desperate for him, as most of the people within the manor were dead, and he realized where the poison was going. The poison had been inserted near his genital area, and he had no way of fortifying it from an inside attack. Essentially, if he didn¡¯t hurry up, he would be in excruciating pain, and very soon too. He flew into the air, and as expected, all the string chased after him. The master smirked, expecting such a thing. He finally showed one of his affinities to Aeolus, light. His limbs separated from his body in what seemed to be an orderly fashion, and went so fast that even he couldn¡¯t see them. They easily ripped up the string, and continued to fly towards Aeolus. ¡°As if such a lowly attack will end me!¡± Aeolus roared, and rushed towards it. He held one of his soldiers on his back, the weak one. He threw it in the direction of the incoming attack, and took the hit for him. The soldier immediately retracted into the soul of Aeolus, as expected, but Aeolus kept on going. The master, not expecting him to use the undead as cannon fodder, put his guard down for a bit, but immediately fortified it in the front. Though, this was where the master messed up most during the battle. Aeolus utilized his own attack he had formed long ago, and sent string flying at the back of the master while his guard was down in the wrong places. The string immediately pierced him, and came out on the other side. Aeolus missed his intended destination, the heart, but it still pierced some sort of organ. The master coughed up blood, but he didn¡¯t seem to be in such a bad situation. However, Aeolus clung onto the string that came out of the master, and yanked on it harder, while string was coming in from the side towards the master. The master vaporized all the string coming in towards him, and soared towards the sky. This time, no string shot towards him, as Aeolus remembered what happened last time. However, he realized something was off, but it was too late at this point. He looked behind him, and the master was there, or at least his shadow. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°God damn it!¡± Aeolus shrieked, while looking down at his leg. Right there was a sword tip piercing through his knee, which probably wasn¡¯t a good thing. He immediately tried to jump away, but that failed, as the master grabbed him from the neck. He pulled the sword out of Aeolus¡¯ leg, and held it above his head. ¡°Any last words, warrior?¡± the master said, while grinning at Aeolus. Aeolus recognized that he called him warrior this time, which was probably his way of being respectful to strong beings. ¡°I wish that you weren¡¯t an enemy, and fought alongside us. A youngin such as you being as powerful as me is extremely rare, and would¡¯ve become something strong in the future.¡± the master said, and the sword began to descend. However, Aeolus pulled a move that nobody expected. ¡°We can be on the same side, but you can join me!¡± Aeolus roared, and took out the head of his soldier which had been pierced by limbs covered in light recently. The sword cut into its head, and was wedged inside. The masters face turned pale, but it was too late at this point. Aeolus already had a fist in the air that was flying straight towards his stomach, and the master knew he was screwed. He began to lament most things, but surprisingly, he wasn¡¯t that upset. After all, he could brag in the after-life that a brat that was going to de-throne all the current emperors and kings was someone he fought with. Aeolus¡¯ first pierced through him, and was holding something. In fact, it was his intestines, which looked really edible right now. The master made one final attempt, and used an attack he had stashed away for a long time. ¡°God of light, radiate the way of the future!¡± the master said, and his whole body suddenly had a golden aura. Aeolus jumped back, realizing that this was an ultimate attack coming from this man. He immediately put the string arena down, and ran as far away from the town as he could. However, it wasn¡¯t good enough, as the incoming explosion was so big that even if he ran thousands of miles away, he¡¯d still fail at escaping this. The master of the manor had, in fact, taken out everything within his center layer, and infused it into an attack connected to the affinity of light. The result was an explosion of light decimating everything within the surroundings. Though it didn¡¯t seem that big, it was extremely huge. It even reached into the desert area, and destroyed so many towns and cities that Aeolus had visited previously. The town that had the slave prison Aeolus originated from was also completely gone, and basically everything in this green, lush land was gone. Most of the towns and cities within the desert area were gone too, so it was definitely something huge. --- sequence 2 --- Aeolus woke up and found himself lying below a tree. Actually, to be more accurate, the tree had fallen on him, and was smashing him to the ground. He pushed it off, and floated into the sky. However, the next scene terrified him. When he looked down, there seemed to be an endless black hole, as if the infinite darkness of the abyss had been unleashed on earth. He looked left and right, and even flew in random directions, but still couldn¡¯t see anything besides a huge, black abyss below him. He tried to sense a lot of the string he had left in towns and cities, but he barely sensed any. However, when he tried hard enough, he sensed something really, really low. Aeolus stared into the black abyss, realizing that the string had fallen down there and survived. However, he was really scared of this huge black hole, and immediately began to soar above the clouds, so he couldn¡¯t see it anymore. He then began to vomit, because he definitely had not escaped the explosion. There was multiple holes on his body, and he was losing blood, a lot of it. ¡°Not only did I fail at saving the town, I didn¡¯t even extract his body¡­¡± Aeolus said, and began tearing up. In his mind, this was a bigger failure then everything he had ever experienced. So many lives had been lost, all because he was so weak. If he had not ran, but just pierced through the masters head, he could¡¯ve stopped this explosion. ¡°Now, not only did the people of the ghost town lose their life, many, many more towns and cities lost everything.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and the tears were now beginning to roll down his face. Thus, the biggest failure of Aeolus¡¯ life, which would eventually become a huge stepping stone for the future legend, was set in history. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 28: Misery The Roamer Chapter 28: Misery ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m not strong enough to enforce what I want.¡± Aeolus said, while sobbing to his heart''s content. He couldn¡¯t keep up with this, because no matter what type of mentality he had, he was just a child, a child who ended thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of lives in a single battle. ¡°I¡­ this can¡¯t all be for naught. I need to find his body and make him into a soldier!¡± Aeolus roared, while wiping away his tears furiously. The amount of tears he could shed were reaching the limit, and all those tears didn¡¯t do anything. ¡°Even though I¡¯m the one who survived, I¡¯m the one who took the true loss.¡± Aeolus said, while soaring into the big black abyss. He continued to go deeper within, because if he didn¡¯t even have the guts to do even that, then what could he do when he had to confront all those people that died within this battle when he himself died? He finally reached the bottom after a few hours, surprised by how deep this planet went. He finally saw a bunch of rubble at the bottom of this abyss. He descended even more, and he was extremely shocked. He saw many, many buildings piled up on top of each other, as if this abyss was a dump. Aeolus looked to his sides, and saw many, many more buildings stacked up on each other. Finally, he saw something that got him ridden with guilt. He saw so many bodies. Children, women, men, elders, and mystical creatures. All of these were victims of his battle. He honestly couldn¡¯t hide it anymore, and began tearing up again. Thinking that you killed many, many innocent victims and actually seeing the actual thing are way different. Clearly, the latter would be much harsher on a person. Aeolus did not know that this memory would change his mindset and psychology later on. For now, he was bawling his eyes out. After crying for another ten minutes, he once again ran out of tears. He stopped thinking of all this, and saw the manor. Aeolus was beginning to get confused, because all these buildings aren''t turned into rubble. ¡®Did that final explosion just collapse the ground, and leave all the buildings and people fine?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while beginning to think of something even more horrible. If that was the case, then the people did not die immediately, and were falling for a long time in fear. He would¡¯ve preferred it if they died right away, how miserable was their lives while they were falling for hours to reach the bottom? ¡®M-most of them got knocked out by the G-force before hitting the ground, r-right?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, not willing to torture himself any longer. He once again began to search for the body of his opponent, hoping to god that it wasn¡¯t disintegrated. However, things would not turn out to be the way he wanted them to be. After searching for hours on end, and even spreading out his two undead comrades, he could not find the body of the master in the area they were fighting in. Aeolus immediately flew out of the dark abyss, since there was nothing to be gained from it. If it made him feel uncomfortable, and he was gaining nothing from it, then what was the point of staying? ¡°I guess¡­ I should go back to my uncle.¡± Aeolus said, while realizing something was off. He tried to sense the string he had left in the cave, but it wasn¡¯t there, but really low. ¡°No¡­ it can¡¯t be!¡± Aeolus roared, while soaring as fast as he can. Aeolus arrived at where the cave should be, and in its place, was an endless abyss that descended into nothingness. Aeolus, realizing what this meant, and sensing no living aura nearby, was beginning to vomit. ¡®Why¡­ why?!¡¯ Aeolus screamed within his mind, not understanding why such a thing happened. In the end, he began to comprehend what led to this. ¡®I bit off a stick that was too big, and wasn¡¯t powerful enough to challenge!¡¯ Aeolus roared within his mind, while continuously hurting himself. This continued on for at least five hours, or maybe more. Aeolus wouldn¡¯t forgive himself, no matter what. Him overstepping his bounds caused all of this. ¡°The city where your wife, auntie, was is also destroyed¡­¡± Aeolus finally said, after a long time. He then sat down cross legged in mid-air, and closed his eyes which were leaking a lot. ¡®If I don¡¯t reminisce on this battle and re-experience it, it will be the cherry on top of this misery.¡¯ Aeolus said, trying to salvage even the smallest thing out of this battle. However, it was completely useless, as a child like him wouldn¡¯t find the use of reminiscing over something, so he was making almost no gains from this. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°This¡­ this is true hell.¡± Aeolus muttered, and began standing while floating. He then tried to fly as far away as possible, for a simple reason. He didn¡¯t want to be involved with this anymore. He never wanted to return here, no matter what. For this place would be the greatest despair in his life that he had ever touched. Just like that, the true journey had begun. He would eventually cross vast oceans, and extremely large land masses, but for now, he was just getting out of the area where it had all began. --- sequence 2 --- Seven months had passed, and Aeolus was aging along with the years. During these months, he had gotten used to the trauma within his head a lot, and kept getting stronger, along with his undead comrades. He had learnt the geography of the world, and understood it more deeply now. The world was called Caluluxe, and there were twenty huge land masses located within it. He didn¡¯t exactly remember the names of the land masses, but he understood the geography of most. Different empires and nations conquered each one, and he saw all of them as enemies. He began to talk with people without emotion, and never really cared. The only time he would show any expression was when he was surprised, or when there were genuinely good people suffering. He had grown to only care about the good of the world, and conquer the rest. He would always try to haggle these days, as he had grown to see the use of currency. Even if he didn¡¯t want it for himself, he could give it to the people who needed it, like the people of the ghost town where the¡­ massacre happened. He had grown an army of exactly twenty-seven people, all of them as powerful as him. Each one had different weapons, except for three healers who all used either staffs or no weapons. However, his most experienced one would have to be his first soldier, who he now named Kline. He gave names to each comrade now, as all of them were worthy of respect. His two layers had both grown and had both individually reached the power of an eleventh layer. One was fused with the affinity of death, while the other united with wind. Other then that, he had still not formed his third layer, and the affinity of poison was the weakest. His bounty had also grown, as people seemed to have somehow put the dots together and found out that he was related to the explosion of a whole region, which he was indeed related to. He was one of the most wanted people out there, currently worth twenty million ven. Still, he had not reached the top one thousand for most wanted, so he was still in the good for now. Aeolus had left the land mass where he was before, and was on a different one called Pangaea. It was one of the smallest ones there was, and didn¡¯t amount to much. Currently, Aeolus was not planning on leaving this land mass until he overthrew the royalty of this land, considering how corrupt they were. Most towns were actually slave facilities, and almost nobody had freedom except for royalty and the army. ¡®Despite it being such a small nation on a small land mass such as this, they still dare to act so arrogantly.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, currently thinking of a way to overthrow them. Not only did he want to overthrow them because of the fact that they were above everybody, there was also a chance of him finding villagers as slaves, as it was called the land of discrimination for a reason. He stood up from the log he was sitting on, and began to run. He didn¡¯t fly much these days, as he had learned the benefits of running while infusing the affinity of wind into his legs. First, it would be harder to find him then if he was flying through the sky, and second, it was actually faster. After running for ten seconds, he found a building in front of him. It had a sign saying smithy, and Aeolus realized that he needed to repair many of the weapons for the undead, or maybe buy some new ones. He reached into his mid-layer, and pulled out the weapons they were holding, stacking them onto his back. After doing all that, he kicked the door open since his hands were occupied. Some crippled old man with a beard noticed him, and began to smile. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve had a customer.¡± he said to Aeolus, while smiling like a toddler. Aeolus smiled back, and unloaded all the weapons he had. Each and every single one of them had at least one crack in them, or were just broken in half, literally. He poured them onto a table, and began to speak to the old man. ¡°Excuse me sir, but can you please fix all these weapons?¡± Aeolus said, while feeling a little guilty, forcing an old man to do such a thing. The old man began to frown, and even stood up and patted Aeolus¡¯ shoulder. ¡°So you¡¯re just another slave for the army who is also being forced into repairing weapons?¡± the old man said, even going as far as shedding a tear for Aeolus. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t blame him. This old man has lived on this land mass this whole time, and has been subject to seeing slaves every day. He wasn¡¯t a slave himself, but only because he was a smith who was spared for his use. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just another slave who is used to send weapons here and back.¡± Aeolus said, not revealing his true identity. He had learned to be more secretive these days, as who knows what people would do once they learned of his identity, and linked it to his bounty. ¡°I¡¯ll get to working on these weapons then, just to make the process a little less cruel for you.¡± the smith said, and began to take a weapon at a time into a different room. After two hours, all the weapons had been fully repaired, and lying on the table in front of Aeolus. ¡°Just like the army requested, all these weapons are fixed and prepared.¡± the old man said, with a smile on his face which seemed to be outdated. Aeolus smiled at the old man, and left two hundred ven before leaving the smithy, as a tip. ¡°How does a slave like you have the money to leave me, a mere smithy, a tip?¡± the smith said, confusion apparent on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, just worry about yourself for now, old man.¡± Aeolus said, still grinning while walking out of the smithy. He then gave all the weapons back to his undead comrades, and ran off towards his next destination. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 29: Mysteries Afoot The Roamer Chapter 29: Mysteries afoot Aeolus had finally reached his next destination, a city he had been planning to visit for a while now. It was the city of Leotosis, a city where the nobles sat on top while everyone else, excluding the army and guards, lived in poverty and no food. It resembled the ghost town, except it was on a much wider scale. ¡®Guess I¡¯ll be staying here for a while.¡¯ Aeolus whispered in his mind, and went on to walk through the city. As usual, he was searching through alleyways or bars, just to find some ruthless bastard who wanted to fight. He only found two, both not worth his time. ¡°This city doesn¡¯t have money or strong people, what am I to do?¡± Aeolus asked the world, while chuckling a little. He then pulled out the only undead comrade that had the illusion affinity. Aeolus pointed at a guard who was guarding an inn. ¡°I want you to replicate him.¡± Aeolus said, strategizing within his head. He knew what he wanted to do with this undead. The undead followed orders, and replicated the man to look exactly the same. Aeolus then used some string, and pulled in the man the undead replicated to the alley. ¡°Who are y-!¡± the man began to scream, before his head got cut off. Aeolus then absorbed his soul, and sent his body flying out of the city. ¡°I want you to go to the army, and fit in. Find out all their operations, and try to somehow get close to the nobles of this city.¡± Aeolus said, calmness apparent throughout his whole face. He had never done such a thing before, but he trusted in his undead, considering they had all his knowledge and experience, along with power ¡°Yes, master¡± the undead said, and went to the area where the dead guard was previously standing. It then began to blend in, and after watching it for ten minutes, Aeolus left it. ¡®It will sooner or later blend into the army.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, and was going to his next destination in this city. He had heard of an underground arena, where every single match was a deathmatch. It¡¯d be good for him to absorb some souls, and he could power up. Besides, he might even experience a battle worth his time! Though, he had to put on his mask in that place. In an arena where everyone came for fighting, who wouldn¡¯t know of a fighter who fought a battle so powerful that it destroyed a region? For that reason, he had bought himself a mask, which was pretty good looking in his opinion. It fit in with the nobles and royalty, who would wear such extravagant masks, and though it didn¡¯t fit in much with the poverty in this world, it would still cover up his face. There were two layers to the mask. The outside layer was smiling, which could also be seen as a laugh. The inside layer was crying, with bloody tears pouring out. After strolling through the city, he had finally found what he was looking for. He saw a man jump into some hole in the ground, and realized that it might lead to his destination. He immediately followed, and just as expected, there was a long, long drop. ¡®This is to make sure that only powerful people enter.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind. If it were a normal person jumping down this hole, they would die from the fall. If it was a strong person, they¡¯d survive the fall, by either landing and being fine, or floating down. It was a strict entrance test, and failing meant death. Aeolus didn¡¯t bother floating down, as it would take too much time, and just dropped until he landed on his legs. They shaked a bit, but he was mostly fine. He stood up, and looked around. He was in the middle of an arena, where there were people surrounding it, watching the battle. ¡°Seems we have two competitors who dropped down the hole of strength! Put your hands up for these two people, who will fight to the death!¡± some damned geezer yelled in the stands, while Aeolus was a bit pissed. ¡®So, right after I pass the test, I have to fight? Who do these people think they are?¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, his stare piercing the old man who announced such a thing. ¡°Tell me what the reward is, and then I¡¯ll decide whether or not I want to fight.¡± Aeolus said, but in reality, no matter what was said, he would fight. Besides, even with no rewards, he could still get the soul of his opponent, and if they had a special affinity, he could make them into an undead comrade. ¡°Easy, the reward is to rank up higher within this underground arena, and fight the people at the top! The person at the very top has reached his thirtieth layer, do you dare to challenge him?!¡± the announcer replied back, with a hint of hate in his eyes. How dare this rotten cockroach ask for rewards? ¡°Don¡¯t even think of challenging the people higher up for now!¡± Aeolus¡¯ supposed opponent yelled, but Aeolus immediately held him in place with string. He could sense from the aura of his opponent that he was planning on rushing him. ¡°Don¡¯t try me, you¡¯re just an ant when standing next to me.¡± Aeolus said calmly, his deep stare penetrating the announcer flicking to his supposed opponent. The person who was held back using the string immediately calmed down, and began to sweat.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®How does a child like this get so strong?¡¯ he genuinely wondered. Where did he go wrong in life, that even a child could challenge him like this? He must¡¯ve messed up terribly for even brats to be able to beat him. ¡°No, it¡¯s not me. It¡¯s you, who the hell are you? Remove that mask!¡± Aeolus¡¯ opponent screamed, but of course, Aeolus would not work with him. ¡°You¡¯re on the losing end, yet you still demand things of me?¡± Aeolus said, his hateful glare penetrating into the cocky bastards soul. He sent some spirit towards him, and dismantled his spirit beginning from the outer layer. ¡°You little brat, stop what you¡¯re doing!¡± the person who was trapped in the string was struggling to escape, and was even breaking his arms. Yet, he still couldn¡¯t escape, and tears were beginning to flow down his face. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, I¡¯ll kill you, I¡¯ll kill you, I¡¯ll kill you¡­¡± he kept repeating, until his soul was completely dismantled. Aeolus removed the string that was holding him back, and his body dropped to the ground. He then looked back towards the self pronounced announcer, and glared at him. ¡°Bring out your best fighter, or I¡¯ll leave for now.¡± Aeolus said calmly, not wanting to waste his time. If he had to stay here for days, weeks, or even months just to fight the number one, he¡¯d leave right now. It wasn¡¯t worth his time, as he could use all that time to create better undead comrades, power himself up more, maybe even save a villager! ¡°I¡¯m right here brat.¡± some man with a sharp face stood up, and Aeolus eyes were full of shock when they saw him. This was the exact same person who was at the very first tournament he had entered, and also left because he didn¡¯t want to reveal his powers! ¡°Your fighting techniques, your weapon, and your talk¡­ you are the person who brought destruction to the land of the vapor nation?¡± the man said, while jumping down from the stands. He began grinning like crazy, and Aeolus was getting goosebumps. ¡°Y-you¡­ how did you survive?!¡± However, Aeolus wasn¡¯t getting goosebumps from his strength, but just for the fact that this man identified him so easily, and even escaped the horrendous massacre back at the land of the vapor nation. ¡°That explosion destroyed a whole region, but I was already out of it by then. What I want to know is why a brat like you came here. However, this is my home land, and you won¡¯t do as you like with me.¡± the man explained, while also threatening Aeolus with a subtle sentence. Aeolus immediately calmed down, and began looking at the situation more calmly. He was definitely weaker than the man standing in front of him, and would have to use his brain to win this battle, not his power. He transcended into a state beyond calm, one that didn¡¯t even have a name in this world. ¡°Come at me then, fool.¡± Aeolus taunted, and the man stood there with shocked eyes. He then began laughing like a hearty old man. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re going to be an entertaining battle that I haven¡¯t had in a long time!¡± the number one man in this arena declared, yet Aeolus seemed unfazed. It was as if his shock and goosebumps from before never existed. ¡°My name is Klaus, and you won¡¯t leave here without beating me.¡± Klaus said calmly, while beginning to walk towards Aeolus. He easily saw through all the string, and actually walked through it. Aeolus tried to pull of the same move of sending in a string to puncture him after he passed another, but the man easily slapped it away, literally. ¡°String is just a toy in your hands. Want to see how to actually handle it?¡± Klaus said, while extending his hand to a string in front of him. Aeolus puncutered him in the back using this opportunity, but the next scene surprised him. Klaus just exerted some spirit, and the string shot out of his body, without Aeolus doing anything. He then grabbed the string in front of him that he was extending to before, and yanked on it. Aeolus came flying towards him. ¡°This is where the real battle begins.¡± Klaus said, with a smile that resembled a demonic smile. --- sequence 2 --- Klaus grabbed Aeolus by the neck, and smashed him into the ground. However, Aeolus was prepared for such a move, and he took an undead out and put it below him, just to smoothen the power of Klaus, even by a little. As expected, his back smashed into the undead¡¯s front, and Aeolus was in extreme pain. Just how much pain would he be in if there wasn¡¯t an undead below him as a cushion? Aeolus set up even more string, and used it to pull himself out of the situation. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be that easy to escape me.¡± Klaus said calmly, and got into a kneeling position, or so it seemed. He then boosted himself forward at an extreme speed, which had no spirit infused into it. ¡®He¡¯s doing all of this with just his physical body?!¡¯ Aeolus screamed within his mind, while blinking extremely. He didn¡¯t want to believe what he was looking at, but Klaus was exerting a power that Aeolus didn¡¯t think possible without spirit. Klaus appeared in front of Aeolus, but Aeolus maneuvered around his body, and put his foot on the back of Klaus. He then boosted himself with a push, and went to the other side of the arena. ¡°I finally have time to take out my elites!¡± Aeolus said, while reaching into his mid-layer to pull out three healers. He also took out his first soldier, Kline, as back-up, since he also wielded string. ¡®All of you healers, support me with healing magic, and Kline, you set up string that will work with mine!¡¯ Aeolus said. Even though his command seemed extreme, in reality, it was easy. After fighting with Kline and these supporters for a long time, they had aligned and worked together easily, and this applied especially for Kline, who had been with him since the beginning. ¡°You won¡¯t be taking out anymore!¡± Klaus yelled, with a little fear coming out of his face, and his pants. He didn¡¯t expect the brat in front of him to have a god realm affinity, much less one of the duos of humanity, death! However, he was still stronger then Aeolus, so he should be fine. He began to rush towards Aeolus once again, but he failed this time, but for a different reason. By the time he began rushing, Aeolus had set up a string arena, one that contained his string and Kline¡¯s. Klaus was held down by Kline¡¯s string, and began to struggle. However, before he could free himself, he was punctured by Aeolus¡¯ string, through the head and heart. His blood began to slow down, while his vision was, for some reason, extremely bright. ¡°So this is the end for me huh¡­¡± Klaus¡¯ words, no, final words came out, and he was falling to the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t drop dead before I absorb your soul!¡± Aeolus said, not wanting Klaus to drop dead before his soul was absorbed. If he was dead, he would gain less from his soul, but if he was alive, he would gain much more from it! However, it didn¡¯t turn out well, as he didn¡¯t plan ahead. He only got about forty percent of Klaus¡¯ soul before he died. He continued trying to absorb it, but since he was dead, he ended up with only forty five percent of his soul. Aeolus sighed, and took in all the undead he had out. He then began walking towards Klaus, while the crowd was silent. Of course, why wouldn¡¯t they be silent? They just witnessed a brat wield one of the affinities that crossed into the god realm, and beat their number one without much issues. However, in this city, and all of Pangaea as well, wielding the power of a god realm affinity was allowed, so nobody had issues with it. It was the fact that it was a brat that wielded the affinity, which surprised them. However, the prince from the royal family of Pangaea, Lexor, also wielded god realm affinities, so this wasn¡¯t their first time witnessing or hearing of a child wielding god realm affinities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 30: Beginning of a revolt The Roamer Chapter 30: Beginning of a revolt ¡°Brat, you¡¯ve done amazingly well to win against Klaus!¡± the old announcer said, and pissed off Aeolus a bit. He had just beaten two opponents in a row, but this old geezer was still calling him a brat? Still, he kept calm for the most part, and even released a smile unto the crowd. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be going in a bit.¡± Aeolus said, and then kneeled down towards Klaus¡¯ body, and after two minutes, he stood up, along with the corpse of Klaus. A lot of people within the stands gasped, but the majority were calm, as if this was to be expected. ¡®It seems I have underestimated Pangaea, these people were even expecting a sight such as this.¡¯ Aeolus thought within his head, while blaming himself for underestimating this land mass. Even though it was one of the weakest and smallest, it seemed to be ferocious if the sight of bringing back the dead didn¡¯t shock most. ¡°Well, it could just be this arena.¡± Aeolus said, and turned to the announcer, while blinking as if he was an innocent young boy. He looked the announcer up and down, and reached his hand out towards him. He was currently using his spirit to bring in the announcer. The announcer immediately came flying, and crashed right in front of Aeolus. ¡°Wha-!¡± the announcer began to yell, but Aeolus immediately gestured for him to get quiet. ¡°So, what reward do I get now?¡± Aeolus said to him, displeasure drawn on his face. He wanted to get whatever it was he would win, and get out. He already gained a lot from this trip to the arena though, so he wouldn¡¯t be too unsatisfied with nothing as a reward. ¡°R-R-Reward? Y-Yes, of course you¡¯d want a reward for becoming the strongest!¡± the announcer yelled, while his legs seemed to have turned into jello, with some piss staining them. Aeolus smirked, and pushed him even further by radiating a little of his aura. ¡°P-Please don¡¯t kill me! Dorey, bring in our treasure!¡± the announcer roared, while Aeolus himself had stepped back from shock, but immediately recovered his state of mind. ¡®To think this announcer was also the person who was in charge of this place.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, trying to remember if any other arena he had went to was the same. Shortly after, a gnome came running, holding what seemed to look like a seed. Aeolus was immediately disappointed. What kind of arena had its most precious treasure in the form of a seed? ¡°Explain what this seed is, and why it¡¯s useful for me.¡± Aeolus said, flashing some fake killing intent into the announcer. ¡°It is predicted that this is the seed of a great bonsai tree, one that reaches into the clouds! W-Who knows, you might find something by climbing it!¡± the announcer desperately said, clearly trying to escape the clutches of Aeolus. He was finally let go of, and he immediately booked it. Aeolus threw the seed at the ground, and turned around. The announcer was taken back by this sudden development, and yelled towards the back of Aeolus: ¡°Why would you leave behind such a treasure?!¡± Aeolus stopped in his tracks, and turned his head around. He was smiling like a devil, though the smile did seem a little sad. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I don¡¯t need external factors to get strong. I¡¯ll conquer this world with my own spirit, vitality, and affinities. Anything else is unnecessary, and won¡¯t let me get as strong as I could if I relied on myself.¡± Aeolus said calmly, and soared out of the hole which he dropped in from. ¡®That kid¡­ he¡¯ll become a big shot in this world future, whether or not I like it.¡¯ the announcer finally realized just what this brat might become in the future, and his potential. He then began laughing crazily, as if he had lost all sense of humanity. ¡°Dorey, I¡¯ll be quitting this arena. You can take over for me.¡± the announcer and owner of this stadium finally decided to quit after two decades. ¡°I¡¯ve experienced enough battles to last a man two lifetimes.¡± he said, and walked out of the arena with a smile on his face. In his mind, he was jumping with pride. --- sequence 2 --- ¡°Now, I should check out how Dasline is doing, maybe it fitted into the army by now?¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, while sensing out the illusionist he had used to replace the unfortunate guard. After sending his spirit out for a while, he finally picked up on its soul. ¡®It seems to be in some sort of building?¡¯ Aeolus wondered, but immediately dropped it. Just as he had said before, he trusted in his undead. For that reason, he would leave everything to Dasline, and it would come back successful. If it didn¡¯t, then it was his fault for being too weak as a wielder of the affinity of death. He then began walking towards a huge manor that seemed to have the whole city revolving around it. He used a little of his wind affinity, just to speed up the process of getting there. ¡°So this is the home of the big shots of this city?¡± Aeolus wondered, and walked on in. Inside, there were many people eating and drinking, and some just conversing. It was clear that there was some sort of party, or else, he would have gotten kicked out by now. ¡°Welcome to the anniversary of lord Wichingham, slave of this city. Enjoy it to your fullest capacity, before you go back to logging wood or whatever you do tomorrow.¡± some guard said to Aeolus, with a disgusted look on his face. Aeolus simply smirked, and moved on in, since he now understood the situation. ¡®Right now, I¡¯m free to do whatever I want in this manor, since it¡¯s a special day apparently.¡¯ Aeolus took note in his head, thinking of the many ways he could use it against others. He bumped into a couple of people here and there on purpose, just to see how they would react. Surprisingly, they didn¡¯t react at all, and kept enjoying themselves to their fullest. ¡®Since this is their only day to enjoy themselves, these slaves want to use it to the fullest.¡¯ Aeolus reminded himself in his mind, pitying these poor people who didn¡¯t want to waste even a second acknowledging him. ¡°Hello my dear slaves, and welcome to my anniversary! How are you enjoying it so far?¡± Some man floating above the whole room said, with a disgusting laugh coming afterwards. He had a sick smile on his face, and clearly had no intentions of being sincere with these people. ¡®So this is the guy who¡¯s in charge of this city?¡¯ Aeolus thought within his mind, acknowledging his opponent. In the past, he would have considered stepping up right now to confront him, but he didn¡¯t want a repeat of the massacre of an explosion that happened before. ¡®From now on, I¡¯ll bring down the nobles of an area more secretively, sticking to the shadows.¡¯ Aeolus said within his mind, resolution stinging throughout his whole body. His eyes looked like the ocean, with vast wisdom located within. None of the slaves reacted to the lord, still conversing with each other. However, if you looked close enough, there were many, if not everyone, that were sweating profusely. They were clearly scared of what was to come. At this sight, which the lord clearly noticed, he burst out into a laugh even more maniacal then last time, and even had tears rolling down his face. ¡°Sick bastard¡± Aeolus said in a whispered tone, relieving his anger while also concealing it. He would definitely take down this lord, no matter what. He spent the rest of the anniversary time scoping out the insides and outsides of the manor, preparing for a scenario in which he¡¯d fight to the death inside this manor. If he were to fight in this manor, knowing the surrounding area would definitely bring in some kind of benefits. ¡°The anniversary is over, go back to your buildings and prepare for more slave work tomorrow!¡± A guard that seemed to be hammered yelled, which a sly grin on his face. He was clearly making the most out of this anniversary as well. At that sentence, all the people located within the manors had downcast faces, and didn¡¯t want to go back to their old life. ¡®Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll all be liberated soon.¡¯ Aeolus said within his mind, making a pledge to the slaves, no, people of this city. For now, he¡¯d leave this manor, and plan out his future strategies. He receded from the city, and took to the skies. ¡°Still, the people of this land seem to be powerful, lords of the previous land mass I was on certainly weren¡¯t that strong.¡± Aeolus said into the air, remembering the aua he had felt from the lord during the anniversary. It was a suffocating aura, which meant that the lord was much stronger then he was. ¡°I¡¯ll really have to hit the drawing board today.¡± Aeolus said, while landing onto his little log. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 31: Beginning of the raid The Roamer Chapter 31: During the few weeks after the anniversary, Aeolus had been spending his time exploring the city and its landscape, more specifically the latter. This city was bound to turn into a battle zone if he and the lord were to fight, since the lord didn¡¯t seem to come out of the city much. ¡°Wait, no, if I destroy enough of his military power outside of the city, he¡¯ll be forced to bring himself out. However, this will mean that I don¡¯t have the opportunity to land a sneak attack or ambush.¡± Aeolus was constantly revising the plan, trying to figure out his strong points and techniques, and where they would come in handy. ¡®If I land an ambush, then I¡¯ll have the upper hand if they didn¡¯t see it coming. However, if they see me coming, I¡¯ll be at a disadvantage, and there¡¯s a huge chance that I won¡¯t escape without a terrible injury.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, eliminating the thought of an ambush. ¡°However, even if I don¡¯t set up an ambush, I could set up the landscape if we are fighting out here!¡± Aeolus realized, his eyes flashing with knowledge. If they were to fight out here, in the forest, he could set up the string easily to be compatible with the trees. ¡®That way, I can make my own landscape with string.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and kept improving the plan over and over again. After two hours of doing the same thing, he had perfected his plan to the utmost that he could take it, and stood up. His stomach rumbled, and he realized that he had not killed any wildlife for food recently. ¡°I need to refill my stocks of food, I¡¯m almost out.¡± Aeolus took out a dead rabbits body from within his clothes, and roasted it with spirit. Spirit had varying heat depending on how strong it was. His spirit was strong enough to cook a rabbits body, just by being close to it. ¡®I¡¯m clearly powering up, but this world is still ahead of me. No matter how strong I get, I have at least one challenge in front of me to take down.¡¯ Aeolus thought in his mind, while sighing at the thought. There really was almost no time where he was free from any complications and issues. ¡°I¡¯m just going to have to power up so much that almost nothing can stand in my way.¡± Aeolus said decisively, respect and admiration for the world showing in his eye. He really did adore this world that seemed to somehow always provide him with a lesson in life. It was as if some very specific goddess was setting him up for what was to come. ¡®For now, let¡¯s just deal with the issue at hand. This lord will be taken down by the end of this week, or it¡¯ll end with me dying.¡¯ Aeolus was extremely decisive, planning on doing this plan by the end of the week. Of course, it was also due to some of his emotions kicking in from anger, but emotions every now and then didn¡¯t hurt. In fact, the emotion that kicked in moved up the time that he would take down the lord, saving him some time. His illusionist, Dasline, had also successfully infiltrated the military during these few weeks, and was constantly relaying information about their actions and thoughts to Aeolus himself; Because of that, Aeolus was constantly changing his plan to revolve around the militaries action. ¡°They¡¯re planning to go out into this forest on an expedition three days from now, and I¡¯ll strike them at this time.¡± Aeolus said to himself, steadying himself for the upcoming battle. Even though he knew the battle was coming, on the inside, he didn¡¯t really want such a thing to happen, as he wasn¡¯t fully used to fighting many people at the same time. ¡°I¡¯ll use this battle to get used to fighting huge masses of cultivators.¡± Aeolus said into the wind, while smiling after. He wasn¡¯t going to fail this attack, no matter what. This time, it would not end up like the battle which resulted in an explosion, but would end up with victory. With that determination in mind, and power in body, he began to force himself into hibernation, for exactly the right amount of time until the military power of the city passed by. --- sequence 2 --- He awoke at the right time, his hibernation coming to an end. He spread his string throughout the whole forest, and set it up so that the scenario would be to his liking. He sensed out his string, and sensed that there were currently many people marching through the forest.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Time to get this show on the road.¡± Aeolus said to himself, smirking like a mad-man. He really did enjoy fights too much these days, but it wasn¡¯t his fault. Every time he fought, he would evolve at a rapid pace, and would gain even more experience. The more battles he fought, the stronger he would get. Of course, this didn¡¯t apply to all fights, such as battles with weaklings. He sent himself flying into the tree, and landed on the branch. He could have kept himself floating in the sky, but he would be radiating some spirit since he was using an affinity, which could lead people to him. Meanwhile, if he just sat on a tree, he wasn¡¯t radiating any sort of aura or spirit. After thirty minutes of waiting, he finally saw a soldier arrive in front of him. However, after two minutes, there was still nobody following. After inspecting the soldier a little more, he saw blood on him, and a look of utter terror on his face. Aeolus realized something was off, and was beginning to get suspicious. He sensed out all the string he had laid around the forest, and saw that some were covered in blood. ¡®This¡­ did they all continuously run into my string and die?¡¯ Aeolus wondered to himself, acknowledging the possibility of the military of this town being utter buffoons. Still, this all worked out for him in the end, as it would sooner or later attract the attention of the lord when he realized his military would never come back. Aeolus reached out to Dasline, who was still at the city. ¡®Dasline, alert the people over at your side that the army they sent out might have died, as you sensed that something was off.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, radiating his emotions towards Dasline. Dasline understood immediately, and began to take action. ¡°Now we¡¯re set up for the decisive battle of this city.¡± Aeolus said to himself, while looking down towards the bloodied soldier below. He was currently shivering, while tears were running down his eyes. Aeolus, for some reason, actually felt some pity for the soldier, so he sighed and dropped down. ¡°All my soldiers¡­ they all died by getting their limbs cut off at random places, it¡¯s the work of the gods!¡± the person, who Aeolus now realized was the leader, was saying. Realizing how the situation was, Aeolus was preparing to kill him off. ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re the leader of a damned army.¡± Aeolus said pitifully, with a sorrowful look in his eyes. The commander acknowledged Aeolus¡¯ presence, and looked up. ¡°You¡­ did you do this?¡± he said to Aeolus, with a look containing anger within. Aeolus felt goosebumps all over him, and began to shiver from the aura this commander was radiating. ¡°I see it in your eyes, you¡¯re the one who set us up. Starting now, your execution will begin. Do you have any last words, scum?¡± the self-pronounced commander of the army stood up slowly, and Aeolus began to realize just how big this man was. He was at least double his size. ¡°As the commander of the military of our beloved city of Antegria, and the strongest person within the city, I demand that you get down on the ground, and wait for your execution.¡± the person said, a cruel look in his eye. Aeolus felt fear radiating throughout his whole body, but there was also something else flowing through him and his mind. Was it exhaustion? No, he was too powerful to actually be exhausted from just an aura. Instead, it felt like something enthusiastic, something like determination. ¡°My battle instincts are too strong, I¡¯m excited to fight you for some reason. Silly, isn¡¯t it?¡± Aeolus said towards the person, while bursting out into a laugh. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to satisfy my will to continue living in the future, and you have to satisfy your duty as the commander of the military. Let¡¯s see which one of us stands on top, shall we?¡± Aeolus said to the guard, while also gesturing at him to come at him. The guards eyebrows flickered, and anger could be seen all over his face. However, he burst out into a laugh right after, and seemed to actually be enjoying himself. ¡°Indeed, you know how this world works. We both have our own goals, so lets get this fight on the road.¡± the commander said, with a sly grin on his face. Aeolus took it as a sign of his goodwill, and smiled back. Suddenly, Aeolus rushed into the commander, something that he had never done ever since he got string. He would usually stay in the back, and let his string do all the work. However, with the affinity of poison and death, he had to utilize them even more to make the best out of battles. The commander took off the grin, and put on a serious expression. He get into a position that resembled a bull preparing to rush at the enemy, and kicked himself forward with enough force to break many of the trees behind him, just from the force of the air that came with the mad dash. Aeolus only rushed at him because he wanted to utilize his affinities, but he realized just how much he had underestimated this commander. He couldn¡¯t escape the mad dash, and took a headbutt to the stomach. He immediately vomited onto the back of the commander, and went flying, while also smashing through some trees. ¡°It¡¯s not the lord who is the strongest in Antegria, but the commander. If you can beat me in this battle, you can take down the city of Antegria from its roots, and rebuild. The issue is that you won¡¯t get past me, so that¡¯s something.¡± The commander explained, with a superior look on his face, as if Aeolus was supposed to be on the ground, thanking him for the information. However, Aeolus couldn¡¯t do much even if he wanted to, considering how much of his bod was fractured, and above all, the extreme pain. ¡®I planned all of this out, and I didn¡¯t just rush in. However, the result seems like it''s going to end up like the massacre of Regalia, which he figured out was the name of the region where the explosion took place. This battle was going in the exact same direction, no matter how he looked at it. ¡°However, I haven¡¯t even begun yet!¡± Aeolus roared, and took out every single undead comrade he possessed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 32: Fate of Antegria The Roamer Chapter 32: Fate of Antegria Aeolus took out every single undead he had, while telling them the formation they¡¯d be in. Basically, all the healers would be at the back, ranges would be in the second line, and melee fighters were in the front. Though it was a simple formation, it was also one of the most convenient in this world. However, the next scene that appeared in his eyes instilled great fear into him. The commander had opened some sort of portal, and five men came out of it, along with three women. Each of them had the aura of someone extremely powerful and unconquerable, as if they had been reigning above the world for a long, long time. ¡°What did we come here for, commander of Antegria?¡± one of the women asked, displeasure over her whole face. ¡°This rat is, surprisingly, extremely powerful. He has the affinity of death, and has dedicated extreme time into training his undead slaves. He has spent so much time that every single one is at his power level.¡± the commander of Antegria explained, with a fearful look on his face. Even without any undead soldiers, the affinity of death was mighty. Now that he had undead soldiers, and so many of them, with all of them at his level, this was bound to end up with someone dying. ¡°Still, it¡¯s a damned brat. Even if most of them are at his level, he should, at most, be at the first layer?¡± one of the new people asked, confused about why the commander of Antegria needed help with such an issue. ¡°You¡¯d think so, but this brat has power that is equivalent to that of a person at the twenty-fourth layer.¡± the commander of Antegria said, trying to make the others understand just why he needed help. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, this brat isn¡¯t normal. We should clean up this mess of yours, and head back. You can pay us back later.¡± one of the women who recently appeared piped up, while turning her attention towards Aeolus. ¡°Brat, I don¡¯t know how you¡¯ve come so far in life, but it all ends here.¡± the commander of Antegria said, with a sly grin on his face. Aeolus was currently very excited, but had even more fear running through him then he did excitement. ¡®Even a battle maniac like me can tell that this will be a huge battle, that will probably not just be limited to this forest.¡¯ Aeolus said to himself within the mind, fearfully acknowledging the power of the enemies in front of him. He turned around, and began to run as fast as he could. ¡°You¡¯re not going to get away with such ease.¡± the commander of Antegria said, and got into the same charging stance he was in before. Aeolus realized that he would not be able to escape, but was doing it for a reason. ¡®I have to lower their guards and get them to come towards me running, so they¡¯ll run into the string I¡¯ve set up!¡¯ Aeolus was planning on using the string he had set up before the battle to the fullest of his power. He weaved around the forest, while his undead were still fighting the commanders, or most of them. The commander of Antegria began his wild rush, and made himself seem like a bull. His eyes were extremely blood red, and the pupils were green. Aeolus took into mind just how much power he was exerting to make such a mad dash. However, his mad dash was immediately stopped. ¡°Wha-!¡± went the commander of Antegria. He had been caught in a bunch of string, and couldn¡¯t move. He began to struggle intensely, but he still couldn¡¯t escape. He couldn¡¯t even use his weapon to cut the string because it was on his back, and he couldn¡¯t reach to his back right now. He began screaming madly, hoping that some commanders would realize the situation and help him. Though, Aeolus wasn¡¯t planning on giving him a chance. He used his remaining string to form the string arena, which was beginning to look like it was more of an eye of the tornado now, with the commander in the middle. All the string shot out, but none of them went for his vital points.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Instead, they punctured all the joints on his body, such as the elbows and the knees. This way, he could stop the movement of the commander. However, the commander was confused as to why Aeolus would do such a thing. ¡°Why not outright kill me?¡± he said, with a confused tone deep in his voice. ¡°Simple, I want to make the most out of your soul.¡± Aeolus said, with a wicked grin on his face. However, the commander of Antegria palled at the thought. This was a fate worse than death, bringing him down completely before killing him was way worse then just outright dying. ¡®Since he can¡¯t move now, I¡¯ll take as much time as I can to absorb his soul. I won¡¯t be able to kill all the commanders today, and I¡¯ll probably get away with just killing him.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while also thinking of how he would escape from such a situation. Sure, he could put the undead back into his mid-layer, but that would attract all the commanders towards him. While absorbing the soul of the commander, he also noticed that something was off. He sensed out all of his undead, but over twenty-two of them were in his mid-layer, only five still standing where the battle with the commanders begun. ¡°This¡­ did the commanders already take down all of my undead?!¡± Aeolus yelled, in an unwilling tone. If what he just said was the truth, then it was good that he ran. All those undead were as strong as him, and even though each only had a single affinity, they still had his power and knowledge. Yet, so many of them still lost. ¡°I¡¯ll just take in the last five, and book it now while I can!¡± Aeolus yelled, and sent out his emotions to the last five undead. They immediately understood, and got sucked back into his mid-layer. All the commanders turned their heads in the direction of Aeolus, who was hundreds of miles off. ¡°He took all of his undead back in, and I don¡¯t sense the commander of Antegria anymore. It¡¯s likely that the commander died, and the brat was left in a terrible state, hence him running.¡± one of the female commanders, Tasha, said. She had a reputation for being ruthless and proud, but still uses her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think the brat ended up in a terrible condition. He probably realized that all of his undead were back with him, meaning that we beat them all. He took in the last five and booked it, I can sense him running through the trees now.¡± The buffest male commander, Toronto, said. He was the commander of the strongest city in Pangaea, the capital called Narcisa. ¡°For now, let¡¯s let him go. We still haven¡¯t understood everything there is to this brat, and what if we can make him into an ally? A brat who is this powerful at such an age, while also wielding the affinity of death? I¡¯d be surprised if he didn¡¯t surpass all of us by the age of eighteen.¡± One of the calmer commanders said, who wasn¡¯t full of blood in their head. They were looking towards the future, not the present. ¡°I agree with Sasha, we should let him go for now, and find him later. Who knows, maybe he¡¯ll have a change of heart?¡± Toronto said, while smiling at Sasha. He has had a crush on her for years, but couldn''t bring himself to admit it. Besides, even if he didn¡¯t have a crush, it was true that this brat could become a powerful ally. ¡°Well, since the commander of Antegria is gone, and nobody has the teleportation affinity, I guess we¡¯ll have to run back?¡± one of the commanders said in a whiny tone, not wanting to head back on foot. ¡°Shut up, we can all reach our respective cities in a few minutes if we just run.¡± said Sasha, while giggling at the male commander. Just like that, they all split up and headed towards their respective cities. Meanwhile, Aeolus was still running for his life, and ended up taking to the sky after sensing spirit running through the ground below him. --- sequence 2 --- Aeolus was breathing heavily, as the pressure of the situation had really pressed down on him. He then began to look back on what happened, just to understand the depth of the situation. After all of that, he began laughing crazily. ¡°How the hell did I survive that?¡± Aeolus said while laughing like a madman, showing just how entertaining the situation was to him. He escaped so many powerhouses, without taking injuries as well! He stopped flying, and began to descend. He was in the middle of the ocean, but he could use a swim. Besides, he really was pretty exhausted right now. However, there seemed to be extremely thick rain clouds today, so he immediately rid his mind of that thought. ¡®Are all of my shadow soldiers here?¡¯ Aeolus wondered, and began to check. As expected, all of his shadow soldiers were there, safe and sound. He exhaled, and revealed a smile on his face. He then turned around, and began flying back to Pangaea. ¡°Right now, Antegria is missing its mightiest pillar in power, and will be easy to retaliate in.¡± Aeolus decided, and began to go towards the string in Pangaea. He had only planted one so far, and that was in Antegria. For that reason, it was really easy to identify. After flying for some time, he finally arrived at Antegria. He radiated his aura throughout the city, just to make everyone come out of their homes. The expected results came in, and most people came out of their homes wondering what the hell they were sensing. ¡°Who the hell is radiating such an aura?!¡± a person who Aeolus believed was the lord of this city came out of the huge manor in the center. Aeolus looked down at him from the sky, and a huge grin appeared on his face. ¡°Boy do I got news for you!¡± Aeolus yelled down, with an insane look spreading over his face. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 33: Declaration The Roamer Chapter 33: Declaration ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± yelled the lord of this city at Aeolus, with a type of sadness that could not be expressed with words on his face. Aeolus simply smiled at him, and then replied to him after a bit. ¡° I¡¯m the guy who took down the commander of Antegria!¡± Aeolus yelled back, with the insane expression spreading even further on his face. The lord simply stared back with anger, clearly not comprehending what Aeolus just said. ¡°So you¡¯re telling me Felix is¡­ gone?¡± the lord said back, a wistful look spreading on his face. Aeolus began to retract his mad face, as he realized that this lord and the commander might have some sort of relation with each other. The lord began tearing up, and Aeolus began to feel somewhat terrible. ¡®Why¡­ why does he think he can cry after everything he¡¯s done to this city?!¡¯ Aeolus screamed within his mind, not understanding why this was happening. This city''s upper level were the terrible people, not him! So why was he the one on the receiving end of the guilt? ¡°No, it¡¯s just emotions. I haven¡¯t refined myself to a good enough point, I¡¯m still too naive. To think that I¡¯d feel bad for an enemy who is a terrible person¡­¡± Aeolus said to himself, convincing himself to feel less pitiful for humanity. Indeed, there were definitely going to be times in life that you would feel terrible for an enemy. ¡°Now then, I declare this city free of slavery, and any who dare to rebel against my order can go see their dead parents!¡± Aeolus roared throughout the city, silencing everything. Even the wind seemed to have silenced, but it was just Aeolus using the affinity of wind to stop the moving wind. ¡°Dad, are we really free?¡± some really, really young brat asked a man with a beard. ¡°Son¡­ this is just a terrible prank, don¡¯t get hopes up.¡± the man said, but it was obvious that even he had something shining within his eyes. ¡°Why would I be lying? I beat down the commander of this damned Antegria, and now there¡¯s nothing standing in my way!¡± Aeolus roared angrily, not understanding why these people doubted their freedoms so much. He really did free them, so what was there to be afraid of? Meanwhile, the lord was just crying during this whole situation, and Aeolus did not confront him at all. ¡°This¡­ Pangaea is going to fall into disorder soon.¡± the lord said after crying for a bit. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Aeolus asked the lord, confusion on his face. ¡°Pangaea is always prepared for a rebellion. In the case of a city being conquered, all other cities are to send in their strongest forces to claim it back¡­ while utterly destroying it and most of the people within.¡± the lord of Antegria said, wistfulness in his eyes. At that moment, Aeolus realized the seriousness of this situation. ¡®This¡­ the city is going to have a full on assault coming at it soon?!¡¯ Aeolus hollered within the depths of his mind, beginning to regret many things. If only he had begun to conquer cities when he was stronger, he could be more confident in holding off all those forces. However, he did not have that strength. He could not even hold down the commanders, even though he had all those soldiers. How would he survive the commanders, along with those soldiers of theirs? He would be utterly decimated. ¡°Exactly how much days until that invasion comes?¡± Aeolus asked, a serious tone spreading through his eyes. ¡°If we are to look at it from other cities perspectives, they should arrive in about five days¡­¡± the lord said to Aeolus, and Aeolus comprehended just what he was going to do. ¡®I¡¯m going to escape from here within these five days, along with as many people as I can bring.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, confidence stemming from within. If he couldn¡¯t even save innocent people from a mere fight, and he had so much time, what could he do? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°If I can¡¯t fight them head-on with strength, I¡¯ll fight them with tactics.¡± Aeolus said out loud, and fascinated the lord of Antegria. Just how was this brat supposed to fight at all, whether it be strength or tactics? The opponents were people who had both strength, along with tactics. ¡°Damned lord of Antegria, prepare the citizens for evacuation. We¡¯re going to flee Pangaea for now, to a land that I know all too well.¡± Aeolus said, while smiling sweetly like a little brat. The lord of Antegria realized what Aeolus meant, and began smiling as well. ¡°However, do not expect yourself to continue being a lord once we arrive at the destination, as you do not have the power to compete with the people of the land we¡¯re heading to.¡± Aeolus said, which made the lord immediately retract his smile. ¡®I¡¯m going to be lowered to the status of a god damned peasant?¡¯ the lord asked within his mind, still comprehending what he just heard. He then slowly descended into anger, until he hit the point of supreme madness. He began to punch towards Aeolus, but Aeolus percepted all of it. He caught the punch, and stared right into the lords eyes. ¡°Just because I can¡¯t compete with the incoming assault, it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t compete with you.¡± Aeolus said, killing intent putting fear into the lord of Antegria. He immediately calmed himself down, and began to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry young master, it was rude of me to do such a thing!¡± the lord yelled, tears filling up his eyes. Aeolus simply threw him away, but a simple throw for Aeolus was enough to kill a normal human. The lord went flying for tens of miles, and didn¡¯t stop until he crashed into the ocean. ¡°The brat threw me in the direction of the ocean for this¡­¡± the lord realized, but once again calmed himself down. If the brat could throw him this far so easily, he could probably sense him from so far away as well. --- sequence 2 --- ¡®Now that he¡¯s out of the way, let¡¯s start evacuation.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, bringing out all of the undead. All of the undead were to start with the weakest of people, and end with the strongest people. By the end of it all, maybe everyone in this city would escape Pangaea. Just like that, for four days and nights, the undead continuously flew from Pangaea to Regalia, the land which he now referred to as, the abyss. They had evacuated most of the people since they were powerful and flew so fast, but there was still a quarter or so of the people left. ¡°Master, only a day remains until the invasion, and so many people have yet to be transported. I fear that we might not make it in time¡­¡± one of the undead said, wariness in its voice. In reality, they didn¡¯t even know if they had a day, and they could invade right now. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, just continue to evacuate people until the invasion begins. At that time, we will stand tall and proud and fight against as much of the cities as possible to save this city and its people.¡± Aeolus told the undead, comforting it a bit. In reality, it didn¡¯t do much, since the undead could sense his real emotions, and he was being cautious too. ¡®At most, we got six hours until the invasion begins. At that time, we have to stop transporting people, and hide them somewhere.¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, explaining the plan to himself once again. This time, he was not going to mess up like he did in Regalia, and save as much as possible. In reality, he had figured out that there was a huge underground to this city, almost as big as all of Pangaea. The issue was that, even if he hid all the people there, since it was so big, other cities should have found out about it as well. If they were to send people down there, there could be a huge massacre against the people of Antegria. Aeolus stiffened at the thought, but realized that this was the only choice he had. He would leave the undead with the people of Antegria while they were escaping using the underground, and he would have to stay at the surface, stalling all the invading cities. ¡®Not only do we have to worry about the surface, we have to worry about the underground, so I have to split off from most of my undead¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and stress began to kick in immediately. He calmed himself down though, thanks to the affinity of wind. ¡°We¡¯ll worry about this more once the actual invasion arrives.¡± Aeolus said out loud, but mostly, to himself. ¡°Of course, my master.¡± Kline replied, respect in his tone. No matter what happened, the undead were forced to stick with their masters, so he¡¯d always go with the masters decision. Just like that, a few more hours passed, and they had evacuated around two thousand more people. However, they suddenly heard loud horns. Aeolus realized them as war horns, and began to prepare. ¡°My undead, escort the city¡¯s people to the underground, and stall for as much time as possible!¡± Aeolus roared, while taking out twenty of the undead he had, including Kline. However, he kept the illusionist to himself. ¡°Yes, my master.¡± Kline said while kneeling, and stood up. It took all of the undead and the remaining citizens with itself, and fled to the underground. Meanwhile, Aeolus stood tall and proud at the surface, with the last seven undead remaining with him. ¡®Our goal is to stall for as much time as possible, no matter what. Right now, every citizen is underground, and only we are still remaining.¡¯ Aeolus explained the priorities of this mission, and all the undead understood clearly. This was a do or die situation, and they had to stall for as much time as possible. ¡°If we manage to stall for more then ten minutes, we¡¯re going underground as well. If we don¡¯t, well, we¡¯ll be dead.¡± Aeolus explained out loud this time, while not being so optimistic. For once, the undead showed emotion, but it was misery, misery at the fact that their leader was pessimistic. After five more minutes, they saw a huge wave of enemies coming in, ranging in the tens of thousands. Aeolus began to sweat, as he knew that they couldn¡¯t fully take on this wave. Besides, even if he did somehow take down this wave, this was just a single wave, out of multiple cities. ¡°Undead soldiers, lets lower the stalling time to five minutes?¡± Aeolus turned back and joked, trying to raise the morale. However, the undead were slowly thinking of deserting, even though it was impossible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 34: Enemy invasion begins The Roamer Chapter 34: Reckoning The first wave of enemies was right in front of the city, and Aeolus had minimal thoughts about retreating. After all, if he was going to retreat, why not do it earlier? ¡®Too late for us to retreat now.¡¯ Aeolus convinced himself, and willed his body to move forward. However, his legs were shaking extremely, fear clearly affecting them. Aeolus got a bit angry, and punched his legs. They immediately stopped shaking, and started bleeding instead. ¡°Better to be injured then not being able to move at all.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and began moving forward. He sensed the nervousness of the undead following him into battle, and radiated an apologetic tone towards them. They all seemed to understand, and began willing themselves to stall for time. ¡®These undead can¡¯t die forever, as I can just bring them back. However, if I die, they are all gone forever. For that reason, you¡¯ll all circle around me.¡¯ Aeolus explained, and the undeads expressions brightened. If they could save the master, then no matter how much pain they endured through, they would still be alive! They got into a circular formation, with Aeolus standing in the middle of it. The first wave was upon them, and every enemy seemed to, at the very least, be at the fifth layer. However, this didn¡¯t scare off Aeolus and the undead, and kept running forward. ¡°After absorbing souls and cultivating for so long, I have my ups and downs too!¡± Aeolus roared, setting up the string madly. With Kline gone, he had to double his effort to pull off what he could when Kline was with him. It was exhausting him terribly, but he had to if he even wanted a chance at surviving this wave. A lot of the enemy soldiers died, but many more kept rushing. However, the illusionist was also pulling off its job. It blended in with the environment, and made things seem different from how they actually were. There were many soldiers who were running into buildings that they could¡¯ve swore were not there before. Aeolus kept a healer with him, and it was constantly healing the injured. However, things were not turning out well. Two of his undead had already fallen, and it would take some time for him to take them out again, considering that they regenerated within his mid-layer. At the very least, two minutes were needed. ¡®God damn it, forget five minutes, even two minutes seems like a miniscule dream!¡¯ Aeolus roared within his mind, while beginning to tear up again, faltering at the fact that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stall for enough time. However, he immediately shook off the tears, and filled his eyes with anger. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to cry, damn it!¡± Aeolus roared, and his preparations were complete. Both the enemy soldiers and undead had not noticed it until now, but there was a string arena so big that it encaged everything within Antegria. ¡°Die for the people!¡± Aeolus hollered, and begun the massacre. A bunch of string shot out from every direction, and many of the enemies were pierced or held in place. Aeolus estimated that at least a quarter of them died, and the numbers were still rising. However, it all quickly ended. Some woman came out from the middle of the army and held her hand out, and some black circle formed at the palm of her hand. All the string was sucked into that black circle, and Aeolus was astounded. ¡®What kind of affinity is that?¡¯ Aeolus wondered, wanting to make her into an undead. He did not have any undead with an affinity like that, and he wished to experience it. His blood began to lust for that woman''s undead version, and he flashed a smile. He ran towards her, full of energy. ¡°My my, did I interest you right there?¡± The woman teased, and angered Aeolus a bit. Still, he kept his cool headedness for the most part, and kept rushing. She held her hand out towards him, and he felt himself beginning to be absorbed. ¡®So her power can even absorb someone as heavy as me.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, comprehending her affinity bit by bit. He soared into the air, and confusion appeared on the women''s face. However, she understood what was going on only a few seconds later. She looked around her, and string was shooting towards her. She simply laughed, and began absorbing all of it. However, Aeolus was already prepared for such a move, and forced all of his spirit into a single string. ¡®That string has the affinity of poison in it, if it could just strike her once¡­!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, willing the string to pierce her. The string barely escaped the absorption of her affinity, and pierced one of her fingers. Aeolus didn¡¯t quite like the results, considering that it hit such a far part. ¡°Still, now that it has hit, the poison will slowly spread.¡± Aeolus said to himself, calming the temper within him. He looked around, and all his undead were slowly falling. He realized he couldn''t stall anymore, and absorbed all of them back into his mid-layer. He then put a hole into the ground, and jumped into it. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Chase after him!¡± the woman roared, and many of the soldiers tried to chase. However, when they jumped down the hole, they discovered a lot of string was set in place there. The woman clicked her tongue, and made a brand new hole. She jumped into it, with many soldiers following. ¡®Send in the second wave, the city has been conquered!¡¯ The woman said within her mind, radiating her thoughts to one of the other commanders besides herself. Toronto, the strongest commander, picked up the thought that she sent out, and brought in his wave. ¡°This city has been conquered, and the enemies have fled to the underground cavern! Check and pillage every single building to make sure everyone has left the city!¡± Toronto roared, as the soldiers cheered on. They then began their rush into the city, with a smile that seemed plastic on their faces. --- sequence 2 --- ¡°Crap, I only stalled for four minutes!¡± Aeolus roared, upset with himself. His original goal was ten minutes, and even when he reduced his goal to five minutes, he still couldn¡¯t do it. ¡®I¡¯ll train even harder later on.¡¯ Aeolus said to himself, bringing some sort of comfort. He then began rushing towards Kline, who he could sense the aura of. After running for a minute or two, Aeolus found Kline leading all of the cities people, along with some other undead. Aeolus smiled to himself, as he realized that they were all fine. Kline realized that Aeolus was nearby, and began turning his head left and right. After searching for a while, he found that Aeolus was behind all of the citizens, and turned his head back forward. Now that he had confirmed that his master was safe, he would continue leading the escape, as he ordered. However, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. The female commander followed them using her own hole, and a lot of soldiers were with her. ¡®Eight of the undead leading the escape need to turn back and fight her with me!¡¯ Aeolus roared within his mind, and all the undead immediately volunteered for the battle, including Kline. Aeolus left Kline and the illusionist to lead the escape, and took two of the healers and some others. ¡°Continue leading the escape until you reach the shore!¡± Aeolus roared, the undead immediately understanding. A while ago, Aeolus had scouted the shore of Pangaea, and found that there was an entrance leading into this huge underground. If they could just reach the entrance, they would be at the sea. ¡®At that point, I could trigger my power.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while rushing the female commander. The two healers were behind him, the other undead by his side. He was the first to clash with the enemies, hitting the female commander with a punch to the stomach that sent her flying a couple of miles off. ¡°You¡¯re pretty powerful for a brat.¡± She said, and immediately came flying back. Of course, Aeolus expected this. All of the commanders were near his level, so even if he sent her flying for hundreds of miles, she would simply come back in a few minutes. ¡°Huh?!¡± The female commander yelled, and then tripped. She looked back, and saw that her foot had been cut off by a string that was not there before. She looked back at Aeolus, who, simply, had no emotions on his face. He was right above her, and stomped on her stomach. *BLEGH* She vomited a bunch of blood, and she realized that this was all that she could put up against Aeolus. She closed her eyes, knowing that she herself couldn¡¯t do anything. If she were to be saved, it would have to be by another commander. ¡®Still, to think I¡¯m so disappointing that even a brat surpassed me¡­¡¯ was the last thought she had, before she went into a deep sleep. Meanwhile, Aeolus had already began attacking the cannon fodder enemies. They were being pierced constantly by string, until they all dropped to the ground. Aeolus was sweating heavily, and was exhausted. ¡®This isn¡¯t even all of the first wave, only about three quarters of it. There are still more enemies constantly dropping in from the hole¡­¡¯ Aeolus said to himself in his mind, while absorbing all of his undead. He was thoroughly done fighting, and couldn¡¯t hang on much longer. If he didn¡¯t run now, then forget saving the city¡¯s people, he couldn¡¯t even guarantee his own life. He ran towards Kline and the people of Antegria, and began to prepare for his ultimate defense. ¡°Kline, give me all of your string!¡± Aeolus roared at Kline, who immediately passed it over. Aeolus simply nodded his head, and turned around. Behind them, there were thousands of enemies running towards them. Aeolus began setting up a huge string wall, one that split him and the enemies up. This underground cavern was humongous, it¡¯s width and height extending for hundreds of meters. However, Aeolus put a wall right into the middle of the cavern, which confused the enemies. Was this really a brat they were fighting? However, they simply began to attack the wall of string. At first, they thought that they would only be stalled for a minute before they broke through the wall, but something seemed different about this string. It seemed to be extremely hard, as if they were hitting steel. Some of the soldiers began sweating while cutting away at the string, and some just fainted on the spot. No matter how you looked at it, this wasn¡¯t just string. ¡°Everyone, attack the same spot!¡± some random soldier roared, and many of them followed suit. They all began attacking one specific spot in the string wall, hoping to bring it down. However, no matter how much they attacked, it just didn¡¯t budge. ¡®That will stall them for, at the very minimum, half an hour.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while a light smile floated onto his lips. In reality, he had been infusing mantra into Kline¡¯s and his¡¯ string for a while now, but he hadn¡¯t activated the mantra. He didn¡¯t want to power up too soon and let the enemies know what to expect before the battle began. He activated the power of the mantra right before the city invasion began, letting him hold the power of surprise. As expected, it turned out excellent. The string was much harder than before, and pierced through enemies much more easily. Right now, all the string that was used on the wall had at least triple the power of the string he had been using before the city invasion, letting it hold on much longer. ¡°Get out of the way, damned weaklings.¡± some man said, and many of the soldiers turned to see who said it. However, as soon as they saw who it was, they paled. It was the most powerful commander of Pangaea, one who had not been conquered for a long, long time. ¡°C-C-Commander Toronto, yes sir! Get out of the way, you fools!¡± one of the soldiers of the army said, and everyone followed suit. Commander Toronto simply held his palm out, and all the string began coming back to Aeolus. Aeolus began sweating heavily, because he knew what was going on. ¡°He¡¯s using the affinity of time to reverse the string wall, as if it was never there!¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 35: Torontos anger The Roamer Chapter 35: Toronto¡¯s anger ¡°So, you¡¯re the brat who Sasha decided to spare huh? Yet, look at what happened as a result. She¡¯s on the ground, slowly dying¡­¡± Toronto said, despair clear in his voice. Aeolus realized that he had just pissed off someone he shouldn¡¯t have, and took a big gulp. ¡°For Sasha, I¡¯ll take you down.¡± Toronto said, and appeared right in front of Aeolus. At first, Aeolus was confused as to how he did such an act, but he realized this was all the affinity of time. ¡®He¡¯s speeding himself up using time!¡¯ Aeolus realized, sweat dripping down from his body. This guy was on a whole other level from the commander of Antegria, who only took a few undead to kill. ¡°Doing this also speeds up time for me, and I¡¯m aging at double the pace now, so let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Toronto said, with killing intent deep in his eyes, making it look as if he was born with such a dead face. Aeolus simply protected himself as much as possible, however, Toronto was way too fast. He was easily getting through Aeolus and his defenses, as if they were nothing but flies. Meanwhile, the rest of the army was passing by them, beginning to capture the citizens. However, the next sight completely angered Aeolus. ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill my so-!¡± were the words of many people. They weren¡¯t just capturing the people, they held them down for a few seconds and then killed them off. ¡°They¡¯re all labeled as traitors you see, so they all need to die.¡± Toronto said calmly, not caring at all. Besides, in the end, they were just slaves to aid the royal army. ¡°God damn it¡­¡± Aeolus said, clearly not working with the same mindset as Toronto. Just what did these people do to deserve such a thing? He gritted his teeth, and began to move even faster. He was beginning to catch up with Toronto¡¯s speed, which surprised the commander greatly. ¡®This¡­ he¡¯s evolving through combat?¡¯ Toronto thought to himself, but it was simply an entertaining thought to himself. Even if he was evolving through combat, he wouldn¡¯t be able to save all the citizens. One way or another, he would experience misery. However, Aeolus clearly didn¡¯t agree to this. ¡°SCREW OFF!¡± Aeolus roared, and pierced Toronto with some string, right in the lungs. Aeolus immediately lost one of his fingers after that, and it was on his physical arm. However, Aeolus considered this trade worth it. ¡°Damned brat!¡± Toronto yelled, and began attacking once again. However, Aeolus immediately booked it, since he had the chance. He was running towards the innocent slaves, no, people. He began sending his string out in all directions, and using his undead to the best of his abilities. ¡®They can¡¯t die, They can¡¯t die, They can¡¯t die¡­¡¯ was on repeat in Aeolus¡¯ head, as if it was a broken cassette tape. However, it was his honest thoughts, he really did want to save them. However, Toronto wouldn¡¯t let him. *KSHH* Aeolus felt an immense pain somewhere down there, and began screaming wildly, as if he was a boar on the verge of execution. After screaming for a second, he immediately looked down. In the place of his stomach, there seemed to be a fist holding something that came out of his body. He then took a kick from the back, and went flying into one of the walls of this cavern. He was buried in rubble, and barely had any space to breath. He was slowly bleeding out, and his end seemed to be closing in. ¡°S-S-Shit, stand up¡­¡± he tried to will himself, but it wasn¡¯t working. If anything, it just served to help him spit out more blood. He slowly lifted the rubble off himself, but there was somebody standing in front of him helping him. ¡®Ah, one of my undead¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, pleased that he had such a loyal army. However, it was the exact opposite of an ally lifting up the rubble. ¡°Stand up, damned bug. You¡¯ll know the pain I experienced when I lost Sasha!¡± Toronto yelled, and lifted Aeolus out of the rubble, who couldn¡¯t do anything back. He simply closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, permanently. However, Toronto wouldn¡¯t allow such a thing. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. *TSS* He immediately slapped Aeolus¡¯ face, which woke him up. Aeolus stared into the face of Toronto, and could¡¯ve swore he was staring at a demonic general. His eyes were fully black, no pupil or whites. He was leaking blood from his mouth, and many other places. In fact, Aeolus could¡¯ve swore that he was also in a pitiful situation. ¡®Just how did he get so injured¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, but understood when he looked behind Toronto. Behind him, there were many undead bodies, all of them slowly being absorbed by him. ¡°I see, it seems my soldiers didn¡¯t want you getting near me¡­¡± Aeolus said silently, but Toronto still heard him. He simply made an even worse expression, while Aeolus giggled a little. However, it seemed as if hope wasn¡¯t fully lost. *SPLAT* Toronto¡¯s left arm was cut off, and hit the ground. Toronto began reversing time while turning around, to get his arm back and confront the opponent. However, the opponent simply pinned Toronto¡¯s arm to the ground, and sent string in from behind Toronto to pierce him. It came out with what Aeolus could¡¯ve swore was an organ, and he was proud of this undead soldier that he had raised. For it was Kline, fighting on Aeolus¡¯ side. --- sequence 2 --- ¡°A damned undead dares to try and stop me?¡± Toronto said, while throwing his fist out towards Kline. However, Kline simply stopped it with string that was already there, and kicked Toronto in the balls, or what seemed to be the balls. However, Kline didn¡¯t feel anything jiggly when he kicked there, so he simply stopped attacking there. ¡°In battle, a man has to learn how to cover their private spots.¡± Toronto said with an obnoxious tone, as if it was one of the most basic things in the world. However, Kline wasn¡¯t acknowledging a single thing coming out of Toronto¡¯s mouth, and simply attacked. ¡®This damned human dares to insult my master to such a degree¡­¡¯ Kline was thinking to itself, disappointed by how weak it was. Just the fact that his master was about to die while he was still alive and kicking was already angering Kline to death. ¡°To think you¡¯ve raised such a dedicated undead¡­¡± Toronto said calmly, while observing Kline¡¯s every movement. After a bit, he dropped Aeolus on the ground, and took off his shirt. Aeolus could¡¯ve swore that there was some powerful aura surrounding his body. ¡°I won¡¯t go easy on you, you¡¯re the last defense protecting your little master.¡± Toronto said with no emotions in his voice, while his body kept increasing in size. After a while, his body stopped growing. However, he was still humongous. Kline barely even reached his waist. ¡°Come at me, damned ant.¡± Toronto said, while taunting at Kline. Kline got pissed off, and rushed at him. He pierced Toronto with string, but Toronto was simply smiling. It was as if this was just a vaccine he was taking, and nothing serious at all. ¡°You can¡¯t compete with me anymore, and I don¡¯t blame you. Even if all the commanders ganged up on me, they would barely beat me.¡± Toronto mentioned in a sly voice, while Aeolus was slowly losing consciousness and life. Kline realized that it had to hurry up, or things would end up badly for itself and its master. It began rushing at Toronto once again, who simply smiled once again. Toronto reached his arm outwards, to grab Kline. However, the next move Kline pulled off surprised everyone, including his master, Aeolus. He jumped into the air, and landed behind Toronto. Toronto thought that it was just a trick to try and backstab him, and turned around. However, his last arm was cut off from behind, and fell to the ground. String was coming in from every direction, and Aeolus realized this move heavily. ¡®Kline learnt it¡­ Kline learnt my ultimate move!¡¯ Aeolus got heavily excited, as it seemed like his undead was evolving through this battle as well. However, the string didn¡¯t pierce Toronto, who was guarding himself. Instead, Kline used it for something Aeolus had never thought about before. It pierced through the ground, and came back out carrying rocks. The rocks were wrapped in string, and were sent flying at Toronto. Toronto took one straight to the forehead, and the pain was unimaginable. Kline used this moment to throw his master over his shoulder, and ran out of the cavern using the entrance at the shore of Pangaea. ¡°You¡¯re not getting away so easily!¡± Some man screamed at Kline, while jumping down onto him. However, Kline simply avoided it, and kept flying. It was planning on crossing the ocean, and escaping with its master. It gave up on the idea of saving the slaves completely, as they had absolutely no choice. ¡®Master and I barely handled one, we can not take on anymore...¡¯ was the thought rushing through Kline¡¯s head, unwilling to let Aeolus die. However, the man who jumped down on them before clearly wasn¡¯t about to let them escape so easily. He began chasing after them, and Kline thought he could handle it pretty easily. However, huge waves rose up, and were coming towards them. ¡°This is where the affinity of water really shines!¡± The unknown man yelled, cheering happily. However, it wasn¡¯t such a happy moment for Kline and Aeolus. The waves were getting bigger and bigger, until at least five of them were big enough to flood a whole city. ¡®... damn it.¡¯ Kline thought to himself, and resolved himself to the end. However, it seemed as if they had more backup. One of the more famous undead of Aeolus came out, the illusionist. It began radiating its thoughts towards Kline. ¡®Kline, I¡¯ll use an illusion to make it seem as if we all got drowned by the tsunami¡¯s, and you take to the skies with master.¡¯ the illusionist explained, and Kline immediately accepted. He took to the skies, while the illusionist made it seem as if they had been drowned. After flying for half an hour, the illusionist came flying back towards them. The illusionist was previously a pretty lady, her hair fluttering with the wind she was soaring through. ¡®How¡¯s the condition of master?¡¯ the illusionist asked, clearly concerned. Even if she didn¡¯t care about Aeolus, him dying also meant that all the undead soldiers would go back to the abyss of death, so she had to watch out for him no matter what. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ getting better slowly through the soul infusion technique.¡± Kline said, with a bit of pessimism in his voice. In reality, he wasn¡¯t that confident. He didn¡¯t think that the soul infusion could help Aeolus much in such a situation. Of course it couldn¡¯t, Toronto took out a lot of his intestines. ¡°No¡­ master will make it.¡± Kline said calmly, and kept flying. He could feel the vigor of the soul infusion technique, which felt much stronger than before. He kept soaring, towards the beginning. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 36: Finalizing results The Roamer Chapter 36: Finalizing results ¡°Where¡­ am I?¡± Aeolus asked, as he had just woken up. All he saw was the bright, blue sky. He sat up, and saw that he was in some sort of jungle. He simply soared out, and looked around. He saw nothing related to the battle of Antegria. He was extremely confused, as he did not understand how he came about such a place. ¡®Wait a minute¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and sensed something from Kline and Dasline. He browsed through their memories, and figured out what happened. ¡®To think that my undead would go through such a thing for me¡­¡¯ Aeolus whispered in his mind, while also proud. He really did raise a powerful army, one that would help him even more in the future. However, the location his army brought him too wasn¡¯t favorable, and Aeolus was beginning to turn pale. A few miles off, he could see one of the sights he never wanted to see again. It was the great abyss of a hole that was created during a battle from long ago. Who wouldn¡¯t turn pale from such a sight? The destruction was extreme, one that this world almost never experienced. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s due to that idiot who would self destruct himself to kill himself and I¡­¡± Aeolus said to himself, and didn¡¯t want to remember that situation. He immediately turned around, and stopped looking towards the big abyss. He didn¡¯t want to see it any longer, and flew off. He was heading back in the direction of Pangaea. ¡®I still have some unfinished business there, I¡¯m not leaving ¡®till every despicable, corrupted person has dropped.¡¯ Aeolus swore to himself once again, and flew even faster. He wished to see the results of the losing battle that he had fought. More specifically, he wanted to see the conditions of the people and Toronto. ¡°If Toronto is still in a bad condition, I¡¯ll invade right now just to kill him. I¡¯ll kill him, and then get out of there.¡± Aeolus said to himself, while arriving at Pangaea. However, he immediately began rethinking what he just said. ¡°No, that¡¯ll just lead to my inevitable death. I also can¡¯t continue capturing cities, or the results will always be the same. If only Toronto would just get out of the way¡­ no, even without him, there are all the other commanders¡­¡± Aeolus kept muttering to himself, trying to think of a way to deal with this. However, no matter how much he thought, there were only two surefire ways. Number one would be for him to power up even more, and get all his undead to his level. Number two would be to increase the overall number of undead, and make it so that he can do even more with more eyes and ears. ¡®Actually, I¡¯ll just do both. I think I¡¯ll take a couple months off from actually working, and begin training again.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and sighed. Just how much times did he go into training in these past years? First, it was training in the slave prison. Second, it was him absorbing souls. Third, it was him going to hell. Fourth, it was his transition from his old land mass to Pangaea. ¡°That makes this my fifth time training within my life.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and smiled. Once again, he began pillaging towns, villages, and cities for strong people to absorb the soul of, and possibly bring back as undead. --- sequence 2 --- Just like that, more time had passed again. Aeolus estimated it to be five months, but who knows. During this time, he had figured out the fate of the citizens of Antegria, and the condition of Toronto. Concerning the citizens, most of them were either killed or forced into slavery worse than before. Concerning Toronto, he retired as a commander, as his arms had been thoroughly ruined. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t even dare to think of putting his guard down if he were to ever fight him again. ¡®Back when I was desperately trying to evacuate the citizens of Antegria, he had lost his arms, but he was still a monster that me and Kline could barely handle.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while promising to never put his guard down against any opponent ever again. Right now, he was living in the ruins of Antegria, as it seemed like Pangaea didn¡¯t want it back. Maybe it was for history or something? Aeolus didn¡¯t know about any of that, but the one thing that he did understand was that this place was safe. These days, he constantly wore a mask, as his name and face were too widespread at this point. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®The days when I could just walk around with my face out in the open and nobody would care¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, reminiscing about the beginning of his journey. Of course, it was too late to turn back now, as he had already begun the journey to reach the top of this world. ¡°Well, it¡¯s time to get moving.¡± Aeolus said, and stood up from the fallen pillar he was sitting on. He took to the sky, and flew to the capital of Pangaea. He had been going there recently, both to absorb souls and find new information about the royalty. ¡®The time for the rebellion to begin is closing in.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, counting down the days. He could tell that, sooner or later, he would have to fight the royalty of this city, and hopefully, not turn tail or die. ¡°Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve turned tail and ran on a lot of battles¡­¡± was a random thought that appeared out of nowhere and came out of his mouth. Just like that, he spent the rest of the day absorbing souls and having Dasline report to him, who was now in the official army due to its illusion affinity. It had warned Aeolus of at least five searches throughout the forest for him. All in all, he was living what he would consider the peaceful life. ¡°Please don¡¯t take my soul, I¡¯m sorry for doing things to her!¡± an old man with a beard screamed, desperacy in his voice. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t care at all, and absorbed his soul as well. ¡®I¡¯ve reached the power of a thirty-fifth layer fighter, and all my undead are at least at the power of thirty-fourth layer¡­¡¯ Aeolus said to himself within the mind, and realized that there was almost nothing left for him to do. Over the months, his undead army had risen to a total number of fifty, which was something he didn¡¯t imagine happening anytime soon. ¡°This¡­ what else do I have to do?¡± Aeolus thought to himself, not knowing what he should do now. Sure, he could start the rebellion already, and try to take down the royal family. The issue was that he didn¡¯t want to, he wanted to make sure he was going to succeed. ¡°Since I¡¯ve got nothing to do¡­ maybe go to the royal coliseum?¡± Aeolus said to himself, astounding many of the people around him who heard him. The royal colosseum was a place where only the best of battles went down throughout all of Pangaea, so this brat trying to compete in such a thing wasn¡¯t very conceivable. However, it wasn¡¯t as if they could say anything, as this brat just saved them after all. ¡°Why not, let¡¯s go to the royal coliseum!¡± Aeolus roared, vigor in his voice. In reality, ever since the evacuation of Antegria, he hasn¡¯t had many good battles. For that reason, he was ready for the royal colosseum a lot. He reached it in a second after running, and signed up for a tournament. Since the people of Pangaea didn¡¯t know his name, he just registered at Aeolus, and he was allowed to keep his mask on. ¡®I just gotta make sure that nobody drops my mask.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, reassuring his body that it would be fine if it just moved to protect the mask. The reward of this tournament was an affinity feast, and an item that would forcefully bring out a layer within you. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t care about either much. Since he already filled in every single layer within his soul, he didn¡¯t need a new affinity. At most, the affinity feast would probably be used to power up his wind affinity, or something like that. As for the item forcefully bringing out a layer, that could bring in side effects since it wasn¡¯t supposed to come out, and Aeolus thought it was easier to just form his third layer by himself. He walked out, as the tournament was to begin after two days. Since he had nothing to do, he just spent his time getting more information and absorbing even more spirits. After doing that for two more days, he avoided another search from the army thanks to Dasline, and that¡¯s about it. Aeolus flew back to the colosseum, ready to get his ass kicked, or the other way around. ¡°Now that I think about it, I lose a lot in battles¡­¡± Aeolus realized, thinking about the amount of times that he actually lost a battle instead of achieving victory. However, he immediately shook that out of his head, as this wasn¡¯t the time for such a thought to appear in his mind. He walked into the colosseum, and appeared in the center. Standing with him were many other huge and burly men, including some women who had the looks of an angel. Yet, none of them seemed to be able to rival Aeolus. Aeolus simply sighed, realizing that he would gain almost nothing from this. ¡°WAHHHHH!¡± the nobles within the stands roared at a person who entered right after Aeolus, who was clearly famous. Aeolus looked behind him, and it was some grey haired person who seemed to be around Aeolus¡¯ age. Aeolus stared at this kid dumbfoundedly, not believing that there were even more people in the world like him. Likewise, the kid stared at him with wide eyes, clearly not believing it either. ¡°You¡­ who are you?¡± the silver haired kid said, confusion evident within his voice. ¡°I¡¯m Aeolus, a contestant within this tournament. Who are you?¡± Aeolus replied, and then asked a question. In reality, both of them were extremely confused at the situation. ¡°Why, the announcer will state who I am, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± the silver haired kid said, and flashed a smile at Aeolus. Aeolus simply turned around, and continued comprehending the issues relating to this silver haired kid. If he was at such a powerful level at such a young age, he could become a real issue in the future if he were to ever long for the position of most powerful. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the tournament of honor!¡± some man floating in the sky roared, immediately being replied to by loud cheers and screams. ¡°It seems that this time, we have two kids fighting for the top! We have the new kid who we haven¡¯t seen before, Aeolus!¡± the announcer roared, and there were a few claps and cheers, as to be expected. However, the next thing the announcer said absolutely stunned Aeolus into a shock. ¡°Then, we have young master, who is destined to become the emperor of Pangaea, Lexor!¡± the announcer roared, and way, way more cheers and screams came in from the stands. Aeolus simply looked behind him, and saw Lexor smiling at him, with his hand held out. ¡°The name¡¯s Lexor, nice to meet you Aeolus.¡± Lexor said with his hand held out, which Aeolus took and shook. However, Aeolus could¡¯ve swore that there was some demonly smile on his face. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 37: Fated Meeting & Rivalry The Roamer Chapter 37: Fated meeting & Rivalry After the announcer explained the other participants and their backgrounds, Aeolus realized his chances within his tournament. Most likely, he would get either third or second, with Lexor behind him or behind him. First place belonged to an old man who seemed to be on his deathbed, and he had hit the seventieth layer. After hearing his layer, Aeolus immediately got his sights off of first place. Even if he was old and physically weak, he still had the powers of the spirit. Who knew how much attacks he had. ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin. Everyone, pick your partners and decide who battles first!¡± the announcer roared, with cheering coming right after. Aeolus looked left and right, but it seemed like most people were avoiding him. After a while, only him and Lexor were left, or so he thought. ¡°Brat, come and fight me?¡± the old man asked Lexor, and Lexor simply smiled. ¡°How dare an old geezer insult something as shiny as me?¡± Lexor replied, with that smile turning into a frown the more you looked at it. However, the grandpa simply ignored the reply. ¡°Is that a yes or no?¡± the grandpa said, and Lexor firmly refused. The old man then turned his eyesights to Aeolus, and smiled at this point in time. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re with me now.¡± the old grandpa said, with wisdom shining in his eyes. However, Aeolus could also sense the aura of a mentor. Aeolus had no doubt that this geezer had raised many powerhouses within this world, who were currently roaming the world and conquering everything. ¡°Since I don¡¯t want to fight Lexor yet, I guess I¡¯m forced too¡­¡± Aeolus said, with his decisiveness in his voice. The old grandpa detected it, and simply grinned. From the beginning of this tournament, he could read all of Aeolus¡¯ thoughts and more. Basically, Aeolus had absolutely no chance of beating this old man. ¡°Who would like to go first? Of course, Lexor is excluded until someone chooses to battle the young master!¡± the announcer explained, and the stands didn¡¯t boo or anything. In fact, they even cheered it on. ¡®They all want his victory huh?¡¯ Aeolus thought, while clicking his tongue. Him not battling would conserve his energy, while Aeolus would have to fight more battles than him, tiring him out more. ¡°Yes, the world is unfair brat.¡± the grandpa said, reading Aeolus¡¯ mind. Aeolus didn¡¯t know that this grandpa could read his mind yet, so he was simply amazed. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t let it get to him so much, because if he did, he would probably lose his calm headedness, which might cost him this battle. ¡®This brat still thinks about victory, even when he¡¯s fighting me¡­¡¯ the grandpa thought to himself, but still kept smiling. In his opinion, it was the young people of the world who had courage that would lead the revolution. This brat would definitely be a fine piece in any battles he fought in the future. ¡°We¡¯ll go first.¡± the grandpa raised his hand, and Aeolus simply frowned. Doing that was the same as being the first to show off their hand. Still, he had to follow the old grandpa, as he was his partner. He raised his hand as well, giving comfort to the old man. ¡°It seems that Aeolus and Digandry are volunteering to be the first to show us a battle!¡± the announcer announced, the people in the stands cheering, as always. Aeolus sometimes wondered if they were just machines meant to motivate the fighters, but it definitely wasn¡¯t the case. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Aeolus and Digandry walked into the center of the arena, and stood right apart from each other. Digandry had a simple smile on his face, while Aeolus, as always, had nothing on his face. They simply stared at each other, until the announcer began his next words. ¡°This battle will begin on go. Ready, set, g-!¡± the announcer began, but couldn¡¯t finish. In fact, many things couldn¡¯t finish. Everything in the world seemed to have paused, and only Aeolus could move. Aeolus looked around, and realized every single fighter was frozen, including Lexor. However, when he looked back in front of him, he understood what was going on. ¡°We¡¯ll begin a training session within this dimension.¡± Digandry explained, but it wasn¡¯t enough to convince Aeolus. After all, he wasn¡¯t even explaining what was going on, but Aeolus had a loose idea about what was going on. ¡°The affinity of time is one of your assets?¡± Aeolus asked, trying to confirm what he thought was the cause of this whole situation. Surprisingly, Digandry shook his head, refuting Aeolus¡¯ words. ¡°This is the affinity of space in work. My power rains supreme within this world, so supreme that I¡¯ve reached the level of dimensions. My affinity evolved into the next stage, and is the upgraded version of space. This is simply a dimension we¡¯re in, one that controls time.¡± Digandry explained, while Aeolus nodded his head most of the time. He was currently comprehending what Digandry was saying. ¡°Wait, affinities could evolve into something else?¡± Aeolus asked, confused by the turn of events. Not only did he learn there was some affinity able to control dimensions, affinities were able to evolve as well? ¡°Only people past the fiftieth layer know this, but affinities can be taken to the next stage. The affinites you have before the fiftieth layer are considered the fertile version of the affinities, not awakened at all. Once you pass the fiftieth layer, you reach the child section of the affinity.¡± Digandry explained even more, while Aeolus comprehended even more. ¡°Wait, you said they¡¯re only at the child level once you hit the fiftieth layer¡­ then what is the final version of an affinity?¡± Aeolus asked another question once again, and Digandry began to frown a little. ¡°For a brat, you desperately seek knowledge. Still, you¡¯re a brat with potential, and for that reason, you will recieve my guidance. Once you pass a certain limit, that even I¡¯m not aware of, your affinity will become much, much stronger than before. At that point, it¡¯s referred to as a ¡®mature affinity¡¯.¡± Digandry explained once again, and this time Aeolus finally stopped questioning it all, realizing that this geezer was beginning to get pissed off. ¡®Basically, I¡¯m nowhere near close to the limits of my affinity?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and Digandry immediately picked up on the thought. ¡°Correct, but there is also something else to keep in mind. Once an affinity hits the mature level, whether or not it¡¯s a god realm affinity or a normal one, all of them will be equal in power. At that point, it¡¯s all left up to the benefits of the affinity and how you use it.¡± Digandry said, while sighing at this point in time. ¡°This¡­ the affinity of death will be rendered the same as all the other affinities at that time?¡± Aeolus questioned the world, confused as to why such a system of cultivation was set up by the gods. However, he realized the next thing coming up from this. ¡°That¡¯s right brat, at that point in time, layers and all that wont matter anymore. Everyone will be at an equal level, and at that point, it¡¯s left up to your knowledge and skills. Once you reach that level, battles will be determined by reaction time, experience, strategy, and more.¡± Digandry explained for the final time, and finally quitted down. ¡®This¡­ I understand it now.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while releasing a faint chuckle. Digandry took it as a sign of him being courageous, and simply smiled once again. However, everything resumed at that point in time. All the cheering came back, the announcer was yelling again, and the other combatants had their eyes flickering. ¡°I¡¯ll be going now, brat.¡± Digandry said, and soared out of the arena. Other people couldn¡¯t even react until three seconds had passed, their faces turning into shock. Just why would an astounding man like him turn tail and run? They all pinned their eyes on Aeolus, beginning to realize that he might be a reason. Aeolus began sweating lightly, scared that this might give away what was under the mask. Meanwhile, Digandry was laughing while watching this whole scene play out form the clouds. ¡®I did join the tournament for experience and rewards, but that brat seems to be someone decent within this world. Maybe the next time I see him, we can engage in thorough combat?¡¯ Digandry thought to himself, and took off fully this time. Meanwhile, Aeolus was still sweating profusely, until he took to the skies as well. ¡°Damned geezer, leaving me in such a situation¡­¡± Aeolus said out loud, but on the inside, he was thankful to the geezer. He now knew what to focus on, and what to do in training. It wasn¡¯t about powering up anymore, that would come naturally. Instead, it was about skills and talent, natural skills and talent. However, the next thing that hit his ears like a truck gave him goosebumps. ¡®I look forward to the time where you try to rebel against Pangaea once more, Aeolus.¡¯ a voice came into Aeolus¡¯ ears, and he could¡¯ve swore that it was the voice of the prince, Lexor. Aeolus¡¯ face turned white, but regained it¡¯s composure quickly. ¡°Lexor and me¡­ will it truly end at Pangaea?¡± Aeolus wondered, and continued soaring towards the ruins that were Antegria a while ago. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 38: The plan begins The Roamer Chapter 38: the plan begins Aeolus arrived at the ruins of Antegria, still shining as much as a dump. He took a seat on the pillar he always sat on, to fully process what Digandry had said, and more importantly, the little whisper that came into his ears after leaving the tournament. ¡°Was it really Lexor who sent that message, or was it possibly someone else framing him?¡± Aeolus asked, to which he got no reply. ¡®No, it must¡¯ve been Lexor. Though there are many people in the tournament who know my name, not many of them have any thorough relations with me, besides Lexor.¡¯ Aeolus confirmed it within his mind, and began to think of a reason why. Suddenly, it struck him in his mind. ¡®Lexor¡­ is it possible this is all just entertainment to him?¡¯ Aeolus rummaged within his mind for all the memories of Lexor. When they were about to battle, he had a demon like smile. In fact, in most cases, he was smiling like a baby who hadn¡¯t experienced the world. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t conclude the reasons for sending me such a message, so I¡¯ll just leave that until later. For now, It¡¯s about time I follow through with the ¡®plan¡¯. Aeolus said to himself, and began floating into the sky. He looked into the distance, and he could see many cities. He picked the one that was closest, or what he thought was closest, and flew to that one. He landed in front of the city, and walked inside. However, he immediately remembered something, and turned around. He walked into the woods right outside of the city. He then took out most of his undead, and had them split into groups. This was all a part of the ¡®plan¡¯, one that would give him a fighting chance when he conquered this city and others invaded. ¡°I¡¯ve split all of you into groups of eight, and kept the remainder with me. Each group is to find a different city, and occupy it while keeping yourselves hidden. Basically, just stay outside city walls or something. When I send out the signal in my mind, you are to ravage the city you¡¯re currently camping at, so that I can stall for time.¡± Aeolus explained, and the undead understood the essence of the plan. Basically, Aeolus would take over a city, and before other cities could begin sending their reinforcements to siege it, his undead would cause a mess in the cities sending reinforcements, stalling for time. That way, even if he didn¡¯t have enough time to evacuate citizens, there was still a chance of him fighting off the enemies, and potentially killing them as well. ¡®I¡¯ve been on Pangaea for far too long, I¡¯m wasting precious time here. I need to conquer this land mass and move onto the next one soon.¡¯ Aeolus said within his mind, confirming his motives. He originally pledged to himself he wouldn¡¯t stay in one place for a long time, and his visit to another landmass was long overdue. Each undead group went to its own city to camp at, and began preparing themselves with mantra. On the other hand, Aeolus walked back into the city, the few undead that he kept with him in his mid-layer. Of course, he had the mask on. However, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to finish the plan after what happened in Antegria. After Aeolus took over Antegria, all other cities raised their securities, and many cities prevented citizens from speaking about Antegria. Right now, Pangaea was a hot mess on sticks, awaiting it¡¯s crumbling. At least, that¡¯s what Aeolus thought.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He found a bar, and walked into it. From his basic understanding of the world, bars were a place where information could be exchanged. Right now, he needed to find out where the commander of this city lived, and where the armies were barracked. Right now, he couldn¡¯t get any leads on either of them. He saw some pretty drunk guy flicking off another, and thought that he was the perfect person to ask. He walked up to him, and sat right next to him. The drunk guy looked Aeolus up and down, and then his head hit the table. Aeolus lifted his head, but he was knocked out cold. ¡®Getting a drunk person to tell me information isn¡¯t going to be easy if this happens.¡¯ he thought to himself, and stood up. He wanted to question a drunk person because they were more likely to give away information, as they weren¡¯t in the right state of mind. Just like that, Aeolus kept maneuvering table to table, trying to find some drunk person who would tell him information. Finally, he found what he was looking for. ¡°Kid, come drink with me.¡± some random guy told Aeolus, and Aeolus looked flicked his face towards him. He was definitely drunk, no doubt about it. Aeolus chuckled, and sat right in front of the man. He then took a mug, and began drinking for his first time. ¡°Tastes like donkey piss, though I don¡¯t know what it tastes like.¡± Aeolus said, and the drunk guy hollered with laughter. He then smashed his mug onto the table, and pulled Aeolus towards him. He got right in his ear, and whispered this: ¡°So, what information are you so desperate to get that you¡¯d use drunk people?¡± came into Aeolus¡¯ ear, and Aeolus immediately radiated his spirit. The man simply giggled, and let go of Aeolus. Aeolus patted his shoulders, and moved on. ¡°Since it doesn¡¯t seem that you¡¯re that drunk, I guess I¡¯ll just ask you. Do you know where I can find the commander and army of this city?¡± Aeolus asked, trying to get a confirmation on the locations of the two. The man suddenly had his eyebrows point down, and a frown appeared on his face. ¡°Why do you want to know where they are?¡± he said, suspicion all around his face. Aeolus leaned in towards him, to make it more realistic, and then said this: ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone, but my cousin is trying to join into the army. He looks up to the commander, and wants to become a commander when he grows up.¡± Aeolus whispered into his ear, as he had down to Aeolus¡¯ ears. The man took the frown off his face, and put on a smile. ¡°Well, it seems like we still got some youths who are willing to help Pangaea.¡± the man said, and stood up. ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll show you where they are, considering that you¡¯re probably new to the city.¡± the man said, and walked out of the bar. Aeolus followed suit, and went right after him. They walked through the city, until they reached some plaza area. There was hole right in the middle of it, and everyone avoided it. The man jumped right on in, and Aeolus jumped down the hole as well. Once they hit the bottom, Aeolus realized were they were. They were at the underground cavern, the exact one that Aeolus tried to evacuate Antegria¡¯s citizens through. There were humongous buildings, and if one looked close enough, you could see many men and women sitting at many tables, eating something. ¡°My name is Carnel, and this is my army. Tell your cousin he is free to come whenever.¡± the man said, and realization struck Aeolus. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ the commander?¡± Aeolus asked, just to get a confirmation. Just to make sure that this so called Carnel wasn¡¯t getting suspicious, he had a look of amazement on his face. This clearly worked, as Carnel didn¡¯t seem to have any guard up. ¡°That¡¯s right, I''ll gladly invite your cousin to the army. Just send him here, and he¡¯ll take the test to join the army!¡± Carnel said, while laughing heartily. However, Aeolus wasn¡¯t fooled by the laugh at all. ¡®You laugh now, but this whole land mass is basically slavery and nothing else. Yet, you still laugh now.¡¯ Aeolus chuckled, and thanked Carnel. He then flew up the hole, but it wasn¡¯t without leaving some string on one of the soldiers. He left the city, and went into the woods right outside it. He sat down on the same log, and sent out the signal that would begin the decimation of Pangaea. All of his undead at other cities picked up on it, and Aeolus could sense his undead slaughtering away. ¡®All of these lives are being lost¡­ no, not again, never again. I will never regret taking lives for what I think is right.¡¯ Aeolus was upset with himself t first, but immediately threw it away. After getting his ass kicked in multiple battles before because he was too naive, he had experienced enough misery. ¡°This time¡­ I won¡¯t fail.¡± Aeolus said, and stood up. He walked into the city where his upcoming battle was coming, but surprisingly, unlike every single previous battle he was in, he didn¡¯t consider losing an option. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 39: Overtaking Pangaea The Roamer Chapter 39: Overtaking Pangaea ¡°Send more soldiers ou- FUUUU¡± ¡°Sir, are you fi-...¡± ¡°He¡¯s bleeding out, someone help him!¡± No matter which group of undead Aeolus listened into, pure chaos entered his ear. Surprisingly, he still felt as if he had no regrets. Instead, he drilled a hole into the ground, and dropped into the underground cavern. He was going to jump in from the hole located at the plaza at first, but it might¡¯ve been a bit suspicious if that happened. Instead, he took the safer approach, and made a new hole which nobody underground noticed. He hit the ground, and stood up. Right in front of him, there were many buildings, and soldiers running outside of them in what seemed to be laps. All it took was Aeolus concealing his aura and not making any sound, and he could just walk into the buildings. ¡®As expected, at my level, only commanders are issues. However, if it isn¡¯t Toronto, even without my undead, I might stand a chance.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, while jogging through the building, as if he was simply exercising. Of course, it wasn¡¯t exercising at all. Aeolus found a door that looked much more majestic then the others, and knocked. He was greeted by someone asking him who it was. ¡°I¡¯m an new person who wants to enlist into the army.¡± Aeolus said, not trying to say too much. From past experiences, doing too much was something that could give away his identity, which was what somehow happened with Lexor at the tournament of honor. ¡°Ah, would you like to let him enter commander Carnel?¡± the man on the other side of the door asked, and Aeolus began smiling. Now that he knew Carnel was in there, he would begin his carnage as soon as the door opened. However, the door didn¡¯t open. ¡®Don¡¯t open it, it¡¯s an enemy.¡¯ Carnel was radiating his thoughts to the butler standing at the door. In reality, he thought that it was just some person who was trying to enlist into the army at first, but after sensing their aura out, that was definitely not the case. ¡®Enlist into the army? Whoever it is has already surpassed my level.¡¯ Carnel thought to himself, and chuckled. If whoever was out there were to enlist into the army, he would be demoted from the position of commander. However, it was just an enemy. They didn¡¯t say anything for two minutes, and Carnel thought the person was finally gone. He sighed in relief, thanking the gods that he didn¡¯t have to deal with powerhouses. From his experiences with Toronto and the other commanders, they were always snotty and hard to become friends with. *BOOM* However, things didn¡¯t turn out as easy as Carnel expected it. He looked out the window behind him, and there was a whole building collapsing. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. Just who was confident enough in themselves to do such a thing? Out of nowhere, Carnel realized who it might be. ¡°The person who was just at the door¡­¡± Carnel turned back towards the door, and immediately opened it. There was nobody out in the hallway, and he jumped out the window of his office, breaking it into many pieces. He didn¡¯t have time to take the normal way, as he had to deal with the situation in the case of it being the enemy. ¡°Checkner, bring in the pride of this army!¡± Carnel yelled up towards his office, in which his butler Checkner was still in. Checkner nodded his head, and ran out of the office, trying to get Lester, one of the powerhouses of this army. Meanwhile, Carnel was running towards the building that had suddenly collapsed. ¡®If there were any people who survived that attack, then I¡¯ve gotta help.¡¯ was on repeat through Carnel¡¯s head, though things weren¡¯t that easy as well. No matter how much he searched, all he saw was a lot of blood, and every now and then, bodies and organs. He was paling the more he walked through the ruins of the building, and in the end, concluded that nobody survived.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. *KSH* The sound came from the main building of the army, the one that Carnel had just came out of. He turned around, and was thankful at first since it didn¡¯t look like the building had collapsed randomly. However, the next sight caused an upwelling of anger within his mind. There was a broken wall, and laying right outside of it was Checkner. Carnel was going to run up to him to try and help, but realized he was already dead. ¡°Shit!¡± Carnel said with anger in his voice, completely pissed at the sequence of events. They had no idea what was going on, and they couldn¡¯t control. If this wasn¡¯t a crisis, then Carnel didn¡¯t know what was. ¡°Reporting to duty, sir!¡± Lester said after running to Carnel, and standing in front of him. However, Carnel simply didn¡¯t have the time for him. He was beginning to inspect the hole that Checkner came out of, and realized just what was going on. ¡°No explosive would make a hole like this. Someone punched this or something, and it was likely to be a male.¡± Carnel confirmed calmly, not thinking too hard. From the day that he was born, he had always been told that his calm headedness and strategies were where his talents shined. Indeed they were, as they were the things that earned him the position of commander, along with his power of course. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± ¡°Someone, help me!¡± ¡°The man is dying on the ground, send suppo-!¡± Both Carnel and Lester listened, and then immediately booked it to the front of the main building, where all the screams were coming from. However, as soon as they arrived, Lester vomited. The sight in front of them was something no child, women, or man should ever see. There seemed to be many adults, ravaging the soldiers. In the middle of them all, was some brat covered in blood, whether it be his torso or his hands. Of course, the others were bloody as well. On the ground, so many bodies were lying down there that Carnel simply slapped himself, trying to wake up from this nightmare. However, to nobody''s surprise, he didn¡¯t wake up from anything. Realizing that this was all real, he roared and charged into the battle, Lester hesitating for a moment before following as well. ¡°You shit, who do you think you are?!¡± Carnel screamed, vigor rising throughout his whole body. If he didn¡¯t murder the brat that caused this whole mess, along with this entourage, he swore that dying was a valid choice for himself. Still, he realized something while rushing at the brat. ¡°You¡­ impossible, impossible, impossible¡­¡± Carnel suddenly began slowing down, until he stood still with dead eyes looking at the ground. The brat who was massacring his army was the exact same one that he welcomed with open arms at the bar, and even showed the army¡¯s location to. ¡°You.. why would you do this?¡± Carnel asked, confused by the turn of events. Why did the kid who seemed so innocent and naive turn out to be like this, a machine that murdered everything? He couldn¡¯t understand how things turned out this way. ¡°Simple, I won¡¯t lose anymore. Pangaea¡¯s people are suffering because of the system in place, and I intend to bring it down from its core.¡± Aeolus replied, with hate in his eyes. Just how were the people of Pangaea suffering so long, without even trying that much rebellions? ¡®Someone needs to stand up for the people, anyone. Since nobody else seems to have any ideals of stepping up like me, I¡¯ll put myself on stage.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and continued staring at Carnel, who also had eyes of hatred. Carnel was the first one to begin rushing at the other, while Aeolus did something confusing. Aeolus threw up some sort of towel or blanket, and his whole entourage and himself were hidden by it. Carnel was scared that he might disappear, but as soon as it dropped down, he could see that Aeolus was still there. With the source of all his hatred right in front of him, Carnel rushed with vitality. Him and Aeolus collided head on, with Carnel having the lead in power. Aeolus was slowly being pushed back, until he took a knee to the stomach, and hands smashing him into the ground from above. Carnel tried to stomp on Aeolus, but Aeolus rolled out of the way. He began setting up even more string then before, trying to put a stop to Carnel. However, Carnel maneuvered through all the string, not being touched by even a single one. Aeolus, realizing that he was running out of options, took to the sky. ¡®I have to stall even more¡­ master¡­!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and inserted courage into himself. He began setting up more complicated string designs and layers, while Carnel kept rushing towards him. Finally, right after Carnel maneuvered through another string, another one shot in from behind him and pierced his shoulder. ¡°This is nothing, I can still keep going!¡± Carnel roared, and took the string out of his shoulder surprisingly easily. Aeolus was beginning to turn white, while Carnel reached Aeolus once again. He gave Aeolus a punch that sent him flying out of the underground, and into the sky. Aeolus closed his eyes, and began falling down. After falling for a few minutes, he finally hit the ground. He opened his eyes up lightly, and he saw that he was right in the middle of the city. Aeolus simply chuckled, and disintegrated into nothing. ¡°Wha-!?¡± Carnel, who witnessed all of it, was confused. However, everything was going according to Aeolus¡¯ plan. ¡®Dasline, you pulled off a wonderful job of replicating me in the battle against Carnel, you did good¡¯. Aeolus sent his emotions out to Dasline, who had to fill in for him. The second Aeolus threw up the towel back in the underground, he booked it, while Dasline made a fake illusion in which it seemed like Aeolus, and camouflage the real Aeolus into the background, so he could make his escape. ¡°I¡¯ve made it, the finale of Pangaea is coming up now.¡± Aeolus said, while walking through the winding paths of the capital of Pangaea. He was currently walking towards the castle on a tall mountain in the middle, the one that housed the royalty of Pangaea. ¡°It¡¯s about time the people of Pangaea taste freedom.¡± Aeolus said, while ascending to the castle of Pangaea. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 40: Approaching demise of Pangaea The Roamer Chapter 40: Approaching demise of Pangaea After climbing up the mountain on which the castle was located, Aeolus saw it in front of him. A huge castle, probably half the size of the city, just lying there. It seemed empty on the outside, but if you looked through the windows, there were people drinking, sleeping, and guards. ¡®So this is the source of all corruption?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, looking at the origins of it all. This was where the history of Pangaea began, with the construction of this castle. ¡°It¡¯ll also be the location of the finale for Pangaea.¡± Aeolus said, courage flowing from his voice into the air. He sensed out his undead, and ten of them had came back to him from dropping in battle. However, the majority of them were still alive and fighting, so Aeolus was still good. ¡°Let¡¯s end this.¡± Aeolus said, and began weaving all the string he had on him. He laid a string arena outside of the castle, set down many traps to his liking, and more. Basically, he created the ideal fighting environment for himself. The string arena was starting to take the shape of a tornado more and more every time he looked at it, which pleased him. ¡®Dasline is out for now since she fought Carnel, and will probably not regenerate for at least another thirty minutes¡­¡¯ Aeolus said in his mind, trying to think up the perfect plan. In the original plan, Dasline would handle both Carnel and the army with her disguises and illusion, but now that she wasn¡¯t in a functioning state right now, he had to think up something else. ¡®It seems like I have no choice but to use my undead as cannon fodder¡­¡¯ Aeolus decided, and took out all the undead he had on him. ¡°All of you, raid that castle. Scout it for me.¡± Aeolus muttered, and all of them moved into action. It was likely that they would all fail and be killed, but at the very least, he might get a brief understanding of the opponents power, and the insides of the castle. As expected, Aeolus could hear a bunch of screaming from within after a minute. Right after that, all of his undead within the castle died, he could sense it. Aeolus began paling, because he could feel an extreme aura oozing out of the castle. Whoever was inside, he was not his opponent. ¡°It¡¯s a whole other thing when I have my undead with me, but they¡¯re all gone. For this battle, I¡¯ll have to just rely on myself.¡± Aeolus said to himself, trying to instill courage into his body and soul. However, his legs kept shaking no matter how much he tried encouraging himself. He could bring back all of his undead fighting the armies of different cities, but then the commanders and armies of those cities were likely to come here to protect the royal family, making the situation even worse for Aeolus. For that reason, he had to somehow find a way to survive by himself. *BOOM* The gate at the front of the castle opened with a simple shove from some man who seemed to be in his thirties, but it still sounded so extreme. Just the fact that he could make that sound just by shoving a gate showed how strong he was. However, Aeolus refused to back down, he couldn¡¯t now that he had came so far. ¡°Right now, it¡¯s all or nothing!¡± Aeolus roared, and rushed at the man in his thirties. However, it was all for naught. With a flick of his hand, all the string Aeolus had set up turned into nothing, and most of the string arena was destroyed. The man extended his hand out towards Aeolus, and pulled him in using some sort of force. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re not leaving here alive.¡± Said the man in his thirties, and Aeolus realized what was on his head. It was something gold and shiny, something that at least one person in every royal family possessed.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡®The king?!¡¯ Aeolus realized, while shocked at the truth. In all of the other cities of Pangaea, it was the commander who was the strongest, not the actual person in charge. Aeolus had assumed the same thing for the capital of Pangaea, and thought that Toronto would be his final challenge. However, this city was definitely not like the others of Pangaea. The king was holding Aeolus by his neck, and smashed him into the ground. Aeolus immediately coughed up some blood, while the king simply seemed lost in anger. Aeolus realized that he might have killed someone close to the king, and regretted making such a rash decision. ¡®Him being in an angry state like this doesn¡¯t help me in the least.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and tried maneuvering around the king¡¯s arm. However, the king looked Aeolus dead in the eyes, and Aeolus couldn¡¯t move anymore. ¡°Though Pangaea isn¡¯t much to other landmasses, no matter which landmass you¡¯re on, a king is not to be underestimated.¡± the king said, and Aeolus realized his mistake. He automatically assumed that a weak landmass was the equivalent of having weak people, but this definitely wasn¡¯t the case. From all of the commanders, to the people fighting in the underground arenas, the armies, and now, the royal family, everybody was strong. ¡®This plan was doomed to fail from the beginning¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and began closing his eyes. He didn¡¯t want to deal with this anymore, and he accepted his loss for a bit there. However, his eyes immediately opened up once again. ¡°If even I, one who has experienced slavery just like the people of this land, doesn¡¯t stand up and fight, then who will?!¡± Aeolus said, and shocked the king just a little. This slight moment went into Aeolus¡¯ eyes, and he realized that the guard of the king had went down for the slightest moment. *TSH* Aeolus used this moment, and pierced the king¡¯s arm which was holding Aeolus. The king yelled in frustrated pain, while Aeolus dropped down from his grasp. Aeolus didn¡¯t bother getting back up, and crawled through the king¡¯s legs. However, he realized something at this time. ¡®All my undead stalling the other cities¡­ many of them are falling!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and realized that time was running out. If he didn¡¯t finish this now, he would have to waste even more time on Pangaea. Somehow, someway, he had to bring down this king in the next few minutes. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Aeolus turned around to look at the king. The king had to die soon, or things would get too complicated later on to kill the king. He ran straight at the king, or so the king thought. ¡®Thanks very much, Dasline!¡¯ Aeolus thanked within his mind, knowing that Dasline had just pulled off something humongous for him. Even though she was still in his mid-layer, she created an illusion which made it look as if he was rushing at the king, when in reality, he was in the sky. ¡®I have to use this opportunity to get in a fatal attack!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, willing his body to move even faster, for the wind to take him to his destination faster. He had the string in his hand, and began setting it up, his ultimate attack. After a second had passed, the string arena was fully set up. ¡°Die¡± Aeolus said, not even having the power to scream. All the events that had happened in Pangaea to Aeolus were tiring, and he wanted to finish this up already. However, things didn¡¯t turn out as easily as he thought it would. *TSH* Even though the illusion was still there, the king somehow sensed the incoming string arena. He sent himself flying into the sky, while Aeolus was exasperated at the sight. Still, he gave chase, as he realized only Kline and a couple of others were still up and stalling. ¡°Cease, you damned brat!¡± the king bellowed, and some sort of air waves came out of his hand. Aeolus tried to dodge them, but one of them nicked his shoulder, and bleeding began. However, it wasn¡¯t much to Aeolus, who had survived much, much worse. He used up all of Dasline¡¯s power, and appeared behind the king while setting up the illusion that Aeolus was falling. This time, thanks to Aeolus not setting up something as mighty as string arena, the king didn¡¯t notice. Aeolus simply shot out a single string, but this string was enough to end it all. ¡°Gahhhhh!¡±the king screamed, clearly in pain. Aeolus had tied up the king first, and then pierced him with another, right in the location where a man should never be pierced. The king was throwing an extreme fit, one that Aeolus was not sure he would survive. However, he knew it was time to go. ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡­ master¡­¡¯ Aeolus hear Kline within his mid-layer, and realized that all of his undead were back. Now that there was nobody stalling for him, he had to get out of here. Aeolus began fleeing, but a face he didn¡¯t expect to see popped out. ¡°Why hello there, Aeolus!¡± the young prince of the nation said, and Aeolus felt an ugly look slowly climbing up his face. For it was the man who had frightened him at the tournament who stood before him, the one that sent Aeolus a weird message, the one that caused much confusion to Aeolus himself. It was Lexor, with the same devilish grin he always held on him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 41: Fate of Pangaea The Roamer Chapter 41: Fate of Pangaea ¡°Get out of the way, Lexor!¡± Aeolus yelled, and shot himself into the air. If he didn¡¯t get away now, and let Lexor stall for time, then all the other commanders would arrive at their location soon, boning him to death. Aeolus wasn¡¯t dumb, and realized he had to find a way out of this. However, Lexor wasn¡¯t slow either. ¡°Come on, aren¡¯t we friends?¡± Lexor asked, while throwing an arm towards Aeolus, which Aeolus avoided. He then used his wind affinity to its maximum potential, and boosted out of there. Lexor had a look of disappointment on his face, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t keep up with a person who cultivated the affinity of wind, when he didn¡¯t. He turned around, and began flying towards his father. Usually, a son would run towards his father and be with him in his last moments, but this wasn¡¯t in Lexor¡¯s mind at all. ¡®Father is still alive.¡¯ Kept repeating in his mind, so much that it annoyed him. He tried to swat away the thought, and it worked somewhat. He finally arrived at where his father was lying, crawling in pain. Lexor got down on his knees, right over his father. ¡°Son¡­ ahhhh.¡± the king went, while Lexor simply had a frown on his face. He ran his hands over his father''s face, while tearing up a little. The king was happy that his son actually cared about him, but he couldn¡¯t quite express it in a situation like this, where he couldn¡¯t have kids anymore due to a certain brat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, father.¡± Lexor said, and did something that nobody expected. He gripped his father by the neck, and began choking him out. The king struggled to escape, not understanding what was going on. However, Lexor lifted his father into the sky, and ripped his head off. ¡°Sorry father, but you¡¯ve gone and become senile.¡± Lexor said, and dropped the king¡¯s body on the ground. He sensed that the commanders and their armies were coming, and he steeled himself to put up an act. After two minutes, most of the commanders had arrived. When they saw the king on the ground, a lot of them vomited. Though, the majority of them were crying. Then there was Sasha, who was swearing Revenge on whoever did this. Lexor, however, simply stared at his father¡¯s body, with dead eyes. ¡°Young master¡­¡± Sasha began, and so did many others. Many of them took it as the young master being devastated, which was exactly how Lexor wanted it to look like. In his mind, he was giggling like a devil. He then prepared his angry voice, prepared to make his next move. ¡°Now that father is gone, I¡¯ll be ascending to the throne. The first thing Pangaea will do while I¡¯m king is to hunt down that damned brat, who would dare to do this to my father!¡± Lexor yelled, and the commanders stood there solemnly. Lexor realized he had the right effect, and stopped talking at that point. His plans were set in motion, and now he was the one who controlled everything from the shadows. He was the king of Pangaea. --- sequence 2 --- Aeolus was out of breath, but was happy on the inside. He had finally done it, he had struck at Pangaea, and landed a huge hit. He messed up many armies of many cities, and also got in a strike to the king that would follow him forever. Actually, no, it fell on the ground, so it wouldn¡¯t follow him.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯ve achieved good results so far, give it a few more weeks and Pangaea will fall.¡± Aeolus continued to instill courage into himself, continuing to prepare to make the next move. According to his plan, his next move would be one of the most important in the plan. Essentially, if the king were to be gravely injured instead of dying, denying him the glory of conquering Pangaea, he would continuously do the same thing everyday until the king fell. The biggest things required for this plan was undead, and he had that. His undead could infinitely regenerate until he himself died, and that situation wasn¡¯t likely to happen. He could keep sending out undead to invade cities, while he himself would continue to invade the king. With this strategy, he was guaranteed to pull through. Using this plan, even if all the commanders and their armies were to stay and protect the king, all the other cities would fall. If none of the commanders and armies came, but instead decided to protect their cities, the king would fall. ¡®No matter what happens, they¡¯ve been checkmated.¡¯ Aeolus was laughing with a whisper, a quiet laugh if you will. This plan was perfect, or at least it seemed perfect for now. Even if Pangaea tried to somehow find him and beat him, he would just use all of his undead, and all the commanders would drop dead, leaving no defense at all for Pangaea. ¡°No matter what, just don¡¯t go over your head and ruin the plan¡­¡± Aeolus muttered to himself, trying to tell his heart and mind not to go overboard and bring the plan to ruins. It was perfect, and ruining it was the equivalent of spending millions of dollars on nothing. Just like that, Aeolus began preparing for tomorrow, where he would invade tomorrow. However, he also had another special thing to do today. ¡®I¡¯m going to try and take it a step further with mantra.¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and took out Kline. When the undead were at one hundred percent, they had power equivalent to himself. However, that was just power. Since they all had the power of mantra, but didn¡¯t have mantra itself, what would happen if he were to infuse it into them? ¡®At worse, nothing will happen. Even if Kline were to die, he¡¯d just regenerate in my mid-layer.¡¯ Aeolus tried comforting himself, preparing to try and infuse mantra onto Kline. In reality, he could infuse the mantra into another undead and not risk Kline, but he trusted Kline deeply, and believed in his power. In his own way, this was showing his thanks to Kline. ¡°Alright Kline, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Aeolus extended his hand outwards, and put it on Kline¡¯s forehead. Kline, as expected, didn¡¯t do anything, and just stood there obediently. Aeolus simply smiled, happy at how loyal his army was. Even if they were undead, they were still his comrades in battle, and also an army. And their numbers would constantly expand, so there was always more to look forwards to. For that reason, Aeolus was always happy when he was around them, as he knew that he was the one who had amassed a squad of powerhouses. Aeolus began sending spirit infused with mantra into Kline, just to test things out. Things turned out well, and Kline began powering up. Since he was already at one hundred percent thanks to stalling for time in Aeolus¡¯ plan, something Aeolus didn¡¯t think possible happened. Kline began surpassing himself in power, knowledge, and experience somehow. ¡°...This is a success!¡± Aeolus was pleased with the results, and patted himself on the shoulder. Kline simply followed suit, and patted himself on the shoulder as well. Just like that, Aeolus finished infusing Kline with mantra, and was happy with himself. He continued doing the same thing for all of his undead for about an hour or two, until he was done. Just like that, all of his undead either reached really close to his level, were at his level, or above him. The two who were the strongest were Dasline and Kline, who both surpassed him in power. He was beginning to think of them as the commanders of his army, ones that would continuously be strong. However, Aeolus realized something extremely exciting. ¡°Once I hit the final layer¡­ won¡¯t they surpass it?¡± Aeolus thought to himself, beginning to understand the circumstances. However, he couldn¡¯t test it out for now, as reaching the final layer was something that was still far, far off for him. Besides, he still didn¡¯t know how far his layers could go in power, so he might not even reach the final layer in terms of power if worse comes to worse. Aeolus simply chuckled, and continued dreaming of the future. However, he snapped himself out of it, and began sleeping, preparing for the upcoming days of constantly raiding Pangaea. With Aeolus powering up his undead, and Lexor taking over Pangaea, both of them were satisfied with themselves. However, only one of them would be able to leave the upcoming battles alive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 42: Aeolus strongest opponent The Roamer Chapter 42: Aeolus¡¯ strongest opponent Aeolus woke up from his sleep, and began preparing for the same invasion today. However, while he was at a city, while of course wearing a mask, he realized something. That the king had something died, and Lexor had taken the throne. It was a rumor that was circulating around, and Aeolus couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡®... Did gramps really die just ¡®cause of his balls falling off?¡¯ Aeolus couldn¡¯t understand the situation, but realized that things were now easier for him. All he had to do was kill Lexor, who was much weaker than the previous king, and Pangaea would be thrown into more disorder than it already is in. ¡°I¡¯ll meet with Lexor after we begin the invasions today and I arrive at the kings location.¡± Aeolus said to himself, and left the city. He began sending out his undead, in the same groups as before, towards the cities, the only difference being that he was going to directly head to the castle in the capital. ¡°Sir, the same invasion as yesterday is taking place!¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± ¡°Exactly what I sa-!¡± ¡°Soldier!¡± Aeolus could sense it, the bloodlust of his undead, who wanted to please him, their master. He could hear all the screams coming from his undead¡¯s side, and simply smiled to himself. Even if he failed, Pangaea was thrown into discord, and was bound to fall sooner or later. Besides, even if he didn¡¯t attack, with a young man like Lexor as king, surely he couldn¡¯t handle such a nation well? *** ¡°Young master Lexor, the same enemy as before has begun invading.¡± one of the pillars of Pangaea notified Lexor, who was currently sitting on the throne. To this statement, Lexor showed the dimples on his face, and stood up. He descended from the throne, and soared into the sky. ¡®Aeolus¡­ where are you?¡¯ Lexor wondered, and the answer came immediately. He could sense an aura, no, multiple auras coming from multiple locations within Pangaea. Lexor realized them as Aeolus¡¯ undead, but couldn¡¯t find Aeolus himself until a little bit later. ¡°What is this¡­¡± Lexor was horrified by the aura Aeolus was radiating. He had detected Aeolus¡¯ aura miles and miles away, but it was blazingly strong. He was beginning to feel pressure from the aura, but that wasn¡¯t the issue. It was the emotions being radiated through the aura, the ones that Lexor could sense. There was no other word besides hatred to describe it. Pure hatred, that was all that was leaking out of Aeolus right now. Lexor was beginning to sweat, knowing that he was the target of this aura. However, he immediately calmed himself down by smiling like a demon once again, trying to convince himself that he was above all this. ¡°My liege, I don¡¯t recommend confronting the enemy itself. We don¡¯t know who it is, and how powerful they are. However, just from the aura that I¡¯m sensing, and you¡¯re probably sensing, this isn¡¯t an easy enemy.¡± The same man who had notified Aeolus of the invasion beginning said, and stood up.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Lexor turned around, and simply stared at him. In his eyes was one of the pillars of Pangaea, a nation that had its history begin around a thousand years ago. This pillar of Pangaea carried the blood of the first king of Pangaea, the one who brought ruin to the old nation that occupied this land before Pangaea. The blood was blue, and did not seem human. This man surpassed all powers within Pangaea, reigning above even the previous king himself. He was Akill, the one referenced to as the god of wisdom within Pangaea. If you were to ask him a question, he probably had an answer to it. If you were to ask him to a duel, he would wipe the floor with you. If you were to compete with him in anyway possible, victory was simply removed from the table when it came to the opponent. ¡°Instead, leave it to me to bring down this threat if he is to come here, I won¡¯t fail you like I did the last king.¡± Akill continued on, trying to convince Lexor to stay. In reality, when the last king had died, he wasn¡¯t even in Pangaea. The previous king had sent Akill to be an ambassador in another nation at the time, which didn¡¯t turn out so well when the king himself died. Akill planned on finishing the mission even with the kings death, in honor of him. However, Lexor summoned him back, and now that he was the king, Akill had no choice but to listen. In reality, he didn¡¯t want Lexor as king, at least at not such a young age. If only he could gather more wisdom and power before becoming king, he would be able to govern this nation well. However, Akill could see it coming, no, sense it coming. The end of this nation all because of one decision Lexor would do in the future. However, this was only his sense, and not confirmed. For now, he would obediently guide Lexor in gaining wisdom, and protect him. Right now, it was the time to protect Lexor. As the suffocating aura of pure hatred was literally around ten feet above them. --- sequence 2 --- Right below Aeolus, who was about to break into the castle, an aura that made him feel like he was dancing with death came out of nowhere. Aeolus immediately backed up, and was beginning to reconsider. However, he didn¡¯t get the time to make a decision. *TSH* A fist came at his face, and sent him flying miles and miles away. Aeolus landed in a forest, and was having a bit of a nose bleed. However, other then that, he was fine. He began standing up, but didn¡¯t have the opportunity to fully stand. A person was standing in front of him, one that he had never seen before. However, one thing was for sure. This man was on the side of Pangaea, and was even stronger then the previous king himself. Or at least, his aura said so. ¡°Stand up fully, I want to see the power that took the king down.¡± the man said, and Aeolus didn¡¯t know what he was going on about. ¡®I really did just help him drop his balls a little!¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, and began backing up even more. However, it was as if he was dancing on a gods palm. The ground below him caved in, and the man standing in front of him also fell. However, he still had a calm face, as if he was expecting this. ¡°I don¡¯t need a godly affinity to beat you or Lexor. Just the affinity of earth is more than enough if you put enough practice in.¡± the man said, and Aeolus realized what this man meant. He was the cause of this, and experience would defeat power in the end. ¡°However, I refuse to give up!¡± Aeolus replied back, and pierced the man with string through one of his lungs. However, it looked like the man didn¡¯t care. In fact, he stared directly at Aeolus, with a light smile on his face. He took ahold of the string, and yanked it out. However, the next thing he did was gruesome. He made a fist, and punched himself with it. His fist went deep into his torso, and came back out with what seemed to be his lung. He simply held it with both hands, and after holding it for a few seconds, began putting it back into himself, in seemingly perfect condition. He then used Aeolus¡¯ string that he had taken ahold of to sew himself shut. ¡°That, is the power of experience.¡± The man explained, and Aeolus realized what was going on. He was facing the most powerful opponent that he had ever faced, that was what¡¯s going on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPLANATION 1: Who remembers when I used to do these in earlier chapters? XD 2: The final section of this chapter all happened in a few seconds while falling, so don¡¯t think they were just floating there for a few minutes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 43: Captured The Roamer Chapter 43: Tearing regrets ¡®I can¡¯t survive against him, I need to escape.¡¯ Aeolus was thinking about how to escape such a situation, he simply couldn¡¯t survive against this person. No matter how much undead he pulled out, no matter how much string he used, no matter what he did. It would all end in failure. ¡°Come now, you can¡¯t possibly be thinking of escape can you?¡± Akill teased Aeolus, and Aeolus ignored him. However, he couldn¡¯t ignore the next move that Akill pulled. Akill lured Aeolus in towards himself somehow, just by flicking his hand. Before Aeolus even had time to react, Akill smashed his face in with another fist, and Aeolus got sent flying down way faster. *THWA-POOM* Aeolus hit the ground way at the bottom, and a huge cloud of dust rose up. ¡®It¡¯s so hard to breathe in¡­¡¯ Aeolus kept trying to breath, but he just couldn¡¯t. Akill messed him up terribly with this punch, and things were going south real quick. However, things wouldn¡¯t end as easily as that. ¡°Right now, we¡¯re in the underground cavern. However, don¡¯t think this is as low as we can go.¡± Akill told Aeolus, and to Aeolus¡¯ dismay, the ground below him caved in again, both of them beginning to fall again. However, below them was not ground, but a bright orange substance that Aeolus had learned about through books and conversations. ¡®Magma!¡¯ Aeolus realized what he was about to fall into, and set up some string. It captured him, and he was stuck floating in the air. Aeolus sighed, but it seemed like he forgot the big threat right above him. ¡°I¡¯ll repeat this again, you can¡¯t possibly be thinking of escape now, right?¡± Akill said, with a smile on his face. Aeolus had the exact opposite of a smile on his face, but he couldn¡¯t express it for much longer. *BOOM* Akill punched Aeolus in the face once more, and this time, his face thoroughly caved in on itself. He was sent down into the magma, and began burning. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡®How is he so powerful, breaking the sound barrier with every punch of his¡­¡¯ Aeolus was beginning to understand the depths of Akill¡¯s power, and was thoroughly giving up on fighting him. No matter what, he simply had to escape. However, it seemed as if he wouldn¡¯t need to figure out a way himself, as some assistance had come by. ¡°Stop right there, Akill.¡± A brat that Aeolus knew all too well had appeared in front of him, and Aeolus couldn¡¯t believe it. It was Lexor, in all his glory. He was simply staring down at Aeolus, while ordering Akill to stop attacking him. For once, Aeolus actually felt thankful to Lexor for doing something that he appreciated. ¡°But why, young master?¡± Akill asked, confused by the situation. It wasn¡¯t his fault either, the young master never explained anything. If he wanted something, he wouldn¡¯t explain why, which was extremely annoying to Akill. ¡°Simple, I want to understand the depths of his power and motives.¡± Lexor replied, a calm look descending on his face. He knew that he was in control, that Aeolus had no power over him, or more specifically, Akill. ¡°...Yes, master.¡± by the end of it, Akill accepted Lexor''s order, and took Aeolus out of the magma. On the inside, Aeolus was extremely happy, but on the outside, his body was charred and damaged to a point so unbelievable that it would be amazing if he could continue on. However, it was Aeolus after all, so he wouldn¡¯t drop dead that easily. After flying for a bit, the group arrived at the castle of Pangaea. They went inside, and to the top floor. Aeolus barely had energy, but it was enough to open his eyes. What he saw was devastating, something that child should not see. --- sequence 2 --- ¡®... What is this?!¡¯ Aeolus was in dismay at this scene, as the horrendousness of it was unparalleled. There were bodies hanging from the ceiling, slowly bleeding out. Some of them actually weren¡¯t bodies, but alive. ¡°Mommy¡­ help me¡­¡± a little girl hanging begged to another thing hanging to her left, but Aeolus lost even more hope. The thing that was supposed to be her ¡®mommy¡¯, was already just a body with no spirit. ¡°...Why? Why do all of this?¡± Aeolus asked, wanting to understand the foundations for all of this. Just what was needed, required, or wanted to do such a horrendous act? ¡°Quite simple, we are researching how the human body works here in Pangaea. We want to figure out a way to use the human body even more than we already do, and power ourselves up more. All these people? Just experiments into what we¡¯re trying to find an answer to.¡± Lexor explained for quite a bit, but Aeolus was pissed. Aeolus put all of his energy into attacking the soul of Lexor with his spirit arm, but his little bodyguard called Akill easily stopped the attempt. ¡°Attempting to hurt my master will not be allowed, scum.¡± Akill said, and Aeolus remembered just who it was defending Lexor. Someone who he had absolutely no chance against, not even in perfect condition. *SHING* Akill sliced off Aeolus¡¯ spirit arm by infusing his hand with spirit, and all the spirit that made the spirit arm went back into Aeolus, while Aeolus himself was in deep pain. Even if it was just an arm made of spirit, it still felt like the real thing, and it actually was painful when it got cut off. Thankfully though, it was just a spirit arm in the end, so he could regenerate it in about half an hour. However, the same couldn¡¯ t be said for Aeolus¡¯ mood. It was definitely foul, but he wasn¡¯t giving up just yet. If even he gives up, then who else stood a chance at saving Pangaea, who was actually on his side? Nobody, that¡¯s the answer. Aeolus knew that, so he would not give up until it was entirely impossible to fight, until every single limb fell off, until he lost everything. Since that moment had still not arrived, he still had the will to fight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 44: Ally in beliefs The Roamer Chapter 44: Ally in beliefs Lexor and Akill hung Aeolus on the ceiling with many others, and made their exit. Meanwhile, Aeolus himself was shouting in a similar fashion to a dog barking crazily. ¡°Shut up!¡± some woman who was also hanging screamed at Aeolus, while making a kicking gesture in his direction. Aeolus simply ignored her, and continued to ravage his body, trying to get out of this. ¡°There¡¯s no point, it won¡¯t work.¡± some man said to Aeolus, in an actual calm tone. Aeolus was surprised that there was actually someone so calm in such a situation, and turned his head around. He saw a black haired man, who had deep green eyes. However, it didn¡¯t seem as if his muscles ran as deep as the green eyes he had. He was as thick as a stick, yet very tall. Aeolus could tell just from looking at him that he didn¡¯t specialize in any hand-to-hand combat, but probably fought like him, using something else to fight while he was in the background being safe. ¡°Who are you?¡± Aeolus asked, wanting to make a good effect on this man. Aeolus recognized him as someone worthy of power and respect since he was so calm in this situation, and thus, he wanted to get acquainted with him. ¡°I¡¯m Rodrill, a simple man who wishes to liberate Pangaea, same as you Aeolus.¡± the man replied, while Aeolus had a somewhat shocked expression on his face. However, after thinking about it for a bit, he wasn¡¯t that shocked anymore. Who wouldn¡¯t know his name or face, after all the chaos that was going on in Pangaea? Almost nobody, that¡¯s who. ¡°Can you explain to me why we can¡¯t use our cultivations to get out of this situation?¡± Aeolus asked, still confused as to why he couldn¡¯t use his soul. Even though all the layers and spirit was inside him, he felt as if they were all locked away, in an area so far away that he couldn¡¯t even see it. ¡°The things they¡¯re using to hang us absorb all the energy out of us, including spirit. Therefore, trying to use cultivation won¡¯t work in a situation like this.¡± Rodrill explained, trying to appease Aeolus as much as possible. In reality, Rodrill was in the same situation as Aeolus. When he was first caught he came in here with these sounds:Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Stop this now!¡± ¡°Unhand me you fools!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t belong to be in here!¡± However, after being here for so long, Rodrill had began to calm down, and by the time Aeolus arrived, he had the temper of a strong mammoth. He was unwavering in mind and body. ¡°As of right now, me and you carry the same thoughts and ideas. To bring down Pangaea and it¡¯s corrupt ways is what we both desire, yes?¡± Rodrill asked Aeolus, seeking confirmation. Having the same goal as someone was usually a good thing, as you could work together with said person to reach the goal faster. However, Aeolus wasn¡¯t in what you¡¯d consider a good mood. ¡°Screw off you bum, I¡¯m not just seeking to help Pangaea. If you are to work with me when it comes to freeing Pangaea, you¡¯ll have to work with me to free every, single land mass in this world!¡± Aeolus, cutting off all chances of negotiation with Rodrill, put his head down and began trying to sleep. Or, so he thought. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help you in freeing every single landmass in the world, but it comes with a price.¡± Rodrill finally replied after a minute or two of silence. Aeolus lifted his head up, and began listening to Rodrill, while thinking to himself. ¡®This madman¡­ actually wants to set out on this journey with me?¡¯ Aeolus thought to himself, confused by the turn of events. No matter how much Aeolus roamed the world, he never expected to be able to have a loyal companion at his side that wasn¡¯t the undead. Yet, here was such a person next to him, dumb enough to follow him and free all the landmasses. ¡°I want you to constantly be in charge since I¡¯m bad at plans and leading. I also require that you constantly find ways to make me stronger, as I¡¯m not as amazing as you. At such a young age, you¡¯re so powerful somehow. Yet, when you look at me, I¡¯m barely stronger than you.¡± Rodrill explained, and Aeolus absorbed every single thing that came out of his mouth. At the end of the explanation, Aeolus simply chuckled. ¡°Why would you chuckle at my offer? I thought it was a pretty good one?¡± Rodrill was confused as to why Aeolus would refuse him once again. He hit all the stops that he needed to, and made sure that it would work with Aeolus¡¯ schedule. However, he was thoroughly wrong. ¡°The first request is easy enough, I can lead the two of us. Besides, in the future, I¡¯m going to be in control of an elite squad of undead. However, the second one? Just because I¡¯m young and powerful, it doesn¡¯t mean I used some sort of items to get strong, just like you think I did. I¡¯ve spent years training myself and my body to reach such a level, beginning with a slave prison, and still training up to this day.¡± Aeolus explained, the jaw on Rodrill slowly lowering more and more. He was slowly understanding why he could never stand besides Aeolus. The kid had nothing holding him back, and didn¡¯t want to use shortcuts to gain power. He gained all of his power through training himself, and nothing more. ¡°If I¡¯ve done all of that, what makes you think I have an item that can make me stronger?¡± Aeolus asked Rodrill for the final time, and Rodrill was at a loss of words. This child really did outsmart him when it came to words, so rodrill simply sighed and looked away. ¡®Yes, yes, yes!¡¯ Meanwhile, Aeolus was proud of himself for being able to convince someone of such a thing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 13 (Almost 14) Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 45: Getting out The Roamer Chapter 45: pointing fingers ¡°Still, even if we can¡¯t work together in the future, can we at least work together to escape?¡± Rodrill was satisfied with Aeolus¡¯ response to his previous offer, but he still wanted to at least cooperate on working together. ¡°Sure, but I don¡¯t have any ideas. Considering that you¡¯ve been here for so long, do you know anything we can use to escape?¡± Aeolus was willing to, at the very least, escape together. However, he didn¡¯t have a solution to this situation, so he was kinda¡­ stuck. ¡°Well for one, we don''t abuse other people. They don¡¯t feed us down here, and the only way I¡¯ve been living for so long is because I¡¯ve been eating my soul. Basically, there¡¯s nobody down here except for you, me, and other people hanging and starving to death.¡± Rodrill was thinking of things to abuse to get out of this situation. However, the thing he just said piqued Aeolus¡¯ interest. ¡°You and everyone else have been feeding off of your own souls?¡± Aeolus didn¡¯t even know such a thing was possible, but it clearly was if he were to believe Rodrill and his words. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m slowly weakening more and more. However, I don¡¯t know whether or not any other people are feeding off of their own souls, so yeah¡­¡± Rodrill explained, trying to feed into Aeolus¡¯ curiosity as much as possible. If he could satisfy Aeolus a lot in this predicament, maybe there was a chance of working with Aeolus in the future, even if it was only a little. Rodrill was blindly holding onto that hope, because he knew it was a possibility. ¡°Well, anything that we can actually use to escape?¡± Aeolus asked once more, and Rodrill began thinking again. ¡°Now that I think about it, once a month, the same person as always will walk through here, and seems to check on us.¡± Rodrill remembered something that seemed to happen on a monthly basis that could help them. However, Aeolus didn¡¯t trust it just yet. ¡°You¡¯ve been in here for so long that I can¡¯t trust you to identify time, so it could be much, much longer then just a month.¡± Aeolus knew how something like this could rot a person''s mind. Over the time of staying in the slave prison, after a certain point, he knew that he had lost track of time. ¡°Besides, even if it is a month, when was the last time it happened according to your sense of time?¡± Aeolus asked Rodrill, trying to get a confirmation. ¡°I think it was about a few days ago?¡± Rodrill replied in an uncertain tone, trying to remember the right time. However, that reply was enough for Aeolus to know that this was not a viable idea. ¡°We need to think up something else besides that, as it will simply take too much time. Absolutely anything else?¡± Aeolus asked, trying to not resort to the last thing he had in mind, relying on affinities. Even if he didn¡¯t have the affinity in one of his layers, it could still be used, but a much weaker version. He was thinking of using the affinity of time, as he had realized something. These chains that were holding him seemed to drain everything that was within the layers of his soul and the actual layers of cultivation out, but the affinities that weren¡¯t infused into any sort of layer seemed to be usable. He could feel it too, he still had some sort of energy flowing around him, but it was extremely weak, it was the energy of all the experiences he has had with other affinities. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I wasn¡¯t captured long ago, so even my weak affinity of time should be enough to do something about this¡­ wait here for me, Rodrill. Though you won¡¯t remember me once I follow up with this.¡± Aeolus was determined, and began using as much as the affinity of time he could use. However, even though it wasn¡¯t infused into any one of his layers, it seemed that using it past a certain limit would cause extreme pain to him, so he had to stop at around five hours. ¡°Still, that¡¯s more than enough time. That goes to before Akill even beat me in the battle, maybe further.¡± However, Aeolus acknowledged it as enough time, and began to use it. Though, he couldn¡¯t quite use it. However, while trying to use it and failing multiple times, Aeolus realized something extremely terrible. ¡®The center layer of my soul is resonating with the affinity of time I¡¯m trying to use¡­ I have to do a soul attack and mix it with the affinity of time to delve into the past¡­¡¯ Aeolus realized, and began sulking. He had only used a soul attack once, but the effects were devastating. He had been limited to the third layer, and only through rebirthing his layers and continuously killing others and absorbing their souls had he broken past his limit to such an extent. Now, what would happen if he were to use another soul attack? ¡°I might not even be able to fight anymore if it limits my cultivation anymore¡­¡± Aeolus acknowledged the laws of cultivation, which didn¡¯t allow a person to use extreme power without a drawback. Whoever constructed the foundations of cultivation, probably one of the gods, took into mind every single thing that cultivators could abuse. This, was a prime case of the one above limiting humans and other beasts when it came to soul attacks. ¡°However, I don¡¯t have a choice. It¡¯s either this or wait for a month while even more terrible things happen in Pangaea while I¡¯m separated from the world. Even if I did wait a month, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m guaranteed to escape once the check-up person comes.¡± Aeolus was listing all the reasons he had to follow through with this, but he still couldn¡¯t will himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking of Aeolus, but if you¡¯re struggling so much just to come up with a choice, then don¡¯t do it. Besides, don¡¯t think of yourself as a normal person, you¡¯ll escape even if you don¡¯t do the harrowing thing you¡¯re thinking of.¡± Rodrill, trying to calm Aeolus, put effort into making the lines he just stated, which seemed to calm Aeolus down a bit. ¡°What do you mean by not referring to myself as a normal person?¡± Aeolus asked, confused by what Rodrill was saying. Wouldn¡¯t he just be left here to hang until he died? ¡°You¡¯re a huge person in Pangaea right now, one with much influence and great power. Surely you didn¡¯t think that the king would literally just leave you and not interrogate you further, or anything of the sorts?¡± Rodrill explained, and Aeolus began to understand. Indeed, all the other people in here were probably in here for things that happened on a much smaller scale compared to what he did. He¡¯d probably be pulled out at least once to be interrogated, or something of the sorts. ¡°You know Rodrill, though you got the body of a stick, you have the mind of an elephant, which still isn¡¯t that bright.¡± Aeolus semi-complimented Rodrill, while also insulting him a little. Rodrill just chuckled, while Aeolus smiled. Aeolus soothed himself, and let himself just hang, awaiting the moment that Rodrill was waiting for. --- sequence 2 --- Aeolus still hadn¡¯t lost his sense of time, or at least he didn¡¯t think so, and knew that only five days had passed since he first came into this place. However, it seemed as if those five days were enough for him to be summoned. Some man was walking through all the hanging people, directly towards Aeolus. Aeolus smiled at the man, who spit on Aeolus¡¯ face. ¡°The king''s assistant demands that he sees you, though I don¡¯t know why he wants to see lowly swine.¡± the man said, and Aeolus got to thinking. He was expecting Lexor to want to see him, but now that he thought about it, Lexor was just a child same as him in the end, and wouldn¡¯t see the importance of questioning him, or at least he didn¡¯t think so. ¡®Then who is it?¡± Aeolus wondered, while the man slowly began lowering Aeolus. At first, Aeolus was about to make a mad dash as soon as the chains were taken off him, but they were never taken off him. Instead, the chains were lowered with him as well, and he was still being held down, along with his cultivation, by them. ¡®Crap¡¯ Aeolus¡¯ mood kept souring by the second, but it was still good news that he was somehow getting out of this situation. The man pulled on Aeolus¡¯ arm, and Aeolus followed him. After walking for a few minutes, they arrived in front of a huge gate within the castle. Aeolus was still in his chains, and the man still in front of him. There were two guards in front of the massive gate, who moved to open it. The gate slowly opened, and light began shining in slowly. For the first time in a while, Aeolus was seeing sunlight, instead of the dark surroundings that he had been in. The man leading him pulled on him, and Aeolus simply nodded while following. After walking for a few minutes, they seemed to arrive at some sort of garden at the back of the castle. There were flowers everywhere, bushes that seemed to resemble animals, and a waterfall. Aeolus was shocked by the sight, as he didn¡¯t think he could see so much nature within a city. He thought he¡¯d only see such abundant nature outside cities and towns, like in the forests or something. Yet, here he was. There was a man sitting on a bench, and the man leading Aeolus went behind Aeolus and kicked him into the bench. ¡°What the he-!¡± Aeolus began complaining, but realized just who he was sitting with. It was a man he knew all too well, one that had completely outpowered him before. ¡°So, how was your time in the hanging dungeon?¡± Akill asked Aeolus, with a smile on his face. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 14!!!!!!! Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Birthday: June 4, 2005 Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 46: Interrogation The Roamer Chapter 46: Interrogation ¡°Just say what you want.¡± Aeolus didn¡¯t want to deal with Akill, and just wanted to get to the point. ¡°Straight to the point huh? Well, that¡¯s something that can be considered a blessing or a curse when it comes to you.¡± Akill was in a talkative mood and wanted to converse, but apparently Aeolus wasn¡¯t having any of it. ¡®Guess I¡¯ll just interrogate him a bit.¡¯ Akill thought, while beginning to think of what question to ask Aeolus first. ¡°Ah! Ok, why are you doing all of this? What are your motives essentially?¡± Akill didn¡¯t beat around the bush once again, and just pounced onto the main thing that a lot of Pangaea wanted to know. Right now, Aeolus was pretty famous, and a lot of the slaves wanted him to state something about his current situation, and were awaiting news of him. However, Aeolus clearly wasn¡¯t going to get out, and Akill couldn¡¯t wait to tell all the ¡°people¡± of Pangaea that Aeolus was no more. ¡°Motives? Why, they¡¯re nothing special. I¡¯m just a bit spoiled and want what my mind wants.¡± Aeolus replied, as directly as he could as well. He didn¡¯t want to waste time with the side talk either. At least they were on the same mind when it came to something. ¡°What is it that you want? Or, according to you, your mind?¡± Akill asked, trying to get an answer, an actual answer out of Aeolus. ¡°Isn¡¯t that something that even you should know the answer to, you brain-dead idiot?¡± Aeolus replied, and sighed afterwards. *PHH* Just like that, Aeolus took a slap to the face so fast and hard that he fell off the bench and had to spit out a tooth. ¡°Don¡¯t toy with me boy, get to the point. What is it that you¡¯re seeking out of all this chaos? Riches? To be acknowledged by the ¡°people¡± of Pangaea who are actually slaves? To show that you¡¯re on top?¡± Akill was getting fed up with Aeolus, the same emotion welling up in Aeolus. ¡°Simple, I just don¡¯t think this is right. So many people living in a land mass are slaves? It¡¯s already wrong to have people who belong to others, but so many at the same time?¡± Aeolus replied honestly this time, which calmed down the riled up Akill a slight bit. ¡°Considering the aura radiating out of you, it seems that you¡¯re telling me the truth. Then answer this question while you¡¯re in the mood to answer as well. Why do you think this is wrong? Why do you think the slaves need help?¡± Akill asked once more, trying to probe the depths of Aeolus¡¯ mind and mindset. What he knew, what he believed in, his goals, everything. Stolen novel; please report. Akill wanted to identify all of it. ¡°The people, they don¡¯t want to live their lives like this. Don¡¯t you see it when you walk the streets? You give them a home, and you feed them. Yet, they don¡¯t want it. You¡¯re forcing them to work, with no pay at all. Their lives never change, it¡¯s the same everyday.¡± Aeolus began explaining, trying to knock some sense into this person who was immoral in his opinion. ¡°When they get sick, do you just leave them to die? If you don¡¯t pay the people, and you force all of them to work at something, then how are they supposed to help the sick? It was never in your plan to help the sick, was it? The original idea was to just let them die, huh?¡± Aeolus was getting a bit more pissed off with each word that came out of his mouth, spit beginning to hit the ground. ¡°Above all of that, they have dreams! They don¡¯t want to be stuck to such a life, doing the same thing since they were born! The people of Pangaea want to move on, and they will whether you like it or not! At some point, the leashes that you¡¯re using to hold down the people will not be enough anymore, especially when a rebellion begins!¡± Aeolus was fully yelling at this point, trying to make Akill understand. Yet, Akill was still sitting with a calm look on his face, even with all this spit on his face. ¡°You¡¯re just another dog to the people, one who wants to help them? You should¡¯ve just said that from the beginning, you fool.¡± Akill finally said something after all this time, yet the reply seemed to piss Aeolus off even more. ¡°You¡­¡± Aeolus couldn¡¯t even fathom the anger rising within him, and it wasn¡¯t the type of anger where you would simply be mad at someone for breaking something. No, he wanted to throw away the chains restraining him and fight with Akill to the death, no matter what. ¡°I can sense what you want, but don¡¯t even think about it. Even if you were to somehow escape the chains, nothing but death lies in front of you, same as all the other people who have been hung in the hanging dungeon.¡± Akill was beginning to wrap up his interrogation, discarding all the other questions he had in his mind. Now that he knew what Aeolus was really doing all this for, he didn¡¯t need any more questions. ¡°Take him away, back to the hanging dungeon. In fact, I¡¯ll escort you as well, he¡¯s acting similar to a dog with an extreme disease right now, wouldn¡¯t trust you to be able to handle him.¡± Akill said, and the dungeon master immediately obeyed. They departed on their way to the hanging dungeon, escorting Aeolus back. ¡°Fight me to death if you¡¯re so sure you¡¯ll beat me, you damned idiot! Get these chains off me, don¡¯t make me bite you to the death, you cockroach!¡± Meanwhile, Aeolus still wasn¡¯t willing to go back to the hanging dungeon, was still desperately trying to get out of this situation. *KSH* Yet, all it took was a single attack from Akill to shut him up. ¡°I haven¡¯t infused the affinity of poison into any of my layers, but I just so happen to know this attack related to the affinity that paralyzes the body.¡± Akill explained, while Aeolus couldn¡¯t even comprehend what was being said. His whole body was in shock, and he was being dragged away. --- sequence 2 --- The dungeon master hung Aeolus back up, while Akill watched the process. After a few seconds, the process had been completed, and Aeolus was back to where he was hanging before. Akill¡¯s eyes flickered to the left, where Rodrill was. ¡®Did he always have such a killer instinct?¡¯ Akill wondered, while inspecting Rodrill. Coming out from Rodrill was an aura Akill had never sensed from him when he came in here before, an aura suffocating him slowly but surely. It had the power to kill the weak, that''s for sure. In fact, when Akill looked around, he saw people who were hanging and dead. ¡°Stop that, you damned wrench. You¡¯re killing all the people who are supposed to slowly be dying.¡± Akill said calmly, still not acknowledging Rodrill. So what if he could emit an aura strong enough to kill people? The people he was killing were weak, and Akill could do the same thing, except on a much higher level. ¡®Damned bugs, resisting to the bitter end.¡¯ Akill thought within his mind, while walking out. The dungeon master followed, and after a minute, the gate shut behind both of them, enshrouding the room in darkness once again. ¡°What did they do to you Aeolus?¡± Rodrill asked, yet got no reply. Of course, how could he get a reply when Aeolus was currently paralyzed? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 14!!!!!!! Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Birthday: June 4, 2005 Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! Chapter 47: Actually getting out The Roamer Chapter 47: Actually getting out Aeolus opened his eyes, with a huge headache raging through his mind. They opened slowly, his dark pupils slowly emerging. ¡°Oi Aeolus, wake up already.¡± Aeolus could hear a familiar voice to his side, and tried shoving his head in the specific direction. ¡®Oh, it¡¯s just Rodrill¡­¡¯ Aeolus thought, before slowly closing his eyes once again. ¡°Aeolus don¡¯t sl¡­¡± Aeolus heard more words coming out of Rodrill, but he was too lazy to not drift into sleep right now. Just like that, Aeolus slipped into another deep sleep. *** ¡°Wake the hell up!¡± Aeolus kept hearing the same voice screaming at him or talking calmly to him, varying between the two. However, no matter which way he was talking, it was about him waking up. ¡°Shut the hell up.¡± Aeolus was fed up of the voice, and finally opened his eyes, realizing that he couldn¡¯t fall asleep anymore. ¡°So, finally decide to wake up and grace us with your presence, awake?¡± Rodrill asked, trying to confirm that Aeolus would actually stay up this time. ¡°Yeah, for the most part.¡± Aeolus confirmed it, or at least tried to promise it. Rodrill simply chuckled, while Aeolus showed a sad smile. ¡°What happened during that interrogation? For the few days you¡¯ve been here, never seen nothing like that. Like the moon covering the sun to me.¡± Rodrill teased, but he knew that whatever it was, it was not something to be teased. Aeolus emitted some of his killing intent and flashed it, specifically, in the direction of Rodrill. However, Rodrill was on a higher level then Aeolus for the most part, so it did almost nothing to him. ¡°Just the fact that you¡¯re so offended that you would do that shows that it¡¯s something big. Come on Aeolus, tell me the truth.¡± Rodrill attempted to convince Aeolus once more to tell him what actually happened. ¡°You want to know what happened? Jack diddly crap. That¡¯s what. I achieved no progress when it came to escaping, and all it did was piss me off. Absolutely nothing useful happened, unless you consider some damned idiot looking like a gremlin pissing me off good.¡± Aeolus finally began to elaborate, while Rodrill tried his hardest to just listen. However, by the end of it, he was about to burst out laughing. ¡°So, ahem, let me get this straight, some dude who looked like a gremlin pissed you off?¡± Rodrill asked, while trying to maintain his form and not laugh as hard as possible.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°You know, anybody who cultivates will be able to tell that you¡¯re holding in a laugh, so just release it. Any- ¡°GAHHHH¡± Rodrill began wheezing, while Aeolus simply watched him laugh and wheeze while getting even more pissed off. Soon enough, tears began rolling out of Rodrill¡¯s eyes like he got something amazing and he was immensely happy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. Now continue trying to *pffff* elaborate on your story.¡± Rodrill finally began calming down a bit, while Aeolus began smiling a little. Why was he so pissed anyway? It was something dumb to get mad over anyway, and certainly not something to sleep off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m being an ass and a half. Now then, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Aeolus was down with this place, he was ready to get out. ¡°What makes you think we can get out of here, and how?¡± Rodrill was thoroughly confused at Aeolus coming up with a plan on the spot, or something along those lines. ¡°Just scream bloody murder. Before you say anything, whenever someone is screaming, they¡¯re usually screaming alone. Now if we can get a bunch of people screaming, ¡°Don¡¯t do this!¡± or something, that¡¯s bound to make them think someone has broken in or out and is murdering everyone.¡± Aeolus elaborated upon his idea, while Rodrill began shaking his head more and more. Of course this idea had been thought up before, but it¡¯s not like everybody here would willingly scream. A lot of them are afraid of the consequences, and don¡¯t want to get in trouble. ¡°How are we gonna make everyone scream like that?¡± Rodrill asked, seeking out an answer from the lips of Aeolus. ¡°Like this.¡± Aeolus said, and right after, a killing intent so strong that it completely pressurized ears and made it hard to hear came out, and everyone looked in the direction of Aeolus. A lot of them began screaming and stuff, somewhere along those lines. ¡°Usually, the people in the hanging dungeons are the people of Pangaea, who are weaklings who can¡¯t emit a killing intent like mine. However, now that someone like me, a fighter, has gotten into here, I can radiate a killing intent making them scream bloody murder.¡± Aeolus finally revealed how this was going to work, and Rodrill began understanding. He had thought of this before, but didn¡¯t want to do it. Who knew if he would kill someone by using such a pressure, or maybe giving someone a heart attack. However, Aeolus used it not too hard, and seemed to stop killing intent right before someone started to experience pain. Clearly, Aeolus would make for a fine torturer. ¡°STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!¡± ¡°Someone, help us please!¡± ¡°We¡¯re gonna die, someone stop this brat!¡± All the hanging people were getting riled up at Aeolus and his aura, which was turning out exactly how Aeolus wanted it to be. Soon enough, they heard someone opening the door to the hanging dungeon, and enter. ¡°Shut the @#$% UP!¡± he yelled, while walking in there with a whip. Aeolus simply looked at him, and tried concealing his smile to the best of his abilities. For this man had fallen right into his little trap. When he went up to Aeolus to whip him, Aeolus simply did the sane thing any person would do, or so he thought. ¡°What the-!¡± the man yelled, while being strangled. Aeolus had wrapped his legs around the man, and was currently choking him out. After a few more seconds, the man had been completely choked out, but Aeolus didn¡¯t let go of his body. If he were to let go of the body, it would drop down to the ground, where they could not reach it. Instead, he threw it up into the air with his legs, and made it land on his shoulder. He found the keys on his waist, and immediately ripped them out of the belt with his teeth. He passed the body to Rodrill using his legs, which Rodrill caught perfectly. The only issue was that the lock was behind him, and he could not reach there. He turned his back to Rodrill, and passed the key by throwing it with his mouth. ¡°Get me out and then I¡¯ll get you out.¡± Aeolus said, and Rodrill followed orders excruciatingly well. Aeolus dropped down onto the ground, and could feel that he had regained all his powers. *KSH* Not even needing the keys anymore, Aeolus simply put his hand on the chains, and before they could absorb all of his spirit, he melted them with acidic poison. Rodrill dropped to the ground, and stood up. ¡°Now let¡¯s go.¡± Rodrill was trying to get out of here, but Aeolus held him back. ¡°What do you mean let¡¯s go? Do you know what we can do with these people?¡± Aeolus asked Rodrill, and Rodrill understood what Aeolus was referring to right away. ¡°You sly genius, of course they would be amazing distractions!¡± Rodrill knew what Aeolus meant, and they began freeing everybody. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT ME Name: Abdul Kareem Age: 14!!!!!!! Occupation: Middle school Goal: Idk, I¡¯m just making a novel for now Location: Why would I say that? Relations: I¡¯m not married (duh) Favorite food: da asian stuf! Birthday: June 4, 2005 Anyway, on a more serious tone, this is my first novel I¡¯ve ever tried writing. Thanks for being with me on this first experience! If you could also somehow get others to read this novel too, I would be pretty grateful! My mistake Before you continue, just know that this is a bit of a rant relating to my history and dedication, so if you want to just get to the important stuff, skip all the way to the bottom. When it comes to books, I love to read. If you¡¯d look at my room, I have two book shelves stocked to the limit when it comes to books, and I¡¯ve either read all those books or am in the middle of reading them. Then, around fifth grade, I stumbled upon a sanctuary called anime. I thought it was just Japanese cartoons, but boy was I wrong. I started with Naruto and fell in love, and ever since that point, I¡¯ve set out on what, I guess you can call, a crusade to watch basically everything. Halfway through sixth grade, I realized that I was running out of anime to watch. I had already watched all the big dogs, and a bunch of small dogs were also complete as well. Then I stumbled upon the level that came next, manga. It started with me reading a manga called ¡®tower of god¡¯ (Go check it out, it¡¯s pretty amazing). Then, I started reading all the manga, and conquered that section as well. I was running out of things to do, but then I hit a level that I didn¡¯t even know existed, which was novels. As a kid, I grew up reading Harry Potter, the magisterium series, and so, so much more. So when I figured out something as amazing as anime and manga was born from novels, I jumped in, balls deep into this universe. At that point, I realized something. I was so focused on the world of the Japanese, so collected within it, that I was starting to wish I didn¡¯t exist, but was instead inside of the world of those characters. At that point, I realized that I had gone too far, and had to back up to a certain extent. Then I realized another thing. If I feel this good because so many people have given their time and patience into making amazingly well stories, why can¡¯t I climb up from my little hole and make some too? It started with the Roamer, and I was pretty content. But after a certain point, I started reading it back, and not focusing on it as an author, but as a reader. Let me tell you something, it was terrible. The plot was convoluted and horrendous, pacing was all over the place when it came to time skips, and the main character wasn¡¯t that easy to follow and understand. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Among that, I also had many grammatical errors, which probably made many readers understand some parts of the story differently than you were supposed to. After all of that, I realized I was bad at this, and I simply gave up. However, recently I came back, and I realized that I hadn¡¯t taken down the novels. I was about to take them down, but I saw the views. They were still being read, viewed, and dreamed about by people. I began to understand that even if I regretted how bad it was, how terrible the story was, there would always be some people who were dedicated, who actually enjoyed it. When I understood that, I felt terrible, terrible beyond words. That was because I¡¯ve had it happen to me, loving a story and then it being cut off. I¡¯ve felt that feeling before, and when I realized there were people out there who actually enjoyed my story, and I did the thing that I hated people doing to me, I realized my mistake. No matter how much I regret my story, no matter how much I wanted to just move on, I left people behind who were still waiting. People who were still waiting for the continuation, people who actually enjoyed my terrible story. That made me feel special, in a way, because I had actually created a story that people enjoyed (Or at least some people did). So essentially, thank you so much, everyone who has ever even heard of my story or made contact with it. Thank you so much for sticking with it even though it had ended so abruptly; when it reality, it hadn¡¯t even ended at all. Even the people who gave up after a chapter or two because they realized it was terrible, just the fact that you thought clicking/tapping on my story was worth your time is amazing to me. Right now, after I understood all of this, I¡¯m currently developing a new story, about a completely different topic. Concerning the Roamer, I want to finish my new story first, and then go back to it. Except, I won¡¯t just pick up from where I left off, I¡¯ll completely reboot it. I¡¯ll go all the way back to the beginning, and make it better than it ever was. I¡¯ll show you all the experience I¡¯ve gained during this huge hiatus from reading other novels, watching more anime, and seeing more Manga. Beginning (hopefully) by the end of August or beginning of september, the new book I¡¯ve been working on will begin its daily upload, and thank you once again. My mistake.