《Arkandia》 Nikki, The Log Keeper Hi! I''m Nikki, The Keeper of the Logs that an Ylka named, Ryo, wrote during his travels in the land of Arkandia. I''m still looking for the other books myself but as I find them I''ll put them up here for you to see.. Hmm... I''ll put some here then... [Log 1] Prologue : Start of a new day Chapter 1 : Character Creation Chapter 2 : The Worst Race and the New System Chapter 3 : Strengthening Stats, Acquiring Skills, and The Labyrinth Dungeon Chapter 4 : Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth (1) Chapter 5 : Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth (2) Chapter 6 : Reality Chapter 7 : Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth (3) Chapter 8 :Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth (4) Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Chapter 9 : Collection and Other Things Chapter 10 : Testing... Chapter 11 : Alone Once Again - Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth (5) Chapter 12 : Back to Town and The Kobold King (1) Chapter 13 : Back to Town and The Kobold King (2) Chapter 14 : Aurum The Labyrinth''s Keeper and The Trial Chapter 15 : Quest Complete and Time of Leisure Chapter 16 : End of the Night Chapter 17 : I should''ve logged out... [Log 2] Chapter 18: The World and A Family Chapter 19: Training and Secrets Chapter 20: Chapter 21: Chapter 22: Chapter 23: Chapter 24: Chapter 25: Chapter 26: Chapter 27: [Log 3] Chapter 28: Chapter 29: Chapter 30: Chapter 31: Chapter 32: Where are those other books!? I''m really sorry I couldn''t find them yet... The whole library is a mess and so it''s hard to find the Logs... Miscellaneous: [Log 1]Prologue : Start of a New Day I certainly saw it... Thousands of bright lights appeared in the night sky. However, they were not stars... I get a searing pain in my abdomen. What is this? A Lance? Then waves of flashing lights drew closer and closer... All of it heading to my direction. I could only close my eyes as the lights flickered. ¡Á¡Á¡Á Tok... Tok... Tok... The sound of the knocking came from the door. Having a good distance from it was a good idea since it lessens the noise I''m hearing right now... I seriously don''t want to wake up... "Randell! Wake up! Mira''s here so I need to tend to her... We''ll be in my room if you need us okay!" "Hnnn... S, sure..." What time is it? Isn''t it still 6 in the morning? I turned my gaze at the clock and saw that I had a wrong assumption... It was already Noon... I stayed up late watching anime and I forgot to close it and it still playing... Thankfully the air conditioner is on so the CPU didn''t overheat. I can''t have that after all the thing I''ve been waiting for this whole month is coming. As I have been picked by the company who have made the fully functional VR machine. I will participate in the early stages of the game [Arkandia Online]. They were trying to fix every bug in the game and so they picked several people to play. About 15,000 people were asked to participate. Having that many people to play in the early stages this company really is loaded with money. I cleaned my room and closed the computer even for at least a few minutes. After cleaning I head downstairs to look for something to eat... Having this kind of body really does have some disadvantages... My name is Randell Hall, Randell for short, studying Multimedia in a not-so-famous school. Engaging in my first year in college problems piled up and I needed an outlet. That was when I started getting hooked in online games... Mainly MMO type of games. Luckily, one day I got into a thread in a forum in the online game that I was playing recently... It was news about the VR machine that was still on progress up till that day. The company was looking for players that wanted to join on the game''s development and said that "if interested mail us [[email protected]] and wait for our reply" Well, with luck I was picked to participate in it. Ding... Dong... Ding... Dong... "Hey, Randell! Answer the door will you! It must be mom or dad!" "Yeah, yeah! You don''t have to yell sis!" Ding... Dong... Ding... Dong... "Yes! Yes! Coming!" Walking at a much faster pace I swiftly made it to the door... As I opened it a man wearing a cap of a delivery man revealed itself with a box in hand. "Are you Randell Hall?" "Uhhh... Yes? What could be your business here?" "Uh... We needs you to sign this form... Here... Here... and here..." He points to where I should sign on after I signed everything... He bows lightly and rides away with his scooter... "He must''ve had other houses to deliver..." The box didn''t seem too heavy and it''s of the size of the box of a circular bulb. "Could it be?" I went inside and hurriedly went to my room leaving the food I prepared uneaten in the kitchen... "This... This is!!!!" Feelings of happiness burst out of my voice as I happily pranced around my room. Having a heavy body large stumping sounds could be heard as I landed on the floor ever time I leapt up... "With this I can play [Arkandia]!" I turned my PC on ignoring the call of my sister saying "Hey! What happened? Something wrong?" I might''ve given her the wrong idea of what happened but whatever I''m installing it! Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I opened the DVD box and what I saw was not a DVD but a flash drive. A peculiar black coated 16gb flash drive was inside it. It''s slick appearance took me by surprise. But it didn''t stop me from injecting it inside my PC. Click... Click... Click... "I agree... Standard Installation..." Ping! "Installing... Guess it''ll take a bit of time till it ends I''ll eat first..." I leave my room and headed downstairs... My sister were blocking the hallway and asked me what happened in my room... I brushed it off with "Got a new game console so I kind of got overjoyed by it..." and continued to the kitchen to take my food... "You know Mira right?" I nod at her query and looked at her... She looked at me with reproachful gaze... I could only avert my gaze to a different direction but as I did that another figure appeared... It was Mira... Sis'' best friend since middle school... How would I not know her she''s been here almost my whole life! What''s with that question anyway... I retort in mind as I once again averted my gaze... "Do you really?" "Yeah! I know! She''s been here since like middle school... I waved to her sometimes when we see each other at school... How could I forget such a person?" "I see! Good! You can rely on her since she''s basically a sister to you as well..." "What?" She''s being weird these days... "Well, whatever..." "Mira let''s go upstairs!" "Yeah..." The two of them gets up from the sofa in the living room and trotted upstairs... I always felt Mira''s gaze aimed at me... She must''ve thought I was a disgusting person since I have those kinds of thing posted up in my room... As the last spoonful of rice entered my mouth... I hurriedly washed the dishes and went upstairs to my room... "Woah! That was fast... I didn''t think it would be finished after I finished eating..." I opened the program and it said to equip the VR machine. It was at the same size as a eye glasses the box was filled with cords to connect it to... Here goes to... and that goes to... and this goes to... aaaaaaand done! There was one more slot in there it was a USB port... There was one more cable and as I thought it''s the USB cable wire... This must be the power socket using the computer''s electricity to operate it. "Yes! Now to calibrate..." I started to do the actions as per the voice''s instruction coming from the eyeglass VR machine. After thirty minutes the calibration was done the system rebooted. After that I can enter the game... "It really is a new day! Thanks sis for waking me up early..." Well, not really early since I woke up noon already... It was already 2:24... 2:30 was the server up time right? Let''s see... Click... Click... Click... Click... Scroll... Scroll... Click... Ah there it is... It really was 2:30... My account I forgot what was it... Mail... Mail... Click... Click... There! Username: [GrandEdge4212] Password: [BetaTestNo.13778] It''s already 2:29... Almost time... I donned the VR machine on my head and stated the words to login... "Game Start" After I entered my username and password... My link to the outside world was cut off.. My consciousness fades and after a few minutes everything turns to black... [Log 1]Chapter 1: Character Creation I felt nauseous yet I didn''t feel like I''ll vomit anytime soon... This must be an after effect that incorporates the brain to transmit for the player to sleep almost in a forceful manner... They could at least keep it down a notch... Right now... I''m standing in a wide circular white dome... In the middle was a futuristic transparent panel... |Enter your name| A voice of a woman echoed within the room... In the panel appeared a keyboard... Woah! Slick I like it... Continuing on I typed in the letters for my designated name... Tink... Tink... Tink... Tink... "R..yo... Sh...iki...gami... and done." |Is this name alright?| Two options showed up at the level of my vision... It''s basically accept or change... I tapped the accept button as I like the name... Ahh... What? It''s a game I can do whatever I like to it... |Please choose a race| Here come the hard part... Well for me at least... total of 48 races in total appeared encircling me as I was in the middle... It didn''t seem cramped since the dome was spacious enough to fit 49 people in it... Well basically it was bodies waiting to be picked... The ones the left a big impression to me was the [Inka], [Drago], [Crazlun], [Ave], [Dekar], [Talgor], and [Ylka]. This was the most different of all races... There is a reptile beast in the [Beast] race but it''s unlike the [Drago] race that had a different aura. The [Inka] well are made up of Child-like beings that makes you feel like you want to protect them. [Crazlun] race were made out of Crystals or most of it''s body was, while the [Dekar] race is filled with four eyed humanoids. [Ave] race was like Elves but they have this symbols up their body that couldn''t be incorporated with the elven race, I''m not saying that their bad looking it''s actually a work of art if you ask me... the [Talgor] is well a minotaur like being with gigantic masculine body they are a race to be feared with... Lastly, the [Ylka] a race filled with disadvantages... Honestly, the starting stats is much much worse than the humans... The only saving grace of this race was their looks... They had the color scheme that other races could not equip... Silver a color almost anyone ever uses and oddly enough this race can almost equip the other races appearance... These race''s description was blank. I don''t'' know if they didn''t type it in or not or they''re just adding some kind of mysteriousness in them for the players to pick it and learn it for themselves. Picking a race was a hard choice to make... It''s almost as if I''m the only player who gets stuck in this stage for a reasonably long time. |12,376 players have picked and created their characters. Only one hour left before the start of the beta phase please create your characters by the allotted time| Woah! What? Only a few number of people are yet to decide their characters... It seems that... I can''t pick a different gender than my own... Despair filled my mind as I hit the floor with my fist. Why!? I yelled in my mind. Whatever... I should just pick a race and get over with it... Having too many people fawn on me to ask about joining a party can be a real pain... I also want some challenge even though this will be the first time I''ll be playing in a virtual space. I want to feel everything it has to offer... Good looks would be good too though... I also want to play solo for the time being... and thus only one race could satisfy my claims... The [Ylka], good looks, check, weak and will most likely be ignored or chased away by players, check, and most of all having almost the same stats as I do IRL I can feel everything the game has to offer with a weak body like this... Though the good looks part isn''t within my bio data but who cares it''s a game let me be someone I''m not! I tapped the [Ylka]''s body and the same options showed up... I tapped the accept button once again and a question was once again asked.... |Do you want to incorporate your bodily features to your game character? Of course it wouldn''t be the same as any other race, your features will change drastically as per the race you have created. or would you like to have a random generated body?| This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Incorporating my bodily features, huh? How would they do that the VR machine only covers the head part of the human body and it''s not the whole head but only from the eyes, ears and the back part of the head... Unless..." It says my features will drastically change according to my race so... Will I look like a good looking person? Excitement and Fear crept up my body... Excitement to see a body taken from my features and Fear if that body is much worse than I already have... I don''t know how much time I have but... Let''s go with Incorporating my features into my game character. I tapped the first option. It then initiates a peculiar program and all of the other bodies were gone. Only me and my character remained in the circular room. |Initiating memory search...| |Mirror Match Found...| Three images of me staring at the mirror appeared on top of the panel. One was when I was three years old, the next was when I was 9, and lastly my present self... |Matching Facial Features... Reconfiguring body structure... Merging...| The three images were merged into one... Ahh! I don''t know what this will turn out! I hope this won''t be so hideous that I''d kill myself by banging my head on the panel... and as it turns out... it was nothing compared to my features, though I could see some of mine there were some that didn''t match... It''s not bad but it didn''t look like me... Or maybe I would have been like this if I were to go in a diet. The character had small yet sharp eyes, pupils colored like chestnut, an arc in the brow part that you could only see from a girl could be seen, and that small lips that seemed to belong to a child... and shoulder-length hair with a few bangs in front. It was a girl... No doubt about it... Where did they get that kind of result from merging my appearances in three different age appearance? Is it because it''s an Ylka? It did say that they will change my bodily features drastically according to the chosen race... It''s the height was a bit more lower than mine... slender body and semi-thin arms could be seen from the clothes it wore. They incorporated the body of when I was 9 huh... The glory days... Seeming as it''s not really about appearance but stats... People will still ignore according to my circumstances... I''m glad I''ll be playing solo from now on... |We will be implementing another change in your character... Would you accept this changes?| Changes? Didn''t you change it enough already? Making it look like a girl isn''t it already enough? Well, there''s no harm in taking that offer... I tapped the [Accept] button and it prompted me to speak. "Ahh! Ah! Eh! I! Oh! Uh!" |Voice recorded... Changing pitch and tone of voice... Simulating voice...| "Ahh! Ah! Eh! I! Oh! Uh!" What? The voice I heard was the same as when I was still in highschool! But there''s more to that it didn''t sound like a man... It sounded like a pseudo-girl''s voice... If I didn''t know that it was my voice I would have surely thought that the figure in front of me was truly a girl... |Changes have been implemented... Finalizing configuration... Character creation initializing final phase... Do you accept these character?| "Hah... Well, whatever... It''s just a game after all... It''s still a guy''s body anyway so it''s not like my body''s changed entirely!" I tapped the [Accept] button once again and I felt my body changing... as the figure in front of me moved closer and closer... |Body merge in progress... Calibrating body movements... Processing... Finalizing procedure... Body merge complete...| Then a blinding flash of light blew like a flash grenade in front of my eyes... The female''s voice echoed one last time... |Welcome to ?Arkandia?| [Log 1]Chapter 2 : Worst Race and The New System My vision was still blurry an after effect of the sudden flash... Red spots appeared as I moved my eyes to wander. Then I look down... My feet seemed much closer than it was earlier... Ahh! That''s right I have now a different body. It didn''t feel weird at all, maybe it''s because of the calibration of muscle and body movements it didn''t feel like it was a different body. I held my head high and saw countless amount of players stretching their bodies... "Did they really have to do that?" I wondered as I let my eyes roam in different directions... If I remember correctly there were about 15,000 players that was accepted by the company to participate in the beta testing right? In my vision a gauge similar to that of K***dom H***ts recorded our HP [Health Points] and MP [Magic Points] in a red and blue colors. On the other side of the HP and MP gauge was the EXP gauge, how do I know this? I''ve played too many RPG''s that I can determine that the yellow colored one is the EXP [Experience Points] gauge. In the middle surrounded by the gauges were my Level... Number 1 was inside it. I''ll be leveling up later so it doesn''t really matter right now... "Status" The Status Screen appeared in my vision... ___________________________________________________ Name: Ryo Shikigami Age : 14 Sex : Male Race: Ylka Level: 1 Job : None Title: None Affiliations: None ___________________________________________________ [Equipment] Weapon: None Headgear: None Upper Armor: Civilian Shirt Lower Armor: Civilian Pants Cloak/Mantle: Black Hooded Cloak Shoes: Poor Man''s Slippers Accessory 1: Ylka Rosary Accessory 2: Wooden Ring __________________________________________________ [Status] HP [Heath Point] 50 MP [Mana Point] 70 STR: 5 AGI: 7 VIT: 3 CON: 5 INT: 9 LUK: 13 DEX: 5 ___________________________________________________ [Skills] ___________________________________________________ No skills, mediocre stats, below normal equips... This is truly the worst... But I have to strive! As I clenched my fist as I gazed up high in the heavens. The beta test seems to start later after 45 minutes if the others still couldn''t pick character the system will randomly give them a character instead... "There is still some time... I''ll go walk around the town... No one was allowed to go out of the town but everyone''s allowed to loiter inside it. I''ll try to find some good spots in here... That I could chill if I didn''t want to farm monsters." But still for a first VRMMORPG to be created it''s already at the state that could be called perfect. You can even talk to NPC''s like they''re normal people already. I knew of this since I''ve asked directions as I go around the town. Of course NPC''s know much more about the roads and alleyways to walk to'' inside the city since they were programmed to do it. I caught a glimpse of shops some of it were the armors, weapons, potions, spellbooks, and even antique shops too... I don''t'' know about the last one but the others are the ones I''ve marked in my map. Having to know where to go and buy stuff gives me less burden later on in the game... There is also the training grounds outside the town... I still don''t know what effects it will have if you train there but it''s a safe bet that it can be used to at least grow at a decent level before going out to the field and fight monsters. But since I couln''t go outside the town were practically stuck in here for a long while. There is also some NPC stalls... Pseudo-shops that move every 5 minutes to a different location... They have items that could be bought at the most cheap of prices... But since it''s a bother following their route it''s much better to stick on the general store where you could buy almost anything though at a much higher price than the stalls... The only thing missing was the sense of temperature, smell and taste... It didn''t felt hot nor did it felt cold... I guess they still couldn''t reproduce how people feel this things or how to let the system transmit that to the brain... and I couldn''t smell the flowers that I encountered as I roamed around the town. I wonder what''ll happen if we got slashed or something? Will it hurt? I want to know! I''m not an M! I just wanted to experience things you wouldn''t experience in real life. I don''t know how things taste like here... So I wish the sense of taste implemented in-game. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The buildings that seemed like they were built by some British architect gave off an elegant feel to it. Almost like they were made for royalty. Seeing as the time was only about more than 23 minutes left. I went back to the place where every player was waiting for the announcement of the start of the beta phase. I arrived before the expected time with only 1 minute remaining... I could already hear some players yelling to start the game... 3... 2... 1... Someone appeared beneath the Enormous sakura tree and started shouting... Well, it wasn''t really just random shout it was an announcement from the game staff... "All of you here today are the first players of [Arkandia Online] though I''m terribly sorry to say this but some of you will be eliminated. We will now give an advancement quest to everyone who wants to be a full-fledged beta tester. You will enter this city''s Dungeon... Learning where, or how to get there is up to you to find out... I wish you all good luck..." After his speech he disappeared without a trace and a quest prompted in front of my vision. It seems it wasn''t just me who got the quest since all other players were kind of surprised by the sudden appearance of the quest box. ____________________________________________________________________ Event Quest: Beta Player Advancement Test You will be given three whole days (1-Whole Day in Real-Time) (In-Game Time) to complete the quest. You may log out and re-login and continue the quest. Keep in mind that 1-Hour Real-Time is about the same as 3-Hour in-game time. ____________________________________________________________________ Quest Information: Find the city''s dungeon [Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth] and retrieve the guarded artifact from the [Kobold King] and present it to the NPC by the name of [Aurum]. Rewards: 100 Ardelan Copper Coins, Mantle of Darkness, Cyan''s Weapon Stash ____________________________________________________________________ I mostly roamed around the town the only thing I didn''t map was the northeastern region and the southern region of the map. It must be somewhere within those parts. It seems being in this small body has also made me into an invisible character... Or maybe because I looked weak I wasn''t even asked to join other people''s parties. They all walked passed like I wasn''t there. No matter I''ll just finish the quest myself... Though I don''t think that I can do it but I still want to do it. I marked the map with an X like marker where I''m hoping to see the Labyrinth Dungeon. Even mapping the town is a big burden on this little body... Having small legs that of a junior-highschool student can be a bit tiring even though it''s not my physical body... I walked at a faster pace making it possible to arrive at the location much faster... Gathering info, talking to NPC''s... It''s tedious work but it gives me a lot of hints to where the labyrinth was... As I walked around the town with my hood hanging on my head I saw bunch of players stuck together with each other. "They must be in a party together" I thought as I moved passed them... Roaming, and roaming, and more roaming... I''ve been gathering info for 2 hours now... It''s still not even an hour IRL. "The quest info says that it is possible to log-out then re-login, right?" I thought of logging out but I would be wasting my time in doing that... I marked another place at the map from the info I got from the guard NPC. I also started asking roaming NPC''s like the stall vendor in hope for a much reliable info but he asks me to pay up, I didn''t have the money so I went somewhere else. Then a female''s voice once again echoed... |Implementing System... Stamina and Satisfaction Meter... Adding Interface...| Two lengthy bars that stood upright appeared below my HP and MP bars... The one that was colored green was the Satisfaction and the other was colored indigo for Stamina. "Why didn''t they introduce it earlier!" |Players will be given limited provisions... Adding items into storage... Adding items complete...| I checked my inventory and there was a bundle of food in here... Sandwich, Box Lunch, Water and other kinds of portable foods. After checking the amount of food inside my inventory, I looked back at my stamina and saw that the satisfaction meter was decreased by a small amount. "So we''ll have to be thrifty about the food or we''ll die of starvation, huh?" Water replenishes more stamina than the satisfaction meter while eating food replenishes satisfaction meter more than the stamina meter... There were others who chomped on their food like there was not tomorrow and in the end they couldn''t move until their HP became 0 due to [Starvation] status. They were eliminated in the process of being chosen as a beta player as the result. After learning the facts about this two new system... I moved onwards to the place I''ve marked... I hope this time it''s the real deal.... [Log 1]Chapter 3 : Strengthening Stats, Acquiring Skill and The Labyrinth Dungeon I arrived at the place where I''ve marked the map... There is a cave but the indication in the map was it''s a mine... I''ve covered the map of the whole city... The map had a staggering number of 100% in the map percentage. [Keitel Labyrinth City Map added to map database] It seems that if you manage to complete the mapping of a city. If you were ever to go back there again you will no longer have to remap it again, however, if you mapped the area under 100% once you go out of that area the mapping percentage will once again go back to 0% having you to remap from scratch once again... I''ve already mapped the whole city yet I couldn''t find the freaking labyrinth! Where the heck is it? The mining shaft that I arrived has some NPC that gathers ore inside... This must be where the ores from the general store comes from. I talked to one of the NPC''s inside to ask for the esteemed cave... Only to be asked to work in order to get an answer... "Why do I need to get her ores? I just need you to answer where it is! I don''t have time to idle around!" "Suit yer''self I''m not forcin'' ya to work! I''m only asking for a compensation for the answer yer lookin'' fer." "Guh!" "Besides it''s also a good trainin'' for ye, if you accept my offer." Good training? For me? I guess... If this were the real world! I would probably grow some muscles if I smash rocks to find ores... "So you accept or not?" "... I accept..." "Good answer! Wear this and come see me after you''ve donned that young lady!" "I''m a guy damn it!" I''ve donned the clothes the old man NPC gave me. It kind of big for my size but no biggie... I wore the metallic helm and equipped the pickaxe. "Guess the size is too big fer ya... But it''ll do... Come on... Follow in my footsteps or you might get lost in the mine." "... Yes..." I started gathering ores after that... Tink... Tink... Tink... Tink... "Haa.. Ha.. Ha.." My stamina meter is depleting at a much faster rate than when I was just walking outside it''s already 19% at most... I opened my inventory and drank the water I took out and wiped away my sweat with the white cloth I got from the old man... After some time the axe became lighter and lighter and my stamina slowly decreases over time... I don''t know why though... After gathering 30 iron ores... We went back outside and The old man gave me a few copper coins and he pointed where the labyrinth is... "I wish you''re not just giving some false info old man..." "I wouldn''t do that even if you''re an Ylka... I was an old adventurer once and I came there to train bunch of times but couldn''t go through the room where a bunch of monsters grouped up." A monster house? There is a room in that labyrinth? Damn! This is going to be much harder to solo that I thought... "But you trained enough here so, you''re much stronger than you were here the first time..." "Eh? What do you mean?" "You mentioned earlier that it''s hard to swing the pickaxe back and forth eighth but after a while you felt it was a little light. That''s the effect of the training I gave you... Though it''s not as heavy as a mythril pickaxe but it''s an effective way to train your muscles... Swinging a short sword now will be a cinch to ya! That''s why I gave you a few copper coins... You can''t go into a fight if you''re unarmed..." "R,really? Wait, just a moment! I need to check something!" ___________________________________________________ Level: 1 Job : None Title: None If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.Affiliations: None ___________________________________________________ [Equipment] Weapon: None Headgear: Safety helm (Big) Upper Armor: Old Miner Shirt (Big) Lower Armor: Miner shorts (Big) Cloak/Mantle: None Shoes: Poor Man''s Slippers Accessory 1: Ylka Rosary Accessory 2: Wooden Ring __________________________________________________ [Status] HP [Heath Point] 50 > 96 MP [Mana Point] 70 STR: 5>18 AGI: 7>13 VIT: 3>7 CON: 5>8 INT: 9 LUK: 13 DEX: 5>9 ___________________________________________________ [Skills] Mining [Lvl 1] ___________________________________________________ Woah! My strength grew a lot! So that''s why it felt lighter when I was swinging it... I also have gotten the mining skill... "You can come back here sometime if you want a job! I can give you one..." Waaah! He''s a kind-hearted NPC... If only people in the real world were like you old man... I wouldn''t have a hard time even if I look for a job. I marked the place where the old man pointed out at the map he had earlier. It seems it''s in the central district... It''s underground and there is a hidden switch beneath the fountain. After reequipping my items, I thanked the old man once again and bowed deeply and said "I''ll come back after a while..." He waved goodbye as I walked back with donning my hood once again. ¡Á¡Á¡Á With the copper coins the old man gave me. I got a short sword that I bought for cheap... I also bought a number of food, drinks, and some empty vials in the general store... Increasing my inventory... From here onwards I''ll be learning exploring the dungeon and take the artifact and be chosen as an official participant of the beta test. I walked for while before I arrived at the central district, I encountered players who were still have no luck in finding the place out... I found a reliable source so it''s okay to believe in it... He helped me get strong and stuff so there''s no harm in believing the person who helped me... Arriving at the park where the fountain is placed no player could be found in the vicinity... "They didn''t look for this place, huh? Was I the first one to find it?" It took me 6 Hours (In-game) to find this place... It''s only been two hours outside... The fountain spouts a seemingly endless water as I moved towards it... I entered the circle in circling the fountain and then proceeded to find the hidden switch beneath it... "If there was a sense of temperature I would''ve felt cold right now..." That is the truth my body actually, my mantle is soaking wet... Never mind that I had the hood on it''s still felt wet but it didn''t feel cold... rather it was unpleasant to wear it... As I looked for the switch something clicked... Kiiiiiii... Dagdadagdagdag... The fountain rotated counter clockwise as stairs appeared heading down... The lion''s head that hanged beneath the fountain was now turned upside down... So it was that, huh? Steeling my heart I entered the seemingly endless stairway and headed downstairs. [Log 1]Chapter 4: Cruel Hearts Labyrinth (1) |New system updated... Implementing new system... Temperature sensing feature implemented... As you enter the labyrinth your body will now experience heat and coldness... Implementation successful... New system feature added| The female''s voice resounded in the chilling walls of the labyrinth dungeon... That''s right I have now arrived in [Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth] and a new system was implemented as the player comes in the dungeon. It seems I was the first one to come inside... Mapping this place will require lots of time... I don''t wanna get lost in the labyrinth after all... Now it will be much harder to map it since monsters will be coming out. I wish I had some party members... My earlier wet mantle was now all dried up... Entering with my hood on will just be a nuisance... Taking it off made me felt relieved... I didn''t know why but I subconsciously try to hide my face in public... The old man also said something about me being an Ylka earlier... But I didn''t really care about all that... With my sword hanged on my waist I walked forward in the darkness that filled the dungeon... There are natural light that emitted from rocks that was stuck in the dungeon walls though they were not that bright they still gave off enough light for me to see the pathway and the walls... I''ve mapped the 20% of the first floor.... Yes, first floor. I didn''t know how many floors this dungeon has but I wish it''s not as many as 10 floors 2-3 floors is quite alright... Keeping in mind the things the Old man said earlier there was a monster house but he didn''t mention which floor it was so this is gonna be hard.... ¡Á¡Á¡Á Krak.... Kak.... Naaak.... Krr.... Rrr... Sounds like that of a broken clock could be heard just ahead of me... What I saw was an insect-like being that stood upright. It''s salivating so much that the floor where it stood already had a decent amount to make me puke... I felt disgust as I looked at the creatures face... It''s eyes are like that of a buff and it''s carapace was like that of a cicada... With razor sharp pincers in his mouth. It felt like my nightmare came true right in front of my eyes... It didn''t seem weak and I don''t really want to fight that thing... Bundles of rocks were conveniently formed to sneak past this monster. But since players don''t think logically in this situation they most likely will charge to their deaths. But thankfully having a weak race and stats gave me more time to analyze the situation and deal with it in the most safest and logical way possible... However, sneaking past that thing is hard thing to do. Insects can detect even the slightest of move and will move to another position. I hated that trait of insects I can''t kill them effectively since they''re always moving around... And also... There was another problem... It also had underlings... It was scattered all over the places... I''ve tried killing one that didn''t see me and watched the insect''s movements carefully... It didn''t seem to care that one of it''s underlings died and just stood there motionless... As long as I''m not seen by those little critters then I won''t have have a hard time in sneaking away unscathed. Moving without making a sound is a really hard thing to do... I took off the slippers that I had and walked barefooted... I occasionally got damaged by pointy rocks but it''s nothing much so I ignored most of it... I used the rocks to make out a cover doing things like an assassin in assassin''s creed I felt a feeling of joy about to burst open in my heart. But suppressed it since it would compromise the whole plan... I hooked my hood on my head once again to blend in with the background... I walked ever so slowly every single time... If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. As I was already halfway through the room the insect growled! """Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!""" By reflex I crouched and covered both my ears the mantle covered most of my body blending it with the surroundings... As the noise quieted down the rock that I was hiding in then started to flow with saliva... As I saw the insect up close as if sniffing to find something I inadvertently screamed "Hii!" As the insect heard this it''s eyes glowed red and it chomped the rock into bits... I moved in the direction of the next room... A thought... No... A prayer suddenly flashed on my mind that "it won''t follow me to the next room since it''s bound to this room right?" A wishful thinking... I ran and ran... and arrived at the next room but I still ran after I arrived because... It was still there crawling like a cockroach as I saw that I feared for my life! "HIIIIIIIIII!!!!!! Help me!!!!" It then created a mouthful of disgusting saliva and hurled it at my direction... It''s sticky substance made it hard to move... "Is this the end?" I thought as I accepted my fate... No one was here before me... I don''t know if any other players knew about this place after I entered... I held unsheathed my sword as a sign of a last struggle... It''s like "If I''m gonna die anyway I''m taking you with me!" Or something like that... My hands were shaking... My sword unsteadily wriggled on my hand as I pointed it the frightening monster in front of me.... I can''t even kill a goddamn insect! I''m so weak! But it was a large insect and a boss type too I think... Shiiiiiiiii.... Sound of metal cutting on a large object could be heard... Did I do it? Of course not... The giant insect collapsed in both differing directions as it was cut in the middle... It''s slimy bodily liquid flowed out of it''s body after it''s collapse. A boy with a katana in his hand offered his hands and said "are you okay?" With a scared yet relieved expression I took hold of his hand and answered "yeah, thanks for the save..." and started to wipe off the sticky liquid all over my mantle... It felt warm the liquid that is and it only made it much worse than I expected it to be... Having to feel the warm texture felt more disgusting than it already was... I actually had a face of disgust displayed as I wiped away the saliva from my mantle. The boy who saved me was with a group of other kids... As I appeared to be a girl with a voice of a girl they assumed that I was a girl... and asked me to come with their party embarrassingly... I didn''t want to lie and said that I was a guy... after telling them that they''re face soured and said "Lolicon! Pervert!" and some other kinds of stuff and then moved away... It''s not my fault the system gave me this body! I was again alone... covered in a slimy saliva still... I walked down the road with a sword in one hand and a clenched fist in another... [Log 1]Chapter 5: Cruel Hearts Labyrinth (2) My mapping percentage of the first floor was already 30% since the time after the giant insect... There are things that looked like beetles in the far end of the passage I''m in right now... I don''t know if I could fight things like that though, they''re not as big as the insect earlier so I guess I could try fighting one... I lured it with a stone I threw with a decent amount of force, it seemed angry when the stone hit it''s head and started to fly with it''s beetle wings while lunging it''s horn towards me. I moved sideways to avoid it and slashed my sword downward near the stomach area of the beetle... Due to it''s hard shell he didn''t receive much damage and the sword rang a metallic sound as it collided with the beetle''s shell... Regaining balance the beetle once again flew but at a much faster speed. It grazed my left arm as I clumsily moved to the side out of fear. I only saw beetles getting captured by my friends in elementary and never really participated in the act of capturing it, even when they wanted to show the beetles I always decline so I don''t know where the hard and software parts of the beetles are.... The only thing I could trust is my instincts. I have no knowledge of swordsmanship nor any kind of brawl related things but games. I tried to recreate what I''ve seen in the games I''ve played so far... Tightening both my hands grip in the short sword I now engage in a way, Sora, from KH, fights the reckless way he wields the sword and his lack of defenses I copied them all... I swung my sword down at the horn of the incoming beetle. The beetle changes direction and slams at the nearby wall... Taking this opportunity I held my sword with both hands and started slashing the beetle... I slashed at different directions and different parts of it''s body. Finding the weakness it has... The shell, the horn, the legs, the body, the head... I slashed it until I could see that it was not moving and already dead... "Haa.. Ha... Ha..." The body didn''t disappear unlike normal RPG games... It was still there... I could use this... Finding the weakest spot of this monster. I engaged myself in a scientific approach to look for the monster''s weakness... As I do not have a paper. I tried as much as I could to remember the weak points of this monster... The softest piece of the shell where the sword could penetrate... Vital points... Everything I tried to memorize it... As I knew of this things I started to kill them more easily... One to Two hits was all it needs to either neutralize or kill them on the spot. I change my sword style to that of a normal one... Slashing enemies was way more effective like that than the one I used before... What I admired was now a thing that might as well be thrown away since it''s kind of a worthless sword style... I''m an amateur but I knew that, that way of fighting is actually pretty stupid having a low guard all the time will end up killing you. >[Sword Mastery: Short Sword Skill Acquired] >[One-handed Sword Mastery Skill Acquired] >[Sword Arts: Short Sword Arts Skill Acquired] >[Analysis Skill Acquired] I leveled up quite easily after I took this kind of fighting strategy. Killing one unknown enemy then analyzing every thing on it''s body and then after finally knowing every piece of information it can give then I can fight without reserve and fear... The beetle was called [Shard Beetle]. It''s a hard enemy for those who didn''t know it''s weakness... Hard work produces results it''s a tedious work to fiddle inside a monster''s corpse but it''s worthwhile after knowing it''s weakness... Everything went smoothly and I have already 80% of the map mapped in my data... I saw the ones who saved me earlier from the giant insect. I also gathered information about it since I may encounter it later in the lower floors... They had a hard time fighting [Shard Beetles] and most of them got hurt in the process... Will they even make it to the room where the artifact is? After a while I found a new type of enemy. [Arachnid] as the name implies it''s a spider like thing but at a much bigger and nastier form. It''s height is about the same as a full-grown wolf... Ah! It also spits corrosive acid... It''s body is soft but the monster itself is fast, making it a pain in the arse... "Get back here you little!" I held my sword in one hand as I held the [Shard Beetle]''s shell on my other arm... I made the beetle''s shell as a shield since it''s sturdy... Thankfully it can receive the [Arachnid]''s acid attacks at a certain degree. Now I''m running after it as it already climb to the walls. Throwing a stone to throw off it''s balance is a good choice but my accuracy is low and my STR parameter is still too low to reach that fast moving creature. I was also slow... So our distance from each other are too far... I decided to let that one go since I''ve already collected samples of its acid earlier... I used the empty vials I purchased from the general store earlier to take some samples... I can make a few things with this if I had the right skills and items. I accepted the fact that my race was a weak one and I had to rely on tricks... There were stones that looked a lot like the ones I''ve pickaxed on the mine... Old man also give me a vague image of the rocks that have a different ore... "Hmmmm.... Is this a steel stone?" As I pondered what was inside the medium-sized rock I took the pickaxe from my inventory and started bashing with it... After a few dozen strikes the stone cracked what inside was a two steel ores. "Nice! I''ll try looking for someone who knows smithing, and carving skill..." I knew from experience how a person could learn skills... It is either you learn it from the book, the orb, or learn it first-hand from someone who knows the skill... I actually want to know the skill from someone who has it since it''s much better that way and I''ll learn the basics from my master. Learning it with magic was only secondary choice if there is no one to teach you. "..." I stashed the pickaxe and the ores inside my inventory and reequipped my sword and shell... Moving on I''ve seen that my map for the first floor was completed. >[Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth Map (1st Floor) added to the map database] Stairs that seemed to stretch down endlessly appeared before my eyes... "Let''s go..." I walked on slowly while staying vigilant. ¡Á¡Á¡Á Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Arriving at the 2nd floor of the Labyrinth dungeon I felt something different. I knew from the temperature of the room that this was not a normal floor... The spiked ice glistened with blue light as the gem stuck on the dungeon''s wall glowed. Ice settings, huh... Water that seemed to come from the upper ground froze midway before falling to the icy surface of the frozen water. There were two grunts that appeared on my vision... It''s name was [Ice Lizard] and [Frozen Golem]. I lured the lizard but the golem came right after... So they were together, huh! I can''t use the tactic I''ve been using earlier... The golem blows an icy blizzard with it''s breathe, I tried to block it with the shell but it started to get really cold that it hurt my skin, so I threw it at the charging lizard... The lizard then dodges to the right and ran as fast as it could to strike with its lance. As my sword got in contact with the lance, my sword got in a really bad state in just a few seconds of contact if I were to have kept it much longer my sword would have become chipped and broken in a flash. It''s an opponent that I couldn''t fight without weapon... I took the corrosive vial in my inventory and threw it at the lizard. By reflex the lizard destroyed the vial and the liquid then splashes all over it''s body. The lizard''s skin got burned by the acid and taking this opportunity slashed through it''s unguarded body. I still got 7 more vials of corrosive acid. Using it to the [Frozen Golem] would be a sound judgement since it was effective against the [Ice Lizard] but thinking like that would only mean death in my opinion... The Golem could freeze the liquid by simply blow a cold chill rendering the vials useless... My sword is in a bad shape and if I didn''t sharpen it, it will break with one more swing... Taking another [Shard Beetle Shell] from my inventory I sharpened my sword... The golems hands turned into icy shards and blasted at me full throttle... The crystallite ice grazed my cheek and as I avoided the shots more came my way... I still haven''t sharpen my sword enough, prioritizing protection rather than sharpening the sword I held the shell to hide my body from the barrage of ice crystallite shards... As the seemingly endless barrage of shards comes to an end. Fog of ice covered a portion of the room, with this as a cover I left the shell and went to another covering spot. I sharpened my blade once again as the fog cleared up the golem saw the standing beetle shell and ran towards it.. "Stupid! I''m not there!" As if to mock the golem''s low intellect I threw three vials up in the air and followed with a new shell in my arms I ran. Not knowing where to aim first the golem change it''s priority to me... That was a wise decision if I say so myself... Following after a corrosive vials was thrown up in the air was not a good decision if you picked to fight without a means of protecting yourself from the acidic substance. But I needn''t care for that since the golems priority was me... I am it''s sole target without the lizard helping it out it''s useless on it''s own. He blew a icy blizzard once again in my direction then the vials makes contact with the golem and breaks releasing the corrosive acid that dwell inside the vial. It''s melted like water as it made a direct contact with the acid. "Break!" With my newly-sharpened sword I slashed at the golem''s core inside it''s melting body. As the core cracked the golem stops moving and corrosion stopped halfway. I took the Icy spear of the [Icy Lizard] and the shattered core of the [Frozen Golem] and stashed inside my inventory. It''s intriguing how to make a golem... Since in the most recent games I''ve played Golems were creatures made from magic and can only survive as long as the caster can supply mana into it. Since the shattered core seemed to supply the golem with magic I wanted to try it. ¡Á¡Á¡Á "Hrmm... What to do with this one..." I arrived at some part of the labyrinth... My map percentage of floor 2 was already 24% and this area won''t let me in... It''s another passage I found as I was looking for more rooms for the map. I knew hidden rooms are a fad for dungeons but if you don''t give it a key then it''s worthless... There was no sockets for keys, balls, or some kind of other mechanism... There is only symbols in the door... No... More like writings... But I couldn''t understand it... Maybe learning from books or learning from a different race. I marked the area as locked door and went to the other direction. ¡Á¡Á¡Á [Icy Hounds] agile monsters that group together... There are three of them... If thou left one of them alive and let them live they''ll come back with six more... And now I was stupid... I left one of them and it came back with six 7 hound corpses lied motionless in the frozen ground. My HP is on the red zone... I held drank the last potion earlier... I still don''t know their weakness... I was interrupted while fiddling with their corpses earlier.the corrosive vials I had numbered 3. I threw one earlier due to a desperate action but still got clawed by one of them. "Damn it! Why''d you come back with others in tow!" I yelled at the growling mutt at the back of the two hounds... I knew it was the hound I released earlier since it had a defining slash in its leg. *Geho* *Geho* I coughed lightly and saw blood in my hands. Even though it''s virtual it doesn''t feel like it. My warm blood that became like jelly when immersed in a cold environment. Hounds that kept on growling after having taken a decent amount of damage... "Damn! You guys are stubborn aren''t ya!" I started speaking like the old man... Haha! I ran forward with one sword in tow on my right and three vials of corrosive acid on my left. The hounds then moved in as if to copy. My movements they moved in three different directions. Anticipating those movements I threw the vials at the right time. They jumped on me in a pincer formation with their bodies like sitting duck in the air the three vials was thrown. The vials hit and were succumbed to the acid. By the time the two first hounds landed they were already motionless. The last one with it''s last will still stood and wanted to call for backup... I ran after it and stabbed my sword in it''s throat. I then fiddled with their bodies and tried to find some kind of weakness... Soft tears in the muscle that could be compared to the other ones... Once I''ve finished fiddling with them I left them skinless and most of their tooth missing... I''ve stashed their furs and teeth inside my inventory hoping that they''ll be useful in the future. [Log 1]Chapter 6: Reality After resting and recuperating my HP and stamina after eating... I again turned to the unexplored regions of the map... I now have 56% of the whole floor mapped. There was also a perk in having a mapped map. You can see other players that roam that certain area. You can use this to successfully establishing an ambush for the other players... Players that have mapped the whole region of the current stage will be marked yellow while those who are not are marked green, and enemies are marked red. I can see new players entering from the entrance just now... It must be the troublesome hounds once again engaging battle with players... The first two were easily defeated and the third one withdrew... It then came back almost immediately with 6 more... It is the hounds... That''ll be endless if you don''t kill the last one. "Ah!" One of the 8 players who entered was gone from my map... Did he die? Or did he go to an unmapped region of my map... This time all of the enemies were defeated and it seemed they were still vigilant and didn''t move there for a while. "That''s just sad... There were 8 of you and one of you got killed... No teamwork at all..." Well, I didn''t see how they fight so I don''t really know if they didn''t have teamwork or not. "That''s enough rest... How many hours have I been here already?" I checked my playtime recorded and it''s already been 18 hours 6 hours IRL. Wow! It''s just been six hours! Should I log out for a moment? |Logging out in a dungeon is not safe... You''re body might get attacked while you''re out? Will you continue?| So my body''s vulnerable if I logged out, huh? I went back to the locked door and sat next to it. Monsters seemed to keep out of this area so it must be a safe place... I once again tapped the log out button and was prompted once again. I tapped the yes button and my vision blurred and soon blacked out. ¡Á¡Á¡Á I am now again in my room... I looked up and saw the blue ceiling and walls that had anime posters posted up everywhere. It was already 7 in the evening. The light that shined earlier could no longer be seen. The blank darkness of the night sky seemed to envelop the world. I stretched my arms upward and wriggled continuously... My body felt tired lying all day... I put the VR machine in my desktop and went out of my room... I could hear Mira and sis'' k-pop songs on the other end of their door. "How can they listen to that nonstop? They don''t even understand a single word." I muttered lightly and went downstairs. As I closed in on the fridge a sticky note was patched up in the fridge door with writings saying "Mom and Dad won''t be home till the day after tomorrow! We''ll be playing K-pop songs all night! So don''t disturb us!" "What in the heck?" There was another writing at the back... "Cook something for yourself we already ate outside the money is in the Fridge''s side pocket... At the left side" "How can you leave me out?" That darn woman... Well, it''s not like she can wake me up when I was playing... I reached for the left pocket of the fridge and got a 200 peso money. "Convenience store it is..." I took my jacket and put on my slippers... It''s December... and I was lucky that my participation for the game was scheduled in our semester break... I guess they scheduled it with a majority of students in mind. "Welcome!" I opened the store door and headed to the cup noodle section and took one cup noodles then went to the drinks section and took a can of soft drinks. I then went ahead to pay for my items. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "That''ll be 60 pesos, sir!" I handed the 200 peso bill and got my change. I heard the cashier say "thank you come again" but ignored it. I went back to the house and ate the food I just bought... ¡Á¡Á¡Á *Slurp* *Slurp* *Slurp* The hot thin strips of the cup noodles warmed my mouth... I had eaten the chili one so I''m actually breathing in a hurried manner... "Woo! It''s hot! I love this..."I said while slurping the last of it and drinking the seasoned water. "Puuwah!" I opened the can soft drink and drank it after doing so. *Glug* *Glug* *Glug* The warm and cold sensation merged together inside my stomach... "Buuuuuuuuurp!" With a dignified expression I held my hand up high as if I won in something. "How childish!" I heard at the back of my head there stood Sis and Mira... Sis had an angry expression while Mira had an unreadable one... I don''t know if she''s disgusted by my action or what... "I can do what I want! I won''t be doing this kind of behavior if I knew you were there! It''s not like I did it on purpose for you to hear it." I stood and cleaned up my trash. Mira''s gaze was locked in to me all the time... It''s been like this since June... I''m getting creeped out... Even if you have a nice face if you''re like that any boy will be creeped out. After I washed the spoon I used and threw the trash away... As I was going up the stairs sis talked and said "I''m sorry you had to see that! That guy is extremely childish at times so bear with him okay?" I didn''t wait for Mira''s reply and headed towards my room and locked it. I sat beside the locked door and cast my head down... "I''m a failure..." These past semesters I''ve been playing games almost non-stop. Problems that piled up. Piled up more and more... Faced with this kind of problems I wanted to run away. The games were my salvation. There, no problems existed... and so I started to get addicted... Going to school became a tedious cycle and at times I didn''t even go to school anymore... Heading straight to a computer centre that was what became of my daily activities. Act like there were some tiring work at school, sleep and lie accordingly... I became good at lying... I wasn''t caught until one day. Mira consulted Sis... She said that I was not coming to school... "It''s because of her..." That''s right... Everything would have went smoothly... If it weren''t for her meddling. If I were to fail this year... I will no longer be able to go to school anymore... Sis felt indebted to Mira for looking out for me... But the fact that I was the one who failed can never be changed... I couldn''t blame her for that... I know she didn''t have any ill will for what she did... She only wanted to rescue me from my addiction or something close to that... Sis wasn''t always like that she always took my side on things... But since I''ve made a grave mistake this time she could not take my side. I know this for I was a smart person... If I were not I would''ve interpreted it wrongly making them villains in my interpretation. Hating them so harshly. I decided to leave things to fix themselves in time... I wanna apologize to sis.., I yelled at her earlier... No, I might make things worse than it already was. I''ll do that later... For now let''s play to let my mind calm down... I have to let loose some stress that started accumulating once again. I once again donned the eyeglass VR machine and assumed my sleeping posture then once again entered the game [Log 1]Chapter 7: Cruel Hearts Labyrinth (3) White-bluish walls... That''s right, the safety area of the second floor. Now 6 other people are gathered here... They didn''t touch my character while I was away didn''t they? I lifted my head that was covered with the black hood. There seemed to be a fireplace at the center I wonder who did it. The cold temperature struck my body... I shivered as I felt really cold... I logged out earlier... The sudden change of temperature made me scream in surprise. The players gathered in front of the giant locked door looked on my direction... "Ah.. I.. Ugh... Was logged out earlier so... The sudden change in temperature surprised me..." By reflex I told them my reason for suddenly yelping... "Ah! It''s okay... You''ve found a good area monsters don''t come here! The name''s Ford, young lady" He gestured his hand with a half-assed salute and smiled while showing his teeth. "Sorry, I''m a guy... Name''s Ryo by the way." I hid under my hood and took some hound pelt from my inventory. His face showed disappointment but smiled once again and changed the topic. "Ah! You''re a collector, huh?" "Collector?" "You know the person who takes the spoils from the monsters... What race are you using again?" "I''m using the Ylka race... and I''m going solo... I''m trying to figure out a way to open this door so I can map the whole place up. I don''t want to go down the third floor and start again after I''m done with the third..." "You also knew that this dungeon only has three floors pretty impressive! You''ve done your research in the town eh?" "Only had three levels? No... I didn''t know that this dungeon only had three levels... Have you gone to the third level?" "Yeah! We mapped the whole place and we found no [Kobold King] in there." "Can you pass me the map data?" "Sure! Can you pass me your 2nd floor map data?" "It''s incomplete though!" "It''s okay! It''s okay!" >[Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth Map (Floor 3) added to the map database] >[Sharing Cruel Hearts Labyrinth (Floor 2) Map Data] Ford happily said so as he moved closer to my position. He sent me the 3rd Floor Map Data and I passed him the 2nd Floor Incomplete Map Data... "You''ve gone solo but already gotten the place mapped up to 56% you''re pretty good... How many rations do you still have?" "I got more rations in stock since the cold temperature helps in lessening the decrease in the satisfaction and stamina meter." "It was hell down the third floor! It was too damn hot! The decrease in our satisfaction and stamina meter became rapid and our food stock went by in a flash..." "I see... Then as thanks for the map data here some food... Though there are no real taste in that..." It actually tasted like sand... The sandwich and other stuff the only distinctive one was water... It doesn''t taste like sand when you gulp it''s good. I took out the food from my inventory and gave it to Ford and his party. "But weren''t all players given the same amount of money at the start? You seemed to have bought many stocks." "Well, I worked for it... and for the record I didn''t have any gold in my inventory..." "Woah! I also had a friend who picked Ylka, he also didn''t have money in his inventory. He died earlier though and he couldn''t log in anymore he said..." "So if you die there is no one more chance?" "Guess so? They are picking true beta-testers after all. Hey, wanna enter our party?" [Ford Kryslain request you to join their Party. Will you accept?] "Why not?" As I said that I tapped the accept button. Then a rumbling noise came from my back... This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report."The door! It''s opening!" What''s inside was.... a magic circle that glowed a crimson color it was a magic circle that prevented players from going back to the previous room once they were inside. "Monster House!" I yelled as I saw vicious looking beings as the other side of the door opened up. "They needed a seven people party in order to enter!" It''s a raid dungeon?!! Damn it! I''ve mostly got a hold of the monsters weaknesses it''ll be a cinch... But I saw unfamiliar ones on their ranks.. Their names were [Flame Serpent], [Lava Golem] and [Burning Armor] "It''s the enemies on the third floor!" Ford yelled. He''s teammates assembled into a blockade like formation. "Hide behind us, Ryo!" "Don''t worry I have a beetle shell with me!" I took another beetle shell and sunk it to the ground with him behind it. "Here it comes!" The [Flame Serpent] breathe fire that aimed in our direction. The heat seemed to exceed 56¡ã heat easily. most of it''s flames almost got through to the beetle shell. It burned the excess clothe of my cloak. Strong... If I soloed these guys will I live? "Okay, guys! Let''s go! Kill the [Flame Serpent] first! Ryo, Aira focus your attention on the hounds don''t let the party that''s fighting the [Flame Serpent] get attacked!" "Yes!" "Yes!" Everyone did what they were told to do... This wasn''t the first time I''ve been into a party I''ve been in a party countless of times that I couldn''t count it anymore... However, it feels good not having to order people... It''s a troublesome work... and you might get blamed in the end. Me and Aira kept the [Icy Hounds] and [Shard Beetles] at bay. Using the information I''ve taken from analyzing their body structure. I cut them effectively and smoothly. Aiming on the softest and most fatal spot of the body that was all I did. Not killing the monsters and rendering them unable to fight. I heard voices of admiration from the other team that was fighting the [Flame Serpent]. Since I had no empty vials anymore I killed the roaming arachnids that came near the battleground. Without using too much strength in my slashes my stamina decreased by only a small amount in every slash. The only ones I''ve had a hard time fighting was the [Frozen Golem] and the [Ice Lizard] since I don''t have the vial now it was way harder to fight it... Combined with the coordination of the [Frozen Golem] I could not destroy the [Frozen Golem] immediately. Aira lured the [Ice Lizard] for me to fight the [Frozen Golem] alone. I took out another beetle shell and took the golems crystallite barrage... "Take this!" I bashed the shell in the golem''s lower body and followed through with a slash. Changing my location after every bash made the golem go berserk and shot crystallites in all directions. With it''s magic decreased it could no longer maintain the form and the blocks of ice that defends the Core became slightly soft. I bashed it once again and broke the golem''s defence! I stab the core and the golem stops moving. After a while the monster''s dwindled and soon all heaps of monster corpses piled up near the entrance. I collected samples of the [Lava Golem] and the [Flame serpent''s Scales] and the [Burning Armor''s Magic Core]. The [Burning Armor] had an ominous appearance yet was pretty weak and come in sets. They''re as strong as the [Icy Hounds] Our stamina and satisfaction meter almost depleted we sat while breathing heavily, I then distributed food to everyone to at least fill up some of the gauges... Series of laughter filled the cold dimly lit room as we sat tired. [Log 1]Chapter 8: Cruel Hearts Labyrinth (4) The crimson magic circle turned to glow an azure light. The monster house became a safety zone. It healed our wounds and revitalized our body. Our fatigued body was once again full of strength! Ford, Aira and his other teammates also seemed relaxed as their wounds were healed. So an azure magic circle becomes a healing field and a safe haven for players. This was what the old man mentioned earlier. The "Monster House" that he could not go through, we blasted through them. There is only one more room after the Monster House room... It was... "So we''re here huh!" "Yeah!" "Finally once we get the artifact we''ll become a full fledged beta tester! We''ll be participating the official event!" Ford said in an excited voice. With his teammates laughing at his childish remark. "All right! We go in!" The gigantic door opened the moment we step one meter closer from the door. There a single figure stood standing... and it''s name... [Death Eater : Jack] It was an anomaly... It was supposed to be a [Kobold King] why wasn''t it that monster? Cloaked in a dark tattered robe with a scythe hanging from it''s shoulder, it stood there doing nothing. In it''s hand a peculiar item a crown... Who did it belong to... no one spoke... The quest was impossible if killing the boss was already done... Then the one who killed it would be much stronger. Aiming to finish the mission is like a far shore dream. "Who are you?" sought Ford as he tries to get some answers from the hooded figure. "..." It just stood there silently while toying with the crown. "Everyone, get ready! We''ll enter altogether." "D, don''t!" I sensed the danger that the figure emitted... It wasn''t just a normal being... It''s like a last boss or something... "Seriously, that god sure likes to make some flashy summoning..." I heard the figure spoke something... But I couldn''t discern it... I was too far away from it. The others entered almost at the same time and upon entering their bodies were slashed eight times in four different directions... I opened my eyes wide and saw the horrifying image... Blood splattered everywhere and their body parts that was cut cleaned like frozen meat fell on the ground like lumps of meat. I felt that I''ll vomit but didn''t come out... What happened? They just entered and then... "You had a good head... Not entering as I was still inside the room was a good choice... I''ll recommend you to him... What''s your name?" "R, Ryo!" "Then Ryo I''ll be expecting you... Those guys are fine I guess..." "What are you?" "Just call me Jack... We''ll meet again soon enough." The threatening aura was gone and the 6 who died once again rose up as if nothing happened.. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there."What are you doing come on, Ryo!" "Lucky! The boss is no longer here! We''ll only have to take the artifact and then we''re true beta-testers!" What the? It''s as if they don''t remember what happened earlier! "Hey? Something wrong you look pale? Wow! Even the change in facial color was incorporated in game!" "Don''t you guys remember? You all died in a single hit!" "Huh? What are you saying! If we were dead we will not be here now!" Everyone nods in approval at Ford''s remark. They don''t remember? Why am I the only one who remembers... "Hey, found this thing here! Looks like a crown or some kind." The Drago race player yelled to our direction as he waves the crown to and fro. Uneasiness filled my heart as I pondered why they forgot... Does that mean... The machine made it easier to fiddle in a human brain and alter the memories to their own convenience? The why leave my memory intact... "Awright! We got the artifact! Is it really this one?" "We''ll know after we find the [Aurum] guy... Oh right! That NPC!" Engaging in their usual carefree conversation it''s actually hard yo believe that they really died in-front of my eyes... Can I even dream in a game? That kind of possibility is put of questions... Even though the real body was sleeping the mind wasn''t it kept on working nonstop to ensure that the body in this reality could move as natural as it was in the real world. I tried to brush it off as some kind of delusion of mine... This sometimes happen to me so it might have been that. I once had myself lost in my delusion and accepted it as something real by the time I woke up I found myself confused since a different situation happened. Stressed people do this kinds of things unconsciously to run away from their problems. I shook my head strongly and put my palm in my forehead... I must be getting tired or something... I''m seeing things... That''s right it was just a delusion... My brain keeps making up stuff that wasn''t there... Guess even Virtual Reality is not a match for my Delusions. "You okay?" "Y, yeah! I''m fine I''m fine... Just kind of tired that''s all..." "Well, we did fight in a monster house... So it would be quite tiring..." "Yeah! I''m beat let''s go and find this [Aurum] guy so we can sleep..." "We have been playing for 9 hours already... Even when I logged out my body was still logged in sleeping..." "We''ll be the first ones to finish the quest yeah?" "That''s right!" We merrily chatted as we took the artifact of the [Kobold King]. It was the crown on it''s head what would have happened if it were destroyed in the process while we were battling it. The [Kobold King] didn''t appear in the end. "Was it really a delusion?" I thought as we got out of the throne room of the [Kobold King]. [Log 1]Chapter 9: Collection and Other Things Chapter 9: Collections and other things. I was checking the map and the map percentage for floor 2 was 100% with this every map of the Labyrinth dungeon is now mapped. >[Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth Map (Floor 2) added to the map database] >[Cruel Hearts Labyrinth Exploration Map Full Set Acquired] >[Explorer Title Acquired] With this the whole dungeon''s map has been explored. Ford and I acquired the [Explorer] title for our efforts. Now to find that [Aurum] guy. We were still in our journey back to the surface looking at the map few players have entered the area... "Took them long enough..." Ford muttered with a mocking tone and smirked in the end. If someone (new comer in the dungeon) were to see you right now you''d be long dead. "I wonder? Will we be the only one getting that artifact? I mean there is only one [Kobold King] right?" "It''ll respawn, Aira... They will also accomplish our deeds. Though in our case we didn''t get to fight the [Kobold King]." With my gaze still fixated at the map. I noticed something peculiar. A group of players are not moving from one place... There are several glowing red dots in their position. Were they ambushed? I inform the guys since we are moving to that direction. "Eh? How troublesome that''s the way to the stairs right? I thought it''ll be smooth sailing till we get to the surface." Aira complains while pouting her mouth. She''s quite cute if I have a little sister I would prolly want someone like her. "So Ford, what''s the plan?" "Why''ve you asking me?" "You''re the leader! You have to be responsible at times like this..." "But it''s a pain!" "Oh, shut up!" He imitates Aira and pouts his mouth matching cross arms... "You know you''re only making it worse! I''m gonna hit you!" "E, eh? Don''t be like that! You were so happy when Aira did it!" "It was because it''s cute and yours was comparable to a cockroach flying in the air!" *SHOCK* "He really said it!" The drago race player muttered in a low tone as Ford kneeled down in the orz position. While the girls in our team started whispering to each other... I didn''t mention it earlier but their earlier team when there were still eight people in their party. Was a balanced 4 boys and 4 girls having lost the two boys in the first and third floor the equilibrium shattered. Now there are three boys including me and four girls. Their names respectively are Aira, Leona, Tara, Shiva. Aira is part of the Human Race, Leona was an Elf, Tara is an Inka and Shiva is a Crazlun. On the boy''s side Me the Ylka, Ford the Human, and Grazel the Drago. Our parties match up is pretty balanced. I equal in both support and attack. While Ford, Grazel and Aira focus on attacking and Leona, Tara and Shiva in supporting, mostly in range and magic. Changes in body structure of monsters appeared after we got the artifact. They seem sturdier and much stronger than they were now... The [Shard Beetle] shell change colored from Blue to Green the tiny opening that I''ve seen before was no longer there. The monsters became stronger that much I could tell while fighting them. I was just glad we didn''t meet any [Icy Hounds] down the 2nd floor. "Aira, you flank the right I''ll go left." "Roger..." The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Right now we are fighting three [Shard Beetle] it came flying at us expecting to ram against us. With Grezal''s strength they were mowed to the ground with his hammer. Before they recover me and Aira swoops in for the kill while Grezal and Ford do the same to other enemies. "Tei!" "Take that!" Doing a pincer attack to eliminate the still recovering [Shard Beetle]. Aira kicks the beetle''s body while I slash the soft muscle part of the beetle while it was thrown away by the kick in mid air. Performing combo attacks were much more effective against the beetles since I''m far too weak to make the beetle fly with my bare legs. Aira is a taijutsu instructor back IRL. So her moves was that of a master though she complains sometimes because her body won''t do as she wish. It seems her stats can''t cope up with her vast knowledge in the art of taijutsu. She acquired [Kicking] and [Punching] skills. She also has [3D Maneuver] and [Nature Magic: Wind] skills added. She uses wind magic to boost her speed or the strength of her kicks that why she could blow the beetles mid-air. I on the other hand only has [Sword Mastery: Short Sword] and [Short Sword Arts] though the fluidity of my movements with the sword was a bit more refined than it was earlier I still felt something lacking. It seems the Ylka race is a sad race... Well I already knew that it was a race with no benefits but I still went on and picked it anyway. Ford''s friend was also an Ylka. They were the party I saw in the first floor with 8 members before. He was the one who died back then he reported that he could no longer login after dying to Ford. So the account will be deleted once you die, huh... Taking beetle shells became a normal thing to me... After always recovering this sturdy shells after battle it grew on me and now I automatically move near the fallen beetle and take their shells. "I wonder how much this is going to fetch me once we go to the surface?" "Well it''s not sure if we''ll be picked yet so chill bro!" Ford said so while helping me take the shell out of the beetle. "You and Aira are great at doing combo moves, huh!" "She''s strong but she complains a lot though." "Hey, you talkin about me?" The beetles that was killed is being stepped on by the girl in light clothes. She''s cute though I can''t say she''s beautiful but she''s cute. With one of her hands occupied with a beetle body, she dragged it and threw it in our direction. "You''ve been collecting shells so I moved the body from there." She pointed at the place where Leona and Grazel were. Tara and Shiva seemed to talk in another place. While the three of us are collecting shells and piling the bodies in one place. Will they become zombies if we don''t burn them? "Seriously... Those two are so happy together it makes my body itch.. I somehow want to destroy that relationship." Ford said while clicking his tongue. While Aira looked at them with an unconcerned expression. I glanced at them for a moment then moved back to collecting shells. "It''s better to let them be... Some relationships don''t last let them break up without you interfering..." "Woah! Even though you''re a girl your quite cruel, Ryo-chan!" "I''m a boy... and stop calling me like that you weaboo." "Says the one who names herself in a Japanese like manner." "Kh... I''m a boy!" After we finished our collection we gathered everyone and moved together once again. [Log 1]Chapter 10: Testing We leveled up quite a bit... I opened my status and a large amount was added to my level and stats. I was to immersed in collecting spoils from monsters that I ignored the [Level Up] screen before my eyes. ___________________________________________________ Level: 9 Job : None Title: Explorer Affiliations: None ___________________________________________________ [Equipment] Weapon: Short Iron Sword/Beetle Shell Headgear: None Upper Armor: Civilian Shirt Lower Armor: Civilian Pants Cloak/Mantle: Black Hooded Cloak (Burned) Shoes: Poor Man''s Slippers Accessory 1: Ylka Rosary Accessory 2: Wooden Ring __________________________________________________ [Status] HP [Heath Point] 96 > 178 MP [Mana Point] 70 STR: 18>46 AGI: 13>42 VIT: 7>23 CON: 8>34 INT: 9 LUK: 13 DEX: 9>26 ___________________________________________________ [Skills] Mining [Lvl 1] Sword Mastery I. One-Handed Sword Mastery [Lvl 8] [70%/100%] II. Short Sword Mastery [Lvl 7] [30%/100%] Sword Arts I. Short Sword Arts [Lvl 5] [40%/100%] ? Shell Breaker [Lvl 1] [0/500 more uses to level up] ? Wave Blade [Lvl 1] [0/500 more uses to level up] ? Coil [Lvl 1] [0/300 more uses to level up] ? Double Slash [Lvl 1] [0/200 more uses to level up] Analysis [Lvl 8] ___________________________________________________ I didn''t know I had arts... I''m guessing the percentage points is a way for the skills to level up for the arts its a set amount of uses... I wonder if the quantity change by level. "I''ll try this skills... It might help me killed the Beetles faster..." "Hmm? What?" Aira trotted closer to me and asked curiously, it seems I was talking to myself again as I was looking at my status screen. "I just knew I had arts... I didn''t get to use them though... Rather, I don''t know how." "It''s easy... Just focus your mind and imagine how your body moves..." Easy for you to say every move you have in those two arts. You are already accustomed to it since you''ve been training IRL as well... Unlike me who particularly had no knowledge of swords and whatsoever... I wish there is a way so I can see how the move activates. Like when putting points in a skill in the skill window... There is an option where you can see the move before you put the skill points in. Aira went back to the group in front of me and entered their conversation. We are currently on the first floor. Seeing as everyone''s happily chatting as we moved, I felt left out... It''s fine because since the start of college everything became like that. Everyone in class grouped up during lunch, and even during class. I felt that they didn''t even want me there. That was the root of my anger to my sister. I know it''s petty but she pestered me if I made any friends the first day school started and it pissed me off... The reason of our crude yet pacifistic relationship was because of a petty fight, was because of someone as petty as me... She even said to see Mira as another elder sister, maybe she doesn''t want to have anything to do with me anymore. In this world I can mostly do anything, a world where no one can criticize me. If I''m only a burden in this life I wish to be reborn as another in a different world but... Who am I kidding such fantasies only exist in books and games... There is no such thing as magic it was only made from pure imagination gathered from fictions. "What am I doing with my life?" I muttered lightly as to not bother anyone. The hood that was taken off was once again held up in the crown of my head... I am a shadow... nothing but a shadow... A person without presence... treated as nothing but air. >[Stealth Skill Acquired] What!!? My self ridicule turned into a skill? "Ha..." Seriously? This game needs some kind of restriction on meddling with our brains... It''s as if it''s reading our thoughts ever single second... "Huh? Where is Ryo? He was just here a moment ago." Aira looks back and scans the whole area at the back region.. I''m over here though... Ah! The stealth skill is on it was also consuming my mana.. The heck? I turned the stealth skill off and my body once again appeared at the back! "Hey you saw him his no-- oh there he is! Where''d you go?" "I was here the whole time... My presence is just that small so you didn''t notice me..." "There is no way it''s like that! You have some kind of skill don''t ya?!" "Well, yeah... I just got it recently..." Too recent... I was just ridiculing myself how I was a shadow and then magically got it. "What''s the requirement?" "Self-ridicule" "Eh?" It wasn''t just Aira... Even the ones at the front looked back with curious yet questioning look... "I know it sounds crazy and all but it just appeared there... Maybe it''s not self-ridiculing but other kind of requirement." "..." They all fell silent at my explanation. Aira opens here mouth and says ''it''s okay if you don''t want to tell us'' and pats my head twice... "I''m telling the truth here!" "Yes, yes!" "You''re so cute when you''re lying, Ryo-chan!" He also pats my head twice... This guy treating me like I''m a kid! "Ryo-chan my ass wanna get kicked out of the game, Ford!?" "Scary! Waah" He runs back to the front while smiling happily and resumes walking... Aira invites me to come as well... Maybe the requirement was... To be all alone... Then suddenly Leona warns us! "Enemies... 5 of them [Shard Beetles] and some kind of Insect." "I''ll go ahead and scout using stealth wait here..." After I activated stealth I disappeared from their sights... "Hey, where area you?" "Over here!" As I answered back my stealth was no longer activated it seems stealth can''t be used while communicating... Once you let out your voice in a loud manner the skill will turn off automatically. "Ahh!" "I can''t use stealth if my voice is too loud... I need to keep my volume low..." "Test if you can use it while attacking..." "I''ll try..." I activated the stealth once again and moved right next to the shield beetle. "let''s try using shell breaker here... I wonder how to do it..." [Shell Break] My body moved automatically as I activated the skill... I could feel mana being siphoned out of me and my body strengthens as mana is siphoned out. With a swing that seemed to use every bit of my strength the shell that I could cut through was slashed inflicting heavy damage on the enemy beetle. As my strike hits my stealth skill was automatically turned off... It seems it can only be used as a surprise attack and can''t be used in the actual battle. The [Shard Beetle] staggers forward and produces a peculiar noise. Karararara... Like two woods clasped together repeatedly the noise kept on going... By the time it stopped I could hear buzzing noises getting closer at an alarming rate... 3 Beetles came and the first monster that I fought was following next to the flying beetles.. "FORD!!! EVERYONE HELP!!!!" I ran towards the direction I came from while shouting with a loud voice. As I ran past them they also started running! "Ryo? What did you do! You said you''ll just scout!" "I did! But you also said to see if my stealth skill could be used in battle!" "I didn''t mean while you''re scouting!" "Be more clear about it!" The buzzing noises could be heard moving closer... "Ah!" "Shiva!" Shiva trips and falls to the ground, Leona who saw this went back and helped Shiva... The beetles are coming near... We never fought too many enemies without strategy before... Damn it! I was too stupid! I stopped running and turned heel to the direction of Leona and Shiva. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Ford! Guard my back we''ll help those two..." "Right behind you, buddy!" I ran towards their direction after relying on Ford for protection. [Stealth] As i activated [Stealth] my body vanishes and I jumped toward the flying beetles. [Shell Breaker] Shifting my weight, I rotated my body clockwise to add force to my slash and my mana was again been siphoned to strengthen my body. "Take this!" The unknowing beetle was mowed down with my sword cutting from it''s hard horn to his sturdy shell, several cracks appeared on it''s sturdy body. My hit was good... One more... "One more time!" [Shell Breaker] I shifted my weight one again and vertically rotated my body to the enemy''s position. However this time... I couldn''t feel my mana being siphoned, my body wasn''t strengthened. My sword clashed with the beetle''s body and it made a metallic sound hitting a sturdy metal. My slash didn''t go through... Why? I activated the skill right? I checked my HP and MP and what I saw was I had 21 MP... I didn''t know how much mana [Shell Breaker] takes. Damn it... I''ve only used it three times... Does that mean... "It takes 25 MP to use one skill... So the last one failed to activate and turned in this kind of situation..." With my sword still guarded by the beetle''s body. It swung it''s arms and flung my sword, I lost my balance due to my sword being flung. The beetle flew and freefall to my direction. "Geho!" The beetle''s body was so heavy that I thought I broke some ribs... I wasn''t damaged by this guys before so I didn''t know how they counter attack but damn it hurts so much unlike the scratches I felt with those persistent hounds earlier... "Get away you, Mushiking!" [Wild Smash] Ford cleaves the beetle in half as if it was paper. ''The difference in our strength is far off!" I thought as I saw the [Shard Beetle] cut in half in mere seconds. "You okay, man?" "Yeah... Yeah... Just lost some good HP..." My HP is now at 75... God that thing''s body hurts so bad... It practically just shave off more than 50% of my life in one go. Well, I pretty much don''t have any armor so it must be that unlike these guys whose more well equipped than me. "Damn, you got your life shaves off almost immediately!" "Yeah, I seriously don''t want to feel that again..." Grezal and Aira then came in to support us while Shiva activates her healing magic unto me. "Ahh! Much better... Thanks Shiva.." "No... It was out fault in the first place..." "Don''t say that we''re a party! We have to survive till we get to the surface and bring the stupid artifact to the stupid NPC." "For a small kid, you talk big!" "I''m already 18, it''s the system''s fault it got like this..." "You''re back on your feet right?" "Yeah! Let''s end this... The giant insect in the back can spew saliva that you can''t break through... Don''t let it hit you!" "Got it!" "Let''s go!" Ford and I kicked the ground both at the same time... I took out the Beetle Shell (Green) and bashed it on the one Aira was attacking... "Need a hand?" "You''re too slow, Ryo!" [Swallowtail] The staggering beetle change its aggressiveness to me and started to attack me as I his in the shield. Aira used a skill called [Swallowtail] an [Kick Art] that''s composed of several Kick Arts. She kicked in a Horizontal-Downward, turned then kicked vertically, then docked and closed in then kicked upward, then used [Zero Gravity] and [3D Maneuver] to move freely in the air and then enforcing the fall of her kick with [Nature Magic: Wind] crushing the beetle''s shell and leaving only it''s body unarmored and it''s face flat to the ground. Taking this opportunity I made my attack I used [Dual Slash] and sliced through the thick body of the [Shard Beetle] while aiming at the body''s softest spots to make it seem effortless... The end was the Beetle was cut into many piece while its head was stuck to the ground... Since Aira destroyed the beetles shell I couldn''t get the shell but I still gathered the broken pieces, it might come in handy is what I said when she asked me why I was gathering the broken pieces. "Ryo! Stop gathering shells for now... We got company!" Two more [Shard Beetles] were coming our way. Ford and Grezal are fighting the Giant Insect now... They won''t be coming here for a while Leona and Shiva are also helping those two so we can''t request support. "I''ll help! Ryo!" Tara came in with a bow in her hand... Her small frame made her look like a child wielding a bow. [Hunt] Her eyes glowed red and she pulled the bow''s strings... She had no arrow whatsoever no were there a quiver. Sparks of blue light appeared from withing the stretched bow string. [Mana Shot: Flat] She releases her grip from the string and let''s loose the blue light and shoots off the enemy. As the blue light hits the [Shard Beetle] gets blown away as if a giant hammer hit its body. "Nice! Tara! Let''s go Ryo!" "Tara give us range support!" "Okay!" [Hunt] Her eyes again glowed red... She seemed exhausted... She grips the strings and stretches it once again... Sparks of blue light the same as before have appeared inside the bow once again. [Mana Shot: Flat] She releases the mana arrow but hits nothing... She knelt in exhaustion while heaving deep breathes... "Aira,Tara is..." "She''ll be fine... Let''s just finish the enemy and go to her aid afterwards... Her skills really take a toll since her mana can''t even take 2 shots yet." "... Let''s go!" We attacked the unscathed beetle who was closing in on us. I used [Dual Slash] to irritate it a bit for me to aggro it for a while. Aira jumps ahead and spins to add force to her kick. [Wind Dance] A combination of [Nature Magic : Wind] and [Kick Arts : Feral Dance]. Kicks of high speed and power came in a flurry. Crushing every part of the beetle''s body. [Lion''s Heel] A high-powered thrust kick appeared after [Wind Dance] blowing open a hole inside the [Shard Beetle] isn''t she a bit OP or am I just too weak? She''s too scary now! Even the [Shard Beetle''s] sturdy shells are no match for her high-powered kicks. The blown away Beetle from Tara''s preemptive strike earlier was still in a daze so I took the opportunity to kill it with [Shell Breaker]. We then went back to Tara who''s pretty exhausted. "Tara!" "Hey, you okay?" Tapping her shoulder, she looks up to me and raises her clenched with a raised thumb and radiantly smiled. By reflex I hugged her. "Eh? R, Ryo?" "Hey! Ryo!" Aira bashes my head with her fist and snapped back to my senses... "W, what happened?" "Can you even have amnesia here? You suddenly hugged Tara so I bashed you!" "Sorry... It''s just too cute... I''m weak against cute things, it makes me want to protect them and shelter them..." "You''re unexpectedly girly, for someone who''s saying that "I''m a guy"" "Uuu..." I couldn''t retort to her cheeky remark. Tara, on the other hand had her face covered with her hand... "I, I''m sorry, Tara." "N, no... I, it''s okay..." I stood up and looked to the direction where Ford and the others were. It see end they were just about to finish up... Ford and Grezal''s continuous attacks roughed up the Giant Insect and it''s body covered in cuts and bruises... Leona and Shiva are supporting whenever they can. With Ford and Grezal''s last attack the Giant Insect falls down lifelessly and the group waved at us after that. It seems we are close to the unmoving players... It was only one more room before we reach the area where the stairs are and not knowing what their circumstances was makes me nervous. "There are others in the next room... Be careful it might be PK''s..." "PK in just the start... It isn''t even beta test yet..." "Yeah..." "Well no use hanging up about it... Let''s go and find out what their doing..." "Before that here''s the formation we''ll be taking upon..." I advised them into using a new formation just as a precaution if the players waiting in their are really PK''s... After approving of it we moved slowly into the Dome where that Giant Insect should have been. [Log 1]Chapter 11: Alone Once Again - Cruel Hearts Labyrinth (5) Now... I am moving alone and the other have taken a different route... Using [Stealth] I walked across the dimly lit corridor that''s connecting this room and the other room... They made another passage that Shiva''s [Unearth Ground] had made. "Well this is intriguing..." They were just sitting there... I wonder what they''re waiting... I walked up to one of them and turned off my [Stealth] skill... "What are you waiting for?" "When did you!?" The thin man swung his sword at my direction and grazed my left arm... I connected with Grazel with telepathy and said. "They''re PK''s don''t come out... I''ll handle it! Head to the surface... Continue in working that passage!" [I understand] After I warned them not to come out the thin man once again swing his sword vertically near my neck as to if to cut it cleanly. "Who are you talking to you shit!" "Woah! Watch your language bro! Don''t go attacking without saying something! "Everyone! Over here! Huh? Where is he?" "This is too easy! I''ll get out of here unscathed!" I used [Stealth] once again and passed through them effortlessly... I could hear the boss saying "Where is it?" "You dumb shit, you let it go!" "What''re we gonna do now... If we could only kill them and take the artifact then we''ll be as good as accepted!" So they were after the artifact that we got huh... "Where are you going?" "Huh?" Slice! Close! What the! How did he? "I''m quite perceptive, see... I can see you though not wholely." "Well damn, my covers blown... Someone could see through my skill... Head to the surface don''t stop!" [Ryo! We''ll go there just keep him company for a while...] "No... Head to the surface... I''ll get there..." I never had a player as an enemy before... It will be hard to counter it''s attacks since its not like monsters with movement and attack patterns... "Who were you talking to? Is that a skill?" "Hmm? I wonder..." So they still don''t know about [Telepathy], huh... "Arrogant fool... Die by my spear!" Thrusting his spear forward with his arm he aimed near my heart... "Shit!" I moved to my left side as I took out the sword from it''s scabbard and moved forward to hit the man with its hilt... But was immediately avoided... He''s skilled! I can''t even move properly, he must''ve been training IRL... I only knew moves from the games and shows I''ve watched so far so I didn''t really know how to move with the sword first hand. I then fully swung the sword to his body only to be blocked by the spear''s body. Tsk! His movements are like those in Chinese movies! I have to be more creative to surpass this guy... "Done? Then let me!" His spear''s head glowed blood-red... This... A skill? "Haah! Blood Drake!" Triple simultaneous thrust from the spear flew towards my directions. I moved my sword to block the thrusts but... It''s movements were fast that I couldn''t follow it any longer... Arms, legs, and the lower part of my torso had been struck. My HP was lowered to 120... I don''t have much armor like his and I''m pretty weak in fighting enemies I haven''t fought before... [Analysis] I didn''t use it until the enemy is dead before so I don''t know how the skill will work against living ones... [Three Unsecured Points have been detected...] I almost lost balance as I saw the unguarded parts of his body... It''s impossible in the back of his arms as he moves skillfully with the spear... The only two. Choices were his tendons and the side of his torso... Afterwards few more attacks will do... Then... "Huuuuu..." I took a deep breath and ran to him with a sword in hand and took a shell from my inventory... "Having a shield won''t help you! Die!" Thrusting his spear forward, I lean to the side to push it with the shell and extended my sword as towards his direction and swung vertically aiming at his tendons, to which he moves back to dodge. With his balance disrupted I kicked the ground taking advantage of the situation and threw the shell to make him lose his balance entirely! "You won''t!" Thrusting his spear towards the shell that was thrown towards him he kept his balance but was too late to notice that I''m already within the radius the spear couldn''t reach... Slashing his tendons and making him kneel in agony... [Double Slash] I sliced his arms loosening his grip on the spear as I teared his muscles apart making it powerless and lose control... "Gaaah! S, stop! P, please!" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. My eyes looked at him with pity, after you attacked me earlier as I was moving to get away from this situation, you stop me. Now you want to stop? I held my sword up high and slash downward as to cut of the player''s neck... Blood splattered all over and his head rolled towards the corridor where I was earlier... "Jean! Where a--" "Oh shit!" "Bleurgh!" I stood there motionless with a bloodied clock and a sword... I turned towards a them... Having noticed my movements they took a step back and held their swords unsteadily... "D, don''t come near!!! I''m warning you..." This guys didn''t see me when I used [Stealth] right? [Stealth] I activated [Stealth]... The people then started to be cautious! "Where are you!?" "B, boss! Maybe it''s g--" I slashed his head off and kicked his rolling head towards the one they called "Boss" "Huh? Julian? Where are you? Oh shit!" "S, shit! Run! Waaa--" I nabbed the guy who was about to run and slashed his neck off the moment, he was about to shout. "Jorge? What the fuck! Jorge stop playing games!" Tap... Tap... Tap... Sounds of footsteps could be heard from the direction from where the man named Jorge came from... "W, who are you!!!? Aren''t you a player? Why are you PK''ing other players." "Says the one who wanted to take the quest item from us..." [Shell Break] I moved onward and slashed through him, he managed to block with a sword but that little glimpse of hope was shattered as my blade collided with it... Now then for the finish... "I''ll torture you for a moment..." [Double Slash] "Noooooo!" I''m not sadistic by any, means but as I slashed through his body and heard him scream... My mouth made an arc... similar to that of a child who played with his toy happily through out the day... ¡Á¡Á¡Á "What happened to you?" "Nothing much..." My clock and sword was covered in blood and as I reached the surface. Ford came and talked to me while I was busy trying to take the blood off my cloak in the fountain''s water. "You killed em, huh?" "No matter... They were trying to kill me I only returned the favor..." "You''re pretty mean..." "I''m a guy after all!" "That doesn''t explain anything at all!" Is what he said afterwards as the last bit of blood was already gone... Killing, huh... It felt so real back then... This must be how it felt when you try to kill someone... Still this one a game... So no matter how many I killed they will respawn but this time since it was still the beta tester advancement they won''t be coming back until the release of the game... "Ahh! I feel refreshed! Huh? What''s wrong?" Everyone took their distance off me... What is it the blood? Do I still have some? Do I smell? Oh man... "Y, you felt r, refreshed? A, after killing people?" Leona said in a scared manner. "Hii!" Tara followed "N, no way!" Shiva took a step back as she said so. "Stay away from us!" Grazel held his weapon up and pointed it towards me. "Ryo, I won''t hesitate to use force on you!" Aira said so as she gripped her fist and held it up. Well now? "What are you guys talking about!" "You just said you felt refreshed!" "That was because it didn''t feel icky anymore... I took off the blood and so I felt refreshed!" The fountain was now covered in red because of the washed off blood from my cloak... Now, I''m soaking wet though the feeling was unlike earlier... It wasn''t unpleasant. As I have explained it they relaxed themselves and some breathed a sigh of relief... "I thought you''re gonna turn crazy and start killing people!" "Yeah whatever!" """Pfft! Ahahahahahahah!""" Everyone laughed it off... I smiled gently afterwards hearing their melodic laughter... "Well, I might turn crazy!" I grinned as i scratch my head then they all had their guards up once again... This time I laughed loudly but then was followed by Aira''s head pummeling and said "Don''t scare us like that!" and gently smiled... Now we only need to find this [Aurum] and deliver him the freaking artifact... [Log 1]Chapter 12 : Back to Town and The Kobold King (1) "This guy''s hard to find..." "Yeah..." Leona replies on Ford''s remark... "Guard" Tara follows up, she points to the guard in the guards house. "Good Idea... We didn''t ask anyone before..." "Huh? How did you find the dungeon then?" "What do you mean? We made a hole to the ground when Shiva sensed a large room under the town... We kind of got to know where the exit after we explored the first floor..." "Ah..." So they picked the easy way in, huh? "Let''s just ask them they know everything that''s moving in town... Well some of them does..." The only one who''s information is reliable was the Old man from the mining shaft. I''ll ask him again once we don''t have anymore options. "Okay then... I appoint you as the messenger by the power of a team leader!" "What? Go ask them yourselves it''s just an NPC it''s not another player." Ford starts to fidget while glancing at me with his big eyes... It would be a cute appearance if you were a girl but you being a guy just makes it look disgusting and creepy, "B, but!" "Stop that you''re creeping me out! It looks disgusting!" "Ouch!" I kicked him in the middle of his legs. As it hits he assumes the posture of having kicked in the balls... But being in town means that... "You don''t really feel it... Haa! Stop acting and talk to the guard." You only feel the hit once your outside the safety zone. You will receive damage every little thing you do... Like kicking the rock so hard, tripping, cutting yourself... Other kinds of stupid actions may end up killing you outside the safety zone. But once you''re inside you are safe from all that. Ford stands up and scratches his head while saying... "If you were not a girl, I could have punched your lights out!" "I''m a guy damn it!" And kick him again towards the direction of the NPC... looking back the others had a wry smile and laughed lightly at our argument. By the way NPC names won''t be shown as long as they don''t tell you what their names are... So the map only indicates their names as such like [Guard A : West Gate] and [Guard B : West Gate] You wouldn''t know that it''s an NPC if you don''t have the map data of that area... Since I have the whole map Area of the city I see the NPC names like [Noble A : Noble of Hentric Family] and others like that... There is also [Grocer Man A] in there... In shops however, you will know their name once you enter the shop... since it was bad manners to keep your name from a costumer. It''s business after all trust is what matters to the consumers and the entrepreneurs. Ford goes back to us and announces his findings... "He said to go find some store named [Shattered Horn] and ask the shopkeeper the name [Delton Rouge]" "Well, that''s specific... Anything that can speed things up is welcome I guess..." I said so in accordance to his speech... It''s a shop so I can sell the remaining shells and shattered orbs stashed in my inventory. I need a new sword too... This one has been chipped and had been cracked all over... "So... Where is the shop?" Everyone was looking at me... Wait... Am I the only one who had full map coverage over the city? "Don''t tell me you guys don''t have your maps in 100%?" They all nod at the same time... Why? You guys! "Alright I''ll pass along the map data..." "N, no it''s okay! We don''t want to take your hard earned map data! Just lead us there instead!" "Huh? That''s troublesome work! I would rather follow you than you follow me..." "That''s why we want you to do it!" This guys don''t want to work hard! Then Tara comes near and tugs my cloak. "Can''t?" With upturned eyes she said gently... My eyes widened... S, such explosively destructive cuteness! D, damn! I hate to say this but I lose... I refrained from hugging her since everyone''s around... "T, then I, it can''t be helped... Haha.. Ha.. Ha..." I averted my gaze back at the map and look around for the [Shattered Horn]... It''s south of the west gate... It''s pretty close, we''ll be over in no time... -- It''s been thirty minutes... since we left the west gate... right now we are heading south to the Armor Shop called [Shattered Horn]. [Shattered Horn] is one of the many Armor Shops in the city, the armor''s are at dirt cheap prices so it''s a well known... to the NPC''s at least. As we were walking bunch of players were also on their way there... I wonder did they finish the quest? However, my assumptions seems a bit wrong... They were still gathering info on where the place is... This is a competition of who enters the game, so no one''s helping each other except for their own teams. "There''s still an awful lot of people here... Can they finish the mission by the pace they are going?" "Let them be..." "Says the lot who took the easy way in to the dungeon! I had a hard time finding that place you know!" "Ah! Hahahaha!" Ford laughs heartily as my eyes turns cold at the people behind me as I was being their tour guide since they didn''t want to be bothered looking at the map every time... Then, I leisurely moved my eyes to the players on the street... It was morning outside... being inside the labyrinth for too long I didn''t have a sense of time. Well, technically I did but I didn''t bother to look at it as it''s a bother. "Here we are..." An Elk with a Broken Horn was posted up above the door way to the shop. However the Elk didn''t look like a harmless animal more like a dangerous wild monster that would grind your meat into it''s teeth if it was still alive. I opened the door to the shop and saw 7 players. It''s an armor shop and also a part-time bar so it''s a place where you can relax and feel gloomy... From the looks of those 7 they were already at their wits end... They didn''t know where to find the labyrinth and the time''s running out. "I got picked yet it''s hard to find the god forsaken place! Does it even exist!" "Yeah! I mean I didn''t study for my finals exam to play this game... I failed it and now I''ll fail here too?" "Waaah! I hate this kind of life! Even in games I''m a failure!" Three man sitting in the nearby table were whining... If you looked more you''ll find it! Stop whining! Is what I wanted to say but I didn''t want to attract much attention.. I went to the armor shopkeeper/Bar Master and asked about [Delton Rouge]. He then gives us the key leading to the basement. "Don''t you think it''s too easy?" "Meh... I like things that are easy..." "Haah! Ford you go first!" "Sure, it''s not like monsters will come out after we open that door..." Stop saying ominous things... "Okay..." Click... Clack... Traaaaa... Click... With the door unlocked we opened it and found a single figure. The map says the figure''s name is Delton Rouge... It''s title is... "Oh shit!" "Hey what''s up!" "Run! It''s after the artifact!" [Egour Nolted: The Kobold King] seriously, you only flipped the name backwards... Few health gauges floated at the figure''s right side... "No way! I thought it was too easy!" "That''s what I''ve been telling you!" The room warps and everything changes drastically... It became a spacious dome filled with icky meat like walls... The Map says it''s [Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth Floor 4] "It has another floor?" GRUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! "Well, damn!" Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. It''s level is 16... We''re not even close to it by 5 levels... I''m still far from it about 7 levels... and the one who''s level is the highest was Grazel with level 10. Leona and Tara''s level was 8 and Aira''s level was 9 so was Ford, Shiva is level 7 since she didn''t participate in battles that much. The monster shrieked... That I almost banged my eardrums broken. "Leona, Shiva, Tara prepare range support and magic support. Ford, Grazel keep the enemy busy, Aira, you and me will take on vanguard position... Make as much damage as possible..." "Got it!" "Let''s go everyone!" """Ohh!""" [Earthen Shackles] The Kobold King''s feet was shackled by Shiva''s Earth Magic but was to frail that it only took a second before it could move again... "I''m sorry!" "No worries keep on supporting!" [Hunt] Tara''s eyes glowed red... Indicating that she''s already taking aim on her enemy... [Mana Shot: Pierce] In the Kobold King''s hand held a giant axe swung it up cleaving the mana arrow into particles... "Magic''s useless?" "Ford, Grazel, Aira let''s go!" I ran forward a bit earlier than those three I activated analysis to see if there is any kind of openings in it''s movements but to no avail... I swung my sword and activated [Double Slash] "Aira!" "Okay!" [Lion Tempest] Invoking two skills once again [Wind Magic : Tempest] and [Kick Arts : Lion''s Heel] she moved with much speed that if it connects to a shard beetle it would crush into pieces... Her kick connects but was hindered by the Kobold King''s axe... Only making it move backwards a bit. The Kobold King swung it''s axe downward, Aira kicks the axe''s side and jumps backward however, before her foot even got close to the ground another swing came into view... Aira closes her eyes as if accepting it. "Keep your eyes open! Damn it!" [Shell Breaker] Blocking off the Kobold King''s relentless attack I moved in to save Aira... "Ford, Grazel what are you doing! Keep it busy!" I still can''t find some openings nor parts where the Kobold King''s armor lack defence. Ford and Grazel swoops in and swung their weapons forward in synchronicity. Series of loud banging metal rang across the room. Just from that sound will make you think that a fierce battle of strength is on going... "Aira, you okay? Do you have sufficient mana to use skills?" "Y, yeah I do... But this is hard..." "It''s a boss for a reason..." Range supports are still quite effective even though it''s being deflected every now and then.... relying on [Analysis] does not get me anywhere... Flanking the enemy in two different direction and assaulting it in the middle while it''s occupied of the first two attacks still won''t work it''s strength was far above ours... and will 100% deflect all of the attacks from every different angle... What to do... "Aira... My analysis can''t pick up any kind of openings... May be because my skills are still far too weak or because our levels don''t match up. I''ll bash its axe with [Shell Breaker] and try to follow up with [Feral Dance] or [Lion''s Heel]. " I then activated Telepathy and talked to Ford and Grazel simultaneously. "You guys follow up with Aira after she strikes with your strongest skills... I''ll notify the three supporters to keep an eye on enemy''s counter attack." "Got it!" "Got it!" "Give me a opening! I''ll bash its axe." "Ooh!" I kicked the ground as hard as I could to increase the strength of my swing. Ford and Grazel gets mowed down as I entered the monster''s aggro radius... I gripped my sword hard and activated [Shell Breaker] as the Kobold King''s Axe swings down towards my direction. As our weapons collided, I almost let my sword be flung as the monster''s strength was much more stronger than mine, with sheer willpower I tried to at least make its hand flung back... "Aira! Dive!" "Got it!" [Feral Dance] Flurry of kicks were directed at the Kobold King''s belly, the continuous swift and strengthened kicks left a mark in the Kobold King''s belly for a moment... As the Kobold King regained it''s balance it once again swung its sword down towards Aira, then Ford came swinging his great sword making the Kobold King''s swing look useless... "You got an enemy here as well!" Grazel swings down his weapon and the Kobold King jumps back a few meters and growls angrily... "He''s enraged! Shiva block his vision now!" [Sky Pillar] Pillar of 10 meter thick long and a height that reached the ceiling rose up from the ground, in accordance to the first one 6 more similar pillars rose up in different tactical locations. Shiva a Crazlun had more effectiveness with Earth Magic, her magic power is way above mine even though she''s lower than me by two levels, and also with her Racial Skill [One with the Earth] her magical power rises up even more while on cold hard land, making it possible to create seven pillars to be placed at specific spots. I then telepathically instructed Tara to move within the pillars in a certain amount of range and agitate the Kobold King so that it would lower it''s defense. [Hunt] Whilst moving pillar by pillar her eyes once again glowed red... Her movements stopped and her bowstring stretched aimed at the enemy''s right shoulder. [Mana Arrow : Flat] Blue light flickered and materialized, an arrow with a blunt like arrowhead was created with one eye closed and the other looked directly on the enemy''s position. She loosened her grip at the stretched bowstring the blue light flew to the direction of the enemy. The Kobold King sensed the vibrations of the Magically materialized arrow, it looked to its direction with rage filled eyes and swung it''s axe and the arrow was dispersed into particles as it came into contact with it. "It''s reflexes are fast too..." "Ford, Grazel keep up with our movements the next time Tara fires we''ll enter..." ""Got it!"" Our movements hidden by the erected pillars agitated the Kobold King and soon it started to move carelessly... Summoning two lesser kobolds he instructs them to find every living being in the room... "Well him just being alive is troublesome enough! He just needed to make a lesser version of himself..." Although the Lesser Kobolds are only level 6 it''s still much higher than my stats, my race is the weakest after all... Aira and I moved within the pillars shadow and flanked the lesser kobolds. Cutting the parts that supports the body''s stature and hand movements, it fell down powerless making it easy for Aira to kill it in one hit. The Kobold King senses its minions death moved to the place where it was killed but with Tara following it, it only gave her a few seconds of opening... She materialized yet another arrow but this time the arrowhead is a pointy one that suggested piercing into another unlike the first one. [Mana Arrow : Pierce] Letting her arrow fly, the Kobold King failed to notice the flying arrow at his back successfully hit it''s target, it''s left arm spurted out blood as it growled in anger. With this chance Ryo and Aira swoop in and hit the Kobold King hard enough to make it tumble a few meters away... "It''s HP is at 20%" "Yes!" "A little more!" The Kobold King growled in agony and put down its weapon thrusting it deep underground and threw its armor to the ground. "Heh! What is it surrendering!" "Something''s not right! Keep alert!" "Hii!" What we saw was... [Log 1]Chapter 13 : Back to Town and The Kobold King (2) Its body emitted a black smoke, its eyes glinted red full of rage and anger... The enemy was the [Kobold King : Notled Egour] We were petrified by it''s gaze, no one moved as our gazes were instilled in one direction. Its armor thrown and weapon sunk deep underground. It''s claws began to grow bigger and it''s body smaller and more mascular... "This..." Everyoine was on guard... But what we saw was... nothing but blood... "Ahh!!" The great sword fell with a loud "clang", there we saw Ford''s arm was cut off... Only the split second our gazes were instilled in the cries of our comrade... Ford''s status in the party was [Open Wound] "Ford!" "Graaah!" It was a horrifying sight! Blood spurted from the missing arm. It''s supposed to be a game, why isn''t it shards of data being ripped... I knew this earlier but seeing it now makes it more realistic... How the players are hurt due to an attack... It would cause trauma to people who had low tolerance to violence and gore. A body then flew towards our direction... Its hair shined gold and its body fell with a thud... Her frail and slender body lay lifeless on the cold hard ground... "L, Leona!" Shiva raised her voice and ran towards the lifeless Leona... Her HP had turned 0. What happened? I didn''t know... It all happened in the blink of an eye... Ford''s HP was decreasing as every second pass. "Shiva! Dock!" The figure of Shiva who ran with all her might to Leona''s position had an ominous looking shadow on her back... It was the Kobold King with its claws held up high and saliva falling from its mouth. Its eyes deranged from anger as its claws moved to slice its target... [Lion''s Heel] One fierce move collided with the Kobold King''s claws causing the Kobold King''s body to move backwards... its HP seemed to be at 17% but we didn''t attack it... Its status was [Black Haze] and [Berserk]. Then Aira followed up with [Swallowtail] leaving the Kobold King defenseless to others. Tara activated [Hunt] and aimed at her target and released [Mana Shot : Flat] as the arrow hits the Kobold King lost it''s balance and Aira, Grazel, Tara and I swoop in for an all out attack. I activated [Shell Breaker] and [Double Slash] together, if Aira could simultaneously use two different skills to create a new one the I can too right? With the Kobold King still on the ground I mowed him down further and with Grazel''s overwhelming strength he followed up! Tara shot 4 piercing arrows from afar that seemed to crucify and stop the kobold king from getting up. Lastly, Tara with all her might usedthe last of her MP and used [Feral Dance] taking the last of the boss'' HP together with her MP. Its body along with the black haze was eaten by the looming ground little by little... "Ha... Ha... Ha..." "W, we did it..." "L, Leona, I''m sorry..." The direction of our gazes moved towards Leona''s cold body... It''s like reality the body didn''t vanish... It only grew cold as the warmth from it''s body was removed, on the other side I saw Ford lying unconscious with Grazel ripping some cloth... Did he have nursing skills? But it''s good that he knows... We failed to save Leona from the Kobold King''s attacks... She won''t be able to play this game for much longer... "Shiva, see if Leona''s okay... Do you know her IRL?" "Yeah... I, I''ll try... I''m logging out for a moment..." "Yeah..." Then after that her body lie unconscious is this how I looked when I logged out? Tara moves Shiva''s body close to her. Then the ground of the room revealed the same magical seals that appeared after we defeated the monster house... The pillars moved back down to the ground as if they weren''t there in the first place... Ford''s arm healed and returned, Leona''s body got its colors back... D, did she come back to life? Then after a moment Shiva comes back and relogged in. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "S, she didn''t answer her phone!" "What? I''m alive again! Hell yeah!" """Eh?""" Everyone including myself except for Ford who was still unconscious looked at her with a blank expression... "H, hey? Something wrong?" "You died!" "Yeah! I know!" "Then, How?" "I dunno, magic I guess..." So everything can be solved with magic, huh? "Everything went black and I saw this Death Timer... It only has 360 seconds in it when everything turned greyish to white... By the time it went white I could open my eyes again and move my body too... The whole Death Timer was well, about 1080 seconds... I dunno..." "So there''s a timer before death and you were in luck because you were revived by the magic circle..." "Ah! Ford''s conscious!" "Damn! That really hurt, I thought I was gonna die..." "Well, you almost died..." His stats are back to normal and his HP is increasing at a fast pace. Visible cuts and bruises from earlier were no longer there... "You know when my arm as cut off it felt real... It really hurt bro! I mean I cut myself once a small cut, I cried like a baby of how deep it was and it hurt for about a week." "That''s what you get I guess..." "I didn''t feel anything though everything just went blank after something hit me from behind..." "Kobold King''s really tough, huh?" "Sure is..." With Ford and Grazel''s remark everyone in the party lay down exhausted... "Now we find [Aurum]" "Yeah..." "Another wild goose chase... Why didn''t the barkeep tell us that there was a crazy monster hiding in the basement..." "Meh... I dunno..." "Is that really the artifact that the Kobold King was defending?" "Maybe it''s a catalyst item to summon the real Kobold King... and if you didn''t have it the first time you get here you''ll be able to talk to a normal [Delton Rouge]" "Ahahahaha!" I feel tired... But we only have one more day to finish the advancement quest. I wonder how many have already passed... "Are we the first ones to come here though?" "I don''t know... Hahahahaha..." "Hey, what''s this..." Ruby-like gem about the size of an Egg was found by Tara who looked for items from the boss... She only managed to find this... I wonder what this is... "Who has identification or appraisal skill?" "I do..." Shiva moves forward and I hand it over to her... "It says... [Garnet of Castalia]" "This other thing..." "Oh right we didn''t appraise it earlier... The crown... It''s called [Crown of Kings] and it''s missing a piece in the middle..." "So it''s a pair item..." "Maybe... Put it together..." They handed it over to me and moved as far away as possible... Seriously, I''m going to take the hit if something comes out? I input the Garnet in the Crown but nothing happened... Then... Tap... Tap... Tap... Sounds of steps could be heard in the location in the darker part of the room where the magic circle didn''t manage to enter... "You... Is that!" Ah! Is it him... I opened my map and saw his name... [Aurum] [Log 1]Chapter 14: Aurum The Labyrinths Keeper and The Trial Aurum Marxian, The Labyrinth''s Keeper, was held captive by the Kobold King. The Kobold King, Delton Rouge, was a human that was transformed as he took the [Garnet of Castalia] without the [Crown of Kings] Delton Rouge was deemed to be a heathen who tried to steal one of the Olden Kings'' Treasures and was forced to transform and leave his humanity. Making him the Kobold King he is now... The [Black Haze] that enveloped the Kobold King''s body by the last second was the Olden Kings hatred towards the thief. So even though he gained power, his life continuously decreased in his every move. And so here we are led by the one who called himself Aurum. It was a bright room decorated with magic circles to as to defend himself from Rouge''s advances... Now that Rouge was dead. He was able to move away from the room... "This is the [Crown of Kings], I surely left it on the hidden room on the second floor guarded by the [Halberd Orcs], defeating it is a great feat..." Voice of amazement came from Aurum as he examined the [Crown of Kings] "Umm... We were sent here by a person in authority to present to you the [Crown of Kings]" "We had a great deal of troubles just to get it to you, so it better be worth it! The spoils that is!" "Hey! Aira don''t be like that!" "He''s just an NPC, so it''s okay." Aurum tilted his as if to question what was being talked about by our group. "P, please do not bother yourself with their talk, it is okay to ignore it..." "Ah! Yes... Back to our main subject... The [Crown of Kings] is back to my possession once again. I, thank you brave individuals... I, present to you master Cyan''s Weapons." "T, this is!" Several weapons danced in the air and stopped as Aurum flicked his finger and slowly encircled us as the weapons lowered itself. Scythe, Hammer, Axe, Sword, Great sword, Knuckles, Gauntlets, Bow, Staff, Wand, Book, Dagger, and a Sickle. Numerous weapons encircled the whole party, Aurum gestured and said "Please pick the weapon of your choice" and bowed lightly. Everyone had a grin in their faces... As have I since I was also excited in picking the weapon of my choice. Before we took a step forward to our weapons Aurum said. "These weapons were created by Cyan, One of the Olden Kings, and had made this weapons loyal to a single entity. Now that that person is dead another master must be picked. A trial will be placed upon the receiver as you take hold of the weapon, may you survive this trial." The ominous warning he told us made us step back before we even moved forward. What will happen if we fail it? We asked such questions but Aurum did not have an answer... Is this an anime with vampires that can only be defeated with cursed weapons? It seems me and Ford were thinking the same thinking and was anticipating what would happen if we Fail the trial. We will lose our sanity (In-Game) and we will be forced to be purged by another player. "Okay, everyone step forth!" Aurum suggests as such and we moved to our designated weapons. Leona to the Staff, Shiva to the Staff as well this two girls didn''t seem to want to move away from each other. Tara takes on the Bow and Aira on the Gauntlets. Ford moved towards the Great Sword and I moved to the Scythe and Grazel moved towards the Hammer. "Now that you''ve all picked! Take the weapons and took hold of them and start the trial." All at the same time we took our weapon of choice... Then once again like when I logged in earlier... The nauseous feel came a lot stronger only this time I couldn''t hold it back any longer... I vomited violently... "Ahh... Everyone... Where are you?" I was alone... That was the start of the trial ¡Á¡Á¡Á When did I faint? I don''t even know... Huh? I''m back at school... My body it''s like always... This fat, unattractive body of mine once again in my vision... Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! What was I doing earlier... I forgot... I seem to have forgotten about something... "Yo! Ryo! What ya doing!" "Huh? Ah! Oh! Art the heck what''s with that getup! You look like some guy back from the 80''s bro!" "Hey! You forgot it''s costume contest today at the auditorium! Don''t tell me you forgot to bring your costume!" "Huh? Costume? What costume!?" "What the! You forgot! Damn it we''re supposed to go in a pair bro!" "I''m sorry! I just!" This... I remember this... But it''s foggy I still can''t make it out... "I''m feeling a little dizzy I''m going to the infirmary." "Tch! Got it!" "Sorry dude!" Moving forward he walked like a jackass while flinging his fingers in every girl he sees. That guy he doesn''t change. Thud! "Ah!" I staggered forward and looked back... "Hey, Pig! Where''s the money you owe me?" "M, money? I don''t owe you money!" "Huh?" I seriously don''t know what he''s talking about. I didn''t owe anyone money... "Can we talk for a bit!" Stolen story; please report. Another guy comes up my back and hangs his arms around my neck. I just noticed but the people around us were already evading my gaze. "No! I don''t want to..." I wriggled to escape but this guy''s holding me in neck hard that I can''t let go... Then a punch came and aimed for my solar plexus... "Gaah!" "You should just shut up and do what we say! You fat shit!" "Guugah!" They dragged me to the restroom and started beating the shit out of me... Series of kicks and punches landed in every part of my body... I hate it! I hate it! If only I had power! "Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate!" A voice in my head starts to shout... Repeatedly it shouted "Hate" as every punch and kick once again landed on my body. "You should''ve just given us the money! Shitty fatty!" After taking the money in my wallet he threw the empty wallet back at me and spitted. I cried... I could only think of hating them... I couldn''t do a thing... Why did I even lived a shitty a life in the first place... It''s much easier if were to die... "Yes! Yes! Easy! Easy! Die! Die!" I walked out the bathroom with my tattered clothing. Girls looked at me with disgusted eyes and ran as far away as soon as they saw me... That''s right I remember now... This is the school''s foundation day... But why am I here? Why am I relieving this painful memory... I staggered forward as I lost my balance due to my fractured leg. I was on my way to the infirmary... Hoping to get some medical assistance. Everyone whom I asked for in the corridor didn''t even want to get close to me... Either I was disgusting or they didn''t want to get caught in my problems. "G, get away from me!" I got hit by a girls handbag... That''s right... Why do I even bother to ask for help... Ah, it hurts my leg hurts so bad... "Hey the pigs trying to go to the infirmary! Laugh with me everyone!" "Hey! Didn''t you hear the boss? He said laugh! So you guys should laugh!" "Ha..." "Haha...." "Hahahahaha...." """"""HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"""""" With the boss'' henchman''s remark the people who gathered started laughing little by little until they made a chorus on their laughter and started adding some cruel words as they laughed. Then the boss started kicking as well... With the henchman''s gesture the gathered people started to throw and things and close in to kick my pitiful body. The boss was a son of a big shot, me only enrolling as a scholar couldn''t stand up to him... "S, stop!" "Pigs don''t talk do they?" Another helluva kick followed coming from the boss'' left leg. "If you want us to stop! Squeal like a pig!" His eyes were like a madman... Smiling with a crazy look on his face he prompted me to squeal... "Squeal! Squeal!" Cheers coming from the crowd as they shouted "squeal!" in synchronicity. I could only cry... No one would help me... My sister, Mira and the others... Everyone was there... They looked down upon me... This world is a scary place to live in for someone like me... "Are you giving up?" Amidst the cruel cheers of the crowd I heard a single voice... I don''t know who it was... It looked like a girl... Wearing a burned black cloak that hid her silver hair. "Should I end you here? Randell? or do you still wish to proceed even if you know that this will only break your heart further..." A question... It''s as if time had stopped... The constant cheers stopped and everyone was standing with a blank expression as if they wore mask on their heads... "What good will it be if I continue? My life is basically ruined... This is the reason why I didn''t go to school anymore... This day was the worst day of my life!" "I see..." She materializes a giant scythe on her right hand... and looks at me with a saddened expression... "Too bad... I guess you were meant to fail this test after all..." Test? What test? What is this isn''t it a dream? What''s with that scythe... "Die for me... Randell Hall!" She kicked the ground and sliced her scythe downwards... I closed my eyes, am I dead? I opened them again... and saw myself in a different angle... This time my hand was gripping the scythe. I am in that girls body... My body somehow was able to block the slice she made. "It''s time for the confirmation... What do you wish for... Randell?" "I wish for power... to fight them... to shatter their pride... to erase their cursed mentality!" However none of those words were uttered by me... I wasn''t the one talking... In literal way of speaking it WAS me who was talking but it was another body, an aura different from mine. A person full of rage shouted those words not me... "This is the real you! Randell! Your cowardly and weak self makes you unworthy of thine weapon... I have no intention of letting someone touch my body with a half-assed determination. Fare thee well, may the next time we meet may you be different." Her words rang soundly in my ears then everything went black... The world everything... Became silent... Then I was back to the bright room in front of the floating scythe. [Log 1]Chapter 15: Quest Complete and Time of Leisure "You are the only one who failed, Ryo..." Aurum said as he closed his eyes... "You chose Selvyria as your weapon, it is a wise yet stupid decision. Her type is one of the meanest of all Cyan''s creations she will break your heart as you relieve your most hated memory." If I were to continue and finish that trial to the end of the day... My heart would''ve been seriously broken and I''ll be a mindless puppet controlled by the Scythe. "It seems you knew what would have happened to you if you kept going on the trial..." "No... I didn''t I just didn''t have it in me to continue..." "I see... Selvyria despise cowards above all... So she left you!" "Hey don''t say that like I''ve been dumped by a girl..." "Got dumped by a weapon!" Everyone started laughing, I wonder how their trial was... Mine was psychological trauma, so maybe physical? I still feel scared as I remember that day... and this weapon just had to pick it... If it was my quarrel with sis then I would''ve seriously and easily finished the trial and have gotten a weapon. "Still it seems Selvyria wants to see your growth... Though you will not be able to use her at her perfect state. She''s still sharp as a sword when it comes to cutting things..." Aurum says so and gives me the clothed scythe... She said she won''t let a cowardly person like me touch her body... Isn''t she a bit tsundere for a weapon? If she wants to stick with me she could''ve just said so... Now that I think about it she used my avatar in the trial... I wonder why? Did she have no physical form? "Thank you Aurum..." "Keep her safe..." "I will..." Huh? I can''t insert it to the inventory? "Hey! I can''t insert it in the inventory!? You guys can right?" "Yeah!" "Eh? Defective weapon eh?" "No way... Aurum?" "I don''t know?" He moves his head left to right while raising both his hands like a christian who''s singing in the church... "This is too big to carry..." "I can hold it if you want?" Ford suggests so, while his hand came closing in to the clothed scythe. Sparks of violet lightning came from the scythe as Ford''s hand came near it... Electrocuting him. "What''s with that weapon! It actually damaged my HP!" "The weapon picks it''s wielder so... You can''t take hold of that!" "But he failed the trial? What''s with that?" "I seriously don''t know Cyan only left me his weapons talk to him if you want!" Aurum replies as such... It seems he''s irritated for having to many things hidden from him by the Cyan guy... If there was a way then it would been much easier. "Before I forgot... This 100 Ardelan Gold Coins and the Mantle." Ah! A customizable mantle! Sweet! I open the customization settings and changed it''s color to black and changed it''s name to [Mantle of Darkness], the others wore colorful ones, specially ford he wore a pink one and named it [Pink Power] with a heart in it. Are you gay or what? He actually did it as a joke but after knowing that he can''t change it''s color any further he despaired so hard! He was gonna slash himself until his HP hit 0. But was stopped by Grazel as he held both of Ford''s arms... Aurum then acknowledges our actions and thus the quest ended and we were teleported back to the surface before entering the room in the basement. [Cruel Heart''s Labyrinth Fourth Floor Map Data added to the Database] ¡Á¡Á¡Á "Waah! We looked like that when we were walking to look for the dungeon too, right?" Ford, Grazel and I, leisurely sat at the foot of the giant tree where the quest originally started. The girls went to town to sightsee. "Hey! You guys didn''t even need to look like that..." "Yeah! We were pretty lucky to have Shiva in our party! We went straight down to the dungeon after all!" "I on the other hand... Ha... I kind of feel tired when I think about it... Mentally since I don''t really exert any physical strength in this game." "The mission can''t be finished by being alone after all... I mean 7 people were required to open the hidden chamber on the 2nd floor right?" "Well, yeah..." "Here some food... Our stamina and satisfaction meter is only 7%" "Oh! I didn''t see that... I was paying too much attention on the enemy during the fight... Did the girls eat yet?" "They''ll be fine, besides their roaming around the town and well there is too many tea shops in there right? I mean you scouted the whole town, you should''ve seen some tea shops in there." "Let''s see... I''ll locate them first then I''ll talk to them through telepathy." I opened the Map and saw that they are still walking northeast from our location. I activated Telepathy and talked to Aira and instructed them that there is a tea shop near their location, it has a good atmosphere to it and it''s an open terrace shop. Though she felt uneasy about me following their move she accepted my suggestion and headed there. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "They didn''t know that their stamina and satisfaction meter was on the red. It was a good thing to talk to Aira." "Hey, why are you always talking to the crazy battle crazed girl? When there is the timid beauty (Leona), cute Loli (Tara), and a cool beauty (Shiva)?" "I don''t know! She''s just much easier to talk to I guess. She reminds me a bit of my sister so." "Ah! So you have a sister complex!" Grazel buts in our conversation as he hears my reply to Ford''s questions. What do you mean sister complex? I''m not into that! "I kind of understand, Ryo... I too have taken a liking to my older sister!" "You know! I''m not like you, Grazel, I don''t see my sister as another woman." "I see..." He seemed disappointed. Let''s have him talk about his sister for now... "Grazel, let''s see... How about we talk about your sister?" "Ah! T, then!" He seemed delighted, he started talking while glorifying his sister in his stories. Ford and I laughed at his hilarious stories about his actions last month. After a while the girl troupe came back with sweets in their hand. "You seemed to be having fun?" "You know, Grazel was just talking ab-- mfff!" Grazel puts his hand on Ford who was about to blabber what we were just talking about. Seriously, this guy... Even if he told us boys his secret so easily doesn''t mean that you can just say it to girls nonchalantly. "Huh?" "N, no! It''s nothing he''s just being stupid like always..." At first I thought Grazel was a hard one to deal with but he''s actually a pretty easy guy to talk to. He''s pretty distant from us earlier maybe it was because of the girls... Guess he lightened up a bit after our ventures. "Here! We bought you guys some!" "Heh? Thanks!" "Can we sit here?" "Sure! We''re a party so we basically finished the mission already so let''s rest here for a bit..." It''s already afternoon here, it must be dawn back in the real world. It''s the third day after all. I wonder how many players have already finished the quest? It won''t be funny if we''re the only ones who finished the quest. "I wonder how many finished?" "Yeah... I wonder too..." "Tara! Hey come here!" Ford calls out to Tara as she distanced herself a bit from our location. Shiva and Leona cuddled together near us though... This girls are like the most close in the party right? Tara looks at us with a blank expression then looked back at the orange sun. Ford gives up while saying "Why?" Why you say? It''s because of your nonchalant and aggressive attitude that girls try to avoid you. Tara looked lonely being alone in that place, it kind of remind me of my highschool years. I stood up and walked to her. "Can I sit?" She raised her head to look at me then moved back to watch the sunset again. She nodded lightly. "Then I''ll sit here." "Why did you come here?" "Well, you''re alone and... I can''t seem to just leave you alone... Why are you so silent all of a sudden it''s kind of out of character since you''re pretty aggressive back at the dungeon." "It was back then and this is now... I''m mostly like this IRL so you can''t call it "Out of Characterly" of me... I just wanted to be a little active here that''s all..." "Eh? I see..." "The sun... It''s like what I always see back IRL... Only this time... I''m no longer hold up in a single place... I can run, fight and even use magic... Such a fantasy it is..." "What do you mean?" "I''m a patient... Well, I already had a deadline for my life... So I used all my luck just to participate in this beta test... Even though I should be happy that I advanced as a beta tester, I still feel sad. Thinking my life might end this next few months... I hated that yet, I can''t seem to take my mind of it." "..." "I wish everything would just change..." Different people with different problems gathered in this virtual world. My experiences cannot equate to what she have been feeling up to now. She wasn''t like me, she didn''t suffer to be bullied and extorted. She was sheltered, protected against the cruelty of the world yet she still wasn''t safe from her fate. Her death that was drawing near... Wishing for everything to change it was the last thing she said... Our conversation ended with her reply... I could only look at the scenery she was looking at with a hint of sadness visible in my expression. The world was unfair that much I know... But this... This is just too much. [Log 1]Chapter 16: End of the Night The orange sun can no longer be seen, in other words the sun has gone down. The clouds that were dyed in an orange color, had now a hint of darkness creeping into it. It''s already night 2 more hours before the game''s end... In actuality it is possible to log out much earlier for those who have finished the quest, but as I was still enjoying the scenery and wanted to hear the Game Administrators speech in the end of the Advancement Quest. I didn''t log out and stayed till the end. "Well, it feels that this one whole day together with you guys is too long..." "Well the time frame here was expanded 3 times the normal, making the person itself feel that this illusion was real." Tara says so in response while the others nodded their head quietly. You can''t understand what she''s saying don''t you? Is what I thought as I started to walk back to town... "Where are you going?" "Sightseeing... Like what you guys did earlier... I heard from some NPC that the town is beautiful during nighttime." With my head slightly looking back I responded to Tara''s words with a grin... "It''s much better to have more memories now right? Don''t think of anything just go along with our stupidity! It''s much more fun that way!" "Yeah! Come on Tara!" "Let''s go... You weren''t even talking earlier when we were exploring the town, let''s do it again! This time we''ll talk lots!" "Tara! Even in your small physique you''re still a---geho!" "Stop trying to flirt with her moron!" Tara looked at me with an annoyed expression... It was as if she''s saying "I didn''t expose what my conditions were to be treated like this! Make it stop at once!" While pouting her mouth. You know, even though you''re angry you don''t look like it. "Everyone, everyone! Stop... Let''s have Tara decide if she''s going to come... She MAY have some other things to do IRL..." Her face then turned red in anger whilst her hand grabbing the bow on her back. As if saying "I''ll shoot a hole in your head! You little schemer!"... I smiled with a tired expression and activated telepathy... [Come on! Just this once... It''ll be a good memory... Well I can understand that you don''t want to go with us since it''s not like we won''t be able to see each other again, I mean we passed the Advancement Quest so we''ll see each other again after a designated time.] [It''s not like I don''t want to but you are meddling too far in my life... I wish I didn''t tell you that after all...] [Come on! Just this once please! Come with us... We still have two hours before the game ends...] She lets out a sigh and thus our little telepathic banter ended and nods lightly to the surrounding girls... ¡Á¡Á¡Á Bright lights filled the city, it was a beautiful scenery. It was as if the city itself was alive even though it''s only a virtual one. Once we''ve entered it''s streets sounds from clerks could be heard from afar. "Well, isn''t this lively!" "There weren''t this many NPC''s here during the day?" "What an event to end the trial period!" Aira, Ford and Grazel said so... Tara had a sparkling eyes when she saw the bustling streets... Even though you don''t want to come... She then started walking alone stalls to stalls with the other girls following afterwards though Aira didn''t go... This girl she''s more like a boy than a girl... "You won''t follow them?" "We''ve already roamed the town earlier, I see no need to accompany them again instead how about you guys accompany me!" """Ehh?""" "What was that?" "Why do we have to accompany a man-girl like you?" "Yeah! Yeah!" "Uhhh... Ford, Grazel I think you should s--" Aira gently smiled in front of Ford and Grazel... Then they were immediately struck in their solar plexus... They flew upwards a few dozen inches. "Gofu!" "Gaaah!" Then lands down with a thud while groaning in pain. Then she immediately turned her face towards me... "You too?" "Hii! I, I''ll accompany you!" Her anger dissipated as I uttered those words then her mouth arched into a smile. "Good! Come on let''s go!" She linked hear arms with mine and dragged me from stall to stall... Leaving the two lying corpses behind while groaning "uuuu! Uuu!" Like a zombie. ¡Á¡Á¡Á "You know you look a lot like my younger brother in his younger years..." "Eh? Really?" "Yes! Oh! Buy this one! I think it''s good!" "You don''t even know what it taste like." "Just be my guinea pig!" Earlier while we were having a chat up the giant sakura tree the system added the taste sensing feature. What a way to end the Test phase of the game. This girl though after hearing that she suddenly wants to eat some food as it won''t taste like sand anymore... If she had a boyfriend, he''ll want to break up almost immediately at the start of their date... and so I bought two [Honey-filled Apples] for myself and for her... "Well isn''t this delicious!" "It''s not like it can actually fill your stomach..." "I know but food is still food! Virtually and Physically..." "Eh... Aren''t you a gluttonous one?" "Mwu! I am not!" Then pushed me lightly to the side. Even though I said lightly I was practical pushed away a few meters, her STR parameter is out of this world! "So... You''re a brother huh?" "Uh... Oh! Yeah! You look a lot like him... Though he''s practically changed overtime he became a bit... you know... Delicate in size..." This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there."You meant he became fat right?" "Yeah... That..." "I''m actually fat myself I wonder why the system made me a body like this... I became a fourteen year old again..." "Haha! If he played this game he would be very happy... He holed himself up again in his room... Well, not like I''m not doing the same thing..." "Did you also use your image as the character''s body?" "No! Heck no! Anyone would know me if they see my face!" "Wha? Are you a celebrity or something? Cause it''s not like it only happened in one country... It''s a worldwide thing this trial test!" "Eh? Seriously!? It would''ve been much better to incorporate my features then..." "You have a good life IRL?" "Yeah, pretty much... I have tons of friends, go to school clubs, and an ace in my class..." Eh? You''re pretty much okay!? Why''d you keep yourself in a room playing this game then? "Heh... I''m practically you opposite... I have a FRIEND, no clubs, and average in class plus humiliated through the whole school by some jerky senior..." "Really, my brother was the same! Where do you go to school again?" "Oh, Henvel University near Makati drive..." "Eh!? My brother goes there too! You can be like friends or something! Though it''s actually sembreak though so you wouldn''t be able to..." "I see..." She''s a good listener, she mostly reminds me of my sister... I wonder if we could be like this if I weren''t such an a-hole. "Haha! You remind me of my sister... I once called her, her name but I only call her sis now... I feel ashamed of myself actually, thinking that she betrayed me when things get into a tight spot was just me being childish. Once my mind cleared up I knew I was in the wrong but couldn''t apologize for the words I said to her..." "Ahaha! This conversation got gloomy so fast! Let''s change the topic! What was your sister like?" I guess the atmosphere did get a bit heavy... Haha... I''m so stupid... Okay then I''ll take her call on that... About sis... She was like... "I don''t know what to compare her though... But she''s kind and gentle, like you minus the overflowing strength that could crush bones in seconds. She''s intelligent as well, she aced her class in every year... I don''t know how she does that though... She''s quite lively too I wonder if that girl actually accumulate stress and play games too..." "Having to work hard at school and be lively at home... Its quite a hard thing to do you know! Keeping everything to yourself and letting it bottle up inside! She''ll need some outlet once in a while... Maybe she plays too!" "Well, she listens to songs though mostly K-Pop though my ears kept ringing when I hear it... But if it lessens her stress then I''ll deal with it." "You''re quite a talker aren''t you... If you were my brother, I would have been crying in tears now hearing that you actually felt sorry for what you''ve done..." "... Yeah... I''ll say sorry to her later once I log out... Thanks for listening to my ranting Aira..." "No prob! Whenever there''s a problem you can talk to me... Online!" "Yeah!" So ends our conversation and once again link arms with mine... It didn''t felt uncomfortable anymore, actually it felt warm and gentle... We walked around the stalls once more and bought some food to give the two guys who got owned for their actions. ¡Á¡Á¡Á "Yo! Food?" "Wha! Grazel, food! Ryo brought us food!" "Uuu..." It seems Grazel remembered how he was punched and fell to the ground groaning once again... You can stop now you know she won''t punch you anymore... Ford on the other hand seemed to have totally forgotten about it and his eyes were locked on the brought food. The other three however where nowhere to be seen. It''s almost time for the grand finale though... "Oh! I have to log out! I remembered something urgent! I''ll be playing it once the beta testing is announced so we''ll be able to see each other again! It''s gonna be one month right?" "Ah! You mean the beta phase of the game! Yeah it''s going to be one month before they release it..." "I see! I see! Alright then! I''ll have to go! Ciao!" Her body brightly shines and disappears... It''s not like when logging out of a battle zone your body disappears entirely not left out alone... "Ah! There she goes! Grazel you can stop now!" "Uuu... It still lingers the knuckles of her fist... I''m sorry I don''t feel well... Mentally I have to log out please send me regards for everyone..." Grazel pushes out the log out button the disappears like Aira... Aira and Grazel were already offline in the friend list... Oh! So is Tara... When did she log out? Leona and Shiva are still together... Oh and they are at a particular spot in the city... What are they doing there though. "Ford? How about you?" "Oh! I''m logging out too man! Gotta cook lunch! I was in charged for today! Sorry bro! Have to log out now!" "It''s cool man! See you next month!" "Cool! Later dude!" Haha, he actually played through with my joke... He''s a great guy! So what Aira''s urgent thing was... That gluttonous girl she only wants to eat! Is she fat IRL or something? I glanced at the friend list again the last two also logged out... Hmm? Do they actually know each other and are having a party for the completion of the quest without me? Well, it''s not like I''m close to them nor know them... But I feel left out... Should I log out too? "Haah! Alone again... I''ll just wait until the end of the phase has ended and when is the particular date of beta testing is..." So my night ends... Alone in the corner of the giant sakura tree as I once again indulged myself in a staring contest with the stars... [Log 1]Chapter 17: I shouldve logged out + Nikkis Log Record "Phew! I thought I wouldn''t have my moment but! Mwahahahaha! I am here to report my--- eh? I was suppose to say it at the end of the chapter? Hweeeee!? I''m sorry I made a huge blunder!" Author''s Notes: I actually wanted to post this much earlier but well... Here you go the conclusion of [Arkandia Arc] ------------------------------------''-------------------------------------------------------- What a beautiful evening... You wouldn''t be able to see such dazzling things in the night sky on a city filled with lights... Thousands, no... Millions of stars aligned making a natural light in the evening sky. Even though it''s a game it''s still quite a scenery... I fail to notice that the city light have dissipated little by little and people are gathering near the giant samurai tree... Before I knew it people are already sitting and softly whispering to each other and some looking at the same scenery I was looking at... voices of admiration came from those who appreciated the hard work the producers have put in making this game. [Eh.. Ehmm... Grnn... Hello? Can anyone hear me? I am the executive producer and managing director of this game... My name is Roger Wilford and I am here to thank you for your time playing the Alpha Version where only one city is provided... We are sorry to say that some of you was not cut out to be our beta testers and so in this next month those who have failed and those who passed can play the game with their machines online though after we release the version for the beta testers the online services for the game will be shutdown and you will no longer be able to play the game until it''s appointed release date scheduled to be in the next 2 years...] Roger Wilford, Shin Gaming Corporation''s executive producer and managing director. He''s only 23 when he started the project and after 7 years he had finally able to make it playable for players... An outstanding person. I heard he also programmed some of the game''s features... [So! Finally we are at the end of a long day! Well it might have been three days to you but it''s only a day that has passed outside... I thank you all for your cooperation!] Cheers came from the players and some cried... You can still play the game though? Why cry? On the cheers and laughter of players came a particular sound... Kiissh... Xiii... Ziii... Kiiiaaa... The static sound rang so loudly in everyone''s ears... That some actually covered their ears... "Ahh! What the heck!" "Stop!" "Waaah!" "My ear it hurts!" "What''s wrong with the system?" "It''s like when my teachers makes a screeching sound with a chalk board!" (A/N: Should''ve put this in monologue form but... Meh... Works either way...) What the hell! The sound is unbearable... Gotta log out... As I was about to push it the menu disappears and the static clears up... Then a voice was once again heard... [Ahh! Eh! Hmm... So! Ugh... You Arkadic People... Are privileged to hear my sweet voice... Yes?] Voice of a woman on her mid forties could be heard... It was a sweet sounding voice but her tongue is quite nasty... She seemed disgusted by our presence but kept on speaking anyway... [So this is the Human of the Arkadic World... They are strangely alike ours... Oh that''s right they were in our land after all...] A voice of a man in his fifties followed by the way he is speaking he doesn''t look at us like humans more like subjects of experimentation [Hanoi, you should already speak your business with them already look at their confused faces...] I don''t know who Hanoi was but I guess it was the woman from earlier... This time a child''s voice from the looks of it is ranging from 10-14 years of age and is quite impatient. [Stop this at once! You filthy Deities!] This time another one spoke in an angry tune... It was a woman from her voice it''s in her twenties. [Shut up, Leonia! You failure of a god! We are also doing it for you! Manipulating that human to create a summoning tool is quite easy... Now you will also be able to summon one from the Ylka race... Your followers...] Once again the woman from earlier shouted at the one who is called Leonia... She was saying about a Summoning tool? and also Ylka... My race? Gods? What the? Everyone was dumbstruck at the voices'' and couldn''t talk... Some shivered though I wondered why I no longer dug in deep and kept on making the menu to reappear but to no avail... "What the hell?" "Summoning tool?" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site."Is this some shit made by the creators?" "Are we filming for the trailer for the official release?" "Eh?" "Hahahaha!" "Wooo! Good job Producers!" Guess most of this people are optimistic... [Shut up! Mortals! We are here to gather souls actually... This "Game" is actually created as a tool for taking souls... Then reconstructing them to be a being in our realm... This "Game" is but a depiction of that other world, you see! Haha! Since your world is overly populated unlike ours, that is being more and more lessened due to war. We decided to gather up some souls from this place to replenish our toys...] Toys? What the hell is going on... Now I feel scared as she spoke words that wouldn''t be normal to say to other people. [Hanoi! You shitty hag! Once I get out of this cage I''m gonna fucking kill you!] [Oh, Leonia... What an ungrateful girl... We made this so you can replenish your race and well... You can play god again!] [Raaaghh! You killed and enslaved them! All of my people! I was locked in this cage, that''s why they didn''t believe in me anymore! I will kill you! You will die!] [Or so I''ve heard! But as you see... I''m quite alive...] "Shit... Don''t tell me that this isn''t a program..." The next thing I heard sent shivers down my spine... I couldn''t make the menu appear and the HUD on my vision were no longer there... [And so I ask my question... If the "Game" became "Reality"... What would you do?] "It''s impossible!" One shouted at the voice... "Such a thing is impossible..." [Oh! But I can do it... Oh, I meant we can... and now you shall be harvested and reproduced... I know some of you want to die anyway... It is such a cruel world after all... Living in our realm my be a much better choice than to stay in this one... Now... I''m sorry to cut our little banter, Mortals... But we need to make our time...] I certainly saw it... Thousands of bright lights appeared in the night sky. However, they were not stars... I get a searing pain in my abdomen. What is this? A Lance? Then waves of flashing lights drew closer and closer... All of it heading to our direction. I could only close my eyes as the lights flickered. I felt a sudden heat from my upper chest I opened my eyes once again and saw the lance of light was gone... Then as I touched my chest I couldn''t touch it... No... It was gone... My left chest had a hole tore through it... At the last seconds of my consciousness... I could only see a figure... With a smile on its face as it spoke... "With this... Our toys would have been replenished..." My eyes heavy and my breathing slowed down... I could no longer hold on... I closed my eyes as I remembered... "I should have logged out earlier..." ________________________________________________________________ Ahahaha!!! Unto my Cute--- I mean really serious report!!! ------------------ Nikki''s Log Record Eh... Ah... How do you open this... Ah! It''s already recording! Henya! Log Reader Nikki desu~ Many things happened on Log 1, eh? Hmm... I still can''t find the others though... I''m sorry I''m a bit of a procrastinator so cleaning up the library and looking up this Logs is quite hard... Master would surely be mad once she knew that I''m just sitting here reading... So... Ryo''s Logs, eh? Though he wrote it, it kind of feels like another person wrote it... Maybe he''s just that bad at writing his stories eh... Well there is no basis if what happened in this Log is really true though master says it''s true I don''t believe her... Saying she went with Ryo on his journey and stuff... But seriously... Master''s a cheap liar she could have lied much better for me to believe that this is an actual log that covers true events... "I heard that!" Eh? M, master? W, what are you doing here? Weren''t you supposed to be shopping right now? "Yeah, I was but I forgot something... So you weren''t cleaning the library huh... and you''re also calling me a liar..." Hii! Please don''t spank me! Please anything but the spanking!!!! "Lie down and raise your Butt!!! Now!!!" Hiiiiii!!!! Recorded: 1378 Novus Year (Year of the White Lion) 13th of Alhak (January) Wednesday [Log 2]Chapter 18: The New World and A Family My chest and abdominal area still hurts... Where am I? There as my eyes could see is an endless darkness... Am I dead? Did we really get into some kind of death game? This is what Leona said earlier when she died... There should be a timer then... Gotta check if I''m still in the game... I swiped my hand sideways and the menu popped up once again... Repeatedly I tapped the log out button but an error occurs every time I press it. I tapped options and checked all the HUD options... HP, MP, Exp, Mini-Map, I opened everything that seemed important. I open up my status screen and saw that my exp points were being drained... I''m going back to level 1, and all of my accumulated skills were already gone... So does all of my titles... "What to do..." As I said that a giant whirlpool came sucking me in from below... "Are you serious!" As I could not hold on to anything, I was easily swept by the Whirlpool''s suction force... "Waaah!!!" The next instance I saw the blue skies, blowing hard on my back was the wind that seemed to stop my fall but to no avail. I tried to roll over to one side and saw that I''m quite far from the ground... I thought to myself "It''s been a good gaming life!" and accepted my fate.. Increasingly, my speed went faster and faster... That it was really hard to open my eyes as I fell in descent... There flapped the cape of my mantle as I descended... Now that I''m looking at it all of the items I had were gone except for the mantle, the scythe was gone and I don''t know if my inventory items was still there, thankfully my clothes weren''t taken from me. I''m only a few kilometres away from the ground, more like water but still with this much speed it''s going to be like concrete... I surveyed the area and saw a town due east or it seems to be east in my perspective. Soon, I''ll be landing... and splat... goes me after that... But due to some kind of inexplicable event, I seem to have survived and only fell a few metres down the river. Hurriedly, I swam to reach the surface... "Buwaaaaaah! Oh! God!" As I surveyed my area once again... a man wearing a Strawhat and wore a dress that''s naturally found in games and had in his hand a rod... He had a really hard expression... But nevertheless, he called to me saying "Are you okay?", I replied with "Yes! No broken bones and such!" and swam towards to his position... "You fell from quite a height! You sure you''re okay?" "Yes! It''s just my heart''s beating a bit too fast..." Seriously! As I thought how much it would hurt once I splattered down the water, I thought I would die... But then I only splashed a bit of water and poof... I''m here... It''s so anticlimactic actually but all is good I''m still alive... I tried to log out once again but still the error occurred... I wonder why... GM call isn''t working either... "Let us get you some warm clothes... you''re really drenched and all." "T,thank you!" Led by the man I walked the town with my hood still on... I looked like a cat drenched in water, I kept shivering until we got into his house, there a woman was cleaning the house and asked with a questioning tone. "Who''s that?" "It''s just someone I happen to see as I was fishing..." So he really was fishing... Well, there is no other thing other than that. "I''m sorry, I don''t mean to bother... I''ll just go somewhere else..." "E, eh! I didn''t mean it like that, come you seemed awfully wet, what happened?" "I got into the water... and that man was concerned so he offered a change of clothing..." "I see... I thought he kidnapped another girl from the village..." "Eh? I''m not like that!" "Whatever... Let''s take that cloak off... Hmm? Ah!" "Achoo!" "You... You''re..." I didn''t know what they were doing as I''m still shivering from cold water... The woman took my cloak away and the man gave me dry clothes. As I changed my clothes I couldn''t change them like in game but instead it had to be changed like in reality... I took off my clothes and replaced them with dry ones... I went back from the place the woman said for me to change and as I got to where the woman and the man were another figure was there... It was an old man with a scar on his other eye. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Um... Am I in trouble? The atmosphere seemed to be different than earlier..." "No... No... Come here... Sit beside me" "Okay..." The old man kept his gaze on me as I walked towards the woman and sat near her... It''s a really uncomfortable gaze... Then the old man spoke in a loud voice. "She has to go!" "But chief!" "We can''t have an Ylka in our village! You do know what happens to people, who kept Ylka people!" "We can''t just leave her alone!" "It''s not of our concern, she''s of a race persecuted by the kingdom... Anyone who helps the enemy of the kingdom are to be persecuted as well... Toni, Emily we don''t want you to get killed helping a stranger." "But still... She is far too young..." She? I''ve been hearing she for a while now... I wonder why... "Um... I''m a boy... also... if being here poses a problem to everyone then I will gladly let myself out... Thank you for letting me into a change of clothes..." "Eh? A boy? Wait a minute!" "Wait, where are you touching! Ahn!" "There is nothing there..." "Eh?" It seems my gender was far more important a subject than me being persecuted by the kingdom and also what do you mean I don''t have an..y... d..own...there... "Gyaaaaa!" None! None! Where is it! Where is it!? Frantically, I groped every place of my body... None! None! There was nothing there... "Calm down! Calm down! Breathe!" "How could I calm down, it wasn''t there!" "Just calm down! Breathe, breathe, phooo..." I breathed at set intervals and gradually started to calm down... The village chief had a really surprised expression after seeing me being frantic... The woman, Emily, took me back to the changing room and made me look at myself... I''m no longer a man... but a woman... What the heck! I checked my status and saw [Female] in my gender specification... I unconsciously teared up... "You don''t need to cry... I don''t know what your parents are telling you but you''re not a boy but a girl..." "Waaah!" You only made it worse! I didn''t want to acknowledge it but you still said it! She frantically moved her hands as she tried to stop me from crying... After a while, I calmed down and accepted the horrible facts... How do women do that,this and all kinds of other things... I don''t want to ask those kinds of things to a woman. "Ahem... As I was saying..." We went back to the living room and there the two had a really worried expression... "I think you should live here with us!" Emily had a smile so radiant that it''s almost blinding... The other two surprised by her remark interjected and said! "Emily! You do understand that we can''t do that!" "It''s fine just to hide her hair right?" "Eh?" "I mean I can make a hat that can hide that hair of hers..." "Are you serious?" "Un!" She nodded with extreme vigor... Seriously, this girl is too easy going... I didn''t know that the two who kept me as their daughter were two of the strongest in the country specifically in magic and in swordsmanship... [Log 2]Chapter 19: Training and Secrets "Ryomi! Faster! You''re so slow!" "I''ll be right with you!" It''s been a week since I was adopted by the Harland family... Toni Harland was the captain of the kingdom''s knights and Emily Harland was the kingdom''s royal mage. It''s quite amazing this two... But because they still didn''t have any offspring even after 5 years of marriage they were losing hope, until the day I came to their lives... They treated me as their daughter, given me clothes, food, shelter, and a family... In fact, My name was also changed... to Ryomi Harland (Shikigami Ryo to Ryomi, get it?) they still kept the essence of my past name and given me a feminine name in its place. Now everyone in this town, didn''t know that I was an Ylka... Ylka Race are persecuted by the Human Kingdom for they might once again bring upon destruction to the world, or so they say... The Ylka''s persecuted and brought to be a slave, both for manual labor and sexual interest, I''m quite lucky these two went to my rescue and was able to prevent me from being a slave. At this very moment, have been playing with a friend in town... It''s not that I''m slow, I just didn''t want to run... We are going back to the church as we still have errands to do... Mother, Emily, made me a hat that''d cover the entire part of my hair, with this I kind of had a boyish look paired with a longsleeve shirt and a short pants... "Father! We''re here!" "Ah! Ryomi and Shim everyone is already in the garden..." "Yes!" "Yes!" Led by the priest, I went towards the garden with Shim... There were a lot of other kids that I''m acquainted with but not to the point that I can talk to them with ease... They already started weeding out the grass and so we started as well... This was one of the errands, once a week all the children are given the chance to make some extra money by the church by weeding out the garden... It''s tedious work but they pay quite nicely so everyone puts their back into it and kept doing it... They pay 5 copper coins per bag of weeded grass, in this world money is regarded into 5 types... Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, White Gold... With 5 copper coins I can already buy daily necessities though only for a day... Mother and Father are back in the kingdom working and were giving me enough for daily expense but I didn''t want to rely on them too much and worked for my own... When the two of them comes back, I am thought of magic and swordsmanship and somehow have learned the skills they''ve been teaching me... "Hmm..." "What is it Ryomi?" "I wanted to try something out..." [Wind Cutter] I weeded the grass with ease and started to put them in the bag and then the others were shouting "Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!" So did Shim... I rebuked them with "As long as the job is done the procedure doesn''t matter" and stuck my tongue out. In the end I got 6 bags full of weeded grass... and thus ending the day I got 30 copper coins... "Stop cheating every time, Ryomi!" "I''m not cheating I''m just putting my skills to use..." "That''s what you always say..." Shim is a girl that''s boyish enough to be called a boy... She''s quite cute... I wonder why she''s always with me when she got other friends unlike me who has none but her... Maybe it''s pity... Since I didn''t have anyone beside me during weekdays she always come looking for me in the house and asked if I wanted to play... I kept on reading the books inside the house and got [Memorization] skill in return... Seriously, even just by reading the book once I have been able to know what exact page the phrase was... But since the skill level was still far too low I still forget some after sometime... I guess that skill also helped me in terms of combat practice by looking at how father''s movements were I memorized his movement patterns and was able to copy it to an extent thus me learning swordsmanship up to level 3... With mother it''s quite hard... Since there are no other way than feeling the flow of mana from the body then changing it''s attribute to the said magic... It took me quite a while to learn [Mana Manipulation] and [Magic Perception] but with it still being low in level I''m quite bummed since it''s still quite hard to manipulate it. With [Wind Cutter], it''s quite easy since it requires a little bit of mana and if you concentrate that mana you''ll be able to cut even a cemented rock... But with my skill I still couldn''t cut iron... "I''m training again today! Wanna come?" "Sure!" Shim agrees to come with me and train... I''m teaching her what mother taught me... Recently calling Emily, Mother, is already become a habit and so is Father, Toni, it''s quite funny... I didn''t even know this people just a week ago... "You ready?" "Yeah!" As of late, Shim was able to use lower flame-class magic [Flamepea] little ball of flames with the size of peas, it''s not a harmful magic but could still burn a building made of wood if left alone... We made our way away from town because it happened ounce and we were scolded harshly... and my parents had to pay for the damages... If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Flamepea] [Wind Wall] High-speed flaming pea sized fireballs came at me but once it hit the wall of wind it vanished without a trace... "As expected!" "Not really! If it had been a bit more faster and bigger [Wind Wall] wouldn''t have defended it." "But still you defended on my high-speed fireballs..." "I''ll teach you how to make a true fireball now! So we can move on to the next phase but don''t overexert yourself okay?" "I''ll be fine! Teach me! Teach me!" "Like what you did in the pea sized fireballs only give it more mana... Imagine it''s size getting bigger but still incorporate the speed you once used... Chant the spell I thought you as well..." "Okay... I''ll try..." I''m actually teaching her how to use magic chantlessly as well... It''s quite hard actually as I myself still hadn''t got that kind of skill yet... Mother taught me this technique since it was quite hard back in her day, so she taught up her own way to do things and ended up teaching it to me the easy way... "I... I think I got it..." She was still chanting... Incomprehensible words were slipping out of her mouth as sparks appeared in her hand... Mother said that it was the first civilization''s mother tongue, the words that needed to be chanted so that the spell would work... I wonder if it''s some kind of system... "Here I go! [Fireball]" "Whoa! [Wind Wall!] Her hand still pointed towards me, she threw the fireball at my direction, that made me panic and used [Wind Wall] almost immediately cutting the skill''s chant to a quarter... >[Chant Omission Skill Acquired] I thought [Wind Wall] could take it but it broke at the last second and hit my head... "Kyaa!" "Ryomi!" The half of my hat was burned by Shim''s fireball. Oh no! She''s going to see my hair! "Stay away!" "B, But!" "I''m fine... You can go ahead... I can go back home myself..." "But Ryomi!" "I said to go back to town didn''t I?" Shim shuddered at the sound of my voice, I could hear her sniffle quietly as she ran back to town... I''m sorry, Shim... But there are some things that I can''t let you see... I walked back to the house using the secret passageway my mother and father told me... So I got inside the town without anyone noticing me... I took another hat and put my hair inside chocking it in without letting even a single strand of hair out... It''s tedious work but needed to be done to keep my life in this town... "I need to apologize to Shim..." Knock! Knock! Knock! After I heard knocking I headed towards the door and asked who it was. "It''s me... Ryomi..." "Shim!" I opened the door and saw Shim with reddened, bloodshot eyes... Ah! I made her cry didn''t I... "Shim, I..." "I''m sorry, Ryomi! Please don''t hate me!" "Look, Shim it should be me who..." "I didn''t mean to target you! I''m really sorry! Please don''t hate me!" "Will you please let me finish!" "Urk..." Shim had a surprised yet scared expression... She looked like she would cry if I held my hand up high... "Shim... I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to shout at you earlier... I just didn''t want you to worry too much..." "Really? Then... You''re not angry at me blasting you with [Fireball]" "Of course, I''m angry but not to the extent of hating you for it... I''m not that cheap to hold a grudge with a measly thing, and besides you only grazed me... So it''s all under the bridge." Shim hugs me after I said that... She buried her face in my chest then she said something like "Why do you have this bulges, when I don''t have one..." even if you ask me I don''t know the answer to your question, so I just caressed her head as I hugged her back saying "It''ll grow big soon enough for you as well, just give it time..." She retorted back with "We are both of the same age!". After that, I went to buy ingredients for supper... Since mother and father won''t be back until weekends, I don''t need to prepare that much and so with Shim in tow we walked towards the town''s market and bought ingredients, thus ending the day with me saying "Thanks for the food" on the evening meal. [Log 2]Chapter 20: Troublemaker and The Crowned Prince It''s been 3 months since i was transported to this world and I have learned much about my race and about this world... I''ve given up in the log out button since it only kept saying error... Then the logout button vanished without a trace... The heck? I trained my body according to father''s training regimen... I ran around town during dawn and did 100 squats, 100 sit ups, 100 pushups... Will my hair start to fall out once I''ve finished the one year training? Of course, my magic training didn''t fall behind as I did it while doing father''s regimen... I clad my body in mana and it looked as if I''m covered in bluish color as I ran... This helps me level up both [Mana Manipulation] and [Mana Perception]. I didn''t want to have the body of a masculine woman so I kept my training to a bare minimum so that I could keep the proportions of my body... Honestly, I''m thinking like a woman almost completely with the influence of Emily, Mother, she always talked about cute dresses and gowns... She keeps on ranting about how a woman should take care of her body and her hair... So even if I hid it I handled it with utmost care. I also started to influence Shim a bit... She made her hair longer and I kept it in check. "Thanks for doing this, Ryomi." "No biggie... I''m quite fond doing this since mother thought me..." "You speak of things that I couldn''t understand, what''s "No Biggie" mean?" "Ah! That means it''s no big of task for me, so you don''t have to thank me for doing it." "I see! Then it''s no biggie!" "Yup!" I checked her hair for lice but it seems she''s been taking care of it. I hold her hair up and made a bow with a piece of cloth, making it look like a pony tail... "Ah! It feels much cooler now..." "Well, it''s much better to hold it up like that when running or doing cleaning and all kinds of work since it doesn''t feel that hot... Specially indoors..." "Ryomi! Shim! You two are here again?" "Ah! Mother!" "Good Morning, Auntie..." We stood up and walked towards mother, Shim showed her respect as she bowed to mother. Emily seeing this held her hand up gesturing that "You needn''t do that" and continued with "What are you doing here?" "We''re just here to rest for a bit... and the tree is quite cozy specially in this heat the shade is appreciated..." "Yes, as Ryomi had said..." "I''m here to get you, your father is looking for you. I''m sorry Shim but could you let her off today?" "Of course, I''ll be here for a while longer so you could go back to town first" "I''m sorry, Shim!" "It''s okay! It''s okay! Your father is a very busy man and he''s only here during weekends." "I''m really sorry! I promise I''ll make up for it one of this days..." "I''ll take you up on that!" I accompanied mother back to the house and left Shim all alone atop the hill not far from the village. As we got back to the house, father had a really scary expression... I wonder what I did wrong? It must be last Tuesday''s water ball fight that trashed one of the stalls at the marketplace, or last Thursday''s fight with the boys when they picked on Shim... I got angry and pummeled 4 boys but no one died so it''s okay... I guess there were a few broken bones but it can be healed by magic so it''s okay... "So? You got anything to tell me today?" "Ugh... Erm... I..." "Ryomi... Just tell your father slowly..." "Yeah! Tell me!" "... L, last Tuesday we were just playing around the marketplace we didn''t mean to trash one of the stalls there... This Thursday those boys picked on Shim so I got angry and started to fight them, but I didn''t do anything that could be harmful to the other party!" "Is breaking bones not harmful to the other party?" "Urk... I, I''m sorry I was just controlled by my anger and forgot to discipline myself... I''m sorry..." I anticipated Toni''s slap, punch and other kinds of rough treatment but he caressed the top of my head and said... "Haa... I just can''t bring myself to discipline you roughly if you make that face... But this is the last time okay? I won''t be making exceptions next time, keep your emotions in check since clinging to your emotions too much will become your undoing." "Y, yes..." Then he chops my head lightly and said "This''ll be your punishment for today... Seriously, me and your mother can''t leave you alone in this town for a week without you doing anything reckless..." "Uuu..." "Let her off for today, okay? Shim''s waiting at the hill after all..." "Okay, you can go!'' "Y,yes! Thank you, Father!" The two waved at me goodbye as I ran outside... I said my hellos to the guards as I ran towards the hill outside the village, there Shim was still lying down and seems to be thinking about something... "Boo!" "Wah!" As I surprised Shim, she exclaimed as she sat upright and our foreheads crashed into each other... "Uuu.." "Ow!" It hurts... My head... I knelt down while holding my head with both my hands... and Shim seemed to sit while also holding her head with both hands... She glared at me for a few seconds and in return I glared at her as well... Coming into an understanding we found our situation laughable and quite stupid. "Pfft... Ahahahah!" "Ahahahaha!" We laughed so much that we almost teared up while laughing... It''s not that funny now that you think about it, it actually mostly hurt than it being funny but we thought otherwise, we couldn''t get angry to each other''s pranks and just laughed about it. "Seriously, you should stop doing that! It really hurts..." "You seemed to be thinking deeply about something I just couldn''t help it..." "Normally, people would call out to the person, who''s thinking quite deeply not scare them!" "Ehehe..." "So... What happened?" "I got scolded..." "Common occurrence!" "Don''t say it like that! You were part of it too... Or should''ve been... Even though I got angry because of you being picked on you left me to be scolded by the elders! On the marketplace too! You were with me playing [Water Ball] when you increased your output and destroyed one of the stalls!" The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement."Teehee!" "Don''t "Teehee" me! Come here you!" "Kyaa! Ryomi''s touching me!~~" "Don''t make it sound like I''m doing something lewd!" ¡Á¡Á¡Á After a while we went down the hill and walked through the town since it''s already been three months since I''ve lived here I have met and got acquainted to a number of people like flower shop lady, Elena, The Grumpy old man, Bromo and a few others... I''ve became friends with the town guards since I''ve been going out a lot, and because I''ve been seeing them a lot when I get in trouble. "Ryomi! We''re friends, right?" "Yeah? What''s with that all of a sudden?" "Well, friends don''t keep secrets to each other right?" "If you''re going to ask about the hat, then keep it to yourself I''m not taking it off..." "Ohh! But!" "No buts... I''ve already told you that I won''t separators from this hat, you understand that don''t you and mother also warned you as well..." "Ooh! Okay..." She seemed disappointed but I won''t falter... I made a promise to mother and I won''t break it... Then sounds of trumpets came from the central road of the town... I wonder what it is? Ah! "Father!" "There you are you two!" "Where''s mother?" "In the house! Come on!" "But we want to see what''s going on in the central road..." "It''s just some nobles, let them be..." "I see... Nobles, huh? Let''s go Shim!" "Yeah!" I road on Toni''s back and took Shim as well... Father is quite strong, he can lift both of us, though I wonder if it was my old body... He would''ve already slammed the ground already because of my weight. "Ah! I could see the carriages!" "Eh? Ah! I see it too!" There were three elegantly decorated Carriages colored in Blue, Purple and Violet their orders respectively. Someone was inside the carriage and it was looking at this direction. I wonder what he was doing? "Ah! The carriage stopped!" "Ah! It did!" As Shim heard me saying she stretched her neck and look towards where I was looking and agreed to my statement. Then the people suddenly gave way as the carriage door opened and a seemingly young man came out of it and started to walk this way. "Why are the people moving apart?" "Ah! That''s not just any noble! It''s the crowned Prince!" "Eeeh..." I said in a monotonous tone as Shim gives additional information towards the incoming target. "Then why is he moving towards our direction?" "Dunno?" "Father, why aren''t you moving?" "It''s kind of disrespectful since I''m serving his majesty so I won''t move. Hurry you two get down from my shoulders and show respect..." "Eh? Seriously?" "Y, yes!" My and Shim''s answer were quite different... I didn''t want to see the prince and wanted to move away while Shim seemed rather happy and even stuttered as she voiced her answer. "Knight Captain, what are you doing here?" "Ah! Kieffer, I live here what brings his majesty to this town?" "Ah, that... Well, he wanted to see the status of the surrounding area, as he will someday be king he wanted to create projects for his subjects as early as possible... It''s quite a grand quest, but in reality he just wanted to get away from royalty lessons... I''m sorry, I know that it''s your off day and I''m interrupting you and your daughters alone time but will you help me with the security?" "I see... Ah, I haven''t introduced you this is my daughter Ryomi and this is her friend Shim..." "Nice to meet you girls!" "Nice to meet you too! Sir Knight!" "I, I''m honored!" "Who are this two, Kieffer?" "Ah, Prince, this two are..." "The name''s Ryomi!" With my hands crossed together I stood unmoving and with a smug on my face... I always wanted to do this... It''s unladylike but let me unwind sometime... "Ryomi!!! Show some respect! I''m really sorry you''re majesty, it''s her first time seeing a royalty!" My head was held down by father and Shim, and apologized to the prince with both their heads bowed down... "I like you girl! Come with me!" "Eh?" Both Shim and Father were dumbfounded when they heard the prince... "Is she going to get executed?" "Tortured?" "No! No! Nothing of the sort! I only wanted her to accompany me... She''s your daughter am I right Knight Captain?" "Yes, but..." "Then it''s settled let your friend come with us if you want... Your father is to be my personal guard together with Kieffer." After that he went back to the carriage and waited for us... Kieffer had an apologetic face and said "I''m sorry I dragged you along..." then went back to the carriage as well... "Father?" "Haa... You know that it''s already hard to keep your secret in town, you just had to be like that to the prince too... I''m going to scold you so much once we get home!" "E, eh?" "It''s your fault this time, Ryomi! I have nothing to do with it! But I''ll accompany you still because the prince permitted it..." "You too, Shim?" Father went back to the house and took his armor and weapons... Mother was furious and said she wanted to come along to keep the two of us safe... So started the busy afternoon of the whole party... [Log 2]Chapter 21: Intentions and Objectives I thought it would be quite comfortable in the carriage but it wasn''t... Mother was glaring at me with eyes that if she could would burn a hole through my body. She seemed really angry because of my little stunt with the prince... I didn''t mean it to be a luxury cruise with the son of the kingdom''s king. The Prince talked about lots of things as we were riding... Tedious works, studying etiquette, proper stances, proper way of talking to royalties and nobles... He kept on ranting about until he was satisfied. Then as he signalled it, it was our turn to speak, as I was the first one I spoke of a really delicate subject. "What do you think about enslaving and persecuting of Ylka race?" Mother was dumbfounded... She didn''t think that I would pear into the subject that involves myself... She looked at the prince with cold sweat running down her forehead. "Why would you ask me of such a question? Do you know of an Ylka somewhere?" "If I did, then I would also be persecuted or maybe worse, executed for helping a race of criminals..." "Yes, that''s what will happen to the likes of those who helped such a race, since it''s according to my grandfather''s orders... But I wish to change that once I take on the throne..." I widened my eyes in surprise... Seriously? He would change it? But what would he gain from that? "What are you aiming for?" "Peace and Stability... Everyone aims for the same thing, but the others use vile and unforgivable means, and forces everyone to think that it''s the peace they''ve been dreaming of." "You seem to be a much better person than I think you are..." "But I could''ve said a lie to lure out the hiding Ylkas..." "Perhaps... But you don''t seem to be a person who wouldn''t keep his word." "People of the Royal Family and the council that supports them are deceitful and treacherous people, I could say that cause I''ve experienced it first hand. Even though we were blood related, my brothers tried to kill me with poison and others with assassins... Most of all, since there are factions about who should be king, they helped the one they put their hands into and helped them with their schemes, so even if I caught them red-handed without power I can''t put them to prison." "Eh!? Your brothers are trying to kill you!?" Shim exclaimed surprised as she listened to our story... "Of course, being the crowned prince and all, but even if I''m the crowned prince there isn''t really anything I can do, until the day I succeed father." Back in my world, even in history there was such tales, betrayal by their own kin to secure the position they always wanted to attain, and was still being done until today though only with just a little killing and more blackmailing and threats.... It seems the reason why he wanted move away from the palace was because of his brothers'' sad attempts at taking his life and also because of what Kieffer said as well... He wanted to see the state of things that the kingdom ruled and wanted to make plans for a better future. We talked and talked but no more of heavy stuff but only light subjects like, What''s your favorite food? What''s your favorite past time? And what not and passed the time. ¡Á¡Á¡Á "Your Majesty, we will be making a stop for a moment, it seems one of the wheels have broken... You two behave with his majesty, seriously..." "Yes, Father!" "Yes, Uncle..." We had a rough awakening, the carriage''s wheels seemed to have been broken, I looked towards and saw that it was not like a normal breaking, more like it was hit by a really large object. We were asleep until a while ago... Mother was... well, like the rest of us asleep... It was still afternoon, and the sun still floated above the sky, though the sky was tilled in an orange color already. I looked towards my mini-map and saw movements... I squinted my eyes towards the direction I saw the dots... Five... No... 13 men with horses are running towards our direction, this is bad... "Father! Mother! Movement due east! We need to get out of here! From the looks of it, it''s 10-13 men riding horses!" "What!?" "Why now!" "Those stupid brothers... They won''t learn a thing! Guards!" "Can I have one of those swords?" "Ryomi! I can''t let you..." "Father, I don''t like seeing people get hurt without me doing anything. Besides, you''ve trained me enough, I can hold my own in a fight." I took hold of a sword and checked it''s length and sharpness... This is the same length that I''ve been using with my wooden sword... Paired with the skills I learned from father and the magic I learned from mother I''m quite invincible, well, in my brawl fights anyway. "Shim, stay with the prince... Remember what I thought you..." "Don''t go there, Ryomi!" "I''ll be fine!" "You''re always saying that but you always come back with bruises all over..." "This is a real fight! Have you seen me bruised when I fight my father? None right?" "But that''s not a real fight! Don''t go!" You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story."Mother, keep Shim safe..." "I''m also not letting you go!" "Mother!" "I''m going with you... I can''t let you go there alone! I will be a failure of a mother if I let you go alone!" "I''m going as well... If you two are!" With a smile he raised his arm, as if to make his muscle come out... "Ooh! That''s why I picked you!" Mother jumped to father''s arm and clung to it like a pole... Father has some really strong arm strength, even able to carry mother... Ah! They''ve gone to their lovey dovey space again! "Mother, Father? Armed men?" "Oh! Right!" As I was wearing shorts and a shirt it''s quite easy to move but I''m quite open to attacks... I casted intermediate level spell [Earth Armor] and wrapped my body in earth... I smell like dirt... But whatever... I keep on hardening the armor until a certain extent that which almost depleted my mana. "Ready?" ""Ready!"" "Let''s go!" [Howling Wind] Mother casted Intermediate level wind-spell [Howling Wind] and knock the horses down as a strong blowing wind bashed through the running horses. But it didn''t knock all of the horses only five of them, the 8 riders still kept going and the archers from the back then released their arrows but was anticipated as they had shield already equipped and took the arrows head on. They were only but 250m away... I casted Low level earth spell [Mud Pond] and turned the solid earth into a mud hole... With a length of 20m and width of 7ft some of the horse who jumped too early exactly landed on the mud and couldn''t swim back up and those who jumped too late also fell landing head first. Now only 4 horses kept on running... It was father''s time to shine... His eyes sharpened as he concentrated and firmly put his feet on the ground and jumped as soon as the targets have entered his 10m radius and slashed three of the riders at once, he lost one... But I won''t let them take all the spotlight... Like Father I concentrated and made my senses keener than usual. It was one of father''s techniques... He called it... [Threefold Sky] Three heavy swings all at the same time, hit the horse, and the rider, I used the sword''s blunt edge as to only make them unconscious... I held the men, unconscious and conscious with my strengthened earth armor and confined them. "I didn''t know the Knight Captain will be here!" "Tell me who sent you!" "I''m not telling you anything!" "I see... Emily!" "Yes! Yes!~~" She was smiling but her eyes wasn''t... It was like this when that one time I played at the house''s basement and broke a lot of her things... After that I feared her being like that ever again, and so did father... Even though he called for her,he shuddered the moment he saw her wife''s smiling face. She was known for her experiments in the basement of the castle, where criminals who didn''t want to admit their faults are brought, they are tortured in unspeakable way... By yours truly, Emily Harland... "Hiii!!! Emily! It''s Emily the Executioner!!!" "That''s correct! You know what happens to those who don''t tell the truth, right?" "Hiii!!!!! We''ll tell you everything just keep us away from that crazy woman!" Hey! Hey! Calling Mother crazy I can''t let that go... To the one who let out those words I tightened the armor not to the point where he couldn''t breathe but to the point that he will feel a lot of pain... "S-stop! I-it hurts!!" "Ryomi! Stop!" "Uh! Ah!" I loosen the armor as I heard Shim called out my name... I almost lost myself there... "T, thank you Shim..." "Seriously, you have to keep your emotions in check." "Sorry..." Shim held my hand and moved away from the scene then went back to the prince. "Are you okay?" "It''s just... You were quite amazing using magic" "Shim can use it too!" "Because Ryomi taught me..." "So that''s how it is! You were quite the fighter as well, were you thought by the Knight Captain?" "Yes, though it''s harsh training, I endured and have achieved this level... Though I''m still lacking in some ways..." "Your majesty... We need to go back to the Castle..." "I see... Let''s go back the way we went, it''s quite rude if I made the Harland family walk back to town..." "As you command..." Kieffer went back and ordered the knights, the carriage turned back after the wheels were fixed and made our way home. [Log 2]Chapter 22: 3 Months Later... It''s been 3 months since the assassination attempt to the prince, and the prince have become frequent in visiting this town that he no longer needed to have a grand entrance when he came to visit. He comes telling me to teach him magic... Though I recommended that mother should be the one to teach him he kept insisting that I do it... I wonder why? Since he''s affinity sides to that of the earth, I made him train earth magic every time he comes back, lately his level in earth magic though still in lower class, he became an adept at controlling his mana. Mother said this to me but it seems his mana pool is quite low, so she doesn''t know if he''ll be able to use any magic above intermediate level, but somehow his mana pool have been increasing this past three months, and it seems he also learned mana manipulation and detect magic as well... Though it was quite slower than Shim, both Shim and I can now use Intermediate Level Magic both Offensive and Defensive skills... Though in my case it''s Water, Fire, Earth, Wind and on Shim was Fire, and Water only... She didn''t have any affinity to Earth and Wind magic, she was kind of sad when mother told her that but she said "I''ll work hard so that I won''t lose to Ryomi in my Fire and Water magic" or so mother said. I''ve been training on controlling earth armor as to equip it faster and strengthen the earth as it equips... It''s quite hard since it needs concentration to manipulate the rocks and compress them together. I tried doing it while Shim was attacking me and the result was me being thrown quite a distance away, though not burned my body hurt all over... Afterwards, Shim apologized repeatedly and bowed her head many times, even though I said it was fine. "Ha!" I started to train in no-arms combat meaning no weapons, practically martial arts... While also keeping my magic training in check, I kind of feel like Korra though, with less muscles, of course. As I have learned [Chantless Invocation], I have been using magic without chanting, I really feel like Korra or Aang. I moved my body and let lower-class fire magic from my fists... "I''m a firebender!" I shouted as I laughed alone on the top of the hill outside town, its kind of my special place now... Shim was nowhere to be seen for it was still quite early in the morning, and I just finished my morning lap. I checked my status and saw that my level has gone up and so did my stats and skills... So training everyday and using your mana does increase your mana pool... This is what I talked to with mom, and she said "It''s quite possible, but somehow illogical... I know about physical means but I think it''s kind of impossible for a person to increase their mana capacity just by using up their mana, if you have a more concrete evidence then I could take that up to the council..." Then I said "You didn''t have to make that big of a deal, and besides I may have some evidence already!" Since the prince was deemed to have a low mana capacity, he was deemed failure by his magic arts teachers, but somehow his mana capacity have been getting bigger day after day, as he kept coming to me to teach him magic... If I could make mother identify his status once again then... "Haa... Haa... Ha!" I could see from the HUD that I''m already low on mana, and I''m feeling a little bitfuzzy already I''ve been to into my thinking once again while I''m training... I turned to the options menu and turned it off once again... Lately, I didn''t want to see the map and the other HUD in my vision and turned it off but when I''m training I kept them on... Specially when the Prince is here, I always stay vigilant. I sat down the ground and leaned on the tree. It''s so calm in here, breezy as well... If only I could take off the hat... But since mom told me to always have it on except when inside the house, I didn''t take it off... But... I opened the mini-map and increase it''s area scanning by 40m, with this I can rest in peace... I took off my hat and let my hair fall in it''s place. The soft and silky silver colored hair glistened as the morning rays of the sun hit it. I didn''t know it was such a beautiful color, I''ve always took it off inside the house after all, with only that minimal amount of lighting, it''s beauty could not be shown. I leaned my back once again and had a lengthened breath... I looked on one side and saw the sun''s rising and on the other the moon sets, actually moons... Three moons were going to become invisible once again once the sun rises fully. I''m kind of tired, may be because I exhausted so much of my mana, that I felt a sense of strong exhaustion... My eyes felt heavy and thus I let myself fall into deep slumber... I hope no one comes up as I am still sleeping. ¡Á¡Á¡Á -----Meanwhile in the Palace... "I want to see, Ryomi again!" "But your highness... Going to a commoner''s is unbecoming of a prince..." "I don''t care she teaches me magic and is gentle in doing so! I don''t want to learn from anyone but her!" The prince took off and ran to the hallway... "Ooh... That child... I wish he''s Majesty would actually offer his help for once... Call for Sir Kieffer, we will be going to the town once again..." "Should I call for Sir Harland as well?" "Yes, if possible, please call him..." "By your command..." With a troubled expression the prince''s advisor had his hand pressed on his temple as if he had a slight sense of migraine then took off to follow the prince. -----Meanwhile in the Town of Grille Shim have started to dress up once again, in clothes that gives a freedom of movement and she skipped towards the dining table and sat... This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "I''ll be going to Ryomi''s again!" "Eat your food first..." "Yes~" She ate with grace, she was taught by Ryomi on how to keep her manners while eating and after she finished, she left the plates in a bucket and filled it with water using magic and took off saying "I''ll head out first!" Then ran towards the outskirts of town. ------In the palace basement "Heeeeeeeeellllpppppp!!!!!" "Sshh! Don''t worry no one will hear you here!" "That''s not the poooooiiiiinnnntttt!!!! Iyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" Screaming could be heard deep within the castle walls, specifically the basement... Full of criminals, they are hereby tortured, examined and afterwards executed... Most of this criminals were beast kins, and humans... There were Ylka''s but as Ryomi''s mother she could not torture the same race as her adopted daughter... Emily instead gave it to another torturer, for she did not have enough power over this people''s lives, she could not let them go... She just keeps her mind off of it as she tortures the Human criminals, actually she did not have any kind of grudge against any race she''s just a sadist overall, but she''s also doing her job as the castle''s royal mage. Though normally this job isn''t for Royal Mages she kept on insisting that she''s the one to make them spill the beans, apparently to satisfy her sadistic tendencies, the king, made it so and after that the kingdom was far safer than ever before. When she''s the one who interrogates, no one could tell a lie, and even if they did they will be found out as soon as they said it. "So? Ready to talk yet?~" "P, Please! Just don''t do that again!!!!" "Then?" "I, I will tell you everything I know! Please just let me out of here!" "Alright..." Then a knock came from the steel door, that made Emily squint her eyes in anger... "Who is it!?" "It''s me..." The other party opens the door and looked at the people inside with a surprised look... It was Toni, he had a really awkward look then he pressed his hand on his temple and spoke... "What are you wearing?" "My interrogation uniform? What else?" "Is this what you always wear down here?" "It''s not like this is your first time seeing this..." "Uhh..." Exactly, he knew how bad Emily can get when she''s in that uniform, especially in bed... But that''s another tale that will have to be kept. Toni had something else to say. "I''m going back to town, apparently, the prince wanted to see your daughter again..." "Eeh?~ Why would the prince... Oooh!" "Emily... Haa... You know that can''t be possible..." "But if you think about it..." "Then we''ll have to stop it... Such things aren''t allowed and especially because of what she is..." "Ooh, right..." She wore a confused expression... as if to say "what to do?" and bit her finger nails... "I''ll go now... I''ll have to look out for Ryomi..." "Please do so... I have to get back to interrogating..." "Will you please change your uniform?" "Hmm... No can do... So... Where were we?" Toni closed the door and once again the screaming began... It''s more of a shriek more than a scream... Who knows what kind of horrors she was doing beyond that door... Toni kept walking and said his apologies to the guard in duty, but the guard said "it''s already a normal occurrence... You don''t need to apologize.." Shocked as he was, he kept his composure and walked firmly to the stairs leading to the upper ground. ¡Á¡Á¡Á I stretched my arms and my back, also my legs and yawned loudly... It seems no one came as I was asleep... Then I saw some enter the radius... It was only one, must be Shim... Once again, I put my hair inside the hat as neatly as possible so that nothing will be seen... Stood up and stretched my arms once again... It was a good nap, I waved at Shim as she was going up the hill and also saw the Kingdom''s carriage not too far away... He''s quite early... Ah! There''s father too! "Father!" "Eh? Where?" "There with the carriages, he''s outside riding the armor plated horse." "You can see all the way from there?" "Eh? Can''t you?" "Of course not!" I thought it was normal... But it seems my eyesight''s much better than everyone''s... I asked Shim to keep it a secret for now, and I''ll tell Mother and Father this new discovery later as well... Though it will be on the weekends, I can say it to father now but, it''ll get in the way of his work as a knight. We walked to the town and met with them, Shim was staring daggers at the prince for some unknown reason... I wonder why? I kept my silly questions to myself and once again ran to the top of that hill with the prince and Shim. [Log 2]Chapter 23: The Explorers Guild Everyday was the same... As I thought even if it''s repetitive "Peace is the best!". Practicing magic and honing my skills in swordsmanship, was gradually progressing... Emily said once I hit 16 I have to get out of the house and venture outside their protection and learn new things, so I was made to practice rigorously with help from both Toni and Emily. "Soooo... Ryomi? What are you gonna do once you hit 16?" "Mom said that I should go and explore the world and learn new things... How about you?" "Me? I''m actually going to try and enter the Academy of [Magic Arts and Sorcery] though getting in would be a bit hard since I''m poor and all..." "Hmm? How much have you saved up?" "About 20 silver, 34 bronze and 23 copper coins" "Well, that''s precise..." "You asked and I answered" She smiled as she answered with a boasting tone. To think this girl didn''t even know how to count half a year ago, now she''s boasting that she can actually give the precise number of her accumulated money. "How much is the entrance fee?" "1 gold coin..." "Oooh! You''re getting close!" "Not even... I need 100 silver for that, and to get a silver I had to have 50 bronze coins, and to get one bronze I need to have 25 copper... Uwaaaaah!" "What job are you taking anyway?" "Cleaning duties and sometimes Delivery of Letters within the village..." "How much do you get from each?" "In cleaning I get 5-10 copper coins and in delivery 1-2 bronze coins..." "The delivery job seems to be a good deal" "Yes, if only it could be a stable place of income, I mean there are not many who receiver of letters in this place, if it was in the capital then I would be rich by the time I hit 16..." "So basically the cleaning duty is much more frequent than the delivery job... Is there any other jobs out there?" "There are like "Repairing" and "Scouting" jobs... Scouting jobs is mostly for the elder people, they enter the forest to gather information of new plants or scout for monster villages, goblins have been making their villages inside the forest after all..." "I see... and reparation is?" "As it implies, if a job is posted about this they will need able hands to do labor and repair either a broken fence, house, or mostly the pub... Since drunkards fight there mostly every night, and they break the pub''s walls and it''s furnitures..." "I see! I''ll take the scouting mission, let''s take it the both of us!" "Eh!? Only adults are allowed to go to the forest remember!" "We are only 1 year away from adulthood also, I''ve already been trained and you have been practicing magic..." "B-but! I don''t know if I can do it... I don''t have much confidence in my ability... That''s why I have to learn much more in the academy... Once I get in I''ll be able to learn much more!" "You''re already a 6th class fire caster and 8th class water caster... You are plenty strong!" "Fueee!" "Now! Let''s go!" "R-ryomi! W-wait!" I walked ahead but not knowing where the place was I stopped and looked back... "... Where do you take those jobs again?" -- We arrived at a large building next to the town hall... It says in the sign "Explorer Guild" this is this world''s "Adventurers Guild", it seems Shim is registered as a temporary member respectively named as [Rank F] to be properly admitted to the Explorers Guild you must complete one subjugation quest and bring back the proof of subjugation... Seeing as Shim was only taking jobs lower than Rank F she could not rank up and was stuck in that rank for a while now... "You registered and you didn''t tell me?" "Mr. Toni and Ms. Emily said to not tell you..." "Eh!?" "They said "She would probably tell you to go scout and kill monsters, if she knew about the guild, so never ever ever tell her!" but my tongue slipped so... Teehee~" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions."Don''t "Teehee~" me... So? How do we register?" "Just talk to the receptionist over there..." "Okay... I''m going in..." "Knock her dead!" "Haah? Aren''t you coming?" "Nope, I''m already registered..." "..." I put on a blank expression on my face as I looked at shim as she smiled radiantly... She was a girl with a meek personality but now, that seems to be just an illusion, seeing as she is so lively when talking to me, I don''t even see any speck of her meekly self now. I looked back towards the reception once again, and started walking, the moment I arrived I inquired asking... "I wish to become an Explorer!" "Eh? Ah! Are you Shim''s friend?" "Y-yes?" "So you''re here to get a temporary guild identification as well..." "No, uhh... I came here to become an official member..." "That would require a proof of adulthood, I can only give you a temporary identification and you can only accept jobs of Rank G and Below, mainly household jobs like cleaning, repairing, feeding pets and other stuff..." "Eeeeh? But we are only one year short to adulthood... Don''t that matter?" "Sorry, rules are rules, now if you please give me your hand..." "What for?" "Blood" *Suuuu...* "Ouch!" "We needed to take a sample of your blood and here... Hold this card and pour in magic power..." "O-okay..." I concentrated my mana towards my fingertips and crept it up towards the card, the card glows lightly and the blood on top of it suddenly vanished, and then revealed my Name, Age, Level and Gender. It seems I''m saved seeing as my Race wasn''t seen in the card, even my appearance was incorporated in my card. "Congratulations! With this you are now a Temporary explorer... You may obtain requests appropriate to your rank by that bulletin board by the corner." "Thank you very much, come on let''s go Ryomi!" "Uh! Yeah..." Shim who, a while ago had quite a distance from me, appeared right next to me and pulled me towards the bulletin board... I still haven''t asked what the "Proof of Adulthood" is... Is it an accessory, a weapon or something else... As I was thinking seriously, Shim suddenly had a paper of a job right on her hands... With a smile on her face, she said "Here! [Help! House Cleaning Wanted] a perfect job for us right!" I checked the contents and saw the place we had to clean... "Shim... I don''t think..."Don''t worry about the small details! Let''s go!" *Sigh*" The place was located at the red light district... ____________________________________________________________________ [Personal Information] Name: Ryomi Harland Age: 15 Level:5 Sex: Female Job: Freelancer Title: ? World Traveller ? Once a Man ? Joys of a Woman ? Daughter of the Velvet Witch ? Daughter of the Demon Knight ? The One Who Is Spoiled By Peace ? Crowned Prince''s Teacher Affiliations: ? Argolis Kingdom ? Explorer Guild ? Harland Family ____________________________________________________________________ [Log 2]Chapter 24: Herb Picking -Shim PoV- "You can''t take this quest..." "Eh!? With a blank expression the receptionist turned down my request... "Told you so..." "Huh?" I don''t know why but it seems Ryomi also acknowledges the receptionist''s declaration... "I''m sorry, Shim but I can''t really approve you going to that place. Even if you''re explorers letting two girls go there all alone you might get seen as one of the "girls" working there..." "Huh? Where are we going then?" "It''s in the place where adults linger every night to... "Put themselves at ease"" "Then it''s a good place, right?" Ryomi puts the palm of her hand to her head and moved her head in reject. "What? What is it? What are you not telling me?" "Ah... Ehem... Then Ryomi please pick another one for the both of you..." "I''ll do my best to pick a more appropriate place" They both smiled as if agreeing about something, I tilted my head in wonder as I pondered what is wrong with me going to a good place... -Ryomi PoV- "Here..." "Ah! This will do, remember if you try to discontinue the request, you will have to pay the fine." "Uuu... Y-yes..." She smiled radiantly as she reminded us once again about the cancelling fee... I picked a quest similar to those of the light novels I''ve read before their first quest [Herb Picking] we are to look for a plant called [Sevun Weed] though I say weed it''s more like a flower... It can be identified easily as they are quite different from a normal weed, having a red stem while it''s leaves were colored blue and it''s flower petals colored in green, this weed is used for a medicine used for fever, though bitter it''s effects pack quite a punch as they can lower down the fever in just few minutes, surely not even our modern tech medicines couldn''t do that. It was posted up by the pharmacy shop owned by "Robert the Meek", he doesn''t go out of his shop unless he is in need of materials for medicine. It was under three more requests, seriously even his requests don''t stand out... I accessed the [Map] and searched for it around the city luckily, I got some hits, there are quite a few of them at the spot where are hangout place was. "Come on, Shim!" "Wait! Ryomi you didn''t get the acceptance seal!" "Huh?" "Please your card..." "Okay, here..." The receptionist holds out her hand and it glowed lightly, seeing as my guild card''s color went from Brown to Red, it seems the quest had been accepted. She gave it back to me with a smile as if nothing had happened. "You may go now..." "That''s it?" "Yeah! What do you think? Awesome, right! It changes the color and stuff when you accept requests..." "I see, but enough of that let''s go already!" "Un!" ¡Á¡Á¡Á "Good Morning~ Trevor!" "Ah! You and Shim going out?" "Hehnn! We are Explorers let us through!" Shim boasts as she takes out her card "Heh~ so you''re an explorer now huh?" "Yeah!" Wait you''ve already had that before... Oh right she had to keep it a secret from me that''s why she didn''t boast... But now that she didn''t have to hide it anymore she can boast whenever she likes... "So Ryomi?" "I''m an explorer too... We are to find [Sevun Weed] about thirty of them, do you know any place we could find them?" "Hmm? The weeds, huh? Did Robert post that up?" "Yes! The pharmacy guy did!" Shim answered honestly as Trevor the Guard asked a question about our quest... "He is kind of picky with his weeds... He wants everything high quality after all.. Well, I guess there is some in the spot you guys are hanging out, I''ve seen some when I was a kid, but nobody comes there, so it was left alone. I wonder if it still grows there..." "I''ll take that advice then! Come on, Shim!" "Un!" We walked towards the giant tree where we usually hang out and now this is our meeting spot after we gather the weeds... "Listen Shim this is what we are looking for!" "Okay got it!" "We need thirty but having too many doesn''t hurt, so let''s give it our all and take everything, but since it doesn''t have a time limit, take your time and pull the weeds carefully so that it''s quality doesn''t drop down..." "Aye!~" I can see the dots glowing in the mini-map, Ahh! This is life! Plucking out weed after weed I put them in my basket as I checked their quality... Most of them are high ones and some are of normal quality, with a ratio of 7:3 with high quality weeds reigning over. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. It said that these herbs grow in places where mana is quite dense... seeing as there are so many here and high quality ones at that, that means that this area''s concentration of mana is quite high. Though they say that when you are in quite an area you will feel nauseous since the human body isn''t the same as the other race... But I don''t feel nauseous and so does Shim, does that mean the concentrated mana came from another source? It can be hypothesized that we are the source since we''ve been using our mana till exhaustion when we are practicing magic, but such claims are weak, I needed proper evidence. "Last one... Phew... Shim! I''m finished!" "O-Ooh! W-Wait! I-I''m about to finish as well..." I sat down near the tree and let myself rest as I waited for Shim... 5 minutes... 10 minutes... 15 minutes... She''s still not back... I wonder what''s taking her so long... The things practically all over the place... I stood up and went over to Shim''s area, where I told her pick out half of the herbs... "What the?" There I saw Shim still looking for something... In her basket there was none... Nothing was inside it... "Shim?" "Fe... Ehh? R-ryomi! I''m still looking for it..." That''s weird she''s not looking at me... "Is something wrong? Shim!" "Huh? Mmm..." She''s tilting her head as if to say "there is nothing wrong" but clearly there was... She is looking towards a blank space... "Hey, don''t joke around like that... You''re eyesight''s a bit off, I''m right here!" She shuddered slightly as she tries to hide it... I knew it... Why didn''t I see... She was tightly holding on my hand as we were walking across town earlier... She also didn''t talk to the guard too much and answered only on cue... Though she did boast about our cards... "Shim... Is something wrong with your eyes?" She was taken aback by my sudden remark.. The smile on her face broke and she held her head down, then holds it up once again and covered it with a smile... "Hahaha! I got found out! As I thought I can''t fool Ryomi..." She''s trembling like she wanted to cry but still didn''t want to... She kept it hidden because she didn''t want me to worry... What an idiot... "Shim..." "Sorry, Ryomi... I thought if I said this to you, you might get worried and work on something real dangerous... I''ve always felt it that if something happens to me or to others you would surely put us first before yourself... But don''t worry I''ve already talked to Ms. Emily about this and she already consulted an acquaintance and said that he will be arriving soon, and will heal my eyes... So--" "Don''t do that... Stop hiding things from me..." Though I too am hiding things from you... But I couldn''t help it... I''m really scared... I never knew anyone with this condition before and I don''t know how to fix it... It was a good thing magic existed in this place... So she told Emily and already had plans for her eyes'' restoration. What a sneaky girl you are... I hugged her close as if not wanting to let her go and muttered a few words... "Once your eye is fixed indefinitely, I promise to show you what''s underneath my hat..." "Eeh? Can''t you show me already? It''s back to normal now!" "Eh?" She made a really unexpected remark. My face must''ve had a "what the? are you just playing with me?" Kind of expression... As she sees this... She hurriedly gave an explanation to clear misunderstanding... "Ah! You see, there are times when my vision becomes cloudy and I can''t see anything, sometimes much worse it just gets dark but after some time it comes back to normal! Ehehehe... Buu--" Hitting her head lightly I cried out saying "Give me back my sympathy!" "So? When did your eyes grey blurry today?" "From the moment we went out of the Explorers Guild, then it went back to normal by the time we got to the guard house, then suddenly got blurry again, then here my eyes were fixed..." "... You should''ve said it in the beginning..." "Ehehe... For Ryomi to be this worried for me, I''m actually quite happy..." "S-shut up you!" "Ehehe..." "Pick up the herbs already! I''m leaving if you''re not finished after five minutes!" "Eh!? Eh!? But I don''t know what it looks like!" "Here!" "Ah! Thanks!" With a radiant smile she said her thanks... As I saw that, my face suddenly felt hot and I looked away immediately afterwards. Can''t help it can I? I''m still a guy inside even though I''m female outside... After five minutes she went back with a handful of [Sevun Weed] and so we went back to town and headed for the Explorers Guild. [Log 2]Chapter 25: Easy Money "So Ryomi? How much do we get on this anyway?" "It''s about 50 coppers per weed, so 30 bronze coins in all... Plus if we sell the others outside of the request to the guild I''m sure they''ll gladly give us more, maybe about 60-180 bronze coins..." "I see... We have 100 high quality ones after all..." "I don''t know the market price but..." As we arrived at the Explorers Guild, the receptionist was dumbfounded, she looked at every weed with a surprised expression... "This are all high quality! It should sell about 1 bronze each!" "What!?" We were surprised by the sudden information that was laid upon us... We have a surplus amount of 100 weed in our hands, we can actually get 1 silver in a day if we were to gather these herbs... Shim was shivering as she counted how much she could earn in one day, as she was counting she couldn''t help but smile and look forward to another day... "Ah! Shizuoka! Saying unnecessary stuff again!" The man yelled loudly as the receptionist said that we should sell it to the guild, since it''s a high quality goods and are also needed in making medicines and potions... "Robert! If it''s of low or normal quality it would be okay to sell them to you in that price but with this being high quality goods, I can''t help but think you''re swindling children..." "Kuu..." The man the receptionist yelled at was "Robert the Meek" though with him actually arguing with the receptionist, I wouldn''t call him meek though... He wore a long sleeved shirt, a baggy pants, and a pair of slippers... He looked tired as he was yawning and hunching his back as he walked towards us.... "So you two found some good high class herbs..." "Yeah! We''re gonna make a killing off of it!" Shim declared so as she finally stopped counting and knew how much she could get from a hundred weeds. "Then I''ll buy this things for 5 bronze... All of it..." ""Eh!?"" Not only both of me and shim but also Shizuoka, the receptionist, was dumbfounded, a minute after hearing that Shim fell to the ground with her hands still trying to count... Ah! Her head overheated! "Oi! Shim! "Ehehe... F-five... F-five... B-bronze coins... Geh..." "SHIIIIM!!! She lost consciousness while happily smiling... -- After 30 minutes, Shim came through and woke up... There Robert was quietly waiting for our reply... "Why do you want to buy the weeds for 5 bronze coins each?" "Isn''t that obvious for my research... I''m still trying to find new ways of using those herbs... Also, since it was used for potions, I''m still looking for a way to increase the percent of which can be extracted from the [Sevun Weed]. I''m not just competing with the guild, they are selling those things at 10 bronze when you sell it to them, they are more cheaper than I am... Also you can''t see anyone who will buy something like a normal grade and cheap grade [Sevun Weed] only the high class ones are bought and the others are thrown away, but I still use them for research purposes, nothing is wasted on me..." Is this the so-called Meek in this world? He doesn''t stutter and gets right to the point, has the meaning of the word "Meek" changed the moment I set foot in this world? If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I see... Then... You will be buying high quality herbs for 5 bronze, it''s quantity is about a hundred then..." "Here!" A bag of coins plop down the table as he threw it towards our position. Hurriedly, Shim counted the coins and looked towards me pressing for answers of how much we could get... "About 10 silvers, right?" "That''s right..." "Shim, how much is in there..." "5-500 bronze coins!" "Now that you''ve counted your money, can I have my goods..." "A-Ah! Yes! Of course!" Shim hurriedly got up and went to get the weeds, and hurriedly went back in a flash carrying to baskets of it... "Also, you took my request as well..." He passed us down another but this one is rather light... This must be the real payment... "Thank you very much!" "T-thank you very much!" "Don''t sweat it... Come by at the shop if you want to buy some medicine or potions, or if you want to learn how to make them" He said so and left... While carrying two baskets in each of his hands... "R-ryomi! 5-500 bronze coins!" "Yeah!" "We got 10 silvers in one go!" I smiled as Shim jumped joyously in circles as we got or pay... Then suddenly she stops and... "Oh yeah! Here your cut!" She takes the other bag from my hand which had 30 bronze coins in and adds a sum of number inside it... "Here!" She hands it out towards me, as I received it, it certainly much heavier than before... As I counted it, it had 265 coins within it... This girl... She already divided it for the both of us... I looked at her happily hugging the bag of coins in her hands... "Guess, I''ll have to treat you!" "Nah! It''s my treat this time, since I just started today... and also you''ve got something you''re saving up for right?" "Theeeeeen... I''ll take you up on your offer then... "Let''s go?" "Un!" She nodded vigorously and took my hand, I suddenly remembered that she had sudden loss of vision for sometime now, I think my expression gave me off as she said, "Don''t worry, my vision''s okay... I just want to hold your hand, is it not okay?" With upturned eyes she pressed forth... I, being a man once, couldn''t help but be charmed by her cuteness and thus squeezed her hand tightly as if not wanting to let it go... "T-then off we go..." "Ehehe... Ryomi is embarrassed!" "S-shut up I''m not!" After buying some cake-like things, we went towards our hangout spot and ate as we talked about her sickness but was then cut off as she changed the topic all of a sudden, until the sun came down as we talked and laughed, and so our day ends with our first mission together completed without a hitch and got some extra too... [Log 2]Chapter 26: Goblin Attack "W-wha?" A joke... That must be it... Bodies soaked in blood lie on the ground breathless... There I saw some familiar faces, Trevor was one of them, in his last breath, he advised the sorrounding peoole to run... Screams could be heard across town, the houses burned and flames flickered as smoke rose up to the sky... Then a sudden scream resounded. "Ryomi!" "Shim! Shim! Where are you!?" Damn it! Damn it! Why!? Why all of a sudden! I took Trevor''s sword and shield then ran towards Shim''s voice... It was 15 minutes ago... -- "See you!" "Un!" With a wave she smiled as we parted ways in the intersection... Honestly, I wanted to take her home myself but she insisted I don''t and so... Here we are... As usual both my parents are gone and are working at the capital... I sometimes wish they would stay at home for a week or two... It''s always just two days... "G-goblins! Thousands of Goblins march towards this town, we must go now!" A man spoke in words full of fear as he trembled... "Evacuate the town! Immediately!" "Hurry!" The guards took the man''s word in earnest and replied thus... Panic spread like wildfire as the guards announced the goblins arrival... "Tsk... Why now?" However, their arrival came much sooner than expected... A green beast with a body of a human child held a sword in one hand and shield on the other, they spoke words that only sounded gibberish to humans as they screamed as if shouting "Charge!!" The town guards tried to repel them but their numbers were too many keeping up was a tad impossible for them, as their enemies grew to 5:1 ratio they were immediately defeated, goblins don''t have much skill in the sword, but they were much stronger than an average human. "R-run!" He said as he breathed his last... Taking the sword and the shield Ryomi ran. The houses ablaze in flames and collapsed soon after, goblins kept on popping up one after another, due to the smoke being thick it''s much harder to see and breathe. "My eyes hurt" she thought as she slashed the goblin, making it''s wound reveal blood... "O, spirits of the water, douse thy flame with thy blessings! [Rain!]" She held her hands towards the sky, magic power overflowed the surroundings and soon the grey sky convulsed, the skies roared as lightning passed through, this signalled that "it''s already starting". Rain poured down from the sky extinguishing the flames that burned the surrounding houses. She trembled as her knees suddenly weakened... Her breathing became rough as she stared at the ground... "Haaa... Ha... Haa...." However, the threat still lingers... Sounds of footsteps could be heard from every angle... They weren''t humans... The green beasts held hostility towards the one who casted the spell, they gritted their teeth and gripped their swords tightly, as they growled. "D-damn it... I... I can''t move..." Her body won''t do as it told it to... Using magic at that level, she didn''t knew how much burden it would give to her, simply looking towards the beasts that was all that she could do... However, her eyes haven''t lost hope as of yet... She struggled forth releasing every ounce of energy from her body to move... Her sword gripped lightly, the shield in her other hand might fall if she were to recieve one more attack, but she didn''t care... She wore a fearless smile as she tried to gripped the sword in her hands and shouted "Come! You Green-skinned A-holes!" -Shim PoV- "Ryomi!" "Shim! Shim! Where are you!?" Casting [Fire Lance], I managed to defeat two goblins... I shouted Ryomi''s name since it was still 15 minutes ago when we separated from each other... It seems my family has already evacuated as I immediately ran towards the house as soon as I heard the news... The surrounding houses blazed, it had only been 10 minutes since the start of the invasion but it already had gone this far... If I were the same as a year ago I might have fled as well, but right now.... I can''t leave Ryomi alone... In the air echoed an aria! This is... The grey sky started to swirl and soon after released a bountiful amount of rain, however, this was not a normal rain... Someone casted it and there is only one person I know who could do this in the entire town... "That idiot!" Using that much mana would render your body useless for a day... She''s really reckless! I thought as I ran towards the direction I heard her voice from earlier... Sound of swords clashing could be heard in every direction, there seems to be people fighting still... It must be the Explorers... "Fire bend to my will! [Blast]" Where is she? Where is she? The same question resounded over and over in my head, as I desperately searched for her whereabouts... Then... "Shim! Where is Ryomi?" The crowned Prince with Ms. Emily and Sir Toni came while riding a horse... "I''m still looking for her! Ms. Emily can you find her using [Detect]?" "There was no response..." "As I thought, she did use all of her mana after all!" "What do you mean?" "This rain... It''s..." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more."Tch! We got to find her fast! The goblins are swarming all over the place, the army will be coming in 5 hours... We only got here faster because of Emily..." "5 hours? They won''t make it in time... The town might get destroyed by that time...." "Don''t worry it wasn''t just us... We got 7 more people who''re much skilled than the royal army''s soldiers..." "Then the sounds of metals clashing were..." "Yes... The kingdom''s finest knights along with Sir Toni and Sir Kieffer..." "But still... We have no way of looking for Shim!" "I heard her voice earlier... Though I can''t discern where it is..." "I see... Split up in two groups..." "I''ll go with Toni, you go with Ms. Emily..." I nod in the prince''s proposal... We have to find Ryomi before... No... She''s strong... She can definitely hold... Wait for us! Ryomi! -Emily PoV- She''s reckless... I wonder if teaching her magic was really the right thing to do... "It''s okay, ma''am... Ryomi''s strong! Stronger than I am..." It seems I''ve showed impatience as we still couldn''t see her after all this searching... Why does it seem like this town suddenly grew bigger... The supposedly minute walks were now like an hour... The streets were filled with goblins with swords in hand, their expression, angered as they possibly could... It must be because of the sudden rain but since the goblins are a race that''s particularly sensitive in magic, they must''ve known that it was not a natural rain... "Heil sove cram sool saer [Slicing Air]" Unlike the normal [Wind Cutter] that can be used by most people, the [Slicing Air] spell uses the same amount of mana but with a ridiculous difference in strength, because it is one of the primal magics, which [Wind Cutter] was derived from... Also since it is one of the original spells and is chanted with "True God''s Words", I was taken aback because Ryomi learned it so easily, in just one day... But apparently her friend did too... But it''s because she was thought first by normal way of casting, which is normal, but Ryomi learned it without any background in magic, she just learned to use "God''s Words" without prior training... Also, Shim''s progress was also quite fast... Learning to use "God''s Words" with few practice... I actually wanted to cry... "Solei kif sol web cor! [Water Baloon]" A compressed rain water bursted out blasting away all the goblins in a single space... However, this magic only causes confusion and abnormal cuts, it''s not a magic that can kill, however, you look at it, this is the first time she''s ever fought for real, having to kill her opponents, she still holding back... Her breathing was rushed and she looks almost exhausted, has she been using magic since earlier... Her eyes burn alight with determination, she looked at the enemies towards her, no... She wasn''t looking at her enemies it was beyond that... "Ryomi..." She muttered lightly as she ran... "I could hear her voice! Ms. Emily!" "Eh? W-what do you mean! Hey wait!" Shim''s voice grew excited and she ran as fast as she could, a smile visible in her mouth... I don''t hear anything has she gone desperate? But then... "Wraaaaaaaaagghhhh!" A cry different from the goblins... No... It''s not even close, it''s a human''s cry, and a desperate one at that... Even after using that ridiculous amount of mana to make it rain through the whole town... One should no longer be able to walk, let alone stand, yet I could hear clashing of swords nearby... There I saw... Her hair wet by the rain glistened silver, her body, had visible cuts as blood runs down from her clothes... The eyes that seemed to want to cry still had a will to fight, she gritted her teeth as she blocked the goblin''s attacks but she is not almighty, she is a mortal such a thing is impossible to begin with... She knelt down with her legs and still was trying to receive the goblins blade... "Ryomi!" Shim acted rashly and ran towards Ryomi as she chanted... "Solei Ruu Shin Axe Cru! [Icicle Shower]" As soon as she finished chanting the area around her suddenly grew a lot colder... This is... She''s not supposed to be able to use such magic in the first place... I looked at her and saw she vomited blood as she staggered forward before kneeling down... This is bad... She used too much mana beyond her use... The rain turned into piercing shards and pierced the goblin''s limbs. Rendering them useless and unable to move... Terrifying... Though I could also use this kind of magic... But never to these extent, later, it was reported that it wasn''t just the area where Ryomi fought goblins were but also across town... I wrapped Ryomi in a dark mantle that she once had to cover her hair... If worst comes to worst I''ll have to silence shim for good so that she won''t tell anyone about this... I wrapped Shim in white cloth and recited an aria, the area surrounding the three of us was then covered with warmth, this is a area spell called [Sanctuary] no monsters, not even rain could pass through here... and dried them down... Seeing as they were exhausted and wounded all over, specifically Ryomi, I immediately used healing magic, but it still wasn''t enough, I have to let a priest see their wounds and apply a much higher healing spell... "Everyone gather at the main street towards our house..." I chanted [Whisper] magic and reported our situation, not long after sounds of horses stumping the ground could be heard not too far from here... There I saw my husband and the crowned prince... He really seemed to care for Ryomi''s well-being even if they only met a year ago... His expression was that of a man worried about his lover, I saw that face once, seeing as Toni had the same expression back then, but now he has an expression of a father worried about her daughter, everybody really does change... I looked at Ryomi who was sound asleep, with a calm expression... "Thank goodness..." It was a bit late... But I was really happy that she didn''t suffer sever injuries... My eyes started to tear up as I caressed her face slowly, as her warmth put me at ease... [Log 2]Chapter 27: Meeting with a God "It''s because of her that the town was attacked! That cursed girl you adopted is the reason for all of this!" "Chief! You can''t just blame it on her just because she''s an Ylka!" "They are a calamitous race! Do you know why they were pushed to the brink of extinction it''s because of their hair! It''s because they possess their god''s color... The color of calamity and destruction!" "Such a thing cannot be considered as an appropriate argument, having a different hair color than the rest of us... You can''t be serious..." "Banish her... Or else kill her with your own hands..." "Y-you!" "Prince Marx... Please..." "But this old coot he!" "We''re not going anywhere!" "You intend to defy me! You insolent brat!" "I have never broken a promise of mine to you father except for the matters regarding my family, she is your granddaughter as well..." "She is no child of yours, she is an adopted daughter, not of blood... There is no way I will have any connection to that daughter of yours... "If anyone outside of this tent, hears of this... God forsake what I will do, please remember this father..." "Are you threatening me?" "Perhaps... But I am not a person who goes back from my words..." In Toni''s eyes, his eyes glinted red with anger, in turn the chief glared right back and replied... "Insolent brat..." After their exchange Toni and the others went out of the tent and headed to their house... Most of the housing in the town was burned due to the attack, so most of the residents are to shelter themselves in a tent, though damp, it still much better than nothing... "Kieffer... Please keep this a secret from the Kingdom... You too your majesty..." "I would never sell Ryomi off... I promise that with my name..." "I could not express how happy I am to hear that your majesty..." "Is this okay Toni? Threatening your father like that..." "He''s a smart man, he wouldn''t make a stupid move, he knows that I''m a person he can''t stand against and he''ll never do anything without a proper plan, it may work for a while but soon he''ll move and expose everything, when that time comes we''ll have to move away from this place..." "I see..." The prince lowered his head as he heard Toni''s thoughts... No more words were spoken and thus they separated. -- "Nnn..." "You''re awake..." "Who..." Strangely enough I don''t feel threatened by her presence rather, I feel calmer for some reason... How long have I been asleep... Also, where is this place? "It seems you''ve got questions... Please drink some tea..." "Heh... Like the times when you meet a god huh?" "Well, such was written on your original world''s books... Though it is an unfounded fantasy, I try to make you as comfortable as possible, so I decided to play it safe with this..." As I sipped the tea, which only tasted like water for me... I really wonder what is wrong with the Japanese people''s sense of taste, saying that a water is sweet, rather than saying it''s plain... "... So you really were a god?" "Yes... I guess this makes things much easier, than explaining everything from the start... I assume that you know me already..." "The only one I remember with a silver hair and golden eyes was the patron god of the cursed race, God Leonia, am I right?" "I see... You have done your homework..." "What is this about?" "I have a request..." "Is this about... The treatment about the Ylka race?" "Keen... I must say you take the words out my mouth, yes, that is the reason..." "Is that why you made me a girl?" "Ah! T-that is... I thought you were a girl in appearance... and well..." "What!? You just made a wrong judgement?" "Yes... erm... I''m sorry..." "Did you know how hard it is for me to lose the thing that makes me a man?" "I... I couldn''t possibly know... I''m really sorry..." "... Haa... Also, are there others like me in this world?" "Others... Ah! Yes, there is, a dozen of them have gathered in the continent up north..." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings."For what purpose? It has been a year and I knew some might have already been killed and some have made achievements. Why were we sent here?" "To be our plaything..." That answer caught me off guard... I didn''t expect such an answer to come... Plaything? What the hell? "Do you guys take us for a fool?" "That is the other gods'' purpose... I want to help you, if you want to go back I''ll do anything I can but..." "There is a price for anything, right?" "Yes... An equivalent trade..." "I see... In that case... I refuse..." "Wah? Don''t you want to return?" "I''ll go back by my own... I''m sure there are some way to go back... Also, how could I trust your words, you are also a god... The ones who brought us in this world without our consent..." "B-but that''s..." "I''m sorry... Maybe, when we meet again some other time... I''ll think about it..." "I see... So you will reconsider... All is not lost..." I saw a small smile appeared as she lowered her head and said... "Next time... I hope you will reconsider my offer... Randell Hall..." "Heh... That''s a name I didn''t hear for a long time..." My vision gradually brightens and as soon as everybody is swallowed by light, I''ve already appeared in another room... The ceiling had a lantern with a fire stone embedded into it... "I see... I''m back..." Lethargic as I was, I forced myself to sit right up, my hair fell into it''s place... Then I realized something... Shim was sleeping by my lap, she must''ve already known... That I''m no human, that I''m one of those cursed Ylka''s... But seeing her here lift up my spirits, as I thought "I''m glad she didn''t hate me for it..." and slowly caressed her face... "Nnn... Ryomi~" "Good morning? He he he..." "Ryomi!" She opens her eyes wide and jumps at me with wide arms, and hugs me... Seeing this my unfounded fear was blown away... "She really didn''t hate me for it..." I thought as I hugged her back, a sweet scent of lavender loomed over her hair, is this shampoo? I thought but neglected the idea as there were no such items in a medieval world... "I''m really glad you''re safe..." "Huh, fighting goblins isn''t even a challenge to me..." "Even though you were bleeding too much, when we found you..." "We?" "Everyone, your mother, father, the prince..." "The prince came as well, huh?" "What? You feel much happier?" "No... Why would I?" "Um... Erm... That''s... It''s nothing..." I feel glad... nothing bad happened to Shim, but I can''t say the same for everybody else... "Ryomi... Don''t do that again... Okay?" "I can''t promise... But I will try..." "That was reckless you know... Casting [Rain] all over the town..." "... Yeah... I almost got killed because of it too..." "Mwuu! Don''t make it sound like it''s not a big deal..." I suddenly wanted to tell Shim about my going away after I''ve fully recovered, but as she is my strength, she is also my weakness, I couldn''t possibly go with her being all teary-eyed over me going some place faraway... I''m going to have to talk to Emily and Toni about my talk with Leonia and hear their opinions about it... I gently let my hand fall down her hair and hug her close... She really smells good... I thought as I sniffed her lightly in reaction to this Shim lightly muttered "Don''t sniff me, I smell awful..." I was blown away by her words, if this is awful then how do you smell when you''re totally cleaned up, I got the urge to say this out loud but stopped myself from doing so... "I''m going to go get your parents..." "Okay..." Shim then stood up and walked outside the door. Then I immersed once again into thinking, I wonder... Was it right to have rejected Leonia''s offer? Well, I did say I''ll reconsider it so there is no harm there... She also seemed to not rush at all... But maybe it''s just her keeping it together and being rational, she didn''t want to rattle a potential pawn after all... Ah! All this thinking is going to fry my brains out... Aaah! Gotta sleep again... So the day ends, particularly exhausted with my thinking of the goddess'' plans. [Log 2]Chapter 28: Spirits "Run!" "What about you two?" "We won''t be able to go with you... I''m sorry Ryomi..." "Wait! Mother! Father!" The red flames rose from between us as my hand let go of Emily''s hands! Why! Why!? "Daaaamnnn iiiiit!!!!" Before those flames a figure clad in black mantle looked at me with it''s golden eyes and was trying to say something to me... However, that moment everything suddenly become hazy, I felt dizzy, the next moments my consciousness blacked out and... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! Haa... Haa..... Haa...." "Ryomi? What''s wrong?" There stood a woman who said her farewell towards me earlier... Her disheveled Red hair was visible and had a rushed breathing... I felt happy just having seeing her, tears unintentionally flowed down my cheeks resulting in her being worked up even further... "W-what is it? D-does something hurt?" I answered with a "no" and hugged her tightly... I see... It was just a dream... I thought as I felt her warmth through her clothes... "Did you dream of something bad?" "Maybe..." In a low voice, I muttered answering her question... She stroked my head a few times and hugged me closer, and whispered a few words to my ear... "... We are not going anywhere... That I can promise..." Toni followed afterwards but as he saw that everything''s been taken care of, he only smiled as he saw the scene... I didn''t know he was there until the moment he coughed intentionally, resulting in me red in embarrassment... - Magic, it''s structure are like wires intersecting each other, that''s why chants were created... Chants are like the body of a spell... This will untie the knotted wires of the said spell and thus the connection of magic will then be produced resulting in the magic being invoked... Let''s just say a straw that''s knotted several times was then sipped from... What do you think will happen? drinking from a straw like that is like shouting that you''re stupid... Of course, the water that you''re trying to sip out from the straw will be blocked by the knots, or if in any possibility that you may be able to drink from a knotted straw, the amount would be miniscule and it is unsatisfying... Incomplete Chants will either be able to be incompletely invoked or totally nulled... Incomplete Spells, tend to be powerful but also brings danger to the caster as it is a purse mass of magic, and it''s an unstable one... Chantless Invocation, a skill that let''s the user chantlessly activate spells, but doing so needs practice... With no help of the chants to untie the knots that block the path of mana, it will become rather hard, but with the image of the spell in mind and the feeling of the phenomenon memorized, it will be much easier to use... Normally if you use a skill repeatedly learning the feeling of the phenomenon, when the spell is activated will become much easier to grasp and once you know the exact thing that happens during the activation of the spell, you may now be able to activate it without using chants... As of this moment, I''m trying to learn as many phenomenons as possible... Memorizing chants and using them repeatedly... Remembering the image of the said spell and the phenomenon felt in the activation of the said spell... As I am using "God''s Words" my spells are much powerful than normal ones that needed chants that can be said in human language... Since the spell that is used by the "Chant of the Human Language" are only derived from "Chant of True God''s Words" spells... Like "Fireball" for example... There are two varieties the one that makes a Red Colored fireball and a Blue Colored one which is called a "Spit Flame" the blue colored Fireball is of the Original Spell which the Fireball was extracted from... Unlike the red one that can be extinguish by water the blue one cannot be extinguished by normal means... Learning every spell the Human Spells are derived from is quite hard, especially when there is no book to look for it''s chant... Like the Dark Magic "Mirror Image" which copies 50% of the user''s abilities but when using "Doppelganger" it copies 100% of the user''s abilities and makes you invisible for a short amount of time, which is much reliable and mana consumption wise it''s much thrifty... Which kind of makes me think... Why derive the skill to make a weaker one... Why not just use a low consumption-stronger one than a high consumption-weaker one... No one knows why... Maybe it''s because the use of "True God''s Language" is irregular, only a few had been able to use it, including me, Ryomi and Emily are the only ones I knew who could use it... The prince couldn''t use "True God''s Words" when I tried to teach him... "Huu..." (Doppleganger) From the spot I stood from another figure is seen... It was me, it was just like Dopplewalk, I can use this during escapes... At the moment I can already freely chantlessly cast spells at mid-tier level... Though Mirror-Image is ranked Mid-tier, the Doppelganger seemed to rank much higher, since having a total exact copy of my abilities, no one will know that it''s only a clone of mine until the mana supplied to it is exhausted... As I was checking the time for it to disappear... First it was 1 hr when we are 50m apart then 45 when 75m, 30 mins in 100m and 15 mins during 150m apart... Checking while increasing my distance, it stopped decreasing once it hit 15 mins... After remembering the time frame for each distance, I canceled Doppelganger and my clone vanishes like thin air... "Well... That''s gonna come in handy someday..." Next, changing the terrain... I still have limited mp so the longest I could change is only 20m radius with me in the center... This was the original spell "Frozen Land", it''s actually much more devastating if used with a vast amount of mana... Once it froze a whole continent in the past, whether it was real or not, I do not know... "I think using his skill is kind of sad... The terrain it could change is so little..." I guess I could use it in times of need... I mean slipping in ice can be deadly sometimes... This world is a dangerous place so I guess I''ll be able to use it sooner than I expect... The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Next... I guess is summoning..." Unlike the other spells, summoning spell are obligated to be chanted... But once you''be contracted a spirit, you''ll be able to call them whenever... "O Spirits that surround the world and inhabit it, Answer my call and lend me your aid!" About half of my mana left my body just by using that single spell... I barely was able to stand up straight after the mana exhaustion... "Thou art the one, who called us forth?" There were about 8 spirits gathered encircling me... Their eyes glowed differently than humans... Shadowed by the light, their appearance was hidden from my eyes... I could only make out that there were figures in front of me and that''s that... "We thou ask once again? Art thou the one who summoned us?" "I-i''m sorry, I was awed by your appearance... Yes... It was me who summoned... But I thought I only summoned one... Why are there 8? Also... Could you lessen the brightness my eyes hurt..." "... Ahh! I can''t speak like that anymore! Can we not do that again?" "Eh?" "Oh! Right brightness... Sorry I''m gonna lessen it now..." As the surroundings begin to clear on be again, what I saw was 8 children, that each emitted a different aura... and the one who was talking to me was? "It was me!" Is my mind being read or what? "Yup! It''s being read!" "Hey Stop that!" "Ueeh!" Lightly chopping the head of the white haired child, I warned her so... "We''re sorry, she''s a mischievous one..." The one with a blue hair said apologetically... "Shiro! Say your sorry already... It''s been a long time since someone summoned us after all..." "Yeah! Yeah! We don''t want her being scared and cutting the connection now would we?" Said the brown haired boy and the red haired girl... The white haired girl named Shiro, was already in the verge of tears... "We haven''t been summoned for a very long time, it''s a first after four hundred years, so we were overjoyed specifically Shiro was bursting with feeling of happiness when she sensed a summoning..." "Huh? I thought humans and the other races use summoning magic?" "Ah! That... Their mana weren''t as pure and innocent unlike yours, actually there are only a few who could summon us! First was Cyan, the arms maker and the other was The Hero, Hecate... Lastly, you!" "Are you guys actually important spirits?" "Well, if you say important. I guess we are much stronger than the Guardian Spirits, so maybe we are!" What kind of explanation is that? "May I ask for your names and the element that you represent?" "Sure! I''m Aka, the Crimson Flame Queen, the governing spirit of fire" Said the Red Haired youth as she pump our her chest with a dignified look on her face. "I''m Misu, the Ice King, I''m the one that governs the spirits of the water" "Kuro... I am the one that resides in the darkness, also known as Eternal Dark" What kind of settings is this? "Lue, I''m the governing spirit of earth, also known as the The Iron Wall" Iron Wall? What do you mean? "Kaze is my name, I am the one that governs the wind, I''m also called the Tempest" He looked at me with such eyes of loyalty... T-this is... "I''m S-shiro! I''m sorry about earlier... I''m just pumped up... I guess it was a bit much... I govern the spirits of light, The Owl of Wisdom is what they call me..." It wasn''t a bit... Also, I don''t think you being a figure of wisdom, you act rather childish... Well, maybe... They are children after all... "I''m Castor, I govern space, I am also called... Well, I have no titles... No one has used space magic since..." He seemed rather sad... I''ve gotta console him later... Hmm... But space magic huh? "I''m Toki, I am the one that governs time, though even if I say that I''m not an omnipotent being so don''t ask for something unreasonable okay! Oh! Also my title is The Reverser" The one who governs time, which means she can turn back time and again... Well, the reverser title was quite a hint... I looked at each of them, as they gaze back at me... Oh, right... I haven''t said my name yet... "I am Ryomi Harland, an Ylka, and also the one who called for you..." With that their eyes grew wide... I wonder what is it? [Log 2]Chapter 29: Ylka? & Contract """You''re an Ylka!?""" (All) All of them spouted the same thing altogether... What is it really that hard to see? I removed my illusion spell and let them see my real appearance, the black haired that flowed down to my bottom suddenly changed color from top of my head down to the tips of my hair... "I see..." (Toki) Toki nodded as she saw my appearance... What is it? If there is something you want to tell me say it already! "Waaah! An Ylka! For real!? This is amazing, how did you do it? I mean isn''t the Ylka race already decimated from the world?" (Shiro) No, they weren''t! they were enslaved, and thus with generations of Ylka the purity of one no longer existed, maybe that''s what they''re taking about... "But you! I could feel the same as back then! To think an Ylka still exist!" (Castor) "Shiro don''t get too pumped up!" (Aka) "B-but she''s an Ylka, you know! The omnipotent race!" (Shiro) "That didn''t care for otherworldly things such as gold and the like?" (Misu) "If she supplied us with her mana! We''ll be back to our old selves in no time!" (Shiro) Wait? What!? "What do you mean?" (Ryomi) "Well, the world tree has been... Stingy... In giving off mana to us spirits... It said we''re using too much..." (Shiro) "Well, you use too much light after all!" (Misu) "E-eh!?" (Shiro) She didn''t think that at all, huh? "Okay... Tell me everything that happened, since I don''t know much about this world''s history." (Ryomi) "Eh? I thought an Ylka would know, specially since you''re the only one alive" (Misu) As she said that, I was taken aback a little... Do they really not know? "The Ylka''s are alive and... I can''t say they are well but apparently they are being suppressed..." (Ryomi) "Eh? We haven''t sensed anyone with a mana like yours for 400 years" (Shiro) So... It''s probably because the Ylka that exist were no longer pure and the blood that flows within are more of the other race''s than their own... But since signs like their hair being grey, it was no longer as beautiful as pure silver, but that of an old man... They are still treated like dirt... So I''m a pure one huh? "Just tell me everything." (Ryomi) "U-un! I understand!" (Shiro) Shiro then started to explain the events that occurred recently... Apparently, the amount of mana taken from the world tree was much higher than it could reproduce, the source of this problem was unknown and thus they couldn''t take action but somewhere beyond the Dragnil''s Isle a high concentration of magical energy was sensed almost regularly, there the monsters have become more stronger and more vicious, even the inhabitants have become somewhat different as well, like crazed demons they rampaged and killed, even the spirits that inhabit there changed as well. It may also be their own fault as well, as they were the ones that hold much power in the world next to the Gods... Some of the spirits suspect the revival of the devil king and is planning to destroy this world, and without the Ylka, which was supposed to be the one that balance the scales between devils, mortals, and gods, the balance was broken...The mortals have no chance of succeeding in the future battles to come, or so the spirit guardian of the world tree predicted, the world will be destroyed by war. But with an exception, Leonia, The Patron God of the Cursed Race, if she were to bring back even one, they might have a chance... "So, seeing as I am here, I''m treated like a hero of some sort?" (Ryomi) The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.""""Yes!""" (All) Is Leonia planning something? Is she luring me? I''m not a brilliant man and I can''t change that... Even if I rack my brains to it''s limit the best I could get are assumptions and sometimes my assumptions are not just coincidentally correct, they are rather dead on and I don''t like it... It always led me into situations I couldn''t get out of... "If you want your mana to be replenished every now and then, I''m okay with that... But I want to have you do something for me..." (Ryomi) "Sure! As long as we could get some!" (Shiro) """Shiro!!!""" (All) "I-I''m just joking! I''m not that greedy!" (Shiro) So she says but she was already breathing heavily as she imagined getting magical energy from me... Isn''t she supposed to be a light spirit which is a pure and delicate spirit? "T-then at once! We should commence and create the contract!" (Shiro) Oh right... I forgot about that... "Is there anyone who is unwilling to make a contract with me?" They closed their eyes and knelt... With one hand to their chest they muttered synchronously. """"I am which that supports and defends, I''ll be thine blade in battle, I''ll be thine shield in dangers to come... I am the servant that holds most respect to the one I call my master, this pact relinquishes my freedom and chains thy life to serve thee, and so I hear thy master''s acceptance!""" (All) "I am Shiro! The one who holds the element of Light" "I am Kuro! The one who holds the element of Darkness" "I am Aka! The one who hold the element of Fire and Lightning" "I am Misu! The one who hold the element of Water and Ice" "I am Lue! The one who hold the element of Earth" "I am Kaze! The one who hold the element of Wind" "I am Castor! The one who hold the element of Space" "I am Toki! The one who holds the element of Time" """We swore our fealty belongs to you and nobody else''s... The pact has been sealed and only awaits the master''s answer...""" (All) The magic circle that encircled me, and with the spirits themselves encircling me, each and every had stepped into the magic circle with their element''s sign in it... Faint light came from my arms... It seems this will hurt once the contract is sealed... "I answer thee to thy fealty! The contract is hereby sealed and I declare that your are to be my guardian spirits!" The faint light from earlier suddenly give off a burst of pain... However, I must endure... "Shiro!" "Yes!" One of the symbols from the magic circle vanishes and transfers to my arm, like it''s being burned into my body, after a while, it subsided and the sign was tattooed of my arm... It''s painful, though in the AR I didn''t take any kind of damage... "K-Kuro!" "Yes!" Once again, an incredible surge of pain was felt from my arm... and thus was again tattooed a sign... This process was repeated everytime I called upon their name... Lastly I called Toki, but she was too powerful, both she and Castor... They occupied a different space, rather than my arms they were tattooed on my back, I felt tired... Not soon after I lost consciousness due to fatigue... > Title Acquired [She who leads the Spirits] > [Time] and [Space] magic acquired [Log 2]Chapter 30: After... "...." (Ryomi) "You''re awake..." (?) "Toki?" (Ryomi) "Yes..." (Toki) How long was I asleep that she grew this big... A woman with a deep dark eyes and clad in clockwork-like armor looked at me with a relieved expression... "Did I sleep too long?" "No you are only asleep for about a minute or two..." "Then..." "Yes, this is my standard form, if my mana is at a certain point..." In this form she can be called a person of beauty, her deep black silky smooth hair and deep dark eyes compliment her silky white skin... Her physique was that of a woman in her twenties, her slender figure and well-shaped chest and well-toned body gave off an aura of extravagance and 10/10 people would probably turn their heads around once such a person was seen in public, that''s how beautiful she was... "Buuu! Look at Shiro too master!" "Eh!? Shiro!!!?" Her very being was dyed in light, her eyes that was a bit bluish was expressing her envy towards my gaze of Toki, the once shoulder length hair was now up to her buttocks... She wore a light sakura-printed kimono which complimented her fair skin as she smiled innocently towards my direction while rotating her body. I pat her head and slowly caressed it, as I thought that it was an adorable reaction... Incidentally, I saw three people not far from us, one of them wore a robe that Almost covered his entire body with a book in hand, he wore a rectangular framed glasses and had a rather stylish haircut, he was speaking with the other two, it suddenly came to me that it was probably Castor... The next one had a similar build to Castor but had a different type of clothing, he wore a black tuxedo that made him look a lot like a butler, his eyes was darker than black and his hair was a silky black... He had a fair skin like all else. The last one he wore a rather light clothes, he wore a deep blue kimono and had a topknot for his haircut, and what hangs on his waist was a spear-length Katana, his very image was like that of a Samurai, his eyes that were like the deep blue sea conveyed a rather calming aura as I gazed at the three, I knew that this person was Misu and the former was Kuro... But I wonder why''d they turn into good looking guys! Argh! I hate it! They looked towards me as they felt my presence and walked to me... "My liege, this one is quite happy of your being conscious..." "Please, tell me if there is something that you need..." "If it''s a task I am capable of I will do my best to comply..." Uwaaaa! This guys are too bright for me to look at! Now the only ones left are Aka, Lue, and Kaze... Which is nowhere to be found... "I''m sorry but Aka has left to boast that she was back to her original form, and Lue was rampaging on the center of the forest to test her new found power, for Kaze she is scouting the area for monsters..." "I see... I''ll take a look at them later... By the way where did the tat¡ª I mean the crest that was burned to my body go?" "It is only but temporary as our souls have been linked, the crest was no longer visible and never will be... You may summon and withdraw us at will..." "I see, thanks for explaining Castor..." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere."As it is within my knowledge, I am glad to be of help..." Castor bows and takes a step backwards... You don''t have to act like I''m some kind of noble though... "For now it would be better if you guys go back to your own domains... Specially since you want to show off your revived selves..." "It''s not like..." "If that is what master''s commands, but we honestly wanted to be at your side for the time being..." Though reluctant one by one, they vanished like air... I''ll call them in times of dire need... "Oh! I''ll tell Lue, Aka and Kaze not to meet me... How do you do that though..." [Is there something the matter?] A soothing voice like that of an angel was heard from somewhere... Is this telepathy? It''s like this in game as well... I then tasked Kaze to tell the remaining two to not meet me afterwards, and also that I''ll call them when I need them... [Understood] She answer with a rather disappointed tone... I guess she wanted me to see her as well, huh? Well, I should be going back to the house as it is nearing lunch break... I checked my status and saw that my mana capacity got somewhat larger... "Is this because of the contract?" I checked my body once more and saw that there was not even a single dent in my skin with a crest on it... It''s really gone, huh? _____________________________________________ [Personal Information] Name: Ryomi Harland Age: 15 Level: 9 Sex: Female Job: Freelancer Title: ? World Traveller ? Once a Man ? Joys of a Woman ? Daughter of the Velvet Witch ? Daughter of the Demon Knight ? The One Who Is Spoiled By Peace ? Crowned Prince''s Teacher ? She Who Leads The Spirits Affiliations: ? Argolis Kingdom ? Explorer Guild ? Harland Family __________________________________ [Status] Health Point : 367 Magic Point : 689 STR: 42 AGI: 75 DEX: 54 VIT: 43 INT: 91 CON: 53 LUK: 43 ___________________________________ [Log 2]Chapter 31: Prologue to a Journey "Haaa!" "Tei!" Sounds of cracking wood resounded at the break of dawn... The sun has yet to rise, the two figures that seemed to have started a bit earlier kept on cracking their wooden swords each time their swords collide. The silvery hair shined brightly as the sun''s light had reach their position, as light grew brighter the situation of their battlefield became visible, there were countless broken wooden swords and flattened ground could be seen. The other figure was a man, he held the sword''s grip tightly as he once again aimed at the person in front of him... This was truly not a normal situation... The girl with silver hair was running short on air as she kept on taking the man''s sword head on... "Hyaaa!" "Haaa!" The girl lost her footing and falls to the ground, as the sword of the man reached for her throat. "Grr..." She groaned in anger... With sharp eyes glaring at the man in front of her, accepting her loss soon after she rest her tired body to the ground. "I still can''t win..." "Heh... You''re hundred years too early to defeat me, Ryomi..." The man satisfied with his victory smiled brilliantly as he retracted the wooden sword from the girl''s throat towards his other hand, and reached for the girl''s hand to help her up... "Muu..." She was dissatisfied with the result of the battle as she pouted and afterwards took the man''s hand then stood up. "Ryomi... Happy birthday..." "Eh?" "Hm? You didn''t notice?" The girl dumbfounded by the man''s sudden remark, let out a stupid query. "Today, you are now officially recognized as an adult... That is if I give you your [Proof of Adulthood]" "Fue?" "So? What are you gonna do?" Without even waiting for her answer the man continued with a stern expression. "I don''t care what you want to do after you move out but... Ryomi, don''t make your mother worry... Use the skills I taught you to help other people... Think before you do something, rushing things will only hasten your death. Also... Keep safe..." The man, that had a stern expression on his face, smiled brightly and said. "Come! You''re mother should already have food waiting for us, we have been at it since midnight after all..." The man walked away with the wooden sword in tow, the girl did not move as she was still processing everything... "So it has already been a year..." She looked towards the sun that peeked from the horizons and smiled lightly... "So today, as of the moment I accept the proof... I will be officially recognized as an adult..." Stretching her arms and legs she then ran to the direction the man walked to and yelled... "Hey, wait! Father! You don''t have to walk that fast!" 24th day of Xyint of the Helvic Calendar, the girl named "Ryomi Harland" has entered the stage of adulthood. -- [Proof of Adulthood], I didn''t know what it was or what meaning it holds for the people of this world but I guess it was something like an acknowledgement that a person can stand in his/her own without other people to look after them... It had only been a year since I was transferred, I met a family that accepted a hated race and was cared for, I got a reliable friend, a teacher, and a comrade... A lot of things happened, I even met a goddess... Things that seemed to be something unbelievable started happening one after another... and now comes another phase in my life in another world... I didn''t hate the pain I''ve been through in fact I felt grateful... I didn''t become useless like I was back then... I became active something that I won''t do in that world... If my memory of that world didn''t exist I would''ve thought of this world as the one I lived in for a very long time. It didn''t feel strange... I wonder how sis is doing on the other side? Is there even a way to go back? "Ryomi! Ryomi!" As I was in deep thought, I was called back to reality by Shim who was beside me already tearing up... That''s right, I was going to leave first as Shim''s birthday has yet to come... The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Hey, don''t cry... It''s not like we''re not gonna see each other again... After six months you''ll leave this place as well... Marx will be crowned soon after... Things will get even more interesting from here on out... I''ll be sure to tell you where I am, so you can find me much easier..." "Really?" "Nn! Really, really!" "Promise me!" She holds out her pinky and prompts me... So this world also has this kind of thing... "It''s a promise..." "Ehehehehe..." I don''t know why she''s so happy about it but I guess it''s a good thing, so I won''t ask anymore... "Here... Cake!" "Eh! Isn''t this expensive? Even for you guys!" "It''s once in a lifetime event so don''t think about it too much and besides your father and I have quite the savings..." "Emily... Thank you so much, mother..." "Well, even though we took you in, you don''t have to force yourself to call us like that any further... After all you are already an adult as per the law of the kingdom states..." "But father hasn''t given me the [Proof of Adulthood] yet..." As if on cue, Toni then enters with a sword and a cloak... "Though this is the only thing we can give you as our saving were battered out by buying the cake..." "Shh! I said keep it a secret!" "Ah? Ahahahahaha! I forgot... Also here... Though this is only used when registering as an adventurer and entering an organization..." It was a badge... Well, I think it is... It was made of gold with a extravagant pattern in the middle with incomprehensible writings,.. The pattern was made in a symbol of the kingdom''s crest... I felt a faint magical energy coming from the pattern and it''s writing... I wonder if it''s only because of the symbol or... the badge itself is made up of magic metals. "Be sure to keep it safe... You can''t get another one after all!" "Eh!? Then..." "Just joking... Well, I guess for your race it would be hard... Since the Ylka is a hated race, only a few makes something like that... Well, I used my connections to prepare this." "Thank you, Father..." "Now then! Let''s enjoy the night and celebrate your turning fifteen!!!" """YEEEEAAAH!!!""" "Y-yes!" I thought... "Ah... The long night have started..." -- It was later that night... No longer was the banging of the beer cups could be heard and drunken adults are already asleep... I, who only drank a few cups had a hard time sleeping as I was excited of what adventures I would find in the near future... "Ryomi-sama..." "Kaze? What is it?" "It''s... Nothing, it''s just you seem happy..." "How could I not be... It''s a joyous moment after all..." "I guess, for mortals aging is a joyous thing,,," "So? Is there a problem?" "Nothing, I have come to report my findings about the otherworlders you speak of. Some of the spirits have contracted themselves with one." "Where are they?" "They reside in the city to the East... Well, about a number of them are..." "I see... Thank you, Kaze" "As it is my master''s will..." Kaze disappears from sight as if no one was there a moment ago... "So they reside in the east, huh?" I looked up to the sky and a faint smile was made visible under the moon''s light... "Maybe I can see them too..." Aira, Ford, Tara, Leona, Grazel... Everyone... I wonder, would they remember me or are they here as well? My appearance has changed drastically just this one year... I''m sure a lot of things happened in their side as well... I just wish I could see them again... As I gaze through the moonlight soon after I felt tired and went to sleep thereafter... I guess... Happy Birthday to me... Randell Hall... [Log 2]Ex Chapter: Shims Befriend Newcomer Plan! -Shim PoV- Today, something fell from the sky, I strained my eyes as it fell, it seems no one saw it except as they kept on walking as if nothing happened... Seeing as it is a warm and sunny day, I was tasked to help with mother''s stall at the town circle... -- It was already past lunch when I saw a hooded figure with a man dressed in a white shirt and brown pants together with wooden slippers, on the other hand the hooded figure was soaked in water and was apparently shivering as they walk through town... "What is that?" "Hmm?" "She looks like a wet fish..." "Nyahahaha!" Some laughed, some had a worried expression and some practically didn''t care... As curiosity overwhelmed me, I decided to follow the hooded figure... They entered an old house away from the bustling noises of the town. "Who''s that?" As I closed in upon the house, I could hear a woman ask a question in a rather serious tone. With a carefree manner the man answered simply. "It''s just someone I happen to see as I was fishing..." They continued the conversation as is, then suddenly... "You... You''re!" "What is it?" "Close everything!" "Huh?" "Just do it!" The man hurriedly closed the windows, and after a few minutes the man came out running, then came back with the village chief. I couldn''t hear anything from the other side... Even if I pressed my ears towards the windows I still couldn''t hear anything... After sitting there for a few hours I finally gave up and went back to the stall... There mom was waiting with a piece of wood... Haa... Guess my butts gonna hurt today... -- The next day I saw the hooded figure it was a girl with the same age as I, she was adopted by the Harland family, it seems to be that the ones who were living in that house were them, she wore a gigantic hat (in my perspective) and had hidden all of her hair... not even a single strand could be seen peeking out from it... Is it magic item or just plain craftsmanship... No one knows... My stare had quite the intention, seeming as she looked towards me, it seems she noticed. After locking eyes with me for a while, she averted her gaze went to her mother''s back meekly... There was an air of mysteriousness surrounding her, by all means I want to find out who or what she is, the operation "Befriend Newcomer" had now commenced... That next day afternoon, I saw her just at the outskirts of town, still within the fences, she was up in the hill where a gigantic tree was planted, alone she kept fiddling with her fingers. I thought "What is she doing?" When suddenly something appeared before her hands, a flame, a beautiful one at that, it possessed a blue color with a tinge of redness within it, I only got to see red flames until now. As if sensing it, she looks towards me, stood up and ran away! "Wait!" So "befriend newcomer" day 1 ends.. --- The next day... She was there once again... Fiddling with her fingers, stealthily, yes, I moved and tried to close in on her, but... She looked towards me and held out her hand and muttered something... "Waaah!" Powerful! Gust of wind came to my direction blowing me off to the bottom of the hill, but had not procured any kind of injuries... I looked up again and saw her ran at full speed... So ends day 2... -- The next day... She wasn''t there... Maybe she''s staying at her house? Thinking so I walked towards the old house away from the town, there she sat while moving her legs back and forth... She kept touching her body afterwards all over the place while muttering something. Then looked up, after a few seconds and moved her fingers as if taking something... Then looks towards my direction... Wah! How? I''m hidden behind the barrels... I looked towards it once again and she was no longer there... "Where?" "What are you doing? Why do you keep following me!?" "H-hii! D-don''t blast me with air!" She already had her hand pointed towards me, seeing as I''m afraid and shivering in fear (probably), she lowered her hand and asked for me to leave... Day 3 of the plan ends... -- The next day though I was a bit reluctant... I still continued... "Didn''t I tell you..." "Now... Now... Ryomi, don''t glare so much at her..." "But she kept on spying on me... She''s also the one who keeps on coming to the tree..." "Ara..." With me behind Ms.Emily, her mother, she couldn''t do a thing but glare daggers at me, but still it''s still scary that if I even took a step forward, I think I''ll get pummeled... "Okay, for now... Just talk with each other okay? I''ll make some cookies..." "..." "..." Silence filled the room as Ms. Emily walked towards the kitchen and apparently are making cookies... "A...ah..." "So? Why''d you use mom as a meat shield?" "M-meat shield..? What is that?" As if losing balance she staggered forward while sitting... Is that even possible? "It means your using her as a means to keep me in check! I can''t blast your face with "Wind Magic" if you''re hiding behind her! You''re cunning and I don''t want you to keep following me..." Waah! This is the first time someone told me I''m a cunning person... Even if I don''t know what that means... "Why do you look so happy?" "Ehehehe... Praise me more..." "Haaaa? Hey! Stay away!" I wanna hug her... I don''t even know the reason why I want to do that though... "Ara... Ara... I left you for two minutes and this is what I see..." I got slapped and "Ryomi" ran towards the kitchen, I was dumfounded of what had happened... Ms. Emily gave me cookies and said to come back tomorrow since Ryomi is in a bad mood... So ends Day 4... [Day 5] I wore a blue shirt and brown pants... It was one of my brother''s clothes since I don''t really have any girly clothes, I have nothing to wear but boy clothes... Wait... Maybe that''s why she''s avoiding me! Then I have Ryo clear up that misunderstanding... Arriving at her house, I took a deep breathe and knocked on the door thrice... "Coming..." Ah! It''s her! "Who is--- *slam*" "R-ryomi! O-open up! Hey!" *Bang Bang Bang* With a creaking sound I saw her eyes peaking in the crevice, and she asked "What are you doing here?" "Ah! I''m here to play! Let''s play!" "I don''t play..." "Then what do you do?" "Practice? Read books... Practice..." "What!? That''s so boring!" As if shocked she was taken aback with her eyes wide open... Was it a revelation to her? "B-boring..." "Un! Boring!" "Urk...." Reluctantly, she opened the door and walked to the living room... The door was open so I let myself in, thinking so I proceeded to the living room and saw had sitting with both hands in her face. "I... I... was... b-boring... b-but... I never thought..." She kept muttering... "Aah... Hey!" "Ah!" She looked up with her eyes half open... What''s with that... "Wanna play?" "With a boy? No..." "Is that why you''re avoiding me?" "Yeah! For what else is the reason would be?" I''m glad that''s the only reason... I took a deep breathe and encouraged myself for this day, "Befriend Newcomer" plan will have succeeded... "I''m a girl..." "Eh?" "I said I''m a girl!" "You seriously think I''ll believe that?" "Hey! I''m serious here!" "Yeah! Yeah! Then I''m a boy!" "What! You''re a boy!" "Of course not... I''m a girl stupid..." Then she muttered something inaudible afterwards... I didn''t really care about what was said since it''s not directed at me. "So? Wanna play?" "You''re still on with that?" "Oh! Right! I want you to meet my friends, so then you can be friends with them as well!" "Easy for you to say!" "Ehehehe... Come! Let''s go out!" "... I have to let my parents know first..." "Un! You tell them I''ll wait outside..." "... You''re serious about letting me meet your friends aren''t you...?" "Yeah? Is something wrong?" "Haa... Just wait outside..." So she went to the backdoor leading outside and started shouting for some reason... Words like "Damn it!" Which I don''t really understand... Then walked to my direction... "So? Where are we headed..." "Yes! Hold my hand!" "H-huh?" "Come on we''re both girls!" I took her hand by force, her hand was so soft that it felt heavenly, I squished it gently as I run with her in tow. After I introduced her to some of my friends they clicked immediately, or so I think they did... So ends the day 5 of my plan... --- [Day 6] It''s almost a week since I started "befriend newcomer" plan... I am standing in front of her house, yesterday and today her parents were nowhere to be seen, who was it that she had to tell yesterday about her leaving, that I did not care... "Ryomi! I''ve come to pick you up!" Creaking sound could be heard as she opened the door slowly, she was loosely dressed and you can see her skin peaking out of the shirt that she wore, I felt betrayed when I saw the wicked thing in her head, that giant hat that seemed to keep everything inside of it block out from the rest of the world. She was moving her hand to her eyes as if she only had woken up, she looks at me with half open eyes and yawned slowly then said "What are you doing here so early?" I smiled and replied saying "Early bird gets the worm!" "Sorry, I''m not a bird!" and slams the door close... "Ryomi! Ryomi! Don''t close the door! Hey open up!" She opens the door and asks again... "What are you doing here so early..." "I wanna play..." "Go play by yourself..." "Ryomi''s so cold!" "It''s because it''s morning..." "Eh! Then if it''s midday then you''ll be fine?" "... I don''t know if you don''t know that I''m gently refusing you right now, or you are just plain dumb..." "G-guh... Let''s just go! Please!" "Just let me change into something first..." "Okay! I''ll wait..." She opens the door and invites me inside, even if she has a crude mouth, she''s not as insensitive as to let me wait outside... "Sit there... I''ll be out in a few minutes..." "Okay..." I could smell something cooking but neither Ms. Emily or Sir Toni weren''t here... Wait, is she living alone? "Ryomi! If you don''t mind me asking are you alone in the house today?" "Yeah, I''m alone..." She answers from beyond the door by the end of the hall... That must be her room... "Ah... That''s right, Ryomi, are you free tomorrow? There is a "thing" in the church and it pays children to pull the weeds in the church''s backyard..." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it."Yeah, I know that already and I plan to go..." "You already know father?" "You mean the priest, right? Yeah, I met him once when my parents handled my adoption papers..." "Ah! I see!" "Okay... I''m dressed up..." She wore a white shirt, a brown long pants, and a pair of boots... She really likes boyish clothes even though she has dresses, even though I''m envious about those dresses she wouldn''t use them... "Let''s go?" "Have you eaten yet?" "Yeah... What you smelled earlier is already a finished production, I''ve already eaten before you even knocked..." "Heeeh?" "Let''s go!" "Yeah!" We played, ran around town, and practically got pummeled by Ryomi, when I said "Let''s fight!" up on top of the hill where the tree was... Afterwards, I asked if she could teach me how to use magic, she thought me how to use fireball though with a bit lower mana consumption or so she said, then let me fire at her with all my might, releasing every thing I created 50 mini fireballs and aimed it at her, but was thwarted by an invisible wall of wind, she smiled saying "Keep practicing" then she said that she was going to train so keep quiet but I think she''s only sleeping... Her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow, totally asleep, she thought she could fool me? I took a closer look just to make sure, seeing her eyes that close, her eyelashes weren''t that long in fact it''s only medium in size, her lips seemed to suck me in every time she breathes in... "Oh no..." The distance from us are only just a little bit, but as I regained my senses, I stopped and sat back. My face felt hot and my heart keeps on thumping at a very fast rate, like when after we ran through the town today. I took a deep breathe and emptied my mind... Ahh... What is it, I wonder? What does this feeling represent? Can this be even called normal? "Nnn... H-huh?" "Ryomi!" "... What?" "I knew it you were sleeping!" "............... I''m not..." "What''s with that pause?" ".........." "Aaah!" Even though she''s a crude person, with her here such days would never be a repetitive one... After she sat there silently she said "I want to go home now!" and walked at a fast pace... "Hey! Don''t go running!" In the end she had to go buy ingredients for here dinner so she had to go to town to buy some, unexpectedly she is well-known to the town''s shops. Then late that night I kept on practicing at our house until exhaustion... Thus ends my report for day 6... -- [Day 7] "Wah! You''re early!?" "I have errands to run, let''s stop at the church first..." Her eyes were half open and while wearing a long-sleeved shirt, short pants and a pair of boots, she still seemed a bit cold. Well, it is after all just after breakfast, she seemed to have just washed her body seeing as she is slightly soaked, or was she running? "Is your mother and father home already?" "None..." "What do you mean "errands" then?" "Are you going to ask questions or..." "Sorry!" "... Sorry... I''m just... Short on sleep..." "A...ah... O-okay..." After hearing that she walked slowly, following behind her was me... I wonder what her errands are? After we stopped at the church, she talked to the priest and declared that she will be participating in this afternoon''s event, nodding at her declaration the priest gave her an okay and said to be back in the afternoon, after that we stopped by the flower shop and took a bunch of flowers, the shopkeeper smiled and gave it to her as she passed the bag of coins to the shopkeeper. Then we went back to the house to drop it off. "We have another place? Wanna come?" "Sure! We''ve got a whole day!" "... Thanks..." Next we went to a meat shop, Ryomi took a whole slab of meat and took it home as well, she then created a boxlike thing with earth magic and filled the bottom with water then turned it into ice... She told me it was to preserve the meat... She then closed it with an earth made cap. Then we went to our next location, it was the smith''s shop... What is she going to do here? As I thought that she entered the place and we saw the old man waving his hand towards Ryomi, is she a regular or something? Only a week has passed since she got here right? The smith talked to Ryomi in a friendly manner and gave her a sword, it was a beautiful one, it sparkled as the flame''s light reflected from it''s blade, Ryomi nodded a few times and put it inside the scabbard and also was given a kitchen knife... Apparently the sword was her father''s and the kitchen knife was what she came here to get... "We got plenty of time since I''ve finished the errands a bit early!" "Really? Then wanna practice before going to the church again? "Sure..." It''s become much easier to control the flow of mana from my body as I took into heart Ryomi''s instructions... "O flames that burn alight to this day, grant me power and offer thine strength! [Flamepea!]" Pea-sized flames shoot up darting towards Ryomi, as she saw that she started to declare. "Spirits that give life and protection, seize thine enemies attacks with your impregnable shield! [Wind Wall!]" A wall of gushing wind was erected and the darting flames scattered into nothingness as it hit the invisible wall... "Good... I never could''ve thought that I only thought you yesterday!" "It''s because I''m a genius!" "Ah~ yes! Yes!" "Ah! You don''t believe me don''t you! Even though I''m really serious!" "Haha! Sorry, I really can''t just think of you as a genius..." "Mwuuu!" Pouting my mouth, I averted my gaze and crossed my arms, seriously, she''s always like this... Then suddenly I could feel warmth coming from my back then her hands encircled me... "Ryomi?" "Stay like this for now..." "Oh... Un..." My face felt hot and I could feel her chest pushing my back, my heart beat once again rose and it was as if I could hear it as it beat loudly... "... Thanks... Even though I''ve always pushed you away, you didn''t go..." She muttered in a low volume, as she tightened the encircled hands coiling around my shoulders... In the side of my face, was hers, her eyes were closed and she had an expression of calmness... My face grew even hotter as I saw her, I wonder... What is this? Why am I feeling like this... I kept asking questions... But none of it was answered as I have kept them to myself... I took a deep breathe and calmed my heart the spoke gently saying... "Isn''t that obvious I''m a genius after all..." "Heeh~ well, I guess in one way or another..." "Ryomi! Mwuu~" "Hahahaha..." "It''s already time to for to the church..." "Yeah..." "Let''s go?" "Un!" I offered my hand to Ryomi but she refused saying, ''you go ahead I''ll follow you'' I felt rather disappointed... But I can''t be demanding right... "Ryomi! Faster! You''re so slow!" "I''ll be right with you!" So we went and deciding to join the event to procure money as well as experience, for me I guess, Ryomi wasn''t in it for the money I think, she''s way too carefree... She uses magic when cutting weeds, to us it looked like she''s cheating but to here it was one of her skills, that are needed to be used... ''Cheating really!'' I voiced my opinion as the other kids shouted ''Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!'' She stuck out her tongue not caring and said "I''m not cheating I''m just putting my skills to use... -- later that afternoon... We already got our pay from the job, Ryomi had six bags and I had two... It''s because using [Wind Cutter] was apparently more effective than just cutting them normally. We once again got to our training spot and decided to train once again... Three pea sized flame came darting towards her once again was thwarted by the invisible shield... "As expected!" "Nnn... Not really! If it had been a bit more faster and bigger [Wind Wall] wouldn''t have defended it." "But still you defended on my high-speed fireballs..." "I''ll teach you how to make a true fireball now! So we can move on to the next phase but don''t overexert yourself okay?" "I''ll be fine! Teach me! Teach me!" "Like what you did in the pea sized fireballs only give it more mana... Imagine it''s size getting bigger but still incorporate the speed you once used... Chant the spell I thought you as well..." "Okay... I''ll try..." I concentrated mana into my hand and imagined it''s appearance, a big red flame, and a speed the same as that of, the flamepea... "I think I got it!" Then I started to chant however, it wasn''t the same chant as I always used "True God''s Words" or so Ryomi named... It was the language used to bring forth magic of the ancient, she already seen it first hand with her mother and have already done it as well, I guess I really am a genius! "Velvra Set Hume Karn Shel! [Fireball!]" Instead of a red flame, a blue majestic ball of flame appeared and was launched, unknowingly, I targeted Ryomi like I always did... As I thought this was bad... Ryomi casted [Wind Wall] but it only lasted a second and the flame still came through burning everything in it''s way! "Kyaa!" "Ryomi!" "Stay away!" She told me so as I walked slowly, I could see her figure she doesn''t seem burned, but her hat was... "I''m fine... You can go ahead... I can go back home myself..." "But Ryomi!" "I said to go back to town didn''t I?" I couldn''t help but yelp... The tone of her voice was cold, as she shouted towards me, it wasn''t a request... It was an order, I took a step backwards as I teared up unconsciously, and ran down the hill towards the town... ''Scary... Scary... I don''t want that...'' My heart beat faster but not because of happiness but of fear, even though it''s my fault... Even though it''s... My legs lost power and I fell face forward... It hurts... I was so scared... yet in the end, I didn''t want Ryomi to hate me... I wanted to apologize but couldn''t as strength came back to my feet, my feet moved on it''s own and before I knew it, I am standing at her house... Reluctantly, I knocked on the door... "It''s me... Ryomi..." As if talking to the door, I named myself hoping that Ryomi was on the other side... Ryomi opened the door with a worried expression and gently said... "Shim, I..." "I''m sorry, Ryomi! Please don''t hate me!" I closed my eyes as my shoulders were shaking wildly, never taking into account what Ryomi had to say... "Look, Shim it should be me who..." "I didn''t mean to target you! I''m really sorry! Please don''t hate me!" "Will you please let me finish!" "Urk..." She was angry that I could tell from the tone of her voice... But contrary to her voice her eyes conveyed another... "Shim... I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to shout at you earlier... I just didn''t want you to worry too much..." "Really? Then... You''re not angry at me blasting you with [Fireball]" "Of course, I''m angry but not to the extent of hating you for it... I''m not that cheap to hold a grudge with a measly thing, and besides you only grazed me... So it''s all under the bridge." I hugged her in delight, as I felt joy from the bottom of my heart... But this feelings of joy was suddenly replaced by envy... "Why do you have these bulges when I don''t have one..." She gently caressed my head and hugged me back saying "It''ll grow big soon enough for you as well, just give it time..." I retorted by reflex with "We are both of the same age!". After that, we went to buy ingredients for supper... Since Ms. Emily and Sir Toni won''t be back until weekends, together with Ryomi we walked towards the market and bought ingredients for her meal... I separated from Ryomi on the crossroad to my house and to theirs, saying "see you tomorrow" my heart felt light and I couldn''t help but smile unconsciously. With that operation "Befriend Newcomer" can be approved as a success! Umm... So... Hiatus.. [Update!!!] It''s been a month, I guess.... The title says it all! it''s been slow coming and I have been having trouble regarding writing the story... to put it simply i''m in a slump... So, I guess it will be sometime before I actually post something again as I could not find any inspiration to draw from... Dear readers, I ask for your patience haha, Lelz... also, to those who are waiting quite actively thank you very much! haha... I don''t even know what I''m trying to say anymore, It''s all in shambles, my head is... I guess... This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I''ll try and put up some chapters by the end of the year... or... maybe the first day of the next year haha... Well, ugh... this was quite delayed as the internet in our house was acting up again, in a bad way... thanks for reading the ugh... apology letter? is this an apology letter haha, well I''m really sorry about this but I can''t help it, every writer goes through this kinds of things right? Yours Truly, thatoneotakuguy P.S. I''ve been watching Big Bang Theory, and it''s quite hilarious, I don''t know for you guys but that show is a blast... oh well, bye now! EDIT (04/21/17): So, as you can see, LOG 3 has been deleted... I decided to scrap it since I''m not going anywhere with the story, I''ll be posting the chapters three weeks from now, I''m sure I have already piled up some chapters by then... I''m also busy translating so... Yeah! See you guys in three weeks! Log 000: The [ ] History High Humans. That''s what they called those who had changed with the appearance of the otherworldly tower. One of those High Humans was the Mad Empress. She was found in the depths of the month old cavern found in the philippines. Along with her "Incomplete" brother, she seemed to have "protected" herself and her brother from the "beings" that inhabit that place in that single month. These high humans proved useful and as well as dangerous. Their physical strength was otherworldly, and some possesed powers only imaginable in fiction. Yet no matter how unrealistic it was, the people were forced to adapt to this changes after all. The world had already began to adapt to this changes.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Losing 20% of humanity was just the start. In the year 2025, a mysterious disease emerged, the humans who have yet to adapt to the environment died. Research showed that their bodies rejected the change, their blood''s color changed into purplish color. After that year, humanity lost another 40% of its entirety. It was devastating, it was as if god wanted to eradicate the human race from the world. In 2030, another changed had occured. The birth of races and birth of the new world. Huge geographical changes occured all over the world, the lands shifted, broke and mended. The once barren desert was filled with lush greenery, the land was revitalized but in its revival, a threat appeared. The beings inhabiting the caverns went to the surface and made it their homes. Though with the help of High Humans, these threats were kept at bay. At 2033, The ominous tower, the symbol of the world''s change, that has been left alone for 8 years, the Tower of Origin as they call it began to open its doors. But that story is for another time. The brief history of the world outside. The one he has no knowledge of. He draws closer. Log 0XX: Trial "The tower had emerged. The world will begin anew." An incomplete diety. The God of the Imperfect Humans, Iblis. He sought power, enough to rival that of the creator. Leonia stood by as Iblis proclaimed so. Another incomplete diety stood by his side, Leonia, the God of the Ylka. It was of time long ago. To that time when Iblis still listened to Leonia''s advice. These dieties, existed since ages of old. They were the ones who shifted the land, sky and seas. Though they hold no power over the living beings of this world as the authority of the creator was much higher. Iblis, Leonia and the other god''s waged war against the Creator and won in the process, sealing the Ancient God into a thousand year slumber.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Seeing this as a chance, they began to crudely recreate the world as they wish. Leonia, however did not want to, she only wished for a place that is ruled by a tyrant. The creator in her eyes played with human morals, with their emotions. Inciting them to do bad things, with his explanation being "If I neglected them too much my child, humans will not move forward, they need a catalyst, they need a world to strive for, a future. These trials are necessary for that." Creating strife between nations, killing innocents. A cycle of hatred was born. Humans did advance, but in a brutal way, their machineries, weapons, all to find a new ways to kill. He only amplified the wicked side of them, the one that''s capable of destruction; of death. What she thought was right was too seal him, so that the humans could be free and yet... She hears the screams of the people below, their heartrending screams, anger and sorrow mixed as they held on to the hope of life. The world was changing, rapidly so. And in it, mankind was swept along. "No..." Humans needed power. Power to fight back and adapt to this change. In the caves, hope has descended. Will this bring the ultimate end for mankind, or will it be a new beginning. In that mangled broken body resided the fragment of a god. Waiting for the time he opens his eyes, the god lay dormant inside him, helping him in anyway she can. "Leonia. Why have you done such a thing!" The god, Leonia weakened, her powers was sent through all of the caves on earth, to those trapped within that pace a new found power revealed themselves. The High Humans were born. She was locked away by the other gods, only able to speak to that person through the fragment inside of him.