《Immortal Ki Technique》


 Chapter 1: Life after

    "No!...PLEASE...NO"


    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh"


    (My mind.....it... it burns.)


    "Gyahhh!"


    As an intense scorching pain, unlike any other, burrowed into the deep recesses of my mind, the last thing I saw were those glowing crimson eyes coming from within the black warped void; After that, nothing.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    Somewhere in the middle of a mountainous forest, draped in a pure white powdered snow, 3 men were digging a few shallow graves.


    As the wind picked up, it began to howl through the leaves of the tall trees and thick bushes scattered among the forest. The piercingly cold wind stabbed at the men''s uncovered faces, stinging their eyes and nipping at their ears. The pain from the cold at first was bearable, but now after several minutes of being exposed, each of the men could feel their limbs quickly becoming numb.


    "We need to hurry up! I''m starting to lose feeling in my fingers. If we don''t finish soon, I''ll probably lose them to the cold."


    "Don''t you think I know that? it''s not my fault they put up so much of a fight."


    "I know, I know. I''m just saying I don''t wanna attract anything dangerous, so we need to hurry."


    "So why don''t we just leave then? who cares if we bury them or not?"


    "You know exactly why. The last thing we need is for an animal to eat one of these corpses and become a magical beast! if that happens, then we''re all screwed."


    Beneath the men''s feet, there were three bodies lying naked and exposed, covered in blood and dirt. Each one stripped down for their valuables leaving nothing left. One man, one woman, and one child.....all dead. A few feet away stood a smaller than average horse and attached behind it was an old rugged covered wagon. The three men digging the graves were bandits, they had been on their way to god knows where when an easy target appeared.


    A small, worn out wagon being driven by a young man drew a path towards them. It seemed that the young man had lost his way as he was asking the three men for directions when suddenly, they attacked him. With an opportunity like this just falling into their laps, they just couldn''t resist and although it was a surprise attack, the young man wasn''t too bad a fighter and fought the men for several minutes, before finally being overwhelmed. Afterward, they discovered the woman and the boy cowering under a thick fur in the back of the wagon. Seeing the pair, the bandits obviously couldn''t leave any witnesses.


    "Tch, not much we can sell."


    "Well, at least the guy''s sword is pretty decent; It should get us 10 or 11 silvers, it''s not bad."


    One of the bandits quickly became excited thinking about future possibilities.


    "11 silvers! We could live for a few months off of that, that''s plenty of meat and wine if we spend it well."


    However, the other bandit''s thoughts were elsewhere.


    "Forget that, I''m gonna hit the brothel! For that kinda money, I can get at least three high-class whores and some wine or maybe one that''s a real beauty, hahaha."


    The three men broke out in laughter, feeling absolutely no remorse for the brutal crime they just committed, their morals all but gone long ago.


    With the wind scrapping their exposed flesh, the three men snapped out of their fantasies.


    "Cmon, let''s finish this."


    With only one shovel that they took from the wagon, the men buried one body after the other. One shoveled while the other two were forced to use the end of their swords, making them work harder as well as take longer; They soon began to cover the last one.


    Suddenly they heard a terrifying ghoulish scream.


    "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    It was the most horrible shrieking scream they had ever heard in their entire lives. Sounding a hundred, no, thousand times more wretched than a pig being slaughtered. The three men were shocked and their faces instantly became pale, not just because of the scream itself, but from where it was coming from.


    Right in front of them, in the last grave they had almost filled in. The young boy they had almost entirely covered in dirt and snow, the young boy they had just killed by strangling, was suddenly releasing the most horrid scream in the world. All three felt a prickling on their skin as the hairs on their necks stood up one by one. After what seemed like forever, the ghoulish screaming finally came to an abrupt stop.


    "Ki...Kill Him!"


    "I...I already did, how?"


    "It doesn''t matter just kill''em!"


    Hearing his friend yell at him snapped him out of it and he quickly went to finish the boy off. Raising his sword above his head and ready to strike, it was at this moment that another surprise happened.


    "AAAAAAOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLL."


    A wolf''s howl echoed throughout the forest.


    Hearing this noise, the three men froze on the spot and exchanged horrified glances with each other. Panic appeared on each one of their faces, they knew exactly what that noise meant.


    Wolves always moved in packs of at least 15 deep and they were always lead by an alpha. A single adult wolf would grow between 145 to 165 pounds, with a length of 5-7 feet and a height of 4 feet. A fully grown man with no training would not survive an attack from a single wolf. A bandit with some training wouldn''t fare much better, maybe they could take 1 or 2, but an alpha was an entirely different thing altogether. An average alpha''s weight was easily 4-5 times bigger. An 800-pound wolf is already a monster requiring a group of skilled soldiers with heavy armor and powerful weapons and usually, a Mage would provide support, but even that wouldn''t guarantee their victory, let alone these three bandits.


    Looking at the situation, there was no time to hesitate.


    "Forget the boy, it''s time to go now." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The men quickly ran towards the wagon, hoping to flee before the wolves arrival; They knew if they didn''t leave in time then they wouldn''t leave at all, they''d simply be a meal for the beast. But before they could even reach the edge of the wagon, the brush could be heard being stirred up. Immediately after, several wolves leaped out, pouncing on the horse as well as one of the bandits.


    Something had attracted them here, whether it was because of the boy''s screams or because of all the blood from earlier, it didn''t matter at this point, the only thing that mattered was survival.


    The man that was pounced upon immediately had his throat ripped out, killing him instantly. The wolf''s attack had just happened too suddenly, there just wasn''t any time to defend himself and so like a flame to a candle, his life was extinguished.


    Three wolves had already torn into the horse, ripping into it as though its flesh was made of paper, easily rending its meat from the bone. The horse''s cries were terrible and in a panic; The horse tried to kick them off, causing the wagon to overturn in the snow. With the weight of the wagon being so heavy and now unbalanced, it dragged the horse to the ground, causing the wolves to finish the horse off even faster. Seeing their friend, as well as the horse dying almost instantly, the two bandits turned a complete 180 in the opposite direction to flee. Running towards the graves, the two bandits noticed something amiss; The young boy was no longer there.


    Looking around, one of the bandits spotted the boy up a tree, surprised, the bandit nearly fainted. The boy who they had just killed moments ago was now alive and up in a tree, all before the bandit could even tell what was what. But the bandit had no time to understand nor care in this type of situation, the only concern he had was survival. Looking around, the bandits were quickly being encircled by the wolves, it was now clear as day, there was no chance of running away. The last two bandits took defenses stances. With their swords drawn, the two knew they were in a terribly desperate situation.


    "We can''t run and we can''t fight either."


    Panicking, the other bandit shouted towards his friend.


    "THEN WHAT DO WE DO!"


    Looking again at the boy in the tree, the calmer bandit made a quick decision in his heart and in a low voice he said.


    "The boy, I don''t know how he''s alive but he''s got the right idea. If we both run at the same time and shimmy up the tree, we might just be able to wait these beasts out."


    The other bandit reluctantly nodded as the idea was a lot better than facing this pack of wolves, especially since the alpha had yet to show himself. Any chance at life was all he could ask for at this point, so the bandit looked at his calmer friend and asked.


    "When should we move?"


    As the wolves nearly finished encircling them, the bandits knew their opportunity was slipping away.


    "On three....one....two........THREE!"


    As the bandit shouted out, the two moved instantly for the tree and as soon as they did so did the wolves. As the wolves were pouncing towards them, fangs beared and claws drawn, the calmer bandit grit his teeth and made his move. With a slight side step, he tripped his friend and then leaped toward the tree with all his might. The fallen bandit couldn''t help but look at his companion with utter terror and dismay. Being betrayed at this moment and under this pressure, the man crumbled in despair. Seeing this, the wolves pounced on the fallen bandit and tore him up before he could even scream.


    The last surviving bandit made it partly up the tree, but even he wasn''t quick enough as a single wolf had still managed to gnaw through his thick leather boot, tearing into his foot. With fangs piercing deeply into his foot, the bandit couldn''t help release a cry of pure anguish.


    "AAHHHHHHHH!"


    With a few forceful kicks, the bandit finally managed to wrestle his bloodied foot from the beast jaws and climbed a little higher up. While resting his back against the tree, the bandit let out several heavy breaths, trying his best to calm himself. Looking down he saw his companions, as well as the horse being consumed rapidly; sounds of bones crunching and flesh being torn from the bodies were quite dreadful to listen to, let alone seeing big puddles of blood gushing out rapidly. As quickly as the blood puddled, it was then just as quickly lapped up by the wolves tongues.


    As the bandit tried to calm himself and catch his breath, it was an almost impossible task while watching this terrible scene play out before him. It was at this moment that he suddenly heard a creaking noise above him. Quickly taking a look up above, he spotted the boy bouncing up and down on a branch.


    "Tch, the kid''s crazy."


    With deadly wolves below and an annoying kid above, the bandit quickly lost his patience.


    "Hey! you little bastard cut that shit out or I''ll feed your scrawny butt to the wolves."


    Although the bandit said that, in reality, it would be way too much trouble. First off his foot was still bleeding and he was in excruciating pain, secondly, after killing the kids family then digging graves and then the situation with the wolves, he was mentally and physically exhausted. If he then had to climb up and kill the kid it would be just too much; Plus, he doubted whether he could actually even climb again with the way he felt.


    But before he could even shout again, he suddenly heard a snap and then silence. With that, he finally felt relieved. Letting out a sigh of relief, the bandit looked up once more, only to have his heart feel as though it were leaping from his chest. Before his eyes, the boy was rapidly falling toward him. Suddenly appearing right above his head was already frightening enough, but what the boy had in his hands simply turned the bandit pale. In the hands of this small boy was a thick branch, that''s what the boy had been working on. The bandit''s instincts told him the situation was dangerous and with everything the bandit could muster, he tried to move out of the way but it was already far too late. The boy had appeared too fast and with a large swing, the boy abandoned all his strength and struck the bandit on the top of his head.


    *CRACK!*


    Following that, the bandit dropped from the tree like a sack of potatoes, breaking several branches on the way down. By the time the bandit landed, he was covered in wounds from head to toe. There was no doubt he had several broken bones.


    Seeing their food get away, only to have it fall face down in front of them, the wolves began to release howls of joy right before they quickly tore into him. The bandit had no time to react and died just like that.


    While the wolves devoured the bandit, the young boy regained his balance on the tree. His legs seemed to crumble and he abruptly sat down trembling all over. The young boy looked around in every direction, seeing nothing but a frozen mountainous forest as far as the eyes can see, as well as the huge bloodthirsty wolves, the boy couldn''t help but feel fear.


    Out in the distance, the boy could see a huge silver wolf, almost 4-5 times bigger than the ones below him. It was standing tall and proud on top of an even bigger boulder. For a brief moment, it seemed as if the huge wolf glanced at him, but then it looked away as though it wasn''t interested. The boy figured it was simply his imagination and tried to calm his nerves, but then the Silver wolf looked to the sky and released a powerful and long howl.


    "AAAWWWOOOOOLLL"


    With this powerful and domineering howl, it seemed as though all of the wind that blew throughout the forest was the breath of the silver wolf.


    Looking down below, there seemed to be a reaction as all the wolves'' ears immediately seemed to perk up all at once. Like an army of organized soldiers following their king, the wolves all began to move in synch, carrying off any meat that was left. Just like that, the wolves dashed deep into the forest, disappearing like a ghost in the night.


    After some time, the young boy finally calmed down.


    "Who....where am I?"


    But before he could even begin to answer any of these questions, the young boy felt stinging and numbness all over. Looking at his body, only now did he notice he was naked and he immediately began shivering. Now that his adrenaline was wearing off, his body was feeling all the pain from the cold. Looking closer, his toes and fingers were turning blue, he had no time to ask questions and had to get some warmth immediately or he would die. Looking around he noticed the overturned wagon, covering it was a leather top and he remembered that inside was a big fur that his mother had used to hide them both.


    After climbing down, the boy quickly jumped inside the wagon and dove under the fur, wrapping himself in a cocoon. As his body started to slowly warm up, memories started coming back making him want to cry.


    "Mother, father, they''re both dead."


    But before the young boy could continue his grief, like a bolt of lightning, his mind flashed causing him to shake uncontrollably. Memory after memory began to flood into his mind, like little needles they stung his brain with each recollection. Thousand upon thousands of memories shook him to the core, nearly shattering his psyche into a million pieces. Soon, thoughts began to appear in his mind one after another. This wasn''t his body, those wolves were not from his world, he had died in his own world, killed by a monster with crimson eyes and somehow he ended up here in the dead body of a small child. As this mind-warping experience hammered his psyche again and again some of the child''s memories started fusing with his. Not a lot of memories but still some were taken in by his mind. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the memories came to an abrupt stop. The boy''s eyes became unclouded and clear as a calm focused look washed over his face, two words slipped past his lips.


    "I remember."

 Chapter 2: The birth of a Ki manipulator

    "I remember, I remember everything."


    A strange calm swept over the young boy and his cloudy eyes regained their former focus.


    "My name is Lowen."


    (I was born in a land called Treia, a powerful kingdom with equally powerful foes.)


    (I was a grand master of martial arts and ki manipulation and I was the personal protector of the King of Treia. Due to an unforeseen incident, that creature with the crimson eyes did something to my mind, my soul. With its power unmatched and its might untamed, there was nothing I could do, I couldn''t even fight back before it was already too late and now I''m here. I''m alive, somehow stuck in the body of a six-year-old boy in the middle of nowhere. With no clue of what happened to my homeland, to my king but for some reason, I''m not that upset. When I was young I had no purpose, orphaned from a young age I only lived for survival. As I grew I found martial arts and studied with blood and sweat, all for the sole purpose of survival. I became a mercenary to survive and then a soldier to survive before I found myself fighting for a king, defending his kingdom. But with no family, no friends, for every day that I lived, survived, more dissatisfaction would grow within the pit of my stomach. Something was clearly missing, a void in my life, what was the point in just surviving? I felt that I almost found the answer to my existence, but in the end with no more time, like a puppet with cut strings, I died.)


    As Lowen curled himself within the thick fur, a gust of wind blew through the back of the run-down wagon, sending chills up and down his spine, causing him to squeeze the fur wrapping himself tighter inside, like a snake around its prey.


    (Shit, I''m still freezing. If I don''t warm up soon, then I''ll just end up dead again.)


    Lowen began looking and rummaging around in the wagon and although there were some supplies and equipment, they were already quite limited but after the horse panicked and the wagon flipped over, what little items there were, almost all of them had been destroyed. What was left was quite disappointing. A bit of rope no more than 20 feet in length, a small knife with a blade of about 4 inches, 1 thick fur and 5 pounds of dried meat. It seems there was quite a bit more meat, but it had fallen out of the wagon, landing in some of the blood of one of the bandits. What could have been eaten before would most likely get you sick now, It was best to just leave it alone. The last two items were 2 unbroken clay pot jars, everything else had fallen outside in the snow and was unusable.


    Peeking outside the wagon, Lowen could see the young boy''s clothes, well, his clothes now. He could also see the boy''s parents clothes but they were covered in blood and already completely frozen over. Lying a little further away, Lowen could see the bandit''s swords, a bow with a few arrows in a quiver, and the young boy''s fathers sword, the rest of the clothes had been on the bandit''s bodies before they were dragged away into the forest.


    Seeing no way to make a fire, a bit of dread swept over Lowen''s face. He was running out of time; But suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind. In his previous life, he was a martial arts master; Not only that, but he had also mastered Ki manipulation. The power of ki was quite fantastic; With it, a person could do many miraculous things. Whether it was used to improve a users strength, increasing it to inhuman levels, or using it to lighten a persons body weight to that of a feather, in between that the possibilities were almost endless. One thing in particular that manipulating ki could do, was the ability to regulate most bodily functions. To control blood flow, force out toxins in the body, and recover faster were just some of the possibilities, but what Lowen planned to do was much simpler than that. With Ki, he could regulate his body''s core temperature, pushing it up several degrees to maintain body heat.


    With this thought in mind, Lowen quickly sat back down and crossed his legs getting into a meditative position. With the fur still wrapping him up nice and tight, Lowen slammed his eyes shut and began to breathe. Inhaling deeply and exhaling out nice and slow, again and again.


    To gain the power of ki, the very first thing you need to do is to form a seed of ki within, a storage container for ki if you will. A source that can be tapped into, refined and refilled at any given moment. Without it, the Ki that enters your body will just flow around inside you, chaotically destroying your flesh, blood, and viscera. In order to form this seed, you must be able to control at least a small portion of your mind and soul, forming a bridge between them and then connecting them to your body. The most direct way to do so is to meditate and clear your mind of any useless thought or motion.


    As Lowen meditated, the only thing he focused on was his breath, in and out, in and out, nice and slow, breathe....breathe....breathe. As he did, the world soon started to fade away. The howling wind of the great forest that once screamed in his ears began to whisper. The stabbing pain from the freezing cold no longer felt unbearable, but instead turned into a cool breeze. The thick smell of blood and guts simply turned into the smell of rusted metal. Inhale.......exhale...inhale.....exhale. Right now, the world was silent and Lowen''s body no longer felt anything. Every sense was now a void of nothingness. The sky was nothing.... ..........the world was nothing...........the universe... was nothing.


    * ba...bump................ba..bump......BA.BUMP BA BUMP BA BUMP*


    * BOOOOOOM!*


    Like a small explosion, a tiny wisp of ki began to swirl in the very core of Lowen. With the power of both his mind and soul, a tiny speck started to form and condense into the shape of a small seed. Finally, after several minutes, the mind and soul connected to Lowen''s body and it was complete. Lowen had once again become a Ki manipulator.


    *Phew*


    Releasing a long breath, Lowen slowly opened his eyes, he couldn''t help but feel relieved. If he couldn''t find a way to control ki, then his death was all but guaranteed. Thankfully he was a master of ki in his previous life, otherwise, it would have taken much longer had he not know the secrets to ki.


    Now that he had a ki seed, it was simple to fill it up with ki energy, especially something so small. For a master who has done it all before, it was as easy as turning his hand over. With a few focused breaths, the ki of the universe moved and this small seed in his core was filled to the brim with energy.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    With a simple thought, Lowen began to circulate this small amount of Ki within his body but unfortunately, the amount came up short, only flowing a few inches away from his core, after that the energy entirely ran out.


    So he began his long process of focusing himself. Absorbing ki and then circulating it through his body. Finally, after an hour, he had completed one full circulation from his core, through his entire body and then returning to the core. The significance of this was that every time he completed a circulation, the seed within his core would grow a fraction bigger. A bigger seed means more ki that a ki manipulator can contain and use, and more ki correlated to more power. However, growth wasn''t unlimited, once it grew to a certain size you would have to refine it and break past your limits, becoming even more powerful; If you didn''t, you would remain at the lowest end of the totem pole of power.


    After completing his first full circulation of ki, Lowen could feel faint amounts of energy in every fiber of his being and with it, his entire body began to slowly heat up, bringing his body temperature to a survivable condition. As he continued to warm up, he sent more and more energy to his lower extremities, especially to his toes. Soon his toes returned to their regular color and his feeling quickly went from pain to pleasure. A wonderful warmth spread throughout him, almost as if he were suddenly dropped into a hot spring. He felt so comfortable and cozy he thought he would melt into his surroundings.


    As this thought came to mind, the outside was not as compromising. As the freezing, howling wind turned into a frozen storm, the snow picked up and began to blanket the mountain, turning everything into a blinding white. The wind rushed like 1000 wild bulls as it tore through the forest, breaking branches and uprooting bushes left and right. While the outside storm raged on, Lowen''s expression showed no thought or care, nor any concern to the outside. With his body nice and toasty and a completely exhausted mind, Lowen''s eyes grew heavy and he slowly drifted off to sleep.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    After two days the storm finally dissipated, clearing the skies and returning it to its original baby blue color. The forest returned to its original state and only a calm peace remained; It was at this time that a small hand broke through the surface of the snow.


    As Lowen dug himself out, he stood on top of the wagon. The entire landscape rose up and became 2 to 3 feet taller due to the snow, but because of that, Lowen found it very difficult to locate any of the weapons from the bandits. Using his memory alone, he could only remember their general location. After a while of digging, he eventually located the bow along with its quiver, among which there were four intact arrows, then he found a bandit''s sword, as well as his father''s. Looking over his father''s sword, there seemed to be a strange inscription with a name engraved, which read as [Toren]


    Suddenly, another memory appeared in Lowen''s mind. Toren was the last name of his father and mother from this world. His father''s name was Ken Toren and his mother was called Lana Toren. Lowen''s name in this world was Aiwa Toren. It seems some of the previous boy''s memories were still inside of Lowen''s mind, for example, he could read the letters and symbols on the sword, so it was clear he could understand the language somehow. Now whether or not he could speak the language was an entirely different situation altogether, but that wasn''t all. He also knew the name of the kingdom he was in, it was called Rhylo and he knew the body he was in was that of a six-year-old boy, besides that though, there was a lot of little bits of information here and there in his mind.


    For now, though, none of that was important. What was important was getting off this mountain and out of this forest, so first Lowen had to organize himself.


    His equipment and supplies appeared like so.


    Rope about 20 feet in length, a small knife with a blade of about 4 inches, 1 thick fur, 3 pounds of dried meat, 2 untouched clay pot jars, 1 average bow and a quiver with 4 regular arrows, 1 sword from a bandit nearly three feet in length with a weight of 2.5 pounds, as well as Lowen''s family''s sword. The length and width of his father''s sword were the same, but the sharpness was far more outstanding. As a simple test, Lowen swung the bandit''s sword at a tree with all his strength.


    *Thwack*


    The bandit''s sword was no good, barely chipping off some bark and leaving a shallow scar on the tree only 1-3 centimeters deep; It was quite bad. With his family''s sword, however, it was entirely different. With a powerful swing from his family sword, the damage of the blow was considerably deeper and reached almost 4 inches into the tree. This was without applying ki to his strength. If he were to do that, Lowen was sure he could cut this tree in half with one blow. This sword was something special.


    Taking out the dagger, Lowen cut off about 2 feet of rope. Following that, he took that small piece and unbraided it until there were now 4 smaller pieces in front of him. Taking up the thick fur, he first cut it in half, then in one-half, he made two holes in the most convenient places and slid his arms into them. Wearing the fur like a vest that went all the way down to his ankles, he then took one of the small pieces of rope and tied it around his waist making a simple belt. He then filled one jar with the remaining dried meat and filled the other one with fresh snow. Using the dagger, he cut 2 more pieces off of the fur just big enough to cover the tops of the jars, as though they were drums. Taking 2 more pieces of the unbraided rope he tied the rope around the fur, covering the jars, affixing them snug and tight. With the last small piece of rope, he tied it to both of the jars, hanging it from his neck. He then took the two swords and laid them in the remaining fur with the handles sticking out. He then wrapped them up like one would a blanket. With the last of the rope, Lowen tied it around the fur and strapped it over his shoulder and with the bow and quiver, he slung them over his other shoulder, with this he was ready to go.

 Chapter 3: A Village

    As Lowen made his way down the mountain, he moved at an incredible speed for someone at his age. As the ki circulated throughout his legs and feet, it caused him to move slightly faster than the average adult. The more he used his ki, the more his body would strengthen. His eyesight would grow sharper, his hearing sense would improve and his muscles would grow denser and more powerful. Every aspect of his body would gradually improve.


    (Where the hell am I?)


    Although Lowen retained partial memories from the boy who died, there was no recollection of this mountain or any of the surroundings in his mind. With that, Lowen could only pick a random direction and head down the mountain.


    As he continued on his way, he had to continually stop and reabsorb more ki flowing through the world. Although this energy increased his bodily functions by a huge margin, he was still a child and ran out of stamina every few minutes. With a quick break, he could easily focus his mind and soul and recover his ki. The only real downside to this was the amount of focus one would need to absorb ki. In doing so, one''s guard would be completely down and the body would be left defenseless. When enemies were around, the outcome becomes obvious. Lowen''s best bet was to climb a tree out of sight from the ground, steady himself on a branch and focus.


    With a few focused breaths, the ki seed within his core quickly absorbed more ki, recharging himself back to 100%.


    As Lowen finished absorbing some energy, he climbed back to the bottom of the tree and sat down. Taking off the sling of clay jars draped over his neck and untying the jars, he first took out a piece of dried meat and slowly began to chew. Although with ki he could easily replace a meal or two with its energy, eating and tasting the food was just too enjoyable. Well, maybe not this piece of dried meat in particular, but the act alone brought some form of satisfaction. In his home world, Lowen had become a master at martial arts and ki manipulation at the young age of 23, after that it became rare for him to sit and eat a meal let alone enjoy it, he simply didn''t need to. At some point, he eventually formed a habit of not eating at all. As a matter of fact, for the last 7 or so years of his previous life, he simply stopped eating altogether. With this new world, however, Lowen felt that some things needed to change, that he needed to change and so his first decision was to try and have a meal every now and then.


    After stuffing his mouth with food, his throat became dry and parched. Opening the other jar, it was packed with fresh snow and bits of ice. Looking into the jar, a small smile formed on his face, for others they would have to make a campfire and wait before they could get a drink, but it was completely different for Lowen.


    With two hands, Lowen held the frozen jar on both sides and with a simple thought, he moved ki into both of his hands causing them to heat up, effectively warming up the jars. Although ki is a powerful tool, the human body had quite a lot of weaknesses. For example, with ki Lowen could raise the temperature up to 2 or even 3 degrees but with that, his hands would burn away. If he had even more ki than he could protect his hands by forming a protective layer of energy over them. If he was even stronger, he could use an advanced ki manipulation technique to actually force the ki outside of his body, making a literal flame. Unfortunately, he was just nowhere near that level, so for now, he would simply raise the temperature in his hands to a safe but hot temperature.


    Raising the temperature to over 100 degrees, he quickly melted the snow. If he had raised it a few degrees higher, his flesh would have begun to burn away.


    In seconds, he infused the center of the jar with heat and the snow melted away. He continued to warm it up a bit more and within seconds he had a warm jar of water. Chugging it down, he quickly finished the whole thing in a minute. Afterward, he couldn''t help but pat his stomach while releasing a satisfying belch.


    *Burp*


    *Phew*


    ( I can''t believe I actually forgot the taste of food, It''s been too long, way too long.)


    Standing up and having a small stretch, Lowen''s ears began to twitch at a small sound. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of rabbits no more than 50 feet away. Each one incredibly huge, all of which seemed to be nearly 4-6 feet long. He couldn''t help but become surprised.


    (So huge, how exactly are these considered rabbits?)


    *Sigh*


    (This truly isn''t my world. Is every animal in this world so big, or were the ones in mine just too small?)


    As Lowen continued to watch the rabbits, he noticed they were all munching on a few bushes filled with what seemed to be blueberries. After having all that dried tough meat, Lowen couldn''t help but swallow some saliva. With the thought of having some sweet yet tart juicy berries, it had been so many years since he last had something sweet. His mouth began to smack with anticipation.


    With that thought in mind, Lowen began to walk over but just as he moved, the group of rabbits quickly dashed away, running into the depths of the forest. Lowen didn''t seem to care too much and walked over towards the bushes.


    Grabbing a handful of berries, he was just about to shove them into his mouth when he suddenly remembered.


    (Whoa whoa, wait a minute, what the hell am I doing? This is an entirely different world, I''ve got no clue if these are safe to eat. These might be the deadliest berries in the world, and so what if those rabbits were eating them, they might be a weird species or something immune to these berries. I probably shouldn''t have even touched them.)


    Lowen began to think if the boy had any memories of this particular fruit and indeed he did have a memory, although it wasn''t of this fruit but something very similar. With the current information, there was no reason to take a chance. Although with ki manipulation he could remove toxins from his body, at the same time, this world had many differences which Lowen couldn''t yet explain.


    Maybe there were poisons in this world he couldn''t expel from his body and it wasn''t like he even needed to eat. To risk his new life over something he didn''t even need obviously wasn''t worth it. With that in mind, he simply packed a few away, later if he found some people he would ask. In the meantime though, it was time to go. Packing more snow into one of his jars, he soon tidied up. Putting his supplies and equipment back on, he was once again running at his highest speed.


    After several hours, the sun was now at its highest in the sky and Lowen had finally gotten off the mountain but unfortunately, he was still within the forest. As he wandered through the forest, he soon heard a large popping noise. Focusing his ears, he wanted to try and locate the general direction, but because of where he was, all he could hear was an echo coming from all around him. The loud pop continued for several minutes before abruptly stopping, followed by a loud crash.


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    Failing to locate where the noise was coming from, Lowen decided to get a better viewpoint. As he climbed a tall tree, he put ki into his hands and fingers, as well as his arms, shoulders and upper back. By doing so he raised his climbing ability by several degrees and like an agile monkey, he ascended a huge tree in seconds. As he looked out from the top of the tree, he scanned around until he spotted a large clearing with many stumps in the ground. The location seemed only a few hundred feet away; Seeing this filled Lowen with pure excitement, so he quickly climbed down the tree, remembering the right direction, Lowen once again began to sprint through the forest.


    As he arrived at the clearing, he noticed hundreds of stumps strewn all around. When observing the stumps, it became quite clear that they had all been cut from a tool and not from something natural. Looking around, there were no people anywhere to be seen. Looking around further, Lowen had found a tree freshly cut down.


    (Whoever cut this tree must have just left.)


    Looking around, Lowen noticed a large dirt path with deeply grooved track marks.


    (They must drag the trees through here.)


    Lowen began to walk the path cautiously, although he was excited to see other people, he didn''t know how they would respond to him. They might be like those bandits and see him as an easy target and just attack him.


    Following the path for several minutes, Lowen could hear people murmuring a little ways away. Once again his pace sped up and soon the path opened up and what greeted his eyes was a small but lively village. All the houses seemed to be made of wood and were slightly on the smaller side, every house was only one story tall and most of them seemed to be in need of repair.


    (Although I''m on a small hill, I can still see the entire village. There seem to be only 60 houses spread out randomly. There''s one huge house about 3 times the size of the others a little further in. Next to it is the village square, where many people were gathered and looked to be trading. Hmm, there''s one dirt road connected to it that goes all the way through the village and continues off into the distance somewhere. No horses, no cattle, no one has a fenced yard and pigs and chickens roam around freely. Although I say pigs, there''s not that many at all, I could count them all on one hand. There seem to be a few chickens pecking the dirt here and there.


    As Lowen continued to inspect the village, soon a few people began to take notice, he had been so caught up in his own thoughts he had forgotten to hide first and then observe them.


    (Dammit you old fool, I got so caught up in seeing people that I forgot myself, how can a royal guard be so incompetent. I need to focus.)


    Seeing as that the people were just staring and whispering, Lowen figured they weren''t too bad. If they were gonna attack him, then they probably would have by now.


    (Well I do have the appearance of a child, I guess if a child just showed up, yes it would be suspicious, but not threatening.)


    With that in mind, Lowen slowly yet cautiously walked into the village. As he did, a person was heard shouting before another person ran off to the direction of the biggest house. Some children stood behind their parents, while the more curious ones began to approach before an adult knocked them on their heads and scolded them or simply dragged them behind them.


    (Although the adults don''t seem to be afraid of me, their eyes are filled with suspicion. A young kidlike,mecovered in dirt and fur with no shoes and no sleeves walks into their village from out of the blue, I''d be suspicious of me too.)


    As Lowen continued on, he made his way to the village square before he stopped and simply sat down, rubbing his tired feet. Soon, word had spread and what seemed to be the entire village filled the square, surrounding him in a matter of minutes. Whether they were young or old, everyone seemed to be there whispering, looking and pointing at the oddness of this little boy.


    Soon, an old man broke through the crowd. He wore a simple but long brown robe. In one hand, he held a long thin cane made from a nicely aged piece of solid oak wood. It, was very simple, but observing it, its simplicity gave it a nice feel. The man looked around his early 50''s, his height was slightly above 6 feet, and his hair was a good mixture of grey folded over bits and pieces of dark black. His eyes were a bright emerald green, while his eyebrows were thick and bushy. Across his face, you could clearly see his age, but his eyes seemed to make him look younger than he actually was. Last but not least, around the man''s neck was a thick copper amulet, embedded in it was a bright purple jewel. Out of everything that he wore, it was the only thing that stood out.


    As Lowen was observing this man carefully, the man was looking back at him with just as much curiosity if not more, after a few moments the man began to speak.


    "Little boy, can you speak? what''s your name?"


    At first, Lowen was a little panicked; After having someone speak to him in this worlds language, even though he could clearly understand it. Still, it sounded very weird yet at the same time natural. At this time Lowen couldn''t help but take a big gulp before he finally relaxed a bit and replied.


    "My name is Lowen, who are you?"


    With just this response, all the villagers began to whisper and murmur as they looked on curiously. Hearing how the kid sounded, people''s suspicion immediately lowered a bit.


    (God, my voice sounds so childish, I''m close to sixty yet I sound so infantile.)


    Hearing Lowen state his name and asking him the same question back with such a serious expression, the village chief couldn''t help but smile a little. The kid''s childish voice just sounded too adorable, but him being the chief, he quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.


    *Ahem.*


    "My name is Roland Wint, I am the chief of this village and the person in charge here. Lowen, was it? tell me, where are your parents, why did you come here alone and are you lost?"


    Lowen began to ponder on what to say; If he told the truth, he would with no doubt be looked at with even more suspicion, but lying didn''t sit too well with him either. In his previous life he was a soldier and eventually a royal guard to his king and in order to have that high position and honor, besides skill, trust was what he needed most. And in order to have trust, he was always honest with his king. At the same time, this was a new world for him, trust was something he would only give to someone important to him but he needed to say something. So Lowen decided to just give a bit of the truth, not too much nor too little, just enough to slide under others suspicions.


    With no immediate answer, Roland wondered whether the young boy in front of him was scared or simply didn''t know where his parents were. Maybe they had become lost or even abandoned the boy. Many thoughts began to swirl in the village chief''s head before Lowen''s next words shocked him.


    "They were murdered on the mountain."

 Chapter 4: Half-Truths

    "They were murdered on the mountain."


    Hearing this, many of the nearby adults were shocked and for a few brief seconds, silence pervaded the village square. However, just a few seconds later the silence quickly turned into a clamor, increasingly becoming louder and louder before some started shouting.


    "Murdered! Did he say murdered?"


    "He did, said they got killed on the mountains."


    "On the mountains, then how''d he get here? hows he still alive?"


    "Boy, who did it? are there more of ''em?"


    "We gotta prepare, who knows what might happen next."


    Many questions floated around and like a spark in the hay, some people began to grow panicked. The children, however, simply looked confused, not understanding why their parents were becoming upset.


    Looking at the confusion and panic growing, the chief quickly raised his hand high above and grasped at the empty air forming a fist, then with a shout that shook one''s eardrums he spoke.


    "SILENCE!"


    Those who stood closest to the chief heard ringing in their ears; The crowd''s voice then lowered into a murmur and then nothing. Taking command of the situation, Roland looked at a few older gentlemen in the crowd and began giving out orders.


    "Everyone, look at me and listen, this is what''s going to happen. First off, no one will panic. In order to get to the bottom of this situation, we must all remain calm. Keep your composure, the children do not need to see their parents running around like scared chickens. Second, all elders are to gather in the chief hall where we will figure this out. Also, all able-bodied men will guard the perimeter of the village tonight in shifts. Those without weapons will use their farming tools, pitchforks, and hoes or anything else that can be used to fight. Finally, there will be a curfew, anyone not defending the village must be in their homes 1 hour before sundown and must remain in their homes until sunup. These are my orders, now go."


    As the village chief gave his orders, the villagers started to scatter like birds, busying themselves left and right. Before Lowen knew it, everyone had cleared out of the village square. As for those that were left, besides himself there were four other people, Roland the chief, as well as three older gentlemen, presumably, they were the elders.


    Roland looked down at Lowen with a questioning gaze.


    "Lowen, come with me."


    With those few words, Roland turned around and headed for the Chief Hall.


    Lowen gazed at the back of the village chief, he was surprised at how well Roland had handled the situation, he didn''t seem to be a simple village chief. With that in mind, he quietly walked behind him, the three elders peered at one another before they too followed along.


    Arriving at the Chief Hall, Lowen halfway expected it to be raggedy like the rest of the village, but impressively it was quite well maintained. Its inside was brightly lit with candles and torches. There were several large carved pillars made from wood and on each pillar there were depictions of brave warriors in battle, fighting what seemed to be monsters or at least they were creatures that Lowen had never seen before. After going past a large gathering hall, they continued down a long corridor. After a minute or so the few people came to a smaller room at the end of the corridor; Walking in, there was a small round table big enough to fit 6 or 7 people, besides that, it was basically empty. Roland and the three elders took a seat and with a gesture invited Lowen to do the same. As Lowen sat down before being prompted, he immediately began to narrate, speaking in truths and half-truths. He recounted what had happened and as he did shock could be seen in everyone''s eyes, especially the three elders. For a boy no more than 6 or 7 to have his family killed by bandits and then barely survive himself, it was truly a miracle but what really shocked them was how calm Lowen seemed to be describing his parent''s death. At first, they each thought it to be weird but eventually, they chalked it up to Lowen being in shock or maybe he was simply emotionally exhausted for the moment. He had just gone through great trauma and probably had no time to properly grieve, so they simply waved it off.


    Although he told the 4 men about the bandits, he failed to mention the wolves, as well as the fact that he was a ki practitioner. As a ki practitioner, one would be able to sense if another person was as well. In his previous life, this was a simple rule of the world but for some reason, when he entered the village he could feel no ki coming from any of the villagers. Not only that, there was a different type of energy emitting from their bodies. This energy was something Lowen had never felt before, although faint and minuscule he could still clearly feel it. A curiosity crept into the back of Lowen''s mind and with it a suspicion. If he were to tell them about his ki, well, there was just no way of telling how these people would react. Lowen felt it would be better for both parties if he just kept that to himself.


    After finishing his story, the four men heaved a sigh of relief.


    The village Chief Roland rubbed his temples for a moment before saying.


    "So, 3 bandits attacked you and your parents and as your father and mother defended you, that''s when you managed to hide yourself up a tree. After that, your parents could no longer fight and were killed and before the bandits could find you, a huge roar came from not too far away and so, the bandits panicked and ran off with your parent''s horse. After that, you managed to scrape together the last of your supplies and then after wandering around, you accidentally managed to find this village."


    It was hard to believe that a 6-year-old survived a bandit attack, survived the frozen mountain and after wandering around for days managed to stumble upon their village. If the kid were not so young, they would have sworn Lowen was lying and was sent here to set a trap but what kid of his age could make up a story like that? And if it was a trap what purpose would it have. Their village was beyond poor. There''s nothing worth taking and it''s not like they would rush up the mountain to confirm the story. So if there were an ambush in place, all they would have to do is simply not go up the mountain. They couldn''t see through any of Lowen''s half-truths and therefore believed him, realizing that, they all took pity on him.


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    One of the elders slapped the top of the table and broke out into a smile.


    "Haha, a miracle, to survive such an ordeal, absolutely a miracle."


    Seeing this, the other 2 elders broke out into cheerful laughter as well, being able to live through all that was indeed a miracle. The three elders were indeed a bit too excited and felt quite relieved but seeing this Roland''s expression immediately darkened.


    *BANG!*


    Roland''s fist slammed against the table.


    "You three fools, the boy just lost his parents and yet you sit here celebrating, giddy like a flock of geese getting a piece of bread, disgraceful.


    The three elders instantly realized their mistake, lowering their heads slightly they apologized. With a glance, they looked over at Lowen, regret now filled their eyes, but it soon turned to surprise. Looking at the young boy who had just lost his parents, instead of seeing the boy cry, he seemed to be indifferent to his situation.


    Roland rose from his seat in a huff but soon calmed himself, with a sigh he said.


    "Lowen, go wait outside for a moment, I need to discuss some things with the elders."


    With a slight nod of his head, Lowen quietly got up and walked out, shutting the door behind him. Looking around there were no chairs or benches in the corridor, feeling bored, Lowen sat on the floor thinking about his situation.


    (It seems they bought my story. Although those elders seem simple enough, that Roland seems different somehow, heh but still none of them could see through me. At least for now I seem to be safe, but where should I go from here.)


    Just as Lowen was contemplating on what to do, he soon heard the pitter patter of footsteps approaching him.


    Looking down the long hallway, Lowen spotted a young girl walking towards him. Wearing a plain dress, she seemed to be around 11 or 12 years old. She had short chestnut covered hair and dark brown eyes, as well as a few freckles on her face. nervously stopping right in front of Lowen, she looked at him and with a timid voice said.


    "E...excuse me, is the Chief in right now."


    With a simple nod, Lowen said.


    "He is, but he''s discussing something with the elders at the moment."


    The young girl gently furrowed her brows as if she were trying really hard to think of something, after hesitating for a moment she said.


    "Um, are you new, did your family just move here or are y''all just traveling around?"


    Lowen was momentarily stunned.


    (Is this girl dumb? Maybe she wasn''t in the village square? But someone should have told her by now. I mean, what did she think was going on this whole time with everyone running around causing such a commotion?)


    "My family is dead."


    With a bit of shock, the girl''s expression grew dim, she was absolutely confused and could not form a sentence and because of this the hall grew quiet and the atmosphere became awkward and weird.


    Meanwhile, inside the small meeting room.


    "Chief, what are we gonna do if bandits do come?"


    One of the elders had spoken up in concern. Although the village had very little in terms of wealth, it wasn''t an impossible idea for the bandits to take all of their food supplies. Their winter stock was their lifeline; With winter upon them, if their food storages were raided then they would have no choice but to hunt in the mountains, which would be nearly impossible. During the winter season was the time when most animals would hibernate. Hunting in the cold mountain would rarely get you a meal, plus the conditions were some of the harshest, whether it be the frozen weather or the monsters, the mountain during winter was basically a no-go zone. The worst-case scenario would be if the women and children were taken and sold to slavers, with that it would truly be the end for the village.


    "What should be done with the boy, should we cast him out?"


    Another elder said this, but as soon as he did everyone grew silent and he immediately regretted it. How could he be so cruel as to cast a child out? Cast him out where? back into the mountains, the forest where dangerous creatures lurk and prey upon everything that has flesh.


    The other 2 elders, as well as the chief, gave him a long cold stare, in their expressions it seemed as if they were asking themselves, do we really know this man, is this who he is.


    Another elder spoke up.


    "I''ll admit that the boy seems a bit strange, maybe even a bit suspicious but in the end, he''s still a child and to send a child away to face certain death is too much. For now, maybe we just keep him here in the village, at least until we have more information."


    Everyone seemed to agree with this and the chief relaxed a bit, but his brows then furrowed once more as he spoke.


    "Where should we put him?"


    It was at this moment that they all heard a small knock at the door.


    (Has the boy gotten bored or grown tired of waiting?) The four men thought.


    Well, it was to be expected. They had been discussing the same topic for quite a while, what kid wouldn''t be bored to death.


    The men glanced at each other before the chief straightened himself up a bit and he hollered.


    "Come in."


    As the door opened, each of the men was surprised at who had walked in. When the three elders noticed who it was, they each had a sour expression. In walked a young girl with reddish-brown hair and a plain dress. One of the elders seemed to be immediately angered by her appearance and spoke in a haughty tone.


    "Nia, how dare you come here."

 Chapter 5: Hated One

    As Nia walked into the meeting room, she was immediately greeted with a cold atmosphere. She had waited in the hall for quite some time, but because of the awkward silence and her shyness, she couldn''t stand it anymore and decided to talk with the chief. The sooner she did, the sooner she could leave but who would have thought that as soon as she had entered the meeting room she would be greeted with such cold stares. Seeing the three elders looking down on her with such ugly expressions sent a shiver down her spine.


    "Nia, how dare you come here."


    "Wha..."


    Nia couldn''t understand why the elder had berated her, she had just knocked and the chief said she could enter but now as soon as she walks in she''s told how dare she come here. Nia was confused and scared at the same time. Had she done something wrong? She was positive that she had knocked and gotten permission.


    Another elder spoke menacingly.


    "Do you think that you don''t have to follow orders? Do you think that you can just do whatever you want and not mind the words of the chief?"


    Nia''s body began to tremble and shake as tears began to build up at the edge of her eyes.


    Just as the elder was about to scold Nia some more, the chief instantly stood up and slammed his fist onto the table.


    *BANG!*


    "ENOUGH!"


    The 3 elders, as well as Nia, jumped in fright.


    "But chief, this brat..."


    *BANG!*


    Once more the chief pounded a fist onto the table.


    "I SAID ENOUGH!"


    The room was filled with silence for a brief moment before chief Roland sat back down, letting out a long sigh. Finally, he peered at the young lady. Seeing her appearance, even he couldn''t help but have a disappointing look, after a moment, he spoke.


    "Nia, why have you come? I specifically said for women and children to stay inside."


    Hearing this, a look of utter confusion appeared on her face followed by a sudden realization and sadness. On her way here she had seen people running about somewhat panic-stricken but no one had mentioned a word to her. Something important must have happened in the village yet when she walked past others, people had either ignored her like she didn''t exist or gave her a mean glare. She thought by now she would be used to such things but even now it still hurt to be looked upon with such disgust. Thinking of all this, she began to shed tears silently with a face filled with grief.


    Noticing her look, Chief Roland, put it all together, the other villagers hadn''t given her the message, once again Roland sighed.


    "Nia, right now there''s an emergency, I''ve placed the village on lockdown. Guards are being posted around the village and those that can''t fight are to stay indoors, that''s why the atmosphere is so tense. You''ve done nothing wrong, so calm down and breathe."


    Nia took a few deep breaths, wiping her face with her sleeve and within a few moments, eventually, her tears faded and her shoulders began to relax.


    "Now quickly tell me why you''ve come and then hurry back home, I''m sure your younger brother will start to worry if you don''t show up soon."


    Nia looked around the room slightly embarrassed but seeing the annoyed look on the three elder''s faces, she regained her senses. Looking at chief Roland''s stern expression, Nia timidly spoke.


    "W..www.....we''ve run out of food, me and my little brother, and I..... I don''t know what to do."


    "Each of the elders scowled at Nia and just as one was about to speak out against her, again Roland spoke first.


    "Nia, our village is having a crisis and you''re worried about your stomach?"


    *Sigh*


    "I don''t have time for this right now. Nia, go home and stay inside, we will discuss this at another time, now go on."


    "Bbbb..but we haven''t eaten in 3 days and today''s the only day I''ve been able to meet with you. No one in the village will help or share food. My brother is barely 5. He''s so thin he''s losing his strength. Please, if not for me at least a little for him, a piece of bread, a potato, anything, just please I beg you.


    One of the elders was becoming visibly mad, his face began to contort with anger, in the end, he could hold back no more and snapped.


    "YOU THINK WE WOULD GIVE YOU ANYTHING AFTER WHAT YOUR FATHER DID?! BECAUSE OF HIM.....BECAUSE OF HIM, MY SON LOST HIS LIFE, HIS WIFE AND THEIR 2 KIDS, MY GRANDCHILDREN LOST THEIR LIVES. THEY WERE INNOCENT. IF IT WAS MY DECISION YOU AND YOUR BROTHER WOULD ALREADY BE DEAD, A TRAITORS DAUGHTER DESERVES DEATH."


    With the sudden outburst, Nia retreated to the door and trembled like a tiny baby lamb being caught by a hungry wolf, the room once more took on a heavy atmosphere.


    Roland wanted to say something to calm the enraged elder down a bit but he knew that elders thoughts. After what Nia''s father had done, just yelling at her seemed quite reasonable and although he was the chief it would be better for him to not call out one of the village elders in defense of a traitors daughter but still, he should say something. Just as Roland was about to speak the young boy Lowen stepped in front of Nia with arms spread out in defense. When he entered no one knew. Glaring death at the elder who had just yelled, Lowen spoke with a childish yet cold voice.


    "Old men should never shout at little flowers, they''ll cause them to wither."


    (Hmpf, although I have no reason to interfere... but I just can''t stand a bully, especially when it is targeted at children.)


    Everyone froze in astonishment, such a poetic yet odd like thing to say and coming from such a young child no less, this was just too weird or rather this child was just too weird but with it, all the tension in the room seemed to have vanished. A thought suddenly popped into Chief Roland''s head and he saw an opportunity to not only regain control of the room but to solve another problem temporarily.


    "Nia, as you can see we are dealing with a crisis at the moment and everyone...is a bit tense. So here''s what we''ll do, first off take this."


    Reaching into his clothes, the chief pulled out a small bag of coins, opening it, he retrieved a few coins and before any of the elders spoke up he quickly passed them to Nia.


    "Take this money and buy a bit of food and take this boy with you as well, he will stay with you and your brother for now. Afterward when you get home lock your doors and windows and stay inside until the village bell tolls 5 times confirming that the village is once more safe and secure."


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    Nia quickly nodded in agreement and before anyone could say anything else, Nia grabbed Lowen''s small hand and dragged him away. The door shutting quickly behind them, and the room once more filled with silence.


    Nia''s thoughts were all over the place at the moment. Just who was this boy, why did he defend her, how was she to take care of another kid. She could barely take care of her self and her younger brother and that in itself wasn''t going well at all. In all of her confusion, she suddenly realized that she was pulling Lowen along. She had never held a boys hand beside her little brother and her father but she was too shy to let go and she was too shy to turn back and look at Lowen. It had been a long time since someone last stood up for her and it was this very boy who did it. Nia couldn''t help but grow a little red in embarrassment just thinking about it.


    As Nia pulled Lowen along through the village, many looks of scorn and disgust could be seen directed their way or more accurately, directed Nia''s way. Lowen couldn''t help but wonder what Nia''s father could have done. After what that elder had said, Lowen gathered that Nia''s father must have committed some great crime in order for even his children to take the scorn from the villagers. As Lowen thought about this, he was about to ask Nia when suddenly she stopped. They had arrived at the village square, in front of them was a small cart that held a few vegetables on it. Behind the cart was a man in his early 30''s packing things away readying himself to depart.


    "Sss..sir, excuse me, sir."


    As Nia began to speak, she was rudely interrupted.


    "What is it? Can''t you see I''m busy."


    The man looked up from what he was doing and when his eyes landed on Nia, he quickly packed the rest of his things and began to leave, seeing this, Nia began to panic.


    "W..wait, please wait. I want to buy some food from you."


    The man hearing this only seemed to move even quicker, once again Nia spoke.


    "W.....ww wait I have money, please my brother needs to eat."


    Nia pulled out the small coins Roland had given her, trying to show the man but he just ignored her and speedily left. Looking at this scene, the other vendors were packing up quickly as well. Whether it was due to Roland''s order or their feelings towards a traitor''s kid, everyone soon cleared out of there, returning to their homes or going to their post to guard the village.


    The village square soon became silent and empty with only 2 people left, Nia and Lowen. As the 2 stood there quietly, Nia wanted to break down and cry. Everyone had abandoned her. Even though she tried to be a good daughter, even though she had tried to be a good big sister and even though she had done nothing wrong, still, everyone blamed her. Everyone scorned her, everyone turned away and everyone left. Nia felt such sorrow that her body physically hurt. She fell to her knees and began to weep.


    What else could she do? She had nothing and soon she wouldn''t have anyone either. Without food, her little brother would soon die. Just thinking about it hurt even more and soon she no longer had any tears. She was tired, so tired of it all. Her eyes were dry and red. Soon she grew quiet, her body quivered with despair, her mind, completely exhausted. She for the first time had a simple thought of. (I want to die.)


    With that thought soon followed a feeling. A small feeling resting on her shoulder. Lowen had gently placed his small hand on Nia''s shoulder. In his previous life, Lowen lived a long time. He had seen and experienced many things. He had become one of the most powerful human beings. In his previous life, he had no family and he had no friends. Whenever he got close to someone, when he truly thought he had someone to call a friend, they either betrayed him or died. Although he couldn''t relate to Nia''s situation exactly, because of noblemen, Kings, and Martial Masters, Lowen had been plotted against and nearly assassinated almost a dozen times. He himself had experienced despair many times and recognized it coming from Nia.


    (Why should such a young one suffer so, poor child.)


    That same despair, that same feeling of wanting to collapse and just give in, looking at Nia, Lowen felt a twisting pain in his stomach and even though he barely knew her, he couldn''t help but reach out and try to comfort her. After grabbing her shoulder, Lowen repeated the same words his King had once said to him in a time of his hopelessness.


    "Do not abandon yourself to the dark. Life can be the hardest thing in the world. Like a mountain covered in jagged rock, the more you climb the more you wound yourself. But if you do not succumb to the pain and sadness that this climb produces, instead if you keep going higher and higher, even if you can''t see it, as long as you push on you will eventually reach the top. And when you do stand on your very own peak, you will look out to see the splendor in the world around you and know that you too are apart of that. Right now you still have a bit more climbing to do but I promise, if you keep going, you will make it to the top."


    As Lowen said his last few words, with a simple thought he released some of his ki energy into Nia''s shoulder. As it spread throughout her body and mind a warm sensation melted away her weariness, reinvigorating her. Her eyes began to clear up, returning to their previous dark brown. Her exhausted body began to fill with vigor and her storming mind soon came to a soothing calm. A look of tranquility washed over her face and the little village square was filled with silence once more. Nia slowly turned to Lowen and looked at him with astonishment. For some reason, this boy spoke like a wise old man. She found it both a little weird and a little funny at the same time. This was the feeling she got, but more than that she felt something she hadn''t felt in a very long time. Something she had thought disappeared in her little world a long time ago and although these words came from a child, to her, they were like an oasis in the middle of the driest desert and that oasis, that feeling, it was hope. With that feeling, at this moment, surprisingly Nia leaped onto Lowen embracing him tightly in a hug and in a tiny almost nonexistent soft voice, she whispered.


    "t...thank you."

 Chapter 6: Healing Touch

    After hugging Lowen for several minutes, Nia abruptly let go and stood up. It seemed that a tiny change began to occur within herself and a look of determination flashed across her eyes. She slowly turned to Lowen and softly said.


    "Let''s go."


    Grabbing Lowen''s little hand, she pulled him along once more off towards her home. After a few minutes of walking along the dirt road, followed by a turn here and a turn there, the two finally arrived at Nia''s home. Looking at where Nia lived, Lowen couldn''t help but think it was small, way too small. It wan no more than a rundown shack. Its size was maybe 10x10, no way was it any bigger. Lowen couldn''t help but tilt his head slightly in thought. The look of it reminded him of his previous life. When he was a young child before he took over this body he had lived in an orphan home similar to this broken down shack. He had to share it with 10 other children, each one orphaned or abandoned. Later on, Lowen went off to become a mercenary and eventually, although he wasn''t royalty, he did end up living in a palace guarding the king as a Royal Knight. It had been nearly 50 years since he last lived in something so small. From the outside looks of this shack, Lowen began to feel an ache in his stomach from the bad memories.


    Seeing Lowen''s face, Nia felt slightly embarrassed. She mistook Lowen''s tilted head and cramped gaze as a judgemental look but she quickly shook the thought away.


    (No, he''s probably just a curious child. Someone who could speak such kind words to a complete stranger like me, wouldn''t judge my house, nope, nope, absolutely nope.)


    Those were her simple and honest thoughts.


    Entering the home, Lowen''s guess rang true, it was indeed no bigger than 10x10 but before Lowen could think about it, something caught his attention. As he looked over to the corner of the room, he could spot a bit of hay trembling or better yet whatever was underneath it seemed to be shaking slightly. Nia seeing this, had instead, dashed over to that certain spot. In the corner of the room on the ground, covered with a bit of hay for warmth, laid a small boy. The boy seemed to be around the same age as Lowen but although they were of a similar age, the little boy was extremely thin and pale. He looked so weak, so fragile and tiny, his life seemed ready to be extinguished at any moment. Although most people won''t starve to death after only going 3 days of not eating, it was clear to Lowen that the boy was extremely malnourished. So even if he was eating previously it simply wasn''t enough to maintain the boy and not only that, the boy seemed awfully sick. If the boy lasted another night it''d be a miracle. Lowen''s face couldn''t help but scrunch up slightly in thought.


    (Those elders and that Chief knew this boy is at death''s door and yet they are doing nothing. Hmph, those pieces of trash. How dare they behave so repulsively, acting as though they were in the right treating these kids like this. Giving this Nia girl a little bit of coin as though that would solve everything and then shooing her away like a common bird. Hmph, how generous of them.)


    Looking at her little brother''s terrible condition, Nia called out to him softly


    "Ben..."


    But there was no response. The color of this boys body was unnatural. It was as white as a sheet of paper and although it wasn''t actually hot within this little shack he was sweating profusely. Once more Nia called out to him, this time a little more forcefully.


    "Ben it''s me..... Ben, it''s sister.... can you hear me?"


    This time there seemed to be a bit of a reaction. The small boy weakly opened his eyes. When Nia saw this, she couldn''t help but gently caress his head lovingly.


    "Little Ben, its ok I''m here now, big sis is here."


    Ben looked as though he wanted to say something but with no strength to muster he was too weak to utter even a single sound. Looking at his trembling little lips, he was clearly mouthing the word [food].


    Watching this scene, Nia wanted to cry.


    "Not yet, just wait a little longer, big sister is gonna go get you something to eat right now."


    The boy seemed to force out a little smile before fainting on the spot. Seeing this, Nia shouted out.


    "BEN.. ...BEN! NO! PLEASE WAKE UP!, PLEASE WAKE UP!"


    Nia continued to shout but there was no reaction. She wanted to shake him awake with all her might but she restrained herself. She knew if she did that it would only cause more harm than good, her heart sank to the pit of her stomach and she started feeling that hopelessness once again but before it fully reared its ugly head, Lowen came over from behind.


    "Step aside little girl, I will take it from here."


    Before Nia could say anything, Lowen had already stepped in between Nia and her brother Ben. Kneeling down, Lowen placed his palm in the center of Ben''s chest and with a thought, he immediately injected ki into Ben''s body. At first, Nia wanted to pull him away but seeing Lowen do the same thing he had done to her, she immediately halted herself. She remembered the way her exhaustion and weariness melted away and how invigorated she felt after Lowen had touched her shoulder. She couldn''t help but wonder if this boy who was basically the same age as her little brother was some type of holy healer or Mage.


    Meanwhile, Lowen was focusing on every single fiber of his being. Ki energy was almost mystical. It was a pure power from the world and the universe. With mastery of it, you could trample forest or split the clouds in the sky. Legends say you could dominate the world and the heavens above but what Lowen wanted to do with it was a lot simpler than all of that. Although Lowen had given a bit of energy to Nia, passing some to her through her shoulder. What he had given her was but a fraction, only enough to lift her spirits, with that amount, no harm would come to her even if he had done it 100 times. With Ben, however, it would be a different story entirely. Normally, in order to have ki within your body, you would at least need a ki seed, otherwise pure ki energy would flow chaotically through your body destroying it from within but with a former ki manipulating master, the task could be done. Lowen wanted to heal Ben with his ki but since he was not at his former strength, he would do this with 100% caution and 100% focus. The ki he would use was no longer the universes, each time he absorbed ki it became a part of him. Therefore when he uses it on Ben, it is his ki energy. So he can control whether it heals someone or injures them. The only reason why Lowen was so cautious, was because his control was not 100%. With one slip he could easily injure Ben and with the small boy already in a devastated state, one slip could be death. So with pure focus, Lowen''s ki energy slowly began to heal the small child.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------


    By the time Lowen had finished day had become night. lingering above the world a calm moon had replaced a blazing sun and the once unseen stars now shined with a beautiful brilliance. Down below in Nia''s small home, in total, nearly 7 hours had passed. Beads of sweat had poured from Lowen''s face nonstop and because of the dirt floor in this shack, a small puddle of mud formed beneath his feet. Constantly injecting Ben with his ki, stopping for only a few breaths of time, while during those few breaths he would also be reabsorbing as much ki as he could from his surroundings then starting the whole process over again, doing this repeatedly really put a tax on his stamina. Finally after 7 hours of strenuous work Ben''s body had been healed enough to at least become stable. Had this been a fully grown adult, no scratch that, had it even just been someone slightly bigger like Nia who needed the same treatment, Lowen''s stamina wouldn''t have stood a chance. He would have collapsed, possibly even passed out after just the first hour or so. The reason being was because Lowen didn''t have precise control over his ki. He couldn''t send it to any pinpoint location, only throughout the entire body. So if it was let''s say the heart that was in trouble, if Lowen had perfect control, he could send his ki directly to the heart, healing it and strengthing it within minutes. But because he can''t manipulate the ki perfectly. It gets absorb throughout the body evenly. the pure energy of ki would heal everything at once. Hence, the bigger the body, the longer it would take and the bigger the consumption of ki it would cost. Currently, his small storage of ki simply wasn''t enough to do more and it could barely take care of a small child such as Ben. But finally, with a huge exhale, Lowen had completed his task. Stepping back, his legs felt like jelly causing him to fall flat on his butt.


    (Although ki is amazing, constantly using it like that is a bit too much for this small body of mine to handle. Right now, that''s about as much as I can do for him. Even though with this energy I could supplement a meal or two for myself. For those that cant use ki like this Ben, it''s simply a waste. If I could improve my control over my ki it''d be much more of a benefit for the boy but for now, it''d be better for him to actually consume some food.)


    When Nia knelt down next to her brother, she held his small hand and cradled his head with a soft hug. Looking at his now improved condition, she was both surprised and joyful beyond belief. Her brothers once pale skin that looked as white as snow was gradually returning to its former color. His body that earlier had continued to pour sweat like a fountain, had finally come to a stop and his skin that felt as though it were on fire now became warm and soothing to the touch. Nia looked as though she had witnessed a miracle. A few tears of joy began to slowly trickle down her face and a low murmur like prayer slipped gently passed her lips. It was at this moment that a small voice spoke up.


    "S...sister."


    Ben had woken up and his once weak eyes seemed to twinkle like tiny stars. As he looked up at his older sister, a smile broke out on Nia''s face. She couldn''t help but laugh out blissfully but before they could even begin to celebrate a roaring sound like a small cornered beast was heard from Ben''s little stomach. He needed to eat and as though it was responding to his calls, Nia''s stomach began to rumble as well. Nia also hadn''t eaten for 3 days. The only reason she was not bedridden like her brother was simply that she wasn''t sick like him and her will was a bit stronger then it appeared. Now a flame of determination slowly grew within Nia''s mind and a sense of hope returned. She looked at her little brother and spoke confidently.


    "Ben, everything''s going to be ok now, leave the rest to big sis."


    Nia turned to Lowen with a thankful expression on her face and bowed to him.


    "Thank you. I will probably never be able to repay you in my whole life for what you''ve done and I know this might seem selfish but please, I need your help one more time. Please watch him for a bit, I''m going to get him some food.


    Lowen looked a little stunned.


    (It seems this girl is determined now.)


    Since Lowen didn''t answer her immediately, she thought he was hesitant because they were strangers.


    (Of course, it would be weird if you asked a child you''ve just met to watch someone for you. Especially after they just did something miraculous but the whole situation itself is weird so who cares. I just need to find some food real quick and I will worry about the awkwardness later.)


    But before she could say something else, Lowen untied one of his jars he had with him and handed it to her.


    "Eh, um, what is this?"


    Opening the jar, Nia looked inside and spotted some dried meat. Not only that there were also some snowberries down at the very bottom. She looked back at Lowen with incredulity.


    "Take it, feed your brother and feed yourself. As for repaying me, well, I guess I do need a place to stay."

 Chapter 7: Mage?

    As the day turned into night, a small village remained alert and vigilant. A cold wind continuously swept through the village, nipping and biting any skin exposed to it. In every home, old and young, each person was trying not to worry about possible bandits and the cruel things they would do should they appear. Instead, all they could do is pray nothing happened whilst huddling close together near their fireplaces for warmth.


    Past the Chief hall and past the village square, past a few homes, down a narrow dirt road, a turn here and a turn there, at the edge of the village sat a small unremarkable shack. Inside the shack was a dirt floor with bits of hay covering it. The room was dimly lit by a single candle, as its flickering shadow danced around the room, it looked as though it would go out at any moment. The walls were made from bits of hardened clay and crumbling mud bricks. The roof was made entirely of long bundled grass with holes all over, big enough for eggs to fall through. If the wind blew even a little, then there would be no way to keep it out of this so-called home. Besides that, there were no windows to speak of and the door itself was not a door at all. Instead, someone simply hung a bit of cloth over the entrance and every time there was even the slightest breeze, it would flail about back and forth like a fish caught in a net. In the center of the shack was a small fire pit used for cooking and warmth. Inside this small 10x10 home there was no furniture at all, no desk or chest, no bed or chairs, not even a table. It was so empty, it felt cold and abandoned like someone had packed everything up in a hurry and ran off as though they were fleeing from such poverty. In a small corner of the room, there were only a few worn out dishes. There were 2 sets of wooden bowls with 1 wooden spoon, 1 wooden cup, and 1 small pot, maybe made from copper. Besides that, there were 3 people inside, a young girl 11-12 years old and 2 boys, one who was 5-6 years old and one who was 6.


    In the center of the room, the young girl had a fire going with a small pot above it boiling and bubbling.


    After Lowen had helped Ben he had given Nia some food for them to eat. All he had to offer was dried meat and snowberries, but looking at Nia''s face, it seemed as if she had received a feast. Ignoring Chief Roland''s orders, she quickly ran outside and gathered some firewood making a small fire. She also collected some water in her pot and ran back inside. It seems there was a water source nearby. After that she borrowed the one knife Lowen had and using it as a kitchen knife she sliced the last 2 pounds of meat Lowen had given her as thin as she could possibly get it, before plopping it in the pot to boil. She did so because although her brother was now awake, his body was still pretty weak, so it would be pretty difficult for him to chew the tough meat, so the only real option was a thin meat soup. As for the snowberries, first, she peeled the skin off each one individually. Then she cut all of them open and removed the seeds. after that, she simply mashed them in Lowen''s clay jar with a bit of water, turning them into juice.


    With that jar of juice, she ran over to her brother and sat him up gently.


    "Little Ben, look here I have some juice."


    Ben''s eyes stared wide in surprise. First at the juice then at his sister, before once more looking at that jar of dark blue juice. Smelling the sweet aroma coming from the freshly made juice, he couldn''t help but gulp dryly. Because of dehydration, both his mouth and throat were as dry as a desert, causing him to cough a bit painfully.


    "Little Ben it''s ok, drink this."


    Nia pushed the jar to his lips, making him sip a bit at first. After his coughing subsided, she gradually helped him tip the jar up higher and higher, making sure to get every drop in his mouth. As the liquid poured into Ben''s mouth the sweetness and sourness blended together perfectly, causing Ben to enter a state of euphoria. It had been so long since he had something so sweet and delicious. He had nearly forgotten that berries were sweet and the tart aftertaste made him relish in delight. Before even a minute had passed the whole jar was already drained of juice and a big smile was plastered on Ben''s face. Although he was regretting that the juice was now gone, the satisfaction that the juice brought him still overwhelmed everything else. There was little time for regret though, as it was then that his nose picked up the smell of something even better. Something he hadn''t eaten for close to over a year. Something he smelled constantly from other homes but he could never eat himself and that was...


    "MEAT!"


    Ben cried out, jolting Nia and Lowen. The first time Lowen heard Ben''s voice turned out to be a shout for [MEAT!].


    Nia and Lowen both couldn''t help but chuckle a bit. At that moment little Ben was just too cute. Nia walked over to the pot but a sudden thought hit her. How would she remove the pot from the flame without burning herself? She had nothing to remove it with. Looking over at Ben and then the pot she was stumped. Should she just put the fire out and wait til the pot cools but if she did that she would then have to go back out and get more firewood or they would end up freezing at night. After a moment or so, Nia couldn''t help but look over at Lowen almost instinctually.


    "Do you have anything I can use to remove the pot?"


    Lowen looked at Nia with a puzzled expression.


    (How does she normally take it off the fire?) He thought.


    Lowen looked around the room for something to lift it off.


    (Maybe she just uses sticks like handles, well whatever.)


    Lowen thought nothing more of it and began wrapping his hands in a bit of ki, then he simply picked the hot pot up and placed it down away from the fire. Just days ago, lifting that hot pot would have seriously burned him, but now it was obvious that his powers had slightly improved. With each day that went by, his manipulation of ki advanced more and more but Nia and Ben seeing this couldn''t help but yell out at the same time.


    "MAGE!!"


    Lowen''s face scrunched up in confusion as he repeated the unfamiliar word in his head.


    (Mage, what the hell is that? and why are they suddenly so shocked?)


    Lowen tried to recall some memories from the boy he had taken over, but there was only a vague image of what a mage was or is supposed to be. It seemed that the boy''s memories knew very little. Vague as it may be, the thought that immediately came to mind for Lowen was [POWER].


    While the three ate the simple soup. more and more thoughts flooded Lowen''s mind. Finally, he couldn''t squash his curiosity and asked.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "What''s a mage?"


    This time it was Ben and Nia''s turn to be confused. Nia couldn''t help but wonder in puzzlement.


    (Doesn''t he know? isn''t he a Mage? If not then how can he do what he does or maybe he simply has never heard of it before. He is still a kid. He could have come from someplace even more backwater then our little village, where they don''t know about Mages.)


    As Lowen stared at the two. he could see their expressions blanking. they clearly knew nothing or at the most very little.


    "I um...I only know a bit. When I was around Ben''s age I heard stories from some of the older villagers. Stories about Mages and how they would fly high in the sky. They would sometimes bless those that were good with miracles and sometimes smite those that were bad with fire and thunder. Besides that I..... I really don''t know.


    (Hmm, interesting. So are these Mages real, or merely just fairytales told to children to keep their behavior in line?)


    "AH!"


    Suddenly Nia remembered something and shouted out instinctively, surprising Lowen and her little brother giving them both a fright.


    "There was also a rumor."


    Lowen looked at Nia in curiosity.


    "Rumor, a rumor about more fantasies or..."


    Nia quickly shook her head as no before interrupting Lowen.


    "A rumor about the Chief."


    Before Lowen could ask more, Nia continued.


    "When I was little, my father once told me of how he and Chief Roland fought off bandits together. He said they were once surrounded on all sides fighting desperately and that when they were on the verge of being finished off, that''s when Chief Roland displayed his power, he only used one spell and with it, he turned all of his enemies to ash.


    Lowen''s eyes widened in surprise and wonderment.


    (Is something like that really possible?)


    In Lowen''s previous world, the 3rd stage of ki manipulation was called the Elemental Stage. At that stage, a person could create a flame of pure ki energy with a temperature of several hundred degrees but at that level, the flame is considered no more than a parlor trick. Although it is a real flame, to use it in actual combat is quite difficult and the results it could produce would be mild injuries at best. To turn someone completely into ash, let alone multiple enemies at once, even Lowen at the height of his previous power would find that extremely difficult to do.


    (Are Mages really that powerful?)


    In the end, there was something about Nia''s statement that bothered him. Lowen couldn''t help but ask.


    "Is it true or not? Why is something like that simply a rumor?"


    "Um...well, I don''t know."


    "What does that mean?"


    "I''ve....I''ve never seen him use magic, I don''t think many of the villagers have either, at least it''s not really something that ever comes up. I''ve lived here my whole life and I just haven''t seen him use any magic ever."


    (Hmm, so this Roland isn''t simple after all. Can no one actually confirm if he''s a Mage? If he is, is he hiding his power, and if so for what purpose? The only witness seems to be Nia''s father but he''s considered a traitor so no one would believe him. Hmm, if I had something to hide and there was only one witness...)


    Before Lowen''s thoughts wondered further, he wanted to confirm something.


    "But your father said he used magic, right? Tell me, did your father... did he lie to you?"


    With this question, Lowen tried to probe a bit. He was now slightly curious about this girl''s father who everyone called a traitor; Not as curious as he was about Chief Roland but still, curious all the same.


    Nia''s expression became crestfallen as her face tilted downward. After a moment of silence, she raised her head once more and with a sad yet determined look she said.


    "My father has never lied to me."


    (Oh, now that''s interesting. Even after being labeled a traitor''s daughter and having everyone in the village hate her and mistreat her because of him, somehow she still believes in him, loves and trusts him. Is she just naive or maybe that''s how it is when you care about and love someone? Just what exactly did her father do?)


    Lowen looked at this young girl''s determined expression, he wondered if he should just ask her about her father or just leave it well enough alone. It really had nothing to do with him but for some reason when he looked at Nia, he saw similarities with himself. That sadness, that despair of being hated by anyone with eyes, in the end, he silently shook his head. If she wanted to tell him then she could, if not, then he wouldn''t pry too much.


    "Nia."


    Nia looked at Lowen still showing a determined expression, she was also a little angry at Lowen for asking her if her father lied. After everything that happened, she hated when others doubted her father, called him and her a traitor. If this Lowen had those same thoughts, then her impression of him would immediately take a hit, so in a pout, she asked.


    "What?"


    "When you said your father never lied to you..."


    Nia''s face looked even sourer.


    "What about it?"


    Lowen didn''t take her expression to heart and instead smiled warmly at her.


    "I believe you."


    Nia''s face instantly went blank. Once again this kid was so kind, she didn''t know what to think or even how to react. She wanted to cry her heart out. In the end, all she could muster was a hug. As she hugged Lowen, she wanted to say something, but words just wouldn''t come out no matter how hard she tried. As she continued to hold Lowen for several minutes, once more she found herself in an awkward position. When it came to boys, she had only hugged her brother and her father but now twice in one day she was hugging Lowen. Her little cheeks flushed slightly and her heart fluttered a bit. Just as weird thoughts started to appear in her head, all the sudden, in this silence, snoring was heard. Looking down, Lowen had fallen asleep.


    Lowen simply couldn''t help it, after trecking through the forest and arriving in the village all the way up to healing Ben for over 7 hours. Lowen had pushed himself to his boundary, he was tired to the extreme. In this long warm embrace, Lowen''s entirety relaxed as drowsiness like no other took his mind. His eyes slowly shut and just like that, he slipped into a world of dreams.


    Nia released a simple sigh and carried Lowen over and laid him down next to Ben. Covering the two with a bit of hay as a blanket, she then blew out the small candle and she too, with a warm calm feeling in her chest, quietly fell asleep.

 Chapter 8: A Fish Or Two Or Three

    As the village bell tolled for the final time, Nia abruptly sat up half awake. As she looked over at her brother, she smiled at the peaceful expression strewn across his face before, she quickly jumped in fright. Right next to her brother, there should clearly have been another child laying right beside him. Instead, there was just an empty spot. Nia''s eyes darted around her small home in every direction but found not even a shadow of Lowen''s small frame.


    She quickly ran out of her little shack, ready to shout at the top of her lungs in search of Lowen but there he was, right outside. His small back faced toward her, she was about to say something but noticed his strange posture and movements. Covered from head to toe in sweat, a small puddle formed below his feet. He seemed to be concentrating with 100% pure focus.


    Even though the village bells had just finished ringing, signaling everyone that it was safe for them to leave their homes, Lowen had already been outside practicing for a few hours. He, of course, knew that there were no bandits coming to attack. So why would he stay inside and wait? Besides, Chief Roland hadn''t ordered him to wait inside and even if he did, that doesn''t mean Lowen would necessarily follow Roland''s orders.


    Inhale... exhale... As Lowen calmed his breathing, his body faced toward the rising sun. As the first rays of sunshine poured down upon him, Lowen''s body bathed in the warm embrace as he continued his practice. Circulating his ki in a particular way, his ki moved with a thought. At first, there was no movement of his ki. Then as fast as he possibly could he pushed it forward like an explosion, before coming to an abrupt stop. Slowly he restarted his flow of ki and once more he stopped it. Like a calm frozen lake, time seemed to stand still for Lowen as several breaths passed before he once more pushed his ki like lightning, circulating it as fast as he possibly could. With this strange practice, Lowen repeated this ki movement technique again and again.


    In turn, Lowen''s control over his ki grew at a rapid pace. This was a technique he learned long ago. Without it, it could take Lowen decades to fully master and control his ki but with it, along with his decades of wisdom and experience, Lowen could feel imminent mastery of it. Although this was a new body, the mind and soul were most definitely his and he could tell that as long as he kept practicing, then within the next few weeks he would be near his previous life''s level of control.


    As he continued circulating his ki, his body moved in a specific manner. [Snake-Fist] a martial art punching technique that was specially designed for flexibility and speed. With it, one could punch an opponent from nearly every weird angle or odd position that you can imagine. It was made for very close combat. As Lowen punched out, his speed was incredible yet precise. Like an actual snake, each strike was vicious and without mercy. With each punch, Lowen''s feet didn''t remain still either. [Shadow-Step] a specialized martial technique designed for movement. Allowing one to move incredibly quickly and increasing one''s agility. It seemed that when Lowen moved forward or back he was quick but when his body would pivot, it looked as though a small shadow would blur.


    As Nia watched on, she seemed as if she were stuck in a daze. Besides her father, she had never seen anyone else move like that. Her mind started to race once more.


    (How can a kid move like that, wasn''t he a Mage? Or is he a warrior? I don''t understand anything anymore.)


    Nia was lost in her thoughts. Just as she wondered how amazing Lowen was, suddenly the atmosphere was completely broken. Lowen like a hog caught in a trap tripped to the ground, falling face first into the small bit of mud his sweaty body created.


    Nia of course immediately broke out in laughter.


    *Hahahahahahahaha*


    She simply couldn''t help it. She thought Lowen was incredible, a Mage of miracles or something almost godly but when she saw him trip, his image, it went right back down. Nia looked at Lowen and she thought.


    (Yep, he''s definitely a kid.)


    Lowen, on the other hand, felt a bit miserable. Everything was going perfectly fine until he dropped his guard slightly and as soon as he did, his body movements become awkward and off balance but that''s to be expected given this body''s previous owner. The child before Lowen took over knew no martial arts whatsoever. Not only did this body have no martial arts, but it also had very little muscle tone. It almost felt like Lowen was moving around a skeleton connected with puppet strings. It still felt weird, as well as creepy. Lowen couldn''t help but feel some disappointment.


    As Lowen stood up and wiped the mud from his face, he bitterly thought to himself.


    (Damn, this body is so fragile and weak; I''ll need to do some serious physical conditioning if I want this body to really feel like mine.)


    *Sigh*


    (A child''s body is just so fragile. Just a few hours of exercise and I slip up, now that child is laughing at me.)


    Lowen looked over at Nia with an annoyed look before he concentrated on his hearing. A few seconds later, his ears perked up. He remembered that Nia had run out last night and quickly came back with water and as he didn''t see a well in the surroundings, he assumed there was a flowing water source nearby and just as he thought, he could hear flowing water coming from a small walk away behind Nia''s home.


    It would have been easier to just ask Nia where she got the water yesterday, but she was laughing too much over a simple slip and fall. Lowen felt slightly embarrassed now.


    (Just how childish is she?)


    With that, Lowen began walking towards the sound of water. Noticing Lowen walking away, Nia''s laugh quickly came to a stop.


    "Wait, where are you going?"


    Lowen didn''t even pause his step and replied.


    "To take a bath."


    Nia became surprised.


    "You actually know where to go, how?"


    Lowen trying to regain even a small bit of his self-respect simply tapped one of his ears, implying he heard it.


    "What?"


    Nia perked her ears up trying to hear it as well. Although there was water nearby, it didn''t flow particularly fast. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t hear a peep of water. All she could hear were the birds, as well as the wind in the trees. She looked at Lowen suspiciously and decided to follow him.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    (He just fell in the mud and so he''s probably embarrassed. Why are boys like this? They''re all the same, pretending to be cool; Why can''t they just admit when they''re embarrassed?)


    The further they went, the more Nia realized they really were headed toward the water.


    (Does he actually know?)


    Finally, after a few minutes, Lowen was standing beside a long flowing river.


    (Ah, he actually found it.)


    Lowen saw the dazed look on Nia''s face and decided to tease her a little bit. In his small childish voice, he shouted.


    "YOU! DID YOU FOLLOW ME HERE TO SEE ME NAKED, HOW INDECENT!"


    Hearing his sudden shout Nia was shocked but even more so after what he just said, she couldn''t even think properly.


    "Wh...wha...WHHHHHHHAAAAATTTTTT!"


    Nia''s embarrassment went through the clouds, suddenly her face blushed red in equal parts embarrassment and equal parts anger. A million excuses went through her head as she scrambled to say something.


    "Who...who would peep on a child, and and and besides that I...I had to make sure you didn''t get lost."


    "Oh, is that so?"


    "Of...of course it is, besides I''ve seen one plenty of times."


    Lowen''s eyes widened more in curiosity.


    Nia noticed she had said something weird and hurriedly yelled to clear up the misunderstanding.


    "It''s not what you think it''s not what you think, it was my brother''s."


    Once more Lowen''s eyes widened.


    Nia once more said something weird.


    "No no, it''s not like that. I had to change him all the time when he was a baby. That''s why, that''s why, why are you looking at me like that?"


    Nia, hearing herself talk, couldn''t believe how everything she said seemed to come out the wrong way.


    Lowen knew it wasn''t like that but he thought it''d be funny if he pushed it just a bit more.


    "If that''s so I''ll believe you, but can you answer one simple question of mine."


    Nia now became timid. Ever since she met him, Lowen has been overturning every thought she''s had, no way would this be a simple question. Nia readied herself and in an almost whispery voice, she asked.


    "Wha...whats the question?"


    "I want to believe you, I really do. Sure it makes sense for you to have seen your little brother''s. It''s like you said, you had to change him when he was a baby so that only makes sense. Older siblings changing younger siblings, yes that''s a responsibility you sometimes have, so that''s completely normal. But ever since I met you, you''ve held my hand twice. Not only that, you''ve hugged a boy that''s not your relative twice as well. But that isn''t even the most important thing."


    Lowen paused his words for a moment for the best impact before he continued.


    "I really do want to trust you but after all that, still, why are you stripping me naked with your eyes?"


    Nia''s heart felt like it was suddenly struck by lightning. For a while, she couldn''t even process Lowen''s words. Finally, it came to her. With no words, her red face which had almost returned to its normal color flared up once more. She had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. She wanted to deny it, she wanted to say something but no words would form, nothing came out. With all she could muster, she turned around and fled back home at her top speed, disappearing along the path.


    Lowen couldn''t help but howl in laughter.


    *HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA*


    (That''ll teach you to laugh at adults.)


    After what seemed like minutes, Lowen finally stopped his laughter.


    Standing in front of the river, he could see it flowed several miles out. Beyond that, it wrapped around a mountain and he couldn''t tell where it went after that. The river was connected on the edge of the back of the village. It was around 50 feet across and on the other side was a large dense forest filled with many large trees. Walking into the river, the water felt incredibly cold. Lowen didn''t know if the seasons were different in this world or not but this world definitely had a winter.


    Lowen began to circulate his ki, warming himself up in the process. Looking at the water that came up to his waist, Lowen couldn''t help but breathe in relaxation. Where he stood came up to his waist but he could see other parts where the water went quite deep. Lowen decided to stay away from the deeper parts, for now, just in case there was something unexpected. As the water flowed slowly, Lowen took off his fur and dunked it a few times before scrubbing all the mud out of it. With it now being clean, he simply tossed it on a nearby branch to dry. After having a nice bath, Lowen noticed a few fish swimming about, each one about as long as his arm.


    In his memory, he had eaten this type of fish before so he knew the fish wasn''t poisonous but the name of the fish he couldn''t quite recall.


    (Hmm, Nia and Ben are probably hungry. I might as well grab a bite too.)


    Lowen slowly sunk down grabbing a few rocks at his feet before slowly standing back up so as to not scare the fish away. Following the four fishes paths, Lowen moved ki into his eyes and concentrated on their movements all at once. When he felt he predicted each of their paths, he instantly gathered his ki in his shoulder, upper arm, lower arm, wrist, hand, and fingers.


    *WOOSH*


    Like four arrows simultaneously being released from four bows, each rock shot out from Lowen''s grip. As the rocks struck the fish, one after another they each died on the spot, it was almost perfect.


    *Tch*


    "Almost."


    Unexpectedly, Lowen had missed one fish by a hair, allowing it to keep its little life.


    (Damn, not quite good enough.)


    Most people would burn with jealousy if they could hear Lowen''s thoughts; To be able to kill 3 out of 4 with one hand, the feat was truly amazing but to Lowen, it just wasn''t up to his standards.


    Grabbing the 3 fish Lowen stepped out of the river and immediately felt their weight. Each fish weighed at least 20 pounds. To a boy who was only 6 years old, 20 pounds on one arm was about the limit he could carry. So to hold 60 pounds on one arm was definitely not happening. Even with ki Lowen''s strength could only hold about 50 pounds in each arm but with that, the burden was slightly lifted. Wearing his simple fur, Lowen grabbed 2 fish with one arm and one fish in the other and with steady steps, he slowly walked back to Nia''s.


    (Hope they''re hungry.)

 Chapter 9: Can I Stay?

    As Lowen made his way down the small path back to Nia''s home, he could feel the stress on his body. The weight of the three fish made his body''s balance feel awkward and odd. Because of that, he had to constantly readjust his output of ki flow to make up for the opposing weight of over 40 pounds on one side and 20 on the other. As he came upon Nia''s home, he was met with Nia just leaving but as soon as her eyes met his, her face immediately flushed red with embarrassment, causing her to rush back inside without a word.


    Walking inside, Lowen saw Nia sitting in a corner acting as though she were busy. Lowen seeing this couldn''t help but chuckle inwards.


    Ben noticed Lowen coming in and sat up in a struggling manner. With a smiling face, he greeted him happily.


    "Big brother came back."


    Just as he wanted to say more, he noticed what Lowen was carrying and in excitement he shouted.


    "Fish, big fish!"


    Nia turned to look in curiosity. She had been too embarrassed earlier and hadn''t seen them but now noticing them, she started to gulp unconsciously.


    "I thought you two might be hungry so I caught a few fish."


    Nia looked at Lowen in amazement but looking Lowen up and down, she couldn''t see a fishing rod or equipment of any kind. She became puzzled by this.


    (Just how did he catch them?)


    Ben was a lot younger so his thoughts were much simpler. He looked up at Lowen with his big brown eyes as though he were a puppy and said in excitement.


    "Big brother is amazing. Can...can we have a little, just a bite, no, no, even a nibble. Ah yes, that''s right, big sis, me and big sis will share a nibble, not even a crumb more, so, so, please?"


    Lowen couldn''t suppress the surprise on his face.


    (Just how much have these two gone through?)


    With Lowen''s pause, Nia and Ben gulped in anticipation. Even though Nia knew Lowen was actually very kind, he had already done so much for them, so how could she ask for even more. She was about to reprimand her brother but Lowen with precision had already tossed all three fish into the copper cooking pot.


    "I''ll be staying for a while and since I don''t have any money, then I guess I can provide the meals. Well, that is, as long as you guys don''t kick me out."


    "No way no way. You''ll give us food as long as we let you stay. BIg sis big sis, quickly, say yes, hurry before it''s too late."


    Ben''s voice was trembling and Nia was lost in thought.


    (He''s gonna keep giving us food, just to let him stay in our rundown home.)


    No one wants to admit when their home is in such a deteriorated state but facts were facts. This place that the two called home was nothing more than a broken shack. With Lowen''s skill, it seemed he could go out and gather food anytime he wanted. With that, he could stay anywhere in the village as long as he gave out food. Especially now that winter was upon them and scrounging up anything that wasn''t already stored away would be extremely difficult but yet, he wanted to stay here with them.


    Nia knew all this was Lowen''s kindness. She couldn''t comprehend why someone would do so much for strangers. She even questioned if she would have done the same had she been in the situation but reversed. As her thoughts dragged on, her brother''s voice suddenly interrupted her.


    "Big sis, why haven''t you said yes yet. Big sis, BIG SIS!"


    The last part of Ben''s sentence dragged her back into reality. She wished to say yes with the deepest part of her heart but something bugged her.


    "Why are you so nice to us? what is it you really want?"


    Lowen didn''t expect a question in return. He pondered for a little bit.


    (I can''t tell her that she reminds me of my self when I was her age in my previous life but I don''t really want to lie either, hmm.)


    Nia didn''t know why Lowen seemed to be hesitating. She wondered why this kid acted so mature sometimes but remembering what happened earlier at the river, she shook her head silently. Throwing those thoughts to the back of her mind.


    "Honestly?"


    Lowen''s look suddenly changed. Looking over her small freckled face, he then stared deeply into Nia''s dark brown eyes and as he stared, Nia noticed his gaze as well. She didn''t know why but his purple eyes suddenly seemed so mesmerizing. She couldn''t help but become slightly nervous as she repeated his words back to him.


    "Honestly?"


    Lowen paused for a moment before he spoke with sincerity.


    "Well..... the truth is...I like you."


    Although Lowen said this, it wasn''t that kind of like. It was the kind of feeling you had for a friend. Someone that has experienced similar things as you have. He understood how she felt in her desperate situation. So in a sense, he did like her but in no way was it something like love. But Nia didn''t know any of that and immediately her words jumbled together.


    "Wha.. wha.. what, you, I, what."


    On the outside, Lowen''s face showed nothing but sincerity but on the inside, he was chucking up a small storm.


    (Hahaha. For some reason its just too much fun to tease her.)


    Meanwhile, Ben had no clue what was going on but that didn''t stop him from putting in his own words.


    "Big bro likes Big sis, haha me too, I like big sis a whole whole lot, I like her this much."


    Ben opened his arms stretching them as much as he could to show how much he liked his sister. Nia came back from her thoughts, she started feeling shy again. As her face turned red, she looked away from Lowen and refuted Ben''s words.


    "Ben, not that kind of like."


    But Ben misunderstood and simply tried to stretch his arms even wider to prove how much he liked his big sister. Seeing this, Lowen and Nia broke out into laughter. They couldn''t help it, little Ben''s confusion was just too cute.


    Nia''s mood returned to normal, she smiled at Lowen and thought.


    (Why am I feeling embarrassed, he''s just a kid.)


    Nia shook her head in understanding.


    (He''s probably just messing with me. This kid is too strange but he does seem sincere and he''s only been kind to me and helped me.)


    When everyone turned their backs on Nia and her brother. When they called her a traitor and when they stared daggers in her back and nearly let her and her brother starve to death. So many nights her and her brother''s stomach ached in pain. So many nights they curled up in the freezing cold and so many nights she cried herself to sleep. After a year of that torment, she had thought the only person she could ever believe in or trust was her little brother but now, although she didn''t know him for very long at all, a small place opened in her heart. She was ready to trust again, to care again but not for her fellow villagers, not for the elders and not for the village chief but instead for this stranger. This young boy who also lost his parents, yet still he could be so caring and so kind. for him, she would slowly open up her heart.


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    Lowen didn''t know what Nia was thinking nor the complex way her emotions were fluxing at this very moment but he did know one thing. Lowen looked at the two siblings.


    "Nia, Ben...lets eat."


    Nia smiled at Lowen and whispered.


    "o..ok."


    Ben couldn''t tell what was going on, but hearing his big sisters answer, his face took on a questioning gaze.


    "Big sis big sis, does that mean he can stay?"


    Nia gave a warm nod.


    Ben, on the other hand, began to shake with excitement. he slowly tried to stand up and as he did, Nia quickly came to her brother''s side helping him.


    "Big bro does that mean, does that mean."


    Ben paused for a moment, looking between the copper pot and Lowen several times, his mouth began to leak with drool before finally, with all seriousness he said.


    "Does that mean we can eat now?"


    Nia and Lowen started howling in laughter.


    (This boy, I like how straightforward he is.)


    Lowen gave a nod.


    "Sure, I don''t see why not."


    Ben began to cheer happily. Even though he was incredibly weak at the moment, his body seemed to be as energized as the sun.


    "Lowen, since you went and caught the fish, I''ll cook it. I can make a simple fish soup, it won''t be very flavorful but it will definitely fill us up.


    "No big sis, not plain fish soup."


    As soon as he said it, Ben felt guilty; He knew how precious it was for him to have fish, especially after such a long time. He knew that each meal was important as it depended on survival but he was still a kid. Ben''s face saddened a bit. For him having fish wasn''t the problem, It was the no flavor part that upset him. Ever since he had recovered slightly, his appetite came back in full force. For him to go from the sweet and tart flavor of the snowberry drink from last night to plain fish soup today, it felt like torture to him.


    Lowen pondered for a bit, a plain tasting fish soup didn''t really bother him but Nia and Ben seemed like they wanted some flavor, so a simple solution came to mind.


    "How about I trade one of these fish to one of your neighbors for some vegetables, maybe I can even get a little salt."


    Ben began nodding his little head in approval.


    "Yay, no plain soup."


    However, Nia was hesitating.


    "No Lowen, ill go instead, you''ve already done so much for us."


    "Hmm, but if you go, won''t the villagers just scowl at you like they did yesterday and not make a trade."


    Nia had thought of that too but she was more determined now. She wouldn''t let the villagers keep her down any longer. Even if they didn''t agree to trade, she would still look them all in the eyes. From now on, she would gather her courage and believe in her self.


    "Even though they didn''t let me buy food from them yesterday, that might have been because I tried using some money."


    Lowen was confused by her words but then Nia continued.


    "Out here, we are basically in the middle of nowhere. Although money has value in towns and cities, here it means almost nothing. People want things they can use or eat, so if I show them this fish, they then know for a fact that they can feed their family. So I think they might trade with me, even if I''m considered a ...."


    Nia stopped herself, unable to finish her sentence. The village may call her a traitor, but she knew in her heart she did nothing wrong. Lowen though was feeling a bit pissed.


    (So Chief Roland gave her money even though he knew it was useless, I may have overestimated him.)


    Lowen wanted to insist that he go instead but seeing the determined look in Nia''s eyes he felt that everything should be fine.


    "Ok, but don''t get your self into trouble and make sure you come straight back afterward."


    Nia laughed and said.


    "I''m the older one shouldn''t I say that?"


    "Haha, yes yes, that was just a small joke. Uh, aren''t you going?"


    Nia laughed again.


    (This boy is just so weird sometimes.)


    With that thought, she grabbed one of the 20-pound fishes.


    (How did he carry 2 of these in one hand? it''s so heavy!)


    Carrying it in both her arms, the fish became much lighter, after that, she left to make a trade with her neighbors.


    With Nia gone, Ben stared at Lowen, his eyes filled with curiosity. Lowen, however, felt a little uncomfortable, he hadn''t been stared at by someone like this in a long while. He suddenly realized how hard it would be to hold a conversation with a child of 5 years old. He didn''t even know what 5-year-olds liked to talk about. He wondered if he should say something or wait for Ben to say something. But as the atmosphere grew awkward, Ben suddenly started to cough and began to fall. Lowen using his Shadow Steps rushed over and caught him before he hit the ground.


    Ben lying in Lowen''s arms recovered and signaled for something to drink. Lowen sat him up gently and poured Ben some water. After Ben drank the water he returned to normal. His body was still weak and all the excitement had gotten to him but now he felt better. After seeing that Ben was fine, Lowen poured himself some water and began to have a drink. He wanted to ask Ben about the village but reconsidered it. Ben seemed to have been sick for a while and he was only 5, he probably wouldn''t know much. Once more a silence took over. Ben again stared at Lowen before he suddenly came to a realization and asked.


    "Big brother, since your staying, does that mean your gonna marry big sis."


    Lowen was caught completely off guard and instantly spat his water out. As he was facing Ben, it went all into Ben''s face and with that, Ben broke out into loud tears.

 Chapter 10: Hatred

    "Ben I''m sorry I''m sorry, your words just shook me. I didn''t do it on purpose.


    But Ben wouldn''t hear any of it. All he had done was ask a simple question and for that, he got a spit in the face with a mouthful of water. He felt he had been completely and utterly wronged.


    Lowen saw that none of his words were getting through to him, but he really didn''t know what to do. He had never needed to appease a 5-year-old child before. Ben continued to cry louder and louder; Suddenly, Lowen thought of a solution.


    "Ben, Ben, if you stop crying, I''ll show you a magic trick."


    Those words caught Ben''s attention and his loud wailing voice, came down to a whimper.


    "Really, big bro? You''re not lying?"


    Lowen shook his head several times.


    "Of course not, would big brother lie to you?"


    Ben stared at Lowen suspiciously.


    "Ok ok, you don''t believe me. How about this, if I can''t do a magic trick, then ill get you more snowberries, what do you think of that?"


    Ben''s big brown eyes immediately lit up like stars in the night sky.


    "Really, will you really get me some snowberries? How many?"


    (How many? how many does this kid want? If I retrace my steps, I bet I could easily go back to all those bushels of berries. I could probably get there and back within 2-3 hours.)


    "How many do you want?"


    Ben''s brow scrunched up, he seemed to be thinking incredibly hard, finally, he held out his arms in a big hug like manner and said.


    "This many."


    But Lowen had no clue how many that was. Could it be 5 or 3 jars worth of bushes, Lowen had no way of telling, he eventually gave in with a sigh.


    *Sigh*


    "I''ll tell you what Ben if I can''t show you a magic trick, then ill get you enough for a month, how''s that.


    Ben himself didn''t know how many he wanted exactly. He just knew he wanted a lot. He didn''t know how many snowberries a months'' worth was, but he knew it was certainly bigger than the gesture he made with his tiny arms. Ben shouted readily in agreement.


    "Yay! berries, berries!"


    Lowen looked at Ben and interrupted him.


    "Hey hey, that''s only if I can''t do it, got it?''''


    Ben''s face became pale with fright. As his eyes began to tear up again, he whispered.


    "So big bro won''t get me any berries?"


    (Ah, this kid fights dirty.)


    *Sigh*


    "Ok ok, how about this, you stop crying and not only will I show you a trick but ill also get you some snowberries. What do you think?"


    Ben looked at Lowen with a starry gaze, he wiped away his snot and tears and then nodded his head again and again.


    "Ok kid, watch closely."


    Lowen said that, but he had no idea what he was gonna do. He didn''t technically know any tricks. As he pondered for quite a bit, Ben was starting to get impatient. As tears began to well up at the corner of his eyes, Lowen finally thought of something.


    (I may not know any magic tricks, but I do still have ki.)


    Lowen sat down and grabbed a single black hair from his head. He then plucked it out and showed it to Ben.


    "I have here a single piece of my hair. Tell me Ben, is this a normal piece of hair or a magic piece of hair?"


    Ben looked at the hair with confusion before looking back at Lowen.


    "Isn''t it just a normal piece of hair?"


    "Tch tch tch, to the ordinary eye it may appear normal, but to someone like me, the truth lies elsewhere."


    Ben looked even more confused.


    "Little Ben, watch closely."


    With that, Lowen slowly closed his hand, covering the hair completely. Ben, however, immediately thought it was the same trick his sister had pulled on him before. She would put something in her hand and then open it and it would be gone. She would then put her hand behind his ear and pull her hand back to reveal that the thing was hidden behind his ear. He may be 5, but she had done the same trick so many times, he knew she had just hidden it behind her hand. So looking at Lowen''s hand, he immediately became disappointed. He was almost about to call Lowen mean for trying to trick him when suddenly, something amazing happened. Lowen slowly opened his hand to reveal the hair, but the hair wasn''t just hair anymore; The very center of the hair held a small orange flame. The flame was no bigger than the flame from a candle, but that wasn''t all. The flame stayed in the center of the hair. It didn''t burn up the rest of the hair, instead, it just stayed there in the very center, burning bright while refusing to even flicker, Ben was utterly shocked.


    (How...how did he do that?)


    Seeing Ben''s amazed face, Lowen wasn''t done just yet.


    "Ben, watch the flame."


    Ben nodded his head and Lowen commanded in a loud voice.


    "Flame, I command you to move to the right."


    With that order, the small orange flame like a loyal soldier quickly made its way to the right end of the hair. Just before it was about to reach the end, Lowen once more commanded."


    "Flame, I order you to the left."


    Once more the flame moved on his order. As it quickly changed direction, it reached the end and was about to fall off when Lowen commanded again.


    "Flame, I order you to stop moving."


    And with those words, the flame once more stood at attention at the left end of the hair. The hair remained unharmed and a few seconds later the flame went out.


    Ben was shell-shocked, this was truly amazing. Ben''s heart raced like lightning, each and every hair on his body stood on end. As he stared on in pure excitement, the mean words he wanted to say before turned to dust in his throat. Once more he thought:


    (Mage.)


    Of course, Lowen knew this wasn''t magic at all; Instead, it was ki. He wasn''t making a flame from ki, he was heating up the hair in his palm to such a high degree that it eventually caught fire. Then using his ki, he supplied energy to the flame so it would not go out.


    After that, he did something that was quite difficult. He can''t move the flame with his ki because his ki doesn''t extend out yet. Instead, he had to use the world''s ki. So when he ordered the flame to move right, what he did was concentrate ki underneath the hair on the right side of his palm, while at the same time absorbing ki on the left side of his palm. As he absorbed ki on the left side it created a small force on the left side of his palm. Then he increased absorption from the left side of his palm, and moved the absorption towards the right side of his hand. With that, It pushed the flame slightly to right and to make the flame go to the left he did the opposite.


    Anyone that saw this would only assume that Lowen had moved the flame from the center to the right and then to the left but anyone who understood it, truly understood it, would marvel at how he accomplished such a difficult feat. And although this so-called trick literally only lasted for several seconds, it took Lowen''s utmost control. It was like controlling 100 release valves all at once, letting some ki enter his palm while at the same time releasing ki. One to push the flame while the other maintained it. There was a precise balance within his palm and with these two different forces, he managed to accomplish his goal.


    Ben started praising and clapping as loud as he could, he had never seen anything like it before in his entire life.


    "AMAZING, AMAZING, HOW DID YOU DO THAT?"


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    Ben''s thoughts raced all over the place, there were so many questions he needed answers to, but one thing, in particular, stood out to him.


    "Big bro, can I ask you something?"


    "Sure ask away, I''ll try to answer whatever I can, that is, without giving away my secrets."


    Ben nodded his head in understanding before asking.


    "Why did you use a piece of your hair?"


    "What?"


    (After what I just did he wants to know why I used a piece of my hair, not how I made a flame appear from out of nowhere, or how I controlled its movements. Haha, this kid, is he perceptive or is he just curious?)


    Lowen simply shook his head.


    "I can''t tell you that, its a trade secret."


    Ben''s eyes showed a bit of disappointment before returning to their former brightness, he nodded his head as though he understood something but still he couldn''t help but stare at Lowen, now with even more curiosity.


    The real reason why Lowen used a piece of his hair was to prevent it from burning himself. He had filled that piece of hair with ki before he plucked it from his head and placed it in his hand. Although it technically was no longer a part of him, it was already changed from his body, therefore, it could hold a bit of ki without being destroyed. If one were to look closely, a tiny speck of the hair had actually caught fire. Lowen couldn''t create a literal flame from nothing, so he did actually burn just a bit of the hair to get the initial flame. The rest of the hair was left unharmed but it would have completely burned if the flame lasted a little longer. With the hair there, it held the flame overtop of it instead of directly touching Lowen''s skin but he could still feel some of the heat and his hand now stung a bit, any longer and his hand too would have been burned.


    As the atmosphere returned to silence, the two now had a smile on their faces but very quickly, that silence was broken with a scream.


    "AHHHHHH!"


    The two jumped a little from shock before Ben''s face paled, he immediately recognized that voice and shouted.


    "Big bro big bro, that was big sis screaming, something happened.


    Ben quickly tried to stand but just as quickly his legs buckled below him. If Lowen weren''t there he would have hurt himself, but Lowen easily caught him and laid him down. Lowen speedily ran out while yelling behind him.


    "Ben don''t worry, ill be back soon so just rest."


    Using his sharp ears, Lowen had already located where the scream had come from and so like an arrow released from its bow, Lowen shot off in a certain direction. Using his Shadow Steps, he easily covered 100 feet in only a few seconds. Had someone seen his movement, they would have sworn there was something wrong with their eyes. How could a small child be so quick? Standing at the entrance of the village square, Lowen spotted a small crowd of villagers gathered around two people. One was a tall young man in his 20''s with a medium build, while in his hand he gripped the arm of a young lady. With chestnut covered hair, a few freckles, and dark brown eyes, Lowen instantly recognized her.


    (Nia.)


    They seemed to be arguing over something. The young man yelled toward the gathered crowd.


    "This little traitor stole someone''s fish and is trying to trade it away."


    Hearing this, some of the other villagers became enraged but Nia looked the man in the eye and quickly refuted.


    "No, let go of me! It''s not true, I didn''t steal anything! The boy who''s staying with me caught it and he gave it to me, I wanted to trade it for some vegetables when you..."


    Before she could finish saying anything, the young man slapped her in the face and yelled.


    "You fucking liar, how can a kid catch a fish nearly half his weight, huh? Do you think we''re all a bunch of idiots? Now tell me, who did you steal from, hurry up and talk or its just gonna get worse for ya."


    Seeing this, Lowen felt something in his stomach sink and a force of fury began to rage within him. As he was about to step out and deal with the villager he saw a familiar look in Nia''s eyes. It was the same determined look he had in his previous world when he vowed to never give up and to survive no matter what.


    Nia struggled from the man''s grip; Biting his hand with her full force, she tore some flesh from his hand and spit it on the ground. With that, the man screamed in pain and threw her to the ground. Nia knew that no matter what she said no one here would listen to a word of it. So, backed into a corner she would fight. As she spat the piece of flesh on the dirt-covered ground, people looked on in shock. They had never seen Nia be so vicious. Usually wherever she went, whatever she did, people would say and do awful things to her. Spit on her, kick or trip her and even some of the other children would throw rocks at her and she would simply accept it with her head hung low crying pitifully, but today... today, something seemed different, she was different.


    Nia felt indescribable anger fill her body. After she met with Lowen, she was changing more and more at a rapid rate and she wouldn''t take these people''s shit any longer, how could she? When had she actually done wrong, how was she a traitor, who did she ever harm until now, but still these people didn''t stop, they wouldn''t stop. Her brother had almost died just a day before, if this abuse continued, then wouldn''t she and her brother die in the near future, caused by these awful villagers? Nia looked the man in the eyes once more and for the first time, a feeling of pure hatred from the depths of her soul welled up within her. In anger, she shouted at the man.


    "I DID NOT STEAL FROM ANYONE, YOU CAN BELIEVE ME OR NOT, BUT DON''T YOU EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN, ASSHOLE!!!"


    Once more everyone was shocked, they all had the exact same thought.


    (Did this girl finally snap?)


    The young man, however, was furious, he grabbed the sword at his waist and unsheathed it. He wanted to kill her. Although it was illegal to kill a fellow villager, looking around, the young man didn''t see anyone trying to stop him. Besides, who would be upset if he killed a traitors daughter, they might even praise him for getting rid of a burden from the village. With these thoughts, he approached Nia ready to kill her. Looking at her though, he didn''t see the expected fear, instead what he saw was determination and absolute hatred.


    (Bitch, looking at me like that...)


    Raising his sword he slashed at her trying to end her life when suddenly, a small rock no bigger then a pebble flew over. The pebble came too quickly and the word dodge couldn''t even form in the man''s mind before like a comet, it precisely smashed the young man in the eye. It threw his slashing sword completely off its mark, causing his blade to miss by a wide margin. With a rock to the eye, the man''s eye immediately began to bleed profusely as both blood and a greyish liquid flowed down the man''s face. The pain this caused was excruciating, causing him to howl in agony. What was left of his eyelid flapped about as it hung on by a small fragment of tattered skin. As he moved around in pain, everyone could see in horror that his eye was no more than mush now. The young man roared at the top of his lungs like a wounded beast.


    "WHO THREW THAT? COME OUT AND FACE ME!"


    The man was about to shout some more when Lowen jumped over the small crowd of people, landing in front of the young man, separated by only a few feet. With a confident smile, he looked at Nia and then at the young man and with a calm voice he simply said.


    "It was me, so what?"

 Chapter 11: Fight

    With the power of ki and his Shadow Steps, Lowen jumped over the crowd of people and landed in front of this young man with the now crushed eye.


    Looking at this man roaring in anger, Lowen smiled and said.


    "It was me, so what?"


    The people in the crowd were completely confused. This was the weird child who had just come to their village only yesterday. His parents had been murdered by bandits and he miraculously made his way off the mountain before he finally found this village. He seemed completely without emotion just a day ago but now he was harming people and smiling about it. The villagers all had similar thoughts.


    (This boy threw the rock; Why? Is he crazy?)


    Nia, however, saw Lowen''s confident smile and a sense of calm washed over her. Seeing this young boy who seemed to make things right with just his presence, her raging emotions began to melt away into nothing.


    The roaring man seethed with anger, Looking at this small boy, he couldn''t understand why this kid threw a rock at him. What animosity did they share for this boy to destroy his eye? Covering the left side of his face with his hand, with a resentful tone, he spoke slowly thru his teeth.


    "You......Little......FUCK! Why did you throw that rock?"


    Lowen''s expression didn''t change in the slightest, instead, he looked over the crowd and spoke in a loud yet childish voice.


    "You tried to hurt my friend so I hurt you."


    The crowd of onlookers was slightly confused.


    (Did he mean Nia, was she his friend? He permanently harmed a villager over a traitors daughter.)


    The young man was enraged, he yelled out.


    "Friend, what friend? Are you talking about this thief and traitor? You ruined my eye for this little wench."


    Lowen gave no more than a simple nod. His actions seemed simple on the surface, but his motives were more than just helping Nia. He also wanted to seek out the truth behind Roland. Ever since Lowen came to this village, he could feel a certain energy coming from all the villagers. With Lowen''s senses he could feel tiny specks of it emanating from within them all, but from one of them, their energy seemed vastly greater. If each of the villager''s energy was no more than a few specks of dust in size then Chief Rolands was the size of a small fist, the difference was like night and day. Lowen could feel that greater energy nearby as more and more people gathered around. It seemed Roland had made his way somewhere in the crowd but instead of coming out, he observed silently. Lowen decided to show a bit of skill to see how Roland would react, in this way he would teach this villager who attacked Nia a lesson and at the same time hopefully come to understand Roland a bit more. As the saying goes, he would kill two birds with one stone. First, he had to provoke this villager a little more but looking at the man with the crushed eye already on the verge of losing it, the task would not be too difficult.


    As Lowen simply smiled and nodded at the villager with the crushed eye, the man grew more and more enraged. Lowen slowly helped Nia up and asked with a warm smile.


    "Nia are you ok? This idiot didn''t hurt you, did he?"


    As Lowen said that he whispered into Nia''s ear. "Nia help me provoke him."


    Nia''s looked slightly confused before she nodded in affirmation. While she didn''t know what Lowen wanted to do, she had already decided to trust him. As she smiled back at Lowen she said loudly.


    "I''m fine, that idiot only knocked me to the ground. Thankfully that idiot is an idiot, otherwise, I''d really be in trouble."


    Lowen continued to nod in agreement while listening to Nia''s every word.


    "Yep, he''s an idiot ."


    At the same time, the villager was growing more and more enraged. The two were completely ignoring him while at the same time insulting him, finally, he shouted.


    "You little shits, you''re actually calling me an idiot. Nia, you do realize no one in this village would be upset if I killed you a traitor''s daughter and you boy. Since your parents are dead already, who will come looking for you? You''ve already ruined my eye, so its only fair if I ruin one of yours, hehe."


    But to these words, Lowen just looked at him as though he were an idiot.


    "Ah, you really are an idiot, how can shit call you an idiot, only an idiot would think shit can actually talk, idiot. *Sigh* How can an idiot like you exist."


    The villager''s sword trembled in his hand. Although Lowen and Nia were just kids, he was being insulted again and again. His eye was completely smashed and now he was insulted in front of nearly the whole village, this villager finally snapped.


    "AAAHHHHH, I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!"


    With that roar, the villager lifted his sword high above his head and rushed at Lowen. Some of the villagers were actually enjoying the show , but when this happened, things quickly took a dark turn. A few men were about to step out and put a stop to it. Although most of them didn''t care about Nia, due to her father''s actions, when it came to Lowen they held no hatred. Even when he had smashed this young man''s eye, the ones that saw that understood he did it for his friend. They didn''t care for Nia but for their friend, many of them would have done the same thing. Before anyone could intervene it was already too late. Many of the villagers felt a bit of pity for Lowen, while still, others felt nothing one way or the other and some simply thought.


    (Well, that''s what happens when you keep provoking someone. Even the weakest person would lose their shit if they kept being pushed.)


    Even when the sword was swung at her earlier, Nia held no fear but now that the swords target was Lowen and not her, she immediately grew worried for him but in the end, she found that her worry was completely unneeded. As the sword slashed down at Lowen''s head, Lowen had already been prepared. Using his Shadow-Steps, Lowen skilfully twisted his body sideways and took a single half a step backward. As he did, the sword passed right in front of his nose by more than an inch and slashed the dirt in front of his feet. At this moment, a pair of emerald green eyes stared out from within the crowd observing silently. Some of the villagers were shocked that the young man missed while others began to yell out.


    "Greg, stop this foolishness at once."


    "Yea, stop before you really hurt the boy. It was you who started this nonsense, the Chief would not condone this."


    This young villager named Greg ignored them. With his anger overflowing, there was no way he could stop, not now. But before he could even lift his sword to swing again, a small tiny fist came out of nowhere. Lowen with His Snake-Fist punched out, quickly hitting Greg''s wrist. Although Lowen''s physical power was nothing compared to a full grown adult, a person''s weak point was a person''s weak point and with this strike to Greg''s wrist, it caused him to drop his sword before he knew what hit him. But it wasn''t over. Lowen followed this punch with another one straight into Greg''s balls. This caused Greg to collapse to his knees in pain while he held onto his grapes for protection but with Greg''s body lowered it was now the perfect height for Lowen to finish up. With ki already gathered in his abdomen all the way down to his feet, Lowen spun sharply delivering a powerful kick to the man''s temple. With this kick, the man''s body fell over limp like a ragdoll, face down in the dirt. The crowd froze on the spot and silence filled the air. On each and every one of their faces, an expression of true shock appeared. Even the other village children were stunned with silence.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    After what seemed to be minutes went by, finally, someone shouted.


    "Amazing, Lowen! You''re incredible. No wonder you could survive so long in the mountains by yourself. How did you learn to fight like that? You even dodged his sword. How do you even move like that? Weren''t you scared at all?"


    Nia was pulling on Lowen''s small arm while praising him. Besides her father, she had never seen someone move like that and on top of that, he defeated him in only three blows. Nia''s heart was racing with excitement, she suddenly thought.


    ( If only I could do that.)


    After Nia''s shouting, everyone seemed to come back to reality. Some of them looked at Lowen with a bit of fear while others were filled with questions. Just how can a child do that. Is this how he survived the mountains. The crowd began to grow loud talking over one another. No one even seemed to care about the young man named Greg lying in the dirt. Lowen wondered if no one would seek revenge.


    (Hmm, no one seems to care much for this Greg fellow. I guess he''s not important. Maybe that''s why he was so eager to kill Nia. He probably thought if he killed a burden for the village, people would praise him or his reputation might go up, but no ones even coming to check on him.)


    Lowen''s thoughts were correct. This young man had no family in this village and was considered a cheat and scum. The only reason he had not been kicked out of the village yet, is that he hasn''t done anything against the village or broken any laws. Had he actually killed Nia, who knows whether hed be punished or praised.


    Lowen looked at the fish on the ground, it was caked in mud and dirt. In order to trade it, he would first need to take it back to the river to be cleaned. When it came to caught fish if you don''t have it on ice then your suppose to throw it away after 2 hours. So Lowen figured if he hurried, then he could quickly be back with time to spare. The only part that worried him were these villagers. After what just happened, plus their attitude towards Nia, they probably wouldn''t be up for a trade unless they greatly reduced how much food they were asking for. Lowen was irritated but the situation was still somewhat manageable. As Lowen thought about all this, suddenly, he heard Nia shout.


    "Ahh look out!"


    But it was too late. As Lowen turned around, the man that was lying face down in the dirt had already gotten to his feet and grabbed Lowen in a bear hug and as he squeezed with his full strength, Lowen felt one of his ribs on his left side break, causing him to scream out in pain.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH!!"


    The onlookers were shocked by this scream. Hearing a child scream in pain was, of course, one of the most harrowing things to hear, let alone witnessing it happen first hand. Two of the onlookers quickly ran out of the crowd to help Lowen. Greg saw them coming over and yelled out.


    "Everyone back, if any of you dare to come near, then I''ll fold his back in half."


    The few people who ran out quickly stopped and backed up. No one could believe what they were witnessing. This man had gone mad.


    Nia was unable to help in the slightest and became terrified for Lowen. She had just met him but she already cared for him. She had already lost her parents, she didn''t know what she would do if she now lost Lowen as well.


    "You all just watched as this kid humiliated me, now you''ll all watch as I humiliate him."


    Greg looked down at Lowen and grinned maliciously.


    "You little shit, I only wanted one of your eyes earlier but now ill be taking them both."


    As Lowen suppressed his screams of pain, his mind filled with fury.


    (Fuck, my rib is broken, fuck fuck fuck. I shouldn''t have dropped my guard. Why did I not make sure he was out completely. Because of that one mistake, this fucking weakling has crushed one of my ribs. Damn, I wanted that Roland to show some of his cards and yet he still hasn''t made a move, fine then, ill stop holding back.)


    Lowen circulated his ki to the utmost before launching his head forward like a huge rock.


    *Bam*


    Lowen head-butted Greg directly in the nose breaking it in many places. Blood gushed out like a fountain and Greg''s grip loosened greatly. With this, Lowen''s hands were free. With his palms filled with ki Lowen slapped the sides of Greg''s ears with full force as though he was slapping a drum. Two minuscule pops were heard and once more Greg started to bleed, this time from his ears. With this, Greg''s eyes had already rolled up into his head, he was out for real this time. But that wasn''t enough, not for Lowen. It had been many decades since he last felt such rage and since he hasn''t mastered the fourth stage of ki manipulation the [Mind-Stage], he wasn''t completely in control of his emotions.


    No longer conscious, Greg''s arms fell silently to his sides. And as his body started to fall as well, Lowen had already gathered ki into his right fist once more and located the perfect target, Greg''s throat. Lowen had truly lost control of his emotions and was ready to crush Greg''s windpipe finishing him once and for all. As Lowen launched his fist forward, in his mind he roared.


    (SNAKE-FIST!!!)


    With this attack, Greg should have died instantly but although Lowen was right in front of him and although he punched out with his fastest speed before his fist made contact, a wall of Flame 6 feet high and 6 feet wide instantly formed between the two. A tall older man walked out from the crowd. As he stood there looking at Lowen with his pair of bright emerald green eyes, Roland spoke with authority.


    "That''s enough."

 Chapter 12: Clues

    After Roland spoke, the wall of flames burned for a few seconds before slowly dissipating.


    Lowen regained his senses and the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. His alertness became sharp to a terrifying degree and his mind raced with multiple thoughts.


    (Was that a Mage''s power just now? How can it be so fast?)


    The fires appearance wasn''t necessarily a worry for Lowen. He had seen many Ki Manipulators at the later stages who could summon flames and kill hundreds, if not thousands, but in order to do that it required time, enough time to channel a mass of ki. Because of that, it was considered to be very inefficient in actual combat between two masters. When two masters were facing each other, every second was precious. If one were to take the time to summon up a mass of flames, hed of been killed in a flash but what Lowen had just witnessed, sent shivers down his spine. This wall of flame had appeared almost instantaneously. Roland could do this before Lowen could kill his opponent.


    (I was only 3 feet away from this Greg fellow when I launched my attack, while Roland was separated from us by more than 15 feet. To attack an opponent 15 feet away without a weapon, faster then even I could move, does that not mean this Roland could kill me instantly.)


    This moment had changed Lowen''s perception of the world around him. He began to look at the gathered crowd more cautiously. He could sense that energy in every single villager around him, whether they be old or young, everyone had it but why then did no one use it.


    Roland came forward, followed behind was the three elders who shared similar expressions with the gathered crowd. They each had looks of shock and confusion. They were all surprised by the wall of flames. They had all been aware of the rumor that Chief Roland was a Mage but most had never actually witnessed it. Roland had kept his power completely hidden until now, why he showed it now though nobody knew, this only further made the people in the crowd grow anxious with questions. Even the elders had many things they wished to ask. Now no one even looked at Lowen, they were too busy staring at their chief. Suddenly someone in the crowd yelled out at Chief Roland.


    "Chief, so its true, you are a Mage."


    Roland gave a simple nod but with it, some of the villager''s expressions turned dark and gloomy. That same villager then asked in a trembling voice.


    "Chief, you, you''re a Mage. Then why....1 year ago.... why didn''t you save my wife?"


    Suddenly the crowd erupted with noise and began to throw question after question at their village Chief.


    "Why didn''t you save them?"


    "Why didn''t you protect us? My child is gone and you did nothing."


    The entire village was gathered here and everyone had heard everything. Even one of the elders had turned pale. Because of what happened that year, his son and his son''s wife, including his two grandchildren were gone. He had blamed Nia''s father this whole time but if this entire time Chief Roland could have done something, then had he misplaced his hate and anger. The elder''s thoughts tumbled about chaotically, but Roland looked as though none of it bothered him. He looked over the crowd and shouted.


    "SILENCE!"


    The crowd''s voices died down in an instant before Roland continued to speak.


    "Yes, it''s true I am a Mage. Now I know you all have many questions and I will answer each and every one of them, but for now I need to discuss something very important with this boy.


    Roland looked towards Lowen at this moment causing even more confusion for the people. Many in the crowd shared the same thoughts.


    (He wants to speak with the boy, for what?)


    Roland ordered a few men to take Greg away and lock him up but some of the people were showing a bit of resistance to his words. Roland then slammed his cane down hard into the dirt before a few men finally stepped out of the crowd and followed his order. The elders wanted to speak out but Roland gave them a meaningful glance and they suppressed the words stuck in their throats. They had known Roland for nearly 20 years and he had completely earned their trust, even the elder whose son had died, even with his chaotic thoughts he trusted that Roland had a reason, there just had to be. Roland looked at Lowen and said.


    "Boy, come with me."


    Nia instinctively stepped in front of Lowen with arms spread, as though she were protecting him. She just saw Roland use magic and Lowen almost just killed someone, who knew what the Chief would do to him.


    Lowen took a few steps forward and smiled back at Nia.


    "Everything will be fine, you go back for now and have a meal with Ben and ill be back as soon as possible."


    Lowen said some reassuring words but he himself didn''t know what was about to happen. If Roland wanted him dead then he could do it instantly and even if Lowen wanted to escape, he didn''t know whether or not he could pull it off. With the broken rib his breathing had become slightly impaired and to run without being able to take proper breaths would definitely slow him down. Thinking of that, he began to circulate his ki to his broken rib and immediately started healing it. Normally a broken rib would take 1 sometimes 2 months to heal properly. With ki, however, Lowen could probably heal it within 1 to 2 weeks. Within seconds the pain was already starting to lessen. Lowen breathed slowly trying his best to take deep breaths, in through his nose and out through his mouth. As he did, he calmed himself while thinking.


    (If Roland wanted me dead he could have already done it, especially after I nearly killed a villager. He would have been completely in the right. Looking into his eyes there doesn''t seem to be any murderous intent, in fact, he looks almost happy. It''s obvious he wants something from me but what could I possibly have that he wants?)


    Nia looked at Lowen as he followed Roland back to the Chief Hall, shaking the worries from her mind, she turned back and made her way home.


    At this point, none of the villagers really knew what to do. They''ve never had a situation like this, it''s never happened before. Some stood in circles discussing the chief, while others discussed Lowen. One thing was for sure, Roland had to explain some things or this crowd would not be satisfied.


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    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen once more was sitting in a room with Roland and the three elders. The number of questions on his mind was equal to the questions the three elders had if not more. The room was filled with a tense atmosphere. Lowen had nearly killed a villager and Roland was revealed to be a Mage, this was truly an odd happening. Finally, after a few minutes, Roland looked at the 4 people sitting around the table and spoke calmly.


    "Lowen, I know you have many questions and I''ll soon answer them but first I''ll need you to answer something for me."


    Lowen and the three elders were curious what the Chief wanted to ask but looking at Roland''s serious attitude, they chose to wait patiently. Lowen had no clue what Roland wanted to ask him but sensing he was in no immediate danger, he nodded in affirmation.


    "What do you want to ask me?"


    Roland''s expression didn''t change but his gaze looked for any flaw in Lowen''s expression as he began to speak.


    "You survived bandits and you survived the harsh mountains. You found this village and just now you almost killed Greg with a single strike to his throat."


    Roland paused for a moment and looked at Lowen''s expression, trying to spot the tiniest change but found no fluctuations whatsoever.


    Lowen couldn''t help but think.


    (Where is he going with this?)


    Roland continued.


    "When I first met you, you showed no emotion over your parent''s death and at that time, originally I thought you were simply traumatized but something kept nagging me. At the time I only had the tiniest suspicion. When it comes to you miraculously surviving, at your age by yourself, well I for one have never put any merit into any so-called miracles."


    Roland once more searched for something on Lowen''s face and once more he found nothing.


    "The way you leaped over the crowd of villagers to confront Greg and then when you fought him, that''s when I felt it."


    Suddenly the three elders ears perked up.


    (The chief felt something?)


    Lowen looked at Roland in curiosity.


    (He felt something, from me?)


    "When I was a young man, I traveled all across the Qiyuan continent. I''ve seen many mysterious things and met many odd people. A long time ago when I traveled past the great Gan desert I met a certain man from a small village. That man could do many incredible things that I could not and each time he did those things, he used a powerful force, a certain energy, and although it''s not the same, I can definitely feel that it is quite similar to yours."


    The three elders were shocked, this boy who they thought was all but simple, turned out to have a hidden power within. The three elders didn''t doubt Roland in the slightest. Being with him for so many years they truly believed Roland without a second thought.


    This time Lowen''s face twitched ever so slightly, not even for a second before it quickly returned to normal but that was more than enough time for Roland to catch it.


    "With his energy, he could enhance every aspect of his body, his strength, his agility, and even his mind, improving his comprehension to an entirely different realm. His body became a nearly perfect weapon in almost every way. Capable of crushing rocks with his bare hands or cleaving a tree in half with a kick but the thing I noticed more than anything else, was the incredible regeneration his body could produce. I saw him take a blade through in through, in his stomach and out the back but this man didn''t die. In merely a few breaths of time, his body healed this fatal wound completely."


    One of the elders interrupted, shouting out.


    "How is that possible?"


    Roland looked at the elder with an annoyed look and the elder quickly shut his mouth and gave an apologetic look before Roland continued.


    "When it comes to Mages, we use the magic within our bodies and force it out through a tool to control the elements."


    As Roland said this he tapped his cane gently on the ground and a small ball of flame, no bigger then a fist floated out.


    Seeing this right in front of his eyes had once more shocked Lowen.


    (Again, he did it in an instant, how?)


    "With my magic, I can easily manipulate fire depending on its size and energy."


    As Roland continued to talk, the flame floated into his hand and quickly changed shape many times. First, it was a ball, then it vaguely took the shape of a horse and after that, a small blade followed by a few other simple shapes before once more returning to the shape of a ball.


    "However, that man, no matter how hard he tried and no matter how much time he had, he could never use magic the way that I do and I could never enhance my body the way he did. That man and I were separated by an invisible barrier that comes about at birth. I was born with a mage core and had the potential to become a Mage and after many years I became one. He, on the other hand, was born with something incredibly rare, he was born with a mage body, one of the rarest physiques known to man. Normally there''s no way I would connect the two together but so many things about you lead me to believe you have this unique and rare physique. When you leaped over the crowd I felt that energy. When you struck with your fist I felt it and when you kicked, again I felt it. But above it all, even at this very moment, I can feel it once more, that energy flowing to your broken rib healing it."


    Roland''s thoughts kept leading him to believe that Lowen had this rare physique and after seeing so many clues, he started putting the pieces together to fit his own narrative. He looked at Lowen and finally said.


    "Tell me, Lowen, do you have this body?"

 Chapter 13: Confirmed?

    All of the elders looked at Roland in confusion, even Lowen looked slightly confused. Lowen had wanted for Roland to reveal his cards but he didn''t expect that Roland believed him to have this strange body type. The idea did intrigue him though; Lowen wondered why and how there was someone that seemed to be able to use energy the same way he did in this world.


    (Could there be other ki users like me?)


    But Lowen also wondered if the man used ki or some entirely different energy. Roland had only said that the energy he felt from that man and Lowens was similar, he didn''t say the same. Lowen looked at this village Chief in curiosity and confusion, he couldn''t be sure if what that man and what he used was one and the same, so Lowen answered truthfully.


    "I don''t know."


    When Roland heard this, his calm expression immediately turned to worry and then rage.


    (Is this boy lying to me? The way he''s using that energy to heal himself, it feels too similar to that man. Damn, it''s been so long since I''ve last felt that guys energy so I can''t be sure but the way he uses it, its got to be. This is my last chance, if this too is a failure, then my last bit of hope is gone.)


    After thinking for a while, Roland couldn''t help but sigh. His once angry expression returning to his former cool. He looked at Lowen and figured that maybe the boy truly didn''t know, he was still just a child. Even if he had that special physique, even if it did increase his intelligence, that didn''t mean he would necessarily know the exact terminology for it. Roland still had one more card up his sleeve so whether Lowen knew or not wouldn''t really matter. He had asked first because, it, of course, was common courtesy.


    "Lowen, do you deny that you are using energy right now to heal yourself?"


    Lowen could tell that the Chief could somehow sense his ki, so there was no real reason to deny it at this point.


    "I don''t deny it, so what?"


    Instead of answering Lowen the Chief simply continued.


    "Hmm, then do you deny the possibility that you have a mage body physique?"


    "Anythings possible, where are you going with this?"


    Roland once more ignored Lowen''s question and instead tapped his cane gently on the ground. Instantly a small fist size ball of flame once more floated out. The 3 elders and Lowen were curious what Roland was doing before Roland suddenly shouted.


    "Hold him."


    The flame instantly shot out towards Lowen shocking the three elders and Lowen. They were just having a peaceful conversation and now all of the sudden Roland was attacking. Lowen tried to jump out of the way but the flame was already upon him. Just as it was about to strike him, its shape suddenly changed from a ball of flame into a chain of flame. It instantly coiled itself around Lowen''s hands and feet immobilizing him faster then anyone could blink. Lowen immediately began to struggle, trying to escape before the flames could burn him but even with ki in all of his limbs, he couldn''t even budge an inch. Just as panic was about to overwhelm him, he noticed something strange. The flames, they weren''t hot. Lowen looked down at this chain of fire that held him in place and noticed the flames strangeness. They themselves didn''t flicker nor move at all in any way. They were fire but didn''t burn him in the slightest. Lowen could sense the flames were using that same energy that Roland had in his body, instead of their natural source air. This was simply incredible. That''s what Lowen might have thought if he wasn''t in such a defenseless situation. Lowen stared daggers at Roland wishing he could kill with a glare. Roland though thought nothing of it and stood up, slowly walking over to Lowen. The three elders just sat there frozen on the spot unaware of what they should or could do. Roland stood in front of Lowen and slowly pulled out a small blade from the inside of his robe and held it above Lowen. Lowen''s heart was racing like a rabbit as he shouted.


    "What in the hell do you think you''re doing?"


    Roland smiled happily at Lowen and said.


    "I''m gonna stab you of course."


    Lowen looked at Roland with shock.


    (Shit, he''s not lying, he''s really gonna do it, but why? Dammit, what does this gain him? shit shit shit.)


    Roland took the dagger above his head and stabbed down at Lowen. Lowen could only glare at Roland with unwillingness. Just as the blade came in contact with Lowen''s chest, it suddenly stopped, before it barely pricked Lowen''s chest. After that, it drew only a few drops of blood. Lowen and the elders stared at Roland in utter confusion.


    (Just what in the hell is happening?) They thought.


    The chains of flame that bound Lowen vanished into thin air. Realizing he was free, Lowen shot to his feet and jumped backward until his ass was touching the door. He took a defensive stance ready to attack at any moment. As he stood there in a defensive position, cold sweat began to pour down his back like a wet rag being squeezed.


    Roland however just shook his head in a teasing manner.


    "What, did you really think I was going to kill you?"


    Lowen didn''t know what to think anymore, was this man insane, he acts calm and then flips out trying to stab you. Lowen shouted angrily.


    "Then what the hell was that?"


    "Simple, if I told you I was gonna stab you, there''s no way you would have simply sat there. So of course, I had to stop your movement."


    "That''s not what I mean and you know it. Why did you stab me? What the hells wrong with you?"


    Lowen knew there was no way he could escape. If he wanted out, he would have to kill Roland instantly before Roland could use his magic. Thankfully, Roland had set his cane down before he came over to Lowens side. Roland''s cane was on the other side of the room while he was only separated from Lowen by 3 feet. Lowen''s brain ran scenario after scenario before Roland calmly stated.


    "Well, I needed a drop of your blood, that way I can easily tell whether you have a Mage body or not. As for what''s wrong with me, well I''d say I''m more normal then you are."


    Lowen''s thoughts abruptly stopped after hearing Roland''s answer.


    (So he''s not trying to kill me, but how does taking my blood show him if I have a Mage body physique or not?)


    As though Roland could read his mind, Roland reached back into his robe and pulled out a small unremarkable grey crystal.


    "Watch closely, this will show us the truth of the matter."


    Lowen''s curiosity outweighed his fear, once more he figured if Roland wanted him dead he''d be dead. He stepped closer, albeit a bit cautiously so he could observe what the Chief was doing. The three elders as well were quite curious. They had seen that unremarkable grey crystal plenty of times and they were not rare in the slightest as they could be found at the bottom of any riverbed. Nearly every summer, children would get them from the river and skip them across the surface for fun, so what the Chief was doing they hadn''t a clue. As the chief held the dagger above the grey crystal, he slowly touched the end that had the drop of blood to the surface of the crystal and amazingly the drop of blood sunk in, disappearing as though the grey crystal were a sponge. The elders were simply amazed by this ordinary grey crystal that they''ve encountered throughout their entire lives. Witnessing it suddenly absorb some blood, they wondered why no one else knew about this.


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    Lowen, however, was simply confused, he wanted to ask Roland but Roland''s expression had sunk into despair. Roland had used up such precious magical energy today. If this really didn''t work, then all he could do is crawl into a ditch and die. Just as he was about to throw the crystal to the ground and smash it in anger, suddenly, like a tiny bee, a low buzzing sound came from the crystal and it started to glow white. The 5 seeing this were each left in awe before tears started to stream down Roland''s face.


    Finally, his hope had returned. As the 5 continued to stare, the crystal grew brighter and brighter. Soon the entire room was so bright it looked as though someone had turned on a miniature sun. Within the room, the eyes of everyone started to ache in pain and just when they could no longer bear it, the crystal immediately fractured, cracking in several spots. The bright glow rapidly returning to a dull ugly grey, unremarkable in its entirety. As the buzzing ceased, the grey crystal shattered, turning into a small pile of dust, once more the room grew silent. The whole process had only lasted a mere few seconds but this had been more than enough to leave a lasting impression on the three elders for the rest of their lives.


    Roland released a few more tears of joy before he slowly wiped them away. The elders however only now noticed Roland''s tears and were left in bewilderment. They had never seen their leader shed even a single tear in the entire time they knew him, not even after the terrible disaster that befell them a year ago but now he was weeping over a glowing crystal. The three elders were left flabbergasted.


    With a million questions on everyone''s mind, only Roland looked as though he had all the answers. Just as everyone was getting anxious, Roland pointed at the leftover dust and began to explain.


    "This dust here, as you all saw it used to be a simple grey crystal, well not so simple."


    Roland reached into his robe and grabbed 4 more grey crystals, handing one to each person. The elders and Lowen looked over the crystals with curiosity.


    "You see, these unremarkable grey crystals are actually magic crystals."


    The three elders expressions suddenly grew excited, their thoughts ran wild with joy.


    (If we gather more of these from the river, won''t our village become incredibly rich. We can sell these to every Mage in the city and make a fortune.)


    Roland''s next words, however, doused their excitement with cold water.


    "Although they are Magic crystals, their value is nearly zero."


    One of the elders couldn''t help but shout.


    "Why?"


    *Sigh*


    "These crystals are just too common, they can be found in nearly every river bed in the world. If one wants one, they can simply pick it up from a river for free. So how could it possibly hold any real value, especially when its use isn''t anything amazing."


    The elders dropped their heads in depression as though they had just lost a huge fortune.


    "A grey crystal as you saw glows white. In order to do so, however, requires a certain condition to be met and that is for it to come into contact with something that has an abundance of magical energy in it. Elders, drip a bit of blood on those crystals for me."


    Roland pricked his finger and the elders didn''t hesitate, they were loyal to a fault. After they each dropped a bit of blood onto the grey crystals, just like with Lowen''s, their blood sunk into the crystals but unlike Lowen''s, nothing happened. The three elders and Lowen stared at the crystals in astonishment and confusion and the elders then looked at Lowen. Lowen''s curiosity grew, he took another drop of his blood and dripped it onto the crystal. The crystal soaked it up and then just like before, it buzzed and glowed brightly before shattering into dust.


    "You see, only someone with a mage body has such a concentration and abundance of magical energy within them. The elders and my self, although we too have magical energy residing within us, it comes nowhere near someone with a mage body physique. Only a Mage at the 4th Circle of magic or above can claim to have more magical energy."


    The elders and Lowen''s ears perked up a bit. Roland had just said they have magical energy residing in them but none of them were Mages, what did this mean? The elders traded looks before one of them spoke.


    "Chief, you say we have magic energy in us but none of us are Mages, so how can that be?"


    Lowen too was curious, he felt that same energy in everyone he met in this village but somehow, out of them all, only one was a Mage.


    Roland rubbed his chin in thought.


    "Well, when it comes to Magic, everyone in the entire world has a tiny bit within themselves. It''s just that in order to become a Mage, you basically need comprehension, talent, elemental affinity, and luck."


    Roland noticed that he was getting a bit sidetracked and returned to his original topic.


    *Ahem*


    "Anyway, only someone with a mage body would give this crystal such a reaction and your blood proves it. Now that I know that you have this physique, you can help me and if you agree to help, then ill greatly reward you."


    The elders again looked at Roland with confusion. Even if Lowen did have a mage body, what can he, a 6-year-old do for their leader. Their minds were becoming dizzy with thoughts.


    Lowen pondered for a moment.


    (What can such a poor village reward me with and in what possible way can I help?)


    "Chief Roland, how can this child possibly help you? I don''t understand, none of us do. Please explain more clearly, what does any of this have to do with why you didn''t protect the village a year ago? Please just tell us what''s going on."


    *Sigh*


    As Chief Roland sighed, he thought about the tragedy that occurred last year and how he didn''t protect those innocent families. Roland shook his head at the elders and spoke almost in a whisper.


    "I don''t want to die."

 Chapter 14: Deal Of A Life Time

    Roland''s words were barely audible but everyone had clearly heard them. The few words were simple, yet brought great confusion. As Roland looked over the three elders, he sighed bitterly.


    "When Mages grows more powerful and reach their upper limit, they have an opportunity to advance to the next stage. In our world, there are 8 circles of magic and with each new circle they advance to, that represents more power. With more power comes more possibilities, more creation, and more destruction, as well as......more life. I was at the 4th circle and while attempting to reach the 5th circle, the Life-Core circle, an accident occurred."


    When Lowen heard this, he picked up the bitter tone in Roland''s voice.


    ( So does that mean he''s no longer at that level?)


    "When one reaches the 5th circle, you are literally fusing your life and your magic core together, making them one whole but that day...."


    *Sigh*


    "I was gravely injured. Because of that, my Magic core, my life, was greatly damaged. And now my life is quickly running out, I''m dying."


    The elders quickly grew panicked, one of them shouted.


    "What do we do, a doctor, that''s it, will travel to the city and get you the best medicine and I''m sure..."


    Roland quickly cut the elders words off.


    "STOP! this isn''t something just any doctor can cure and medicine of herbs will do me no good, none of it will help. I have already traveled for more than 2 decades all over this great continent in search of help and got nothing. Now, the only possibility is this boy here."


    Roland looked at Lowen and smiled gently but Lowen only felt the oddity of the whole situation.


    "This is why last year I failed you all. By the time my accident occurred, my life and my magic core were already partly fused. After my magic core was damaged, it not only affected my life but my powers also have regressed all the way down to the 2nd circle and now every time I use magic, it consumes a bit of my life. If I were to no longer use magic for the rest of my days, then my lifespan can possibly stretch for another 3-4 years maybe. After that, I would be 6 feet under the dirt. When we were attacked last year I, I.....I was a coward. I could have saved them but my life would have immediately dried up and my death would have been guaranteed, I''m, I''m so sorry."


    Roland bowed deeply to the elders, he felt shame as well as fear for his impending death. Its true with his magic he could have saved his people last year but afterward, he would have immediately died. No one wants to die early, especially those who become a Mage. When one chooses the path of a Mage, they seek true knowledge and power from the world around them as well as immortality, and the further you advance down this path, the longer your lifespan extends. So for him to go from having nearly a 600 yr guaranteed lifespan down to only a few years left, to Roland, this just wasn''t fair. No matter what, how could he simply give up. But after that attack last year he knew he was running out of time and just when he came to the edge of despair, suddenly the world drops this boy in front of him. Roland does not believe in miracles but this happening was definitely the closest he''s come to being swayed.


    Afterward, the elders eyed each other as well as Roland.


    (So this is why he did nothing, he would have died if he used too much magic. But how can this be an excuse? One of the jobs of a village Chief is to ensure your people''s protection. If he didn''t defend us than, than why would he defend us the next time there''s an attack?)


    One of the elder''s eyes kept jumping to Roland''s face then to the table and then back to Roland''s face. After he heard what Roland said, he felt sourness in the pit of his stomach. If Roland had fought back then, his son, his daughter in law and his 2 grandchildren might still be alive but instead, Roland had chosen to preserve his life even though he was dying soon anyway. This elder wondered if the years he followed Roland were not wasted.


    Roland caressed the copper amulet around his neck and the purple jewel embedded in it seemed to twinkle with a beautiful luster as he gently kneaded it between his fingers.


    "Elders, I am injured and I am dying. I made a choice to preserve my life for as long as I possibly could and because of that, many in our village have suffered, including you all but hope has been found today. With the help of this boy, if I can regain my strength and my lifespan once more returns, then I promise you, in the end, we will all prosper."


    One of the elders couldn''t take it anymore, he had lost so much in that attack. So even after he heard the village Chief''s reason, he still found it to be deplorable. The same thought kept crashing around chaotically in his mind.


    (You didn''t want to die so you didn''t fight, cowardice, absolute cowardice.)


    The elder abruptly stood up, kicking his chair into the wall he pointed accusingly at Roland and yelled out with tormented rage.


    "All you care about is yourself you selfish son of a bitch. You say we will all prosper, how so when you won''t even fight for your people."


    The elder''s eyes filled with tears as he continued to shout.


    "My grandchildren, my poor grandchildren. Roland, you let my family die. I now see who you truly are. If I could trade a thousand of you for them...then a thousand graves I would have already dug for you."


    The elder turned and stormed out of the Chief Hall filled with anger and sadness.


    (You sacrificed them and their bright future,s so you could cling to your last few years of life till the bitter end! My poor grandchildren...)


    Another elder stood up and quickly chased after the other elder.


    "I''ll go and try to pacify him."


    The third elder then stood up and asked Roland in a blunt manner.


    "So why didn''t you just tell us all this in the beginning? Why did you instead hide it for so many years?"


    Roland shook his head.


    "I came to this village long ago a broken man. I wanted my past to stay where it was and there was never a point to mention it and I didn''t really hide me being a Mage. I just wanted to extend my life as much as I could, so I never really used my magic. There wouldn''t have even been a rumor about me being a Mage if I and Nia''s father weren''t in such a desperate situation back then. If I hadn''t used it, me and Nia''s father would have perished. At that time, maybe we both should have, then that attack last year probably would have never happened."


    The elder shook his head silently, then he simply turned around and left.


    Roland felt embarrassed and shameful. He''s supposed to be this wise and powerful Mage but instead, he''s only been a foolish coward. But still, he looked at Lowen, his eyes filled with hope.


    "Lowen, I need your help. With your physique and comprehension, I''m sure my powers will return in full. After returning my lifespan to 600 years, in return I''ll greatly reward you, so Lowen, can I count on you?"


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    Lowen was still confused, even if he did have a mage body, just how exactly does that help Roland?


    (Does he want my blood or something?)


    "How can I agree if I don''t even know what it is you want exactly? For example, if you want some of my blood that''s a possibility, however, if you wanted something like an arm or a foot than obviously, you know what my answer is."


    Lowen took up a defensive position again. He had slowly moved between Roland and his cane, now if Roland wanted to make a move, he would have to first go through Lowen. Although Lowen didn''t believe Roland needed something as drastic as an arm or a leg, there was never a problem with playing it safe, but Roland merely scoffed at the idea.


    "Hmph, blood, how would blood help? As for a limb, that''s just revolting, no no no no no."


    Roland shook his head in displeasure before he removed the copper amulet from around his neck. He gently stroked the purple jewel attached to it, almost getting lost in its purple brilliance.


    "This amulet is my most sacred treasure. I discovered it long ago in an ancient ruin and its been with me ever since."


    Roland carefully passed it to Lowen.


    "My magic core was damaged more than 20 years ago and without this amulet, I would have died long ago."


    Lowen carefully held it within his palm and immediately felt a strange pull coming from it, as well as something being taken from him, it was his ki. The amulet was slowing absorbing ki from him and transforming it inside the purple jewel. Lowen was a bit frightful at first but realizing it was causing no harm and was only taking a fraction of his ki, his worry greatly lessened.


    "I''m sure you can feel it, this amulet absorbs Magic energy from its user and transforms it into the purest magical energy in the world. But not only that, it can absorb magical energy from the world itself and also store that energy. As of yet, I have not found its true capacity or limit. With practice and control, you can reverse the amulets pull and instead of it siphoning energy from you, you instead can absorb its pure magical energy. This is what I need in order to heal my magic core, a mass amount of magical energy.


    Roland snapped his fingers and the amulets purple jewel began to dull as a mass of energy came flying out, it flew straight into Roland''s chest, disappearing into his Magic core. As the energy infused itself with his magic core, the tiny cracks that covered its surface appeared to be closing at a slow and steady pace.


    "Lowen, your physique is different from a Mages. Your mage body absorbs magical energy nearly 10 times the speed of a Mage just by doing nothing. If you wear my amulet for a day, the amount of energy it could absorb would be equal to 10 days worth, possibly even more. Without using magic, I''ve barely been able to stay in a stable condition. When I use magic my life drains at a visible rate. The only reason I used magic today is that I was sure of your physique, the only thing I''m worried about now is whether or not you''ll agree."


    Roland looked at Lowen with a bit of worry. If Lowen said no then Roland would be down to only one option, he would have to imprison Lowen and force him to wear the amulet. But with that, there was no guarantee that Lowen wouldn''t fight back or even possibly break the amulet. If that occurred then at that time, Roland would have nothing left.


    Lowen thought momentarily. If what Roland said were true then the only real downside would be Roland himself. His personality seemed to make him a bit unpredictable. But Lowen thought of the consequences if he were to say no.


    (If I do say no, who knows what he might do, he''s clearly desperate and I''ve seen him snap. Even if we were to fight, now with his cane behind me I may have a chance to kill him but after that, most of the village would be after me and Nia and Ben may even suffer because of my actions, hmmm.)


    "What reward do you offer?"


    Roland''s eyes grew with excitement.


    "Does this mean you''ll agree?"


    "I didn''t say that. Although there seems to be no harm in helping you, if the reward isn''t right, then wouldn''t I simply be wasting my time."


    Roland was giddy like a child on the inside. He knew Lowen was just putting up a front. Instead of arguing, Roland pulled a small leather covered book from within his robe and handed it to Lowen. On the cover of the book there was a picture of a person sitting in a meditative position and at the top of the book, it said three words, [Earth Elemental Basics]. Lowen''s eyes lit up briefly before his expression returned to normal, he looked at Roland suspiciously.


    "What good does this book do for me. This is clearly for a Mage and you''ve already said that Mages and someone with a Mage body physique can''t use magic in the same way, so isn''t this pointless?"


    Roland grinned before shaking his head.


    "Although this book is for Mages, someone with your physique can still benefit greatly from it. It''s true that the middle and last bit of the book covers how to use earth elemental magic but the beginning has a meditation technique that would allow you to sense and absorb earth elemental energy. This would allow you to absorb magical energy even faster then your body would normally absorb it. With this and the amulet combined, not only will I profit even faster but Earth Elemental Energy strengthens the body. With your special physique, it would strengthen at an even faster rate. My eyes may be old but after your fight earlier I can tell one thing for sure, you greatly seek strength, hehe. With this, you can easily increase your strength while at the same time help me. As they say, 2 birds with one stone."


    Roland looked at Lowen and could see that he was almost there, he just needed one more push.


    "Not only that, I have one more thing, but I''m not quite sure if it would interest you."


    Lowen looked on in curiosity.


    "And that would be?"


    "Hehe, knowledge, all of my knowledge and experience. I told you earlier I have traveled all over the Qiyuan continent. The things I''ve seen and the many secrets I''ve learned, with my knowledge and your young age, you could have a massive start on the world around you. Beyond that, it would simply be up to you on how you apply that knowledge. So I ask you this, can I have your power and do you want my knowledge?"


    Lowen''s thoughts were wild with joy, he had only been in this world for a few days and he was about to get the deal of a lifetime. Who hasn''t wished to start over at least once in their life? To have a second chance. To go back to being young with all their previous knowledge but for Lowen, he would get much more. Roland claimed to have vast knowledge and experience and now with this offer Lowen would be sure to get every piece of information out of Roland until his head would bleed. This was the greatest deal he''s ever received. But for Lowen, this wasn''t quite enough as a bit of greed weld up within his heart.


    "Fine, I''ll agree to this offer but before that, there are a few more things I want."

 Chapter 15: Time To Learn

    As Lowen made his way back to Nia''s place, he was followed behind by three men, two old and one young. each with a full sack under their arms. As they followed behind this young boy they were filled with curiosity. They had witnessed this boy almost kill Greg and later he went to have a secret talk with their Chief and afterward the Chief had ordered them to bring these supplies to Nia''s home and to not disrespect this boy in any way. The three men wondered about this young boys status.


    (Could he be a young noble and the Chief decided to show him some favor, in hope for some reward later? Or maybe he feels pity for the boy and just wants to help a young child, that would explain the supplies.)


    As Lowen reached Nia''s home, it had just become early afternoon; The smell of a simple yet aromatic fish soup gently drifted out of Nia''s small shack. Lowen asked the men to simply leave the supplies at the door before he bid them farewell. They felt weird listening to a child''s orders but the Chief had told them to, so they followed suit and returned back to whatever chores or work they needed to tend to and went about their day with many questions left unanswered. Lowen filling his body with ki barely managed to drag all 6 sacks into Nia''s home, as a few drops of sweat broke above his brow.


    "Nia I''m...."


    "Big bro big bro welcome back!"


    Ben spotted Lowen the second he stepped through the small cloth covered entrance and straight away welcomed him back, stealing any momentum Lowen originally had.


    "I''m back."


    Ben''s nose started to twitch and he shouted with joy.


    "Big bro, you brought more food, yay, what did you bring?"


    (Hmm, this boys nose seems to be pretty good, he right away could tell I had food. I guess it wasn''t as obvious last time with the jerky because it was completely covered, but now he''s noticed as soon as I brought all these sacks in.)


    Nia was surprised to see Lowen back so soon but more than that, she stared at him funnily. The way he was struggling to drag all 6 sacks in, Lowen looked as though he was a raccoon bandit who just stole the farmer''s crops, Nia giggled lightly.


    "Hehehe, welcome back."


    Lowen gave a nod and Nia quickly came over to help. She grabbed 3 of the sacks and dragged them over by Ben; Lowen didn''t answer Ben, instead, he just started to empty one sack after another. As he did, Ben''s expression grew more and more astonished by the second. On the ground was pile after pile of food. Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, as well as a few other things. Inside one of the sacks was a small bag about the size of a big fist, opening it up, Lowen pinched a bit of the substance within and ground it between his fingers. Showing it to Nia and Ben, the two started to salivate in anticipation, it was salt. The two hadn''t seen so much salt in such a long time, their lips were already slapping together remembering all the delicious things they could now make.


    "That isn''t all, take a look at this."


    Lowen opened the last two sacks and when Nia and Ben looked inside, they almost fell over and fainted. Inside the last two sacks, filled all the way to the brim were rice and grain. Looking at this harvest before them, the two looked as if each grain were made of gold. With this amount, it could last them all the way through the winter. To go from worrying about food every single day, to go from feeling that constant pain in the pit of your stomach that comes from emptiness, to suddenly having so much. The two looked at this and they could form no words.


    (How could Lowen get all this? Wasn''t he in trouble earlier? I don''t understand.)


    Suddenly, Ben''s face looked as though he was about to be murdered, he screamed at the top of his lungs.


    "Big bro big bro quick, hurry and return this food before someone catches us. If you return this stolen food, they might just forgive us. So please big bro hurry."


    Lowen was stunned, this boy thought he had stolen all this food. Well, it was understandable, you go out and nearly kill someone and then suddenly return with a huge stash of food. This could only look like someone was about to be hanged and decided to make a break for it with supplies for a hasty escape on the run.


    Lowen smiled and shook his head.


    "This is from the Chief, he and I came to an agreement, so the food is mine, well actually, according to the deal it''s yours."


    The look that Nia and Ben shared was incredible, to say the least. The number of unbelievable things that continued to happen since Lowen''s arrival made them question their understanding of the way of the world. This was another blow to the way the both of them think.


    "Lowen, how? Doesn''t the Chief hate us? Why would he possibly agree to give us food?"


    Nia''s words brought back the conversation Lowen had just finished with Roland. He himself had asked something quite similar.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    "Fine, I''ll agree to this offer but before that, there are a few more things I want. First off I want food, enough to last three people for the winter."


    Roland listened to Lowen''s words carefully, he was ready to agree to just about anything. He wondered if Lowen had wanted a magic weapon or gold, of course, Roland could actually produce neither of those things but he figured he would replace them with knowledge or maybe some authority over the village. Roland would do almost anything at this point but when he heard Lowen''s first request, he became quite curious.


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    "Food for three, you intend to share food with that traitorous daughter and son pair, why?"


    Lowen couldn''t detect any malice in Rolands tone. For someone that supposedly hated Nia and her brother, Roland came off as though he were rehearsing a speech.


    "If I simply said it was because I like them, would you believe me?"


    Roland only became confused with Lowen''s answer, before he could question more in-depth, Lowen instead asked a question of his own.


    "Roland, this has been bothering me for quite a while. The way you treat Nia and her brother... I don''t know what their father did, but what does that have to do with two of them, that you nearly let them both starve to death?"


    Roland craned his neck in puzzlement, at first he couldn''t wrap his head around the question.


    (What does it have to do with them?)


    This question buzzed around in Roland''s head for a while but in the end, he himself couldn''t figure it out. He looked at Lowen in confusion and answered as though this was the first time someone had asked him this.


    "Hmm, nothing I guess."


    Roland paused for a moment.


    "To be honest, I don''t hate them. In truth, I don''t care about them at all."


    Roland''s eyes began to take on a listless and dull look.


    "Even the elders, that emotional apology I gave them, I felt almost nothing then as well.


    *Sigh*


    "You should understand something Lowen, I''ve been dying a slow death for over 20 years. To continue to care only opens you up for more wounds. So at some point, I just stopped. The world became pointless, people...became pointless. The only reason I haven''t killed myself is because of that tiny hope I had. I had held onto it for so long, it was the only thing that kept me going. So when it comes to Nia and her brother, I simply don''t care."


    How could Lowen process this in such little time? He had never expected such an answer so it threw him for a loop. But there was still the way he acted in front of the villagers. The fact that he acted at all, doesn''t that mean he cares or is that fake. Otherwise, why go through with the apology to the elders, why give an explanation to them at all and why stay the Chief of this village? If you truly don''t care, why do anything at all? Lowen asked Roland all of this but the answer Roland gave left him dumbfounded.


    "I don''t know."


    As Lowen thought this over, he began to hear a small growling sound. Ben''s stomach had started to grow impatient.


    Lowen gave Nia a small smile and answered Nia.


    "If he truly hated you, wouldn''t he have already banished you two or directly put a sword to you? You''ve seen it yourself, he''s a Mage; If he hated you, he could have used his magic against you a long time ago. No, he doesn''t hate you but that doesn''t mean he likes you either. As for the food, we made a fair deal. Right now he needs me and since he does, you two can rest easy if you wish."


    Nia only felt slightly relieved. Once more Lowen was helping them but she knew she couldn''t rely on him forever. She had vowed to herself that she would change. She recalled Lowen''s fight earlier, the way he moved with such agility, the way he knocked down an opponent 5 times bigger than himself in only three blows. Nia''s mind wondered.


    (If I could do that, then who could mess with me and who would dare mess with my little brother?)


    Nia gathered her determination and suddenly grabbed Lowen by his shoulders and in a serious tone asked him.


    "Lowen, will you teach me?"


    Lowen, of course, was stunned. Nia had suddenly grabbed him close and looked deeply at him. At first, he thought she was trying to kiss him but when he heard her question he couldn''t help but feel giddy. He knew exactly what she meant with her words. She wanted to be stronger. Lowen''s number one love in the world was strength, his number 2 was when someone else held that very same passion he did for strength. Looking into Nia''s eyes, Lowen could tell she was serious. Lowen calmed himself and answered coolly.


    "If you want, but it won''t be easy."


    Nia''s eyes flashed with delight as she nodded. She squeezed her small fist just thinking of the possibilities.


    Ben as well couldn''t be left out, he started shouting.


    "Big bro big bro, teach me as well, please, please.


    Lowen flashed a smile, he knew Ben didn''t understand, so he smiled warmly.


    "Fine, but first you need to finish recovering ok."


    Ben nodded his head repeatedly up and down, up and down, his face full of joy.


    (Although Nia seems serious I can''t be for sure. As for Ben, he''s definitely not. Before I teach Nia ill have to break her somewhat and let her know that this isn''t something you can half-ass. Your either in it or your not, there is no in between.)


    As Lowen and Nia''s thoughts were all over the place thinking about future prospects, Ben was pulling on Nia''s arm.


    "Big sis big sis."


    "What is it little Ben?"


    "What is big bro gonna teach us?"


    Lowen and Nia burst out with laughter, this kid truly was loveable.

 Chapter 16: Absorb Some Earth

    After lunch, Lowen stepped outside and sat down with his legs crossed. Now that he wasn''t busy, he decided to try the meditation technique he received from Roland. Looking at the cover of the leather book, Lowen touched it carefully and read the title silently.


    [Earth Elemental Basics.]


    These simple three words seemed to pull you in with interest. Opening the book, Lowen scanned the first page.


    [Earth Elemental Basics - Meditation Technique.]


    He then began to study this meditation technique with the utmost seriousness. After going over this meditation technique quite a number of times, Lowen slowly shut the book and placed it in on his lap. Sitting quietly, his thoughts ran through the technique over and over and he discovered many similarities with his ki technique. Lowen smiled and thought.


    (Hehe, this meditation technique seems so much easier to grasp than my ki meditation technique. Everything from the breathing to the mind and body connection, it all seems too straightforward.)


    When it comes to the first time you are trying to gather ki. One of the key factors is to connect your mind, body, and soul. Those that have never felt their soul before would find this to be one of the most difficult things you could ever do. To try and feel something that has no physical form is indeed a difficult conundrum. In Lowen''s previous world, there was a certain method to overcome this, to put it simply, you would need to come close to death. When one experiences the edge between life and death, in that single moment of time, only then is there an opportunity to truly discover one''s soul.


    However, in this Earth Meditation Technique, there was no need to feel the soul, nor was there a need to connect it with the mind and body. For one such as Lowen who could already connect all three this technique was a cake walk.


    (Let me give it a try.)


    Lowen silently closed his eyes and began to breathe in a particular way. Following the instructions from the book, he took his left hand and pushed it deep beneath the dirt. When it comes to the elements when you first start out you should be in close proximity to the particular element you are trying to absorb. The closer you get to that element the easier it will be to grasp that technique. For Lowen that is the earth itself, touching it directly will increase his chances of sensing earth elemental energy by manyfold. Comparatively, fire elemental energy is much more troublesome. The closer you get to fire, of course, you''ll get burned. Lowen wondered what the ratio of Mages is between the different elements.


    (If earth and water are easier to adapt to and fire is more difficult, wouldn''t that mean there are more earth and water Mages then there are fire?)


    As Lowen continued to breathe according to the instructions, he also remembered the mantra from the book and repeated it within his mind.


    (The Earth is life itself, beneath its crust flows magmatic blood. In its center lies the core its heart, as it beats it shares its power with me.)


    Lowen then placed his right hand over his heart and felt his own heartbeat and while his left hand stayed buried in the dirt, he finished the mantra.


    (With my mind and body I connect with you, my heart, it beats with yours.)


    As Lowen finished the mantra, a stillness covered him and for a split second. Lowen could have sworn he heard a soft voice quietly whisper in his ear.


    *Connect*


    Suddenly the ground all around Lowen''s left hand began to tremble and shake. That feeling soon traveled all the way up his arm and directly shot into his heart. This weird feeling extremely terrified him and he immediately tried to defend himself, pushing his ki to his heart to guard against this strange sensation. But when his ki entered his heart, Lowen was shocked to find nothing out of the ordinary. The strange sensation as quickly as it had arrived, had just as quickly vanished without a trace. The dirt around his left hand also stopped moving, once more a stillness covered Lowen''s entire body. As Lowen breathed a sigh of relief, his vision suddenly went black and his mind as blank as paper.


    ********BUMP.....BA......BUMP......BA..BUMP..BA-BUMP BA BUMP BA BUMP***********


    Lowen''s eyes jumped open as his conscious came back like lightning. He quickly shook his head throwing away a fog of confusion.


    (What the fuck! What the hell just happened? My mind, I lost consciousness for a second, how?)


    Lowen''s heart was beating like a large drum and his entire body was reverberating with it. Lowen quickly pulled his hand from the dirt and stood up. As he did, a wave of dizziness attacked his senses almost causing him to fall right back on his ass. Catching himself, he began to calm his breathing as he focused on what just happened. His mind was reeling with thoughts.


    (What was that sensation and was that a voice I heard just before? It clearly said connect.)


    Lowen wondered what magic really was. what was it and how exactly can it do what it just did.


    (This world is strange, so strange.)


    Lowen wondered if maybe he had done something incorrectly. This was supposed to be a simple absorption technique, even simpler than his ki technique. Although it was his first time trying this new technique, Lowen felt embarrassed at the mocking tone he had had in the beginning.


    But if he did mess up, he couldn''t recall from where. He had followed the instructions down to the letter. Just as he was lost in thought, Lowen felt something odd. He couldn''t help but look down at a spot between his stomach and chest. As he touched that spot nothing happened but still, he could feel something right there, a strange energy he had never felt before. If ki felt warm, then this new energy simply felt dense. It was hard to explain. It was kind of like someone dropped a small pebble in that spot but no matter how many times Lowen touched that area, there was nothing there.


    Lowen took in a deep breath trying to relax but as he did he felt that same energy entering every inch of his body. It felt like invisible drops of rain yet there was no liquid. Lowen curiously looked up to make sure it wasn''t raining and sure enough, the sky was a bright blue, the sun shined brightly and there wasn''t a single storm cloud in sight. This strange energy felt similar to ki. If one were to get a quick sense of it you might even mistake it for the same energy. Only when Lowen carefully sensed, could he feel small differences here and there.


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    The strange energy began to enter every pore of Lowen''s skin and race to that same spot above his stomach. Lowen could feel its source, looking down he could sense all this energy coming from the ground below him.


    (So this is Earth Elemental Energy, Earth Magic.)


    Lowen bent down and scooped up a bit of dirt in his hand, as he examined the dirt in his hand it looked normal in every conceivable way. The only strange thing was that Lowen could feel the energy absorption increase from his hand. The more in contact he came with the earth, the faster his body would absorb this magical earth energy.


    This energy felt fantastic. He could feel his entirety growing more and more powerful as this energy flooded his body. Even the pace of healing his broken rib, he could feel it speed significantly increase. Lowen could feel that spot above his stomach starting to fill up. The energy flooding in began to slow down rapidly and just as that spot became completely full, the amulet around Lowen''s neck began to glow brightly. The purple jewel in its center shined like a beautiful star in the night sky. Lowen suddenly felt a pull from the amulet, the energy within Lowen began to empty at an alarming speed. As quickly as the energy flooded in it, it flooded out almost 3 times as fast. As the energy flooded out, Lowen could feel his mind prickling, it was a very uncomfortable feeling. Just as Lowen''s earth energy was around 50% the amulets absorption suddenly stopped. Its shine dulled until finally, it glowed no more.


    (So it takes about half huh.)


    Lowen''s body, sensing that it was no longer full on earth energy automatically began to absorb more and when it reached its capacity, once more the amulet around Lowen''s neck glowed and began to absorb energy. Again when Lowen reached 50% it again stopped. This process repeated several times before the amulet finally no longer activated. Lowen sighed in relief and stood up, he could feel that the amulet was full. He didn''t understand why Roland couldn''t tell the amulets capacity, Lowen could sense it entirely. It had absorbed energy from Lowen nearly a dozen times and now it was completely done.


    Lowen took the amulet off his neck and looked it over. He wondered how one might control it and reabsorb the energy back into one''s self. With curiosity, Lowen tried moving his earth energy into this amulet. At first, he couldn''t move this new energy at all but Lowen was a ki manipulator and ki was the universal energy. If he could move that, then this earth energy should be simple enough.


    After focusing, he willed this magical earth energy several times and at first, it wouldn''t move. It was stuck as though it were a stubborn mountain but how could Lowen simply give up. Lowen willed his ki and began to nudge his earth energy very gently but that still wasn''t enough, so he increased the force of his ki. Now he was slightly hitting it but still no movement. Lowen started becoming annoyed. Now he started hammering his ki energy into his magic energy, striking it repeatedly, finally, it nudged just a bit. Now Lowen was pissed, to not be able to control his own energy. Had he still been in his previous world, everyone would definitely have a fat laugh at his expense. Even someone at the first stage, a body ki refiner could move their very own energy. Although they didn''t have magic in that world, your energy was your energy. If you couldn''t control it, then you''d be better off just killing yourself because your existence is useless. With all of Lowen''s fury, he gathered every bit of ki he had and like a forceful titan, he rammed his ki into his magic energy with everything he had.


    *BOOM*


    Finally, his magic earth energy began to sluggishly move. With Lowen''s will, he started to slowly force it toward the amulet. With his magic energy now under his control, Lowen began to laugh inwardly.


    (Hehehe, this little bit of energy, of course, I can move it. I used to be a powerful ki manipulator; For me, this is simple, absolutely simple.)


    Just as Lowen was becoming full of himself, his magic energy finally touched the edge of the purple jewel and when it did.


    *KA-BOOOM*


    A terrifying explosion suddenly went off. Lowen for a moment could see the world around him spinning, it was really quite odd looking, to say the least. Suddenly, his back struck something incredibly hard and the world came to a crashing halt. Lowen was now looking up at the sky through a hole in a roof.


    A terrifying scream erupted right next to him.


    "KYAHHH!!!"


    As Lowen looked over, he was surprised to see Nia and Ben, their faces were filled with terror.


    The amulet had some type of protection on it and when Lowen''s magic energy touched it, it caused an explosion launching him into the sky before he came crashing down through Nia''s roof. Thank the heavens he didn''t land on anyone.


    Lowen, fortunately, didn''t break any bones, he was incredibly lucky but the pain was indeed excruciating. With an already broken rib and having the wind knocked out of him, he was struggling to breathe. The only thing that could come out was shallow breaths and each one was filled agony.


    He could hear Nia saying something but his mind tuned her out completely.


    (Roland you old bastard, so this amulet has its own secrets, hehe, ouch.)


    Nia rushed over to Lowen and held him in her arms still saying something, finally, Lowen heard her.


    "Lowen, please don''t be hurt, please don''t be hurt. Just stay still ok, I''m here. What happened to you, I heard an explosion and then you fell through the roof."


    Lowen''s body sent wave after wave of misery to him. He looked at Nia caring for him and let out a small smile. He had been too confident and cocky.


    (Why wouldn''t Roland have some protection on his most treasured possession. But for it to nearly kill me, that bastard has some explaining to do.)


    Thinking calmly he finally answered.


    "It was my fault, I moved my magic into that magic tool and then!!....."


    Lowen''s mind flashed like a bolt of lightning, something suddenly stuck out to him.


    (I forced my magic to move to a tool. Shouldn''t only someone with a Mage Core, be capable of doing that? I''m supposed to have a Mage body physique, Roland said so and that crystal proved it, didn''t it?)

 Chapter 17: Mage Body or Mage Core?

    Once more, Lowen was face to face with Roland in the Chief Hall, the room was quiet and still. Lowen had a hateful expression, while Roland had a face that was filled with excitement.


    After the explosion, many men had rushed over to Nia''s place looking for the cause but even if Lowen told them the truth none of them would understand it, so, in the end, he just told them it was a magic spell that came from the amulet. This was partly true, but just like Lowen thought, some of them still didn''t understand, so Lowen simply pushed it all onto Roland. Telling the villagers that the Chief would tell them when the time was right and with that, Lowen walked off, headed to the Chief Hall.


    As Lowen reached the Chief, the Chief was already in Lowen''s face. Seeing the amulet, he snatched it from Lowen''s hand and began to smile at his most treasured amulet, stroking it gently. Making sure every inch of it was left untarnished and damaged, he began to fill with rage. He had felt the amulet''s power just before he heard an explosion. This had caused his mind to fill with panic. If his amulet was damaged or destroyed in any way then there was no more hope for his magic core''s recovery. Seeing his amulet unharmed, he was still pissed though, he had just given this to Lowen only a few hours ago and there was already an accident. He was just about to yell at Lowen when he noticed the overwhelming amount of energy contained within his amulet. Roland''s eyes suddenly went wide in amazement, the anger in his mind evaporating in an instant.


    (This, this, how? This amount of energy, there''s so much.)


    Roland looked back and forth between Lowen and his amulet, he was completely befuddled.


    (My amulet absorbed this much energy, how can this boy have this much energy? Shouldn''t this be impossible for someone his age? and he should be mentally exhausted as well. My amulet not only absorbs energy, but it''s also quite taxing on the mind. It would make most people have a splitting headache but the boy seems in perfect condition, besides those marks on his body, hmm.)


    It was at this moment that Roland noticed big red marks on Lowen''s skin, they appeared to be bruises that were starting to form.


    "Boy, what happened, did someone hurt you?"


    Lowen''s face was twisted in anger. He pointed at Roland and with his childish voice he yelled out.


    "Of course someone hurt me, it was you, you and your stupid amulet. I thought you said I have a Mage Physique but when I moved my magic into this amulet, it immediately caused an explosion. You said you wanted my help yet this amulet releases an explosion right in front of me. You have some serious explaining to do, don''t you think?"


    Roland was utterly confused.


    (My amulet caused an explosion, how? Its never done anything like that in all the years I''ve owned it. Just what in the world actually happened.)


    "If you think I''m gonna help you again after this..."


    "Whoa whoa whoa, wait, this doesn''t make any sense. I don''t understand, you say my amulet did that. This has never happened before ever, let''s not discuss helping or not helping for now. Just tell me what happened, from the beginning."


    Lowen''s expression didn''t change much as he thought.


    (How could you not understand your own amulet, it''s so precious to you, you''ve had to have examined it at least a hundred times by now.)


    Lowen wasn''t buying it, for Roland to have this item for more than 2 decades and not understand it Lowen didn''t believe it but for Roland to have this amulet for more than 2 decades and have his life depending on it. If it was Lowen in the same life depending situation as Roland, he would have studied this amulet every single day until he squeezed every secret he could out of it. Not only that, he would try to find others like this one or maybe even try to figure out how to make another one but even better. Lowen found it hard to trust anything coming from Roland at this point, he looked at Roland with displeasure and started from the beginning, of course, leaving out the matter about his ki.


    As Roland heard Lowen''s recount of what happened, he was still left confused.


    "Lowen, I didn''t lie to you, the grey crystal I tested you with can''t lie either. Only someone with a huge concentration of energy in their blood can have a mage body physique, I''m sure of it, but if what you say is true, then there must be something I''m missing, some anomaly."


    Roland''s eyes scanned Lowen''s body, as his eyes looked over Lowen from head to toe he noticed something familiar, something too familiar. Noticing it, he nearly startled himself to death trying to get his words out.


    "You, you have a Mage core!!"


    Looking at a small spot between Lowen''s stomach and chest Roland noticed there was a small pebble sized bit of energy flowing around. It had clearly not been there before when Roland had sent Lowen on his way with the amulet but now, only a few hours later, Lowen had come back with a Mage core filled to the brim with energy from the earth. None of this made any sense. Out of all the mysterious things Roland had seen in his many years of traveling the Qiyuan continent, this was the first time he had ever truly been left with no words.


    (This boy''s body, what is this?)


    Lowen though was left with more than his fair share of questions. He looked at Roland baffled.


    "What the hell are you talking about? You said I have a mage physique, now you say I have a mage core, which is it? If I didn''t know any better I''d say your reputation as a wise old Mage is slipping."


    Roland was now irritated, how could he have missed this young boys mage core but not only that, Lowen came off in a mocking tone which irritated Roland even further.


    "Bah, boy, what do you know? Whether I''m wise or not you''ll see; Now come over here, I have something to show you."


    Lowen looked at Roland suspiciously before he carefully walked over and Roland looked at Lowen''s cautious attitude with amusement before he pulled a grey crystal from his robe. It was the same one he had used earlier to test whether or not Lowen had a mage body. Lowen saw this and rolled his eyes, what could another grey crystal prove at this point. Roland set the grey crystal on the table and once more reached into his robe, this time pulling out another crystal, this one, however, was dark blue in color and the size was no bigger than a finger. After placing the crystals side by side, Roland pointed to the blue crystal and asked.


    "Do you know what this crystal is?"


    Lowen shook his head no and Roland continued.


    "This crystal is called Neixin, it does not appear naturally in this world, instead, its made by a special craftsman. The value of this Neixin crystal could allow a poor villager to live a life of luxury for the rest of their lives if they so choose. This magic crystal is similar in some ways to this grey crystal; You see, this grey crystal can detect a dense concentration of magic by coming into direct contact with it, hence when it touches your blood it glows bright white but since a Mage core doesn''t have a physical form, this grey crystal can never touch it directly. This Neixin crystal, however, can detect the presence of a Mage core, allowing it to discover whether one can become a mage or not. I did not use it before because I did not sense a mage core in you but now I do. So to prevent any more mistakes or misunderstandings on my part, I''ve brought out this costly crystal.''''


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    Picking up the crystal, Roland placed it a few inches below his solar plexus. As he did, the Neixin crystal began to glow blue and the light formed the shape of a small circle and then another and another as well as one more. There were now a total of 4 circles; However, while 2 were fully formed, the other 2 were broken in many pieces.


    After a while, Roland removed the Neixin crystal from below his solar plexus and the crystal began to dim before returning to its normal state. Roland handed the Neixin crystal to Lowen and gestured for him to do what he did. Lowen took the blue crystal in his hand and flipped it over a few times studying it closely with his eye before he too placed it in that same spot just below his chest. As he did, the same thing started to occur. The Neixin crystal began to glow with blue light and a small circle began to form in front of Lowen, however, instead of 4 circles forming only one incomplete circle barely managed to take shape but a circle that doesn''t connect with itself is no full circle. As Lowen looked on at this scene a theory started to form in his head. As he pulled the Neixin crystal away from himself its blue glow once more began to fade and after a few more seconds its light completely dissipated.


    After the crystals blue light went out, the two stood there and stared at each other for a moment, their thoughts, only they knew. Roland pulled out a small dagger and passed it to Lowen.


    "A bit of blood if you please."


    (Oh, so he actually asked this time, how very kind of him, tsk.)


    Lowen already knew what he wanted to do, taking the dagger he drew a bit of blood from the tip of his finger and handed the blade back to Roland. With a few drops, he dripped his blood on the Neixin crystal and the two both waited for a moment. Seeing no reaction the two nodded at each other expecting such a result. The Neixin crystal could not be activated with blood, the two both knew that but decided to try anyway just in case. Lowen had a theory spinning in his mind but to be sure, he had to test the blue crystal with a bit of blood.


    Now it was back to the simple grey crystal. Lowen took his finger and held it over the grey crystal giving it a small squeeze. As a few drops of blood fell onto the grey crystal, the crystal immediately drank those drops up, absorbing them in a flash. Just like earlier in the day, the crystal began to buzz like a bee before it glowed a bright white and after just a few seconds it shattered into a small pile of dust. The two once more looked at each other. Lowen again picked up the blue Neixien crystal and held it to himself and once more confirmed a small incomplete circle floating in front of him. Roland''s gaze was locked onto Lowen, confusion and interest were mixed in with his voice.


    "How, this can''t be! You''re either born with a Mage core or you''re born with a Mage body physique. You can''t have both, you just can''t. Boy, why does your body make no logical sense?"


    Lowen''s thoughts raced about in his mind. There was something he needed to confirm before the pieces to this puzzle could fit.


    "Hmm, that''s what I want to know. Maybe you overlooked something who can say for certain but there''s something that''s bugging me. You say the grey crystal proves I have a mage body physique but how exactly?"


    Roland pondered for a second before he shook his head.


    "Hmmm, well it doesn''t exactly prove that you have a mage body but its the only thing that makes sense. In order for the grey crystal to activate, it needs a high concentration of magic to come in contact with it. For someone with a mage body, that high concentration of energy comes directly from the blood. For a mage that concentration is something that is formless, therefore the grey crystal can''t be activated by it.


    Roland kept thinking but something just wasn''t clicking for him.


    "At this point what could I have overlooked. If you did not have a mage body physique, then your body would not be so improved and your intelligence would not be so high that I could converse with you as though you were an adult but at the same time, the Neixin crystal was made from a master craftsman, it can''t be wrong either. I''m missing something, some vital piece of information, the connecting tissue but just what is it exactly?"


    Lowen, on the other hand, had his own thoughts.


    (Going by what Roland says, the grey crystal doesn''t exactly prove that I have a mage body physique. It only proves that I have a high concentration of energy in my blood and for me that energy is my ki. Before I came to this world, this body was frail and weak. Only after I took it over and I started using ki did this bodies strength grow. Could that mean that when this body was born it had a mage core and not a mage body and only when I practiced my ki technique, only then did energy start to flow in this body? As for Roland''s reasoning of my intelligence being connected with a mage body, well that can be thrown out the window as well. I simply have all my knowledge from my previous world and life, so of course, I can speak to him as though we are equals. The only thing I don''t quite understand is why did I only notice this thing called a mage core after I practiced the absorption technique. With my senses I should have noticed this other energy sitting inside me.)


    Lowen peered over at Roland with a new question in mind.


    "Roland, when did you first discover that you had a mage core or rather when did you first sense yours?"


    Roland stood still for a moment and pondered while rubbing his chin in thought, after about a minute he finally answered.


    "Hmm, I suppose it was the first time after I connected with my fire element. I concentrated with the best of my ability and repeated my mantra several times over in my heart. After that it seemed like I heard someone say something, then my mind went blank, only after I awoke did I notice it."


    Roland seemed to stare off into space thinking of many different memories but Lowen was shocked.


    (He heard a voice too.)

 Chapter 18: Lets Train

    After everything was said and done, Roland still could not come up with a logical conclusion. In the end, he was left only guessing, guessing that whatever was going on with Lowen''s body, it was a first in history. At least a first that he knew of. Lowen somehow had a mage core and yet at the same time maybe didn''t have a mage body physique but maybe some variant of mage body physique. In Roland''s mind, this was the only way he could explain the highly concentrated energy coming from Lowen''s blood. Lowen, on the other hand, had a much more concrete theory but in the end, it was still a theory.


    (With all the second guessing, one thing is definitely true. I have a mage core. And you are either born with one or your not, this is a fact. What is less likely is that I also have a mage body physique. Roland said it himself, those that have a mage body physique also have blood with highly concentrated energy but that does not necessarily mean that everyone who has blood with high concentrations of energy has a mage body physique. My blood has ki energy and Roland also said that my energy felt similar to that man that he met long ago but he himself can''t confirm whether I and that fellow use the same energy or not. So it is probably more likely that that man is using a different kind of energy than my ki. )


    Lowen did not believe he had this so-called mage body physique. Instead, he figured this body that he took over was born with a mage core or it possibly formed after the completion of the absorption technique. As for the mage body physique aspect, all of its attributes, well ki has them as well and to Lowen, ki was the universal energy, the end all be all. If it shared some aspects with another energy then it was only natural in Lowen''s mind. The most confusing thing that he couldn''t be completely sure of, was when he heard that mysterious voice. It felt like something happened and after that, he lost consciousness. Only after he awoke did he detect his mage core.


    After a long while, Roland spoke up.


    "Boy, I don''t quite get it. It feels as though I''m missing something, are you sure you''ve told me everything?"


    Roland stared deeply at Lowen, trying to find the tiniest of flaws in his demeanor. Unfortunately for him, Lowen was guarded and nothing unexpected could be seen, even if in the back of Lowen''s mind he thought.


    (Hehe, told you everything, of course not. If I mentioned my ki, I wonder how much hed freak out. It might be worth it if only to see the expression he would make.)


    Lowen shook such childish thoughts from his mind, shrugging his shoulders he answered coolly.


    "What else could there be? I''ve told you what happened. What more do you want from me?"


    Roland continued to gaze directly into Lowen''s eyes searching for any display of falsehood but could find only disinterest.


    *Sigh*


    "Fine, I can''t understand what your body''s going through whatsoever but I can tell when someones holding back. You don''t want to tell me, bah, whatever, just let me give you a small piece of advice. In this world, there''s only one life and if you''re not careful, you''ll be the only one regretting things and at that point, it will be far, far too late. Hmph, watch your self."


    With those words, Roland began to shoo Lowen out but Lowen still wanted to ask about the amulet.


    "Wait, what about the amulet, didn''t you want it to absorb my energy?"


    Roland twirled the amulet between his fingers, a small smile appearing on his face.


    "Kid, I don''t know how you did it but this thing is brimming with energy. If I focus, then it''ll take me 2, maybe even 3 weeks to use it all up, no way will it run out before then. So, at that time I''ll come looking for you. As for it exploding, I honestly didn''t know it could do that. It seems I need to have another look at my treasure and for that I''m grateful."


    Lowen looked dissatisfied but if you could read his thoughts it wouldn''t be for the reason you might think. Looking at Roland''s weird happy smile Lowen turned and left, on his way out he said commandingly.


    "Don''t call me kid."


    And with that, he was gone. Roland looked on as Lowen disappeared and laughed teasingly. What was weird to Roland was that he had called Lowen boy all this while but the first time he called him kid Lowen seemed annoyed. Roland could only see this child as odd.


    Lowen himself didn''t know why he got childish when Roland called him a kid, maybe it was the distinction between the two. A kid is a child while a boy in some cultures refers to a young man but him being even slightly upset over something so small made him even more annoyed. It only proved more to the fact that he was a kid, in some aspects at least.


    After Lowen got back, he saw that Nia and Ben were talking happily, seeing this lively atmosphere, he immediately joined in, laughing and talking with the two and like this, the rest of the day passed cheerfully.


    ---------------------1 WEEK LATER.---------------------------


    Without the amulet, the speed at which Lowen could absorb earth energy had drastically slowed. Still, with earth energy combined with his ki, Lowen''s body continued to strengthen at a rapid rate. He had originally thought that with just his ki it would take 2-3 weeks to heal his broken rib, but after he began to learn how to use earth magic, he discovered something special by accident. Everytime Lowen does a full circulation with his ki it strengthens his body and senses by a tiny fraction. Out of pure curiosity, he wondered what would happen if he circulated his earth energy the same way. At first, it was rather sluggish, like trying to push a boulder up a small hill but after just a week it was flowing just as fast as his ki. The benefit of which was that after every circulation of earth energy, it too would improve his body and with Lowen''s monstrous focus, he was now able to circulate both energies at the same time. The only real hard part was trying to move his body while circulating them together. If he moved even an inch, then for some reason both energies would collide and his ki would cancel out his earth energy. Only by remaining absolutely motionless would the two work in conjunction, even breathing wrongly could affect it but as things stood, Lowen''s improvement was developing quite nicely.


    Lowen stood outside, to his left was Nia and to his right was Ben. With Ben able to eat his fill every day, combined with Lowen using his ki to help him, Ben was now completely healed and it was now time for Lowen to fulfill the promise he had made with the two, it was time to train. After a light warm-up, Lowen looked at the two brother and sister and yelled at them like a drill sergeant.


    "Alright let''s move out."


    The three began to move in unison and started to jog, as they did, Lowen was telling them how to breathe properly. One of the most important things to know how to do in order to use ki is learning how to control your breathing and one of the best ways to learn how to control your breathing is to give a practical example such as running but that wasn''t the only reason. If they wanted to be able to endure the long journey of martial arts, they would first need a bit of stamina and of course, running was one of the most effective ways to gain stamina. But after only making it halfway around the village, the brother and sister pair were already exhausted. Their faces poured with sweat and their breathing was ragged and dry. It was truly a sad sight but this was only the beginning. Lowen looked at the two and in an angry childish voice, he yelled.


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    "Get up, get your asses up and move. If you don''t get up, don''t expect me to treat you with kindness."


    Nia looked as though she wanted to cry while Ben was simply breathing like a fish with no water, he was desperately trying to take in any and all air. Nia looked at Lowen begging for mercy with her eyes but Lowen instead continued to push them.


    "Nia, don''t give me that pitiful look, we''ve barely made it halfway around the village and you''re already defeated. I thought you wanted to be stronger, I thought in order to protect your brother you would sacrifice your all. Don''t tell me a bit of sweat and your brothers no longer worth it."


    Nia''s eyes changed as a moment of anger and fierceness flashed across her face, followed by a burning will.


    "Good, now that''s the look I wanted to see. Now get up.... and move."


    Nia struggled to stand and started to move forward once more.


    Lowen didn''t even look at Ben.


    "Ben, if you''re just doing this because you want to, I won''t force you to continue. You may not understand this but your sister, in order for someone like her to survive, she''s the type that has to move forward. If you can''t keep going, just give up and go back home I wouldn''t blame you."


    Lowen simply ran ahead. Who knew if Ben could even comprehend the deeper meaning of Lowen''s words, Ben was but a 5-year-old but to Ben, his sister is the only one that he loves and shes the only one that''s ever cared for him until now. He heard Lowen say she has to do this to survive, Ben could only think about helping his sister.


    (If I get stronger I can help big sis.)


    Ben struggled and struggled until he finally barely stood. As he continued to gasp for breath, one foot in front of the other, his body slowly moved forward.


    A few villagers saw this scene and couldn''t make heads or tails of the situation, it was just too odd. They watched as a child yelled at two kids, one older and one younger. The young boy even cursed at the two telling them to get their asses up and move and for some strange reason, they listened to him. The situation was just too weird, some had wanted to say something but had remembered a week earlier that the Chief had said to not mess with Lowen, Nia, and Ben under any circumstances. So they all just watched on in curiosity.


    In the end, the brother and sister pair collapsed from exhaustion. Lowen used most of his energy trying to drag the two back to their home but finally, he made it back and dragged the two inside. Sitting down, Lowen passed a bit of ki through them, revitalizing them enough to wake them up so they could eat.


    As Lowen prepared food, he noticed the depressed atmosphere. He wondered if he had been too harsh on them, but quickly tossed that idea from his head. With a book, they could slowly learn something and take it easy but when it comes to ki or fighting for survival, you just simply could not go soft. If you did, then it would only hinder a persons progress later on down the line and possibly even cause them an early trip to the grave. If only I had pushed my self to my limits and beyond, then I would have been stronger or faster, then I would have lived. These are the foolish regrets you would have just before your death.


    Lowen peeked over at the two and spoke harshly.


    "That was one of the most pathetic sights that I have ever witnessed.


    Ben looked down in sadness while Nia''s expression twisted with anger. Lowen looked at this and wanted to be sure she really wanted this, to see if she would truly go the distance or just give up.


    "Nia, do you wish to quit."


    Nia squeezed her fist tightly, upset that the thought had even crossed her mind, she spoke through gritted teeth.


    "No, I....I."


    Nia could find no words, she truly did want to stop. She never wanted to experience such pain ever again but a thought suddenly came to mind and the more she repeated that thought in her mind, the more confidence she gained. After a moment, Nia''s clenched fist slowly released. With this continuous thought, her heart finally seemed to relax a bit.


    *Sigh*


    "I did.....but not anymore. When I was out there it was painful. My breathing, it felt as though it were on fire and my legs right now they feel like goo, It was one of the most difficult things I''ve ever done in my entire life...but I did it. I made it through, and if I can do it once, then I can do it twice, and if I can do it again then what obstacle can stop me."


    Nia has found her resolve and Lowen could see it plain as day in her dark brown eyes, with a small nod he said.


    "Good."


    As the three sat around the fire, they began to eat the meal Lowen had prepared. Ben was still down but after a few bites, his mood suddenly cheered up and as he ate more and more, his expression became filled with joy. After a few more bites, he couldn''t help but burst into laughter. Lowen looked at Ben and asked.


    "Its good to see that your no longer upset but what''s so funny?"


    Ben''s laughter just grew more and more as he started shouting.


    "HAHAHA, you are. You''re so strong, you''re so fast, you can heal me and use magic but, hahaha."


    Lowen looked confused.


    "But what?"


    "But hahaha...but I know something that big sis, haha, even I am better than you at."


    Lowen was now curious.


    (Is it really that funny, what can these two possibly beat me at?)


    "Oh, enlighten me."


    Ben tilted his bowl over just enough to show Lowen but not enough to spill. He then pointed at the food and laughingly said.


    "This food, hahaha, it''s terrible...bwahaha."


    *Pffft*


    Nia couldn''t help but spit and laugh at the same time, launching food everywhere. Lowen truly was a terrible cook but Nia didn''t have the heart to tell him but with her younger brothers brutal honesty, it had simply been too funny and overwhelmed her. Lowen was shocked, he couldn''t help but shake his head in embarrassment. In his previous world, he hadn''t needed to eat for many years of his life and even before when he did eat, he was always served military food. He had never made a meal in his entire life and today it showed. All he could do was hang his head low, a tinge of red appearing on his small childish cheeks.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    As the evening settled into the depth of night, Ben could be heard singing in his sleep.


    "Bwahaha, terrible Lalala terrible, big bros food is terrible."


    Lowen could only roll over and face the other way. With his fist clenched, he vowed in his heart that he would become the best cook the worlds ever seen.

 Chapter 19: Rabbit

    It had now been a little over a month since Lowen had entered this world and the many strange things he''d both seen and learned of, had made him come to truly understand just how different his previous world and this one really was. For example, in Lowen''s previous world, he considered the animals to be of pretty normal size but in this new world, most animals that people considered normal size, to Lowen, were in fact 3, 4, or even 5 times bigger.


    Like right now, off into the distance, several hundred feet away from Lowen there stood a wild boar of incredible size and magnitude. But in no way shape or form could it be considered normal. Its name, Mammoth Boar, with its height it easily exceeding 12 feet tall and its length nearly 20 feet. Roland had taught Lowen that one of these beasts could easily weigh more than 16,000 pounds and as its name implies, its nose was more like that of a mammoth than a boar. With it, it could easily lift a full grown man and with one squeeze crush him to a pulp, even while wearing full armor.


    With tusk, the length of about three grown men lying down, this beast was truly a monster to behold. The reason why a creature of this size hasn''t already crushed any of the nearby villages was that they didn''t contain its favorite food, snowberries. A Mammoth Boar could eat more than a thousand pounds worth of berries every day.


    As Lowen lay completely still, the only thing to be heard within this forest was the impact of this beast steps, as each one broke through a few inches of the ground beneath its feet. After a long while, the Mammoth Boar finally finished eating nearly 70 bushels of berries and left, leaving behind a trail of broken and trampled trees in its wake, as well as some bristles from its back.


    After a few more minutes, Lowen uncovered himself patting away all of the snow on his body. He had laid underneath a thin layer of snow for nearly an hour to conceal himself. Thanks to his ki as well as his fur clothes, he was able to withstand the frozen temperature for quite a while. Others without magic or better-insulated clothes would already have gotten frostbitten in several places. This was actually one of Lowen''s purposes for coming into the forest. He needed more clothes as he was tired of wearing the exact same fur outfit day in and day out.


    Besides food, The Chief had given Lowen many items due to their agreement, some of it cooking ware, some of it was candles and tools, some a few different spices and even 5 chickens. Because of that, Lowen, Nia, and Ben could have fresh eggs every day but that didn''t solve all of the threes problems. The three were lacking both clothes as well as blankets. Living in that run down shack with holes bigger then fist, there was simply no way to keep the cold out. The Chief had many things to give but extra cloth, well, there was simply none to spare. The Chief had said that he would procure some from other villages but that it could take a few months. For Lowen, that was simply unacceptable. So with impatience, Lowen went into the forest. He had remembered that there were several bushes of berries and that some extremely huge rabbits would feed on them.


    After traveling for more than an hour, Lowen had made his way back to these rabbits feeding ground.


    Who would have thought, however, that he would witness such a huge creature feasting on these berries? A Mammoth Boar was a highly aggressive species so Lowen could only hide his presence or risk being attacked. Had he hid up in a tree, well, with the Mammoth Boars height it would clearly see him and possibly make a charge at the tree. With that creatures size, weight and strength, it could easily crush any tree in the forest. After that, Lowen would be all but defenseless, so with some quick thinking, he had hidden beneath the snow.


    Even after Lowen had patted himself down he still didn''t make a move, instead, he simply waited silently. At this point, he wasn''t even sure if the rabbits would appear after the Mammoth Boar''s destruction. Maybe it had already scared them all away but still, Lowen had nothing better to do so he waited. After about 30 minutes Lowen finally spotted a few rabbits quickly making there way over. Although he had already seen many of them within the first few days of him arriving in this world, he was still shocked at their size. Each one was nearly 4 to 6 feet in length.


    (Wow, now with that size they''ll make a nice set of clothes.)


    After about five minutes, more then a dozen of these rabbits had made there way from who knows where. Now, each of them was enjoying the tasty snowberries. Right now during their meal was definitely the most opportune moment to attack. Lowen quickly circulated his ki, focusing his energy into his legs and feet, combining it with his Shadow Steps, Lowen launched himself almost 10 feet high, landing on a branch in a nearby tree. With a few more steps, Lowen was already 50 feet off the ground. Looking out in the distance, the rabbits were about 300 feet away. With them focused on their meal, Lowen began to jump from tree to tree. Just as he would land on a nearby branch, like a blurry shadow, he was already gone, off to the next tree.


    After more than a month of practice, Lowen''s strength had increased tremendously. If before when he fought the villager Greg he could leap over a small crowd of people, now he could easily cover a distance of more than 15 feet. With the combined effects of his ki and his earth energy, his body had continued to strengthen at a scary rate. Now his bones wouldn''t necessarily break were he to be put in another bear hug from Greg.


    After only a few seconds, Lowen had already arrived high above the feasting rabbits. Looking down, Lowen couldn''t help but lick his lips, not for the rabbits but instead for the snowberries. He hadn''t had any rabbit since he came to this world yet seeing this prey before him, he almost couldn''t be bothered. After he promised Ben that he would get more snowberries for him and after Lowen tried them, he almost became addicted. He had now made several trips gathering these berries. Almost 2 times a week he would race here just to get them. He would stock up on jar after jar of these little treats only to run out within a few days, that''s how delicious they were. After a moment of berry fantasies, Lowen remembered his mission and wiped the drool from his mouth, for now, he couldn''t think about that.


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    Standing high up on a branch, Lowen pulled a bow from his back, its length almost as long as he was tall. With practiced movements, Lowen took an arrow from his quiver. He had been practicing with this bow for a few weeks now and had become pretty distinguished with it. Although he wasn''t an expert, his Snake Fist technique was all about flexibility, dexterity, and speed. One of the requirements to master it required one to be extremely good with their hands and Lowen having already mastered it in his previous life was already quite good with it now. Because of that, learning the bow came quite natural to him.


    With feet shoulder width apart, Lowen lined his body up perpendicular with his target and imagined a straight line going across his feet to the rabbit. Since his right eye was his dominant eye, he held the bow in his left hand and pointed at his target with his left shoulder. With his back straight he held his stance in a comfortable yet firm manner. Lowen placed three fingers from his right hand on the string and below the arrow and used his thumb to support the back of the arrow as well as keep it straight. Keeping his inner elbow parallel to the ground, Lowen looked straight down the spine of the arrow and saw his target. Although this was a normal size bow, it required at least a 70-pound draw. For a normal 6-year-old, it would be impossible to pull this bow to its maximum. Lowen filled his upper body with ki and with some strain, he managed to fully pull the drawstring all the way to his face. When you lift your elbow up during the pull it forces your body to use your shoulder muscles, taking much of the stress off of your arms. Aiming at a rabbit nearest him, Lowen took a calm breath and relaxed his fingers, releasing the arrow.


    *Whoosh*


    The arrow shot out like the wind and instantly pierced its target pinning the rabbit to the ground and before the rabbits new what hit them, two more arrows quickly flew out.


    *Swoosh*


    *Whoosh*


    2 more rabbits were now dead.


    The frightened rabbits scattered in four directions vanishing out of sight. A few seconds later not even the rustling of bushes could be heard, they were gone.


    Slinging the bow back over his shoulder, Lowen quickly climbed down the tree and went to work. Pulling a dagger from his belt made from rope, he skillfully skinned each rabbit removing their fur in one go, he artfully stripped them bare. After he removed all of the organs even being extra careful while he removed the bladder, he then threw the organs away. With little time, he removed half of the meat from one rabbit and wrapped it in the fur. As for the rest of the meat, Lowen simply couldn''t carry it all back with him. Each rabbit weighed almost 100 pounds and that was after he had already removed all of the organs. At the same time though he wasn''t willing to waste.


    Lowen grabbed handful after handful of snow and stuffed it inside each rabbit. He then dug shallow holes and buried them beneath the snow. He would quickly run to the village and then return to collect them. With a full load it would take him around 2 hours to get to the village but with nothing to carry on his return trip, it wouldn''t even take an hour. In this way, Lowen calculated he would need around 10 hours total to transport everything.


    Before he left though, he was slightly curious about something. Walking only a few feet, Lowen bent down and picked up a long bristle, it was one of the Mammoth Boar hairs that had fallen off its back. Littered on the ground were hundreds of them. Examining it closely, Lowen could feel its weight. Although each one was only around a foot in length, it weighed almost 10 pounds, this hair was truly strange. Grabbing it with both hands, Lowen tried to break it in half but to his surprise, it was almost as tough as metal and wouldn''t budge an inch. Lowen was lost in thought for a moment.


    (Strange, how can a hair be so inflexible and tough.)


    Lowen wanted to test it some more but heard a howl in the distance, this had quickly snapped him out of it. Stuffing one of the hairs with the rest of his stuff, Lowen quickly packed his things. With 50 pounds of meat and about 40 pounds of fur, as well as one Mammoth Boar hair, Lowen was off, back to Nia''s.


    ------------------------------------------------


    Running inside, Lowen quickly dropped things off and was about to rush out when Nia stopped him.


    "Wait for just a second, what am I suppose to do with all this meat?"


    Lowen was confused.


    "What do you mean, cant you cook some of it and turn the rest into jerky."


    To this reply, Nia shook her head no.


    "I can cook some of it but I have no clue how to make jerky, its something I''ve never made before.


    "What, if I''d have known that...ugh, I still have more than 2 rabbits left, what am I suppose to do with all of that meat?"


    The two grew quiet for a moment before Nia had a thought.


    "Well, we could trade some of it to old man Sid who lives up the way. He can make the jerky."


    "Who, I thought everyone in this village hated you, why would he do it?"


    Nia thought for a moment causing her face to scrunch up ever so slightly.


    "Hmm, well he doesn''t actually live in the village, he''s not a part of it. He lives about a mile away from here near the mountain by the river. He''s always had the best jerky, it''s just..."


    "Its just what, is there a problem?"


    Once more Nia''s face scrunched up before she replied.


    "He''s..... well... he''s really weird?"

 Chapter 20: Old Man Up The Way

    About a mile outside of the village, following along the twisting river, Lowen, Nia, and Ben made their way to old man Sid''s place. As they followed at the edge of the river, behind them was an old ragged wooden wagon. Together the three pulled the wagon, being careful not to slip and fall. In the back of the wagon was around 140 lbs of rabbit meat.


    Following a long day yesterday, Lowen had made several trips to and from the forest, collecting the rest of the rabbit meat. Altogether he had ended up with just over 350 lbs of meat.


    With so much extra meat he decided to trade with some of the villagers. With 5 older ladies, Lowen gave them 85 lbs of meat, in exchange they would make some new clothes for Lowen as well as 2 new blankets. It would take them around 2 weeks to finish the blankets. Normally if it were one person making a blanket it could easily take them 2-3 months, Lowen didn''t wish to wait that long so instead he opted for an easy trade. To him, hunting these rabbits was almost as simple as shooting fish in a barrel, the only difficult thing was transporting all the meat. That''s why with a large bulk of the meat, he managed to trade for an old wooden wagon, that was another 90 lbs worth of meat gone.


    With another, 30 or so pounds of meat, Lowen traded for more spices as well as a few wooden cups, wooden plates, utensils and 2 clay jars the size of a human head. With that, there were only 140 pounds of meat left but it was more than enough. As the three traveled, Lowen noticed Nia and Ben''s body, he saw how much they''ve both already improved. Now Ben was finally at the appropriate weight for his age and had even put on at least 2 pounds of muscle, Nia as well, was looking more toned. The two were doing a lot better than anyone else their age. Now that a month had gone by since they started exercising, their endurance was gradually improving, so it was just about time to increase their load and expand their regiment.


    After pulling the cart alongside the river for a little over 20 minutes, the three came to the foot of a mountain. In front of them laid a small dirt path leading up a somewhat steep trail to someplace unseen. Nia looked at Lowen and pointed down the path.


    "This is the way, we just follow the dirt path and we''ll find old Sid''s place."


    Lowen nodded at Nia and started to pull the wooden wagon but before he moved even an inch, Nia had grabbed his shoulder.


    "Wait, are you sure you want to meet Sid?"


    Lowen looked slightly puzzled.


    (If I didn''t want to meet him, why would I have come?)


    "Of course I am, what''s wrong?"


    Nia slightly shook her head.


    "Like I said he''s weird, I haven''t met him but most people believe he''s not right in the head."


    This didn''t seem like a real reason, to Lowen, he didn''t really care.


    (Weird, who isn''t weird in some ways.)


    "Weird or not it doesn''t really matter, as long as he can help make jerky who cares."


    Ben didn''t even hear the two''s conversation as he was too busy looking at a strange hair poking out from Lowen''s clothes. Lowen had told him how it came from a huge monster and that it was as tough as metal. Ben had wanted to play with it yesterday but was too distracted by all the meat and simply forgot. It was only now when he saw it again did he remember, but before he could ask to play with It he suddenly felt a nudging elbow from Nia. With that, he once again forgot and continued to help pull the wagon up the steep path.


    As they made their way down the path there were no trees in any direction nor were there any bushes or grass, instead there were odd statues made of rock, very odd. Each statue was completely different from the last. Some looked like mishappen animals, while others were of people in deformed states. Whether they had limbs in the wrong places or multiple heads, these statues were quite irregular and unnatural, there was even one with 10 breasts. For some reason when they came upon that one, Nia not only covered Ben''s eyes but she tried to cover Lowens as well, of course in doing so the wagon slipped and began to roll backward. Immediately realizing her mistake, Nia tried to grab the wagon but it was already too far out of reach. Lowen using his Shadow Steps could easily catch up to the wagon and grab it but with its weight and momentum even with his ki, it would only drag him with it. The scene that would ensue would be that of a young boy getting dragged away by a wagon full of meat, just thinking of it made Lowen laugh inside his head.


    With no choice, the three could only watch from the sidelines as the wagon sped rapidly down the steep path towards one of those unnaturally shaped statues. With no one to stop it, the wagon would soon crash into the statue breaking it, turning it into a pile of rubble. Just when the wagon was about to slam into this odd human-shaped statue, something utterly surprising happened.


    *Bam*


    Incredibly, the human statue punched out with amazing force. As the punch landed, the brand new old ragged wagon that Lowen had just traded for, broke into many wooden fragments causing the meat to fly up and land on the ground. The statue then went back into its original position and went completely still, as still as a, well, statue.


    Lowen, Nia, and Ben all stood there with mouths agape, this was simply unimaginable.


    (How, how could a statue move?)


    Lowen''s thoughts were in a tailspin. A solid rock statue had just come to life before his eyes and destroyed his wagon. Nia as well looked on in disbelief, she just stood there frozen, not knowing what to do or say. Ben, however, only had one thought on his mind.


    "Awesome, awesome, awesome!"


    Ben then raced toward the statue wanting to grab it. But how could Lowen let little Ben touch something so dangerous? Right before Ben made it to the statue, Lowen had already used his Shadow Steps and arrived in front of him. This happened all too quick and Nia had no time to react at all, thankfully Lowen had stepped in. This though didn''t change how quickly she became angry. Running up to Ben, she grabbed him up hard by his arm, pulling him away from the statue she started shouting and scolding Ben to the utmost.


    "Ben you dummy, why would you do that. You could have gotten hurt or even killed. That statue is clearly dangerous. Look at me, don''t you ever do something so stupid again, do you understand me!!"


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    Ben''s face went from joy to fear in a quick 180, his eyes started to tear up. He had been so excited he had lost his senses and rushed for what seemed like a big toy to him. But when Nia yelled at him, he knew just how incredibly wrong and stupid he had been. Looking up at his sister''s angry face, Ben couldn''t help but cry as he apologized.


    *Waaaah* *Waaaa*


    "I''m sorry, I''m sorry."


    *Hic hic sniff*


    "I didn''t mean to."


    Nia''s heart quickly melted and softened as she hugged her baby brother. Looking at his small face filled with tears, she began to gently wipe them away as she said in a soothing voice.


    *Sigh*


    "Its ok little Ben, I just didn''t want you to get hurt, who knows what could have happened. If your hurt, then that hurts big sis too, so you have to be careful ok."


    Ben''s tears gradually stopped, he looked up at this big sister of his that cared so much for him and smiled at her.


    "Ok."


    As the two were having an emotional moment behind him, Lowen almost didn''t even notice. Standing in front of the statue, Lowen looked at it cautiously. He could feel earth energy coming from the statue. Normally there was earth energy all around moving gently throughout the world. Only when you absorbed it or used it for magic did it move around rapidly. Right now the magic earth energy flowing through the statue was racing around as though someone had just used magic, of course seeing the statue move earlier, Lowen knew it was from magic but he had been shocked because it was still something he had never witnessed before.


    Knowing this was from magic, Lowen was on full alert. Besides him, couldn''t only Mages use magic and wasn''t Roland the only Mage around. Could this be from the old man named Sid, was he a mage as well? Lowen looked around, he could sense that the activated earth energy from the statue was moving in a nearly straight line, from the statue to the end of the path up the hill. As he turned and looked up the path, he focused ki into his eyesight increasing his visual range. Looking far ahead into the distance, he could see a large stone house. In front of the house, he could see an old man sitting in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth. As Lowen looked at the old man, the old man too looked back at Lowen with an evil grin. Suddenly a chill went down Lowen''s spine and Nia quickly shouted.


    "Lowen look out!"


    The statue had once more moved, punching out towards Lowen. Lowen''s mind raced and his body moved instinctually. Using his Shadow Steps, the punch that was coming towards his back completely missed. Lowen had jumped into the air and had done a backflip over the statues fist. With two hands he grabbed the top of the statue''s forearm. Using his momentum, Lowen filled both legs with ki and drop kicked the statue directly in the head but even with both of his feet, the damage was very minimal, only a few chips of stone had flaked off the statues head. Lowen landed on the ground and the statue again punched at Lowen. Nia and Ben both wanted to do something, but they both knew there was nothing they could do and could only stand helplessly to the side. As the statues fist came flying at his face, Lowen continued to use his Shadow Steps, easily dodging every punch. Although this stone statue had a lot of force, its movements were stiff and slow. So slow in fact that Lowen didn''t even need to use his Shadow Steps, he only did so as a precautionary measure.


    (Damn it, if only I could use the second form of Snake Fist.)


    Lowen continued to move around like a blurred shadow. He didn''t bring any weapons or anything of the like for self-defense. At the time he didn''t believe he needed to. His simple thoughts were that they were so close to the village that there shouldn''t be much danger, who knew there''d be magic statues just a mile away ready to attack. With not many options left, Lowen continued to think and dodge.


    (Once again I have underestimated this world, there seems to be danger everywhere you go. That old bastard rocking in his chair, this is definitely his doing. There really is something wrong with him, dammit, how can I beat this thing, think, think.)


    Lowen''s mind continued to race when finally he thought of something. Reaching in his clothes he pulled out a foot long hair. It was the hair he had picked up from the Mammoth Boar just the day before. As he pulled it out, the old man''s eyes suddenly lit up. Lowen didn''t notice this, instead, he once more dodged a fist from the statue and stepped forward. Using his ki and all of his strength he jumped up and stabbed the hair down into the statues collarbone. With his strength, the hair sunk in halfway causing cracks to form all the way up and down the statue but still it wasn''t enough. Jumping backward, Lowen dodged another fist and his eyes flashed with tenacity.


    (One more time.)


    With this thought, Lowen filled his legs with ki and raced at the statue like a cheetah. Right before he got to the statue, with his Shadow Steps he jumped up high to his maximum, nearly 15 feet. As he descended he did an ax kick, landing it perfectly on the hair. With his momentum and his forceful kick filled with ki, the Mammoth Boar hair completely sunk into the statue''s body. The once thin cracks now exploded out with full force causing the statue to finally break apart into big chunks. As the statue fell to the ground, it crumbled into a pile of rubble, the only thing that was left was the head. Lowen let out a breath of relief.


    *Phew*


    Lowen turned to look at the old man, from this distance he could see the old man wording the word.


    "interesting"


    Immediately after, Lowen heard the statue behind him say the exact same word.


    "Interesting"


    Hearing this come from the statue''s mouth sent a chill down his spine. As Lowen turned around, the broken statue started reforming piece by piece. Its broken body completely put itself back together and after only a few seconds it had formed a brand new body with not even so much as a scratch on it. With its new body made, it leaned its head back and started to laugh uproariously at the sky.


    "HAHAHA interesting, hehe, this is very, very, interesting."

 Chapter 21: Old Man Sid

    Hearing this statue laugh with a hoarse and ruff voice didn''t sit well with Lowen. The noise emanating from this statues throat sounded as though someone was continually grinding rocks together, causing the three''s eardrums to vibrate painfully. Nia and Ben quickly held their heads in distress while Lowen jumped next to them defensively. With this stone statue''s toughness, as well as its incredible regenerative capability, Lowen found very little options in a means to permanently destroy it. Instead, if this statue made any more aggressive actions, Lowen would be left with only 1 option, flee. He would struggle with carrying both Nia and Ben but if he really needed to, he could grab them up and make his way back to the village where he could then seek help from Roland. With that option, the only way Lowen would not be capable of escaping is if the other statues could attack as well. Looking at the hundreds of deformed statues, Lowen couldn''t help but gulp in anxiety. If these statues really could fight, didn''t that mean that this old man had a nearly unstoppable army? And if he could continuously regenerate them, the threat of that was just too unreasonable.


    After what seemed like minutes, the statue finally stopped laughing and instead started approaching Lowen and the others. Lowen grabbed Nia and Ben and was about to make a run for it when the thing he hoped wouldn''t happen, did. With creaking stiff movements, 2 more statues began to move. They too turned and looked at Lowen before slowly walking in his direction. Nia and Ben were beyond terrified, they had seen how Lowen had defeated that statue only for it to completely recover. Now with another two coming to attack, they both started to tremble in fear.


    Lowen was the only one to remain calm, as he stood there his mind cleared and he slowly breathed in and out. As he did so, he began to fill his body with both ki and earth energy, only by remaining nearly completely still could he use both energies at once. With the 2 energies filling his body, he was ready to try something risky. Although he could use both energies at once, it did not mean his body could handle it. With so much power coursing through his limbs, his body might last a minute, after that his body might just explode, he himself wasn''t entirely sure. All he could try to do was protect his vital organs as well as his head with ki. At the moment these statues attacked, that''s when Lowen would make his move. With this amount of energy, he was sure he could tear through these statues in less than a minute, with that he could at least by time for Nia and Ben so they could try and make a run for it. As long as they had a head start, with the training they''ve both had, they should be able to just stay ahead of these statues.


    Step by step these statues inched closer and closer. As they came upon the three children, Lowen was just about to make his move when the 3 statues suddenly bent down. All three children were puzzled by this. The statues then picked up the fallen rabbit meat and then each one turned and step by step walked away, headed down the dirt path. As the statues got further and further away, it was at this moment that the first statue turned around and yelled.


    "Hey!! are you three coming or going, either way, thanks for the meat, AHAHAHA."


    Lowen and Nia looked at each other completely confused on what to do, but Ben was already about to run ahead. Before he could though, Nia had already grabbed his arm.


    "You dummy, where are you going?"


    Ben was jumping up and down while pointing angrily.


    "But, but, they stole our meat, we have to get''em."


    Lowen looked at Ben admiringly.


    (You gotta give it to the kid, he just won''t quit when it comes to food.)


    Nia continued to yell at Ben but it simply went in one ear and out the other.


    "No way Ben, are you crazy? Those things are too strong! We''ll be killed! We have to leave no matter what, right Lowen?"


    "Nia, you were right, there is something wrong with that old man."


    "See? Even Lowen thinks so, come on Ben, let''s go back."


    Lowen shook his head in disagreement.


    "No, that''s not what I meant Nia. There is definitely something wrong with that man, but..."


    "But what?"


    "But he''s an earth mage, with his help I may be able to learn more about earth magic and get stronger.


    Nia looked at Lowen as though he were crazy.


    "But he just tried to kill you, why would he help you with anything?"


    Lowen rubbed his chin in thought.


    "I don''t know if he will, but I do know if he wanted us dead then we''d be already dead."


    Lowen then walked on ahead.


    "I suggest you two head back, as for me, I''ll see for my self if this old man is right in the head or not."


    As Lowen walked away, Nia just stared at his back in bewilderment.


    (How can he be so hardheaded? He still wants to go after all that...)


    Ben looked at his sister questioningly.


    "Big sis, are we going too?"


    Nia was wrapped up in her own thoughts and Ben began pulling on her sleeve.


    "Big sis big sis, hello."


    Nia looked at Ben and scrunched up her little brows.


    "Yes, of course, we''re going, we can''t leave Lowen alone, what if he gets himself into more trouble?"


    Ben grinned and nodded his head up and down.


    "Yes yes, I''m gonna help big bro the most."


    Nia rubbed Ben''s head and pulled him along, soon they caught up to Lowen.


    As Nia caught up to Lowen, she grabbed his hand and started walking with him silently.


    Without looking at Nia, Lowen asked her.


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    "I thought you weren''t coming."


    "Hmph, if I don''t go whos gonna learn how to make jerky, certainly not you."


    As the three continued to walk along the path, Ben looked at Nia holding Lowen''s hand and curiously asked.


    "Big sis big sis, since you two are holding hands, does that mean your gonna get married?"


    Nia''s face immediately flushed red in embarrassment and she quickly tried to shake off Lowen''s hand but Lowen seeing this decided to tease her a little and held on tighter. No matter how hard Nia struggled, she simply couldn''t take her hand away. Lowen looked up at Nia and said.


    "What''s the matter with you, we''re just holding hands, what''s the big deal?"


    Nia herself didn''t know but with his words, she started to calm down a bit. That is until Lowen looked over at Ben and with a serious face he said.


    "Since your big sis and I are getting married, I guess instead of big bro you can just call me brother in law."


    Once more Nia''s thoughts were in chaos. Her face began to turn many different shades of red as her words were mixed with 2 parts embarrassment and 2 parts anger.


    "WHA wha ...WHAT!!!! I, YOU, YOU URH."


    Ben and Lowen laughed until their sides felt as though they would split and every time Nia seemed to regain her calm, Lowen would again tease her. With this light entertainment, this is how they continued along the way.


    Although old man Sid lived only a mile away, with the curve of the hill and the steepness of the uneven path, what would have normally taken 15 minutes to cover turned into almost an hour to actually reach. Finally, the three came upon a big stone house. This house was quite impressive in size, it was even bigger than the biggest building in the village, the Chief Hall. In front of them stood a tall stone door, only someone with great strength would be able to open this. Before the three even reached the door a voice came from the inside.


    "Come in, come in."


    The three looked at each other and simply walked in. As soon as they did, the great stone door slammed behind them creating an eerie atmosphere. What greeted their sight were the stone statues that had left with their meat earlier, once again the statues stood perfectly still but the meat they carried here was all gone. Looking around the dark room, it was incredibly huge stretching at least 300 feet. From the outside, there was no way of seeing this, as this house seemed to extend further ahead into the mountain. The inside of this room was simple and crude. There were only 2 pieces of furniture to speak of, a desk, which looked as though it was used for some blueprints and at the same time used to have meals, as there were a few dishes with old spoiled food atop it. While the other piece of furniture was a long stone table which was covered in chisels and sculpting equipment, it seemed to be a crafting table for the sole purpose of making statues. But that was not the main focus within the room. Inside this large room was an enormous dome-shaped forge with a raging fire storming inside it. Behind the forge, a shadowed figure was stoking the flames, the only thing to be seen from this shadowed figure were two bright red eyes.


    Lowen almost had to do a double take upon seeing these eyes, for a split second he remembered the crimson eyes he had seen just before his death. A bit of cold sweat ran down his spine before he quickly realized that it wasn''t that creature from then.


    As the man stopped stoking the flames, he walked out from the shadows and revealed himself. His hair was as red as blood and was tied into a ponytail. His beard was long as well but to what extent couldn''t be seen, as it was braided and wrapped several times around his neck. The man was quite short being only slightly taller then Nia. Although the man was short he was thick with muscles that seem to bulge out in every direction. His face looked as though it were carved from stone, he was a rugged shaped man by nature. If he were to remain still, he too would look like one of his statues, It''d be more normal looking but still, he would fit right in with them. Last but not least was his eyes, they were as red as a crimson sun with a depth that seemed impossible to reach. Looking at them would almost make you envious as the man''s eyes seemed to be two jewels possessed only by him.


    For some odd reason, as Lowen continued to look at this man''s eyes, he could feel a bit of bloodlust begin to surge within, he could feel some murderous intent welling up within him. Lowen quickly circulated his ki within his mind and his emotions immediately returned to normal.


    Lowen inhaled a cold breath of air.


    (What the hell was that?)


    Lowen looked over at Ben and Nia and they too seemed as if they wanted to kill. Lowen had never seen that expression on their faces before, they were even more affected then he was. They looked as though they would snap at any moment and kill any that got near. Lowen gathered a small amount of ki and was about to help them when the old man spoke up.


    "Oops hehe, I haven''t had any guest in so long I had nearly forgotten."


    The old man slowly took out a small white cloth and wrapped it around his eyes tying it firmly in place as a blindfold. As soon as he did that, Lowen, Nia, and Ben each felt as though a small amount of pressure was removed from their shoulders. The leftover murderous intention soon faded from Nia and Ben and the three couldn''t help releasing a breath in relief.


    *Phew*


    The old man walked over and began to sit down, as he did, a chair made of dirt instantly formed underneath him and caught him.


    "Hehehe, allow me to introduce myself, the name''s Sid, Sid the blind."

 Chapter 22: Lets Have A Match

    Old man Sid took a seat and with a gesture of his hand, he willed a few more chairs made from hardened dirt to rise up out of the ground behind his new guest.


    "Please have a seat."


    Lowen and Nia looked at each other with caution before they slowly sat down. Ben, on the other hand, had already jumped into his seat with excitement, his eyes darting in every direction, as he tried to discover every inch of the room.


    Lowen felt the chair beneath him, it felt like a combination of dirt mixed with rocks and other debris, it was terribly uncomfortable. Only him and Nia seemed to notice though, as the other two people only looked to be excited.


    "You three, what did you come for?"


    Hearing this voice, it once again sounded like grinding rocks, except for this time it didn''t reverberate as much in the ear. Looking at Sid, all Lowen could think about at the moment was Sid''s eyes and how they induced such murderous rage within him.


    (Just what kind of power can cause such a reaction? Could it be a form of hypnotism or mind control?)


    As if he could read Lowen''s thoughts, he pointed at his own face.


    "Hehe, are you curious, if that''s all you want to know its simple. I have cursed eyes. Hehe, if that''s all you want then be on your way, oh and leave that Mammoth Boar hair you have on you, on your way out.


    Lowen felt the Mammoth Boar hair in his clothes before he pulled it out. He held it in his hand and examined it for a sec.


    "You want this, why?"


    Seeing the foot long hair, the old man smiled in delight.


    "Hehe, why does that matter to you, just let me have it and ill give you some meat that I''ve recently acquired, what do you say?"


    (What did he just say?)


    Lowen, Nia, and Ben all looked at Sid with incredulity, they each couldn''t believe what they had just heard. This man really just offered the meat that he stole back to them as a trade, there really was something wrong with his head.


    Ben jumped up and down on the chair, pointing at old man Sid he yelled.


    "No no no, that''s our meat and you stole it, give it back or, or...."


    Old man sid leaned forward with slight interest.


    "Or what?"


    Ben was stumped, he didn''t actually have an answer. He looked toward his sister and saw her giving him a stern look, but in his childlike ignorance, he misinterpreted her look of sternness, for one of support. He immediately nodded as though he understood and bellowed.


    "If you don''t give it back then big bro will defeat you."


    Nia jumped to her feet and was already pushing Ben''s head to the ground making him bow down, as she did, she too bowed down in apology.


    "He''s sorry, he''s so sorry, please forgive him, he doesn''t understand he''s only a child."


    Lowen understood why she would do this, this old man was eccentric. In the village, if people scolded her or sneered at her, even if they spit on her, that was basically as far as they''d go but this old man wasn''t one of her fellow villagers and he was clearly messed up in the head. That, plus the fact that his domineering statues which stood just off to the side, could easily crush her and her brother in an instant. Even with Lowen there, he wouldn''t be able to protect them if worse came to worse. So she couldn''t afford to act recklessly, let alone allow her little brother to do so. But Ben didn''t understand any of that and he didn''t understand why his big sister was forcing him to bow. The only thing he understood was that this old fart in front of him stole from his big bro and little Ben just couldn''t let that go. He resisted his sister as much as he could while he yelled.


    "Big sis let me go, this old man is a meanie, he stole from big bro, he stole all of big bro''s meat that I was gonna eat. We have to get it back no matter what, otherwise, otherwise this old man will eat it all."


    Everyone looked at Ben with surprise, at the end of the day, it wasn''t the fact that it was stolen from Lowen but instead that with it gone, Ben would have none of it to eat.


    An awkward silence quickly filled the atmosphere right before a loud laughter just as quickly broke it.


    "HAHAHAHEHEHOHO, funny, this kid is just too funny."


    This loud laughter was soon followed by the stiff creaky movements of the statues. With them suddenly moving again, Nia and Ben grew fearful, while Lowen took up a defensive stance, as he did, he also watched the flow of energy. Old man Sid was clearly the focal point that the energy connected to. There was no doubt he was moving these statues. What Lowen simply didn''t understand, was how even being in this close proximity to the old man and the statues, Lowen for the life of him couldn''t figure out how they operated. Although he was defensive, he was also very excited, watching these things move, knowing they were being manipulated with earth energy made Lowen wonder if he could learn to do the same.


    (Shit, now''s not the time to be excited about these statues. I have to concentrate in case I have to fight my way out of here.)


    Lowen raised his fist up, taking up his Snake Fist stance ready to throw down at a moments notice but instead of an expected attack, the statues stopped right in front of Lowen and began to pull at their chest. As they did, an odd yet creepy scene happened before him. Each statue inserted their fist deep inside their chest and as they did, they began to pull something out from within. Lowen honestly half expected to see a stone heart or something along those lines but instead, he got a bit of a surprise. Slowly but with little to no effort, the statues began to amazingly pull out the rabbit meat from before. At some point, these statues had stuffed the rabbit meat into their chest cavity and were now extracting them but that wasn''t the end of it. As each one pulled the rabbit meat from their chest, like a strange magnet, all the dirt and debris that was attached to the meat began to stick to the statues, separating itself perfectly from the meat. After a minute or so, all of the meat was fully extracted from the statues with not a spec of dirt or grime on them.


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    The three could hardly look away but once more the statues began to walk away with the meat. They headed to a large black metal door that was more than 15 ft tall. Looking at the black metal door, Lowen couldn''t recognize its material, so he couldn''t judge how dense it was but it seemed even with the strength of 20 men they wouldn''t be able to budge the door an inch. Without even touching the door, it slowly opened up all by itself, looking at it opening up, Lowen''s jaw almost dropped. This door was more than 5 ft thick, Lowen had thought 20 men wouldn''t be enough but now seeing its thickness, he believed even with a 100 men it''d be impossible.


    Ben seeing the meat once more being taken away, escaped his sister''s grip and ran at his fastest speed but even still, by the time he actually got to the door it had already slammed in his face. Pounding on the door, Ben fell to his knees, looking up in despair he yelled to the sky.


    "NOOO!"


    Old man Sid again laughed uproariously.


    "HEHEHA, too good I love it, I absolutely love this kids reaction."


    Ben became increasingly angry, he pointed at Sid and yelled.


    "Stinky old man you, you, you..."


    But before he could finish his sentence, the old man spoke again.


    "I''m gonna smoke that meat, well that''s what those statues are going to do but if you really insist, I guess I can stop them but right after, you 3 need to leave."


    Ben''s mouth shut like a bear trap and his mind froze, he looked like he had fallen into a stupor. If the look on his face spelled a single word it would read confusion, just utter confusion. Lowen, however, seemed to figure out this Sid a bit. Whether he was crazy or not, Lowen didn''t know but he knew one thing for certain.


    (This weird guy, he sure loves to play games.)


    Lowen looked at the forge for a second and asked.


    "Mister Sid was it, how did you know we want to make jerky? Maybe we wanted to trade some meat for some weapons, you are a blacksmith after all."


    Without seeing Sid''s eyes, Lowen looked at his facial expression which seemed to be mocking him, he could only guess but he was sure Sid thought of him as no more than a fool.


    "Hehe, it seems your not from around here, are ya?


    "Why do you say that?"


    "Hehe, because, hehehe, everyone around here knows I don''t make weapons, never have never will. Hehe, as for the jerky, I didn''t know you wanted jerky, I never said I was making it for you, I simply said I was making some, hehe."


    Lowen looked at this old man with an annoyed expression, everything with him seemed to be a game and Lowen couldn''t see a straight path, so instead, he decided to flip the script.


    "Well, you wanted this didn''t you?"


    Lowen took the long durable Mammoth Boar hair and spun it between his fingers. As he did, the smile on old man Sid''s face grew brighter and brighter.


    "Hehe, give it to me; If you do, I''ll give you some of that meat, hehe."


    Lowen shook his head.


    "Nah I think I''ll be keeping this. I''ll take it back home and probably just use it as a back and butt scratcher."


    Sid immediately grew angry.


    "WHAT!."


    "Huh, didn''t you hear me? MY ASS!! I''m gonna scratch it with this."


    As the huge smile that once plastered old man Sid''s face quickly turned into a frown, he shouted.


    "WHAT!!! you dumb brat, do you have any idea what you''ve got there and your gonna use it on your ass, are you crazy?"


    "Crazy, Nah, I just really need a back and butt scratcher, it''s not like anyone else needs it right."


    "What, if your just gonna waste it like that I''ve got a hundred back scratchers you can have, just trade with me."


    "Hmm, I don''t know, what''s in it for me."


    Sid was becoming more and more upset.


    "I just told you I''ll trade you some back scratchers, that''s what''s in it for you."


    Lowen tilted his head to one side and then tilted it to the other, he acted as though he were contemplating a matter of life and death. At the same time, Nia and Ben were just confused.


    (He wants a butt scratcher, I thought we came to make jerky. What the heck is he talking about?)


    Finally, Lowen answered.


    "Well I can give it to you but just trading is no fun, so how about we do something interesting instead?"


    Sid was starting to run out of patience.


    "Something interesting and what is it you think I would find interesting."


    "Oh, nothing too difficult for you, just a simple game. You win, you get this hair, I win, you teach us how to make jerky."


    Sid was wondering what the brat would suggest but to think it''d be a game. Sid loved to play games but what game could a child compete with him in, he found it a little annoying. He felt he could just take the hair from Lowen and was contemplating whether or not to when Lowen''s next words surprised him.


    "Still not interested, how about this, if you win I''ll show you where 10 more of those hairs are but if I win, not only will you teach us how to make jerky but you''ll also teach me the secrets behind your statues.


    (He knows where 10 more of those hairs are. Isn''t this the easiest deal of my life? With those hairs I could easily increase my statues strength 3 or even 4 fold, hehehe easy, way too easy.)


    Sid this time kept a poker face and held out his hand as though he were reluctant.


    "Fine, its a deal."


    As the two shook on it, Sid could only laugh inside his mind. To him, those hairs were already his. On the other side as well, Lowen maintained a poker face, his thoughts raced just thinking about the mysteries of those statues and how they were already his for the taking.


    "So tell me, boy, what game do you wish to play? Hehehe."

 Chapter 23: A Small Wager

    "So tell me, boy, what game do you wish to play? Hehehe."


    With the deal struck, it was now time for Lowen to actually come up with a game. He had a few ideas but he needed a little more information. As he looked Sid up and down, he wondered...


    (Looking at this old man, I can see many strengths as well as weaknesses. His intellect doesn''t seem to be too high so I could choose a game of thinking and logic, but if I step up and challenge him with the mind, he may see it as some kind of trick and back out of the deal. No, with him it would probably be better to go head-on with him, that way the results are clear as day and he can''t back out.)


    "Before we start the game can I ask you a question?"


    "Hehehe, I''d say yes, but you already asked me a question just now, hehehe."


    Sid was going to continue to tease Lowen, but seeing his annoyed reaction made it much less fun, instead, he cleared his throat with a businesslike demeanor and said.


    *Ahem*


    "Go ahead."


    Lowen could see through many of Sid''s weaknesses and strengths and he was even able to understand small portions about Sid''s personality. This told Lowen a lot but what he couldn''t figure out for the life of him, was how Sid seemed to be able to see even with his eyes bound shut. Maybe with this answered, it would give Lowen the edge he needed to win but he wasn''t for sure, so in the end, all he could do was ask.


    "It''s about your eyes, I''m quite curious, how can you see us with them bound and shut?"


    Sid didn''t even hesitate with his response.


    "Huh, are you dumb or something? Hehe, I sensed your earth energy earlier when you fought my statue. Haven''t you ever heard the saying, an earth Mage can never be blind? Hehehe."


    (Of course, I''ve never heard of that. I''ve only been on this planet for just over a month.)


    Lowen''s puzzled reaction told Sid everything, causing him to slap his forehead in understanding.


    "Ah, I get it now, you''re fresh off your mother''s breast milk and have only just started down the path of magic, hehehe, no wonder no wonder. A child''s a child after all, heh heh."


    Nia''s face turned a bright red hearing the word breast and she quickly covered Ben''s ears. She wanted to cover Lowen''s as well but remembered what happened last time she tried that only to have a weird statue come to life and attack. She couldn''t help but look around at her surroundings for some hidden danger, presumably a statue. Ben just looked up at his sister, curious as to why she covered his ears but was comfortable enough that he didn''t fight it but looking up he had the perfect view of his big sister''s nose hairs and broke out into laughter. Nia mistook this for her not being in time to cover his ears, she thought he was laughing because of the word breast which caused her to feel even more embarrassed, now she could only stand there in discomfort.


    Lowen was simply feeling annoyed at this kooky old man.


    Finally, Sid''s laughter came to a stop.


    Lowen furrowed his brow and crossed his arms over his chest, and in a childish yet stern sounding voice, he said.


    "Are you done? Because if I''m fresh off of it, then you''re definitely still on your mother''s tits because you clearly have yet to grow up. Whether it be in maturity or in height, you seem to have failed in both aspects."


    Nia''s jaw dropped, she couldn''t believe what she just heard coming out of Lowen''s mouth. She was left standing there completely unmoving as though she were glued to the floor. Sid, however, was absolutely furious, he stomped the ground with all of his might, causing the entire room to shake and tremble. He tore off his blindfold and with his crimson eyes, he stared death at Lowen. With a roar that seemed like it could move the clouds, he bellowed.


    "YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER!! YOU INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE WORM. SPEAK ANOTHER WORD OF HER AND I''LL GRIND YOUR BODY INTO THE DIRT!!!"


    Ben and Nia both had their ears covered and their eyes shut tight as they hunched down in fear. With their eyes covered they had learned from last time that looking at Sid''s eyes would make bad things happen, they didn''t know what but they knew for sure they hated that uncontrollable feeling they got. So this time around they instantly closed their eyes when Sid tore his blindfold off.


    Lowen was also ready and had already protected himself with his ki. Sid''s eyes had no effect on him whatsoever now. Without Sid''s eyes, affecting Lowen, the rest was just loud threatening words and with just that Lowen didn''t even flinch. Even though blood began to drip from his left ear he still stood there with his back completely straight not retreating even an inch. Instead, he actually even yawned, this caused Sid to be even more enraged. Lowen wouldn''t show an ounce of fear in front of an opponent, but his poker face did almost slip from surprise.


    (So he let it slide when I talked about his maturity level and even his height but when I mention his mom, a deep cord is struck. Hmm, interesting, I wonder what happened there.)


    As Sid was about to bark some more, Lowen had already interrupted him.


    "Oh, so you can talk about my mother but I can''t say even a word about yours, tell me, does that mean I was right about what I just said?"


    Sid hated thinking about the past more than anything else in the entire world. Looking at Lowen, his body seethed with killing intent and now he was ready to kill this child. As he walked up to Lowen, the knuckles on Sid''s fist each began to crack one by one, standing in front of Lowen he asked.


    "Anything else to say before I grind your bones into the dirt?"


    Lowen simply replied.


    "I''m still waiting for you to answer my first question."


    Sid was confused.


    "What?"


    "My first question, the whole reason we got here is that you didn''t answer my question, instead you just made fun of me. Had you just answered me, you wouldn''t have become so upset."


    Sid paused for a moment and thought about what just happened, causing him to calm down some, in doing so he noticed something odd. Looking down at the small boy in front of him, he noticed that Lowen was completely unaffected by his eyes.


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    (What, how, how can this be? this boy, my eyes aren''t working.)


    With this thought, Sid stared in the direction of Nia and Ben wanting to test his eyes on them. Seeing them both covering their eyes, he furrowed a bit.


    Lowen suddenly felt a strange power concentrating on Sid''s eyes, he felt the power coming from Sid''s eyes increase, causing him to have to circulate even more ki into his defenses. Behind him, Lowen could see Nia and Ben starting to become affected by Sid''s eyes. This time Sid didn''t stop and Lowen had to intervene. Lowen touched the two on the sides of their temples and passed them some of his ki energy, causing them to quickly recover. Eventually, it removed all murderous intent coming from their bodies, calming them.


    Sid literally couldn''t believe his eyes, this has never happened in his entire life. Someone was not only able to defend themselves from his eyes, but that person was even able to defend others from his eyes as well, this was simply unimaginable. Thinking back on his life, Sid tore through all his terrible memories.


    ( I remember all the unfortunate things that these cursed eyes of mine have caused. If only I could have controlled them better then or known the true extent of their capabilities earlier on, maybe then, maybe then mother....)


    Sid shook his thoughts away, nothing was worse for him then remembering all those wretched things. His mind cleared and he regained his former calm. He realized that his rush to anger was clearly too much and he had indeed said the wrong things first, but that doesn''t mean he would apologize. Sid now revaluated this young boy, he looked at Lowen with the highest amount of curiosity and interest he could muster.


    (This kid, what mysterious power was that? It felt like magic but something was off. I must learn this secret no matter what.)


    Sid took the blindfold and carefully tied it firmly back onto his head.


    "I got too angry but don''t worry, hehehe, I''m no longer mad. Now tell me, boy, what was that technique?"


    (So he noticed, of course, he has, he truly would be a fool if he couldn''t tell that I canceled out his power. But now he wants to know how I''ve done it, tch, no chance in hell.)


    Lowen wanted to say that out loud but he knew if he did this guy would either attack him or maybe even try to take Nia or Ben as a hostage. Lowen was completely regretting ever coming up this stupid mountain, to go through all this just to learn how to make jerky, this was nowhere near worth it. Lowen thought of a better solution.


    "First, answer my original question, then, I might just consider it."


    With Sid now actually interested, his focus on the conversation was sharp to his highest degree. He thought back on the original question Lowen had posed.


    "An earth Mage can never be blind, that question right?"


    Lowen gave a small nod.


    "Hmm, it''s actually really simple. Earth energy is not only in trees and rocks and things like that, but it''s also in the dirt as well. When I''m blindfolded, I sense the earth energy in the dirt and in the environment around me to see. Most people hear that and think, doesn''t that mean you can only see what''s on the ground."


    Lowen thought that as well.


    (So does that mean he can only see what''s below him but that doesn''t make any sense, the way he reacts, he looks as though he can see our faces.)


    Sid looked at Lowen''s confused face and wanted to laugh but remembered his goal and continued.


    "But that''s not true, dirt isn''t only on the ground, it''s in the air as well. It''s on your skin, it sits on every building, and it flows in every river. It is the one true part of the earth that is everywhere, this is how I see without seeing."


    Something in Lowen''s mind clicked, he wanted to immediately sit down and try to sense the tiniest bit of earth but had to settle things first. He wanted to ask more about the other elements out of curiosity but Sid''s words came back to him.


    (He can see because there is earth nearly everywhere but that''s not the case for the other elements like air. Air isn''t in rocks or the ground and waters not everywhere either. Even fire is limited in the world but dirt really is in nearly every nook and cranny around the planet, this is truly astonishing.)


    Lowen looked at earth energy with a new pair of eyes, he felt his heart pounding with excitement but for now, he still had unfinished business.


    "I''ve answered your question, now it''s your turn. That technique, tell me its secrets, how do I learn it?"


    To Sid''s question, Lowen shook his head no.


    "When did I ever say I would tell you, I only said I would consider it."


    "You."


    "However, if you want this technique there''s still our wager. With this though, the wager would clearly go up in value. I just don''t know if you have anything of worth."


    Sid wasted no time and rushed to his huge 15ft metallic door, with a thought the door swung open with a speed unseen before.


    For Sid, there was no reason to become upset at Lowen''s new offer, when this was a bet that was all but guaranteed for Sid. With that thought, he dove into the mountain in search of something of equal value. For several minutes all you could hear was frightfully loud crashes here and there, like someone was tossing boulders around or taking a sledgehammer to an anvil until finally, there was silence. Old man Sid swaggered out from behind his metal vault-like door. In tow was one of his statues carrying an incredibly thick book. Its length was an incredibly 3ft, while its width was just over 2ft. The thickness of this book had to be more than 3,000 pages. It was the biggest book Lowen had ever seen in his entire life. As the statue laid the book down on the ground, a slight tremble could be felt. Sid approached proudly and said.


    "This, this is what I wager."


    Looking at the book, it was completely covered in dust. Lowen gently wiped it away and on the cover, 2 simple words were revealed.


    [Divine Blacksmith]

 Chapter 24: Simple Game Simple Winner

    [Divine Blacksmith]


    These two words were simple by themselves but together they seemed to contain a mysterious power and these weren''t just Lowen''s thoughts either, the book seemed to be emanating a low undulating force of some kind.


    Lowen''s hand carefully slid against the cover before he gave Sid a knowing look. Sid nodded his head with a gleeful smile.


    "Go ahead, take a look, hehehe."


    Lowen slowly turned open the cover, looking at the title, he read the words in his mind.


    [The Beginning]


    Lowen had to admit he was slightly disappointed with the naming of the first page, or rather, he felt it was a little anti-climatic given the cover''s title but as he continued to read on, this first paragraph caught his interest.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    [The Beginning]


    An ancient power awakened within and a terror consumed me. For centuries chaos reigned within my mind and for those 723 years, I slaughtered uncontrollably. I slaughtered the Mages and the Demons, I slaughtered the Dragons, Elves, and Dwarves. Whether they were the weak Humans or the ancient and powerful Titans, I cleaved my way through them by the millions. Below me, an ocean of blood had formed and behind me, a sky of black death followed.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen wanted to read more of the chapter but the rest of it was left completely blank. Lowen''s brows scrunched together as he curiously began flipping over page after page. He was now interested in this person''s story but surprisingly, every page he flipped open was left completely blank. Lowen looked up at Sid but Sid just gave him a nod to continue so Lowen did. Lowen began to flip the pages faster and faster until finally, after 40 or 50 pages, some more words finally appeared.


    [Chapter #1 Basic Metals]


    Scanning the chapter below, it was filled with all kinds of different information on metals and recipes. It talked about where to find these basic metals as well as their weight, melting point, smelting time and so on and so forth but there was no more mention of the person from the beginning.


    (What is this?)


    Lowen continued to flip through the entire chapter, seeing that everything was there, he then went to the next chapter and then the next. Everything was there except those first 40 or 50 pages. He wanted to flip through the entire tome but Sid was getting annoyed. With a small gesture of the hand, the large book slammed shut.


    *Thud*


    A small cloud of dust flew into the air before it slowly fell back down onto the book.


    This action almost caused Lowen to jump, he had been completely engrossed trying to see everything he could, only to have it suddenly slam shut. He looked at Sid with annoyance.


    "How can I judge this books worth if you don''t allow me to see it?"


    Sid, however, felt as though he were wronged.


    "Hmph, so I should just show you every single page, doesn''t this book become worthless after that?"


    Lowen couldn''t be bothered to argue with the man, instead, he wondered about that person from the book.


    "Anyway, who was that person from the beginning of this book?"


    Right after he asked that, even though Sid still wore the blindfold, Lowen could tell he had a confused expression on his face.


    "What?"


    "The book, who was the person that slaughtered so many an ocean of blood formed. Was it a man or a woman and what happened afterward?"


    Once more Sid was unsure of what Lowen was talking about.


    "What the hell are you saying? man, woman, an ocean of blood, you''re not making any sense."


    Lowen was starting to become heated with this stupid old man''s games, he opened the book and as he pointed angrily at that first page, he shouted.


    "This right here, what happened afterward? Why was..."


    But before he could finish his sentence, he was immediately left dumbfounded. The words, as well as that short paragraph, had vanished. Flipping the page back and forth, Lowen couldn''t find the missing paragraph no matter what. Seeing this, it was Sid''s turn to become upset. He immediately shoved Lowen aside and screamed at him.


    "Stop messing with it, you''ll ruin it, you little cretin."


    Sid quickly began to inspect this old book looking for any signs of damage, fortunately, there were none.


    Lowen didn''t become upset after he was shoved away, he was only left with question after question. He had clearly seen what was written, so how could it just be gone and how has this Sid never seen it, how long has he had this book and where did it come from, nothing made any sense. Lowen looked back at Nia and Ben to see if they had witnessed what he read but they were still crouched down behind him. They were no longer under the influence of Sid''s eyes but when that book came out, neither of them had any interest. For people like them who couldn''t read or write, a book was simply useless to them. Maybe if they were cold, they could use it for a fire but beyond that, they had no reason to see scribbles which neither of them could understand.


    *Sigh*


    "Nevermind what I said, I was simply confused about something else. Tell me, where did you get this book?"


    Sid stopped inspecting his book and stood straight with his chin up and his chest out, his body emanated with pride as he laughingly said.


    "Hehehe, this is a family heirloom, its been in my family for centuries."


    "Oh so then who wrote it?"


    Lowen''s question put Sid in an awkward situation, he began to think and ponder for a while but in the end, he really had no clue. Shrugging his shoulders he said.


    "Hehe, I don''t actually know, when I got it I was only a child no bigger than you are now. At the time I was only told it''s been in the family for hundreds of years, beyond that, hehe, I''m unsure."


    (So nothing has been answered, why did I even bother to ask. Does this man actually have any useful information for me? Wait a second.)


    "Wait, you said you were given this book as a child right?"


    "Yea so."


    "So then how the hell did you carry this thing around with you? Don''t tell me you could actually control statues even when you were that young."


    Sid began to laugh loudly again, once more he felt good knowing something some else didn''t. He pointed at the excessively large book and in a clear loud voice, he said.


    "Shrink."


    Following that, the title on the book, the two words [Divine Blacksmith] began to glow with a golden luster, as it did, the book astonishingly began to shrink. It''s size immediately halved before it once more shrunk down by half. After only a few seconds, the two words on the front of the book stopped glowing and the book shrunk no more. It was now no longer its former behemoth self but instead a small petite book. It was even slightly smaller than your average sized book, perfect for a child''s hands.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Lowen went to pick it up only for Sid to immediately snatch it away. He shook his finger at Lowen mischievously.


    "Tsk tsk tsk, you want my book, then its time for that wager. So is it a bet or not? Hehe."


    Lowen pretty much knew exactly what game they would play, at this point he was only curious about one more thing.


    "I''ll gladly take that wager but how can you be so willing to bet a family heirloom, does it mean nothing to you?"


    Sid scoffed at Lowen''s statement.


    "What would you know, of course, it''s precious to me. It''s just that when it comes to this book I''ve already read through it cover to cover. I''ve memorized it all and there''s absolutely nothing in here that I don''t already know. So if I already know it, why then should I keep it lying around collecting dust?


    Although Sid said this, he didn''t actually wish to lose it, it was just that he was so confident he felt there was no way he could possibly lose. Lowen, on the other hand, could only laugh in his mind.


    (He claims he knows everything about this book yet he''s never seen or heard of that person''s story. Hmm, it seems this book has an affinity with me, it revealed itself to me and not to him even though it''s his family heirloom, why?)


    Lowen thought about the book, besides that mysterious person and the disappearing words it did have an incredible amount of detailed information. Just from some quick exploratory scanning, Lowen could see the potential within. He had noticed several chapters on forging tools, weapons and even armor solely for Mages. If he could make such creations then who knew what his future possibilities were. Strength, wealth, power, at that point what could the world deny him, at that point, who in the world could stop him.


    "Ok then it''s a bet, I have the perfect game in mind."


    "Tell me."


    Lowen had been thinking it over for a while now and he came up with a simple guessing game. He would use Sid''s most powerful attribute against him and by allowing Sid to use his best talent, then when Sid lost, there would be no denying it.


    "It''s actually rather simple, you will close your eyes while I go outside and gather a single object. While I''m outside you can''t use your earth energy to see what it is. If you do, I''ll sense it and you''ll be disqualified and lose immediately. After I bring this object in, I''ll then hold it in my hand and close it, you can then use your earth sensing abilities. You get one guess, If you can guess the object in my hand then it''s your win and my loss but if you don''t, then the match is mine, so what do you say?"


    Sid''s body was trembling with joy, he had no clue what game this child wanted to play and yet, in the end, it was a game using his best ability. With every fiber of his being, Sid held his laughter inside. With a slight grin on his face, he could barely nod his head in agreement.


    Lowen wasted no time and darted outside like an arrow released from a bow. Grabbing an object from the ground, he suddenly heard loud humorous laughter filling the mountain, it seemed Sid could no longer contain himself and was laughing hysterically. Rolling his eyes, Lowen had already run back inside. Looking at Sid''s uproarious laughter, Lowen no longer cared, instead, he just waited patiently.


    Sid continued to laugh, it was several minutes before he could finally maintain some amount of a calm demeanor. Wiping away a few joyous tears, he looked at Lowen with pity.


    "Are you ready old man?"


    "Yes yes yes, let''s start already, what''s taking you so long? hehehe."


    Lowen didn''t even bother responding, instead, he held a closed right hand in front of Sid and calmly said.


    "I have a single object within my hand. With your ability, it should be quite easy for you to tell what it is, right? If you can guess correctly then this game is yours, however, if you guess wrong...."


    Lowen didn''t finish his sentence, instead, he was watching Sid''s face but just as he was looking at Sid, Sid''s mood did a complete 180. He was concentrating intently at Lowen''s right hand, now Sid''s demeanor had completely changed, something wasn''t right. The room grew quiet for several minutes. After every minute Sid seemed to have inched himself closer and closer until his face was literally right next to Lowen''s hand. But still, there was no answer, finally, Sid grew impatient.


    "You, what trick is this, what did you do?"


    Lowen tilted his head quizzically.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Your hand, it''s like a void, it''s almost like its completely vanished."


    "I assure you my hand and the object inside is still there. If you don''t believe me then take off your blind and look."


    Sid tore off his blindfold and stared sharply at Lowen''s hand, sure enough, it was still there but still, Sid couldn''t see inside at all no matter how much he used his earth sensing ability. It was as though there was nothing in Lowen''s hand at all. This is something that should be impossible. Sid had just got done boasting about how he can see without sight and how dirt was everywhere and he could, therefore, sense and see it but looking at Lowen''s hand, he was completely stumped.


    "I...I don''t understand."


    Lowen wanted to smile so badly and put this guy down for once but if he enraged him, the impending fight would be difficult to overcome, instead, he would just win the bet modestly and then quickly leave.


    "Are you going to guess or do you give up?"


    "No I don''t give up, I''m going to guess, just, just give me a minute to think."


    But even after a minute, nothing happened. Sid just continued to stare at Lowen''s hand whilst mumbling to himself. His expression grew worse and worse as time ticked by. Finally, 30 minutes passed and Sid could no longer take it.


    "You, you, I."


    "Hmm, do you give up now?"


    Sid looked at Lowen with bitterness, he knew he had lost, finally, he sighed and said.


    "I...I lose."


    Nia and Ben quickly hugged Lowen in warm embraces and shouted in joy.


    "Yay, big bros the best, I knew you''d defeat this stinky old man."


    Lowen and Nia''s eyes darted to Sid after Ben''s comments expecting to see anger but instead they were surprised, on Sid''s face, what they saw was sadness and bitter confusion. Even now he was still trying to figure out what was in Lowen''s hand. Before he could ask Lowen, Ben had already jumped ahead of him.


    "Big bro big bro, so what is it, what do you got in your hand that even this smelly old fart can''t see?"


    This time Sid was getting angry, to him, Ben just wouldn''t shut up. It seemed that every other word out of Ben''s mouth was, a stinky old man this or smelly old man that. As his brows twitched in anger, he was about to slap this little kid named Ben. Lowen seeing this stood in front of Sid and with a wave of his hand gestured Sid to take a look. As Lowen slowly opened his hand, he revealed to Sid what seemed like the impossible.


    Resting on Lowen''s palm was a small pile of red dirt. Sid seeing this of course shouted in disbelief.


    "WHAT!!!!!!!!"

 Chapter 25: Payment

    Sid''s reaction was immediate, he instantly snatched the red dirt from Lowen''s palm and began inspecting it but no matter how he looked at it, it just seemed to be plain dirt. Closing his eyes, Sid tried to sense the earth elements within the dirt but no matter how hard he tried, it just seemed to be a void of energy, like a spot of nothingness.


    (How is this possible? It''s in my hand right in front of me, I can see it, I can smell it, wait, the smell, this is.)


    *Sniff* *Sniff*


    (This smell, its similar to rusted metal, this, is this blood?)


    After Sid sniffed the dirt, he realized there was the faint scent of blood, hence the red color of the dirt but what left him completely baffled was why it was there in the first place. Looking at the dirt in his hand, he was no longer angry nor was he upset, he was just simply confused.


    "I''ve never heard of the existence of such magic, what sorcery is this?"


    Although Sid was speaking to Lowen he had yet to shift his gaze away from the red dirt he couldn''t help it. He had used his best ability, an ability that many Earth Mages have mastered as well. It wasn''t just boasting when Earth Mages say they can see without seeing. It was a literal fact, earth energy was found nearly everywhere on the planet but somehow within the palm of Sid''s hand, there was none. Was this not dirt. For the first time in Sid''s life, he couldn''t be sure that what he held in his hand was actually dirt or not. Sid''s ego actually fractured a bit from this realization. He continued to scrutinize the red dirt in his hand until Nia''s sudden shout broke his concentration.


    "Ah, your hand, it''s bleeding."


    Nia grabbed Lowen''s wrist and examined him, sure enough, he had a thin 2 inch cut across his palm. She wanted to wrap his wound but could find nothing nearby. As she was about to rip some of her clothes for an emergency wrap, Lowen stopped her, shaking his head, he said.


    "Nia I''m fine, it will heal soon enough."


    Right after that, Lowen started circulating his ki to his palm and sure enough, his wound started to close at a visible rate and the bleeding stopped. With a wound so small, Lowen could heal it within a few hours. It was actually nothing serious, Lowen had cut himself just enough that the wound would start to drip blood but to the three others witnessing this, it seemed miraculous. Nia and Ben looked on with amazement and Sid as well, he too couldn''t believe his eyes. Looking between Lowen''s cut hand and the red dirt, the gears in Sid''s head slowly turned and he finally connected the dots.


    "This, it''s your blood but why.....for what purpose?"


    Lowen didn''t wish to drag this situation on any longer, dealing with Sid was actually incredibly exhausting. Crossing his arms over his chest, he decided to give a simple explanation and be on his way.


    "As you''ve guessed it, I won''t deny it, that''s just regular dirt your holding and coated on is my blood. Using my own ability, I was able to remove the earth energy from within the dirt. In doing so I knew you wouldn''t be able to see what was in my hand and with that, I''ve won the bet. Now if you could be so kind and hand over that book I....."


    "Wait wait wait, this isn''t right, something doesn''t make sense. What ability? How can there be a magic ability that can remove energy from its natural element? How can such an ability actually exist in this world? Only a powerful magic tool or a powerful magical creature of sorts could do this and the wielder themselves would in return have to be incredibly powerful, but you, your only a child and besides that Mammoth Boar hair you''re carrying, there are no other items on you, let alone magical ones. So tell me, how did you do it? Just what the hell is really going on here?"


    Lowen shook his head, there was no way he would actually reveal his technique to this old kook. He had told Sid it was an ability but he never claimed it to be one of magic, Sid simply inferred that all on his own. Lowen did, however, learn something new, it seems that magic tools can be used to separate magical energies from there natural elements.


    (If what he says is true, could there be a magic tool that could separate special energies such as the soul from a body? Could a creature posses such an ability?)


    Lowen recalled that creature with the crimson eyes in his past life, he had only seen those eyes for a second before his life was snuffed out. When he came to he was already in this world in a new body. He had died but his soul had somehow wound up in this world, Lowen couldn''t help but wonder.


    (Did that creature posses some type of magical ability or was it really just a coincidence that my soul wound up here? Can there be such a coincidence? With every passing day, my view of what''s possible and what''s impossible is constantly being challenged and inverted. In the end, is there really no way to be certain?)


    A new goal slowly started to form within Lowen''s mind. In the past, he never cared much for his own life, it was simply just existence and survival but it was still his life. Now a curiosity began to creep up on him.


    (Should I try to solve this mystery?)


    Lowen himself didn''t know, that life was over and it was a bleak one at best. He was now alive again, he got a second chance, a fresh start. He wondered if he should even care or if it was even worth it. If he did find out the truth then so what, what would it change but for some unexplainable reason, the more he thought about it, the more it bugged him. Like there was something in the back of his head telling him to seek the truth.


    As Lowen continued to ponder, Sid was growing impatient. This kid''s answers just weren''t satisfying enough and no matter how much he asked, he couldn''t get the boy to reveal how he did it. Seeing Lowen now completely ignore him, the embers of anger within began to reignite once more. Sid snapped his fingers and the big vault-like door swung open, as it did, statue after statue began to walk out from within the mountain. The three kids noticed this and Nia and Ben grew visibly alarmed, only Lowen remained calm. Although he wasn''t scared, he was however shocked, for the number of statues coming didn''t seem to stop. As the statues marched out in rows of three, the ground trembled slightly.


    Lowen could feel the earth energy within the nearby surroundings concentrating and condensing. The more statues that would come, the more the earth energy would compress. There was so much that the hair on Lowen''s arm began to rise, not from fear but in excitement. But Lowen was annoyed, he went quiet for only a few minutes and Sid took it as a slight against himself. After a few minutes, the statues stopped entering and the huge metallic door slammed shut with a bang. This room that was 300 feet long was now completely stuffed with statues. The statues had encircled them so much so that a drop of water couldn''t slip between their wall like bodies. Sid looked at them and saw that Nia and Ben were shaking with dread but looking at Lowen only pissed him off even more. Looking at Lowen, he showed no signs of fear whatsoever, instead, Lowen only had a look of annoyance on his face, as though he were saying, ["Are you done messing around"].


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "You, tell me your secret now or I won''t hesitate to end you."


    Lowen looked at Sid and shook his head.


    "No."


    Sid''s fist clenched with fury, he was about to order his statues to seize the three when Lowen shouted.


    "Ah, I see, I get it now. You don''t get your way so you throw a childish tantrum, I used to do that too when I was a child.


    (What.)


    Lowen''s lines threw Sid off a bit.


    "What are you talking about, you are a child."


    Lowen had a slip of the tongue due to Sid''s overreaction and so he quickly changed the topic.


    "Even if I told you how, you still wouldn'' be able to use my technique. It''s not even earth energy that I use, so what good would it do you to know? Besides that, I clearly won the bet, if you continue to threaten me, then once I leave here, you won''t have just me as an enemy but you''ll have to deal with Chief Roland as well."


    "Hahahahaha Ahahaha, Roland, he''s still alive. I''m a second circle Mage while he''s weakened beyond that, with his injuries, his death is close at hand, so to deal with Roland, hehe, I could slay 10 of him in my sleep. I wondered how you could still be so confident and calm in this situation and it turns out your trump card was Roland, hehehe. In the past sure but now, hehehe, to lose to him id have to be a true fool.


    Lowen was surprised that Sid actually knew about Roland''s injuries. Roland had said before that no one knew about his damaged 3rd and 4th circle so how Sid knew was a mystery but things were slightly different now. With the mass of pure magical energy Lowen had collected for Roland in the amulet, Roland had already made huge strides to recovery. Lowen in return laughed at Sid''s misconception.


    "Hahaha, Sid, you poor, poor old man, your information is outdated. Roland has already repaired his broken 3rd circle of magic and soon he will even repair his fourth. To say you could slay 10 of him in your sleep, tsk tsk tsk, now, you couldn''t even kill him with a hundred of you."


    "What, that, that''s, impossible."


    Sid''s angered expression instantly reversed as he became pale with fright. Like a cold bucket of water being dumped on him, his flaming embers of fury were now completely extinguished. He looked Lowen directly in his eyes, trying to see even an ounce of falsehood but could discern no lies whatsoever.


    (Is he lying? But if he''s lying why is he so calm? Can a child like him lie with no expression? Bah, don''t look at him as a normal child, everything he''s done today proves how unconventional he is.)


    Sid looked at Nia and Ben and compared them with Lowen.


    (Those two over there, now that''s how children act. They huddle in fear at just the presence of my stone creations. They have no care when it comes to my book and they don''t seem capable of anything at all but this boy in front of me. he shows no fear what so ever. He uses strange fighting techniques and was even able to destroy one of my statues, even though he''s so small. This proves that not only can he fight but there''s also an enormous strength as well as speed hidden in his small body. This boy may be a kid but only in height and voice, in every other aspect its like he''s an adult. Even his way of thinking is unnatural. To tell whether he''s lying or not, for me, it''s impossible.)


    Whether what Lowen said was the truth or not, Sid had no way of seeing through him. All Sid could do was weigh the pros and cons.


    (Even if I hurt this kid, there''s no way he''s going to talk and even if by some chance he does speak, I''ll have no way of knowing whether he''s speaking truthfully or not. I could take those other two as hostages but if what he said about Roland is true, then I''d be dead by nightfall. If I do get his technique, then what, there''s no guarantee I can actually learn it, dammit all.)


    *Sigh*


    "It''s your win, leave."


    The statues parted a path and the door to the outside swung open and the beautiful light of day shone in. Nia and Ben looked at each other and saw the joy in each other''s faces, quickly like foxes they raced outside. Lowen though continued to stand there.


    "Big bro, hurry before he changes his mind, let''s go."


    But Lowen didn''t answer, instead, he waited silently, finally, Sid walked up to him and held the book out. Lowen grabbed the book and tried to take it but Sid still hung on. As Lowen began to pull, Sid''s grip only seemed to get tighter. Looking Sid directly in his crimson eyes, Lowen whispered.


    "Do you wish to be enemies or friends?"


    Sid''s grip loosened and Lowen snatched the book away, looking at it closely, Lowen stroked it gently. This book will bring him so many possibilities. Lowen turned around and was just about to leave when he remembered one last thing. Putting out his hand he said.


    "Smoking the meat, please give me the instructions."


    Sid''s eye twitched a bit in agitation, he stomped over to his messy desk and grabbed a quill and aggressively dipped it in some ink, quickly jotting the steps down he tore the page away from the other pieces of paper and shoved it into Lowen''s hand. He then roared at the top of his lungs.


    "NOW LEAVE!"


    Lowen smiled casually, turned around and left, right as he exited, the door behind him slammed shut.


    *BANG*


    Outside, Nia was already pulling Ben and Lowen''s hand, hastily dragging them back to the village. Lowen released a breath sighing in relief, that had all been way too much. But finally, it was over.


    Ben looked at Lowen and asked curiously.


    "Big bro, how did you do it? What trick did you use?"


    Lowen thought for a moment.


    "Since I''m going to teach you two about ki, I guess its fine if I tell you. What I used earlier was ki energy. You see, by practicing my ki along with my earth energy, I accidentally discovered that without complete focus and stillness, when I circulate the two energies at the same time they end up colliding with each other, destroying one another. So what I did was rather simple, I picked up some dirt that naturally had earth energy in it, then using a bit of the ki in my blood I mixed it in with the dirt. In doing so, my ki and the earth energy destroyed each other. In the end, the dirt became truly devoid of all energy, so when Sid used his earth sensing ability, he could truly not sense it, with that, I easily won."


    Nia and Ben''s eyes brightened, with ki, what couldn''t you do but then Ben suddenly thought.


    "Big bro big bro, how comes ki and earth energy destroy each other when they come together?"


    To this sudden question, Lowen was stumped.


    "I.....I don''t know."

 Chapter 26: Mud, Stone And Beyond

    Sitting inside Nia''s shack, Ben continued to cry about the meat that was stolen at Sid''s place. It wasn''t until Nia made him some snowberry juice that he finally settled down. Lowen heard none of this as he was completely focused with the book laid in his lap. Looking at the first page, it was left utterly blank, where had those words gone, Lowen wondered.


    (These first 50 pages are blank and empty where did those words vanish to? Is there some hidden secret to make the words reappear?)


    Lowen had flipped through these 50 pages, again and again, trying everything he could think of. Turning the book upside down, holding it under the light or in the dark, scanning through, he looked for keywords but nothing seemed to work. He might have even dripped some blood on it or try to channel his ki in it, but the risk of damaging it was too great; In the end, he found nothing. It was only now that he noticed Ben was sitting in front of him sulking, while at the same time sipping his juice and staring.


    "Eh, Ben what''s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"


    Ben saw that Lowen was no longer focused on his book and felt slightly happy on the inside, he was about to smile before he remembered what he wanted to say to Lowen.


    "Big bro, how could you let that stinky old dummy keep our meat, now what are we gonna do?"


    Lowen had been way too preoccupied with the new book he just won from Sid that he had totally forgotten about the meat.


    (Haha, this kid.)


    Lowen stood up and gently rubbed Ben''s head.


    "I''m sorry Ben, I was too focused that I forgot but don''t worry, I know exactly where the rabbits are, so I''ll go get some more first thing in the morni...."


    Lowen paused for a moment, he didn''t just forget the meat, that wasn''t the only part of the bet he won.


    (Shit, his statues, he was supposed to teach me their secrets if I won but because of the situation I was just relieved to get out of there without having to fight, damn.)


    Leaving without learning the secrets of Sid''s statues, even though Lowen had won the bet was equivalent to leaving a small fortune behind, Lowen felt a slight heartache. He and Sid had not left on very good terms, for Lowen to go back today and say.


    ("Hey even though I''ve already taken your most valued treasure, you still owe me more so pay up.")


    For Lowen, that felt like too much, even for him. If he really did go back today then a fight would surely ensue, even if Lowen had Chief Roland''s backing. Lowen could only sigh to himself and wait a few days for Sid to cool off.


    "Big bro, what were you gonna say big bro? Big Bro."


    Lowen was gonna reply to Ben when suddenly a thought struck him, once more he sat down and began flipping through the book. Ben being ignored pouted and stomped away, going outside he quickly found himself busy playing with the few other children his age. With Roland''s words, the villagers no longer scorned Nia and Ben outwardly and because children aren''t born to hate but are taught it instead, all of the children around Ben''s age didn''t feel the way their parents did and gladly played with Ben.


    Meanwhile, Lowen had his butt glued to the floor as he turned over page after page. Disappointingly there was no table of contents, so Lowen had to manually scan every page until he either found what he was looking for or not. After about 10 minutes, Lowen found exactly what he wanted to, he couldn''t help but smirk as he read the title for the chapter.


    [Golems-Statues-Golmantiums]


    Flipping a few pages ahead, Lowen read over the basics about Statues.


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    [Statues]


    Magical Statue first invented in the year 2427 M.M


    [Height] 1-9 ft, made from any type of rock or stone.


    [Weight] 90-2,000 lbs


    [Strength] 100-1250 lbs


    [Requirements] 2nd circle Earth Mage or 3rd circle Mage of any element but an additional magic tool is required to use.


    The statue, although it''s very slow, however, with its great strength and regenerative capabilities, it easily substitutes for 10 men.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    Glancing over this basic information, Lowen became slightly disappointed. In order to use a statue you first have to be a 2nd circle earth mage. Lowen wasn''t even a first circle mage let alone a 2nd, he remembered when Roland was testing him with a blue neixin magic crystal. When Lowen was first tested with it, it had shown one incomplete circle. This clearly meant that he was not yet a mage. Roland, on the other hand, when he had first used it on himself it showed 4 circles indicating his level in magic. He had two complete ones and 2 more that were broken in several places, this was due to Roland''s injury, however, that was over a month ago and Roland had now healed one of his circles of magic. So if he were to use another neixin crystal today, then 3 would be complete and his fourth would still be broken. So as it stood, he could currently use 3rd circle magic if he wanted and if he had a certain magic tool, then he could use and control magic statues as well.


    Seeing as how he couldn''t do much of anything when it came to statues, Lowen decided to go back and take a look at the golems. Once more he just skimmed over the basics.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    [Golems]


    Magical Golems were first invented in the year 2313 M.M


    [Height] 1 inch up to 2ft tall, made of dirt mud and debris.


    [Weight] 0.3-50lbs


    [Strength] 2-7lbs


    [Requirements] Earth Energy


    The Golem, ball-shaped by design, unlike the Statue and the Golmantium that can be shaped into nearly any form, the Golem, besides hands and feet, the rest of its body is entirely shaped like a ball. With its body shape, it can barely walk so it mostly just rolls.


    Golems due to their small stature and weak strength, most find it too troublesome to even bother with them but when they are made, their function is usually for small labor such as sweeping floors, gathering firewood or drawing water.


    Although not very useful, with their nearly instantaneous regenerative capabilities and very little energy used, they are far easier to maintain than a Statue or a Golmantium.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    (Hmm, interesting, this Golem is pretty weak but the requirements just say it needs earth energy. I should try this out.)


    Lowen was curious to see if he could actually make one and control it but before he did, he was still interested in one last thing. Looking it over he read.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.----------------------------------------------------------------------


    [Golmantiums]


    Magical Golmantiums were invented in the year ???? B.M.M - M.M


    Magical Golmantiums were Discovered in the year 1032 M.M


    [Height] 4ft up to XXXX


    [Weight] 400lbs up to XXXX


    [Strength] 2,000 lbs up to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


    [Requirments] Magic Beast heart & piece of a soul, also needs a huge source of energy at the initial start, afterward, it will absorb energy by itself.


    With this creatures creation, it comes with intelligence, how much is dependent on the original soul donator.


    Warning !! This creature is truly difficult to control.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    Reading over this basic bit of info, what stood out the most to Lowen wasn''t the requirements the creature needed nor the warning on the difficulty in controlling it. What stood out for Lowen were the dates. Apparently, no one knew who or when these creatures were invented, only when they were discovered. Not only that, the Golmantium predates both the golem and the statue.


    (How can something so advance come more than a thousand years before the golem and the statue?)


    Reading further in, Lowen discovered that not only did the Golmantium come a thousand years before the golem and the magic statue but also that all research and advancements for the golem and the statue were made from studying the Golmantium itself.


    (It seems that after all this time the ones who have made improvements did so from researching some lost ancient Magitek. I wonder who could have invented such an advanced creature and if they had such capabilities then, where are they now? What happened to them?)


    With so many questions but absolutely no answers, Lowen became more and more frustrated. Finally, he had had enough and slammed the book shut in frustration.


    (What''s the point of a book if it tells you nothing, hmph.)


    Nia saw this and sat down next to Lowen.


    "What''s the matter?"


    Lowen looked at Nia''s gentle smile and he didn''t know why or how but seeing her kind expression, he could instantly feel a soothing calm wash over him.


    *Sigh*


    "Its this book, no matter how much I read it, it won''t..."


    Lowen shook his head.


    "No, it can''t tell me what I want to know, and it''s just very frustrating."


    Nia listened quietly to all of Lowen''s frustrations and thought for a while before she replied.


    "Hmm, Well, it sounds like if you can''t get the answers from that book, then maybe you should just try another one."


    Lowen started to laugh at himself.


    *Hahaha*


    Nia was, of course, right, so what if you don''t get all the answers from this book, there are a million others and one of them has to have what Lowen''s looking for, it would just take time. Besides, Lowen was getting frustrated over unimportant matters, it''s not like he needed this info, he was just really curious. To Lowen, this was an entirely new world and so far he had been stuck in a very small portion of it. Everything was new and interesting to him and it just felt like all of the adventure and all the mysterious were hidden from him, locked away by his own understandings. Right now in order for Lowen to unlock these things, he needed 2 important things. First what he needs was to gain great strength, enough strength to go out into the world and not die. The other was information, if Lowen didn''t understand the world around him then even with the strength to lift a mountain, it would only take a pebble more of something he didn''t know to crush him underneath.


    After a good laugh, Lowen noticed Nia staring at him in displeasure but for the life of him, he couldn''t understand why.


    "Nia, what happened? Why do you seem even more upset then I just was?"


    Nia looked at Lowen and said with pouted lips.


    "I thought I was being helpful but then you laugh at me. I didn''t think you were like that."


    Lowen suddenly realized his mistake. Nia had given him genuine advice and then he immediately burst out in laughter. To Nia, it would seem as though she were being made fun of. Lowen realized he had a bad habit of slipping into his own thoughts and ignoring those around him because of that, misunderstandings would follow. Lowen made a mental note of it before trying to comfort her and once more realized that him making a mental note was again leaving Nia out to dry. Looking at her face, it seemed like she had just bit into a lemon, the way her lips scrunched up made Lowen once more want to laugh, thankfully this time, he controlled it. Waving his hands in the air in defense, he almost choked on his own words.


    "No no no no, I wasn''t laughing at you, I was laughing at myself, I swear, I swear."


    But Nia just continued to pout giving Lowen a look that said, can I believe you.


    "Nia I''m telling the truth, really. there''s no way I could laugh at you, honestly."


    Nia shook her head.


    "But you''ve done so before."


    "What when?"


    "Hmm, so you don''t remember, how can I ever believe in you, if you don''t even remember tha...tha... that time."


    Nia stumbled out the last bit of her words recalling those events but Lowen was still stumped.


    "Nia, I truly don''t remember, please just tell me already."


    Nia''s faced blushed ever so slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest she pouted some more before saying.


    "A month ago down by the river, you went to bathe and you, you, you accused me of being a peeping tom. You even made me say some embarrassing things about my brother, do you remember now?"


    Lowen thought back to that time, he remembered Nia following him to the river treating him like a child so, in a prank, he acted like she was a pervert. In the end, Lowen had burst out with laughter for several minutes and Nia had run away. Thinking back to that, a small smile crept up on Lowen''s face, recalling that moment, suddenly, Lowen couldn''t hold it in, remembering that scene, he once more burst out into gut-busting laughter.


    *BWAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHHA*


    Nia''s face immediately flushed a deeper darker red, she yelled out angrily.


    "SEE, YOU DO REMEMBER! YOU WERE MESSING WITH ME AGAIN!!"


    Nia then turned around and raced outside like a gust of wind, the only thing left behind were her fading words.


    "You big dummy, I hate you I hate you I hate you."


    Lowen wanted to say something, anything but found himself lacking air. All he could do was roll to the ground in laughter.

 Chapter 27: Golem creation

    Laughing until his stomach hurt, Lowen eventually settled down. As his frustrations melted away thanks to Nia, Lowen again dove into the Divine Blacksmith, flipping back to the chapter on golems.


    (There''s nothing I can do about Statues or Golmantiums as the requirements for them are way to high right now, while creating golems seem very simple.)


    Looking it over, it seemed to be more of a combining recipe then smithing as there was no heat involved whatsoever. Lowen grabbed a clay jar and headed outside, in this way he quickly grabbed the few ingredients he needed. Sitting down outside, he placed everything in front of himself and began his experiment.


    (First things first.)


    Lowen using his hands dug a few small holes no bigger than 8-10 inches across and 8-10 inches deep. Taking the small pile of dirt he had gotten from the hole, he simply set it aside. Next, he took the clay jar which was filled with water and poured just enough into the hole to make mud, then, of course, he put his hands in the hole and began to shape a small ball out of the mud. In this way, he made several small balls of mud in various sizes, some were made with a little more water making them less clumpy, while others were made with the ratio leaning more towards dirt, causing them to feel more brittle. As a few villagers walked by, they couldn''t help but notice Lowen mixing around in the mud and some couldn''t help but think.


    (This kid is supposed to help the Chief, how? Isn''t he just a child, right now he''s like any other kid playing in the mud making mud pies.)


    Some of the villagers couldn''t help but shake their head in confusion, while others simply walked away. Lowen didn''t even notice them as he was too engrossed in his own experiment. After everything was said and done, Lowen had made 10 balls of mud from little to big. His smallest was no bigger than 6 inches in diameter all the way up to his largest being 11 inches. Looking at the completed bodies of his golems, it was now time to add the last piece.


    To create a golem, its most important piece was its core, this was its source of power, it gave the golem its ability to not only absorb earth energy but to follow its users commands as well. Not in a way that it had free will or a conscious but in a way where the creator would think a thought and will the golem with his or her earth energy. To make a core for a golem was also quite easy, all one needed was an object which contains earth energy. For Lowen and anyone else that basically meant anything, as earth energy was nearly everywhere. The only real requirement was, whatever object you choose, you needed to be able to write on it, so although there are trace amounts of earth energy within a river or the air, you could not actually write with it. Lowen picked up 10 small rocks, in the Divine Blacksmith, there were certain symbols you would have to inscribe onto the cores in order to get them to function. Remembering the symbols, there were 2 basic ones that must be inscribed in order for the golem to work followed by another 700 or so optional ones. Giving a brief scan of these optional ones, Lowen saw many interesting things, there was one for causing the golem to explode, another for the golem to move faster and even bizarre ones such as making a golem capable of dancing on an enemy''s grave. Lowen had to do a double take after he read that part and could only think to himself why.


    Back to inscribing the two symbols, looking at the symbol, it was shaped almost like a heart and within the heart, there were, even more, smaller symbols. To Lowen, they all just looked like scribbles but next to this heart-shaped symbol the page read.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    [Absorb].


    With this symbol, your golem will absorb earth energy from its surroundings and will be filled with energy until the earth is no more or the golems core has been damaged, destroyed or has too many optional inscriptions.


    In conjunction with [Flow], your golem will be capable of regenerating at incredible speeds as well as movement.


    If you add optional inscriptions, your golem will consume more power and may not be able to operate at 100% efficiency.


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    Looking at the second main inscription, next to it as well, Lowen read.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    [Flow]


    With this symbol, your golem will circulate earth energy throughout its body and with its creators will, the earth energy within the golem will allow the golem movement. This will continue until the creator has stopped controlling it, the core is damaged or destroyed, allowing its energy to run out or the creator themselves dies.


    In conjunction with [Absorb], your golem will be capable of regenerating at incredible speeds as well as movement.


    If you add optional inscriptions your golem will consume more power and may not be able to operate at 100% efficiency.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen had no ink or paint or anything he could actually write with, so he was forced to write in blood and although it seemed a little cryptic, he did so anyway. Cutting the tip of his finger, he wrote each symbol and all the smaller inner symbols within, onto each small rock and after each finished symbol, Lowen could already feel the earth energy within the rock cores rapidly increase. Lowen couldn''t help but wonder if he wrote the symbols onto his own skin if the same would happen. So out of curiosity he stopped halfway on a rock core and wrote the absorb symbol on himself, unfortunately, nothing happened. It was also at this moment he also noticed another mistake he had made. Soon after he had written a symbol on the rock core, it began to absorb earth energy and then it would quickly stop. Lowen had been too excited about this experiment that he had totally forgotten that the ki energy within his blood cancels out earth energy. He couldn''t help but slap himself on the forehead. He had literally just used that same trick on Sid and now he had forgotten. Lowen felt foolish indeed. Those few rock cores he had already written on were now nothing more than wasted ornaments. Ornaments which had taken him an hour to complete. Because Lowen didn''t have a pen and he was writing very small intricate symbols with his finger, it had taken this long and now that he found out he had wasted his time, Lowen released a long depressive sigh.


    *Sigh*


    Throwing those rocks away, Lowen grabbed 5 more, he then raced to Roland''s place to grab some ink and a pen. Seeing Lowen covered in mud, Roland thought something bad had happened but after a boring discussion about Sid, Roland understood but what was shocking for Roland, was the fact that Lowen had gotten the better of that weird old man. Although Lowen had told Roland about that, he didn''t mention a word about the book. Lowen was still having trouble reading through Roland and didn''t want to risk the chance of Roland seeing the specialness of the Divine Blacksmith. So when Roland had asked about why Lowen needed the ink and pen, Lowen had just kept his mouth shut in that regard and only said that after winning the bet, Sid had given him a guide on how to make golems and he needed the ink and pen for that. Roland didn''t care at all and gave the two items without a fight, before quickly shooing Lowen away. With the items in hand, Lowen raced back to Nia''s place, sitting down he once more began inscribing the rock cores. With the pen in hand, it took not even a third of the time to inscribe all 10 rock cores.


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    (All right, I''m ready.)


    As Lowen was about to put the cores in, Ben had come back, followed behind him were a small group of children of both boys and girls all looking to be around Ben''s age, with a few looking to be slightly older, all of them younger than 8. Seeing Lowen covered in mud with a bunch of different looking mud balls in front of him, Ben and the other kids immediately wanted to play.


    "Big bro, can we play too?"


    Lowen looked at this group of kids and wanted to say no but found that there was really no need to. Either this would work or not, it didn''t matter if this group of kids wanted to watch or even pick up any of these mud balls and play. Lowen nodded and said.


    "Sure, but first, who wants to help me with my experiment?"


    Immediately all the kids were jumping up and down shouting, me, me, me.


    "Ok everyone, come and take one of these rocks."


    Right after Lowen said that each kid ran up in excitement. Ben as well ran up, him being much more fit then all the other kids, he was of course first, even compared to the slightly older kids, Ben was still quicker. As they each grabbed a rock core, Nia had finally returned, her face no longer contained embarrassment and humiliation but instead anger. She had rolled up her sleeves and was ready to throw some harsh words at Lowen if he kept making fun of her but when she arrived, she was surprised to see all these kids outside her home. Walking up to Lowen, she was about to ask him what all of this was about but before she could, Lowen had shoved something into her hand. Looking down, it was just a normal rock with some scribbles on it, Nia glanced at Lowen in slight confusion but Lowen just ignored her confused look and instead said.


    "Alright, does everyone have one of these rocks with these two symbols on them?"


    Each kid glanced at their rocks turning them over once or twice and almost in unison they nodded and said.


    "Yes."


    Even Nia became caught up in the flow of things and answered without thinking.


    "Ok, everyone, pick a mud ball and push that core into the middle of it, when you do, the magic experiment will start."


    Hearing this, all the kid''s eyes lit up in delight, at their ages none of them knew what was possible or not, so while some of them truly thought this was a magic experiment, others simply thought it was just playing. Only Nia and Ben understood Lowen''s meaning. The things they''ve both witnessed from him, they each looked at the inscribed rock in their hand and could feel their hearts race with excitement. If Lowen said they were doing a magic experiment, then Nia and Ben believed him.


    All of the kids instantly grabbed for the nearest mud ball and shoved the rock core deep within. At this time, a few of the passing adult''s interest grew and they began watching as well. After the cores were entered, the mud balls all took on a green glowing hue for a second before the glows quickly dissipated, after that, something absolutely beyond belief ...........didn''t happen. There was no reaction whatsoever. The light in each of the children''s eyes dulled and became lackluster, some of them truly believed that beyond a small glow something magical would happen. Out in the stix, these children lived very boring lives and every night before bed their parents would tell them bedtime stories about adventurest mages slaying dragons or mages flying high in the sky making miracles. They were told night after night about magic and how amazing it truly was but never did they ever witness or experience it. So when a mysterious boy comes out of the mountains one day and the adults had said it was miraculous, the kid''s assumed that Lowen was special in some way, like a mage. But when only a small glow came about from his so-called magic experiment, the disappointment they all felt was immeasurable. Even Nia and Ben were looking at Lowen wondering if something had gone wrong.


    One of the adults watching suddenly burst out with laughter, he couldn''t help it, his simple thoughts were.


    (Hahaha, kids will be kids.)


    This villager was just about to say something when suddenly the balls of mud began to tremble. Each golem began to wobble and shake slightly. Lowen at first thought that something was wrong but he remembered something simple, in order to move, these golems needed arms and feet. Lowen had forgotten something so simple and had only shaped his golems into balls. Looking at his golems, Lowen could feel their earth energy, using his will, something special started to happen. One by one these balls of mud started to sprout feet and arms. The kids watching once more grew thrilled, finally, the last one sprouted limbs and the golems began to move in unison. The villager laughing instantly grew quiet, his jaw had hit the ground as he stared in awe. Even the other adult villagers couldn''t believe their eyes. One of them was a young couple and the wife couldn''t help but shake her husband while shouting.


    "Look, look at that. Magic, the boy used magic."


    Nia and Ben seeing this, simply nodded their head, Ben, even turned to the villager who was laughing and stuck his tongue out at him.


    "Blegh."


    As the small little golems moved around left and right, Lowen noticed something. Each golem seemed capable of only moving in synch with the other. Lowen wondered if he could move them separately of themselves. With a thought, he tried to move a small one to the left while at the same time he willed another to move to the right. As the golems followed his will, Lowen Immediately felt a wave of dizziness wash over his mind. It felt similar to wearing the amulet from Roland but this, this was 10 times worse.


    (What the hell, this feeling of mental exhaustion is insane. Just making 2 golems perform 2 separate actions uses up this much energy.)


    In order for Lowen to move the golems separately, he has to think about two different things at the same time, he has to will them separately on the individual level. To control 2 individually was already tough for Lowen, to then make all 10 do different things at once, for Lowen, there was simply no way. Thinking of the amount of mental fortitude and energy one needs to do this, Lowen couldn''t help but think about Sid controlling his statues. Not only can he do this but statues are an evolved form of golem, for him to do this. Just thinking about it caused Lowen to shudder.


    (That old man, to split his thoughts so many times and still be comprehensible, he truly is insane.)

 Chapter 28: The Beginning Of The Incident

    As the children continued to play with the golems, more and more adults soon arrived. Seeing these golems move around in unison, the villagers quickly caused a commotion, they couldn''t believe what they were seeing. Living so far out nearly in the middle of nowhere, many of these people had never seen magic besides of what little a few had seen from Chief Roland. Just as the intrigue and excitement was reaching its apex, all of the golems suddenly halted their movements, coming to a complete standstill. Lowen as well froze for a moment before his knees buckled below him and he fell straight on his ass. Like an ocean wave continuously crashing upon the sandy shore, his mind was hammered again and again with a whirl of dizziness. His head ached painfully as he gasped hard to catch his breath.


    *Huff Phew Huff Phew*


    (Ugh, I feel like I''m gonna be sick. Just from trying to control multiple golems at once I receive such a heavy tax, this fucking sucks.)


    Lowen''s mind couldn''t handle such exhausting work. the amount of mental prowess one must have for such a simple task was truly atrocious. Nia saw all of this and had already run over to Lowen''s side with a concerned face.


    "Lowen!! what happened to you? Are you hurt somewhere?"


    Lowen seeing the caring nature in Nia''s eyes, gently shook his head no.


    "I''m fine, just a little tired is all. Can you help me back inside, for now, I think I just need some rest."


    Nia nodded and gave a meaningful look to Ben. Ben said a quick goodbye to his playmates and ran over to help carry Lowen. Even though Nia didn''t need any help carrying a 6-year-old boy, Ben still insisted, arguing that Lowen was his Big bro and that no matter what he would always help his big bro. Nia couldn''t really argue and simply carried Lowen inside. Outside Nia and Ben''s home, the 10 small golems stood perfectly still, with the special inscription inscribed on each and every one of those 10 golem rock cores, the golems would remain animated until either there was no more earth energy around, their rock cores were damaged or when the creator/Lowen died. Looking at these golems remaining perfectly still, after just witnessing them moving all about crept many of the villagers out but seeing as the person responsible was no longer around, eventually, they became bored and everyone dispersed, going back to whatever they were doing before.


    As the sun set and night began to settle in, a bright silver moon had replaced an orange flaming sun. The stars shined down like sparkling diamonds and the village grew quiet and still. Laying on some old dried weathered hay, Lowen''s nose began to twitch slightly as he picked up a delicious smelling aroma coming from a few feet away. As the crackling fire continued to warm his small body, slowly, Lowen began to groggily open his eyes. Looking around, he could see Nia and Ben nervously sitting quietly in a corner, in their hands was a small bowl of steaming soup but they seemed too nervous to eat it.


    "So you''re finally awake, little one."


    Hearing this voice, Lowen couldn''t recognize it. It didn''t come from Nia but it was clearly female. Looking to where the voice came from, Lowen saw the back of someone stirring a pot of piping hot soup. The voice was female but clearly aged. Lowen could see the back of this person''s hands and they had a few wrinkles here and there, on top of this person''s head was a long cascade of peppered hair. Although this lady was older, she couldn''t be too old as her peppered hair was more black than it was grey. Turning around, Lowen could finally see who it was but once he saw, he was clearly confused.


    (Who is this person.)


    Lowen struggled to sit up and this lady quickly turned around to help him. Noticing her eyes they were quite beautiful, they were a sapphire blue but Lowen couldn''t help but notice how sad they seemed. As the older lady helped Lowen sit up, she handed him a bowl of soup.


    "You need to eat, you had quite the dizzy spell."


    Lowen received the bowl, looking in, it seemed to be just a few vegetables made in some sort of stock making a watery soup. It smelled delicious but looked very unsatisfactory.


    "Who are you? Why are you here? Nia who is this lady?"


    But Nia just continued to look at her soup not saying a word. The blue-eyed lady looked at Nia''s nervousness and released a calming smile.


    "My name is Luna, you were unwell so the chief asked me to cook some herbal soup for you."


    Lowen noticed Nia''s odd behavior as she continued to look away. He couldn''t understand why but it seemed like Nia was completely avoiding looking at this lady''s face. Lowen looked this older lady up and down, she seemed to be in her late 40''s or early 50''s, no matter how much he looked at her, he couldn''t spot anything wrong.


    (Why is Nia avoiding this lady''s gaze? Am I missing something?)


    Lowen looked at this woman suspiciously.


    "The chief already knows?"


    "Yes, someone watching you in the crowd saw you collapse and reported it to him. After that, Chief Roland asked me to cook you some herbal soup."


    "Why you?"


    Luna gave a gentle smile.


    "Of course because I''m the best cook in the village."


    Lowen looked at her doubtfully, although the soup did smell appetizing, it simply looked too plain.


    "What don''t believe me, my food may look simple but once you try it, you''ll be addicted."


    Luna saw that Lowen still wasn''t buying it and looked at the soup with caution as though it were poisonous, so she took a small bowl and filled it with soup before tilting it to her mouth and draining it.


    "AHHH!!."


    Luna immediately started fanning her mouth dramatically.


    "Hot, too hot."


    Lowen started to chuckle lightly before he gave the soup a small sip, opening his eyes wide in surprise, the words delicious somehow slipped past his lips.


    "Delicious, this, this is the tastiest soup I''ve ever had."


    Lowen immediately dumped the remaining soup down into his gut, licking the savory juice from his lips, he pushed the bowl forward.


    "Is it ok if I have some more?"


    Luna was surprised at how fast Lowen ate his soup, with a small nod she took the bowl from Lowen, refilled it and passed it back. Ben seeing this quickly imitated Lowen and gave his soup a sip, noticing how rich and tasty it was, he too drained his bowl in a few big gulps. Running up next to Lowen, he looked at Luna with eyes full of glee and excitedly yelled.


    "Me too me too."


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    Once more Luna filled a bowl and passed it along. With this incredibly flavorful soup, Ben and Lowen''s faces were plastered with smiles and a nice little conversation followed. The atmosphere soon became very lively as Lowen and Ben joked back and forth. Everything was going exceptionally well, except for one corner of the room. Just a few feet away, Nia was still avoiding Luna, with her head down she simply stared into her bowl not daring to look up. Lowen wanted to say something but it was clearly something between the two, he wondered if he should get in their business. Thinking along those lines though, it was already a bit too late. He had already intervened in Nia and Ben''s life plenty, so there was no reason to hold back now. Lowen looked at Luna calmly in her sapphire blue eyes, his curiosity was getting the better of him lately, so, in the end, he just asked.


    "Luna, why does Nia seem to be terrified of you, did you do something to her?"


    Hearing this, Nia instantly jumped up as though she were struck by lightning. The bowl of hot soup she had in her hands, by this time had already slipped through her fingers and hit the ground, shattering the bowl and spilling herbal soup everywhere, Nia quickly shouted.


    "Lowen it''s not like that, she, she did nothing wrong, it''s all my..."


    Nia couldn''t even finish her sentence, staring at Lowen her lower lip began to quiver. Lowen''s curiosity raised by another level, his eyes went back and forth between Nia and Luna waiting for whatever was gonna comes next, while Ben was just sitting there in confusion. Everything was seemingly going fine just a few seconds ago, now his big sis was yelling about something he didn''t understand. Luna looked at Lowen and gently shook her head.


    "Little one you misunderstand, she''s not terrified of me. Instead, she''s terrified of the guilt she feels when she looks at me."


    A look of puzzlement washed over Lowen.


    "Guilt, what guilt, what did she do?"


    Nia''s hands began to tremble, she didn''t know whether she should stop Luna from saying any more. Should she herself tell Lowen about what happened, would he look at her differently if he knew? Would he also leave? Nia''s thoughts began to swirl into despair, the edge of her eyes began to water and she was on the verge of tears. Lowen slowly held Nia''s hand and looked at her with a warm smile. He whispered to her softly, a few words only she could hear.


    "No matter what, Nia... I won''t abandon you."


    These few words were enough to melt even the most ancient of glaciers, let alone Nia''s heart. A stream of tears slowly fell from Nia''s face, with this she made up her mind and nodded for Luna to continue.


    Luna herself seemed saddened, thinking of the past, her sapphire blue eyes dulled just a bit as she spoke.


    "Her father, because of him, my husband, my son and many more are dead."


    Lowen had heard once before how Nia''s father, as well as she, were a traitor and it seemed like this was the reason why. Lowen continued to listen but just as she was going to continue, Roland walked in. Starring at Luna, he gave her a meaningful look indicating he had heard everything, causing Luna to jump with fright, she quickly gave a bow as she apologized repeatedly.


    "I''m sorry I''m sorry, it wasn''t my place, please forgive me."


    Roland looked at her and with an angry tone, he spoke one word through gritted teeth.


    "Leave."


    With that one word, Luna was already racing out the so-called fur flap of a door and disappeared into the night. Lowen was baffled, he couldn''t understand why Roland had been so upset.


    "Why are you angry? Is she not allowed to tell me what happened? Are you afraid if I know the truth?"


    Roland puffed up his chest with a bit of anger.


    "Bah, you think that''s why I''m upset. Hmph, you may be smart, boy, but that''s just a hairs length away from being a smart ass. For her to tell you, hmph, it''s simply not her place."


    Lowen was annoyed at Roland already, the man seems to always have an attitude of superiority making Lowen feel disgusted.


    (Can this man and I ever get along? Hmm, not likely.)


    "Not her place, why does any of that matter? Whether she tells me or you do, what difference does it make?"


    This time it was Roland''s turn to be annoyed, he looked at Lowen in his eyes and just straight up said the truth.


    "Lowen, have you looked around, I mean truly looked around. Not at this village but at the people that live within it. Think, what is the most dangerous thing in the world?"


    Lowen thought for a second but before he could answer, Roland had already continued to speak.


    "It''s information, with the right information you can conquer the world but to the opposite of that, with the wrong information, you''ll easily find yourself 6 feet under."


    Lowen already knew that and crossed his arms as though he were saying get to the point. Roland rolled his eyes at this.


    "It''s not only whether your information is good or not, but it''s also who has it. Some can put it to good use while others devastate themselves and those around them. A year ago, when my village had that accident, there was a preceding incident that happened before that caused everything. Nia''s father had captured those goblins and went to seek me about selling them at a slave market but I was still trying to heal myself, therefore, I was in closed-door cultivation for 3 days and 3 nights. So instead he spoke with the elders. Had he waited for me to come out, I would have immediately recognized that one of the goblins was a goblin mage and I would have immediately ended that vile creatures life but because they didn''t wait, they didn''t know the danger they were in and that tragedy, later on, befell my village."


    Lowen now understood why Roland was upset. Information, having it, not having it, giving it to those you can trust and those you can''t. Lowen was an outsider, no one could truly confirm his identity and Roland to this day was still suspicious of him. So for one of his villagers to just blab about something, whether it be important or not pissed Roland off. At the end of the day, Roland still couldn''t completely trust Lowen and Lowen couldn''t be mad at that. Lowen nodded in understanding and then asked.


    "So will you tell me the whole story or should I ask some villagers behind your back?"


    Roland fumed for a moment but saw that Lowen was just trying to get under his skin. Roland wondered if he could ever get along with this child before he decided to just tell the story.


    "It was just over a year and 3 months ago....."

 Chapter 29: The Incident That Started It All

    As the leaves began to change from lavish emerald green to an orangeish red, the season of summer had come and gone and the middle of autumn was already here. Two men were swiftly making their way through the forest, behind their backs the wind and in front, wild game. As the two men ran down their meal, with the release of an arrow their prey had finally fallen. Approaching this small boar, the two men couldn''t help but lick their lips.


    *Phew*


    "Thomas, we finally caught it, we''ll be eating good tonight, haha."


    The man named Thomas laughed with a gut full of spirit.


    "Hahahahaha, this will be a nice feast, how much meat do you think it is Jack, 400-430 lbs?"


    Jack shook his head.


    "Nah its gotta be around 390 lbs max, you gotta remember once we take its tusk that''s about 15-20 lbs right there. Including what we''ll throw away, that''s another 20 or so lbs gone, besides that, we''ve got quite the haul here, hehe."


    "I suppose your right, well, let''s get to work."


    The two men quickly pulled two well-maintained knives from their sides and started gutting the boar, after that, the two tied the boar''s feet and hung it from a branch preparing to drain its remaining blood, after hanging the boar the two men sat around to chat.


    "So Jack, how''s the ki...."


    *Thud*


    Before Thomas could finish his sentence, something had impacted him heavily from behind, all the nerves in his back lit up like lightning as his back felt as though it were both on fire and freezing all at once. Thomas had never felt such an excruciating agony in his entire life, he could see Jack in front of him was collapsed on the ground, he couldn''t tell whether his friend was alive or dead and right now he didn''t care. All he could think about was the pain that was running from the base of his skull to the tip of his tailbone. Thomas tried to feel his back but for some reason, he couldn''t even lift his arms. At this point he was in full panic mode and tried to shout, now he realized he couldn''t hear anything as well, it was then that he thought.


    (How strange.)


    With these two simple words passing through his mind, his vision quickly began to darken. With no more control over his body, he was utterly powerless and simply fell over and like that, he was dead.


    From behind a few trees, 9 small child size green goblins made their way over to the two men. As one of the goblins approached Thomas, he grabbed the object protruding from Thomas''s back. With two small green hands the goblin gripped tightly and with one strong pulling motion he extracted an old rusty ax from Thomas''s back. As the blood dripped from the blades rounded chipped edge, the goblin sniffed the blood and gave it a lick. Consuming the blood, the goblin became more excited and began hacking at the corpse below him, reveling in the bloodshed like a child with a brand new toy.


    Jack had just come to, the side of his head was leaking red turning the ground beside him into sticky mud. Next to him was a small bloodstained rock, he had been struck from afar and lost consciousness. Now that he was awake, his head was spinning in pain. As Thomas slowly opened his eyes, his blurred vision steadily regained their clarity, looking around he groaned in pain.


    *UGH*


    "Thomas, what the hell just happened? We were talking and something hit me I..."


    As Jack''s vision returned, he saw a horrific scene just a few feet in front of him. His friend, his best friend was being hacked to pieces, bits of blood and viscera hit him in the face. Jack couldn''t recognize what he was seeing, he instantly leaned over and puked. The small green goblins witnessing this laughed in excitement, especially one of the goblins who carried a sling in his hand, to him this was especially fun. Jack struggled to his feet, a wave of intense dizziness hit him repeatedly. The blow he took to the head really affected him but he had no time to think about that. Right now there was only one thing on his mind.


    (I have to run.)


    Jack turned and dashed away at his quickest speed but before he could even get 10 feet, a ball was tossed out from one of the goblins. Simple by design but genius in form. With a weighted ball tied on either side of a rope, once it''s thrown out it becomes a weapon directly targeted at entangling the legs and feet. With this simple toss, Jack was tripped up and entangled, with a small crash he landed face first in the dirt. Jack yelled out.


    "Why are you doing this? What about the agreement?"


    The goblins completely ignored Jack''s words. After tripping Jack up, they achieved their goal and rushed in with great speed. Jack could only turn over by the time the goblins were right in front of his face. With their rusted old blades, they all went for the kill, stabbing, piercing, striking, there was no holding back. Jack shut his eyes in fright as death came before him. All he could do was tremble in fear and await his impending doom but nothing came, no pain from a blade nor blood from a wound, nothing. Instead, Jack heard a few quick screams and then silence. Opening his eyes, what laid before him was nightmare inducing. Even worse than when he saw his friend being hacked to pieces, the scene before him was absolutely horrendous. The ground was a puddle of green blood, intestines and other innards were strewn all over. Arms separated from bodies and heads crushed from brute force, once more Jack threw up, this time fully emptying the contents of his stomach on the ground beside him. Standing in front of him was the back of a tall broad figure covered from head to toe in green blood. In his hands was a large silver battle hammer with a pointed tip, stamped in the head of the hammer was the face of a ferocious wolf.


    Seeing the back of this figure as well as the unique battle hammer the man carried, Jack recognized the man immediately.


    "Ben!! you, it''s really you."


    Jack burst into tears of wild joy and then sadness for the loss of his friend, he quietly muttered the same words over and over.


    "Thank god, thank god."


    Ben hearing this turned and faced Jack, with an annoyed face Ben spit at Jacks feet.


    *Ptew*


    "God didn''t save you, it was me."


    Jack continued to shed tears as he quickly apologized.


    "I....I''m sorry."


    Jack knew this man''s personality, looking at him he lacked any emotion of someone who just slaughtered 6 goblins. It was now that Jack noticed there were still 3 goblins alive, one was unconscious while the other 2 were kneeling down.


    After Ben heard Jack''s comment, he turned his back to these goblins but even with their enemies back to them, the two goblins that were conscious were paralyzed to the ground in fear. What they witnessed just now was a slaughter and they had no wish to be the next victim. With this mans speed they couldn''t run, with this mans strength the way he swung that heavy hammer like a twig, he could clearly crush them with one hand and with his reflexes, even if they made a move at his back, they would both be dead before they could even stand. At this point, there was no other choice but to surrender.


    Ben nodded at Jacks apology and turned and grabbed one of the goblins by the throat. With almost no effort he lifted this small goblin from the ground, pointing at Thomas''s deformed and brutalized corpse, Ben calmly asked.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Why did you kill that man?"


    As the goblin struggled to breathe, he uttered in broken words.


    "Territory ours, he crossed, he broke rule, he die, we no wrong."


    Jack now realized what happened, looking around, he could see plain as day where he was at. Chasing down this boar, he and Thomas had ended up just a few hundred feet in the goblins territory, with that he realized this small mistake had cost his friend his life and nearly his as well. Jack, however, couldn''t accept this, he screamed at this ugly little goblin.


    "YOU FUCKING ANIMAL!! You killed my friend just because he was a few feet in your territory. You could have just told us to leave and we would have, we didn''t even realize we crossed, why didn''t you at least warn us? Why didn''t you at least try to talk to us first?"


    The goblin looked hatefully at Jack, once more he repeated his words.


    "Territory ours, he crossed, he broke rule, he die, we no wrong."


    This completely infuriated Jack, he picked up a rock and ran up to the goblin wanting to smash his brains in but right as he swung the rock at this goblins head.


    *Whack*


    With a solid swing, Ben gave Jack a swift backhand, knocking Jack straight on his ass.


    Jack was shocked, he looked up at Ben and shouted angrily.


    "What are you doing!! why the hell are you stopping me?"


    But this time it was Ben''s turn to be angered, with a roar his voice shook Jack to his core.


    "That''s my question, you dare try to kill what''s mine! These goblins have already surrendered to me, therefore, they''re now my personal property. You try that shit again and I''ll let these goblins finish what they started, do you understand?"


    Jacks body trembled in fear, this man in front of him was absolutely terrifying. Jack realized there was no room for argument and in the end, could only nod in agreement. Ben tied the goblins hands and forced the two awake to walk, with the other one he forced Jack to carry him, like this they made their way back to the village. After a few hours, Ben, Jack and the 3 goblins arrived at the village. Walking in, many people grew panicked but seeing the goblins some were curious, while many were just scared but seeing it was Ben, many people settled down. If he was in control then things should be fine they thought. Someone ran ahead to inform the elders while Ben and Jack made their way forward. As they arrived in the chief hall, the three elders were already waiting, Ben tugged the goblins in front of them and ordered.


    "Kneel!"


    With terror in their hearts, the goblins immediately kneeled in front of the three elders bringing a smile to each of the elder''s faces. With the feeling of authority, one of the elders spoke.


    "Benjamin, what is all this? Why have you brought these vile creatures here?"


    Ben just ignored this man giving him no face, instead, he asked his own question.


    "Wheres the Chief, I need to discuss something with him."


    Being ignored did not sit well with this elder, he scrunched his brows in annoyance.


    "Benjamin, why are you ignoring me, answer me! What are you doing with those goblins?"


    "Hmph, that''s none of your concern, now tell me where is the Chief? I have business to attend to so hurry up and tell the Chief to come out."


    Ben''s attitude infuriated that elder and he was just about to explode with fury but another elder saw this and stepped in to mediate.


    "Benjamin, Chief Roland is in closed-door training, he said he will be in for around 3-4 days so in the meantime we three elders have full authority over all village matters, so if there''s something you wish to discuss with the chief, you can simply talk to us three in his stead."


    *Sigh*


    "As you can see I''ve captured these goblins. I''m going to Jizhen to sell them to slavers. I just wanted to know if Chief Roland wanted to send some people with me to buy some supplies. The village is running low on medicine and spices, either way, it doesn''t really affect me."


    The elder''s suddenly understood, the elder that was mediating looked at the other two elders and they all quickly discussed it. After not even a minute, they all came to an agreement and the mediating elder said.


    "Jizhen, that town is about 5 days journey from here, the village has little money so we can only give you valuables for payment, what do you say?"


    "Hmm, I don''t understand, valuables, payment, payment for what?"


    Ben tilted his head quizzically, playing as though he didn''t understand. The elder who broke out in anger before flared up again.


    "Benjamin, stop playing, your our peoples best bet for protection for that journey. Just tell us clearly, how much do you want?"


    Ben''s face took on a slight smile, with his hand he held up 2 fingers. Seeing this, that elder was about to lose his shit but the mediating elder quickly stopped him, once more they had a brief discussion before finally coming to an agreement.


    "It''s agreed, we''ll pay you double in valuables, in exchange you will protect the villagers we send as well as their goods to and fro, agreed?"


    Ben now had a big grin on his face, he looked at the elder who constantly flipped out and said condescendingly.


    "Agreed but are you sure you don''t want to ask Roland first?"


    This time it was the calm elder who nearly lost it, he spoke through gritted teeth.


    "Ben, I''ve already said we three elders have full authority, now if there''s nothing more, please leave. We''ll gather who and what we need to gather and meet with you in the village square in a bit, now go."


    Ben grabbed the rope and pulled the goblins along, picking the other one up from Jack, he laughingly made his way back home. The calm elder looked at Jack and ordered him to immediately tell him the situation. After hearing the events, the elders couldn''t help but shake with a bit of fear.


    "This Ben is so strong, no wonder he acts so confidently."


    The other elder had only contempt for him.


    "I''ll admit he''s strong but he''s also a cocky piece of shit. If he didn''t have that strength I''d have driven him out of this village long ago, hmph."


    Making his way deeper within the village, Ben came upon a rather large home. It was one of the biggest in the village and even had a big yard in the back with a garden. Making his way to the back, he quickly washed up removing the blood from his body while at the same time staring daggers at the goblins, daring them to make a move. Afterward, he finally walked in dragging the goblins in tow. With a large shout, Ben yelled out.


    "I''m home, where are my little monsters?"


    Suddenly the sound of pitter patter could be heard coming from upstairs, followed by shouts of joy.


    "Dad''s home, Dad''s home, yay!!!"


    Running down the steps and turning a corner, two children leaped into the arms of their father, embracing him with a big warm hug.


    "Ah, there you two are, my little monsters."


    After a while the three separated, rubbing their heads Benjamin asked his two children.


    "Nia, Ben, did you miss me?"

 Chapter 30: The Incident Part 2

    Nia, Ben, I''ll be leaving soon, I need to make a short trip to Jizhen.


    As little Ben continued to hop around his father in joy, only Nia seemed to be curious about her father''s words.


    "All the way to Jizhen? But why?"


    Benjamin pulled the rope tied behind him forward presenting the three goblins in tow, seeing this, Nia jumped in fright while Ben just looked on curiously.


    "Dad, those, those are?"


    Nodding his head he confirmed Nia''s thoughts.


    "Goblins, I caught these three after they tried to kill Jack, so now I''m going to Jizhen to sell''em. Hmm, I know, I''ll buy you two a gift while I''m there, so tell me, what do my two little monsters want?"


    After hearing her fathers words, Nia''s heart calmed a bit, seeing the goblins at first scared her but knowing her father was in control comforted her. To Nia, her dad was the strongest in the entire world, when it came to the men in the village there was none who could compete with him, whether it be in strength or speed. Thinking back, she had witnessed her father throw a 1000 lb boulder before, not only that, when her father moved, he was so fast his body would become blurry to the eye. To Nia, there was nothing her father couldn''t do.


    Ben''s shout of joy brought Nia back to reality.


    "Toy, toy, I want lots of toys."


    "Hahaha, my son, don''t be greedy, I''ll get you one toy and that''s it."


    Little Ben''s face went pale immediately, as though he just heard the worlds most devastating news. He looked at his father with tears and was about to cry when Benjamin said.


    "Ok ok I''ll get you 2 toys but nothing more and next time I go to town you''ll get nothing do you understand."


    Ben''s smile once more returned to his face and he again began jumping up and down in joy. Benjamin looked at Nia and asked.


    "What about you, is there anything you want?"


    Nia pondered and pondered but couldn''t really think of anything, finally, she thought of something but before she spoke her father shouted.


    "Oh, I know, a doll, I''ll get you a beautiful little doll, how''s that?"


    The last thing Nia wanted was a doll, she was already 11 and thought if she were to be caught playing with a doll others would laugh at her. After her mother died, for the past few years she had been mostly taking care of her Little brother as well as her father. When it came to chores she did them, the cleaning the cooking, watching over her brother, feeding and changing him, washing everyone''s clothes. Although it was hard work for one so young, Nia had become proud of herself, she even thought herself to be a bit mature, so if she were to have a doll she felt it would crush some of her image she had built up. Looking at her father, she puffed out her cheeks and said.


    "Dad I''m not a baby anymore, there''s no way I''d want something so childish such as a doll."


    Benjamin misinterpreted this as Nia being shy and smiled and shook his head in understanding.


    "I get it I get it, I won''t get you a doll."


    As he said this though, he gave Nia a small wink. This only made Nia grow angry, of course, her father didn''t understand her, he never does. Stomping her feet, Nia said again, this time more forcefully.


    "What was that wink for? Dad, I''m serious, do not get me a doll there for babies."


    Finally, Benjamin seemed to get it, patting Nia''s head he said.


    "You may be growing but you''ll always be my little monster. Ok, so what does my little grown-up monster want me to get her?"


    Nia became a bit shy with her father patting her head and slightly stepped back, fidgeting where she stood she whispered.


    "A dress."


    Benjamin teasingly leaned his head over with his hand to his ear.


    "Huh, what was that you said, you want a bird''s nest. I''ve got to admit that''s pretty weird Nia, what do you want a bird''s nest for?"


    Nia''s face grew red from embarrassment, she had clearly said dress and now her dad was teasing her. Not only that, little Ben was looking at her as though she was weird as well. Little Ben had heard dress as well but hearing his father say bird nest, he immediately believed he had misheard his sister. Nia''s face was becoming a finer shade of red at every passing second, she was on the pinnacle of tears, seeing this, Benjamin knew he messed up. As Nia was about to turn around and run away, Benjamin suddenly said.


    "What color dress do you want?"


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    After all, was said and done, Benjamin asked one of the neighbors to help check in on his kids while he was away and with that, he went back to the village square. Looking at everyone gathered together, there were 2 fully loaded horse-drawn carts, unfortunately, there were no horses in the entire village, therefore 10 men had volunteered to make the trip to Jizhen. Some would pull the carts full of goods while others would walk, in this way, they would take turns until their journey had finished.


    It was at this time that the unconscious goblin finally awoke. Looking around, this goblin immediately grew panicked.


    (Where the hell am I?)


    Looking around he could see human after human as well as ugly human buildings and ugly human faces, he was in a human village surrounded on all sides by the enemy. When the other two goblins noticed their companion awaken, they instantly grew excited. In their own goblin language, the three goblins began to converse with one another, in the end, the goblin that just woke up came to a conclusion.


    "So what your saying, is that human male over there is incredibly strong and he was the one who swiftly knocked me out before I could use my magic."


    The two other goblins nodded there head repeatedly.


    "I see and he''s the one that slaughtered our friends."


    Once more the other two goblins nodded in affirmation.


    "Damn these filthy humans, they cross our border, they break the agreement themselves and then after we enact justice, all of our friends end up being massacred and now we''re to be sold as slaves. Fucking humans."


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    (This man, he wants me to be a slave, I wonder how he''ll feel when the reverse happens to him, hehehe. Due to the agreement I swore an oath to never cross these borders and yet I''m forcibly made to cross them by this human scum, I will make this human suffer the most.)


    With these thoughts, this goblin began to gather magical energy from the world around him but before even an ounce of magical energy poured into him, he suddenly felt something. Instantly this goblin cut the absorption and canceled out his own magical power, causing a small backlash on his mind.


    (Ugh my head, damn this backlash, every time I have to forcibly cut off absorbing magical energy or I cancel out my own spell, this stupid backlash hits me. If it were just the mental fatigue I could somehow manage but the fact that a backlash causes pain at the least and death at its worst is so fucking stupid. But if I hadn''t canceled my magic, then whoever is guarding this place would have noticed me and since this is a human village, that person would almost be guaranteed to be human. This power fluctuation, this human is at least a 2nd circle mage, damn, I can''t beat that, I''m no match right now.)


    This goblin shook his head at his two companions, disappointing them greatly before he said.


    "There''s a 2nd circle mage somewhere within this village, I can''t beat him, so for now, we''ll have to wait until were some distance away from this ugly human place."


    The two other goblins nodded and could only wait for their escape. Meanwhile, the carts were finally loaded up completely with goods to be traded in the town of Jizhen. With the carts loaded and the men ready to go, the small caravan began to move forward. As the caravan was leaving the village square, suddenly, a piercing scream was heard from behind.


    *AHHHHHHHHHHH*


    A young woman could be seen running toward the caravan, in her hand, a sword was drawn and as she swung it around violently she screamed.


    "You goblins, you fucking vile goblins, my Thomas, you killed my beloved. I... I... I''ll fucking kill you."


    The woman ran up to the front of the caravan hoping to chop all three goblins into pieces. Before she could get to them though, Jack jumped out from one of the carts tackling this seemingly crazed woman to the ground.


    "Why are you stopping me? They killed, they killed my Thomas, my husband. Let me go I have to, for what they''ve done they must be punished."


    This young woman broke down in tears and she cried sorrowfully in Jack''s embrace. Jack had told her just before they had left about what had happened to him and Thomas in the forest. He couldn''t predict that as soon as he left she would grab Thomas''s sword and race after them in madness. All he could do was hug her tight in silence, as the proper words he wished to use to try and comfort her wouldn''t form. As the woman cried with raw emotion, the other men in the caravan couldn''t help but look over in pity. Some for her loss and some for how stupid Jack and Thomas were. For them to be so excited by wild game, that they wouldn''t notice they were in enemy territory, how foolish could one be?


    After a few minutes, the young ladies tears quietly came to a stop. Standing up, Jack said a few words.


    "Please go home, there''s nothing to be done, you should go pray for your husband''s soul in hopes that he finds some semblance of peace."


    With that, Jack jumped back onto one of the carts and signaled for the caravan to move forward once more. As the wooden wheels on the carts began to squeak with movement, the woman once again moved forward, at first a steady slow walk and when she thought she was close enough, she bursts into a mad sprint, seeing this someone yelled out.


    "Jack, look out, she''s going for it again."


    Jack again moved to tackle her but this time the young lady was ready, she agilely dodged Jack and headed for the goblins frightening them as she swung her sword. The tip of the blade was aiming for instant death and the lady slashed violently but before she could kill them, suddenly, a fist came flying.


    *THWACK*


    With a heavy impact, Benjamin had squarely punched the woman in her stomach, causing her to fly off for several feet before a second impact came as her back struck a tree. Collapsing to the ground in pain, the woman lurched over gripping her stomach tightly as she began to hurl. Seeing this, Benjamin was slightly pissed, he wasn''t quite paying attention and had eased his guard. Although he stopped the young lady from killing the goblins, Benjamin had been slow and the lady had sliced off one of the goblin''s ears. Before he even left the village, the value of his goods had already gone down. As the goblin was riving in pain, Benjamin couldn''t help but look on in anger.


    "It''s just a fucking ear, shut up!!"


    With this roar, he instantly silenced the once screaming goblin. Although the goblin was still in great agony, its sense of fear overwhelmed its sense of pain by a small margin, causing it to bite its lower lip to try and relieve some of the pain. Jack wanted to help the young lady up but with a quick look at Benjamin, he automatically threw that thought away. This incident had already caused a delay and looking at Benjamin, he seemed to be growing more and more impatient. So even though Jack wished to help, he couldn''t dare to anger Benjamin any further. Once more, Jack signaled for the caravan to head out, with a single shout he yelled.


    "Forward."


    The other men in the caravan once again looked at the young lady with pity but they also knew she was in the wrong. To damage, something that belonged to Benjamin was like stealing money directly from his pockets. What person would be ok with that, let alone someone like Benjamin and who in their right mind would go to bat for someone that was clearly in the wrong, especially up against Benjamin? As the woman lay curled up in a ball gripping her stomach in agony, she shed tear after tear, as a hatred filled her eyes, whether it was for the goblins or for Benjamin no one knew.

 Chapter 31: The Incident Part 3

    As the caravan made its way eastward toward Jizhen, the mountains seemed to shrink into the distance the further east they went. The sun had risen to its highest point in the sky and most of the men were now weary not from the walk itself, that much they could all handle, Instead, it was from the constant pulling of the carts. There were 11 men altogether, Jack the leader of the caravan would sometimes ride the carts, but he wasn''t lazy and would help pull as well. Benjamin, on the other hand, had no intention of pulling a cart, he was solely in charge of security. Although he was one man, whether it be bandits or beast he was confident he could handle them himself. Beyond that, a Mage would have no reason to attack a caravan, no matter how much mortal treasure the villager''s carried, it held no value to a true Mage and a magical beast was just about as likely. Usually, they would stick to their territory not caring about anything but themselves and their land. With these subtle understandings of the world, the caravan had traveled at a steady pace and finally after 8 or so hours of pulling Jack decided the men needed a rest.


    "Men, there''s a small clearing up ahead, we''ll pull the carts aside over there and rest for an hour for lunch."


    The men cheered in joy, this journey had started unexpectedly quick for them. One minute the men were doing their daily chores and the next they were summoned to the village square and were ordered to pull carts for a 5-day journey to Jizhen and then another 5-day journey back. Doing most of their chores in the early hours, then suddenly pulling these carts until several hours into the afternoon, these men had yet to rest or eat. So when they were told they could finally rest, they couldn''t help releasing sighs of relief.


    As the sweat poured from the men like buckets, they all gathered in a circle and collapsed on their collective asses. After chugging down some water from a leathered bag, they quickly took out their food, wrapped in a clean cloth or in small wooden boxes. The men sat around scarfing down a simple lunch of dried meat and black bread. This meal was truly considered simple, with a simple jerky that was almost flavorless and a black bread that was just as tough as the jerky, the men were now feeling delighted that they were traveling to Jizhen. In Jizhen they could get plenty of spices for their food and Jizhen even had a wonderful new type of bread called white bread.


    Apparently a few years ago, the owner of a small bakery had learned of a new refining method for wheat and flour, in turn, this small bakery owner invented a new kind of softer, tender bread. Compared with the almost rock hard like denseness of black bread, this new bread became all the rage in several cities and kingdoms. Due to this, the small bakery owner became rich overnight but because of that, many people became jealous. Eventually, the man''s recipe was stolen and the man went missing, slowly the recipe was spread around and now most towns and cities have this bread but small villages like their own don''t.


    As the men sat around, the goblins also sat down, a few feet away tied to a tree. They as well ate some food, however, they were given no meat, instead, they received one fist-sized piece of bread to split among themselves and a mouthful of water each. It was the villager''s idea. In order to keep these goblins tame and under control, they would make sure their energy was low. That way the amount of trouble they could cause would be minimal. Benjamin didn''t see anything wrong with that and easily agreed, causing Jack to relax a little. Knowing Benjamin''s personality, Jack was half expecting an argument but thankfully, Benjamin didn''t really seem to care, solving the issue easily.


    At this time, the goblins were conversing in their language.


    "Are you going to make your move now? What''s taking you so long? I''m sick and tired of being bound with this rope and we''ve already come quite far from that human village. If we travel too far into human territory, then even if we escape, it will be almost impossible to get back home."


    The one with power looked at his two companions and shook his head.


    "Not yet but soon, if there was no mage in that village then I would have done it then. We''ve been traveling all day and now my magic is completely exhausted. I need rest in order to absorb some magical energy, once night falls they''ll set up camp, that''s when I''ll absorb some energy and show these humans what hell truly is."


    This goblin said these words without even a shred of mercy. For his friends to be murdered and then for him to be kidnapped and enslaved, this was the epitome of utter humiliation and this would not stand. Looking at his wounded friend who had his ear sliced off from that vulgar human bitch, this goblins eyes burned with fury. Clenching his fist he quietly whispered.


    "Tonight, they die."


    With these two completely opposite atmospheres of delight and utter joy coming from the villagers and anger and humiliation coming from the goblins, no one seemed to be wise of anything. The time for rest was over and the caravan once more was headed east to Jizhen. As the caravan followed a dirt path, the sun was ready to set. Jack ordered the men to set up camp and with steady but tired hands, they skillfully pitched tents and started a fire. Some men went to get more firewood, while others gathered water from a nearby stream. With a big pot over the fire, a few men were seen cutting vegetables before cleaning them up and dumping them in the pot. As the water began to boil, the scent of a simple soup filled the surrounding area, however, with no spices, the flavor of said-soup was lacking severely in the taste department. Each man held a wooden bowl and the one in charge of cooking tonight ladled out a bowl full to each of them. The goblins once more got very little, they received one bowl to share between them and this time there was no bread.


    Sitting around the campfire, each man with the same practiced motion, took their hard black bread and pushed it down to the bottom of their bowl of vegetable soup, this way the bread would somewhat soften and they could actually enjoy their meal.


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    As everyone else ate, one goblin laid down and slowly closed his eyes, with slow steady breaths one would not be laughed at if you were to think this goblin was asleep. As the clouds parted in the night sky, a beautiful silver laced moon shone down on the world like a sparkling jewel. Tonight the moon seemed to radiate especially bright as 11 villagers sat around a campfire laughing and joking with one another.


    "Hahaha, that reminds me of the time we were at old Grams place for him and his wife''s 50th anniversary and while everyone was laughing and having a good time, old Gram had gone missing. Eventually, he was found humping a goat in the middle of a field, hahaha."


    *HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA*


    The men burst out in wild laughter, then one of the men spoke.


    "But do you all remember what he said when he was caught, hahaha."


    They all leaned in closer to listen as they tried to remember. The man saw that no one but him could recall old Grams exact words and so he spoke up in excited glee.


    "He said, hahaha, old Gram said".........["I thought the goat was my wife."]


    *BWAHAHAHAHA*


    The men roared with laughter, even Benjamin was no exception as the mouthful of water he had just taken was now spit across the ground. Some were hugging their sides in agony as they laughed out bellyful after bellyful of air, while the most dramatic was seen rolling around on the ground but that only added fuel to the flames, causing the men to laugh even harder in hysteria. After a while, the laughing finally came to a stop and one of the men jumped up, he looked over at Benjamin and politely asked.


    "Ben, could I ask you something?"


    Now that Benjamin was in a great mood, he saw no reason to say no, so with a small nod he said.


    "Ask away."


    The man then looked at his other fellow villagers as though he were seeking confirmation and with nods from them as well, the man gained some courage and asked.


    "Ben, everyone here knows about your strength and we''ve all heard plenty of stories and rumors. Heck, you even saved Jack earlier today by slaughtering those goblins. What I, no, what we all want to know is, how strong are you really?"


    Hearing this, Benjamin''s eye slightly twitched. Whether it was due to anger or annoyance the man didn''t know and immediately jumped back in fright.


    The other villagers as well grew weary, they wondered if Ben would beat the young man up just for asking. What surprised them, however, was the small smile that formed on Benjamin''s lips. Standing up, Benjamin lifted his silver hammer that laid by his side with one hand and tossed it at the feet of the young man. With a loud thump, the dirt and ground right in front of the young man''s feet caved in slightly causing a small hole in the ground to form as well as a cloud of dust to fly up and hit the man in the face. Crossing his arms over his chest, Benjamin''s smile grew larger as he said proudly.


    "Pick it up."


    The young man was frightened but he did what Benjamin said and grabbed the handle of this large battle hammer. With a slight pull, the man immediately noticed something, this hammer, it didn''t budge. Looking at Benjamin, the man thought.


    (How weird.)


    This time with more strength the man tried to lift the hammer, again and again, he failed. Then he tried one more time, this time with his full strength, yet, in the end, nothing, not even a fraction of an inch did this hammer move. The young man looked at the other villagers and said.


    "You guys, somethings not right, this hammer is way too heavy."


    With confidence, the other villagers jumped up wanting to try it out but again and again with shock on their faces, none could lift Benjamin''s hammer. Finally, with 5 men lifting together, the hammer slowly rose off the ground by about 5 inches before the strength left these men and once more the hammer slammed down into the dirt. The men were sweating profusely while staring at this hammer in awe. Benjamin slowly walked over and with one hand grabbed the handle of his battle hammer and easily lifted it but before the men could be shocked by that, Benjamin then tossed the hammer high up into the night sky. Since it was plenty dark around, the hammer disappeared into the blackness of night. The men now were absolutely flabbergasted and terrified, not only because Benjamin could lift the hammer with such ease but also because it had already been a few seconds and yet this hammer had yet to descend. Suddenly, the air could be heard moving away from something at great speed and with a thud, the hammer was caught by Benjamin. One of the men shouted out in amazement.


    "4 seconds!! that hammer took 4 seconds to fall!!"


    The other men looked at Benjamin as though he were a monster, even two of the goblins couldn''t understand how a human that wasn''t a mage could be so strong. They looked at each other thanking the heavens that they surrendered before this man had killed them. Benjamin held his long battle hammer in one hand, looking at its beautiful silver body, its sharp pointed tip and the ferocious wolf face stamped on it, Benjamin couldn''t help but feel elated. Looking at the men sitting around the campfire, as they stared at him like he was a monster, Benjamin couldn''t help but grin from ear to ear, swinging the hammer casually, Ben said.


    "To answer your question, I''m this strong."


    *CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*


    Suddenly the sound of clapping could be heard but what was odd was that it did not come from the men at the campfire, instead, it came from one of the goblins. As this goblin stood up, his clapping came to a slow stop. Staring at the men, with broken words the goblin said.


    "You strong, good, this makes easy."


    Pointing at Benjamin, the goblin''s face twisted in anger and he spoke once more.


    "I command you, KILL...THEM...ALL!!"

 Chapter 32: The Incident Part 4

    "I command you, KILL... THEM... ALL!!"


    The villagers looked at this small little green goblin and burst into wild untamed laughter. Each of them looked at this goblin as though he were an absolute and utter idiot.


    *GACK*


    "What are you doing? Let, let me go."


    Suddenly from behind the men, one of the villagers began to shout in a panic. Whipping their heads around, they had just enough time to witness a strange scene. In Benjamin''s left hand, he held a villager by the throat. Before the men could even comprehend this odd sight, Ben''s hand began to squeeze tighter and tighter until an audible *Crunch* was heard, the man was dead. Like a sack of rice, the man''s body was thrown aside as though he were nothing. Looking at their dead friend, none could believe what had just happened, one minute everyone''s joking around and the very next instant their friend was no more. One of the men jumped up in anger and roared.


    "Benjamin, what the hell did you just do!"


    Benjamin''s body awkwardly turned toward that man as though he were a puppet and began walking toward him. Benjamin didn''t know how, but he knew in an instant he was no longer in control of his own being. As he approached the man awkwardly, he tried to resist moving with every fiber of his being but no matter how much he struggled, his body continued to lumber forward without control. Out of the corner of his eye, Benjamin spotted the goblin and saw a disgusting and eerie smile plastered on the goblins face and he thought.


    (It''s him, it must be, but how, how is he controlling my movement?)


    As Ben stood in front of the villager, with absolutely no control over his limbs, he raised one of his hands high above his head. Seeing this, the villager grew frightened and backed away, but Ben continued forward clenching his fist in the air.


    (No, my body won''t stop.)


    As Ben continued forward, with no other choice he had to at least warn everyone. With a loud shout, he said.


    "Everyone, listen to me, I don''t know what''s happening to me but I can''t control myself. You must run away before its too late!"


    But everyone just stood there in shock not knowing what to do. It was then that the goblin mage spoke up.


    "You.... kill..... too slow. Kill... Faster."


    Like a switch was flipped, Benjamin''s body suddenly accelerated toward that villager. The villager that was a second ago backing away, was so frightened by Benjamin''s speed that he immediately tripped, falling to the ground. By the time he noticed it, Benjamin was already standing over top him. Jack and the others saw this and shouted in dread.


    "No Benjamin!! don''t do it!"


    But it was already too late. With a speed easily missed by the naked eye, Benjamin''s hammer like fist descended upon the man''s head almost instantaneously.


    *Snap Thwack*


    Even though it happened so fast, still the sight these men saw both terrified and disgusted them. As Benjamin''s fist landed upon the man''s head, the first thing you''d think you''d see would be an explosion coming from the head, instead, there was odd flexibility to the man''s neck. As Benjamin''s fist made contact, the man''s head at first sunk into his shoulders. The sight, if it were to be written down, it would look like a humanized tortoise, as though the man was seeking shelter inside himself. The next thing that happened was even more shocking. Before this man''s head exploded into chunks, as his head sunk further in, the first thing to break was the man''s spine. The place where the top of the spine in the neck connects to the base of the skull, the bone in his neck, under the tension of Benjamin''s blow, exploded outward breaking in an instant. Followed immediately after was the man''s head caving in before exploding into dozens of fatty chunks. Benjamin, being as close as he was, had blood, bone and even little pieces of the brain all over him. Whether it be his face, arms, and chest, they were all completely dripping with fluids.


    As the sound of the man''s skull cracking and his brain suddenly being turned to pulp echoed out, everyone stared on in horror, everyone except the 3 goblins, they seemed to relish in delight at the sight of their enemies slaying each other. Once more Benjamin roared at the top of his lungs.


    "I can''t control it, escape from me at once, FLEE!!"


    This bestial roar snapped the men out of it, they instantly looked at each other and knew what needed to be done. With no more time wasted, they each turned in the direction of the four corners of the world, north south east and west, and like a storm that raged on for a 100 years they shot out like lightning, dispersing in every direction in the nearby forest. But Benjamin was not the one in control and with his speed, who could escape. Before two of the men could make it into the forest, Benjamin had already caught up to them. Swinging his mighty silver wolf battle hammer, he hammered in a man''s ribcage turning his ribs into splintered bone, the man''s death was instant. As the other man tried to flee without even looking, Benjamin threw out his hammer as though it was as light as a feather but as it impacted the man, to him, it felt like a demonic mountain. As the hammer struck this man in the back, it quickly passed thru him and like a carnivorous monster during a feeding frenzy, the hammer seemed to eat its way thru the man''s back as it escaped out through his chest in an instant, before striking a few trees in the distance felling them. In these few seconds, Benjamin had already snuffed out the life of 4 men, but with his orders, he wasn''t done yet. Turning to the forest, Benjamin darted toward his next victim, vanishing into the black night.


    The men felt utter dread as they raced desperately for their lives in the dark forest. Meanwhile, the three goblins felt absolutely elated as they celebrated with utter joy. The one missing his ear couldn''t help but ask.


    "What do we do now, shouldn''t we leave before your power runs out?"


    The goblin mage looked at the other two and nodded in confirmation.


    "Yes but we can''t travel anywhere near the road, we''ll have to take a long detour first."


    The other two goblins were confused before the goblin mage spoke up again.


    "If we follow the same path back we might run into that strong man. As you know I can''t repeatedly spam that technique. If we''re traveling and I become exhausted again, I won''t be able to use it. For that man, it would be an opportune moment to kill us. So we can''t take the same path and beside''s, even if it''s not him if someone else shows up and they escape, how long do you think before they send some people to slay us. Remember, this is human territory, to them, we are the trespassers, the invaders. For the detour, we''ll travel just outside eyeing distance of the road and well follow it back to that ugly human village. Once we''re there it will be quite easy to get back home. As long as we do this and travel cautiously at night, we should be back home in less than 2 days time, how''s that?"


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    The other two goblins readily agreed, after grabbing a few rations from the carts, the three goblins disappeared into the night. If they weren''t so cautious then right now they''d be roaring in laughter all the way back home.


    As the mood for the goblins was one of bliss, on the opposite of that was an atmosphere filled with grief and terror. As the men fleed, how could they make it a distance to actually escape from Benjamin? With his incredible speed, he soon caught up to another and then another. Every so often you could hear a loud scream echo out into the forest followed by a quick silence. In this repeated action, the surviving villagers could count on one hand how many of their friends were still alive and how many had already been embraced by lady death. Jack couldn''t think of any of that right now, he could only run for his life. As he raced through the dark forest, sweat poured from his skin like a fountain. Each fiber of muscle in his legs felt as though they were being ripped apart, Jack had never run so fast or so hard in his entire life. With each breath, it felt as though his lungs burned with the eternal flames of hell. As this point, he had been running as fast as he could for an hour and even though he was now wheezing like an injured animal, he still pushed himself forward, it was then that he heard it.


    "AHHHHHHHH!! NO Ben PL...."


    With that short scream, silence immediately followed. Hearing this, Jack lost focus for a split second and tripped over an overgrowing root, causing him to snap his ankle. As he was about to shout in pain, his hand was already covering his mouth stifling his own voice into agonizing murmurs.


    (No no no, that was only a few hundred feet away, what do I do, what can I do?)


    Jack lifted himself gently and using every ounce of strength he crawled over toward a hollowed out dead log. With every inch that he dragged himself forward, his broken ankle would drag against the dark forest floor, causing him to be in such agony that he''d rather have someone amputate it at this point then endure it any longer. Finally, he dragged himself into the hollowed out dead log. By this time he no longer had the energy to turn over on his back, instead, he lay there and listened silently. The forest had now grown completely quiet, the wind no longer rustled the leaves on the trees and the insects seemed to have all but disappeared, even the birds had seemingly vanished like ghosts.


    *Snap Crunch Snap*


    The sound of twigs and leaves being broken could be heard only a short distance away, someone was approaching. Jack laid there with his mouth covered and his eyes shut tight, he thought if he just stayed completely silent and still, then Benjamin wouldn''t notice him. As the sound got closer and closer, Jack noticed his heart beating loudly like a wild drum. Whether it was from running that entire time or from the fear of death approaching or both, either way, it was loud, way too loud. Jack''s mind raced with one singular thought.


    (Heart, shut up shut up shut up.)


    Now the sound of twigs snapping came from right next to the dead log. The slight sound of someone crying could be heard, with this, Jack suddenly gained some hope.


    (Someone must have gotten away, who, who is it?)


    Jack was just about to call out when an impact suddenly struck the dead log. The dead log burst open revealing Jack laying face down on his stomach, terrifying Jack to the utmost. With a great force, something grabbed the back of Jack''s shirt and lifted him off the ground. Opening his eyes, his nightmare stood before him. Holding onto him by the shirt, Benjamin cried sorrowfully. Jack''s adrenaline kicked in and he began punching and kicking Benjamin repeatedly in the face and body. Even with his foot that had the broken ankle, he struck Benjamin with it with full force. Unfortunately to no avail. No matter how hard he struck Benjamin, Jack couldn''t leave so much as a mark or a bruise, instead, he hurt himself more and more. With his death imminent, Jack had unleashed everything he had within him and more but with no results and his adrenaline fading, Jack''s last ounce of hope faded with it. Looking at Benjamin''s tear-filled face, Jack was confused but also too tired to care. With a hoarse and dry voice, Jack could barely mutter the word.


    "Please."


    With nothing left to lose, this was all he could do but looking at Benjamin, there was no hope, how could there be. Accepting his fate, Jack took in a long breath and waited for death. Benjamin raised his hand up high and with an unrecognizable speed sliced down at Jack''s head. Once more a head was going to explode, once more another horrifying scene was going to take place. Just as Benjamin''s hand touched the surface of Jack''s head, Benjamin suddenly felt something and in an animal like roar he shouted.


    "NOOOOOOO!!"


    With precision and control, Benjamin threw his hand to the side with all his might. With that kind of speed it was too late to stop it but with enough precision, he was just able to change his hand''s direction. With a swipe at the air, the wind made a large whooshing noise as Benjamin''s powerful hand moved it out of the way. With his other hand, he released Jack, causing Jack to fall on his feet, sending another wave of excruciating pain through his ankle but right now he didn''t care about the pain at all. Staring at Benjamin he shouted.


    "Ben, is that you?"


    Benjamin stared at his blood-soaked hands in shock, as his mind trembled with guilt from the atrocity he just committed, more tears streamed down his face as he quietly whispered.


    "My body, my body, how?"

 Chapter 33: The Incident Part 5

    Staring at his trembling blood-soaked hands, Ben''s thoughts were in a chaotic mess.


    (I killed them, no matter how much I tried to stop myself I just couldn''t. My own people, no matter how much they screamed and no matter how much they begged me, I still slaughtered them. What, what have I done?)


    As Ben''s thoughts swirled into a maddening disorder, Jack''s yelling finally brought him some focus.


    "Ben, Ben, Benjamin can you hear me!"


    Ben''s eyes regained focus and with a quick wipe, his tears fell no more. Staring at Jack''s pale worn face, Ben could see the terror and exhaustion Jack extruded and could only feel fear and guilt himself.


    "Jack, that wasn''t me, that goblin, he, he did something. I couldn''t control it, I couldn''t control myself. But I can now, his power, it must have faded."


    Seeing Jack''s face, he seemed to not believe Ben in the slightest. This made Ben''s heart sink. Even though Jack was right there the moment Ben was taken over, how would he know if that was magic or not? There was no doubt the goblin''s words were weird at the time but you can''t just come to the conclusion that he used magic. From an outside perspective, it simply looked like the goblin said a word or two and then Benjamin just went crazy. To a person like Jack, he had never witnessed magic before and from the stories he was told as a child, what happened didn''t seem like magic either. Whether it be from the earth moving or mysterious lights floating in the sky, this was what Jack believed magic was and he didn''t witness any of that happening. At the same time, Ben was claiming it was magic and the fact that he says the magic faded and he wasn''t killing Jack at the moment, Jack honestly didn''t know what to believe anymore.


    Releasing a long sigh, Jack''s heart finally calmed down, although he still looked at Ben with a little suspicion. The fact remains there was no real motive for Benjamin to kill everyone and even more so, if he was lying, then shouldn''t he have killed Jack to get rid of any living witnesses. Once they made it back home, Jack could tell everyone at the village anything and Benjamin knew that but still, he didn''t kill Jack. This was the main reason Jack believed Ben.


    Ben walked over to Jack and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder. Jack at first was frightened but seeing as that Ben had no ulterior motive, he only felt embarrassment instead. Being carried like a rag doll, for a man at least, made Jack feel like a weakling but with his ankle swelled up now double in size, there were no complaints from him if Ben wanted to carry him. With a speed blurry to the naked eye, Ben while carrying Jack over his shoulder moved like a flexible arrow through the black forest. Very quickly they arrived near the edge of the forest. Jack wanted to puke up his guts, although Ben''s movements were agile and quick, the fast pivots and the bumpy movements from Ben running over dense forestry and on top of that, Jack had just been running for his life. This entire culmination made Jacks stomach queazy beyond belief.


    As the two quietly starred at their now abandoned carts, they craned their necks looking for any signs of the three goblins. Seeing none, the two came out of the forest with cautious movement. Setting Jack down gently, Ben looked over the carts.


    "Those goblins took a few things but besides that, everything else seems to be here."


    Jack didn''t really seem to care, he was more worried about getting home safely.


    Ben looked around the carts a bit more but instead of looking at the carts themselves, he was searching for something on the ground and he instantly found it.


    "Jack, there''s some goblin footprints here, they head off in that direction...."


    Before Benjamin could say any more, Jack interrupted his words.


    "NO! no matter what, you can''t go after them. If they can control you once, they can do it again and again. So many of our people are dead. We must leave here and tell Chief Roland what happened as soon as possible."


    Ben didn''t argue, he had no intention of following after those goblins. Having absolutely no control over one''s own body was such a terrifying concept but after experiencing it first hand, it was more than terrifying, it was an absolute nightmare. Ben once again picked Jack up, staring around, he wished to spot his battle hammer, but in this blackness, he had no way to find it and right now there was a more important matter at hand. Running into the night with Jack in tow, Ben raced back home. With his speed, strength, and stamina, the 10 plus hour trip it took everyone to reach that distance, Ben could cover it in just over 2.


    The night continued to stretch as a silver laced moon moved quietly in the star-filled sky. As many villagers had sweet dreams of warm bellies and golden riches, the sound of a terrifying roar awoke everyone at once.


    "CHIEF!! CHIEF ROLAND!! EMERGENCY!!"


    Very quickly candles and torches were lit as men from around the village stormed out of there homes and rushed to the source of the noise. As many men arrived in the village square, they were shocked to see Benjamin covered in blood, carrying a terrified Jack on his shoulder. Instantly the village square was flooded with unrest as every man there shouted question after question in agitation. As the clamor became louder and louder, soon, even the women were coming out for a look but Ben ignored them all. If Roland still didn''t come out of closed-door cultivation after all this then Ben would know that Roland truly didn''t care for this village, at that moment, Ben would simply take his kids and leave. Finally, an older man broke through the crowd, behind him, three even older men followed.


    Standing in front of Ben were Chief Roland and the three elders. Seeing him covered in blood and what seemed to be chunks of flesh, all three elders wanted to vomit, only Roland maintained his cool as he asked.


    "Ben, just what the hell''s going on? What emergency is there?"


    Ben carried Jack toward Chief Roland and said.


    "Everyones dead!"


    Hearing this, the crowd grew panicked as many shouted more and more questions at Ben.


    "They died, how?"


    "What happened? Tell us."


    "Who was it? Was it bandits? How many were there?"


    As question after question was thrown about, the noise only seemed to grow before Roland finally shouted.


    "SILENCE!"


    The crowd''s voices soon became a murmur and then nothing as they silently waited for an explanation. Roland looked at the villagers and wanted to shake his head in disappointment.


    (They have no clue what''s happening and yet they act like chickens with their heads cut off.)


    *Sigh*


    "Everyone, calm yourselves, I will get to the bottom of this but first we can''t have anyone panic. Men, guard the village, we are on high alert. Grab whatever you can for a weapon, women barricade you and your family''s inside your homes and don''t come out until you hear the signal for safety from the bell, now everyone, go. Benjamin, I suggest you come inside and tell me what the hell happened. After that, Benjamin and Jack explained the situation and when it came to Ben killing everyone, he could only lower his head as his mind was filled with both guilt and shame. The elders stared at Benjamin in shock, of course, they felt the whole magic explanation was nothing more than an excuse. As for his reason to kill his fellow villagers, to the three elders, it was simple, Ben had always looked down on those that were weak, so those villagers must have done something or said something. With Ben already despising them, this only added fuel to the fire when he eventually snapped. As for him not killing Jack, the elders thought it to be a ploy, thinking maybe he kept Jack alive so it would make his story more believable. The three elders looked on at Benjamin as though he were a disgusting monster, no more than a killing demon who slaughters only for his own pleasure. At this point, there was no convincing them otherwise. The elders immediately blamed him.


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    "Benjamin, you dare kill so many of your fellow villagers and then claim a goblin made you do it with magic? Just how stupid do you think we are? If you weren''t so strong, do you think you''d be allowed to live after this?"


    Another elder saw this as a moment to release all his frustrations as well.


    "Ben, you vile, ugly, man-demon, we may not be able to do anything to you but you will definitely not have a good ending. What have my fellow villagers ever done to you to deserve what you''ve done to them?"


    Listening to these elders, they not only didn''t believe him, they even began berating him instead. The shame Ben had felt began to wash away as anger soon replaced it. Looking over at Roland, he wanted to see if he had anything detrimental to say as well, but surprisingly, he seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Noticing Ben''s gaze, Roland seemed to recall something.


    "Ben, I believe you."


    Benjamin''s eyes widened in surprise, he couldn''t believe it, in fact, no one in the room could believe what Roland had just said, Immediately, all three elders stood up at once in shock.


    "What! Chief Roland! how can you possibly believe such a false tale? It''s clear that he murdered our brothers in cold blood, how can you say you believe him?"


    Chief Roland looked at these village elders in disappointment.


    (If only these old fools would look at things more objectively.)


    *Sigh*


    "Elders, if Ben truly wanted them dead then why would he just not kill them all earlier. He''s had hundreds if not thousands of opportunities to murder them, so why now? Why on this night? Not only that, if there were someone he actually wanted to murder, wouldn''t it be you three."


    Hearing this, the three elders quickly retreated a few steps back in fright. Looking at Ben, he suddenly grinned at the three elders in an intimidating fashion, frightening them even more. A small chuckle slipped by Bens lips at the three elders foolish actions.


    Roland continued.


    "And yet here all three of you stand, completely unharmed. Furthermore, he''s saved many villager lives since he''s lived here. To continue, he doesn''t want for much, his wealth exceeds us all in totality, he has the biggest home, and the most land, so, in the end, where is his the motive? Looking at all things involved, the biggest reason I believe him is because I think that goblin is a mage."


    The elders looked at Roland like he was crazy, based off of what did he think that? Ben though seemed to understand. Not many people knew that Roland was a mage but Ben did, the two had been completely surrounded at one time and it was thanks to Roland unleashing a powerful fire attack that both their asses escaped with little injury.


    "Elders, while I was in closed-door training I felt something for a moment, at the time I just thought my senses were off but I believe it was that goblin starting a spell. If he noticed me it wouldn''t be strange for him to suddenly stop. After that, it seemed he waited until the right moment before he unleashed his power out in the wilderness. Looking at it from this angle, he had certainly had motive and being in the wilderness he had the opportunity and if my guess isn''t wrong and he truly is a mage then he definitely had the power."


    Everyone stood there in silence taking Roland''s words in one by one. Ben especially hearing this he grew more and more angered.


    (Then that goblin had everything planned from the start, I was completely played like a fool, damn.)


    The look in Ben''s eyes completely changed, he asked Roland through gritted teeth.


    "Chief, that power, is there any way to defend against it?"


    Roland thought for a moment.


    "Hmm, a mind manipulation technique like that is quite rare. I''ve traveled all over the Qiyuan continent and I''ve only ever heard about such abilities, never witnessing it myself, hmm."


    Once more Roland began to ponder but Ben was losing patience as he quickly said.


    "Chief is there nothing, if that goblin comes for revenge we''ll be left completely unguarded."


    Roland heard this and broke out into a soft chuckle.


    "Haha no, nothing like revenge will happen. Even in my weakened state, that goblin has felt my power, there''s no way he''ll come for revenge."


    But Ben wasn''t convinced, staring anxiously at Roland, he asked once more.


    "So there''s nothing to counter that goblin?"


    Roland didn''t see any reason to hide it, so reaching into his robe and pulled out a small rectangular sheet of paper placing it in Ben''s hand. Looking down, a few words were written on it but Ben couldn''t understand what it said, it seemed to be whatever language Mages used.


    "Ben, that piece of paper I just gave you is a magic item called a Talisman. It is a one-time use item, It requires no magic to activate it so anyone, whether they be a Mage or not, can use it. The one I gave you is of the wind element, by activating it, it can cause a perimeter of silence to form around it. The range is 50 feet and the spell last for a few minutes. If what you told me about that goblin is true, then I believe the way he activates his spells is with not only his mind but with the element of wind as well. Using a verbal command, his magic travels through the wind and into his victim''s ear, shooting directly to your brain where he takes control. If you silence him, then with your strength, its game set match."


    Holding the Talisman in his hand, a look of excitement flashed over Ben''s eyes. He looked back at Roland and asked.


    "How do I activate it?"


    "Simple, while holding it you say the word written on it followed by the word "Activate" for that one, the word written on it is "Silence". So to activate that Talisman, you would say Silence Activate. "


    Roland looked at the excitement building within Benjamin and quickly reuttered.


    "Benjamin, remember, that Talisman is a one time use. After you activate it, when it''s time runs out it becomes nothing more than a piece of paper, and remember, you have to be within 50 feet, otherwise, that goblin can control you. My suggestion for you is to be as stealthy as possible, don''t be seen or heard until the last possible second, otherwise..."


    Roland cut his words there, everyone already knew what he meant so there was no need to go on further. Benjamin turned and was about to depart.


    "Roland, take care of my kids while I''m gone, or you know what will happen."


    And like that, Benjamin once more rushed out into the dark night. The elders though were still livid.


    "Chief, you''re just gonna let him go? Even if he was controlled, he still killed so many of our people, he must be punished.


    Roland, however, shook his head.


    "No, what happened to those people was a tragedy but if that goblin really is a mage then the best solution is to send Benjamin to deal with it. After that it will already be too late to punish him, won''t it? If he''s successful then he''ll return as a hero, tell me, at that time will the people listen to you elders as you order for punishment? They may even turn their backs on me if I force it, what will we do then?"


    The three elders looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what to say or do, they could only return to their homes in defeat.


    As the sun rose, the dark land once more became bright and vibrant. The tolling bell signaled the villagers that it was safe to leave their homes and start their day as though it were just like any other. While people were about and busy, a small rumor began to spread saying that Benjamin had gone on a killing spree, killing several villagers for sport, he then fleed into the forest, abandoning his children. Some people immediately latched on either due to jealousy or maybe just plain foolishness but soon everyone had heard it and as a day passed followed by another and another, with no return of Benjamin, that rumor soon solidified into truth.

 Chapter 34: The Incident Finale

    Four weeks after Benjamin had disappeared into the night in search of the goblin mage, there were still no signs of his return. Whether he was alive or not, Roland and the three elders had no clue, as for the villagers, after that rumor spread, most of them believed he had snapped, killing many before he fled into the forest abandoning his children. While other villagers mourned at the loss of loved ones, the evidence to them was the death of their brothers and fathers. Once these bodies were brought back from the caravan, to them, they could only see it as Benjamin being a guilty murderous fiend. Benjamin was already now known as a traitor and while he was out and about at god knows where, the only place for these villagers to vent, was at the man''s children. Seeing them still live in the biggest house with the biggest yard and the many items they owned, this caused many to burn with jealousy and anger, some villagers could only scorn in thought.


    (How can that bastard`s kids live in such a nice house? It isn''t fair.)


    (Damn it all, if I was in charge, I`d string those kids by the neck and let that Benjamin feel exactly how we felt.)


    (That animal killed my brother and nobodies doing anything, is there no justice anymore.)


    The thoughts of the villagers swirled with anger and impatience but what seemed to upset them the most is that Chief Roland had yet to do anything. Whether it be denouncing Benjamin or even telling the villagers any information at all, in the end, he only said that he was handling the situation but right now, people found little to no comfort in those words at all. As the days continued to pass by, the people could only grow more and more irritable.


    Inside the Chief Hall, Roland was sitting at a table growing more and more confused and upset. His mind was filled with questions but no answers.


    (Damn, was I wrong? Was that goblin just a normal goblin? Did Benjamin play me? No, it cant be. I may be losing my power day by day but my senses and instincts are still top notch. But then why, why is Benjamin still not back? Did he really slip up and die just like that? Was I wrong about that goblins power? Did I send Benjamin to his death?)


    A storm brewed in Roland''s mind as many chaotic thoughts both came and went like the wind. Roland had made many mistakes in his life over the years but he couldn''t help wondering if letting Benjamin go that night was his biggest ever. He kept wondering if he should have waited, maybe raised some money to hire another mage to come to take care of it but Roland''s pride wouldn''t allow him to do something so low. That was admitting how weak he truly was at the moment and that was something he absolutely couldn''t allow himself to acknowledge. All he could do now was wait, wait for Benjamin''s return.


    For now, he would do what Benjamin had asked of him and take care of Benjamins kids but he wasn''t sure how long the villager''s patience would last.


    ----------------------------------------------


    It had now been two months since Benjamin had disappeared and winter was just about here. As the last few leaves finally fell, people were preparing more and more, making sure they were ready. The daily temperature was dropping regularly as daytime grew shorter and shorter.


    The villagers worked harder and faster to use as much daylight as they possibly could before they had to turn in for the night and today was just like any other. Since Ben didn''t return and the goblins never came for revenge, people assumed Ben was a murderer and people had already begun to publically scowl at Nia and Ben, even going so far as to say terrible things behind there back. The two children could only stay at home as to avoid there now scowling neighbors in hopes that it was all just a bad dream. As they sat in their house, they hoped and prayed that their father would come back as soon as possible and whisk them away to someplace safe.


    -------------------------------------------------


    The moon was now full and shone down beautifully over a quiet little village before a few clouds quickly blocked it. The stars gleamed brilliantly as a tranquil wind swept its way through the calm forest. The night was quite enchanting as a peaceful stillness filled the ever stretching boundless seeming mountains. If only this peaceful atmosphere could have lasted. As the clouds gently parted, the light from the moon touched the edge of the forest and within its depths, 100 pairs of eyes could be seen reflected back, a quiet danger had made an appearance. With a hushed command, the creatures moved forward with silent movements. As they began to exit the forest, under the radiating moonlight their appearances could now be seen. Short in stature with pale green skin, pointed ears, and sharp teeth, these were goblins and the one leading was, of course, the goblin mage. Approaching the village, the large group crept in like little disgusting rats, however, they soon stopped. Standing quite a distance away from the Chief Hall, they quickly began to make their move.


    The goblin mage was no fool, if he wanted his plan to work properly then he needed to act as long as possible without alerting the only one in the village that could stop him, a mage.


    Sneaking from house to house, one after another a group of goblins would silently enter a home. With feathered steps, they would walk quietly up to a bed, a few goblins would then quickly stab the man sleeping several times or slit his throat killing him almost instantly before they would gag and tie up any women or children in the household before carrying them off into the woods. The goblins were becoming more and more excited as they sliced the men''s throats. Seeing the men suddenly wake up with pain and shocked expressions, only for them to die soon after, seeing the despair and sorrow in the men''s eyes, as the goblins watched the last bit of life finally drain from the men''s eyes, the rush these goblins felt was like nothing they had ever experienced before. More and more houses were being broken into and now the goblins were starting to get greedy. Instead of just taking people, they were now taking items they deemed valuable. Whether it be farming equipment or even simpler things such as pots or pans, the goblins were gonna take it all.


    As another goblin exited a home with his hands full, he carried many odd things, a pot a sword a couple of jars, he was even chewing some food he found in one of the many cupboards he had opened. Making his way out of the village, he struggled greatly trying to carry everything off and while doing so, he wasn''t paying attention where he was going and immediately tripped.


    *Bang, Crash, CLANG*


    Everything he had in his hands crashed into the ground and the sword and pot struck each other making a loud echoing metallic ring. This suddenly alerted all of the goblins, they all quickly stopped moving and listened quietly. Nothing seemed to happen and all of the goblins released relaxed sighs as many wanted to rip their greedy friends head off. It was at this moment that a nearby tied up dog had woken up from the noise, it couldn''t see anything in particular but it could smell something it absolutely didn''t like.


    *BARK BARK BARK*


    The dog''s loud barking began to wake a few households up and soon a man had gotten out of bed and lit a candle. Taking a look outside, he could see the barking dog but not much else. Looking around for a second, the man decided it was nothing.


    "Shut up you dumb dog, I''m trying to sleep."


    With that, the man turned around and went back inside but still, the dog continued to bark loudly. Finally, a few more men got up in anger and looked outside their homes as well, waving a candle around, it was then that a man spotted it. A few feet away, he could see the small stature of what seemed to be a child, shaking the sleepiness from his head, the man rubbed his eyes trying to get a better look. As he walked towards the child he said.


    "Hey kid what are you...."


    Before he finished his sentence, the man came to a complete standstill, in front of him was no child. That pale green skin, those pointed ears, and those sharp teeth. Even though the man was three times bigger than the goblin, he was still frightened beyond belief. Just as he was about to shriek in terror, the goblin mage pointed at the man and with a small whisper, he said.


    "I command you...sleep."


    The man, like a puppet with its strings cut, crumbled to the ground instantly, his mind in the void of a gentle dream, he was fast asleep. The goblin mage released a sigh of relief. He looked around making sure no one else was near and was just about to turn around when he noticed something terrifying. He was close, way to close to a building he didn''t want to be anywhere near. Not because of the building itself but because of who resided within it. The goblin mage had done the one thing he never wished to do, he had used magic in proximity to this other mage. Before he could warn anyone, a sudden thunderous roar shook the sky.


    "WHO DARES!!"


    Roland''s sudden roar had instantly woken every man women and child. The goblin quickly yelled to his friends.


    "Plan B."


    As many people exited their homes, what they saw before them instantly turned them pale in fright. House after house, was on fire and running towards the exit of the village, was what seemed to be a hundred goblins. A wave of intense anger took hold of many men as they dashed at these invaders with intent to kill, but in the end, they could only kill a few as the rest had managed to make a clean escape. Roland had wanted to chase down these vile creatures, especially the one leading them, that goblin mage but looking around, most of the village was burning and Roland could hear desperate screams for help. With a bit of bitterness, Roland could only choose to help these weak villagers. Using his ability to control fire, even with every man and women''s help fighting to put the fire out, it still took Roland all night to quell every flame, in doing so his injuries only deepened. With overexertion, Roland''s life had once more been reduced. While coughing up bits of blood, Roland called a meeting. The elders, as well as a few other villagers, looked at the pale and sickly looking Roland with concern. Roland, however, waved it off and said.


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    "Tell me, how many?"


    One of the elders stood up and bitterly began to cry, he stumbled over his words as he said.


    "178, including my son..... and his family, I....I."


    The elder suddenly collapsed to his knees and began to cry out painfully, his son, his daughter in law, his two grandkids, he had nothing left. One of the other elders came over and helped the first elder up, after sitting him down in his chair, he spoke gravely about another matter.


    "Chief, that''s not all, some of those 178 are missing."


    Chief Roland was caught off guard by that.


    "Missing, what the hell do you mean missing? How can they be?"


    The elder shook his head.


    "Many of the houses may be badly damaged and unlivable but are still intact. Looking inside we found there were men with their throats cut still laying in bed, their families gone. Not burnt to ash from a fire but simply gone. I Believe those goblins were here for a while and kidnapped many people before they set fires."


    Roland''s vision shook as he looked at this elder, he could barely bring himself to ask but with a hard swallow, he did so anyway.


    "How many do you believe they took?"


    The man slowly held up four fingers.


    "At least 40, When we finish sifting through everything, that number may even climb to 50."


    Roland couldn''t help but suck in a cold breath.


    (So many, how could this have happened, under my watch no less. Damn damn damn, Benjamin, how could you fail? How could you lose?)


    Roland had such confidence in Benjamin but it had all been for naught.


    Suddenly a villager barged in, dragging behind him with a rope tied around its neck was a goblin with a small amount of life still within him. As the goblin was thrown to the floor, a few of the men recognized this goblin, it was missing an ear. When Ben was taking the caravan away from the village, many had witnessed a young woman go berserk and slice a goblins ear off and this was that goblin. One of the villagers couldn''t help but shout out.


    "Ah, that''s the goblin that got its ear cut off the day the caravan was leaving."


    The man saw that some were looking at him weirdly and so he quickly explained, many others recognized this goblin as well and stared at it with a burning fury. Roland understanding the situation, looked at this vermin and asked in anger.


    "Why did you attack us? Where are the people you kidnapped?"


    The goblin only laughed at Roland''s words. This human was asking him such a stupid question, the goblin had found it funny. Roland and the others, however, were not laughing. Roland took his cane and pushed it into the goblins crouch, causing immediate pain. The goblin then began to scream in agony as he experienced an indescribable pain. Without anyone''s notice, Roland had heated up the end of his cane with fire magic, so when the cane touched the goblins genitals, it was just like a hot poker. What little the goblin had down there was quickly blistering and burning, pretty soon it would be nothing more than charred ash. Soon a smell filled the room but the others just assumed that the goblin pissed or shit itself or both. They had no clue the smell was burning goblin flesh. The goblin quickly screamed out for it to stop and Roland did.


    "Will you talk now or will you deal with my cane? The choice is yours."


    The goblin quickly nodded its head.


    "I talk."


    The goblin stared at the men in anger but eventually gave up any hope.


    "You people''s fault we attack."


    The men instantly grew enraged. The first sentence out of the goblin''s mouth and it''s blaming them. Roland simply signaled for them to be quiet before asking the goblin what everyone wanted to know.


    "How could it possibly be our fault? When has anyone here ever done anything to you or your fellow goblins?"


    Roland had just spoken but already recalled what someone had done. The goblin started to shout in anger.


    "Your human friend, he kills my friends in mountain, then he wants to sell me and my friends. After we escape, he finds my home and kills more my friends, its all his fault, he kill us and our friends so we kill his friends."


    Roland instantly understood but looked at the goblin in anger. Everything goes back to that first encounter. After Thomas and Jack ended up in their territory they killed Thomas without warning and were about to kill Jack but then Benjamin showed up and slaughtered a bunch of them, it''s been a cycle ever since. Something still bothered Roland though.


    "He killed your friends at your home as well?"


    The goblin nodded.


    "How many did he kill?"


    The goblins face twisted in anger, after recalling that tragedy, with poisonous hate-filled eyes the goblin spoke coldly.


    "623."


    Hearing this number, everyone''s jaw dropped to the floor, even Roland couldn''t believe it.


    "He killed so many within 2 months, how?"


    The goblin shook his head to Roland''s words.


    "No, he kills 623 in one day."


    Like a bomb had just gone off in everyone''s mind, words could not be formed let alone thoughts, Benjamin truly was a monster.


    Everyone seemed to understand all at once, no wonder, no wonder why these goblins would seek revenge, no wonder why they would kidnap and kill so many. Compared to the goblins, this village was doing exceedingly well. Roland shook the away any useless thoughts, he still needed the most important information of all.


    "Where did you take my people, where is your home?"


    But the goblin refused to answer this time. Roland became enraged and hit the goblin a few times with his cane, still, there was no answer. Once again he burned the goblin''s crotch and even though the goblin screeched in torment, the goblin refused to say one word. This continued for a while. Roland would burn the goblin then hit him but he quickly ran out of energy and collapsed on the floor whilst spitting blood. He had used up too much energy and therefore spent too much life force. The villagers helped him up and continued the torture in his stead. Beating after beating but still no words, only agonizing screams. They beat him with a whip, slashed him with swords and knives, peeled his skin and continuously dunked him nearly drowning him several times but still he wouldn''t talk. After several hours of torture, the goblins heart finally gave out and it died with a horrific and twisted expression across its face. The villagers felt utterly defeated. Roland sent many messengers to the two nearest villages that were only 2 days ride away, asking for fighters or anyone at all that could help search for his villagers but everyone he asked refused. Not only because they would have to go up against an entire village of goblins but also because in order to get to them, they''d have to cross the goblin border. They would be breaking a treaty and that was not something they would break for a few people. After learning the reason why the goblins attacked, the other villages became even more adamant in their refusal. They all looked at it as being Thomas, Jack, and Benjamin''s fault. Since people were in the wrong and the goblins got their revenge, the other villages considered the matter over and no longer responded to Roland''s letters.


    Roland could only sink further and further into depression, this not only affected his people but Roland''s pride as well. He was a proud mage and he had been thwarted by one of the lowest creatures in existence, this struck a deep chord with him. Now when the elders told the villagers what happened and when they blamed the dead Thomas, The alive Jack, and the presumed dead Benjamin, Roland had no reason to stop them. The way they treated Nia and Ben now was even worse and as their home was burned, they were now forced to live in a run-down shack and fend for themselves. Anywhere they went people would scowl at them and call them traitors, some kids would even throw things at them. Their year of anguish had just begun, meanwhile, even Jack and his family were affected. People blamed him as well and due to the harassment he faced, Jack moved himself and his family to someplace far away, he was never heard from or seen again. With 2/3 of the village burned and more than half of the people either dead or missing, the village became a sad and depressing place. With houses burned, people missing, animals and other items stolen, this already poor village became even worse off and the struggle they went through that winter was the worse one yet.


    ----------------------------------------------


    Roland looked at Lowen with a face full of depression and shook his head bitterly.


    "I don''t know my self if I still blame Benjamin or not. If he never stepped into goblin territory then none of this would have ever happened but at the same time, he did what he thought was right. Would it have been over if he didn''t go to the goblins home and kill hundreds of them or would they have attacked anyway I don''t know, that''s something I can''t know."


    Lowen stared at this old man who suddenly looked as though he aged more than 10 years in an instant. As he listened to Roland recounting the past events, he wondered something.


    "Roland, why was that goblin mage so afraid of you? Is the gap in power between a 1st circle mage and a 2nd circle mage so great?"


    Roland didn''t even need to think, shaking his head no, he answered.


    "The difference in power is minimal, besides a 2nd circle, the biggest thing that separates a 2nd circle mage from a 1st is the mental power one gains. It increases by a wide margin, as to why the goblin mage was afraid of me, I assume it was because it used some type of mind power while I used fire."


    Roland had answered Lowen''s question but Lowen had a sudden thought.


    (Mind power, at the 2nd circle ones mental power increases by a wide margin. How would the goblin mage know that Roland uses fire, that''s not what he was afraid of, it was mental power. Curiosity began to grow within Lowen as he thought about mental power.)

 Chapter 35: Do You Want To Be A Mage?

    How does mental power develop within someone and how does one grow from a 1st circle mage into a 2nd circle? These were the questions circling Lowen''s mind. But the thing he was most confused about was the goblin mage.


    "Roland, you told me once before that in order for a mage to use magic, the individual must use some type of tool, in that way they could force their magic out and into a magic tool to conjure a spell but from the story you just told me, it seems that goblin mage had no such item. Tell me, how then did he use magic?"


    Roland shook his head at Lowen''s words.


    "Even to this day I still don''t know. That''s another unsolved mystery that makes that goblin mage so dangerous. Like I''ve said previously, I''ve traveled all over the Qiyuan continent but I''ve never heard of or encountered another that could use a spell without a magic tool of some sort. So either that goblin mage had a hidden magic tool on him or he is some unknown anomaly of nature, either way, it doesn''t really matter anymore. Since that attack, the goblins have never returned, I believe unless they''re provoked, it will stay that way."


    Once more, a thought came to Lowen.


    (What magic tool did old man Sid use?)


    Lowen did not see Sid use anything whatsoever to control his statue''s but this only made Lowen think further about his own experiences. When he created his 10 golems earlier, what magic tool did he use? Lowen had taken rocks and inscribed them with some magic words, after that he simply put them inside the mud balls he had made and the spell was complete. The magic tool was the rock cores themselves. But to control them, he didn''t need to touch them, he only required his thoughts. Did that not mean that when a spell has been conjured, the control on it is entirely related to thought and will, so the stronger you are mentally then the easier it would be to control a spell. If Lowen applied that to his golems then the stronger he was mentally the better he could control each golem on the individual level like old man Sid does with his 100''s of statues. Putting the pieces together, that meant that inside each of Sid''s statues there was a core. Thinking about how difficult it was to destroy one, had Lowen known there was a core inside, his fight wouldn''t have been as tough.


    Getting back to his earlier thoughts, Lowen asked.


    "Roland, how does one develop and grow their mental power?"


    Roland gave a light chuckle.


    "Hahaha, that''s simple, how does a muscle grow stronger?"


    Without hesitating, Lowen answered back.


    "You exercise them appropriately and recover, in the recovering process your muscles grow thicker and stronger."


    "Exactly, you use your mental powers exhaustively and then recover and although there is no physical representation that you can see when your mental powers grow, it becomes increasingly noticeable in the way you can control spells and other mental related tasks. Even things such as your comprehension and memory increase greatly, mental power is nothing to sneeze at."


    "Do you know of any good methods for me to increase my mental powers?"


    Roland looked at Lowen and said almost mockingly.


    "You, why the hell would you need your mental powers to increase? You''re already too smart for your own good, what, do you want to make the rest of us look bad?"


    Lowen''s brows wrinkled in annoyance.


    "Don''t you already know, this will improve my abilities which will improve my strength. Who doesn''t wish to improve themselves in some way? Tell me, if you were strong back then would the goblins have messed with you?"


    Roland sighed in bitterness. What Lowen just said hit a sore spot but Lowen was 100% correct. Had Roland been stronger, even if the goblins still decided to attack, Roland would have simply incinerated them. Even in a place that was almost in the middle of nowhere, the rule of the world still demanded one thing from its inhabitants, strength. Not having it meant your fate was up to whoever did and no one liked that feeling, so Roland completely understood Lowen''s point.


    "Fine fine I''ll tell ya, it''s not like you wouldn''t have figured it out on your own though. Hmm, now that I think about it, you''ve already used two ways by your self."


    Lowen looked at Roland quizzically.


    "Yes yes, you have. Why are you looking at me like you don''t believe a word I''m saying, you truly have."


    "Oh, then could you do me a favor and please stop beating around the bush and just explain already."


    "Ok, I get it."


    Roland pointed at one of the golems standing around the house and said.


    "That right there, your golems. When you tried to control them individually, you soon collapsed, right? You exhausted yourself mentally and fainted. If you continue to do that your mental power will grow by a small margin as long as you recover properly. The other way, you''ve already experienced as well."


    Roland pointed at the amulet hanging around his neck.


    "This amulet, when it absorbs your energy, it not only takes a toll energy wise but it takes a toll on your mind as well. Did you not notice any dizziness or headaches after using it or did you simply ignore it?"


    Lowen''s face was one of surprise, he did indeed notice the headaches he would get after using the amulet but assumed it was just part of the process. Had he known he could improve himself mentally by just resting after using it, then he would have done so multiple times by now. Lowen was a bit saddened by the missed opportunity of growing slightly stronger. Had he just rested right after each use of the amulet then maybe he wouldn''t have fainted the first time he tried to move two of his golems individually.


    Looking at the surprised expression Lowen carried on his face made Roland remember his own past and how he first began to improve his own abilities. Many fond memories raced in his head as he remembered the joy he felt every time he improved himself.


    "Ah."


    Roland thought of another possibility and couldn''t help but smile at Lowen creepily.


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    (Yes yes, if he does that it would be perfect. This smug brat, if he were to become my acolyte, he would gain immense power and immense power is what this little turd seems to want the most. Hahaha, but if he became my acolyte haha, he''d have to call me master.)


    With an even creepier smile, Roland almost snickered as he spoke.


    "There is another way."


    Seeing Roland''s creepy smile, Lowen quickly felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as a cold feeling snaked its way down his spine. Before he could say anything, Roland had already grabbed Lowen''s shoulder and spoke as though he were a tiger that had just caught his prey.


    "Become mine."


    Suddenly Lowen, Nia, and Ben all looked at Roland in the strangest manner. The thoughts that spun around in their heads was quite disturbing. Only Ben seemed more confused then weirded out. He looked at Roland and said with the most innocent yet serious face he''s ever shown.


    "You can''t have big bro, he''s gonna marry big sis, not you."


    Nia burst out with wild laughter while Lowen and Roland''s eyes caught each other for a moment. It was then that Roland realized he misspoke, that combined with the fact that he had just been staring at Lowen with a creepy smile and the fact that he had yet to remove his hand from Lowen''s shoulder, only compounded the awkwardness 10 fold. Roland had no clue what to do, he had never found himself in such a situation. In his many decades of living, this was a first and yet he couldn''t bring himself to remove his hand from Lowen''s shoulder.


    (What, what do I do? If I move my hand away now won''t that make things even more awkward but just keeping it there is no good either.)


    A quick thought came to Roland as he hurriedly took his hand off of Lowen''s shoulder and instead began to pat it as though he were patting an old friend, while doing this he started to fake laugh to try and throw everyone off. Lowen instead just found this to be repulsive and retreated backward. Taking a few steps away from Roland he whispered.


    "Nasty."


    But of course, Roland heard that and was immediately feeling embarrassment and shame. Coughing a few times, he put on a calm demeanor and said.


    "Ahem, I didn''t mean it that way. What I meant to say, is that I wish for you to become my acolyte, my apprentice."


    With no hesitation whatsoever Lowen almost yelled the word.


    "No."


    Roland''s calm demeanor instantly faded as he yelled back.


    "Why not?"


    Shaking his head Lowen said.


    "Why would I, What benefits does it gain me? You''ve already agreed to give me all of your knowledge, so what else could there possibly be?"


    Roland smugly stuck his finger out and wagged it back and forth.


    "Tsk tsk tsk, I thought you said you wanted to become stronger, hahaha. Well, if you were to become my acolyte then I could help you become a mage within a day."


    A doubtful expression lingered on Lowen''s face before he asked curiously.


    "And how could you possibly do that? As I recall, in order to become a 1st circle mage you have to have comprehension, talent, elemental affinity, and luck. Did something suddenly change in this small time frame that we''ve known each other or did you lie to me instead?"


    "Bah, what need do I have to lie to a child? What I said is true, but I can also help you get there much faster then you could possibly imagine, and I swear this is no trick. As a matter of fact, this is the same way most people become mages in all the major Kingdoms and Secret Clans."


    Lowen still looked doubtful.


    "Why are you just telling me this now?"


    Roland visibly rolled his eyes.


    "This is the first time you''ve given any real interest in magic. Once you started asking about improving mental powers, in the end, the only way to do so is through magic."


    What Roland said was partially true, this was the first time Lowen seemed interested in magic but that wasn''t the only reason he was telling Lowen. Roland also wanted for this brat to call him master. Lowen was simply too smug, too confident. Only when it came to magic and his lack of knowledge could Roland stump him and see that dumbfounded expression Lowen would get when he learned more about magic. Roland had many suspicions about Lowen but many of them seem to disappear as he learned more and more about this boy. This kid reminded him of himself in many ways, especially that thirst for strength and knowledge. The fact that Lowen seemed to be a rare genius didn''t detract either. Lowen seemed to know many things an adult would know yet he was still so young. Roland thought if he could mold this boy in his image then he could unleash upon the world a rare genius of untold possibilities. Even though nothing had been said or done, just the thought of him making Lowen into the worlds greatest apprentice brought an immense amount of pride to Roland.


    "Besides becoming your apprentice, is there no other way to become a mage?"


    Roland heard this and immediately became shocked.


    (This boy, I''ve given him such a great opportunity and he''s already looking for an escape route, does he hate me or something, Bah, I just can''t understand kids.)


    Roland wanted to say no but found no real reason to, simply because in Roland''s mind, the other way was just impossible. So with an annoyed look before he told Lowen how he could make him into a mage, he decided to tell Lowen how he could make himself a mage. In this way, he could crush Lowen''s aspirations and force his hand.


    "Besides comprehending it on your own or doing it my way, there is one other way, the ancient way. It is almost impossible to do on your own with no influence or power and by the time you gain enough power, this way will be useless to you."


    Roland''s look changed and his expression became one of absolute seriousness. He peered at Lowen with his deep emerald green eyes and said.


    "Lowen, tell me, have you ever heard of the World Elixir?"

 Chapter 36: Are you Going To Be My Acolyte Yes Or No?

    Lowen searched his memories repeatedly, or to be more accurate, the leftover memories he had gained from this boy''s body he had taken over. But even with these extra memories, he couldn''t recall anything about something called the aftermentioned World Elixir.


    Roland took one look at the blank expression on Lowen''s face and knew immediately that he had once more stumped this small boy. After a moment or two, Roland felt satisfied with Lowen''s blank look but decided to tease him a bit more.


    "Oh, so the great and wise Lowen doesn''t know about something as simple as the World Elixir, just how can that be? Haha."


    Lowen couldn''t understand how someone could get such immense joy out of the smallest things. Instead of having another useless argument, Lowen ignored Roland''s obvious provocation and in a somber tone, he asked.


    *Sigh*


    "Can you just say it already?"


    Seeing that Lowen wasn''t taking the bait, Roland became annoyed.


    (God, this brat is no fun.)


    "Fine, but once I tell you, you''ll understand just how pointless as well as impossible it is for you to even think about becoming a mage that way."


    Roland looked at Nia and Ben and wondered if they would even understand or believe what he was about to say. Shaking his head, it didn''t really matter, in the end, this information was no secret or even very useful, so he didn''t even bother to shoo the two of them away.


    "Hmm, the World Elixir, the World''s blood. In nature, it is formed from such pure dense energy that it condenses into a liquid, dark blue in color."


    Roland held up a single finger.


    "One drop..... if you consume just a single drop of the World Elixir, as long as you have even an ounce of talent then you''re guaranteed to be a mage."


    Nia and Ben''s eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. The two didn''t know whether or not they had any talent whatsoever, but if they could consume just a drop of this World Elixir, didn''t that mean they could become mages? The fantastical thoughts these two, brother and sister imagined, giddiness and excitement started to overwhelm them. Only Lowen seemed to hold questions. Staring at Lowen, Roland seemed to understand and continued.


    "This single drop of the World Elixir is miraculous. In this world, there''s almost nothing else like it. Just the amount of benefits one''s body gains, even if you were somehow unable to become a mage it would still absolutely be worth it. After just one drop, any impurity that you have within your body will instantly be removed and physically your being will strengthen by 2 fold at least, your organs your senses, every aspect will increase. Even me, if I had just a single drop of the World Elixir, my injury would have already healed long ago and my powers would have returned already in full, hmph, my 5th circle might even start to form."


    Roland''s eyes became excited at just the thought.


    "When you take the World Elixir, it connects your body with the world''s magic energy. Ah, speaking on that point, when I say it connects your body with the world''s magic energy, you may be thinking, but I''m not a mage and I can make golems with magic, isn''t that the worlds magic energy? Well, it is but your body is not truly connected to it. You can feel it and even sense it but like a sieve, your missing so much of it that you minus well be throwing it all away. If you had a magical tool and somehow were able to conjure a spell with the limited magical energy your exposed to, let''s say you could create a small fist size ball of dirt, well if you were truly connected to the world''s energy, that fist-sized ball of dirt would instead be the size of a boulder and instead of dirt it would be made of granite. The difference between being truly connected and not is like the difference between the clouds above and the ground below."


    Speaking up to here, Roland could tell Lowen was hooked and now Roland couldn''t wait to sink Lowen''s spirits but there was still a few more things to tell him first, so he continued.


    "Some even believe that when your body connects with the world energy, it also connects you with the core of the planet but no one has actually been able to confirm that. After that, this powerful World Elixir, as though it has a mind of its own, then connects your soul to your mage core, completing your first circle of magic. With the completion of your first circle, you will have officially stepped into the world of magic and become a mage."


    Hearing all this, Lowen was completely fine but when Roland mentioned the way to become a mage was to connect your soul to your mage core, Lowen''s expression froze like a bomb just went off in his mind, he was in complete and utter shock. His thoughts began to race with excitement and anticipation and even he couldn''t control how erratic his breathing became. Seeing this, Roland was simply ecstatic. He couldn''t wait to dump a bucket of cold water on Lowen''s hopes and dreams, forcing him into a corner where the only way for Lowen to become a mage is to accept him as master. The corners of Roland''s mouth arched up into a creepy smile as though Lowen was already his but if Roland could read Lowen''s thoughts right now then he would immediately spit up blood.


    (That''s it, that''s all I need to do to in order to become a mage. To control my soul and connect it to my mage core, once I do that I will officially become a mage, just like that.)


    Lowen, in order to become a wielder of Kim one of the most important steps you have to do, is to connect your mind, body, and soul. Lowen had done this in his previous life after years of hard work then after he died and took over this young child''s body, he managed to become a ki wielder again within only a few minutes. To become a mage, it sounded like a cakewalk to him. Lowen could connect his soul to his mind and body at will, to connect it to his mage core, just the thought made Lowen almost hysterical with joy. He wanted to immediately test this but noticed Roland staring at him with a smug, creepy smile. Suddenly Lowen understood something.


    (With that look and the way he said earlier how impossible it is to get some of the World Elixir, I can tell he''s about to drop some kind of bad news, but why does that bring him such joy.)


    Lowen didn''t realize that the reason Roland was so happy to give bad news was that he thought that would push Lowen into a corner, forcing him to submit, maybe even beg to become his acolyte. The thought of that drove Roland almost crazy with euphoria. Lowen looked at the creepy smile of the Chief and a thought popped into his head.


    (Maybe I should mess with this old fool.)


    Lowen calmed down quite a bit on the inside but continued to keep that same frozen expression on his face as he listened to Roland. Even with a fake face though, Roland didn''t seem to notice it.


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    "There''s just one thing I''m forgetting to mention haha. In order to get a drop of the World Elixir, you first have to reach a World Elixir spring and to do that? Haha."


    Roland cut his words there annoyingly, so Lowen asked in a fake but shaky voice.


    "Is it impossible to reach a single spring? Why?"


    (This brat still thinks there''s hope.)


    *Sigh*


    Roland shook his head.


    "Impossible..... no... unlikely.... absolutely. On this continent, there are 7 World Elixir Springs, unfortunately, each and every one of them have already been claimed for thousands of years. You see, within the Qiyuan continent, there are hundreds of Kingdoms and thousands of existing Clans around today and only the 7 most powerful of these Kingdoms and Clans have ownership over these 7 World Elixir Springs. Because they have control over these springs, those 7 kingdoms and clans control the continent. With those springs they can make armies of mages and so they have. Their grasp and their power over the continent is already unshakable, besides three places on the continent they control it all. Not only that, every other kingdom and clan has already submitted to them long ago. The only way to get some of the World Elixir you must be a high ranking member of one of those great kingdoms or clans. So like I said before, by the time you''re able to get a drop of World Elixir, you would already be 100''s of years old and so strong that the World Elixir would hold no value to you. To become a mage by consuming it, with those kingdoms and clans indomitable grasp, how could you possibly get even a single drop from their springs?"


    Lowen suddenly understood why Roland said it was pointless. If he wanted to become a mage, he would need to be a high ranking authority in one of those 7 powerhouses but that was simply an impossibility at this point. The other way would be to become strong enough that those 7 powerhouses recognized his strength and at that point, there''d be no reason or very little need to consume it. Lowen''s goal wasn''t to become strong 100''s of years later but as quickly as possible. Looking at Roland, Lowen continued to use a false expression as he stared at Roland in distraught.


    "How can this be, how can this be the only way to become a mage, is there truly no other way?"


    Lowen looked up at Roland as though he wanted to cry, seeing this, Roland was filled with excitement. All he could think about was how this dumb kid was soon to be his loyal little follower. Roland couldn''t wait to see the look on Lowen''s face as he puts out a ray of hope, in that way he would quickly ensnare Lowen, making him his acolyte that would always say yes master this or yes master that. Nia and Ben were looking over at Lowen with sad faces, they felt how devastated Lowen was and only wanted to give him a hug. Roland, on the other hand, couldn''t wait anymore but still tried to play it cool like a caring yet inspiring wise mage. Reaching out a hand to the seemingly saddened Lowen, he said.


    "Lowen, it''s ok, there is still another way. If you become my acolyte then I can make you a mage within the day, possibly even within an hour. Just take my hand and agree to accept me as your master and I''ll..."


    Before Roland could finish Lowen interrupted him.


    "How, are you saying you''re actually capable of making me a mage without the World Elixir?"


    Roland was slightly annoyed that he was interrupted and didn''t get to finish his passionate speech but swept that away in his mind, instead he wore a fake bright smile and explained as a good teacher would.


    "Haha, it''s simple really, remember I said you needed 4 things in order to become a mage, right. You need talent, comprehension, elemental affinity and luck. you''ve already fully understood the earth absorption technique, so you clearly have enough comprehension of the earth element. Since you already can absorb and use earth elemental energy, I see you have a natural affinity with it and you''re able to control 10 golems at once. Yes, you may not be able to control them individually but to control 10 at once the very first time you animate them, if this isn''t talent then my eyes are those of a blind old man; Finally, luck."


    Roland looked over both shoulders before putting his hand on the other side of his mouth as he whispered.


    "Hehe, when it comes to luck, that only matters when you''re doing this from little to no understanding of magic and by yourself, of course, someone like that would need luck, thankfully though you have me."


    Lowen''s expression changed from sadness to one of delight, he looked at Roland and said.


    "So you''re saying that I''m talented and smart."


    Roland looked at Lowen nodding his head reluctantly, he agreed.


    "Really, you really think so, what else do you think of me?"


    Roland was suddenly put on the spot, he quickly tried to throw some compliments.


    "Uh uh uh, you''re also, um, strong, yea oh yea and you''re incredibly quick too."


    Lowen''s face grew brighter and brighter as he shouted.


    "Really? What else?"


    Roland began to scramble even more.


    "Um uh, your mind is very sharp and talented, so talented."


    Lowen''s face twisted in annoyance.


    "You already said talented, are you even serious, do you really want to be my teacher?"


    Roland was starting to get pissed.


    (This smelly brat, he''s always pushing it.)


    Roland kept that same fake smile, albeit with a few veins popping out on his forehead. As he tried to contain his anger he said.


    "I do want to be your teacher, I''m very serious, so will you be my acolyte?"


    Lowen started to squirm a little bashfully as though he were being asked out. The sight immediately disgusted Roland, still, he maintained a calm bright smile as Lowen finally said the words he wanted to hear.


    "I think this might be acceptable."


    Lowen put out his hand for a handshake to seal the deal. Roland''s smile got wider and wider, almost transforming into an evil grin. As soon as he shook Lowen''s hand, the agreement would be final and binding. He would then be the master and Lowen his worm of an apprentice. Putting his hand forward, Roland reached for Lowen''s with glee in his heart. Just as he was about to grab Lowen''s hand for a shake, something completely unexpected happened. With a quick movement, Lowen suddenly took his hand back, looking at Roland, Lowen grinned like a poisonous snake and at this point, Roland could have sworn he heard the hissing of the said-snakes tongue when Lowen said.


    "Nah, just kidding."

 Chapter 37: 1st Circle

    As Lowen quickly took his hand back Roland was left standing there in shock, his hand still suspended in midair. As he looked down at his own empty hand and back at Lowen, the boy''s words continued to echo repeatedly within his head.


    (Nah, just kidding. Nah, just kidding. Nah, just kidding. Nah, just kidding.)


    At first, Roland couldn''t process what had just happened but as he stared at the smug look on Lowen''s face and repeated the words in his mind, Rolands expression twisted in anger. His words stammered out in both embarrassment and irritation.


    "You, you, you little bastard. I offer you power, knowledge, and a chance at immortality and you throw my goodwill back in my face as a joke, what the fuck is wrong with you?"


    The temperature in the room suddenly changed, as Roland''s fury seemed to raise it, Lowen''s cold glare seemed to make it fall. As the two stared at each other with animosity it seemed as though a storm were brewing at this very moment. In the corner, Nia and Ben felt something off and the two wanted to leave but fear paralyzed their feet, all they could do was sit quietly and hope this storm passed peacefully. Lowen stared poisonously at Roland, although Roland could kill him instantly with a fire spell Lowen was not backing off.


    "Hmph, I''m throwing your goodwill away and what goodwill would that be? Ever since I''ve come to this village you''ve done nothing but be suspicious of me. Not only that I''ve continuously felt your subtle threats. I still wonder if when you first asked me to help you recover from your injuries if I absolutely refused to help you that day what would you have done?"


    Rolands furious expression began to fade at that question and before he had time to answer, Lowen answered for him.


    "As I''ve come to know you I can tell with almost no doubt you would have either killed me then and there or you would have captured me, imprisoning me indefinitely as you torture my secrets out of me. Don''t even think about denying it."


    Roland''s expression no longer contained anger, instead, it was fully replaced with embarrassment as well as a little fear, not a fear of physical harm but instead of one who could see all the skeletons in your closet. Like a glass window, Lowen seemed to see straight thru Roland. Roland took a hard gulp wanting to explain himself but again Lowen continued.


    "Don''t get me wrong, I''m not blaming you, nor am I mad at you. I could see it plain as day you were desperate. Even before you told me anything about your past I could see that hopeless air that surrounded you, I could see it in your dull green eyes and I could see it in the lines in your face, as you were suspicious of me, I to was doubtful of you. How could someone whos supposedly a powerful Mage be stuck in the middle of nowhere unless something unfortunate has happened? That''s not all though, the way you treat people that hold no value to you."


    Lowen looked behind him and Roland''s eyes followed, as Lowen stared at Nia and Ben behind him Roland knew immediately who he was talking about.


    "When their father disappeared you told me that he had asked you to take care of his kids, however when I met them they were both starving and malnourished."


    Pointing at Ben Lowen continued.


    "Ben, little Ben was on the verge of death, his body was skinny enough to see his ribs and he was so weak he couldn''t even move."


    Lowen then pointed at Roland, as his words were filled with anger he was almost shouting as he spoke.


    "You the Chief allowed everyone to bully them. Because of you, they couldn''t eat and they slept with painful stomachs crying for food, because of you, they slept in this broken down shack and felt the cold harsh wind every night. No proper clothes no blankets and hated at every turn is this the goodwill you''ll give me as soon as I''m no longer useful to you. Tell me are you so generous, is that why you wish to make me your acolyte or is the truth much more simple than that. Roland, wouldn''t I just be a prize to you, something that you could brag about and claim I was entirely your making, is your ego so big? Your actions..... I can not trust and your words...I trust even less. Tell me, Roland, if you were me could you follow such a man, could you not only entrust your life but your future as well to one such as you. I know my words have upset you but burn me to ash if I have spoken a single lie."


    Roland was shell-shocked, every word that Lowen had said was like a painful dagger stabbing his weak spot repeatedly. There was nothing he could say to counter and if he were to attack, it would show just how petty he was. He was supposed to be this powerful and wise Mage, but in front of Lowen, he could see that he was no more than a joke and even one who couldn''t keep his word. Roland tried desperately to remember when his views became so warped, he hadn''t been this way in the past but right now he fully recognized just how fucked up he became and he hated it, hated himself.


    As he looked at a terrified Nia and Ben he could see they were anticipating his violent reaction as they trembled in fear, to them he was a monster. Looking at Lowen, this small child that tore into him, it seemed as though the roles were reversed and that he was the child and Lowen was the adult. Roland finally realized where he went wrong, although Lowen was overbearing and cocky, Roland was 10 no 100 times worse; He played the wise old man, but the second he didn''t get his way he would almost immediately threaten with violence. Roland shook his head silently, he looked at Nia and Ben and for the first time thought about how they felt and thought about what they went thru. He wanted to say something to say anything but the right words just wouldn''t form. Looking down at Lowen he wanted to explain but that didn''t seem right either, in the end, Roland once more shook his head silently, he then turned around and with no words, he quietly left.


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    As Roland walked outside into the night a cold breeze bit at his face, as he gazed up at the diamond-like lights that shimmered in the sky above, Roland began to seriously contemplate his life. With slow wavering steps, Roland quietly walked back to the Chief Hall.


    Inside Nia and Ben''s home, the two ran up to Lowen quickly embracing him. Ben''s tears started to pour down his face and onto Lowen soaking him while Nia''s spoke with trembling words.


    "Why did you do that? He could have killed you he could have killed you and then you''d be gone and I, and I..."


    Nia couldn''t finish her words as she too broke out into loud crying, with tears that seemed as though they would never end. Lowen pat these pair of siblings gently on their backs as he said calmly.


    "I was confident he wouldn''t."


    But these words made the pair of siblings cry louder. This time it was Ben who spoke up.


    "Big bro, big bro''s a dummy waaaah. Don''t do that again, if big bro does that again then, then, he''s not my big bro anymore waaah."


    Lowen gave a small chuckle as he continued to pat the two softly on their backs. He was sure that Roland wouldn''t attack him as that seemed to not fit the situation. Lowen could tell that Roland was a man who worked off emotion, although he would act as though he was logically based on the outside on the inside Roland was a walking contradiction. Lowen had learned that Roland was selfish and greedy prideful and egotistical but if this were completely true why then did he help suppress some of the fires burning in the village thus saving many villagers. If he was truly all of these things he wouldn''t have used magic at all especially so much, at that time the amount of magic he used was in direct proportion to how much life he would lose. If he were so greedy why then would he sacrifice years of his life using his magic? Lowen could only conclude that he wanted to protect some people or maybe not the people per se but his pride as a Mage. In the end, it seemed that Roland needed something to make his existence relevant and to him, that something was his magic, without it his life is meaningless. So for him, not killing Lowen was once again for himself, if he kills Lowen then his injuries would no longer recover and his 4th magic circle may never truly be repaired, this is why Lowen was confident. After Roland recovers though, Lowen figured it would probably be better for him to leave this place, leave this village and move on, otherwise who knows what would happen later on down the line.


    As the two finally settled down and everyone went to bed a peaceful calm washed over the small village. At this time only two people sat awake contemplating things. Roland thought about his life and the choices and past mistakes that led him here while Lowen, on the other hand, thought of something much more interesting. As Nia and Ben had drifted off to sleep Lowen was instead wide awake. Sitting with his legs crossed in a meditative position in his hands he held a small book the title of which read [Earth Elemental Basics.]. As he gently stroked the leather cover of the book he then opened it and read it in its entirety memorizing every word and every letter to the T. Going over the words in the book as well as what Roland had said before, Lowen''s anticipation rose several levels.


    (If what Roland said was true then all I have to do is connect my soul with my Mage Core, in doing so my first circle of magic will fully form and I will have truly stepped into the realm of Magic, officially becoming a 1st circle Mage.)


    As Lowen thought of this, he was still cautious as the process involved using his soul. If he somehow damaged his soul in this process that would be very bad for him and could easily hurt his chances of successfully cultivating the 5th Ki stage, the Soul Connection stage. In that stage, the usage of the soul was the most important factor in whether you could successfully achieve soul mastery allowing one to control one''s own soul too perfection. Lowen was only a little cautious though as he had easily controlled his soul the day he arrived in this world to once again become a Ki manipulator. With his previous life''s experience, he had already reached a level far higher than the soul connection stage, he had reached the 7th Ki stage the Martial King stage. With that, his power of the soul was frightful. At that level not only was Lowen physically powerful, capable of lifting mountains but with his soul, he could absorb power from all living things allowing him to fight almost indefinitely. When 2 masters reached that level and fought one another, it wasn''t strange for fights to last months or even years. As long as they were near living things their energy simply would not run out, that''s how amazing the power of the soul is.


    Although Lowen thought about that he was only a little cautious. He felt he had perfect control over his soul and so his worries were actually small. Closing his eyes Lowen began to breathe with calm steady breaths. Circulating his ki a few times he calmed his heart and relaxed. With absolute focus, Lowen with a thought slowly pulled at the edges of his soul. As he began to move his soul it seemed to gently stretch like soft weightless rubber. More and more his soul stretched as it wiggled like a small worm towards his Mage Core. The closer Lowen''s soul got to his Mage Core the more he seemed to slow it''s approach down. As he did this the outside world grew quiet and the movement seemed still. The wind on Lowen''s face that once nipped at his nose and cheeks became a tickle and then nothing. The ground underneath his body seemed to fade away as he could now no longer feel it. Every sense within him had now vanished, the only thing left was a dark black void. His soul seemed to vanish his Mage core vanished and his mind ...Vanished. There was no up and no down, no left or right. Time did not move nor stop, how long this went on for, no one knew.


    *BOOOOOOOOOM*

 Chapter 38: Create A Ball Of Dirt

    *BOOOOOOOM*


    An explosion within a black void expanded outward chaotically before rushing back inward at a terrifying speed. Energy filled with power began to rotate rapidly within this small space.


    (Awareness, is this what this is, am I alive?)


    Lowen''s thoughts had just returned to him when suddenly he felt an intense shock. From the top of his crown to the tips of each one of his toes Lowen could feel Magical Earth Energy coursing through him. It''s purity and power eclipsing the earth energy he had before by dozens of times.


    Over in the Chief Hall a contemplating Roland jumped up in shock, he couldn''t help but scream out loud.


    "WHAT, HOW!!"


    Roland''s mind was racing, he was just about to rush over to Lowen when a thought came to mind.


    (No wonder, no wonder, of course, he didn''t want to be my apprentice, he''s somehow found a way. Did I accidentally give it away with my words earlier.)


    Roland began to pace back and forth in thought every now and then he would stomp or kick something over and other times he would stop and nod his head in understanding once more he sat back down in contemplation as he begrudgingly decided to ignore Lowen.


    Back inside Nia''s place both Nia and Ben were still fast asleep. It seems the two could feel and sense nothing as the powerful energy flowed around Lowen. As Lowen continued to sit there in a meditative state he could feel his power surging higher and higher using his mind he could look inside himself, sensing his Mage Core he could see his 1st circle was almost fully formed. As his 1st circle of magic finally connected, once again Lowen could feel another burst of energy go off inside himself.


    *BOOOOM*


    Like a black hole, Lowen''s Mage core suddenly began to devour all of the surrounding magic energy, as it did, Lowen could feel every fiber of his being growing stronger at a rapid rate. His muscles began to grow tougher and stronger his bones became even sturdier and dense and every one of his senses grew sharper by a few degrees. Even Lowen''s mind was going thru a change as to what change that was Lowen didn''t currently know but he knew something was different. As the surrounding energy became thinner and thinner the progress of Lowen''s body began to slow down considerably almost halting entirely. A small but interesting idea came to Lowen.


    (My Mage Core seems to have devoured nearly all of the Magical energy around me. I wonder what would happen if I fed it something a little different.)


    With that thought in mind, Lowen manipulated his ki, willing a small amount of it towards his Mage Core. As a small bit of ki energy flowed into Lowen''s devouring Mage Core something strange happened. Lowens Mage core began to tremble ever so slightly, as it did Lowen began to feel his constitution increasing again but this time at a much quicker rate. In foolish excitement, Lowen then sent the rest of his ki into his Mage Core. The slightly trembling Mage Core suddenly started to shake violently. An intense pain hit Lowen like a tree, his muscles that were once toughening suddenly began to rip and tear, shredding themselves into tiny pieces before quickly reforming themselves, becoming stronger and thicker than before. His bones that had just finished hardening suddenly snapped and broke into fragments before fusing back together and hardening once again. The pain that Lowen felt was beyond agony every nerve in his body became taught with tension before they too began to snap and break away before reforming again tougher and stronger than ever. Inside this little shack, constant popping and cracking noises reverberated around this poor ugly room as Lowen''s bones snapped and reformed over and over again. Had the noise been slightly louder then Nia and Ben would have awoken to a horrific scene as Lowen''s body thrashed about with bones breaking and muscles tearing. In this terrible situation, Lowen wanted to do nothing more than scream in dying agony but he didn''t want to scare Nia and Ben. If they were to see him in this state then it wouldn''t be strange for them to cry out monster. All Lowen could do was pick up a piece of wood and bite down on it with full force to try and suppress his screams.


    After who knows how long the pain became too overbearing causing Lowen to bite completely through the piece of wood he had in his mouth. Just as he was about to shout, both of his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen groggily opened his eyes, looking around the room he could see both Nia and Ben still fast asleep. Standing up a ray of sunshine hit him in the eyes causing him to wince in pain, after wiping his eyes a few times they finally seemed to adjust to the light, something seemed different but as to what, Lowen couldn''t quite tell. Lowen''s nose twitched a bit in sourness, looking around he tried to find where the bad smell was coming from. Taking a stronger whiff he then looked down at himself, on his skin there was a strange sticky black tar-like substance, this was where the smell came from. Looking himself over Lowen was completely covered in this stinky gunk, he immediately went outside to wash.


    As he came to the river flowing just a bit away from Nia''s home Lowen jumped in like a big boulder, as the river wasn''t that deep where he jumped in his bottom hit the rocks below causing him to jump up in surprise. However, he quickly realized that it didn''t actually hurt at all, that wasn''t all. As he was still partly asleep he didn''t control his power when he leaped and ended up using his full force. Looking around Lowen was utterly shocked, he had ascended 50 feet at least. Landing back in the river, Lowen stood there still in confusion. Looking at his hand he gripped it making a fist. It was only now that he noticed the newly formed muscles on his arm that weren''t huge or anything of that nature but were instead dense and lean each muscle was brimming with terrifying strength.


    Lowen decided to test his strength a bit, reaching down in the river Lowen was going to grab a rock when he noticed his reflection Lowen saw his eyes and noticed his dark purple eyes seem to have become sharper the hair on his head had become longer and his fingernail had even grown out as well even Lowens height seemed to have grown by 2-3 inches his entire body seemed to have grown overnight.


    (How is this possible. The only energy that can make the body grow is earth energy but that''s only making bones and muscle stronger, it shouldn''t make my hair nails and even my height grow.)


    Lowen suddenly thought.


    (It must have been when I fed my Mage Core some of my ki. Ki is not only power but its also filled with life energy. It must have infused some of its properties within my Mage Core causing these extra side effects.)


    Lowen wondered if he fed his Mage Core ki every time he formed a new magic circle if he would continue to grow like this. By the time he reached the later circles in Magic would there be a being on the planet that could compete with him physically. A large grin formed on Lowen''s face, these extra side effects would cause his body to become unmatched if he continued to develop like this.


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    Picking up a fist-sized rock, Lowen wanted to test his strength. At first, Lowen gave the rock a squeeze using all of his strength but sadly nothing happened. This time he used both hands using all of his strength once again nothing. With the third attempt, Lowen filled his hands with ki and squeezed as hard as he could at first nothing happened but then small cracks began to appear on the rock and soon they spread like a spiders web and with a bit more strength the rock finally crumbled in Lowen''s hands.


    *Phew*


    Although he broke the rock, it took everything he had to do it. Still, a large grin was plastered on his face. Picking up another rock Lowen aimed at a tree branch almost two times thicker than his neck and with great precision and strength, Lowen threw the rock at a terrifying speed. As the rock struck the tree branch it instantly broke it, causing it to snap and hit the ground. The rock however continued on for a bit striking and breaking a few more branches before everything went quiet.


    "Hahaha, this is great."


    Lowen was simply too excited.


    (If this is just a side effect, I can''t wait to see what my magic can do.)


    Lowen wanted to immediately test his Magic out but the smell of his body again hit his nose, filling it with a stink of rotting meat. Lowen sat down and the water covered just over the top of his head. As he held his breath he started to scrub his clothes and his body relentlessly.


    (This tar-like substance must be the impurities that were once in me. When my body went through that metamorphosis it must have forced all this disgusting shit out.)


    Although it was disgusting Lowen couldn''t help but have a satisfied smile as he removed it, Lowen loved the feeling of being completely clean. Resurfacing from the water Lowen took in a deep refreshing breath of air and hung his simple fur cloth on a branch to dry. Standing at the riverside completely naked Lowen recalled the [Earth Elemental Basics.]. The book was split into three parts. The first part dealing with absorbing earth energy etc. The second part on Magical earth energy theory and the third part was about earth spells. As Lowen recalled the 3rd part, he remembered there were a few spells written down. One of the simplest written down was an earth ball spell. With this spell, one could create a simple ball of dirt, the more power you expend the larger you could make it and the further you advance your circle of magic the more different materials you can make this ball out of, such as stone or crystal or even at the higher circles of magic, metal. For now, though, Lowen wanted to try making a ball of dirt.


    Holding out his hand Lowen remembered the Magic scribble looking symbol for creating a dirtball and willed his magic in his palm. As the earth energy collected in his hand Lowen could feel something small forming and after a second it happened but to Lowen''s dismay, this was unacceptable. Looking down at the ball of dirt in his hand it was no bigger than half the size of Lowen''s pinky nail.


    (What went wrong, what did I do to mess up so badly.)


    It was then that Lowen recalled what Roland had said a while ago about magic.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    "Lowen, in order to use magic you must have a magic tool, with it, you force your magic into the tool and the tool then amplifies your magic power creating the spell you cast."


    "So you have to have a magic tool no matter what, why?"


    Roland looked at Lowen like he were a fool. He then opened his palm and began to cast a spell, as he did his face began to pour with sweat and after about 10 seconds a small candle sized flame appeared to float in his palm, however, just a few seconds later it then went out.


    *Phew*


    Roland then lifted his cane and using the exact same spell, he created a flaming ball the size of a human head almost instantaneously. Looking at Lowen he said.


    "I don''t know why this happens but it does. When one uses a spell without a magic tool, even though I''m using the exact same amount of power its like there''s some type of disconnect or something. Some believe it has something to do with the way our magic is used for the spell but no one really knows for sure."


    "So then why does a magic tool work so well."


    Roland pondered for a moment before he shook his head.


    "I don''t really know my self."


    He then pointed at his cane, on it, there were several small inscriptions.


    "If you look here you can see these little inscriptions, well each of these is a spell. All I know is that when I want to use a certain spell I channel my magic into this magic tool and into this magic inscription, it then summons the spell for me."


    Lowen was curious about something though.


    "But what if you need to use a spell and it''s not inscribed on your cane what then?"


    "Well, at that point I guess your just shit out of luck."


    "What, well how many spells can you have inscribed on a magic tool?"


    "10, if your tool is made from a master craftsman, much less if its made from someone of weak skill."


    Lowen then looked at Roland''s cane and Roland rubbed his nose in slight embarrassment.


    "Mine only holds 4 spells."


    "What, only 4 spells, why don''t you have a magic tool made from a master craftsman, how cheap are you?"


    Rolands expression twisted in anger.


    "Bah, what the hell do you know, it cost me a small fortune just to get this. Let me tell you this boy, these magic tools don''t just grow on trees, to get some of the higher tier stuff will cost you more than gold, that I can guarantee."


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen had been so excited that he completely forgot about a magic tool but now that he remembered, it seemed it was time to once again crack open his other book. Reaching into the fur cloth that hung beside him, Lowen pulled out a small hand sized book, reading the cover it said [The Divine Blacksmith] Although this book had been in the water earlier it had no damage whatsoever. This book was special in that way, it had been around for seemingly thousands of years yet it was still in good condition. Flipping thru the book Lowen landed on a certain page.


    [Magic Tool Inscription]


    Going over this section Lowen couldn''t help but lean his head back and laugh at the sky.


    "HAHAHA, too easy, way too easy."


    Had someone stumbled upon such a scene they would probably run away in fright. To see a little boy laughing so creepily while holding a book while naked. The witness to that scene might have thought the boy was summoning demons or sacrificing himself to the undead, thank the heavens no one saw this.

 Chapter 39: Sword

    Lowen read over most of the chapter on [Magic Tool Inscription].


    In doing so he learned that in order to summon a spell you must have a magic tool with the specific spell you want to use inscribed on it. Also, the magic tool needs a control inscription inscribed on it.


    A Control Inscription places a fixed limiter on the magic tool determining how many spells are summoned at once. So a Mage can''t summon multiple spells at once unless the Control Inscription is inscribed a certain way. Once a Control Inscription is placed on a magic tool it can not be removed or altered in any way, one must get a craftsman to make a new magic tool with a new Control Inscription. The Control Inscription also deals with multiple spells. In order to have multiple spells inscribed on a magic tool, the control inscription must be able to link each spell together forming a connecting circle. Without a Control Inscription when a Mage feeds magic to the magic tool, the magic tool will try and summon one or multiple spells a random number of times. In doing so the magic tool will either overload and break or the opposite route either failing at summoning the spell or summoning a spell of inferior power, creating an underwhelming product, to say the least.


    Reading further ahead, there was also information about dual elemental spells but Lowen wasn''t too interested in that since he could only use one element but as he skimmed over that part of the chapter one thing about dual elemental spells caught his attention.


    In order to have different elemental spells inscribed on a magic tool they must be in perfect balance with each other, otherwise, the magic tool will absolutely not work. The dual energies will cancel each other out causing a nullifying effect.


    Reading this part caused Lowen to immediately think about his two energies.


    (So different elements can be used together as long as they are in perfect balance. Could that mean that I could use both earth energy and ki together at the same time as long as they are in perfect balance with each other?)


    Lowen had tried to use earth energy with his ki multiple times and found that his ki would completely suppress and sometimes even destroy his earth energy. The only way he could use both at the same time was when he remained perfectly still which till this day made no sense to Lowen.


    (I wonder if ki could be substituted as an element and then be used in conjunction with earth energy.)


    *Splash*


    As Lowen was distracted by his thoughts the sound of something splashing nearby caught his attention, snapping him out of it. Just 30 or so feet away on the opposite side of the river''s edge, a large red crab nearly 3 feet across held a purple eel in its left claw. It had dragged the eel to the land where it held an advantage. As the eel struggled and squirmed, the large red crabs left claw began to turn purple, it seemed the eel was poisonous. The large crab however ignored the poison, using the claw it held the eel with, it easily cut the purple eel in two killing it instantly. As the crabs left claw turned more and more purple, the crab simply cut its left claw off with its right and prepared to leave. Lowen seeing this couldn''t turn down a free meal. Grabbing a rock, Lowen shot it over with great speed, its target, of course, was the crab, however to Lowen''s surprise the rock did not fully penetrate the crab¡¯s armored back, instead, it left a crack only a few inches long. The large red crab turned around and stared at Lowen, seeing its new enemy there was no backing down. Lowen though stood there like a criminal caught in the act.


    "Hehe, you''re probably mad, too bad you look so delicious."


    Picking up another rock Lowen filled his throwing arm with ki, with precision and power Lowen aimed at the exact same spot before launching the rock like a meteor.


    *Whoosh*


    This time the rock penetrated the Large crab''s tough armor, entering one side and out the other before shattering itself on another rock in the distance, the crab was dead before it even hit the ground. Lowen with a huge grin on his face jumped from his side of the river to the crab''s side, although 30 feet wasn''t too far of a distance to leap for Lowen, anyone in the village witnessing this would think him a little monster. Picking up the crab Lowen was surprised at how much it weighed although it was only 3 feet wide it weighed at least 150 lbs. With Lowen''s new found strength though it wasn''t too heavy to lift at all. Lowen figured that now his arms possessed the strength to lift maybe 500 lbs, the leap in power he just achieved was simply astonishing. Jumping back to the other side Lowen began making preparations. Grabbing plenty of firewood from his surroundings Lowen threw on his fur cloth and raced back to Nia''s and got things ready.


    Picking up the new knife he had traded for a week or so ago, he quickly tried to crack open the crab but of course that didn''t work. With a loud clang, the brand new knife fragmented into a few pieces turning into metal shards. With this loud noise, both Nia and Ben woke up in a panic not only that the first thing they saw was a large dead crab they quickly cried out in fear. Only after telling the two repeatedly what happened did they both calm down. At the same time the two just now noticed his body''s appearance.


    "Big bro, what happened, how did you grow your hair so long?"


    Lowen''s hair which was previously just past his shoulders now fell at the middle of his back.


    "Well, after I became a Mage it just sort of happened haha."


    Ben then stood next to Lowen and with a wave of his hand compared their heights. With a surprised expression, he said.


    "Even this, you can grow taller by getting stronger."


    Lowen neither agreed nor disagreed with Ben''s words instead he just put on a mysterious smile. Ben though seemed to take it all to heart as he excitedly jumped around.


    "Big bro, that''s amazing, when can we do that? I want to be strong too."


    Lowen thought for a moment, the only way to use ki was to form a ki seed within the body and to do that one needed to connect the body, the mind, and the soul. By simply meditating one could connect their mind and body so Lowen didn''t worry about that at all. What caused him to contemplate was the matter of the soul, to feel something that isn''t physical let alone control it, is something almost mystical. The only way Lowen knew how to even begin to feel the soul involved a life and death experience. Only by coming close to the edge of death did he first interact with his own soul. Lowen didn''t know if he could put the two through that.


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    (Hmm, this is the difficult part when it comes to ki isn''t it.)


    Lowen recalled what Roland had said the previous night before.


    (Roland told me he could make me a Mage within a day, in order for that to work he would either need to move my soul for me in order to connect it with my Mage Core or he would have to teach me a method on how to control my soul on my own. Either way with his method I should be able to use it to help these two form a ki seed if I''m right.)


    Lowen looked at Little Ben and nodded his head.


    "Hopefully soon, I believe I just need to get one thing and after that, you and your sister''s strength should develop quite quickly with my support."


    Ben once more jumped around in wild joy while even Nia''s eyes seem to light up in anticipation. Meanwhile, Lowen was still trying to pry open the crab. Nia seeing this as well as the pieces of a knife on the floor thought for a moment before she grabbed something and walked over to Lowen.


    Holding the object in front of him, it was his family sword, on the inscription it read [Toren]. Seeing this sword Lowen had almost never used it. Although it carried his family name, to him he truly wasn''t connected to this so-called family, that was the boy who previously inhabited this body. That day, that boy and his parents died, Lowen, however, took over a corpse and lived.


    Lowen couldn''t help but think how strange life was. After a short pause, Lowen remembered how sharp this sword was, with a simple nod he thanked Nia before grasping the sword, as he did he immediately felt the earth energy within his body began to move and flow toward the sword as though it wanted to be devoured by it. This caused Lowen to almost jump in surprise.


    (What the hell, there''s another mark.)


    It was now that Lowen noticed something beneath the inscribed name [Toren]. Underneath the name Toren, there seemed to be 2 more inscriptions, smaller in size by almost a hundred times compared to the first but these other two inscriptions were much more complicated and intricate in detail. Before he had no way of seeing something so small but now that Lowen''s body had grown comparably better including his vision, he could now clearly see these other 2 inscriptions. Taking out his Divine Blacksmith, Lowen jumped to inscriptions, flipping thru more than 100 inscription pages Lowen finally found it. Comparing the inscriptions they were seemed to match what was on the sword, reading the descriptions they said...


    [Sharpness]


    Simple by design but effective in its action. With a capability of cutting iron as though it were mud, as long as this magic tool is supplied with magical energy it will always remain sharp and never go dull.


    [Flexible]


    To bend and twist is a second form of natural. With a capability of bending like rubber, as long as this magic tool is supplied with magical energy it will always bend to the user''s will.


    Lowen began to wonder.


    (Roland had said that his magic tool had cost him a small fortune and it only holds 4 spells. This one holds 2 so maybe it wouldn''t cost a fortune but no one normal should be able to afford it. Just who was this boy''s, well I guess I should say, my father?)


    As Lowen seemed to be contemplating something deeply Nia couldn''t help but notice Lowen''s sharp amethyst colored eyes she too started to become lost until Ben''s loud voice broke the silence.


    "Big bro are you gonna cut it or not? I''m starving."


    Lowen started to break out in laughter as Ben began to rub his little stomach. Lowen looked at Nia in curiosity as she seemed to be a little red but with little thought to it, he just ignored it. Taking the sword high above his head he said.


    "Ok, Ben I''ll get to it now, so you and Nia take a step back."


    As they did Lowen allowed the sword to consume some of his earth energy and as the sword sucked in this bit of energy it seemed to resonate just a bit. On the surface and edges of the sword, a small green glow shined on it. With a powerful swing, Lowen brought the sword down slashing at the crab expertly.


    *Swoosh*


    The sword lived up to its name and cut through the crab¡¯s hardened armored back as though it were mud cleaving it in two. Lowen was actually surprised he had used too much force and almost fell forward, thankfully he caught himself or that would have been another embarrassing sight he would have showed the two. After prepping everything Lowen asked Nia something and after a bit of convincing she hesitatingly agreed. Lowen then left and returned a few minutes later, behind him was Luna the older aunt that had made him herbal soup the other day. With a small trade, he gave Luna some of the crabs, in exchange, she would teach the three of them how to cook. Seeing as how she seemed to be the best cook in the village and Lowen could easily procure ingredients he decided he wanted to learn, whether this was to spite Ben or because of actual interest, the others had no way of knowing. Like that the four made a delicious breakfast of crab and egg.


    After a while, Luna had left with some crab and Nia and Ben were both relaxing before they had to go train. Lowen sat outside with 2 piles of sticks on either side of him. With the [Divine Blacksmith] sitting in his lap, he was going over the [Magic Tool Inscription] pages. As he studied it closely, Lowen picked up a stick. Using his fingernail he began to carefully carve a small inscription into the stick. After a few minutes, Lowen shook his head and threw the stick in a used pile next to him.


    *Sigh*


    (Damn another failure, hmph.)


    Lowen with both hands slapped his face.


    *Phew*


    (No worries no worries, let''s do it again.)


    Picking up another stick Lowen once more began to carve out inscriptions carefully and slowly, hoping this time it would work.

 Chapter 40: I Will Have My Revenge

    Next to Lowen laid a pile of sticks as tall as him, each one was a potential magic tool but now they''re nothing more than failures. In front of him lay 5 sticks each clean and bare without any bark to speak of. On each stick were grooves of ancient writing, although each symbol represented something magical, to Lowen it only looked like chicken scratch and ugly scribbles. The reason why Lowen ended up with so little even though he started with such a huge pile of materials was the difficult nature in inscribing. In order to make a magic tool, you have to inscribe it and when you write the ancient symbols down you can not pause for even a second or the entire process will be a failure not only that you also have to continuously supply magic energy into the magic tool during the entire process. once more if you stop then the magic tool will also be a failure. The final thing that made Inscribing so difficult was the fact that Lowen was only a 1st circle Mage and not a 2nd.


    Technically he shouldn''t be able to inscribe with magic at all being only a 1st circle Mage, but since he can use ki he can just barely manage. The first circle of magic was called the circle of nature when one becomes a 1st circle Mage their abilities are quite limited. At that level, one can only summon the elements and that''s about it, however at the 2nd circle of magic, the circle of force, one is able to not only summon an earth element but they can also manipulate it without touch, change its shape and even make said earth element even denser then it currently is. In order to inscribe you need this 2nd circle force to move your magic energy into whatever material you are inscribing on. Lowen didn''t possess that so instead he would use his ki to basically push his magic into the sticks. With this process, he could succeed but the difficulty was obvious, out of 200 sticks he had just managed to create 5 magic tools, each with the same earth ball spell inscribed on it. With a 2.5% success rate, Lowen shook his head in bitterness.


    (Damn, this has taken me all day and yet I only managed to make 5 of these stupid sticks.)


    Lowen wanted to throw them away in disappointment but at the same time, he just couldn''t bear to. These 5 sticks were the only things that represented all the hard work and effort he had put in. After testing these new magic tools and confirming they each worked, Lowen simply put them away.


    Standing up Lowen stretched his back in satisfaction. Smelling the sun on his fur cloth and feeling a cold breeze nip at him Lowen''s disappointment soon faded away. Picking up his bow, he slung it on his back along with some arrows. As he was about to walk away he remembered his family sword, although Lowen wasn''t much of a sword user but knowing this sword was special made him want to treasure it more. Lowen had no sheath or anywhere to attach the sword on him and he didn''t want to carry it in his hand the whole time. Thinking about this problem Lowen remembered one of the inscriptions on the sword meant [flexible] and that all he needed to activate it was a bit of magic energy. With a thought, the sword in his hand was filled with earth energy and with another, the sword began to bend like rubber causing quite a funny sight. Taking the sword Lowen wrapped it around his arm and with a thought, he extended his arm with great speed, causing the sword to jump in his hand and harden instantly. With another thought, the sword left his hand and wrapped back around his arm like a snake. Lowen stood there for a moment, a large grin plastered on his face.


    (How useful, with this I could surprise my enemy, possibly dealing a lethal strike before they even know what hit them. The only problem now is the fact that I don''t have sleeves, so anyone that has eyes can see my sword wrapped around my arm.)


    With a quick movement, Lowen launched his Shadow Steps racing off out of the village and into the nearby forest. With nothing to do and a new found strength as well as a treasured sword, Lowen was curious to test all of the above.


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    Meanwhile, someone was moving stealthily through the village. As this figure came upon Nia and Ben''s home he cursed in whispered breaths.


    "Fucking piece of trash, you think I''d ever let that go."


    As this person tore off the cloth that hung on Nia and Ben''s home as a front door, the person jumped into the little shack ready to kill, however, upon seeing no one around, this person once more swore to themselves and kicked over a cooking pot, spilling the contents everywhere. The person then turned around and left just as quickly as they had appeared, off in search for the person they loathe.


    Nia and Ben were in the village square completely unaware of the happenings of their home, instead they were trading meat they got from Lowen for vegetables and spices. Now that Roland had declared that no one is allowed to mess with Nia or Ben or the would have to deal with him, all of the villager''s attitudes had done a complete 180. From the once hateful sneers and scornful words, everyone now acted as though that never happened. Ben was still very naive and didn''t understand why all of the adults had suddenly changed and didn''t really care, he was just glad that no one was mean. Nia, on the other hand, was older and she understood the situation perfectly. Seeing all of these people putting on false smiles and pretending to be nice, Nia, she could see thru it all and was disgusted with these people. After everything Nia went thru over the last year, this had caused her to not only change emotionally but mentally as well. Besides Lowen and Ben, there was no one else she trusted, no one else she would lower her guard for. Seeing these people smiling at her she too did the same, she too would act until she needn''t act anymore.


    As the two made their way thru the village square suddenly a shout from behind was heard.


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    "Greg, who let you out?"


    This villager grabbed Greg on the shoulder, looking to hold him until others arrived. He knew straight away that something was off and shouted loudly trying to attract attention. Usually, if someone has broken the rules but is later released by the elders or the chief, then at that time there would have been some sort of announcement. Seeing as there was none though, the villager immediately knew something was wrong.


    Greg ignored this man and shook himself loose, as he spotted Nia and Ben in the crowd, his eyes flashed with anger and he pulled a knife from inside his waistband. The villager saw this and shouted again.


    "Someone help! Greg has escaped and he has a knife, help me stop him!"


    The villager''s heard this and everyone''s eyes focused in on Greg and the sharp blade in his hand. Many people grew panicked while a few of the calmer men ran over to Greg trying to get a hold of him and free the knife from his grasp. Greg, however, was not actually a bad fighter and he quickly cut a few of the men causing many in the crowd to scream and scatter. Nia saw this and grabbed Ben by the hand and raced away but how could Greg let them escape. He sliced another man in the hand and stabbed another in the shoulder before catching up with Nia and Ben with a grab he wrapped his large arm around Nia''s neck while kicking Ben squarely in the stomach.


    *THUD*


    Ben was hit so hard that he instantly fell to the ground and rolled several feet. Grabbing his stomach in pain Ben couldn''t even scream as the impact had completely knocked the wind out of him.


    "BEN, NO!"


    Nia screamed in horror as her brother rolled around in agony but Greg was having none of it.


    "SHUT UP!"


    Greg turned Nia around.


    *SMACK*


    Giving her a strong backhand Nia''s bottom lip busted open and the corner of her mouth poured blood. Tears immediately welled up in the corner of her eyes but she was terrified, covering her mouth she cried silently as she looked on in terror. Those few villagers that were brave enough had finally surrounded Greg, Nia, and Ben but with Greg waving that cold sharp knife around like an insane wild animal, none of the villagers dared approach, especially those that had already been cut by him. Standing around Greg the villagers didn''t know what to do, none of them had encountered a situation such as this before. Some of the villagers shouted at Greg and some called him a coward for harming children but all of it only seemed to infuriate him more. As he stared furiously at the crowd of villagers with his one and only eye he shouted out repeatedly.


    "Where is the boy, bring him and I won''t kill these two, not yet anyway, hehe."


    It was clear for all to see that Greg had gone mad but still all the villagers could do was shout and argue with him, this though only infuriated Greg further.


    "If you don''t bring him to me right now then I''ll fucking kill these two right here right now."


    Seeing everyone stand around, Greg thought no one was taking him seriously so in a fit of rage he grabbed Nia''s arm and with one violent movement.


    *SNAP*CRACK*


    He broke her arm like a twig. Nia felt a pain she had never experienced before in all her life, with it, she shrieked at the top of her lungs like a wild dying animal. Looking down at her now limp arm she continued to scream out in anguish. Seeing the bone protruding from her skin as well as the blood pouring down her arm quickly forming a small red puddle beneath her, Nia''s eyes began to roll back inside of her head but just as she was about to faint.


    *SMACK*


    Greg had again smacked her, causing her to collapse on the ground in shock. Ben seeing this struggled to his feet and ran at Greg trying to tackle him, punch him, kick him, anything he could to protect his sister. Greg receiving a child''s attack became even more pissed. Lifting the sharp blade high up above, Greg suddenly swung down, aiming at Ben''s head.


    *Swoosh*


    The large knife sliced right into Nia''s back, she had moved just in time to save her brothers life. She was now hugging her brother in her arm and while tears poured from her, she whispered gently.


    "Your ok little Ben, big sis is here, I''ll protect you, I''ll protect y...."


    With the end of her strength now gone her consciousness drifted away. Ben''s thoughts were in chaotic disarray as he balled his eyes out he yelled louder and louder.


    "BIG SIS, BIG SIS, NO NO NO NO NO, YOU CAN''T DIE, YOU CAN''T."


    Greg didn''t care anymore.


    (Fuck it, I''ll kill these two and then I''ll find that piece of shit Lowen and finish him.)


    Raising his knife again he was going to first kill Nia and right after, he''d kill Ben. Ben seeing this lunatic aiming for his sister jumped in front of her with arms spread. She protected him and he was gonna do the exact same and protect her. As Greg took a swing Ben''s eyes slammed shut in fright all he could think of was.


    (Big Bro, please save big sis.)


    As the blade came down upon Ben suddenly a shout came from the crowd.


    "STOP!"


    But Greg ignored these words and the blade in his hand still came slicing down.


    Magical energy exploded out from the crowd and came rushing at Greg.


    "I SAID STOP!!"

 Chapter 41: Swift Death

    "I SAID STOP!!"


    A wall of flame rose up instantly between Greg and Ben, as Greg''s hand was in the way, that, as well as his entire forearm, was completely engulfed in flame. The smell of burnt flesh instantly spread thru the village square and Greg''s arm soon became as black as coal and the hand that gripped the knife broke away turning to ash.


    "AHHHH!! MY HAND, YOU TOOK MY HAND!"


    Greg fell to his knees grasping the remains of his arm in pain whilst howling like a madman. The gathered villagers looked back and forth between Chief Roland and the now distraught Greg, seeing such a frightening sight the villagers couldn''t help but back away slowly in terror. They knew that Greg deserved what he got but that didn''t dispell the fear they felt from seeing such a thing. One of the men keeled over and began to puke, not only from the sight of what remained of Greg''s arm but also from the combining awful smell of burnt hair and flesh.


    Roland couldn''t be bothered with the weak stomach of his fellow villager instead he looked at Greg and the maddening gaze that surged within his eyes. As Greg continued to howl in pain Roland saw the terrible sight of Nia and Ben as he moved closer an anger erupted within him.


    "YOU, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD GET AWAY WITH THIS?"


    But Greg fired back with just as much fury.


    "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP. THIS IS YOUR FAULT, THIS IS THE BOY''S FAULT. IF IT WEREN''T FOR YOU AND HIM, MY EYE, MY FUCKING EYE!!"


    Greg was so mad he couldn''t even finish a sentence properly but everyone around knew what he meant. Greg blamed Lowen for his crushed eye and he blamed Roland for doing nothing about it. Lowen''s actions had received no consequences of any kind and he had even gotten preferential treatment. Greg, on the other hand, was punished and locked away. Not only did he not get any justice but he was even humiliated by Lowen in front of the entire village, that, plus his crushed eye, Greg needed to see Lowen''s corpse completely drained of blood or he would never live down the shame and humiliation he felt that day.


    As Roland inched closer he started preparing another spell. To Roland, there was no reason to allow such a person to live any longer. If he did, it would only cause him to lose sleep at night as he would have to constantly look over his shoulder. Mages may be some of the most powerful entities on the planet but at Roland''s current circle of magic didn''t make him immune to mortal wounds. So even someone with just a regular dagger who only has regular strength, if a Mage was caught off guard, then, of course, they can be killed like any other. Only at the later Circles of magic would a Mage no longer fear such things as metal swords or steel arrows.


    Greg saw Roland inching closer and knew that if he did nothing then he would die right there and then, so in desperation he did the only thing he could do.


    Greg using his only good arm grabbed at Ben, snatching him up by his neck. Spinning around, Greg held Ben''s small body in front of himself as a human shield. In a panic, he shouted.


    "Don''t come any closer, anyone who does will have this boy''s death on their hands."


    Roland froze in place coming to a complete standstill, he knew that Greg was serious. He regretted not using another spell earlier but he was unsure how well it would go as he was still recovering his powers. Even though his 3rd circle was healed Roland didn''t know if he used multiple spells or not if that would redamage his 3rd circle of magic. Roland in his current state didn''t know where his limit was and earlier did not want to test it and risk everything he had just gotten back but because of that hesitation, Greg now had a hostage.


    One or two of the villagers didn''t heed Greg''s warning and still continued to approach. Seeing as Greg no longer held a weapon, their worry was many times less and they thought this to be the perfect opportunity but Greg saw their foolish actions and roared in anger.


    "I SAID STAY BACK!"


    Tightening his grip around Ben''s small neck Ben began to choke as tears poured down his face he tried to kick, scratch and claw at Greg''s hand trying desperately to remove it but his strength compared to a full grown adult was absolutely no match. The approaching villagers stopped but Greg continued to squeeze causing Ben''s face to start to turn blue. Only when they retreated back several steps did Greg finally loosen his grip a bit allowing Ben to breathe.


    *Cough cough huff huff huff*


    Ben swallowed air in painfully and tears continued to pour from his face. All he could think of was how much he wanted his Big bro and his big sis.


    Now everyone stood there powerless not knowing what to do. Those that weren''t terrified had now all gathered at the village square looking on in horror. Even Roland was unsure of what to do, as the magic he could use was limited. As his cane held 4 spells there were 4 options but none of them were suited for this situation none of them were precise enough. Whether it be his fireball spell, his chain of fire spell or his flame wall spell, none would work with Greg in such close proximity of Ben, it was simply too dangerous. Roland couldn''t help wondering how different things would be if he could use water magic or earth magic, fire magic was just too dangerous.


    By this time nearly the whole village had gathered and encircled Greg, Nia, and Ben. Finally, a woman in the crowd could no longer take it, Luna had stood by terrified but she knew that if Nia didn''t get help soon then she would surely die. She stood out from the crowd and yelled toward Greg.


    "What do you want?"


    Greg saw Luna and thought nothing of her but her question did garner a response.


    "What do I want, WHAT DO I..... WANT! I WANT THAT LITTLE SHIT TO COME HERE AND BEG ME ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES FOR FORGIVNESS AND THEN I WANT TO STRANGLE THE LIFE OUT OF HIM JUST LIKE THIS."


    Greg again began to squeeze Ben at the neck draining the life from his body many of the men couldn''t watch any longer and were just about to rush him when a loud yet childish voice came from behind them.


    "GREG YOU BASTARD, IM RIGHT HERE!"


    Hearing this childish yet familiar voice, Greg stopped squeezing Ben''s throat and looked over toward that shout. All he could see though was a crowd of villagers but very quickly that crowd of villagers began to part making a path for someone or rather they were forcefully being shoved aside. Lowen moved thru these grown men and women pushing and shoving them aside as though their roles were reversed, them being children and him the adult. Although they were all bigger than him in stature, not a single one of them could match him in strength. When Lowen finally stepped out of the crowd and he saw the state Nia and Ben were in his eyes began to take on a coldness like no other.


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    Greg seeing his most hated enemy appear from the crowd, took and held Ben up high in pride. With a hatred that seemed as though it could burn an entire forest Greg spoke with pure malice.


    "So you finally decided to show yourself you piece of...."


    Greg was suddenly frozen in place, his words left completely unspoken. The gathered men, women and children, none of them had seen what had just occurred. None of them had even noticed anything wrong until Greg had already collapsed. Only Roland had caught a glimpse at what just transpired. Before Greg had finished his words, Lowen had already appeared behind him, that, Roland had seen but what he didn''t see was the moment Lowen had drawn his sword. Lowen, with Ki circulating thru his body at his maximum, had unleashed his Shadow Steps and as he passed by Greg, with a thought, his family sword had unraveled itself from his arm like a coiled up Viper and instantaneously decapitated Greg. The cut had been so fast and so clean that it had left no traces of blood on the blade and as Lowen took just a single step past Greg, this magical sword once more wrapped around Lowen''s arm as though it had never even moved. Roland saw Lowen move but he had missed Lowen''s blade. When he drew it and when he put it back Roland had completely missed it, so even he had not seen how Greg had been killed. A bit of terror entered a small place in his heart, did this not mean Lowen could kill him before he could react. The same fear Lowen felt when he first learned of Roland''s magic, Roland now felt that same bit of fear creep down his spine.


    As Greg''s head fell to the ground it rolled away several feet only stopping when it hit the feet of a young lady in the crowd. Seeing this brought shouts of horror, it was only now that people could clearly tell that Greg was dead. How he died none could tell but seeing Lowen vanish from the crowd only to reappear next to Greg''s dead body in a flash they all knew he had done it but once again the same question continued to bounce around in their minds.


    (Just, how?)


    As blood gushed like a fountain out of Greg''s neck it quickly formed a red muddy puddle causing those that were nearby to be disgusted, to say the least. As the puddle grew bigger and bigger a few villagers finally snapped out of it and rushed over trying to help but Roland quickly ordered them back. Lowen bent down and held Nia in his arms. Ben struggled as he limped over he looked at his sister''s face and cried pitifully.


    "Big bro, big sis is dead, I tried to protect her but I, I, I was too weak."


    Ben began to ball his eyes out even more at his own words, only when Lowen flicked his nose did he look at Lowen in shock. With a look of betrayal, he asked in a sad babyish voice.


    "Big bro, why?"


    Lowen gave him a small smile and said gently.


    "Ben, you little fool, she''s not dead yet."


    Ben looked at Nia and then Lowen and then back at Nia, concentrating on her face he could see her eyelids twitch a little before she barely opened them. Seeing his sister slowly awaken Ben felt a joy like no other. He immediately tried to cheer in utter happiness and glee but found his throat to be feeling beyond terrible, causing him to quickly cough in pain. Still, there was no wiping the delight from his face. Lowen had already been passing Nia some ki when he held her, that was the only reason she had awakened otherwise shed still be unconscious. Roland at this time came over.


    "Lowen is there anything I can do?"


    Lowen looked at Roland with curiosity, he seemed to be genuinely trying to help. Lowen didn''t know why he wanted to help but for Nia and Ben''s sake, he wouldn''t refuse. At the same time though there was no one better qualified to help them then Lowen, with his ki he could speed up their recovery by several fold.


    "No everything will be fine, I just need to get them home and I''ll be able to handle the rest."


    Lowen felt Nia''s wound and thought about how much she suffered and recalling Ben being chocked like that filled Lowen with sadness. He couldn''t believe how someone could hurt children like that. He couldn''t understand how someone could almost kill innocent children without a second thought. As Lowen went over this something suddenly popped into his head.


    (They almost died, they were almost killed, wait, doesn''t that mean this is the perfect opportunity?)


    With this sudden thought, Lowen gently lifted Nia up and placed her on his back. Seeing how Ben wasn''t too hurt Lowen was a little more rough with Ben and simply snatched him up carrying him under his arm. Launching his Shadow Steps, Lowen like a blur disappeared from everyone''s vision, with Nia and Ben in tow, he carried them away, to where, no one knew.


    The situation in the village square was still chaotic, people were amazed and terrified of the things that had just transpired. From the brash hostage situation to the near death of Nia and Ben to the instantaneous decapitation of Greg. With all of these events quickly happening Roland was trying to bring things to a calm end but everyone was filled with unanswered questions and this time no one was leaving without an answer. As all of this was occurring Lowen could care less, carrying Nia and Ben inside their home Lowen set them down. Ben immediately wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep after his traumatic experience but Lowen wouldn''t let him. Grabbing Ben by his shoulders Lowen gave him a shake.


    "No Ben, wake up."


    "Why? I want to sleep."


    Lowen gave Ben a small grin.


    "Didn''t you want to become strong like me?"


    Ben''s eyes perked up and he immediately sat up straight and stared at Lowen patiently.


    (After I heal Nia they will be ready. After that near-death experience they both just went thru they should be able to connect their mind, body, and soul. It''s time for them to become Ki manipulators.)

 Chapter 42: The Birth Of Ki Manipulators

    Lowen set Nia up and held his palm on her back, with nearly perfect control he passed her not only ki energy but earth energy as well. Not only could ki heal the body but earth energy could strengthen it too. As long as Lowen remained still he could use both energies at once thereby speeding up the healing process on Nia many times over. Looking at the deep cut on Nia''s back Lowen could see it healing at a visible rate. To Lowen, it was weird, when these two energies clashed they would seemingly cancel each other out but when used in conjunction in a healing way, the energies seemed to work perfectly together.


    As Nia sat there she could feel warm energy pulsing in her back and spreading like a gentle warm breeze. The healing touch caused her to feel cozy like she was sitting by a warm fire. The pain in her back began to numb and the once tortures aches were now no less than comfortable.


    After an hour or so the wound on Nia''s back had finally closed, although it wasn''t completely healed, she was now no longer in any danger.


    *Phew*


    Wiping the sweat off of his brow Lowen sat next to Nia, with a small smile she said to him.


    "Thank you if it weren''t for you I..."


    But Lowen cut her off.


    "There''s no need for thanks. I''m Ben''s big bro, of course, I have to help his big sis otherwise he might blame me later."


    Ben found those words incorrect and he quickly jumped up.


    "No way no way, I could never blame big bro, not for anything."


    Nia and Lowen both chuckled a little and Nia said.


    "Ok Ben it was just a joke, relax relax."


    Lowen enjoyed this type of atmosphere but it was now time to get serious. With a calm but serious tone, he said.


    "Ok, It''s time."


    Nia looked questioningly at Lowen before he explained what he intended to do. With a nod of understanding, Nia looked at Lowen ready to begin. Grabbing Nia''s hand Lowen sat crosslegged and suggested for her to do the same with a nod she sat down and crossed her legs as well. Lowen looked at Ben and extended his other hand.


    "Ben, take your sister''s hand and mine as well, then cross your legs like ours."


    Ben nodded his head and took both Nia and Lowen''s hand, sitting down he crossed his legs and stared at Lowen in anticipation.


    "Do you two remember the breathing technique I taught you?"


    With a nod from both of them, Lowen continued.


    "Good, first sync your breathing with each other while following the breathing technique."


    Nia and Ben began to slow their breathing until they were in synch with one another, then they began Lowen''s breathing technique making sure to focus on their breath.


    "Now both of you close your eyes and just listen to my voice."


    Nia and Ben once more followed suit, shutting their eyes they waited silently for what Lowen was about to say. Lowen while holding their hands was actually monitoring their pulses, in order for the two to use the next step they had to remain calm. If their emotions got out of control then Lowen would pass them a bit of ki quelling their emotions so they could remain focused. However, Lowen''s first words would immediately throw their emotions out of whack.


    "How did it feel to almost die?"


    Hearing this question the two immediately opened their eyes in shock but Lowen just as quickly roared out at them.


    "KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT!"


    Like frightened mice, the pair of brother and sister slammed their eyes shut in fear. Lowen had mentioned death throwing their mental state to the ground before screaming at them in his loudest voice possible, no wonder why they were scared. Lowen passed the two some ki and as the soothing warm energy spread through them, the two regained their composure and they shut their eyes. Lowen seeing this, acted as though it didn''t faze him, returning his voice to a tranquil calm, he once again spoke.


    "No matter what I say or do just remain focused on the task at hand, if you can do that then you should both come out of this with plenty of benefits."


    As the two resynchronized their breathing, Lowen''s words were still harsh.


    "When you were beaten and sliced how did it feel? When you were knocked to the ground and when you were strangled how did it feel? was it painful did your back feel cold after it was cut or did it feel like fire? When your neck was squeezed tighter and tighter and the breath inside was leaving your body how much despair did you suffer and when both of your minds began to go fuzzy as you were drifting between life and death what did you feel?"


    Nia and Ben both began to tremble when they thought of what had happened earlier. Nia''s thoughts were on the deep wound she had received on her back and how at first she didn''t even feel the cut but literally just a second later her back felt as though it were on fire. The intense pain left her knees weak and her stomach queasy. Thinking about that moment left her feeling hopeless and fearful. Ben''s throat was still raw so as he swallowed he could feel a shredding pain on the inside, as though a small beast had been clawing from within trying its best to get out. Thinking about Greg choking him almost to death, the desperation and anguish he felt then was almost too much to handle.


    "Breathe, inhale, exhale, breathe. The moment you were almost gone, the exact moment you thought it was all over, did your life flash before your eyes? When it did what did you feel, can you remember? That feeling, that flash of your life that was your soul. Now, this is what I want you two to do. As you concentrate on that ki breathing technique I want you to feel that moment again while remaining calm. That instantaneous flash of life and death feel it and Breathe. Not just with your mind, once more feel it with your body, feel it with your heart and in the depths of your bones."


    Nia and Ben at first were shaking with terror remembering what they just went thru but as Lowen spoke his voice seemed to have a soothing effect and as the two felt Lowen''s ki passing thru them their tense nerves settled and their hearts and minds became as tranquil as a frozen lake. They were reexperiencing that nightmare in both body and mind but they were calm and collected. Their concentration grew higher and higher and their focus became sharp to an extreme degree. Lowen could feel this and knew they were almost there, they now needed to do one last thing.


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    "Nia, Ben, this is the last thing I want you to do."


    Lowen paused for a moment, making sure they were at their most focused he spoke in a serious tone.


    "Let it all go... Breathe... Inhale, exhale. Your pain is no more, your fear, sadness, hopelessness, is all no more. The wind, allow it to fade from thought, the ground beneath you is no more. You can no longer see, touch, smell or taste all you can do is hear."


    As the two were meditating they both began to experience everything Lowen spoke of but at the same time were completely unaware even as their senses left them the only thing that remained was Lowen''s voice but even that was beginning to fade.


    "The sky... is nothing... The world... is nothing, you are in a void of nothingness.......The Universe is nothing."


    *ba...bump.......ba..bump...BA..BUMP BA BUMP BA BUMP*


    * BOOOOOOM!*


    Lowen could immediately sense the change within Nia and Ben. Like a small explosion going off a tiny wisp of ki began to form in the center of the twos cores and after a few minutes their mind, body, and soul finally completely connected and a small seed of ki took shape. Nia and Ben had become Ki manipulators. With a nod of satisfaction Lowen couldn''t help but have a smile upon his face, as he was a stranger to this world they to were a stranger to his but with this new connection between the three, a powerful bond now formed between them. Before the two opened their eyes Lowen spoke with giddiness.


    "Ok, hard parts over, now you two have ki energy but have no clue how to control or move it so just relax and concentrate on what I''m doing."


    Lowen then proceded to pass them more ki but now that they had their own ki seeds within them he could give them as much as he wanted and there would no longer be any adverse side effects. Controlling his ki he circulated it thru their bodies following a certain path, in this way, he could speed up their growth and show them how to control it. After a while, Lowen finally stopped.


    "As long as you follow what I said, then with plenty of practice, you will be able to move your ki with thought alone."


    Nia and Ben were staring at Lowen in amazement. They could feel the power of ki coursing thru their bodies improving themselves after each full circulation. They now had a better understanding of just how incredible Lowen truly was. As Nia sat there she felt bittersweet, if only she could have attained this power long ago, then maybe she could have helped her father. Ben, on the other hand, was simply excited beyond belief, he stared at his hands and gripped them multiple times with a thought he could feel his ki moving towards his arms before it came to a stop due to a lack of it. He looked at Lowen in slight frustration.


    "Big bro how come when I try moving my ki to my arms it runs out, am I doing something wrong?"


    Lowen was intrigued and motioned for Ben to show him again Ben repeated what he did, in doing so he surprised Lowen.


    (This boy has a bit of talent, it''s only been 15 or so minutes and he can already control his ki pretty well.)


    Lowen looked at Nia, curious of her control but Ben was already pulling on Lowen''s clothes.


    "Big bro please tell me, pretty pretty please."


    Lowen chuckled a bit and said.


    "Ben, you''re not doing anything wrong, you simply don''t have enough ki. Once you have more, your ki will easily get to your limbs as well as everywhere else."


    Ben looked at Lowen with sad eyes, how could he get more when he just became a ki manipulator. Lowen shook his head.


    "Ok ok, no reason for the sad puppy eyes. All you have to do to get more power is to grow your ki seed and in order to do that, you have to circulate your ki through your body completing a cycle. Just by doing that your ki seed grows by a small margin each time. As long as you continue to practice it will grow and with my support, I can help circulate your ki faster."


    Ben began to jump up and down at this news but Lowen quickly dumped cold water on his joy.


    "That doesn''t mean I''ll help all the time or even a lot for that matter. In order to help you, that takes some of my own time away that I could be using for practicing. So only if I''m not busy and that''s only if I see that you''re practicing diligently otherwise don''t even bother asking."


    Ben took Lowen''s words to heart and nodded repeatedly before sitting down and trying to circulate his ki but seeing the way Ben''s face would scrunch up from time to time in frustration, showed just how impatient he was. Nia as well began to circulate her ki she seemed to be even more talented than her brother but even she was getting frustrated at the repeated stop and go of circulating ki just to have it run out then reabsorb ki and do it all over again. Lowen was just about to practice as well when someone spoke nervously from outside.


    "Lowen are you there?"


    Lowen recognized the worried voice and answered back.


    "Come in."


    Pulling the door flap aside a worried Luna walked in carrying a small pot. As soon as she entered though she almost dropped it in fright, her voice trembling as she spoke.


    "What happened here who destroyed this place?"


    Looking around, it was only now that Lowen, Nia, and Ben saw that their home was even more wrecked then usual. They had been so focused on healing Nia as well as becoming ki manipulators that none of them had noticed the damage. A thought came to all of their minds.


    (Greg.)


    Lowen looked at the worried Luna and shook his head.


    "It must have been Greg but since he''s already dead it no longer matters. Everything here is replaceable and everyone is safe."


    Luna though wasn''t convinced she began to shout with worry.


    "Safe, how is anyone safe? Nia''s wound is terrible and Ben''s hurt, we have to travel to the town of Jizhen and get a healer otherwise she won''t.."


    Luna stared at Nia and couldn''t finish her words. She could see with her own eyes Nia was perfectly fine and even sitting up, this left Luna completely shocked causing her to scream out.


    "HOW?"

 Chapter 43: Put In Work

    Luna couldn''t comprehend what she was seeing. Nia should have been on the verge of death bleeding out but instead, here she was, sitting up perfectly fine smiling. Luna''s mouth was left agape and she dropped the small pot she carried but Lowen was there and he easily caught it.


    "Whoops, that could have been bad, what is this anyway stew?"


    Lowen removed the lid giving the contents a look as well as a sniff. The smell was very fragrant and almost sweet, looking in Lowen could see he was mistaken. Luna shook her head.


    "It''s porridge, I thought I''d help take care of Ben while you took Nia to Jizhen."


    Lowen remembered Roland saying Jizhen was at least 5 days away.


    "Isn''t the town of Jizhen 5 days east, what makes you think I could take Nia all the way there myself?"


    Lowen already knew partly what she was going to say, he was slightly interested to know what an average villager thought of him. Luna looked at him cautiously before saying.


    "We''ve all seen it, you''re not normal. With that speed, you could surely get to Jizhen within half a day."


    Lowen thought for a bit.


    (From what Roland told me Jizhen is 220 or so miles eastward. Without using any ki I can push my body to cover a mile in under 2 minutes, so I could definitely get there in less than half a day. With ki, I should theoretically be able to get there in only a few hours.)


    Lowen nodded his head in agreement with Luna before Luna continued.


    "Everyone acknowledges that your something different even the Chief recognizes that you have value, so everyone is cautious and yet at the same time very curious about you. We know you have power but we don''t know what and I think that scares them."


    "Tell me, do I scare you, Luna?"


    Luna thought for a moment before explaining.


    "To me you are scary, but at the same time when I see your cute little face, you don''t seem like you could do anything. Only when you fight do you seem terrifying."


    Luna thought about the now dead Greg and shuddered slightly. Lowen had murdered a man in front of the entire village but he seemed so distant when he had done it, his facial expression looked completely normal as though he didn''t just kill and to Luna that was the most frightening part. Looking at Lowen though she couldn''t say that for some reason. Luna continued to stare at Nia and from time to time would switch between Lowen and Ben seeing the pair of brother and sister perfectly fine her mind was filled with questions but the three seemed determined not to answer any of them. Lowen decided to change the subject, wafting the smell of the porridge towards his face, Lowen smiled slyly.


    "Can anyone have some of this or just Ben?"


    Luna''s unanswered questions faded and instead, she put on a warm smile.


    "Everyone of course."


    (If they don''t wish to tell me that''s understandable I just wish these kids wouldn''t isolate themselves like this.)


    Luna understood though why they did. The people of this village were too hot or cold and their thoughts seemed to flip and flop with a few words from Roland. Most of them didn''t seem to have a real opinion of their own but there were some exceptions and outliers like Luna but they were few and far between. With such attitudes from the other villagers, why would Nia or Lowen want to really interact with them?


    The 4 sat together and ate the porridge with Ben, of course, being the most excited. The food however quickly ran out and Luna went to get more ingredients. After she returned she proceeded to teach the three kids how to make porridge properly so it was both delicious in taste and fragrant in smell and although she refused payment at first, Lowen continued to be pushy and she eventually accepted a bit of meat. Lowen didn''t wish to owe her anything plus he knew how difficult it would be for her to replace what she had used for them. After the meal, Luna stayed for another hour or so just talking about her life or the other nearby villages or about the latest gossip, which of course was about Lowen but still, Nia and Lowen enjoyed the conversation. Ben, on the other hand, was sitting quietly in the corner with his eyes shut, he had become bored early on listening to gossip. Both Lowen and Nia could feel ki energy slowly drifting to a meditating Ben. Nia became a bit irritated and anxious she, as the older sister couldn''t allow for her little brother to out, do her so after talking a bit more she too went off into a corner and closed her eyes. Luna could see that both Nia and Ben were busy with what she didn''t know but she could tell her presence was starting to get in the way. So with consideration in mind, Luna got up and grabbed her cooking pot, with a soft voice she bid everyone farewell before turning around and leaving.


    Lowen looked at the two and smiled as they concentrated tirelessly in meditation. Now that the two had become ki manipulators the two had automatically entered the first of the 8 stages of ki, the Body Refining stage. In this stage, one would be refining their body with harsh physical training, as well as infusing every fiber of their being with ki. This would increase their overall physical traits by a huge margin allowing one to go beyond a normal person in every way. Not only that one would learn how to control their body to a finite degree. They''d be able to remove toxins from the body, elevate or lower their bodies temperature, even heal themselves at an incredibly fast rate.


    This stage was about hard work and dedication and was kind of like a test to see whether or not one was capable of entering the higher stages. As long as you laid down a great foundation in the Body Refining stage, this would almost guarantee that you enter the second stage, the Aura Body stage.


    To enter the Aura Body stage the first requirement was that one''s body be incredibly tough, and, Lowen had already reached that level and could technically try to enter the Aura Body stage but he could tell that his body was still strengthing at an incredible rate. Using both earth energy along with ki, his body was becoming something truly monstrous.


    (If I wait a little longer and continue to refine my body, it should make me significantly stronger at every other stage. Plus, it will allow my body to hold more power than another at the same stage.)


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    In order for one to hold ki within the body, they needed a ki seed. After completing a full circulation of ki it expands the ki seed by a tiny fraction the more times you complete a full circulation the more it grows until eventually its almost bursting. With Lowen''s tough body his ki seed would compensate trying to balance itself with his body, growing even bigger than a normal ki manipulators ki seed. Because of this Lowen''s ki seed was now 3 or 4 times bigger than a normal ki manipulator and it was still growing. Maybe in another few months, Lowen''s ki seed would be at its limit almost ready to burst then he could refine it further and make an attempt at the 2nd stage until then he could only practice patiently.


    ----------------------------------------------


    The next morning Lowen, Nia, and Ben were up bright and early. It had just finished snowing and the ground was covered in a few inches of pure powdered snow. The sky was clear and although the sun shone down, no one seemed to feel its warmth. As the wind howled thru the village, most people couldn''t stand to stay outside for more than 30 or 40 minutes, the cold was just too unbearable. But for Lowen, it was mild at best and for the two siblings, this weather was just bearable.


    The three stood outside excited, each one held a smile on their face and each one of them had it for a different reason. Ben was excited because he had never felt stronger. Nia was smiling because her back was now almost entirely healed and Lowen had just shown them and given them tips on how to circulate and control their ki better. Lowen, on the other hand, was smiling because he was thinking about the hell he would soon put these two thru. Now that they could absorb and use ki, it was time to push their bodies further, it was time to put the refine in Body refining. Standing outside, the three stood next to 3 logs, each one bigger than the other. Lowen gave the two a signal and Nia and Ben bent down and each picked up a log. Placing it on their shoulders, the two held their logs as though they were fetching water. Ben''s log was quite small only weighing around 20 pounds. Nia''s was slightly bigger weighing 35 pounds. Lowen''s log, on the other hand, was huge, weighing just over 300 pounds the weight alone made his bare feet sink almost an inch into the ground but Lowen could handle it. Looking at the two, brother and sister, Lowen gave a small childish shout.


    "Move!"


    With that shout, The three while each carrying a log began trekking their way thru the 4 to 5 inches of snow. Walking, running, jumping, squats, Lowen pushed the two harshly as he yelled every few seconds for the two to keep pace. Hearing all the shouting a few curious villagers poked their heads outside to see what all the fuss was about. Seeing the three children running outside in the snow like madmen whilst carrying logs on their shoulders was a frightening scene. The same thought ran in each of their minds before a simple explanation came to mind.


    (How is Nia ok? Could Roland have used some magic medicine to heal her? Yes that must be it, there''s simply no other way.)


    With these villagers having no real understanding of magic, many of them had come to similar conclusions. Although Roland had never been seen with a magic medicine the villagers assumed he had one, for them that was the only explanation.


    Still, seeing these children in the snow like this, many of the villagers couldn''t help but shout in concern.


    "What are ya kids doing? Hurry inside before you catch your deaths!"


    After this old lady shouted an old man''s shout soon followed.


    "She''s right, Y''all need to quit playing around and get back home before this cold takes ya."


    Even though Roland had told the villagers not to interfere with Lowen and his business but these older people couldn''t help it, they had lived for many years and knew of the horrors of the extreme cold. Seeing kids running around in freezing weather while physically exhausting themselves, some of the villagers held a real concern. Lowen though simply shook his head ignoring them. With more shouts, he ordered Nia and Ben forward.


    5 minutes passed then 10, then 20, still the children ran around the village carrying the heavy objects with them. 1 hour then two then three, finally Lowen Nia and Ben were back inside sitting by the fire having a meal. Although the three could easily replace a meal or two or three with ki, using it like that was wasteful. Instead, they could eat a healthy meal and using the ki energy they would have expended replacing a meal they could use it on themselves, improving their muscles and bones and other things of that nature. As they finished their meal Lowen sat behind them, placing a palm on both of their backs he used his ki to push theirs forward helping them to circulate their ki faster. If this continued then the two, brother and sister, may be able to enter the Aura Body realm within a year and a half possibly even sooner. As Lowen thought about the two of them improving he couldn''t help but grow excited at their future possibilities.


    After an hour or so everyone''s stomach had settled and they were right back outside doing it again this process repeated 2 more times before they were completely done for the day. The amount of food the three ate after all was said and done was around 6 pounds each, together they had consumed 18 pounds of food for a family of 6 or 7 this would make total sense but the three of them had really eaten this much. The amount of energy they used was terrifying and in order not to waste ki and compensate for it, they simply had to consume food.


    As the night came and people all over the village were bundled up with their family sitting close to their fires, Nia, and Ben were instead following along with Lowen as he demonstrated to them his Shadow Steps. Each time the two tried to pivot and move like him they would quickly fall over landing face first or straight on their butts but just as quickly they would spring to their feet. With a fire burning in their heart they were again roaring to go. So like this, a funny sight occurred, one in which these two, brother and sister, would run as fast as possible and then while trying to pivot and turn they would fall down foolishly, in this way these pair of siblings were trained over and over again.

 Chapter 44: Disturbance In The Forest

    6 months later


    *Huff Puff*


    5 men were running for their lives in the forest. Each man was exerting their stamina to its fullest. As they weaved their way between trees, they continuously pushed themselves to their limit. As their faces poured with sweat and their lungs felt as though they were on fire, they continued at a desperate pace. With every muscle on the verge of collapse, still, they pushed themselves. But why, for what reason would these men flee so desperately.


    *AHH-WOOOOOOL*


    Out in the distance hidden from sight, a large pack of wolves were on the trail for human flesh. For every step one of these men took in fear, this pack of wolves covered 3, right now, the hunters were being hunted.


    *What do we do what do we do?!"


    "Shut it! we keep moving."


    These men were in pure panic mode, with wolves gaining on them they had no time to think, in this situation all they could do was run.


    As spring was coming to an end, these men had been in desperate search for wild game. During the winter they had relied solely on their stored winter supplies to keep them fed and when spring had arrived like usual they would go and hunt for fresh meat such as deer, rabbit or boar. However, something was different this year, very different. Each time the men would go on a hunt, besides birds, they would find almost no other animals. The amount of food they brought back became less and less.


    Now, ever since spring started, the men would encounter wolfs. In previous years when spring came, wolves would stick to their territory of the mid to lower range of the mountains, only coming a few miles into the forest. They almost never appeared within the territory of humans and yet this had been the seventh time these hunters had encountered a pack of wolves. The first time they were attacked, they had tragically lost 3 men and had barely escaped with their lives. Thinking it was just an unfortunate encounter they had gone into the forest again only a week later but once again the wolves were there, almost as though they were waiting for them. The men had tried several more times to hunt but each time they went they would either find nothing or run into wolves, forcing them to desperately flee. The people in the village were starting to grow hungry and had to greatly rely on fish as well as the few poultry they had. If they couldn''t get meat soon, then they''d be forced to harvest some crops early, throwing their whole year off. If things continued like this, then by the time winter reared its ugly head, the villagers would have nothing stored and would be in a terrible predicament.


    *AHHH-WOOOOOOL*


    Hearing this howl, the men''s faces turned pale with fright, the wolves were so close the men could now hear and see the leaves on the nearby brush rustle and shake. As the noise got closer and closer the intense growls sent dread into each of the men''s hearts, some thought they might drop dead right there and then.


    As the men were running, their path seemed to become more and more narrow. Each time they wished to move in a certain direction another brush would rattle causing them to pivot and run the opposite way. As they continued to follow the narrow path, finally it opened up but the sight in front of these men took every ounce of their hope and twisted it into dark despair. In front of the men outstretched to both their left and right was a long rock wall that stretched for hundreds of feet. These men being hunters, they quickly realized what had happened. Like a flock of dumb sheep, they had been herded to this wall for a slaughter.


    As the men backed up to this wall a few of them couldn''t help but look up at its height. It was merely 15 or 16 feet, if they had the time they could easily scale it but the fact of the matter was, that there was no time. Standing with their backs to the wall, it was only a few seconds when a wolf stepped into the clearing. Standing just 10 feet away, the men could smell the wolf''s foul odor, it was a sour stench of rotting meat and dried blood, it was truly disgusting causing the men''s noses to sting. Right after that first wolf stepped out immediately after another one followed, then another and another. After only a few seconds, in total 9 wolves stood tall. With fangs bared and claws razor sharp, the men gulped as they shook and trembled. Drawing their blades and bows they had no choice but to fight. Each wolf equaled several men combat wise and right now there were more wolfs then there were men. Right now, not only were they cornered but they were outnumbered by stronger creatures as well, the look on these hunters faces was one of hopelessness.


    The wolves wasted no time, as soon as they were in the clearing they all had pounced with fangs bared.


    *Swoosh swoosh swoosh*


    3 arrows were released in quick succession from the rock above.


    *Thwack thwack thud*


    2 had pierced two different wolves while one arrow had hit the dirt at another''s feet. The arrows had come so quick but with it, 1 wolf was already dead on the ground and the other was only slightly wounded. From above the rock, a shout was suddenly heard.


    "Ah big bro I missed, it was so close but I missed."


    With this sudden attack from an unseen place, the wolves quickly backed off several feet with their guards raised. The men hearing this voice, however, were suddenly filled with relief. They knew that voice anywhere, It was little Ben''s voice and if he was here then that meant Lowen was here as well. Looking up above standing on top of the rock wall stood 3 children, 2 boys, and one girl. The boy with dark purple eyes looked down and sighed.


    "Seems like we''re now completely out of arrows."


    With a small leap, Lowen, Nia, and Ben all hopped down from the rock wall and landed between the wolfs and the men. Seeing Lowen 1 of the men collapsed not only because he was exhausted but also because he now knew everything would be alright. No one knew how or what these children did but somehow they were all stronger than the adults in the village. No matter how curious they were though Chief Roland would only tell them that Lowen was special, besides that he would say no more. This only caused the people in the village to grow more curious. Lowen''s mysteriousness both intrigued the people as well as infuriated them to some degree but there was nothing they could do.


    As Lowen stood in front of the wolves he noticed a few oddities but shook the thoughts away, right now it wasn''t time for that it was time to fight. Lowen, as well as Nia and Ben, had each shot an arrow. Lowen''s had pierced a wolfs head instantly killing it while Nia''s arrow had landed high up on another''s shoulder drawing blood with a slight wound. Ben''s arrow had narrowly missed its target by a few inches, he seemed to be still lacking in precision.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Seeing it was really Lowen one of the men spoke up.


    "Thank the gods your here, we were too foolish and were cornered. Please help us."


    Lowen said nothing and only nodded but Ben, of course, was his honest self.


    "Why do you think we even showed up? It was big bro that heard the wolves and so we ran over. If not to help do you think we instead came to play?"


    Lowen gave a small nod to Ben''s words but Nia, however, thought they were inappropriate and gave little Ben a slight knock on the head. Ben immediately gave his head a rub trying to ease the pain and was about to shout at his sister when Nia gave him a cold glare. Ben quickly jumped back expecting another hit and just like he thought Nia''s fist came for his noggin at a weird angle but with Ben''s odd steps he had just barely dodged. The men couldn''t help but stare at these children with an odd expression.


    (How can they be so calm in this situation?)


    The wolves as well seemed as though they were thinking with a few growls back and forth they all suddenly quieted down. They were now no longer looking at the men but the three children that stood before them especially at Lowen. The wolves didn''t know why but every instinct within them screamed for them to avoid him at any and all cost. They couldn''t run though not yet they were given their job and with their loyalty, there was no backing out. The 8 remaining wolfs looked at each other as though to confirm something before they slowly began their approach. Lowen could tell what was coming and gave a swift order to the two siblings behind him.


    "Nia, Ben, here they come!"


    Nia and Ben''s eyes immediately turned sharp and they got into defensive stances. Right as they moved so did the wolves. 4 wolves leaped at Lowen ready to kill, two in the front and one on his left and right. 1 wolf jumped at Nia and another at Ben. Behind the attacking wolves two stood there, maybe they were observing or maybe they were simply waiting no one knew.


    The men looked on in horror at first, they knew that Nia and Ben had grown strong but they couldn''t imagine the two being capable of fighting these wolves. To their shock though they were doing just that. As a wolf pounced at Ben, Ben like just before moved his feet in an odd way and as the wolf''s claw came toward his chest, Ben was already a few feet away. Every time the wolf swiped at him or snapped its jaws trying to bite Ben in half, Ben would instead dip and dodge, slipping past every attack. As Ben was dodging these deadly strikes he quickly picked up a rock no bigger than his hand. With power coursing through his arm, Ben threw the rock with great speed. Since he was only a few feet away his aim was right on target.


    *Thump*


    The rock landed squarely on the wolf''s eye crushing it into pulp. As a reddish bloody liquid poured from the wolf''s eye socket the wolf thrashed around howling in pain. Lowen had taught Ben about mercy and the times in which to show it, now, however, was not the time. Pulling a small dagger from his side, Ben rushed in and pierced the wolf''s throat, directly ending its life.


    At the same time that was happening Nia was playing to her own strengths. Instead of waiting for the wolf to pounce Nia was on the offensive. Before the wolf leaped at her she had already moved, appearing right in front of it, she filled her arm and fist with ki and with a shout in her mind she roared.


    (SNAKE FIST!)


    Counter to her brother, Nia''s aim was perfect. With a solid punch, she landed a hit right on the wolf''s throat before using the same movement as her brother and backed off. The wolf, however, wasn''t dead yet, merely wounded. Nia though expected this and with the same tactic she jumped in and with her Snake Fist she came at the wolf''s throat from a completely different angle, landed a solid punch and leaped away once more. With these hit and run tactics Nia landed 5 solid hits to the wolf''s throat before it was crushed. Lowen had taught her this tactic if you wanted to defeat an opponent who held greater strength, one way to do it was to repeatedly hit their weak point. With damage over time, the enemy will eventually fall.


    As Nia and Ben''s wolves both fell at nearly the same time so to did the two front attacking wolves trying to kill Lowen. As the two front attacking wolves had leaped at Lowen, Lowen had appeared in front of them even faster. One of the worst things you could ever do in a fight was to leap in the air in front of an opponent. With the wolves still in the air Lowen willed his sword with a thought.


    *Schink*


    Lowen''s family sword unwrapped itself from Lowen''s arm like a coiled snake and struck like lightning. Before the two wolf heads had even fallen off of their bodies, Lowen''s sword had already once again wrapped itself around his arm. With the strike being so swift and clean, not a drop of blood had stained the blade. The two other attacking wolfs saw this and hastily retreated. Forget their instincts, what they had just witnessed confirmed everything, they were no match for this human. As the 4 wolfs shared a look between them, one of them gave a low howl and all four wolves moved at once. With a rapid speed, these wolfs grabbed their fallen comrades bodies, holding them in their mouths the four wolfs turned and ran just as quickly, disappearing into the forest. The men seeing this all fell on their collective asses in exhaustion.


    "They did it, we''re safe, we actually lived, hahaha."


    While the men were celebrating, Ben was a little upset, he wanted to fight for longer but it was all over so soon. Ben began to punch and kick at the air in frustration. Nia though could see a puzzled look on Lowen''s face and walked towards him, Lowen had squatted down and was observing the only wolf that the others hadn''t carried off. Looking at its corpse Lowen noticed something, taking in the wolf packs size as well as the frequent sightings and attacks Lowen could tell something was off. Picking up the corpse, Lowen slung the wolf over his shoulder and was surprised about how light it was. Looking at Nia and Ben, Lowen said.


    "Get our hunt, its time we head back."

 Chapter 45: Arrival

    "Get our hunt, it''s time we head back."


    Ben heard this and settled down a bit, with a look at his sister, Nia, and Ben both ran at the rock wall. With ki filling their bodies the two jumped over the wall in 3 or 4 leaps. Seeing this, the men were again filled with shock. To see Lowen do it they could accept it by now, but seeing Nia and Ben whom they had known for years leap a wall faster than any of them could, it was almost unfathomable. As quickly as the two had gotten over the wall just as quickly a few bodies fell from it. 4 birds 3 snakes 1 rabbit and 2 small boars dropped from the top of the wall. Nia and Ben once again landed at the bottom of the wall. The men saw this and gathered over, seeing all this food they all stared at each other with disbelief. They were the best hunters in the village and they had found nothing for weeks now yet these kids had caught so much. Thinking about how these kids had moved earlier, the hunters all had the same thought...


    (Of course, they could catch this much prey, with those abilities they outdo us all.)


    One of the men, however, noticed something odd. Looking at each of the wounds on the animals the man yelled out.


    "Arrows, they only used a bow and arrow."


    The 5 men looked at the wounds on the animals and with their hunter''s eyes they could tell how each animal had died and sure enough, they were all killed with arrows. Did this not mean that they had used none of their skills from earlier and yet they still caught so much prey. This was simply amazing. The men looked at the children again, this time with a little trepidation as well as amazement.


    Lowen looked at the men and told them to carry the food, afterward when they returned to the village Lowen would split the food with them. Although with Nia and Ben''s help they could just manage to carry everything but Lowen could clearly see the desperation for food in each of the men''s eyes. Lowen wasn''t that charitable though and decided they would owe him later on. With that proposition, the men readily agreed, carry some food and get some food in return, that was of course easier than hunting. As everyone returned to the village, the men quickly told everyone what happened, surprising them all, to say the least.


    Lowen overhearing could care less about the people''s interest and excitement and instead went his separate way. Walking into the Chief Hall, he quickly met up with Roland and the three elders. With the wolf on his shoulder, Lowen threw the corpse down on the floor shocking the elders. One of them with a trembling voice asked.


    "What, what is this about?"


    Lowen ignored this elder and instead explained what had happened in the forest. Roland began processing this but couldn''t figure out what was going on but what Lowen had told him definitely led him to believe something was happening within the forest and mountain, to what degree though was the question. Lowen seeing the questioning gaze on everyone''s faces went over the facts once more.


    "If we look at the situation in individual parts none of it will seem very odd but once we combine everything, a disturbing picture starts to form.


    Pointing at the wolf Lowen laid things out.


    "This wolf for example, looking at its body does anyone notice anything odd?"


    Staring at the wolf one of the elders could already see something wrong and answered.


    "This wolf, even though it''s in its hunting season its ribs are clearly seen, is it sick?"


    Lowen shook his head.


    "No, not sick, starving."


    Lowen suggested for the men to try lifting the wolf and each one did. As they each picked the dead wolf up they were each surprised at how light it was. Once again an elder spoke, albeit with some confusion mixed in.


    "How can it be so light, this wolf is probably less than 100 pounds."


    Roland had taught Lowen a few things about the nearby species that inhabited the area and one of those species included this type of wolf. This wolf species is supposed to weigh between 145-165 pounds, instead, this one weighed less than a 100. Lowen looked at the elders and Roland and continued.


    "Not only does this wolf weigh so little, but the other wolves in the pack all looked to be around the same weight. These wolves are going hungry and they may even be cannibalizing on each other."


    Before any of the elders or Roland could ask him why he thought that, Lowen saw the questioning look on all of their faces and instead asked a question himself.


    "Roland, you''ve told me once before that a pack of wolves numbers at least 15 always but the group we encountered only numbered 9. You also told me that wolves when hunting and after everything is said and done, will grab their food and leave. There was no food though and not once did you ever mention them carting their fallen comrades back to where they came from. So tell me, why then did those wolves take the other wolf corpses back with them?"


    The elders and Roland put the pieces together and agreed with Lowen. The lack of food within the forest, the underweight pack of wolves and them carrying off their dead comrades. This all seemed to line up but it left everyone with the same question. Roland pondered some more but he still couldn''t figure out why and if he didn''t come to a rightful conclusion soon, then the villagers faced possible starvation for the coming winter. Looking at this small boy in front of him Roland wondered if he could have the answer. Roland didn''t bother putting up an attitude and simply asked.


    "Lowen, do you know why this is happening?"


    The elders, as well as Lowen, looked at Roland curiously. Several months ago Roland would have probably just demanded Lowen to tell him what he knew. Roland used to be extremely haughty, as though he were superior to any and all and because of who he was and the power he held no one called him out, it was only natural. Even Roland himself had thought himself in that way, but after Lowen had stood up to him and threw his hypocrisy back in his face, Roland recognized something in himself. He realized he had become this way and he hadn''t started like this. He recognized that because of this attitude he had pushed many away, and many that he cared for and because of that, the moment he was in trouble and needed help no one came to his aid.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    When he originally wanted to enter the 5th circle and merge his life with his Mage Core, had he had help, he might not have failed. As a matter of fact, he was almost 100% sure. Not only that, even if he still had failed, if someone could have helped him immediately after his accident then the damage might not have been so horrendously bad and he might have even been able to heal himself in only a years time. Thinking of the many decades he wasted alone and injured, Roland regretted it immensely and after Lowen came down on him, Roland had closed himself up for a while in reflection. When Roland reemerged he was a changed man or at least he was trying to change himself slowly. Right now at this time 6 months later people were starting to recognize that he had softened a bit. Seeing this new side of him though no one seemed to be complaining.


    As Lowen thought of the situation, only a few things came to mind. Seeing as Lowen was from an entirely different world he could only go off the knowledge he knew of his old world and the little he knew of this one. Combining both aspects he came to what he thought to be the most plausible explanation.


    "When a predator leaves their own territory and searches for prey in another, usually it''s from one of two things. Either number one, the wolf pack has grown exceedingly large and is forced to expand to cover the increasing population or number two, another species is somehow forcing the wolves out. I think the obvious answer is the latter. But what I don''t know is, what creature is causing this."


    The 5 people stood around the wolf''s corpse deep in thought. Roland and the elders thought and thought, but couldn''t comprehend what animal could be doing this. When it came t the mountains and forest there was a long existing hierarchy between the animals and beast. Wolves may not be at the top but they weren''t too far off either and the creature above them in the hierarchy couldn''t breed fast enough to suddenly consume the amount of food that was missing from the forest. This problem had occurred too sudden and if it wasn''t solved soon then the future of this and possibly other villages would become uncertain.


    As these four men and Lowen stood there and continued to think, suddenly the door to the Chief Hall opened with a bang. A young man came barging in and before anyone could grow angry, the young man with panic in his voice shouted at the top of his lungs.


    "CHIEF! CHIEF! THERE''S AN ARMY APPROACHING! THERE ALMOST HERE!"


    Just as the young man had finished screaming in fear, the sound of the village bell began to toll as a warning for the other villagers. Roland, the elders, and even Lowen were all shocked as well as confused. Before Roland could even issue a command Lowen had already turned into a blur, disappearing in the direction of Nia''s place. Roland had no time to think about Lowen and instead shouted at the young man.


    "WHO, WHO HAS COME? DON''T JUST STAND THERE LIKE A FOOL ANSWER ME!"


    The young man, however, was too terrified and nervous to answer and instead just pointed at the entrance of the village before collapsing to the ground desperately trying to catch his breath.


    With Lowen''s current speed and this village''s small size, he arrived at Nia''s place in less than 2 seconds. Running inside, Lowen saw Nia and Ben standing around nervously, yes they had gained power but the trauma from being attacked over a year ago and the devastation it caused was still way too fresh for them. In order for them to become less emotional and reactive, Lowen had to train their mentality and toughen them up, and for that he needed time. When the two saw Lowen they immediately calmed down. Lowen smiled at their quick recovery and began to give them orders.


    "Ok, this is the plan, there is an army outside the village I will go and see what their intentions are and you two will hide and observe. If anything happens to me, no matter what, don''t try to interfere. Instead, Nia, using your Shadow Steps, I want you to take your brother and run as far away as you can. Take nothing else and flee if I survive then ill meet you at Jizhen within a few days, if not..."


    Before Lowen''s words finished, the tolling bell suddenly stopped. Outside, the sounds of panic quickly became sounds of cheering. Lowen, Nia, and Ben became curious, wasn''t their trouble, wasn''t an army coming. Lowen, Nia, and Ben cautiously stepped outside. Seeing people cheering and jumping in excitement the threes curiosity grew. In one leap Lowen jumped on top of the unsteady roof and observed the situation. At the entrance of the village, a group of soldiers no more than 100 was trotting on horseback into the village. Lowen expected to see panic on the villager''s faces but instead, he saw joy. As the soldiers rode into the village square, they were all smiling and waving at the people. Each and every one of them wore leather chest armor and carried either a sword at the hip or a bow slung behind them. Leading at the front was a tall sturdy man with a bluish grey metal chest plate and leather bracers. On this, mans chest plate was an image of a rhino with three horns one on its nose and two on its head. Looking at this small group of soldiers Lowen could see a few waving banners that also had the image of a rhino with three horns on its head. As the men all gathered in the middle of the village square, Roland stepped out of the Chief Hall with the three elders behind. Seeing the symbol on the banners as well as this tall knight with the same image on his chest plate, Roland took on an entirely different expression. With a welcoming gesture, Roland placed his right fist over his left chest and gave a slight bow, as he did he said.


    "Rhylo Kingdom, it is an honor, I welcome you to this small humble village of mine."

 Chapter 46: Mission

    With a simple nod, the man leading the other soldiers acknowledged Roland and dismounted from his horse. Standing slightly over 6 feet tall, this man had broad shoulders and bulging muscles to match his stature. With black hair in the fashion of a buzz cut and black eyes to match, this man gave off the feeling of a natural born soldier. Even his black beard seemed grizzled at first but looking closer, it was actual trimmed proper. Wearing a bluish chest plate, the insignia of a rhino with three horns atop its head represented the Rhylo Kingdom. Taking a few steps toward Roland, this man eyed him and the three elders behind him, turning toward the crowd the man spoke in a loud booming voice.


    "People of Sento village, listen up."


    With this commanding voice, the loud cheering and excited expressions quickly became quiet murmurs until finally, silence. Everyone suddenly had a nervous look as they stared at the serious young commander. Roland, the elders, and all of the villagers waited quietly for the man''s next words. Once more with a booming voice, the young man spoke.


    "I am commander Clovis from the imperial army and have been ordered to investigate the happenings in the area and solve the issues at hand."


    Everyone''s eyes and ears perked up as they listened.


    "As I''m sure you''re all aware by now, something has been happening in the forest and mountain. Because of this strange happening, not only this village but other nearby villages as well as the town of Jizhen have been experiencing frequent attacks by roaming wolf packs as well as a large shortage of wild game."


    Clovis put two fingers in his mouth and issued a loud whistle. Outside of the village, a few more horses could be seen coming from the distance, behind them a few big wagons were seen being pulled. Why these wagons were so far outside of the village no one knew but by the time the wagons actually made their way into the village square and the people saw what they carried, a few people had put it together. In total there were 6 large wagons and inside each and every one of them were piles and piles of dried meats and jerky. Some people recognized if they would have just pulled the wagons in with no explanation, the people might have disregarded them and would have maybe attacked or stole the food. With the commander, however, grabbing the villagers attention and then telling them why they were here, he instantly built a small amount of trust. With him telling them he would solve the issues at hand and then carting in a bunch of food, the people all knew that Clovis was most likely going to give them some, otherwise what was the point of him saying all that. This was the reason he hadn''t allowed the wagons in at first.


    "If everyone would form 6 orderly lines, with each line in front of a wagon, my men will distribute the food out to each man, woman, and child equally. While this is happening I''ll need to have a talk with your Chief, your elders, as well as anyone who has any valid information on the current situation. In the meantime, my soldiers will set up a defensive perimeter around the village. Once you all have collected your food, please leave the village square so others can get their food and then go about your day as you normally would, that is all."


    Turning back to Roland, Clovis gave Roland a telling look and Roland led the way. Roland also gave a small order and one of the elders turned and left. As some of the soldiers set up a defensive perimeter the others were generously handing out plenty of food, although the amount wouldn''t last forever it was clearly enough for a month or so, hopefully, the problem would be solved by then. As Lowen watched the situation unfold he was very curious about these soldiers especially Clovis. Lowen could feel a small amount of magic power flowing through him but it wasn''t enough to call him a Mage. Like Lowen, before he became a 1st circle Mage he had learned how to absorb and sense an element, he was neither a regular person nor was he a Mage. This is what Lowen felt from Clovis and yet Roland seemed extra courteous to him for some reason.


    As Lowen was stuck in thought one of the elders came upon him. Seeing Lowen perched up on the roof like a bird, the elder wanted to laugh but he knew of Lowen''s strength and instead acted cautiously. Clearing his throat, the elder gently spoke.


    "Lowen, The chief has asked that you please come to the Hall as he could use your assistance."


    Lowen rolled his eyes at first, with the Chief having a seemingly new personality he would most likely want Lowen to either help or give his viewpoint. Lowen didn''t necessarily mind helping people but helping the Chief was annoying. With Roland''s new attitude, Lowen hadn''t been able to get mad at him even once and to Lowen, it was kind of irritating. To go from greatly disliking someone to basically becoming completely indifferent and then that person suddenly devoting himself to helping his fellow villagers. If Lowen said no, then he would look like an asshole and if he said yes, Lowen felt he would be doing exactly what Roland wanted and that bugged the hell out of him. With an exaggerated sigh, Lowen jumped down from the roof and told Nia and Ben not to worry and with a leisurely attitude, he walked back to the Chief Hall.


    As Lowen and the elder entered the Chief Hall, Roland was finishing his explanation of everything he had recently learned, as well as Lowen''s hypothesis. Looking at the people in the Hall, Roland the elders, Clovis as well as another older man Lowen hadn''t noticed earlier, all stood around the wolf''s corpse. Standing up Clovis looked at Roland with a questioning gaze and asked.


    "Is that true, where is this Lowen? I wish to speak with him on this."


    Roland slowly pointed at the small child standing behind Clovis and Clovis turned around. If his face wasn''t one of surprise, then there would be no other way to explain it. Clovis almost started to shout when he saw Lowen.


    "You expect me to believe this child killed those wolves and even came up with that sort of explanation on why they have appeared, do you take me for a fool?"


    Roland wasn''t upset in the least he simply shook his head and began to explain.


    "I ask that you do not look down on this boy he may look normal but he''s already a 1st circle earth Mage. Not only that but he''s also a very strong fighter as well as highly intelligent, were you to underestimate him then it would be your doom."


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    Lowen gave a small smile of satisfaction. From the outside in he would look intelligent but really its just past experience but Lowen couldn''t tell them that. As for being a 1st circle Mage and a strong fighter all of that credit was definitely his. Looking at commander Clovis and the older soldier beside him, they both looked unconvinced. Seeing as there was no need to hide his power Lowen decided to reveal a card or two. Taking out a simple stick Lowen pointed it above the palm of his hand. Clovis and the old soldier beside him looked at Lowen as though he were a fool before something strange happened. With a bit of power, Lowen filled this seemingly ordinary stick with magic, as he did an inscription along this stick began to glow with a dim green light and a ball of dirt no bigger than a fist quickly formed in his hand.


    The stick had been one of the few he had slowly carved an inscription on a few months back. Although Lowen continued to carve inscriptions almost daily, he still couldn''t put multiple spells on one stick without them completely breaking. At this point though, he had a few spells on separate sticks. The only downside was that each time he used a spell, the stick would either break having a one time use or the stick would have a long cooldown of some sort.


    Clovis and his fellow soldier were shocked, to say the least, but Lowen wasn''t finished. Taking the ball of dirt, Lowen chucked it past the men and using just his body Lowen ran past them with great speed, by the time they turned around Lowen had already caught the ball of dirt. Standing there stupified, Clovis couldn''t help but say the first thing that came to mind.


    "Uncle, this boy is almost as fast as you."


    Lowen, Roland, and the elders included, all stared at Clovis and this older soldier at his side in confusion. They all had the exact same thought.


    (Uncle.)


    Clovis and this older man could see the confused looks on everyone''s faces. The older man cleared his throat and spoke a few words.


    *Ahem*


    "My nephew has lost his composure, ah well I suppose it doesn''t really matter if you all know. My name is Bren, although I''m his uncle it''s not by blood. His father is Like a real brother to me so his son is like my nephew and although I''m older I''m actually his subordinate and not the other way around. So please mind how you address us both."


    Clovis rubbed his head shyly, it was weird seeing this leader type of guy, suddenly become like a kid after he saw some of Lowen''s ability. Clovis wiped the smile from his face and once again regained an air of authority.


    "Sorry about that. It seems you weren''t lying, how fascinating."


    Clovis looked Lowen up and down, his eyes filled with curiosity. As though he understood, Clovis gave a few nods.


    "So, Lowen was it? You used earth energy to rapidly increase your strength and speed. You must be a rare genius to become so strong at such a young age without Inscription Tattoos."


    Hearing this new term, Lowen glanced over at Roland and Roland gave him a look as though he would explain it later. With that look of confirmation, Lowen put the thought away for now and Clovis finally took Lowen seriously and moved the conversation along, however, he couldn''t help but stare at Lowen every few seconds still finding it incredibly difficult to believe. Every now and then his thoughts would wonder.


    (This boy must be a prodigy or a genius among geniuses, he could probably compete with that boy from the Dracu Kingdom in the south.)


    Noticing Clovis was losing his train of thought, uncle Bren nudged him in the ribs.


    "Ah yes, what was I saying, oh right right right. We received word about this problem a month ago and have finally gotten here. What we need to do now is gather a few more men and then head to the most reported areas and begin our investigation. This will be both an investigation as well as a subjugation mission. Chief I can count on you right?"


    Roland looked at the elders for a second before nodding his head. With his injuries nearly completely healed his strength was almost complete and e could use a good test. With plenty of soldier for backup, there was no fear of dying and Roland could finally let loose. After Roland agreed, Clovis then looked down at Lowen.


    "Normally I would never ask a kid to enter someplace dangerous but I''ve witnessed your abilities first hand, with your speed alone you can almost keep up with my uncle. Tell me does your strength match your speed?"


    Lowen hearing this almost wanted to chuckle, lifting his foot a few inches off the ground Lowen gave a small stomp.


    *CRACK*


    Lifting up his foot once more a small fissure formed on the stone floor beneath his foot. Lowen, six months ago could have done the exact same thing, however, he would have needed to use all of his strength in conjunction with his ki. Now though with constant ki and earth element absorption, Lowen had only used a portion of his strength and that was without any ki energy at all. With Lowen''s estimates, he gathered that he could lift 2 thousand pounds or so and the toughness of his body was even scarier.


    Clovis looked at the webbed, cracked floor, and smiled from ear to ear. Seeing such talent and strength in one so young was absolutely thrilling.


    "Fast and strong, good, so will you come with us young Lowen?"


    Clovis looked at Lowen and noticed greed in his eyes. Lowen had nothing in his previous life in terms of wealth and being in this new world he had seen not even an ounce of gold. Lowen had wondered for a long time now what it would be like to be rich and the more he thought of it the more he wanted wealth not necessarily to flaunt it but more of a curiosity of what it felt like, so without hesitation, Lowen shot back.


    "It depends, what is the reward?"

 Chapter 47 : Lost And Found

    Clovis smiled for a moment, most might detest someone who so obviously wanted a reward but Clovis instead loved Lowen''s honesty. To him, it was much better than the pretentious folk who acted as though they wanted nothing with a fake smile. Those types were the least trustworthy and the moment you turned your back on them you wouldn''t know whether they were gonna help you or stab you to death in betrayal. With Lowen being upfront about it Clovis knew where he stood and that was much more reliable to him.


    "This is a simple mission but there is a clear danger so the reward should be fitting."


    Clovis rubbed his black beard for a moment in thought.


    "Hmm, how much do you want?"


    Lowen was a bit taken aback. When he had asked what the reward was he thought Clovis already had something in mind and Lowen would either agree to it or not. Now though, Clovis was asking him how much he wanted and truth be told Lowen had no idea how much to actually ask for. Lowen had been in this world for around 8 months and his worldly knowledge was very limited, so when it came to money he had no clue. Roland had told him of the values of copper, silver, and gold but Lowen had nothing to compare it to. Roland had said 10 copper coins equal a silver coin and 10 silver coins equal 1 gold coin but this village was so poor no one really used any money. Everyone mostly used trade to obtain the goods they want or needed so Lowen couldn''t tell you what a single potato was worth let alone what a mission from the kingdom was worth.


    Lowen hesitated for a moment and glanced over at Roland, Roland could tell with just a look what Lowen was thinking and sneakily signaled with 2 fingers, however, Lowen misinterpreted and blurted out.


    "Two."


    Clovis looked at Lowen and then at his uncle Bren with confusion before he replied.


    "You only want 2 silver for this type of mission, are you sure?"


    A slap was heard and everyone looked toward Roland, it was obvious he had just hit his own forehead but the reason why only he and Lowen knew.


    (Shit I asked for too little, they''ll probably think I''m an idiot now.)


    Lowen quickly thought for a moment before he suddenly thought of something. Shaking his head at Clovis he said.


    "No no no, you said this was not only an investigation but a subjugation as well. I want 2 silver coins for every head I take."


    Everyone suddenly realized he was trying to make some profit, especially out here where the coins flowed very little. With his abilities and the potential action they could face, it left ample room to make a good chunk of change. Clovis started to chuckle a bit.


    "Ah, so that''s what you meant. When you first said 2 silver I thought I might have misheard you. If you were to come across this mission at a Guild, it would probably net you 10 or so silver, so when I heard you wanted 5 times less I thought you might be crazy. Hehe, but now I see you just have the mind of a shrewd merchant. If you were to come along with us and we found nothing and we then rewarded you with 10, 15 or even 20 silver, then many might be disgruntled and might cause problems. I see you were actually thinking ahead though. With you asking for such a small sum then if we find nothing you''d be paid nothing and everyone could accept that but if we do find something and you take care of it each head will only get you 2 silver. In that way, you can only really gain a big reward if you take plenty of heads, in doing so the men will see that you have real ability and won''t complain no matter how much you make. So your not only strong but have a tactical mind as well, nice I like the way your mind works."


    Lowen chuckled nervously before saying.


    "Yea haha, that''s right, so you agree?"


    Clovis gave a simple nod and ended the conversation there, turning around he went outside and issued a few orders before going to the defensive perimeter for an inspection. Meanwhile, Lowen let out a small breath of relief. After showing his strength off earlier and impressing Clovis, he could tell he almost made himself look like a fool when talking about money. If he didn''t come up with something on the spot like that, he would have looked like a complete idiot.


    ( God I''m a fucking idiot, I should really not make any deals involving money in the future until I actually know what the fuck I''m talking about.)


    Lowen looked at Roland and Roland had a teasing smirk on his face, he couldn''t help but think.


    (What a stupid smirk, maybe he hasn''t changed much.)


    Lowen shook his head and walked away silently before he accidentally said something stupid.


    Outside in the village square, a few soldiers were shouting out with intent to recruit. In doing so they would have more manpower for whatever may come. Unfortunately, there were very few people in this village and when it came to men, most were old. It seems that when men come of age, most opt for adventuring or city life, to spend their youths in a tiny village near the Huafen mountain range farming and raising a family, to them was no dream they wished to have fulfilled.


    Listening to the soldiers, the price they''d pay for the job was below what Clovis said they would get from a Guild. 8 Silver and maybe a bonus for outstanding achievement. With the reward being money, it fell on quite a few deaf ears. To these simple villagers, not much could be bought with money. In this village, the people needed tangible items such as food or tools. Sure they could travel to Jizhen and buy what they needed there but to make that trip was already dangerous in calm times but now that the nearby forest had uncertainties with wolf packs seemingly roaming about everywhere, it now became especially dangerous. People would rather fish or eat the little bit of poultry they had and now that this group of soldiers arrived and delivered a bit of food, the people were in a wait and see mentality.


    For Lowen though, he decided that gaining money would bring him opportunities and options later on and besides he wasn''t going to stay in this little village forever. Once he was gone he''d need money for better inscribing materials and books on magic. With Roland''s recovery speeding up at an incredible rate, Lowen figured he''d be leaving soon anyway. Although Roland seemed to have changed, Lowen felt he had gotten everything he needed from this place and he still thought it''d be better to get away from Roland, who knows if this change in attitude would last or suddenly flip.


    After going back home, Lowen explained the situation and told Nia and Ben not to enter the forest while he was away. After he returned he would need to discuss his plans with them, as well as theirs for the future.


    --------------------------------------------------


    As the sun slowly fell, the moon in the night sky arrived peacefully, following with it, a gentle spring breeze constantly swayed the leaves in the trees to and fro. Around the outside of the village, soldiers stood tall as torch after torch became lit with flames. As the village rested only a few remained awake, soldiers standing guard, Roland healing his injuries and Lowen, Nia, and Ben all sitting with legs crossed in deep meditation. With the two siblings focusing solely on ki circulation Lowen was examining himself in his entirety. He wondered about his body and it''s improvements. His strength had begun to slow down recently, the main factor being his body had reached its physical limitations. He now had two options, option A, focus on entering the Aura Body Stage, with it his powers would increase by nearly a fold whilst gaining an Aura ability. The other option, option B, allow himself to grow physically with age. In that way, his body would naturally become stronger as his bones and muscles grew. The only problem was time. With option A he could increase his strength almost immediately but with it, his Body Refining Stage would be interrupted and his body would not be as strong as it could possibly be. With the other option though, it could take him nearly two decades for his body to become completely mature. Lowen thought about his body''s improvements and the rate at which they grew. He could perceive that if he allowed his body to fully mature then his strength could reach the tens of thousands.


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    (Instantly double my strength now or wait and gain titanic strength later on.)


    *Sigh*


    Lowen continued to bounce these thoughts in his head.


    (If I enter the Aura Body Stage now then I could speed up my ki stages, I could potentially be where I was in my last life within 7-8 years. On the other hand, if I continue to consolidate my foundation and allow my self to mature fully, then although it will take 3-4 times longer, my potential when I enter the other stages, I... I can''t even predict.)


    Lowen was truly dumbfounded on what to do. This was a situation he had never come upon in his previous life. He could forge ahead with the higher ki stages and become as strong as he was previously in less than half the time it took him the first time to master it. Or he could wait patiently and mature, potentially having monstrous strength. In the end, though, Lowen simply didn''t know which path was right and which was wrong. One thing he was certain of though, was his simple lack of knowledge. Lowen decided he needed more knowledge, otherwise, he couldn''t come to a proper decision. Once he got his reward for this mission Lowen thought about traveling, maybe he could find a correct path while traveling an actual path.


    The sun had just begun to rise and the soldiers had already eaten breakfast as well as trained for an hour. After washing in the nearby river, the soldiers as well as the few recruits all gathered in the village square. Clovis gave a simple announcement of sorts and then ordered his men forward. With all of the wagons that had previously brought food in now being empty, there was now plenty of room for all the new recruits. Unfortunately, there was only a handful who actually joined for the mission, in fact, there was only 6 in total. 3 of them were young men from the village with another being middle-aged all 4 were hunters from Sento village. The other two people going along for this mission was, of course, Lowen but surprisingly the last man joining in was actually Roland. He had told Lowen it was for practice but when questioning further Roland honestly said that something didn''t feel right and after that, he refused to speak further on it.


    As the small army moved away from the village, they actually moved further and further away from the mountains. When Roland and Lowen noticed this they immediately questioned Clovis, causing him to chuckle a bit.


    "Haha is that all you want to know. I have 50 more men in Jizhen, they have already recruited men from there and are coming to meet us halfway. Once we meet, we''ll then head directly into the forest and back toward the mountains, this way they won''t have to travel as far to reach us. The reason we traveled all the way to your Sento village was mainly to deliver food, I never expected wed gain 2 Mages, one can use 3rd circle magic and the other''s a young genius. Haha, I hit the jackpot."


    Both Lowen and Roland scoffed at those words but Clovis didn''t seem to care, instead, they all continued on their journey. After a long day of traveling, they all came upon a clearing and decided to set up camp for the night. As people sat around fires for warmth a few men were patrolling and guarding the perimeter, all was calm and Lowen had just fallen asleep when suddenly.


    "AHHHHHH!"


    A terrifying scream awoke Lowen and many others. Lowen jumped out of bed and vanished from where he slept, racing off to that horrendous scream. On his way, he had grabbed a torch, it took him not even 2 seconds to reach the location from whence the noise was made yet surprisingly old uncle Bren was already there. Looking at each other the eyes of the two met for a moment and a gleam of respect could be seen for each other''s speed. Only a second later Clovis arrived and yelled.


    "What is it, what happened?"


    Lowen himself had just gotten there and had no clue either but looking around a soldier was standing to one side while trying to help his friend up. With a solid salute over the chest, the young soldier quickly gave a short report.


    "Sir, it''s a simple misunderstanding, me and Lewis were patrolling the outside perimeter as you ordered and Lewis tripped over an object in the dark causing him to scream out in pain, after that you all had just arrived. Sir that is the end of my report Sir."


    Clovis wasn''t buying it though, soon Roland and the other soldiers who weren''t at a post arrived to see what was happening. They arrived just in time to hear Clovis barking loudly.


    "What! you screamed because you tripped over something, how dainty can you possibly be?"


    Clovis and the others all looked over at the injury on the man and immediately went quiet. Looking at the man''s foot they could all see that it was completely twisted to one side. The man had tripped and fallen awkwardly and took a misstep, in doing so his ankle was completely broken. Seeing the bad break Clovis asked.


    "What in the world did you trip over?"


    Everyone looked at the spot near where the man fell, there was something protruding from the ground covered in vines and leaves. A soldier seeing this spoke up.


    "Are those tree roots?''


    Another soldier chimed in.


    "Nah, tree roots don''t bind up like that. Those are some vines, they look like they grew around something though."


    Roland walked over and examined it for a moment. When it came to worldly knowledge Roland''s covered many fields. Looking it up and down as well Clovis asked curiously.


    "Roland, what is it?"


    Roland stared intently before he stood up and took a step back, pointing his cane at the pile of twisted vines and other debris, a fireball the size of a fist gathered in front of it and with a thought it shot forward at a great speed.


    *Psssh*


    With a quick burn and some sizzling, these vines burned away in only a few seconds. As they did, an item was revealed underneath, surprising everyone gathered, Roland, in particular, was absolutely shocked. Looking at the item, commander Clovis walked over and grasped the handle and with a bit of force tried to pull the item from the dirt but he couldn''t. Failing in front of his men was embarrassing and he couldn''t allow his image to fall. This time a small tattoo on his forearm began to glow and Clovis''s strength began to rise at a rapid rate. With strength flowing through his body, Clovis once more pulled the object up, this time it was freed from its earthly prison and held high above Clovis''s head. To everyone''s surprise, this object buried and covered turned out to be a hammer, not just any hammer though. As Roland stared at this hammer and the details it held, he was sure and without a doubt. Roland began to mumble in a low voice that only he could hear, well only he and Lowen with his sharp senses could hear.


    "Long battle hammer, silver in color, heavy beyond compare with an image of a wolf on the head of the hammer. No way, this, this is Benjamin''s Battle Hammer."

 Chapter 48: Testing

    Hearing Roland''s whispers, Lowen''s eyes perked up in curiosity.


    (So that''s what Benjamin''s battle hammer looks like, It''s taller than me by half a foot at least.)


    Clovis examined the battle hammer in his hands and noticed the wolf''s face on the hammers head, seeing it, he couldn''t help but mumble a few words under his breath.


    "Haha, on a mission to find wolves and we find a weapon with the image of a wolf on it. Is this the sign of a bad omen or luck?"


    Clovis handed the battle hammer to his uncle Bren and his uncle took a closer look. Seeing nothing special with it, he quickly handed it back.


    "Nephew, this hammer has a fine design and excellent balance, besides that though, there doesn''t seem to be anything special about it."


    Clovis nodded for a moment before placing the hammer down with a thud. Looking over the crowd of gathered soldiers, commander Clovis asked.


    "Does anybody want this hammer? As you all know I use a sword and my uncle uses his metallic gloves, so this weapon doesn''t suit us. It may look nice but in the end, its heavy weight makes it unpractical for anyone who can''t even lift it. By my estimation, it''s probably a good 700 pounds or so."


    Everyone looked around for a moment, who could possibly wield such a weapon. Roland, Clovis and Bren''s eyes, eventually all focused on Lowen. Lowen walked up and grabbed the end of the hammer, with a slight pull he easily lifted it. Shrugging his shoulders, he said.


    "Guess I''ll take it."


    Seeing such a sight, nearly everyone was shocked. A few loud gasps escaped from some of the soldier''s mouths before most of the soldiers began looking at one another to see if their comrades were witnessing the same event. Rubbing their eyes repeatedly, the soldiers grew loud with chatter. A few men had curiously asked about Lowen when he had first joined them, they had wondered if it was really ok to allow a 6-year-old boy to come along with danger lurking. Commander Clovis had simply brushed it aside though, simply saying the boy was a young earth Mage genius and for them not to worry. Seeing it now though, they really didn''t need to worry, for a 6-year-old to so easily lift such a heavy object, many of them now wondered if Lowen was possibly stronger then their commander.


    Clovis and Bren knew Lowen was strong but to see him lift the hammer with what seemed to be no effort, they now knew that their initial thoughts on his strength were far off. Clovis looked at Lowen before glancing at his uncle with a small whisper he said.


    "Uncle, when this mission is over we should get him to join us. With his strength added to our ranks, who knows how far we could go?"


    Although it was said in a whisper, with Lowen''s sharp senses it was almost impossible for him to not hear Clovis. With a chuckle, Lowen threw the wolf hammer over his shoulder and began to head back for bed. Sitting down on the ground with the wolf hammer at his side, Lowen was just about to lay down when Roland walked over with a worried expression. Before Roland said anything though Lowen already spoke.


    "I know already you don''t have to tell me. This hammer, It''s Benjamin''s isn''t it?"


    Roland showed a surprised expression before regaining his cool. He was going to ask how Lowen knew but had already guessed how he did. With the main topic out of the way, Roland didn''t have much else to say. releasing a small sigh Roland turned around and left.


    (Since Lowen already knows whos hammer that is, then there''s really nothing else to say. I guess this confirms it though, It''s been more than a year since he went after those goblins, without his hammer, Benjamin...)


    Roland shook his head, feeling a bit of pity in his heart.


    *Sigh*


    Lowen laid the wolf hammer down beside him and snuggled close to it. As he wondered how Nia and Ben would react when they saw this hammer, Lowen began to slowly drift off to sleep.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Several hours had now passed and as the night became deeper and darker, the nocturnal animals that would usually fill the forest with noise had now become eerily quiet.


    "AAAHHHHHHHH!!"


    A loud scream rippled through the camp awakening, everyone within. Lowen''s eyes shot open and with a thought, he wrapped his sword around his arm, jumped up and raced off toward the cries of horror. A howl was heard in the dead of night deep within the forest, seemingly signaling an attack.


    Lowen came to the edge of the camp where a battle was already happening. Bren again was already there and was attacking a wolf, wearing his metallic gloves he tore through a wolf but more and more gathered. Lowen looked at the situation and understood it immediately. The nearby patrolling guards had been attacked and were both lying dead on the ground in a pool of blood, one of them must have screamed with his dying breath. Looking at the wolves there were 30 at least but the presence of alpha was nowhere to be seen. Lowen using his shadow steps dove in to fight alongside Bren.


    Unwrapping his sword from his arm he slashed forward with his sharp blade. Clovis and the others soon arrived and engaged the wolfs as well. Lowen Clovis and Bren were the main slayers, everyone else was basically there for defensive purposes and support. The men with their inferior strength could only gang up on individual wolves, in this way 5 men would surround a wolf and take it on together. Lowen sped through these wolfs with amazing speed and each time he swung his sword another wolf would fall dead. As Lowen did this he seemed to be completely relaxed. As he slew his 7th wolf, the surrounding wolves seemed to understand that there was nothing they could do about him and quickly backed off.


    Another howl came from the forest and the wolves turned around for retreat.


    Lowen couldn''t help but grin at there weakness and raced after them, but before he even left the encampment, Clovis yelled after him.


    "Lowen wait!"


    Lowen hearing this sudden shout quickly stopped and gave Clovis a questioning stare. Clovis again shouted out.


    "SCOUTS ON ME!"


    Very quickly a small group of seven men dressed all in black ran over and kneeled down in front of Clovis. Saluting Clovis they all said in unison.


    "Sir."


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    Clovis wasted no time and quickly handed down his command.


    "Stealthily follow them back to their den, I need their location and I need to know how many, now go."


    The men all stood and saluted, once more they all spoke in unison.


    "Sir Yes Sir."


    Dashing off into the forest, their silhouettes all disappeared into the darkness. Lowen now understood what was going on, this was still a mission. If he had raced after them and killed them all, then they''d be left without a clue but now that Clovis sent his men to follow them, then the mission would continue forward. Clovis walked over toward Lowen with a smile.


    "Good job, you sure don''t disappoint do you?"


    With a thought, Lowen''s sword coiled itself around his arm. Lowen laughed and said.


    "Maybe, maybe not, had you not stopped me I would have killed them all, then we''d have to waste more time looking for clues."


    Clovis admired Lowen''s honesty.


    "Haha right, right."


    Looking at Lowen''s kills and the blade that wrapped around his arm, Clovis became curious but didn''t want to pry too much, instead, he just said a few words of praise.


    "I saw how you killed those wolves, such precision and efficiency, whoever taught you must be quite amazing."


    Lowen stared at Clovis trying to see through his thought but after a few seconds gave up. Thinking how funny it''d be if Clovis knew the person who taught him was he himself, Lowen smugly laughed.


    "Haha, he is quite amazing."


    Bren walked over and looked at Lowen with intrigue, he could count on one hand the number of youths that were so talented in the nearby kingdoms, but they were all princes and princess''s or high ranking noble children who had the best teachers and the greatest resources, Lowen however, what did he have.


    After a bit, Roland walked over and the conversation between the four turned serious fast.


    "Uncle and I were just talking and we both came to the same conclusion. The wolves, that was clearly not their main force, so why then would they attack this large group of ours out in the open?"


    Lowen and Roland both thought about it for a bit before they both came to the same conclusion. Lowen Looked at the three and confirmed their thoughts.


    "They were testing us."


    Clovis nodded his head.


    "No doubt you''re a genius. Since they were testing us, then they clearly know we''re here, which means we can''t surprise them. Not only that, they now know our number and since we three fought they know most of our true strength. Most likely when we attack, they''ll already be waiting for us."


    Some of the soldiers listening in showed signs of worry but Clovis was actually the opposite, with a grin on his face, he confidently said.


    "Since they know all this, they won''t be expecting are 2 trump cards."


    A few of the soldier''s ears perked up.


    "In the morning our reinforcements should be arriving here from Jizhen. My third in command will be leading 50 soldiers and around another 50 recruits to meet up with us. With them, we''ll be effectively doubling our strength but that''s not all. The second trump card is this man right here.


    Clovis pointed at Roland.


    "They know about us three but I especially ordered Roland to hang back and not fight. A fire Mage at the 3rd Circle, that''ll be the last thing they''ll be expecting."


    The surrounding men looked over dumbfounded, Roland truly hadn''t fought yet. Once he unleashes a 3rd circle spell, he could single-handedly turn the tide and crush the wolfs in one fell swoop. The soldiers couldn''t help but become excited at their all but certain victory. Clovis, however, wasn''t celebrating, looking at the stupid expressions of glee his en had, he quickly roared at them.


    "Shut up! everyone shut up. Our victory is far from certain, look around."


    With those words, everyone grew silent and looked around. On the ground were the bodies of 12 of their fellow soldiers. Seeing this, reality hit them, people had died and tomorrow more people would die. Nothing was certain, at least not on the battlefield and the sooner they realize this, the sooner they can prepare themselves for whatever may come. The atmosphere took on a somber tone and Clovis looked over at Roland.


    "Roland please go rest for the day, we''ll need you at your strongest tomorrow."


    Roland stood up and asked.


    "What about the bodies, if they''re not burned and a beast consumes them, you know what will happen."


    Clovis shook his head.


    "No need, my men will burn them."


    Clovis turned to a soldier and ordered.


    "You there, have some men gather our fallen and then burn them to ash."


    The soldier saluted and said


    "Sir Yes Sir."


    Before quickly leaving to carry out his orders.


    Lowen looked at this exchange and found it quite strange he glanced over at Roland questioningly and Roland quickly explained.


    "Ah, we''ve never covered this subject have we."


    Roland rubbed his chin before he continued.


    "Well, this is something that always happens. If a human dies and is consumed by a beast, then that beast will then become a Magic Beast. Their strength suddenly rises at a rapid rate and they gain the power of an element. Why it happens though, no one knows for sure."


    Clovis looked over in interest and thought.


    (He doesn''t know about Magic Beast, how is that possible. He''s obviously brilliant and he seems to be well in depth when it comes to magic but when it comes to a basic knowledge surrounding magic he doesn''t know it, what backwater place did this kid come from?)


    After listening to Roland about Magic Beast, Lowen again found another thing he was interested in. For now, though, he decided to sleep, although he could go days without it, for him, it was more of a way to relax and sharpen his mind. Once more Lowen laid down close to this wolf hammer and while men ran about to and fro creating all kinds of noise and while bodies burned and he smelled the flesh of burning people, Lowen slowly drifted off to sleep.

 Chapter 49: Wolfs Den

    The sun had risen more than an hour ago and Lowen had already completed his training, breathing technique, ki circulation, earth energy circulation, Shadow Steps, and Snake Fist. All of his techniques were becoming increasingly sharp, he could tell that he was getting infinitely closer to evolving his Snake Fist into its next form[Snake Rock Fist]. Once he reaches that level, his fist would be able to rend the air apart, causing small explosions.


    *Phew*


    Even though Lowen repeated the same training every day, still his body poured sweat. Lowen''s techniques were the same but every time he came close to plateauing he would increase his regiment until it became challenging again. For many months now it had become very inconvenient with just his body weight. Lowen had to opt to find heavy objects to train with, whether it be logs or small boulders, Lowen would carry them around and push himself to the limit. The downside though was how easily said objects would break, Lowen would then have to find more heavy objects to train with. If you were to look around the village of Sento, you would find most heavy debris completely cleared from the village surroundings. Now though, Lowen held a silver battle hammer in the palm of his hand. With a weight of over 700 pounds, it became a nearly perfect training tool. Wiping the sweat from his brow Lowen loosened his grip and let the hammer fall to the ground.


    *THUD*


    As the hammer hit the ground a loud heavy thud was heard, attracting the eyes of many. They had witnessed the odd way this young boy trained and had been both surprised and shocked. Even though their commander had told them that Lowen was a genius, they still found it incredibly difficult to believe that a 6-year-old was this capable. Thinking about their own age and experience, many of them wondered if they had wasted many years of their lives with sub-par training. Lowen noticed their gazes of wonder but didn''t really seem to care, instead, he headed to a nearby stream to bathe.


    After a while, a soldier spotted reinforcements in the distance, soon the sound of heavy hooves came pounding toward the encampment, and the soldiers gathered up excitedly. As the reinforcements arrived, commander Clovis and uncle Bren were already waiting. The leader of these newly arrived soldiers and recruits, upon reaching Clovis, quickly dismounted and gave his commander a respectful salute.


    "Sir, I have completed your orders, after rounding up new recruits I have gathered nearly 80 extra men, all capable with a blade."


    Clovis hearing this news beamed with joy, patting this soldier on the shoulder, Clovis said.


    "Well done Layfon, hahaha, you''ve outdone my expectations once again. After my uncle retires this year, you will be my new second in command."


    Layfon again saluted, this time a huge smile stretched across his face.


    "Sir, you honor me, I...I don''t have the correct words."


    Clovis cut Layfon''s words short, interrupting him.


    "No need Layfon, your actions speak more than enough for you."


    Bren as well spoke a few words of encouragement.


    "Layfon, the way you handle yourself, there''s not a better man for the job. I offer you an early congratulations but remember, don''t let it go to your head. As the saying goes, vigilance first and glory last."


    Layfon gave a nod, as well as a respectful salute to Bren before he looked back at his commander.


    "Sir, are there any further instructions?"


    "Yes dismiss the men for now and let them rest, as soon as the scouts return, we march immediately."


    "Sir Yes Sir."


    Layfon gave one more salute and left to carry out his orders. On his way to carry out them out, he passed by a young child and grew extremely curious but seeing how no one in the camp seemed surprised he decided to ask later, for now, he had to follow his instructions.


    As Breakfast came and went, many wondered how long they''d have to wait for the scout''s return but unexpectedly a scream came from the forest. A man broke out of the forest covered in blood, collapsing to his knees he screamed.


    "COMMANDER! COMMANDER! I HAVE NEWS!"


    Bren, Lowen, and Clovis all arrived at nearly the same time, followed behind was Layfon. Seeing Lowen arrive before him, Layfon was shocked, to say the least, but none of that was important right now. Clovis kneeled down and held this young soldier in his arms. The scout was covered in wounds from head to toe and his body was gushing with blood. Across his back and chest were wounds made from the claws and fangs of a wolf.


    The wounds were so bad that some of his bones were exposed, this man made it back on sheer will alone.


    A rush of people came upon them and surrounded them in moments. Looking him up and down, everyone knew he didn''t have long. The man stared up at his commander and tried with everything he had to raise a hand in salute but his strength had now already left him. With a throat ruined from dehydration and clots of blood, the man spoke with rough and broken words.


    "sss...sir, forgive me I..I can''t feel my arms."


    Clovis shook his head.


    "It doesn''t matter, I''ll get you some help, just rest easy."


    The man hearing this, for the first time ignored his commander.


    "No."


    *Cough cough*


    "My report, you must hear .... hear it."


    Clovis grit his teeth and gave the man a nod.


    "To the west, only...only 15 miles away, into the mountain. In my pocket, I have a map. Their numbers..."


    *Cough cough cough*


    "We managed to make it inside their den, their numbers, no more than 80. The alpha is wounded and I..."


    *Cough cough cough*


    For a brief moment, the man trembled in Clovis''s arms, and with a final breath, his body went completely limp, he was dead. The surrounding atmosphere turned bleak. This man, this brave soldier, he had risked his all to make it back with this information in hopes to help his fellow soldiers have a better chance at survival. The amount of suffering and pain he had to be in with all of those wounds, yet he still pushed forward. Even though it was painful, even though the man knew he was going to die, still he pushed himself forward. This man was a true soldier.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After a moment of silence, Clovis''s expression hardened and he calmly reached into the man''s chest pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, it was partly covered in blood. Clovis carefully straightened it out but still, it had a few tears. Looking it over he memorized it and then carefully handed it off to someone to copy it. Laying the man down gently, he whispered a few soft words to his uncle that he thought only the two could hear but Lowen very easily picked it up.


    "Uncle, when this is all over, make sure you send his wife some compensation, it''s the least we can do."


    Bren nodded and made a mental note. Clovis looked over the body one last time before coldly giving an order.


    "Hurry up and burn the body, we have work to do."


    Plenty of the surrounding soldiers were visibly upset with Clovis''s seemingly harsh words but Lowen knew the truth. Lowen looked at this commander with a new eye and felt a bit of respect, he was just about to leave when Clovis called out to him.


    "Lowen, I need a few words, Roland, you as well."


    Lowen gave a nod and both he and Roland followed Clovis, Bren, and Layfon to Clovis''s tent. Inside, there was one bed, one chair, a small desk with a few papers on it and a few quill pens with some ink. Clovis sat down and sighed heavily before he gathered his thoughts. Looking around his tent, it was now filled to the brim with people, all powerful in their own right. Clovis knew the clock was ticking and if they didn''t head out soon, then the enemy might prepare a counter or possibly even leave, finding a new location to hide. Wasting no time he got right down to it.


    "You all heard, the enemy numbers 80 with a possible injured Alpha, I want you to ignore the last part of that. Whether the Alpha is injured or not don''t drop your guard, treat him as though he''s at 100% or you just might die. Layfon, whats our number?"


    Layfon gave a salute and said:


    "Sir, after looking at the reports from last night''s wolf attack, those that are injured and dead leave us with 210 that are combat ready."


    Clovis gave a nod.


    "Good, tell the men they have ten minutes to prepare after that we march."


    "Sir Yes Sir."


    Layfon saluted but he didn''t leave, Clovis eyed him up and down and could see he wanted something.


    "Layfon, what is it?"


    Layfon hesitated for a moment before he looked over at Lowen.


    "Sir, this kid here, who is he, why is he allowed to listen in?"


    Clovis wondered what it was but it was just this, waving his hand he gave a quick introduction.


    "This is Lowen, he may be young but his strength is above yours and his speed is above mine, he''s even almost as fast as my uncle. He''s a 1st circle earth Mage and his body is incredibly tough, we need him. With him, as well as this man here named Roland, we will wipe these wolves off the face of the map. Is there anything else?"


    Layfon''s expression didn''t change for a moment which surprised Lowen and Roland with a shake of his head and a salute Layfon turned around and left. Seeing the surprised expressions on the two''s faces, it was Bren who answered the question in their minds.


    "Layfon is absolutely loyal, as long as Clovis says it, Layfon will have no doubts whatsoever."


    For Roland, It was a little hard to believe that someone was that devoted but to Lowen, he understood completely. He too had been that loyal in his previous life and because of that Lowen felt he never truly lived. Now that Lowen was in this new world though he would live entirely differently, trying and experiencing many different things and enjoying life as much as he possibly could.


    After the time limit was up, Clovis, lead all 210 of his men into the forest towards the mountains, unfortunately, because of the terrible terrain halfway through the forest the horses could go no further. Clovis was forced to abandon them, seeing as how he couldn''t spare a single man to watch over them, he doubted they would be here when they returned.


    Several hours later the time had reached noon. Sticking perfectly to the map the men had found the den. Standing a few hundred feet away, Clovis and the others looked at the entrance.


    "Roland, there are no guards at the entrance of the wolf''s den, let''s do as we planned."


    Roland nodded and looked at Lowen and Bren and the two nodded in understanding. With Bren protecting his front and Lowen guarding his rear, the three approached the den as quietly as possible. Roland could cast many spells almost instantly to defend himself but his body was neither strong nor fast, so if even one wolf got passed his spells hed be in trouble. Mages at Rolands circle of magic had powerful spells but they weren''t invincible, only when they reached the higher circles of magic could they walk the land with no fear of blades or fangs from a beast.


    Clovis gave a hand signal and he and Layfon split the army in two. Walking to the left and Layfon to the right, the split forces began to form a perimeter at the entrance of the cave. As the three got closer and closer to the wolf''s den, a powerful stench stung their noses. Whether it was because of the smell of rotting meat or blood, shit and animal piss or maybe even the combination of all 4 they didn''t know but either way it was gut-wrenching. Lowen especially, with his heightened sense of smell and taste, this made him want to vomit. Controlling a bit of ki in his body, Lowen cut the two senses off completely blocking them, and he was instantly filled with relief. Following behind, although he was still guarding with his utmost, the expression on his face made him seem relaxed.


    Standing at the mouth of the cave, Roland didn''t hesitate, as he began gathering his magic energy Lowen could feel a huge amount of energy swirling towards Roland. Forcing his magic into his cane, Roland pointed it at the entrance of the cave, aiming into its depths, within Roland''s mind, he roared.


    (FIREBALL!)

 Chapter 50: Wolfs Howl

    Within Roland''s mind, he roared.


    (FIREBALL!)


    Almost instantly, a fireball the size of a human head formed at the tip of Roland''s cane, with a thought, the fireball shot forward at a great speed. That was not the end of it though before that ball of flame landed within the cave, Roland had already made another and another. Shooting each one as soon as they formed, Roland had continuously shot 4 fireballs into the midst of the wolf''s den.


    *Boom Boom Boom Boom*


    4 Continuous explosions rang out from within the cave, followed by a heavy gush of wind and smoke. A huge backdraft was rushing for the mouth of the cave, Bren grabbed Roland by his waist and jumped out of the way, Lowen as well dodged to one side.


    *AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL!*


    Howls of pain echoed out from within the cave and the ground began to tremble slightly as the wolves made a mad dash for the exit. Before Bren had even landed with Roland, Roland''s mind was still focused to the extreme, as a horde of wolves was just about to break out of their den, Roland launched one more fierce spell.


    "WALL OF FLAME!"


    *PFSHH*


    A wall of flame 10 feet high and 15 feet across covered the entrance of the cave completely. Many of the wolves had already reached the entrance and hadn''t expected this sudden turn of events, with no chance of stopping, a dozen or so had accidentally rushed forward through the wall of flames.


    Igniting their fur and flesh, these wolves again howled in agony. Their flesh darkened with scorch marks but they still hadn''t fallen. Clovis signaled with his hand and roared to his men.


    "Loose."


    Caught unaware, the air shrilled as a hail of arrows rained down upon these beasts. With the other wolves being virtually trapped within the den, seeing their brethren being slaughtered, their faces turned ferocious as they growled, snarled and barked in anger. This wall of flame had done its job perfectly, separating some of the wolves had given Clovis and his men their greatest opportunity to immediately cut down the wolves'' numbers. This way they could gain a great advantage for when the real battle began. The only bad thing though was the fact that this tactic wouldn''t work twice. In a few seconds when that wall of flame dissipated, there was no doubt that the rest of the wolves would all madly rush out at once. Clovis had thought up this plan in its entirety and had thoroughly prepared. The only weakness to this plan was Roland''s endurance, looking over at him, Clovis could tell he needed time to recover his magic. Mages had a limited amount of energy within their body at Roland''s level. They couldn''t just continually spam spells, instead, they could use a few and then they would need to reabsorb magical energy. If they pushed themselves and tried to force it, they could face a mental or physical backlash ranging from splitting headaches at the least, to potential death at the most.


    Bren landed while holding Roland and then dashed away nearly 20 feet to a nearby tree, with a powerful leap Bren covered 20 feet while still holding Roland. Setting Roland down on a high up branch, Bren jumped down and appeared next to Lowen within a second. Staring at this young boy, Bren calmly said.


    "It''s time."


    With those words, Bren and Lowen took up their fighting stances, Bren''s hands were equipped with metallic gloves, on the ends of each glove were sharp hooks perfect for rending meat apart. Lowen, on the other hand, held the heavy silver wolf hammer in his left hand, on his right, his family sword uncoiled itself and extended, grasping the sword with his right hand, Lowen was ready. 1 second passed 2, 3, finally, after 20 seconds the wall of flame faded into nothingness and the wolves charged out.


    10, 20, 30, 40, altogether nearly 70 wolves flooded out and the battle began. Clovis and his men, as well as Layfon and his troops all, rushed in.


    "AHHH!"


    *AWWOOOOL!*


    Men and wolf clashed, swords, claws, and fangs continuously intercepted with one another.


    "ARRH!"


    "NOOO!"


    As a wolf pounced toward Lowen, he swung his sword with precision and speed, slicing through its ribcage like butter. Another came from behind but how could Lowen not recognize such simple tactics. Using his shadow steps, Lowen pivoted and spun doing a 180, with the heavy hammer in his left hand, it came crashing down like a boulder.


    *Crunch Splat*


    Lowen''s hammer crushed the wolf''s head launching blood, bone, and brain matter in all directions covering his small frame and those around him with disgusting fluids. Bren as well was slaughtering like a wild beast, jumping at a wolf to his side, he launched his hands forward and swiped at a wolf''s throat. With sharp hooks attached on the ends of his metallic gloves, Bren''s leopard like swipes tore out the throats of any and all that got in his way. Layfon, with his spear, would swing, spin, and thrust it from odd and tricky angles and with a small red fabric attached at the end of it, the wolves would be confused by it and that''s when Layfon would strike. The end of his spear would pierce their throats and exit out the back of them, killing them instantly. Clovis as well, with his broadsword he slashed down with heavy force on these ferocious wolves. It seemed that no matter how many approached him, none could take more than one strike without death immediately following.


    As the battle raged on, it was plain to see that Clovis and his men held a clear advantage. With the successful first launch made by Roland, the reduced number of wolves weren''t making as much of a dent as Clovis previously thought they would, that, plus the fact that these wolves were half starving and weakened helped greatly as well. With powerful people like Lowen, Bren, Clovis, and Layfon, for every wolf that died, they only lost 1 man. At this rate, although the loss would be terrible, they would still have 2/3 of their forces alive and that was far better than what Clovis had hoped for.


    The morale of the soldiers grew more and more and as the number of wolves became less and less everyone''s momentum grew. 20 wolfs remained and then 10, 5, 1. With a final thrust of his spear, Layfon had slain the last wolf. Raising his spear high in the air Layfon unleashed a mighty roar of victory.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH!!"


    Everyone raised their weapon high into the air and celebrated with loud cheers.


    "YESSSSSSSSS!"


    "HELL YEAH WE DID IT!"


    Everyone except for Lowen, Bren noticed this and walked over, staring at this boy covered from head to toe in sticky blood, he couldn''t help but become curious and ask.


    "Lowen, you''re not celebrating, why do you look so troubled?"


    Lowen kept thinking and thinking but something didn''t feel right, what was it, what could it possibly be. Looking around, between the dead people and wolf bodies, something was clearly missing. That''s when it clicked for him.


    "Bren, where is the Alpha?"


    Bren''s face immediately twisted in concern, he had been so caught up in the battle that he hadn''t even noticed something so obvious. Bren dashed over to a celebrating Clovis and said a few words. Clovis as well started to become paranoid, he shouted down an order.


    "SILENCE!"


    The crowd of celebrating soldiers heard their commanders order and shut their mouth''s all at once, Clovis again yelled out.


    "The Alpha has not appeared and therefore this isn''t finished yet."


    The surrounding soldiers heard this and most of them grew confused with thoughts of, how can that be.


    Layfon ran over and gave a salute.


    "Commander, should I take some men and scout the surrounding area?"


    Clovis thought for a moment and then shook his head.


    "No, we can''t afford to send too many men away, if he is in the area and you encounter him then you and your men won''t survive."


    Clovis''s mind raced with thought, looking at his uncle he quickly gave a command.


    "Uncle, you''re the fastest man here, I need you to scout the area, when it comes to speed or strength I won''t have to worry. Whether you find a trace of the Alpha or not, after 10 minutes I need you to rush back here just in case."


    Bren nodded, turned and raced into the forest at a terrifying speed.


    "Lowen, on me."


    Lowen heard Clovis and ran over.


    "Lowen, I need you to scout the den."


    Lowen looked at Clovis questioningly but Clovis thought nothing of it.


    "Lowen, I''ll be honest with you, I don''t want to lose any more men and I know your strength. If I send men in there and the Alpha is still hiding in there than they''re all but guaranteed to die. If I send you though, with your speed and the toughness of your body you''ll definitely be able to flee without a doubt. So please Lowen, will you do this?"


    Layfon immediately spoke up.


    "Sir, I can do it."


    Clovis quickly shot him down.


    "No."


    "But Sir I can..."


    "I said no, don''t say anything else about it, understand?"


    Layfon gripped his hand tightly.


    "Understood Sir."


    Layfon looked at Clovis disappointingly, he didn''t understand why Clovis didn''t ask him. If there was an Alpha waiting inside, then he too could manage an escape, for him, he felt there was no risk.


    Lowen, on the other hand, didn''t really mind, if there was an Alpha, Lowen had no doubt he could slay it. An alpha wolf was only 5-6 times stronger than a regular wolf and 5-6 times bigger, Lowen felt he could still kill it even without using his ki. Lowen looked at Clovis and was going to ask for a bigger reward but he could see a bit of sadness in his eyes, probably from the loss of so many men. Lowen let out a low sigh and gave a nod.


    "Fine, I''ll do it."


    (If there is an Alpha in there then I''ll slay it and discuss a reward later. If I ask right now it would probably just cause a rift between us, it ain''t worth it.)


    Lowen dashed off headed for the cave before he entered through, he unblocked his sense of smell, he figured if there was an Alpha hed probably smell it before he even got close. The bad side to that though was once again with his heightened senses, it made him smell every single stench distinctively, causing him to want to hurl. Rushing in, Lowen disappeared from view. After walking around for only a few minutes, Lowen could feel his lungs burning and found it slightly more difficult to breathe. Because of Rolands attacks from earlier, it had filled the cave with smoke but not only that, most of the breathable air was gone. If a regular person had come in here, they would have easily passed out only a few steps in, Lowen though, with his improved body could still manage, even if the breathable air in the surroundings reduced by another half. Walking further ahead, this cave wasn''t too deep, only 400 or so feet before it opened up into one huge chamber. Looking around Lowen could see no other exits. On the ground, he noticed piles and piles of bone that had been scraped clean. Looking at the bones, Lowen could recognize a few of the animals they belonged to.


    (That one''s deer and that one over there is from a rabbit. There''s even boar bones and those bones....)


    Lowen''s thoughts stopped, looking at these other bones, he immediately recalled the conversation he had with Roland and the others.


    Roland had rubbed his chin in thought before he explained to Lowen.


    "Well, this is something that always happens. If a human dies and is consumed by a beast, then that beast will then become a Magic Beast. Their strength suddenly rises at a rapid rate and they gain the power of an element. Why it happens though, no one knows for sure."


    Recalling those words, Lowen looked at the bones on the ground and counted them one by one slowly, as to not make a mistake.


    1,2,3,4,5,6.


    (These must be the rest of the scouts, Clovis had sent out 7 and only one returned. The wolfs, they ate them, doesn''t this mean...)


    Before Lowen could think any further, his thoughts were interrupted by the loudest howl he had ever heard in his entire life.


    *AAAAWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL*

 Chapter 51: Ambush

    *AAAAWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL*


    This was the loudest howl Lowen had ever heard and his eardrums vibrated painfully. Lowen stared behind him in shock, if the howl was that loud while he was inside the cave than Lowen couldn''t imagine how loud it was outside. Turning back, Lowen used his Shadow Steps and rushed to the entrance of the cave.


    Stepping outside, Lowen spotted the Alpha or rather he was impossible to miss, standing 10 feet tall and nearly 15 feet in length, this Alpha was over 2 times bigger than a normal Alpha. In no way was this wolf injured. Staring at this beast, as well as 5 other wolf''s beside it, it was now confirmed, those bones he found were definitely human. The Alpha was huge but the 5 wolves beside it were more than double the size of a regular wolf. Each of these wolves consumed one of the scouts and have evolved into a Magic Beast. The power and speed they each had, Lowen had no way of telling but that wasn''t even the worst part. Now that those 5 wolves and the Alpha had evolved into Magic beast, that also meant they now possessed the ability to use one of the elements. The danger Lowen felt at this moment was real and every single hair of his stood on end. Besides these 6 Magic Beast, there were also 40 regular wolves. The scouts had been wrong, those wolves in the den were not the only ones.


    As each soldier faced these extra wolves, at first they were confident but after that unholy howl from the Alpha, the expression on their faces changed to shock, as they each covered their ears in pain. They looked toward their commander for orders and saw they he was saying something but for some reason, none of them could hear him. Feeling a warm liquid drip from their heads with a swipe from a hand they each looked at each other pale in fright. Blood, it was blood that fell from their ears. Each and every one of them had burst eardrums, the only ones who were still fine were Clovis and Layfon, as well as Lowen.


    Clovis tried to tell his men to regroup and form a defensive position but none could hear. Looking toward the wolves, the Alpha took a single step forward and glared at Clovis. The Alpha could tell that he was the man in charge. Pointing his head high into the sky, this indomitable silver wolf inhaled deeply and with one powerful breath howled as though every living creature in the world was beneath him.


    *AAAWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL*


    A shockwave of air spread out in all directions like an explosion. The wind was so strong that it broke branches from trees, sweeping them high up into the sky. The leaves on the ground weren''t so fortunate and instead were ripped apart, torn to shreds. The force was so strong that the soldiers were knocked back several feet by the air alone. If their hearing was only damaged before, then now, it was definitely ruined permanently. Several soldiers collapsed to the ground in fear curling themselves into little balls in hopes of a miracle, while others turned and fled at their highest speed. The wolves though, with this command from their leader, immediately went into action.


    The 5 Magic Beast next to the Alpha vanished one moment and then reappeared near those who wished to flee. With a snap of their jaws, they instantly bit through the soldier''s necks, decapitating all those running away in one fell swoop. None of the soldiers noticed this insane movement speed, the only ones who could keep up with it were Lowen, Clovis, and Layfon, everyone else could only see blurs jump around in their peripherals. Lowen was surprised by their speed but not too shocked, with his ki he could outclass them but Lowen didn''t know if he had enough ki or not to fight them till the end.


    The other 40 regulars wolves didn''t slack either and charged into the soldiers, with so many knocked to the ground, most of them seemed defenseless and this was the perfect opportunity to attack. Chaos erupted with this clash, as claw, fang, and sword, intercepted each other once again. Not only were there Magic Beast but these extra 40 wolves were not weak like their earlier brethren, those were weak and starving wolves, these wolves, however, were in perfect form. They hadn''t seemed to miss a single meal. These wolves were the actual warriors of the pack, the rest were the weak cannon fodder. The Alpha stood atop a boulder tall and proud watching this slaughter in delight but he noticed 3 problems in the battle. With another howl, he ordered the problems to be eliminated.


    3 of the Magic Beast wolves moved like a flash, quickly appearing near their targets. Lowen, Clovis, and Layfon expected this though and defended themselves well. Layfon spun his spear, deflecting a snapping mouth aimed at his face and then countered with a sideswipe at the wolf. With a powerful slash, he struck the wolf on its hind leg. Layfon couldn''t help but smile confidently, that is until he saw he left only a small mark. With no blood drawn and only a bit of fur being removed, Layfon quickly jumped back as another bite from the wolf was aimed at his neck.


    "Damn these bastards are tough."


    Layfon moved around in the defensive and Clovis seemed to be fairing about the same. Slashing his broadsword down with repeatedly powerful blows, the wolf''s back had many small slashes and bled all over the place but still, this beast endured. No matter how many times Clovis slashed its back, he couldn''t land the killing blow and the wolf persistently pushed forward, taking more and more ground from him. Lowen saw the situation and knew it was serious, it was time for him to use his ki or he would regret it too late. As one of the Magic Beast rushed at him, Lowen began circulating his ki. The wolf came upon Lowen with great speed and Lowen, in turn, thrust his sword out, unexpectedly though, this wolf sensed the danger and felt its impending death. With a sharp turn, the wolf leaped away and surprisingly Lowen actually missed.


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    (Hmm, this ones quick.)


    But how could Lowen allow such failure? Using his Shadow Steps, the wolf that had just leaped away to the side, suddenly felt all of its hairs stand on end. The time it would take for the wolf to see the danger behind it would be less than a second but that was a time it didn''t have. Lowen had already appeared right behind this wolf and with one swift thrust, stabbed the wolf through its back and into the ground, pinning it down like a nail through some wood. The wolf didn''t even have time to howl in pain, it was dead.


    The Alpha saw this and was surprised, looking at this small child who had just killed his powerful subordinate he couldn''t understand how it happened. The Alpha could sense something unsettling from the small boy and took it seriously he again issued a command and ordered the other two Magic Beast wolves to kill, with it, he also ordered one more thing to them all, don''t hold back. The other wolves jumped into action two Magic Beast wolves attacked Lowen at the same time.


    Clovis saw his men dying left and right as though they were sheep and wanted to order a retreat but with none of his men being able to hear, none of them would be able to tell what he said. On top of all that, this wolf was giving him too much trouble, no matter how much he struck it, it continued to push him. Clovis could tell it was testing him, looking for any and all weakness and trying to find a pattern in his movements and this was causing a bit of terror and paranoia to take hold of his heart. Out of his peripheral, Clovis saw Lowen kill one of the Magic Beast wolves and gained a bit of hope from this. That''s when he heard another howl from the Alpha and saw two more Magic Beast rapidly approach Lowen. Clovis had been fighting a Magic Beast this whole time and knew how tough it was, although Clovis had witnessed Lowen slay one of them, he thought there was absolutely no way Lowen could take on two at once and he immediately felt pity for Lowen. Just as Clovis thought this he saw the wolf in front of him perk up when he heard his leaders howl. The wolf seemed almost happy as it stared at Clovis and Clovis in return got a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Before Clovis had any time to try and figure out why this wolf was excited, the wolf jumped back and revealed its cards.


    Jumping back nearly 10 feet, the wolf stared ferociously at Clovis, as it did, Clovis recovered some of his breath and looked at this wolf in confusion. Without warning, the eyes of the wolf suddenly began to glow gold white, Clovis was both surprised and cautious. The wolf''s eyes grew brighter and brighter, soon Clovis had to shield his eyes but the light continued to grow. Within a fraction of a second, the wolf''s eyes flashed like lightning and for a split second became as bright as the sun. Clovis''s eyes began to burn and he had no defense for this but to immediately slam his eyes shut. This was the opportunity that the wolf was looking for and it pounced on Clovis, snapping its jaws wildly. Clovis couldn''t see but he immediately felt it when this wolfs fangs sunk deep into his left shoulder. There was no time to cry out in pain though, and with his fastest reaction speed, Clovis jammed his sword sideways into the wolf''s mouth. Pushing the blade sideways, he managed to cut through part of the wolf''s jaw, releasing its fangs from his shoulder. Unfortunately, though, the wolf tore a large chunk of flesh from Clovis''s shoulder as it was forced away.


    Standing up, Clovis''s Left arm hung limply from his body, the bone, and flesh from his shoulder was completely exposed and in the open. Anyone looking at it would have a disgusting sight displayed before them and would have fear strike the depths of their soul. Clovis''s shoulder began to bleed profusely and his body dripped with cold sweat. Why this wolf didn''t go for his neck at that moment and instead attacked near his armor, Clovis had no time to think about it, right now, all he thought about was survival. Looking at this now disfigured wolf, its Lower jaw hung on by only a few pieces of tattered flesh. Even if this wolf survived today it would never be able to eat again and would eventually starve to death. Clovis didn''t care about that though and felt no pity whatsoever, instead, he felt rage, absolute rage. Looking at his wound for a second, Clovis''s blood began to boil in hatred but he quickly regained his cool. With such hatred, his judgment would easily become clouded and his focus would waver. That was something he absolutely could not afford to lose at this moment. Taking slow steady breaths, Clovis recentered himself and saw the strap on his chest plate.


    The strap that held his metal chest plate was now tattered from that wolf''s attack and now the left side of his chest plate swung open. Like this, it would repeatedly swing and hit his chest and arm making combat way to difficult as it got in the way. Clovis took his sword and cut the other strap holding the right side of his chest plate up. With a metallic clank, the blue chest plate fell to the ground. With his inscription tattoo shining on his right arm, Clovis lifted his broadsword with one hand high up, pointing its end at the wolf, staring coldly at this beast, he said one simple word.


    "Come."

 Chapter 52: Magic Beast 3 vs 1

    Clovis was fighting for his life and the wolf as well, with its disfigured face, it was in no way letting up. The two continued to engage each other again and again, with each blow dealt the two grew weaker and weaker.


    Layfon swung and thrust his spear like a madman. With each strike, he would use his full power, yet for some reason, no matter how hard he hit this Magic Beast he could draw no blood and every wound was only superficial. This wolf''s body was simply too tough. Hearing Its leader''s commanding howl, this wolf knew it no longer needed to hold back. Layfon thrust his spear forward with a powerful bashing force, however, this time the wolf jumped back. With a greenish glow emitting from its front right paw, it slammed its foot down with tremendous might.


    *Bang*


    The ground in front of the wolf imploded and sunk in, creating a small ditch a few feet across that swallowed anything in its path a few inches deep into the dirt. Layfon had no time to be surprised as the swallowing ditch suddenly accelerated forward and stretched beneath his feet. Caught off guard, with no firm footing, this small collapse of the ground caused Layfon to immediately become tripped up and he fell on to his back. The wolf, of course, pressed his advantage and pounced on him. Layfon just managed to block his face with his spear and the wolf repeatedly bit down on its handle. Layfon kicked at the beast and tried to crawl backward, but the wolf kept snapping at him. Layfon grew panicked and tried to swing his spear but to no avail. With this wolf right on top of him and its weight and strength bearing down on him, there wasn''t much he could do. As the wolf continued bearing down on him, the metallic spear within his hands began to bend inward towards him. Layfon became terrified, he was going to die any second, looking over toward his commander he noticed a terrible sight. His commanders left arm was hanging limply while bleeding profusely, Layfon saw this but still, his commander stood again and began to fight once more. This scene filled Layfon with courage.


    (If the commander can sacrifice, then so can I.)


    "AHHHHH!"


    Layfon waited for the wolf to bite down hard on his spear before making his move.


    *Crunch*


    The wolf took the bait and bit hard on his spear gripping it tightly between its fangs. Layfon immediately released his spear and with both hands now free, he took both his thumbs and jammed them deep into the wolfs eyes, crushing them both at once.


    *AWWOOOOLLL*


    The wolf cried in agony but Layfon wasn''t done. With the wolf crying out in pain the wolf''s mouth had opened and it dropped Layfons spear. Layfon with agile movements rolled forward and caught his spear before it had landed. With a solid thrust, Layfon stabbed his spear into the wolf''s open mouth hitting the inside of its throat. The outside may be tough as hell but the inside was still squishy. The spear, however, didn''t exit out the back of the wolf''s head but instead became stuck in its throat. Blood immediately gushed out, raining down on Layfons face, neck, and chest, covering him in hot red blood. The wolf repeatedly snapped its jaws but it couldn''t break the spear and continued to bleed out like a fountain, with no alternatives the wolf gave a powerful sideswipe with its paw.


    *Bam*


    It connected a heavy blow to Layfon''s chest, knocking him back several feet, with the spear still in hand, the spear became unstuck and with a great force was flung out of his hands, flying off somewhere to the side. Layfon rolled on the ground repeatedly until his back struck a tree hard and he finally stopped. Layfon began coughing out mouthful after mouthful of blood, his throat burned and he felt that the blow from the wolf had scrambled his insides but he couldn''t give up just yet. Struggling with everything he had and while coughing out more and more blood, he barely stood up and leaned against the tree. With a maddening grin on his face, he roared at the wolf in rage.


    "IS THAT ALL? BRING IT ON, I WILL NOT FAIL!!"


    The wolf lowered its head at this provocation and with ruined eyes felt immense hatred for this pathetic human, listening for where Layfon was, with one quick movement it charged straight ahead at Layfon with its fastest speed. Just as it appeared before him, Layfon''s smile grew even larger and he leaped out of the way at the very last moment. The wolf had no time to stop nor did it know to and hit the tree at full speed.


    *Thud Crack*


    The wolf impacted the tree and broke it in half, the tree came crashing down, killing a wolf, as well as two soldiers who were unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. Layfon laid on his back and struggled to sit up, looking at the Magic Beast wolf, its entire head was bent backward. It had broken its own neck against the tree when it collided. Layfon laughed out loud at this wolf that killed itself before he coughed out a few more mouthfuls of blood. With just the one attack from that wolf, it had thoroughly ruined his insides, Layfon looked at his commander and smiled slightly. As his eyelids grew heavy and his vision blurred, his body grew colder and colder, as he continued to cough blood he thought.


    (I did it... commander..... I beat that bastar....)


    Layfon''s thoughts drifted and everything went black, he was dead. The Magic Beast and Layfon had fought hard but in the end, the two died at each other''s hands. Clovis saw this and grit his teeth. Layfon was more than a subordinate, Clovis looked at him as though Layfon was his real little brother. Seeing his little brother die was a hundred, no, thousand times more painful than the large piece of missing flesh that was torn from his shoulder.


    More and more men were dying left and right and if something didn''t change soon than this would simply be a slaughter.


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    Lowen was dealing with two Magic Beast at once but he was still handling them. One wolf opened its mouth and a ball of flame the size of a fist flew out, this small fireball had no way of touching Lowen though, with a simple sidestep he easily avoided it and then advanced forward. One wolf tried to distract Lowen while the other wolf was trying to approach him from behind. As Lowen raced toward the one in front of him the ground beneath his feet suddenly shifted. The wolf behind him had used earth magic to throw his balance. Lowen could feel his feet being swept off balance, so he quickly jumped 2 feet in the air but as he did, the two wolfs leaped at this opportunity. Normally you''d be basically defenseless while in the air but Lowen had expected this situation. As the wolves closed in on him, Lowen thrust out his sword, not at the incoming wolves but instead at the ground.


    *Shink*


    Piercing the ground, Lowen''s blade stood stiff and unmoving, with a swift swing of his silver battle hammer, Lowen''s body followed its momentum and he launched himself more than 10 feet away. As his body flew, he willed his sword to become flexible and with it, the sword loosened from the ground and wrapped back around his arm, coming with him. Landing, Lowen once again willed his sword and extended it back out into his hand, sharp and ready to go. The two wolves eyed each other in understanding and made a small howl to their leader and the Alpha responded in kind. The Magic Beast fighting Clovis heard this call and hastily abandoned its fight with Clovis and shot toward Lowen with incredible speed. Clovis, however, was not out of danger, as 5 regular wolves surrounded him, neither pushing forward in attack or retreating, they simply stood there surrounding him on all sides as though they were holding him in place. Only when Clovis moved, would they do the same. He stepped forward and they stepped back, he stepped to one side and their movements matched, something wasn''t right.


    The other Magic Beast joined his 2 brethren and surrounded Lowen on three sides. The eyes of this new Magic Beast began to brighten at a rapid rate and in a flash became as bright as the golden sun, with it, it brought a slight burning pain to Lowen''s eyes and he immediately slammed his eyes shut. With his eyes closed, Lowen felt the ground shift once again. All three Magic Beast then lunged at him, the two on his left and right side, leaped at him in the air, while one rushed at him from the front. Lowen though wasn''t too worried, instead, he found this to be the perfect opportunity. With his eyes shut Lowen still had superhuman senses, for example, his sense of smell. He could smell all three wolves approaching him at a rapid rate, the stronger the stench, the closer they were. Not only that, with these wolfs speed, Lowen could feel the wind being pushed aside on the surface of his skin but that wasn''t his greatest sense at this moment. Remembering what old man Sid had said.


    "Huh, are you dumb or something? Hehe, I sensed your earth energy earlier when you fought my statue. Haven''t you ever heard the saying, an earth Mage can never be blind, hehehe."


    Lowen remembered that and felt the earth energy all around him. Every step that was taken within 50 feet of Lowen he could sense it. The earth energy in the ground, the energy in the dirt in the air and even the earth energy in the dirt on the skin of the Magic Beast. Lowen could see just as good if not better while sensing earth energy. Lowen kept his excitement hidden, as to not warn the wolves of their impending doom but still, it seemed as though the wolves sensed something and wanted to retreat. The distance between them though meant it was already too late. The two Magic Beasts that leaped at both his left and right were suddenly shocked when Lowen threw down his hammer as well as his sword. Using his Snake Fist, Lowen''s hands and arms twisted flexibly at weird angles and grasped the two by the throats. And as his sword fell to the ground, with a powerful kick, Lowen kicked his blade at the wolf coming from his front. These 3 Magic beast deaths were all at hand when all of a sudden.


    *AWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL*


    The wind instantly picked up with a mighty howl from the Alpha. With this powerful force, the trajectory of Lowen''s sword was thrown way off course and flung into a tree. With its incredible sharpness and the force from the Alphas howl, Lowen''s family sword sunk deeply into the tree, all the way to the hilt. The wolf in front of Lowen was thrown a few feet away by this howl and Lowen, while still holding onto the two wolfs, were blown back as well. Even though Lowen was thrown back, with his enemies still in his hands, their deaths were guaranteed. Filling his hands with ki, Lowen used all of his might, imagining the rocks he could crush with his bare hands, Lowen squeezed like a vise.


    *Crunch Snap*


    The two Magic Beast bodies immediately slumped down, Lowen had completely crushed their throats, they were dead. Lowen took their bodies and tossed them away like garbage, the Alpha seeing this was enraged. Leaping from the giant boulder, its huge body disappeared from sight before almost instantly, it landed in front of Lowen.


    *THUD*


    The sound of this wolfs feet impacting against the ground gave away how heavy it was, eyeing it up and down, Lowen calculated its weight.


    (This beast, at the very least it has to be around 3000 pounds.)


    This wolf gave a small howl and its last Magic Beast subordinate rushed over at Clovis and stood in front of him, watching his movements. The Alpha Stood tall and proud in front of Lowen and in a powerful voice the Alpha spoke.


    "BOY, WHO ARE YOU?"

 Chapter 53: Alpha Confrontation

    "BOY, WHO ARE YOU?"


    The soldiers couldn''t hear anything but seeing the Alpha suddenly jump in front of Lowen and mouth something, shocked them all. This sudden turn of events stunned everyone and the fighting ceased, besides the wolves seemingly guarding Clovis, the other wolves retreated to one side waiting for a command. Many soldiers let out a gasp of astonishment while others released a collective breath of relief, they finally had a moment to catch their breath. Everyone stared at this Alpha in bewilderment but the person most shocked, was, of course, the one the Alpha spoke to directly.


    Lowen eyed this large silver wolf cautiously, its speed was as fast as his when he used his ki. Lowen couldn''t understand how such a large beast could move so fast, did this not go against the laws of nature. In Lowen''s previous world, there were no creatures that could move as fast as a ki manipulator. The main reason was that no beast could use ki but in this world, there were all kinds of strange creatures that Lowen had never before seen and some could even tap into magic, making their strength and speed evolve to unprecedented heights.


    Lowen thought about this powerful wolfs question.


    (Just why in the world would it want to know who I am?)


    Roland had never said anything about animals being able to talk in this world, so Lowen was caught completely off guard. He honestly didn''t expect this and only said what any normal person would in this type of situation.


    "You, you can talk?"


    The Alpha grew angered and with an imposing voice, it roared out.


    "OF COURSE I CAN TALK, NO MORE GAMES! WHO ARE YOU? THIS ISN''T YOUR AFFAIR, SO WHY DO YOU INTERFERE ?"


    Lowen was completely confused but more than anything, this Alpha''s words were not right. Interfere with his affairs, this whole situation involved anyone who lived near the forest and someone needed to answer for this. Although Lowen stood more than 10 feet away from this huge wolf, he could feel its hot breath on his skin and could smell the stench of blood coming off of him. This Alpha exuded power and when it came to size, this Alpha completely dwarfed Lowen. Lowen had to crane his neck to match his gaze with this wolf, with a calm voice he answered back.


    "Who I am doesn''t matter, and this is my affair...."


    Lowen was going to continue but the Alpha angrily interrupted him.


    "NO, you neither wear their symbol nor do you fight like them, no, I remember you! You were that boy who was attacked a few seasons ago by those bandits and they killed those who you traveled with."


    Lowen''s mind flashed back to the first day he entered this world. Bandits had killed his mother and father of this world and killed the boy who Lowen took over. Afterward, wolves showed up and killed the bandits, that''s when Lowen had spotted a large silver wolf out in the distance, this wolf and that one are one and the same albeit after the Alpha consumed a human he more than doubled in size.


    The Alpha could tell that Lowen recalled those past events and continued.


    "It was my kin that killed those who attacked you and yours, because of that, you survived that day, so you could say you owe your life to me."


    Lowen didn''t even flinch hearing about his parent''s death, because of course, they weren''t his real parents. He did however become annoyed about this Alphas claim that he owed him his life, Lowen tone became harsh and he asked.


    "Is this why you stopped the fight, to recall fond memories... if so.."


    Lowen pointed his blade at the Alpha.


    "Stop wasting time so I can kill you already."


    The Alpha couldn''t believe what he just heard, this tiny human had actually dared to threaten him. Staring at Lowen in bewilderment the Alpha howled with laughter.


    *AWOOOOL HAHAHA AWOOOOL*


    "Memories what memories, I simply stated the facts. Ok boy, you really want to know why I stopped."


    The Alpha looked at Lowen and than he looked over towards Clovis, showing his fangs, the Alpha smiled viciously before looking back at Lowen.


    "Because of him."


    Noone of the soldiers could hear but they were sure something crazy was going on. They all followed the Alphas gaze and stared at Clovis in confusion, Clovis himself was left baffled by the Alpha''s words. Still trying to catch his breath, in a wheezy voice, Clovis yelled out.


    "Wh...What the hell do you want from me?"


    But to this question the Alpha completely ignored him, instead, he once more spoke to Lowen.


    "You boy, I''ll admit that your strength and speed surpasses everyone here besides my own that is. With you running around, you could easily continue to kill my kin and if I step in to stop you, then you could most likely flee from here and escape me but the others, all of these other humans, none of them would be able to escape alive. If we continue like this then the result is obvious, I would lose nearly all of my pack and all the humans would die, except you of course. So let''s do this, you back off and my pack won''t kill any more humans, what do you say?"


    Lowen looked at the soldiers but they could only guess at what was being said, still right now their morale was at rock bottom. In the beginning, they were at a complete advantage but after the Alpha and his evolved Magic Beast appeared, the entire situation had flipped. Now, after only around 10 minutes of battle, there were 85 people alive and many of that number were injured. The wolves, on the other hand, were still going strong. There were still 35 regular wolves, as well as 2 Magic Beast, one of which was the Alpha who was in a category all on his own.


    Lowen saw the hope, desperation, as well as the fear in the soldier''s eyes. Turning away, he then looked over toward Clovis. The two made eye contact and Lowen could see a hopefulness as well as a determination. For a second Lowen wondered what to do, were he to help Clovis, it was true, most of if not all of the people here would die, worst of all, Clovis may end up dead anyway. Lowen and Clovis weren''t close, hell, they weren''t even friends, why should Lowen fight for him, for money, was that worth the many soldier''s lives.


    Lowen thought for a moment before he asked.


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    "If I agree, you won''t let Clovis go and if I don''t agree, of course, you still won''t let Clovis go.


    "Right, he stays no matter what you decide, so you''re better off just leaving. At least in that way, some of you will survive."


    The men continued to look at Lowen and the Alpha in confusion and some even hoped from the bottom of their hearts that whatever was being said between the two would resolve this matter but in the end, it wasn''t meant to be. Lowen stared at the Alpha and coldly said.


    "I''ll have to refuse that."


    The Alpha stared at Lowen as though he were a fool and roared.


    "You would dare refuse my kindness..."


    The entire pack began to snarl and bark with their leader''s anger and the men who were filled with hope, seeing the wolves become aggressive, suddenly felt despair.


    "Why? For what reason do you not yield? for that human over there, for some lofty ideal such as honor? Tell me, tell me why whatever it is your fighting for is more valuable than all of these men."


    Lowen hearing this Alpha roar at him in anger simply shook his head. He didn''t have some amazing ideals or goals for refusing, instead, it came down to something quite simple to him. If Lowen didn''t fight, then all of the food would disappear within the forest. Lowen didn''t wish to see a sight from the past, where Nia and Ben were on the brink of starving. That''s why he choose to do it, it was for them. After spending more than 8 months with the two, they had become like a true family to him or at least what he thought a family should be. Caring, loving, patient, supporting people that were always there. People that would never abandon you, people that would laugh with you and people that would cry with you. This was the first time Lowen had ever had such a thing and maybe some would call him weak for such notions but Lowen didn''t care, because in the end, he finally had a family.


    Lowen raised his sword once more and calmly said.


    "Are you still talking, come and fight me."


    The Alpha saw this and came to a realization, he laughed out loud and said.


    "Hahaha, I see I see, I get it now, there''s something wrong with your head. Fine if you truly wish to fight then I''ll be sure to make your death quick but before that."


    The Alpha looked over the crowd of soldiers and with a bright white glow coming from his mouth, he spoke in a commanding tone.


    "Listen up, this is your one and only chance. Drop your blades and turn around and leave. If you do, then I grant you safe passage out of the forest. Stay and my kin will not hold back, you will all die."


    The soldiers all looked around at each other in silence, even though their hearing was destroyed they still somehow heard this. Lowen noticed the glow from the wolfs mouth and felt some magical energy, looking back at the soldiers it was obvious the Alpha had somehow used Magic to communicate with them. Even in this situation, Lowen couldn''t help but feel amazed and curious, magic truly was a wondrous thing.


    The soldiers, not knowing what to do, looked around at each other before glancing at their commander with guilt filled eyes.


    The Alpha seeing the indecision once more used magic and roared at these weak humans.


    "Make your decision and make it now"


    Hearing this, it wasn''t long before the first person dropped their sword and ran away with swift feet. Seeing this person make it safely out of the battlefield and watching the wolves make no move to stop him, others quickly followed suit. One by one a metallic clank rang out, as sword after sword hit the ground, the only remaining evidence that those people were there, was their blades and some footprints. In the end, only around 40 men remained, more than half chose to abandon their comrades. The Alpha leaned his head up high in the sky and laughed again before he gave a commanding howl.


    "HAHAHA, the fools. AWWOOOOOOLLLL"


    Suddenly screams could be heard coming from the forest. Looking over, Lowen could see the men who fled just seconds ago, were now dying left and right. After only a few minutes the screams completely stopped and 6 more wolves stepped out from the forest. 6 More Magic Beast to be exact.


    The last of the men saw this and each one collapsed to the ground, hanging their head in defeat. Clovis didn''t know how to feel, these men had abandoned him and had just betrayed him but he didn''t know it himself whether or not he would have made the exact same choice given the situation. Hearing their dying screams left Clovis feeling bitter, Lowen on the other hand only felt anger.


    "So you weren''t going to let them go either way."


    The Alpha shook his head.


    "Of course not, they''re my enemy."


    "How did you have even more Magic Beast hiding? I thought you only ate the scouts."


    The Alpha looked at Lowen with a ferocious grin.


    "We''ve been attacking villagers for months, of course, we enjoyed a few meals here and there."


    Lowen suddenly felt energy gathering in his surroundings, with a few steps back, he prepared to defend himself for whatever may come. The 6 Magical beasts stared at the collapsed soldiers in excitement. As they continually lapped up the blood around their mouths, their bloodlust only grew. The Alpha glared confidently at Lowen and said.


    "It doesn''t matter what your about to do, whether you use the magic you''ve just gathered or you flee, it doesn''t change the fates of anyone here boy, you lose."


    (The magic I''ve gathered, what?)


    "HAHAHAHAHA, AHAHAHAHAHA, too much, you talk way too much you stupid dog."


    Lowen, Clovis, and the wolves all stared in one direction hearing this uproarious laughter. Up high in a tree standing tall with glimmering emerald green eyes, Roland stood there with his cane pointed forward. Roland had finally recovered and had now gathered his magic. With a demonic glare that seemed as though it would burn the world in a blazing hell, at the tip of his cane a powerful spell began to take shape. Roland looked the Alpha dead in the eye and roared out.


    "4TH CIRCLE! RIPPLING INFERNO!"

 Chapter 54: On Your Feet

    "RIPPLING INFERNO!"


    As Roland said these few words, at the tip of his cane a bright light started to form and pulsate, in fact, this light started to form a small circle of flame. This circle of flame grew bigger and brighter, the heat that it gave off was most intense. After no more than a second, the ring of fire began to grow and expand at an incredible rate and the faster it spread the hotter it became. Before Lowen, Clovis or the alpha wolf had any chance to make a move, the ring of fire expanded and encompassed everyone. The Alpha wolf, with no time to move out of the way, instantly felt its fur on fire and could feel its flesh starting to flake and burn away as dark black scorch marks formed all over its body. Clovis, Lowen, as well as the few remaining soldiers, instead, only felt a warm embrace from the heat. The expected cries of pain did not come from the other wolves. There were no cries nor any howls in agony, as the flame dissipated a truly odd sight was revealed.


    In the battlefield many surrounding trees had become nothing more than dust and ash, rocks glowed bright orange and some even began to melt and fall apart. There were no more wolves, they had all turned into black ash in an instant, there was no more Magic Beast except for the lone surviving Alpha. Even with its incredibly tough body, the Alpha had still sustained wounds from this spell. Had he been slightly weaker, then he too would have died instantly. The Alpha wolf looked at its surroundings with a mix of shock, fear, and rage, staring up at Roland who still stood in a tree, the Alpha overflowed with fury. Right now it wanted nothing more than to rush over to Roland and destroy his body, ripping it into shreds and tearing him apart limb from limb. With each bite, he would tear into Roland''s flesh and chomp down repeatedly on his bones, crunching, munching, anything and everything to get rid of this disgusting human. Looking at its surroundings, the wolf saw none of its comrades, not a trace of those that followed him loyally, instead, he only saw glowing rocks and the black scorched ground covered in ash, all of this within 500 ft of Roland. This area that was once flush with a beautiful green full of trees and grass, was now no more than a land of hell, only fit for the dammned.


    The remaining men, Lowen, and Clovis, all looked on with a new hope. The Alpha however only had fury within itself. Completely ignoring everyone else it disappeared from where it stood and raced toward Roland with terrifying speed. With one incredible leap, it instantly appeared in front of Roland and before anyone could blink, it snapped its jaws shut at Roland''s exposed head. But just before its fangs sunk into Roland''s skull, it felt a large force tugging on its tail, with only inches separating him from Roland, the Alpha was confused by this sudden stop. Looking back, he saw Lowen with his tail in his grip and with one mighty pull, Lowen threw the Alpha nearly 20 feet away. Roland fell to his ass and leaned his back against the tree. Cold sweat dripped down from his face and he couldn''t help but breathe out terribly heavy panted breaths. Staring down at Lowen below him, Roland felt a huge rush of a relief, at the same time, intense nausea hit his mind. The magic he just used was at the 4th Circle and it consumed every single ounce of energy he had left.


    The Alpha wolf stared at Lowen with hate-filled eyes. Lowen as well stared back at the wolf, not in hatred but instead in disgust.


    This wolf would do anything to get its way, even kill an enemy that already surrendered. Lowen didn''t necessarily disagree with such actions but maybe because he was human and the soldiers were human as well, it upset him.


    The alpha wolf didn''t hesitate, this young boy was in its way. With a powerful charge, it raced towards Lowen with lightning quick movements. Lowen couldn''t back down either and rushed forward. With ki circulating throughout his entire body, he quickly intercepted the Alpha wolf and as the 2 collided with one another, a loud metallic bang rang out.


    It seemed the bodies of the two were so incredibly tough, so incredibly hard, that when they collided with such force an odd sound that would usually never come from living flesh exploded outward. Claw, fang, sword, and battle hammer clashed again and again and again. The movements of these two were nothing but blurs to all the surrounding soldiers. Clovis, however, could still just barely manage to see them but even Roland was having a bit of trouble keeping up. Once more Roland began to concentrate and absorb as much energy as he could, who knew when he would need it again but seeing how things were going, there was no doubt in his mind that he would need it almost immediately. For if Lowen was to fail, then Roland would most likely be the next to die.


    The Alpha wolf repeatedly snapped its jaws at Lowen''s face, neck, and chest, eagerly trying to devour him, to defeat him. Lowen as well, was in no way letting up. Slashing with his sword swiftly and precisely, he just barely missed each time. Each time the Alpha countered and missed, Lowen could feel cold sweat dripping down his spine and it brought a terrifying feeling. There was a simple reason for this fear, Lowen knew if this wolf bit him, then it was all over. Lowen swung his battle hammer, bringing it down with tyrannical force. The Alpha, however, showed little fear towards this heavy hammer and tried to deflect it with one of its front paws. Lowen, seeing this chance, greatly increased the speed of his swing and with one loud *Bang* the hammer and foot collided.


    As the mighty blow connected, the Alpha wolf''s face immediately twisted in pain and in one swift movement, the wolf agilely dodged backward in order to throw some of Lowen''s force off. Had the wolf not reacted instantly, then the blow from Lowen may have caused grievous injury. As the two separated, the Alpha gave Lowen a vicious glare, Lowen in return, smiled devilishly. The Alpha spoke with a ferocious voice.


    "So this is your true strength, it seems you were holding back earlier, hahaha. Am I the fool or are you? It was my mistake to hold back, that mistake, is my last."


    Suddenly, magic energy rushed toward the Alpha and swirled all around him. A dim white light began to glow around the entire wolf''s body, it seemed he was about to make his move. Lowen could feel the energy draining from his surroundings and instantly felt a fear creep up his spine. With his fastest speed, he began circulating his ki at an intense rate but instead of circulating it all over his body, this time he began to focus it solely on his legs and feet, as well as his eyes. The Alpha once more glared at Lowen and in a cocky tone he said. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Here I come."


    Just as those words left the Alphas mouth, this monstrous beast vanished. Lowen''s eyes quickly darted to his left side, and with his swiftest movements, using his Shadow Steps, Lowen jumped backward with incredible power. This, however, was not enough and the Alpha swiped at Lowen''s chest, Lowen quickly raised his battle hammer just as the blow connected.


    *Boom*


    Even though Lowen had properly brought the battle hammer in front of himself in defense, he still felt a mighty force enter his chest and with it, he felt something he hadn''t in a long time, pain. Lowen''s body was sent flying almost 50 feet, toward a tree. Just as Lowen''s back was about to slam into the tree, Lowen, using his feet, managed to just barely brace himself but still, that wasn''t enough to prevent the tree from cracking. Using the force from his feet, Lowen quickly ascended the tree and as the tree began to fall, the wolf rushed madly towards him. Lowen aimed and quickly threw out his family sword but the wolf saw this coming and slapped it away. Right after that, the wolf looked at the tree as it was still falling but Lowen was no longer there. Instead, the Alpha could hear the air above his head being torn apart. The Alpha looked up and surprisingly Lowen was falling at an incredible rate, at the same time he swung the hammer down like a mighty mountain. The wolf''s body grew brighter and brighter and the magic within was activated once more. Jumping backward, the Alpha dodged Lowen''s blow completely.


    As the heavy battle hammer came down, it struck the ground, cracking the earth open, creating a crater more than 10 feet in diameter. With Lowen missing his blow, he quickly needed to grab his family sword, so with a sidestep, Lowen ran towards his blade but before he got very far, the Alpha was already in front of him. Lowen once more raised the battle hammer expecting an attack but this time he was too slow and the Alpha swiped him. Jumping backward, Lowen felt a warm liquid running down his chest, looking down he could see blood pouring down his front, collecting at his feet. Lowen was wounded, it''s been so long since the last time Lowen had suffered such an injury, it was almost unreal. The feeling it brought him, the burning pain coming from his chest, Lowen knew that this was real and not his imagination. The Alpha smiled viciously at Lowen and licked the blood at the end of its claw. The face the wolf made clearly showed it was enjoying itself.


    Clovis, as well as the soldiers, looked on in horror. If Lowen couldn''t defeat this wolf here and now, then they were all dead. Even if Roland used more spells, no matter what they were, they wouldn''t work. Even if they all ran right now, there was nothing they could do. If Lowen died, the wolf would catch them. Even if Roland distracted the Alpha, it would still catch them and even if they all ran in separate directions it would still catch them. Whether they made it up a tree, hid in a bush, dove into a river, no matter what they did, this Alpha would still be able to catch and devour them all. For the first time since Lowen came to this world, he felt genuine fear and with it, a bit of disappointment in himself.


    If he had his strength from his previous world, then this wolf would have been slain with a mere flick but now, Lowen struggled.


    This wolf was just too strong for someone at Lowen''s level. If something didn''t change soon, then Lowen would have no other option but to flee, but even then, witnessing this Alphas speed, there wasn''t much hope. With Lowen now bleeding, the Alphas excitement grew more and more, once again the Alpha vanished from sight. Using his Shadow Steps, Lowen dodged to one side and quickly rolled out of the way of a swipe. Once more, the 2 moved so quick you could barely catch their shadows.


    Lowen had no time to concentrate and therefore had no time to seal his wounds properly. With how tough his body was he could heal extremely fast and his body did slow the bleeding but because of his quick and rough movements, the stress on his body made his wound stay open. Every time his wound got close to closing, with another rough movement, it again would tear open and his body would have to start healing again from the beginning. No matter where Lowen went the wolf followed, left, right, up or down, this wolf continued to press him and the pressure was real. Right now there was very little Lowen could do. As things stood he could only dodge and with no counters, the Alpha only grew more determined. With another swipe, Lowen brought the hammer in front of him and again took a heavy blow, just as his body was forced back, the Alpha rushed forward. Catching himself, Lowen spun the hammer in the air and the momentum dragged him off to the side, as it did, Lowen spotted something he could use. As the wolf continued to chase him, suddenly Lowen came to an abrupt stop, the wolf, however, didn''t.


    As the wolf came upon Lowen, its jaws snapped at his back. Lowen quickly grabbed the object in the ground and spun around with Incredible speed. Bringing the object up, the wolf''s bite immediately clamped down on it, surprisingly, it was Layfon''s spear. The Alphas jaws crunched and munched on the handle of the spear and chips of metal begin to flake off like little shards of shrapnel. Lowen was now on his back and the wolf pinned him down. With the spear bending more and more, the fangs of the Alpha got closer and closer to Lowen''s neck. If this wolf''s bite could break off metal pieces, Lowen could then imagine what would happen to his fleshy neck. Being down in this position, Lowen quickly threw several knees towards the wolf''s upper body. With solid blows, the wolf howled in pain, still, it refused to get off of him. The Alpha took its right claw and slash at Lowen''s chest, Lowen couldn''t completely move out of the way since he was pinned down and received 4 long cuts from his shoulder down to his waist. Blood immediately spurted out of the wound and Lowen couldn''t help but release cries of pain.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH!"


    Lowen, however, could not remove his hands from the spear for even a moment or the Alphas fangs would immediately sink into his neck. All he could do was continually knee the wolf in its upper chest. Each blow consistently hit the Alpha in the exact same spot and as it did, Lowen could feel that spot giving and with another ferocious knee to the chest, Lowen suddenly heard a large snapping noise.


    *CRUNCH SNAP*


    The Alpha howled in pain and once more slashed at Lowen, the Alphas claws, this time, sunk even deeper into Lowen''s flesh and again he cried out miserably.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"


    Clovis''s whole body shuddered, he couldn''t stand these agonizing screams. To hear a child yell out in pure agony, it was a nightmarish scene to behold. Clovis struggled to his feet and limped toward the Alpha and Lowen. Even if he could only be a distraction for but a moment, Clovis felt that was more than enough to allow Lowen to make some form of an escape. As Clovis continued to limp over, suddenly a blur flashed past him. With silent but quick steps, someone appeared right behind the Alpha, with two quick swipes, metallic hooks sunk into the Alphas back and again the Alpha howled in pain. Bren swiped two more times, dragging off skin and tearing deeply into the Alpha''s flesh, causing harsh wounds atop the Alphas back. The Alpha immediately leaped away and stared at this new foe.


    Bren looked at the terrible injuries on Clovis before than looking at Lowen''s chest and waist. Seeing the state the two were in, a bitterness hit him, but seeing Clovis not giving up and watching Lowen grit his teeth and endure, Bren felt pride for his nephew, for still pushing forward and he felt great respect for Lowen. Bren looked around at the situation and found the only way to win was if he and Lowen fought together with everything they''ve got. The real problem though was just how much more Lowen could take before he was done. Now though was not the time to have doubtful thoughts. Looking down at Lowen, Bren found no supportive words, he could only be direct in this environment. So with no consideration for Lowen''s well being, he yelled.


    "On your feet soldier, we have killing to do. "

 Chapter 55: Diversion & Death

    "So what''s the plan?"


    Bren, however, remained silent and continued to focus on the alpha. It was clear to see that there was no plan, so all they could do was hold up their weapons and face their opponent. Bren took up his fighting stance and Lowen picked up his hammer. The wolves body began to glow once more and then he vanished. As soon as he vanished, so too did Bren and Lowen. On the side, Clovis''s eyes darted back and forth, as he watched this intense battle, he could feel all the hair on the back of his neck standing.


    Roland did his best to concentrate on regaining his energy but with the constant and metallic ringing, he soon lost focus and had to reconcentrate again and again. Every once in a while, the three would come to an abrupt stop before once again vanishing. The few soldiers that remained were left guessing as to what was happening. The ground constantly broke and fissured and the air tore apart making loud whooshing noises. Rocks that just started to cool instantly cracked and broke from the intense fighting. The landscape in this battlefield was quickly changing into a chaotic zone filled with powerful blows, quick speed, and terrifyingly close encounters with death. The alpha swiped at Bren and Bren in return swiped back, as a metallic covered hand intercepted a tyrannical sharp wolf claw, the two forced each other back. As the two separated, Lowen quickly rushed in and swung his heavy hammer with all of his strength. Once again Lowen aimed at the spot on the wolf''s chest where he had kneed him previously before. The wolf receiving this blow to his upper chest retreated in pain but only for a moment. The wolf''s body glowed once more and his body flashed. The alpha''s speed had once more increased but this time Lowen was prepared, he now kept the hammer close to his chest at all times.


    The wolf snapped its jaws at Lowen and swiped at Bren. As the three exchanged blows, the battle seemed just about even but still, the alpha held a slight advantage. Bren and Lowen had to stick closely together, otherwise, the alpha would be able to deliver a decisive blow. Lowen still had no time to heal and as time moved on, he could tell that Bren, this old man, was starting to get tired. Lowen had to think of something fast or their deaths were all but guaranteed. He needed something, anything to turn this fight around but what. Lowen''s eyes darted around the battlefield and there it was, once again he found what he was looking for. The only problem now was how was he going to get it. Looking at Bren, he wanted to tell him his plan but the problem with that was, that the wolf could understand. At this moment there wasn''t a lot they could do. Lowen''s mind raced with thought before he finally reached into his clothes, pulling out a regular looking stick, Lowen began channeling energy within it. Lowen yelled at Bren.


    "I need a moment, buy me some time."


    Bren yelled back.


    "How much time?"


    "As much as you can give me."


    Bren clenched his jaw and fought hard. As Lowen channeled his earth energy, he had the incredibly difficult task of keeping his ki and his earth energy separated. He had to keep his ki flowing just in case the wolf got too close. The wolf had no clue what Lowen was about to do but seeing that energy was gathering and remembering what Roland just did, the wolf knew it couldn''t be anything good and again raced toward Lowen. Bren, however, jumped in between the two and as the wolves claws came down, Bren''s hands quickly came up.


    *Bang Clank Bang*


    With Bren''s hands covered in metal, the wolves claws could only leave a few marks upon them. Bren swiped at the wolf''s throat but the wolf was quick to react and bit down on Bren''s hand. Although Bren''s hand was protected by the metal glove he wore, the alpha''s mouth clamped down like a vice and held him tight. Bren could feel his hand was starting to get crushed and with his free hand, he quickly swung it at the wolf''s eyes in hopes to blind him. The wolf though saw through this and swung Bren through the air trying to pin him down. Bren now had to swing his body oddly in order to not fall to the ground.


    Shouting behind him, he yelled out.


    "Lowen, are you almost done? Any more and my hand will break."


    Lowen, however, remained quiet. As Lowen continued to concentrate, he gathered more and more energy. With no answer, Bren could on grit his teeth and bear it. He continued to swipe at the wolf''s eyes and the Wolf continue to swing him about as though he were a rag doll. Each time this happened, Bren could only flip his body around as to avoid becoming crushed under the Alpha.


    The sky darkened and a few of the remaining soldiers couldn''t help but look up. When they witnessed what was floating in the sky, they nearly all pissed themselves in fright. Clovis as well could hardly comprehend what he was seeing. Bren only now noticed the object in the sky and his eyes widened in both shock and surprise. The shadow on the ground grew bigger and bigger until darkness covered most of the ground. It was only now that the wolf realized something was wrong. Looking up, the wolf immediately became terrified. Up in the sky, a huge object remained suspended, floating up above. A large ball of dirt the size of a hill sat hovering in the sky.


    Lowen shouted at the wolf.


    "This is your downfall, this ball of dirt weighs at least 500,000 lbs. When it crashes down on top of you, even your bones won''t remain.


    The wolf looked at this hill size ball of dirt and every hair on its body raised up in fear. The alpha looked at Lowen as though he were crazy and roared out.


    "You fool, you wouldn''t dare, you''d kill us all."


    Lowen shook his head and said.


    " It''s your own fault, you pushed us too far and this is the only option."


    Right after Lowen said that this hill sized ball of dirt began to fall towards the ground. Everyone held the same thought.


    (Is this boy insane, we''re all going to die)


    Some of the remaining soldiers began to run around wildly trying to escape, while others collapsed to their knees and gave in to despair. Clovis looked over and laughed bitterly at himself, he felt this was his fault.


    (If only I hadn''t come here. Uncle I''m sorry.)


    The wolf immediately flung Bren away and stared in every direction trying to find an escape route. But no matter where he looked, the ball would soon hit and even with his incredible speed, the ball of dirt was simply too big and couldn''t be outrun. Staring up in the sky at his impending doom, the wolf refused to die. Gathering every ounce of magic he had left, he put it all into his mouth and throat. Pointing his head up high, he unleashed his most powerful and mightiest howl, with it, a storm of wind shook the surroundings.


    *AAAAAAWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLL*


    Trees within a few hundred feet cracked and began falling to the ground, even Roland wasn''t lucky, as his tree broke and he was tossed to the ground. If the wolf didn''t aim his howl up at the sky, then every soldier here would''ve been thrown hundreds of feet away.


    The surrounding rocks trembled and jumped several feet in the air and many boulders in the area began to crack. This howl could be heard for over 100 miles. The wolfs howl was completely concentrated up at the hill size ball of dirt and as this powerful howl finally reached the ball of dirt, something completely surprising happened. This huge ball of dirt, weighing over 500,000 pounds, suddenly shattered. The dirt began to swirl around like a raging storm. The entire battlefield suddenly became covered with a cloud of dirt and dust and now nothing could be seen, that''s when Lowen made his move. With a cloud of dust everywhere, no one could see anything including Lowen but with his powerful senses, he could still hear and smell where everyone was at as well as see with his earth energy. Using his earth sense and shadow steps, his body blurred and he grabbed his sword as well as Layfon''s partly bent spear. Rushing toward the wolf Lowen''s face twisted into a cruel smile. The alpha seeing the ball of dirt suddenly shatter in front of him and turn into a cloud of dust was both shocked, relieved and confused. Many thoughts raced within his mind.


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    (How can this be, was my howl that powerful? no, something''s not right.)


    With his vision completely blocked, the wolf could only rely on his sense of hearing and sense of smell. With another but smaller howl, the wolf cleared the dust in the surroundings. That''s when he heard footsteps quickly approaching him but before he had time to turn around, Lowen was already there. With a quick leap, Lowen jumped high into the air, landing directly on top of the wolf''s neck. Gripping the spear, he put it around the wolf''s mouth. Using all of his strength, Lowen bent the spear, wrapping it completely around the wolf''s mouth as though it were a muzzle. The Alpha had no time to react and had the spear forced on him, tying his mouth shut completely. Thrashing around, the wolf was enraged and he immediately tried to throw Lowen from his back.


    With the dust blown away, everyone suddenly witnessed this odd sight. Bren seeing this became flustered at first before he quickly rushed at the wolf. With its mouth now sealed, one of its biggest threats we''re now contained. Lowen took his family sword and thrust it into the back of the wolf, unfortunately though, the wolves hide was incredibly tough and Lowen''s sword only sunk in 3 or 4 inches. On a creature so big this small wound didn''t matter much. The wolf thrashed in anger and quickly threw Lowen to the ground. The wolf slammed his paw down, trying to crush Lowen''s head but Lowen quickly rolled out of the way. The wolf, however, was not giving up and madly rushed after him, again the wolf slammed down without mercy.


    Just as his claws were about to carve out Lowen''s flesh, Bren had already grabbed the wolf''s tail and pulled him backward. With the hooks on Bren''s metallic gloves, they quickly sunk into the alpha''s tail and with another pull, he tore fur from flesh and flesh from the bone. The Alpha with its mouth muzzled couldn''t release a scream, even though it was clearly intensely painful. Lowen quickly got back to his feet and with one mighty swing of his hammer, he crushed one of the wolves front paws. Again the agony that the wolf felt was too intense and he quickly retreated. But now that one of its paws was broken, its speed was greatly reduced. Now was the perfect time to attack, so Lowen and Bren went in.


    *Boom Crack Snap*


    Now using only its feet for defense, the Alpha was quickly becoming cornered, he tried to divert the force of Lowen''s blows but still, he took more and more damage. Bren was not slow either and he repeatedly tore flesh from the wolf''s body. The alpha was doing its best to defend but with Lowen delivering heavy blows and Bren delivering quick sharp cuts and tears, the alpha was growing more injured and grew increasingly weaker and weaker. With no other choice, the alpha could only flee but how could Lowen and Bren allow that. Lowen abandoned his heavy hammer and tackled the alphas back feet, holding on tight he yelled at Bren.


    "Take him out, now!"


    Bren didn''t hesitate and jumped on the Alpha''s back, he tried to swipe at the wolfs back but the alpha thrashed too hard. In the end, Bren could only wrap his arms around the alpha''s neck and squeezed like a demonic snake with prey in its grasp. The wolf continued to thrash around like a wild beast but Lowen only held him down with more strength, this Alpha was going nowhere. The inscription tattoos on Bren glowed like the shining sun and he squeezed the alpha''s neck harder and harder, the eyes of the wolf began to grow clouded and his strength began to fade but still he fought. 10 seconds, 20, 30, after nearly a minute the wolf collapsed to the ground, with no more air, the wolf eyes rolled back to the back of its head. There was no ultimate attack or some destructive final blow, like anything without air, this powerful wolf, it was dead.


    As the wolf moved no more, Bren continued to choke the beast for another full minute before he finally released his grip. With heavy panting breaths, he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Lowen as well sat down and focused solely on healing and closing his wounds, the amount of blood he lost was completely unnatural. If it were a normal person who lost this much blood than they would have died 2 times over already. The men seeing this shouted out in pure euphoria and glee. Clovis signaled to his men and they helped bring him over to Lowen and Bren. Clovis looked the two up and down and a large smile appeared on his face.


    "You two, you actually did it, you actually managed to slay an evolved Alpha wolf."


    Clovis looked at the alpha and a realization of bitter sadness took hold of him. Looking at the devastation his army suffered and the loss of his little brother, Clovis''s mind was a wreck. Pointing at the spear wrapped around the wolf''s mouth, Clovis said.


    "Uncle, Layfon''s Spear."


    Bren already knew what he meant, reaching over, he slowly and cautiously took off the spear from the wolfs mouth. Handing it over to Clovis, Clovis bit his lip in both sadness and anger and a line of blood dripped from his chin. Shaking his head, he did his best to remain calm but any that looked at him could clearly see how devastated he truly felt. Bren however, was curious about what Lowen had just done.


    "Lowen, I thought that huge ball of dirt was going to kill us but when the wolf howled at it, it fell apart so easily and turned into a huge cloud of dust, just what was that?"


    Lowen shrugged his shoulders and said.


    "It really wasn''t much of anything, I simply made that ball of dirt completely hollow.


    Everyone hearing this couldn''t help but laugh. When they saw that hill sized ball of dirt, they all had the same thoughts of, we''re going to die. Even the wolf had thought it to be real. Some of the men threw their heads back in laughter while others mourned for their fallen comrades, this was truly a mix of emotions.


    -------------------------------------------------


    Roland had now limped over, after the tree he was on broke from the wolfs howl, he had fallen and sprained his ankle. Out of everyone here, he was clearly in the best shape. Coming over, he was filled with joy as he said.


    "My circle, my fourth circle, it''s completely repaired, hehehe."


    Many of the men stared at him in annoyance, although without him they would have definitely died but to hear him so joyous about his magic felt very aggravating, especially considering how many of their comrades died. Just as someone was going to tell him to shut up, Lowen suddenly heard something. The wind was howling and Lowen jumped in fright, staring behind him, he looked at the wolf but saw no movements. Focusing his ears, he noticed the sound was coming from above. Looking up, Lowen saw a hail of arrows flying towards them, with a loud shout he yelled.


    "Arrows! Lookout!"

 Chapter 56: Unwanted Reunion

    As the hail of arrows came raining down, Lowen shouted out:


    "ARROWS LOOKOUT!!"


    Arrows tore through the air coming quick and fast. Lowen grabbed Roland by the waist and threw him behind him, but his small frame wouldn''t be enough to shield Roland completely. So with his Snake Fist technique, Lowen repeatedly punched, slapped, and caught arrows that flew toward him, in the end, he destroyed nearly 30 arrows. This, however, was not enough to protect any of the soldiers, looking behind him, none of them remained.


    With the inscription tattoos, Clovis and Bren we''re basically impervious to these regular arrows and were left unharmed. Clovis looked back at his men behind him and felt his stomach twist in anger and sadness. Every single one of these men, every single one of these soldiers that he had helped train, that he had fought with, ate with and bled with, were all dead.


    Roland quickly felt over his entire body checking for any wound and injury but to his surprise, he didn''t even have a scratch on him. looking at the small child in front of him, he was thankful that Lowen had saved him. As he struggled to his feet, he saw out into the forest. There he spotted a large group of humanoid creatures moving toward them. As the large group finally exited the forest and came into the clearing, Clovis, Lowen, Bren, and Roland were all surprised to see hundreds of short green goblins. The most surprising thing, however, was the goblin leading them all. Roland''s mind quickly flashbacked to just over a year ago to that goblin that had caused so much pain and suffering, this goblin leader and that goblin from the past was one and the same.


    Roland quickly tried to summon his energy but immediately faced a mental backlash and felt pain within his mind, as though someone was stabbing him with dozens of needles. Roland had exhausted himself completely of magic and tried to force it and because of that, he suffered for it. Roland could only point out angrily at this leading goblin and yell.


    "You, why are you here? Why have you come?"


    The goblin saw the four remaining people and a large smile stretched across his face. He looked at Roland and waved his finger teasingly.


    "Tsk tsk tsk it''s been a while, Roland, had I known you were so injured at that time, then I would have destroyed you already. It''s too bad you''ve used up all of your magic, hahaha."


    Lowen, Clovis, and Bren looked at Roland with a bit of confusion but hearing this conversation, Lowen began to understand. Roland grit his teeth in fury and again yelled out.


    "Don''t you worry about my magic, I will soon have more than enough to kill you. After all my villagers that you killed that night, you will truly suffer for it."


    The leader of these goblins began to shake his head back and forth.


    "How many villagers do you think I killed. Though I did need a few of them to learn your language better, hahaha. "


    Before the conversation went any further, the goblin leader lifted up his hand and signaled his archers once more. Again, hundreds of arrows came raining down but because the number of people was so greatly reduced and we''re now concentrated in one spot, these hundreds of arrows came flying in a clustered bunch. Bren and Lowen once more protected Clovis and Roland, after this volley of arrows fell, Lowen said.


    "Bren, protect these two, I''ll go deal with him."


    Bren gave a nod of understanding and with that Lowen was about to rush toward that goblin leader, when suddenly, Roland stopped him. Grabbing Lowen''s wrist, Roland was almost dragged forward by Lowen''s momentum but Lowen quickly stopped, Roland grabbed something from his chest pocket and forced it into Lowen''s hand. Looking down, Lowen saw that it was a simple piece of paper with a few words written in ancient magic, it was a talisman. Roland quietly whispered a few words to Lowen.


    "This is a talisman, to activate it, simply say the words "Silence Activate" and then within 50 feet of it, all will be silent."


    Lowen looked at this talisman and a bit of fear crept up on him, he had been in such a hurry, he had completely forgotten that this was the goblin that could take control of you. Somehow using his voice, he can take control of your mind and give you commanding orders that you must follow. Lowen held the talisman tightly in his hand and gave Roland a nod before he once again rushed forward. As he raced forward, he quickly came upon the goblin leader and yelled out...


    "SILENCE ACTIVATE!"


    The Talisman in Lowen''s hand glowed and the air instantly became quiet. Within the surrounding 50 ft, nothing could be heard. The goblin leaders smile only seem to grow when this happened. Lowen slashed out with his family sword but as his sword came slashing forward, a wall of earth suddenly formed in front of his blade and blocked it. Because Lowen had used so much strength and energy earlier, his blow and speed were greatly reduced, otherwise, it should have been quite easy for him to cut through this wall. Following that, three large earth spikes came out of the wall like three powerful spears and struck at Lowen''s chest. Lowen had no time to move out of the way.


    *Boom Thud Boom*


    But Lowen swung his hammer like a force of nature, breaking them all away. None of the three spikes were able to pierce him, they did, however, force him back. With a spin in the air, Lowen rebalanced himself and landed on the ground. The talisman Roland had given Lowen didn''t last long and its bright glow quickly dimmed. The power of this talisman within only a few seconds was just about done. The one responsible for the earth wall stepped out from behind his leader and smiled viciously at Lowen. As Lowen stared at this ugly little goblin, he could see the goblin mouthing the words weakling. Lowen grew furious and once more rushed at the goblin leader and just as he closed in again, once more a large earthen wall formed in front of him this time instead of spikes coming from the wall, they came from the ground below, shooting up towards Lowen''s feet. Lowen had no choice but to kick off of the wall and distance himself far from this goblin earth mage. Lowen quickly retreated back to Roland''s side and asked for another talisman but to his surprise, Roland shook his head.


    "Lowen, that was my only one, who could have thought that we''d run into this situation. If I had more, I would have used them when the alpha was howling but even then I didn''t use this one just in case but for us to actually need it, this really is the worst case scenario. Lowen, we have to leave here immediately."


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    Lowen nodded his head agreeing with Roland. if the stories about this goblin were true and he was to take control of Lowen or Roland, the resulting situation would be catastrophic. Lowen looked at Clovis and Bren and told them it was time to leave. Bren had grabbed Clovis and Lowen was just about to grab Roland but it was already too late. The talisman had completely run out. The goblin leader looked at the four humans that were about to flee and shouted towards them.


    "Whoa whoa whoa, who said you can leave?"


    The goblin leader then pointed at one of the people trying to flee and again he shouted.


    "You there, put that man down and then kill that boy and Roland!¡±


    Bren immediately dropped Clovis to the ground, turned and lunged at Lowen and Roland, shocking them all. Bren repeatedly struck at Lowen and Roland, Lowen had to, again and again, move Roland out of the way as he intercepted Bren''s strikes. Lowen''s body was incredibly tough but there was no way he could receive a swipe to the body from Bren with his metallic gloves. Lowen with all of his strength and his magic sword could barely pierce through the wolf''s back but Bren with the hooks on the end of his gloves had repeatedly torn off large pieces of flesh. Bringing his sword up, he fended off Bren repeatedly. Clovis had no idea what was going on, suddenly his uncle out of nowhere started to attack Lowen. Clovis quickly shouted at his uncle in desperation.


    "Uncle stop, what are you doing? They''re our allies. Hurry up and stop, we must flee from here, uncle are you listening? UNCLE!!"


    Clovis continued to shout at the top of his lungs but no matter how loud he got, Bren seemed to no longer be able to hear him. Once again the goblin leader made a signal with his hands but instead of arrows, this time, hundreds of goblins rushed forward with swift speed. The four were now surrounded on all sides by goblins but Lowen had no time to deal with them as he was too busy defending himself from Bren. The goblin leader saw this and was highly entertained but he still had his goals to accomplish.


    "Brethren, take that man."


    A dozen or so of the surrounding goblins went for Clovis. In Clovis''s weakened state there was nothing he could do. They quickly grab him and began to carry him off. Lowen had wanted to step in but if he lost focus for even a moment, then that was his life. Clovis desperately shouted for his uncle''s help.


    "UNCLE, PLEASE HELP ME, UNCLE, UNCLE, THEY''RE TAKING ME!!"


    Still, Bren ignored him and continued his attack on Lowen. If that wasn''t bad enough, suddenly the surrounding earth began to rise up forming a dome, they were becoming trapped. Roland yelled out.


    "Lowen, we have to go now, if we don''t, then we''ll be trapped and killed. Please, Lowen, hurry, we have to leave now."


    With the odds completely stacked against them Lowen had no other choice. Circulating his ki and pushing himself, Lowen grabbed Roland by the waist and with his shadow steps, jumped over the surrounding goblins and with the swing of his hammer broke through the growing earth dome. With his fastest speed, Lowen raced off in a completely random direction, behind him Bren quickly followed in Pursuit.


    Dashing through the forest, weaving between trees, hopping over creeks, streams, anything, and everything, Lowen with Roland in his grasp ran through the forest with his fastest speed. Behind him, Bren continued to follow. Lowen had used up so much of his energy but at the same time, so did Bren. Lowen had no time to regather any of his ki energy, so the further he ran, the slower he started to become and with that, Bren began to gain on Lowen and Roland. At first, they were about 100 ft away from each other but as time went on that gap closed to 80, then 70, 60, 50. Lowen''s mind raced with thoughts as he continued through the forest, he suddenly spotted a large boulder at least 30 ft around and an idea struck him. Racing around the boulder, Lowen suddenly came to an abrupt stop, throwing Roland down, Lowen held up his hammer and waited. Not even a second later Bren came running right around this large boulder and appeared right in front of Lowen. Lowen controlling his strength, swung his hammer with all of his speed but not all of his power. Bren had no time to defend himself and was struck directly in the face.


    *Wham*


    Lowen hit Bren right in the chin and with his precise control over his strength, he knocked Bren unconscious. Bren''s body flew up into the air and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he was out before he hit the ground. Lowen and Roland both sighed in relief. Sitting down, they both breathed as though they just ran a thousand miles. Lowen breathed this way because of how much work he did and Roland Breathed like this because of how much fear he felt. He shouted at Lowen.


    "How could you throw me like that, you nearly broke my ass when I hit the ground."


    Lowen was so out of breath though, that he completely ignored Roland''s remarks.


    Seeing that he was being ignored, Roland wanted to be angry but after just escaping with his life and the only reason being that Lowen had saved him, Roland could only sigh.


    As the two leaned their backs up against the large boulder, they both thought about the turn of events that had just taken place. Roland looked at Lowen and said depressingly.


    "Now things are finally starting to make sense. The wolves being pushed out of their territory, the food disappearing from the forest, that huge number of goblins. It was them, it was all because of them, this was all caused by that one goblin but what I don''t understand is why he wants Clovis. You saw it right, they weren''t attacking him, they were taking him."


    Lowen rubbed his chin in thought before he asked.


    "Is there something we don''t know about Clovis? Could he be important or something? Is he a noble and we just don''t know or is there something else we''re missing?"


    Roland shook his head.


    "Just when things start making sense, again I''m thrown for a loop, I don''t know, I just don''t get it."

 Chapter 57: What Can We DO?

    <div>


    "Is there something we don''t know about Clovis? Could he be important or something? Is he a noble and we just don''t know or is there something else we''re missing?"


    Roland shook his head.


    "Just when things start making sense, again I''m thrown for a loop, I don''t know, I just don''t get it."


    As Lowen and Roland pondered over this mystery, suddenly Bren came to. Lowen and Roland jumped back cautiously as Bren slowly sat up. Rubbing his face, he felt pain shooting up to his head, the blow from Lowen was just way too powerful. Although Bren was under that goblin''s control, he could still think, see and feel. Shaking the pain out of his head, he quickly jumped up scaring Roland. Lowen seeing this, took a defensive stance. The fighting, however, did not reignite, instead, Bren quickly shouted.


    "We have to save him, we have to save Clovis."


    Lowen stepped forward and asked.


    "You, are you ok now? are you... you?"


    Bren again yelled.


    "Of course it''s me, now hurry up, we have to go rescue my nephew."


    Bren was just about to turn around and race off towards the direction he came from. when Lowen suddenly grabbed his arm.


    "Stop, if you go back there again that goblin will take control of you. I don''t know how you escaped his mind control but if you go back there, there''s a possibility he may control you forever or even just be bored and command you to commit suicide. Once that''s done, your nephew''s fate will no longer be his but instead, the goblins to control."


    Hearing this, Bren''s face suddenly turned pale in horror, he thought and thought and thought but he just couldn''t think of a way around that goblins power. He looked at Roland and remembered that he and the goblin had recognized each other and figured Roland had some answers. Bren walked over toward Roland and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him high into the air, he roared in anger.


    "Roland, just what in the hell is going on? Who was that goblin? Why does he want my nephew?"


    Roland became flustered and began to panic and couldn''t answer properly, that''s when Lowen stepped in.


    "That''s enough."


    Bren however just grew angrier and began to squeeze and choke Roland. Lowen didn''t agree with this action, so in one swift movement, he used his shadow steps and appeared right in front of Bren with his sword at the edge of his neck. This time with an, even more, harsher tone, Lowen again spoke.


    "I said that''s enough, now drop him or don''t, and see what happens next."


    Bren now wavered a bit but still, he did not release Roland. Lowen gently poked his blade against Bren''s neck and a small line of blood began to drip down. Seeing how serious Lowen was, Bren''s grip immediately loosened and Roland collapsed to the ground, gripping his neck, he began coughing and gasping for air.


    Bren took a step back, he put his hands down yet gripped them tightly in bitterness. Lowen as well stepped back and with a thought, his sword coiled back around his arm. The two stared at Roland as he continued to cough and gasp for air, after a few minutes, he regained a bit of his composure. As he leaned his back against the huge boulder, instead of having a look filled with anger, he seemed more disappointed with himself. This whole problem seemed to have stemmed from him and Benjamin.


    (If only Benjamin didn''t die and instead he slew that fucking goblin. If only I just burnt the last of my life and killed him, then none of this would have ever happened.)


    Roland, with a defeated look on his face, began to explain the whole situation from over a year ago. He told him about the men crossing into the territory of the goblins and how Benjamin had saved one of the men and also how he slaughtered many goblins and even took a few captive. Roland told Bren everything that took place and the more Bren heard, the more things began to fit together, especially when Roland told him about the mind control and how Benjamin had suffered the same experience. In the end, they still had no clue what that goblin leader wanted with Clovis.


    There was still something that Roland hoped Bren could help him figure out.


    "Bren, at the time when Benjamin told me about him being controlled, I had asked him how he retook control of himself but he had no clue. I wonder, you had the same experience, do you understand anything about what happened to you or how you broke his control?"


    Bren thought for a while but in the end, he himself didn''t understand.


    "I don''t know how, at first when I was attacking you, even though I wanted to stop I couldn''t. I could see you, I could understand what was happening around me but I couldn''t control my body whatsoever but after Lowen knocked me out, when I came to, everything was back to normal. I myself don''t get it. How are we supposed to rescue my nephew with that goblin guarding them? Not only that, he has hundreds of goblin soldiers and when you tried to kill him, he was obviously guarded buy an earth mage."


    Roland also added.


    " That mage was a second circle mage."


    Lowen nodded in agreement, he felt it too, that mage was definitely a second circle mage. Roland looked at the two and asked hesitatingly.


    "What shall we do? How can we rescue Clovis and not die? I just got my life back and I''m not ready to give it up just yet, so if this plan is shit, I''ll tell you right now I''ll be stepping back."


    Bren again began to grow angry, he couldn''t believe how selfish Roland was, to give up so easily if he didn''t think the plan was good enough, what kind of bullshit was that. At the same time though, Bren''s mind was stuck, he had no clue what to do next. It''s hard to admit but he''s been a follower all of his life. When he was young, Clovis''s father had taken him in and he had followed him ever since. After that he served as Clovis''s second-in-command, he had never had to come up with a plan, only execute them but now here he was out in the sticks with no clue what to do. Bren and Roland both couldn''t help but look toward Lowen for some type of answer but even Lowen was at a loss. The goblins power was too mysterious, Lowen thought and thought but he could see very little options to deal with that goblins ability. It was at this moment that Bren said a few words in passing that caught Lowen''s attention.


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    "Why did he take over me anyway when you were so close? I mean it doesn''t make sense tactically does it? He clearly saw the fight with the Alpha, he should have known that you were the most powerful, weird so weird."


    Lowen''s mind raced with thought.


    (Why didn''t he take over me? I''m faster and stronger. If he had taken control over me, things would have been settled much easier but instead, he specifically targeted Bren, why?)


    Lowen looked between the three of them as questions buzzed within his mind. Lowen had a sudden thought.


    "Roland, back then before he attacked your village you had said that you were confident that he wouldn''t, why was that again? "


    Roland looked at Lowen curiously but answered anyway.


    "Because at that time my power was that of a second circle mage, he knew I was more powerful than him, that''s why."


    "Then tell me, why did he, later on, attack you, he knew you were there, he knew you could kill him instantly but still he attacked. Is he stupid, I don''t think so, I think he did it for a reason."


    Roland and Bren both looked at Lowen questioningly, just what does he mean to say they thought. Lowen started to pace back and forth trying to put the pieces together, once again he spoke.


    "I think... now this is just a theory but what if he didn''t understand his powers fully at that time. At first, when he was first brought to the Village and woke up he was all set to use his powers but then stopped the moment he sensed you, maybe at that time he wasn''t sure. The next time though when he attacked your village did he do or say anything weird?"


    Roland thought for a moment but in the end, he shook his head.


    " I...I can''t be sure, I don''t remember if he did anything weird or not. Why do you ask?"


    Lowen ignored that question and continued.


    "You told me once before that as mages advance their circle to higher levels their mental facilities evolve. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn''t afraid of your power but your ability to resist his power with your increased mental fortitude. Could it have been when he controlled Benjamin he grew too confident and figured maybe he could control you and so when he attacked the village, even though you were more powerful he thought it wouldn''t matter but because you are a mage at a higher circle than him, his mental power couldn''t beat your mental fortitude. I think at that time he tried to use his powers on you and failed, Roland could that be possible?"


    Roland wondered, he thought back to that night but he couldn''t recall if the goblin had done anything strange or not. He did feel the goblins power but that was only for a moment, could it have happened then. Roland continued to wonder before shaking his head.


    "I... I don''t know, it could be."


    Bren looked at the two and grew more and more frustrated.


    "How does any of this help? Are you saying that the goblin won''t be able to take over you or Roland? That doesn''t change the fact that the goblin will still be able to take over me, after that I might just get to Roland before you can protect him, so what can we do?"


    Lowen continued to pace back and forth before he abruptly came to a stop, looking at Roland he wondered about the talismans.


    "Roland, that talisman was one that spread silence right?"


    Roland nodded.


    "It makes sense that the goblin leader couldn''t control me since I''m a mage but at the same time, why didn''t that goblin take control of Bren right at that moment, instead he waited, why? I think it was because of the silence, I think he needs to be able to vocalize a command in order to control you. That''s the only thing that makes sense, otherwise, if he doesn''t need to talk to command you, then he could have taken control over Bren immediately and had him kill you before I ever retreated back to your side."


    Roland and Bren''s eyes both flashed in understanding, this did make sense. Lowen spoke up once more.


    " I believe if we seal off your hearing then you''ll be able to face that goblin without worry, what do you think?"


    The three stared at each other and nodded. If they did this, the chances of winning immediately shot up. Bren again asked.


    "With all that being said, what''s the plan?"


    " I still don''t know, I think before any of that though I should go scout and follow them and figure out where their base is at. After that, I''ll come back and we''ll figure something out."


    Bren quickly disagreed.


    "No, it should be me that finds them otherwise¡­."


    But Lowen quickly interrupted him.


    "Stop, if we send you and I''m wrong about the power of the goblins and he takes control over you again, then who knows what''ll happen but with me being a mage, going by past events I think my theory about him not being able to control mages is much more plausible. Our best bet, for now, is me going ahead while you two rest and recover your strength."


    Before Bren could say anything else, Lowen already turned and rushed back to where the goblins were at, once he got near, he would hide his presence and follow them like a shadow.


    As Lowen raced toward his objective, he had confidence in something else. Even if his mental fortitude as a mage did not protect him, he believed that just like with the power from old man Sid''s odd cursed eyes, he could defend himself by protecting his mind with ki.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


    A few hours later, deep within a mighty mountain, through a branching cave system, goblin after goblin made their way through. After a while, a few of them dragged a young man into a room and chained his wrists and ankles. As the chains rattled from a goblin soldier inspecting them, he soon nodded and left the room. As the goblin walked out, the goblin leader walked in and the iron door slammed shut. Clovis stared at the small goblin leader with deep hate as well as trepidation. The goblin leader on the other hand only stared happily at his captive. With an ugly smile that stretched across his face, the goblin leader said.


    "Finally, you''re finally here, now the next phase shall begin."

 Chapter 58: You Will Break

    ( Next phase, what is he talking about? How does this have anything to do with me?)


    This Goblin leader spotted the confusion on Clovis''s face and chuckled a bit, with a devilish grin he said.


    " Hahaha, you seem a bit confused but don''t worry, once I''m done with you, you''ll No longer have a care in the world."


    Clovis was still confused but hearing that he was about to be used, his anger built up, however as he tried to lash out, the chains that bound him did their jobs completely and held him tight. Suddenly the iron doors opened and another green goblin walked in, however, this one looked slightly different. If a regular goblin had sharply pointed ears and sharp teeth, this one had completely humanist looking ears as well as human-looking teeth. Its height as well, stood taller than an average goblin, seeing this not only surprised Clovis but disgusted him as well.


    ( This, this is a Hobgoblin, these goblins are breeding with humans, disgusting.)


    A hobgoblin was a half-human and half-goblin, a mix of the two. Most goblins are bald atop their head, this one, however, had short brown hair most of its features resemble that of a human, the only true difference was this creatures skin color. This hobgoblin had pale gray skin, other than that there was almost no way of telling the creature apart from a human, they were even as tall as an average human. As the hobgoblin entered, in its hands it carried a few medical supplies. The goblin leader simply gave a nod to this hobgoblin and the hobgoblin went to work. The hobgoblin began to apply medicine to Clovis''s severely wounded shoulder cleaning it, making a special paste of herbs and other medicinal plants. This hobgoblin grounded up and added some unidentifiable type of liquid, it made a gray-green paste and applied it to Clovis, Clovis noticed that his pain immediately numbed and his bleeding stopped. The hobgoblin then wrapped his wound and finished his treatment, turning around the hobgoblin never said a word, it''s simply just left. The goblin leader noticed the disgusted look on Clovis''s face and asked him teasingly.


    " What do you think of my project? I''ve been working on them for a while, not bad right?"


    Clovis roared out.


    "Project, what project? You''re breeding fucking humans and goblins, this taboo that you''ve perpetrated, you''re breaking the natural laws. To take innocent people and have them soiled for your sick amusement. Just who the fuck are you? Why are you doing this?"


    The goblin leader looked at Clovis with bemusement, he expected a reaction but not one so dramatic.


    " I can''t believe I forgot to introduce myself, let''s start over. Hello young battlemage, my name is Rize, plain and simple. As for why I''m doing this well¡­"


    Rize''s face twisted as though he were part demon, his voice grew harsher.


    "I fucking hate humans, greedy, corrupt, overbearing and cruel, each one of you is a blight on the world and the sooner you''re all bone and dust, the sooner the rest of us all can live in peace."


    Clovis again grew confused.


    "You hate us yet you use us to breed, what kind of hypocrisy is that?"


    Rize shook his head in disagreement.


    "You call it hypocrisy, I simply call it a means to an end, why not use my enemy against my enemy. Think about it, just how beautiful would that outcome be. When the history books are written, I''ll be the hero and you humans, everyone will see you for how you truly are, as villainous scum."


    Once again the iron door opened up and 6 hobgoblins came in carrying lots of equipment, Clovis seeing this couldn''t help but hesitatingly ask.


    "What, what are you going to do to me?"


    Rize pointed, directing the hobgoblins on what to do and ignored Clovis but this just made Clovis even more anxious and he asked again, this time louder.


    "Answer me, what the hell are you going to do to me?"


    Rize looked back at Clovis with annoyance but answered anyway.


    " They''re setting up a device especially for you, It''s really quite ingenious. Once the preparation is done, this tank of water will rest a few feet above your head. With a small release valve, it will gently drip a drop of water on you at completely random times. Although this doesn''t hurt you, you will definitely feel it. Out of everyone I''ve used this on, only one has remained unbroken. Everyone else could last no more than a few days and that''s all the time I need. Once you break, I will be able to take over your mind completely and the next phase will begin."


    Clovis looked at the tank being set up above him and fear crept up his back. He''s heard of this torture technique before, they even have something similar in Rhylo Kingdom. Most people seeing such a device for the first time would simply laugh it away, Clovis though, he knew, he understood completely what this simple device would do. Hearing Rize speak about how it can break someone in a few days was no joke. This type of torture was designed to drive a person insane. If it didn''t break him within a few days, it was all but guaranteed to break him within the week. Clovis was incredibly tough, he had grown up in a family of mercenaries, his father was a mercenary, his mother, uncle and siblings were all mercenaries. He had been learning the ways of war since he was a small boy but he knew what this device could do because his father used it on him once for training. Clovis couldn''t take more than an hour or two of it before he had to get away from it. So he knew for a fact that he wouldn''t last days let alone a week. Clovis bit his lip in bitterness and a few drops of blood fell from his chin, in a defeated tone, he asked.


    " What...What do you want from me? Just tell me and get it over with. There''s no need for that contraption."


    Rize hearing this laughed out loud with pure pleasure.


    *HAHAHA*


    "You mean you can''t guess, what would someone with my abilities want from someone like you?"


    Clovis had no clue and his face showed it, Rize again laughed with joy.


    " Come on, come on, at least guess something....anything."


    Clovis thought hard but no answer came. With an awkward silence growing between the two, Rize began to get impatient. Walking up to Clovis, he flicked him in the middle of his forehead.


    *Thump*


    "Time dummy, what I want is time."


    Right now, Clovis desperately wished that he could have one hand free to Crush Rize''s neck. With him right in front of him, no further than a few inches apart, if Clovis had one hand free then all would be settled in an instant. Instead though, thinking about the word time, Clovis decided his best option right now was to buy his own time. So even though he was desperate and even though fear has made its way into the corner of his heart, Clovis would try and dig out as much information as he could. Hopefully, it would be useful if not for what''s to come, at least maybe he might be able to find some form of weakness within Rize. Clovis faked a look of confusion and asked.


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    " Time, why do you want time? What does that mean?"


    Rize smiled at Clovis, he could tell Clovis was digging but at this point, it didn''t even matter. Once he broke Clovis, Clovis would then be totally and completely under Rize''s control.


    "Once your mind is mine I will send you back so you can tell your superiors that you handle the situation and that all the wolves are dead and that you tragically lost all of your men in combat. Hahaha, they will hail you as a hero while not knowing at the same time that you''ll be completely under my thumb. After that, you will retire and come back here. I will then continue to increase my army and in one fell swoop, I will take control of the surrounding villages and towns. I will then break every single human in the surroundings and take control of them as well. Afterward, they will all go about their daily lives as though nothing has changed but in secret, they will all be under my control. Eventually, they will all be under my foot and when my army is big enough, that''s when ill truly begin the slaughter."


    Clovis stared at Rize as though he were a diabolical monster.


    ( How can this be, how can this be, he planned everything from the start. The wolves, he knew we would come to investigate and they would need to send a commander of some sort to sort out the whole situation. This whole thing was a trap set for me, so I can report all is well and he could continue to expand his army completely unnoticed. I have to get out of here, I have to escape and warn them all before it''s too late.)


    Clovis''s mind began to race, now he didn''t fear just for himself but all of humanity.


    (This goblin in front of me is just too cunning. If he truly did plan this all out from the beginning¡­)


    Clovis couldn''t even finish his thought, his heart began to beat at a terrifying rate and sweat began to pour down his face forming a small puddle below him. He had gotten such critical information it terrified him but even during all this, even though he was scared, he still continued to push forward. He needed more information, he needed at least one weakness, otherwise, even if help came, if he couldn''t tell them Rize''s weakness, then they were all but guaranteed to fail. Clovis took a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth, in this way he began to calm down and he pushed down his nightmarish thoughts and took control over his wild emotions. With a steady gaze, he asked.


    "I don''t get it, you did all this just to use me. Why push the wolves out? Why not instead control the alpha, with him and all of his wolves you could have had a powerful ally. If you didn''t force them from the mountains then you still could have stayed hidden and raised an army in secret. Doesn''t tricking us to come here put your whole plan at risk? What If instead of me coming they sent a powerful mage or many battlemages then you''d be screwed."


    Rize just laughed at this long statement.


    "Who says I wasn''t controlling the alpha, hahaha if only that could have lasted longer¡­"


    *Sigh*


    "That bastard had to go and eat some humans, once he gained magic power, tch. As for them sending a powerful mage, hahaha, don''t make me laugh. I know for a fact, Rhylo Kingdom has no powerful mages, at the most they have third circle mages and by my accounts no more than a dozen or so. Those 3rd Circle mages are already busy enough guarding the kingdom. Your king would never send them away for a small investigation. If even one left your kingdom, your king and his kingdom would lose too much protection. Rhylo kingdom is far too weak and its resources too little, if they lost one mage it''ll probably be 20 or 30 years before they made another third circle mage. At that point they could be attacked repeatedly, they can''t make that sacrifice, so they would never send strong mages here. As for battle mages, whether they send 2 or 20, they can no longer stop me. The only threats are Roland and that young earth mage. Once I''ve taken your mind ill send you back to them and you will feign escape and when their guards are lowered, hahaha, you will stab them in the back. So don''t worry, just accept your fate and this will all be over shortly."


    With the last of those words, the hobgoblins finished setting up the torture device. Just as they were about to turn the release valve for the water, Clovis shouted.


    " Wait, wait, please don''t do this. I know you hate humans but we''re not all the same, we''re not all greedy and cruel. Most of us are good, caring people, who only wish to live in peace and protect their families. I know this might sound strange coming from a human but I understand your hate for people, I felt it myself. I know how bad humans can be but there''s so much more to us than just the bad, there''s so much good. You don''t have to hate anymore, haven''t you killed enough people. I ask you...if you believe in any form of justice, then please....don''t do this."


    Rize heard this plea and stared at Clovis as though he were stupid, with a smirk on his face Rize said.


    "Your speech is worthless here, this goes far beyond good and bad. I do hate humans and I always will. I know for a fact they all deserve death but that''s not the only reason I''m doing this."


    Clovis''s emotions started to grow wild again and he shouted.


    " So why then?"


    Rize answered back with no hesitation.


    " Survival... If you can''t understand that, then humans truly are worthless."


    Rize gave a nod to the hobgoblin behind Clovis and the hobgoblin turned the valve. With the valve released, a single small drop of water slowly began to drip down the end of the spout. As the drop of water hung at the tip of the spout, with only gravity and nothing else, it fell.


    *Drip*


    As that cold drop of water splashed on top of Clovis''s forehead, his eyes widen in shock. The memory from his childhood was quickly brought back up and the fear within him began to build. Clovis could only constantly repeat a mantra within his mind.


    ( I will not break, I will not break, I will not break, I will not break.)


    As the drop of water continued to splash on top of Clovis''s head, Rize was headed for the door but just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned around and with another demonic grin, he said.


    "You know, out of the hundreds I''ve tortured, there''s only ever been one person that hasn''t completely broken. So it doesn''t matter how many times you repeat that mantra, believe me when I say it....you will break."

 Chapter 59: Two Shall Enter

    After a few hours, Lowen had discovered the goblins hideout and had already returned to Bren and Roland''s side. After discussing for a while they decided they needed to act as soon as possible. Although they didn''t know what the goblins wanted with Clovis, they knew that waiting was not an option. Roland, however, would not budge unless the plan was solid, so the three quickly came up with a plan. Lowen told them the layout of what he had found deep within the forest. The goblins had completely crossed human territory and set up a base on the inside of a nearby mountain. How long they''ve been there no one knew for sure. Lowen had snuck close to the cave and saw that the entrance was being guarded by a few goblins. Using his earth sense, he could see 50 ft within the cave. What had shocked him however was that just 10 or so feet into the cave, it naturally split into multiple paths, twisting and turning. If the rest of the layout of the cave was even remotely close to what the entrance of the cave looked like, then this cave was truly a maze.


    After telling the two the setup and the location, Lowen thought about how they would rescue Clovis. The initial plan would be to immediately immobilize the few guards at the entrance and then rush In but if they did that they would be going in completely blind. With hundreds of goblins inside as well as a second circle goblin mage was hard enough already, add the fact that they had to face the goblin leader who could potentially control Bren and that just increased the difficulty to a whole other level, one in which they weren''t quite sure on how to deal with. The three continued to think but after a while, Roland added another disadvantage to the plan.


    "There''s one more thing you two should know. Even if I do come with you, there''s absolutely no way I''m going into a cave."


    Lowen and Bren turned to him at the same time and nearly screamed. Bren''s voice sunk low, each word he spoke was one filled with irritation and annoyance.


    "What the hell do you mean you''re not going in. If you don''t go in, then we''ll be losing one of our most powerful pieces. Tell me, what other selfish reasons do you have not to go."


    Roland, however, shook his head.


    "It''s not like that, it''s not like that at all. If I go in I can''t use any of my magic."


    Lowen just now realized the problem as Roland continued on.


    "I use fire remember. If I go in there, my flames will have too many disadvantages. The cave, it will be narrow and tight In many spots. If I launch my flames in there, not only will I hit the enemy but the chances of me hitting you two or even myself, increases by manyfold. Not only that, my flames will sap the air out of every nook and cranny in only one or two spells, no one will be able to breathe. Also, when I go in there I won''t be able to defend myself properly, I''m not good at hand to hand combat and if we''re cornered I guarantee I''ll be the first to die. So no, I''m not being selfish, instead, I''m being absolutely reasonable and logical. I''m not going in there because I know if I do I''ll die. I can''t take an arrow and have it just bounce off my body like it would the two of you. I can''t go face to face with a sword or a spear. So if you need me, all I can do is wait outside and provide support."


    Bren looked up at the sky and thought.


    (This can''t be happening. Just what the hell are we supposed to do now?)


    Lowen, however, now took this into consideration and one idea did come to mind.


    "Roland, tell me something, how many times can you use your fourth circle spell, Rippling Inferno?"


    Roland didn''t hesitate and answered.


    "Once, after that, I''d need around 10 or 15 minutes in order to use it again, why do you ask?"


    Lowen ignored this and signaled for Roland to lend him his ear so he could whisper something. Roland was a little annoyed but still leaned his head forward to listen.


    "Roland, what about your amulet? If I fill it up with energy, how long would it take you to absorb enough to launch another Rippling Inferno?"


    Roland now understood exactly what Lowen wanted to do and he appreciated that Lowen spoke about his treasure indiscretion. He thought for a moment before whispering back. Lowen hearing his answer, nodded his head in understanding. Bren, however, was growing angry seeing these two whispering in secret and immediately shouted.


    "Just what the hell is going on? Why are you two whispering? Is there actually something that you can''t say in front of me at this point? Are we or are we not on the same side?"


    Lowen wasn''t offended by Bren''s anger and with a calm reply, Lowen said.


    "Bren, relax, I believe I''ve come up with something but it carries a huge risk. If we do this, there''s no guarantee that it will succeed and worst case scenario we all die."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Bren, hearing that there was a plan started to regain his calm and nodded in understanding, completely ignoring the mention of death as Lowen continued.


    "I think at this point we don''t have a good time frame but I know if we wait, it may be too late for whatever the goblin plans to do with Clovis. Our best bet, in all honesty, is a hit-and-run tactic. With this, I would have Roland wait outside while you and I roll in like a storm. We bum rush them and cut through them as quickly as possible. With my Earth sensing ability, I can only see 50 ft around me so that''s 50 feet ahead. With our speed, as long as we move quickly enough, none of them should be able to even catch our shadows. In this way, we could quickly search for Clovis and when we find him we don''t wait around, we grab him and then we''re gone like the wind.


    When we get out, that''s when Roland can launch a Rippling Inferno into the cave killing hundreds of them essentially crippling them. After that, you can take Clovis and immediately leave from there, that way, even if the goblin leader makes an appearance, he won''t be able to control either one of you. I and Roland will wait around for them to come out and then Roland will launch one more Rippling Inferno. When that''s over we''ll retreat back to the town of Jizhen where we''ll meet you two. You two will gather people, making as big of a force as possible and then you''ll march all of them back here to fight. The goblin leader seems to be able to only control one at a time but just in case, before the battle begins I will seal your hearing as well as Clovis''s. If his power does work like that, then he will no longer be able to control you two. With you and Clovis, me, Roland, and the force we gathered from Jizhen, we''ll destroy them all. "


    Bren now understood why Lowen said the plan was risky. This all relied on two big factors. The first was that Lowen would be able to properly scout the cave while rushing forward at his fastest speed. The second was the assumption that the goblin leaders power did, in fact, work the way they thought it worked. Even if those two things were facts, it still didn''t guarantee a successful mission but at this point, there was just no time. Bren asked.


    "Okay, so when do we start?"


    Lowen, eyed him curiously, for Bren to accept this mission with zero hesitation shows just how loyal or maybe just how much he cared for Clovis, either way, it was nothing but a good thing in this situation.


    "Right now."


    The three all nodded in agreement and then Bren picked up Roland and they followed closely behind Lowen, off to the goblin mountain. It originally took Lowen hours because he had to slowly track and follow the goblins but now that Lowen knew where their base was, with his and Bren''s speed they arrived within minutes. Standing behind a few trees in the forest, they spotted 5 small goblin guards waiting outside the entrance. After Bren put Roland up high in a tree he then landed back down beside Lowen, the two looked at each other and waited for a moment. Giving a nod, the two separated to flank the goblins, Bren sneaking on the left and Lowen sneaking on the right. When the two were both around 20 feet away, that''s when they made their move. Bren leaped at a few goblins to tear out their throats while Lowen instead, simply picked up a few rocks and with precise aim, imagining the fish he caught in the river, he threw the rocks forward with Incredible speed.


    *Swish Slash*


    *Thwack Thwack Thwack*


    Bren tore out two of the goblins throats while Lowen put three rocks straight through the other goblins heads. With the twos speed, the goblins were dead instantly. Bren looked at Lowen with interest, he''d never seen someone kill others by throwing rocks through the head, this was something he had never even thought of. With his strength, he wondered if he could do the same. Right now though, it was time to go to work, Lowen immediately rushed into the cave with Bren right on his tail. Making their way through the cave, Bren could barely see 6 feet in front of him. Lowen on the other hand, with his heightened senses, he could see slightly further. Not only that, with his earth sensing he could see even better.


    As the two made their way through the cave, there were many twists and turns, every 50 or so feet they would run into more and more goblins but with their incredible speed, each and every one of these goblins was slain before they could warn the others. Soon, Lowen and Bren found a long hallway filled with iron doors. On each of these doors, there were small slits so you could see into the rooms. When Lowen and Bren came to this hallway, they immediately slowed down, the noises they heard coming from each one of these rooms sounded very familiar. Behind one of these doors, Lowen and Bren could hear someone softly crying. The two slowly approached the iron door and curiously looked in. Inside the room, a woman laid on the floor with her arms chained to the wall. Seeing this, Lowen immediately became shocked. He went to reach for the door to open it when Bren suddenly grabbed his wrist. Looking him in the eye he shook his head back and forth and in a small quiet voice, he said.


    "We can''t, Clovis is our objective, we have to find him first, nothing else matters."


    Lowen was on the spot and he didn''t know exactly what to do. Using his earth sense, he felt inside some of the rooms in this long hallway and each one of them he could feel more and more people.


    (Who are all of these people? Why are they all being held here?)


    Lowen whispered back to Bren.


    "Bren, we''re running out of time, this cave system is bigger than I originally thought. If we continue on like this then we''ll get nowhere and we may be only putting Clovis in even more danger. If they find out we''re here and we don''t have him, then whatever their plans are, they may move them up or they may even move him and we''ll never find him again. I say we ask this lady, maybe we''ll get something from her."


    Bren thought for a moment and then nodded an agreement.


    Seeing how all the goblins we''re around Lowen''s height the slide where you can see in was at his eye level. Looking in once more, he whispered in a hushed tone.


    "Woman, pssh, woman, look over here."


    The woman hearing this faint voice slowly raised her head, looking over at a small human child, the dullness in her eyes begin to fade and she was both shocked as well as terrified, she quickly whispered back.


    "Run, you must run away from here child. If they get you it''ll be too late, please hurry and flee."


    The more she spoke the louder her words became, Bren, looked in and said.


    "Hush woman, lower your voice, if you attract the guards you''ll ruin everything."


    The woman seeing Bren once again became shocked, then her eyes grew excited. Nodding her head in understanding, her voice suddenly lowered and she pleaded.


    "Help me, please help me get me out of here, those goblins, they, they."


    The woman, recalling all of her experiences in this nightmarish hell couldn''t finish her sentence. Lowen and Bren did not know what she had been through but a woman being held captive by all these males, Lowen and Bren both knew what most likely happened and they felt their stomachs twist in disgust.


    Lowen looked at the terrible state this woman was in, covered in dirt, grime and all kinds of filth, her clothes torn and tattered, her wrists bound with chains, hair clumped together, scratches, bruises, anything, and everything, this woman seems to have suffered them all. Lowen looked at this poor woman and gave her solemn promise.


    "I know you must have suffered a thousand tortures here and I know how terrible this must have all been. I swear to you, we will get you out of here, we will see you free from this place but first I need to ask you some questions and you need to answer them all honestly and quickly. If you can do that, then we can do this."


    Lowen took his sword and touched its point to the hanging lock on the iron door, with a thought, his sword seemed to melt like butter. Pushing his flexible sword in until it filled up the lock completely, he again willed his sword. Using his earth sense, he felt the dirt on the inside of the lock and willed his sword to harden to specifically fit the locks chamber. With the tip of the sword formed into the appropriate shape, Lowen gently turned his sword and with a small *clink* noise, the lock fell from the door. With a quick grab, Lowen caught the lock before it could hit the ground and make any noise. Lowen turned the handle and then slowly opened the iron door to prevent it from creaking. As the door opened, the woman stared at Lowen and Bren in shock. The lady wanted to clasp her hands in prayer but they were chained, instead, she whispered.


    "Miracle."

 Chapter 60: So Youve Come

    Lowen had opened the iron door like it was nothing and the woman had whispered miracle. Lowen shook his head and said.


    " Not a miracle, magic."


    Walking over to the woman, Lowen did the same thing to the lock on her chains. With a thought, his sword became flexible and with another thought, it hardened within the lock. the chain on her arms made a small clink noise and Lowen gently lowered them to the floor, so as to not make too much noise. Bren following in and slowly shut the iron door behind them just in case any goblin guards decide to walk by. The woman, having her arms freed, wanted to immediately shout with joy but Lowen quickly put a hand over her mouth and whispered.


    "Shhhh, I know you''re excited but we can''t be loud. I released you from these chains so now I need you to talk."


    Lowen then gave a description of Clovis and asked the poor woman if she had seen him or not. The woman could only shake her head no, being chained to the wall she could only see slightly through the slit in the door, plus the fact that it was already so dark in the cave and you can barely see a face five feet away from her let alone anything else. Bren became upset with this news and began to curse under his breath.


    " Damn damn damn, Lowen, she doesn''t know anything, we need to keep moving."


    Lowen, however, held up a hand to quiet Bren and continued asking questions.


    " Woman, tell me, do you know your way around here? do you know where they would hold someone important?"


    The woman timidly answered.


    "Yes, when I first came here there were many of us and these cells hadn''t even been built. At that time they kept us even deeper within this cave and herded us around like cattle."


    The woman then explained in detail exactly where to go, remembering her words exactly, Lowen said.


    " Okay, I got it, do you remember your way out of here and can you get there in the dark?"


    The woman sheepishly nodded her head.


    " Good, I want you to quietly navigate your way to the exit and once your outside I want you to hide in the nearby forest. If you meet a man out there do not be afraid, just tell him that Bren and Lowen rescued you and sent you out ahead of time, do you understand?"


    The woman nodded again and Lowen and Bren made their way to the door, just as they were leaving the girl whispered.


    " Wait, please wait, which one of you is Bren and which one of you is Lowen?"


    " Why does that matter?"


    " I just wanted to know what your name was. Are you bren or are you Lowen?"


    Lowen then pointed at himself.


    " I''m Lowen and that''s Bren, good luck."


    " Wait."


    " What else do you want?"


    The young lady bowed with all her heart and said.


    " I...I''m Lucy, thank you.


    Lowen nodded at Lucy and then he and Bren turned and left. They couldn''t wait any longer and sped through the hallway. As they went down the hallway, they could tell that more of these cells held plenty of people in them. Right now though they had no time to rescue anyone else. The longer they stayed the higher the chances of someone discovering them. So like the wind, Lowen, and Bren blew through the cave at remarkable speed. Now that they knew exactly where they were going they no longer needed to be careful with which path they took, as long as they stayed swift-footed and quiet they could kill any opponent in front of them before they could warn the others. Deeper and deeper they made their way in, the further they went the more complex the cave system became. As a matter of fact, if they didn''t have Lucy''s information it could have easily taken them hours to figure out the proper direction, even with Lowen''s earth sensing ability. As they continue to make their way through the cave, instead of seeing more goblins, the situation was actually the opposite, there were less and less the further they made their way in, confusing the two. The two had no time to think of this though and continued on. Soon, the two came to another split in the cave which confused them even more. According to Lucy, there was supposed to be only one path.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    " Lowen, that woman said there was only one path yet here we come upon two, that bitch lied to us, what do we do now?"


    Lowen, however, thought differently, looking at the path Lowen noticed some oddities. Pointing at the left path he said.


    " No, I don''t think she lied, look at this."


    Lowen gently tapped at the inside of the left path and as he did, clumps of rock and dirt began to fall. Lowen quickly caught all these pieces and laid them down gently. Seeing this crumbling path Bren''s eyes widen in both confusion and curiosity.


    " What does this mean?"


    Lowen thought for a moment before rubbing the dirt off of his hands.


    "I believe this left path was made recently."


    " Recently, how recently?"


    "Two or three hours, maybe less. I can feel that the earth energy here has moved to this left path within the last few hours."


    Bren wondered why a path would suddenly appear. Did this mean the enemy knew they were coming, was the left past a trap or was the right? was it just a coincidence that it was made only a few hours ago? These were the questions buzzing around the twos minds. Bren grew impatient and finally asked.


    " Which one should we take?"


    Lowen shook his head, although the path to the left seemed to have just recently been made, that in itself could be a farce. An earth mage could with some difficulty could shape this path to look that way and then move earth energy from one side to the other, making it seem like it was recently built, when in fact that path could have been there all along. The two were completely stopped. Lucy had told them about one path and then as soon as they reach here there''s two. Was she lying or was her information just wrong? Did the enemy set this up in advance knowing someone would make their way here?


    " Bren, it''s a trap or it''s not, either way, I don''t think Lucy lied, so if they did set this up in advance and knew that we would come and that when we did come we would be limited on time. At that point when we reached the splitting paths, we would have no choice but to split up to save time. That''s probably what they''re thinking. If this was set up for us, then they would already know that I''m an earth mage and that I would naturally spot that there was something wrong with the left path, which is why I would probably suggest going right. In doing so you would then go left and the goblin leader would probably take control over you at that point. He would then have you possibly try to kill me or something else along those lines. With me completely unexpecting it, you would come over as though everything was normal and then stab me in the back."


    Bren hearing these words became shocked, he didn''t know if all of this was just Lowen''s conjecture but hearing how thought out it was, it seemed to be a definite possibility. If they truly did know we were coming, best bet would be to separate us and this was the perfect moment to do it.


    "So what do we do then? How do we avoid this trap?"


    Lowen rubbed his chin and smiled devilishly.


    " Even if they don''t know we''re here I believe this was a setup just in case we did come. So no matter what, I believe it''s a trap but the only way the trap works is if we separate. Separating at this point would be stupid, whether they had a trap or not, our best bet is to pick one path and follow it together.


    "Right, so which one shall we take?"


    Lowen didn''t hesitate and pointed to the right. Just before they left, Lowen called Bren over and with precision Lowen channeled ki into a pressure point in Bren ears, blocking them completely from any and all noise. This way if the goblin leader could control others by using his voice, then Bren should be left unaffected. Bren felt a strange sensation in his ears and then nothing. The small sounds echoing in the cave became silent, the wind no longer howled and the drops of water dripping disappeared, everything, all of it suddenly stopped. It was so quiet that Bren felt it was eerie. Bringing his fingers up to his ear, he began to snap a few times but the expected noise never came, looking at his hand and then at Lowen he was surprised, to say the least. When Lowen had said earlier that he would block Bren''s hearing, Bren only figured that Lowen would simply put some cloth or something similar in his ear. He never expected this at all and found this technique that Lowen use was quite mysterious. Bren wanted to ask him about it but he knew now was not the time or place.


    Taking the right path, the two ran in, albeit with caution. Lowen had no real reason for choosing the path to the right. He had no clue how his enemy truly thought, it could be exactly as he reasoned earlier or could be completely different, he had no way to tell. Lowen figured as long as he and Bren stuck together, then the enemies trap should fail.


    Making their way through the path, it seemed to be continuous turns, left, right, left, left right. Not only that, the further they went the more and more narrow the path became. This path, however, was different from every path they had taken before. In this path, there were glowing crystals alongside the walls, lighting up the way. Each crystal glowed a light blue. Roland had told Lowen about these crystals before and they were nothing special. Apparently, these were just regular ordinary crystals, in this world when there is an abundance of a certain element, regular crystals like these will glow to match that colors element. Lowen could feel an abundance of water elemental energy flowing the deeper he went. That''s why these crystals that lined the wall glowed a light blue.


    It had now been almost an hour and they were still headed down, finally, after coming around another turn, the path had come to an end and opened up into a large chamber. Walking in, the two could see just fine. There were hundreds of the same regular crystal glowing bright blue with light. To see so many of them lit up in this huge chamber, it looked as though they were staring up at stars in the night sky. Walking further into the dome-shaped chamber, it was surprisingly empty, there was nothing here. Looking around, this dome-shaped chamber stretched for about 500 ft all around and from the ground up it was also 500 ft tall.


    ( Why would they have a chamber this big?)


    As soon as Lowen had thought this. the entire chamber began to tremble. Lowen and Bren both stared at each other before turning back around to look at the path behind them. The path as well began to tremble and shake and with a large *Bang* a big metal door suddenly blocked the path, sealing it shut completely. Lowen and Bren swiftly raced towards the door. If this was the trap, then they needed to escape immediately. Rushing to the door, the two both launched an attack at the same time, bren with a punch and Lowen with his heavy battle hammer.


    * Clang* * Bang*


    Lowen and Bren, using their full strength had left no marks on the door whatsoever. The two were utterly shocked at how thick and tough it was. To not even dent it, what the hell was this door made of? Suddenly the walls of the chamber began to open up with hundreds of holes and as they did, hundreds of footsteps could be heard followed by many low growls and shouts. Exiting out of the holes, a horde of goblins began filling the chamber. As each one stepped out and spotted the two enemies in their home, their anger and excitement for blood grew. Seeing no escape routes and hundreds of enemies flooding in, Lowen and Bren took up their defensive stances. As they did this, another hole formed at the very back of the chamber, exiting out of it, two goblins made their appearance. One was the goblin leader from before and the other was the second circle earth mage. The earth mage raised a hand and a throne of stone grew out from the ground. Sitting down, the goblin leader looked at his two opponents and laughed wildly.


    " Hahaha, you came, you actually came. Just as I thought, It seems everything is falling into place."


    <h4> </h4>

 Chapter 61: Deadly Chamber

    "Hahaha, you came, you actually came. Just as I thought, It seems everything is falling into place."


    Lowen and Bren had their backs against the iron door. Hearing this goblin leader saying everything was falling into place, Lowen knew they had truly messed up. Seeing the goblin leader, Lowen automatically circulated his ki energy and was prepared to fight. Looking at the hundreds of goblins, each one had metal armor, chest plates, leggings, and even helmets. Almost there entire bodies were covered. Even though Lowen and Bren were strong, with all this metal armor there would be some difficulties. Rize pointed at Bren and said.


    "You actually dare to come back after knowing what I can do. Good, very good, what a wise decision, hahaha. I command you, kill the boy next to you and then¡­."


    Before Rize finished his sentence, he could already tell at a glance that his magic had no effect. Rubbing his chin in curiosity he asked.


    " Hmm, so it seems you two have figured a few things out. How much of it, I wonder? In this situation though, it matters little. It seems this will be a battle of attrition, unfortunately for you though I will win."


    Rize waved his hand and commanded his troops.


    "No more words are needed, goblins, attack."


    Like a hornet''s nest defending their hive, the hundreds of goblins swarmed over en mass. Lowen and Bren gave each other a nod and the two flashed, disappearing into the horde of goblins. Both were headed for one spot and one spot only. At the exact same time Lowen and Bren appeared right in front of Rize and launched an attack. The glowing sword slashed out and Bren ''s metallic claws swiped at Rize''s neck. Just as the two attacks were about to land the goblin earth mage had already made his move. A large thick wall of stone rose up in front of the two''s oncoming attacks, intercepting them perfectly.


    *Clank* * Bang*


    To loud banging noises rang out when Lowen and Bren''s attacks connected. The two knew this would happen but had to try anyway. With the goblin leader right in front of them, if they ended him, then maybe the battle wouldn''t be completely won but they could take out a big portion of power from the goblins. Lowen and Bren didn''t stop there, once more their bodies flashed and they came around the sides of the wall, once more they attacked.


    *Bang* *Bang*


    Again their blows were intercepted, this time though, right after their blows, dozens of sharp earth spears shot out from the ground aiming right for their chest. Lowen sidestepped these sharp earth spears and jumped back, Bren as well dodged and the two retreated to the center of the chamber and became guarded. They lost their most valuable opportunity to take out Rize. Giving each other a knowing nod, the two separated. They knew that if they fought back to back, then the earth mage would concentrate his spells on both of them at once but with them separated by a distance, the earth mage could only attack one at a time. This was the only way the two had any chance of fighting and making it out of here. The only good thing about being in an enclosed space was the fact that arrows wouldn''t come. As a matter of fact, it''s more dangerous for the goblins then it would be for Lowen and Bren. With all these goblins so clustered, they''re all but guaranteed to hit an ally in this space. What the goblins had instead, were swords, spears, and shields, that on top of their armor would be a lot to deal with, especially since both Lowen and Bren were close combat specialist and held no long-range weapons whatsoever. With the goblins bodies being mostly protected, although Lowen and Bren could cut through their armor with there claws and sword, it required a lot of strength. In this situation, they had to conserve that. Instead, they would go for any and all openings in the armor. Eyes, armpits, groin, back of the knee, the forearms and hands, these were the only places they could attack.


    Bren''s body flashed around swiftly as he swiped at his enemy''s eyes. If his enemies couldn''t see then they were basically useless and no longer a threat. In fact, they would even be more of a threat to their surrounding allies, swinging their swords and spears blindly. Lowen as well shadow stepped around his opponents, quite easily stabbing goblins through the eyes, piercing their brains, he killed his enemies in an instant.


    Rize saw this and already become annoyed. He knew this would happen but it didn''t mean he could just accept it. With a wave of his hand, the earth mage acknowledged his command and jumped in.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    As soon as the goblin mage jumped in, his body flashed forward faster than an arrow and he appeared in front of Bren almost immediately. Equipped with a shield and a heavy mace, this earth mage did not hold back whatsoever. With his shield raised, he rammed into Bren like a boulder down a mountain.


    *Bang*


    Bren had completely not expected this and his body went flying, and like a heavy crash of thunder, his body slammed into the side of this dome, cracking the wall behind him. Bren had messed up, his focus was on those in his immediate facility that he hadn''t noticed the mages approach. But that doesn''t mean he couldn''t handle it. Stepping out of the wall, a bit of blood spilled down the side of his mouth. Wiping it away, Bren rolled his head around and cracked his neck left and right, he spit the remainder of the blood in his mouth onto the ground and with a terrible grin he said.


    "That was a good hit, now try mine."


    Bren flashed forward and with an open palm, he swiped at the mage. Raising his shield, the mage blocked Bren perfectly but with Bren''s strength, he was still pushed back several feet. As his feet slid, the goblin turned his heels slightly and anchor himself, stopping Bren''s forward momentum. Raising his mace up high, a small bracelet on the mage''s wrist began to glow a dim green. With a powerful swing, Bren knew immediately that he couldn''t defend against this blow. As the blow came down, Bren quickly jumped back and dodged it but this only made the mage smile with excitement. As the mace struck the ground, the glow coming from the bracelet grew brighter and with it, the ground began to shift. From the tip of the mace all the way out to under Bren''s feet, the ground shifted around, robing Bren of his balance. As Bren fell to the ground, the goblin soldiers stabbed several spears and swords towards him with intent to kill. Bren quickly rolled out of the way, nearly having his body pierced several times. Swinging his arms around in a complete circle, Bren clawed at the back of several goblins knees. Immediately, many goblins collapsed to the ground and screamed in pain but Bren had no time to take joy in his opponent''s downfall. Jumping up, he turned and once again the mace was coming down upon him. Bren immediately dived to the side and the goblin that stood behind them was instantly crushed into a meat pulp, this goblin had unfortunately been too slow. The mage turned and again rushed at Bren but before Bren could defend himself, once more he was bashed by the mage''s shield. Bren was sent flying this time even harder into the dome wall.


    *Boom*


    This time Bren struggled to step out of the wall. Walking forward he coughed up a mouth full of blood and his body trembled. The mage saw this weakness and rushed forward, bashing his shield at Bren. Bren sidestepped and the mage crashed into the wall. Turning around, it didn''t even seem to faze him, raising his mace the goblin mage attacked again and again.


    Lowen thrust out his sword as fast as the wind and with great precision, he stabbed through another goblins eye, piercing his brain killing him instantly. There was no time to celebrate, however, as a spear came stabbing at his back, sidestepping the spear, Lowen''s body seem to blur as he stabbed this attacker in the eye as well. Lowen was handling these goblins perfectly and he had already killed at least 30 but looking around, Lowen noticed something and it made him quite bitter. After Lowen killed a few goblins the pathway in the dome wall would reopen and several more goblins would come out before the pathway once more was sealed shut. It didn''t matter how many he killed, just as quickly another goblin would take its place. It not only completely frustrated Lowen but it also confused him. Right now the goblin mage was currently fighting Bren but everytime the wall would open up and a goblin would come out, right after it came out, the wall would then close again, as Lowen could see no switch or mechanism to open the wall, he assumed it was being manipulated with magic but if the earth mage was busy fighting, then who was using magic.


    Lowen pulled his gaze away from the wall and concentrated on the forces around him. Meanwhile, Rize simply sat on his stone throne looking bored at this life-and-death struggle.


    10 minutes, 20, 30, although only 30 minutes have passed, Lowen had managed to kill at least a hundred and fifty if not more, at this point he had stopped counting, for there was no reason to. Right now he was more concerned with Bren. Bren had been fighting all this time at a great disadvantage, blood continuously leaped from his mouth as sweat poured down from his skin. His body continuously trembled as he was growing weaker and weaker and if something didn''t change soon he would fall.


    With another Bash from the mage, Bren ''s body slammed into the wall, this time he fell out of it onto his hands and knees. With an exhausted and injured body, Bren struggled to stand up. This was the perfect opportunity for the mage. Swinging his mace down, he struck the ground and the land shifted once more. Bren who had just made it to his feet immediately fell down again and with that, the mage rushed forward swinging his mace down with tyrannical force, aiming to crush Bren''s skull into nothing more than a bloody puddle.


    *Bang*


    With such a powerful strike and being so close, the goblins mace had hit, only it wasn''t Bren''s head that it struck. Looking down at the young boy in front of him, the mage wasn''t surprised. it was only a matter of time before Lowen had to intervene, the mage just wished he could have gotten the finishing blow in. The two used more strength and the mace and Lowen''s battle hammer, ground against each other making metallic cries echo out repeatedly. With more strength, Lowen pushed his hammer forward and forced the mage back several feet. Picking up Bren''s body, Lowen raced to the wall. Placing Bren''s unconscious body against the wall, Lowen stood in front of him and again took up his stance. This was all he could do, otherwise, Bren would be struck dead. With the wall and Bren behind him, Lowen could not move around as he wished to but because of where he stood, no attacks would come from behind, and with a body as tough as his, the damage from these regular goblin soldiers would not affect him as much. The Mage, however, would make things quite difficult. Rushing forward, the mage raised his shield and bashed it at Lowen and Lowen countered, swinging his hammer with Incredible force.


    *BANG*


    The hammer and shield connected and the mage was forced back far away, Lowen as well almost lost his balance but with his tyrannical strength and his low center of gravity as well as his shadow step technique, he managed to stand strong and upright. The other goblins seeing this all attacked at once. Sword''s and spears all slashed and stabbed towards Lowen''s body from every angle. Using his snake fist, Lowen smacked away several of these weapons, with focused eyes and his great precision, Lowen had hit away many of these weapons on their flat side, just barely avoiding injury but he couldn''t get them all. With Bren down and out behind him, Lowen could not move out of the way, otherwise, Bren would die. Circulating his ki to his utmost with everything he had, he took swords and spears head on.


    *Shinck Shink Shink Shink*


    <h4> </h4>

 Chapter 62: Desperation In The Dome

    With Bren down and out behind him, Lowen couldn''t move out of the way, otherwise, Bren would die. Circulating his ki to his utmost with everything he had, he took swords and spears head on.


    *Shinck Shink Shink Shink*


    Four blades pierced Lowen, three in the chest and one in his left thigh. Right after each pierced into Lowen''s flesh, he immediately felt a wave of heat and an overbearing sense of pain. Luckily his body was quite tough and the blades had only pierced an inch or so. Still, with his small frame, these blades had comparatively gone in pretty far. With his snake fist, he pulled the blades from his body and with his overbearing strength snatched each of the weapons out of the four goblins hands and with a returning force, he threw the weapons back.


    *Shinck Shink Shink Shink*


    With Lowen''s incredible aim, the two swords shout out and stab through two goblins heads, killing them instantly. The spears, on the other hand, were too overbearing for the goblins to handle and both spears impaled multiple goblins, sending their bodies flying backward and nailing them to the opposite side of the dome wall. With a few unbearable squirms, the goblins quickly died on the wall. The front of Lowen''s body began to pour down with blood. Circulating his energy, Lowen began to seal his wounds, he had no time to deal with the pain. Unfortunately, there was little time to close his wounds as more blades came striking at him. Once more, dozens of blades came thrusting forward and again Lowen could only slap so many away before more had pierced his body. Defending Bren behind him was causing the number of injuries on his body to pile up. On top of all that, the goblin mage again rushed at him. With the shield bashing forward, Lowen swung out his hammer to intercept, this time with a quick thought Lowen didn''t use his full strength to force the goblin mage back. If this goblin mage wanted to do close combat, Lowen would see to it that it did close combat. Controlling the swing of his hammer, using just enough strength, instead of rebounding the goblin mage away, he stopped him right in front of himself. If Lowen wanted to gain any advantage at all, then he would have to sacrifice right here and now. With the shield and hammer grinding against each other, the mage swung down his heavy mace with tremendous force. Instead of defending against the mace, Lowen dove down and with a quick thrust of his sword, he stabbed it into the goblins foot but he didn''t stop there. Using all the force he could, he pushed the sword deeper in, all the way down until the hilt was touching the mages foot. The goblin screamed out in pain and this wound caused his aim to miss but not by much. With little time and his sword now gone, Lowen had no other choice but to raise his arm in defense.


    *Crunch Snap*


    With a terribly loud crack, Lowen ''s forearm snapped in half. Lowen couldn''t help but shout at the top of his lungs releasing a cry of agony.


    " AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    Lowen''s shouts then became angry as he roared out.


    "My fucking arm!"


    The two had both lost something in this exchange, the mages foot was completely ruined and Lowen''s bone was sticking out from his arm. However, neither were finished yet. Lowen raised his hammer quicker than the mage could raise his mace and using his quickest speed, Lowen brought the hammer down with rage.


    *Bang*


    Lowen knocked the mage''s shield out of his hand and on to the ground and with the mage now completely exposed, with a twist of Lowen''s wrist, he brought that same silver hammer right back up and struck this goblin earth mage right in the jaw.


    *Bang*


    The goblin mage was sent flying and because the goblins foot was pinned down with Lowen''s sword, it was cut vertically, splitting his foot nearly in two halves. The foot now remained together by only a small amount of leftover skin and bone from the heel. As the goblin was sent flying, his body flew through the air over the army of goblins and with a loud crash, he struck the other side of the dome wall.


    *Boom*


    Crashing into the wall, the goblins entire body was embedded nearly a foot deep. With the force from this impact, the goblin mage coughed up mouthful after mouthful of thick green blood. With the mage smashed into the wall, a big obstacle was now out of the way. The goblin leader Rize stood up and looked on with intrigue but nothing more than that and with a small smile, he sat back down and continued to watch. The other goblin soldiers, seeing their earth mage being bested showed no expressions of fear. Without hesitation, they swarmed at Lowen once more. With Lowen''s broken arm, he would be open to even more attacks, so with quick thinking, he picked up the mage''s shield and blocked most of the incoming strikes. This Shield, however, could only do so much, although it defended him well, still, after each volley, instead of four or five attacks getting through, now it was reduced to one or two. Although this shield helped because it was just a shield and his other arm was useless, he had very little options when it came to countering. Swinging the shield around, goblin after goblin would go flying into the wall and with their regular goblin bodies stuffed in armor, they would smash so hard against the rock wall their bodies would almost turn to jelly on impact. With that, their bodies would slide down from the wall leaving nothing more than a long green streak of blood. On the ground, only twisted and mangled bodies would remain. Still, like a never-ending swarm, holes in the wall would open up revealing a pathway behind it and more and more goblins would pile out of them. After a few would come out, those same holes would once more reseal themselves shut.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Lowen could feel a small source of magic coming from the walls, causing his mind to race with thought.


    (There must be some mechanism behind these walls operated with magic. If I can pinpoint the mechanisms location, I might just be able to open up an escape route.)


    As the goblins continued to attack Lowen, the injuries on his body were piling up. With the shield, he could defend his upper body and head but his broken arm, as well as both of his legs and feet, were completely exposed. A large puddle of blood was forming beneath his feet and Lowen could feel his head becoming lighter, circulating more ki he remained clear-headed and continued to bash away enemy after enemy. Right now what Lowen needed the most was time, not hours and not even minutes, if he just had a dozen seconds or so, he believed he could open up a path in the wall. The problem was though, he had no time. Rize looked over and thought.


    (Hmm, he''s almost their but not quite. It seems he needs one more push.)


    Rize looked over at his fallen mage and in a commanding tone, he said.


    "Colt, get up and fight. "


    Hearing his leader, the goblin mage struggled for a moment before he finally stepped forward out of the wall. Picking up his mace, the bracelet on Colt''s wrist began to glow green and a wall 8 ft high and 8 ft wide of rock formed in front of him. Picking up this wall that weighed 2000 pounds at least, with Incredible strength he tossed it forward towards Lowen. As it flew through the air, Colt''s bracelet glowed once more and he struck the ground heavily with his mace. Lowen saw the wall coming at him from across this chamber and knew that he wouldn''t be able to block it with the shield, he had to destroy it. Abandoning the shield, Lowen again picked up his heavy silver wolf hammer and just as the wall came face-to-face with him, Lowen swung his hammer.


    *Boom*


    Lowen, with his overbearing strength, slammed his hammer into this wall and crushed it to pieces. As the chunks of wall went flying in every direction, dozens and dozens of nearby goblin soldiers were crushed by the high-speed debris. As the pieces of wall went in every direction but Lowen''s, Lowen suddenly felt something approaching but it was already too late. With the rock wall crushed in front of him, what followed immediately behind it was earth spikes. This is exactly what the goblin mage had intended. Sending the wall first, Lowen''s view would be completely blocked from the earth spikes fastly approaching from behind it. With no time to defend himself properly, Lowen could only raise the hammer to try to protect his head and part of his upper body. All at once over 20 earth spikes stabbed at Lowen. Lowen could only clench his jaw and endure as his body was stabbed repeatedly.


    *Shinck Shinck Shinck Shinck Shinck*


    1 2 3 4 5, Lowen was stabbed in his upper right thigh, in his lower right abdomen, his upper right chest, his upper right arm, and one spike had even pierced completely through his right shoulder lifting him off of his feet and pinning him to the wall behind him.


    "UAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"


    Lowen wanted to hold in his cries of agony, he wanted to be strong In this moment but the pain he felt right now was just too much to bear. Lowen ''s eyes began to roll back to the back of his head but just as he was about to faint he remembered Nia and Ben and he just barely managed to hang on. Seeing the enemy completely defenseless and pinned to the wall, the goblin soldiers all rushed in at once. Just as they were about to go in for the finishing blow, a loud commanding voice took hold of the room.


    "Enough!"


    Everyone recognized exactly who that voice belonged to and they froze on the spot, taking back their weapons, they held them at the ready. The entire chamber was now filled with silence, the only sound to be heard were the footsteps of a single person. Walking over, Rize made his way through the crowd, with each step he took the soldier''s opened a path and moved out of the way. Colt as well, with his ruined foot, slowly limped over following his leader. Making their way to Lowen, they stopped right in front of him and Rize gave another command.


    " Colt, let him down."


    Colt didn''t hesitate and with a thought, the earth spikes that impaled Lowen degraded back in the dirt and once more became apart of the ground. Lowen collapsed to his knees and blood seemed to pour from every part of his body. Lowen stood up and quickly dove for his sword and hammer, his sword wrapped around his arm and he clasped his hammer tightly in his hand, he was ready to fight. The mage seeing this immediately stepped in front of his leader and shouted.


    "Rize watch out."


    However, Rize did not heed his warning and pushed past him. Standing right in front of Lowen, Rize said in a confident tone.


    " Colt, there''s no need, look at him, he''s on his last legs."


    Lowen truly was in a desperate situation, he was tired, so tired. His body and mind had not only been exhausted but he was stabbed and cut repeatedly all over, the blood he had lost was an ungodly amount. As Lowen stood there with heavy breaths, sweat pouring from his body like a fountain, beaten and tired, he couldn''t understand why he hadn''t been killed yet.


    (Why aren''t they killing me, with me out of the way their plans can go unimpeded, what does this goblin want?)


    Rize smiled and said.


    "What do I want? With Clovis I have a powerful battlemage, with that fella behind you I now have two, with Colt I have an earth mage and with you, I will soon have another. With your body and mind exhausted like this, you will be mine to control forever or at least until you no longer serve a purpose."


    Lowen hearing this became absolutely terrified and he thought.


    ( This goblin, he can read my thoughts and he says he can control me but I''m a mage, can he really do that? Can he really take over a mage''s mind? Wait if he can read my thoughts, then isn''t he reading them now, shit shit shit.)


    Rize smiled demonically at Lowen and said.


    "Whether I can do it or not, you will soon find out."

 Chapter 63: Must Escape

    ( This goblin, he can read my thoughts and he says he can control me but I''m a mage, can he really do that? Can he really take over a mage''s mind? Wait if he can read my thoughts, then isn''t he reading them now, shit shit shit.)


    Rize smiled demonically at Lowen and said.


    "Whether I can do it or not, you will soon find out."


    Rize pointed at Lowen and he commanded his men.


    "Hold him."


    The goblins began swarming Lowen all at once. Lowen tried to defend himself but there was too many. As the goblins continued to pile on, finally, one of the goblins had managed to grab his leg. Lowen with the heavy hammer swung it down and crushed this goblin into meat paste, with that opening though, it had allowed more to pile on top of him. Dozens of hands grabbed at him and dozens of bodies jumped on top of him. Lowen threw away goblin after goblin, throwing them into walls and into the ground but it wasn''t enough. Lowen''s wounds were still causing him immense pain and trouble, he now had a choice to make, either focus on his wounds or focus on the fight but there was no way he could do both. More and more hands held him down but still, Lowen fought. After a few minutes of this, Colts bracelet glowed green and the ground shifted under Lowen''s feet. With his body almost completely exhausted, this sudden shift in the ground made him completely lose his balance and he fell. Again the goblins jumped on him. With one arm already broken, each time they grabbed it, Lowen could feel immense pain shooting through his nerves like lightning. Finally, a few goblins managed to avoid his hammer and grabbed his arm tightly, although it didn''t contain Lowen, it did slow his arms movement enough for Colt to finally step in and grab him. Colt grabbed Lowen around the neck slowly choking him and with his free hand, he knocked Lowen''s hammer out of his grasp and onto the ground. With Lowen nearly exhausted and this goblin being a second circle earth mage, their strengths were similar. With his adrenaline pumping through him, Lowen was hard to hang onto. Colt was using everything he had and could just barely hold Lowen and that was with the assistance of the other goblins holding him down as well. Rize once more walked over, nodding his head he said.


    " Good, good, I acknowledge it, you are indeed quite strong but unfortunately for you, I have the numbers. Now if you don''t mind, could you perhaps try to relax, this won''t hurt, hahaha."


    Lowen struggled with everything he had but he couldn''t budge, not even an inch. Staring at Rize''s eyes, they suddenly began to go from black to a glowing red. Lowen had no time to be surprised as he immediately felt an intense pain in his mind. It was as though someone had cut open the top of his skull and taken a torch to it like a million red ants were biting his brain all over. This pain was so intense that Lowen couldn''t even scream and his eyes began rolling to the back of his head, he was about to lose consciousness. He could feel his mind being pulled as though it were separating from his body.


    (No no no, not this way, I can''t die, not again. This burning, it''s almost like¡­.)


    Before Lowen could finish his thought, It was at this time that Bren finally woke up. Shaking his head, he looked around and seeing the situation around him, he immediately tried to stand up to protect himself but found it almost impossible as he was injured too severely. Looking at Lowen in his current state, he knew something was wrong, yelling out he roared.


    "LOWEN!!!"


    As Lowen''s mind was just about to fade, he heard this mighty bellow from Bren and his mind snapped back into place.


    (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!)


    This sudden loud roar from Bren had stolen Rizes focus momentarily allowing Lowen a small opportunity. Lowen began circulating his ki faster than he''s ever done so before and focused it all to one location, his mind. A small barrier of ki formed around Lowen''s mind protecting it. Rize immediately felt his power being resisted and a look of confusion took hold of him. Rize increased his power and his eyes started to grow brighter and brighter. The situation immediately changed, with Lowen forcing every ounce of ki he had to protect his mind, so too did Rize increase his power to attack it. Rize could feel this strange energy protecting Lowen and his curiosity and confusion grew more and more.


    "Hmm, what power is this? You can actually block my control, hmm and even your thoughts are now hidden from me. Interesting, quite interesting, I wonder though, how long can you last?"


    Rize again increased his power and Lowen as well forced his power to his mind quicker and quicker. As Lowen did this, a stalemate had arisen with neither moving forward or retreating. It was at this moment a small rock came flying over with Incredible speed, aiming precisely at Rize''s head. Imitating Lowen, Bren had thrown this rock out with as much strength as he could muster trying to pierce Rize''s skull. If he could take out Rize right here and now, it may not protect them from the onslaught that would follow from these goblins but at least he could help Lowen in some way. With these simple thoughts, he threw the rock at Rize. Colt had been completely unprepared and had not seen this coming. Releasing Lowen, Colt swung his mace backward trying to intercept the rock but it was already too late. The rock whizzed by, passing Colt and Lowen like a blur. Just as the rock was about to strike Rize in the forehead when suddenly a wall of water rose up in front of Rize protecting him. On Rizes finger, a small silver ring with a blue sapphire glowed for a moment before quickly diming. The intercepted rock, along with the water, fell to the ground, splashing everyone nearby. With this sudden event, Rizes concentration was broken for a moment and this was all Lowen needed. Pushing more and more ki in and around his mind, his energy began overlapping itself and grew to the extreme and with this Rize''s power was forced out of Lowen''s mind. Rize stepped back for a moment, an intense backlash hit his mind fast and hard. Rize couldn''t help but wince in pain for a moment, a fury like no other took hold of him. He raised his hand up and his sapphire ring began to glow once more. He was about to kill them both before he regained his cool, staring daggers at the two he just barely contained his growing emotions. Lowering his hand, he breathed out a sigh in frustration and he said.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    *Sigh*


    "Damn, I didn''t want anybody to see that just yet but you forced my hand, damn you."


    Rize thought about whether he should just kill the two or not but at the same time, it would be a great loss for his army. Shaking his head, his smile became grim as he pointed at Bren.


    "Bring that old bastard over to me."


    Colt limped over and took hold of Bren. With Bren using every ounce of his remaining strength trying to take out Rize just now, he just didn''t have it in him to fight back. Colt dragged Bren over to Lowen''s side and threw him down. Bren struggled to sit up on his knees as he stared death at Rize. Rize seeing Bren''s expression though couldn''t care less, standing in front of Bren, his grin became wider.


    "Since you like to interrupt, I will take your mind first."


    Rize''s eyes began to glow red once more and Lowen''s mind began to race. With ki circulating at his utmost, Lowen recalled what Rize had just said a moment before.


    (He said he can''t read my thoughts with my energy protecting my mind. I can use this, think think think.)


    Lowen suddenly remembered something.


    (The mechanism in the walls.)


    A plan quickly formed in Lowen''s mind and he swiftly put it in motion. As Lowen was kneeling right next to Bren, he could only think silently.


    ( I''m sorry Bren, you''re going to have to deal with the pain for a moment.)


    Lowen slightly extended his foot, touching it to Bren''s, as he did this, Lowen using his masterful control of ki transferred it from himself into Bren, all the way up into Bren''s mind but instead of fully protecting Bren, he only used enough so Rize still held the advantage. As Rize continued to use his power, he could also feel that energy protecting Bren but it was much weaker and he could still read Bren''s thoughts. He could tell Bren was in agony so even though he was a little suspicious, with his power still slowly taking over Bren, he brushed his suspicion aside. At the same time, Lowen using his earth sensing was looking closer at the mechanism. Looking at it he could see how simple it actually was. With a few gears and two switches, these pathways in the wall could be opened by either pushing one of these hidden switches or by using a bit of magic. It seemed as though you could flip the switch from a distance, opening the pathway automatically. Bren''s mind felt as though it were on fire, he never experienced such an intense and agonizing feeling in his entire life. Not when he''s been stabbed, not when he''s had bones broken and even when he was actually burned, those pains could not compare. The intensity of the heat he felt from this, the absolute agony, to Bren, this was a true living hell. Bren couldn''t help but think about killing himself right there and then. He wished with everything he had, that he had the strength to take his head and slam it into the ground, crushing it on impact. He could feel his mind slipping away and wondered if this was what death felt like. As the last bits of his consciousness began to fade away, his last thought was, this is it.


    Rize''s smile grew bigger and brighter, a few more seconds and this battlemage would be completely his and then he would take over this boy mage and the strength of his army would explode, pushing his plans further ahead than he had originally thought. As he continued to stare with his red glowing eyes, again, something came flying at him. Stopping his power, he looked at Lowen as Lowen flailed his broken arm at him. At first, he was going to just laugh and slap it away but just as he was about to, suddenly a sword extended from Lowen''s broken arm and sliced at him with a terrifying speed. The sapphire ring on Rizes hand glowed immediately and once more a wall of water instantly formed in front of him but with Lowen''s sword and it''s incredible sharpness, the blade made its way through the wall of water but was slowed just enough for Rize to jump back, barely dodging it. At the same time, Lowen''s swing did not stop until his sword reached Bren''s neck. There was no way Lowen could carry Bren with his broken arm, so instead with a thought, Lowen''s sword wrapped around Bren''s upper arm as well as Lowen''s upper arm and with another thought, the sword hardened, holding the two together as though the sword was a shackle. Lowen grabbed his hammer, stood up and jump backward with Bren attached to his arm. Bren was so messed up that he had no awareness of anything that was happening right now. With his back against the wall, Lowen knew exactly where the mechanism was at. Putting a bit of energy into it, the pathway opened and the two fell backward Into it. Colt seeing this tried to rush forward but with his ruined foot, he collapsed to the ground in pain. Rize signaled his soldiers and they all rushed forward at once. Lowen wasn''t slow though and with a swing of his heavy battle hammer, he smashed at the ceiling in the pathway.


    *Boom*


    The ceiling immediately collapsed and filled up the pathway sealing it completely whilst crushing a few goblins that had just managed to make it in. Rize being hit with another backlash and at the same time having his two prey escape right in front of him, filled him with fury. He threw his hand forward and commanded his soldiers with pure rage.


    "Find them and capture them immediately or each and every one of your heads will roll, now go!"


    Hundreds of pathways opened up in the dome and goblin after goblin rushed out in search for the two.


    Lowen and Bren collapsed to the ground and breathed out heavily as though they had been submerged underwater and nearly drowned. Lowen was doing much more than that though, calming his breathing he began circulating his ki and earth energy into his wounds. Uncoiling his sword, Lowen moved some skin out of the way and pushed his broken bone back into his forearm. After he set it as much as he could, with another thought, his sword wrapped around his forearm making a metal splint of sorts. As Lowen continued to try and heal his body, he found something very odd. When it came to all the wounds he received from the goblins swords and spears, they were closing and healing at an incredible rate as usual but all the wounds he received from Colt, for some reason were healing as slow as a turtle could move and he continued to bleed from them profusely. Concentrating as much as he could, Lowen sensed the inside of his wounds and was surprised, to say the least. Each of his wounds that were caused by Colt, he could feel remanence of magical energy but it wasn''t his, it was Colts. It seemed as long as this small amount of magic from another mage remained in his wounds, they could only heal extremely slowly, at almost the same rate a regular person would heal. Lowen using his ki quickly forced out this invading energy and began to heal like usual but Lowen didn''t have enough time to wait around. All he could do was close all these terrible wounds before he stood up and looked at Bren. Bren''s body was a disaster at the moment, cut and stabbed and after being smashed into the rock wall multiple times by Colt, Bren bled from what seemed like everywhere. Lowen quickly reached down and passed him a bit of his ki to heal but that was all he could do for now. Lowen put Bren on his back and grabbed his hammer and moved forward. With a small frame and Bren being tall, the sight of this looked completely ridiculous as half of Bren ''s body seemed to drag behind Lowen. Staring down this narrow path that extended for who-knows-how-long, Lowen had no choice but to just make his way through.


    (Whether this path leads to heaven or hell, right now I could care less.)

 Chapter 64: Escape The Cave

    .


    Making his way through this long and narrow path, Lowen had to continuously stop so he could catch his breath as well as recover some of his ki. Using his earth sense, Lowen could see 50 ft all around him, up, down, left, right, in front and behind like a huge ball. Lowen senses stretched out trying to find the correct path. But the further he went along this path, the more confusing it all became. Coming to a clearing in this cavern, the path he was on suddenly split into nearly 30 different paths. Once more he looked ahead 50 ft but unfortunately, all the tunnels looked the same at that depth. With no clear choice, Lowen was stumped but he knew he couldn''t remain here forever guessing. Just as he was about to decide, he heard the echo of footsteps coming from behind. In a panic, Lowen desperately dove into the closest path and while carrying Bren, he continued to race forward. Lowen ran forward taking twisted paths left and then right but no matter where he went, after just a few minutes he could hear footsteps approaching him again. Using his earth sensing, he continually evaded goblin soldiers and again took another path. Doing all this and already not knowing the way, Lowen was completely lost, he wanted to ask Bren for his opinion but Bren had already lost consciousness long ago and wasn''t waking anytime soon. All Lowen could do was push forward.


    -------------------------------------------------


    After 6 hours of being in this maze of a cave, again Lowen heard footsteps in his surrounding and ran into the nearest path to avoid them. Running around for all this time, most of these pathways looked the same but this new one he just found himself in was different. This one was a long corridor made entirely of metal. Walking forward, Lowen found many cells lining this corridor, inside each and every one of them there were dozens and dozens of people. Inside most of them were women and children and each child whether they were a boy or a girl, was so skinny that each bone could be visibly seen. With hair completely disheveled, dirty skin, bruises, lice, and sickness, they all looked as though they were on the verge of death. Lowen saw this and his gut twisted in both anger and sadness. The women didn''t fare any better, none of them seem to be skinny though, instead, most of them were pregnant but they too had sickly appearances. Along with the dirtiness and ragged hair, how they survived in these conditions for so long, Lowen couldn''t even begin to guess. Lowen wanted to save them, he wanted to rescue them all but he had no way to get them out alive, not with all these goblins creeping around every corner and especially not with Rize having control over this place.


    As Lowen walked by, many of the women and children could see him through the gaps in the doors but they thought nothing of him. Their eyes were dull and lifeless, seeing him, they only wondered why he wasn''t in a cell. Knowing their situation they figured he would soon be in one soon enough and with these passing thoughts, they thought of him no more. As he continued along, making his way down this corridor, he couldn''t help but be disgusted by the smell of human waste that had simply been thrown into the corner of each of these cells. Even dead animals smelled better, in Lowen''s opinion.


    Coming to the end of this corridor there was one more cell, however, this cell was different. The door was made from the exact same material as the one that had trapped Lowen and Bren in the dome earlier before. This door was not only made from the same looking material but it also seemed to be at least two times as thick. Before Lowen even came to the door, he could hear calm steady breaths, in and out, as though this person was meditating. Looking in, Lowen could see a skinny disheveled man with long hair and a long beard. This man looked to be in an even worse state then all of the other prisoners. However, unlike the prisoners that could roam about their cell, this man''s arms, legs, and even his neck were entirely chained up. The chains were at least 2 inches thick and they too were made of the same material as the door. This man was the only adult male that Lowen had discovered in this entire cave so far.


    (Who is this person and why would Rize keep him alive?)


    Looking at the man''s arms and legs, Lowen was surprised to see inscription tattoos on each of his limbs.


    (No wonder why he''s chained up, so this is the reason why the door is so thick and durable. Those inscription tattoos look similar to Clovis''s and Brens. If this man were to be set loose, I doubt any of those goblin soldiers or even that earth mage could stop him.)


    Lowen continued to look at this man and his curiosity grew more and more but he had little time to spare. Looking left and right of this door, there was a path going in both directions, whether they led up or down, Lowen had no clue but he had to make a choice. Just as he turned towards the right to try that path, the man in the cell suddenly spoke.


    "A child? A boy, hmm, what are you doing down here? Don''t you know how dangerous this place is?"


    Lowen stopped and looked back into the cell, the man slowly lifted his head and Lowen could see a powerful will in his eyes. This was a man who still clung to life with everything he could. Lowen looked at this man and wondered.


    (This man, he has inscription tattoos so he''s clearly a battlemage and Rize said that once you''re broken he can completely control you, yet this man isn''t walking around under Rizes influence. Doesn''t that mean his mind still hasn''t been broken.)


    Looking more clearly at this man, his body was covered from head to toe in scars and he even had a few cuts on his body that were obviously made recently. This man has been tortured for an incredibly long time and was still being tortured even up to this day and yet his unwavering eyes said the opposite. Lowen didn''t know if he could endure the same amount of torture for so long and still be unbroken. Lowen couldn''t help but ask.Stolen story; please report.


    "Who are you?"


    The man chained up in the cell, with his voice completely horse let out a rough chuckle. Shaking his head he said.


    " Me, I''m just a fool too stupid to see through one ugly goblin."


    "Why are you here?"


    "I could ask you the same thing but looking at the condition you and your friend are in, I doubt it was for something as simple as sightseeing."


    Lowen didn''t have time for this and so he quickly asked.


    "Do you know the way out?"


    The man stared at Lowen and a small smile formed on his lips, he said.


    "You want to leave already, even though it''s already been so long since I last talked to someone. Shame, such a shame."


    Lowen, not getting the answer he wanted, could no longer stick around, so he just turned and was about to head down the right pathway, before the man suddenly said.


    "Boy, that''s the wrong way, well, that is unless you wanted to go towards the soldiers training grounds."


    Lowen stopped in his tracks, that really would be the most unfortunate decision. Looking at this man again, the man''s face seemed somewhat familiar but Lowen having just come to this world only recently and not traveling anywhere, he simply couldn''t place it. Taking his words to heart, Lowen decided this man really had no reason to lie to him and so he turned and headed towards the left path.


    "Thank you."


    Before Lowen made his way down the path, the man said.


    "If you go that way, make sure you stick to the left side of that path for 400 ft before you take a right and you don''t need to change directions for at least a mile, then, take another left another right and two more lefts, that should lead you out."


    Lowen nodded at this man. Who knew how long he''s been in this cell and yet his mind seemed to still be so sharp and clear. Lowen wasted no more time and raced down the left path, trusting this man. He believed this man had no reason to lie to him but besides that, he really had no other options. Whether he went left or right, either way, it was 50/50. As Lowen disappeared down this pathway, the man in the cell, under hushed breath, whispered two words that only he could hear.


    "Nice hammer."


    The further Lowen went down this path, the more and more the directions were spot on, so Lowen increased his speed, pushing himself to his limit. However, as he continued along he could hear the footsteps of goblin soldiers increasingly growing louder and louder. Soon they were right behind him. Lowen dashed through this dimly-lit cave and soon Lowen could see a bit of sunlight in the distance. Dashing forward even further, he could now smell fresh air blowing towards him and as it gently brushed against his face Lowen grit his teeth and pushed his exhausted body forward.


    As the goblin soldiers continued to follow him, Lowen finally saw the exit of the cave but there were a dozen goblin soldiers blocking the exit. Spotting Lowen and Bren, they screamed while drawing their blades. Lowen lowered his center of gravity and placed his heavy hammer in front of him. Charging like a mad bull, with one more push Lowen bashed through these small fry, crushing all in his way before he exploded out from the cave. Seeing the sun starting to set and feeling the fresh breeze on his skin, Lowen felt more alive now than he ever had before since arriving in this world. Rushing to the tree line, Lowen spotted Roland, standing next to him stood a ragged-looking woman, it was Lucy. As Roland saw the terrible condition that the two were in, he immediately prepared a spell and as he did, hundreds of goblins began to spill out from the cave. Lowan entered the edge of the forest and with Bren still on his back, he jumped high up into a tree near Roland. Lowen looked at Roland and said.


    "Change of plans, use your Rippling Inferno on these goblins outside but don''t send it in the cave, the mission.... we failed."


    Roland clenched his jaw In bitterness and nodded in understanding. Concentrating on his magic, his power began to build and build and with enough of it gathered in his magic tool, he pointed the tip of his cane at these hundreds of goblins and in a voice that seemed as if it could shake the heavens, he roared out.


    "RIPPLING INFERNO!!"


    A small circle of flame formed at the tip of Roland''s cane and quickly began burning brighter and hotter and in one swift movement, the circle of flame expanded outward and in every direction like a wave of death. Ash and dust.... in an instant nearly 300 goblins were gone, their bodies became dust in the wind. The grass was ash, besides the trees that Roland and Lowen were on, all the other ones within 500 ft of Roland became black ash that could choke a person''s lungs. The rocks that lay on the ground, some of them glowed a bright orange, while the smaller ones had simply melted. Even though Lowen had witnessed it before, he was still completely shocked. Seeing the power of this spell kill hundreds of enemies at once was terrifying indeed. To Roland''s enemies, this attack was completely devastating but to his allies, it merely felt like a warm embrace. The amount of control Roland had over this spell prevented it from harming his allies, this was truly astonishing.


    The woman named Lucy, standing next to Roland, was absolutely petrified. Seeing the horde of goblins rush out, she thought that she would once more be captured. The thought of it sent shivers down her spine and before Roland had used this attack, she had contemplated leaping from the tree and bashing her head on the ground below. She would rather die then to ever go back and suffer at the hands of those disgusting goblins again. Once she saw the after effects of Roland''s attack, however, not only was it a nightmarish scene, it was also a little hard to accept. These disgusting goblins that had raped her repeatedly, beaten her, tortured her for so long. The goblins that she feared with every fiber of her being were suddenly gone in an instant. Lucy couldn''t help but collapse on the branch. Leaning against the tree, she began to cry and weep as hard as she could. The feelings and emotion she was feeling right now were so overwhelming that she was almost hysterical.


    Rize had made his way to the entrance and saw the devastation his army. With half of them gone he was about to order for the rest of his army to attack Roland but he could feel Roland preparing another attack. Suppressing his anger, he ordered some soldiers to guard the entrance and he and his soldiers retreated back inside. With Roland waiting with that massive spell, Rize now found himself stuck for now. An open battlefield with Roland having enough energy to cast his 4th circle spell, it would be suicide to face him in the open. The only thing Rize could do, for now, was wait. He would soon have control over Clovis ''s mind and with that, he could lure Roland and his allies into a trap, but again, he had to wait.


    Lowen breathed out a sigh of relief. Being down in that cave completely lost in the dark, fighting for your life, with enemies chasing you from all over, it was a feeling Lowen had never felt before in his entire life and he never wanted to have that feeling again. Now that he was finally out and so many of his enemies had been killed, Lowen took a deep breath and felt a terrible pain all over. With the built-up exhaustion his body had accumulated and being covered from head to toe in wounds and blood, as well as Rize using his powers on Lowen, trying to break his mind and with that agonizing pain he felt in his mind, Lowen had pushed himself to his limit. This was truly one of the most difficult things he had ever been through. Lowen''s entire body suddenly relaxed and his legs began to buckle under him. As he tried to catch himself, he felt his eyes rolling back and he completely lost consciousness. With his mind completely blank, Lowen fell from the tree and crashed on the ground from a height of 20 feet. With a *Thud* Lowen''s mind slipped off Into darkness.


    Roland and Lucy seeing this were shocked. Lucy quickly climbed down the tree and ran over to Lowen, holding him in her arms, her tears continued to flow like a fountain. With that, the sun finally set and the world as well.... became dark.

 Chapter 65: Plan B

    Lowen didn''t know how long he had been unconscious for but when he opened his eyes the sky was already pitch black and the forest was eerily quiet. Turning his head, he could see a small campfire burning and crackling in the night. Sitting around it was Roland and Lucy. The two saw Lowen awaken and Lucy reached over and gently held Lowen in her arms, her face that seemed to have just dried from tears, once more burst out into soft cries of joy. She whispered repeatedly.


    "Thank the heavens, thank the heavens you''re still alive."


    Lowen didn''t know why this woman cradled him and cherished him so but he truly didn''t mind it. The only thing that was a pain, was literally the pain his entire body felt. With gentle movements, he pulled away from Lucy, breaking out of her hands he said.


    "Roland, has there been any movements and how long have I been out?"


    Roland looked at Lowen with surprise, he thought.


    (As soon as this boy awakens, his first questions about the enemy, admirable, truly admirable.)


    Roland shook his head slightly.


    "No, after my attack, they''ve already remained inside since then but with that many of them killed, we surely crippled them. As for how long you been out, a little over 2 hours, no more than that."


    Lowen sat there and thought. With him and Bren going in, they had been completely set up. Not only were they completely outnumbered but both of their minds had nearly been taken as well. Lowen thought about this and leaned over to check on Bren, looking at his condition, his body was in a terrible state. Passing Bren some of his ki Lowen began healing him as well as unblocking Bren''s hearing. As Lowen knelt down next to Bren, he also began healing himself. Remembering when he used his earth magic in conjunction with his ki, as long as it was used for healing, the two energies could work together for some odd reason and when they did, the healing was multiplied by manyfold. Lowen had completely removed the small amount of energy from Colts earth spikes, allowing his body to once more heal at an accelerated rate. Lowen could feel the broken bone in his arm mending and fusing together, at this rate it would be fixed within only a day or two. To any normal person this would seem like an insane impossibility, a miracle beyond miracles but to Lowen, this was his normality.


    "Roland, the goblin leader, he can take over your mind with more than just words. When I was in there he almost took control of me. It seems as long as your mind is weakened, he can take control and not for just a little while like when he took over Benjamin in the past or Bren yesterday but instead, permanent control."


    Roland hearing this was completely taken aback. He thought about how weak he was in the past and if the goblin leader had shown up at that moment how disastrous that would have been. Roland felt a chill creep up his spine but Lowen''s words were not finished yet.


    "That''s not the end of it, he''s also a water mage, at least a second circle water mage."


    Roland''s hands begin to tremble in fright, he could take on other fourth circle mages and compete with them on equal grounds but this goblin leader, even though he was weaker, his abilities were more frightening than anyone Roland could think of at his level.


    (I have to destroy him, I cannot let him grow any stronger. If I and the boy miss this opportunity and this goblin is free of this cave....it can only be a calamity that he''ll leave in his wake.)


    Roland then whispered softly.


    "What do we do? What can we do? If he is allowed to leave from here and grow, he will only be a disaster, a plague upon humanity."


    "He won''t come out, not until Clovis is completely under his control. We just don''t have enough time. He knows that you can''t leave here because if you leave from here, then he will immediately march out and find a new base and hide away until he''s ready or worse yet march to the nearby villages and Jizhen and take complete control of them. At that moment you and I would have to constantly watch our backs because any one of those people could be under his control and stab us when our guard is at its lowest. That''s exactly what he''ll do, he''ll hide away and send our deaths to our doorsteps and the killers would be from the people we least expect. Right now we''re alone in this, there''s no backup, no reinforcements, at this point I don''t know what a way around this situation."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Lucy sat around the campfire with her head lowered completely depressed. Hearing all this talk about no time and talks of a calamity coming, frightened her to the extreme. She had just been rescued from the most harrowing experience she''s ever had in her entire life and now she comes to find out that death is just around the corner. If life wasn''t unfair than just what the hell was it. Were the gods having a laugh at her, had she done wrong in her previous lives, if not then why, she simply couldn''t understand. Roland and Lowen sat around a campfire with downcast expressions. Roland grew more and more frustrated, finally, he couldn''t take it anymore, slamming his fist down in the dirt, he yelled out angrily.


    "Damn it all, if only I was stronger, if only I could use another element, then I could crush him by simply turning over my hand but because I use fire I simply can''t go in there, damn!"


    With Roland''s words, a thought came to Lowen.


    (Strength, I need strength, enough strength to crush Rize beneath my feet. Should I do it? Should I try for the second stage?)


    Lowen thought about the second stage for a ki manipulator, the Aura Body Stage. If Lowen were to enter that stage his strength would once again rise at an incredible rate. He himself had been holding himself back from entering the aura body stage. The reason was simple, he didn''t know what the effects would be on his body ki refiner stage. Lowen had already reached his body''s upper limits and the only way his body ki refining stage would grow more was with the passage of time, when his body naturally grew up, developing even further once he enters puberty. If he entered the aura body stage now, he didn''t know if his strength would continue to rise when he grew. Technically speaking it should but Lowen had never reached either of these stages so early in his previous life and had no experience doing it so soon. If there was some type of backlash at this level and if even one little thing went wrong, Lowen would have no clue on how to course-correct it and may even damage his future possibilities in his future stages. Possibly permanently ruining himself, making the next stages unreachable. Was this a risk he was willing to take, even he himself didn''t know but he did know one thing. If Rize wasn''t stopped now, this early on then the future would be all but bleak.


    Roland still sitting around a campfire was mumbling to himself.


    "Damn damn damn, if only we had more soldiers or another mage or battle mage, then we might be able to get somewhere. With just the two of us though, what can we do? Damn."


    Lowen immediately shouted.


    "That''s it, Roland, you''re right. A mage, we need another mage."


    Roland''s brows scrunched up for a moment before he said.


    "Mage, of course we need a mage or something along those lines but the point is, there are no other mages around or have you not noticed?"


    A small grin took shape on Lowen''s face.


    "Aren''t you forgetting about someone that lives close to sento village, someone neither you or I get along with."


    Roland thought for a moment before an image of a short man with cursed eyes and bulging muscles popped into his head. Roland immediately stood up and angerly kicked a nearby rock, nearly breaking his toe in the process. Roland hopped around on one foot whilst grasping his other in pain.


    "AHHHHHHhhhh! Ouch ouch ouch, shit, my fucking toe, god damn fuck!"


    After cursing for quite a while, Roland then picked up that rock that he had kicked and threw it far into the dark forest. Turning back, he looked at Lowen as he yelled.


    "You actually want to use Sid, that asshole, there''s no way he would help. That man and I hate each other''s guts and besides that, he''s fucking insane. You''ve seen him yourself, you know there''s something not right in his head. If you were to ask him, hed just fucking laugh in your face as you told him how desperate the situation was. Even if he 100% believed everything about that goblin leader, still he would just laugh it off and refuse. That''s just the way it is and that''s how it''ll always be. You''re better off getting down on your hands and knees and praying to whatever god you believe in, cuz if you think he''d actually help, then maybe it''s you who''s actually insane."


    Both Lowen and Lucy we''re shocked at this angry outbursts. Lowen knew the two had bad blood between them but he never knew why and right now he absolutely did not care. Right now that wasn''t important, Lowen thought to himself but if anyone can convince him, maybe, just maybe it was him and if he can''t convince him, then maybe he can at least make a trade. Roland continued to rant and rave, this time it was Lowen''s turn to become frustrated. Standing up, he looked at Roland with contempt and in a cold tone, he said.


    "Roland, this is neither the time or place. Right now we are completely out of options. We have to stop Rize or he will kill us all. Even if we run from here today, right now, after all the enmity we''ve built up between each other, do you think he''d ever allow us to live? If we don''t kill him, then we''ll have to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. Is that something you can do? Because honestly, I doubt I can."


    Roland''s mood began to calm but his expression soured. As he took in Lowen''s words he grumbled to himself for several minutes and thought before finally, he begrudgingly nodded his head and with a bitter sigh, he said.


    *Sigh*


    "Fine, if that is what we must do, then that is what we must do."


    Lowen turned to Lucy and asked.


    "I''m about to go to sento village, do you want me to take you or do you wish to stay out here? Whatever you do decide now because I have to leave, now."


    Lucy had no idea what was going on but she knew for a fact she did not wish to stay anywhere near that cave.


    "I....please take me with you."


    Lowen nodded his head and was just about to head off with her when Roland quickly stopped them.


    "Lowen, if you leave in the state you''re in you''ll only pass out again. With your incredible healing rate, a bit of rest here won''t kill you and those goblins aren''t coming out anytime soon. Have a seat and collect yourself, otherwise, you''ll only be setting us all up for failure when your body collapses on you."


    Lowen didn''t know if Roland was being thoughtful or just trying to preserve himself but he did have a point. Once more, Lowen continued to circulate his ki and earth energy healing himself at a visible rate. After a while, each wound was now completely sealed, Lowen''s bleeding had completely stopped and he could even feel his muscles mending back together. Thankfully most of the damage Lowen had received was only surface-level. The real damage he suffered was the broken forearm and the few places he was pierced by the earth spikes. Had they punctured one of his organs, then he would have needed a hell of a lot longer to heal those. Letting out a long breath Lowen opened his eyes and stood up, staring at the two he said.


    "Lucy, it''s time to go. Roland, watch the cave closely."


    Lucy and Roland both gave a nod of acknowledgment and Lowen grabbed Lucy by the waist before he picked her up in a princess carry. The sight of this looked a bit ridiculous because of the difference in size but still, Lowen had done it quite easily. Circulating his ki, Lowen''s body blurred and with Lucy in his arms, they disappeared into the night.


    <h4> </h4>

 Chapter 66: Borrowing

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    --------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen swiftly moved through the forest, in his arms he carried Lucy. Trying to hold her gently and yet at the same time firmly, because his movements were so fast, Lucy''s body was having trouble adapting to it and her breathing became harder and harder. Right now though, Lowen had no time to worry about her body and he continued forward with his fastest speed.


    After about an hour, Lowen finally arrived back at sento village, as it was nighttime, almost everyone was fast asleep in their beds. Walking into Nia''s place with Lucy, Ben and Nia we''re still awake sitting around the campfire. However they weren''t simply sitting around doing nothing, instead, they were meditating and we''re highly focused on their task at hand. Lowen didn''t want to break their concentration but the situation was dire. Gently tapping Nia on the shoulder he pulled her out of her meditative state. Seeing Lowen, she was at first both excited and happy but looking at his body completely covered in greenish blood as well as red, she nearly jumped in fright. With this small disturbance of hers, Ben had been affected as well and he quickly opened his eyes. His reaction was nearly the same but he instantly noticed Lucy and only grew curious. Lowen quickly told them everything, explaining how all the events were actually tied to the goblins and the one in charge was the goblin who made their father kill villagers. Lowen also told them that there are very few survivors from the whole army of soldiers and right now he needed to go seek Sid''s help. After quickly going through the situation, he asked them to take care of Lucy while he was away and like that he turned to leave but just before he did, Ben stood up and said.


    "Big bro, now that we''ve grown stronger, we can both help. I can lift almost 200 lbs and big sis can lift almost double that. If we combine that with our speed, we could take on any man in this village. Plus the snake fist and shadow step you taught us, I''m sure we can go through all those goblins no matter how many there are. So let us come with you, we can definitely help, we''re not scared anymore."


    Lowen, however, shook his head.


    "It''s not that simple, this is the goblin that can control you. Do you wish to have the same fate as your father, to kill those around you and disappear forever."


    Ben gripped his fist in both bitterness and anger. Hearing that their enemy was the one who destroyed his family, Ben wanted nothing more than revenge right now. Nia walked over and placed her hand on Ben''s little shoulder.


    "Ben, Lowen''s right. If something were to happen to you I''d never be able to live with myself. If Lowen says he can handle the situation than I believe him, don''t you?"


    To this answer, Ben stomped his feet for a moment in anger and disappointment, causing his feet to sink into the ground with power. After a moment he soon calmed down, he was still young so he still had this childish tendency but because he started to learn how to use ki and because so many events had happened to him from such a young age, his mind was slightly more mature than all the children his age. Sitting back down around the campfire, Ben once more got in the meditative position. Shutting his eyes, he began to circulate his ki, trying to fully focus but at the same time, a nagging thought repeatedly banged around inside of his head.


    (I must become stronger, I must become stronger. Then I can help big bro and big sis.)


    Nia gently sighed before she walked over to Lucy and welcomed her in her home. Both Nia and Lucy, after being introduced said goodbye to Lowen and he turned around to leave, just before he left though, Ben spoke up.


    "Big bro."


    "Yes, Ben."


    "Come back safe."


    Lowen smiled and gave a small nod.


    "Don''t worry about me, you just focus on your training and I''ll be back as soon as I can."


    Lowen turned around and vanished once more into the night.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It didn''t take long for Lowen to arrive at old man Sid''s place, his house was only a mile away, twisted around a narrow path on the mountainside. Lowen was there in less than a minute. Standing outside Sid''s door, he was just about to knock when a rough voice came from inside.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "What the hell do you want? Have you come to cheat me out of more of my treasures? Huh?"


    Lowen ignored this haughty attitude and quickly stated his business.


    "I need your help, can you please open the door."


    But to this plea, old man Sid simply snorted and said.


    "Oh, why would you want my help? The great and mighty Lowen, smarter than all, stronger than all. What could the little prodigy genius possibly want my help with?"


    Lowen again ignored Sid''s unfavorable tone and briefly explained what had happened.


    "Sid I need your help, otherwise a lot of people are going to die and I know it''s none of your business and I know that you don''t care but if they take over all the nearby villages and towns, what makes you think they won''t take this mountain from you? Do you really think you''ll be strong enough to prevent them from Rolling you over and taking all of your shit if so then keep ignoring my words but If you think for a minute that they won''t then You truly are a fool."


    After Lowen spoke those words, the surroundings went completely quiet. With no answer, Lowen began to bang on the door with impatience.


    *Bang Bang Bang*


    "Sid! Do you hear me! Answer me!.... Sid! Did you hear what I said! Answer me dammit!"


    Sid''s door violently slammed open and he yelled out in a rough voice.


    " I hear you, you little shit! So stop Screaming."


    With the door open, Lowen once more saw this short stature of a man. The long braided beard wrapped around his neck, thick bulging muscles that protruded everywhere and his cursed eyes wrapped and completely hidden behind a white cloth. Although Lowen couldn''t see his expression with his eyes, using his earth sensing, he could see it clear as day. Right now Sid looked pissed but at the same time, he was smiling, giving a creepy feeling.


    "Does this mean you''re going to help?"


    Sid rubbed his chin and thought before he said.


    "And just what do I get out of this?"


    Lowen couldn''t believe this mans greed, knowing the situation and yet still seeking wealth, how can one''s apatite be so big, Lowen thought. There were literal life''s on the line and yet this man still thought about his coffers even at this point. Lowen was growing more and more desperate he needed some form of back up if he was to even stand a chance. Gritting his teeth, Lowen begrudgingly asked.


    "What do you want?"


    Sid couldn''t help but chuckle with laughter, he rubbed his chin once more.


    "Hmm, I suppose I''ll be wanting that technique you used to defend yourself against my eyes. Yes, that sounds good to me, your technique for my help, is it a deal?"


    Lowen immediately shook his head in refusal, he didn''t mind spreading his technique but to give it to so greedy, to one so self-absorbed, Lowen felt hed only be doing a disservice to the world around him. There had to be something else that Sid but what it was, Lowen had no clue.


    " I can''t give you this technique."


    "Can''t give me the technique, I thought you said there were many lives at stake and yet you still won''t give me the technique, interesting. Are your secrets more important than those lives, if so, then why use my help? Why try to save anyone at all? If you can''t make a sacrifice, then why should I?"


    Lowen was stumped, he had to admit, Sid was right. Could he let all those people die just to protect this one secret that had already been partly revealed to two other people? Would it harm the world if Lowen''s techniques spread? As Lowen thought it over, he already knew the answer. Lowen had only been in this world for less than a year and he was already stronger than any regular human and he was still just six years old. If his techniques were to spread, regular people would gain strength like his left and right and this world could easily sink into chaos. Lowen now wondered if it was a mistake to pass some of his techniques on to Nia and Ben. He couldn''t help but doubt himself. Was this all worth it? The consequences, should problems come about because of his technique, wouldn''t he be responsible. Lowen continued to contemplate but no matter how much he did, he still couldn''t find the right answer. Sid saw this hesitation and knew that Lowen didn''t realize his intention was to bargain, scratching his head for a moment, he finally said.


    "Geez kid, you really suck,hehehe. It''s only been half a year since I''ve seen you and you''ve already forgotten how to make a proper deal. How about this, do you still have those mammoths boar hairs?"


    Lowen''s ears perked up and he looked up at Sid, on his face was a sly smile. Lowen couldn''t help but think.


    (So that''s what he wanted all along, he just went high with his price and he was waiting for me to come back with something lower, I''m so caught up with the terrible situation that I just didn''t realize he was merely bargaining. )


    Thinking of this, Lowen wanted to slap himself in the forehead but instead, he said.


    "How many do you want?"


    Sid then held up all the fingers on his right hand.


    "You only want five."


    Hearing this Sid suddenly grew loud.


    "Five, dammit kid, no no no, fifty, I want fifty. In exchange, I''ll give you three of these."


    Sid then pulled out three small rock size stone spheres and showed them to Lowen. However, upon seeing this, Lowen was completely confused.


    "What the hell are those? Why would I trade 50 Mammoth boar hairs for 3 little balls of stone? Are you trying to trick me or something, you crazy old fool?"


    Sid grew angry and took immediate offense to this, he offered Lowen the help he so desperately wanted but instead, Lowen had immediately said he was tricking him and called him a fool, Sid yelled out.


    "What did you say you little bastard! I offer you help and this is how you act. Are your eyes made of dogshit or what? Look at them closely before you speak."


    Lowen was about to explode with rage, every time he came to this old crazy man''s house, again and again, this old man would be incredibly irritating but hearing the end of Sid''s words, Lowen grew curious and took a look. His eyes focused on the balls of stone before they suddenly widened in shock. Looking closer, Lowen could see dozens of inscriptions zigzagging and converging on one another intricately.


    "These, these are."


    Sid rotated them in his hand a couple of times and said.


    "These are statue cores, some of the strongest I''ve ever created. You have a problem and boy...these are your solution."


    Sid then gathered a bit of earth energy into one of the statue cores before throwing it out onto the ground.


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    Lowen and Sid made a deal right there and then. Lowen had traveled and hunted in the forest hundreds of times by now and he had found a few hundred of the mammoth boar hairs simply lying around, so the deal was in no way a negative. Lowen agreed to deliver the hairs within the week and Sid agreed to let Lowen borrow the three statue cores. After telling him how to properly use them causing Lowen to feel surprised.


    (No wonder why I fainted when I tried to control multiple golems. With Sid''s method, controlling multiple golems will become 100 times easier for me in the future.)


    Lowen was ready to leave but something bugged him. With a question on his mind, Lowen curiously asked.


    "Sid, instead of borrowing these statue cores, why don''t you just come with me and help deal with the situation in person?"


    But to Lowen''s surprise, Sid''s answer made very little sense.


    "I can''t fight, I don''t know how. I may be an earth mage and have great strength but I''ve never properly learned hand-to-hand combat. Why do you think I make so many powerful statues? Part of it is the art, yet the other part, however, is for protection."


    Lowen hearing this simply couldn''t believe it, he looked Sid up and down with all those huge bulging muscles and didn''t know whether he should laugh or cry, Looking at Sid, Lowen thought to himself.


    (What''s the point of all that strength if you don''t ever use it to fight.)


    Lowen looked at Sid in a new light before he turned around and left.


    With the cores tucked away in his pocket, Lowen had one more thing to do. Having these three cores was a perfect backup but it still wasn''t enough. If Lowen wanted to have a real fighting chance, then he needed to do something extreme, he needed to get stronger and fast. The only option for that right now was for him to enter the aura body stage immediately. To do that, he had to push himself past his limits once more. Lowen, with these thoughts in mind, raced off into the forest, disappearing into its dark embrace once again..

 Chapter 67: The Second Stage

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    Lowen ran through the forest with determination. In order to enter the aura body stage, first Lowen had to make his way to a certain location, a certain spot that he knew could help him. The first time he had found the spot, he had taken both Nia and Ben to play there numerous times, this time, however, there would be no playing whatsoever, instead, Lowen would have to push his body past his upper limit. As the stars shined down on the world below, Lowen finally came to a clearing. What first entered his sight was a gushing waterfall, its height reached at least two hundred feet up and was connected into the mountain. Down below the waterfall, it''s water flowed violently and came crashing down on top of a boulder. With its powerful force and continuous downpour, the top of this boulder had become a flat platform with a surface that had been smoothed over long ago. Lowen would use this waterfall to help him break into the Aura Body Stage. What surrounded the waterfall was miles and miles of forest as far as the eye can see but Lowen needed this forest as well. Lowen looked at this great force of nature and thought to himself.


    ( First things first.)


    Lowen dropped his hammer to the ground and a large thud followed it, after that, with a thought, Lowen uncoiled his sword and slice down a dozen or so trees. Then with his family sword, he began shaping them. Cutting off excess branches, he then cut the trees even smaller into a size that he could manage to carry. Lowen sharpened each of these long logs so the end was a spike. After that, he began transporting each and every one of them to the top of the waterfall. Using his strength as well as his ki, Lowen managed to get these logs weighing around a thousand pounds each where he needed them. Climbing back down the side of the mountain Lowen grabbed his wolf hammer and once more climb back to the top. Lowen carried 1 spiked log in to into the water, standing it up so the spike pointed down. Lowen then took his hammer and with one mighty blow he nailed it in 2 the water, blocking off a bit of its flow. In this way, he began to dam up the flow of the water. With the work done, Lowen had made a temporary Dam. This dam was not fully closed though, right in the middle, Lowen had not placed the last spiked log, allowing the water to continue to flow and in this way, the water would be pressurized. At the bottom of the waterfall, its power had increased a few folds. The weight one would feel underneath this waterfall went from about a thousand pounds to nearly 4 times that. A normal human sitting under waterfall would instantly be crushed before their remains would be quickly washed away downstream.


    Lowen once more climbed down to the bottom of the waterfall but instead of immediately sitting under it, he once again held his heavy silver battle hammer and using his body alone, he raced full speed at a tree. As Lowen came upon this tree, with one mighty swing, his hammer crashed into it breaking it apart into a few big wooden chunks. As the tree began to fall, Lowen turned and raced towards the nearest tree and once again he smashed the tree before him. Like this, Lowen began to rampage throughout the forest, running with all his might and swinging his heavy hammer with all of his force. From a great distance, all you could hear was a continuous boom followed by loud crashes.


    * Boom Crash Boom Crash Boom Crash Boom Crush*


    Again and again and again, the ground continuously shook as though an earthquake was ongoing. This went on for hours until finally, Lowen stood there exhausted. Panting and breathing heavily, his sweat poured from his face, soaking his entire body as well as his clothes.


    *Thud*


    Lowen dropped his hammer and a few chunks of dirt flew up into the air before they crashed back down. After exhausting all of his physical strength and stamina, Lowen was ready. Lowen walked over to that huge boulder with a nearly flat platform on top and stood next to the high pressured waterfall. Activating his ki, Lowen circulated it all over his body and walked underneath the waterfall but even with his ki protecting him, this weight of over 4000 lbs came crashing upon him so abruptly, that Lowen collapsed and crashed to his hands and knees, causing him to kneel in pain. The water was so painful, that Lowen had to immediately shut his eyes or else his eyelids would tear away from his face, from the force alone. Pushing his ki to his limit, Lowen just managed to struggle and sit with his legs crossed underneath the waterfall. Lowen, with his body settled, eased his ki back ever-so-slightly and immediately he could feel the crushing force of the water increase battering him repeatedly. If he didn''t have his ki protecting him, at this moment, even with his incredibly tough body, this water would have broken several bones in his body if not all of them. Lowen with all of his physical strength exhausted, could not use a single muscle to resist the weight of this waterfall and instead relied solely on his ki, in this way he began to concentrate, focusing his energy, protecting his body with ki, as well as focusing on his ki seed. This is how he would begin to enter the aura body stage, the second stage of ki manipulators. In order to even begin entering the aura body stage, you first had to have an outside pressure concentrated on your body that was greater than your own strength, greater than what your body could handle. This was one way to push past your limits. If Lowen did truly wait and allowed his body to develop into becoming something monstrous, then maybe at that time when he wanted to enter the aura body stage, the amount of ki he might have needed, would be equivalent to the pressure of an entire mountain crashing down on him. Feeling this crushing force, Lowen would manipulate his ki to exude this exact same crushing power onto his own ki seed. In doing so, it would force his ki seed to condense down to about a hundred of its current size, thus turning the ki within, into a more pure, powerful force.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Lowen surrounded his ki seed with ki and then while trying to imitate that same crushing force that came from the waterfall, he began putting pressure on his own ki seed. And with his powerful ki pressuring the ki seed that was about the size of an adults fist, it slowly began to shrink. As it began to shrink, Lowen could feel an intense burden upon his body. Not only was the waterfall crushing him but he literally had his energy inside crushing his ki seed. This was a very dangerous task, because, with all the pressure surrounding his ki seed, his ki seed itself began to crack and Lowen had to immediately add more ki into his ki seed in order for it to repair itself. The trouble with that though was the fact that it would split his focus. He had to protect his body from the waterfall as well as pressure his ki seed all the while constantly repairing it. If he lost focus for even a second, then the waterfall could crush his body into paste. If worst came to worst and he couldn''t repair enough of it in time and his ki seed exploded, then that would simply be sudden death. That much energy exploding from the inside of Lowen''s body, there wouldn''t be a shred of flesh left.


    Lowen continued to concentrate and push his ki to his limit, protecting himself in the waterfall, pressuring his own ki seed, as well as repairing it, in this way, Lowen''s ki seed continued to shrink at a visible rate. To enter the aura body stage took an extreme amount of resilience and endurance. Most people, even if their body could handle such a terrifying force, would not be able to last long just from the excruciating pain alone. Every muscle of Lowen''s body ached in agony. His body felt as though someone took a thousand-pound sledgehammer and continuously hit him in every spot all over. Most people would have broken down by now but Lowen continued to endure. 5 minutes 10, 30, it had now been over an hour and Lowen''s entire body was covered in bruises. If one were to discover him right now, they would see a small boy with black hair, purple eyes, as well as bluish-purple skin from the beating he''s taken.


    (Damn, this is taking way too long, I have to speed it up.)


    The ki seed within Lowen was now about half of its previous size but to Lowen, this was literally painfully slow. Lowen cursed repeatedly in his mind, at this rate he would be an old man before his ki seed was fully condensed. Lowen needed to make his ki ''s crushing force even stronger and the best way to do that, was for him to feel the natural forces of the waterfall and imitate it with his ki. Lowen pulled back his protective ki a little more and allowed the waterfall to hammer his body even more. Even just the slightest decrease in protection caused his bones to start to creek and his organs start to squeeze as though they were in the jaws of a beast.


    Lowen''s arm that had begun to mend and fuse, had now begun showing signs of refracturing. Lowen grit his teeth as he sat there feeling this tyrannical force upon him, with it, he began to mold his ki into a similar force and continued the crush his ki seed. The speed at which his ki seed condensed had suddenly increased by manyfold and the cracks upon his seed began to stretch and spread like a spider''s web. Lowen was now repairing his seed at an extraordinary rate but still, it wasn''t fast enough for him. Once more Lowen decreased his protection and the waterfall now hammered at him even harder. The pressure was so great that Lowen could feel pieces of his hair being pulled from his scalp, as well as bits of skin peeling away. Having one''s skin peeled like this was more torturous than a flame to the feet but Lowen could only clench his jaw and bear it. Lowen''s self-torture, however, did not go unrewarded. His ki seed was nearly there and with it, his ki seed slowly began to rotate. This rotation was a natural process that would allow his ki seed to act like a never-ending power source. The energy within his ki would become so pure and powerful that it would act almost like a whirlpool and would continuously absorb ki automatically, even without Lowen doing anything. After breaking into the aura body stage, this would allow his power to continuously grow at a slow yet steady rate throughout his life.


    Lowen could feel his ki seed becoming infinitely closer to the aura body stage but it had now completely stalled at about the width of a hair away. He now needed one more powerful push, otherwise, he would remain stuck forever. Lowen decided to try something. Sitting underneath the waterfall, the pain from having hair ripped out, his body bruised and battered and his skin peeling away till he bled. If he can handle all that then the next move, he could handle as well. Taking calm steady breaths, Lowen breathed nice and slow and when he felt he was prepared, he began a small countdown.


    (Three, two, one, now!!)


    Lowen immediately removed all of his ki protection and forced it onto his ki seed, crushing it from every angle with his full power. With the full force of nature crashing down upon him Lowen could feel his muscles rending into putty and his bones were on the verge of breaking, the tattered skin that had hung on by threads of flesh, now tore away, leaving a disgusting bloody figure in its wake. As Lowen felt his immenit death, his ki seed in return gave a loud response.


    *BOOM!*


    A powerful aura exploded outward cracking the boulder all the way through, as well as splitting the waterfall momentarily and after another second, the waterfall once again came crashing back down. Lowen underneath it, however, did not mind in the least. With a calm expression, Lowen opened his eyes underneath this pressuring waterfall, as he did, a large smile formed across his face and he slowly stood up. Standing there, Lowen looked around for a second before he slowly took a step out. Sensing his ki seed, he could feel it rotating within, it''s power multiplied and it''s pureness seemingly holy. Lowen inhaled and exhaled slowly, even without him trying, his body was automatically absorbing ki. Lowen''s strength and speed had now skyrocketed. That was not the best part though. One of the main benefits of entering the aura body stage was the aura itself. Now that Lowen had entered the aura body stage, his large purple eyes seemed even brighter. Looking at the world around him, many smaller auras started to fill his vision. The world itself seemed to have grown even more beautiful as Lowen''s vision had now completely changed. Now within a hundred or so feet, Lowen could both see and sense any living creatures aura, therefore, he knew exactly where every living creature was within, that hundred feet.


    Not only that, he could even track an aura up to a certain distance. Every living creature had an aura and every aura was different. If Lowen encountered a creature, it''s aura would be forever embedded in his memory.


    Lowen sat down and started healing himself. With his ki energy even stronger and pure, combined with his earth energy, Lowen''s body healed in a matter of minutes. The flesh that had been torn from his body now grew back becoming smooth and supple to the touch, the hair that had been pulled out in clumps was once more full and lush. The muscles that were basically mush, now became dense and tough, filled with power yet lean in tone. His innards and organs, like a sponge soaked in water, were back to their former shape and were filled with vitality. His bones that had cracked in several places, had fused themselves back, becoming almost as tough as metal. Lowen could feel power coursing through his body. He felt as though he could fight Rize''s entire army alone now.


    Lowen sensed his ki seed and shook his head. The only real downside to condensing his ki seed was that it meant there was less ki stored within. Smaller size means a smaller storage container. So although his ki was purer and stronger, he did not have a lot of it but with his body constantly absorbing it, there wasn''t much need for a bigger ki seed at the moment. Later on, when he grew, even more, he would need to increase its size or his body would run out of energy the ki techniques in the later stages required an immense amount of energy and Lowen currently had no way of meeting that requirement. After everything was said and done, increasing the size of his ki seed would be one of Lowen''s sole focuses but for now, he had business to attend to. Standing up, with his sword coiled around his arm, Lowen walked over and grabbed his hammer and with his shadow steps, his body blurred and disappeared, the direction, of course, was back to Roland....back to Rize.

 Chapter 68: Into The Cave Once More

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    With Lowen''s newfound speed, his body would barely touch the ground before once more flashing by like a blur. Moving through the forest, Lowen was like a ghost in the night. The sight of which, most would assume was a simple figment of the imagination. As Lowen continued forward, he wondered how much strength he could have attained had he become a 2nd circle earth mage but thinking things over, he knew it wasn''t possible at the moment. There were two main reasons for this. The first reason was, that when he first became a mage, the effects had left him unconscious for hours afterward and Lowen had no time to waste, right now, every minute counted. The other reason was the most important, Lowen had no clue how to become a 2nd circle mage. He hadn''t been taught. He only became a 1st circle mage basically through luck as well as picking up on the subtle clues Roland had let slip. All he had to do was connect his soul with his mage core. If he didn''t already know how to control his soul, then he simply wouldn''t have been able to become a mage or he would have had to take Roland''s apprentice deal. After becoming a 1st circle mage, he still knew too little about magic. To become a mage he now understood perfectly, forming his 2nd circle and advancing to the next stage though, Lowen was completely ignorant. If he survived this predicament then afterward he would ask Roland about it. If Roland would teach him, however, that was a different matter entirely.


    After only a few minutes, Lowen had arrived at the edge of a campfire, walking over, it was only now that Roland had noticed his presence. Standing up, Roland immediately turned with his cane at the ready. As magic filled his cane with power, Roland shouted in fright.


    "Who is it? Who has come? One more step and I''ll burn you to ash."


    Lowen chuckled lightly before he stepped out of the shadows. Just as Roland was about to ignite the small figure in front of him, he recognized that it was Lowen and abruptly took a step back whilst lowering his cane. Looking at Lowen, Roland''s face was covered in both confusion and shock. Looking this small boy over, he could no longer feel any energy whatsoever coming from him. The mysterious power that Lowen once had, had now vanished into thin air, not only that, his earth energy was no longer present as well. A mage core, which nearly everyone in the world has, Roland could no longer feel its presence coming from Lowen. Staring at Lowen, Roland couldn''t help but wonder if this truly was Lowen. Raising his cane once more, he pointed it at Lowen and in an apprehensive tone he asked.


    " Lowen...is...is that really you?"


    Lowen with a simple thought, the aura around his body dissipated into nothingness and the concealed energies within, once more revealed themselves. With this reveal, Roland once more looked shocked. Lowen enjoyed this stupid look Roland had but knew that there was no time to mess about and gave a simple explanation.


    " It''s me relax, I''ve simply entered a new stage. if it wasn''t me, you''d have already been dead."


    Roland subconsciously gulped in fear, he couldn''t help but agree with these words. He had completely felt nothing when Lowen approached. If this person in front of him truly wasn''t Lowen and wanted him dead, then he''d be dead.


    "Entered a new stage, how? It even allows you to conceal yourself in such a matter, what sort of spell could do such a thing? Light magic, dark magic, I''ve never heard of earth magic being capable of such things. Yet even if it was light magic or dark magic tricks, I should have still been able to feel the elements around you, yet when you approach me, instead of an abundance of magic energy, it''s like a blank void. Lowen...how did you do it? Is it something you''re willing to teach....me?"


    Lowen listening to all this shook his head.


    "I''m not inclined to explain and there''s no way you can learn it. Just be satisfied in knowing that our mission now holds a higher chance of being successful."


    Roland was annoyed with this answer but hearing the rest of this boys words, he became curious.


    "Higher chance, you mean there''s still no guarantee?"


    *Sigh*


    Lowen walked over to Bren and saw that he was still unconscious, placing a hand over his body, Lowen began healing him at a faster rate, nearly double what it was previously.


    "My powers may have grown but it''s mainly just in strength and speed. This time, without Bren, I''ll be facing 2 mages at once, as well as hundreds of goblin soldiers. Not only that, I''ve never faced a water mage before. Earth I know from my experience with Sid as well as my own powers and fire, I know most of the advantages as well as weaknesses from what you''ve taught me but I''ve never encountered water magic and I have no clue on what Rize is capable of. Plus, as you can see, old man Sid isn''t with me, he wasn''t much help. In the end, he could only give me these and they''re merely to borrow."If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Lowen pulled out the three statue cores and showed them to Roland, Roland gave a small nod and the two began thinking of their next move. As the two discussed their next moves, Bren groggily opened his eyes and began to cough out dark thick blood painfully. Lowen was already by his side and continued to pass him ki, healing him bit by bit. Although Lowen was healing Bren''s body at an incredible speed, Bren had terrible injuries. Cuts, bruises, broken ribs, and even damaged organs. That second circle earth mage had really dealt out a beating. Bren fought through the pain and slowly sat up. Seeing that he was still alive but had failed in rescuing his nephew, a few bitter tears rolled down his face. Who knew what pain and suffering his nephew was facing at this very moment. Bren couldn''t help but wonder why Rize had taken his nephew and not him. It was now that Bren finally noticed strange energy filling his body and healing him. Looking at Lowen, he could tell it was coming from him and although he didn''t know how an earth mage was capable of such a feat, he could feel that this energy was only helping him and wasn''t harmful in any way. Bren felt thankful for Lowen''s help but looking at his face you wouldn''t know it. His expression was one of pain and sadness.


    "Bren, try to relax and don''t resist this energy. Just breathe, it''s going to be okay."


    Bren once more felt bitter hearing these words but took them to heart and did his best to just breathe and relax in silence.


    "Bren, now that you''re awake, I was just talking to Lowen and we want to make another assault on the cave. Do you think you can fight?"


    To this question, Bren wanted to desperately say yes but knowing his body''s condition, he knew for sure that he wouldn''t last but none of that mattered, if he could move then he would fight. Before he could say anything though, Lowen spoke for him.


    "No, his body is a mess and at the rate, I''m healing him, it could be another seven or eight hours before he''d be in any condition to fight. With our time limited, I have to go in alone, otherwise, who knows what will happen to Clovis. Right now they''ve had him for at least 7 hours. we need to hurry and we need a plan fast."


    Bren could not say the words he was just about to say, instead, he looked at this small boy with respect. Even though the two of them had both just had their asses handed to them, this boy was ready to go back in and this time with no backup. But Bren couldn''t allow this in good conscience.


    "Lowen, thank you but I can''t ask you to do this. I can''t ask you to go in there and sacrifice yourself, even...even for my nephew."


    Bren choked up on those last words but still, he said them. Even though he cared about his nephew more than anyone else in the world, he couldn''t ask this small child to go in there by himself. The two had gone in there and nearly died and now Lowen, a child, wanted to go in alone. This would all but guarantee his death and that didn''t sit right with Bren.


    "Lowen, Bren is right, you can''t go in there without some form of backup. Even if your strength has grown, there''s no guarantee you''ll be able to survive. I don''t know what they plan to do with Clovis, and at this point, I''m afraid we''ll have to give up and seek help from the capital. If you and me both guard here we may be able to prevent them from leaving this cave. Bren can head back to the capitol and bring more battlemages with him. You said earlier that you were able to prevent Rize from controlling Bren by sealing his hearing and only when you two were exhausted was he able to almost take over your minds. If we have multiple battle mages and you seal off all of their hearing then that should be enough to finish these bastards once and for all. Hell, if Bren was all right now, with your newfound strength, I''m sure the two of you combined could defeat them. Unfortunately, though, our one and only battlemage is useless."


    Bren gnashed his teeth in anger at Roland''s harsh words but he knew he was right. He knew right now that he was in fact completely useless and if he were to go, in this state, he would only be a burden, nothing more. As Roland and Bren, we''re stumped on what to do, it was actually Roland''s words that brought an idea to Lowen. With this idea, his eyes grew excited and he almost began to shout but he quickly composed himself. In a calm voice, he said.


    "Wait a second, a battlemage, that''s it. Our battlemage may be useless but this isn''t our only battlemage."


    Roland and Bren both held an expression of confusion but Lowen ignored them and continued.


    "A battle mage, we have another one."


    Roland and Bren both looked around trying to spot this other battle mage but of course, they saw no one. Lowen gave a small chuckle and began to explain about the battlemage he had come across being held in the depths of the goblin''s cave. Lowen had told them how the man being held had been tortured and was covered in scars but when Lowen had looked into his eyes, they were still burning with the will to live. If anyone wanted the taste of revenge, that man definitely would. After a minute or so, Lowen asked the two their thoughts. Roland stood up and began pacing back and forth while mumbling a few words, after a moment, he stopped and asked.


    "Lowen, can you do it? Can you actually do it? To sneak past all those goblins, break into his cell and release him. How do you know if his body is even capable of fighting?"


    "He''s definitely capable of fighting otherwise what point will there be in keeping him in such thick chains. Not only that, he was behind a huge thick door made out of some type of metal, which my fist are not capable of breaking. To go through so much trouble to hold him, there''s no doubt in my mind he can fight. As for sneaking past all those goblins¡­"


    Lowen didn''t even finish his sentence, instead, his body flashed and disappeared, vanishing in front of the two and before they knew it, Lowen had reappeared. Holding out his hand, he held two hairs in his fingertips, one red and the other black. Looking closely at the hairs, both Bren and Roland could tell that it was theirs, both of their mouths gaped open in shock.


    "Not only that, now that I can hide my magic, that earth mage as well as Rize won''t even know I''m coming, I can do this, trust me."


    Bren seemed to be convinced by this display but Roland still held some worries. Sitting back down by the campfire, he then began going over everything he knew about water magic as quickly and as efficiently as possible. He told Lowen about water magics strengths and weaknesses and everything he should look out for. Lowen took every word seriously and committed it all to memory. After Roland finished, Lowen nodded a few times and turned to leave but Roland stopped him. Shoving something into Lowen''s hand, Roland whispered a few things to Lowen and wished him good luck. Lowen at first was shocked by this but understanding the situation and the chaos that would ensue if Rize was not stopped, Lowen knew this item would only be another advantage for him. Turning around, Lowen said nothing more and rushed to the cave. Putting the item away, Lowen activated his aura and his magic presence and ki energy seemed to disappear from this world. Lowen thought about the plan they just went over and if it was just relying on that, then Lowen still wouldn''t be as confident as he was right now but because he had entered the aura body stage, he was now capable of one more thing. With a devious smile, Lowen rushed to the mouth of the cave. At the entrance, again, there were five goblin soldiers guarding the cave. With a simple move, Lowen grabbed five rocks and with a flick of the wrist, the rock''s flew out with Incredible precision.


    *Thwack* *Thud* *Thwack* *Thwack* *Thud*


    Each of these goblins skulls was penetrated and crushed instantly, they had all died before they even hit the ground. With a powerful dash forward, Lowen disappeared into the cave.

 Chapter 69: Old Man Lets Fight

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    Lowen ran through the cave as if it was his own backyard, now that he had entered the aura body stage, he could sense any living creatures within 100 ft of himself. With this newfound ability, he could now perfectly avoid every goblin within this cave system. Not only that, he could now mask his own magic and ki energy, allowing him to go undetected by Colt and Rize as well. Remembering the path he had taken when he escaped earlier, Lowen once more retraced his steps back to that huge metal door, back to that battle mage. Coming around the narrow corner, Lowen looked down a long corridor. On both sides of the wall, it was lined up with cell after cell, each one holding several women and children. Now that he was at the aura body stage, Lowen could see even better inside of all these cells. With his earth sensing abilities, Lowen could make out the forms of people but not much else. Now that his eyes could see auras of living creatures, he could tell for a fact that these were living people and not just bodies. Walking down the long corridor, Lowen cautiously approached a huge metal door. As he came upon it, a rough voice immediately reached his ears.


    "Hmm, boy, didn''t you already leave? Don''t tell me my directions were wrong. Have I really been down here this long that I''ve forgotten?"


    Lowen shook his head


    "No, the directions you gave me were right on the mark. I came back to ask you a question."


    The man in the cell looked at Lowen dumbfoundedly.


    (This boy, is he an idiot? He already left but came back, who is this kid?)


    "Boy, what kind of games are you playing? You actually managed to escape from here and yet you came back, are you foolish or just crazy?"


    Lowen ignored his words and just asked his question outright.


    "Old man, do you wish to take revenge on the one who put you here?"


    The man in the cell once more looked at Lowen as though he were crazy, shaking his head he said.


    "Boy, if that were possible would I still be here. Hehe, you should hurry and leave here. With your capabilities, if Rize catches you, you''ll be his forever. Being able to leave once is a rarity in itself but to leave twice..."


    The man in the cell chuckled bitterly.


    "Now that would be a miracle, I suggest you leave now."


    "No, I won''t leave, I can''t, not until I finish what I started. I ask you again, old man, do you want revenge?"


    The will of fire that burned in this man''s eyes seemed to flicker for a moment before returning to their former self. The man bit his lip hard and a line of blood rolled down his chin. The man grit his teeth and said.


    " I¡­. I don''t know anymore. I did long ago but now...now, I''m just not sure. I only want one thing now."


    Lowen was taken aback by this. This man, this battlemage, he was supposed to be Lowen''s reinforcement, Lowen''s backup but now, now it seems this man had lost his will to fight long ago. Lowen looked at this man with confusion.


    (This man doesn''t want to fight. Where did that burning desire to live come from? He said he wants one thing, what could it possibly be, for it to hold more value then getting revenge.)


    "Old man, what is it you want?"


    Lowen didn''t know what this old man wanted but if it was something he could fulfill later on, then Lowen would do it in exchange for this old man''s help now. After Lowen asked the man what he wanted, the man''s body began to tremble. Just thinking about his hearts one true desire, in a small wispy voice, the man whispered.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "Children¡­...my children, I wish to see their faces one last time."


    Lowen at first thought this to be a strange desire, he couldn''t understand why this man wanted to see his kids so much. Lowen had never loved anyone in his entire life. At first, it was very difficult for him to understand where this old man was coming from but then he thought about this mans situation. This man had obviously been captured and held here for who knows how long, for him to go so long without the ones he cared for. Lowen suddenly thought about Nia and Ben and what it would be like if he just disappeared out of their life''s one day or they out of his and just how gut-wrenching it would be. Maybe it wasn''t love but Lowen did care for the two of them. As far as feelings go, he never felt anything like it before in his previous life but he knew one thing for certain. He genuinely did care for the both of them and it made him wonder.


    (Is this what a brother and sister are?)


    Lowen looked at this old man with a little more understanding and said.


    "Old man, if you help me out, then I will do everything in my power to see that you see their faces again. So, will you help me?"


    The old man looked at Lowen with a serious expression, he could tell that Lowen meant every word. He could feel his heart beating faster and harder. The sadness within his heart began to fade and his desire and will began to burn hotter and brighter. He didn''t know why but this young child''s words really affected him. Giving a nod he said.


    "Yes."


    Lowen couldn''t help but release a sigh of relief. If he failed here then everything would have been over before it even truly started. Lowen like before with the lock on Lucy''s door held his sword up and with a thought, he willed it, turning it flexible like rubber. Pushing part of his sword into the lock, he fit it perfectly with the mechanism inside and with another thought he willed his sword and hardened part of it. Turning his family sword, the lock made a small noise.


    *Clink*


    Lowen took the lock off and laid it on the floor gently as to not make too much sound. Grabbing the handle of the door, Lowen began to pull and could tell right away that this heavy metallic door would require at least 10 full grown men to open it. It seemed the only one capable of opening this door, in this entire cave system, only Colt the second circle earth mage could do it, beyond that, it would require a squad of soldiers. Lowen slowly pulled this huge door open and slipped inside.


    "Oh."


    The old man seeing this was slightly surprised, he never knew someone could pick a lock that way and his mind grew slightly more excited. Lowen walked over to this old man in chains and was surprised. Coming in closer, he could see the man''s face perfectly. Although he was covered with facial hair, it seemed this old man was actually not old at all. Instead, he was actually pretty young, he seemed to be in his mid-to-late thirties. The only reason Lowen had thought him old in the first place was due to all the scruffy and disheveled hair. Seeing this man''s face up close, Lowen once again couldn''t help but think he looked somewhat familiar. Now however was not the time for any of that. Using the same method as before, Lowen took the chains off of the man''s wrists and ankles. Feeling the weight of these chains, in examining the material they were made from, Lowen was very curious. Although these cuffs were only slightly bigger than wrists and ankles, they each weighed at least 500 lbs a piece. Looking at the material, Lowen couldn''t identify it, he made a mental note of it and decided to look it up later.


    (For this small amount of metal to weigh so much and be this durable, amazing. I need to check my Divine Blacksmith book later on and see if this material is in there.)


    As the chains and cuffs were taken off of his body, this man felt a huge relief, one in which he hasn''t felt in a long time. Standing up, he extended himself fully and stretched his body, in doing so, his entirety made large popping noises. From his feet, all the way up to his neck, everything seemed to creak and crack, not in pain but instead in pure pleasure and ecstasy. The man looked down at the inscription tattoos on his arms and legs. Closes his eyes for a moment he inhaled and exhaled deeply and with a thought, he could feel the tiny bits of earth energy entering his body. The inscription tattoos on his limbs started to glow ever-so-slightly, at first dim but as time went on they began glowing brighter and brighter. This man could feel power coming back to him, he could feel the strength he hadn''t had in so long, once more becoming his. He never imagined in his wildest dreams that the one responsible for this would be a child around his son''s age. He couldn''t help but chuckle lightly, this was truly a weird occurrence for him.


    "So are you ready? if so let''s go."


    Lowen was already turning heading for the door but this man quickly stopped him.


    "Wait wait wait, how can you defend yourself against Rizes mind control. If you go out there like this without a way to deal with it, then he''ll take you in no time."


    Lowen gave a confident smile and said.


    "For that, you needn''t worry, he cannot control my mind and even his backup, even if I''m mentally exhausted, his powers will still not work on me. So you need not worry, instead, I can help you resist his control."


    Lowen then went on to explain exactly how to escape Rizes manipulation, hearing this, the man was both shocked and saddened. Had he known all of this beforehand, then he would have never of been captured in the first place. His gut felt sour just thinking about it. Throwing these thoughts to the back of his mind, he asked.


    "So what''s the plan?"


    Lowen didn''t hesitate and quickly laid out his plan.


    "At first I wanted to rescue someone and then immediately leave but if Rize remains alive, he will be a plague upon humanity and when his power grows even stronger, there will be little anyone can do to stop him, so he must be killed. With my ability, I can move about this place basically unseen, so what I want to do is find him and while he''s alone I''ll sneak in and assassinate him. During that time I''ll need a distraction of some sort, that''s where these come in."


    Lowen pulled out the three statue cores and told this man what they were.


    "I''ll take these to the dome chamber and let them rampage attracting most if not all of the goblin soldiers. While this is going on, I want you to engage with the earth mage. I want you to keep them busy while I kill Rize, after that, I''ll send a signal through the statues giving you the heads-up to retreat and after we''ve regrouped, we''ll slaughter them all. "


    "Wait a moment, you came here to rescue someone, don''t tell me a woman."


    This man''s words took on a hint of pity after he said, woman. Lowen couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow as he asked back.


    "No, it''s not a woman but what if it was?"


    The man shook his head with a small look of disgust.


    "If it was and she wasn''t rescued immediately, I''m afraid shed already be ravished several times by now."


    Lowen had already known this, goblins were truly despicable, vile creatures. It didn''t matter whether it was a goblin or human, as long as it was female, if they could catch it then they would defile it, that''s how fucked up they were. The man''s next words brought little comfort as well though.


    "So it''s a man. If they haven''t killed him already then that means he''s important and if he''s important, I''m sure he''s already being tortured as we speak. Rize will try and break that man''s mind so he can control him. I''m afraid that man...he''s running out of time"


    "What?"


    This man then went on to explain what happens to men that come here and how he himself had been tortured for more than a year In the worst possible ways you can imagine. All for the sole purpose of being completely controlled forever by Rize. With this new information, Lowen immediately made a change to the plan. After that, Lowen once more was ready but again the man stopped him.


    "What is it? What''s wrong?"


    The man looked at the weapon in Lowen''s hand and said.


    "Your hammer...give it to me. "

 Chapter 70: Round 2

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    Lowen''s grip suddenly tightened on his Battlehammer, with a questioning gaze, he asked with confusion.


    "My hammer, what for?"


    The man, seeing Lowen hesitating, instead, released a light chuckle.


    *Hahaha*


    Shaking his head he said.


    "I need a weapon and I''ve always been great with heavy ones. As for swords, I''d be lucky if I could kill a chicken with one of those."


    Lowen stared at the man for a moment in confusion, he didn''t know if he was bragging or inciting self-pity. Either way, the fact remained that the man did indeed need a weapon and when it came between a sword and a hammer, Lowen had to admit that he preferred the sword. With a flick of his wrist, the hammer spun in Lowen''s hand with the handle now held out to this man in front of him. The man smiled and picked it up. Once more a fire burned in the man''s eyes. Looking at the heavy wolf hammer as though it were an old friend, he gripped it tightly, causing the knuckles on the man''s hand to begin to crack and pop. Lowen noticed this and was surprised at how well the hammer seemed to settle in his hand, it looked like a perfect fit. The man took a few practice swings and the air began to make large whooshing noises. Seeing him swing the hammer about, even though his physical strength was below Lowen''s, the man had better control over the hammer. Seeing such skill, Lowen could immediately tell that this man was masterful with a hammer. Lowen nodded in recognition.


    "Good, so you can actually use that thing. I''ve seen other battlemages but one of them struggled to even lift it, yet surprisingly, you swing it with such precision and ease, incredible."


    The man stopped for a moment and looked at his hands.


    "I didn''t think I''d still be able to swing it like this but holding this hammer just feels right."


    As the man gazed deeply at the heavy battle hammer, Lowen''s voice soon snapped him out of it.


    "Now that you have a weapon, are you ready?"


    The man had no more words to say, so with a simple nod, it was time to start. As the two quietly left the cell, Lowen gently shut the door behind them and like two shadows, they disappeared into the depths of the cave. Remembering his way, Lowen retraced his steps and ran like the wind, headed for the dome-like chamber. Along the way the paths split in many different directions and as the paths split so two did they separate and set the plan in motion. Lowen headed to the chamber to cause a huge distraction while the man, on the other hand, would seek out Clovis and rescue him. The man had told Lowen earlier that when a man was brought here alive, it meant that they were important in some way and that Rize needed them. This would mean that they would immediately be tortured and once they break, Rize would be able to take over their mind forever. Therefore, Lowen couldn''t wait until after he assassinated Rize, Clovis needed to be rescued now. So Lowen would go to the chamber attracting as many of the goblins as possible there, while the man who already knew his way around this cave system, would go directly to the important prisoner cells and get Clovis out. So after a brief description of Clovis, everything was settled and the two had separated.


    With Lowen''s speed, he would reach the dome chamber before the man would reach Clovis and so he did. As the dome chamber appeared before his eyes, Lowen''s speed increased and as he came to the entrance, Lowen immediately stormed in. With a quick flash, Lowen appeared in the middle of an empty chamber, looking around he could still see those same regular crystal''s glowing a bright blue. Lifting his head up, Lowen inhaled one huge breath and with a mighty howl that seemed to be more beast than human, he roared at the top of his lungs.


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    " RIZZZZZE!!! GET YOUR UGLY GOBLIN ASS OUT HERE NOW!!"


    The walls of this chamber shook and trembled in the wake of Lowen''s tyrannical roar. After a moment the chamber returned to a tranquil silence, so silent in fact, you would wonder if you had not gone deaf instead, from the roar that had just rocked this dome. After only a few seconds, the sound of hundreds of footsteps could be heard echoing out beyond the chamber walls and just like before, dozens upon dozens of holes began to open up from the wall and a flood of goblin soldiers rushed in. 50, 100, 200, 300 goblin soldiers rushed in and encircled Lowen. Shields spears and swords were all at the ready. These goblins, after losing their enemy once, only to have him return on his own in the depths of their own territory, the goblins couldn''t help but shout. One part in pure excitement and one part in a seething rage. Seeing the small human boy that slaughtered so many of their brethren, the goblin soldiers blood began to boil. Yet none of them would make the first move, not without an explicit order from their one and only revered master. As though it were right on cue, the wall opened up once more. From that path, two goblins walked forward. Seeing their faces, Lowen immediately recognized them and they too recognized him.


    Rize and Colt had once more made their appearance, looking at the small human child, Rize at first was surprised and grew even more surprised at the state in which Lowen''s body was in.


    (This boy looks perfectly fine now but it''s only been a few hours. He was on the verge of death and he had just barely managed to escape but now he''s back and there''s not even a scratch on him, a potion maybe. He doesn''t seem to be of wealth though, could it have been Roland who healed him? No, he isn''t capable, then how?)


    Rize''s interest in Lowen grew more and more. He didn''t think Lowen was stupid and yet this boy had returned behind enemy lines.


    (Could he simply just be insane, there doesn''t seem to be any logical reason for his return, just what is he hiding?)


    Rize threw these useless thoughts out of his mind and began to laugh in joy. He didn''t know how or why the boy had returned but now that he was back and without Bren, this time, there was no way Rize would let him go.


    "So you came back, I''m glad, I was beginning to miss your ugly human face. I wonder though, do you really think you''ll be able to leave from my grasp a second time. Tell me, is it craziness or just plain stupidity?"


    Lowen, hearing this, showed no changes in expression, instead, he slowly extended his sword. Uncoiling it from his arm, he pointed its tip at Rize.


    "Whether I''m crazy or idiotic you have no need to worry about that because pretty soon I''ll be taking that head of yours."


    Rize wanted to laugh at these words but before he had the chance to do anything, Lowen''s body had already flashed.


    *Schink*


    When he reappeared, 5 goblin soldiers had already begun to fall to the ground and before they even hit the ground, they were already dead. Rize, seeing this was shocked, to say the least. He didn''t know if it was his Imagination or something else but it seemed that the boy, in a span of only a few hours, had somehow become faster. Rize immediately threw his hand forward and issued his order.


    "Take him!"


    The goblin soldiers rushed forward like a horde of disgusting locust. With swords slashing and spears thrusting, these goblins attacked from what seemed like every angle.


    *Swish* Schink* Schink*Swish*Swish*


    Even though these goblins knew they weren''t supposed to kill Lowen, still, none of them held back whatsoever. Each slash of the sword and each thrust of their spears was meant for one thing and one thing only, execution. Blade after blade came after Lowen''s neck, chest, arms, legs, and feet but with Lowen''s current speed, none of these goblins could even touch his shadow, let alone him. As quickly as blades came at Lowen, his sword returned the same amount of strikes if not more. If 5 blades came at him then in return Lowen''s sword slashed out five or six times. Every strike these goblins sent at Lowen was a complete miss and yet, his in return was instant death. After only a few seconds, more than 20 goblins were already dead. Rize saw this and knew that it wasn''t just a figment of his imagination or a hallucination, Lowen truly was faster. Rize didn''t hesitate and immediately sent Colt in. Colt had had his foot completely ruined earlier in the day, so Rize had to waste a powerful healing potion on him but right now there were no regrets. Had he not given it to him, then Lowen would have come here and held even more of an advantage. Colt''s body flashed and he appeared right behind Lowen. With the swing of his mace, he brought it down upon Lowen''s head but Lowen held no fear for this second circle earth mage, not anymore. As Colt''s mace tore through the air, suddenly it struck the top of Lowen''s head. Strangely though, Colt''s mace continued until finally it struck the ground but the results of smashing a small child into meat paste with a mace did not appear before Colt. Instead, the image of Lowen suddenly vanished and blurred, what Colt had struck was not Lowen but instead was an afterimage. Lowen had disappeared and reappeared behind Colt almost instantly. Before Colt had realized what had happened, he could feel each and every hair on his body stand on end and as a cold eerie feeling traveled up and down his spine, he suddenly felt fear like no other. He knew with every fiber of his being, he knew with 100% certainty that what stood behind him...It was death. Rize now had no choice but to make his move. As Lowen''s sword cut through the air, it pierced towards Colt''s back.


    *Clank*


    Before Lowen could pierce Colt''s back, his sword was completely intercepted by a wall of ice. Lowen''s eyes met with Rize''s in surprise. Had Roland not told Lowen earlier, that this was a possibility, Lowen would have been completely unprepared but apparently, ice magic was simply an extension of water. One only needed the inscription spells, ample knowledge and power and then the control of ice magic was theirs. Even though Lowen was told of a possibility of this, he was still surprised that Rize still had a trump card. With this momentary look quickly passing, Lowen quickly got back into action. Using his strength and with his earth magic, he poured his power into the inscription spell for sharpness and his sword became increasingly sharp. Lowen then began to force his blade through the wall of ice. Colt was not slow either, with his life saved by Rize, Colt couldn''t afford to slack. Raising his mace high above his head, the bracelet on his wrist began to glow and with one powerful swing, Colt struck the ground.


    Before Lowen could finish pushing his sword through, suddenly, several earth spikes came shooting at his chest. Lowen had been solely focused on his sword that he hadn''t noticed the ground. With no defense, every single one of the spike''s struck him.


    * boom boom boom*


    Lowen''s body was immediately forced back but neither Colt nor Rize showed a happy expression. Looking at Lowen''s chest, there was no blood, there was no sign of pain nor any screaming in agony. The earth spikes had left no mark whatsoever. The spike''s had been strong enough to force Lowen back but now they could no longer harm his body. Lowen looked down at his chest and smiled fiendishly. The strength he felt right now, the power coursing through his body, Lowen felt invincible.


    Lowen slowly brushed crumbling bits of dirt off of his shoulder and with a cocky tone, he said.


    "Is that all?"


    <h4> </h4>

 Chapter 71: Lets Even The Odds

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    (Damn, for him to grow so much stronger within only a few hours, what mysteries lie within this boy?)


    With these thoughts, Rize''s expression went from one of disappointment to one of excitement. If he could capture Lowen and bend his mind to his will, then these boys secrets that allowed him to increase his strength and speed, these techniques would be his prize. With one command, Rize shouted at his followers.


    "Take him."


    Once more the goblin soldiers rushed at Lowen but this time, not only Colt made his move but Rize did as well. With Lowen''s speed, none of the goblin soldiers could even touch his shadow, add the fact that Lowen''s body had become even more durable and tough, now none of their strikes either from their swords or from their spears could pierce him. Colt, now realizing that his earth spikes would no longer harm Lowen, had to slightly change his tactics. If his spikes wouldn''t work then maybe his heavy metallic mace would. With his strength and the momentum he would pick up racing towards Lowen, if he could land a blow, he was confident he could do some real damage. Colt looked at Rize and Rize nodded back in affirmation, the two understood what needed to be done and so Colt race towards Lowen.


    As he came upon Lowen, just like he expected, Lowen vanished from his sight. Once more Colt felt death at his back, this time, however, he didn''t turn to intercept Lowen. Again, a sword struck out aiming for the back of Colts head and once more a wall of ice intercepted it. The magic bracelet on Colts wrist began to glow and he swung his mace, not at the floor but instead at Rize''s wall of ice. Lowen saw this and a bit of confusion struck him. As he continued to watch this, he soon understood what the two were doing. With his sword stuck in place in the ice, it would only take him a few seconds to either force it through or pull it back to his side but a few seconds, he clearly didn''t have. As Colt''s mace made contact with the ice wall, Rize''s sapphire ring flashed with blue light and as though the ice had a mind of its own, the spot where Colt''s mace made contact instantly opened a hole big enough for Colt''s strike to pass through. At the same time, Lowen''s sword was still stuck in the wall of ice but now the mace was upon him. With no other choice, Lowen released his grip from his sword and retreated back several feet.


    With no weapon in hand, the goblins suddenly grew courageous and attacked Lowen from every angle. Colt''s strike continued and he struck the ground with force. The ground beneath Lowen''s feet suddenly shifted and he was robbed of his balance, causing him to fall. With Lowen being completely surrounded and his balance momentarily taken from him, he was forced to take several blows from the goblin soldiers that encircled him. Although their blows could no longer pierce him, each time he was struck, it definitely did not tickle. His body felt every blow, bringing him an enormous amount of pain. Receiving these attacks from all of these weaklings, Lowen began to grow enraged. Spinning his body in a circle, Lowen swept the legs of several goblin soldiers, causing them to collapse to the ground. With Lowen''s enormous strength, he slapped the ground with both of his hands, throwing his body into the air. Landing on the ground Lowen still had no weapon but that didn''t mean he was helpless.


    Lowen quickly grabbed a goblin by the arm and with his shadow steps, Lowen began to pivot and turn with incredible force. With one arm, Lowen began to swing this goblin soldier around him like a human tornado. With Lowen''s strength, nothing could stand in his way and with this speed, he began to cover a large area, add the fact that the goblins entire body was covered in metal armor, Lowen suddenly became a chaotic force of nature. In Lowen''s surroundings, body after body was sent flying. All you could hear was the dying screams of any that stood in his way, along with the crunching of bones and the clanging of metallic armor. Even with all that protection, it simply couldn''t help these goblins in the slightest. Goblins were dying left and right, it wasn''t because Rise and Colt were too slow but instead, Lowen was simply too fast in the way that he killed.


    Colt again struck the ground but this time Lowen was expecting it. Before the dirt beneath his feet shifted, Lowen had already dashed away. As he did that, he also took the goblin that was in his hand and threw it at Rize and as expected, Rize formed a wall of ice in front of himself, shielding himself completely. Colt ran forward, shield and mace in hand. With his shield raised, he charged at Lowen ready to bash him into the wall. This time though, Lowen didn''t disappear. With Colt charging at him head on, Lowen wanted to test his new move. Just as he was about to strike out, even with Rize''s vision completely blocked by his own wall of ice, he still had enough foresight, and once more, another wall of ice rose up to protect Colt. Lowen''s fist struck this wall of ice and only a few small cracks appeared on its surface, surprising Lowen.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    (Damn, this ice is incredibly tough. If I don''t use my fist second form, I''ll never be able to break it.)


    Looking at the situation, Lowen was slightly disappointed with himself. He wanted to do this all on his own but with Rize continuously blocking his blows, this fight would simply go on forever.


    (I thought with me fighting like this, Rize would have called every soldier here but there''s still plenty of them missing. Damn, I wanted to do this by myself but it looks like Rize still thinks he''s going to win this. Looks like I need to use these.)


    Lowen pulled three small unremarkable stones from his pocket. On each one of these stones were dozens upon dozens of inscriptions. At first look, these inscriptions looked like nothing more than a jumbled, scribbling mess but upon closer inspection, with a keener eye, one would see just how intricate and special they truly were. To activate these three statue cores, Lowen would have to use nearly all of his earth energy, that''s just how much they consumed. Holding the three cores in hand, with a thought, Lowen forced his energy into each one before he quickly threw them out. Rize and Colt both noticed this but could do nothing to stop this. As the three statue cores struck the ground, three simultaneous explosions shook the walls of the chamber.


    *Boom Boom Boom*


    Dozens of goblin soldiers were immediately swept up in the explosions and died. A huge cloud of dust rose up and spread outward covering the chamber entirely. Seeing this and hearing three simultaneous explosions suddenly ring out back to back, the goblin soldiers jumped in fright. As the ground continued to tremble, the goblins for the first time began to show signs of panic.


    The three cores had now completely sunk into the ground, disappearing from sight. The ground trembled and shook and as it did both Colt and Rize held looks of confusion. They had both felt the energy coming from these cores but the two had no clue what they were, they only felt they were something ominous but neither one had any time to prevent Lowen from throwing these out. After the three explosions, Rize let out a sigh of relief, figuring that that was all those three balls were capable of. Looking at Colt though, Rize knew that something wasn''t right. If he were an earth mage like Colt, he would have felt the abnormally large amount of earth energy inside each one of those cores and know for a fact that explosions were only the beginning.


    As the dust began to settle, the shape of three tall figures could be made out. After the dust completely fell, what stood before these goblins was shocking, to say the least. A creature made entirely from rock had risen up and now stood 9 ft tall. With legs as thick as logs and a waist bigger than a barrel, the way this things body was formed made no sense at all. That, however, was not the most obvious problem. Counting the arms on this rock creature, there were 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, unbelievably, there were seven arms attached to this creature''s upper torso and at the very top sat two huge rock heads but neither were in the shape of a human. 1 head looked like a bear while the other looked like the head of an ape. This was truly a terrifying looking thing but at the same time, it was not alone. Standing to its left and right we''re two more creatures of identical shape and size. Simultaneously the air seemed to leave this dome as everyone took in a large breath at once and at the same time, all these goblins couldn''t help but take a step back in fear. Even though Lowen was strong and fast, he was still a human being. Looking at him, they all saw a dangerous human but still, they felt no fear. Looking up at this strange thing they''d never seen in their entire lives, that barely resembled a bear, an ape, and a human combined, fear was the only thing that came to mind. As the goblins stared at these three statues in both shock and terror, Lowen, on the other hand, didn''t hesitate. With a mighty shout, Lowen gave only one command.


    "Kill Them All!"


    Before anyone had any time to react, the three statues had already made their move. Like Lowen had done before, the statues had picked several goblins up and began swinging and thrashing them about as though they were toys. The strength of each one of these goblins compared to one of these statues was like the difference between a newborn babe and a full grown adult. A baby could never harm an adult. Spears, swords, none of it worked and none of it would work. These goblins were backing away, dropping their weapons more and more, they were all on the verge of fleeing. Rize saw this and knew that his men had completely lost their courage but if they lost here then this would be the end. Rize shut his eyes for a moment and his sapphire ring began to glow, suddenly, a few crystals along the wall began to crack before three or four of them just exploded and turned to dust. With this Rize''s ring glowed brighter and brighter. Opening his eyes, Rize''s voice echoed out as he roared.


    "Soldiers!! Fight!"


    As though the goblins had suddenly lost control of their body, they began picking up their weapons and like drones, they ran forward, right back into combat.


    Lowen was slightly surprised by this but only slightly. With his knowledge of Rize and his abilities, this only seemed like a small extension of his power. With the statues now fighting the small fry, a huge annoyance was alleviated from Lowen. Eyeing his sword still stuck in the ice, Lowen went for it. How could Rize allow Lowen to gain any more advantages though?


    Before Lowen could get to his sword, Rize erected a wall of ice while at the same time summon a large amount of water in the air. Lowen had missed his opportunity and now his entire sword was encased completely in ice but that became the least of his worries. The walls began to open up again and more and more goblin soldiers, like an endless wave flooded in, taking on the statues.


    Lowen felt the sudden surge of power and looked up at its source.


    Looking up at the ceiling, Lowen noticed a large amount of water that had formed at the top of the dome. Suddenly this large amount of water separated into thousands of long drops of water before freezing into small sharp shards of ice. Rize''s ring flashed once more and the ice shards began to spin with Incredible speed. Lowen immediately sensed danger and knew that he had to dodge these at all cost. Rize''s ring flashed once more and the shards of ice shot towards Lowen like a hail of frozen daggers. Just as Lowen was about to jump out of the way, again, the ground beneath his feet shifted.


    <h4> </h4>

 Chapter 72: Snake Rock Fist

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    Rize''s ring flashed once more and the shards of ice shot towards Lowen like a hail of frozen daggers. Just as Lowen was about to jump out of the way, again, the ground shifted beneath his feet.


    *Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink*


    Shards of ice continuously fell for a full minute creating a plum of icy mist that covered the area, entirely blocking the vision of any nearby. As the shards continued to fall, constant screams filled the dome as many goblin soldiers were caught in the crossfire. Rize, however, had no time to worry nor did he care about these weaklings falling before him. Right now his inner thoughts were wavering. When he used this attack, he still didn''t know himself if he still wanted to capture Lowen or kill him. Lowen was like himself in the way that just when you thought there was nothing else that could be done, he would pull out a new trump card.


    The walls continued to open but had now slowed to a crawl, it seemed that the last of the goblin soldiers had made it here but upon arriving, the sight they saw was terrifying. The last of them had just arrived and they saw their leader raining a hail of frozen shards down onto a small human boy, as well as some of their comrades. The horrible screams they heard turned their expressions pale with fright. As the mist began to settle, they still could hear their brethren shrieking and the cause was quite clear. Three monstrous-looking statues were rampaging about with the sole purpose of slaughtering. Standing over 9 ft tall, with seven arms as well as the head of an ape and a bear, these statues were easily slaughtering through these soldiers as though they were ants. A nearby soldier was picked up by a statue and swung about like a rag doll crashing into other soldiers and dying on impact. While this was happening, another soldier was picked up and simply torn in half armor and all and as his blood flowed like a fountain onto his comrades, another goblin soldier was picked up. Bringing this goblin soldier towards the head that resembled a bear, the bear head opened its jaws wide and encompassed the goblins entire head.


    *CRUNCH*


    As the bear''s jaws slammed shut, a loud skull crushing noise echoed out throughout the chamber and continued as the bear shaped head chewed and gnashed with its rock teeth before spitting the mangled metal, flesh, and bone onto the ground. The goblins that had just arrived had not been affected by Rize''s odd power and didn''t immediately rush forward like the other soldiers, instead, they ran back to the walls in fear but how could Rize allow his soldiers to flee. Activating his powers, once more he ordered.


    "Attack!"


    And so they did. Like mindless drones, they attacked and attacked and attacked. At this time the mist had finally settled. Looking over the impact zone, Rize could only see body after body of his own soldiers, each skewered dozens upon dozens of times. The ice had been so cold that any bit of blood that had spilled out, had instantly frozen, changing parts of the ground into small frozen puddles of blood. Rize could not see Lowen''s body whatsoever, looking between the mangled skewered bodies of his fallen soldiers and Colt, Colt shook his head, indicating that he didn''t sense the presence of Lowen''s magic or his mage core. Rize couldn''t help but let out a small sigh of relief. With Lowen dead, the tide would completely turn and with the combined efforts of Rize and Colt, these statues would fall, securing their victory. As Rize was about to issue another command, that''s when he suddenly felt something at his back, a feeling he hadn''t felt in a long time...DEATH! With no time to turn nor any time to call out, Rize''s ring flashed a deep dark blue and suddenly, over 20 crystals along the wall all cracked and splintered at once, turning into dust. A wall of ice over 20 ft in length and width appeared behind him but it wasn''t enough.


    *Schink*


    A sword had entered through his back and out of his lower abdomen.


    "DAMN! ALMOST!"


    Just as the blade had pierced through Rize, the wall of ice continued to expand, separating Lowen from Rize and the sword from Rize''s body by only a few feet. With the sword out, Rize touched his wound and grimaced in pain. His ring glowed dimly and his wound was quickly sealed with a small sheet of ice. He could only use this on the outside of his wound to slow the bleeding. Grabbing a potion from his pocket, he quickly gobbled it down greedily and as he did, his wound slowly began to heal. Because the wall had arisen so fast, it had diverted Lowen''s attack slightly, just narrowly missing Rize''s vitals. Had Lowen had his sword, instead of one of these swords he had picked up from a dead goblin, he was sure he would have killed Rize right there and then.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Lowen''s arm had now been completely consumed by the wall of ice, encasing his sword arm all the way up to his shoulder. Rize wanted to finish him right there but he had just taken a serious wound and could only issue a command to Colt.


    "COLT! ON ME!!"


    Colt had only now realized what had happened, it had all just happened so fast. Seeing Lowen stuck in the ice wall, it was the perfect opportunity. With a mad dash, Colt smiled demonically and as soon as he entered Lowen''s range, Colt swung his mace down, intending to crush Lowen''s skull in one blow. Lowen, however, remained calm. He had wanted to use this move only as a last resort, he had hoped to crush Rize when he had least expected it but when he had the opportunity, Lowen hesitated. He still didn''t know if his body could handle this move or not, he didn''t know if it would rip his arm from his shoulder and that honestly terrified him but the options now were either to risk it or let Colt land a crushing blow atop his head. Both had the potential to kill him, which one was most likely to do so and which one was less. Lowen had to go with the less likely.


    As Colt''s mace continued to fall towards Lowen''s head, Lowen suddenly gathered ki into his free arm. As his ki filled his arm, the blood vessels began to bulge and pulsate violently and the muscles on his arm suddenly expanded, making his arm instantly grow 1.5 times its original size. Both Colt and Rize saw this and their eyes went wide in shock. As Lowen finished gathering his ki into his arm, he curled his fingers one by one and clenched his fist. Pulling his fist backward, it sat next to his waist like a dragon in wait. Rize knew that something wasn''t right and before Colt''s mace fully came down, Rize had already thrown a wall of ice up between Colt and Lowen but Lowen''s fist had already left his side. As Lowen punched out, he roared within his mind.


    (SNAKE ROCK FIST!!)


    As Lowen''s fist traveled toward the wall of ice, the air vibrated violently before exploding outward. The air in front of Lowen''s fist was torn asunder and shrieked as though it were being personally attacked. Lowen''s fist instantly arrived at the wall and as his fist struck the wall of ice, Lowen''s gathered ki rushed forward and erupted at the target in front of him.


    *BOOM*


    This thick wall of ice instantly shattered and exploded, breaking off large chunks, sending deadly pieces flying through the air, crashing into and killing any goblin soldier in its path. Lowen''s fist had been slowed by more than half from this ice but still managed to strike Colt''s mace, bending and breaking away several of the metallic spikes on the end of it, sending it flying out of Colt''s hand and embedding it into the wall behind him but still, his fist didn''t stop. With the last bit of his power, Lowen struck Colt in the center of his chest.


    *CRACK*


    Colt''s chest caved in like someone had used a shovel to scoop some dirt out of the ground forming a hole. Colt''s body flew away, arching in the air before he too struck the wall and was embedded within. Colt began to cough violently as mouthful after mouthful of greenish thick blood poured down his front. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t take in a single breath of air in and after a few seconds, Colt''s eyes rolled up into his head.


    After this, Lowen had finally managed to pull his other arm free from the ice but his expression was anything but joyful. Looking at his arm, it dangled lifelessly at his side. After that attack, his arm had returned to its original size but it was now in terrible shape. Pulled from its socket, with each movement an excruciating pain traveled up and down his arm. Not only that, his muscles had been torn and shredded in several places and his blood vessels and arteries bled within his arm, turning bits of his arm a purple hue. The cherry on top was when his fist had bent the spikes on Colt''s mace. Lowen could feel some of the bones in his fingers and hand were now broken in several places. His body truly couldn''t handle this move just yet.


    Rize though, saw this situation entirely different, had he been attacked with that blow just now, he would surely be dead. Looking at Lowen''s arm though, a calm washed over him. Even though his second in command was unmoving, with Lowen in this shape, Rize gave a small smile. As the statues and soldiers continued to engage in battle, Rize and Lowen''s fight had come to a sudden standstill. With Lowen''s fucked arm and Rize''s wound still healing from the potion, the two glared at each other hatefully before Rize suddenly spoke up.


    "You can''t use that attack again, can you."


    Lowen stayed silent and immediately went to work on healing his arm. Rize though, took his silence to mean he was correct and with it, his confidence grew.


    "You must have just acquired that skill, you clearly have no mastery of it, otherwise, you would have used that on me right when you appeared at my back."


    Giving a small nod in satisfaction, Rize figured he understood Lowen but there was one thing he was still curious about.


    "How did you avoid my shards of ice earlier?"


    Lowen and Rize both looked over where Rize''s shards had fallen but the two remained silent. Rize looked over curiously before he noticed some oddities. One of the skewered soldiers who was clearly dead had been moved. Rize hadn''t noticed this before but now that he had a moment, he recognized the weirdness of it. Suddenly it all clicked, with another nod in satisfaction, Rize easily uncovered it.


    "I get it now, even in that situation when you had fallen to the ground, you were still able to escape death. By simply pulling one of my soldiers over top of you, he was skewered instead of you. Damn, had he not had metal armor on then you''d be pierced right along with him. You truly are desperate."


    Rize''s mind began to quickly calculate, he held some fear towards Lowen''s punch but the way Lowen''s arm was right now, Rize quickly came to a conclusion. Lowen only had one more arm, so if Rize avoided that punch once more then Lowen would be all but finished.


    (I have underestimated this boy far too much. This child will not become mine and with those statues, damn, this will be troublesome.)


    *Sigh*


    (Guess I''ll have to raise a new army.)


    Rize''s sapphire ring began to glow once more and this time 100''s of crystals embedded in the walls shattered into dust. Lowen seeing this didn''t hesitate and picked up another sword ready for whatever came next. Rize seeing Lowen''s movements, however, could care less. With one loud shout, Rize roared at the world around him.


    "FROZEN DOMAIN ACTIVATE!"

 Chapter 73: Step by Step

    Hope you all enjoy if so Please Review Rate or Comment and if you really like Please consider supporting me on


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    "FROZEN DOMAIN ACTIVATE!"


    The ground began to tremble and shake making all of the goblin soldiers, as well as the three statues, stumble about. Lowen, however, lowered his center of gravity and remained steady as a rock. Large sheets of ice began to cover the entire ground and as this wave of ice spread all around, Lowen noticed goblin after goblin crying out in pain. The ice was so cold and moved so fast that it completely covered their feet, freezing them almost instantly and with the ground still trembling some goblins had even fallen over causing their ankles to snap. The pain could be imagined as blood-curdling screams echoed about. As this wave of ice flooded toward Lowen, with quick thinking, Lowen took the sword in his hand and stabbed it halfway up to its hilt, jumping up, with one hand Lowen held his body above the sword.


    *WHOOOOOOSH*


    With the momentum of this ice wave, a cold gush of wind battered at Lowen nipping at his exposed flesh. The temperature in the chamber began to drop drastically and within only a few seconds, Lowen could see his own breath. The ice was not finished though, as it continued to spread outward, it even climbed parts of the wall, only stopping when it reached the ceiling. That, however, was not good news, for at the top of the dome the shards that had nearly killed Lowen before, began forming at an incredible rate. From hundreds to thousands in mere minutes, once more these shards of ice started rotating. Lowen knew what came next.


    Rize smiled with malicious intent.


    "Boy, let''s see you dodge this."


    With a thought, Rize sent these sharp frozen shards down like an emissary of death.


    *Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink*


    Before these shards of death reached Lowen, Lowen had already placed both feet on each side of the sword''s guard and leapt away. However, how could Rize allow Lowen to escape danger so easily. While Lowen was still in midair, Rize sent more shards at Lowen. Lowen knew this would happen though. When it came to combat, everyone knew that one of the worst things you could do during a battle was leap into the air. If you could not fly then you would have limited mobility, making avoiding attacks nearly impossible. Lowen truly didn''t like being in the air unguarded like this but he had little choice. As the deadly shards came flying at him, something had moved before them. Seeing this, Rize was again surprised. A large boulder flew through the air and reached Lowen before the shards. Lowen, with a quick movement, kicked off the large boulder and propelled himself towards the wall and as Lowen was about to crash into the wall, with a somersault, Lowen flipped and kicked off the wall, his direction this time was his three statues. Rize saw this and fired more shards, this time not where Lowen was but instead where he would land. Lowen willed one of the statues and it stepped forward intercepting the shards with its body.


    *Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink Schink*


    The statue''s body was pierced more than a dozen times and a few had even pierced a few inches out of its back, coming close to stabbing Lowen. Still, Lowen had made it to his three statues and they quickly formed a protective circle around him.


    With the right timing, Lowen had made one of his statues throw a large boulder at him, allowing him to avoid being skewered like a piece of meat. Its good that Lowen had seen through Rize''s attack and planned ahead, otherwise he might have really been screwed there.


    Meanwhile, the surroundings had now grown eerily quiet. Peaking between the statues, Lowen could now see that all of the goblin soldiers had died, whether it be from freezing or being pierced by one of the thousands of ice shards, either way, they were now dead. Looking at Rize though, it didn''t seem to faze him in the least, instead, he seemed enraged that Lowen was still alive. Lowen as well could care less for an enemy and instead, he focused and quickly accessed the situation.


    Looking at his pierced statue, Lowen could see that the shards remaining within were damaging it. Like when Lowen had been pierced with Colt''s earth spikes, his healing was impacted due to a persons magic energy being within his body. Now his statue was encountering the same problem. With these shards in its body, its regeneration was being impacted. The statue''s body trembled slightly before the rocks making up its body moved and rolled around making slight adjustments and as it did, the shards of ice were quickly forced out. With the shards interference now gone, the body of the statue quickly began regenerating and after a few seconds, its body was once more whole.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Lowen and Rize observed each other for merely a few seconds but it felt like hours. As they made eye contact with one another, both of their expressions twisted and they simultaneously made their move. A storm of frozen shards spun through the air and shot at Lowen, once again Lowen''s statue stepped in front of him protecting him fully. With a body full of shards, this statute changed places with another statue and in sync, the group of statues and Lowen moved forward one step. With the pierced statue now at his side, it began to force out the shards and regenerate. Rize once more rained down shards trying to end it here and now. With the ground already frozen and the fresh blood from all the goblins freezing over as well, the ground was unstable and extremely slick. Every step made from Lowen and the statues was one made with strength and would penetrate several inches into the ground, that way they had no chance at falling. In this way, Lowen and his wall of rock statues slowly made his way toward Rize step by step.


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    As soldier after soldier ran by, a shadowy figure made their way deeper and deeper within this maze-like cave system. A left here, a right there, 500 ft down 1000, soon this shadowy figure stared down a long corridor and waited in the shadows like a thief in the night. In his sight, 200 feet away, 10 goblin soldiers stood outside of a large iron door guarding it. This figure had only waited for a few moments before a goblin soldier came running by. Not noticing this shadowy figures presence, it ran down the long corridor in a panic. Running up to the other goblins, it said a few words in terror before turning around and running back the way it came. One of the goblin soldiers who seemed to be in charge yelled something in the goblin tongue and took off, behind him, 7 other goblins followed. They too passed this shadowy figure but again no one noticed this figure hiding in the shadows.


    After a few moments, this long passageway grew quiet at the end two soldiers still stood there guarding this iron door. The two were confused about what was happening, apparently, a young boy had invaded their cave and was fighting their leader but to the two of them, this sounded ridiculous. They figured it had to be some kind of joke or misunderstanding thought up from one of their brethren to prank them. We these simple thoughts the two guards put it out of their minds and continued to stand guard.


    Suddenly a blur went by one of the guards.


    *WHOOSH*


    *THUD*


    *CRACK*


    A loud noise went by and the guard looked at his side. His friend that was just next to him was for some odd reason laying down, covered in blood. His friend was dead but how? When? This goblin was utterly shocked, looking around, it suddenly hit him, something was wrong, extremely wrong. Just as he was about to shout for help, another blur appeared and this guards vision went black, he was dead. Pulling his fist out of this goblins chest this shadowy figure felt nothing. Wiping his blood covered hand on one of the guards clothes, this figure picked up a heavy battle hammer. Shuffling through one of the guards clothes this figure grabbed a key and inserted it in the iron door and turned.


    *Click*


    Opening the door, this person was not surprised by what they saw. A man was chained to both the floor and wall and was forced to kneel. With a contraption attached to their neck, it forced them to look up, as drop after drop gently rained down onto their forehead. Some might assume that this device was simple and could do nothing as it inflicted no pain but the truth was the exact opposite. With continuous cold drops of water dripping down at random times this form of torture was one of the mind, designed for the sole purpose of breaking you. Many would rather have their eyes clawed out or their flesh peeled then to be subjected to this torture. Grabbing the contraption on the man''s neck with a bit of force it was torn off and the man''s head slumped down lifelessly. Lifting the man''s head up, this person looked over the tortured man''s features and they were a perfect match to what Lowen had described to him. The only thing that didn''t seem to match were the eyes as they were beyond dull and listless but looking at the torture device, the man knew why. He too had been subjected to this very same device and more. Raising the hammer Lowen had lent him, the man struck the chains freeing Clovis. Clovis still held no reaction. The man picked Clovis up, slinging him over his shoulder, turned and vanished from this place.


    ----------------------------------------------


    Lowen moved closer and closer and with each step, he picked up a few weapons along the way handing them to his statues. However, there was a problem now. The closer Lowen and his statues got to Rize, the colder the temperature got. For Lowen it wasn''t too bad as he continuously circulated his ki, he could maintain his core body temperature. But surprisingly, the statues were starting to regenerate at a slower and slower rate. It seemed that any moisture that got into their cracks and crevices would freeze and expand, causing the statues to crack and fissure in several places. Lowen still forcefully pushed on. With only 10 or so feet left between Lowen and Rize, Rize seemed to be growing more and more panicked. With another step forward, Lowen smiled.


    (Let''s end this.)


    Rize threw another round of shards at Lowen and again skewered one of the statues, after that, Lowen no longer stepped forward, instead, he roared within his mind.


    (NOW!)


    The statues immediately went into action and with the many weapons Lowen had gathered for them, they threw them at Rize with great force. Rize seemed panicked and threw up a wall of ice some of the weapons hit the wall of ice while others embedded themselves in both the ceiling and the dome wall, this was the best accuracy the statues had but it wasn''t over yet. Lowen grabbed one of the statues and circulated his ki into his muscles, using a truly unnatural strength, Lowen''s waist strained as he lifted one of his statues up and with tyrannical power, he threw his statue at Rize. As this huge statue weighing at least, 3000 lbs came flying at Rize a look of horror was plastered on his face before it transformed into one of excitement. Suddenly the thousands of shards condensed into one, forming a huge tree like spear of ice. As the statue came crashing forward, the spear of ice came crashing down.


    *BOOM*


    The tree-sized spear of ice tore through the statue like paper and continued forward toward Lowen. The other two statues jumped in front of Lowen but this spears speed and force was too overbearing and had already torn through them with no time to move out of the way Lowen once more threw out a punch.


    "SNAKE ROCK FIST!!"


    *BOOOOOM!!*

 Chapter 74: Defeated Victory

    Hope you all enjoy if so Please Review Rate or Comment and if you really like Please consider supporting me on


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    R


    Racing through this maze-like cave system, everything was exactly how the man had remembered. The man continued forward while carrying a limp body on his shoulder. If you were to look in the eyes of the person the man carried, you may mistake them for the eyes of a dead person. With a listless expression and a pale face, if you were to tell someone that this person had recently just passed, there''s no doubt many would believe it but if one were to listen closely, they''d hear the small wispy breath that escaped the man''s lips, indicating he was still alive.


    *Sigh*


    (Even though I''ve rescued this man called Clovis, it may already be too late. With that kind of torture, I wouldn''t be surprised if this man has already lost it.)


    The man continued through the cave and as he moved about, he was surprised at the amount of resistance he faced. Well to be more accurate, he was surprised at the fact that there was no resistance at all. No matter how far he traveled nor the direction he took, there were no guards or patrolling soldiers whatsoever.


    (It seems the boy''s distraction is overwhelmingly effective. At this rate, I could simply walk out.)


    The man threw these useless thoughts aside and continued on. Moving faster and faster, the man soon reached the exit and with a final step, he broke free from the entrance. Coming out of the cave the morning sun had just begun to rise and as it did the man felt the warmth of the sun on his face for the first time, in what seemed like forever. He had to immediately close his eyes and wince in pain though, as they needed a bit to adjust to the shining sun. With his eyes closed the wind blew and with a slight breeze the man''s nose twitched slightly from the smell of aromatic flowers. Taking in a huge breath of fresh air, the man could tell that spring was here. The man wanted to relax some more but he suddenly felt someone''s presence. Opening his eyes painfully he stared at the person in front of him and that very same person stared back. With a trembling voice full of shock and a face filled with surprise, at the same time, they both said.


    "YOU!"


    --------------------------------------------------------


    The tree-sized spear of ice tore through the statue like paper and continued forward toward Lowen. The other two statues jumped in front of Lowen to protect him but this spears speed and force was too overbearing and had already torn through them. With no time to move out of the way, Lowen once more threw out a powerful punch and with a mighty shout, he roared.


    "SNAKE ROCK FIST!!"


    Lowen''s fist and this tree sized spear of ice made contact.


    *BOOOOOM!!*


    A powerful explosion rang out and the spear of ice broke off into several large chunks. At the same time, Lowen''s body was forced back and sent flying away with a terrifying force and speed. His body crashed deep into a wall.


    *Boom*


    The explosion was so strong that a tyrannical storm of cold harsh wind gushed about in every direction and for a few brief moments a tornado spun up forcing Rize back as well. With a bit of power though, Rize created a wall of water and reduce the force of wind around him, allowing him to escape any true harm. At the same time, large chunks of ice came crashing down breaking up the icy ground kicking up even more ice particles creating a foggy mist blocking the twos vision.


    After a few moments, this ice tornado slowly began to dissipate and settle, as it did, Rize''s mind raced with thought.


    (Yes yes yes, I destroyed his statues and even forced his last punch out. Both of his arms are ruined now, they must be. I had to put on that pathetic act and look terrified but with it, he lowered his guard and made a desperate move, hehehe I''ve won.)


    Rize had these thoughts in mind but he never once lowered his guard and even increased the amount of ice walls that surrounded him. He would not allow himself to be defeated by doing something so dumb and brash as dropping his defense just because his victory seemed assured.


    (This boy, what could he be planning now? He somehow hid his presence earlier there''s no doubt he''s shifting about sneakily, trying his utmost to find my most vulnerable and weakest spot. With his arms ruined though I doubt he can break through all of my defensive layers. Right now my best bet is to wait patiently for this mist to settle back down on the ground and then make more of my ice shards. Without his statues to protect him, hehehe, his death is quick at hand.)If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    And so he did. Rize waited and waited and finally, after several minutes, the misty, icy fog fell to the ground, once more settling on the frozen battlefield below. Looking around, Rize''s eyes quickly darted in every direction in search of his hated foe but to both his shock and surprise, there Lowen was. His body was still embedded in the wall from earlier and now hung there lifelessly. Rize, however, wasn''t fooled, Lowen''s body was still emitting a small amount of energy indicating he was still alive. what did confuse him, however, was the fact that even now, Lowen remained motionless. After a moment Rize cautiously created a few shards of ice in the air and begun to spin them with a terrifying speed. With a bit of trepidation, Rize launched a single shard of ice towards Lowen.


    *Schink*


    *Auughhhhhhh*


    Lowen released a wild cry of anguish as a shard of ice had directly pierced his stomach and with a few terrible coughs, he began to spit mouthful after mouthful of blood from his mouth. Looking over at Rize, Lowen''s expression turned to one of fear and panic. Reaching for the shard still in his gut, he immediately tried to pull it from his stomach but noticed his body was pinned to the wall with it. Seeing this, Rize was both stunned and excited at the same time and his thoughts suddenly changed. With another quick shot, Rize launched another shard at Lowen, this time it pierced Lowen''s hand, nailing it to the wall as well. Lowen once more screamed out in pain.


    *AAAHHHHHHHH!*


    Rize, seeing this, only grew more and more excited. This time he aimed one at Lowen''s face.


    *Schink*


    Lowen stopped trying to pull the shard from his stomach and quickly blocked his face and with all of his strength, he just barely managed to divert this shard away from his face but this hand as well was now nailed to the wall just above his forehead. Missing Lowen''s head by a mere inch or so, Rize wasn''t too upset. Now that Lowen was immobile Rize could finally take his mind. With one so young and powerful directly under his control, even with the loss of nearly a thousand soldiers, With Lowen, his plans would only accelerate. Rize, however, wanted to vent some more and so he shot several more shards into Lowen''s arms and legs. As blood began to pour from his wounds the blood that flowed out quickly froze over, making Lowen''s body look as though it were an odd piece of artwork.


    With Lowen''s body up so high in the wall, Rize created a pillar of ice beneath him and it slowly began to rise up. With Lowen''s body completely pinned against the wall, Rize took a small step forward, the pillar beneath Rize''s feet stretched out making a floor of ice in the air, allowing him to walk forward and approach Lowen. Coming face to face, the twos expressions were quite the opposite of one another. One with the grin of the devil, while the other of a damned soul that had been tortured in the depths of hell, by said devil.


    "Hehehe, I told you that you''d be mine. I''ll admit it, my predictions on you were wrong but none of that matters anymore."


    Seeing the terrified look in Lowen''s eyes, Rize smiled viciously.


    "You were a fun opponent, however, the games are over now. Accept your fate and become mine."


    Reaching forward at the terrified Lowen, Rize placed both his hands on Lowen''s head and his eyes began to glow red. With seemingly no energy to resist, Lowen began to feel that same invading energy as before and with it, a terrible pain was brought forth. Lowen did not resist this energy, instead, his thoughts were elsewhere. Lowen''s expression began to take a turn, at first it was one filled with fear and anguishing pain but the more and more Rize''s energy attacked him and the more he felt his soul leaving his body, the more calm Lowen began to seem. Rize didn''t understand this but he could feel his powers taking effect and after a few more moments, Lowen would be his slave forever. Lowen''s mind was in so much pain but still, right now, at this moment, he was much calmer now than at any other point during this battle. As Rize''s power grew gradually closer and closer to taking Lowen, Rize''s confidence grew to the extreme. His concentration was at it''s highest at the moment and with one more push, it would be over.


    But this is the moment Lowen had been waiting for. With a low, almost incomprehensible voice, Lowen whispered a few words.


    "Take him."


    Suddenly a large stone hand reached up and grasped at Rize. This hand was so large that it easily encompassed Rize''s waist. Rize''s concentration was broken and his power was interrupted. his mind immediately suffered a huge backlash but that wasn''t all. The large stone hand that had grabbed his waist also started squeezing with incredible strength. With his mind facing a backlash he shouldn''t have been able to use his magic at all at this moment but somehow his sapphire ring still glowed and activated. Just as his bones were on the verge of breaking, a thin layer of ice had formed on his skin before expanding outward with an even stronger force. The stone hand had again crumbled back into nothing more than a pile of rubble.


    Rize stared hatefully at Lowen, even now on the verge of his own destruction, Lowen was still resisting him. Rize''s anger shot up and he was just about to send another shard into Lowen when he suddenly saw the look on Lowen''s face. Lowen no longer had an expression of fear nor any grimaces of anguish, instead, his face held nothing but cruel mockery. Once more a few words slipped past Lowen''s lips.


    "Magika Amulet Detonate."


    As a small glow came from within Lowen''s chest pocket. Rize sensed the danger and threw up as many walls between him and Lowen. What followed immediately after, was a thunderous explosion.


    *KABOOOOOOOOM*


    Rize was at point-blank range, yet he was still capable of forming three ice walls between himself and Lowen at the last second but unfortunately for him, this simply wasn''t enough. As his body was launched backward, Rize had used his water to flow around him and absorb at least 70 percent of the impact, however, the force was too great and before he knew it, he crashed into the wall.


    *Boom*


    Falling forward, Rize collapsed onto the ground. Rize suddenly felt a burning sensation like no other choke at his throat before the taste of metal began to fill his mouth. Choking like this, Rize was forced to vomit out whatever was in his mouth. As Rize began coughing and retching everywhere, what escaped his mouth was an indescribable amount of green hot blood. Steam began to rise as his hot blood melted the ice around him. This, however, was the least of his problems. Looking down at his body, the entire right side of his chest was in fact.....missing. What remained on his right side were bits of tattered and torn flesh, which leaked blood profusely, almost as though someone had just overturned a large bucket. Rize suddenly understood and panic set in. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the rest of his potions and began devouring them desperately. He could feel the effects of the potion''s and his face grimaced, it wasn''t enough. The potions could only do so much. As blood continued to pour out of him at a constant rate, Rize''s breathing became more and more labored and his mind began to grow fuzzy.


    (No no no, I can''t die, I refuse.)


    But even with these thoughts, as time went by, his body continued to grow weaker and weaker and his minds less sharp. Looking over at Lowen, even though he was still pinned to the wall, he continued to look at Rize with hate and mockery. Rize seeing this couldn''t accept it.


    (You actually look at me with such contempt and hate, it is I who hate you. You fucking human. It was humans that invaded my land first, it was you humans that took from me and mine first and yet I am the one who has to die, why? Kill them, I''ll kill them.)


    As Rize''s dying body was filled with rage, his voice exploded outward.


    "FUCKING HUMANS, I''LL KILL THEM ALL!!!"


    Rize''s eyes began to glow once more and he began to laugh maliciously, as he did, the remaining crystals in the chamber and even throughout the rest of the cave began to tremble before they all simultaneously cracked and turned to dust. The light within the dome quickly grew dim and Rize continued to laugh demonically. A large stone arm was slowly pulling itself along the ground headed toward Rize. Rize saw this and no longer cared, he only continued to laugh crazily as his eyes grew more and more crimson. As the large stone arm came upon Rize, like a snake it rose up vertically and as Rize continued to laugh, the large stone arm, this time like a tree freshly cut from the forest, fell over with great force.


    *WHAM*


    Rize''s skull was crushed like a melon, killing him instantly.

 Chapter 75: Aftermath

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    The sun had risen for nearly an hour now and as its beautiful golden rays shined down on the town below, many people were already going about their day. In the center of Jizhen, many had already sat up their stalls in the town square and began to hawk their goods and wares. From fresh vegetables and fruit to the miscellaneous such as tools and jewels, animals and trinkets and many more little things of convenience. A day just like any other. As the townspeople bustled about, a man at a stall could be heard bargaining with a customer.


    "What, you want 3 for half the price, hahaha, no way, with such a deal I''ll soon go broke. How about this instead."


    The stall owner held up 2 fingers and the customer shook his head.


    "You gotta be kidding me, for that price I minus well just go buy wholesale. How about you reduce it by a third if it''s a third I can live with that. What do you say, deal."


    The stall owners face became furious at this offer. his brows scrunched in anger as he roared.


    "DEAL, NO WAY IN HELL!! I told you id go broke yet you still try to reduce the price, heh, over my dead body."


    What cruel humor did the gods have, for at that moment, a demonic voice suddenly burst within this stall owners mind.


    ("FUCKING HUMANS, I''LL KILL THEM ALL!!!")


    The stall owner heard this powerful voice within his mind and felt pain unlike any other he''s ever experienced in his entire life. Just as he wanted to shout and grab his head in agony, his eyes suddenly rolled up into his head and his body fell forward collapsing on the ground at the customer''s feet. The customer had no clue what had just happened. One minute he was fiercely haggling with the stall owner and the next, the owner''s face twisted in pain and he collapsed in front of him. Before the customer could say anything, suddenly a shrill high pitched scream came from behind. The man thought that someone saw the stall owner on the ground and figured he had harmed him. Thinking he would be blamed, the man turned to the screaming woman behind him to try and explain but what he saw, utterly shocked him. A woman was hunched over on the ground in her arms she held the body of a man who lied there motionlessly. Looking at his eyes they had also rolled up into the man''s head. The woman cried out and desperately tried to awaken the man but to no avail. Looking around, a horrifying scene displayed itself for all to see. A dozen guards here a few mercenaries there and even a few merchants, they all had collapsed to the ground with the same painful expression and rolled up eyes. With a quick count at least 100 of them were like this. The customer who had been haggling with the stall owner cautiously bent down and placed a few fingers just above the stall owners mouth. Holding them there for a bit, the customers face paled and he quickly fell backward on his ass. He felt no breath and saw no movement from the chest. The stall owner was dead. The customer looked around at all the other fallen people, they too were dead.


    Screams, panic, and chaos, all of which ensued from the crowd around and everyone began to run away in terror. Some wondered where the town guards were but they two were dealing with the same situation all across the town.


    In a large mansion, an old man had been sleeping peacefully when he was suddenly awoken by an abrupt scream.


    "KYAHH!"


    The old man sat up in a hurry and reached for his sword at the edge of his bed. Down the hall, he could hear the sound of metallic boots clanking closer and closer, indicating soldiers footsteps. The man thought he was under attack and hurriedly grabbed his shield as well and took up a defensive position next to his bed. As the steps came to be just outside of his door, the old man prepared to fight for his life.


    *THUD*


    "The door to his bedroom was suddenly flung open and several soldiers came bursting in. The old man seeing theses soldier became confused before his mood quickly switched to anger. With a contemptuous roar, the old man yelled at the soldier in front of him.


    "Hanz, what is the meaning of this? How dare you, to barge into my private quarters like this. You had better have a good reason for this or your head will roll."


    The man named Hanz, as well as the soldiers behind him all kneeled on the ground. Hanz gave a respectful salute and quickly gave a report.


    "My lord, the town is in chaos, many soldiers have already died and some citizens as well."


    The old man''s expression again change.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Who has attacked, how many are there?"


    To this question, however, the guard called Hanz shook his head.


    "My lord, I don''t know who, nor do I know how many. There doesn''t seem to be an army attacking either."


    "What, what the hell do you mean by that?"


    This old lord, even now he could still hear the chaos in the streets outside, so how could there possibly not be an army attacking. Before he had a chance to ask further, Hanz continued his report.


    "My lord, there is no enemy soldiers within Jizhen but for some reason, many people have just collapsed and died. As to how and why we still don''t know."


    The old lord stood there in contemplation, he couldn''t make heads or tails of the situation but if there was no army attacking, he could at least go and calm the situation down. Shaking his head in thought he asked.


    "How many?"


    Hanz gut wrenched and he said.


    "321."


    Hearing this number, the lord rubbed his temples in depression before he noticed the uncomfortable look on Hanz''s face. He clearly was struggling with something.


    "Hanz, what is?"


    Hanz, however, remained quiet but his expression grew worse and worse. Once more the old lord spoke but with this bad news, the old lord grew angry and impatient.


    "What is it? Just spit it out already."


    Hanz seemed to squirm in place for a moment but he could not hold this news any longer or his old lord might suddenly spit blood.


    "My lord, not only the soldiers and citizens, your son..."


    Hearing Hanz mentioning his son, the old lord''s heart felt as though it instantly dropped into his gut, as he could feel what was coming next.


    "My son, what about him?"


    "He.....he as well....has passed my lord."


    The old lord''s eyes widened in shock and before he knew it his legs grew weak and his knees buckled below him. Collapsing onto the floor, the old lord''s hands shook and his body trembled uncontrollably. Grabbing the sides of his head, the old lord''s voice became weak and a few barely audible words escaped his mouth.


    "m...my son...is dead."


    The old lord''s own words entered his ears and it all suddenly became real to him. The old lord instantly spit up blood and coughed the hot red liquid out painfully before he collapsed to the ground and fainted.


    ---------------------------------------------------


    After all of the remaining crystals had shattered and turned to dust, the rest of the light had now faded and the dome had now become pitch black. With Lowen''s body having gone past the limits of a regular human as well as his earth sensing ability and even his new aura detecting ability, this pitch-black chamber, to Lowen, still looked as clear as day. Looking at Rize''s crushed head, Lowen couldn''t help but smile wearily. He had made a huge gamble and it thankfully paid off.


    Rize was just too capable, whether it be his intelligence or even the way he used magic, this goblin was clearly above any other at his level. Lowen was literally faster and stronger but because he had no long-range capabilities, he was at a disadvantage during this entire fight. This fight, without the borrowed statues, Lowen would not have won. It was only due to Rize''s misunderstanding of the statues that Lowen was able to finish things up.


    Rize didn''t know that the only way to completely stop the statues was either for them to run out of energy or for their cores to become damaged or destroyed. Lowen knew the only way he could win was to get close but every time he did, Rize would throw up a wall and expand them outward instantly. With that, he could only lure Rize to him. To do that, Lowen had to seem completely weak and defeated. So when the ice spear came at him he knew his statues couldn''t block it but allowed them to be torn apart anyway and when it came at him Lowen threw out his last snake rock fist.


    With his body embedded in the wall, it was time for him to do the most difficult part, allow himself to be stabbed repeatedly with Rize''s ice shards. As they stabbed repeatedly into his body that''s where the acting stopped. Feeling each and every shard of ice stabbing into his stomach, arms, legs, and hands, the pain Lowen felt was excruciating. Even in this weakened state, Lowen was still ready for action. If Lowen was an average person, those ice shards would have killed him from the cold alone. However, after each one had pierced him, Lowen, using his aura hid most of his body''s energy, emitting the tiniest bit to seem even more weakened. Rize fell for this hook line and sinker. Rize then came face to face with Lowen and tried to take control of him. Waiting until Rize''s concentration was at its utmost on Lowen, that''s when the statue''s hand attacked. With Rize''s guard lowered as well as facing a backlash that''s when Lowen used his final card.


    Before Lowen had gone into the cave, Roland had given him something, that something was his precious amulet. After studying his amulet for more than 6 months, Roland had figured a few things out about his most prized position. Giving it to Lowen to use, Roland told him the different ways on how to activate it. The first time Lowen had used the amulet, he had faced a backlash and the amulet had hit him with an explosion. Now it was his turn to use that explosion for himself.


    As Lowen stared at Rize''s dead body, he couldn''t help but laugh out in pain. As Lowen stayed pinned to the wall, he released his aura and began circulating his ki throughout his body. As he did, he started increasing his body''s temperature and the shards of ice embedded in his body quickly began to melt and break away. With it, his body became unnailed and he slid down the wall, crashing hard into the floor. Lowen slowly sat up and sat in the meditative position. As the remaining shards finally finished melting, Lowen concentrated his energy and removed the last of Rize''s energy from his wounds. Using his ki in conjunction with his earth energy, Lowen''s body began to heal at a rapid rate. It would have healed even faster if he could have managed to get his hands on one of Rize''s potions but in Rize''s desperation he had gobbled every last one of them down. Lowen could only shake his head in regret at Rize''s wasteful behavior.


    While Lowen was thinking this, the three statues had finished putting themselves together and were heading over to Lowen. Standing in front of him the statues dropped a few objects in front of him. Looking at the objects in front of him, Lowen''s eyes shined with greed. On the ground laid Lowen''s family sword as well as Colt''s semi-broken mace. Next to the weapons lay two magic tools, Colt''s earth bracelet, and Rize''s sapphire ring. Although Lowen was an earth mage, the first object he picked up was Rize''s sapphire ring, holding it closely, Lowen was just about to inspect the intricate inscriptions when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.


    Rize''s body..... shockingly started moving.


    Lowen seeing this was shocked. Lowen struggled to stand before he picked up his sword and once more readied himself for battle. Rize''s body wriggled about creepily and Lowen rushed over and swung his blade down with everything he had but before his blade made contact, the rest of Rize''s chest exploded outward.


    *KRA-CRACK*


    The explosion instantly pushed Lowen a few feet back and a bright purple light flashed out. The light was so bright and intense, that Lowen was forced to shut his eyes in pain. Lowen listened with his heightened senses and used his aura and earth sensing ability to locate his attacker but surprisingly he felt no life around him whatsoever nor could he feel anything moving using his earth sense. With no attack coming and sensing no life, Lowen slowly opened his eyes. What he saw before him, surprised him, to say the least. Looking closely, a rock, no a purple fragmented chunk of some sort floated silently in the air. Watching it cautiously Lowen could see that it was covered in inscriptions at first it seemed to be hundreds but the more Lowen looked at the amount seemed to instantly climb to a thousand, the inscriptions they were literally changing before his eyes. Lowen stepped back with a bit of trepidation. With no understanding as to what the object was and it having just come out of his enemy, Lowen decided it was best to keep far far away from it. With these thoughts, Lowen once more took another step back and was ready to turn and leave but this fragmented chunk as though it sensed Lowen''s movements, instantly shot forward at a speed that even Lowen could keep up with. Still, Lowen couldn''t just allow this object to crash into him. Raising his sword up, Lowen desperately tried to defend himself but unfortunately, this object was just too fast.


    *THUD*


    The object slipped past Lowen''s defense and struck his chest throwing Lowen back with an incredible force, causing him to crash into the wall.


    *BOOM*


    Lowen looked down at his chest and the object began to glow brighter and brighter and with Lowen''s eyes rolled up into his head....he was out.


    <h4> </h4>

 Chapter 76: Finish Them All

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    *Boom...Boom.....Boom*


    "Ughhhh."


    Lowen groggily awakened to an incredibly loud booming noise, it was almost as though someone was repeatedly hammering a leather covered anvil.


    *Boom...Boom...Boom.....Boom*


    As the noise got increasingly louder as well as close, Lowen slowly opened his eyes.


    *BOOM!*


    With a final thunderous thud, the thick frozen wall in front of Lowen exploded forth and a cloud of frozen mist kicked up. After only a few seconds, the mist resettled and Lowen''s vision spotted a tall figure. In his hand, he carried a torch for light, while in the other, he carried that same familiar battle hammer. As the man waved the torch around, he was shocked at the scene that laid before him. The ground was littered with frozen mangled corpses, many of which were incomplete. Legs, arms, torsos, heads, the number of corpses that had limbs torn from them clearly outnumbered the ones that had been slain by a blade, and the ones pierced by frozen shards, greatly outnumbered the ones that were simply ripped apart. Waving the torch around, the tall figure noticed the ground was a cloudy mix of frozen ice and blood. Armor was cracked and caved in and broken shields and weapons were strewn about everywhere, this was a true battlefield.


    The man couldn''t help but whisper quietly.


    "How can this be."


    The man remembering his objective looked around even more and wondered if Lowen was still alive, looking into the darkness, the man cautiously said.


    "Lowen, boy are you here? Are you still alive?"


    The man honestly didn''t know if he should even speak or not. After rescuing Clovis, the man returned to the cave and immediately noticed the darkness, after grabbing a torch, the man made his way here but his movements became slower and more cautious after he noticed the eery stillness within. Even more so was the absolute silence that remained, the only sound the man could hear was his own footsteps and breath. Finally, he came upon the chamber but every entrance was sealed with a thick layer of ice.


    Lowen hearing the man''s words wanted to reply but found his thoughts were somewhat muddled not only that, Lowen even found it slightly difficult to speak.


    With no reply, the man''s voice once more spread out in the darkness.


    "Boy, if your still alive than answer me."


    Once again the chamber remained silent. Lowen tried and tried but still couldn''t quite form his words. Lowen quickly closed his eyes and began to circulate his ki as well as inspect his body. Sensing his body Lowen felt nothing out of place no matter how many times he checked but when he circulated his ki, something was wrong or more specifically something felt odd. When his ki entered his limbs everything was normal but when it got to his mind something didn''t feel right. Lowen continually circulated ki within his mind again and again and again, finally, after 100 or so times Lowen felt as though something was unblocked and his ki flowed naturally.


    The man asked one last time.


    "LOWEN ARE YOU ALIVE!"


    With no reply, the man shook his head disappointingly and turned to leave.


    (Damn, he managed to do all this but in the end, he couldn''t make it, poor kid.)


    Lowen finally whispered.


    "I''m here."


    Although this voice was low, how could the man with heightened senses not recognize that childish voice. Following the noise, the man ran over and quickly found Lowen. Staring at him in shock the man yelled.


    "Boy, you''re still alive, holy crap. Looking at this mess I was sure you didn''t make it, why didn''t you answer me earlier?"


    Lowen himself didn''t know the answer, so he just honestly shook his head. The man as well didn''t see that as important and instead, looked Lowen up and down.


    "Boy your clothes are in tatters, are you injured somewhere?"


    Lowen looked down at himself and his clothes were indeed in a terrible state. Not only had Lowen been through one hell of a fight but Rize''s shards had stabbed into him multiple times. Right now, Lowen''s clothes were ripped and torn all over, causing his appearance to be worse than that of the poorest peasant. Everything was hanging on by only a few threads and seemed as if it would fall apart with the slightest breeze. After being stabbed with those shards, Lowen''s body was wrecked and he.....Looking over his body there was nothing.....nothing wrong whatsoever. Lowen''s eyes widened in shock and he began patting his body all over. There were no wounds. Lowen had begun healing his body earlier but he was nowhere near close to finished, that''s when he had noticed something odd with Rize''s body.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Lowen''s mind suddenly flashed and he remembered that weird floating purple chunk. What was most bizarre though, was the fact that he had somehow forgotten about it. Lowen ripped at the small amount of cloth that remained on his chest and looked for some sort of wound. The purple chunk had flown at him with a speed he could barely keep up with before it entered his chest. Looking at his chest, there was no injury whatsoever. Lowen''s mind began to swirl in chaos.


    (What the fuck, what in the hells going on? That thing flew directly into me but I''m not injured in the slightest. Not only that, but all the wounds I sustained in battle, their all gone.)


    Lowen shut his eyes and again sensed his body''s state but still felt nothing wrong or out of place. It was then, that again he remembered how something felt weird within his mind. Lowen once more began to circulate his ki and concentrated to his utmost on his mind.


    (How, how could I have forgotten something that literally just happened a minute ago.)


    The man looked at Lowen curiously and wondered why he hadn''t said anything for a while but noticed he was trying to concentrate and decided to simply wait. It seemed that whatever Lowen was doing, it was important.


    As Lowen continued to circulate his ki and sense his mind, Lowen heightened his senses and focused, that''s when he felt it. There was a small undulating pulse of power in his mind. Lowen concentrated harder and harder on this small spot and finally, he caught a glimpse of it, it was there, buried in the recesses of his mind, like a thought that you couldn''t shake, it was there. A purple chunk made out of some unidentifiable material covered in hundreds, no thousands of intricate inscriptions. It was this chunk that tried to make him forget. Lowen extended a small feeler of ki towards that purple chunk. Just as his ki was about to make contact, Lowen felt a huge suction force coming from the purple chunk and his ki was, surprisingly absorbed. It didn''t stop there though, the purple chunk kept absorbing Lowen''s ki and as it did, like a black hole, it began sucking in his energy at a faster and faster rate. After only a few seconds it had absorbed all of Lowen''s ki before it immediately started to absorb his earth energy. Lowen started to grow panicked, if it could absorb both his ki and earth energy then what energy could it not absorb. Could it absorb the energy necessary for life? If this suction continued Lowen wondered if he might just die. Lowen immediately tore at his own earth energy, severing his connection to the purple chunk, seizing its absorption. The purple chunk, in return, began to pulse repeatedly, almost hypnotically. After a few seconds, the purple chunk stopped pulsing and tiny purple droplets of liquid formed on its surface. A few seconds later, they began to condense together and formed one full drop. The drop of liquid hung at the edge of the chunk for but a moment before it plummeted into Lowen''s mind and disappeared.


    *Drip*


    Even though this happened inside of Lowen''s head, Lowen was sure he could clearly hear that purple drop splashing somewhere within his mind.


    After that, Lowen felt a sudden chill spread across his entirety. It felt so cold it was almost hot and that feeling continued to amplify and build becoming painful. Just when Lowen reached his tolerance for that pain, it once more changed, giving him a soothing feeling, as though he were floating in a large warm lake. All of this happened within only a few seconds before disappearing entirely. Lowen''s eyes shot open and he abruptly stood up making the man in front of him jump back in surprise, had the man not been so surprised, he might have noticed a small glow of purple in Lowen''s eyes but since Lowen''s eyes were already purple, seeing this was already a difficult task. After only a moment the glow of purple had already receded and Lowen''s regular purple eyes remained.


    "Lowen are you ok now?"


    Lowen ignored these words for a moment and looked around, something had changed but he couldn''t tell what. Walking over to a boulder Lowen suddenly punched out.


    *Boom*


    The boulder exploded on contact sending large chunks of rock and debris in every direction. The man took a step back and looked at Lowen in wonder. Lowen, on the other hand, clenched his fist repeatedly and stared curiously at his hand.


    (So my strength hasn''t improved.)


    Lowen looked around the chamber and got into a stance. Suddenly he disappeared from sight and began running all around the chamber. Executing his shadow steps Lowen ran jumped and dashed in every direction. He was so fast that he ran along the wall for a few moments before returning back to the ground, finally stopping his steps. Looking in no place, in particular, Lowen''s thoughts were again on his body.


    (My speed hasn''t increased either, so then what has changed?)


    As Lowen was busy with thought, the man turned to him and started walking over.


    "Lowen, what''s going on with you? Is something wronnnnnnnnnn...."


    That''s when Lowen noticed it. Looking over, Lowen noticed the man''s words had yet to finish but he was still speaking, not only that the man had taken a step forward but his foot had yet to touch the ground. Lowen raised his hand and noticed that it too was slow. Suddenly, Like a puzzle coming together, Lowen''s thoughts snapped in place.


    (Time seems to be moving slower, no... that''s not right. My thoughts, it''s my thoughts that have become quicker. Everything seems so clear now.)


    Lowen''s body had not become stronger or faster and time hadn''t slowed, Lowen''s thought process had become a few times faster. Before The man could finish his sentence, Lowen finished it for him.


    "Nothings wrong, as a matter of fact, I feel great."


    "Ah, oh, is that so?"


    Lowen smiled happily while nodding his head up and down repeatedly.


    (I don''t know what this thing in my mind is but as long as I don''t allow it to absorb my energy willy nilly, it doesn''t seem to be too dangerous.)


    Feeling his mind, Lowen couldn''t feel that chunks physical form whatsoever. It was almost like a soul in the way that it existed but wasn''t an actual physical object. Lowen grew curious about the origin of this object but after a while, he gave up. He had never heard of anything like it and decided it would be best to search for clues later when he learned more about the world. Looking at the man Lowen noticed he was looking away awkwardly. Taking a step forward in curiosity, the man suddenly took a step back. Lowen was confused at first before the man pointed downward. Following where he pointed, Lowen noticed his once-tattered clothes were now nowhere to be seen, Lowen stood there buck naked. After all that wild movement and his clothes being in a terrible state already, they had torn off of him earlier. Looking at the man avoiding eye contact, Lowen couldn''t help but laugh wildly.


    "HAhahahahaha what wrong, never saw a pecker before."


    Lowen then began shaking his hips left and right, swinging his member back in forth while laughing. The man continued to look away awkwardly while whispering.


    "What''s wrong with this kid."


    The man then quickly looked around before finding Rize''s dead corpse, stripping him down he threw the clothes in Lowen''s face.


    "Kid wear this before you catch a cold."


    Lowen took the clothes appreciatively but continued to laugh uproariously. In his mind, he was still an old man and felt no shame whatsoever showing his soldier. After a few more moments Lowen''s laughter finally settled down and he put on Rize''s clothes. Although they were the enemies, Lowen felt nothing in particular about them, to him they were simply spoils of war. Remembering that Lowen ran over and picked up Colts earth bracelet and Rize''s sapphire ring, putting both on Lowen wanted to test them out but unfortunately there were still things that had to be done within this cave. Lowen picked up his sword and it wrapped around his arm. Picking up Colt''s damaged mace, Lowen looked at the man and said.


    "You ready?"


    The man nodded, he knew exactly what Lowen meant, there was still work to be done. The two left the chamber and the two made their way through the cave. Although all of the goblin soldiers had been killed, that didn''t mean all of the goblins were dead. There would still be goblins that weren''t fighters. This was the part Lowen didn''t like but unfortunately, it was absolutely necessary. As the two made their way through the cave, they slaughtered without mercy. Every goblin they found whether they be male, female, young or old, the two killed indiscriminately. Goblins never forget, so if these goblins were allowed to live, the possibility of them seeking revenge, even if it were 0.01% that chance was too great. The two finally cleared the whole cave killing hundreds upon hundreds and were surprised when they found hobgoblins but even they had to be ended.


    After they were all dead, the two made their way to the cells but when they got there they were both shocked. Lowen sensing the auras within the cells could immediately tell that only a third or so remained.


    (Did a few goblins come here knowing they were doomed and decided to kill as many as they could before the end.)


    Seeing the cells though, Lowen shook that thought away. If that were true then why did some cells have living people as well as dead and all the cells were still locked. The two quickly went into action and tore open every cell there. Lowen made his way into one of the cells and noticed the strangeness of those that were dead. None of them had any marks or wounds on their bodies yet they had died somehow. Lowen grabbed a distraught woman by the shoulders and shook her a bit, bringing her back to her senses.


    "What the hell happened here? Who killed them?"


    The woman, however, shook her head and with tears streaming down her face she trembled with fear and said.


    "They....they just all died."


    Lowen''s mind suddenly went back to Rize''s death. He remembered how he felt when Rize used his power on him. It was like his soul was leaving his body, add to the fact Rize had used that same power just before his death. Lowen couldn''t be 100% sure but that was the only thing that made sense. Lowen couldn''t help but think.


    (Was I too slow. If this was caused by Rize, why didn''t he use it on me or on this guy he tortured. He obviously has a deep-seated hatred with him and me yet we two are still alive, this doesn''t make sense. Could it be he couldn''t use his power on us.)


    Lowen had too many questions and barely any answers. If he was asked to explain what happened today, there would be plenty of places that were just left blank. In the end, Lowen could only sigh. He did everything he could but it wasn''t enough.


    (Is this considered a win?)

 Chapter 77: Hope

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    Lowen and the man led the remaining people out of the cave, in the end, there were a total of 132 survivors. 30 of them were young children both boys and girls while the rest were all women. When they made it outside and into the light they all couldn''t help but squinch their eyes painfully. After a few moments, their eyes adjusted to the sun and they could finally see who had rescued them. Seeing Lowen, most of them couldn''t believe it and were left in a daze. A child no older then any of the children here had somehow saved them all. Not only that, this young child had somehow defeated Rize and his soldiers. The thoughts of that ran through their heads all lead to one conclusion, Miracle. When the prisoners had just gotten over their initial shock, they then looked at their second rescuer and once more became shocked. One of them couldn''t help but shout when she saw this figure.


    "B...BENJAMIN!"


    Lowen looked at the man called Benjamin and his eyes widened in surprise.


    (No wonder, no wonder he looked familiar the first time I saw him. The way his face is shaped, that nose and those eyes. His face is closely related to Ben''s, no it is related to little Ben''s.)


    Lowen turned to Benjamin with a look of annoyance.


    "Are your kids named Nia and Ben?"


    The man hearing his children''s names from this powerful young one was confused. He didn''t understand how or why Lowen knew.


    "They are but how did you know that?"


    Lowen''s expression of annoyance didn''t change as he answered back.


    "You have Nia''s eyes and your face is shaped like Ben''s or rather they have your features I should say."


    Benjamin immediately grew excited, he ran over and grabbed Lowen by the shoulders and lifted him up in anticipation.


    "You, you know my kid''s? How? Why? Forget that, my kids are they doing ok? Are they still in Sento?"


    Ben rattled away with question after question and after each one, his voice got higher and higher and his hands began to tremble and shake, he was almost too afraid to know the answer. At the same time, his spit was starting to fly and some of it had even been sprayed in Lowen''s face causing him to grow impatient with anger. Lowen raised his hand above Benjamin''s head and with one quick chop, Lowen struck the very center of Benjamin''s forehead.


    *Whack*


    Benjamin immediately dropped Lowen and staggered backward, grasping his forehead in pain. He looked at Lowen with equal parts confusion and equal parts anger. With fury in his voice, he roared.


    "What the hell did you do that for?"


    Lowen in return yelled back.


    "You idiot, you were yelling and spitting in my face so of course I''m gonna hit you. Your lucky I didn''t do worse."


    "What, you hit me over something so trivial as a little bit of saliva. You had just mentioned my kids and you know i haven''t seen them in so long, so of courseI''mim gonna get excited, yet you hit me, what''s wrong with you?"


    Lowen became more and more annoyed the longer Benjamin spoke.


    "I don''t care what you''re excited about, don''t make others suffer for it and another thing, just when in the hell were you going to tell me your name or that your Nia and Ben''s dad. Were you just gonna wait until we bumped into each other at the dinner table?"


    Benjamin looked at Lowen in confusion before it suddenly clicked.


    "What you little brat, you''re staying at my house."


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    Benjamin''s words suddenly paused before he pointed accusingly at Lowen.


    "Did you... Did you touch my precious little girl?"


    To that question, Lowen''s head tilted to the side as he stared at Benjamin like he was an idiot.


    "What?"


    "Don''t what me, just answer me truthfully, did you touch my little girl?"


    To this, Lowen could only shake his head no. Although he was, in fact, an old man, this body of his, however, was only about 7 years old. Not only did he not think of Nia as a woman in any way shape or form, but the truth was, his body didn''t have any lustful desires at all. This body of his had yet to go through puberty and so he had no sex drive. Besides all of his powerful attributes, his body was still that of a child''s.


    "No, and to me, Nia is like a little sister."


    Benjamin stared at Lowen for a moment processing his words but could he believe someone so monstrous. It was then that Benjamin''s thought of something.


    "Nia is like a little sister, what the hell do you mean by that? The way you act and the way you speak, you don''t sound like a child at all and now you say my daughter is like a little sister to you, Just how old are you really?"


    Lowen realized his mistake he shouldn''t have said little sister but he also wondered if Benjamin was actually smart or not. That is until Benjamin''s next words left his mouth.


    "You, could you actually be a weird elf in disguise. You look like a child but in reality, your a 200-year-old short man going after peoples innocent daughters. You, you''re a fiend."


    Lowen once more grew angry at this idiots nonsense.


    "You''re not the brightest are you, but since your Nia and Ben''s dad I''ll let it go, so do me a favor and quit spouting bullshit."


    Lowen''s words had the opposite effect of what he wanted. To Benjamin the act of Lowen not denying it and then Lowen basically calling him stupid, the old short-fused Benjamin made his appearance and with a low shout, he leaped at Lowen.


    "Ah, you dare mess with my daughter."


    Swinging the wolf battle hammer at Lowen, Lowen easily avoided it. Benjamin wasn''t disparaged and continued forward, swinging and punching at air. Lowen with his quick steps would again and again easily avoid Benjamin''s strikes only increasing Benjamin''s anger.


    "You little shit, face me."


    Hearing Benjamin''s provocations, Lowen himself had quickly run out of patience. Why did he need to take this abuse? He had told Benjamin the truth and yet he still didn''t believe him. on top of that, it was Lowen who had rescued Benjamin and now he''s accusing him of foulness. Lowen''s eyes sharpened and as Benjamin rushed forward, Lowen went forward as well to intercept. Benjamin swung down at Lowen with a heavy force, not intending to kill but at least to teach Lowen a lesson. Lowen though was having none of it. As the hammer closed in on him, Lowen simply extended one hand.


    *Thud*


    The ground cracked under Lowen''s feet by an inch or so but he didn''t move back even half a step, yet the hammer had come to a complete stop. Benjamin was surprised, to say the least. He knew Lowen was strong but he hadn''t witnessed Lowen''s strength first hand. Seeing this now, however, Benjamin was feeling regret but he couldn''t stop with his daughter''s innocence on the line. Benjamin prepared for another strike and went to pull the heavy hammer back but again was shocked to find he couldn''t budge it even an inch. Lowen smiled at him smugly before lifting his other hand and throwing out a simple punch.


    *THUD*


    Benjamin''s body was separated from the heavy battle hammer and he was sent flying more than 20 ft. As his body crashed into the ground, it was only now that he realized just how strong Lowen truly was. Looking down at his chest, Benjamin could feel that a few of his ribs had been cracked. A strong taste of metal filled his mouth as he spit a bit of blood onto the ground. Standing up, Benjamin looked at Lowen wearily as cold sweat poured from his brow. All of the surrounding people were astonished, they could now believe that Lowen had truly been the one that saved them.


    As an awkward silence began to fill the air, it was then that Roland had made his way over. Seeing the two fighting, Roland had wanted to stop them immediately but before he could say anything it was already over. Standing in front of Lowen, Roland asked.


    "Is it done?"


    Lowen gave a small nod.


    "It''s over, Rize and his plans are no more, we won."


    Roland, hearing these words felt his legs grow weak as a wave of relief washed over him. Roland now felt incredibly tired and yet still he held onto some guilt. Roland shifted his gaze at Benjamin and he instantly knew why. Before he could deal with it though, a few people were running over to him while crying.


    "Chief, you came for us."


    "Chief, this boy saved us."


    Again and again, calls for their Chief echoed out as the few villagers that were from Sento recognized their leader. Roland looked over the crowd of women and children and could see they were desperate for something, for some form of comfort. Roland spread his arm out and the crowd''s murmurs became soft and quiet. Roland filled his voice with authority and spoke.


    "Everyone, I must say this to you here and now."


    Roland got down on his hands and knees and slammed his head into the ground hard.


    "IM SORRY!!"


    The women and children hearing this were left confused as Roland continued.


    "Kidnapped, beaten, broken, ravished, starved, all of this is my fault. I can never know the true extent at which you have all suffered and I know there''s no going back to normal after what you have all been through. But I swear this here and now, no matter what, you are still my people and I will always take care of you."


    As Roland''s words continued, the women and children began to collapse to their knees in anguish and grief. Every one of them broke out into tears and cried painfully. They had suffered untold horrors never knowing why or how they came to be there, only knowing that there was their personal hell. After a while, their hearts had closed them selfs off, they couldn''t allow themselves to feel or the thoughts and feelings would drive them to insanity. Now though, Roland was giving them the one thing they truly wished for, hope, a hope of something, a hope of anything. Many had witnessed their husbands killed as they lay in bed next to them. Many had been separated from all those they cared about for an entire year. They couldn''t ask for normal, they couldn''t ask for anything but despite that Roland had given them something greater, hope.


    As Roland finished his words the crying slowly died down and there was a long silence. Finally, Roland felt a frail touch upon his shoulder, slowly lifting his head, a thin woman looked at him. As a small smile weakly spread across her face the woman''s thin lips parted and she said.


    "I forgive you."


    Lowen didn''t know what to make of this situation. Roland had seemingly become a different person over these last few months but Lowen still wasn''t sure if he had truly changed. Seeing this now, hearing his heartfelt words, Lowen believed. Even if he didn''t want to, there was no denying it.


    Roland slowly stood up and made his way over to Benjamin, there was still one more thing he had to do. Roland and Benjamin walked a little bit away and Roland told Benjamin everything about how his kids were treated and how he did nothing to stop it. Benjamin''s became furious at first but then he realized something, this whole situation was mostly his fault. Not only that, his kids from Roland had said were now doing better than everyone else in the whole village thanks to Lowen. Benjamin had been through hell but he somehow made it out alive and his kids were safe what more could he ask for. Benjamin punched Roland hard in the face breaking his nose, sending him to the ground. As Roland stared up at Benjamin fearfully, Benjamin then extended his hand and helped him up.


    "I forgive you."


    After the two came back and people saw Roland''s bloody face, they were immediately alarmed but after a quick explanation, everything was settled.


    Lowen went back into the cave in search of some food for everyone, if they were to make the 2 and half day journey back to Sento then they would need rations. Inside, Lowen had found all the food they needed and then some. This place had to feed more than a thousand goblins, so of course, there was enough. As Lowen made his way around the cave, he had also found Rize''s personal dwelling, inside he found a few jewels and around 300 gold coins but to Lowen, his biggest discovery was the notes left behind by Rize. Inside one of the notes, in particular, Rize had mentioned that purple chunk. Lowen had now found a clue. After quickly stuffing it into his chest pocket, Lowen once more left the cave.


    ---------------------------------


    After having a meal, almost everyone had now fallen asleep. After being freed from that cave and then after who knows how long being allowed to eat to their fill and after running through all of those emotions, everyone became exhausted. As the people around him slept, only Lowen, Roland, and Benjamin were now awake. Looking at the tattered state everyone was in, a sudden thought came to Lowen.


    (Now that I''m in the aura body stage, I can truly extend my ki outside of my body, I wonder.)


    Lowen sat in the meditative position and slowly circulated his ki. In conjunction with his earth energy, Lowen extended his power to everyone around him and with a thought, he began to heal everyone. If he were just at aura body stage this might not be possible but after that purple chunk gifted his mind with that powerful energy, Lowen''s thought process ad doubled or possibly even tripled. He could now split his thoughts even more and control his power, allowing him to heal multiple people around him at once. After a few minutes Lowen would heal 3 more people around him and when he was finished he would heal three more. In this way, Lowen quickly healed them all. Roland could feel Lowen''s strange energy enveloping people but thought nothing of it as it only seemed to help. After only glancing at him for a few moments, Roland went about his own business and ignored it.


    Benjamin, seeing that Lowen was busy, still held some gripe with him and thought this to be the perfect moment to go and bug him. Walking over, Benjamin sat down right in front of Lowen with a heavy.. *Thump* Lowen already knew his intentions and instead took the initiative and spoke.


    "I didn''t touch your daughter, she''s like a sister to me and I would never do anything to cross that line."


    Benjamin was briefly taken aback and for a moment he was silent. Thinking over what Roland told him, he knew that it was Lowen who had not only saved his kids but had taken care of them and protected them for over half a year. Benjamin looked curiously at Lowen and then said.


    "You swear?"


    Lowen opened both of his eyes and stared at Benjamin with all seriousness.


    "I swear."


    Benjamin released a long sigh and said.


    "Thank you."


    "For what?"


    "For looking after my kids, Roland told me what you did."


    Lowen said no words and instead simply nodded.


    Once again, silence filled the air but only for a moment.


    "Lowen."


    "What?"


    Benjamin paused for a second and stared at Lowen with puppy dog eyes. Lowen was shocked for a moment because little Ben had made those exact same eyes when he wanted snowberry juice. Seeing little Ben do it was cute but seeing Benjamin do it was absolutely disgusting. Lowen scooted backward a few feet and again reiterated.


    "What? What is it? What the hell do you want? You''re creeping me out."


    Benjamin took no offense to this and continued looking at Lowen with puppy dog eyes. Finally, he said in a shy voice.


    "My hammer, can...can you please give it back."


    Lowen almost fell over in aggravation.


    (That''s what he wanted, Damn this man is greedy.)


    Lowen looked at Benjamin and quickly tucked the hammer behind himself and said.


    "No way old man, finders keepers."


    Benjamin''s mood quickly switched from one of a beggar to a demonic beast and he yelled at Lowen trying to explain.


    "You little shit, I lost that because of Rize, its still mine so hand it over."


    Benjamin lunged at Lowen and Lowen quickly stepped back.


    "You lost this more than a year ago, its mine now, so get your own."


    The two began arguing louder and louder, waking everyone up. Just as it looked as if it were getting serious, Lowen struck down with a chop to Benjamin''s forehead.


    *THUD*


    Benjamin slammed into the ground face first, he was out cold.

 Chapter 78: Reunion

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    Bren''s eyes jumped opened in a panic and he swiftly made it to his feet. Looking around in confusion, he saw many people around him happily eating near a campfire while chatting about the future. Suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder sending a chill of fright up his spine. Turning around, Bren was about to send this attacker away with one punch before he noticed who it was. Collapsing on the ground, tears started to stream down as Bren began to cry.


    "Nephew, young nephew you''re alive. Thank the heavens, thank the gods."


    Clovis gave a weary smile and pointed at Lowen.


    "It was Lowen, he saved us all."


    After settling down, Bren learned of what happened and was left shuddering. The events that played out and this conclusion, Bren stared at Lowen as though he were a monster. He couldn''t help but tremble a bit, glad that Lowen was not his enemy. Clovis as well agreed with that sentiment, if Lowen and he were to become enemies, at that time there would be 1 option for him...run.


    After a while, both Clovis and Bren made their way over to Lowen and sat down. Even though Roland had told them exactly what Lowen did, they still felt they should hear it all first hand from him. So after asking, Lowen once more went over everything, well, everything except that purple fragment. Hearing Lowen''s words, the two gulped in fear, if it weren''t for Lowen then both of them would have suffered a fate far worse then death. Clovis, just remembering the torture he''d been through, even though it was less than a day, that had been more than enough suffering for a lifetime. Clovis collapsed to his knees and bowed his head, knocking it hard on the ground 3 times. Bren seeing this quickly followed and at the same time they both said.


    "Thank you."


    Looking up, they actually saw that Lowen had a depressed look. Shaking his head he said.


    "Don''t thank me. I won but I didn''t win."


    Clovis and Bren looked at Lowen in confusion for a moment before Lowen pulled out a few worn pieces of parchment from his chest pocket and passed them over.


    "It seems Rize''s grasp and plans were far more advanced then we were led to believe."


    Clovis took the parchments and carefully unfolded them. Reading the word after word, Clovis''s expression began to pale further and further and after he read the few notes he proceeded to reread them 3 more times. By the time he was finished, he looked as though he had aged a few years. His eyes had dulled and his and he shook his head back and forth. His shoulders slumped down and the notes fell from his hand. Bren looked at Clovis with worry and grabbed his shoulders shaking him.


    "Nephew, what''s wrong? What did it say?"


    With no reply, Bren picked up the notes and read through them before he began shouting.


    "What the hell, How? What does this even mean?"


    Hearing the commotion, everyone gathered started looking over with both worry and confusion, that''s when Lowen quickly grabbed his shoulder and applied a bit of force, not to hurt him but instead to get his attention.


    "Old man, look around, you''re scaring them."


    Bren noticed how agitated he was acting and after looking around, he saw the frightened expressions on all of the women and children. With a deep breath, he soon calmed himself.


    "I''m sorry, after reading that, I just suddenly felt overwhelmed, I''m better now."


    Lowen relaxed his grip and stood in front of Clovis. Putting his fingers next to Clovis''s head, Lowen put a little strength into his finger and gave a loud snap.


    *SNAP*


    Clovis jumped in alarm at this sudden loud snap before he finally regained some focus.


    "Are you with us again?"


    Clovis nodded, taking the notes back from his uncle, he then gently put them away.


    "Lowen, what do you think about what''s written? Do you think its true?"


    Clovis and Bren both leaned in, to the outside this would look like two adults faking interest towards a child''s story but in actual fact, these two took Lowen''s opinion with all seriousness. Lowen cleared his throat and simply spoke truthfully.


    "I believe everything written in there is true."


    Both uncle and nephew inhaled a cold breath before once more Bren seemed to get agitated.


    "Why, if this is true it will rock the foundations of the kingdom. It can''t be, it just can''t."


    Clovis grabbed his uncle and gave him a look and Bren settled down. Clovis nodded at Lowen to continue.


    "When Rize used his abilities on me, I felt my soul being torn away from my body and once your soul is gone, your body becomes nothing more than a shell. That is a living death and with a bit more, its just a small step away from true death. Before I finished Rize all the way off, he drained the rest of the power from the crystals in the cave and he used his ability one last time. By the time I got to the cells, many of the people inside were already dead with no visible wounds. After reading his notes, I''ve come to the conclusion that it was, in fact, his power that did it. After speaking with all of the survivors, I found out that none of them suffered that torture you did Clovis, it seems that only when Rize is going to take complete control over someone will he use that torture device. Going further in-depth, I also found out that the ones that had died were tortured in that diabolical way. After everything is said and done, I believe that only those who Rize had complete control over were killed with his ability, he severed there soul from their bodies and then killed them. The main reason I believe this is because of both me and him."


    Lowen extended a finger and pointed it at a sour looking Benjamin, who was glaring hatefully at Lowen while gnawing on a large leg of meat. Bren looked between the two and asked.


    "Why?"


    Lowen looked into the fire for a moment before looking back up at Bren and Clovis.


    "Hate.....pure unadulterated hate. Of course, he hated me, I was the one who was killing him but from what I''m told and then seeing the scars on Benjamin''s body, the hate he felt for Benjamin was absolute, yet, in his final moments, he decided to kill women, soldiers, merchants, and nobles. Benjamin had been imprisoned for more than a year and yet after being tortured again and again and again, his mind never collapsed nor broke. Rize was never able to take control of Benjamin, his most hated enemy. Because of this, his ability to kill with his mind didn''t work on Benjamin nor on me. To me, this is the only thing that makes any sense. So when you read through his notes, out of the hundreds of those names, I could see a few that had last names attached to them. Only nobles or those with a certain level of wealth and power are allowed to have last names. If he already had gotten to them, that would mean some of the nobles of your kingdom may have been influenced, I doubt it though."


    This time it was Clovis who grew agitated.


    "Why do you doubt it? He almost got to me and I can at least defend my self I''m sure he''s gotten to some nobles."


    Lowen shook his head.


    "If he did get to any of them, then they should be low ranked nobles with no authority, otherwise he wouldn''t have aimed for you. The whole point of taking you was so he could by more time for his army to grow. If he had control over any nobles with actual power then he wouldn''t need you. I think the best way to confirm this would be to for someone to go to Jizhen, in the notes, there are several hundred names from that small town alone."Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Bren and Clovis looked at one another before quickly coming to a decision. Bren gave a small nod to his nephew and then disappeared, headed for Jizhen.


    If what was written in Rize''s notes were true, that would mean a few nobles may have already died. The turmoil that would be brewing once brought to light, could be catastrophic.


    Several hours later, Bren had returned and confirmed the disaster. More than 300 people had suddenly died in Jizhen all at the exact same time. Not only that, Bren had also gotten reports from a few towns over indicating that Rize''s reach was even further, in total, 4 towns had been affected as well as several villages amounting to nearly 1200 dead. This number shocked everyone. Rize had somehow gotten to that many people and took control of them all within a year and then replanted them back into society. Essentially, he had 1200 people who were unknowingly his spies. If Lowen hadn''t stepped in when he did, this truly could have felled Rhylo Kingdom and beyond. Clovis quickly got to work, taking a few pieces of parchment from Rize''s room, he made himself a copy of every name in Rize''s notes then jotted down a report and important information. Giving the report to Bren as well as Rize''s own notes, he sent Bren straight to the capital. Normally it would take someone 2 and a half to 3 months but with Bren''s speed, he should be able to arrive within 2 weeks. With Bren racing away, Clovis shook Lowen''s hand.


    "Lowen, I''m sorry but I have to leave immediately. I don''t think I can ever repay you for saving my life....but if you ever need anything, anything at all, I''ll be in the capitol waiting. Thank you."


    Clovis then turned and raced off. He was going to go to every village and town along the way back to the capital to access all of the damage and verify every name he could. Of the list of names, he recognized one important one to him and whispered in his heart.


    (Please, please be alive.)


    -----------------------------------------


    The next morning, everyone was starting to become excited. After going through all of the horrible experiences and finally coming out on the other side once more free, the group of women and children couldn''t help but feel worked up and nervous.


    Packing all the food and other essentials from the cave, in total there were around 3,000 pounds in food alone. Lowen and Benjamin had to extract chains from within the cave just to tie everything up. After everything was said and done, Lowen, along with Roland in the middle of the group and Benjamin at the back for protection, made their way back home, back to Sento village.


    _____________________________


    3 days later.


    Many villagers were going about there day as usual when they suddenly heard something in the distance.


    *Crack*


    At first, they were surprised by the sudden noise but nothing more than that. However, only a few seconds later they heard it again, this time with more clarity.


    *CRack*


    And again.


    CRAck*


    The sound was actually getting closer and closer to the village causing people to grow panicked.


    *CRACk*


    Soon, whatever was coming towards the village appeared only a few hundred feet away.


    *CRACK*


    Everyone was running around like a chicken without ahead until someone gave a loud shout.


    "BIG BRO!"


    Little Ben could be seen jumping up and down on someone''s roof before a punch suddenly landed on his head.


    "Ben, how many times do I have to tell you not to climb on someone''s roof."


    Ben rubbed his head painfully before pointing accusingly at Nia.


    "But big sis, you''re on the roof with me."


    Nia looked at the roof under her feet and her cheeks went red from embarrassment. She quickly hit Ben on the head again before grabbing him up under her arm and jumping down 10 feet to the ground. Landing perfectly, she dropped Ben on the ground like a sack of potatoes before running off in the direction of the village entrance. Ben seeing this jumped to his feet and yelled.


    "No fair, I want to see big bro first."


    Little Ben executed his shadow steps and raced after Nia''s back.


    Looking at the approaching Lowen, people from the village could no longer be shocked at the things he would do, instead, he looked incredibly silly. As Lowen made his way over, on his back he carried a huge bundle of something. It was more than 16 ft wide and nearly 12 ft tall, bound in thick chains. Seeing someone so small carrying something so huge, looked absolutely ridiculous. The villagers thought they could no longer be shocked by Lowen but in the very next moment, many of their jaws dropped. Looking at the ground, every step Lowen took, the hard ground would crack and sink a few inches in. Whatever Lowen carried was heavy enough to break the ground with each step. Normally something that was only a few pounds wouldn''t necessarily break the ground, Lowen, however, was tiny, so all of the weight was concentrated on one of his feet at a time.


    Reaching the entrance of the village, Nia and Ben were already there waiting for him. Lowen lifted the chains from his shoulders and dropped the bundle to the ground.


    *THUD*


    The large bundle of food became unbound and spilled out onto the ground. The eyes of the villagers instantly widened with surprise and delight. Many couldn''t help but lick their lips. It was then that another villager yelled out.


    "AMY! AMY is that you, your alive."


    The large bundle had completely blocked everyone else''s vision of the many people behind Lowen but once it fell and spilled over, it was only now that the villagers noticed all of the people. Suddenly more and more shouts echoed out.


    "My baby boy, John is that you, it''s me mommy do you remember me?"


    A small boy ran by Lowen shouting.


    "Mommy mommy!"


    The elders had come over to see what all the commotion was but when one of the elders spotted two children, his voice trembled as he roared.


    "Katie, Sam!"


    The two kids in return ran at the elder while shouting.


    "Grandpa grandpa!"


    The elder of the village and the two grandchildren embraced one another while crying out joyfully.


    This happened many more times as Lowen had rescued around 50 people from Sento village.


    After a while, Benjamin had made his way over. Standing next to Lowen, he smiled at the two young children in front of him. Nia and Ben seeing their father instantly jumped at him and almost knocked him off of his feet surprising him. The two began to wail out emotionally as they buried their faces in his chest. Benjamin held them tenderly and rubbed their backs softly. The demeanor in which he showed Lowen and his kids were like night and day. As the two continued to cry, Benjamin whispered to them gently.


    "My little monsters, I''m sorry it took daddy so long to come back but...I''m home."


    Hearing their fathers voice for the first time in over a year and a half, the two couldn''t believe it was real and squeezed their father tighter and tighter, once more surprising him. Eventually little Ben picked his dad up and then Nia proceeded to pick both of them up, hugging them both tight.


    (This strength, my little monsters really are monsters now. Damn brat, what did you do to my babies?)


    Finally, after a while, Nia put the two down and little Ben put his father down and the three separated. Benjamin picked little Ben up and gently stroked Nia''s cheek, once more tears fell.


    "Nia, Ben lets go."


    Walking into the village Benjamin headed to his house but was saddened when he found that it had become nothing more than rubble long ago. Nia then brought him to the shack they had been staying in and Benjamin immediately grew furious, Nia though quickly quelled his anger.


    "Dad it doesn''t matter anymore, none of it matters. Your alive, we''re alive and so is Lowen. As long as we''re together we''ll be fine."


    Benjamin''s thoughts were elsewhere. At first, he was truly mad about his house and things like that but what he cared most about were his kids. Seeing them, he was amazed at how well they were doing and surprised at their strength but at the same time, he was a little annoyed at the mention of Lowen. His daughter said they would be fine as long as Lowen was together with them. It was then that Lowen walked over.


    (Damn this boy, did he brainwash my kids? Don''t tell me he has some power like Rize and he took control of them. He''s even still walking around with my hammer. Taking my kids and even my wolf hammer, damn this brat.)


    "Benjamin, I want to talk with you. Do you have a moment?"


    Lowen wanted to talk someplace a little more private but Benjamin was for some reason acting stubborn, so Lowen just said what he wanted to say.


    "I''m leaving for the capitol."


    Hearing these words, Nia and Ben suddenly started to panic while Benjamin became gleeful on the inside, he quickly said.


    "Oh, is that so, well good luck to ya then."


    Nia and Ben''s hearts dropped to the pit of their stomachs, little ben started shouting.


    "NO, NO, BIG BRO CAN''T LEAVE YOU CAN''T!"


    Nia''s body trembled and she quickly grabbed Lowen''s arm and refused to let go. Lowen looked at the two siblings and smiled at them warmly.


    "Nia, Ben, I have to go."


    Ben once more shouted.


    "Why! Why does big bro have to leave? Why can''t you stay."


    Lowen didn''t hesitate.


    "Strength, unyielding power, wealth and knowledge, these are what I need to attain and in the capital, there''s an opportunity to gain them all.


    Nia finally couldn''t hold it in any longer and spoke with tears streaming down her face.


    "Why do you need those things? Can''t you stay with us instead?


    "I fought tooth and nail with Rize, I seemingly held more advantages than him and yet I was still almost defeated. I can''t allow that to happen again, I won''t allow that to happen again. So I have to get stronger and I have to get smarter and in order to do that I''ll need both wealth and knowledge."


    Listening to Lowen, his words truly made sense and yet Nia and Ben both had this indescribable pain within there chest. Benjamin looked over at his kids and could feel their pain. He couldn''t help but gulp dryly wondering if he should just go with the boy. Everything he once had was now gone, the only thing left was his kids so what was stopping him from just taking them with him and tagging along. For some reason though, Benjamin just couldn''t make the first move. This is when Lowen finished his words.


    "As for staying with you, well we''ll be together as long as you guys come with me right?"


    Nia and Ben''s mind suddenly reeled with confusion, it was only after a minute or so that the gears began to turn again and they both shouted.


    "EHHHH!"


    "You, you, you mean we can go with you? We can be together?"


    Lowen gave a small nod.


    "That is if your father agrees."


    Nia and Ben''s necks sharply turned to there father and they stared up at him in anticipation. Nia''s eyes watered while little Ben''s pulled out his famous puppy eyes. Benjamin wanted to agree he truly did but for him to just say yes, what kind of example would that be if he simply agrees. Nia and Ben saw their father hesitating and tears began to flow down their faces as they both said.


    "Dad, Please."


    Benjamin desperately wanted to make his children happy but still couldn''t initiate it that''s when he looked over at Lowen and saw his hammer in Lowen''s grasp.


    "My, my hammer, give me my hammer and I''ll know that you''re trustworthy and that you have an honest heart. If you can return a treasured hammer to a man that lost it over a year ago it will show that your truly a good person who doesn''t covet things that aren''t his, only then would I be able to trust you."


    Benjamin couldn''t help but smile inwardly.


    (Hehe, I just came up with that bullshit on the spot but if he refuses then I won''t be the bad guy but if he accepts I get my hammer and I''ll go to the capital anyway, hehe its a win-win.)


    Nia and Ben stared at Lowen and wondered if he would give up a treasure for them but before their thoughts could run wild, Lowen took the hammer and tossed it to Benjamin with no hesitation whatsoever. Benjamin caught his hammer with surprise and stared at Lowen for a brief moment.


    (He really does care for my children.)


    Little Ben pulled at his dad''s sleeve repeatedly and looked up at him with those puppy dog eyes.


    "Dad, does this mean we can go?"


    Benjamin seeing this face had no resistance and quickly nodded.


    "Yes."


    Nia and Ben hugged each other and jumped up and down in joy. Because of their great strength, the two began jumping 3 to 4 feet up into the air, once more surprising Benjamin.


    After that, they gave the small shack to lucy and headed for the village exit. Packing some of the food with them, they were ready to leave when someone came running up behind them. Luna ran over with a steady speed and collapsed in front of the four of them and in panted breaths she said.


    "Wait, please wait."


    After a moment Luna finally caught her breath.


    "Can I go with you?"


    The three gave a collective look before Lowen spoke.


    "Go with us, how did you even know we were leaving?"


    Luna then explained how she had come by to drop off more food for them when Lucy had told her that they had suddenly decided to leave and gave her the shack. After that, she shoved the food into Lucy''s hands and ran here as fast as she could.


    "So please, will you take me with you?"


    Lowen looked at the other three and they all had the same look of confusion.


    "Why do you want to go to the capital?"


    Luna shook her head.


    "I don''t care about the capital I just can''t live here anymore there''s nothing left for me here. I feel like if I don''t leave here and now, I''ll simply go crazy."


    Everyone looked at each other once more. Adding another person didn''t really matter but the fact that she can''t really defend herself would become a bother but then Lowen remembered.


    "It''s not like we can''t let you come but you''ll have to do something for me."


    Lowen then stared greedily at Luna causing her to reflexively step back in fright. She covered her chest with both of her hands and with a shaky voice she asked.


    "Wh...what do you want?"


    Lowen smiled innocently at her and said.


    "Teach me how to cook."


    Both Nia and Ben broke out into wild laughter, while Benjamin thought.


    (This kid is too weird.)


    Luna''s shoulders relaxed and she released a sigh of relief. With a simple nod, she agreed.


    Just like that, with no goodbyes and no more thoughts for this small village of Sento, the 5 slowly walked away and left, headed off for the capital of Rhylo Kingdom.


    ----------------------------------------------


    End of volume 1


    <h4> </h4>


    Volume 2 will be a patreon only exclusive. For just 2$ a month you will have access to 2 chapters every week, that''s only 25 cents a chapter. I hope you guys will support me and this awesome novel, Thank you.


    https://www.patreon.com/UnderTheBlue

 Vol[2]Chapter#1 The Journey Begins

    Before Lowen and the others left the mountain range, Lowen had to stop by one place first. Lowen had been in such a hurry and had been caught up in the moment, that he completely forgot to pay old man Sid for letting him borrow the statues. Lowen felt slightly embarrassed, telling Nia and Ben he forgot something but in the end, he went back and got the desired payment, Mammoth Boar Hairs. Running over to old man Sid''s place, Lowen arrived in only a few seconds. After giving Sid his payment, Sid grinned from ear to ear. Lowen handed over the 3 cores he borrowed with hesitation, only after a few seconds could he actually release them.


    "Sid, would you be willing to part with these cores?"


    Sid snatched his cores from Lowen and smiled wider.


    "Now why in the hell would I go and do something like that, hehe."


    Lowen reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a pouch he had found in Rize''s cave. Opening it up, he showed Sid 300 bright pieces of gold as well as a handful of colorful jewels.


    "Those cores really helped me and I''d gladly give you all of this for them, so what do you say?"


    To this response, Sid snapped his fingers and a statue walked over with a huge chest. The statue then dropped the chest in front of Lowen and swung open the lid. Inside, it was completely filled with huge chunks of gold, crystals and even bigger jewels then what Lowen had offered. Sid cranked his head back and laughed wildly.


    "Hehehe, what do you think I''ve been doing in this mountain beside making statues, hehe. My wealth can last several lifetimes and then some, so your measly bit of gold, hmph you can keep it, I''m not trading."


    Lowen stared with wide eyes, he had only seen this much wealth a few times in his past life as a royal guard but never was it his own wealth. Lowen couldn''t help but gulp down a bit of saliva that had built up within his mouth. Lowen and Sid made eye contact and Sid could see the desire in Lowen''s eyes and was a bit surprised.


    (This kid, he''s practically drooling, hehehe.)


    Lowen noticed his thoughts wondering and quickly regained his composure.


    "So there''s nothing you would trade for them?"


    Old man Sid rubbed his chin for a moment before his eyes flashed with a tinge of greed and said.


    "Your technique, are you still being stingy with it or do you actually want to make a deal?"


    Lowen immediately shook his head in refusal, that was one thing he would not bargain with. Lowen could see the two were not going to reach an agreement and turned to leave. Sid raised his voice a bit as Lowen was halfway out the door.


    "You still won''t share your technique with me, well fine then. Next time you''re in trouble, don''t come running to me for help you ungrateful brat.....Do you know why I won''t give you any of my cores..."


    Lowen was still leaving when Sid''s words intrigued him but still, he kept walking.


    "Hmph, you''ll know soon enough. You saw the inscriptions on my cores. Just wait till you get to any city and you try to buy a statue core, then you''ll know why mine can''t be bought. At that time you''ll thank me that I didn''t sell you anything, hehe."


    Lowen didn''t understand what Sid meant by that and he didn''t really care. If Sid didn''t want to sell then he didn''t want to sell. Beyond that, it was a waste of Lowen''s time and energy.


    ----------------------------------


    Lowen quickly caught up with everyone and their journey soon continued. No one asked Lowen what his business was but seeing the curious looks on both Nia and Ben''s face, Lowen told them about the statue cores he wanted and how Sid refused. Ben then chimed in.


    "Big bro, you should have beat him up and taken them, that stinky old man was so mean last time and took our meat, damn that meat thief."


    Everyone looked at Ben and started laughing. This kid was still caught up on the meat that was stolen from them when they had first visited old man Sid. Lowen remembered that time and couldn''t help but think.


    (Hahaha, when it comes to food, little Ben sure will hold a grudge. I better remember to never take any food from him, hahaha.)


    Nia gave Ben a punch on the head.


    "Ben, you can''t beat someone over every little grievance. With that kind of attitude, you''ll be no better than a thug."Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Ben rubbed the top of his head painfully before he whispered out his own grievances.


    "But big sis, you just hit me over something little, doesn''t that make you a thug."


    Even though these words were whispered, everyone still heard it and Benjamin, Lowen, and Luna once more broke out into a burst of loud laughter. Nia''s cheeks flushed red in embarrassment and using her snake fist, she threw a punch at little Ben, once more aiming for his head but how could he not see the same move coming twice. With his shadow steps, Ben''s feet pivoted and his body jumped sideways, easily avoiding Nia''s attack. Nia used her own shadow steps and quickly gave chase, in this way, two children were seen moving around at an incredible speed, one in which children should clearly not be capable of.


    Benjamin saw this and he was surprised, to say the least. He knew that his children were stronger but he didn''t know they were fast as well and looking at their moves, they were clearly an imitation of what he had seen Lowen use.


    (What the hell are those moves. So this brat really did do something to my babies but how can I be upset that they can do these things. Damn, should I just ask?)


    Benjamin shook that thought away though. This was obviously some secret that Lowen had taught them and he couldn''t ask his kids, that would put them under undue pressure and after Benjamin was freed from Rize''s cave, he told himself he would never again be a detriment to his children. The other side of that would be to ask Lowen. To Benjamin though, his pride as a man wouldn''t allow it. With these conflicting thoughts, Benjamin could only remain quiet. If Lowen ever trusted him enough to tell him then although that was annoying, that was simply the way it goes.


    Luna saw these kids moving like shadows and inhaled a deep breath, this was truly amazing. She had seen it many times before but still, to see children do this was quite the unique experience. She wondered if she could learn such moves and then she too got rid of such thoughts. For a woman in her 40''s to be hopping around like a rabbit, the behavior seemed almost shameful to her.


    As the two continued to move, Lowen nodded in admiration. These two siblings, with the help of Lowen, were progressing at a rapid rate. With the help of Lowen, he was sure that he could get them to the second stage within a few years. To reach the aura body stage they would not only need to deal with excruciating pain but they would also have to be able to control their ki at a masterful level. In Lowen''s previous world, usually a master would help you along with this process but Lowen had to do it by himself. With him here to help, he could pressure their ki seeds condensing and crushing it, quickening their advancement.


    Looking at the way Nia moved, Lowen felt a tinge of pride. Although her movements were elegant, the power she could produce with her strikes were splendid, making her snake fist quite destructive. Ben though was the opposite, his movements were more agitated but with his instincts at such a high level, it made his shadow steps unbelievably quick. When it came to the two, little Ben''s speed was faster then Nia in every way but Nia was both stronger and her body''s defense was tougher. Nia moved with thought and planning, while Ben moved instinctually. Lowen wondered how the two would fare against each other when they both reach their full potential.


    After a day of the two siblings running around playing cat and mouse, the group had reached an empty clearing where they could camp for the night. It was at this time when Luna went into action. Luna walked into the forest with Lowen, Nia, and Ben in tow and started to search. Looking high and low, Luna began grabbing ingredients. Sometimes she would pick a few pieces of grass and give it a quick sniff before throwing it away. After doing this several times, she seemed to find the correct one. Giving it a small sniff, she then nodded her head in delight and stuffed it into a basket she carried. Grabbing a few red leaves here and a brown flower there, In this way, Luna gathered more and more ingredients until she finally showed a satisfied expression. Turning to the three followers, she said.


    "Lets cook."


    At first, Lowen didn''t understand what she would do with flowers and grass and stuff but as Luna started cooking, it became all too clear.


    "So after you crush these pieces of grass, a bit of its juice can be extracted which gives this soup a nice base. After that, you put these red raja leaves in and allow your soup to boil. After 15 minutes you quell the flames a bit, which will reduce the heat to a nice simmer. That''s when you cover it with a lid and let it cook down for another 10 minutes. Once that''s done, you then remove it from the heat and with a spoon or a ladle, you remove the remains of the red raja leaves and its done. Piping hot and ready to eat."


    Lowen and Ben both became curious.


    "Hmm, you don''t eat the leaves, then why add them in?"


    "Yea, yea, why do you even need them then?"


    Having these kids be so curious about her cooking, made her heart grow warm and her expression brightened.


    "Well, the leaves when cooked release a deep flavor into the soup but the leaves themselves are actually bitter in taste. Leaving them adds nothing and if you were to take a bite of one during a meal, well, that could only end in disappointment."


    ----------------------------------


    After a delicious meal, everyone sat around the campfire patting their stomachs in satisfaction. Benjamin was about to ask his kids how they were doing when he noticed their strange behavior. Nia and Ben were both sitting with legs crossed and eyes shut, almost as though they were asleep. Benjamin wanted to say something but Lowen quickly stopped him and whispered.


    "Their practicing right now and they need focus, so let''s not disturb them."


    Benjamin was a little annoyed with Lowen.


    (Who is he to tell me when I can or can''t speak to my kids?)


    But noticing that they really did seem to be focusing, Benjamin grumbled a few times before finally sitting down and glaring at Lowen with displeasure.


    Lowen, however, could care less, instead, since he wasn''t busy, he''d much rather be going over Rize''s notes. Lowen reached into one of his chest pockets and pulled a few pieces of worn parchment out. Earlier, Lowen had no chance to read any of these notes due to the situation and the fact that so much was going on all at once. Because of this, he had only caught a few glimpses at what was written. Now, however, he was completely free. Reading Rize''s first few words, Lowen became intrigued.


    [The gods laughed when they created goblins, I''m sure of it..... but now I have a chance.....no we have a chance. With this purple stone, will it be my fortune or my downfall?]

 Vol[2]Chapter#2 Rizes Notes

    Reading Rize''s first few words, Lowen became intrigued.


    [The gods laughed when they created goblins, I''m sure of it..... but now I have a chance.....no we have a chance. With this purple stone, will it be my fortune or my downfall?]


    Lowen continued reading.


    [I didn''t discover this glowing purple rock, it discovered me. When I was deep down in the heart of the mountain, mining for some ore, I had accidentally fallen into a dark black crevice, tumbling down and rolling and hitting anything in my path until I lost consciousness. When I finally awoke, I was in a chamber lit with the glow of magical crystals. Before I knew what was what, it was already there, as though it had always been. It tried to escape my awareness, burying itself deep within my subconscious but the purple fragment could not hide completely. Its surface glowed with 10,s if not 100''s of thousands of inscriptions. Each one intermingling and overlapping, connected and yet somehow linked like a chain. Perfection was the first thought that came to me.]


    As Lowen read this, his mind thought back to when he first saw the stone and he instantly became confused.


    (100''s of thousands of inscriptions, what the hell is he talking about? When I inspected it, it only had thousands not 100''s of thousands.)


    Lowen''s mind reeled in thought and his curiosity grew along with his impatience. Sitting in the meditative position, Lowen slammed his eyes shut and began to search his mind. Lowen had discovered that if he concentrated hard enough he could detect this stone using his aura sensing ability, which surprised him, seeing as how his aura sensing should only be able to detect living things.


    (Could this purple chunk actually be alive?)


    As Lowen sensed this fragmented rock, he still only discovered a few thousand inscriptions. No matter how hard or close he inspected, it was nothing like what Rize said.


    (Am I doing something wrong or was Rize just incorrect?)


    Lowen opened his eyes and read some more.


    [As I watched this stone, my surroundings were increasingly beginning to dim. It seemed that I fell into a huge chamber filled with crystals that naturally glowed with magical energy. Several of the crystals were breaking and turning to dust all around me, causing the chamber around me to grow darker and darker but that wasn''t the most surprising thing. The stone within me began glowing brighter and brighter, it was absorbing all the energy from the crystals. After only a few more seconds, the rest of the crystals cracked and fell apart, crumbling to dust on the ground. The chamber became pitch black and the stone, it had stopped. After but a moment, one of the inscriptions upon the fragment began to glow a bright white and purple drops of liquid began to form overtop of it. The inscription then began to fade until it eventually dulled, becoming a faint grey. After that one inscription greyed, the purple drop fell from it and disappeared within my mind. At first, all was quiet but then I felt a feeling of extremely hot and extremely cold and then for a moment nothing. *BOOM*... It felt like I could hear an explosion going off in my mind followed by a stream of information. That single purple drop carried with it all the information of that one inscription. It was a power, an inheritance of some sort. Left by some unknown and delivered unto me, why? I didn''t know and as I felt this new power inside of me, I couldn''t be bothered to feel upset at this invading fragment. The information that came with this power told me what it was and exactly how to use it and so I did. At first, I could only control small insects but after months of practice, soon small animals were bending to my whim and after half a year, I could even command my own brethren. Every day my power grew and every day, so too did my ambitions.]


    Lowen couldn''t believe what he was reading, it was just too incredible.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    (So that''s how he gained his abilities, it was all from this purple fragment. Though to unlock said abilities, seems to require an extraordinary power source. He got his power source from a cave full of magic crystals but my power source comes from my ki and earth energy. Is this why I can only see a few thousand inscriptions instead of said 100''s of thousands, I simply lack the necessary amount of energy the stone requires.)


    Lowen continued to wonder if this were the case then that made sense to him. Rize inherited a power because he lucked out being in close vicinity to a large enough source of energy for the stone, while Lowen could only use his own energy. Did this not mean if Lowen had enough energy then he too would unlock an ability. With these thoughts swirling inside his head Lowen continued reading Rize''s notes.


    [The next time I received a gift from this stone, I had already taken control of hundreds of my brethren and they had been expanding our new base when they accidentally discovered a huge chamber of magic-infused crystals. When the stone absorbed the energy there, it once more glowed and revealed 100''s of thousands of inscriptions. As I witnessed an inscription glow bright white, again, a purple liquid formed overtop of it and dulled its brightness, until it was a faded grey. It was only now that I noticed the first inscription I had received was still there, however, after all of this time it still remained faded and dulled. Whatever information it once had, had been stripped away, never to be inherited again. Seeing this, I couldn''t comprehend why. Once an ability is inherited from the stone, it can never be inherited again, did this not break the very laws of magic. I had all the information on my power within me and with it, I should have been able to teach it to others but no matter how much I tried, none of them could learn it. I wanted to go further and learn more. I needed an expert, I needed a human inscription master but then an incident occurred.]


    After that, Rize went on to talk about his incident involving Benjamin and how Benjamin had killed his friends and tried to turn him into a slave. The hate that he discovered he had for humans suddenly erupted within him. Along with his growing ambition and power, a plan began to form. Rize went from curious and naive little goblin to a powerful hate-filled entity. With that incident, Rize''s personality took on a bit of a twisted edge and his writings began to grow darker and crueler. He began kidnapping a few people here and there until he got his hands on a merchant then he started getting female human slaves and when mercenaries or soldiers escorted them to him, Rize would take control of them before sending them back home with no memory of what happened as though nothing transpired at all.


    The more Lowen read, the more and more he became shocked. It seemed Rize''s plans were far more reaching and far more consequential then Lowen had initially believed.


    (Damn, if Rize wasn''t stopped when he was, then I have no doubt he could have taken this entire country in less then 5 years. It seems the catalyst to these events was Benjamin.)


    Even though Lowen knew Benjamin was the reason Rize started this, he didn''t blame him. Rize was growing more and more in both power and ambition and goblins and humans have always been enemies. So even if Benjamin didn''t run into Rize, it seemed Rize''s path would have crossed with humanitys at some point in time.


    As Lowen looked through the rest of Rize''s notes, there was one more thing that really stood out to him. Reading through this paragraph though, left Lowen with more questions than answers.


    [The more I learned about this stone, the more curious I became about its origins, its creator. The clues, however, were basically nonexistent. Whoever made this object had to be incredibly powerful but if the said being was indeed so powerful then why would he/she/it need to make this purple rock capable of passing on power. Did they not have enough power on their own already? The more I thought of these things, the more confounded I became but the biggest question I had, was, where is the rest of this fragment and what was it when it was whole?]


    Reading this, Lowen let out a long breath.


    *Phew*


    (Knowing how Rize had gotten his power, I kind of hoped that I too could have inherited the same ability but it seems that isn''t possible. Even if I want an ability, I''ll first need a huge power source and whatever ability I get it seems it will be some random one. To get a big enough power source, I could potentially spend a fortune gathering magic infused crystals only to get a completely useless ability. Damn, what should I do?)


    Lowen had never been rich in his previous world and he certainly wasn''t rich right now. For him to gain a fortune, Lowen honestly didn''t know where to start but if he were to gain a fortune and then use it all up in hopes of inheriting a powerful ability, only to receive something that was utter junk. Spitting blood would be the least of what Lowen would do.


    Lowen suddenly had a thought and pulled out his Divine Blacksmith book. Flipping through it, he came upon the inscription''s page and thoroughly went over it. With Lowen''s memory, he could easily remember 1000''s of these inscription''s at once and as his ki and magic circles advance, his recall would only become greater. There were around ten thousand inscriptions in the Divine Blacksmith but right now Lowen couldn''t memorize them all and at the moment he didn''t need to.


    Lowen once more shut his eyes and focused on his mind. Using his aura sense, he soon located that purple rock. Relaxing his body, he circulated his earth energy and using a feeler of his energy, his earth energy connected to the stone. A powerful suction forced emerged from the purple fragment and it began glowing and pulsating. Lowen''s ki energy was quickly being drained and Lowen could see 10''s of thousands of inscriptions and that purple liquid started to condense on it. As the inscriptions seemed to constantly move and interchange, Lowen had to concentrate and focus with everything he had and sure enough, he spotted it. Lowen had memorized more than a thousand inscriptions and if this stone really did contain 100''s of thousands of them then there was a small percent chance that Lowen would recognize at least one of them. If he could recognize the inscription and then somehow pick that specific one then he could potentially choose exactly which ability he gained. The inscription Lowen had spotted stood for, funny enough, hair hardening. As Lowen''s earth energy was almost gone, he had to move quickly. Extending his ki, Lowen wrapped his ki around that purple drop and pulled it over top that specific inscription. Lowen had little hopes this would actually work but surprisingly it actually did. That inscription began to glow a bright white and the liquid condensed even more. Just as it looked like the inscription would fade to gray, Lowen''s energy ran dry and he was forced to cut his connection.


    That single drop of purple energy disappeared into Lowen''s mind and an extreme feeling of hot and cold attacked at him seemingly numbing and burning him all at once before a strange comforting calm enveloped him completely.


    *BOOM*


    An explosion sounded within Lowen''s mind and a stream of information began to flood in. The first thought that came to mind were two words, hair hardening. After only a few seconds the flooding thoughts stopped and Lowen opened his eyes and stood up. A feeling as though ants were crawling all over his head took over and an unbearable itch took hold of him. Lowen immediately scratched and scratched and scratched every inch of his head and finally after a few moments the feeling faded. Lowen gently pat his head, feeling it all over before he suddenly pulled a single strand from his head and with a thought it hardened. As he examined it closely, nothing seemed different or out of place whatsoever but Lowen knew for a fact that it wasn''t the same. With a flick of his wrist, Lowen threw the hair toward a tree.


    *Schit*


    The hair penetrated the tree an inch before it could go no further. Lowen couldn''t help but smile widely at this scene before his smile quickly became one of slight disappointment. The hair suddenly went limp going back to the way it was before. Thinking of the inscription Lowen wasn''t too surprised when he found that the information in his mind was incomplete.


    (It seems without enough power I can only receive incomplete information but this is also a good thing. This means that if I memorize more inscriptions and use a big enough power source then I can basically pick any inscription I wish. Hehe, what ability, what ability should I choose?)


    Lowen once more grinned from ear to ear with thoughts of powerful abilities that would soon be his. Just as he was lost in thought, he heard Benjamin''s disgusted voice.


    "Boy, you sure do act creepy sometimes."

 Vol[2]Chapter#3 Jizhen Town

    "Boy, you sure do act creepy sometimes."


    (Shit, I got lost in thought and Benjamin spotted my stupid grin. Well whatever.)


    Lowen then turned around with his back toward Benjamin and sat down as though he never heard his words. Benjamin just continued to stare at Lowen as though he were odd before he looked back at the tree, curious as to how Lowen pierced it with a single hair.


    (How the hell did he do that?)


    Lowen thought about his new discovery and wondered what he should do.


    (This inscription for hair hardening is incomplete. It seems I need to offer an even greater power source to the stone in order to fill in the missing parts of the hair hardening inscription, otherwise, the hair goes limp after only a second or so.)


    As Lowen wondered about where he could obtain a huge source of energy the night quickly passed.


    As the morning sun was on the rise, Benjamin slowly sat up, awakening to the sound of rough breathing. At first, he thought someone was doing something perverted and when he thought of that, his head swung over in Lowen''s direction. If anyone here was perverted, it had to be that brat he thought. To his surprise though, what he saw was completely different from his imagination. Lowen, Nia, and Ben were all breathing strangely while moving there bodies in odd ways. Sometimes they would sway from left to right before there breathing would roughen and they would suddenly pivot and jump forward. The pace of their movements quickened with their breath before they all came to an abrupt stop. After a few seconds of stillness and silence, all three again began moving almost in sync.


    Benjamin looked on in curiosity as the three continued these strange dance-like movements. Finally, all at once, the three stopped and simultaneously released a long breath. Looking at each other, the three couldn''t help but smile after a good work out. This was a ki breathing exercise that helped increase one''s control over their ki as well as expand it. Usually, the three would do this together every morning. At first Nia and Ben were a little hesitant not because they didn''t wish to grow stronger but because the movements were truly strange looking sometimes and were a bit embarrassing but after trying it out once, the two quickly became addicted to it. Not only did it help improve their control and grow their ki but it felt incredibly comfortable and once you were done one''s body felt extremely light and powerful.


    Wiping the sweat from their brow, Nia and Ben had been sweating profusely. In the end, this breathing technique was still difficult for the two, slowing your breath and then increasing it, shallow and short then a deep inhale, all the while moving your body oddly at a quick speed. This all accumulated to a hard workout for the two who were still at the first ki stage. As ki body refiners, this exercise would continue to be difficult until they either reached their body''s limits, gained perfect control over their ki or reached the next stage in ki manipulation, the aura body stage.


    Benjamin walked over and just as he was about to speak to his children the two of them walked off to follow after Lowen. Benjamin just woke up and he was already annoyed at Lowen.


    (What is this? As soon as I approach my babies turn and follow that turd.)


    "Hey Nia, where are you all off to?"


    Nia looked back and gave a quick reply.


    "Dad, we just finished our morning training so we''re going to wash up."


    Nia was just about to turn back when her father yelled out.


    "What, why didn''t you say. I''ll join ya."


    Nia accidentally yelled out.


    "No, absolutely not!"


    Benjamin looked at her with confusion.


    "Eh, why not?"


    Nia''s face turned red as she yelled out.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Dad, I''m older now, I''m practically a woman, how can I bathe with my father, its too weird."


    "Weird, I was bathing with you all the time back in the day and as for you being a woman, aren''t women supposed to have hair in certain spots before they can claim their a woman?"


    Nia''s face turned red with both embarrassment and anger. Her voice suddenly grew louder and more fierce.


    "Dad, you, you, you IDIOT!"


    Benjamin though was even more confused. Looking for an escape route, his eyes made contact with Lowens. Pointing at him almost accusingly, Benjamin said.


    "Then what about him, why does he get to bathe with you guys and I don''t?"


    Nia looked at her dad as though he were stupid.


    "Lowen''s a kid, so of course he can bathe with us."


    Nia and Ben started walking toward the stream while Benjamin was left dumbfounded. Nia''s words made sense but Lowen just didn''t seem like a kid. Looking over at Lowen the two once more made contact. Lowen felt like teasing Benjamin a bit so Lowen Smiled fiendishly at Benjamin before he stuck out his tongue and turned and followed Nia and Ben. Benjamin grew furious and was about to chase after Lowen when Luna grabbed his hand. Turning around Luna smiled at him gently and asked.


    "Are you hungry?"


    Benjamin seeing this smile, somehow seemed to soothe him. As Benjamin''s anger slipped away, he noticed that he was indeed hungry and gave a small nod.


    "Good, then if you would please continue stirring that pot, the food will be ready in a few minutes."


    Luna then turned and followed after the others while reminding Benjamin.


    "Remeber, you have to keep stirring it or else it will burn, I''ll be back after I''ve had a bath."


    Disappearing behind some bushes, Luna soon joined the others. A few moments later, Benjamin could hear the playful laughs of the others causing his annoyance to grow.


    ---------------------------------------------


    After a few days, the group came upon a stone wall. Its height reaching only 15 ft and it stretched all the way around a decent sized town, they had arrived at Jizhen. Along the path leading to the gate, there were a few carts here and there as well as a multitude of wagons filled with items and goods. The people leading these goods through seemed to be merchants as well as a few ordinary citizens just trying to make a trade. Behind them were guards of mercenaries and a few regular travelers. To Benjamin, this was a normal sight, he had traveled to many different places when he was younger and seen plenty of people. To Luna, Nia, and Ben, however, living out in the stix their whole lives, they had only ever seen 200-300 people max. Right now though, there was at least double that and that didn''t even count the trail of people leaving, together, it could easily make 1000 people.


    Benjamin looked at his kids and Luna and smiled to himself, it was fun seeing their look of wonder at a new sight and he couldn''t wait to see their expression when they actually went in. Benjamin curiously looked at Lowen and wasn''t surprised to see a look of boredom upon his face.


    (Yep, this kids weird.)


    Lowen strode forward and everyone else followed. Although this would be his first time entering a town in this world, Lowen had been to towns more times then he could count in his previous life. To him, a town was a town, a place gathered with people and buildings nothing more. Walking to the gate, it was 4 carts wide, capable of handling a large influx of passersby. Guarding the gate was a small group of 7 soldiers all wearing leather armor. The one in charge though was easy to spot, seeing as how his leather chest armor had the symbol of a three-horned rhinoceros etched into it. Lowen was about to pull out some money to pay the tax to enter the town when Benjamin suddenly stopped him before simply walking through. Lowen was slightly confused seeing this. Roland had told him, that in order to enter a town or city, one would have to pay a small fee, a tax, to enter but Benjamin had waltzed right in and wasn''t stopped. Lowen and the rest walked through the gate. Benjamin seeing the confused look on Lowen''s face smiled smugly before explaining.


    "You want to know why we didn''t have to pay right? Well, the answer is quite simple really. The reason being is money."


    The four looked at Benjamin questioningly.


    "You see this town may have many people but the surrounding villages for hundreds of miles are beyond poor. If a poor villager wanted to trade and then they made the long harsh journey to get here, whilst already having to hire mercenaries or adventurers, only to have to pay a percentage on the goods they wished to sell and trade just to enter this town. At that point, the profit margins would be way too low and would be absolutely not worth it. So in order to increase trading in this town, the one in charge made the wise decision to not tax anyone coming or going. Most other towns don''t do this, Jizhen is special. Because this town is so near the border and most other towns and cities are too far, this town can''t make reliable long distance trades with them but because there are many small villages around and this is the only town out here, the villages are forced to come here for any actual profit."


    Nia, Luna, and little Ben''s eyes began to spin with all this talk about taxes and trading but Lowen understood it.


    (Hmm, this makes sense. If there were a tax to enter then traders and merchants would be few and far between but because there''s no tax to enter or leave, it makes the trip here worth it. Whoever runs this town seems to have a head for making money.)


    As the group made their way through the town they made it to the town square. There, there were many stalls of people selling every little thing you could possibly imagine. From pots and pans to swords and shields, the town square was filled with items as well as people hawking their goods. This lively atmosphere both excited Luna, Nia, and Ben, as well as frightened them a bit, it was almost overwhelming. Everything here was entirely different from their village, even the people. Just as things seemed to be reaching the apex of excitement, the sound of a loud drum suddenly wrung out.


    *BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM*


    At first, the group thought the town was being attacked but when they saw a crowd of people split apart, they realized what was happening.


    A large group dressed in black carried several large long boxes upon their shoulder. Looking closely, everyone could tell what it was except for little Ben.


    "Big sis, what''s going on? Why did everyone go quiet and whats in those weird boxes?"


    Nia quickly covered Ben''s mouth and shooshed him.


    "Be quiet and don''t ask right now."


    Inside those long odd shaped boxes were, of course, the dead. This was a funeral procession and counting the number of coffins, there were more than 20 of them. Lowen overheard someone in the crowd whispering to someone.


    "This is the 3rd one today, when will this all be finished, I still have a business to run."


    "Shh, do you want others to overhear you. You know as well as I do hundreds died only a few days ago, so the people at the church are backed up. That tragedy, thank the gods it didn''t happen to us."


    Lowen didn''t know how many people had died from Rize''s attack but seeing the names on his list and then overhearing the townsfolk, Lowen knew at least a few hundred had to have died. As the last of the precession made its way to the local graveyard, business started up again and Lowen released a long sigh.


    (What would these people think if they knew I was the one who could have prevented this tragedy and didn''t.)


    Lowen shook these depressing thoughts away. He had fought his hardest and done everything he could and it had just barely been enough. There was no time for regret in this world. The only reason to ever look back is to see your mistakes so that you can fix them in the future. Everything else, for Lowen at least was just a waste of time. That''s how he now felt about his previous life.


    (No regrets, only forward.)