《The Boy of the Slums》 Advice, Temptation and Fall – Part 1 Everything was going well for Lunis. She was working as an adventurer magician. To make it rich quick she would sometimes take slightly risky jobs however that doesn''t make much difference when your profession puts your life on the line everyday. She knew how many dangers adventuring had along with opportunities, but she believed in herself. And why wouldn''t she, she was an intermediate class healing magician, a C rank adventurer and her luck can be said to be very good as well considering she usually got good pays and her luck had saved her many times from situations which could turn life threatening and which had turned life threatening alike. When she became 23 years old she met a good man named Clive, an adventurer swordsman, fell in love with him, and they married and settled into a village far away from the bustle of cities. When she got pregnant, she retired from being an adventurer and settled down in the village completely. But as it is said, all good things must come to an end, her life began to take a turn for the worse as well. On the day of the childbirth, an abrupt heavy rain occurred which resulted in Clive, who had gone to hunt some monsters near the village losing his footing and losing his life in a fight. Things did not end here, Lunis''s son, Ray, which was born on the same day as his father''s death, came to be known as a cursed child who ate his father''s life. Lunis did not believe this, she started working in the fields to feed her family of two, but she did not know her own life was nearing an end. At the fifth birthday of Ray, the village was covered in excitement as people came out of their houses and looked up at the sky. When Lunis came out with Ray and looked in the direction the villagers were looking into she saw something she could not believe - a dragon. It had a gigantic body, strong claws and fangs, and the way it flew into the sky while radiating that overpowering presence, it truly looked majestic. When the dragon got close to the village, it lowered its altitude and looked at a certain person - her own son Ray. People were already stiff from seeing the dragon up close, but that all changed soon after. The dragon raised it''s head and fired a breath into the sky after which it disappeared. But that was the least of people''s worries as from the sky were now raining fireballs, massive fireballs. They burned everything, and everyone as well. Lunis took her son and ran towards the town, getting injured in the process and died at the town gates.
"How long has it been?", thought Ray to himself as he dragged himself from the streets of slums. Having neither properly eaten nor slept for four days he was experiencing a hellish hunger and tiredness. When he first came to this town, his mother died. He cried and wandered on the town streets but that changed as soon as night came. The guards looked after him some then threw him in the slums as no one came looking for him. From there he did not know how long he cried. He sat in a relatively clean place placing his back against the wall and cried again.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. But his sobbing was interrupted by a kick delivered to his side by a boy of about 10 years of age. Having lost his place to sit, the boy wandered around the slums in search of food. He scavenged the garbage and found a rotten apple. He hesitated to eat it as his mother said not to eat rotten things, losing to the hunger, he had only eaten a bite out of it and the next instant, the apple was gone. The source of it was a skinny man who had taken it from him. Being afraid he would be kicked again, Ray did not say anything, trembling in fear, and the man walked away. The process repeated itself over days and now Ray was so hungry, he was willing to eat anything as long as it was edible. This day too came to and end without him being able to eat properly. When he was dragging his feet in one of the streets, in one of the particularly dark streets, he saw a bald, muscular man wearing a vest and pants threatening another man with a sword. The man being threatened was a middle aged man who did not look special in any meaning, having brown hair and eyes wearing common clothes. But, in front of the big bald man, he was cowering in fear, as the bald man moved his sword closer to his throat and said, ?So, are ya gonna gimme what I''m asking er not?? (Bald man) ?P-p-please, I-I-I don''t have any more money to give you! Just let me go!? (Common man) ?I''know, there was this alchemist who said he needed a pair of human eyes, so why don''e give''im what he''s lookin for? Whaddya say?? ?P-p-p-p-please! Believe me! I do not have any more money to give you!? ?Y''know pal, I can check that out for myself once I''ve killed you. And this is slums, the slums. No one''s gonna come look for a shitty merchant like you. Give it up, not like I''m askin you to hand over aaaaalllll the money you''ve got. Just gimme half of it and we''re set. Or maybe you don''t like you movin on your own legs?? (Bald man) ?...Fine! But please put that thing away first!? (Common man) Once the man had given in, the bald man puts down his sword and moves back a little still not sheathing it. The common man, or rather the merchant takes out money from a pocket on the inner side of his shirt and hands half of it to the bald man. Once he has confirmed the money he received, the bald man gives a sinister smile. ?Omg, you''ve got more than I was imagining, guess nothing I can do''bout it.? (Bald man) ?Can I go now?? (Merchant) The merchant asked hesitantly, to which the bald man nodded. But as the merchant was leaving, another figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere and blocked his way. The figure was clad in complete black while also wearing a black mask and was holding a shortsword in one of his hands. ?Now give me the remaining half.? (Black man) ?Huh?? (Merchant) For a moment the merchant did not understand what had happened, the next, he was slashed in the throat. ?u-u-uh.....? (Merchant) The Merchant could not even let out a scream, let alone meaningful sounds as blood flowed from his throat and he died just like that. Ray could not even let out his voice at the spectacle before him. The Black man took the money from the dead Merchant and started walking away with the Bald man. ?That was a nice game? (Bald man) The Black man did not reply as he kept walking. But soon he stopped in his tracks seeing Ray. The Bald man followed his line of sight and saw him as well. They walked closer to him and stood towering in front of him. They looked like demons of hell to Ray who was only a five year old boy. Advice, Temptation and Fall – Part 2 With both men in front of him, Ray could not even let out his voice as he stood there petrified in fear that he would be the one to die next. For some time they were shrouded in silence. It was but a few moments of silence, but it felt like an eternity to Ray which he passed by staring at the two men. ?You lookin pale there kid, are ye eatin properly? (Bald man) With a tone as if to mock the kid who had frozen in fear, the Bald man asked with a scornful smile on his face. But Ray had no words to answer him. ?You''ve got bags under yer eyes and ya look to be starving, want my help to get yerself a good meal.? (Bald man) For a moment there, Ray did not understand the meaning behind his words. Even when he came to understand, he tried to reject his offer, but the hellish hunger in his stomach had other plans. Out of nowhere a grumbling sound came. For a moment, Ray became confused, but after realising it was his own stomach, he could not oppose the temptation any longer and nodded. ?Hahahahaha! Good answer kid! A real good answer! But know what? I ain''t gonna help ya! hahahaha!? (Bald man) Hearing the man laughing at his answer, Ray felt anger surging up from withing his body. He lost his sense of reason altogether and looked at the man with a fiery glint in his eyes. Perhaps, having seen his anger or having gotten bored of laughing, the man stopped. And said it to his face, the thing that Ray had been avoiding all the while ?If ya want food, take it from others, if ya want money, rob others of it, if somebody refuses or tries to be a pain in the ass, kill''im. Become strong enough that nobody can take from ya once ya''ve taken from them. Only the strong have the right to live.? (Bald man) Ray felt his anger calm down a little and thought of the man''s words, but, still found himself unable to follow them as they he had been taught that they were bad deeds. ?What? Think it''s wrong to hurt others? Tell me what kid, if ya were hungry as''ell, which''ll be quicker, to beg for it or to steal it?? (Bald man) His words started to sink in and Ray started to loose his will to oppose. Perhaps, it was because he had been living too peacefully with his mother that he still managed to show some resistance. The man seemed to notice Ray''s dilemma as he watched with an amused smile on his face. ?If ya were strong you''d never go hungry, if ya were strong, no one would speak against you, if ya were strong, ya can have it all, money, women, food, people, everything ya could think of in the world.? (Bald man) The way he skillfully said those words to persuade him was very similar to the coaxing of the devil. Ray could feel his resistance breaking and a desire to follow the man''s words welling up inside him. Seeing Ray, the man understood, he needed to give him one last push, so that he can be made to fall. That''s why he used very persuading words to break his resistance completely. ?Ya don''t have ta steal and kill always ya know, ya could become an adventurer or somethin when ya grow old enough to earn honestly. Why don''t ya hunt for game only when ya don''t have any other way of obtaining food? It ain''t a bad deal, don''t ya think? Right now ya''re weak and don''t have a way to obtain food, steal and kill now so that ya could grow strong in the future so ya don''t have to steal again.? (Bald man)If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. These words nearly broke his will, but somehow he managed to hold on. ?Let''s go.? Suddenly the voice came out from beside Ray. He looked to his side and got startled as he had completely forgotten the existence of the Black man. ?We don''t have time to keep playing around.? (Black man) ?Tch, comeee onnn. Can''t we help him a little?? (Bald man) It was clear from his tone of voice, that the Bald man was enjoying it and had no intention of really helping Ray. But maybe the Black man had a little different intentions, he looked at Ray and spoke ?Why don''t we leave it to the boy? Kid, if you feel unable to handle your hunger anymore, then don''t hesitate to do anything, because once you are dead, no one is going to care.? (Black man) Those words triggered a memory in Ray. The memory of his mother dying in front of the town gate, the guards as they dragged her dead body and separated Ray from her. He felt at a loss for what to do. ?If you decide to take action in our way, use this? (Black man) Saying that, he threw a dagger in the ground. ?Use it to take from others and to keep what you already have. If somebody is stronger than you, attack him from behind. Use trickery, betrayal and any means necessary to survive. Now, let''s go, this is enough help for him.? (Black man) The Bald man seemed to be in bad mood, but still followed the Black man and soon they disappeared in the disordered streets of the slums.
Ray did not know what to do, he just stood there looking at the dagger stuck in the ground. He still felt hesitant to use it, but perhaps because of his resistance having considerably weakened, he took the knife and walked away from that place. He kept wandering about the slums for who knows how long but eventually his strength left him and he staggered. Supporting himself against a broken wall, he heard the sound of dogs barking in an alley a little ahead of him. When he looked inside, he saw four dogs fighting each other over what seemed like raw meat. Seeing that meat, his stomach started to ache for hunger. At that time he felt the dagger in his hand, and the final dam of his will broke against the flood of hunger. Out of nowhere, he felt strength come back to his body as he gripped the knife in both hands. He knew he would not be able to win against four dogs, that''s why ?YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH? he rushed at the dogs at full speed and drove the dagger in the dog. Fortunately, the dagger slid in the neck of the dog, killing it right away. ?Grrrr, WAAAH? (Dog) A dog leapt at him, Ray felt fear from having a dog jump at him and by reflex he swung his dagger at him. The dagger sliced at the mouth of the dog from which he stopped. The dog opened his mouth, and in a frenzy, Ray rushed at him and thrust the dagger in the mouth of dog. The dagger came out from the back of dog''s head killing it. The third dog leapt and bit his leg. ?AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh? Feeling the pain in his leg, Ray cried out and using the dagger repeatedly stabbed the dog''s neck, killng it. In the meanwhile the fourth dog leapt on the dog whom Ray was stabbing. Seeing the dog leap, Ray changed his target to the fourth one and started stabbing the dog''s side. The dog cried out in pain but because of repeated stabbing, lost his life. Ray kept stabbing the dead dog for a little while. When he saw that the dogs were not moving at all, he threw the dagger away and leapt at the meat in front of him. Eating it like no tomorrow. << Your level has increased from 1 to 2! Every basic stat increased!>> <> Name: Ray Level: 1¡ú2 HP: 10¡ú12+1 VIT:5¡ú6+1 Race: Human Age:5 Class: Undecided Subclass: Undecided
STR: 2¡ú3+1 DEF: 2¡ú3+1 AGI: 2¡ú3+1 DEX: 1¡ú2+1
MP: 1¡ú2+1 INT: 1¡ú2+1 MIND: 1¡ú2+1 END: 2¡ú4+1
Skills: Acquired Skills: None Inherent Skills: Unique Skills: Gifts: None Rules, Territories and Prohibitions – Part 1 Lying on the cold hard ground among the corpses of dogs he killed and bathing in their blood, Ray slept like he was dead. Anyone passing by would have thought that the kid had died after killing the dogs due to getting some fatal injuries seeing the blood on his clothes, dagger and ground. Perhaps he had been able to attack the dogs without hesitation because of his desire for food due to his hunger and adrenaline rush. Now that the fight was over he lost to the tiredness of his body that hasn''t slept properly for days. But of course, he wasn''t the one to blame for that. What could one expect from a five year old naive child who have lost his only guardian just recently. In fact what was more surprising was that he hadn''t died or gotten gravely injured due to his condition. He kept lying there with a look of emptiness on his face and his eyes were hollow. Perhaps that was due to shock of killing being too big for a child who hadn''t even learned the ways of the world. He kept lying there and eventually fell asleep. By the time he came to it was a little late in the morning. The workers of the slums have left for their jobs. For a moment he sat there confused at the scenery around him. Then his attention changed from the houses surrounding him to the things lying on the ground. ?Hiiiiiii!? (Ray) At the moment he came to realise they were the dead bodies of dogs, he got frightened and scrambled back to get away from them. That was when it started coming back to him. The death of his mother Lunis, the guards throwing him in the slums and the hunger and tiredness and of course the action of killing he took because of that. Even if they were dogs, no child would do something like this unless he was cornered to an extreme. ?U-Uwaaaa, Mo-mommyyyy? (Ray) And he started crying the next moment remembering all that. Soon after he stopped crying, perhaps realising that it won''t be any good to continue crying or having gotten used to it after four days. He took the dagger lying nearby and stood up, but, ?A-AAaaaaa? shrieked from the pain he felt in his right leg. Remembering that the dog bit his leg during the fight calmed him down but it still was painful for him to walk. He walked staggeringly outside of the alley and looked around on the streets. There was not much movement in the streets, the eyes of people were lifeless and their movements were languid. Among such people, one man was holding his head groaning while lying down on the street. Perhaps he had drunk a little too much and collapsed on the street in the night and was suffering from a hangover now. Ray started walking towards no particular direction while paying no heed to his surroundings. He kept walking languidly when a cry suddenly caught his attention,Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ?HEEEY! Get your breakfast you lazy bums! We''ve got work to do as well! If big brother or boss found out you''ll be beaten!? From the voice, one could tell the owner was not much older. The cry filled ray with energy and expectation. He thought perhaps he could get some food as well if he asked and if luck was on his side, he will get some work to do as well. He ran around looking for the owner of the voice and came out in a relatively wider area among the densely populated slums. At that place a boy of around six to seven years of age was standing beside a crate of wood and distributing hard bread to other children who themselves were not much younger than him. If one looked carefully, he could see that there were some children who were same in age to Ray as well. The boy had brown hair with a blotted face and stood a little taller than Ray. He was wearing a pant only without anything on his upper body. Having seen this spectacle, the expectations in Ray increased further, he walked to the boy distributing the bread and asked him timidly, in a small voice, ?H-Hey, can I get some bread too....?? (Ray) Perhaps not having paid attention to Ray getting close to him, the boy was momentarily surprised, but recovering from his surprise he spoke in an irritated tone ?What? Haven''t seen you before. Don''t tell me you''re new to the slums? If you want food here from me, then you gotta be a member of our group. Now scram? (Brown haired boy) ?T-Then, I''ll be a member from today, so please give me some food.? (Ray) Hearing Ray reply instead of going away, the boy became even more irritated, ?Like I said, you''re not a member of our group, and you can''t just become one by saying. You''re not getting any food.? (Brown haired boy) ?B-But, I''m hungry.....I''ll become a member of your group. You said you had work to do, I''ll work too, so please give me food.? (Ray) ?You''re getting annoying! Like I said before, you can''t just come and become a member! You need to be approved of by boss which you aren''t! Now get lost!? (Brown haired boy) ?T-Then! Take me to your boss, I''ll talk to him and then I can get food!? (Ray) Ray was becoming desperate, but this in turn increased the boy''s irritation as his next action was a more physical one. He pushed Ray back with enough force to make him fall, ?Heh, like any lame trash can become like us. You''re just a trash so pick your food from garbage or something. I don''t wanna waste my time on you, just get lost somewhere already.? (Brown haired boy) Hearing the words of the boy, Ray understood he was not going to give him food, therefore, blood rushed to his head in his desperation. He took out a dagger, pushed the brown haired boy on the crate and pointing the dagger on him, threatened him like the bald man, ?Give me food or I''ll take it after your death!? (Ray) The kids present in the vicinity clamoured seeing the brown haired boy being pushed down and a dagger being pressed against him. ?What''s going on?!? Among the clamour one voice clearly resounded which quieted down all the clamouring kids. Ray''s attention was taken by the voice, and hearing the voice, the face of the brown haired boy, which was showing fear having a dagger pressed against him suddenly brightened up. He pushed Ray away and ran in the direction the voice came from. When Ray looked in the direction the boy ran, he saw a boy of around twelve to thirteen years of age standing there. He had similar brown hair as the boy Ray was arguing against but he was about twice as tall as Ray and obviously looked considerably more powerful than him. And he was wearing a vest that showed his chest and stomach clearly with pants and boots. He was considerably well dressed than other kids. The brown haired boy ran towards him and started complaining about Ray to him, ?Big Brother! This kid just came out of nowhere and tried to forcibly take the food!? (Brown haired boy) ?Yeah, I saw how it all went down? (Brother) The boy, apparently the big brother of the brown haired boy, spoke in a low calm and menacing tone. Rules, Territory and Prohibitions – Part 2 In front of the old a boy who was speaking in managing voice, Ray felt afraid. He felt that he could not win against him, whether he had a weapon or not. The boy continued to speak in the same tone, ?Who are you? And why are you bothering these kids? Didn''t your parents teach you it''s bad manners to fight others?? (Older boy) Being questioned like this by someone with enough authority to quiet down the surrounding kids, Ray took on a meek attitude and spoke timidly, ?M-My name is Ray. I was asking for food from him, but he said only members of their group could get it.......? (Ray) And at the end of the sentence his voice became so small that it was barely audible. But from the contents he had said anyone who had seen even a little bit of what happened before could get the general idea. ?So you decided to threaten him to give you food huh. Are you new in the slums or are you stupid for trying to pick a fight with us? Don''t you know it could have gotten you in big danger?? (Older boy) To this question of the older boy, the guilt in Ray''s heart for using violence began to set even deeper. Feeling regretful for his doings he spoke in a sorrowful voice, ?I-I did not have a choice. I haven''t eaten properly for days and he wouldn''t give food to anyone who wasn''t a member,....so, I did what I did.? (Ray) After saying this, Ray looked in front of himself and found that the older boy was glaring at him with such seriousness in his eyes that you''d think he was going to beat the boy very seriously. In front of him, Ray could do nothing but look down. For some time, the silence between them continued, and as if hitting upon an idea, Ray spoke with some expectation in his voice, ?You''re their big brother, right? So, could you please make me a member of their group?? (Ray) His face was full of uncertainty as he asked this of the boy, but, still carrying some hope in his heart, he went on with his question. For a while, the boy continued to watch Ray and the other kids, as if looking for something very important, then, he spoke to the brown haired kid who was still hiding behind him, ?........Klan, all of the kids seem to have eaten their breads. Take them all and go to your work, I will see what to do with him.? (Older boy) At his order, the brown haired kid, apparently called Klan, began to gather all the kids, ?Hey, you heard big brother! Leave the brat alone and move to work! Let''s go!? (Klan) and went away with them. Though Ray did not know the streets of the slums too well, he could tell they were going towards the town. Once everyone has left and they were alone, the boy began to observe Ray once again, and after a little while spoke to him, ?.........You really wanna become one of us? You know you''re gonna have to work and do a lot of other stuff? And even if I decide to approve you, it''s the boss who decides who becomes a member.? (Older boy) Ray did not know what this other stuff that the boy was talking about was, but he figured, if other kids could do the work then he could as well. Therefore, he decided that it would not be harmful for him to become a member of this group if he could secure some food. Hence he asked the boy,This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ?Then take me to your boss, please. I really want to become a member of your group.? (Ray) The boy nodded his head and began walking after saying, "Follow me", to Ray. As they walked in the complex, disordered streets and alleys of the slums, the boy began to talk to Ray. ?By the way, my name is Klaude. And I''m the one you have to meet if any kid is to become a member. I also recommend kids I find valuable to become members to boss.? (Klaude) The older boy, Klaude, introduced himself and began to ask Ray about himself, ?You said your name was Ray? I haven''t seen you around in the slums much. Are you really new here?? (Klaude) ?Y-Yes. I came here, a few days ago...? (Ray) As Ray told this to Klaude, he had a sad expression on his face. Seeing this Klaude understood that he had some circumstances that were really bad even from his perspective that forced this boy to come into slums. He understood that life here would be hard on him, especially since seeing Ray''s expression when he talked about coming to slums, it was clear that he had experienced a life outside the slums. ?I''m not gonna ask what happened as it''s none of my business, but there are a few rules you have to follow if you are to live in these slums.? (Klaude) Perhaps, Klaude began to feel sorry for Ray seeing his expression as he began to talk about some things which would definitely make his life easier in slums. ?First of all, there are some people you should never antagonise. One of them is our boss, though there is little chance for you to antagonise him considering he never leaves his base. Second are the thugs and robbers which a kid like you could never win against. And third are the guards and officials that come here sometimes to get some extra money from those people.? (Klaude) ?What''s ant ago nice?? (Ray) Perhaps, the word was a little too advanced for him to understand as Ray asked Klaude to make himself clear. Seeing this Ray understood one more thing about Ray, that this kid was not from a family that had something like a family business. He deduced that he was either the son of an adventurer or a group of criminals from other town who died or perhaps some sleazebag commoners who abandoned their son in the slums. However, even if he were to ask this of Ray, there was a very little chance he would get an answer, hence he decided to not pursue the matter regarding his parents and answered after thinking a little while. ?........It''s not ant ago nice, it''s antagonise. It means to anger someone. So you shouldn''t anger these people. Regarding the boss, you will meet him soon so memorise his face well and, as for robbers and thugs, they are people with weapons. The same can be said about guards. Usually they come in their uniforms, but even when they don''t come wearing their uniforms, it doesn''t change the fact that you should away people carrying weapons.? (Klaude) Hearing Klaude, Ray remembered the bald man carrying sword and the black man carrying short sword from last night. He thought that perhaps he had done something wrong, but decided against voicing it and keeping away from weapon carrying people from now on. Unaware of what was going in Ray''s head, Klaude continued on with his explanation, ?Now there are places you should not visit either. They are usually back alleys which are relatively close to the town streets as they are place where hoodlums gather. You can pass by them but try to avoid passing by them or going near them as much as possible especially in evening and night. Even if you see something going on in such streets, ignore them and move on. Don''t stand there gawking at it.? (Klaude) Hearing Klaude, Ray once again felt that he had done something wrong. His face took on a weird expression, with his eyes wide and his lips pursed tight in a straight line. Klaude saw this and asked, "What''s wrong?", but Ray shook his head in such a flurry that it seemed as if it might fall off. Seeing this Klaude decided to leave this matter be and continued on, ?Now there are place or rather territories you can and cannot go. The slums are basically divided into two territories. The first is the outside areas of the slums which are closer to town streets. We''ve been walking through this area for a while now. Second is the territory of Boss and hoodlums. It is the inside are of the slums and you are to not enter this area on your own. If you get selected as a member and boss calls you, then I''ll come to get you and you''ll accompany me there just like today. Understand?? (Klaude) Ray nodded his head. Seeing his face which still had that weird expression on, Klaude could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he decided to believe in the boy''s answer. ?Now, we''ve entered the boss''s territory. Keep your head down in front of the boss and don''t let out a sound. I''ll talk to him about you. Got it?? (Klaude) At his question, Ray felt tense and nervously, nodded his head. Children, Work and Delivery – Part 1 (Klaude¡¯s POV) I was coming to check on the kids from the inner area. The inner are is a place for all the hoodlums of the town, and even if they are called hoodlums, they are decent enough not to warrant suppression by the lord''s forces, but unfortunately, not decent enough to let kids live near them. ¡°I wonder if they have finished eating their meal and went on to their work¡±. Usually this is Klan¡¯s responsibility. He acts like a leader because he is older than other kids and calls me big brother because our names and hair colour are similar. However, he is a kid as well, so expecting much from him will be foolish. As this thought was going through my mind, ?Hm? What¡¯s all this commotion about? They better not be dawdling there or I''ll have to get tough.? I heard some loud noises. It seems the kids are clamouring. Right. I was an idiot to expect them to properly go to work. And when I reached the distribution area, I saw a spectacle different from one I was used to seeing. A kid had pushed Klan down on a the food crate and was holding a dagger in front of Klan. I was dumbfounded seeing this scene. This was too far apart from common sense. I could have understood it if it was a thug threatening Klan, but this was totally unexpected. No matter how I look at it, another kid was threatening Klan using a dagger. Well, since there are races like elves, dwarves and the like which are usually long lived, it is not necessary that the one pushing Klan down is a kid, but if he was an elf, he would have long pointed ears, and if he was a dwarf, he would be a lot more burlier. Well even if he was one of them, the age at which the kid seems like, even they would have grown little different from a normal human kid. Unless he is an irregular. ?Give me food or I''ll take it after your death!? (Boy) Hearing this, I can kind of make a guess as to what had happened here. This kid who is threatening Klan must have requested some food from him, and Klan being Klan, he would have rejected and ridiculed the boy. Well, I don''t know how much he would have been pushed to snap so badly that he is threatening Klan using a weapon with such ferocity. Hm? Shouldn''t I stop this? What a pain. I know the moment I speak, Klan will come running to me, and all that anger is going to flood in my direction. I am a manager of these kids, not some caretaker. And besides, that dagger looks really sharp and pointy, if that kid comes running at me and I make one mistake, I can get some serious injury. Huh? Now that I look a little closer, the clothes that kid is wearing, aren''t they covered in blood? Man, this is seriously bad, perhaps, Klan had not taunt him at all and the kid is just that prone to anger. If that is the case, then Klan is in serious danger. Looks like I really have to get into the middle of this to save him. Event though I may not look like it, I am still a level 10 thief. A mere kid who might have gone against a monster or two, is not a threat to me. Thinking this, to break the situation, I shout, ?What''s going on?!? (Klaude) Hearing my loud voice, the attention of all the kids present in the area gathers on me. Even the kid holding weapon is looking at me, and seeing his chance, Klan pushes him and runs towards me with all his power and hides behind my back. ?Big Brother! This kid just came out of nowhere and tried to forcibly take the food!?(Klan) ?Yeah, I saw how it all went down? (Klaude)A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. With as much anger in my eyes as I can muster, I look towards the kid. ?Who are you? And why are you bothering these kids? Didn''t your parents teach you it''s bad manners to fight others?? (Klaude) Without changing my tone of voice to show him that I am angry, I ask the kid. He has a timid look on his face. Perhaps, he got afraid of me calling him all of a sudden with such loud voice and asking him with anger in my voice. ?M-My name is Ray. I was asking for food from him, but he said only members of their group could get it.......? (Ray) Huh? Where did all that ferocity from just a little before? Is he not the violent kind of kid who will unhesitatingly use a weapon to get what he wants? Seeing his change in attitude, I got surprised. He answered in a voice so little that you would think that it is me who is threatening him with a weapon. This one eighty of attitude is too amazing. Either he was in too much anger or he is a very clever kid. I don''t know, perhaps he is a good kid and Klan had just infuriated him to the extent of snapping. Well, perhaps I should question him a bit more to know just what had happened. ?So you decided to threaten him to give you food huh. Are you new in the slums or are you stupid for trying to pick a fight with us? Don''t you know it could have gotten you in big danger?? (Klaude) ?I-I did not have a choice. I haven''t eaten properly for days and he wouldn''t give food to anyone who wasn''t a member,....so, I did what I did.? (Ray) This boy, Ray, his answer is too innocent. But that is not something that I cannot accept seeing as how he is holding a weapon and wearing clothes covered in blood. His attitude is too different from what it was a moment ago when he was dealing with Klan. And what''s more, his age seems clearly younger than Klan. If he can threaten an older boy who is clearly bigger than him, then I can say he must be very brave. But seeing his character talking to me now, I just can''t shake off this feeling that this timidity is this kid''s true nature. As I was immersing myself in these thoughts, the kid asked me a question. ?You''re their big brother, right? So, could you please make me a member of their group?? (Ray) As he asked me this question, his face was still full of this timidity. Hmmmmm. It''s not like I cannot talk to boss about this kid, but, seeing his behaviour just a little before, I can''t decide on its too easily. If he acts violently on work or during the delivery, it will cause serious problems. This is too bothersome for me. Oh, right. I should first send all other kids to work. ?........Klan, all of the kids seem to have eaten their breads. Take them all and go to your work, I will see what to do with him.? (Klaude) Hearing me, clan begins to give orders to all other kids. ?Hey, you heard big brother! Leave the brat alone and move to work! Let''s go!? (Klan) And they all go to their work. Now then, let''s give some time to this kid and decide what to do with him. ?.........You really wanna become one of us? You know you''re gonna have to work and do a lot of other stuff? And even if I decide to approve you, it''s the boss who decides who becomes a member.? (Klaude) If this kid is smart, he will notice the nuance behind other stuff and ask me about it. Probably. And this type of kids are serious problems for us as they usually try to take advantage of our goods. And normal kid won''t be a problem, as he wouldn''t be that well versed in ways of the world, but if he is an orphan or someone who has stayed in contact with them, he would have enough knowledge to make use of our material. ?Then take me to your boss, please. I really want to become a member of your group.? (Ray) Hmmmm. He accepted it surprisingly easily. Didn''t even take time to think about my offer. Well looks like this kid is one innocent victim begging to be made use of. Now then, let''s take him to the boss to get him in our group before others make use of him. ?By the way, my name is Klaude. And I''m the one you have to meet if any kid is to become a member. I also recommend kids I find valuable to become members to boss.You said your name was Ray? I haven''t seen you around in the slums much. Are you really new here?? (Klaude) ?Y-Yes. I came here, a few days ago...? (Ray) Apparently he had come here not too long ago and seeing his way of speaking and his behaviour, he doesn''t seem to be a clever one. This saves me some trouble of having to take care of a troublesome kid and helps us get a good new pawn. Now then let''s get him in our group. Children, Work and Delivery – Part 2 Following Klaude, Ray arrived at their destination. The place of the boss. Although Ray was nervous, all things proceeded so smoothly that it left him a bit dissatisfied. He was ordered to do the same work as the other kids. And now, Klaude was leading him to the work area in the town. This was the first time he was entering the town after being separated from his mother, therefore, he was a bit afraid. Following after Klaude in the town, taking a number of turns they finally arrived at where the other kids were working. Ray saw there that the kids were using brushes to clean the drains and streets of the town. ?Hey! Why¡¯ve your hands stopped working, hun?! And you, stop covering your nose and focus on work, we have to clean much more space so move your hands faster!? A kid with brown hair was shouting orders at the other kids. Of course, he was Klan, the leader of the kids. Or perhaps, in the presence of Klaude, he should be called vice leader. ?Yo, Klan!? (Klaude) ?Huh? Oh! Big Brother!? (Klan) Being called out by his big brother, Klan happily rushed over with a smile over his face, but when he saw Ray, his smile turned into a frown. ?Why is he here?? (Klan) It was clear from the look he is giving Ray and his manner of speaking that he did not like him very much, or rather, he did not like Ray at all. Seeing this, ?Now, now. Klan, boss has accepted him as a member of our community, so you should be nice to him. Besides, now that he is a member of our community, he will not harm you or any other for the time being. And also, you were short on hands somewhat after Shin went away, right?? (Klaude) Seeing Klan acting hostile, Klaude tried to smooth over the relationship between Klan and Ray, but seeing that the expression on Klna¡¯s face did not soften very much, it was clear that it have little effect if any. ?He is going to work with you guys now, so you should teach him all the work. I have got some other work to do, therefore, you make sure to teach him all the work properly. And, pay special attention to be nice to him. Understand?? (Klaude) ?¡­Altight.? (Klan) Although, Klan seemed a bit, no, very dissatisfied about it, he nodded for the time being. This showed just how much his big brother¡¯s, Klaude¡¯s, words mattered to him. ?Alright then, I¡¯ll leave it to you. Don¡¯t forget what I said.? (Klaude) Saying thus, Klaude went away waving his hand at Klan and other kids who in turn waved back at him. ?¡­Now, you, what did you say your name was?? (Klan) ?R-Ray¡­? (Ray) After Klaude went away, Klan started talking with Ray with visible anger and irritation in his voice. ?Listen up, we have got three different works to do.? (Klan) ?Um¡­? (Ray) ?What? You¡¯ve got something you want to ask?? (Klan)This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it As Klan started explaining things, Ray seemed wanting to ask something with a hesitant expression. ?Y-Yes. I wanted to know about this kid called Shin¡­? (Ray) Seeing Ray ask about the kid Klaude had mentioned, Klan took on a pondering expression and said, ?Shin, huh? He was also a kid from slums and was also an orphan like most of the kids from our group. He used to be a good worker, but, for some time, he started shirking on his work. All the kids warned him, and even bid brother Klaude told him to properly focus on his work, but he did not listen to anyone. Then one day, he was sent with a caravan coming to deliver goods to boss. Most likely he was sold as a slave.? (Klan) ?S-Slave¡­?!? (Ray) Hearing the word slave, Ray gasped. He did not expect the kids working here to be at the risk of turning into slaves, but, somewhere in his heart, he knew that in the slums, being forced to turn into a slave was not something very rare. ?Now that you¡¯ve heard what might happen to you if you don¡¯t work, I hope you¡¯ll work with all your best. Now take this broom and clean the streets¡­..no, clean the drains and I¡¯ll explain to you all the work we do while working. Get moving.? (Klan) Saying this Klan thrust out a broom to Ray. Taking the broom from his hands, Ray began to clean the drains. Smelling the stench coming from the drains, he grimaced, but remembering that the kids who did not work properly were sold as slaves, he steeled himself and started to diligently clean the drains. Seeing this, Klan nodded with a satisfied expression and started explaining the work to Ray. ?As I was saying, we do three kinds of work here. First, there is the work we are currently doing, cleaning of the town. This is an adventurer¡¯s town, therefore, a lot of garbage gathers in the streets and drains during day and night, therefore, we clean the town everyday. You can say that this is the only stable work we¡¯ve got. But since there are so many kids working on this job, what we get in return is hardly enough to feed all of us.? (Klan) Hearing the explanation that Klan gave all the while cleaning the street with the broom, Ray started wondering, ¡°Just where did they get all that breakfast from, then?¡± Not paying heed to Ray, who had started losing himself in his thoughts, Klan continued his explanation indifferently. ?Then, next is baggage carriers. Although there are adventurers who work as supporters carrying other adventurer¡¯s belongings and loots, sometimes, there are not enough supporters to go around, therefore, some adventurers employ one of us kids to take along on a relatively safe job so that we can carry their stuff. This job is semi stable as the offer to become baggage carriers comes in usually once or twice a week and the pay is also better than this cleaning job. But you won¡¯t get to spend that money on yourself, it will go towards buying food and necessities towards the group. But it is also a risky job to take if you are not a member of a group like ours as there is a likelihood that the adventurers will sell you as a slave.? (Klan) Hearing this Ray once again became afraid and relived at once. Afraid that if he takes the job of a baggage carrier, there is a risk that he might be sold off as a slave and relieved that he made the right decision joining with them. Of course, there was the risk of being sold with this group as well, but it was only if he did not work properly. Klan, as he was working, moved a little closer to Ray, and started speaking in a low voice so that only Ray could hear. ?Next is the job which brings most of the money. Once a month, a caravan comes into the town to provide some stuff to boss. That stuff is delivered to various places in the town by us. This work is done throughout the month by different kids at different places. They are probably using us to deliver something illegal. Once a kid was caught delivering that stuff by guards and he was beaten black and blue, while the client ran away seeing the guards.? (Klan) Ray did not understand why Klan had started talking in a low voice, and what illegal meant, but he understood that if he were to be caught with whatever was being delivered by guards, he would be beaten. This was enough for him to decide that he would never get caught by the guards while delivering that thing. ?Alright, now that all the garbage here has been gathered, Ray, put this garbage into this bag and you, Gren, take him with you to the garbage disposing site. Remember the path properly Ray, you are going to be carrying this garbage. After dumping this, come to the next street. Disposing of the garbage is going to be your duty from now on. And while you are present at cleaning site, clean the drains.? (Klan) As he said this, Klan had a mischievous grin on his face. Seeing this Ray understood that his days with this group are going to be filled with a lot of stench and labor. ?O-Okay.? (Ray) Pandemonium – Part 1 (Ray''s POV) ?Huff,Huff....? (Ray) I''m running in the streets of town. Well, streets wouldn''t be the right word to describe it. I''m running in the desolate alleys of the town outside of the slums. This Border town, a part of the Raian Kingdom, is, as the name implies, on the border the Kingdom shares with the Seiren Kingdom. Klan got separated from me some time ago and I''m looking for him. I just had a fierce fight with someone I had seen before. And if my hunch is right, the guards could be in big trouble. When I turn the corner, I see Klan. He is kneeling on the ground supporting himself with his sword. And in front of him is a man completely covered in black. A black hooded overcoat, black leather pants, black gloves with a black mask. ?KLAN!? (Ray) At my shout, the hooded man looked in my direction, and using this chance, Klan swings his sword in a horizontal swing. clang However, only the sound of metal clashing resounds. The hooded man managed to stop Klan''s sword with curved sword held in his right hand. He looked at Klan as if he was some annoying insect, and kicked his hand. The man''s one handed sword was freed. And in the next instant, he swing it. fwuuush~ thud The sword traced a beautiful curve with a clear resounding sound, indicating that the man had considerable experience with the sword. However, I had no time to admire the perfection of the swing. It''s because the target of his swing was Klan. Or to be specific Klan''s neck. The sword came to a stop, and I, too, halted. My breath stopped, I watched as Klan''s head slid off of his body and fell on the ground with a thud.
In the open area present in between the alleys of the slums, there was currently the sound of wood colliding with wood. The woods were small in size, shaped like a dagger. And four of these wooden daggers were being swung around in between a circle of kids. The kids were watching this show with sparkling eyes. Two people were swinging two of these wooden daggers each. One was a boy of around five-six years of age with black hair and dark golden eyes, and the other was a boy of around thirteen years of age with brown hair and brown eyes. Yes, the two swinging the wooden daggers were Ray and Klaude. They were currently having a practice bout. After Ray had begun working with them, one day Klaude suddenly comes up to Ray and asks, "Where did you get your dagger from?" (Klaude) Although Ray was surprised, he answered Klaude with a cautious voice, "Someone gave it to me.... I won''t give it to you." (Ray) Seeing that Ray was cautious of him, Klaude clarified things. "No, no. I was not asking to take it from you. I was just wondering whether you knew how to use it because I myself use two daggers." (Klaude) "No. I don''t know how to use it." (Ray) "I see." (Klaude) Hearing his answer, Klaude began to walk away, when he heard a hesitant voice, "K - Klaude,... Can you teach me... how to use it?" (Ray) Klaude looked back and saw that Ray was looking at him with both uncertainty and hope. For a while, he observed Ray, and then, "...Alright. I''ll teach you if I have time at night. But don''t expect too much, as I''m only self taught." (Klaude) And thus, Ray began to learn how to use daggers from Klaude at night. He will learn about three nights a week from Klaude, and on the other four nights, he will practice it himself. Since Klaude used two daggers, but Ray only had one, he brought Ray two wooden sticks the size of dagger. And Ray began to earnestly practice with them. He practised so much that in a year (365 days or 12 months) he had grown enough to match Klaude in a head on match without using skills. Klaude was surprised with this. And now, he was having a match with Klaude. Although, Ray was facing him, he was certainly being overwhelmed by Klaude''s speed and strength. ?Move your arms faster! Speed is the primary requirement of a dagger user!? (Klaude) ?Yes!? (Ray) Ray tried to increase his speed, but to no avail. He had been pushed to his limit, therefore, he tried to use a different approach. He jumped back from Klaude, and positioned himself to rush towards him. Klaude, seeing as Ray had moved back from being pushed to his limit, gave him some breathing space.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ?What? Is that all you managed to accomplish?? (Klaude) Seeing Klaude taunt him, blood rushed to Ray''s head. He positioned himself to rush at him. And the next moment, grabbing both daggers in backhand grip, he started running. Klaude readied his stance to face Ray, but something unexpected happened. As ray was only two or three steps away from him, he suddenly vanished. No, his speed suddenly increased to a point that Ray was not able to pay proper attention to him. In the next instant, Ray appeared holding a wooden dagger beneath Klaude''s neck, pointing it''s tip so that it can pierce his jaw from below. ?I lost, huh.? (Klaude) ?Heh.? (Ray) Ray had a smug smile on his face, as he stepped away from Klaude, but next instant, Klan jumped up, shouting. ?No! He used a skill! It''s against the rules!? (Klan) At the same time as that, an announcement echoed out in Ray''s head. << You have acquired the skill Flash!>> << In accordance with the effect of Flash skill, a correction of +1 has been added to Agility!>> << Your level has increased from 2 to 3! Every basis stat increased!>> <> Flustered that it really was the effect of a skill, Ray tried to justify himself. ?H-Hey! It''s not my fault. The skill just suddenly appeared!? (Ray) ?That''s not our problem. The fact is you won by using the skill! This is totally cheating!? (Klan) Seeing that a dispute was breaking out, Klaude intercepted in between. ?Alright, that''s enough. Klan, sometimes the skill just appears by itself. And if it appears during action, it''s not easy to stop it''s activation.? (Klaude) Hearing Klaude''s words, Klan stepped back grumbling with dissatisfaction. ?Alright Ray. Now you''ve mastered the use of dagger to a satisfying degree. It''s up to you to practice now and develop your own techniques. By the way, can you tell me what your status is presently.? (Klaude) ?Alright.? (Ray) Receiving Klaude''s request, Ray focused on his status. Name: Ray Level: 2¡ú3 HP: 13¡ú15+1 ; VIT: 7¡ú8+1 Race: Human Age: 6 Class: Undecided Subclass: Undecided
STR: 7¡ú9+2+1 DEF: 4¡ú6+1 AGI: 14¡ú16+4+1+1 DEX: 7¡ú9+2+1
MP: 3¡ú4+1 INT: 3¡ú4+1 MIND: 3¡ú4+1 END: 20¡ú23+5+1
Skills: Acquired Skills:
  • Increased Physical Strength Lv 2
  • Increased Agility Lv 4
  • Increased Endurance Lv 5
  • Storage Expansion Lv 1
  • Dagger Arts Lv 2
  • Parrying Lv 1
  • Flash Lv 1
Inherent Skills:
  • Kienetic Vision Lv 3
  • Magic Perception Lv 1
Unique skills:
  • Growth
Gifts: None ?And that''s my status.? (Ray) Hearing his answer, Klaude was looking at him wide eyed. Seeing this, ray got a feeling of iffiness. ?Um, what''s the matter?? (Ray) ?What''s the matter, you ask? What kind of monster are you? Do you know how ridiculous your status is?? (Klaude) ?Hey, I''m perfectly normal. Besides, what''s so monstrous about my status?? (Ray) ?Well, first of all, your strength is way higher than your age. You know, even Klan only has his strength at 7. And then your agility and endurance are above 20. You know, a normal human soldier will have his strength, agility and endurance at an average of 20. And then, even though you do not use even a bit of magic, your Magical power, intelligence and mind are also at five, which at your age would be considered the signs of a genius. You can understand what I mean, right?? (Klaude) Having this explained to his face, even Ray got confused and inadvertently asked back, ?So, what''s the deal here?? (Ray) ?Well, I think first of all, it''s because of that unique skill of yours, it''s name screams it''s a buff skill. Then, there are those skills with increased stat in their name. They provide bonus to stat each time the skill levels up or you level up. And you have those at a good level, especially your increased endurance, it''s level five. At the level of a somewhat experienced adventurer.? (Klaude) Hearing that he was above others and one of his skill was at the level of an experienced adventurer, Ray felt very happy and had a smile on his face. ?Hey, don''t lose focus and challenge someone you can''t win against. I''m going to discuss some matter with boss. There is some tension going on in work. You all go to sleep.? (Klaude) Klaude went away saying this, and all the kids, tired of the day''s work, went to sleep. But their sleep was short lived, as Klaude came back running a look of panic on his face and started shouting. ?Hey! All of you, get up!? (Klaude) Hearing the shout, all the kids woke up and saw that Klaude was in a state of panic. ?W-What happened big brother?! Why are you in a hurry?!? (Klan) ?Boss has been arrested by soldiers! Hurry and escape!? (Klaude) Hearing this, the kids were in shock, but they were not given enough time to think things through. From where Klaude came running, several soldiers came running as well. ?Arrest them! Make sure no one escapes!? (Soldier) One soldier shouted and others followed his orders. All the kids ran to get away, Klaude tried to stop one of them. ?Big Brother!? (Klan) ?Klaude!? (Ray) ?Don''t stop! Run away! This is an order from your big brother!? (Klaude) Hearing this, Klan and Ray hesitated to help him. Klaude was like an amiable big brother to all of them. Especially for Klan and Ray as they spent a great deal of time with them, and he taught Ray how to use dagger too. But seeing the intensity in his voice as he gave the order they hesitated to jump into the fray to help him. ?Didn''t you two hear?! I said, run away!? (Klaude) Hearing his order again, both Ray and Klan ground their teeth and started running in the opposite direction from which the soldiers were coming. Behind them, they could hear the sound of metal clashing and the shouting of children and soldiers as they ran like cat and mice, but they did not look back and continued running. Pandemonium – Part 2 Ray and Klan were running away from the soldiers when Klaude was holding them back. But, as they were about to get away from the guards, four more of them came and blocked their path. ?Get them!? (Soldier) Taking one of the soldiers'' shout as a signal, all of the soldiers leapt at them. Ray and Klan stopped running towards them and started running towards the opposite side, from where they had come. ?There!!? (Klan) Klan saw an alley that was to the left of the path they were currently running on. Without hesitation, Ray and Klan ran into it. After running for a short while, they felt that the area was getting a little hotter, and they could see red light coming from the end of the twisted alley. There were sounds of laughing and screams as well. However, they could care less about all of it, as there were soldiers coming from behind them right now. After exiting the alley, both of them stood stock still in their tracks. No, it would be better to say that they were forced to stop in their tracks by the scene unfolding in front of them. ?W-What''s going on?! Hey Klan! What the hell is going on here?!? (Ray) When Ray looked at Klan standing at his left after asking this, he could see Klan trembling with a pale face. But he was not much better either. Although he had the composure to shout all of his questions, by no means, Ray was in a condition to make any calm decisions. In front of them, they could see many soldiers fighting the residents of the slums. This was the inner area of the slums of Border town. The area of all the bigwigs who had their roots spread in both Raian Kingdom and Seiren Kingdom. By no means was this an area which could go down just like this. There were people fighting with swords, and there were soldiers fighting with spears and bows. Some people were being killed, some were killing. Some people fought with a desperate expression on their faces, some slaughtered everyone around them while laughing maniacally. The soldiers with bows were mainly setting fire to all the area. It was because of them that this place looked like a forest on fire. The soldiers were killing everyone in front of them, be it Men, Women and even children. When taking a closer look, Ray saw that many of these people were not part of the slums. Some had come from outside the slums as well. ?YYAAAAAAAHHH!? There was a shout from behind them. They did not who was shouting, but both Ray and Klan jumped forward without looking back. They fell down face first and a sword passed by just behind their backs. While they were standing still, the soldiers had caught up with them and attacked from behind. Both of them ran as fast as they could. But in this chaos, they could not get away. There was a man blocking their way, holding a spear. He was wearing the same uniform as the guards behind them, but he was holding a spear instead of a sword. The man lowered himself and took a posture to stab. Seeing this, both of them felt as if a cold wind was coiling around their body. Their speed slowed down. The man in front of them had a smirk on his face. Klan believed this would be the last day of his life. And as he was thinking of giving up and stopping to make his death as painless as possible,This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ?Don''t stop! Keep running!? He heard a shout. When he looked at the direction the shout came from, he could see Ray. He was taking out his dagger with a determined face. Klan did not feel hope at all, however, seeing that Ray had not given up, he felt some courage and moved forward with tears streaming down his face due to fear. Ray was not all that better himself. Seeing that his escape route was closed from both sides, he decided to fight back. After telling Klan to not stop and taking out his dagger, he saw that the man in front had all his attention on him. His smirk grew wider as Ray got closer with his dagger. Just as Ray was about to enter the range of the spear and the man was going to stab, ?Fllaaaassshh!? (Ray) ?...?!? Ray disappeared from the man''s view, and appeared right in front of the man holding the dagger in both of his hands. As the man understood the situation, his expression distorted in astonishment and fear with his previous smirk disappearing from his face. The man tried to kick Ray away. But before the man could take any action, Ray thrust the dagger in the man''s neck and twisted the grip. The man died before he could even scream. Seeing this, Klan got surprised. He had never seen anyone kill another man in front of him, therefore, Ray killing the soldier in front of them, he was very shocked. But his fear of death was greater than his shock. He kept running without thinking and eventually passed Ray who had stopped after killing the soldier. Ray picked up the spear from the fallen soldier and looked back, there were two soldiers coming for them. Both holding a swords in their right hands. After picking up the spear, Ray bent down his waist and took the posture of stabbing. As the soldiers got near, ?Flash!? Ray once again used the same skill and appeared in front of the soldier. The soldier was surprised as Ray was clearly a little away from them. They had seen him take down another soldier using a skill, but they had thought that a kid like him can only use a skill like that once and had not expected him to use it again. Alas, it was too late. Ray was in front of the soldiers and they were clearly in the range of the stab. Moreover, the momentum of using the skill had not dispersed. Before the effect of Flash could end, Ray stabbed the soldier in front of him with the spear. The stab combined with the momentum of the skill Flash created a tremendous force behind the spear and it easily pierced the man''s stomach exiting from his back. The man coughed up blood with an expression of disbelief. Seeing this, the other soldier swung his sword with an expression of hatred. Ray was very tired after using a skill in succession. His body felt like it would break apart. Especially his right arm with which, he had stabbed the soldier. It trembled when Ray tried to even move it a little bit. But seeing the sword coming towards him, Ray forced himself to move. He held up his left hand holding the dagger to defend against the sword. When the sword and dagger collided, the shock transferred to his arm was so great that it got numb. Ray fell back from the force of the swing and dropped the dagger. He felt as if his right arm had turned into lead, and his left arm was throbbing in pain. ?You Son of a bitch!? (Soldier) The soldier came towards him with his sword. He was going to stab Ray. It felt as if time had slowed down. The sword coming towards him, the voice of the soldier and himself, these were the only things present in this world. His body felt tired and he did not have the willpower to move even an inch further. He gave up all struggle. At such a time, he felt his eyelids growing heavy and his body entering someone''s embrace. It was an embrace that he remembered well. It was soft, and gentle like his mothers''. All struggles ended, and he felt that he could finally get away from all the suffering he had to face in the past year. He felt the pain ending and a gentle warmth spreading on him, and closed his eyes. Pandemonium – Part 3 Greed. This is a sin that everyone does. Those who do not have something covet what they lack. And those who have something covet it even more. The king of Paharu was one such individual. Born as the first prince of Paharu kingdom, he had a desire to achieve what he was lacking. The kingdom of Paharu was a place of struggle. On one side, it was surrounded by ocean, and the rest of it was encompassed by tall cliffs which house precious minerals such as limestone, iron, gold, copper, coal etc. There was a group of mountains in the middle of all these cliffs and ocean. Their people were known to be strong, and their minerals abundant and of high quality. If looked at from outside, the kingdom of Paharu was a blessed land. After all, it was provided with a natural fortress, strong workforce, and minerals to build perhaps the most destructive weapons of the world. But that was only when it was looked at from outside. The people of Paharu were known to be strong, but that was all. There were not many of them. Compared to other kingdoms of which had a landmass equal to the Paharu kingdom, their population was only a quarter of theirs. The people were not able to efficiently maintain their lands.Since the kingdom was covered with tall cliffs with a mountain in between, there were random snowfalls and rainfalls. It was difficult to cultivate or traverse this land. This resulted in a considerable area of the landmass turning into monster habitats. The ocean which could be called a source of food for people had monster that were stronger than those present on lands. The population was barely sustainable. The capital built around the central mountains was very large and the villages were the size of towns and the towns the size of cities. But that was so that people could respond to a monster swarm quickly with their strength of numbers. The only city was capital because the mountain lands could be used to gather and grow food. And the cliffs holding minerals. They were houses to monster that were stealthy and strong. They had tough hides that could make even the sharpest of weapons chip and were stealthy enough to make professional hunters tremble. This continued for centuries until a great child was born. The child was grief stricken to see other countries enjoying benefits while his own people were suffering. He started his struggle against the world at a young age. While his brothers and sisters were being taught etiquette to behave in front of others, he learned arts, magics and war strategies. When he came of age, he rallied his people to fight against the monsters and take back the land. With his strength that he had trained since childhood, he opened the path to the mines for people. When people got metals, they began to make weapons and tools to develop their lands. In the leadership of their charismatic prince, the took back their lands from monsters and cultivated it. Everything went well at first but people soon found despair. Their rocky land was not suitable for farming. The prince did not give up and once again rallied people. This time to take their happiness from others. He encouraged his people to work hard so that they could step outside these desolate lands which do not produce foods. The result was amazing. Three fourth of the population of the kingdom became soldiers. Men, women, youths, all picked up a weapon to open a path towards the happiness that lied beyond the cliffs. This army supported by the mind boggling hard work of the rest of the population stepped foot outside their kingdom for the first time. And when they did, everyone in their path had to either kneel down or die. In just a few years, the kingdom of Paharu, spread to five times its original size. And now the people who had gained a taste of life outside that cold place were greedy for more. They tried to grow bigger and threatened the Raian and Seiren Kingdom. The two kingdoms, in hopes of stopping the Paharu kingdom joined forces, sealing the deal with the marriage of crown prince of Raian kingdom and first princess of Seiren Kingdom. But Paharu King did not stop. He tried to strike the weak nerve connecting the two kingdoms, the Border town. Border town was a special place. It was the place which had been recently pioneered and thus did not have enough strength to defend against the onslaught of Paharu kingdom. Moreover, it was a place surrounded by extremely fertile land. Though it was called a town, it had the size of the capital city. But the place was not pioneered because many varieties of monster were prevalent in the area, making it difficult for people of Raian to pioneer. Then what about people of Paharu? The original inhabitants could clear it with somewhat difficulty but not the people who they had conquered. They waited for the monsters in the area to be killed by the Raian kingdom and then attacked, conquering the most fertile land available to Raian Kingdom.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
(??? POV) Some time after the dawn, in a room with all of its curtain closed, there was the sound of someone tapping on something. Since the sun had already moved well above the horizon, it wouldn''t be strange at all if all of the curtains and gates were open to let fresh air and light in, but they were still kept closed as if to prevent something from leaking outside. In such a room a man with a beautiful androgynous face was sitting on a chair. From the small light of candle illuminating his clothes and the furniture around him, it was clear that he was quite wealthy. After tapping the at the table for quite a while, the man muttered to himself, ?What is the status?? (Red haired man) And what was supposed to be a mumbling to himself was replied by a muffled voice out of nowhere. The voice was small enough to only be barely audible, yet still clear to be perfectly understood. ?It is progressing favourably. All of the areas in which the plan was implemented have shown desired results.? Hearing this, the red haired man went into deep thought with an expression of sorrow on his face. After some time he made a determined expression and asked, ?Is there something out of our expectations?? (Red haired man) The voice replied to him, ?No, everything is well within calculated range. Just...? The man patiently waited for the voice to continue what it was going to say. And after some time, the voice broke the silence and continued, ?In Border town, the deaths of the attackers were much lower than expected.? The Border town. In Raian Kingdom, it was the land found to be most fertile after pioneering in monsters'' den for the first time. Naturally since the place was a monsters'' den before, its'' soldiers were much stronger than any other place in the kingdom. But that was all the more reason for the man to take precautionary measures to make his plan come true. And he did so, alas, hearing the result, he felt betrayed that the people were not as strong as he thought. ?What''s the cause?? (Red haired man) At the question of the red haired man, the voice replied in an even smaller voice, ?It is said that the lord of that area, having gained a land with size comparable to capital and more fertile than it had gotten drunk on power, thus forcing the people to migrate. It might result in some delay of the completion of plan.? Hearing this, the face of the red haired man scrunched up, and he said, ?Reduce the number of attackers, and distribute them to some other areas so that the plan is completed before deadline. We do not know when the Paharu kingdom will move. If the plan gets delayed, it is possible that the contract with that dragon will be annulled. If that happens, we cannot guarantee the future of Raian.? (Red haired man) Saying so, the red haired man, crown prince of Raian kingdom, Aletis von Raian started moving to fulfill his contract with a dragon.
As Ray was lying with his eyes closed, waiting for the sword to kill him, he heard a sound. It was as if someone was cut and stabbed but he did not feel and pain. Thinking this to be due to his tiredness, he did not open eyes. At least until he heard Klan''s voice. ?Get moving you dumbass!? (Klan) When he opened his eyes, he saw Klan standing there with a sword in his hand. There was blood on him and the sword. When he looked around, he saw the soldier who was going to kill him dead at the side. He had been killed by Klan. He was relieved. Even when he thought he had accepted death, there was a deep fear of it in his heart somewhere. Now that the danger has been evaded for the time being, he felt fatigue was over his body. His heartbeat was so fast it felt like his heart would burst. His breath was ragged, and the repeated use of flash two times continuously had put a very severe strain on his body. However, he knew that it was not a place to rest. With sheer willpower, he moved his aching body in order to survive. He pulled out the spear from the soldier, and called out to Klan who was looking around in fear, ?Let''s go? (Ray) From his voice alone one could tell how fatigued he was. Yet they had to move, therefore, Ray and Klan started moving again. This time towards the dumping site, which had lots of monster entrails, dead bodies and garbage gathered over the years. The war of End – Part 1 With Klan, Ray found his way to the dumping site. Here the landscape truly depicted what happened to weak and worthless. But he did not have the intelligence and energy to see it as such. For him, it was just a stinking place where others would never want to come. And even if they did, they would not want to stay here any longer. Fortunately, they were quite close to the dumping site as they were running away from their attackers and after having defeated those three soldiers, they did not find any others, thus allowing them to have reached here. Klan was covering his nose and Ray was breathing heavily, using the spear as a support for his body so that he does not fall. Apparently, the cost of using the skill was too high for his young body. They kept moving and eventually, hid themselves behind a pile of trash. If one were to look at the pile, they would see some hands, blood and entrails of monsters. There also were feces scattered all over the area. All in all, it was a place one would never come to willingly. Klan himself had given Ray the work of dumping garbage here so that he does not have to come here. However, at this moment, he was grateful to the dumping site, as it could be considered one of the safest places to hide. Ray laid down on the dirty ground, even glancing around him. "What the hell are you doing?! This place is even dirtier that the dirtiest places in the dirty slums! Even if you are a garbage man, that doesn''t mean you should love it this much! Get up quickly!" said Klan to Ray with an expression of disgust on his face. However, Ray did not seem to care. He kept lying down there. In a feeble voice that seemed like it would be extinguished at any moment, "I don''t have even a bit of strength left. Please, just this once, let me rest here. Look the day will also come after some time. I say you should rest as well, no matter the place." he replied to Klan, closing his eyes. Klan''s face distorted in anger. "Have you gone insane?! I will not lie down here! Oi! Are you even listening?!" shouted Klan. However, it was all for naught, by the time he finished speaking, Ray had departed for the dreamland. Klan wanted to beat him awake, however, seeing how tired Ray was, he stopped himself. And this time, he seriously thought about what Ray had said and what would happen. And in his thoughts, he did not notice that he himself was lying beside Ray in the same garbage and slowly drifting off for the dreamland.
When Klan woke up, the sun was already high up in the sky. He was still in a daze from having just woken up, but as he gradually got a hold of the situation, "U-UWAH!" he screamed jumping up from the ground. As he realised that he had been sleeping on the ground of dumping site, his expression was filled with panic. He checked his clothes. He looked to check whether something was sticking to him and smelled himself to check whether there was a stench or not. Fortunately, there was only dust on his clothes, and his body did not seem to stink of anything other than sweat. As he looked around himself after having finally calmed down, he noticed that Ray was still sleeping on the ground. His breathing was peaceful and his expression was serene. However, there was some blood on his clothes and on the spear lying close to him as well, indicating that what they had experienced was not a dream they could have seen after having fallen asleep here. As this realisation hit him now that he had some time to think it over, he could not hold back his tears as they ran down his cheek. "B-Big brother..." he sobbed, hoping that someone would come to comfort him. Alas, reality was cruel, there was no one to comfort him here. After some time, he calmed down and stopped crying.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "Hey, Ray. Wake up. How long are you planning on sleeping?" he asked to Ray who was still sleeping soundly without a care in the world. As there was no response, he kicked him in the gut. "UH!" Ray, having been kicked in the stomach while sleeping, opened his eyes. As he looked around while holding his stomach, he found Klan looking at him with eyes full of scorn. "W-What was that for?!" he asked Klan in a loud voice. As his response, Klan delivered another kick to his stomach. While Ray was groaning in pain from having been kicked again, Klan said to him, "Why the hell are you shouting? Don''t you remember what happened last night?" After Ray heard this, he looked around himself. He was at the garbage site, and there was a blood stained spear lying right beside him. This answered all his questions regarding what had happened last night. The pain of having been kicked left him. With a sorrowful expression on his face, he asked, "So, what is the condition of the town now? And what do you plan on doing?" Now that they had rested a bit and understood the situation to some extent, they had to decide on what they would do. Klan said, "First, let''s see what is the condition of town and big brother. We can decide what to do after that." Ray nodded at Klan''s words. He got up, picked the spear and slowly they both started moving towards the town. When they reached the town, they moved cautiously from there. The houses made of wood and straw were still giving out black smoke. And when they looked on the ground, they could see that there were still dead bodies sprawled on the ground. The bereaved families were crying for their departed. Seeing this scene, Ray stopped moving. Klan looked back at him and asked, "What''s the matter?" However, Ray did not even look towards him. His gaze was focused on a little boy who was crying while holding onto a middle aged woman and shouting "MOTHEERRRR!" Seeing him, Ray remembered the tragedy that happened to him one year ago. The appearance of the dragon, the heat of his breath, the unbearable huger he felt. He had forgotten all of the pain and sorrow he felt after spending time with Klan, Klaude and others. However, the scene in front of him now was enough for him to remember it all again. He clutched the spear in his hand and said to Klan, "Let''s go." Seeing that people were out in the open like this, it seemed that the attackers had gone away. Therefore, they did not need to walk while being as cautious. They walked slowly towards the slums. As they reached there, they could not believe what was in front of them again. No, it would be better to say that they did not want to believe it. They had some suspicions that they would be met with this scene. "U-Uuuu..." Klan started sobbing again at the scene in front of him. While Ray silently shed tears. It was because, in front of them, they could see the corpses of Klaude and other children. There were two corpses of soldiers as well. So it was likely that Klaude fought while trying to protect others and managed to take two of them down. However, that much was still not enough to stop the soldiers from killing him. There were wounds on the bodies similar to what you would expect when someone was stabbed by a sword. Especially Klaude. He had many wounds like this. Most likely, he was repeatedly stabbed by the soldiers. It was horrible to look at. However, they could do nothing about this other than crying, and so they cried, without trying to hide the sorrow and grief in their hearts. The war of End – Part 2 The town was enveloped in a solemn atmosphere. Ray and Klan both were sitting with their backs against a burnt wall, gazing at the dead body of Klaude. The expression on his dead face was one of fear and regret. Perhaps, he had feared his death or perhaps he had feared for the well being of others. Maybe the regret was also because of the same. The soldiers of the town were busily moving about, gathering the dead bodies of the departed. When one of them came to get Klaude, he saw two kids sitting nearby with empty eyes, gazing at the body in front of them. Thinking that someone important to them had died, he said, ¡°We are going to cremate the dead. You should come if someone important to you had died.¡± Saying this, he took the bodies away. Ray and Klan both followed him out of town, where the dead bodies of all were gathered. The bodies were gathered together with dry grass, firewood . After oil was scattered on them, the fire was ignited, resulting in a great fire quickly enveloping all of it. Seeing the fire, many broke down in tears, some fell to their knees in sorrow, some prayed for the departed. Among all this, Ray silently shed tears, cursing his fate and hoping that this would have never happened. The fire kept burning , and after aboit two hours, its intensity started to die down. By this time everyone had gone back, but Ray stayed behind lokking at the ashes being formed by fire. By the time fire had stopped, dusk had come. Ray still showed no signs of moving, and eventually, the world was enveloped in the silence of night. Perhaps the solitude, silence and darkness of night had mended the cracks in his heart somewhat, a small light returned to his eyes which had previously been completely empty, although he continued staring into nothingness. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of someone talking and moving. By the sounds, it would appear that the person was trying to move stealthily although they did not have miluch skill in it. When ray got up from his spot and moved towards the source, he saw ©`
When the Paharu Kingdom¡¯s expansion started to gain momentum Aletis von Raian, crown prince of Raian Kingdom, was very troubled. He saw no hope to stop the Paharu Kingdom¡¯s march of carnage. Until, one day, out of nowhere a dragon came to him. ¡°Do you want to keep your kingdom? Do you want power to rule others? Do you want unquestionable authority?¡± with these words, the dragon tempted him. Having had his will weakened by constant tension, Aletis accepted the offer. The payment- Souls of 100,000 people. Although, for the Raian Kingdom this was a quarter of its population, Aletis accepted the deal nonetheless. The time to gather souls was one year. For this, he started gathering bandits from all around the kingdom, and allowed them to plunder, kill, rape and all other atrocities. With only one condition, the witnesses shall not be allowed to live. Now, the demand has almost been met. And it is time to finish things. The last prey ¨C Border Town.
In the woods separated a little ways from the road leading to the Border town of Raian Kingdom, an army of 5,000 people was present. There was no coordination that one might expect from an army, except that the army was divided into groups of varying sizes. Some were as small as 30 strong, while some were as large as 300 strong. Alas, it was to be expected. After all, this army was a rag tag bunch of bandits. They had attacked the town last night, and now, they were going to do it again, only this time, it will be a full scale attack rather than a scouting like yesterday. Among all the groups present here, one stood out like a sore thumb. This group which was the smallest, was so small that it considered as a group, was only made up of a pair of men. One of them was a big, muscular bald man, who looked more like a bear. He was wearing a brown leather vest along with blue pants and brown boots. The other was lean and well built with average height, although this one was completely covered in black. Wearing a black hooded overcoat over black pants and boots, he looked as if being assimilated into darkness. And as if that was not enough, his hands were covered in black leather gloves while his face was hidden by a black mask, which only allowed his eyes to peek through.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The lean man was Ron while the bald one was Damian. They were both famous for not allowing their prey to leave alive, and even had a bounty on their head. It was said that when the two of them are together, they could even take on a group of hundred. No one dared to approach them as they talked among each other, though, it was only Damian talking to Ron, who was looking up at the moon sitting on a rock. They had heard the state of the town from the hundred men who had attacked it yesterday. They had used the authority of Royal army to get into the town and then cause chaos when nobody was expecting it. Wearing the dress of Royal army, they had been successful in entering the town rather easily, and after that, they had killed to the best of their abilities, until the guards gathered and they were outnumbered. The reports they brought back with them were pretty upsetting. Although the town was big, it did not have much in the name of riches. Only having foods and some liquor along with money was all that could be offered by the town. But, the bandits which moved from one place to another, did not have much use of food. When they travel, the separate into their own groups, so there was no need for gathering all the food. Whereas the amount of liquor, from the reports was nowhere near enough to satisfy a group of 5,000 bandits. Since they had been ordered not to leave any witnesses of the army alive, they had no choice but to attack the town. And in such cases, the pillage became a competition for the first come, first served. It was decided that like yesterday a group of 100 people will infiltrate the city. After infiltration, they would start attacking people so that the attention of guards is distracted. When the guards inside the city are busy dealing with the chaos, some people would kill the guards present at the gates after which all the bandits would move and raze the city. The walls of the town were two floor tall. However, they were only made of mud and bricks, allowing them to be easily scaled. Ron and Damian were sitting, waiting for their turn to come. Suddenly, Damian had a thought, "Hey, Ron. Do ya think that kid''s still live n'' kickin''?" Ron looked back to the days before he joined the bandit army. Specifically on the days when they were still wandering criminals. When they heard the rumours of a new pioneered land which had very good prospects to be developed as a flourishing agricultural city, they had visited it to take a look. What they saw were people living their daily lives in fields. When they heard the news that a peddler had come into the city, they decided to extent a hand of salvation to him, freeing him of his duties and worldly desires. On that night, they saw him. A kid who was not even ten years old. Seeing the kid, Damian decided to torture him a little. However, Ron ignored him and decided to leave the kid be. But on Damian''s continued pestering, he changed his mind. Looking at the kid, he could see that the kid was not in good condition. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his body was dirty. Probably the kid might not have eaten for days. Ron decided to give the kid his short sword and leave the town. Now that they had come back, he also could not help but think what had happened to the kid. "Who knows. Let''s just leave it and begin." As soon as Ron said that and got up, the sound of people''s cries rang out in the distance. Is seemed that the attack had started. The bandit army started moving on that signal. The war of End - Part 3 The world was shrouded in darkness and silence of night. The only light coming to this place was from the full moon above in the sky and the stars surrounding it. ssrrrrrrrrr~ The world felt so quiet that the sound of occasional wind blowing against the grass felt like it was made to prevent people from falling asleep because of the boredom. However, before long, other sounds started mingling in between, and the intermittent sound of rustling grass and trees created by wind became continuous. The sound of footsteps trying to conceal themselves, excited whispers which made one wonder how the voices were being kept down, the sound of weapons cutting the obstructions in one''s path and the like became dominant. Ray was watching this from behind a bush just large enough to hide him. He was watching them with wariness. However, that wariness soon changed to anger once he heard the contents carried by their whispers. "Maaan, why do we have to do this? This town doesn''t even have that much money." "What''re ya whinin''bout? Ey said ya can tek jus whateva ya want. Jus don leave anyun alive." "Yea. This is bound to turn into a battle for goods. I mean not like the people are even a threat to us. There can''t be a skill holder in a place like this. And even if there is, he can''t take us all on." "Y''know, yer too idiotic. Thinking only about small stuff owned by these peasants. I heard there is booze in the town. And a whole ton of it to boot." "You serious, Boss?!" "Yeah. Apparently, the harvest was much more plentiful than expected. Shows just how much more fertile this land is compared to other regions." "En we''ve gotta tek it!" "Heh. If only it could be that easy. The others should also''ve heard of this. They''re going to aim for it too." "Then, what should we do, Boss?! We can''t not have liquor, y''know!" "That''s easy. Aim for the centre of the town. The warehouse''s there. If we reach there first, we can have all the booze. Fortunately, the main force is still at the back. And as there''s the rule to not kill allies, we can barter it for other small stuff. Just take our kids and kill all the peasants. Clear a way to the warehouse. If we''re lucky, we''ll have all the good stuff this town has to offer." "YEAH!!!" Such conversations were being carried out throughout the group of around hundred people. The content was brutal, however, the people speaking it did not seem to realise the weight of the words they were speaking. Hearing the words, Ray was worried about Klan who was inside the town. For the people of the town, they were filthy untouchables, but that only made the bonds between untouchables all the more stronger. Currently, Ray was thinking about what would have happened to him if he had not met Klaude, Klan and others at the time he did. He might have had to live by himself, which he wasn''t sure he could do. What could a boy who hasn''t even come of age, lack the know how of outside world, lacking any talent to do any work do? His life would perhaps have ended some time after his mother left him. He had heard from Klaude that the dead become stars and if you die, you will also become one. He wanted to see his mother who had become a star. He wanted to be beside her as a fellow star. However, the primal instinct of survival was too strong. However, now that he had experienced the pain of living alone and powerless, he wanted to avoid having to go through that ever again. That''s why he decided to move. To protect what is his.
(Ray''s POV)Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I am moving from bush to bush, trying not to make any sounds. And by the time I got in a position so that I could finally start attacking them, the group had already made it close to the walls of the town. What they said is true. There is no skill holder in town. At least other than me. Skills are called the blessings by god. Usually, one does not have them. The Acquired skills and Inherited skills columns of most people are empty from what I heard from Klaude. The people usually only have their basic stats and level. When they level up, they get a boost in their stats. However, skill holders, apparently, can get other bonuses on level ups, making their stats higher than others. That is the reason that I, who holds multiple skills, looked like a monster to others. Apparently, my stats are high enough to be compared to a level one 17 years old soldier. I check my status and details on skills to see how well I can fare against these people. Name: Ray Level: 3 HP: 16; VIT: 9 Race: Human Age: 6 Class: Undecided Subclass: Undecided
STR: 12 DEF: 7 AGI: 22 DEX: 12
MP: 5 INT: 5 MIND: 5 END: 29
Skills: Acquired Skills:
  • Increased Physical Strength Lv 2
  • Increased Agility Lv 4
  • Increased Endurance Lv 5
  • Storage Expansion Lv 1
  • Dagger Arts Lv 2
  • Parrying Lv 1
  • Flash Lv 1
Inherent Skills:
  • Kienetic Vision Lv 3
  • Magic Perception Lv 1
Unique skills:
  • Growth
Gifts: None After checking my status, I check the details of each skill in the hope of getting their effects completely engraved on my mind. <>
  • On every level up of user
STR + 2 <>
  • On every level up of user
AGI + 4 <>
  • On every level up of user
END + 5 <>
  • The storage equipment possessed by the owner have their storing capacity increase by 1%
  • In case the equipment is transferred while containing material to someone lacking the skill or having lower level, the material stored in the expanded space will be lost.
<>
  • DEX + 2 when equipped with a dagger.
  • When equipped with a dagger, inferior version of <> will be generated.
  • If level increases while equipped with a dagger
DEX + 2; AGI + 2 < >
  • Provides minimal help while parrying an attack.
<>
  • The user can cover a distance of few steps instantaneously.
  • The user''s posture will remain unchanged for the most part.
  • The skill consumes mana while also putting a strain on the body.
<>
  • User''s Peripheral vision is enhanced allowing better grasp on surroundings.
<>
  • On every level up, a correction of +1 will be added to all stats.
  • The experience and skill proficiency gained will increase in proportion to the user''s level.
<> There are mostly skills which have passive attached to them. I don''t understand why they are called passive, but considering the effects I have read, they will be beneficial in the long run. But since I need them now, they might as well be useless. Flash is a good skill, but it puts too much strain on my body and also drains something called mana. I don''t know what it is, but if it is a fuel for a skill like this, it is bound to be an imortant resource. I will have to use it sparingly, or else I might end up like I did last time I used it consecutively, unable to even move properly. Next is Magic Perception. I haven''t been able to call any information on it, no matter how many times I tried. I don''t know why that is, and I can''t ask any other skill holder as I''m the only one here. Although, I suppose it is a magician exclusive skill considering it''s name contains magic. If mother was alive, perhaps, she would have known, but no use crying over spilled milk, what''s gone is gone. I am still nervous about killing another human. The last time I killed two soldiers, I was in a panic from the rapidly changing situation, but now that I have some time to think it over, I want to avoid killing at all costs. My palms are sweaty and my hands are shivering. Though I suppose that''s because I might not come back from this. After all, there''s about a hundred of them and only one of me. Now then, since I have read all the available description, it''s time to go. I don''t want to do this, I''m afraid, I might really die, however, I have to do this, because if I don''t I know I''m going to regret it later on. The War of End – Part 4 I was quietly hiding behind a bush. When they reached near the wall, they threw ropes with one of their ends attacked to a hook on it. Specifically, two ropes. The ropes were thrown side by side, and when they confirmed that the hook has attached itself to the wall, they began climbing it. Two at a time, the people on the outer side of the town moved inside. When about ten people have crossed over the wall, I started hearing the screams of the residents. It seems that they have started their attack. I was overcome with an urge to rush at that moment, but somehow I held myself back. It would have been over for me if I attacked recklessly. I waited for my chance. The people waiting on this side of the wall started moving quickly. There was impatience in their movements. However, it was not the king of impatience I was feeling. If I had to guess, it was similar to the impatience of the child whose friends were playing games near him but he could not play with them for whatever reason. The rate at which people were crossing over the walls increased. I moved closer to them. They were not even paying attention to their surroundings. Only waiting for their chance to come, so that they can enter the town. When about fifty people have crossed over, I noticed that now there were sounds of weapon clashing as well mixed in among the screams. When I looked to the walls, there was light coming from above them. It was a light that was impossible to be created unless there was a big fire on the other side of the walls. Gradually, the people on this side of the wall were reduced to only four. Two of them started climbing the rope. I tightened my grip on the dagger in my hand, steadied my breathing. Now, there were only two people on this side of the wall, and they had started climbing too. I resolved myself and rushed out from behind the bush. The two of them were about two feet above the ground. I ran towards them with all my might, and as I was nearing them, I decided to attack the one hanging from the left rope. They seemed to notice me, but it was too late. I was close enough to them to attack, "Huh?....AAAAAHHHH!" I sliced at the knee pit, and there was a spurt of blood as the man cried out and fell to the ground on his back. I did not hesitate as I moved closer to him and stabbed the dagger in his neck. The man struggled for a while before his breathing came to a stop. I pulled the dagger out of his neck, and stood there in a stance. I killed someone. I actually killed someone. I killed someone for the first time. No, well that''s not right. I had killed before this. But this is the first time I killed someone while not in a rush. As I was standing there basking in the emotions, I suddenly felt a chill. It was an instinctive action, I rolled to the side. And just as I rolled away, a sword passed through where I had been standing before. I looked up from my crouching position and saw that the other man who had been hanging was standing there with his sword out. My body was feeling tired, perhaps because of having moved in extreme nervousness. It was only then that I noticed that the man I thought dead was actually breathing. Although it was very faint, I was certain of it. The other man swung his sword again at me. This time I retreated back. A downward slash from my left, I dodged left, a horizontal swipe at my neck, I ducked. This game of tag continued for a while, but slowly as if losing his patience, the man tried to kick me. This time, I did not try to dodge his attack by moving out of the way. I stepped forward, and just as his knee was about to hit me, I moved just enough to avoid getting hit. Then, the man put down his leg, bringing down the sword he had raised overhead, however, I had already moved in, he could not swing his sword as freely as he had before. The sword missed its mark and I got struck on my shoulder with his forearm. Apparently, the man was irritated by this, and tried to elbow me in the neck, however, before he could, I moved the dagger in my right hand to a backhand grip and slashed at his stomach. I felt the dagger in my hand digging into his stomach, the feeling of cutting through flesh filled my hand. This time I felt it clearly, not having lost my mind in the trepidation. And all of a sudden, all the hesitation, all the aversion that I had in my mind to kill a fellow human, was lost.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The man too lost his strength, and his elbow which was meant to be an attack to knock me down, came down a little harder than a tap. In the next instant, blood started coming out of his mouth. His face was distorted in pain, and he was looking at me in hatred. However, surprisingly, I did not feel anything even when I looked into his eyes, except for pity. Pity for him, because he was suffering in unimaginable pain. My head started to calm down from the excitement of the battle, my breathing slowly returned to normal. cough, cough. The man started coughing up blood, and in the face of that excruciating pain he must be feeling, even the hatred in his eyes was gone. He was just there, waiting for his own death in fear. I moved, and with the same dagger I used to cut his belly, I sliced open his neck. In that instant, the light of life extinguished from his eyes. Seeing his body fall to the ground lifelessly, I turned my eyes to the other man, who was lying there looking at me in fear. I moved, and crushed his neck under my foot. The result - he died. I think his other arteries were cut by the bone in his neck. Once I had seen a slime, and my mother had killed it instantly. Of course it would die instantly. She crushed its core with her bare hands. That day she told me that all living things had at least one important organ needed to support its body. For the slime, which was one of the simplest life forms, it was his nucleus. As the body structure got complicated, these organs increased in number. And of course, the became more vulnerable as well. For a human body which was one of the most complicated, these organs would be their intestines, kidneys, heart, neck, blood, brain and the like. Even if only one of them was damaged or removed, it will become nigh impossible to survive for even a complete minute. I stood there silently for a while, listening to the announcements of level up that were going on in my head. When they calmed down, I noticed that on level up, something would come gushing out of my body, and once I had grasped that feeling, I could feel it flowing through my body, although very faintly. And I knew what it was. It was warm, it was rejuvenating, all the fatigue I had felt from fighting with my life on the line, all the tension in my body and mind, every single bit of it was gone. I could feel it filling me with energy. I could feel it flowing through every part of my body, as if it was competing with the blood in my body to see which one is faster. Once I grasped this feeling, I could feel almost every corner of my body. It was mana, which I was oblivious to until now. In my feeling of high, I climbed over the wall in a hurry. Hurry to find people to kill so that I could feel that amazing sensation again. I wanted to level up. I wanted to feel that again. I wanted to drown myself in that feeling. However, once atop the wall, I froze. In front of me, there was the town, a part of it burning. The clashing of weapons and cries of people roused myself from my euphoria. The light coming from burning houses showed me the reality. And among those sounds, I heard the sound of footsteps. They were like a drum, a drum being beaten by someone gone mad. I turned to face in that direction, still in disbelief at what was happening. What I was there was, people, weapons, torches. A massive number of people with weapons in hands and torches lighting the way in the night were coming towards here. They were raising cries to increase their morale, and their march was like a storm. It felt like one of the stories of war I had heard from the elders in our village had come to life in front of me. I saw it, the enemies heading towards us in large numbers. When I looked around inside the town, I saw that some of the soldiers were here. However, they were engaged in a struggle against the few enemies who had infiltrated the town. Seeing this, I was certain that there was no way that this town would survive against the people who were coming. There were just too many of them. And I made my decision. With Klan, I will get out of here. Staying here would be suicidal. There was no way to survive if I tried to fight them. If there were only these hundred who had infiltrated the town, I could, maybe after losing a hand or two, survive. But not against this many. So I got down from the wall and shouted for Klan. There was no reply. Or rather even if there was, it was highly unlikely for me to have heard it. The surrounding noise was just too much. I ran inside the town looking for him. There were some people who got in my way, but I dealt with them. With an increased level, it was not too much trouble. And when I turned another corner, I saw him. Slaughter and Survival - Part 1 Everything was happening too quickly. I felt like my mind would not be able to hold up. First, mother died. I became an orphan. After I somehow managed to survive on my own, crawling at the bottom of the barrel, trying to bear the ridicule and disdain in everyone¡¯s eyes, it suddenly became a real battlefield o survival. I actually killed someone, but it all came to nought. There were just too many I had to fight against. And now that I have decided to make a break for it, this is where my life leads me. Klan was fighting against someone.No, that is the most hopeful analysis I can give. If you want for an unbiased opinion, Klan was being toyed around by someone. A man clad in black from top to bottom. Black over coat with a hood draped over their head. Black pants with a black mask. If i were to describe the feel I was getting from them, it would be that of a killer gone insane. Seeing this struggle even I could tell, Klan was barely hanging on by a thread. If this man desired so, Klan could instantly lose his arms, legs or even his head. Yet he was alive, struggling to defend against the light swings of his curved sword. An overhead swing to the shoulder. Klan placed his sword above his head horizontally to defend, but the force was great enough that even with klan using both arms to defend, the man¡¯s sword still pushed through. With Klan struggling to stop the sword, then man suddenly moved the sword away, giving Klan some breathing room, but the next instant the sword swiftly cut through the air, coming in an upward slash. The sword was coming for Klan¡¯s torso, aiming to slash it from his waist to his right shoulder, looking unstoppable. In my impatience and fear I shouted out, ¡°KLAN!¡±, and both their swords stopped. Klan seemed to have noticed me out of the corner of his eye without looking away from the robed man, but the man leisurely turned towards me. Apparently, he did not see Klan as a dangerous opponent but as a prey caught in a trap. But apparently he hadn¡¯t heard that when cornered, even a rat will bite the cat. When the man was looking at me, I felt a change in his atmosphere. Perhaps it was just that I was extremely alarmed towards him, my instinct was telling me the man had turned his interest towards me. Klan seemed to have noticed it as well. He stepped forward and with all his might slashed at the man. The man did not seem to notice. He did not seem to move. I too stood there looking at him, trying to keep his attention on me for even a bit longer, hoping that the attack will be successful enough to leave the man unable to use his sword properly, if not dead. But, the god was not with us. When it seemed that there would be no way for the man to survive, his sword moved at an incredible speed, and ¡ª clang~ A clear sound of swords colliding resounded. His movement seemed much more refined than before, as if he was a completely different person. His atmosphere changed to one of a killer, making my hair stand on end. Klan who was near him seemed to have it much worse. But, that was just the beginning. The man seemed to have gotten irritated at Klan for disturbing him while he was observing his new toy, which, not surprisingly, was me. He started exerting strength in his hand, pushing Klan''s sword towards the ground. With a flick of the man''s hand, their swords separated, and he took a position for the swing. Klan and I both noticed, that position was not of a light swing, but a full powered slash. My body took a step forward, without giving me time to think, however, before I could reach them, the sword had been swung. I felt it all happen in slow motion. Every part of my body was focused on what was happening in front of me. My body felt incredibly slow, as if it had become mud. And the man''s sword moving towards Klan''s head seemed like a remainder, that if I did not make it in time, I would lose another person who had filled my heart. But, no matter how much I desired the speed to move fast enough to reach them before it was too late, my feet will not carry me, my skill would not activate quickly enough, and, as expected, I could not reach them. The sword cut through Klan''s neck. I saw it all happen, every moment of it engraving itself on my very soul. As the sword passed through his neck, his blood started to spurt. Coming out as if an incredibly juicy fruit is being cut by applying an incredible pressure, and by the time the sword had stopped, Klan''s head started falling down. The thud it fell with resonated in my head like a clear bell, but not like one that would wake me, but one that was there to make me stunned. The headless body soon followed after its missing head, falling forward on the ground, not to move ever again. I stayed still for a while, but as the reality settled in, I started losing myself to anger. << The level of Flash skill has increased>> There was an announcement, but I was in no state to pay it any attention. Tears streamed down my cheeks, my vision became blurry. But even in that blurry vision, I could clearly see that black figure, responsible for Klan''s death. The next thing I know, there was a dagger in my hand and I was running towards him. As I was running towards him, I thought about the spectacle I had seen before. He was facing Klan, and at the last moment, he stopped Klan''s blow at an incredible speed. That speed is not something I can take over. Moreover, from looking at him, it is clear that he has a good amount of strength as well. My mind was in a state of chaos, but somehow, I could think about a strategy to face him. The strategy I came up with was a simple one. An all or nothing strategy. I kept running towards him until I was a few steps away from him. I pulled back my right hand which was holding a dagger, and firmly placed my foot on the ground. Due to anger and trepidation, all things had left my mind, except for me and him. I was extremely focused on every move he and I were making. I felt mana move inside my body. It gathered at my legs. Almost all the mana in my body gathered in my legs, and at the same time, I felt them becoming more powerful.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I bent down, and like a beast, I sprang towards him. Activating the skill flash, I pushed out my hand that was holding the dagger. The result, my body was launched like an arrow, and I was moving towards his neck at an incredible speed. This was the highest speed I had experienced in my life. And I had a feeling, I might not be able to experience it again. I poured all I had into my skill. The dagger aimed at his neck was getting closer. With my heightened perception, I could see it all. A smile of satisfaction rose on my face. My opponent had not managed to react to my attack. The attack was going to be a success. As I was thinking so, I missed by a very small margin. My opponent had been surprised by my sudden burst of speed, yes. However, he had enough experience to deal with unexpected situations. The proof of this showed in his actions. Even though I was moving towards him at a very fast speed which might be difficult to perceive. He not only perceived it, but also took correct actions. As I was getting closer to his body, the masked man, bent his body forward, and came towards me. The dagger that should have aimed precisely at his neck, instead landed on his chest bones. There was blood coming out, and the dagger was embedded into his chest. However, since it was bone, it could be said, it was far from a fatal wound. I had failed to win this all or nothing bet. Moreover, the hand which I had used to hold the dagger had become unusable. My elbow had bent in opposite direction. My body was feeling exhausted due to the usage of the skill, and I was feeling sleepy as well, which I could roughly guess was due to the overuse of mana. Perhaps I had exhausted all the mana in my body. I was utterly exhausted. However, that was the least of my worries. As the momentum behind flash disappeared, the dagger slipped out of my hand, and under the fatigue, I fell down on the ground. As I looked at him from below, I could see that the man was looking at me and the dagger which had almost half its blade embedded in his chest. He grabbed the dagger roughly with his left hand which was not holding the sword, and pulled it out. Throwing the dagger away, he looked at me. "Now you''ve done it, brat." The voice that had come out of his mouth for the first time since I saw him was cold. It was a voice as if he was talking to an insect. In the next instant, I felt a strong impact to my side. I could not even let out a sound as my body flipped over and I was made to lie face up. The man had kicked me, with force great enough to make me almost lose consciousness, however, somehow I barely managed to hold on. However, in the next instant, I regretted my decision. The man raised his leg, and stomped on my stomach. "AAAAAHHH!" I let out a scream which literally came from my gut. However, the man was not done yet, he continued to stomp on me like a madman, without letting up. "AAAH!AAAH!AAH!AH" With each stomp, my screams grew shorter and I became out of breath. As he continued to stomp one me, my consciousness threatened to leave me, however, I did not let go. Or rather, I could not let go. The pain was too immense. After some time, he stopped his barrage of kicks. I felt a little relieved, however, I was assailed by an even greater pain in the next instant. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" The man had stabbed his sword through my right arm. I could not help but shout like a madman. The pain of having a sword pass through your arm was immeasurable. It felt as though my arm was burning from inside, but I could do nothing to stop it. As I was shouting and writhing from the pain, the man then stabbed his sword in my left leg. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" I shouted again. Tears were flowing from my eyes like waterfalls. Saliva was dripping from my mouth, but I could do nothing, It had become almost impossible for me to move my right arm or my left leg. However, the man was not done yet. He stabbed his sword through my right leg and my left arm. And then raising my body with a single hand while I was writhing from the pain he said to me ¡ª "Listen up brat. I am going to give you a painful death. Now that you know how it feels to have your body stabbed, don''t you think you should know how it feels to have your body burned too?" I was afraid of this man. He was powerful, to the point that even with a surprise attack using Flash I could do almost nothing to him. And now, I was unable to even move my body. Then, the man slowly removed his mask. I gasped at what I saw. It was a face that had all its skin burned. I could see the muscles in his face clearly, the eyeballs visible to the naked eye felt surreal. His face was like that of a monster. Like a skull that have been granted eyes. "Now then, since you have seen what you will look like after you die, do you want to apologise? If you apologise, perhaps I will let you go?" The man said with a grin on his face. I felt fear at the realisation that he was enjoying all this. With all my might, from the bottom of my heart, I said "I-I AM SORRY!!". Tears were rolling down my face as I said so, but I could not care less. There was a chance I could save my life. "Good boy. I like your attitude. You know how to respect your elders. Alright, I will not kill you." said the man while nodding his head. I was feeling relieved that he was not going to kill me, however, the words he said next with an evil smile on his hideous face took the life out of me. Literally. "However, I am not letting you go. You will have to escape on your own." I did not understand what he meant. However, in the next instant, I was thrown in a nearby burning house. The situation was changing too quickly, I did not understand what was going on. Before I could understand, A sword pierced my upper arm. As I screamed, I looked towards the blade to see that it was the same sword Klan had been holding before he died, and the masked man had stabbed it into my upper arm. "If you can escape this, you will live. HAHAHA!" Saying this and laughing, the man left the house. I could not do anything. My arms would not move because of the pain, and even if they could I would surely be unable to get away with my legs in this condition. Even if I managed to crawl out of this predicament, I would surely die of blood loss. As I was feeling tension, the house started cracking. The roof started coming down. Although the pillars supporting the roof were still there, the roof had undeniably gotten closer to me. Perhaps it will not be long before I die. Thinking so, I reflected back on my life. Although I am a kid, I think I was much more mature that others my age. After all, I was forced to mature. If I had not gotten out, perhaps I would have died the same day my mother died. Or perhaps a few days after that. The life after that was hard. I had to work all day to earn my daily bread, and among all of that, learning to swing the dagger a little had been a challenge. I had thought that if I were to become able to use a weapon, people would not look at me with disdain, however, it was just wishful thinking. Thinking back on it, it was a totally worthless life. But I think you would not find any worth in a kids life, even if you wanted to. While having such thoughts, my consciousness faded. I had a feeling I knew the cause of this. Blood loss. And the effect was amazing. I could not keep my eyes open. As I struggled to open them, just before my consciousness faded, I saw that the ceiling was coming closer. Slaughter and Survival - Part 2 (??? POV) It was a sensation of floating, that I felt when I was born. I felt that my body did not have a particular shape, even then, I had vague memories of having retained a shape that should be classified as ¡®Human¡¯. In my memories, I could recall knowledge of all kinds. From the knowledge required by those who kill, to the knowledge required by those who save. I, however, had no memories of how I got that knowledge. There were no memories related to anything at all. All there was a desire. A desire to protect somebody I called important. I felt that if I did not protect him, everything would fall apart for me. I would lose meaning in my existence. This thought invoked an instinctual fear in me. I went looking for him. Although there were many obstacles in my path, I passed through them all. My body which, according to my knowledge, has been ¡®human¡¯ should not have been able to pass through them. However, this body could. Moreover, I could not touch anything unless I really focused on it. There were also a lot of strange powers that I had. But I did not pay them any mind and kept looking for him. And I found him. He was there sitting on the ground in dirty clothes. My heart ached seeing his figure. However, I could not do anything. Fortunately, he found people he could lean on a little. But life was still not easy. He had to work hard to get ¡®food¡¯. I, however, did not need it and could survive off the mana released by people unconsciously. When he struggled, there were many difficulties he faced, like not knowing how to do something, to the people getting in his way. However, he overcame them all. Seeing him work hard at such young age, my heart was torn apart, but there was also a sense of pride somewhere in my heart. I continued watching over him for a time that according to my memories should have been ¡®one month¡¯. After this, I confirmed my own appearance. Apparently, I did not have a fixed appearance and I could take on any form I desired. However, the size of my body was not enough for me to take the form I wanted. Name: ¡ª¡ª Level: 1 HP: 6 Race: Revenant (Lesser Demon) Age: 0 STR: 7 DEF: 2 AGI: 10 DEX: 4 MP: 30 INT: 16 MIND: 43 Skills: Inherent Skills:
  • Psychokinesis Lv 1
  • Shape Shifting Lv 1
  • Float Lv 1
  • Intangible Lv 1
  • Possession Lv 1
  • Fear Lv 1
  • Materialisation Lv 1
  • Magic Perception Lv 1
  • Magic Manipulation Lv 1
  • Healing Magic Lv 1
  • Cooking Lv 1
  • Cleaning Lv 1
  • Sewing Lv 1
  • Knitting Lv 1
Acquired Skills:
  • Indomitable Lv 3
Unique Skills: None Gifts: None My instinct then told me that if I wanted to grow, I would have to gain experience by killing. However, the knowledge from my memories told me to not kill humans. Fortunately, there was a forest nearby, which should have been the boundary of forest of elves.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. After I gained knowledge of my skills, I went in the forest and hunted the monsters roaming there. I did not need to sleep, therefore, in the day I would watch over him and in the night, I would go to hunt in the forest. As I kept doing it for about a year, I gained experience. My levels increased, and when it reached Lv 10 I ¡®evolved¡¯ from my previous form to a new higher ranking existence. Name: ¡ª¡ª Level: 1 HP: 45 Race: Phantom (Lower Demon) Age: 0 STR: 37 DEF: 22 AGI: 60 DEX: 34 MP: 130 INT: 46 MIND: 210 Skills: Inherent Skills:
  • Psychokinesis Lv 6
  • Shape Shifting Lv 5
  • Flight Lv 3
  • Intangible Lv 6
  • Possession Lv 1
  • Fear Lv 3
  • Materialisation Lv 7
  • Magic Perception Lv 7
  • Magic Manipulation Lv 5
  • Healing Magic Lv 1
  • Cooking Lv 1
  • Cleaning Lv 1
  • Sewing Lv 1
  • Knitting Lv 1
Acquired Skills:
  • Indomitable Lv 3
  • Unattributed Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Fire Magic Arts Lv 2
  • Water Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Wind Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Earth Magic Arts Lv 1
  • Presence Perception Lv 5
  • Close Combat Arts Lv 5
  • Rending Claws Lv 3
Unique Skills: None Gifts: None The new body I received let me have a vaguely human appearance, however, it was still not enough for me to gain a completely human form. I continued to hunt, and as I gained experience, it became easier for me to kill other monsters. However, the experience I required to level up also kept increasing and I soon found myself taking more than twice the time it took me to level up before. One night, as I was hunting like this, the town was attacked. As soon as I noticed I rushed back. My heart was drowned in chaos at that time, thinking what I would do if something happened to him. However, fortunately, he survived. But he had an expression of sorrow on his face. I kept watch over him, but could not do anything. I thought now was not the right time to show myself. Then, the town was attacked again. I wanted him to run, however, he tried to fight the assailants. Even thought there were about a hundred of them, he still decided to face them. However, he and I both noticed the large number of people carrying weapons coming here. He thought of running away with his friend. But he saw his friend being killed in front of his eyes. In anger, he tried to kill the murderer, however, the tables were turned on him, and the murderer cruelly stitched him to the floor of a burning building. I thought of helping him but was able to barely hold myself back. It was frustrating, however, I could not come in front of him without caution. There was fear in my heart that perhaps he would not accept me. But, right now, that fear was being overtaken by sadness and anger. Sadness of watching him suffering in pain that I could not even imagine, and anger at myself for still being unable to come in front of him. As I was thinking this, the anger took over and I decided to reveal myself. However, he had already lost consciousness. I took the sword out of his arm, and gently carried him outside the building. If this was my previous form, I would have been unable to even properly hold him, but after using this body for a year, and moreover, evolving to a higher form, I could carry him. After carrying him outside, I healed all his wounds with my healing magic, and carried him to a part of the town where there would be very little chance of someone finding him. Although I wanted to take him outside the town to the forest, it was very dangerous. At night, the monsters were more active, so much so that a weakened state would be dangerous, not to say anything about unconscious. I laid him down. Seeing at his face, I cannot even think that he can fight someone. Caressing his head a last time, I stood up. Now was not the time to think about peace. I decided to kill all those who had tried to harm him. Name: ¡ª¡ª Level: 19 HP: 156 Race: Wight (Lower Demon) Age: 0 STR: 57 DEF: 46 AGI: 150 DEX: 45 MP: 330 INT: 105 MIND: 350 Skills: Inherent Skills:
  • Psychokinesis Lv 8
  • Shape Shifting Lv 6
  • Flight Lv 5
  • Intangible Lv 6
  • Possession Lv 1
  • Fear Lv 4
  • Materialisation Lv 8
  • Magic Perception Lv 8
  • Magic Manipulation Lv 7
  • Healing Magic Lv 1
  • Cooking Lv 1
  • Cleaning Lv 1
  • Sewing Lv 1
  • Knitting Lv 1
Acquired Skills:
  • Indomitable Lv 4
  • Unattributed Magic Arts Lv 5
  • Fire Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Water Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Wind Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Earth Magic Arts Lv 2
  • Presence Perception Lv 6
  • Close Combat Arts Lv 5
  • Rending Claws Lv 4
Unique Skills: None Gifts: None Slaughter and Survival - Part 3 A town wreathed in flames. The sounds of moving footsteps were gradually dying down from various parts of the town, and converging to the centre of the town where the lord''s house was present. Compared to the other houses of the town, the lord''s house was made of proper bricks and had an iron fence surrounding it. However, when the Bandit army dealt with all of the guards and broke through the door, the lord was quickly captured. The lord had put up a fight, but with little to no experience of fighting against a large number of humans, he was quickly cornered by the pair of Ron and Damian. Now, he was lying on the courtyard of his house, with his arms and legs cut off and a sword pointed at his neck. His breathing was ragged and his heart was beating so fast as if it wanted to break out of his chest. He had lost so much blood that the only way to save him would be by using the legendary medicine of elixir. But, no matter how wishful one was being, there was no way for such a medicine to be present in this town, and even if it was, the bandits were no fools to give it to him. In his mind, he knew that there was no way for him to survive, and keeping up the struggle to hang on to an extinguishing life would only prolong his suffering. He could end that suffering by moving his head and plunging the sword held by Ron into his neck. However, he was a human as well, no matter how faint the life remaining in him was, as long as he was alive, he would want to stay alive. This continued for some time, until all the bandits scattered around the town were gathered in the empty plot of land in front of the lord''s house and he was declared dead. Gradually, the atmosphere of battle changed to one of celebration. Ron and Damian, who had reached the lord''s house first, had the right to all the liquor present in town. However, since they were only two, they decided to distribute it to all the people present there. On the condition that they will party and no one is allowed to take the liquor with them. The mood gradually changed to one of party, the bandits laughed and danced around a bonfire they had created. And in this jolly mood, they were unaware that someone was watching them from the shadows. It started when the bandits had shifted to a completely festive mood. ''It'' came close to them, who were not paying attention to anything. Those who had fallen into intoxication, and now were lying on the ground unaware of their surroundings, were the first targets of ''its'' attacks. ''It'' used the knowledge of human body and fights it had from before, and plunged its intangible hands into the area beneath the muscles and skin of their necks. Then, by materialising the hands that were now enclosing the important and vulnerable organs of the human body, ''it'' crushed them. By crushing and tearing the spinal cord, the bandits'' became paralysed, resulting in them being unable to even utter a sound. Then, by crushing the heart of the person using the same method, ''it'' killed them. In the festive mood, no one noticed that those who had fallen down were not showing signs of any kinds of motion. Not even breathing. Slowly, without anyone noticing, the dead bodies kept increasing. However, since the bandits usually drank like mad, no more bandits fell and remained alive. Now, ''it'' began to use another method to kill them. From the bandits that were surrounding the bonfire as if in a circle, from different places, it began to target individuals. Those who were dancing and singing, were near the fire, and those who were only enjoying the drink with one or two of their companions, were away from the fire. ''It'' began to target such people. By crushing their spinal cords like the people before, it would make them unable to even let out a sound, and then using psychokinesis, ''it'' would drag them away from the surroundings, and kill them.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. In this way, the bandits started disappearing from among the people. Some people noticed, but soon forgot it in the festivities. And the festival kept going. Among the crowd that was gathered, it was difficult to keep an eye on all of them without the use of something like a stage. The number of killed was steadily increasing but most of the bandits were unaware of it. As the midnight came close, the bonfire started to die down, and the bandits who had been dancing for hours started to tire as well. The alcohol was also running out because of being drunk by thousands of people. In fact, the fact that the people had been able to keep drinking for a few hours was a testament to the quantity of the liquor. The light of the fire diminished from the surroundings, and the moonlight started to reach the ground. And then, the bandits noticed, the number of bandits standing was half the number of original bandits. When they looked on the ground, there were not many who had fallen down. Some who were still relatively conscious tried to wake them up, however, there was no sign of them waking up. "H-Hey. These guys...T-They''re not breathing..." A silence spread through the group of bandits that were laughing and dancing moments before, a silence spread."T-The booze wasn''t p-poisoned ...., right?". As someone muttered these words, their bodies started to break out in cold sweat at the instinctual fear of death. "....N-No way, guys. I mean, look at them. They are only a little group of people. At most it will be four or five barrels that had gone bad. The rest are good, right? Right!?" As one bandit started to shout the reason he had thought of, the rest started to agree in desperation as if wanting to chase away the fear. However, somewhere in their minds, they knew. Even if the number of people lying dead on the ground is small, the number of people missing is far greater. And for all they knew, all of them could be dead. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" As the bandits were laughing, it happened. A bandit in the direction opposite to the town gate, flew backwards as if being dragged away by something at an incredible speed. His shreek was enough to make people look in that direction. And they saw him flying backwards on the main road of the town, and disappearing into an alley. Moments later, the sound of his crying vanished as if it never existed. Once again, the venue was wrapped in silence, however, this time, there was a clear fear in the eyes of all those looking. Even the brave ones, like the leaders of groups, strong ones like Ron and Damian, were all looking around warily. Then, again and again, people started flying from different places. The bandits tried to turn towards the town gate to leave, however, the first bandit to have turned in that direction, suddenly stopped moving, along with a sound of their internal organs being crushed. Then they saw ''it''. A woman of complete white was standing there. It had long white hair flowing upwards, a face without a mouth, and claws instead of hands, that were crushing the heart of the person. The eyes that were visible on its face did not have any pupils and looked as if they were looking at all of them. An instinctual fear dominated them, robbing them of their movement ability and they all stood there gazing at her. The woman swept her gaze over all of them once, and then disappeared as if she was never there. Now, the bandits had realised that all the people that had died were killed because of her. They all pulled out their weapons and warily started looking around the surroundings. Slaughter and Survival - Part 4 The bandits were shaking in fear of the unknown. With their weapons out, they looked around them, in search of their enemy, however, all they could see were their companions and town turned into ash. The silence was almost deafening, and almost everyone was able to hear their own heart beating into their ears. Some had drunk too much, their bodies unable to even stand in their intoxication, and many were swaying like a grass in the wind. They were the first to fall. There were no visible wounds on their bodies, they just fell down, as if overcome by a very deep sleep. However, everyone there knew, that they were not going to wake up again. The tension continued to rise in the air, and everyone stood there like a stone statue, waiting for someone to move. As the tension was rising, one bandit was about to run in the last gamble of his life, when he heard something. "..d.....ren.....Guide those that have strayed from the path to yourself....." It was a prayer directed to god. Specifically, it was a prayer that people usually sung when they prayed for the souls of their departed. There was not much to prayers of God, you just had to remember him, and you request may be granted. As he heard the low mumbling of the prayer, gradually, more and more voices continued to gather together and it became a chorus. He too, at some point, had started singing the prayer. While singing, he started running towards the gate, and seeing him, the others soon followed. It was common sense that ghosts could be purified by prayers. It needed a dedicated priest, but there were more than a thousand people praying right now, even if they had never prayed before. It was possible that the ghost would be purified by the collective prayer. As the man was running, he suddenly fell down. On looking back instinctively, he saw that there were two stumps in the place where his legs should have been. "Aaaa..AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" He cried out, and saw that there were swords flying about in the air, cutting all of the people around him. Seeing this, a despair began to set in the man''s heart, and soon a sword came and impaled him. But, he was not alone, all those who had felt that they could run away had the same despair in their hearts. The swords were cutting anyone who was near. When they were thinking about giving up, a voice called out to them. "ALL OF YOU! FOCUS ON THE PRAYER IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!!" It was one of the leaders that was shouting. And his voice filled people with a desire to live. Those who had seen him knew of his hardships. His face had been burned in a house fire, and he had been driven out of his village, but he survived and now was the leader of a decent bandit group. He usually covered his face with a mask so that his own people would not fear him in night. Under his orders, bandits began to pray more fervently that before. """OH GOD! WE ARE YOUR CHILDREN, OUR SOULS A PART OF YOU THAT SEEK TO RETURN! WE DO NOT KNOW GOOD, WE DO NOT KNOW EVIL! WE FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS, YOU ARE OUR LEADER! YOU DWELL IN US, YOU ARE THE DOER! ALL US SINNERS AND SAINTS BESEECH YOU! CALL US TO YOUR PLACE AND GUIDE THOSE WHO HAVE STRAYED!"""The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The sounds of prayers began to rise, and gradually, the speed of the swords began to fall. Now it was possible to deflect them. Seeing this, the bandits grew more hopeful of their survival. Light started returning to the eyes of those who had despaired and some even joined their hands. Two such bandits were standing side by side in such a space. In front of them, the ghost appeared again. Seeing her, they flinched for a moment, but did not stop praying. The ghost turned towards them, and looked at them with icy cold gaze. In the next moment, the ghost was in front of one of them, and it swung its arms. Its claws passed by in front of his eyes, but did not pierce him. In the next moment, there was blood on the side of his face. It was not his blood, but of the bandit standing on his side. However, he did something he should not have done. He stopped his prayer feeling death close to him, and the ghost possessed him. A ghost or any malevolent spirit cannot possess someone praying, no matter how weak the prayer is. However, in front of the weak prayer, it can attack them. Now that the ghost had a body in mortal realm, the effect of prayer visibly weakened. What before was equivalent to needles piercing the skin repeatedly was now nothing more than a bedlam of noises. The speed and accuracy of swords improved and more and more people started dying. Among the death cries of bandits, the shout of the leader resounded, "KILL THAT GUY! A DEAD POSSESSED BODY IS SAME AS NOT HAVING ONE!". At that shout, many of the bandits drew their swords and started charging towards the ghost''s temporary body. The ghost, which had been standing with his head down, looked ahead. The eyes, which showed that the person had been possessed had black sclera and a white pupil without irises. In the next instant, she disappeared.<> No, she moved with speed untraceable by the eye. There was a vivid sound of bones breaking. When a bandit looked to his left, he saw that the ghost had kicked another man in his chest, breaking his ribs. And in the next instant, he was blown away. The leg which had blown away a full grown person, came at him in a round house kick. In the next instant, blood and spit came out of his mouth, his teeth flew with his field of view shifting and he saw bandits standing there, facing towards him. All of them had there weapons drawn and a look of awe and fear on their faces. And after a few moments, his consciousness cut off. His head had been turned around with a kick. She continued to kick and punch the nearby bandits. Some died in a few moments after getting hit in vulnerable places with overwhelming strength, and many became unable to fight due to serious internal injuries, waiting for their death. Only about one in ten people were able to stand back up after getting hit by her attack, but they too would go down in second or third. However, their attacks were not in vain. As she continued to fight, it took toll on the body. The muscles ruptured, the bones broke. Soon after, the body hit its limits. As she looked around, she jumped at a nearby bandit. Punching him on the cheek with a reasonable strength, she stopped his prayers, and in the same moment she transferred to his body. The body might be suffering from a concussion, but with a little healing magic, it returned to normal and the dance continued. Changing bodies when they got too damaged to display overwhelming power, she continued to kill the bandits. Slaughter and Survival - Part 5 (Ron¡¯s POV) I was standing with Damian and other leaders and we were watching a scene that should have been impossible. Seeing this scene, for the first time in my life, I felt the true fear of monsters and demons, who were higher in species rankings. A ghost, a monster born usually when a soul is contaminated with grudges, was killing the bandits present here. And there weren¡¯t just twenty or thirty bandits, there were thousands of bandits. But they all were being killed one-sidedly. When I felt that the concentration of ghost diminished, I decided to make a gamble. I jumped out while pulling my saber. My plan was to use a skill to slice the ghost together with the body it was hosting in. Normal attacks would have been able to damage the body, but to damage a ghost, you need either magical attacks or attacks that were somehow connected to mana. As I used the skill, the sword in my hand got clad in mana. And it continued towards the ghost at great speed. Just when I had thought that I would succeed in at least wounding the ghost, giving us some advantage, the ghost separated from the body and moved sideways. In the next instant, its hands which had been shaped like claws pierced my chest. There was blood flowing out of my chest. I had managed to defeat the body, however, I failed in killing the ghost. As I thought that I was soon going to die, the other hand of the ghost morphed into something resembling a scythe. Before I could think of anything else, the scythe was swung upwards and my body was bisected in two. The final thing I remembered as a living person was the face of the ghost. Its face which should have been without a mouth, was splitting apart in a sneer. When my consciousness returned, I was a soul. All the leaders had been killed as well, except for one. He was being hung in the air using some skill. ¡°J-Just kill me, Bitch!!¡± The guy shouted. Listening to his voice, it felt as if he was being strangled. However, what happened next made me feel relieved that I was killed swiftly. ¡°Hmmm¡­.Alright. I will give you a veeerrrryyyy painful death.¡± The next moment, his arms and legs spread apart and began to twist. It was a surreal scene. A man¡¯s arms, legs and torso were twisting by themselves. They twisted once, twice, thrice, round and round they twisted. There were sounds of bones being disjointed, muscles being snapped, skin being torn. Perhaps becoming a soul had improved my senses, but I could hear almost all sound in the vicinity, including the terrified shrieks of the man. However, what I found stranger was the fact that even though there were such sounds, there was no blood. The, as if she had seen through me, she kindly explained with a grin. ¡°You know, you will experience this pain for a while. I am continuously applying small anounts of healing magic so that your torn skill and muscles will join again and as I twist your arms and legs, they would be torn again. Aren¡¯t I kind? Even though you asked me to kill you, I¡¯m allowing you to live. Hmm?¡± The fact that she was explaining all of this with a smile was one of the most terrifying things. Soon after, the guy breathed his last while suffering in excruciating pain. Even though she was casting light healing magic, it wasn¡¯t like there was no damage. And now, the damage had accumulated enough to kill him. After seeing him die, she headed towards a certain part of town. When I followed her, I found that there was the boy who I had given my dagger to. He was sleeping peacefully. I don¡¯t know how he survived, but I was sure that this ghost had a hand in it somewhere. I was surprised to see her, who had killed all of us in cold blood and cruelty, showing kindness towards a boy. The next instant, I was seized by some unknown force. I started rising towards the sky, and I saw countless other souls rising together with me. The ghost was looking towards us with shock. The next instant, she disappeared inside the body of the boy. As my body was pulled upward, my consciousness was joined with other souls. Those who had been with me, the bandits, those who I and my accomplices had killed in the name of riots, the citizens, nobles, royalty and ¨C A Dragon.
(??? POV) When I returned to Ray after killing all the bandits, I was suddenly struck by some unknown force. It was pulling me somewhere, but I didn¡¯t know where. When I looked back, I saw there were countless pale blue flames floating in the sky. Even thought I hadn¡¯t seen them before, something inside me was telling me their identities. They were souls. We were of same origin, so I could identify them. Those souls floated in the air, towards the skies and then their forms began to change. They elongated, joined and separated. I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, but I knew that it was bad for everyone, and extremely bad for those that didn¡¯t have a body like myself. I possessed Ray, almost on instinct. I had a feeling that it would be extremely bad if I didn¡¯t reside in a body. And my hunch was correct. If I hadn¡¯t found somewhere to reside in, I would have been forced to obey that force. The souls in the sky had now finished connecting. And what I saw left me speechless. There was an outline in the sky as if a part of a circle was visible from where I was. And there were gigantic letters, Runes that I had not seen before.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. A magic formation had been made. Using souls. I had read, no, in the memories I had, I had read that a living person can hold much more mana than a nonliving object of the same size due to the presence of soul. The physical reason for that was because a soul was the best conductor of mana, it naturally came inside the bodies. And the magical reason was that all the phenomena of mana in the body were somehow related to the soul. Hence, it naturally soaked mana in the body. The magic formation glowed in gold color and shattered. Then gold particles slowly fell down to the ground and were absorbed in it. At the same time I noticed something that wasn¡¯t there before. If it was before, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to notice it. It was very faint, to the point of being invisible. Something was connected to us, or more precisely, to Ray. A line flowing into the ground from us. Currently, there was nothing flowing through this line, however, I was certain, it wasn¡¯t anything good. I tried to break the connection, however, it was unexpectedly strong. But still, I forcible broke it. I decided to leave this country. I exited from Ray¡¯s body. Now that I had killed all the bandits, I could finally evolve. I had achieved the required level for evolution when I was killing them, but I could not evolve on the spot. If the result took time, it would be dangerous, and also if my body changed too much, I wasn¡¯t sure I would be able to fight that efficiently. But now, there was no problem, I could evolve without worry. As I evolved, my body was enveloped into light. When the light subsided, my body was smaller. I had red eyes and black hair in twin tails tied with red ribbons, and my body was covered in a red one piece . And my status had become something like this - Name: ¡ª¡ª Level: 1 HP: 552 VIT:135 Race: Spectre (Demon) Age: 0 STR: 110 DEF: 106 AGI: 350 DEX: 133 MP: 1030 INT: 324 MIND: 1039 END: 261 Skills: Inherent Skills:
  • Psychokinesis Lv 8
  • Shape Shifting Lv 6
  • Flight Lv 6
  • Intangible Lv 7
  • Possession Lv 4
  • Fear Lv 7
  • Materialisation Lv 8
  • Magic Perception Lv 8
  • Magic Manipulation Lv 7
  • Healing Magic Lv 3
  • Cooking Lv 1
  • Cleaning Lv 1
  • Sewing Lv 1
  • Knitting Lv 1
Acquired Skills:
  • Indomitable Lv 4
  • Unattributed Magic Arts Lv 5
  • Fire Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Water Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Wind Magic Arts Lv 3
  • Earth Magic Arts Lv 2
  • Presence Perception Lv 6
  • Close Combat Arts Lv 7
  • Rending Claws Lv 6
  • Soul form Lv 1
Unique Skills: None Gifts: None I had gained the stats of vitality and endurance, which means that I had certainly gained a physical form. It was good. Now I do not have to live in hiding. Moreover, my race had finally achieved the classification into the demon category. As I was thinking this - "...Lu...nus..." Ray muttered something. At the same time, <> (Ray''s POV) It was all over. I had failed in everything. I had surely died. In that burning building, perhaps I had been crushed to death. Or perhaps, I had died by burning. But I was surely dead. My body wouldn''t move, and I could not feel anything. It was as if I was floating somewhere. I could not see anything either. As I was thinking this, suddenly, my surroundings brightened up. I could see myself and my mother talking about something. "Mother, what is your name?" It was a memory of days long past. I was sitting at the boundary of the fields when my mother came over to take a break from working. At that time, I had asked this question of her. She looked towards the younger me and smiled, and said "Lunus. My name is Lunus. It comes from a word related to moon." "But, why moon?" "Hmmm....It''s because your mother is beautiful and gentle like the moon." "Lunus, gentle and beautiful like the moon, huh." At that time I had thought that certainly she was beautiful, but gentle, na-uh, not a chance. She would fight with other in village over very small things, and when the kids my age bully me, she would scold them. There were many times when parents of a kid came to fight, but my mother would always stand her ground. She would fight them, usually with words. Sometimes, a fistfight would break out. At one such incident, the father of that kid had tried to hurt her. But soon, she had beaten him black and blue. When I asked her why she was so strong, she said that she had been a B-rank adventurer in the past. I did not know how strong a B-rank adventurer was, but seeing my mother, I was certain that there was no one here who could match her. Now that I look back at it, she was gentle in her own way. Both gentle and strong. I was weak and was always bullied. I remember, before the dragon came, the kids had gotten tired of scoldings from their parents and my mother. So they decided to ignore me. Whenever I went to play with them, I would be treated like I was not there. They would not indulge me in their conversations or anything. Some kids who were good towards me would let me play with them, but when the other kids came, they too would stop playing with me. It continued for six months when the dragon came. During that time, only my mother did not leave me. At that time, I was injured and my mother was too. I remember, she had a look of pain on her face as she ran while carrying me. My wounds healed as a warm light came out of her hands. But I was still too weak to even speak. She was covered in wounds as well, but instead of healing herself, she continued to heal me. All the while carrying me towards the town. It took us five days to reach there because my mother continued walking day and night, using healing magic on me simultaneously. The beautiful face of my mother grew haggard by the moment. Her cheeks sunk, and her skin became loose. It felt as if she was aging a little too quickly. When we reached the town gates, her beautiful silky black hair had become dried and white. Her face which always had energy was now dark and dreary. Her lips were trembling as she tried to speak something. And then, a particularly strong light came out of her hands and cured me completely. I became able to walk and talk, but my mother had already died. I cried and cried as her body was carried away. Now, this memory too, was slowly being taken away from me. I did not know how, but somehow, I was forgetting all the memories I had. I soon even forgot my name. Only the memories from the appearance of dragon to the town were remaining now. At that time, I made a resolution, that whatever happens, even if I forget everything else, I would not forget this. I would grow strong. Strong enough to kill him. And when I had grown, I would make him experience the same pain. Somehow. Even if I die, I will come back. As these final thoughts passed my mind, I returned to the darkness. Dreams and Dedication - Part 1 (Ray¡¯s POV) My name is Ray. I am a normal thirteen years old boy, though, you could say that one year of my life was abnormal. According to my friend Lunus, who is a girl with black hair and red eyes, I had gone into a state called coma when I was six years old, and I stayed like that for a whole year. According to her, I would have died because of lack of food and nutrition if I was left alone, and even if I survived, my body would have become extremely weak to the point of being non functional because of their long period of inactivity. When I asked her, after waking up from coma, that how was I well and kicking if that was the case, she said she used her skill so that my muscles would move, my body would eat, speak, hear, see and everything else. I had no choice but to believe it because I had no memories of before waking up. Even my name was told to me by her. After that, she continued to teach me various things, like helping out in the village fields, washing and patching up my clothes, picking up vegetables, herbs and the like from the forest nearby. I guess she is amazing? Though, according to her, I had weakened considerably from before waking up, I still could not tell if that was true. I asked her why I was in coma, or if she knew who my parents were, or if I had any siblings or not. She said, I had parents but they died when the village I used to live in was destroyed by monsters. Some adults and children managed to run away, but when they returned, the village was devastated, so everyone went their own way with some money, and I was so shocked that I went into coma and lost all my memories. All my memories are of this village, but they are not memories I am too fond of. When I talk to villagers or when they see me or Lunus, I feel as if there is something like rejection in their eyes, though I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s to the point of disgust, it¡¯s still not the most pleasant feeling to be stared at by those eyes. I guess that¡¯s because we are not from this village. But, I also think that this feeling should have been resolved in these years I had stayed here. Anyway, that was all off topic. Then what is the topic, you ask? I had come to a conclusion. You could say that it is the greatest discovery I have made in my life. What is the discovery, you ask? For that, you need to know of some back story. Sometimes, when I do something, or there is something I should not do, Lunus would warn me. And, if I ever dared to go against her, the air around her would grow so chilling and intimidating that let alone I, even the adults in the village who usually fend off boars, wouldn¡¯t go against her. She had explicitly forbidden me from fighting anyone or anything, using any skill, and raising my level. These things were absolutely forbidden. And now, I am very grateful that I had followed what she had said with all my heart, even if I felt it was a little, no very unreasonable. Why? It¡¯s because Lunus is in front of me, and she is beating the crap out of an old man, who has supposedly come after retiring from being an adventurer. Why? It all happened a little while ago. An old man came here with his wife and two children. The children were about the same age as me. Apparently, both the husband and wife were former adventurers, who had met in the capital, gathered a decent amount of money, they moved to a town, the guy asked the girl¡¯s parents for her hand, and after their agreement, they married. After they had children, they raised them, and now that the husband and wife both had come to this village. The husband was a resident of this village originally, and the wife was from a different one, though, that village as well fell under the jurisdiction of the nearest town, like this village. Anyway, the guy had been an adventurer, and a pretty decent one at that, thought that¡¯s what he says, so naturally, the kids pestered him to tell them a story, and he did in a somewhat bar like place in village where everyone gathered. His children boasted about it as if they were their own adventurers. He told us about his adventurers, outside the capital, slaying goblins, kobolds, orcs and the like. He had also apparently participated in a raid on the boss of the labyrinth of the capital as a major player and succeeded. Which, according to him, not many adventurers succeeded in. After listening to it, I seriously had a desire to become an adventurer, and I declared it with sparkling eyes, like the other children. Lunus, who was behind me for who knows how long, heard me and released her asura mode. Everything around me grew silent because of the intimidation, but for the first time, I, even while trembling from head to toe, declared, in a very pathetic voice, my desire to be an adventurer. It was the first time I had succeeded in saying something to her when she was like this, and I also didn¡¯t wet my pants this time! No, seriously, she was seriously intimidating. I would have awarded myself the highest honor for only trembling if I was capable of doing so. She didn¡¯t hit me this time, though, she had hit me before, and I was thankful for that, because every time she hit me, I would be unable to even let out a whimper. We quarreled, and quarreled, without reaching a conclusion. But, the adventurer guy, sorry, former adventurer guy interfered, saying, ¡°Jus¡¯let¡¯im be little missy. Wha¡¯s wrong with being¡¯n adventurer.¡± His dialect was not proper, but the message got across. He was supporting me to be an adventurer. According to him, a guy should chase him with all he had. And now they began to quarrel. It escalated and it became a talk about a fight. The guy put on a serious face for once and said, ¡°Little miss, my level is above forty, which, for your kind information, is the average level of second tier adventurer of capital labyrinth.¡± Since he said it proudly, and because his level was so much higher than mine, which was four, I thought he would be pretty strong. But Lunus didn¡¯t back down. At that time, I thought she was being stubborn, and would back down after getting frightened, but the fight started. The guy punched towards her while grinning, but she just ducked under it, got closer to his chest and Bam! A fist was delivered to the guy¡¯s solar plexus, blowing him back a little.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. But, being an adventurer, he quickly adjusted himself and tried to strike an elbow in her shoulder from above using his extended right arm, but she dodge it by moving back. The elbow struck air. But the guy didn¡¯t give up, and now tried to kick her. A roundhouse kick using his right leg, but Lunus ducked under it, spun and swiped his leg with her heel, and in the same spinning motion, she delivered a straight kick to his chest, blowing him away to the wooden wall. The result, his complete loss. I learned my part of the lesson, never mess with Lunus. Never. But, like the former adventurer said, a guy should chase his dreams with everything he has. And so, even after witnessing his brutal beating, I declared to her, ¡°Lunus, I still want to be an adventurer.¡± Once again the place was silent. However, this time, I think it was a deeper shade of silent. I think, everyone was feeling ¡®Just what the hell is wrong with this guy? How can he speak that even after witnessing this brutal scene? Doesn¡¯t he know adventurers are weak to be beaten down by a little girl?¡¯ But I think, the adventurer is normal, and he will be considered strong in the world¡¯s standards, it¡¯s Lunus who is abnormally strong for a little girl. She can beat an adventurer, who even ten of me might not be able to beat. Lunus was looking at me with very cold eyes. And in the next instant, I found myself without any air in my lungs, unable to breathe, and flying backwards. Apparently, Lunus had punched me. But, the effect on me was tremendous compared to the other guy. I fell down, rolled around and ended on my belly. But, I still said, ¡°I ¡­will be¡­.an¡­.adventurer¡­¡±. That was the instant I lost my consciousness. When I came to, I felt a warm light coming over me, specifically, at the place where I had been hurt. When I opened my eyes, I saw Lunus¡¯ hand hovering a little above my chest, the area she had struck. I had heard that healing magic was capable of healing injuries and pain, but I didn¡¯t know she could use it. ¡°Won¡¯t you reconsider, Ray?¡± That was the thing she said after stopping her healing magic, of course, it was after she confirmed that I was fine. I shook my head at her question. I couldn¡¯t back down on this. I didn¡¯t want to back down on this. And also, that hurt like hell! I won¡¯t let that suffering go to waste! After she heard what I said, she had a look of sadness on her face. And she asked me, ¡°Why do you want to be an adventurer? For fame? For money? They are worthless. What¡¯s important is your life. And a proper adventurer lives with his life on the line. Nothing will matter after you die. So won¡¯t you stop.¡± I didn¡¯t know why I wanted to be an adventurer. It was something deep rooted. Something more that, much more deeper. As I was thinking those things, lines came out of my mouth by themselves, ¡°Death is certain. Even incarnations of Gods died in this world. I want to be an adventurer because I feel someone important to me was an adventurer. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter if you die, as long as you are chasing what you desire, even death will bring you happiness. What¡¯s truly important is to make sure you die without regrets, and live with your all.¡± I feel that these words came from my heart. The life in this village, the unknown life that I had lived before waking up, I felt that it was all a part of my own. I felt something important started to move again, something important which has been stagnant until now, which made me feel unsatisfied about my safe, peaceful life in this village. And as I said that, I felt Lunus¡¯ eyes widen. And then, her expression changed. It first became one of proud and then she started giggling to herself. I didn¡¯t understand. And then, what she said shocked me, ¡°Fine. You can become one. But only if you fulfil my conditions.¡± It was amazing that that frightening Lunus agreed to what I said. I think she was gentle in her own way, and was trying to protect me by doing what she thought was best. As I thought this, I , too, found myself laughing with her. (Lunus¡¯ POV) I had brought Ray to a village at the border of the Seiren Kingdom. Well, it was a little inside in the kingdom, just after the border town. He was in coma, a state in which he was alive but unconscious. So I possessed his body, and I would speak, move about a little, eat and do some light exercises so that his body doesn¡¯t weaken. But, the period of inactivity was far longer that I had thought. I had threatened the villagers into giving us a house. I conversed with them, and slowly they started to accept me and allowed me to work with them as well, allowing me to earn some change and food. When Ray woke up about a year after, I told him some suitable lie, like I was a friend same age as him. Our parents died when the village was devastated by monsters. It was impossible to re-inhabit the place, so all adults went their own separate ways. He was shocked, so I took him with me, and kept him well with my skill. He believed me as well. I used fear skill to keep him in control. I expressly forbade him from gaining experience in fighting. I hoped the villagers would slowly come to think of us as normal and he would live a peaceful life away from all the fighting. But then, an adventurer came along, and by him telling all the stories of fighting, his desire was ignited. When I heard all about it, I ran towards Ray to prevent him from getting in touch with him, but it was too late. By the time, I reached there he was saying he wanted to be an adventurer. We quarreled. I beat down the adventurer guy. Though, his stats, physical ones, were definitely higher than mine, after strengthening my body, using some psychokinesis in coordination with my close combat arts and with my experience in fighting, he was done in pretty soon. Then I knocked down Ray as well. When I asked him to change his mind, his responses saddened me. I wanted him to stay away from all these fighting. But, he didn¡¯t change his mind. ¡°Death is certain. Even incarnations of Gods died in this world. I want to be an adventurer because I feel someone important to me was an adventurer. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter if you die, as long as you are chasing what you desire, even death will bring you happiness. What¡¯s truly important is to make sure you die without regrets, and live with your all.¡± When he said this, I was surprised. And a memory surfaced in my mind. A younger Ray was sitting with a woman, whose face I could not see. He asked her with an almost crying face, ¡°Mom, why did you become an adventurer? Wouldn¡¯t you have died if you made a mistake?¡± The woman, who was his mother, looked into the distance, and answered after a short pause. ¡°Death is certain. Even incarnation of Gods died in this world. I became an adventurer because I wanted to be one. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter if you die, as long as you are chasing what you desire, even death will bring you happiness. What¡¯s truly important is to make sure you die without regrets, and live with your all. Make sure you give your all in everything you do, okay?¡± At this, Ray answered with a serious expression, ¡°Yes! I will become an adventurer too!¡± ¡°Why adventurer?¡± ¡°Because I want to be like you!¡± The answer Ray gave was still in his subconscious. Even thought he had lost his memory, he did not forget them. Seeing this, a strange sense of pride overtook me, and after that an unending happy feeling. I giggled without a reason, and approved him. ¡°Fine. You can become one. But only if you fulfil my conditions.¡± As I said, he showed a shocked expression. What? Did he think I would force him to do what I want? This brat. But I couldn¡¯t bring myself to be angry at him. And soon, he too started laughing with me.