ã€ŠAether Hex and the shards of the demon king.ã€‹


 Prologue

    ¡°EEEOOOEEEOOO, EEEOOOEEEOOO, EEEOOOEEEOOO¡±

    An ambulance flew past the people who were shocked to see how it was overtaking all the other vehicles. It was as if the president or prime minister was inside and they needed to save his life or the ones inside would be killed for the lack of skilled service.

    It made loud noises as people shouted at it.

    ¡°Hey! Watch where you¡¯re going!¡±

    ¡°Son of a gun!¡±

    The driver ignored all of the honks and screaming people. He seemed to be in a world of his own. He looked only 16 but had the eyes of an adult. His hands were covered in blood but he didn¡¯t have any wounds. His blue eyes were focused on the road, he rode as if his life depended on it.

    When the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital, he got out of the driver¡¯s seat and quickly rushed to the back of the van.

    The back doors opened with people wearing white dresses coming out along with a girl on a stretcher. The 16-year-old boy and the other men quickly took the stretcher to the hospital.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    As soon as they entered the 16-year-old boy started screaming.

    ¡°Move!¡± he said with anger, worried and frustrated at the same time.

    ¡°Move!¡±

    The girl was quickly put on top of a vehicle and taken to the emergency room. Doctors quickly rushed into the room.

    The boy wanted to rush in as well but he was restrained by the men and was not allowed to enter.

    ¡°Please let me in! you do not understand! Please, you have to save her!¡±

    ¡°Please sir, we will do our best to ensure she lives but you cannot enter.¡± Assured the doctor and went inside. The doors shut and the red light on top of the door lit up.

    The boy regretfully went and sat down on one of the chairs. His heartbeat got faster and faster, his breathing became erratic. He felt anger for feeling so helpless. Every second felt like an hour to him, while he waited for the doctors to come out.

    After about two hours the red light went off above the doors and the doctors finally came out. They all had serious faces. You could never tell what they were thinking.

    The boy rushed to the doctor.

    ¡°What happened? She is fine right?! She surely must be! Tell me!¡±

    The doctors looked at each other as if they were pondering how they would say the news.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. She couldn¡¯t make it. We tried our best.¡± They said.

    The boy went silent. It was as if time had stopped for the boy. His ears couldn¡¯t hear and his mind wouldn¡¯t think. Those words they said was like thunder raining on him. The only ray of light in his depressing life was now gone.

    The doctors waited for him to say something but never got a reply.

    ¡°He must be in shock. Take him to my office, we¡¯ll handle the paperwork there.¡± The doctor said. All of them walked away while one of the workers took the boy to the office.

    The boy couldn¡¯t say anything as he was blindly dragged by a man. He was made to sit in the office. The worker put a glass of water on the table and walked out of the office.

    The boy sat silently. Tears slowly poured down his face. He couldn¡¯t accept reality.

    The lights of the office flickered and a man with a white bunny mask walked in.

 Chapter 1

    A ship sailed in the vast blues. Men worked hard on the sails and kept it in the direction of the winds.

    ¡°Ahoy mates! I see land in the distance¡± shouted one man from the top of the ship with a telescope in his hands.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted all the other men on board.

    ¡°How much more time to reach shore?¡± asked the captain. He was dressed in a suit which looked appropriate for a noble. His aura commanded authority and he carried a special air around him.

    ¡°Fifteen more captain, twenty at most!¡± shouted back the man.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted all the 100 men on board with cheerful expressions. You couldn¡¯t blame them for acting rowdy. Travelling for almost 600 days on a ship wasn¡¯t easy. They were finally going home to their families.

    The captain smiled at his crew and let them do their thing for a while. He looked at the odd ball of the crew, a kid wrapped with grey colour beast clothing all around his body. He had black hair and his most prominent feature ¨C his dark blue eyes which reminded the captain of the sea. They had found him captive on a pirate ship.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough! Get on with the work if you want to reach the coast fast enough.¡± The captain said. He walked back into his office in the ship.

    The stupid salty air had plagued Aether¡¯s nose for around 400 hundred days. He smiled wide, celebrating that he was one step closer to pay off his debt and go home. A pink pig suddenly appeared on his shoulder with a ¡®poof¡¯. It was tiny and was just about the size of a palm.

    ¡°UGH, you smell as rotten as always. Wearing all this beast clothing¡­¡­ don¡¯t you get tired of it?¡± said the pig as it made a disgusted face which was almost humanlike.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The men around Aether had already gotten used to this weird pig appearing out of nowhere and it could talk too. They had seen many strange things; a useless talking pig didn¡¯t seem to interest them at all.

    ¡°Shut up pig, we are finally about to reach Baiblic, don¡¯t ruin my mood.¡± Aether replied ignoring the pig while he started at the horizon.

    ¡°Oye oye! How many times have I told you not to call me a pig?! I¡¯m Titan! Do you hear me?! A Titan!¡± said the pig angrily. The crew cracked up watching this hilarious pig and its master having their daily fight. It never got old for them.

    (Note: the pig claims to be a Titan who is named a Titan.)

    ¡°A Titan he says!¡± laughed a man while pointing his finger toward the pig. The crew started laughing even more. ¡°If you¡¯re a Titan then we are the rulers of the universe mate.¡±

    ¡°Shut up fools. Don¡¯t you look down on me!¡± roared the pig.

    Aether wasn¡¯t paying attention to any of that gibberish, he just looked at the beautiful scenery of the buildings that were ahead.

    ¡°The architecture is a mix of Persian and French. It¡¯s a beauty.¡± Said Aether. His eyes couldn¡¯t have enough of the beautiful port they were about to arrive to.

    ¡°You say some strange stuff mate but you are right, it is beautiful. I heard it¡¯s a work in progress.¡± Said a man. He was also quite surprised by the changes they had made to this place since the last time he had seen it.

    When the ship was finally docked at the port, all of them rushed out.

    ¡°We will gather supplies and meet here in about two hours. Make sure all of you come back in time! Men, start the repairs!¡± said the captain. He walked to Aether.

    ¡°Here¡± he said with a pouch in his hands, ¡°it contains quite a few gold coins. It¡¯ll come in handy. Besides we have a lot of them left after pillaging pirates.¡±

    Aether looked at the pouch but he didn¡¯t want to take it. ¡°I only did a little work on the ship, I don¡¯t deserve the gold coins. Plus, you saved me from those pirates and gave me food and means to travel.¡±

    The captain knew Aether wouldn¡¯t accept it so he put the pouch away. ¡°if it is what you wish. You are still young don¡¯t waste your time and train properly.¡±

    Aether felt a chill go down his spine. It was as if he was naked in front of this man, it never felt comfortable. It was as if he could see through everything.

    ¡°This is where we part. I wish you the best in whatever you wish to do in Baiblic. We will be going through the river Tune to the country Helion. It¡¯s a long journey I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to stay here for too long. Goodbye.¡± Said the captain and walked away to instruct his crew

    ¡°Goodbye¡±

    Aether walked from the ports and into the streets of the city. People looked at him strangely and blocked their noses. He was just ecstatic to finally be on land with decent people around him. The clothing, the buildings, everything was just like he had travelled back in time.

    ¡°Hey pig, what¡¯s Helion?¡± Aether asked, recalling his conversation with the captain.

    ¡°It¡¯s only the largest country on the human continent you retard. Although you do not care about what people think, I do ok? So please take a damn shower and get a change of clothes.¡± Said the pig while watching the people covering their noses.

    ¡°Whatever¡± Aether said.

    ¡°The journey hasn¡¯t even begun yet.¡± Said the pig hysterically. He tried to imagine what the future would be like and sighed. One thing he knew was that this wasn¡¯t going to be easy.

 Chapter 2

    Aether roamed the streets and parkoured on the rooftops before the patrols stopped him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time, we don¡¯t even know how much time it takes to travel to the capital. We don¡¯t even know how we¡¯ll even go there. We don¡¯t even know where the damn capital is.¡± Said the pig. He was tired of watching Aether play around.

    ¡°Settle down pig, we¡¯ll find a way. I rarely get to enjoy time like this.¡± Aether said. It had been too long, way too long before he had enjoyed his time like this.

    ¡°Oh yeah, ¡®I only did a little work, OH, I don¡¯t deserve it, OH plus you saved me.¡¯ You had to be a goody two shoes, didn¡¯t you? Why didn¡¯t you just accept the gold coins?¡± said the pig, copying Aether¡¯s tone.

    ¡°He is a good man but he is powerful and I don¡¯t want to owe him any favours. As if I would refuse such a deal, but there¡¯s always a catch.¡± Said Aether.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you, how much of a level do you think the captain was?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Taking it statistically, he should be level 50, even though he is only barely over thirty. He is quite talented.¡± Replied the pig.

    ¡°If he is talented then I''m monstrously talented. I reached level 22 from nothing in 18 months.¡± Aether said with a smirk on his face. Although it was hell, training and living like a maniac for more than year it was worth it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too proud of yourself and stop smiling, you¡¯re scaring people away. You¡¯re only progressing fast because of the system. It¡¯s not easy to get to level 50. Most people can¡¯t even reach there in their lifetimes. It¡¯s a long time before you reach level 50, besides the average level of people on this continent of adults is 25. Anyone can get there with a little effort.¡± Said the pig, as if he was looking down on Aether.

    ¡°I¡¯m still young and I still have a lot of room to improve ok? You can¡¯t compare me with them. I wasn¡¯t even born on this planet you know.¡± Aether said.

    They started asking around the streets and found out that a caravan was leaving for the Capital tomorrow. They head towards their campsite and found the leader of the caravan. The caravan was quite big. Around 35 carts were there with many horses to pull the load.

    ¡°You want to come along? Do you have money if you can give me some silver coins I¡¯ll consider bringing you along.¡± The head said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have money but I could protect your caravan.¡± Aether said with confidence.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Haha! You? Protect the caravan? You¡¯re a kid who barely went through puberty with a ¡­ pig on your shoulders. Forget it kid, we have men protecting us, you don¡¯t have to bother, just go.¡± Said the head.

    One of mercenaries who was behind them had listened to the whole conversation. He was responsible for protecting the caravan. He was irritated for some reason and wanted to take out his anger.

    ¡°You mocking us kid? There are experts protecting this caravan, there¡¯s no need for a faggot like you. Now get lost before I smack you in the face.¡± Said the mercenary.

    Aether didn¡¯t get intimidated at all. Instead he walked towards the mercenary and looked him in the eyes.

    The mercenaries behind were watching. ¡°Look at that idiot picking on kids again. Let him go man.¡± Said one of them.

    ¡°Shut up you idiots, I¡¯m just putting this kid in his place.¡± Replied the mercenary while turning back. He turned back to Aether. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me kid? Are you deaf?¡±

    Aether punched the man in his face with his right hand and got in his boxing position.

    The man staggered and stepped back. His face was turned and his whole face turned into a bright red tomato.

    ¡°OOOHHHH¡­.¡± The mercenaries shouted.

    ¡°Hehe the kid¡¯s got a good punch¡± said one of them, enjoying the spectacle. These mercenaries never said no to watching a fight as long as they weren¡¯t the ones fighting themselves.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done it now kid¡± said the mercenary who was punched in the face. He was embarrassed in front of his comrades. He wasn¡¯t going to let this one slide.

    ¡°AAAAHHH!¡± he screamed as a blue beam wrapped his fist and went in for a punch. Aether ducked and side stepped and punched his ribs.

    ¡°Argh!¡± the mercenary coughed at the impact. ¡°Hmph! Level 24 ain¡¯t a match for me.¡± Aether said as he went for an upper cut. He didn¡¯t even give the mercenary time to reposition himself. The mercenary was launched in the air and fell on his back, unconscious.

    ¡°That¡¯s for calling me a kid.¡± Aether said. He turned back towards the caravan head. ¡°can I tag along now?¡±

    The caravan head was still processing the whole thing in his mind. ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± All the mercenaries were speechless. They didn¡¯t expect it to end so fast.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t interesting at all!¡± said one of them. ¡°You should have played around with him a little more!¡± said another. ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted all the others.

    The caravan head examined the unconscious mercenary for a while. ¡°Well, it looks like you cracked his ribs up. This one can¡¯t come along with us now. You¡¯ll be his replacement.¡± He said while he smiled to himself. The stronger his men were, the better. He wasn¡¯t suspicious of Aether at all. There was no need to, you could tell just by looking at his appearance.

    ¡°Alright, listen up! We leave tomorrow at sunrise. You can stay at the camp and spend the night here or you could go wherever you¡¯d like to. Make sure you''re here by sunrise.¡± Said the head.

    The mercenaries decided to stay at the camp. It was already evening, they didn¡¯t want to waste their energy by doing something right now. They would need their energy on the road. They decided to spend time by gambling, playing cards, arm wrestling and wrestling.

    Aether also indulged himself in these activities. They waited for the night to arrive before they could go to sleep. A bonfire was lit up to warm them up since they were sleeping in the open.

    BAM! The table shook. Aether had defeated another man in arm wrestling. ¡°WHOOO!¡± the mercenaries shouted as another one of them left the table dejected.

    ¡°Anyone who can beat the kid gets a silver coin! But if you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll have to give me one!¡± said one them, trying to make a profit out of the situation.

    ¡°What?! A silver coin? fine I¡¯ll beat this kid¡± said another. He sat on the table. Aether and the mercenary locked hands. Aether was smiling wide knowing that another man would lose to him.

    The mercenary sniffed around finding a disturbing smell. ¡°What¡¯s this smell?¡± he said. ¡°The smell of your doom you turd.¡± Aether said mocking the mercenary. He opened his underarms a little and let out a fragrance that could be smelled one meter in diameter.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± shouted the mercenary. The smell hit his nose and caused him nausea the second it did. It felt like the whole world had fallen apart for him. ¡°Gotcha¡± Aether said as he took hold of this opportunity and slammed the mercenary¡¯s hand on the round table with a BAM!

    ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted all the mercenaries. ¡°Roll in the money baby.¡± Aether said.

    The little pig who was watching this was flabbergasted. ¡°EW! Never imagined there would actually be a use for that disgusting smell. Wait till you meet the ladies, that¡¯s where you¡¯ll regret your retching smell!¡±

 Chapter 3

    The next day at sunrise everyone got up, packed their stuff and got ready to leave. The horses were bought from their stables and tied to the carts. Soon the caravan left the city and started on its way to the capital of Baiblic.

    Aether sat in a cart with four other mercenaries. He enjoyed the light of the sun and the breeze. The atmosphere was clean and the air was filled with energy unlike his home back at Earth. The mercenaries started talking with each other to spend the time.

    ¡°How many days till we reach the capital?¡± Aether asked.

    ¡°It¡¯ll take 14 more days.¡± Said a mercenary. He sighed with disappointment. It was going to be a long journey and if nothing major happens along the way they would have to spend time here in the cart, numbing their poor butts with rocks and humps along the way.

    ¡°You said you travelled with Helions in the sea to the port right?¡± one of them asked Aether.

    ¡°Helions? As in people who live in Helion? Yeah I did travel with them.¡± Aether replied.

    ¡°I heard some of them are crazy and consider themselves as a superior race or something.¡± a mercenary said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that too.¡± Said another.

    ¡°They were pretty good. They even saved me from pirates. Didn¡¯t seem like they were stuck up people.¡± Aether said, defending the captain and his crew. After all they were good people.

    ¡°You were captured by pirates? You never told that to us!¡± said a mercenary. ¡°What? You my dad or something, I need to tell you everything?¡± Aether said with annoyance. ¡°Ok, then tell us about what happened¡± he said. All the other mercenaries looked at him expectantly. They didn¡¯t have much to do might as well listen to a story.

    ¡°Well¡­.. I was on the demon continent¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute! You were on the demon continent?!¡± before Aether had even started, he was already interrupted. ¡°Yeah I was ok? Just shut up and listen don¡¯t ask questions.¡± Said Aether. He didn¡¯t want to explain why and how he was there. They wouldn¡¯t even believe him anyway.

    Aether looked towards the ceiling. His eyes blanked out and he recalled his past events. ¡°While I was on the demon continent, I tried to find human settlement but I couldn¡¯t, so I built a raft and sailed into the ocean. Three days went by in the ocean as I realised how stupid I was for doing something like that. To my luck a big ship suddenly appeared in the horizon. I was ecstatic. I did my best to grab its attention and to my surprise they spotted me and came to my rescue¡­. Or so I though.

    The ship looked creepier and creepier as it got closer. Green algae covered it¡¯s wood. It¡¯s sails were torn and it¡¯s flag had a skeleton symbol on it. That¡¯s when I realized I had fucked up and I wasn¡¯t so lucky after all. The pirates found me and decided to sell me as a slave seeing that I was still young. I still remember how they told me that they would have eaten me for dinner if I wasn¡¯t so young. Ugh, it still makes me want to vomit.

    They put me in a cage. I was way out of their league so I couldn¡¯t even escape. In the next few days a Helion ship came by. Apparently, it was out on a mission to annihilate the pirates. So, it did annihilate the ship and rescued me in the process. Then I travelled with them for a few days and here I am!¡±

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty unbelievable ¡­...¡± Said a mercenary after listening to Aether.

    ¡°Believe what you want to, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m saying the truth.¡± He replied.

    Like this one after the other the days would pass. At night they would camp in an open space and travel when the sun is out. They would encounter a few monsters here and there but it wasn¡¯t anything they couldn¡¯t take care of.

    They were camping on the fourth night of the journey when Aether suddenly saw a pair of blue coloured eyes in the bushes. ¡°AWOOOO!!¡± a howl sounded through the air and the pair of blue eyes vanished.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Aether wondered. The pig had already gone to sleep in his body. Aether didn¡¯t know how it functioned but there was a space in his body that the pig could get into. The space existed in his body but it didn''t at the same time.

    Aether ran into the woods. ¡°Hey! Where are you going kid?¡± a caravan member shouted at him but he paid no attention to him and kept running.

    ¡°What was up with him?¡± the member mumbled. ¡°The kid¡¯s probably going for a dump.¡± Said a man who watched Aether run into the woods. ¡°Yeah you¡¯re probably right.¡± The member said and got back to his own work.

    Aether kept running in the woods but he couldn¡¯t find the creature. It was dark and he could barely see because of the moonlight. He decided to return to the camp when he heard rustling noises and another howl.

    Finally, the pig woke up. ¡°What the heck is this? Is this treasure I smell?¡± the pig was active as soon as it got up. You couldn¡¯t tell he was sleeping just a moment ago.

    ¡°You can smell treasure?¡± Aether asked the pig. ¡°Not necessarily but I can sense something powerful in the area and it¡¯s very close by.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Aether asked. ¡°We have to get this treasure. It can probably help you advance quicker. Keep going straight.¡± The pig replied.

    ¡°This better be worth it pig, the mosquitoes in this place are horrendous!¡± Aether complained. He started running straight. The pig told him to change directions quite frequently and soon they entered an area. There was a huge cave with monsters sround it. Aether climbed a tall tree to get a better view and was shocked by what he saw.

    ¡°What the hell is happening here?¡± he asked with a shocked expression. ¡°I knew I smelled monsters! Cheh! All of them are low levelled.¡± The pig said. They saw a couple hundred monsters gathered around the cave. Most of them were low levelled but some were above level 20.

    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Aether asked again. ¡°They¡¯re probably protecting whatever¡¯s in that cave¡± the pig replied. Just when they were checking the place out a flying monster screeched at them. All the monsters were attracted to the tree and a loud howl came from within the cave.

    ¡°AWOOOOO!!¡±

    ¡°AHH! Fuck, first a screech then a fucking Howl! My ears are going to burst!¡± Aether said while covering his ears. ¡°They found us.¡± Said the pig. The pig grew alert.

    The flying monster which looked like a large eagle knocked Aether down the tree while he was distracted. The monsters rushed to Aether as if they were commanded by someone.

    ¡°God dammit!¡± Aether fell to the ground while the pig used Aether as cushion.

    The monsters reached Aether in no time and attacked him. Aether quickly got to his feet as fast as he could and took out his dagger. ¡°Hey pig keep looking behind me and alert me.¡±

    He slashed at the wolf like monster and kicked it away. He quickly stabbed his dagger into the weak monsters brains and killed them. ¡°They¡¯re weak but there¡¯s too many of them.¡± Aether said while he struggled to fight.

    ¡°Use that thing we got from the pirates!¡± the pig shouted. Aether quickly took out a large stone like object and removed a pin from it. He threw it where he thought the monsters were grouped and ¡°BOOM!¡± an explosion took place and ten monsters died instantly. Their blood splashed around everywhere and the explosive sound temporarily stunned the others near them. The monsters mainly looked like wolves, tigers and boars but they were larger than their earth counterparts and were enormously stronger.

    ¡°I wanted to save it for later¡­¡± Aether lamented that he had to use his only grenade that he had obtained by luck in a place like this. He kept fighting them but they were too many of them.

    ¡°Look out behind you!¡± the pig screamed. A large eagle lurched at Aether seeing that he was still alive.

    Aether quickly turned behind and waited for the eagle to swoop down. ¡°Lightning fist!¡± Aether shouted. His arm was wrapped with lighting as he dodged the bird and hit its body when it was the closest to him. The poor bird didn¡¯t expect this and fell to the ground while screeching helplessly. Its spine had been damaged. If it¡¯s one thing that Aether had improved over the past couple of years, it were his reflexes to dodge.

    The monsters still rushed at him crazily. ¡°Shit, that drained my stamina. Why are these creatures rushing at me brainlessly? Are they in that much of a hurry to die?¡± Aether asked.

    ¡°No not brainless but they have no choice. They are being commanded. Something in that cave is doing it.¡± The pig replied.

    ¡°You do know that I can¡¯t keep this up for long right? There are still tens of them and I am running out of stamina. We¡¯ll have to run away.¡± Aether said. He couldn¡¯t care less about some treasure right now. Although these monsters were only level 10 ¨C 20, he couldn¡¯t fight for long. He was also just over level 20. If he didn¡¯t have his dagger, he would have probably run away from here a long time ago.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run away, run to the cave¡± the pig said. Determination filled he pig¡¯s eyes, ''I ain''t going to leave here without the damn treasure''.

 Chapter 4

    Aether was starting to get angry at this stupid pig. He was already having a tough time fending the monsters off. The only reason he could do this was because the forest cover around the cave was thick so all the monsters couldn¡¯t rush at him crazily from everywhere.

    ¡°Fuck you¡± Aether said and ran away when he saw an opening. The monsters clawed at him and left a few scratches on his body. He ran as fast as he could. The monsters chased behind him for a while but soon they lost interest and went back to the cave.

    Aether turned around to make sure he wasn¡¯t being chased. He panted hardly and sat down to take rest for a while. ¡°Why did you leave?!¡± the pig asked lividly. ¡°There is a fucking treasure there! Do you think you could be accepted into the academy with your current prowess?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Shut up pig we don¡¯t know that yet. Besides first I gotta show up for the entrance test, right? Don¡¯t kill me here.¡± Aether said. He took a deep breath and calmed his heart down. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can go in there and fight again so don¡¯t force me.¡± Aether said.

    ¡°Who said anything about fighting? I know you¡¯ll die if you go in there again. Those stupid monsters aren¡¯t going too far away from the cave anyway. If something happens you can run away again.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°You think it¡¯s that easy to run away?¡± Aether said. ¡°I don¡¯t but you do want to get into the country¡¯s most precious Martial arts and Magic Academy , right?¡± the pig asked. Aether grumbled but he agreed with the pig. ¡°So? What should I do?¡± Aether asked. The pig looked at Aether cunningly ¡°You still have the beast clothing that you got in Demon continent?¡±. He asked. Aether felt something ominous, this pig always had the worst ideas ever.

    One hour later~

    They had gone back to camp and gotten the beast clothing which Aether wore currently. The beast cloth looked like it was perfectly carved out from a panther to fit Aether perfectly. They had already told the people at the caravan that they would have some fun and would be a little late, so they shouldn¡¯t be worried about them.

    The closer Aether got to the cave the more suspicious he grew. He should''ve thought a little before listening to a talking pig. The pig was in his body¡¯s space currently so you couldn¡¯t see him. They could still talk to each other mentally.

    ¡°Hey you think this is going to work?¡± Aether asked when they were near the cave. ¡°I¡¯m positive, those monsters don¡¯t get near the cave for some reason, you just need to get there, that¡¯s where the treasure is.¡± The pig replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t monsters have a good sense of smell? Don¡¯t you think they¡¯ll know it¡¯s me?¡± Aether asked, still suspicious of this plan. ¡°Look¡± the pig said with annoyance, ¡°when you open one armpit it¡¯s a different smell, when you open another one it¡¯s another smell and when you open both it¡¯s yet another smell, alright? Just fuckin concentrate on the plan.¡±

    Although Aether was unwilling, he still proceeded according to plan. After all he did want the treasure too. ¡°If there isn¡¯t any treasure in the cave¡­¡± he said with a threatening voice ¡°you are so dead pig.¡± He went into the area and crawled with his four limbs like an animal. All the monsters were alerted by his presence and looked at him sternly. Aether was scared ¡®Fuck, why¡¯re they all staring at me?¡¯ he thought to himself.

    ¡°Gwahhhh! Gwohh¡­ Rawwwrrrrr¡± he started releasing weird noises thinking he was imitating them. The pig face palmed. He wanted to act like he didn¡¯t know him. Deathly silence remained in the forest leaving out Aether¡¯s stupid screaming. His back was full of cold sweat.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    The monsters slowly turned their heads away and got back to doing their own thing. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that worked.¡± The pig said. He was shocked. What the heck? He didn¡¯t know monsters even communicated like that.

    Aether slowly moved towards the cave breathing a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to get near the cave, a howl came from within it. ¡°AWOOOO!!¡± All the monsters turned to look toward Aether as if they had been given a command. All the monsters let out noises and rushed towards him. ¡°SHIT! Aether they found out! Rush to the cave, quickly!¡± The pig shouted from inside.

    ¡°Dammit pig!¡± Aether cursed the pig and rushed to the cave. He dodged the few monsters stealthily but his clothes were still ripped from the sides because of some monster clawing at him. The cave was pretty near so he got to it and entered it.

    As soon as he entered it his ears were raped yet again by a howl. ¡°AWOOOO!!¡± all the monsters stopped outside the cave and didn¡¯t dare to enter.

    As soon as Aether entered, he saw a fox ten time his size, sitting on the floor while giving off a faint glow. At least it looked like a fox¡­ it''s hind legs were small and were red in colour. Its front legs were long and silver in colour. Its face was half red and half silver. The red part seemed smaller and the silver part was abnormally huge. It virtually didn¡¯t have a tail.

    ¡°Is this the treasure you were talking about? Looks like a Bear got fucked by a large wolf.¡± Aether said standing in guard. ¡°You fool! Its evolving due to rapid growth and increase in strength¡± the pig said. ¡°It looks to be about lvl 39. It¡¯s going to breakthrough to lvl 40.¡± Normally the pig would be afraid since Aether was only lvl 22 but there was no fear in the Pig¡¯s eyes.

    The wolf growled at Aether showing them it¡¯s big yellowish teeth which were dripping with saliva but it still didn¡¯t move and just lay down. Its whole body was showing signs of repulsion and animosity towards him. Aether had stopped breathing due to its immense aura.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be afraid. Breathe.¡± The pig said, reminding Aether to breathe. Aether snapped out of his fear and started puffing in air. ¡°What was that?¡± he asked with shock. He had experienced a similar scene with the pirates before. ¡°It was your bodies natural reaction to a superior being. It''s like a survival instinct." The pig said. ¡°Dammit!¡± Aether said with frustration. What was that feeling? That wretched feeling¡­. He never wanted to feel it ever again.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky It¡¯s doing a rushed evolution. This is what happens when you don¡¯t train properly and just absorb energy to become stronger. For now, it¡¯s weakened but once it advances, you¡¯ll be killed instantly.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I can kick it¡¯s ass right now?¡± said Aether with a cold voice. He had gotten serious. This wretched illiterate creature had dared to make him feel pressured? He was going to fuck it up. He tore his panther mask and threw it away.

    He took out his dagger and walked slowly towards the wolf. The wolf growled and stood up with difficulty. Aether looked at it with determination. He jumped towards its eyes. The wolf countered with his paw and knocked him down. Aether got up again before the wolf¡¯s other paw could crush him and spit the mud out of his mouth. He jumped on the wolf again but this time he waited for the large paw and grabbed it.

    The monster shouted loudly as Aether stabbed it¡¯s paw repeatedly. Eventually he was shaken off and throwed to the ground again. The wolf was annoyed this time and opened it''s mouth. A red colour energy ball gathered around its mouth. It released the ball towards Aether. Aether used the dagger that he had again and slashed the ball into two halves that went around him to create two gaping holes in the ground of the cave.

    He had obtained the dagger from the pirates or rather stolen it from the thieves themselves when they were caught. He didn¡¯t know what is was made of but he knew it was a premium good. That is why he didn¡¯t use it in front of everyone. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you have that knife kid.¡± Said the pig. ¡°It¡¯s a dagger you pig!¡± Aether shouted while he ran towards the wolf. ¡°And I¡¯m a Titan you retard!¡± the pig shouted.

    Aether dodged the wolf¡¯s front paws and stuck his dagger in the wolf¡¯s underbelly and dragged the dagger to the wolf¡¯s tail. ¡°AEERRRRHHHHH!!!!¡± the wolf wailed in misery as blood flowed out from his body from the large scar that Aether had created. He jumped on the Wolf¡¯s back and stabbed his dagger into its ass. The wolf let out another wail of misery. It had been raped by a human! Aether continued to create large holes in it¡¯s spinal chord with his dagger. Looks like he wanted to torture the wolf till its last breath.

    The wolf fell down and fainted but Aether still continued to madly stab holes in it¡¯s back. ¡°Stop it , I think that thing already died!¡± the pig said but Aether still didn¡¯t stop. The pig appeared before him. ¡°Stop it! Stop it! Aether!¡± Aether finally stopped. ¡°What¡¯s gotten in to you?¡± the pig asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Aether said quickly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just lost control for a second.¡± The pig stayed silent for a while but responded soon. ¡°Listen, I was talking to you about a treasure, right? I found it! Open up the forehead of this wolf quickly¡±. Aether stood up and walked to the forehead of the monster.

    When he opened it''s forehead, he was blinded by the sudden light from it.

 Chapter 5

    Advertisement<i class="fa fa-times"></i> Remove</a>

    Two lights shone from the forehead of the wolf. One was blue and one was purple. The blue light shone from a stone which was as big as half a fist. The purple light was stronger and suppressed the blue light, it came out from just a small shard and felt dark and ominous.

    ¡°What are these?¡± Aether asked with shock. ¡°Oh wow¡­ you are one lucky dog I tell you.¡± the pig said, he didn¡¯t answer Aether¡¯s question and started waving his pig hands in the air. The air around them started to move and head towards the purple shard. The wind removed the shard from the forehead. The pig started to murmur something incomprehensible mumbo- jumbo.

    ¡°Ahen isnrob morf aegg¡­¡± Some magic circles appeared on the shard and wound themselves on it. After that the shard suddenly stopped glowing and fell to the ground.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Aether asked with surprise. ¡°Damn that one tired me out. Listen I just put aura restricting spell on it, monsters within a 1 km radius would have been attracted to it like crazy if I hadn¡¯t done that. Thank god there weren¡¯t any high levelled monsters in this area. Take that shard and hide it, hide the blue one too. Don¡¯t show it to anyone.¡± The pig said quickly with a tired voice. ¡°Ahhhhh¡­ I think I¡¯ll be going to sleep now.¡±

    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t just disappear!¡± Aether said hurriedly. He still had a lot of questions but the pig ignored him and entered Aether¡¯s space in his body. Aether tried to mentally contact him like usual but he didn¡¯t receive any reply. Since he couldn¡¯t do anything, he took the blue stone and purple shard and hid it on his body. The blue stone had a very faint glow so it wasn¡¯t going to cause any problems.

    He quickly got out of the cave. To his surprise he didn¡¯t find any monsters outside of the cave anymore. What was this? More than hundred monsters had suddenly vanished? He decided not to give it any thought for now and returned to the camp site. Some of the mercenaries saw him and gave him some medicine for the scars. He explained to them that he had just had an encounter with a monster but there was nothing to worry about. After that, he went to his tent and decided to call it a night.

    The next day he got up. His wounds hurt a bit now but it was okay. For the next 4 days they kept travelling. They stopped in a town somewhere on the 3<sup>rd</sup> day to restock. On the 8<sup>th</sup> night of the whole travel the pig finally appeared in front of Aether. It yawned and stretched lazily.

    ¡°That was a good rest¡± he said. ¡°Where were you, you stupid pig?¡± Aether asked. ¡°I was with your mom.¡± The pig replied with a savage look on his face. Aether then continued to spank him. Miserable cries sounded from his tent. The mercenaries decided to forget what was happening after seeing it for one time.

    Aether finally let the pig off after half an hour. ¡°I¡¯m a Titan! To be shamed like this! Why does nobody see my greatness?! Not even the author!¡± the pig yelled.

    ¡°Yeah¡± Aether said mockingly. ¡°As if somebody would think your''e a Titan¡±.

    ¡°Just you wait kid, I¡¯ll pay this debt back, but now is not the time. Where is the purple shard?¡± the pig asked.

    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Aether said as he removed it from his pocket. ¡°What even is this? Some kind of magical bulb?¡±

    ¡°You fool! Why would there be a magical bulb in the forehead of a wolf?¡± the pig said.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°That makes sense, I guess¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a magic core¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Aether asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the energy reservoir of a monster. A monster usually develops one when it reaches lvl 40.¡± The pig said, he looked at it closely as if inspecting it. ¡°This one is just a shard of the whole magical core.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Then isn¡¯t it a waste¡± Aether said after all it was only the size of a little finger.

    The pig sighed while he wondered why he was stuck with such a retard. It was all that guy¡¯s fault!

    ¡°You idiot it¡¯s a Demon king¡¯s magical core. The question is ¨C how did it end up in a lowly wolf¡¯s body? Even though it¡¯s small, it has large amounts of energy that isn¡¯t even imaginable by your idiotic imagination. Why do you think it was shining so brightly?¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to know that? Don¡¯t call me an idiot. Maybe you should blame him¡± Aether said.

    ¡°This thing is going to be your key in getting accepted in the academy.¡± The pig said. He was relieved, he could finally have some hopes now. ¡°Show me your hand¡± the pig said.

    The pig took the shard and started mumbling some Mumbo Jumbo again. ¡°Maerc cei have stun nda eacrm¡­¡±

    On Aether¡¯s hand, a hole started to appear and blood flowed from it. ¡°AHHH!¡± Aether who was totally unprepared for that shouted. The mercenaries out were wondering- ¡®Is the pig doing the spanking now? Those two have weird tastes.¡¯ ¡°Ouch! Fucking pig, I¡¯m going to kill you one of these days.¡± The pig dropped the purple shard in hole and closed it with his magic.

    ¡°OHHHHH!¡± Aether wailed weirdly. ¡°What the fuck did you do? you pig!¡± he shouted. He was about to grab the pig but it disappeared.

    ¡°I¡¯m slightly tired again, going to take a nap in your space¡± the pig said. Before Aether could get mad on it a robotic voice spoke in his mind.

    Demon king shard attached to Host¡¯s body. It has become a part of the Host¡¯s body due to an unknown spell.

    Abilities gained-

    Control over monsters below 10 levels of your own.

    Since you belong to the kingdom human this ability gets nerfed by 50%

    Ability is called- Superiority.

    Currently able to control lvl 6 and below monsters.

    Another ability gained. Transforms the right arm to demonic form.

    Ability called- Demonic change.

    Ability changes the arm of human to that of a demon.

    Boosts strength of arm by 124% this applies to all skills and magic used by this arm.

    This ability is only available because Host is human and now has made the demonic stone a part of his body.

    Both abilities get stronger with the Level of the host.

    Aether received some messages from the System. Wow! He couldn¡¯t believe it, what an OP ability! All that from a shard. He couldn¡¯t believe his luck. This was the first time he thought he was really lucky. Now he understood how those monsters had gathered near the cave. It was too bad that the of the abilities were nerfed but it was still powerfull.

    He really wanted to test out his abilities so he tried to find some monsters but he couldn¡¯t. He thought it was too bad and decided to go to bed but he wasn¡¯t able to go to sleep because of all the excitement in his brain.

    The next day when they were travelling, the pig suddenly came out of nowhere. ¡°Look who finally decided to show up.¡± Aether said. ¡°Ayeee it¡¯s our little Titan!¡± the mercenaries in his cart shouted. They were used to teasing this pig everyday since they had nothing better to do anyway. ¡°I¡¯m not little, you fools!¡± the pig said. All of them bursted out in laughter. ¡°Well maybe I am¡­.¡± He said, ¡®Dammit!¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank you this time for giving me such an OP ability this time.¡± Aether said. He was going to forgive the pig for creating a bloody hole in his hand, but the pig still hadn¡¯t forgiven Aether. He was going to wait till he got another chance to fuck this kid up. The mercenaries on the other hand were in their own thoughts ¨C ¡®What are these two talking about? About how he gained spanking skills? What a weird bunch.¡¯

    Meanwhile in another place~

    Two people one man and one woman, were in the cave where Aether had defeated the wolf. The man looked so angry, he was ready to kill someone if he saw them. ¡°WAAAAAH!¡± he shouted with fury. He kicked the dead wolf with fury and sent it flying towards the walls of the cave. The cave shook because of the force.

    The woman on the other hand was very calm, she blocked her nose to avoid the rotten smell. ¡°Do you want to bury us down here?¡± she asked the man. ¡°A collapse of a cave won¡¯t kill us.¡± He responded. ¡°This is where the signal of the shard last wore off. Why can¡¯t we find the shard?!¡± he said.

    The girl looked at wolf¡¯s forehead. ¡°It was taken by someone. Most likely the work of a person. Probably someone who stole our Lord¡¯s hard-earned material.¡±

    Both of them got out of the cave. The woman clicked her fingers and the cave behind them collapsed. ¡°We will find that person, no matter what.¡± She said with a deathly look in her eyes. Then both of them disappeared into nothingness.

 Chapter 6

    After 14 days of travel by cart and camping in the woods, Aether along with the caravan reached the capital city of Baiblic- Matias.

    Aether was tired and exhausted; the caravan had not stopped properly unless they had to restock. He smelled even worse now. Even the caravan members were avoiding him. After the caravan goods were checked by the guards at the entrance of the city, the caravan moved to an open place. All the mercenaries gathered up to collect their reward. The caravan head gave them each 500 coppers. Since nothing major had happened during the journey, they didn¡¯t receive any bonus.

    The twenty or so mercenaries collected their rewards and started heading towards the mercenary union. Apparently, every Major city had one, the Union provided jobs for the mercenaries.

    Aether was pretty happy as he thought 500 coppers were equal to 5 silver but he soon learnt that 1000 coppers equalled a single silver. Aether was totally bummed out. His butt was numb, his body was exhausted and he hadn¡¯t earnt a single silver from the trip. Aether was sad but he had earnt 8 silvers from the mercenaries themselves by defeating them in arm wrestling so he wasn¡¯t completely broke.

    He scratched his itchy body and sniffed his armpits, ¡°Ugh! It smells like I took a dip in the sewer!¡± The pig appeared on his shoulder with a ¡®poof¡¯. ¡°I keep telling you that you smell like shit but you don¡¯t listen to me at all.¡±

    ¡°I guess I do need a bath after all,¡± Aether said feeling his sticky and greasy hair. ¡°Let¡¯s look for a place to bathe in¡±. Aether asked the mercenaries if there was a place they knew that was nearby. Unfortunately for him, it was the first time the mercenaries had come to Matias themselves.

    Except for Aether, everyone was taking in the beautiful architecture and the long and huge tower in the centre of the city. One of them walked up Aether to talk to him. ¡°Is it not your first time visiting this city. Aren¡¯t you surprised by the buildings and the tall tower? It¡¯s the tallest tower I have seen in my life.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it may be tall but isn¡¯t as tall as Burj Khalifa,¡± Aether said. He wasn¡¯t surprised or fascinated with the place. It did look otherworldly and stuff but he had seen better in his own world.

    The other man laughed out loud. ¡°You¡¯re a strange nut Aether, I guess you¡¯re what they call puberty. I¡¯ve been to this city before.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Do I look like a kid who''s going through puberty to you, you old fart?¡± Aether asked.

    The mercenary ignored Aether¡¯s remark, ¡°If you¡¯re looking for a place to stay you should go to the Keaton. It¡¯s a pretty welcoming place.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Aether said before he walked away.

    The mercenary looked at his disappearing back in the crowd as he shouted ¡°Hey! I didn¡¯t tell you where to go!¡±

    By this time his friend shouted at him ¡°Hey Marcus! We¡¯re heading to the Union hurry up!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m coming!¡± Marcus shouted back at his friend. ¡®I guess the kid will figure it out¡¯ Marcus thought while he walked to his friends.

    Meanwhile, people strayed far away from Aether as he walked the street searching for the hotel. ¡°Damn, that old man didn¡¯t tell me where to go.¡± Aether grumped. ¡°more like you didn¡¯t listen to him,¡± The pig said.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Why are all these people running away from me when I try to talk to them?¡± Aether asked. He had tried to ask for directions multiple times but people ignored him and walked away with disgusted faces. A kid had even walked up to him and given him a copper coin before running away to his mother and complaining that he smelled like a fart.

    ¡°It¡¯s cause you smell like poop and your face is black with dirt. Your hair looks like chicken noodles, except the noodles, are burnt black.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°That¡¯s kind of harsh, you know. I don¡¯t smell like¡­¡± Aether sniffed his body again ¡°ok, maybe I do sniff like poop. It¡¯s probably worse.¡± Aether entered the main street and found carriages and people running around everywhere. There were some street vendors selling fruits as well. He walked up to an apple vendor and bought a few apples to eat.

    ¡°Hey old man, do you know where the Keaton hotel is?¡± Aether asked the grandpa that was selling the apples while eating one.

    ¡°Huh? Oh yes, I do.¡± The old man said. ¡°It¡¯s right around the corner¡­¡­¡± the old man went on to direct Aether to the hotel. ¡°Now hurry up and get lost, you¡¯re going to rot my apples.¡±

    ¡°Geez, alright I¡¯ll go away old man, chill down,¡± Aether said. He was surprised by the old man¡¯s behaviour. At one moment he was fine with him and then suddenly flared up at the next.

    ¡®The Keaton¡¯ whatever it was, was actually a two-storied building made completely out of wood. Aether walked in headed to what looked like the reception.

    At the same time, another person headed to the counter. The person was hooded. Both of them simultaneously asked the woman at the reception.

    ¡°Can I get a room and a bath too please¡±

    ¡°I need a room¡±

    Aether and Mr. hoody looked at each other. Mrs Roose the middle-aged woman who was the receptionist was in a tight spot. She smiled awkwardly. ¡°Welcome to the Keaton guests but I¡¯m afraid we have only one room left. If you would like you could share a room, they are quite spacious.¡±

    Aether was about to agree but, ¡°What? Share a room with a peasant who smells like poop? Why don¡¯t you ask him if he has the money to afford a room first?¡± the hooded person said.

    ¡°The room would cost around 20 coppers a day sir,¡± the woman said starting to doubt whether Aether could afford the room or not.

    ¡°What did you say?! I ain''t-a peasant alright! I might smell like poop though¡­.¡± Aether said frustration. He really needed to bathe. ¡°I can afford a room alright? Here, look¡± Aether took out his pouch of money ¡°see I even have silver coins.¡± Aether showed, Mrs Roose his money.

    ¡°You are a peasant too you know.¡± Said the pig. ¡°Shut up,¡± Aether said.

    ¡°So what if this peasant has a few silvers? I can offer you more money¡± the hooded person said. He was starting to get a headache now. He just wanted a room to stay but all the good Hotels and places were booked out. The only place that looked like it still had a place to stay was this one. He didn¡¯t want to search even more.

    ¡°Hey lady, you have some work ethic, right? You can¡¯t take extra money for something that isn¡¯t worth it. Besides, this person seems shady as hell. You don¡¯t want some strange person to stay at your place, right?¡± Aether said trying to persuade Mrs Roose.

    Mrs Roose was in a sticky situation. She didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two just share rooms with each other?¡±

    ¡°NO¡± both of them denied immediately.

    ¡°Peasant, have you heard the saying- people who can¡¯t be convinced with words need a beating? Maybe you need one too?¡± the hooded person said.

    ¡°Hah! Do you think you can beat me? Why don¡¯t you try you asshole?¡± Aether mocked. ¡°Call me when you finish fighting,¡± the pig said and disappeared with a ''poof¡¯.

    The hooded person swung his fist and hit Aether in the face. Before Aether could react, he was knocked back.

    ¡°Uh- oh,¡± said some people who were watching them. There were tables and chairs near the reception where people were eating and drinking beer. They were shouting and having fun but everyone started laughing when the fight started. Now usually, this kind of people would enjoy a fight like this. But what was the point, it was going to end soon anyway.

    ¡°Hahaha, look at those two fools!¡± said one of them.

    One of the men who was eating asked ¡°Why aren''t you encouraging them to fight? Don¡¯t you want to see it?¡± Another guy who had been to this place before sighed and answered ¡°you¡¯ll see soon enough¡± and continued with drinking his beer.

    Aether retorted by swinging his fist at the hooded person but he ducked and dodged his punch. The hooded person quickly threw two other punches and knocked Aether back further. Aether was seriously pissed off now. Clearly, the other person was a lot stronger than he originally thought.

    ¡°Demonic change,¡± he said as his whole arm turned dark. ¡°I always wanted to try this out but I never got the chance you know,¡± he said. ¡°But why not add a little spice? Lightning fist!¡± he shouted as he punched towards the hooded person.

    ¡°The fuck? Do you think you¡¯re the only one who knows magic? Fire fist!¡± he shouted and punched towards Aether, his whole fist wrapped around with fire.

    These two could damage the hotel if they clashed right now, but before their fists collided someone appeared between them and caught both their fists in mid-air. The lightning and fire disappeared and left Aether and the hooded person in shock.

    ¡°Now now, no fighting inside the hotel ok? See there¡¯s even a sign there.¡± It was actually Mrs Roose.

    ¡°What?¡± said the hooded person with shock.

    ¡®System what is this woman¡¯s level?¡¯ Aether asked the system.

    Calculating the level of human female¡­¡­

    Level calculated

    The human female level is 54.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡­.¡±

    The pig laughed from inside Aether¡¯s space. ¡°I told you that you would get in trouble because of your appearance and smell, Hehe. You have made other people¡¯s nose suffer now you suffer! HAHAHAHA!¡±

    Aether gulped looking at the middle-aged woman¡¯s face. Her previously awkward face was replaced with a creepy smile.

    ¡°Now shall we talk about all the things you two broke?¡±

 Chapter 7

    Aether kept the plates he washed on top of each other. His whole face was filled with annoyance. The person next to him felt no different than him. A spiky-haired teenager with light red hair, around the same age as Aether. Amon wiped the plates off the water and arranged them in order again.

    ¡°Hmph, this is all your fault we¡¯re stuck like this,¡± Amon said with irritation in his voice. He had much better work to do but now he had to wipe some plates. During Amon and Aether¡¯s little squabble they had accidentally broken costly champagne and a few plates. Mrs Roose the owner of the hotel accepted all the money they had but it still wasn¡¯t enough to compensate for the champagne. She made the two of them work to cover the rest of the payment.

    ¡°Huh? My fault? You were the one who didn¡¯t want to share a room.¡± Aether said. Both of them were completely broke now. Aether was wondering how he was going to pay for this academy he was going to join or even afford a room to stay at now.

    ¡°Who told you to go and use magic in a closed area, you fool,¡± Amon said. Amon would have suffered some injuries if he had not used magic as retaliation.

    ¡°Who are you calling a fool, you motherfucker?¡± Aether said. Not only was he broke now he had to spend time listening to this obnoxious human.

    Mrs Roose came into the kitchen, where the two were there. ¡°You two, Roose is heading out for some supplies. Go help him out.¡± Mr Roose was Mrs Roose¡¯s husband. He was just a level 25 ordinary human. Aether wondered how he got together with the powerhouse of a woman. Even though she was middle-aged, you could tell she was beautiful in her younger years.

    Amon and Aether walked out and went out with Mr Roose. They had huge bags in their hands used for grocery. While Amon was busy complaining, Aether had some fun by experiencing shopping. He remembered his previous world where he had a lot of fun with his little sister while shopping with her. Remembering her smile he couldn¡¯t help but tighten his fists.

    ¡®I have to go back. No matter what it takes!¡¯ he thought.

    When they got back to the hotel. Aether and Amon went back to their room. Eventually, they had to share rooms anyways.

    The room was quite big with two beds and lights that were powered by magic.

    Both of them got on their beds and started meditating. Meditation was one of the most effective ways of absorbing magic power into the body.

    Amon looked at Aether weirdly. ¡°What the heck are you doing you faggot.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and mind your own business you bastard.¡± Aether retorted. After spending a day with Amon and using all the cuss words he knew, he found out that ¡®bastard¡¯ is the word that gets Amon riled up the most.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Amon got angry as fast as flipping a switch and was just a step away from activating his fire fist.

    ¡°Bastard! I said Bastard! Why? Does it remind you of your existence?¡± Aether taunted.

    Amon couldn¡¯t take it anymore ¡°Fire fist!¡± he shouted as fire wrapped around Amon¡¯s fist. He punched towards Aether. Aether got out of his weird meditating pose and dodged. Amon quickly deactivated the magic but his hand still went through the wall creating a crisp hole. A loud noise rang throughout the hotel.

    ¡°AETHER! AMON!¡± Mrs Roose shouted.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t a part in any of this. Better luck fixing the hole in the wall you ba-as-tard¡± Aether quickly waved at Amon and jumped out of the window to escape the devilish woman¡¯s wrath.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Amon shouted, just in time for the door slamming open. Mrs Roose had a creepy smile on her face.

    Amon gulped with fear as she walked towards him. ¡°W- Wait! I can explain!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you better have an explanation¡± Mrs Roose replied and struck Amon¡¯s head with her iron fist.

    ¡°OUCH!¡± Amon wailed in misery as he caught his head rolling on the floor. ¡°The other one escaped huh?¡± Mrs Roose said. She was honestly exhausted with these two boys by now. when will they stop fighting?

    Aether currently roaming the streets taking pleasure in knowing that a certain someone was suffering right now. He had taken a good bath and was squeakily clean from head to toe right now.

    He walked towards the academy which was right next to the tall tower in the centre of the city. He looked at a board hung up on the huge gates of the academy.

    ¡°Admissions on 15 of Khire? System can you translate this for me please.¡±

    It means that admissions are available approximately two months from now.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Aether said. ¡®two months from now eh? Looks like I still got some time to earn money.¡¯ Next, to the huge gates, there was an old man sitting in a small block like room. He looked like security at this place.

    ¡°Hey old man, do you know the fees I have to pay to get into this place?¡± Aether asked him.

    ¡°Fees?¡± the old man asked puzzledly. ¡°No, there is no such thing as entrance fee at this place.¡± He replied.

    ¡°No, not that old man. Do you know how much I have to pay to study at this place?¡± Aether asked once again.

    ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t you know?¡± the old man said.

    ¡°How should I know old man? I¡¯m not some kind of all-knowing being.¡± Aether said.

    The old man chuckled a little before replying ¡°It appears that you truly don¡¯t know. The Academy of Eleftheria doesn¡¯t take any fee. You just have to get into it with the entrance tests.¡±

    Aether was really confused right now and so was the pig who suddenly appeared on his shoulder.

    ¡°What? I thought that this academy is one of the greatest academies on the continent, not some charity organization.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°Oh? A talking pig?¡± the old man said with a little amusement.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a pig.¡± The pig replied angrily.

    ¡°Well you certainly look like one,¡± the old man said.

    Aether walked away after his little chat with the old man. ¡°Looks like there was a miscalculation in the records. How can this happen? The records couldn¡¯t have been wrong.¡± The pig said with worry.

    ¡°Hey chill down pig. Just because that it¡¯s a charity academy doesn¡¯t mean its bad.¡± Aether said.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right for once. We haven¡¯t collected enough data on the academy anyway. I should just trust the records for now.¡± the pig said.

    ¡°What are these records you keep talking about?¡± Aether asked. ¡°Not something you should know about. Get to higher level first then I¡¯ll tell you about it.¡±

    ¡°Jeez, you always say that when I ask you something,¡± Aether said. Whenever he wanted to know about important information, the pig always denied him saying that he was not powerful enough to know. He couldn¡¯t force the pig to spill it out either.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go to a quiet place somewhere and meditate then,¡± Aether said. He wanted to become strong as soon as he could so he could return home.

    Aether found a park-like place in the city. There were very few people in the area so he found a spot beneath the tree¡¯s shade and started meditating. After about an hour his heartbeat suddenly sped up and he started sweating all over. He felt his clothes stick to him as he felt a sweet but painful sensation all over his body. All his muscles ached while he let out a steamy breath.

    Congratulations master. You are now lvl 23.

    Demonic change now gives a boost of 126%

    Superiority was enhanced. Now a better chance at controlling lvl 6 monsters.

    ¡°Thank you system,¡± Aether said. His body ached but he was feeling great right now. ¡°Aaah~ always feels good to level up.¡± But there was one problem, for some reason he was always filled with energy whenever he levelled up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like exercising and draining my energy. There should be a brothel in this city, right?¡± Aether said. He¡¯ll just spend his energy exercising differently this time. Although he wanted to return back as soon as possible, a little fun wouldn¡¯t hurt him.

    Meanwhile at another part of the city-

    A man and woman were walking together. ¡°Hey, you can search for the shard alone for some time, right?¡± the burly man asked. ¡°Why?¡± the woman asked with annoyance. ¡°I have something to take care of.¡± He replied.

    The woman figured he was up to no good but she just sighed. ¡°Ok, but just one hour,¡± she said with a cold face.

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± the burly man said and walked away without any promises. ¡®Ugh¡­ finally. I can have some fun. Continuous travel and search for weeks with that haughty woman is really starting to annoy me. We haven¡¯t been able to find a single shard.¡¯

    ¡®Time to let off some steam. Where was the brothel in this city again?¡¯ the burly man thought to himself.

 Chapter 8

    Aether was standing in front of a huge building. People were walking in and out (mostly men). It had gold on it and it was shining. Beautiful ladies with big breasts were seducing people on the street to enter the building. This building was the best brothel in the whole city. Aether wanted to go in but he realised he was broke.

    ¡°Noooo! I wanted to see some girls!¡± the pig shouted.

    ¡°Shut up pig, we can still go in.¡± Aether said.

    ¡°What are we going to do after going in if we don¡¯t have any money?¡± the pig asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the money just watch.¡± Aether looked around a bit. The streets were filled with brothel and men. He found a Chinese looking dude in the crowd.

    ¡°Target aquired.¡± Aether said and started trailing the Chinese man. The Chinese man had blue clothes and looked rich. He was walking towards the same brothel that Aether had wanted to get into.

    Aether stealthily grabbed the man¡¯s pouch at his waist without arising suspicion. After he got the pouch, he found some small pills and a lot of gold coins in it with some sort of round object.

    ¡°Woah, I struck a fricking goldmine.¡± Aether said with glee. ¡°You seemed pretty experienced in this sort of stuff.¡± The pig said. He, the titan was ashamed at doing this but he didn¡¯t oppose it. He would be able to get some booty after all.

    Meanwhile the Chinese guy stood confused in front of the brothel counter. He suddenly let out an angry shout. ¡°AHHHH! I just want some pussy. Why is it so hard? Shit! Even the shard locating device was in that bag.¡± The Chinese guy was Zhang Wei. He was looking for some pieces of shards with his senior, Yu Yan. Both of them were looking for the shard in Aether¡¯s arm but because the pig had sealed it, the shard couldn¡¯t be sensed anymore.

    They were here in this city for a break after which they would leave to find other shards. Zhan Wei was irritated to the core right now. ¡®If that damn device is lost, my master will kill me. I need to find it!¡¯ Just while he thought that to himself a purple light lit up the whole street.

    When Zhan Wei looked over he saw Aether holding a ball emitting out light. ¡°My device!¡± Zhang Wei shouted before rushing out into the streets.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Aether wondered. ¡°How the fuck should I know?¡± the pig said.

    ¡°Hey you! Hand it over!¡± Zhan Wei ran towards Aether. Aether reacted quickly and kept the shiny ball inside the pouch and ran away into the streets. These streets were narrow and filled with people and stalls. Zhan Wei was faster than Aether but at this rate he was going to lose him.

    Zhang Wei jumped up to a roof and jumped from building to building. ¡°Hey kid he got on the roofs!¡± the pig said. The man was too fast Aether needed to think of something.

    Aether got into some building to get away but Zhang Wei soon followed him in. Zhang Wei entered and saw only women nearby, trying to please men. A fat man walked to him and asked, ¡°Hehe, welcome sir. What type of woman do you prefer?¡±

    Zhang Wei caught his collar. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this. Where is the kid who ran to this place?¡± he asked.

    ¡°S-sir please calm down; I don¡¯t have any idea what you are talking about.¡± The fat man nervously said.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°Cheh!¡± Zhang Wei threw away the fat man and looked around. ¡®There is only one entrance and one exit to this place. The windows aren¡¯t big enough to escape. The kid has to be in this building.¡¯

    Zhang Wei was right. Aether was in the building. He had a cloak on his face and the pig was inside his body already. ¡®Shit! This man is level 44. Why did I have to steal from this troublesome Chinese guy. This guy isn¡¯t showing any signs of leaving either.¡¯

    Aether walked slowly and naturally and tried to get out of the building. Just as he was about to get out someone caught his shoulder from behind.

    ¡°Hey you! Remove your cloak.¡± Zhang Wei said.

    ¡°Ah? Hehe. You see I¡¯m a pretty ugly¡­¡± before Aether could finish talking Zhang Wei removed the cloak. ¡°You suck at trying to escape but that is just good for me.¡± Aether gulped. ¡°Here¡¯s your pouch. See everything is in there.¡± Actually, Aether had taken a few gold coins since there were so many. ¡°Let¡¯s just put this behind us ok?¡± Aether said and tried leaving while laughing loudly.

    ¡°You gave me back my pouch but you see, I don¡¯t really like robbers nor do I like liars.¡± Zhang Wei said. ¡®This fucking idiot has destroyed my night. I had only 1 hour but 40 minutes are already over. What would I do in 20 minutes?! If I go even a minute late than what that woman had told me, she would beat me up.¡¯ ¡°Well, if I can¡¯t fuck then I¡¯ll just fucking beat you up.¡±

    ¡°Ha-Ha¡­.¡± Aether tried to run away but Zhang Wei was way faster than he was. Zhang Wei grabbed his clothes and threw him to the wall. The whole wall shook as Aether landed on the wall with a bang.

    ¡°Matias has high security, but around this place there isn¡¯t much.¡± Zhang Wei said. Everyone was shocked in the building and looked at the two of them.

    The fat man who was the owner silently cursed. ¡°Please calm down sir. You can¡¯t fight inside here.¡± He tried to hold Zhang Wei¡¯s hand but Zhang Wei just shook him off. He quickly ran to Aether while he was still feeling dizzy from the impact and punched his face. Aether¡¯s face got hit so hard the wall behind him cracked up. Zhang Wei punched Aether again. This time the wall broke creating a hole in it as Aether landed on the other side of the wall.

    Everyone started screaming and running away. ¡°NOOOOO! My precious building!¡± the fat man said as someone pulled him to get out of here. Aether¡¯s whole body was paining. Especially his gut and face. ¡®I can¡¯t use my battle mode; it would be useless. Need to think¡­¡¯ Aether slowly got on his knees and stood up.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhang Wei said with a puzzled look on his face. ¡°Not bad, not bad¡± he clapped. ¡°You could get up after that? Well done.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your praise you fuckface.¡± Aether ran towards Zhang Wei with his lightning fist. ¡°You can use a little magic too!¡± Zhang Wei said and punched towards Aether. ¡°Too bad your slow¡­¡± Both their fists collided as Aether was blasted away. ¡°And weak.¡±

    Aether used the force in Zhang Wei punch and created a distance between them. He crashed into a stall and completely destroyed it. The stall owner cried at his misfortune. ¡°Why was I here today? Just to suffer.¡± Aether quickly got up and tried to run away.

    ¡°No, no running away¡± Zhang Wei said and quickly chased. Aether ran to the top of a roof and jumped from roof to roof to get away. All the roofs were similar and pretty plain so Zhang Wei caught up soon and caught Aether¡¯s head. ¡°Got you.¡± He said. ¡®How much is it going to pain this time?¡¯ Aether thought.

    He smacked Aether¡¯s head on the roof. The roof collapsed as both of them fell to the next floor below. Aether was down but Zhang Wei was still standing without a blemish on his clothes.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know beating up trash felt this good.¡± Zhang Wei said. Aether still slowly got up. His whole forehead was died red with blood and one of his ribs were cracked up.

    ¡°Tell you what I¡¯ll let you go now. Aren¡¯t I generous? Let¡¯s not kill you or I might get into trouble.¡± Zhang Wei said. He turned around and walked away slowly.

    Aether finally relaxed his body and fell to the ground. He panted heavily as the pig came out of his body. ¡°You¡¯re pretty weak you know.¡± The pig said. ¡°Shut up pig.¡± Aether said. ¡°You could have died, got lucky¡± he said. ¡°You can¡¯t say that for sure.¡± Aether said. ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± the pig said.

    Just then Zhang Wei had come back. All the veins in his body were popping out and he was breathing heavily. ¡°What the fuck did you give to me?¡± he shouted. He threw an empty injection at Aether. Aether barely dodged it by rolling away as the syringe stuck to the floor.

    ¡°With all the veins popping on your face, you look more like a fuckface now.¡± Aether said tiringly as he pulled himself up.

    Aether had taken the injection from the stall he had destroyed. It had a heart on it with a skull engraved in it. Aether saw an opening when he was falling down from the roof and had inserted the syringe into the man¡¯s arm. Maybe Zhang Wei was too strong that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t feel anything at all until the drug had taken affect.

    ¡°I was going to leave you alone¡­..¡± Zhang Wei glared angrily. His whole body emanated out energy. His jaws were tightened and he felt his body heat up. ¡°but I¡¯ll kill you now. How dare you use a lowly drug to beat me you peasant?!¡± he rushed towards Aether.

    Aether quickly got out of the building. ¡®Freaking idiot¡¯ he thought. Zhang Wei quickly caught up like always and was about to punch Aether without holding back but before his fist could land Zhang Wei was kicked away.

    Aether looked at the person who had showed up. He finally relaxed and let a sigh of relief. ¡°Whew! Lesson- check level before stealing next time.¡± He collapsed on the ground. ¡°Take the kid away.¡± The new man said. He had white hair and pink eyes. He wore a black uniform which had the Baiblic flag on it.

    ¡°You are now under arrest for assaulting a person and destroying workplaces. Please come with us and do not resist.¡± He said.

 Chapter 9

    Aether had a very good memory. He had memorised the map of the red-light area so when he came into the red-light area, he knew the shortest distance out of the red- district area. From the start Aether wanted to get out of the district area. The public defence wing which was a part of the kingdom¡¯s didn¡¯t function properly in the red- light area because it was always chaotic in there. As soon as you exit the red- area the public defence would be available.

    ( Note:A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, andadult theaters, are found.)

    Aether expected to get out of this without too much damage but the working of the public defence was even worse than he had expected. It took them more than half an hour to arrive at the required place. He was currently laying on the ground.

    Aether was safe for now but things looked different for Zhang Wei. He had a drug in his body that created extreme lust within him and his whole body temperature was increasing every second.

    ¡°Please do not make unnecessary movements and hand yourself in.¡± Liam said. He was the officer who had kicked Zhang Wei away before he could kill Aether.

    ¡®SHIT! One hour is over! That bitch will show up.¡¯ Zhang Wei paid no attention to Liam. He had to get out of here before that woman arrived. He had to leave.

    He was about to run away but Liam blocked him. ¡°Move!¡± he said. ¡°No, please hand yourself in.¡± Liam said. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this nonsense!¡± Zhang Wei said and punched at Liam. Liam deflected the punch with his right hand¡¯s back palm and grabbed Zhang Wei¡¯s arm with his left arm. He threw Zhang Wei from the top of his shoulder.

    ¡°Damn you!¡± Zhang Wei said while he was locked by Liam. He couldn¡¯t make any movement at all.

    ¡°Zhang Wei¡­ Zhang Wei¡± a voice said with pity. Liam and Zhang Wei looked up and saw a woman on the rooftop.

    ¡°Senior Yan! I was just about to arrive. I-I..¡± Zhang Wei wanted to make an excuse but he couldn¡¯t make one in time as Yu Yan slashed her sword at him. A cold air flew over to Zhang Wei¡¯s face and materialized into ice when it touched him. Liam stepped back and dodged the strike.

    Zhang Wei¡¯s body fell to the ground. He tried to get the ice off from his face. ¡°Shut up you vermin. Not only were you late you also released your battle aura. We were supposed to be on a secret mission.¡± Yu Yan said.

    ¡°So, you are Yu Yan.¡± Liam said and removed his sword from its sheath tied to his waist.

    ¡°You know me?¡± Yu Yan asked.

    ¡°Of course. There are very few people who haven¡¯t heard of you the ice queen. Reaching the Para stage at just the age of 23. Even though you are powerful I must ask you to stand down. This person has committed a crime and must be detained.¡± Liam said.

    (Note: The Para stage means a person is between 50- 59 levels.)

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot do that. Even though he is trash he is quite important. I¡¯ll have to take him with me.¡± Yu Yan replied.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Yu Yan jumped down from the roof and swung her blue coloured sword. Liam swung his sword back in retaliation. Both their swords produced sparks as they collided.

    Liam was weaker than Yu Yan and was pushed back by the sheer force. ¡°Mavros 3<sup>rd</sup> form Majin Thortem!¡± his whole sword turned black. He ran and struck towards her. To his surprise his sword easily passed through her body.

    ¡®An afterimage!¡¯ he thought as he turned behind to look but it was already too late.

    ¡°Pagos!¡± Yu Yan¡¯s sword slashed Liam¡¯s back tearing his clothes and slicing through his skin. His blood froze at her slice and didn¡¯t even make his blood splash out. Liam felt a biting cold sensation on his back. Ice covered his back and had cut into his wound. He fell to the ground with his last word- ¡°How?.....¡±

    The two officers who supposed to take Aether away were rooted to their place. Their branch head was down in only one hit! He was the strongest person they had known. One hit! Were they going to die too?

    ¡°Are you going to be in my way as well?¡± Yu Yan asked them. The two officers were too terrified to even open their mouths. One of them had even peed in his pants.

    ¡°Guess the two don¡¯t have the balls to. Let¡¯s go Zhang Wei.¡± Yu Yan said. Zhang Wei had finally managed to get the ice off his face. ¡°Y-yes¡± he said as he followed her. ¡®This woman is truly terrifying. That man was not weak by any means.¡¯ He thought.

    Both of them left the place leaving Aether and the others. Aether was shocked out of his mind right now. ¡®Who was that woman? Level 52?¡¯ The fact that he had survived purely depending on luck angered him. These people could kill him easily. He needed to get stronger and fast.

    ¡°I¡¯ll become stronger!¡± Aether said suddenly as he got on his feet. ¡°Just you! Wai¡­¡± That was all he could muster up with his remaining energy. He fell to the ground.

    The two officers finally snapped out of their fear. ¡°Quick we need to take them to the medical centre!¡± one of them said. Both carried one person each and rushed to a medical facility quickly.

    Next day~

    Aether got up and found himself sleeping on a bed. His arm was casted, his head and neck were bandages. He wanted to get up but he felt a sharp pain through in his ribs. He hissed at the pain and stopped trying to get up. ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°You are at a medical facility don¡¯t need to worry¡± someone replied. Aether looked over and saw the man who had saved him. ¡°Thanks for saving me.¡± Aether said.

    ¡°No need to thank me, I was just doing my duty.¡± Liam replied. Both of them were lying on different beds.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Aether asked him. ¡°I am Liam, the branch head of the public defence.¡± Liam replied.

    Liam was lying front faced on the bed since his back was hurt. It looked quite funny. Aether laughed at him. ¡°For a branch head you look quite pathetic right now.¡±

    Liam just chose to ignore Aether. Suddenly two people came into the room these two were in. ¡°¡°Boss!¡±¡± they both shouted as they fell onto their knees. ¡°We¡¯re sorry boss!¡± one of them said. ¡°We have failed you!¡±

    Two adult men were crying and begging for forgiveness to a young man. Aether laughed at them. He hissed again as he wasn¡¯t able to even laugh without feeling pain. ¡°Stop it. You both are just embarrassing yourselves.¡± Liam said.

    ¡°But we weren¡¯t able to act when you were struck down.¡± They said. ¡°It¡¯s alright. The ice queen is at a whole different league than you. You both would have just died if you had intervened.¡± Liam told them.

    Aether agreed with him. It was pointless against that women. The two adult men were only lvl 32 and 33 while Liam was lvl 42. Both of which weren¡¯t enough to fight against that monster woman who was lvl 52.

    Even though Liam consoled them the two men kept crying. They finally left after Liam talked to them some more. They called the doctor at the medical centre saying that they both were now awake.

    The doctor came in and checked his patients up a little. ¡°Mr. Aether you have suffered quite a lot of injuries. You will have to stay in the hospital for a few two months.¡± He said. ¡°What?! But my legs are perfectly fine! I can walk!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your legs Mr. Aether, your neck and head need to recover.¡±

    ¡°Mr Liam you although you suffered a critical injury your vitality is high and you can recover within two months.¡± The doctor said. Liam just grunted showing his dissatisfaction. He smiled at them. ¡°But the good thing is both of you can make a full recovery, if you follow the treatment.¡± Saying what he had come to say the doctor left the room.

    ¡°Fuck. Guess we¡¯re stuck with each other for now.¡± Aether said.

    In another place-

    Yu Yan lifted her sword into the air. ¡°Wait! Please senior have mercy!¡± Zhang Wei pleaded. Yu Yan pretended not to hear him and struck down. Blood splashed around as two of his fingers were cut. ¡°URGH!¡± he cried as all his veins popped on his forehead. ¡°Next time you fool around I won¡¯t cut only your fingers, is that clear?¡±

    Although Zhang Wei was still going through pain he answered ¡°Yes¡±.

    ¡°Because of you the Baiblic authority will now know that our country is up to something, you swine. You better be careful if you find your head precious.¡± Yu Yan said and walked away.

    ¡®It¡¯s all because of that kid! If only that kid hadn¡¯t robbed me. I will crush his brains out the next time I meet him.¡¯ Zhang Wei thought. He calmed himself and followed his senior as they resumed their search for the shards.

 Chapter 10

    Aether stabbed at Liam but Liam grabbed his arm with both of his hands and threw him over his shoulder. Aether was slammed to the ground on his back.

    ¡°How many times are you going to get your ass handed to you?¡± the pig said. He was bored watching these two spar for multiple days now.

    Aether ignored the pig and got up. He stabbed and swung his dagger at Liam multiple times but Liam dodged them swiftly. ¡°Your movements are quick¡± Liam said. He caught Aether¡¯s arm and twisted it this time. He took Aether¡¯s dagger and held his arm behind his back while keeping his dagger at his throat. ¡°but you are too predictable.¡±

    ¡°Urgh¡± Aether grunted. Both of them could use their bodies after about a month. They had sparred and trained together multiple times but Aether lost every time. Despite the doctor¡¯s advice to not use their bodies extensively, they kept sparring.

    Aether panted heavily. He sat down and drank a bit of water. His previously white clothes were stained with sweat and dirt. Liam on the other hand was only sweating a little bit.

    Aether was dejected at losing to Liam every time but at least he had made him sweat a bit. Before he wasn¡¯t able to make Liam break a sweat. ¡°You are quite strong for a middle staged Pereth.¡± Liam said.

    ¡°Well, apparently it isn¡¯t enough to beat you.¡± Aether said. Aether had learnt quite a lot of things in the two months he had spent with Liam. The people in this world referred to levels with specific names. For example, when you are at Pereth stage, it means that you are between level 20 to 29 . People in this world weren''t familiar with the concept of levels.

    ¡°You can still get a lot stronger.¡± Liam said. "I know I will." Aether said. They were on the roof of the medical centre and were enjoying the wind as a woman suddenly burst the door open.

    ¡°Both of you are required to come downstairs.¡± She said. She was the nurse that was supposed to take care of Liam and Aether. ¡®Finally, these two nuisances can leave. Ah~ It¡¯ll be so peaceful from now on'' Lucy thought. She was new at the medical centre and still wasn¡¯t used to working in the centre. Patients like Liam and Aether hadn¡¯t made it any easier for her.

    ¡°Why are you smiling today? It¡¯s creepy.¡± Aether said. ¡®This woman always has an annoyed or irritated face, why is she so happy today?¡¯

    ¡°You!¡± Lucy exclaimed. Her face twisted in anger but she remembered that a nurse shouldn¡¯t behave in such a manner. She took a deep breath in and puffed out, calming down and reminded herself that these two would leave soon. ¡°Follow me, you¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± She said, putting a smile back on her face again.

    Aether and Liam walked back to the room and saw the doctor. The doctor sighed at them. ¡°You two were sparring again?¡± the doctor was tired of telling them not to but they wouldn¡¯t listen to him. ¡°Both of you are getting discharged today.¡± He said.

    ¡°Aether are you sure you want to get discharged today?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes¡± Aether replied. ¡°I have some work today.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re applying to the academy of Eleftheria as well?¡± the doctor asked.

    ¡°Huh? How did you know? Aether said. The doctor laughed, ¡°More than five thousand young people from all over the continent apply every year.¡±

    ¡°Five thousand?!¡± Aether exclaimed. ¡°Yes. But that is not the surprising part. Only 200 of them are selected.¡± The doctor said.

    ¡°200?¡± Aether asked. He realized it wasn¡¯t going to be easy if he wanted to join Eleftheria. He walked to the reception where he had to pay his bills. ¡°You have to pay a gold coin sir.¡± The receptionist said.

    ¡°A gold coin? You are kidding right?¡± Aether said. ¡°No sir, you stayed in the hospital for two months, along with the food and medicine you consumed, it will cost you exactly a gold coin.¡± The receptionist said.

    Aether had robbed two gold coins from Zhang Wei. He had planned to use it to pay back Mrs. Roose but he had lost a gold coin during the fight. He had only one gold coin and if he paid it right now, he would be broke again.

    ¡°What about Liam? Why shouldn¡¯t he pay?¡± Aether asked. He noticed that they had let Liam go without taking any money. ¡°He is part of the public defence, the kingdom will pay for his bills."

    Aether gave the gold coin he had to the receptionist. He didn¡¯t let go of the coin for a solid 3 minutes before the receptionist managed to take the coin by force. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Aether left the medical centre dejectedly. ¡°You have no time to sulk. The entrance exam is today and we must get in that academy no matter what.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°I know, I know.¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that Eleftheria doesn¡¯t require a payment to study. We wouldn¡¯t be able to pay it anyway thanks to your luck.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°Shut up little pig. Let¡¯s just go to the academy right now.¡± Aether said. When they reached the academy, they saw hordes of people get into it. Aether got in the horde and showed his identity card before entering the huge academy.

    He had obtained the identity card when some officers had come to interrogate him while he was still at the medical centre. When they realised that Aether didn¡¯t have an Identification card on him, they decided to make one for him.

    When he entered, he found himself in a large ground filled with people. People glanced at him, he was wearing his hospital clothes which were stained with dirt and he had a pig on his shoulders. A young teenager thought when he saw Aether- ¡®Well, he isn¡¯t the only lowlife that had come to try out his luck.¡¯

    The ground they were in was surrounded by huge buildings from three sides and had the entrance gate on one side. Opposite to the entrance gate was the largest building. It had a balcony on the top most floor. The buildings were painted with light blue and white. There was a beautiful fountain at the centre of the ground.

    Everyone waited in the ground as they talked with each other. Aether didn¡¯t have anyone to talk to, neither did anyone want to talk to him, so he stood in his place waiting for something to happen. People even made sure to avoid him.

    Right at the time when the sun was over his head, a noise sounded around the whole ground. ¡°TAK TAK TAK¡±. It silenced most of the people. ¡°Silence!¡± someone shouted, which silenced the rest of the people who were still talking. The entrance gate closed as the people who tried to get in were forced back outside.

    "Looks like time''s up for anyone who wants to get in now." Aether said.

    A person was standing at the balcony of the biggest building now. He had white hair and a light stubble. He was also wearing a glass with round frames.

    He tightened his hand to a fist, as a magic circle appeared on his hand. There were many incomprehensible scriptures written within the circle. ¡°Ahem!¡± he cleared his throat. ¡°Welcome to our academy everyone. My name is Siarchas, the headmaster of Eleftheria. ¡± He said with a smile on his face. His voice was heard all round the ground clearly. It was probably because of the magic he had used.

    ¡°I am happy to see that many people have turned up this year as well. The ones who have come for the forging classes please move to the right, the ones who have come for the magic and martial art classes please move to your left.¡±

    Compared to the people who had turned up, only a few moved to the right. Almost all of them moved to the left. ¡°There will be people who will come soon and guide you to your particular tests. I wish the best of luck to everyone.¡±

    Everyone clapped as the headmaster retreated into the top most floor. The place was crowded with public defence officers. They guided the people who had come to take the tests to an circular staircase that took them to an underground corridor situated inside of the huge building to their left. People followed and entered another place filled with magic lights. Aether also followed the group.

    Soon they entered an underground field. There was a person who was standing on an elevated stage. He wore a blue shirt with blue pants. He had a brown vest with a black colour headband.

    ¡°So many people this year as well.¡± He murmured to himself. ¡°Listen up kids; this is your last chance to be a pussy, turn back and run away.¡± He said.

    Not even a single person wanted to go away now.

    ¡°Being a pussy isn¡¯t always bad.¡± He said. ¡°Last year more than four thousand had major injuries , only a few end up with minor injuries. Arms sliced off, legs detached, going into a vegetative state. You name it, we had the injury. Breaking bones was a simple injury.¡±

    The atmosphere became a little stifle. ¡°Uhh.. pig, can we just go and try another academy?¡± Aether asked. He was a little demotivated right now. Every single person in the underground space was at least level 30. He had rarely seen any level 20¡¯s in this place.

    Except Aether, very few were having second thoughts. Every single one of them knew the risk before they had arrived.

    ¡°No.¡± the pig declined Aether. ¡°If you want to get stronger as fast as possible, you must get into this academy.¡± He said. One thing the pig had realized by now was that the talent of the current generation was out of proportions. Level 50 warriors were dropping out of nowhere. Level 40 warriors were everywhere and reaching level 30 was as easy as pie. It was totally different than what he had imagined. This just made his objective even tougher.

    The examiner on the stage sighed. He hadn¡¯t been able to make a single one of them give up this year. It was the same every year.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about your lives. There are multiple officers here to intervene if anyone is in danger of losing lives¡­..¡±

    They were a few cheers and everyone smiled happily thinking they wouldn¡¯t be losing their lives at the very least. Even Aether breathed a sigh of relief, although he didn¡¯t think that things were going to be that easy.

    ¡®Fools¡¯ the examiner thought. ¡°This year you will have the labyrinth course. After that there will be a test of your will and a display of strength. Based on your performance 150 contestants will be accepted. If you are saved by any officer, you will be disqualified automatically. If you wish to quit, raise your hands during the labyrinth course, the officers will guide you out.¡±

    "150? I thought it was 200." Aether said. "The other 50 seats must be reserved for the forging students."the pig said.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, head towards the door on your right.¡± He said as he pointed towards a huge white door.

    ¡°That must take a lot of effort to clean.¡± Aether said. The door was fucking humongous. It was 40 meters tall and 30 meters wide. It was made out of a pure white substance.

    All of them head towards the door as it opened. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t cause any noise while it did. Once they entered, they were divided into ten groups. Each group entered into a different corridor. They walked for a little bit before arriving at a place with huge chainsaws.

    The whole place was lit with magical lights. Aether looked at the huge chain saws as they started rotating and creating loud noises.

    ¡°A labyrinth is a huge structure that has only one path in it. You must use all your power to clear the obstacles and stay on the path till the finish line. The first 600 contestants who cross the finish line first will be qualified. Others will be disqualified.¡± A person said. He addressed to all the contestants.

    ¡°The race will start in two minutes, please be ready.¡± He said.

    Even though they were separated into 10 groups there were till more than four hundred people in Aether¡¯s group. The labyrinth was huge but it still wasn¡¯t enough to properly accommodate 400 people.

    ¡°3! 2! 1!¡± the examiner said. Aether puffed in air as his heart rate sped up. ¡°Boom!¡± the examiner burst a ball in his hand to create a loud noise. Everyone rushed to the giant chain saws as soon as they heard the sound.

    The race had begun.

 Chapter 11

    Aether ran with the others. There was a lot of pushing and pulling, no one cared about the huge chainsaws just waiting to chop them up. ¡®How are the officers going to protect someone¡¯s life if those things chop them down?¡¯ Aether thought.

    Suddenly a person jumped high up into the air. He had white hair and had any bulky body for an 18-year-old. ¡°Strengthen!¡± he shouted and punched a rotating chainsaw. A blue circle filled with literature appeared near his elbow while he punched.

    ¡°Circular magic¡­¡± Aether said. He swiftly moved away from the chainsaw that has been punched. The chain saw which was fixed to the wall of the labyrinth came crashing down.

    Aether had made a clever decision when the huge chainsaw detached and fell to the ground; contestants were quickly picked up by officers to prevent them from dying. He saw limbs getting detached from their bodies as blood flew everywhere.

    The chainsaw had sliced into the ground and created a wall like structure. The white-haired kid moved on and was now first in their group.

    The chainsaw was almost 10 meters long. Aether quickly jumped on a tall person¡¯s head and jumped on the other side. ¡°Hey!¡± shouted the tall man, irritated that he had been used to others advantage.

    Aether gained a lead. Others tried to follow his technique and get to the other side. This wasn¡¯t required as another red-haired kid shouted ¡°Fire fist!¡± and broke a hole through the chain saw. People started rushing through it.

    ¡°Tsk, fool¡± Aether said. He thought it was Amon but it didn¡¯t seem like it, this guy had dark red hair almost like blood and his fire fist looked stronger. At least Aether still had a lead. The large Chain saws were everywhere but almost everyone dodged them effectively afterwards. Very few actually had to be saved by the officers.

    Aether soon stopped as he noticed a large water body in front of him. It looked like a river and he had to swim past it. Aether saw the white-haired kid in the water. A large crocodile came to the surface and tried to bite at him but he smashed its head and pulverized it to death. The white-haired kid successfully swam through the river.

    ¡°Damn¡­. System what is that?¡±

    Creature scanned. Creature identified to be an Isyrus. Currently, the master must not enter the water body. A group of Isyrus is a potential threat to the master¡¯s life.

    ¡°That¡¯s great. That guy gets out of here without a hassle and I get stuck here.¡± Aether said.

    Soon the others caught up with him. They jumped into the water only to get struck by the Isyruses or large crocodiles¡­ whatever they were. ¡°AHHH!¡± ¡°OHH!¡± people wailed as they were bitten. They were saved by the officers again. ¡°Need to think,¡± Aether said to himself. He saw the red-haired kid who had used the same magic as Amon.

    ¡®Got it!¡¯ he thought. He patted on two people¡¯s back. ¡°Sorry lads!¡± He said while striking their heads with his dagger¡¯s hilt. Both of them were unprepared for the attack and were knocked out. He put one on each shoulder and walked towards the red-haired kid.

    ¡°Hey blood hair kid!¡± he shouted. The red-haired kid, Stefan stared at Aether as if to ask- ¡®you talking to me?¡¯

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m talking to you. Why is your hair red huh? Did you paint it?¡± Aether said.

    ¡°Do you not know what red hair means, you peasant,¡± Stefan said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know and I don¡¯t care , you son of a bitch! Why did you break the chain saw and let everyone through that easily? Are your brain cells dead? Do you think you¡¯re a hero or something?¡± Aether said.

    ¡°You suck at intimidating people,¡± the pig said. He was inside of Aether¡¯s space.

    ¡°Are you trying to pick a fight ?¡± Stefan asked. The temperature around him seemed to get higher.

    ¡°What are you? Some pushover? Come here you little pussy.¡± Aether said. He wasn¡¯t really that comfortable while doing this. He didn¡¯t like throwing insults on people for no reason but he had to do it right now. Stefan didn¡¯t even look that pissed off.

    Stefan ran and punched Aether. With two people on his shoulders, he wasn¡¯t the quickest but he dodged the fists. ¡°Is that all you got?¡± Aether said. Seeing that his punches hadn¡¯t made contact actually pissed Stefan more than Aether¡¯s taunting did.

    ¡°Were you sent by some higher-ups to slow me down? Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he said. ¡°Fire fist!¡± red flames wrapped around his fist as he punched towards Aether¡¯s chest. Aether didn¡¯t move and took the hit squarely to his chest. He drove mana into his legs and jumped backwards with all the power his legs could muster.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Stefan was satisfied with his strike and smirked but soon shock took over his face. ¡°That bastard¡­¡± he said.

    Aether was facing exactly back to the water body when he had taken the hit. He used the force in the punch and the all the force he could muster with his body to lodge himself into the air.

    He was currently floating in mid-air and there was a drop of blood flowing down from his lips. ¡°Thanks for the lift!¡± he shouted. He was counting on his body¡¯s defence to pull off his plan. His plan had worked but it still wasn¡¯t enough to completely cross over the water body. He had predicted this, that¡¯s why he had bought some backup.

    He fell somewhere in between the water body where the Isyruses were waiting for him. He had his dagger in his hand as he fell down. He struck an Isyrus and forced it away. He still held the two people on his shoulders. The other Isyruses rushed towards him.

    ¡°Sorry guys,¡± he said, he didn¡¯t really mean it though. He tossed one of the guys near him. All the Isyruses now rushed towards that unconscious person.

    Taking this opportunity, Aether quickly got on an Isyrus and jumped from one to another to get to the other side. An officer quickly saved the kid while the other kid was still on Aether¡¯s shoulder. He shoved the other guy into the water as well when the Isyruses had started to shift their attention to him again.

    Like this, Aether was barely able to get to the other side. The two people he had used were safe but they were disqualified. ¡®They were weak; they wouldn¡¯t have been able to cross the water body anyway.¡¯ Aether said as he calmed the little guilt he had.

    He touched his ribs where he had been punched. A sharp pain shook his upper body as his face twisted because of the pain. ¡®Shit, I think I broke a rib. Two years and I still can¡¯t get used to this planet. Defying physics all the time. If I was back on earth, I would probably be the most powerful man.¡¯ He thought. ¡°Maybe I could even kill that man too.¡±

    Stefan was crossing the water body impatiently by crushing the poor Isyrus¡¯s brains out.

    Aether quickly wiped the water off his face and ran towards the next obstacle. Stefan would probably kill him if he stood here and waited for him. As he ran forward, he noticed a wall in front of him and this time there was no way of passing through it. The white-haired kid was standing in front of it.

    He punched it using the same technique he had used to break that chain saw. Unfortunately this time, his punch didn¡¯t even leave a scratch.

    ¡°Circular magic again¡­,¡± Aether said. Circular magic was an advanced form of magic. A circle appeared whenever you used it. It was too complicated for Aether to learn right now, at least that¡¯s what the pig had told him.

    Siarchas, the headmaster was currently seated and was watching everything that was happening on a large screen. There was a magic circle on top of the screen. Right next to him stood the person who was wearing the black coloured headband. ¡°Vince, I think it¡¯s time for our special segment,¡± said Siarchas. Vince nodded and headed out of the room.

    ¡°Did the race end already?¡± Aether wondered. Just as he said that, as if to answer him a voice rang throughout the labyrinth.

    ¡°All contestants please prepare for a brawl. Only half of the present contestants will be able to pass through the wall. The other half must be defeated, only then will the wall open.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Aether said. He was already injured, the last thing he needed was a brawl among people who were stronger than him.

    Everyone had crossed the Isyruses by now. A lot were disqualified but they were still quite a lot of people left. Aether looked around and just happened to see Stefan.

    They locked eyes with each other. Stefan smiled. ¡®I originally didn¡¯t plan on wasting any more time on this peasant but I¡¯ll take care of you this time.¡¯ He thought.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± Aether said. Suddenly a sound came into the area. ¡°Pssshhhhh¡± as the area got filled with a pink gas. It had a very bad smell to it.

    Aether quickly blocked his nose but the gas had already taken effect. He couldn¡¯t block his nose. It was the same for everyone else. They were trying to move their bodies but their bodies weren¡¯t moving the way that they wanted it to. Aether willed his hand to move but his toe started to wriggle. He tried to move his leg but his neck started rotating. He tried to stop his neck but arm started convulsing.

    Siarchas laughed at the spectacle. ¡°Hahaha! Look at them. It¡¯s always fun to watch them confused and squirm around. Now¡­ how will they react to it?¡±

    Everyone had started to break dancing. ¡®It¡¯s the gas!¡¯ Aether thought¡­ ¡®It¡¯s messing with my body!¡¯

    If he tried to move a part of his body, another part moved. Everyone struggled to try and move their bodies.

    ¡°AAAAHHH!!!!¡± a guy cried as he attacked another. While they were trying to get a hold of their bodies, everyone had forgotten that they needed to fight if they wanted to pass through.

    Aether was still trying to move his arm as he felt heat approaching him from his left side. He was punched in the face put down. ¡°Damn it!¡± Aether said. ¡°Blood hair.¡±

    Stefan looked at Aether. ¡°My name is Stefan, not blood hair. You better remember it because I will be the one to end you.¡± Stefan said.

    Aether got up with difficulty; he had a burn mark on his cheek now. Stefan ran towards Aether, he did it quite awkwardly since he couldn¡¯t use his body properly.

    Although moving their bodies as they willed was tough, there was a certain pattern to it. Stefan was slowly getting used to that pattern. That is why he was able to move his body a little. Aether on the other was still struggling.

    Stefan didn¡¯t give Aether any time to recover. He punched him repeatedly all over his chest. Aether bent his upper body forward. Blood gushed out of his mouth.

    ¡°You¡¯re good at taking a beating but let¡¯s finish this now,¡± Stefan said. ¡°Fire fist,¡± he said as his whole arm ignited with dark red flames.

    Aether closed his eyes. He found himself in a black coloured space. Everything around him was black except for the person standing in front of him. The person looked exactly like him from top to bottom. You couldn¡¯t tell one apart from the other. ¡°I need you,¡± one of the Aethers said. The other just stared at him blankly. After some time he walked to the other and held Aether¡¯s head with his fingers. He opened his eyes but the glow in his eyes had disappeared, leaving a cold stare.

    He activated his lightning fist quickly and deflected Stefan¡¯s fire fist. Stefan was shocked but he still had more in store for him. Aether caught Stefan¡¯s arm and threw him over his shoulder to slam him on the floor. Aether was about to stab his dagger right into Stefan¡¯s head but Stefan twisted his body and managed to get out of the lock with his brute strength.

    ¡°How is your body able to move so smoothly?¡± Stefan asked with astonishment. He was puffing in and out hardly. Just a moment ago, he was struggling to even get up but now he had suddenly gained full control over his body.

    Aether ignored the question and stabbed at Stefan. He dodged it awkwardly but was struck with a punch to his face at the next moment. He became infuriated and activated his spell. ¡°Fire fist!¡± he shouted as he punched but Aether dodged it easily and also managed to leave a scar with his dagger on Stefan¡¯s arm. ¡°Ugh!¡± Stefan said. Aether swiftly struck Stefan¡¯s stomach with his lightning fist. Stefan got hit hard as he fell on his back. Aether was going to stab Stefan¡¯s brain again but he dodged by rolling on the ground.

    The only reason Aether was currently able to reduce Stefan to such a state was that Stefan couldn¡¯t use his body to its full potential. Aether, on the other hand, was able to use his body exactly how he wanted it to. It wasn¡¯t that the gas hadn¡¯t affected him, he had gotten used to the changes that the gas had caused.

    He kicked Stefan in the ribs multiple times till Stefan stopped moving. Stefan scrunched his face in pain. Aether used his legs and stepped on both of Stefan¡¯s hands to hold him down.

    An announcement rang throughout the labyrinth again. ¡°The brawl has ended, you can stop fighting now. For all those who made it till now; congratulations. The wall will now be opening.¡±

    Aether was about to stick his dagger into Stefan¡¯s brain again. This time even the officers were about to intervene. Stefan had closed his eyes out of fear. Things didn¡¯t go as expected as Aether stopped his dagger just before he was about to stick it in. His hands trembled as he threw the dagger away. He closed his eyes and opened them. The glow in his eyes returned as he gained control of himself.

    ¡°Hah!¡± he shouted and jumped away from Stefan. ¡°Close call,¡± he said while breathing heavily ¡°it¡¯s getting harder to control.¡± He was feeling dizzy and his headache was killing him. There were wounds all over his body too. He just wanted to take a break and sit down for a moment but unfortunately for him; there was no time to relax.

    The huge wall in front of him moved and slowly slid to the side.

 Chapter 12

    Aether forced himself to keep on moving. He had to keep on going no matter what. Stefan was left on the ground. His brain was a complete mess right now. For the first time in his life, he had been defeated by someone of his own age. He couldn¡¯t process it.

    Everyone who had survived up to this stage could use their bodies normally now. Stefan snapped out of his disbelief and looked around but Aether had already left. ¡°AH!¡± he smashed his fist into the ground to lessen his frustration. ¡°That damned gas!¡± he said and blamed his defeat on it.

    When Aether was beyond the wall, he saw 9 other entrances around him. People rushed from all 9 of these entrances. ¡°It¡¯s the other groups.¡± The pig said.

    The path which they were travelling in had gotten larger. There were probably 1000 people in the path he was running in. ¡°It¡¯s getting crowded.¡± He said. He ran as fast as he could since his legs were fine. He saw a cliff ahead. Vapours of heat kept coming from it.

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to hate the heat a little bit,¡± Aether said. As he got closer, he noticed that it was not a cliff but a large pit which was filled with lava. There were long pillars with a flat top that stood in the lava.

    ¡°How did they even get the lava here?¡± Aether wondered. ¡°No one cares about how the lava got here, just cross this pit and don¡¯t fall into the lava while you¡¯re at it.¡± The pig said. You could use the pillars and hop to the other side of the pit.

    At first glance, this obstacle seemed very easy. Just keep a calm head and jump properly, one could get across it but the pillars were thin and only about five people could stand on a pillar at once.

    ¡°Easier said than done. My whole body is paining. All you have to do is relax inside my body. I¡¯m the one doing all the hard work.¡± Aether said.

    ¡°Whatever, stop complaining like an old man and cross it already.¡± The pig said.

    Only the first 600 people would get selected. The more time Aether wasted; the more people would cross it before him. He saw many people fall off the pillars as they were trying to jump over. The officers threw a rope-like object and caught all of the people before they could take a dip and die.

    There were so many people trying to cross that if Aether would try, he would just get pushed down and disqualify. ¡°Hey pig, do you think that pillar is made of a strong material?¡±

    ¡°How should I know? Ask the system.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Wrong animal to ask. Guess I got hit in the head too. Asking a pig something¡­ *sigh*¡± Aether said.

    ¡°Why you little!¡± the pig said.

    ¡°System can that thing be damaged?¡± Aether asked.

    Calculating dexterity of pillar¡­¡­

    The Master cannot damage the pillar at your current level.

    Aether was disappointed but he expected it. He took out his dagger. ¡°What about this?¡±

    The pillar can be pierced with the dagger Master. According to the calculations, the master must not do what he is thinking, it has a high risk to¡­

    ¡°Fuck it,¡± Aether said as he cut the system off before it could finish what it was about to say. ¡°HAAAH!¡± He jumped to the nearest pillar and inserted his dagger into it with both his hands.

    Everyone was shocked seeing this. ¡°Shit!¡± Aether said. ¡°This is scarier than what I had expected¡±. As he hung from the pillar, he saw the lava from down below. It was boiling out bubbles. He hugged the pillar with his body and took his dagger out. ¡°Phew¡±.

    The pillars were quite close to each other and were quite slim or Aether¡¯s plan would have gone down the drains. He drove mana into his legs and let go of the pillar. He kicked the pillar with both his legs, twisted his body in mid-air and struck his dagger into the next pillar. ¡°Two of these daggers would have really helped me out right now.¡±Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Be thankful you at least have one.¡± The pig said.

    Siarchas¡¯s eyebrows furrowed after seeing this spectacle. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he thought. ¡°Were the pillars that weak?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No sir, it appears the boy is using a special dagger,¡± Vince answered.

    Aether left many people shocked. Another guy tried to copy Aether. He jumped and struck his sword on the pillar. Instead of going through the pillar, the sword created a sharp sound. ¡°SHHIINNG¡± as it bounced off the pillar. ¡°WWWAAAAAHH!¡± and the guy fell down towards the lava. An officer threw his rope at him and caught him but his misfortune hadn¡¯t ended yet as he went on to crash into the walls of the large pit. Nobody tried Aether¡¯s method after that.

    ¡°Do you think he is alive?¡± An officer asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it.¡± the officer who caught him said while tugging on the rope to see if he would react. ¡°Let¡¯s hope he is.¡± Another said. ¡°Pull him up,¡± an officer said. ¡°No, I think he pissed his pants, let the lava dry it off.¡± The officer who caught him said.

    Aether, on the other hand, had jumped on to 20 pillars. A lot of people had crossed the pit and many had been disqualified. Stefan was on the pillar 20th pillar as well right now. Aether was catching his breath and his throat was parched. He swallowed his saliva to make it better but it just became drier.

    While he was jumping from one pillar to another, he was getting lower and lower the pillars and closer to the lava. He couldn¡¯t see who was on top of the pillar. ¡°It¡¯s too hot here, need to go higher,¡± he said.

    ¡°C¡¯ mon kid, you got this! Three more jumps, a little bit of climbing and we can be on the other side.¡± The pig said, encouraging Aether.

    Aether¡¯s palms were sweating profusely but even his sweat was getting evaporated. ¡°It¡¯s too hot here, I need to get higher¡± Aether said. He slowly climbed upwards.

    Stefan looked at him with hate in his eyes. ¡°You peasant, I can''t kill you yet but I¡¯ll make sure to destroy your arm at least.¡± He said.

    He aimed his arms at Aether as a magic circle appeared. ¡°Fire ¡­¡± a small fireball appeared and slowly increased in size. But before he could finish his spell, he got punched in his face and was blown away to another pillar. The ball of fire dissipated.

    ¡°What dirty tricks are you planning now Stefan?¡± the person who struck him asked.

    Stefan got up and activated fire fist in both his arms. ¡°AAAH!¡± he said as punched everyone off the 21st pillar. ¡°Amon, you piece of trash, what are you doing here,¡± Stefan asked.

    Everyone stopped on the pillars before the 20th one. Anyone who tried to get past would get blown away by Amon. Amon activated fire fist on both his arms as well. ¡°Maybe I didn¡¯t punch you hard enough you little bitch.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t get cocky, you got lucky. Just as your mother did that night.¡± Stefan said.

    ¡°Do you ever have something new to say to me?¡± Amon said

    ¡°It always gets you riled up though, right?¡± Stefan laughed. Amon¡¯s veins on his head popped. He let out a battle cry and jumped onto the 21st pillar. ¡°Let¡¯s test out if it was just luck.¡± He said and punched towards Stefan.

    Everyone who was standing on the 19th pillar tried to get past both of them but they didn¡¯t give them any chance as they blew them away with their lit-up fists.

    Amon had higher skill than Stefan did but he was only lvl 29 while Stefan was lvl 35. Stefan also could use his fire fist continuously while Amon was starting to lose mana and could only use fire fist occasionally. Slowly but surely Amon was losing.

    ¡°You¡¯re nothing but talk!¡± Stefan said as he punched Amon. He kicked Amon¡¯s legs and made him fall. Amon tried to get up but he got punched in the face and was forced to the ground again. ¡°Just die, you weren¡¯t supposed to be born anyway,¡± Stefan said as he punched towards his head.

    ¡°Excuse me, coming through!¡± Aether had jumped on top of the 16th pillar. ¡°Lightning fist!¡±, he smacked Stefan on his side, taking him by surprise and threw him off the pillar. Amon didn¡¯t let him fall into the lava and caught him before throwing him onto the pillar. Aether then continued to kick Stefan in the balls. ¡°OH!¡± Stefan shrieked. ¡°Just in case.¡± He said.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t need your help,¡± Amon said. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Aether said. ¡°You can do whatever you want with him. Thanks for helping me out earlier.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you,¡± Amon said.

    ¡°I know, I just don¡¯t like owing people favours,¡± Aether said and jumped to the next pillar.

    Amon looked at Stefan who was still grovelling on the ground hopelessly. He spit his saliva mixed with the blood from his mouth on Stefan¡¯s face. He got down and whispered into his ear ¡°I won¡¯t let you get disqualified. I''ll let you pass and the next time I fight you, I¡¯ll make you wish you were dead.¡±

    After saying that Amon followed after Aether. ¡°Those bastards!¡± Stefan said. He couldn¡¯t curse anymore as the people who were waiting on the previous pillars jumped on his pillar.

    ¡°AAHH!!¡± Stefan screamed as they trampled all over him. Some of them wanted to push him off the pillar and disqualify him but after seeing his balls get hit and get spit on his face, even they felt a little pity for him.

    Aether ran forward as he saw a dark entrance. He felt almost no energy left in his body. After the lava pit was just a large stretch. People had to sprint all the way. He was going to blackout. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

    What was behind that entrance he wondered. He got closer and closer to it. He couldn¡¯t get to see it and fell down just as he had made his way in. The pig was shouting and the system was telling him something. The last thing he saw was an officer in front of him. ¡®Did I get disqualified? Fuck¡­.¡¯ He thought. He ran out of stamina and closed his eyes as he entered a deep sleep.

 Chapter 13

    Aether woke up in the hospital again. He looked around and found himself in a familiar place, many people laying around him with bandages all over their bodies. His body pain was killing him but he managed to get up and rest his back on a pillow.

    Lucy walked into the room that Aether was in, carrying medicine in her hands. As soon as she looked at Aether, her mouth started to twitch and a vein popped up on her forehead.

    ¡°You?¡± she said with disbelief. ¡°Huh? Old woman? Yo.¡±

    She walked towards him with the most artificial smile he had ever seen. Now that Aether looked carefully both his arms were plastered.

    Lucy removed the bandages on his chest and cleaned his wound with a towel harshly. ¡°OW! OW! Slowly, woman you¡¯ll open the wound up again!¡± he exclaimed. Lucy showed no concern for him and continued her work.

    She applied a fresh bandage and tied it up as tight as she could with all of her strength. ¡°OW!¡± Aether wailed. ¡°Call me old again and I¡¯ll dig a hole in your head next time.¡± She said and moved on to the next patient.

    The pig popped out in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you to wake up. You¡¯ve been asleep for two whole days.¡± He complained.

    Aether was a little shocked. ¡°Two days? I did overexert my body so it¡¯s kind of expected.¡±

    ¡°Overexerted or not you managed to make it through the first stage.¡± The pig said with excitement and happiness. ¡®Finally, this useless man has taken a step in the right direction.¡¯ He thought and nodded.

    ¡°I did?¡± Aether asked confusedly. ¡°I thought I disqualified.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t, you collapsed right at the finish line. More importantly, the second stage of the entrance exam is tomorrow. You better ready yourself.¡± The pig said.

    ¡°How can I be ready? Both my arms are plastered, my upper body has wounds all over it and my body pains if I move it even just a tad bit.¡± Aether said. He was a little sceptical about it.

    ¡°Lucky for you, the next test doesn¡¯t require the use of your body. Just prepare yourself mentally. You don¡¯t have a choice anyway.¡± The pig said. There was truth in that.

    Gloom shadowed over Aether¡¯s face. The pig looked at him and sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right I don¡¯t have a choice.¡± He said as his gloom turned into determination. ¡°It¡¯s better that I don¡¯t or I wouldn¡¯t be determined enough to do anything.¡± He said with a smile.

    Problems, he had so many problems. He was supposed to be the supreme ruler of Cheena. Oh! How the heralds would scream his name when he entered his throne room. Han Qianlong, Sixth of his name, ruler of the ancient clans, protector and supreme lord of the kingdom. He was supposed to live a life full of luxury, drowning in wine and enjoying the company of the women. Or at least that is what he thought ruling was about. Instead, all he had were problems. Loads and Loads of them.

    He was thinking of all this as he walked through a dark corridor. The floor was uneven and wet which made it difficult to walk. His lamp lighted up the path for him.

    The corridor led him to a pitch-black door. A door so black and eerie, with monsters carved on it that it would give people nightmares. He put his palm on it and chanted a certain spell. He felt the cold and sturdy metal which made him feel uncomfortable just by touching it. A magic circle appeared on it. The door slowly moved up into the wall while making loud noises.

    Qianlong walked in. He felt fear seep into him from everywhere as he broke into a sweat. Coming into this room was what he hated most. He hated doing it as a child and now he had to do it every day. If you would ask him what his greatest problem was out of all he had he would answer without any hesitation that it was entering this terrible room.

    ¡°Ancestor,¡± he said as his eyes locked with another¡¯s. The ¡®Ancestor¡¯ he was referring to was sitting on a chair. He had golden eyes with golden hair, the same as Qianlong. His face and lips were so pale, it was as if all life had been sucked out of his body. He smiled widely as he called out- ¡°My child! You¡¯re here to visit me again! I hope you have brought me some good news.¡± The man looked to be in his thirties but he still referred to Qianlong as a child who wasn¡¯t any younger than him.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Qianlong gulped down all the saliva he had in his mouth. ¡°We found two more shards, your grace.¡± He said nervously.

    Han Zheng whole body was covered by a long golden coloured robe. The only thing exposed was his head. He shrugged the sleeves and removed his arms from them. Qianlong started shuddering as he watched Han Zheng clapping to himself. His arms weren¡¯t even creating a clapping soun, in fact, it was as if two stones were colliding with one another.

    The strangest part wasn¡¯t the sound but Han Zheng¡¯s arms themselves. There was no blood, muscle or any hint of flesh on them. All Qianlong saw was two arms made of bones clapping.

    Han Zheng got up. ¡°Well done child, well done.¡± He said and slowly walked towards Qianlong. Qianlong¡¯s whole body shuddered. His body tensed up as he saw Han Zheng walking towards him. He stood in front of Qianlong and whispered into his ears. ¡°Is that what you hoped I would say?¡± Han Zheng asked.

    Qianlong stepped back with terror on his face. ¡°Did I say you could move back?¡± Han Zheng questioned and caught Qianlong¡¯s neck and lifted him up. Qianlong struggled, his legs were wriggling around in the air and he was running out of breath. He tried to take the bony arm off his neck but no matter how much he tried he couldn¡¯t shake the arm off.

    Han Zheng who was still smiling let go of his neck after some time and watched him fall on his back, gasping for air. ¡°I lost the energy core because of you.¡± He spread both his arms out ¡°Now it¡¯s turned into shards and is spread all around the continent.¡± He bent down and stopped smiling, his eyes turned into slits ¡°I¡¯m not satisfied with just two shards; I want all of them and fast.¡± Qianlong was so terrified he almost shit himself.

    ¡°All I want back is my body. Do you know how hard it is to live without a dick?¡± He said with a sad pretence in his voice.

    He turned around and walked back to his chair. ¡°You better hurry it up. Oh! And always keep in mind that you can be replaced.¡± He said.

    Knowing that Han Zheng was done with him, Qianlong quickly got up and ran away. He chanted a spell and closed the pitch-black door. He collapsed right to the ground after that. If someone knew how he was humiliated, no one would respect him. He didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer so he started running out of the corridor to get out of this place as fast as possible.

    Aether was standing in a hall with all the other people who had passed the labyrinth test. The headmaster Siarchas was in front of them. He used his magic to amplify his voice again. He had a warm and welcoming smile on his face.

    ¡°Eleftheria is a prestigious institution. To pass the first stage of the examination, I congratulate you.¡± He said.

    Everyone cheered and smiled. Even Aether was happy for making it this far. Siarchas¡¯s face changed into a serious one. ¡°But here at Eleftheria, there is no room for slackers. We do not care about your background, your faith, your looks or your talent. The only things we do care about are hard work. No matter how much talent you have, it is all a waste if you do not put it to use.¡±

    The hall was silent once again as Siarchas put a smile on his face. ¡°With that said, I wish you good fortune in the next test. May only the deserving be awarded.¡± He said and walked away.

    Vince arrived on the stage next and advised everyone to move to the rooms on their right. The large group was split into 10 smaller groups and were led to different rooms.

    Aether went along his group. Once he was into the room, they were told to sit on the floor. The room was very huge and could easily accommodate100 people. There was a smell of incense in the room. The floor was made of marble and the walls of the room were made in stone.

    After everyone was seated in the room neatly. The person in front of them started chanting something. ¡°Look at my forehead,¡± he said after some time. An eye suddenly appeared on his forehead; the pupil of the eye was like a small magic circle.

    When Aether looked at the magic circle, he felt he was being sucked into it. ¡°What the hec,¡± he said as he felt his soul leaving his body. Suddenly he was brought into a snowy area. There was a small house in front of him and there were trees scattered around the place.

    He could feel the cold penetrating through his body. ¡°Ugh,¡± he groaned and caught his body. He was barefooted and his feet had sunk into the snow. He was still wearing the thin clothes that he had on at the hospital.

    ¡°What am I doing here?¡± He asked himself. ¡°What was I doing?¡±. He couldn¡¯t remember anything. It was almost as if he had a memory loss.

    A woman opened the door and walked out into the snow with an umbrella. She had black hair tied into a ponytail and black eyes. She looked at Aether angrily. ¡°Aether! Come inside!¡± she screamed.

    Aether involuntarily walked towards the door. His eyes teared up. He recognized the voice as soon as he had heard it, he would never forget it. He felt a mix of emotions rushing through his body but he didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Mom?¡± he called out. He got in the small house with the woman as she closed the door behind her and rubbed the snow off Aether.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive?¡± he asked. Tears fell down his face. ¡°What?¡± Fayre asked with confusion. Aether rubbed the tears with sleeves. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s nothing. Sorry for asking weird things.¡± He said quickly.

    ¡°Why are you apologizing? You¡¯re acting a bit strange today. Are you alright?¡± Fayre asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright.¡± Just as he finished his sentence a small body hugged him behind.

    ¡°Brother! Let¡¯s go outside and play!¡± Bella said. Aether didn¡¯t know why he was feeling melancholic. ¡°No. it¡¯s too cold outside.¡± Fayre said.

    Bella pouted stubbornly. ¡°But I want to play with brother.¡± She said. Fayre denied her again sternly. ¡°No, you will not go outside today. Go play in your room.¡±

    Bella stormed off to her room angrily. She had waited for her brother all day so he could play with her but her mother wouldn¡¯t let her. Fayre sighed and looked at Aether who was still dazed. ¡°Go cheer her up a little. I¡¯ll prepare lunch¡± she said and walked away.

    Aether still half-dazed walked into Bella¡¯s tiny room. They weren¡¯t a rich family so Bella didn¡¯t have a lot of toys. She was playing with the only two she had. A pretty stuffed doll and an angry looking T- Rex.

    Aether sat beside her and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re angry at mom?¡± he asked. ¡°Hmph,¡± she said and played with her toys, paying no mind to Aether. Aether looked at her chubby cheeks full of baby fat. He pinched her cheeks hard until they were beet red. ¡°You know, for a small little thing, you have a lot of anger.¡± Bella cried as she escaped from his grasp and ran away. She looked at him with hateful eyes while caressing her cheeks. ¡°I¡¯ll tell mommy¡± she whined.

    Aether just laughed softly. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s scary. How about this? If you won¡¯t tell ¡®mommy¡¯ I¡¯ll take you outside to play.¡±

    ¡°You will?¡± she asked him excitedly. Aether nodded. ¡°I will, but you shouldn¡¯t tell mom and you have to wear the fur coats.¡± Bella hated the fur coats. Not only did they look ugly but they also felt very uncomfortable. She wanted to go out very badly so she agreed to wear them.

    Aether wore his fur coat and silently snuck out with Bella through the back door. The town was 2 miles away from their house. It was called Mondale. It was a small but jolly town. They walked to the town quickly and entered a caf¨¦. ¡°Mr Quills! Two hot chocolates.¡± Aether said and sat down on a table. Bella and he quickly finished their hot chocolates and roamed around the town for a bit before heading back to their house. On the way back to the home they played in the snow for a bit.

    When he came back, he saw Fayre standing just behind the door. ¡°Mom,¡± he said startled. Fayre eyes had fire in them. She looked at the two troublemakers angrily. She gave them a 30-minute lecture before a voice came from behind her.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t be so hard on them let¡¯s eat already.¡± Said a man.

    Aether who had his head down out of guiltiness suddenly looked up. His eyes reddened. His blood started flowing faster. His blanking out. Rage took over his body all of a sudden. He looked at the man in front of him. ¡°Elios¡­ Elios fucking Spearman¡±