《The Red Death-A tale of rebirth in a fantasy world》 Prologue-A Bloody End For a Bloody Fiend ¡°The Red Death I presume? I¡¯m sure you know who I am and that I¡¯m a very, very, wealthy man. So... just name yourpri¡± *BANG* ¡°AAAAAGGGHHH! Fuck! You shot meyoucrazy bitch! AAAAAHHHHHH!¡± Ah! Revenge is so sweet! I wish that I had more time to watch this scumbag suffer. Oh well... I¡¯ll just move up the time table. *BANG* ¡°AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! I¡¯ll fucking kill you! Don¡¯t you know who am!?! I¡¯mDruisMarquis! I¡¯m the most powerful man there is!¡± My captive certainly has an inflated sense of self-worth... Let''s give him a reality check! *BANG* ¡°AAGGHHH!¡± *BANG* ¡°HHHMMMM!¡± Oh? Did he bite his tongue? Not that it matters, he¡¯ll be dead soon anyway. I close the small distance between us and pulled the blindfold from my captive''s eyes. He weakly raised his head and looked up at me with a gaze full of contempt. I really hate that. *SLAP*A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I slapped him hard across the face,felt pretty good. Now then, let¡¯s get to business. ¡°Now that you got a good look at me, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?¡± The scumbag flinches as I shout his own words back at him and then looks up at me in confusion, he remained silent and I scowl. ¡°No?Here¡¯s a hint.¡± I cut the sleeve from my left shoulderto display the brand on my skin, the scumbag watched in feigned disinterest until he caught a glimpse of the letters (BL) scarred into my flesh. I got quite the reaction from that, his eyes bugged at the revelation and he stammered out in denial. ¡°Blo-Blo-Blood Legion!?! No! That¡¯s Impossible! I killed them ALL! There¡¯s nowa-¡± *SLAP*-I slapped him again, it was my turn to talk. ¡°I amAlyssLyraRenegat, daughter of Commander HadrianRenegat, sister of the Meck ace MarcusRenegatand the last living member of the Blood Legion mercenaries. I have worked for this moment for the last fifteen years, the moment where I avenge MY FAMILY!¡± *BANG* Gut shot, he screamed again *BANG* Left Lung, scream turns to gasps and coughs, wet with blood *BANG* Right Lung, gasps turn to wheezing as I watch and wait as his lungs collapse. I sigh in relief at the sight; the figurative weighthas finally been lifted off my shoulders. I had spent nearly half my life hunting for this bastard across several worlds, I sacrificed everything for revenge and now... I can finally rest. I survey the concreate box of a room for the last time before I leave the object of my hatred behind to bleed and suffocate alone. Exhaustion and blood losshasrendered me unsteady on my feet, with difficulty I stagger my wayacrossthe dusty subterranean safehouse to flop limply onto a makeshift bed of pillows, ignoring my wounds. At long last, it¡¯s done. The constant fighting, the fear, the rage. Finally, I can rest. I relax for what felt like the first time in years and let the sweet nothingness of sleep take me deep. Ch1-Manor House ¡°Augh, so itchy...¡± I mutter half asleep. I roll over from my back to find a more comfortable position without success. Why does my bed feel so prickly? !?! I stiffen, now wide awake. First, this is NOT my bed and second, I was not naked when I fell asleep. I do not scream, I do not panic. Opening my eyes, I take in my new surroundings. My ¡°bed¡± was a pile of dried yellow vegetation and I was alone in a strange small room. The room was strange because it was not made of concreate, but primitive stonework. The sole source of light for the dim room was what leaked from underneath a large wooden door. The door was the only thing in the otherwise featureless room. The primitive stonework made-up the floor, walls, and a vaulted ceiling. Next, I assessed the condition of my body. The first thing I noticed much to my concern, was that all my wounds and injuries were completely healed. My skin didn¡¯t so much as have a single scar or blemish and my red hair had grown out down to my hips. The Legion brand was gone too, much to my dismay. Who would spend a fortune to fix me? I was on my last legs before this, but now I feel good as new. No. Now is not the time to worry about such things. I need to get out of here, there''s no help coming for me and I have nothing left, not even a shirt on my back. Standing up, I make my way to the door to test it. Locked. Figures. Heavy wooden construction reinforced with metal studs and no knob or lock visible from my side of the door. That¡¯s just fantastic. Wait... Footsteps... somebody is coming. There is unfortunately nowhere for me to hide or anything to use as a weapon. My only option is to rush who ever opens that door and win. I get into a sprinter''s stance, ready to rush forward and now I wait, listening to the approaching footsteps. A nearby door opens and closes, I tense as one of my captors draws closer. The footsteps stop behind my cell¡¯s door, a moment later I hear the mantellic click of the lock. Just as the door opens an inch, I rush forward and shove the door into the man behind it. The door strikes the man in the face with a wet crunch sending him stumbling backwards, I rush forward. ¡°Augh! You elven whore!¡± The goon hissed at me between clenched teeth as he grasped at his face. I payed no heed to what he said as I moved in to the side of him before he could recover and delivered a swift kick to his right knee, bending inwards from the blow. ¡°Aggh! The man gave a short yelp in pain and surprise as he fell towards me onto his side. Just as he hits the stone floor, I wrap my arms around his neck and gave a sharp twist. The goon¡¯s neck gave a wet snap and went still. Just as I was about to sigh in relief, I caught a glimpse of the room I found myself. It was full of primitive devices of torture surrounding a four posted bed with shackles fixed to it. I shivered. Bending down to the goon I sent on holiday, I quickly swiped a knife along with a key ring from his belt and made my way to the door on the far side of the room. Wishing not to spend any more time in this place than I needed to, I opened the door and peered out to find the coast was clear. I moved out into the short hallway silently on my bare feet and up a flight of stone stairs upward, the way lit by strange torches that burned with an unwavering blue light. At the end of the ascending stairs it connected to a large hallway lined with a red carpet and was lit by natural light from narrow windows set high in walls richly decorated with murals and tapestries. I wait and listen at the top of the stairs for signs of any activity in the immediate vicinity, I hear somebody humming softly to themselves. Risking a glance, I peered down the hallway to see a man in white shirt... or was it called a tunic? Anyway, he was wearing a light-colored tunic, brown trousers, and leather shoes. He was shining a gaudy set of ancient looking armor standing in the hallway and looked rather engrossed with his task. I stalk forward silently into the hall, slipping behind the oblivious man cleaning the armor and press my blade against his throat. He stiffens at the blades contact and before he could react, I whispered into his ear.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Do as I say and you just may survive, now let''s go for a little walk.¡± He whimpered pathetically in response to my declaration, he didn¡¯t resist as I guided him back down the stairs. Once at the bottom, I started to interrogate him for information. ¡°Where am I, what is this place?¡± The man shudders in fear, but remains quit until I push him into the wall and press the knife further into the skin of his neck. ¡°Uhm! Th-this is th-the home of my m-master, the gr-great Archmage Volin!¡± Uh? What? ¡°What the fuck is an Archmage? You better not be screwing with me!¡± The man was confounded at my response for a moment before catching himself. ¡°Um... A-a-a archmage is master of sorcery... Ah... of magic!¡± I tilt my head at the answer, could he mean a psionic? I''ve heard people refer to them as space wizards or sorcerers before... I¡¯ve also heard some crazy shit about their supposed powers. Enough that I wouldn¡¯t want to meet one without a sniper rifle and at least a mile¡¯s distance between us. ¡°Is this master of yours home today?¡± ¡°N-no! He¡¯s away!¡± Good, that''s a relief. ¡°Hmm... Now do you know anything about who is kept down here?¡± I remind my new friend to keep talking with the edge of my blade. ¡°Ah, th-the Master¡¯s p-pleasure slaves a-are kept down here. I-I ca-caught a glimpse o-of th-the one brought i-in last w-week, a-a si-silver haired wo-woman! Sh-she was ca-causing a co-commotion, f-fighting wi-with the gu-guards!¡± Ok... my presence here must be a recent development. What this worm just shared is sickening, he knows what this ¡°master¡± of his has been doing down there and did NOTHING. What is worse is that someone tried to condemn me to that fate. Once this is all said and done, the ones responsible will die by my hand. I continued the interrogation, getting the basic layout of the ¡°manor house¡± which was a wheel shaped single story building and got a rough number of security. About 23 guards not counting the one I already taken out, all equipped with primitive melee weapons and most of the normal manor staff followed the archmage to wherever it was he went. Once I got what I needed from the manservant, I knocked him out with a sharp strike to the temple. The slight man immediately went limp as a corpse and I quietly lowered him to the stone floor, it was time to get some new threads. I stripped the man, killed him, and donned his white blouse and brown trousers; the fabric was course and felt tight across my chest and backside, but it¡¯ll have to do. As I was getting dressed, I formulated a plan. The most pressing issue at the moment for me was my hunger. I felt absolutely ravenous and I have no idea when it was the I last ate. My first stop was to be the manor¡¯s kitchens. Staying barefoot to reduce noise, I moved quietly as a specter back to the grandly decorated hallway. The manservant¡¯s absents had done unnoticed and the way was still clear, I moved to a side passage and entered a less decorated hallway. The manservant called it a servant''s access, I followed it a few doors down before I got to the kitchens. The door stood ajar and I could hear signs of activity inside. I risked a glance into the room and saw the back of a large man in a leather apron. It looked like he was busy with a wood fed stove. Staying low I moved into the room and using tables as cover. As the he continued to fiddle with the stove, I swiped an empty sack from a counter and quickly stuffed it with a couple loafs of bread and small wheel of what I think is cheese. Just as I finished gathering some food, I watched from under the tables as the man walked away from the stove and across the room. With my task completed I retreated from the room, my next destination was the armory. I stalked the halls on my bare feet until arrived at a heavy wooden door, the only difficult part was slipping past patrolling guards in the hallways. Luckily, they were oblivious to my presence as I hid in shadows or slipped into unoccupied rooms as they passed. The key ring in my possession luckily held the correct key, I carefully opened the door and slipped inside and locked it behind me. I¡¯m not totally sure what I expected of their armory... but... despite my lack of expectations it was still disappointing. Not a single firearm, but rack upon rack of primitive weapons and armor. It seems I''ll have to make the best out of what I got. Searching through the armor racks I pulled on a pair of more comfortable form-fitting leather trousers, a pair of soft soled knee-high leather boots, leather bracers, belt, bandoleer, a gray hooded cloak and a simple leather cuirass. Once dressed in my new duds I selected two balanced daggers, tying one to my belt, the second to my bandoleer, and stored my trusty naked blade in my left boot. The next weapon I selected was a thick bladed short sword which I attached horizontally across my lower back and a short-bow along with a quiver of arrows slung over my shoulders on top of my cloak. It''s been years since I held a bow in my hands, when I was a teenager my father was adamant that I familiarize myself with all manner of weapons during my training as a Legionnaire elite. Once I¡¯m free of this place I¡¯ll need to refamiliarize myself with the common weapons of this world. When I held them, they felt awkward in my grip, along with my movement so far, like I had lost most of my muscle memory. With another task done I torn a chunk of bread from the bag I grabbed from the kitchens and had a light meal before tying it to my belt. My final stop was the ¡°achmage¡¯s¡± study, I crept along the hallways until I arrived at the heavily engraved wooden door of the study. I press my ear to the door, hearing nothing I push the door open wide enough to slip in. The study was lined with shelves and books. In the center of the room stood a large wooden desk and on that desk was something that interested me greatly. A Gun. It looked something like an energy rifle plated in a bronze colored alloy, the wear on the weapon gave me the impression that it is VERY, VERY old. Still... I want it. So, I gingerly picked its components up and placed them in my bandoleer with great care. Though loot was always nice, I came here looking for a map. In the first five minutes of searching I noticed a rather large problem, I can''t read a single fucking thing in here. They speak imperial, but have a totally different writing system from anything I''ve ever seen before. Even if I find the maps, I won''t be able to find the right one without interrogating another person and putting myself at increased risk of discovery or being fucked over by a lier. It looks like I''ll have to do without one, I leave the documents where they lay and walk over to the desk. I search through its drawers for pens, but I find something better for my purposes. Two vials black ink, which I insert into the poaches of my bandoleer. Getting what I could, it now was time for me to leave and disappear. I walked back to the door and much to my surprise it suddenly swung open placing me face to face with who I assume to be a maid. I reacted by reflex just as the young woman took in a sharp intake of breath, I punched her square in the jaw before she could utter a sound. Her head rocked back and she fell backwards and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. I then quickly grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her into the study, causing her skirt to hike up around her in the processes. I stared for a moment at her strange frilly ¡°undergarments¡± before I snapped out of it. I mean seriously? What the fuck was she wearing? Granny panty¡¯s granny panties? I pray that isn¡¯t the standard for underwear on this world or I''ll be going commando the entire time I¡¯m here. Stepping out of the study, I quickly closing the door behind me and vacated the area, the woman had made an audible *thump* after I introduced her to my fist and I¡¯d rather not wait and see if anyone else heard it. I made my way down the hall to another servant¡¯s access and followed it to a secondary entrance, or in this case exit, to the building. I had encountered very few along the way, only having to cold-cock a single manservant with a quick strike while avoiding the others and killed a guard stationed at the door by cutting his throat. I stepped on the dead guard to avoid the pooling blood and pushed open the double doors to the outside world. The natural light blinded me for a moment before the sight of what lay beyond hit me like a blow to the head. It¡¯s... so green... and beautiful. Maybe, just maybe I¡¯ll stick around awhile and take in what this planet has to offer, despite it being a backwater. Ch2-Training Montage The manor was surrounded by a scenic garden with a tall wall further out marking the perimeter. There were also people out minding the garden, gardeners I assume. Deciding on discretion I used the hedgerows partitioning the garden into quadrants as cover to reach the perimeter wall unseen. The gardeners continued their work caring for strange plants unabated as I scaled the 3-meter stone wall and dropped to the other side. A forest... green and healthy. The biospheres of a vast majority of worlds I''ve visited have been damaged from either from conflict or unchecked pollution and left what little plant life remaining withered, sickly. With great enthusiasm I ventured into the wilderness, I crept around the manor compound until I found a road, or as I see it, a simple dirt path. I opted to stay out of the open areas of the path and instead moved parallel to it, staying in the cover of the forest of tall leafy trees. Keeping the path to my left, I trekked through the wilderness for a time until I encountered a junction where the path merged with a larger dirt road. It showed signs of frequent use, a good indication of nearby settlement. Looking down each direction, I determined it was safe to cross before dashing across to the safety of the foliage on the other side. The brush tugged at my cloak as I passed through to the forest proper and just as I slowed down, I heard it. The rhythmic beating of earth, it was closing and fast. I hunkered down in the brush and waited for the source to come into sight. *Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump, th-thump* A manor guardsman came into view riding upon an oddly familiar beast. I stared at his mount as they approached from the manor¡¯s path until it clicked. The beast is called a horse, I had thought they went extinct centuries ago... but evidently not as there is one right before my eyes. I want one... Agh! No... Now is not the time for that, I can¡¯t allow myself to be distracted right now. I followed the guard with my eyes as he approached the junction, he took the road to the left and departed at a full gallop. He is likely heading to the nearest settlement; no doubt to spread word of my escape. Normally, I would have just offed the man to delay things, but two factors pretty much guaranteed that would have gone poorly for me. 1.) I have never used this particular bow before. 2.) It¡¯s been over a decade since I last held one. With the current situation I think my best bet is to go deep into the woods and sharpen my skills before I start traveling the countryside. My pursuers will most likely stick to the roads and populated areas while they search for me anyway. My red hair paints a rather large target on my back, I''m sure that will be the main part of my description. I''ll have to do something about it before I set out, that¡¯s for sure. So... the plan.... Part 1, hideout in the forest until the heat dies down. In the meantime, I¡¯ll sharpen my skills and temper my body. As good as I feel now, I also feel strange... I can¡¯t put my finger on it, but I feel lighter and stronger, yet at the same time I feel sluggish and clumsy. It¡¯s like my arms and legs had suddenly gotten longer, while losing some combat related muscle memory. Part 2, gather intel about the world.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I know next to nothing about the primitive world I find myself. Although that old gun I found looked promising, it is evident that these people are significantly inferior technologically to what I''m used to and experienced on other worlds. I need to find where this gun originated if I''m ever to get off this rock, even if I find nothing but ruins, I¡¯m sure I could rig up something. I was apprenticed in my youth to one of the greatest engineers in the legion after all. The old goat would roll in his grave if I couldn¡¯t do something as simple as getting an old hulk flying again. Hhm... Great, I feel sad now. With a sigh I stood up from the bushes and walked deeper in to the woods, for much of the day I searched for an acceptable campsite further in. I needed a site with readily available access to water if I was going to be exerting myself regularly, while also being easily defensible and preferably concealed. The spot I eventually settled on was next to a small stream in a grove of trees that grew tightly together. I spent some time to set up camp, gathered stones from the stream, dead wood for a fire, and felled some young trees for timber. The short sword I grabbed proved invaluable in my efforts, it was something like an elongated bowie-knife. It was perfect for hacking through things, though a bit heavy. By the time the sun finally set I had built a good enough fence to keep the animals out at least. All I had needed to do was plug the gaps between the grove¡¯s trees for a little security. My next project was to build a simple shelter to shield me from the elements. I leaned a piece of timber against one of the larger trees of the grove, dug a small trench to prevent water flooding in, and used smaller bits of timber to form ribs before adding a roof of tiled squares of moss as a roof. It was cozy little den if you asked me. Night had fallen by the time I finished building, it was a starless one devoid of light. I was drained from the events of the day, it was rather stressful to wake up in that cell on this strange world. I could certainly use a night of uninterrupted sleep after that, so I climbed into my newly built shelter and wrapped myself tightly in my new cloak. I fell into a dreamless slumber that dark night. I awoke at the crack of dawn the next morning with an ache in my back and was thankfully still in my woodland shelter. I climbed out of my hut into the early morning fog and ate a quick breakfast of bread and cheese. There are things for today''s addenda I must attend to and the first was to dust off my skills with the bow. It''s funny, when my father thrusted a bow into my arms years ago, I thought he just wanted to watch me struggle with something for once.But now here I am standing in this green wonderland armed only with a few blades and a damned bow. If he could see me now, he would have sprouted off something to me along the lines of ¡°I told you so.¡± Ha... I selected ten arrows from my quiver and got to work. I stood in the middle of the grove with my bow and practiced archery for the first time in over 15 years. My first round was... terrible. I made 5/10 of the shots... and by that I meant, I hit the tree around the target while the rest went into the dirt. *sigh* This is going to be a long morning. I begrudgingly retrieved my arrows and tried again and again until I started making solid groupings. It was progress, but not good enough. I need perfection if I''m going to crush my enemies and get through this. So, I redoubled my efforts, changing distances, shooting on the move, trying my best to make the motions of drawing and firing second nature. Hours later I stopped for lunch, I had another chunk of bread and cheese with some water from the stream to wash it all down. The bread was rather hard and the cheese was grainy, but all things considered it wasn''t that bad. I''ve had much worse tasting meals in the past, though some meat would be nice... I think... I¡¯ll try my hand at hunting tomorrow, shooting stationary targets can only get me so far after all... The next task for the day is to go through the ten combat forms of the legion. The first six teach the mechanics of hand-to-hand, three short blades, and the last one the sword. The ten forms, or the path of war, was developed early in the Blood Legion¡¯s history to train a legionary¡¯s mind and body for war. It was the very foundation of the Legion¡¯s training regardless if they¡¯re a regular, elite, or meck pilot. The way my body ached from just half a day¡¯s travel, the way my back burned from just a few hours practice... I¡¯m seriously out of shape. The forms will go a long way in building me back up to where I once was. As I currently am, I have been rendered too soft for soft for my liking. I stripped off all my armor, unstrung my bow, and stored all but my blades in the shelter. I then settled into the stance of the first form in the middle of the grove and started from there. I paid little attention to the passage of time as I worked my way through the forms, my focus razor sharp as I worked to hone my body into the weapon it once was. I kicked, punched, stretched, and contorted through the first six forms, my body burning with the effort. As I flowed through the last portion of the 6th form, my body trembled from the exertion, and just as I finished something most strange happened. Text like that of an old-style control prompt appeared across my vision seemingly out of nowhere. <+25EXP Added> I froze. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± XXXXXXXXXXXXX Citadel City, Kingdom of Atox XXXXXXXXXXXXXX ¡°Greetings to you, honored Archmage. I carry an urgent missive for you, it is from your estate.¡± Announced a castle servant dressed in blue and gold finery marked with the crest of the royal family, he bowed before an aged man in fine robes black as night. As he addressed the mage, he presented to the man an envelope marked with flowing golden script. The wizened features of the man twisted into a frown at the interruption, he hated being disturbed during his afternoon tea. Though he still accepted the letter and promptly dismissed the servant along with his personal attendants for privacy. The Archmage, now alone in the sitting room, opened the letter and unfurled its contents. He read the letter in its entirety, his expression growing dark as he set it aside. "His majesty is going to be most displeased...¡± Ch3- A hunt in the woods <+25EXP Added> <+25EXP Added> Oh? Ugh... whatever, I''m tired. I need to exercise more... the forms haven''t kicked my ass like that since I was a kid. Now, let''s see... I got that script? Text? Whatever it was to show up again by continuing the forms. I¡¯m still stumped on what the hell they are and why I''m seeing them. Though... not going to lie, it is rather satisfying when they pop up. A reward maybe? When I eventually head to civilization, I¡¯ll have to find someone to explain this stuff to me. If I''m the only person that can see the text, then I have gone completely batshit crazy or this is all some sort of simulation out of some ancient fiction. I¡¯ll just ignore it for now... I can worry about it later when I can actually do something about it. Though for now, I''m going to strip and get some sleep. I awake the next morning from yet another night of dreamless sleep to a new misty dawn. The beauty of this world still astounds me, even now as I gaze up at blue sky streaked with red and yellow it instills a sense of awe in me. With a pep in my step I collect my decarded clothing and retrieved my short-sword from my piled gear before exiting the grove. I walked naked as the day I was born to the nearby stream, planted my blade in the bank and hopped right in with my clothes clutched to my chest. ¡°Ah! Uhh! Fuck it¡¯s cold!¡± I may have underestimated the chill in the water... just a bit. Gathering my shirt and trousers into my arms, I got to work rinsing and wringing them in the cold water. Once I was done with my laundry, I draped my clothes out of the way over a clean looking stretch of rocks along the bank near my blade. With that chore completed I took my time to bathe and relax in the cool waters. It felt great on my sore muscles when I layed in the stream and submerged myself in its cool embrace. My long hair fanned out around me as I let myself float along the water¡¯s surface. I¡¯ve never let my hair grow out this long before, I usually kept it shoulder length or shorter to keep my hair out of the way. Doing so was an necessity when working with machinery and complex armor systems, less you lose a chunk of your scalp. Now though¡­ it doesn¡¯t really matter all that much. I think I¡¯ll keep it long and wear it in a single braid, like my mother did in the pictures¡­ Sitting up in the water, I reached up to run my fingers through my hair when I felt something most strange. ¡°What the¡­¡± My ears are pointed. I can¡¯t even¡­ I can¡¯t even start to figure out why or how this was done to me. I know my hearing and other senses are better than before, but to be modified to such an extent shouldn¡¯t feel so¡­ natural.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Like I was always this way¡­ always¡­ perfect. Once my existencal crisis was over I got out of the stream and collected my belongings before making the short walk back to the grove. I hung up my clothes to dry from low hanging branches, then collected my bow from my shelter and restrung it. I might as well practice archery while I wait for my clothing and self to air dry. When the sun was nearing it¡¯s zenith I stopped for a late breakfast and took stock of my supplies, I had little less than half remaining. It was time I started hunting, I need to stretch my remaining supplies with wild game if I¡¯m going to keep hiding out here. Throwing on my still damp clothes and pulling on my boots, I exited the grove and followed the creek upstream. Traveling low and quiet, I listen and scan the world around me for any sign of any potential prey or hostiles with careful steps. I stalked along the stream bank for nearly an hour without seeing or hearing much of anything before a high pitched screech interrupted relative quiet of the woods. ¡°Hmm?¡± I paused and notched an arrow onto my bowstring, then stealthily advanced further into the wood away from the stream and toward the disturbance. The screeching gaining in volume and frequency as I steadily approached, the agitation of the animal could clearly be heard in it¡¯s cries. I reached the edge of a clearing, peering through the bushes along it¡¯s edges I could see that it was a large meadow and in it was a large mass of white fur surrounded by four green figures. The fur ball looked very close to an animal I once saw in a wildlife index I studied as a child, I think it was called a rabbit. But¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure the one in the index was much smaller and didn¡¯t have a horn growing from it¡¯s head like the one in front of me did. The green figures were short humanoids that look disgustingly hideous. The fuckers look like someone tried to beat them to death with an ugly stick. One had a pig like snout while the others had more human like features and their builds varied from stick thin to heavy and thick. They were clothed in rags and we¡¯re armed with crude looking short spears. I observed as they drew closer to the horned rabbit with their spears at the ready, the rabbit remained where it was and eyed them as they approached. When the greens closed within five meters of the rabbit, it suddenly tensed and shot toward the scrawniest member of the band like a furry white cannonball. ¡°Woah¡­¡± Was my reaction as the horned rabbit tore the head clean off the green man with little effort by simply slapping aside the spear with it¡¯s paw and closing it¡¯s maw around the green man¡¯s thin neck. The other three after seeing this, turned and fled their overwhelming foe in panic. ¡°Hm Hmm Hmm¡­ Ha!¡± I watched as they fled the clearing to the opposite end from me, I struggled hold in my laughter as they stumbled and fell over each other in their retreat. The horned rabbit remained in the clearing, sniffing at the fresh corpse at it¡¯s feet. The creatures had presented it¡¯s flank to me and held still as if it was presenting me a gift. The distance was a bit far, but not to much so. I raised my bow, drawing back in one smooth motion and released. My arrow took flight in a shallow arc for a brief moment before it hit it¡¯s mark in the rabbit¡¯s flank. The animal released a loud squik at impact and ran a half dozen steps before collapsing to the ground. <+25EXP Added> <+25EXP Added> I ignored the text that appeared and went to claim my kill, the horned rabit. It¡¯s body went up to my knees and stretched nearly a meter long with it¡¯s legs extended. It¡¯ll feed me for awhile yet. I slung the rabit over my shoulders and made my way home, walking the way I came until encountering the stream and following it back. I stopped only once to dig a shallow pit to bury the kill¡¯s innards on my way back after putting some distance from the clearing. I had made a quick look at the dead humanoid as I neared it, the thing looked like it had some sort of genetic disease or something. The type generations of inbreeding would cause¡­ So¡­ suffice to say¡­ I would rather not meet the neighbors any time soon. That evening I skinned and butchered the horned rabbit. Skinning it was rather easy, I just had to make cuts around it¡¯s feet and pretty much just pulled it off like a shirt. I then stretched it between two saplings I trimmed into posts in preparation of drying the skin over a fire tonight. Once I finished dismantling the carcass, I quickly built myself a fire pit using stones from the stream and stocked it with extra wood I collected while building up the camp. With the use of a fire-drill I jury rigged together, I had a fire roaring in my camp by nightfall and with it the first hot meal since awaking to this world. Update! Greetings Readers! Stuff: -I have decided to do something of a rewrite for a portion of the story.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. - I intend to switch from a lit-rpg system to a more cultivation based method of power up. - I also want to rewrite the prologue, I felt that it was somewhat lacking. - more delays may be unavoidable as I am currently traveling abroad as part of my occupation. So, yeah the bloodshed shall continue! This will be deleted with the next post.