ã€ŠSecond Lifeã€‹


 Prologue

    ¡°Cough¡­Cough¡­ Shit! It hurts.¡± A man mutters, wiping the blood off from his lips with the back of his right hand.

    He takes a deep breath while looking around but the pain in his chest and lungs makes him stop. He struggles to breath; he tries to ease the pain, pressing his chest with his hands but the cold prick rising from his stomach towards his heart makes him give up and he falls from the bench.

    A few passersby notice his fall and they come to his aid. A young woman with a track-suit kneels besides him, ¡°Are you okay? Should I call for help?¡±

    The man takes a moment to grab his breath, he then looks at the woman and smiles, ¡°I am good. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t overwork yourself.¡± The woman gets up and starts jogging.

    The man gets up and looks around, the few people that were remaining also disperse. He sighs and sits on the bench while wiping the sweats off his forehead.

    He looks at his watch and shakes his head, ¡°Still have to wait few hours.¡±

    The man looks at the moon and gets lost in his thoughts. The sun rays start diminishing and the moon starts to dominate the sky while the stars act as shiny decorates. The few people that were jogging and others that were having a great time viewing the sunset start heading home. The man remains seated still looking at the sky.

    Few hours Later.

    An old man around late fifties walks towards the bench where the man was sitting. He slowly makes his way while looking at the man with pity and sadness in his eyes. The old man sits on the left side of the bench as he too looks at the night sky. The two remain silent and after few minutes the man speaks while clearing his throat.

    ¡°You think there is life out there Greg?¡±

    Greg looks at the man and asks, ¡°Lev, you interested in aliens now? You are in your thirties for God¡¯s sake.¡±

    Lev chuckles, ¡°You know what I mean to say. So, do you think I will get a second chance?¡±

    Greg runs his hand through his white hair; Levs smiles and raises his eyebrows. ¡°What!¡± Greg asks getting slightly annoyed.

    Lev raises both his hands while backing off, ¡°You always rub your hair when you don¡¯t know the answer.¡±

    ¡°I know answers to every question out there in the world.¡± He stands up spreading his arms and giving a smirk.

    ¡°Try me, boy.¡± He yells.

    ¡°Okay then. What came first Chicken or an Egg?¡± Lev asks placing his hand under the chin and giving a smug smile.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Greg¡¯s smirk disappears, and he points at Lev, ¡°That¡¯s unfair.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what ..¡± Lev clutches his chest in extreme pain. It was like a sharp toothed jaw eating every fiber of his body. He knelled on the ground gasping for air.

    ¡°Fuck... Fuck... Hang in there, boy.¡± Greg yells giving encouragement despite knowing that it is of no use.

    After few minutes of hard fought battle, the pain subsides, and Lev breathes in a regular motion. The pant that Lev wore is drenched in sweat and dirt while his shirt laid few meters away from him. Lev lays down flat on the ground as he has no strength to get up.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t believe you, I thought you were giving up on life.¡± Greg sits down on the ground not caring about his expensive clothes. Lev does not speak, not because he doesn¡¯t want to but because he can¡¯t.

    Greg looked at him with tears in his eyes, you could see the wetness in his eyes and yet not a single drop of tear was seen in his face.

    ¡°Please¡­¡± Lev struggled to speak.

    Greg rubbed his eyes and reached towards his pocket with a determined face. He grabbed something, but he hesitated to take it out. He looked over at Lev and their eyes met, he could see the pain and desperation.

    After taking a deep breath he took out a gun from his pocket, he walked towards Lev on his knees and hands him the gun. He has turned off the safety and clocked the gun, only thing left to do is pull the trigger. Lev struggles to get up and barely manages to sit on his butt.

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Lev nodded taking the gun away from Greg with a smile.

    ¡°Please. Maybe there is cure out there,¡± whispered Greg.

    ¡°You think I am a coward for not fighting for my life.¡±

    Greg shook his head. He knew that the man in front was the strongest and bravest person that he met in his life. The fifteen years that they spent together in prison was one of the most memorable part of his life.

    ¡°I want to die by my own hands not because that motherfucker wants me dead. If I die this way he will win.¡± Lev spoke with fire in his eyes but the fire slowly dimmed down as he realized that no matter what his enemy had won eventually.

    ¡°But why here? Why in this way?¡± Greg asked as he was still not sure why Lev wanted to die here in a park and with a gun. There were many options out there to commit suicide and he could have used some easy way that involved no pain.

    ¡°I was imprisoned for twenty years at the age of ten. I thought I would get freedom after my punishment, but death is what I am given. I just don¡¯t want my death to be inside a closed room like my life.¡±

    Lev motioned for Greg to come near and gave a hug, ¡°Thank you for everything. Father¡±

    Tears started falling the moment Greg heard the word father. He remembered the first day he saw the frightened boy in a prison meant for adults. He remembered the first smile that the boy showed him. He was immersed in his thoughts and did not realize that Lev had moved away.

    Lev took the gun and pointed at his head. He had never used a gun before but who would miss the target from few inches apart. Greg moved back a bit and looked away as he could not bear to see the incident.

    ¡°Father, this will be the 50<sup>th</sup>. Don¡¯t forget to mark me.¡± Lev smiled while ters poured from his eyes.

    BANG

    Greg cried for few minutes before he looked back, his eyes red, and his shoulders hunched. He knelt and looked at the lifeless body of his son. On his left arm, he saw 49 marks, each mark represented the person that he had killed inside the prison.

    Greg took out his phone and dialed someone, ¡°Hey, bring few people to carry a body.¡±

    Hello People, this is going to be a new fiction from me. I will be releasing few chapters a week. I am writing after a long time so please tell me if there are any mistakes. Please review this fiction, so I can improve on my writing.

    What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter.

 Chapter 1

    A young boy sleeping on the bed shivers from the cold, he bends his back and lifts his legs trying to sleep in a fetal position to warm himself. The position did not help as he slowly opens his eyes, he sees swords and shields hanging on the wall and a candle below them on the wooden table illuminating the room. He opens his eyes wide and quickly gets up throwing the drowsiness out of his mind. The boy panickily looks around at the unfamiliar environment and before he can think about it the door slams open behind him.

    ¡°You are awake!!¡± A woman in her early twenties rushes towards him carrying some clothes with her.

    The boy turned around to look at the woman as he was mesmerized by her silvery voice. The woman wore a long blue cloth which was similar to the 16th century european dress for peasants woman. Her black hair was untied and it reached till her lower back, her skin fair and tender with a hint of reddish on her cheeks. Sweat trickled down from her forehead running past her deep blue eyes and hanging at the tip of her pointed nose. He stared at her face until she stood right in front of him. She looked nervously at him before asking.

    ¡°Is everything okay? Are you in pain?¡±

    ¡°I am okay... See.¡± The boy stops mid-way as he notices that he is without clothes. He panickily covers his private parts and slowly moves towards the bed trying to hide himself with the bed frame.

    The woman looks at him in confusion but moves forward to hand him the clothes in her hand. He quickly grabs the clothes and looks at the woman, waiting for her to turn around. The woman oblivious of his gesture sits at the chair besides the table staring at him.

    Who is she and why is she staring at me?

    The boy unfolds the dress in his hands and sees a simple black pant and a black shirt. He searches for an underwear, but he finds none. He peeks at the woman and sees no intention from her to give him privacy. He quickly gets dressed and slowly makes his way to the empty chair in front of the woman but as soon as he sits down the woman gets up.

    Is something wrong with her? Why is she acting like a maniac?

    Before he could ask her something, he feels a tickling sensation in his head. It felt like thousands of insects crawling inside his brain. There was no pain but it was something that couldn¡¯t be ignored either. He tried to rub it off but it was no use, after a minute the sensation disappeared and it brought back his memories, he remembered the incident of his suicide. He quickly got up from the chair and stared at the woman, ¡°Where am I?¡±

    The woman frightened by his sudden aggression tries to back away, but she stumbles on the leg of the chair and trips. The boy rushes forward and grabs her, their eyes meet. The boy had a curious look whereas the woman had fear.

    ¡°Please, I didn¡¯t mean to be here.¡± The woman begged with tears in her eyes while her body shivered uncontrollably.

    He pulled her up and gently stepped back, he tried to speak as soft as he could not to frighten her again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    He pointed on the bed and gestured her to sit on it. The woman looked at him and nodded before going towards the bed.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    I should be dead. What is happening here? Greg must have brought me here.

    ¡°Do you happen to know where Greg is?¡±

    ¡°Greg, I don¡¯t know who that is?¡± She looked at him with unease and fear like a child waiting for a punishment after doing something wrong.

    He pulls a chair and sits in front of her, he could clearly see that the woman was afraid of his presence, so he tried to look as friendly as possible and the only way to do that was to smile. He gave her the best smile that he could. There was awkward silence in the room as he tried to come up with questions to ask her whereas she remained on the bed motionless.

    How can I be so stupid? I should ask her name.

    A sudden sharp pain stabs his stomach, moving towards the heart of the young man but the pain did not stop there as it made its ways towards the brain. Before he could react a throbbing pain inside his brain nearly made him collapse. The pain lasted just few seconds and it disappeared completely but the information that he got made him open his mouth subconsciously.

    I¡­I.. am alive.

    He gets up and punches the air while yelling, ¡°Mother fuck, I get to live again.¡±

    The excitement and the punch frightens the woman, she quickly rushes to the corner of the bed while trembling. The boy quickly retracts his fists and looks at her with pity as he now knows the reason to why this pretty woman is so afraid of him. He slowly makes his way towards her, every step he takes forward makes the woman tremble more violently. He kneels and embraces her delicately, like holding the most fragile glass.

    ¡°Lara don¡¯t cry. Forgive me for doing all those horrible things to you.¡± He whispers in her ears. She struggles but he hold on and slowly the trembling stops, and she starts sobbing, within few minutes she falls asleep.

    He lays her down on the bed and covers her with blanket, he then proceeds to sit on the chair while thinking about how he got here. He is not Lev anymore as he somehow ended up inside a sixteen-year-old boy named Rex. Maybe science could freeze his brain and wake him up in the future, but he knows that he is not in earth anymore. He is in a completely different planet named Verus, it has got fucking three moons. It also has something not found in earth, some stuff called mana that let¡¯s you do superhuman or you could say god human things.

    Lara shifts her body which disrupts his thoughts, he looks at her and sighs while shaking his head. He is in dilemma on what to do with her as she happens to be his wife. He gets angry at himself or his past self for treating her in such inhumane way.

    Rex was an orphan that was taken in by the village chief at the age of six, he never took him as a son but as a helper to manage his house and be a friend for his daughter Lara. She is four years older than him and they grew up happily without any problems that is until last year. The village chief suffered from a disease that took his life, Lara almost spent all their savings to help her father, but it was no use. Before he died the chief made them marry each other and told them to leave the village and go somewhere else. Rex didn¡¯t want to marry her, but he could not deny as he owed the village chief his life. They got married but there was one problem as they did not have the money to move, this made them stay which caused the downfall of their marriage.

    The villagers believed in patriarchal society and they followed a tradition where the man had to marry a woman younger than him to be respected. Rex was younger than Lara which made the villagers view him as incompetent. He also did not have control over mana whereas Lara was a water mage, all these factors made Rex frustrated and he began to vent his anger on his wife. Every night he punched and kicked her sometimes he even used sticks and metals to beat her. Lara suffered everyday for the past year and the only reason she stayed with him was because of her father¡¯s last wish.

    They don¡¯t even meet at day time as Lara goes to hunt for beasts in the forest while he spends his time in the brothel. Lara did not go hunting today as Rex got in a fight yesterday where he injured his head and went in a coma. She took care of him the whole night which made her exhausted, so tired that she fell asleep in the arms of the man that hurt her.

 Chapter 2

    ¡°Look at this face, even I am starting to fall in love with it.¡± Rex says while checking out his new body in the mirror. He has a short black hair that is well trimmed, the brown eyes matches with his black hair and the smooth white skin. He looked like a teenage model from earth, but his body was lean and did not have any hidden muscle as this body¡¯s previous owner did not like physical pain. He roughly estimates his height to be 5¡¯8 and he is satisfied for the time being as he still has age for growth.

    He is inside the late village chief¡¯s room as his bed is occupied by Lara, he pulls a chair and sits down to think about his current situation. He has all the information inside his head and now it¡¯s time to use it and think about his future goals. His time inside prison made him a very calculative person and he never jumps on impulse without a plan. He has learned that success comes with planning, so he has to make his objectives clear and work towards it slowly.

    I finally got the freedom and a second chance that I prayed for all my life now I just have to live it to the fullest. But there is a huge boulder blocking my path and I don¡¯t seem to have the strength to break it.

    Rex stands up and starts walking back and forth inside the room, he has the habit to move around whenever he can¡¯t think of a solution. He isn¡¯t thinking on how he got to this mysterious world as he doesn¡¯t care about it, he is thinking on how to survive in this world as he knows that he is very weak and, in this world, the strongest survive while the weak fall. It doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t like it though, he always loved strength. In earth, money was power, and he had sacrificed and lot to gain the power of money and now he just has to double the effort to gain the power of mana and stand above all.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything; my only option is asking Lara.¡± He feels a headache while taking her name as he is unsure of what to do with their relationship. He looks out from the window and sees the daylight, he wants to go out and explore the village, but the growling of stomach changes his mind. He goes towards the kitchen to search for food but doesn¡¯t find anything to eat, there are vegetables and some stuffs that you can use to cook but he has no experience to use the utensils, so he heads back to the room and lays down.

    After few Hours.

    Rex wakes up from the mouthwatering smell that is originating from the kitchen, he quickly gets and starts rubbing his stomach while heading towards the kitchen. He sees Lara cooking, so he makes his way to the table and sits down.

    ¡°I am ready to be served.¡± He shouts trying to tease her. He had given a thought about their relationship and he decided to give it a chance. He was thirty in his previous life and although he had relationship with various woman they were just physical with no emotions involved. Even though he is sixteen at the moment he was ready to have a wife but still he had to wait for Lara¡¯s approval. He did not want her to be with him because of the chief¡¯s last wish.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Lara brings the prepared food, it is a simple meal of rice and meat of some animal. She serves the food on a plate for him and makes another plate for her, but she does not sit with him as she takes her plate and walks towards the kitchen.

    ¡°Are we expecting someone?¡± He asks.

    ¡°No¡± she replies while walking away.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you sit over here.¡± He says while pointing to an empty chair besides him.

    Hearing him say that makes Lara flinch, she nervously looks at him and after taking few moments she sits beside him. Rex smiles and starts having his dinner as he was quite hungry, he quickly finishes his meal and as he is ready for his second helping he notices that Lara has not touched her food at all. He puts his plate to the side and looks straight to her eyes and says, ¡°Do you want me to leave you?¡±

    The question shocks Lara as her eyes open wide, she is unable to answer it as she wishes for the outcome but her promise to her father prevents her from aggreging to it. Rex notices her dilemma and knows that she can¡¯t decide for herself, so he decides to take the matter in his own hands.

    ¡°I know that you are not happy with me, but I promise you that I have changed. I will even swear in the name of god to keep you happy. I just want you to give me a chance.¡± He holds her hand while declaring his intention.

    Am I being cheesy, but this is how they did in the movies. Should I get down on my knees? Ah fuck it, I think this much should be enough for her to forgive me. It¡¯s her loss if she doesn¡¯t agree.

    Tears starts falling from her eyes like a rainfall, she looks at him and says in a hoarse voice, ¡°Why are you doing this? You abuse me physically everyday and now you even want to play with my heart, my mind.¡±

    The look on her face makes him feel guilty for not taking this matter seriously so he gets up and puts his right hand on his chest while swearing, ¡°I swear on Hades that I have changed.¡±

    Lara¡¯s expression changes as she knows the consequences of taking a god¡¯s name and not fulfilling it. This world is influenced by gods, the name of god you take while swearing an oath will punish you if you don¡¯t fulfill the promise. Of course, Rex knows about this as well and that is why he just stated that he has changed. This way he will gain some of her trust back and remove the awkwardness between them. He could see the impact that it had on Lara immediately as her body started relaxing and the wariness of him was gone.

    Rex takes the spoon from her plate and tries to feed her, ¡°Say ahh.¡±

    Lara is embarrassed by the sudden action and she gives a quick smile, but he keeps bring the spoon near her mouth, so she quickly eats the food and looks down. Rex smiles and gives her the spoon, he looks at her while she eats her food.

    The reason why he tried so hard to make her happy was because he felt guilty, although he may have not abused her physically it was still his body that brought her pain. He felt that he owed her something and the one thing that he has learned from past life is never owe any debt to anyone.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Are you sure you want to go to the forest with me?¡±

    Rex nods his head enthusiastically, he wants to see the use of magic in person and try to replicate it himself if possible. He even equipped himself with a spear, the chief had taught him how to use a spear, but it was few basic moves. The spear was a perfect weapon for him right now as it can be used safely from a distance. He has no intention to fight an unknown creature headfirst, he is going to rely on Lara for the first few days and gain some experience.

    ¡°Okay, but I hunt with a team and I will have to convince them to let you join.¡± Lara says while tying her hair.

    He frowns when he hears that there will be other people with them, he is worried that they will reject him as he cannot use mana and be of any help to the group. Lara notices his troubled face and she tries to cheer him up.

    ¡°They are good people. They will take you in happily.¡±

    It¡¯s no use worrying about it. If they don¡¯t take me with them I will just look around the village.

    Rex sighs and says, ¡°Don¡¯t force them if they refuse to accept me. I don¡¯t want to create problems in your group.¡±

    Lara begins to start packing her stuff, she puts herbs, cloths, a small container of blue colored potion inside her bag. She is not wearing a one-piece dress today as she has to move around in the forest and the dress hinders her mobility. Today she is in a black pant with a brown leather boot and a white shirt.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She rechecks everything and gives a slight nod before heading out.

    He follows behind her with a spear in his hand, they head towards the edge of the village where they will meet with other members. Although they may not be walking side by side as a couple their relationship is not sinking anymore, the talk between them last night has opened up a new path. They have taken a step forward and they are able to have a normal conversation without her fearing him, slowly but surely, they are returning to what they were before the marriage.

    They quickly reached their destination, but there was no one there. They decided to wait and as the meeting place was under a huge tree they could sit under the shade while waiting. Even after thirty minutes no one arrived, and Rex had lost his cool. He hated when someone made him wait as he was always punctual about time. He knew that right now he was the one that needed help and that is the reason he even waited thirty minutes but now he was impatient. He stood up from the ground and patted his pants removing the dust, he then stood in front of Lara and said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we will enter the forest without them.¡±

    Lara could see the anger in his eyes and although she knows the anger is no directed at her she is still terrified, she gathers whatever courage she has and says, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit more. They usually take a while.¡±

    She does not want to enter the forest alone as she is just a rank 1 water mage and the forest is danger itself. Rex hearing her reply gets more irritated as he can imagine a picture of Lara waiting for her group alone, under this tree every day. Although she is a rank 1 mage she has no chance against a group of men with malicious intention and there would be no one to help her as this fucking place is isolated.

    ¡°Is there any chance that they may not be here?¡± He asks gritting his teeth while his face turns red with anger.

    Lara nods her head and replies cautiously, ¡°There were some days when they did not show up at all.¡±

    Rex takes a deep breath to relax his mind and body; it was not the time for his anger. He pulls her upTaken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Lead the way Mrs. Guide, it¡¯s time for some adventure.¡± He softly pushes her forward.

    Lara hesitates but after taking a deep breath she walks forward, she wants to wait for her friends, but she doesn¡¯t want to argue and upset him breaking the small connection that they have at the moment.

    I have to convince her to stay away from this group of hers. They seem to be selfish and uncaring about their teammate, if danger arises then they will not hesitate to betray each other.

    Few hours later.

    ¡°Something is coming.¡± Rex whispers, he places his finger in front of his lips gesturing Lara to stay quiet. They had been walking inside the forest for the last twenty minutes and they had yet to encounter a single living being, even birds were nowhere to be seen. The only noise they had heard was the rustling of leaves when they walked over it.

    Finally, I was getting spooked out of this eerie silence.

    Something that is rustling the leaves slowly makes its way towards them. Rex¡¯s body is running in adrenaline from the fear of the unknown, he is frightened but excited at the same time. Lara is calm and composed as she prepares the spell for water ball, but her instincts are telling her to get away from here.

    ¡°A wolf¡± Lara murmurs in shock seeing the silver wolf. This is something that should not be happening as they are near the edge of the forest, wolves usually live and hunt deeper within the forest. She quickly pulls Rex back and steps forward.

    ¡°Hurry up and climb a tree, go as high as you can.¡± She yells at Rex.

    He doesn¡¯t question her authority as he knows the situation is dire, who doesn¡¯t know that wolves hunt in pack. He quickly scans around to look for a tree that is easy to climb and after finding one tries to climb it, but he can¡¯t do it with a spear in his hand, so he drops it.

    Lara has finished her spell, quickly a ball of water appears in front of her and hovers around. The wolf ignores the running Rex and looks cautiously at the woman as it could sense the danger from her.

    ¡°The wolf is injured, it is bleeding from the leg.¡± Rex, who was on a higher ground, notices the injury. When Lara hears it, she quickly releases the water ball towards the wolf. The wolf jumps on the left side but it notices the ball change its direction in mid-air, it tries to jump again but the injury delays the reaction. The water ball land perfectly on its face, the wolf gives a loud cry before falling down.

    ¡°Hurry get over here.¡± Rex shouts.

    Lara quickly makes her way up the tree; the branch begins to shake so they move towards the base of the branch where it is stable. They begin to scan the area for more wolves, but they don¡¯t see or hear anything.

    After five minutes Lara quickly climbs down, ¡°Get down quick, we are leaving.¡± She kneels in front of the wolf and quickly cuts the stomach area, after few cuts she takes out a small black orb. She then proceeds to skin the animal.

    Meanwhile Rex is examining the injured leg, he sees multiple bite marks on its leg indicating that it was in some kind of fight and the winner was toying with it.

    What if the other animal is still chasing? Shit I have a bad feeling.

    ¡°Lara, I think it¡¯s best that we get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Give me a second, I am almost done. The wolf¡¯s skin will fetch a good price.¡± She speaks without looking back while blood covers her hands.

    Lara quickens her work and within a minute the skin is cut precisely, they quickly leave the area and head out of the forest. They don¡¯t take a break on the road as they have to sell the skin as well. Rex is fatigued from the journey as he does not have the habit of walking and running, they had gone to the forest in the morning and right now the sun was about to set. He heads home while Lara goes to sell the skin and shop for tonight¡¯s dinner.

    ¡°Here take this.¡± Lara hands him the black orb fetched from the wolf after they had their dinner.

    ¡°You should have sold it, you get good money from monster¡¯s core.¡± Rex says as he is confused on why she would give it to him.

    She looks down while playing with her dress, she is embarrassed, ¡°I know that you are trying to ¡­¡± She stops speaking, looks at him with red face and drops the core at the table before running away.

    ¡°I also want to keep you happy.¡± She shouts and shuts her door.

    Rex gives a slight smile before grabbing the monster core. He did not expect her to open up with him so soon. A warm heat originating from the core rushes inside his body disrupting his thoughts, it lasts for few seconds before vanishing completely. The black orb in his hand turns into white and crumbles into pieces.

    He gets goosebumps from the sudden incident, he gets up and tries to get help from Lara but before he could do that the warm sensation returns and gathers in his right hand. He stops to see his hands but finds nothing but when he clenches his fists the warmth disappears.

    BANG

    Rex looks ahead to find the source of the sound, his eyes open wide when he sees a big briefcase in front of him appear out of nowhere. He cautiously makes his way and opens the briefcase.

    Holy Jesus.

 Chapter 4

    Where did these knives come from? Just what is happening here.

    He looks inside the case, which is filled with various kinds of knives. He picks up a long-curved blade about 15 inches in length and examines it, a flush of information enters inside his mind seconds after holding the blade. He gets the name of the blade, which is Kukri, it is a weapon from earth used in wars. He throws the blade inside and case and stands up.

    How did it get here? Was it because of me?

    The fatigue and sleep disappears from his mind and body and is replaced with thirst for some answers. He takes a seat and retraces his memory, starting from him holding the core. He gives a long thought and comes up with a theory, the energy from the beast core transformed into some different energy entering his body which caused the core to be crumble. The said energy was then used as a fuel to bring the box over here from earth.

    ¡°But something doesn¡¯t add up. I had held monster cores before, but I never had this sort of reaction. Is it because¡­.¡± He mutters but is unable to find a reasonable explanation for this unnatural phenomenon.

    He wants to wake up Lara and ask for answers, but he decides against it and is willing to wait until morning to get his answers, He closes the case and drags it to his room, as soon as he lays down he falls asleep.

    ¡°Aii.., so much pain.¡± Rex gets up while wincing in pain, his body is in pain and the legs are the most affected. He even had cramps in both of his legs late at night which gave him trouble sleeping. He staggers towards the suitcase and picks up a folding knife about 8 inches in length, he is not going to show her the entire case of knives as he still does not trust her. He may be working on their relationship but that does not mean he is willing to die for her. He smiles and head towards the kitchen as he smells something tasty.

    ¡°What¡¯s cooking beautiful girl, cause I am ready to be served. Don¡¯t let my hunger rising, stomach grumbling as it will make my smile fall.¡± He sings it like Sean Kingston did in ¡°Beautiful Girls¡±, with his own lyrics.

    Lara doesn¡¯t hear his masterpiece as she is lost in her own world, the tasty aroma from the curry seems to be fading away. Rex rushes forward and tries to remove the pot from the fire, he quickly grabs the pot and places it aside, but his finger get burnt. He rubs his fingers while blowing air to it, Lara quickly grabs his hands and sends some sort of cooling sensation towards to his fingers.

    ¡°Are you a six years old kid? How can you be so careless?¡± She gives a stern look while scolding.

    He isn¡¯t bothered with her scolding or her angry face as the worry in her eyes tell him everything. He gives a mischievous smile and starts moving his fingers feeling her hands, this is the first time that he has held her hand and he is loving the smooth feeling. Lara pulls back her hands, her face red like a tomato.

    Few moments later.

    ¡°So, this is what you summoned?¡± Lara speaks while examining the blade closely. She has never seen a knife like this in her life, it felt more like a decorative item rather than a weapon because of its wooden designs and opening mechanisms.

    ¡°I was really shocked you know when the core disappeared, and this thing appeared out of nowhere. Do you why I was able to summon these?¡± He asked hoping that she has an answer for his unusual circumstances.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°As far as I know summoning requires the use of mana, but you can¡¯t use mana at all. I don¡¯t know what is happening with you. I am sorry.¡± She looks down at the ground disappointed, she really wanted to help him. If they can figure out how he summoned a knife, then maybe he could summon some powerful items and gain respect from the villagers.

    He lifts her head and smiles at her, ¡°Hey don¡¯t worry, I may not be able to use mana and summon again but I have something that no one else has.¡± He puffs his chest with confidence.

    ¡°What is it?¡± She asks curiously.

    ¡°A loving wife who happens to be a powerful mage.¡±

    Instead of the red face and the embarrassment he expected, he got something else in return. Lara had enough of his teasing, so she decides to be bold and try him instead.

    ¡°That I am, just remember to keep me happy or I will disown you.¡±

    Rex is tongue-tied, he gives a smile of defeat and raises his hands. They would have gone to the forest, but the strange condition of the jungle scared them, so they had decided to go to the village for sightseeing.

    KNOCK KNOCK

    Rex opens the door and sees a woman slightly taller than him standing at the door, she has red hair with red eyes and she is wearing a red robe. He does not like the stare from her but still he politely asks.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    The woman raises her eyebrow and takes a step back to look at the house after nodding her head she again walks towards him and stops in front.

    ¡°Lara, where is she?¡±

    ¡°You are a friend of Lara, please come inside and have a seat.¡± He turns back and calls for Lara, the woman does not enter the house and instead waits at the door. Lara quickly arrives when she hears that someone is there for her, when she sees the woman she gives a bright smile.

    ¡°Sister Julie, when did you get back? I missed you so much.¡± Lara drags her inside the house while Rex goes inside the kitchen bring water.

    He gives both of them the water and heads to his room so that they can talk freely. Within few minutes he hears knock from the door and he opens it, he see Lara who is standing in her battle dress.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± She had just changed recently as they were ready to go and see the village together.

    ¡°I am going inside the forest with sister Julie, they are on a mission to check the danger inside the forest.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go, you know that something is wrong. It is too dangerous.¡± He grabs her hand while.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. I am going as a guide, they have three rank 2 mages and a rank 2 warrior. Besides we won¡¯t enter the dangerous part of the forest and they are paying us 2 gold coins.¡± She says with excitement.

    After listening to her explanation, he can¡¯t say no, he gives a slight nod and leaves her hand. Lara gives him a quick surprise hug and runs away, he goes down to see them off.

    Few hours later.

    The sun begins to set and yet Lara has not returned, he starts getting worried. He walks around the house trying to ease his fears, praying that everything is okay. A knock on the door brightens his mood as he rushes to open the door, but he is disappointed when he sees a group of men outside.

    A large muscular man steps forward and says, ¡°The mage group should have returned but they are still not here. If something happens to them our village will lose face, we know your wife has gone with them and if you want you can join us.¡±

    Rex smiles and politely declines, ¡°The mage group are very powerful, I think they will be back after few hours. No need to worry.¡±

    The group starts leaving and as he is about to close the door he hears someone speak.

    ¡°Such a coward, I told you we should not have come here. Such a beautiful woman wasted on him.¡±

    Rex makes his way towards his room with heavy steps, he knows that the forest in the night is more dangerous. He doesn¡¯t want to be a hero as he knows his weakness, he looks at the suitcase and sighs.

    Flashback

    Lev is inside a prison cell doing pushups, his body is drenched in sweats, his veins bulging due to blood flow. He does his last set before falling on the ground panting. He looks at the corner where Greg is meditating.

    ¡°Meditation won¡¯t make you wise.¡± Lev gives a chuckle.

    ¡°Reach my age and you will start thinking otherwise.¡± Greg doesn¡¯t bother opening his eyes.

    ¡°Oh, is that so. What wisdom will the great one impart on me.¡± Rex kneels on the floor while opening his arms.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make decisions that you will regret.¡±

 Chapter 5

    ¡°What will I regret? Will I regret staying here and hoping for safety or will I regret trying to be a hero?¡± He mumbles.

    He looks out of the window and sees the darkness creeping over the land, he still has not made up his mind. His chances of surviving the forest is nil when even three rank 2 mages and one rank 2 warrior are having a hard time.

    Let¡¯s settle this with a toss.

    He takes a folding knife and flips it in the air, if the knife stabs the floor then he will go to the forest and if the blunt end lands then he will stay home and wait.

    Thud

    The blunt ends hit the floor, he picks it up and sighs. He gently places the knife back on the suitcase and jumps to the bed, he closes his eyes and lays down.

    Inside the forest.

    A group of 8 men are walking cautiously, they are huddled together forming a small circle keeping an eye everywhere. The rustling of leaves and the whispers of wind frightens them and yet they keep walking forward.

    ¡°Lara, where are you?¡± someone shouts.

    ¡°Idiot keep you voice down. You will bring trouble.¡± A huge muscular man with a sword in his hands whispers.

    ¡°How will we find them? Are we supposed to look for them all night?¡± A short man retorts.

    ¡°Yeah, I regret coming here. The forest is creeping me out.¡± Another man adds.

    ¡°You can leave if you want, no one is forcing you. Just remember the rewards we get if we are able to help a mage.¡± The muscular mans eyes glow in excitement.

    Everyone¡¯s spirit rises when they think of the reward, but trouble arrives before they can even take a step forward. They hear multiple growls around them and they know they are in trouble as the only animal with that noise are the wolves. They look around and notice wolves slowly approaching and ready to pounce.

    Rex POV

    ¡°Phew. finally made it.¡± Rex takes a deep breath, he has been running for a while to reach the edge of the forest. He rubs the sweat off the face and looks around, as the sky is clear, the light from moon makes the surrounding visible. He doesn¡¯t find the group of men that had left to enter the forest, his plan is to move with them as he is not familiar with the danger inside the forest.

    After gathering his breath, he checks his equipment and weapons. He has got the Kukri tied on his left hip, two ballistic knives on the right hip along with a Wasp knife, he also has a torchlight besides the Kukri. After searching every corner of the suitcase, he found sheaths for the blades, a torchlight and a leather belt to hold these items. He had 15 different knives inside the case but most of them were folding knives and had no use to him at the moment.

    He closes his eyes, reaches for the Kukri and whispers, ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡±

    He heads inside the forest while with the goal to save Lara and stay alive. After some time, he reaches the place where Lara had killed the injured wolf, he looks around but doesn¡¯t find anything that will give him a clue. He had thought that he would catch up with the group of men, but they are nowhere to be seen. He hesitates but eventually grabs the torchlight, he doesn¡¯t want to use it as the light might attract animals towards him, but he has no choice. The thick tress and their leaves are blocking the moonlight and it is getting harder to see.

    As he is about to turn on the flashlight he hears scream of a human and the growling of an animal. He walks towards the direction of the sound, his right hand holding the Kukri and a ballistic knife in his left. He hides behind a tree and watches the fight between a man and a beast. The wolf was about 3 feet, but the man towered the wolf as it stood tall at 6¡¯5, his right hand on the sword and a solemn look on his face.

    ¡°You are the last one.¡± The man screams and charges at the wolf, his movement quick and precise for someone of his size. He slices at the wolf¡¯s leg, but the wolf dodges it by jumping back, it growls and goes for the kill. The wolf lunges towards the neck of the man, the man had yet to recover so he bring his left hand forward to save his neck. The wolf bites at the hand bringing him immense pain, the wolf tries to bite off the arm as it shakes its head ferociously. The man takes the opportunity to stab the wolf multiple times with his sword but that is unable to kill the wolf.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Rex sees the opportunity and he rushes forward to help the man, he takes a big swing and cuts the head of the wolf cleanly. The man is still stabbing the wolf and he is yet to notice the death of the wolf, only after few seconds does he notice that the wolf has no head.

    Rex looks around to see if there are more wolf around while the man slowly gets up. After confirming that there is no danger he sighs in relief. The man wraps his arms with his shirt to stop the bleeding, he looks at Rex and says.

    ¡°Thank you for helping me Rex.¡±

    Rex is surprised when he hears the man say his name but then he remembers how infamous he is in the village and shakes his head.

    ¡°You would have killed the wolf eventually, I did nothing.¡±

    ¡°I would have but at a price of my arm. So, I am really grateful for your help.¡± He replies weakly, Rex could see that he is struggling due to the injury and blood loss.

    ¡°You should regroup with your men and head back.¡±

    The man hunches his shoulders when he hears about his friends, all seven of them have been killed by the wolves. He wants to go back and at least bring back their bodies, but he knows that he is in no condition to go back and fight.

    ¡°If you are looking for Lara then you should head south. I saw a fire earlier in that direction.¡± He pats on the shoulders of Rex and wishes him luck. He staggers and walks out of the forest.

    The situation must be really serious if they had to use magic. God dammit why did I decide to make the knife toss best of three.

    He moves quickly towards the south as he could see lights coming from that direction and as he moves closer he hears the crying of wolf and scream of a woman. He quickly climbs a tree to get the view of battle and come up with a plan.

    ¡°Holy shit, what is up with this wolf.¡± Rex is terrified when he sees a 5 feet tall black furred wolf fighting against two mages. One of the mages is Julie, she is keeping the wolf at bay with her flame wall while the other female mage is using her earth spike to attack the wolf. The four spikes that arise from the ground is too slow and the wolf is able to dodge it.

    ¡°Aron, we need some help here. I can¡¯t keep this up very long.¡±  Julie yells towards the man fighting three silver colored wolves that were about 4 feet tall.

    ¡°I am trying my best. I am almost out of my stamina as well.¡± Aron shouts back.

    Lara, who is behind them, is holding her own against one wolf, she is attacking the wolf with water ball, but the attack is useless as the wolf dodges. There is a body on the ground in front of Lara which belongs to a mage of their team.

    The black wolf is going to break the deadlock very soon I have to act quick.

    The battle is going on in an open ground which is keeping the wolves in everyone¡¯s view, had there been trees the wolves would have won by now. Rex quickly gets down but before he can make his move he hears a scream.

    ¡°Lara, watch out.¡± Julie shouts.

    Rex looks up to see that one of the wolves fighting against Aron has escaped and is going after Lara, he does not hesitate to run towards her. He is 10 meters away from her and he knows he will not make in time, he grabs the ballistic knife and aims at the wolf¡¯s legs trying to slow it down. The 5-inch knife flies and embeds into the wolf¡¯s leg stopping it temporarily. He then reaches for the Kukri and slashes at the wolf¡¯s side slicing it¡¯s stomach open, intestines and livers slip out from the cut and the wolf gives a howl before falling down. The wolf is bleeding profusely it is not dead, but it will be very soon.

    Everyone is surprised by the sudden appearance of a man; the humans are happy while the black wolf is furious. The wolf had sent seven wolves to guard the forest and let not one pass and yet a man is here. It knows that the situation is getting dangerous, so it decides to go all out, it needs mana cores to evolve and the humans in front are the ones that will provide them.

    It jumps into the fire wall and heads towards the two-mage ignoring the burn on its body, it swipes its claw aiming at the head of the earth mage. The swipe connects, and the mage loses her head, it then lunges with a bite towards Julie. She manages to avoid the bite by jumping back, she quickly launches a fireball in the face of the wolf and runs towards Aron.

    After killing the wolf Rex runs towards Lara to help her, he notices her angry stare but decides to ignore it. He walks forward and faces the wolf while saying, ¡°Now is not the time, we will talk later. I will distract the wolf try to finish it in a single blow.¡±

    I just have to get my timing right.

    He alertly walks forward while eyeing the wolf, after reaching the striking distance he takes a fake swing at its head from the right. The wolf jumps back and leaps in the air aiming for his neck, when the wolf is in mid-air he rolls forward and escapes the attack. Lara quickly launches a water ball striking the wolf on its head, the wolf whimpers and falls to the ground but it does not die. Rex jumps back on his feet and delivers the killing blow thrusting the Kukri on its neck.

    Rex takes Lara¡¯s hand and regroups with Julie and Aron, they stand in a line horizontally and stare at the wolf. The wolf with its ferocious eyes stares right back, it is not ready to back off.

 Chapter 6

    The wolf gives a loud howl staring at the sky, as soon as it looks down its body starts covering in black miasma and its eyes starts glowing yellow. It gives a deep growl and starts rushing at them.

    ¡°We have to survive this attack, the aura will only last for a few minutes.¡± Julie shouts while she moves into position. Aron stays at the front with a sword in his right hand, Julie is behind him towards his right while Lara is at the left, Rex is at the back with a Kukri in his hand.

    The wolf¡¯s movement is quick and agile and within a second it covers a distance of 15 meter, it reaches in front of Aron and swipes its paws. The claw glistening in black is aimed at the legs, Aron jumps up avoiding the attack and slashes his sword downwards in mid-air targeting the head of the wolf. The black aura stops the blade and the wolf remains unharmed, Julie does not waste time and attacks with a fireball at the wolfs face. The fireball is stopped by the black aura, but the attack diminishes the black miasma it also forces the wolf back.

    ¡°Shit, my mana is running out. I can only use two fireballs at most.¡± Julie yells.

    Boy oh Boy. I will be dead if I stay here any longer. Let¡¯s get the fuck out of here while the wolf is busy.

    Rex moves towards Lara and gives her shoulder a nudge while whispering, ¡°Hey, let¡¯s run.¡±

    Lara looks at him weirdly before giving a stern reply, ¡°What do you mean by run? Do you want them to die?¡±

    The reply ticks his nerves, he has come all this way to save her and this is the attitude that he gets. He clenches his jaws and stares at her and before he can vent his anger a shout stops him.

    ¡°No, Aron.¡± Julie shouts while shooting another fireball, the wolf takes the attack head on while sacrificing its shield of black aura.

    The wolf had managed to claw Aron and send him flying, the wolf had tried to bite Aron and as he could not block the bite with his sword he tried to dodge it by moving left but the wolf had anticipated the step and as Aron moved the wolf swiped its right arm catching Aron off guard.

    Julie starts shaking from anger, red aura starts covering her body as she attacks using up the mana in her body. An orange fireball with hint of reddish appears in front of her and she launches it at the wolf before falling to the ground.

    The fireball is of the same size, but the intensity of heat is very high, the wolf does not underestimate the attack and it jumps to the left dodging the attack. A water ball greets its face the moment it lands on the ground, the dark aura vanishes completely. The wolf stares at Lara with anger, its face distorted in pain. The pain is the price it had to pay to emerge victorious, the wolf shakes its body and walks towards the remaining humans.

    ¡°How many balls of water can you throw?¡± Rex questions while he moves forward to face the wolf.

    ¡°I think I can use at least two.¡± Lara answers moving forward along with Rex.

    ¡°Stay here, save your spell for the right moment. I always fight alone.¡±

    Rex eyes the wolf not letting it out of his sight, his only way to emerge victorious is to kill it quick. He grabs the torchlight with his left hand, a ballistic blade on his right. He runs forward which surprises the wolf, as he is running he aims the knife at the wolfs front leg. The wolf had seen the knife work, so it stops it running and warily walks forward. When rex reaches within ten meters of the wolf he turns on the flashlight and aims it at the beast¡¯s eyes.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    The wolf howls when the high intensity light enters its eyes in such a short distance, Rex uses the opportunity to re-aim the knife at the wolf¡¯s eyes firing it, the knife flies at a speed but it misses the desired target. The wolf cries in pain as the knife penetrates its snouts, the wolf swipes its claws randomly as it tries to adjust its eyes.

    Rex arms himself with Kukri and dashes forward, he slides on the grass and slashes at the left leg of the wolf. The knife does not cut clean, but it manages to slice half of the legs breaking the bones, he pulls out his knife and jumps back aiming the light back to the eyes.

    The wolf howls in pain as it falls down to the ground, it tries to open the eyes, but the light makes it unable to do so.

    ¡°What are you waiting for hurry and attack.¡± Rex urges Lara while yelling.

    Lara is in shock as she has never seen Rex fight in such a way, she had accepted her doom when Julie fainted but now she is seeing a way out. The yell brings her out from her thoughts and she quickly fires a water ball and the helpless black wolf. The wolf gives an enraged growl and moves its mouth around trying to bite something.

    This mother fucking 8500 lumen flashlight is freaking awesome.

    Rex walks around to slash at the right leg of the wolf, but he had underestimated the animals use of sense. The wolf may not be able to see but it could sense the smell and use it to guess his direction, it waited for an opportunity and it got it when Rex moved closer to slash at its other leg.

    Rex does not notice the dark miasma forming on the wolf¡¯s left leg and as he raises his blade to hack the wolf he hands freeze from fear, his eyes open wide and his body trembles. He sees the wolf lunging at him with its mouth open wide aiming for his neck, Rex moves his right shoulders in instinct to save his neck, the wolf imbeds its sharp teeth at the shoulder and they fall to the ground. The wolf lays on top with its teeth inside Rex¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhh.¡± He screams stabbing the wolf with his blade, but the wolf does not let go.

    The wolf knows that it will die soon, and it has decided to take someone with it, Rex bleeds profusely from his shoulders, his bone has cracked, and he is in excruciating pain. He tries to kill the wolf, but he has no power to thrust the blade deep inside the wolf to kill it.

    Lara couldn¡¯t react as everything happened in few seconds, she tries to attack with another water ball but fearing that she will hurt Rex she stops it, she runs towards Rex with a short knife in her hand hoping to kill the wolf with it.

    Fuck.. So much pain. Will I die again? No fuck death I will survive.

    He tries to think of a way out and he suddenly has an idea, he couldn¡¯t use the wasp knife before but now he can use it as he is near the wolf. He ignores the pain from the bite and throws the Kukri away and he fights to grab the wasp knife, after getting the knife he waits for an opportunity.

    Lara drops the knife and grabs the Kukri, she stands behind the wolf and continuously thrusts the knife, the wolf knowing that it has few seconds left to live decides to open its jaw and bite the neck. As it positions itself to go for the kill, it leaves a gap open. Rex uses the opportunity and stabs the knife at its heart which is slightly below the throat, he then clicks the button on the blade and releases 30-gram CO2 gas inside the wolf.

    The wolf struggles to breathe as the gas expands within its body, the pressured gas destroys its heart, liver and every major organ killing it instantly. The wolf falls on top of Rex and dies, Rex takes a deep breath to celebrate his victory. His face is pale due to blood loss, he doesn¡¯t even have strength to get up. Lara pushes the wolf¡¯s body from him and helps him get up, she hugs him with tears in her eyes.

    ¡°Get the monster core.¡± He tells her pushing her from his embrace.

    ¡°We should get you treated, we have to call people to get sister Julie as well and..¡±

    ¡°Stop, get me the core and get me home after that do whatever the fuck you want.¡± He yells at her staring in anger.

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t. We will call for help first and make sure that everyone is okay.¡±

    ¡°Okay, do what you want. I am going home.¡± He takes a slow step, he can¡¯t think properly as he is getting dizzy from the blood loss. He staggers and makes his way forward.

    Lara looks at the unconscious Julie and the bleeding Aron, she bites her lips and says, ¡°I am sorry. I will send someone for help.¡±

    She cuts the wolf open and takes out the monster core before running towards Rex and supporting him with her shoulders. Rex looks at her and nods before saying.

    ¡°The debt I owe you is settled.¡±

 Chapter 7

    Knock Knock

    ¡°You can come in.¡± Lara answers the knock on the door.

    ¡°Is he awake yet?¡± Julie asks walking inside with a bowl of porridge in her hand.

    ¡°No, he is still unconscious, by the way is Aron okay?¡± Lara asks taking the porridge and placing it on the table.

    ¡°He is already up, he is checking out the weapons of Rex. He seems to be really interested in them.¡± Julie chuckles.

    Lara gives a faint smile and looks at the sleeping Rex on the bed, his upper body is without clothes, his lower body inside a blanket, his injured right shoulder is covered in bandages. His wounds have closed due to the healing spell but he has remained unconscious till now.

    ¡°Oh yeah, how did we get back.¡± Julie asks giving a curious look at Lara.

    Lara looks at the ground avoiding the eyes, she speaks in a soft voice, ¡°Well, the people from the village came to search for us. They are the ones who brought us back.¡±

    ¡°I can tell that you are lying but it doesn¡¯t matter how we got here. What matters is that we are alive.¡±

    Julie takes two gold coins from her pouch and places it on the table, ¡°Here is the two gold coins that I promised.¡±

    Lara picks it up and places them inside her purse, she hears a groaning voice and she quickly turns around, but she disappointed to see that Rex still has his eyes closed. Julie gives a smile and walks out of the room.

    In the evening, Julie and Aron take their leave from the village, they had to return back and report the incident of the evolved wolf and the death of their friends to the academy. Julie asked them to stay a night at her house, but she couldn¡¯t convince them.

    <hr>

    ¡°No, please not now.¡± A mature woman with brown hair tries to struggle from the clutch of a man.

    ¡°No one is inside the house, I promise I will be quick.¡± The man hugs her from behind while giving kisses at her neck.

    ¡°Get away. I will not risk my marriage for you.¡± The woman pushes the man back.

    ¡°You bitch, you will do what I want. I will fuck you whenever I want.¡± He slaps her, making her stumble.

    The woman roars and strikes at the man with a ladle, the man tries to dodge but he slips, he hits his head on the edge of the table and falls down. Blood starts pouring from his head as he remains motionless on the ground, the woman panics and tries to find a way out.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Mom, where are you?¡± a ten-year-old Lev enters inside the house.

    <hr>

    ¡°Don¡¯t go inside.¡± Rex yells trying to stop the na?ve little boy.

    He opens his eyes looking around in daze, he sighs in relief and tries to forget about the bad dream. He grabs his head and sings a song trying to clear his mind, after he calms down he removes his bandages to check the injury. He sees the scars but no wounds, he tries moving his arm but stops when he feels his hand motion is little stiff.

    ¡°I think it still needs few days of recovery time.¡± He gets down from the bed and heads towards the kitchen not bothering to cover his upper body.

    Oh my god I am so hungry. Someone better have food ready for me.

    ¡°I need food, hurry up. I will eat you up if you don¡¯t hurry.¡± He shouts from the dining table.

    Lara¡¯ s face turns red and her eyes open wide when she hears him say that he will eat her up, Rex on the other hand does not realize what he has just said. He is at the table rubbing his stomach waiting for the food.

    Lara quickly brings out the prepared food, ¡°Here is the foo, food.¡± She stutters.

    Rex dives in to consume the food not noticing the embarrassment of Lara, he quickly finishes a piece of chicken and before long he consumes a full chicken.

    ¡°Ah so delicious, thank you for the meal.¡±

    They head to his room and sit on the table to discuss some important things. Rex wants to learn more about mana and magic and he wants her to introduce him to Julie so that he can satisfy his curiosity. Before he can begin asking some questions Lara hands him the two gold coins.

    ¡°What is this?¡± He asks while keeping the coins in the pocket.

    ¡°This is the payment I received for being the guide.¡± She answers raising her head proudly.

    ¡°Payment, are they gone?¡± He asks standing up.

    ¡°Yes, they returned back to their academy.¡± She answers with a smile.

    Rex wants to scream at her for her stupidity, how can she take two gold coins as payment when they saved their fucking lives. He stares at her but the smile on her face makes him hesitate, he sighs and grabs her cheek.

    ¡°You did a good job. Here take the money back and pay the debt that we owe.¡± He returns the gold coins.

    After taking the coins back she gets up from the chair to leave the room, she takes a step only to be grabbed at the hand by Rex.

    ¡°What?¡± She turns and questions him with her eyebrows raised.

    ¡®Stay with me.¡± He says looking straight into her eyes.

    Lara is taken back by his request, tears pour from her eyes not because of sadness but because of happiness. She is glad that Rex made this request, every woman wishes to be loved, be embraced by her husband and she too wished for it. The lack of interest shown by Rex towards her before had made her feel self-conscious, she had thought that there was something wrong with her body.

    ¡®You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t feel like it.¡± He quickly replies when he hears no reply from her.

    ¡°I..I will.¡± She replies hiding her face behind her hands.

    They both head towards the bed, Rex takes one edge while Lara takes another. They blow the candle out and close their eyes.

    Why did I ask her to stay with me? Is it because of the bad dream or is it because I always slept with a woman after a fight for survival.

    Next Morning

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.¡± Rex mutters and grabs the monster core from the wolf. The core is bigger than before, but it is still black in color. The same warm energy enters into his body but in a huge quantity, after few seconds the core crumbles turning into dust.

    After few more seconds the energy gathers into his right hand, he closes his fists which makes the energy disappear. He waits for something to fall down but nothing happens, he looks around to see the summoned item, but he can¡¯t find it. He is about to cry in anger when he feels something crawling on his fingers, he turns his left hand around and notices two ants at the center of his palm.

 Chapter 8

    ¡°Hmm, so one is a bullet ant and the other is a blast ant.¡± He picks up the dark brown ant and places it on the table, the blast ant which is reddish towards its head and the torso remains on his hand. He looks at the little creature and commands it mentally to stay still, the ant obeys the order and stands like a soldier ready for his order.

    Unlike his previous summon, the situation was complex with these little creatures. He can absorb these creatures and use their life force to strengthen his body, he could also gain unique abilities from the creature.

    The ant in his hand starts vanishing and turns into white particles that float around him, slowly the particles are engulfed by his body. Suddenly, his heart rate increases, and he starts gasping for breath, he feels like he is thrown into a frozen lake without any clothes. He feels icy needles stabbing continuously all over the body, he can¡¯t take it anymore and he falls down on his knees. The pain lasts only for a minute before disappearing, he takes deep breath and tries to sit comfortably but before he can do that his body feels hot.

    The temperature of his body keeps on riding, he takes off his clothes trying to escape the heat, but it is of no use as his temperature rises even more and the sweat start drenching the floor.

    ¡°What the fuck is happening?¡± He yells while running towards the bathroom.

    He isn¡¯t even able to reach the door of his room as he falls down clutching his left leg, the heat from the body starts disappearing but muscle spasms start occurring all over his body. His right leg, his hand, face and every muscle starts wiggling and expanding. Due to the pain he can¡¯t generate enough blood towards his brain and he passes out, he doesn¡¯t know that his body is not the only part that is changing. His entire genome is undergoing transformation and changing his body into something stronger.

    Two Days Later

    ¡°I am so hungry, someone give me food.¡± Rex mumbles from his bed, he has not opened his eyes as the starvation is killing him. Lara who is sitting on a chair hears him and hurries to go buy some food, she doesn¡¯t cook as it will take some time and she knows that he has not eaten for two days. After ten minutes she returns with lots of grilled meat and fresh juice, she leaps towards the bed while panting and swiftly opens the basket releasing the delicious aroma in the room.

    ¡°Food¡± He opens his eyes and yells, he forgets his weakness and starts devouring the grilled meat. He coughs as he chokes on meat, his throat is dry, and he is having a hard time swallowing. Lara quickly feeds him juice from a pouch, he thanks her with a nod and starts filling his belly.

    Food is great, food is life, food is happiness.

    Burp

    Rex pats his belly and lays on the bed with a satisfied mood, Lara who was worried for the past two days gives a bright smile as she looks at the scene. Two days ago, she had gone to pay the debt that she owed to the villagers but when she returned she found him unconscious on the floor with no clothes on. She carried him to the bed and let him rest thinking it was not a big deal, but he hadn¡¯t opened his eyes even until night, she wanted to call a healer but the physical changes that were occurring with Rex made her stop. She prayed for his well being and remained with him until he woke up. She wanted to ask him questions but refrained herself not wanting him to be in a dilemma.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°Can I get some time alone please.¡± He says while giving a sorry face. Lara nods and quickly leaves the room. He sighs and gets up checking out his transformation, he had not noticed it first but after his hunger started disappearing he slowly started finding changes in his body. He is now 6¡¯0 feet tall with ripped athletic body, his muscles are strong and hard, his abs, his leg muscles everything is just perfect for speed and power. The only thing that he does not like are his long and thin fingers, he observes them closely as he can feel that he can do something with it.

    ¡°Whoa.. what is this?¡± He is startled when the nails on the index finger grow 1 inch and turn pitch black. He retracts the nail back and plays for a while, within a minute he is able to control it with will.

    I feel like I have grown stronger, but my movements seem stiff. Looks like I need to get familiar with my body.

    He walks towards the table where he sees some new clothes, he wears them, and it fits perfectly. The white buttoned shirt with black pant suits him perfectly, as he is about to go down and thank Lara he notices an ant on the table staring at him.

    ¡°Come here little fellow.¡± The ant quickly climbs on the palm when it hears the command. It looks at Rex ready to follow the next order.

    He can absorb this ant as well, but he will not gain any boost in his body strength. He can absorb it to gain the unique ability, but he doesn¡¯t want to do that as he can evolve this fellow into something stronger.

    He looks at the ant and says,¡± We will grow strong together.¡±

    He takes a pause and speaks, ¡°Your friend helped me get stronger and I owe him a debt.¡±

    He walks towards the suitcase and takes out a knife, ¡°I cannot repay the debt, but I will always remember him. The pain that I withstood will be forgotten with time, but I will always remember a scar.¡±

    He cuts deep in his left forearm to leave a mark, blood starts oozing out, but he ignores it. He takes a drop of blood and gives it to the ant, within a second the ant consumes the blood. Rex feels the bond with his ant grow stronger and he gives a satisfied nod, he leaves the ant on the table and heads out.

    He hears rustling sound from Lara¡¯s room and he opens the door without knocking, he quickly closes it and closes his ear drums. His face is red from embarrassment as he just walked into Lara changing her dress, he doesn¡¯t hear a scream and is surprised.

    Damn I know I should knock but I always forget it. But the view was amazing.

    He rewinds his memory from a second ago where he saw Lara¡¯s white skin, her perky boobs which were C cup at least. He couldn¡¯t see under her hips as he quickly closed the door, but he was mesmerized with her body shape.

    ¡°You can some in.¡± Lara softly calls him.

    He shakes his head and tries to act aloof to prevent embarrassment, he opens the door and sees the fidgeting figure of Lara. She avoids his eyes by looking around.

    ¡°Ahheem.¡± He coughs.

    Lara takes a peek at him and after noticing his serious gaze she forgets about the incident earlier and listens attentively.

    ¡°How can you increase your mage rank?¡± He asks while moving towards the bed and sitting down. He pats at the empty space besides him and signals her to sit, Lara quickly moves to have a sit.

    ¡°Rank can be increased through mediation and I feel like I can reach rank 2 very quickly.¡± She says with excitement and glow in her eyes.

    ¡°Good we will start training effectively from here onwards, I will train with my swords while you train to increase the mage rank. We will start training from this very moment. Any questions?¡± He raised his eyebrow.

    ¡°No, I agree with you. I need to improve my strength.¡± She states clenching her fists.

    He had thought that she would ask about the changes in his body, but she didn¡¯t, so he asked if what happened to him was common occurrence.

    ¡°Do you know what happened to me?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t¡± She replies shaking her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know.¡±

    ¡°I do want to know. I want to know why you were in so much pain, I want to know if it will occur again and I want to know how to stop it, but I won¡¯t ask. I want you to tell me when you are ready.¡± She smiles and touches his hands.

    His heart starts beating in a quick pace, but it quickly calms down. He is confused as he is feeling something that he has never felt.

 Chapter 9

    Two weeks later.

    ¡°Ninety-nine ¡­. and hundred.¡± Rex¡¯s hands give up and he falls down on his chest, his upper body is drenched in sweat due to the pushups and the various physical activities that he has been doing since early morning.

    He takes a moment and gets up while grimacing in pain, he then slowly walks inside his house done with his workout for today. He proceeds to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast for him and Lara, he quickly prepares omelet and boils the milk. Usually Lara is the done that cooks breakfast, but she is on the verge of breaking into rank 2 and is meditating outside.

    He calls Lara to have some breakfast, she quickly gobbles her food and goes to meditate. He is not surprised as she has been doing this for the past two days, she seems to be getting desperate as she can¡¯t breakthrough. He wants to help her, but he has no idea about mana and how the mage use it, he sighs and finishes his breakfast.

    ¡°What should I bring today?¡± Rex mutters as he head out towards the inn to order foods. They have been eating out ever since Lara stopped cooking, he tried cooking yesterday and the food was edible, but he didn¡¯t like the taste, so he threw it away.

    Very few people are out in the streets not because of the climate or some danger, it is because people have been leaving the village ever since they heard about the evolved wolf. You can count the number of teenagers in the village with your finger, all of them have migrated to the city to earn money.

    ¡°Hey Ron, what are you doing here?¡± Rex asks when he sees the big muscular man that he saved in the forest. He had met with him few times after the incident and he really liked his personality, he was frank and honest.

    ¡°I am here to eat.¡± He replies with a straight face.

    Rex curses himself for asking a stupid question, he smiles to conceal the embarrassment and walks towards the counter. The old woman greets him with a smile before taking his order, he places the basket that he brought with him on the table and gives the money for food.

    Ron walks towards him with a smile and stands in front of him and although Rex is six feet tall he looks small compared to the 6¡¯5 Ron who has strong and bulky muscles.

    ¡°I am leaving the village.¡±

    ¡°And why are you telling me? Do you want me to stop you?¡± Rex answers giving him a confused look.

    ¡°I want to thank you for saving my life but right now I don¡¯t have anything valuable. I will return here one day and give you something worth my life.¡± He declares with a determination.

    Rex nods his head and replies,¡± Okay, I will be waiting but I will need something extraordinary.¡±

    He grins and puffs his chest, ¡°Don¡¯t worry I have reached rank 2 as a warrior. I can get anything.¡±

    ¡°Oh congratulations.¡± Rex smiles and pats his shoulders, Ron gives a nod and heads out.

    Wait, maybe I can use him to gauge my strength.

    ¡°Oi Ron, wait I have something to discuss.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°I will go easy on you Rex, come on hit me with your best shot.¡± Ron taunts while folding his hand.

    Rex convinced him to have a spar without the use of weapon, Ron was unwilling at first because he knew that Rex could not use mana and was not a warrior. He finally agreed when Rex promised him a knife that he owned, he knew the knife was made from the best material and would help him in his adventure.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Here I come.¡±

    Rex dashed towards Ron who was about 20 meters away and reached within a striking distance in a second, Ron backed off as he was surprised with the speed. Lara gave a smile and clapped her hand cheering him from the side.

    ¡°You are quick, the speed is comparable to a rank 1 warrior.¡± Ron gives a grin and surrounds his body with a bluish aura. ¡°Let¡¯s see if your strength is the same.¡±

    Rex nods with a straight face, he is taking the fight seriously unlike Ron. He places his left leg forward and brings his clenched hand towards his face, keeping his body weight on his toes. He takes a kick boxing stance and moves forward. Ron is surprised by the stance, but he quickly snaps out of it and waits, Rex slides forward and when he gets into an attacking range he jabs catching his opponent off guard. He follows with another jab and a right hook, Ron brings his hands forward to save his face and leaves his body open. Rex uses the opportunity and gives a kick to the kidney.

    ¡°Stop¡­ Stop. This is painful.¡± Ron shouts as he falls down to the ground.

    Rex gets on his knees and holds his hands pulling him up, Ron forces his hands away and stares at him in anger.

    ¡°You¡­ how can you have so much strength. My aura should have stopped you.¡± He shouts grunting in anger.

    ¡°Calm down big boy. No need to get angry.¡± Rex smiles and backs off giving him some space.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s do it again. This time I will not hold back.¡± Ron takes his stance and releases his aura again.

    Rex takes his stance and gives a nod indicating that he is ready, this time Ron charges forward his speed similar to Rex. He punches with his right, but Rex dodges it by sliding to the left and grabbing the arm, he then brings his right leg in between Ron¡¯s legs sweeping his right foot and throwing down with the help of his hip.

    Thud

    Ron falls on the ground and does not try to get up, he knows that he has lost the fight. Rex walks towards him and gives his hand as a gesture of good will, he grabs it and gives a nod. Lara walks towards them and hands them a glass of water and walks inside to prepare food, she isn¡¯t making any progress and thus decided to take a break.

    ¡°Teach me your moves.¡± Ron says while rubbing his nose, clearly embarrassed to ask such a request.

    ¡°Sure, but let¡¯s take a break.¡± Rex gives a smile.

    For the next five days Rex spends the entire day sparing with Ron and teaching him some basic moves. He wanted to stay but he couldn¡¯t as he had promised to go as an escort to a merchant group, Ron arrives early in the morning to say goodbye. They have become good friends in the few days they spent together.

    ¡°You should come with me you know.¡± Ron smiles trying to persuade him.

    ¡°Unlike you, I have a wife. I can¡¯t just leave. I will leave someday but not right now.¡± He shakes his head.

    ¡°I understand, it was nice knowing you my friend.¡± He gives a strong hug making Rex shout in pain, he gives a smile of victory before letting go of Rex.

    ¡°Finally, a certain someone managed to give me pain through cheap shot.¡± Rex grins.

    Ron curls his lips and says, ¡°A certain idiot taught me, a win is a win no matter how you achieve it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Yes. Wait here I have something to give you.¡± Rex gets up and walks towards his room.

    Lara brings a basket and places it on the table, ¡°Here, I have made you your favorite dish. Think of it as a parting gift from me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much Lara, your dish of mixed vegetable is just mouthwatering. I can never get tired of it.¡± He quickly grabs the basket and grins.

    ¡°Oi, my gift is better than hers. Come outside I will show you.¡± Rex gives a look towards Lara and walks outside, Ron quickly follows and so does Lara.

    ¡°What is it? Give it to me, hurry.¡± Ron grabs him by the hand.

    ¡°Here, try applying your aura to this knife. After you are done press the switch near the handle aiming at a tree.¡± He hands the ballistic knife to Ron and steps back.

    Ron does as he is told, he applies his aura to the knife and presses the switch aiming at a tree, the knife flies from the handle and cuts deep at the tree at tremendous speed. Ron is amazed and so is Lara, only Rex is calm as it is something that he had expected. Warriors can cover their weapons in aura just like their body, it is how top archers are able to kill many mages and warriors from a distance.

    ¡°Use it as a surprise attack, no one will expect a knife to fly. It may save your life.¡± Rex takes out the knife embedded on the tree and shows Ron how to reload.

    Ron thanks them and heads out hoping to meet them soon in the future, as they are heading inside the house Lara who is behind Rex pinches at his waist and says.

    ¡°Whose gift is better huh?¡±

    Rex cries in pain while pleading, ¡°I am sorry, I did it in the heat of the moment. Of course, your gift is better. Who doesn¡¯t like your cooking.¡±

    Lara nods and starts rubbing at the area she pinched, Rex gives a smile and they walk back inside. After few hours they get dressed and head towards the forest, their destination the river that is in the middle of the forest.

 Chapter 10

    ¡°I hope we have a safe journey.¡± Lara prays before entering the forest.

    She was scared out of her wits from the last incident; the first life threatening encounter that she ever had. Her father had sheltered her from any dangerous incident, so she never faced any form of pain until his death.

    ¡°Lara, what are you doing here?¡± Someone shouts from behind.

    Rex turns back to see three women making their way towards them. Two of the women are in matching dress with a white shirt and a black pant, they both have swords hanging on their waists. The third woman is in a black cloak covering her face, she is taller than the two women almost matching his height which makes him curious as Rex has not seen a woman this tall in the village until now.

    ¡°Susan, how have you been?¡± Lara smiles and hugs the woman.

    Susan smiles and tightly hugs back, the other woman with a sword flinches and stares at Lara.

    ¡°We heard about the wolf incident are you okay?¡± The woman grabs Lara and pulls her away from the hug. She holds her hand and asks worriedly.

    ¡°I am fine Mary.¡± Lara gives a smile.

    Rex notices the fake concern of Mary, she is about the same height as Lara and the only thing that stands out is her purple hair. He doesn¡¯t get a good vibe from her at all on the other hand the woman Susan has a positive aura. She has blonde hair and although she is not good looking as Lara her face has a certain charm that makes you want to look more.

    Susan¡¯s smile fades away when she looks at Rex, she walks and stands between Lara and him and grabs the hilt of the sword while giving him a glare. Lara notices the tension and pulls Susan¡¯s arm.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Lara, I have told you so many times. You should leave him.¡± Susan shouts angrily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It is something that I can handle.¡± Lara gives a reassuring smile which calms down Susan.

    Lara had not shared her problems of Rex to Susan or Mary, but they eventually figured it out when they saw purple marks on her body. Susan was furious that day and even wanted to confront Rex, but she was able to cool her down with the help of Mary.

    Rex watches the drama from the side as he is in a situation where he can¡¯t do anything, he watches Mary¡¯s face darken when Lara takes Susan to the side to explain about the wolf incident and their purpose of being here.

    There is something wrong with her. Gotta be careful around her.

    Few hours later.

    ¡°We are finally here.¡± Susan hops towards the waterfall in a cheerful way. It is the first time that anyone in this group has been this deep inside the jungle. The destination changed from river to the waterfall as Judith, the one in the black robe who also happens to be a water mage told everyone that Lara will have a better result in breakthrough when she meditates here.

    ¡°Now that Lara has reached her destination we should leave.¡± Mary looks at Susan and Judith.

    ¡°What do you mean leave? Don¡¯t you see how beautiful this place is. Let¡¯s stay here until Lara rank 2.¡± Susan says while spreading her arm and spinning.

    ¡°We don¡¯t even know if she will reach rank 2 today, we don¡¯t have supplies prepared to stay for a night. What happens if another black wolf attacks us?¡± Mary stomps her feet in anger.

    ¡°We have a rank 2 water mage in Judith don¡¯t worry. She will protect us.¡± Susan then turns around to look at Rex, she gives a smirk and says, ¡°we also have a certain someone that defeated the black wolf.¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­ Ok you win. Let¡¯s stay.¡± Mary sighs in defeat.

    ¡°Yeah, you are the best.¡± Susan gives a hug to Mary.

    Susan calls Judith and Lara and they huddle together whispering something, after few seconds all the four women look at Rex. Lara nods at Susan and walks towards Rex.

    Now what happened.

    ¡°Hey, uhmm we have decided to take a bath. So uhm¡­¡±.

    ¡°Got it. I will go hunt or something.¡± Rex sighs and walks away.

    Susan and Mary are warriors and they have an almost perfect body and although he is tempted to have a peek, he refrains from doing so. If he gets caught, then it will be a huge embarrassment.

    Shit, I forgot to ask how long it takes.

    Ohhh, finally he is gone. I have to call mother and establish a contract with her before he comes back.

 Chapter 11

    ¡°Once you start meditating don¡¯t lose focus. We will protect you so take your time and have a successful breakthrough.¡±

    Lara takes a deep breath and nods, ¡°Got it Judith. I am ready for it.¡±

    Increasing rank does not have a dire consequence, you will either breakthrough or you will stay at the same rank and can try again. There will always be a second and a third chance but for some reason Lara was nervous, she wanted to be a rank two mage as soon as possible. It may be due to the fight with the black wolf which showcased her weakness to protect herself and those dear to her.

    Judith could see the uneasiness, so she tries to calm her down, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, you won¡¯t fail. I can sense that you are right there, I am here to help if needed.¡±

    Susan and Mary have already started training, they are swinging their swords and executing their moves. As they are warriors, they need to train their body and continuously break their limit to have a successful breakthrough and increase in rank; not only that they have to meditate as well and absorb the mana in the air to nourish their body. This is the only way to gain strength for people that are not blessed to be mages; for people that don¡¯t have aptitude to magic.

    Once Lara was deep into meditation, Judith leaves her and heads towards the two girls and tells them to stay quiet and not make any unnecessary loud sound. Susan and Mary decide to stop their practice and call it a day, the three girls gather and head towards a large tree.

    Oh man. How long has it been? Are they done with their bath yet?

    Rustle¡­¡­Rustle

    Rex hears rustling of bushes behind him, he quickly turns back and takes out his Kukri. A deer dashes out from the bush and runs away, Rex immediately follows the deer as he heads further away from the group.

    Two fairies are flying above Lara and are discussing something. One of the fairies is around seven inches tall and she has a golden wing along with a golden hair and even her dress is golden. The golden fairy gives a majestic aura which exhibits her unfathomable power whereas the other fairy is five inches and she has a blue hair with light blue wings and a blue dress that fully covers her body.

    ¡°Are you sure my child?¡± The golden fairy asks giving a disappointed look at Lara.

    ¡°Yes, mother she is the one that I choose to be contracted to. She may not be the best, but I have no time, maybe it is fate that brought us together.¡± The blue fairy replies with an enthusiastic nod.

    The golden fairy gives a warm hug to the blue fairy, ¡°As you wish, I will establish a link with her. The rest is up to you my child.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Thank you for everything mother.¡± The blue fairy replies with tears on her eyes.

    ¡®My sweet child that is what mothers do. Once you establish a contract with her, I won¡¯t be able to contact you anymore. I hope that you do well in your life, you know you can always come find me.¡± The golden fairy wipes the tears from her daughter¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I will. I promise.¡± The blue fairy sniffles.

    Lara is in deep concentration as she is trying to focus on the ample amount of mana in the surrounding, ignoring the red and the other colored orbs she is trying to gather the light blue orb around her. She has been unable to gather the light blue orbs as they are pushed away by the dark blue orbs, she is not able to break through because of this hinderance.

    ¡°What is happening? Why am I unable to absorb these auras?¡±

    ¡°Because you are a dual mage.¡± A voice whispers from the surrounding.

    Lara is startled by the voice, she feels at unease, so she tries to wake up from the meditation, but she is unable to do so. Her heart starts beating fast and her breathing quickens due to the unknown situation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we are our soul is linked right now, so you cannot not wake up. I mean you no harm.¡± The blue fairy appears with a friendly smile.

    Seeing the blue fairy appear out of nowhere she is surprised, and her mind goes completely blank, she may have not seen an actual fairy in her life, but she does know vague descriptions of them from the books. She is thrilled as meeting a fairy brings good luck.

    ¡°A real ¡­ fairy. Am I dreaming?¡± she asks, her voice quivering from excitement.

    The fairy flies closer to Lara, her eyes still red from the tears of farewell, ¡°I am for real, but I only have few moments with you right now so listen carefully and decide.¡±

    ¡°As I said before you are a dual mage and you have affinity to ice magic as well. The reason you cannot reach rank 2 is because you need to train in ice magic and get it to the same level as your water magic.¡±

    Lara trembles from the ecstatic news, her face glows with happiness and all the negative emotions that she felt from before vanishes, relaxing her mind and soul. The red, green orbs floating in the space disappear and only the blue orbs remain.

    The idea that the fairy could be lying didn¡¯t even appear in her mind, she felt sincere gratitude towards the fairy. ¡°Thank you so much.¡±

    ¡°No need for formalities since we could be partners for life.¡±

    ¡°Partners¡­ what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I have an affinity towards ice magic as well and I see the potential in you to be a great mage. If we establish a contract of partners where we are of equal footing, then you will not need to train for months in ice magic. Once the contract is established you will immediately reach rank 2 as an ice mage.¡± The fairy forms an ice crystal on her hand and throws it towards Lara.

    Lara hesitates as she is unaware of the effects of contract, so she asks, ¡°Can I discuss it with my husband and answer you.¡±

    ¡°Lara, you don¡¯t need to be afraid of me. I will bring you no harm in fact you will gain a lot from establishing a contract with me.¡±

    ¡°How do you know my name?¡± Lara questions her with suspicion.

    ¡°I have been looking and observing you for a week. I always wanted to contact you, but I couldn¡¯t because of your husband.¡±

    ¡°Rex¡­ what did he do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not because of what he did but because of who he is.¡± The fairy shivers from fear.

    I still remember the moment when I tried to look inside his soul. Ever since then I have been unable to use soul linking magic to form a contract.

    Lara shouts at the dazed fairy demanding to know answers,¡± What do you mean by who he is?¡±

    The fairy awakens from the trance and she tries to explain the situation but feels the presence of Rex approaching them.

 Chapter 12

    ¡°Where is that Rex? Is he lost?¡± Susan asks with concern as she looks around trying to spot his figure.

    ¡°Nah he will be fine.¡± Mary scoffs as she sharpens her sword.

    ¡°He is here.¡± Judith says as Rex appears from the woods with a deer on his shoulders. The head of the deer is missing and the blood dripping from the neck leaves a trail behind him with each step.

    Susan and Mary look behind and see the mess that Rex has created, they immediately get up and rush towards him. Susan takes out a pouch from her leather bag and sprinkles black powder at the neck of the deer immediately coagulating the blood. Rex is startled by the sudden action, so he immediately throws the deer on the ground and steps back looking at Susan for explanation.

    ¡°What is with the look? Are you trying to create trouble? How can you leave behind a bloody trial?¡± Mary shouts, pointing her sword at his direction.

    Rex suddenly realizes his mistake, he is embarrassed and feels guilty, so he folds his hands and asks for forgiveness, ¡°I am really sorry. Please forgive me.¡±

    The two women do not even give him a proper reply, Susan picks up the deer and heads back while Mary glares at him before lowering the sword and following Susan. Rex sighs rubs his forehead as he looks at Lara who is still training. He doesn¡¯t want to be with these women, but he has no choice.

    Rex sits far away from the group as he feels uncomfortable with these people, spending most of his time in jail had turned him into a loner. Even during earth, he had very few people that he could call friends. If he hadn¡¯t inherited the memories and emotions of the previous soul, he would have left Lara a long time ago.

    His thoughts are interrupted as he notices Susan walk towards him, he gets up and smiles at her. Susan gives a polite nod, ¡°The sun is about to set so let¡¯s collect some twigs and leaves for fire.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we should do that, and I am really sorry for before. I do not have the experience of being in the forest, so I forgot about the blood attracting other animals.¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to apologize as we are the ones that overreacted.¡±

    ¡°No, I know I am at fault here, simple mistakes like this can cause a great disaster. I may not have experience like you do but I know for fact that this place is very dangerous.¡± Rex said with a firm tone looking straight in her eyes.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Susan was stunned for a second as she was not expecting a strong reply from him, she was expecting some sort of excuses from him as per his reputation. His reply caused her to hesitate and ponder whether to talk with him or not about Lara. She looked back at Lara and after thinking for a few seconds she decided to.

    She closed her eyes and took a long breathe, after gathering the courage she looked at him and asked, ¡°What are your future plans?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Rex asked raising his eyebrows.

    ¡°What are your plans or goals in few months or a year?¡± She asked in a determined tone.

    Rex stopped and gave some thought, but he couldn¡¯t come up with anything, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t decided.¡± He replied vaguely.

    Susan give a disappointed sigh and said, ¡°Are you really going to hold Lara back? She has potential to be someone. Please don¡¯t stop her.¡±

    She glanced at him hoping he will agree but he remained quiet, ¡°Usually people leave this place after reaching rank 2 as a warrior or mage because they can¡¯t progress any further. They need experience, fights to climb further.¡±

    ¡°I know what you mean but it is not for me or you to decide her path. I will not force her.¡±

    ¡°I can see that she is very happy right now and maybe it is because of you but I don¡¯t see happiness in her future if she stays with you.¡± She said objectively.

    ¡°If my guess is correct then you want her to join you, but I don¡¯t trust you at all because of what you did to her.¡±

    ¡°We do want her to join us and leave this place, but I don¡¯t remember treating her badly.¡± Susan asks confusedly.

    ¡°Playing innocent, are we? Do you remember the times when you asked her to wait in front of the forest and not show up at all?¡± He asks throwing the twigs down on the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t accuse us falsely? We never did that unless¡­ It must be Ruby. It must be her.¡± She yells in anger and surprise.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, it must be someone that is not here.¡± He smiles sarcastically.

    ¡°I am telling the truth, Ruby did not like Lara at all. It must be her.¡± She shouts louder than before.

    Rex shrugged and pretended not to hear her, seeing his action she grew angry, but she was at fault, so she calmed down, ¡°If Ruby really did something then we will have some problems, I will go discuss with Mary. We will talk again when Lara is present.¡± She quickly runs away without waiting for his response.

    ¡°My future goal¡­ It is to live my life doing whatever and however I want.¡± He mutters.

    Few hours later.

    ¡°Finally, the meat is ready.¡± Mary cries in excitement.

    Rex is also eyeing the meat as the hunger has driven him crazy, very soon the four-start devouring the meat like there is no tomorrow.

    ¡°I am so full, hmm¡­ why do I feel the chills. Do any of you feel it?¡± Judith stands and scans the area before staring closely at Lara.

    ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t. Stay near the fire if you are feeling cold.¡± Mary pats the ground besides her.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ¡°Lara, you did it finally.¡± The blue fairy shouts as she happily flies around her.

    ¡°It is all possible because of you Isla. Thank you so much.¡± Lara says with the brightest smile.

    ¡°It is because you have natural talent. Now let us begin our training on an offensive magic.¡± Isla the blue fairy shouts in enthusiasm.

 Chapter 13

    ¡°Please, can you help us Judith.¡± Mary and Susan plead.

    Judith warned them of the potential danger when she heard that they were leaving the Sheek village and heading out to join the adventurer¡¯s guild in Turin; a town full of opportunities and danger. She is not worried about their strength but rather of their naiveness towards the cruel nature of the world. She did not want them to experience the pain that she did when she started her adventure.

    Judith sighed and said, ¡°I can only give you some guidelines but still that may not be enough to protect you.¡±

    ¡°No, no any help is appreciated.¡± Mary shouts in excitement.

    ¡°You will need 5 gold coins to register as an adventurer since you aren¡¯t born in Turin, if you plan to stay at that particular place then the best option is to rent a house immediately. The most important thing is to not trust anyone.¡± Judith states the last few words seriously.

    Mary and Susan nod their head, their face concentrated at each and every word. Even Rex was listening as it may be helpful in the future.

    ¡°I am sorry, but I cannot help you with anything else. If you have questions, then you can ask me.¡± Judith looks at them for questions.

    Mary and Susan look at each other as they can¡¯t come up with anything, Rex decided to step up and ask some questions.

    ¡°What do you think of their strength?¡± He asks pointing towards the two girls.

    Judith ponders for a while and says, ¡°I have not seen them battle so I have no idea about their skills, but two rank 2 warrior and a rank 2 mage is a formidable group but just being strong is not enough to survive.¡±

    ¡°What about just the two of us?¡± Mary asks.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Judith gives her a weird look but still answers her,¡± It is going to be very difficult, you will need someone to attack from a distance and it will be best if you stick together.¡±

    Susan nods vigorously while there is a slight disappointment in Mary¡¯s face. Rex started asking questions about anything that came up in his mind. He was amazed to find out about the different races that roamed and lived in this planet, elves, dragons, orcs, gods, heroes, demons every being are here. He also found out that ranks get very difficult to progress once you reach higher and every increase in rank expands your life expectancy. There were also some questions that Judith didn¡¯t know the answer to.

    Rex closed his eyes and pondered all the information that he heard. Mary and Susan also had heard enough for today and they too stayed quiet. Rex suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Judith, she was also looking at Rex and their eyes met.

    He got up and sat besides Judith and asked,¡± Are you and adventurer?¡±

    Judith was surprised at his questioning, but she answered honestly,¡± I used to be but right now I am working for the Everwill Academy.¡±

    ¡°She hired us to take her to the location of the battle that took place with the black wolf.¡± Susan added.

    ¡°They sent a rank two mage alone, why?¡±

    Judith gave a slight chuckle approving his intelligence, ¡°I am a battle mage.¡±

    Rex squinted his eyes while Mary and Susan looked at Judith.

    Judith ignored their gazes and rushed towards a tree, she formed a whip in her hand mid-way and slashed at the tree. The tree was slashed cleanly, but she did not stop there as she kicked the rooted tree and sent it flying.

    The three people behind were shocked, they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Rex was amazed at the display of power shown by Judith. She was the strongest he had seen and there were even more powerful out there.

    ¡°I was blessed to be a mage, but I decided to train my body as well. Although it takes a lot of time to increase the rank the strength you get is worth it.¡± Judith sat back at her original place.

    Suddenly, chilly wind started blowing extinguishing the fire. The wind started blowing towards Lara, the four of them looked at her when they noticed her open eyes. She stood up and walked towards the four people with a bright smile.

    ¡°Finally, you succeeded. Congratulations.¡± The three-woman surrounded her happily.

    Rex found some changes with Lara, her skin turned clear white and some marks present in her body was cleared off. He saw her looking at him and he gave her a bright smile. Since Lara had ranked up they decided to head home, Lara insisted on making some food at her house so they all headed towards her house.