《New Death》 Chapter 1 - New Death The coldness of a winter death lifeless, stripping away the old, damaged, diseased yet deep within the seed is new life, awaiting the warmth of spring. Neo finally was able to leave the house, the wet and cold had kept him indoors and now he could get out and practise his flute. ¡°Mum, I¡¯m heading out, be back in time for dinner!¡± A reply echoed from the living room ¡°Ok take care it¡¯s still a bit icy out¡±. Neo closed the front door, bag in hand, it had been his normal routine for years going out seeking inspiration and to practice his flute, it had been a cold winter and Neo hadn''t been for a while and was excited to head out. Heading through their iron gate he followed the concrete path up toward agrove of trees that separated the farmland and the resident areas. Neo soon found the path that he needed to take and followed it through the farmland as it steadily sloped up. As the gradient increased a burning started in his legs eventually the land gave way to a graceful green hill that had a crag cut into it, the crag overlooked the trees and fields of Swansea. Sitting down on the crag edge like he¡¯d done many times before, Neo grabbed his flute out of his bag and began practising. Neo went through his entire routine before stopping to a round of applause, a little surprised Neo wobbled on the edge of the crag putting out a hand to steady himself. ¡°Very impressive, the flute is quite the underrated instrument if I do say so myself.¡± Neo looked towards where the voice originated from finding a tall dark hooded man standing a little way back in a black leather coat. ¡°Thank you, I enjoy playing¡± Neo continued watching the scenery it wasn¡¯t until the mysterious man sat down next to him that Neo¡¯s stomach started doing flips fearing that the stranger could push him off the crag if he wanted. ¡°A very talented person!¡± ¡°Do I know you?¡± Neo asked wondering who this random person was. ¡°No, but I do know you Neo, very interesting hobbies; gamer, master martial artist, flautist and bookworm.¡± Neo¡¯s brains went into overdrive as thoughts of this man, knowing him, how, why, when, where, who is he! ¡°Knowledgeable, tactical, strategic-minded, creative, courageous and calm. A good human and a perfect pick if I do say so myself. You¡¯re a jack of all trades but mastered a few of them like your martial arts, you also have a more strategic mind with those video games you play." Neo had quite enough he had no idea who this creep was ¡°Who are you?¡± This cut the mystery man off from his rant of Neo¡¯s perfections but Neo noticed that he hadn¡¯t said anything about his looks, which were average as far as Neo was concerned which didn¡¯t bother him but his overweightness did. He found it annoying even if he was strong and fit underneath it he just couldn¡¯t get rid of it. ¡°Ow sorry I seemed to have gone off on my own tangent, I am very close to everyone as I am Death!¡± Neo burst out with a short laugh as the words registered ¡°Death, I do have to say never imagined you to come to speak with me for nothing.¡± Neo thought about the crazy man beside him ''let''s go along with the disillusion or he might get violent and push him off. ¡°Ow, I¡¯m not disillusioned; you¡¯re the disillusioned one here, look down!¡± Looking down Neo¡¯s mind span with vertigo he was sitting in mid-air! ¡°ahah¡­ what the hell! How can I be sitting in mid-air!¡± Neo saw through the trees below the freshly moved earth of the fallen crag, covered with dirt he recognised his black hoody. Looking down at himself his clothes hadn¡¯t suddenly fallen off him, ¡®well that''s weird everything still here, Ok?¡¯ Neo looked back down to study the clothes abit more closely, finding that there was a body still occupying them his stomach fell to his feet he noticed some brown-blond hair peeking through the hoodie. A shiver went down his back, as his hand subconsciously moved to his own brown-blond hair. Looking back at Death wide-eyed he considered the possibility of being drugged and that these were just hallucinations. ¡°They¡¯re not hallucinations, this is real life, you are dead and I am Death, a pleasure to meet you! But alas I have an offer for you this world has gone beyond my understanding. I left for a few thousand years and I come back and you humans have invented new types of death social media, soap operas and video games where alot of people die and yet no¡­ no damn souls it is infuriating and confuses me let alone the billions of people I need to keep track of and with trillions more in other planets I can¡¯t keep up for the first time in a 14 odd billion years of living it takes the internet for me to decide I need help.¡± Neo listened trying to keep a cool appearance as if it was all normal. ¡°This is why I have selected you to become Earths Death you will be in charge of collecting the souls of the dead and the grim reapers will be under your authority.¡± ¡°grim reapers?¡± Neo was suddenly interested as he was talking fantasy a subject he was always interested in. Then Neo realised that he hadn¡¯t spoken out loud about being drugged or when he thought about the disillusioned part ''so Death can read minds.''Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Of course I can as will you in time. Now grim reapers collect souls for me when I¡¯m not around and in return, I pay them with power and life, they would be your responsibility to pay, look after and earn their trust after they are transferred to you, if you accept of course.¡± Neo was very interested in the offer he¡¯d have power, minions and a new world to explore much like the video games he likes, ''but what¡¯s the catch?'' ¡°There is always a catch Neo firstly you won¡¯t have the power you will have to earn it! You won¡¯t be able to see your loved ones again as they can¡¯t see you like any normal human can, they will see the truth and they may not be able to handle it. So I¡¯d suggest falling in love with someone of the supernatural world as they are more used to seeing dramatic transformations.¡± Neo looked out over the view while he digested the information he like the idea of the supernatural/magical world, the powers he didn¡¯t mind earning as nothing is given free in life as he learnt from his martial arts, he¡¯d worked for 10 years he was so pleased to get his Black belt after years of practise and it only helped him understand that he knew nothing and strived to be better. ¡°What will happen if I decline?¡± ¡°I will take your soul and try to find another.¡± ¡°What will happen if I agree? ¡°You will be given a grace period of a month before, I start your training so you will have time to acclimatise as there is more than the human world to care for on Earth. You will feel and look like your old self and people will interact with you as if you were a normal human being. You might want to leave Swansea as you might be recognised; I would suggest that you go to Swansea shopping centre where there is a gateway into the supernatural world. I will however give you a birth certificate but the rest you will have to sort yourself out if you wish too.¡± ¡°I would say that you have an enticing offer but there is only one option really! It¡¯ll be a yes, however I would like to see how I died?¡± Neo had to be sure that Death had no part in his death as he had been to this crag many times and nothing has ever happened. Death looked a little concerned ¡°I have blocked the memory since it isn¡¯t pleasant to feel death and could affect you!¡± Neo countered with ¡°If you want me to be Death then shouldn¡¯t I understand and experience death?¡± Death was silent for a few moments before relenting with a smile ¡°Only as you have accepted being Earth¡¯s Death¡± Death held out his pale hand, Neo grabbed the offered hand firmly shaking, Death smiled and the illusion around him flash for a second an Neo saw Death¡¯s skull, shadows, rot, and blood a truly frightening sight. Neo fell back unconscious as a scene unfolded in front of him, he was in the middle of one of his pieces of music when he heard a cracking and the rocks he was sitting on slid, he fell with the rocks tumbling around him the sound of cracking wood and sharp pain of rocks hitting him as he tumbles. The fall was short he landed face first he heard the breaking of his bones, registered the pain, throughout his body, his sight faded he couldn¡¯t breathe properly blood had started filling his lungs before long Neo couldn¡¯t breathe at all the world faded away entirely. Light rushed towards him, bolting up from his lying position, dragging in sweet sweet air in great heaves, sweat pouring from him, he emptied his stomach and rubbed his body as a cold feeling that seemed to pierce his bones. After a few minutes of being sick, he calmed his breathing and had rubbed the cold from his bones as he slowly came to terms with his horrific death. ¡°Your right that was unpleasant, so how do you make me Death.¡± ¡°I already have made you Death you won¡¯t feel any different than before if you speak into the air calling ¡°Soul Shop¡± You will find an extensive list of things to use your souls on much like those games of yours.¡± ¡°What? Why do I need a soul shop?¡± As he spoke the words a scroll appeared in front of him with a list of categories with weapons, abilities, items, armour, death abilities, grim reaper¡¯s ¡­¡­¡­. It was quite an expansive list in the top right there were souls with a big fat zero next to it. ¡°Well the same reason why you would in a game to make you stronger, to stop you dying. Sometimes there will be beings that you may need to kill that will be many times stronger then yourself. You will learn more when it comes to doing your training.¡± ¡°Cool¡± Neo delved into the lists weapons had more categories within knives, sword, guns, bows, flutes ¡­... The items were the same with metals&minerals listeda long with consumables, electronics, and cutlery¡­¡­. The abilities had all sorts of fantasy abilities; Death¡¯s abilities were very interesting with the true form being present at one million souls whatever that meant. grim reaper¡¯s had similar abilities to Death¡¯s but were greyed out guessing that it was the way they were granted power and enhancements with strength 1 and such alike and body modifications Neo thought that the last one might be in the wrong category but hey it wasn¡¯t that important. But otherwise, it was very much like a game as the scroll appeared in mid-air with what looked like a search bar, a list of skills, abilities, items and a currency that needs to be gained to spend on those skills, abilities and items. ¡°So what name do you want?¡± Death asked very happy with himself. ¡°I like Neo, I guess I can''t keep my old surname so how about Marwolaeth so, Neo Marwolaeth¡± Neo chuckled to himself for his cleverness Death seemed to like the name ¡°Very appropriate I think.¡± A cloud of shadows formed and a pink piece of paper appeared with the details of his new life filled in. ¡°Cool thank you, so what now?¡± ¡°Well I am going to give you a 100 souls for you to spend too start you off I would definitely get true sight enhancement which allows you to see the supernatural world and get a weapon as any weapon that you get will collect the soul from those you kill or if you touch a paranormal with it will absorb them. As for getting any of death''s abilities they are expensive so I can¡¯t see you getting them anytime soon. And then get a fairly normal ability to use when you don¡¯t want to kill or whatever you like it¡¯s your life.¡± Neo nodded his understanding ¡°So, how do I get souls?¡± Death looked at him a smile creeping on to his face and in a cold voice ¡°However you like you can kill them through disease, murder them yourself, accidents, wars, old age, natural disasters of your making, it is up to you.¡± Neo gulped and inwardly ¡®Well maybe I did make a bad decision here I am no murderer, looks like I am going to be a slow grower, I wonder if the local graveyard has been cleared recently.¡¯ Death stepped away ¡°Right then I think I will leave it to you until the grace period is up, I¡¯ll be obversing you till then. I¡¯ll guide you if i can but if you die again I will not save you, so get that immortality enhancement as soon as you can it¡¯ll help.¡± Neo grabbed Deaths warm hand and a Grey mist formed and travelled down Death¡¯s arm meeting Neo¡¯s own hand and entered him a feeling washed over him just like he¡¯d drunk several beers as the world spun. Neo heard a whisper from Death ¡°You get used to that feeling, have fun try to enjoy life.¡± As Neo¡¯s world steadied he realised he was alone on the cliff. Looking down he saw the rock pile and his body, he gulped and walked away tears falling down his checks he was going to miss his mum, sister and he hoped they¡¯d be ok without him promising himself that he would find away to watch over them from afar. He started walking back down the same road he¡¯d travel down many times before except it looked much bleaker the colour had drained and as he got to the crossroads the road right was toward home, mum, sis, car, comfort and support. He took a deep breath thinking over Death¡¯s words at first he didn¡¯t believe what Death was saying but once he got memories of dying he didn¡¯t doubt it, Neo thought he¡¯d better hold to Death¡¯s instructions. With no expectations he turned left and headed to Swansea to find the gateway into the supernatural world. Chapter 2 - Soul Shop By the time he¡¯d reached Swansea Neo was grumbling about how he hadn¡¯t had any spare change for the bus and had to walk all the way. He hadn¡¯t eaten anything since lunch; no money for a hotel and he couldn¡¯t open a bank account until he¡¯d found a place of residence ¡®Man, dying sure sucks.¡¯ There was no way that he was going to be able to find a place to stay tonight and the realisation that he might have to sleep on the street actually scared him. The streets were quiet in the evening as Neo wandered his way to the shopping centre, not sure how to find the portal that Death spoke about but once there he couldn¡¯t see anything different, he¡¯d been here many times before, he went to all the entrances to check if he could see anything different, but couldn¡¯t see anything, as he looked through the closed glass doors but could only see darkness. Neo was deflated at this lack of success. As he wandered his way through the streets lost in thought he returned to earlier in the day and he remembered what Death had said about true sight ability, Neo realised that he might need the true sight ability in order to see this gateway His thoughts went back to Death and wondered how best he could use the hundred souls he had been given. Neo sat down in some alley that was out of sight and spoke aloud¡°Soul shop¡± with his 100 souls showing in the top right corner of the scroll he searched the enhancements section to find the true sight ability, it cost 20 souls. He kept searching through the lists and found Immortality at 10 million souls, how on Earth would he get that many souls! He then looked at some of the weapons and found a basic sword cost 50 souls while a scythe cost 100 and the flute cost 5 souls. Abilities that he could afford surprised him like telekinesis and telepathy each 25 souls while Mana and magic abilities cost 200 souls plus. In the metal & minerals he could buy a 5gram gold bar for 5 souls and then sell it off. He had nothing worth selling on him, stealing crossed his mind but soon left as he knew that he would get caught. The thought made him feel a bit dirty and wrong; he would also have to find the gold sellers in Swansea. He then went on to look for cash which didn¡¯t appear in the any of the categories. Neo took some time to think about what he should do, selecting the weapons category Neo was a bit split on what weapon he should get, he could use most of them proficiently, but only one called out to him which no matter how he looked at it there was no reason to put it in the weapons category but it was. The flute was definitely the right choice he really was a passionate flautist, he bought it and the world brightened as a ball of molten metal appeared in front of him.The ball slowly morphed into a long thin tube of silver with gold inlays weaving throughout forming keys and tubes. Neo looked around hoping no one saw what happened as the flute gently landed in his hands thankfully their was no at the end of the alley. Neo examined the flute finding it magnificent as the gold filaments seemed alive as they moved and pulsed throughout it. Neo continued back to the abilities the true sight was a no brainer if he wanted to find souls and see past the illusion of the supernatural then he had to get it. Neo then decided to get telekinesis as it was the most practical and useful. He selected the true sight and telekinesis abilities buying them, he then waited for the changes to come expecting a lot of pain but nothing, nothing happened,it was a fluke as a few moments later pain ripped through his head, his eyes smouldered as his brain baked. Almost immediately darkness consumed his sights Neo writhed in pain on the cold streets of Swansea earning himself some rest as unconscious took him. Neo awoke to the blinding light of the sun as it rose from the east finding the warmth of the sun, pleasant to his cold skin the feeling invigorated his body and mind. Once warmed Neo finally took notice of his surroundings finding more people at the end of the alley walking back and forth heading to work or home. With a slight headache he made his way further into the alley where nobody could see him as he bought 5 grams of gold which he marvelled at, before hiding it in his hoody and walked back out onto the street. He did feel dirty after buying the gold but he told himself that he needed something to eat before going off somewhere he had no knowledge of the lay of the land and the cultures or creatures he might meet. Waiting outside of the market he watched people go back and forth from their tasks. Neo did his best to straighten out his clothes so that it didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d slept on the street the night before. Thankfully the door opened not long after he arrived and the small crowd that had formed outside made their way in. Without a pause to look at the food Neo headed towards the gold seller, straightening his hair and pulling his hoodie down to hide his face so no one could recognise him. Going up to the gold seller who in good grace didn¡¯t seem to be that bothered with his attire as he took the small gold bar from his hand mumbling an amount that Neo accepted. The gold seller grabbed a rolls of 20¡¯s and counted out the amount which disappear into Neo¡¯s hoody who walked off quickly making his way towards a supermarket where he could get food, a bag and water.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. After his short shopping spree he headed towards the shopping centre and noticed this time that the abandoned building next to the shopping centre had disappeared and there in its place was a second set of doors right next to the shopping centre. There were people entering it not nearly as many as the main doors but what caught his sight was that, every one that entered the seconded set of door all looked normal, too normal and boring there were just so many in the same place that it felt unnatural and it gave a Neo the chills. Neo observed them for a while, what he couldn¡¯t see was himself as his eye started glowing a dull golden colour and the truth of what he was seeing unfolded in front of him. The people in front of him transform into a mixture of things. Neo didn¡¯t know how a 8 foot tall, hairy and strong looking creature could fit inside a human image. They were orc looking characters, short gnome like beings and scaly beings all entering the second entrance Neo took a seat in front of the entrance with mouth a gape. He observed the different creatures that entered, not quite what he expected from Death¡¯s work he was more expecting ghosts, demons exorcisms not Orcs, Trolls and Dwarfs. As he got used to the sight of creatures from his fantasies, he started looking down the streets where he saw these creatures mixing with normal people, walk side by side without anyone of them ripping the head off of the surrounding humans. This did comfort Neo, surprisingly as he hadn¡¯t just started meeting these creatures today he may of been talking to them for years even the gold seller he was just talking to could of been one he¡¯d never of known. With his mind calmed at the thought that they probably weren¡¯t monsters that slaughtered people on a daily basis, he decided to explore the second set of doors. Neo stood in front of the shopping centre looking at it up and down, tentatively putting his hands on it¡­ nothing. After a few moments he pushed on the door stepping through, as he did so a feeling of static past over him. Looking around at what he assumed was a shopping centre was instead a street lined with shops, cafes and bars. Neo took a step back surprised but pushed up against a surface, looking behind him he found a white pulsing wall looking around Neo saw creatures walking through the wall causing it to ripple like a pebble dropped into water. Neo put his hand on the white wall finding it firm, looking back down the street ¡®I don¡¯t think I am in Swansea anymore, otherwise this shopping centre it much bigger on the inside.¡¯ He saw a sign with the words written ¡®Welcome to Beacon City¡¯ well Neo didn¡¯t expect that. He took in the surrounding view of the Victorian likestreets, there were bikes, creatures lot of them all different sizes walking past, it was busy, there were no cars on the road which he was grateful for as he was standing in the middle of the road having just come through the gateway. Creatures barged pass him as they too appeared behind him cursing at him. Neo took a few steps forward to avoid them as he did he saw the whole structure was an archway, everyone seemed to be casually walking out of like it was your everyday commute. Neo moved off towards a quieter corner of the road clutching his chest in panic, just watching the mass of creatures walking past some looked human, other where easily not then you had the in-betweens trying to calm himself down as he felt lost. Breathing deeply he took in more of the street, he saw that there were more gateways which had queues in front of and whenever someone touched a panel with what looked like a card the doorway would flash and they¡¯d walk through without hesitation,¡®looks like I am not getting out that way.¡¯ Neo thought Neo looked behind the archway and found more shops, he checked if he could get through the other side but it was just as solid and Neo decided he needed to have a better view and needed to get away from the overwelming creatures. Neo looked around him, and saw a hill in the distance that seemed untouched and headed towards it ignoring every creature. Neo distracted himself by looking at the infrastructure as he walked toward the hill finding that the roads became wider, cleaner and less busy, the houses became bigger and bigger and some started to have walls around them, then Neo came across the lush green field that was the start of the hill with a worn path leading to a castle within a few hundred metres of the city. Neo checked around just encase he wasn¡¯t allowed any further, not seeing any signs not allowing him on to the land he continued his exploration and escape. As Neo walked forwards without fear he admired the Castle with its towering presence and elegance yet there wasn¡¯t a single window on it. Neo couldn¡¯t tell if the lower levels had windows as there was a huge wall in the way a little while after passing the castle the climb really started to increase. It was a little afternoon when Neo reached the rise of the hill as he walked around it Neo saw that the city didn¡¯t stop at the one castle but continued around, he found that the large hill was surrounded by 13 castles each as unique as the next one. The one he passed really had no windows at all, with its Gothic designs it was an amazingly majestic building. You then had the mansions, nice houses, shops and commercial area and then the low class residential area which stretches on in every direction. The only question that popped into his head was ¡®why are they surrounding the hill and why is no one building on it?¡¯ ¡®Maybe I should leave before someone sees me standing here.¡¯ ¡°Halt stranger, don¡¯t move!¡± A deep grinding voice spoke behind him Neo froze where he was waiting for more instructions ¡®ow damn¡¯ Neo thought. ¡°I want you to put your hands in the air and get on to your knees!¡± the gruff voice commanded Doing as he was told, he was then forced to floor with his face eating dirt, the hands that had forced him into the ground were sharp, cold and unyielding. Neo felt the sharp cold clasp of handcuffs on his wrists and another on his ankles Neo thought that this was a bit extreme but he guessed if you had to deal with monsters that could tear you limb from limb you might over react, so Neo just relaxed and let it feel in control so that it wouldn¡¯t tear his limbs off by accident. After a few minutes of eating grass and being manhandled the voice spoke again ¡°Ok, get up!¡± Having his hands and legs chained together made this request quite hilarious and Neo pushed his arms against the grass and jumped up on to his feet. Once he was comfortable he turned around to face his arrestee all he could see was a mass of stone in leather trouser with utility belt attached to them it took Neo a few second to adjust to the fact that a rock was talking. Its face was merely a few rocks representing the nose, mouth and eyes which Neo felt he probably didn¡¯t use to see or breathe through. ¡°Hello,¡± Neo thought a pleasant conversation might get him out of this predicament he was wrong as the thing in front of him shouted at him ¡°Shut up, move!¡± The thing said pointing down the other side of the hill. On his way, Neo tried to communicate with the beast but was just told to shut and keep moving as he was shepherded toward another castle. This castle at least had a practical feel to it, at least one that spoke of the defences over everything else without embellishment, with two thick walls, two double portcullis gates and plenty of kill holes. There were also a large number of guards patrolling they were not the same as the thing that had captured him. It seemed that the guards of the castle were a diverse army but it was a bit hard to tell with all the armour but he did notice some had tails. As they went past the second set of portcullis they found themselves in the castle courtyard where there were two towers towering over them that shadowed the courtyard and the large iron door that led into the castle interior. As they strode through the irondoor inside was a short corridor that led to a triangular room with raised defences that archers could hide behind so that they could shoot down into the entrance. Neo was guided up a set of stairs which had another iron door that even the rock had to put his whole body behind to move it slowly open. Chapter 3 - A Most Useful Conversation As the door swung open to reveal a grand hall noises hit him the psst of steam, the ringing of things getting pushed through the barely visible copper tubing that was hidden within the darkness of the roof. Low hanging lights that lit up the floor. As he scanned the room he noticed the diverse collection of beings. Some were very short, there were many creatures like the Rock behind him but there were differences too some were very well polished and made out of different coloured metals. Neo couldn¡¯t tell if there was a difference in the hierarchy from the quick glances or scattered conversation and actions of those around, however, he wasn¡¯t sure if there were any women around as some of the creatures could be. As the Rock pushed him forward the door banged closed behind them. Rock guided him to a door to the right of the main entrance written on a placard were the words BCIS which were etched in English which surprised him. ¡®Oh joy¡¯ Neo thought sarcastically ¡®I wonder what that means.¡¯ The Rock opened the wooden door pulling him through and saw a petite woman behind a counter that came up to his chest. She smiled as the Rock push him forward, to the counter, Neo looked her in the eyes so that his gaze won¡¯t look down on her¡­ as she was wearing a loose-fitting shirt, in a sweet voice, she said ¡°HelloGie. How are you doing and what have you bought in today?¡± Gie replied without any emotion or interest, in its rough voice ¡°He¡¯s, an intruder, on hill, lock up.Someone look into him.¡± She replied, ¡°Thank you Gie for bringing him.¡± Turning to Neo ¡°I¡¯ll have you fill in a form and then will get you situated until someone can speak with you.¡± Neo nodded ¡°Ok, thanks.¡± Getting a piece of paper out of a draw she continued talking ¡°Ok I just need to get some personal information from you. What is your name?¡± ¡°Neo Marwolaeth¡± ¡°Age?¡± ¡°18¡± ¡°Race?¡± ¡°Human¡± The woman paused ¡°Well that¡¯s weird. It seems that you have some sort of power, so you can''t be a normal human as they can¡¯t see past the illusion, so do you have any special abilities?¡± Neo thought about telling the truth but felt that Death might not have the best reputation so went for the next best thing that he could use to explain it ¡°I am telekinetic if that changes anything!¡± The women seemed to stew on the information for a few seconds before replying ¡°That would make a bit of sense, how long ago did it develop?¡± ¡°Yesterday, and that¡¯s when I found the gateway to this city¡± ¡°So do you have somewhere to stay?¡± ¡°Nope I have nowhere that I can call my own, I was sleeping on the streets of Swansea when I came across the portal. Then I started seeing creatures that I couldn¡¯t believe existed I thought I had gone mad and was seeing things!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what it is like, so I guess you¡¯ve never seen a golem before, nor dwarves,¡± She said pointing towards the Gie ¡°My name is Bethany and I welcome you to the supernatural, paranormal, divine world where the myths of your world are facts in our own.¡± ¡°Thank you, Bethany, Neo, pleasure to meet you and I hope I am not in too much trouble!¡± Bethany smiled ¡°Even in a situation as unique as yours, you are polite and seem very calm just what I imagined for a young British man. Thank you, Gie you can leave him to me I am sure that he didn¡¯t know anything of the hill and it¡¯s prohibited entry, but I would like to know how you got up there without getting caught by any of the other Castles?¡± Bethany turned the last part towards Neo ¡°I walked passed the castle with no windows, no one stopped me and I just continued forward to get a view of the city.¡± Bethany quivered in anger, a glow formed in her eyes ¡°Those bloody vampires can¡¯t even take care of their part of the border at least we have some ammo to throw at them for their incapability¡¯s and get them to hire guards for the daytime like we do.¡± She said as she stormed out from around the counter, Neo heard and then saw that she was standing on mechanical stilts that had a red and blue glow coming from it. Seeing his shock Bethany said ¡°What never seen a gnome on stilts before, by the way, we don¡¯t wear red hats!¡± before leaving the room. Gie spoke up pointing towards a bench ¡°You stay, wait for her, I¡¯m off, continue patrol.¡± After Gie left, Neo decided to walk around the room he found some suspicious looking writing on all the doors - symbols and guessed them to be of magical origin, thus dubbing them dangerous in his mind as they were probably an alarm or defence system. From what he could see it was a processing reception it wasn¡¯t very interesting or well decorated a mat on the floor, a few plants, paintings otherwise it was a boring plain stone building with a slightly oppressive feel. Getting bored of looking around, he decided to take a seat and try out his telekinesis talking with Bethany he realised he needed to know how to use it and how it would feel. Neo as a martial artist had always been aware of the state of his body as being thrown around and hit does give a unique awareness that you don¡¯t get from everyday things. As of this morning, there was something different in his mind, awareness of a muscle that needed stretching, Neo grabbed that feeling and pulled it through his eyes directing the feel toward the mat nothing happened. Taking out his wallet ¡®maybe the mat¡¯s too heavy¡¯ but again nothing, closing his eyes again nothing happened. He thought that maybe he needed a bit of imagination like all the stories say. You need a bit of imagined instruction as he didn¡¯t really believe that it could happen, so he started directing his imagination to lift his wallet he believed that it would lift, placing the imagined image over his eyes he again demanded that the wallet lift off his hands he felt a little breeze as his wallet flew past his face slapping lightly on the roof, Neo was surprised and lost control of the wallet which fell hitting him in the face. Neo gave a surprised haha as excitement bloomed and his belief solidified, he then commanded it to come to rest just above his hand. It did as commanded. With a huge grin on his face, he started using his mind to move the wallet around and it moves much more smoothly. He had his wallet hover just in front of his sitting form he looks back to the mat in front of the door and tried moving it, in the same way, it lifted a few centimetres above the ground he looked back to the wallet which was still in place where he¡¯d last left it. His grin widened as he moved the mat in front of him just incase someone came through the door. He then looked around for more things to move, his gaze landed on the plants. Soon he had four plants floating in front of him and he was looking for more he now wanted to see how far he could go, he saw the reception and the pens lying on the desktop and picked one up, as he did he heard a light plop as his wallet hit the ground. He floated the pen over and lined it up with the six other items that he had. As the pen floated he concentrated back on his wallet and consciously used telekinesis and tried to pick it back up being aware of the six other items that were floating so that he wouldn¡¯t drop them. His wallet quivered slightly but it was just a bit beyond his abilities as the other items also became unsteady in the air as he struggled to lift it. Neo heard the door open, surprising him, he almost dropping the plants but didn¡¯t he did forget about the pen and mat as they clattered to the ground. Looking to the door to see who had interrupted his practice, he found Bethany at the door looking at the floating plants with her mouth open, there was also someone behind a man quite a bit taller but was also very stocky, Neo assumed that he was a dwarf. The dwarf also had gaping mouth syndrome, Neo decided to put the plants back to where they belonged the pen was put back and finally he made the mat fly back in front of the door where his new friends were now observing it as it landed in front of them, they seemed to come back to themselves after a minute of no flying instruments. Bethany spoke first ¡°Well at least that proves that he has telekinesis, hey Thra!¡± The dwarf spoke up after coughing in a deep very manly voice ¡°Indeed it¡¯ll make things quicker¡± Looking at Neo, Thra walked forward holding out a hand in front of him ¡°Thra¡¯s the name, I¡¯m the commander of BCIS. Bethany came to me saying that you made your way up the hill through the undead clans land and didn¡¯t get caught is that right?¡± ¡°Yes if the undead clan owns the castle with no windows in it¡± Thra nodded ¡°I know Bethany¡¯s a good Truth-seeker but I just had to make sure. Bethany if you could write a report about it?¡± ¡°Certainly¡± With a pad and pen in hand, Thra continued talking with a smile ¡°Thank you, now I also heard that Bethany has suggested to me that you could stay in one of the cells for the night and help Bethany as you don¡¯t have a place to stay or money?¡± Neo wasn¡¯t going to lie he had money ¡°I do have some cash but I don¡¯t know anything about this city and whether the money I have is usable?¡± Thra nodded ¡°Fair enough, we do have a different currency but you can exchange yours in our bank. You are lucky as you¡¯re not used to seeing supernatural creatures or the new cultures you are about to be flooded with, we are probably one of the best clans to have fallen into. So I will give permission for you to stay here we¡¯re not expecting any trouble so it should be a safe place for you to stay, so would you like to do that?¡± Neo was surprised by the offer and took the offer, having a place to stay for free was awesome even if it was a cell, he didn¡¯t mind doing a job it¡¯ll make the time go quicker ¡°It¡¯ll be a pleasure to stay and I¡¯d love to have something to do but if we could talk about what life is like here if we have time.¡± Bethany nodded ¡°yeah that¡¯d be cool!¡± Thra scratched his neck ¡°Bethany take care of him and have him see me tomorrow before he leaves, Good night everyone!¡± But before the commander left he gave a warning ¡°Neo just incase anybody hasn¡¯t told you people found on the hill are usually punished with the stocks, the only reason your not is because Gie brought you here and Bethany is on your side with anyone else you would have been put in the stocks tomorrow!¡± Neo shivered as the commander disappeared. Shortly after Neo realised what was said a little earlier, ¡®night¡¯ how long was he sitting trying to use telekinesis. Bethany closed the door with a shy smile after having heard what the commander had said ¡°Sorry I left you for so long but he wanted an in-depth explanation of you. So I will show you your home for tonight and then we will go get some food, you can ask any questions as we go and I¡¯ll answer to the best of my ability.¡± ¡°Your boss seems like a tough nut.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± she said walking toward a door to the right side of the reception touching the symbol it glowed and swung open ¡°Well, his making you work for twelve hours and then asked you to take care of me after your shift!¡± The Gnome laughed ¡°Boy do you, have a lot to learn I am a gnome we can go days without sleeping so don¡¯t worry it usually happens when it gets busy!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡­ so what are those glowing symbols?¡± Bethany turns to look back at him with a smile on her face as they entered a corridor with walls and steel doors that had more symbols on them. ¡°They¡¯re enchantments after I register you¡¯ll be able to access those doors and the receptions, records and your cell if you had touched them without being registered then you would be shocked as they defend themselves and if you do it again then the shock will increase with each touch.¡± As she was fiddling around with something ¡°Bit harsh don¡¯t you think?¡± She stopped fiddling and spoke in a serious cold tone ¡°Some of the creatures and beings we get in here are very dangerous and can kill people very easily so giving them a millimetre and they can grab a mile!¡± Neo¡¯s back tingled as a chill ran up his spine ¡°Sorry!¡± She turned around and stared at him with a smile on her face but her eyes told of a cold fierceness. ¡°It¡¯s ok, it happens we learn and carry on, just remember this isn¡¯t the human world your moral code will probably get crushed so you might want to prepare mentally and keep your mouth shut on a lot of things.¡± Neo gulped sensing for the first time a bit fearful as his gut squirmed in worry ¡°Why do I have to be careful?¡± Bethany seemed to relax a little as she went back to work ¡°Tell me why do you think Clans exist?¡± ¡°Mm, It is somewhere for likeminded people to meet and form a community to progress towards something.¡± ¡°Likeminded ha,¡± she said in a sarcastic tone ¡°We are the Tinkers clan a powerful alliance between the Gnome and Dwarves. We co-rule this city as a part of a council. Each castle represents a kingdom or clan as a city we are a centre of free trade, relations, competition and exploration and all the individual kingdoms try to get there clan reps to the top in order to give themselves advantages. Although it will always be a free and balanced city with so many opposing forces no one ends up in a position of power for long.¡± The problem for you is that A, each kingdom has a different culture and ways of doing things so things that are considered perfectly normal like slavery, torture, fights to the death to name a few are abhorrent to you. B, You as a human have no representatives so you may be seen as easy pickings in our world, if you¡¯re going to stay then you will need to tough up and learn to fight for yourself as none of the clans will accept you as you have just insulted the undead clan unintentionally I know but they won¡¯t care, none of the lower clans will touch you with a barge pole even the larger ones will not, so as to not upset the balance. C, The human mages left the bubble world ages ago as they were picked on for being, weak without a kingdom to back them, I will hazard a guess that everyone might underestimate you so that could be an advantage, but otherwise humans are looked upon as one of the weakest races out there.¡± ¡®Joy¡¯ Neo thought sarcastically ¡®so I¡¯m on my own, great.¡¯You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Anyway, you could always return to the human world. But right now touch this and you won¡¯t have a shocking night anyway¡± Bethany grinned ¡°Talking about that Bethany how can I get back?¡± ¡°If you want to return to Swansea then you will need to use a portal you¡¯ll need a debit card that we can get you tomorrow, or if you don¡¯t mind a walk then you could just walk out of the bubble walls, and find a bus to the closest city or town, in this case, it is Brecon.¡± ¡°Ok thank you,¡± ¡®so that is what they were using to get through the portal¡¯ Neo thought Neo then looked at the device finding a palm print indented into a sheet of metal, he got the idea placed his hand onto the device, it shined brightly and dimed with no magic wind and no bleeding palms Neo was a little disappointed by the underwhelming exchange. ¡°Right then,¡± Bethany spoke with a bit of cheer ¡°Time to get some food Neo, follow me and then you can do some filing for me.¡± Placing his bag with his flute, in one of the cells he followed Bethany into the grand hall with a few inquisitive looks from people, they travelled up a few set of stairs and entered into the dining hall, copper pipes climbed the walls interspersed with wood giving it a tavern feel, a four facing clock hung down from the middle of the room. Neo followed Bethany¡¯s lead to the buffet with a selection of foods to pick from, grabbed a tray and looked at the surprisingly normal food on offer with meats, vegetables and fruits that he recognised. Taking what he wanted he followed Bethany up to a counter where she told the till operator to send it to the BCIS account and walked off looking a bit chuffed with herself. As they looked for a table he noticed that he was being watched by almost everyone in the room, he tried hard to ignore them, he might need to get used to it he thought as he did stand head and shoulders over most of them apart from the Golems. Bethany eventual found a place at the back in a corner where she turned a knob on her mechanical stilts, which fold up like a horses legs do, then with a quick twist of her feet, she disconnected from the device. Neo stood gaping at the amazing technology he¡¯d just witnessed his mind sparked at the possibilities. ¡®I¡¯m definitely going to have to ask her about those later!¡¯ Once seated he began eating which earned him looks of scorn from those on other tables around him ¡®Ops, What did I do.¡¯ Looking around the room he found still full plates and no one holding cutlery, ¡®Ow damn, I should¡¯ve paid attention to what everyone else was doing.¡± putting the knife and fork down, he looks towards Bethany who had a smirk. Neo went to apologise but stopped when he saw her hand move to her lips in a shushing movement. Neo sat there quietly for what felt like ages; more people came through getting food and sitting down all not touching their food and sat waiting. But their plates where in the middle of the table, putting his hand over the middle and he felt warm, Neo looked under the table find more pipes leading up to the middle of the table he could feel the slight warmth coming of them. Neo¡¯s stomach growled loudly as he ate the food with his imagination crying over the delicious food he could smell. It wasn¡¯t until the main doors closed that a door opened at the back of the room. Everyone in the room stood as several gnomes and dwarfs walked out taking their place at the head table. Once the head table had all been seated the rest of the room began taking their seats again but still they didn¡¯t eat and sat waiting looking at the head table. As the room fell silent an old dwarf still with the air of authority coughed to clear his voice, ¡°Gentlemen I have an announcement¡­¡± More coughing ensued as the old dwarf regained his composure he continued his speech ¡°the council has decided it¡¯s about time to put together another expedition team which will be travelling into the South American continent to explore, map, and discover more bubbles. The expedition force will be led by a professor from the academy the rest will be from the defence force. Selected through a tournament which will be held in three months¡¯ time where the grand prize will be 5 million Scions for the first place winner and half that for second place and so on. As I am not young enough to enter it, we have decided to enter our strongest warrior of the clan, Islwyn.¡± Everyone apart from Neo clapped and cheered as a mountain of a dwarf rocked up onto the stage. Neo thought mountain in terms of dwarfs and gnomes but he was still short for a human but add their dwarf constitution he was bulky and looked like he could easily crush a brick wall with those fists of his. Then the old man picked up a tankard and knocked it against Islwyn¡¯s one and shouted: ¡°for the Tinkers Clan!¡± The crowd cheered, mashed their own tankards together and started eating without using knives or forks. Neo looking to Bethany seeing that she was tucking herself into the meal in front of her with a concerned frown but hiding it with a smile when she noticed him watching her, ¡°So what¡¯s an expeditionary team, I am pretty sure South America been discovered in the Human world?¡± Bethany looked at him with confusion before realise who she was talking to ¡°Sorry got lost in the wisps for a second there, we live in the bubbles, supernatural bubbles, that are like another dimension which have, scars in the fabric of them which join them together, for example there are 10 scars within this bubble, the city was built here because it makes for a great trading spot, and well situated within a dozen kingdoms. But it does come with the hazards of rogue, migrating and wandering creature coming through and killing people on purpose or accident. There are dozens of ways to gain access through walking into it if you are a supernatural being anyway, through the gateways and through the scars from other bubbles. The purpose of the team is to find new bubbles to make contact with other kingdoms, find treasures, shortcuts and new species of magical creatures and more resources. It is a dangerous job as you are encountering new threats and ancient dangers which is why they are paying you with the prize money before sending you off. Take the last expedition, for example, they all died in a miscommunication with the shamanistic kingdom and caused a war for a few hundred years, with millions of dead men, creatures and money it ended in a white peace treaty.¡± After her long lecture Neo instead of having answered one question she caused several more questions, ¡°How did you lose to the Shamans and what are they?¡± Bethany had several mouths full of food as she chewed them quickly and talk as food flow out ¡°The Shamans are a combination of species from human to Orcs. They use the elementals and enchantments with their speciality being in their totems a superior defensive system which killed millions of our forces even at the end of the war we couldn¡¯t find a way past their totems. It cost dearly the people of the coalition forces. They attacked quickly and disappeared as quick, we thought that they had the ability to travel through the bubbles ways without using the scars. It lasted for a few hundred years as the kings and the council didn¡¯t want to give up with their long life¡¯s they could keep it up as they don¡¯t have the same perception of time. It wasn¡¯t until the citizens nearly revolted against their kings and the council that they called for a white peace. We don¡¯t actually know, how the shamans kept us away but they did what they did, after the council and kingdoms called for the white peace, the shamans stayed out of our way for years with us not attacking them they eventually came calling and signed the white peace and since then the kingdoms have been trying to make good.¡± Neo nodded engaged with the large amount of information and was eager to learn more but his head had started to hurt with the sound of revelry around him. He decided to eat and leave once they had finished he wasn¡¯t much for crowded, loud places. Bethany had been scoffing down her food as if it would just disappear any second now; it wasn¡¯t until a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Bethany stopped eating and scowled at the person who had clamped it¡¯s heavily coarse hand, Neo struggled off the urge to break the arm of the ass who couldn¡¯t say ¡®excuses me¡¯. Neo calmly turned around to speak with the individual that wanted his attention, finding a male Dwarf unsurprisingly with a cocky looking grin that peeked through his huge beard in a barely understandable voice he said: ¡°Looks like you¡¯re having trouble eating there!¡± He nodded toward the just over half empty plate of food. Neo had been lazily eating so that he wouldn¡¯t make himself sick as he hadn¡¯t eaten for close to a day and the large portions that they gave out were a bit much but Neo still appreciated. Neo had never been in a situation that a fight could break out over food but here it was. ¡°No trouble here, just taking my time so that I won¡¯t make myself sick after not eating a lot for the past few days.¡± The attention of the surrounding area as the Dwarf seemed to take notice of the attention with a more swagger and confidence ¡°Well as you don¡¯t wish to risk being sick perhaps you could do without the rest of it!¡± Neo looked at him and saw a healthy plump Dwarf, not a malnourished one, why did he want my food possibly a test of some kind? Best play it passively, offer half I can¡¯t really eat it all, it looked like the infamous proportions of the USA plate. ¡°My apologies, I am still hungry but I would quite happily half the remaining portion if it is ok with the BCIS agent of course as she¡¯s bought it for me?¡± Looking over to Bethany who seemed surprised at her sudden inclusion, and sheepishly replied: ¡°The commander gave me permission to buy it for you so it is yours now, do what you want with it.¡± There were a bit of laughter from the surrounding Dwarves, the one in front of him joined in but before the dwarf could speak, Neo spoke: ¡°Of course if you are truly hungry then I understand the feeling I¡¯ll share if you would get your plate I¡¯ll split it with you?¡± With some venom in his voice, the dwarf replied: ¡°Why would I share with a skirt hider like you?¡± With a quick thought ¡®Ok that escalated quick and I was willing to share, honestly ungrateful ass.¡¯ ¡°Please, as you have insulted me, I have no reason to continue this conversation, if you do not wish to share in my food then, please leave me to my food.¡± Waiting for a reply Neo wondered if any of the human ideas, equality and freedoms had made their way down to this world. ¡°Skirt hider, skirt hider¡­¡± The surrounding people started the jeer along with the dwarf in front of him. So he was a skirt hider, he felt slightly disappointed in his new world that they didn¡¯t have greater respect for their womenfolk. The jeering continued but Neo smiled and turn back to his food ¡®if they were not going to be respectful then I¡¯m going to ignore them a keep my tongue quiet.¡¯ He continued eating but faster, the jeering slowly died down as they realised it had no effect on him. Neo realised that they didn¡¯t quite know how to handle the situation as there was quite a bit of whispering happening behind him. But when he felt a recognisable hand land on his shoulder he realised he had finished, standing up, the hand disappear as the Dwarf couldn¡¯t reach it anymore, and he turned to Bethany surprising her ¡°Miss Bethany, have you finished, I think I¡¯d like to see my bed for the night and help you sort out your files!¡± he said with a smile on his face Bethany who took a minute to look around at the staring faces shyly squeaked ¡°Yes, I¡¯m finished, a lot to do, best to go continue my shift.¡± Neo laughed inside he let the small gnome walk stiffly in her metal stilts in front of him as he towered over her and everyone else. He made sure to be respectful to Bethany ¡°Miss Bethany, where do you place the empty trays?¡± She pointed towards a hole in the wall and consciously whispered: ¡°We take the dirty cutlery over there.¡± ¡°Thank you for dinner by the way it was delicious, let me take your tray for you.¡± He said and before she could reply he was already on his way with it in his hand and placed the tray inside and said ¡°thank you!¡± to anybody that was behind there but only heard a psst of steam but no reply. Heading back towards the doorway and a red faced Bethany, Neo took a passing glance around the room most of them were not interested in what was going on, and the ones who had been harassing him were as red-faced as Bethany, others had shock written over their faces, which humoured him quite a bit. ¡°Miss Bethany, shall we continue?¡± They returned to the BCIS reception where Bethany placed a hand on another door behind the reception and opened into the records room where there were just cabinets, Neo assumed full of files and shelves at the back with an assortment of boxes. He also looked back at the desk finding it covered in enchantments, pointing Neo asked Bethany ¡°What do they do?¡± Bethany looked at them and smiled ¡°Those are defensive and offensive enchantments that one puts a barrier up around the desk that one electrifies it for those that really get out of control!¡± ¡°What if they get past it?¡± Neo turned to look at Bethany but found a red glowing stick being pointed at him, looking past straight into her eye he found them glowing with a piercing gold, he shivered under her gaze. ¡°I can see the intent of people it gives me enough of a warning not to tell them but it isn¡¯t the only things I can use to defend myself!¡± Nodding Neo was glad when she placed the wand back into her stilts ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be here if I couldn¡¯t handle monsters!¡± Nodding some more he calmed himself while Bethany walked towards a pile of files Neo thought ¡®where was this confident woman earlier in the canteen?¡¯ The files were 2 times her own size, patting the pile she spoke ¡°These are the file I want you to put away they are from the last week of investigations they need to go in to the correct cabinet, there are 24 cabinets lined up in alphabetical order you just need to put it in the correct cabinet and that¡¯ll be an easy task but time-consuming.¡± It seemed simple enough as he picked the first one and went to find the correct place for it. Once he had learnt where all the cabinets were he started to use his telekinesis to move the files to him and then towards the corresponding cabinet, it wasn¡¯t long until he had it in full swing. ¡°So did you know that would happen in there?¡± Neo asked Bethany who was sitting back behind the reception filling in the forms replied ¡°Of course but it did flee my mind, but you¡¯re going to have to learn some things for yourself as I don¡¯t know everything, but I didn¡¯t save you, because they don¡¯t like women who have power over them, they find it weak to stand behind women, I also wanted to see how you¡¯d handle it.¡± ¡°How¡¯d I do?¡± ¡°MM¡­ ok, you went passive which they didn¡¯t know how to handle as most of the time it would just end up in a fight to protect your honour as a man, which you didn¡¯t do!¡± ¡°Was that wrong?¡± ¡°To them, you¡¯ll seem weak even by those who observed the confrontation, will look down on you, as you might not have noticed we were at the back of the room?¡± Neo nodded thinking back to it were sitting at the back, Neo the assumed from there that the more affluent people were at the front, like a hierarchical system ¡°Well as a women I have no hope of getting closer to the front unless my boyfriend or husband is an important person or powerful, but even then I would be alone as there a no other women in the building dwarf or gnomes, even though gnomes don¡¯t mind, we had to make concessions with the dwarves culture the only reason I am allowed here is because I am a truth-seeker, which affords me privileges like working here as it is well paid considering that I am a woman, I¡¯ve never been courted by anyone.¡± Neo also searched his memories and couldn¡¯t find any other women that he could recognise as women anyway. ¡°What¡¯s a Truthseeker?¡± Bethany laughed sweetly looking back at him ¡°Kind of says it in the title really, but I can see if someone is being dismissive, lying or I can be a Wayfinder with inventions, I can look at something that needs repairing and it shows me how to fix it, improve them just better ways, sort of hard to explain it.¡± Neo nodded in understand ¡°I think I get it so did I pass earlier today?¡± A huge grin spread across her face ¡°I am not telling what I got from you.¡± ¡°Ow interesting, go on!¡± ¡°Nope, not happening its part of my contract not to communicate what I know, but do you think you¡¯d be in my records room if I thought you were dangerous.¡± Neo nodded ¡°Good point, wouldn¡¯t want to get you in trouble, by the way, I¡¯ve finished with the filing!¡± This got Bethany¡¯s attention she came back checking on the file pile and some of the cabinets ¡°What! it would take me an ages to do that, how did¡­¡± She seemed to think for a little bit ¡°Your telekinesis you used it to open and close the cabinets and move the files around, mmm so jealous right now! So what do you want to do now?¡± Neo thought about asking more question but he could just felt a headache flaring in his mind, maybe I should relax ¡°Do you like music?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, it¡¯s considered an art. skills and crafts are very acceptable practices indeed, why are you a musician?¡± ¡°Yes I guess, I can play the flute.¡± ¡°Oh did love to listen; it¡¯s a shame that you don¡¯t have a flute.¡± "I do!" He went out to grab his flute from his bag, once he returned there was a gasp from Bethany and the flute that had just been picked up was suddenly gone again as Bethany swooped in grabbing it from his hands. The sudden action from Bethany took Neo by surprise and was defenceless to stop her as she admired the flute; she suddenly pulled a set of goggles from out of a desk draws. Inspecting Bethany a bit closer he found a well balanced body if she was of human sized it would be considered hot whether other Gnomes liked it he wouldn¡¯t know. ¡°O wow what a flute, Neo where¡¯d you get this it¡¯s beyond masterful, could even call it divine?¡± She said turning around with her goggles on making her orange eyes huge, she realises that his eyes were magnified, she blushed removing her goggles. Neo stared at her with a huge grin on his face. He shook his head and answered her question pausing and remembering that she was a truth-seeker and reconsidered lying ¡°It sort of fell out of the sky!¡± She burst out laughing ¡°Ha you¡¯re not lying it must be a divine item no other option!¡± She continued admiring the flute with a huge grin. Neo watched her wanting to know more about divine items ¡°What''s a divine Item?¡± ¡°Mmm, Neo broad topic, but basically they are items of massive power that are used, made or given by demi-gods or gods.¡± She was still admiring the flute while she answered. Neo smiled ¡°Would you like me to play you a song?¡± That got her attention she stopped checking out the flute and looked at him with a sparkle in her eyes ¡°Would you?¡± ¡°Yes, of course, no problem. I have to keep practising, as my grandfather used to say ¡°if you don¡¯t use it you lose it¡± and mum says ¡°practice makes, perfect¡± So what would you like me to play?¡± Bethany was very happy about the proposition she dragged a chair from behind her reception and placed it in front of Neo, sitting attentively ¡°I don¡¯t mind what you play.¡± Shrugging at the way Bethany was so excited just to listen to him play some music, Neo thought about what he should play and just picked ones he liked. ¡°Mm, I think the Waltz of the flowers, Aase''s Death and finally I¡¯ll play The Fig Leaf.¡± As he bought the flute to his mouth and he started to play. It didn¡¯t feel normal he opened his eyes some sort of light floated out of the flute at every note blown the light spread in the air creating amazing colours that formed imagines. As he was finishing his first song and flowed onto the next, there was a lonely boy sitting on the swing watching families play catch. ¡®Maybe I have some control over the imagines¡¯ as he made the character disappear and imagined dancing people acting out their emotions. Neo was a little worried at how this was being received by his admittedly small audience to see Bethany fully captivated by the whole display but it wasn¡¯t her that almost made him miss a note it was the hundreds of old men facing him in the air around him they were all old somewhere young with some horrific looking wounds, Neo continued onwards regardless but his mind was doing flips. As he was finishing up the song he took a long look at the faces seeing tears, Neo smile in anticipation as he went on to the next song and their tear faded into smiles, laughter and good memory¡¯s. It was then when the light moved towards the crowd flowing past Bethany and touching a ghostly dwarf and with a smile he disappears and reappeared on the stage dancing, laughing and drinking surrounded by family and friends. With each accepting smile, another imagine would appear with equal laughter if not more than the one before, For Neo it clicked at least they are crossing over with a smile on their face. He finally found out 2 things what the flute does and how he could collect souls. Soon Bethany and Neo were once again alone in the records room Bethany red faced, but had a beaming smile. Neo also has huge grin but he was also pulling in great breaths as his head span, he shivered in pleasure a refreshing feel rushed throughout his body. Bethany started clapping ¡°That was amazing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s really a divine item with that sort of effect.¡± Neo could practically see the star shooting out of her eye as she looked at him. Neo was shattered, yawning uncontrollably as got up from the bench he was sitting on he stretched and looked towards Bethany ¡°I¡¯m going to head off to bed.¡± With a slightly bleary eye, Neo thought that he was a bit too tried a bit too quickly; maybe the souls have a physical effect on him because he certainly wasn¡¯t feeling this way before he started. But Neo was powerless to stop himself though. But a voice did, Bethany spoke his name, looking back to see a red faced but very cute Gnome squirming. ¡°Neo, my name is Bethany Seen Shredder and I accept your music, it was beautifully played and completely captivating!¡± Neo was too tired, but still understood a compliment when he heard one. ¡°Thank you for listening Bethany Seen Shredder.¡± Neo laugh to himself as he tried to understand how someone can have a name like Bethany Seen Shredder ¡®Man that¡¯s an awesome name¡¯ He continued hazily on towards the cell, not noticing the massive grin that adorned the skipping Gnome¡¯s face. Chapter 4 - The Job Offer Neo awoke with one of the biggest headaches in his life, not even after going on a bender did he ever feel as bad as he did now. Opening his eyes, his heart jumped into his mouth, for a second he didn''t know where he was looking around seeing the 6 by 6 foot room with a toilet, small desk and mirror, the memories flooded back with short people, huge walking talking rocks and dinner, huge castles and the flute music last night. Neo realised that he was in one of the cells that Bethany had let him use. He got up slowly, the room spun, moaning he sat back down, he waited for the room to settle down then slowly stood up. He waited again, as the world swam, as it passed he took a few steps towards the door pushing at it. Neo notice the glow of the runes and heard a click, the cell door swung open and the brightly lit corridor blinded him. After blinking away the blots from his eyes he continued the tormented walk to the reception. He opened the reception door and dragged his wobbly head towards the benches and took a seat, looking over toward the desk he saw a very chirpy Bethany who didn''t look at all like she''d been awake all night. Moaning "How do you look so chipper this morning?" Bethany smiled at him "Well I am used to it and gnomes are a lot tougher then you think, also I didn''t learn about a new world yesterday, that¡¯ll have some major effects on people so being very tired is a given. You might also be experiencing mana starvation as the flute had to of used mana for that light show." She clinically seemed to break down the events and give a logical answer. "Hmm." Neo replied "so I might have mana? Does that mean magic?" Bethany''s grin widened "Yes you might so we shall have to see about visiting the Academy sometime to have you tested and if they find you desirable you could get an invite to learn from them. And that would mean that you can use magic." "Cool!" Neo said smiling "But if you have a headache you might not want to go into the canteen as it gets quite noisy in the morning since there is none of the formality of dinner," Bethany said getting up from behind the desk. She walked towards the door and turned "I¡¯ll bring some food back for you so stay here. If anyone comes just have them sit on one of the benches until I come back." Neo nodded cautiously and relaxed back into the bench and closed his eyes, a moment later he felt a kick to his shins which jolted him awake "Wake up come on, I have food for you and it''s getting cold." With the word food floating through his mind he was soon sitting up to attention and the smell certain didn''t turn him away "Sorry must have fallen asleep again, thank you!" he said as he accepted the tray from Bethany. Neo had a bit of trouble resting the tray on his lap what with the height of the bench being so low so he decided to sit on the floor and use the bench as a table. While he had been fussing about, Bethany had pushed a button on her powered stilts which folded like a horse¡¯s leg, stepping out of the machine she took the bench right next to him, maybe a bit too close for Neo¡¯s liking but he didn''t say anything. Neo noticed that Bethany had slowed her eating pace from yesterday, he followed her lead and relaxed in the silence, soothing his aching head. A little after they finished their meal, a male Gnome came through the door, Bethany got all flustered and started discussing the previous shifts work with him. It wasn''t long before Bethany came back skipping through the records room with the other Gnome also having a grin on his face as he noticed Neo was looking at him he nodded in recognition Neo returned the nod and felt there was something he was missing and it was starting to nag on him. Bethany skipped to a stop in front of him and cheerfully said "Time to go see the Commander and then we can work out the rest after that." Neo got out of his sitting position, picking up his tray "what should we do with these?" "Will drop them off on our way it isn''t too far out of the way." Bethany guided them back towards the canteen before heading to the Commander. As they travelled further into the castle the corridors got smaller and Neo soon had to duck under the doors, while Bethany adjusted her stilts, it wasn¡¯t long before he wasn¡¯t sure where he was or which way he needed to go to get back. Soon Neo was standing beside Bethany looking at a wooden door "Are you going in?" Neo asked as they hadn''t moved since she stopped in front of the door "He knows we¡¯re here and he''ll open it once he is ready to see us." ''ok, I guess we wait, patience is a good thing to instil in some employees'' he thought looked down at Bethany as she started fidgeting. After some moments she started pacing back and forth, Neo just stood feeling quite amused by the situation. It was a good minute before the door swung open, and the voice of the commander sounded through it "Enter." Neo followed Bethany, ducking under the door and went to close it but found it was already closing he couldn''t help but let out a "ahah¡­" It wasn''t that it surprised him he was just fascinated by the mechanical workings he couldn''t hear any gears moving so Neo guessed there must be magic involved. Bethany was standing at attention in front of the large wooden desk that dominated the room. The atmosphere was calm and the Commander seemed to be in thought, leaning in his chair looking a bit remorseful. Neo looked around, found a few interesting items, the bookcase contained several books some he recognised Art of War, others such as The Prince and The Book of Five Rings. It surprised him that the Commander had so many human books admittedly he didn''t recognise a lot but a bit weird in a magical world aren¡¯t the rules of war different if you add magic? Neo pondered the question until the commander started coughing and brought his mind back to the present. Once the Commander stopped coughing he checked that he had our attention, "Good morning to you both.¡± Sighing ¡°Sadly not such a good day, we lost some of our best fighters to their wounds and some of the old boys left us last night so we have lost some of our heroes.¡± Silence reigned in the room for a full minute before he continued ¡°I have asked you here to see if you''d like a job, we have a construction project we are renovating the defence towers in the middle ring. We will be replacing the stone towers wooden supports for steel and we will be adding a crystal spring to improve the efficiency of the defences. I have been ordered to get them built as quickly as possible as we are quite vulnerable to attacks. I am offering you a premium contract to use your telekinesis to help place the crystal spring and steel supports." Bethany¡¯s face paled a little at hearing the middle defence towers were out of commission, which caused Neo to form some questions "Why is it so important to get these defence up I know I haven¡¯t been here that long but I haven''t seen the citizens in any form of fear." The Commander smiled sadly "No you haven''t been here that long which is why you might not have been here for an attack as there are dangerous creatures out there. The creatures that flow through the bubble ways can be disastrous ruining entire city blocks or kingdoms on their migrations or just wandering the ways, also there are diseases brought by visitors that want to kill us. That is why you might find it a bit cold here compared to the human world, as life here isn''t as treasured as in your world where you do everything you can to find someone strong that can protect you, watch your back. It¡¯s why some kingdoms have slavery to work the most dangerous jobs as none who are sane enough would go near them. It is also a reason that you won''t see a lot of old people as in an attack they tend not to be fast enough to get away and why I have 4 wives so that I have the best opportunity for my legacy to continue. So basically everyone will ignore you unless you''re powerful or useful and if you die, meh¡­" He finished saying with a shrug, Neo finished the sentence in his head ''so if they aren''t family then they won''t care.''Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Harsh!" Neo said aloud "Not really it''s life, you get used to it and if you die you hope your family live through everything so more the better. It¡¯s why you won''t feel any tension in the city everyone is use to the possibility of impending doom. Welcome to your new world" The commander shrugged with a sympathetic smile "So why don''t you just leave the bubbles and live in the human world permanently, I don''t think I have ever heard of monsters destroying cities?" The commander grunted "You have a lot to learn, but to your question it is exactly the same reason you don''t see us in the human world they can''t exist there, it is the same with any magical being, we can spend a bit of time out there but we would have to come back eventually. How long different species can stay out, depends on how magical they are, among other factors, fairies a day, dwarves months and it''s also the reason why you won''t find armies using the outside as it would weaken them." Neo nodded in understanding "Sorry I went little off topic there, weren''t we talking about a contract, so where will I stay while I work?" The commander nodded "A good point boy, you could stay in the castle while you look for a place?" Then Bethany spoke up for the first time "Sir if you don''t mind, I''d like to offer my place I have a spare bedroom." She finished very red as the commander''s eyebrow rose looking at them, a little confused then changed to one of cheekiness and happiness. "Of course I don''t mind what you do?" Neo looked at Bethany "You don''t mind would you?" Bethany twisted her plasma orange hair. "Of course not, silly." The commander looked at the two of them and observed Neo as if he had just answered his question and a grin formed on his face. "Bethany" she stood to attention "while I hash out something with Neo, could you take these files to the respective departments get my assistant to help its usual his job anyway but there are quite a few more than usual because of the tournament" "Sir yes sir!" Bethany jumped at the task rushing while making a fumbling effort to grab the files, Neo helped her "How about you hold out your arms and I will place them on to you?" Bethany looked up at him with watery eyes "Thank you, Neo" It wasn''t long before the stack of papers went up to her chin and move warily towards the door. As the door closed behind her the commander burst out laughing, Neo jumped back not expecting that reaction "Boy, you¡¯re quick off the mark, how long have you been here; one night!" Neo tilted his head "What are you talking about?" "You really don''t know, tell me did you do or show something creative just to Bethany last night," Neo nodded "Did she then tell you her full name and acceptance?" Again Neo nodded "Did she then giggle and was generally very happy after you agreed and thanked her!" Neo gave a final nod a wave of foreboding over came him. "Well congratulations you now have a fianc¨¦, Bethany''s a fine girl a really hot one, but no one would touch her because of her being a truth seeker they would worry that their secrets would be found out and hell this place is built on secrets, so you''re not going to get any challenges because of it. So take good care of her and remember her culture is different with rituals, beliefs and do''s and don''ts of their own. Neo was dumb founded "What! How can playing music be an offer to be my fiance?" "Culture, Gnome aren''t the strongest of species so their culture has developed in to one which is about intelligence, skills and art so an individual item that¡¯s dedicated to that someone special is seen as an offer of marriage it is said that individuals can refuse if there wasn''t enough effort or uniqueness, it was also an indication of livelihood if you were good at it then you would be able to support them or any others wives that you may want and they may want other men in return." Neo found the commander¡¯s way off talking about multiple wives it was¡­ it was an odd feeling that made him feel even more like a foreigner. Neo started pacing back and forth as he reeled from the internal shock of being engaged! ''What the¡­ jeezlouise, how can I of gotten into so much trouble so quickly.'' "So how can I break it off?" "I wouldn''t lad you need all the help you can get to survive and Bethany will be great for that, maybe lay some ground rules and talk it through, but she really isn''t that bad looking, her mind is sharp and once they agree it is for life no matter how long or short." "Why would she agree so easily she doesn''t know me, I could be an evil person for all she knows?" The Commander snorted "Not likely, those eyes of her shows a lot more than lies! She knew what type of person you were before you entered the BCIS, didn''t you find yourself out of trouble a little too fast? So you being a bad person very unlikely, she saw a strong potential in you to have magical abilities at least you have telekinesis which is a powerful ability in its own right. Why wouldn''t she accept you for her own survival she hasn''t got any family anymore to support her so she needs to start her own, its instinctual." Neo felt a little saddened to hear of her families¡¯ death. "So I should stay with her?" "Do you like her, do you find her attractive?" Neo thought about the Commander¡¯s question he didn''t dislike her, he thought she was cute and kind. "Yeah" "Then why not stay with her, I have heard of lesser reasons to marry someone." Neo nodded considering of what he had heard he imagined that political marriages happen here, Neo definitely didn¡¯t like the sound of that imagine hating the person you where marrying then having to sleep with them, he shuddered at the thought. "I''ll take the job by the way and I will be living with Bethany." The commander smiled "About time something happy happened to that girl she was very spunky and confident, it''ll be nice to see if you can get that girl back to the way she was. Tomorrow morning someone will meet you at the front of the castle gates and take you to the construction site." As they waited for Bethany to return Neo looked over at the bookshelf he decided to distract himself from thoughts of how to deal with the fianc¨¦ situation and pointed out a book to the Commander they soon got into a heated conversation about the philosophy of some of the books. It wasn''t until a knock on the door that the conversation petered out. The door opened again Bethany came into the room "Done sir." "Good, thank you. I was just having a lovely conversation with your Neo here, he is a very bright person." As the Commander talked about Neo she also brightened. "I hope you don''t mind me staying at your place?" "Not at all," She said jumping up and down very excitable, Neo checked the Commander''s face and saw a huge grin. "Commander, I''ll happily take the job but I don''t have a bank account." "Call me Thra, then you''ll need one soon, don''t expect the same level of safety or bureaucratic bullshit here since everything here is fast paced and hazardous those things have not had time to develop much." "Thank you Thra." Neo turned to Bethany "Is there anything you need to do?" "Only pick up my items from security and we can be off." Following the route they used to get here they eventually got back to the great hall and Bethany split off toward a dozen heavily armed guys, they talked and went and collected her items for her. She waved goodbye and continued toward the exit where Neo was waiting. "Follow me!" Bethany took on a serious tone "Don''t stare too much as it might make people annoyed and as you¡¯re the weird one here you might get stared at. So have you enjoyed your experience?" Neo thought through the day he had yesterday it wasn''t too bad found a secret world, stepped on forbidden ground, got arrested by a walking talking rock, Met a kind and pretty Gnome, got engaged, almost got into a cafeteria fight with some dwarf, played an instrument that produces lights and headaches, used telekinesis and slept in a cell. Might not have been the best but certainly, the most interesting, and Neo was excited to learn and experience more if only he didn''t have to work. "It was interesting, one complaint everything could have been a little bit taller with the tables and the doorways but those are minor issues." But a snigger from beside him with her hand on her hip "Yeah isn''t it annoying for everything to be such an inconvenient height." "Oww, Yeah¡­ I don''t really have anything to complain about do I, sorry." Bethany poked out her tongue and smile broadly. It took them a while to reach the edge of the city with its rich and amazing architecture, the first buildings were awesome palaces that reach 5 stores into the air, beautiful glasslike orbs floated around the perimeters producing a fountain of light. Different orbs gave off different coloured light, some blue, red green being the most common but a few were yellow. Bethany noticed Neo looking at them and said: "Don''t think too highly of them they are pretty but they are a defence system that can either shield or attack, they are like mini fortresses." Neo was enraptured by them wondering how they worked, "do you know how they work?" Bethany gave a short laugh "No, they are only made by a gnome clan from within the kingdom and they won''t give up that sort of power." It took a while to get past the palaces and mansions, eventually they entered the market and business areas, this was where Bethany suggested that they sort out a bank account for him and headed towards a domineering build in the middle of a line of shops. The process was pretty easy he was also able to convert his cash into Scions which halved his current amount. Soon he left with a new debit card to fill his thankfully very merger wallet "Well that''s sorted which direction now?" While he''d been doing that Bethany had bought some street food as it was just coming up to lunchtime. Bethany pointed further out of the city and they continued walking eating on the way, to distract himself from looking at all the Lizard people, Giants, troll like things, Pointy eared people, and the odd demon looking thing he queried "Bethany, you and Thra said something about defence system?" Bethany point toward a tower that stretched high into the air it looked much like a helter skelter but the slides part didn''t react the ground, at intervals there were platforms with what looked like crystal sticks on them. "The defence system is a tier system with monitoring stations that are situated at the entrances or exits of the scars. They monitor the beings that travel through it giving warnings to the second tier of defence they''re the same as that tower with supporting offensive towers surrounding it. They slow down or defeat the advancing enemy whether they are flying or walking, then there is the third tier which defends the city itself those towers take a while to generate the shield to cover the district but if it fails then we also have smaller offensive towers dotted around the district which you can''t see from here." "Why don''t you have cars or personal transport here?" Bethany did stop at his question. "Look around you have seen the diversity of life here?" "Yeah hard not to notice!" he said smiling Bethany returned his smile and in her sweet voice "We don''t have transport like you do because we would have to catering to all of the different species costing us money, space and grievances. Anyway, you have those two thing on the end of your legs called feet you can use them to walk you know, anything you need on the other side of the city which is unlikely you can use a gateway and walk from there or use a bike. Otherwise, you can get flying devices or mounts that will carry you but that''s expensive, if you travel throughout the bubbles the terrain can change on entering them so some mounts cannot handle them, which makes them endemic to the bubble. Before you ask where we get our supplies from we get them from the human world and take them through the gates or push them through the bubble." They had been walking for a good while and the buildings had gotten poorer compared to the lavish mansions. The two storey houses he saw now had a miss mash of bricks and building material built into them. From just a glance anyone could tell that the building had been rebuilt multiple times. Bethany turned down another alley way before she ran up the steps of a house that was stuck at the end . It was a plain building looking very similar in design as those around it with its miss mash of materials and sadly Neo noticed that the alley had signs that it had been recently rebuilt. ''Does she still live in the same building where her family was killed?'' Chapter 5 - The Home of Bethany Truth Shredder Bethany shortened her stilts and unlocked a little front door within the much larger one and stepped through. Bethany looked back to talk but stopped when she had to look up, she coughed "right give me a minute I need to open the main door from the inside.¡± Once inside Neo was surprised to find a high ceiling at least 10 feet tall and much like the Tinker''s Castle there were pipes up the wall and along the ceiling and what looked like a mechanical engine attached to a platform that could move along rails, the hallway ran the length of the building with another door that looked into the garden, What was surprising to Neo was that he wasn''t crouching down as Gnomes didn''t need all this room. Bethany set her stilts against the wall, she then chucked her shoes into a corner and disappeared into the first room on the left, with the stairs to the right heading up to the first floor. Neo heard a bit of crashing, smiling to himself he took his shoes off and followed Bethany into the first room, seeing her with her hands full of plates and bowls. "Need a hand?" "No thank you, make yourself at home." she murmured from behind the stack. Looking around he found that the decor was pretty plain the walls had no paint or plaster on them giving it quite the original feel, there were no pictures hanging, but a lot of plates and bowls lying around. There wasn''t a television around so Neo couldn''t think of why there would be so much food in a room which had nothing to entertain you while you ate, there wasn¡¯t any radio either. He followed Bethany into what he hoped was the kitchen, bringing some plates with him wanting to at least help with the dishes it was the least he could do. When he entered the kitchen he found it in a similar state to the living room, dirty cutlery, used pots, pans and dirty stove. Everything was shorter and smaller he was going to be bending over quite a bit Neo eyes where however drawn to a knife clean and shining lying on the top of the counter he walked over to the sink where Bethany was standing, Neo kneeled and placed the plates next to the sink. "You don''t have to do anything Neo it''s ok to leave it to me I should have washed up ages ago, I just haven''t done it and it''s been weeks since last time I washed anything it''s embarrassing, I am sorry!" she said bowing her head Neo thought about what he''d seen and wondered what she was apologising for. "It''s ok I wouldn''t be any better if I was on my own either, but let me help dry up at least, two pairs of hands are better than one." Neo smiled at her, She looked a little wearily but smiled back and turned the taps on to fill the sink. Neo looked around for a cloth to use to dry, even if he was of the opinion of air drying it. He saw a clean looking one near the knife, and went to get the cloth, putting the knife back into the knife block as he went. He turned around and found Bethany looking at the knife with an empty expression "Just putting it back don''t want any accidents, with my clumsy self around it''s bound to happen soon." Neo said with an innocence smile, which got the desired reactions he wanted as she smiled back he knelt back in front of the drying rack and waited. It was an hour before the kitchen and the living room was cleared of tableware, and Neo had cleaned the work surfaces and hob. He even suggested that he¡¯d cook which seemed to spark a fire in Bethany when she adamantly said that she''d be fine and he was relegated to the living room to look for some reading material to ease the boredom. Finding some old looking newspapers he started going through them finding many interesting things like a creature called a Shade had stolen some items of importance from a few noble houses. Complaints about the sewer system not being up to standard, complaints about taxes, gossip about the royal families something about some family members attending the local academy. It was very informative but no different to the human world just replacing the superstars with royalty, and humans with magical and supernatural beings. Neo hadn''t realised how long he had been sitting on the sofa reading the Beacons T Paper when Bethany poked her head in "Dinners, ready!" He looked up at the clock above the fireplace it showed 6 pm ''wow I got engrossed in reading time flew by.¡¯This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Placing the papers back where he found it, he entered the kitchen ducking under some pipes, he found a table had appeared, on it was some candles, clean knives and forks and a lovely looking plate of food "Looks lovely, If I may ask what dish is it?" "It''s a fish local to this bubble dish it is very nice to eat and safe and on the side, we have some basic vegetables in a tomato sauce placed on a garlic mash potato." "Lovely, let''s eat." After sitting down Neo asked questions about her, she answered politely, he steered away from her parents and talked about her work and the different kind of magical beings out there and the castle occupants. He learnt about Angels and Demons that they both had their own castles to represent themselves and they feuded quite often which didn''t surprise Neo, the fact that they existed did and that they were a considered a mercenary kingdom and would work for the highest bidder. The higher the bid the more powerful the Angel like being you got or Demon it was quite a quandary Neo wondered how that worked. Then there were the Arachne the weaving beings, Tinker''s clan being a combination of Dwarf and Gnome Kingdoms, Beastkin Clan an amalgamation of tribes of beastkind, The Elf Kingdoms, Drakan kingdom, Undead Imperium, Grove¡¯s Domain, Frost Dwellers, Aquarius Kingdoms, Mage Guilds and the Eastern Imperium. She also explained that all houses are build to a standard of 10 foot tall ceilings very few beings get taller than 9 feet tall and those that do like giants get an entire district build entirely for them with doors up to 30 feet tall that included shops, toilets all made 3 times taller to accommodate for giants and other beings that are much taller than the average. She informed Neo that magic flows like the wind from the west and travels throughout the world, there were theories of where magic came from and how the magical creatures developed from the magic but there are no records. It is also thought that the bubbles developed when magic collected in pools and somehow connected to the material world and formed themselves into bubbles. Neo asked how they thought they evolved which she replied that most people believe that they''re all evolved from humans, although she did say that it was an illegal theory and you could be punished if you say anything about this theory. Bethany informed Neo that there were purists saying that Humans were devolved from us and once had magic, not the other way round. Taking the plates into the kitchen Neo helped with washing up, and asked why they didn¡¯t have television or electricity, Bethany walked over to a switch and pushed it. the room brightened as a light bulb illuminated the room. ¡°Haha¡­.¡± Neo burst, ¡°Is that magic?¡± ¡°Yes and no it uses electric as the power source but can be converted from magical energy.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you have television or radio, do they work within the bubbles?" ¡°We don¡¯t have radios, simply because the radio waves don¡¯t work the same way here, we do have cable but it too expensive for me after rebuilding the house.¡± Neo nodded in understanding answering his own question ¡®the cables must be underground, what about the internet?¡¯ ¡°What about the Internet?¡± ¡°No, and yes we have it although it''s less used as we can''t attach it to the human world as the wires won''t connect through the walls of the bubble so we had to make our own. Which of course makes it smaller than the human internet and is constricted to the individual bubble and wifi don''t work for the same reason as the radio.¡± After a little more talking Bethany said ¡°Anyway it getting a bit late for me, we gnomes may be able to stay awake but when we do sleep it¡¯ll be for about 9 to 10 hours for a good night sleep. Your room is the second door as you go up the stairs.¡± Neo finding himself quite tired informed Bethany ¡°I¡¯ll head off to bed too.¡± He was concerned that Bethany would worry more with a stranger wandering around in her house. She nodded and moved towards the stair, ¡°I¡¯ll show you your room then.¡± Reaching the first floor Bethany pointed to the first door ¡°Toilet¡± She then pointed to the next door ¡°this will be your room.¡± There were 2 more rooms she pointed to the next room ¡°mine!¡± then the last room ¡°another spare room¡± before vanishing into her own. Seeing so many spare rooms must have been a large family Neo thought and she¡¯s now alone, man I¡¯m making myself sad just thinking about it and wiped away a tear. Neo entered the room finding the walls had actually been plastered and painted in a light blue, there were two made beds, and looking around he found teddy bears, toys and childish pictures and paintings. ¡®Maybe she was sure they were coming back so rebuilt their rooms, maybe they were just injured and would still be coming back but are in a coma. Maybe she can¡¯t get past the deaths of her family and is stuck?¡¯ Neo would have picked a bed but they were too small. Deciding to sleep on the floor, he removed the blankets and pillows from the beds and made himself as comfortable as possible. Neo decided to look up how many souls he gathered yesterday ¡°Soul Shop¡± The ancient scroll appeared in a flash of light, checking the number in the top right he saw 211 souls had been collected. ''That''s 46 souls last night! Did I kill all those men, don''t I have any control over it? No wonder Thra was so sad this morning.¡± A deep seed of guilt sprouted in his chest causing him to toss and turned all night. The next morning Bethany came into the room waking him whom she apologised for, walking in on him, Neo just replied ¡°There is nothing for you to apologise for as there is nothing for you to see.¡± as he¡¯d fallen asleep fully clothed. ¡°Bethany I¡¯ll be going shopping today to get the basics,¡± he said a bit red faced. He asked Bethany where he could find somewhere to get clothes and everyday items and she gives him some directions to the desired shop but with time being at a premium as Neo had to get to his new job soon he would have to get the stuff after work if the shops where open after he finished. He left the home and Bethany informed him that she had the day off and would be staying at her home. Chapter 6 - The Job Neo enjoyed the walk to the Tinker''s castle finding the morning sun shining warming Neo''s stiff back and lightening his mood as he walked towards the castle he kept seeing all the strange creatures again he tried not to stare too much but how could he not it was making Neo feel a little giddy. ¡®Am I, ever going get used to it¡­¡­ definitely. I¡¯m going to bet that in a few days, it¡¯ll become a lot less awesome!¡¯ As Neo reached the castle he found a young looking dwarf waiting outside the gate, the dwarf walked up beside him and nodded ¡°You our psychic crane?¡± ¡®An unexpected greeting¡¯ Neo thought ¡°Yes, Neo''s the name¡± holding out his hand in greeting. The dwarf snorted walking past Neo without shaking his handed. ¡®Ok, that was rude.¡¯ Neo thought looking at his hand. Shaking his head, he followed the dwarf back into the city taking a slightly different path, it took them an hour to get across and out into the fields beyond. They kept walking for half an hour before they crested a hill bringing in to view a magnificent tower that stood within the valley below. It was as tall as the hill they were standing on and a question formed. ¡°Why isn¡¯t the tower on top of the hill, wouldn¡¯t it be better able to defend from up here?¡± The dwarf chuckled and bluntly said "No, it''s a defensive array, so it has to be setup in line with the other towers. There are smaller towers on the hills in order to attack any intruders. There is infantry under the shielding of these big towers which can do some serious damage and defend at long range with magic artillery. Attackers that are trapped within the shielding have to charge the towers in order to get out whilst under an onslaught of other attacking towers.¡± ¡°Interesting thank you, I didn¡¯t catch your name?¡± Neo replied ¡°That because I haven¡¯t told you!¡± the Dwarf walked away down the hill. It took them another half hour to get down the hill and with every metre, the tower became ever more impressive. As they drew closer Neo also saw several dozen beings milling about the base of the tower, seeing that a good half of them were Dwarfs, a dozen Gnomes, a couple of giants and some kind of Beastkin. Neo checked out the Beastkin finding it male in physique, with fur covering most of its body its face was mostly clear of fur but had fangs and sharp looking claws on its five humanlike fingers, and cat like paws for feet. Neo wanted to go up to it and pet it but held himself back as he thought that he might not have fingers left after. While Neo was admiring the feline beastkin the young dwarf beside him had broken off, heading toward an older looking dwarf who spoke to the younger dwarf before looking at Neo. Neo waited for the old dwarf to move towards him before introducing himself ¡°Hello, my names Neo, I''m here to help with some lifting¡± The dwarf had a confused look on his face for a while before understanding overcame him. ¡°Hello, My names Hal Grath, just call me Hal, do you know what you¡¯ll be doing today?¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t, I just know you need help with moving items around much like a crane.¡± Hal nodded and explained to Neo that they were putting in steel supports to strengthen the tower so that they would use less manain supporting it during an attack, after a few questions about how the mana could support a build Hal took him inside. Neo was surprised by the little amount of stone that the building needed to stand, the walls were only about a metre thick with the height of the tower and that amount of rock he imagined it could never support the weight. Neo entered into a large circular room with the stairs directly to his left but what held Neo''s attention was the ceiling adorned was a large crystal hanging like a chandelier over a round table that had a 3D model of the city and surrounding lands, Neo could see from a glance that there were sparkling stars on the 3D map with some being brighter than others. Neo stepped forward to get a closer look but was stopped by a mist that formed in front of him. The mist moved and reformed into a humanoid shape which then solidified into a robed reptilian who¡¯s eyes glistened golden with black slit irises, Neo couldn¡¯t help but stare into them. A smooth snake-like voice originated from the standing reptile ¡°My apologiesss, but you cannot get any clossser, this is a restricted zone you are only allowed in here for the refit.¡± Neo stepped back and the reptilian turned back to mist and disappeared, ¡®ok that was cool¡¯ Neo thought ¡°Follow me,¡± Hal spoke as he ascended the stairs leaving the room with the map and crystal behind. As they past the first floor the room opened up into one space that reached up to the glass roof with the walls glowing multicoloured and the spiral of crystal that came up through the middle of the floor swirled up the centre of the tower to where Neo thought he could see another crystal, everything in the room glowed different colours which illuminated the tower with hues of colour. Neo stood amazed and intranced as the lights move and pulsed with life. ¡°Amazing isn¡¯t it!¡± Neo looked down at the smiling dwarf returning the smile ¡°Yeah it is beautiful.¡± After a few minutes of soaking in the view, the dwarf coughed drawing Neo¡¯s attention ¡°We will have to turn the crystal off, before we start working so soak it in while you have it, because once we get to the top we need you to help get the glass roof off so we can get the steel beams in here so the towers defences will also need to be turned off before we start, so the light show will dim.¡± They continued to ascend the stairs Neo noticed that the work force had already set up where the steel supports would go, He saw an entrance to the sloping walkway that curved around the outside of the tower forming a defensive platform as it sloped around. They decided to stay on the inside of the tower as it was windy and cold and Neo would also miss the amasing streaks and rays of colour that assaulted his eyes. It took them a while to get up to the roof and both were breathing heavily by the time they arrived, he felt the wind cooling his hot body. Neo took in the roof space, he confirmed that there was indeed another large crystal in the middle of the glass roof and an entrance for the slanted walkway. Hal shouted over the wind ¡°We have to get the glass panels out and we¡¯d like you to move them down to the giants below. Then, we¡¯ll take out the frame pieces and then get the steel beams in.¡± Neo gave the thumbs up which only confused the old dwarf, Neo nodded which he seemed to understand. Soon the dwarves started taking out the panes of glass, as they did Neo would used his telekinesis if a bit wobbly from the wind buffeting the panes and lower them over the side of the tower. The giants at the base would then grab them placing them into carts when full they would then be carted off elsewhere. It took them a few hours to remove all of the panes then they waited for the mist lizard to join them on the roof to extracted the crystal using the iron frame to walk on. After it was done Neo wondered aloud how heavy the frame parts were and was told that it was about a ton apiece. The dwarves removed the rivets and supported the frame from beneath, time flew as it was about mid day by the time they had finished these preparations. Hal called out to Neo ¡°Will give the first one a try and then we¡¯ll stop for a break.¡± Neo focused on the closest iron frame piece, his telekinesis connected as he started tugging at the frame. Neo mental gripped more firmly then carefully continued increasing the amount of force, but as he started reaching his limits he struggled to move it, as a final hurrah he pushed what remaining power he had into it as sweat poured down his body and it didn¡¯t budge. He was going to try again, he need this job if he was going to survive here but a hand landed on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself Neo.¡± Hal said handing Neo a napkin gesturing to his nose. Dabbing his nose pulling back to see a red stain, placing the napkin back pinching his nose. ¡°Thank you perhaps I need a bit of a break before trying again after lunch.¡± Hal nodded and walked over to the parapet an shouted down at the workers below¡°Alright everyone go for break.¡± Neo sat down looking at the beautiful scenery, Hal walk up beside him ¡°You coming down to lunch lad?¡± ¡°No thank you, I bought my own I think I will stay up and admire the view.¡± Hal shrugged ¡°See you in an hour!¡± Everyone slowly left the roof, Neo waited until it was empty before say. ¡°Soul Shop.¡± Neo searched for his telekinesis and found it quite quickly but it had changed it was now Telekinesis 2 and was double the price from the last time, Neo needed more information so thought about a way to see more Neo hovered his finger over the ability and thought ¡®describe¡¯ nothing, held down the tab that had the telekinesis, a box appear after a few moments.
Telekinesis 2This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Souls = 50
Telekinesis is thepsychic power that will give the ability to move or alter the shape of inanimate objects without the use of physical force, level 2 of telekinesis gives the ability to manipulate upto 1 tonne.
''Ow, I can alter the shape of inanimate objects and be able to move 1 tonne of weight a bit convenient if I do say so myself?'' Neo checked again on his 211 souls thinking about how the people he might of killed to get those 46 souls. But I really need this job so I could just say that I''m still using what Death gave me yes that''s it. If I get this job and reputation then I wouldn''t need to waste souls on gold or other precious metals to exchange for cash, Neo came to the conclusion that he needed the job and spending 50 souls would guarantee it. Neo pressed buy, as he did the scroll brightened unleashing lights that flowed into Neo¡¯s chest when no excruciating pain overwhelmed him. He decided to check the price of level 3 finding it with three digits of 100 souls in exchange for doubling the carry weight to 2 tonnes. Neo closed the scroll, and reached for his bag that had his lunch in, thanks to Bethany. As he sat himself down on the frame rim of the hole, he allowed himself to admire the mana glowing walls even if they had lost some of their luster after the crystal had been removed. He also contemplated the ethics of using souls of others to buy power. He wondered whether they knew anything of their predicament or if they where just in limbo ''I really need to ask Death when I next see him.'' Neo finished his lunch that consisted of mystery meat and mustard. It was delicious apart from the lack of a name. It wasn¡¯t long before Neo could hear the heavy breathing of people coming up the stairs, smiling he pulled the stuffed tissue from his nose, he checked whether his nose was bleeding anymore finding that it had stopped, Neo got up from his contemplation as the first dwarf returned to the roof. As he waited Neo decided to stretch,when Hal eventually arrived and walked over to him "You better kid, Think you can do it this time?" Neo nodded but let out a sigh as he stood up from his stretches One inquisitive Dwarf close to him asked: "Why are you doing that?" "Simply it makes me feel better I had a really stiff back a while ago so by stretching out I have found that I got fewer headaches, plus it also helps my martial arts." The same dwarf asked curiously, "You do martial arts?" "Yes, don''t suppose there is anyone around here that practises?" The Dwarf thought for a while "I think there is a few around but where exactly I don''t know, we" he gestured to the dwarfs around him "use the Tinkers Clans Masters to learn at the practise fields at least once a week mandatory." Neo wondered if he could start his own if he couldn''t find one, smiled at the thought of his own practice, either way it would give him the opportunity to practise against unique and different beings as they will have different ways of fighting, extra weapons in their arsenal. "Sorry, Hal I¡¯m ready just a bit stiff that¡¯s all." standing above the frame again Neo nodded and said, "When you''re ready Hal!" Neo mentally grabbed the frame part and he mimicked the move with his hands and waited for Hal to tell him to begin, Neo heard a bit of movement around and shouts to and from the workers below. "Ok lad it''s up to you now hope you are up for it" Neo mental tightened his grip and pulled at full power it started wobbling and with a loud pop the frame came away from the now empty space. Neo followed the path that had been set up for him as he did so he navigated the swirling wind that pushed and pulled at the bulky frame. Once he was over the edge he lowered the frame until it was in the hands of the two giants that were waiting for it, who then placed it in another cart and then pulled it away at quite a pace. Another pair of giants set themselves up awaiting the next piece.Neo looked around at the other workers and saw what he thought was a little awe, fear and a small amount of respect. "Shall we get to the next one?" Neo asked after that it was plain sailing as Neo steadily pulled the frames out and down to the ground one at the time, it was a lot of hard work but gradually it got a little easier as he learnt to manipulate the pieces without using the full extent of his power. The last of the frame was out by about 4pm and he was shattered "Good job lad, you can head off home come back here tomorrow and we will have you lift the steel beams in place." Neo nodded and wearily made his way down the tower where he saw workers tied to safety lined drilling into the much more gloomy inside, the crystal spring had been disassembled and taken out. As he reached the ground floor he stopped he eyes being attracted to the table, but a voice spoke from the gloom "It isn''t worth a dead cat now is it" Neo looked into the gloom and replied, "but satisfaction brought the cat back!" Neo heard a little laughter and he headed to the door understanding the meaning that the lizard man spoke of course Neo wasn''t stupid, he''d just have to wait for the right moment. Neo explored the city for a while making his way back home, he found the tailors, apothecaries which Neo couldn''t believe seeing that name on basically a pharmacy and bought some essentials toothpaste, toothbrush, some hand cream, some candles, clothes just the basics. Neo found himself in a park just a little way from home, Neo thought that it was a park but found that he had just walked into someone''s home as the trees moved and shouted at him to get off their property and when a 70 odd metre tree moves to thrash at you and shout at you, it was perhaps the scariestthingto happened to him since he arrived. Neo had his heart in his mouth as he ran back onto the public path apologising profusely to the offended trees. Once he was back on the path he turned toward home but bumped into someone as he turned, bouncing backfalling on his back, looking up he a found beautiful women, who was wearing nothing she had long green hair and was perfectly crafted. She smiled down at him offering a hand which Neo took, thinking that it might seem rude not to. After standing back up Neo patted off the earth from his cloth, Neo noticed that he couldn''t stop thinking about her, he''d even stalled on apologising and thanking her, he stuttered out a sorry and a thank you. The women merely smiled at Neo¡¯s nervousness. He started to get the feeling of impending doom, when he looked closer he noticed that she had branches poking out of her hair, he then started double checking the rest of her body, finding that she had branches coming out in random spots. Neo nerves seemed to fade away "About time you got out of that illusion although you did better than the rest of them!" Neo started blinking as he felt the world had shattered Neo could hear the busy streets again, he didn''t even realise he couldn¡¯t before. He then looked around and found a large number of people who were looking in to empty space, she was made of wood with branches and leaves covering her body. She was still alluring even with the illusion broken "What happened?" She smiled at him "When you bumped into me you startled me and I released and illusion on reflex. I do apologise, it''s a reflex from the days in the wild where we had to run from herbivores and carnivores a like." "No problem you can''t help it, there is no harm done. Name''s Neo?" Neo held out his hand and looked her in the eye, taking the offered hand she spoke "Elisa Eldertree, ple¡­." Neo saw her eyes dilate and her branches rustle as she quivered. Neo''s hand was suddenly covered in butterflies as she burst into butterflies and disappeared. Neo didn''t notice as she ran away putting everyone she passed into their own illusion. Neo stood not even noticing nor caring that she had disappeared, as the butterflies flowed around him, he was enraptured by it, eventual the butterflies fade away and left one exhausted human and hundreds of confused beings. Neo sighed not having a clue of where Elisa had disappeared off to but he''d learnt something important, ''find away to get out of illusions because damn they could be deadly'' he thought. As he headed off home, realising that the sun was started to dim he jogged back home where he found a peeved Bethany at the door. After apologising for being late for dinner they sat at the table, he explainedwhy, which too Neo¡¯s surprise she believed because if he had heard that from anyone he would of thought they were crazy. "They are called Dryads and they do have a bit of a reputation for illusions and being a bit skittish. Now if you had said that you''d fought a dragon then it might be harder to believe." She giggled "If you do meet a dragon be polite, they''re on the top of the food chain around here and you being on the bad side of the Drakens as they kind of represent dragon kind." "Say, Bethany what do you see when you look at me ?" "¡­¡­" Bethany hadn''t replied as she looked down at her food sighing and smiling, "I see colours mainly sometimes words that are engraved, to you, each colour resembles a sin or virtue, then you get the ever-changing colours that show what you are feeling now, like white, with specks of black which is what you are currently feeling curiosity and a bit fearful. But the long-term is far harder to decipher, I can tell that you are kind, honest, fierce, knowledgeable, calm, relaxed and open. Weird really that is so different from what I have ever seen before compared to the majority of males in the magical world you are so accepting, maybe a little na?ve." Neo smiled contently at her answer finding that he was A-ok with what she said a little naivety probably never hurt anyone. Neo was tired after everything that had happened today having finished the lukewarm meal he helped with the washing up and headed off to bed, with the new necessities he could brush his teeth and wash after lying down in bed. His mind wandered to his family the thoughts that they have probably buried him and are in mourning by now. He awoke the following morning to find Bethany knocking on his door and spoke: "And a little lazy it seems, you''re going to be late to your job, also I won''t be here when you get back tonight so here is the key." Neo heard something land on the floor and slide under the door, Neo groggily lifted himself out of his bed as her words slowly engaged his mind. He got up having no form of time reading he assumed the worse and rushed everything, Neo was downstairs in no time with the key in hand and a clean body. Neo grabbed some breakfast, made himself some lunch with the rest of that mystery meat then headed out, Neo looking into the sky where he saw that dawn had arrived, and he wondered if he would be on time. When he arrived he found that everyone one was already there and waiting he ran up to Hal apologized for his lateness "Don''t worry lad, you''re pretty much on time, let''s get on with it." "Sure let''s get started!" Grabbing the steel beams out of the giant''s hands manoeuvring them up the tower andthrough the hole that the frame had been in, attaching them to the supports that the workers had placed yesterday. He would let go once they had screwed them in a place he''d then go for the next beam and so on for the next two days. After that, they had to put in the new frame and then place the glass into the frames once it was finished the mist mage returned with another perfect crystal which slid into place He then had to help place the crystal spiral which was interesting it was like a puzzle you had one piece join another and then they would seemingly meld together in one larger piece without any gaps, amazing really. The feeling of awe of the tower for the first time was replaced with a feeling of accomplishment as the steel beams joined the glowing pulsing room. And Neo then suddenly had two days off for the weekend it took them fours days to do the refit and now he hadn''t a clue to what to do with it. That Friday night Neo asked Bethany what she would usually do? Bethanyreplied, "I don''t do anything, as I don''t have that many days off so I just tend to read and relax!" Neo couldn¡¯t sit and do nothing it just tickled his wasting time, wasting resources even if he liked doing nothing as much as the next guy. He asked if there was a public libraryand got a negative response but there are some bookshops which she gave him some directions to. Neo spent the next two days off reading a few books that had caught his attention at the bookstore one about different species of Magical beings, and the other was about the basics of mana and magic but understood little to none of. Neo also practised his forms to keep his muscle memory strong. Because of this Neo found his two days of being engrossed in books or training in the back garden which Bethany seemed not to have a problem with but did ask why Neo was waving his arms around like a madman. Neo explain the idea of muscle memory and just by practicing the moves in a dance or form like he was. It was instilling the movement within his muscle, and told her that the idea was to go as slowly as possible but not to stop. With the two days off he was pretty much bouncing to start work again on the next tower in their refit journey. He went outside and gazed at the new day,a week on and he still couldn''t get over the amount of unique life that was just beyond the door. Chapter 7 - A Bad Day at Work They had finally gotten the last of the steel frames into place on the new tower, and Neo found himself sitting down with his lunch box in hand, eating some sort of fish pasta dish. He''d made the dish after visiting the market, a unique experience he had absolutely no idea what the meats were, and there was a noticeable lack of vegetables and wheat at least to human standards anyway. Bethany said that the market only dealt with bubble foods which were sourced locally and sustainably hunted. So he had decided to check it out, finding many interesting fishes, one with 6 eyes, Meat from a Forest Whale which tasted good and a glowing mushroom which he didn''t touch. He didn''t buy many foods as he had no idea that either he''d survive the encounter, definitely when he saw a Troll take a bite of an apple looking thing and then collapsed. A group of Medics from several different species came marching through within minutes muttering about being a busy day. Neo decided to scroll through the soul shop, for something to do. Oh, how he missed his phone scrolling through pages and pages of mainly pointless posts that would waste time. It was a long list of items, he wandered through them finding out what items and abilities, what they did and how much they cost. He ended up going past the telekinesis when he noticed that the number of souls needed to buy it had decreased slightly to 98. Neo wondered how that could have happened, suddenly a siren screeched causing Neo to jump. Putting his lunch down and walking to the stairs he could hear shouts, the padding of feet and heavy breathing of beings rushing up the stairs. Neo stood back from the stairs as the rattling of what Neo thought sounded like plate armour. Confused with what was happening Neo grabbed his bag placing it on his back. The soldiers ascended up through the entrance with shields on their backs and crossbows in their hands and wearing full plate armour they spread out across the roof. Neo had no idea where all the soldiers came from there didn''t seem to be any barracks built nearby. Following the troops on to the tower was the mist lizard from the last tower that had warned him against poking his nose in. The lizard-like mage nodded towards him but was being followed by four other beings with a similar badge on their chest the only difference was their colours. They set up position equal spaced around the tower Neo was about to ask what he can do when Hal heaved his way through the entrance looking a little flustered ¡°Ah there you are lad, the sirens went off got to get back to the city before they put the shielding up!¡± The lizard mage heard what Hal had said and spoke ¡°No point Hal they have closed the city shield by now. There is no way you can get back into the city in time, no point in risking it with some of the towers out of action the people won¡¯t take another incident even with the cost activation!¡± ¡°What!¡± Hal ran to the corner of the tower where he shouted down to the workers ¡°Boys, get in the tower there closed the inner circle, no point in going.¡± Neo looked down seeing that some of the workers were halfway up the hill, the workers turned and started rushing back towards the tower. A deafening boom rocked the tower making Neo reach out to grab the wall. Neo looked up and saw in the distance a reddish glow with a cloud of dust shooting into the air, Neo thought he could see a shadow moving within. The mage spoke from behind ¡°Oh, no not the Atlantean bubble! May the Gods save our souls.¡± "Hal, What''s happening, what¡¯s in the Atlantean bubble?" From behind him, Hal whispered "Dragons!" There were wails from the soldiers and mages alike from those on the tower, A Captain shouted "quietened down lads, back in line." A roar brought everyone''s attention to the gleaming white scaled Dragon that glided out of the dust cloud and headed towards the tower. The remaining workers that where too far out could be seen diving behind wagons and trees as the fanged demon with its red eyes and white light filled mouth approached. ¡°It¡¯s a Mad Elder dragon those red eyes!¡± The lizard mage had collapsed onto the floor, defeated ¡°How did this happen!" "What happened?" Neo questioned. The Mage turned towards Neo "Mad Elder Dragons are beyond rare, There is no known reason why they go mad but one of the main signs are those blood red eyes. They lose their logic, reason and they will attack anything and they are near impossible to kill with their toughened scales and their resistance to all different types of magic. The city will be destroyed even if the city has its shielding up it''ll tear through it as if it wasn¡¯t there." Neo looked back at the dragon and wished he hadn¡¯t. He had only glanced away for a few seconds, but the dragon had tripled in size now the height of two double-decker buses and getting bigger. As it was getting closer, Neo could see white light pouring from its mouth. The effect was visibly seen as men and buildings either disappear in a cloud of dust or just vanished without a trace. Neo was terrified his legs felt weak the image of himself just disappearing into nothing having accomplished little in his life. The dragon roared as it flew over their heads to land, flashes of light from the mages and archers shooting seemed to have little effect. Ignoring them, it tore up the soil where the remaining workers had just been deleted. The dragon''s magic appeared to distort the space around it a pulsing light could be seen oozing from under the dragon''s scales. The Mages magic clashed with the dragon''s chaotic energies which flew in all directions, Neo dived to the floor as a horizontal slash of magic was flung towards the tower. Neo shivered as a cold fear of death drilled itself into his core. The realisation that death was just a breath away and not a computer screen away. Blind luck, Neo wasn''t caught up in the next one as it passed through the wall unhindered and hit half a dozen soldiers. Neo saw some of the soldiers had grown longer whiter beards others seemed to have shrunk in their armour it wasn¡¯t until Neo heard a sound like a baby''s cry from within a crumpled suit that he took a closer look and saw a baby. Looking around he found Hal keeping his head down "Hal what exactly is a white dragon?" "It''s a dragon that has influence over time and space. So, yeah we''re screwed unless we get help. Hey, Mage do we have any reinforcements?¡± The Mage was helping another much older robed mage "Yeh, their gathering, but as they will only move once they can deal with the dragon, it¡¯s going to be a while before they turn up. Where is it now?" Neo poked his head out to check on the dragon finding it swivelling its head back and fore "Mm, It just seems to be destroying the ground and looking around." As he watched the dragon again tear up the ground where the men had been. "As it has some control over time, then the dust would mean that the men had been aged into dust and the ones that have just disappear had been reverted into nothing?" ¡°That¡¯s right¡± replied the Mage Neo''s hair stood up when he saw the dragon staring right at him, he ducked back behind the stone wall. He stayed quiet hoping that it hadn¡¯t seen him but alas he heard the dragon¡¯s heavy foot stomps and then silence before the sound of great wings beating, as a shadow was cast over the tower. Neo Spoke ¡°Sorry guys, I think he saw me!¡± This had no effect on anybody around him as the Mage had closed his eyes and was praying while Hal was looking at something in his hand, kissing and hugging it before putting it back into his pocket. As he looked around him, he saw others preparing themselves to face Death. As the sergeant called them to ready themselves, they turned and stood crossbows primed. It gave Neo a strange calmness to know that good men were standing next to him. He¡¯d never been one to give up, a tear starting to roll down his face as he got up. He was sad that he¡¯d have to fight never liked fighting or hurting people, even though he had been given a second chance at life. It made him think which would he prefer to fall off a cliff or go out fighting a dragon? He knew which one was cooler as he looked up at the dragon, it gave an allmighty roar that shook the sky, and a new wave of chaotic magic was flung in every direction. The shards of magic streaked past Neo with nowhere to hide, Neo did his best to moved out of the way of the magic.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The Dragon roared again, and through the distorting magic, it started its dive. Neo¡¯s heart and mind raced what he could use as a weapon? He looked down from the tower and saw the steel beams. Neo ignored the cries of pain and fear around him as he focused on the Dragon as it grew ever larger. Neo¡¯s heart wanted to burst out of his chest as the dragon opened its mouth, Neo could see the red staining of blood on the dragon''s teeth. It was huge and magnificent the beating wings blocking out the sun and giving off a cooling breeze. (Neo gave a small smile funny what you notice when death approaches.) Once it was within a hundred feet of the tower, Neo lifted the steel beam and swung it at the dragon as hard as he could. The steel beam hit the face of the dragon, and it let out a deafening roar, Neo drop the steel beam as he reacted to the roar by covering his ears. The blow somersaulted the dragon. Neo realised that it was going to hit the tower. He quickly focused and grabbed the fallen steel beam, he didn¡¯t have enough time to move it toward him as the dragons huge tail came swing down Neo jumped off the tower as the dragon''s tail destroyed the tower taking one half with it. ¡®So much for the reinforced wall¡¯ Neo though. As he hit the beam the air was pushed from his lungs and rubble rained down on his back, the steel beam dropped as he tried to get his breathe back. He pulled himself up into sitting, his legs dangling either side of the beam. Scanning the area to see if he could help. He saw the soldiers that where next to him had fallen off the tower, and they was nothing that he could do for them, so he glided back up to the tower roof to see that the Lizardman had lost an arm and was unconscious some young lad was kneeling next to him trying to stem the bleeding. ¡°Ow lad, you survived the fall, I saw you fall and thought that you were a goner!¡± Neo was confused as the young lad spoke. ¡°Hal?¡± Neo said shocked ¡°Yes lad, I am a little younger. Good job on slowing are demise maybe some of us will survive.¡± ¡°No, we will all survive this I will go and distract the dragon while you run, I can at least fly to escape.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all good lad, but the stairs were taken out by the dragon''s tail we can¡¯t get down!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll use the steel beams in the gaps and hope it will be enough to get you all out.¡± The younger Hal nodded his head ¡°Well, Good luck to you and I hope I can buy you a drink later.¡± Neo reached the ground and quickly grabbed the steel beams and manoeuvred them into the gaps in the stairs that the dragon had made. Neo heard the roar and jumped out of the way of stray energy he''d caught from the corner of his eyes ¡°All done here, they should be able to get down'' he thought. Jumping onto a new beam, he flew into the sky avoiding more stray magic. Looking down he saw the dragon had gouged out the ground, it seemed like a meteor had crashed landed. The dragon spotted Neo, and his red eyes followed him filled with anger as it stared into Neo''s soul. As Neo stared back he thought he saw the scales on the dragons face that had been crushed and broken move and repair themselves, Neo swallowed hard. One of its wings had broken as it was pointing in a different direction also seemed to be repairing itself slowly as it inched back into place. Neo realised he would not have long before the dragon could fly again. Neo drew in closer weaving in and out of random energy he landed a few hundred yards away, the dragon growled. The only steel beam left was the one he was using. To use it as a weapon he would lose his ability to fly. If Neo remained grounded, he had to keep his distance and control the steel beam and be aware of anything magic coming towards him. He didn¡¯t like the odds, suddenly Neo had an idea maybe he could hang from his flute and fly at least in an emergency. Neo grabbed his flute from the bag to Neo surprise this seemed to grab the Dragons attention as he moved the flute around the Dragon¡¯s eyes followed it. An idea formed away from ending this without any more bloodshed. ¡®time to pied piper this bloody dragon!¡± Neo thought as he brought the flute to his mouth. Neo had no idea how long he¡¯d been playing he¡¯d lost count of the songs he¡¯d gone through, it seemed that his pied piper had worked pretty well. He had moved the dragon away from the tower and into an adjoining field. There was one problem the fact that the dragon had slowly crept up to him and had made itself comfortable with it ferocious head lying directly in front of Neo with one of its giant eyes staring at him. He could smell the foul stench that cascaded out of its mouth that made Neo gag. But he fought through it with minimal interruption in his music, but the longer he played, the calmer the energy around the dragon had become, the scales were now glowing dimly. But Neo was not in a good position, his fingers were sore and blistered he needed the toilet. He realised that if he stopped playing, he was but a few inches away from death. Neo looked around and saw the once buzzeling tower had been abandoned. He looked back to the dragon still finding the frightening eye glued on him, but before looking away, he noticed a tear rolling down its face. ¡®What happened to you?¡± Neo thought. He took in the surrounding area and found that it was calm over the music, the birds tweeting and Insects buzzing, it was serene and complete opposite to the earlier chaos. It made Neo quite sad that it was such a tormented being that it revelled in the serenity of things. ¡°Hello, is that Neo the one blatantly sitting in front of a dragon as if it was an everyday thing!¡± a voice spoke within Neo¡¯s mind ¡°mm,¡± Neo thought ¡°aaa Hello?¡± ¡°Yes brilliant the reinforcement are here to help, We are planning a bombardment of the dragon with high tiered magic.¡± Neo heart pounded ¡°Wait! I think we could capture it if you had a few very strong chains you could capture while I am still playing as it is so engrossed I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll notice if people start chaining it up.¡± ¡°Hold one moment!¡± the voice replied and everything went quietly in his head again Neo wished hard that they could save the dragon as something must be very wrong with it. ¡°Hello Neo, we have agreed that while it is under your control we can''t let this opportunity go, We need to kill it now! Sorry Neo but even if we did capture it what the hell do you think we can do with it. It''s too dangerous to keep around, so you might want to start plan how you''re going to move away as we''ll be blasting the area to ashes before it gets too dark.¡± Neo looked around noticing that it was dark, but the dragon produced its own light which brightened up the area enough that Neo hadn¡¯t noticed the sun dipping over the horizon. "Pst, Neo it''s me again, good job getting it to sleep, time for you to start backing away we''ll be waiting for you to get 100 metres away from sleeping beauty before we start our attack." The voice returned to his mind and shocked him as surely the dragon was still awake. Coughing he replied in his mind "Mm mister mind mage, I''m sure that the dragon is quite awake." "How so." "mm, It''s staring right at me," Neo replied sarcastically "Well, we as in plural, know it''s sleep if you really don''t trust us why don''t to find out." Neo shrugged and move to the side, the eye didn¡¯t follow. "Its eye is still open, but it''s not moved or tracked me." The voice replied "See it''s a natural deterrent against attacks so do you believe us now? " "mm," Neo wondered if the dragon was just tricking him, so he walked up closer and gave it a kicked the side of the head. All Neo accomplished was a sore toe, he felt like he had just kicked a wall and got no reaction from the dragon ''hmmm¡­¡­ really must be asleep.'' However, he did get the person on the other line to have a reaction. Neo''s mind was suddenly overwhelmed "What do you think you''re doing! Has no one ever told you not to kick a dragon." Neo winced "No, maybe a few stories about letting sleeping dogs lie but it''s definitely asleep." the reply Neo got was simply stunned silence "Um guys I''ll be making my way out standby." An exasperated voice replied to Neo "Confirmed we will wait for set distance to be reached." Neo slowly backs away from the Dragon who was sleeping peacefully in front of him. As the music started becoming quieter, the dragon began stirring from it serene dreams when he thought he had reached about 50 metres Neo stopped playing, relief flood through his finger, arm, lips and he turned and ran. The dragon moaned and moved as the dream turned in to a nightmare. It wasn¡¯t long before the Dragon was writhing in its dream, Neo pitied the dragon as it screamed awake. Roaring maddeningly at life as explosions after explosions from the reinforcements hit the dragon, magic ripped through the air, blinding multicoloured lights streaked through the sky anywhere else this could have been a joyous firework display, but all Neo could hear was the painful cries of the dragon. Neo stopped and turned the dragon had fallen silent, confused the Dragon seemed to of calmed down and stopped crying, Neo¡¯s anxiety rose, something told Neo that it was doing something as his hair on his skin stood up. He turned and ran as a greyish white light formed around the dragon it could be seen through the bombardment of glowing explosions from the Mages, it lasted a few minutes. As he made his way up the hill, glancing over his shoulder constantly, he saw that the greyish light distorted the area around it, Looking closer Neo saw through the light , straight into the red pain filled eyes of the Dragon, a shiver went down Neo''s back. With a triumphant roar, it tore free off the explosions. Neo lifted the flute into the air intending to use it to pull himself with his telekinesis to fly away, but a bright flash lit up his shadow, and loud explosions rained, he felt a sear pain from his shoulder to his hip, He screamed as the pain spreading throughout his body his legs going numb. He felt a deep pulsing beat and a smell of rancid air around him that brought his awareness away from his pain and numbness. As his eyes adjusted, he saw the tongue and red stained teeth of the Dragon. ¡¯I¡¯ve been bitten why the hell am I not dead!¡¯ he thought, he noticed that the Flute was still in his hands above his head it had lengthened slightly and stopped the jaws of the dragon from snapping him in two. His breath was ragged as the pain was causing his body to go into shock, the Dragon tried to close his mouth again, but the flute remained unbending. Neo saw an opportunity pulling his pen from his pocket the only thing on him that could help and waited for the dragon¡¯s mouth to open using his telekinesis to keep the flute in the position he pulled himself up further into the mouth of the dragon. He pointed the pen to the back of the dragon''s mouth noticing at the same time that the mouth was brighteningNeo assumed the dragon was going to use its breath-ability to get rid of him. Neo focused his will on the pen and impaled the dragon in the back of the throat. Neo was deafened by the pained roar had to ignore everything and solely focus on the pen as he pushed it through the soft tissue. Neo had to make sure the pen would hold together under strain, split his mental effort in forcing the pen parts together and pushing it forwards. Neo felt he had hit something bumpy and hard as he travels up assuming it to be the vertebrae of the dragon until he was stopped by what Neo thought was the skull. Focusing on pushing the pen through the pen creaked and splinter as it slowly and painfully broke through the skull with the full force of Neo telekinesis exploding into the Dragons brain ¡®Sorry.¡± Neo thought as he killed the dragon ¡®Thank¡­¡­¡­you!¡¯ a feminine voice spoke in his mind. Neo collapsed exhausted, weakened by the blood oozing from his wounds. ¡®Neo it¡¯s Death here if you want to live you need to eat the dragon''s soul now! Don¡¯t bother replying just do as I say, put your palm on to the Dragon¡¯s tongue and imagine the Dragon being sucked through a black hole into a sphere, once full eat it!¡± Neo not wanting to die again he tried moving his arms but he failed, panic flooded his system as he couldn''t move anything his head could bearly move back and forth, his eye had the recognisable black edges. Neo gripped his remain mental fortitude and grabbed one of his arms with his telekinesis and brought it to eye level, wishing he hadn¡¯t looked. He moved the malformed arm until his palm was touching the dragon''s tongue he did as instructed and imagined a black hole drawing the soul from the dragon, once he finished he turned his hand over. The mouth of the dragon was brightened by the pure white ball of the Dragons soul, Neo could even see the dragon within, its fiery madness flashing occasional red flecks, a part of Neo worried that this might be dangerous if not stupid, but he was aware of his disappearing strength and will. ¡°Be damned the consequences, I don¡¯t want to die!¡± he thought He bought the white Dragons soul to his mouth, even though the sphere was bigger than his mouth it slowly got sucked in, it never even touched his lips before it was gone, but Neo couldn''t wonder at this pheromone as his consciousness had faded. Chapter 8 - Toxicity ¡®Blooming heck¡¯ Neo thought as consciousness returned. He tried to reach for his head but found that he couldn¡¯t move his arm. Neo opened his eyes ¡®What the hell - how can this be.¡¯ Neo tried to sit up but still couldn¡¯t move, he then decided to move just his head, but even then he couldn¡¯t move, his whole body was stuck. All Neo could see from his lying position was the grey-green, plastic looking roof of what he assumed was some kind of tent. Neo tried to make sense of everything. He remembered sending the pen into the brain of the dragon and eating its soul, but the events around it were a bit of a blur only pain then nothing. Now he had a stinking headache. It was a while before Neo heard the flap of a curtain and finally, someone came into view, a tall, elegant woman with long pointed ears and silver eyes she was a beauty, and wearing a hazmat suit with a slight difference, glowing symbols were running all along it. Neo could see the surprised look on her face when she noticed that he was awake. She slowly backed away with wide eyes, Neo followed as best he could, but she was soon out of sight. The curtains flapped again, and he realised that she had left. Her reaction made him concerned ¡¯what had happened to him, to get that kind of response.¡¯ Neo heard the curtains move violently and repeatedly, but he couldn''t see who was making them. It wasn¡¯t until another flap of the curtain that someone finally poked their head into Neo¡¯s view. He had a bushy grey beard, long arching eyebrows and silky grey hair the old man had the same long ears as the lady. ¡°Good Morning Neo, now don¡¯t try to talk as you have a broken jaw. Actually, you have a lot of things broken that¡¯s why you can¡¯t move you are in a body cast, after your fight with the white dragon, you were trapped in its mouth for nearly a week.¡± Neo tried to speak aloud but only a moan came out, he had indeed broken his jaw. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, not to talk, I am your healer, Tulaa.¡± Neo just glared at the old man. After a moment of silence, he continued ¡°Anyway if you were asking, how it took us nearly a week to get to you. It¡¯s because you killed a dragon, they have so much magical power that they become toxic after death, thus the suits, we were surprised to find you alive. You''ve started producing un-controlled mana which is why we set up this tent and chained you down with void chains they suppress magic, just encase you were afflicted with the dragons madness, with these on you wouldn''t be able to use as much magic.¡± As he said that Neo heard a rattle as he brought up the blue chains. ¡°We are looking to make a void ring for you to wear that should be ready within the week, so then you¡¯ll be able to get those chains off.¡± The old man continued talking ¡°Your recovery will be swifter because of your changes.¡± Neo wondered what changes, then thought back to the dragon and made a connection, ¡®if I have dragon traits would I have wings, talons, tail, fangs and scales?¡¯ Neo tried putting this trait and others onto his body and wonder how he would look. Tulaa started moving around him asking questions about how he was feeling and if there was any pain. Having said what the old man wanted, he didn¡¯t wait around and left pleased. Neo then heard the loud stomping and flapping of the tent, but instead of the sound fading away it seemed to surround the tent. The next person that came into view was the younger elf from earlier she spoke in a sweet voice ¡°Hello Neo, sorry for running away, we didn¡¯t know what you would be like when you awoke. I was warned not to engage you, I am you¡¯re a nurse and will be taking care of you while my mistress is investigating the dragons madness. My name is Mary Reef I¡¯ll be careful, I have seen everything so don''t feel embarrassed. At least you¡¯re a good listener, my boyfriend, just talks and talks, never letting me get a word in edgewise¡­.¡± Neo had already started zoning Mary out as she talked and talked about something, a few days went by this way as the madness crept in on him as he began to imagine Mary''s mouth sewn together with very course thread. Mary would fuss over him, rolling him over so that he wouldn¡¯t get bed sores, feed soups and liquid dinner, it was a bit embarrassing when he needed the toilet. But one of the highlights was when that bearded Old man would come in place his light warm hands on his head, and mutter something under his breath and Neo¡¯s pains would fade away for a while giving him relief from not just the pain but the constant storm of words that assaulted his ears. It wasn¡¯t until the fifth day that a prim and proper Lady strode into the tent followed by a younger man who stayed back hiding under his hood. At the time he had been turned by Mary to face the curtain, so he saw them enter. He was also able to see how he¡¯d been chained up they were thick bracelets which had been encased within the cast the only things that you could see were the chain links which were loosely restricting his movement if he had any. The Lady had a tight bun and not a strand of her hair out of place her coat was straight as can be and didn¡¯t have a crease in it, but her skin had an opaque look. She also had a commanding air with her straight and stiff back, demanding respect and recognition. Neo shiver under the gaze of the woman he feels like nothing more than an experiment, she placed a bag down, pulling out several syringes. ¡°Hello, Neo I am Jane, I just have to take some samples from you, to see the similarities between the dragon and yourself to see that whatever made the dragon mad will have any effect on you.¡± She picks up the syringes and started taking blood and ended on a very uncomfortable spinal tap and then left without a word. Neo now had one person he wished to avoid. Jane had him left with a nasty headache that wouldn¡¯t fade. It wasn¡¯t until the end of the week when old warm hands came back and declared that his bones had mended, which left Neo a little bit disbelieving that his body could repair that fast. As they were cutting the casts off parts of the cloth kept getting stuck to his skin, it wasn¡¯t because he was sticky. It was, Neo found that he had scales, they were firm and rough.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He found that they didn¡¯t cover his whole body they were kept to white patches that showed upon his body randomly. Finally, he could move and speak again as his arms crack from moving them, the chains rattled as well. They finally removed the neck cast, he could move his jaw checking to see if it hurt, but it only ached after its lack of use. ¡°Thank you, Mary.¡± Who was removing the casts while Tulaa observed and poked at the scales, he then grasped Neo¡¯s head and pulled it down to his, Tulaa found something cool. ¡°Mhm looks like you have horns as well.¡± ¡°You what?¡± Neo put a hand finding several little stubs on the top of his head under an inch tall, two, no four, no six stubs of bone raising out of his head. Even the tallest was hidden by his hair, so there was no reason to see them, going back in pairs getting smaller as they went. Otherwise, there were no more apparent changes that could be seen, old warm hands waited patiently while Neo mused over his scales and horns. ¡°We have your sealing ring ready, and the transfer area marked out and protection in place, with a few extra contingencies!¡± ¡°What do you mean a transfer area?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just inside the dragon¡¯s toxicity radius that has been clear, and anyone outside the area should be safe-ish, while they might faint, you¡¯ll then take off the chains and put the ring on!¡± ¡°Might faint?¡± Neo said looking confused ¡°How can they faint from mana exposure anyway, is it a form of radiation?¡± Tulaa looked at him ¡°No not radiation as far as we understand mana, it is like an aura like when someone is angry you can feel it in the room, but otherwise magic is beyond our comprehension as to why or how it happens. Mana to low or non ¨C mana beings is like getting the flu they can be ill but will next time have better immunity to it. Don¡¯t feel too bad the low and non- mana beings have a huge advantage over those with high magic, they can leave the bubbles while the kings and archmages merely glare at them.¡± The old man became aware of his rising voice, taking a deep breath he continued ¡°So yeah we magically inclined are trapped in the bubble and have to rely on them to import food as we cannot create enough within the bubbles for the increasing population, it is a growing concern.¡± The old man certainly looked worried. And what about me Neo thought can I go home? Before Neo could ask they were interrupted when a soldier entered and saluted ¡°Sir everything is ready the ring has been delivered and is in the middle of the clearing area.¡± Nodding Tulaa relieved the soldier. ¡°Right then, ready to learn something new about yourself?¡± He got up and walked out of the tent Neo followed ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we¡¯re about to remove the limiters from your new found power, How do you think it will go?¡± As he left the tent Neo found himself blinded by the bright light outside, it took a little while before his eyes adjusted. What he saw shocked him the tower looked as if it hadn¡¯t been touch, the dragon''s body was gone everything was pretty normal apart from a misty hew where the dragon''s body should have been. ¡°Where¡¯d the dragon go?¡± ¡°What, It¡¯s been chopped up and stored for you, as the one who slew it you get to keep its parts for profit, armour or weapons making. I guess I should welcome you to the 1% who have slain a dragon, it is worth a lot!¡± As they were talking Neo saw that they were walking up to a large group of people. Neo smiled as he noticed Bethany within the group, he jogged up to her ¡°Hey, how are you?¡± She smiled and laughed lightly there was a short moment of awkwardness, she jumped forward, and they both hugged it was nice to see a familiar face. ¡°Much better knowing that you''re safe and yourself. The fright I had after hearing that you were fighting a dragon, and the relief when I heard that you¡¯d been found. I wasn¡¯t even allowed to see you, they were worried that the power might corrupt your mind and change who you are.¡± Tulaa tugged on his shirt ¡°come on let¡¯s get you sorted and then you can get a room and make out!¡± ¡°What!¡± both of them said staring at the old man the old man blinked ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter hurry up I haven¡¯t got all day!¡± Neo forgetting what the old man had said when he noticed Gie standing out of the way and also more disturbing he saw Jane with her bun and cold eyes which sent shivers up his spine. Neo shook himself and followed Tulaa into a circle that had been painted on to the grass. He stood next to the box that was in the middle of the ring, the old man gave him instructions of what he needed to do. It was pretty simple really all he had to do was use the key in one box to remove the chains and then move to the next box open it and put on the ring. The old man moved out of the circle the group spread out around the circle, apart from the old man, Jane, Bethany and Gie. Once everyone gave the nod of approval, there was multi-coloured energy that started on the red lines that slowly moulded together enclosing Neo within a bubble that slowly settled. Seeing through the thin film that surrounded him, he noticed that the old man gave the nod to begin. Opening the box at his feet he saw four keys, one for each bracelet, after unlocking three of them nothing had happened, but Neo noticed that the people outside where tense like they were ready to run or fight. It wasn¡¯t until he removed the last bracelet that Neo realised why they were. As the feeling of being uplifted, being able to breathe easier, like there had been an anvil pressing his body in the ground, he smiled with confidence looking around he understood why they called it uncontrolled mana as arches of magic energy battered the barrier. Neo didn¡¯t care though he was enjoying the power rush he wondered if he could break the barrier by pushing against. He could kill everyone he relished the thought of it and grew excited with the notion to feast on their flesh and break them from the inside out. A pair of golden circles caught his sight thinking that his first target had come to meet its end, he stepped towards the barrier intending to break it open like tin foil. But stopped once he realised who those eyes belonged too, Neo¡¯s heart ached at having such a horrible thought, looking past the shield and the blue hew into Bethany¡¯s eyes, she was kneeling on the floor, and her words echoed through his head, ¡®No! I will not be corrupted! I am the master of my mind, that was not me!¡¯ Neo screamed in his mind. Looking around he saw the second box and walked towards it before those nasty thoughts re-entered his head, the uncontrolled mana had torn a hole through the box, he hoped that the ring was still good As the ring touch his finger. ¡°Neo, Neo are you OK Neo wake up¡± he heard a sweet voice that he recognised He replied, ¡°I¡¯m ok what happened?¡± ¡°You almost went into dragons rage, it afflicts every young dragon they solve everything at that age with violence it wasn¡¯t the dragon madness. But you got through it I am so glad, but then you had a seizure and collapsed.¡± ¡°Yeh I had some horrible thoughts, I thought about killing you, I saw you though the shield. The shield faltered, and I knew I could walk through it like it was nothing. I wondered if anyone could stop me the feeling was quite overwhelming, I don¡¯t want to do that again.¡± Neo said looking off into the distances, his heart was aching over it and tears dropped to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s ok Neo, you don¡¯t have to take the ring off again if you don¡¯t want to!¡± Bethany said hugging him while he cried. He took a deep breath regaining his composer, his mum had always told him it was ok to cry, when you are scared or sad it¡¯ll help you conquer by merely accepting it. Neo looked at the plain blue ring on his finger seeing that it fitted snuggly giving relief to Neo¡¯s scattered mind. Looking at the group nearly all were sitting or lying on the ground looking very tired, Gie was standing a little way back glowing blue, Jane and the old man were talking intently. ¡°Why is Gie Blue?¡± Bethany looked a little sheepish as she looked at the glowing Gie. ¡°He was here as a contingency, incase you weren¡¯t able to stave off the dragon''s rage, He is a dragon killer, with three dragons to his name. So the council thought he would be enough to put you down if you attacked. I was here to support him if you gave in.¡± Ignoring the fact that she could have signed his death warrant ¡°Wow, how many dragon slayers are there?¡± Gie''s grinding voice answered his question ¡° There are, few dozens, dragon slayers, I doubt, you kill, sane dragon!¡± ¡°Thank you, Gie for the support I¡¯m glad you believed in me!¡± ¡°No prob, I do think, you can now, fight a dragon, and not die.¡± Jane and the old man had finished talking and were moving towards them, once they got close, the old man stepped forward ¡°Glad to see you survived, it would have been a pain to kill you, glad we didn¡¯t have to! We will be escorting you to the academy now so please follow us, will be heading to the scar.¡± After hearing what Tulaa said Neo asked "What academy?" Tulaa replied to Neo query "Well, Neo you''re going need to learn how to control your powers and emotion and keep you close just encase you have the same madness that the dragon has. Jane here has hope that as you were human that whatever affected the dragon won''t affect you. but until we know for sure, we''ll need to have someone keep an eye on you." he gestured at Bethany and Gie Everyone in the area slowly grouped up with Neo in the middle they head away from Beacon city. After about an hour of walking, Neo could finally see what a scar was it was a bright golden streak zigzagging down from the clouds fading into nothing. Neo grew curious and said aloud ¡°So if you move past the scar you¡¯ll be outside?¡± Tulaa replied to Neo¡¯s query ¡°Yes, and you would slowly die, but if you¡¯re a dragon or other flying creature you can enter and leave through another way, we have yet to understand how they do that. You don¡¯t need anything special only a little bit of mana to open and close the scar.¡± They had finally arrived at the scar which stretched high into the sky it was surrounded by towers. He stood in front of the scar as one of the escorts touched it. Chapter 9 - Grand Entrance The scar reacted to the escort touching it with a burst of multicoloured light which quickly changed into a black hole. It responded very similarly to the portal formed two weeks ago when Neo arrived two weeks ago. As the escort passed through, sending a ripple out like a stone in a still pond, but it reformed before anyone else walked into it. Finally, it was Neo¡¯s turn. He looked towards Bethany, and she sent him a calming smile. The moment was ruined as the rock spoke up, annoyingly pointing out that if they didn¡¯t hurry the portal may collapse. ¡°Thanks, Gie, I really needed to know that,¡± Said Neo as he looked back at the unapologetic hunk of rock. Bethany laughed, ¡°It very rarely happens, as long as you trust the people not to close it. Otherwise, the only other way it¡¯ll close is if there is a disruption in the Bubble!¡± The rock nodded in agreement. He seemed to be sweating a little under the blazing gaze that Bethany was exchanging with him. Smiling, Neo nodded before stepping through the portal. There was a moment of darkness before bright psychedelic colours assaulted his eyes. The path ahead was straight as an arrow and black as night. The bubble way was aptly named as the walls around the black path were spherical inshape. Each sphere connected with another, creating a tunnel. The bubbles had multicoloured swirls that pulsed with life. The entire structure contrasted with the black path. When Neo looked closely into the multicoloured bubbles, something shifted and the bubble way seemed to fade slightly, giving way to a white world where golden colours blew past them. It was like the wind was yielding to the bubble way. Looking back, he saw the vast sphere that was Beacon City. The huge bubble seemed to consume a small part of this golden wind. Neo¡¯s mouth was agape at the magnificent sight that he was observing. Gie patted him on the shoulder and brought his attention back to the multicoloured bubble way. ¡°Hurry up, stop gawking.¡± The group had finished coming through and everyone had started walking away from Beacon City. Neo caught up with them, somehow ending up back in the middle of the group. After the initial shock and awe, the bubble way turned into a never-ending assault on the senses. The walk was long and uncomfortable. Everyone else seemed to ignore the colours, or perhaps they were just used to it. The multicoloured light show made him dizzy, but thankfully, Neo could finally see another black portal, which appeared to be the exit, up ahead. The group slowed and waited for the escort who had entered the bubble way first to step forward. He again stepped through the portal and the rest of the group followed after. As Neo stepped through, blackness surrounded him, but then the world brightened, and he covered his eyes while waiting for them to adjust. What he saw was amazing. A crystal clear lake with a beach was right infront of them. Along the shore in either direction, the beach gave way to cliffs that encircled the lake. But, it was the floating hunks of rock that seemed to pull the lakewater up and around them that captured Neo¡¯s attention. The water seemed to leap in spouts that gripped the floating rocks. Neo wondered whether the academy was attached to them. Just think of all the academies and schools that are attached to precarious places in stories and games. Awed at these humongous flying rocks, there were about a dozen lazing around up in the air over the lake, the group walked down to the dock where a few men were sitting around in armour. Neo nodded to the group as we continued straight onto the dock where a young man was sitting near the water¡¯s edge. Neo wondered how they¡¯d get up to the floating rocks and was excited to see how they would go about doing it. Once they reached the young man, Old Warm Hands talked to him. The young man then went to a green copper pipe that bent down into the water, he rang it just like a bell, though there was no noise coming from it. As the man continued ringing it the water slowly boiled. Neo¡¯s anticipation was similarly roiling. What would it be? A rocket, a flying machine that would defy gravity, or maybe a flying creature to whisk us away into the airborne academy. His hopes and dreams were dashed when the top of a ship broke through the surface of the water. It looked like an old war galley with its lower decks missing. Neo could tell that the ship had been cut in half as the upper half was sitting on top of a giant, green glowing jellyfish. As the waves caused by the surfacing rippled out, the people on board pushed out a bridge, connecting the dock to the giant jellyfish as it moved a little under the waves of the lake. Old Warm Hands stepped up on to the bridge and looked back ¡°Come lad, only those allowed will be able to come along.¡± Neo looked around and saw that Bethany, Gie, and Jane had already moved to thefront while the escorts had stepped back to watch. As Neo caught up with the now much smaller group, he looked at Bethany, ¡°How are you allowed in?¡± Bethany laughed while blushing, ¡°No, I¡¯m here for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being such a pain in the backside. You could be doing your job,¡± said Neo. ¡°I¡¯m working, I¡¯ve been asked to be the contingency plan with Gie. Incase you do something wrong, we can work on it!¡± Answered Bethany. ¡°Or kill me,¡± Neo said, looking at Gie. Gie just snorted in response. Bethany ignored the two of them and continued to the jellyfish ship, ¡°Come on Neo, get on before we leave.¡± Hopping onto the giant jellyfish, and excited at what was about to happen, Neo had a quick look around. The ship didn¡¯t have a mast, just a wooden post with symbols, otherwise it was a regular ship. On second glance, however, while the crew got to preparing to set off, Neo noticed that there were symbols all over the boat, carved into every corner. They moved away from the docks, and his anticipation grew with what was about to happen. As the ship moved away from the docks, Neo felt himself get lighter. He grinned, but was horrified moments later as the water started to rise. It rose past the rim of the deck and kept going until it had formed a dome around the ship.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The suddenness of the dive had left him surprised and light-headed. Looking around at the others, Neo found most of them sitting around looking bored. But Bethany and Gie where looking at him with a smile on their faces, or at least Neo imagined that Gie was smiling, since having Gie always staring at him was like have a blade at his throat. "Not quite what you expected?" Bethany asked. "No, it wasn''t, I thought we would be flying up to the floating rocks,and that''s where you would have a magic academy.I wasn''t really expecting that it would be in the lake," answered Neo. "Yeah, I was surprised when I first came here, too. But it''s still cool," said Bethany. "How''d you end going to the academy?"Asked Neo Bethany touched the side of her eyes, "Anyone that is born in Beacon City who exhibits magic or magical abilities, like telekinesis or truth seeker abilities, join for free. In order to learn how to control those powers and make good use of them." Nodding in understanding Neo came up with a question, "So¡­ will I have to pay to attend the academy?" "Yes, but you shouldn''t worry about that. A few dragon parts will easily cover the cost of your entire education. It¡¯s considered an elite school for the rich merchants. Nobles and royalty send their children, too. As all nobles breed for magical power, almost all of those in that social class have magic to some extent. There is really a huge power gap between the nobility and the middle and lower classes." Bethany said. She had spoken the last part in a pretty cold tone. "So, should I expect a cold welcome from said nobility?" Asked Neo. In an equally cold tone, she replied, "I can pretty much guarantee it!" ''Oh joy,'' Neo thought, ''self-important people, the bane of everyone else''s existence.'' "Anything I can do to avoid them?" "Nope, the only two states they are ever in are either the position of power, or the supplicant position. The first one will ridicule you and the second one will bow and scrape for your attention. Both are equally annoying." Smiling Neo replied with curiosity, "What did you do to get to know both reactions?" The question put a smile on her face "I challenged one of the nobles to a duel, which I might add is legal in the academy. There is a rule that while they are students, they are all of the same standing as everyone else. They might be powerful within their own country, but here they can''t order you around or command your death like they would in their kingdom. It does mean that I cannot go to some kingdoms, though. Just incase they haven''t forgotten the beating I laid down on them." ¡°Haha,¡± Neo imagined Bethany jumping around on her stilts, flinging out her wand and shooting fireballs out of it. ¡°So, you beat someone and then everyone respected you by bowing and scraping.¡± She shrugged, ¡°Pretty much. It was more than one though. I lost some, won a lot, and I was respected but never allowed into the top tier until my last year.¡± ¡°So¡­ how close will you be staying?¡± Neo asked. Gie replied from behind him, making Neo jump, ¡°Be right ¡­behind you ¡­every second ¡­of day ¡­watching every ¡­move.¡± Neo glared at Gie, ¡°I hope not, I still need the toilet and I can promise I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need to be there?¡± Bethany spoke, ¡°No, we¡¯ll give you your privacy, mostly anyway. We will be joining you for your classes, and anywhere else you go, but while inside your room we will be outside. I will only tell you that we¡¯re just here to watch you. We have been asked to only interrupt the schools ongoing classes if you somehow go mad and start killing people. So yeah, no getting out of school politics.¡± ¡®Right¡¯, Neo thought. He had been hoping that he would be able to use the fact of their existence would make him immune to would-be annoyances. Well, hopefully he could still make them think a little before doing anything. He was already getting a headache from all of the possible politics and group interactions he¡¯d have to endure. ¡®Distraction time¡¯ he thought ¡®stop thinking and react to it when it happens if it happens¡¯. Nodding he turned to Bethany, ¡°How long does this journey last?¡± ¡°Anywhere from an hour to two hours, it depends.¡± ¡°Depends on what?¡± ¡°Whether the current is strong, if we take the shortcut, or if the Jellyfish goes in the right direction.¡± ¡°What shortcut?¡± This comment made Bethany smile, ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll find out!¡± Neo shrugged when he couldn¡¯t get any more from Bethany. He thought about asking Gie, but then decided not to. Knowing what he did about Gie, the chance of anything helpful coming from him would be like getting blood from a stone. Neo went to the edge of the protective sphere and observed the sea creatures, both fantastic and mundane, that swam past. Long and thin fish darted past, leaving red blur line behind them. It seemed that all of the creatures had that same glow as the jellyfish. There were spiky balls that floated lazily around giving off an array of colours throughout its spines. Something was moving in the shadows, too. They weren¡¯t bright or glowing, and they moved fast, but that was all Neo could see of them. A bouncing Bethany made her way over with abroad grin, bringing Neo''s attention back to the ship, ¡°Hey guess what Neo!¡± Smiling at her childlike happiness he replied, ¡°No idea, do say?¡± She continued bouncing around before replying, ¡°We¡¯re taking the shortcut, we¡¯re taking the shortcut, Yay!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the shortcut?¡± He asked without any of the excitement that was evident on Bethany. ¡°Hey, the shortcut is exhilarating and fun, I swear that you¡¯ll be surprised and it¡¯ll make your heart pound,¡± answered Bethany. It was a few minutes later when the crew popped back up on deck and started pushing a plank out past the sphere that was holding back the water. Instead of bursting, the bubble merely extended around the plank letting someone walk onto it. It wasn¡¯t until the plank had been extended out that Neo could actually hear the sound of gushing water. However, there wasn¡¯t any flooding, the water was just rushing past. Slightly above and further out, Neo could see a buoy of some kind floating with a bell-like instrument underneath it. Bethany excitedly spoke, ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Ready for what, I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going to happen, how can I be ready?¡± Shrugging, she called back to Gie ¡°Hey Gie, if he doesn¡¯t follow in a few minutes, make him walk the plank.¡± Gie nodded and stared at Neo, meanwhile Bethany had jumped up and down on the plank in excitement. Jane and the Old Man were waiting behind him. With a few casual glances, Neo assessed that they weren¡¯t at all bothered by the fact that Bethany was about to jump into the water that could crush her. ¡®There must be something about that buoy that¡¯ll protect her¡¯ Neo thought. Neo was wondering what she was waiting for, but he had his answer shortly when a green light lit up the buoy. Bethany gave an excited laugh before whooping and pelting at the rushing water. With a hiss of steam and a slightly manic laugh she jumped in. Within a few seconds, her red and blue glow was gone from sight as she sunk like a stone. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s terrifying. Also, I think Bethany¡¯s a bit of an adrenaline junkie,¡± Neo spoke aloud without thinking and got a reply from mister warm hand. ¡°Yep you¡¯ll probably live, but seriously do you think we¡¯d be using it if it wasn¡¯t safe?¡± ¡®Yes, you probably would get rid of the weak and scared ones. That, or it¡¯s a really good hazing.¡¯ Neo thought, but he didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at where Bethany had been and decided, ¡®I have to trust someone sooner or later, might as well make a leap of faith.¡¯ Getting into position to run, he took a deep breath and tried not to think about it. He ran forward and inelegantly splatted into the wall of water. As the frigid water ran over his body, he felt a heavy weight pulling on him and he rocketed downwards. He somehow managed to orient his face to see where he was going and found light. A bright white light was at the bottom of the lake. Neo¡¯s hands were frozen and he shivered as the white light quickly came towards him. Relief flowed through his body as he exited the water, quickly slowing as he did. He looked at his hands, finding that the water that he had brought with him out of the lake was flowing up his body and leaving in trails to re-join the lake above him. He continued falling slowly, as the water left him he started rubbing his hands, butthe trip hadn¡¯t ended yet. He couldn¡¯t see Bethany above or below him. ''I really need to make sure I can land,'' as he thought this there was an increase in his speed as gravity gripped hold of him again.He lookedback up to see moving stars within the watery blackness. Looking down he saw buildings. There were arenas, forests, fields, and flying fireballs. ¡®Wait, what? Why are there floating fireballs?'' The air around Neo was becoming a little hot. As he passed the fireballs his clothes quickly dried and he noticed that the fireballs were actually several rings of metal with writing on them. Once past the fire-rings, with a few splotches obscuring his sight, he could really feel that he¡¯d started to pick up speed as the wind whipped past his head. He''d ended up going head first. Seeing the ground get closer, Neo covered his head with his hands and screamed. Chapter 10 - Beacons Academy, Introduction Neo felt a massive tug on his guts, forcing his stomach into his mouth as he slowed rapidly before stopping. Even though Neo didn''t feel as if he had splattered into the hard earth, he hadn''t landed yet. His eyes opened to find that he had stopped a few inches off the ground in a large arena. It had several entrances and some stands for people to sit. Looking down, he saw that he was above some sort of enchantment. He heard some unknown voice, "If yer want to get down, then stand up!" Neo replied curtly as his stomach started reeling, "What? Stand up? I am in midair how can I stand up." "Don''t yer get snippy with me, now move before that stupid meteor crushes you," said the voice. Neo¡¯s eyes bulged as he looked up and saw a blue light falling out of the sky. Standing up he found almost instantly that there was a resistance that he could push against. Not questioning anything, he jumped to the ground and found the world spinning as he got up too quickly. He gripped his head and walked away from the landing pad. He heard a great boom as Gie landed with a spectacular fire and blue light. Neo was incredulous as Gie had managed to land in a superhero position in the molten hole it had just made. Neo imagined that had he been standing there, he would have of been smashed to bits all over the place. After a few moments he emptied his stomach and was quite glad to take a seat on the sandy floor as his head was still spinning. Then Bethany skipped over with a huge grin, "That was awesome! How''d you like it Neo." Neo looked up pale faced and she decided the answer herself. She tried to comfort him instead, "Don''t worry it''ll be better next time." The meteorite had removed himself from its hole and walked over to both of them without missing a step. Suddenly, Gie was much furrier as something was clawing at its face while shouting, "Didn''t I tell you last time you plummeted down that I''d tear yer bloody face off!" Neo just watched as this furred creature clawed and picked at the rock¡¯s simple face while Gie didn''t move or defend himself. Laughter was all Neo could do as he watched the furry creature removed itself from Gie¡¯s upper body leaving a clean slate where his face just was. After laughing for a few minutes at Gie''s expense, Neo eventually got over it. Though, he giggled a little every time he looked at Gie¡¯s expression, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, the furry creature had walked back to the hole in the ground and moved his hands in front of himself. His hands glowed a brownish colour and earth poured from them and into the hole until it disappeared as if it wasn''t there. ¡¯Wow!¡¯ Neo thought, ¡®That was awesome!¡¯ Forgetting about the faceless Gie, he walked over to the furry man using magic. Now close to the hole, Neo poked it but found it solid. He thought that it might have been cement at first because of the way it flowed. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡± He asked the furry person. The person had a lightly extended neck, long thin horns, and pooling black eyes. The furry person looked around towards Neo and started moving very slowly away from him. It was the polar opposite of what Neo had just witnessed. "Sorry," Neo said, shaking himself from looking into the inky darkness, "My name is Neo, I was wondering how you did that?" Neo pointed at where the hole had been. The goat like creature looked where Neo was pointing and answered his question in it slow motion, "I am a darkness and earth magic user!" After waiting about a minute for the goat-man to say more, Bethany had drawn up beside Neo and was tugging on his shirt. Once the old goat had answered the question, he slowly continued moving away again. Neo looked at Bethany for answers, but he found that her head was bowed. "Thank you Master Elfin, for the knowledge you gave us!" Neo realised that he should hold his tongue and wait to ask any questions until later. Elfin eventually left the arena, Neo also realised that the other two teachers were not coming down. He turned to Bethany, "So¡­ What was that about?" "He''s a teacher and under no obligation to tell you anything, especially not their abilities or magic, apart from in the classroom where they teach you of course. But, don''t ever ask a teacher about their magic." "Ok, lesson learned. Don''t ask about the teachers magic. So, what does he do?" "Well as I told you Master Elfin is a teacher and the Gatekeeper for the school. People call him the slow watcher, behind his back of course, but you saw how fast he dealt with Gie. He¡¯s anything but slow." "So why was he so slow, hell, what is he?" Bethany shrugged, "Very few people find out and those who do don''t tell for some reason, but there are many theories. I am sure you''ll find some out later." Neo looked around at what felt like an old Roman arena. It was all stone with little comfort and sandy flooring. "By the way, where are the other two?" he asked while looking at the now walking away Bethany. "Ow,they¡¯re going the to the docks of course." "So, we didn''t have to jump? I almost died of a heart attack!" Bethany sheepishly fiddled with her fingers, "Well no, but life is a risk. We are born to die, so why not experience everything you can!" Neo couldn''t reply to that. It reminded him of his old life and what he''d missed before, either because he wasn''t courageous enough or because he let people stop him by telling him what he could and couldn''t do. He realised that it shouldn''t be like. Maybe he should be more like Bethany, jumping at the opportunity that was presented and bowing to no one. He liked the thought of that as his mind stirred.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. While this thought whirled around his mind they wandered out through a large double door that ledinto a locker room. One thing above all that Neo noticed was the smell. It had a sweet irony smell, telling the story of the battle that took place there. As they moved past the prep room, they continued into a reception room. Only after that room did they exit the arena where Neo was greeted by but the sight of dozens of students running, flying, cycling and swimming. There were canals, which were constructed throughout the grounds of the academy, along with equally large buildings that had a mixture of spires, greenhouses, and stone buildings. Snapping back to the now after his short selfreflection he asked, "So where do we go now?" Bethany pulled out a notebook flipping to a set page and pulled her goggles down to read, acting extremely polite. "The schedule for today says we''re going to see the headmaster and then get you situated in the in dorms. That''ll be it for tonight. Then tomorrow you''ll start classes properly. But, since they have no idea what you can do, they''ll need to test you in combat." She finished with her tongue poking out and a massive grin on her face, "Don''t think I haven''t been busy while you''ve been lying down all week." "Thank you, Bethany, I am glad someone is organised, because I am having trouble keeping up with all this exercise and excitement." Neo yawned as the thought of sleep and bed came to mind. They continued onward into the centre of the academy where there was a large building standing proudly. At first glance, the rock face looked perfect, there weren¡¯t even any grooves. But, on closer inspection, he could see there were chiseled signs and images that Neo recognised as druidic symbols with forestry etched around them. It was a beautiful sight to see. Like the central symbol above the main doors into the reception room in the arena, the building also had a beautiful dragon lying under a tree. They entered the main entrance which led them to a marble floored, high ceiling room with lit floating orbs in the air brightening the space up. Bethany went up to the receptionist and talked for a few moments before she came back and informed him that the headmaster was in a meeting and they''d have to wait for a while. But Neo was a little grateful as he sat down and rested his body which felt weak. It was an exciting experience as he watched all the different students going about their daily business in the matching uniforms. The females wore skirts and blouses and the males had trousers and a shirt. Both had a symbol of a dragon lying under a tree embroidered into the jackets and shirts. Neo realised then that he''d have to put with dressing up in uniform from now until he graduates again. Why would someone want to go back to school and wear those horrible uniforms? He knew the answer. It was because it would level the playing field so that there wouldn''t be as much of a difference between a poor student and a rich one, not to mention all the peer pressure that comes with keeping up with the Joneses. It was also a badge of pride, creating an identity for the school. Unfortunately, Neo''s rest didn''t last as long as he wished before the receptionist came from behind the counter to inform them that the headmaster was ready to see them. If there one thing Neo hated more than anything, it was stopping and starting when all he wanted to do was to sleep and rest. Begrudgingly, Neo got up from his comfortable seat and followed the recptionist through the hallways, past classrooms which were either in use or left empty. It took them quite a while to. Once they entered the passage Neo examined the long red-carpet and forest patterns on the walls. Neo managed to get glances in the rooms along the way and he saw lots of teachers at their desks discussing something with their co-workers. Some of the teachers were curious about the new arrivals and were poking their heads out to see better. They came to the end of the corridor, to a double set of doors which the Receptionist pushed open, introducing them as she did, "Sir the new student is here, Young Master Neo and his companions Bethany Truth Shredder and Protector Gie." With a small crowd of interested teachers behind them, Neo was quite glad when the door closed behind him as the receptionist left. Stepping forward Neo saw an old man sitting behind a massive oak desk, and it made Neo think. ¡®What is it with the huge desk, is he trying to intimate those who enter or what? Don''t they know that fear is the worst way of managing? Sure, it¡¯s less work, but often things go a bit beyond them as no one wants to be here. So they avoid coming, and trouble starts when they go behind the bosses back to avoid him or her.¡¯ Waiting for the old man to start talking, Neo took in the surroundings. Apart from the desk there were huge bookcases. Neo tried looking for any books he knew, but there was nothing. Not a single one. It was a long while before the old man even looked up from his desk and, finally, Neo could see he was another beast kin. Neo thought that he was an owl. He had mistaken his white feathers for the white hair of an old man at first. It made sense, he guessed, to pair wisdom and magic. The headmaster¡¯s big eyes disturbed him very much, as if he was looking at a predator who didn''t even see Neo as anything more than the human he looked like at the moment, seeing as he had covered the blotches of scales before leaving. The old man spoke, breaking whatever hold he had over Neo as the man didn''t nearly look as dangerous as before. "Hello Neo. I have a report detailing everything you''ve done, and I even have a direct order from the council to take you in and teach you. I''ll be clear, I don''t like being ordered to do anything. So, I am going to have you take a test, as any other wannabe has to do, to enter my academy. If you pass,then this academy would do everything we can to save you,and if you don''t then we''ll use you as a case study in biological manipulation and study you!" Neo was quivering, ¡®Damn, that intensity is insane how is he doing that?¡¯ Looking toward Bethany he could see that she was standing perfectly normal, if a little silent and obedient. Surprisingly, Neo found that he was growing angry and doing so seemed to relieve the intensity that he was feeling. Forming a fist, an image of tearing the throat out of this arrogant old man popped into mind. Neo took a step forward, and another, with his vicious intent raising so much that the pressure had gone, and instead, the old man was sweating. But, he didn''t have any worry written on his face, only interest and curiosity. This was a clear warning, but it didn''t dissuade his anger, it only enraged him. Stepping forward, he glanced back to see Bethany. She had her eyes closed and tears were forming and dropping to the ground. Bethany¡¯s worry and caring were like a wet blanket. Twice in one day she made him stop and think. His anger abated as he took a step back, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He took another and breathed even deeper and released his anger into the universe. Once he was sure he had his anger under control, he opened his eyes and found the headmaster smiling and nodding. He felt a small pair of arms around his waist, and a now slightly moist T-shirt as Bethany hugged him. "I hated that, everything going inky black, it gives me the creeps. I''ve never seen something like it before." Patting Bethany on the back Neo looked back at the owl man, who was looking a little concerned and confused at the image in front of him. "Sorry about that Neo, I had heard you might have an emotional problem with that dragon blood flowing through you, and I wanted to test you before letting you near my students who can be very annoying. Anyway, it''s why you might feel a little hot in here since I used my mana to get a reaction. You passed, by the way, I was checking if you could control yourself which you did, eventually." ''Thanks to Bethany!'' Neo thought The Headmaster directed them to a set of leather chairs. "My name''s Helix. I''ve had a timetable made for you, with special classes for you to learn control that anger, learn magic, and combat like the other students. But first, we need to learn what skills you have before assigning you to exact classes. I''ll have you go with our best instructor to be assessed, then you''ll be able to rest for the day." Neo coughed, "I was told that I shouldn''t be doing any activity and I tend to listen to my doctor. You know, like everyone should." Helix waved his hand, "Don''t worry about it, I''ll have a healer there to make sure you don''t die." Neo slightly panicked, "What do you mean ¡®make sure I don''t die¡¯, would I die from the test?" Helix shrugged, "You shouldn''t, but I won''t have you test against a student. That would be just too dangerous and uncontrolled." Neo nodded in understanding. He didn''t really have any magic, so if he stood against a student who didn''t have good control that would most definitely kill him. A little while later, as they were discussing his room and that of his bodyguards, there was a knock on the door. Helix called out for whoever it was to enter. Neo got up to see who it was and found a hulking great big lion kin with bulging muscles, a luscious mane, and shining fangs and claws. Neo took in the fantastic sight and thought, ¡®This is going to be fun!¡¯ as a smile sprouted on his face. Chapter 11 - The Cat has Claws Part 1 The lionman came to a stop in front of the desk and in a loud voice says "Sir, I''ve come to collect our new student to test him, sir." "Thank you Alec, and I can hear you perfectly fine at normal levels of volume. Your testee is the young man beside you." Helix used his finger to gesture towards Neo. Alec''s fiery lion eyes travelled Neo''s body, observably not impressed he turned back to Helix and still in a loud voice said, "Sir, are you sure we should test this human? He looks like he''ll snap in two just standing there, sir." Neo couldn''t say anything to that, as he did look horribly pale and tired. Helix lazily waved his hand, "We will have one of the healers there to stop him from dying. Just don''t kill him on purpose and he should be fine!" ''Seriously'' Neo thought. He was surprisingly excited about fighting, mainly because he could then tell everyone that defeated a lion barehanded, but it was also good practice since he hadn''t moved or sparred in weeks "Right then!" Alec looked at Neo, "Follow me." Alec stomped out of the room after saluting Helix, who sighed in return."I wonder if he relaxed, would he just fall down dead? You''d best follow him, and I''ll be interested in seeing what''ll the first human in¡­ I have no idea how long will fair." As they followed Alec out of the room Neo''s eyes followed the mesmerising tail that floated so daintily behind the tough looking lion in red leather training gear. Alec guided them out of the academy and out onto a field with several rectangular arenas surrounded by stands. Quite a few students seemed to be loitering around, but when they saw Alec and Neo several of them became interested in what was happening and followed to observe. Finally they came up to a stand which had a clear ball on it. The ball was about the size of a basketball, maybe slightly more prominent. Alec stepped up and stood behind said sphere, "Right, to get started let¡¯s measure your magical ability. Place your hand on the clear ball, it''ll also give us an idea of what we can do with you." Neo stepped up to the ball and nervously placed his hand on it. The ball shined brightly before the light retreated inwards where Neo was left with a glowing orb the size of a tennis ball that was greying into blackness. Alec''s eyebrow rose, however, there were whispers and snickers from the crowd that had formed after they had seen the bright flash Neo also saw some of the teachers standing at the back, talking. There was Old Warm Hands, Jane, and her hooded assistant who he never got the name of. Grunting, Alec jumped off the stand, "Do you know anything about weapons?" As Neo moved to keep up the crowd also followed, "Hm, I''m ok with them. I know the basic of holding and using some like the bow, sword, spear and staff. I have little experience with the gun." Alec scoffed at the word gun "That''s good. You won''t need any experience with the gun since they''re pretty useless against any mages, and the tougher creatures can easily survive them. Plus you can''t enchant them. Now prove that you know how to you use this weapon." Neo grabed the wooden sword that was flung at him as Neo walked into the arena. There was a spike in the conversation from the crowd, Neo ignored them and set up opposite from Alec. Alec started off gently with a few swings that had none of his body weight behind it. But, once he realised that I wasn''t going to keel over, he started increasing the intensity of his swings and movements Unable to block a specially vicious blow, Neo instead he deflected it away with his blade at an angle. Neo needed to take the initiative. He couldn¡¯t just keep taking the attacks, as the likelihood of getting hit increased exponentially the more time passed. Seeing the next attack coming across he bentback, bending his back leg to make more space. The blade whistled past and Neo pounced with his sword pointed at Alec''s stomach. Alec¡¯s sword blurred to block the attack causing Neo¡¯s arm to numb and flail as he was hit. Neo knew that he was wide open, but he was too close to Alec. Closing the distance, Neo punched Alec in the stomach causing the Lion to take a step back. Not giving Alec the time to re-adjust he used the pommel of the sword to strike Alec''s sword arms shoulder. Neo then used the momentum of the rebounded sword to swing it up and under Alec''s chin, ending the bout in seconds. There was a round of applause from the students and teachers. Looking back to Alec, Neo found the lion had a spark in his eyes and Neo wondered if he was grinning or grimacing. From deep with the furry face a growl emitted, "About time you stopped defending. I see that you do have the skills you boast of, you have my apologies. But I will still have to test you in your other areas to see where you need improvement."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Alec walked back to the shelf''s and grabbed a pair of staffs. Sighing, Neo caught the staff that was thrown at him and took a deep breath to calm his ragged breathing. ''Man, I wish I were fitter. This is going to be embarrassing.'' Neo held out the staff in a defensive posture, he wasn''t wrong in his thinking as the sparing went on. The attacks got harder while Neo''s arms only got more tried as it went on. He had tried on several occasions to take back the flow, but with his lack of endurance he couldn¡¯t get the motions right, and Alec wasn''t going to be embarrassed twice in one day. Then the worst happened, an overhead attack came plummeting down. Neo met it, but with his tiredness, he didn''t angle it right and he ended up taking the full force of the attack. Neo cried out as he heard the sound of his arm cracking from the force that was applied to it. Alec saw the mistake and pulled back while the healer ran up to Neo and started asking questions. After explaining what he felt and where, the healer placed her hand on his arms, and a soothing sensation replaced the aching pain that was radiating from his arms. The healers breath became more ragged and drops of sweat started dripping down her nose, but the pain faded and Neo found that his eyes were drooping. The vibe from within the small crowd was generally impressed with Neo¡¯s skill and was curious at why he was suddenly wracked with pain, but the excitement that was in the air had disappeared. When they realised that the fight wouldn''t continue the crowd started fading away with only a few who stayed. Alec walked to Neo looking a little sheepish, if a lion could be sheepish. "Sorry Neo, I got a little carried away back there. I should have stopped once I realise you''re excellent well beyond the fairies that usually arrive. I let my excitement at a worthy opponent get the better of me, and forgot that you were in a weakened state. Actually, saying that out loud just elevates how impressive that was." Neo smiled at the praise. Neo had figured out how Alec worked. He relied on his large frame and strength, so Neo just relaxed and diverted a vast majority of the blows. If only he weren''t so unfit he might have lasted longer or managed to take the initiative. Alec continued speaking. "I will put off the rest of the tests, like the bow and hand to hand, until tomorrow." The remaining people that were waiting around disappeared after they heard that it''ll be restarting the next day. Neo was also gladly listening to him while he sat on the sandy ground, letting the air cool down his hot, sticky body. Alec left after informing Neo that he be here tomorrow, and that he expected him there in the morning. It immensely upset Neo that he wasn''t going to be able to sleep in. The healer who hadn''t let go of his arms finally did so. She moved his arms about and asked relevant questions, but stopped once she saw the blue sealing ring, at which her eyes grew wide. She glanced at the clear ball that was on the pedestal and whistled before bringing her attention back to Neo. She finished asking her questions and informed him that she overhealed and he should recover a lot sooner, but he would be much more tired and suggested that he eat and sleep the rest of the day. Neo really liked that idea as his eyes felt heavy. She left him sitting on the warmish ground and he debated whether he could just sleep right there. Bethany appeared in his view as he watched the water move with its stars pulsing, "Come on Neo, we will get you some food, and I''ve also collected our room keys." Reluctantly, Neo stood up on his wobbly legs and, in a zombie like state, he followed Bethany''s directions. They found the food at the open air canteen which had very nice smell floating out of the entrance. The canteen also had a good view of the water dome and the forested area a little further out. After they finished their meal, they moved on towards a dozen separated, plain looking buildings. Even though they were dull looking there were subtle differences. One of the buildings had a hole in the wall which he was sure that he saw people flying in and out of. They walked past two blocks of these buildings. Neo wasn¡¯t really paying attention to anything around him. He was lead to another building where they entered. Staying on the ground floor, Neo followed Bethany to the back of the building. They had the final three rooms, with one on the left and another on the right, and the last one right at the end of the corridor. Bethany guided him into the right one. Neo took in the room with its simple design. There was a desk, bed, and a cupboard with a separate toilet and shower. Finished taking it in he sat down on the end of the bed and looked back into the corridor where Gie was standing with his faceless form blocking a huge portion of the door. Neo tried looking past him seeing the door opposite him open where Bethany was chucking her luggage about. She saw him looking from behind Gie and said, "I see you in the morning Neo, sleep well!" "Goodnight. Gie do you think you could close the door while you''re standing there?" Neo replied to Bethany, but Gie just crossed his arms, "Okay, I can do it myself, I think." Neo stood up wobbly and walked up to the door then stared at Gie, "Goodnight Gie." Once he slowly closed the door on the unmoving Gie, he headed back to the bed and stripped off his damp clothes before dropping into his bed where he tried to sleep. He tossed and turned trying to sleep, but there was just something on his mind and it irritated him to no end. Something felt wrong. His mentality was different then he expected, but it wasn''t the silences or beating the lion guy. Neo pondered about what he felt was wrong for way too long to the point that he heard the neighbour to his left enter their room. ''I guess Gie finally went to bed.'' Neo thought and continued his pondering until sleep finally came. Chapter 12 - The Cat has Claws part 2 Neo was rudely awoken by some annoying mountain pounding on the door. Neo left the bed finding himself as stiff as a brick, he stretched as he moved towards the door, trying to get the knots out of his muscles. He opened the door to see said mountain, who''s overbearing presence couldn''t be ignored. Neo looked down at the hands of Gie where he found a pile of neatly folded clothes. They were white with strips of grey running through it. With the school badge that had the golden embroidered treewith the dragon lying underneath the tree. Looking through the pile he found that there also seemed to be leather training gear. A voice came from Bethany''s room, "Good morning Neo, get changed into the training gear so you don''t ruin your new uniform." "How did you know my size?" "I didn''t, it was the headmaster. He is unique, to say the least." With that said Neo didn''t think he wanted to know why the headmaster could guess his size from just a look. Taking the clothes,he placed them on the bed and got changed into the training gear before heading back to the door. He opened it to find Gie still standing outside. Neo got curious, "Were you standing there all night?" Gie just crossed his arms saying nothing, but Neo finished the rock¡¯s statement, "''Yes I did, and I''m not happy about it, but somebody had to keep you in here.'' Well, you don''t have to. I don''t even know where the local pub is or have any friends that I need to break the rules for.Nor any mystery to uncover¡­ yet maybe there are hidden chambers somewhere in this academy." After a little pestering, Gie finally moved. ''What''s up with Gie?'' Neo thought to look at the faceless head. ''Is it upset?... I haven''t heard a word from him sincethen.'' He thought back to when Elfin removed his face,''Does he need those pieces of rock to speak?'' Neo decided to ask Bethany who just shrugged, "He''s never really been a talkative being, it''s actually surprising that it''s talked as much as he has. Maybe he¡¯s gotten used to you, he shouldn''t need those lips in order to speak." It intrigued Neo enough that he almost didn''t notice the chills he got as he stepped out into the corridor. Looking at the door to his right he found that he couldn''t take his eye off it. As Bethany started badgering him that they were going to be late, his eye remained glued to the door as he awkwardly walked backwards while staring at it. It wasn''t until Neo had lost sight of the door that he managed to turn away, but there was something in the building that still tugged at him. The further they went away from the dorm, the more he could focus on the crowd that was surrounding the training ground. As he drew closer the beings at the back started separating, allowing them through. Whispers abounded and Neo soon realised that these students weren''t here for extra training. Many of the whisper he heard were mainly about Gie and Bethany. It surprised him that he only heard good things coming from the students about them and he realised that these two were pretty popular for some reason. "So why are you two so well known?" Bethany smiled, "Well for Gie, he¡¯s a seasoned dragon slayer. As for me, I''m the female that got into combat classes and excelled at them. And I was the first to win the class tournaments and almost every other one until I left. Damn, I think they have a plaque somewhere in the academy about it." "Ow, so your both famous?" Bethany shrugged, "I wouldn''t say that, only inside the academy. Outside I''m seen more like a rebel, which I''m quite happy to hold." "Couldn''t that cause problems in the future?" Bethany nodded, "Possibly, but I think you have something a bit more present to worry about, like surviving till classes start." As she finished her sentence Neo could see onto the sandy field and saw that Alec was taking things very seriously. He was topless, with only some leather shorts on, and in his hand was a recurve bow and a quiver full of arrows. "Ah glad you could arrive on time, I was wondering if you''d return with such a big crowd watching. I won''t be going easy on you today, unlike yesterday!" Neo wondered where Alec had gotten all this bravado from. Was it the crowds getting to him, causing him to try and pump up and make a show of power? "But first, let''s see how you do with the bow," Alec said, pushing the bow toward him. He then pointed an arm toward an empty part of the field where there were 3 targets at a variety of ranges. "You have targets at thirty metres, fifty metres, and ninety metres. You have 24 arrows. Three each for round one, where you can take your time and get your eye in, but I''ll still be assessing you, and then 5 arrows for each target as fast as possible." Neo gulped a little, worried at the difficulty. He liked archery, but never worked with a ninety-metre range and never needed to fire rapidly. He always liked the smoothness of dragging the bowstring back to his cheek, taking a slow deep breath before releasing, and then rinse and repeat. It was quite a soothing experience. Standing side on toward the target, Neo held out the bow with a slight bend his arm so that when he shoots the arrow the string won''t catch his arm. He grabbed an arrow, nocked it, and drew the bow back. Aiming at the thirty-metre target, Neo released his breath, held in for a few moments, and released. The arrow shot from his bow, hitting the inner ring. He repeated the process, not thinking too long, otherwise his arms may tire. After the thirty-metre target, he moved onto the fifty metre. Firing the three arrows, each hit roughly in the middle ring with a lucky one hitting the inner ring. Once Neo moved on to the ninety metre target his accuracy dropped dramatically and he only hit the target once.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Although there were many people watching, there weren''t any noises coming from them, which could be bad or good. He didn''t want to look behind him to find out, he just wanted to disappear. Neo asked Alec if the next part was all about speed, and when he got a nod Neo asked if he could get the arrows attached to his back. Getting another nod, Alec disappeared and returned a little while later witha quiver to attach to his back. After he got the quiver comfortable, he took the same stance with his body side on. This time however, as he pulled the arrow out of the quiver he breathed in, and as he pulled the string back with the facing him he breathed out and let go while aiming roughly at the thirty-metre target. Even before the arrow had hit the target he was in the process of drawing the next arrowfrom his back. As the sound of handfuls of arrows left Neo¡¯s bow the crowd stood watching. Fifteen arrows later, Neo stood, back a little sweaty and his arms tired. He observed his hand I work, which wasn''t very good at all. He had scored three in the thirty-metre target, one in the fifty-metre target, and zero in the ninety metre target. He got close though. There was around of applause from the crowd. Neo looked back, he was surprised that his poor attempt was being congratulated. "Well that was surprising. You were really impressive, you actually tried and you used your skills instead of your powers.I like it, very honourable," Alec said coming up beside Neo. "With a little training and practise you''d make a great archer. You did fairly well,but then any the new students that usuallycome indo too when they use their magic, apart from those Elves and Winged beings who pretty much grow up firing them." Neo only hooked on to one phrasein that sentence, and that was ¡®skills instead of your powers¡¯. "Master Alec you mean I could have used my powers to do this?" "Yes, of course." "Why didn''t anyone tell me?" "It usually goes without saying that you can use your powers. This is a magical academy and everyone is here trying to improve themselves, so it really does go without saying. They were also brought up being told to use it as much as possible, to build their strength. Anyway, you passed. How could I let such a physical student go to waste? I don''t get nearly as much exercise and challenge since I left my clan, I hope you impress me with your hand-to-hand." The back of Neo''s neck shivered slightly as Alec moved to the centre of the training field, while the students flowed towards the edges of said field. Alec pounded his fist into his hand, and Neo''s body had goose bumps at the realisation that Alec might not hold back. Neo started to feel a rising pressure in his chest and a grin spread across his face as his excitement overcame his fear and he jumped up and down waiting for the go ahead. "That''s want I am looking for. That fire in you burns brightly, looking for battle and challenge. Bethany give us a countdown, on ¡®go¡¯ we start, understood?" "Yes," Bethany replied. "Yep," Neo then replied. The crowd grew louder in excitement and anticipation, until the countdown started. "Ok people on ¡®go¡¯ you start, three¡­two¡­one¡­go!" Instantly Alec sprinted from across the field to get within arms distance in seconds. It was so fast that Neo just reacted to Alec''s tackle by grabbing the back of his head and simply stepping back and pushing his head into the sandy surface. Then something hit him like a whip straight to the face. Blinking away the tears that welled up from getting something in his eyes, he changed direction, tilting Alec¡¯s head away which was followed by his body. Neo managed to avoid getting grabbed by Alec¡¯s hands and tried to make some space in order to get part of his sight back, but found something constricting around his leg which then pulled hard. Neo went with the pull stepping back into the reach of Alec, who was still facing away from him, but he was standing on all fours, much like how his lineage would have fought on all fours. Alec released Neo and jumped forward before Neo could plant a kick between his tail and his back, hoping to make his tail useless. But Alec must haveseen it coming and moved out of the kicks way. Neo was still blinking his one eye so that it would recover, while keeping his other eye on the lion in front of him, "That would have been very unpleasant, quite vicious of you to damage my tail." Neo coughed a laugh and replied, "You don''t hear me complaining about my eye.It hurts you know, so I had to try and return the favour." "You mean I did return the favour as I don''t enjoy eating dirt you know!" "Well if you stop grabbing and come at me as you''ll be eating it a lot of it!" Alec growled and took Neo up on the offer as he moved in for a few jabs. Alec''s claws were slicing the air a little too close for Neo¡¯s comfort, but after finding that he didn''t get anywhere trying to harm Neo, he drew back and pounced. Neo relaxed, straightened his leg, and rolled with the pounce. He planted his foot into Alec¡¯s abdomen at a slight angle away to Neo''s side, so if hefailed to keep Alecup there he wouldn''t land straight on top of him. Alec sailed over Neo he landed face first, eating more dirt just as promised. As Alec left Neo''s control, Neo continued using his own momentum to roll backward into a standing position and pretty much jumped onto Alec while he was trying to get up onto all fours. Neo punched him in the side of the ribs. That opened up room in order to get one of his arms under Alec¡¯s arms and over his head, which then gave him the other arm. Then Neo put tension on them, and Alec fell down, eating more dirt. Neo then positioned his leg to close his hips so that Alec couldn''t twist and wiggle himself out. There was one problem with Neo¡¯s usage, he wasn''t used to opponents that had a tail. It started thrashing about wildly, knocking Neo¡¯s words from his mouth as he was about the gloat at his victory and ask about how earth tasted. The tail beat on his back annoyingly. It came back toward his face and he opened his mouth and brought his teeth down onto the, apparently sensitive, body part as Alec cried out loud and the whole crowd cringed in empathy. Alec¡¯s howl of pain changed volumes, into one of anger. That''s when Neo heard Bethany shout out loud, "Neo, get off him! He¡¯s going to use magic!" As she said it, Neo could feel Alec''s body and the surrounding air quickly heating. The sweat on his brow dried rapidly and a trail of smoke rose from Alec''s tail and body. Realisation dawned on Neo as to what was about to happen. Neo pushed himself off Alec, ending up rolling away from him, after which Neo looked back to Alec and found what he expected, a flaming lion. ''Man, this cat has more than just claws, jeezz.'' Neo thought before he took a closer look, finding that the only parts of Alec that weren''t on fire were his claws and shorts, which really only gave him one area he could hit. Alec growled, "Never bite a lion¡¯s tail because it''ll turn and bite back!" "Not that I''ve seen any lions that could bite back," Neo vehemently replied. Alec replied with a roar that shocked Neo and dried his skin. He tried to bear hug Neo, but Neo wasn''t having any of it. He was thankful that he''d gotten the training gear, as he used the leather bracers while side stepping and going low, punching Alec in the hip. Alec bent over, offering a free punch that Neo took as he uppercut Alec, causing him to collapse. Neo walked on like nothing had happened, but dived to the floor when he realised that his fist and arm were on fire. Rolling on the floor he eventually put it out and got back up. Checking on his opponent who was rising, Neo just grinned viscously and waited for Alec to rise. Alec glanced at Neo with anger in his eyes before taking a different stance which made Neo wearier. Alec lifted his arm up in a slash movement and his claw brightened into a flaming blue colour, which definitely gave Neo excited chills. Wait, that wasn¡¯t him, the air around him had gotten colder and condensation gathered on his dry head. It wasn''t until Neo saw a shocked look on Alec''s face that he glanced behind himself and found a huge wave rushing toward them. His mind blanked and he had no answer to that as it slapped him in the face. The water cooled off his blistered fists and arms, but he was flung onto the floor where he laid staring up into a mist that had formed. For the first time in the battle he felt fear, as he didn¡¯t have an answer to deal with something that could have killed him. The fear was then replaced with anger. Chapter 13 - Classes, The more you know Neo sat up looking for the one responsible for washing him away. Once the mist had finally dissipated so had his anger as he got time to reflect. He saw that Alec was sitting up, no longer on fire and acting a little sheepish as he looked through the mist, obviously seeing something that Neo couldn''t. He could listen, however. He heard the students whisper excitedly, but, a little quieter than the whispers, was the sound of splashing as someone walked towards them. Through the mist he saw a feminine figure in a white lab coat, it was Jane who walked passed Neo and stopped in front of Alec. With her hand on her hips, she spoke, "Master Alec, what was that about! You know he''s got little magical experience. You could have caused him some serious damage, what do you have to say for yourself?" Alec shivered, whether from the water or her presence, before he replied,"I just wanted to turn the heat up on him, to see how he''d react." Jane replied curtly, "There is a difference between heat and crispy. What about the last attack? That is not an appropriate level of force to use in a simple test. You obviously know that his skills are better than your own. There was no need to continue it once you realised that. Just put him in the advanced course for those in it to learn from him." Alec was crestfallen for a bit, but with Jane''s suggestion of putting Neo into the advanced classes, he seemed to brighten significantly as an idea seemed to pop into his head. He looked over to Neo and, seeing the slightly confused look on his face, he grinned. "My apologies, Master Jane, I got a little carried away again, he''ll definitely be put into the advanced combat classes. Thank you for your assistance." Jane sighed and whispered something under her breath before walking away without even look at Neo. ''Bit cold-hearted?'' he thought. The mist dissipated entirely by the time Jane¡¯s conversation was finished. Everyone one in the crowd was slowly fading away with excited conversations as they went over what they had seen. Bethany came trooping over. "What you doing lying there? You have classes in a bit, hurry back to the dorms and get changed into your class uniform. I''ll go get you a timetable and meet you outside the main building where you met with the headmaster." Before he could reply or ask for a hand up, she was already jogging off away from him. "Is she ok?" He asked the ever silent Gie, who had walked up after Bethany. "Could you give me a hand up, Gie?" The piece of rock didn''t move to help him. "Thank you, so much, Gie!" Neo got up from the floor with his weak legs. All of his adrenaline had drained out of his limbs. Once he''d gotten up, he slowly moved away from the soaking wet field, sloshing back and forth towards the dorms. After closing the door on Gie, while he stood right outside of the door stoic and unmovable, Neo changed out of his soaking clothes. After drying himself off he hung up his wet training uniform, not sure what to do with it. He put on the school uniform, a simple pair of trousers with a shirt and jacket. It had a grey and white colouring and as he tugged at it he thought, ''It feels nice and comfortable. ''He walked to the door and opened it, looking at the imposing figure he asked, "What do you think?" Neo waited patiently for any reaction from it, alas, sadly, nothing came. "Yeah, that''s what I thought. It does look good, thank you." Neo slid past Gie and walked out of the dorm feeling refreshed. With Gie following behind him, he headed towards the canteen to grab some food for the go. Having finished his food before arriving outside the main building, he saw Bethany there. She was with another man who seemed familiar, but who, Neo had trouble recognising. The man stood tall, with black hair andhad a burn scar covering a large part of his face with a Hood slightly obscuring them. Walking up to them Neo spoke cheerfully, "Hello! Bethany, all fresh and awake, so what classes do I have and who''s this?" Bethany turned to him, her eyes were slightly red, but she did have a smile on her face. "This is Conway, he''s Jane''s assistant." Neo was glaring holes through Conway, as he''d been the one to make her cry. The information circled through his mind, "Ow, the tent when that evil¡­ Jane examined me and took samples, you were the one helping her. That''s where I''ve seen you before. So, how did you become a student and assistant for Jane?" Conway smiled as he seemed to remember, "She found me when I was younger and saw some talent, so she took me under her tutelage, which I''m forever grateful for. Been here ever since." Bethany smiled also and reinforced Conway''s statement, "He was here when I attended, however, he wasn''t an assistant but a student in the last years of his studies. Where did you go after you finished anyway?" Conway answered, "I just went on a hiatus for a year or two. Exploring, learning, you know, enjoying life while I''m still young and able to run away." Bethany laughed. After hearing her laugh Conway continued talking, "I''d love to tell you about sometime, if you want?" Neo was suddenly imagining throwing Conway''s burning body into the corona of the sun. Or just gouging out his eyes and then roasting them over a fire and eating them and many more horrible ideas which each felt right. Interrupting Bethany, using some of his manners, he asked, "Sorry Conway, but Bethany you have my timetable. I believe I might have classes or something?" Bethany looked at Neo with faintly red cheeks and a slightly confused look before she snapped back to attention and spoke, "Yeah, sorry Conway we''d best be off, I''d think it be nice to hear about your adventures, sometime soon." Once they had entered the main building, Neo asked again what his timetable was like and Bethany replied, "Today you have your first class in about ten minutes. History, , basics of magic, and then magic practice. Then you have the rest of the day to yourself, where you can join a club or just study, but your expected to do something." Neo kicked the floor, damn it ''all I want to is relax after studying so much.'' "Hey, Bethany could you please lead the way, also are there any pubs or nightlife in the academy?" Bethany laughed at his question as she headed toward a plain looking corridor where she continued talking. "Nope, there isn''t any sort of nightlife in the academy. It tends to be a bad idea to mix alcohol and mages. It''s actually banned for magic users to drink or use recreational drugs for obvious reasons, so count yourself as warned." Neo¡¯s life was just getting worse and worse. No alcohol and no drugs, not that he''d ever taken any, all taken from him by law. And, to add to that, he was theoretically stuck in the bubbles now that he had magic.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He hoped he wasn''t since it would make things very difficult, like reaping the souls of thousands of humans. "The problems of power, so¡­." Neo started, but thought about what he was going to say and thought better of it. They turned a corner and walk past two doors before Bethany stopped outside another simple door, "Here''s your classroom, we''ll be waiting outside once you''ve finished the class." He opened the door and strolled in, finding about twenty students split up into their different groups and spread out into different corners. ''Just how I remember school. Everyone had their own little groups with a few outliers, hmm I know her.'' He strutted over to the student in question, who wasn''t paying attention to anyone. Neo got a few glances from the other students, who went back to talking about him. As he waved a hand in front of the student¡¯s book, she looked up obviously annoyed that he was distracting her. But as Elisa Eldertree looked him in the eyes, her annoyance fled and was suddenly was replaced with a scarecrow imitation of herself. Even the room around him had changed into a beautiful meadow complete with the chirring of grasshoppers and an endless, sapphire sky. All of this created a perfect image, he could have readily believed everything he''d seen. Even the air around him smelt of cherry blossoms, everything was excellently real. If he hadn''t been in a classroom just a few seconds ago, he might have believed what he was experiencing. Instead, he pinched himself, but nothing happened. He punched himself, but nothing¡­ after a short while, the image shattered and the classroom was back with the other students stuck looking into empty space. Unsurprisingly, Elisa had disappeared from her seat, but hearing a conversation he turned to see Elisa had been stopped by the teacher, who was entering as she was leaving. The teacher staring spoke, "Where do you think you''re going Elisa, you can''t miss anymore class then you have already." Neo grinned and walked around the desks to sit against the window right next to where Elisa would sit. She now had a bowed head, as she walked back to her seat without looking up in order to avoid eye contact with the other students, who were now glaring at her. It wasn''t until she had sat down that she looked up and found Neo there grinning at her, which give her the shivers again. Neo watched her minor confusion and her shaking like a leaf before she sat down and ignored him. It was then the teacher spoke to Neo. He was standing right in front of his desk with a small pile of books which he placed on the table. "These are yours, treat them well," the teacher said to Neo before looking at the class. "This is Neo, our newest student." "Thank you," Neo said while taking the books and equipment and intensely looking through them while the teacher was staring at him. The teacher shrugged and went to his desk, "Right then class, we''ll be going through the Natural War today." ''Boring,'' Neo thought before ignoring the teacher for the rest of the class. Neo kind of wished that he didn''t have to do these classes since he didn''t find it very interesting, considering he was missing some considerable gaps in his magical history. However, the class did have some upsides, primarily due to the entertainment that was brought on by Elisa. He merely poked her and she reacted wonderfully, giving him new illusions and he noticed that none of them were the same. Not that Neo knew what that could mean, it was just a fascinating insight. She now only seemed to aim them at Neo, so he spent a vast majority of the time staring into empty space. This continued until class ended and she could run from the room. Neo, luckily or unluckily depending which side you fell, ended up in the same maths class, which was pretty much teaching basic algebra and such alike. The only interesting thing he saw was that they used the metric system, and then he spent a lot of the time in illusions. By the end of the class he''d gone cross eyed, and had a bit of a wobble in his walk as he left the class where he found Bethany ready to guide him to the next classroom, where Elisa was again. But this time he was genuinely interested in the class, which was magic related, even though he still sat by Elisa. He engrossed himself in it, asking a question which got him laughed at, but he didn''t mind. He learnt a lot, like the different types of magic, uses the rune or word users. Neo discovered it didn''t matter what language one used as long as the intent was right. The word users, also known as rune users, tended to require a certain amount of time to prepare then, usually on paper or stone with some material being better than others. Inventions and magic items were also created this way but in a much more extended process, usually having to be crafted by the same person until the end, all the while channeling mana into the process wherethey are engraved with the desired outcome. This was usually used by people with a lower capacity for mana than will users. Though one can use either method, it just usually takes such a long time to learn to do each that most pick one or the other. But this information led Neo to think about Bethany and her stilt-like things and he imagined how much effort went into them if they were enchanted. He then went on to wonder what it could really do and started to smile at the possibilities, he had to ask her about it. Will users, on the other hand, weren¡¯t as sophisticated. It was the brute force way, massively useful in battle as they could adapt quickly because they control their magic with their will alone. They also have larger mana pools than word users. They also make good batteries to be used for large-scale magic and, sadly, that was really all they were good for. In battle they were tough to defeat but in regular everyday use, they were quite limited. Well, Neo already knew he wanted to do both, since he already was a will user with his telekinesis. But really, he wanted to make some awesome battle armour, unique weapons and items. Although, he didn''t have a clue what a white mana user would be able to make and how it would be used. Considering what the dragon did, it could possibly be really cool. Thankfully and informatively the class headed in that direction. When the teacher started describing mana, Neo¡¯s notebook was filling up really quickly. Red mana was used to make fire and heat-based magic. Blue mana could be used for water and magic, and if you got both, then it was possible for you to be able to produce mist or storms, using a lot of mana of course. The same was said for green mana, it was wind-based magic, brown mana was for earth and metals, the yellow mana for energies like lightning, black mana was void and gravity, and white was space and time. Hearing that, Neo went into overdrive at the possibility of controlling space and time. Then finally, grey mana was talked about, but this was considered a category for unique abilities outside of the other mana types. Anything that didn''t really fit into those seven types fell into this category. It was then that someone up apart from himself spoke up, "What about golden mana?" "Hm, good question. It does exist it is all around us, but the exact reason how it happens is a vast mystery. Golden mana, it is believed, is a mixture of all the other mana types. So as for magical creatures they can be born with oneofthe types of mana in them, but it isn''t unusual to get people with more than one. But, the chance of a person having multiple types of mana becomes increasingly rare, so the chance of someone having every type of mana, is well over one in hundreds of millions. However, when it does happen, expect the higher beings to get involved, and then no one wins. Then you have the material golden mana. Although this is a subject of future classes, mages can produce liquid mana or solid mana of their source type, but if you try to combine materials from different people and they don''t harmonise, then the result is explosive. Even if it does happen one time, if you got the same mana from the same sources it might not work a second time. So, it is an expensive product, to say the least, making it as hard to get, much like the people born with it." ''Higher beings?'' Neo thought, intending to question the teacher. Unfortunately, the class finished and the teacher left. Neo had to go to his next class which was practical magic class, but he bluntly started a conversation with Bethany. "So, is the reason you''re so strong is because of your stilts?" Her eyebrows rose, "Not entirely, but it''s part of it." "Can you show me?" "Mm ¡­ Nope, got to keep everything I can do a secret, so that you can''t use it against me." "Ow," thinking about it for a few moments Neo understood were she was coming from, but there was a tint of annoyance in him. "Fair enough, I don''t suppose you could help me make some cool things then." "Sure, I''ll help you but making such things aren''t cheap, you''d better be willing to spend some money. So, what are you thinking of making?" She asked with excitement in her voice. It made Neo grin in happiness as he started to explain some of his crazy ideas. What shocked him was that none of them got shot down by Bethany. Obviously nothing is too crazy for her. Flaming swords and flying cars here we come, but first practical magic classes. Chapter 14 - Practical Magic Class The actual magical classes were sensibly set outside to practice on the muddy and wet field. There were seven teachers, the only ones Neo recognised were Alec, Jane, and Elfin, and, after taking a seat in the stands, Neo guessed that they were the ones teaching the classes. One of the teachers stepped forward and called for students, who went and lined up behind Alec, Jane and the another teacher. Once all the other students had been called up, the last one on the stand was Neo. He was looking around to find where he was supposed to go as the other groups left to go to their classes. However, the organiser took the stairs, joining Neo. "Hello Mr. Neo, I am Dagles, and I''ll be your practical magic tutor. I am a practitioner of white mana, and as you should know we White Mages have the power of time and space. Before you get too excited, it''s the hardest ability to learn and practice in battle, it also consumes a huge amount of white mana. There are large monetary advantages, too. Even though it''s an advantage mainly to your wallet from healing people it''s also why you won''t see many or any, other white mana users in our classes since it''s isn''t easy to learn, however, to heal and produce metals, equipment and jewellery are a lot easier to learn. So most clans or kingdoms won''t even bother sending them to train even if they can become the strongest warriors with a large area of effect attacks. That could take a lot of work,where as a red mana user can be trained in one fifth the time. So, are you still interested in learning how to use your mana in battle?" Neo listened with interest, not really understanding why a little difficulty would actually prevent people from training the possibility of space and time magic. Neo wondered whether, as Death, he had an advantage in magic . Even if he could get more power, if he didn''t train with it then he wouldn''t be able to use it. And who better to teach him? "I''d love to learn," Neo said in the sweetest voice he could. Dagles nodded with a smile forming on his face as he stood up, "Well then you''d better follow me. We¡¯ll go somewhere no one will see us practice." As Neo followed Dagles, they entered the forest where they started to jog. After a while, he heard the sound of splashing water over the singing of birds and rustling of trees. The woods opened up into a clearing where there was a waterfall with lily pads and rocks in the small pool that the water collected into. The tool then fed into a slow, meandering river. What caught Neo''s eye was how the water fell. It didn''t have a uniform velocity or impact. The water was slow moving, and it gave the area a feeling of being in another world as each droplet could be seen falling. "What is it with this place Master Dagles?" Dagles smiled, and with a reply, he looked up, "Within the libraries, there is a history book on the first people who built this academy. It was said to be written in them that the first time they saw this dome in its darkness that they believed that the rock above was an anti-gravity rock that pulled everything toward it, much like everyone else who sees it their first time. But that was quickly debunked when they found that it didn''t affect them, but only the water itself. The water was found to be infused with a water spell telling it how it should act. The are not pulling the water it''s pushing it, so the water here was designed to fall like that." ''Wow,'' Neo thought, ¡®that was amazing.¡¯ How powerful would you have to be in order the change to the law of the universe? "How? Isn''t it dangerous if someone dispelled it or something wouldn''t it all come crashing down?" ¡°We figured that it was a group effort lead by a golden mana user as the magic is a part of the bubble. It gets fed by the bubble system itself so that the mana usage that would be needed is ¡­ " he stretched his arms out into the universe,"far too much that it is almost impossible." "But not impossible?" "Well, theoretically, it''s possible, but there is a huge difference between theory and practice. You would need an outside force as great as the bubble system as the bubbles will fight back when someone tries to force a change that it has accepted." Neo thought of something exciting, "So the bubbles have conscious, free thought?" Dagles eyebrow rose. "It is the general consensus that it isn''t a free-thinking being, but instead acts as a living being would to a virus. We''re able to change the layout of the bubble interior but if we change something that the bubble has recognised as important, such as the floating water, then touching them to change their nature will cause the bubble to react to you." "Hmm, so don''t touch the bubbles property, got it." "Right then, no more questions, Neo. We are going to teach you how to form a single space bubble. So, find a comfortable position because we''re going to be here a while." Once Neo had taken a seat beside the waterfall, watching the peaceful sight, he got comfortable looking out into the forest. When Neo relaxed, his headache slowly faded away, and Neo¡¯s eyes were watering. ''What the hell has been going on in my life? It''s so overwhelming.'' The amount of information was giving him headaches, and he was trying to escape it, or avoid it. Until just now he didn''t realise how tense he was. Coming back to himself after his few moments of rest, he saw Dagles staring at him with an empathetic smile. "Actually, come to sit over here," he said while taking his socks off and rolling up his trousers. Walking over while wiping the tears away, Neo sat beside Dagles. "To start learning magic you need to be relaxed and comfortable, so just relax and watch this." Dagles kicked the water sending it up in slow motion, causing the light to shine by forming many mini-rainbows as the water slowly fell. Neo was mesmerised, relaxing as he watched. Once the rainbows stopped forming Dagles started talking, "I am a good listener, why don''t you tell me about your adventure?" Neo looked at Dagles, seeing the smiling face Neo could barely get a coherent word out as he blurted out almost everything. He indeed had held back about Death, however, having no idea what Dagles would think of that¡­. ''Damn ¡­ that felt good." As Neo got everything off his chest, from nearly dying twice, learning magic, and being confronted with beasts out of fantasy, to getting a fianc¨¦ and just generally having everything out of his control. While Dagles sat listening contently nodding. "I couldn''t imagine what you''re going through since I grew up in this world. It has its own rules which do change between kingdoms much like your own does. I believe even in your own world if you went to another country to stay for a long time you would feel similarly. I believe it''s called culture shock. People go through different stages until they feel that they have become accepted and understand the new environment that they find themselves in, and you''re just in one of the stages of rejection or regression. In the case of your freedom, it is for the safety of others so yes, you haven''t got much for now, but I am sure once you have some control and Jane passes you on the health checks in the future you''ll have your freedom back."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. While Dagles was talking, Neo took some deep breaths before asking himself ''What was that all about? I don''t tend to be that overly emotional, even when I was sad. I haven''t cried in ages, yet travel to a new world broke me into a blubbering mess.'' Neo couldn''t think of , yes it was stressful, but that was no reason to break down. ''Arr,'' he thought now angry at himself for spewing his guts to some stranger. ''Arr, what is going on this doesn''t feel right, arr.'' He pulled his hair in frustration. It wasn''t until he felt a light slap on the back of his head, "Neo, to control your magic you need a calm mind, so put your frustrations behind you and focus on the now." Neo felt a rush of anger when Dagles slapped him, and a thought flashed through his head that Neo wanted to crush his head between his hands. Neo blinked, ''Where did that thought come from? Why would I imagine such horrible things to do to people?'' He took a deep breath, ''Ok, I have new problems to deal with now. From shyness and flakiness to gorily aggressive, anger issues and overconfidence. I don''t think I like either too much.'' Taking some calming breaths, Neo stood up from beside the pond and walked back over to the scenic waterfall and sat down, squishing his emotions. Once Neo was seated he stared at Dagles who nodded his head in understanding and spoke in a soothing voice, "Neo, look into your chest, surrounding your heart you should see a white bundle of strings and pearls. Pinch a small amount of it and pull it out of your chest, using your hands to direct if it helps you." ¡°Really, Dagles, that¡¯s all your giving me? ¡®Reach into yourself and find the power.¡¯¡± Dagles smiled and gave a laugh before explaining, ¡°The power isn¡¯t that hard to grab with a little practice with the average talent that you have. It is however very dangerous to use. With one wrong Misstep, like doing it inside out, and dying when you have all your mana taken within seconds is a common rookie mistake.¡± "So, what do I have to do once I have grabbed said magic?" "Simple, form it into a sphere with the tangled particles on the inside and keep the outside to be clear and smooth." Doing as Dagles instructed, Neo withdrew into himself where he focused in on his chest and found with surprising natural ease the orb of magical threads and pearls, but there was something else behind it, a vast shadow. Ignoring the shadow, assuming that it was the sealing ring, he reached an imaginary hand to grasp the magic. He tugged on it only to see it flow out of his grasp. Neo tried again, this time using both hands, like the way you would drink water. After cupping a portion of magic, he managed to pull it away. The orb started spiralling, and a new thread and pearls slowly appeared in its stead. Neo, returning his focus to the magic in his hands, pulled the mana out of his chest as he imagined a sphere that contained the threads. He heard a whisper, "Okay, now open your eyes. Keep the image of the sphere in place." Neo opened his eyes to find an opaque sphere in front of him, "Well, Neo you''ve completed the first stage without killing yourself. Now that you have your space you can do almost anything you like with it from creating diamonds to oxygen. As long as you have the knowledge and mana to make it." Neo was sweating from the exertion of the simple spell. With what Dagles had said, he got excited again and with a weird understanding moved the threads and pearls to create something within it. But before he could see the finished product, the dark edges crept in on him, and he blacked out. Dagles was sitting across the from Neo with a shocked look as he saw that Neo was making something even before being taught how to do so. He saw something fall from the sphere before it faded along with Neo''s conscious. Standing up from where he had been sitting, Dagles picked up the item and examining it found what he thought was a gold flake-diamond. It was a mind-boggling creation. That hadn''t ever been made by anyone, or at least he''d never heard of anyone creating one. Since it was so prized by kingdoms the only place, you''ll see them are on dragon riders and legendary equipment. Dagles licked his lips as he considered taking it while lieing to the lad that he''d failed in creating anything and hadn''t finished making it before blacking out. But here considered as he saw how quickly Neo had learnt and the power he had. His potential without his void ring on was tremendous. Dagles heisted too long as he heard trees crashing and footsteps exiting into the clearing. Seeing a dragon slayer and knight in shining armour blazing a trail toward him he swallowed his lies and thoughts while hoping they wouldn¡¯t cut his head off. While Dagles imagined what might happen, Bethany saw the greed and lust in the teacher''s heart was quickly replaced with fear and comprehension. "What happened? We felt a huge spike of magic from this area." Bethany asked as she went past Dagles after seeing Neo lying on the grass. She glanced at what the teacher was lusting over and almost tripped with recognition, then wave of understanding overcame her. Stopping in her tracks, she held her hand out to Dagles, "I''ll be taking that for Neo." Dagles looked at the gold diamond then at Bethany, hesitating before hanging his head and placing the diamond into her hand. She stared into his eyes and spoke. "Don''t mention this to anyone, understood?" Dagles nodded before backing away, almost bumping into Gie. Getting around Gie, he headed into the forest with a relieved breath. Bethany studied the object in her hand and marvelled at it, "How did you make this Neo? It couldn''t be you could it?" A tint of worry overcame Bethany, "let''s get him back to his room." Placing the gold diamonds into her suit, she checked if Neo was okay and found him asleep from mana exhaustion. Once his health was assured she flung Neo over her shoulder and headed back towards the dorms to his room, where she would have to think of what he could do with the diamond. A little while later Neo found himself in the comfortable embrace of the cotton sheets of his bed, with another headache while he also had an achiness throughout his body. Looking away from his ceiling he saw Bethany sitting at his desk with a worried look on her face, and gold flaked diamond in her hand. Neo cautiously spoke, "Hey, Bethany is everything ok?" She looked up from her hands with a sweet smile but still had a prevailing look of worry, "Yeh, your fine. However, what you made maybe a problem for us. It''s a gold diamond, it gives a magical boosting effect to the person it''s connected to and creates a living weapon since it has intelligence with a part of a soul that''s been put into it. One of the few beings that can make these are dragons. I don''t know why, but they gift them to people they trust before they die." "Ok, so what''s with the worried look?" "Well,f it has a part of your soul, you won''t be able to use it, and it could be used against you as it would be connected to you." "Okay then, well, the quickest way to find out?" Bethany shrugged, "I''ve heard all it requires is a drop of blood to make the connection but whether it''s right or not..." "Well, Bethany if you have a pointed object we will find out if it''s me or not." Neo had hope that it might be a part of the dragon he¡¯d consumed, but there was only one way to find out¡­ Neo saw Bethany draw a giant knife from somewhere, he didn''t see where. "Blimey that''s knife, I¡¯m sure that''ll take my arm off." Neo sat up crossing his legs holding out his hand for Bethany. She placed the knife and without allowing Neo to prepare she dragged the blade across his finger, "Ahhh, bloody hell, damn it, man, that bloody hurt!" "Stop being a wuss." She said with a determined stare and slapped the diamond into his hand, curling his hand up and pressing his bloody finger into it, which caused another round of curses from Neo, but she was soon distracted by a golden glow from the diamond before it faded away. Neo looked at Bethany, "Well, what does that mean?" Bethany shrugged but had a look of relief, "Take it as a good sign. Now we need some way to hide it and use it. I recommend implanting it into a giant, impractical sword and seeing what happens." "You said earlier that it could be a living being if we put it into a simple sword would it be able to communicate?" This comment seemed to stop Bethany from spewing any other idea, and she replied to Neo. "That''s a good point, I didn''t think of it. So there are a few things we can do, one we could build it around a pen, or screen of some kind that was inlaid with ink or colour that can be used to create wor¡­ " Neo saw a light bulb go off in Bethany''s mind. "Or we can place it into living metal. It¡¯s a costly metal, which is why I wouldn''t usually think of it, but with you having something far more valuable, let''s go to the workshop." As she got up, jumping on her stilts, she was pretty much hopping out of the room. Looking down at the perfectly fine finger and dimly lit stone, Neo shivered, ''Why is everything so dangerous or weird?'' Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he got up to follow Bethany. Chapter 15 - Living Metal, Control Training part 1 Bethany guided Neo to a building close to the outskirts of the dome, he could even see the fish swim around, where he saw a warehouse. Bethany jumped ahead of him and said, "Welcome to the Workshop. Where the greatest inventors are born and trained." Knocking on the huge doors, they could hear it echoing throughout the building. As they waited, Neo heard loud steps that cause the door to vibrate. The impressive doors creakily slid open and from the shadows appeared a giant figure of a man. At least eleven feet tall, it had big black shaggy hair, a full but scruffy beard, and deep, sad brown eyes. A deep extended voice burst out of the thing¡¯s face "Haha, Bethany! How¡¯s my favourite student?" The figure scooped up Bethany into a bear hug. She disappeared from Neo¡¯s view, but thankfully he could still hear Bethany squeaking out, "Ok Bryn, thank you for the warm welcome, but could you let me down so that I can breathe?" Bryn let up a little and Bethany continued, "Sadly I''m not here to catch up, I''m here to do business I heard about some of your latest inventions that you and your wonderful students have created?" He released Bethany, putting her down onto the ground before replying, "Mm, ow at least tell me how''s our baby? What have you heard about that interests you so much?" ''Baby?'' Neo thought, getting a little jealous and angry. A thread of unpleasant thought started filtering through his mind, but before they could grow any further than threads Neo recognised the ideas and squished them down. Neo had never seen Bethany so delighted and relaxed. He pushed down another swell of unpleasant thoughts and waited to hear what Bethany said, "Well my armour is fine, too, thank you, and you only had a little input on it, so it isn''t your baby, it''s mine." Bryn grinned and in a booming laugh, "Ahahah¡­ you keep saying that, but I did have some input so am at least a godfather. I am glad you''re taking care of it, though. So, what was the reason for you coming to me?" Bethany smiled holding up her hand with the gold diamond, and Bryn''s eyes nearly . "Aha, where''d you get that!?" he asked while kneeling down to get a closer look. "Hmm, seems like it''s made a bond already. Do you know who it is? It''s pretty much useless without the bonded one?" Bethany smiling nodded towards Neo, "Yeah, he¡¯s the bonded one." Bryn''s focused changed from Bethany onto Neo, overshadowing him as Bryn inspected him, "This small boy is a bonded one?He doesn''t look special, and he looks smaller and weaker than you, Bethany. You should just kill him and take something that special." Neo looked at Bethany seeing her short stature and then looked back confused wondering what Bryn was talking about. Bethany replied, "I think he has plenty of potential and he is my fianc¨¦ so I wouldn''t harm my own family, would I?" This got Bryn¡¯s attention, who was now just staring fiercely at Neo. Neo returned it just as defiantly. ''Got a problem with this?'' Neo thought in a challenge, but a grin spread over Bryn¡¯s face "Hahaha¡­ At least he has some fire in him." Turning back to Bethany, Bryn spoke,"So what do you think I can help with, maybe some suggestions, equipment, or tools?" "Actually, we''re looking for some ." Bryn went silent for a few moments before he spoke again, "Ow, that could be a good idea.You want to see if it can become a semi-living being?" Neo replied, "Mm yeah, I was told that gold diamonds were said to be sentient, so I asked Bethany if there was a way for it to communicate through an attachment and she suggested living metal. Whatever that is?" Bryn seemed to contemplate the issue and Neo could see him going back and forth in his mindwith the things that he might discover and explore. Finally, coming to a decision, Bryn spoke. "Very well, here''s what we''re going to do. I will give you a small portion of living metal if you allow me to study the possible effects that may come of using it for a while. And, if nothing happens, then well¡­" He finished with a shrug, "You get the diamond, and I keep the metal, simple. But this will have to be tomorrow, come back after your classes and we''ll see what I can do." Bethany thanked and hugged Bryn. Once she had finished catching up, Neo and her headed back to their rooms to sleep. It was a quick night as Neo¡¯s exhaustion caught up with him. The next morning hehad mana training, magical biology and control training for the rest of the day. Mana training taught Neo that there was a special tax that mages had to pay. They paid this tax by coalescing their mana into a bowl in the form of either a liquid or a solid, otherwise known as mana fuel or mana stones. They were used to power equipment and generators. The students were given some examples of mana-powered machines as the teacher pulled out a chainsaw, poured a vial of red mana fuel into a hole, and then pulled out another vial with blue fuel into a separate hole saying a few words and that saw started buzzing. Then, pulling out a mini steam generator, he placed small red stones into it and then poured in some blue fuel. Again, he spoke and the pistons started moving. But, before the class came to an end. So instead he asked Bethany how it all worked as they walked towards a greenhouse like domed building. " Like the chainsaw uses fire mana, and what are characteristics of fire? Heat, movement, and combustion. From just that you should be able to make the connections." Neo did, ''So the blue liquid might have been used as a cooling lubricant. Cool but only if directed and used properly.'' As they entered the domed building, the temperature rose, along with the humidity. They eventually found themselves in the middle of atropical garden. The class and desks were situated there, where they were surrounded by marvels of magic and sparkling dust flew past and around them. The sparkling dust turned out to be insects, which he discovered when he saw a long-tailed, crystal bird fly past, snapping some of the sparkling dust out of the air before getting stuck in a net of webbing. The web brought the bird to the ground where a toxic looking spider crept out of the undergrowth. Neo shivered, ''Damn I don''t want to be in here anymore.'' It was unusual, as Neo looked over the available desks he saw one that had a sign withhis name written on it on it. Curiously, there was also a note on the desktop. Taking a seat, he opened and read through it, thankfully it was good news. Jane had to finish her analyses, and noted that she believed that Neo wasn¡¯t infected, but he would require more observation. He glanced back at the spider,thankfully it seemed as if they couldn''t get on to the path or near the desks, but before he could go search for the best insect repellent in the world, a tall women walked out onto the stage. Jane greeted the class, "Hello, everyone please take a seat."The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. She started her class talking about disease, which went right over everyone¡¯s head, she seemed obsessed with it. Neo took a closer look at Jane, finding that her previously perfect imagine had degraded. There were stray hairs, and she had lost some of her composure when she was speaking about the differences between plant and beast biology. It was then that Conway stepped up to the stage and walked over to speak into Jane¡¯s ear. Whatever he said seemed to make Jane uncomfortable and she looked at the confused class, "I''ll be travelling to the Atlantean bubble to investigate where the dragon madness came from, so I''ll no longer be teaching these classes." Jane whispered as she left the stage "I¡¯ve got to go back to that cesspit!" Conway guided her away, discussing something Neo couldn''t hear, but they were talking adamantly as they moved along the path Neo had just recently walked through. Once Jane had moved out of view the class became chaotic as everyone who was silent started discussing what had just happened. "Elisa, do you know what that was about?" stepped back, shaking her head. "Not a clue, she always had a clean and professional appearance, I don''t know what is up with her, but I have heard that she''s been a bit stressed with her work." "Ow, what sort of work is that?" "She''s the head of the research department for diseases, and it''s quite busy with your stuff and this crop-killing disease that''s going around, so maybe she¡¯s letting the pressure get to her." ''Mm, guess that could be it,'' Neo thought. He thanked Elisa, who seemed surprised that he wasn''t going to annoy her. But honestly, Neo had part of his awareness pulled by the retreating figures. Neo left the creepy, insect-ridden building for the much cooler outdoors, as he definitely had no reason to stay there. Meeting Bethany outside she asked, "What happened? I saw Jane leave looking very agitated¡­ What did you do?" Neo stood back in and shock and a little angry, "What do you mean, why would you accuse me? I haven''t done anything." Bethany gave Neo a piercing look before she apologised, "Sorry, you just haven''t been quite yourself." "I don''t think that''s the issue right now, and on that point,after what I''vebeen put through how can I be the same?" Neo asked a little angrily. The awkward silence persisted, taking a deep breath to calm himself he looked towards Bethany. Catching each other''s glance, both of them apologised at the same time, then stared at each other for a while before they started laughing. ¡°Sorry, Neo. I shouldn¡¯t assume that you¡¯re at fault, that¡¯s a fault of my own, assuming everything I see as fact, but I can¡¯t help but believe what I see, sorry.¡± Bethany finished almost in tears. ¡®What is she seeing in me,¡¯ Neo wondered.¡°That¡¯s when you rely on something to tell you who someone else is, I guess you learned to rely on it. I have been feeling a lot more¡­¡± he flunghis hand around to express himself before deciding on, ¡°emotional.¡± Bethany stood there awkwardly before jumping forward to hug him around his neck. Neo returned the hug then noticed Gie standing a little out of the way. He opened his arms to Gie who stood motionlessly, ¡°You sure?You look like you need a hug Gie.¡± Gie didn¡¯t respond.¡®Ok, I¡¯ll get one out of you eventually.¡¯ Once they had released from their hug, Neo apologised for snapping at her. They walked back out to the training arena where Neo had a bit of a wait before his next class, so he decidedto practise his white magic. Reaching into himself he cupped the abundant thread pouring them into a sphere. Opening his eyes, he saw with satisfaction that it had been formed as the orb was floating in front of him. He then thought of making a stone, and with that thought, plain rocks started falling out of the sphere and landing on the floor. Neo got a little flustered as his mana started rapidly depleting, ¡°Stop!¡± He said aloud. Thankfully the sphere stopped its production, and his mana stopped draining,too. Neo pondered what had just happened, ¡®How do I only make one and how would I contain the stone within it.¡¯ Neo pondered this for a while before coming to a theory that the thread and pearl could be manoeuvred in such a way that it could contain anything. As for the numbers, he just used the systematic elimination of ideas. "Right, sort out a stoning problem first then learn how to improve ability," Neo said aloud. Neo zoned out the rest of the world, and focus on one stone. ''Make one stone.'' Neo thought to observe everything in the sphere as Neo saw and felt many grains of the stone that was about to form he shouted in his mind ''stop!'' as he didn¡¯t need more stones. ¡®OK maybe it gets my thoughts,but I added too much power thus causing it to overflow and produce more than ordered. ¡¯Seeing as he didn''t control the amount of mana, he guessed that it was automatic, so he just had to control the amount of energy he fed it. Neo tried again, this time pulling back with a lot of control he slowed the mana to but a trickle while also trying to observe the stone that was forming. This time there was just one grain,and it was growing slowly. Neo smiled at his accomplishment as a perfectly smooth stone fell out of the sphere. ''Now, how do I contain it?'' He thought.Looking into the sphere itself and messing with the threads he found that he could move them around. With a bit of practise Neo managed to move them so that they covered the entire inner area of the sphere, and when he produced a stone, instead of it falling out of the sphere it dropped to the bottom and didn''t leave it. ''Cool,'' Neo thought, ''So what do the pearls do?'' Poking some of the pearls just made them bounce around the sphere. Next, he tried squeezing them and found that the stone at the bottom of the space started floating toward the squashed bead. Neo then did the opposite and stretched it. The rock reacted as Neo thought it would as it was pushed away from the pearl and into the floor of the sphere at a slight angle. heated up the space inside and the air around himself since it wasn¡¯t contained. Then he created several spheres of rock and placed them in orbit of the sun, thanks to the motion of the pearl in the centre, caused them to revolve around his rudimentary sun. Then he added some other things, like water, on individual planets, and gas and bang he had his solar system. Neo pulled himself back from his magic space to observe what he''d made, as he blinked away the dryness of his eyes, stretching his muscles, ''How long have I been sitting here?" Looking around he found that he''d drawn a crowd that were all marvelling athis solar system. They looked at him and whispered in awe. It was then that he saw Dagles, who was standing beside Bethany. He spoke, "Well done Neo, but you must have one of the highest affinities I have ever seen. You just did one-half of the final exams for the year." "Really?" He asked, looking at his basic solar system. "So, what''s the other part of the finals?" "The other part is a reversal of time, or more precisely you have to revert the atoms of an item to a previous atomical state." "¡­Right, that might take a bit of practice and learning." Neo replied with a smile looking at Dagles. Dagles replied with a weary expression on his face, "I''m sure you will be fine, in our next class we''ll see if you comprehend it. Ow and next time you wish to practise or experiment with magic, please do so in the training room in those building over there. That way I won''t have to be called out to watch you make a breakthrough, or kill someone with any stray magic, since this is only a place to practice abilities you have complete control of, understood?" Neo looked in the direction he pointed, seeing a block of buildings. He nodded staring at Bethany, "You could have told me, or interrupted me to tell me. " Her eyebrows rose, "It tends to be a bad idea to disrupt someone else''s magic just incaseyou lose control, and you didn''t ask before sitting down and practising." Neo felt a spike of anger before realising that it''s was everyone¡¯s fault. And why did he feel angry? It was illogical. ''Breath¡­one, two, three¡­''He got his spike of anger under some sort of control, even if it was still just roiling underneath the surface. And, through slightly gritted teeth, he apologised to everyone after putting them in danger from using his own magic. Bethany tugged on his jacket, "Come on, we''re already late." Neo had no idea what the time was, but it was a good enough excuse to leave the small crowd of people who had formed up around him. They were going to ask questions but thanks to Bethany he could get away from them as he was a bit confused from all the attention. They walked for a long while until Neo saw a boulder in the side of a vast cliff face that rose up into the lake. Bethany and Gie separated to each side of it, "In you go then." Bethany said gesturing towards the boulder. Neo¡¯s head tilted, "Umm ¡­ How?" "Touch it, and you''ll find out," Bethany replied. Walking up to the boulder, he looked for a doorknob, then berated himself. He was in a world of magic, is wasn¡¯t going to be that simple. Having another quick scan of the rock he couldn''t see any magic looking engraving. ''Never mind,'' he thought, slapping his hand onto the rock. Instantly Neo felt weakened. Looking inwards he saw his visible mana shrink to the size of a dot. His legs weakened before he collapsed while breathing heavily. Chapter 16 - Living Metal, Control Training part 2 The mana escaping had a physical effect on his body and his muscles quivered as it felt like the life had just been stripped from his body. As Neo took in deep breaths, his world spun but he heard and felt the ground shake. Looking up his head spun wildly as he saw the sequence of stone rapidly rising into the darkness. "Wow¡­" was all Neo could say as he observed everything, even Bethany was looking into the hallway. as she stared into the darkness. Neo, having recovered from his dizziness, asked Bethany, "So, you didn''t know that would happen?" Shaking her head, she replied, "Nope, I was only told the same unhelpful and vague directions. But at least we have answers to our questions, good luck!" Neo tried standing up only to find his head spinning for a short time before settling back down with a dull thump. After waiting a while for his head to still, he started moving down the endless looking darkness as he approached the end of the light that the entrance gave him. That light was then suddenly extinguished with a loud boom, making Neo jump. Turning with a hiss he found the huge boulder had closed behind him. Before Neo''s eyes could total adjust to the darkness he was blinded by a pair of fireballs that appeared on each side of the hallway which started moving further down the corridor. Before the darkness could consume him again Neo jogged towards it to catch up to the ever-moving light. After catching up to the flames he found a pleasant warmth coming from them. Neo jumped again when another loud boom sounded, turning he found that another of the stone doors had closed behind him. Nerves a little frayed, he continued with the expectation that other stone doors would descend quickly after he passed them. After what seemed like forever, Neo was still walking down the endless dark hallway. A little while on, Neo let out a shout, "What the hell!" ''How long is this tunnel?'' He was physically tired as his feet ached from blisters and his muscles were cramped from his ever-on-edge nerves, which twitched every time he heard the stone doors close behind him. Exacerbated, Neo had to stop. He couldn''t see any end or even a light at the end of the tunnel. was left behind by the fireball. His anxiety increased with every second as he watched the light fade into a star, leaving him in darkness. Neo was concerned that he would get crushed by a stone door, and his concerns weren''t unjustified. As his star was abruptly cut off he was left in complete darkness. Neo¡¯s heart was pounding in panic as his reality kicked in and a single thought passed through his mind, ''Ow shit!'' Darkness does strange things to people, but Neo was sure he hadn¡¯t been here long enough to go mad. He started to hear voices just outside of his hearing range like whispers on the wind. They slowly became louder and louder until Neo could hear what it was saying, "Prepare yourself, it''s going to get a little bright in here." It was at this that Neo figured that he should do exactly as instructed, but as the thought crossed his mind the space around him lit up, blinding him. With foul words falling out of his mouth his thoughts turned to try and understand why this was happening. He''d been drained, b and now blinded, what else could happen, what other trap do they have, are they torturing me or is this training? Neo was hoping for the latter as he didn''t think he''d insulted anyone badly enough to try to kill him over anything. Blinking away the splotches in his sight he saw a massive cavern with equally giant stalactites. Neo could see all this from the large fireballs floating in between them casting shadows onto the flat surface he found himself on. Looking around he gauged how big an area it was. By his guesstimate it was about the size of 5 football fields with a dome like structure. Bringing his attention to the person with a goat like figure standing a few metres in front of him, Neo spoke, "Ah, Master Elfin are you my control trainer?" The humpback drew close, Neo was surprised that he could now suddenly hear the master walking stick tapping on the rocky floor. Master Elfin cleared his voice with a long and drawn out cough before he spoke in his usual slow manner, "Indeed I am, your first task is to strip bare so you won''t damage you''re school uniform." Neo tried to reply and ask his own question, but Elfin wouldn¡¯t allow it. He repeated his statement and just stared at Neo until he gave in and started striping, folding up his clothes and placing them in a corner. In the process he found the cavern was cold. As he stood waiting for new instructions, Master Elfin sat down making himself comfortable in the middle of the room. "Now take off your ring and let''s go, you can hit me, or you can try to at least, and as a suggestion, take control. Once you have you can then begin your balance training and to find your way." Neo was of course hesitant. Last time he felt as if he would lose himself so he fought it down and now this man wanted him to purposely let the instincts take control. Honestly, he was terrified. He began to voice his fears, but found that Elfin was already aware of his worries. "We are miles underground, without anyone else in this cavern and if you fail to take control then you won''t be able to get out easily. To harm anyone you''ll also have to get through several layers of magical enchantment. No easy feat for just your instincts to get through. So, stop worrying about others and worry more about yourself!" Taking a deep breath Elfin continued, "So child, stop being a coward and get your ring off your finger and wait for the opportunity to take control, you''ll know when." Neo took a deep calming breath and tried to relax his mind. He pulled off the ring, and could feel the changes instantly as thousands of creeping crawlies climbed up his body, transforming it. Once his features were hidden, his scales and horns were all accentuate Neo thought, ''it hasn''t hit me yet!'' He looked into himself and saw when the barrier from stopping his overflowing mana disappeared. As it flowed and fluctuated it exited his body and distorted the space around him, Neo felt the release of pressure. It was wonderful but Neo still felt normal, ''hasn''t hit me yet!'' His anxiety rose with the anticipation yet once his mana had settled he could feel the rush of feelings rage against his mind. Regardless of what Elfin had asked of him, he fought as his own survival instinct shouted out ''I have to let go, and believe that I''ll be back,'' Neo thought. Closing his eyes, he relaxed his stiff body as he gave up, which was quite a struggle in itself. The instincts battled on, regardless that it had gotten control of his body and that he''d been squashed into a corner to fight for his survival. Elfin could see the struggle represented through Neo''s body. When he was struggling against it his body had been stiff, it then relaxed. Then Elfin felt a change in the mana around Neo''s body, smiling to himself he thought, ''Good lad, I hope you haven''t been eradicated.'' Looking at Neo''s body, Elfin also could see the control of mana became sharper, but there was still a lot leaking around him. It opened his eyes. They were no longer the eyes of a kind man, just ones that looked at everything as prey. Elfin looked on unperturbed as those eyes stared at him. It growled at Elfin before he charged at him, shooting across the cavern. As he reached half way a heavy force pulled on him and he face planted into the ground with a boom. With a pained cry, it released a spatial slash towards Elfin, hoping to disrupt him into releasing him. The slash travelled right at Elfin but, before it got too close, a black vortex consumed the slash. The feeling that the gravity holding him back had weakened, but he still struggled to rise under its pressure, slowly he managed to escape the area of effect. Once he''d exited, it dashed around throwing slashes of magic at Elfin. Still sitting down, Elfin moved his black vortex around intercepting them. As Neo¡¯s instincts got more frustrated he changed tactics again. Launching two slashes towards Elfin, it also ran towards him. If Elfin wanted to catch the two slashes with his black vortex, he would lose sight of Neo. Unfortunately for it''s face, Elfin had seen this move dozens of times. The vortex faded away and it dashed forward, smacking straight into a wall. Not giving a second thought it jumped up, scraping his claws along the wall and stabbing them in once he reached the top. Pulling himself over and toward Elfin. Who was also ready to receive him. He simply held his hand out towards It. With a hit from a gravity shot to the stomach, it flew towards the roof where he smashed through several stalactites. After recovering, it found himself in the air with rocks around him. It reactively grabbed the rock around him and propelled them toward Elfin, who just ate them with the vortex. Neo''s body landed on the floor and growled in frustration, and hesitated in its action Neo, trapped in his own mind and with attacks raining down on him from every direction, crushing his mind under a barge of emotion and malice, was surviving by coalescing a strong fortification that was starting to crack under the pressure, ''Come on, hurry up!'' Neo begged to himself, he didn''t what to be erased from his own body. Another boom sounded as a wave was sent through his mind, disrupting it. Gathering his thoughts in a panicky way, ''Ow shit, ow shit,'' he thought, once he had gathered enough of his mind to think. Pulling himself together and preparing himself, he waited for another wave. The area around him that the instincts controlled vibrated, and Neo prepared himself for a new type of attack. When nothing came for a short while, Neo investigated. It was still vibrating, so Neo hesitantly tried to feel it out, passing a strand of thought past his mental barrier. He got no reaction out of the instincts, however he still diligently pushed forward. He then came to the conclusion that this was what Elfin was talking about, realising this he put his all behind his counterattack.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Outside of Neo¡¯s consciousness, Elfin had to now contend with huge swaths of mana falling out of Neo''s body. He couldn''t retreat after seeing the way it moved and reacted. It was awesome to watch, if a bit predictable. He needed to guide Neo so that he wouldn''t just destroy such a useful advantage. So, he had to put up with that bone creaking pain that formed as an effect of pressure from foreign mana. Reluctantly Elfin let his mana out of his body, a wasteful use of power, but it did stop the pain. He took an internal gauge of his mana finding it at an acceptable level and observably reducing as time went on. It became apparent to Elfin that Neo had more mana than himself as the intensity continued, even as his own mana decreased to concerning levels. At the same time, his own emotions were frayed, mainly jealously. Accepting the feeling he then tried to understand why he was feeling so. It wasn''t hard to figure out what was making him jealous. His thousand odd years of practice, training, and growth and this kid, in a far shorter amount of time, had surpassed him. It was so irritating. He consoled himself that Neo was far less trained in how to use it, but humans are very adaptable, one of their only positive traits. He then had to oppose his thoughts, what did he have that Neo didn''t? A long life full of experience, family, understanding of his world, political knowledge of a thousand years and more. He always found that analysing what he had compared to another actually helped him a lot. Seeing what his life had given him was far better then what he didn''t have. His emotions calmed, the building rage settled. It was a constant battle for balance in his life, body, and mind. There was a shift in the area around him as the mana retreated into Neo and he could see the sparkle of life in Neo''s eyes. Neo¡¯s eyes clouded over as he looked into space, thinking. Neo''s mind was like a supernova as his little star of life in the black raging void magnificently exploded forth, carving its way through. Bringing light to the darkness, Neo found it too was consumed with raw and almost overwhelming emotions of confusion, rage, and fear. It shocked him, but he couldn''t allow himself to be get muddled down by it, life wasn''t going to stop for him to adjust. Right now, however, it would just shackle him and get him killed, so he pushed through with all his effort. The light at the end of his tunnel was the feeling of the rough stony surface, the sapping coolness of the air, and finally, the gloomy, slightly less tidy cavern that spoke volumes of what had transpired while he was gone. It wasn''t too long before Neo found out what had happened when a flood of memories marched themselves into focus As he digested the information he remembered when he wasn''t himself and thought, ''hmm, I didn''t know I could do that, my body must be a lot stronger and faster than I thought. I don''t want that happening again.'' He focused in on himself, intending to crush the remnants of the instincts, and a hand landed on his shoulder. Looking, he found a rather sweaty Elfin. "Lad, glad you¡¯re back. Are the instincts still in you, or have you destroyed them?" Shaking his head and feeling out the black blob in his conscious Neo answered, "No it''s still there, why?" "Well it came to my attention when it was moving and reacting that your own instincts may not be able to do the same thing, as yours are at a level of a human while I guess that this other presence is of a dragon¡¯s lineage. So is used to a dragon¡¯s might, which is why it might be trying to take over, acting like you¡¯re an invading mind and trying to take back control¡­" Elfin went onto a bit of a tangent with ideas and theories. "What is its current situation?" Neo, hearing Elfin''s question, shook his head to get rid of the glazing that had covered his eyes. Again, he poked a small portion of his thought into the blackness. Feelings of fear, panic and sadness slowly came through. He conveyed the information to Elfin, who nodded."It''s probable that it''s scared of dying. Perhaps you could give it a peace offering or a branch and try communicating¡­ try with your own emotions, relying on calmness, friendship and confidence." Neo thought about it going back into his memories he remembered the speed and power think over whether he could do that or if these instincts can be controlled, or at least taught. Neo searched the remaining instincts, still finding them filled with fear, so he relented, "Okay, I''ll give it a try." Elfin''s face lit up with energy as he energetically spoke, "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I''ll set up a sensory deprivation dome so that nothing will disrupt you and we''ll deal with whatever happens when it happens." Elfin shrunk back giving him a few metres of space before he turned around, gesturing to the ground which reacted to his will as the earth crawled up itself, connecting at a cupola he saw the last of the light fade away, leaving him unable to see past the end of his nose and the only sound he could hear was his own breathing. It wasn''t long before Neo¡¯s feet got wet, which slowly travelled up until it stopped at his waist. Neo had never been in a sensory deprivation tank before. He moved around a little, finding the water hard to move in. Bending over, he tasted the water and found it salty. After finding that the saltiness helped him with buoyancy by floating in the water, he relaxed and felt all the strain on his muscles disappear and with nothing to listen to he forgot about his body and focus on his mind, which was also less strained. He sent a tentacle of consciousness into the territory of the instincts. Instead of a quick action that might scare it, he was slow and careful, Neo connected a sort of one direction flow and sent calmness and kindness. The second his feelings hit the black blob it quivered and shrunk back. Neo didn''t go after it, just stayed where he was waiting. It wasn''t long before the blob crept back, reattaching itself to his tentacle of thought. Neo changed it so that he could receive answers but was prepared to cut the connection if the blob did anything aggressive. Neo again sent the emotions of calmness and kindness, with an added feeling of connection and a feeling of acceptance or rejection, not that the blob had a choice if it wanted to survive. There were a few moments of intense waiting as Neo wondered if his message was successful or if it had misinterpreted it for something else. But Neo got what he thought was an emotion coming down the line which conveyed acceptance, at which Neo sighed and now pondered how they could actually connect and work together. Thankful Neo didn¡¯t have to do any thinking as the black blob combined with his white light. As the edge of the blackness spread it turned lighter and lighter shades of black until it was his normal whiteness, the same thing happened to the black blob just in reverse. A strange sensation overcame his thoughts as the instincts started communicating with him as separate thoughts. ''Hmm,'' Neo thought, ''I wonder if it''ll communicate its every thought to me or what?'' Examining it for Elfin, Neo was sure that he''ll be interested in the grey area of the bonding, Neo couldn''t tell the difference between where his mind ended and where its emotions took over. Deciding that there was nothing left for him to find he opened his eyes to the darkness, stood up in the salty water, and wondered aloud, "How do I get out of here?" Going up to the rock surface Neo knocked on the dome until the salt water started retreating into the ground and the dome came down. Neo saw Elfin sitting a way off and instantly the instincts boomed with feelings of danger and annoyance. Neo smiled, "Hey, Master Elfin, it worked out. I haven''t been taken over." Elfin smiled and gestured for him to come over, "Lad, tell me all about it, how it feels, thinks and your own thoughts on it." After explaining what he''d done, he told Elfin how it communicates through its emotions and then his own thoughts on it, "It was trapped in a corner with nowhere for it to escape, it had to accept otherwise it would be dead, so of course it would accept. But it is a bunch of instincts, it was made for control. Without control it can only react, so if something riles it up it may try to take over to get what it wants. Without a conscious in control of it, even though it''s part of me, it still slightly has power over itself. Like right now it wants me to sneak attack you with a punch to the face, I don''t know why but it doesn''t like you at all. So, yes, I am afraid that it''ll try to take control again." Elfin snorted, "I goaded you earlier into seeing if it could punch me, which it couldn''t. But, if control is an issue maybe using the ring to suppress it is a good idea, since that seemed to work partially. I''ll also give you instructions to hopefully improve your relationship with it and find a balance. So, we should see if the two of you together can hit me, bye bye, do your best" Instinct blared a warning and Neo¡¯s muscles tensed seeing what was coming, as Elfin smiled and whispered, "White hole Burst!" Shivers went down his back, but there was nothing he could do to avoid anything that came from the white hole that popped into existence in front of his chest. As he and the instincts tried to react, two filmy objects appeared that tried to stop the energy and earth from cutting him in half. The blast broke through but only sent him flying through the air. The instinct took over for spilt second so that Neo landed feet first against the cavern wall, sending shockwaves through it that even Bethany could feel and hear as she rested against the wall asleep. Again, the instincts took control as he pushed of the wall causing another boom to rattle the room. Earthen spears crashed into the wall split seconds after he left it. Neo couldn''t think about the disconcerting feeling of losing control like that, he had to think fast, going over the memories he came up with a plan as he kept leaping about, covering metres with each step. As he did so, Neo got closer to a huge pile of rubble. As soon as he got within range of the rocks he picked them up and aimed them above Elfin, hitting the stalactites causing a few of them to fall. Neo then also threw rubble at either side of Elfin and held a large stone behind his back just in case, then he charged straight at Elfin. Elfin looked to both sides and simply moved out of the way, which was already an achievement, but it appeared that Neo had that area covered as well as random rubble flew past him. He then looked at Neo and saw him charging at him with a huge excited grin on his face. Elfin held his hand in the air and a huge black hole formed above him, eating the falling objects. He then held his other hand toward Neo, "White hole funnel." As soon as the earth entered the black hole, energy and earth rocketed towards Neo. He was a few metres away before he buried his clawed hands into the stone and instinct held up the two films again, protecting him from the majority of the debris. The force of the white hole ability was much reduced, as the shield held for much longer before breaking and allowing the energy and projectiles to rip into him. He was thankful he hadn''t hit bigger stalactites, otherwise he wouldn''t have been able to survive for long enough. As the hail storm passed and the white hole disappeared he ran forward to hit Elfin but was stopped within a metre. The black hole formed in front of him, stopping him but not the rubble that he had kept behind him, which had shrunk since he had last seen it. He tossed it over the black hole and hit Elfin''s head which distracted him from his spell as a bump slowly formed, but Elfin took it in his stride with a smile and a nod, "Well done, sorry abou¡­" But before he could say any more, instinct overwhelmed Neo for split second with rage. Putting his whole body into it he punched Elfin in the guts, flinging him across the cavern to crash into the wall, causing dirt and rocks to fall from the wall. Neo looked at his fist as he too was very angry with Elfin for doing that and felt no sympathy, but soon he realised he''d just punched an old man across about a hundred metres and into a wall, let alone him being a teacher. He was about to run over to check when the rubble moved and fell around a gargantuan form. Its own roar shook the room, along with Neo and the instinct¡¯s emotions as fear overwhelmed them. Chapter 17 - Living Metal, Control Training Part 3 The wall was cool under his hand as he used it to support himself while he walked out of the cavern, he''d managed to get his clothes on before exhaustion caught up with him. Once he''d put his ring back on, the energy and armour that covered him disappeared leaving huge bruises for him to see. He thanked his good luck that they were only bruises. Instinct was sending unpleasant emotions at him, however, it was suppressed to a mere whisper. But even a whisper can grate on a person¡¯s nerves, and he has only been listening for a few minutes. His own feet felt like lead, causing him to stumble as he walked. The only relief came from the walls and the light breeze that came from the end of the tunnel, where he was pleased to see Bethany and the ever stoic Gie. Before he spoke Neo sat down beside cave entrance. Bethany smiled and spoke, "Hey, seems like you passed and gained control." Neo warily returned the smile, "I guess I passed, but I don''t think I have total control." He said as sent emotions of attachment, lust and wonder. Taking a breath, he ignored it and asked, "So how long was I in there?" Bethany looked towards one of the towers and answered to Neo surprise, "About six hours or so." "Nice I can go to bed then?" He asked. "Or did we have something else to do?" Neo had a vague feeling that he''d forgotten something but, honestly, he didn''t care if there was anything he had to do at the moment. Sadly for Neo, Bethany also didn''t care that he didn''t, "No you''ve got to go see Bryn. Up you get, it''s rude to keep someone waiting you know." ''I think I''ve had enough excitement for one day. I''m sure this will be another exciting development while causing me pain.'' Neo saw Bethany put her hands on her hips, ''uh ho, I should suffer through. Come on, up before she starts speaking.'' Stopping Bethany from a with a hand, "help me up and we¡¯ll get going. We have someone to see and we shouldn''t keep them waiting, it''ll be rude." Bethany took his hand, pulling Neo to his feet while he smiled through the pain as she agitated his bruises, "Also do you think we could get some tea before getting into more trouble?" "Sure. What do mean more trouble?" "Ow nothing too important." Neo said while clenching his fist. Neo hadn''t a clue about what is was that he saw in the dust that Elfin had left. He had a vague idea of what he''d turned into but Neo couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. With the glance that he got, it wasn''t enough to figure out what Elfin was. He had fur, scales, and horns before he disappeared and reverted back to his old and weak body. He had slowly walked towards Neo, but with entirely different aura that showed who was boss and it shook Neo and Instinct. Once Elfin was standing in front of them, instead of the lashing Neo was expecting he merely talked about what Neo had to do to improve his control and then allowed him to leave. With him wondering what Elfin was he hadn''t realised that they had already reached the warehouse. Now that his mind was in the present his body complained. He kept the smile on his face as Bryn greeted them with exuberance before getting rushed through the door. He explained what he''d done and his contingency plans he''d made just in case something happened. They were guided into a separate room with a pressure tank in the middle of it that had pipes coming out of it and then through a hatch into an antechamber. They were shown to a type of control area that also had a glass window into the pressure tank. There, in the middle of the tank in large bowl, was a silver liquid, "So, is that living metal?" Bryn nodded and then spoke in his deep voice, "Yep, it''s not very interesting when it''s in a relaxed state, but I''m very interested in seeing it''s reaction to your precious stone. That being said, shall we get on with it?" Bryn, with his large form, used two fingers to pull up a small tube and indicated to Neo to place the gold diamond into it. Bryn then placed the tube back, "Alright, I''ll be adding the diamond in five, four, three, two, one¡­"Twisting the tube, he caused the diamond to drop into the silver liquid. The pressure tank lit up like a lightning storm instantly as the two touched, almost blinding everyone. Then the sound of booms came from inside of the pressure tank. With a quick scan Neo could see bugles forming on the tank. After a few more crashing and booming sounds Neo could see a few more dents. He started a to get a little worried when the bashing continued again, in the same place, causing obvious cracks in the tank that let air begin to leak out. It was only Bryn¡¯s confident stance that stopped Neo from retreating from pressure tank. Bryn must have seen Neo''s worried face, "Neo you don''t need to worry about that tank, it would take a higher being to escape it. So, relax and take a seat. You look as if you''re about to collapse where you stand." Bryn''s deep blue eye shined with excitement and intelligence Even though no matter how much Neo liked the idea of sitting, he knew that the likelihood of him getting back up was slim to none. Smiling to Bryn he replied, "Thanks for your concern, but I''ll be okay standing here as long as you¡¯re confident the thing in there can''t get out here to ruin my day." Bryn with a knowing smile, Bryn nodded and spoke simply, "I''m very confident in it, but I don''t think you need to worry about it." He pointed at the glass window in the tank. Whatever was happening in the tank had stopped its vicious reaction and Neo saw silvery ooze lying at the bottom of the tank with the golden diamond floating around in it without a purpose. Neo looked at Bryn questioningly, however Bryn shrugged in response to his stare. "I¡¯ll do some scans of the object, if there was a reaction hopefully we''ll find something." Getting up from his seat he went to a display that had many buttons and levers. He pushed a few and took some notes that ended up in the small black notebook with ¡®living metal¡¯ written on the front. after pottering about and muttering to himself he walked over to the pressure tank and opened the containment and attached a smaller container to the inner door that opened into the section with the living metal. Then, returning to the control panel, he pressed a button which opened the inner door. To everyone''s surprise the movement of the door swinging open had an effect on the living metal as the diamond shifted towards it the instant it opened. A few minutes passed as they watched the living metal but Neo asked, "So,Bryn is anything happening?" Bryn was enthralled in what he was doing but still managed to reply, a bit of awe in his voice as he took off his goggles, "It''s amazing, it¡¯s moving a nanometre a second and it''s only increasing as time goes on. I also see electrodes running through it which are originating from the gold diamond. I believe we have a symbiosis, the diamond is proving energy while the living metal does as commanded, haha!" Bethany spoke with a huge smile and excitement in her eyes as she wondered at the possibilities, "So it''s worked, the gold diamond combined with the living metal. That''s awesome! It must take quite a while to get used to its new body." Neo was quite happy just sitting in his seat staring at the silver liquid and his golden diamond. He was transfixed. As time moved forward the living metal steadily sped up until Neo could observe it with his naked eye. After that it took no time at all as the silver liquid moved into the canister. Once it had entered Bryn quickly moved over to it, twisting the top of it and closing the entrance. He then indicated to them to follow, which they did, through a large storage room where there were a huge amount of boxes with whoever knew what in them. Asking Bryn, Neo found that they contained failed experiments, in progress ideas, and relics for analysis. "Are you sure we can be in here? You know, anybody could steal from here. Why would you leave it all lying around? And you might not know if one item could react with another."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Bryn glanced over his shoulder, "How many people do you thing I bring down here? Even if some tried to steal something, they would find it very hard as each box is heavily enchanted. And don''t ask me what enchantment we use because that would be dangerous." ''Okay,'' Neo thought, ''Silly question." It wasn''t too long before they came across a large steely blue door which Bryn, placing the canister onto the floor, heaved the door open and then turned around towards them and gave some orders out. "Bethany and Gie, could you close the door behind us? And only open it if you see this sign." Signalling towards an engraved symbol above the door, he placed his hand on another symbol that that was connected with a line that glowed, which then caused the symbol above the door to glow too. "Neo¡­ make sure I don''t die, otherwise you will be trapped in there. This is a one for one enchantment, it allows me to light the symbol from inside." After finishing his explanation, he walked inside. Neo was about to follow behind but paused when he heard Bethany whisper, "Good luck." Looking behind him, he smiled his thanks and continued to into the vault. The room was a pretty large room, about 10 metres squared in size, and in the middle was a large blob of bronze that Bryn had placed his hands on. Before Neo could ask some questions, Bryn got there first, "This chamber is made for experiments that might be dangerous items, explosives, diseases, and anything else that might come up. The walls are stronger than the pressure tank, but they also disrupt measurement instruments. But sometimes you need to get hands on, or observe something with protection." As Bryn finished speaking the bronze blob changed into a bowl shape which then formed a see-through film over the top of it. Bryn then picked up the canister and poured it into the bowl. Once the living metal settled, it soon stirred and moved towards Neo. Bryn, moved to the side, taking out his notebook, "Neo just do whatever feels natural?" The living metal still pushed itself towards him, and Neo saw the diamond seemingly looking at him. He waved, not really knowing what to do. To his surprise the living metal formed a gloppy, not complete, clawed hand, and waved back. "Aha!" Neo spoke in surprise, but asked it, "Can you understand me, while I speak?" The hand changed shape into a thumbs up sign, "I think that¡¯s a yes." Neo''s said to Bryn. The thumb then closed and opened again after Neo spoke. Seeing this Neo and Bryn had a huge grin on their faces. Neo came up with some questions, "So, what are you?" The blob slowly built up four stumps, which then formed into a body, which progressed into a tail, a head, and finally two stumps bloomed from its back and into a pair of wings. It wasn''t a perfect model, as it all drooped and you could tell where it was concentrating as one part would reform and the other limb would suffer in a vicious cycle. "So, you are the dragon that attacked? The one I killed?" The dragons form fell back into puddle that grew a thumbs up, and then an okay sign. Neo¡¯s eyebrows knitted together, "How do you know how to do those signs you¡¯re using to communicate? As a dragon I wouldn''t of thought that you had similar signs as humans." The blob then started a few actions in a row with two fingers being held up, which flowed into a small humanoid and growing in front of it was a dragon, to which the humanoid started bowing and scraping, before it started doing work shown by lifting a small rock and then placing them over to the side. It then poked a single finger up before pointing at Neo, then itself and then made a rope hanging between two bodies. "Right, so¡­ you had human slaves and learnt from them and the connection between us also helps?" Neo said in a questioning tone as that was what he got from that act. The blob took a while to answer with a thumbs up, Neo looked over toward Bryn wondering what he should do, but Bryn was buried in his notebook, scribbling notes. Looking back toward the blob, Neo said, "Sorry about killing you. You know it was kind of in self-, what made you go on your killing spree?" The blob did nothing for a while before another complex series of action was shown. First was two humanoid-like figures with arms hugging each other, and then one of them separated and started tapping the other on the back. As the form flopped back a smaller dragon came forward, it looked as if it was doing everyday things, before the dragon sneezed. Neo wondered if dragons actually sneezed. It was however the next thing that confused him and the was a screen like object formed in front of the dragon. But then everything rewound with the only thing staying in place being the screen. As the rest of the scene played out, the screen filled out with scribbles, but once the dragon sneezed again the screen went blank. Finally, Neo understood what it was saying. Neo spoke, "You don''t know why do you? Then how did you end up in me?" The blob changed the scene with screen staying blank, before the scribbles came back with avengeance and a spike was formed on the head of the dragon before calming down, after that the scene played until a humanoid that was half in and half out of its mouth stabbed it. After that many hands reached out gripping on to the humanoid and not letting go and Neo thought, ''hey presto ... That''s how we got here, interesting. Wonder what made her go mad? I should tell Jane, it might help her in her investigations.'' Neo looked towards Bryn, "So now what, it seems responsive and conscious, with logic and memories." Bryn looked at Neo with a shrug, "Would you like to take the kid gloves off to see how it reacts when it hasn''t got a shield to stop it?" Neo nodded, Bryn placed his hands on the bronze bowl and the film that covered the top faded away. Nothing happened, the blob didn''t move, Neo didn''t move, and Bryn didn''t move, and neither of them took their eyes off the blob. The room grew an awkward atmosphere before Neo decided to change that, "So, now what?" "Try touching it?" Bryn suggested. Neo shrugged, having no better ideas and trusting in the blob, he slowly reached out his hand to place a finger. He found it cold and smooth under his hand. With no reaction from the blob he looked back to Bryn for guidance. Bryn was scribbling in his note book and Neo had to wait until his head popped up over it. "Mm, well as we can''t separate the two of you, you should take it with you and see what it does. I would recommend you find out its name later though." Neo asked, "How will I take it?" But as he said those words the blob seemed to use its own novel way and slowly climbed up his arm, sending shivers up and down his body as the sensation was like a light suction cup. It continued up to his neck when he started questioning his trust. But there was nothing for him to worry about as it spread across his body. Once all of the living metal had left the bowl, Neo had a half silver chest, arm, and hand. He couldn''t feel anything through the metal, so Neo spoke aloud asking, "Can you leave my hand so that I can feel through it?" There was a moment of pause before another wave of shivers went through his body and he could feel the air on his skin again, however when he looked over, it was still the slivery colour of living metal and Neo couldn''t help but awe at it. Bryn was again intensely scribbling in his book again, "I can feel through it!" After saying that, there was even more sounds of scribbling. Neo smiled, finding Bryn ''s dedication to his research quite endearing, however his lack of bed side manner was a little annoying. Neo would like to know what to do instead of just standing there waiting for Bryn. Neo got a little fed up, with his sore muscles and tiredness, "Bryn, do you think it would be a good idea to take it out and maybe go to bed?" There was a slight pause in the scribbling while Bryn thought, "Ow! Right sorry got engrossed there, sorry again." He walked over, placing his hands onto the panel and lighting it up along with the sign above the door. A few moments later the door opened and there, with a large grin and a smear of grease on her face, was Bethany. Gie soon poked his head out from behind the door once it had fully opened. Neo wondered at what Bethany had been up to so he asked. "You have some grease smeared on your face, right there." Placing his silver finger on her cheek, Bethany went red as Neo delicately rubbed the grease off, she was so engrossed in the feeling that she hadn''t even notice the change in his hand, even while it was touching her skin, which the entire point of him getting that close was to show off his new glove. But she had that accepting reaction and he couldn''t back down now, so he had to go through with rubbing the grease off. Making him feel embarrassed in front of Bryn and Gie. Not that either cared as one was faceless and didn''t have an opinion, the other after observing the interaction had gone straight into scribbling in his book. Neo smiled at the cute face that Bethany was making, while his Instincts shouted ¡°Mine¡± in the loudest voice it could. Withdrawing his silver hand, he scratched the side of his face while looking embarrassed, ''please notice or this is going to get awkward." To his disappointment she didn''t even blink as she stared straight at him, before looking a Bryn and asked, "So how''d it go?" This shocked and confused Bryn and Neo, as they both pointed toward Neo''s right arm, "It''s right there, can''t you see it?" Bryn asked. Bethany looked a Neo right arm and shook her head, "I can''t see it. Does it have an ability to turn invisible?" Neo and Bryn both shook their heads. Neo took a closer look at her, he could see her eyes had the slight glow of when she uses her truth seeker eyes. Neo asked Bethany to stop using her ability. As soon as she did she gasped, "Wow, guys I couldn''t see it with my truth-seeking ability, there was nothing different in the energy and emotional patterns, it must of blended in." Bryn started scribbling again and Neo couldn''t think of the consequences. Neo Bethany looked toward him when he spoke, "Don''t you want to inspect the inventions and artefacts?" Neo unintentional yawned, noticing Bethany eagerness, "I think I really need some rest, but we can come back tomorrow, as a school club if that''s a thing?" Bryn and Bethany both had huge grin and Bryn spoke, "Of course we have after school clubs. As head inventor and researcher, I lead the club, and we''ll be glad to have you join, and have Bethany back in the fold. We have some projects from Beacon''s council that could do with a fresh pair of eyes. I''ll have you sign up tomorrow once you return." With that Neo thankfully went back to his room before again collapsing in bed, without noticing the silver being slip away from his body. Chapter 18 - His Way Awaking in his bed Neo stretched his aching muscles, cringing at the pain. Neo noticed that his silvery arm had disappeared.He looked around to find it hanging out on the curtains. "Hey are you up?" He asked the thing. A part of the of the blob extended out give Neo a thumbs up, then after that it produced some z¡¯s that increased in size. Then a circle with a diagonal line through it. "Right so you don''t sleep, what did you do all night?" The blob made two eyes that watched him. Neo looked at the blob thinking that he had to find a name for it, he couldn¡¯t keep thinking of it without a name. "Right got it¡­ So, what should I call you?" The blob seemed to thing for a while, before it moved and formed a hand that then reached forward like it was picking something up,then pointed at Neo and gave a thumbs up and then a thumbs down. Neo got what it was saying, "Right I''ll pick one for you and you''ll give me confirmation if you like it." Neo got a thumbs up from it, Neo then thought of an important question, "So, what gender are you?" The blob was still for a moment before a hand appeared and went over its body as though it was asking ¡°really?¡± Neo realise that might have been a poor question after realising that it didn''t have a body so didn''t have a gender. "Ok, my bad, maybe Silver." Thumbs down, "mm¡­ Winter," thumbs down, "Phoenix," again, a thumbs down. Neo looked at the silver blob, it shone brightly from the sun, and he really wanted a name that fit its image. Thinking things over he came up with a good idea "How about Seren, it means star in English." ''Man, I am bad at thinking of names, sigh.'' Neo thought But it seemed that the blob thought otherwise as Neo got a thumbs up. Getting up from his bed he wondered if Seren was comfortable in her hanging position. "Are you comfortable like that, or would you like your own space?" There was a shrug from it, Neo then suggested, "Perhaps a place where you can hide and watch the outside, instead of just watching me. Or even a series of tunnels in order for you to get around with and have other rooms for you to live in with some cool views." Neo''s mind wondered away with his imagination as he got washed, dressed and picked up Seren since leaving it here would just be cruel. Seren took its place on Neos arm, with that he opened the door. Looking at the closed door to his right, the one that had attracted his attention the day before, he felt nothing. He stepped out past Gie and tapped on Bethany¡¯s door. There was a loud crash before Neo heard a voice. "Be out in a minute." Leaning against the wall beside the door he waited patiently for more than a minute, but finally Bethany''s door opened and she came out, closing the door behind her. "You have Plant Life class, Advanced Combat class, Self-Control free training and then Inventors club." She finished with a huge grin and skipped out of the building with Neo walking behind her. The plant life class ended up being very interesting. Neo was also surprised at Elisa¡¯s knowledge of plants, as she answered almost every question put to the class. Not that that should be too surprising, as she is herself a sentient plant. But while Elisa was answering, Neo reflected the on the days before and realised that he was an utter assunder the influence of the instincts which were even now telling him that she was fun, timid and prey, among other things that passed through the link. After class, Neo approached Elisa and she stiffened, before she could run and escape Neo said aloud, "I''m sorry about everything I''ve done, annoying you like that was wrong." There were a few moments of silence from Elisa before she finally looked him in the eye, but she looked away when her leaves shook. Staring at his feet, she muttered something. Neo leaned closer to catch what she had said and heard, "Yea don''t worry about it, you''re just trying to lose yourself, it''s not the first nor the last." Elisa used the time that Neo was shocked and surprised at the statement to escape as he walked off to ponder it. ¡®Yeh,¡¯ he admitted after a while. One part of him found the illusions fascinating, the other was like more please give me somewhere that isn''t so strange, confusing, and peaceful. "Going to have to face it, I can''t retreat and there is no going back." Walking towards his Advanced Combat class he pondered over what Elisa had said. The training fields had a much smaller group of beings standing around waiting. It wasn''t long before Alec had arrived and, seeing Neo stand with his two guards, his face turned into a broad grin as he started explaining, "I have decided that I''m going to split you up into teams of two where you will, and battle together. Here are your training regimes personalised for you all in the places that I think you need improving. As Alec went around handing out files, Neo promptly opened his and found a four-week long regime which had everyday tasks, mainly endurance training with small amount of strength training. Neo smiled, it seemed that Alec had noticed his pretty poor fitness and had set about changing that. There were also other training tasks that were partner training or sparring, and some other combinations which interested Neo. After Alec had finished with handing out the rest of the files he then started calling out names and pairing them. The small groups split up and walked off, deeply engrossed with their teams. Neo found himself with the last student. It was a young woman with an athletic build, but there was something familiar about her. It clicked, when Alec stood behind the young woman and Neo could see what was so familiar, they had the same eyes. The lion¡¯s tail and ears also gave away a lot. While Alec was grinning broadly the women merely scowled at him, obviously unimpressed with what she saw as she glared at Alec before coolly talking to him. "This is the guy you were talking about? He doesn''t look like anything special and he''s a white mana user!" ''Ouch,'' Neo thought, ''she''s not afeard of insulting me is she. I hope she¡¯s not my team mate even if she is pretty. If there is nothing underneath that thin veneer, I won''t be interested in working together.'' Alec replied, seemingly not having heard anything the young lioness had said, "You two will work together for a while, I would also suggest that you continue doing your best to get through the end of year tests in a few weeks, as it''ll be team based. So learn from each other, teach each other, and cover each other''s faults. Just as a team should." He walked off before the fire flickering out of her eyes, would strike him. She turned her head towards Neo still with the fire in her eyes, before saying forcefully, "Let''s go start training you into an actual warrior." She marched off, and it wasn''t until Bethany pushed him forward that he made to follow her. Bethany spoke, "You might not want to annoy her as she''s your new teammate." Nodding, he jogged after the disappearing figure until they arrived at a building that was, unsurprisingly, a gymnasium. He was puffing a little after catching up but only got a withering stare from her. "My names Neo, I¡¯m happy to team up with you." The lioness scowled, taking a deep breath, "I''m Tan, now show me your training regime so that we can work around and with each other." It was after that that hell descended onto Neo as she almost burnt his file to ash as his file was smoking while she was speaking with some venom. "You''re really only doing strength and endurance training. Are you so weak, that you need body training before even sparring? This is going to be so boring, and archery is such a poor battle art!" After she ran out of puff she got him started on his exercise regime and relentlessly pushed and insulted him through the exercises. Two hours later he was told to be back the next morning and he dragged himself out, escaping Tan and her withering stare as she had shamefully beat him in every exercise. After he''d escaped they went to get some lunch. Instead of just sitting in a caf¨¦ he got his tea and sandwiches to go as he had self-study for his control training. He wondered where he should start as he was instructed to find somewhere that was comforting and peaceful. The forest was the obvious option as it was a place where the weird and confusing were not in sight, it was peaceful as well. Walking through said forest, he didn''t find a single area that spoke to him. He tried the area with the floating water but that brought back memories of him falling unconscious. Continuing through the forest, he ended up exiting through the other side. Neo met the edge, where the water began, and looking out he could see the cliff that sloped up. He also watched the small glowing fish dance, swim, and play in this small area that they had. It put a smile on his face. There were no dark shadows, just the small fish.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Neo found it soothing just watching life. He decided that he''d finally found where he should meditate and sat with the intent of talking to his other side. Bethany and Gie both walked away a little and ate their meals. Neo made himself comfortable, taking a bite of his sandwich and placing it down next to him.He started trying to understand his other side and put himself into the middle of the darkness in his mind,with an attachment to ensure that he had a way out, just in case. He dove into the sea of emotions and lost himself almost immediately. There was no logic, understanding, or thought to it, so there was no way to find a path to follow. The only theme that could be found were images that were connected to each other but Neo wasn''t able to as his ears picked up a loud cracking that brought him abruptly back to his surroundings. With a growl he snapped his head toward the sound, finding a cloaked figure who shook with fear. As Neo looked in his eyes he recognised the figure as Conway. Neo shook himself of the influence and Conway''s body stopped shaking and calmed, now shaking his own head seemingly confused. Even though Neo was jealous and weary of him, he wasn''t sure if those feelings were his or the others. Either way there was no need to be impolite, and he should apologise for his actions the other day. "Hello Conway, you frightened me there." Conway smiled apologetically, "Sorry about that I tend to walk around the academy I didn''t even notice you here as I was lost in thought, usually until I get here anyway, where I feed the fish." He said pulling a bag up from under his cloak. Neo watched him walk up to the water, he could tell that the fish were used to this treatment as they gathered. This annoyed Neo a little but he kept his mouth shut. Then Conway spoke, "I find these fish adorable and innocent. They have no experience in life and they just line up to get fed. Even though I find it hard not to help, I also can''t help myself now. I started this ages ago when I first came to this academy and on my walks I found this school of fish that always needed help, as every generation relied on me somewhat for food. As I went through my education I found out that what I was doing wasn''t helping them, it only harmed them, as they learnt to rely on me instead of themselves. Every time I leave I worry that if I don''t come back that they might not survive. Yet every time I see the next generation struggling to survive I can''t help but step in." Sighing, Conway finished throwing the breadcrumbs into the water and walked back to sit down next to Neo. Neo took this time to apologise, "Sorry about being so aggressive a few days back, I wasn''t quite myself." Conway smiled but his lip tightened in the corners, "I''m sadly used to those types of reactions." He pulled his hood down over his face a bit more, "This world isn''t nearly a kind as yours.If your disfigured or disabled its seen as weak. It means you can¡¯t stop whatever happens to you. If someone isborn with either they''ll most like get abandoned. I''m generalising here, there are always the exceptions, but our maternal instincts aren''t nearly as strong as humans. And almost no one would apologise, I''d recommend that you learn to do the same." Neo shrugged, he didn''t really care about that. If he apologised then he must have done something wrong, if they think it¡¯s a weakness then that is their own blindness and weakness. He tooka bite out of his sandwich and kept eating after speaking, "What are they going to do to me if I apologise, fight me? They''ll regret that." "Indeed, maybe they will regret it but it''s just not a good idea to antagonise them." "What, how is that?" "Well it means you didn''t truly think through your words and it would be like showing your back to your enemies as it leaves a weakness that people exploit it." Neo nodded in thought, ''I guess, maybe.'' Neo continued talking, "So you¡¯re visiting your fish before you leave?" "Yes, actually I was supposed to bring you to Jane for some more bleeding." Conway said while smiling. It sent a shiver down Neo¡¯s back. He was sure that he wasn''t going to get back into his meditation and was a bit off put by what he had seen and had to ponder over it. As they travelled back through the forest, he managed to finish his sandwich before they stopped in front of a large tower that held the science department. As they entered the building he was led onto a disk, one of two, which then lifted them up through several floors before stopping at a particularly hectic and dingy room. Stepping from the gloom was Jane, muttering and hands filled with tubes, burners, and flasks. Once she saw Neo, she collected herself and tidied up her messy hair, and spoke sounding confused, "What are you doing here Neo, Bethany, Gie?" Conway stepped forward to explain, "You asked me to get Neo, for another round of tests." Jane¡¯s face blanked for a moment to think, "Damn it, it''s been so busy recently with two projects to run. I could just scream. I keep forgetting simple things and, arr." She shook her hands before she took a calming breath, "I know why I asked you here, there are diseases in this world so I would like to give you some jabs to inoculate you after the final series of tests. Its almost been a week since you left Beacon City, so a disease might have developed." Neo nodded thought, ''Sounds good. There must be diseases and inoculations, so fair enough.'' And so he went through the relentless tests and then finally the jabs came rolling through. By the end of it his arms were tender and swollen. Neo had fixed his sight on the devises in the room while getting his shots. He thought that it was amazing as them moved and twisted and he wondered what it did. With Conway taking the samples to the labs on a higher floor, Jane fussed about with her equipment, ignoring the three of them as Neo observed the room. There were hundreds of notes, and dozens of samples. It wasn''t until Conway returned that they made their way out. Neo thanked Conway and they made their way to the Inventors club. Once they arrived there they were ushered in finding it busy and filled with students carrying materials back and forth. Neo was guided up to a reception desk where he was given a membership form to sign. After that Bryn took them towards an open shop where the students could be any material, "This here is the Matter Shop and these are your credits, you get fifty every two weeks which you can trade in for any material you need. If you need any more then you''ll need to pay for it out of your own pocket." The credits were simple coins with the symbol of the school on one side and on the other was the wrench and hammer. Bryn turned to Bethany with a grin on his face, "So, Bethany you want to give that project another try?" Neo could see a grin spread across her face as she spoke to him, "The Inventors club gets requests from people for objects, one of the longest standing ones is a request from the council. They wanted a way to survive outside of the magic influence of the bubbles, so they want us to build something that''ll allow them to do that." Bryn snorted, "Yeh, the request has been there for longer than I have been working here. But with Bethany''s help we managed to get the first few steps toward some prototypes. we ran out of money and split up after Bethany graduated, so progress was slow but recently we''ve gathered the necessary money for some important items." Neo looked towards Bethany, who had an innocent smile on her face, and sighed inwardly. He was, however, interested in seeing it. "I would love to see this instrument of human doom." Bryn laughed at him, "Not likely an instrument of human doom, as they still won''t be able to see us. And it certainly is not a portable device." They were led through the warehouse past the science vault, and into another door. In the middle of the room was a metal object as tall as Bethany with her stilts on and as thick a Gie shoulders. It was at this point Neo put a fake smile on his face as Bethany and Bryn excitedly delved into the inner workings of the machine, their theories leading up to it, and future ideas and problems. Neo, when he could, suggested ideas, which to his surprise were taken as good ideas. Like the geomagnetic field around Earth and his questioning on how it could affect magic. Otherwise Neo was ignored and he just enjoyed watching the two passionately talk. Neo decided to look around for something to do and remembered that he needed to make a fish bowl. Forming up a space bubble in front of him, he thought, ''How to do this, form glass beads.¡¯ Dozens of beads started falling out of the space. "Whoops," Neo said as he enclosed the space. With a pile of beads forming in the bottom he started manipulating the glass beads into one blob, then, with the image of a fish bowl in his head, he pulled and solidified until he had his .Yawning as the bowl slowly fell into his hands, he inspected it for any faults but as far as Neo could tell it was perfect. "What do you think, do you like it?" Neo asked Seren, but he got a reply from everyone apart from Gie. Bethany said, "Yes, it¡¯s beautifully simple." Bryn replied with a simple, "Yes, it''s a fish bowl." Neo smiled and laughed a little as he spoke, "Sorry, I wasn''t talking to you guys." Taping his arm but he remembered something, "Right, I haven''t told you, I named the living metal Seren. Say hi Seren." A silver hand crept out from under Neo''s sleeves and gave a little wave before retreating back underneath. Bethany and Bryn awkwardly waved back. Gie didn''t move or register Seren. ''Gie'' Neo thought ''I wonder if Gie needs a new face? Let''s see if this works. Hopefully this''ll bring back a talking Gie.'' Neo reformed his mana and summoned a stone slab. Looking at Gie, Neo had to decided what sort of face would look good on the rock body. It definitely needed a strong face, otherwise it would just be a stark contrast which wouldn''t be nice for anyone to see. Once he had a good outline of Gie''s face, Neo started to manipulate and mould the stone into the image he had, a strong chin, big bushy eyebrows, deep brown eyes, a mouth, and a nose. After curving the stone a little so that it would fit over Gie''s face, he had to readjust a few parts. After lowering it out of his space he picked it up and stood up, wobbling a little seeing that Bethany and Bryn had gone back to talking, and handed it to Gie. Gie slowly opened its hand to grasp it, there was a slight robotic feel to its action. Once Neo had placed it in his hand, Gie moved his hand up to his face where there was a blue flash. He brought his hand back down and Neo saw the eyes he had made glowed slightly blue. Before Neo could say anything Gie stepped forward, engulfing Neo in a hug and a much more cultured and intelligent voice spoke, "Thank you Neo!" It was the last thing Neo heard before he blacked out. Chapter 19 - Hes returning early Neo awaked a little while later, he opened his eyes and staredat a compacted earthen path. He was bouncing up and down, his guts pressured by something cool and hard. A voice spoke out above him, it was Bethany, "Hey, Gie, he''s awake." Gie stopped before speaking in his new sophisticated voice "Neo, do you think you can walk?" "Hm, I don''t know let''s get give it a try." Gie crouched down and slowly let Neo down. Once Neo''s feet had touched the ground, he stood up right causing all the blood to rush to his feet and making him feel light headed. After a few moments passed, Neo was fine, even if his eyes were drooping. Yawning, he looked around to see that they were in the dormitories area. Giewas still crouching down in front of Neo and started to speak. "Neo, I would like to thank you again for giving me back my voice and identity. It''s I lost it." He said while touching his face. It made Neo shudder as what Neo assumed to be an unintelligent being and one that was built or created could communicate so well. It made him wondered how intelligent it was and if it was an AI of some kind. Neo thought and decided not to ask, ''if he wants to tell me, he can. I¡¯m not going to pry too much, but I would like to know why he couldn''t make his own face.'' Gie¡¯s face cracked into a smile, which sent more chills down Neo spine. "I didn''t have the creativity to create more or make something. I got those stones placed on me asa joke. They were tired of seeing a blank face, so they just shoved those onto it for me and to their surprise I talked, but to their ignorance or arrogance they didn''t think of improving my face to even see if they could increase my intelligence. So thank you Neo!" As Gie was talking, Neo felt that Gie had quite a bit of anger. Neo thought about it and found he had good reason to, ''It must be infuriating to have '' Neo patted Gie on the shoulder, "Well you¡¯re here now, why don''t you go off and have a vacation and live life and enjoy?" Gie seemed grateful even if he was stone and had little movement.Gie stood up, "Thank you, Neo, but not while I am on assignment. I think that''ll be a good idea, though. I''ll put in a request, I do have a lot of vacation time to use." Neo smiled while they continued toward their dorm, talking a little about Gie''s long life, but it fell away as Gie seemed content to look around with new appreciation of everything. They made it back to their rooms a little while later and Neo wondered aloud, "So Gie what will you do now?" Gie, who was staring at him through the door, said, "I think I will sleep for a little bit to rest and recover my energy, but otherwise I might walk around a little and think." Neo nodded and saidbefore closing the door, "Sounds like a good idea, more people should do that. Good night Gie." Gie replied with a simple, "Goodnight." Neo was awoken when the surroundings around him changed, disrupting his sleep.As he opened his eyeshe found himself in a room with a black ceiling and black floor. There as on he knew that it was black was because there was a floating disco ball that was lighting up the area with several coloured lights. As the ball spun it glittered throughout the black room. A beat started to rise from aboom box, a flash came from the ceiling and a spot light lit up a still figure that stood with a finger pointing into the air and his right arm on his hip. As Neo overcame his bafflement, he noticed that the person was dressed in a glamorous 1970''s disco fashion, with the ever-expanding trousers and colourful jacket. Before Neo could say anything the beat reached its crescendo and the song started. ''Then I get night fever, night fever We know how to do it'' ''Ow damn, what hell have I been brought to?'' Neo thought as he watched Death do poor imitations of disco moves.He did go through the Robot, the Bus Stop and more, but it was all a bit cringe worthy. But even Neo couldn''t help but get in to the beat of the music and lost in the song, he even enjoyed watching the dancing. Once the song had ended Death had stopped dancing in front of Neo and asked, "So what do you think, any good?" Neo had no idea what to say, and after a while only managed to come up with a neutral, "Could use some more practice, but it was entertaining. Um so what was all that about?" Death looked at his clothes and the disco ball before speaking, "Got to live life in the now, not in the future." Neo knew that was a weird comment and asked,"Considering that the 1970''s is not now, that might be a bit weird of a comment.¡± Death answered, "It was a about five minutes ago, and it always will be since it''s in the present even now, otherwise would you know those dance moves and that song if it isn''t the now?" "What?" Neo asked, then thought over what Death had said. He eventually got it, at least thought he did, but there were more important questions that came to mind "What''s happened, it hasn''t been a month yet?" "Ah yes, well two things really." Clicking his fingers, the lights, disco ball, beat box all disappeared. Sadly, he kept his disco clothing, but those things that disappeared were replaced with a desk, a computer, and a screen. At least He then wondered if his Mobile phone had more processing power then this thing.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Death appeared in front of it, crouched over the desk watching the monitor, and sheepishly asked, "How do you deletethe search history?" Neo burst out laughing and looked at the screen finding it dull and bluer then it should be. His eyebrow rose, coughing Neo said, "So there are two ways to deal with this. One, you could chuck it since the history is attached to your computer and replace it with a new computer, preferablyfrom the modern era with a full complement of firewalls and antivirus programs, or ¡­" Before Neo could suggest the second option the computer disappeared into a fiery hot hole. Neo assumed that it was vaporised. Death said, "Wait here I''ll back soon," and disappeared in a puff of smoke. He returned about ten minutes later with a much better and sleeker computer. It had a bright and more colourful monitor, with a lit mouse and keyboard. And Death snobbishly said, "Better?" Neo smirked at Death¡¯s weirdness, "Much, so do you have a power outlet or internet attachment?" "Nope," Death said. He clicked his fingers and themonitor and desktop started with no wires in it at all. Neo gave a short laugh, "That''s convenient, not a single wire to get caught and then sort out." As the screen startedup Death asked, "So I found this place where people supposedly drowning in sorrows tell everyone about it. But before I can explore its sweet, sweet sorrows, I need to sign up. Also, what''s an e ... email whatever that is." Neo tilted his head before speaking, "Which social media are you thinking of joining?" He ignored the sorrows comment. "You know that one with a blue birdie thing, and the thumbs up one.They seemed to have plenty of material to go through," Death said while eyeing up the Windows 10 start-up screen. "Right, you do know the rules of the internet and social media, right?" Neo said, a little worried what Death would do with the internet in his hands. He wondered if he should let this god-like being onto the internet. "There are rules? I thought it was the internet, everything and anything was allowed." Death said tilting his head. "It is, about as much as the laws allow in the country you''re in. Even then there''s ways around, not that I know anything about that, but it''s more along the line of the unspoken rule. For a few examples, never challenge the internet because it''ll win, never tell it to not to do something because it¡¯ll go ahead and do it, never argue with the internet because a lot of it is trolling thus pointless to argue, and take everything you read with a few grains of salt and research the subject¡­." Neo was going to continue informing Death of the collective hive mind that is the internet, but he interrupted Neo before he could get into his tirade, "So how do I make an email?" Resigning himself to let Death trawl the internet, Neo showed him how to create an email. This is where things got a little sticky, since Death wanted his name sprawled across the internet. So, considering that was one of the hardest names to get seeing as it wasone of the easiest to think up, almost everything Neo typed in was rejected. With an obvious tick starting to show on Deaths face, Neo suggested that they use his name, New Death, since that was his name and position, and they both could use it, maybe. It would depend on if he could find away to use the internet. After Death¡¯s acceptance of the new name, which was also accepted as an e-mail thankfully, they went off to the thumbs up site and there they couldn''t use Death¡¯s name or New Death which caused Death to shake in anger. But Neo just used his own name and then tried creating a page for Death, but found that people had already take every possible typing of Death. This was when Death stood and spoke in menacing voice as a scythe formed in his hands,"I''ll be back!" Before he could disappear, Neo jumped and grabbed him, "Oh slow down, you don''t even know who has the name and even if you kill them you still won''t be able to use it." Death growled, giving up before moping back into his seat, "So the birdie one, hopefully that''ll be easier?" But sadly, Death didn''t get his wish. The blue bird of hope crushed his dreams as they were unable to get his name so he had to settle for ¡®New Deaths.¡¯ "There, it wasn''t exactly what you wanted but you now have your basic social media accounts, so I hope your murderous intent doesn''t become action." Thinking about Death as he stewed arms crossed, Neo decided that he needed to distract him. "So, Death, what was the other thing you wanted me for, since I wasn''t expecting you to want me to set up accounts for you.It doesn''t feel as though that was the whole reason you brought me here?" Death stopped his feet taping and focused in on Neo with a blank face, "ow right, sorry I forgot, um right I think you need to concentrate on your academy¡¯stests since those on top will be placed into Beacon''s tournament and I need you in it, so win it. It''ll also give you some good experience you sorely need.I''ll probably grab sometime to teach you some lessons, though I don''t quite know whenyet so yeah, enjoy and bye." Neo frowned as he said that but with a sudden chilly burst and slight cry of annoyance he was yanked out of the darkness and into the light that was pouring through the window. He groaned, he''d been a little excited to learn what he was going to be doing for the rest of his life but, as he went over his thoughts, he realised that if he was going to be trapped doing one thing as Death for life, he might not want to rush toward it. His thoughts turned a bit cheerier now that he''d been given more time to adjust and learn. He jumped out of bed, put his clothes on,and went off to face the Demon. For the next four weeks he had to endure the hellish training that he wasn''t lucky enough to avoid. He forgot what it was like to have a normal body as everything ached. He had more burns, broken bones, and hunger pains then he''d ever had in his life within those four weeks, mainly thanks to that damn fiery demon wrapped in a nice furry ball that wasTan. Sure, Neo had better martial arts and proved it inthe first spar when he crushed her to her own surprise, and embarrassment. But then she called flame on and it was Neo who ran around the practise field, running for his life and getting to know the on-duty healers by name, most of their families names, and where they were born. Not only was it physically destroying, but Neo found out how white mana users were so useless in combat, as was far too slow a process, and Tan always had her blade resting up against his neck before he could finish. His telekinesis only worked so well. If there was anything around him to throw in the first place, Neo was finding it difficult to grab it in the heat of battle. And there was no way he was going to use his main weapon, it was only for an emergency. He once threw it at Tan and she turned it to ash almost instantly and was then subsequently beaten for his idiocy. But he had learnt a lot and made a lot of progress in those four weeks. Now he was standing in the training fields with every student in his year, all looking excited asthe headmaster announced the tests, the tournament rules, and what was required of them. Chapter 20 - The Team and Tournament Neo had been training for four weeks of, as Tan had said, hellish guidance. He¡¯d also gone through more lessons with Dagles. He learned quite a lot. Within those four weeks, not only had his magic abilities improved, he had also lost alot of the weight he had on him and found that his arms, legs, and stomach had developed a slight muscle tone. But Neo had other things to wonder about other than his thinner physique. before he''d entered the maelstrom of students. He was looking around to see if they could find them, but the headmaster stepped out into the air in front of the crowd, . The casual use of magic in front of everyone was very impressive, but also very practical, as he had gained everyone''s attention. His voice resonated in Neo ears "Welcome, students, to this year''s tournament test. In the test this year, the main task is to survive the week. You will be guided with no equipment or weapons. Throughout the test you will be gathering points based on a variety of things. There will be dangers on your trip, so pick your teams of four well. You''ll have a single day to form your team and then prepare, plan, and think together." The crowd started whispering during a pause in the headmaster speech and Neo became a lot more conscious about what he was wearing. He placed his arms in the best way possible to hide his white coloured . The headmaster coughed to get the attention back on him and then he continued, "You are to come back here tomorrow. If you are not here then you will be disqualified automatically. So, you''d better get started, good luck." With that the headmaster floated back down and out of view. The of students started moving as everyone went to find their friends or ideal teammates. Neo tried to get away, but he was soon spotted, being recognised by his clothing and colour. Soon Neo was bombarded with so many requests to join teams that he couldn''t actually speak edge wise to any of them. But, thankfully, he didn''t have to worry about talking once he saw what was over the heads of the students, As he watched a column of smoke that was charging through the crowd toward him. He then saw a flaming head with lion ears jump up from the crowd before disappearing again. Neo smiled know that a fiery one-woman army was coming. None of the students in front of him noticed Tan blazing a path toward him. The crowd parted and the heat, the reason that she could just walk through, assaulted everyone, drying out eyes and taking their breath away. Some of the students glared at the lioness and released a variety of mana to cool the air in reaction. Air breezed through, the cooled and the humidity increased. ''Well, she''s not a subtle person at all.'' Not that it surprised him considering the way she fought with nothing held back and didn¡¯t take prisoners, Neo sigh at the memories before he reddened at what Tan said next and how the crowd reacted. "Neo''s mine!" And everyone in the crowd¡¯s eyes bulged with that statement of ownership and the implication that ran through their mind. Even Tan seemed to recognised her mistake asher tail flailed in embarrassment, still, she stood by what she had said and glared at everyone, daring them to challenge her claim. After a few moments of no one saying anything, Neo got over Tan¡¯s poor use of language. He did notice a few animal kin with some pity in their eyes as they looked at Neo and Tan, though. This caused Neo to worry a little, as there shouldn''t be looks of pity in this situation. Neo coughed to get some attention, "I am her teammate, so thanks for the offers but I''ll have to decline." Most of the students walked away without another word, while some stayed around glaring and whispering. Not that Neo cared, so he ignored them all and walked up to Tan, . "You can turn down the fireworks, no one''s challenging you and we have two more teammates to find, unless you need to claim your love for me as well as claim my soul, too. You might need to talk to Bethany about that first." With that said, her cheeks overwhelmed her fiery ruby flame before her tail went limp and she apologised in a bit of a whimper, "I''m sorry that came out wrong¡­" Neo smiled at her defensiveness but decided he shouldn''t push it with her and instead asked her about what she thought about the test. ". With good intelligence and preparations we should be able to handle whatever the test criteria are, whether it is purely getting to the end of the week without dying or if there is something that needs collecting along the way. If it''s objective based, we''ll need to be quick and strike fast. If it''s just pure survival then we¡¯ll need people with knowledge in herbs and animals. Also, it''s going to be one of us against everyone else for resources so I think we''ll need a hunter, or someone that can hide us or our tracks and can disappear. Which is something I realise I''m not very good at." Neo nodded having similarly thought that there wasn''t enough information to make a good plan or decision, so Neo agreed that covering all the bases was a sound plan. They needed to make sure they could move quickly and still have enough power to defend themselves. They also needed away to grab food in order to keep energy up and a place to sleep or take shelter. "Yeah, I agree, but we need to find away to cover all those weakness by tomorrow, do you know anyone that can cover them." Tan thought for awhile before replying "Ah yeah, I know someone who¡¯s a good sneak and knows how to disappear, she¡¯s also strong and can hold her own in a fight." "Her?" Neo said which got a reply, "What, something wrong? Most men would be happy to be surround by women." "Well, not literally, I also know someone who''s pretty good with plants, animals, and illusions, she¡¯s also female." Tan smiled, "That''s great, but I doubt we''ll have the time to recognise your fantasies. As I hear it, these tests are very difficult and stressful, we won''t have time to even mess about." They split up to find the intended saviours. Neo quickly searched through the crowd trying to find Elisa, without success. He hadn''t been to many of the classes that droned on about whatever it was that they did. With few exceptions, he snoozed in them as much as possible while his burning muscles repaired and rebuilt themselves. He sat next to her as much as possible for the interesting classes. It had started to annoy him as to why he was doing some of those classes, but it wasn''t important right now as he left the crowded field, declining invites left and right. ''So where might Elisa be?'' Neo thought while looking around the area. Seeing a disturbance in the forest that lined the fields, he noticed a vague figure that sort of blended in. He could see a humanoid standing there, and considering that he didn''t know any other tree folk, it was most like Elisa. He didn''t really have enough time to sneak up on her, but it seemed that he didn''t need to, as she was away with the fairies. He hadn''t been quiet while approaching her, yet she still hadn¡¯t noticed him. Staring at the back of her emerald green hair, Neo thought, ''That''s not a good thing to have on a team. She needs to stay in the now and focus or it may cost us the win.'' Neo put a hand on her arm and the small branches poking out of her uniform shook. Neo wondered what she felt to be so nervous and fearful. As she snapped back to reality she jumped, face filled with fear, but she didn''t run. She just stood staring at his .Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Neo thought he knew why she acted like she did so he simply asked, "Why are you so scared of me?" Elisa just stood staring at her feet without reacting to answer his question, so Neo decide to threaten her. ¡®If she didn''t like me touching herthen I''ll use it against her,'' he thought. "If you do not ." This got a reaction from her as she glanced at him making eye contact. She looked away again before speaking. "You feel immense, never-ending, untouchable, cold, warm, with overly abundant force of life, and yet you¡¯re surrounded by death She took a breath, "It excites me and terrifies me. We of the plant forms respect and love death. As it feeds us and slowly takes us, we do not run from it and we do our best to make an impact on the world around us before you come for us. There are ancient stories about beings who observed and are always there when one of our ancient trees die. It''s become a tradition to accept them into our groves, so they may guide our families over ." Taking another nervous breath, she continued, "I know you are one of those who guides. It explains everything, it''s told to every young sapling what you feel like. But I had no idea!" Neo suddenly became conscious of his eyes and wondered what they looked like. , he''d just have to assume that it was just Elisa and tree folk, as he was normal in the mirror and as no else had reacts to him. "So what if I¡¯m not totally human, is that a surprise? If you know what I am then why are you shying away from me?" She was still staring at her feet, making it difficult to hear her, "When I first bumped into you I was pretty cocky and overconfident in my abilities as a young Eldertree. That image was shattered when I met you and looked you in the eyes. I shamefully lost my mind and ran." She had a defeated air and few tears ran down her cheek. she wiped them away before continuing in a croaky voice, barely holding the tears back. "I asked the ancient trees what I should do, as they had meet your kind before, and they told me to be respectful by avoiding eye contact, since your don''t like being recognised. If we don''t get a good image of you we can''t disrupt your important work. But they also laughed it off saying that I might not meet another for hundreds of years, and that I should be grateful for the experience and honour in seeing you let alone talking to you." As she reached the crescendo of her explanation she looked as if she was going to break down and cry, "And then you walked into my class and looked me in the eyes and I¡­ I just ran, again, without a second thought. I was so terrified that I was so disrespectful to a being who are held in high regard." She cried and Neo couldn''t help himself as he hugged her. It felt right and as someone who was caring, protective,and supportive, he definitely understood her as he shared in her fear. After a few moments of hugging her, she''d settled down and a was seemingly enjoying his embrace, considering she was surrounded by death. Her red eyes where now looking at his chin while glance at his eyes, "Sorry about being so disrespectful, and crying." Neo smile, "That''s ok, it''s overwhelming for me, too, and I had no idea that you were being disrespectful. So, it''s really fine. I don''t have much experience in this world, let alone being ahh, what do you call us?" Neo saw her blink a few times before replying,"We call them Fellers." Neo could help but laugh of course trees would call a someone who kills trees or are around for their deaths, Fellers. "I haven''t been a Feller for very long and am just getting use to it. So, yeah, I''m learning, too. Elisa, I do however need you to keep this yourself." Elisa nodded and said, "Yes, of course. It''s the least I can do for you." Neo gave her a quick hug, "Thank you, Elisa. Do you perhaps have a team to compete in the tournament?" She stopped and looked out over the lot thinner crowd and cried out loud and face palmed, "Ow , what will I do now? I got into thinking who I might team up with and got distracted." She then whispered at the end, "I really need learn to stop listening to the song," and sighed. Neo smiled and thought, ''At least she''s aware of her weakness, that instantly makes it better.'' Even though he enjoyed watching Elisa panic, he decided to spare her from agonising , "It''s okay, I actually came over to ask you if you wanted to join our team." Neo was sure he saw sparkles coming from her eyes as she gratefully spoke, "Really?" Neo nodded and Elisa screeched, "Thank you Neo, who else is in the group?" Neo shrugged, "Only Tan so far, but she went to grab a friend of hers. We''re meeting in front of the main building." "Tan hm, I''ve heard of her. Not much of a class taking girl, but I think she in one of my classes, she¡¯s a lioness right?" Neo nodded. As they walked towards the meeting point Elisa told Neo what she knew about Tan, "Fire mana, top of her class in combat." Neo hadn''t known that piece of information. He spotted Gie and Bethany as they re-joined him. "I didn''t know she was top in combat classes. Hello Bethany and Gie, where did you go off to." Elisa gave a slight bow towards the two of them, "Hello, I''m Elisa Eldertree, pleasure to meet you both. And Neo, of course she is with her father, who is nearly constantly training her. though I''ve heard her social skills are a little lacking." Neo smiled and thought, ''Yeah, that''s her. She wouldn''t even smile until after I beat her. Thinking about it now, that''s a little weird.'' Thankfully Bethany spoke, distracting Neo from his thoughts, "Sorry we didn''t say anything. We went off to find out what the arrangements will be on the test. It appears that you''ve been allowed to take it. Every team will get an enchanted token encase of emergencies, so we will be close by but not visible." Neo nodded and just talked for a bit, trying to get any information out of Bethany and Gie on what they might be facing tomorrow. They talked till Tan arrived. Curiously she had a large bag over her shoulder, both Elisa and Neo tilled their heads as the bag moved. Elisa was the first to question her additional item, "Hm, this may seem like a silly question but you don''t have your friend in that bag, do you?" Tan looked over with sparkling eyes while the bag over her shoulder moved and said, "Yes, she¡¯s a real pain in the butt to catch, so once I got her I had make sure she didn''t get away again." When Tan stopped in front of them and placed the bag in-between them, Neo spoke, "You do realise that were trying to recruit her, not kidnap her?" "Of course, but you have catch her in order to talk to her, and I managed to sneak up on her while another team was trying to talk to her, so I snatched her right from under them." Tan said with a smile on her face. She was trying to show innocence, but she was trying too hard and it felt suspicious, even his Instincts were agreeing with him. But she dodged any follow up questions by pulling the sting that was holding the bag together, "Right let''s open it up, be careful she¡¯s going to try and run." Almost as soon as the bag fell to the floor a black blur rushed out straight towards Gie. As with any time any soft object at high speed meets a hard, unmovable object the soft squishy one flattens their face on said hard object. With a pained moan the black blur became a much smaller black panther kin . But it seemed that she had enough senses in order to use magic, as the area turned slightly cooler and wetter and she started to disappear. But before she could entirely vanish, the air warmed and dried up as a flaming cat pounced onto the poor panther, with the fire consuming the panthers invisibility magic. Tan held her to the floor while Neo watched her excited tail swish back and forth. Neo sighed and thought, ''Not the best way to get a cooperative team.'' Neo walked over and knelt by the two felines as they both struggled, and he spoke to the panther, "Hello, my name is Neo, pleasure to meet you. We were wondering if you''d like to join our team." At least this got the felines attention, she stared at him then Tan but didn''t say anything. Tan, noticing that the kitten wasn''t fighting back, gave her some room with a triumphant smile on her face. The panther girl started a short series of hand movements towards Tan, taking notice Tan interpreted for Neo, "She said "No"." Neo was surprised that Tan was communicating with the girl but asked, "Why, do you have another team to join? Since there weren''t that many around when we left, I doubt you can find another before tomorrow." This gave her pause, but Tan started staring at the girl with her eyes widening and growing more pitiful as the moments went on. The panther made another series of hand signs while only emphasising the ending and looking away from Tan. Tan replied with her puppy dog eyes on full power, "Pleasssssssssssse sister, pretty pleassse!" The panther struggling to look away but with a mere glance at Tan to see if she was still doing it, her resolve seemed to crumble under the assault. She made more hand movements and Tan lost her puppy dog eyes instantly and smiled while simultaneously acting as if she hadn''t just guilt tripped her sister. ''Hold on,'' Neo thought, "Tan you have a sister?" "Yeah of course, she''s my adopted sister, I guess. Anyway, we have our awesome team now, what''s the plan?" Chapter 21 - Ready, Start and Fall? They had spent the rest of the day discussing, planning for different situations, and training some easy squad tactics. Tan suggested the idea and, as Neo couldn''t come up with a reason not to, they practiced for most of the day and Neo fell asleep tired, untroubled by nerves or anxiety about tomorrow. Waking up, Neo stretched and put on his training clothes. He walked to the warehouse where he handed over Seren, only after asking her if it was ok, of course. For their deal to be upheld, it was important that she wouldn''t be bored and alone, as he wasn''t allowed to take her with him on the exam. Then he made his way over to the training field to find everyone a lot more organized than yesterday, with there being noticeable groups all dressed in training uniforms. You could notice the groups that were put together and those that were the dregs of the people left from yesterday by the way the stood together and how they held themselves. Those confident in their group, teammates and personal confidence stood out among the crowd. Since the strong had teamed up with other strong people they were confident in their abilities, but he did see a group of advanced combat trainees all in one team. The sight made Neo smile as he thought about some of these people¡¯s thinking patterns and wondered what they saw in him. Either way he found his team meandering around, with Tan messing with the little panther Sordelia, and Elisa trying to keep Tan back while telling her to stop torturing her sister. Neo smiled and spoke, "Looks like you three are energetic this morning." This relieved Elisa as Tan stopped for a moment to smile at him, "Yeah I''m really excited and, surprisingly, not that worried. We have about five minutes till it starts, do you want to go over our ideas and plans?" Those five minutes flew by as they talked and were interrupted by the flying headmaster with his resonating voice, "Welcome students, I''ll now explain some rules." He held up two rings, one coloured white and the other coloured blackish-grey, "This one," He said while shaking the white one, "Will be given to the team and you will only get one.It is a storage ring that will allow you to store anything in it while you are in the testing area, it is also an alarm. If you pull the gem up it will send out the emergency signal which will mean the end of the tournament for you but, you may not fail as it''s there is more to this test than survival. This other ring is a protection ring that will allow us to observe you. We can activate it if you end up unconscious or if you''re about to die, at which point you will get put into stasis. You will be protected while we come collect you and heal you the best we can. Students, you are to keep in mind that it will not protect you instantly, so, if something kills you instantly well, we''ll put it down to evolution, as you were not diligent in your own survival." The previously excited crowd had soured rapidly after hearing that, but the headmaster hadn''t finished, "I''m going tell you that in this test you may find things that have never been seen before, and you''ll have to DISCOVER its weakness and find, use, and store, the RESOURCES around you to SURVIVE." Neo nearly choked from getting patted on the back by Tan. He thought,''Man, can he be any more obvious? So, it''s a big collection quest with everything being on the list. As well as surviving, which means food, clean water, shelter, and weapons. Cool, I always liked survival games.'' Though he was a bit worried as they were starting with nothing, he was suddenly very glad for Elisa. Even if he had been listening to his biology classes, it was very difficult to remember everything and he hadn''t studied them at all.'' The head master finished by pointing towards several desks, "So, you are to line up and get registered. You will be checked for any weapons or advanced items, and then you''ll be directedto the tournament area where you''ll wait to start." It was simple, they lined up and waited for their turn to sign up.In the mean time Neo listened to other team discussions and it seemed that most of them got the hint. Once they arrived at the desk the man there asked for their names and then the name of the team. The four of them stalled at that, and Neo asked the group, "What''s our team name?" There was a bit of silence before Sordelia made some hand signs and Tan spoke for her, "She said ''Team Ballad.''" Neo rolled the word around his mouth and checked on the others thoughts. They gave him a nod, so he looked back at the register and said, "Team Ballad it is." He nodded, writing it into the books, and then placed four black rings and a single white ring in front of them. Neo handed the four black rings out and gave Sordelia the white ring, "You¡¯re the least like to get caught out. Run if you need to, just get away and survive or surrender." She nodded placing the ring on her other hand, "So, why did you pick Ballad?" Sordelia look up at him and smiled while she made a few hand movements that got translated by Tan, "Because we''re going to be singing all the way to the end." ''Confident isn''t she,'' Neo thought, smiling. Next, they went on to the big guy who patted them all down for weapons. He made a comment about his sealing ring, but when Neo told him his name and he looked it up on his clipboard, he was through without another comment. Apart from himself Sordelia also got called out but another look at the clipboard and she was allowed to pass as well. They followed the convenient line drawn on the ground to a cave. After what felt like a long time, they came across an already open scar. Their group paused at seeing this and Tan spoke, "Damn, I didn''t know that they had another connecting Bubble." Neo and Elisa nodded thinking the same thing and Sordelia made some gestures, not that she said anything different. As they had stopped one of the assistants ushered them along telling them to hurry along through before they caused a queue. Stepping through the scar, Neo was once again met with the rainbow view and black path that stretched out into the distance. After the first time it really lost its charm for him, and he started walking forward while a little knot formed in his chest. The rest of his group formed up behind him and they made their way through within 15 minutes. Stepping through to the other side Neo was grateful for the change of scenery. He was met with blue skies and a cliff and they found themselves standing on a brown open area filled with tents and personnel. Neo wondered what was just out of sight, ''It couldn¡¯t be just this bleak plain there had to be a¡­'' Neo whistled as he neared the edge of the cliff and revealed its secrets. He could only explain this bubble as a patchwork as it held several biomes literally right next to each other, with the one directly below them being a rainforest biome that stretched for about eight kilometres before it changed into a lava biome to the right, a lake biome to the left, and in the centre was a desert biome.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. And it didn''t end there. There were grass plains, a mountainous area which was a little shorter than the cliff that they were standing on, another forested area, and even an ice biome with large glaciers moving and sliding around. There were other sounds of appreciation for what was in front of them, with the crowd growing Neo gestured the others to follow him back, where he asked, "So anyone with any idea of what we should do?" There was silence for a few moments before Neo decided to give his idea out, "I think we should travel through the desert biome to the other forest biome and situate a base there and work our way out, collecting resources as we go." Elisa spoke, "Why don''t we want to just stay inside the forest on this side, that''s if we aren''t dropped off elsewhere." Neo didn''t think that they would be dropped off, but he planned with the information available, "Well if we do have to descend here then everyone will be descending at the same time and the same place, all the resources could be collected by others which will then have to be fought over. We can''t take on everyone." Elisa again came up with another problem, "If we can think of this, then can''t everyone else?" "Indeed they would but, first, they''d have to collect and make weapons, as I would think that there are monsters down there that will attacks us. You have me, so we''ll be able to make weapons and be well ahead of the others, hopefully with enough time to build a base and collect things on the way without worrying as much about others." They discussed back and forth about the good and the bad, and he made some changes, such as whether they should run through the desert. They decided to wait and observe the desert for monsters. There didn''t seem to be any running around, but Elisa mentioned a good point that there might be monsters under the sand and, considering Neo¡¯s experience with games, he was convinced there was almost certainly something under it. There was also the lava biome and lake biome, but they too came with their own problems, like monsters in the lake and the same in the lava, just with the added problem of heat. There was also the added concern that Elisa said she would most likely burn, so that really scratched off the hot root. So eventually they ended up back to the desert. The area had filled quite rapidly and it wasn¡¯t long before the headmaster walked out of a tent and started floating off the cliff edge. "Welcome students to a secret of Beacon Academy, you will be sworn to an oath after your test. This biome is unique, every few months the biomes change, last month there was no mountain, no lake, and no lava biome. Not only do those biomes change, but so do the creatures in them and, with the million of Bubbles out there, it''s a high probably that you will encounter creatures never seen before. This is where you need to survive, and thrive, for the coming week. Remember to pull the white ring if you decide to withdraw in an emergency. Right then, teams line up and get ready. On the count of three make your own way down. One¡­" Everyone rushed over to the cliff edge, that included Neo¡¯s group. He had the sudden thought that they had yet to figure out a way to descend to the forest. But, surprisingly, Elisa took charge by ordering them to crouch to the floor and not to move. Not having anything else to work with he did as ordered and took a knee and placed his hands on the ground as the headmaster spoke, "Three." Everyone that could fly took their friends in hand and flew away. Others jumped, confident in their ability to survive, and the rest either started climbing down or hesitated. Neo decided that he might have preferred to jump off the cliff as the ground under him moved and plants clamped down on his arms and legs, picking them up and moving them out into the air in front of the cliff before angling straight down, causing Neo''s stomach to churn. He looked at Elisa to see that she had her eyes closed and was focusing on what she was doing. So Neo just joined her with his eyes closed as they descend through the canopy, hitting branches and leaves. Thankfully they managed to pass it in short order and into the understory layer, where Neo managed to find out what they would be facing. He didn''t like what he saw within the dark shadows of the trees. A huge amount of large snails were everywhere. They were creeping on dead wood, trees and on the ground.The trees themselves were at least three metres thick each, there were also black beings withfive thin legs and had massive,opaque webbed cloaks. Neo watched as one slowly tiptoed over to one of the snail things and seemed to position itself above, careful not to touch the snail. Unfortunately, they made it to the forest floor with a loud crashing sound. To Neo and everyone''s horror the surrounding area was suddenly a minefield of spikes. The five-legged creature from before had found itself pierced on the snail¡¯s spikes, dying instantly. Soon after the snails withdrew their spikes and moved on with their feeding. Neo looked at the others with his fingers on his lips, but found they mirrored him as everyone was thinking the same thing, Neo smiled. He looked back up the small hole that they had made and, seeing other students climbing down it, was a little miffed as he''d wanted to see if Elisa could collapse the route down. If they did that, then they''d set off the snails and he might get them killed. He sighed mentality, ¡®I''m really not good at this Death thing if I''m not willing to kill.¡¯ He consoled himself that he didn''t want to set off these things while they were moving around. Neo used some hand signs and began moving carefully through the throng of potently poisonous spikes. Moving over to the black legged thing, without saying a thing he pointed at it and Sordelia placed the ring over it and it disappeared inside it before they moved on. When he wasn''t focused on where he placed his feet, he stood on a stick that then snapped loudly, causing him to nearly crap himself as it echoed through the area triggering the snails to use their spikes. Neo prayed that no one got hurt for his stupid slip up. But as he couldn''t ask, they just let the snails settle before moving on and attempting to find an area that wasn''t swamped with snails. It took them a whole 15 minutes of careful walking, in which they caused a reaction twice, but they had to stop when the students started arriving at the bottom of the vine system. The new arrivals ended up making a noise which caused another reaction and, like a wave, the sea of spikes rose from the snail¡¯s backs. They could hear a cry of pain that echoed throughout the otherwise silent forest. The cry kept the snails alert making them refuse to retract their spikes. Even worse, the snails weren''t staying still now. As they moved through the trees, they didn''t climb them, if the snails ever bumped in to them they would just changed direction and catch them with the edges of the spikes. As they needed the snails to retract their spikes, they couldn¡¯t cry out as they were cut and poked. Thankfully someone silenced the idiot who was screaming. The snails finally relaxed, and they could move on. With bleeding legs they moved on to finally leave the snail herd behind. Neo¡¯s team dropped the shroud of silence and used their speed to make some more distance before they collapsed on the ground and started checking their wounds. Neo couldn''t do anything to heal them as too much time had passed, so Elisa and Sordelia moved through the four of them, one creating herbs, the other making pure water, while Elisa placed a spell to increase recovery speed with the addition of the herbs "Thanks¡¯. It¡¯s going to take a little while to heal, though, so tell me what weapons and armour you''d like to use and I''ll make them. And what where those things?" Neo got shrugs from everyone, including Elisa, which meant they were in a biome without any idea what was in front of them. ''Great start,'' Neo thought sarcastically. Neo tested his legs finding it easy to stand, but the movement felt stiff and sore. Producing a bubble in front of him everyone told him to what they wanted. Elisa got a whip and blowgun with darts, she asked not to get armour. Tan got a sword and shield, and chain mail with some plate armour. And Sordelia asked for some light leather armour and a pair of daggers. As planed Neo also made some fake white rings which he handed out to everyone. They then gave the weapons some basic enchantments to make them last for a few slices through a body. They would need reapplying after every battle, but they should allow the group to do damage to magical creatures or other people. Chapter 22 - Sand and Blood Finally, they''d reached the desert. It had taken them a few hours, having encountered another herd of snails on the way. This time they used their weapons to kill and collect them, Elisa also received a vast range of herbs and plants along the way. Slaughtering their way through the snails was a hundred times better the sneaking through and a lot faster to boot. Looking out onto the desert, Neo hadn''t realised how big it was from up on the cliff. Taking in the sand dunes, they hesitated to continue on due to the fear of something coming out from under the ground. So, not really having any better idea, Neo threw a rock into the sand dunes. Waiting for a few moments as they listened, they couldn''t hear anything which was a bit creepy by itself. But they had grown used to the quietness after the forest of quietness and, just to make sure, Neo threw a second stone in the same place as last time and waited. With another pregnant pause, nothing happened. Shrugging at the group, he intended to suggest they move off before the light travelled too far overhead. But, as Neo moved to step across the dividing line, Sordelia and Tan''s ears swivelled and Sordelia pulled him back slightly onto the green grass. Neo waited, trying to hear what they did. Barely within the edge of his hearing, Neo caught a rasping sound. After a moment of quiet, the rasping continued and the four sat patiently, waiting for the next challenge to show itself. It wasn''t a long wait. The rasping grew louder before something about the size of a dog burst out of one of the sand dunes before plunging towards the place where he had thrown the stone. It paused when it realised that there was nothing there but the rasping noise hadn''t ended. Dozens more shot out of the sand dunes, they were smaller than the first one, but they still hurtled towards the area where the stone was. The creatures continued to randomly shoot out from the sandy ground, sometimes bumping into the stone, but they soon settled when they to realised that there wasn''t anything there. Neo whispered hopefully, "So I don''t suppose we know what these things are?" Elisa whispered happily, "Actual, yes. They''re, sand weavers, they are found in three bubbles with desert biomes and have an affinity to earth mana, which allows them to weave through the ground. Along with the large amount of energy expended with the way they move, they also consume large amounts of oxygen. They can¡¯t recover that underground, so they have to return to the surface after no longer than three hours, which is why ." Before Elisa could start explaining their feeding habits Neo interrupted her, "Sorry, Elisa, could you shorten to what we can use to kill it or avoid it?" Elisa''s eyes lightened and then dimed before brightening again. With slightly greener cheeks she said, "They''re hard to kill within their natural environment. Their skin is super hard and they have a small number of regenerative abilities. They also use their earth magic to feel the earth for disturbances." Neo though through the information, "Hmm, as they are still in their biome I guess they can''t, or don''t want to leave. Can they enter harder ground?" "No only, sandy, grainy terrain." Sordelia made some hand signals which Tan explained, "How about water, do they avoid it?" Elisa took a moment to remember before replying, "They don''t like it of course, as it damages their skin and weakens them." Sordelia pointed to the left where the lake biome ran beside the desert zone. She then flung her hand about again. "She says that she could use the water from the lake biome to soak the sand while we¡¯re running on it." Neo¡¯s eyebrows rose with surprise. He liked the idea, but that was if Sordelia had enough mana to reach over the 2 kilometres of desert. As he aired his question, Sordelia replied with hand waving, "If I produced the water, then yes, I doubt we''d get one hundred metres out before we were doomed! But, if I can draw it from the lake, then maybe. The closer to a source of water, the less mana I use." The team had no other ideas so they collected anything and everything as they followed the borders until they arrived at a T-intersection that had a lake a mere centimetre from the desert. They then tested the hypothesis but dropping another stone heavily on to the ground Sordelia also sloshed a large sphere of water on top of it. Neo could hear the rasping sound of the sand weavers as they jumped and dove through the sand. They soon leapt out of dunes, but instead of going directly towards the stone they moved around it, surrounding it. They still jumped over the rock, not hitting it, but it would be annoying to anything that stood tall. Neo and the team discussed what they should do. What they came up with was a formation like a kite. Tan taking the lead, Elisa taking the left side, and Sordelia taking the right side, placing her by the lake. Everyone else had a fake ring to confuse anyone who might fight them. The idea came from Sordelia when they''d found out about the rings, she''d spoken about how there was no stopping someone from just stealing it. Using his telekinesis, Neo threw a stone over a dune and well out of sight. Within moments the sand weavers had disappeared, weaving away towards where the stone landed. They waited for a while before they started the operation. Using the kite formation, it almost instantly failed once they had crossed over into the desert biome after having run into a wall of oppressive heat that tripped them up and made Elisa shrink a little. Everyone looked towards each other and Neo nodded with confidence and determination which seemed to infect the team with spirit. Since they had already gathered the attention of the weavers, which were now charging at them, they quickly continued on with the operation.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. In the distance, the sound of rasping started to grow louder as they ran through the stifling air and moving sand. As they ran Sordelia pulled the water from the lake biome to the sand, which steamed and disappeared shortly after they ran over it. After a short while the sand weavers were bashing at the glass-like screen that was covering the team¡¯s back and side. Unfortunately, Neo couldn''t cover the whole group, which the sand weavers quickly figured out. Thankfully, since his mana had been falling rapidly, they stopped the constant bashing on his shield. But the pressure on Tan at the front was heavy. Her shield seemed to never stop bashing and slashing at anything that flew at them. Neo assisted with his telekinesis, rotating his blades so that they would shoot around, slicing up or redirecting the sand weavers. Fortunately, it was getting very easy for him to predict how they would move. Meanwhile, Elisa would collect any corpses and assist in her own unique way, though, the tough hide of the beasts made killing them quite tricky, so they only gathered a few. But as Elisa couldn''t stop and ground herself she couldn''t use a lot of her moves, but the moving vine whips slowed or redirected the creatures that escaped Neo¡¯s blades, giving Tan enough time to stab them. It was going well, which made Neo nervous. He was sweating and shaking from his exertion, but he didn''t want to relieve his exhaustion by infusing his mana in his body. That would most likely use up the rest of his available mana, so, for now, he just had to keep it up and live with the pain. As they ran across the sand dunes, he was thankful that the dunes that had been cut off by the lake biome had slid into the water, so at least they didn''t have to worry about rising heights. Unfortunately, there was still no end in sight. Meanwhile, Sordelia¡¯s water magic was getting weaker and weaker as time went on, which in turn strained the rest of them to adjust making the shield small so the sand weavers couldn''t just go under the shield. It made moving and adjusting their position difficult and caused some bumping into each other while Tan was trying to avoid Sordelia. It wasn''t long before something happened. It started a chain reaction as Tan dodged out of the way of a leaping weaver, killing it. At the same time, she knocked Elisa back, who then started flailing about and sent vines out to catch herself. Elisa in turn ended up knocking Neo down giving him a hard impact on the ground. He dropped the blades, which landed soundlessly on the sand, and his mana shield fell as well. Thankfully for Neo, a lot of the sand weavers were moving ahead and then shooting back towards Tan as the weakest link. The only ones who were hitting the shield were the smaller, younger, and more stupid ones. When those smaller ones didn''t meet any resistance, they flew through the group and through Neo¡¯s abdomen, spraying Sordelia and Elisa with his organs and blood. Thankfully, Elisa jumped in front of Sordelia knocking her out of the way while slicing and stabbing as the weavers approached the two of them. Tan turned up the heat and speed, defending their backs without the support of the Elisa or Neo. Neo stared down at the pooling blood and organs that were falling out of him. He didn''t take the time to worry about others as he grasped at his fleeting mana and injected it into his body to slow his perception of time and increase the power of his body. The move managed to keep him alive long enough to sloppily pull his ring off with his bloody fingers, . His fingers kept slipping as is his mana disappeared as fast as his blood exited his body. Even once he had pulled the ring off, and the scales crepe up his skin, his horns grew out of his head, and his tail whipped about, there was still a hole through his stomach. He knew he didn''t have a long before time moved on too much so he grasped at the huge mana pool that was now available to him. His instincts were eerily quiet. He made a space bubble that confined his local area and started to turn all of the pearls in one direction toward him. The world slowed around him and then began to reverse causing the images of weavers to fly back past him. Eventually the picture of the weaver who had made its way through him travelled back and, as it did, the skin started reforming over the weaver. From an observer¡¯s perspective, it looked as if it was being pushed out the area it had first penetrated without even leaving a scar. Half of his mana had been taken in a few seconds and once he had his wound healed he only had one-tenth of his mana available. He dropped the bubble to see his blood covered friends who also saw him and were surprised to find that he was standing. Their surprise was quickly overruled by the shock of seeing his dragon features. His Instinct came back with avengeance, and Neo took a deep breath and roared at the sand weavers before he jumped forward, slicing up dozens of them and maddingly pounding the ground with sand shaking force. Many of the weavers died before they could leave the ground. He threw space slashes at anything he couldn''t lay his hand on. Neo watched rationally from the inside wondering how to make those space slashes, and his Instincts didn''t even notice that he had been getting farther and farther from the group. Tan realised that she wasn''t defending any more, and took off to chase Neo down to make him stop before they lost him in the desert. Elisa and Sordelia had been doing their best to recover and set up the kite again while they had been covered in their teammate''s blood. Tan had to use her mana infusion to gain on the chasing figure, and, once she did, she tackled him to the ground to stop him. Instead, she bounced off of him, landing on her backside. As her quick reflexes allowed her to stand back up to face a growling, snarling Neo who was now holding up a hand and intending to slice her into pieces. Neo was grappling with his instincts when he felt the bump of Tan''s attempted rescue, ''Whoa, friendly! She''s friendly! Don¡¯t harm her!'' Instinct stopped his slash, staring at the flaming Tan. Instinct seemed to realise that she wasn''t an enemy, so instead he looked toward the water only to find itself on the top of dunes about a kilometre away. Neo¡¯s instincts felt stupid, as it was safer over there, and gave Neo back some control. He picked up Tan and ran back, and it started its usual instinctual thoughts as it looked down on the slightly protesting Tan, who had relaxed into his arm. As they arrived at the water''s edge, Neo was putting Tan down when Instinct flooded his mind with lustful thoughts. As she slid out of his arms he bent down to her face and, with arms on her waist, kissed her on the lips. Neo jerked back, shocked at his own actions, and mentally shouted at the once prideful Instinct who was now confused. Neo trudged back to where he had taken off his ring while the wanted him to turn back toward the young women and claim them as his own. The feelings that were pulling at him constricted when he saw them in their now blood red stained equipment with shocked faces. He bent over to grab the ring and fought the urge to stop and turn. Sliding the ring on to his finger his scales, horns, and tail retreated. He collapsed on to the floor causing his team to jump to his aid. As they stood him up on wobbly legs, he saw Tan''s rosy red cheeks and slightly vacant expression as she seemed to lose herself in memory. As the two controlling members of the team where visible shaken, Elisa stepped up and ordered them onward. She told Sordelia to continue the water path and Tan to cover the front, while she held the back. While supporting the team they moved on without being harassed until they found the end of the desert biome. Chapter 23 - The Talmellts Question Elisa guided them through collecting anything she found while Sordelia and Tan kept an eye out. Neo wobbled onward, assisting Elisa as best he could. He''d only recovered one tenth of the mana he''d used. As he''d infused his body with mana which had damaged it, he would need a day or so of recovery even with Elisa¡¯s herbs and Sordelia¡¯s help. With night falling, Elisa had stopped and examined the trees around them before slapping one with a smile. Neo watched as the tree¡¯s bark moved to form indents that travelled up the trunk and into the canopy. Elisa gestured for them to ascend the tree. Neo went last and slowly made his way up, it wasn''t a very difficult climb as the tree had placed the indents deeply and had a reasonable distance between each step, it was just tiring. But, thankfully, once they had reached the top of the tree they found a tree house, calling it anything else would be dishonest. They came out from the floor to find there was a nice open living room which had access to a kitchen area with a beautiful table and chairs. This was all lit up with luminous bulbs that were hanging out of the walls. To the right of the living room there were stairs that went up to a second level with four bedrooms and a single bathroom. The bedrooms each had a bed, made from a thin leathery materiel which stretched slightly when pressure was applied, a wardrobe, and a bedside table. Neo walked back to find Elisa in another room laying down on a bed, she said, "We''ll be safe in here, so do what you want till morning. I''ve been warned that it gets dangerous outside at night but there''s no way anything can get to the entrance to get inside the building, and there are no windows. There''s no need to worry about breathing as the tree and I will absorb the carbon dioxide and keep the air fresh. I haven''t grown any food today, and I have no energy to grow any so..." She shrugged before trying to move, Neo motioned her to sleep and said, "We¡¯ll be fine, if anyone is hungry I¡¯m sure there will be some berries or fruit that we can eat. So, I''ll take the ring and see if anyone wants to eat anything. You should sleep, I probably won''t be far behind." She gave a pained moan, taking the ring off and used a vine to give it to him. After taking it, he went around to check on everyone but found that they had taken to their rooms and were fast asleep. Neo agreed with that thought as he too felt sleepy. Yawning he heading to bed as well. The next morning he was awoken by his instincts, as there was a spike of surprise. As Neo''s eyes opened to the dimly lit room he saw a figure staring at him. They were still by the door but there was some surprise in their eyes as Neo stared into her feline eyes. With her dark fur shifting the shadows around it was really easy to lose sight of her. "Sordelia, what are you doing?" She motioned with her hands to follow her and he did. Putting on his clothes he grimaced as he rubbed the scabs on his ankle. Checking out the area he found small bruises, but otherwise there wasn''t any swelling, just needle sized holes and scratches. Heleft his room and headed downstairs while rubbing the sand out of his eyes. He found that the light in the living room was as dim a possible, but it still let him see that the team was lying around on the floor by the hatch. Neo felt it appropriate to whisper, "What''s up?" Elisa cupped her ears and placed a finger on her mouth. Neo waited and listened out for any sound. After a while Neo was alarmed as he heard screaming. It was a human¡¯s voice that echoed throughout the woods. ''It must be another team?'' He thought, ¡®They mustn''t of gotten a good base that protected them from whatever was out there.¡¯ Neo had wanted to jump out and help, but he couldn''t even tell which direction to go in the dark forest below. "How long till morning?" He asked quietly and Elisa answered, "About an hour or so, it''ll be safe then and maybe we can find that group and see if we can help them then." Neo couldn''t go back to sleep after being awaked like that. Thankfully, there were things he could do to pass the time, like remake the groups weapons after the beating that they got going through the desert yesterday. With the time used and runes remade, the only thing left was breakfast. After their mainly fruit and grain breakfast, they left. Elisa informed the group that the woods were safe in the daytime, but they had to get back before nightfall. It was then that they decided to split up and go in opposite directions to scout and collect. It was the best way of seeing where they might get the most points and held more of a chance of finding the team that was screaming. Neo and Elisa headed east while Sordelia and Tan headed west. As the two of them travelled the woods it started to give Neo the creeps as he noticed that there wasn''t a big animal of any kind. The bugs werestill around, but only the flies, any insects on the ground were impossible to find, even under rocks, leaf litter, and debris. It did make Neo wonder how the woods could still have a healthy eco system without them, he was sure it was interesting and most probably connected to the nighttime creatures. Along their travels they found many herbs that Elisa collected and stored in the ring, which Neowas still carrying. They eventually reached the edge of the woods where Elisa dragged Neo to the ground and pointed out into the plains. "Look over there, it''s a herd of talmellts. Haha, amazing they''re a difficult creature to see let alone hunt. They, are magical creatures with little intelligence, and high constitutions¡­" Neo looked across the plain see a huge herd of talmellts with their golden scales that covered their bodies, limbs, and theirbig, chunky tails. Their heads were covered in brown-blonde fur. Elisa also explained that the male had a large thick horn growing out of their heads while the females had a beautiful crest. Elisa and Neo decided sit and observe with the camouflage made by Elisa concealing them.The plain didn''t seem to have many resources, the only things out there were grasses, some shrubs, and of course the talmellts. Neo looked over to Elisa who was writing and intensely watching the creatures.Neo made sure to observe their surroundings, but to get over his boredom he asked Elisa, "So what do you want to do in the future?" Elisa didn''t look towards him but still replied, "I''d love to become a biologist, as you could probably tell, I love plants and animals and learning about them and their effects on ecosystems. What about your ¡­ Nevermind, you''re kind of stuck as a Feller aren''t you? No one has any idea what you guys do apart from being related to death, I wonder how you fit in to the ecosystem, mm." She was now looking at him in contemplation. "Neo, when you find out more about what you do, could you comeback and find me to tell me about it?" Neo didn''t see any harm in it, "Yeah, sure. If I''m allowed to tell you anything I will,promise." A broad grin crossed Elisa¡¯s face, "Thank you, it''ll be awesome insight into the universe." Elisa went back to doing what she loved. After about an hour of observing Neo''s backside was getting numb, as he went the change his position the Tal gave a loud shout of alarm with their deep voices and they became agitated. Elisa scribbled even more as she watched. Neo looked around for any predators that could have caused them panic. The herd¡¯s panic increased and they started to move as one, causing the ground to shake. Neo couldn''t see anything on the ground so he looked to the sky and saw a small flock of vulture-like creatures but with large differences. The creatures were the size of a pony and had along neck with a plume of feathers that then travelled down to their wide bodies, with a large grasping claws, and green beaks. They came flying over Neo and Elisa¡¯s hiding spot. Neo thought, ''No wonder they''re causing a ruckus, they''re freaking huge.'' Neo tapped on Elisa¡¯s shoulder and when she looked back Neo pointed up. Elisa¡¯s mouth made an ¡°oh¡± face, but she kept silent until the creatures started ascending. "Neo, those are screal''s. They use supersonic abilities to knock out their opponents. They are the main predators of the talmellts as they disrupt the herd¡¯s charge and can do a lot of damage. The talmellt''s started to charge around the plains and Neo''s mouth dropped as the herd rubbed shoulder to shoulder.Thunder could be heard evenover the sound of their hooves, soon Neo could even see lightning arc through the herd jumping from tal total. Meanwhile the Screal''s had gotten some height and were now dive bombing the herd. As they swooped over the herd extremely loud noises could be heard. Even over a kilometres away Neo had to cover his ears and it was still quite painful. But to the surprise of Neo none of the tal''s fell. They kept running and returning fire, as an arc of lightening shot up and out of the horns toward the giant birds. The screal dodged the incoming fire however. Elisa had gone back to scribbling in her book whileNeo watched intensely as another screal tried its luck. This time Neo saw the gold crest of the female tal''s form a protective bubble.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. An arc of lightning struck the screal in the chest, causing it to fall heavily to the ground.The apparent loss of one of their owndidn''t seem to faze the screal at all, as more of them dived on the herd. This time Neo saw a pattern in the attack the screal used, after a few dives they kept striking the same place again and again,wearing down the female protector. Meanwhile, the arcs of lightning shot out in ever more volume, turning the scene into a storm.The land became scorched as the charge continued. Neo saw a few screals fall but he noticed that the one that had fallen earlier had risen and re-joined the flight. It wasn''t long before the badgered female¡¯s protection failed.As the sonic blast hit, the unprotected tal''s fell unconscious, taking out dozens more due tocollisions.Even if they tried jumping over their fallen comrades, they would crush them under their hooves. Having accomplished the hunt, the screal''s landed and struck at the unconscious talmallt¡¯s, bleeding them out onto the ground. Elisa rose, having finished writing in her book and spoke, "Hey, Neo let¡¯s see if we can sneak up to them and kill a screal. We can drive them away and collect any Tal''s that are left." Neo thought it was a good idea with a minimum risk, but they prepared a little just to be sure. Neo asked Elisa to block his ears and he himself made a mask which Elisa then put a film on that would purify anything going through it. They ran to the killing area before slowing rapidly. None of the screal noticed them as they crawled until they were about one hundred metres away. After checking the wind direction, they adjusted their approach once, and, to Neo¡¯s surprise, they had managed to get within metres of the feast. Seeing the head screal enjoying themselves, Elisa stopped to grow roots into the ground. Neo waited for Elisa¡¯s roots to burst out of the ground and wraparound several of the screal. As one the flight took to the air, but those within the grasp of Elisa had no chance as Neo¡¯s flying blades sliced their throats and covered the ground in a fresh layer of blood. Once they had executed the screal that didn''t have enough time to get away, the ones in the sky started a diving campaign, which wasn''t nearly as successful it had been with the tal''s. As they dived Elisa would use her vines to whip at them and then Neo would use his blades to cut their wings. After their attack ended with two more screal''s dead and only a handful of them left. The creatures flew around above them for a while before setting off with loud shouts of protest. Neo watched them disappear back over the forest. Even with the screal disappearing the talmellt still ran around with ever more energy building up, causing them to glow brightly even in the daytime. Elisa joined him watching them and exclaimed, "They¡¯re leaving Haha, it¡¯s the greatest question that we have about the talmellts, very few creatures can do what they''re about to do!" She watched excitedly with her notebook out in front of her. As the glowing talmellts became difficult to look at they changed direction toward the bubble¡¯s edge and, with a bright flash they started to disappear through the bubble. Confused, Neo looked over at Elisa and asked, "Won''t they just leave the bubble and go to the outside world?" Elisa smiled, "Nope, they don''t. They are in the bubble ways¡­ we think. In one report they say they saw the exact thing we just did, but they were close to the edge and managed to leave the bubble system to the outside world but still couldn''t find them. So, they studied the area which they had left and found a similar effect to a bubble way, with major differences, of course. It would be amazing to find a technique to travel the bubble ways however we want. It would be a revolution in transportation and war." ''Wow,'' Neo thought. With the last of the talmellts disappearing through the bubble¡¯s edge, they started the difficult task of collecting the corpse of the screal and Tal before something else couldsmell the death that was surrounding them. They left after about ten minutes, and they were glad that they did as the screal returned in greater numbers and were flying quickly towards them. As they ran towards the forest where they would be safe, Neo used the blades to deter the bird creatures, but there was a limited distance that he could reach and Elisa couldn''t stop to get her roots to defend them. Neo sadly found out that they could hit them with sonic blasts outside of his blades reach. Instead he placed a basic shield in the way but, unfortunately, he couldn''t blunt the sound as it boomed in his ears. Even with his ears protected by Elisa¡¯s magic, he tripped over as he lost his balance. Elisa hadn''t been affected, so she returned and picked up his wobbly-brained self and continue to run into the forest. It seemed that the screal really didn¡¯t want them to get to the forest as they confidently landed in front of them, stopping their retreat. It was then that a shadow blotted out the sun, causing the screal to try and fly away, but they were to slow asa scaled monster crushed them underneath its huge claws.It was then thatthe dragon roared at the flight and flared out its winged front legs and blasted them with fire. Several screals fell to the ground in flames,unable to get up to get away. The two screals that hit the ground tried to escape into the forest, but they were curb stomped by the dragon. Neo was going to tell Elisa to get out of the way but she covered his mouth, while she glowed a little bright. The dragon again roared into the air as the screal retreated back over the forest after having such a bad day. The dragon sniffed the air before grabbing its kills and flapping away, battering Neo and Elisa as it ascended before disappearing toward the mountains. It was out of sight before Neo let out a sigh, which Elisa joined in on. He spoke in a shaky voice, "Damn, I wouldn''t of thought that there¡¯d be a dragon in here!" Elisa spoke sounding like a whisper as she helped Neo up onto his wobbly legs, "That wasn''t a dragon, it was a common wyvern. A powerful creature in their own right, but nothing compared to actual dragons!" Neo gave a simple, "Oh!" They made their way through the forest, but, unfortunately, they were confronted by another team while Neo rested to get back his balance. They were really confident in themselves as almost as soon as they were seen they pretty much strolled towards them. Neo, looked at the uniforms of the students since that was all they had for defence, unlike Neo¡¯s team, and it gave information about the students¡¯ magic. There was a red user, a brown user, and a black user. That made things difficult as anything Neo threw would only get absorbed by the black user or blocked by a shield from the earth user. Neo whispered to Elisa, "This seems like a slight problem, but if they do something, they''re all yours Elisa." Neo released mana into the ground to stop the earth user from just spiking them from below, but he was also aware of Elisa as she too started directing mana into the ground. It felt like a hand shake as the ground allowed Elisa to pass through without touching or disrupting one another. He then prepared to form a shield around them in seconds if needed. Elisa looked a little annoyed and said aloud, "Come on you lazy human, making me do everything! Perhaps I should put that muzzle back on you!" Doing as instructed Neo place his mask on, breathing easily while the three figures laughed at his display of obedience. The Black mana user, a long-eared elf in his slightly scruffy and broken gear, finally spoke, "So, you don''t look like you''ve had a good day. Perhaps we could help you, for a price of course. We had bad night but we''re strong and we survived." Neo could see the only weapons they had were some rough stone spears, a rough iron dagger, and an equally rough iron sword, which might have been enchanted. Neo couldn''t tell. But comparing their weapons to Neo¡¯s team¡¯s steel enchanted equipment, it looked as if they were the one having a bad day. While Neo had his mask on Elisa spoke for him, "No, thank you, we''re good, if you need any help by all means ask." The black mana user shrugged, "We''re fine, got rid of the weak ones last night so we no longer need to split the resources. Good day to you." The group didn''t walk away from them but instead they stepped towards them, intending to walk past them towards the plains. Neo sat confidently, trying not to show any weakness. As the group passed the elf got a closer look a Neo, causing him to stop, "You really are that human that got a lot of attention at your examination test and became the centre of attention at the tournament test with your white mana. I even asked you to join our team, which you declined, how''s that working out for you?" He snorted, Neo got annoyed, which his instinct approved of, and replied with a snarky, "Yeah, far better than yours it seems!" The elf spoke holding the anger back in his voice, "Don''t be so snarky, don''t you know who I am?" Neo replied honestly, "Who are you, I never did get your name but I doubt I''ll know it even if I did." These words didn''t go down well with the elf and as he pulled out his weapon so did his lackeys. Elisa pulled out her thorn whip and Neo did nothing, since his blade was already flying behind the group. The elf spoke with annoyance, "I wouldn''t insult me, for I am Ether Highmore. My house controls the Highmore bubble. I was going to leave you be but you''ve insulted me many times so I must get retribution. Your white ring will do!" Neo thought, ''What a joke, he didn''t attack us because he knew he would lose considering his state.'' But when he spoke there was a cheerful undertone which was slightly muffled by his mask. With a tone that didn''t care about the threats he asked, "So who is Highmore house? Oh well doesn''t matter, so Elisa how''s your part?" She lost the frown on her face and spoke aloud with a smile, while he listened Neo could see the light leave the eyes of the elf¡¯s team. "They should be out in a few more seconds." Neo was surprised about how simple that trick was. "Great job, I didn''t think that would of worked so well." Elisa shrugged, "It wouldn''t have it they had attacked straight away, or figured it out and used fire magic to burn my spores. Thankfully, there is very little wind in the forest so it was a lot easier to do. All strength and no sensors or observers, they probable lost them last night." "Sensors?" Neo asked. "Yeah, someone with strong instincts or senses. This trick wouldn''t have worked on Tan or Sordelia, since they have strong senses. As they were all elf¡¯sthey had a lot of magical strength and intelligence, but few instincts or awareness." Neo walked over to Ether to get his white ring before he woke up but before he could a blackness cameout of the ring and formed a black shell around them. "Oh, hmm, should we wait to see if we can get the rings from the judges?" Elisa looked at a tree and answered Neo¡¯s question, "We have about three hours till night and it''ll take us about an hour and a half to get home, so we can." Neo nodded and they decide to wait. About ten minutes later a group of five dropped from the canopy and collected the three students, throwing the white ring at Elisa before they ran off in the direction of the plains. Neo, being impressed by how quick they got there had wanted to find out how they did it, but his wobbly legs were slowing him down, so instead they headed back to their camp. They didn¡¯t meet anybody or anything else along the way. Chapter 24 - The Hunt Neo and Elisa returned to the tree house about half hour before dusk to find Tan and Sordelia cooking up some meat on the stone stove. The two looked a little guilty when they saw Elisa enter. "Nice, some meat! I''ve been craving some for a while now," Elisa said while running over and grabbing a bite with the two''s permission, which they gave despite their confusion. "Elisa, you know there''s meat in the ring, you could have had some whenever you wanted." Tan said trying to understand why she was confused. Elisa answered with a shrug, "Oh, I thought you were vegetarians, since none of you wanted any meat so, I was happy to save it for the points. But if you¡¯re willing to indulge me, then I can save my energy and even get some back." Tan tried to gain some sort of refill to the hole she''d dug, "We too were thinking about the points, as you were making the food even if it was fruit, mushrooms, and vegetables. And of course I''m not a vegetarian, have you seen these teeth¡­?" Sordelia then made some hand sign to which Tan looked aghast and playful slapped her, "They are not! Don''t be cheeky, you''re not any better." Sordelia pantomimed grabbing a rock and placing it in her mouth. Then she bit down and moved her fingers mimicking something shattering before faking some tears and making a fuss. The conversation went on into the night amidst the screams and yells of people and beings as they tried to survive. Neo¡¯s team went to bed with their tummies full and content to their bones. The morning came and Neo found everyone sitting around the table with a good assortment of foods. They were discussing what happened during their trips the day before. Tan started her scouting report, "All we found in the hills werepacks of wolves, deer, and moose. It was a pretty boring biome with nothing much unique, however, we travelled back along the lake side and saw some lovely looking fish. Not that I knew what they were." She looked at Elisa, "Perhaps they could be valuable to catch, and if nothing else we could eat them.We also saw something big surface, it had lots of spines and they sort of pulsed with magic. We think it was water magic, but it was a bit hard to tell through the water. So, what about yourself, find anything interesting?" Neo told Tan and Sordelia about what they found and did. Tan commented, "Oh, it sounds like you guys had some fun. Why couldn''t we have gone that way? So, the big question, what shall we do next?" Neo had a smile on his face with an idea. It was quite a large risk, but he was sure that they''d win this tournament. "Why don''t we try killing the wyvern?" There was a round of silence. Tan had a huge smile on her face, Sordelia was silent as ever but Neo saw her eyebrow rise, Elisa had a strained smile on herface. Tan spoke up, "Let go! I love it! We''ll go kill a wyvern and then win, da will be so proud of us and we''ll be able to bring honour to our house!" Sordelia how''d looked a little weary at the challenge presented, and wasn''t so quick to rally behind her sister, but eventually she gave a firm nodded. Elisa wasn''t too keen to jump out of the tree house and charge into the mountains to slay a wyvern, thankfully, since Neo didn''t want to go out there right now. So it was nice to have someone else with some sense. He was grateful because he at least wanted make some plans, and maybe a trap, which was what Elisa mentioned. "I don''t think we should jump right into the wyvern¡¯s den. We should plan what we will do and, even though I do like the idea, with its high risk and higher reward, we shouldn''t just rely on us killing this wyvern. In fact, we should gather all the resources we can in the meantime and do it closer to the end of the test.Then we can do it without worrying about if we might get the kill or get beaten." Her logic seemed to quell Tan and Sordelia¡¯s excitement. Sordelia made some hand signs, "Then we should get planning." So, they did. It took a little while of discussing, but they made two plans. One was to try and lure the wyvern into a trap, and the other would have them heading into the mountains. But Tan made a good point that they should probably not leave it to the last day, as those teams that survive would eventual get to them and they''d be the strongest out all of the others. It was a good point so they pulled the plan a few days forward. Today the sisters would go fishing and hunt to collect meat for bait, while Elisa would build the trap with Neo''s help. Sordelia would also keep an eye out for any students that might be around to collect their rings. They would then sit around and wait to see if the wyvern would take the bait. The third day, depending on if the they got the wyvern and were still alive by then, they decided to relax and hide. Otherwise, if the bait hadn''t worked, they''d prepare to go after it, and if they were dead then they had nothing more to worry about. The fourth day they would hunt the wyvern, and determine whether they thought it was possible to kill. If they had already achieved their goal on the previous day, then they would withdraw from the test. Tan and Sordelia took the real white ring and disappeared to go hunting and fishing with the rods that Neo supplied. The two that remained walked in the general direction of the mountain, trying to find a good spot for the trap. It had to be wide, and long enough that the wyvern could land in it, while at the same time the trees needed to be close enough that they could use them as cover and ambush spots. Neo did voice his concerns that wood and fire didn¡¯t mix well, but Elisa said that they could solve that problem with the use of water, clearing out the debris, and having Sordelia to place runes on them to kept them moist and cool. The traps they wanted to use were ones of restriction, such as a pitfall. They also decided that they wanted to place a spiked net that would snap up and over, cutting off escape to the air. At least that was the idea as Elisa produced a vine net while Neo started digging a huge pit, where he placed metal spikes at the bottom. Meanwhile, Elisa had finished her net and was then building the supporting structure that would spring it up and over. Once she had finished with that she jumped into the pit and started helping to dig it out. It took a long time to do, even Tan and Sordelia came back having already caught about a tonne of meat and fish. They weren''t allowed to rest, and were dragged into the mud and told to help. They managed to finish up much faster and the two sisters were allowed to clean up and rest while Neo and Elisa went back to working on the net. Neo started adding sharp metal spikes to the net, making it quite heavy and he hoped it would cut up the wyvern¡¯s wings quite well. Having finished their trap preparations, they all wearily returned to the tree house, where they were able to eat, wash, and sleep. It was an excellent feeling of exhaustion, and Neo fell asleep as he was too tired to think let alone move. The next morning they woke early to get ready, and give themselves enough time to let their breakfast settle, before they started their hunt. Heading out, they went over what they had planned. They decided that Sordelia and Elisa would observe the trap and the air, as they could hide their presences, while Tan and Neo were the cavalry charge unit. They had the joy of charging and jamming a large spear into the skull of the wyvern before it could destroy the net and free itself, which would cause huge problems for them. So, they waited and waited, hiding in the bushes and trees. Tan fidgeted and moved around while Neo, accepting that this wasn''t going to happen quickly and that watching meat rot wasn''t very appealing, tried meditating to learn to understand himself. He wasn¡¯t very successful. ¡®If only Tan would stop moving her tail, I¡¯d be able to get in the zone like last time, ¡¯he''d managed to do it several times, but not to the same degree as his first attempt. He''d even asked Elfin about why he couldn''t get into the same zone and he merely answered with a proverb. Repeating it in his head Neo wallowed in it, ''A dog can''t get close to its own tail no matter how long it takes!'' As the day went on and Tan became even more anxious, she whispered into his ears, causing him to jump, "You sure we can''t just charge up there and fight the damn thing? It''s real boring sitting here. I''m sure you¡¯ll just do that cool transformation and kill it in seconds. I can feel that power in you, a wyvern is nothing to you, like a hill to a mountain." Neo sighed, he knew this question would come up. He was a bit surprised that it hadn''t before now but he answered her question seriously, "Well, yes, I probably could but I have little control over the monster in me. That¡¯s why I''ll only do it in an emergency, as a last-ditch Hail Mary. But I can''t be everywhere at once ,so it is also best to plan and prepare within our abilities and not something above that. And, do you really want me doing more than the other day?" Neo continued in a softer tone, "Sorry about the other day. I don''t know if I apologised but I''m sorry. It wasn''t me!" Tan shrugged, seemingly much calmer, and said thoughtfully, "The strong rule the weak, your also part dragon, right? At least that was what it looked like at the time. They''re known for their domination and aggressiveness, let alone their anger issues when young. So, I can''t blame you if that''s true. You sure you don''t want to transform and kick ass? I''ll survive the fallout." She finished with her tongue poking out at him, before she changed the conversation topic to her sister. He hadn¡¯t talked to her much since they couldn''t converse, but he liked her silent and unmovable persona. Sighing, Neo listened to Tan''s stories about her sister. He solemnly laughed and questioned quietly while they waited. The sun was starting to set before they got the signal in the form of a red vine that sprouted out of the ground. Their conversation stalled and they untangled they''re crossed legs before picking up their four-metre-long spear. The spear had a blue mana frost rune was intended to freeze a large chunk of the wyvern, hopefully killing it. As they picked it up, they got a green vine and they started their charge down the cleared path, Neo was in front, forming a shield in order to protect them from any stray flames that might travel down towards them. The two of them got themselves upto full speed and at the agreed point, just as they were a few metres from the clearing, they pumped mana into their bodies. Tan increased her strength so that she could throw the spear as fast as she could, while Neo would slow down the world to observe the area and direct the spear to the weakest spot. However, when they entered into the clearing there was one wyvern in the trap and another above that was flapping around its partner. Neo had seconds to decided but there was only one course of action, kill the one that could move and was a threat. Taking aim, Neo helped with his telekinesis. He let Tan threw the spear while he directed it at the free Wyvern and it soared through the air with a loud boom. The tip of the spear cracked the scales of the wyvern and burst through into the soft tissue and organs, destroying them. As the spear came to a stop the frost rune activated and started battling against the small amount of magic in the wyvern¡¯s body, slowly freezing a fifty centimetres diameter around the spear tip and catching a part of heart and stopping it. ''Well at least the plan worked,'' Neo thought, ''almost.'' As soon as the wyvern dropped to the ground dead, the area stilled and the world went quiet. Neo looked over at the other wyvern, it was staring with its eyes focused solely on the other wyvern. Its eyes blanked before a raging flame engulfed its eyes. The wyvern thrashed around madly, uncaring of the spikes shredding its delicate wings.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Neo felt a spike of regret in his heart as he felt the sorrow in the wyvern¡¯s eyes. Its recklessness destroyed the net and it climbed out of the pit, leaving a messy trail of blood that flowed down from the cuts under its scales and damaged wings. The wyvern headed straight toward its partner while spewing flame at Neo and Elisa who ran out of the way. With the space given to it, it nudged the corpse, and, seeing that it got no reaction, made a low whining sound. There was a crack of a branch from the other side of the glade, attracting the wyvern¡¯s ire. It took a few long, deep breaths and let out such a huge amount of flame that it consumed half of the glade, causing the runes on the edges to activate, stopping the fire. Neo¡¯s sadness was immediately changed to one of fear and worry as Elisa had made her hideaway where the wyvern was spewing its rage fill inferno. Once it ran out of breath it again took a single deep breath and flooded the same area with flame again. This time, to the surprise of Tan and Neo, the runes started failing as some trees started lighting up in the area, they thought the runes would last for at least a dozen fiery attacks. Neo made the decision to regroup, so he shouted out to the others. His voice drew the attention of the wyvern which swept its head and flames towards them. Tan grabbed his shoulder, turning him about, and they started to run. They weren¡¯t fast enough. Tan tackled Neo to the ground and crouched over him, using her own flames in order to try and protect them. As the wyvern¡¯s flame enveloped them, Tan cried out in pain as her flames were being torn away and stray flames from the wyvern managed to make it through. The flames let up and Tan collapsed onto Neo, who inelegantly did his best to get her over his shoulders before the next round of flame burned its way through forest. He ran again, this time getting far enough away to safely stop and figure out which direction to go to the rendezvous. Tan had fallen into unconsciousness along the way. He finally made his way back to the tree house and laid Tan down on the ground, resting her against the tree. He called out to see if anyone was in the tree house. When no one came down, Neo tended to Tan¡¯s burns. Taking off her hot metal armour she made a sharp hiss as it rubbed the sores and blisters. Neo grimaced and apologised before using his telekinesis to pick her up off the ground, "Sorry!" It wasn''t good as far as Neo could tell. At least she wasn¡¯t burnt black, though there were some black patches on her tail, but the huge blisters that were forming all across her back weren¡¯t good. Neo had to surgically remove her clothing and every time he found a piece of cloth that was stuck to her skin he tore the clothing around it. Neo then built up a large bubble to surround her unconscious form which he filled with cool clear water. He made sure to change the water every five minutes for fifteen minutes. In that time Elisa and Sordelia had joined him in his worries. He¡¯d worriedly asked Elisa if she was ok as he noticed that one of her arms had wisps of smoke and black spots, but she shrugged off his question. "It got a little warm, but I managed to avoid the worst of it." "Yeah, we didn''t, Tan tried protecting me with her own fire magic, but it got torn up and the flames managed to lick at her,¡± he thumbed up at her. ¡°She''ll need some antiseptic bandages, antibiotic tablets, and anything else that will help her survive!" Elisa nodded but paused in mid-step, "That''s not good, you said she used her magic? Then she should have been fine since wyvern¡¯s uses a chemical flame. If it destroyed Tan''s flames then there was magic in it. It seems it really is going to kill itself¡­" Neo questioned Elisa, "Why would it want to kill itself?" "They mate for life. Once its partner dies it too will go raving mad, attacking and destroying until it is killed or it kills itself through mana depletion." "Well, knowing that earlier would have been useful!" Neo said, slightly annoyed. "It didn''t come up, and the one we saw was alone. When they become mated partners they never travel alone, they''re always together. I wouldn''t have thought that there was more than one in the area. Maybe the one we saw was this couple¡¯s child¡­" Neo put his hand up to stop her, "Sorry, so will it destroy the forest?" Elisa slowly nodded, "If it doesn''t run out of life before then. It can''t fly so it''ll just burn everything around it, taking it anger out on the land." Neo sighed to himself, hardening his resolve, and looked into the bonfire glow in the distance. "So, we need to take it out before it destroys our little hideout and we haven''t got long before night falls. We need some ideas, preferably a quick and clean method." Their little gathering didn''t come up with anything, so Neo decided to give them all a few minutes to think while they helped a very wet Tan and bandaged her wounds. Thankfully, the blisters didn''t grow as much as Neo thought they would, but they were still pretty bad. After very delicately hoisting Tan up into the tree house they placed her face down on her bed. They left a jug of water and a little food for when she woke up as well. The group met in the living room where Neo looked expectantly at everyone, not that he himself it could think of anything. But Sordelia patted herself on the chest and then a formed an illusion. The illusion had two wyverns then another illusion appeared but while the original faded. The wyvern that was left looked confused and then another spear came out of nowhere, striking it in the chest. Neo was surprised. It was basically the same plan, but without the pitfall and just a distraction instead, but they didn''t have Tan on their side to bring the power. Of course, he could transform, but he''d only do that if the plan didn''t work and he couldn''t come up with anything better. Maybe they could get Elisa to replicate Tan¡¯s power as he doubted that he could do it, even with his telekinesis. "We might be lacking the power the break through its scales. But I like the plan also would you be able to use the illusions in that fiery tornado of death?" Sordelia patted a water skin and gave a smile. Neo shrugged, he didn¡¯t have anything better. They created another spear, a bit shorter this time, and snuck around behind the wyvern. The creature had been only burning the part of the of forest that they had previously escaped into. It allowed them to set up with little worry, but everyone was very careful over of making any sound. They also found that they wouldn''t have the time to pick up the supernatural speed that they did last time as they had to be able to see the glade, so they added a slight curve to the path. Neo did voice his concern overtripping on any brush orroots, but Elisa said that she''d taken care of it, and who was Neo to say otherwise. Neo was in front again and he watched as Sordelia produced the illusion while making the dead wyvern disappear. With that done, she caused a loud cracking sound to get the wyvern¡¯s attention when it had used up its breath. At the same time Neo and Elisa started their attack. The wyvern froze in place as it saw its mate standing, moving, and alive. It took a shaky step forward and made low grunts towards his partner. It took another step forward and the wyvern was about to start running to its mate before its side was racked in pain! As soon as Neo had thrown the spear toward the wyvern, he knew that it wasn''t going to pierce its hard scales, so he continued running straight at it as he didn''t want to be within firing range. The spear hit the wyvern in the chest, knocking it over and cracking it scales. The freezing effect activated, freezing the area about a metre or so off the ground. Neo followed right behind it, taking off his ring since the wyvern was getting back up. The wyvern was making its way onto all fours with a lick of flame in its mouth as Neo''s body changed in to his dragon form. As Neo went to punch the wyvern in the head, it ducked it''s head down and his hand streaked straight over. Having not expected that, Neo pulled back and the wyvern made a low, sorrowful sound that stopped Neo in his tracks as his instincts gave a confused feeling that spread throughout his mind and body. After a moment the instincts came to some sort of understanding, which just left Neo confused, but he decided to trust his instincts. Even if the two of them hadsome boundaries to form and rules to set up, Neo trusted that his instincts wouldn¡¯t risk their life. As he stepped forward Neo saw the ground move slowly around the wyvern, seeing Elisa he waved his hand, wanting her to stop. Thankfully, she did but she was still ready to move. Neo gauged the wyvern and he realised that it hadn''t ducked but had bowed and still was. Neo sat next to it and placed his clawed hand on its snout. Being closer to the creature, he noticed the state it was in. He could see that its wings were basically gone, leaving only stumps, the wyvern¡¯s left front foot had disappeared, and the wyvern was bleeding from the cracked scales where the spear had hit it, and one of its eyes had turned grey, looking like stone. As it gave another sorrowful roar, both he and his instincts felt sad and regretful. His instincts then sent a feeling of flight and freedom Neo knew what he meant and thought the same thing. There was no way that the dragon was going to live a good life, even if it could get over its partner¡¯s death. The only thing left was ''freedom.'' Neo and his instincts thought of the best way, but Neo wasn''t a killer. He didn¡¯t know the cleanest way to do things, while, on the other side, his instincts just told him to do it quickly and as violently as possible. Neo knew that it had a brain and that that would be the quickest way, but it was surrounded by hard scales and bone. The only experiences he had of killing one was with the team and the time on his own inside of it mouth, and he really didn''t like putting himself in a similar circumstance like that again. The Wyvern gave a low whine that hit him in chest and Neo thought about how this had all seemed like a good idea two days ago. They had all thought about how it would be awesome to hunt an amazing creature and then they''d win. But hindsight is twenty/twenty, with a good dose more of emotional stress. Neo toughened his resolve as he owned up to his mistake and took responsibility for his plans and their outcomes. Stroking the wyvern, Neo produce a steel bolt three inches long. Looking the wyvern in the eyes, Neo felt a slight connection and understood. Neo moved his hands under its chin and lifted it up and, as it opened its mouth with its final breath, Neo sent the bolt into its mouth and through the top of its head, killing it instantly. Neo was gently placing the head onto the ground when something strange happened. The wyvern glowed slightly and, as Neo pulled his hand away from it, a blue and green orb formed within his clawed hand. Inside the orb was the image of the wyvern flying in the air with setting sun and its mate by its side, happy and content. Tears formed on his face as the feeling washed over him. He realized that he had ended that future, as the two would never fly again. Walking over with orb in hand, he placed his spare hand onto the other wyvern and imagined tugging on her soul. At first, he received only a feeling confusion, but Neo sent an image of her partner and feelings of a bond, love, and liberation. She seemed to just fall away from her body, forming another orb in his hands. Neo was suddenly aware that he was hold two souls and had no idea what to do with them. He really didn''t want to eat them. He had enough to deal with one eaten soul, adding a second and third seemed like a bad idea. But he didn¡¯t need to worry, as the world turned slightly grey and three skeleton hands formed from three black holes. Neo shrugged, not really feeling excitable, he guessed this was just a type of collection method for Deaths, so he placed the two orbs onto the empty hands which then withdrew into the darkness. Neo looked at the last hand that was holding a piece of paper, written on were the words, "Do you think they¡¯ll never fly again? I''ll be back!" Neo rolled his eyes, but he pondered over Death¡¯s words even as Sordelia came running over waving and pointing at the sky. Neo looked up and panicked, thinking that another wyvern had sneaked up on them. There was nothing in the rapidly darkening sky, however. He looked back at Sordelia, who ran past him and touched the wyvern with the white ring and then moved off to the other wyvern before heading into the forest toward the tree house. Then Elisa ran panicked into the forest, telling Neo to hurry up, and then it hit him, the nighttime. "Damn it, stop losing yourself in thought and run home, jeez," he said, scolding himself. He ran and quickly caught up with Sordelia, who watched him fly past with a bit of jealously in her eyes. He''d made it home in half the time, which surprised him, but he knew he could have made it faster if he''d hadn''t had to dodge the trees. With a smile he leisurely made his way up, but noticed that as he got higher that they had minutes until darkness descended and he couldn''t see Elisa, so he jumped back out of the tree. He landed heavily and set off to pick up Elisa. He shot back past Sordelia, who was going to be fine. It took him about a minute to find Elisa and then inelegantly sling her over his shoulder, Instinct even took the time to slap her on her back side. Neo reprimanded it for, but it stuck up for itself as she was his as far as it cared. Neo didn¡¯t have time to argue with it, but told it off and tried to educate it that you can''t own people. It wasn¡¯t taking the education very well, as far has Neo could tell. As he ran through the forest, the ground underneath him started to move and a squishy feeling overcame his feet as he ran back to the tree house. He could feel the ground trying to bite him and constrict his movement, but his strength overwhelmed them and they were torn away or uprooted. As the tree house came into sight the constant constriction was really wearing on him. He was grateful when he finally climbed into the tree house and dropped the silent Elisa. Sitting down, he put on the ring before Instinct could do anything untoward. Having recovered a bit, he noticed Sordelia was looking at his legs with horror. When he looked down he jumped back, kicking at what he knew had to be some sort of huge leechlike thing that had been torn in half and was clinging to his legs. Its vicious looking teeth scratched his skin as he kicked. Once it was off, Sordelia tossed the white ring to him and pointed at it, rubbing her hands together. Carefully, he stood back, reaching far out in case it was still alive. He sent a small amount of mana through the ring and thankfully it disappeared into the ring. After creeping him the hell out, Neo shook the feeling from his leg. He then checked on Elisa, who was fine as she had taken another book out and was writing in it. Scoffing at her ability to normalise, he walked up to Tan''s room to check on her and found her awake and looking much better. He asked, "How are you feeling?" Tan looked at him with a small smile. "Like shit, my head is pounding and just everythings aching." Neo smiled. At least she was feeling something at all. He helped her with her water and food and then left to talk to Sordelia. He told her about Tan and she patted herself and mimed caring for Tan. He then asked how she was feeling and she just shrugged, tapped her head, and then waved over her body before poking at herself and wincing. He nodded, he too ached. He told her he was going to bed and that if she needed anything or if anything happened to get him. He tried again to talk to Elisa, but she just waved him a good night, so he headed to bed. Chapter 25 - A Rude Awakening Neo was warm and comfortable, asleep in his bed when he was woken by alight pressure on his body. Slightly confused he started to get up until he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, almost instantly becoming numb. It was then that his body¡¯s mana violently reacted to an invasive mana that was spreading in a circle, radiating from his stomach. Shivers ran throughout his body as his mind and instincts awakened to the reality of the situation. His instincts reacted seconds before he himself opened his eyes by moving his hand while pumping mana into the rest of his body to slow the foreign mana and his perception. The hand blocked the opponent¡¯s hand before it''s icicle could be plunged into his chest again. Neo follow the slim hand to is owner, shocked to find Sordelia sitting on his chest, grinning maddeningly without her face mask, not that Neo noticed her scared and malformed throat and mouth. Her red eyes sent shivers down his spine, as he realised what was wrong his thoughts raged through his mind, ''How? I''ve been cleared by Jane! Why does she have the maddening disease, what about the others!?'' She tried to use her power to push the sharp ice down and into Neo¡¯s chest. To get that power she was forced to let go of the ice in his stomach, which relieved the area around it as his mana could destroy it without a continuous power supply. She formed another ice shard and swung at him again, but instead of just stopping it, now that he was awake, he diverted the strike with his palm. It still managed to graze his cheek, but it gave him the advantage as he was on the outside of her. He continued pushing her arm until she fell into him and then released some of his own mana into the air in order to disrupt her ability to use magic. He managed to catch both of her hands with his and he wrapped his legs around her waist and slowly started squeezing. Every time she breathed out he would tighten his grip, this distracted her long enough that he managed to trap both of her hands with only one of his, leaving his spare hand to choke her out. As the last flame of fire blinked out, he lessened his choke hold and checked her pulse and gave a grateful sigh when he could feel a pulse. ''Glad that worked,'' he thought, as he pushed her off of his body to land beside him. He analyzed his body to find that a large majority of his stomach had frostbite, and it had even caught some of his lungs, leaving him short of breath. His next thoughts were filled with worry for his new friends and he decided quickly that they needed to withdraw. For that he needed to find the white ring, just then he noticed the black ring on his finger giving an ominous black glow. Neo searched Sordelia for the white ring and, not finding it on her, spoke aloud, coughing as he did, "Damn it, got to move now¡­" Pulling his hand away he found blood. He struggled to get up, as his stomach muscles felt like they were grating on each other. He wrapped a blanket around his midriff hoping to warm the area around it and protect it. As he reached the door the world was already fading away to blackness. He took off his ring, the only thing stopping the raging instinct, and instantly felt more revitalised. He also found that the blanket had started to turn red so he had the transformation kick his system into gear. He walked out of his room and directly into Sordelia¡¯s as it was the closest to his, he found her gear and armour on the little desk. Sitting on the chair he went through it all but didn''t find the ring in the pile of clothing, so he continued to look whilst grimacing in pain. He searched the drawers and thankfully found it on its own in the bottom drawer. He was about to stick his hand into the drawer, but stopped as he and his instinct came to the conclusion that it was way to conspicuous there on its own, within a drawer of our local sneak. Taking one of Sordelia¡¯s masks, he dropped it into the drawer where it was flash frozen. ''Hmm,'' Neo thought, feeling pleased that he had a brain. He then dropped another one into it, that too froze. Neo continued to throw things into it, all of which froze as well. Instinct¡¯s patience had come to an end and so had Neo''s item pool, so he whole heartily pulled out the drawer, tipping it upside down and watched as the ring didn''t fall out. Instinct decided to angrily smash it on to the floor, splintering it into dozens of pieces. He then carefully picked up the bottom piece of the drawer, finding the ring still stuck. Neo took a closer look at the bottom where the ring met the piece of wood and saw a thin sheet of blue ice that stuck the two to each other. Neo tried to chip away the ice, finally picking it off, and pulled the crystal crown, causing the ring to let loose a small pulse. He placed the ring onto his finger, disturbed by the sounds coming from downstairs. Walking past Elisa and Tan¡¯s rooms he saw that they were empty with signs of fighting. As he gently walked down the stairs, he found a heated debate on getting to the bottom. Tan was on fire and Elisa had roots surrounding her, whipping around. It looked like things had stalemated, which confused Neo, since Tan should have overwhelmed Elisa in battle, burning away her vines. He figured that Tan was holding back, which was unusual, her burns must also have been slowing her down. As Tan didn''t have red eyes, he was pretty sure she was just distracting and containing Elisa. Deciding to break the stalemate, Neo called to Tan, "Hey, what''s up?" Tan¡¯s eyebrow rose but she didn''t take her eyes off Elisa, "Oh, you¡¯re alive, I was sure I saw Sordelia enter your bedroom. I did call out but I was slightly busy and I can''t move very well, but I hoped you''d be ok, how''s Sordelia? Alive, I hope?" Neo nodded, "Yeah, she taking a snooze in my bed. I''ve called for help, they should arrive soon. There''s no way we can continue like this, so we just need time!" Neo looked over at Elisa her skin taking on an orange-red tint, which made her look furious, even her vines had the same tint. But they were back to a standoff, Elisa didn''t move because she would lose her defences, while they didn''t attack as they didn¡¯t see a way in without getting ripped apart, plus they were stalling for time. That stalemate held until Neo felt a chill roll off his neck. Glancing behind him, he saw Sordelia coming down the stairs with condensation falling from her mouth. She would have looked pretty awesome, if she wasn''t freezing the area around her. But, as much as it was awesome, she was staring at him with those red eyes and that was even more chilling. There was something new, blood collecting on her finger tips. Neo really wanted to avoid fighting since instinct was angry and scared, so he tried to talk to her. "Ok Sordelia, I''m sorry I choked you out, but you did stab me."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She didn''t listen. Instead she jumped at him, forming two icicles that she tried to plunge into his chest. Neo grabbed one of her hands and, moving to the side, swung her towards Tan saying, "Tan can you handle your sister, maybe warm her a little? I''ve got Elisa." Neo¡¯s stomach had intense pain radiating from it and he struggled to stop himself from spinning. He looked up, gritting his teeth as he saw that he''d just thrown Tan into a difficult position. She avoided Sordelia¡¯s flying form and blasted the area in front of her to stop the all vines. Neo took a breath and charged Elisa while her vines were engaged with Tan. Neo formed a shield, Elisa saw him coming and averted her vines towards Neo, but it was too late for them to be of use as he started bearing down on her. Elisa tightened her body and out burst a huge mass of vines that obscured Elisa from his view. They pummelled Neo back to the other side of the room, breaking his shield and tossing him into the wall, cracking it. More blood fell from his wound and Instinct got fed up and worried so it shouted at Neo to let him have more control, but Neo was reluctant to do so as he didn''t trust it to hold back. But as the moments turned to seconds, Neo gave it a little more control as the pressure built and it took full advantage by shredding the vines with its space magic slashes. He began making progress with his Instincts, slashing his way through to finally see glimpses of the red Elisa. Neo''s progress suddenly stopped as vines grew out from the wooden floorboards, clasping at his legs and pulling him down. He had to make sure Instinct didn''t slash at them as he might weaken or destroying the floor. He instead ripped the vines off and tried to continue, but more roots grew out of the floor restricting Neo in place and crawling up him faster than he could rip them apart. They were overwhelming him, as they started constricting around his body, he couldn''t see anything apart from vines. He was slowly being strangled and dragged under the floorboards. As the light started fading away from his eyes, a bright flash made Neo close his eyes. Blinded, coughing, and trying to take huge gulps of air, Neo found himself free from the roots that were around his neck. Once Neo had found that he could breathe again, he opened his eyes and found a big blue glowing figure, "Hey Gie, how''s things?" Gie replied with his softly spoken voice, "Well things are starting to look bleak, as I have to put you in containment. Since we have observable proof that you have what the dragon had, if a bit different since you don''t seem to have lost your marbles yet. It was quickly realised that it is contagious, as the madness has infected these two, and we were sent to get you. But sadly I can''t let you back into general population until we learn how this happened." Neo then looked around the room find Bethany had subdued Elisa, and there was another two unknown people dealing with Sordelia, with Tan hurling threats at them. Worried about them harming her sister, she looked over at Neo as they left through the hole in the roof that had been made. Ropes and a rope ladder had been dropped down for them to climb up, while the tied up Elisa and Sordelia, who had magical sealing handcuffs, were pulled up while struggling. Neo looked back to Gie, he''d guessed that they flew around but he hadn''t seen what it was that allowed them to get around so quick, "Thankfully, you were a lot faster than I expected you to be. How is it you were able to travel so fast?" "Well for starters," Gie started but Neo got distracted by the ropes being lifted up. Neo turned his attention back to Gie with another question, but allowed him to continue, "We were alerted to the problem with those two''s vitals, as their heartbeats increased dramatically. We also started a to get a weird mana fluctuation from Elisa and we decided to take a closer look as we were in the area from picking up some other students. When we got the alarm from the white ring of yours, we were already pretty close. Thankfully for you. But we will have to wait for a little while for our air transport to return with an empty containment cell." "What? You have a containment cell and what''s our air transport?" Gie nodded, "Of course, we never know what we¡¯ll find in this bubble, so we simply try to think of everything that could happen and prepare accordingly. As for the transport, it¡¯s an easily buildable airship, with a hot air balloon for altitude functions, several green magic propellers to manoeuvre it, and with black magic to lighten the load." "Hum," was all Neo could come up with. Waiting for the rope ladder to descend, he finally saw the airship. It was about the size of a of a big van, made from wood with runes running throughout its hull, and had a large balloon above it. Neo was quickly guided into a human sized box and locked in. It too had runes running throughout it, Neo thought he understand them to be air purifiers. It wasn''t long before Gie made his entrance, the entire airship rocked as he climbed up the ladder and onto deck, where he came to inform Neo that once he got to the base he''d be transferred to another carriage and transported back to the academy. Then they could start looking into what was happening. It was a fast ship. The wind buffeted the ship and Neo watched from the safety of the containment cell as everyone else''s hair and cloths were whipped around. As they landed, the headmaster came out to meet him. It was basically him attempting to comfort Neo, but Neo took the chance and tried to pass the ring over since he didn''t want to go through this for nothing. Not to mention that it would make Death upset if he couldn''t accomplish some simple test. It wouldn''t be a good show of his skill to let a little disease get in the way. Although Headmaster Helix didn''t directly take the ring, Gie did and passed it to what Neo assumed to be a medic. The medic heated up the ring while it was on Gie''s hand until it was red hot, and then took it once it had cooled. The headmaster left, giving Neo his best wishes, and told him that they''ll be speaking again soon. As Gie had said, he was transferred to a coach that was pulled away, Neo couldn''t tell by what, but he knew that it wasn''t long before they exited the bubble way. At least he didn''t have to stare at the psychedelic reality, but his current view wasn''t much better as he stared at the wooden wall while worry and concern was flung about his mind. Neo stayed that way for most of the journey, just thinking about his impossible adventure. This certainly isn''t what he''d thought it would be like after encountering Death, but who knows. Neo felt the coach stop moving and the doors were opened, he saw that he was at the dorms. There was a large crowd of students around it, but they were being held back by teachers and others in uniform. As Neo was taken through his dorm, he heard yells and screams that he thought he recognised as Elisa and Sordelia from some of the rooms. When Neo went to look, but he was stopped by some tough looking beings. It was a little annoying, but he understood that they were only doing a job. As he was guided into his room, Gie came in with the chatty Elf from the tent. Neo tried to remember her name¡­ "Hello Mary, how are you?" "Hehe, you remembered me. I wondered if you would, so nice of you. I''m fine, you lot are in a bit of trouble though. I''m here to take some blood, we got a report from Jane that said you were fine, but those around you might have caught it. So, it¡¯s just a precaution as it could also be something from within the bubble that''s causing it, or at least let''s hope so." So, she did so, talking the entire time. Neo was glad when she finished stabbing him, making his arm ache and fuelling his dislike for needles. Once Mary had left, Gie came forward gave Neo a update on Elisa and Sordelia. They were fine, if a little mad, and were currently tied down in other rooms of the dorm. Tan was also in one of the rooms in order to be kept an eye on. Neo noticed Bethany by the door. She came over and gave him a hug before giving a smile that flattened Neo''s heart. She just sat there, but had to leave when Gie did, leaving Neo alone. Well not that alone, as a calming and recognisable voice reached Neo. "Hey, Neo good job on the whole surviving thing. Time for some training!" Chapter 26 - Astral Cohesion The world around him shifted and he recognised the plain room that he last met Death in. "Hello, Death. How''s life, no dramatic entrance?" Death¡¯s handsome face smiled, "I''ve been working on my dance moves. If you want me to, I can show you how much!" Neo¡¯s eyebrows rose, "No, no, I''m good thank you." Death¡¯s face fell before he started to use the old puppy dog eyes, "Please!" Neo shivered, "Nope, don''t do that man, it¡¯s creepy." Death smiled, "Ok, ok so things are little interesting here, want to get away from it?" "Please." Neo replied, but he continued asking, "How do we do that? I''m a magical being now, part dragon, so can I leave the Bubbles? And I''m being quarantined so I can''t exactly walk out." Death shook his head before speaking, "Nope, you won''t have to leave the bed. I''ll unlock the Astral Cohesion." In front of Neo the scroll appeared, it had been a while since he''d opened it, Neo thought. He was surprised to find that he had more souls than he thought, it reminded him to ask what happened with the souls. "Death what happens with the souls that I collect and then use here?" He said pointing at the scroll. Death blinked, "It is merely a tally, you don''t use the souls. It''s like trading in the soul for soul points. Anything you do or don''t buy doesn''t affect anything apart from you. So spend them how you like and don¡¯t worry about morality, didn''t I tell you this? Perhaps if you find it a little annoying to use, I can set up an automatic selection program that''ll you can pre-pick what you like as you collect the souls." Neo tried to remember if Death mentioned how the souls were used, but nothing came to the forefront, "Hmm, ok, good to know. A selection program would be cool, so, yeah sure. I like the idea. It''ll save time, and I can plan how to use them." As soon as he said so, the room lit up as the scroll burst into flames before falling to the ground into a pile of ash. The ash glowed gently, slowly melting before forming into another scroll that floated up to rest in front of him. It unravelled, the pages flipping on its own until it came to a page that showed Astral Cohesion. Neo read the description to learn that Astral Cohesion was the ability to form an astral projection a certain number of times. It was an ability to help him get to difficult places and give him the capability to adjust its cohesion, so that nothing can get in his way and nothing can bar Death! ''Cool!'' Neo thought, as the grey words changed and bright red colour, indicating its activation. Then Death stepped up, with his hand out in front of him, and placed his warm hand on his chest. "Let me help you get the feeling down, since it is quite hard to do first time." Death then pulled his palm back and Neo''s body shook as his body stretched while Death pulled further and further. It didn''t stop until he could see Death wall in two separate points of view but Neo found the two to back ground it almost flew by Neo as he wasn''t focus on what he was seeing. He saw the blackness of Deaths room and the white room with red stripe through them. An audible pop could be heard in the air as Neo moved from his sitting point of view to a standing one. "Neo focus on an image of your body." Neo thought about his body¡¯s every undesirable curve, more defined muscles, the hair on his head his legs and arms, their adjoining appendages, then his body, and finally, where his heartbeat and his lungs pulled in breath. As the feeling of disconnect faded, Neo managed to become aware of his surroundings and saw his body lying on his bed, seemingly asleep. It was a bit creepy that he could see himself. He reached out and touched his own leg and felt it on his leg as he was standing. ''So, I can still feel whatever my body feels, it could be dangerous to leave my body anywhere vulnerable.'' Taking in the area, Neo noticed that the world had greyed slightly, even though Death was still in colour. His black clothing was like a void in the grey world. Nothing in the room stood out, even his own body was greyed out, "So now what?" Neo asked Death. "Well, in order move around on the ground you can walk forward, or, if you want to fly, then you will need to simply think about the direction to go. Also, if you wish to move very long distances you just need to know the destination¡¯s name and general landmarks of the place, and then imagine yourself fading out here and in to a space near said landmark, It gets more precise the more you know the area!" Neo followed Death¡¯s instructions and disappeared from view. Death sighed, "Well, should have seen that coming, at least it worked ." A thought later Death disappeared and then reappeared next to Neo, who was looking around his old room. He found it unusually tidy, but otherwise untouched. The door was closed and there was a fine layer of dust coating everything. Death sighed and thought, ''not the best time to be emotional in control of your cohesion.'' Instead he spoke, "Neo, we should leave just in case someone comes in." But Neo picked up a picture looking down at his mother, sister, and himself sitting on a mountain top looking warn and tired. Neo¡¯s gut was in knots as he felt guilty for leaving them. He turned to Death and asked again, "Are you sure I can''t go back?" Death replied to Neo''s question with an understanding and calm tone, "Sorry, but you can''t. They''ll be able to see you as you are now. It''s bad enough that your here now, so close to them." "Why can''t you just tell me the reason?" Death thought about it for a few seconds before shrugging, "It''s because, no matter what you do, if you see them then they can see you. Even in your astral form. If you soul is present they will see your slowly rotting and decaying corpse, forever reliving their loved one¡¯s death and being tormented as you are destroyed by the universe. Do you really want to give that image to your family?" Neo stuttered to a stop as his mind digested what he¡¯d been told. Sighing, tears fell from his cheeks. "Okay, I can''t put them through that, I guess we should leave." A hand fell on his shoulder and he felt like he was being sucked into a drain before he disappeared, dropping the picture to the floor. Light returned to Neo¡¯s world as a he was regurgitated out and into the open world, where he could see bright blue skies. The sound of traffic zooming by and the blaring horns of outraged drivers caught his attention. Looking around he noticed he was standing directly over a large river with a slightly grey but still recognisable Tower Bridge nearby. It was a few moments before Neo realised that he was actually in London, "What are we doing in London?" Death, taking his hand off Neo¡¯s shoulder took a deep breath, "Ah, got to love this place, it¡¯s filled with dead and dying, tonnes of them. It''s so relaxing. As for why we''re here, well, to introduce you to some of your future companions, then we''ll do some work." Neo was suddenly quite interested in finding out what his future teammates were like, and how insane they were. "Sounds interesting, who are we meeting and where?" Death pointed towards Tower Bridge, "We just have to fly through the centre of that to enter the Trade Centre bubble that''s there. Let''s go." And so, Death flew toward it before flying through it and disappearing. Neo went to follow but stopped when he saw the greyed-out forms of people walking across the bridge below him. They had flames in their chests. Some had smaller flames while some were even flickering, while the children were giving off vibrant and bright flames that encompassed their entire body. A voice spoke, "Come on what''s taking you so long? Oh, you¡¯re seeing them. What are you seeing, if you want to tell." Neo looked over to the upside-down face of Death, "I''m seeing naked flames of varying sizes for different people. I think there is a small flame for a young girl, is she going to die?" Death shrugged, "Possibly, there are several reasons for a flame to flicker and grow smaller and it is affected by the life itself. Close calls in accidents, illness, and simply life, anything can affect it. Come, you can''t help them, since you might be the reason for their smaller flame." Neo, hearing that, changed his mind about helping. He looked back, as the young girl went out of sight around a corner, Neo thought he saw her flame reignite. Shaking his head, Neo stepped through and into the bubble. He stepped into a world of confusion, as for a few moments Death looked as if he was standing on a rock while being upside down. It took him a while to see the land below him. Eventually, he saw other rocks floating around in the air, with simple and plain buildings on them. Like mini planets, with their own gravity. There were wires running between all of them. As Neo turned himself upside down to match Death, Death opened his arms and said, " Welcome to the international trade centre bubble, we are in the food sector." Neo nodded and Death started walking away towards a building that had the long wires travelling out of it. "So, where are we meeting your minions?" Death smiled, "Well, we''ll be running to the International Trade Police Department. They kind of work there." A question popped into Neo''s head, but Death beat him to it. "Don''t ask me why they decided to join it. I don''t get it, but I don''t get in the way of their personal lives as long as they collect souls and meet the quota, I''m happy." Neo looked around at the market and people as he walked through towards the wired connection. The street was busy, with lots of people walking about, so many that Death and Neo stepped up and into the air and flew toward the building. But, as Neo travelled passed a dark, tinted glass building, he suddenly found himself very attracted to the building., He even started flying towards it before a hand gently landing on him. "Neo, you''ll need to learn to ignore that feeling. Since they are sort of living beings that made a choice, and we will respect it. Of course, if you need to defend yourself, they''re but crops for reaping." Death chuckled at his own joke and Neo smiled, a bit confused but he had some ideas as to what was in there from what Death had said. Death continued onwards while pulling him away, even as he found himself staring at the domineering building. But it wasn''t long before Neo was out of sight of the attractive building as they floated over the queue''s and ticket booths and landed on the other side, slipping on to the cart. The cart started moving over to the distant rock, but Neo asked, "Why are we taking the cart when we could be flying over?" Death shrugged, "Thought you might like to see the sights and learn a little about this bubble, and how life is lived here." Neo head tilled, "Why do I need to learn how life is lived here?" Death started whistling and looked away, "No, nothing for you to worry about. You still have that disease problem to deal with before all this." "How did you know about the maddening disease?" Death looked serious as he spoke, "What do you take me for, a blind and un-omnipotent being, how insulting honestly." Neo stared at the slightly smirking Death, "Then how did you learn about information then?" "Oh come now, how do you think, I''m dea¡­ Oops," Death stopped himself before pointing to forward, "We''re almost there, let''s go." He zoomed off to the outside of the station, as Neo caught up he went to ask but Death shot off again saying, "Come on, we''re going to be late."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Neo thought, ''He¡¯s trying to avoid the question?'' Neo got a slightly worried about the unknown, and what it could mean to him. ¡®As Death would get information from the dead, then who''s died that knows about the disease?¡¯ Catching up to Death he was led down a small alleyway where Neo was guided to a door. They simply went through into a surprisingly clean and well-lit room, where there were a dozen patrons dotted around the room and the bar. There were two that really stood out. It wasn''t because they were the coolest looking ones there, in their plain looking jeans, shirts, and jackets they certainly weren''t. But it was the fact that they were both looking directly at them. Both were also looking a bit wary of them, but they plastered smiles on their faces as Neo followed Death over to them. They both nodded, but didn''t say anything as they got up and left into a back room that was filled with books, shelves, and nice-looking leather chairs. It gave Neo the opportunity to look at these two of Death''s Reapers. One was tall, easily over 2 metres, with a strong looking body, was black with brown eyes and black hair. The other was a little short, but much stringier, with a lanky body, and was a pasty white with black hair and black eyes. They stood confidently, but cautious, their eyes flickered between the two of them, lingering on Neo as they intensely looked at him. Death spoke in a loud and commanding tone, "Hello, Whitechapel, Yona. This is Neo, my apprentice. Just brought him to meet you, and for you to meet him, so how about a cup of tea?" Yona nodded, exiting through a side door saying, "Yes, it''s a good idea. Tea¡¯s great to have a conversation over, be back in a few." Whitechapel gave a slightly strained smiled and started speaking, "So, Neo how are you finding your new world?" "Well¡­." Neo and the other stalked for a long time over tea. Everything was so interesting. They spoke about their pasts, and they had long pasts. Whitechapel was born in the 1800''s, while Yona had been born in the 1700''s.Yes,they were over a hundred years old. Both of them had much to talk about. Their experiences were truly an interesting insight into the past, and some insight on the two people in front of him. But Death¡¯s head tilted and changed the direction of the conversation when he asked Yona, "How''d that D-Soul hunt go?" Yona shivered, "Not as well as I would of liked it to. It managed to get away from me twice. I couldn''t believe it, I managed to get it after it killed again." He brought out a jar that cooled the area. Neo could even see the condensation of his breath in the air. It only took a few moments for it to happen, when the jar''s bottom hit the table the hot tea was no longer warm. Whitechapel whistled and Neo rubbed his hands, ''Damn bloody thing sucked the life out of the room!'' Inside the jar was a black orb, like an abyss. You could stare at it forever and never see a thing, yet it could definitely stare back. It reacted viciously to Neo''s and Death presence, bashing at the glass but accomplishing nothing as it just wearied itself. Death reached forward, grabbing the jar within his hands and bringing it up to his eye, which started glowing, examining it closely. He sighed, and with a saddened face placed it back onto the table. Staring grimly at Yona, he spoke, "Good job, a bonus of 30 souls will be given at the end of the month. Sadly, we won''t be able to save it!" Neo burst forth, "Why can''t we save it?" Death stared at Neo, "There is nothing for us to save. No hope, no good deeds, and no perceivable regret. It''s also mixed with parts of other souls, making a monster of it. It''s dangerous and now thoughtless." "But can we do surgery or something to pick it apart, search for the good? Everything has good, even if it''s pure evil, their own perception will give them something good?" Neo felt annoyed, and a little sad as he looked at Death, who kept a stoic face as he spoke. "Unfortunately, if we started to pick holes in it and picking bits out of it, separating the pieces of other souls, it won''t be a soul anymore. In this form they can be useful, if not a sad reminder that even after death nothing is simple or kind. I think it¡¯s time for me to show you some more things. Come on, I''ll need a few seconds to talk with my two Reapers, please." Neo nodded, he remembered the outside area and teleported into the bar room, where it had become a lot busier. Neo leaned back and tried to listen into their conversation, unsuccessfully, as Neo didn''t catch everything or who was asking what. "I think he¡¯s a bit we¡­" A crash cut off the rest and Neo glared the one who had dropped something. "But he seems like a nice person, I hope he survives. Got some good pot¡­" A conversation got a little out of hand, muffling the voices Neo thought, ''Survive what, is there some horrific test at the end of his training?'' Closing his eyes, he tried to get back into the conversation, "Need any help?¡± ¡°Yeah could you get the items, I can''t get involved. This is important for the future, please." "Yes, of course we will, nothing will stop us, will head out now." "Thank you." Then a whisper right into his ear sounded, "Found anything interesting?" Neo jumped, opening his eyes and finding Death with a grin on his face. Neo spoke excuses, "Sorry, just feeling a bit tired!" To Neo¡¯s surprise, Death took him seriously as he came closer and held a hand to his forehead. Where Death had placed his hand Neo felt pins and needles, withdrawing his hand Death spoke, "There doesn''t seem like there''s anything wrong, well, beyond the obvious. Maybe you just need some proper sleep." "Obvious! What do you mean?" "Your still infected with that maddening disease. It''s still there, in your blood. It hasn''t magically gone anywhere. Come on let''s go, quicker the better" Death touched Neo on the shoulder, and they disappeared into a void and spat out again. Blinded by light after the dim bar, before his eyes had adjusted Neo could smell where he was. Opening his eyes Neo found himself in a hospital, with clean white corridors, and the presence of uniformed people in their area, walking back and fore, checking on patients. Neo forgot everything else as his eyes were glued on the flames of the people walking past, watching the interactions of them. As the two of them walked through the wards of the hospital, he saw flames brighten as a nurse or doctor gave them medicine. As well as people who were rushed into a surgery room and put under with anaesthesia, with but a flicker of a flame, but as the doctors worked hard for many hours the patient¡¯s flame brightened with hope as they closed him up, placing IV''s of blood and saline in him which added fuel to the fire. Neo couldn''t look away as the he gained a new view of the hard-working doctors and nurses. Death didn''t seem that impressed as he spoke while they walked away from the surgery room, out through a wall and into another ward, "Neo, look more closely at the nurses and doctors themselves, and their flames when they interact with their patients." Neo followed a nurse that held trolley that held lots of pills, they ended up following him into a new ward where the sound of coughing and puking echoed through the door. After the nurse scrubbed his hands and grabbed a disposable mask, he walked on through to the bedside of each resting patient. There he handed their pills over after ticking their paper and helped them by pouring some water and sitting them up. He rubbed their backs if they coughed or struggled to swallow. Neo''s eyes opened wide as he watched the nurse¡¯s flame flicker, at almost every patient his flame infinitesimally shrunk. Once the nurse had left to continue his rounds, Neo just stood and asked Death, "Do they exchange their flames with their patients, or is it just the effect of the patient¡¯s illness having an effect on their body?" Death¡¯s answer was simple, "Both." Death placed a hand on Neo¡¯s shoulder and pulled Neo down into the morgue of the hospital. He knew that it was the morgue from the now ever-present chill that caused the breath coming from the assistant¡¯s mouth to have trails of condensation as they opened and closed the mortuary. There was also the stainless steel tables and the total lack of monitors and major medical equipment. "This¡­" Death started as Neo got used to his surroundings "¡­ is the centre of where we start working, at least in a hospital anyway. Watch what I do, there¡¯s an easy way of doing things and then hard ways. In this case I''ll demonstrate the easy way for us." Death pulled out a beautiful scythe that held gold and silver inlays. He then pulled his arm back ready to swing. He started his swing as he called, "Reap the dead, let living, live. May all souls come to my comforting embrace, for thy world is cruel. Thee quenches its wants and wills, with thee a will that is strong, righteous, and believing, will gain an ordered escape, letting the chaos of life be." After his swing finished, what felt like a storm whipped up around Death and from the mortuary flowed all sorts of lights that coalesced around Death. He held out his arm, with his scythe in hand, and as the souls touched the weapon, the colourful rays of light illustrated life times worth of experience, friends, and family. The illustrations didn''t stop once they had reached the upper floors of the hospital, but went beyond, flickering past so fast that Neo could see but scraps that showed their beliefs, wishes, and adventures to come. Pure white light that blinded, a dark flame that scorched Neo''s face, a land filled with life and finally an image of monsters, dragons, and advanced worlds. The illustrations faded as the downpour of souls slowed and stopped. Death turned around to Neo, "That''s the easy way. Each Reaper has their own weapons that can be activated using their words, or in your case simply by using it with intent. Now, let¡¯s go find any problematic souls and see what we can do about it." He looked up and seemed to scan through the building, obviously finding something distasteful. Clicking his tongue, he gestured for Neo come close to him. Placing his hand onto Neo¡¯s shoulder before disappearing and reappearing in a long corridor He simply pointed down the corridor at something. Neo was not surprised at all that it was and older gentlemen in overalls with a bucket of chemicals and a cloth. Death hissed with distaste, "One of our sworn enemies are in front of us, if only I could kill them all at once. They destroy my beautiful plagues even before they''re noticed, but fear not Neo, we will overcome them. We shall be the ones to evolve in this war." Neo tried to not laugh but he still had a huge smile on his face as the janitor entered the toilet, obviously to start cleaning. He stood for a few seconds, watching the people coming and going from the toilets. He could tell that when people left they had better looking flames, and there were those that had minor decreases in their flame which also affected those around them as they walked down the corridor. ''Eww,'' Neo thought when he figured out what the difference was. But as the janitor walked down the corridor cleaning things, everyone around him benefited. It was like a wave, cleaning its way around the hospital, quite magical in its own right. Once the janitor had left the area there was a distinct feel that made Neo smile. What made him smile more was the grumbling Death next to him that voiced his displeasure. "Honestly, I wish we were back in the days of doctors and healers being our only enemies, but now they have warriors making that entrance difficult to gain access through. I only pray that those few who can''t be bothered, think that they''re safe and spread, stopping this nonsense." Neo had a huge smile on his face as he spoke, "I doubt that, only way it could stop would be to destroy civilisation." Death turn to glare at Neo, "Don''t tempt me. The others wouldn''t like me getting involved in the system, but I have no problem in ignoring them." Neo smile disappeared, listening to Death, he made a mental note. ''Don''t test Death¡¯s planet wiping moves, or his hatred for cleaners.'' Death regained his cooler demeanour and started walking off, away from the direction of the cleaner. Flowing through several doors, he came to a stop in front of a private room and slid through the wall. The room was pretty simple, with a vase with fresh red roses in it, a picture that was placed on the side table, and an empty chair tucked into a corner. Otherwise there was only a single woman who was lying on a bed with her eyes closed, with wires and tubes exiting out of her and into bulky equipment that made rhythmical sounds. Neo¡¯s eyes bulged as he saw the woman¡¯s soul. It wasn''t a regular flame, it had black spots growing and flaked throughout the tiny flames. It caused Neo to dry heave, as a feeling of disgust rolled through him. "What is wrong with her?" "She should be dead, it''s one of the failures of humanity and one of the things that fascinates me about them. D souls were a rare occurrence once, but now it''s a problem that worsens every day." Death walked up to woman''s bed and dragged a chair over to beside her, "Her life should have ended but these machines keep her body alive, even as her soul rots and corrupts. Yes, there is hope for her to survive." Death stroked her hand in a caring way, "Even if she does come back, she may never be the same again. There may be problems, which can cause pain to her and those around her. When she does die, she will have a hunger to squelch the loss of passing and will attack people, souls, and animals in order to get revenge on the world." Neo was going to hate what might happen but asked anyway, "So what can we do about it?" Death looked at Neo and stopped his stroking, "You can kill her now and easily cleanse the soul, or we can wait and see whether fate is on her side or not. We could also perform a miracle and heal her at the price of another, since the balance must be kept." No, Neo didn''t like that answer at all, "What''s the likelihood that she''ll wake up and be fine?" Death stared at the woman, "It''s been a while, so I would say that she has a two percent chance of awakening moderately well and in good health. The rest of that is in variety of different states of health." Neo walked over to the table, curiosity nagging at him, or perhaps he just wanted a good reason to not have to do something. He was making out the picture as the door opened and a child¡¯s voice spoke, echoing through the room, "Dad, how''s mama doing, I hope she isn''t mad?" A chill went down his spine as Neo heard and then saw a young girl, who was hiding behind the leg of a haggard looking man with red and puffy eyes and who sorely needed a shave. The worn-down man walked over, placing a hand and rubbing the hair of the little girl while she a jumped up onto the seat. He had dragged the other chair beside the bed and held the woman¡¯s hand and started talking "Hey honey, your daughter has a request, she asked me to ask you not to be mad." The young girl had tears falling down her cheeks, "Mum, I know I''m selfish girl who..." sob "asks for stupid things¡­" sob "That I''ve gotten you into trouble¡­" sob, sob "but could you come back for my birthday?" sob, sob. The father continued in his daughter¡¯s stead as she continued crying, "It''s only a few days away, she says you can go back to being mad afterwards, and she said she won''t ever ask for anything ever again." He managed to finish. As the tears streaked down his face he hugged his daughter. No one witnessed the end, as the room was clear of all other beings. Neo couldn''t stand it and ran, Death followed. He was now floating above his home, not really thinking of where he was going and so he ended up back home. Death asked, "So what will you do?" Neo glared at Death, hating him for even asking that question again, but he knew he wasn''t going to do the right thing either way, "I''m going to leave it for her family to decide, it''s not my place. Leave it to fate." Death smiled, "Right then, I think that about as much as we should do tonight." Neo didn''t protest this idea as he just wanted to sleep now, and not be confronted with morally crushing ideals. Death placed a hand on Neo''s chest and Neo felt his soul being pushed and stretched before he snapped back into his body. In his bed, in his room, with the darkness surrounding him, Neo tried his best to sleep but found it disrupted with the cries of the child. Chapter 27 - D-souls, Accused Even when Neo did get to sleep, he was cruelly awakened when Bethany marched in, bumping the door against the wall and flinging open the curtains, "Up you get Neo! Got orders to move you." Neo just stared at her before sarcastically speaking, "Good morning Bethany, had a good night?" Bethany stared right back before shaking herself, "Good morning Neo, I did indeed a have a good night¡¯s sleep, how about yourself?" Neo replied with a bit more sarcasm, "No, not really. I had a really bad nightmare, had difficulty sleeping, and then this short, confident, bouncy, and beautiful woman strode in here and cruelly smashed open my door. Even worse, this lady yanked open my curtains shouted at me to get up because she had orders. Now, I''m sure any considerate being would of kindly knocked on the door and gently woke me up, which would mean I wouldn''t be in a bad mood would it. Now I am glad it wasn''t my ki¡­" Neo stopped his teasing speech as he watched Bethany''s face changed to one of worry, one that he didn''t wanted to see, "What''s up?" Bethany started agitatedly picking at her gear. With a far off look she spoke, "The counsel of Beacon City has called you to court, where they wish to question you." Neo shrugged and sighed, he just had to go with the flow. "Well, that doesn''t sound good, better not let them wait then." It didn''t take them that long to get him out of the dorm. He noticed that the rooms that had been disruptive were calm and still, which made Neo worry enough to ask Bethany about them. He found out that they had been sedated. There were still a lot of people and guards walking about. It was a red dawn, with the temperature heating up as the fireball slowly travelled across the sky, lighting the dorms and giving the morning a warm feeling. He saw the headmaster standing by a carriage, nodding at Neo. He asked a question of the headmaster,"So, how''d we do? They''re a lot of good items in there that we almost died for multiple times. I was wondering if we''d get it back?" The headmaster¡¯s long eyebrows rose,"You did very well, the only things in the ring that had any real world worth were these," He held up Elisa''s notebooks,"which I do intend to give back to her now." "What? Then what about the creatures we killed that were written in them, that are in the white ring, wouldn''t they be worth more than notes on them?" Neo was a little confused, as to what he had been doing these last few days, he touched his stomach where he had almost died. The headmaster, "Those bodies have no worth outside of the bubble. A little bit of explanation, it''s called the Secret Gardens, I think you humans may have legend on it or something, but you cannot take anything out of it and anything you do try and take will cause the bubble to reach through reality and extinguish its life. So, the only real world worth is information of the other terrains, plants, and creatures that may travel them." "So, it is real?" Neo questioned as the thought that it was an illusion popped into his head. The headmaster shook his head, "We¡¯re not sure on that one. It disappears, taking everything that''s in it, even people which are never seen again, but what is reality?" Neo was annoyed that everything they had achieved was for nothing but a test, which could of most likely gotten them killed, and almost did. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hand, but held in his disgust that they would be dispassionate enough to send them in to it. With that ,the headmaster, probably sensing the tension now in the air, excused himself before getting into a carriage in front of the one Neo was escorted to.But Neo didn''t care, "Bethany, why the hell would someone send their children here to be taught if they''re likely to be killed out of nowhere?" Bethany shrugged, "I wasn''t given a choice, there was no one who''d teach me so it was the only way for me to learn, and I think I did well so it worked out. See you on the other side." Bethany closed the carriage doors and he found himself alone with his own mind. He really didn''t want to be thinking at the moment so he tried avoiding his own thoughts and misjudgements. So, he busied himself with counting the grains of the wood and how many bumps the carriage went over. After a while, Neo realised that they had stopped moving. The double doors of the carriage opened, blinding him for a few seconds before blinking away the spots to be met by a cobbled street that lead to a huge palace. The palace was coloured like the rainbow with the addition of black. It was the weirdest building he''d seen since arriving in this new reality of his. With a quick glance, it looked like the castles he¡¯d seen almost 2 months ago had all been shoved into one building. It didn''t work at all, the dark spires of the undead mixed with the symbolic practicality of the dwarfs, and with that there were a lot of guards from every race, each with their own unique armour and weapon design. There was an atmosphere of tension. Getting out of his stupor that Bethany broke he asked her, "Is it usually like this?" Bethany shook her head, "I''ve been here a few times but never during a council meeting or any events. So it could be this tension is normal when there is, or something bad is happening and they''re keeping it quiet. That wouldn''t surprise me. Either way, we got orders. They''ve made a room that''s been separated for you." They walked past the great double doors, around a corner and through a side door that lead into cramped corridors. Moving through the corridor they came to a small room that had a window, bed, and even a toilet and therewas a tray of food, so it was better than he''d expected. But he did find it strange, as they were walking through the corridor they didn''t meet a single soul other than himself, Bethany, and two other guards that set themselves outside his door. Bethany left him to it, telling him that she''d be back when the council calls for him. She also told him to eat and use the facilities to make himself look presentable. It was a long time before Bethany came back and he''d managed to eat, nap, and clean himself up while trying not to think too much. Bethany and his personal guards walked through cramped corridors until they meta bigger corridor, which was much gaudier and richly dressed with silk curtains and a blood red carpet layered onto the marble floor. There were also lovely golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that were painted in magnificently made art depicting fanciful wars, battles, victories, and defeats. Neo was so engrossed in the art that he had a bit of vertigo when the ceiling suddenly increased into a huge hall that rose high into the air. He closed his eyes and brought his hand to his head and waited for his mind to stop spinning. Looking around he found that the hall was busy with people. His group turned away from the main exit that was the huge double doors to another slightly smaller pair. It didn''t take long for them to get to the doors, which had a much smaller door open for them from within the bigger door. Stepping through the seamless door he was met with a circular room that stood as tall as the hall before it, with thirteen grand statues facing a curled dragon with heads bowed. Underneath the statues were the same species that were depicted within them. In the middle of the room was a chair that sat a haggard and bruised Jane, Neo eyebrows went up as this, ''Jeez do they have any ethics? Have they beaten her? Why would they?'' Some old crock called aloud and it echoed throughout the room, "Here, here, Neo Marwolaeth, here to take questions and queries, against the accused Jane Rhianwen." Neo nearly took a step back shocked and wondered, ''What is she accused of?'' He was, in short order, questioned by the strangers in their high seats. Neo stopped them with his hand,raising it andcoughing then he spoke, "What is she accused of, and what''s happened for her to get in to that condition?" They collectively took a step back as Neo voiced his question. The Dwarf councilman seemed to have knowledge of Neo, and he recovered and answered in a deep voice, "When Jane and their small escort returned their numbers had dwindled by two thirds. After asking where the others were Jane told us that theirgroup had split up to get their samples back earlier. But when they didn''t return for a few days we sent out a squad of soldiers, only a few came back and they weren''t alone, they were being chased. If we didn''t have extra guards around that Atlantean bubble, they might have made it through to cause chaos in Beacon City. They had red eyes, bleeding nails, and were madly attacking everyone around them, chasing them endlessly. We lost some good men. As for Jane¡¯s bruise, it happened in one of the cells. Someone took a disliking to her."Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Neo thought through the information that he had just been given, ''Oh damn, that''s not good. ''He also wondered if it really was just another inmate, not that he was going to push his luck. But something popped into his head. "Where is Conway?" Neo said aloud, Jane,who''d been quiet, whispered, "He was left behind to bring back the equipment. I haven''t seen him since." Neo then looked at the dwarf and asked, "Did you find Conway''s body, was he part of the attacking group?" The Dwarf motion someone behind him who came forward handing over a file that he flipped through them and simply said, "No." Neo was relieved a little but that turned to concern as they''re was a possibility that Conway was alive, if not one of these mad ones. The Dwarf continued, "So, now that you''ve got your answers can you maybe answer our own, tell us every interaction with Jane you''ve had." So he did, from the first time he''d met her to the jabs before she left. It seemed as his words stirred the pot, as the council members started shouting guilty as he finished. The self-appointed speaker, the dwarf, answered Neo¡¯s confused face, "We got a report, before she left to the Atlantean bubble, that you had cleared all her tests. But, as we had another team analyze the sample, she should have easily recognised that you were infected. Definitely, as we had the last blood drawn from you showing the disease, but it''s not able to say that Neo does seem to be immune to it. So," he finished and looked towards Jane, "Jane what do you have to say for yourself?" She stood up, "I have no knowledge on what was found on second samples as I was away from my research station, and trusted my other teammates. If they didn''t do the right thing then how can I be responsible? I swear to the Red Dragon that I didn''t see any disease in his body from his first round of testing that I observed!" The room went dead silent. So silent that the only sound was coming from the grating of rock on rock that came from above them. Neo took a step back as he looked up to find that the stone dragon that had been resting under the image of the tree had started moving, pulling itself from the ceiling. All the while it changed colour and plunged to the floor in front of Jane, staring her in the eyes. It roared at her, scaring her witless, before it started to climb the stone wall and got back in its place. Neo thought, ''Crap, didn''t see that one coming, but at least it was quick if very dramatic.'' After that quick thought, Neo decided that it was cool, but that wasn¡¯t what everyone else in the room thought. Not that Neo would know, but they were suddenly realising after that daring statement that they didn''t have anyone that could be held responsible. There was an underlying murmur of worry and conversation as they discussed their lack of leads, which soon flowed to ideas about who could be behind it, or if it really was just a uncontrolled disease, which frightened them even more. Neo could remedy their misunderstandingbut there wasn''t any need as Jane beat him to the punch, speaking loudly, "Tell me, Neo did your blood ever touch another person within the time you were in the academy?" Neo shook his head as he remembered, noticing everyone''s eyes on him, he gave a little cough, "N¡­" He remembered Sordelia and Elisa being covered in his blood and he continued, "No, not in the academy. But when the academy test came around, Sordelia and Elisa got a lot of my blood on them. But they seemed fine, even a few days later, but they eventually turned." Jane nodded, "From what little I''ve studied, and from Neo here, it''s seems to be a blood born disease, considering that Neo hasn''t infected anyone else since his been in the school. So, it can''t have been that this is a natural disease, someone is pushing it a lot since something like this wouldn''t spread nearly as quickly." This stirred up the room, as they now knew that they had a target, but who? Neo had an idea, but he didn''t like it. As the discussion went down the already small list of the people with the capability and opportunity, it wasn''t long before they came to the same conclusion as Neo, Conway. He was honestly one of the very few people who had both the skills and opportunity, and he couldn''t be found. The council now had a target to chase, and like bloodhounds, once they smelt the blood in the water they went at with zeal. With the sudden increase in couriers walking in and out, he took a seat in the back and waited for something to happen. Neo was sadly rewarded for his patience as a courier came screaming in to the room. "Good sirs! Attacks in the street! Red eyed, bleeding beings attacking everyone they see!" The room was in an uproar but another person came in a while later and, not to be out done, the soldier came running up calling aloud, "The academy''s Scar has been flooded with the red eyed disease, they madly attack everyone who approaches!" Questions were thrown around and it was decided that a rapid response company would detain and secure the scar, and then they would send a battalion to the academy to see what was up and find the one responsible. Jane then stood up catch everyone''s attention, "Councilmen, if it is Conway, I don''t know why he would be heading to the academy, unless he has a plan. But we have the cure right here,¡± she said, gesturing with a hand towards Neo, ¡°he isn''t crazy or mad. He is a carrier but isn''t affected. We can make a cure from him and start distributing it. I''ll need my lab, however, with custom made equipment we can get one pretty quickly." The council dithered, questioning whether they should send a possible cure along with the battalion into possible danger if they could just wait a while to secure the area. Jane pointed out that Conway maybe there to destroy the equipment, and that they''d need to get there as fast as possible. She also pointed out that they could take blood from him and store it in the other labs in the city, if they weren''t destroyed, and slowly create a cure. Of course, she emphasized that they could get started straight away at the academy. Neo added that he would like to go back, as his friends were there. With that all said and done, Neo was horrifically stabbed in the arm again. With a few couriers holding a vial of the blood each, they each got two guards assigned to get them to their designated labs. With that done, a paler Neo joined up with Bethany and Gie, where they headed outside. The first thing they saw were dozens and dozens of black smoke flumes from every corner of the city, it was even clogging up the sky outside the palace. In front of them were six companies that Neo could see, all looking ready and awake while being a very diverse group of beings. From dwarfs to giants, he could see almost every type of being was represented. Neo asked his quiet companions, "So, will two be coming along?" Gie¡¯s eyebrows rose and Bethany crossed her arms as if he''d said something stupid, but thankfully, Gie beat Bethany to the punch, "Of course we are, we''re still assigned to you. Even if we weren''t, we would still come protect our friend." That made Neo smile, "Thanks!" It wasn''t long until the men got into carriages andNeo joined them.At least he wasn''t alone, even if Gie had to run alongside them, his loping strides causing the ground to shaking. The carriages actually had a back window, which he could actually see out of. Looking out of it, Neo could see the chaotic streets they travelled past. With dusk putting a red tint to everything, he saw some people in normal clothes tackling and trying to scratch others around them, while guards and soldiers tried to knock them down and restrain them. But there were beings that couldn''t be easily restrained, even more so when they stood head and shoulders above the houses, only others of the same species could handle them. Neo watched a small group of giants try to subdue a rogue giant that was crashing through buildings. Within the huge trees, Neo could see flashes of light and flames erupting, even the water way was roiling and spitting. Neo spoke aloud, "How the hell did this spread so far?" Bethany tilted her head shrugging, "Don''t know. If I was to guess, something was contaminated with this disease, like food, drink, or both. It can''t be direct contact since that would need either a lot of people or time. As far as I know, Conway would have neither of those." Neo didn''t know whether Conway could do this, but her idea made sense. Contamination of food wasn''t out of the ordinary. If a chef cut himself and bled into or onto foods, they''d have to get rid of everything that might have been contaminated, setting them back hours of work. As they left the city proper, Neo could only watch the city slowly burn and listen to the cries of people as buildings were destroyed, people killed, and the world obscured by ash and smoke. Reaching the academy¡¯s scar, he saw where the barracks had been was burnt almost to the ground and the watch towers had collapsed. There were a good number of tents being put up as he watched, with a large one taking place as a command centre, with people continuously arriving and leaving. The battalion commander ignored their little group, as he was just tagging along and Neo didn''t mind staying out of it. Talking about staying out of it, Neo returned from using the toilet, passing by a carriage and found Death just sitting on it. Taking a second look he was sure it was Death. "What are you doing here?" Death, who was playing on a phone, nonchalantly replied, "Oh nothing, just chilling, enjoying the atmosphere. It¡¯s very calming to my senses." Neo just nodded, having no clue on how to reply. "How¡¯s the social media account? Learning a lot, I hope." Death huffed, "I''m so confused, so much information, I can''t keep up. I don''t know how you do it. I put it down for it''s a lot of work and I haven''t got that kind of time. You''d better not talk too much or get too distracted." Death finished, gesturing past the carriage, where Neo saw that the battalion had lined up outside the scar. The commander walked up to the scar and placed a hand on it, opening it up. The commander waited while his soldiers charged through, Neo had to run to get there before it closed. Death called out, making Neo stop and turn, reflexively catching a silver and gold object thrown at him. Taking a moment to check, he found that Death had thrown his flute at him. He turned to thank him but Neo found that he was already gone. Neo spoke aloud anyway, just in case he was just standing around the corner, before he ran after Bethany and Gie. "Thank you!" The long walk through the bubble way was over far too quickly. As they exited out, they found a shocked and slightly nervous guardsmen who was just doing their job and suddenly had a battalion of soldiers march past them. Bethany went off to find out what was happening. She came back to inform the two of them that Conway indeed travelled through, giving them a keg of beer on his way. The men hadn¡¯t gotten around to drinking it yet, so Jane had examined it and found that it was definitely tainted with something. Neo¡¯s stomach fell as he listened to Bethany confirm that Conway was the one doing all this and that wasn''t all. Conway wasn''t alone. There was a large group of cloaked figures with him, and they had decided to go the tunnel route, but, as they were with Conway, the guards didn''t have any problem with it, largely thanks to the keg. Chapter 28 - Backstabbing at the Academy The Commander, discovering that Conway was indeed the culprit, sent a messenger back to the council and started making plans to travel through the academy in order to find and subdue Conway along with any possible students that were disease ridden. Neo and his little group were kept on the side. They just watched as the soldiers split up into two different groups, one being sent down the underground route while the others would go through the jellyfish transport. Neo felt that if it was him, he would use the time he had to setup traps, road blocks, and even ambushes down the tunnel. So, he joined the group going down with the jellyfish. There was however a problem, they tried ringing the bell in order to get its attention, but nothing rose, the lake was still. The soldiers started whispering, but their captains got them to shut it as the commander started thinking. When the bell suddenly rose out of the water and glowed, Bethany shot towards the commander informing him that it was that gravity thing that pulled Neo through the water the last time he was here. Bethany came back skipping, with a huge grin on her face, "We''re doing a full dive, get ready." With that said, the soldiers started running and jumping into the lake, disappearing with a trail of bubbles behind them. With all of the soldiers disappearing it was soon Neo''s group¡¯s turn to dive. Griping onto his flute he ran and jumped as far as he could. He gasped as he entered the cold water and didn¡¯t have enough time to get his breath back before he was violently yanked down. Neo had to hold onto the remains of his breath, as it took twice as long to get to the bottom than last time. Thankfully, his endurance had gotten better since the first time. By the time he saw the light, his face was blue and the gasping breaths caused him to cough. His cold limbs weren''t warming up and, looking around, he found that the sun hadn''t moved or changed colour, producing a red hew that reflected around the dome. Neo was still falling towards the arenas, where he could easily see flashes of magic flying around teachers and students fighting with each other. With the soldiers joining the survivors, they started advancing on the people attacking. With their military training the students and teachers were quickly subdued. As Neo got closer to the ground, he saw a friendly face. Elfin was sitting next to the glowing rune which Neo landed on. He ran off of the rune, as Bethany landed behind him, then the commander landed beside him and was quickly surrounded by people informing him of the goings on. It was then that Neo realised that his friend was missing, looking up Neo saw the blue flaming meteor plummeting. Neo took a few extra steps back, as Gie wasn''t slowing down, and the ground rumbled with his epic landing. Neo then waited for the almost traditional act to start, but nothing happened. Neo looked past the gaping scar in the middle of the arena to see Gie walking out of it, he paused and bowed towards Elfin, apologising. Elfin didn''t react at all he didn''t move or seemed to register anyone around him. Neo got a bad feeling in his stomach and ran over. A metre away, Neo saw something sticking out behind his shoulder. "Healer!" Neo cried out. He heard fellow calls spreading out behind him. Neo drew closer to find that Elfin had a dagger coming out of his back. Neo¡¯s instinct told him to pull it out, as it was unnatural, but he knew logically that he shouldn''t. Elfin¡¯s clothing was bloody and sweaty. Neo checked Elfin¡¯s pulse and found it weak, but it still had a noticeable beat. He gentle shook Elfin andgot a moan in reply. "Hey, Elfin you awake?" Elfin thankfully cracked a response, "Tell that damn rock that I''m going to snap that pretty new face off! Cough,cough¡­" Neo smiled, "You seem fine, what happened to you?" He coughed into his hand before pulling it back with blood evident on it. "I know as much as you do," he said. He thumbed behind him, "I think I got stabbed in the back. I couldn''t react to it as I would have dropped you all, which wasn''t an option, so I suffered. Thankfully, they didn''t get another strike as my protectors chased the culprit off, not that I''ve seen them return. I don''t think they will." It was then that the combat healers marched over. Lying him down, they started healing him while pulling the knife out. The commander eventually appeared and asked Neo what had happened. Neo informed the commander of possible assassins and explained what Elfin had said. The commander nodded and had guards put with each of the critical personal. There wasn''t much else he could do, but Neo got some information in return. The commander told him that they had managed to gain control of the area and had shackled and detained a lot of mad students. He had also sent scouts into the academy, finding the underground entrance with a large amount of traps, slowing down his reinforcements. But the scouts he had sent into the academy proper, hadn''t returned. He guessed that it was where he would find the most resistance and was preparing to attack. He wanted Neo to go with an elite platoon to travel around the academy, sneakily around the edge, and find Conway. But first they had to get the reinforcements. It wasn''t long before there was a line of chained, raving mad students. Some had died and all were injured in some way. The soldiers only had some bruises and minor wounds, so they lined up in order and headed out to help clear the underground tunnels. It took all day to do so. Nothing else major happened to their group and the sun stayed in its unmoving, unchanging state. They eventually met their reinforcements, after nearly an hour of work, and transferred the maddened students and teachers that they had collected on their arrival, and on their march to the tunnel, to the surface. Once everything had settled, the commander ordered the operation to go ahead. Neo, along with Bethany and Gie, were surround by a rather dishevelled group, but the commander guaranteed their combat abilities. Along with the soldiers, Jane also turned up, joining them in some light armour that didn''t seem to restrict her movement to much. There was a bit of time before they got to the academy. They passed through the arena, but the grounds were silent and it was eerily so, it made the commander cautious. The grounds stretching out until the main hall was missing the activity that had made it so alive the last time Neo walked through it. An advance force of heavily shielded soldiers walked forwards. Suddenly, the path in front of them was alight with magic and the area was flooded with thousands of maddened students and teachers as the illusion fell. Luckily, the maddened seemed just as oblivious to what had just happened as the soldiers. The temporary stillness was obliterated when they noticed the group of soldiers in their midst and began attacking them. The commander¡¯s innate character had him leading the charge into the mass of madness to get his men out, though not without ordering Neo''s group to spilt off around the crowd first. Neo¡¯s group charged past the main building and into the dorm, where they found the odd, wayward student or teacher. Neo didn¡¯t have to do anything as the elite platoon took care of them in myriad different ways. Well placed hits on the head, sleep powder, powerful electric shocks, and so on, all of it undetected and silently. Neo only job was to keep his head down, but when he passed his dorm, he tried to see through the curtains but there was a silver sheen blocking his view.The silver objectthen smashed through the glass, making Neo turn away to shield himself, and he felt it as Seren almost slapped him in the face and slipped around him, grafting on to his body. Silence reined as the glass finished its little braking. Neo heard the sounds of pounding feet. A group of students ran around the corner and charged on seeing them. Neo, through gritted teeth, spoke, annoyed at Seren, "What do you think you''re doing, you could get us killed." As he dodged back from a bloodied claw, Neo found his fist land underneath the jaw of the student in front of him. As soon as he had dealt with his opponent, he found that the rest of their force had suppressed the students and dragged him along as they left the area. Finally reaching open ground, Neo could see Jane''s tower, but before that they had some hooded humanoid beings blocking their way.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Neo couldn''t take his eyes off them, but Neo also got an itch that made him look at the wooded area. He smiled when he heard a soothing voice behind him. "Say Neo, didn''t I say that you could only deal with them if they got in your way. Even if you can merely swipe your hands over them and they will disappear, there are skilled ones among them that you can''t kill. But they are overall more skilled than your group, and your little group knows it. I can help for the price of all of your current soul count, the help will last for a limit amount of time!" Death, having said that, made Neo smile gleefully, but he took in the looks of his group and found them sweaty and pale. Bethany even had a wary stance, Gie also looked a bit concerned and was still as a rock, it was quite disturbing."Guys, what''s up, why are you all so worried?" Bethany looked at Neo like he was an idiot. "Can''t you feel that creeping chill? The presence that pierces the body and soul, it makes me feel sick." The rest of the platoon nodded in conformation, but Neo nonchalantly voiced his feelings, "No, I don''t feel a thing, but they look pretty weak and skinny. I''ll handle them, you guys go on ahead. I''ll catch up!" The captain of the platoon was shocked at his words. "Are you crazy? They''re not weak, they''re anything but weak!" Bethany spoke up, "I agree, they''re dangerous, no one person here can win against all of them. Even Gie wouldn''t win here." Gie nodded but didn''t speak, instead he just stared at Neo for a few moments, obviously seeing something that he liked. "Come on guy''s, let''s believe him and leave these beings to him. Move on to capture our target!" Death spoke into his ears, "Could you ask for some blades." Neo did and had a dozen given to him. He stepped forward to the front of the group and walked around with the platoon. The platoon went around, away from the woods. They had gotten to the other side, but the group of beings seemed to have supreme confidence, since they didn''t move to block them. As they came to the other side, Bethany and Gie wished him luck and ran off towards Jane''s tower. Facing his opponents, who hadn''t moved, the one in the woods had moved with his group and was going on past him. "Hey, you in the woods, come out here. I wouldn''t want to have to go get you, it''ll be a little annoying." This seemed to get the notice of the beings in the field and they shifted as they seemed to change their mind on their opponent in front of them. A laugh echoed out of the woods then, and the being spoke in a voice that was like a fingernail across a black board, "Haha, wow, I never thought that objective three was such a spicy and confident meat bag." Then one of the beings in the middle of the first group spoke, "So,all objectives are completed then, and this human is the one?" The man who walked out of the woods wasn''t really a man, as pieces of flesh weren¡¯t attached to his face. Instead, it was made out of shadows and Neo could see some of the white of its bones. Neo thought, ''Hmm, their so they''re undead. Hey, Death, sure I''ll give up those souls to show me what the future might hold!" The beings, who were still coming towards him, then disappeared. Neo''s eyes didn''t even see a blur, as he just disappeared with a red fireball lighting up the area. There was laughter that echoed in his ear before someone said, "Cloak of Death, Eye of Destiny, and Greater Divine unlocked." The shade jumped behind Neo as a shadow, and before the shade could rip his throat out a blob formed around his neck and flowed down his body. It was made of darkness, with writhing forms reaching out, some with smiles, some with faces of fear and contempt. As the shade touched the cloak Neo could smell burning, and the shade jumped back holding its smouldering arm. With a grimace on his face he hissed a question. "What is that?" Neo turned around to look at the shade that had reappeared behind him. Neo saw a face full of fear as he stared at the shade whose hand was smoking. Then Neo took out his flute, it glowed brightly and it started to move and pulse. It grewand reformed into a scythe that had holes running through it, the blade was double edged, with silver and gold threads running through it. Neo felt an electric shock in his hand and saw Seren, who had sparks flying off of it. That stopped with a slight pop and then Seren''s silver hand holding his flute had gold threads flow throughout it. Neo¡¯s top half of his body was covered in Seren and the golden threads that now ran through it, Neo thought, ¡¯This is get a bit blingy.¡¯ Neo examined the scythe, when he moved it, it whistled.He smiledat the shade who was wincing at the sound. Neo brought it down on the shade. The shade stepped forward and held up and arm to block it, but the pole went straight through his arm like a hot knife through butter and continued through his body, turning him into ash. Turning around, Neo faced the eleven other beings who were no longer standing so relaxed. Before Neo could think of anything, they all moved. A weird effect happened to his sight and he could see where they would go and what they were going to do. Neo foresaw three of them sending magic in his direction, so Neo used his telekinesis, throwing three daggers. In a blink of an eye they were lodged in the skulls of his enemies, and they fell to the ground. As he destroyed their plans, they changed them. Two more people tried touse magic to fight their way in and two more thrown daggers ended them. This time they seemed to reconsider and just decided to charged him. Neo, seeing who was coming first, intercepted their blade and used a knife to distract his opponent befores wiping his scythe through them. Intercepting another, again Neo uses his daggers, but the enemy jumped back and to the side, out of the way. Meanwhile, another attacked. Neo couldn''t block and control the dagger, so it dropped to the ground, useless, while Neo reached through to the hand of the attacker and merely stroked them, turning the surrounding area to ash. With the blade falling out of the attacker¡¯s hand Neo could plunge his whistling scythe down on the head of his screaming opponent. ''Four more to go,'' Neo thought The four of them had taken a step back. With hesitation seen in their bodies, Neo decided to take the initiative, but before he started his counter assault Neo felt a change. Now that there were only four, Neo was able to realize that only two were attracting him. The other two were standing beside each other in theirblack cloaks. Neo guessed that these were just a different species and not undead. He was definitely curious to know what they were. Setting his sights on the other two undead, he charged forward, throwing the remaining blade at his opponent to buy his way in. He slaughtered the last two targets, their flesh unable to stop his blade as it sailed through. The two other non-undead managed to recover from the daggers and had charged. Neo changed his grip to the bladed end and used the pole to try to knock them back, but it was a great way of getting him into trouble. One of the beings surprised him by grabbing the pole and pulling him forward. Neo didn¡¯t resist and went with it. The two beings pointed their blades at him. Neo didn''t want to test Seren''s ability to save him, so he simply used his hands to slide one of the blades out of way. Neo slid past, having dropped his scythe he went ham to fist with the being¡¯s head, pummelling it to the floor. Neo got a bit carried away and he got distracted, a manic grin spread across his face. The other being had jumped onto him, stabbing him in the back, but Neo merely heard screams as its hand burned. With its blade gone, Neo, now paying attention,pushedits head back. Placing another hand on the small of its back, Neo pulled in the opposite direction. Once it was falling, Neo put all his force into its head, slamming it to into the ground, and, with a slight whimper, the fight left it. Picking up his scythe and dragging it behind him, Neo walked over to the five remaining beings and sliced them each in half, turning them into ash. Neo took the time to check what they were, when he unravelled their bindings and cloaks, he found bones and shadowy chains wrapping around them, which had been cut cleanly. As he went through the corpses, he noticed that the chains weren''t at a set size, as one corpse had a dozen thick chains and another had hundreds of thin chains. Having made sure that the dead didn''t rise yet again, He went to see if the other two were alive and willing to talk. Even so, he checked them over, finding some hidden blades, but also found out that they were definitely female, dressed in leather. He took the masks off, finding two pretty but young faces. It took a while until they managed to awaken, finding themselves bound. They struggled against the handcuffs he''d found in some of the piles of ash and clothing. "Now then ladies, if that''s what you are, what''s your goals here?" The tall and slightly more mature looking woman spokein a soft but strong voice, "We''ll, never¡­" She never got to finish her sentence as her face smashed into the ground.He''d also had swords behind their heads, which he was floating there in order to slap or kill them if the chain didn''t hold. Death spoke annoyingly into his ear, it was constantly weird to turn around only to realise he wasn¡¯tthere. "Hey, so here''s something that might help you, Overture of Death!" Neo didn''t get any insight to this move but, thankfully, Death guided him by saying, "Just ask them a question and stare at them intently." Neo took a breath and stared at the two of them as if seeing past them and into their souls."Tell me everything!" Chapter 29 - My Obsession The two girls stare back at him as if he was an idiot, but when they locked eyes their wills were crushed. Their eyes lost focus and they lost control of their bladders due to whatever they saw. They stopped reacting to Neo¡¯s gestures and just sat there staring into space, horrified. Within ten minutes they both started crying. Their eyes snapped back to Neo with a mixture of fear, awe, and with tears flooding down their faces. They then placed their heads on the ground, bowing. "Please, let us help you, we will do anything you say, just please don''t do that again." Neo was shocked at the sudden change in attitude and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Death, what did you do?" "I did nothing, but it seems like you broke them. They are yours to do with as you will, just be careful, they have their needs and they could be good servants. Maybe you could ask them to serve you?" Neo turned around, "What!? I can''t do that. Their part of the group that attacked the school,poisoning people and causing chaos. I can''t take them in, I''ll be an accomplice. And how can I trust them not to stab me while I sleep?" Neo was sure he heard the smile in Death¡¯s voice. "Why don''t you ask them that, pretty sure they have an answer. If you''re willing to pay the price for two very strong beings that, with your help, can become masters of the shadows and blood." Neo stared at the two of them, thinking. Did he want to go forward with this? There was a cost, what it could be and how would everyone else think, was he willing to have shadows¡­ "Pray tell, you two, how can I trust your word?" The two of them looked worriedly at each other, but Neo¡¯s stare disturbed them. Having changed their thoughts, they both again stared at each other, having a conversation without words. But even Neo understood the basics of the conversation. The younger one was the one who disagreed, while the slightly older one wanted to live and not go through hell again. "No, we can''t, we don''t have a choice. Do you want to go through that again?¡± ¡°No, but¡­ but!" The young one started crying, obviously terrified. Neo was still wary, he wasn''t going to be sympathetic since they could just be just tricking him, but he felt a little bad. The younger one eventually nodded her confirmation and the older one stared at Neo''s feet and spoke. "We''re vampires. There is a common practice that has us bind and make beings our eternal slaves, allowing us to feed off them without worry of retribution or backstabbing, and they also can''t lie since they are made loyal. Especially if they''re willing partners. This practice can be turned on us and used to bind us. To other vampires it''s considered a defilement, and they''ll hunt us down until they manage to wipe their families disgrace off themselves, making the house pure again." Neo listened, wondering again if he should do this, since it sounded like it''d cause trouble. "Tell me, was I one of your targets?" A simple "Yes" answered him, but then she followed up with, "And they won''t stop until they have your head for their stupid embarrassment in the council!" ''So, they''re already after me, so what does it matter if I get help from those who come after me'' Neo thought, but had a question. "How do I know that you''re telling the truth?" The girl replied, "Roll up my sleeve, you''ll see a mark that''s attached to my own slave, with each newly marked slave you get a new marking added." "So, how would I go about this ritual then?" After a short conversation Neo asked Death whether it was right or not. Neo got get a mere yeah in return which annoyed Neo. But even to Neo it sounded correct-ish. So, after a little bit of dithering he decided to go ahead with it. Neo pierced his finger, causing it to bleed and started to draw on the chests and foreheads of the two young looking vampires. They''d told him to make a symbol that would mean something to him, so he drew a flute with a skull playing it and with souls and more skulls flying around it. The symbol, to him, was his future and past, his joy and his fear. He had to prick himself multiple times to finish it. Once that was done, he slashed above the image on their chests and foreheads and then did the same to his two fingers and placed them into their mouths. The two them gently drank his blood. It was a bit unnerving when two large fangs popped out, but he still had to place his fingers into their mouths. He had been warned, but damn if it didn¡¯t half creep him out. Meanwhile the blood running down their chests started covering his symbol. As soon as it was covered the blood started withdrawing into the wound and closed up, with his blood disappearing along with it. Soon, his mind ached as his surrounding changed to one of whiteness and cleanliness, before he was jerked back into the ash covered fields with the two women convulsing on the ground. Neo watched as a tattoo of a musical note appeared on their foreheads and chests before it branched out with skulls and souls, changing colours while following the body''s curves until he couldn''t see any naked skin. Neo¡¯s left arm started burning. Checking it, he let out a hiss as two symbols appeared, one of a castle of roses, the other a blade and poison before they faded out until his arm was clear. After a while the two vampires stopped convulsing and weakly sat up. They started crying as they examined their tattoos but Neo had wasted a lot of time and couldn''t console them. When he spoke aloud they both sat up and listened, he had their full attention and it seemed to freak them both out. But he felt refreshed and alive, so he drew them back with conversation, ready to get on with the day. "What were your plans here?" Neo was running after his platoon, not noticing that the abilities of death had faded away. The sister vampires had told him a lot, mainly their three objectives. First was to protect and collect Conway. Second was to collect and protect Jane. And finally, their third goal was tofind and kill him, for causing the embarrassment of the Undead Clans. Neo had asked why they wanted to collect Jane and was horrified to find that Jane had communicated with the undead clans through Conway with the proposition of having an effective weapon to use against humanoid beings that wouldn''t naturally affect the majority of their people. It seemed that both Conway and Jane were in it together, they also told him that there was an arch lich who was resting inside the tower in order to see the objective through. This made Neo panic. He quickly told the two vampires to disappeared before they were caught. He''d tell everyone that they just retreated after he devastated their warriors and that he couldn''t chase after them. With that said he reached the tower and burst through the doors. And right into a room full of gagged and chained students, teachers, and some of the guardsmen. It seemed that the team didn''t have any problems here, hopefully the upstairs were just as clean. There was only one problem, Neo didn''t know where the stairs were. After running around the room, avoiding the maddened ones, he managed to find it tucked in the back out of view. He stepped carefully up them, as there could be anything just around the bend. The tower shook violently, things calmed quickly but it had rattled the maddened below.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. His slow crawl up the stairs came to an end when he saw the floor that he''d travelled to once before. He entered into the elevator room, skirting around the hole in the ground, to push against the door to Jane''s room. Peeking through the small gap that he made into the room, he saw that it was considerably brighter and redder than the last time he was inside, but what had him worried was the fact that he only saw three people standing in the middle of the room. A pair of black eyes made him jump back as the door was crashed through, the splinters hitting Neo. Behind the wrecked door was a floating man with black eyes and who had his whole body covered in chains, from head to toe. The only part that wasn''t covered were his eyes. They were void of anything, only blackness. Neo thought he saw a dim star moving around there. A voice echoed out of the floating man, "How did you defeat my team?" Neo spoke out confidently, "They have a little weakness that I exploited, and I''m handy in a fight!" The lich, as Neo had guessed that it was, laughed. All his chains shook and it echoed out of his entire body. "Haha¡­ So, who''s helping you?" Neo gave it away with a laugh, as he thought, ''Well, he hit the nail dead on, it doesn''t matter.'' But the lich continued his questioning. "So, who is your supporter human?" Neo smiled, as he walked forward confidently, "I guess, you could say that Death is my master. How about yourself do you have anyone to cover your back?" Neo still had his grin on his face as he uncovered his gold threaded flute, the lich was crapping himself as he realised what had happened to his team, and what was about to happen to him. The lich waved his hand wildly and chains sprouted out of his back and into the room. From behind the lich Neo could hear the creaking and crashing of movement as the lich retreated back into the room to hide behind a small horde of hollowed eyes. Neo¡¯s comrades, that had travelled with him, had parts of their bodies that were missing. Neo pushed down his stomach, he also had to tighten his mind as he worried about Bethany and Gie, keeping an eye out for them within the throng of bodies. Neo walked forward, keeping the grin on his face as he swiped his flute through the throng. They fell like crops at a harvest, as soon as he touched his dead comrades his flute would glow, giving off a little mist. With that their bodies would collapse and Neo stepped past and continued through the throng, getting angry as he had to put down good people again. Once he''d cleared his way through with ease, he got to the door. Stepping through, pissed, he saw the lich busying away in the corner, getting shouted at by Jane who had a grimace on her face mixed with a bit of worry as he looked over at her. She looked at Neo with confusion, then looked back at the panicking lich. Conway had been a white sheet as he stared at the door, expecting some sort of demon to walk through, but when Neo walked through the door his face changed to one he''d never seen before, disgust. With his face twisted he spoke, "What, you''re scared of Neo? The human/dragon hybrid white mana user?" Death laughed into Neo ears, "Haha, look at how they run, trying to live a little longer. Always scared to look behind them as they only see me, ever-creeping towards them. Haha, I love that feeling¡­ sigh." The lich gave a frightened look at Neo, who just gave him a dirty look. The lich jittered before going back to messing with whatever he was doing. Neo was enjoying that look of fright, but under that joy was anger, as he imagined what he''d done to the people around him. It was then that Neo got surprised, as the world literally turned white before being pulled back and along with it the bodies that were behind him. Flying past into the room, they started squashing together around a white light. The bloody body mass suddenly formed up around it, forming a gate with the sound of breaking bones. The white light spread to occupy the space that the bloody bony mash made and Neo realised that his prey was going to get away, so he charged ahead. Conway came forward, but Neo didn''t care. He carelessly grabbed bottles and glasses and telekinetically threw them at Jane and Conway. They were both sluggish and inaccurate as the two of them didn''t manage to form any kind of proper shielding. The glass shattered, sending shards everywhere with some of it making its way through the gaps in their shields, causing them to shy away. Within those moments, Neo had shot past them, aiming for the lich as he walked through the portal. As the last of the folds of its chains disappeared. Neo stuck his arm into the white pool to see if he could grab his enemy and his world flashed in pain, the world changing around him. The portal was there in a reception area with seats, chairs, and plants. It was silent with nobody moving about within it. Neo pulled out his arm out of the portal, a painful experience. It felt like his body was going to be pulled apart. Screaming, he managed to withdraw his arm, the feeling stayed for a while and he gasped. Gritting his teeth, he controlled his breath and focused on something else, unfortunately for Conway and Jane they were his focus. Not that either of them noticed, as Conway was screaming his face off as it was melting, while Jane was flailing around. Neo walked up to Jane, angry, he grasped her by her hair and pulled her head back, "Tell me, traitor, where are Bethany and Gie, they were both with you but I didn''t see them in the bodies that was used for that." He finished, pointing at the still activate portal. Jane surprised Neo and spoke through her tearless cries with rapid breaths. "It wasn''t supposed to go that way. They said they''d restrain them and we¡¯d leave with all my research, but¡­but¡­" She cried, "As soon as we entered it was an instant slaughter, they couldn''t do anything. Gie managed to grab Bethany and safely made a hole through the wall, escaping." Neo looked around the room finding the hole pretty easily as it was the source of the red light that brightened the room. It was definitely a Gie sized hole. He then looked back at the portal, thinking about what he could do about it. He didn''t want to leave it as something could always come back through that he couldn''t deal with. Walking up to it, he formed a bubble around it. He started twisting the pearls and started putting pressure on it, after a while the world inside his space cracked as the white portal shattered, along with the arch of bones and flesh. He tied up the blinded Jane and was about the slap the screaming Conway, who''s face had been eaten away. Neo reconsidered slapping Conway, as he didn¡¯t want to get any acid on his hands. So, he just tied him up, without any sympathy. With that, he couldn¡¯t do anything else as he couldn''t leave them just in case they escaped. It wasn''t a great option, but honestly, he thought that the commander would have dealt with the rest of the maddened students, and Gie was probably out of harm''s way. Neo waited a long while, listening to Conway make low gurgling, pain filled cries. Neo was wondering whether he should be feeling something, but there was just nothing. Well, he was concerned now, at least, as he thought through it logically. He didn''t really know Conway very well, but at least he was a living, sapient being. He should feel some pity as his face has been destroyed, on the other hand, idea that Conway had infected him, or perhaps Jane did, crushed any pity he felt. Either way they hurt him personally. Then there was the chaos, destruction, and poisoning of everyone. After considering everything Neo didn''t really feel as bad about not feeling bad. But his thoughts lead him on to a different question, thankfully Conway had settled as the acid had stopped eating away at his face. Coolly, Neo asked,"Conway, why?" Creepily Conway started making gurgled laughter. After coughing on his own blood, he spit out words. "It wasn''t ''cough'' supposed to happen like this ''cough''." Conway''s voice rose as he continued to speak,"I planned it out the last time we travelled out to the Atlantean Bubble. After years and years of perfecting away to get my vengeance on that stinking city and its supposed freedom loving and security bullshit!" Conway coughed spat up some blood before continuing."When we called, they wouldn''t help. Now they''ll see how it feels to burn! So, I decided to do it from within, poison them with their greed, then I''ll release their doom onto them, haha¡­¡± splutter, cough¡­ ¡°It''s about time for my final plan to come together, for this straw will break backs¡­ Hahahahahaha." Neo felt something happen to his body as suddenly his weight increased. Neo only knew one person who had that ability. Heading to the hole in the wall, he leaned out slightly to get a view of thearena, just in time to catch an explosion that rocked the ground. Pulling himself in, just in case he fell, only to poke his head out and see a large figure roaring and moving about within the arena. Looking inward, he found that Conway a had a grin on his face that looked like he was having fun, even considering how much pain he must be in it ran a shiver down his back. Another explosion racked the ground, and Neo poked his head out of the hole to see the arena¡¯s walls had been blasted out, with the debris spreading over a mile. The commander wasn''t doing very well, as they were still engaged with the thousand or so students. Neo knew he had to do something, but the crazed laugher coming from Conway was really annoying, so after knocking to two of them out Neo felt safer leaving them there. He headed for the door but his Instinct shouted at him to take the quicker way. Concept Development poll

Hello Readers, after chapter 31 I''ll be starting and finishing one of these (maybe two) before continuing this story. Thank you

Sci-fi into fantasy/ yet un-named

Sexual content, gore, profanity and Traumatising content, Harem. An Advance human being thousands of years in the future, at the top of his game, about to retire after his 500 years of military service now still at the tender age of 21, with a some retirement tricks giving him body mods as a joke. Mean while as he goes through the process of retirement as he and his ships removes they''re enhancements while been given a simple mission to allow it, on any other day would have been a synch, but disaster happens. Awaking above a huge planet, through some miscommunication his ship disappears, and he is sent down to the plant land in a low populated area, finding that this world had magic, swords and use rituals to gain power through higher being that try to gain power for their pantheons with sons managing lands and making their own small pantheons that all under the lands of their empires

Horror/Ninja yet un-named

Gore and profanityIf you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Protagonist, finds a ninjat¨­, afterwards they do people around them die, murdered and slaughtered. Hard to see, hard to hear, hard to find and balanced without honour and only one with, will see, hear, find and with balance will brings honour.

Lit-rpg/yet un-named

Sexual content, gore, profanity, Harem The most interactive mobile dungeon building game called Fantasy World Dungeons. With thousands of hours of work and pounds our protagonist finally wins his first world tournament, gaining the avatar the Cosmic Phoenix, Enter the avatar as his own then he turns the mobile to VR mode and walks through his civilian dungeon as his new avatar filled with beautiful plants, magic, spirits, geode ore formations, waters, animals, life, and darkness. Finding the ever white dungeon entrance, it had gone and in its place was a desert landscape, stepping through his entrance only never to return.

Sci-fi story/Half, Half and Human (yet un-named, maybe Half, Half and Human)

Gore, mature content, sexual content and maybe harem Experimented on to find the perfect balance between nanobots and Ancient Alien biology to find the robustness of the match, the flexibility and get and use the data of human and alien biology, It is also to see what if they can use the Aliens abilities. He awaken after extreme experiments being pushed and pushed, until he worked out through the constant improvement of his intelligence and against the devolution of his body he built his way out. To finding one''s body had changing drastically! Chapter 30 - His Truth Smiling after he understood what Instinct was talking about, Neo walked over to the opening, taking his ring off of his finger and transforming into his dragon form. "Haha, man this is just my dream come true, haha." His thoughts raced as his adrenaline pumped throughout his system. Smiling he stepped off the side of the tower, falling fast. As he got closer to the ground, he slowed as Seren sprang out, spreading out like a pair of wings. Still, Neo landed hard, in a crouched position with his fist impacting the ground with dirt and dust pluming out. It was awesome to see and Neo felt like a badass, even if his knees hurt. With that done, Neo shot off towards the arena, passing around the massive battle happening in front of the main building. He was thinking that things were a lot worse than he''d thought. He even saw that some of the commander¡¯s own men were attacking their comrades. With that said, it looked as if over half the students had been dealt with. Neo flew past and into the open area before the arena only to see the trails of dust from the collapsed building. Everywhere he looked he found trouble, as he found that everyone he saw had red eyes and bleeding fingers. There were small forces that ran from the waves of maddened, unable to stem the tide that swarmed out.There was also the hulking figure of Elfin, who''s horns had grown farther out of his head. He also had a snake tail and bat like wings, and everything was black, from the fur on his goat like chin to the end of his bloody hooves. His red eyes and bleeding finger nails denoting his transformation into one of the maddened. Elfin screamed at someone and the scream shook the trees and caused waves in the water. It wasn''t until Neo moved around that he could see what he was shouting at. Neo was filled with relief,which instantly turned into concern as Elfin stomped at Gie and Bethany,the two of which were moving constantly to dodge the physical attacks that were blasting holes in the ground. Neo didn''t like this at all and jumped, breaking the ground behind him, and rocketed toward Elfin. He was intending to knock him down, but found that his target¡¯s head had rocketed back as a small figure smashed into the chin of Elfin, throwing back his head and making Neo shoot past, missing his target. Seren flared herself, letting Neo land without putting a huge amount of stress on his body. Bethany landed beside him with a puff of steam, before she accused him, "Neo, you trying to kill Elfin?! You almost took his head off. He¡¯s a baphomet, they''re very weak. It doesn''t take much to hurt them severely, so be careful to not kill him. We¡¯re trying to get him away from everyone and to slowly restrict him. But I''m glad you managed to survive your encounters. Guess you got Conway tied up somewhere?" Neo replied, "Yeah sorry, I didn''t know what he was, either way I''ll help you. And Conway''s in the tower with Jane, but the lich got away." Bethany went to speak, but Elfin had recovered from the blow to his jaw. As he straightened, he was bleeding from his mouth as he dropped his hand away. His jaw was at least attached and unbroken, but the roar that came of out his mouth made Neo¡¯s hand shoot to his ears, before jumping away as Neo saw one of Elfin¡¯shooves being lifting up. It crashed through the trees as Neo, Bethany, and Gie weaved through them. They avoided being tread on while they moved away from everyone, the problem was that other maddened were following them. There was another problem with the plan that Neo thought of, ''What are we going to be tying him up with?'' As he passed Bethany he asked, but she only said, "Ask Gie." So he did. On asking, Gie showed him a chain that shone with a with a bluish tint. But as they separated out, Neo shouted, "I don''t think you have enough!" Gie shouted back,"We just need to get Elfin to the ground and make a single connection in order to activate the desired effect. It''ll bring him back down to our level so we need to set up a trap." Neo looked over to Bethany and shouted to her, "Do you thing you can keep Elfin distracted? We will set the trap up!" All Neo got was a thumbs up before a black hoof obscured his view of her. With that done, Neo and Gie pulled ahead by about five hundred metres and started discussing how to fell Elfin into the trap, but it was hard. They figured that if they went for the feet, they would just be kicked away, so they decided to place the chain along the clearing they had found. Quickly finishing, they took a hidden spot quite a few metres forward from where they had placed the chain. The two of them placed two flags on the top of the trees so that Bethany could see exactly where she needed to bring Elfin. It was all a waiting game after that, and hoping that as he crouched there that Elfin wouldn''t trip or stumble onto him. It would certainly deflate the day. Taking a deep breath, his heart started racing as he felt the ground shake. He instinctively took another deep breath as to not attract attention as Bethany raced past, followed by a heavily breathing Elfin. Once Elfin had made it past them and hit the mark, Neo jumped out of his hiding spot and ran at Elfin. Aiming for his knees, Neo jumped three metres in the air, smashing against the tendons in the back of Elfin¡¯s knee, causing it to collapse. Gie, who was a second behind Neo, hit the other knee at a far slower speed than Neo did, but his weight made a huge difference as the knee collapsed even more dramatically. Neo pushed off of Elfin¡¯s knee joint and jumped back to the ground and ran to the chain. While he was doing that, Bethany had reacted perfectly as she saw the unbalanced Elfin and decided to capitalise on it. Blasting off while making two small holes in the ground, she hit his chest, causing the ripples of muscle to wave about. Elfin fell back onto the area with the chain, where Neo and Gie jumped up and over him to meet in the middle. Neo soon realised that this idea might not have been such a good one as he bounced over Elfin''s abdomen, much like a bouncy castle. He couldn¡¯t slow down and there was an unmovable solid object running at him. Tensing as the collision happened, Neo put his hand forward to break his collision, but even with that his face slapped against Gie¡¯s chest, flattening his nose and making the world spin as he bounced off. Obversely, Gie hadn''t been affected by the collision, as he grabbed Neo arm before pulling him back and attaching the two chain pieces together.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Neo was rubbing his nose while he watched. As they connected the chains, the blue hew they gave off only glowed brighter. As it did Neo lost his balance and fell to the ground as Elfin''s body shrunk underneath him. Neo decided to get on the bounce castle as it inflated and deflated while Elfin roared in protest as he fought against it. Everything became heavy and the dark fog around Elfin flared outward as he fought against the chain, which only glowed brighter the harder Elfin struggled. As Neo and Gie made it off Elfin, Gie said something concerning. "He should''ve returned to his normal size by now?" Elfin continued to fight against the chain that was glowing brightly. Hearing another shout, Neo turned to see red eyed students running toward them. Thankfully there was still some distance, but the thick darkness started attacking the chain directly, eating away the chains. "Damn it, he¡¯s a higher being, never knew there was one in the academy!" Before Neo could ask Gie what a higher being actually was, the chain broke and the full force of Elfin¡¯s gravity ability pushed Neo to the ground. Neo couldn''t even move his head up, though, he managed to turn it to see Gie standing there, blue and mean looking, but he disappeared into the misty darkness with a deafening roar. ''What the hell, why did the light go out? misty, no light. Oh, I hope he isn''t making the sky fall on us,'' Neo thought. He fell to the side to see that was indeed what was happening. The huge lake was falling under the power of Elfin''s gravity, and Neo could only see the luminescent fish as the sky fell. Neo, realising that they might just die, grit his teeth as he tried to stand up. Roaring as his body creaked, he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The next bit was going to be difficult, but he knew someone who might be able to relieve this stress, so, croakily as he had trouble moving his jaw, he asked, "Seren¡­ do ¡­you¡­ think¡­ you¡­ can¡­ take¡­ the¡­ stress¡­ off?" Hearing this, Seren spread itself in stripes along his body before turning more solid. It felt that he was being squashed together and forced to stand. Feeling the stress all over his body, he still had difficulty just standing up, as even the solid Seren bent and creaked, but with a sigh of relief he was standing. Taking in what was happening, he saw that the mad students were crawling toward them with their bloody fingers, while Bethany was on the ground with the more delicate parts of her armour bent and buckled due to the stress. Taking one heavy step at a time, Neo needed to move her away from the oncoming students, but Bethany managed to turn her head his direction. Her visor was open and with tears in her eyes, she shouted as best as shecould, "Help¡­ Gie¡­ forget¡­ me¡­ help¡­ Gie!" Neo looked for Gie but with the mist he couldn''t see much beyond the students. As he was about to ignore Bethany¡¯s plea and get her away, he saw a blue glow get shot into the encroaching lake before disappearing into its darkness. Neo knew he''d be coming back down, and he would have to deal with Elfin, who might be ready to just blast him away again. Neo could already see the blue glow returning, "Seren¡­ we''re¡­ going¡­ for¡­ broke!" Seren relaxed and formed a spring which helped Neo run toward the direction where Gie had been thrown from. Once he could see the outline of the large figure that was Elfin, Neo pumped all of his mana into his body, strengthening it and slowing down the world as he jumped with everything he and Seren could bring forward with the compressed force of the springs. Aiming for Elfin¡¯s abdomen, Neo shot forward, causing the ground to break away from him and causing turbulence within the mist. He pushed his fist forward with a grimace, even as his face was being pulled back, his head didn''t move an inch and his bone creaked, causing pain to shoot throughout his body. With everything put into his punch, he slowed dramatically as he got closer to Elfin. His only saving grace was that Elfin wasn''t aware of Neo. As he hit Elfin, the full impact rippled out, causing skin to be stretched out and torn, and a gargantuan roar burst out of his mouth. Neo instantly started rocketing to the ground, his instinct took over so that he landed on his legs and Neo hoped that Seren could take some of the force. But it was for naught, as soon as he landed he let out a scream as his legs broke and crumbled underneath him. Settling on his back, his legs moved in different directions, making Neo cry out as they did. But he heard a great sound and felt a great gust of wind that brought dust, and that put a grim smile on his face seeing that big blue rock plummeting out of the lake. But something else behind Gie attracted his attention. A golden glow started to grow as it got closer to them, faster and faster. As Gie burst out of the encroaching lake, he picked up even more speed within the last hundred metres of air that there was. Within seconds there was a great explosion from the direction of Elfin. Neo heard the moans of Elfin but there was no change in the gravity, even as Elfin roared painfully. Not that Neo cared. He was sure that this was the end, as his vision was darkening, but he could easily see the gold tentacles burst out of the lake above, spreading out before it dived towards Elfin¡¯s resting place. He wasn¡¯t without a battle, though, as a black vortex consumed the golden tentacle before Neo saw another white vortex form and that exact tentacle came out, intercepting the other golden tentacles that were descending on Elfin with a huge explosion that warmed Neo''s body up. The gold tentacle had been smeared in the air, but reformed in a huge pillar of gold light that descended on Elfin. Elfin tried again, trying to greedily consume the whole thing, but it merely split into a thousand pillars of light that curved around the black vortex. Several more vortexes formed before them, but they merely avoided them and weaved through the dozens of vortexes that were now appearing. Nothing could stop it as the golden light impacted Elfin''s locations. There was silence as the beam snapped together, destroying the vortex and obliterating Elfin. Neo could finally breath normally, but so could the mad students surrounding him. Those students were all getting up as well, however, for Neo, the darkness was claiming his sight and intense pain clawed its way into his limbs, slowly creeping up and taking him. Neo was shaken awake opening his eye he could only see a bleary figure standing over him, Neo could hear a lot of movement around lot of people moving around him, "Lad, you''re ok now, Healer get over here! The mad students have been subdued, thanks to Elfin''s gravity. That slowed them to a stop and it was just a matter of tying them up as they tried to crawl at us." Neo coughed, "Commander?" The commander replied, "Yeah, good job dealing with Elfin, I couldn''t spare the men to help. Sadly, I saw that Elfin was vaporised by the bubble in retribution. We also got Conway and Jane, though you''ll need to explain that later. By the way, I am assuming she needed those restrains for a good reason, so she been chucked into a cell. As for the cure, that''s going to have to be persuaded out of those two." Neo nodded and spoke coolly,"Yeah go ahead, I lost any sympathy for them when they tried to hurt Bethany." Speaking reminded him that his body felt a bit odd, ''Oh right broken legs, that¡¯s what it was!" As his thoughts travelled to them, so did his awareness, and he found agony as his bones grinded against each other while he breathed in and out. The commander patted Neo on his shoulder, sending a wave of pain throughout his body. "Oww!" Neo shouted aloud. The commander snapped his hand away, "Sorry, you don''t need to worry about Bethany, she''s doing better than you are. And Gie lost one of his arms, but he¡¯s fine, so just rest while the medic heals you!" Neo¡¯s sight was fading so he hadn''t seen another person appear on his other side. As his hand came close to Neo, the pain faded slightly and heat welled up, radiating from the man''s hands. However, it didn''t stop Neo from falling asleep as any of his remaining energy had faded. Chapter 31 - Owning Fate Waking with a moan, Neo thought he heard some voices but it had all gone quiet. He opened his eyes to a dim room that was lit with candles and smelled of a pungent incense."Achoo!" There was a round of laughter as the familiar face of Death came into view, "It''s amazing! I''ve borrowed your body for a little while, there is something we need to do in order for you to do your job. Your Dragon part needs to be cleansed and melded together¡­ Hold tight it''s going to be weird." Neo moaned, shaking his head in confusion, "What do you mean? Why?" Death touched Neo, lifting him up by his shoulders into a sitting position and giving Neo a look around to see Deaths space. It was mostly dark with the candles giving the only light. There were also two other people standing around a triangle, within the triangle was a weird assortment of items that Neo didn''t have a clue about what they were or what they could be for. Death started to explain what was about to happen to him, "Neo, when I asked you to eat that dragon soul it was a to save you from dying to that same dragon¡¯s own magic and blood. Although I don''t regret it, as I thought, it would be a bit unfair to have you kill a dragon only to die from its poisonous mana. I thought it was quite unfair. However, it was a kick in the head of your development as your soul has become corrupted with the consumption of that soul. As an effect of that, you''ve become a lot more vulnerable to soul attacks from spirits, ghosts, and other such beings. So, I''ve had call in some favours to sort it out, Yona and Whitechapel are here to help." Death finished by gesturing to the two other figures, who both nodded their heads in return, Neo returned the gesture and spoke, "Right, so what will this ritual involve and what''ll happen to me?" Death shrugged, "Not sure. You''ll definitely lose a lot of the power, maybe the Instincts will become a part of you, or disappear altogether. Your magic might weaken or disappear, you might not get scales, horns, and a tail, and there''ll be no separating yourself from whatever happens. You''ll be stuck in that form, at least until you learn shape shifter abilities, then you can do whatever you like to your body. As for what you have to do, you only have to lie down in the triangle and survive!" Neo''s head snapped to Death when he finished, "What do you mean survive?" Death walked over to the top of the triangle and looked back, "Well, I am manipulating your soul, if I make a mistake ¡®puff¡¯ you go, and it¡¯s probably going to be a little uncomfortable." Neo thought on how uncomfortable, but couldn''t as his imagination had nothing to go on looking at the expectant Death, waiting for him to enter the triangle, "I don''t have a choice, do I?" Death grinned, "Not at all, if you don''t you''ll be useless to me and I''ll not have another chosen hang around because I like them. I''ll send you over just as I should''ve done when we first met!" Neo gulped, ''Okie dokie," Neo stepped into the middle of the triangle and shrugged, "I''ve taken quite a liking to my new world, it isn''t perfect, but what is?" Death replied, "Good, now just sit cross legged, you don''t want to fall during the ritual, and chill." Neo sat down in the centre of the triangle, stared up at Death, and waited. Death nodded to the other two reapers, then it began. Nothing appeared to happen but Neo''s heart beat faster as the quietness persisted his heart kept pounding but it had stop picking up speed as his heart pounding could be felt throughout his body. He clenched at his chest until he heard a pop and Neo¡¯s body jumped slightly from the sound. Neo heaved a great breath before puking up a tar-like substance and then falling forward. He found that he couldn''t use any of his muscles. Neo in horror watched as the skin on his abdomen peeled back and he tried to scream as his nerve endings were torn. Neo watched in horror as his blood vessels, muscles, and tendons untwined and snipped off and his nerves unravelled. Everything was flooding around him and Neo could see his own organs and his pure white bones. His organs fell out, being displayed out on ground in an organised manner. Somehow, Neo was still conscious and was staring at his own skeleton, which burst into flames, consuming it until the flame replaced Neo chest. The flame itself was white, with a huge splotch of blackness, pulling and roaming around his soul while slowly growing bigger and stronger. Neo noticed some movement from the golden band of light surrounded his soul as they slowly constricted. It pushed itself into Neo¡¯s soul and he screamed. His soul resonated, screaming as Neo did. Once the golden band had dug itself in, it twisted, pushing and squishing his soul, forcing the black blotch to move and break up, getting it caught up in the golden flame to be cleansed. After what felt like an eternity, the gold flame gave its all and squeezed with everything it had. Neo''s numbed senses gave its greatest scream yet, as it felt the world shift. From his warped soul droplets of blackness dripped into the air, stopping there. Once every drop had fallen, the golden band released his soul. Neo merely whimpered, as all his energy had disappeared, as the gold light descended to the black sphere and surrounded them before shrinking into nothingness. Neo barely had the energy to watch with amazement as his body reformed, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as human as it once was. For starters, his bones had a steely blue tint to them as they regrew. Neo watched for a tail to form from his back, but it never appeared, instead six bony protrusion grew from his skull. As they slowly grew back the one at the front grew the longest, curving back and then up slightly, with the others following the first one¡¯s form but where much short. Next, it was time for the organs to return to their skeleton cage. Neo couldn¡¯t tell if there was anything new, since his knowledge of biology wasn''t awesome, but he thought that there might have been a few extra organs making space inside himself. The one thing he did manage to see was his own eyes, and it creeped him out. What he saw were light grey lizard eyes staring at each other. Finally, he could stop looking at himself from a third-person point-of-view and watched as his nerves, muscles, and tendons rejoined his body. Again, Neo had no idea if it was his imagination or if everything really was different. It sort of looked different to him though. His skin started to re-grow and he noticed instantly that it wasn''t skin, but thousands upon thousands of white glistening scales that grew on top of his muscles. Then Neo got distracted by an intense need to scratch his head and fingernails as they also grew back. The lush white hair grew rapidly down his back, meanwhile his nails grew to a sharp point and had a slight blue tint. Everything stopped moving and Neo fell back,absolutely exhausted, only to land on a soft blanket and fall asleep without a care in the world. "Wake up, Neo you have a job to do." Death¡¯s voice whispered throughout his head, the warmth andcomfortof Neo¡¯s surroundings delayed his response. Not having awareness of time, the voice returned like a cooing mother, "Neo, you have to get up. Your body¡¯s adjusted and your mind recovered, time to work." Neo moaned but ignored the voice. He jerked up not a minute later, right as a booming voice exhibited it''s annoyance, "Get up or I''ll drop you off in the Alps. I¡¯m sure that''ll wake you up quick enough!"This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "I''m up!" Neo spoke aloud opening his eyes to find that he was still in the same dark, candle lit space. However, after looking around, Neo saw that the triangle had disappeared and the only person in the room was Death. Staring back up at Death, he repeated, "I''m up, how long have I been out?" Death shrugged, "A few days." Neo jumped at that, "A few days! I need to get back or they''ll think I''ve died or something." Death gave a slight smile, "No, this is my space, I can do what I like here. At the moment it''s only been a few moments in the real world, while it''s been about a week in here. I know I should get a reality clock, or a sun, but I enjoy the dark, it''s cooling." There was something slightly off with Death. He wasn¡¯t as cheerful, if that was even an appropriate word to describe Death, but there was a bit of pain in his eyes. So Neo asked,"What''s up?" Deaths smile faded a little, "Fate has been decided, now you have to take responsibility and deal with the outcome." Neo thought through everything and there was only one thing that Neo had relied on fate for, and he involuntarily gulped remembering the child crying and how he''d run. He felt anger toward himself, as well as new emotions and strange new understandings that hadn''t been a part of him before. It wasn''t separate, there were no doors to shut to separate himself from the Instinct. It, too, had also disappeared from his mind, the muttering of emotions all but a memory. It left him strangely lonely, with only his own thoughts and no distractions, but in its place was an indomitable will and a different point of view. As he slowly rose from the ground, he looked down at his white hands with the blue tinted nails. Moving them he found that the scales didn''t restrict his movement. He found that he was seeing everything normally, even with the cosmetic changes to his eyes there was no heat sensing or movement detection, just plain old normal sight. Neo moved to get up, but he fell forward when he pushed up and accidently jumped a few metres in the air before he landed, slapping onto the cold stone floor. Death laughed as he watched Neo¡¯s antics, "Let me help, I guess you didn''t get it''s movement control. That''ll take some time to get used to. How''s your white mana level?" Neo shrugged as he sat back on the floor and entered his internal space. He found that the mana was definitely smaller, one third smaller at least. Telling Death what he''d found, he nodded, "You¡¯ve got a lot of souls to collect before you can start returning it back to its former glory." Neo thought about it and wondered how much that was. Summoning his scroll, something he hadn¡¯t done in a while but he didn¡¯t have a need to, since he hadn''t collected many, or any, souls. Not really a good Death, but he was sure that was going to change. Seeing the flame come to life from nowhere, Neo flipped through the scroll. He found his white mana at level seven, with the next level being around fifty thousand souls, "Ha, that''s a lot of people!" Looking back to Death, Neo held out a hand for some help. Death smiled and reached out a hand to grasp Neo''s, pulling him up and holding him so that he wouldn''t go shooting off again. Death gave a little smirk, "At least you won''t have to move around that much, as long as your mouth and voice work, which they seem to do. Right, off we go!" Neo barely hada moment''s notice before the room shifted straight from dark to the pure white cleanliness of the hospital room and he snapped in place in astral form. Neo recognised the space but it was a lot more crowded, full of hospital staff and the haggard husband of the woman in the bed. The woman in bed, her soul was almost half black. It sent a shiver down his back as he thought about how he''d felt her here to get become that! He felt disgust at himself for leaving her to become corrupted. Lessened, lost, and cold were the words he coulduse to try and describe what he was feeling from the soul. The crowded room stirred as the doctor looked toward the husband, who was only staring at his still wife. Leaning over her, he kissed her and whispered something in to her ears. He stood up straight and, with slightly dead eyes, nodded toward the doctor. His soul dimmed significantly as he did so. The doctor acknowledged with a return nod before he started flicking off the switches that controlled the machines that kept her alive. It was a strange sight to see someone die, their soul flared in brilliance, consuming the whole body, before it writhed and fell apart then picked itself, up only fold in on itself. Neo was so engrossed that he barely noticed the room had quieted down as the doctor and nurses left the husband in peace. Neo stepped forward, expecting to have to do something but found Death stopped him. He whispered into his ears, "You have to leave them for a little while, it¡¯s a very turbulent time for a soul. They get everything forced onto them at once, the mind and body combining into one being, like an archive of their lives. So, give her a few minutes, you''ll know when to go. Now you have a tough job to do, as she is so corrupted. You''ll try to talk to her first, however, and see if you can help push back the corruption." Death¡¯s voice changed turning a serious, "If you are not successful, you will have to destroy her!" Neo gulped, he had no idea how to achieve that, so he asked, "How do I go about helping her?" Death looked over at him as he started pacing back and forth, "Remind her of what she was like. Her body, her memories, get her to remember them and get her to feel emotions." Another question popped into Neo''s head, "Why can''t I just get her with the flute?" "Well¡­" Death started but went silent, Neo waited a few moments before he began again, "Well, a corrupted soul can''t work with our abilities. It''s by design, as they are not wholly what they were, if they did manage to get through, they''d consume and corrupt every other soul they connected with, and then we''d have some serious trouble. Like, world ending trouble! However, using the musical notes to ignite emotion and memories, it could be a brilliant idea. When has this ever happened before¡­ Oh right, no one''s stupid enough to pick a flute out from the rest of the awesome and practical weapons. Give it a try, she not over halfway consumed, so there''s no need for drastic measure!" Neo smiled, now that''s something he could do. His flute appeared in his hands as he thought about how he would get it. With that all there was to do was wait. It was a long wait, after two hours even Death paced with a look a confusion and worry, but it soon happened. The soul formed into a faded human body, sitting up straight before she cried out loud as the corruption formed on her body. It was like a disease, covering what looked like a half of her body as she screamed. Death slapped Neo on the back, "What are you doing? Hurry up, get on with it!" Neo didn''t wait, placing the flute to his lips he decided to play something calming and to get her attention. He got it, her eyes went straight to him, staring both at and past him. Her eyes watered as she accepted what had happened and the realisation that she wouldn¡¯t see her family again. She slowly accepted it and as she calmed down, a small part of the black flames were cleansed as her soul recovered. It was then that her eyes connected with Neo¡¯s, and she had a huge smile form on her face as she sat, quietly staring at him. In two hours Neo had gone through every piece of music that he could think of that could evoke her emotions and memories. At first things went well, very well. The corruption was destroyed one spot at a time at a fast pace, until they came to the last splotch, which had annoyingly stayed there for the last fifteen minutes while the rest of her body had returned to normal. Neo had to stop, it wasn''t working. There was no way for him to continue after exhausting all of his musical knowledge and he gave up hope as he sagged into his chair. Death, however, had a huge smile that Neo had never seen on his face, "Lad, that was amazing. I knew you''d be more interesting. If I''m right, all you''ll need to do is talk to her!" Neo looked quizzically at Death and wondered, ''How will that help?'' He shrugged, he had nothing left might as well go speak to her. Stopping in front of her, he spoke, "Hello, ma¡¯am. How are you doing? I''m here to help!" The feeling that Neo had of her from earlier had faded, she now felt warm, welcoming, and content. Her eyes almost sparkled as she stared at him and she replied with a huge smile, "Thank you, Dad, for coming to get me!" With that her tears burst from her eyes and she hugged him for all she was worth, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dad, I''m home." Her image changed to one of a child before the last black splotch of corruption disappeared in a puff of smoke. Her soul dissipated and flowed down the flute where it formed a cloud and an image skipped by of her father playing with her and then her playing with her own child with all of the happy and sad memories in between. The soul was then slowly absorbed by the flute. Once it was over Neo just stood there, confused. He looked toward Death, who only smiled a knowing smile, Neo waited for the answer but Death didn''t speak so Neo asked anyway, "So, why did she call me Dad?" Death took a big breath before he spoke. "Well, it''s an effect of being a reaper or, in your case, my apprentice. You have aura around you that will calm those peoples souls who you are appearing to. You''ll appear in whatever form they believe in, from family, to angels, or even a demon. It all depends on what their beliefs are and what their life experiences have been."