《The Tale of Blood》


 Prologue

    Gods. An existence shrouded in mystery. Beings. Who are object of worship and fear. And yet whether they are real or not is still doubtful. After all it is hard to believe in them when their existence is portrayed is differently in every culture.


    Their names have changed as time passed as did their forms.


    For nomadic humans who had been hunter gatherers elements like fire water earth were an existence akin to god. But when human were able to harness fire and develop the society the way gods were being portrayed changed. From their element like changed into beasts like fishes, snakes, etc.


    With more development the appearance of gods changed once more. Now the gods were portrayed as somewhat of a mix of animals and humans. With features like animals but ability to speak like humans or bipedal gods. These gods are still worshipped in some cultures.


    And finally the last evolution of gods where they are portrayed as beings with inhuman appearance but with human like features.


    But this wasn''t enough. If you study different cultures and their mythologies closely you will find many similarities. And these similarities aren''t just found in the gods that worship. Even some of the words are somewhat similar to each other.


    Here''s an example for you. The word father in English is somewhat similar to greek word Pater which is also similar to the Sanskrit word Pitru (????). And all of them mean same thing as well father.


    The same is also observed in case of mother with Mitera (¦Ì¦Ç¦Ó?¦Ñ¦Á) in greek and matru or mata in Sanskrit. So how do our language share such similarities and yet differ so much at the same time.


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    Even the myths and legends of some of the gods are same.


    So why do religions differ so much. At some point a change occurred which led to differences being present in our modern day religions.


    There are many theories present about our civilisation.


    How it advanced from stone age to present day but these are just theories.


    I also believe in a theory.


    I believe that our civilisation is a guided one. And the beings who guided our civilisation were none other than the gods who have vanished from the face of present day society.


    Our interpretation of them changed as the time passed but their nature remained the same. Beings who are object of human worship and fear.


    And it is also the reason as to why the prominence of some gods increased suddenly whereas the influence of other suddenly vanished.


    But how did I draw the conclusion that gods exist. It is actually by dying.


    Isn''t it fun.


    To get to experience a whole new world after dying. A world with limitless possibilities.


    There are a few questions to which I still seek to find an answer. But I couldn''t care more about it.


    After all I have found a new dream. A dream that I wish to wholeheartedly pursue even if I die once again in the process of pursuing my dream.


    He he


    Did you find it surprising. Even I was quite surprised to find life after death. And to my relief the people aren''t mummified like zombies. They are able to breathe like humans, have emotions and sound mind and they have some weird abilities where they are able to wield supernatural powers.


    So don''t you wonder how I ended up here or what I am currently doing in such a place spouting about gods and how our civilisation is guided one.


    I am Robert Croft. I was a doctor on Earth who was persecuted for a small mistake that I committed and thats how I ended up here in afterlife.


    But who knew that one mistake would show me a world full of new possibilities. A world where I will be able to taste the blood of the gods. The invincible beings who we used to believe as something akin to immortal.


    Just the thought of me somehow making them bleed and then drinking their blood made by body shudder in pleasure.


    My breathing had become ragged. The thoughts of how a god bleeds clouding my mind.


    I went off track once again didn''t I.


    What was I going to say anyway. Yeah it was about how I understood the mystery''s regarding our civilisation and how ours is a guided one.


    I didn''t unearth any secret. It was just a demon or whatever you would call it, who wanted to get some new form of excitement and he thought that I would be quite a fun piece to watch for. At least that''s what he told me.


    So thats my story or rather the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

 Vritra

    During our lives we plan a lot of things. It ranges from what kind of job we might want to how many kids we want or what their names will be. Though it doesn''t mean that we will be able to accomplish them.


    In my life I didn''t plan a lot. I only planned two things. The job I wanted and how I wanted to die.


    Not your conventional plan but I was content with it. I achieved the first plan when I turned 21 and became a doctor successfully. After that it was a steady life for me.


    Not until I committed a small mistake which if I could go back in time would undo. But through this mistake I was able to accomplish my second plan.


    It was to drown in blood. Yes that was my second plan or you may call it a wish.


    I wanted to drown in blood. If possible I wanted it to be other humans but since beggars can''t be choosers I had to make do with my own blood and that''s how I died.


    By drowning in my own blood. I was content with how I lived my life.


    There were a few regrets that I had but other than that I quite liked the way I lived.


    And as my consciousness was fading away the only thoughts present in my head were savouring the taste of the blood after all I quite liked how my own blood tasted.


    If I were to rank all the blood I had tasted in my life I would rank my own blood at the top.


    I took care of it. Maintaining the proper level of iron along with other minerals and glucose to preserve its taste to my liking.


    As I tasted the metallic taste for the last time my consciousness faded away.


    Death an experience we can''t quite put our finger on. What really happens after one dies. Even I wondered about it when I used to drain the blood out of my victim''s bodies.


    But I didn''t expect it to be gloomy and dark.


    I was bored to be honest as there was nothing to do.


    I tried to bite my tongue to see if that familiar taste would return to my mouth but there was nothing.


    I finally understood the concept of boredom. During the time I was alive I was swamped with work and trying to satisfy my needs as such I didn''t have to experience boredom.


    But this boredom didn''t last long as my eyes were flooded by light.


    And when I opened them what greeted me was a gloomy hall with only one person present.


    The previous flood of light seemingly vanished into thin air.


    The person who was seated in front of me wasn''t exactly a person since a snake like tail was coiled around him or was it the opposite and he was siting on his own tail and he also had two horns protruding from his head.


    But I couldn''t care more about it since all I wanted to do was taste his blood.


    It was going to be a new experience for me. Drinking the blood of snake man. Since snakes are cold blooded animals does it mean his blood will taste different from humans.


    But like a party pooper I remembered I didn''t have tongue.


    I regretted it so much to miss out on such a once in a lifetime experience.


    "Once you are done thinking about how my blood will taste we can proceed to discuss as to why you are here."


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    The snake man spoke to me.


    "Since you can read my thoughts can you give me a few drop of your blood."


    "No." Came an immediate reply making me frown.


    It wasn''t as unreasonable request so he could give me a few drops.


    "So at least tell me who are you?"


    "I am Vritra or Vritrasura. A demon in the present day Hinduism."


    "So were you something else in the past?" I couldn''t help but ask outloud.


    "That is none of your concern. But since you were smart enough to notice the small details I will give you an advice. Gods aren''t exactly how you perceive them. And now let me talk about as to why you are here."


    "I want chaos and I am betting on you to bring that chaos in the world of the dead."


    "Before you ask any question there is afterlife and this isn''t it. And that afterlife is the reason why the gods have vanished from the face of present day Earth. Now I will tell you somethings which you aren''t suppose to know and make you go on your way."


    What about my consent. I didn''t say yes. I wanted to extract some benefits or blood. What happened to that part. I wanted to act like those stupid lovestruck Japanese girls and be little hesitant before saying yes.


    Sniff Sniff


    "This isn''t earth for me to consider things like asking for your consent. And as for benefits you will keep your memories thats the biggest favour you can expect from me."


    What was wrong with this demon. He was acting more like a hooligan. Weren''t demons supposed to be to act with certain principles.


    "Don''t expect that from me. And now I will send you to battle field of gods or afterlife as you would like to call it. There you will rise to power as it is a world out of fantasy. And if you are powerful enough you can make gods bleed as well."


    "And did you know that gods bleed gold or rather gold coloured blood. Just think about how it tastes."


    He understood me so well. Just that thought was enough to make me anticipate the taste imagining it to be the sweetest candy of my life and it was even going to be golden.


    "And since you like blood so much how about I make you a vampire."


    "Never. I came to love the taste of blood as a human so I will stay a human even in afterlife. If you make me a vampire the being who I will make bleed first will not be a god but you."


    I glared at him as soon as he put forth that idea.


    "Ok ok. Since being a vampire is out of question I will send you down there so that you can start whatever plans you might have in mind. I hope to get to see you once again Robert Croft. Here is a small gift of memories from me to you."


    "Hope you put them to good use."


    And with that Robert was Enroute to the destination he was originally supposed to go to.


    "I hope this pawn is able to somehow draw Indra''s attention."


    Meanwhile Vritra who was still present in that still space murmured to himself.


    As for the so called gift he had given to Robert. It was bunch of memories about how the lives they have been living till now were actually guided by the gods.

 Afterlife

    Even now I couldn''t understand why that demon had summoned me and what he wanted to achieve.


    And that gift he gave me even that was like a scam.


    What could I do with a bunch of information irrelevant to me.


    Did he think that I could achieve chaos by inheriting some memories from the past.


    And that bastard didn''t even give me a few drops of blood.


    At some point my surroundings had changed. From the unending darkness I had once again arrived in a hall.


    What is with these people and halls. Is it some kind of fetish for them. To build grand halls for 2 people''s interaction.


    And true enough I was once able to spot just a single person entering the hall.


    "Welcome lost soul to the world of the dead. This world isn''t similar to the earth that you have been residing on. Here the people are blessed by gods and thus have supernatural powers."


    "That''s it about the introduction of the world. If you want to get more familiar with the world try asking around that will help you."


    I am not someone who is good at interacting with others but even this was somewhat new experience to me.


    Is this what people feel when they are talking to me. It is somewhat similar to talking to myself as I am not expecting response in that case.


    Since he told me to exit the hall to get to know more about this so called afterlife I did so.


    And the scenery was somewhat similar to Earth. There were even high rise apartments visible in the distance.


    But how do I collect information.


    I don''t know anyone here who am I supposed to talk to. Isn''t this normally handled by the person who talks to me when I arrive here. I was glad that Vritra gave me a small introduction to this place in that ball of memories.


    And yet I didn''t know where I was. And he also didn''t tell me where I was supposed to go to learn about my power.


    Is this what loneliness feels like. I tried to chew on the insides of my mouth. At first pain came and what followed was a stream was hot liquid entering my mouth bringing the same delight to my mind as it used to bring.


    I didn''t feel lonely anymore.


    A grandma approached seeing me standing in the same spot.


    "What is your name son? I am Olivia."


    "My name is Robert."


    "That damn piece of shit, Alan must not have given you any introduction of this place."


    "He gav-"


    "Everyone here knows about that welcome nonsense that he spouts. That''s not an introduction."


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    So I wasn''t the weird one.


    "Son come with me to my home. It might take you some time to get adjusted to this new reality. So why don''t you stay with me."


    She must be missing her family thats what I thought. But since I had nowhere to go I quietly followed her to her home.


    On our way nobody spoke a word. I was still relishing in the taste of blood. I didn''t know how much time had passed but at some point we arrived at her home.


    It was a two storied house. Wasn''t this granny a bit lavish. She alone was living in this two storied bungalow. I didn''t know the price of houses not here and not in my previous live but this grandma must be rich or at least thats what I thought.


    "If you are hungry let me know. There are empty rooms upstairs. Feel free to take anyone of them."


    After saying that she proceeded to head to her own room.


    I went upstairs and like she said there were 4 empty rooms. I just randomly entered one of them and sat on the bed.


    What was I supposed to do. I didn''t have anything that wished to wholeheartedly achieve.


    Vritra had told me that even gods could bleed but was that really possible and did there blood even taste good.


    There was someone I could try to find.


    She was my only regret in all my life.


    I could try to find her.


    I was glad as there was something that I could do in this new life. Whether I would be successful in my quest to find her would be another matter but I couldn''t let this opportunity go.


    With that I went to the grandma to get to know more about this place.


    "Are you hungry?"


    "Not really. I wished to talk with you."


    "So you are finally ready to talk? From the moment you followed me you didn''t speak a word. I feared you for mute. So tell me what do you wish to know."


    What I wished to know.


    "Is it possible to meet others who we knew when we were alive?"


    Haaaa


    "It isn''t exactly impossible but the world we are in is vast so even if you try wholeheartedly you might not meet the person you want to meet."


    "Or at least that''s what happened with me. I also tried to find my husband but am not able to find him till date."


    She looked down cast while saying this. She must really miss her husband. Would I be able find her or will I end up like the grandma.


    "But don''t be disheartened there are few families which were able to reunite."


    Was she trying to console me or console herself.


    "I wont give up without trying." Was all I said to her to which she showcased a small smile.


    "Let me order something for us to eat." So uber eats had found itself a new form in this world and mobile phones had also gotten a new form.


    It wasn''t how I imagined afterlife to be. Didn''t those holy books talk about hell and heaven. Wasn''t this similar to Earth. Only difference being presence of superhuman whom I was yet to find.


    Should I think of it as a letdown or be glad that I wasn''t present in either hell or heaven.


    The next the grandma woke me up as she was going for her job. I also followed her to visit the town and check whether it was possible for me to become one of those superhuman that Vritra was talking about.


    I didn''t want the grandma to know so I didn''t ask her about the superhumans.


    The town was somewhat similar to those video game cities with a tinge of modernness. I was wandering the streets when a buildings sign caught my eye.


    Outside of the building was a rather big logo of a wand along with the sword. The wand was somewhat similar to the one seen in Harry Potter Movie''s but it was of the length of a sword. Weren''t wand supposed to be short in length or did the author of Harry Potter fool everyone.


    I went inside the shop to enquire about how I could become one of those superhumans.


    I was greeted by a lady still in her youth. "Welcome to the Forge of Shawty. We have the best dwarf craftsmen in the city."


    "Dwarves?" I asked with a puzzled expression.


    "You don''t know about dwarves?" She asked me with a surprised expression.


    "No. Are they supposed to be popular?"


    "Not really but everyone has a basic understanding of them but don''t fret too much. Think of them as midgets with high skills in creating or crafting things."


    "Ohh ok." Is she playing a prank with me. Why would short people be interested in working at a place like this that makes fun of them.


    "So what are you looking to purchase. Do you have anything specific in mind or are you just looking around."


    "I wasn''t looking for anything but rather trying to get to know more about this place and finding out how does one become a superhuman or gains their abilities."


    "Ahh the logo of wand and sword bright you here. You should go to the place that has a crystal ball as their logo. They will help you with your query. After going out of this shop turn left go straight until you see the crystal ball."


    "I hope to see you again." Saying this she bade me farewell.


    Was that really a genuine shop. But since I got what I wanted I didn''t think much about it.


    Like she had described I found a place that had the crystal ball as its logo.


    The place was made entirely out of wood. It wasn''t empty like the previous shop but neither too crowded.


    "Welcome to the Guild of Deva. I am Lily. How can I help you today."


    "Hello. I am Robert Croft. I was told that I could get to know more about superhumans and my abilities here."


    "You are at the right place. As you might already know we are able to have different abilities. What you might not know is that these abilities are classified into different categories based on the pantheon of the god or devil who blessed you. So if you used to believe in any particular religion when you were alive there is a high chance that the gods of that religion or the pantheon will bless you."


    "There have been some cases where you might get blessed by deities from other pantheon and a rather rare occurrence where you might not get blessed by anyone. Don''t be heartbroken if it is the latter.As for the process of test it is rather easy."


    "You just have to place your hand on a crystal ball and it will tell us about your powers. Follow me to the testing room."


    "Did you know that the gods of different pantheons are generally at odd at each other but just to create this ball the goddesses of wisdom from the Hindu and Greek Pantheon came together and persuaded other gods and goddesses to enter a fragment of their energy so that it would help in identifying the blessed ones."


    Was this general information. How come Vritra didn''t include it in the ball of memories. And how do you shut someones mouth. She was like a talking machine refusing to shut up.


    "Behold. This is the crystal ball that I was talking aboat." So she is Canadian. At least I got some information about her.


    "Just place your hand on the ball. It will project rest of the information itself."

 Neri

    As I placed my hand on the ball a weird current passed through my body.


    I was dazed for a second and after that like a hologram some details were projected in the air.


    Name: Robert Croft


    Abilities: Health Manipulation( A subset of life manipulation)


    Blessed By:Gaia


    Pantheon:Greek


    "Were you someone special in your previous life. Did you save a lot of people in your previous life?"


    "You were blessed by a primordial. Tell me aboat your previous life. I swear on my deity that I wont leak any information about this conversation to anyone except for the deity that blessed you and you powers."


    Would I tell anyone about my past.


    "Are there any perks for sharing my past?"


    "No. I am just trying to get more information about you."


    "Then, No I wont be sharing my past."


    "Ok then. Let me register you into our data base and then you are free to leave."


    She gave up pretty easily. After that she removed something like a police badge from her pocket.


    And from that badge once again something like a hologram popped out. How could a world have technology like hologram but lack something like cars.


    There were carriages being drawn by horse on the streets but I was yet to see any car. It was a rather half assed mix of modern Earth with its Medieval counterpart.


    In that hologram she typed some details before keeping that badge away.


    "Since we are done with the whole process lets leave. Would you like to receive guidance aboat how to properly use your powers."


    "What are the conditions for you to teach me how to use my powers. If you are willing to teach me for free then count me in."


    "Do you think we are like those blood sucking corporate from Earth. How distrustful."


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    "So are you providing me with the training for free with no conditions attached."


    "There will be some conditions but I assure you they will be favourable for both of us."


    "Please tell me what are the conditions to which I will be subjected to?"


    "The conditions won''t be anything excessive. You will have your freedom to do other things but whenever the guild assigns you any mission you have to do it. The guild generally assigns you missions in case of emergency. And if it is something that might be harmful to your life you have the right to reject it."


    "There are certain resources that will allow you to get stronger but you have to compete for them with other members by completing missions."


    "There are other conditions but these are the important ones."


    "I don''t expect an answer immediately so take your time in thinking things over. For now I will escort you out of the guild."


    The contract was rather favourable to me since I would only have to answer them when they have some mission that only I can complete. Should I accept it.


    I will ask the granny about it later.


    I still had the rest of the day to spend. What should I do.


    Should I explore the city. I still don''t know about this world. Does it resemble Earth or a different planet.


    But who will give me answer to all these questions. Would the granny be able to answer all these questions or should I find someone else.


    Should I try asking Lily.


    Since she was someone who worked in the guild she might be able to answer my questions.


    "Umm Lily."


    "That was rather quick. So are you ready to sign the contract."


    "Thats not what I''m here for. Can you tell me more about this world and all the other details."


    "I currently know that I''m in afterlife and that people can have abilities here."


    "So you are telling me that you don''t know anything about the city that you are in or how this world works or its politics but you know that people have abilities. Who was the idiot that gave you such weird introduction. And how much time has passed since you arrived here."


    "Actually no one. I just found that information. And I arrived here yesterday."


    Haaaaaa


    "I will brief you about how this place works. If you want to gather more information about its history you can visit the library or ask around. Follow me."


    "Nobody knows exactly who was the first being that arrived here or how much time has passed since afterlife exists. It just exists."


    "This world resembles Earth to some extent. It has land and then that land is surrounded by oceans. But the number of continents is 5."


    "This world might have some features form modern day Earth but don''t think of this world as fair. Monarchy is still apparent here."


    "As for the name of the city, it is Neri. It lies in the westernmost continent of Sial.


    "The politic structure is similar to medieval Europe with titles like baron, count, viscount offered to people with good relation with the crown and strength to back it up."


    "There is a classification for the strength of people but we will talk about that later."


    "This isn''t a detailed introduction of the place but it will help you to get around. There is a library present in every city so no matter where you are you can at least rely on the library to get information."


    "Since I still have a job to keep I will now get going. If you need help you know where to find me."


    With that she left inside once again. She did give me information about afterlife but what about how I was supposed to make a living. She left out the most crucial part.


    Do I have to once again look around the town to look for a place that provides job or do I go around applying at different location.


    Asking the grandma seemed like a good option so I thought it would be better to ask her.


    As I was walking around the town I came across a stone monument with some words written on it.


    It was the centre of attraction and reminded me of the town square where several streets met.


    Many people were reading the words written on that slab of stone. Some of them had a nostalgic smile on their face.


    I also took a closer look at the stone slab.


    The stone slab was actually a cube with same text written on its sides.


    The stone was actually like minerals with its ochre colour standing apart. It was a beautifully crafted structure. With two eagles looking at it from its sides like guarding that structure as well as revering it.


    The words written on it were like a work of calligraphy making the stone seem like a piece paper and not some stone.


    It read something like, "The ''Adzor'' family descendants of the god of fire, blacksmith and craftsmen "Hephaestus" swears it upon their name and honour to be eternal protectors of the town of Neri in good times as well as bad times. If the town were to fall one day the Adzor family will fall along side it. In return we ask all the people to support us through thick and thin.In good times while the city is prospering and in its bad times when your trust might falter. All we ask of you is to believe in us."


    It was like a pledge that was made but why was it being kept in this place. Was there a history to this town.


    Was it to appeal to the people to not revolt? Or to build the feeling of oneness? It was truly interesting whatever this piece of stone was.

 The Beginning of a New Life

    I wanted to ask as to why they had a nostalgic expression while reading the text from the stone but the daylight was fading slowly and I had to get back to the granny''s house before dark so I put that matter aside for now.


    I didn''t want to get lost in the forest in the dark so I made my way to the house retracing my steps passing by the guild and the weapon shop.


    As I looked at the sky it was a pretty shade of orange with the sun hiding behind the clouds, truly a picturesque scene like straight out of the movies.


    By the time I reached the house it was almost dark. The grandma was seated in the front yard on her rocking chair waiting for me.


    "Sorry I got bit lost wandering around the town." I said with an apologetic tone.


    "No worries. Let''s have dinner after you have freshened up." Saying this the grandma turned around and went inside.


    I wanted to ask her about the stone in the town square during dinner so I got freshened up quickly and went downstairs for dinner.


    "How was your first day into town. What places did you visit?"


    "It was rather interesting. I got introduced to the concept of superheroes at the Guild of Devas by Lily. When I went into what felt like the town square I saw a stone cube written by the Adzor family. I wanted to ask you about that stone."


    "The Adzor family as you read on that stone used to rule this city until they were usurped by Kramers''."


    "But didn''t the people of this town help the Adzor during the rebellion. From what I read at the cube it seemed like the Adzor really cared about this town."


    At this the grandma also had the same expression as some of the people I saw at the square. A nostalgic and somewhat apologetic expression with a tinge of smile.


    "It was a misshapen on our part as the residents of this town. We never should have supported the Krammers''. The Adzor family were really good rulers. Its just that we were blindsided by our situation at that time. But enough of the past. You told me about Lily that you met at the guild. Did you find out your blessing."


    I wanted to learn more about the past but since the grandma felt uncomfortable talking about the past I had to let it go.


    "Ah yes. I did it. I am blessed by Gaia. Lily was really persistent about my past once she found out Gaia blessed me."


    "She sometimes tends to forget that not everyone is comfortable talking about their past but she is a really kindhearted child."


    "She also offered me guidance on how to use my powers do you think I should receive guidance from the guild?"


    "If you ask me I would suggest taking guidance from them. They will ask you perform certain duties but apart from that it will be nothing excessive. She likes to joke a bit from time to time but you should take up on their offer."


    "Do you have any plans now that you have found out the deity who blessed you."


    "I don''t really know what I should do. All of this still feels really unfamiliar."


    "A few days back I wouldn''t have even imagined that life after death was possible and that humans could become superhumans or blessed by gods or that gods even existed in the first place."


    "If possible I would like to continue living here in your house and get to know more about this place and explore my abilities."


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    "You are like my grandson so don''t be so much formal with me. You can stay here as long as you want to."


    "Since you want to know more about this place I would personally suggest taking a job at someplace in the city so that it will help you familiarise with this place. As for training your blessing just go to the guild. There will be someone who can guide you into using your powers."


    It was a nice plan.


    After spending some more time with the grandma and helping her do the dishes I went to bed.


    Once I was in my room I took out the knife that I had managed to sneak out of the kitchen.


    With it I cut my index finger letting the blood drip on my lips and my tongue. It felt nice to have dessert after dinner. I needed to find a quick substitute to my blood. I couldn''t use it indiscriminately.


    After putting the knife back in the kitchen I finally went to sleep.


    The next day the grandma woke me up for breakfast before she headed out for work. I still didn''t know what she did for work.


    After I had my breakfast I again headed out like yesterday. The first stop was Guild of Devas.


    After arriving at the guild I looked around for the familiar face and she was there waving at me.


    "I hope you come bearing a happy news."


    "Yes. I would like to get guidance about how to use my abilities." I said while carrying a small smile.


    "Now that''s something that I love to hear. Let''s get started immediately."


    After that she grabbed me by my collar and lifted me like some kind of kitten carrying me to a different room.


    Was she blessed by a god or goddess of strength. She was able to carry me effortlessly without even batting an eyelid.


    "So you must be curious as to how exactly these abilities or power works."


    "The abilities that we are blessed with are innate to us. Think about it the way we talk feel our emotions what we like or dislike. As time passed we get more familiar with them. Our abilities work just that way."


    "The only difference is that if left uncontrolled these abilities might very well lead to the death of the user. So bear caution whenever using your abilities."


    "Now let''s get started on how you will familiarise yourself with your abilities."


    Saying that she bought out a plant.


    "Now let''s apply your abilities on this plants. Think about what you want to do with this plant. It might be making it more disease resistant or just making it look more fresh. Then make efforts like you want to shit your guts out."


    "At first you will be able to do nothing or even feel nothing. You know what scratch the part about making changes to the tree just focus on shitting your guts out while thinking about doing anything to the plant."


    "Now get started and I warn you but if you really shit your pants I will personally ban you from the guild."


    She should have just given me a proper analogy to begin with. Why would she give an analogy about shitting in the first place.


    As I looked at the plant I was able to find nothing wrong with it. I was a doctor but not a plant doctor if that was the appropriate term.


    Thinking about how she had talked about doing anything to that plant I just focused my mind on that part.


    The plant looked healthy so to make visible changes I thought about making it sick or making its condition deteriorate.


    With that I focused all my efforts on making the plant sick. If only it was a human instead of a plant I would have been able to manipulate their health easily.


    With how much emphasis Lily had placed on shitting my guts out I increased the efforts that I was putting in.


    But despite all that I was unable to fell any change not in me nor in the plant.


    I looked towards her but all she did was gestured me to increase the efforts by swinging both of her hands upwards.


    Was this really supposed to work. At this point I couldn''t even tell.


    But since I had nothing better to do so I made even more efforts to still get no result.


    Now that I think about it just what kind of disease affect plants. Was it the lack of appropriate intention the reason as to why no change was occurring.


    I didn''t know if this approach would work or would it just end in failure like how it ended previously.


    But since I had nothing to lose I thought about how exactly disease affect plants and what end result I wanted to achieve specifically.


    I had no information about the plant in front of me but the plant was bearing what appeared like some kind of fruit.


    I didn''t know a lot about plants but I did know that fruits that have black spots are bad. And so this time I focused on decaying that fruit since it was a lot easier than doing anything to the entire plant.


    At first nothing happened to that fruit just the way I was unable to do anything to the plant.


    I concentrated more on making black spots appear on the fruit as it was a clear sign of over ripening or spoiling of fruit.


    And sure enough a tiny black spot was visible on the fruit. And at the time the black spot appeared on the fruit I also felt something in my body.


    It was like something was getting drained out of my body forming some sort of invisible connection between me and that fruit. And once I was able to feel that connection it was like my thoughts were getting transferred to that fruit.


    After that black spots were clearly visible on that fruit.


    With more efforts which felt like the speed of draining had increased the black spot enlarged and more black spots appeared.


    With the result visible I looked towards Lily to find her showing me a thumbs up.


    "What you did just now was just brute forcing your way into making changes happen to that fruit."


    "It is good that you thought about focusing on the fruit instead of the whole plant because if you were able to make no changes it was a whole week of theoretical boredom for you."


    "But since you were able to showcase some result all''s good. Now head to the local library to learn more about different diseases as well as what is the optimal health condition of different species."


    "Once you have understood new things if possible we will try them on those species in the evening after my shift ends."


    "But we will restrict our experiments on just plants."


    "And finally congratulations on successfully using your abilities without harming those around you. A lot of accidents happen when people are exploring their blessings. I am glad you were able to use them without getting into any accidents."


    "You ill find the library going left from the stone cube after leaving the guild. You do know which stone cube I am talking about right?"


    "Yes the one written by Adzor family."


    "Yes that one."


    After that she left the room.


    I didn''t notice it earlier but sweat was rolling down from my forehead and I was certainly feeling more tired.


    After wiping the sweat form my forehead I left the guild to find the library.

 Trouble?

    The library wasn''t that far away form the guild.


    What really bugged me out was spending so much time looking at books and trying to learn new things.


    The life of a student really bored me even when I was alive.


    As I entered library the smell of old books hit me instantly. The smell was somewhat of a mix of coffee and the smell of old wooden furniture.


    It was different smell from what I remembered from my time on earth.


    Was it a result of how old this place is.


    "Can you tell me where I can find books that deal with plants and their diseases as well as what are the optimal conditions for the health of the plants to be at their best." I asked the receptionist.


    "You can head to the second floor and go to the room named ¦Â¦Ï¦Ó?¦Í¦Ç. There you will be able to find the books you are looking for. If you are a beginner I would suggest ''A study of Plant Ecology'' by A. R. Woodhead."


    "If you need further assistance feel free to approach me." With that she continued to read the book she was reading earlier.


    Once at the second floor I looked for the symbol the receptionist had shown me earlier.


    I didn''t need to look too much as the room was opposite to the staircase.


    Once I entered the room a hologram like plant which was similar to sunflower from plants v/s zombies appeared in front of me.


    "How can I help you today?" The plant asked me cheerfully with the voice of child.


    "I was looking for a book called ''A study of Plant Ecology'' by A. R. Woodhead"


    "Ok. Follow me."


    The sunflower then floated across some shelf before stopping and turning to look at me.


    Was it really a plant. It felt like AI had come to life.


    I followed it to the book shelf where it was waiting. After that the plant floated some distance before stopping. There was the book I was looking for.


    After thanking the plant I took the book and found a place to sit before beginning to read the book.


    The author started by talking about different plants about plants. It felt like the author had assumed the readers were total beginners and such he gave a long introductory chapter on the same.


    After that he talked about how different plant cells or tissues work and functions performed by them.


    Before I knew it a lot of time had passed and I was feeling hungry.


    It was still boring to read a book but I persisted. I kept the book back in the shelf before heading out.


    As I was walking towards the home I was thinking about what I actually wanted to achieve once again.


    It hadn''t even been a week since I came here and I felt like this life was really crappy.


    Neiiiiigh


    The loud neighing of the horses forced me out of my thoughts.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    A small group of soldiers were headed somewhere.


    Should I follow them.


    I was pretty hungry but it felt like something unique that shouldn''t be missed and as such I turned around and started running towards where the soldiers were headed.


    Thankfully for me the speed at which the soldiers were moving forward was slow as people were still walking on the streets.


    After some time I was able to see the gates of the town and the wall enclosing the town.


    It reminded me of a game I used to play in my childhood called ''Age of Empires'' with how the soldiers were moving.


    As I approached the gate I was able to hear the rattle of chains the gates were moving.


    A small opening was present at the side of gate for pedestrians to exit.


    I quickly exited to find a vast forest which was visible as far as eyes could see.


    The soldiers without stopping headed towards the forest.


    It was here that that I felt hesitant. Should I proceed into the forest or should I head back into the town.


    If I got lost in the forest I was pretty much a dead man walking but was there anything that was holding me back.


    I wanted to see her once again but after remembering the granny''s experience I felt the chances of finding her were quite slim.


    There was essentially nothing that I wanted to achieve in this life and as such I followed those soldiers into the forest.


    After some time of trailing those soldiers into the forest I was only able to hear the sound created by the running horses.


    It was like that was the only sound present int the entire forest. It was quite eerie.


    And then the next second everything went silent.


    It felt like the calm before the storm and after few seconds shouts emerged.


    I went closer to place from where the voices were coming to take a closer look at what was happening.


    There the soldiers were battling with a monster which appeared to me like some kind of giant with how tall it was.


    The monster was twice the size of the soldiers and was even wielding a club. It looked pretty scary and yet the soldiers were battle with the giant not caring about their lives.


    One of them got stopped on by the giant turning the solider and his horse into a bloody paste.


    But the other soldiers didn''t even paid spare a glance at their fallen comrade as they continued to inflict wounds on the giant.


    Some of the solider''s swords were glowing purple as they slashed at the giant. Whenever those swords sliced the giants some part of the giants skin turned black as if it was rotting.


    Were the soldiers blessed by same god. Suddenly my attention was drawn by a solider whose sword became a flaming red just for it to emit actual flames a second later.


    The giants attention was also attracted by that flaming sword. But before the giant could even do something about it the man left off of his horse and sliced the giants neck in one fell swoop.


    As the solider landed on the ground a fountain of blood erupted from the giants neck as the head fell beside the soldier.


    The solider sheathed his sword before heading towards his horse.


    As he was about to sit on his horse he suddenly glanced in my direction. Was he able to see me.


    But I hadn''t even made a motion from the time I had arrived here and observed their fight.


    How was he able to see me. Or was I mistaken and there was something else he was looking at.


    I couldn''t tell but all my doubts were cleared away when the solider made his way towards where I was hiding.


    "Come out and state your name before I slash your neck myself." The solider said in a commanding voice.


    "With no other present in front of me I made my way towards the solider.


    "I am Robert Croft. I arrived recently in Neri or found myself in Neri. I was just curious as to what was transpiring here and followed you. Imran you no harm."


    "Do you have any alibi?"


    "Yes. You can ask Lily from Guild of Devas about me."


    "Bind him in chains and take him with us." He ordered the soldiers as he looked at them.


    Was he the group leader.


    One of the solider came towards me and made a sign in my directions and suddenly chains appeared out of nowhere constraining me in them.


    He then picked me up and put me on his horse like I was a sack of potatoes.


    What followed was a long and quite ride back to the town.


    "One of you go to the guild and bring Lily with you." The flaming sword guy said as we approached the town square.


    Our group without stopping went to the solider''s barracks where I was treated like some kind of criminal.


    It wasn''t a new experience for me but it wasn''t a pleasant one as well.


    After some time a solider returned with Lily.


    After seeing me in company of the solider''s she was pretty flabbergasted as we were still new acquaintances.


    The flaming sword guy approached her not even letting me explain my part to her.


    After both of them had talked things out he released me out of the chains constraining me.


    "Next time make sure that you don''t spy on soldiers like you did today. As you might find a garland of flowers around your neck instead of those chains."


    Without waiting for a response from me the soldier headed inside his garrison.


    I looked towards Lily who was rubbing her forehead.


    "Tell me what exactly were you thinking following the soldiers like that." She said with an irritated tone.


    "I wa-"


    "I wasn''t expecting a response from you. It was supposed to be a rhetorical question."


    "And why did you call for me in the first place. Don''t you know anyone else in the entire town."


    "I know a grandma with whom I am currently living but I didn''t want her to worry so I told them about you as you are the only person I know other than the grandma."


    My reason was able to somehow calm her down.


    "Don''t get tangled up with them another time and go back to your home before the grandma starts to worry about you."


    "Thank you for today."


    "Yeah yeah. You can save your thanks for tomorrow when it will be time for your training."


    With the entire matter behind me I walked towards the grandmas house. My stomach was constantly rumbling while I was walking.


    It was good that the streets were empty to save me from the embarrassment.


    The grandma wasn''t present on the front yard today.


    I opened the door to find her asleep on the dining table.


    "I am sorry for being so much late today. I promise I will let you know if I will be getting late again." I apologised to her as I nudged her awake.


    "Ricky don''t ever leave grandma like that ok."


    "Ok grandma." That must be her grandson I thought as I watched her departing figure go towards her room.


    The grandma''s figure felt pretty lonely as she headed towards her room.


    After I had satiated my stomach I finally went to my room to sleep but I was unable to sleep. The image of the solider cutting the giant was constantly appearing in my head.


    Monster extermination felt like a dream to me. Could I be able to cut through monsters like that.


    The thought felt pretty nonsensical to me as my blessing was health manipulation. But if I would be able to cut through monsters like that it would feel pretty good.


    With those thought I finally went to sleep.