《Archillies Duane : The World Traveller》 Vol 1: Prologue Unbearable. This was the idea I always had on life. I wake up, go to school, return, do my work, go to sleep. The same actions over and over and over¡­ Truly unbearable. I sincerely wish to escape this unbearable repetition. Perhaps it will end when you grow up, or so I thought at first. But no. I realized that it is no different. Wake up, get ready, go to the workplace, go back home, rest, repeat. Unbearable¡­. I hate this kind of life. In my free time, I had always tried to seek out the unknown, as a hobby. Be it stargazing or researching history. I wasn¡¯t able to find anything worth it up until now. For one, I never neglected any of my work. I fought for the best, and became the best. But it is still unbearable. If I look at my life from another person¡¯s perspective, I might think that I¡¯m living a luxury. I¡¯m not rich. Yet, I¡¯m not poor. Whomever I meet, their attitude was made as if I was a prince. Unbearable. For that reason, I was unable to have friends. But I don¡¯t really mind. Yet, it pains me whenever I become a target for a person to use. I was never careless. They would leave me disappointed since they failed to manipulate me. But truly, I couldn¡¯t care less Today was the day I would graduate from middle school. Summer holiday, the time that everyone looks over to (Except parents). I¡¯m still in my class, doing nothing. I finished my exam, and currently assuming a sleeping pose. It helps me concentrate my mind. But suddenly, the world was enveloped in darkness. No, I¡¯m not talking about me sleeping. My eyes are open, glancing quickly around my floating body. Pure darkness. Somehow, my body seems to glow in that darkness. This isn¡¯t right¡­. Immediately, the darkness began entering me. What? I cannot feel pain, but it feels uncomfortable. After what seemed to be an eternity, I could finally see light other than myself. The darkness fully retracted inside of me, forcing me to close my eyes to the sudden surge of light. Oh. Where am I? Below a tree, I am laying. Hmm... What is the correct response¡­. Ah, yes. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHERE AM I!¡± -Would be the best option. But¡­ I¡¯d rather not. -Oh? A¡­ rabbit? I¡¯m not sure. It has a dark fur and a grey horn from the middle of it¡¯s forehead. Exact measurements are not really possible since it is far from me. Actually¡­ where am I? This type of rabbit doesn¡¯t exist as far as I know. I have no clue since the type of trees and grass are unknown as well. Have I been forsaken from my unbearable life and given another chance? Or is this a punishment for disliking my original life. ...Hmm¡­ Doesn¡¯t really matter. What matters is that I¡¯m here and it¡¯s all fine. Ugh... My head feels dizzy.. Again, darkness surrounded me for a while, then it started retracting inside of me. Hmm¡­ I wonder how long it will take to bring me to wherever next. Looking back at my wristwatch, it seems that time has stopped? I¡¯m very sure that the watch was in a good condition. Well, the only reason I take it with me is for checking time in the exams. Makes a person feel excited, and I¡¯m not excluded. Well, let us make use of this ¡®Stop¡¯. I call it a ¡®Stop¡¯ since time stops, very obvious and uncreative. Nevertheless, I start pondering over my answers in the exam. Thankfully, I¡¯m able to remember things more vividly in this state, so it is as if I am seeing the paper in front of me. Hmmm¡­.. Nope, all fine. Actually, this is very interesting. Either I¡¯m dreaming or I got stuck in something supernatural. I doubt the latter. But I¡¯m not sure of the former either. I¡¯m too wide awake for this to be a dream. More so, if this was a dream, I would most likely be able to manipulate it for my benefit. Or fun? The point is, I¡¯m not in control. Ahhh¡­ Should I sleep? Yeah.. Ironically, the only thing that is fine in this repeatitive life is sleep. Sleeping allows me to experience many things, ranging from known to unknown. That is good and all, but I have noticed that since a few years, nightmares stopped popping up. I think my last nightmare was 5 years ago? Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll just go to sleep. Shouldn¡¯t miss a good opportunity, eh? I curl up into a ball and close my eyes. ¡­. Hmm.. I think I¡¯m back. I raise up my head, it seems that we are still in class. A glance at my watch tells me that 3 minutes have passed since that incident happened. Hopefully, it was real. Would be really disappointing for an unknown seeker such as myself, hm? I take my pen and stare at it. Why? Just to pass time. I¡¯m not a person that is always in the center of attention. At least I don¡¯t think I am. I still want to escape this unbearable loop. But¡­. I don¡¯t really know what happened. Objective of the day: -Look for what I just experienced -Find a way to repeat it I don¡¯t really need to repeat it, but if I was right, this was the solution for my problems. Probably.. For the first time in years, I could feel my heart pound from excitement. Of course I would. For now, let¡¯s try to find the trigger. I went back in my sleeping on a desk pose, and closed my eyes, and tried to remember what I did before it happened. I did absolutely nothing. Hmm¡­ Maybe I was having a lucid dream? That would clearly explain the horned rabbit, but it doesn¡¯t explain how vivid it was. Well, I will try clearing my mind. ¡­. 5 minutes later, no results. What should I do? Feeling disappointment, I stop trying. Just after that, a yawn escaped my mouth. Boring.. Well, all I can do right now is hope for the best. ¡°.....-loooo¡­¡± Am I hearing things? ¡°Did we do it incorrectly?¡± Huh. I open my eyes and look at the source of the voice. To my surprise, I¡¯m not at the forest, but in a spacious hall. Around me I could see about 7 old aged men, which have two features that are shared. One, they are wearing dark purple material, somehow glowing. The other is the white long beard that goes down to their feet. Out of nowhere, they start collapsing while panting heavily. ¡°Huh?¡± My surprise was shown at that moment. The place feels surreal, as well as the situation itself. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s alive!¡± A feminine voice resounds in my ear. When I look at her, a red haired, mature looking woman enters my field of vision. ¡°Yes?¡± My brain was working overdrive to ingest the current information as it bombarded itself with questions, mostly about the person before me. But thankfully, I was able to calm myself and arrange my priorities. ¡°What are you?¡± Although she looks exactly like a human, there is a very specific difference. There are two horns protruding out of her forehead. Her reaction looked like she expected another question, but I glared at her the longer the silence continued. Eventually, she was the one who broke the silence. ¡°Ugh¡­ I am the daughter of the King, Ashetalia Rehoven, and thi-¡± ¡°I said ¡®What are you¡¯.¡± I broke off her introduction as that isn¡¯t what i''m interested in right now. But that gave me glares full of bloodlust, of which I never felt before. With that, she turned away from me, but she never left my vision. What she was walking towards was a blond, blue eyed man in the primes. I stood there, doing nothing but staring. After she reached him, I could hear her speak. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t think that I can do it this time either¡­¡± This time either, she said? Just after that, his eyes pointed towards me. ¡°Welcome, hero!¡± With a loud voice that resounded in the hall, he spoke. The ideal question should be ¡®Hero?¡¯This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. But that didn¡¯t cross my mind for a moment. Instead, I was excited. People with horns supposedly don¡¯t exist. But where I am right now, it spells the opposite. Although I wanted to explore right now, the situation made it impossible. For one, all the entrances are sealed, be it closed or guarded. Thus, I decided to play along. ¡°Her-¡± Suddenly, the darkness appeared again, engulfing my surroundings. And as per usual, it took it¡¯s dear time to be retracted. And my destination was¡­ The place I was sent to last time. For the sake of simplicity, let¡¯s call it Rabtree. Now, just how long will I need to wait for the next transportation? I adapted surprisingly quickly, but I can¡¯t predict the time it happens. For the time being, I started carefully strolling. The fragrant smell of nature filled the air, so it was quite enjoyable. 5 minutes later, I reached what seems to be the rabbit¡¯s home. Surprisingly, it was docile when I approached it. I thought that it would use it¡¯s horn and attack me, but it didn¡¯t. Since it showed no signs of hostility, I slowly extended my hand to its head, as an attempt to pet it. Contrary to my appearance, I like cute and cuddly things, but I never show that to others. The horned rabbit stared at my hand for a while, smelling it, then it lowered its head. With that, I started stroking it. Ooh.. I¡¯m enjoying this.. After a few seconds, it pushed my hand off its head, then jumped into its nest. Suddenly, darkness enveloped me once again, ruining the moment. Ugh¡­ it will becoming slightly annoying if I can¡¯t control this. Maybe more than slightly. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t take so long for the darkness to retract, or so I think. The target right now was¡­ My class, again. No more for now, please. As an attempt to avoid being sent over, I get up from my sleeping pose and straighten my back. Now that I think about it, something feels off. As if superman was laser-eyeing my back. I look behind me and I see¡­ Nothing. No one had their attention directed at me, so it must be my imagination. I turn back and stare in front of me, just 2 seconds later, my back starts burning again. Ugh.. It really is abnormal, since the rest of my body is fine. Guess I have to¡­. Glance quickly! Tch, nothing again. This is annoying.. To avoid attention from the teacher, I stop turning my back and stay calm. Huff¡­ I raise my hand and ask the teacher to let me go to the toilet, which he accepts. I slowly stand up, give my paper to the teacher, and normally walk outside. Just as I close the door, I could feel the burning sensation on my back dissipate. Phew. I walk off to the bathroom and enter a stall, then proceed to relieve myself. Let¡¯s hope I don¡¯t get transferred in that position.. .. Thankfully, nothing happened so I proceed to wash my hands, then leave. Just a single step from the door, darkness enveloped me. Oh for the love of god.. And this time I¡¯m at.. The place where I was labeled as a hero. This time, it seems another set of mages were present, but unfortunately, they all collapsed like the first set. It feels terrible, but right now, I couldn¡¯t careless due to the surprised faces of the king(?) and his daughter. ¡°Hello.¡± I broke the silence with a carefree tone. ¡°Er.. Welcome again, Hero.¡± His composed expression broke but he fixed it quickly. A true king, I suppose. His aura is not a joke either. ¡°So, continuing off¡­ What hero?¡± He clears his throat then starts talking. ¡°I am Rolish Hilc the Third, the ruler of the country Sefai Lopie.¡± ¡°Okay, what is my purpose for coming here?¡± I decided not to dwell a lot on introductions, since I have a hunch that he is not the most trustworthy. ¡°Ignorant fool--! How dare you speak to his majesty like such!¡± A man clad in a silver, full plated armor threatens me using his halberd. Shiny.. On a side note, the king is sitting on a golden throne embedded with gems of various colours and sizes. He is wearing a white, fur coat with a crest on his right chest, as well as a golden crown carved with beautiful patterns while adorned with a blue circular gem in the very middle. Huh¡­ Since when were my eyes so attentive. Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter right now. I stare at the brown bearded halberd wielding man, inspecting him thoroughly while he does the same. ¡°Alfred, that is enough.¡± The king gave his order, which resulted in Alfred giving me a scowl then held way the halberd from me. That was scary.. ¡°Please excuse him.. Anyways, if you truly want to get to the point, then so be it.¡± That is better. ¡°For now, at the very least, you need to know how this world works.¡± He motions his hand to someone behind me, so I glance behind me curiously. A woman wearing a blue robe with flower patterns approaches me. She has blue eyes and pale blue straight hair that falls down to her hips. While she is walking, I notice an iron staff with a huge, circular orb embedded on the top. ¡°Young Hero,I would like to ask you to repeat those words in your mind : ¡®Status Screen¡¯.¡± Since no harm will be done, or so my intuition tells me, I repeat them in my mind, suddenly showing a dark purple screen with words on it. This is what is written on it : Name : Archillies Duane Class : Beginner World Traveller (Unique) Level : 1 HP : 1000 MP : 2500 -Stats : STR : 10 AGI : 12 DEF : 8 VIT : 15 INT : 13 WIS : 20 WIL : 17 LUK : 56 Stat Points : 500 Skill Points : 100 --Status Effects N/A Well.. That is surprising.. ¡°What do you see?¡± The woman in robes asked me. Since I have nothing to compare to, I will be honest in my answers. ¡°A menu that shows me name, level, class, etc.¡± ¡°Good, and what is your class?¡± ¡°World Traveller.¡± ¡°I see..¡± ¡°Is there anything else I must know?¡± ¡°Ah yes, you see those Skill Points? There is a menu called Skill Tree, try to imagine it.¡± I do so and what appears in front of me is branches upon branches of ¡®Skills¡¯. The first skill that is the roots, called ¡®Fledgling¡¯, which increases all stats by 2 for the cost of 1 skill point. ¡°How to unlock skills?¡± ¡°Firstly, you must have 2 skill points to unlock ¡®Fledgling¡¯, which is the first skill avaliable for every living being.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She says 2 points, but mine is available for one. I won¡¯t complain. I unlock it then proceed to the next 3 skills. My choices are ¡®Warrior¡¯, ¡®Mage¡¯ and ¡®Rogue¡¯. ¡®Warrior¡¯ increases the power of melee abilities by 15% and increases physical stats (STR,AGI,DEF,VIT). ¡®Mage¡¯ increases the magic power and regeneration by 25%, as well as mental stats with 2 points. (INT-WIS-WIL) Note : WIL is willpower. ¡®Rogue¡¯ is more focused towards stealth, giving a 40% increase in the power of stealthy abilities and 4 stats towards AGI and INT. ¡°Could you tell me about skills and ¡®Abilities¡¯?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, skills are earned from the skill tree, and are the same for every person until they reach their 10th upgrade in their respective choice, after that, it differs from one person to another.¡± ¡°How many skill points per level?¡± ¡°As for that, 2, there have yet been reports of a person earning more.¡± ¡°And stat points?¡± ¡°4 Per level.¡± Hmm.. ¡°How about abilities?¡± ¡°Ah yes, those are not affiliated with skills, they are gained by an individual''s hard work, and are only exclusive to that person, however, basic abilities such as ¡®Run¡¯, can be gained by every person.¡± ¡°How do they work?¡± ¡°Rather than Skill Points, frequent use of the ability will increase the efficiency and power, depending on the type of ability.¡± ¡°I see, do you know anything about my class?¡± ¡°Sadly, no, however, the person possessing the class should be able to see information on it if they tap it on the status screen.¡± Following that, I did what she said and a new menu appeared before me. -Beginner World Traveller (Unique) As a person that transversed between worlds, you will have an advantage than the normal world dwellers. --Abilities : --Effects : Well now. I don¡¯t know what this world¡¯s standard is, but if I may say, those numbers look nice in my eyes. ¡°Now young Hero, we do not wish to impose many questions on you, so we will get to the point.¡± This time it was the king speaking. ¡°As you are aware, this is a different world from the one you came from.¡± ¡°Yes, I am aware.¡± ¡°The reason we had to summon you was due to the demon king¡¯s return.¡± Demon king? The king saw the confusing on my face, so he started explaining. ¡°Every 500 years, a demon king is born, and due to that, the monster tribes combine under them, and set towards laying waste to our lands and conquering them.¡± ¡°Are you not able to beat him yourselves?¡± I asked a somewhat foolish question, but it is still relevant. They all got sullen faces as their heads faced down. ¡°....We tried, however, his power is too strong, even for our strongest guards.¡± ¡°Hooh.. I see.. So my job is beating him and ending this war, aye?¡± ¡°Yes, it is very selfish from us, but we hope you could do us this favor, and we will forever be in your debt.¡± He lowered his body and bowed, and so did the mage and his daughter. The pressure is too great. But I still had a very important question. ¡°How will I return home?¡± Their faces turned blue all of the sudden, as if they saw a ghost. ¡°I can¡¯t..?¡± While somewhat hypocritical of me, I still held my home and family close, it is just the lifestyle that I dislike. Maybe the ability ¡®World Travel¡¯ can solve it, but I¡¯m not planning on leaving so soon. ¡°Fine¡­ But I can¡¯t just go at the demon king so soon, could I?¡± The instant they heard that, they faces brightened up like a child receiving a gift. ¡°y-Yes of course! We will support you as much as we could, you have my gratitude.¡± They all bowed once again, making me scratch my head in embarrassment. ¡°Could you introduce me to this world?¡± ¡°Ah. Yes, this world is called Dila, and as I said before, we are in the country Sefai Lopie, and we are currently in the capital Azurell.¡± ¡°Hmm.. Could you show me a map?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± He motions the mage and she takes out a bundle of papers from.. her ring? After arranging the papers, she puts the rest in her ring, then approaches me. ¡°This is the world map, this here is Sefai Lopie.¡± She points her finger towards the left side of the map. The Continent is divided into 4 sections, the East, West, North and South countries. Sefai Lopie rules over the East, and the capital is at the middle where a river flows from the center of the continent. The source of the river seems to branch into the other sides as well, giving water to all of them equally, and ending at the sea. I wonder, where does all this water come from? Either way, she begins telling me about the other 3 countries, the ruler of the north : Rezal Kingdom. The ruler of the west : Howser Kingdom. The ruler of the south, which is currently occupied by the demon king, Jevilia Centauros. Actually, a question has been on my mind since the king introduced himself. ¡°I have a question, why does your daughter have a different second name?¡± ¡°You see, depending on the child¡¯s choice, they could take up the surname of the father¡¯s family or the mother¡¯s, and at the end, she chose her mother¡¯s, as a retribution to her death.¡± The king said so with an upset face. ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Now please, do you need anything else?¡± ¡°Yes, as I¡¯d still like to familiarize myself with this world even more.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Firstly, I want somewhere to stay, secondly I want books that would help me in my battles, and lastly I would like someone to train me.¡± ¡°Consider it done. As for the last one, Alfred could do the job, could he not?¡± The king sent a glare at Alfred who looked like he disagreed with my very existence itself. Not that I blame him, I¡¯m already stretching it with talking to the king very casually. But no matter. Since the conversation was finished, the king called for a maid to lead me to my room. On the way, I tried to bring up my ability menu. --Abilities : Surprisingly, I had a lot of abilities for my first level. Out of curiousity, I chose the Lv part of Void Mind, showing me 0/1000. As a comparison, I did the same for Tame, and it showed me the same number. Huh.. Is that what the unique effect of my class make? Still walking to my room, I asked the maid. ¡°Hey, how much XP does one need to level up abilities?¡± ¡°From 1 to 2 takes 100 XP, 2 to 3 is 200, 3 to 4 is 400, and so on.¡± Hmmm.. That means at the start I get an disadvantageous position, but later on it gets incredibly easy. Oh, it seems we reached my room. The maid opens the room then I enter. After asking me if I need anything, she bowed and left. As for today, I decided that I¡¯m going to spend my few days learning about stats and my abilities. Before that, I tried unlocking a few skills from the skill tree, and as the unique effect says, all of them had the cost of one. Since I felt that sooner or later I will have an abundance of points, I started unlocking all the skills in the warrior category, until the branches reached a point where the 3 main branches connect. When I tried finding out what the skill is about, it said ¡®Sleepless¡¯, which makes my body not require sleep. It branched into 3 other routes, but I decided to hold up for now and unlock the rest of the main routes. By the time I unlocked them all, 45 of my points were taken, not counting the personal skill and the new hidden routes. If we count the total taken points, 85 is the number. However, I do not have regrets as the effects were incredibly helpful, and they connect to my personal skills too. I used the rest of my points to unlock the first 5 in each one of the 3 personal routes, leaving me broke with no points. As for the stats, I went for 100 for VIT and 100 in DEF then 50 in the rest. Just as I was done, I felt sharper and more rejuvenated, allowing me to observe more accurately. Before the maid had left, she told me about a convenient tool to call for her, just like a bell. I use it and in just a few minutes, I could hear knocking on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Have you called, sir¡± I was able to distinguish the sound behind the door. Thus, I opened the door and told her what I requested, giving me a nod then leaving quickly. I closed the door then sat back on the bed, this time inspecting my surroundings. The walls were coloured gold, with a mahogany-like wood furniture surrounding it. The bed was made with what seems to be luxurious beddings, with the skeleton carved with beautiful drawings of fire. A nice blanket was covering the bed while giving off a warm feel to it. I laid down on the bed, looking at the ceiling painted with the night sky. The atmosphere gave an extremely drowsy feeling, making me close my eyes in comfort. Just as I closed them, I heard knocking on the door as it opened. I got up and stared at the maid who filled my room with books of different sizes and colours. Some of which glowed, while others sucked the light around them, and those frozen on themselves. Although I imagined they exist, I never had believed they did. The maid bowed before asking me for food, which I had agreed to. She excused herself, then left while closing the door as quietly as possible. I got up from the bed and took the nearest book in my hands, then sat down at the desk. However, just as I opened it, a text appeared before my eyes. ¡®Do you wish to learn -Body Strengthening-? Y/N¡¯ Huh. I don¡¯t see a reason to not. I said yes, and I suddenly felt a difference. The book in my hand glowed brightly for a few seconds, then calmed down soon after. I looked back at it, but somehow, it felt familiar holding the book, as if I held and kept reading it for years. I checked my abilities and found Body Strengthening Lv1. For the safety of it, I did not activate it and decided to ¡®Read¡¯ the rest of the books. ¡­ 1 hour later, I was finally able to learn all of them. Phew, I feel exhausted.. Suddenly, the door started knocking. ¡°Sir, food is here.¡± ¡°Enter.¡± She opened the door while carrying a tray, skillfully avoiding slipping food. She placed it on the table, then asked me if I needed anything. I told her that if I need her, I will ring the bell, thus she excused herself. I sat down at the table then started eating slowly, savoring the supreme taste of the cook. Wow. After I finished eating, I used the newly acquired ability ¡®Water Manipulation¡¯ to wash my hands, then dried them with ¡®Air Manipulation¡¯. I opened my status screen once again to look at my new self. Name : Archillies Duane Class : Beginner World Traveller (Unique) Level : 1 HP : 9050 (1000+ (161*50)) MP : 12900 (2500+(104*100)) -Stats : STR : 89 AGI : 86 DEF : 154 VIT : 176 INT : 124 WIS : 132 WIL : 90 LUK : 150 --Achievements : >The Educated : One who learned and understood the concepts of the world. +20 INT and WIS >All-Elements Dabbler : -20% Cost of all magicks. >Headstarter : By surpassing 50 points in all stats, gain +4 stat and skill points per level. >Skill Master : Unlock all of the skill tree. -70% Cost of all abilities, +400% power of all abilities. >Sleepless : Sleep is no longer needed, however, fatigue might accumulate. >Hidden Skill Routes Master : Unlock all of the hidden skills. Abilities will have 0% chance of failure, learning abilities and creating hybrid abilities is 500% Easier. >World Traveller : Gain access to the world traveller exclusive effects and abilities. Unconsciously, I whistled. Those are some great hauls, if I may say. Although I unconsciously understand the concepts of this world, I still need to read them with my eyes to know the contents. While ¡®Reading¡¯ them, I gained stats as well as abilities, explaining why I got more than what I submitted. Even if I don¡¯t need to sleep, it is needed for having a better mood and concentration. I look out of the window to find that the day is still young. Thus, I go out to explore. Due to one of my new abilities, I¡¯m able to create a permenant, detailed mental map, thankfully, I had enough stats to acquire it. There were a few books that I wasn¡¯t able to ¡®Read¡¯ beforehand, however, after reading other books, I gained enough stats to suit the requirement. I take the key left on the desk by the maid and leave the room. I turned on the ability and anything within the range of 3 meters show up on my ¡®Map¡¯. If I were to compare it, it is like a game¡¯s minimap. Now, time to awaken my explorer instinct. ¡­ =========Prologue End.=== Chapter 1 -2 Hours later¡­ If I were to describe the castle interior, the word Amazing won¡¯t suit it enough. Using the new profound knowledge of construction, I scanned every little part of the wall, finding nearly no irregularities. By the way, the halls are about 2 meters wide, extending for who knows how long. If it weren¡¯t for my mental map, I would be lost a million times. Strangely enough, I couldn¡¯t actually find anyone. I looked through the rooms, they were either closed or empty. Even the kitchen was empty. However, I would have thought that it was like such for long if not for the smell of cooked food. It was¡­ Aromatic? Nevertheless, I¡¯m still exploring. Let¡¯s say that I have explored less than a quarter of the castle, just for clarification. After about 30 more minutes of mindless exploring, I decided to return back to my room. It took me about 30 more minutes, until I realized how ¡®Deep¡¯ I had explored. What intrigued me was that the fact that when I ring the bell, the maid would be knocking in mere minutes, while here I am, barely able to guide myself back with the help of the map. Suddenly, my vision starts getting blurry. Without control, my body adjusted into a fighting pose that I have never seen before and started using ¡®Cure¡¯. Thankfully, my vision started to fix up, and I could see that the halls have become dark, as if I was in a basement with no lights. However, I was just as prepared, conjuring a small orb of light. Rather than one, I started conjuring a lot of them since the cost is immeasurable with the help of my achievements. Sending 4 in front of me and 4 behind, while keeping 2 above me, I started moving carefully while activating the rogue ability ¡®Sneak¡¯, with the aid of the hidden skill routes. A couple of minutes in, and I could hear a sound. I moved closer while perking my ears to listen. ¡°I can¡¯t find him..¡± ¡°Well, search again. He is probably lost somewhere, look inside the rooms carefully, he must have hid when we started the barrier.¡± ¡°Yes boss.¡± Two unrecognized voices were sent to my ears, so I quickly cancelled all of the orbs. I moved closer towards the boss, who was alone, and started inspecting him. A large, yet slim stature draped in black clothes like a ninja, with two knives on each side of his waist, and probably others hidden under his clothes. Wait, how do I know that? Ugh¡­ Those books are starting to affect my mind in a strange way. No matter. Using my new speed and strength, I dash at him and kick him in the knee, making him stumble, while I followed up with a chop at the back of his neck, making him fall unconscious. My body moved on it¡¯s own, while I only commanded it to subdue him. That was somewhat easy, yet unnatural. I thought that he was going to resist more, since he was a ¡°Boss¡±, but I was wrong. To avoid alerting his subordinate, I took his arms and started pulling towards an open room, then tied him with a ¡®Magic-Nullifying Vine¡¯, and gagged him with it as well. Ironic since it is made with magic. I started searching his body for anything of use, or any tool that might show my presence, and I found one. Using the ability ¡®Inspect¡¯, I looked at his necklace. --Necklace of Communication -A silver necklace enchanted with Communication. -Can only communicate with it¡¯s counterpart. -Durability : 14/15 Well now.. As long as it is not worn, it will not activate, so I¡¯m not worried about the other guy hearing what is happening. I start taking out all his weapons as well, then store them in my inventory. Convenient. Since my work is done, I leave the room and close the door, then reactivate Sneak. Up until now, I have not met a single person other than those 2. They said something about a barrier, so might it be that only the 3 of us are present in it? If so, then either I need to knock them out to cancel it or wait until the time limit is reached. Barriers have two types, Timed and Lifetimed. The timed barrier will stay for as long as it was meant, even if the caster is knocked out or killed, making it the most efficient type. Lifetimed, on the other hand, use magic for as long as it is casted, so if the supply is cut off, it will dissipate. And since I knocked out the man and even covered him in magic nullifying vines, the barrier still exists. While I was inspecting his items, I used it on him too, showing me his status screen. His stats are more focused on agi and str, proving that he is a rogue-classed person. His STR and AGI were averaged at 90, while his level was at 41. I still need to learn about from which level a person is called strong, and I hate being in the dark. As I continued to dawdle over useless topics in my mind, I found the other accomplice. He was stealthly opening doors and checking the insides like a predator. Just when he got out of his recently entered room, our eyes met. I moved backwards, but his eyes were still on me. Suddenly, I was met with large bloodthirst that made me flinch. Using that opportunity, he dashed at me with his dagger unsheathed, prepared to kill. At that moment, a text appeared saying ¡°Absolute Luck activated.¡± Just after that, he seemingly stumbled over nothing, halting his attack midway. Doing the same as him,I readied my stance and dashed at him too, then gave a chop sideways. Yet, just before my hand hit him, he disappeared from my vision. Feeling danger behind me, I instantly ducked, avoiding a slash at my neck by a hair''s breadth. At that moment, my blood started to boil and adrenaline rushed through me.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. A weird, yet great feeling. I tried to counterattack by swiping my right leg at his, but he avoided it easily. I stood up and got on guard once again, then observed his movements. -Ding. ¡°Dagger Mastery has leveled up by 1¡± I got startled by the announcement, which gave him another opportunity. His dagger, pointed towards my heart, was narrowly dodged by sidestepping to the right, which he tried to counter with a slash. Using my left hand, I took hold of his right wrist, stopping his slash midway, then giving a strong punch in his solar plexus, making him groan. Taking advantage of that, I went behind him while still holding his wrist, but he recovered quicker than I thought. He rotated his body and tried to slash me with a knife, which I avoided by going backwards. He dashed at me once again, but I predicted his attack. I dashed at him, then slide under him while holding his legs, making him fall flat on his face, then I punched as strong as I could on his head, giving off a strange crackling sound before another announcement. ¡°Congratulations, you have defeated a person 45 levels above you.¡± ¡°You have leveled up x10¡± ¡°Achievement gained : The Role Switcher : By killing something 30 levels or more above you, you have achieved the impossible. +20 in all stats¡± What? I.. killed him? I know that it was a life or death battle, but I never intended to do that.. Ugh¡­ My body feels sluggish. With that, my vision started to black out. ¡­ Huh.. Where is this? I get up and scan my surroundings. Right now, I¡¯m on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Then, I notice the door opening slowly. The person that entered was the maid. ¡°It seems you have awaken, sir.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I went to check on you many times but I never found you, then after asking all of the staff to look for you, we found you inside the hall on top of a dead assassin¡¯s body..¡± Oh. I killed him, huh.. Argh.. my head is hurting. I try to stand up, but the maid urges me to stay on the bed due to the physical and mental fatigue. I have no way to argue with that, so I stayed. I asked her if there were more books than the ones she had given me, and she answered with yes, however no one is allowed to take them out of the royal library. After some silence, my stomach grumbled. Which reminds me of.. ¡°How long was I out for?¡± ¡°6 hours.¡± ¡°Then.. Could you please get me food?¡± She nodded then bowed and left the room. After making sure that she left, I raised my arm and looked at it once again. The arm that killed the first person in my life. Then it struck me. The assassins were human, even though our main enemy is the demon army, or so I¡¯m told. So¡­ why? Did one of the countries ally with them? Or was what I was told false? Theories upon theories kept popping up in my head until the maid entered once again. I put all my current thoughts in a corner, then took the tray and started eating. The maid excused herself to report to the king that I woke up, then left. Mmm.. The food is certainly made by a professional. I wonder if I could ask the cook for his teaching methods, or maybe just observe him. Hmm.. I layed on the bed after putting the tray on a nearby table, then started allocating my newly acquired points. My HP and MP increased by 1000, showing me that one level increases them by 100. Since I have 240 points, with the 40 from the Headstarter title, I put 100 in AGI, since it allows me to react quicker, then 50 in WIS and 50 in STR, and lastly 40 in DEF. WIS increases my thinking speed and my MP regeneration/s, while STR to allow me to defend better. As for my 100 skill points, I started unlocking the rest of my tree, opening up hidden routed that don¡¯t compare to the original ones. While unlocking, there were skills that turned Stats into a better version of itself. How? You ask. Normally, 1 point in VIT gives 50 HP, and slightly increases regeneration. After unlocking the skill, VIT became VIT+, doubling its effects. I kept unlocking until I got dry of points, while feeling as if my body was reconstructing itself. Then, I reached 8 branches connecting to one. When I checked them all, they had a red-coloured ¡®Repeatable¡¯ next to them. When I read their description, I was in awe. Each skill gives me 10 stat points according to the branch. So branch 1 gives me 10 stat points in STR, and so on. However, the last skill had ¡®???????????¡¯ all over it. The name was unknown and the description as well. Yet, the cost was 1000. Yep. If it costs so much, that means it is important, or so I thought. But, I¡¯m not saving up for it right now. Due to the effect of my class, any monster, be it weak or strong will still give me XP. Of course, strong monsters give more depending on the difference in levels. So whenever I wish to level up, all I have to do is defeat monsters. I hope I don¡¯t have to fight humans again.. ¡­ Staring blankly into the ceiling, 2 hours passed. What woke me up from the trance was the knocking on the door. ¡°Are you awake, sir?¡± ¡°Yeah, come in.¡± She enters the room with a girl wearing a white robe while carrying a wooden staff. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°This is our royal healer, she will check on you.¡± The ¡®Healer¡¯ chants something, and a white light envelopes me, making me feel warm. Then she chanted something else, making light envelope me once again, but nothing happened. ¡°Do you feel alright?¡± The healer asked, with an unnatural male-like voice. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± She smiles as her brown, straight hair dances in the air. She then excuses herself to report to the king once again, but I insisted on joining her to meet the king. I have a couple of questions that have to be answered. After a short argument, they agreed and now we are on our way to the throne room. Beforehand, I had turned on the mental map, now allowing me to visit him whenever I need. Once we reach the doors, the healer motions the two guards, and they open the door. Just as before, I¡¯m greeted with the king and his daughter at the throne, with Alfred on their left side. When the king noticed me, his face drained of colour as I flashed a big smile. Him getting scared proves that something is wrong, or so I thought. The maid stops me in our tracks as the healer went forward and told the king about my condition. He thanked her, then told her and the maid to leave as we have a discussion. I don¡¯t look behind me and stare at the king, hearing the sounds of the door opening and closing at last. ¡°Now then, my dear king, could you explain why there were human assassins after me?¡± Alfred gets on guard, and so does the royal guards at the pillars. ¡°W-well, since the demon king conquered the south, he took the remaining alive humans and controlled their minds.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ And why was it that they were talking to each other, and they reacted exactly like a normal minded human would?¡± His body started shaking even more, then he shouted. ¡°THIS ONE IS A FAILURE! KILL HIM!¡± Just as the last word was said, the mage erected a shield over the king and his daughter, then started doing something to the guards. My instinct told me that what she was doing was not fine, so I equipped one of the daggers I took from the assassin then dashed at her. Alfred, dashed at me to try to defend, however, my newly upgraded stats gave me the edge, allowing me to reach her before him. I put the dagger in a piercing stance, and thrusted it at the shield, making it crumble in the process. She was startled, however, I took the chance and slashed at her neck, feeling some resistance from her robes, but I still continued, beheading her in the process. -Ding. ¡°You have learned all the abilities possessed by the human..¡± I ignored the message as Alfred has caught up to me. He swung his halberd downwards, making me dodge to the left, while he tried to switch its pose and slash sideways. Unfortunately for him, I anticipated that with a newly acquired skill called ¡®Battle Sense¡¯, allowing me to know how and when he will attack, as well as warning me of attacks from blindspots. Just like¡­ this! I jump quickly, dodging the fireball casted by one of the guards, then I myself did the same, however, mine was 5 times larger than his, which was the size of a tennis ball. I targeted Alfred, since he was my main concern while controlling my direction in the air with ¡®Air Manipulation¡¯. The ball, faster than the guard¡¯s, reached Alfred at bullet speed. Unable to dodge it, he was hit square in the face, giving off an explosion. Dust surrounded his face, but when it dissipated, he became headless. -Ding. ¡°You have..-¡± I ignored the message just like the one before it, then proceeded to create blades made of air. I swung them at the 8 royal guards, cutting all of them in half, before getting down on the ground and looking at the king with a bright smile. At that moment, I stopped thinking about whether I should kill them or not. When I get betrayed, my first thought is to ¡®Kill¡¯, yet I never took it seriously up until now. The king and his daughter, shivering from fear, as I¡¯m standing inside a battlefield unscathed. ¡°D-demon!¡± What? Ugh.. I took my hand and started massaging my forehead. ¡°Now look here.. I never actually came with the intention to fight, ya¡¯know.¡± He looked at me with a terrified expression. ¡°As a thank you for teaching me about this world, I¡¯m willing to let you live, as long as you tell me where the royal library is.¡± He started nodding frantically. Tsk, is that how a king should act? He rings for the maid, and she enters quickly, surprised by the sudden scene before her. ¡°T-take him to the r-Royal library..¡± He was shivering as he said those words. I showed a smile toward the maid, as she fixed her composure quicker than the king. Shame on him, I thought, as I walked out of the throne room with her. ¡­ =====Chap1 End==== Chapter 2 -10 minutes later¡­ I mentally sighed at what I had done. Why did it turn out to be a massacre? Ugh¡­ No use lamenting over it, I guess. Right now, we are going deeper into the castle, according to my mental map. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t try to lure me into a trap or scream for the guards, avoiding any more blood shedding. Now that I¡¯m reminded, whenever I killed someone, a message saying that I gained their abilities appeared. I try to rack my brain for the reason, and I finally remembered. The skill ¡®Consume¡¯, allows me to gain the opponent¡¯s abilities if they are killed by me. It never thought that it would be used so soon.. Anyhow, after 2 more minutes of walking, we reached a large door, a bit smaller than the throne room¡¯s. This time, no guards were present in it, but rather it was enchanted with many defensive seals. Only those allowed to could enter. Sadly, I have only learned how to detect and identify the enchantments and seals, but nothing about bypassing or breaking them. The maid pushed the door, which glowed for a moment, then finally opened. Inside were rows upon rows of bookshelves, going as high as 3 floors, with a few tall ladders leaning on them. We both enter, then she asks me which section I want to read. Priorities first, let¡¯s go find some ability books. I told her so, then we move for a while until we reach the usual strange books. We meet again, elemental books! I went in and started taking out books, but I realized that just touching it is enough to open up the ¡®Read¡¯ message. This is going to take long¡­ ¡­ -3 Hours later.. ARGH! I haven¡¯t already reached half the books yet. On the way, I picked up a new ability called ¡®Magic Hand¡¯, which increased my speed by a lot, but there is still A LOT. Since I felt hungry, I asked the maid to get me some food, since I get hungry quickly. I didn¡¯t eat for like, 6 hours or so? She gave me a nod, then bowed and left. I¡¯m starting to wonder, why does she still respect me? No matter.. I¡¯ve got lots and lots of books begging to be ¡®Read¡¯. ¡­ -5 Hours later.. FINALLY! Midway, the maid finally brought food, which I ate heartedly. There might be poison, or so I thought, so I used ¡®Purify¡¯, and ate. Thankfully, the food stuffed me enough, and I got back to ¡®Reading¡¯. And here I am, a living encyclopedia. Due to one of my unlocked skills, now any book I read will have it¡¯s contents stored in my brain like a picture in a mobile phone. And since I used ¡®Magic Hand¡¯ for long, it leveled up enough for me to use 3 at the same time, but the problem is controlling what they are doing. As a solution, giving them basic orders like ¡®Touch this whole row of books¡¯, is enough. At least it isn¡¯t as complex as telling it for be my sparring partner. For now, I decided to take a break and replenish my non-existent stamina bar. Then, it struck me. Couldn¡¯t I use ¡®Heal¡¯ to refresh my stamina? Just like that, I discovered the way to work for as long as I wish.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡®Sleepless¡¯ and ¡®Heal¡¯, truly broken, if I might say. There were many abilities which could be leveled up by just keeping them cast on my body, so I did so as the cost is nowhere near my regeneration rate. Since my mind was now relieved that I got what I came for, I decided to look at my status screen. Name : Archillies Duane Level : 53 HP : 36900 = (9050 + (84*50) + 5200)*2 MP : 84800 = (12900+(243*100) + 5200)*2 -Stats : STR+ : 189 AGI+ : 230 DEF+ : 301 VIT+ : 245 INT+ : 347 WIS+ : 221 WIL+ : 179 LUK+ : 342 Stat Points : 1032 Skill Points : 430 --Achievements : >The Educated : One who learned and understood the concepts of the world. +20 INT and WIS >All-Elements Dabbler : -20% Cost of all magicks. >Headstarter : By surpassing 50 points in all stats, gain +4 stat and skill points per level. >Skill Master : Unlock all of the skill tree. -70% Cost of all abilities, +400% power of all abilities. >Sleepless : Sleep is no longer needed, however, fatigue might accumulate. >Hidden Skill Routes Master : Unlock all of the hidden skills. Abilities will have 0% chance of failure, learning abilities and creating hybrid abilities is 500% Easier. >World Traveller : Gain access to the world traveller exclusive effects and abilities. >One Hit Killer : Increase damage by 200% for all attacks. If who I fought were considered strong, then what am I? I¡¯m not a battle maniac by any means, so as long as there is excitement, I¡¯m up for it. Truth to be told, the books were fascinating. Containing both history and knowledge, I could read them without getting bored. What interested me was the history. About 5000 years ago, this world was like medieval Earth, but suddenly, a meteor struck the planet, changing its foundation completely. The meteor, now present in the middle of the continent, produces both mana and water. However, due to the thickness of mana, normal animals started getting mutated, becoming what they call today as monsters. Of course, not all monsters right now are deadly, there are many domestic ones, like a slightly bigger type of goat called Meij. According to those who lived long enough, they have met intelligent monsters. One prime example is Greater Dragons. Of course, no one could tame them as their power is immeasurable due to the fact that they reside in the very center, too close to the meteor. Problem is, too much exposure to thick mana results in mana sickness, and if not treated quickly, they will lose their minds and become something akin to ghouls. What is even more dangerous is if mages were the ones to get sick, as they become Greater Ghouls, able to use magic and abilities of whoever was infected, thus it has become a point where all kingdoms just leave it alone, with a few extermination requests if a large number of monsters appear all of the sudden. And now comes the ¡®Demon King¡¯. According to the books, what the king told me was correct, except for the part where they lay waste and take control of land for no reason. The demon king unites the monsters, yes, but after that, they just develop and try to cope with the current society, but it usually fails as humans are not so trusting and could backstab with a moment¡¯s thought. As for the reason they are called ¡®Demon¡¯, it is largely because they emit nearly limitless miasma, which is why monsters abide by them. Of course, there were instances where the demon controls the miasma and still rules over, but either way, they are still called a demon. The other, small reason was because they have black goat-like horns and crimson red eyes, but that is too judgemental, don¡¯t you think? Now then, I lie down on my makeshift couch made of books and order the magic hands to go and work in the other sections. Now then, back to the matter at hand. What should I do? In all honesty, I could just go back to my world as if, but what am I going to do there? Flaunt my magic? Become a prisoner for experimentation. Or even better, become the no. 1 natural enemy of humankind. Or just do nothing and live my life like normal, which is impossible at this point. Heck, I doubt that if someone came and tried to slice or stab me, their weapon would just shatter. Now that I think about it.. Am I going to always fight bare handed? I know that I get more flexibility in hand to hand combat, but what if someone wielding a quarterstaff came at me? I can¡¯t always rely on magic, there will always be that person who could nullify my magic, just like what I did to assassin. Then, it struck me. Why not create my own alive metal? But it was quickly cast away as a mere dream. Nothing such as alive metals were present in the books. Or maybe..! I get up from the couch and use my new ability ¡¯Search¡¯, which looks for a keyword that I chose. This time, I used two searches, one for smithy and one for alchemy. Thankfully, there were results, but they were on the highest bookshelf in another section. Feeling lazy, I cast ¡®Fly¡¯ and slowly hover towards the books. I didn¡¯t go fast since I can¡¯t really control it well yet. Once I reached the bookshelf, I swiped my finger on all of the books, just in case, and acquire what I wanted. Knowledge about minerals and rituals flooded in my head, to be dissipate in an instant. While I was reviewing the alchemy part, I found that I was missing a part. Herblore. I used the keywords herbs and potion, finding them to be in the bookshelf right below the one I was at. I hovered down, then started the same thing, touch books, say yes, repeat. After about 20 minutes of processing the new information, I thought : Can¡¯t I just create more magic hands if I pour more mana? As such, I did so. And the result was¡­ Bigger magic hands. I facepalmed at the terrible failure. Looks like I can¡¯t just cheat my way through, huh. Well, I¡¯m going to go to the cooking section, then ask the maid to show me the chef while the magic hands do their work. Or so I thought, until a room hidden between the innumerable bookshelves was discovered. It was somehow growing menacingly red, with a visible blood seal on it. Thankfully, I was able to dismantle it after some work, to find a large, thick book sitting on an altar, glowing the same red as the door. I used ¡®Inspect¡¯ on it, and stared at the text before me, flabbergasted. ======Chap2 end===== Chapter 3 --Grimoire Of Soul Magic -Written by the first king of Sefai Lopie after his wife¡¯s death, he achieved a miracle in magic, but at a great cost. -Cursed. -Durability : INDESTRUCTIBLE I whistled at the marvel in front of me. From my recent discoveries, it was told that Soul Magic has many uses. If it were to be compared to another type of magic, it would be a superior version of Necromancy, with actual control over the soul. A soul is the basis of our life. It is what generates mana, so those who are able to connect to another soul, their mana regeneration increases, depending on the strength of the soul. And what determines the strength of a soul is WIL stat. Those with weak WIL stat are more prone to have their souls snatched away from them, to be used as a backup generator for whoever got it. Another way to use souls is for golems. Yes, the good ol¡¯ slow statues. Except if they are well made, you can just beg for mercy as it chases after you to the end of the planet. Or so the books say. I walk towards the book, blinded by the greatness of its power, and touch it. Suddenly, words started to fill my head. ¡°Kill them¡± ¡°Take revenge¡± ¡°Resurrect me¡± ¡°We have the power¡± ¡°Join us¡± My hand, unable to let go of the book, stuck to it like it was melted on it. Then, a pop up came. ¡°Void Mind activated..¡± ¡°You have resisted Curse with Void Mind.¡± ¡°Void Mind have leveled up by 2!¡± ¡°WIL+ has increased by 5¡± Finally, the voices stopped entering my head, and I was able to let go of the book. ¡°Would you like to register yourself as the ¡®Grimoire of Soul Magic¡¯s owner? Y/N¡± Since the curse has dissipated, not accepting would be a complete waste, wouldn¡¯t it? Thus, I said yes, and the book turned into a ring and attached itself on my index finger, then became a tattoo. Well then, now I can stop worrying about it being stolen, eh? I use ¡®Inspect¡¯ on the tattoo, learning new information --Grimoire of Soul Magic -Owned by Archillies Duane -Able to store an infinite amount of souls. -Able to take a maximum of 25% mana generated by the souls. -Dark magic is 50% more powerful -Blood magic is 25% more powerful -Durability : INDESTRUCTIBLE What a nice ring. Tattoo? Both, I guess. Now I finally know what is the use of WIL. It doesn¡¯t only affect the soul, but it could resist status effects, such as the curse. Thankfully, Void Mind, which has no description, finally did something. I looked at the books for what Void Mind is, but nothing was said about it, making it a complete mystery for me. Now that I think about it, where does the information from ¡®Inspect¡¯ come from? I took it for granted at first, true, but right now I¡¯m curious. Since the room has nothing else, I exit, and just as I step out of the door, the pillars start shaking, crumbling the room on top of itself in the process. What a shame, it was well built. Just as the shaking stopped, the maid appeared at the other side of the hall, with a hint of worry in her face. ¡°What happened?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She asked. ¡°I entered this room and it crumbled on it¡¯s own just as I got out.¡± ¡°W-what..?¡± She said, confused. Well, of course she would be confused. I entered a blood sealed room, which is considered the highest difficulty type of seals. However, with my textbook knowledge (literally), I was able to crack it open with a bit of forcefulness. ¡°Did¡­ did you unlock the door?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She stiffed after I replied, then took a step backwards. ¡°Hey now, the grimoire isn¡¯t controlling me right now, alright?¡± Her body relaxed a bit, but she was still on-guard. ¡°Ugh.. just go get me food, alright? I¡¯m leaving soon anyways..¡± ¡°Y-yes..¡± She fixed her composure quick, then quickly went out of the library (maze) with ease. If my calculations are correct, the magic hands should be about done in 3 hours. In the meantime, I look through my randomly picked up abilities to find an ability called ¡®Illusionary Barrier¡¯. What it does is create another world, for a certain amount of time, or as long as the caster is supplying it with magic, as I explained before. It seems like the barrier the assassins made was also an ¡®Illusionary Barrier¡¯. Inside this barrier, what happens inside, doesn¡¯t connect to the outside. For example, let¡¯s say I made a barrier around this whole castle, and only I am inside of it. I turn the castle to ash, then when I get out, the castle comes back to the way it is. Very nice.. Mm.. Ah! I¡¯m getting out of track. After some pondering, I decided to not use it, yet. For now, I kept summoning orbs made out of air then cancelling them, all in order to gain better ability levels. After about an hour of repeating the same actions, I gained the abilities ¡®Parallel Thought¡¯ and ¡®Auto Cast¡¯. ¡®Parallel Thought¡¯ is passive, allowing me to think better while doing an action. Just to simplify, I am now able to multitask. As for ¡®Auto Cast¡¯, I¡¯m able to cast the same ability at a specific speed at the cost of extra magic, but I don¡¯t really care about the extra magic, and turned it on. Now I¡¯m bored.. -Ding! ¡°Magic Hand has reached level 10!¡± Finally! Now I¡¯m able to cast 5. I casted the two, and sent one of them to do the same action as the others. As for the other one, I wanted to fiddle a bit with it. I tried to control it to do actions, such as play rock paper scissors, make gang signs, and tested its fighting strength. The first two actions were hard to do, but after a bit of practice, it was able to fluidly act as a third hand for me. Well, not exactly, but it is fluid enough. As for the fighting strength, I made it go into a fist pose, then thrust it at my face. And what happened was.. I was pushed back a little. It seems that according to my STR stat, the magic hands will have the power. Then I thought¡­ What if I add mana to it, will the punch be stronger, or just the same? With that, I learned one important lesson. Don¡¯t screw with the magic hands, they are more dangerous than the assassins and the castle guards combined. Another test I did, was whether if I could wear the magic hands like a glove or not. If so, that might solve a bit of my weapon problems. And it worked! I wore it exactly like a glove, and tried to move my hands, but it was as if it was a glove to begin with. I grinned while thinking about the possibilities, then put more mana into it, making it larger. My hand, feeling a bit heavier, was hard to control. I had to train my fingers from scratch if I wanted to control it well. Engrossed with my new hobby, I didn¡¯t notice the maid who was standing there for 10 minutes straight. Feeling embarrassed, I scratched my head, and took the tray from her hands using the magic hand, then placed it on my lap. I thanked her while showing a smile, then looked at the food. Reminded of the incident with the king, I casted a ¡®Purify¡¯ on the food, then dug in. Mhm, just as always. Then, I remembered. ¡°Hey, what time is it?¡± ¡°It is about midnight, sir.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± She nodded, but just as she was about to leave, it struck me like a charged magic hand bashing my head. ¡°Wait! Could you tell me where the bathroom is?¡± I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. She made a silent chuckle, which looked cute, then motioned me to follow her. I quickly ate the food, then told the magic hand to go work. With that, I¡¯m finally greeted by the moon-lit golden halls. Since electric lamps don¡¯t exist in this world, the stars were completely shown to the naked eye. I stopped in the middle of our tracks, making her give me a confused look, but I did not care. The sky¡­ was majestic. No matter where it is, the sky at night is always beautiful. Unless it was red like a planet orbiting a near death star, but that isn¡¯t the point. After staring for who knows how long, the maid shakes my shoulders, and I finally snap out of it. ¡°How long was I out of it?¡± ¡°20 minutes.¡± What? It can¡¯ t be.. In my mind, I was grateful to the patient maid who stood here for 20 minutes, waiting for me to stop staring. We started walking once again, and we reach the bathroom. Weirdly enough, it has a toilet that looks exactly the same as the one on Earth, with a flush and everything. I didn¡¯t complain and relieved myself, washed my hands, then left, feeling great. Making a mental note about where it is on my mental map, I got back to the library and layed on my makeshift couch. For one reason or another, it is comfortable. I casted a Lifetimed barrier, actually, 10, tightly sandwiched together, then tried to sleep. And surprisingly, fatigue took over, and my vision blacked out. ¡­ Yawn.. I woke up and stretched my body, then looked around me. Mhm¡­ nothing has changed.. Except for the floating hands around the barrier. Just by looking at them, I got the stupid idea of making them attack it. Don.. Don.. Don.. Dull sounds kept resounding as each of them hit, but with no avail. I washed my face and dried it, then ordered them to stop and cancelled the barrier. On the corner of my eye, I saw stacks of pop ups asking me to ¡®Read¡¯ the books, which I answered all of them with yes. A headache started, making me dizzy at the same time. Omph.. Maybe I should have did it slowly.. Since everything in the library was taken, I went out, and started looking for an exit, finding the maid in the process. I asked her about the direction of the gate, which she asked with a worried expression if I need to learn about anything, but no, I don¡¯t. Finally, she asked me if I have money, at that time I realized that if I went out as is, I would have a hard time, so she told me to stay and ran towards somewhere. I played with my magic hands, making them fight each other, thumb wrestle, and hand shake, until she came back. When she came, I saw her holding a leather pouch, making clicking sounds as she came towards me and handed me it. I gave her my thanks, and handed her 2 out of the 10 golds I had in the pouch. She looked surprised, and tried to refuse them, but at the end, she gave up, and it was high time I¡¯m able to explore. But before that, I had an important question. "What''s your name?" I asked. "Valie." "Nice to meet you, Valie. The name¡¯s Archillies, I hope we could meet again." With that, I push the gates, slowly opening in a dramatic way. Heh¡­ A new world, new mysteries, new discoveries. Here I come! ====Chap3 End==== Chapter 4 I took my first step outside, breathing the crude smell of rust and iron. The streets bustling with people, with shops of varying reasons sitting next to each other. Once every few people, some could be seen wearing armor and weapons, be it daggers or swords or greatswords, it is all there. While passing by the inn, I could see a large, burly man throw out a customer from inside, falling helplessly on his back. His friends got out to him, swearing to take vengeance on the inn keeper. But¡­ I doubt that they will succeed. Using ¡®Inspect¡¯ on the keeper and the people thrown out, the level difference is too large. The group are at level 20 max, while the keeper is at level 56, proving that he has more experience. Still, nothing is set in stone. I defeated two assassins that were more than 40 levels above me, so who knows. While walking, my mind kept having thoughts about the opportunities. Due to my absent minded strolling, I bumped into a tall man with an incredibly pointy chin. Funnily enough, the one that fell wasn¡¯t me, it was him. I made a silent laugh in my mind as I stretched out my hand to help him. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Am I okay? What, are you blind? Of course I¡¯m not, it felt as if I crashed into a golem.. Ugh..¡± ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that..¡± He gave me his hand and I pulled him, making him stand almost immediately, which results in him stumbling. Now that I look at him closely, his ears are long and pointy, reminding me of elves. Now that I think about it, the books said that the relationship between humans and elves are not so good, for various reasons. For one, their habitat is the forest, which we frequently cut down to use for whatever, thus chasing them out of their homes. I tried to talk to him, but I didn¡¯t notice that he left while I was standing, thinking. Oops, I need to fix this habit. Actually, why isn¡¯t WIS working, I should be thinking 10 times faster right now. Ugh.. I start walking again, going to nowhere. Until I reached it. The glorious, Adventurers Guild (According to the books). Just about to step inside, and the world is enveloped in darkness.. .. WHY! I thought I was in control now¡­ -Sorry, you are not. What? I heard a voice inside my head, and tried to contact it with no avail. I gave up sooner or later, and finally, the light started came into view. ¡°¡°Oooh!¡±¡± Many shouts could be heard as I made up the outlines. Although there was light, it was only in the middle, in the shape of a candle. People wearing black cloaks were cheering as 3 people, seemingly the organizers, surrounded me while holding wooden staffs with a skull on top, and a red orb inside of the mouth. It was the same for the 3 people, but now I¡¯m questioning the summoners. As if an answer to my thoughts, the one in the middle answered. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°We, with our sacrifices, have been able to resurrect the God of Blood, Fivori! All bow to our lord.¡± What¡­ I¡¯m not.. Suddenly, the darkness came back, inviting me to leave this terrible place, which I accepted gracefully. This time, I¡¯m back in the forest. Just as I surveyed my surroundings, the rabbit came to me with its children, making me lay on the ground and pet them. Ahh¡­ Sweet fur.. -Ding! ¡°World Travel has been locked.¡± ...Why.. Actually, I¡¯m fine¡­ I could stay here for a while. But once again, the darkness enveloped me, and took me away from my blessings. Nooooooo¡­ Ugh, this is annoying. I float in the endless darkness, with my brows twitching. And finally, the world I¡¯m in is.. Dila. Right now I¡¯m in front of the guild once again. But I have something to worry about. I opened my abilities to see what happened to the World Travel. Unlike the other abilities, which were white, this one was grayed out. I tried to see why, but the only thing it said was. ¡°Class Required : Intermediate World Traveller¡± I tried to see how to get to intermediate, to find out that I need to reach level 1000. Even with my easy access to leveling up, this might take a while. Or so I thought, at least. Making a big sigh, I enter the guild, and go towards the reception. I could feel numerous gazes on my back, but I ignore them. A beautiful looking man - what? Did you expect a lady?- greets me with a bright smile. ¡°Hello and welcome to the Adventurers guild, how may I help you?¡± ¡°I would like to register.¡± ¡°Of course..¡± He picks up a card from under his desk, then hands me it. ¡°Please channel your mana into it, if not, we will have to ask for a drop of your blood.¡± ¡°No need..¡± While I was channeling the mana, I thought. ¡®Why isn¡¯t anyone commenting about me being too young?¡¯ Pushing that thought aside for now, I could see the once grey card now become purple. I hand him the card, and he fiddles out with some tool before handing it back to me. ¡°Need an explanation about how it works?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Then, he proceeds to explain the basic knowledge. There are 9 ranks, F>E>D>C>B>A>S>SS>SSS. Doing requests and defeating powerful monsters increase your rank, depending on the difficulty. Ranks from F to C are able to do requests one rank higher than them, while B to SSS can only do requests according to their ranks. Currently, there are only 3 people who achieved the rank SSS, while those in SS are dreaming. Of course, reaching even A rank is no joke, so how will it be to reach the S¡¯s? And¡­ that was the end of the explanation. With that, I picked up a basic ¡®Gather Herbs¡¯ request, registered it, and went on my merry way. Until a macho man appeared in front of me. Why do I see lots of big men around here, cut me some slack. Everyone made a way for him, but like the arrogant me, I just kept going. Everyone looked at me with eyes of pity, as if I just willingly buried myself alive. I moved out of his way, but he went in front of me, and started releasing some bloodlust. Actually, that is a huge understatement. The ¡®some¡¯ was able to knock off some people from the sides unconscious, while others had their minds shut down. Man, they are weak. ¡°¡®Scuse me¡­¡± This time, rather than walking, I quickly went behind him, then went on my way. However, what the others had seen was as if I teleported behind him. On the other hand, that seemed to further agitate him. ¡°You¡­ I challenge you to a duel!¡± -Ding! ¡°The SS ranked, Grovan the Iron Fist, has challenged you a duel. Do you accept? Y/N¡± Oh boy.. another battle junkie. ¡­ Since he is annoying me, I decided to do something that he couldn¡¯t have thought of. Ignore, and walk. If I don¡¯t give an answer, he can¡¯t touch me, and he will still get angrier, a win situation for me. He stood there, waiting for a reply as if I was going to suddenly turn around and say ¡°Let¡¯s do this outside.¡± Sadly for him though, I just left, doing nothing. Once he realized my intentions, he gave an intimidating warcry, releasing his bloodlust to the max. However, due to Void Mind and WIL stat, I was able to resist it as if it were an ant trying to break through an indestructible fortress. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t chase after me, and I was able to gather my herbs in peace. Which brought on another problem. The few hours I was out of town, posters upon posters of my face with a 100 gold bounty on my head, and the crime is¡­ Angering Grovan. Unable to hold it any longer, I laugh out loud like a madman, and every time I stop, just a glance at the paper would get me laughing even louder. Ahh... I can¡¯t believe it was actually Grovan who was the one who requested it. Maybe the king, I thought, since I slaughtered his entire royal guards. Hah.. Alright then, let us see how long I could last before someone tries to capture me. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this guy the same person as in the poster?¡± ¡°Oh, you are right..¡± Me and my loud thoughts. ¡°You, come with us to the guards if you do not want to get hurt.¡± I facepalmed. I wanted to ask them if a person would actually follow them with that intimidating attitude, but luckily, others started to argue with them on who saw me first and will take me to claim the rewards. Under the fighting, I activated ¡®Sneak¡¯, and got out of sight. I don¡¯t really care if I¡¯m captured, but all I want right now is to finish my request and possibly get a disguise. With that, I trotted to the guild, not looking behind at the bloodbath started with one simple argument.. ====Chap4 end=== Chapter 5 I open the door and enter in a haughty way. For one reason or another, I want to agitate someone. Well, everyone is looking at me with money hungry eyes anyways. I move towards and reception and redeem my request, gaining 15 coppers in the process. The currency is very basic. 100 Copper = 1 Silver 100 Silver = 1 Gold Sadly, nothing higher than gold exists. According to the recent books, one copper is able to provide me with two meals, but as is, it is not confirmed yet. My current priorities are to adapt to this world, gain all of the knowledge, then maybe do some ¡®Mischief¡¯. Mhm. Don¡¯t get me wrong, my personality has always been somewhat in the ¡®not normal¡¯ kind, but that doesn¡¯t bother me. I haven¡¯t had issues with it ever since.. Forever? Now that I think about it.. What is happening on Earth right now.. ----10 minutes after it all started, Earth. The teachers started getting worried for Archillies, as he had never got late in the bathroom. Known for his quiet and smart personality, he was loved by all the teachers, with everyone knowing who he is. Doing something out of habit was extremely rare, thus they knew something was wrong. They called for the hall guard, asking about a black haired, gray eyed boy going to the bathroom, which he answered with a yes, but after about 5 minutes of him entering, the door suddenly opened, with no one behind it. Confused, they further investigated using the security cameras, but it showed the same thing as what the guard said. Unable to find any clues, they went to the bathroom to look, yet, nothing was inside. And up until now, investigations kept looking for the whole day, giving up at the end since it was a lost cause. ---Back to the current time, Dila. --One day later. They probably forgot about me already.. Right now, I¡¯m sitting in the meeting room for VIPs in the Adventurers guild. Reason? I want to meet the guild master. Being one of the people at the peak of SS, he shall serve well as a test subject. My mission is to finally understand the strength of an SS, since Grovan was a new SS, at the bottom of his rank. But of course, an SS is not to be underestimated be it new or old. As such, I put 130 points in each stat, to become completely ready. Just as a precaution, I turned on ¡®Body Strengthening¡¯, ¡®Inner Ki Meditation¡¯ and ¡®Outer Ki Meditation¡¯. I also learned how to supress my extra magic from seeping due to some people telling me that my aura is like a high ranked monster. While harvesting the herbs, I gained the ¡®Farming¡¯ ability, and the ¡®Super Green Hand¡¯ achievement due to my vast knowledge of herblore. I start playing with my magic hands, John and Larry, by getting our hands into a pushing position, and see who will be pushed backwards. Why did I name them? Well, it is largely because they have a personality now. John likes to play pranks on people, sometimes flipping skirts, while others he move their items without them knowing, to then panic as they search for them.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Larry, on the other hand (heh), is quiet. He likes observing, and helping me if possible. I recognized that it was the hand that I did tests on. How do you recognize those look-alike blue ghostly hands? Their mana circulation. In each hand, I edited their circulation, making them have numbers shown if you try to sense mana. Larry was no. 1, obviously. No. 2 is James. James is¡­ unique. His ¡®personality¡¯ switches a lot, going from calm to violent in a matter of seconds, to then start causing mischief later. No. 3 is John. No. 4 is Henry. Henry is good with his hands, able to do hardcore manipulation of his fingers, giving me a hard time with thumb wrestling. Other than that, his ¡®Sense¡¯ of weight is incredibly good. For example, let¡¯s say that I need 51mg of sugar, in a matter of seconds, he gives me the exact amount I asked for. He is the most helpful, after Larry. No. 5 and last, Bob. He is the most strength oriented one. Always going around trying to find heavy things to carry, or pushes the hands around, literally. Whenever we fight, he seems to manipulate his force in someway that increases his power, while still maintaining the same amount of mana I give him per second. After observing him a couple of times, my ¡®Magic Manipulation¡¯ increased by a few levels. Those magic hands are terrifying, I thought. But whenever I give them an order, it is done without fail, so I leave them to mess around however they want, as long as they don¡¯t go overboard. I remember yesterday after redeeming the request, I went to the same Inn I saw before, and while eating, I noticed a man arm wrestling with others, then before I could say anything, Bob went to him. The man was confused, but I told him that the magic hand wants to wrestle. He laughed and said.. ¡°Magic Hands are the weakest form, they can barely carry a few books without extra magic.¡± Or so he said, but I finally convinced him, and he and Bob got their poses ready. 3.. 2.. 1.. GO! -CRASH! The force of Bob was too strong, flipping the man from his seat and breaking the table with his arm. Ouch, I thought. Then cheering started, getting me confused. ¡°That¡¯s one strong magic hand there.. Did you know that this guy was not beaten for 4 years straight?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe he was defeated by a magic hand in the end..¡± He continued. Then one guy shouted. ¡°With the defeat of the Adamantine Arm, the whole night will be on my tab!¡± ¡°¡±YEAAH¡±¡±¡± Bob kept floating around me happily, and that night, I learned how beer tastes¡­ No need to be specific. Anyhow, back to the matter at hand. The Guildmaster of this branch is called the Sword Queen, utilizing her speed and a special mythril sword, she raised in ranks quickly, and soon defeated the strongest SS ranked person to claim the seat for herself. Of course, even though her speciality is the sword, there were instances where she fought bare handed, and with the opponent¡¯s weapons with ease. I did my research, it was very hard (not). Anyhow, it has been already 20 minutes, and John got bored and started moving objects. Ugh.. Finally, I hear the sound of the door opening, and I¡¯m greeted with a red haired, red and yellow eyed woman. Her figure is like a succubi, any man will fall in love with her. But thankfully, my WIL stat was stronger than her charm, making me resist it. -Ding! ¡°You have gained a new stat : CHA (Charm), it affects how the body looks and the chances of success in social interactions.¡± -Ding! ¡°New hidden skill route has been opened, unlocking is now possible.¡± Well now.. That was surprising? I open the Skill tree quickly and manipulate it while concentrating on the Sword Queen. Wearing a gray scarf that covers her neck, she is dressed in a red robe, seemingly made of the finest silk and enchanted by the best. ¡°Now then, I¡¯ve heard about you, Archillies, was it?¡± ¡°Mhm, nice to meet you too, Isabelle.¡± ¡°Withstanded Grovan¡¯s full bloodlust, defeated the Adamantine Arm with a low ranked magic hand, and with a bounty of 100 gold.¡± ¡°Well, the reason is a joke so I don¡¯t really care about being on the bounty, besides, everyone finds it a joke how such a bounty was allowed to be posted.¡± ¡°If I may say, I agree, but don¡¯t you think 100 gold is too much for an E rank?¡± ¡°Maaybee¡­¡± ¡°Alright, enough chat, what do you need from me?¡± ¡°Battle.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°I want a fight, a battle with you.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask Grovan? He sent you a duel invitation yet you didn¡¯t accept.¡± ¡°Compared to you, he will need a 100 of him to defeat you, so I went for the strongest nearby, and my lucky pick was you.¡± ¡°I see. When do you want to start the fight?¡± ¡°Right now, if possible.¡± ¡°It is possible, but are you sure? I¡¯m too interested in you than to batter you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can just heal myself if I found it necessary.¡± ¡°Alright then, let us go.¡± With that, my first battle with an SS rank was set in stone.. Chapter 6 --PoV, Izabelle -10 minutes before the meeting. Doing nothing in my office, I started digging for information about our new recruit, ¡°Archillies¡±. Still at a young age, but enough to register as an adventurer, not even 5 minutes later and he angered Grovan. Grovan, nicknamed the Iron Fist, or by others as the Troublemaker, the boy stood up to him, and withstanded the full force of the bloodlust head-on. Later that day, reports about a boy with black hair and gray eyes defeating the Adamantine Arm with a low ranked magic hand, with other rumors circulating that he is a noble as was first seen coming out of the King¡¯s Castle. Any other information is unknown, no birthplace, no relatives, and certainly no friends, seeing as he was alone the entire time. The door knocked, interrupting my work, but since I had no other leads, I let them enter. ¡°Excuse me, Guildmaster, the E rank, Archillies Duane has requested for you.¡± Hmm? ¡°That Archillies?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, same features and the card shows such.¡± I quickly stand up, having curiosity take over me, I let her lead me towards the VIP room, where he is waiting.. ¡­ -Back to the present -Archillies POV. Currently, we are going towards the back of the building, to get ready to fight. The area is the Training Grounds, enchanted by skilled magicians to avoid the need for constant reconstruction, it has become the ideal place to fight freely. With white, lime lines, each dueling space was separated, with ? being currently inuse. Feeling curious gazes all around me, people started murmuring amongst themselves, and others who were dueling stopped to see what is happening. Once we reached a vacant fighting space, we both went to the other sides, then she shouted. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°I, Isabelle the Sword Queen, challenge you, Archillies Duane to a duel.¡± That was longer than expected, I thought as the text notifying me of the duel request popped up. ¡°I accept.¡± Then out of the blue, yellow light surrounded us for a few seconds, then dissipated later. ¡°Do you need me to explain how a duel works?¡± ¡°No, I did my research.¡± Once a duel starts, there are only two ways of winning. Firstly, if the opponent surrenders, you win. Secondly, if the opponent is knocked unconscious or injured enough, a barrier made by the system will be made, preventing any attacks-in-making from reaching each other. What is the System, you ask. The System is what controls the menus and such, so if a person is worthy enough, it grants them an ability or stats, while maintaining balance. Of course, Irregularities such as me still exist, but they are incredibly rare. Getting my battle stance ready, I told the hands to go outside the arena, since the robe she is wearing has magic nullifiers. Taking out my recently bought spiky knuckledusters, which I enchanted beforehand, I get ready and make sure my enchanted silk gloves are set in place. 3¡­ 2.. 1. FIGHT! The System screamed in my head, and we both dashed at each other. Suddenly, tripping on seemingly nothing, a ring came in my ear, notifying me of Absolute Luck activating, I took the advantage and increased my speed, and tried to punch her directly in the face. In this world, luck has many shapes. For some, they have a LUK stat and an ability, while for others, they have one, if not any of them. Unlucky Ones, as they are called, have an ability called ¡®Bad Luck¡¯, or even worse types depending on the person. The LUK stat affects the ability¡¯s chance of activating, while increasing the chance for ¡®Critical Hits¡¯. If a critical hit is achieved, the opponent¡¯s defenses are ignored, and the attack¡¯s strength increases by 300%. Things such as ¡®Lucky Encounters¡¯ or finding helpful objects seemingly out of nowhere are the responsibilities of the ¡®Luck¡¯ abilities. Many people also do not forget that higher LUK increases the chance of a rare item dropping from a monster, or the most well-known advantage.. Treasure chests. Treasure Chests give out items depending on the person¡¯s LUK, so there are many instances where people form parties with at least one ¡®Lucky Person¡¯. Wait, I forgot one important use of the Luck Abilities. Casinos. Yep, those with a good luck ability always tries it at the casinos, hoping to hit jackpot. I wanted to try it yesterday, but I had to work on enchanting my equipment, since it is a lengthy session. Back to the matter at hand. Just as my fist was going to hit her, a white, nearly invisible barrier stopped my fist while making off a dull sound. The sudden halt gave me a backlash, hurting my body, but I remedied it quickly with a ¡®Heal¡¯. She stood there, confused, as a pop up came to light. ¡°Winner : Archillies Duane.¡± While staring at the pop up with dot-like eyes, I glanced at her to try and gauge her reaction, but she did the same. -Ding! ¡°For beating the Sword Queen in a duel, you have advanced to SS rank.¡± -Ding! ¡°You have leveled up x45¡± -Ding! ¡°For reaching level 100, you have gained a class ability : Summon Object¡± ¡°Summon object : The ability to summon objects from another world, mana usage varies with the size and number.¡± ¡­ That was terribly anti-climactic, wasn¡¯t it? I thought, as the Sword Queen glared at me, with a red, pouting face, with a hint of anger and embarrassment. ¡­ Chapter 7 Confused, I stare that the now angry for some reason Isabelle. The crowd, being completely quiet, increased the pressure in this situation. I¡¯ve been told by my parents and acquaintances that I¡¯m terrible at social interactions, but I can¡¯t believe it is to this degree. Possibly because I¡¯m usually wary of others, wanting to do nothing with their problems. Exciting things might unravel if I stuck my nose into everything, but I¡¯m not capable of doing so. Finally breaking the silence, she spoke. ¡°Are you an SSS rank in disguise? Or were you an ex. SSS that reincarnated?¡± Too farfetched! To avoid any misunderstandings, I decided to tell her that she was wrong. ¡°No¡­ I am the guardian of the planet, Zeon!¡± They all looked at me, dumbfounded, but my poker face broke off. I started laughing hysterically, gasping for breath, then laugh again even louder. The confusion on their faces.. Ahahahaha.. ¡°S.. Sorry.. I just couldn¡¯t control myself¡­ haa¡­¡± Gasping for breath while I was talking, I said. ¡°Huff¡­ But seriously, I¡¯m neither of what you claimed me to be, and if you¡¯d like another fight, I¡¯m up for it.¡± ¡°I, Isabelle, once again challenge Archillies for a duel.¡± We both got back to our positions, then I accepted. The countdown once again echoed in my head, but this time, she didn¡¯t dash. Looking at me intently, as if last time she was holding back, a pop up showed up. -Ding! ¡°You have learned the ability : Observe Lv12¡± I ignored the message, but then I could realize that I saw her battle stance in a different way. No flaws in here movement were shown, so if she came at me with full force, I do not know how it will end. Actually, that was a lie.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. No matter what she does, I will win for a few reasons. Stat-wise, I top her off in everything, except for charm, and even more so due to the buffs I¡¯m currently using. While the Ki series are still weak, offering +20% boost to stats and abilities, that number combined with my stats makes it a large boost. Not to mention Body Strengthening, which doubles all of my physical stats. For some people, Body Strengthening is a double edged sword, due to the backlash from using it. The reason is largely because if the VIT stat is too little, or the mana reservoir is too small. What does the mana reservoir have to do with it, you might ask. Well, Body Strengthening is a very costly magic dependant booster, and if no magic is present, it starts eating away at HP. However, life isn¡¯t all HP. If a person is beheaded, or have their heart stabbed, it is game over. Large HP or not, it is still the same. There are some broken aspects in the system too, such as a person with a strong weapon scratching their opponent, to end with them dying due to.. A scratch. Balancing is needed to keep the person healthy, which is why I took over the All-Rounder role. Although one might say a jack of all cannot beat a master of one, what if it became Master of All? An achievement to be looked up to, and with my easy access to Stat Points, it has become less of a dream and more of a reality. My current problems at the moment is finding ways to increase the speed of my ability training, but that is for another time. Back to the matter at hand, we kept observing each other while I was lost in thought, but Parallel Thought saves the day. Now with my mind cleared up, I decided to take the first move by casting a large, ice boulder on top of her head. Just when she noticed the shadow above her, she dashed towards me, but I could see her intent with my Battle Sense. Waiting until I was in the range of her sword, she made a feint of attacking me head on, while moving quickly towards my back, creating an after-image. Just as she was about to strike with her blade, an Earth Spike grew out of the ground, making her halt her attack and jump backwards. Assuming the role of the mage, I conjured 20 defensive barriers combined into one, with air blades floating on the outside. In front of the blades, a circle of flame surrounded me, then ending with creating Earth Traps that respond on touch. As a precaution against air attacks, I summoned Air Wasps, having them take over the skies. Of course, she wasn¡¯t idle while I created my fort, and just finished the chant for bestowing a weapon multiple elements. I could have interrupted her, as my parallel thought observed her actions, but I decided to give her a chance. She dashed straight at me, with the intent of completely destroying my barrier, while nimbly avoiding the earth traps. She passed through the flaming circle like nothing, until I remembered her magic nullifying effects. She dodged the ice since it is a ¡®Physical¡¯ attack, same with the Earth Needle and traps, but the flames are not Physical, however, their heat is physical. The Air Blades are also considered physical, since I don¡¯t create ¡®Magical Air¡¯, i simply manipulate it into creating a sharp part in the air, then moving it towards my target. Due to my impressive ¡®Magic Manipulation¡¯, she wasn¡¯t able to avoid the invisible air which did not have an ounce of extra mana used for no reason. Having cuts and scratches all over her robe and body, she continued on, until I decided to annoy her. I cast Snowballs around her, then made them home onto her face. She dodged many of the bullet-speed snowballs, but sooner or later they were able to reach their target. Although harmless, they will disrupt the concentration, that or just agitate the target. Just about 2 meters before reaching me, the barrier, which was 1 meter in front of me, hardened at the part she was aiming for. -That¡¯s new, I thought, but sadly, her magic nullifying sword was able to cut through it like butter, ending in front of my face. The System didn¡¯t deem it necessary to intervene yet, as I bent backwards, avoiding the tip by a hair''s breadth. With my back bent, I raised my right leg and kicked her wrist, making her let go of the sword, while I evade from it falling on my body. I straighten my back and make a palm-punch on her chest, pushing her away and making her trip and fall over on her head, ending with her becoming unconscious. I felt euphoric, staring at the announcement text. ¡°Winner : Archillies Duane.¡± A smile from ear to ear formed on my face, unable to be held off by the poker face emerged. ¡­. =====Chapter 7 end===== Chapter 8 -Ding! ¡°You have leveled up x45¡± I ignored that message for now. The reason of my happiness is something else. Realizing that when I leveled up in the first duel, I had enough Skill Points to unlock the last skill. I opened up the Skill Tree and went towards it, finding the skill called : ¡®Bear Fruit¡¯. Although having such a weird name, my hope didn¡¯t waver, and I went over to check the description. ¡®Bear Fruit : 24 hours after the skill is activated, a new Skill Tree will be born somewhere in another world, which will allow for new Skills to be acquired, depending on the place it was planted on. Limit : Once per year¡¯ Dumbfounded by the skill in front of me, my mouth gaped open. What does this mean? With such a great cost, I¡¯m able to acquire new skills. For others, that means become stronger, but due to the chance of it being in a non-matching environment, the skills might come out useless. But as for me, I¡¯m confident in my LUK stat. I activated the skill, losing a total of 1000 points in one go, but it is for a great cause, I thought. Dismissing the Skill Menu, I used the spatial magic ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯ to store away my knuckledusters, then started calming down the hands who were floating around me in circles, from happiness, of course. A Healer came out from the crowd and went to check on Isabelle, who was lying sprawled on the floor. He cast multiple healing spells on her, then motioned me to carry her, since this is an unsightly scene. I gave her a princess carry, while looking awkward due to the difference in height. I did not care, and followed the Healer to the Guildmaster room, then dropped her off on the couch. Inspecting the room, it was very simple. Just like an office, the opposite wall from the door has a window, enchanted with many strong defensive runes, and in front of it was a comfortable looking chair with feather stuffings, while the skeleton was made of the mahogany-like wood, with the same type used on the table.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. On the table lies some parchments, with an ink bottle with a quill in it. That was the right side. On the left side lies a nameplate, and a Bell, possibly with the same attributes as the one in the castle. The Healer, who was staying with me to monitor, saw the direction of my gaze and started to talk. ¡°Interested in the Calling Bell?¡± ¡°Aye.¡± ¡°I remember when I was a child, my dad, an enchanter, made bells similar to that one.¡± He proceeded to tell me the story about how his dad told him about the bell. Originating from the north, a genius enchanter appeared a century ago, and his debut was when he made the Calling Bell. Useful for many things, such as, calling for works, alerting guards, etc. The way it works is an earring connected with the Bell through a special magic bond. Well, that was the summary of it. Since the explanation took about 30 minutes, the sleeping beauty has finally woke up. ¡°Nnngh¡­¡± She got up as if she was actually sleeping, and started stretching. Once she noticed me and the Healer, she had a confused look on her face, until she realized what happened. ¡°I lost again, huh..¡± ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that, and thanks for the help.¡± ¡°Help?¡± ¡°I told you that I needed to gauge the power of SS ranks, and you were my best bet. Once again, many thanks.¡± She started blankly at me for a while, until the Healer broke the silence. ¡°Now then, milady, since all the talk is done, I suggest you rest for a while.¡± I nodded, then stood up, said goodbye, then left the room with the Healer. ¡°Thanks for the saving.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯m thankful for someone who listened to my story intently.¡± I got back to the reception, with people giving me looks of astonishment, while others who weren¡¯t present in the duel got curious and started questioning those who looked like they knew. I ignored them and went out of the guild, feeling accomplished as one of my objectives was completed, then I started pondering. What is the System? In the books, many people took it for granted, while others did extensive research, till they come up empty handed. But then I thought. Nanomachines? If the meteor came from an advanced civilization¡¯s planet being destroyed, and having surviving Nanomachines on it, wouldn¡¯t that work? I continued on my way towards the inn, with a growling stomach that had to endure a morning without breakfast. If I were to estimate, it would be about 4 PM right now. Someone might ask, where did you sleep? I didn¡¯t. Opening the door humbly, I stepped in and went towards the bar to ask for food. Or so was my intention, until I met a familiar face. ¡°Accept the duel!¡± Said Grovan, with a furious tone. Oh boy, what a great way to start dinner! ¡­ ====Chap8 End=== Chapter 9 After pondering for a bit, I decided to agree. ¡°But first, let me get some grub.¡± His face showed a dirty grin, but that doesn¡¯t matter. I went and ordered 2 coppers worth of food, then started stuffing myself whilst manipulating the Status Menu with my Parallel Thought. With 2160 free points, I allocated 240 per stat (2160/9), feeling my body structure being remade once again. Then I thought¡­ If a magic hand is on par with my power, couldn¡¯t I just let them have the fight? I took a glance at Grovan, finding that he isn¡¯t wearing any magic nullifying clothes, it was decided. Out of excitement to see my hands fight, as if they were my children, I ate as fast as I could, making onlookers have surprised faces. Well, of course, since it appeared as if the food disappeared. Getting up, I motioned him to go outside with my head, then followed him suit. People not wanting to miss information about Grovans fighting and mine, or just want to watch, surrounded us in the alleys and behind. Of course, they maintained their distance, since every time he fights, the ground is destroyed one way or another. Once we got into our poses, I gave Bob a knuckleduster, and the rest were given the assassin knives after some enchanting, then I gave each hand an ¡®All-Elemental Bestowal¡¯. Then finishing off with a magic nullify bypass enchantment on the hands, I stood behind them. ¡°What, are those weak hands going to fight me?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry to disappoint you.¡± I said, with a sarcastic tone. I swore I could see a vein pop up for a moment, then his face relaxed. ¡°You¡¯ll pay dearly as a punching bag for underestimating me.¡± Correct that, I wanted to retort. If I was underestimating him, I would have given him James. Anyhow, before they start mashing him, I ordered them to move slowly, and ignore him if he started hitting me.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked, with the same dirty grin as before, but wider. I accepted the duel pop up, then the countdown started in my head. Start! Just as it was said, he came at me, with his silver-like gauntlets, at an incredible speed. -That is how the spectators see it. As for me, due to my recent stat allocation, he looked as if he was running in slow motion. I couldn¡¯t help but make a silent chuckle as he came at me with his right arm raised and curled up, ready to deliver its punch. He hit me square in the face, but that wasn¡¯t the end. Seeing that the System didn¡¯t stop him, he started releasing abilities one after another, and finished off with a hammer on top of my head. From the intensity of his attacks, the marble ground below me cracked, and dust gathered around us. He waited for the winning announcement, but unfortunately for him, it didn¡¯t appear. Feeling confused, he stared at the dust until it cleared, showing my figure, unmoving. Cold sweat trickled on his cheeks, more so when the dust dissipated. The crowd started cheering, louder as my figure got clearer, with 5 magic arms around me. ¡°ouch.¡± I said, in a mocking tone. His face was confused, but a hint of nervousness appeared as well. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? I just defeated Isabelle before coming here.¡± A chill ran down his spine as he remembered a man who entered 20 minutes ago, talking about a black haired, gray eyed kid who one-sidedly destroyed Isabelle. His mind started to panic, making him go and try for another hopeless volley of punches. But I didn¡¯t give him a chance. ¡°Attack!¡± I ordered the hands. The first one to strike was John, slicing the man¡¯s clothes like butter, in a way made so that his nipples and his underwear were shown. What amazing preciseness, I thought. Next up was Larry, letting go of the dagger, he made his fingers in a V sign, and stabbed them in the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°AAAAAAAHHH MY EYEEESSS IT BURNS!¡± He screamed, but the hands did not falter. Henry, taking a chance, started to torture Grovan in a way that will deal no harm. Going below the man¡¯s arm pits, Larry and Bob held off the arms, then Henry started to tickle. ¡°AAAH.. AHAHAHA. AHHHH STOPP!¡± Screaming in pain while laughing, tears started to drop from his eyes, then came James¡¯ turn. Feeling mischievous, he decided to go and further humiliate the man, pulling off his gauntlets then his pants. I stood there, giggling with the laughter of the crowd, until Bob¡¯s turn came. As if to end his sufferings, yet renew it later, Bob took off with high speed, having a clear destination. He went below Grovan, crumbled his fist together, then struck him right in between his legs. A groan was heard, before Grovan dropped on his knees, covering his testicles. On the corners of my eyes, I saw a few people cringing, but then got back to cheering. -Ding! ¡°You have leveled up x32!¡± -Ding! ¡°¡®Torture¡¯ has leveled up by 23 levels.¡± -Ding! ¡°Magic Hand Evolution in progress.¡± Suddenly, the hands stopped what they are doing, and started shaking in place. The crowd saw what was happening, and got silent, concentrating on the vibrating hands. Excitement filled the air, and infected others, me included. ¡­ Chapter 10 Approximately 10 seconds later, I could feel them draining more mana than usual out of me. Albeit miniscule, my Magic Manipulation allowed me to detect even the tiniest bit of changes. 5 more seconds and the shaking stopped, then we could see mana seeping out of them from the part where the wrist is supposed to be. Soon materializing into a whole limb, each of them had a new shape. -Ding! ¡°Evolution Complete, Magic hand has changed to Magic arm.¡± Looking closely at each ¡®Arm¡¯, I noticed that they are different rather than when they were twins in the Hand state. Larry and Henry had slimmer fingers, and I could see longer nails. Bob now has a thick hand, and a weight lifter¡¯s muscles. James looks normal, with the exception of a cloth now tied around his wrist. John on the other hand now has long, slim fingers, and a somewhat average muscle size. If I were to guess, Larry and Henry are women, while the rest are men. Bob was incredibly obvious if you asked me. James is.. well, still unique with the cloth tied around him. After standing still for a while, they woke up with the crowd¡¯s sudden cheering. They floated awkwardly for a while, hitting each other while trying to reach me. On the other hand, they seem to be adapting quite quickly. Finally after some stumbling, they reached me and I hugged them (held hands for a while) as if they were my children who just learned how to walk. While they tried to get used to their new bodies, I went towards Grovan and started pulling him towards the Healer Headquarters (obviously since this is the capital), and dropped him off, telling them that it is all on his tab. Recognizing him, they accepted and took him to a room while calling for capable healers. Although no actual harm was done (except for his pride and manhood), it is better for him to be tend to while rather than stay on the ground. Once I got out, I saw the Magic Ha-.. Magic Arms playing around while getting more accustomed. Now that I look closer, each one a Tattoo on it. Larry had a tattoo in the shape of 1, just like how I made their mana circulation go. The rest had their respective numbers as well, allowing me and other people to recognize them, even with their new shapes. Out of curiousity, I asked Bob for a pushing match, and he complied quickly.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I got my right hand in his (Since they are one-handed), and we both started pushing. Surprisingly, he was giving me an even harder time, even while I¡¯m using the Ki series. I use Body Strengthening, and finally I became able to push him off. Seems that their skills (actual skill) have evolved with them as well, since I¡¯m seeing even better manipulation of mana in Bob. I opened my Abilities list, and scanned for Magic Arm until I found it. If I remember correctly, Magic Hand was at 75, so does that mean it leveled up 25 times in a single fight? Then I remembered. Many hidden skills offered bonuses to Ability XP, making it become easier to level up. For comparison, I leveled up my Magic Hands yesterday up until 40. For a normal person, who didn¡¯t try and dabble into new skills, it would take him a month or so, not to mention that after reaching a certain level, specific actions are required to earn XP rather than just let it float about. Fighting Abilities and Buffs just need constant usage, but they are incredibly draining and dangerous to train. Which brings us to Magic. Magic could be used in two ways, Offensive or Support. Offensive is self-explanatory, as such to increase the levels, constant usage is needed, right? Wrong. If a person has a Magic ability without deep understanding of it¡¯s element, a person could dream on for so long. Same goes for support, let us say ¡®Heal¡¯, what does it do? If a person just knows how to cast it, but don¡¯t know what it does in detail, saying ¡®It heals¡¯, then that person is a failure, genius or not. As for me, I skip those steps since my XP requirement sticks to in between levels 5 and 6. The requirement for the first 20 levels are the easiest. However, even if I did not have that ability, my textbook knowledge allows me to understand and know how each spell works in detail. Looking back on the stories that I picked up, many heroes always had a problem understanding the concepts of the world. What is magic? For people like me, I understood it by feeling and instinct, aided by the knowledge of books. For them, months if not years. Now back to the matter at hand. I go to the nearby alchemy shop, called ¡®Vanilla¡¯s Apothecary¡¯. Opening the door, a bell rings. Looking around, I saw many ingredients and magical catalysts for many elements. A small wand engraved in an incredibly beautiful pattern offers help to spell control and power. Of course, the material used will make the efficiency better, but I suppose it was made for beginner Magicians, seeing as it is made of an average type of wood. Yet, the engravings are incredibly detailed for such a terrible material. I browse around, until someone finally enters. An brown haired, petite girl with a body to be lust for, comes from a room behind the counter. Her hair tied in a chestnut, suiting her bright brown eyes. ¡°Welcome to Vanilla¡¯s Apothecary! What are you looking for?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯d like to borrow your workshop, do you mind?¡± ¡°Not really, what¡¯s your name, mister¡­¡± ¡°Archillies, and I assume you are Ms. Vanilla?¡± ¡°No need for formalities, come.¡± She gave me a bright smile that I couldn¡¯t handle, and I could feel my face burning. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t see as she was moving in front. After passing by a couple of rooms and going downstairs, we entered the basement, and I could see flasks and different tools used for different purposes. Afterwards, she told me that each hour is one copper, so I agreed and proceeded with my work as she left. I stared at her until she left, infatuated, but soon came back to my senses. -Ding! ¡°Charm has been resisted.¡± ¡°WIL+ has increased by 10¡± Well now, magic is more dangerous in more than one way, isn¡¯t it? I thought, as I took many ingredients out of my Pocket Dimension then arranged the tools according to the order which I will use them for. Oh boy, I¡¯m looking forward to my first potion! ¡­ Chapter 11 Yesterday when I went to pick up the herbs, there was an abundance so I decided to take extra for me. At that time, I saw another herb in the corner of my eyes,but I ignored it. After the little celebration in the inn, I recognized that herb. The first herb is called ¡®White Garb¡¯, since it is an extremely dominating type of herb, in terms of colour that is. Let¡¯s say I grind it, and mix it with a red herb. For one reason or another, once you look at it, the red herb would be nowhere to be found. Just like water and sugar. The second herb is called ¡®Blue Succubi¡¯, attracting many types of Insectoid-monsters, it is considered dangerous as well. Luckily when I got back to it in the middle of the night, it was still there, actually, 3 of them were present. If mixed with large amounts of ¡®White Garb¡¯, an Elixir wanted by nobles and merchants all around the continent. ¡®Elixir of Spirits¡¯. Allowing the person to gain a new stat called Spirit, a person would be able to see dead spirits, and possibly manipulate them. Could be used for many things, such as a mana storage, summoning catalyst, and many more. In my night visit, I had to take even more ¡®White Garb¡¯ to accommodate for the 3 Elixirs. What am I going to do with them? Ha, drink all of them, obviously. I¡¯m not in need of money, nor do I want to give it to another person while I could make use of it. Grinding 20 Garbs, I had Henry help me with the measurements. Even though I need a large amount, following the recipe by the book will allow me to get a strong result. Of course, if I put too much of this or that, well¡­ The potency will decrease or become lethal, even for me. After putting around half of what I grinded, I took another pedestal and started grinding 2 Blue Succubus. Making use of Henry once again, I put exactly as it said. Taking out self-made purified water, I put it in a flask, then poured the mixture, and stirred with a glass rod. Ironically, even though Blue Succubi is blue, once it is mixed with White Garb, the solution turns red. Mixing it even more until it became between pink and red, I used inspect on the flask. --Elixir of Spirits -Made by the upstart alchemist Archillies Duane, it was made with absolute delicacy, making it of higher quality than possible. -Effect : Increase Spirit stat by 40 -Quality : Flawless -Ding! Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Alchemy has become Lv57¡± Nice. But something is wrong. Although I did the recipe exactly as it was written, I felt that it is missing something. Staring at the flask, my hand started to move and held it, then poured mana into it. The flask glowed, and started shaking, but soon the Liquid absorbed it, and became dark blue colour. -Ding! ¡°You have completed the recipe : Elixir of Spirits¡± I once again used inspect, while holding my jaw from dropping. --Complete Elixir of Spirits -Made by the upstart alchemist Archillies Duane, he unravelled the mystery of the incomplete Elixir, finally ending the eternal search. -Effect : Increase Spirit stat by 100, Open a Hidden Skill Route, unlocks the ability ¡®Spirit Seer¡¯ at level 10. -Quality : Beyond Perfect I smiled, but then I thought.. Why did no one else try to pour mana into the Elixir? Then, I realized that about 50% of my MP was consumed, answering my question. But thankfully, it was regenerating at a high rate, so I would be able to do the rest. Picking up the flask, I drank it slowly, savoring the strawberry-like taste. Feeling rejuvenated, the familiar sound entered my head. -Ding! ¡°You have unlocked Spirit stat.¡± -Ding! ¡°Spirit stat has gained 1000 points.¡± -Ding! ¡°Due to acquiring all the required mental stats, merging will commence.¡± -Ding! ¡°Due to having all the physical stats, merging will commence.¡± Feeling a bit lightheaded, I leaned on the workshop, with my eyes rolling. Unable to keep myself standing even while leaning, I fell on the floor, and blacked out. ¡­ I woke up, still sprawled on the floor, so I could assume that I wasn¡¯t unconscious for long. On their own, the Magic Arms supported me up, enough so that I could lean on the worktable. After a few minutes of standing and trying to wake my body from it¡¯s half-paralyzed state, and finally gained my bearings. I let go of the table, and stood upright, feeling as if I was a new me. Checking my Status Menu, I found that all my stats have turned into 3 : Body-Mind-Luck. Body was STR, VIT, AGI, DEF and Charm, while mind was INT, WIS, WIL and Spirit. Luck can¡¯t belong in any category, since it is one on it¡¯s own. For one reason or another, the three of them had 700 stat points. Although that is less than what the total initially was, I could feel as if my body and mind were clearer than when the stats were alone. Looking back at the now empty flask, I was given 1000 points, even though it said 100. I racked my brain for a reason until I remembered my class¡¯ effects. One of them made items that I use were 10x as effective. How do Elixirs work now, I asked myself. In no book was there a part about stat merging, so it is hard to come up with an answer. I decided to create another Elixir, with the help of Henry once again, and used Inspect. Long story short, it now gives me 10 Mind stat points, rather than 100. My Spirit Seer increased to level 20, and it ends with that. Looking at my still working wristwatch, it seems that an hour has passed. Having completed my mission, I went out and paid the copper, then left. Adding a new goal to my list, which is to make my own weapon and armor. Remembering the fact that I need a change of clothes, and a bath, it was decided that I¡¯ll go to the inn, and ask where I could take a bath. The Innkeeper, whom is called Rudolf, turned out to be a ¡®Cool¡¯ guy, so I stopped worrying about him getting annoyed of me for no reason. On the way, the Arms were restless, going around and doing what they desire, but since no harm is done, I let them go, until John decided to go and flip some skirts. He went up to a long, slim woman with blue straight hair, and tried to flip it, to be caught in the end. He flinched when she nearly slapped him, and floated to hide behind me. Really John? I visibly sighed, as she walked up to me with a tinge of bloodlust under her cold expression. She raised her hand and went for the slap. Except that when she hit my cheek with full force, I felt as if I was poked. Looking at her reaction, her expression broke, now in pain. Feeling bad for her, I cast a Heal spell, then apologized on behalf of John. With the ordeal taking about 20 minutes, I hurried up, since I wanted to bathe as early as possible. But what awaited me there was even more problems¡­ ¡­. Chapter 12 Just before entering the inn, I could see 5 women dressed in silver plated armor, just like how Alfred was wearing. Looking back at it, I feel terrible for the Royal Guards. They only did their job, but when I remembered the princess¡¯ words about her not able to do it ¡®This time¡¯, all pity freezed off. Rather than just passing by the inn, they entered, and for some reason, I felt danger. Curiosity took over me and I did not heed my instincts. I entered the inn, and a cold, suffocating atmosphere was felt. Looking at the source, it came from one of the ¡®Guards¡¯, seemingly the captain, as she talked to the Innkeeper. Once they noticed my presence, one of the ¡®Guards¡¯ came towards me. ¡°Have you seen a tall, blue haired woman?¡± She asked. Obviously I have, but I can¡¯t just tell without knowing their relationship. ¡°I might have, what is your relationship to her?¡± As the other members heard me, I could feel bloodlust concentrate on me. Sadly for them, I adapted to it as if I was breathing air. The one who was asking me sighed, then opened her mouth. ¡°Who you have seen is the first princess, and we are her personal guards.¡± ¡°Any proof?¡± ¡°See this sigil?¡± She points towards a sigil placed on her left chest. Oh, this is indeed real, according to the books that is. Well, I don¡¯t want to antagonize them, so I quickly told them about her whereabouts. ¡°I met her while she was seemingly walking away from the inn, about 10 minutes earlier.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes yes¡­ Long, slim, blue straight hair that falls down to her hips, cold expression, wearing a green short dress.. Need anymore proof?¡± ¡°... That.. is strangely accurate, but yes, that fits the bill, thank you for your cooperation.¡± I flashed a small smile until they left, and I could feel people gasping for breath once the guards were out. Those who were still awake had astonished expressions, since I¡¯m the only one, other than Rudolf, who was able to stand up to the pressure with ease. Rudolf had the same expression as well, as if asking ¡°How could a child like him stand up to their combined pressure.¡± To end the silence, I asked for a copper¡¯s worth of food, then got to waiting. While I sat at my table, a familiar face walked towards me. ¡°Waiting for someone?¡± Asked Adam, the Adamantine Arm. ¡°No, feel free to take a seat.¡± With that, he pulled the wooden chair and sat. Looking at him closely, he looks like a man in 50s, with a leather armor and spider silk pants. A brown beard adorned his face, with his dark brown eyes. ¡°How¡¯s your arm? It was pretty beaten up last time.¡± ¡°I had a healer do the job, don¡¯t really feel at ease without my arm doing some work.¡± He then proceeds to call for the waitress, and orders a couple of different foods. Once Bob stopped helping the people outside, he reunited with the other Arms, and they entered together. Adam''s eyes widened, as if he recognized the Buff looking Arm. Once Bob saw him, he came straight at us, well, specifically Adam, and started floating around him as if doing some ritual. ¡°What is that Arm doing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Bob, the one that beat you, and he is happy to see you, so that is their way of showing it.¡± ¡°You named them?¡± ¡°Obviously, as you can see, each Arm can think on their own.¡± ¡°Never heard of that..¡± ¡°Me neither, but they keep me company, so I can¡¯t complain now, do I?¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°All that I could say is that I¡¯m not from here.¡± I didn¡¯t really lie to him, since I did not come from this world. ¡°I see¡­ By the way, you look to strong for your age, care to explain how?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say it is a unique class and end it with that, hm?¡± ¡°Careful one, aren¡¯t you, I like that.¡± Finally, the food came and it was high time to stuff myself. While eating, I got the idea of telling the hands to write using mana on the air, and they agreed. I told them to start off by writing their names, and they did it without a hitch, while still maintaining the same amount of mana I give. After that, I told them to try their best to communicate with others using this method, rather than translate it each time. Having a chat with Adamantine Arm, he told me his tales of adventuring to lands near the center. Telling me all about his discoveries, I listened intently, with a flickering flame lighting up within me. Finally having our food served, we ate, then said our goodbyes, with me renting a room for the night, to start planning out my journey. What, thrill is one of a man¡¯s desires, and I¡¯m no different. Using the information from the books, and the maps, I planned out my adventure by going to the north, then west, and finally south. Not letting go of this opportunity, I got on the bed, and closed my eyes in hopes of having a good dream. Dreamland, here I come! ¡­ ====Chapter 12 end=== Chapter 13 ¡­ Darkness, once again. But this time, it is different. It feels.. More familiar than not. For some reason, my eyes are fixed on something. As if it was sucking the darkness itself. The outline cannot be made, but I¡¯m certain something is there. I float towards it, then it ¡®moved¡¯ its head towards me. ¡°Who are you?¡± It asked. The voice, with a solemn tone in their voice. ¡°I¡¯m Archillies, where is this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I just came to right now.¡± Huh.. I try to float towards it, and the darkness starts escaping away from me. Once I reach ¡®It¡¯, I could see.. A girl? A young girl, possibly at my age. With a white hair going down to her feet, and large, blue eyes. And¡­ she is naked. Plus she is flat. No matter.. No matter¡­ Need to concentrate. I take off my jacket, which I somehow never felt hot underneath, and put it around her. She looked at me, with a confused face. ¡°Do you know me?¡± She asks. I don¡¯t.. Looking back at it, she feels familiar, yet I don¡¯t know her. As if.. She was part of me? ¡°Do you know where you came from?¡± ¡°No.. I was here the first time I opened my eyes.¡± ¡°I-i see..¡± Time to put my naming sense to the test. Uh.. Let¡¯s call her.. Snow White? Nah¡­ Too cliche.. Aha! ¡°You will be called, Rain, how¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°Rain?¡± She looks down and starts pondering. If I may say¡­ she looks cute. Finally, after some pondering, she looks at me with a bright smile. ¡°Thank you, it sounds great!¡± Mustering all I can to not break my poker face, I released a small, pure smile. ¡­ I opened my eyes, to find myself on the bed once again. Looking at my clothes, my jacket is still on me. So that was a dream.. Huh.. With a sigh, I stood up, and washed my face with water magic. I stared absentmindedly at the walls, before Larry tapped on my shoulders.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. For one reason or another, I feel as if that dream was real, but I can¡¯t make up who that girl is. Like the idiot I am, I could have obviously used ¡®Inspect¡¯ on her.. Ugh.. After making sure that I didn¡¯t miss anything, I went outside, greeted Rudolf and Adam, then got to the streets. Smelling the crude smell of rust once again, I headed for the Adventurer¡¯s guild, to gain some income. Why, you ask? According to the books, clothes are pretty expensive, ranging from a few silvers to hundreds of golds. I stepped into the guild, with people avoiding my eyes, and went for the bulletin board. Let¡¯s see here¡­ This works. I pulled off the request, and went to the receptionist. ¡°Sir, are you sure you would like to do this request? It is S ranked.¡± Without saying a word, I pull out my card, which she looks at with disbelief. The request is an extermination. Due to the amount of Direwolves increasing in the forest nearby, people have been unable to safely transverse. After having it registered on my card, I went to the nearest weapons shop, and ordered 3 bows, a quiver with a 100 arrows, and a Great Axe. Totaling up to 10 silvers, I now have about 9 golds. Welp.. I gave two bows to Larry and Henry, and the Great Axe for Bob. Why didn¡¯t I get 4 bows? Well, each ¡®Arm¡¯ is only one, not a pair, thus John and James will pull the strings while Larry and Henry aim. Easier than said, I thought, until they did it perfectly on first try. Such a great teamwork.. Anyhow, I got on my way to the forest east from the city. Bob kept swinging the axe as if to test it on the way, while thankfully avoiding injuries to anyone near us. After about 30 minutes of straight walking, we reached the entrance to the forest, feeling a mysterious, yet repelling vibe. Without any thinking, we stepped into the forest, and went deeper.. ¡­ Direwolves are usually B rank. Alpha Direwolf is an A rank. What makes them S rank, you might ask. Their numbers. If a 5-10 group of Direwolves exist, then they are A rank. If it has an Alpha, then it is an S rank. Or, if it has between 10-50, then it is an S rank. Anyhow, the report says that it is 40 Direwolves, with 3 Alphas. Shouldn¡¯t only one Alpha exist per group? Well, that doesn¡¯t matter for them. Alpha is what we call the ¡®Stronger than usual¡¯ ones, but the Direwolves don¡¯t care. As long as they are in a group and earn enough food without dying, then that is it. My mission is to locate them and kill them all. The Card will determine whether the mission is completed or not. But then you might ask, what if you kill small groups or Direwolves, and a few lone Alphas, wouldn¡¯t that count? It would, but soon the authorities would notice that you did not do your job correctly, and then you are sentenced for a year or two of labor. How¡¯s that for a living? Anyhow, I ignored all the small groups, until I stumbled upon a large group, with half of them sleeping. Making sure that I had ¡®Stealth¡¯ on, I climbed onto the tree to have a better vantage point. I instructed the bow-arms to spread out, so we could hit them from other sides. If I were to imagine it, I¡¯m in the front, Larry and John are at my left, Henry and James are on my right. Bob? Bob will take them on from the back, rampaging with his new weapon. Communicating using my mana link with them, and making sure they were in place, I nocked the first arrow and aimed at an Alpha Direwolf. I knew using ¡®Inspect, so let us omit the details. Even if I couldn¡¯t use ¡®Inspect¡¯, their ears have a red, glowing outline, in case their eyes were closed/not in view. The Direwolves are just like Wolves, except bigger and more terrifying, both in terms of prowess and appearance. Releasing the arrow, it went straight through it¡¯s skull, making it drop dead with a thud. Since half of them were sleeping, while the other half was awake, the Arms shot at the other two Alphas, ending them in one go. They started to wake up one by one, but Bob didn¡¯t give them a chance, going from the back and swinging sideways like a madman, either cutting through them or bashing them away with incredible strength. Looking closely at the Axe, I could see dents forming. Should have brought a better one, I thought to myself. After a minute or so of constant shooting and continuous rampaging, the Direwolves were killed, ending my mission. Obviously due to my ¡®Consume¡¯ skill, I was constantly annoyed with pop ups about me gaining their abilities, while others telling me that I leveled up. There is a notable thing when you kill monsters. They drop items. No no, not gold or anything like that, items as in ¡®Their¡¯ items. Of course, their corpses don¡¯t disappear, so a person can ¡®loot¡¯ them however they want. The item drops, which are generated by the system, are usually parts, such as a horn or a tooth. However, Alphas are different. They might give Ability Books, but they are one-time use, so they are both incredibly rare and expensive. ¡®Luckily¡¯, I had a double drop per Alpha, and a few good drops from the normal ones. I should have told Bob to tune it down a bit as I skin them, I thought to myself. With a sigh, I got down from the tree, and the Arms followed suit. I gave Henry and Larry the daggers, and told them to skin the wolves, since they have that knowledge by accessing mine. As for the rest, I told them to go and gather the dropped items, while I went to check on the Alpha drops. The Alpha¡¯s teeth are used as an Alchemical ingredient, although not used for important things, it is still an ingredient, so I kept them for myself, while I skinned them and pulled off the teeth. After about an hour of constant skinning, I realized that my clothes were dirtied, so using the cloth-washing ability ¡®Wash¡¯, I used it on them, feeling that they are as a good as new. Which they actually were, heh. Sadly, I can¡¯t use that on my body, so I¡¯ll have to put up with water and air magics. Looking at the gathered loot, I had : And lastly, 6 Ability books. Two of them were ¡®Intimidate¡¯, but I already have that, and higher leveled as well. Three ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯, which show the nearby life forms. Although I have ¡®Map¡¯ and ¡®Battle Sense¡¯, which are more than enough, I decided to take one of the ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯, and read it. Once I held the book, I pressed read, and.. It didn¡¯t disappear. If I remember correctly, information said that Ability books, once they are read, they will disappear. Not ¡®Become Empty¡¯, just disappear. However, that didn¡¯t happen for me. Feeling daring, I picked up the other books and did the same, giving me an even higher level of their abilities. With a happy expression, I put off all the other loot in my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, and went on my merry way to the adventurer¡¯s guild.. ¡­ Chapter 14 Out of excitement, I completely forgot the last Ability Book, so I brought it out of my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯. Using ¡®Inspect¡¯, it told me that it teaches a special ability called ¡®Rage¡¯. An Active Ability, which triples the user¡¯s powers, in exchange for them to stop being conscious. Meaning that the person will stop thinking rationally, which might be fatal. Although I won¡¯t need it, since Body Strengthening and Ki series have leveled up by quite a lot while I was asleep, I still ¡®Read¡¯ it. The reason is that I can¡¯t predict whether there will be someone stronger than not. Then I thought, couldn¡¯t I resist the ¡®Can¡¯t think rationally¡¯ effect with WIL? Not that it exists anymore, but it¡¯s effect still persists. I ordered the Arms to catch and subdue me if ¡®Rage¡¯¡¯s effect wasn¡¯t resisted, since I know that if the Arms fought me combined, I might lose. Anyhow, I went back to the part where the Direwolf corpses still exist, and decided to bury them, as the sight is unsightly. With some Earth Manipulation, I had the Arms move the corpses to the holes I made, since I do not want to dirty myself. Once everything was clean, I set up an ¡®Illusionary Barrier¡¯, and got ready. Making sure that the Arms are surrounding me, I activated ¡®Rage¡¯, and could feel my Instincts take over me. Fighting over my consciousness as if it were a tug-o-war, I pulled as hard as I could, but it wasn¡¯t enough. The instincts won, and I lost consciousness. ¡­ I¡¯m back again, to the same familiar darkness, but Rain was nowhere to be found. I could tell it was a dream since my jacket wasn¡¯t with me anymore. Floating around, I once again found an abnormality, but rather than the darkness being sucked into it, it was being repelled, just like in my case. Once I strained my eyes, I could recognize that figure, and that jacket. For one reason or another, I couldn¡¯t resist smiling upon seeing her, and floated as quick as possible towards her. She was sitting while holding her knees towards her face, but I averted my eyes as much as possible. The problem is that she isn¡¯t wearing any clothes, and that position is too exposing. She moved her eyes, and once she found me, her face looked as if it lightened up, and she stood up quickly and floated towards me. Once I got close enough, I stopped in my tracks, but she didn¡¯t. She enveloped me in a hug, and I could feel her warmth on the jacket. My face started burning, and my mind started panicking, but it decided in an instant to hug her back. ¡°I¡¯m back, Rain.¡± For one reason or another I could feel tears falling onto my clothes, and she clung to me tighter, and I did the same. We stayed like that for a while, stroking her hair, until she felt like letting go, then I stopped and let her go. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, with as much concern as possible.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°When you suddenly left, I thought you aren¡¯t coming back.¡± ¡°What made you think like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.. it just occured to me.¡± There is a chance that I might have not come back for a long time, but I never thought that she, who I met for 5 minutes, would get so worried. Not knowing what to do, I let my feelings take over me, and I pulled her into a hug. She didn¡¯t resist, but closed her eyes and left herself in my care. I stroked her hair as I did before, and I could feel her body relaxing. ¡°Look.. I can¡¯t guarantee that I can come and stay here whenever, and you might have to wait longer than last time.¡± She raised her face from my chest and looked at me with puppy-like eyes. ¡°Why?¡± She asks, with a sad tone. ¡°Well, it all depends when I go to sleep, and when I wake up.¡± ¡°Sleep?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can only come here in my sleep¡­ Hey, I have an idea..¡± I take out the ¡®Necklace of Communication¡¯, and hand it to her. Changing its connection to my own clothes, I should be able to talk to her from the outside, unless she is just a projection of imagination. Making a mental note of buying her some clothes, most likely a dress, and some underwear, but that will be hard to justify why for. Anyhow, we stayed in that pose, until darkness once again kicked me out, with a terrible feeling appearing in my heart in its place. ¡­.. I opened my eyes, and I found myself laying on the ground, with my face into it. I tried to stand up but I felt resistance, so I knew the Arms were holding me. ¡°I¡¯m back, you can let me go now.¡± Finally, I could feel their grips on me loosen, and then I stand up. Looking around me, the terrain looks as if it was hit by a few dozen iron rods from space, except for the non-existent iron rods that is. The trees were toppled over and burning, mountains that shouldn¡¯t be here exist, cracks in the ground could be seen, one of those mountains seem to be a volcano that is about to erupt. Marks in the ground showing that there was sliding, others were Arms, last one was mine. Feeling bad for it, I cancel the ¡®Illusionary Barrier¡¯, getting greeted by a lush, green forest once again. I tried talking to Rain through my clothes, but I didn¡¯t find the enchantment so I put it again. ¡°Hello?¡± I said, hoping for a greeting. ¡°Archillies?¡± Once I heard her voice, I felt great happiness. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll try to do something.¡± I looked through my ability list, remembering that I had one ability that allowed me to teleport others. Hoping that I¡¯ll be able to teleport her, I used it, and I could feel nearly all the mana within me leave. Clenching my teeth, I withstood the sudden fatigue from mana loss. Finally, it stopped draining and I could feel mana regenerate. In front of me, sparkles started to appear, then suddenly, she appeared in front of me. She was not wearing anything except the necklace, so I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her, then embraced her. ¡°Wha¡­ where am I?¡± She asked, confused. ¡°You are out..¡± ¡°I.. am outside?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± In disbelief, she looked around frantically, until she finally accepted the situation she is in. Although she was ¡®came to earlier¡¯, it must have felt quite lonely, with nothing but darkness around her. She started crying again, tears of joy, then a pop up came for me. -Ding! ¡°Second Skill tree has been planted, listing available attributes¡­¡± After this pop up, another one came up. -Ding! ¡°Would you like to see the course of the seed? Y/N¡± Feeling curious, I said yes, and in that moment, I saw 24 hours of another life in my mind, making me feel dizzy. But I can¡¯t complain, one good thing after another, eh? ¡­ Chapter 15 It all started off as a fallen seed. Soon enough, I was stuck in an animal¡¯s fur, until we reached a forest. At that time, a large, gray-scaled dragon, possibly a wyvern, snatched my carrier off the ground. Now we are flying over a volcano, which looked dormant, but suddenly it exploded, hurling near-molten rocks at us with high speed. Unable to evade the rock, it came right at me, pushing me through the poor animal¡¯s skull, then through the wyvern¡¯s heart. Due to the strong blast, I was sent flying through the clouds, soon passing through the atmosphere. It was dark and cold, but the sunlight warmed me pretty quickly. I kept floating, soon to land on the moon. Strange microorganisms started approaching me, but soon it was absorbed. Before I could settle and grow my roots, a meteor struck, sending fragments of different metals towards me. Thankfully, none of them hit me, but they gathered around me, to further nurture my growth. With my roots planted, a large(for my size) white orb approached me, to be absorbed sooner or later. Nothing else occurred for the rest of the day, as I calmly deepened my roots in the soil, to grow further more.. ¡­ This seed had a pretty exciting life, I thought to myself. The recap took about 3 minutes, all this time I was clinging to Rain. Feeling embarrassed, I slowly let her go, then urged her up. ¡°Where are we going?¡± She asked, while tilting her head. Cute, I thought, but poker face held itself firm this time. -Ding! ¡°Poker face has reached Lv50.¡± No wonder it became so strong. Anyhow, I had to answer her, so I did. ¡°We are going to get you some clothes, can¡¯t have you naked all the time, no?¡± She looked at herself, then at me, then had the expression that says ¡®Oh..¡¯. With that, we got on our way to the city, while enjoying the sweet aroma of nature.. ¡­ We are back at the gates, and the guards let us in easily, since they know my face. My first destination was the Adventurer¡¯s guild, but I didn¡¯t know what to do with her once we enter. Actually, I soon tossed that thought into the trash, since no one will try to annoy us. I took her hand, albeit feeling a big embarrassed, and went inside, then showed the card to the receptionist. After confirming that the quest is done, she removes it off my list, then gave me a bag of 25 golds. Not much, you might think. In actuality, 15 gold is enough to let a person live a life comfortably for years, not including clothing. Anyways, I took it without asking, then got out. I could feel a few eyes on the bag, and others on the oblivious Rain, but they soon averted it once they saw my face. Next up was the tailor! I learned a bit from the book, but practical is always the best, no? Then it struck me. Couldn¡¯t I use the gained ability ¡®Summon Object¡¯, to get books from Earth? I¡¯ll do so after buying some fabrics, then create the clothes for rain myself. Due to the effect of items being x10 better in my hands, handmade objects will come out x10 better than normal, no? I entered the shop and I was greeted by an old-looking man, with a good business smile.Stolen story; please report. ¡°Welcome to George¡¯s Fabrics, how could I help you?¡± ¡°Do you have some rolls of Spider Silk?¡± ¡°Yes of course, each roll costs 5 silvers.¡± ¡°Give me 10, and do you know where I could get some sewing tools?¡± ¡°We have that too, for 50 coppers.¡± ¡°Alright, let me see the items first.¡± ¡°Yes yes.. Give me a second, sir.¡± He went off the counter and went into the storage room(?), then came back with them two minutes laters. 10 rolls of Spider silk, and I inspected their quality one by one, showing that they were of at least Above Average quality. Next was the sewing kit, which I inspected thoroughly, and found nothing rusted or in bad shape. I gave the man a gold, then he gave me 49 silvers and 50 coppers, but I decided to leave the coppers as a tip. He gave me his thanks, and I gave him his, then I left the store. Feeling like I¡¯m forgetting something, I remembered that I needed to get something from the general store, but Rain stopped me. ¡°Rain? What¡¯s the matter?¡± She didn¡¯t answer, and looked at something inside the tailor store. I matched my eyesight with hers, and I could see a dress. It was white, with blue stripes here and here, just at the right length for Rain. Feeling a bit generous, I entered the shop once again, and ordered for the dress, to find out that it costs a gold. I could make a couple of that dress using the fabric at a lower cost, but at the end, her eyes won over me, and I lost another gold. She came out of the dressing room, looking as beautiful as ever with her matching long white hair and blue eyes. We went out of the shop once again, and I had my jacket back on. This time, our destination was the general shop, since I wanted to get a tent. A 20 silvers, hurray! I walked and answered questions as the excited Rain couldn¡¯t stop asking. My last destination was the blacksmith, this time since I want to make my own weapons. I went inside and bought 20 Silver bars, then borrowed the smithy. As I melted the bars, my blood boiled, feeling excited to make my own items. ¡­ After this and that happened, I finally made a sword, a shield, a longsword, a greatsword, a scythe, two small scythes, a spear, a staff, and finally a quarterstaff. Too much weapons? Nah¡­ Variety is the best. Leaving after paying two more golds, I was one step further to leaving. One last thing I needed was food. I went to the butchery, and bought about 100 kilos of Meij meat, then went to the Plants shop, and bought a 100 kilos of every available vegetable and fruit, totaling up to 5 golds. With that, I had nothing else to get, since water can be brought using water magic, and left the city from the north. With Rain in hands, and personality-having arms, I took a step outside, with a clear goal in mind.. ¡­ -3 Days later. Currently, my destination is an economic town near the borders called Juvaila. At our current pace, it will take 6 more days to reach, but I¡¯m not in a rush. It is enjoyable spending time with the charming Rain, and the mischievous Arms. I clearly instructed them to not annoy Rain, which they have done obediently up until now. Every day goes as follows : We walk for a while and sightsee as much as possible, then once we get hungry, we go off-road and prepare food. Somehow, Rain is pretty good cook, and Henry helps her, so it comes out tasty. Once the night comes, we set up camp, and sleep together, at Rain¡¯s request, even though I bought two tents. On our first night, I summoned books about various things, mechanics, science, you name it, and ¡®Read¡¯ them all. Once I got the way to make comfortable women underwear, I got into making immediately, since I do not want to sleep with a naked beneath the dress Rain. Well¡­ that sentence isn¡¯t fully correct, but it is all about morals, and I¡¯m all about them. After I got her to try them, and they fit perfectly, I sighed in relief, and started sewing her some casual and outdoors clothes, and dyed them with various colours that match her looks. Midways, she fell asleep without me knowing, and I just continued on making clothes until I finished the first roll. Still in the mood, I took out the second one, and started making some clothes for myself. After making about 3 sets per type, I stopped my spree, and went off to relieve myself behind the bushes. It was about 5:45 AM, so I had a lot of time. As for the bored Arms, they were just sitting there. Then I thought.. Why not let them go and exterminate some monsters and bring me their loot. They got up with some amazing vigor, while I started manipulating my new skill tree. It sat on the moon, just like the story went, so I could tell that it was pretty sturdy. I looked at the first skill, and it was called ¡®Space Breath¡¯, which allows me to breath in space and underwater, at the cost of MP, of course. The rest were all bonuses to abilities so there was nothing notable except me learning new psychic abilities as mind magic. For example, ¡®Empath¡¯ allows me to hear other people¡¯s thoughts, but it will get incredibly annoying in large crowds. Another notable thing was the ability to see and recognize souls. Speaking about souls, how is my ¡®Ring¡¯ doing? I used inspect on it, and it told me that 43 souls were currently stored inside, producing a net worth of 124 MP/s. Oh, the souls increased by one, giving me 4 more MP per second. Anyhow, I close off the description and continue unlocking this huge, seemingly unending tree, until I reached a few ¡®Repeatable¡¯ skills, this time increasing the power and decreasing the cost of the ability tied to skill by 1% each time. I decided to do it 10 times for every Skill, since I had an abundance of them leftover from Isabelle¡¯s, Grovan¡¯s and the Direwolves¡¯ battles. The last skill was called ¡®Unlock Memories¡¯, and it¡¯s description said : ¡®By gaining access to high leveled mind magic, you will be able to unlock your ancestral memories.¡¯ I sat there, pondering for a while until I decided not to. Why? Well, there is a chance those memories might allow one of my ¡®Ancestors¡¯ to take over me, so I decided not to. This time, I went to see if the original tree could ¡®Bear Fruit¡¯ once again, but sadly, there was a one month cooldown period. In the meantime, I tested myself using the new, strong weapons and turns out that my body was adapted to their techniques just like when I fought barehanded. Since I had sweat a lot, I went behind a tree, floated, washed myself after putting away my school clothes, then wore one of the self-made ones. It was a black t-shirt with jeans-like pants. I even put pockets in the pants, so I felt proud. Nothing else happened that day, and we continued in this repetitive style up until now. Maybe repetitive is not so bad after all.. ¡­. Chapter 16 ¡°Hey Arc, could you teach me how to fight?¡± Asked Rain, on our 6th day. At first, she wasn¡¯t interested, but after seeing a couple of spars between me and the Arms, she gradually got interested, until she asked. ¡°Sure¡­give me a second..¡± I used Inspect on her, to find out that she achieved the stat merge, with 200 points in each of her stats. Her name, on the other hand, was called ¡®Rain¡¯. It seems that at the beginning, she was nameless.. Which brought me to this subject.. ¡°Before that, would you like to pick a second name?¡± ¡°Hmmm? What do you mean?¡± ¡°In this world, a person is allowed to pick whatever second name they want, and I thought you would do so.¡± ¡°Then I will call myself Rain Arch-¡± ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to become a father.. pick another one not related to me.¡± ¡°um¡­ I know! Rain Blue, how¡¯s that sound?¡± She made a cute grin towards me, but I couldn¡¯t resist it, so I blushed. ¡°-It works..¡± ¡°Yay!¡± She is too active.. Rather, her stats are abnormal too. Those SS ranks I fought had an average of 200-300 depending on their level and whether they did some ¡®Stat Training¡¯ or not. Remembering that I had a lot of stats, I decided to dump 64 levels worth of stats equally into the three stats equally (1536/3), gaining +512 in the process. I glanced at Rain¡¯s Status screen once again, and looked at her class. Her class was called ¡®Hero¡¯? Shouldn¡¯t that be for summoned people? Anyhow, with her single level, I decided to teach her fighting first, and test her aptitude in magic. While I¡¯m at it, let¡¯s create some ¡®Weights¡¯ to train our stats. Although I might not need it with my easy access to leveling up, but I always like to be safe than sorry. I took out a set of clothes, then made a special enchantment on it. The enchantment basically make the clothes heavier the stronger I am, thus making it infinitely efficient. And due to all my stats merging, whenever my Body stat increases, every stat inside it increase as well. Stat merging is truly overpowered. Anyhow, once I got the enchantment ready, I put it on, and it fit well. I tried walking with it, but it felt as if I was wearing my school bag all over my body. Anyhow, taking my first 10 steps, a pop up came. -Ding! ¡°Due to hard physical work, +3 Body¡± It wasn¡¯t even.. No matter.. no matter.. I asked Rain if she would like one, which she accepted, so I made her another set of clothes, then enchanted it with defensive enchantments and the weight enchantments.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. I dyed it with a purple and gray colour, then handed it to her. Once she wore it, she told me that she felt nothing new, so I remembered that I had modified the weight enchantment so it could he activated or deactivated. I told her to say ¡®Activate¡¯, which she did, then she started shaking while standing. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Y-yeah.. just getting used to it.¡± Now that I think about it, I never looked at what the ¡®Hero¡¯¡¯s effects are. I used Inspect on Rain once again, then looked at her class. --Class : Hero -Effects : Oh-oh.. That is dangerous for such a carefree person. Not that the way I treat her will change, she is still the same Rain in my eyes. ¡°Hey.. How many Body points did you gain right now?¡± ¡°20¡± I stared dots at her. This is too much¡­ Not really compared to my current stats, but she will surpass it in less than a week. Should I¡­ Nah, it¡¯s all good. ¡°Alright, let us train¡­ First off, let us try training with daggers.¡± ¡°But I want to fight with a greatsword¡­¡± -Ding! ¡°Absolute Luck activated.¡± What? Suddenly, I could feel many people around us, and if that wasn¡¯t enough, my leveled up ¡®Map¡¯, which allows me to see everything in 30m radius, now could let me see alive creatures. I took out my dual scythes, and gave the greatsword to Rain. It really matches her white hair, huh. Beforehand, I made sure to bestow them in all good enchantments, from healing to increased damage and unbreakable, but the ¡®Unbreakable¡¯ is somewhat unstable, so I won¡¯t count on it. I told her to get ready and deactivate the weights, but she refused, stating that it is better with them. I sighed, and at that time, a big, burly man, a lot like Grovan, except for the Greataxe he is holding, stepped up. ¡°Give up your possessions and your woman and we will let you live.¡± I frowned, but then I saw one of his underlings holding a silver greatsword just like mine. Hmm.. It could have been better.. Anyhow, once I recalled his words, I thought.. Is pedophilia normal? I decided to ignore that thought for now, since he seemed to be getting impatient. ¡°What will you do? Surrender or die.¡± I decided to step back, and pushed her forward with a smile. She looked at me with a confused face, but then I whispered to her. ¡°Rampage all you want, I¡¯ll guard your back.¡± She smiled back at me, then gave a grin as she held her greatsword in a strange stance. Actually, it is another technique that I didn¡¯t learn.. I wonder where she got it. How do I know it is a technique? Due to me learning all of the ways, I found something in common. Footwork and breathing are always matching. With her greatsword held in front of her, she dashed at the leader, and swung sideways in an instant. ¡°What?¡± He asked, then his upper body slid off his lower body, then fell face first on the ground. The underlings looked surprised, but not for long, then rushed towards her while brandishing their blades. Although they are skilled, she is more than them. Without batting an eye, the sword was covered with flames, then she swung, releasing the flames in a straight line that cuts and burns anything in front of it. 5 out of 20, including the leader, were defeated, and continued on. Then out of nowhere, ice bolts were floating around Rain, about 10 to be exact. She released them, and they all pierced either the head or the heart, with no resistance. With only 5 remaining, they tried to flee, but the Arms didn¡¯t let them go and strangled them. I told them to leave one alive so that I could probe their mind for the headquarters location. Thankfully, it all went without a hitch, except for the smell of iron, burned flesh and blood. I told the hands to strip and loot the ¡®Available¡¯ weapons and armor, while I used Earth magic to make way to bury them. Thankfully, no blood was splattered on Rain¡¯s clothes, but she was surprisingly savage. ¡°Where did you learn how to fight like that?¡± ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t know.. it was just on impulse, I guess.¡± I don¡¯t believe so, maybe she has amnesia? But, that doesn¡¯t explain the familiarity from when I first met her. Ugh.. there are too many questions that bring forth more questions. Maybe the meteor is the answer, if I was able to see what is on it/inside it, then it would all solve itself. Why does this world have a ¡®System¡¯? Where does magic come from? What is the reality of a Skill Tree? Is it connected to our souls in another world? Or are they just something to visualize skills? And even more unanswered questions annoyed me. But I do not wish to spend all my life researching it, this should be for someone else. While I was pondering, the Arms had gathered the loot and buried the dead men, and now we were ready to start.. training? From what I¡¯ve seen right now, her technique in handling the greatsword is stronger and smoother than any I know. Maybe she should be the one teaching me. Or.. maybe my ancestors know.. I can¡¯t rule out the fact that my grands were world travellers as well. With that thought in mind, once again, I stared at the last skill.. ¡­ =====Chapter 16 end==== Chapter 17 After a whole hour of analyzing, it was decided. I shall unlock it. Taking 500 skill points, I unlocked it. Memories upon memories of many different people filled my head, men and women, their feelings, their hardships, their greatest moments, their thoughts before death. It all filled my head, with no exception. An incredibly strong headache hit me, and I wasn¡¯t able to ¡®Heal¡¯ my way through it. Ugh.. it is too painful. But those memories proved something. Many of my family were world travellers, even my grandfather. But now I know who Rain is.. She is me from another world. What? I too was confused at the sudden revelation. Me from another world, but how is that possible. Oh. I see now.. Looking through the memories before my grandfather, I found some that showed them not having only one child, but multiple, depending on them. And as their last generation, we were somehow called to this world at the same time, but my soul was stronger than her¡¯s, so she was sent to the Void. Specifically my Void Mind.. This time, I got another headache from the complexity of the current dilemma. And I¡¯ve learned that a ¡®Hero¡¯ class is just another head start to the World Traveller class. But, as a compensation for this power, they lose their memories, rendering them completely predisposed to manipulation and brainwashing. She¡¯s lucky that I¡¯m the one that brought her out, huh.. Which brings me to the biggest problem of all. I¡¯m fairly certain that I¡¯ve fallen for her, but I don¡¯t know if she has the same feelings. I certainly can¡¯t check with mind magic, due to her class¡¯ effects. Due to the uncertainty, I decided that I will ask her later on. Right now, I have to process those memories, otherwise my headache will just worsen. And what better way to process them? Sleep! I apologized to Rain and told the Arms to protect us while I sleep, then got to the tent, laid down and closed my eyes. Fatigue fatigue.. Wash me away! ¡­. I¡¯m¡­ on the a mountain. Snow is surrounding me, but there is a house. The house looks more like a large doghouse than an actual house. Yet, it felt inviting, so I didn¡¯t turn it down. I opened the small door, and what greeted me was a room as big as the king¡¯s throne room. Inside, it was filled with a large tables next to each other, with chairs on both sides of the tables. The ones sitting on it are.. My ancestors? Both men and women sitting equally at the chairs, stuffing themselves with many types of food, be it from my world or theirs, it is all there. One of them who was standing up noticed me, then came at me. She is a tall, yet slim woman, with muscles on her arms, and black, wavy hair that goes down to her shoulders. ¡°The newest addition to the family, eh? What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Err¡­ Archillies Duane.¡± ¡°Duane, huh.. Hey guys! Someone from the Duane family here?¡± I could see three people stand up and move towards us, one of them is my grandfather.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The rest, if I could guess, are my great grands, or my father¡¯s uncle and aunt. For one reason or another, all of them have either black or white hair, making it seem like the norm in our family. Finally, they reached us, and the woman left for our reunion. ¡°My grandchild, huh.¡± ¡°Yep, hello grandpa Hercule.¡± I felt a bit awkward, but then he gave me a hug, albeit with superhuman strength that nearly got me crushed. Teleporting a step backwards, he noticed what he had done, and apologized sloppily. Doesn¡¯t seem like he means it¡­. Anyhow, who are those? As if they could read my mind, they started introducing themselves. ¡°¡®Ello, I¡¯m your uncle Zeon, sorry I wasn¡¯t there to see your father¡¯s wedding, I had some work as a planet¡¯s guardian spirit.¡± My eyebrows kept twitching, since I accidentally used his name as a joke. I hope he doesn¡¯t know. Next up was.. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Fiona, your great grandmother.¡± She has white hair and gray eyes just like me, explaining where my colours came from. In this room, everyone is in their prime, and they seem to be having fun. After introducing myself to them, we all went to the table, and somehow, there was a space for me. ¡°Where does all this come from?¡± ¡°Hmm? It doesn¡¯t, it just exists, hahaha..¡± Said Zeon. Once I sat, some familiar food appeared in front of me. Some rice, and chicken in a soup. Pretty simple, but looks tasty. I took my spoon and started eating the rice, while chatting with my ¡®Family¡¯. Oh boy do I have a lot of greetings to do. ¡­. I opened my eyes but I think something is wrong. It feels.. Restricted? Raising my head, I could see arms wrapped around my waist. Oh no, don¡¯t tell me.. I look behind while twisting my head in a weird way, then look at the one behind me. Her face pushed into my back, the only thing I could see is her hair that is covering her back. My face started burning hot, and I tried to distract myself by looking at the watch. Huh.. it is 7 AM? We should wake up in 2 hours, if I¡¯m correct. Guess I¡¯ll have to stay like that for a while, huh.. I remember when she did the same thing before, but I tried to get away from her embrace, then she woke up, and couldn¡¯t continue sleeping. Man, I told her to not do it, and even set up barriers before. Guess this is my punishment (reward) for not setting them up beforehand. In the meantime, I checked to see the progress of the hands with my ¡®Ring¡¯, and turns out that they killed over a thousand monsters. If I don¡¯t stop them, the monsters are going to go extinct.. I quickly order them to stop their hunts, and make sure to bring me all their loot. But then, I sensed something different with Larry, but I had nothing to do but trust them with their jobs in my current position. Waiting waiting, maybe I should read a book in my brain? Yeah, that¡¯ll be fun. ¡­. Two hours later, the time to wake up has finally came, so I started moving. ¡°Hey, Rain, it¡¯s morning, wake up.¡± She didn¡¯t wake up, but when I got out of her grasp, her eyes opened as if I ruined her meditation time. ¡°It¡¯s already morning? Awww..¡± I went outside the tent so that she could dress up, while I go wash myself. Due to my high Body stat, or specifically my ex-DEF, I was able to withstand heat and cold the higher it become, making me sweat rarely. But, that doesn¡¯t mean dust and grimes won¡¯t gather on me, would it? Using ¡®Sneak¡¯ to avoid someone seeing me naked, I hovered, to avoid touching the ground with my bare feet, and started washing myself and my clothes. Wearing another set, I turned off ¡®Sneak¡¯, and went to the tent. The Arms have really done a great job.. I went and examined each item, most of them were pelts, while others were Ability Books and special Magic Gems. Those gems are used for hardcore enchanting or as an alchemical ingredient, but they are too rare, so they are expensive. Actually, the Arms gathered quite a lot¡­ About 300? It seems that the Arms¡¯ power and intellect corresponds with mine. After gathering them all in my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, Rain finally got out of the tent. Looking beautiful as ever, huh. I take out some firewood and cooking utensils, then let her do her magic. In the meantime, I asked the Arms to gather to me, but Larry wasn¡¯t present. Due to that, I had followed my mana link with it, until I reached a cave. Oh yeah, I didn¡¯t mention that we are close to mountains now. Heh. Once I got close to the opening, the smell of blood entered my nose, making me flinch. I can¡¯t get used to the blood.. Anyhow, I ignored it and entered, while having the good ol¡¯ orbs of light floating around me. After reaching a dead end, the link still showed that the Arm was on the other side, so I took the easy way around, and used Earth magic to open up a hole. What I saw behind was¡­ Larry with a little fox? No, not fox¡­ It has three tails, but I can¡¯t remember it¡¯s name, so I just used ¡®Inspect¡¯. The name is Ninetails, but this is the younger form of it, so I could understand the reason for it only having 3. Once Larry saw me, it got off the injured and shivering young Ninetails, and went towards me. If I could imagine Larry¡¯s expression, it would be like a mother worried about her child. Anyhow, I cast ¡®Heal¡¯ on it, and I could see it¡¯s body relaxing. If I remember correctly, Ninetails are supposed to be rare? With that thought in mind, it was set that I will try to tame it with my Lv1 Taming ability. Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry, it is all about whether you could get it to like you or not, the ability just ¡®Helps¡¯. I took out a part of the Meij meat, and gave slowly moved it towards it¡¯s mouth. It smelled the meat, then smelled my hand for a while, then finally decided to bite the meat. With my other hand, I tried to pet it, and it didn¡¯t mind, so I continued to do so while it ate. Finally finishing the meat, it curled up into a ball, and got ready to sleep. -Ding! ¡°Due to taming a Legendary Monster, Taming has become Lv47¡± Well now, that is some huge XP there, isn¡¯t it. What will I name it? Guess I¡¯ll do that when I¡¯m back at the camp, eh? Without rushing, I passed through the forest, with the great smell of food guiding me. ¡­.. Chapter 18 Once I reached the camp, I saw Rain sitting on a portable chair while cooking the food. The Arms, which have grown to become ¡®Double Arms¡¯ lately, were going around and gathering herbs or sticks. As for Larry, it doesn¡¯t seem to be normal. Well, I probably should know soon, since they are Lv99 at the moment. I took out another portable chair and sat next to her. My only regret is that we don¡¯t have rice.. Actually.. Couldn¡¯t I just summon some seeds and use ¡®Plant Manipulation¡¯ and ¡®Farming¡¯ to grow them in an instant? Hmm.. Ah, I¡¯m getting off-track. The sleeping Ninetails in my arms started to move, seemingly waking up. Once Rain noticed it, she looked like she wanted to let go of the food right now, but she held herself. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± She asked. ¡°That¡¯s a Ninetails that Larry just found a while ago.. Would you like to name him?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She put her hand on her chin and started thinking deeply. ¡°Hey, is it a boy or a girl?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t check, give me a second..¡± I raise Ninetails from it''s arms to check it¡¯s genitals, but I found none. ¡°Girl.¡± Once I said that, Rain¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Then, let¡¯s name it Inka, no?¡± ¡°Inka it is.¡± Inka looked at us with confused eyes, but I just petted it even more. Speaking of petting, I wonder how are the Horned Rabbits.. Oh well, once I reach intermediate, I could probably visit them. Hmm, I wonder what level I am right now¡­ ¡­ The Arms really fought strong beasts to level me up by 631 times.. Adding the levels from the bandits we fought a few days ago, it is 640. Thy level is.. 847! Mhm, just a hundred and fifty more. Now, time to allocate those points.. 15360/3.. 5120 per stat, hurray! My body once again started remaking itself, just how many times could it do that? Anyhow, the now purring in my hands Inka seems to have gone to sleep again. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the cooking was done, and we all got our own servings. Whilst eating, a pop up came to, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile with the spoon in my mouth. -Ding! ¡°Double Magic Arm Evolution in progress, please wait¡­¡± Just like last time, they started shaking while taking more mana than usual,but an unexpected announcement came to me. -Ding! ¡°Due to possessing Ancestral Memories, Double Magic Arm will evolve into Phantasmal Bodies.¡± What? I¡¯m not complaining, rather it is making me even happier.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. -Ding! ¡°Due to possessing Ancestral Memories, it is possible to imbue Phantasmal Bodies with your Ancestors¡¯ souls.¡± Even better, eh? After 30 minutes of shaking and eating away at my MP reserves, they finally stopped, and started solidifying their shapes. As before, Larry and Henry turned out to be women, while John and James were normal looking. Bob, on the other hand, was a huge man, 2 meters tall, with all of his body full of muscles. It is too much, yaknow Bob? Anyhow, it seems that I could cast 5 more Phantasmal Bodies, so I decided to imbue them with ¡®Ancestors¡¯¡¯ souls. However, I had a problem. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s soul to imbue.. For that, I just decided to make only one new phantasmal body, and put a random soul in there. If it turned out to be someone terrible, I could just kick it out of the body, and get another soul. Easy as that, no? I started casting, but somehow, rather than just ¡®Solidifying¡¯, a magic gate appeared, and out of it came the body. It has no features at all, no face, no genitals, nothing. With that, I picked the lucky guy/girl, and put them in the body. Now then, it is supposed to take a few hours to synthesize, so I¡¯ll just start my training with Rain, no? ¡­ 3 hours later, me and rain are still fighting. The body is still changing shape, not showing any signs of stopping. In the meantime, I learned a lot about her fighting style. It utilizes the weight and length of the sword to further increase the power and speed or her attacks, while maintaining defense with the width of the blade. It is more advanced than any of the styles in the books or in Earth, but it still wouldn¡¯t beat guns. ¡®Why not bring guns¡¯, you might ask. Well, I¡¯m not fond of their needs, since I will need to create ammo over and over¡­ So, why not just use the recyclable magic? Just solidify an image of a gun, ta-dah! Now I could shoot magic bullets, but that is a disadvantage in of itself, no? Anyone with magic-nullifying barriers or armor could just defend against it. So, why not go even deeper? Air bullets. Nothing such as Physical-nullification exist, so it is always right there to be exploited. Well, all of that is an idea, so I need to start some researching on guns first before I try to make an actual version of it. For that, I ended the training, then summoned a few books about guns, and started ¡®Reading¡¯ them. After that, I gathered mana inside my hand, then started creating each part on it¡¯s own. Next was connecting them, which took me only a couple of minutes. -Ding! ¡°A new ability has been created, what would you like to name it?¡± Magic Gun, I guess? -Ding! ¡°You have created, Magic Gun.¡± I casted it, and tried shooting, and thankfully, there was no recoil. The only limit to the bullets per second is my finger, so why not create a variant? After changing it¡¯s mechanism, I was able to make it an automatic pistol. Now if I could make a plasma sword, I could fight like a certain person. Maybe? Anyhow, it took me a whole 2 hours to finish the project, and the body seems to be stabilizing. I didn¡¯t think it would take all that time.. Since I can¡¯t move the body while it is changing, I went back to taking care of Inka. Without a care in the world, she was sleeping all this time. Just before I got to pet her, a pop up came. -Ding! ¡°Absolute Luck activated.¡± What? Where? Suddenly, an arrow missed my head by a few centimeters. On impulse, I casted a few barriers, then took out my gun. Activating ¡®Predator¡¯s eyes¡¯, I checked the place where the arrow came from. Luckily, Rain was resting in the tent, so I could just cast a barrier and leave. They seem to be running away, so I chased after them quickly. After a while of jumping on trees, I noticed that the ex-Arms, now Bodies(?) have been jumping about with me. Once we reached the edge of the forest, I caught up to the shooter. He looked behind him in a confident expression, but then terrified once he saw my face. Without letting the chance pass, I shot his leg, and he screamed in pain as he fell face first on the ground. I went towards him and held his head with my hands, then used mind magic to probe as to why he attacked me. Hmm.. I see.. Seems like the actual bandit leader has found out about us. But¡­ it doesn¡¯t make sense as to why he¡¯d only send one person. Or maybe..! I cast teleport back to the camp, but it seems my worries were in vain. The body as completed itself, and fought off the invaders. Specifically 10 people, 5 of which are archers, just like the other one. After telling the Bodies to now loot the dead bandits, I went to check on the new addition to our team. He is.. A handsome looking man, with blond hair that flows down to his shoulders, and blue eyes. Although normal Phantasmal Bodies are semi-transparent blue, soul imbued ones take the shape of their past bodies, with colour and all, while still maintaining the semi-transparency. ¡°Hello, what¡¯s your name?¡± He looked at me then clicked his tongue. Then, I could hear him mutter under his breath. ¡°Couldn¡¯t it have been a pretty lady? Tsk tsk..¡± His personality annoys me, as well as the fact that he doesn¡¯t cooperate. ¡°Fine then, you won¡¯t answer?¡± With the ¡®Phantasmal Body¡¯ ability, I¡¯m able to change the target body¡¯s stats, however, I can¡¯t increase it more than my maximum or theirs, with special cases like Bob and this handsome guy. Thus, I decreased all of his stats to 10, then gave him a flick on his forehead. Thinking that he is more powerful, he took the full-blown hit without a care, to be sent flying towards the trees, breaking 4 before stopping. Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry, Phantasmal Bodies are immortal (Except against magic-nullifying objects), and soul-imbued ones like him feel pain. There are those who can¡¯t be talked to, and can only communicate with their fists. I don¡¯t prefer that way, but he doesn¡¯t seem to budge except with it. He stood up while groaning, then looked at me with disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m your summoner, and you are my summon, if you disobey¡­¡± I cracked my knuckles, making him shiver. Maybe I should have let his stats, they weren¡¯t even past a 1000 yet. Let¡¯s just leave it at 150 each, good enough. ¡°Now then, what is your name?¡± ¡°Dean, the king of-¡± ¡°Former king, but whatever.. I¡¯m going to raid a bandit base, want to join?¡± ¡°Tsk..- I mean.. Yes.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With that, we got on our way to the treasure house, and land of grime. ¡­. Chapter 19 After hopping on tree branches for a while, we got out of the forest onto the road. The base lies on the other side of the forest, since the road is made to ¡®Pass through it¡¯. Albeit more dangerous, it was faster than going around the whole forest, which would take 3 weeks, while this would only take half. Anyhow, we started hopping on the other side of the forest once again, until we reached a fortress. If my estimation is correct.. This was Khol Fortress. It has a pretty nice history, as it was made when an influx of monsters came to a century ago. The fortress was well made, but it was not enough against those monsters. Until a man named Khol came, and lead the soldiers with various tactics, eliminating more monsters than ever. Ever since that day, the fortress has been named ¡®Khol Fortress¡¯ in respect to his smarts and bravery. However, right now the fortress is plagued by bandits and thieves, and the government doesn¡¯t seem to care about it at the moment. We both activated ¡®Sneak¡¯, and went to the walls. Made of stone and as high as 3 floors, it looked pretty sturdy, but out of spite from them not taking care of it well, I took out my Magic Gun and switched to ¡®Explosive¡¯ mode. In this mode, shots explode upon impact, just like a rocket launcher¡¯s, except the fact that the speed is faster and more powerful. I didn¡¯t have a chance to test it before, but here it is. Aiming directly at their quarters on my right, which I could see due to ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯, I pulled the trigger, and not even a second later, an explosion ate away the walls, while pushing the surviving stones inwards. The people who were not struck by the impact were then hit by the stones, destroying many in the process. Dean had his mouth gaping until I glared at him for staring for too long. ¡°Come on..-!¡± Just as I crossed the line where the outer layer of the wall was made, I felt something wrong. Trying my best so shrug it off, it got harsher the deeper I got into the fortress. That is, until I reached the training room. Inside, I was greeted by about 20 people, with one of them standing at the back. The one, who I¡¯m assuming is the leader, gives off a special glow that makes him seem familiar. ¡°Oh, a fellow world traveller, eh?¡± is what he said. I stood there, dumbfounded. So that is how I recognize other world travellers.. Using ¡®Inspect¡¯, I learned that he is still a Beginner World Traveller, just like me, however, he is on the verge of reaching Intermediate. I told Dean to go and take care of the minions, while I ¡®talk¡¯ with the leader. ¡°Well then, never thought I¡¯d meet one so soon.. When did you get here?¡± I asked. ¡°Ahaha, that is a long story, I don¡¯t think you will like it¡­ Besides, you won¡¯t live long enough to enjoy it.¡± He said, then smirked. With a not so buff body yet not so slim, his scarred face irks me. As his disheveled black hair swayed due to the intense air magic that is being used on the sidelines, he readied his dual axes. With a posture reeking of professionalism, he dashed at me with his smirk still in place.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Suddenly, his body divided into four, and they all surrounded me. However, due to my ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯, I was able to locate the real one, to my left, and slashed at him with my dual scythe. Activating the Ki series and Body Strengthening, it went at him with great speed, more than what he could imagine, and slashed through his flesh diagonally. Blood kept dropping on the ground as he held off a groan, then used ¡®Heal¡¯. Not letting him continue, I circled behind him, and stabbed both scythes into his neck, both left and right, then pushed, until they both passed through. His head dropped on the ground before his body did, and I felt my body get hot. Not just ¡®Hot¡¯, it felt as if I was burning, making me fall on my knees while sweating profusely. Unable to move, I quickly cast multiple barriers, then ordered the Bodies to protect me, while the constant ringing sound echoed in my head. Not even a second after my order was issued, my mind blacked out. ¡­. I opened my eyes, and I see¡­ My class? The light of day enters through the window, while the empty room is in silence. I tried to move, to find myself floating with a ghost-like body. With that in mind, I tried to move through walls. Oh, it works! Time to do some pla- experiments. I go outside while looking at the sun. Not knowing why, I seem to be attracted to it like a moth to flame. Mustering up all my willpower, I turned away from it, and went towards my house. Looking over the window, I could see my mother sitting on the couch with bags under her eyes. ¡­ If I¡¯m correct, then I should be able to go here soon. Not able to keep looking at her, I decided to go look at how my friends are doing. Did you think that I was a loner? Ha ha, no, I don¡¯t think I can live in sanity alone. Sadly, I never had any girl friends, so I have to deal with it with my poker face. His house is just a few blocks away from mine, so it didn¡¯t take long to reach. Supposedly he lives alone, so we hang out a lot when we have time. Huh, the windows are closed.. I put my head inside, but it just took me two seconds to pull it out. You don¡¯t want to know what¡¯s inside.. I flew over to my other friend but sadly, he wasn¡¯t there. Not knowing what to do, I flew aimlessly around the neighborhood, until I stumbled upon a mugger in broad daylight. Do those people have no mind? The man, wearing all black and holding a pocket knife while aiming it at an average-looking woman, was threatening her. Not knowing what to do, I tried to invoke my psychic ability to make him trip, which surprisingly worked. Just as he fell, the lady ran out of the alley, and to the main street she went. Once he got up, he looked around frantically, not knowing how he tripped, but soon sighed and went off to find his next victim. Not wanting to leave him alone, I sneakily took out his pocket knife, and then threw it in a nearby trash can. This should do the trick, no? Back to aimless floating, huh.. How about going for a journey inside a volcano or underwater, this should be fun. ¡­. 16 hours later, I¡¯m still not back in my body. I got so bored that I went to hospitals and to rooms where pregnant women or wounded people get fixed up, and acted as if I were them. It was fun while it lasted, but I got bored once again. I tried to will myself to my body a couple of times, but they never worked.. In the meantime, it was fun looking at new species of fish and seeing the red hot magma. I also went to libraries and started the ¡®touch every book¡¯ mode, allowing me to learn a lot without even touching them. While I was at it, I had a few ¡®Special¡¯ encounters, just like my friend¡¯s, but I shouldn¡¯t dwell on that. Finally, I got an idea. Why not go into the sun? It will probably take me a few years but that doesn¡¯t matter, eh? Just as I got up to the clouds, I got dizzy. Darn, not so soon, I want to reach the sun¡­ Those were my thoughts before I once again blacked out. ¡­ I opened my eyes and I found myself inside a bloodbath. Not literally, just a metaphor. The barrier kept out any blood and grimes, so it was all good. I cancelled the barriers, then went over to the sitting Dean. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, you collapsed, and I had to take care of the 19 people alone¡­ if not for my immortal body and your ¡®Bodies¡¯, I would have been dead a million times now.¡± A chuckle came out of my mouth, since he looked as if he had a terrible nightmare. ¡°Come on, we have some treasures to get, hmm?¡± Allowing the Bodies to use my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, I told them to go and gather anything they deem as ¡®loot¡¯. In the meantime, I had the memories of the now-dead bandits, plus my ¡®Map¡¯, so it was easy to locate the treasure room. It had many enchantments and seals on it, just like the ones in the royal library, but I configured it with my ¡®great knowledge¡¯ of enchantments and seals, so it would open up for me. Inside were many treasures, be it swords or gold, it was all there, so I thought.. Why not take it all in? With that, I drained this fortress of it¡¯s treasures, and went outside, checking the Status screen. Mhm, I have indeed advanced to Intermediate, so I checked my Ability list, and I could see that ¡®World Travel¡¯ is unlocked. I checked its description, and it says that there is a cooldown of a whole month. Although that is too much, I was still happy, humming as I went back to the camp. .... Chapter 20 -16 hours ago.. -Dean¡¯s POV With a punch in the face, I finished off the last one of them. I wonder what happened to my summoner.. Hmm? He is sleeping? What a carefree person. Since he didn¡¯t order me to do anything after that, I went on to explore the fortress. I reached the Leader¡¯s quarters, and inside I saw a map leading to the underground. Using it as a reference, I went down, to find a prison full of naked ladies. Curses, if I wasn¡¯t a ghost, I¡¯d have tried to seduce them all.. While feeling terrible, I destroyed all of the locks, and opened the gates. ¡°Go, you are free now.¡± The fog in their eyes disappeared when I said the word ¡®Free¡¯, and they dashed outside. Did they not notice that they are naked? Oh well, it isn¡¯t my problem anymore. Feeling disappointed, I went off to search the rest of the fortress, finding various hidden treasures and weapons. Since I can¡¯t use them without my master¡¯s acceptance, I put them near the ¡®Bodies¡¯, and sat in a corner. Just like that, I passed time by carving women bodies with any nearby sword, then erased them quickly. I¡¯m truly thankful to the ground being sandy.. ¡­. --Current time. -Archillies POV I stared at the screen in front of me, with a dirty smirk that my poker face couldn¡¯t hold out. --Class : Intermediate World Traveller (Unique) --Effects : Well now, that looks beautiful. I kept staring at the screen, re-re-re-reading it while my ¡®Parallel Thought¡¯ did the job of keeping me walking without tripping over anything. Due to killing the World Traveller, I was able to advance and gain more abilities. Advancing resets your level back to 1, so right now my level is 300.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. With 153 levels gained in my Beginner class, I got 3672 stat points (153*24), and with my extra 300 from my new class, I got 16200 (300*54). And from the Beginner class, I had about 5200 skill points, plus the new class¡¯ (12000+5200), I decided to put them all into the old skill tree¡¯s repeatable skills. I didn¡¯t notice, but the 9 branches became 3. Leaving a 1000 skill points to spare, I used the rest to increase my stats (16200*10/3) Now my total stat average has become 65220. Without thinking, I gave a punch in the air, destroying the forest in front of it with just the pressure. The attack reached a whole 200 meters, with 3 meters in diameter. I should tone it down a bit, I don¡¯t want to be like a certain person that destroys landscapes for no reason. While I¡¯m at it, I put on the weight enchanted clothes, and finally felt some gravity. My common sense is being skewered, is that why most of my ancestors decided to retire after a few travels? Come to think of it, only 10 of my ancestors reached Advanced world traveller. The ranking goes like this : Beginner¡ú Intermediate¡ú Advanced¡ú Expert¡ú Veteran¡ú Master¡ú Grandmaster¡ú Legendary¡ú A whole new class. Only one person of my ancestors reached Master, and it was my very first one. The great great great¡­.. Grandfather of us all. I¡¯m not following his footsteps, he was very¡­ uncontrollable. His desires always won over him, it is pretty weird. By the way, most of my ancestors didn¡¯t reach those ¡®Classes¡¯ in the same way I did. The System doesn¡¯t exist in every world, and if it did, there would be a huge different. For the ¡®Normal¡¯ World Travellers, they have to spend time in each world they visit, learning of its culture and knowledge, and that would allow them to advance. However, I could just go to some high leveled person, challenge them to a ¡®Duel¡¯, instantly win, repeat. I doubt many people exploit this method, since not everyone is able to get ¡®The Wall¡¯ on their first punch. Besides, no one would be ¡®Willing¡¯ to let others exploit their levels, no? Maybe I would be for Rain, but that is if she asks. I tried my best to fix off the terrain the best I could with my Earth Manipulation, hoping that this spot will be filled with trees sooner or later. With that, I walked back to the camp, finding Rain petting Inka. Hey, how did you get out of the Barrier? Ugh¡­ never mind.. Once I got into view, she stopped petting Inka and waved to me. ¡°Hey, where were you this whole time?¡± ¡°I had a class advancement, so I was unconscious for the past 16 hours.¡± ¡°I-i see¡­¡± ¡°Wait, shouldn¡¯t you be sleeping right now?¡± Since it is 5 AM, she should be. ¡°Well.. I was worried that I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Err.. thank you, but won¡¯t you get tired like that?¡± ¡°Like you are one to talk, sometimes you don¡¯t even sleep at all.¡± ¡°Fine fine, you win, so what will you do now?¡± ¡°....¡± Looks like she didn¡¯t think that I would give up this quickly. She let down Inka, then got to her ¡®Thinking¡¯ pose. Ah, she looks cute in whatever pose she does. Hold off, I¡¯m getting sidetracked. Finally, she let go of her chin, and said while tilting her head. ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± ¡°Alright.¡¯ Other people might misinterpret her ¡®Go to sleep¡¯ as something sexual, but all she wants is actual ¡®sleep¡¯. After all, she doesn¡¯t have a skill like mine. While I¡¯m at it, I could just look at each weapon and examine it, after all, it increases my blacksmithing skills. Once we got into the tent, I sat down, but she quickly snuggled onto me, not allowing me to set up a barrier. But but but but.. Now how will I examine the weapons.. And I can¡¯t sleep anymore, my body has released all of its fatigue in my ¡®Sleep¡¯ a while ago. Guess I¡¯ll have to make do with using telekinesis to examine them.. Although it isn¡¯t bad to be in this position with her, due to my inexperience, I get flustered easily, and can¡¯t stay at ease knowing it. Oh well, it isn¡¯t like everyone is lucky to have it, no? (Except those natural-harem people, I despise them.) ¡­. -5 hours later.. Since she didn¡¯t sleep before, I decided to let her continue until 12. In the meantime, I had ¡®Read¡¯ many Ability books from Alpha and Elite monsters that the ex-Arms defeated beforehand. What are they doing now? I¡¯m having them experiment with abilities, so they would level up faster. As for Dean, he seems to be lamenting over something, so I just left him to continue. While I was inspecting, I was reminded a few times of my mother¡¯s expression. Looking at her made me want to go back more than ever, but what should I do? Taking a glance at the sleeping calmly Rain, it felt incredibly hard to decide. Alright then, how about I come back home in 2 months? If I take that time to explore to my heart, maybe I¡¯ll be able to bring Rain with me? Or Rain could advance to become a Greater Hero or True Hero. After a True Hero, she will advance to become an Expert World Traveller right off the bat. Well, I¡¯ve got a whole 2 months, so I should just try whatever I could until then. Making use of the rest of the time, I kept casting ¡®Heal¡¯ on myself so it would level up quicker. Maybe I could lull myself to sleep? Nah.. I¡¯ve never been a good singer. Let¡¯s just read some of the books I¡¯ve amassed in my short visit back home. Oh, let¡¯s read on how breathing affects the Earth. Such a great book¡­ ¡­. Chapter 21 5 Days later, we have reached Juvaila. Once we got there, we were greeted with both the sea and tons of markets. Not to mention that we could see many different races, unlike in the capital. The reason is mostly since there is rarely any discrimination, be it from royalty or commoners. With the Bodies following us like bodyguards, it felt weird, so I instructed them to go and do whatever they want, in moderation. Now the group has become me, Rain, inka and Dean. Dean is getting glances from various females around, but he doesn¡¯t seem fazed by it. That is only on the outside, but on the inside, I could feel his emotions dance around. Ignoring the guy, we went ahead to look for a place to stay for a few days. And, the first one we saw was.. A good looking inn, possibly too good looking for it to be in our budget. We tried to pass it, but the other inn we saw was inhabited by soldiers. Why they are here is not for me to know, so we were forced to go to the good-looking inn. In the meantime, Rain was excited at every new thing, while I was too, but my poker face held it in. She went around, looking at all the clothing shops, while I did so too, for reference. We also checked accessories and the like, but nothing was really impossible for me to make. Plus, I saw many terrible works branded as ¡®Excellent¡¯ or ¡®Perfect¡¯, even the System says so, but if a person carefully inspected them, they would realize that it could have been even better. ¡°I want this pendant!¡± She said, pointing at an ¡®Above Average¡¯ pendant made of silver, with a dragon engraved on it, and embedded with a dark, blue gem in the shape of a teardrop. I looked closer at it, and I saw that it was made even better than the higher ranked ones, plus it is cheaper. The gem was of high quality, but the pendant was not enchanted well, thus explaining why it only has ¡®Above Average¡¯ quality. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll buy it, how much does it cost?¡± ¡°3 golds.¡± ¡°....¡± Haha, of course even the least enchanted objects are expensive. I held back my refusal since she has such an eager expression. Using my new ability gained from many books, ¡®Haggle¡¯, I went over to merchant and was able to lower it down to 1 gold. Don¡¯t ask how, trade secret. Anyhow, after we got outside, I told her to give me the pendant later so I could re-enchant it. ¡°You know, you have really good eyes for objects like these.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The pendant itself is incredibly well-made, more so than the more expensive ones.¡± ¡°But, that doesn¡¯t explain why it was considered as low quality?¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°The System is to blame, but I could fix that problem.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°The enchantments on it are terrible, so let me have it later so I could fix that.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± I sighed, but then out of the blue, she wrapped herself around my arm. The sleeping Inka on my head woke up from the sudden shaking, to see the now clinging on me Rain, while Dean gave me glares. I gave him an even sharper glare, making him straighten himself. Thinking about it, is that how men feel when they buy an expensive present to their loves? Most likely, yep. With that, we walked back to the inn, with Rain giving no care to any other shops. ¡­ We opened the wooden double door, to be greeted with a fancy reception. Brown walls decorated with various paintings inside a golden frame, which in of itself is carved with absolute delicacy. We walked towards the receptionist, with Rain still clinging to my arm. ¡°Hello, I¡¯d like two roo-¡± ¡°One room!¡± Before I could finish my sentence, Rain interrupted me. The receptionist, who seemed to be a beastwoman with brown hair, gave us a small smile. ¡°Of course, 10 silvers per day, is that fine with you?¡± I nearly tensed up, until I remembered that there is an Adventurer¡¯s Guild in this city, so I just accepted. Somehow, the receptionist never asked about Dean, making me know that she was someone with knowledge. ¡°I¡¯d like 4 days.¡± ¡°Of course, that will be 40 silvers.¡± I hand her a gold coin, and wait until she fishes out the 60 remaining silvers plus the key. After she gives me the items, she opens her mouth. ¡°Alright, sir, please follow me to your room.¡± She comes from behind the reception and urges me to follow her. Since Dean doesn¡¯t do anything, I told him to go outside and do whatever he wants. His face brightened up when I said ¡®Whatever¡¯, but then it turned into a dirty grin, and then to one of sudden realization. He turned down my offer with a sullen face, so I just let him accompany us. We entered our room, numbered 12, to find that it was decorated like the reception. Once we got inside, she bowed and asked if we needed food or anything, which we replied with no, then she left. Looking at the room once again, I found that there is a separate bathroom for the room, making me not regret paying the 40 silvers. Since the day is still young, I decided to go and register Rain as an adventurer, then find a good job to earn money. We left the room, and I put the key inside my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯ after locking the door. Since I¡¯m new to the city, I went to the receptionist and asked her for instructions, then left after giving her a tip. Just before I got outside the door, a man clad in armor came through. I used ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯ just as I saw him, to find many others waiting behind the door. Sighing, I turned it off, then took a glance at the man who seems to be the ¡®Leader¡¯. With a somewhat large stature, a rough face and short, black hair, his eyes had the look of ¡®Looking down on you¡¯ type of vibe. To avoid having a fight with him, I tried to rush outside the door, but 3 of the soldiers outside blocked the door. ¡°Uh¡­ Could you let us pass?¡± ¡°....¡± I asked them, but there was no reply. Holding back my irritation, I take out my Adventurer¡¯s card and show it to them. Once they see it, they stiffen up, and slowly make way. That is, until the leader noticed what is happening, and decided to stop talking with the receptionist to see what¡¯s up. ¡°You three, I told you to not allow anyone to enter or leave, haven¡¯t I made that clear?¡± ¡°But sir, we do not want to annoy an SS rank.¡± ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± I tried to leave quickly, but I was too late. ¡°This boy.¡± The one on the right pointed at me. ¡°Hahahaha, a little boy like him being SS? Don¡¯t joke with me.¡± He laughed loudly, while the soldiers started shaking. He ignored them, then proceeded to continue his talk with the receptionist. ¡°Now then, as I was saying, the king orders that you give us all of the rooms, and you will be compensated properly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m incredibly sorry, but all of the rooms are taken at the moment.¡± ¡°Well clear them! And if you don¡¯t believe me, here is the king¡¯s signature.¡± He takes out a scroll, with the king¡¯s signature on it. I memorize it using an ability called ¡®Third Eye¡¯, which allows me to create an invisible eye which I could use to look from impossible angles and places. The soldiers started shaking more, but then I assured them that I won¡¯t blame them for what is happening. Using Air Manipulation, I did a chop on his neck, making him fall unconscious. ¡°What, are you going to stand there while your commander is unconscious?¡± They gave me a brief smile, then went towards their commander. To be honest, when he tried to make her clear the rooms, I wanted to pounce at him with my scythes in both hands, but I held it. Making use of the opportunity, I sped out, with Rain still latching on my arm ever since I got her that pendant. Actually, I think it has become numb now. Oh well, it isn¡¯t like I get to have a cute woman cling to me every day of my life, no? With that thought in mind, I headed towards the adventurer¡¯s guild, giving no heed to the people staring on us on the way. .... Chapter 22 Walking over to the Adventurer¡¯s guild, thankfully, no one tried to mess with us. Opening the door, we entered the twin of the main guild. All guilds have the same structure and colours, with the only difference being their guildmasters and the employees, of course. The guild was empty at the moment, since most of the people adventure at day, so we didn¡¯t have to wait in a line. ¡°Hello, I¡¯d like to register this girl.¡± ¡°Yes of course, here, pour magic into this card, or if you can¡¯t, a drop of blood is enough.¡± She was registered in the same way I was, pouring magic into the card then the receptionist fiddling with some tools. Finally, she was done and gave the card to Rain. ¡°Alright, do you need me to explain how the guild works?¡± ¡°No thanks, Archie will explain it for me.¡± Now that registering Rain is over, I have something else to do. ¡°Could you register us as a party?¡± ¡°Yes of course, please hand over both of your cards for a moment.¡± I take over my card, and Rain hands over her card once again. ¡°What would you like to name the Party?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to give that honor to the lady.¡± I gave a slight bow to Rain, making her confused at the sudden switch in responsibility. She started fumbling with words in a cute way, until she finally calmed down and gathered her thoughts together. ¡°Phew¡­ Umm.. Let¡¯s name it ¡®Ghastly Waves¡¯, how about that?¡± ¡°Ghastly Waves it is.¡± Fiddling around with some tools, colour drains from her face when she looks at my card. A second later she fixed her demeanor and continued on with the tools, then gave the cards back to us. ¡°Congratulations, you have become a party. Now you are able to use a new menu called ¡®Party¡¯, in it, you could see your member¡¯s status, and many more things.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°By the way, since you are higher rank, I took the liberty of making you the Party leader, if you wish to change that, you can do so from the Party menu.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°As your rank is SS, the party¡¯s rank shall be the same, allowing all of your members to pick requests at that rank.¡± ¡°Okay, come on Rain, let¡¯s pick something.¡± I looked at Rain while saying that, then moved to the bulletin board. Without missing a beat, she took out one of the papers at great speed. ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± The paper she picked was a search for a lost item, for some reason ranked S.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Since I didn¡¯t have anything in mind, it was decided that we will do it. I take the paper and present it to the receptionist. ¡°By the way, could you tell me why it is an S rank?¡± ¡°Well, it was supposed to be a B rank, since it is in a B rank cave, but many people died, even A ranks, so we had to raise it up.¡± ¡°I see, where is that cave?¡± She takes out a map and points out the place. ¡°Are you still sure you want to go?¡± ¡°Well, the pay is 10 golds, so I can¡¯t complain.¡± She took my card, used some tools on it, then gave it back to me. ¡°Alright, you can go now.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Taking Rain by the hand, we left the guild, and went on our way to the cave, in the mountain nearby. Oh boy, time to pass through some forests.. ¡­. After our quick date through the forest with Dean protecting us, we reached a giant opening. Casting a couple of light orbs, we entered carefully, looking for a bracelet. It is supposedly made of silver with nice engravings, and just that. No gems, no enchantments, nothing. So a person who thought of pawning it would get more from the requester himself. Anyhow, this cavern is huge. Branched into many tunnels, a person could easily get lost if not for a map. At first, I thought that many people should be able to use ¡®Mental Map¡¯, but then it all was down to two things. If the person had a Mind attribute in them, and their mana regeneration. I didn¡¯t notice at all, due to all of my achievements, how costly it is. Right now, everything costs 99% of the original cost, with 90% of it from the achievements, and the other 9 from the skills. Sadly, I can¡¯t go more than that, but I could get it stronger, yet I think it is good enough as is. What surprises me is Rain. She adapts incredibly quickly, as if she was made for it. Makes me wonder what world she came from, but she can¡¯t answer that with no memories, eh? The cave gets harder with each step we go, but Rain likes to switch with Dean, allowing her to get stronger on the way. With her clothes and greatsword, nothing stood in her way, as she slashed with no skill whatsoever. At first, it was rats that attacked us, then it became spiders that got larger as we went deeper. As for me, using ¡®Magic Manipulation¡¯, I started creating abilities with the help of ¡®Ability Creator¡¯. I created a ¡®Magic Pickaxe¡¯, and cast two ¡®Magic Hands¡¯, which I¡¯m still able to do, and made them mine so that my Mining ability levels up higher. The deeper we went, the more I started to question the requester. How could he have went all the way till here and just issued it as a ¡®B¡¯ rank request. Or maybe, the rats moved it inside, then the spiders took it from them to whatever is in the middle? Who knows.. Anyhow, we finally reached a room in the cave which seems to contain all the treasures piled up by the spiders. I checked for any traps using my ability ¡®Trap Detection¡¯, but found none, so I moved everything inside into my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯. Tons of golds and items were in the room, so nothing was spared. -Yawn.. A cute yawn came from above my head, telling me that Inka had woken up. The books say that Ninetails take a whole year to mature, so I guess I¡¯ve got to take care of it on my head like that, huh. I asked Rain to let a few spiders alive so I could make Inka fight them. Now a few spiders could be seen lying on their backs with their legs cut, and then I let Inka scratch or hit them, then I¡¯d do the killing blow. I tried looking for the bracelet in my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, but nothing was there, making me get more suspicious. ¡­. 3 Hours later, and we still haven¡¯t found it. At that point, I ability ¡®Body Double¡¯, which the now dead world traveller used on me, and made them go search with me. They aren¡¯t an illusion, just a ¡®Body Double¡¯. Their power is weak compared to the real body, but they could still do everything the normal body does. They could get more powerful, at the cost of extra mana, but their power, which is normally 10% of mine is good enough. Finally, we reached the end of the cave, and whadya know? Nothing. Since we were bored of cave exploring, I decided to teleport us out. -Ding! ¡°Absolute Luck Activated¡± Then, in the corner of my eye. I could see something glistening. Albeit the sun is about to fall, there was enough light to shine the object on the ground. Not missing the chance, I grab it quickly, to find that it is indeed, the one and only, useless bracelet. Next to it, was dark stone, seemingly sucking out the light nearby. Taking it in my hand, it starts shaking suddenly, then gets merged into the ¡®Tattoo ring¡¯. With nothing nearby, I set off towards the city. Or so I thought, until growling came on top of me, and from behind next. ¡°Can you wait until we reach the city?¡± ¡°I-I guess..¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it¡­ -sigh-..¡± After a minute of debating, it was decided that I will go redeem the request, then buy some spices (which I forgot last time) then come back. Of course I could still teleport all of us, but it seems that teleporting is an extremely rare magic, not to mention its cost. It doesn¡¯t cost anything for me, but for others¡­ Anyhow, I do not wish to go and gain the attention of others, so I activated ¡®Sneak¡¯, and teleported to an alley next to the guild, then redeemed my request. With that done, I got my 10 golds, plus the treasures I got from the spider¡¯s treasury. Then, it struck me. When I was at the bandit fortress, I must have got a lot of gold, but I forgot that quickly. After facepalming myself, I went towards the shop and bought a lot of all the spices it had. Funnily enough, it all cost 10 gold, but I was able to haggle it down to 4 golds. Trade secret, I tell you. Going to the alley quickly, I teleported back to the camp that I set before teleporting, then gave the spices to the Chef Rain. I wonder how are the ¡®Bodies¡¯, they must be having fun right now.. ¡­. Chapter 23 =====Chap23===== --3rd person POV 3 hours ago, the Bodies had separated, with each one of them having a clear destination. The first one was Bob, running with neck breaking speed towards the nearby arena to participate in a tournament. Could a person just sign in and fight immediately? Why of course, however, they must be on time. The Annual Free Tournament is one where warriors of all races and tribes fight against each other for the top. If it were to be compared, it would be a duel-less duel, thus gaining the Free in its name. Another reason on why the tournament is popular is due to betting. Thus, Bob went ahead and bet a whole gold coin on himself in the first round, with the permission of Archillies. Luckily for Bob, it was the first day of the tournament, thus he joined the preliminaries. The first rounds were for weeding out the bad from good, using a 20 person free-for-all battle royale. The total participants are a 100, and the last 3 standing will be able to continue fighting. Bob, being in the third group, had enough time on his hand, so he went to the spectators¡¯ seats. A tall, well featured, blond long haired woman appeared with a pseudo-microphone, and started riling up the crowds with eloquent words. According to her own introduction, her name is Fiona, and as Bob looked closer, he could see pointy ears peek out of her hair once in awhile. After introducing herself, warriors started pouring out of the gates, each looking mighty and powerful, while some waved at the crowds. Finally separating well, Bob started manipulating the mana in his ¡®Eyes¡¯ to allow him to see in a wider view, to not miss the fighter¡¯s abilities. Strangely, a man wielding two scimitars went to the middle of the arena, which is a no-go if one wishes to have a higher chance of surviving. With a countdown from 3 to START, the battleground was covered in dust in an instant, with warriors pushing the ground to dash at their targets, while others hid in the corners to try and survive through. 4 people targeted the scimitar-wielding man, however, with a body clad in magic, and now flaming swords, he readied his stance and took them head-on. One the first person clashed with him, the crowd''s cheers were louder, as he easily parried off the thrust of his opponent¡¯s dagger. Jumping upwards, he dodged the second man¡¯s attack with an axe, and made use of his position in the air by stepping with great force on the axe-wielding man¡¯s head. He fell face first into the sandy ground, unmoving. Finally away from the center, the man ran towards a nearby woman hiding in the shadows. Noticing that she failed, she took out dual daggers, and observed her opponent, however, he was too quick for her, an Assassin class that specializes in speed, and hit her neck with the pommel, making her fall on her knees then her face. On the other side, 13 people were already defeated in less than 3 minutes. Everyone who wasn¡¯t in a battle took their distance and searched for their prey, then dashed at each other. Many of the participants were wary of the scimitar man, so they targeted each other instead, as to have a higher chance in surviving the round. Noticing that they avoided him, he started chanting something, then golems raised from the sand came to. Ordering them to rampage as they see fit, while not killing anyone, two of them dashed at the closest fighter, and other 4 golems went towards the rest. The commentator¡¯s words were like fuel added on top of firewood, heating up the cheers with every word. Contrary to their appearance, the golems were quick, and if they missed, would use their affinity to the earth to slow down their opponents, or even directly hit them. Once the fighters fell down to 4, they looked into each other¡¯s eyes, with a flame burning in them. ¡®Just fall already¡¯, their faces was more than enough to transmit their thoughts.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. In a deadlock, the scimitar man sighed, and dashed at the nearby fighter. The other two stood away from each other, observing the battle that was about to take place, while being vigilant of each other. ¡°Raaaaah¡± They both made their war cries, as their swords clashed together. It looked as if the scimitar man was being pushed down, however, the flaming swords did their job, melting the opponent¡¯s weapon and quickly reached for his throat. The man recognized his defeat, and raised both of his arms in a surrendering manner, thus ending the first battle. Bob gathered many new abilities, or raised the level of the pre-existing ones. With the second battle starting in 2 hours, Bob went outside of the arena, looking for anything to waste his time with, while being useful.. ¡­. Larry and Henry did not have any destination in mind, until they saw some shady-looking people walk into an alley. As if reading each other¡¯s mind, they activated ¡®Sneak¡¯, and followed them suit, to find an iron door with a slide at eye level. -Knock Knock Knocked Henry, and the slide opened, showing someone wearing a mask. ¡°Password?¡± Without care, Larry thrust its hands to touch the man¡¯s head, then used mind magic. He stood, motionless, then opened the door with dead fish-like eyes. Entering as if it was the norm, they passed through a hall, then went downstairs, reaching a theater-like place. Many people wearing masks were present, be it for the eyes only, or the whole face, or half of it (which is useless), all of them had a greedy aura to them. After taking a mask from the distributer, each of them sat at a chair, on its right arm was a sign with a number. 10 Minutes later, the curtains finally opened, showing a woman dressed in chinese exposing clothes holding a pseudo microphone. Introducing herself, and the auction, the goodies finally came from the backstage. Firstly, 5 gray potions were shown on top of a table, which the host described as ¡®Increase all physical stats by 5¡¯. In short, an elixir. Many of those with masks that don¡¯t cover their mouths had greedy smiles plastered on, while others didn¡¯t care. ¡°The bid will start with 10 gold coins!¡± ¡°10 golds and 1 copper!¡± ¡°10 golds and 2 coppers!¡± ¡°10 golds and 5 coppers!¡± Each person shouted, slowly but steadily raising the price. The Bodies were no different, however, since this is an illegal auction, they decided to steal everything in it after the auction has ended, since they won¡¯t give away the items in the middle. Many items such as Magic Weapons and Enchanted Weapons were shown, selling for hundreds and hundreds of golds, and finally, the final item came. Slaves. Since Archillies doesn¡¯t agree with the idea of slavery, the Bodies don¡¯t too, as such, Larry made use of ¡®Map¡¯ while sneaking around to find the rooms, and Henry was on standby. Once Larry had a full map of the underground, they commenced an attack by using an ¡®Explosion¡¯ midair. Many people were afraid, and started evacuating, allowing Larry and Henry to start their operation ¡®Raid The Auction¡¯. Henry, who was closer to the slaves, started removing their collars, whilst Larry was raiding the storeroom. Many enchantments were on the items, so that if they were stolen, they would track them down using the enchantments. After deactivating them, Larry stored all the goodies with ease inside the ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, and left without the guards who were searching for him noticing. With Henry giving away stock clothes taken from the monsters, they escorted the slaves outside.. ¡­. John and James did their usual work, play pranks on people. However, due to their Bodies being large, they can¡¯t float around and flip skirts anymore, on the other hand, they could do more hardcore mischief. Going around and looking for thieves and the like, they used telekinesis to pull their pants off, trip them, then humiliate them by laughing. Until they saw the golden opportunity. A fat man dressed in extremely expensive clothing, walking around with 5 bodyguards was looking around with eyes targeting many females. ¡°I want ¡®this¡¯ girl at my room tonight.¡± He pointed his finger at a¡­ child? His dirty smirk was enough proof to show that he has terrible fetishes, and that was as good as it can be for the Bodies¡¯ mischief to be considered a good thing. Due to some pebbles existing in the alleys, they slowly carried them with telekinesis in front of the fat man¡¯s foot, then stuck it there. Walking with arrogance, he couldn¡¯t see the small pebble in front of him, making him trip with a weird face. Just before he falls, a bodyguard tried to hold him, but his hand moved downwards, pulling on the man¡¯s pants as he fell face first into the ground. Laughter resounded in the streets, while the people who weren¡¯t stared at those who did with ¡®You shouldn¡¯t have done that..¡¯ face. The fat man groaned, as the bodyguards helped him up. ¡°Are you okay, Prince Rowald?¡± His face was red from anger, his blond hair was dusted. He looked at the laughing people with bloodshot eyes and shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, apprehend them!¡± The clich¨¦ ¡®bad guy¡¯ words were said, making 3 out of the 5 bodyguards go and ¡®Make example of those who mess with them¡¯. Or so they thought, until the alley which they were heading to exploded. Since they could do nothing about it, they went on to ¡®punish¡¯ those who humiliated the prince, however, they soon found themselves stepped on. The prince saw what happened with his eyes wide open, making him panic. ¡°Hiii!¡± He screamed like a girl as he stepped back in horror at the sight of the magnificent display of power. Run! Is what he thought, yet, his body didn¡¯t respond. The Bodies having had their fill of mischief turned away with smiles plastered on their faces. In mere 3 hours, the Bodies had more fun than Archillies did ever since he came. That is, in fact, a fact. ¡­. =====Chap23 end===== Chapter 24 =====Chapter 24===== T¡¯was a tasty meal If I were to describe it, 5 stars wouldn¡¯t be enough (not that I tasted actual ¡®5 star¡¯ meals). Right now we are on our way to the city, with Rain and Dean clearing the way. As for me, I was testing ¡®Plant Manipulation¡¯ while walking, since I was in the most ideal environment. Moving the tree branches, hardening, growing, I tried everything that came to mind, which thankfully worked. While being lost in thought, I was woken up with Rain¡¯s comely face. ¡°How did I do?¡± She asked, with a cute grin. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ I guess you need a better greatsword, specifically a ¡®Soulbound¡¯ one.¡± ¡°Soulbound?¡± I started explaining what a soulbound weapon is. As the name implies, it is ¡®Bound¡¯ to the person¡¯s ¡®Soul¡¯, but for a soul mage like me, I could probably change any ¡®Soulbound¡¯ weapon¡¯s ownership to me, as long as I possess the owner¡¯s soul, that is. No, I don¡¯t need to kill him, just be able to see the soul, otherwise the old heroes¡¯ weapons are just a normal weapon now. Just a tad bit stronger. What is the advantage of them, you ask. Due to them being connected to the soul, the stronger the person is, the stronger it becomes, however, personalities also affect it. A person with dissolute morals will have a ¡®Cursed¡¯ weapon, while still bound, it will shine in crimson red, and ¡®Curse¡¯ its owner, sometimes to the point of mind control. Since Rain¡¯s morals are alright, and mine (I hope), we could probably get our very own ¡®Soulbound¡¯ weapons. The only downside is that if it is destroyed, the master will have an extremely powerful backlash, with a high possibility of crippling them. However, once the weapon reaches a point, whatever material it is made of will become the ultimate metal, Corromium. Possessing higher magic potential than mythril and stronger than adamantine while being light, it is something not to be made light of. Noticing that I¡¯ve been explaining for too long since we reached the city, it looked like Rain was listening to me intently, giving me a heartwarming feeling. Once we entered, I noticed that something was obviously wrong. Many people were running in horror, as the guards seemed to be capturing everyone, be it elder or young, all of them were caught. Noticing us, 4 of them went towards us, and one of them said¡­ ¡°You are under arrest by the order of Prince Rowell!¡± ¡­. ¡°The frog jumps while croaking, the cat women¡¯s ears shake from the sound, and I stare into the sky that is falling.. Ahahahahaha!¡± Sitting in the prison for 3 hours, I started acting like a drunken man. Rather, there are instances where I act drunk due to boredom. ¡°Hooray hooray, let me fly away¡­ ugh..¡± My inmates were looking at me in confusion, but I did not care. ¡°I dooonnttt caaaareee¡­¡± I said that while looking at them. ¡°Heyyyy, d¡¯ya know why the prince imprisoned us?¡± I asked them while in my ¡°Semi-drunk¡± state. ¡°Some people laughed at the Prince when he tripped over a pebble, and once he tried to shut them up, he was shut up instead, then after the ones that shut him up left, in a fit of rage, he ordered for anyone on the streets to be arrested.¡± ¡°Preetty unreasonable, eh?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ It also seems that the underground auction was raided for thieves as well, further agitating the prince who wanted to participate.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°I see, I see¡­¡± Buzzzzzzzzz.. ¡°I hear a fly!¡± My eyes darted around in the ill-lit room, until I found the fly. Stopping on one of the bars, I took the chance and squashed it quickly. Unfortunately, the bar flew away from the impact, making a gap big enough for a person to slither through. ¡°Hehehe, sorry ¡®bout that.. -Hiccup-¡± They all looked at me with eyes of disbelief, as they kept switching their gazes to the gap and onto me. ¡°No one going out?¡± They stayed silent. ¡°Alrighty, I¡¯ll wait with you.¡± Just as I finished that sentence, I could hear the hall gates open and the jingling of keys. All the other cells around us got silent, as they saw who was there. Prince Rowald. Walking with arrogance, he approached every cell with women in it, until he reached the one where Rain resides, and stopped. By the way, the cells are on two sides of the wall, and we are on the right side from the door. ¡°Oh, what a beauty¡­ You, get a slave collar on her.¡± ¡°Yes milord.¡± The jailkeeper opened the cell, and went inside then pulled on a certain woman. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± Said the woman with familiar voice in a strong tone. While feeling happy that the Prince also sees Rain as a beauty, I couldn¡¯t stomach him making her a slave, so I stood up and blasted away another rod so I could get outside without having to squeeze myself. The Prince, looking surprised at the destruction of the enchanted prison bars stared at me. I walked towards him while emitting a bit of pressure, making him shake in place. ¡°Guard, leave her be and take care of this boy!¡± Finishing his sentence, I decided to dash at him and hold his neck in a choking position, with one hand. ¡°Khuk¡­ you¡­ who.. are you?¡± Not bothering to answer, I used my free hand to start humiliating him. Hehehee.. so many valuables! Stripping him away of all his clothes and jewellery, I left him with underwear only. His pathetic display was enough to make me crack up and start my hysterical laughter. ¡°Ahahahaha.. What a joke of a prince.. ahahahaha¡­¡± Although the guard tried to reach me, Rain subdued him and took away his keys. You might ask, why didn¡¯t you break through at the beginning, or even resist. Well¡­ I thought it would have a better chance of letting me meet with the prince, or possibly just wanting a new experience, of jail. Feeling sober from that laugh, I started unlocking the cells, then threw the keys on the jailkeeper once again. Dean stepped out of his cell, and soon others followed suit. Yawn.. The always sleeping Inka has awoken once again, and the reason they never discovered it is by using illusion magic. Anyhow, I went and took Rain¡¯s hand, then ordered Dean to go ahead and clear the path, if possible. Why am I making Dean do lots of work? Two reasons to be exact, the first is that he levels up individually, and the second reason is that I gain a percentage of the experience that he gets, so a win-win situation for both of us. I stood with Rain at the door, perking my ears up to allow me to hear the ongoing battles. Mhm, he has met resistance. We started walking slowly towards the outside, guided by the ¡®Map¡¯ with the other escapees behind us. After a few minutes of weaving through old-looking halls, we finally reached the exit. Outside, I saw Dean standing while surrounded by many unconscious guards. Finally¡­ that was a boring experience. Suddenly, 4 people appeared in front of us, rather than people, they are the ¡®Bodies¡¯. Why Bob isn¡¯t here, I don- Here he is, just a tad bit late to the party. Having gathered all of the group, I tried to leave, until my clothes were pulled by someone. I looked behind me to find a red, short haired bunny-eared woman with large breasts standing in front of me. ¡°I¡¯d like to express my gratitude, whenever you need anything, the ¡®Hopper¡¯ tribe will always be glad to help, sir¡­?¡± ¡°Archillies Duane.¡± ¡°Once again, you have my utmost gratitude¡­¡± She said with a red face as she bowed. ¡°By the way, who are you?¡± ¡°Please forgive me, I am Rosabella Drakh, the daughter of the ¡®Hopper¡¯ tribe elder, Svenn Drakh.¡± Oh-oh. Something doesn¡¯t feel right, and my instincts had never betrayed me. ¡°Umm, how did you get here?¡± ¡°I came for a visit, however, we were captured just when we were seen.¡± ¡°I see, well, good luck on retur-¡± ¡°I¡¯m extremely sorry, but could I have you accompany me to my home?¡± I knew it! If I say yes, I¡¯m at least 98% she will fall in love with me, but if I said no, I¡¯d look like a scumbag. I gave a tired sigh, then looked at Rain. ¡°Yes or No?¡± I asked her, since I¡¯m not traveling alone. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ Thank you very much¡­¡± Rosabella¡¯s voice started to crack, and tears started to slide down her face. This is unbecoming of a princess, I thought. ¡°Please give us two days to get ready, will that be fine?¡± ¡°-sob- yes, Yes of course, since I will have to request for a carriage to get us.¡± ¡°Okay, when you are ready, ask for us at the fancy inn, all right?¡± She nodded, and with that, we finally got away from her. I¡¯m not going to escape, it is just that she reeks of trouble. Walking to the inn, I had the Bodies ¡®tell¡¯ me i detail what they did when I was away, which got me surprised, then started laughing. Those Bodies¡­ they really are one-of-a-kind, huh. Bob, without permission, bet 20 more golds than what I allowed him, but at the end, he won back a hundred, so I had no problem. Larry and Henry got me lots of rare objects, most importantly the Elixirs. If my hypothesis is correct, then channeling mana into the liquid will complete it just like Spirit Elixir. But that is for another time.. As for John and James, they discovered a gambling den, and with their telekinesis, they nearly won every game. Well, I said nearly since they also know self-restraint, if they won all the time, suspicious people will stalk them, and no one wants that. But what made me laugh was the fact that they were the main cause of this incident. I had suspicions, but I never thought that they were true. Leaving Dean and the Bodies to do whatever they want since it is night, I got to bed, cast multiple barriers, and got to sleep while cuddling with Rain, and Inka being sandwiched between us. With that, I let drowsiness take over, and sleep like I never slept before. ¡­. =====Chap 24 end===== Chapter 25 =====Chapter 25===== -Dean¡¯s POV Finally, a break. Making use of this opportunity, I go and run away as far as possible. Not for the reason of running away, just for the sake of the peace of my mind, since they will be able to track me down no matter what. Going back inside the cave, I stopped at the dead end, then got to a meditating position. Multiple barriers were automatically casted around me, while I cleared my mind. Finally in peace, my mind started drifting to my memories. ¡­ Born in a world without magic, I was popular with all the ladies from when I was a child. But one day while I was working, I suddenly appeared in a shrine greeted by beautiful women. ¡°Dear Hero, please save us from destruction.¡± Those were the words that started it all. Am I a hero? Those words didn¡¯t matter, all I need to do is save the day and sleep with them. Using that conviction, I learned all I could, and studied under the masters then fought against the monster leader. After 4 years of constant fighting, I finally finished my job. With that, I got my rewards, then I was given the throne, and ruled over that planet with my 40 women harem. Dying of old age, I was satisfied, not wishing for anything else. Until I was summoned by a kid as a ¡®Phantasmal Body¡¯. Couldn¡¯t he have summoned me into a physical body? Ugh.. Up until now, he was treating me like his slave although I¡¯m wiser and older than him, tsk. Well, I¡¯m not really feeling like hating him, he is just another person like me, except the fact that he is a rookie and younger than when I first started. Oh well, at least I¡¯m experiencing new things. ¡­. -Archillies POV Yawn¡­. This was a great sle..ep? I¡¯m in a dream now, huh.. Oh well, I wonder what is new now. Currently floating in pure white, I was somewhat confused as to why it is different than normal. Then it struck me. Couldn¡¯t I just control this dream since I am aware? Imagining a room with brown decorated walls and floors with carpets, I tried to implement a fireplace and a red, comfortable armchair. All of it appeared around me in an instant, as I tried to float down to the floor. It isn¡¯t an illusion, hooray! Walking towards the chair, I imagined myself in a red robe, which worked perfectly. Oh, what a great atmosphere. One last thing and this shall be perfected¡­ A mug of hot chocolate. Sip. Delicious¡­ Sitting around and repeating the same action for what seems to be 30 minutes, I felt like doing a change. -Crash! The door exploded from an impact, and I looked behind me to see the cause. A Minotaur. With cow-like legs, a human¡¯s torso and arms, and lastly a goat¡¯s head with gray horns and dark brown fur, it stood there, holding an axe suitable for its size, with the Minotaur¡¯s height about 2.5 meters. ¡°RAHHH¡± It made a warcry, and soon mini-minotaurs followed suit. Changing the scene before they reached me, I made it as if they were inside a glass box, with grassy terrain inside. Looking around restlessly, I decided to play an RTS (Real Time Strategy). Putting a town hall on the other side of the map, I started ¡®training¡¯ citizens. Just to allow for an easier start, I decided to separate the minotaurs and my people with a sea. Putting the resources equally as a finishing touch, I started concentrating on my people.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Using one of them, I ordered it to create a farm. ¡°Sorry, but I want to cut wood.¡± I frowned. That shouldn¡¯t happen.. oh well, guess we have to scrap that idea, huh. I imagined myself on the minotaurs¡¯ island, and then went to fight them. Sadly, with a single punch, I erased half of the island, so that was also a no-go. Resetting everything to how it was, I was back in the white background. Sigh.. Well, that killed the mood, so I decided to just skip this dream. I hope for an uncontrollable dream more than a lucid dream. Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine the dream going faster, and finally, I blacked out. ¡­. Yawn¡­ Aaaand.. I¡¯m in the bed, hooray. Sitting up, my movement caused Rain¡¯s arm, which was clinging onto me, to move, making her wake up. ¡°Mornin¡¯ sleepyhead.¡± ¡°Ngh.. morning.¡± With disheveled hair, she sat up and started wiping her eyes. Inka woke up at the sudden shaking, and then got off the bed. I also got off, and let Rain wake up at her own pace, then went to the bathroom. With a sink and a tub, I was made sure that fellow world travellers were present here and shared their knowledge. Knowledge, huh¡­ Looking back at it, I always felt weird at the idea of ¡®Otherworlder Shares Knowledge¡¯. Why should I do that? They have magic and we have science, each making up for the lack of one another. There were cases in stories where the main character would just go around to King(s) and just straight up gives his guards overpowered equipment, same goes for the king. Why¡­ just, why? What is the reason, the motive? There are times where it is out of ¡®goodwill¡¯, but those characters are fools in my eyes. Kings are most likely to be manipulators. No, I¡¯m not talking about this kingdom¡¯s king (which I forgot his name), rather, in general. They have the responsibility to strengthen their homeland, make use of every person there is to do so. Good natured kings might exist, I acknowledge that, however, a king who doesn¡¯t grasp the chances is an idiot. Anyhow, finishing off my business, and taking a quick shower (mostly by manipulating the tub¡¯s warm water to ¡®shower¡¯ me), I exit and let Rain inside. Oh, she forgot her pendant. Welp, I¡¯ll just re-enchant it while I¡¯m at it. Holding it, I rewrite the poor enchants with better ones. The blue tear-like gem imbedded into it has the latent enchants ¡®Fortify Water Magic¡¯, ¡®Fortify Ice Magic¡¯ and a 5% cost reduction to both of them. The fortifies increase the power of their respective elements by 25%, now by 100%, and the cost reduction is 50%. For even expensive enchanted equipment, those are numbers to behold, but this isn¡¯t the end. Those were only the gem¡¯s enchantments, how about the necklace itself? Although a terrible enchanter, I was surprised at the variety of different enchants that are rarely visible in the expensive ones. ¡®Increase STR by 4¡¯, ¡®Increase AGI by 4¡¯ and ¡®Increase MP regeneration by 50%¡¯. For normal people, this is akin to a 2 level power up, plus the MP regeneration. So this is the so-called hidden gem, huh. Overwriting them with ¡®Increase all stats by 50¡¯ and ¡®Increase MP regeneration by 400%¡¯, I added my own ¡®Anti-thieving¡¯ enchantment. Basically, it doesn¡¯t allow someone to take it away from the wearer unless the wearer takes it off by themselves. Sighing from relief, I put the pendant back to where it was placed, to notice the observing Rain. ¡°How long were you here?¡± She gave me a dazzling smile and answered. ¡°A couple of minutes; you looked so into it so I decided not to intervene.¡± ¡°I-I see..¡± Feeling a bit embarrassed, I opted to changing the subject. ¡°Here, I overwrote the enchants so..¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I gave her the pendant then sprawled on the bed, in deep thought. Since there is a high probability that the prince will get people so exterminate me, or at best, chase me away, I¡¯m going to have to lay low. Not. It isn¡¯t as if they can do anything to Rain and I, so I can rest at ease. Yet, it doesn¡¯t solve my problem, what to do? ¡°Hey Rain, is there anywhere you want to go or something to do?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah, I¡¯d like to go to the library, as I noticed my lack of knowledge.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Jumping off the bed, I take the now-wet Inka and dry her, then place her on my head. Mhm, it feels more natural that way. Taking Rain by the hand, I leave the room, lock it, then get on my way. ..To instead find the Guard Captain at it once again. ¡°...Like I said, there were reports of a wanted person being in this place.¡± ¡°We are incredibly sorry, however, no matter who the customer is, we are not allowed to give any information without their consent.¡± Seeing as the Captain is on the verge of snapping, I majestically appeared from the stairs. ¡°You! You are under arrest for harassing the prince!¡± ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t comply, sitting in prison was too much for me.¡± ¡°This is an order, do you wish to defy the royal family?¡± He asked, with an arrogant tone. ¡°Sure, it isn¡¯t like I¡¯ll be here for long.¡± Veins appeared on his forehead, and his brows started twitching. ¡°Fine, a kid like you will pay dearly.¡± ¡°Would you dare say so to an SS rank?¡± ¡°Hah? Who is an SS rank?¡± Taking out my card, I flash it in his face. ¡°....¡± His expression paled, blood left his face, making it look as if he is a vampire. ¡°T-that doesn¡¯t matter.. You are still coming with me!¡± ¡°Nah, don¡¯t want to.¡± I acted like a spoiled child and hid behind Rain. We quietly chuckled as the scene unfolds. To me, his rating in my mind increased. Without a hint of lust or bravery, he still tried to do his duty even with no chance of succeeding. Maybe he is a bit misunderstood due to his attitude, huh. ¡°Guards, capture them!¡± The same guards who were standing at the door last time were here as well. Unsheathing their weapons, they surrounded us with forced expressions. ¡°No hard feelings, ¡®Kay?¡± Those were the words that I I don¡¯t kill people, unless they were scum both physically and mentally, even though the act of killing in-of-itself is bad. Their terrified bodies were more than enough to convey their desire to live, plus the fact that they look like rookies explains it well. Contacting Rain with telepathy, we devised a simple plan. Subdue, ingrain, leave. Subdue is self-explanatory, while ingrain means ¡®Ingrain in their hearts to never mess with us¡¯, and leave. By hearts, I meant in general, so that the royalty won¡¯t try to do anything to us. Anyhow, once Rosabella¡¯s carriage is ready, we will set towards the north, as the ¡®Beastmen¡¯ in rule the country. Enough explanation and more acting, I thought to myself. Rain and I emitted our bloodlust at once, while mine still overshadowed her, it still added up to the power. A shiver runs down their spines, their hair stands and they start fainting one by one. The Captain, still barely hanging onto his consciousness, was no more when I sent a tiny bit of bloodlust directed at him. Too much and they might die, and no one wants that. We trot towards the door, hand in hand, as we left towards the library. What I never knew until later on, was that this day, half of the citizens fainted in their homes. ¡­. =====Chapter 25 end===== Chapter 26 =====Chapter 26===== -Flap flap flap With terrifying speed, Rain picked up books one after another and speed read them. Since she is supposedly me from another world, I could justify her hunger for knowledge just like me, and as for the reading speed, this world¡¯s system is to thank. As for me, I was observing her to attain the ability ¡®Speed Reading¡¯, of course¡­ there is no other reason. Obviously, I don¡¯t need such an ability, as I can ¡®Read¡¯ it all with just a single thought, but what if I told you that single papers don¡¯t count as enough for my ¡®Read¡¯ to work. Anyhow, I told Rain that I¡¯ll go for a walk, and made sure that she would call for me if anything happens. What? Not even I could predict if someone stronger than me comes here and tries to take Rain for themselves. Taking my leave, I look at the sky for a moment, then finally remember. Soulbound weapons. Using my mental map as a guide, I strolled towards the nearest weapons shop/smithy, until I heard dull sounds. -Clank -Clank Slowly but carefully as to not disturb him, I open the door and start checking the stock, until he notices me. ¡°Weapons or armor, we have both.¡± He said, with a rough tone. His body is short, about my height, with a somewhat long beard and hairy head, stubby limbs, with muscles bulging out of them, showing how strong he is. His tanned skin was glistening from the sweat, hearth doing the glowing. ¡°Got ingots I could buy?¡± ¡°No, sorry fella, an order came and they are all needed.¡± ¡°Mind if I help?¡± I asked, with a smile. ¡°Haha, why not, it will take a long time by myself, besides, I have no apprentice, so you seem like you could do the job.¡± ¡°How could you know?¡± ¡°A dwarf¡¯s eyes never betray.¡± I got silent, and left it at that. Throwing me a spare hammer, we got working the weapons, with great speed. ¡­. -Clank -Clank We both struck the rods with ease, and finally quenched them. Sharpening them with a grinder, it was over. Wiping off the sweat that accumulated for 3 hours, we had the 100 swords order done. Grabbing a nearby seat, he dropped himself on it, then stared at me while I did the same. In synchronize, we took a glance at the swords, then at each other, and started laughing hysterically. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°¡±HAHAHAHAHA¡±¡± We kept at it for a few minutes, then finally, he started talking. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d meet a boy with such a great skill, maybe even surpassing mine.¡± ¡°No way, I could never beat an expert, besides, most of what I did was replicating your movements.¡± That was the truth. While yes, I do know how they are done, I tried my best to make them of the same quality as his, which took more effort than I should have done. ¡°With all that done, I still have a couple of silver bars left, and I don¡¯t mind letting you have them.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He pointed towards 6 bars laying on the ground, which I proceeded to pick up. If I remember correctly, after the weapon is done, I need to merge the soul with the weapon, which is only possible with a soulsmith, who seemingly don¡¯t exist anymore. Why didn¡¯t I use the previous weapons? I want to make new ones, plus, I want to experiment on enchantments. Maybe I could take back the part of my soul from the weapon? Anyhow, I stopped thinking and started heating, the earlier the better. Making myself a morningstar, and a greatsword for Rain, as always. Since my weapon is done, I put elemental enchantments on it, then experimented with an enchantment called ¡®Unbreakable¡¯. After putting all of the enchantments, I took the morningstar and tried to crush it. With all my strength, it wasn¡¯t crushed, so I tried to cut it. Nothing happened, not even a scratch. A person might ask, if you could so easily make an ¡®Unbreakable¡¯ enchantment, couldn¡¯t any enchanter do it? Yes, of course, but it took more than half of my current MP pool, which is over millions, making it incredibly inefficient and if a person actually wants to do it, then they must somehow find a mana storage and store a couple of millions of mana, then alright. But that doesn¡¯t count if they actually know how to enchant it. A person cannot just go and say ¡°Enchant ¡®Unbreakable¡¯¡± out of nowhere, and poof. That isn¡¯t how it works, a person must have great understanding of enchanting, the material, and to not overflow the weapon with mana to the extent that it self-destructs. Many of that could have been skipped with my space Skill Tree¡¯s skills, but due to my tours in the libraries, I had enough knowledge to start it off, but not all of it, making use of the skill¡¯s job. Now, as I¡¯m done enchanting my morningstar, I do the same to the greatsword, which by that time my mana had regenerated. Due to my high WIS stat, my regeneration coupled with my mana pool basically give me near infinite mana, so I don¡¯t have to wait long before re-starting the work. Repeating what I did before, I finally finished the enchanting job, so I start staring at the morningstar. Alright then, time to start bonding. How does it work? Bond your soul with the weapon, end of story. Using every ounce of concentration I have, I moved a part of my soul into the weapon, then it start shining purple. The morningstar shook violently, then started turning from shiny silver into blue. Finally morphing into Corromium, I stared at it with a happy expression, as I commanded it to become a second skin. Since I did not put a wooden handle on the morningstar, it quickly turned into slime and slid below my clothes. Ta-dah, the ultimate metal is at my disposal, and I¡¯m wearing it. There are many advantages to it as well, not just being strong, light and a good mana medium, but giving higher regenerative power depending on the strength of its bound owner, and the ability to shapeshift. Of course, if I wish to make it larger, I would feed it any type of metal I have, and it would mutate to become Corromium as well, at the cost of mana, of course. I put Rain¡¯s enchanted greatsword into my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, then notice the dwarf, Toran, having his mouth gaping open. ¡°You alright there?¡± I spoke to him while waving my hand in front of his face, making him snap out of it. ¡°Haha, I must be dreaming, since I saw you make a soulbound weapon then turning it into corromium, hahaha.¡± Should I tell him the truth? Ehh¡­ Yeah¡­ ¡°It wasn¡¯t a dream, though?¡± I stretch out the Corromium in the shape of a morningstar. Oh no, he fainted. Conjuring a small ball of water, I splash his face, making him wake up. Now that is some super-reaction right there. ¡°Are you going to faint on me again?¡± ¡°So¡­ it wasn¡¯t a dream.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°....¡± He stared at me, dumbfounded, but then regained his bearings in a few seconds. ¡°So¡­ is there anything else you need?¡± ¡°Nope, you helped me enough, goodbye.¡± I gave him a firm handshake, then left while waving. Talking to Rain using telepathy, I found out that she was waiting for me in front of the library. I picked up a bit of speed and moved towards the library, to meet the almighty ¡®cliche¡¯ ganging was present before me. ¡°Come with us.¡± Blah blah, the usual words. Rain stood there, giving them no heed, but when her eyes met mine, I knew her purpose. Sighing outwardly, I walked towards them then tapped the middle one on the back. ¡°¡±Scuse me, I¡¯m her escort.¡± ¡°Huuuh, what are y-¡± Not in the mood for their antics, I gave him an Air Punch (by using Air Manipulation), making him fly in the air with teeth escaping his mouth. Ouch, should have lowered the output, huh. ¡°You basta-¡± 2 more punches, and they were all laying on the ground. Giving them no heed, I went towards Rain. ¡°Anywhere else you want to go, milady?¡± I asked, with a mischievous grin. ¡°I heard Bob is participating in the tournament today, how about we go watch.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Hand in hand, we walked towards the arena, while reminding myself to give her the greatsword once we are done. ¡­. =====Chapter 26 end===== Chapter 27 =====Chapter 27===== Reaching the arena, I entered the lobby, and I was met with a full line at a window. Not knowing what this was about, I asked the one of the people standing there. ¡°We are betting, ya¡¯know?¡± He said, with a confident tone. There were other windows, yet they were incredibly free. I went and asked one of the receptionists about it. ¡°In the busy window, they could bet for the dual-wielding scimitar man, Bamus, here you bet for Bob, and the nex-¡± ¡°A thousand golds on Bob.¡± I hand him a large bag filled with gold. With a dubious expression, he looked at me and asked. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± He hesitantly grabbed the bag and gave me a ticket that was written on with a special tool. ¡°What is your name, sir?¡± ¡°Archillies Duane.¡± ¡°Alright, hold on a second.¡± Writing my name on it, the ink shined bright red then settled on black. On it was my name on the top, then the number 1000G below it. ¡°I want to bet to!¡± Said Rain, with an enthusiastic tone. Taking out a pile of gold from her own stash, she handed him a thousand, just like I did. In the same manner, he took the gold, then fiddled with some tools while writing Rain¡¯s name. Rain Blue on the top, a thousand on the bottom. To be honest, I question this world¡¯s safety, since they consider people adults at the age of 12. Yet, I have never seen any, none at all, in fact. The reason is either, they went to a school or an academy, or they do not act until they grow up. Anyhow, this system only works for Sefai Lopie, however, Rezal Kingdom (north) is different. Beastmen supposedly mature at 18, or so their ancestor¡¯s laws say. The difference between humans and beastmen is apparent in their physical abilities, whereas the latter being stronger, at the cost of low chance of being a mage, and harder to gain magic abilities. However, with enough numbers and tactics, beastmen would surely conquer the continent, unless they meet an SSS or someone like me, but that won¡¯t happen¡­ right? Anyhow, while I was in deep thought, Rain had pulled me to the spectators seats, and we sat on the 3rd row. Not too close, yet not too far, the best seats are usually the in the middle. Looking inside, the smooth sandstone terrain covered the battlegrounds, which seems to be altered after each battle by an Earth manipulator.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Finally, the commentator, Fiona, came out and triggered the start of their entrance. With calm, yet strong steps, a man clad in desert-like clothes entered the arena, wearing a muffler. On the opposite side, Bob was wearing a full chainmail set with a black cloak draping it, with a greataxe in his right hand being dragged behind him. Recently, their bodies have started looking more human-like, and less ghostly blue, thus explaining why no one has found out that he is a Phantasmal Body. With a devilish grin, he stared at the dual-scimitar wielding man, before adopting a stance. Bob, I¡¯m proud of you for not looking down on your opponent. Fiona started counting down, and just as she said ¡°Start¡±, the combatants gathered power in their feet and dashed at each other. With great speed, Bob made a side-swipe with his axe, to be dodged by a jump in the air. Making use of this chance, Bob stopped midway and thrusted upwards with the flat surface of the axe, plunging the fighter higher in the air. Due to the unexpected attack, he had a dumbfounded expression, nevertheless, he utilized his position in the air and started chanting magic. ¡°Spirits of fire, with thy power and strength, light up my road and clear my path! ¡®Flare¡¯!¡± A concentrated ball of fire was emitted from his palms, and soon sent towards Bob at bullet speed. With a calm expression, he raised his axe at the ball in a tilted angle, and stood steady. Just as it touched the axe, he started rotating it with smooth movements, then hauling it back towards the caster. With a click of his tongue, he tried to protect himself from the attack, with dampened some of the damage, but he couldn¡¯t see the next attack coming. After sending the ¡®Flare¡¯, Bob made use of my skill ¡®No Chant¡¯ to cast a water ball in the size of a baseball, then hurled it right behind the flaming ball. Desert warriors are known for their high affinity to fire, and high resistance as well, however, water is their counterpart. Being hit by an unexpected attack straight in his face, the warrior faltered, which allowed Bob to continue his onslaught. Using ¡®Auto Cast¡¯, Bob made 10 water balls, and hurled them twice per attack. The poor man was unable to fall, as Bob never let him do so, the water balls pushed the man up in the air again and again, until Bob got bored. Putting strength in his legs, Bob crouched, then jumped up high just next to the warrior. His eyes widened in surprise, but Bob didn¡¯t give him any chance to retaliate, and bashed the warrior into the ground. A sonic boom was formed, with the warrior falling at high speed and crashing into the ground, while Bob descended like an angel. Unknowingly, the crowd was cheering loudly, yet my mind blocked their voices. Taking a glance at Rain, her eyes sparkled, her mouth twitched in anticipation as she shaked in her seat. Unconsciously, it seems that I as well was doing the same thing, until I ¡®woke up¡¯. Looking back at the battleground, it seems that the dust from the crash has finally settled. Oh.. the warrior is standing up. Using my supreme hearing, I heard him chant for a ¡®Flame Heal¡¯, which covered his body for a few seconds until it dissipated. Some of the injuries were treated, while others were not, but that didn¡¯t matter for the warrior. His face had a smile from ear to ear, while he readied his stance. Bob still had his grin, and taunted the warrior with his hands, urging to ¡®Come at me¡¯. In a moment, the warrior reached Bob, and swiftly swung his dual scimitars in succession. Bob parried each attack, however, it seemed that both of them were ¡®Dancing with each other.¡¯ A sword dance, except the extra axe in the mix, but that didn¡¯t matter. The crowd was heated up, yet silent, sucked in by the beautiful performance with the blades. Metals clashed and slid over each other, creating music for the dance. They kept at it for a couple of minutes, until both of them backed off. Both of them gathered their all to this one last attack, then dashed at each other in sync. -Woosh! In moments where anime characters both attack and pass by each other with their attacking stance was enacted in front of me, and all ended with the desert warrior falling on his knees, with a satisfied smile plastered on his face. The crowd cheers were as loud as can be, then I saw a visible change to Bob. His body vibrated mildly for a moment before returning to what it was, then he walked towards the warrior whose face is planted on the ground. Taking his arm and putting it around his neck, he supported him and walked inside the lobby. I stared aimlessly at the battleground for a while, but then was woken up by Rain¡¯s shaking. ¡°Come on, let us claim our bets and unite with Bob.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Standing up, I didn¡¯t notice Inka who was standing on my laps and staring at the battleground. I chuckled quietly as I took it in my hands, to then meet Rain¡¯s eyes. ¡°Err.. Yes?¡± ¡°Could I carry her?¡± I looked at Inka to see its reaction, but it didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Sorry, doesn¡¯t seem like she wants to be carried by you .¡± Pouting, Rain looked away from me with a ¡®Hmph!¡¯ before walking towards the exit. I stared at her for a moment before shaking my head and following her, nevertheless, it seemed that she was exaggerating her reaction, since she giggled along the way. Reaching the betting window, we gave the man our tickets before his face drained of colour. With a huff, he took out 20 bags each with 1000 golds. So our bet caused us to win 9000 golds in one go, and I wouldn¡¯t doubt that Bob didn¡¯t bet as well. Entering the fighters¡¯ lounge, I saw Bob standing next to a backless couch with the desert warrior on it. ¡°Good job Bob, never thought you¡¯d get this good at fighting so early.¡± ¡°It is all thanks to you, master.¡± ¡°No of cou-¡± With a surprised face, I stared at him. ¡°You could speak!?¡± ¡­. =====Chapter 27 end===== Chapter 28 =====Chapter 28===== ¡°You could speak!?¡± ¡°No, master, only after I had reached level 500 did I gain such an ability.¡± I stared at him, flabbergasted, but was soon woken up by the the desert warrior, Bamus. His eyelids slowly opened, revealing a honey-brown colour, which soon started moving over from Bob to me. ¡°Who are you?¡± He asked, with a careful tone. Obviously due to the fact that I wore an expensive looking outfit, coupled with my attitude, he must have thought I was a noble. The rotten kind. ¡°I¡¯m Archillies Duane, Bob¡¯s master.¡± His eyes opened as wide as possible, then quickly glanced around from me to Bob. ¡°Is¡­ Is that true?¡± Wordlessly, Bob nodded to him. Looking annoyed, he sat up, and stared daggers at me. Under his breath, I heard him mutter, ¡°Filthy nobles and their slavery, tsk.¡± My poker face didn¡¯t break, yet I wanted to retort ¡°I¡¯m not a noble, ya¡¯know?¡± Holding back my urges, I broke eye contact then sighed. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Release Bob, he should not be under someone like you.¡± Uncontrollably, the corner of my mouth twitched, then I glanced at Bob. ¡°Do you wish to be freed?¡± ¡°Never have I thought of such an idea.¡± He replied without the tiniest bit of hesitance. ¡°And there you have it.¡± A dirty smirk was formed on my face, while I stared back at Bamus. He frowned, then darted up from his seat. ¡°I challenge you to a duel! If I win, Bob is freed.¡± I looked at him in surprise, then couldn¡¯t hold myself anymore. ¡°Bwahahahaha.¡± It was his turn to be surprised, since I started laughing out of nowhere. ¡°Y-you really think I¡¯m a noble? Ahahahaha..¡± His mouth twitched, with a hint of annoyance in his eyes.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Then what are you? No person could have such a strong slave or guard except nobles.¡± ¡°Pffft¡­ do you even see a slave collar around here, or even an insignia resembling my nobility, no¡­ you just had to jump to conclusions..¡± ¡°...¡± He got quiet as I quizzatiously told him the truth. ¡°Then why was he calling you ¡®Master¡¯?¡± A victory grin was plastered on his face, as if he expect me not to answer him back. ¡°He is my summon.¡± ¡°.... I see¡­ then I have a request.¡± After mistreating me he wants to request? ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Please let me be taught under Master Bob¡¯s guidance.¡± Bob''s indifferent expression changed to shock, and mine as well. Not knowing what to do, I decided to shamelessly move on the responsibility to someone else. ¡°Bob, what is your answer?¡± ¡°....¡± He stared at the ground for a while, as if he was thinking deeply. ¡°But, I don¡¯t use the twin scimitars?¡± He replied to Bamus. Bamus winced at the sudden revelation, but then regained back his calm. ¡°I shall switch to the greataxe, please.¡± ¡°Hmm..¡± Bob started stroking his non-existent beard, while thinking with a deep voice coming out. ¡°As long as Master doesn¡¯t mind.¡± was his statement. Bamus looked at me with sparkling eyes, so I just shrugged. ¡°Have it your way, however, Bob will take care of you, and only him.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He said, while bowing. In this world, bowing is a custom just like in Japan, however, I do not have deep knowledge, so all I could do is guess where the rest of the traditions came from. I looked behind me at Rain, who was somehow able to snatch Inka away from me and is now petting it. ¡°Let us go?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Walking away, Bob stayed behind for a minute as he gathered his bet. As for Bamus, he was stalking Bob the whole time, yet Bob didn¡¯t care, so I left it at that. Out of the arena we went, and where to next? I wondered. Then it struck me¡­ we never ate at a resturant in this world before, so why not try it. Inns and taverns sure make food, but restaurants specialize in taste more than filling. After strolling around and gathering some attention from Bob¡¯s looks, which seem to have been enhanced to suit his deep voice, we found a good looking place to dine in. Slowly pushing the door, a ring from the bell atop the door was made, allowing the waitress to notice us. Surprisingly, she was wearing modern-like waitress clothes, in black and white. The restaurant wasn¡¯t too crowded or empty, giving it a good atmosphere which can only be found on such occasions. Finding a table for 4, we sat around it with Rain and I on one side, and Bob and Bamus on the other. Each one of us took hold of the menus, then started picking. Out of curiousity, I asked Rain what she picked. ¡°Frostus Milk and a number 12.¡± I should have guessed, since I had picked the same meals, so I directed my question towards Bob and Bamus, who seemed to be pestering his ¡®Master¡¯ with what foods to eat and such. But Archillies, can Phantasmal Bodies even eat? While yes, they do NOT need to eat, they could do it, and give feedback as well, which resulted in me imagining a mad alchemist feeding his summons such as Phantasmal Bodies, which could not die, many strange drinks and the like. Anyhow, we rang the bell and the waitress nimbly moved towards us while holding a menu just like ours. ¡°What will be your orders?¡± We all started listing our orders, and before she left, I added pet food to the list. Since it will take time before the meals are ready, I opened my status menu, and stared at my level. 749, huh. With 65220 from before, I added the 24246 to finally reach 89466, then I used the 17960 stat points (40*449) to break through the 100000 stat mark, achieving the total of 149332 average per stat. -Ding! ¡°Due to LUK+ surpassing 100,000 , the ability ¡®Absolute Luck¡¯ has upgraded into ¡®Luck Manipulation¡¯.¡± -Ding! ¡°Requirements for evolution has been unlocked, do you wish to evolve into a ¡®High Human(low)¡¯. Y/N¡± In all honesty, I¡¯m unsure whether evolving right now would put me unconscious or not, so I will hold off for now. For one reason or another, ever since I went past the 50 thousand mark, my body stopped being remade, as if it had already reached its optimum shape. As for ¡®Luck Manipulation¡¯, I have mixed feelings about it, since luck could have many forms, which may only be advantageous to me, but harmful to others. For example, let us say that a sure-kill technique is coming at me, and I¡¯m standing next to an innocent person, then what would be lucky for me? Either passing on the empty side, or hitting the poor man, but surely, I have no control over that. If used incorrectly, then luck will not only endanger my enemies, but my allies as well, being a double-edged sword. ..Unless I¡¯m in a completely secluded place, then I might find some hidden treasures, but who knows.. The waitress comes back without slipping off any of the meal, and places each plate from the tray onto the table, and finally, placing the pet bowl onto the ground, which made Rain let go of Inka to start eating. Ignoring my current thoughts, I joined everyone on the table, who already started wolfing down their food. ¡­. =====Chapter28 end===== Vol 1 : Epilogue =====Chapter 29===== ¡°Tah!¡± Raising my leg, I do a High Kick in the air, whilst wearing the weighing equipment, which are amplified even more. Sweat slips off my forehead into the air, as I try to unify my rough breathing. ¡°Your muscles have wasted movement, repeat it.¡± Said a short, old looking wolf-woman. Her short white hair matches well with her candle-like skin, and wrinkled face that hides unusual vigor in her dark brown eyes. ¡°Yes, Master Fira.¡± I repeat the same set of movements while relaxing my muscles, yet not too much. Gathering the flow of Ki within me, I move it around as my body dances with green, falling leaves. With each step and each move, I clear my mind, intensifying the Ki within. -Woosh! Repeating the same kick, however, with smoother movement, I could feel my attack cutting the air rather than brute forcing it with the use of STR. Right now, my Body stat equals 30, due to the effects of the clothes, so I¡¯m currently handicapped, and this attack in of itself would require at least a 100 Body stat. ¡°Good job, we shall continue later, for now, go and have a rest.¡± A faint smile appeared on my face, both from the sense of accomplishment and relief. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Walking over to the house, I open the door and get greeted by an exhausted and panting Rain, and a sleeping Bamus. The Bodies are nowhere to be seen, I guess they are hunting, huh. Taking out spare clothes from my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, I head towards the hot spring in the backyard of the house. With all the clothes off my body, I slowly dip into the lukewarm water and relax, beginning to drift into my memories. ¡­. It all started 10 days later once we had reached the beastmen country, Rezal Kingdom, and had encountered the supposed ¡®King¡¯. Obviously, I gave him a chance, after all, not all kings are fools or devilish, albeit not all of them are smart or ¡®good¡¯ either. How did I encounter him? For one reason or another, it seems that he himself patrols the roads, finding any potential strong people to battle with, just for the sake of battling. Sadly, Bob was exerting too much power, so the King was all heated up and ready for it. ...Until Bob blatantly refused the fight, which lead to the King trying to attack us. Of course, no killing intent was emitted from the king, nevertheless, Bob made use of his greataxe and blocked the incoming attack from behind. This and that happened, and the King¡¯s honor was wiped across the dust-filled road, which also lead to him forcing us to enter another mountain. However, this mountain was different in both appearance and aura, which felt as if a great monster is living in it. ¡°Go and train with the granny, take this letter with you.¡± he said, with a cheerful tone to strangers like us. Maybe I have trust issues, or he is far too trusting. Actions speak louder than words, they say, maybe that is why people resort to using their fists to settle fights rather than words? Who knows, but since we didn¡¯t stay for long at the Capital, we got onto the mountain and climbed to reach an eerie-looking house, yet having the look of being recently maintained. Suddenly, a shadow passed by us, however, due to my superior hearing and eyesight, I spotted a short person who was circling around us and using the trees as cover. Releasing a bit of my bloodlust, they flinched, so I used that moment to order the trees to capture the stalking person. ...Which was the ancient master, Fira the Legendary Fox. Unknowingly, I freed her from the trees, which resulted in me getting hit in my acute points, and falling numb. It wasn¡¯t soon after that all of us hit the ground with a thud, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m unable to use magic. Using my psychic abilities to make my body float, I also tried to grab hold of the old woman¡¯s legs, but she nimbly escaped from them, as if she could see it. But not quite, as I had anticipated that, and contracted the air in an instant around her limbs, making her wince as I pulled her up. Surprisingly, she was able to destroy my Air Chains, and soon ran towards me.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Not so fast, I thought, since I can¡¯t move my mouth, then casted a flashbang, however, her eyes detected the flow of magic and quickly covered her eyes. Now with them closed, she started moving even more swiftly, avoiding any magic I throw at her, until I decided. Using the magic, I write on the air ¡®I surrender¡¯. Easily, I could have made her perish into nothingness by a simple fireball, due to my high Mind, however, how could I do so with Rain, Inka and Bamus being there. Speaking of Inka she was still sleeping the whole time, man, just how irresponsible are you.. Anyhow, I take out the letter from my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯ while she stares cautiously at me, then hand it over. Her eyes widened, then she ceased her hostility, and I did so after her. She moved towards me and poked certain points on my body, and the paralysis was instantaneously dissipated, allowing me to move once again. Repeating the same action onto the others, she stared at me and said. ¡°So you came to learn from this old lady?¡± ¡­. Which soon lead to this point. The Bodies didn¡¯t need to learn anything, since my knowledge is transmitted onto them, so all I have to do is learn and have my own army. Rain finished training a few minutes before me, however, a few minutes was not enough for her to rest. Looking up at the starry night, I was reminded of my first training with Fira. ..Although I know the Ki series, it differs from manually manipulating Ki into customized moves, not actual abilities. While that may seem inefficient, it actually is, but after a person learns how to use the Ki as naturally as breathing, a level 1 vs me would probably win, provided they have enough speed to counter mine. We¡¯ve been here for 3 days, and we are leaving at the 7th morning, so I¡¯ve been absorbing as much as I could from the old lady. Incidentally, she is telling me that mastering the flow of Ki would require months, if not years or decades to learn. That doesn¡¯t apply to me, due to my class¡¯ unique abilities, but that doesn¡¯t dilute the feeling of accomplishment at all. Suddenly, the back door suddenly opens, revealing a completely naked Rain. ¡°Ha ha..¡± I laughed dryly, and looked away into the water, but then she jumped at me, pushing both of us into the water. ¡°Bwahh!¡± Finally getting out from the water, I glared at Rain who was giggling mischievously. I sighed while she sat next to me, and leaned her head on my shoulder left shoulder. Leaning my head on hers, I closed my eyes and reminisce in the feeling of safety and trust, unknowingly sleep in the middle of the hot spring, naked. ¡­. Two days later, I¡¯ve finally mastered the art of manipulating Ki, and was able to be on par with Master Fira. ¡°Hahaha, never seen a great talent just like yours. Say, would you like to listen to a story?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°This is the story of how I discovered the manipulation of Ki, at that time I was 23 years old..¡± She begins narrating about how at that time, while the whole world was in peace, it was unstable, with many grudges not fulfilled. Being in the army, she was one of the most genius soldiers, even much so that the instructors would let her do the teaching for the others. But one day on the battleground, she got a terrible bleeding on her head, making her unable to see the enemies, which made her to try and sense her surroundings. Out of the blue, she was able to sense Ki, and was able to come out of the battle with no more injuries except the one on her head, while defeating over 30 enemies alone. Ever since that time, she trained on detecting and manipulating Ki, which lead to her seclusion in the mountains sooner or later, at which she mastered it. After she went back to her country, she found out that one of her old acquaintances were able to raise to the position of the king, which then he offered her to become a military instructor, but she refused, telling him that she does not wish to involve herself in war any more. While yes, she would like an apprentice, all masters would do, but her reasoning is incredibly justified, not everyone likes bloodshed, and if she trained super soldiers, then war would surely erupt, recreating the chaos once again. He promised that afterwards, if he found someone suitable, he would send them to her, and have the letter as a proof. It has been 6 years since that promise, and it seems that he is one that keeps his promises. And the story ends with her meeting us, and all that took 2 hours to tell, which made the rest of the party come and listen. Finally, it seems that her wish has been fulfilled, however, she would have liked to have us stay longer with her. Sadly, we are on a tight schedule, otherwise, we would have stayed for a month or two, but we haven¡¯t even explored the capital yet, which is what we will do after tomorrow. Just after she finished the story, three knocks came from the door, and a Bob appeared holding a large wyvern. ¡°Guess we better get dinner ready, huh?¡± She asked, with a soothing voice. Albeit her petite appearance, she took the wyvern from the tail and dragged him towards the shed to butcher and skin it. Rain stood up and walker after her, closing the door and leaving Bamus, Bob, Inka and me alone. Come to think of it, the other Bodies haven¡¯t been appearing lately, but their senses don¡¯t send any sort of danger, so I¡¯ll leave them to whatever they do. Glancing at the now as big as my arm Inka, which is unable to sleep on my head, and now resorts to becoming my scarf, and that also warms me, so I don¡¯t mind. But it is summer, you might retort. The mountain is somehow able to have multiple different weathers each day, for example, yesterday it was snowing, today it is windy, yet the day before yesterday was summer-like. Feeling bored, I got outside the house into a flat part where we used to train and spar. ¡°Bamus, get ready.¡± I said, as I motioned him to the other side. Letting go of Inka, she stood and got into her battle stance, and so did Bamus while using his great axe, which was smaller than Bob¡¯s, obviously. Inka¡¯s tail started to divide to become 5, then the colour changed from reddish brown into white, with the tips of the tails, which was light brown to become black. The body started to grow twice it¡¯s size, with long canines appearing from the mouth and stretching downwards. Truly ferocious, was my first thought when I saw its appearance. Bob was standing behind Bamus, as if he was his master, in another aspect, and I stood behind Inka in the same way. With a nod that signaled the start, both sides got on guard and started charging their attacks. Taking the initiative, Bamus charged up a fireball, which was countered by a water ball by Inka, then she started creating ¡®Body Doubles¡¯, but Bamus didn¡¯t fret. In a second, he chanted a wall of fire that revolved around him, but he doesn¡¯t realize the mistake he had done. While the Wall of Fire could protect the caster, it doesn¡¯t allow them to see behind it, so they are unable to identify the location of their opponents. Even more so, when their opponent comes from above, just like Inka did. Casting an ¡®Ice Block¡¯, it was hurled towards Bamus from above, but he simply slashed through it, to be attacked directly by Inka. The ¡®Wall of Fire¡¯ dissipated, and then both of them backed off. Or so thought Inka, until Bamus disappeared and reappeared behind her, then subduing it quickly. Although Inka is strong in ¡®STR¡¯, once animals are caught from a specific position, they cannot escape, and that is what Bamus had did right now. I raised my hand, signaling surrender, and the match ended with Bamus¡¯ win. Hahaha, they will become too strong, sooner or later.. With wishful eyes, the women finally appeared from the shed, and started preparing a grill. Holding back our drool, we sat, waiting for the food to be made. ...Unfortunately, this was the last meal I was going to have with Master Fira. ¡­. =====Chapter 29 end===== Vol 2 : Prologue =====Vol 2 Prologue===== ¡°Gah!¡± With an unexpected bash in the stead of a slice, the opponent was unable to react and got the full impact on his shield, causing him to momentarily dull, which allowed his enemy to follow up with a slash on his right, the side which wasn¡¯t holding the shield. ¡°I-I give up!¡± Just millimeters away from cutting his shoulders, the, 2 meter long, 40 centimeters wide, greatsword halted. ¡°And the winner is¡­. White Night!¡± shouted the commentator. The person called White Night, stood there, with a smug expression on her beautiful face, and a greatsword that is definitely too big for her body was resting on her shoulders. Her glossy, silver-like hair which stretched to the ground was very carefully combed and cleaned, showing how much care was given. She had big, blue eyes that had a mysteriously mischievous feeling, yet no one knows why. Wearing something that isn¡¯t for an occasion such as fighting, a white, beautiful, sleeveless one piece dress that stretches down just before her knees, with frills and many decorations, and in place of the missing sleeve, a white evening glove with gray outline was worn, with vine patterns drawn upon it in gray, giving off a mystical feeling. Lastly, her white knee socks which have the same pattern as her gloves complete the meaning of ¡®White¡¯, but that isn¡¯t the reason she is called ¡®White Night¡¯. Using her pure-black greatsword, a dark aura floats around her, weakening the light, thus giving it the ¡®Night¡¯ part, but it is also a pun between ¡®Night¡¯ and ¡®Knight¡¯. ¡°As expected of the Hero, always triumphantly winning.¡± Just when she had left the stage, she was greeted by her self-proclaimed rival. ¡°You should know that even if I¡¯m a Hero, I shouldn¡¯t sit by idly, and my pride won¡¯t allow that, you know, Sun?¡± ¡°Hmph, you should, otherwise I¡¯ll so easily beat you, Illiana.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah..¡± While waving her hand, Illiana, otherwise known as White Night, dropped her haughty attitude and started walking in a lazy way; who wouldn¡¯t be sick after a gladiator battle where one person after another come out to fight the winner of the past round? Ignoring her attitude, Sun, otherwise called the Flaring Phoenix, was known to be incredibly cold to people other than Illiana, yet that didn¡¯t stop people from approaching her or trying to be in a relationship with her, after all, both her and Illiana are beauties, so why hold back? Nevertheless, after courage, there is meaningless arrogance, with people who ¡®Challenge¡¯ them, and if they win, they will get in a relationship, but not once did the challenger win, just like the guy who was previously beaten up. ¡°So, what are you up to now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I want to rest for a while, do something else other than fighting, plus, you realize that I no longer have someone at the top for me, even you aren¡¯t so strong that I need to polish myself even more, you know?¡± ¡°While it hurts to admit it, but yes, it seems you¡¯ve hit the end of the road, unless someone stronger than you builds a longer one for you to walk on.¡± ¡°True¡­ Sigh¡­ I¡¯ve also reached that in everything else, so all I have to do is relax and wait for the time where I¡¯m transported to another world to act as my role is, save the world from evil and all, but if you ask me, all that is just rubbish.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Why so?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met the ¡®Demon Lords¡¯, not all of them are bad people, they are just forced onto the ¡®bad guy¡¯ role, and not all heroes are good too, many of them could actually have the qualities for being a Demon Lord rather than a Hero, very confusing, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Shaddup, at least you are not doomed into being a side charac-... Nevermind, but I think you should do some resting, for the past years, you haven¡¯t really stopped improving yourself.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do that.¡± Splitting off at the street, they waved to each other before returning to their respective homes. After about 5 minutes of walking, Illiana reached a two storey house. It was painted in blue and white, very normal-looking, with a tiled roof, and a deep brown door. Taking out her keys from her bag, she slowly opens the door to be greeted with a hot gust of wind. ¡°Sigh.. Here we go again..¡± She said while sighing. ¡°HAAAAA!!¡± ¡°No you won¡¯t! ¡®Whirlwind¡¯!¡± Yes, the reason was¡­ her siblings. With another sigh, she punched her hand in the air, cancelling both of her siblings¡¯ magic. ¡°Oh come on Illiana! I was winning here!¡± Said the girl, who was breathing fire. ¡°Tsk.¡± Obviously, the other one was the boy who is a Wind magic user. ¡°Both of you, cut it out. If it wasn¡¯t for me strengthening the house before I left, it would have been to ashes, and where do you think we will live after that, hmm?¡± ¡°¡±....¡±¡± ¡°Good, now go clean up and fix the place, I¡¯m going to shower.¡± ¡°¡±Yes, Aunty Illiana.¡±¡± ¡°Oh you!¡± ¡°¡±Hahahaha¡±¡± they laughed before quickly scrambling about. With nothing to do, she went upstairs to get her spare clothes and put away her sword. Slowly opening the door to her room, she was greeted by her territory once again. Inside was.. An assortment of different machines, a computer with many screens for who knows what, all illuminated by the light of the outside. ¡°Ahh.. too dark.. Too dark..¡± Click. Turning on the lights, she moved towards the closet and picked off her new outfit, then put the greatsword inside. Suddenly, it got sucked in by the closet, generating ripples as if it sunk into it. Unfazed by that, she closed the closet, and headed outside the room, then went back downstairs once again. ¡­. Once she had finished her shower, her parents had finally came back and were preparing for dinner. ¡°Hey Mom, Dad.¡± ¡°Hey, got another challenge today, I heard.¡± Said her mother. ¡°Yeah, why don¡¯t they stop, forcefully entering a relationship will never work, heck, unless they say ¡®Never leave me¡¯, if they win, you can just say ¡°Time to break up.¡±¡± Said the father. ¡°..Yeah¡­ but no more about that, let¡¯s eat.¡± ¡°Yes yes, give me a second.¡± Using skillful movements, the mother, which took the role of a ¡®Housewife¡¯ that might appear in other worlds, took out the plates and the glasses and handed them to the floating tray. Yes, this world, even though it uses cold arms, is incredibly advanced. As for the father¡­ he counts as the overpowered calculating main character. Never once have his plans fell apart, always following him means always winning if his plan includes you doing so, but he plans to become one after his Illiana leaves, the mother will take care of the children. The reason is.. There is no way to know whether he will be a young main character or old one, however, heroes are nearly always young, so if he lets his daughter go young, she will finish quickly and come back quicker, but sadly, he cannot return since there is nothing such as ¡®summon¡¯ for him, only being reborn or have his mind replace someone else¡¯s. The children have luckily got the side character roles, and since they are twins, there is a chance for them to go together. A fire mage and a wind mage, best combination if one wishes for mass destruction. Finally, the mother have finished and everything was ready on the table, once they had given their prays, they started eating, but the father was eating very slowly as if he was thinking about something. ¡°Illiana, would you like to go to another world?¡± Swallowing the food in her mouth, she stared at her father and said.. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I can send you right now.¡± ¡°W-what? Are you serious?!¡± She said, while uncontrollably raising her voice. ¡°Yes, so as I said, would you like to go?¡± ¡°Well¡­ yes, but not now.¡± ¡°I see¡­ well, I can¡¯t send you RIGHT NOW, it will take a while, but not so long. About a week, keep that in mind and make sure to say your byes to everyone you want.¡± ¡°Are you sure you can do it?¡± ¡°Yes, but are YOU sure you can do it now? You can wait till the original time comes.¡± ¡°I want to do it now.¡± ¡°Alright, a week from now, meet me in the basement at noon.¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± With no more words exchanged, they continued eating, each with their own thoughts.. ¡­. =====Vol 2 prologue end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 1 =====Vol 2, Chap 1===== Tap tap tap.. ¡°What do I do.. I have four more days...¡± Tapping her feet on the floor repeatedly, she kept asking herself. ¡°Sigh¡­ A whole week, only three days have passed, and I¡¯ve done everything I needed to do.¡± Having said her goodbyes, made sure that she didn¡¯t miss anyone, she sat on her bed with nothing to do. ¡°Should I.. go for it?¡± Gazing out of the window, she looked at nothing in particular under the clear, starry night. In this world, wastes nearly cease to exist, allowing for a great view of the outer space to be shown. A smile formed up on her face, before standing up and moving towards the closet. ¡­ ¡°¡±¡±KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! YEAAAAH!!!¡±¡±¡± ¡°COME ON SPARKS! I BET ON YOU! DON¡¯T LOSE!¡± Yes, her destination was¡­ the underground tournaments. However, she wasn¡¯t wearing her ¡®White Night¡¯ attire, but instead, a long, black staff with dark green vines wrapped around it, and two leaf straps near the ends. On the other hand, she wore an assassin-like outfit, with a black mask hiding her face except her eyes, and a black robe hiding the rest of her body. Walking towards the stage, this kind of tournament was ¡®20 consecutive wins¡¯, meaning that whomever survives for 20 rounds against 20 different people will win, currently the man called Sparks, an agile-electric mage that knows how to fight well in close quarters was on his 18th win, just about to finish the 19th. Quickly, she entered her name and entered the stage after Sparks¡¯ opponent was moved away. ¡°A girl, huh. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m going easy on yo-¡± Not even letting him finish, she dashed at him with her staff, then started quickly hitting his feet. Suddenly, his ¡®Sparks¡¯ stopped showing, making him confused, but that didn¡¯t stop Illiana from using that chance to swing the staff as hard as she could at his head, knocking him unconscious in less than 5 seconds. ¡°NOOOO! SPARKS! YOU BETRAYED MY EXPECTATIONS!¡± Screamed one of the spectators. With no wasted movements, medics with stretchers quickly came and took away the now unconscious Sparky. The man who was easily fighting his way through got beaten in just a few seconds, how would a person react? ..For this occasion, they started swarming and challenging her without holding back, to get beaten up in just a matter of seconds like moths to a flame. From 10 wins to 20 to 60, the fighting didn¡¯t stop until Illiana had beaten all of the contestants, eventually earning a lot of money before leaving. At first, she entered at about 11 PM. but now she left at 2 AM, 3 whole hours of fighting, but most of it was waiting for contestants or travel time to other underground tournaments.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Obviously, due to her strange abilities, many people started stalking her but to no avail, soon losing sight of her just at an alley, then getting knocked unconscious. Finally returning at 4 AM, she quickly showered and went to bed with a relaxed mind, after all, all of that fighting was just releasing stress. ¡­. The morning of the fourth day has come, and after getting dressed up and ready, Illiana¡­ Did nothing. That was a wrong way of interpreting it, she was meditating, increasing her mana pool and her general proficiency in magic. In this state, one would usually not be able to sense their surroundings, worse, their minds would be completely cut off from the other world, however, if one wishes to counter that, they have to train both their sensitivity and their meditation till they are in sync, allowing for better detection of surroundings whilst meditation, eliminating the problem. And.. this is what Illiana was doing, sensing her surroundings for no reason other than wasting time, obviously you would know that a person would get bored quicker the longer they wait, so Illiana tried to delay such an emotion by meditating, which erases all of the emotions. By the way, meditation can be done in any way possible, standing, sitting, sleeping, whatever pose works, allowing many people to use it in any place at any time. But then, she felt something wrong. A large amount of mana was being released from under her house, as if it were a dam that was broken. Unable to keep meditating, she woke up from her trance and quickly ran towards the basement, to be greeted by.. A black, oval-like hole in the wall that seems to suck everything in, yet releasing large amounts of mana. On the other side of the room was her father, staring at the hole while laughing in ecstasy. ¡°It worked.. Hahahaha!¡± He was laughing like a mad man, but was woken up after noticing Illiana. ¡°Hmm? What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I felt a large fluctuation of mana, so I came to check.¡± ¡°Oh.. Don¡¯t worry about that, I was just making my own World Portal.¡± ¡°..What?¡± ¡°What? Did you really think that I have the power to convince the higher ups to allow you to go early? Of course not..¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°But what I have the power for is to make my own, and it worked, but there is still something missing that I have to do, so you can wait till the end of the we-¡± BOOM! The portal suddenly started generating more mana, yet growing larger and sucking stronger. ¡°Damn, this was too risky, Illiana, go up quickly, otherwise I can¡¯t deal with this.¡± Knowing that she cannot help her father, she quickly climbed outside the basement, however, the portal suddenly¡­ ceased to exist. ¡°What?¡± Her father was confused, as this never happened before, but out of nowhere, the portal appeared in front of the climbing Illiana. ¡°Tsk.¡± Due to her quick reactions, she was able to turn on her heels quickly, however, the portal¡¯s suction power was too much for her, causing her to forcefully enter the portal. ¡°Illiana!¡± This was the last word she ever heard before disappearing.. ¡­. ¡°....¡± In the middle of nowhere, a lone girl floated in a void-like space. With silver-like hair that flows down to her legs, and big blue eyes plastered on a comely face, this petite body was motionless, until the eyes came back to life. ¡°Where.. Am I?¡± Asking to no one in particular, she voiced her thoughts. Slowly turning her body, she searched her non-existent surroundings for anything but to no avail. Then, she thought. ¡°Who am I?¡± This was the thought that lingered in her head for who knows how long, until a light appeared. At that time, she didn¡¯t notice, as she had given up hope, but the light approached her, making her move her head towards that ¡®thing¡¯. ¡°Who are you?¡± She asked, with a solemn tone in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m Archillies, where is this?¡± He asked Since she was asleep for who knows how long, she replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I just came to right now.¡± With those words, the being came closer to her, repelling away all the darkness that accumulated around her. Once the darkness was moved away, he looked at her for a moment before averting his gaze away and taking off his jacket before putting it on her. Confused, she was, so she asked. ¡°Do you know me?¡± He stared at her but didn¡¯t answer, then he asked a couple of questions before saying in a confident voice. ¡°You will be called, Rain, how¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°Rain?¡± She tried to search in her memory if that name could remind her of herself, but to no avail, so giving up and looking at it from another way, she looked back at Archillies and said.. ¡°Thank you, it sounds great!¡± And those were the words that started her new life.. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 1 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 2 =====Vol 2 Chap 2===== ¡°This is the Rezal Kingdom¡¯s Capital, Fauna, huh.¡± Said Archillies. Right now, we are walking towards the line where everyone stands and wait for inspection, of course, we are only wearing ¡®minimal¡¯ requirements for adventuring, such as a sword and leather armor. Until the line is finished, I asked Archillies to give me Inka, and as always, he replied with.. ¡°As long as she allows it, I don¡¯t mind.¡± So, I try to carry her, and thankfully, she did not try to escape from my grasp. While petting her, I uncontrollably giggle due to her cuteness, ah, Inka is so cute¡­ And because of that, I started to feel some gazes fall upon me, but I didn¡¯t care, because¡­ Archillies would have already noticed it and released his pressure, making them avert their eyes. Finally after 30 minutes, our turn came, and we showed our Guild Cards, making them let us go through. The Capital, Fauna, surrounded by a large, gray wall spanning around the city in a circular manner, with three more gates. Currently, we are entering from the south gate and planning to go look for an inn, which thankfully appeared right in front of us. As for how the city looks on the inside, it looks a lot like the capital of Sefai Lopie, so there is not much to add, except for the difference between the fact that nearly only beastmen inhabit this country, and the vice for Sefai Lopie. ...But just before we could actually enter the Inn¡­ sigh¡­ ¡°You, big guy, I challenge you to a duel!¡± ¡°¡±...¡±¡± Came a Lion-Man, with all his golden furry glory, challenging Bob for no reason. ¡°No.¡± Bob said, then we all turned on our heels and started moving away. ...That is, before he suddenly dashed at us, or more specifically, at Bob. Without breaking a sweat, Bob unsheathed his Greataxe and used it as a shield on his back, blocking off the Lion-Beast¡¯s attack. ¡°Is that a declaration of war?¡± ¡°It is.¡± Said the beastman with a smirk. Finally, Bob turned towards the Beastman and readied his stance before dashing at him. Unable to comprehend Bob¡¯s speed, his eyes grew wide, however, his intuition warned him before anything else, making him roll to his right, dodging.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Crack! Just in the place where the Beastman was standing, Bob slashed vertically, causing the axe to crash into the ground with great force and breaking the ground. For some reason, the axe had survived, but I expect no less of Archillies¡¯ weapons. ¡°Ha.. ha.. I knew you were the righ-¡± Just before he finished his sentence, Bob didn¡¯t pull out the axe, instead, he stored it in Archillies¡¯ ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, then got behind the Beastman before holding the back of his head and thrusting it towards the ground. ¡°Augh!¡± He groaned, but Bob didn¡¯t stop, and started literally scrubbing the ground with his face. Grinding sounds were made, the rocky ground was polished, and someone¡¯s pride was destroyed. ¡°Ahhh! I give up!¡± He started tapping his hand on the floor, but Bob didn¡¯t stop until the ground started getting bloodied. Stopping the grinding, he lifted his hands away from the back of the beastman¡¯s head and dusted in a clapping motion. Archillies stared at Bob for a second before raising his hand in a fist pose and putting up his thumb and saying. ¡°Good job, now come on.¡± ¡°W..wait..¡± ¡°..Hmm?¡± How is he still conscious? ¡°You have passed¡­ Argh.. the test, go and train with the granny, take this letter with you.¡± He said, before standing up and stretching his back. ¡°Whaddya mean?¡± ¡°I am the king of this country, Li-¡± ¡°Fine, you are the king and we have to go up that mountain while carrying this letter, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes, tell ¡®that¡¯ person up there that I said hello.¡± ¡°...Fine, but can¡¯t we just rest for a while? We just came, after all.¡± ¡°Nope, go now, you have more than enough energy to deliver the letter.¡± Then Archillies looked at me. ¡°Tsk.. What do you think, Rain? Go along with what he wants or stay here forcefully? They can¡¯t touch us either way.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with going, we don¡¯t really have anything planned.¡± ¡°Okay, then off to the mountains we go!¡± With those words, he glared at the King as if he was saying ¡®You are lucky she agreed¡¯, making the King flinch. Unable to control myself from finding his reaction funny, I silently laughed before moving towards the West gate with the rest of the group. ¡­. ¡°Sigh.. I shouldn¡¯t have agreed, it is night after all..¡± ¡°He never said that we can¡¯t sleep outside, though? We always have our tents.¡± replied Archillies. ¡°Hmm..¡± Looking around, I can feel a couple of unknown presences hiding themselves in the shadow, but it seems like I wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed, since Archillies started slowing down to match their pace. With no words, Bob and Bamus disappeared into smokes, I don¡¯t remember them learning that, but they disappeared, nevertheless. ¡°Gah!¡± They appeared once again near the stalkers, then their presences stopped moving. Ah, they were truly unlucky even if they had leveled up their ¡®Sneak¡¯ skills or whatever, they should honestly pick their targets correctly. Honestly, the bunny-beast princess stopped at another city, made a feast and tried getting married off to Archillies forcefully.. It is a fact that if he married off to her, he would most likely be obliged to protect her tribe and such, but since both of us didn¡¯t want that to happen, we quickly escaped that night and it was two days before we reached Fauna. Thankfully, we had gotten our reward after the feast, so no debts were left, but it was tiring.. She talked nonstop, this and that, oh you are too strong, tried to appeal cutely, those actions were annoying, and Archillies perceived them as such as well. Bob and Bamus, well¡­ both of them didn¡¯t care where we go as long as Bob is doing something for us and Bamus is with Bob or studying under him. As for me, I¡¯d like to be with Archillies for as long as possible, but I know that we will have to part soon, after all, the requirements for my class evolution that allows me to travel to other worlds require¡­ A demon lord¡¯s soul. Don¡¯t even mention the need to be level 10000 as well, it is like the world not wanting me to leave.. I have bad premonition about the demon lord, a weird urge to abandon that task, but I don¡¯t know why, and probably will never know.. Anyhow, with the road to the mountain cleared, we decided to continue going without rest, after all, our constitution allows us to stay up for long amounts of time, but we like resting either way. Up to the ¡®Granny¡¯ we go! ¡­. ======Vol 2 Chapter 2 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 3 =====Vol 2 Chapter 3===== ¡°Ha..ha¡­ This training, is really spartan..¡± ¡°Yeah, but you seem to be doing well, Rain.¡± ¡°Shut up, Archie, you know very well that I don¡¯t have unlimited stamina like you.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Never have I thought that what the king meant by ¡®Train¡¯ is such a torturous thing, but luckily, my body seems to remember such exercises, giving me a somewhat easier time than Archillies, unless we are adding his class¡¯ bonus to the equation.. Nevertheless, Fira is a really good person, with a sadly tragic backstory, but I can¡¯t relate, since I haven¡¯t lost anything except my memories.. Anyhow, about two-ish weeks till Archillies is leaving, and he thinks that there is a chance one of his class evolutions can fix our problem, but currently, we are busy training Ki. Sooner or later, we will finish our training, and we did, but that same day an unfortunate event occurred.. Master Fira has encountered the incurable disease known as old age. At that time, her request was very peculiar. ¡°Kill me.¡± She said, with a confident tone. At that time, we were all confused, but soon regained our bearings with her next words. ¡°You know¡­ I was born as a fighter, lived as one, and wish to die as one, so would you satisfy this old woman¡¯s last request?¡± ¡°¡±...¡±¡± Both Archillies and I looked at her with a solemn expression before glancing at each other. In this short moment, his eyes conveyed everything. He will do it. ¡°Master Fira, I shall.. Accept your request.¡± ¡°Hehe, show me what the fruits of your training are.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Helping her stand and using healing magic on her to help her be at the best condition possible, we moved towards the training yard that she made. While I helped her towards the left part of the yard, Archillies moved towards the right, and I stood away. With the best of my abilities, I observed them as they fought a battle to death where Fira did not spare any of her strength. Mixed emotions were stirring inside me to stop them, or to fight her myself, however, I did not let it take control over me, as I knew that either of them was incorrect, so as to acknowledge her wish for Archillies, and to give her the last battle of her life, which any warrior longs for. ¡°By the way, Archillies, if you win, look in my room, a book that I wrote in there, I hope it will help you in your travels.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Even while fighting, they talked like normal, making me feel a little melancholic, but I stood and calmly observed them to the best of my abilities. Fira, having her eyes closed, dodged every magical attack that Archillies made, and quickly decreasing the distance between them, but that was just a bait, as he used earth manipulation to create a wall behind her, closing off the distance even more. Normally, a magician would try to keep someone away rather than close, but that doesn¡¯t count to mages such as our team, where magic, while it is a part of our style, it isn¡¯t essential. Just when Fira reached nearly 1 meter from Archillies, his eyes widened from something. It wasn¡¯t from Fira, since his expression wasn¡¯t that of nervousness or confusion, it was of vigilance. Even though Fira noticed it, she didn¡¯t care, and continued on her onslaught, using her hand to pierce the part where Archillies was, while he dodged and parried it with his. Then, activating both of their Ki strengthening, Archillies used his advantage, stat-wise, to overwhelm her with speed and feints, scoring hits here and there, but she didn¡¯t falter, then she suddenly burst out her Ki, causing a shockwave that stunned Archillies for a moment, and she didn¡¯t let that chance go, doing a roundhouse kick on his head, blowing him away.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Even though he was flying from the attack, once he woke up from his trance, he used magic to slow down his acceleration, then teleported behind Fira. Fortunately, since he had himself always covered with Corromium, the attack was negated, but he was trained to dodge on instinct, and the same was done to me. Due to the mana fluctuation showing that he teleported behind her, Fira quickly prepared to attack, but he retreated backwards before starting the teleportation many times around her. Normally, teleportation takes a large amount of mana, but it can teleport anything as long as it fits in a 2 meter length and a meter wide space, but he instead uses it to move sand and rocks to mask where he will teleport. Stone appears here, pebble there, and suddenly, something appeared on top of her¡­ Another pebble. She most likely thought that he will use this chance to attack her from above, however, he didn¡¯t teleport, instead, he dashed in front of her and finally landed a punch on her stomach. BOOM! Unable to protect against a punch that surpasses her speed and defense, she was¡­ Killed from the inside. Her face had a smile on her face, while blood slipped from her mouth, with eyes closed in a relaxed way while her body started shaking and fell down on the ground with her back. ¡°Goodnight, Master Fira.¡± Said Archillies, as he moved towards the tree that Fira told him she liked the most. Using earth manipulation, he opened a part in the ground and then put her into it, and finally covered it once again. While we stayed with Fira for not so long, we knew she was a good woman, and that made us nearly tear, but we knew better than that. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we start tidying up the place before we leave?¡± ¡°M-mhm..¡± Replied Archillies with a shaking voice. Unlike me, it seems that at the start of the fight, he sensed something wrong but had to ignore it, while I didn¡¯t know what he had sensed. ¡°A ¡®Traveller¡¯ is coming, and it is most likely stronger than me.¡± ¡°What?¡± I knew about the concept of other Travellers, and the fact that they can appear at any time, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be stronger than Archillies. Silently, he stood for a few seconds before switching his gaze from the grave to me. ¡°I already told the Bodies to stay away from this place, as such, I¡¯d like to give you two choices.¡± He said, with determination in his eyes. ¡°First, escape, because no matter where I go, they will be able to detect me like how I do, you have the same aura as well, but I doubt they will try to attack a ¡®Hero¡¯, but that is just my assumption.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°The second is.. To fight alongside me. The chance to die is extremely high, otherwise, why would they dash at us the moment they appear, but still, it is all assuming that they came for XP, in other words, to look for strong Travellers to allow them to evolve quicker.. So, what is your choice?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fight.¡± I replied assertively. Biting his lip, he once again stood silent for a few seconds before choosing his next move. ¡°At their current speed and location, I estimate that they will take 6 hours to come here, alas, I cannot do anything in this current time.¡± ¡°This might seem out of place, but why don¡¯t we check Fira¡¯s book?¡± ¡°.. Let¡¯s do it.¡± Fira¡¯s level was abnormally high, even compared to the beast king although they both went to war, so I suspect that the book has some kind of tips¡­ Maybe? With that in mind, we walk towards the house we stayed in for a week, imagining the time limit of less than 6 hours in our minds. ¡­ ¡°Here it is.¡± Holding out the book that I took out, I called for Archillies who was standing behind me. Sitting on the bed which was on the other side of the table, I gestured with my hand for him to sit next to me, by which he complied wordlessly. Quickly, I read through the 60 pages book before handing it to Archillies, but he didn¡¯t even open it before nodding at me. ¡°You were right, Rain. She really did have a trick..¡± ¡°Obviously.¡± I replied, with a triumphant pose. Cupping his hand and holding his chin, he closed his eyes before slowly opening them and taking my hand, soon after the location changed to somewhere in the forest we were in before in our travel. ¡°The dungeon is here¡­ Never thought that I¡¯d go inside it before next year, huh..¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter right now, let¡¯s go in.¡± Quickly, we rushed inside the dungeon and started massacring our way through, going down floor by floor till we reached the boss gate. A dungeon is usually composed of floors that go downwards, however, there exists a tower in Howser Kingdom, piercing the skies, but that is a topic for another time. Most dungeons have patterns in their floors, such as : Floors 1 to 4 are normal monster floors, with the 5th being a Mini-Boss floor, at 10, an actual Boss is present, being way stronger than the Mini-Boss, and the pattern repeats.. 15 is Mini-Boss, 20 is a Boss, etc.. For the dungeon we are in, it has 20 floors, but it is the only dungeon we know and visited, thus, we came to it and wasted 30 minutes to reach the outside of the 20th floor, but we aren¡¯t going to battle the boss. In the book, Fira said that by letting out large amounts of mana, the dungeon consumes it and respawns monsters quicker, depending on the quantity of mana. In our case, it is near instant, and very efficient considering that we are constantly defeating the monsters nonstop while emitting the mana. Level after level, our leveling rate wasn¡¯t decreasing, but increasing instead, given that as we level, we become stronger and faster, and our mana regeneration becomes quicker as well, thus giving more leeway with emitting it, increasing the respawn rate of monsters. After nearly 5 hours of fighting, we had killed over 10 thousand monsters, with Archillies being level 1574, and me being 958, given that he can level up quicker and had a higher level than mine. Glancing at him who sat on a nearby rock, he bit his lips with a frown, muttering under his breath. ¡°It is not enough..¡± An idea that stuck to my head was present, but I didn¡¯t want to say it up until now, however, I have decided to tell him. ¡°I have a suggestion.¡± I said, making him switch his gaze from the ground to me. ¡°You can escape right now, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you.¡± He said after frowning again, while not separating his eyes from mine. ¡°But-¡± ¡°I. Am. Not. Leaving. You.¡± Cutting me off, he replied with a stern tone. Raising my hands in defeat, I walked towards him after pulling out my shape shifting sword from the monster, I felt a large amount of pressure coming, undisguised by all means. ¡°So they have come, huh..¡± I muttered. Sighing, he stood up and walked next to me then readied his stance. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked, with a daring face. ¡°If we die now, you should know that I love you.¡± I told him while readying my stance as well. ¡°Ha ha, as if it wasn¡¯t clear enough, but I¡¯ll say it. I love you too.¡± He laughed dryly. Switching our gazes to the floor¡¯s entrance, our eyes turned sharp for the encounter that could very well end our lives at this moment. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 3 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 4 =====Vol 2 Chap 4===== Quietly, we stood with our weapons readied, waiting for the time when we meet the Traveller. Inka, who couldn¡¯t continue sleeping from the constant pressure, woke up and saw us in this state, thus transforming into battle mode. Step...Step.. Slowly, the sound of steps echoed as they descended down the stairs that connect the floor, but the more they come closer, the more I realize that¡­ It isn¡¯t a single Traveller. Currently, I can feel 4 different presences, yet only one of them is making stepping sounds, I wonder why. Finally, the dramatic entrance has ended, and now under the dim lit dungeon, 4 vague yet different shaped things stood side by side. ¡°Usually, I¡¯d go and introduce myself as the villain then kill after they struggle, but I¡¯ll get to the point.¡± Said the humanoid figure abruptly, with a feminine voice. ¡°I¡¯m here to take your XP, and I don¡¯t mind taking the hero¡¯s too, but I¡¯ll let you go if you don¡¯t meddle.¡± ¡°Tch.¡± I clicked my tongue at her statement, since I resolved myself to die with him if it comes to it. ¡°Oh well, I warned you-¡± ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t it my turn this time?¡± Said a metallic, dark gray orb with clearly large screws embedded on it, while surrounded by golden 5 golden rings, one small ring around the top and another around the bottom, two slightly bigger ones below and atop them, and a bigger one in the middle. Its robotic voice sounded agitated, while it glared at the woman with its ¡®Eye¡¯. ¡°Tough luck, but either way, their XP is yours. Hahahahaha!¡± Replied a blue, big headed yet small creature that floats, having black alien eyes that makes you feel as if you were looking at the night sky. ¡°Can I start?¡± The last one of them said, ignoring the others. It was something akin to a small dragon, but it looked more ferocious and deadly, with its dark red skin containing numerous protrusions. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Said the woman(?). Once again, they slowly walked toward us, and once they crossed over a specific line.. BOOM! The enchanted runes that Archillies prepared exploded loudly, since he fed it large amounts of mana. We didn¡¯t celebrate, knowing that it might have been useless, and it was proved as they came out unscathed. Without further ado, we executed the plan that we came up with beforehand, attack them one by one. Gripping my greatsword strongly, we dashed at the Eye-like being, breaking the ground from the strength of our steps along the way. The Eye didn¡¯t flinch, instead, it separated even further from the group, and they didn¡¯t seem to be following after it. Ignoring them momentarily, but not lowering my guard towards them, I slashed at it, but what resulted was a dull sound rather than an air cutting sound. Having confirmed that those rings are definitely for protection, Archillies transformed his Corromium into a stick then thrust it in between the rings, however, a barrier blocked it, but he didn¡¯t stop. Suddenly, the stick glowed and passed through the barrier, poking the metallic eye, then the part that touched enveloped the Eye, imprisoning it. ¡°Bravo.¡± The woman said, with a sarcastic tone. We didn¡¯t reply but instead, I was given the role of casting a mana barrier around us so as they do not interrupt the capture. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha¡­¡± The eye laughed for some reason, but that only made us more vigilant. Then out of nowhere, a laser came out of the eye, cracking the Corromium circle. Not wanting to let it be broken, Archillies made the Corromium change into spikes on the inside and casted numerous magics, making explosions while the spike ball contracted quickly onto the orb. Alarmed, the eye tried to struggle, but that only further accelerated the contraction. Unfortunately, the spectators didn¡¯t seem to be planning to stay in thay role. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± The big headed being said. With those words, my instincts yelled at me to run from this spot, and it seems Archillies listened to his as well.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Rolling off after the jump, the barrier that has several hundred thousands of mana imbued into it was obliterated, making me start to realize the difference between us. As for the Eye, while it looked panicked, it looks as if it were quietly laughing in delight, with no visible scratches on it even though it was stabbed by the Corromium surrounding it. Unfortunately, it seems that they were using the Eye to gauge our powers, but we were doing the same. Up until now, we haven¡¯t activated any type of strengthening, but there is a chance that the result will be the same no matter what. Flushing out the bad thoughts, I stare at the Eye that once again had itself enveloped in a barrier surrounded with 5 golden rings. ¡°I think two of us alone are enough.¡± Said the dragon. ¡°Then come.¡± Ordered the Eye. Archillies and I quickly glanced at each other before deciding to.. Activate every type of strengthening possible, except for ¡®Rage¡¯. Sensing our change in power, their previously cheerful and laid back feeling was erased, and they stared at us seriously. Without further ado, we dashed together towards the Eye once again, this time knowing how to defeat it. ¡°No you won¡¯t.¡± Said the dragon before appearing in front of me. Not even giving me a concerned expression, Archillies kept rushing towards the Eye, confident that I can take on the dragon. ¡°Now then, Little Hero, how about we quickly finish this?¡± The dragon said, before growing twice his size and glowing blue with flaming eyes. Ignoring that, I kept going at him with a plan in mind : Put the Corromium inside him and kill him from the inside, and I think I¡¯ll have many chances as long as he tries to bite me or the greatsword, until then, I¡¯ll have to dodge and intercept him if he has magic. Just a meter before I reached him, his body started flaming blue, with his skin being charred black, yet he doesn¡¯t seem to be in pain. As a test, I quickly cast water magic at him, but it was evaporated just before it reached him. ¡°Tch.¡± Without caring, he fluttered his wings then flew at me with a speed that might as well be breaking the laws of physics. Undaunted by his charge, I clad myself in an ice armor and jumped at him while he opened his mouth to take a bite out of me. Using that chance, I sent a thread-like object made of Corromium, and fortunately it entered his mouth safely. Just at that moment, I made it quickly spread and moved myself out of its aim using wind magic. Finally when it spread around his body, I made it as sharp as possible, like a taut piano string, and made it wriggle around as fast and as much as possible. His eyes grew wide for a moment, but then I transformed the part at the mouth to be like a spearhead, then thrust it towards his brain and made it expand as much as possible. Suddenly, his body vibrated wildly before falling down with all his gracefulness. Then, only a moment after that, my level rose up by a considerable amount, reaching 5781. Quickly, I equally spread all my stats around, feeling a huge power and pain welling up inside me. Glancing at Archillies, he.. was blown away just this moment with blood flying away from him. He crashed into the walls and sunk into it, with his body sprawled. Hurriedly, I sent a telepathic message to him while staring at the Eye with an army of blocky robots. ¡°Ha. Ha.¡± His monotone laugh irritates me, but I didn¡¯t do anything before quickly healing Archillies as soon as possible. ¡°Weakling¡­ Oh, you killed that stupid dragon, what a shame.¡± He continued. Sadly, Archillies seems to be knocked unconscious, but the robots gathered around him and attacked non-stop. ¡°Thank you for the experience, good night.¡± No! In the blink of an eye, I appeared in front of Archillies and casted a barrier, then fought with the robots that were inside it. ¡°Fu~tile.¡± The Eye kept saying, over and over. Irritation welled up inside me, making unable to resist asking. ¡°Why do you do this?¡± ¡°Ex. Pe. Re. Ience.¡± it said in a separated spelling. I glared at it, fully knowing that what they are doing is the same with what this world¡¯s inhabitants do to the monsters, but I cannot accept it. Anger welled up inside me, and I recognized. Those are my enemies. They are ones that will not bat an eye to killing one another, going to other worlds just to kill Travellers. I get it now, survival of the fittest, the strong eats the weak, and I¡¯m not going to let them. Power is what I need, to defeat any and all opponents threatening us for unreasonable reasons such as the one they are giving. Power! ¡°Conditions successfully reached, ¡®Awakening¡¯ is commencing.¡± Suddenly after this message, my body started growing hot, my right eye felt as if it was pricked with needles, making me grasp it to ease the pain Then at the same time, I started hearing cracks. Crac-crackcrackcrack... ¡°AAHHHH!¡± Unable to contain the pain, I screamed. Memories rushed to my brain with no mercy given, as if it was a vacuum that finally found an opening for molecules to enter. ...I remember now, my name, my original world, my family.. All of it.. ¡°Ha. Ha. I¡¯m too beautiful for you to see, righ-¡± ¡°Stop her, you stupid Robot! Can¡¯t you see that she is awakening? Remember what happened last time because of that?¡± Interrupted the woman with an impatient tone before she rushed towards me. Suddenly, the pain disappeared and what came in its place is a very comfortable feeling, making me let go of my eye. Just after I did that, I nearly gaped my mouth due to what I¡¯ve seen.. She is slow, in fact, very slow. Thud. Thud. The army of blocks didn¡¯t stop attacking, now using their full strength to break the barrier, but before they do, I take hold of the greatsword and dash at it, tearing through it like butter before slicing the blocks in the same way. With one slash, I was able to use the ability that requires many years of training, ¡®Magic Slash¡¯, which sends out a line of mana that cuts through anything with approximately 10 times the sharpness and cutting power, however, it requires a good mana conducting weapon and trained mana manipulation. Passing through 10 blocky robots in a straight line, it ended with an explosion, by my will. The strength of ¡®Magic Slash¡¯ increases depending on the quantity of mana supplied, however, it gets harder to control, but not for me. In just a second, I had defeated over 40 robots, but the main fight is coming. Strangely enough, the big headed creature is still floating in the back, but then I noticed Inka sneaking up behind him, so I switched my gaze elsewhere to not expose her. Once I had cleared enough, I instantly retreated back to where Archillies is, since he had woken up. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked, with a concerned expression. ¡°Probably, but be careful, this Eye has many tricks up its sleev- or whatever is inside of it, plus the fact that it has a strong telekinetic power, so watch out.¡± ¡°I think I can defeat them, can you stand?¡± ¡°Mhm.. Hup!¡± Quickly, he stood up from his kneeling position and dusted himself as if nothing happened, then we both readied our stances once again. ¡°Come! Rhansia!¡± I shouted, making my large, dark separated companion once again come into my hands, its rightful place. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chapter 4 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 5 =====Vol 2 Chap 5===== A long greatsword appeared out of nowhere, eating out light from all around with its black; colourless metal. Ah, does it feel more comfortable wielding it rather than the Corromium one¡­ Anyhow, quickly ending my reunion, Archillies and I sent telepathic messages so as to finalize the formless plan. For me, I¡¯ll defeat the Eye, since it looks like it has the highest defense out of all, and Archillies will try to take on the rest. With that in mind, he immediately rushed to intercept the woman from interrupting me while I mowed down the army. Out of nowhere, Archillies stopped in his tracks and facepalmed for some reason. Then, the next moment, light started shining around him in a radius of 4 meters; in it, mana solidified into a humanoid shape, 20 in particular. If I remember correctly, then the Bodies are able to use the full extent of his stats and abilities, but unfortunately, I do not have such a convenient ability. Pushing away my current thoughts, I quickly send strengthening magic at both me and him, then dashed at the Eye who seemed to be squinting. Unlike before, it seems to have a serious aura surrounding it, but it didn¡¯t stop my onslaught. Finally, with a two meter space between us, I swing my black greatsword, Rhansia, who accompanied in many of my battles in my original world. Trusting its shield, it decided to take on my slash, but unfortunately for it, the sword has magic negating abilities. Seeing its rings get sliced through by the sword, it tried to hurriedly dodge and hit me with telekinesis, but I quickly dodged it. Telekinesis cannot be seen, however, if you are able to control Ki and are able to move quickly, dodging it is possible, but it was by no means easy at the Eye¡¯s speed, justifying as to why Archillies got attacked by it. Woosh The sound of air being cut resounded, with the figure of the Eye slowly separating from itself. ¡°My¡­ Fault..¡± saying its last words, I activated the ice rune that I installed inside of it while cutting, causing it to be pierced by many spikes from the inside and exploding in the next moment with a boom. My level rose further to 10000, with the only barrier being the demon lord¡¯s soul, but that will be for another time. Calmly, I allocated the points in their respective stats, and tried to open everything possible in the Skill Tree, but I was interrupted by a blinding light. Shielding my eyes, I quickly gazed at the sight of the big headed creature being assaulted by many Inkas, which is a special ability it learned while training with Archillies and testing ideas for creating new abilities, and this was the result. Anyhow, it looks like the woman and Archillies were a better match than the Eye, slowly cornering her with numbers and power. It seems that the woman is like an ice slime, able to use ice magic on itself or on others, plus the ability to stretch her body at will. Anyhow, I quickly continued my skill hunt, finishing the whole basic tree before entering onto the personal one, and finishing that too. While this might look like I¡¯m wasting time.. I actually am, since I do not want to monopolize the experience, leaving some for Archillies and Inka. Unlocking even more skills, I stumbled upon.. ¡®Heroic Strength¡¯. If I were to describe it, then it is a skill that makes myself x100 as powerful, stat and ability-wise, with the only activating condition being ¡®Awakened¡¯, which I¡¯ve already achieved. Come to think of it, what is ¡®Awakening¡¯? Looking at it in my Status Menu, a new screen popped up describing it. I see.. but what does it do, exactly? For this question, I kept reading while scrolling down.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Whistling, I stopped when I saw ¡®change apperance¡¯. Feeling confused, I brushed by dark purple hair away from me.. ¡°What the!?¡± I unintentionally shouted. I was impatient to see my current appearance, but since I don¡¯t have a mirror, all I could do is wait till we are outside or for Archillies to describe my appearance. Sighing, I stared at Inka who seemed to have the table turned on her. Quietly, I sneak behind the big headed monster and cut off both of its arms, startling it although it seems to be of the psychic type. Using that chance, all the Inkas charged at him, each fatally biting him while releasing ice magic inside the body. Since I had done damage, I think I might have taken a portion of the monster¡¯s XP, nevertheless, it won¡¯t count until I evolve my class. Speaking of that, I¡¯d like to know what new effects were added, so I once again open the Status Menu to check, finding it to have a glorious (Unique) written next to it. Now finally inspecting the class, I was greeted with 3 new effects : That¡¯s nice, I guess. However, the first effect is very biased towards the user¡¯s state of mind, so if I was injusticely attacking everyone with the mindset of ¡®For my lover¡¯, then it should be somewhat broken. What I¡¯m interested in are the abilities ¡®Skill Creation¡¯ and ¡®Status Synchronization¡¯, with the latter being of highest importance. I once heard Archillies saying he had something called ¡®Ability Creation¡¯, which sped up the process of making and acquiring them, but what is ¡®Skill Creation¡¯, I thought as I instructed the menu to show me its description. Come to think of it.. When Archillies was first blown away, I couldn¡¯t feel any consciousness in him for a few seconds, and his organs seem to have been damaged too, but he looks fine as if nothing happened.. I¡¯ll ask him about it later, for now, what is ¡®Synchronize Status¡¯? So basically.. If a person with abnormal stats yet bad abilities appear, and a person with a nice assortment of abilities yet weak stats is on the other side, both of them share their status, with the strong one gaining the weak person¡¯s stats and abilities, and the same for the weak person. Also, it seems that with the abilities being connected, the one with the highest ability level have it shared, with the bonus being that two people can train the same one, thus double the efficiency. Ah, it seems like Archillies is just about done. ¡°You.. you had your inside destroyed, so how are you alive?¡± The woman desperately asked. ¡°¡®Revival¡¯ is very tricky, yet simple.¡± He replied with a mocking grin ¡°Revival¡¯-!?¡± Just as she realized the reason, he trapped her inside a mana bubble before casting multiple concentrated balls of fire. ¡°How to make this sound cool.. Oh right. Sayonara, my fellow traveller.¡± He said while forming a ¡®cool pose¡¯, making me giggle. ¡°I¡¯ve failed you, my lov-¡± BOOM! The inside of the bubble exploded violently, but with 21 casters (Archie and the Bodies), it was maintained without a scratch. Finally, with the defeat of those who had more power than us yet lost due to carelessness, I sighed, but quickly felt my legs letting go, and my vision blacked out, with Archie shouting my name in the background.. ¡­ ¡°Mngh.. Where.. Am I?¡± Lying on a comfortable bed under an unknown ceiling, I asked myself. Sitting up, I realize that my right hand is being held by someone, so I switch my gaze towards it, finding a sleeping Archillies. Isn¡¯t that supposed to be my role? I silently laughed before tapping on his hand with my free one, making him slowly open up his eyes. ¡°... Rain?¡± He asked with a groggy voice. ¡°Haha, never thought that our roles would be switched like such.¡± Calmly, he straightened his back and stretched his arms before staring at me with a concerned face. ¡°You suddenly collapsed after the fight is over, so I carried you over to Sefai Lopie¡¯s castle. After all, I have some ¡®connections¡¯ with the king. Heh.¡± ¡°I see.. Oh, right.¡± Remembering something that I really wanted to do, I moved my hands behind my back and bring over my hair into my vision. Staring at the purple ombr¨¦ hair in my hands, I asked Archillies. ¡°Does it look good?¡± ¡°Yeah, and your dark purple right eye as well, gives off a majestic feeling.¡± He answered instantly with no hesitation. Suddenly he reached towards me with glittering eyes and grabbed my face. ¡°Archillies?¡± I said in confusion. He shushed me before leaning forward, and our lips touched.. ¡­. =====Vol 2 Chap 5 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 6 =====Vol 2 Chap 6===== Parting our lips, I stared at Archillies in disbelief whilst feeling my face burn in embarrassment, and his also seemed to be reddening as well. ¡°I have no regrets.¡± He said seriously. ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t.¡± I replied with a chuckle. We both laughed for a while until I remembered what I wanted from him. ¡°... Do you have a mirror?¡± I asked after a little pause. ¡°Hol¡¯ up.¡± Quickly, he stood up and left the room, leaving me alone with Inka who jumped on the bed before I knew it. Taking a deep breath out, I stared at the small fox on my lap, with her now having 5 tails, however, that didn¡¯t stop me from petting it. With an expression as if she was in a bliss, I couldn¡¯t stop petting her weak points, making her fall asleep in this moment. Having nothing to do, I swept my gaze over the white walls decorated with many pictures, and a window on the opposite side of the door. A small table made of a dark brown type of wood with a magic lamp sitting on it, and have vine-like engravings. Knock knock. ¡°Enter.¡± Quietly, the door opened slowly, and what appeared behind it was a maid with black hair and an average body. ¡°Excuse me, but who are you?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°I¡¯m Valie, the maid who was previously assigned for Mr. Archillies¡¯ stay.¡± She bowed after that. ¡°Hmm..¡± Looking at her, I felt no menace or hidden bloodlust in her, so I sighed in relief after lowering my guard. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you; the only person that Archillies trusted in this castle, huh. I¡¯m Rain, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°....¡± She didn¡¯t reply, instead, she stared at me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°.. Oh, ah.. um.. Excuse me, I was just very interested in your appearance, because it looked very beautiful.¡± She said the last part in a low voice, nevertheless I was able to hear it. ¡°I see.. So what brings you here?¡± ¡°I saw Mr. Archillies run in the corridors so her told me that you have woken up, and asked me to help you until he comes back.¡± ¡°Hmm.. I¡¯m a little hungry if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I said after remembering that I haven¡¯t eaten anything in the past.. how many hours exactly? ¡°By the way, how long was I here?¡± ¡°Two days.¡± My eyes turned into dots, think how I should have had many ¡®businesses¡¯ to do, so I was bewildered.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Seeing my state, Valie took the liberty of answering my questions. ¡°Mr Archillies created a magic that maintains the body and supplies it with nutrients, saying that as long as he has it casted, the person will never need to eat or go to the bathroom. However, you will not feel satiated, and always thrift for water, so it is only usable if the target is unconscious.¡± When did he.. ugh, he makes up many things on-spot that it gets me sometimes mad. ¡°You said you were hungry, correct? And I believe you are thirsty as well, so I had already brought food, Milady.¡± Opening the door wide, she went behind the wall for a second before taking out a tray with many foods on it. ¡°Miss Rain, here we have the finest Floating Bull meat, with high grade Frostus Milk, white bread and for the vegetables, we have the best quality from the Mad Veggie Farms.¡± ¡°I-I see.. Thank you.¡± ¡°I always of service. By the way, Milady, here is my Calling Bell, if you ever need anything, ring it.¡± She said while holding the tray on one hand and placing the bell on the table next to me with the other. ¡°Alright.¡± Taking the tray from her and putting it on my lap after moving Inka, Valie elegantly bowed twice before quietly leaving and closing the door. Slowly, I started eating the food and comparing it to what I made, before realizing the difference. I have nothing such as a specific ¡®Dish¡¯ with different ingredients, I only cook what I have. Sighing, I continued eating the tasty meal, and finally wiped my mouth with the napkin after rinsing it with water magic. Putting the tray away from me, I took off the futon and moved my legs to the edges of the bed, before finally getting off and standing up. With some anticipation, I moved my body to test its new capabilities, but the best I could do was do some weak air punches and some heating up, but I found nothing different so I stopped after 5 minutes with disappointment looming over me. Opening up my Status Menu, I stare at the (Awakened) near my name to finally realize, it said ¡®Temporarily change appearance¡¯, so I wonder if I could turn my ¡®Awakening¡¯ off? With that thought in mind, I willed it to be turned off, then I felt a chill down my spine before a comfortable vibration spread onto my body, disappearing in a few seconds. Thinking that it ended, I grabbed a few hair strands from behind me to check, finding that they returned to their natural silver colour. Sighing in relief at this revelation, I experimented with switching from normal to Awakened mode a couple of times before settling on Awakened, that is until Archie is back. With nothing to do, I set back on the bed and start off with ¡®Skill Creation¡¯. The ability to create new Skills, huh.. But the question is, does the amount of Skill Points that it needs depend on the strength of the skill? A question that needs immediate answer, if you ask me. Besides, it is coupled with the powers of ¡®Ability Creation¡¯, so if what Archillies told me before is correct, which is that it all depends on the user¡¯s will and imagination, then I can probably create the ultimate ability and skill, hehehe~. Just before I activated the ability, the door opened as if it were kicked strongly by someone, and behind it was Archillies with his right leg retracted while having it off the ground. In his hand was an oval mirror the with the length of half a meter and the height of a full meter. ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡± He said, while walking towards me. ¡°How long did I wait?¡± Since I didn¡¯t think about the time, I didn¡¯t know how long he was away. ¡°About 40 minutes, I guess? Mirrors are pretty rare so I had to look for the king¡¯s room and snatch it away. The problem is, the castle is very big and I didn¡¯t explore all of it before, so I had to look through each room one by one. Sigh..¡± ¡°Pfft.¡± I tried to restrain my laughter, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Anyways, look at this, your majesty.¡± He addressed me with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. ¡°Oh shut up.¡± I said while looking at the mirror that he directed its face at me. Staring at my reflection, I moved my face and hair a couple of times to see how it really is, before nodding in satisfaction. ¡°If I may say, I look good, but I still prefer my normal look.¡± I said after evaluating myself. ¡°Whether you are like this or your normal appearance, I¡¯ll still love yo- Oww.¡± Interrupting his cheesy talk with a fist on his head, I smiled at him. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°A-ahaha.. Please don¡¯t hit me again, it hurts even if I have high defense..¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t say such an embarrassing thing.¡± ¡°Sorry sorry, so, how are you feeling now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m feeling.. normal, I guess?¡± I answered while scratching my cheeks. ¡°I see.. That¡¯s good..¡± We gazed in silence for a while, until I realized that my face was starting to feel hot. ¡°Err.. what time is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit before midnight, why?¡± He replied curiously. ¡°I want to take a walk, I guess?¡± ¡°Sure, I know a place, but I haven¡¯t really gone to yet it; I heard it was very beautiful at night.¡± He said, suggestively. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then?¡± Taking the lead, he left the room with me behind him, and calmly transversed this maze-like castle up till the entrance.. .. After walking for a few minutes away from the castle, we reached a lake that was surrounded by many colourful flowers that seemed to dance under the moonlight, with the moon being reflected on the water. ¡°Wow!¡± He exclaimed. I said nothing, but stared with my mouth agap, stupefied by this scene before me. Snapping me out of this state, he pulled me a bit more towards the lake, then sat while leaning on a rock, then tapped the ground next to him, as if telling me to sit here. Complying with his request, I sat next to him and leaned on a different rock, but then my body moved on its own, letting my head fall on top of his lap. At first he looked surprised, but then his hands started to move and brush my hair, causing me to feel at ease and sleepy, so my eyes unconsciously started to close, with his doing the same thing. ¡°Good night.¡± I said, in a low voice, before drifting off into dream land yet again¡­ ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 6 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 7 =====Vol 2 Chap 7===== ¡°Yawn¡­. ¡®Morning.¡± I greeted. ¡°...¡± Still sleeping with a tranquil expression, he didn¡¯t wake up until I separated from him, making his eyes instantly open. ¡°Huh? Oh, good morning.¡± He said, sheepishly. ¡°Sleepyhead.¡± I said jokingly. ¡°You are not one to talk, are you?¡± He reminded me of how I did the same, but I feigned ignorance. Raising his hand in defeat, he stood up, so I also did the same and stretched. ¡°Ahh.. This was the best sleep I had.¡± ¡°Oh shush, you weren¡¯t the one leaning on a hard piece of rock, were you?¡± ¡°It is still the best, no questions asked.¡± I said firmly. Come to think of it, wouldn¡¯t this be the best time to ask for the ¡®Status Synchronization¡¯? ¡°You know, when I got to this state, I earned two new unique abilities.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± He replied as if it was no surprise, but I paid it no heed and continued. ¡°One of them is called ¡®Skill Creation¡¯, and the other is ¡®Status Synchronization¡¯.¡± ¡°Oh. I can guess what the first one does, but what about the latter?¡± Explaining to him what the menus told me, he stood in disbelief. ¡°That is.. fairly good, but won¡¯t you be the one with the most advantage if I were to share mine?¡± He questioned. ¡°I guess so, since it feels as if I¡¯m leeching off of you, but if I¡¯m able to utilize Skill Creation to its full extent, this will probably benefit both of us.¡± ¡°Hmm.. If you were another person and told me the same thing, I still wouldn¡¯t have agreed, but I trust in your judgement, so let us start.¡± Quickly, I activated the ability, which made him shiver momentarily, and then he moved his eyes to manipulate the menu. ¡°Status Synchronization Initiated.¡± The menu read, before my body started feeling pain, but looking at Archie, he is having the same problems. Unable to stay standing, we both collapsed at the same time while silently wriggling in pain for a few moments that also felt as if it were an eternity. After the pain stopped, my body felt a warm sensation for a few seconds before it felt normal. ¡°Phew..¡± I sighed in relief, before a new menu popped in my eyes saying ¡°Status Synchronization Successful.¡± ¡°Hahaha, Rain, try to open your status menu.¡± He told me while laughing, which made me open soon after. Rather than one menu, two were available next to each other, with mine on the left and his on the right; my stats, which were in the tens of thousands, and his that were above the hundreds of thousands, showing a clear difference also in HP and MP. Now the way to use this is that the stats automatically combine for both of us, so my stats are now mine+his, and his are his+mine, but the screens are separated to keep the original statuses shown. As for the abilities, the same thing is in place, with his list on the right and mine on the left, but then the XP contained in both of them combine to form a higher leveled ability, etc.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Unsurprisingly, we both can also navigate both of our skill trees, and also unlock them for each other seeing as my skills are being randomly unlocked. Looking carefully, each skill now costs for one point, huh. Looks like class effects also work, but suddenly, they reverted back to their original cost. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked. ¡°Looks like we can limit our sharing, so if I don¡¯t want you to use this ability or effect, I can not share them.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Just as I said that, they became costing only one point again, so it looks like he didn¡¯t limit any effect. ¡°By the way.. what would happen if I level up now? Will I get the same number of stat and skill points as yours? Or will it be that the points we gain will be yours plus mine?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see, hmm? There is a monster right there.¡± Due to being engrossed in what we were doing, I was completely unaware. Ahh, this feels so shameful.. Quickly, he formed an Ice Arrow, which looked sharper than ever, and hurled it at an unprecedented speed towards the monster. It is very fast.. The monster couldn¡¯t dodge nor perceive the magic being cast, due to the master level of ¡®Mana Manipulation¡¯, which reduces the useless mana being thrown off. ¡°This.. is very useful.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play the word game and just tell me what you are talking about ¡° I told the vague Archillies. ¡°The effects stack, alright? One level now earns me 60 rather than 50. You should experience the same once you get a demon lord¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± ¡°This is very impressive and helpful for both of us. Hehehe.¡± Sighing in relief, I gaze at the bright blue sky, feeling the chilly air and warm temperature making up an incredibly great feeling as if it was inviting for a nap. Though unfortunately, I had already woken up. Ahh, what a waste.. what a waste.. ¡°Since I¡¯m leaving soon, how about we forget all about fighting and leveling up? Just have an honest date and try our best to not get into trouble.¡± ¡°You know better than me how useless that thought is, but I still want to agree, and for that you have to pick the places we are going to everyday.¡± Smiling at him, he didn¡¯t bother to resist and just started formulating our schedule.. ¡­ Ahh.. this is incredibly taxing.. Currently, a week had passed and in that time we decided against further exploration, Just plain sightseeing and experiencing new things. At first, we both did something different on the first day, with me going to the Royal Library and ¡°reading¡± in the same way Archillies did, which is the result of Ability Creation or in this case, Skill Creation. He, on the other hand, had made the Bodies search for the best spots and places, and he wasn¡¯t doing anything different either. For the rest of the days, we enjoyed Sefai Lopie¡¯s capital, then we moved onto places that only the Bodies had reached, thus giving us a new excitement before choosing to take a break at the end of the week. In that time we each went to do whatever we wanted and will meet up in the Inn before midnight. I don¡¯t know about him, however, I went off to learn how to make accessories; pendants, earrings, necklaces, etc. The reason was to make a two-halves pendant in the shape of a usual heart. Each of the halves will be made with a special crystal that I noticed in one of the books, and luckily I had it. Basically, it will be like such : If the crystal detects its other half, it turns blue, if it can¡¯t detect, then it will be red. Very easy, ain''t it? The crystals will have the communication enchantment plus a few bonuses, and since I¡¯m going to give it an unbreakable enchant, I speculate that it won¡¯t break if I give it a large amount of enchants. Anyhow, after cutting it, polishing it and giving it the correct shape, I started adding the enchants with the help of Archillies¡¯ mana from the synchronization. Finally after a while of enchanting, I had both halves enchanted to suit the combinations I wanted, thus I stared at it while breathing heavily. I made the other half the same exact way, so there is no need to list the effects. Euphoria was felt due to the amount of satisfaction gained by this work, making me laugh uncontrollably. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to him later, fufufu.¡± I think I sounded like an evil witch there, but that thought was instantly eradicated in this mood. With nothing to do, I put the Heart (the two halves combined) into my Pocket Dimension and then got outside to take a breather. Going out of the Inn after deactivating all sorts of anti-theft and warding magic, I stood there watching the sunset in the horizon, and it seems everyone else is doing the same thing as me. ¡°The Sun is pretty, huh.¡± ¡°Yeah.. It is.¡± Without hiding his presence, Archillies crept up behind me and talked, making me unconsciously answer. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like you are doing a lot of resting, are you?¡± He said with a sarcastic tone. ¡°Oh shush.¡± Saying no more, we both stared at the sun for a while before he said.. ¡°The sun is pretty, but you know who is prettier?¡± He moved his gaze onto me after that and turned his tone into a serious one. ¡°You are, my dear Rain.¡± He kept staring adamantly. Due to this public confession, everyone stared at us with girls hiding their red blushing faces and men staring at him jealously. Has he lost his mind? Normally, a girl would be happy at such a confession, but this just irritated me because just for a single moment, I saw him holding laughter back. ¡°Repent for thy sin!¡± I exclaimed before playfully punching him on his head, making him crouch down while holding it. ¡°Meanie.¡± He said while looking at me with small tears in his eyes, making everyone, me included, laugh at such a comedic scene¡­ ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 7 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 8 =====Vol 2 Chap 8===== Snip snip snip Large amounts of silver hair fell down with each cut. ¡°Shoulder length, right?¡± Archillies asked with a hesitant tone. ¡°Yes, it has grown too long already. Plus, you need your hair cut too, but I know nothing of how your hairstyle is cut or made..¡± Sitting on a chair in an inn¡¯s room, my long hair that used to brush the ground is now disconnected. ¡°Yeah.. I¡¯d also like to remove my facial hair soon, but I¡¯ll just wait until I¡¯m back.¡± He said. ¡°Hmm¡­ I agree, but would their tools be able to cut your hair so effortlessly?¡± I asked while facing the wall, and him tending to my hair. ¡°I don¡¯t know? If hair is as resistant as my body, then to hell with cutting it. Alas, we can¡¯t decide right now.¡± Snip. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done.¡± He said before handing me the same mirror as before. ¡°It¡¯s good, thanks.¡± I thanked him. ¡°Mhm.¡± He nodded before dissipating the magic scissor in his hand. After that, he took my hair and put it in his ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, making me glare at him. ¡°What? It is a waste to throw away such a beautiful, silky hair.¡± He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°You¡¯ve become different after that battle, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Experiencing death taught me something important, which is to not hold back. Be it in battle or in other situations, just go for it so that you don¡¯t lose it.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that basically being rash and impatient?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°Maybe? But you can¡¯t always pick the correct answer in all times, for that I will choose one that I don¡¯t regret.¡± He said assertively before taking out a handmade brush and brushing my hair. ¡°If you say so, then there must be something you regret, right?¡± ¡°Yep. Not acting like that in the past is my regret.¡± ¡°Oh come on, you know that you can¡¯t go back.. to the past?¡± I said that last part in a questioning tone. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I¡¯ve said something that I shouldn¡¯t. I realized that the moment the sentence ended. ¡°Time travel, huh. Actually, if World Travellers exist, then so does Time Travellers, maybe I can create an ability or skill-¡± ¡°No. You know that changing the past is foolish.¡± My tone turned heavy. Noticing my change of mood, he closed his mouth and only the sound of brushing echoed in the room. There is a reason for my anger, as there was once a man in my world who attempted it, but then paid the high price of his life for a failure that would have destroyed us all sooner or later. Why did he try to do time travel? The answer was very stupid yet he didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°I¡¯d like to ace that exam rather than get 99/100.¡± He said. Obviously a foolish excuse, but I¡¯m thankful he failed. Sigh.. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done.¡± Archillies said, letting go of my now shortened hair. Currently, both of us are very tense since he is leaving tomorrow, so we both seem a bit impatient. Getting off the chair, I instead sat down on the bed, and he sat next to me without asking. ¡°Final day, huh.. I¡¯d have really wanted to stay with you at all times..¡± He said solemnly. ¡°Can¡¯t help it, one cannot give up their homes so easily, and I wouldn¡¯t have let you if you did.¡± I told him assertively. Without replying, he leaned his head on my shoulder, making me think that our roles are pretty much switched at that point. ¡°You know..¡± He paused ¡°I think you should watch out while I¡¯m gone from other men.¡± ¡°What do you mean? If the strongest creatures in this world were to the extent of the last travellers, then I¡¯m confident in my strength.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. The problem lies with you and your class, since a hero is always destined to have a harem no matter what, and I don¡¯t want to be just a ¡®Harem Candidate¡¯.¡± ¡°Jealous?¡± I asked jokingly. ¡°Yes, so please watch out.¡± He answered without any hesitation, not giving me the chance to tease him. ¡°Yeah yeah, I know. But I can only promise not to have a love relationship with them, since as you said, I¡¯m destined as a female hero to have my very own harem whether I like it or not. Sigh..¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best as well.¡± He said. ¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡± I laughed dryly, before lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. A lot has been on my mind ever since I regained my memories, many of them were told to Archillies, but one piece of information that I hesitated telling him. 10 minutes, 30, an hour, I still couldn¡¯t sleep, and he seemed to have the same issues as well, so I broke the illusion of eternal silence. ¡°Archillies?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°There is something you must know about my world, and it is very important.¡± Pausing, he silently motioned me to continue on. ¡°You know how my world looks like the ¡®Origin of characters¡¯, right? Well, there is a catch.¡± ¡°And it is¡­?¡± He continued. ¡°It is that behind all that, we are like thieves, infiltrating other worlds as characters, be it the protagonist or just passer-bys, we steal information and technology.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± From the sudden declaration, he sat up from next to me. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Basically, if I came here the normal way, then the scenario would have gone like such : Summoned, learn many things and investigate this world¡¯s powers and technology while assembling the ¡®Hero¡¯s Party¡¯, defeat the demon lord, return back home when I deem my job finished or if 20 years passed, since the average time taken for us to defeat demon lords are between 2-5 years, the rest is time for us to ¡®enjoy ourselves¡¯, or something like such.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t return either way, right?¡± He asked for confirmation. ¡°Yep, this is why after I defeat the demon lord, be it good or evil, I¡¯ll have to see if any of my class evolutions can help me move to another world.¡± ¡°What if you only get one chance to move to another world? Wouldn¡¯t that be very risky?¡± ¡°And that is why I¡¯ll wait for you, be prepared to get stomped on when you come next year.¡± ¡°Heh, as if.¡± He said, mockingly. ¡°Come to think of it, it was written that your species can be evolved into a High Human, why didn¡¯t you do it?¡± ¡°... Two reasons; first being that I¡¯m scared of changing too much, second would be that I decided to do it when we meet as well.¡± ¡°Was the second reason always there?¡± I asked in a curious tone. ¡°Yep.¡± He affirmed without stuttering, but I can see cold sweat running down his cheeks. Funnily enough, while a poker face can hide your facial expression, it can¡¯t hide how you feel from your body. ¡°Anyhow, you know that I don¡¯t really care about how your world works. You are you, that¡¯s what matters.¡± Skillfully, he changed the topic, but I ignored the obvious fact. ¡°Thank you.¡± Giving him a peck on his cheek, I finally felt my eyes go heavy, thus drifting off to deep sleep. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 8 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 9 =====Vol 2 Chap 9===== ¡°Wake up sleepyhead.¡± ¡°Mngh.. just five more minutes.¡± I groaned. ¡°No~pe.¡± Without even giving me a few seconds, I was pulled off the bed, making me instantly wide awake. ¡°Tsk, and it was such a good dream..¡± I murmured. ¡°What happened?¡± He asked while sitting on the bed and I on the floor. ¡°We lived happily ever after.¡± I said, making him suddenly shudder. ¡°It sounds good.. but something tells me that your idea of happily ever after is different than mine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re imagining it.¡± I said while waving my hands. Finishing our normal ¡®Good morning¡¯, I stood up and went to take a quick shower in my ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯. We were using it wrong, since it isn¡¯t an ¡®Inventory¡¯, it is a ¡®Dimension¡¯, so with that thought in mind, we were able to use it just like a sandbox, but we can¡¯t take out something that already exists in that dimension, only our stored objects. Thankfully, we were able to make a functional shower that uses mana, nevertheless, it works well. Inside a not so big brick house, I designed it to be very comfortable, and if I felt like it, I can probably live in it and abandon the real world, but I don¡¯t feel like so. Anyhow, 20 minutes later, I left the dimension and returned back to the inn room, seeing Archillies who is staring at the ceiling. ¡°You didn¡¯t shower?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I showered before I woke you up.¡± He said. ¡°I see.¡± After I said that, he once again stared absentmindedly at the ceiling for a few seconds before taking a glance at the window and saying. ¡°Could you let me paint you?¡± ¡°Sure, but what¡¯s that out of the blue?¡± I asked due to the sudden idea. ¡°Something that doesn¡¯t allow me to forget you, I guess?¡± ¡°About that..¡± Remembering the Heart, I took out both sides and gave him the left half before wearing the right one. ¡°Now we are connected, am I wrong?¡± I said. ¡°Hmm.. I still want to do it, and I thought of the best place for it.¡± Not having a reason to reject, I took his stretched out hand and then we teleported inside an unfamiliar part in the forest. A well decorated chair stood in the middle of a small clearing, illuminated by sunlight and blocked by leaves in other parts, giving off a magical feeling as if it were a painting. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked, even though I was guessing the answer. ¡°You¡¯ll sit on it while wearing.. this.¡± He said so while taking out a sleeveless, long white dress with very little frills and not so much exposure. Imagining myself wearing this while sitting on that chair.. makes me feel like an Elf Princess, even though I¡¯m neither an elf nor a princess. Sighing, I took the dress and wore it in my dimension, and it felt very comfortable to be in. Going outside, I saw Archillies who has his canvas and painting equipment right next to him, but for one reason or another, he was intensely staring at me. ¡°Does it look that good?¡± I curiously asked.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Absolutely.¡± He said so while nodding. Sighing, I went towards the chair and sat on it before taking on a pose as Archillies asked for me. ¡°Perfect, now stay like that, please.¡± He pleaded, but I didn¡¯t feel like rejecting it either way. Staying still for a while that it even gave me two abilities called ¡®Posing¡¯ and ¡®Statue¡¯, it started becoming easier the longer I posed. An hour passed with him still calmly sliding the brush and mixing a few colours here and there before finally saying in an exasperated tone. ¡°It¡¯s done.. Ahahaha!¡± Laughing hysterically while raising his chin up high, I shaked my head while standing up and walking towards him to see how good was his painting was. .. Unbelievable¡­ If I didn¡¯t know that I was the person inside the picture, I would have had my heart struck by it. ¡°You.. I noticed that you had an unusually high ¡®Painting¡¯ level, and this was what you were preparing for?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He exclaimed loudly. While I was staring at the painting, he held his hand above it, making it shine a couple of times until he moves his hand away. ¡°Now I can rest easy that this masterpiece of mine will never be torn, dirtied nor stolen, hehehe.¡± He gave a sinister laugh. Ignoring that, I started wondering what time it was. ¡°Hey, what time is it?¡± I asked. ¡°Hmm? Don¡¯t know.¡± He replied in a carefree manner. Sighing, I waited until he put the painting in his ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯, but then before he took my hand to teleport his eyes widened. ¡°I haven¡¯t named it!¡± He shouted in realisation. ¡°Then name it?¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. Only you will.¡± Clicking my tongue, I started pondering over it. ¡°I guess.. ¡®Blessing In The Forest¡¯?¡± I said with a tint of hesitation mixed in. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s better than what I could think of.¡± He nodded, satisfied with the name. Taking his hand, we teleported back to the inn once again¡­ ¡­ Having teleported back to the inn, we stepped outside the inn with no thoughts in mind. ¡°¡±Hmm¡±¡± We both grumbled while thinking. Unable to find anything to do, I waited until Archillies finished thinking, but at the end, it seems like he couldn¡¯t come up with something to do. ..Or so I thought, before he hit his palm in a fashion that is saying ¡°I got it!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s end it with the most generic romantic ending of all!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°One of us dies?¡± I asked, jokingly. ¡°No no, we will watch the sunset, and once it ends, I go.¡± He said while waving his hand. ¡°Actually, what time is it now?¡± I asked rhetorically, since we are outside the forest and the sun can be seen. ¡°Hmm.. It¡¯s still a bit till evening, I guess?¡± Seriously, isn¡¯t he able to come up with any good ideas? ¡°Until then, let¡¯s have a BBQ party!¡± ¡°We have no grill nor sauce.¡± I pointed out. ¡°Ugh.. Well uh.. Let¡¯s just go to the beach and swim for a bit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got no.. swimsuit..¡± I slowly said that as I realized his purpose. ¡°Hehehehe, ta dah!¡± He said, taking out a bag from his ¡®Pocket Dimension¡¯. Inside of it was a deep blue, two piece bikini that seems to be exactly made for me. Although I was frowning, I didn¡¯t try to reject, since it is among the last hours which we will spend together. ¡°Looking forward to it.¡± He said with a mischievous smile. ¡°Yeah yeah, you better have prepared a good place.¡± After going inside the inn once again and wearing the swimsuit under my clothes, I found Archillies loitering in the lobby, but I just approached him and asked. ¡°Ready?¡± He nodded and took my hand, teleporting us to an unexpected place. ¡­ The first thought that came to my mind was.. A beach, except for the fact that, rather than being on the continent, it is on an island. How did I know? Well, this island is no wider than 10 meters in radius with two generic trees in the middle. ¡°Do you like it?¡± He asked with anticipation in his voice. ¡°It is good, I guess.¡± I replied, albeit reluctantly. Just after I said that, he quickly took off his clothes and jumped into the water. He motioned me to hurry up, so I just took off my clothes as well and slowly walked in the water, which was surprisingly warm. ¡°Release the Kraken!¡± He shouted, then suddenly, I felt a huge presence coming from behind him, then tentacles started sprouting from the water. 2, 4, 8, and finally 12, then came a huge squid-like creature emerging in between the tentacles. ¡°Hahahaha!¡± He laughed like a mad man before getting himself shot out of the water like a cannonball towards the Kraken¡¯s head. Oh boy, this is going to be tiring.. .. Finally after defeating this monster who was somehow able to survive our attacks with one way or another, even though our power is not to be taken light of, we laid on the small island while breathing heavily. Although it was able to survive our attacks, its speed wasn¡¯t high enough to make us feel any danger, yet its blows had huge amounts of mass and power behind them. ¡°He..hehehe. It was fun, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Oh shut up, don¡¯t tell me you planned this all along.¡± I stared at his face. ¡°Ha-ha. Look, the sun is setting.¡± He quickly evaded my question and pointed towards the sun. While I¡¯m a bit angry of him, his choice of place for the sunset was good, so I¡¯ll give him props for that. Quietly, we both huddled together, with his head on my shoulder, as the air started to make us feel colder, but we still stared at the sun as it was going down. Suddenly, I could feel water dripping onto me, so I look and notice that he is crying. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you.¡± He said in a teary voice Unable to hold back my own tears, they also started gushing out, making me embrace him. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too.¡± Under the dying sunlight, we both stayed like such until the sun has finally set, then I let go. ¡°It¡¯s time, huh.¡± I said. ¡°Mhm.. I¡¯ll try to come back as quickly as I can.¡± ¡°Do your best.¡± I encouraged him. Both of us stood up, and he teleported me to the inn once again, then he quickly donned himself in the clothes that he came to this world with; his school uniform. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a year or so.¡± He said. I didn¡¯t reply, instead, I gave him a kiss before saying ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Separating ourselves, I stood there, seeing as he was enveloped by darkness, disappearing from this world. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 9 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 10 =====Vol 2 Chap 10===== ¡°Yawn.. I¡¯m back here again, huh..¡± As always, I¡¯m surrounded by darkness that seemingly doesn¡¯t end. Floating around for no reason except for waiting, I immediately got bored in just a few moments, which brought the idea of checking my own status menu once again. Name : Archillies Duane Race : Human (Evolve?) Class : Intermediate World Traveller (Unique) Level : 6924 HP : ----- MP : ----- -Stats : Body : 303767 Mind : 303719 Stat Points : 0 Skill Points : 246620 --Status Effects : N/A ¡°Hahahaha.¡± I laughed at the high numbers that got me killed once. If not for the ability called ¡®Revival¡¯, I wouldn¡¯t be here today, but I think that Rain would have won by herself. Ignoring those thoughts, I started imagining scenes where I come back home, where both my parents are home, or one of them, maybe none, nevertheless, it is good to be prepared. One scenario after another, time passed by in a blink, and finally, a small light could be seen in the distance, marking the end of this ¡®otherworldly¡¯ journey.. ¡­. Once my sight came to, I saw myself still standing in front of the bathroom door, illuminated by moonlight. ¡°Moonlight?¡± I murmured, noticing the abnormality. In front of the bathroom there is a wall, and after that wall is a class, so how could light pass through all of that till here? Then I realized.. That the wall doesn¡¯t exist anymore. To be specific, the whole corridor and the other side aren¡¯t there, with traces of destruction in their place. I was confused, even more so when I scanned for any presence nearby, and none was found. Questions kept popping up, many of them related to war, others related to the night guards who are supposed to be patrolling here, but I knew that none of them will be answered unless I look for them myself. Staring down on the rubble of cement and wood, I jumped from the 3 floor high building, landing while breaking a few pieces. Unexpectedly, I felt a tinge of pain once I had landed, getting me even more confused than before. Realizing something, I quickly, I cast a fireball to confirm whether my worries were true or not, and unfortunately, they were true. The fireball is both small and dimmer than usual.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Heh, no wonder I felt pain while landing, but to what extent was I weakened? My stat numbers are not to be underestimated with. I sighed due to the one surprising thing after another, and resolved myself to ignore everything else and head home, anything else comes later. Slowly walking out of the rubble, I exited the school grounds while trotting over the now fallen walls and checked my surroundings. One after another, rows of ruined houses were shown, with some standing with only a few sides here and there, or completely obliterated and their fragments scattered on the road. Ignoring that, I quickly tried to cast a ¡®Teleport¡¯ to my house, but unfortunately, it didn¡¯t work, so one more thing that I was worried about was also proven true. Anywhere that I went before I gained those abilities don¡¯t count as if I visited them before, so I¡¯ll have to once again explore this city all over. Not wanting to waste any more time, I cast ¡®Fly¡¯ on myself, and like a rocket, I shot to the direction of my house, with unease eating me more as I still felt no presences away from the school.. ¡­ After 5 minutes of continuous flight, I was met with the ever so familiar neighborhood, except for the fact that it doesn¡¯t look any different than the houses from before. Destroyed to no avail, each and every one of them, however, I only moved towards my house with my heart beating at its max. Quickly, I checked inside my house if there were any traces of bodies or blood, however, nothing was there, making me sigh in relief but regain my anxiety once again. Where are they, and what happened? Those questions never stopped, making me seek the truth of what happened, and the only way is to meet another person, which I have yet to see. With nothing more to do in this house, and none of its innards remaining intact, I quietly jumped outside of the rubble, making me see the half-heart necklace that is dancing around my neck. With a soft, red glow, it made me feel more at ease for some reason, as if Rain was here with me, and that was the only thing I needed to calm down. Rearranging my priorities, I went back on the road and started walking towards the nearest and usually most populated place in town. The mall. I only had a hint of hope lingering about that idea, but nowhere else came up when I thought about the most common places for people to be in, thus I started casting ¡®Fly¡¯. But then I paused, noticing that something finally entered my detection radius, making me somewhat happy. Cancelling the ability, instead, I walked towards them, as they were running in my direction, so we will meet anyways. After a few seconds of walking, which was not much, I noticed the speed at which they were moving towards me; it was fast. It was strange, since they weren¡¯t moving on the road, rather, on the former house locations and sometimes going a few meters up high. Weirded out by it, I take on my stance with a Corromium dagger in hand, and hid behind a wall. A few more moments and finally, they arrived.. And to my surprise, ¡®they¡¯ were not human, in fact, it was something akin to a slime, except for it having the size of a two floor house, and full of tentacles. With a dirty green colour, it wobbled as if looking for me, however, no matter what it does, it won¡¯t find me since I activated my sneaking abilities. While moving, the rubble was either eaten or squashed by its huge size, also dissolving with a sizzle and leaving behind a trail of itself. Inside of it was a crystal blue orb, hidden in the very middle, and if I compare it to the slimes in the former world, it should be able to move it at will, so I should quickly take it out. Changing the dagger into a bow, I pulled on the metallic string while forming a magic arrow, and wish a swish, it pierced through the slime without stopping and sliced the orb into two before dissipating. The slime wobbled violently while thrashing the tentacles for two seconds, but with no orb, they can¡¯t function, thus it collapsed on the ground with the help of gravity, turning the ground into a puddle of slime. But to my surprise, the orb melted into the puddle, spreading through like water being mixed with each other, then suddenly, the puddle shaked and small slimes started forming out of it. One, two, ten, fifty, and finally stopped at sixty, the slimes stood like an army together, and ran towards my direction. Sighing, I teleported behind them with my sneak still activated, so the didn¡¯t notice me, making them eat the wall that I was standing behind but finding nothing behind it. Since I wasn¡¯t there, they stuck to each other, becoming bigger in size until once again, it became the huge slime it was, and roamed towards nowhere in particular. Seeing how it acts, no wonder there are no living beings in the vicinity, after all, unless the core is somehow taken out of this acidic goo, then it will keep regrowing back. Then, an idea struck my head, making me ready the bow again, with the difference being that the arrow isn¡¯t just a mere mana arrow, it is an Chilling Arrow. As per its name, a Chilling arrow is of the Ice element, but the difference between it and a normal Ice Arrow is that once it comes into contact with an object, it explodes, freezing everything in a 5 meter radius. Of course, with that being said, I retreated further back so the aftereffects won¡¯t damage me, and let go the arrow, making it shoot at a speed faster than sound. With the whistles of the air being cut, it entered the slime like the arrow before it, and once the orb was touched, a white blinding light erupted, making me unconsciously cover my eyes. Once the light had subsided, the slime became completely frozen, to the extent that I thought that hitting it lightly will make it crumble. To test that theory, I get out of my hiding place and move towards it, before thrusting my hand which is clad in corromium into it, piercing the now ice-like slime and capturing the seemingly undamaged orb. With it in my hand, I got the thought of melting the ice and licking it, but sadly, I overheated the orb, causing it to burn and turn into ashes, and finally, it was defeated, also proven by the level up notification. Quickly, I picked up the huge frozen fragments of the goo, with the intent to test the usage of it, since the idea of an acidic slime seemed very interesting. With nothing more to do, I silently flew up high and surveyed where the people might have went, but unfortunately, no one seemed be in the few surrounding kilometers, making me feel slightly disheartened, but I knew there must be a settlement nearby, after all, we humans are very persistent in surviving¡­ Even though some of the larger buildings survived, most of them were either leaning on each other, others looked as if they were infested by huge fungus. I don¡¯t know whether it was fortunate or not, since my house was on the outskirts of this city, but it seems that the deeper you head in the city, the higher the amount of danger, as if it were an ¡®Outside Dungeon¡¯, but obviously, it isn¡¯t. After more surveying in other directions, it was decided that I will enter the city, after all, any nearby settlements are at least 50 kilometers away, so before I go visit them, I¡¯d rather search every nook and cranny in here for others. With that thought in mind, I landed down and started walking deeper in the city, since flying won¡¯t make a different.. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 10 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 11
=====Vol 2 Chap 11=====
¡°Hum hum~¡± Humming a certain song outloud, I walked through the deserted settlement, with broken buildings and tumors growing out in the background. Previously, I tried popping one out, however, it was a terrible choice, since by being destroyed, they send spores out into the air while releasing poison in it. Thanks to my high Vitality, or now called Body stat, I wasn¡¯t strongly affected by the poison, but if felt bad nonetheless. Ever since that time, which was last night, I unconsciously avoided damaging them, scared of the outcome. With sunlight shining upon me and the tilted, or sometimes destroyed, buildings, I continue walking towards the mall. And no, it isn¡¯t that far, truth to be told, I slept quickly after destroying the tumor, so there were still some tens of minutes till we reach the mall, but obviously less time if it were by car. Sighing at the complete lack of undamaged vehicles, I continuously scanned for any presence whilst training my abilities in this short walk. Surprisingly, when I woke up, Rain¡¯s stats increased by a whole ten thousand overnight, and they were still increasing even though her level hasn¡¯t changed. Although it got me confused for a while, I saw her ¡®Farming¡¯ ability increased drastically as well, so I guessed that she found a rare herb and is now cultivating it. A while ago when we were still on the road to the port, I tried planting a random seed on the ground, then supplied it with mana, making it grow instantly. Even if it looks extremely efficient and saves a lot of time, it is actually the opposite, since it ate quite a bit of mana, but that isn¡¯t a problem to either of us in the current state. As for the ¡®Farming¡¯ ability, it grows as you cultivate plants and/or find rare types of them and growing. Obviously this information was not fully from practice since it was a one-time test, the rest is from the books. If I remembered the effects of my class, I would have made Elixirs in bulk and drank them, but I totally forgot, making me somewhat disheartened. ..Nevermind that, the mall will be reached in 5 minutes, and thankfully, I felt a large number of presences inside of it, so I sighed in relief. But then I realized.. I have no way to describe my parents other than by words, so I¡¯d rather find a blank paper and draw them. Oh well, guess I¡¯ll do that when I meet the people, in the meantime, let¡¯s kick it up a notch, no? ¡­. After the ¡®Brisk¡¯ walk, I reached the main gates. Presences were sensed to be behind it, and I could see shadows of people around the windows and such. ¡°Hello! Anyone there?¡± I shouted, but I got no response. I sighed out loud, remembering that if a scenario where an apocalypse happens, there will always be those who come out with thirst for blood, sometimes forming groups and raiding peaceful ones. Suddenly, I could feel a few people climbing to the roof but still hiding behind the fence, and a group of 5 that are walking in a triangle-like formation, with one in the front and two behind him on each side. Finally, the door opened yet only the one on the front came out. He was a tall man with black hair like mine and a pair of blue glasses that complement his blue casual t-shirt and dark jeans. He felt normal, however, his gaze didn¡¯t seem to be so, alas, it won¡¯t be of any use against me. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Who are you?¡± He said, while squinting his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m Archillies.¡± I gave a direct answer. ¡°What is a kid like you doing here?¡± ¡°Searching for my parents?¡± I said, as if it were the most obvious thing. ¡°Hmm..¡± His eyes seemed as if they were seeing through my clothes, making me shiver. ¡°So.. Um.. Can¡¯t I enter? I don¡¯t know any other place to go to.¡± Sighing, he motioned me to come with his hand, and I complied. Although he allowed me to enter, he seems to be still on guard, even though I¡¯m supposed to look like a teenager in his eyes. Come to think of it, he himself did not look old, as a matter of fact, I¡¯d guess that he is in his twenties. Anyhow, I straightened my thoughts as I entered the mall, and surprisingly, many people with assault rifles and military clothes were standing guard beside the door. ¡°What happened..?¡± I asked with a concerned tone. ¡°Huh? What are you on about?¡± ¡°Just like I asked, what happened that made the world like that?¡± ¡°Sigh.. Just where were you when it started?¡± ¡°I was away.¡± ¡°Hmm..¡± He started suspecting me, however, I haven¡¯t lied when I answered. After all, it is a fact that I wasn¡¯t ¡®here¡¯ when it started. ¡°Before that, what is your power?¡± He asked. ¡°Power?¡± I asked back, confused. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you also don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°...¡± He spat out a deeper sigh than normal then stayed silent till we reached a room. ¡°Get in, then I can explain everything.¡± Silently, I entered the former storage room, which is currently empty except for the well hidden cameras in the corners and a pair of chairs opposite of each other around a table. ¡°This looks a lot like an interrogation room.¡± I murmured, but it was faintly heard it due to the fact that we are in an isolated room. ¡°Sit there.¡± He pointed towards the chair opposite of the door. Thus, we both sat in our respective seats and he started talking. ¡°The name¡¯s Roland, and I¡¯m this mall¡¯s¡­ Spokesman. Do you know anything about what happened since a few weeks ago?¡± He asked, but I shaked my head. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start from the beginning. One day, everyone suddenly gained their own ¡®unique¡¯ powers.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked, dumbfounded. ¡°Exactly, and a some more days later, strange beings started appearing out of nowhere. One that reigned supreme up until now is the King Slime, currently ruling the largest territory in this city.¡± ¡°I-i see..¡± I said meekly, but I also thought that it is a somewhat difficult monster if someone else was to fight it. ¡°Anyhow, after a while we were able to specify power types into three : Physical - Magical - Psychic.¡± ¡°Please elaborate.¡± ¡°Yes yes. Firstly, physical, it is very peculiar and currently ruling 2 out of 3 of this time. An there are many examples and one of them is the ruler of the ¡®Dual Eagles¡¯, using two Desert Eagles as his Physical power, and he is at the top due to the ¡®Adaptations¡¯.¡± He took a breath. ¡°An ¡®Adaptation¡¯ is somewhat like an evolution to the powers, so let¡¯s say you are physical and holding that weapon makes it shoot faster, a new ¡®Adaptation¡¯ will come, and as another example, it might make the shots stronger, or less recoil, but that is only an example for guns; there are many whose Physical might not be a weapon, might even be a microphone, etc.¡± ¡°And Magical?¡± I urged him to continue. ¡°Magical is self-explanatory. Basically, some people can conjure fire out of thin air, others can use the infamous teleportation - but this has yet to be proven.- Another famous example would be the leader of the ¡®Staves¡¯, known of his ability to fight with a staff, and also conjure numerous types of magic.¡± He paused. ¡°Lastly, Psychic, but we don¡¯t have much information, mostly speculation, since they are rare, but anyways, as from what we currently know, some can use telekinesis and the like, but this is as much as we know.¡± ¡°By the way, you said Physical wins 2 out of 3, then where is the third one?¡± ¡°Currently, we have three factions, the ¡®Staves¡¯, the ¡®Dual Eagles¡¯, lastly the ¡®Whips¡¯. Take note that the name is only there due to the leaders¡¯ powers, it doesn¡¯t limit the entry of people.¡± ¡°Which one is this mall affiliated with?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°..This is a hopeless zone, all the factions have treated us as dead, since the communications have died for one reason or another, plus the presence of the King Slime making meeting nearly impossible.¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything for him, but I had to ask.. ¡°When was the last time a stranger came?¡± ¡°You are the first in days, so as long as you want and can help, you are welcome to stay with us.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me, then I¡¯ll gladly join.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He held out his hand over the table and I took it, thus came the first time I joined a ¡®Survivor Group¡¯... =====Vol 2 Chap 11 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 12 =====Vol 2 Chap 12===== ¡°Hey Archillies, bring that box over here.¡± ¡°Yes yes.¡± Carrying a rough, handmade wooden box filled with junk to Norman, I walked through the mall towards his workshop. Fortunately, in this single week I was able to get to know the other survivors and make them comfortable with me. On the other hand, ever since the King Slime was killed, monsters started coming closer by the day, but thankfully, none has reached us yet. As of now, we have been keeping ourselves fed and healthy due to our surplus of medicine and a Power. Food has been solved with this Power that is a Physical one, which makes holding an empty water can get filled with a special liquid that speeds up plant growth tremendously, much like the ¡®Farming¡¯ ability, except limited. Only a liter¡¯s worth of liquid is inside the can and gets refilled daily, and of course, the Watering Can cannot be replaced. Thanks to that Power, the seeds inside some shops in here make for good food, other are just flowers, but I never told them that I can easily differentiate with or without ¡®Inspect¡¯; the library was useful after all. ¡°Here you go.¡± I said while putting down the box. ¡°Mhm.¡± Norman is a Psychic type, allowing him to learn how to make any machine or technological piece as long as he has the materials, and right now he is in the process of making a walkie talkie. How are we going to use them, you ask? Well, we have batteries, not to mention the fact that we can recharge them with another person with a convenient Power. Once a day, she is able to fully charge a battery no matter its size, hence we can use electricity normally. But what is worrying me is the fact that no one knows the health of the water and gas pipes, alas, we are mostly using electric cookers. ¡°Archillies, go check on Roland, he told me to send you to him after we are done.¡± ¡°Alright..¡± At the moment I¡¯m feeling somewhat dejected since I want to go outside and take on the role of the scavenger, nevertheless, only a very select few are allowed to go out. Walking through the mall to another shop; a bookstore, I quietly opened the door to find Roland sitting on his usual spot, the shopkeeper¡¯s seat. ¡°I heard you called for me.¡± He raised one finger from the book and put it at his mouth without glancing at me, so I went inside and picked a book until he is finished. Only after half an hour did he finish his book and closed it with a thud that echoed through the silent store. ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll get to the point, you can go out to scavenge with the others on the next trip.¡± ¡°Sweet-¡± ¡°But,¡± He interrupted, ¡°Only after you are able to run 20 laps on the roof will you be fully accepted.¡± ¡°When do I start?¡± I said eagerly, even though I can go outside and they can¡¯t say anything, but leaving them alone seems like a terrible idea. ¡°Now, if you can.¡± ¡°By the way, why 20?¡± ¡°Who knows if a monster saw you as its prey, wouldn¡¯t you need to run away? Only stamina and speed will help you in that case.¡± He answered, making me nod in acceptance.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. No more words were said, and we both went towards the stairs and climbed up to the wide roof which is filled with blooming flowers and immature plants here and there. Obviously there is enough space in-between for when the time to pick comes, but I¡¯m not going to weave through those paths, I¡¯ll run around the whole roof while doing the ¡®parkour¡¯. In the case of ¡®Apocalypse Survival¡¯, every scavenger needs to know how to maneuver through buildings and climb effortlessly for when there are enemies chasing after you, be it human or monster. Thanks to my abilities and stats, no sweat was dropped while running at a somewhat fast speed that has yet to break olympic records due to me holding back, and also jumping and climbing many obstacles scattered on the ¡®training¡¯ side of the roof. Finally having 20 laps over, I glanced at Roland who was staring at me in disbelief, but he retained his usual expression when he noticed that I stopped running. ¡°Done already?¡± He asked. ¡°..Weren¡¯t you observing me so that I wouldn¡¯t skip?¡± ¡°Cough cough. Anyways, I guess you are ready to go on the next trip, which is¡­ tomorrow. Lucky you, if I may say.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go as well?¡± I asked, curiously. ¡°Who will lead them and be their spokesman while I¡¯m not here?¡± ¡°Good point..¡± ¡°Now go rest, tomorrow you will be out for a couple of hours.¡± Without replying, I followed behind him as we left the roof, and split up to do our own things.. ¡­ In the mall, everyone has their own place, or so called ¡®Shop¡¯. An example is Norman¡¯s tech store, and Roland¡¯s bookstore. Mine is a Video Game store, which I used some of my free time to try the games in, after all, not all games could have been bought, right? Borrowing a computer from the tech store and assembling it, I had made myself the strongest one possible, that is only if we don¡¯t count the enchantments I had added on it. Fear of overheating is non-existent, destruction due to falling down or getting bashed by someone will not happen, and best of all¡­ After making some ¡®modifications¡¯, I was able to create a revolutionary wireless connector which allows me to access government-only networks and the like without any problems, and even if I had ¡®any¡¯ problems, I could hack my way through. Anyways, enough of that and time to continue monitoring the news. Humans couldn¡¯t have died in only a month or so, could they? Thankfully, many parts of the world were in better shape, some of them nearly being untouched due to their luck, however, others were not the same. Unfortunately for me, my city was one of the parts where the first monsters appeared, and this city wasn¡¯t in any way close to military or have a large police force; it was a very unnoticable place with nothing special about. Anyhow, after accessing the real-time GPS, I started looking around town and in the nearby places for any signs of huge monsters and such. But suddenly, a large amount of vehicles seemed to be moving towards the city and will reach it in less than an hour. Sadly, due to the limitations of up-top view, I was unable to discern what those things were, but I could safely tell that they are not monsters. Even so, a human could be as dangerous, or even more so than a monster, thus I had to report that to Roland. Once that was done, he issued higher alert in case they are invaders, since it isn¡¯t uncommon for violent groups to emerge in an apocalypse. For the rest of the day, I kept monitoring while training my abilities with a few hands around me spamming the same skill in a very quick manner that makes the abilities level up tremendously in very short amounts of time. One ability after another were LvMAX in just a few days, and I was able to evolve them into higher abilities, just like how Magic Hands evolved into Magic Bodies. Surely I was getting stronger as well, since making abilities stronger also gives bonus effects, stacking onto each other and in turn making me stronger while being at the same level. So you ask, could a level 1 train one ability forever and become stronger than a level 100? Yes, definitely, however, leveling up also has its advantages, so for example, let''s say a level 1 has 100 MP, level 100 has 100000, and the ability costs 10, with the regeneration set for each person to be at 10% per minute. Obviously the level 100 would be able to train the same ability much faster than the level 1, thus making the option of ¡®Leveling up abilities only¡¯ not being efficient. Anyhow, the night has passed with no incidents, so the time for scavenging has come. I was given a dufflebag and a travelling bag at the same time, and the other 3 had the same items worn over them, so we all stood near the gate. ¡°Archillies, Al, Oscar, you all ready?¡± Said Wayne. Silently, we all nodded, and opened the door with a clear destination in mind. In the previous scavenging, we had found an electronics store that was miraculously unharmed, so we were assigned to go and bring back the most amount of usable junk possible; who knows, we might find ¡®treasure¡¯. Walking carefully, we traversed the ruined road filled with debris and trash, and fungi protruding out of the buildings in the background. ¡°So Archillies, I heard you are looking for your parents?¡± Oscar asked for confirmation. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m worried about them.¡± ¡°Good thing you came here first, who knows what would have happened if you encountered the King Slime.¡± Said Al. ¡°I agree.¡± Commented Wayne. Oscar is a bald man with an athletic build, his story was that he came to the mall for a date with his girlfriend, alas, the apocalypse started and he was never able to meet her at the end. As for Al, he seems to have come from an Asian country and worked as a shopkeeper for a clothing store here as a part-time job, and had a bit of history with playing sports. Lastly, Wayne, he is both a body builder and a professional swimmer, winning many medals in the recent past. The team would look perfect if not for me, a teenager that is not even as tall as any of them. ¡­ It wasn¡¯t even 10 minutes till we reached the electronics store and started salvaging everything that could be stored in the bags, but while we were at it, I felt many presences moving a fair bit away from here. Raising my guard, I kept scavenging until suddenly, a loud explosion was heard, with the ground shaking and dust falling off from the ceiling due to it. Wanting to avoid any accidental deaths, Wayne instructed us to get outside of the building as quick as possible, and once we were out, another explosion resounded, shaking the ground and the building once again. Oh boy, what could be happening? .... =====Vol 2 Chap 12 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 13 =====Vol 2 Chap 13===== ¡°Archillies, Al, take our bags and go back. Oscar and I will check what¡¯s happening.¡± Said Wayne. Unfortunately for him, I wasn¡¯t planning on leaving and hoping that he comes unharmed with the information, after all, seeing is believing, and the more witnesses the better. Shaking my head, I said ¡°I¡¯m going. I need to see what is happening.¡± ¡°What if we can¡¯t help you?¡± Said Oscar in a cold tone, but I could sense his kindness behind it since he is trying to convince me. ¡°I¡¯m just like you all; I can escape if need be, so I doubt I will need help.¡± Rumble.. The building shook again, thus urging them to choose. ¡°...Let¡¯s just go, we can¡¯t idle here any longer.¡± Said Wayne. Unable to convince me otherwise, we all went towards the source after reporting it to Roland via the walkie talkie. Obviously, he was hesitant about sending us over since we were the only scavengers in the group, but preparedness forced him to tell us otherwise. To avoid losing the loot along the way, we found a small, safe building and stored our bags in it before finally leaving. Explosions occurred occasionally every few seconds for nearly 5 minutes straight, but finally we were able to see the field of battle. Scars of explosives remain on the streets, and what I failed to predict was the fighters. At first, I thought it would be those who were in the vehicles fighting monsters with an explosive power or the like, but what I was wrong about is the fact that it is a human vs human situation. Problem is, one side is using vans and the like, the other is in the sky, making a horde of helicopters that surround the neighborhood. Due to the current scene before them, and traces of death, my group was perturbed, so I took them away into a nearby alley to let them digest what happened. Thankfully, Al was in a better shape than Oscar and Wayne, so I wasn¡¯t the only one being calm. ¡°Archillies, you alright?¡± Asked Al, worriedly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Reminds me of those gory games I played.¡± I said, but half of it was a lie. Finally calming down, we peeked out of the alley to see what is happening. ¡°W-we have to tell Roland¡­¡± Said Wayne. Taking out his walkie talkie, he hurriedly told Roland what was happening, but unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to continue talking before an explosion resounded. BOOM! Gunfire and explosions were spread both on land and in the sky, prompting me to feel wasteful at the large amounts of ammo that are being wasted. The buildings rumbled once again, as if encouraging us to run back to the mall as quick as possible, so they quickly got away; yes, they, since I created a clone that looks similar to me, but sadly, it¡¯s stats are only 10% of what I have, making it inefficient in combat. Now with them gone, I released my invisibility and wore a black cloak with a purple masquerade mask taken from the store and modified by yours truly, with both enchantments and appearance changes. Anyhow, now that this is done, time to appear as the ever so famous (going to be) Mask Man. With the power of masks, I shall defeat the evil and live happily ever after with Rain.. Not, at least the first part isn¡¯t.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Jumping out of the alley, they didn¡¯t notice me at all, so I stood there for a while, waiting until they notice. .. Nothing. Sigh.. Oh well, I don¡¯t know who is good from bad so I¡¯ll quietly wait until they are all done. Observing all the infantry, or the side on land, I noticed one thing particularly special, which is that they are all women. As for those in the helicopters, I don¡¯t know, since I do not plan on jumping and climbing on the helicopter like a certain mutated man that shoots webs. Exploring each and every one of the vans, I had accidentally listened on one of the women who is treating the injured. ¡°Are the stubborn still safe? Because we absolutely have to make them arrive safely.¡± ¡°Yes, we hid them in a nearby alley so we can move them when the battle is over.¡± ¡°Good..¡± Said the doctor while sighing in relief. ¡®Stubborn¡¯, huh. Seems very peculiar.. If possible, I want to talk with them to know what happened in the last few days; we were very isolated, and that feels bitter. Activating ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯ and my presence detection, I look in the alleys in the vicinity, finally finding them with just a quick scan with my eyes. Walking towards them, I notice how 4 out of 6 people are bound by ropes, the rest are women with assault rifles. Come to think of it, where do they get all those guns? It isn¡¯t like every citizen can purchase and/or use them No matter.. Now that their place is known, I boldly walk in the middle of the road with no one detecting me, due to the immense amount of enchantments I had added on this masquerade mask, with many of them being useless. One being ¡®Increase drying speed of clothes by 500%¡¯, and there are many more, nevertheless, it isn¡¯t time to immerse myself in reading the list. Once I¡¯m in the alley, I find no one, turning me confused and activating ¡®Predator¡¯s Eyes¡¯ once again, finding that they are infact hiding. Clapping inwardly for their safe approach, I keep the ability active while knocking the female guards unconscious, now to change my attention to the prisoners. Two female, two male, and the males seem to be roughly beaten up, seeing how their bodies are full of scratches and blue spots. Due to the sudden falling of the guards, they looked around frantically, reminding me that the invisiblity option on my outfit is toggled on, so I turned it off. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked no one in particular, making them nod. ¡°Well.. Does anyone of you have a backstory and information to tell? I also have a pill that could heal you out of any injuries, so once you tell me all you know, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Obviously, that is a lie.. Not, it is a pill filled with practically nothing except grinded sugar that absorbed some mana for the sake of healing, so even if one takes an extra and tries to recreate it, it is impossible. For I am selfish and do not wish to share my amazing discoveries, this is who I am. Anyways, while I was ¡®thinking¡¯, one of the men who were beaten up stood up and mustered the courage to talk with a bit of difficulty due to his missing teeth. ¡°W-when the apocalypse started, my friend and I were at a nearby gas station on the road, and many people were passing by us, so we were able to hear of the news every once in awhile.¡± He gasped for breath. ¡°At first, people who passed by the gas station were escaping from monsters and the like, some of them even stayed with us and left later, but then many people started coming back from where they were from to the city past this.¡± ¡°Hmm.. And I assume the reason is the women in the vans?¡± I guessed. Nodding, he continued. ¡°West from here, the region is ruled by the Whips, and sooner or later I learned that they were a ¡®Women Only¡¯ faction, but their strength isn¡¯t to be underestimated with the rise of the ¡®Powers¡¯.¡± ¡°So most of your information regards the Whips, but I heard that fairly recently there were many people in this city but have left due to the King Slime.¡± ¡°You are right, in both matters. Firstly, the Whips were small yet somehow grew incredibly quickly, then they suddenly started harassing men and capturing women to do who knows what, maybe brainwash them.¡± ¡°By the way, do you know who are those in the helicopters?¡± I asked, curiously. ¡°I-i heard before we were moved out of the van that there is a high possibility of them being the Dual Eagles.¡± ¡°Alright, open your mouth.¡± I said while nearing the pill to his mouth. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t need water to swallow it, since I had made it incredibly slippery once it enters the mouth, and thus, his body glowed for a moment before showing immediate signs of injuries being mended. Now being miraculously healed, the other 3 were staring at him in disbelief, with the other man gulping loudly as if asking for one. However, I¡¯m not planning to give them away like candy; they are going to become my ¡®special trading card¡¯ until someone with a healing power comes up, or someone with healing powers that don¡¯t have a one-day cooldown per use. Since I have all I needed, I quickly untie the prisoners and pass them the weapons that were used by the now unconscious guards then let them be on their merry way after pointing them to the mall¡¯s direction. Now that I got what I want, I exchange places with my clone as I get fed with the memories of what happened while he existed, being reminded that we are stranded in-between buildings. With my ¡®outfit¡¯ now back in my Pocket Dimension, I stood there in my previous clothes, staring at Wayne and Oscar who are trying to clear away the rocks. How did this situation happen, you ask? Well.. I blame luck, and the battle nearby, since there were moments where the attacks grew fierce for a short while then returning back to normal, with the minor shakes in the ground and the buildings being a proof. While running, one of the buildings decided to collapse on the bridge we were under, thus effectively blocking our way, and prompting us to try our best to get outside. Thankfully, there were a few holes here and there so we don¡¯t have to worry about suffocation, nevertheless, being stuck here doesn¡¯t feel so good. Obviously I could go and blast the rubble away no sweat, however, I¡¯d rather I keep my abilities in secret until I¡¯m able to find a justification. After all, when I show my abilities once, it there will never be an end to it. Alas, I¡¯m still hesitating whether I should just ignore this ¡®self-made rule¡¯ and start showing my abilities off. Anyways, what should I do with this current dilemma, huh. ..Should I add in a little bit of magic to this little trip? ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 13 end===== Vol 2 : Chapter 14 =====Vol 2 Chap 14===== Stuck under a collapsed bridge, every one of us found himself unable to do anything but search for escape holes, or something smaller yet breakable. Sadly, none of their ¡®Powers¡¯ were useful in situations such as this, for Oscar having his as the ¡®More Efficient Body¡¯, in other words, he is able to maintain living for longer yet with the same amount of resources as others. A ¡®Power¡¯ solely made for survivability. Al¡¯s is of the same type, allowing him to somehow breath underwater, even though he isn¡¯t a swimmer like Wayne, but, one can clearly see the advantage of having such a person in their team, for he could survive nearly indefinitely underwater, hence most people thinking: ¡°Oh, this would make a good stealth-spy material.¡± when they hear about such a power. Wayne is different, having more of an active ability than his companions, which is the ability to turn objects heavier, but that is also the end of it. Unless we are speaking about fighting melee and increasing the weight of an object to deal a stronger blow with the help of gravity, it is a useless power in my opinion. ..Unless he uses it to embed himself on a slippery surface by increasing the weight of his shoes, then I¡¯ll comment with ¡°props for good usage¡±. Anyhow, looking back on their abilities, none of them will be of good usage in this situation, so I decided to take on the most dangerous yet wanted ability: ¡®Super Strength¡¯. While I still haven¡¯t got my actual ¡®Powers¡¯ yet, this will be sufficient as I have the strength to back it up, therefore the lie becoming a truth. ¡°Get back.¡± I told Oscar who was the nearest to a fragile point in the walls, then I punched a hole through it. Their mouths gaped open, but I snapped them out of their daze and hurried them out of the ruins, after all, the battle has yet to end, and being in the mall is the best course of action at the moment. Quickly, we went towards the building which housed our loot then returned back to the mall, greeted by a worried-looking Roland. His brows were frowned, and traces of sweat covered his face, showing clearly how he was feeling. ¡°Come in, quickly, I need to know what exactly happened over there.¡± He called for people to guard the doors and windows while saying that to us. We complied and followed him to his room after dropping off the loot to others, then sat on the couch opposite to him. Our dust-covered bodies clearly showed that we had encountered something or went somewhere dusty, however, we clearly prioritized safety over pioneering, so going somewhere unknown is very unlikely, hence the dust being both evidence with and against us. ¡®With¡¯ as in ¡®we actually encountered something/went somewhere dusty¡¯ and against as in ¡®we faked it.¡¯, but the latter is highly unlikely, since we don¡¯t win anything from doing so. ¡°Now then, I¡¯d like you to tell me everything, in details.¡± He emphasized on ¡®details¡¯ using gestures. I stayed silent and let Al do the speaking, since he was the most calm out of the 3, and he did explain well, just as expected. ¡°I see.. I guess it was true after all.. The Dual Eagles and the Whips are fighting.¡± Concluded Roland. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Asked the confused Oscar. ¡°A while ago, a couple of people who seemed to be injured came to us, and they told a story similar to your own, except that they knew who the fighting sides were.¡± Answered Roland. ¡°But, which side is which?¡± I asked. ¡°The helicopters are the Dual Eagles, the vans are the Whips, and those people came from being captives of the Whips to being escapees.¡± ¡°..Captives?¡± I tried my best to look surprised. ¡°Yes, but that is as much as they know. Why they got caught and where they were going is not something they know.¡± We all stayed silent, pondering, until Roland sighed. ¡°All of you should go rest, today was hectic, and I might need you soon. So, get your rest, I¡¯ll call when you are needed. Dismissed.¡± And with that, he ended our little meeting. But, just as I was going to stand up, Roland held my shoulder, as if telling me to stay put, so I did. We waited until everyone was out of the room before he started talking.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So your power is ¡®Super Strength¡¯, hmm?¡± He smirked. ¡°Yeah, but I never had the chance to use it.¡± ¡°How strong?¡± He changed his wording, ¡°I mean, what are its limits, do you feel fatigued after using it, is there a limit to what you can carry?¡± Interrupting him, I said ¡°You know, this is the first time I used it. How am I supposed to know?¡± I used a logical argument instead of using the ¡®my power is a secret¡¯ type of argument, causing him to close his mouth. ¡°..Alright then, you can go now.¡± He waved me off. I sighed inwardly as I closed the door, then walked towards my room. The people that were feeling a bit safer started getting tense, their appearances and faces were there as if acknowledging my words, but it is more about how they act, and unsurprisingly, they are not freaking out. Why it is ¡®unsurprising¡¯ is due to the living conditions that we are in right now. Everyone is on the edge, a monster could come and destroy the city with ease, or resources could run out, and no one is taking the fact that how they live is for granted, they must work hard and never let their guard down in these days, otherwise one little accident will ruin us all. Only by talking with others and sharing their burdens will they be able to stay sane, this is why in a community, teamwork, social abilities and a charismatic leader are they keys that opens the treasure chest of a life with a breather. Anyhow, since I made my way towards my room (shop), I¡¯m currently laying on the bed while viewing ¡®Blessing in The Forest¡¯. Of course, I¡¯m making sure that while doing so, my perception abilities will detect anyone that is about to enter, as it is very strange how I got such a painting out of nowhere. Melancholic feelings filled me as I was reminded for how long I¡¯ll stay away from Rain, as well as the fact that it has been over 3 months since I had last seen my parents in person, and those thoughts kept filling me with worry by the day. ¡°Haha..¡± A hollow laugh came out of my mouth as I put away the painting. Nothing could be done by worrying. Only work will produce results, and that means I have to find my parents as soon as possible. And only one place comes to mind when I think of leaving the city, which is going to the summer house. Problem is, they¡¯d have to pass by the city ruled by the Whips, which are making me worried with their ¡®Female Only¡¯ policy. I¡¯m also interested in how the Dual Eagles were able to obtain helicopters. Either they were part of the military, or a power to create machines just like Norman. Sitting up from the bed, I decided to go and have lunch, since we go out early in the morning for sunlight is the only good source of light around here. While the moonlight also works, I¡¯ve heard that many monsters lurk around at night, hence the rarity of night missions. Not to mention that our group isn¡¯t in dire need of anything at the moment, further decreasing the chance of night missions. After passing by a few shops, I reached my destination: the Whisperer¡¯s Restaurant, housed by our very own ¡®Cook¡¯ powered woman, Ilona. Entering through the decorated wooden door, I was greeted by a high class restaurant where half of the residents are currently eating. Finding an empty seat next to one of my acquaintances, I greeted and sat next to them then ordered for my own food. ¡°Hey, have you actually seen those helicopters?¡± She asked after gulping down her food. ¡°Yeah, they were obliterating the road with bullets - it looked horrible..¡± I said my true feelings. ¡°Hmm, but you know, aren¡¯t the helicopters these days full of electronics? Couldn¡¯t I control them?¡± She thought enthusiastically, but I just shaked my head. ¡°You are barely able to control a mobile phone, why do the impossible?¡± I sighed. ¡°Oh come on, don¡¯t ruin the fun.¡± She admonished. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to do it some day!¡± I chuckled at those words, and quietly waited for my food to get ready. This woman is called Fiona. Many times has she been titled ¡®the princess¡¯ due to her name, but she didn¡¯t find it annoying, in fact, she let anyone call her whatever they liked. Her long, wavy auburn hair coupled with her honey brown eyes and cute face caused her to be one of those women that always had admirers, not to mention her body when she wears a dress, alas, I¡¯ve only seen it once. But, the true story is that she was once a celebrity, an actor if you need specifications, her acting abilities are not so believable as if it were real, she was just a tad bit better at it than most of her rivals, add to that her looks, and voila! You¡¯ve got yourself up in the acting industry. While I was away in the other world, a film was going to be made in this city, but unluckily, they encountered a monster and she, with one of her crew, were the only people to be able to escape, and they wound up inside the mall, just like most of the people here. ¡°Oh, hello Archillies, I guessed it was you since you are the only one that orders this.¡± Speak of the devil, this crew member that escaped with Fiona. ¡°Many thanks.¡± I said as he put down my plates. His name is Jason, with a brown skin, buzzcut hair and two steely black eyes, he became famous for his optimistic expression and ability to remedy people¡¯s feelings. Always there to help those in need of emotional support, everyone in this mall looks at him positively, in the same rank as Roland. Unfortunately, even with his optimistic expression, I can still see beneath it. Sorrow, rage, despair, those feelings battling each other by the moment, and the only way he could stop their rampage is by being with others. He needs to interact with others, to share his burden, just like how they need him to share their own. If no one notices, no one will know, so until now, I was unable to find out the reason for those emotions. Alas, it will all come to light when he decides to free himself from his past. As he left to attend to others customers, I started eating my food, but then I felt the ground shake, and it seems that I¡¯m not the only one who did. Some tried to ignore it and continued eating slowly, but soon, the loudspeaker roared ¡°Everyone! Emergency, all who can fight come to the roof!¡± Roland¡¯s voice echoed, making me quickly ingest the food and run to the rooftop. My heart beat slowly and calmly, until what happened on the roof..
=====Vol 2 Chap 14 end=====
Vol 2 : Chapter 15 =====Vol2 Chap 15===== Calamities descend suddenly and out of nowhere, this is the reason they are called calamities: no one is able to predict when and what they come as. However, I would have been able to avoid such a calamity, by exposing myself, not keeping secrets like the coward I was. Alas, one came to learn such lessons too late. When I legged myself to the roof, black gaseous beings floated around, devouring people as if someone had bathed them in acid. Their skins melted and soon came their muscles, all up until there wasn¡¯t a single speck of the person left. I didn¡¯t stand there and stare blankly, trying my best to use any magic to heal my fellow companions, but that further increased their screams, as they experienced the horrifying feeling of being melted once again. I wasn¡¯t sure enough of using flames to the point where it will only burn out the strange beings, so I tried everything else: wind, water, earth, and even pure mana - yet none of them worked. Hopeless, this was the first time I had such a feeling, but I wasn¡¯t about to let it take over me; however, the only method that I hadn¡¯t tried was fire, so I just let it out. Flames swirled around me before moving from person to person, orbiting around them like planets, burning out the gaseous beings. At the same time, I kept healing the people since their bodies are being burned rather than melted, up until all the gaseous beings vanished, in their place were my flaming orbs, but rather than being of a red-orange colour, it turned pure white. I tried dissipating them, but it was of no use, making me sigh as I stare at the mess in front of me. There were 20 fighters in our group, 12 had come up, yet only 5 survived, causing my heart to ache, alas, I am unable to revive anyone other than myself, and even then I still need a body. Ignoring my feelings, I started scanning over the survivors, finding Roland laying on the ground, eyes closed. As I moved over towards him, his eyes twitched momentarily before opening up, with me crouched right beside him. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked him worriedly, but he replied with silence. His eyes flickered around, glancing at everything around him before focusing onto me, then he sat up. ¡°How many are alive?¡± He asked bitterly, knowing that many had died, yet he needs confirmation. ¡°5 out of the 12 that came up. Sorry, this was the best I could do..¡± I lowered my head. He frowned, before opening his eyes wide, ¡°I couldn¡¯t see much; I only saw parts of the battle, but.. Was that magic I saw coming out of you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I replied, proudly. ¡°..Thank you.¡± He stood up, but his legs went limp, making him fall back down next to me. Worriedly, I picked him up and throwed his arm over my shoulder, supporting him as we entered the building. ¡­ 2 days after the incident, we were on the rooftop, mourning those who bravely rushed towards the roof before dying in such a terrifying manner. Men and women of all ages were gathered around the graves, grieving in pain for those who fell. In those months, everyone formed connections; they got to know each other better and made relationships of all kinds, there were those of who passed that had adopted children whose parents had died at the first invasion, others became lovers that would seemingly never betray each other. Ultimately, what everyone remembered is that we aren¡¯t ready for calamities, and never will we be, because.. We are living in one. The current situation isn¡¯t about heeding the rules or the laws, nor is it about making money to live better. Instead, it is about survival, and the best way to survive in an apocalyptic situation is by being in a large group.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Not to mention, the fact that ¡®survival¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean food and water; we have much to keep us living for months, even without the gardening we do, but we even have to watch out for monsters that roam around and strike out of nowhere. Yes, this is what became of humans now, and because they now know. So, a man mustered up his confidence and shouted, ¡°People! Please listen!¡±, turning all heads toward him. The man, Roland, continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest: I doubt we will be able to survive alone.¡± He said in a heavy tone. ¡°I do not want to watch all of you die in front of me, and I¡¯m sure you agree with me, so I propose we move out. Out towards the Staves, a faction not hellbent on fighting like the Dual Eagles, nor are they sexist like the Whips, or so they are known as. Nevertheless, they are our only hope, seeing as the bare majority of us are not trained for combat, it seems like a very good idea.¡± He concluded. He went silent for a moment, giving people the chance to ask questions or object, so I took it and said ¡°I have two problems.. On the road, we might encounter monsters, and seeing that we don¡¯t have any vehicles, we will have to walk, not to mention that the last time we heard from them, according to you, was just before I came, so there is a chance that they, well.. You know.¡± He didn¡¯t seem surprised for my reasoning, smiling bitterly before talking, ¡°I get what you mean. I¡¯m not an idiot; I considered those possibilities and I say it is better to try than not. We won¡¯t always be lucky to have some randoms with amazing powers join us. We need to act, otherwise death is what follows.¡± He said, painfully. The group stared at him, some doubtful, some with uncaring eyes, others seemingly having a flame burning in them, but I didn¡¯t continue. What I said was purely out of impulse, but I know that he only wishes for the greater good of the group, so why should I stop him? While the city is tens kilometers away from us, we could walk it in a few days, and the monster activity is not so high as in the beginning, thus being not so bad of an idea. ¡°I agree. Let us move from here.¡± I said my consent. ¡°Alright, until the end of the day, I¡¯ll wait if anyone wants to object; however, if not then the plan goes as follows: tomorrow we prepare and package all our travelling equipment, and after tomorrow we embark south.¡± As if those words marked the end of today¡¯s ¡®meeting¡¯, the people scattered, some of which kept standing at the graves, tears falling down, hands clenched, or laughing hollowly. One of them was Roland, moving from grave to grave, and in the meantime I decided to wait for him. Once he finished and was on his way back inside, I followed him to the library, becoming alone. ¡°Roland, I.. always had an ability from the start, but I hid it up until now. Sorry, if I used it before, we could have-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think you could have done, but either way, no one knew that those monsters would have came at that exact moment.¡± He interrupted. ¡°And about your ability..¡± He massaged his temples, ¡°While I knew something was off about you not having a ¡®power¡¯, I didn¡¯t mind since no problems came out of not knowing it.¡± Unconsciously, I bit my lip. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a stroll around the place. Let¡¯s hope nothing happens today.¡± I left the room to do just as I said: stroll around and at the same time constructing a small barrier. ¡®This will be the last time such an unexpected thing happens,¡¯ I promised myself such words and hoped to live up to it, however¡­ ¡­ On a bright sunny day, we marched at a brisk pace to reach our destination : the city called Basmantic. A city that lays by a river that stretches across the country; its weather particularly cool by summer standards, and its citizens loved by most. In the past, I was born there before moving away to the city now in ruin, for reasons such as high density and expensive living. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t have been destroyed by the time we show up, otherwise we may have huge problems that, in the very end, I could solve. ¡°¡®Tis truly a harsh road without any vehicles, huh. Thankfully we haddn¡¯t met any monsters yet, eh?¡± A man mumbled next to me. ¡°Yeah, it is actually surprising-¡± I stopped midway as I noticed massive amounts of magical power seeping from the land next to me, so I moved my head quickly to view what was happening. Seeing my sudden movements, the man moved his head in the same direction before chuckling nervously, ¡°Me and my big mouth..¡± A humongous, dark castle rose from the ground, emitting a menacing aura and somehow darkening the weather around it, filling it with not so dense fog that represents a scary yet gloomy atmosphere. On the walls, however, gathered people that seem similar to the beastmen tribes, some of which look like the lion-man, others look like the bunny princess from before - possessing a human-like body with features like ears and tails (which I¡¯m guessing the latter since I¡¯m unable to see through walls.) ¡°Move quickly!¡± Shouted Roland from the front of the group, causing everyone to increase speed. Honestly, seeing a castle growing out of the ground is both fascinating and creepy, but I¡¯m leaning more towards fascinating. ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Ignore it!¡± Encouraged Roland even more, before an ice glacier appeared in the sky, covering the sun. ¡°Oh, lord.¡± Those were the last words heard before the glacier hit the castle, causing massive explosion, with a booming sound following after it¡­ ¡­
=====Vol 2 Chap 15 end=====
Vol 2 : Chapter 16 =====Vol 2 Chap 16===== Out of instinct, I conjured out a barrier to surround our group, protecting us from the debris soon to drop on us. The dust from the explosion was, if anything, very self-descriptive of the power of such a glacier, having taken down more than half of the sturdy walls. The shock from the explosion preceded the debris, causing a dull yet clear sound to resound out of the barrier, which shook violently. Some people hugged themselves in fright, others crouched on the ground before slowly turning their heads after noticing that it was safe to some extent. Unconsciously, I frowned my brows due to the sudden appearance of the glacier. Who and how could such a huge thing appear out of nowhere? While I haven¡¯t tried it myself, and am unable to give a point of comparison, I¡¯m quite confident that it must take a huge amount of mana, or an immensely strong Power to do such a thing, I haven¡¯t noticed any fluctuations of mana nor any person close to the castle. Alas, unless I break away from the group, I am unable to prove any of my deductions, but, at the very least, whomever did such a thing has a high chance of being a friendly, so I turned my head towards the shivering people. ¡°Move, the barrier won¡¯t be able to hold for long.¡± I lied, but it was effective enough to get their legs moving. Few kept glancing back in fear, looking through the near-transparent blue barrier towards the castle, but Roland turned their attentions away when that happened. Thankfully, we moved away far enough that the castle got out of our view, making several people sigh in relief. As for me, I kept the barrier up for a few more minutes before turning it off. Just as I did so, a headache blasted through my head, without any prior warnings. Not once had it happened before, but I could also feel mana draining out of me in massive amounts. Feeling dizzy, I felt my legs give out, but I was fortunately caught by Fiona, causing her to look at me worriedly. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°O-of course.. I-¡± I tried to reply; however, it was at that moment that I blacked out. ¡­ Darkness surrounded me, but different was how I would describe it. The usual darkness made me feel uneasy yet it was harmless, yet this one felt less empty and more alarming. I tried moving through like normal, but no matter where I went, it all felt the same, if not worse. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something in the darkness. Something weaving through just like me, but it seemed as if it were... Smiling? The body¡¯s shape was impossible to deduce, but the only thing clear enough was its face, to some extent. I tried reaching out to it, but as soon as it noticed me, its smile grew wider, making me freeze in my place as it muttered words, reminding me of my first experiences from world travelling¡­ You are not in control. The words didn¡¯t come out, but its lips did all the work. Out of panic, I tried casting magic at it, yet nothing came out except the headache, seemingly stronger than the one I experienced before falling unconscious. Its smile devolved into a snicker, then it walked away, diving into the darkness beyond. My body shivered, unable to discern the reason. Why? Why.. am I feeling afraid? I tried snapping myself out of it to no avail, up until I woke up, my breath unsurprisingly erratic. ¡­ I was greeted by constant shaking with a sweaty odor sticking onto me, causing me to flinch at the sudden smell. Once my eyes were opened, I noticed a burly man giving me a piggyback, his name was Oscar. My brief movement didn¡¯t go unnoticed by him, causing the shaking to stop suddenly. ¡°You awake?¡± His rough voice echoed in the darkness of the night, attracting many of the survivors attention. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked quickly with worry clearly laced on my words. He didn¡¯t answer, but instead slowly lowered me down till I was able to stand up, not without wobbly legs. Confusion ran down my face as I felt the lack of mana inside me, or at least the huge decrease in amount and inability to regenerate it. I quietly summoned a ball of fire, but it seemed to be horrifyingly weaker than normal. Then I remembered, just before I blacked out, I felt mana gush out of me like a dam had been broken, but I was sure that I sealed off any parts where mana might leak. It was a basic thing to do to become a mage, but having the seal break was completely outside of my expectations. Suddenly, I crashed into a solid object. Staring at it, it turned out to be a tree, yet I clearly remember my country having no forests at all, causing my confusion to spread out. ¡°Umm.. Where¡¯s Roland?¡± I asked Oscar who was walking next to me, but he just shrugged, and I sighed in response.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Out of curiosity, I tried to open my main menu, but it wasn¡¯t working. I blinked, my head starting to hurt. What is happening to me? A headache started ringing in my head, causing me to wince from the pain. A short idea came to my head, and I needed to test whether it was true or not, so I grabbed a nearby tree with one hand and tried pulling it out fully, being sure that I could have pulled many times its weight. Thankfully, it seems that my strength wasn¡¯t affected, then a sigh of relief escaped my mouth. Oscar stared at my arm with a gaping mouth, reminding me to drop down the tree and keep following the group. Today was a hectic day, and I¡¯m sure we need to reach our destination as soon as possible, cause I won¡¯t be able to protect them in this state, nor will they trust me to do so. Life is precious, as such they won¡¯t entrust it so easily to others, especially in such a harsh time where people will start adopting the law of the jungle, and I don¡¯t doubt some have already did so¡­ ¡­ We ran. With barely any mana to throw spells at the chasing goblin riders, we ran to the nearest settlement, now unfortunately in ruins, in hopes of temporary shelter and a chance for me to go out with Ki blazing. If not for the fact that they wouldn¡¯t target me alone and head for the others as well, I would have already jumped into the horde, but alas. Each group of survivors went out in sixes, with at least one fighter with them, and split up in hopes of confusing the goblins. As for me, I yelled out a war cry while throwing debris from all around me, and the sound of ground meat following soon after. Thankfully that grabbed some of their attention, but not all. I sighed and dashed into the horde with a Corromium greatsword in hand, slashing as quick as possible without bothering to dodge or block any of their attacks due to my confidence in my stats, which I am currently unable to access. Cries and howls came from the goblins and their wolf mounts respectively, but I couldn¡¯t care less. No matter what, I won¡¯t make the same mistake as before and hold back. I must end this quick and check up on the survivors. I must. The unending horde kept running at me after the death of a hundred of their species, hellbent on revenge, but also from the fear of being the ones dying next. My death would mean the end of the group, and they know that well. It wasn¡¯t until an hour had passed that the last one standing was no more, and it was then that I noticed the exhaustion my body was experiencing. Fatigue made my steps heavy, and it didn¡¯t help that it was quite a long walk before I was at any of the buildings that the survivors hid in, so I decided it would be for the best if I sat down and started Ki Meditation, which I had never used outside of training due to the abundant mana I had. So I sat in a lotus position and started meditating. I hoped for the survivors¡¯ safety, doing my best to meditate so I could check on them sooner. Never would I have realized how people lacking mana would feel so helpless, but I pushed that thought away in favor of a more efficient meditation.. ... It had been several hours since Archillies¡¯s charge into the horde. No riders were seen after the first half hour, but the same could also be said of Archillies. The survivors were cautious for as long as they were in this ruin of a building, nevertheless I couldn¡¯t do anything but encourage. ¡°Roland, I think we should send someone to check, otherwise we will stay here forever.¡± A woman complained, sick of waiting. ¡°Alright. One more hour, if not, we are moving.¡± I said. She nodded and went to comfort the children in the group, while I stared out of the window, vigilant of any movements.. ¡­ Meditation was an incredible idea, but after a few hours I started feeling horror. Horror of what, I didn¡¯t know, but it kept me shaky and unable to continue meditating. It was all well and good at the start. Mana was refilling, my body was healing, and my headache was fading. But.. I shook my head and stopped reminding myself as I walked into the ruins till I was able to sense some of the survivors. I called them out and they responded near instantly, rushing out of the buildings and grouping up. One after another, the whole group was reunited, but before we were to leave, we had to scavenge since our supplies were running out. Our group was large, not in the sense of hundreds, but about 30 people large. Half of which could barely do anything as they were children. It took us a few hours, and we were able to find a few unlooted shops and mini markets. With all the resources and happier mood, we set off on our destination, hope filling our hearts, mine included. Only a few hours later did night dawn on us, so we set up camp. The stars shone clearer than before the time I left this world, and the cackling of wood filled the air. ¡°Hungry?¡± Asked Roland as he held out a granola bar. ¡°I guess..¡± I opened the wrap and took a bite. We sat next to each other in silence, the wooden stools giving us as much comfort as could be in this time around. ¡°This.. This is a harsh time to be living in.¡± Muttered Roland with a tired voice. ¡°I agree, but there is hope. In two more days we will find a community to take us, no longer having to be on the run!¡± ¡°Do you believe that? That we can keep moving on?¡± ¡°I guess?¡± ¡°I just.. Feel exhausted, constantly worrying over the people and having to guide them.. Then there''s you, and I have a premonition something is going wrong with those powers of yours. You just.. Never seemed so tired and restless before.¡± ¡°I don''t know. Ever since that time I fell unconscious after the glacier fell I''ve been feeling dread.¡± I looked up at the sky, feeling as if I''m being watched. ¡°I¡­ Don''t know, but we will try our best together.¡± He smiled. I nodded with the hope that we continue on till the end. The granola bar was finished, and so came the end of the conversation. In the meantime I tried my best to meditate and feel out the mana surrounding me. A lot seemed to be gathered around Roland, while the ambient mana in the air was practically invisible. Compared to the amount of mana I stored, the ambient mana in the air was only a few times higher than what I had when I first gained the System. That made a lot of sense, actually. If the concentration of mana inside me was too much compared to the world, some of it would have had to escape. I sighed then stood up, deciding to search for any monsters to let out some stress. Or maybe try and fix my mana issue, as it seemed that my ability to block out escaping mana was not as good as I thought.. ¡­ =====Vol 2 Chap 16 end=====