《The Brooding Storm》 Prologue Everything stood still. Gods and devils alike lay scattered around the floor. Those still standing frozen in animation as they charged against an army of unspeakable horrors and magical constructs. In between all this chaos a woman and a grotesque being stared at each other. The woman was the definition of beauty with lustrous white hair, a dress shining as the starry sky and a gorgeously decorated blindfold as if nothing was worth to come under her gaze. Opposite of her was a tall, slender and slightly hunched creature wrapped in a cloak of darkness. Its head was a skull of a ram with four dangerous looking horns and tentacles growing out of the back of it. Its spine and ribcage that its body rattled as it clenched its badly bandaged skeletal fists. A shriek seemed to wake it from its thoughts as a humanoid silhouette, that had wanted to escape from the dark mist that was its prison, was dragged back by the twigs that adorned the entity¡¯s cloak. The being broke eye contact to glimpse at the person in the women¡¯s arms. The man had a buff build littered with scars, which spoke of the many battles he¡¯d been in. His handsome, bearded face together with his medium-length blonde hair gave him a heroic look, while his carefully detailed clothes gave him an air of nobility. The creature gave the woman a sorrowful look before speaking with a deep echoing voice. ¡°sO yOU DId tHIs fOr Him?¡± Blood started flowing out of the skull¡¯s eye sockets. ¡°wHY? WAs i nOT EnOuGH?¡± The woman thought for a moment before answering. ¡°I love him, so I will be with him forever no matter the cost. Go now and don¡¯t come back, I¡¯d rather not do something I¡¯m going to regret.¡± The being stared at her with a disbelieving look before its thunderous voice made creation itself tremble. ¡°YOU BETRAYED ME, BROKE OUR AGREEMENT AND STOLE FROM ME AND STILL HAVE THE GUTS TO THREATEN ME? WILL YOU REGRET WHEN I RIP YOUR HEROE¡¯S HEAD OF HIS SHOULDERS?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not a hero anymore. He¡¯s a god. The god of fate.¡± The entity slumped to the ground as the fierce look he had a second ago was replaced by a devastated one. ¡°yes, that¡¯s right. he¡¯s a god now. fate huh? that¡¯s what you created with those stolen aspects. time, soul and luck to shackle all. i see it now.¡± He gave the woman one last heart-broken look before turning around. ¡°SO bE It. aS yoU SHackLe THe mORTaLs tO A FuTUrE thEy CaN¡¯t iNflUEnCe, I wiLL ShaCkLe YoU AnD yOUr sERvAntS tO ThIs pLaCE.¡± The woman, Omnya, could only watch as her now ex-husband vanished into the distance.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. --- --- --- Thoa looked at the world he¡¯d lived his entire life on and had sworn to protect. As the champion of the All-Mother and hero of mankind he had fought many battles. He had helped with the unification of all humans under the flag of the Empire, by ending racism against humans with non-human traits such as different skin color or additional body parts, such as a tail or a third eye. Textbooks would say that he did this by breaking up race-only zones and getting officials work with the motto ¡¯when everyone is different, no one is¡¯, but he knew that the biggest factor was giving humanity a new enemy with ¡¯The Circle¡¯. The Circle was an alliance of magical races held together by a council, and at that point in time was thought to be vastly more powerful than the Empire as they not only controlled two of the five continents while they only had one, but had the technological advantage too. He had asked his goddess why they didn¡¯t conquer one of the other two continents first before starting a war against a superior enemy, but had only gotten the answer that they were ¡¯uninhabitable¡¯ and that humanity had nothing to fear as they had the gods on their side. Later on, he would realize that this description was not entirely accurate just that one continent was inhabited by a bunch of war hungry races while the other was inhabited by powerful creatures where one slight misstep would get you killed. So, they started a war against the Circle¡­ and lost miserably. While it was true that they had the gods on their side, so did the Circle have their own and they were vastly more powerful. The Elder Gods, unspeakable horrors, grotesque both in body and mind and the Legion, an immortal army of magical constructs, fighting, thinking and existing as one. Escaping back to the Empire, his goddess sent him on a new quest. To become stronger, worthy of his title as her champion, attain godhood and strike back at those foul creatures that had once barred his way. So, with a party consisting of him and the other three heroes that lived through, what would later be called, the battle for Uros, he set forth on his quest. In the following years he had learned a lot about the world and its inhabitants and helped where he could. He set up a project to rid the warring continent Coga of its hostile races, helped the new arrivals to this world at the sea of beginnings and researched the continent of mysteries Garo. But the other three heroes grew tired of the constant fighting and traveling, and thus left. Left alone Thoa became closer to his goddess the All-Mother and they began to develop feelings for each other, which ended with him being materialized in her realm and a night he would never forget. Now a couple, the goddess Omnya wanted him to attain godhood immediately, which was impossible as he needed vastly more power and an aspect he could call his own. Omnya, deeply in love, did what had gotten them in the mess they were now in. She forcefully promoted him to godhood and stole aspects of her husband, the Old-One, to craft him the aspect of fate. Which brought him back to the present. Gods and devils alike were imprisoned in this subdimension, everyone trying to escape was ripped to shreds by an Elder God named Mok¡¯wa, a giant hydra with nonfinite heads which governed space. Omnya had tried to wound one of its two main heads, but her forceful promoting Thoa had weakened her. She was powerless as Mok¡¯wa¡¯s heads hit her, its glowing eyes resembling a meteor shower as Omnya was swallowed by this tide. Thoa sighed. Weakened and now deeply wounded Omnya had fallen into a deep slumber, leaving him as her husband as the leader of all gods and devils. He wanted revenge. Revenge against the Elder Gods and the Legion for barring his way at Uros and supporting his wife¡¯s ex-husband, the Circle for worshiping them and first but foremost the ex-husband himself, of which he still didn¡¯t know the name. A rather impossible task considering his current situation. So, it dawned on him. He needed power. Humanity needed power. And he had the perfect aspect to get it without getting his hands dirty. His lips curved into a grin. ¡°Wait for me and I will rip you apart limb from limb.¡± Thoa looked back at the world he¡¯d lived his entire life on as his grin slipped from his lips. ¡°That is YOUR fate.¡± Chapter 1 Alyssa smiled as she slowly drifted through what she could only describe as the void. No colors, no contrasts. Indescribable and, if you would ask Alyssa, the most beautiful sight she could ask for. A blank canvas waiting to be painted on and yet an already finished painting. A glimpse of ultimate freedom. Itself emotionless and yet bringing forth a riot of emotion in the beholder. She loved this dream and didn¡¯t want it to end but¡­ Alyssa grumbled as her alarm clock woke her from her dream. Well, more like a memory than a dream. She sighed and turned the alarm off before looking around the chaos she called her room, coming to rest at a grey blob staring at her with big yellow eyes that looked at her with concern. Remembering yesterday¡¯s events, she couldn¡¯t help but hugging her pet-slime Pebbles before breaking out in tears. Everything Alyssa wanted was to get praise from her grandfather, Henrey ¡¯Godshot¡¯ Barkas, who was revered as one of the five heroes that came forward at the time of the ¡¯transmigration¡¯ 15 years ago. But that was easier said than done, as her grandfather only seemed to have eyes for her younger brother, who he had appointed as his heir shortly after their mother¡¯s death and the subsequent self-exile of her father. Her brother got all the training materials he needed, whereas she was left with the scraps and even that got less and less. To combat her lack of training materials she worked hard, harder than everybody in her age group, which got her the respect and friendship of many of the other 4 clans. But all her hard work amounted in nothing. She had participated and won in 15 different tournaments to show her grandfather the results of her hard work. Her grandfather didn¡¯t even flinch as her trophies, prizes and the greatsword, she proudly bought with the prizemoney, went up in flames. Alyssa had been at a loss at what to do, standing there watching as her spoils and with it the dream of getting her grandfather¡¯s recognition burned down. And she still didn¡¯t know what to do now, all she wanted was to be praised, to prove her worth to her grandfather and subsequently her family. Well, getting ready for training would be a start. She put Pebbles to the side as she got her training-gear ready. Clothed in a worn down leather armor and with an old backpack on her shoulders she left the family estate. Normally she would eat breakfast with the rest of the family by now, but she didn¡¯t want to show them how badly yesterday affected her.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Getting a cereal bar out of her backpack, she set out for the training field on the outskirts of the city. Pebbles looked back at the mansion with a reproachful look, then followed her. --- --- --- Henry sat at the dinner table eating breakfast and looking through documents. His workload had tripled when the people from the Empire had shown up. Trade negotiations, accommodations for the ambassadors, cultural exchange programs, all things that he had to organize additionally to his already existing workload. Before all this he had been a retired policeman and an enthusiastic bow hobbyist, the latter helping him considerably after the Transmigration. When humanity was at its lowest he was one of the few that intuitively walked on a path of power, and one of five who walked on two simultaneously. The four paths of power were ways to grow stronger over the limits of the human body ad were categorized in cultivation, sorcery, laws and knighthood. Cultivation and sorcery, the paths Henry had, were both paths of qi. Cultivation was the path of the body, empowering it and gaining control over one¡¯s slightest movements, while sorcery was the path of the mind, discovering your elemental affinities and gaining control over them. After the situation had calmed down he had gotten the nickname ¡¯Godshot¡¯, because of his superb marksmanship and his affinity for light magic. Henry had been a bit overwhelmed when he suddenly had to organize millions of people, of which the majority wanted to join his ¡¯clan¡¯, an idea one of the other heroes had popularized. His clan, now over 2000 people strong, was what most of his time was spent on. Getting training materials, resolving disputes and keeping the different factions happy that had formed over the years. The most important thing however was raising an heir. Without someone who could lead the clan in the future when he was no more, the balance he achieved between the factions would be forcefully broken. His three sons were inadequate seeing as one had not yet unlocked a path, one only thought about partying, and one had self-exiled himself. So, he had appointed his grandson Thomas as his heir. In his opinion a bright boy who had an extraordinary talent for the path of cultivation, but more importantly was that he had a knack for the field of politics and was a natural born leader. Which got him to his current predicament. While his grandson was extraordinary his granddaughter was something else entirely. She was a genius on the path of knighthood and sorcery, controlling three elements with wind, water and thunder. Far scarier was her path as knight however. Knights etched runes, mystical symbols that gave you supernatural powers by changing your body, into their mindscape and upgraded them with time. Runes could be obtained as a reaction to adapt to an environment or could be learned if the rune was simple enough. Henry didn¡¯t know how but Alyssa had learned the rune for ¡¯Adaptability¡¯ which made the highly versatile path even more powerful. To be honest, he feared what she would be capable of in a few years and other people had taken notice of her too. One of his clan¡¯s faction leaders had even openly verbalized his support for her taking up the seat of clan heir instead of her brother. Henry shook his head. He didn¡¯t know what was going on in his granddaughter¡¯s head, having to show off her power and accomplishments before the whole clan, but if she continued the clan would inevitably split over his inheritance. Anger seemed to well up in him as a thought creeped into his head. ¡°She will destroy everything you¡¯ve done. Get rid of her.¡± Taking a deep breath Henry banished these dark thoughts and focused back on work. Chapter 2 Alyssa caught her breath. As usual she was the first one to show up, except for the trainer Dinesh who probably lived here. She looked back at the city Dvorhaven. Dvorhaven was a city for the rich and powerful and looked that way. The buildings were adorned with expensive looking statues and other decorations, each one seemingly wanting to one-up the competition. Many people had protested that it didn¡¯t make sense to have all the powerful people in one place, only to fall on deaf ears. Alyssa almost screamed out as something jumped at her, pushing her to the ground. She needed a second to focus on the person on top of her. The girl had wild red hair that was bound into a ponytail, to questionable success. Her freckles added to her wild, unruly look while her large green eyes almost seemed to glow with life. This was Alexandra Crow, the daughter of Bran ¡¯Smith¡¯ Crow one of the five heroes, her best friend. Alex smiled at Alyssa. ¡°Lyssy, you look like shit. Partied the whole night after you impressed your gramps, hmm? You could¡¯ve at least invited me dipshit.¡± Alyssa didn¡¯t really know what to say which created an awkward silence. It needed a second before Alex caught up on what was happening. ¡°He WAS impressed, right?¡± Alyssa had to swallow her tears as she answered. ¡°He burn- hic -burned it all. The trophies, the money, everything.¡± Alex froze up for a second before hugging Alyssa. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t¡­ didn¡¯t know what¡­ shit.¡± They lay in that position until they heard a squeak of protest coming from the side. Turning to the side they saw a displeased Pebbles forming two stubby arms and holding them out for a hug. Both couldn¡¯t help but smile and jumped at the little grey slime for a group hug. They stopped when Dinesh left his small cabin. ¡°Morning. Seem to be quite energetic today eh? Before I forget it, we¡¯re getting guests today. So, please be nice. Especially you Alexandra.¡± Alex dropped her smile and replaced it with a pout. ¡°It¡¯s not me, it¡¯s them! I told you often enough, if they stopped ogling my Lyssy there would be far less ¡¯accidents¡¯.¡± Dinesh raised his brow and began a staring contest with Alex. To Alyssa it seemed as sparks flew between them as the tension slowly rose. She stood up to mediate but before she could step in Dinesh sighed and broke eye contact. ¡°You won. I tell the guests that messing with Alyssa is bad idea, but please avoid detaching any limbs this time, ok? It¡¯s bad for my report and the healing mages have sent several complaints that it¡¯s a shit ton of work to reattach limbs that had been literally ripped off.¡± Alex hugged Pebbles as she answered in an accusatory voice. ¡°That was only one time and he deserved it for touching her butt. Goddamn pervert. That butt is mi¡­¡± Alex couldn¡¯t finish her sentence as her head was buried in the dirt. The perpetrator¡¯s, Alyssa¡¯s, face was deep red while trying to hide behind her hands.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Alex god damn it! Say that one more time and I tell Yakov that you have a crush on him.¡± Alex, who had just gotten the dirt off her face snapped her head back at her. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Seemingly annoyed, Dinesh interrupted them both. ¡°If you guys are done you could start training. As I¡¯ve said, we¡¯ll be getting guests today and I doubt you want to embarrass yourself before them. So, get on with it.¡± Before turning around and going back to his hut. Alyssa, feeling better after their banter, grabbed Alex and stepped towards a rack full of training weapons. She grabbed a greatsword out of light blue metal with dulled edges and turned back to Alex. Turning around she was confronted with Alex¡¯s still sulking face, which in turn made her giggle. ¡°That was a joke idiot. As if I¡¯d tell him. Come on, get a weapon and get ready or I¡¯ll whoop your ass.¡± Taking two daggers off the rack, Alex followed Alyssa to a free spot and got into battle stance. Looking Alyssa deep into her eyes Alex couldn¡¯t help but grin. ¡°We¡¯ll see who gets his ass beaten.¡± Alex vanished, making Alyssa go on alert. Alyssa tried making out Alex location with her ¡°True Sight¡±-rune, but had to observe that Alex¡¯s ¡°Invisibility¡± had grown stronger yet again. Before she could try something else she felt movement to her right. Getting ready to block she made a slight step back but seemed to trip over something. In falling she hit in the direction she had perceived the motion before and made a backwards-roll to lessen the fall. Getting up Alyssa looked at the dagger she had hit out of the air. Realizing that the dagger was a distraction so that Alex could attack her from behind she first felt impressed, then angry and finally confused. Impressed at the maneuver, then angry that Alex just tripped her instead of using a real attack, and finally confused when she noticed that everything didn¡¯t seem to add up. If Alex tripped me she must¡¯ve been faster than the dagger while being as silent as possible, plus she wouldn¡¯t give up a win so easily. Something¡¯s wrong. Alyssa used her wind sorcery to ¡¯feel¡¯ the space around her and found the difference immediately. ¡°You can solidify air? Neat little trick you added to your repertoire.¡± Hearing a displeased snort in front of her Alyssa couldn¡¯t help but giggle. She tried to feel her surroundings one more time but was disrupted when she felt Alex attacking her from behind. Turning around she barely blocked the dagger before she was pushed back. Alex, whose invisibility had worn off after the attack, grinned before pulling out a second dagger. ¡°You get to easily distracted Lyssy.¡± Seeing the second strike come at her, Alyssa thought about her options. Blocking was impossible as the first dagger was still locked with her sword and dodging could be countered with Alex new trick so Alyssa¡¯s only option was to go on the offensive. She pushed forward while sending electricity through her sword. While it had not enough power to hurt Alex, it brought her off balance which in combination with her push made Alex fall backwards. When Alex realized what just happened she already lay on the ground with a swordtip directly before her face. Alyssa grinned at Alex¡¯s lost expression. ¡°And you are as overconfident as ever.¡± She put her sword away and held her hand out to Alex. ¡°But neat new tricks you have there. Nothing a knight could learn so you¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, those were low-level spells. Learned the path of law a few weeks ago and tested what I could do. It isn¡¯t official yet but I¡¯m now a rank 1 magus.¡± Alyssa helped Alex up and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Congrats. What did your family say? Your father must be overjoyed.¡± Alex blushed. ¡°Well¡­ they don¡¯t know yet¡­ I wanted to show it off when I got better at it. As you¡¯ve seen I can¡¯t use spells very well yet.¡± Alyssa raised her brow at that. ¡°How? To me it seemed that you could use them pretty well. You just don¡¯t want to embarrass yourself in front of your father, you have to get over your inferiority complex.¡± Alex seemed to grow slightly angry at that. ¡°Says the right person. It¡¯s hard to live up to expectations when you¡¯re the daughter of a ¡¯hero¡¯, you should know that. And especially you when you always try impress that waste of a¡­¡± Alex was cut short when a young blonde man with radiant blue eyes interrupted them. He would give one an impression of a knight in shining armor¡­ if he wouldn¡¯t be half a head shorter than Alyssa and Alex. This was Yakov, a friend of both Alyssa and Alex and a talented cultivator. ¡°Girls if you could stop bickering, Dinesh wants to introduce the guests.¡± Only now did the two girls notice that everyone had already shown up and blushed at the thought that everyone had seen them bickering. They both couldn¡¯t help but try to hide their faces out of embarrassment as they moved over to the crowd. Chapter 3 As Alyssa joined the group she could immediately discern which ones the newcomers were. It wasn¡¯t that hard actually as they weren¡¯t what she would call ¡¯human¡¯. Some had differently formed ears, other skin colors, such as green, red and blue, and had additional body parts such as horns or a tail. She wanted to ask about these ¡¯non-humans¡¯, but stopped herself when she realized how racist that sounded. Shortly after the Transmigration people had set their differences aside to secure a safe environment and as such influenced the younger generation. While there were still racists they were in the minority. So, Alyssa thought that while these people looked very different they probably came from the Empire and as such were defined as humans. Calling them non-human would be very disrespectful and very likely anger them. Hear thoughts were for naught thou as Alex commented, ¡±I thought we were hostile with the Circle, so why are there non-humans here?¡± The chattering stopped and everyone stared at Alex with a disbelieving look. Alyssa looked at Dinesh, whose face was rapidly changing colors from his normal tanned look to blue and then finally to full red. Alex seemed confused at all the angry or disbelieving stares directed at her. ¡°What? Did I say something wrong?¡± Dinesh composed himself before answering. ¡°They¡­¡±, Dinesh pointed at the guests, ¡±¡­are HUMANS from the Empire and will be joining in your training today. I hope you get along considering our future cooperation with them regarding safety and technology. Thanks.¡± You could see the look of panic in Alex¡¯s face as the realization hit her. Not knowing what to do Alex stuttered some incomprehensible gibberish before sitting down and moving into a ball-shape. She probably wanted nothing more at the moment than to be swallowed up by the earth and disappear. Alyssa knelt down and patted Alex on the back. ¡°It¡¯s ok. Everyone could have misunderstood, to be honest that was my first thought too. I¡¯m sure they understand.¡± Alex turned to Alyssa, her face distorted as she tried not to cry. Alyssa wanted to soothe Alex further but was interrupted as a large, attractive woman with green skin and an ox tail, probably the gusts teacher, spoke to the group. ¡°Now, if you could split up into groups of two for training battles, preferably so that each person gets a partner from the other country. And for the people from the archipelago, if you could please give it your all from the start as my class is rather strong. We don¡¯t want anyone to get hurt, do we?¡± Alyssa didn¡¯t really know what to do as Alex didn¡¯t seem in the condition to fight. She turned to Dinesh for advice but he just snorted and turned around. She turned to Yakov only to see him pointing to Pebbles, who had begun nudging Alex and making funny faces in an effort to cheer her up. Their predicament was solved when a girl, only half the size of them with a blue bob cut, pointed ears and bright purple eyes, came over. The girl sat down in front of Alex and spoke in a rather soothing voice. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Moyra. Don¡¯t worry about what you said. If I met someone so different from me for the first time I probably would have asked something similar. So, what¡¯s your name?¡± Alex needed a moment to answer, ¡±I¡¯m Alexandra, short Alex.¡± Moyra smiled before turning to Alyssa and Yakov.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯ll keep Alex company, so you two should start looking for a training partner. Don¡¯t worry, I keep the assholes away from her.¡± Alyssa looked deep into Moyra¡¯s eyes in an effort to see the slightest bit of resentment at them but relaxed when she couldn¡¯t find any. She bowed to Moyra as she thanked her which got a laugh out of Moyra. ¡°You don¡¯t have to bow. Didn¡¯t you hear? We will cooperate in the future so it is only natural that we help each other. And don¡¯t worry about Alex, when I¡¯m done with her she¡¯ll be the same idiot, that shouts out her problems for all to hear, that she was before.¡± Yakov couldn¡¯t hold his laugh in, which got him an angry stare from Alex, before he waved and turned around. Alyssa gave Alex a hug before she too walked off to find a partner, a happy Pebbles bouncing behind her. Alyssa looked around. Most people were already partnered up while the rest seemed to shy to ask somebody they didn¡¯t know to team up. She tried to walk over to a rather strong seeming guy when she was stopped in her tracks. A guy with blue skin and red back-combed hair stood in her way, a sinister grin on his face. She sighed as she could already guess that he wanted to ¡¯give her a lesson¡¯ because of her affiliation with Alex. The guy tried to loom over her which didn¡¯t really work considering their similar sizes. ¡°You¡¯re friends with that red-haired bitch?¡± Bingo, she thought before answering with polite smile on her face. ¡°Yes. So, let me guess. You want to show me a lesson for my friend disrespecting you, right? So, lets get this over with.¡± She walked to a free field and got her sword ready, before analyzing her opponent. He used a scythe as weapon, which was in Alyssa¡¯s opinion more of a farming tool than a weapon. Slashing was awkward, the balance was off and if you hit an opponent with something else than the tip it didn¡¯t cut that deep as not the full power was transferred. So not a melee fighter then, Alyssa thought. Maybe the scythe doubles as a wand? Her thoughts were cut short as magical symbols rearranged themselves into a circle. Her opponent gave her an evil grin. ¡°I¡¯d be a shame for you not know the name of the person that beat you into the ground. So, my name is Vasil of the famous Goren family, known for it¡¯s skilled summoners. You bumpkin wouldn¡¯t know, but summoners are a super rare and powerful subclass of mages.¡± Alyssa just rolled her eyes as she knew that he was only buying time for his spell to finish. She charged at him but was stopped when a creature materialized before her. It was a reptile the size of a komodo dragon but looked more like a salamander. Its black scales glistened in the light the fires on its back gave off. Alyssa kicked dirt into the salamander¡¯s eyes before sidestepping to avoid the angry charge of the creature. Just as Alyssa wanted to bring down her blade its exposed side a firebolt smashed into her back. Vasil laughed as a dust cloud spread over the field. ¡°Feel that bitch? That¡¯s what you get for comparing us to those uncivilized, dirty, disgusting monsters. You disgust me you dirty¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t continue as a wind bullet smashed into his chest, sending him flying into the air before he smashed full force into the ground. Vasil needed a moment to realize what happened as adrenaline dulled his pain. Alyssa walked out of the dust cloud, behind her the headless carcass of Vasil¡¯s summon. She observed as the badly wounded Vasil began to scream at the top of his lungs and was impressed that he actually didn¡¯t faint. His right arm was broken and his chest visibly caved in. Seeing that he couldn¡¯t fight anymore she called for Dinesh. She hadn¡¯t thought that Vasil would be so helpless against a single wind bullet that it would seriously wound him but couldn¡¯t bring herself to feel compassion for a guy that had tried so hard to be as unlikable as possible. ¡°IT¡¯S NOT OVER BITCH.¡± Alyssa shook as she felt a large mass of mana being released behind her. She whipped around just to see as a giant, burning, three-headed dog materialized around Vasil¡¯s scythe. She couldn¡¯t move as fear chained her to her place. She closed her eyes as the creature charged at her. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­and waited¡­ ¡­ She opened her eyes as the heat, that had permeated the area moments before, vanished. Before her the massive figure of a dog was struggling against its grey, bubble-shaped prison slowly being turned into mincemeat as blood splattered everywhere. People stopped their fights and watched on in horror at this grueling scene, many of them throwing up at the gory sight. Alyssa, still processing what had just happened, didn¡¯t react as Alex hugged her from behind, tears streaming down her face. ¡°You scared us, you dumb fuck. Are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?¡± Alex¡¯s questioning stopped when she looked in the direction where moments before the giant dog had been and stopped her breath. There standing was a dark red Pebbles holding out his stubby arms for a hug. Chapter 4 Alyssa stood there, not a single coherent thought forming in her head. What had happened? How had her cute Pebbles stopped that ¡¯thing¡¯. Her thoughts were cut short when her body moved on its own to sprint at Pebbles for a big hug. Pebbles gave a satisfied squeak as it was held tight between Alyssa¡¯s arms. As Alyssa was busy hugging Pebbles, Yakov stomped over to Dinesh and the teacher from the Empire. ¡°What the fuck were you doing? How about instead of flirting you do your job and keep the students safe.¡± Dinesh seemed to be lost for words so the other teacher stepped in. ¡°You¡¯re Yakov, right? I¡¯m Irene. You see we weren¡¯t flirting but trading job experiences to teach you better. And regarding the situation, we can¡¯t just stop fights because of minor discrepancies or we¡¯d have to stop every second fight, you see?¡± Yakov¡¯s head went red as he almost seemed to overflow with anger. ¡°¡¯Minor discrepancies¡¯ you say? Everyone could see that he wanted to seriously harm her. Alyssa almost DIED for god¡¯s sake!¡± Irene and several others from the Empire got a serious look when Yakov mentioned the word ¡¯god¡¯ so casually, but before anybody could say anything Vasil, the one who had created all this mess spoke with his head down. ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry. I-I-I didn¡¯t mean to¡­ I wasn¡¯t trying¡­ I just was suddenly so angry and just-just¡­ thought and then¡­ then I¡­¡± The rest was incomprehensible gibberish as Vasil collapsed into a sobbing mess. Moyra came forward, now with a very serious look in her face. ¡°I think we should all calm down for a moment. It¡¯s obvious that something is not right as someone with strategic training and combat experience like Vasil shouldn¡¯t become a hothead from one moment to another. We should send reports to our respective superiors and set an investigative team on this case.¡± While Irene agreed and made her way to the rest of the students to inform that the joint training was over for the moment, Dinesh looked slightly panicked, probably because the granddaughter of one of the heroes almost died under his watch. An official report would mean a demotion and that was the best-case scenario as the clans took such things very seriously. Moyra, seeing Dinesh¡¯s reaction couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense. While it is a rather shitty situation it only happened between two students. It shouldn¡¯t have any effect on the relations between the Empire and you.¡± Both Dinesh and Yakov looked at Moyra like she was an idiot before Yakov answered her with a wry smile. ¡°Yeah sure. It¡¯s not a big problem that a guest of the Empire tried to kill Alyssa Barkas, granddaughter of Henry Barkas. No problem at all. I¡¯m sure that the Barkas clan will just sit back and do nothing.¡± A disbelieving look replaced Moyra¡¯s smile. ¡°Well, shit... What now?¡± Yakov and Dinesh looked at each other then back at Moyra and shrugged their shoulders. ¡°We¡¯re fucked?¡±, commented Dinesh to what Yakov just scoffed. ¡°You mean you are fucked. And what happens with the relations between us and your Empire¡­ well depends what Henry Barkas decides to do.¡± Dinesh seemed relieved by this. ¡°As far as I know he doesn¡¯t really care for her, so if the Empire gives a good enough reason to overlook this insult everything should be ok.¡± Moyra nodded to this and walked over to Irene to discuss further procedures while Yakov just shook his head and mumbled to himself. ¡°You have no idea how wrong you are.¡± --- --- --- Aaron sipped on his tea as he watched the people sitting in front of him. He had always heard that ¡¯newcomers¡¯ were very weak when they appeared as the world they came from, and thus their power system, was often completely different from this world. But as he looked at the five ¡¯heroes¡¯ before him he couldn¡¯t help but think what a load of bullshit that was as they practically oozed out power.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. He appraised them and looked back at what he already knew of them. To the left was Tu Yuen also known as ¡¯Symphony¡¯, a knight and cultivator that used sound-based attacks as a distraction to then bludgeon her enemies to death with her weapon which was a cross between a hammer and some sort of strange instrument. She had black hair that was held together in a bun by two sticks and two friendly looking brown eyes that made him question how her fighting style could be as brutal as it was described. Next to her sat a towering mass of muscle also known as Bran ¡¯Smith¡¯ Crow. His chaotic long red hair together with his full beard and the dark rings under his bright green eyes made him look like one of those uncultured mercenaries, which was funny considering his position as lead scientist for magical constructs. He was a knight and a magus and used his magical creations to fight. His choice of weapon was a rune powered suit which he used to rampage through the battlefield and turrets, lots and lots of turrets. To the right sat a ¡¯woman¡¯ that Aaron could only describe only as beautiful with her perfect body proportions, long glistening blond hair and bright blue eyes. Her name was Sofya ¡¯Trickster¡¯ Fyodorov formerly known as Rolan Fyodorov. She was a magus and a sorceress and exceptionally talented in the art of transformation which she used to create armies of golems. Regarding her ¡¯transformation¡¯ he had heard that she almost lost her place as a hero because of it. What she did ¡¯lose¡¯ was the majority of her family which didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with her despite her status as a hero, except her brother, who was said to be quite close to her. Sofya winked at him to which he just gave a bitter smile, he might be handsome with his red feathers, which in conjunction with his yellow eyes and his red inquisition robes made him look like a living flame, but this was neither the place nor the time for flirting. ¡°Could we start already?¡±, said the woman next to Sofya which made Aaron flinch. The angry-looking woman was Nia Anderson better known as ¡¯Roar¡¯. Nia had dark skin and dreadlocks. Her red eyes together with her bulky physique gave one the feeling to be sitting next to a predator. However, considering how she used her powers of a knight and mage it didn¡¯t come as a surprise. She tamed monsters and used them to invent runes for her path as a knight. He even heard that she had tamed a behemoth-class monster but the Empire hadn¡¯t found any proof yet. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry Nia. While I understand that you are eager to get this this over with, we have to wait for my wife as this discussion will touch the subject of currency.¡±, said the last person on the table. He was Henry ¡¯Godshot¡¯ Barkas the oldest and most respected of the ¡¯heroes¡¯. He had short white hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. His tired blue eyes did never leave Aaron as if searching for something. Aaron thought that it must be a habit as archers tried to never lose sight of their target. Tu looked rather annoyed at her watch before turning to Henry. ¡°Still, I think we have waited long enough. We can just push ¡¯currency¡¯ to the back and talk about other topics first.¡± Sofya nodded her head in agreement. ¡°Yeah, we can talk about other things first. I, for example, would like to know why we talk to you when we were told that the high priestess would hold this negotiation. We didn¡¯t expect the inquisition.¡± Henry almost spat out his tea as he held back his laughter. The others, obviously ignoring Henry and his strange humor, turned to Aaron. ¡°Well¡­¡±, Aaron spoke, ¡°¡­she did come but is currently sightseeing. She¡¯ll be joining us later today.¡± Bran almost jumped out of his seat as his booming voice resounded in the room. ¡°So, we have one of the strongest people of the Empire just walking around without anyone of us knowing? Do you think that we¡¯re idiots or that we¡¯ll just let this slide?¡± Nia crossed her arms and gave Aaron a questioning look. ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to know your agenda. This negotiation would have been about trading technologies and a shared currency, so why did you send the inquisition and the high priestess, two things that have nothing to do with these topics?¡± Aaron, making himself as small as possible, thought how things derailed that quickly. The high priestess had just said that she wants to see how the humans here lived and that she would try to interact with them a little bit. And now five powerhouses were about to rip him to pieces. Before this could happen however the doors opened and two women entered. ¡°High Priestess!¡± Aaron practically jumped at the smaller woman. She wore a purple robe with a hoof that made making out her features difficult, only her bright purple eyes could be seen clearly. The larger of the two walked over to Henry and gave him a big hug. This was Nicole Barkas, Henry¡¯s wife. She had long black hair with a few streaks of grey, probably because of her age, and big green eyes. Nicole was a magus and in charge of currency creation. The currency was called Ruco, short for rune coins as they used runes to guarantee the validity of each coin. Before Henry could ask why she was this late the high priestess spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for sightseeing without your approval but we have a bigger problem now. There was an accident where one of the Empire¡¯s students tried to kill one of your students after a minor dispute. We think that someone manipulated the attacker with poison or magic but we aren¡¯t sure yet.¡± Everyone was confused how that was a bigger problem than having a foreign powerhouse walking around before Nicole spoke up. ¡°It was Alyssa.¡± Before someone could say anything Henry had already stormed out of the conference room. Everybody looked shocked in the direction Henry had disappeared to, not noticing the eye that had appeared on one of Henry¡¯s books. So, it has begun. ,thought the being before vanishing again. Chapter 5 I sat at my favorite place, a cliff with view on the sea and surrounded by trees. I just loved the sound of the waves beating against the rock formations, the sometimes calm sometimes raging wind and the cries of the birds currently scanning the sea for food. I turned around to see Pebbles play with a stick, striking several hero-poses with it. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at his cute antics, despite being rather stressed. Today¡¯s events remembered me of a question I totally neglected over the years. I didn¡¯t actually know where Pebbles came from. He was just there as long as I could remember, cheering me up when I was down and seemingly protecting me too. Thinking for a moment about Pebbles motives, or those of the person who brought him here, I shook my head. It didn¡¯t matter for what or for whom Pebbles was here, he would always my Pebbles. While I did want to know what he was and what he had ¡¯planned¡¯, or better was planned for him, for the future, I could do without knowing as long as Pebbles kept being my cute Pebbles. Which brought me to another topic I would have to think about, my future. Throughout my life I actually hadn¡¯t thought about what I wanted to do later in my life. My only aspiration had been to get recognition from my grandfather, what I would do after I accomplished that was a thought that had never came to my mind. Considering my bad relationship with my family I didn¡¯t want to rely on them in any kind or form anymore. I thought about what would I need to start my new, my own life. First, I would need a new place to live and for that I needed money. Taking my fighting prowess into account I could join the military but then I¡¯d have to work under the command of the council, in other words my grandfather. I could work independently as a hunter as monster and beast materials were in high demand but then I¡¯d have to move away from Dvorhaven, as I obviously couldn¡¯t support life in such an expensive city. Well, the further away from my family the better., I thought before standing up. I would have a lot of things to plan and the sooner I began the sooner I could start my new life. A life where I wouldn¡¯t waste my time trying to impress people that obviously didn¡¯t care for me. The thought seemed so relaxing, as if a knot that had tied me down had been undone. I could feel power moving through every single cell of my body. It was as if a weight had been taken off my body as my senses sharpened. I could feel my surroundings, the small bird beasts above me and between the trees, the underwater beasts that fought against the waves, Pebbles who clumsily tried to swing his stick like a sword but failed miserably because of his stubby arms¡­ and the person standing beside him smiling at Pebbles futile attempts. Shocked that I hadn¡¯t noticed until now I turned around to see Nia Anderson just casually standing there. She waved at me before suddenly appearing just centimeters before my face. ¡°Hey, thought I find you here. So, how¡¯s it going, I mean besides almost getting killed.¡± Nia and I were pretty close, probably because I was one of the few people to have a monster as a pet. She had taught me how to take care of Pebbles and discipline him, the latter coming in pretty handy as Pebbles first reaction to anything unknown had been to eat it. It wasn¡¯t really a surprise that she found me here as she had been the person to show me this spot in the first place. Still not knowing what the fuck just happened I replied. ¡°Yeah, uhm, pretty good actually. Don¡¯t know what just happened, I made the decision to take my life in my own hands and now I feel¡­ in control, I guess?¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Nia looked into my eyes as if she was trying to gaze into my very being. I felt a little bit uncomfortable as her gaze intensified. ¡°Uhm, Nia? Could you not¡­ you know?¡± Nia crossed her arms and sighed. ¡°Yeah¡­ so how the fuck did you unlock a third path?¡± I needed a moment to process what she just said. ¡°What do you mean ¡¯third path¡¯?¡± Scratching her cheek, Nia answered in a tone that sounded more like a question than anything else. ¡°Lys you¡¯re a cultivator. I can feel the qi coursing through your body.¡± Nia laughed about my dumbfounded expression and turned around. ¡°Well, doesn¡¯t matter now. The reason I came in the first place is that Henry is searching the whole city for you. He heard what happened and seemed pretty worried about you, so you should probably go to him before he tears the whole city down.¡± I could only grunt at that. My grandfather wasn¡¯t worried for me but only if this could worsen his relations to the Empire. Still,¡­ I thought,¡­ I should probably show him that I¡¯m ok, and when I¡¯m at it, tell him of my future plans¡­ just in case. ¡°Thanks for letting me know Nia.¡± ¡°No problem. As thanks just give me Pebbles for say 15 minutes.¡± As she said this she reappeared behind Pebbles, violently hugging him, which resulted in him dropping his stick. Nia began panting as she looked at Pebbles devastated look. ¡°Even when he¡¯s sad he just looks so cute!¡± Pebbles turned to me, his little arm stretched out as if he was asking to be saved. I gave him a sorry look. ¡°I can¡¯t help you with this. Sorry.¡± He looked at me with a betrayed look, tears glistening in his eyes and his little stubby arm dangling as if he had given up any resistance. Am I ungrateful?, I asked myself as I watched Pebbles struggle for his little life. --- --- --- When I got back home I was swiftly brought before my grandfather¡¯s office. I hesitated a second before knocking. ¡°Come in.¡± The door opened by itself and I took a deep breath before entering. My grandfather¡¯s office was littered with books and documents. The wall were basically just bookshelves except for a small corner near his desk where a small fireplace was burning. Not the safest thing to have in a room full flammable important stuff but not my problem. Henry threw a book into the fire as he turned to me. He looked at me with a worried face, which ticked me a bit off, but I said nothing. Seemingly, feeling my irritation he brought his attention back to his documents. ¡°I heard what happened today at the training field. Are you ok?¡± He looked up from his documents back at me. Anger welled up inside me. Why did he suddenly try to look as though he cared. He didn¡¯t and I knew that. He couldn¡¯t or I wouldn¡¯t have worked so hard for his approval. I wanted to scream at him, beat him, tell him how much that question alone hurt me. But I didn¡¯t. I just stood there calmly, composed. ¡°I want to leave in a week or two. Probably work as an independent hunter, monster materials sell quite good or so I heard.¡± I could see the shock in his face but it was quickly replaced by his usual serious look. ¡°Is that so¡­¡±, he stood up and walked to the door, ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be back in a second.¡± Just before he closed the door behind him a small grey mass slipped through the doorway and moved towards me. ¡°Not now Pebbles. Leave me alone for a moment, ok?¡± Pebbles seemed to understand as he walked to the fireplace and began poking around in it with a metal stick. It didn¡¯t take long for my grandfather to return. In his hands he a black greatsword adorned with blue runes. He held it out to me. ¡°You need good weapon as a hunter. Take it.¡± I hesitated. On one hand, I didn¡¯t want to rely in any way or form on my family anymore and by taking this sword I would just do that, on the other I felt a connection to that sword. My grandfather seemed to feel my hesitation as he pushed the sword closer to me. ¡°It was your mother¡¯s. She would want you to have it.¡± He smiled as I took it from him. It felt perfect as if it was an extension of my body. Is that what being a cultivator feels like?, I asked myself. Henry saw that I liked the sword, which put a wide grin on his face. ¡°Try putting qi or mana into it.¡±, he said almost gleefully. As I did two blades extended at the end of the blade, making the greatsword look like an anchor. I looked at my grandfather and tried to smile, failing miserably. ¡°Thanks.¡± Then there was an awkward silence. Not knowing what to say I just said that I would have things to do and excused myself. As I and Pebbles walked out of the room I heard my grandfather talk to me in a saddened voice. ¡°If you need something¡­ you know where to find me.¡± I closed the door behind me.