《desired ERROR》 prologue Blinding lights and ringing sounds, everything moves ridiculously fast, like watching a film a hundred times faster, sometimes time slows down, it happens in events which could perhaps be considered special, the day I was exploring the sky with a telescope my dad brought me for my 4th birthday, my first day at middle school...after my 6th year in life...after a certain event...everything speeds up a lot, the scenery, the smell, the tastes, the sounds, for the following 10 years this damn hospital room is all I get to experience How could I spend 10 years in a bed with the only thing working in my body being my head?...books, movies,...and books I was really lucky to have my uncle take care of me, he... he is rich and apparently has too much time to spend with me, he gives me recommendations and talks to me about experiences he had While he made it a lot easier for me to not go insane and the books worked like a drug on me...hmmm... well lets just say that I wasn''t the most happy person those years... Who the fuck am I kidding...every time my mind started thinking outside of the books despair kicked in .... ... .. . When is this gonna fucking end though?! I died so what is this? I hopped that my death would at least end my suffering! having to experience everything again and again is the last thing I would wish for ... .. . Just how long has it been since my death...a year? a century? More? Perhaps less? There is not really a point in counting since time doesn''t work naturally here As this process repeats itself I keep on thinking...about various things, what is happening right now, am I in hell or heaven? If i am where is the god or devil to greet me? Though one question stood above others, one which I already had for more than half my life, why me? Was there a reason behind me being crippled? I didn''t had a chance to do anything...I read thousands of books, each with unique characters and adventures...I immersed myself in them and through all of them I was filled with ambitions, I understood it was just wishful thinking but I couldn''t do otherwise ...I just can''t accept this... I thought I had accepted my "fate" before I died but that''s just a bad joke...as if anyone could accept their death when they didn''t even had the chance to accomplish a single thing ... .. . The cycle of thoughts and memories swirling through me continues And I start to notice something...my memories...they become more distant, not fading away, my memories are still full intact but they feel like less and less mine, like it''s purely information...like it''s just a short book that I have been reading a "little" too much But even though the distance becomes greater something else grows inside me...not sadness...not anger...not desperation... I am eager! For an actual life! A lot more than ever before, even if I know it won''t ever come I just can''t stop this feeling from overwhelming me And that emotion only gets bigger... ..... .... ... .. . Suddenly the loudest sound I would ever hear sprang out from all directions ""^^^^^^^^^^^"" | ?ERROR! | ""^^^^^^^^^^^"" Agh...my head feels like it''s going to burst open!....even if I don''t have one ... the cycle of memories stopped and what replaced them was a view of a huge screen ^^^^^ ... error occurred while executing "soul cleansing" to subject oddiF7008300 ... Searching for errors origin... ... ... Origin found: error caused due to process"soul cleansing" reaching set time limit ... ... Attempting to troubleshoot error... ... ... System failed ... ... errors case has been updated to "high alert" ... ... searching for high judge available... ... ... High judge found: co2_003 ... ... Subject "oddiF7008300" is being transported under high permission to "O^co2_003" ... ... Time till transport: 00:00:03:00 ^^^^^^ What is going on?! I didn''t even have the opportunity to react! ^^^^^^ 00:00:01:21 ^^^^^^ ...ow well ^^^^^^ 00:00:00:04 ^^^^^^^ I w... ^^^^^^ ... Prepare for nausea to kick in little one... ... ^^^^^^ After a weirdly placed note on the screen, space started to bend, and together with it so did I...it wasn''t physical but it was just as disorienting as it was messing with my senses... But it didn''t last long, soon enough space bent back in place but the once black void with a screen was replaced by an immense amount of light...floors of crystallized white marble, on one end of this realm something could be seen...a grey gate stretching in the endless sky through the clouds and on the other end was something similar...but I can''t be sure...for the sheer brightness it emits is hiding its form In the middle of the two stood a tall fountain with water flowing in directions that gravity wouldn''t normally allow it to, beautiful carvings and gold patterns covered the fountain...but they weren''t representing anything...they seem random yet beautiful, a lot like trees ...as I was moving my eyes upwards to the top of this piece of art a huge ball of water suddenly gathered at the point where my eyes were already set on, and on its core a faint flickering light flashed off and on...till a huge wave of it came off and blinded my eyes! My eyes burn! The pain starts from the outer area of the eyelids and moves inward till it reaches my brain! *ghhhhaaaaaaaaah!* This time a scream came out of my mouth and I instinctively pushed my head towards the ground and bite my lips trying to distract the pain with pain...my head once again feels like it''s going to burst! *aaagh...ghh...mphhh* *I''m sorry**khh** for that little one**agh** let me help you rest* A voice?! Through my grunts I''m sure I heard one, coming from the fountain... Through all the pain I struggle to raise my head towards it...but wait a second...since when do I have a bod...? Before I could even finish my thought, I was taken aback by what I saw, the water was moving all around me, as if trying to grasp me with its hand...I didn''t really have the the time to react, it enveloped me and came together to drown me... ...fuck... ... ... ... Waiting to drown I was...but this water...it feels nice?...I try to taste it and I find it tasteless, as if it''s air I try to let it go through my nose...to my surprise it felt like breathing, no this felt more refreshing!, the more I breathed in the more my pain lessened and it filled me with energy, I felt like I could ran a marathon across the whole world right now and still have energy left! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I''m not sure as to what I should be thinking about right now, I have a body which I can control? What is this place? What is happening? Am I not dead? In the midst of my brainstorm of thoughts the same voice as before sounded again while the water started to flow back into the fountain *I hope this is enough to cover up my recklessness* Right now I ignore the voice and try to focus on my body, I''m laying down "kissing"the ground, I test each of my muscles and find them all to be functional...my excitement has just surpassed 1000%, in a quick move I try to get up...and fall miserably ... ... ...after a continues *thud* sound I finally stand on my own two feet, clumsily but it can still be considered standing... *good it looks like you can finally stand* The voice I previously ignored spoke once again, this time I try to look towards it and I find that at the place that the light came from the is a female figure...made from water? Should I even be surprised now? Is it just another carving randomly made from the water?... This idea didn''t last long though, as the voice started to speak its lips moved accordingly and so did the rest of the body in a faint matter... *did I startl...* Before it could end its sentence a a question slipped through my lips *...a...are you the one...speaking?* A blunt response came my way right after I finished speaking *you just saw me speaking and you still feel the need to question me?...ow well anyway, lets get down to business shall we* Business?...*who ar...* *I was awaken due to an ERROR on the process of a mortals "soul cleansing", that is you, and I''m here to find a solution* *Wha....* *the light which made you experience extreme pain let me in to see all the internal interactions you had with the system* *Woul...* *and please keep your questions to the minimum, I know you have many questions but time is scarce* ...holding on my faint anger I nod... As I observe this things form and try to figure out how is this physically possible, her face turns in surprisement while her eyes start rolling right and left as if reading a book really fast, after a short while though she pushes her face back in a relaxed state Is she actually reading something? *ahum...well your case is rather simple, but how did even you manage that? You broke the time limit??? That''s unheard of, and for as long as I had this position this never happened before!* After a slight pause she continues *the soul cleansing is supposed to run all the energy which you gathered in your life through your soul in order to purify the soul with it''s most true self* *the only times when it doesn''t work right is when the subject dies as a newborn or if your soul is extremely strong, which isn''t something common, this system was especially designed to work perfectly in balance with the way earth works, if you were a newborn you would be reborn... and in case your soul were that strong, the system does an examination at the moment of your death, to prevent weak souls from breaking apart by the energy or in your case, the energy not being enough...* I''m really not sure about what to think right now...this whole thing feels surreal...a computer-like system runs the world?...matrix confirmed huh... After a slightly longer period of deep thought the female figure continued *...I can''t come up with an explanation for your case...and we don''t have much time left...* The figure started to flow closer to me and the closer she got the more I notice her beauty, her hair is stretching till the bottom of the fountain and her body, like an extension of the fountain is also covered in the golden patterns, but unlike the fountain it is symmetrical In a moments notice she reached me at breathing distance Startled I take a flimsy step back... *wha...* Yet again she disturbed me without hesitation *listen well boy, I know about what you went through so I think you''ll like it...but don''t get too excited* Fuck...I''m not prepared for this ...I''m too young god dammit! With a blush I put my hands between her and me and take another flimsy step back, but this time a bit more recklessly... **thud** aouch... *stupid human, you still haven''t got used to your legs?* ... *anyway, listen here...your soul will be re-entering the life cycle in another universe, in other words you''ll be reincarnated* Whaat?#! Suddenly I could feel the same feeling I had when I was trapped in the memory loop, turn into pure excitement... A big smile appears in my face and my eyes open to the point of my eyeballs almost falling off *this will probably let your soul to naturally go back to normal and re-enter its state of balance * *but it won''t be anything like earth...* the figure exclaims as she lowers herself to rest her fluid hand on my shoulder *it''ll be way more dangerous and depending on your luck when you enter the reincarnation setup you may as well be deemed to die on your first day, but this time I''ll be watching to ensure that no more errors happen and also work on figuring out exactly what happened* I put a more serious tone and finally manage to speak uninterrupted *a challenge is my wish, even if all odds are against me I''ll overturn them* With a smile she responds *well said...now get ready for the nausea you are familiar with* ... And once again the bending started, though this time I was being transported from a physical to a soul state And the process was pretty much the same, only thing different was that now I actually felt the pain that came from your body when it bent in space... ...endure it!... With that thought I entered a place rather familiar, a big black screen filled with words was most of what my senses picked up ^^^^^^^ ... Welcome to "reincarnation_setup" ... ... Starting the race selection ... ... Searching for suitable races ... ... Races suitable for user: "oddiF7008300" . -human- (800 points) -high human- (36.000 points) -neo human- (29.000 points) -elf- (13.000 points) -dark elf- (15.000 points) -dwarf- (2.600 points) -kobold- (200 points) -orge- (1.700 points) -goblin- (50 points) -beastman- (700 points) -lizardman- (700 points) -undead- (12.000 points) -water elemental- (19.000 poins) -amea dentro- (56.666 points) -druid- (16.000 points) -mingnoll- (4.000 points) -soul delver- (38.000 points) -red nephos- (69.800 points) ___avaible points for race selection:38.001 ...please choose wisely ^^^^^^^ chpater 1 Chapter 1 As the space bent back to normal and the boy had taken his leave everything became dead quiet... On top of the fountain stood a female figure , at a closer look you would realize her body is made of the same water that flows in the fountain, and in an even closer one you would see her smile with an exciting gaze into the horizon *finally something interesting enough happened to wake me up* Her words soft, and quiet, yet clear enough to reach the end of this realm...but there''s no one to hear it...after all...she is alone ************ This is more exciting than I had ever hope for it to be!!! There is a whole bunch of races for me to choose from! and they are all interesting! This feels like a game...elfs, dwarves, kobolds...even goblins! But I have to think a lot here, this needs a considerable amount of thinking... Let''s just shorten the list to the most promising looking ones for the moment and check the descriptions -high human- (36.000 points) : ____ Added traits: Ageless Maximum level set to unlimited . Added stats: Leadership (+300 bonus from start) Charm (+30 bonus from start) Perception (+40 added from start) (+200 to all human stats) ____ -neo human- (29.000 points) : ____ Added Traits: Maximum age set to unlimited Maximum level set to unlimited Added stats: Perception (+1 bonus from start,65% easier to level up) Added skills(all added skills are 65% easier to level up): Quick mind lvl1 Split mind lvl1 Extreme body control lvl1 Power burst lvl1 ____ -water elemental- (19.000 poins): ____ Added traits: Water exclusive (cant practice magics other than water type) Ageless Added stats: (+ 70 to intelligence,20% easier to level up) (+ 70 to wisdom,20% easier to level up) Added skills: Water manipulation lvl1(20% easier to level up) Waterball lvl1(20% easier to level up) ____ -druid- (16.000 points): ____ Added traits: age set to unlimited Added stats: Perception (+20 to intelligence) (+100 to wisdom) Added skills: Tamer lvl50 Earth manipulation lvl1 ___ -mingnoll- (4.000 points): ___ Traits: Unwanted Added stats: Perception Added skills: Deceive lvl1 silent walk lvl1 Aura erase lvl1 ___ -soul delver- (38.000 points): ___ Added traits: Ageless Formless Unlimited capabilities Added stats: All stats available Added skills: Controlled possession ___ Those are all the useful ones that I could use, but there are also those which I can''t afford and there is one word to describe both...weird -red nephos- (69.800 points) ___ Traits: Brain-dead(intelligence can''t surpass lvl 1) Ageless Added stats: Only stats available:wis,int,per Added skills: Air manipulation lvl 100 Red nephos poison lvl 100 Life absorption lvl 50 ___ -amea dentro- (56.666 points): ___ Added traits: Ageless Added stats: Toughness(+200 bonus from start) (+500 to int from start) (+500 to wis from start) (+500 to vit from start) Added skills: Earth manipulation lvl100 Water absorption lvl1 ___ ...the weirdest part here is the red nephos, it is the most expensive and has some really bad downsides...all that those points give you is 3 high level skills and a bunch of downsides? If the one who made this system designed it with balance then there must be more to it, there must be some other things making a race to have a low or high price... ...but I can''t really know...I can only imagine... Anyway reading the affordable ones twice, perhaps I should remove the mingnoll...it would be too much of a shame to not spent my points when I have so many Hmm...high human huh, I know I may regret this...but this seems too op...getting + 200 to everything from the very start?...I may not really know exactly what the numbers on the stats amount to but I''m pretty sure it is op...it sounds stupid but I don''t want to have everything from the get go, I''m not here to conquer the world but to have a fulfilling life So that''s out as well, for the time being at least Then I should probably remove the water elemental, not being able to practice other magics is a no no And... I''m left with 3 choices -neo human -druid -soul delver The most unique of all seems to be the soul delver...but there is something suspicious about it...it''s worth 38.000 points and I have 38.001 points...well it could just be a coincidence, disregarding it just for that sole reason wouldn''t be fair ... ... After thinking about it I have decided to go with the neo human The druid isn''t really anything too special and the soul delver is too mysterious, from its name to the added bonuses, the screen lacks information and I don''t want to end up like a wondering soul And the neo human just appeals to me, it gives skills which probably strengthen my mind and body...not to mention the 65% bonus it gives on those skills and the perception stat Leveling bonuses only showed up on this and the water elemental so I would guess it''s important ___ ... You have chosen the "neo human" as your race, do you confirm the choice to proceed? ... Y/N ___ Hmm...this showed up as soon as I had made up my mind With a quick thought I confirm my decision ___ ... Race set to "neo human" ... ... Searching for possible neo human parents... ... ... Search failed... ... Neo humans are extinct in the set timeline ... ___ Eh?! Then why even give me the choice? ___ ... Please make make a decision: ... ... 1-Do you wish to go back to race selection ... 2-Do you wish to spend the rest of your points to create a shell where you''ll be created and mature to an age which your points allow [ your points are able to make your body grow to an equivalent amount of a 12 year old ] ... ___ That is interesting, not having a home and a family is saddening but I may as well build one meheh ___ ... Your decision has been made ... Finding appropriate location for the shell creation... ... ... Location found ... ... Good luck on your new life ... ___ Suddenly the screen disappeared and all that was left was the void, nothing to pick up with whatever senses I had...until...a glimpse of light reached me It was small, barely noticeable, I tried to move closer to it but I''m not even sure if I can move...regardless I kept on with the thought of moving, and slowly but surely it grew bigger, the light now strong enough to warm my soul In no time I was close enough to touch it, and so I tried to do just that The moment my soul came in contact with it The same feeling, nausea kicked in again, my senses just like the other times became messed up, I couldn''t really know what was actually sensed but this time I didn''t feel any kind of pain, it felt weird and I could now feel each point of my body It was small, probably a newborns size...but I could feel it growing, my fingers stretching, my bones the same and with them...my organs all move around to adjust to their ever expanding space... ...I would have puked...but my stomach wasn''t allowing me to... But even weirder was what was going on with my head, the skull was getting bigger and so did my brain with the same timing I could feel every cell that was added upon previous layers of cells...it burnt, it felt like I was in boiling water But at the same time I could feel some kind of energy being absorbed by my body, and that was enough for me to forget the pain and enjoy this like a refreshing bath In the short amount of what seemed like an hour my growth had stoped, at that instant my eyes were finally able to open...thank goodness I thought I was blind... As I open my eyes and they come into contact with the liquid which I am surrounded by, the first picture I get is a blur of red And as I blink another blur appears, this one seems to be blue and have some...letters? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I blink 2 more times, then another 5...till the image becomes clear... A...window has appeared? ____ Congratulations for having a successful Reincarnation As an added bonus for choosing to spend your points on the shell you have been given the skill "miahora language lvl1" A decision made by the system ___ A window like one you would see in video games...in just what kind of a world have a landed? ...I would guess miahora is the name of the country I''m currently in? ...this is actually really useful, I can''t imagine how bad people would react to a kid not knowing the native language...if this country, kingdom or whatever is in war with other they may have even mistaken me for a spy ... Well, lets get out of this thing before I continue with those thoughts ... I for the first time try to move my limbs, they feel stiff at first but that doesn''t last long After touching the shell from the inside and getting to feel to hard it is I decide to kick it With my shoulders on the one end of the shell providing resistance I kick with all the strength I can muster...*thud*...it didn''t break, probably due to the liquid slowing my leg down I kick continuously till I hear it break*crack* from the crack leeks out all the liquid and from the pressure that is created the shell slowly come apart Light...a lot more light than my eyes were used to, I held my hands up to block some of the sunlight When they got fairly used to it I opened them A forest, the trees weren''t all that high and not too strange looking, if I didn''t knew better I would have thought this was earth... Or maybe not...looking up in the sky I see a scene out off a sci-fi film...two moons...one tremendously big and another at the size of ours...the first feeling I got was fear...how can something that big orbit around a planet?? But I also felt amazement...this world would only keep on surprising me ... Well since I have just arrived here I should set some clear goals, first I should find some civilization, a 12 year old alone in a forest where monsters could be lurking is as good as dead, scout it to see if it''s hostile and get some clothes But how am I going to find one? especially if this planet isn''t as populated as earth...if I just randomly walk it might take me weeks...even months As I look around trying to think of something I notice a hill not too far from here...perhaps getting a better look at the landscape could help After about twenty minutes to half an hour I reached the hill, I still had to get used to moving with this body but it wasn''t too much of a problem...to my surprise I didn''t get a single sign of threats, the only living things I noticed were bugs, birds and a bunny, but I won''t let my guard down, it may be that monsters are more spread apart than how games make them to be, which would be a 100% logical Looking from the top of the hill...I really get to appreciate the beauty of this world...enjoying this scenery my eyes come upon what I was looking for, smoke... the trees hide its origin but if I follow the direction I should eventually get to see what''s causing it...hopefully a town and not a dragon...I''m not sure if I should be excited or afraid for this world being so game-like It is fairly far away and the ground is really uneven so it might take me close to 4 hours of consistent walking I have read before in books about how easy it is to get lost in a forest but the trees aren''t so dense, I can take a clear look at the sky from time to time and by having the sun and the moons it isn''t that hard to navigate ... While walking I took my time observing the environment, getting used to certain moves like running and being extra careful so it took me a bit longer than my estimated time At a point when I was thinking about this world a tempting thought crossed my head...if this world is so game like then what about... *status* I say outloud And surely enough my thought was confirmed to be true A screen like the one that congratulated me showed up in the middle of my vision ___ -Status- Level:0. Experience:0/100 (for next level) Name:------ age:12 Health:120 Mana:40 Stamina:210 -stats: Vitality:12 wisdom:4 Endurance:19 intelligence:16 Dexterity:26(-8) luck:5 Strength:27 Agility:30(-8) Perception:1 -Skills: Quick mind lvl1 Split mind lvl1 Extreme body control lvl1 Power burst lvl1 ___ Wow...at the moment the window popped up I was speechless...this world wasn''t just game-like... it''s as if someone actually built a world based on a random fantasy rpg game from earth Putting my jaw back in its place I take a closer look at the window...why does my agility and dexterity have a minus? And why are they so high to begin with...or they aren''t all that high? I don''t really have a reference to compare myself with so the numbers for the time being aren''t all that helpful Thinking about it more, the only thing that may be effecting those stats is the fact that I''m still not that used to moving around Ow well it''s not like they have such a big debuff ... I also went further and tried to get some info on my skills, turns out that was possible too The split mind is active and as the name suggests makes your brain able to focus on 2 different things at once, it costs me 5 mana per minute...if I level it up I would be able to focus on even more things The quick mind, also pretty self explanatory you can think faster...according to it I''m currently thinking 1,1 times faster than normal humans Those things make my brain sound like a cpu... Power burst is an active which lets your muscles show their maximum potential, it costs 50 stamina and has a cooldown of 2 minutes ...now the one which kinda breaks things apart...extreme body control, it lets you have control over every single part of your body and if combined with the other skills it can effect their outcome, so it''s not just that I can get a better control over my body but also my skills...I''m not regretting picking this class so far ... lets forget about that now and concentrate on my current situation... I have arrived at my destination, thankfully enough the cause of the fire wasn''t a dragon but a medieval-looking village...but something weird is happening...everyone is in a rush, it''s as if they are all preparing to leave but why? The only explanation is that war just broke out and this village is probably at the borders near the enemy...if that really is the case then I also need to get moving...but first, clothing, I can''t let anyone see me naked...and I really need some boots, I can''t keep walking barefoot in the forest As I scout the village from the outside, carefully I find my first target...a bunch of blankets,pants and shirts left hanging to dry on the yard Now I don''t like doing that but stealing is my only choice right now I check all around the yard and the house, at least as much as I can while hiding in the bushes...when I feel ready enough I jump out, as fast and quietly as possible I take 4 steps in and I reach for the shirt and the pants I grab them an... *cluaaach* *honey, pack as many things as possible, ill take Ethans clothes and the blankets I let to dry* A woman rushed out of the backdoor into the yard, and headed for the blankets...with one swoop of her hand she loaded the blankets onto her shoulders...at that moment the woman seemed confused, she stared off into the forest as if she saw something moving, she looked a bit to the left and noticed something missing...she then once again stared into the forest, this time together with confusion a slight sweat of fear started to go down her forehead... *honey I didn''t find ethans clothes did you see them?* From inside the house a mans voice could be heard *just leave that for now and lets go, he won''t need the change anyway if he won''t live long enough to wear it* *stop kidding about our sons life or I''ll smack ya* The woman said furiously and headed back inside ... Fucking shit, that was close Power burst can sure be a life saver! chapter 2 Everyone is gathered in the middle of the village, a fair bit of guards spread around the crowd and the carriages...babies crying, people yelling, this is a mess... I''m currently behind the corner of a house, watching everything... Should I attempt to join them? The only thing I want from them is the direction, they are probably heading for a town or even the capital...but most likely they will sooner or later find out that I''m not from here...not because they will recognize the stolen clothes...everyone pretty much wears the same simple outfit that you would expect medieval peasants to wear...they''ll find me because in such small villages the residents know each other ...I need to think of something quickly What kind of lie could get them to accept me? I could try t... *hey there boy* a mans voice whispered behind my shoulder Who found me?! I slowly turn my head and look behind me, a skinny man wearing light armour...he wasn''t older than 25 but the way his face has been treated made him look like an old man Before I can get to think of an excuse the man speaks again *why aren''t you going with everyone else?* ... *is it perhaps that your not from here?* ...now that I think about it I don''t really need to lie do I? After all what are they going to do to a lost 12 years old kid? ...I nod *ow well don''t you worry then, I''m a traveller too...you might have not heard but they say that this place is in #!%¡é? danger, so everyone leaves their houses and a bunch of their stuff behind to take refuge in the inner towns...* Ow that''s the first time I noticed, I couldn''t understand one of the words he said, I guess that''s for my language lvl being 1 With a slight pause he continued *but that''s a bunch of bullshit kid...it''s probably the nobles trying to take advantage of those people* alright...I''m now processing his words pretty critically but I decide to play along... *shouldn''t we warn the others then?* I say with a semi-concerned face The man looked at me with concern himself *I tried boy...but they won''t listen, you won''t change their mind even if you try* *and what should we do?* *I will tell you but first, come inside...we don''t want to be found out and dragged by those guards* Hmmm...yeah...I don''t like where this is going...no one sane would follow such a suspicious person... except they had a reason... *ok* I answer *alright* he says as he opens the door *you go in first* he adds, while he makes a slight movement with his other hand behind his back I do as he says trying to look as clueless as possible ...I take my first step in...and two things happen, one expected and another unexpected He quickly shut my mouth with his apparently gloved arm and held me tight with his other arm, he then murmured something, a glow came from his glove and at the same time my throat started to tingle... What is this?! I only expected him to pull a rope or something to stuff my mouth He let his hand off my mouth, removed his glove and started to tie my arms As soon as he did I realized something... I couldn''t speak or yell, when I tried only a sound weaker than a whisper would come out, not that anyone would hear...the noise from outside would cover it anyway ...I wanted to take advantage of this guy, I thought he was some weak homeless thief...but he can actually use magic? *heheh...this was such a good find, now I can get done with my business without having to deal with whines and cries* The man says as his face twitches I fucking knew it... He reaches for his belt and pushes his pants down...A scene which I wouldn''t want to ever describe ...lets hope he doesn''t have anything more than his magic glove to help him out... As I am in a squatting position facing towards him...that fucker is still looking at me with that twisted smile... *It''s no use figh...* I jump slightly moving in his direction...in that moment when I''m at the highest point mid-air I activate 2 skills... *...Ing...* Using power burst and extreme body control I concentrate all the muscle force that power burst normally equally contributed to all my body...on to my legs *** As the caravan was ready to take its leave for the capital, the people surrounding it had mixed feelings...their houses were passed on from generation to generation, their village only knew of piece...but they knew that no one can go against orders from the capital...saddened they could only hope to someday return As everyone were having a look at a place where they may never return, something out of place happened A sound of wood breaking came from the nearby tavern and in less than a millisecond what seemed like a small ragdoll came flying off the windows, breaking the glass in it''s way with no indication of slowing down...the body after covering 6 meters of air finally hit the ground and then wildly rolled over for another 4 meters ...the silence of the moment broke almost instantly as everyone rushed to aid and inspect *** *aaghhhh* ...pain...not from the impact of the fall...but from using power burst the way I did...my legs are freezing...when I used the skill they felt like they were on fire but now it''s the opposite I''m rolling in the ground, back and forth...my hands still tied in my back, face in the ground, I''m currently trying not to make even the slightest move...just trying to somehow resist the pain...but my stillness doesn''t last for long, 2 pairs of hands start to occupy my body, one of them unties my hands and the other...is touching my legs...but I can tell it''s not the pervert This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ...till now I was unable to focus on anything but my pain...I just realized I was surrounded by a crowd of people ...lets just hope this was enough...I even risked getting raped ... On my way to this place, in the forest, I discovered a couple of things about this body of mine...compared to a human from earth my physical stats are indeed high, I could break huge branches, jump 2-3 meters high and run fast,...too fast, to the point of ending up bumping continuously into trees...and while I was inspecting the village when I arrived I confirmed that those humans aren''t all that different from what I''m used to Having those things in mind an idea which I desperately needed crossed through my head when a suspicious man became even more suspicious...perhaps this man could help me create the lie that I need ...no risk...no reward ...my body was suddenly but gently picked up...I tried to speak but I still couldn''t outer a word *don''t worry little boy, we will take care of you and make sure that bad guy won''t touch you anymore* the young woman who was holding on my legs said with a gentle voice, as they were laying me down in the carriage *poor kid...* *that bastard should be killed* Comforting Comments like those kept popping up in the background It didn''t take long for everyone to start moving ... Everyone stopped and started setting up a camp in a open field The sun was settling down and I had just woken up, a soothing breeze made me forget about everything...a moment like this is something I had been longing for...humans only understand the value of something once they lose it ...I just realized something...my legs are no longer in pain, I lift my torso, my legs are strapped with bandages *don''t remove it!* the young woman threw her hands at me and yelled when I tried to touch it *I went through the trouble of applying the bandages myself, it''s going to take you at least 1-2 weeks before you can take them off* *but I feel fine* I replied...thank goodness I can talk again... *don''t lie, you''re barely even able to move right now, probably* I smile at her, put my hands on the carriage and with their support I jump out...my legs don''t feel pain but they aren''t in their best shape, either *what are you even thinking?!* the woman yelled, even louder than before *are yo...* Before she could continue I cut her out *I''m not lying I really feel just fine* *but your injuries were terrible...* she said with a confused expression *well It seems like it wasn''t all that serious* My injury was definitely serious...so how did it recover so easily? Vitality is I think the stat related to recovery and health...but it is one of my lowest ones ...there sure are lots of things the system doesn''t tell me about well for now there''s something I should do *may I ask of your name miss?* Kind of surprised she puts on a smile and answers *It''s Mary, but why do you speak this way? Are you perhaps a nob...* *nevermind that...won''t you tell me your name in return?* she continues after a small pause ...a name huh...my status didn''t provide me with one so I wonder if... *of course, it''s Daniel* After quickly checking my status I found my thought to be correct, Daniel officially became my name Mary after making a soft *yawn* with her hand covering her mouth and her eyes almost closed said *well, little Daniel...I''m quite tired so I''ll go and take some sleep, you better get more rest too* *good night miss Mary...and thank you* I say as she starts to leaving *don''t call me miss... and good night to you too* ...it''s not enjoyable lying to her...she is such a nice person...and cute... ...such a shame I''m only 12 and she is presumably around her 20 God damn it, I''m too easy... ... That night no one else came to speak to me, almost everyone was sleeping, except some guards keeping watch. I wasn''t all that tired anymore so I couldn''t sleep even if I tried and there were some things I wanted to try out ... In the middle of the night I went up to a pair of guards and asked one of them *mister guard, are there no monsters around this area?* *you don''t need to worry kid, the only monsters that could be in this place are horned bunnies and in some rare occasions a black deer...but even in those cases you have us to protect you* The guard responded with an unexpectedly welcoming attitude, but it didn''t take much effort to notice the hostile looking glares of the other one...well at least not everyone is like that And it''s good to know the area isn''t all that dangerous, perhaps I could make it alone, but blending with the human society and getting to know the world beforehand is a must Afterwards I found a good place where I could lay down, with no rocks getting in the way of this soft grass ...facing the sky I could see the true stunning beauty of the two moons of which the light illuminated the landscape and almost made you forget it is night time ...the same soothing breeze washed my body as I slowly fell asleep... Chapter 3 Chapter 3 After two days of walking we were finally close to reaching the capital Those days I spent mostly gathering information and making relationships, I learned about the geography of this place, about levels, stats, skills, monsters... ...and something that when I heard it...I kinda paled, the tales of human history... A really really old time ago, estimated at 6.000 years ago was the age at which lots of things ceased to exist...high humans were a human race which governed all humans and with them the whole world, they were considered to be blessed by god, destined to protect humanity and their enemies... ...the neo humans... As described, it''s a race that was created by demons, solely for the purpose of destroying humans...lots of them rivaled the high humans in power once they grew enough, so humanity hunt them down...to eliminate the evil For that reason an all out war started all across the planet, the neo humans even though, lower in numbers and power, they took on their side any other race that held hate for humans ...how the war played out and who was the winner...to this day we don''t know All we know is that both high and neo humans ceased to exist, with them also disappeared many races of which we don''t have any records And most importantly...gods have ever since been in absolute absence Some say that the gods fought with each other because of the wars happening between their followers and ended up losing their powers or some others say that they may have just lost interest in this world since that war ... Well, for some weird reason I don''t feel all that evil...the tales may have been simplified and manipulated...the only certain thing is that lots of races disappeared and so did the gods at the same time ...what I should keep in mind is that I absolutely must hide my identity...more lies... *Daniel...once we arrive there what will you do?* Ethan asked as we were walking Yes he is the one from whom I stole those clothes...we somehow became friends, he''s an adventurer wannabe, well I guess most boys his age,13, would have that mindset...but he''s actually pretty serious about it *I''ll probably look for ways to make some money* *you know, I could as...* I disturb him to sound more confident *Ethan, I want to make a living by myself, you don''t have to worry...I''ll join a guild sooner than you and you won''t be able to ever reach me in the ranks* I end it with a mocking smile *hahaha* he laughed as if to respond to my mocking *even if you start sooner nothing can get in my way of becoming the number 1...not even kings will stand in my way!* he yelled the last part with a proud smile...as soon as he did... *smack!* A hand appeared out of nowhere and smacked him in the head *ouch!...why did you hit me mom?* *if you dare say something like this in the capital, you can say goodbye to that stupid head of yours!* His mom is scary... *the same goes for you Ethan, you hear me?!* *Yes, sir!!*...I say without processing my words...and earn myself a smack too *smack* *who are you calling that!* *hahahaha* Ethan started laughing loudly and so did some others watching us from nearby Kids are the ones to always lighten the mood...I want some kids... ...says the one who''s a kid himself...heheh ... It didn''t take us long to reach the gates, they were massive, with the height of a 2-3 story building and the walls covering it even taller You can tell this wasn''t built by normal humans Before entering, a guard came up to us to ask us where we were coming from and we are here The guards which brought us here showed him some papers and the guard let us go without any further complications...this country in general is pretty free, it relies a lot on trading and this shows when we had to wait like 1 hour to reach the gate This country though has something you wouldn''t expect from a society of freedom...slavery, but from what I heard it''s not the same as on the movies, it works the same way imprisonment works, depending on your crime you''ll get a deserving time of enslavement and even get a grade for how many rights you have, for example a D grade slave have all the rights but just have to work 8 hours on what their masters want them to work and an A grade slave has pretty much no rights, you can treat them however you want and work them to their limits...as long as they don''t die Now, the system may be technically fair, but that''s only if it is supported by an absolute obedience of the rules and laws from everyone...well as long as I stay out of trouble, like messing with the nobles and powerful people of this land I should be fine ...when we entered I was really impressed with the architecture...it wasn''t like anything from earth,some of the buildings were made from stones that had a dark bluish colour and and had some orange shining pebbles inside them, the main roads were massive,the sides full of shops and in the middle passing carriages and people walking...throughout the walk we came across magnificent statues and fountains...they were many and admittedly better than anything I had seen on earth...it''s really weird how a civilization not so advanced in technology is surpassing us in art A single statue caught my attention, it was a depiction of a young woman, somehow made to look as if she was made of water...there''s something familiar about this statue...wait it couldn''t be that right?... The ones standing near it or just passing by are all bowing to it and holding their right hand in a fist close to their heart *what are they doing?* my thought escaped my mouth as a whisper Ethan who apparently heard me, answered kindly *their praying to Thelesse, the goddess of the sea and growth...they say that if you do that the goddess might give you a blessing...* ...so she has a name... Mary overheard and stepped in *they do say that but a blessing has never come after the great war* *well...you never know* As soon as we reached near the statue some from our group do that same bow, and I try to copy it together with Ethan As soon I took that stance something popped up in my vision _____ -You have received thelesses blessing- Type of blessing: direct_secretive |Bonuses gained: | ||-efficiency in all water magics |increased |by 50% | |skills gained: | ||-water magic resistance lvl1 | |-meditative sleep lvl1 _____ My eyes had been launched off my head the moment I saw that Ethan looking at my surprised expression couldn''t help but ask *di...did you get it?!* *yes! I di...!* *smack* Before I could even finish someone smacked me in the head...the hand feels familiar *don''t joke about that or the church will cut tongue, Daniel!!* Ethans mom spoke behind me And once again my instinct got the best of me *yes, sir!* *smack* That hurts god damn it! Ethan starting his loud laughter again ended up disturbing those, praying... *smack* ...no wonder Ethan is so dumb, with those punches he may have multiple brain disorders... The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. His mom apologized and we quickly started walking again ...for real now, I got 2 new skills?! Lets check my status ___ -Status- Level:0. Experience:0/100 (for next level) Name: Daniel age:12 Health:120 Mana:30/40 Stamina:190/210 -stats: Vitality:12 wisdom:4 Endurance:19 intelligence:16 Dexterity:26(-1) luck:5 Strength:27 Agility:30(-1) Perception:1 -Skills: Quick mind lvl2 Split mind lvl1 Extreme body control lvl2 Power burst lvl1 Water magic resistance lvl1 Meditative sleep lvl1 ___ Water magic resistance at its level simply reduces the damage taken from water magic by 10%, not an amazing skill but a skill is still a skill ...as soon as I check the window with the info on meditative sleep I notice something weird ____ Meditative sleep lvl1: A skill that Automatically activates on your sleep Makes a space in your dreams where you can consciously practice skills Earns +10% more experience for any skill while activated -Overlapping detected- Skill "meditative sleep" is overlapping with skill "quick mind" Skill meditative sleep" is overlapping with skill "split mind" |Overlapping bonuses: | ||+20% to experience earned during | meditative sleep (total 30%) | |While in use of both meditative skill | and split |mind, experience increased by |200% (total |230%) ____ Oh my god, or should I say goddess...just what did she give me... And is that high judge lady really this goddess that just give me this blessing?...if that is so then why did she give it to me when she hasn''t gave one after so long ...every day in this world is just filled with more question... From what I can imagine after reading the title of my blessing no one should be able to tell that I got it...something that I appreciate, I wouldn''t want to deal with the mess that would come from the attention Trying not to overwhelm myself with excitement I shake my head ... Finally after all this walking we had reached the installation center, a building that was bigger in size than any other I saw on the way here but it was also pretty simple and lacking in decorative details ...the guard had told me that if I wanted to stay in the capital, until reaching 15 I would have to join an orphanage After getting around this maze, I finally found the office I was directed to go to, office 213...this place is busy I knocked on the door *come in* a feminine voice answered from inside I held the handle and pushed the door lightly, coming in with my left leg I greet *hel...* *tch...it''s another midget* ...dumbfounded, I could only wonder how those words came out from the mouth of the same beauty that sits behind the desk *Will you take a sit already or are you going to stand still staring at me with that dumb looking face of yours?* ...is this what they call a yandere in "Japanese literature" ? *I''m very sorry if I offended you* I say in a semi-ironical tone as I sit on the right chair *I am coming from the makino village an...* *I know where you''re coming from and your situation midget, sir George came here and explained it...I wonder how stupid you yourself have to be for that buffoon to like you* Ehhh...I wouldn''t expect of the nice guard to be nice to this extend *an...* *open those filthy ears of yours and just listen * Aagh...it''s happening again! *you just have 1 choice to make...there are 5 orphanages in the capital and only 2 of them accept random children* *random?* I ask in confusion *the others would only accept you if you were given to them with a decent amount of money* *I see...* *also George told me to let you know that the remaining 2 don''t have the best reputation...they''ll basically use you like a slave for as long as you stay there* *...and where am I supposed to go?!* *what, are those 2 not good enough for you?* *of cou...* *George suggested another orphanage, located out of the capitals walls* The yandere pointed on a location on the map placed behind her on the wall *is that one better ?* I asked *depending on what you consider better...that orphanage keeps beastkins and foreign refugees, so usually no one appli...* *ok then just get me in that one* It was my time to speak over her...though for a slight moment I got a scary stare from her, she stayed unexpectedly neutral *alright then...* she said as she seemed to be pulling up something from under the desk ...a crystal ball with a wooden stand...something similar to what you see fortune tellers use on TV *...this here, is an identification orb, just put your hand on it and it''ll be able to tell me some basic information on you* ...now that sounds bad... *...what kind of information?* If it''s able to show her my race then I''m in trouble *your name, level and age* *that''s all?* She could be lying... *yes I...* I once again disturb her *and is it necessary?* This time her face twitched hard... *of course and it is you fucking dipshit!, if you dare speak over me once again I swear I''ll beat the living shit out of you!* In a defensive stance with my head lowered I speak with a trembling voice *o...o,ok* Fuck, she is way worse than Ethans mom Feeling defeated I put my hand on the crystal ball...the instance I do a glow comes off it, almost the same as the glove that disgusting old man used ...getting back to her "normal" state the yandere started speaking in low volume, almost whispering *his 12, name daniel...level...0??* *how can you be level 0 at this age?...usually someone surpasses that number at least at the age of 4* She put her hand in her head almost as if she had a headache and continued *...anyway...just get out, go to the third floor, find someone named Harry and...* She again reached below the desk this time getting a paper out...she wrote some things and *just give him this...* *ok...thank you* I tried responding kindly...wouldn''t want her turning into that demon again... And like that I left her office and did what she told me ... After a lot more of walking I had reached the orphanage with that fellow Harry...a decent man...from what I understand he''s being abused by that yandere demon, making him work constantly The orphanage just by taking a look from the outside you can clearly tell that it''s not part of the capital...it''s mostly made of wood, rocks and a concrete-like substance...it''s not built terribly, it overall looks nice but there''s a clear difference in the materials and architecture, which makes it look poor *go ahead and open it yourself* Harry told me pointing at the door ...I take some steps forward, and just with a slight push, the door opens... ...what I''m greeted with is a sight to behold...children...lots of em...running, jumping,yelling, fighting A headache hit me just thinking that I''ll have to wake up to this each morning... chapter 4 Chapter 4 A hallway leading in to a larger area with tables, the kids when they saw me enter they were surprised, almost startled, they run to the tables...before I could proceed, a door from my left opened with a screeching sound, coming off of the door was an elder nun, her clothes weirdly were exactly the same you would expect to see a nun from earth wear...her face was full of wrinkles...and her nose bigger than usual It was as if she lived more than she was supposed to... When she noticed me, her eyes slightly opened up in surprise and her face turned into a pleasant smile...at least as much her face allowed her to *hello, mister Harry...who do we have here?* She said turning her eyes towards me *my name is Daniel, madam* *aww...what a nice name for a cute boy like you...how about you go on and join the rest on dinner* I nodded, Harry and the nun went back into that room...as I walked down the hallway a smell of the food I''m going to be eating today reached my nose...breathing in I can only recognize the smell as a fish soup When I entered the big open room, one thing surprised me...there were 2 boys, one older than me and another younger...the weird thing about them was that they both had black dog ears, a tail and their eyes were light blue, like the eyes of a husky I had expected to see something like this...but I was still taken aback by how otherworldly it seemed I had an urge to touch them... They noticed my stares but didn''t really react, they were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria Looking around I spot the place at which everyone gets food, I pick up a plate and a spoon and I get to the end of the line...I tried to act as natural as possible but I still got a lot of attention While I was waiting in line someone came from behind, he put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me with a grin, which I couldn''t really tell, if that expression was hostile or friendly...his skin was dark the same with the other kids here, something weird, considering the fact that I didn''t notice anyone like that in the capital...there still were some with light skin here but not most *hey brother! It''s not nice to get in line before you even greet us* He spoke in an accent that I could barely understand *sorry about that, my name is Daniel, I''m going to be staying here so I hope we can get along well* I said looking not directly to the guy who approached me but to everyone in the cafeteria *I''m Camol...you should be happy, todays food is made by sister Ellen* With a smile he went back to his seat...I didn''t thought things would be so easy, I had imagined a prison like plot to unfold here, but those kids don''t seem intimidating At last it was my time to get some food, I only ate once per day while traveling so I''m kind of starving here *here is your food, I hope you''ll enjoy it being the first you''re eating here* Sister Ellen was unexpectedly beautiful although she is a nun, she reminds me of Mary *thank you* I thanked her and went on my way to find a free seat... There were 3 long tables, the one closer to the serving place was full, the middle one was also mostly full, but the third only had a couple kids sitting on one side while the two beastkins were on the corner, almost as if there was a barrier between them and the others, no one talked to them or even looked at them ...well that''s not nice I started walking over to them, as I was getting closer, more and more eyes started to occupy me Before I could actually take a seat near the two beastkin, a girl from behind calls me *hey Daniel, you could sit here if you want to* Although the line was said in a kind tone, the intent behind it is just to stop me *no there''s no need, I already found a seat* I say as I take my seat ...everyone silenced for a moment and then started some whispers which later turned into the same noise as before I had taken a seat beside the young beastkin but he seemed to have moved a seat away from me At first they seemed plainly confused but then they just ignored me and continued eating...and so did I...my hunger insisted and my nose couldn''t let me stand still any longer The soup was truly delicious...so I just finished it in less than a minute...that brought some more attention too Now the main reason I sat near them was simply out of curiosity...I just wanted to take a better look at something I had never seen before ...my rude stares was interrupted by the elder of the two *we don''t want any trouble with you or the othe...* *what''s your name?* I interrupt him trying to make him less tense *what do you even care?* *well, how could I not, we are going to be living under the same roof aren''t we?* *if I tell you will you leave us alone?* I nod *maybe yes* *my name is Vendar* I answer just as soon as he does...being a kid makes everything so easy!...you can never beat the annoying tricks kids use to win over talks *what did you say?* Vendar asked with a confused expression as his little friend started to giggle *are you mes...* *how about a challenge?* His face filled with confusion again *what challenge?* *running* Vendar kinda scoffed at my proposal *and what will I get if I win?* *if you win I''ll own you a favor and if I do I can ask you about whatever I want* At that moment a lot of comments popped up about how I was gonna lose miserably A smile formed in Vendars face *ok then, but don''t turn the rules around when you lose* As I guessed he''s not someone to refuse a challenge *I surely won''t do that* ... After agreeing on a time I went with the old nun to show me my room...it is really small...barley fitting a bed in it, it had a lot of dust and the mattress was hard, but it''s just what I wanted, since I won''t have to share it with others This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. After that she just showed me the showers and told me that I was free till night While I was looking around the showers I noticed a small mirror, hanging on the wall...and I realized I didn''t really know what I looked like ...Not really a surprise but I look nothing like I did before...my hair is pure black and messy, my eyes blue and my nose small...it felt strange, now looking at a body which you don''t quite recognize as yours but you have control over it...I was looking at my face for a good 10 minutes...is this really me? was a constant question passing through my head ...to stop myself from drifting away I slapped my face ... The rest of the day I spent exploring...the building had 2 floors, the second one was only for the sleeping rooms and the first one had everything I had already been to and a teaching room I also talked to lots of kids Most of the talks were about how stupid I was for challenging Vendar, they weren''t saying them in a way to make me feel bad but just for how illogical it seemed to them Beastkins are mostly described by them as some bloodthirsty, almost non human animals that will kill if provoked Those are probably exaggerations but even those usually hold some truth or meaning behind them...a war could have broke out in the past, between humans and beastkins, the beastkins might have used some horrible methods in that war, therefore leaving humans a picture like that That was common in earth too... The history of this place...I wanna learn it ... After a while the the sun was just above the horizon line...which meant, it was time for the showdown ...winning or rather, showing off, isn''t really my goal,I just thought that sports and competition in general usually is the best way to connect with someone who wouldn''t easily talk...and I''m also interested to see the potential of the beastkins...and also my own...in the forest I wasn''t really able to run full speed and I didn''t get an opportunity afterwards either ...I had gotten outside...the first thing that came to my mind was how beautiful the scene of the plain grass fields were with the intense light of the sunset hitting them...the second thing was the fact that almost everyone is outside with Vendar, did they gather just to see us? I imagined some kids would watch but not everyone...the whole orphanage, which is like 30 kids Ow well, the more the merrier when I got closer I asked them anyway *why did everyone gather here? Camol answered with a smirk *well everyone wonders just how bad will you lose?* *we''ll see about that...are you ready Vendar?* *yes...we''ll run from this line till that bush, the first to reach it wins* He pointed at a bush, approximately 200 meters away, where his little friend and some others were Vendar without farther talking got into position on his four, it wasn''t the position you see Olympic athletes use but more of an animal ready to attack, with his face, low to the ground and his hips up ...he looked weird but not enough for anyone to laugh...I also got into position, I''m not gonna pretend that I''m a running expert so I just got into whichever position felt more natural Camol got to the side and spoke *I''ll help with the countdown, when you hear go...go* *3...* *2...* *1...go!* At that moment I pushed the ground with all the power my legs could muster, thanks to my skill, quick mind I think I started just a bit earlier than vendar I ran with all I had...the speed I was getting at was almost frightening ...there is no way, Vendar could hope to reach me...with that thought I slightly turned my head to the left to check on him...to my surprise he was more or less a meter behi... *thrud* ...my vision spun together with my body...*ouch* ...I had tripped...while not looking on the ground I must have stepped in front of a rock ...laughter sprout...and embarrassment kicked in At the moment my body stopped it''s wild spin I bolted to the finish again...Vendar had already reached the finishing line and had been looking at me with both worry and surprise It was close so it only took me two seconds to reach it The first thing Vendar told me was *how did you run so fast?* Shaking his head, he changed his question *...nevermind that, are you okay?* *I''m fine but I lost* *no you didn''t, I was barely able to reach your running speed* *yes you did, the rule was whoever reaches here first, wins...you can choose your favor whenever you want* *bu...* Interrupting Vendar was a terrifying scream yelling my name, from the orphanage *Danieeeeel!!!* ...at the distance the granny nun was looking at me with a furious expression... ...with a pitying look Vendar patted my back saying *...good luck...she gets really angry when someone is hurt...* That didn''t help me feel better...but I started walking slowly towards her...the looks of the others were also pitying me...was it this bad? When I got near her without any word she grabbed me my right ear and pulled me till her office ... An hour of scolding had passed...I thought she couldn''t be scarier than her looks but that was totally false Every time I tried to explain anything to her I was just met with more scolding ...for now she let me go because it was sleeping time...something that I can''t wait for! After we got our night lunch, milk and bread...a poor lunch but refreshing whatsoever, we got to our beds And it was finally time to see exactly how op my new skill is... I closed my eyes and soon enough I started to drift...to a not so normal sleep... ______________ -Skill: meditative sleep Activated- ______________ chapter 5 Chapter 5 A small white room with no real lighting, no grey shades forming from the lack of light on the walls, it was dead silent, this room was in complete vacuum...the only thing that existed inside of this room was a man...or perhaps a boy, violently swinging his fists, running around, taking weird stances, checking his balance ... This is so surreal!...I wonder if this is what it''s like to have a lucid dream?...my consciousness is clear, I can pretty much do anything...except I can''t...this doesn''t seem to work the same way dreaming does, where your only limitation is your imagination There is literally nothing but my body in this realm, not even oxygen...I don''t have to breath I tried to see if imagining something would create anything but no matter how much focus I put nothing materialized After giving up on that thought I started to use my skills one by one...as soon as I did I realized something incredible...power burst had no side effects on my body and no cooldown ...after a long period of time of smashing my fists into the wall, jumping from one end of the room to the other and doing pretty much everything you could imagine off...even trying to rip my own arm apart...which worked ...I thought it was about time to also use split mind in here....I had used it before and it was the weirdest thing ever It was as if I had another brain, which was able to operate independently but still staying connected with the other I tried to also try to push the limits of this one too, in the start I did simple things like doing calculations while counting the seconds pass by...then I tried something which I just had to...I cut the connection of the two "brains"...that felt even weirder...it was like there were two copies of me, they were both me and at the same time weren''t...I masturbated and it felt like someone els...ow no, actually I didn''t do that.... ...trying to recover from self embarrassment I connected them again After trying more things I thought of opening the status, just to see if it opens and if it has anything different...and surely enough it does ___ -Status- Level:0. Experience:0/100 (for next level) Name: Daniel age:12 Health:--- Mana:--- Stamina:210/210 -stats: Vitality:--- wisdom:--- Endurance:19 intelligence:16 Dexterity:26 luck:5 Strength:27 Agility:30 Perception:1 -Skills: Quick mind lvl2 Split mind lvl1 Extreme body control lvl2 Power burst lvl2 Water magic resistance lvl1 Meditative sleep lvl1 ___ First of all I leveled up power burst...it''s a shame the system doesn''t give me a window each time a skill levels up, second... why are vitality, wisdom hidden? And with them health and mana? The most logical explanation that I can think of is...because I''m in a sleep?...but then why show stamina and the others? As I was thinking a numbing sensation invaded my body, in less than a second I had fallen to the ground and my consciousness became dull and my vision dimmed... ... I slowly started to feel my body again...I opened my eyes but everything was blurry...After letting my body get it''s energy back I realize, I have woken up Fuck...I realized another thing ...I''m wet! ...I shouldn''t had done it, this is such a pain in the ass! ...not that I did anything... ... Everyone has woken up and we are currently eating breakfast at the cafeteria This place really shows it''s beauty in the morning, when the sun has just came above the horizon, the sunlight passes through the windows, hitting my skin and warming me up from the chilling atmosphere of the morning...the kids thankfully enough didn''t recover yet from their sleep so they are rather quiet, not ruining the moment I had taken the same sit as yesterday but the beastkins weren''t here yet After I was done with the food they showed up...but as soon as they did nun Marybeth, looking directly at us...clearly she hasn''t forgot about yesterday *Daniel and Vendar* she yelled as if to get our attention *you two will have fun today, cleaning the toilets and the washroom* Damnit... ... Torturing my nose, is what I''m doing right now...by cleaning the toilets I didn''t imagine we would have to get the "waste" out of them...they use what romans used, a wooden bench with holes, I used them before but I was quick enough to hold my breath More than me, Vendar seems to be in pain, he clenches his eyes and firmly covers his nose with his left hand while holding the bucket full of shit with the right Looking at him I think of doing it by myself, but I soon dismiss that idea...it will take me too long *gathering shit...what am I even doing her?* Vendar spoke, his words to me seemed like something I should be saying... *say Verdan...why are you here?* *didn''t you lose? I don''t think I have to answer* *well if you ca...* Vendar as if to avoid having to deal with my talking games decided to answer *ok, ok, I would imagine you know of the red mountain range right?* Mary mentioned it when I asked her to explain a bit of the geography *I know where it is...* With a sigh Vendar continued *it''s where my race resides...not a fun place, their rules are strict and with the new leader everything went to hell, whoever seemed like a threat to his ideas was killed on the spot by his mob, lots of us seek refuge to other countries...and well...the Ghenhar kingdom was the only to accept us* He avoided telling me anything personal but I don''t want to pressure him too much *did you come here with your little friend?* *Dein is my brother...* He looked at me with a face you would make when you hear something stupid *well I can''t be sure till I hea...* *anyway...how come you aren''t scared of me?* *Why should I?...I mean, I''m stronger than you* *no you aren''t...* *yes I am, what about another chal...* *no thank you...I don''t wanna end up doing this again...and I don''t want to see you fail that hard another time...though I kinda do* He ended it with a grin *excuses...* ... The sun had yet to reach its climax and we were finally done with the chores We still had some time till dinner so I went on a place that Vendar wanted to show me together with his brother Dein If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As we were about half through to the destination I asked a question *are you sure we can be this far into the forest without letting Marybeth nun know?* *we wouldn''t be able to come here if we let her know...* he said with smiling *...I guess so...* ...the ground in the forest is really uneven, full of rocks and roots from the trees...not suited for humans to walk on, but I don''t have much trouble running on it, I think it might be because of the perception stat Suddenly Vendar slowed down and signalled me to stop *we are close...be extra careful with your steps and don''t make any sounds...* He said with a whisper *what are you going to show me?* *you''ll see...just stay quiet for now* I nod After following Vendar from behind, going uphill, we ended up in a steep cliff, he then again reminded me to not make a sound ...when I approached to look down I heard some sounds...of something moving...soon I realized it wasn''t one thing moving A whole horde of bunnies! Not normal ones though, they were double the size of a normal one and had one sharp horn on their forehead Some of them were eating some fighting with each other...and some, doing "what bunnies do" ...I really wasn''t expecting this when Vendar said he wanted to show me something...this is a gold mine! *those are horned bunnies...I discovered this last year...* His mood shifted to a more serious tone... *unfortunately when I found this place I was a bit... too hot headed...* *you tried to fight them immediately?* *yes...well...I somehow ended up getting away...thankfully enough I didn''t bring Dein with me back then* he said while scratching his head *so you brought me to help* *yes...* *do you have a plan?* *kinda...just listen...* Vendar went on and explained his plan...which...was not brilliant at all Because the bunnies would never leave their area in small groups, he wanted me to...pretty much become a bait, get the attention of a few and lead them to an ambush ...it could work...but there is a high chance of attracting too many at once ...First I addressed another problem *how are we going to fight them without weapons?!* *well...we don''t really need them...* He explained about how he previously fought with them bare handed and that he had confidence in handling 2 alone *and another thing... why did you bring Dein here?* He again took his moody expression, looking down and said *he...needs this, in 1 year I will be leaving the orphanage and I need him to be strong* Vendar looked at Dein and patted his head...that kid never talks, Dein is probably 2 years younger than me *ok, if we won''t have weapons we at least need a good plan* *but my plan wa...* *it was terrible...* ... After making them wait to think of a better plan... I feel defeated...there really is no other way we could use right now to do this...I criticized Vendar for having such a bad plan, but I can''t come up with a better one *Vendar...after all I think we should go with your plan...I did think of a better one...but since you found this place you get to decide* Vendar asks me in confusion *really?* *yeah...* ... I''m currently hiding behind a bush observing the bunnies...there are like 60 of them, which is dangerous, this horde could potentially be a threat to a small village, their horns are sharp, and from what Vendar said, they can easily pierce through me...their only downside is that their movements are predictable I take a bunch of pebbles from the ground and throw them 6 meters away, some of them react and come to investigate...4 of them came...the others just went back to their business And now...I run!! As expected they noticed me and started chasing me...they are fast! but the terrain is actually on my side here, they would have easily caught up to me in a plain field...in this forest my more agile body is my advantage This time I don''t make the same mistake of looking back, I can hear them behind me and that''s enough In no time we had reached the ambush point I take a quick right turn behind a tree Two small figures appear behind the bunnies... those figures threw themselves on the back of the two last bunnies, with one hand they held their horns, the other wrapped around their stomach, and with their own legs they were securing the back legs Before the front bunnies could notice, a traumatizing sight took place... The two figures started to wildly chew on the necks of their prey ...the figures became red from the blood and the prey had stoped moving ... that''s truly brutal The other two were almost paralyzed, watching their friends die... ...that was my time to strike I grip the two sharp sticks I had prepared and with no time to spare I impale them into their neck...*squiii* a light pitched screech comes out of their mouth as they spit the blood that continuously goes up their throat They aren''t dead yet... the one on the right is facing my way and from what I can tell Is preparing to charge, I jump towards the left bunny and I grab it, with my left arm its horn and with the other its leg It struggles...but the struggles don''t last long enough...as its buddy had just pierced through its stomach... I quickly take the stick off the neck of the bunny I was holding and while standing on top of the one left alive, I stab... And stab And stab...and stab...and stab... ...not a pretty sight...I mean how can a fight of life and death be pretty anyway? I look upon my victims, and I mentally ask for forgiveness... ... While doing so...something familiar and yet out of place showed up... ____________ ** !Congratulations! ** -- You have leveled up! You are now level 1 -- You have leveled up! You are now level 2 -- You have leveled up! You are now level 3 -- You have leveled up! You are now level 4 _____________ ______ You now have: 20 unallocated stat points _____ Those windows would have normally helped my mood...but unfortunately, they didn''t help at all... chapter 6 Chapter 6 Blood all over my body, the smell was metallic, something I had been very familiar with in my previous life, its taste was just like human blood, salty with a bit of iron In my hand I held the stick I used to kill the two bunnies Vendar and Dein were standing in front of me, carrying their pray in their back Trying to break the ice, Vendar asked *did you level up?* Shaking my head and trying to clean my face with my cloth, I get up and respond with a forced smile *yes I did! 4 whole levels!* ...being down about this is unnecessary, I will continue to kill so I can grow...I''ll step over others so they won''t step over me and I will challenge fate so I won''t be bound by it *whaaat?! from just the two of them?! What level are you now?* in surprise his eyes opened, contradicting the blood with his blue irises...it looked weird as he was at the same time trying to resist the metallic smell *yep, I''m now level 4* *wha...* *let the questions for later, we should get going for now...* *ok...* ... We each carried what we killed and headed for a river we came across before coming here ...the water was cold, but the quicker I get this sting off, the better The blood came off easily and followed the flow of the water, leaving a red trail behind us We washed our clothes and our bodies, Vendar said that even if the blood is gone, the smell won''t leave without effort The fish passing by, when they came in contact with the blood immediately swum away ...staring mindlessly at the reflection of myself, it doesn''t take much for my imagination to picture an accident I had recently forgotten, memories flow fast, just like that time... and I get a headache Damn it! *spa* I give myself a good slap and start hopping in the water Vendar and Dein just looked at me with their weirded out expressions *come on, lets get going!* I said enthusiastically *sure...* ... About half an hour later, our clothes were almost dry, we went into the orphanage like nothing had happened...and of course, there were no reactions, except of camol casually greeting us and asking where we were out of interest...he doesn''t seem as bad as I expected, when he first came up to me I thought he was just trying to intimidate me ...Dinner was being served so we went in line and got ourselves some food, this time it was a soup made from something that looked like a potato and other vegetables ...Not really my cup of tea but a hungry man would eat just about anything When I was done, I set a time to meet with Vendar and his brother later on...I needed some time alone in my room to cool down for a moment ...this bed, even though it''s hard, the fact that I can feel it makes it better than the hospital one...why did those memories hit me so hard at that moment? It was like I had a forced flashback My previous memories, at least a small part of them came back to being vivid clear...it''s bizarre, I feel like my old self has been ripped apart and I am just the 10% of what I used to be like...it''s not that I don''t remember my previous life, but more like I was just ignoring it Perhaps it''s better that way...after all there''s not much to forget, is there? With a long inhale and a slow exhale I prepare myself for a bit of excitement ___ -Status- Level:4. Experience:74/400 (for next level) Name: Daniel age:12 Health:120 Mana:26/40 Stamina:172/210 -stats: Vitality:12 wisdom:4 Endurance:19 intelligence:16 Dexterity:26 luck:5 Strength:27 Agility:30 Perception:1 -Skills: Quick mind lvl3 Split mind lvl1 Extreme body control lvl3 Power burst lvl2 Water magic resistance lvl1 Meditative sleep lvl1 - 20 unallocated stat points- ___ Cool...extreme body control and quick mind levelled up...though I already had a feeling about them, it''s still nice to see it written ...so...where shall I put those points? First I can forget about luck, from what I heard it''s not something you can change and I also won''t be using magic any time soon so intelligence and wisdom are also not an option ...I know pretty much what all of my stats do except of perception ...Without further delay I decide to put 5 of them into perception, just out of interest, to see what my "special" stat does _____ Are you sure you want to invest 5 stat points on perception? _____ A window with a simple question popped up A simple mental yes was enough for it to disappear What came afterwards was a warm feeling that enveloped my eyes and a slight headache, my vision became blurry for a moment so I squinted my eyes...when I opened them up I noticed that the window was back...or not, it was a different one ____ Condition for new skill met: perception > 5 New skill acquired: appraisal ____ A skill?! just from raising a stat? ...I wonder if this is normal for all stats Checking on appraisal, I realise just how lucky i am...even though my luck is 5...this skill makes this world even more game like, it can give me information about anything and the amount of it depends on the type of information and my skill level...plus it tells me how much damage each of my strikes do to my opponent At first glance from someone who comes from earth, where unlimited information is taken for granted this skill may not seen all that great, but for my situation it''s just perfect ... ____ Pillow Distance: 1 meter ____ My first target was my pillow, I actually didn''t expect more than a name to pop up, so that''s good after going through everything in my room I looked outside my small window, looking down I could see some kids running around ____ Human female age 9 level3 Distance: 12 meters away ____ ____ Human male age 7 level3 Distance: 13 meters away ____ ____ Human male age 12 level4 Distance: 16 meters away ____ This is actually pretty decent for the skill being level 1...I wonder just how much more it would reveal if I level it up... With that thought I spent a good hour or more wondering around aimlessly, appraising everything I could...of course the skill didn''t level up, I can only imagine how many things I need to use it on to get enough experience for it ...when I got kinda bored I realised I forgot two things...one, that I have 15 points remaining and two...I forgot I had to meet with Vendar in the woods Damn it... When I got to our meeting point I was relieved to find him still being there...though I got scolded for being late ...after we dug the bunnies out of where we put them, Vendar tried to cut their neck off with a kitchen knife...his face was pretty much emotionless if you were to ignore his resistance of the stench...the smell was really strong, even for me When he was done we put the heads in a cloth bag and buried the rest of the bodies The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The plan was to go into the capital and sell them but there is the problem that Vendar is a beastkin...he brought with him a cloth to both cover his ears and his tail but it''s still dangerous, while the citizens may not go crazy and kill him, I would imagine their reaction would cause trouble *Vendar, you know I could go alo...* He was quick to speak *no...it''s not that I don''t trust you...I just need to experience being in human towns* *ok...* He will be living alone next year so I understand him ...thinking about Vendar...I didn''t check him with appraisal yet, did I? ____ Beastkin male age 14 level--- Distance: 1 meter away ____ that''s strange... While we were walking towards the gates I thought of asking *Vendar...what level are you?* First he looked at me with a questioning look but he then surprisingly answered *since I already know yours I guess you have to know mine... I''m 13 now* *wow, you''re pretty high level* *yes I am...so I still don''t understand how you, a level 0 could beat me in running since agility is one of my highest stats...I don''t think you lied but even thinking about it gives me a headache* *hmm...technically I didn''t beat you, by the way, just a reminder...you still have that favor from me* *yes, yes, I won''t forget* ... The gate was again full of people going in and out, lots of them were talking to each other, about trading, traveling and random gossips...one of them caught my attention *did you hear about the evacuation of the eastern villages?* *I did, but no one really knows the reason behind it* *ow well, there are lots of rumours, some saying that the beastkins have finally moved out of their territory, others saying that the nobles will just use the area for magic experiments...but the most worrying one is...* His face turned a little more serious and he whispered the rest in his ear *they say that a world destroyer was born near that region...* I somehow got close enough to hear it The other mans face just filled with disbelief *stop saying stupid stuff...that''s not even funny* He said as he lightly pushed the man...but that push was enough to knock towards me and hit me in the way As that man looked behind him to see what he had come in contact, he stared at me with disgust and immediately put his hand in his pocket *...thieving little bastard...* He gave me a hostile look but fortunately didn''t proceed with making a scene out of it Vendar quickly grabbed me near him *don''t make trouble! You have no clue how easy it is for an orphan to end up as a slave!* *I''m sorry, I''ll be more careful next time* *or you could just stay away from others and mind your own busin...* Trying to stop the scolding from continuing I asked him a question *Vendar, do you know what a world destroyer is?* *...he was probably just joking* *you heard it too?* *yes, my ears can pick up way more than yours* *I see, so what is it?* *...it is something out of fairy tales, monsters capable of wiping out the whole world...some of those stories speak of a red fog, that was alive, whatever it came in contact with died, it is supposed to have wiped a continent, and there is another legend about a massive tree, it is said to have grown so big that it was touching the moon...that tree is supposed to have absorbed all the water that existed, till the seas became deserts* *as the name suggests, those are creatures able to annihilate all life...but those are just tales, so don''t worry* While listening to Vendar I was wondering of one single thing...why do those monsters sound so familiar? It''s like I have heard of them before, but can''t really remember where ...anyway...it seems it''s our turn to be checked The guard gave us a signal to come forward, so we did and showed him our pass It is a bracelet with a tiny white gem, harry gave it to me, it is supposed to just be a pass for getting into the capital, but I doubt they would get out of their way to make them, just for it to act like a pass The guard let us in, as soon as we showed him the bracelets...he didn''t even ask what we were carrying in our bag, I wonder if that''s a good thing or not ... We have been going from shop to shop for like 2 hours and still no one willing to buy them, most of them just said *no, get out* Finally we decided to check if blacksmiths would buy it...Vendar stayed out this time though, the smell of iron and the noise coming from hammering was just too much for him When I got in I was greeted by a short old man, he had a heavy build and a long stretching beard...is this a dwarf? *what''s a youngling doing here?* The old man asked *I''m sorry for entering sir, I''m trying to sell bunny horns...after being rejected so many times from shops, I thought a blacksmith might see a need in them* I tried to sound as humble as possible and kept my head lowered *hahaha...* the man laughed *of course and they rejected you, only guilds would buy monster parts* *an...* *but you''re really lucky kid, I just #?=#& got an order for which I''ll need those horns* *really?* I said with excitement *yes, how about 2 silver coins for all 4 of them?* ...wow!...I got really surprised but I kept it in, Vendar said 1 silver was decent for all of them but this old man was offering double *thank you very much sir! I''m really grateful!* I bowed and gave him the bag *hahaha! No need be so uptight...by the way boy, did you catch them by yourself?* He said while handing me the coins *not really, I had 2 friends with me* *still, one mistake would be enough for your life to #?!&¡ê...if you want money there are a lot of jobs you could do* Again a word I didn''t quite understand... *thank you for your care sir, but money isn''t what I''m after* *I see...well if you ever need a job, you can come here* I wonder why he''s so decent to me? *thank you for the offer sir, I''ll be sure to consider it! Have a nice day!* ...and so I left the blacksmith Vendar was also surprised that we got 2 silver for them, but since we didn''t have much time left we went back to the orphanage When we arrived, it was nearing night time and everyone was looking for us...although the orphanage was free and we were allowed to leave, almost no one ever left for the capital and we didn''t even notify them Well fortunately, this time nun Marybeth didn''t get all that angry so we got away with a *don''t ever leave without permission* After a simple night lunch we went for sleep This was a pretty tiring day...but definitely not a bad one, I still have 15 points to spend which I''m not going to carelessly waste and I also have this coin... ...I still wonder if this is real or not...magic, skills, stats, monsters...in a world like this should I pursue glory? Strength? Mastery? Or just lead a peaceful life ...I really don''t know, but at least now I have a choice chapter 7 Chapter 7 Fuck... Just what is this creature... ___ Ogre level 3 (hostile) Health: 830 Distance: 5 meters ___ It has a human like posture, its body, covered by muscle and black fur, red eyes, pointy ears and a pair of two bulls like horns With one swing of its arm, the 3 meters tall figure sent Dein flying only to stop by hitting his back on a tree, screaming and spitting blood on the ground...seeing this scene his brother filled with both anger and fear, jumped in front of Dein in his four, growling like a wild dog while staring at the ogre with blood filled eyes *Vendar calm dow...* *kakakaka...kamobe ser vond sagonda* The ogre luaghed and looked at his arms, fully ignoring us and talking to himself in a language I couldn''t understand Its face was...ha...it...was crying?...while still...smiling? What is going on? More importantly how do we get out of this situation...I only have a short sword with me, running would be an option, only if Dein hadn''t been hit *ken cande lindo...ka ka ka...* The ogre continued with its blabbering *Vendar, we need to do something...don''t lose your temper...do we fight or do we run?* *graawl!* Vendar as a response growled at me *ok...I guess we fight...* I whispered, while observing the ogre ...for the past 3 days I have only fought against horned bunnies, reaching level 14...but I''m lacking essential experience with the sword...my greatest advantage is the combination of my skill, quick thinking lvl4 and the agility stat which I raised to 50 Everything is moving 0,4 times slower for me...I can think and react faster...but even though the monster is low level, it still probably has more strength than me ...I need to somehow test its speed I lower myself and reach the ground with my left arm, trying to grab a small rock without the ogre noticing With a movement that would seem like a blur to a normal human, I throw the rock, aiming for the head *Tuk* the rock hit it, missing its left eye just by an inch ...the ogre didn''t react, didn''t even blink...did it failed to avoid it or did it just not care? I can''t be sure... It stopped laughing and turned its gaze on me... am I scared? A little bit yes...but I can get him for sure I take an appropriate position with my sword ready, in front of me The ogre aims towards me with his arm and lowers his body...it pushed the ground with its legs and flew like an arrow...the moment it did Vendar jumped with his mouth open ready to bite the creature Unfortunately the ogre saw him coming and with the same swing it used on his brother, it hit Vendar...but that was enough for me, as the orge was not looking I threw the second rock I had picked up, this time applying a small amount of power burst and actually aiming for its eye *gah* the ogre let out a sound of pain as the sharp rock embedded itself in the place of his left eye and a small window appeared in the side of my vision ___ Critical hit: 68 damage ___ The ogre halted and held his eye with his right arm...in that time just as Vendar had landed on the ground he jumped again, this time landing his teeth on its right shoulder, he bit and bit and bit, for as long as he could, till an arm catched him by his hair and threw him back about 4 meters Now is the opportunity! While the ogre isn''t facing me I dash, with some power burst applied on both my legs and arms, I pierce through where the heart should be *gaaaaaghhhagh* the ogre let out a long and loud scream while another window popped up ____ Critical hit : 378 damage ____ I push my legs against its back getting my blade out of it ____ 32 damage ____ Checking back on its status I see that his health has dropped down to 273 and a bleeding effect is right beside it We have done a lot of damage but it''s still too early to drop our guard down... **uaaaaaaaaaaaaagh** the ogre yelled, this time not from pain but anger...I can''t see its face but I''m sure it''s not all that pretty Blood was still sprouting off its wound but it was still standing tall Without even looking behind to see what has hit it, the ogre took a step towards Vendar, and another step...and another step, you could really feel its weight under each of them Vendar still being dazed off on the ground, hadn''t noticed the danger that was approaching him ...is it really so stupid? After turning his back on me, he does it again? well don''t blame anyone but your brain for dying... I once again dash towards his back, this time not using my skill since the distance isn''t all that gre... ___ You took 126 damage ___ *Guaaa!* a small yelp came from my mouth as my body started rolling till it hit a tree ...What the fuck! How did he knew I was moving towards him when I made sure to be silent and how did h... he predicted it?... damn it this hurts, my lungs feel pressured and I can hardly breath *thud* *kuhh*...what was that? ... *thud* *gaaah!* Looking at the source of the sound, the ogre, I feel something driving my body to get up ...rage Vendar...his face is beneath the bloody foot of the damn beast, his legs are broken, and so is one of his arms... ...my sword...it''s too far away... Without even thinking I dash...my body sends its refusal on to my brain as pain but I ignore it Coming so close to it, I prepare for what''s to come... the beast swings its left arm behind it, while not looking but I avoid it...Without a weapon all I have is my fist, with its back still facing me I punch my arm into the open wound When my arm gets right in, I fully activate all the potential of power burst onto my arm muscles... and with the combination of extreme body control I... spin my hand, in ways that shouldn''t be possible *klaak, gluagh...* sounds of bones breaking and meat being grinded keep repeating, some of the bones are unfortunately the ones of my hand ___ Critical hit : 241 ___ The ogre spitted blood...more blood... and more...It was coming out like a continuous vomit, it wasn''t stoping My arm... I couldn''t feel it... I gave the complete control of it to my other mind and cut the connection...no pain came from it ...finally I pulled my arm out when I got the confirmation ** !Congratulations! ** -- You have leveled up! You are now level 15 -- You have leveled up! You are.... .... ...... .......... ........ ....... ......... .... ....... . . . ... ..... .... . ...... ........ .... ..... . .... ... . . ... ...... ...... .. ....... .... .. .. _____________ Disregarding the window, I toss the beast to the side and immediately get close to Vendar ___ Beastkin level 15 age 14 Health: 23 (unconscious) Distance:0 ___ Fucking shit...this is all my fault, if only I hadn''t insisted in staying for more Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. *I''m sorry Vendar* A hand touched my shoulder ___ Beastkin level 10 age 10 Health: 56 Distance:0 ___ It was Dein...thank god he''s not that hurt *I can carry Vendar, can you walk by yourself?* Dein said as he handed me my sword *don''t be stupid I wi... aagh!* As I was trying to take Vendar on my back, a pain coming from my right arm expanded throughout the rest of my body *I told you I will carry him!* Unexpectedly Dein yelled at me with a slightly angry look...while tears were filling his eyes *I''m sorry... if you can, please carry him* Dein picked up his injured brother and started walking...he tried to suppress it but I could tell, his body was still in pain One way or another I did the same...trying to ignore anything coming from my right arm with the help of split mind ... We shouldn''t be too far... just a little bit more and we''ll reach the orphanage...he has 17 health remaining...please hang on! While I was praying for the survival of my friend, Dein stopped moving Is he alright? As I went closer to him, he signalled me to stop...I did and he just kept being still This is worrying me *get down* Dein whispered while slowly hiding himself beneath a bush, together with his brother I too went beneath another bush...and soon I realised why he did this *tun, klan, tun klan* sounds of footsteps and iron colliding came closer and closer What could it be now?! Soon those sounds stopped...that was when they reached us ...a bunch of men with different kinds of armor and one woman wearing wearing a robe...I can''t get a good look at them so I can''t use appraisal ...should we ask for help?...but they aren''t guards... *now, now... there''s no need to hide* One of the men wearing light armor said Fuck! We were discovered anyway! I quickly jump out of the bush, landing in front of the brothers with my sword on my left arm *gyaaah!* The woman screamed as she too jumped back, only to fall on top of her comrade The other guys too looked at me with a but of shock, was I that scary?...then I realised they weren''t exactly looking at me but my right arm Taking a look at it, I too more than understood their feeling...my arm were beyond repair...every bone was broken, my fingers my wrist, my hand and it was covered in blood I previously avoided looking at it, being afraid to see exactly this While pointing my blade to the men close to me, I speak *who are you and what do you want?* *easy there boy, we are a team of adventures, we were send here with orders from the kingdom* *to do what?* They all looked at each other and nodded *an unknown monster is supposed to have spawned somewhere near...* After a slight pause he continued *...did you perhaps encounter a powerful monster?* Lets hope they don''t lie...I anyway have no way of winning against them... *yes, but you don''t have to worry its been dealt with* The man looked at me with disbelief *by who?* *us* I step aside revealing the two brothers *ow my goddess... what happened to you?* The woman spoke with her arms in front of her mouth Some of them looked at the two with pity but also with a slight distaste *please I beg you!* I get on my knees *can one of you carry this one to the capital?* I couldn''t tell their reaction because I was looking to the ground...I felt a soft touch on my right shoulder, then I could hear the lady whispering something...and suddenly a familiar glow filled my right arm ___ You gained 125 health ___ As the glow disappeared I could feel my bones, somehow getting back to their place...it was a pleasing feeling but a horrific sight ...healing magic! I lifted my head and looked at her *please if you could use this on my friend!* *don''t worry boy, he''ll be fine* She then went on to heal the others in the same way *shouldn''t you save your mana for later Arlene* *can''t you see the state they''re at?!* The lady answered back with a scolding attitude *leader...* He then whispered to the tall man beside him *she is right...* *what will happen if we get inj...* Trying to remind them I cut him out *the monster is dead...go check for yourself, it''s not too far away* And they still looked at me with disbelief ... After some arguing between them they decided to go andcheck while leaving the lady behind to heal us Vendars face started to look a bit more normal now *thank you lady!...if there is ever anything I can do for you I will* *what is your name boy?* She asked politely with a smile *I''m Daniel, they are Vendar and Dein* *well Daniel, if you want to do something for me how about staying out of danger?* *I''m sorry but that I can''t promise* *at least try...* *I can try not to die...* I answered with a small grin *why are kids always so stubborn...* Arlene whispered to herself ... The others had returned and Arlene was done healing the unconscious Vendar and the blushing Dein Two of the men were carrying the ogre...looking at it from the front you could see its rib bones coming out of its chest in random directions and a still bleeding hole in the middle...I don''t want to use this again When Arlene saw it, she wasn''t shocked by its wounds, she just seemed confused *what monster is this?* she asked the tall man who seemed to be their leader *we don''t know either, it looks similar to an orc but its obviously not one... just what killed it though* The man said while scratching his head I''m not gonna repeat myself a third time... ... The light coming from the ever rising sun is hitting the faces of the two sleeping brothers but that''s not enough to wake them up, the scent of blood is gone...I can only smell the tea that nun Ellen prepared for me, similar to that of chamomile I can''t stop thinking about what happened ...just where did that monsters come from...we were in the same area, hunting the bunnies, from what I heard there is a magic barrier surrounding the whole forest, near the capital...it''s supposed to keep any strong monsters away...did we went past it? or did it somehow break through? Either way we''ll have to rethink of our hunting method But just what was going on with that monster? Its behaviour was just strange going back through that fight on my mind, I remembered something...I levelled up ___ -Status- Level:22. Experience:113/2000(for next level) Name: Daniel age:12 Health:330 Mana:26/50 Stamina:264/320 -stats: Vitality:32 wisdom:5 Endurance:29 intelligence:16 Dexterity:36 luck:5 Strength:27 Agility:50 Perception:11 -Skills: Quick mind lvl4 Split mind lvl1 Extreme body control lvl4 Power burst lvl3 Water magic resistance lvl1 Meditative sleep lvl2 Miahora language lvl 1 - 49 unallocated stat points - ___ *...mmh...ha?!* My eyes were no longer in their place and neither was my jaw chapter 8 Chapter 8 How did I level up so much from that monster? I was expecting at most to get one or two levels higher...perhaps it was a special kind of monster? Somehow the kingdom knew of it''s location and sent some high level adventures, I wasn''t able to see anyone''s level which means they''re at least higher than 22 Well in the end they saved Vendar''s life, so I can only feel grateful towards them focusing on my current situation...I''m yet again cleaning the toilets, this time I don''t have Vendar joining in with me as he''s still recovering, but Dein ...I''ll have to be doing this for the next two weeks though... Do I have to actually stay here? What''s the point of staying in the capital when I could be exploring the world... That thought quickly vanishes when I take a look at the poor little Dein struggling to keep his nose shut...I actually have friends...I didn''t had any real friends in my previous life and I never really thought much about it, "what is so special about friends...after all they can make no difference in my life...even if I''m alone I can still find ways to entertain myself" that was what my past self would come up with to avoid depression, but I don''t need to make excuses anymore It''s only been 4 days since I met those two but I already feel bounded with them While we were walking back to the toilets to get the next load of crap I noticed two figures, one tall, wearing black armor and another short in a white robe...they were walking towards the front entrance of the orphanage, while we were the other way around Dein also noticed them, and well...just out of curiosity we quickly left our buckets in the side of the toilets and went around to spy on them We were standing just around the corner, I want take a sneak peak but they''ll probably realise me...*dok, dok* they knocked on the door There isn''t really a need to knock as it''s only locked at night, but perhaps they feel the need to be polite *Dein ha...* *shhh* this kid... I tried to ask him if they had come here before but he quickly silenced me, by blocking my mouth with his hand I could see his ears moving till coming to a stop, from how concentrated he looks I would guess he''s eavesdropping...since his hearing is way over the capabilities of mine I can only get a picture of what he''s receiving from his expression...from excited he went to questioning, his eyes looked down and suddenly he became gloomy *what?* I ask whispering as quietly as I could He looked at me with worry, as if pitying me for some reason *you...have to leave* What is that all about? Have they come to transfer me to a different orphanage? If so why?...while I stay still in silence trying to think Dein forcibly drags me back to the toilets *dein wh* *listen Daniel, you don''t have time...I don''t know what you did to them but they aren''t looking for you to nicely ask you for something* *what would they want from me?* *as if I know, they just said that they would take you by force if nee...* *well, well, well...so my feeling didn''t lie, did it?* an adults voice cut in and a man in light black armor appeared behind Dein Just by surprise I jumped back like a cat suddenly being scared of something and so did Dein it''s probably one of the two that were standing in the door...but how did he creep up on us without even Dein realising ____ Human level ----- Health ----- Distance: 2 meters ____ Shit, not being able to tell his level means that it''s higher than mine... what do I do? I don''t even have the sword with me *could you perhaps be Daniel?* the man asks a question directed for me *no* a flat no escaped my mouth The man made a big smile...before I could realise what had happened I felt a terrible pain in my stomach and I was sent flying a couple of meters back landing with my feet this time...flying had became a regular experience for me ___ You took 51 damage ___ ...todays food was now spilled in front of me in the form of puke...what the fuck was that, the man didn''t even move and it felt like I took a punch *hmmm...you''re quite tough aren''t you? I''m surprised your even able to stand* Dein seeing the situation jumped towards the man''s feet ready to bite, unfortunately he was struck to the ground, as if he was being held down by his own weight...that''s when I understood what was actually happening, the man isn''t by any means fast enough for me not to be able to track...he is using magic, more specifically some kind of wind manipulation It was apparent when I saw the air blowing in the grass around Dein *what do you want?* I ask trying to buy time The first question I have to answer in my mind is whether to run or fight...I''m really hesitating in the thought of fighting him, after all I have almost no knowledge on what magic can do, it would be like going in blindfolded *you don''t have to worry kid, I''m not here to kill you...you see some people are suspicious of you and just want to meet you* *what sort of bullshit is that? If someone wants to meet me they can come by themselves* Well, lets just see how this involves for now *you should be more polite to adults, kid* *says the one who uses a punch as a greeting* The mans mouth once again started to form a creepy grin and as it did I concentrated hard, at the moment I could feel a light breeze in my chest I jumped back a few meters diagonally, as expected a strong current of wind passed just by me *tss...* an annoyed expression replaced his grin As long as I can dodge him he is no threat...perhaps I don''t have to run away *what is wrong old man? Did something happen?* a provoked enemy is also an easily distracted one *kid, you can''t survive with just luck* He said as he took a few steps closer ...could it be? I jump back three times, getting the distance between us a bit longer *haha, so you''re running away* the man said as he started accelerating towards me ...so there is a limit to his range, that is reassuring in case I have to run away but right now, I''ll have to get closer So I ran away...not with all my energy but enough for it to seem like I''m actually avoiding him *hahaha, you think you can get away with this kind of speed?* And so he started chasing me If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. In no time he already was 3 meters behind, I was expecting a magic attack to come my way by this moment but it would seem he isn''t using it...whether it may be because he doesn''t want to use it or because he can''t, there is no escape for him In a movement that would seem too fast for the normal human eye to follow I place both my legs in a place with no grass, where I won''t slip as easily *ghuaa!* ____ Critical hit 94 damage ____ With his forward momentum and mine backwards he didn''t have any time to react Activating power burst and limiting its use with extreme body control I gave him a kick in the stomach with both my legs He uncontrollably fell to the ground and started puking And I then went on to give him a good kick in the legs ___ 48 damage ___ *is this polite enough for your standards?* I ask him in a sarcastic way* *ghhh!....you fucghhin... bastghard!... I''ll fghh kill you!* *what did you say? I couldn''t hear you?* *ghaaaah! You aregh dead!* The man''s face was twisted with rage, his breathing became faster than before and his skin started taking a reddish tone and blood started coming out of his nose Shit, what is he doing?...being alerted from that sight I take a few steps back...then I decided it would be better to actually run But the moment I turned my back towards him something crazy happened...the ground was taken off my foot, or rather I was taken off the ground *you whon''t escape!* ...a tornado formed out of nowhere, encircling the man but not effecting him My body flew in circles while steadily elevating, I could hardly tell which way was down and which was up, the sound of the constant air blowing in my ears was loud and my vision also being hindered from the dust, I could barely open my eyes...but when I did open them, it wasn''t the most welcoming view...! I was sent flying off the tornado at like a 100 meters up?! What do I do??!! I obviously can''t control my body midair!...what the fuck is this ability anyway? This is way too overpowering! Am I going to die like this?...I can''t accept such a death! ... Wait a second! There may be a way In the mid of my downfall I finally found something that would let me live the fall, but just as I was about to apply my idea, something unexpected happened...my falling speed started to slow down, from what I could tell to be the same air magic the old man used...is he helping me? My speed was reduced by at least half the speed, but that would still not be enough for me...after all I have to do it... But yet again before I could do anything, another startling thing happened...water...where did it come from, I wouldn''t know, but this was enough to stop me ___ 36 damage taken ___ *aouch* I finally hit the ground, my legs hurt both because I used power burst with them and cause I landed on them...but no serious injuries More importantly, just wha... *Daaanieeeell!* Ow...I know that voice...turning around I confirm that it''s indeed nun Marybeth *what are you doing flying so high?!* *ask him!* I say pointing my finger towards the lunatic that is still encircled in the tornado She takes a good look at the man inside and then makes a gesture with her hands ...the tornado suddenly vanished? Is it a coincidence or did nun Marybeth do something? The man collapsed to the ground *oi! I demand explanations! What happened to my guard?!* Another mans voice came from the orphanage It was the other man in the white robe that came together with this guy, taking a better look at him he kinda looks like a priest *Nun!, just what did you do to him!* *don''t come screaming to me! What was he doing here in the first place? He even tried to kill the kids! If someone has a demand for explanation, that''s me! You little shithead!* *how dare you disrespect the church! You should know better for who you insult!* So he is a priest... *the church? So you''ll also put the responsibility of hurting kids in the name of the church?* The man was furious but stayed silent, all he could do was direct his enraged gaze on us *We still aren''t done with our business, so you can be sure that this isn''t over!* The man said as he walked towards the beaten up lunatic Nun Marybeth is actually pretty impressive, seeing how she takes a stand against the church...after all the church holds power similar to the king in this country But really now...why were they after me? I have never interacted with the church in anyway, so what''s up with that? While thinking I noticed the Nun was looking at me...ow not again *just what am I going to do with you Daniel?* That was not the usual yelling I was expecting, but a worrying look filled with frustration ...constantly creating trouble, I am becoming too much of burden aren''t I? *I''m sorry nun! I don''t know what they had with me but I''ll try not to make you worry anymore!* I said with a straight face She didn''t say anything, she just took Dein who was sitting behind her by his hand and headed inside, and so did I ...*You have one more week to count...* the nun said in a low voice Damn it... ... Afterwards I got a quick heal from nun Ellen and went into Vendar''s room together with Dein to explain what had just happened *and in the end I was somehow saved...I''m glad I didn''t have to spend all my points on health that time* *heheh, if I was there I would''ve beaten that guy in a split second* *yeah, sure...* *what yo...* Cutting off Vendar was his brother, Dein...recently he has started to open up *Daniel...actually the one who saved you was nun Marybeth* *what are you talking about Dein, as if the old nun could use powerful magic like that...and even of two elements...that''s insane* Vendar questioned his brother *No, he is probably right, I too saw her use some kind of gesture movement to cancel the tornado* Vendar looking at the door with a semi-scared face, says *doesn''t that make her even scarier? Only looking like a witch was enough to send you the chills...but now learning that she is actually one* *one more week for you too Vendar...* A passing voice came from the hallway *ops...* *hahahhaa! Hahaha!* both me and Dein burst into laughter chapter 9 (not "just" a chapter) Chapter 9 Laid on his bed was Vendar, me sitting on the floor, laying my back on the wall with Dein right beside me...we have been talking for long, trying to come up with theories about what exactly happened down there and how we could deal with it but it is a wasted effort, imagination only brings more questions "It was just a guy that came looking for a beating, if he wants more he can have it" that could be a way to think about it, but it would just be ignorant on my part, I have only been in the capital a couple of times but that was enough to get a glimpse of the power the church holds...it was everywhere, I couldn''t understand at first sight but it didn''t take me long to realise that this "religion" has embedded itself into the minds of the citizens In every corner except of the occasional guard you would see them, men wearing full white gear with a red triangle on their back which I later found to be the church''s symbol...I can only see one reason for them to have such a huge force scattered around the capital and that would be to assure that everyone is following the religion in the "right way", in other words a religion kept together with fear...it''s not something I was shocked about, it is a thing I was expecting from any religion set in a medieval world, for that reason I was sure to not make any contact with them Am I too fast to come to conclusions? Perhaps the church doesn''t have a bad intent? ... What am I even thinking about, there is no room to make second guesses when my life is threatened! I can only go with worst case scenario *Vendar, I have decided...I''ll leave the orphanage* Hearing that Vendar became serious *And go where exactly? You should know that the church is everywhere, no matter where you go they can chase you* *that is the reason I must go, if I stay here I may endanger everyone else...Nun Marybeth may already be in trouble because of me* I don''t know how well I could handle losing those precious to me another time...I just can''t let it happen After a small moment of silence Dein spoke up, while still remaining curled up in the corner like a dead spider *it''s alright if we come with you right?* *I''m afraid it''s not that easy Dein, you are still too young and your brother probably has plans for you* Speaking after me was Vendar *Daniel...you weren''t thinking of going alone, were you?* *of course and I was* *you are so stupid...* Hearing that from a musclehead feels kinda funny *...when we met you didn''t even know how guilds work and now you think you can just live by yourself while the church is looking for you? You may reach me in power but that''s not nearly enough to stand on your own* I still haven''t told him about me getting to level 22...But I would still be lying if I were to tell him he is wrong *And what about Dein?* I say while looking at the troubled little brother who seems to be avoiding eye contact by hiding his face with his messy hair *what about him? You think he is not strong enough to come?* *no, of co...* *then we don''t need to say anything else* Vendar ended the conversation, throwing himself off his bed and doing some stretches before heading to the door Dein had finally lifted his head and a slight smile was lighting all around him This kid... *where are you going Vendar?* *To make the preparations...the sooner the better* he says during his hectic run downstairs And before I know it, Dein had also run out of the room following his brother Getting up myself, I just stand still for a moment, looking outside the window and seeing two boys running around...this moment of silence and peace...I hope it won''t be long for me to appreciate it again ... Time had passed, the sun was setting and we were now waiting in line for the night meal *so everything is ready?* *yes, I will come by your room when everyone is asleep, so make sure not to sleep too deeply* Vendar was fast to answer with a whispering voice...not that it was needed with all this noise, the kids are as energetic as ever ...I''ll miss this place As we get closer to the serving Nun, Ellen, I see both Dein and Vendar sniffing the air and trying to hold back their drool, I myself don''t need their nose to understand how good the food is going to be *Nun Ellen, how come we get tasty food at night?* A boy younger than Dein that was just getting his serve asked the Nun *Lady Marybeth told me to make it, so you can thank her, Kaner* the nun replied with a smile ... As soon as we sat on our usual table, the siblings started feasting on their meal but I took some time, trying to think, about why it seems so familiar...and then I remembered It was monday, just before the summer break, my dad had a promotion in his job, so mom decided to make his favorite meal, rabbit stew, it had the exact same spicy scent that this has...after that day it also became my favorite and I would often ask mom to cook it... ... ... *if ghouyr ngot ghonna eat it, I ghan help* Hearing Vendar trying to speak with his mouth stuffed, I realise I spaced out for a moment *Don''t worry I''ll eat it* Taking a bite really hits hard on me, even the flavor is the same...I wonder if it''s just a coincidence that this food was served in my last day here, it''s like someone telling me to sta... *tank!* a light slap landed on my forehead from Vendar sitting across the table and staring at me with a semi-angry look while still chewing on his food *I''m reaghly ghoing to eat it, if wghouyr not going to* ... I was laying down on my bed, resting my head where my legs would normally be and looking at the stars beyond the window...without a single cloud and without the moons casting their bright light across the night sky I can see...a universe richer than the one I was accustomed to, the extraordinary number of stars and the formation of the galaxy I''m currently in paint the darkness above in their own ways, light patches of red and purple, other galaxies that are either too big or too close appearing in weird shapes, like a hat or a swirling hole... it is all visible if I just let my eyes focus A sight that is yet again beautiful like the moons but scary at the same time, it invokes a feeling of uneasiness and unfamiliarity...as if the land that I''m standing in is not real...as if it could crumble in a moment''s notice Even if there is this doubt, that this is just a dream, I will still treat it like reality, cause I really can''t tell the difference ... Being absorbed by the wonders of the night sky I let time slip fast...but Vendar has still to show up...what is he waiting for? Everyone should be asleep by now, we still have time till they wake up but I don''t think there is a need to wait this lon... *tok* suddenly a soft sound of something falling came from the hallway ...that idiot! Did he slip up? Wanting to check I slowly open the door to make sure I make no noise My room is the last in the hallway so just by taking a small look to the right I can see everything !! What I saw was Dein running hastily but silently towards me, his face was filled with fear, and that was what surprised me I quickly opened the door half the way and closed it as soon as he got in Dein was down on his knees, breathing hard and too shocked to speak *Dein! What is up? Did something happen?* I said resting my right arm on his shoulder, trying to relax him *Daniel! They have come!* *wh...* *and!...I think they saw Vendar! When he was taking the keys...and he is still downstairs!* Fuck...I didn''t think they would appear so soon! *Don''t worry Dein! I won''t let anything happen to your brother! You just stay here, okay?* *Okay...* I''m not sure about which course of action is the best but for now lets try to see how many enemies there are without getting noticed After getting into the hallway and closing the door behind me, I slowly walk towards the opening before the stairs where I can see the whole cafeteria downstairs...as I get closer, I notice that I can indeed hear some noise which I recognize as footsteps but I don''t hear anything indicating that Vendar might be fighting...that could be either good or really bad Getting a sneak peek through the corner I see what I expected...pure black figures, I can hardly tell their silhouette but they are definitely not kids...around 4 of them I think I can''t see Vendar anywhere which can only be good, I bring my head back so they won''t notice me and while I do so, I get a sense of something being behind me... Did he get out?... *Dei...* When I tried to call his name and turn my head around to see him, something appears in front of my vision...a gloved hand I wasn''t able to react fast enough Reminiscent to the time I met the man who tried to rape me, his gloved hand covered my mouth while he held me with his other arm How?! Without wasting any of his time, he started murmuring a bunch of words and his hand started emitting a bluish light ...I won''t let you! Trying to avoid whatever magic he is trying to inflict on me I use power burst He has my hands secured with his own, so I can only do one thing...and that is a jump Using about 50% of its power on my legs, I push the floor *crrk* a big cracking noise comes from the wooden tiles beneath me as I''m launched into the air *wha!...* the man trying to hold me down lets a sign of surprise escape his mouth Probably realising that he would be in trouble if he were to keep on holding me, the man takes a few steps back near the stairs ...my jump was thankfully not enough for me to hit the ceiling and I ended up falling on my four Raising my head and now standing on my feet, I take a look at the man that I couldn''t previously see ____ Human level ----- Health ----- Distance: 1> meters ____ If only appraisal could tell me his level even if it was higher! He is wearing the same black light armor as the man from the morning but I can tell he is not the same guy, as this one seems younger and has long hair...he has taken a stance where his torso is close to the ground and he also have equipped two daggers on both his hands I really couldn''t ask for a situation worse than this, I don''t have my sword and even if I had it, it still wouldn''t be the best option in such a narrow space...all the while my opponent is using two short daggers and probably has a lot of experience with them ...worst case scenario they are poisoned, so I better not let them touch me *duun!* something heavy hitting against the floor from downstairs sounded Being distracted by that I took a quick look down my feet, worrying for Vendar...that instant move of my eyes was enough for the assassin to take advantage of it He has bolted his entire body forward, with just a single step and the stretch of his arm, one of the daggers he is holding is but a couple of centimetres away from my neck ...you are fast But not fast enough... just looking at him it seems as if he is intentionally not moving as fast as he could...of course that''s is just the effect of quick mind Using extreme body control and a slight bit of power burst in the necessary muscles of my back, my body snaps like a laptop folding closed, his blade slashes to where my neck would previously be, currently above my head Taking a look at his face I see the stages of his confidence turning into confusion, then his eyes looking down and surprise Starts to form Without wasting any more time, I grab his arm and with all the natural strength that I can muster and by using his forward momentum I throw him down in the ground ...even without power burst my strength is more than enough to lift a human he makes an attempt to get a cut on me with his other blade but just by swiftly twisting my body i evade it ___ 74 damage ___ *traan!* *gheeah!* the man screams as the floor cracks ...I can no longer hope for a "silent escape" Seeing the man strangling to get back up, I kick him in the back of his head *kha!* ____ Critical hit 96 ____ ...*I''m sorry friend, I don''t have the luxury to take you on a fair fight* I say as I watch his eyes slowly close...he should be unconscious now *You bastards! You Dare to touch the kids of my orphanage?!* A voice of anger came from below ...shit, she woke up *Don''t think that we''ll go easy on you because of your age, old hag! Your days have well passed! Just sleep!!!* another man''s voice was heard and suddenly I gotta hurry! Being afraid of what may happen to the Nun, I rush to the opening of the stairs Looking down I see the nun standing on the platform that connects the entrance with the cafeteria, and in front of her, the four figures I saw earlier and one of them slowly walking towards her Looking a bit more and letting my eyes adapt I see a smaller figure laying in a corner... Vendar!!! Without second thoughts I jump from a three meters height No one would notice me till I landed, the moment I touch the ground I rush to Vendar''s side ! Thank god he isn''t too badly hurt ! His eyes are still active and I can see no blood *Vendar, can you stand up?* While I was talking to Vendar I could also hear some whispers from behind *that''s him isn''t he?* *what is terag even doing?* *that''s not of importance...the target has come to us all by himself* *don''t worry Daniel, I was just prete...* *where are you shitheads even looking at? You forgot who is here to beat you?* Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. *oaah!* *what the! She is a magic user!* Nun Marybeth taking advantage of their arrogance used what seemed to be wind magic, launching all four of them against the wall She really isn''t to be underestimated *Daniel, Vendar, get to somewhere safe* The nun said while taking a quick look on us *bitch! You think this is enough hold me?!* Unfortunately her power doesn''t seem enough to hold them all As a man breaks through the current of wind he dashes forward in a similar fashion to the way the other assassin that tried to get me off guard Before I could take action, someone else did A small figure moving too fast for any of the others to notice had just appeared close to the man that is heading for nun''s head The wolf like figure bit hard on his left leg and as if that thing was suddenly locked on to the ground, it was able to instantly diminish the rushing man''s speed, in result of him falling with his face on the ground *ghh* A total of 79 damage...good job Vendar *THIS IS AS FAR AS IT GETS* A loud voice just came from a completely unexpected direction...from behind the serving table, the other side of the room i was in, stood a man, too big to even be considered a human, by first glance I could''ve mistaken him for a monster as his head is nearly touching the ceiling...over 2,5 meters high and his silhouette like one of a body builder''s, with oversized muscles...he isn''t even wearing any gear, just a plain black mask, boots and short pants A true monster of a man... seeing him the nun stoped presuring the others with the wind magic...she started sweating... but for some reason no one would move, even the assasin''s feared this man, even though he is on their side ...he really just seems like he doesn''t belong here How did I not see him in the first place? *Just How Hard Is It To Get Rid Of An Old Hag And Capture A Kid? HUH?!* The bulk of muscle furiously asked the other men and they lowered their head His eyes landing on me and then on the nun ...I just froze...Trying to estimate his level would be a waste of time, I can''t describe it in detail but there is some kind of fearsome aura emitting from him No one in their right mind would go against him... Shit!...except of an animal *Vendar no!...* The wolf like figure once again using its extraordinary speed dashed off in the direction of a colossal mountain of muscle *druuush!* *noooo!* ... the beastkin flew leaving a trail of blood behind A tear dropped from a kid''s face when he saw his friend getting embedded into the wooden wall by a single effortless slap of the devilish man that had just brought a completely different atmosphere upon the ones currently in the cafeteria ...oi,oioioi you''re kidding me right?! This is too unreal to be true right?! Fallen on his knees the kid could only let the stream of tears go down his emotionally confused face *HaHaHaHa!!!! How can you even strangle against those pathetic bastards?* The Devil said while laughing, mocking the unsuccessful try of the beastkin I wanna kill him...right now!!! ...but I can''t, my body won''t move! I try and try... Move! Move! Move! ...no matter how much I try to make my body listen, it won''t...it''s deafened by fear What is this supposed to be?! I know what it''s like to not be able to move but this is obviously not the same! I am able to move but I won''t *GHaaaAaaaaAaaH!!!* Trying to make himself forget about the fear, the boy pinches his nail onto his thighs, blood starts to flow and, he pushes harder *HaHaHaHa, The Kid Has Gon...* The man''s mocking laugh halted the moment the kid''s knee appeared in his jaw...Unfortunately that was only enough to interrupt his speech *you dumb kid!* the nun screamed while making some bizarre hand movements How is he still standing! At the side of my vision I notice his arm moving...this is bad Just before his arm could make contact with my head an explosion of wind sprouted between us, sending me flying away from that monster His hand though, was still able to brush my face, and that was enough to get some of my flesh on my right chick ripped off ____ You took 28 damage ____ *Kid...I Have Orders Not To Kill You...So How About You Not Making It Harder On Me???* *??Keep him busy??* Huh? Completely ignoring the words of the Devil I focus on something that seemed a bit off Who talked? Was that even a sound? It didn''t even feel like a voice, but rather, information... *??Do it??* ... *Big guy, you think you can do whatever you want?* *Kid, Just Give It A Rest* *How about a challenge? If you win I will give in* *HaHah, You Think You Can Win In Anything Against Me? What''s The Challenge?* *Rock, paper, scissors* The Devil''s face changed in an instant from the mockingly laughing expression to one that only reads of bloodlust *Enough Jokes...* The Giant man took on a running pose, something that just looked unnatural in the middle of a fight... I know what''s coming, so please nun Marybeth, be ready! Shooting forward like a bullet, knocking whatever was in his way, tables and chairs being thrown around, each of his steps shaking the room and leaving a footprint behind as if walking in mud, this was all happening in an amount of centiseconds, but for the kid it was a different experience...in the boy''s eyes, that man may aswell have been the embodiment of fear But the kid had hope...The man rushing like a bull had just made two mistakes, one is that he left himself open from almost all directions and second he didn''t take into account the potential strength of his opponent *Eternal Despair!* A woman''s voice was heard shouting The man was but a meter away from his target when he heard those words, suddenly a small yet really bright speck of light formed on his chest, he tried to avoid whatever was coming for him but he was simply too late The speck of light exploded, his half right body was now on a deep red fire while his other half was instantly covered in ice ... ...what the heck? I was completely dumbfounded by how op magic can be...just a moment ago this monster almost had his hands on me...I thought I was a goner The room is now rid of it''s darkness, as there is a human torch in the middle...I''m not sure if I should be wetting my pants right now from the fact that the "Devil" turned physical into a literal Devil or if I should embrace the opportunity... for the time being, I''m just taking a mental break *ghaaaaahh!...keaaaauh!* Screams kept coming and coming, the fire would not extinguish and neither would the ice The nun wouldn''t say anything, she just kept a cold stare upon the ones that tried to harm "her children" His lackeys wouldn''t move a finger...their mind was messed up, "how can the boss lose?has he actually lost? Are we supposed to interfere? Just what is this old hag to use such magic?! Can we even hope to win against her?"... a loop of questions kept rushing through each of them as they were watching their boss constantly scream in agony ... I''m leaving this to you nun Marybeth Good thing I let my mind calm down, or else I would''ve not taken notice of this chance Since everyone had their eyes locked on the burning man I managed to get away without them noticing, in a quick jump I get to the second floor the same way I got down...the first thing I notice is that the doors are almost all slightly open with eyes sticking out *Daniel?* a voice which I recognize to be that of Camol came from one of the doors Good grief...(Yare Yare Daze) *everyone stay inside your rooms* Except of the creeping eyes I still felt like something was wrong ...the man I beat isn''t here! Worrying for a certain scenario I dash to my room and kick my door open *dun!* ...it would seem like I was worrying for no reason The assassin was laying down next to Dein, his neck and chest was covered in a severe amount of blood...and so was Dein''s mouth Trying to not waste anymore time I get what I came for, pushing the man aside and reaching below the bed with my hand I pick up a a glass vial filled with a bright red liquid ...thank you for saving my friend yet another time, lady Arlene! I''m really indebted to you! After the process of my mental gratitude I notice Dein staring at me with his worrisome expression *what''s the potion for?* *an adult got hurt, don''t worry and just stay here, Vendar and I will soon come and get you* I say with as much of a truthful smile as I can Even my lie is pitiful...I''m sorry Dein but I can''t afford to have you going mad *what about your face?* *Dein, I promise you nothing bad will happen to us okay?* *bu...* Realising that I don''t have time to spare talking, I open the door and leave before Dein is able to drag this longer ... In a dark and small bedroom a man''s body was laying down on the floor, beside it was a kid, a boy in particular, he had the ears and tail of a dog He was sitting in the corner of the room, his head settled between his knees...the boy was frustrated, he felt useless and powerless, feeling like he is being a hindrance to his brother and friend Perhaps I shouldn''t go with them, after all I will only drag them down...what good could I do? I am weak and can''t even protect myself ...the boy didn''t had a single thought about what was going on, even from killing an assassin that attacked him, he was too busy self loathing from the moment that his friend told him to stay shut in this room He wouldn''t doubt the words of his friend, when he said that everything was alright he believed it but Dein couldn''t handle being looked down on by his trusted ones...he wanted to be strong, not someone who relies on others but someone who others rely on...dependable Through the feelings of self loathing, came feelings of desire, desire for a betterment of oneself...they only kept growing...until he raised his head and looked up...realising that he is no longer in Daniel''s bedroom A void of nothingness all around him... ... *Vendar, you aren''t gonna die are you?* *as if!* Vendar said as he slowly stood up I already checked his health and from 16 it went up to 116 when I gave him, I could even see his wounds slowly being healed...truly a life saver Observing the now empty vial I can only wonder how such a thing is made...I have to lea... *Daniel! wake up, what happened with the guy that b... th...that big guy* strangling to finish his sentence, Vendar tried to pull me out of my spaced out state *That''s right, le...* *YOU FUCKING SHITS! You Are All Dead!* The voice of the burning man came from inside together with noise of wood cracking Both me and Vendar looked inside from the hole Vendar''s body left to see the man still burning...but standing?! In an instance we both started running...we were currently outside the back side of the orphanage, the quickest way in was through the toilets Getting out of the toilets we take a swift turn left...a few more meters in the hallway and we''ll arrive at the cafeteria Both Vendar and I are on guard for the unexpected...we know first-hand of the power that man holds, but being able to stand under that? Everything is constantly messing with my brain! Whoever made this world needs to do some work with the balance Taking the final step forward we enter a scene out of a horror movie Chairs and broken tables all randomly scattered across the room, the floor, walls, ceiling, all damaged...in the middle stood a monster, half its body in flames that slowly devour its flesh and muscles, while the other half frozen, the skin becoming more swollen overtime...on one side of the room was the bodies of 4 men...or at least what is left of them, two ripped in half, one missing his head and another with a broken neck and dislocated shoulders What the... Right now the man is facing in the opposite direction...I''m glad I can''t see its face but I also can''t see nun Marybeth as she''s probably in front of that monster ...what can I do? *WHat''s Up Hag??? Are You Out Of ENERgY??* ...I was saving those points for a more considered use... but this i... *STOP THIS!!!!* Ow no! Dein! That fucking idiot! Vendar''s face suddenly got sweaty, not from the burning man, but from the anxiety...how can he save his brother?... he is scared for both his brother''s life but also his own *KHE KHE KE...* the monster let out a twisted laugh *YOUR DE...* "There is no way I''m gonna coward out!" Vendar thought as he desperately rushed to save his brother ... "All this fucking shit I''m going through, just because of this fucking bitch!...I can''t have her die an easy death...I''ll break your bones, rip your skin, burn all the kids in this place, forcing you to watch it" "I''ll make hou suffer!" The man kept thinking of ways to torture the now collapsed old lady that made him suffer this pain...he fantasized about it while staring at her pitiful state... He unconsciously ignores the pain and everlasting effects of this spell...he is but a step away from completely losing it And the step was not far to be taken *STOP THIS!!!!* "Huh??? A Fucking kid DaRes to....* *KHE KHE KE...* The man Clutches his fist and slightly moving back his arm, preparing for a "satisfying" punch At the same time the kid raised his hand, as if greeting a general...of course the mad man wouldn''t even look at this "piece of shit" *YOU''RE DE...* And the punch was thrown... But the man noticed something unnatural...he felt like he missed "Keke...I can''t even feel my punch" he thought ...then taking a look around him he noticed something even weirder "Where the Fuck is this?" chapter 10 Chapter 10 At that moment I thought that was it for Dein, I would imagine so did Vendar as both him and I desperately run to stop the unstoppable I could see the flaming fist of that monster reaching for Dein''s chest... we knew we couldn''t do anything to prevent it Suddenly, as if someone had switched the non existing lights off, everything darkened...I couldn''t see anything, and neither did I hear anything resembling of a punch being thrown Had I lost my senses?...soon it became clear what was going on, as my eyes started to adapt, details started forming in my vision *Dein!* Vendar shouted as he run to hug his brother ...the man was nowhere to be seen, and Dein seemed fine What did just happen?! I look around to find nothing...how can a huge man with flames covering half his body just disappear? That would be simply impossible, the fire would at least leave a trail behind This doesn''t make any sense, and that makes me all the more worried...we should be prepared for the worst *Vendar, don''t let your guard down* I whisper to Vendar who immediately raised his stance and held his brother behind him with his left arm ... A few seconds passed with nothing happening, everything is still and quiet And the one to break that moment of silence was Dein * Guys don''t wo...* *shhhh* trying to keep him down Vendar silenced his brother with his hand Dein seemed irritated from that action and started struggling to get Vendar''s hand off his mouth *ghuuhuh* What is this kid thinking?! Suddenly I see a shadow raise from behind me, and also notice the surprise in Vendar''s eyes which are looking a little above my head ...shit Instinctively I dash forward while turning around with my arms covering my chest, waiting for a punch while squinting my eyes, ready to take on the pain ... To my surprise nothing came my way...I slowly open my eyes, and what I see is not what I expected, the origin of the shadow was actually nun Marybeth who had stood up without me noticing...she looked terrible, barely able to stand, her clothing worn out and lots of parts ripped off, while most of it was now covered in red stains of blood Really, just seeing her standing makes me relieved...but the danger is still present, so I stay still *stupid boys...the danger is gone, how long are you going to be standing there?! How about you help me?!* nun Marybeth said in as much of a scolding manner as she could muster It''s gone?...it''s hard for me to accept it but I trust her words...it was probably her who got rid of that monster of a man Without letting more time pass I give nun Marybeth my shoulder to help her stand as soon as i get her on my shoulder she speaks *Daniel, you need to leave right now, I have no idea how long it will take for that man to return and it brings me shame for I can''t protect you, but I can''t endanger the rest of the kids...* she says while looking towards the second floor''s opening where some midget heads pop out from *I know that very well nun, thus we were planning to leave tonight...but didn''t you get rid of him already?* I couldn''t help but ask *I didn''t do anything, if you want to know ask your little friend later* The nun said as she pointed her fragile looking hand to Dein who for some reason wore a proud smile **Dein?!** both me and Vendar express our confusion at the same time I would really love to see what kind of relation Dein has with the disappearance of that man but the urgency of the situation won''t let me waste more time *Vendar, Dein, is everything ready?* I ask as I slowly lay nun Marybeth on to a still intact dinning chair *just one thing* Vendar answers as he rushes with his brother to the back door Now looking around and reflecting on what has happened, seeing the dismembered parts of the four underlings of that monster of a man, taking a look at the beaten up nun and the faces of the scared children that try to take a sneak peek from upstairs...and then looking at myself I brought this kind of destruction to those people and I get out of it just fine, even though I wasn''t able to do anything by myself...I thought I was pretty much untouchable for a kid, but I now realise how wrong I was...for some reason I now have some pretty powerful enemies and compared to them I''m weak a... Pulling me out of those thoughts was a flying object I noticed at the last moment that was coming my wayThis story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Catching it I confirm that it''s my backpack, looking at the direction it came from, upstairs, I see a black boy that I later recognise to be Camol, the guy that first approached me at the cafeteria *Daniel, make sure to come back sometime* Camol said with a smiling face *I''ll be sure to when I settle some things* I say smiling back to him and the others that started slowly coming out Running sound of the wooden floors started coming closer and soon... *we are ready to go Daniel* Vendar showed up with his brother each carrying multiple baggage *ok then, I should be leaving...I apologize for everything, I''ll make sure not to cause any more nuisances* The kids smile as I make a bow and quickly head to the Vendar and Dein who simply stand waiting for me But before I get to make a second step nun Marybeth speaks out to me *Daniel, come to my office for a moment before you leave* Not wasting any time I help her stand up again and assist her along the way Inside of the office are me Vendar and Dein, watching as the nun searches for something among a pile of papers Her office is really simple, all there is, is a desk, two chairs and a small library...but there is this one thing that really stood out to me from the first moment I got in here and that was a weirdly shaped metallic object that looked like a staff I can''t get any information by identifying the item, so I would guess it''s of great value *here it is* the nun says as she picks up a small scroll from the pile of thrown stuff in the corner Unravelling on the desk, I can tell that it''s a map, there are two islands in the middle, the right one being half the size and a bit above the left one, and a red dot being drawn somewhere above the right island...where the map shows to be sea *what''s this?* asks Dein *this is a map of what''s discovered till now by the kingdom...and the red dot is where I suggest you go to* *you want us to go to the sea?* Vendar asks with confusion *no you stupid kid...there is more to this world than this map shows you, head there and search for a man named architelos... He may be the only one who would accept you and put you under his protection, go there and you''ll be safe...that is if you survive that long* *who is this man?* I ask *he''s just someone i know, you don''t need to know more about him till you meet him, just give him this when you meet him* she says while handing me another scroll *I trust your words nun, but just a stupid little question, where exactly are we on this map?* *sigh* she quickly takes the map, a pen, ink and starts drawing some lines *just follow this line* she hands me the map and from what I understand we are just a bit lower than the middle of the left island *I trust that you can figure the way out along the way, just follow the direction of the descending moons, going along the main road of the capital you should reach a big town named Endopoli, from there you could look for a traveling caravan but be careful, as long as you''re in this country the church will be your main concern* ...after a small pause of the nun looking at each of us and lastly at Dein she speaks again * also, Dein... I would love to know how you got your hands on that power, but just make sure to not ever again use it in front of others...though it may already be too late* whispering the last bit, the nun stared down for a moment as if she was spacing out *Well, thank you for everything nun Marybeth...we will be leaving now...* After looking at each other we bow ***thank you for everything!*** The nun''s face brightened up a bit and she walked us off together with all the other kids, waving their hands Without taking a second look back we walk forward into the woods and head for the road we are supposed to take ... ...this night was a complete mess, and I''m not sure if in the end I should be cursing or endorsing my luck... and as to how we survived... Looking at Dein still with his proud smile on his face, walking through the trees, right beside me...for some reason I pat his head without second thoughts and surprisingly he isn''t bothered This little guy... whatever he did I''m glad I have him with me... both him and Vendar ... The sun was slowly starting to rise and we were still walking on the main road, on our way we only once saw a carriage passing by, of course noticing it we hid in the forest till it passed...but it was really convenient how there is almost no one using the roads at night, from what Vendar told me that is because the monsters usually get more aggressive around this time, and there also is a danger of bandits setting ambushes in the forest But now that daytime arises, we''ll have to be traveling inside of the forest while still being close to the road, using it as a guide After about 3-4 hours of walking through the woods, we came across a river, and seeing the amount of life that passes through it, we decided to make a stop Hiding our stuff in a safe spot, we get some strong sticks that have fallen and sharpen them with a knife that Vendar brought We have come far enough from the road to not be noticed, so we can now start fishing, after taking our clothes off we jump in...it''s kinda embarrassing, being naked in front of others, but I guess it''s normal for kids our age in this world... Looking at my naked friends, I notice something I hadn''t before... both of their backs are covered in whipping scars Well... I could take a guess but I''m not gonna ask for now Anyway, the water level isn''t too high, it barely touches my waist...after taking a look at the fish and the water I position my two legs in a way to keep myself as steady as possible against the small current of the water ...my first target has been found, a fish about double the size of my palm had just crossed between my legs...with the spear up and aiming at the fish, I take my first shot! *slush* ...and of course I miss, scaring the fish and all the smaller ones around it My shot was quite fast but for some reason it didn''t hit... *slush* *slush* *slush* After three more tries I get kinda mad... and hearing Vendar and Dein laughing at my failed attempts I actually decide to use a bit of power burst. Continuously using this skill in meditative sleep has made it really useful, it no longer is a one use thing, I can completely control the amount of power it applies to which part of my body I want with the help of extreme body control and in the end I can use it multiple times, as long as I don''t overdo it ...finding a fish big enough, aiming with the small wooden spear, and waiting for the right time...I strike! *slushkrak!* ...ops... Picking up my "spear" I confirm my kill ...I got one! ...even though I broke my spear... *Daniel... you should probably leave the fishing to just us next time* Says Vendar with a pitying voice after seeing me trying to get the fish out of the broken stick *this stick just wasn''t strong enough...* I say back in a joking manner while scratching my head *sure it wasn''t...* ... After I while I decide to train a little...and by train I mean sleep *Vendar I''ll take a quick nap, make sure to wake me up when things are ready* I say as I lay my back against a tree *that''s fine, but you know it won''t take us more than 20 minutes right?* *I know, I won''t be sleeping for much longer than that* I am also able to immediately fall asleep when I want to... something that I really appreciate, remembering all the times I couldn''t rest at the hospital Closing... ... And slowly opening my eyes, the usual small white room fills my view Slowly getting up and doing some stretches, something that I do every time I get in here... ...*ahum...* suddenly a voice comes from behind me! Spooking me so much that I instinctively jump away, and turning around I slowly get to see the origin of the voice *it''s been some time, have you missed me?* A familiar voice and a familiar figure stands in front of me ... Please tell me I didn''t die... chapter 11 Chapter 11 In a room that seemed the same no matter where you looked at, there are no indications of walls to know how big it is, it''s simply one bright yet not blinding shade of white In the middle of such a room stood a female figure with transparent body made of what seemed to be water, her "features" indicated for her to be of young age, but something about her presence made you think otherwise A boy stood In front of her, gazing as if he had just seen he''s death ... *am not dead am I? why am I seeing you again?!* I asked in the panic caused by my brain jumping to conclusions *No you''re not...talk about a cold welcome... I wasn''t expecting this from the first blessed one I had in such a while...* *you mean the water ma...* *There is more to my blessing than a small resistance skill, you ungrateful kid* *like what?* Squinting her eyes, she frowns at me while taking a step closer *um...* Opening her mouth to speak and then immediately shutting it, as she looks me down and up *hmm... so after all you choose the neo human huh...* I nod *well... you already know how they are perceived in this world, so I guess there is no point in warning you now, is there* *no there''s not, I already know that they see me as a demon for no good reason* *everything has a reason behind it... Anyway, I''m not here to talk about that* *what exa...* Interrupting me once again she continues to speak *from the moment you appeared, while most of the mortals may have not noticed anything, the pantheon has been in chaos...I thought I was the only one to be awaken for your case, but soon, one after another they all woke up... more errors showing up in the system, souls from random worlds have been barging into this one without anyone guiding them* Pausing for a moment, she looked at me with a worried expression ...I''m at a loss, how am I supposed to make sense of this, and why is she even bothering explaining it to me? *it''s only appropriate for me to let you know, to warn you, for what''s to come...after all it was under my choice that you were put under this world* I forgot she could read my thoughts...wai *wait a moment!... what do you mean warn me for what''s to come?!* *as I told you this mess has been happening since your error first showed up... and well... most of the gods don''t have the best opinion of you...in short, they are suspicious of you, and I''m afraid they have already started interacting with this world...each one in their own way, to find what has been happening* *is that why those guys from the church have been chasing me?!* *not really... those filthy bastards have long cut their ties with the pantheon, they are the last to listen to the word of any god...their actions purely out of selfishness and greed* *then why were they after me?* *that''s up to you to find out... I just came here to warn you... and also...* Thelesse, as if browsing through an invisible tablet, started doing random movements with her hands Now that I know how the status system works, it doesn''t seem so weird...I wonder if she actually has a status, and if she has what level is she? *there''s no point in trying* She spoke, responding to my wondering thoughts, while still working on whatever she is doing But I tried identifying her anyway ____ Thelesse level: are you Health: an Distance: IDIOT? ____ ... what was I even expecting? Seeing my surprised expression Thelesse giggles *very funny* ... Just a few seconds later *it''s done* Thelesse says as she slides her hand in the air and touches a button I can''t see And suddenly a weird "window" appears _________________________________ # # A new quest has Been given to you by Your beloved God Thelesse Quest: Fall off a tree, it has to be at least three meters high Reward: Water manipulation lvl1 # _________________________________# *a quest?* I ask as I read through it *yes... one of the benefits of my blessing is that I can give you quests and rewards for completing them* The reward is really nice, I can finally start using magic! *why jump off a tree though?* I ask in confusion, outloud *well...I just wanted to give you the skill, just to help you a little bit, since I''m sort of responsible for this mess, but I had to add something for a quest to work* *and of all you could think you choose that?* *you can thank me later, bye* On that short note, she waved her hand in the air and pressed something Before I knew it my body had collapsed, my eyes closed... Reopening my eyes, I''m greeted by my two friends and the nice smell of cooked fish *you finally woke up* says Vendar as he hands me a fish that is pierced through by a small stick *thanks* ... Back to the small white room, we see Thelesse casually going through tabs and tabs of information, lists of names, numbers going up and down as she adjusts and plays with graphs Suddenly she stops and sights, she tilts her head and scratches her head as if something is bugging her *how long are you going to hide?* She said... no one seemed to be in the room with her, so to who exactly was she referring After a short moment of silence a distorted voice sounded from all corners of the room *So, yO u. Noti,,ced* The voice was like nothing you''ve heard, jumping from high pitches that humans probably can''t catch to extremely low and loud ones *how about you show yourself?* Thelesse said as she proceeded to continuing her work As soon as she said so, the image of her and everything around her started bending and being distorted, certain blank spots starting to appear as black circle Soon space started sorting itself out, the blank spots gathering in front of Thelesse...who didn''t seem to care all that much about it In less than a second a black male figure had formed out of those things, standing abnormally tall, almost two times the height of a normal person...long neck, long arms and long legs, his body seems like it was stretched by force, skinny but with defined musclesLove this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. All around him the light would bend, like before distorting the image you see...he was something that really stood out in this all white room, like a black hole changing the trajectory of the light with its massive power and absorbing whatever comes in contact with it *you of all people to get evolved...I find it hard believe* Thelesse spoke to the man, taking her eyes off the tabs only for a single glance *I Foo#und INteR,,est* The man opened his mouth and slowly spoke, looking left and right, as if struggling to articulate his thoughts *Is that so...just keep your hands off Daniel* *N...OO. DAaNeeel fRiiEndzz WitHH Dein. I Woont H@uurt Him* *I see... that''s good* Thelesse says as she smiles and stretches her arm towards the tall man The man smiles back and lowers his head, till it can be touched by her arm...and she pats him ...A weird sight indeed, to see a small girl patting the head of a man that is almost 4 meters tall, like her own child *our time will come soon... my old friend* ... *is this it?* I say as I touch the stone walls that we eventually reached *most likely... but Daniel, the entrances are guarded, we two can''t get in, the capital is the only place that would accept us in...* *what if you two jump above the wall?* This wall is nothing comparing it to the capital''s *that''s the best idea you have?...there are guards all over the walls* Vendar says in a mocking matter and then goes on to explain his own plan ... We are now at the entrance, crowded almost as much as the one on the capital, sitting on the front of a carriage beside a merchant The merchant gets closer to me and whispers *Boy just pretend to be my son and don''t worry about the others, I know the guards* I nod Vendar''s plan was plain and simple, to bribe... my only concern is the church, but I doubt they can somehow recognize me Good thing we sold all the things we got from the rabbit grind, just 3 silver were enough for him to accept... and we have 27 left Enough to get us through for quite some time, but we''ll definitely need more It was our turn to pass, and as he said, he actually had affiliations with the guards All the guards did was taking one look at the carriage and we were let through, which was exactly what we wanted since Vendar and Dein were hiding behind some blankets *I''m surprised it was that easy* I say to the merchant *it''s all about knowing the right people kid, you see those guards were previously adventurers, I had hired them to guard me along a long transaction, 1 month of traveling with them was enough to earn each other''s trust* *I see, being a merchant must be really cool, traveling the world, meeting people and making relationships* *it sure is kid, but to get certain things you have to sacrifice others, for example I have no place to call my own because I''m always on the move, and for that reason I can''t have a sustainable family* This guy, he helps us and also talks to me straight... he reminds me of the blacksmith back in the capital...they both treat me nice and fair, for no particular reason *can I ask a question sir?* *go ahead* The merchant says taking his attention off the road and onto me *why did you accept to do this for such a low price?* Turning his head back to the road and thinking, he speaks after a short pause *I would have went on and told you that if someone is offering something for an unsubstantial work on your part, you should always accept...* *...but to tell you the truth* he continued while taking a somewhat sad yet calm expression *you kinda remind me of my son, whom I haven''t seen for quite a few years* I was surprised to hear such an answer *it sounds kinda crazy to help some random kids illegally pass through the gates for such a reason...but I''m not sure, perhaps I used you in my mind as a mirror of my son...since I haven''t been able to do much for him, to make it seem like I did something for "him"* *sorry kid, I''m bothering you with things that you don''t have to worry about yet* *of course not! I''m glad you''re talking to me straight!* *hahaha, I see* The merchant laughs and gives me a rough pat on the head This man is probably in his 40s, his face kinda chubby, though not enough to seem fat and also has a smiling orange mustache He really just seems like a kind guy ... After we reached the stable where the merchant left his carriage, we gave him the three coins and thanked him *but really I was surprised to see two beastkins traveling with a human* The merchant says with his charming smile *they are the two I trust the most* *is that so... Well boys, I have business to attend to, good luck with whatever you''re doing, and be careful, as you have seen it doesn''t take much for the guards to bat an eye, so you can''t rely on them too much* The merchant says as he turns around and starts unloading some of the stuff he had in the carriage *sir?* I ask *what is it kid?* *may I know your name?* *hehehe, we haven''t even introduced ourselves have we?...it''s Sendol Kaloseen kids... remember it because this will be the name of the richest merchant in this continent, hehehe* the merchant says as he laughs *mine is Daniel, and those two are Dein and Vendar...we''ll be sure to remember your kindness sir Sendol* *single names huh, easy to remember...well, see you in the future Daniel... and you two, make sure to not be found out* We nod and turn around, going behind the stable, where Vendar and Dein cover themselves with hooded capes ...they look suspicious but that''s the best we can do *you got along with that merchant, didn''t you?* Vendar asks me *well... yeah. Anyway, we should find a place to stay the night* We should probably find an inn, and then gather information about how to get to our destination...that was our main reason for coming in After all ... Walking in the main street and looking around, I can easily tell the difference from the capital, it still is pretty crowded but the people are more casually dressed, the buildings seem to be built in a more efficient and simple way rather than the ones in the capital which were obviously to show off The roads are surprisingly clean, and the smell of cooked food coming from the taverns, traders have the sides of the roads covered with their goods while they yell their prices, guards patrolling left and right while people bargain with the sellers All this noise and the crowd...it''s perfect for us, since it''s easier to blend in ...Suddenly a skinny guy bumps into me *watch where you''re going kids!* he yells, as he takes a look at us and continues to walk *sorr...* As I proceed to apologize, Vendar does something weird...he grabs the man by his left hand and turns him back *what do you want you filthy kids?!* The man yells back as he tries to take his hand off of Vendar''s grip Vendar stares at the man in a serious and angry look and says in a calm voice *Give it back...* as he continues to stare at him *give what back you filth eate...!* As soon as the man speaks Vendar strengthens his grip and a distinct sounds comes off his arm *kuk* *guaagh!* The man tries to suppress his scream by biting on his lips *stopgh, stop, I''ll give it!* The man says, and Vendar lets go of his arm I was kinda dumbfounded at the start, but it didn''t take me long to understand The man takes off his pants, a familiar pouch...and that is the one we keep our money in Vendar grabs it in a quick swoop of his hand, and the man runs away Vendar looking at me with the same angry look says *I''ll be keeping this* as he puts the pouch in his backpack *good idea, hehhe* I say with an awkward laugh ... We are now inside our rented room...after a good amount of searching we found a cheap one, 2 silver a night...that was the cheapest one, and it sure gives us what we paid for, the room barely fits 2 small beds *Vendar, Dein, I''ll be going outside, is there anything I should buy?* Vendar lays his head on on the wall and thinks for a moment *can''t think of anything...but take the money, just in case you find something* He says as he throws the pouch at me *I''m trusting you with it, don''t you dare lose them* *ok, ok, I got it* Getting out and walking down the hallway, I reach an opening to a wide room, from where loud laughter and cheering comes ...yep we''ll be sleeping beside a bar Passing through the chaos I get out The sun is ready to fall, and the streets are noticeably less lively, the traders are starting to gather their stuff and people starting to go into their houses, while the guards also appear to be less. The church''s presence is decreased by a lot, comparing with the capital...while we were walking from shop to shop, looking at the prices for rooms, we only came across two men who wore the clothes of the church Now walking in the now calm streets I see a man like many others gathering his goods, and something catches my eyes *old man, how much for that?* The man looks back at me with a disinterested expression *kid, a potion isn''t something you can easily afford* *how much?* I insist *2 gold for a small vial* Aw... this is indeed too expensive *I see* Now I can really appreciate the ones we were given from the healer we met at the forest ... I was now returning to the inn, the sun had fallen and I was able to get some information about our next destination The streets were now almost empty, and the only thing to light my way were the moons...it might not sound like a good source of light but in this world it is plenty As I was watching the sky and appreciating its magnificence a shadow amongst the shadows of an alley caught my attention At the same time a whisper came from that direction *boy... I have what you need* Taking a better look I see a hooded figure sitting on the floor *who are you?* I ask as I take a few steps closer *that is not of importance, what matters is that I know who...or maybe "what" your friends are* !! How did he found out?! *you!* I pull out my sword and point it towards the man *ow, ow, no need to be like that* The man says as he raises his hands, signalling me to lower my sword...looking a bit to the right I do see a guard coming , and I decide to hide it *what do you want!* The old man looks at me and gets his hood off He is really old, his face covered in wrinkles and most of his hair gone *do you see this necklace kid?* He says as he shows me the one he is wearing around his neck, with a weird circular symbol carved in small metallic sphere that it holds I nod And the man takes it off ...as soon as he does something weird happens, I can''t tell if it''s my brain playing tricks on me or something His ears just became that of a beastkin *what''s this?* The man smiles as he quickly puts the necklace back on and his ears become human again *this kid, is what we use to disguise ourselves and blend with humans...and guess what, I have two for your friends* The moment I saw him take those extra ones off his pocket, I thought that I would give everything for them ...but I don''t have much anyway *I would really like to get them old man, but I only have 23 silver coins left* *don''t worry kid, that''s enough...just tell your friends that it''s a gift from their uncle* *you sir are their uncle?* I ask the old man *no, but I am here under him* *I see, I''ll be sure to tell them, thank you sir!* We sure are lucky I take my pouch out and give him everything The man gets up with a creepy smile on his face and says *good luck* as he disappear in the shadows ... Getting back to the bar...I notice that it''s still as loud as before here *hey kid! You were out?* A young man, the master of the place says as soon as he sees me enter *yes, I went for a walk* *you better be careful, it''s not safe for a kid at night to be wandering in the streets* The master says as he serves some beers *thank you for your concern sir!* I respond while getting through crowded tables to the hallway Slowly opening the door I notice that both Vendar and Dein are sleeping for good, something that I find weird with all this noise Seeing them sleep the way they do I can''t help but find it kinda cute, seeing Dein hugging his brother''s leg and munching his feet, while sometimes kicking him in the head with his own legs The two beds stuck together so I hope I wont get my feet eaten in my sleep... Laying on the bed and closing my eyes, I start thinking, about Thelesse was telling me...I wonder if the gods are watching each and every one of my moves, planning against me or trying to understand for themselves, what is going on... either way it''s kinda unnerving, knowing that I''m being held responsible for their own incompetence ...as if someone as incapable as me could have anything to do with that mess! Ow well... there is no point in stressing about it If I get strong enough I won''t have to worry...about no church and no god ...can I ever get to that point?, I wonder