《Wrath of the chosen (DROPPED)》 Chap1:A tragic ending for an epic beginning God damn it this hurts!!'' A bat cracks me across my face and I cough up blood. I don''t know what''s going on, one second I''m hosting a pleasant dinner for my pregnant sister, Jean and her husband, Tim (who happens to be my best friend) when six men with guns bust in my door! Seriously what the fuck! Now I''m being beaten to death by the king of all fat, ugly, shit eating, father fucking, puppy kicking, rabbit raping, bastar- *WHAM!* Another swing crushes my knee cap, my sister cries for someone to help (unfortunately my nearest neighbor is a mile away) as Tim meets my eye. He struggles against his bonds and screams for mercy, as both he and my sister are zip tied to my nice mahogany dining room chairs. I glare at my attacker, he is a professional. I know this because he and cronies attacked me while I was at my summer home on vacation. I know this because they performed a five-point room scan upon entering my home. I know this because they haven''t said a word, haven''t shown their faces from behind their brandless ski masks and have similar brandless clothing that shows no skin. I know that they are pros because of their gloves, their rifling free guns with no markings, and by the fact that they are beating me with my bat. (and damnit that shit is signed by the entire Boston Red Sox team of 2015) I know that they were hired to kill me slowly using my family as hostages to ensure I wouldn''t fight back because I''m a forensic pathologist with several degrees, one of which in psychology and because figuring out a criminal and his motive pays my bills. Though I am disappointed by the one guy that smokes cigarettes because the ash and smoke just act as extra evidence left behind.(He makes up for this, however, by coming up with the idea to prolong my suffering by sealing my worst wounds with one the knives in my kitchen and his lighter.)This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. When I went through school I was hailed as a prodigy, but after all my a hard work and effort here I am bloodying my once white (not to mention clean) carpet. I think this counts as ironic? Well whatever, if I''m right(and I always am) I a have 12 broken ribs,11 lost teeth, 10 shattered fingers, 9 decimated toes, 8 severed tendons, 7 dislocated joints, 6 cauterized wounds, 5 skull fractures!!, four minutes left, 3 endangered familia, 2 missing balls, and a headache that could make mountains tremble. "Any last words?" asked my assailant smugly in a husky voice. The beating paused allowing me to level my gaze with Tim and suck in my final breath to let out one last zinger... "If you make it, delete my search history" I laugh despite the pain, and it could just be the tenseness of the situation but the room bursts into laughter. Tim smiles through the tears "sure man, see ya later." Jean starts to bawl even harder calling me an idiot "Why the hell are those your last words, ya idiot!!" I smile as the bullet passes through my skull. Chap2:The god of entertainment is a prick I can''t move, I can''t see... Is this death? Just floating in an endless void with just my thoughts for company? What a terrifying thought. There is a flash of light, it is blinding and burning. But now I find myself being propelled forward at light speed. I feel the wind rushing past me as I enter a dark tunnel filled with small lights that look like stars. And as I look closer at my runaway scenery I swear I see entire swirling galaxies and worlds. "Do you like what you see?" A voice rings through my mind interrupting all thought. I turn my head slightly to my left where I think the voice originated to see a man in a clean white suit with a pitch black tie running through the middle. The man smiles at me with clean polished teeth and says, " Welcome Jon, now I am sure your curious as to why you are here, but let assure you that all will be explained soon enough." Suddenly the mans smiling face twists into one thoughtfulness, and as he thinks to himself I find myself perplexed. I''m Confused because I don''t know WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON! I mean seriously is my life now? Suffering thru one fucked situation that inevitably leads to another equally messed up scenario? "Yes, actually that does seem to be the case because I have a proposition for you that I hope you will accept. but first, allow me to introduce my self. My name is Rignath, I am the god of entertainment for the multiverse. Now as you can imagine, being the all powerful creators of everything can get boring from time to time, so it is my job to bring joy to the gods when their not working." I take a breath try ng to sort out all this information when I finally say my first words to this god "...And that''s where I come in." "That''s right! you will be the star of our new show that focuses on a human torn from their homeworld in a tragic turn of events and sent to an entirely different world that is in need of saving." As Rignath explains the plot of the show he gets more excited, his body wriggling in anticipation, his suit becoming apart of his body, his face with its chiseled marble-like features rippling like thesurface of a disturbed pond....Wait just a god damned second what did he just say!!!! "Wait! Hold on! Just. One Second!!! Are you telling me, my death was just a ploy to get me to be your lead actor in some shitty summoned hero, chosen one, tv series!!" I am livid, how dare they, the gods, fuck up my perfect happy go lucky life with the worlds most painful death, and then tell me it was all for their entertainment. "Well sure when you put it like that anything can sound bad," says Rignath somewhat apathetically, "but think about it this way you are getting an offer from the gods themselves, to save an entire planet from a devastating evil. And in exchange, you get the opportunity to gain power beyond your wildest dreams and fulfill your most sought after fantasies in the prosses." "well gee willickers mister that sounds fan-fucking-tastic! But here''s a question for ya, why the fuck did I have to die that way!!" Rinath shrugs, "looked good for the camera, we all make sacrifices in show business sweetheartyou should learn that now early on." "SWEETHEART!! SWEETHEART!?!?! How dare you, first you break into my home, then you threaten my family, kill me in front of them, and you now have the gall to say it was just a petty sacrifice for stuck pricks who think their above common morals and ethics just because they are a higher life form, and worst yet you expect me to be okay with that!?" I''m out of breath everything is red and if I were alive I would have died from high blood pressure. But Rignath Laughs a hearty, deep-throated laugh and replies smoothly never allowing his smile to falter, "HAHAHAHA!! Of course, I expect you to be upset, that will provide our story with enough drama to drive it to the end! Just imagine, the story of the reluctant hero bent on saving a world not his own, not because he wants to be good butfor a chance at revenge!" I narrow my eyes and sigh, "Fine I''ll play your game but I do it my way, and when I''m finished you will owe me ANYone favor"The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Rigath''s eyes sparkle like the stars at midnight "Agreed."
The god of entertainment snaps his fingers and thesetting changes suddenly, we arrive in my living room. I''m sitting in my favorite leather recliner while Rignath is sitting in the kind of folding chair you would typically see at a movie set used by the director. "Now let us get down to business shall we?" says Rignath as he pulls out a white three-ring binder from behind his back, "The first order of business is to explain where you are going and why. The where is answered by saying that you will be sent to a world the locals call Vorike. It is a medium-sized world that is vastly similar to your own except for one special difference, Vorike is in a universe saturated with magic." The god paused for a moment to let that sink in. My mind raced with all the possible uses of magic like flight, the controlling of nature itself, and even the ability to manipulate the concept of reality.(Assuming the gods use magic that can be learned by humans.) "Unforutnatly when magic is packed together in a contained area you get a dungeon, and when you get a dungeon you get monsters. These monsters come in all shapes and sizes, some are able to be tamed and some are not. umung the most powerfull monsters are the boss monsters. Most boss monsters regardless of specise are completly sentiant and are as human as one can get, while the rest are no better than dogs, and rely soley on instinct having no use for your human sensabilitys." Again he let that idea settle, the idea of monsters having their own feeling, societys, morals, and ect, was not a foriegn topic in games and books but it was still unsettiling when one considers the act of killing another self aware life-form murder. "Now I know that you played a lot of D&D when you were younger so I don''t need to expian to much about monsters and magic, as this world is very similar to your fantasy RPG''s. However sometimes when a boss monster lives long enough and has gathered enough manna they can raise their rank from a simple boss class monster to King class which grants them the supreme control of their entire race and are almost unbeatable by any one exept another equally strong king class monster..." I aready knowwhere this is headed. "You mean to tell me that I have to defete a king class monster on my own!?" I pale, I cansence this was going to suck so hard. After all why would he mention such monsters if I wasn''t going to deal with them? Rignath nodes slowly and continues, "In Vorikes history there have only ever been ten other king class monsters, each one holding anapocolyptic level of power. Unfortunatly this eleventh one is... well frankly put it''s a human." My mind stalls for a second before I inturupt the distresed looking god. "I''m sorry but I was under the impresion that a monster king was by definition a monster! How the fucking hell does a human go monster?Wait, don''t tell me it was the drugs, wasn''t it? He shot up with so much orc testostorone he became on them!" I yell sarcastically. As Rignath looks at me I notice that for the first time my comments have angered him. "Listen Jon, I understand that is new to you but make no mistake when I say, that while a royal has the tittle of king they are nothing exept mere bugs when compared to someone with the class of king. What''s worst is that no human has ever before been given the class of king and yet this human king has seen fit to try to partnerhimself with the monsters and give each speices their own king." "Ok, so what, they''re traped in their own universe why do you need me?" Rignath''s eyes narrowed "Because if he decides to consume other king class monsters that would give him enough power to not only take over his universe but also enough open portals to other universes and conquer them as well." I flounder, ''what did I agree to?...also if? Whatever, if he''s good I don''t kill him, and if he is bad do I kill him'' (as long as I get that favor)..."Okay and how do you expect me to kill him? I''m no superman, and I have no power to speak of. Also did you say cosume?" Rignath regained his winning smile "Yes the human king: Rei Huma (so thats his name) like most monsters, gets stronger by obsorbing the magical/spiritual energy of those that he consumes. But That''s where I come in, you see currently only you, the god king, and I know about the human king. The reason I get to know is because my tittle lets me channle the entertainment and attention of others into power. In other wordsif we can get enough gods to watch you for long enough we can speed up the prosses of making you a king with enough strength to beat him." I lean forword nervouse but exited, "Well I''ve already agreed and if what your say is true then this is threat to my world and others... so the only question left is, when do I start?" Rignath smirks evilly "well there is no time like the presant." He snaps his fingers and my chair dissapers, and as I fall down into a pit past the floor I hear him yell after me. "Oh, and don''t worry about geting your stats set up, I already asked the admin to give you a special advantage!" chap3:First impression of a new world After maybe five whole seconds I exit the pit. I''m greeted by a bright beautiful world with lush green forests, vast sparkling oceans, and towering mountains. It is truly a wondrous sight to behold... Too bad I''m witnessing it from the god damn tropopause. "HOLY MOTHERFUCKING, CAT SKIN WRAPPED, STEAMING HOT SHIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!" These words are torn from my mouth as I plummet towards the ground. (Damn it, I''m freezing and I can barely breath) This is undoubtedly Rignaths'' fault, he probably thought it would be funny and rake in the veiws. That said, I''m the main fucking charachter so there is no way Rignath would just kill me. Suddenly I remember he metioned my stats, so I yell "Status screen!" but nothing happens. My eyes open wide as I scream the words in my head with tears in my eyes and suddenly a blue stat screen pops up.
Name Jon Sizlash Age 20
level 1 Health 39/39 regen .001/sec
Class None Mana 40/40 regen .01/sec
Title(s) The Chosen Stamina 40/40 regen .1/sec
Stats
Strength 35 inteligance 40
Agility 35 wisdom 45
Dextarity 40 Endurance 40
vitality 39 Stat points 0
Skills
Super Hero Landing Levle 1 0% magic renforcement Level 1 0%
magic missle Levle 1 0% sprint lariet Level 1 0%
Identify Levle 1 0% Equip Level 1 0%
Equipment
regular shirt regular sneakers regular pants
As I Look at my stats I''m impressed, I hope they''re considered high. Though I can''t help but be dissapointed by my health and manna.(Oh well, it''s probably just a result of my low level) And what the hell happend to my age? last time I checked I was in my mid forties! (Damn it rignath, it''s hard to hate someone who gives back your youth) I shift my gaze to my skills and like what I see. ''super hero landing sounds like what I need right now'', I mentally click it and another screen pops up.
Super Hero Landing
If you find your self falling from higher than 15 meters your magic will passivly be used to cusion your organs and to strengthen your bones so that you may land safely. Upon landing the magic in your body will be progected into the ground creating a massive shock wave, the diamiter of which will equal the hight of your fall in meters. Note: manna and stamina cost will increase depending on speed of decent with a max of 30 manna and 30stamina
Curnant Cost: max
I''m astonished, the human body has a terminal velocity of 53meters a second (give or take a couple of meters depending on things like if you''re belly to earth or diveing head first) to reach teriminal velocity you must fall roughly 450 meters. Said fall takes around 10-14seconds, and I''ve been falling for 30seconds or so. (If I''m right my fall will take a grand total of 1minute) The worst part of this though is that I have to take the express landing in order to survive, and said landing will demolish where ever I land. The only thing I can do is to try and aim away from dencely populated areas. (That or land directly the human king himself and hope my ultimate ground pound does him in.) I look down as manuver my legs beneath me and dive faster toward the ground, soon I find myself looking at ants with my ears bombarded by the sound of explotions and war. Flames and lightning bolts, (along with plenty of arrows) streak accross the battle field, and I realize that I can''t miss hem. ''Damn it! no matter which side of the battle feild I choose I will be considered an enemy of that side, while sticking with the middle will kill them all but also make me a target by both sides.'' (The worst part is, regardless of my tragectory, both sides will try and scout me and if I''m not a freind I''m an enemy.) I wish I could tell from here which side was good, and which side was evil because now I have to make myself appear neutral by going for the middle Suddenly, I feel a warmth spread from my stomach and envelope all of my mucles and organs, (this must be the manna) I feel it reinforcing the bones in my legs and setting my a cushion around my organs and muscles and I close my eyes in preparation for the landing. *BOOM!!!*.
Level up!
Congratulations you have leveled up 8 times, and are now level 8!! You have gained a grand total of 80 stat points.
I blink away the status update, I don''t have time to worry about my stats right now.(I did, after all, drop into the middle of a war zone, and I don''t want to meet the survivors.) Dirt, dust, grass, blood and body parts fly everywhere I lookaround and try to use analysis to figure out how deep my crater is and a screen pops up
Analysis: Big ass crater
You fell around 3,180 meters and it took roughly 1 minute for you to fall, and as a result, you created one big ass crater
I run some quick mental math and realize I''m in a hole 1590ish meters deep and 3180 meters across .(assuming my shock wave was a perfect sphere from the point of impact) I send my gaze upward to the upper edge of the smoldering hole that smells of the burnt bodies that where undoubtedly torn asunder by my graceful landing, while doing so I crouch down. (time to test out my agility and strength stats.) I extend my legs outward as hard as possible and send myself soaring forward and hurtling over the edge in front of me, but all of a sudden my foot catches on the corner and quickly I find my flight cut short, "Fuck!!" I trip and fall face first into the ground.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Ugh, if there were a survivor I''d be embarrassed to death" I shakily raise myself up onto my feet and examine my self. Somehow the explosion destroyed all my clothes and left my sneakers in tatters around my feet with the bottoms entirely blown out. I peel what was left of my shoes off my ankles and take a moment to, for the first time, properly analyze my situation, I''m naked, in a world where stat screens and magic are the norms, standing in the remains of a battlefield that I personally destroyed,that happens to be in the middle of a wartorn field of grass with almost no cover or nearby forest for me to escape into, all on a very cold day. As my one-eyed snake dangles freely in the cold breeze, I search around for a set of armor or some other set of clothing that fits me.
Almost immediately I spy the body of a man my size surrounded by his comrades, and I jog to the corps. His neck was broken from the shockwave, and his joints a bent out of shape. Before I decide to take his clothes I check his clothes and armor for crests and insignias that may point to an affiliation. (I need to appear neutral.) Unfortunately, his chest plate has a crest, (It looks like a crown hovering above a human surrounded by monsters that worship him, all inside a shield design.) ''clearly the human kings lacky''. So I begin stripping the rest of him. After I''m done I''ve taken the mans'' shirt and chainmail while also claiming his leather pant''s and the leather boots of the man next to him. (The clothes are a size too large.) Next, I search for some proper armor and a weapon I can use.(Of course, I also take any coin purses I could find so that I won''t start from nothing.) This takes, even more, time as I would prefer a high-quality sword or dagger rather than the common damaged ones I keep finding until suddenly I hear a grown behind me as I search a young man around my age. I spin around as a figure in a dark purple cloak with gold embroidery starts to stir and sit up while holding their head. I instinctively grab the sword from the man I am searching and walk over. "Hey, are you alright!?", I yell. Although I should be cautious if I can convince this person I''m a friend they might give me some context for this war and where the nearest town is. I soon reach the cloaked figure and kneel beside them, as I ask again with a concerned look plastered on my face. "Excuse me, hey, are you okay?"As the figure turned to me they lift their hands and lower the hood of the cloak. " I feel like got sat on by an orc, but yes other than that I''m fine." A blond woman with blue eyes and dirt covered skin looks me dead in the eye as she answers me sarcastically. She soon continues, "So what was that, are there other survivors, and who are you? I don''t remember ever seeing you before." "Um"My mind races with an excuse as to why I''m here, suddenly I remember reading something about scavaging mercenaries in one of my high school history classes. "I don''t know what happened, you''re the only other survivor I''ve met, and I''m Jon Sizlash, I''m a rookie merc who heard about today''s skirmish and I was hoping to scavenge some good loot after it ended." The girls eyes narrow at me, clearly not happy about having the bodies of her friends looted. Nevertheless, she sighs in defeat, likely accepting the factthat sometimes people have to do these kinds of things to survive. "Okay, but if you''re just a scavenger you wouldn''t have an alliance, so in that case, I have a request I would like for you to fill." I raise an eyebrow curiously, "Alright, tell me what you need and I will try to help as long as you promise to help me with any one thing." The woman closes her eyes for a moment and then opens them with a determined look. "Fine, as long as it''s nothing sexual, now tell me your level and class." I chuckle at the condition she added to her favor. "Heh, no problem, I can assure you the favor is nothing explicit.(Her face relaxes slightly.) As for my level, I''m a level 8, but I don''t have class yet. But what about your introductions?" "My name is Renise Drab, a level 23 earth mage, and daughter of grand general GaberialDrab of the kingdom of Orbine" When she speaks it is clear that she is very proud of her name "Now as for my request, My manna is completely drained after shielding myself from the blast so I need you to escort me to my kingdom in order to tell them of what happened here, also I will pay you 50silver for your help." " Fine, but first we need to see if you can stand, and after that, I need to cash in that favor." Renis gives me a look, unsure of what she could possibly do for meright now. Then I reach out to her while still kneeling and put her arm around my shoulder and help her stand but the moment she was halfway up a sharp cry of pain cut short the attempt and I set her down. "Are you sure your okay? Here, take off your cloak, lay down, and let me check you for injuries." She speaks through a pained look "I''m fine, just some bruises." "Don''t give me that. Now do as say before I make you, you''re no use to anyone like this." "*sigh* Fine but if you try something I''ll kill you" I roll my eyes as she does as I ask. She is wearing a suit of armour very similar to a Wonder Woman costume, except that it was all silver in colour and the skirt was replaced by a modest set of leather pants "Alright now, I need you stay still, breath steadily, and tell me what hurts, cause I''m going to push my hand gently against your body to test for breaks in your bones and other injuries." She nods in understanding, and after several minutes of poking and prodding, I soon discover that she has several cracked ribs and a sprained ankle.(Damn just how good was that shield?) "Okay, as long as you stay off your ankle and don''t push your self you should be fine. Now as for that favor... I want you to help me scavenge" " What, why!?"[Renise] "Because, if I''m escorting you home then we need equipment that neither of us has. Plus if we find healing potion we can get you home even faster."[Me] "In that case look for a man with black armor, he was my captain and he should have a few potions with him, along with a large sword I think you will like."[Renise] She points me in the direction she last saw him and after around five minutes I finally find him. His helmet is a couple of feet away and his head surrounded by a pool of blood. (My verdict is that the blast knocked his helmet off and then his head landed on a pointy rock causing a hemorrhage and killing him) I use analysis on his sword and armor.
Black Dragon Armor set
An ultra rare armor set made from the hide ofa malicous black dragon, by a master black smith.This armor still contains the spirit of the dragon it was made from. It is enchanted to fit the wearer perfectly and repair itself while shifting form to best conform with the users'' states. If the dragons spirit gives its consent,the owner can freely use this armorssister blade without meeting the user requirements. Durability 1000/1000 Effects: + 10 to all stats +40% acid/fire resistance Equips effects: +1 health regen +1 mana regen
Requirments to gain effects: be allowedby the dragons spirit or be level 30
Fang of the Black Dragon Sword
An ultra-rare blade made by a master blacksmith. It is a broadsword forged from the fang of a black dragon. It will burn the opponent with the same acid used in a black dragons breath attack. Can repair itself. Durability 1000/1000 Effects: +4 acid damage +3 all stats Equip: +4 acid damage +1 all stats
Requirments to gain effects: level 25, strength 40, or be able to use thisswords sister armor
Damn, Renise wasn''t kidding about the sword,(I wonder why she said nothing about the armor?) before I put the armor set on,I mentally direct ten stat points into my strength/agility, five into dexterity/endurance/intelligence, and six into vitality. (Now I have 45 points in each stat with 39 left over) after that, I reach for the suit but it immediately turns liquid and jumps onto me, surrounding my entire body and quickly restrains me inside of itself locking me in a prone position lying flat on the ground on my back. ....Maybe this is why she never told me about the armor. Chap4: I can totally beat a dragon single handidly The armor slithers it''s way around my body trapping me in a completly dark cacoon. Sudenly, My vision goes weird and I''m now in a spacious dark room; andfaced by a giant dragon with pitch black scales, and bat like wings, it''s head houses two eyes with large purple irises and is adourned by two huge curved horns that pointed forward past its large gaping maw that was filled with a dark green ooz. Surpizingly the dragoness starts to speak in a feminin voice "Tell me mortal, why did you kill my previous pet and take my armor? Do you really believe that someonewithout a class and with such a lowlevel could tame me?".... Rignath was right, my life will now only consist of scene changes that have to do with geting stuck in a black void only to be met by powerfull realitiy warping beings.(I swear, if start falling again I''m killing someone.) Regardless I steel my self, look the monster dead in the eyes and give my most charming smile. "Actually Ms, I never ment to kill that man, he just happened to be nearby when I landed. As for your armor, I needed the equipment to help my friend get home, I had no intention of taming you with force or over whelming stats, besidesI couldn''t tame you that way even if I wanted to."[me] "HAHAHAHA!! Well this certantly is a first, most people are intimadated by my visage and think that if they can best me in battle I will be tamed. but you freely admit that you are weak...For such humility I offer you a chance to be my servant, in return I give you my power."[Dragoness] I have to play this smart, if I insult her I''m dead, if i say no I''m dead, if I say yes but she doesn''t approve of my plans in this world I''m dead. Fortunately I played A LOT of dating sims in collage.(Because yes I had that kind of time.)"Well madam although I would be hounored to have your assistance, I must insist that we adventure together as friends, because I have no wish to be enslaved by anyone. Infact I think we are very similar, because we both know all to well the feeling of being used by another who doesn''t have your best intrests in mind." (Thats right, I will woo the dragon!) "Oh really? You think that I, Krolowa Smoka, would ever lowermyself acctually befriends with a dirty, imbred, monky decended, low level, pesant, shit excuse of a human being like yourself? Do not misunderstand me, I offerd you a chance a servitude, an opportunity that most would kill for, I have no intrest a partner."[Krolowa] "Well I have no intrest in a master that gotturned in to what might as well be a magical pants, that may or may not always be just pants depending on stat distribution."(Oh man, I hope this works) Krolowa snarls, but then smirks (That smirk... Oh god, am I going to start falling again?) "Alright human, since no one else has ever dared talk back to me like that, and I will never befriend someone weaker than me, I will give you one chance to prove your self." "Ok, and how do I do that?"[me] "Oh it''s quite simpple and easy, (BULLSHIT!!) all you have to do is survive the fusion of our souls.However there are three posible outcomes, the most likelyis that my soul will conqueryours and I gain possesion of your body, the second most likely is our souls bonding succsessfully and being ballanced perfectly, and lastly the least likely outcome is your soul conquering mine causingyou to gain all my stats and skills." [Krolowa] Well their goes the "wooing the tsudere dragon" idea(Oh shit, this is bad, if I say yes and fail I die, if I say no I''m disgaced and die...Fuck it, I''m the main character, if I can survive a 3180 meter drop I can survive this.)''Suck my plot armor you crazy bitch!'' "Okay, fine so how do we start"[me] "Like this..." Krowolo sudenly starts glowing a sickly purple as sheunfurls her wings "NOW FIGHT ME!!" ''OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT!!!!!!'' I crouch and launch my self above the furiouse dragoness as she rushes the spot were I once was. I look down and use Identify on Krowolo, hoping I see some thing usefull.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Soul of the Krolowa Smoka
Krolowa Smoka has been dead for ages but she is still a well known figure in history because she was a king class monster and because she sucseded in sealingher own soul into the set of armor she was crafted in to after dying in the seventh king war. Level: ??? Class(es): Dragon King, Spirit mage Tittles: King Spirit Dragon Spiecies: black dragon abilitys: acid breath attack, flight, soul extraction,Soul Binding, Spirit Merge size class: gargantuan
Well okay so what does this tell me about my currant situation and how to solve it.... Well, if I''m fightinghersoul, that means she likely used soul extration to bring me here and that also means that spirit merge is the skill she just activated. Of course by that logic it is reasonable to assume that we are currantly in some kind of astral plane, and that it probably isn''t a good idea to get my soul beaten up by a dragon.(who knows what that may do to my physical form) With that in mind, lets see what this soul can do! I twist my body mid-air to avoid Krolowa as she jumps up toward me and aswe pass each other I reach and get slamed by her out streetched wing, but a least now I can hit her. The purple mist around the wing reconfigured itself into a spear, and stabs itself into my right sholder. "FUCK!" Almost imedietly a green aura begins to pour from my wound and is consoumed by the spear ''shit that looks bad'' Krolowacackles,"Ah it has been so long since my last soul." ''Oh fucking shit is this green stuff me? But if thats the case I can do it too.'' As Krolowa begins to ark back downwards I wrap my arms around the bone that slamed my gut, and squeez with all my strength. Out of no where my green mist starts to swirl around my arms, and in my head I scream ''Magical Renforcement!'' and the bone snaps with a stomach churning crunch. Unable to maintain her balance Krolowa crashes hard sending me sprawling on to the four. Now lets see, if this is my soul, does the green represent my manna or my spiritual energies? ''Lets try some vissual exersizes'', I crease my brow as I foucus on taking my green mist and turning it in to a sword. As my swirling mist slowly morphes into a rough imitation of a typical broad sword my opponit exclaims, sounding impressed, "Not bad human! Normally it would take someone from your species decadesto even call out their spiritual energys even with the help of being in the astral plane like you are now. But even so YOUR SOUL IS MINE!!!" ''Well there goes the the "balanced soul" option, but even so I ready my blade in preperation for the charge. Time seems to slow, as the dragoness spits her green sludge at my face ''Uh oh!'' I duck to the right as I begin my charge, but a drop splashes my left shouder and a horribile burning sensation causes me to drop my arm. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" ''Looks like I''m going to have to try winning single handedly'' My arm throbs, and I rember a skill that over looked when looking at my stats, so I mentaly call out the skills name (hope it doesn''t require manna)''Sprint lariet!'' Imediatly I am jetisoned forwards, and my mucles feel like their on fire. Krolowas'' eyes widen and she rears backwards as my right arm plows into her neck, stabbing my poor excuse of a blade inside her. She screams and a waterfallof thick purple mist pours out of her wound as my body continues forward spinning me around her giant neck. I grab onto the back of her neck and scream as rear my sword back for a final swing "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!!!" My emrald blade slices cleanly through Krolowa''s throte dislodging her head causing fountain to burst upward and complety drench me in the purple liquid. Soon the behemoth corpes of Kolowa colapses and leave me with one last task ''Now how do I absorb you?'' Acting on instinct allow my sword to dissipate andspread out over the body. As it does so the body begins to shink when the purple essance flows into me with the oddest cooling sensation. Slowly my wounds begin to heal and I feel stronger the more I absorb, when suddenly the corpes shudders mysteriously and both the body and head reattatch. "Ugh, please human spare me, I will survie any and all injurys as long as you leave me with enough spiritual energy. So please, make me your servant and I will do every thing I can to make sure you stay alive for as long as you wear this armor" "But you attempted to kill me."[me] "Yes , and I am deeply sorry for that, but I swear on my honor to never betray you again for as long as we both shall live" [Krolowa] What should I do? On one hand I could spare her and use her wealth of knowlage defeat the human king. On the other hand if I absorb all of her I will gain numerous levels, stats, and skills along with (and I''m just guessing here) complete control of the armor and sword. Chap 5: my worst enemy is a social justice warrior As I consider the possibilities of both options I¡¯m interrupted by Rignaths voice in my head. ¡°Please excuse the interruption Jon but upon seeing your indecision I decided to conduct a survey on whether or not you should kill her.¡± ¡°Okay that¡¯s nice and all but I think I already know what I want to do.¡±[me] ¡°But don¡¯t you want to know what they think?¡±[Rignath] *sigh* ¡°fine, what were the results?¡±[me] ¡°Well it was close but most of the gods want you to spare her life in hopes that she will be useful in the future.¡±[Rignath] I glance down at the fallen dragoness and shrug my shoulders.(Man I really wanted that power, but If I kill her now the gods might get pissed.)I kneel next to Krowola speak in my most intimidating voice. ¡° Okay, I have decided to spare you this one time but from this point onward your life is mine and I expect total servitude¡±[me] ¡°And here I thought you wanted to be partners and adventure together as friends¡±[Krowola] ¡°And here I thought that you wouldn¡¯t lower yourself to the level of a quote, dirty, inbred, monkey descended, low level, peasant, shit excuse of a human being, now shut up and get me the fuck out of here, we can discuss how our relationship will progress later¡±[me] Without another word my eyes are suddenly struck blind by beams of sunlight.(Shit that¡¯s bright) As my eyes adjust to the light a couple big blue screens pop up in front of me
New title: Dragon Tamer
you have managed to not only defeat but also soul bond with the mighty Krowola. And thanks to your connection to her have gained a slight bonus to your abilities. Bonus: +2 strength, vitality, & endurance acidic breath obtained acid Immunity
New skill: acidic breath
Passive: Your body now contains the ability to naturally produce a potent acid in your saliva. You can control your acid production by toggling it on or off. This skill can only be upgraded with stat points the higher the skill level the more corrosive your acid becomes.
activation cost: 3 stamina
acid Immunity
You can no longer sustain damage from anything with a corrosive effect. this skill is maxed out
Huh, neat... I toggle acidic breath on so that I can see its effects and then spit on the dirt which proceeds to sizzle, pop and create a tiny amount of smoke in response to my green emerald phlegm. After that, I look around and soon realize I¡¯m back next to the dead captain who is now naked¡­(Kinda weird that he wouldn¡¯t wear ANY clothes under his armor.) ...Speaking of armor why am I feeling molested? I look down and discover my new sword attached via sheath strap to the waist of a new void black armor that is an exact copy of what I was wearing before except for the two steel gauntlets that reach my elbows and a half plate set of armor that covers my chest. The chest piece is odd however due to the large insignia in the shape of a green sword surrounded by a circle of purple flames. (Holy shit if this symbolism were any more obvious a preschooler could figure it out.) {Well I''m sorry you don¡¯t like it master, but I thought it looked nice.}[Krowola] ¡°Okay and that''s fine but I kinda need to stay inconspicuous at the moment so could you please remove it?¡±[me] {Sir if you don¡¯t mind me asking¡­ Why do you care? No one knows that you come from another world or that you caused the crater, so why not just take up the masked hero persona with no backstory. That way as your legend builds the easier it will eventually become to meet the human king and see if he¡¯s actually worth killing.}[Krowola] ¡°I care because I¡¯m new to this world and enemies are the last thing I need right now. But while we¡¯re on the topic, how did you know about my coming from another world and all that other stuff I never told you?...and did you just read my mind?!¡±[me] {Actually I only heard your thoughts, and I can do that because when I ate your soul you became apart of me allowing me access into your unguarded mind}[Krowola] ¡°So does that mean I can see into your mind to?¡±[me] {Sure if I let you, after all, I¡¯ve been alive for centuries there''s no way a greenhorn like you could ever master mind magic to the point where you could penetrate my mind}[Krowola] ¡°So you know everything about me?¡±There¡¯s a grunt of approval ¡°In that case why haven¡¯t you told me where the former captain put his potions?¡±[me] {Sorry sir, they should be in a brown leather satchel located near here.}[Krowola] I look around, scanning the ruins of the former battlefield until I spy with my little eye, something brown lying on the ground about 5 meters from the dead captain''s body. I jog over to it and look inside. Oddly enough, however, there¡¯s nothing inside but a dark, seemingly bottomless pit. ¡°The fuck is this?¡±[me] {Oh this is just bag of holding. There is a runic enchantment on it that creates a pocket dimension in which the owner can store an infinite number of goods.} ¡°Oh, thanks, player''s guide. But how do I use it¡± {*scoffs* Just stick your hand in and imagine the object you want, if it¡¯s in there it should come out.} Following her instructions, I place my hand inside and my hand is immediately met with the feeling of a smooth glass cylinder. Pulling out my hand I stare a clear glass jar filled with a thick red liquid. Smiling I place the potion back into the jar. (This is so cool I can¡¯t wait to see what kind of things I can stuff inside here¡­ maybe if I can trap a small monster inside here I can shoot it back out at my enemies, that would be awesome) I heft the bag over my shoulder and make my way back towards Renise.
As I get close I see Renise Sitting with knees to her chest and her head down, so I decide to make my presence known. ¡°Hey Renise, I got something for you!¡±I yell and she looks up in surprise.(By the gods is she pale) ¡°Oh, you''re back, did you find everythi-¡­.Jon, how did you get that armor?¡± I give her a smug look and shrug nonchalantly. ¡°What, this old thing? Yeah, I just found it on some old man and beat the spirit of an ancient dragon king in single combat in order to wear it without meeting the level requirements¡­ No big deal really¡± She gives me a skeptical look, scoffs, and rolls her eyes in clear disbelief. ¡°Okay, Jon, whatever you say. Now how about those potions?¡±(I don¡¯t get it, does she really think you would just let herself be worn by someone like me?){She better not.} I take the bag and withdraw the potion from before. ¡°Will this work?¡± I hand her the jar. After a quick inspection she nods, ¡°Yes this should be fine.¡± After taking a swig she immediately begins to look better, as color returns to her face. ¡°Okay, let''s give it a few minutes to really set in, then I can help you loot some more bodies.¡± [Renise] ¡°Okay, in that case, let''s talk about our plan of action for now.¡±[me] ¡°Alright, what do you want to know?¡± [Renise] ¡°You said earlier that you need my help to get back to your kingdom right? So tell me where you''re from, the direction, and maybe tell me a bit about why you decided that teaming up with a scavenger like me sounded like a good idea in the first place.¡±[me] She scoffs at that last part gives me all the details about how she hails from a kingdom to the south called Orbine.(According to Renise the capital would be a three-day trek from here.) A beautiful and large kingdom that is under the rule of Queen Margaret. (Apparently her husband had died several years ago but she remained in power due to her eldest son being too young to take the throne for himself.) We also happened to be in the country of Virmise, a large country ran by the Cromine kingdom that has been under siege by the human king and his forces. Unfortunately, after finishing her explanation she tries to ask about my history. ¡°So Jon, tell me a bit more about yourself.¡±[Renise] ¡°What do you want to know?¡±[me] ¡°Tell me how a mercenary has medical knowledge.¡±[Renise] (She Knows!!)The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well...{tell her that such a dangerous profession demands some medical skill.} Don''t you think that such a profession requires at least some medical knowledge?¡±(Thanks, Krowola){Well I did promise to keep you safe} Renise narrows her eyes suspiciously ¡°Yes well, be that as it may, it doesn¡¯t explain how you''re totally unharmed from the explosion earlier.¡±(Geez, you¡¯ed think she would be more grateful for me helping her.) ¡°Oh, that? I just have crazy high stats due to my insane awesomeness¡± Now she¡¯s straight up glaring at me. ¡°Show. Me. Them. Now¡±(I can show others my states?){Yes, and there are two ways to do this. The first is to simply register at an adventurer''s guild. The second is to pull up your stat screen and click your name to bring up the option to show it publicly, but this fact isn¡¯t known to many people other than the upper class}¡± Ok I¡¯d love to but I don¡¯t know where the nearest adventurer''s guild is.¡± Suddenly her face shifts into a look of embarrassed surprise ¡°Oh, sorry I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot that most commoners don¡¯t know about sharing their stat screens.(Did this bitch just call me a commoner?) {Well you are.}(So what? It¡¯s still rude as hell.)Renise cuts our argument short by quickly continuing. ¡°Any way just pull up your state screen, select your name and then select the make public option so that I can see it using analysis.¡± I do as she says, and I can¡¯t help but grin as I see for the first time my new level eight stats.
Name Jon Sizlash Age 20
level 8 Health 360/360 regen .01/sec
Class None Manna 360/360 regen .1/sec
Title(s) The Chosen, dragon tamer Stamina 376/376 regen .1/sec
Stats
Strength 47 intelligence 45
Agility 45 wisdom 45
Dexterity 45 Endurance 47
vitality 47 Stat points 39
Skills
Super Hero Landing Level 3 0% magic reinforcement Level 2 0%
magic missile Level 1 0% sprint lariat Level 2 0%
soul manipulation Level 1 30% Acid immunity Max
Acidic breath level 1 0/10 ON Equip Level 2 0%
Identify Level 1 0%
Equipment
Black Dragon Armor set Fang of the Black Dragon Sword
Her jaw drops and her eyes become impossibly wide. Her face outlined by her halo of blond hair is one of pure shock. She shakily stands up, points at me and starts to stutter,¡°But...How¡­ And you!...Just...WHAT ARE YOU?!?!¡± (I think I may have broken her) I put my hand on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. ¡°Renise, listen I know it¡¯s a lot to take in right now but I suppose the cats out of the bag now so calm down and I will try to explain.¡± Renise gives a worried look, takes a deep breath, and does a 180 with her personality as she becomes serious again. ¡°Fine but you better not leave anything out¡± she sits back down and motions for me to begin.
Throughout my story she is a typhoon of emotion, she cries when I tell her of my death and gives me a hug. (Somehow despite still being covered in dirt from my fall, she still smells like peaches) She shows incredible interest when I recite my meeting with the god of entertainment and is stoic when I mention my landing. But she returns to an excited demeanor when I mention my fight with Krowola. ¡°So you were telling the truth when you said you beat up the guardian of that armor?¡± She exclaims while pointing at my armor. I¡¯m about to reply when an old bearded man in a purple cloak climbs out of a particularly high mountain of corpses and coughs loudly to grab our attention.(How did I not notice that?) Renise and I both jump to our feet on guard, ready for whatever this creep has to offer. ¡°Oof, well young man, that certainly was an impressive story but I¡¯m afraid that if it¡¯s true I can¡¯t let you live.¡± [Beard Guy] The old man raises his hands and suddenly I feel a tugging at my soul as the shadows of all the corpses around us are dragged into a rather large sphere between his outstretched hands. ¡°I really am sorry young man but in the name of ultimate equality, I cannot let you live¡± Suddenly the ball of shadow explodes into a million little arrows. I turn to Renise and tackle her to the ground as arrows whiz by, but I still feel several arrows bounce off my armor. After the brief hail of arrows I look down at a very embarrassed and angry Renise. ¡°Remove your hand before I do.¡±I look down to find my right hand cupping her breast. Out of instinct, I squeeze gently before realizing that I like my hand and jump back to my feet in surprise. (B cup? no¡­ more like C cup) Before I could apologize the magic man starts to monologue. ¡°Alright boy, now it¡¯s time to meet your doom at the hands of my undead army." With that, all the bodies that were struck with the arrows start to shudder as the arrows sink into the body''s and surround them with an ominous aura. ¡°Now my pets, kill him but leave the girl, we can question her at our leisure later, at that Renise takes a nervous step back. I withdraw my blade and grip the hilt with both hands. (Hey Krowola, what''s going on?) {Well it looks like the man in front of us is a necromancer and he has resurrected many of the men you have killed} (Care to explain how I beat him then?) {There are two ways to do that; either kill/disable every corpse he sends your way until he tires to the point that he can no longer produce any more soldiers, or you could use you soul manipulation to drag him inside the astral plane where I can kill him. Unfortunately, you have neither the time or the skill for the later. So I do not like your odds, because even with your stats and my armor you are but a man facing an unending undead army that cannot tire.} I shift into a wild grin. And start running towards the nearest zombies. ¡°Hah, You idiot, do you even know what I am?! I¡¯m a goddamn doctor, I¡¯ve spent most of my life studying the human body and how many ways it can be destroyed, so do you really think a couple dozen deadites beat me?!?!¡± I swing my blade in a wide unpracticed ark and decapitate two at once.(It may be a tad bigger than a scalpel but it¡¯s so light and well balanced I think I can do this) {indeed he has quite the tasty soul} I kick one of the zombies in the chest and it rockets into the rest behind itself toppling them like dominoes.(so what''s that supposed to mean?){It means that unlike most necromancers who simply infuse magic into the bones of the deceased. This man bonds a sliver of his own soul which not only helps control the speed of decomposition but also makes them stronger, faster, and easier to control. However my soul runs through both this armor and the blade, and that gives me just enough power to not only sever the fragile connection between soul and zombie but also to absorb that piece of his soul and eat it.} I stab another three walkers through the through and sever their vertebrae. (So does that mean that I can just stab them instead of constantly destroying the brain?) {Yup}(Cool) I start slashing randomly and get an idea from an old looney toons character. I take my blade and hold it out in front of me as the undead stumble forward hungrily with milky eyes and grey peeling skin. "RAAAAAGH!!!! (magical reinforcement!) I take my sword and start spinning myself like a helicopter blade (WEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE!!!!!!) heads start rolling as I get faster and faster to the point where dust blood and guts begin to be swept into my whirlwind of death. The wind whips up small stones around me as my vision blurs and I have to close my eyes lest I get dizzy. Soon I hear screaming from the senior citizen "Wha-what the is this?" My feet start to lose grip on the ground I feel the air slash my face with small amounts of dirt and I hear my sword whistle through the wind. (hey Krowola, can you tell me whats going on?) {well you are currently reaching several meters into the air while devastating all the monsters near you...also your girlfriend is freaking out and trying to run away} (She''s not my girlfriend and her reaction is expected, but what about the old geezer?) {Well right now he is suffering the usual physical effects of having your soul being torn apart bit by bit in a swirling tornado of hate and pain.} (So it''s safe to say i''m winning?) {yes sir but I have one question} (And what would that be?) {How do we stop spinning?}.... shit (um...Turn of magical reinforcement... shit, still spinning........Ummm what if I sheath my sword.. okay, aaaaaaand there!) slowly I begin my descent. until I realize my spinning kept me in the so-called "eye of the storm" and now I''ve been thrown headfirst towards the not so friendly neighborhood necromancer (Okay I can look super cool if I can land kick on- wait is he having a stroke or a seizure?) With that thought in mind I slam into the old farts stomach with my head. ¡°OOF!!¡±[The man that reminds me of a raisin] We are both thrown to the ground and I soon pin him down on his back. My hands pin his arms down and my leg straddle his chest. ¡°So are you going to tell me something you old curmudgeon, what is the human kings'' goal?¡± ¡°To bring equality to all races by making them all king. His goal is to rid the taboos of so-called black magic and the hunting of all sentient life be they a goblin or an orc.¡± He responds with a visible look of pride. ¡°Okay that sounds great and all but how will he enforce these laws? How does he plan to upheave centuries of status quo? Do you seriously expect centuries of prejudice to disappear just like that? Especially after provoking war for his so-called peace? ¡± The bag of wrinkles shrugs his shoulders. ¡°Why should I care? I just want to practice my craft in peace without being thrown out of every town that discovers my secret. So what if I need the occasional sacrifice for one of my experiments? That''s what criminals are for.¡± ¡°What?¡± I can¡¯t comprehend what I was hearing, does this guy really think any crime deserves that kind of punishment? Now don¡¯t get me wrong I can vaguely see the reasoning behind the equality for all sentients, but it seems childish to assume that the creatures that actually consume humans and similar species for nutrients would be able to adapt to a peaceful life of cohabitation. (Hey Krowola what do you think?) {I think it¡¯s a good cause but trying to preach of peace while providing war is simply idiotic.} (good answer) ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir but I simply can¡¯t lose my chance to see my family again, and if that means I have toend this war, so be it¡± The aged necromancer sighs dejectedly and closes his eyes. ¡°Well that¡¯s too bad son, I really thought you could have been a potential sympathizer, but nonetheless I understand your position.¡± He opens his eyes sadly and starts to cry as he coughs up a small amount of blood and spits it into my eye.(Fuck!) I let go of his wrists and wipe my eyes. ¡°So let me give you a small parting gift, Donum mortuorum!!!¡± I feel his hand press against the right side of my face as a numbing sensation spreads from his hand. Before I can react it my makes my eye goes completely dark and loses all feeling¡­. But my eye is still open.
It is at this moment his hand falls to the ground and he releases his death rattle. His body has already rotted to the point where I could mistake him for a corpse several decades old I stand staring sadly at a poor oppressed old man who had genuinely earned my sympathy to a certain extent. I stare with my one good eye until hearing the sound of steps behind me. ¡°Hey Jon, are you okay, is it over?¡± I turn around crying as Renise covers her mouth with her hands. She sharply sucks air in an audible gasp. Her expression is one of pure unadulterated terror. ¡°Hey Renise, tell me honestly, how bad is it?¡± Her shoulder sink as she releases a shaky breath that destroys my heart ¡°Oh Jon.¡± Chapter 6: I spit it hot Chap 6 gift of the dead I gingerly raise my right hand and touch the side of my face¡­ Oh, gods¡­ I start at my lower jaw, and it¡¯s dry, cold and cracked.(is this even skin?) I slowly bring my hand up toward my cheek but it¡¯s not there¡­ I feel the ridges of my teeth where my cheek should be and realize that all the skin from my right canine tooth to my ear is gone.(How the fuck am I still alive...WHY am I still alive?) I spread my hand out in its entirety and realize that the scar is from my right temple to my lower jaw bone. ¡­.Just what happened to me?
New title: Mostly dead
A gift received from arch necromancer Mortimer. The blessed area is immune to any and all forms of damage, magical or otherwise. If shown, the blessed area will allow you to ally yourself with the undead as they will recognize you as their own. Demerit: most sentient races will mistake you for a member of the undead if they spot the blessed area. Affects: Skill: commune with the dead Skill: Terror Gaze Skill: Phantom Eye
New skill: Commune with the dead
A passive skill that allows you to talk to, hear and interact with the dead/undead.
New Skill: Terror Gaze
The haunting look of your fully exposed face can make even the most hardened of soldiers shake in their boots. This effect will wear off after 3 roughly seconds, depending on the viewer''s mental fortitude. The higher your skill level the worse their fear gets. Demerit: instead of fleeing some weaker observers may fly into a fear-driven frenzy and attack you and yours randomly
New Skill: Phantom Eye
Your right eye is now part of the spirit world; channel magic through it to see beyond the physical plain. Currently, you can see someone''s aura when the eye is activated. The lighter an aura the purer their emotional/mental state. The higher your skill level the more you can see. Demerit: when this skill is not activated you are blind in this eye
10 mana/second
You know If it weren''t for the whole, fucking up my handsome face thing, I¡¯d be able to appreciate these skills ¡°Hey, Jon? I¡¯m sorry about your face but maybe we can fix it.¡± Renise gives me a reassuring look and walks closer to me. ¡°It¡¯s alright Renise, I¡¯ll be okay...let''s just loot some bodies already and get out of her.¡± I turn my head so that she only sees my good side. ¡°Just remember that you don¡¯t need depth perception to punch someone into oblivion with your crazy demon strength¡­¡± She looks up into my eye and smirks kindly,(man she is like a whole head shorter than me, and I don¡¯t think I ever noticed until now) as she puts her hand on my shoulder, ¡°After all you owe me an escort home.¡± Renise pats my shoulder twice and walks away. (I wish I had more friends like her when I was this age) I watch as she walks away I¡¯m speechless.(I wish my female friends were more like her when we were her age.)Looking away from her glorious backside that is still observable even when covered by a cloak, I scan the battlefield for someone to loot. I start walking in the opposite direction of where Renise went and start checking random bodies. **break** After about an hour I have searched several dozen bodies for loot and found several dozen coin pouches in a currency I assume is the same as D&D.I¡¯ve also found some more clothes, some rope, a crossbow and 15 bolts, a lone grappling hook(why is this here if there are no nearby cliffs¡­ how odd) and now I¡¯m shuffling through the things of a large, heavily armored brute, that must weigh half a ton. {Hey Jon?} (*grunt*MOVE YOU BASTARD!¡­.Yeah Krowola?) {What was your life like in your original world?} (I thought you saw my memories?) {Not exactly, I only saw the most recent ones from as far back as your death.} (Is that so? Well okay then since I¡¯m not doing much other than looting bodies and trying to ignore the creeping anxiety concerning my disfigurement.) (You see, back in my old life I was a forty-six-year-old man that examined the bodies of the recently deceased in order to determine their cause of death. In doing so I sometimes helped the authorities catch the criminals that made the bodies dead to begin with.) {Do you remember what you looked like?} I stop trying to relieve the oaf of his battle ax and close my eyes. I visualize the last time I looked in the mirror and I really wish I took a closer look at my reflection because the image is very blurred and inaccurate. (I was about 5foot 9 and 210lb, about the same weight I was back when I was twenty like I am now. Throughout my entire life I had a crewcut, and by the time I was in my mid-forties, my brown hair had grown some silver sideburns. I had some wrinkles but I think was handsome enough for my age. Unfortunately, I died single and a virgin, but I genuinely believe that it was because my life was simply not meant to play out that way.) {So you never fell in love?} (I¡¯m not really sure. Now please don¡¯t misunderstand, I did occasionally develop a crush on a classmate or someone similar but most of the time they either had boyfriends already or were simply not that into me. So because my lack of relationship experience I can¡¯t really say if any of what I have ever felt was actually love.) {Do you think you could find love here?} (With my face as it is now? I somehow doubt it, and besides what¡¯s the point of finding someone to care about when my job is to kill arguably the strongest guy on this planet. However, if I were to survive this whole ordeal I don¡¯t see the problem with starting a romantic relationship with some woman.) {Some woman like Renise perhaps?} (Maybe but why do you care.) {I care because I pledged eternal servitude to you and from what you told me I think it is safe to say you don¡¯t understand women at all.} (Well you''re not wrong, but regardless there¡¯s no point to any of this romantic conjecture until after I kill Rei.) {So you¡¯ve made your final decision about what you¡¯re going to do with him then?} (Unfortunately, I have, if negotiations fail I¡¯m taking this sword and turning him into a popsicle.) {Wait for a second sir, you¡¯re still going to negotiate with even after what happened to your face?!} (Of course! I may be in another world but my Hippocratic oath states that I must ¡°tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.¡± And if I can help it, I¡¯m not going to break that oath again¡­ we saw what arrogance got me with the necromancer.) {But you got your order to kill him from, not one, but two gods. Shouldn¡¯t that nullify ¡°playing god¡±?} (Well I did tell him I would stop the war but I never said how...and besides if he does say no, then I guess I¡¯m getting revenge for my face after all) {Leave it to a human to be so sly} (Leave it to a dragon to be so arrogant. But tell me Krowola, what else are humans supposed to do when we don¡¯t have wings to fly with, or claws to scratch with, or teeth to bite with?) {.....You may have a point there I¡¯m sorry sir.) I breath deeply and open my eyes which were still shut from trying to remember my face. (It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just on edge is all so I apologize. Anyway I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to get any more stuff from this guy so we might as well get back to Renise.) {Yes sir...um if you don¡¯t mind sir I could always cover your face with my armour.} (no thanks, we¡¯re less likely to be ambushed by bandits on the way there if I look to intimidating) {As you wish, but you should look at the ground first before we leave} (Huh, why? ) I look down and discover a small smoking hole had started to form in the ground beneath me. (The hell?) I touch my right cheek and look at my fingers. ¡°Ah fucking hell, I¡¯m drooling acid!¡± (wait what the hell is wrong with my voice, and how did I not notice this earlier with Renise?) Without my cheek and part of the right half of my lips, my voice can¡¯t pronounce anything that requires lips so the last thing I said sounded like ¡°Ah,shucking hell, I¡¯ng druhlling ashid.¡± (Toggle acid breath off) {So have you changed your mind about getting a mask?} (*sigh* I would prefer not to but I guess there¡¯s not much of a choice now is there?) {No but I can still help you.} At that, the armor slithers up my neck and starts to fill in the hole in my face. Fuck this feels so weird with the warm edges of my skin meeting the cold armor where a numb gap used to be. But is this it? The armor has only covered half my face where I was ¡°blessed¡± and to be honest this probably won¡¯t make me look better. {Okay I¡¯ve finished, now try speaking again} (Um okay...) ¡°Alright, how does this sound?¡± Oh man, that is weird. (Hey can we do something about the double voice sound effect? Because it sounds kind of like there are two of me talking at the same time.) This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. {Sorry but I have to keep your cheek semi-liquid in order to move with the rest of your face. Also as a side note, I did decide to cover your eye socket as well so that you¡¯re not mistaken for a zombie} *deep sigh*(Whatever let''s just get back to Renise and get moving) *break* Standing on the edge of my big ass crater I look around for Renise and see a vague outline of someone moving on the other side of the crater. (That must be Renise, let''s see what loot she has gathered so far.) {But we are all the way over here how do you plan to get over there quickly?} I jog about twenty meters back, stop, and turn to face the crater. (Watch this.) I clench my teeth and get into a sprinting position. {Jon stop, you¡¯ll never make it!!} (Sorry but I need a better idea of my natural abilities if I¡¯m going to survive in this world.) 3{Jon, please}2{would you at least use magical reinforcement} 1{Jon, seriously, I¡¯m not sure I can cushion your fall well enough to keep you perfectly safe} BLAST OFF!! I launch myself forward and sprint toward the ledge. As I approach the ledge I lower my body into a crouch AAAND LEAP!! (WOOO!) ¡°WOOO!¡± The figure jumps and turns to look at me as I¡¯m halfway across. (Heeeey that not Renise.) Regardless whoever this person is they have a large hammer, and they¡¯re holding that hammer like a baseball bat. OH NO, NONONONO!! My arms are flailing wildly ¡°HOLD ON I¡¯M NOT GO TO HUR-UH OH!¡± *WHAM!* My midsection is slammed by the corner of my crater and no amount of armor is going to prevent me from pissing blood later. (Damn you... depth perception...) ¡°¡®Scuse me lad but would ya mind tellin me why ya thought it wise to jump that there damnable crater and scare me near shitless with yer screamin?¡±[???] I look up at the source of the gruff vaguely scottish voice and see a short, broad-shouldered, bearded, man in purple and gold plate mail. ¡°I honestly couldn''t say, I thought I could make it, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.¡±I give the mystery man a pained shrug but it goes unnoticed as he throws his head back in a deep hearty laugh.¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *sucks in air like a vacuum cleaner* That¡¯s a good one. But if you don¡¯t mind lad do ya think you could answer me seriously, or do I have to introduce ya ta ma hamma, Agnis? [???] The man lowers his war hammer down next to my head and starts to gently swing it like a golfer lining up for the perfect shot. ¡°Okay, okay I¡¯ll tell you, geez. My name is Jon and I jumped over here to find my friend, Renise.¡±[Me] His eyes widen slightly in an act of clear recognition. ¡°Hold on lad, yer the friend that Renise mentioned?¡±[???] ¡°Ummm, I guess? I healed her up after that huge explosion.¡±[me] ¡°Oy, then why didn¡¯t you just say so in the first place? Here ya go lad, let me help you up a bit.¡± The man drops his hammer, reaches down, and grabs me by both of my shoulders whilst yelling, ¡°heave ho lad!¡± At that he grunts slightly and throws me over his shoulder and onto the ground behind him and land on my back. ¡°Greetings lad, my name is Sheamus¡±[Sheamus] Sheamus leans over me and shoots me a wild grin. ¡°So tell me lad, how is it that someone as scrawny as yerself can leap a hole that stretches wider than a whoores arsehole.¡± (holy shit this guy makes sailors look tame.) ¡°Well Sheamus, I - ¡° Wait Sheamus don¡¯t kill him!¡± Renise jogs up from behind Sheamus and pulls him away from me as stand up. ¡°I know he¡¯s may look dangerous but he¡¯s actually the friend I mentioned before and- ¡°It¡¯s okay Las we have already established that fact, I was merely wondering how he hopped across that crater.¡±[Shamus] ¡°And as I was about to say, it was magic.¡±[me] Sheamus shakes off Renise and looks up at me. (So this is a dwarf huh?){That¡¯s correct, and please note his squat figure, squared ears, and large beard as these are the trademark features of most dwarves.}(Neat) ¡° Just magic huh? That¡¯s a bit disappointing but I suppose that''s to be expected.¡± The dwarf shrugs his shoulders. Which earns a slight glare from renise. ¡°So are we all set to get going Renise?¡± Renise looks at me quickly and she stutters slightly. ¡°S-sure, but could you use your bag and carry some of what I grabbed?¡± ¡°Sure¡± I open my bag while Renise piles in three short swords, 3 potions of varying colour, several books, 3 robes that held the human king''s insignia, and 1 more that was in the same style of her own robe. I look at Sheamus and Renise ¡°Okay, this seems good. Are we all set to head towards the kingdome then?¡± Sheamus shrugs ¡°Sure I am as long as long as ¡®am not asked for directions.¡± Renise smiles while rolling her eyes at our dwarvish companion. ¡°Yes, I even found a map so that we don¡¯t get lost.¡± ¡°Alright then, let''s go and you can lead Renise.¡±[me] *page break* We walk for what feels like hours in mostly silence until we stop in front of a road leading into large, dense, forest. ¡°Okay so according to the map if we just follow this road through the forest we will reach the nearest town by mid day tomorrow at the latest.¡±[Renise] ¡°Okay, so I guess that means we¡¯re camping then?¡±[me] ¡°Unless ye can magic us a house? Aye, I would say that is the case lad.¡±[Sheamus] ¡°Shamus be nice, and besides night fall shouldn''t be for another five hours, so in the meantime let''s get going already.¡±[Renise] ¡°Yes ma''am.¡±[Sheamus and myself] we looked at each other and laughed as we walked into the woods. ¡°So what is the name of this town we''re headed toward?[me] Sheamus turns to look at me and does so with a confused face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you missed it on the way here lad?![Sheamus] ¡°What? Oh, I figured Renise would have told you already I¡¯m not from here.[me} ¡°Aye, she told me you were a rookie merc. I just assumed that ye would be smart enough to stay at the nearest village instead of risking your life out here with the goblins, orcs and the occasional owlbear.¡±[Sheamus] Renise and I glance at each other an I flash a quick but grateful smile before returning my attentions to my small compatriot. ¡°Well Renise did tell you I was strong, didn¡¯t she?[me] ¡°Don¡¯t worry Jon I kept your pride intact.¡±[Renise] Aye lad, that she did. The girl told me all about that armor ya stole.¡±[Sheamus] ¡°Well technically you can¡¯t steal from a dead man, and the dragon willfully allowed me to take the armor after I beat it in a fair fight.¡±[me] ¡°Bah, semantics! The point is you fought a spirit, not the actual thing. Because I can assure ya those are much stronger. [Sheamus] ¡°Oh so you¡¯ve fought dragons before then[me] ¡°Well no, but I use to raise them in the colosseum until I joined the military.¡±[Sheamus] I look to Renise for confirmation but she¡¯s just smirking as she says ¡°Yes ¡°joined¡±, after getting fired from the colosseum and sentenced to the military.¡± HEY! It was an honest mistake that anyone could have made![Sheamus] ¡°What happend, did a dragon escape?¡±[me] ¡°If only. No, instead our friend here got drunk one day and while taking care of the baby dragons he gave one them a taste of his ale.(Oh, this is can only lead to good things.) Unfortunately infants aren¡¯t known for holding their liquor, so imagine the look of surprise on all the coliseum staff when they find everything on fire, the monsters and prisoners escaping, all while this poor fool is using a hungover dragonling as a pillow just outside the coliseum gates.¡±[Renise] Renise smirked mockingly at Sheamus as he blushes furiously. ¡°Aye, it seem that curtains are not as fireproof as a fire drake with alcohol enhanced fire breath.¡± We all have a good laugh until a low guttural scream comes from our right. (Um, what the hell is THAT.) {Goblin.}(Yeahhhhh. Fuck that. Acid breath, toggle ON) Standing a few meters away is a small green skinned man with a pot belly and long lanky arms. His eyes glare at us while his long ears twitch and his stance lowers ¡°grrrrAAGH¡± [I shall name you Shorty] his skinny legs project him forward and lift my right arm with an open palm. ¡°FUCK TODAY!!!¡± His vulture esque nose collapse in on itself as it meets my armoured palm and I close my fingers around it¡¯s fugly bald head. ¡°You picked a bad day to get out of bed pal.¡± I snort and spit a loogie onto it forhead. Renise and Sheamus watch with a horrified interest as a festering blister burrows a ever widening hole in the screaming goblin''s skull. ¡°BLARGAPHARGYMUDDERFADDACAMPGRANADA-aaaaauuhhh!!!¡±[Shorty] The little man stops squirming and drools dumbly while the hole in his face gazes back at me empty and smoking. I drop Shorty and his limbs sprawl out like limp noodles. ¡°Doodeeaaaa¡± Shorty mumbles. I turn to my friends, ¡°So shall we get going?¡± ¡°Are just going to leave him there?¡± I roll my eyes annoyed. I thought this war was to keep these races subjugated, and now she¡¯s feeling sympathy for them? She should just pick a side damn it¡­ at least she can. I withdraw my sword and draw a line in red across the monster''s neck. Wiping the blood on his loin cloth and resheathing my blade I ask again. ¡°So shall we go?¡± ¡°HUMAN SCUM!!¡±[A goblin wearing feather hat} (Oh come the fuck on, can I not go a day without someone trying to kill me?) ¡°Sorry but no. Fights rake in the views, now get to it before we get bored!¡±[Rignath] What a douche. (magic missile!) a bolt of green shoots from my hand and detonates the head of Mr Feathers who was standing just left of where Shorty started. ¡°Anyone else want to piss me off today?!¡±[me] A group of fifteen goblins surround us in a circle on the road. ¡°You¡¯ve done it now lad.¡±[Sheamus] we group up back to back. ¡°Stay near Renise, I¡¯ll handle this.¡±[me] Uh¡­ sure lad if you think ya can¡±[Sheamus] I look to the large goblin directly in front of me, and acknowledge the dagger in his hand. (Idenify)
Poena of the green nail tribe
These creatures simply a stronger, smarter version of regular goblins. The green teeths are the most inhuman of the local tribes due to their preference to keep humans of all genders slaves rather than simply killing tjust the mails like the others of their species.This tribe¡¯s members are also fond of raping either gender of their slaves when bored. Race: green nail hobgoblin (grey skinned variant) Level:20 Class: skill snatcher, Title: the grey death, goblin chief Size class: normal skills: butcher, mighty leap, harden skin, lesser mental fortitude, rage
This specific hobgoblin is pissed you killed its father and brother
(Krowola, remove the armor from my scar.) {Jon?} (Do it) The cold removes itself from my face and as it recedes so does the color from the faces of Poena and his friends. ¡°I will survive you.¡± I swivel my head from right to left and make sure every one of them can see my face. After a few seconds, a couple of them have already pissed themselves while some straight up fainted but Poena just glared with a frightened anger. His dagger at the ready I walk towards him slowly. ¡°Grah-¡± Poena takes a half step back but keeps his eyes locked on to mine. The other goblins scream and flee as I get closer but Poena stays frozen. When I¡¯m within arm''s reach I finally stop(I guess I may as well try this now, Phantom Eye!) Almost immediately my sight is flooded with an array of colors, and Poena is covered in a grey-yellow mist. (hmmm, Phantom Eye off) I reach forward and grab him by the face (Krowola bring us to the astral plane) {*chuckles* Yes sir} My eyes close and open to a familiar black room with the only difference being the confused grey hobgoblin in front of me. {Sir I¡¯m not sure I recommend this} (why not?) {He may be high level but I¡¯m not sure he is worth taking.} (Don¡¯t worry about it. I have good feeling about this) ¡°H-human, explain!¡± (It speaks) ¡°No need¡± I raise my right fist and throw my hardest punch. His eyes widen as my first crushes both his forearms that do nothing to stop my anger. He flies backward somersaulting over himself when he hits the ground. ¡°HUMAN, WHY?!¡±The hobgoblin screams, with tears in his eyes. His arms held loosely at his side, mangled and torn. They bleed a grey yellow fog. I rush forward and grab his throat. ¡°Because in one day I was murdered, sent to another world, assaulted by a dragon, and lost half my face to a necromancer. Then if THAT wasn¡¯t enough you midget goblin FUCKS show up and attack me just when I finally think things are going my way.!!¡±[me] ¡°Bad day¡­ brother dead.father dead. Tribe starving...dying. The bad day both.¡± Poena coughs and gives a wry grimace. He shows all three rows of his rotting yellow teeth. I gently put him down. ¡°Yeah, bad day for us both. (soul manipulation) Suddenly a wave of emerald bursts from my hand and tears away a large chunk of Poena''s yellow-grey aura. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t kill you, after all, we both have a family to get back too, and I¡¯ll need this to do it. But here you can have this.¡± I take a sliver of my soul and shove it into his chest. He immediately heals and looks at me curiously I absorb his aura and turn away ¡°I¡¯m sorry that this was necessary and I hope that you and the tribe survive.¡± ¡°Me too¡± I close my eyes and open them to find myself with my hand still clutching Poenas face but I drop him quickly. Turning to my group I point down the road saying, ¡°No more interruptions let''s get going.¡±
New skill: Butcher
Because you absorbed part of Poena¡¯s the hobgoblins soul you have gained one of his random Skills! Your cuts are more precise and have a higher chance of creating the perfect cut of meat. Increase your skill level to make more complex cuts and to increase speed, while decreasing stamina cost
Cost 10 stamina/second
(put the armor back up.) {....Yes sir} The cold rises again while we walk the goblin horde who are still terrified of me and trip over themselves in terror as I pass. Renise looks as if she¡¯s about to throw up. Her face is pale in the afternoon sun. Sheamus has lost his jovial nature and is frowning at me. He is in clear distress in regards to my actions. I look down and notice a small speck of yellow on my chest plate. It now makes up the outline of my jade sword, keeping it separate from the black and purple. (A new addition to the insignia each new sole¡­. interesting) We keep walking until sundown without ever looking back. Chapter 7: They grow up so fast You know it¡¯s weird.After my temper tantrum, I have been forced to consider my situation a bit more thoroughly. I¡¯ve been strong-armed into a war that has no clear-cut good guy. Hell, I even bad for the goblins after what i¡¯ve done. And what¡¯s worse is that even though I¡¯m the protagonist my antagonist is still unclear. Is it Rei with his thirst for peace driving him to war? Or is it Rignath for bringing me here in the first place? And is it possible I am working for the bad guys?¡­. Regardless, I¡¯m finding that building a campsite can be very therapeutic in that the lack of communication can lead to deep thought. And right now we are all sitting on our own logs around the unlit fire pit. Renise has told me that the nearest town is another half a day from here and that we will sleep here just a ways from the road. I am currently making a fire after chopping some wood, which pissed off Krowola since she is the sharpest sword. {Hey Jon, are you sure that was a good idea?} (What, you mean giving that goblin a piece of my soul?) {Indeed, for in making that bond you have given him a massive amount of power, and if he doesn¡¯t die then he could be the world''s most powerful hobgoblin} (So? I¡¯m sure my mercy will keep him from harming us. And besides, my souls inside him doesn¡¯t that give me some control?) {Well it would if you had more training and were close to him, but as it stands, all you did was make him stronger.Oh, and if that wasn¡¯t enough that thing supports the human king!} (Okay yeah I may have been a bit too emotional and feeling guilty for my outburst, but in the end, he¡¯s just using borrowed power, what¡¯s the worst that could happen.) {You really don¡¯t get the implications of this, do you? What if Rei uses him?!} (Then I find Poena and take everything this time.) {Hrmmm. I suppose that will work but next time understand the consequences of your actions} (Okay) I look up and notice Renise was staring at me from across the unlit fire pit, frowning slightly. Our eyes meet and suddenly her eyes widen and look down quickly while she blushes. ¡°S-so what will we do for food?¡±[Renise] ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, this camping thing was your idea¡± I respond as I spit into the pile of logs that begin to smoke, burn, and yes, catch fire.(I just created a campfire with my spit¡­nnnneat) ¡°Aye lass yer gonna have to come up with something or else the lad and I will starve.¡±[Sheamus] ¡°Well I can¡¯t hunt and I don¡¯t really have any suitable skills for it¡± Renise huffed. ¡°Hey, lad ya got anything that could help us?¡±[Sheamus] Sheamus looks over at me from where he sits and cocks his head curiously, his red hair and beard complemented are by the fire. I shrug, ¡°hold on let me check¡± (Hey Krowola do you know if there''s food in the bag?){I¡¯m not sure but I would assume their are some form of rations inside.}(thanks) I reach inside my bag (food) and a rag touches my fingertips. Grasping the cloth gently I pull out a sandwich wrapped in a plain white linen cloth. (Umm, hey Krowola.){Yes?} (Was your former partner married perchance?) {Yes he was.} (Oh...well now I feel even worse) {Why? it was already certain that most of the people you killed would have family of some sort so why should it matter to you if happen upon a couple old mementos of their past, it''s not as if you were against stealing their armor. }(Yeah well the loot is from necessity, not pleasure. But you do have point, so thanks) I reach in again and repeat my process (food)..... Nope. ¡°Sorry guys, it looks like there''s nothing left.¡±[me] ¡°Well, what now? Do we split it three ways?¡±[Renise] Sheamus and I look at each other and we both shrug. I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter one way or the other since we¡¯re dressed for war, not hunting. ¡°Sure I¡¯m fine with it, how about you Sheamus?¡± [me] ¡°Aye, that sounds fine, but in the meantime why don¡¯t we talk?¡±[Sheamus] ¡°Okay, but what about?¡±I say as I unwrap the sandwich. ¡°Well, lad let''s start with personal histor-hey that smells amazing!¡± He looks at the sandwich and drools. I too notice the smell and notice that this is a ham, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and pickle sandwich on some kind of brown bread. (Hmm now how will I cut you.)¡­ I reach into the bag again (Knife) A handle land in my palm and I bring out a small steak knife. I cut the sandwich and hand it out. After having her first bite Renise nodes and speaks. ¡°Okay so I will start then, what do you guys want to know?¡± ¡°Well, lass since we¡¯ll be traveling together how about ya tell us why ya joined the army.¡± Sheamus replies as tomato juice leaks down his hands. Renise takes a deep breath and exhales. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit complicated but I¡¯ll try. *ahem* I was born into a noble family, my father is the grand general of Orbines military, and as such, I was raised to be the perfect child. I was taught the ways of the noblewoman and am expected to marry the prince of Orbine when he is of age in a year or so.(Typical, she¡¯s already taken){I don¡¯t see a ring on that finger yet}(Y¡¯know there is such a thing as class, right?) Anyways after I developed magic abilities I begged my father to let me into the army but if it weren¡¯t for my mother I doubt he would have said yes at all.¡± Sheamus nods his head slowly and asks ¡°So how¡¯s this complicated again?¡± Renise rolls her eyes, ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t you get it I¡¯m here because I¡¯m sick of being treated like a fragile toy thats only use is to marry rich and make heirs. I just want to be myself.¡± She looks down into the fire sadly and sighs deeply. ¡°Anyways, I originally wanted to be an adventurer but dad decided that the formal training of the military would make me safer and that it would be good to get some leadership experience under my belt.¡± I sit back and shoot renise a questioning look¡°Okay, so I see where you¡¯re coming from and all but I kinda want to hear more about this prince guy. Is this an arranged marriage or have you guys known each other awhile?¡± ¡°Huh?! Oh, um,¡± her eyes refocus on me as she looks up. ¡°Well a little of both actually, we¡¯ve been friends since childhood and our parents decided that we were good enough together that a marriage would be fine. And all things considered, I¡¯m okay with it. I mean he¡¯s nice, smart, and was the best swordsman in the academy. Plus if we marry I would be the first half-elf queen in a royal hierarchy ruled purely by elves that rule over a kingdom of demihumans.(Demi-humans? Half-elves? This really is like D&D!) And it doesn¡¯t hurt that most he is friendly with almost everyone regardless of race, occupation, or class.¡± (Fuck, why does he have to sound so great?) {I don¡¯t know Jon, she did say ¡°almost¡±, there might be something more to him that you can exploit.} (Will you stop already? I told you that I don¡¯t have time for that right now, I still have a mission.) {Sir, you really are an idiot when it comes to women} Sheamus grunts his approval through a mouthful of sandwich and swallows. ¡°Well lass if yer okay with him then ¡®ah wish you the best of luck with yer engagement to Prince Richard¡± Renise chuckles and thanks him. And now she¡¯s looking to me as if I should say something. Ummmm¡­.! I glance back at renise and shrug. ¡°Yeah, I mean if you like him and he¡¯s nice then congratulations¡­ but do you want to marry him?¡± Renise looks taken aback as if what I said was odd. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I lean forward on my log. ¡°Well just because you¡¯ve been friends since forever doesn¡¯t mean you two are in love, I¡¯m just asking whether or not you actually want to marry him.¡± Renise blushes and looks down embarrassed Sheamus looks to me and whispers in a low voice. ¡°Really lad?¡±[sheamus] ¡°What?¡±[me] ¡°Ya don¡¯t think that was a bit personal?¡±[sheamus] ¡°Umm, kinda? I mean it¡¯s not as if I was raised to understand the traditions of the aristocracy. But regardless I¡¯m trying looking out for her to pay her back for not running away from me and being nice.¡±[me] The dwarf gives a confused expression. ¡°Now why would she-¡± I point to my eye. ¡°Ah, yes, I see where yer comin from now.¡± ¡°Yeaaaah, considering how the goblins reacted I¡¯m surprised that Renise didn¡¯t shoot me on sight.¡±[me] ¡°Hmm, good question¡­¡± Sheamus grins mischievously and looks a Renise from the corner of his eye . Renise coughs awkwardly and turns her head to Sheamus ¡°SO Sheamus tell us a little about your family Sheamus snickers and looks back. ¡°Well, lass since yer so interested I suppose I could entertain ya wit some brief history.AHEM!¡± That¡¯s right he actually said ¡°ahem¡±. ¡°Ya see back when ah¡¯ was a wee little dwarf lad I grew up the youngest of mah three brothers and two sisters, so by the time they had all left home I grew up coddled by mah sisters and tough from mah brothers. Unfortunately, mah background wasn¡¯t as wealthy as yers Renise so I couldn¡¯t afford ta be an adventurer. I DID, however, have a high affinity for monsters and other animals so the local coliseum hired me to be the beast master for over 70 years, until¡­ well, you already know about that.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°So you were the beastmaster huh, what was that like?¡± [me](That sounds awesome.){sure, if the enslavement and training of animals and monsters to fight each other sounds fun to you} (Well sure when you put it like that anything can sound bad.){Okay RIGNATH}(Oh shit, I am SO sorry you''re right, that''s not what meant){It¡¯s fine I get it}(Sorry) ¡°It was great, I got to spend time with all the best magical beasties and I learned a lot from watching the fights and taking care of the monsters. So much so, that eventually I was allowed to sometimes warm up the crowd with a sparring match with one of ¡®em¡±[Sheamus] He smiles as he seems to watch a scene from a wonderful memory before snapping back to reality. ¡°And what about you?¡± He turns his body towards me and leans forward a bit ¡°Surely, you must have a story to tell.¡± I smirk. ¡°I do have a story to tell but don¡¯t call me Shirley.¡± Sheamus guffaws while, Renise face palms and rubs her temples. ¡°Oh man, that was a bad one.¡± Renise says laughing ¡°The hella ya talking about? That was funny as ¡®ell¡± [Sheamus] I wave my hands above head and I motion for them to calm down. ¡°Alright enough, it wasn¡¯t that funny.¡±[me] They chill out and when I have their attention I begin to regale them with the abridged version of my history. ¡°I grew up under the care of my mother and father. I also had a younger sister, a dog, and a cat. I grew up neither poor nor rich but I wanted for nothing. My parents died a few years after I became a doctor''s apprentice and I have since been living alone, while my sister lived with her boyfriend. However fairly recently while I was having them for dinner my house was broken into and they were forced to watch as I was beaten horribly¡­.I¡¯m not sure of how I escaped but I do know that I miss them and that they may very well be dead.¡± Sheamus tears up and starts to sniffle ¡°So you really don¡¯t remember? Is that why yer a merc?¡± I nod with a very grim expression on my face. (I mustn¡¯t cry!) ¡°WAAAUGAAA!!!¡± Sheamus begins to bawl and stands up. I¡¯b soo Soorayyy!¡± He lumbers over to and wraps me in a bear hug. ¡°Um, Sheamus are you gonna be okay?¡± I awkwardly pat him on the shoulder as my head is just above his shoulder at the moment. ¡°Ya idgit! Don¡¯t you know real men show their feelings!?¡± Sheamus lifts his head from where it was buried in my shoulder and reveals a pudgy red face with swollen eyes, his beard and mustache are smeared with snot. Small lines of booger and hair stay stuck to my armor. {I swear I¡¯ll kill him the first chance I get.} This is easily one of the most surreal moments in my life right now, because now he¡¯s wiping it on his sleeve and¡­. Oh gross. A few strands of his beard is sticking to the sides of his face and a trail of mucus is still attached to his arm.(EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW! EW!) now it¡¯s all matted and pointing at odd angles! He smiles at me and I hear repressed snickers from Renise but Sheamus doesn¡¯t seem to notice instead he takes a deep breath and says ¡°Well I suppose that¡¯s enough for tonight, bedtime!!¡± My crazy little friend turns on his heels walks to a nearby tree and places his head on a rock when he lays down on to the ground. Renise claps her hands together.¡°Well! That was certainly a spectacle but I think I agree with Sheamus, good*she yawns*night¡± She stretches and lays on her back on top of her log ¡°You''re on guard duty by the way!¡± she closes her eyes and begins to breathe deeply. (Oh man, what a day, I hope everyone back home is okay ) ¡°Oh don¡¯t you worry your pretty little head about it, darling, your day will be better soon¡± Mother fucker! I look up and floating upside down above me is the smiling face of Rignath. His stupid tye staying perfectly attached to his suit and pointing up toward his wingtip shoes. (YOU!!) ¡°ME!¡± {Ugh, you again} (You two know each other?) ¡°Well, of course, we do silly, who do you think inspired the seventh king war?¡± (Ohmygod. Do you do this every time there¡¯s a king class monster?!) ¡°Of course I do, King Wars is a very popular show after all But right now I¡¯m here for another reason¡­¡± (Am I going to die again?) ¡°No once was enough¡­ but we may have to endanger your life again soon.¡± (Fuck) ¡°Not today mind you, no today is your is your early Christmas present.¡± (Why do I not feel any better about this?) ¡°Don¡¯t be such a sour Sammy, you haven¡¯t even heard my offer yet.¡± I roll my eye and sigh deeply as he smiles and clicks his heels together expectantly¡­. ¡°Ugh, fine! What is it?¡± Renise snorts and rolls over off of her log onto her face. ¡°Renise are you all¡±-*SNORE!!* (This girl could sleep through anything) ¡°Hmm indeed, but to the point (Hey! why can¡¯t she hear you?!) ¡°Because I¡¯m a god, now do you want a Merry Christmas or not?¡± (Sure, now flip over before I get a headache.) He does a perfect 180-degree turn like the minute hand of a clock and gently floats down on to the ground with his hands in his tailored white khaki pants. ¡°Sooooo¡­ Want to see what happens to your family?¡± (Are you serious?) ¡°As serious as an alcoholic stepfather¡± (...Just shut up and show me, my family) Rignath shrugs and raises a perfectly manicured hand up in front of himself. ¡°Brace yourself.¡± (Huh?) Rignath snaps his fingers, and suddenly I¡¯m swept off my feet and land in my favorite chair as I realize we are once again in the space where we first met. Except now in addition to our chairs, there is a large projector screen floating in front of us. ¡°Aaaand action!¡± The screen comes to life with color and sound as we get third person view of a middle-aged gentleman in a brown tweed jacket, sitting in a chair that is strikingly similar to my own. The room is large but feels small because of the large Christmas tree surrounded by presents, that has been placed against the far wall next to a window. The man is facing the tree while sipping his coffee from a white mug with the word ¡°number one dad¡± scrawled across its surface in black paint. I turn my head to Rignath.¡±Hey, I thought you were showing me my family so who¡¯s this supposed to be?¡± The god raises an index finger to his lips and shushes me. ¡°Just watch, we¡¯ll talk after.¡± he points to the screen and I go back to watching the man in the tweed jacket. The man has an unruly mop of hair on his head and is so skinny with his spindly legs and arms, that one would initially think him sickly. The man yawns and covers his mouth with his hand as the joyous sounds of Christmas carols tumble their way from a somewhere upstairs down into this large living room. He smiles ¡°Ahh, sounds like she¡¯s finally up.¡± He slowly gets up and stretches his back. ¡°hurgh!*pop* Ohhh yeah, that''s the stuff. He makes his way into a kitchen and pulls out a variety of ingredients from a large grey refrigerator that I instantly recognize as essential for pancakes. As the man begins to prep and makes the batter a small voice scream from the top of the stairs. ¡°CHRISTMAS!!CHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRSTMASCHRISTMASRISTMASCHRISMASCHRIASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMASCHRISTMAS,*deep breath* CHRRRIIIISSSTMAAAASSSSS!!!!¡± Stomping down the stairs a little girl no older than ten old bursts into the living room. Her hair is dirty blond her face twisted into a face-splitting grin and she wears a zebra-striped bottoms and a pink pajama top. ¡°Daddy, Daddy, it¡¯s Christmas!¡± He chuckles ¡°So I¡¯ve heard, so why don¡¯t you sit at the table while we wait for Ms. Sarah and Jacob to wake up? Then, maybe we can some presents, okay kiddo?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± she runs into a room containing a round, faded, wooden, coffee table and hops onto a chair. We wait, watching the pancakes cook and sputter as they are poured into a skillet. Soon more clomping can be heard as loud footsteps can be heard coming down the stairs. ¡°Morning Mr. T¡± ¡°Morning Jacob, is your mother up yet?¡±[Mr.T] A young boy who looks a little older than the girl, comes into the kitchen scratching head tiredly his brown curly hair getting tangled between his small fingers. ¡°*yawn!*Yeah, she¡¯s in the shower but should be up soon.¡±[Jacob ¡°Alright, well, Jackolyn is in the dining room so why don¡¯t you wait in their for a bit so that I can finish making you two breakfast¡±[Mr.T] ¡°Sure Mr.T¡±[Jacob] Jacob walks into the dining room,¡°Morning Jackolyn.¡± ¡°G¡¯morning Jake! Are you excited about our presents?¡±[Jackolyn] ¡°Yup¡­¡±[Jake] ¡°Aww, c¡¯mon Jake it¡¯s Christmas you gotta be more excited!¡±[Jackolyn] ¡°Nah too early.¡±[Jake] While the kids are talking ¡°Mr.T¡± makes another cup of coffee. ¡°Okay, kids pancakes are ready, who wants syrup?¡±[Mr.T] ¡°Oooh, me!¡±[both kids] Mr.T grabs two plates each stacked with three pancakes and places them on the table, ¡°Okay now let me grab the utensils and you can start eating.¡± Jackolyn scoffs ¡°Utensils are for chumps!¡± She takes a syrup covered pancake in her hands shoves half of it into her mouth, ¡°It¡¯sh sho¡¯ good!¡± ¡°Your so gross¡±[Jake] Jackolyn looks up and makes direct eye contact with Jake. Wide-eyed she stares at him unblinking as she continues to eat slowly. Jake stares back with an uncomfortable look on his face. ¡°Um, please stop...seriously you''re being creepy.¡± Jackolyn swallows her pancake and without shifting her eyes she grabs another pancake and stuffs it center first into her mouth. Her mouth unhinging like a snake. ¡°Okay enough! I¡¯m sorry, geez!¡±[Jake] Jackolyn blinks and smiles. Meanwhile, Mr. T places a fresh cup of coffee on the counter, and a feminine voice can be heard from upstairs. ¡°Do I smell pancakes?¡± ¡°Hey, mom.¡±[Jake] ¡°G¡¯mrnin!¡±[Jackolyn] A tall dirty blond woman, who looked a little younger than Mr.T, walks into the kitchen ¡°Good morning all!¡± ¡°Good morning Ms.Sarah, your coffee''s on the counter.¡± ¡°Thanks, Tim, Merry Christmas¡± [Sarah] ¡°TIM!!¡±[me] ¡°There is no need to shout, and besides it was pretty obvious¡±[Rignath] ¡°Okay, but who¡¯s the bimbo? Where is my sister?!¡±[me] ¡°Oh her? Yeah, she¡¯s dead.¡±[Rignath] I rip my eyes from the screen and look at Rignath, ¡°She¡¯s WHAT!?¡± ¡°Dead, *sigh*unfortunately after your murder she had developed severe PTSD and after giving birth she suffered postpartum depression. And as a result, your sister soon killed herself, leaving Tim and newborn Jackolyn alone.¡± ¡®Holy shit¡­ Jean, no, why...I¡¯m so sorry...I¡¯ll avenge you someday I promise¡¯ ¡°Fuck¡­ but what about Tim and the kid? Tim may make more than enough to support them both, but even with my generous will that left everything to him and my sister he still wouldn¡¯t have the time to take care of a little girl!.... And is this the future?!¡±[me] ¡°No, this is not the future your universes time is simply that much faster than this one.And yes, under normal circumstances you¡¯d be on the money about Tims ability to parent and work at the same time, which is why he hired Sarah to act as a surrogate mother figure for dear Jackolyn.¡±[Rignath] ¡°Okay but what about the boy?¡±[me] ¡°Well, his story is actually kind of neat. You see, Tim and Sarah were worried that Jackolyn would have trouble making friends so they adopted Jacob with the original intention of him acting as an older brother/role model. However as it turns out their personalities are so different that instead of being someone to rely on for moral support or friendship, he has become a restraining force for her and acts as her conscience. He keeps her in line and she makes him have fun, it¡¯s actually kind of cute.¡±[Rignath] The god chuckles deeply, as the kids open their presents. Jackolyn receives a nerf sword, while Jake unwraps a shield. ¡°I dub thee Jackolyn the Barbarian, and Jake the Paladin!¡±[Tim] ¡°WOOO, berserker rage!¡±Jackolyn holds her weapon high above her head and began whacking it wildly against the shield. Holding the shield above his head an apathetic-looking Jacob yawns. ¡°Hey Jackolyn, instead of attacking me, you should attack the presents and see if there are any better gifts for you to play with.¡± Her eyes light up ¡°You¡¯re right! Why retrain myself to one form of violence when there are limitless other options that I have yet to discover?!¡± The little girl immediately tears up more boxes with her name. ¡°Hey, Rignath? What is Sarah¡¯s relation to Tim?¡±[me] Her? She really is just the hired help. She cleans the house and takes care of the children, and you don¡¯t have to worry about her and Tim because she¡¯s a lesbian.¡±[Rignath] ¡°Oh¡­ this is easily the world''s weirdest family dynamic.¡±[me] ¡°Heh, on your earth? Yes, most definitely. [Rignath]
We spend the next few hours watching my niece and step-nephew enjoy their Christmas and play with their gifts. ¡°Alright Jon I¡¯m sorry but it¡¯s time to go.¡± Rignath poofs our chairs away and we are both floating in space again. ¡°You all right?¡± Rignath asks sadly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine... Um, thanks for this Rignath, and Merry Christmas.¡±I blink and realize I¡¯m crying from my good eye. Rignath smiles sympathetically ¡°Merry Christmas.¡± He raises his hand and snaps his fingers. And my eye is met with darkness So I open my eye and am met by the rising sun. ¡°Back to work¡± Chapter 8: dashing through the town in a one man open chariot I sit up and realize that I am laying down on my log.(Was I asleep?) {Your body was but you¡¯re consciousness was taken by Rignath.} (How can a god of entertainment do that?) {He¡¯s the god of entertainment, and that means he can do almost anything as long as it is entertaining and if he has enough attention.¡±} (that sounds overpowered even for a god) ¡°Good morning sleeping beauty, how was guard duty?¡± Renise looks at me with a cool sarcastic smile. ¡°Very uneventful, how was sleeping on the ground?¡± I grin and while standing up I notice my bag at my feet so I sling it over my shoulder. ¡°You saw that?¡±[Renise] I nod smugly. Renise frowns, blushing, and crosses her arms. Suddenly Sheamus speaks up loudly and yells, ¡°Alright kids we still need to get to town so let''s move!¡± (Aw man this is gonna take forever) {Not if you ask little miss earth mage if she can make us go faster} (You¡¯re a genius) {I know} I look to Renise who is hurriedly packing up her things and lightly tap her on the shoulder¡°Hey, your mana should be refreshed by now right?¡± She looks at me with surprise ¡°Um, yeah why?¡± ¡°Well, I was wondering if you could make something with your earth magic.¡±[me] ¡°Sure what do you need?¡± [Renise] ¡° I was wondering if you could make small carriage out your earth magic for you and Sheamus so that I can pull the both of you.¡±[me] She arches an eyebrow and smiles, ¡°Sure, I think I can do that.¡± ¡°Oi, what are ya going on about over there?!¡± Sheamus jogs over and comes to a stop next to me. ¡°Renise is making us something that will make getting to the kingdom easier.¡±[me] ¡°What? Don¡¯t be stupid lad it will take at least another half a day to reach the village and another day and a half even if we skip it!¡±[Sheamus] ¡°Oh my poor, nieve, vertically challenged,friend, that¡¯s only if I have to wait for you to catch up.¡±[me] ¡°What the hell are you on about?¡±[Sheamus]This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Before I can answer him the ground beneath our feet starts to shift and moan as a trail of earth floats up and suspends itself as a huge sphere. Slowly the sphere spreads two long bars that are connected by a railing outward and a wide seating area is carved out at the top. Then the bottom crumbles apart into the shape of three large wheels and two attach themselves to the side while the third arranges itself in the back. ¡°Okay losers get in, we¡¯re going to see the queen.¡±[Renise] Sweaty and out of breath Renise climbs into one of the seats and leans her head back. ¡°Let''s go ladies!¡± [Renise] ¡°Okay Sheamus get in, I¡¯m pulling.¡± I tap Sheamus on the shoulder get into position with both hands on the railing. As he climbs in Sheamus speaks up, ¡°Hey lad, try not to push yerself okay? Now let me yer hold yer bag fer ya.¡± ¡°Sure man.¡±I hand him my bag and focus my eyes on the road ahead. ¡°Hey renise, The kingdom should be a straight shot from here right?¡± ¡°Huh? Um, yeah just follow the road straight and you should be fine.¡±[A Tired Renise] ¡°Okay then, attention all passengers! Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Now with that said, LET¡¯S GO!¡±[me] At first, I start slow and move into a comfortable jog, but now I¡¯m bored so it¡¯s time to step it up a notch. My legs move me faster as I break into a sprint and the trees turn into a picket fence. ¡°Oi, Slow down I¡¯m gonna be sick!¡±[a yelling green Sheamus] ¡°Don¡¯t be such a baby!¡± [me] (Magical Reinforcement!) Now we¡¯re cooking! My feet are pounding the ground as the forest starts to fade.
After a little while, I turn off the Magical reinforcement and maintain a pretty even pace. Slowly a brown dot starts to rush toward us. (Holy shit, is that the town? It hasn¡¯t even been an hour yet.) {It is, and right now you¡¯re going about 80KM/hour while carrying a rock cart with passengers that probably weighs close to a ton.} (Damn, I¡¯m good) {yeah yeah, just try not to hit anyone when we pass through the town, okay?} (well I can try.) The town gets significantly closer and people look panicked as they are screaming and running into their homes. ¡°MEN READY THE ARROWS! MAGES YOU¡¯RE UP FIRST!¡±[a deafening scream that sounds rather ominous] Suddenly three fireballs, each the size of Sheamus, are lobed at us. Whip my head back to check my comrades and notice something a bit worrying. That is to say, Renise is passed out and Sheamus is vomiting over the side...and a towering dust cloud that is following us. (oops) {idiot} ¡°Sheamus! Grab Renise and brace yourselves!¡± I pump my legs even faster as the horrible flames crash down around us, blowing up geysers of dirt and debris. ¡°FUUUUUCK¡± I scream as the town is so close now that I can see roughly twenty men with bows line up and aim their weapons at us. ¡°FIRE!¡±[Some asshole in a leather armor set] The arrows arch their way towards us and whistle as they fall. ¡°Shit!¡± I just keep running as I hear Renise shout ¡°Earth manipulation!¡± I turn my head slightly to see that my cargo is now shielded entirely by a stone canopy that has grown from the carriage. (put my helmet up!Now) {Yes sir} The cold armor surrounds my head and face as the hail of arrows bounce and crack against my armor. Their faces stretch in terror as I continue forward and barrel through the town entrance causing the soldiers to scatter and flee. I plow my way through mainstreet and crush the cobblestone beneath my boots. At the other end of the town however I spot a impromptu barricade made of sharpened wooden stakes, iron spears, and a dozen or so stalagmites. ¡°NOTHING STOPS THE PAIN TRAIN!¡± I slam a foot through a stalagmite and stomp through the barricade like the Kool-aid Man. ¡°Oh YEAH!¡± I continue to sprint down the road, ignoring the irate screams of someone who likely just lost their job of protecting that town. ¡°TO THE QUEEN!¡± Chapter 9: but arent I supposed to be the unbeatable MC? So after skipping through town, I got a few notifications.
New Title: The Pain Train
Your declaration has struck fear into the hearts of men and perfectly reflects your tendency to rush in and cause massive amounts of collateral damage. Effects: +500 Infamy +5 endurance Unstoppable Charge
This cracks me up because of its frightening accuracy.
New Stat(s):Fame/Infamy
These stats reference the spread of you and your actions. Fame indicates all of the good deeds you have accomplished and will increase your popularity. Infamy indicates the more questionable decisions you have made and may make people distrust you. (infamy can be granted to any act that doesn¡¯t conform to normal morals, ethics, or local law, and DON¡¯T have to be evil)
+500 Infamy!
Stories of a heavily armored man that carries a boulder and is followed by a huge dust cloud are starting to spread. The town guard are also curious to investigate as to why the ¡°Pain Train¡± was coming from the direction of a battle that was rumored to take place. And they wonder if it had anything to do with the earthquake the day before.
This was straight up worrying to the extreme because when they find the crater I¡¯m going to receive a lot of bad infamy.
New Skill: Unstoppable Charge
While sprinting your magic will passively be used to cushion your organs, strengthen your bones, and toughen your skin so you can¡¯t be stopped. The cost depends on your speed. Your current max speed is 100KM/hour(without the use of additional magics)
Max cost: 15 mana/sec 15 stamina/sec
ANNOUNCEMENT! SKILL MERGE 3X
The skills Superhero Landing(B+ class), Magic Reinforcement(C+ class), and Unstoppable Charge(B class) can now merge into the A+ class skill: Juggernauts Aura Juggernauts Aura: When you exert yourself physically your body will be able to draw the surrounding areas mana into you and burn it to make a near invincible shield of magical energy. However, doing requires a little manna a lot of stamina Cost:5 mana/sec 15 stamina/sec
Will you merge all four skills? Yes/No
I, of course, said yes to this because of how epic it sounds
New Merged Skill: Juggernauts Aura
When you exert yourself physically your body will naturally begin to draw the surrounding areas mana into you and burn it to make a near invincible shield of magical energy. However, doing requires a little manna a lot of stamina
Cost:5 mana/sec 15 stamina/sec
I couldn¡¯t help but smile when I read this, and you know why? Because now I can say it. ¡­ ¡°I AM THE JUGGERNAUT BITCH!!¡± Aww man, that feels good to say. But that was hours ago and after getting well away from that town I let Renise and Sheamus out of the cart so they could puke and nap. And they seriously hate me for doing all that¡­. But anyways let''s get back on track. Right now we¡¯re back on the road, and I¡¯ve agreed to only jog from now on I can see a huge city in the distance now. ¡°Hey, guys We¡¯re almost there!¡±[me] ¡°Oh thank the various gods, it¡¯s almost over¡±[a very woozy Sheamus] ¡°Mmmmmm.¡±[a motion sick Renise] The surrounding area is surrounded by lush fields of tall wild grass and rocky hills. The sun is shining through a blue, slightly cloudy, sky, and is warm on what''s left of my face. The city is closer now and I can clearly see its large stone walls that surround the city. Cannons line it¡¯s top and archer towers are spaced apart every half kilometer or so. There is a town surrounding the city wall and it seems well off as far as I can tell. Houses and farms adorn the area, while a few street vendors haul carts stocked with fabrics and food into the city''s front gate. And now that we¡¯re starting to pass through the surrounding town area I slow myself to a walk. ¡°Hey, dad look outside! There¡¯s a strange man carrying a pretty lady and some fat hairy guy!¡± The voice comes from my right so I have to turn my head all the to see a small boy in overalls and farming boots standing just outside his house. ¡°Now, now, Henry, haven¡¯t I told you to not to make up stories?¡±- ¡°But Dad!¡±- ¡°No buts! now get to the and get the new gad¡¯damn wheelbarrow from Chuck. I can¡¯t help but laugh at the Henry, which causes him to blush. ¡°What''s wrong kid? You¡¯ve never seen a small group of disgruntled veterans before?¡± His eyes widen ¡°you mean that your all that¡¯s left?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right Kid, and if you have the time I would appreciate you guiding us to as far as you can to the Palace that would be amazing.¡± [me] ¡°Pay me and we have a deal.¡±[a grinning Henery] I stop and turn to Sheamus and notice that he has finally passed out now that we have slowed down again. (great now I have to grab it myself) So I duck under the carriages bar and stand at the side, looking for my bag.(Oh, there it is) Next to the sleeping dwarf is my bag so I reach over and grab the bag strap that dangles off the seat and sling it once again over my shoulder. ¡°Okay kid, here.¡± I reach inside the bag(1 gold coin) instantly my fingers brushes against the metal coin and I pick it up. I walk over to the Henry and hold my hand out palm up so he can see the coin. He gawks at the currency and snatches it away before I can say anything else. ¡°Okay, mister you¡¯ve got yourself the finest tour guide in all of Orbine!¡±[Henry] From that point, Henry led me to the gate guards while talking about his hard-working father and how the farm was struggling to keep up with taxes and food donations for the war. And when I asked him why they struggled, Henry explained that the increase of attacks from the goblins, horned rabbits, and iron wolves due to many of the town guards are being sent to fight in the war. ¡°Well, that sucks¡­ for now.¡±[me] ¡°What do mean?¡±[Henry] ¡°Well, it just so happens that I have some pertinent information for the queen that may shape the outcome of the war.¡±[me] Henry''s eyes widen in surprise and hope but before he can respond he¡¯s interrupted by a large humanoid dog creature wearing armor similar to a guard. ¡°Oi, you there! State your name and business¡±.[angry man dog] ¡°My name is Jon, I¡¯m just a mercenary whose services have been ordered by Miss. Renise Drab to bring her to the queen in order to update the kingdom as to why only three people survived the battle.¡± The dog man glances behind me as he measures the validity of my story and then down to my armor, at which point he raises an eyebrow in clear recognition His face contorts into a mix of rage and shock. ¡°So I guess you got that armor off the captain then?¡± ¡°Yes I did, I thought it would be a waste to leave it just lying there attached to someone who could never again make use of her.¡±[me] {awww, you didn¡¯t call me an ¡°it¡±.*sniff* That¡¯s so adorable} (Yeah, whatever, can you just tell me about this guy?) {Not much to tell, His name is Sir Chadwick, and he is the first Gnol to have ever reached the distinguished position of captain of the guard. Also please keep in mind that most gnolls are very hot-headed and tribal in nature so he has a lot to prove.}Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. (got it, he doesn¡¯t want to be associated with the negative stereotypes of his origin. I understand.) ¡°I see, well my name is Sir.Reginald Chadwick, head of the city guard. You may address me as Sir. Chadwick. I will escort you the castle gates if you''ll excuse me for a moment.¡±[Reggie] ¡°Um, actually sir I¡¯ve already been paid to escort him to the castle.¡±[A timid Henry] Ignoring Henry, Reggie turns to another guard who stands lazily at the gate propping himself up against wall by placing his spear tip down in the dirt. ¡°Hey, Rick you¡¯re in charge until I get back, alright?¡± ¡°Sure boss¡±[Rick...he looks chill] Regie looks back to me and glances at Henry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Henry did you say something?¡±[Regie] ¡°Um, this guy paid me one gold to guide him to the castle¡±[Henry] ¡°Hmm, I see¡­ Then I guess we¡¯ll just have to guide him together. That way you can keep your end of the bargain while I can get him into the castle, deal?¡±[a kindly smiling Regie] ¡°Yeah let''s go!¡± [Henry] Henry then proceeds to march forward proudly while Regie settled to the left of me and the carriage.
On our way, Henry pointed out a few stores where we can shop for weapons, items, or tools, and a place where we can stay called ¡°The Inn and Out Bar¡± ¡°Apparently it¡¯s really popular though I don¡¯t why. I¡¯m not allowed in because apparently It is frequented by the ladies of the night, a special kind of demon that may curse you with a disease if you¡¯re unlucky¡­ Or at least that''s what my dad said.¡±[Henry] I couldn¡¯t help but snicker and reply ¡°Your dad is a smart man¡± While Regie just smirked. But, now that we¡¯re finally at the palace gates I turn to Henry ¡°Okay, kid this is the end of the road for you, now go get that wheelbarrow for your dad, and If he asks about the money just tell him all about our tour. I¡¯ll back up your story¡± ¡°Thanks, Mr. Sizlash!¡±[Henry whilst running back to the shops] I look after him as he runs down the road. The Palace is located on the top of a large hill in the center of the city.And as one would expect, the closer one got to the palace the nicer it became. The palace is like a giant glorified mansion. It has a massive lawn leading to a grand entrance complete with marble pillars, and golden doors. To the far right, I can make out what I can only assume to be luxurious living quarters for the servants¡­. Either that or it¡¯s the world''s fanciest shed. And to the left are what look like stables a path that leads to the backyard. Regie turns to me and motions for me to stay put. ¡°Okay, so you guys will have to stay here while I go request an audience with the queen.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try to not get in trouble while you''re gone.¡±[me] He gives me a suspicious look and motions for a guard to open the gate, while saying to him, ¡°Make sure they don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡±[snobbish looking elf dude] When Reggi leaves the elf checks that he¡¯s a gone and then begins to move. ¡°Say¡­. You wouldn¡¯t happen to be a human would you?¡±[the smug elf as he saunters over] Without a word I move out from under the bar I was using to pull the carriage, and I narrow my eye while looking slightly up at him. He moves a hand to the hilt of his Scimitar as we size each other up. He¡¯s probably a few inches taller than me and definitely more slender than me under his shiny metal gaurd attire. His long proper nose begs me to break it, and his strong prominent jaw is just the right size for my fist. ¡°Well? What have you got to say for yourself?¡±[He says while looking at my ears] I shrug. ¡°How do we know your not a spy or some assassin? Only humans have ears as round as yours and they¡¯re all under his control¡­. Well? Say something Dammit!¡±[dude looks like a lady] ¡°Listen, sir, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tough and all but I don¡¯t want any trouble so how about we just calm down and talk about this, okay?¡± I hold up my hands in the universal sign of nonaggression and try to hide my annoyance behind a smile. ¡°Why you little¡­ Don¡¯t you act innocent, we both know that humans are in the wrong here. Our economy as adventurers and as cities rely on monster hunts for everything from supplies to manual labor. Anything it takes a human to do an orc can do twice as fast! And let us not forget that letting so many naturally violent species become king class will inevitably lead to this world''s downfall!¡±[ooh now he¡¯s mad] ¡°You¡¯re being super racist right now¡±[me feigning insult] He takes a step back and looks shocked ¡°What do you mean? We¡¯re an entirely different species!¡± ¡°True but you¡¯re letting the actions of one human influence your bias on all humans.¡±[me trolling so hard] ¡°What, no I¡¯m not, King class monsters have the passive skill¡°Alpha Mindset¡± which gives them a natural control of the actions of every member of their species.¡± [Exposition machine] ¡°Well, then how come half humans are fine?[me] ¡°Ha! Don¡¯t act as if you don¡¯t know, Half-breeds and those with an absurdly high wisdom stat are the only ones who could ever hope to survive actually wanting to do as the king says.¡±[elvin prick] (That explains a lot) {yes but It¡¯s still a rather boring conversation} (yeah let¡¯s move this alone) ¡°Well, I guess that explains why I¡¯m still okay.¡±[me] He raises an eyebrow and smirks at me. ¡°Oh really? Well forgive my skepticism but I find that hard to believe, so how about we go to the sparring grounds and we¡¯ll see just how strong you are.¡±[the before picture] ¡°*heavy sigh* Fine, but just know that I¡¯m not paying for any of your medical expenses.¡± [me] ¡°Big words for a little man, now come! Follow me and you can bring your companions if you like¡± he swiftly turns and open the gates for us. (oh this is going to end badly) {for him maybe} (actually I was referring to the queen and how she¡¯ll view one of her castle guards learning what his left testicle tastes like) {Oh that? She¡¯ll be fine with it.} (Bullshit) {No, really, the queen of this country is, if nothing else, pragmatic. She idolizes strength above all, regardless of whether it is a strength of mind or strength on the battlefield}(... I love the sound of her already) {Keep that in mind for when you actually meet her} (Umm, okay?) ¡°Hey, are you coming or not?!¡± [angry elf guy] ¡°Um, yeah hold on!¡± I turn to Sheamus and Renise who are just now starting to wake up. ¡°Hey, guys! Wake up, we¡¯re here and are going inside!!¡±[A yelling me] Renise doesn¡¯t move and frowns slightly, while Sheamus rubs his eyes and slowly stands. ¡°Oh alright, ya nasty li¡¯l bugger! I''m up I¡¯m up.¡± Sheamus proceeds to lazily heft his hammer on to his shoulder and stumble out of the carriage and lands on his face. ¡°AH FUCKIN DAMNIT!¡±[a very peeved Sheamus] ¡°MR.WHISKERS, NOOOOO!¡±Renise, Clearly startled awake by the graceful Sheamus, springs upright as the chariot disintegrates into a pile of dust, causing her to join Sheamus face first on the road. (should I even ask?) {Probably not} ¡°Wwwwhhhhyyyyyy?¡± [A quietly moaning Renise] I walk over to Renise and gently lift her by the shoulders to her feet. (Huh, she¡¯s lighter than I thought.) {Do not EVER tell her that} (well duh) Surprised, Renise grasps my shoulder for balance and looks at ground blushing. ¡°um thanks¡± (awwww) I gently pat her on the shoulder, ¡°No problem¡± ¡°Yes lad thanks a lot for helping me up¡± [Sheamus getting up] ¡°Sorry man, just figured I¡¯d let you keep what remains of your pride.¡±[me shrugging] Sheamus grumbles something incoherent and walks towards the gate and I turn to follow. ¡°Okay guys, let''s follow the nice man so I can beat him so badly his children will be born bruised.¡±[me] ¡°We¡¯ll see about that¡±[elf dude]
We make our way towards the back of the palace and we are greeted by a wide grassy area surrounded by a garden. I the middle is a large sparring area with a few covered racks with weapons, and a large brown dirt circle that ruins the otherwise beautiful scenery. ¡°This is where the prince like to practice his swordsmanship, but I doubt he¡¯ll mind us using it a little don¡¯t you?¡±[I don¡¯t know who he is but I don¡¯t like him] ¡°Yeah whatever, are you ready or what?¡±[me, while striding to one side of the circle] ¡°My name is Cecil Mange, Prepare to die, ignorant human!¡±Cecil draws his blade and points it¡¯s crescent-shaped blade at me. It¡¯s silver blade reminds me of something from an Egyptian history museum, and its horrible glint makes me wonder if it was wise to make an enemy out of an experienced soldier. ¡°My name is Jon Sizlash, prepare to be embarrassed, arrogant elf!¡± I copy his movement and point my black blade towards him, before holding it in front of myself with both hands. ¡°Then we begin!¡±[Cecil] My opponent crouches and suddenly sprints forward and out of instinct I do the same with my blade prepared for an overhead ¡°HAH!¡±[we both scream] His eyes widen at my burst of speed and I slam my sword into his. I push him back but smoke and sparks fly as he hooks my sword and twists it from my hands. It careens and my corrosive blade sinks deep into the ground. While I¡¯m distracted and disarmed he spins gracefully behind me. And like that, I feel a curved blade at my neck. He whispers in my ear.¡°Coupe de grate¡± His blade glows a sickly grey and tugs against my skin until it gives way. *HURK!* NOOOO! Come back blood, I need you to live! ¡°Hah hack hurrr¡± I try and gurgle at him as I take a knee and look his feet. ¡°Hmm, it would seem your all brawn and no brain. For while I¡¯ll give you credit for your speed, striking power, and the tough skin that saved your life, you seem to have mistaken your skills and actual skill for the same thing. So kiss my boot and you may live. After all, it would be a shame to kill such potential.¡±[prick] I sputter and cough.This hurts. And I mean this REALLY FUCKING HURTS!! Somewhere I hear Renise yell ¡°stalagmite!¡± while Sheamus screams a battle cry. Rock suddenly brushes my hair as a stone spike narrowly misses the balls of Cecil when he jumps backward. (Krolowa, put some of your armor onto my wound and seal it.) {okay, I can sew it shut with the armor but it''ll really hurt and it won¡¯t be a permanent solution.} (okay but focus more on keeping blood out of my windpipe and esophagus, while maintaining blood flow for the artery he just nicked. The skin can just be covered.) {I¡¯ll see what I can do} Cold liquid steel flows into my neck and suddenly it¡¯s as if I¡¯m drowning until it pulls back and my neck itches as I cough out the remaining blood in my lungs. I look up spot Cecil expertly dodging Agnis the war hammer while dancing over Renise''s magic. Slowly I bring myself to my feet. ¡°Haaah, haaaah.¡± I gasp for air and lumber forwards with my right hand outstretched. (magic missile) A bolt of jade energy soars out from my hand and strikes that blond douche in the side knocking him prone. ¡°Stay out of this guys, I got this.¡± Renise and Sheamus step back as I stumble forward and reach down and grab Cecil by his chest plate with both hands and tear his armor slightly as I squeeze. ¡°Unskilled you say? Maybe, but I think I can learn how to fix that if you¡¯ll help me.¡± He raises an eyebrow and chuckles ¡°fuck off¡± I throw him toward the house where he strikes a wall of light with a crash. ¡°What in the nine hells is going on here!?!¡±[a woman''s voice] An elegant woman in her mid to late forties marches out onto the porch, that I never noticed till now, from the house and points at me. ¡°YOU, tell me why you thought it was wise to throw a member of my royal guard before I roast you alive in your armor!¡± Looking at the miss she is wearing a wonderfully black & gold dress with a unique solid black curved hourglass design that forces the viewer to associate it with the wearer''s body type, while the rest of the dress is a blinding gold with streaks of orange. Her brunet hair is in a tight bun behind her head, and her fair caucasian complexion is complemented by light makeup. I avert my gaze and cough before roughly saying ¡°Well miss, I did it because we were in the midst of a duel when he cut my throat, this caused my friends to try and fail to help me while I patched myself up. And afterward, I tried to convince him to teach me his skills so when he said no, I may have lost my temper.¡± She narrows her eyes at me. ¡°I see, well you may come in now and tell me yourselves about how you plan to stop the human king.¡± Renise walks beside me as she bows ¡°yes your majesty¡± Renise places a hand on my back and pushes me forward ¡°let''s go, idiot, before you get yourself almost killed again.¡± ¡°*sigh* Yes dear.¡± I walk forward while withdrawing a healing potion from the bag. {hold on Jon, I need to be ready first. Because the moment you down that, you¡¯ll begin to heal around me. So on three, 1,2,3!} The liquid metal removes itself from my throat as I chug the potion, and suddenly I start coughing violently as I try and stomach blood and the healing elixir. ¡°Hey, are you alright lad?¡±[Sheamus, looking at me worriedly] ¡°Oh yeah, I¡®m fine, that fight was just a pain in the neck¡±[I grin tiredly] chapter 10:A Royal Meeting We follow the Queen through an ornate hallway that is filled with paintings of beautiful landscapes, and epic battles. There is even one that depicts Krolowa in her golden years devastating various armies at once.{Ah yes I remember that battle, I killed hundreds of thousands until he showed up and they turned me into armor after failing to remove my soul.} (actually I¡¯ve been wondering how you did that.) {It¡¯s not that complicated actually, you just have to take your soul crystal and your astral self, bind them together, carefully embed them inside of an object, and then boom! you¡¯re sealed inside} (The fucks a soul crystal?) {When any living creature is conceived the mana from the parents collide and react to create a calcified stone of pure mana. The stone is hollow and is what we mean when we refer to a mana pool because when you absorb outside manna it will be trapped in your crystle. This also explains why a creature''s IME is the same color as their soul.} (IME?) {Individual magic effect, it¡¯s what happens when an individual releases their mana in its purest form. For example your magic missile, which is supposed to be just a weak training spell, is green because of your soul.} Okay so souls are now physical things, that¡¯s cool, but what I don¡¯t get is¡­ (If my soul is made of magic stone, how does my mana pool increase?) {When you level up outside mana that will usually come from whatever you just killed, in the case of an adventurer, will be added to the outer layer of your soul crystal while the innermost layer melts.... On a side note when you leveled up to 8 all at once, you probably ended up killing anyone else who survived but only had a little manna left.} (but Renise, Sheamus, and that Necromancer were alive?) {True but they were all close to level twenty or above and likely were far enough away that at worst you emptied their mana pool. However for everyone else? You ended up dissolving and absorbing their soul crystals because they no longer had a mana pool to drain. And unlike when we personally chipped away at each others souls during our fight you didn¡¯t gain any new skills from it.} Holy exposition dump, Batman!! This is lot to take in¡­ BUT NOW I HAVE EVEN MORE QUESTIONS!! (WAIT! Does that mean, that someone can die from having to big a mana crystal? How did Renise get such a high level without committing genocide? What is the max level for a human? What does soul colour mean?! And what''s an astral form!!) {Okay, well inorder the answers are: No because the largest human soul ever recorded was only about the size of a child''s palm and belonged to a level 36 warlock. Probably by hiring a high level alchemist to make a level potion out of her collected crystals which would cause a level up of maximum efficiency upon consumption. No one knows but the highest level ever recorded before Rei was a level 40 warrior who slaughtered thousands and survived 2 king wars. And while no one truly knows the reason for a souls color we can guess that it refers to the magical affinity while any other oddities about the souls appearance references their personality or emotional state} (huh...neat, but what about the astral form?) {essentially a combination of your psychic and magical energies projected through your crystal into the astral plane. So if you fail to perfect your astral form before death you can¡¯t do what I did and essentially become immortal.} (and like that this shot to the top of my todo list.) ¡°Hey Jon, are you paying attention?¡±[Renise] ¡°Huh? No sorry I was busy with the voice in my head.¡±..... Renise, the queen, and Sheamus all look at me weird, until finally Renise snaps her fingers. ¡°Oh, right, the dragon. I almost forgot about it.¡±[Renise] The Queen raises an eyebrow ¡°ah yes, I remember Reginald mentioning that you stole some of our military''s magical items.¡± I glare back at her and look her in the eye¡°Um, I didn''t steal shit your highness, I simply took what I thought was necessary to survive the journey here. And while we''re on the topic, no I will not be giving back any of my items.¡± The queen narrows her eyes at my disrespectful behavior, while my companions gawk silently. ¡°Is that so, and why is that?[the queen places a hand on her hip looks me up and down as if she were analyzing me for something] ¡°Because I¡¯ll need them to fight the human king and his armies,but first, [I turn to Renise] you owe me fifty silver.¡± I hold my hand out expectantly. ¡°Seriously? I thought that deal wouldn¡¯t apply any more considering how your not really a mercenary.¡±[Renise is taken aback] Sheamus guffaws "what!" I pat his shoulder I promise to tell you later." BUT FIRST... My serious face breaks into a grin and turns to Renise again.¡°Well if it makes you feel any better just think of it as payment for saving you from the arch-necromancer, the goblins, and getting you here quickly...also known as the job description.¡± ¡°Ugh, fine,here¡± Renise rolls her eyes, and reaches for a coin pouch that was tucked beneath her cloak on her side. She then pulls out a gold coin and hands it to me. ¡°That¡¯s for the extra¡­.stuff that happened¡± She glances at my right side and I know what she means. ¡°Thanks, with this I can buy myself some real clothes and maybe a mask for when I¡¯m not wearing my armor.¡± In my head Krolowa scoffs {like you¡¯ll ever be safe enough to take me off completely}Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. She nods as Queen Margaret clears her throat ¡°SO, do you mind explaining how you plan defeat the human king?¡± ¡°Well miss, after being murdered in my old world, Rignath summoned my soul and sent me to this world to stop the war. I was hoping that you could help me with setting up a small party of specialists and granting me some training with your best soldiers. Of course if you don¡¯t believe me you can just take a look at my profile¡±[me] "Fucking hell lad."[Sheamus sighs] We all take a second to look at my status
Name Jon Sizlash Age 20
level 8(2%) Health 360/360 regen .01/sec
Class None Manna 360/360 regen .1/sec
Fame 0 Infamy 500
Title(s) The Chosen, Dragon Tamer, Mostly Dead, Pain Train Stamina 376/376 regen .1/sec
Stats
Strength 47 intelligence 45
Agility 45 wisdom 45
Dexterity 45 Endurance 52
vitality 47 Stat points 39
Skills
Butcher Level1: 0% Phantom eye Level1: 20%
Terror eye Level1: 30% Commune with the dead Level1: 0%
magic missile Level2: 5% sprint lariat Level2: 0%
soul manipulation Level1: 30% Acid immunity Max
Acidic breath level1: 0/10 ON Equip Level2: 0%
Identify Level2: 4% Juggernauts Aura Level1: 0%
Equipment
Black Dragon Armor set Fang of the Black Dragon Sword Bag of holding
¡°Mhm, yes, well considering our hero just got his throat cut by one of my lesser guards men I won¡¯t hold my breath. But sure I¡¯ll help you, if only because your stats are impressive enough to make me hope for the best. Just bare in mind that I will decide your party members and I will be the one to decide when you finish your training...just think me as your business partner, or something more if you¡¯re interested.¡±[Marget bites her lip and stares intently at me like a cat with it¡¯s prey] Before I can begrudgingly accept the offer, and question that last part, a young man with brown hair in a ponytail behind his head and a worried look on his face rushes down the hall yelling. ¡°Mother! Mother! Thank the gods I found you!¡± the prince stops in front of our group but only looks at his mother, paying the rest of us no mind. ¡°Deep breaths Richard. What¡¯s wrong?¡± the queen rubs her sons back as he gasps for air, his hands on his knees. ¡°It...It¡¯s¡­ Oh gods¡­ a pit, no, a crater. The battlefield is hardly there any more. The Scrying Stone Scouts, reported the the entire thing. The head guard at Cobble town reported someone carrying a boulder and calling himself ¡°The Pain Train¡± running through town from the direction of Armys rout to intercept Rei¡¯s force. When they went to investigate¡­ Apparently there were only a few survivors on either side, and no sign of Renise or the dragon king armor.¡±[Richards pale face contorts in sadness]
Infamey Increase!!!
A big ass crater has been found and linked to the Pain Train! Word about about your deeds are spreading and willundoubtedly make things harder..... you realy suck at planning ahead
+500 Infamey (pray Henry doesn''t connect the dots)
Oh wow,now you tell me. The Queen furrows her brow and turns to me ¡°Can I assume that this is somehow your fault?¡± I sigh deeply and rub the back of my head trying to look sorry ¡°Yyyeeeaaaahhh, let it never be said that Rignath lacks a flair for the dramatic. He dropped me out of the sky with a very dangerous skill that caused massive explosions whenever I landed from a high fall.¡± Richard turns to me, his face livid with rage, ¡°You. YOU KILLED HER?!¡± spittle flyes as he screams. ¡°What? No, she¡¯s right here.¡± I motion to Renise who stands just behind the queen and his face lights up to see her. ¡°Your okay¡­ Oh thank the gods!¡± Richard runs forward a wraps her in a tight tearful embrace, and Renise hugs him back. ¡°Yeah, I am, and it¡¯s all thanks to Jon¡¯s efforts. He¡¯s the reason we got here so quickly, and how we survived a goblin attack. Also for what it''s worth the damage done to the battle feild was an accident and he seem genuinly sorry.¡± [Renise smiles at me] Richard pulls way and looks me in the eye, ¡°Hm, is that so? Well I hope you''re thankful that Renise pitys you enough to vouch for your life. But in return for saving her maybe we could help you with whatever your hiding under your armour?¡±[he points to my face] (was he being serious or was he being a smartass?) {I think he was serious, but be careful about your response, he could be testing your personality} (I¡¯ll keep that in mind) ¡°Thanks for the offer but I don¡¯t think this is something that can be fixed. But what you can do for me is agree to be my sparring partner and party member for my upcoming mision.¡± [me] ¡°{What!!}¡± [everyone] ¡°Yeah, I figure that if I were to beat Rei and his forces on my own that would be just fine, but if I were to have the help of a kingdom and their crown prince then after I¡¯m done, there would at least be a suitable alie government with a leader who knows enough about humans to not treat them as criminals for things beyond their control.¡±[me] ¡°We agree, and now that we have that sorted lets head to the living room and see if we can¡¯t talk about the final details.¡±[Queen Margret] Chapter 11: The finer details We all make our way to the living room and are greeted with walls painted a deep sky blue. A few stone busts and flowered vases adorn the sides of the room. In the middle, two large dark brown sofas with purple cushions circle a navy blue coffee table with dark golden flowers emblazoned on its surface. On the far side of the room there are several open windows with white drapes that billow in the wind and flicker light throughout the room. Sheamus and I sit on the far sofa closest to the windows while the Queen, the Prince and Renise sit opposite us. ¡°So exactly what other details of your past are you hiding from us?[Sheamus in an angry whisper] ¡°Sorry man, but I wasn¡¯t sure at the time if I was comfortable letting anyone know that I just killed two whole battalions by accident.[I shrug my shoulders] and to be frank, I still don¡¯t like the idea of having to be seen as the one who is ultimately, fighting against equality¡± ¡°Aye lad, ah get it. In the colosseum ah had to work with all sorts from slave and criminals to mercenary and kids with dream of grandeur. Ah personally was always thinking that criminality was a product of the environment, the rest was secondary.¡±[Sheamus] ¡°So goblins and the like aren¡¯t bad, they are just a product of their environment?¡±[I cock an eyebrow] Sheamus shrugs ¡°sure, I mean your not evil but because the gods demand it you¡¯re being forced deny these suppressed races their best chance at freedom¡± ¡°AHEM, if your done pointlessly discussing morals, we still have a war to win.¡±[the Queen glares at us] Sheamus and I settle down as the Queen continues. ¡°Our military has been secretly monitoring all our towns and cities for promising recruits since our country''s founding. Currently we have three candidates among them that seem to best fit your needs.¡±[Queen Margaret snaps her fingers] A large bald grey-skinned man, with arms like trees and easily 8 feet tall enters from behind me and Sheamus silent as death. ¡°Holy shit, where¡¯d you come from!?¡±[me, very alarmed] Without missing a beat the scary mother fucker replys in a deep gravelly voice, ¡°Yer mama''s bed¡± Everyone in the room cringes at once as if flinching away from the heat of that burn. But the big guy just keeps walking and hands the queen some papers with official looking papers. Queen Margaret takes the papers and nods to him kindly ¡°Thank you Walter, but in the future please save the sharp wit for the guests you¡¯re better acquainted with, rather than a stranger. You¡¯re my head bodyguard and butler¡­.So it would be a shame to put you down for accidentally insulting someone important.¡± ¡°Yes ma''am, sorry ma¡¯am¡±[Walter says, bowing low] Margret rolls her eyes while grinning and places the papers into three neat piles in the center of the table facing me. ¡°First up we have the current reigning champ of the Zolock Coliseum, a lizard man called, Dragger.¡± I scoff and ask her ¡°What kind of name is that?¡± but before she can reply Sheamus explains: ¡°Well lad, that¡¯s just it, no one knows his real name because he¡¯s too braindead to tell anyone. Infact the main reason he¡¯s called Dragger is because of all the bodys that are dragged from the events he¡¯s included in. ¡®An what¡¯s worse is that tha¡¯ guy is nearly alway catatonic unless given a direction, so unless someone wants to risk bodily harm no one can try and stop him in the middle of a fight. The poor sonofabitch just can¡¯t turn off.¡± ¡°Um, okay...but if that''s the case why is he an option?¡±[me] The Queen scoffs, ¡°Do you honestly expect me to just give you the best our kingdom has to offer for a suicide mission? No, instead I will give you the best of our worst. These candidates are our strongest citizens but because of their¡­ unique character traits, we have been unable to safely or morally recruit them into our services.¡± Renise frowns, ¡°But your majesty, this is our best chance to-¡± ¡°QUIET! There¡¯s no evidence to support the idea that Jon could even hold a candle to Rei, let alone stand against his armies![the queen shouting]Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Renise shrinks back at the queens sudden outburst leans into the her fiance¡¯s arms. ¡°I¡¯m sorry dear that was uncalled for, it¡¯s just been very stressful defending ourselves from Rei¡¯s forces.¡±[Margret pats Renise on the knee] ¡°but anyways, this next pile [she points to the middle pile] Is for a Gnome named Zipper, he ran an item shop that specializes in illegal and blackmarket goods. He¡¯s a very talented inventor with a pension for the more explosive and poisonous magic items. He is currently imprisoned in our imperial security prison with a life sentence and no chance of parole¡­¡± ¡°Well that sounds terrifying, but what did he do to deserve such a hard sentence? And why risk releasing him just for me?¡±[I lean forward with my fingers laced and brow furrowed] ¡°Well...to put it simply, he is solely responsible responsible for wiping out the city of Grady. The bastard revels in battle and blood nothing give him more joy than knowing he helped contribute to the bloodshed...and THAT is how I know he won¡¯t betray you, because once he sees your strength his only desire will be to make you a plague on the masses. Just don¡¯t engage him in any debates about philosophy or his ideology and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Well this just keeps getting better and better!! ¡°And number three? What¡¯s their story?[shivers flow down my spine] The queen pauses and glares at the third pile when Walter speaks up ¡°That pile belongs to a savage beast-kin whose currant identity is unknown. She''s been held in the basment dungeon sinceher capture. She¡¯s refused to say a thing to even our best¡­ interrogators. All we do know is that she is the reason behind the former kings death, and that someone thought she was worth the best mental barrier charms even money shouldn¡¯t be able to buy. And normally we would never consider even a temporary release but we decided that she was more than expendable. Plus It¡¯s not as if she will run¡­ the brand makes sure of that.¡± Ok well that ended on an ominous note. But why do they have to insist on giving me their trash? This isn¡¯t supposed to be some suicide squad, expendables, bullshit. I wanted some pillage hungry murder machine badasses. But instead I get a murder machine with no remote control, a pillage hungary midget philosopher, and a badass bitch who¡¯ll probably be a real pain in the ass to work with¡­ I clap my hands together and exclaim¡°Sound great when can I start?¡± The queen stands ¡°You may begin your collection of your party members in two days. I suggest you use this time to buy the appropriate items you think you may need and register at the adventurers guild. The fee for registration is fifty silver but that shouldn¡¯t matter to you as long as you have that bag of holding.¡± She holds out her hand and I rise to shake it. ¡°Oh and one more thing, [suddenly my hand is yanked forward and her hot whispery breath burns my neck] If harm or death befalls my son, and I think for a moment that you could have stopped it¡­ I.WILL.END.YOU. Are we clear?¡± {told you she was scary} (I dunno I kinda like it) {Freak} I nod and whisper ¡°Crystale.¡± Suddenly I¡¯m released and the Queen smiles ¡°Excellent! Now if there¡¯s nothing else you need you may leave the way you came in¡± I get to the door but turn before leaving ¡°Actually I have a few questions.¡± ¡°And?¡±[Queeny] ¡°One, how did Walter know to bring those papers to the office?¡± ¡°Because that''s what a good butler does¡±[Walter] I shrug. ¡°....Yeah, okay, sure, why not? Second do Renise and Sheamus get to come to?¡±[Me] ¡°No, unfortunately they will both be preoccupied reporting this crater incident to Sir.Chadwick and filling out the proper paperwork, they are still soldiers after all.¡± ¡°Awww, but ¡®ah wanted to kill the bad guys wit ma¡¯h friends.¡± [Sheamus whines] ¡°Sheamus, please, I know paperwork is boring in comparison but it¡¯s also safer and part of our job. So don¡¯t worry he¡¯ll probably be back anyways once he¡¯s all trained up and has gathered the others.¡±[Renise] ¡°Fiiiine¡±[Sheamus grumbles] ¡°And Jon, don¡¯t forget to stop by the city gate before leaving, there will be someone with the beast girl to escort you to your new partners¡±[Margret] chapter12: Kung-Fu Grip After we exit through the back I take a moment to retrieve my sword from where it landed {You unbelievable idiot!! I can¡¯t believe you forgot my tooth!!!} (Hey, you forgot too!!) {No I didn¡¯t!} (Then why didn¡¯t you say anything?!) {I thought you had it!} (Why would you think that, aren¡¯t you connected to it via soul or something!) {Just shut up and say goodbye to your friends already!} (Fine!) I walk up to Renise and Sheamus who wait for me at the front gate. ¡°So are you guy¡¯s going to walk me to The Inn an Out Bar, or are you dropping me off here?¡±[me] ¡°Unfortunately it seems we have to get started on our work immediately but we¡¯ll be sure to see you off before you leave.¡±[Renise says apologetically] ¡°Gibah¡¯ lad, try not ta git in any more fights ya can¡¯t handle.¡±[Sheamus says melodramatically in a forced thick accent] I pat Sheamus on the shoulder and give Renise a thumbs up, ¡°Well I guess I¡¯ll be getting on then. I hope the paperwork isn¡¯t to bad.¡± As I turn to leave I am struck with an overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness but instead of looking back I make my way into the streets.
The city is large and far more crowded than it was earlier. Merchants sell jewelry and show off fancy foreign garments. A butcher on the side of the road hangs up a slab of jerky in his window wand wafts the smell of freshly smoked meats into the market. I struggle not to bump into anyone as I retain a tight hold of my bag. When a comotion starts a few stalls ahead of me, just outside the inn ¡°Filthy little bitch, what did you go and do that for?!¡± I move to get closer and see a group of large men surrounding a very angry looking woman in an apron. There are three of them and they all look like giant anthropomorphic pigs with the head man resembling a wild boar. They all carry swords on their hips except the boar who wields a large double headed battle axe on his back. I make my way through the crowd that has gathered to watch and find a spot in the front of the crowd facing the confrontation with the woman on my left and the thugs on my right.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The woman is maybe 5¡¯6 and barley comes up to the lead mans shoulder. Her muscles are well defined beneath her long barmaid sleeves and flex intimidatingly as she brushes long curly auburn hair away from her face. Her expression firm and strong, she takes a deep breath revealing some savage canines that fit her small round bear ears and built frame. ¡°Well in case you forgot, THIS IS MY BUSINESS AND THAT MEANS TOUCHING THE GOODS IS BAD FOR BUSINESS, AND BAD BUSINESS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!!!!!¡± The woman winds up for a backhanded slap as her shout still rings in the ears of everyone in the crowd. (should I step in?) {shhh, this is the best part} *CRACK* Suddenly porkers is sent soaring overhead, his body spiraling down the street and his friends stand stalk still and scared shitless. ¡°Oh that is it you bitch!¡±[one of the two remaining piggies] Or they could just get really mad, and try fight in her¡­ I better step in, the last thing I need is for the owner to get arrested and lose the only place I can stay tonight. (you¡¯re right that was fun but play times over) {self righteous buzzkill} (oh hush you) The men withdraw their blades but stop when they spot me walking towards them. ¡°Good day gentlemen, is there a problem here?¡±[I ask as politely as I can] ¡°No there ain¡¯t because I was about to get rid of it now kindly fuck off good sir.¡±[the angry business owner] Hmm, I¡¯m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn¡¯t that. But at least the two pigs look surprised too. ¡°Well Miss, not to be rude but I think there are better ways to deal with your problems that don¡¯t include pimp slapping a man into next we-MPH!!¡± Suddenly a big meaty fist engulfs the entirety of my head. ¡°Stay out of this little man.¡±[a baritone voice oinks] His sweat smells like bacon grease. {Still opting for a peaceful negotiation?} (I¡¯m not killing them) {boooooo} I grab the thick wrist and squeeze. ¡°Heyheyheyheyheyhey!!¡±[Bacon Bits] His bones begin to creak and crack as his grip lessans and I drag his arm away from my face. ¡°You might want to give up now.¡±[me] "F-fuck you!" he swings his free hand at my head but gets his arm caught by the bear woman. "Nah Fred, you go pick up your useless drunk of a brother, this ones mine."[I really don''t like that look on her face] Chapter 13: Room For Rent As the woman and I release Fred, he and the other pig bolt down the street. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this ya brat!¡±[Fred] ¡°Ignore him, he and his brothers are always causing trouble ¡®round here.¡±[the bear woman] I turn my attention back to her, ¡°Thanks for catching that pu-ARRGH!!¡± A swift kick to that most tender of locations makes me double over onto the ground. (Krolowa WHYYY?!) {What?} (Why didn¡¯t you protect me?!) {Oops, guess I forgot human genitalia isn¡¯t retractable} (I¡¯m in too much pain argue with you about how you should always protect my genitals regardless of retractability) I look up to the demonic hell bitch with tears in my eye, ¡°You mashed my potatoes, why did you mash my potatoes?¡± She looks me in the eye with a bemused smile, ¡°You disrespected me. As a business owner it is my duty to disiplin troublemakers so new customers know to respect me and old customers don¡¯t think I¡¯m going soft.¡± ¡°Okay, that kind of makes sense but that still doesn¡¯t explain WHY. YOU. KICKED ME. IN. THE DICK.¡±[I make sure to keep my voice low and serious, with a noted edge when I mentioned my short sword] ¡°Didn¡¯t want people to think I actually needed your help. Plus I figured that you must have some big balls trying to defend me after I demolished Chuck, and I felt a swift pat with my boot was the best and quickest way to test my theory.¡± [she reaches out a hand to help me up] I reach for her hand and realize that instead of regular nails they are replaced with bear claws, while her hands are just as butch and bear like as the rest of her. She wrenches me to my feet roughly as I stare. ¡°What, you¡¯ve never seen a beast-kin before?¡±[she frowns slightly] I wheeze while getting up, still trying to catch my breath. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m new here, I¡¯ve never seen most of the races in this in this world.¡± [I shrug and smile] ¡°The hell is that supposed to mean? Another world? Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡± [She rolls her eyes and grins smugly] {I thought you were aiming for subtlety} (Fuck it, maybe if I make enough noise Rei will come to me. Plus reciting the same boring lines over and over is a boring pain in the ass.) {you know for someone who claims to be a doctor you sure are impatient} (I just want to see Tim before he dies and meet my niece and nephew. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s too much ask.) ¡°You live in a world where gods¡¯ exist, magic can summon lightning to strike down your enemies, and you¡¯re half bear but the concept of worlds outside your own is whats unbelievable? Now who¡¯s being ridiculous?¡±[I shrug and sigh, sometimes the people here are too much]You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°That¡­ is annoyingly accurate actually.¡± [She frowns again] ¡°Yeah, but it was rude of me to think you needed help earlier (Even if I was just trying to be polite!) and even ruder to stare, I¡¯m sorry.¡±[I bow my head in apology] ¡°Ugh please don¡¯t do that it makes it awkward, just raise your head, and tell me your name. I¡¯m Bonny.¡± [She smiles at me and turns to open the door to the inn] I nod in greeting and smile back. ¡°I¡¯m Jon, nice to meet you Bonny.¡±
I enter the inn after her and immediately my senses are bombarded by the sounds and smells one would expect from a tavern called The Inn and Out Bar. But imagine if you can, a classic a fantasy tavern; with hardwood floors that have been well loved over a few decades, a multitude of round wood tables with loud happy customers occupying the chairs, a bar at the very back with a few men from the guard enjoying their down time, there are a few bards in a corner to my right surrounded by fangirls as they play some song about a famous adventurer. Around the inn delicious smelling food is passed around by a couple of waitress while they elegantly dance between tables and grabby old men who have clearly had too much to drink. Behind the bar is a elvish man with a black trimmed mustache and suspenders. And behind him is another counter where a large bear, in chefs hat and an apron that says ¡°Don¡¯t ask what¡¯s in the mystery meat¡±, works in a lively looking kitchen. In the far left corner there are stairs that I assume lead to the Inn section of the establishment. As I look around I notice a few of the patrons are giving me the ol¡¯ once over when Bonny taps my arm, ¡°So Jon what will it be?¡± ¡°Um, how much to rent a room for the next two days?¡± ¡°One gold.¡±[Bonny replies straight faced] I look at her with a raised skeptical eyebrow. (That sounds high, I know I have no concept of how money works in this world but it sounds high) {That¡¯s because it is. She¡¯s trying to either swindle you or judge your character.} (tips?) {Just pay it} ¡°So does that include room and board?¡±[I ask pulling out a gold coin.] She smiles, ¡°Sure, why not?¡± [She relieves me of my money] Bonny then turns to the man in suspenders and yells, ¡°Hey Clyde can you toss me a room key? We have a customer!¡± Clyde looks up from a glass he was cleaning and gives a thumbs up. He then reaches beneath the counter and tosses out a single silver key that easily arches its way over the crowd and smack dab into to Bonny''s¡¯ hand. ¡°Thanks Clyde!¡±{Bonny waves to Clyde, who just smiles and returns to work} She hands me the key and points towards the stairs ¡°Your room is at the very end of the hall the last door on your left, there is a basic dresser and mirror, a queen sized bed. If you need it there is a bathroom out in the back and a communal bath house just down the street that gives discounts to residents of the inn. Also breakfast is free from sunrise to midday, Dinner is sunset to dark.¡± Bonny then smiles, and slaps me hard on the back towards the stairs while she goes to the bar. I head upstairs and walk down the hall, two right turns later, I open my door, and enter my room. It¡¯s a fairly plain room, the bed is placed sticking outward towards the door, the dresser is directly to my right with the mirror hanging right over it. Also on the far wall next to my bed, there¡¯s a single window with ugly plaid drapes that over looks the main street outside and allows me to partially see into a few buildings across the street. Over the city the afternoon sun tells me I only have a few hours before I can sleep ass naked in a real bed the way nature intended. {Hey Jon?} (Um yeah?) {You haven¡¯t seen your face yet right?} (You think I should take a look into the mirror?) {I think it would be healthy, yes.} (Umm, yeah, no thanks, I¡¯d really rather not) {Jon we both know that you either do it now or you wait until you scare yourself to death when you see your reflection in the particularly shiny shield of an opponent, but regardless you¡¯re going to have to learn what you look like eventually.} (...okay,fine..) I take a deep breath and close my bedroom door behind me. Just above the handle I notice a latch and I decide to lock the door¡­.just in case. I then move to the window and close the curtain. Once I¡¯m done I look at where the mirror hangs. Chapter 14: Mirror Image I gaze into the mirror and see for the first time in a what feels like years myself staring back from its center. On the left is the moderately handsome face of a twenty-year-old male. On the left I look closer and smile at my eye, most people assume I¡¯m brown eyed but upon closer inspection, my eyes are actually brown-green¡­ maybe that explains my IME?... No that¡¯s stupid. On the left my face is youthful with a bit of stubble from not shaving for over a day, my whiskers always did grow fast. On the right is the sheer black steel of Krolowa¡¯s armor. On the right, it covers my face in a thick veil that shields the world from my powerful disfigurement. On the right, the armor reaches from just in front of my ear. On the right, where skin meets metal, the contrast is sharp and jarring, leading one¡¯s eyes to focus on the jagged seam. On the right discolored skin peaks, just barely visible out of the armored mask. In the center of the mirror, I take a deep shaky breath and swallow hard, ¡°Okay, do it.¡± {Yes sir} On the right, the armor slowly slips away from my face. On the right, the first thing I see is the slow reveal of my mouth. On the right, my cheek has disappeared to show yellowed teeth and black decomposed gums. On the right, my lower jaw is fully exposed from the chin to the angle of the mandible, where the bone has become a sickly yellow/brown but from there and upward from the mandibular condyle muscle is visible in patchworks through the black and purple skin. Before I can go any higher, I take a second to step away and center myself¡­ (Oh, gods¡­ I...how?) {Jon? Sir, are you going to be alright?]If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I stumble back and trip, falling hard on my ass. A little stunned but I simply lie onto my back and stare blankly at the wooden ceiling. (How did she have the courage to not run from me?) {... I don¡¯t know but you need to calm down.} I close my eyes and take a deep breath. (Hey Krolowa?) {Yes?} (I¡¯m scared.) {You are? Why?} (I¡¯m a stranger in a strange land, I¡¯ve already lost an eye and my dashing good looks...and assuming Rignath did show me my universe my family will have died from old age before I get back.) {Okay, but what does all that have to do with being scared?} (Don¡¯t you get it? I¡¯ve barely started but I feel outclassed. I can''t even fight despite being so strong, and I have hardly any time to learn how¡­) {But you can learn, and we can work on your magic defenses, you¡¯re not helpless. Now look in the mirror, except your that the curse is now just another weapon for you to use, and stop being a little bitch!} (So you finally stopped with the regal behavior huh?... Thank you.) {Are all humans so emotional or is it just you?} (Okay, fine, I get it.) I slowly get up again and stand in the center of the mirror. And I spy with my little eye, a gaping rotted hole. Like a black hole, my right socket sucks the light in and keeps it trapped for all eternity. ¡­(Phantom eye) Suddenly a wisp of green smoke reaches out from the pit and as if filling a mold, form the shape of a solid green eye. In my socket, the eye levitates perfectly in the center, incapable of blinking, in one solid piece. All around my exposed head my aura is a deep forest green, and surrounding her armor, Krolowa¡¯s dark purple flames flare outward. (Spooky) {Indeed... Do you feel better?} (yeah actually, but I can¡¯t really explain why. I just feel kind of pumped after seeing myself...like being able to see myself, even though it¡¯s like this, is enough to prove that I¡¯m still alive and can still fight. Not that it really makes any sense.) {So, do you want to stay here or go shopping for some clothes?} (yeah I think I¡¯ll go shopping, maybe the fresh air will clear my head.) (Phantom eye off) As the sphere dissipates the armor covers up my face once again. I turn, unlock my door to leave my room and secure the lock once again. Upon descending the stairs a disturbing feeling announces itself painfully. *STOMACH RUMBLING SOUND* (On second thought, no one likes shopping on an empty stomach.)