《Rise of Toki》 Chapter 1: I Am the Leader! In an emptied ruins, in the middle of a forest, six eggs were hatched. Six baby tortoises were born but there was no mother or father to be found. Only the empty ruins, a large pond, and the forest that surrounds them. After a few weeks of surviving on their own by eating the edible plants and insects. They began to interact with one another and communicating. Then like it was embedded in their blood, they called out, "STATUS!"
Name:------- Species: Baby Quin Tortiose
Mana: N/A Level: 3
Stat Points: 6
Strength: 3 Intellect: 4
Defense: 10 Magic Defense: 7
Speed: 2 Accuracy: 4
Skills: Bite (lv1), Leap (lv1), Hide
A little female tortoise chuckled catching the attentions of her siblings. Her laughter gave a very uncomfortable and annoying feeling. "Hahaha! Look at my powers! My smarts is 4! I''m te'' smartest one here! I should be leader!" The others groaned except for one. The little tortoise continued to boast her stats in front of the others and named herself, Toki. The others moved away from her as fast as they can to somewhere more quiet. Now, it''s only Toki and the one who was last to hatched. The runt of the group, who was named by Toki, Cheri.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Look at this Cheri, they don''t understand my greatness," said Toki. "I make a great leader. Isn''t that right?" Cheri nodded her head in submission, Toki was the only sibling who gave her any attention. Cheri didn''t mind her boasting but she wished Toki can tone it down. "Let''s go Cheri. Kill more crickets and get stronger." Both Toki and Cheri then walked closer to the pond, while the other 4 baby tortoises bore hard stared at the other two and began discussing. *** The next day, all the little tortoises gathered once again to talk about the future. Of course, Toki kept talking about staying here, where its safe from the outside. But one tortoise began to cause trouble for Toki. "What? You scared? We should move! Better prey, get stronger! Instinct told me so." The other 3 tortoises nodded in an agreement. There were truth to the tortoise''s words, they can''t endlessly hunt prey until there was none left. "No! I''m leader! Kill crickets, one step at a time to grow stronger. Then kill fish in pond to get shiny rock." "You dummy! You don''t know to swim!" Another tortoise said. "Once I kill fish, I will!" "You bad leader! Bad leader! Bad leader!" Tortoises besides Toki and Cheri started chanting that phrase. Toki opened her mouth in astonishment while Cheri retreated into her shell. Toki frowned and then stood in front of Cheri. She didn''t know what to do, she was losing control of the situation. Then she finally had enough, "Fine! Go! Leave! Who wants you!" That was that. Except one of them asked Cheri, "What to go with us or stay here with dumb dumb?" Cheri popped her head out and looked at Toki and her other siblings back and forth. Toki was quiet and slowly shook her head. Cheri didn''t uttered a word. The other tortoises left like they planned no matter what. They couldn''t be in the same vicinity as Toki and her bloated ego. Once they left, Cheri asked, "Will we be okay?" "Yeah! Big sister super smart! Don''t worry Cheri, no bad will happen. Big sister promise." Toki said in a reassuring tone. She nudged Cheri ''s head with her head to calm Cheri''s unease. They''ll come back, Toki thought. Chapter 2: Lose For the few days, Toki had been trying to find prey to gain ''exp'' and skills. Toki found a cruvy snake sithering near a pile of rubble. She slowly got behind the small snake who was in the middle of swallowing a bug, and used bite on it''s tail! The snake was alerted and tried to worm out from Toki''s jaw but failed! Toki stomped her foot on the snake to hold it down and tried to bite the middle of the snake''s body! Toki tried to tear the snake''s guts out despite the digusting taste but she had to win! Soon the snake stopped struggling and laid out the ground unmoving. Success! Toki continued to digged into it''s body to find a gem and again, success! Toki swallowed the gem and gained new skills: Constriction (unavailable to species) "What! I can''t use this!" While she can''t use the skill, she leveled up to 5!
Toki is level 5! Toki can now evolve from Baby Quin Tortoise to Quin Tortoise Youngling!Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Now commencing evolution.
Toki began glowing dimmly and grew slightly taller, her stats increased, and new skills opened! Toki was amazed by this new change that she had to tell Cheri. But once she made a turn by the pile of rubble, she saw a few strange creatures taking Cheri! *** "Hah! Look, there is one!" Said one skinny man. "But where''s the others?" Toki took cover under the rubble and used hide. Her limbs and head retracted into her shell and listened to the huge monsters. But... "Help! Help! Big sister! Big sister!" Cheri screamed in fear! She was so small that she was carried between the skinny man''s two fingers. To the skinny man, Cheri was making crying noises. He couldn''t understand what''s she''s saying. The other creatures searched and searched throughtout the ruins but they couldn''t find Toki or any other tortoises like them. "Shit. That''s the only one." The old man gumbled. Cheri cried and yelled out Toki''s name over and over, but to no avail. She didn''t show up. Then the men and Cheri went into the forest. It wasn''t until night that Toki began to get out of her shell and stared into the darkness of the forest. "I''m sorry. I''m sorry." Toki pleaded for forgiveness but now she''s alone. NO! Toki shook her tears away and started walking towards the forest. I''m good sister! I''m good sister! Toki tried to muster all the courage she can and marched forward, forward, and forward. She wants to get her sister back and ... apologize. Chapter 3: Partners Toki braved her way through the forest. She was walking straight onwards with no idea where Cheri went. The glowing yellow moon was her only source of light then "HOWWLLLL* That sound always appeared at night but Toki had no idea who made the sound. Toki was getting tired and hungry from walking and she looked back at the ruins, did she even made it that far! She can still see the ruins but as a small dot. "Well, what do we have here?" A voice came from the bushes! Toki was gotten nervous and used hide, and shrunk into her shell. "Haha! Don''t be scared." A hairy beast came out of bushes. Walking on four limbs and has a snout and tail. It''s furry all over but it looked injured. The beast had line of blood across it''s face, that''s goes between the eyes diagonally. It walked striaght towards Toki and stared down on her. "If you don''t start talking-" The beast grabbed Toki by the mouth and slightly bit down. Toki can feel the pressure from it''s jaws! Her defense was too low! Toki popped out her head and said: "Okay! I give!" The beast put down Toki and laid down arching around Toki, for her not to escape. "What a little turtle doing out here and these scary woods? By the way, the name''s Drol. What''s yours?" Drol said. Toki didn''t know how to answer, but if she didn''t, she didn''t want to experience that again.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Toki is my name! I''m gonna find my sister! Big creatures on two legs with shiny sticks took her! I''m gonna find them and beat them up! And rescue her!" Toki said loud and proud. But the next moment, the Drol''s eyes grew cold and a sinister aura covered the beast. "HUMANS! Do you see the humans!" Drol got up and growled at her, showing his razor teeth. Toki was alarmed and quickly nodded her. "See! See! But left into here!" Toki was shaken up, she never met a fierce monster. Drol slowly dispersed his muderous intent, he was scaring the little creature before him. Drol apologized and told the reason why he was so mad and searching for the people who took Cheri as well. The creatures that stole Cheri were humans that called themselves ''adventurers.'' A group of humans who specializes in killing beasts and monsters like him. It''s dangerous to go near one if you''re not strong enough. Adventurers slayed anything that moves, rabbits, bears, deers, and even tortoises. Then it happened. A group of adventurers came to Drol''s den. He and his pack went out to go hunting for food. When they came back, adventurers ambushed them! They fought back as best they can, but humans who knew magic put Drol and his pack in an disadvantage. An adventurer slashed Drol''s face and his pack died one by one. Soon, Drol was alone and ran. Now Drol was here. He was resting until he caught his eyes on a little tortoise. "So, if your trying to find them, I''ll join you." Drol said. "You''ll help! Then be my servant!" Drol stepped on Toki''s shell and said, "I''m a servant to no one. We''re ... partners. Once we find these adventurers and your sister, we''re done." Drol looked at the tortoise and second guessed himself. What can this little thing do? Then Drol asked, "What can you do?" Drol let go of Toki and she was fuming. "I can do more than you!" Toki tried to bite Drol but she was quickly stepped on again. Drol can just eat her but he didn''t want to chase the humans alone, it''s suicide. He needed to get stronger, so was Toki. "Kid, you and I need to get stronger. I know my way around these woods. Follow me and we can get our revenge." Toki retaliated and said, "I follow no one! You follow me!" Toki struggled under Drol''s paw. With a mix of convincing and threat, tomorrow and the days afterwards were training, training, and more training. Chapter 4: Magic Drol, a grey wolf, took Toki to various locations for her to hunt or kill insects and small critters. Drol had to help Toki with bigger prey and let Toki do the final kill. After two weeks of this repeated action, Toki leveled up to 9. When she evolved she went back to LV 1 and now it past 5. Toki don''t know when she will evolve again. As for Drol, he''s LV 20. He evolved to his current form from a pup at LV 10. "Status!" Toki called out.
Name: Toki Species: Quin Tortoise Youngling
Mana: 122 Level: 9
Stat Points: 0
Strength: 23 Intellect: 66
Defense: 35 Magic Defense: 29
Speed: 10 Accuracy: 19
Skills: Bite (lv7), Leap (lv4), Hide, Constriction (N/A to Species), Mana Manipulation, Swift Feet (lv3),...
Stat points were self-explanatory and once Drol told her how to used it, Toki put it all on intellect! Why? Toki''s reason was because it will make her smart, no it doesn''t. The stat called intellect was different from Toki''s maturity level and her lack of common knowledge. The more intellect she has, the more powerful and fuel efficient she will be when using magic spells. Magic spells came in a lot of varieties from healing to elemental attacks, from status debuffs to weather changing. Mana was in all living beings and the entire universe. Mana manuipulation was powerful skill that was a step-up in the world. But, gaining such a skill was another matter.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. When Drol found out Toki had mana manipulation he was so jealous! Toki can''t help it to rubbed it in his face everyday. Except, she can''t perform any magic spells! "Ugooo... I wanna use magic! I wanna use magic!" Toki yelled at Drol who was chewing on a deer''s leg. "How should I know! I can''t belive this little thing have it." Drol licked his lips and approached the river to drink. He was not expert on this and he doesn''t know anyone who can used magic except...the humans. This forest was filled with mostly ordinary animals, Toki must had an extraordinary lineage. He felt the world was unfair to him! "But, now things are different. Toki, will need to find you a teacher or... you have to evolve again." Drol said. "I need no teacher!" "But you don''t know how to create magic!" Drol was getting a headache. Drol regained his composure and said: "Kid, it been a while since we met, 14 moons. Those adventuers might have been long gone if we don''t get clues to where there are. There''s a human village near the woods, if we cause a ruckus, adventuers might show up." As Drol was explaining his plan, a few footsteps could be heard. Drol grabbed Toki and hid behind a tree. They''re goblins. Green little monsters that were uglier and smaller than humans. Drol had tried to eat one, they tasted disgusting. Then a certain thought came into his mind. Drol knew a goblin could used magic called, Goblin Shaman. If Toki can eat the shaman''s gem, she can learn its spells. "Toki, you''re gonna learn magic." Toke saw the glimmer in his eyes, she then hid in her shell. Chapter 5: All Hail Toki! Drol and Toki followed the goblins back to a little settlement that they made themselves. Makeshift fences, shabby huts, and many bones and corpses laid around. The stench was foul to Drol''s nostrils. Drol saw at least 10 goblins with wooden spears and rusty swords. Then he found his target, the Goblin Shaman. It was sitting on fleshy throne watching over his minions. ¡°Okay kid. See that goblin with the stick in his hands, we must kill it.¡± ¡°Then, I learn magic!¡± Toki yelled in joy. Learning magic was Toki¡¯s first priority than worrying about the dangers. If Drol had his pack, they would had raided this the goblin¡¯s home and tore it apart. Situations changed and Drol must adapt, even if he had to work with the little one. ¡°I will attack at night. Sneak up the shaman when it''s asleep and rip its throat. Then run with the body.¡± Drol explained his ingenious plan. ¡°Coward! You coward! We go head on! You bite! I bite! Nothing can stop us! That¡¯s my genius plan.¡± Toki smirked like it was the most clever thing she ever thought of. ¡°Do you have rocks for brains!¡± Drol shouted at Toki. ¡°Wolf! Wolf!¡± A couple of goblins caught on to Drol and Toki¡¯s quarrel. Drol was about to pick up toki but he was too late! An arrow was shot into Drol¡¯s thigh! ¡°Gahh! Kid run!¡± Drol warned Toki! But Toki didn¡¯t listen and charged at the goblin¡¯s camp!The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I will not run! I will not run!¡± Toki screamed. Every single goblin moved towards the wolf and ignored the little tortoise. The shaman walks towards the entrance to get the a better view of the kill. Drol¡¯s goal was it and everything else can be ignored. Drol used howl to frighten the goblins into a standstill, including the archer. Drol ignored the pain and zipped the goblins¡¯ defenses towards his target. The shaman was the first to shake off the fear and was prepared to cast a fireball! The shaman pointed his staff at the wolf who was running towards it, before he can released the spell, something bit him! Toki had reached the shaman and bit his toe! The fireball flew passed the wolf and hit two other goblins! Drol had reached the shaman and chomped down of its arm and tore it apart. The shamna cried in pain and fell on the ground. Goblin¡¯s body were soft and their bones barely had density like a human child. It¡¯s was a miracle for them to even survive on their own, the only strength was their numbers and ambushes. The other goblins were out of their frighten state and ran towards Drol to save their leader. The archer shot another arrow at Drol and he barely managed to dodge it! Drol can¡¯t howl the second time to achieve the same effect on the same targets This was almost the end for Drol and Toki! Then everything stopped. The goblins, they stopped. Drol was confused! Why? The goblins bowed down towards a certain individual - Toki. Why? While the goblins had their eyes on Drol, Toki bit on shaman¡¯s neck while it was down! The shaman choked on it¡¯s own blood and Toki was covered in its blood. Drol collapsed on the ground, tired and bleeding. ¡°I¡¯m Toki! Your new leader!¡± Goblins were simple beings. They followed whoever was stronger, which was the shaman. Then now, it was Toki who killed the shaman. The goblins cheered for their new leader! Drol slowly closed his eyes while witnessing this. He feared the future! Chapter 6: Failed Assault Toki sat on the fleshy throne now. Drol was recovering in a small tent while the goblins¡­ do goblin things. Toki was immersed at the list of spells she can use: fireball (3 M), minor heal(4 M), water ball (3 M), and Necromancy (lv1). Toki began to use them each spell, each time she used them her mana goes down. When she used necromancy a screen pop-up:
Bone Worker: 2 M Bone Soldier: 7 M Bone Giant: 15 M
Toki summoned all of them! 3 dark, misty holes appeared on the ground a skeletal hand reached out from each of the holes and skeletons came out of them. The Bone Giant was the size of 2 adult human males. They¡¯re nothing special about them, except they¡¯re very human-like. ¡°I am...I am... A magic genius!¡± Toki yelled in joy and danced around on the fleshy throne. She can¡¯t wait to rub it in Drol¡¯s face. Now she can order around those goblins and bone monsters. She looked the goblin¡¯s dwelling and it¡¯s a mess. She wants a better place to live. When she brings Cheri back, they both can live like kings¡­ or queens. Drol did say something about a village¡­ ¡°You goblin!¡± Toki shouting at a lone goblin. It pointed at itself with a puzzle look. ¡°Yeah, you! Where human village!?¡± ¡°Follow down river chieftess!¡± The goblin said. Toki nodded her head and began thinking on what to do? Can she take over a village with a bunch of humans with these numbers? ¡°Oh well.¡± Toki decided that it better to strike while the iron was hot. ¡°All goblins and bone thingys come!¡± The 3 skeletons were already in front of her, so they didn''t move. Six goblins lined side by side with the skeleton monsters and waited for the Toki¡¯s orders.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Toki ordered everyone to march towards the village. Toki stood on top of the bone giant, so she can taller than everyone else. They left one person behind and it was Drol. He was sweating and turning around in the tent, he must be having a nightmare. *** The village had only about 50 residents, many if not all were peasants. They lived their lives simply and without worry. Their grew their own food and paid low grain tax to their local lord, everything was fine and dandy. There was only a couple of guards that kept their eyes out on anyone or anything that came by the village. Many days there will be nothing happening, which was great for the guards. Except today, they caught a sight that out of normal! Goblins and undead! Before they can react, a pair of fireballs formed and shot at them! They began screaming, tossing and turning on the ground, being burned alive. The goblins, bone giant, and bone soldier charged towards the village. ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± Toki yelled while being held by the bone worker. Both of them took cover behind a bush and watched. The bone giant used his fist and smashed a few weak, clay huts and trampled on a few humans. The goblins began assaulting anyone that were vulnerable and stabbed them with their rusty swords and makeshift spears. All was going well, but¡­ A man with a hoe attacked the bone soldier from behind. The bone soldier was caught off guard and an arm was broken off. The man swung again horizontally and knocked its skull off from its body. The goblins were being taken out one by one. The male humans gotten the courage to fight back the goblins with various tools. There was a woman with a pan slapping a goblin¡¯s teeth out of his mouth to protect a child. As for the bone giant, a few humans worked together with a rope to tie around the bone giant¡¯s legs. It tumbled over and crashed onto a home. After it had fallen, every human tried to grab any object and smashed the skeleton until it shown some cracks. Soon, the battle ended and Toki¡¯s little mob was decimated. ¡­ ¡°I tried. Time to go home,¡± Toki said in deadpan expression. The bone worker ran towards the woods with Toki in tow. *** Drol was slowly opening his eyes. He tried to adjust his position for more comfortability. Then he jolted up and analyzed his surroundings. He was in a dirty tent with rags and pelts on the ground. There were no light except the moon being filtered through the thin, mix-patched tent. It was then he saw a the little tortoise entering inside the tent. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake,¡± she said. ¡°Yeah. Kid, what happened. The goblins, where are they?¡± Drol rubbed his head with his paw. ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°What?¡± Toki yawned and walked by Drol¡¯s soft fur and laid down. ¡°Too sleepy, tell you tomorrow.¡± Toki laid her head by Drol soft fur and fell asleep. Drol was really confused¡­ What happened? He remembered Toki killed the shaman chief, then the goblins stopped fighting. All the goblins were dead? Did she killed them? By herself? What the hell happened!, Drol yelled internally. Chapter 7: (no title) The next day, the residents of the village (that Toki attacked) continued grieving and mourning for the dead. While it was important for those to release their feelings, the village chief had his thoughts on the protection of the village. The village chief would mourn along with them but someone told him he saw a skeleton outside the village watching them and fled after the carnage. Which means in a few things to the chief: 1. Yesterday attackers were only the first wave and the mastermind might attack again. 2. This attack was only a test of a new rising threat from the Kokuri Woods. 3. Or it was just a random act of violence from monsters. It wasn¡¯t the first goblin attack, but it was so uncoordinated and unorganized. One thing was clear, the escaping skeleton was some sort of observer. The village chief needed help. The kingdom he lived in wouldn¡¯t help, so he must send a request to the Adventurer Guild. But with what money? What a dilemma the village chief got himself in. ¡°Village chief, why are you concern of this skeleton. Maybe the boy was just seeing things?¡± The village chief¡¯s son said. The village chief rubbed his short beard and contemplated. He responded, ¡°If he saw it, he saw it. I believe in the boy. *SIGH* We must increase our guard for a while.¡± Plenty of people huddled in front of the village chief, in front of his home. They wanted to learn what the village chief was going to do and they were disappointed, but it wan¡¯t unreasonable. But the young boy who reported the fleeing skeleton couldn¡¯t take it! His older brother was killed! And the village chief said to increase surveillance. The young boy left the crowd because he couldn¡¯t stand everyone¡¯s dejected attitude! Plus, they wouldn¡¯t do anything and planned to just return things to normal like nothing happened! ¡°Shoji wait!¡± A young girl, Heri, ran for the young boy, Shoji. Once she reached him and grabbed his wrist, she said, ¡°Whatever you¡¯re planning, stop right now.¡± Shoji wrestled out of Heri¡¯s grip and yelled, ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill them!¡± ¡°Kill who? The goblins and skeletons are all dead.¡± ¡°The one who ordered the attack.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy! Crazy! Did you want to get killed! Your mom needs you!¡± He didn¡¯t want to hear it and few others came to also dissuade him. He continued to not listen. His older brother was a guard of this village and was killed by fire. Magic. What else could it be? A magic user, but the skeleton didn¡¯t look like it was capable. So, someone hiding in the woods did it. Before Shoji began to get ready to leave, he was tackled to the ground.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°What the hell do you think you are doing!?¡± ¡°Let me go Geo!¡± Shoji struggled on the ground until he was tired and came his mother. She had been crying all night. ¡°Shoji, where you¡¯re going!?¡± Shoji¡¯s mother yelled. Geo let go of Shoji and the mother stood before the sitting Shoji. Shoji didn¡¯t say anything. The mother got her knees and hugged his head. The mother said, ¡°Don¡¯t go. Your father and now your brother is gone.¡± Tears were building up again. ¡°Pleease, I¡ªI don¡¯t want to lose you too.¡± Her voice was breaking up. Soon, Shoji also broke into tears. *** Drol continued listening to Toki¡¯s story of her failure. At the end of the story, Drol was upset! He grabbed Toki by the jaw and bit down on her shell! ¡°Gahhh! No more! No more!¡± Toki screamed and wiggled her limbs. Drol spitted her out and lectured her. Why didn¡¯t she wait for him to be awake? Why can¡¯t she build a small army of skeletons before attacking? Why she attacked during the day instead of under the cover of night? Toki had the gifts but her brain was lacking! Drol thought if she evolved, would she get smarter? Maybe Drol will be able to use magic when he evolved. Losing the goblins wasn¡¯t a big deal and the skeletons can always be summoned. ¡°Did you learn anything from battle?¡± Drol asked. Toki closed her eyes and thought deeply. ¡°Next time, more bony things!¡± She answered. Well, she wasn¡¯t wrong. There¡¯s strength in numbers. Drol sighed and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing more we can do here. We should leave. There¡¯s another place where humans gathered. Bigger place, that¡¯s where adventurers lives.¡± Drol plans were for Toki to amassed a skeleton army to attack the town. Toki¡¯s sister got to be there somewhere or a clue. Someone must had made a request for Toki¡¯s sister to be kidnapped. ¡°Okie dokie! Don¡¯t worry Cheri, big sister coming!¡± Drol told Toki to use half of her mana to summon bone soldiers. So, one bone worker and six bone soldiers in total. As Drol, Toki, and bone minions were walking down towards south of the woods, a jiggling mass of jelly was ¡®watching¡¯ from afar. *** In the middle of the night in the village, there was only the sound of crickets. Shoji slowly got up from his bed of straws and quickly looked over his mother who was sleeping next to him, she was afraid he would run away. Shoji escaped his mother¡¯s embraced and had a pillow to replace him. Shoji packed up food and a water pouch, and took his brother¡¯s crude, wooden spear. It was the only thing that didn¡¯t burned with him. Shoji stared at a pot and pointed at it. He used magic to levitate it! He placed the pot back where it was and nodded in satisfaction. With his magic, he might have a chance. Shoji took one final look over of mother and kissed her check. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back. I¡¯ll get revenge for Finol.¡± He tighten his fists, he was mad at himself. The one time he could help, he was fishing at the river with his friends. It was unacceptable to him and guilt was eating him. As Shoji left his home and was about to enter the woods, a voice came. ¡°Where you think you¡¯re going?¡± Shoji quickly turned around and saw Geo and Heri. ¡°None of your business,¡± Shoji responded. Geo ran towards Shoji and laid his arm around Shoji¡¯s shoulders. ¡°If you¡¯re going, we¡¯re going.¡± Heri ran towards the two and said, ¡°Yes. We knew this would happen. If we can¡¯t stop you, we¡¯re go with you. You¡¯re quite reckless.¡± Shoji stared longingly at his friends. He sighed in relief and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°Yeah! Adventure!¡± Geo screamed. ¡°Shut it! You want to wake the whole village!¡± Shoji yelled in distraught. ¡°Then let¡¯s get moving.¡± Geo winked. The trio entered the woods and didn¡¯t look back. They will find the culprit and return victorious, which was wishful thinking for them. Nonetheless, there was an air of excitement, they had never left the village for so long before. Chapter 8: New Companion It had only been a few days of since traveling down south. The number of bone soldiers had grown to 57. Each day, Toki would used most of her mana to summon them. Drol had a toothy grin when he looked back at ¡®his¡¯ army, but will it really be okay? The town that Drol wanted to go was always his initial destination to get his revenge on adventurers. Since it was a place where adventurers inhabited, it was the most likelihood he would die. With Toki, he might get his revenge and his life intact. Afterwards, he doesn¡¯t know. ¡°Stop.¡± Drol said. ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Toki was puzzled while laying on Drol¡¯s head. Drol slowly turned his head to make sure Toki didn¡¯t fall. ¡°Come out! I know you¡¯re following us!¡± But nothing moved and no sound was made. Drol orders a couple of bone soldiers to attack one of the nearby trees. Before their swords made impact, a glob jumped out of the way and landed a few feet away of Drol. ¡°No fight.¡± A simple sentence was spoken by a slime! Drol slightly opened his jaws in surprised. To his knowledge, slimes never spoken before¡­ever. Maybe his world view was quite small. His knowledge was only his experience and from his predecessors of his former pack. ¡°Jiggly thing!¡± Toki leaped off of Drol¡¯s head and walked towards it. ¡°Wait kid!¡± Drol placed his paw on Toki¡¯s back to stop her from going near it. He wanted to question the slime. Slimes came in a variety of colors and this one was transparent like water. It had a silver core within it. Actually, it had used camouflage on the tree. Once it escaped the bone soldier¡¯s blade it changed it colors from tree bark texture to this. Isn¡¯t it rare? A slime that can used camouflage? This slime can be dangerous. ¡°Why are you following us?¡± Drol growled and shown his fangs. ¡°Curious.¡± The slime responded in a monotone voice. What? It continued to speak. ¡°Wolf. Tortoise. Undead. Together. Curious. Join?¡± ¡°Welcome to the party! I¡¯m the leader Toki! And this meanie is Drol.¡± Toki spoke from under Drol¡¯s paw. ¡°Woah, woah kid. You can¡¯t decide this on your own. Aren¡¯t you too trusting of this slime?¡± ¡°I can feel that this jiggly thing will be a good minion. Yep!¡± Toki nodded her head in self-satisfaction. She had a new play thing! ¡°¡­¡± Drol began to think the negatives and positives. But he gave up arguing with Toki. Having another companion might not be bad thing but the fighting potential was hard to evaluate.Stolen story; please report. The slime was the size of a basketball. It jumped onto Drol¡¯s back and it extended part of its body like a tentacle and grabbed Toki. The slime placed Toki on itself and wrapped a part of itself over Toki like a blanket. Drol thought it was gonna devoured her, but Toki smiled and didn¡¯t look harmed. Great. What am I? A horse! Drol thought. *** Back at the goblin''s home base which Toki and Drol left, three young people came upon it. Shoji had already investigated the insides from the tops of the trees, there was no living being inside. Shoji, Geo, and Heri entered the goblin¡¯s camp and searched around. It¡¯s a complete mess and that chair made of flesh and bones was ominous. Each of them searched through multiple tents and found nothing worth noting. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it was close.¡± Heri commented. Their village was one mile west of the Kokuri Woods because they could use resources from the woods despite the danger. Yesterday, they decided to stick close to the river as a marker back to the village. They assumed it was the same river that was close to their village. They searched high and low but no clues to the ¡®mastermind¡¯ of the attack or the magic user that killed Shoji¡¯s brother. There was a dead corpse of a goblin shaman but Shoji was skeptical that it was the same person. ¡°The trails runs cold. It was fun but our families must be worried sick.¡± What did Shoji just heard? Was Geo ending this search? Shoji¡¯s eyes blazed and glared at Geo. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Geo spread his arms and spun in a full circle. ¡°Look around you! There¡¯s nothing here. We found an empty goblin camp with some dead goblin, what else?¡± ¡°Do you know what this means!? A bigger threat came and forced the goblins to serve him!¡± ¡°Will you search the whole woods trying to find him!?¡± Geo placed his palm on his forehead and tried to think of how to convince Shoji to go home. He and Heri came along to be Shoji''s supporting friends and prevent him from doing something stupid. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not telling you to forgive and forget.¡± Geo walked in front of Shoji and grabbed both of his shoulders. ¡°If this threat is powerful, are you willing to put our lives on the line? This is something for the kingdom, adventurers, and heroes to deal with.¡± Shoji¡¯s heart shuddered. It been only a few days of searching, this was the end result. Nothing. If they continued to wonder around and came upon the threat, what then? He had magic but his resolved was shaking. Heri came in Shoji¡¯s view. ¡°Please, let¡¯s go home,¡± she said. Shoji dropped to his knees in tiredness. Were they right? No! ¡°Then I will become an adventurer!¡± *** Under the moonlight, Drol, Toki, and the slime were sleeping by a large tree. It was early into the night, the slime and Toki squeezed themselves into Drol¡¯s underside for warmth. A handful of bone soldiers went out and search the perimeter. ¡°Slime, why are you under my belly?¡± Drol asked. ¡°Curious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s super cozy! Isn¡¯t it Jigges!¡± Toki squealed. Since the slime didn¡¯t have a name, Toki took the liberty to name it and the slime accepted it. Drol just smirked and relaxed. He laid his head down and felt a certain kind of melancholy. ¡°Hey kid, where your parents?¡± ¡°What parents? What are they?¡± Toki popped her head out of her shell and stared into Drol¡¯s eyes. ¡°The mother who gave to birth to your? Um, laid eggs? Raised you?¡± Drol¡¯s voice had a hint of concern, if not curiosity. ¡°Mother? Raised? I raised my myself! Hmph!¡± Toki withdrew her head pack into her shell. Drol was loss at words and wondered if it was just him not understanding the ways of the tortoises. ¡°Concern?¡± Jiggles said. Drol ignored the slime and went to sleep. Chapter 9 ¡°Me the leader. Drol the muscle. Jiggles¡­ is Jiggles. Together we¡¯ll unstoppable. Hehehe.¡± As closer they reached to the town, the more Toki became full of herself. The number of undead grew to about 150 bone soldiers, including a few bone giants. Drol estimated it will be only be a few more days until their destination. They been walking for days and only stopped to hunt, eat, and rest for the night. The trio monsters and the undead continued on their way south, until they heard the sounds of combat. Drol raced behind a tree and laid low. The undead scattered behind and hid, or pretend to be ¡®dead.¡¯ Drol took a look and it was humans fighting a pack of slimes. The slimes were smaller than Jiggles, like oversized water droplets. What¡¯s strange was that the slimes were all sorts of color, enough to complete a rainbow. Usually, a pack of slimes stuck to one color. More than two color typed slimes were even rarer in one specific region or landscape. ¡°Hey slime, recognize them?¡± Drol asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ We should wait it out. The last thing we want was to be discovered.¡± As the fighting continued, the slimes were getting slaughtered. One by one. Each time, Jiggles would tingle a bit. ¡°Hey slime.¡± Drol called Jiggles. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± ¡°Pain. Screams. Cries.¡± Jiggles said as it watched. Drol also watched but he couldn¡¯t hear anything that Jiggles mentioned. What he did saw was that the humans were playing, no tormenting the slimes. They were stomped, chopped, burned, or squished. Drol may not sense the slimes¡¯ pain but he unintentionally let out a snarl. ¡°No more.¡± Jiggles couldn''t continue watching. It bursted into action and leaped onto the branches of the tree they hid behind. It hoped branch to branch like a monkey. ¡°That looks fun!¡± Said Toki. ¡°Wait!¡± Drol¡¯s voice was ignored by Jiggles. *** They were a group of five adventurers: one swordsman, an archer, a thief, a monk, and a mage. The archer of the group heard a distinctive sound from above. He said towards his party members, ¡°Guys, stop. Something is coming.¡± As it was like on signal, a few jets of water attacked the group. They were able to dodge the jets of water and formed a defensive formation. The swordsman and monk became the vanguard. ¡°Where is it coming from?!¡± Yelled the swordsman. ¡°Up there!¡± The archer pointed towards the branches of a tree. ¡°Fireball!¡± A mage cast a spell without hesitation. A ball of fire shot towards the branches and caught it in fire. ¡°Did we get it?¡± Said the monk. Instantly, a ball of liquid-like substance fell from above and attached itself onto the monk¡¯s head. It quickly encasing his head with it''s body. ¡°It¡¯s a slime!¡± ¡°BLerggsuqgwds!!!¡± The monk was screaming inside the slime. He¡¯s drowning! The monk tried to pull the slime from his head but his hands were like going through water. ¡°Quick! Grab the core!¡± The thief exclaimed. The core was the most vulnerable weakness of slime kind. Crushed, stabbed, incinerated it, the slime will die. Everyone attempted to use their bare hands to grab the core but, the slime realized it was in danger. It immediately forced itself down into the monk¡¯s mouth! The monk finally gasped for air but the situation was grim. Then the thief said, ¡°Did you hear something?¡± He keenly heard shuffling in the background, moving around them. The thief and archer gave each other an understanding nod, that something was not quite right. Before they can turn and face it- The monk held onto his stomach. ¡°Guys.¡± He covered his mouth like he was about to puke. instead, red liquid seeped through his fingers. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± Then a large bulge appeared on his stomach. The others unconsciously took a few steps back. ¡°Feeling too good¡­¡± The bulge continued to expand and then exploded. Blood and guts flung the direction he was facing. The monk dropped to the ground. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The mage screamed in horror. Without a single moment of delay, an arrow was shot through the mage¡¯s neck and met her demise. Skeletons with worn-out swords and spears surrounded the group. ¡°What the hell!¡± The swordsman cried out. The undead rushed in while they were distracted. The three stood in a compressed triangle formation with their backs at each other. The swordsman held his sword upright, the archer pulled his bowstring, and the thief held onto his dagger. The swordsman looked around and estimated at least 100 undead. They looked weak individually, but as a horde, they¡¯re troubling. Losing two of his friends already, he can¡¯t lose another one. He roared, ¡°Retreat! Now! Follow me!¡± He ran straight forward and broke through one section of the encirclement with the thief and archer following.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The three adventurers ran with all their might with the undead chasing. The occasional arrows would fire at them, missing. They can outrun them but can¡¯t lose them in this forest, like they knew where to find them. After making a series of turns and going through thickets, they couldn¡¯t continue on. No matter where they went, they were followed. They were sweating beads and out of breath. They can¡¯t run no more. Hopeless. The feeling of dread washed over as they slumped on the ground as the horde slowly approaches and once again surrounded them. A wolf slowly emerges when the undead parted ways to let the wolf passed. The slime that attacked earlier was also with it. Undead, slime, wolf, working together? One term entered through their mind, ¡®monster-party.¡¯ While death looms over their head, this was a serious matter. Monsters had their own species and special lineages. They either stick to their own kind into herds or packs like deers and lions. Or, survived out their own like the chimera and flaming dragoon. They were cases where one from a herd or pack to go at it alone like the two monsters the adventurers see before them. But a monster-party? It was when different species of monster came together in coherence. When that happened, it usually meant an attack on humanoid settlements. Like their adventure town, Loorel. Which was not too far from where they came from. ¡°Jose, you¡¯re the fastest among us. A few skeletons wouldn¡¯t be a trouble for you but that slime and wolf ain¡¯t normal. When we start, run.¡± The swordsman said to the thief. ¡°No! And leave you guys?! Hell no!¡± The archer grabbed the thief by the collar and shouted in his face. ¡°The town is in danger! If we all die, what about our families?¡± The archer untied a porch from his waist and pushed it towards the thief¡¯s chest. ¡°This is all I earn, give it to my family. You met them before, please just¡­¡± Only a solitary tear trickled town his cheek. The swordsman also did the same and gave away a few of his belongings. ¡°Damn.¡± The thief whispered under his breath. They trusted the thief to do what he needed to do. Once everything was set, the swordsman and archer faced the two monsters. It looked like the skeletons won¡¯t interfere, 2 on 2. ¡°Go!¡± The swordsman rushed towards the slime and the archer shot an arrow towards the wolf. The thief ran like hell and slashed his way through the thin wall of skeletons. The wolf charged ahead before the arrow hit its mark. It¡¯s target wasn¡¯t the archer, but the swordsman. The swordsman swung his blade downstraight and wolf quickly jumped back. The slime took it¡¯s chance and leaped in the air towards the archer. The archer knew arrows wouldn¡¯t had any effect on the slime, even less of a chance to hit its core. Unluckily, he didn¡¯t know any magic to damage it. So he unsheathed his short sword. ¡°It¡¯s just a slime!¡± The archer exasperated. He thrusted his short sword towards the sky where the slime will land, hoping for the slime to be pierced. In fact, it did. But, against the archer¡¯s short lived joy, the slime moved down through the sword. It covered the archer''s hand and wrist. The archer realizes this was bad! ¡°Let go! Let go!¡± He swung his arm around and the slime wasn¡¯t budging. In a panic, he used his other hand and tried to grabbed the slime¡¯s core. Once he entered his hand in the slime¡¯s body, it was stuck. Then, his skin began to dissolve. The slime began eating him. The wolf and swordsman eyed each other, waiting one of them to slip up. They moved in circles, waiting. The swordsman can hear his friend''s cries of pain. Luckily, he was positioned facing his friend¡¯s situation. His friend was about to die. The slime was gobbling him up, bit by bit. Skin and fresh was dissolving rapidly and left only bones to show for it. The slime moved towards the archer¡¯s head. The wolf was the first to act and used howl. The swordsman was stunned. Shit! Move body! Move! The wolf swiftly moved to the swordsman side and leaped towards his wrists. With one chomp, it tore his wrists and blood was showering in the air. Once the stun wore off, the swordsman immediately let go of his sword and got down on his knees and screamed in pain. His last moment was the jaws of the wolf. *** Drol ripped out the gem out of the swordsman''s chest and swallowed it, along with his heart. Jiggles digged into the archer¡¯s chest and absorbed his gem. ¡°The other one got away. Hey kid! Why didn¡¯t you chase him?¡± A skeleton walked in front of Drol holding Toki. Toki responded, ¡°Eh? I¡¯m too busy getting the shiny rock in the human. The one with two soft lumps. Super soft.¡± Drol shook his head. With the alert of their arrival, the human town might set up a fighting force to confront them. A handful of their undead were destroyed. Drol was starting to doubt at this moment of their fighting potential. Drol can only lament, this was the best he can get. Then, another skeleton carrying the little slimes and dropped them in front of Jiggles. The little slimes gather around Jiggles jumping about and snuggled against Jiggles. There were at least 20 of them left. Toki and Drol looked on with puzzlement. ¡°Jiggles, are you their daddy?¡± Asked Toki. ¡°No. Their leader.¡± ¡°What! No, no, no! I¡¯m leader!¡± Toki told the skeleton to set her down so she can berate the little slimes. No matter what she said, no slime moved an inch or followed her orders. Did they even understand her? Toki was fuming like a mad bull. Drol came over to Toki. ¡°Kid, stop it.¡± ¡°But! But! But!¡± Drol grabbed Toki by his jaw and slightly pressured Toki. ¡°Ow! Ow! Ow!¡± After a bit of torture, Drol spitted her out. ¡°Live with it kid. You can¡¯t force everything to submit to you.¡± Toki pouted in response. ¡°Slime.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Drol looked at Jiggles and the little ones. He closed his eyes reminiscing. After a short silence, Drol finally said, ¡°They are your responsibility. Protect them, help them, lead them. Understand?¡± Jiggles processed his words and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Drol licked his snout to clean off the blood. He stared into the distance, towards the direction of the town. ¡°It won¡¯t be long now.¡± He spoke solemnly. Encountering the adventurers today felt like a warm-up for him. Toki stared at Drol and tilted her head. ¡°Alright!¡± Drol yelled to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°The human town is not too far off. We lost the element of surprise. Toki, you and slime will have to sneak into town to find your sister.¡± ¡°What you gonna do?¡± Asked Toki. ¡°Me and these bones are gonna distract the fighters while you search.¡± Drol snorted. ¡°I can fight too! I beat them up and show who''s boss!¡± ¡°No no no no. You have to find your sister. Is that the reason why you want to become strong? To save her? Do you want to be a bad sister?¡± Toki ferociously shook her head. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s go.¡± Side Story: The Kidnapped Cheri Cheri was taken from her home by humans. From the forest to a town, Cheri was held inside a tiny bird cage. Her head and limbs withdrawn inside her shell all this time. She continued to have hope that her sister would rescue her. Then the humans went through a large building and with people in all kinds of outfits and armours. A lot of them had strange physical features: scales over their arms, glowing eyes, horns on their head, or an extra pair of arms. Cheri was both frighten and amazed. *** The three adventurers entered the adventurer guild and stood behind a line. When it was their turn to called by an open spot, the leader of the group, a muscle bound old man, sat on the chair with his other party members standing behind. ¡°Miss receptionist, here¡¯s the monster that¡¯s requested.¡± The old man dropped the caged Quin Tortoise on the desk and gave his and his party members¡¯ guild cards. The receptionist''s eyes were wide opened. She was surprised that anyone can find one. She opened the caged and pulled the baby Quin Tortoise. She examined the color patterns on the shell. The top shell had red and yellow color palette and smooth surface. Quin Tortoises are an uncommon breed, sought as perfect pets for nobles or ¡­ a delicacy. The receptionist poked her feather pen at the tortoise hiding. ¡°Hello~~ Are you alive little one?¡± She asked childishly.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Of course it¡¯s alive. It¡¯s just scared.¡± The old man snorted. The tortoise continued to hide and closed its eyes. She stopped poking it and put it back in the cage. The receptionist jabbed each of the party¡¯s guild cards into a crystal ball. A screen popped all showing all their status, personal information, job history, and other information. She used the feather pen and tapped on a few boxes on the screen. ¡°This is definitely a Quin Tortoise. Your quest has been successfully completed. Your reward for completing would be 10,000 purens and 10 Grade B health potions.¡± The receptionist got up her hair chair, took the tortoise, and returned with the tray of said rewards: 100 gold coins and a box of 10 bottles of blue liquid. All party members cheered. ¡°Yes! A lucky break!¡± ¡°Drinks and food will be on me guys.¡± ¡°Finally.¡± The old man let down his shoulders in exhaustion. The old man quickly snatched the reward and the party went over to a table by the bar inside the guild. They all splitted the reward among themselves and ordered food. With a mug in hand they clashed their mugs together. They shouted, ¡°Quest completed!¡± It was a custom among adventurers to gather together and clanged their drinks together. As a sign of quest completion and sense of pride. A quest to find a Quin Tortoise was one that doesn¡¯t have a deadline and opened to all. The quest will be continued to be open regardless how many people find one until the issuer of the quest cancel it. Within the details of why the Quin Tortoise was sought out, it was to be sold in an auction. Why the party members can¡¯t sell it or auction it off themselves? They didn¡¯t want to have a target on their back. Some people would kill for a little fortune. A Quin Tortoise was once sold up to 50,000 purens; the more evolved, the higher the value. Side Story: The Three Newbies Geo, Heri, and Shoji. Three childhood friends whose home was recently attacked. No leads to this phantom mastermind that Shoji had been searching. Shoji decided to become an adventurer, to become stronger and in hopes in finding the mastermind. All the while, his childhood friends tagged along. Not to just watch over him, but they also felt longing for the outside. Outside of their tiny village. Outside of their daily routine. Adventure was calling them. With goodbyes from their family and neighbors of the village, and a lot of determination and will against Shoji¡¯s mother. They hopped onto a merchant¡¯s wagon and off to the town of Andel. They reached the town before Toki and her gang. The entrance to the town was through a stone arch. There were patrolmen standing guard and inspecting everyone''s cargo and belongings. After a guard looked at everyone''s faces and checked the merchant''s goods for any illegal contraband, Geo asked a question to the merchant. ¡°Hey Youri, why the guards didn''t ask for entry fee? I heard from my dad you always have to pay.¡± The merchant, Youri, chuckled. ¡°This town and handful of others all called the beginner¡¯s town. You don¡¯t have to pay because many poor folks comes to these sorts of town." ¡°Beginner¡¯s?¡± Heri softly spoke. Youri explained that the many people wished to be adventurers to earn a living, despite the unstable income. Towns with weak monsters in the vicinity are good practice to new adventurers. Since those people wished to be adventurers, most of the time, they didn¡¯t have enough funding to begin with. Hence, dropping the entry fee and even registration fee at the guild. The three young villagers nodded their heads in understanding. The merchant drove his wagon on the right side of the road and stopped in front of a large building with a sign that has a sword and shield emblem on it. ¡°Here you are, the adventurer''s guild.¡± The three friends jumped down and said their thanks and farewell. ¡°Okay, this is it!¡± Shoji raised his fist in the air. ¡°Please put your hand down Shoji. You¡¯re embarrassing us.¡± Geo slapped Shoji¡¯s fist down. "Ow!" Shoji rubbed his hand. As the three entered the guild, it was pack filled with people and their strange physical features. A woman with the bottom half of a snake, a man with gills on his neck, and a girl with bird-like legs and small, white wings on her back. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Their village were filled with normal humans, but the world was filled with what you called humanoids. Humans that took on non-human traits or born from another humanoid. After waiting in line, all three stood before a beautiful receptionist with lush, green hair and eyes. ¡°My name is Rizi. How may I help you today?¡± Rizi smiled. ¡°Uh. Uh. Uh.¡± Heri elbowed Geo, who was stuttering. He was the tallest and most outspoken of the group, who volunteered to speak for them. Geo missed his chance, so Shoji stepped in. ¡°We are here to register to be adventurers.¡± Rizi scanned all three of them with a piercing gaze. She then asked if anyone can read or write, while bringing out forms. Heri was the most educated of the three and helped her friends complete their forms. Rizi looked through the forms and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Now, before you be handed your guild cards, you have to attend training.¡± ¡°Training? This is the first time I heard of this,¡± said Shoji. Rizi explained patiently. Upon registering, everyone must attend a training school of adventurers. People can be exempt from attending only by recommendation by a high ranked adventurer or an authority figure. The school was meant to teach new adventurers about what it means to be an adventurer and the risks it imposes. As well as evaluating and maturing the new adventurers¡¯ fighting style and skills in a short amount of time. At the end of the two week training, they must pass an exam. This gave enough time for an individual whether this was the right path for them to take. Also, there¡¯s another benefit - it¡¯s free. Free lodging, free meals, and no fees. Everything was funded by both state and guild. Geo teared up. ¡°A place to sleep and free meals.¡± He sniffled a bit. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I become an adventurer sooner.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only for new beginners,¡± Shoji said. Rizi clapped her hands to get everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°Now! Are you ready to go to school?¡± All three nodded. ¡°To your left, there¡¯s the door that will lead to closed off area to the back of the guild. Take these slips and give it the man in armour at the end of the hall. Once you enter, you can¡¯t leave for safety reasons. You will be shown to your new rooms and begin your lessons tomorrow morning. Gooood luck!¡± Rizi waved as the trio marched. *** As the three yet-to-be adventurers went behind doors, a ragged man rushed through the entrance like a maniac. He staggered passed the line of people. ¡°Hey! No cutting!¡± ¡°Get back at the end of the line!¡± The ragged man ignored the yelling and shoved a youngster out of the way in front of Rizi. Rizi stood up and yelled at him, ¡°Hey! Where are your manners Julius!? And where¡¯s the rest of your friends?!¡± Julius, the ragged man, had tired, swollen eyes. He slammed his fists on the desk. Despite the uproar he created he slowly spoke in a clear, quiet tone to Rize, ¡°They''re dead. Monster-party.¡± Rizi sharpened her eyes, grabbed Julius¡¯s shoulder and pulled him closer. ¡°You have to be a hundred percent sure. This is serious.¡± Rizi hissed. Julius gritted his teeth and tighten his fists and repeated his words. ¡°They¡¯re. DEAD. Monster-party. Coming.¡± Julius was abled to meet the Guild Master and told his story. *** The next morning. Geo, Heri, and Shoji among other newcomers, stood in the middle of an open area in straight line, side by side. A gruff bodybuilder with a bastard sword on his back. ¡°Welcome to hell! Newbies!¡± His voice rang in the courtyard and into their eardrums. Chapter 10 The day had come for the assault of the adventurer¡¯s town. Jiggles and Toki were to infiltrate the town under the night and look for Cheri or any information relating to her. All that while Drol and the bone army leads an attack on the town. Toki¡¯s legs sunk into Jiggles¡¯ body and Jiggles¡¯ slime pack had hidden themselves away from the town as much as possible. The sun was setting and the dark was an advantage for its dwellers. Before the group splitted, Drol wanted to give his farewells. ¡°Hey kid. This is a goodbye,¡± Drol spoke in a soft, solemn voice. Toki tilted her head towards Drol¡¯s way and responded, ¡°Goodbye? I see you again after I rescue my sister. I¡¯m sure she will like you!¡± Drol gave an exhausted sigh. He looked up at the stars and took as much his eyes can take in. He murmured, ¡°Do you know the shiny lights above us are the souls of wolves?¡± ¡°What!¡± Toki exclaimed in surprised but corrected herself in time. ¡°I mean - I know that! Is that where your family is?¡± Toki wanted to ask what souls were, but she decided to not ask. ¡°Yes they are,¡± Drol said quietly. ¡°They became those bright lights to be closer to Lunlar-Ru after they die.¡± Toki thought for a moment. ¡°So, they didn¡¯t die?¡± Drol flicked his ears and slightly nudged his head towards Toki. ¡°They live forever up there right? So they didn¡¯t die! They always watching us.¡± Toki had discovered a newfound outlook and admiration for the glittering lights in the sky. Drol parted his mouth slightly and looked up once again, ¡°It seems so.¡± *** As Drol and the skeleton horde began marching towards the town, Jiggles and Toki were able to slipped through town by going over the wall. There was only a stone wall that can be easy jumped over. Jiggles slimed his way atop onto one of the house¡¯s roof. Once at the edge of the roof, Toki saw dimly yellow and orange lights scattered around the human habitat. She had no idea where to even start and told Jiggles to do the work. Jiggles can ¡®see¡¯ by emitting a vibration from its core that goes around a half-mile radius. Jiggles can sense still objects and living beings even if they were within a building. Jiggles was searching for things similar to Toki¡¯s size and shape. Jiggles moved around to different areas with no luck. Loud noises can be heard outside of town. The adventurers were prepared to not let a single undead to enter inside. ¡°Hey-hey. Have you found her yet?¡± Toki was bored and wished she joined Drol but finding her sister was her top priority, even suffering through boredom. ¡°No find. Must ask others,¡± Jiggles responded mechanically. ¡°Who?¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Without responding, Jiggles bounced roof to roof towards the center of the town. They reached towards a warehouse behind a large wooden building. Jiggles forcefully broke the padlock on the doors from the handles. ¡°Look¡­¡± Toki¡¯s eyes were drawn to various stuff filled with items and materials. What caught her eyes were furs from various animals: bears, lions, and wolves. Not just furs, there were horns, teeth, scales, organs in jar - it¡¯s the twisted collector¡¯s house of nightmares. ¡°What monsters these hu-mans are.¡± Toli gulped in apprehension that she may end up like that or worse, her sister was already a victim. Jiggles made no comment and continued to move towards the back corner of the warehouse. There lies various cages with only two being occupied: a golden yellow own and a rabbit with a crystal-like horn. Toki whispered to Jiggles that she would lead the talk. The duo approached the cages and the captives stirred in their confines. ¡°Wo-who-wooooo! Are you perhaps rescuers?¡± A sultry, feminine voice came out of the fiery owl. ¡°Yes! Yes! Free me chumps!¡± The rabbit being jubilant. ¡°We free you, but! Do you know if my sister is here? She looks just like me!¡± ¡°No! No! I don¡¯t know! Free me you twit!¡± The rabbit was acting unruly and impatient. ¡°You no nice!¡± The owl ruffled her feathers and spoke, ¡°You must be Toki, correct?¡± Toki was surprised that her name was mentioned. So, Cheri must had been here but to her disappointment, the owl said she had left. Toki sighed in relief. One good thing was that, Cheri didn¡¯t become a trophy or some sort. But, she¡¯s not here! The battle could end at any moment. ¡°Do you where she is?¡± Toki said hesitantly ¡°If you free me, I¡¯ll give all the information that I have, my dear.¡± Without a second thought, Toki and Jiggles set her free from cage. The owl flew around the warehouse and landed on the piles of cages and stretched her wings. ¡°Oi! Oi! What about me!¡± The rabbit fumed. Ignoring the rabbit, the owl told Toki that her sister was here before she came five nights ago. The owl and Cheri began making small talk until two days later, a person with clean and colorful clothing came and took Cheri. That¡¯s all she knew and Toki had reached a dead end. As Toki¡¯s mood can¡¯t go any lower, the rabbit continued to yell his lungs out. Jiggles freed the rabbit to quiet him down. As the rabbit wiped silva from his lips and jumped out of his cage. There was no reason to continue to be in this warehouse - the rescue was a failure. As Toki felt the sense of dread washed over her, a sound came from the entrance of the warehouse. ¡°Anyone in here! You dare steal from the guild!¡± A robust, bald man came rushing in and searched for any thieves. The rabbit was the first to go and leaved with these words: ¡°See you later suckers!¡± The rabbit scurried in a blink of an eye and slipped between the man¡¯s legs, causing the man to stagger in slight fright. As the man figured it was a beast from one of the cages, he rushes towards the corner of the warehouse. Jiggles carried Toki and hid between two crates and the owl flew to behind jars on top of a shelf. Once the man checked that only a few animal cages were opened, he concluded the that one of the escapees had past him. And since he can¡¯t find a single person or know how the lock was destroyed, he needed to report to the guild master tommorrow of theft. As the man left, everyone came out of hiding. Since there was nothing left to do and it was time to return Jiggles was on its way with Toki in tow. The owl felt a bit peeved about leaving the things as they were, so she followed the duo outside and flew close to them. The owl gave reassuring words to Toki to raise her hopes, ¡°I help you find your sister. I know she is all right. Don¡¯t fret.¡± The only lead a slightly pudgy human man in colorful clothing. Searching for this sole person in this place will be a difficult task, even more difficult if they search in each and every town! They can¡¯t ask any beast or monster since none reside here. If only there¡¯s someone among them that can talk in human tongue. ¡°There a few who can speak the human tongue. But¡­ Those individuals are hard to deal with.¡± ¡°Who?!¡± ¡°They have been alive for centuries and very powerful. If they can, they can teach you the skill to speak with the humans.¡± As Toki gained a new companion and new objective confirmed, the fighting outside already ended as adventurers returned back into town.