《The Bastard Guardian King <hiatus>》


 It cant get any worse - Arc 1.1

    Today¡¯s night sky was clear and calming to watch. Even the perpetually busy city roads became quiet at midnight. But the most serene spot in the city will be the suspension bridge. With a full moon overhead, slow flowing river underneath, one can enjoy beauty of nature while standing on those steel beams.


    A young woman with blonde hair stood at the edge of the road on the bridge. Her hand was holding a steel rod connected to bridge. She was facing towards the river occasionally looking at the locket in her other hand. The locket is in the shape of a heart with the words Sophy & David engraved on it. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she kissed the locket and hung it over her neck. ¡°I¡¯ll be joining you soon, my love,¡± Sophy murmured, as she walked towards the end of the bridge. She stopped right where bridge ended, just one more step to fall into river.


    She stared hard at the river, which flowed without any concern that it was being watched. She liked watching rivers and this spot used to be her favorite. After meeting David, he used to accompany her here. Many of their memories were made here. Those were happy times, at least until her uncle died, making her the next heir to his company. If she had known that it would kill her lover and ruin her life, she would have rejected it right on the first day.


    Click. Click.


    Sophy heard sound of footsteps coming from one side of bridge. She glanced behind her and saw a young man wearing a white lab coat coming towards her. He was thin, with black hair and a normal looking face. The out-of-place, oversized brown boots he is wearing are the source of loud footsteps. He didn¡¯t look like a decent person, especially with that suspicious attire. Then again, any decent person wouldn¡¯t be wandering at midnight. Well, it¡¯s not like she cared anyway. The young man looked like he want to say something to her as he came closer and closer to her.


    ¡°Hello there, I¡¯m Ru-¡±


    Sophy didn¡¯t let him finish his sentence, cutting him off with a determined look as she let go of the wire.


    ¡®Just one more step will end everything¡¯, thought Sophy. She smiled a little, while still crying and then -


    THWACK


    A rock the size of a baseball hit her head. It hit her the moment she left the cable, making her lose her balance and fall on her back. Still feeling the pain at right side of her head, Sophy glared at man who stopped her from jumping. But he completely ignored her glare. He walked near Sophy and hit her squarely on her jaw with his fist. The blow made Sophy faint.


    ¡±I hate people who give up on life. And also those who don¡¯t listen to others,¡± he grumbled while calling an ambulance through his phone.


    * * *


    *The next morning inside the cafeteria of a certain government¡¯s secret research institute.*


    ¡°Hey Ruth, looks like you had a lot of fun last night,¡± a tall and sturdy looking man with a badge - representing security officer - called out to Ruth as he entered cafeteria.


    ¡±Oh, Hi Sam,¡± Ruth greeted back as he spotted his friend.


    Sam patted the chair next to him and started interrogating his friend immediately.


    ¡°So, tell me why I got a call from police yesterday at midnight confirming your identity?¡± Sam asked, growing serious.


    Ruth was going to explain anyway, so he settled down in his chair and started talking.


    ¡°It was a huge mess. Let me tell you from the start. It all began with the argument about the deadline with the project manager. After sometime, I realized that this argument was a waste of time and walked out of the office.¡± He should have known this with all of his previous experiences, but something about that manager just pissed him off. It was probably her over diligent personality, which is exact opposite to his character.


    ¡°That was to be expected. You¡¯ve never won an argument against her in the two years you have been working here,¡± Sam poked fun at Ruth.


    ¡°And to cool down I went to bar and drank till midnight. Just outside of the bar, I bumped into a seriously drunk man who vomited on my shoes,¡± Ruth continued, ignoring Sam¡¯s teasing. ¡°Then I got those dirty boots from the bartender for temporary use and started heading home, thinking that I will get my shoes tomorrow as they are now wet.¡±


    ¡°Your bad luck is same as always, isn¡¯t it Ruth?¡± commented Sam, taking pleasure in his friend¡¯s misfortune.


    Ruth continued to treat Sam¡¯s remarks like air and went on with his story.


    ¡°Then I hurried along the bridge as sometimes city police patrols there at midnight and I don¡¯t want any more trouble trying to proving my identity. But my luck was at its all-time lowest when I found a suicidal woman ready to jump off the bridge.¡±


    ¡°Then?¡± Sam leaned forward on the cafeteria table, clearly getting more interested.


    ¡°Well I already knew that people jumping down bridges won¡¯t stop just because I say so. So, I slipped a rock into my pocket before running. When I was close enough to her, I just threw it and made her faint.¡±


    Sam stared without saying anything.


    ¡°What?¡± Ruth asked, as he didn¡¯t like that silence.


    ¡°Well, putting aside your method, why¡¯d you even stop her? You generally don¡¯t give a fuck about others, do you? Was that woman so beautiful that even our forever single Ruth got charmed?¡± Sam teased.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t charmed and I¡¯m not forever single,¡± Ruth replied grumpily.


    ¡®Why is my love life is so interesting to him?¡¯ Ruth wondered, continuing his tale.


    ¡°Anyways, I called police and waited until they got there. They came after a bit, took her into custody, and then arrested me saying, I¡¯m suspicious and need verification. So I had to make them call you to check my identity. Sorry about that,¡± Ruth apologized sincerely.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. But won¡¯t showing your ID card serve the purpose?¡± Sam raised a valid point.


    ¡°Well, about that, you know my project is going under initial testing today right? After that, I will become permanent scientist from assistant so they took my ID card for making changes. So I had to call yo-¡±


    Ruth is interrupted by a female voice from the speakers, which are everywhere inside the institute.


    ¡°All research personnel related to project 53- A are requested to enter the testing site within 15 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Looks like I should get going. See you later,¡± said Ruth as he stood up.


    ¡°Yeah, Good luck.¡± Sam stood up beside him and patted Ruth¡¯s back.


    Project 53 is about ¡°Complete control and miniaturization of nuclear fusion reaction.¡±


    Though the idea was nothing new, it was never attempted due to the large amount of energy released in the process, and lack of material that can contain such high temperatures. But if succeeded, this could provide infinite energy and would completely changes the planet¡¯s energy consumption pattern.


    But that wasn¡¯t the reason why the project never got an official name or always was referred to as Project 53 even inside the research institute. It was because, if the experiment got out of control, at least 10 % of the earth¡¯s surface would be wiped out and the following radiation would make at least half of the earth uninhabitable. It was literally trying to controlling a small-scale sun. Any mistakes would result in extinction level disasters.


    Various political problems would occur if anything that was done here was leaked. So, strict security measures were in place to prevent any and all sorts of information leaks. Metal doors made of titanium that can only be opened by a retinal scanning were installed outside the test site.


    Today this test site was having its first usage, as Project 53 was going to have its first actual test here. If everything proceeded as predicted, the project would get a green signal immediately continuing to phase B, and many assistant level scientists would be promoted to a permanent research member. As everyone related to project gathered inside the test site, the female voice came from speakers and announced the start of experiment.


    Locking test site and Initiating fusion sequence.


    Activating nuclear reactors, testing temperature.


    Waiting. . Waiting. . Required environment created.


    Starting main energy core.


    Everyone became tense as next few minutes would determine their two years work¡¯s success.


    A large screen started showing various values with a large bar in the middle representing the energy level of core.


    Energy level -- 00%


    Energy level -- 09%


    Energy level -- 20%


    Energy level -- 33%


    Energy level -- 45%


    Energy level -- 60%


    ¡®If this gets to 100%, I am going to get promotion,¡¯ Ruth thought to himself as he kept watching the screen.


    Energy level -- 80%


    Energy level -- 93%


    Energy leakage detected, emergency containment protocol is activated.


    Energy level -- 70%


    System still unstable, evacuation suggested.


    Red lights on ceiling started flashing, showing the direction towards emergecy exit.


    ¡®Oh, it failed. It just needed 7% more.¡¯ Ruth sighed in disappointment, while following others towards the entrance for evacuation.


    Energy level -- 02%


    System stable.


    Ruth only took one-step when he heard the new alert. He turned back with a surprised look just like many of the other staff members.


    Irregularity detected. System stability unable to calculate.


    A large blinding light came from main core and covered Ruth. In the next instant, both Ruth and main core disappeared.


    After an unknown amount of time, Ruth awoke. Awoke may not have been the correct word as he couldn¡¯t feel his eyes, or for that matter anything in his body. He somehow sensed that he was being pulled by something inside a huge dark tunnel. Feeling without actually seeing through his eyes or hearing through his ears was a strange thing.


    As Ruth got accustomed to his strange state, he heard something. It is more like a random idea suddenly popped into his consciousness. Though he doesn¡¯t understand what is happening with him, Ruth understood its meaning.


    Be strong, stronger than anyone else.


    Then he saw a flash and he became unconscious again.


    He awoke listening to some kind of beast roar. What kind of animal can make such roar? Ruth thought. At least lions he saw in TV sounded far less irritating to ears. "What am I doing again?" As Ruth thought that, he remembered how he was in test site where experiment failed due to some unexpected disturbance and he was in that strange place. Remembering until there, he checked his body. His body is fine except for the fact that any type of clothing is missing on his body. Now he is just happy that none of his body parts is missing. Confirming that, he looked at his surroundings.


    He is sitting on top of a boulder that is larger than his car. Surrounding the boulder are many lush green bushes. A faint layer of mist is swirling near the ground giving a cool and pleasant sensation. At some distance there is a thick canopy formed by huge trees. Though Ruth never really explored a forest, he is sure that these trees are definitely taller than any other tree he has seen in life. They are actually so tall that along with all the fog their highest part is not even visible to Ruth. Different kinds of sounds can be heard ranging from light footsteps to that loud roar that woke him up.


    He is in a forest with impossibly tall trees, strange mist and all kind of potential predators. He has no idea which way is his lab or where the hell he is. Ruth suddenly got a strong urge to faint. But he resisted it as he has a slight clue about what might be happening here.


    Normally when a star die its entire energy gets consumed gradually until it cannot support itself. And if star is large enough it sometimes form a black hole, which can absorb even light making it black. Nobody knows what happens to things in black hole. Many argue that they connect to other universe. But the small experiment is nowhere near to energy required to form a black hole. This should be due to whatever abnormality that interfered the experiment.


    What is the real identity of the abnormality? How did it completed a process of creating a star and then killing it to black hole that quickly? Why did it do that? What if it is a coincidence? If it is another universe, why can he breathe? Ruth head started hurting with all questions and no answers. He thought he is going mad and also thought that it is probably a good idea.


    All of his thinking process stopped when he once again heard that roar which is nearer than previous times. He became abnormally calm probably because his survival instinct kicked in. Though there is still some part in him that urged him to run into forest shouting for help, he slowly crept down the boulder trusting his instincts, which are activated for probably the first time in his life. As it happens, that is not just a boulder but entrance to an underground cave. Though it looked safer than animal filled forest there is no guarantee that it is empty. Coupled with the fact that many animals can see much better than humans in darkness, Ruth simply decided to leave that cave.


    Ruth always used to wonder how those characters in fiction stories keep their cool when something absurd happens around them. He used to think anyone will freak out, at least he thought he will. Probably those heroic actions separate normal people to someone great.


    And today Ruth understood he was wrong. As it seems that when huge amounts of unreasonableness, which surpasses the thinking capacity of a person is forced upon somebody they will calm down on the contrary. This is a situation where he can choose to freak out at everything and get mad or accept everything as it is and start from beginning. Anyway, whatever roaring will not be waiting for his internal conflict to end.


    ¡°Dammit, experiment failed and I¡¯m dropped in some forest. It just can¡¯t get any worse. And what ¡®be strong¡¯ my ass, I¡¯m running naked in a goddamn forest¡± He cursed and started trudging into the thicket of trees in the opposite direction of roar.

 It can get even worse (1)

    In a forest somewhere a naked young man is walking with a dejected face. He is carrying a stick larger than himself in one hand and searching for any signs of ambush. This is none other than Ruth who got himself stranded in this forest one hour ago.


    After running into the forest, he heard many faint sounds like chirpings or hissings but hadn¡¯t encountered any animal directly, except for that one time when he was ambushed. Even that time he hadn¡¯t seen its shape or where it came from, So he completely have no clue what is it that is lurking in his surroundings. Only after entering the forest, he comprehended the hugeness of those trees. Those thick trees combined with mist reduced his visibility to just a few steps ahead. And they are so tall that they completely blocked any sunlight coming from above resulting in a dark atmosphere even during the day.


    ¡°At least having a torch light would be great.¡± Ruth mumbled as he circled another large tree. Not being able to see around doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t sense anything. He stopped walking suddenly and listened intently. Soft footsteps, almost soundless if not for the small rustling of leaves. This is third time, thought Ruth, as he readied his stick. Not like it will be any useful though, if those gigantic paw marks he saw earlier were to be believed.


    After waiting for a minute or so he started walking again. This part of forest contains only those huge trees and lots of mist between them. With environment so dark and damp there are no other plants or animals on the forest floor. Or if even there are he cannot see any. Probably most of the creatures are living on the branches of these trees as he can hear sounds whenever he goes near one. They normally remain silent and only respond when he intrudes into their domain by going too near to a tree. He is more worried about whatever that ambushed him once and probably still stalking him.


    As he kept walking he saw a yellow leaf larger than his arm span lying on the ground. It is large enough to cover his body, just like the one that was snatched from him during previous ambush. It probably just separated from the tree. When Ruth first saw the leaf in the earlier ambush, he was happy thinking that he got something to cover his body. But before he did anything something snatched it from his hands. And all he saw was a black shadow. After that he became more vigilant of surroundings. This is the reason why he picked up the stick he found and kept it with him all times.


    This time he is not going to get fooled. Thinking so, he tightly clutched his stick and slowly inched towards the leaf. He then took leaf in his free hand without lowering his guard. Ruth hoped that during earlier ambush the beast was coincidentally looking for the same leaf. He has no confidence fighting something he cannot even clearly see and it would be better if it doesn¡¯t come again.


    Unfortunately without making a single sound a black shadow pounced onto Ruth or more correctly that large leaf he is holding. Though this time it is obstructed by a stick. Finally he caught sight of his stalker. It is a huge black crow with red eyes and a large beak. If it stands on the ground its head will reach up to his stomach. After failing to steal the leaf it disappeared into mist as fast as it came. He waited for some time and then covered his lower body with that leaf.


    Ruth proceeded with his walking, warily but with a bit more confidence after the second encounter with that large crow. Even though it is exceptionally large in size for a crow, he is not going to be afraid of a mere crow. Now a bit more decent in appearance, he ventured further into the midst of mist filled forest. He knows that in this type of forest there is high chance of getting lost and walking in circles. But he doesn¡¯t know how to calculate his direction using stars not to mention that this is day and sky is not even visible due to those trees. Even if it is visible, it probably is not the sky he grown watching.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    As he kept walking trees are getting less huge and mist getting thinner, increasing visibility. But Ruth is not in a mood to observe this changes as he is getting very thirsty. He already lost count of time and is mechanically following the direction of sun. At some point that giant crow stopped hiding and is stalking him openly. As his pace is getting slower, he suddenly felt someone is watching him from above. But he don¡¯t have energy to investigate, so he kept searching for water ignoring everything else.


    In that silent situation he heard a gurgling sound, though it is very small his ear caught the sound of water splashing. He immediately ran in that direction and found a small pool of water. A small green creature of roughly humanoid shape and half his length was drinking water there. Ruth ignored the green creature wearing some animal skin which can only be called goblin and went towards the pool. That goblin already took a wooden club in its hands and is looking at him warily. As Ruth drank water with a goblin observing him closely from side, he thought Thank God, there is water in this world.


    After quenching his thirst Ruth looked at the Goblin which is ready to attack him. It is hesitating and so is Ruth. He doesn¡¯t want to fight now with his tired body. He slowly backed off hoping it will calm down and let him go without a fight. And he realized it was a bad move in the next moment. The only reason goblin hadn¡¯t attacked him was because it was intimidated by his size which is almost double to its own size. Now as enemy is backing off it means he is afraid of goblin and if there is one thing goblins love it is to attack someone who is afraid of them.


    It attacked the next moment swinging its wooden club at Ruth¡¯s knee. Ruth backed off at the last moment avoiding the swing. He attacked the goblin in the same way using his stick. But the goblin didn¡¯t managed to avoid it due to the large range of the stick. As the goblin tumbled down Ruth pounced on top of it and twisted its arm forcing it to face ground. He then pinned it down using a shoulder lock making it drop its club during the process. He sighed in relief as goblin is rendered immobile.


    He then looked at the surroundings thinking what to do next. Though he took down the goblin because he practiced that move many times and it came instinctively, he don¡¯t have any idea how to finish this fight. Drowning it in the pond will probably do the task but it will pollute his only water source. Though Ruth has stronger body and better technique due to knowledge from martial arts course he took in his college, he had no real experience in combat.


    That lack of experience proved dangerous, as the goblin forcefully stood up breaking its own arm in the process. It then opened its mouth and ferociously bit Ruth¡¯s neck which is completely unguarded. Ruth didn¡¯t even consider that the goblin can attack with something other than its hands and legs or that it will sacrifice an arm to escape from his lock. He thought that fight is over after he pinned down the goblin. And when he registered what happened goblin¡¯s teeth are already inserted into his neck. In panic Ruth grabbed the neck of goblin and squeezed it with his full strength. The goblin insisted for few seconds before loosening its grip on Ruth¡¯s neck and eventually dying due to suffocation. After killing goblin Ruth lied down next to its corpse as exhaustion rolled over him after his first life and death fight. He kept gasping on the ground as he decided to finish his enemy before relaxing, as he now know Fight is over when your enemy is dead.


    At the moment Ruth lost consciousness the giant crow which is hiding during the fight came out and started eating goblin. It only ate goblin¡¯s heart leaving other parts. It then took the leaf covering Ruth¡¯s lower body and flew away. Ruth awoke after sometime feeling cold wind. He immediately found that his only piece of clothing is stolen again and he has pretty good idea who did it.


    ¡°YOU CROW BASTARD. I¡¯LL FUCKING KILL YOU.¡± That day forest resounded with angry shouts of a young man.

 It can get even worse(2)

    In the mist filled forest Ruth sat down and kept on swearing the crow which stole his leaf not once but twice.


    After cursing for ten minutes, he calmed down and observed his surroundings. There is a hole in the dead goblin¡¯s chest area. It seems that the crow is a picky eater, he thought. He stood up and started moving his body to check for injuries.


    When the goblin escaped from his lock and bit his neck, his heart almost stopped with fear. But now as he observes, it doesn¡¯t seem to hurt that much and even the wound stopped bleeding. He sat at the edge of the pond and started cleaning his body.


    As water trickled down his body, cool sensation spread all over his body making his exhausted muscles relax. As he submerged in water, his skin gradually returned to its white colour, as all the dirt stuck on his body was washed away. Although he knew that he should not dirty his only water source and he is going to get all dusty once he starts walking again, he just cannot help to relax. Never in his life had he enjoyed a silent bath like now.


    As his body and mind both became clear, he started planning his next course of action. He doesn¡¯t know where this forest is, or how to get out of here. It doesn¡¯t seem like earth, with goblins and all. He doesn¡¯t know if there are any type of civilization near here. At any rate he should get out of this damn forest if he want information. Fortunately he still has one clue to follow. Though he hadn¡¯t observed earlier, mist is less dense near the pond. So he should walk in direction with less mist and he will go out of this forest. And even if don¡¯t, he can at least see his surroundings better.


    Ruth woke up from his thoughts due to growling sounds coming from other side of pond. He perked up his ears to listen more clearly. There is no mistake, those sounds are made by goblins and more than one is coming.


    Ruth picked up his stick from the ground and quickly hid himself behind a tree. He crouched down ready to fight or to run away depending on the situation.


    Voices grew louder as three silhouettes became visible. They kept clamoring and walking at the same time. As they passed in front of tree he is hiding, he can saw them. Two goblins carrying stones in their hands are bickering among themselves, while another one is armed with a wooden club.


    The wooden club carrying goblin suddenly roared and pointed its club towards the tree Ruth is hiding. Other two goblins too stopped their fight and looked towards his direction.


    His body tensed up as adrenaline pumped up in his body preparing him for his oncoming fight. He tightened his grip on his stick and started to estimate his winning chance. He can probably fight with two goblins if he is careful enough but three would be difficult to defeat.


    Those three goblins slowly approached tree. They stopped at some distance before the tree and started searching all directions.


    Ruth realized that goblins are looking not at him but at the goblin corpse lying on the ground. The goblins turned their backs to him, still searching for attacker. He knew that this is his best chance for attack.


    He gripped his stick tightly and swung it towards the goblin at one end which has stones in its hands. Stick hit the completely unaware goblin with great force, resulting in the goblin collapsing on the ground, with its neck bending in wrong direction.


    ¡°Haa¡± Ruth shouted in joy as his first target got instant killed.


    Other two goblins have already saw their companion¡¯s death and started engaging Ruth.


    Ruth immediately kicked the goblin with club in stomach putting some distance between them. He then turned towards the stone throwing goblin which is already throwing them on him. One of the stone hit him in the head but it hurt much less than it should. So, he ignored stones hitting him and directly headed towards the goblin.


    The goblin screeched as it threw all of its stones on Ruth. They did not even manage to slow him down. It became more frantic as Ruth drew closer. The goblin guarded its head with its hands as it retreated back.


    Now that he cannot kill goblin instantly on its head like the first one, Ruth chose the next best option. He swung his stick with full force targeting one of its leg. As the stick connected with goblin, both its leg and stick broke due to the large force he put on it.


    He ignored the collapsed goblin, which is now wailing and turned back to intercept the wooden club which is about land on his head. As his stick already broken, he guarded with his left arm and shot his right hand towards goblin. His punch landed on its face and smashed its nose. Also his left arm didn¡¯t hurt even after directly blocking a wooden club. Seems like his body really became harder.


    ¡°Grr¡± the goblin growled wiping the purple blood coming from its broken nose. It lifted its club and jumped towards Ruth.


    After confirming that wooden club cannot break his arm Ruth became bolder as he welcomed club with a punch. With a crunching sound the club broke. Ruth hadn¡¯t hesitated as he pummeled the weaponless goblin in its stomach with his fist.


    The goblin collapsed just after taking three of Ruth¡¯s punches to its stomach. Its body seemed far weaker even compared to a normal human. It lay on ground coughing purplish blood all over the ground.


    Ruth walked towards the defeated goblin and stomped his foot on its neck breaking its spine and killing it immediately. He then looked for the goblin whose leg he broke. But there is nothing there except bloodied trails towards the direction the goblins came.


    He sighed and began collecting two new corpses and stacked them on previous one. Even though he felt nothing during fight now that he see that purple goblin blood clearly, he has an urge to puke. He then picked up that broken club pieces and observed closely. He really broke them with his bare arms. He still cannot believe it. He then threw them away and went towards pond to clean all the dust and blood he got on him during fight.


    There is someone who is just waiting for that moment. As soon as Ruth turned his back to goblin corpses, the giant crow came out from one of the branches and glided towards them. But Ruth is not a fool, he is also waiting for the crow to take the bait.


    Just as the crow stopped to pluck the goblin¡¯s heart, he suddenly turned and jumped onto the crow¡¯s back, directly sitting between its wings. Then he held his legs around its wings making them unable to open and tackled its beak with his arms. Though it is much faster than him, it is only the case if it can fly. Now that it is pinned to ground it cannot escape again.


    This unexpected attack from Ruth sent crow into panic and it began wildly thrashing around, trying to free its wings. Even though it is half his size, the strength present in its wings is very high. Ruth barely able to keep it from flying. As Ruth is on its back, the crow cannot attack with its claws. So it tried to throw off him using its beak.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Even using his two hands Ruth cannot completely suppress its beak. He knows that he cannot stay in this position for long time and it will be impossible to catch this crow again. Also the sounds it is making during this fight might alert other crows. Though he hadn¡¯t saw another crow in this forest it is still better to hurry. He raised his right hand and punched its face near its eye. Its skin felt very hard, as it completely bounced his hand. But he didn¡¯t stop his punching.


    As the crow is flailing its wings around, Ruth on top it kept striking it, aiming its eye. As he continued punching he felt that hardness of its skin is decreasing. He even noticed that his knuckles are slightly glowing. After hitting around thirty times blood started coming from its eye; after another twenty punches entire region around its right become swollen and its eye became mushy bloody paste. Ruth is already completely absorbed in punching that when he stopped to see crow¡¯s condition there is a hole of size of his fist where its eye used to be.


    He released his other hand, resulting in crow¡¯s dead body falling to ground. Seeing his right arm which is covered in blood till elbow and still covered with slight glow, he sighed and moved towards the pond to clean himself once again. At last he got rid of this pesky stalker. Though his method is barbaric, he got no other choice.


    As he stepped out of the pond his stomach growled of hunger. Now that he think of it he hadn¡¯t eaten anything from morning. Even though it is difficult to keep track of time in this forest, around 5 hours should have been passed on from his coming to this world. He hadn¡¯t seen anything edible in this forest till now. As he thought till there, he subconsciously turned his head to see where goblin and crow¡¯s bodies are lying.


    Not knowing whether to feel hungry or nauseous, he decided to leave this spot before any more goblins or crows come searching.


    Normally he would be drinking coffee in cafeteria, listening to his friend¡¯s daily dose of complaining about lack of discipline in scientists and how it is making his life difficult. Even those mundane moments now felt precious to Ruth, as he kept trudging over damp mud with his bare feet. He then brought his palm to his face and opened and closed it. He knows that he couldn¡¯t have killed that crow with just his bare hands without that strange glow that hardened his fist.


    While thinking about various things, he kept walking away from the pond in the direction of less mist, which incidentally is the same direction goblins came. His steps stopped together with his thoughts, when he heard noises coming from front. He didn¡¯t waste time and immediately hid behind the nearest tree. As he ducked and waited while slowing down his breathing, lots of green coloured things came into his vision. As they came nearer, he recognized them as goblins. They passed him while grunting and hollering among themselves. He saw one goblin showing the way while limping. It is probably the one that escaped from him. He also saw three goblins more muscular and taller than normal goblins, leading them.


    Ruth held his breath till all of them passed his hiding spot. He then came out and did the best thing to do while facing an undefeatable foe. He ran away in the direction they just came from with his full speed. At this rate sooner or later all the goblins in this forest will hunt for him. As they have great numbers and knowledge about forest, he will be found quickly and then killed .He should run away from this wretched forest before that happens.


    As he kept running Ruth suddenly stumbled into an open space. His surroundings suddenly changed dark to bright atmosphere. He looked back and saw those huge trees forming a wall behind him. It is as if that forest decided to exactly stop there. He squinted his eyes adjusting to brightness and observed his new surroundings.


    Here soil is of red colour though it might be same in that dark forest. Trees here are normal and less dense. Most of this place is filled with plains and small bushes. Biggest difference he perceived after coming into this new forest is that, there is no suffocating atmosphere here. Until now although he only met some goblins and a crow, he has a feeling that someone or something is watching him. Now it is more relaxing although he is still inside a forest. He can even hear various sounds made by different animals coming all over the forest.


    ¡°Grrrr¡±


    His peaceful observation of this new forest is interrupted by a loud grunt which is followed by a boar of size of a car charging towards him. He doesn¡¯t even need to think what will happen if it collides with him. So Ruth bolted away from the boar with all his speed.


    But the boar seemed faster than him as distance between them keep on decreasing. He tried running between various trees, so that it will slow down the boar even a little. His plan seemed to work as boar slowed down demolishing trees. He stopped running and took a deep breath after the loud roaring of boar behind him slowly faded.


    ¡°Why is my luck always so rotten?¡± Ruth muttered as he eyed the large tree in front of him. This tree is half dead with dark green leaves on the fresh parts. He started to climb the tree to get a better view of his surroundings. Unlike those gigantic trees in previous forest this is quite easy to climb with many branches which can be used as foot holds.


    As he climbed one of the tree¡¯s top branches, a majestic scenery greeted him. Vast blue sky covered over him with a setting sun on one side. At his back those big green trees are still looking huge even from here. There are mountains on other side which are even taller than those trees. The new forest in which he is now is filled with all kinds of plants and colorful flowers with red soil as their background.


    He saw smoke coming from one of the mountain bases. He decided to go there for now and see if he can find some kind of civilization who won¡¯t attack him on first sight. As he tried to climb a bit more his hand felt something smooth and silky. He unconsciously lifted it to see it better. It is a greenish black snake of around 2 feet long.


    ¡°Hsss¡± the snake hissed and jumped onto his face. Its red eyes gleamed as it opened its mouth displaying its two sharp fangs.


    This sudden attack caught Ruth off guard. He reflexively brought his other hand to guard his face. But lifting both of his hands disturbed his balance and he slipped from the branch. Air whirled around his ears as he fell directly to ground. He thought whether he is going to die here after passing all those difficulties? As many thoughts passed through his mind, Ruth¡¯s body experienced a large shock followed by pain everywhere.


    I¡¯m still alive!?  As Ruth opened his eyes he saw his entire body covered with a light glow. How can he forget this ability, it is the main reason he made it alive till here. Though he doesn¡¯t understand what it is or how to use it consciously, it already saved his life many times just like now. It is like an invisible protective membrane spread all over the body. But it is the first time it covered his whole body.


    He checked his body for any injuries. He hadn¡¯t found any injuries; but that greenish black snake is still clutching his left biceps with its mouth. Its fangs cannot breach his protection so, no real harm is done. But it still refused to accept defeat and stubbornly kept biting him, while its body is coiling his arm. He tried separating it from himself but its grip is too strong, while its skin is very smooth making it difficult to properly hold it.


    He tried some time separating it and finally left it coiling around his arm. It cannot do anything to him and probably will leave him after realizing that. He already experienced so many things in this forest that a small snake is not going to faze him.


    He saw many types of animals on his way to place from where smoke is coming. Most of them are not dangerous and generally ignored him. One time there is another of that boar sleeping; he slowly tiptoed out of its domain.


    Light in the surroundings slowly dimmed, marking the coming of evening. It felt strange that the sun still is in the same place, just above the horizon. As he kept walking he saw some sort of road. So he took the road and continued moving forward.


    He kept walking and finally saw the end of road. There is some sort of small city surrounded by a short wall. There is a gap in the wall forming an entrance. Though there is something written on the arch above the entrance, it is in an unknown language. Smoke is coming from one corner of the city, but he cannot see the source due to the wall. He then turned back to see forest one last time and proceeded forward. His heart beat became a bit faster as he walked towards the entrance.


    His nervousness decreased as he saw a 12 ¨C 13 years little girl picking some berries from a bush, nearby the city walls. Ruth put up his best smiling face and called her.


    ¡°Hello, little girl over there.¡±


    She stiffened up as she lifted her head to see Ruth and spilled all the berries she collected on the ground. Then she ran into the city, loudly crying.


    He then remembered that he is completely naked and got a snake coiled around his arm.

 First Contact

    Dual Fort city is the most recently built and smallest of the four human cities in the continent of Aticia. Both its size and population are very small compared to other three cities. The only reason it is called a city because it has wall surrounding it and any settlement without wall won¡¯t be able survive for long in this monster dominated continent. Though right now the wall is just four meters high, efforts are made by royal family to strengthen it.


    The city wall has three gates, East gate facing the forest, North and South gates with roads connecting Rodmill and Elborne Cities respectively. Two old forts are present just after north and south gates giving the city its name. On the west there is a large mountain completely blocking any passage. And for that reason there is no west gate in this city.


    At the East gate a group of 30 guards are lazing around playing some card games as usual. Unlike other two gates no wagons or travelers go through the east gate so it is mostly closed. The only work reason for stationing such a large group here is in case any monsters come from forest.


    The peaceful atmosphere is disturbed by a small girl who came crying towards the gate from the forest.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the girl who said she wanted to pick some berries growing near the wall?¡± exclaimed one guard.


    ¡°Little girl, what happened? Why are you crying?¡± the captain of this group of guards asked.


    But the girl didn¡¯t stop crying but she still tried saying something.


    ¡°My berries ¡­.. Monster ¡­.¡±


    As they heard the word ¡®monster¡¯ everyone became active putting away whatever they are doing and took up their weapons.


    They took their swords and spears into their hands and entered their battle formation facing the forest waiting for the enemy. After waiting for two minutes they saw something approaching the city wall.


    It is a tall young man with a thin but healthy body. He has white skin which is covered by a layer of dust. Seeing that no monster is attacking the guards relaxed. But their captain thought otherwise.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down. Even though he looks like a human, who in their right mind wander forest without wearing anything? Also no solo mercenary had entered the forest in last two days.¡±


    ¡°Captain do you think he is not human?¡± One of the guards asked.


    ¡°Probably, recently I heard that elves are becoming more aggressive.¡±


    ¡°But Captain, Aren¡¯t elves supposed to have long ears and always carry their bows.¡±


    ¡°Who knows, there is not much information about elves as they don¡¯t come out of inner forest. Most of those who encounter elves are killed by them. Even a core stage expert cannot escape their arrows.¡±


    ¡°Then shall we send message to governor?¡±


    ¡°No, more importantly there is something coiling his left hand. Do any of you recognize it?¡±


    ¡°I think it is a striped viper, sir. But this one still hadn¡¯t formed its stripes yet.¡±


    ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± asked the captain while trying to remember details about this monster.


    ¡°It is one of the Rank-0 monsters in outer forest. They are harmless till they form their stipes, as they cannot produce poison yet. They are weak even among other Rank-0 monsters.¡±


    ¡°Well if it is just a Rank-0, it is not a problem.¡±


    As the guards are conversing among themselves, Ruth slowly reached the gate. Though his time in forest made him forget shame now that he is facing civilized humans he has some reluctance to meet others in his current state. Unfortunately he has no other option.


    He swept his vision seeing around 30 guards dressed in same uniform and armed with spears and swords, all of them pointing at him. They are whispering something among themselves in a foreign language. One of them whose uniform is flashier than others, probably their leader came forward and spoke something in that unknown language.


    Ruth held his hands up and tried talking to them even though he felt that they won¡¯t be able to understand.


    ¡°My name is Ruth, I intend no harm.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    While their faces are still confused showing that they didn¡¯t understood his words, they somehow became more wary. He understood the reason after seeing his left arm. That greenish black snake is still clinging to him coiling around his left arm. They are probably are apprehensive of this useless snake, he thought.


    Other guards tried various methods to communicate without any result. Both sides continued staring each other for next few minutes. The sky already became mostly dark and the guards also looked like they had enough of this. As the situation is becoming more awkward, Ruth heard a rhythmic sound from far away. He turned towards the forest along with the guards towards the source of the sound. Someone riding a large brown horse came galloping towards them. As the horse neared the gate it slowed its pace, stopping slowly in front of guard captain. A teenage boy whose size is disproportionate with the horse is riding it. He is wearing clothes whose high quality cannot be hidden even when covered by a layer of dust.


    That guard leader went towards the rider and they talked something and the boy replies by shaking his head. He then reaches into his pocket and took out an oval shaped bluish gem and handed it to the guards. One of the guards brought a book shaped metal box with various patterns drawn on it. There is a dent on its surface of same size as the gem. The guard took the gem and placed it in the dent. As the gem fitted into the gap Ruth saw those patterns glowing in various colours, converging into the gem. It is the same kind of glow he sometimes sees on his body, though his doesn¡¯t have any colours in it.


    Then the guard holding the box closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded to captain. After that guards made a gap in their formation for the horse and its rider to pass through. He rode his horse forward and stopped near Ruth. He then looked back towards the guard captain and asked something pointing Ruth.


    Now that the horse came closer to him, Ruth saw the one riding it. He has a boyish face and fragile looking body. It makes one wonder how he rode on that monstrously large horse.


    He then removed dusty gloves from one of his hands and rubbed the ring on his middle finger. It flashed for a second before going normal again.


    As Ruth is going to open his mouth, he felt something. It is a strange sensation, somehow Ruth felt this is not a physical feeling but something else. And then he heard a voice inside his head.


    ¡°Oh, it connected as expected you are not an elf.¡± It¡¯s a youthful boyish voice.


    ¡°Why do you think I am an elf, no wait I can understand you?¡± Ruth said to the boy on the horse.


    ¡°First let me introduce myself. My name is Clint and I have just used telepathy magic so that we can properly communicate.¡±


    Magic, great another new thing to learn. Why his worries never end, Ruth thought to himself. But now he has bigger problems.


    ¡°Can you read my thoughts?¡± asked Ruth while taking a step back. Not a very good question in this situation but he don¡¯t have any more energy to think.


    ¡°No, I can only use basic telepathy spell.¡± Clint answered.


    There seems to be other spells that can read mind. He should remember this info.


    ¡°Basic telepathy spell can only work between people of same species so if you are an elf, my spell should have failed.¡± Clint continued.


    Ruth inwardly thanked God that humans have same body structure in both worlds.


    ¡°Can you please tell them that I¡¯m a human? Also ask them if I can have something to cover myself.¡± Ruth asked Clint while thanking him for help.


    ¡°Sure, wait a bit.¡±


    Clint turned to guard captain and talked something in their language.


    ¡°They said they will allow, if you register as mercenary¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± Ruth replied immediately. It is much better to sleep inside walls than inside the forest. He doesn¡¯t know anything about mercenaries, so he just went with the flow.


    Clint then gave Ruth an old black cloak which he got from one of the guards.


    ¡°They doesn¡¯t seem to have anything else.¡± Said Clint while handing over the cloak.


    Looking closely its design matches with guard uniform, this must be something they use in case it rains.


    ¡°Tell them my thanks.¡± Ruth replied after covering himself with cloak.


    After that Ruth and Clint proceeded into the city along with four guards, who followed them closely. Even without turning back, Ruth can tell that they are ready to attack him if he tries to do anything in the way. He can do nothing about them anyway, so he concentrated on getting any information he can.


    ¡°Are you a mercenary?¡± Ruth asked Clint who dismounted from his horse as they entered the city.


    ¡°Me? Yes ... I¡¯m a Rank-1 mercenary¡± Clint replied while leading the horse using reins.


    ¡°Oh! Rank-1¡± Ruth replied. It¡¯s not like he knew what rank-1 means, but somehow he felt that he shouldn¡¯t ask so he just nodded.


    They walked silently as they entered one of busy streets inside the city. As Ruth is thinking for a topic to end this awkward silence, he saw that Clint has a frown on his face. Thinking that he got his own problems, Ruth turned to observe the surroundings.


    Night came as they continued walking inside the city. One by one shops and residences lit up making this city sole light source in otherwise dark forest. Even the streets are lit up as a worker came inserted a stone like thing into the street lamp. As streets lightened with rows of street lamps, they gave the city a dazzling look.


    As Ruth loosened up enjoying all beautiful and new sights, his stomach suddenly growled in protest. That is normal as he hadn¡¯t eaten anything from morning, and now that he is far from life threatening dangers, he felt his hunger.


    Suddenly Clint stopped walking and said pointing towards the two storey building in their front.


    ¡°That is the mercenary guild of Dual fort city.¡±


    ¡°So this city is called Dual Fort city.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, see that large mountain at the back of city. There are two forts on both sides of mountain base protecting the road which curves around the mountain base; this city is developed in the area enveloped between them.¡±


    Indeed there is a very large mountain behind city. Though Ruth never knew much about mountains, this one is definitely too large. It would be one of the highest peaks if it is on earth. It is filled with greenery till its peak. Normally at such altitudes temperature should be low, forming snow. Though this world looks just like earth there are many things different here.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and find some stable to keep my horse, See you later.¡±


    Saying so Clint took his horse and went into a different street, while the guards took Ruth into the building called mercenary guild.