《The Fate of The Summoned (being ReWritten)》 Glossary and Information Seeing as how you need a specific amount of characters to publish a chapter i am putting this here as a filler of sorts so that i can publish this chapter with the info i have now. Dieties of Aethion The Gods and Goddesses of Aethion are numerous, some even suspect they are countless. There is, for the most part no central religion for the countries of the world. Many countries have a single central diety or patron they revere. Such countrys are often named after their patron diety or after what the patron governs. Goddess of Light Tamara: patron deity of the Kingdom of Light, hates all things dark and impure. Dib''Hur Var''tash God of Destruction: One of the most powerful and Complex Deities of Aethion. Though he Governs destruction, amny things are within his Sphere of Influence. Glossary Chosen: Refers to those summoned, can be used interchangeably with Hero and Summoned. Chosen can also in rare cases refer to a particular blessing from a God or Goddess, it signifies that they are favored, quite heavily by that deity. Summoning: Term used when referencing theritual used to bring the Chosen and HEroes to this world. Classes:They are essentially the manifestion of the persons potentional and what they would be most skilled at, this is not the only criteria that is take into account whena Class is give, other factors include the persons personality and how they have lived their lif. Though on rare occassion a God or Goddess can grant a certain class relating to their domain. Blessing: A particular Ability, Skill, or Title given from a particular God or Goddess that relates to their domain. Skills: Skills are similar to abilities, btu are solely related to the person class, for the most part. Because of this most Skills are common, even more unique classes only have higher tier skills of the same type as many lower tier classes.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Abilities: Abilities are for the most part unique from person to person. In many cases abilities come from Blessings or Titles given by the Gods. Enhancement magic are mostly considered skills as most people can learn it, but some particular spells are only available through certain Class/Blessing/Title combinations. Tier: a classification when it comes to Abilities, Skills and Classes, the higher the number the higher the Tier. Accolades Birgir Reynisson: Fueled an idea i used concerning the MC''s Class, as well as his race. Bladestorm91: Made a suggestion that helped me get my sh*t together concerning the Chapter Format. (Not the first to mention it, but i didnt realize that until a short time ago.) Their screen name also inspired and Ability that one of the Heroes will develop and use in the future. They also pointed out a few Grammar mistakes on my part in a chapter. Characters Victor Armstrong: Our MC, was brought to the world years ago and was betrayed. Princess Kara: One of the twin princesses of the Kingdom of Light. Was integral in the betrayal of the MC. Princess Tara: The other of the Twin Princesses, she was a lauded warrior and is thought to have died, during the betrayal of the MC and its aftermath. Knight Brutus: The current Head Knight of the Kingdom of Light, bears some resemblance to Victor, is Kara''s lover, of sorts. Prince Julius: Crown prince of the Kingdom, was the Beloved of the Goddess Tamara, He was injured some time after the betrayal, but before the current time. Theresa Marietta Niccoletti: One of the most powerful of the current batch of Summoned, has a Hidden and extremely powerful Class. Mina Hasegawa: A small and lithe woman of asian descents. Hold the class of Shadow Blade Dancer. Suggestions (Suggestions i use will be marked with an (X) next to them and will be moved above) AvidReader9508: Suggested that Jonathan Adams and KAra have a moment which leads them to get together and will eventualy lead to them getting REKT. (I did think of making them like a team rocket type duo but i may not be able to pull off such comedy) They also suggested a concept surrounding members of Victor''s Harem/Group in the future when it comes to their abilities. Prologue: Advent of a Champion (Part One) Three Years Ago (Aethion Time) Deep in the Palace of the Kingdom of Light, in an ornate chamber there stood many people. The most eye-catching of them would probably the priests. They were clad in gaudy white robes, with gold trim; many of them were elderly in appearance. Next were the Knights, the armor-clad soldiers present in many past kingdoms on Earth, though these were somewhat different, they glowed with a strange aura not present on Earth, Magic. The least eye-catching but still rather noticeable in their own right were the Royalty. They were garbed in clothes that befit them and their stature as Royalty. There were four of them in the room, The King, the Crown Prince, and the two Princesses. The king was called Richard, The crown prince was known as Julius, though he had a Title that many referred to him with, The Beloved. It was given by the Goddess of Light after he near single handedly defended a large port town from an opposing army. The two princesses were twins called Kara and Tara; they were both vastly beloved by the kingdom, though in different ways. Despite the fact that they two of them were near identical, and possessed many similarities there are just as many differences. The younger of the two Princesses, Kara, was eloquent in nature and was known to be noble and selfless. She was how many people of Earth would imagine a medieval Princess. She was loved by most of the Nobles and many of the normal citizens of the Kingdom. She was a skilled diplomat and speaker, and was the public face of the Kingdom. She and her sister were the same height and had the same face as well as the same voice, though that is pretty much where their similarities ended. Her voice was more soothing and enchanting, and her blue eyes always had a cheerful and yet calming look in them. Her hair was an unnatural pink, unnatural on Earth at least, a common color among many in this world. It was styled in curling tresses that gently framed her face, while the longer curls cascaded down her back. She was tall, probably around 5¡¯4¡± using an Earth measurement in comparison, though she held herself in a more graceful way than her elder sister. Though she was not trained in the ways of war, like her sister, she was incredibly skilled with certain magics. While her younger sister was more like how the perfect princess should be, the eldest Princess, Tara was almost like a man in many aspects, she was extremely skilled in strategy and the ways of war. She was short tempered and was practically legendary for the victory celebrations she would throw after successful conquests. Her eyes were a ghostly ice blue as opposed to the slightly darker and gentler sky blue eyes of her sister. Unlike her sisters pink her, her hair was a dark red, nearly crimson in color. It was much wilder and unruly in appearance than Kara¡¯s elegant and organized tresses. While her sister was wearing an elegant and fitting dress, Tara was wearing something akin to armor, with a massive crimson great sword strapped on her back. She was arguably the strongest naturally born human in the Kingdom of Light. Originally she was near indistinguishable from Kara, but in the same invasion that granted her brother a Blessing, she got something similar. She was granted two titles, The Crimson and Warforged, and gained a unique class, Crimson Princess. Before that invasion, she was a tomboyish princess, but a princess nonetheless, afterwards though, she was a warrior, feared by many, while her brother was lauded, she was shunned by all but those she fought with.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The room everyone was in was mostly stone lined, though the floor was mostly dirt. In the center of the room there was a large mat of sorts laid down; on it an equally large magic circle made of runes was engraved. The runes were of all shapes and sizes, they were also of different colors, though certain areas held certain colors. The outer ring of the circle contained darker, almost black runes; towards the center of the Magic circle the runes became lighter. Many of the occupants of the room had eyes on the circle, as the runes had all changed color shortly before, but most of the others were conversing among themselves. Suddenly the conversations in the room came to a halt as a flash of golden light overtook the room. Most of the occupants of the room were blinded, though a few merely squinted and waited for the light to fade. They were the only ones who could see the figure starting to show in the center of the light. They could not see much due to the blinding light obscuring the figure, but they could see a large figure taking shape. As the large figure fully formed and stood, it became apparent just how massive it was. The figure easily dwarfed or matched even the largest armored knight present. As the light fully faded, the other occupants of the room were able to get a better look at him, for the being before them was unquestionably male. He had short honey blonde hair that reached the nape of his neck, covering one of his eyes was a long jagged scar. The man was wearing a pair of faded blue sweats, while his upper body was covered by an equally faded black tank top. One could easily see that is body held great physical power. The muscles under his skin could be seen shifting and moving as he stood to his full height; it was almost as if his skin could barely contain his power. The faded shirt was stretched taut across his muscles; it was as everyone marveled at that sight, that he opened his eyes, which had been closed until that moment. His lids rose lazily, revealing golden orbs, a strange eye color among humans, but common amongst certain predators. Though he was intimidating enough due to his size and appearance it was only when he opened his eyes, that it was further enhanced as an aura emerged. The instant the aura emerged; a noticeable reaction could be seen among most of the people present. One of the weaker willed soldiers present, a mere Palace Guard, collapsed straight away, and soon after a puddle and a certain acrid scent started spreading from them. Most of the other Guards, and Knights reacted differently to this Aura. The few Guards that didn¡¯t faint were rigid, as while they were soldiers, they were not used to true danger. Most of the Knights had become alert as soon as the Aura started to spread throughout the room. A few of them had put a hand on their weapon of choice, or something similar while the majority drew their weapons and prepared to fight. A few of them were even going to charge straight at him out of fear, among other things, the only things that stopped them were the fact that this was a Chosen, that said chosen was looking somewhat confused, and that their Princess and General, Kara had not reacted noticeably. Both of the Princesses had strange looks both in their eyes and on their faces, that were nearly identical, there were some who could probably recognize that look, but very few people were paying attention to those two currently. They all paused as He spoke in a deep rumbling voice akin to an Earthquake, though it held an unexpectedly pleasant smoothness to it. ¡°Well that is certainly new and unexpected.¡± He had been looking at the unfortunate Guard that had wet themselves when he spoke, though his last words were towards a strange screen that had popped up in front of him. It was strange as part of a message was displayed, then another message was super imposed over that one, the second message was apologetic.
Welcome Hero to Aethio- Welcome My Chosen, I hope you can Endure the hardships here as you always have, and become stronger, and please forgive me.
Prologue: Advent of a Champion Part Two Moments Earlier on Earth Before Victor was summoned to Aethion he was in a rather unusual situation. He was in a large dimly lit room; He was not the only occupant however. He was sitting in front of a large ornate desk, stationed around the walls of the room were large armed men in suits. Although they were large, Victor was still bigger than them. Many of them, hardened killers though they were, were glancing at him warily, as they knew him, he was once their Young Master after all. He had been waiting for a while when the doors on one side of the room opened and a rather intimidating figure entered. He wasn¡¯t the largest man present; in fact he could be considered of average height as he was only around 6 feet tall. He was intimidating though and was a good leader, which was why most of his subordinates follow him. He moved swiftly with a dangerous grace and looked at Victor with soft brown eyes as he sat down. He could be considered handsome, though he had rather harsh looks, they were softer and less cold than Victor''s, but could still be considered handsome nonetheless. The look in his eyes turned somewhat kind as he spoke softly to Victor. ¡°Hello, son, it has been a while.¡± Victor snorted at that and replied in his much deeper voice. ¡°As I recall, when we last truly spoke, You said I was no son of yours, and I said that She was my only family from the moment you believed that Bitch over me concerning what happened. Anyways, what did you call me hear for Oh Father Dearest?¡± His last words were laced with easily noticeable sarcasm. His father gritted his teeth for a moment before he replied saying. ¡°What was I supposed to believe, when you were found in your room draped over her, when she was in a state of undress and was unconscious? Though you had saved her life those years ago it was you against my Wife at the time, and she appeared to only have her interests at heart. I regret what I chose that day, as after you left I lost my daughter, and then my wife when I found out the truth.¡± He paused for a moment and let out a long sigh before he ran a hand through his short brown hair. ¡°I called you here to tell you that she will soon be entering your University. Legally the restraining order is technically still in effect, even though the charges that spawned it were dropped. She has been rather industrial in her efforts to search for you. Unfortunately should the Authorities get wind of the both of you being there in such close proximity then they would most likely attempt to relocate you again. If this happens again then you may be forced to face some time, just like before, though I will use my influence to try to lessen the consequences.¡± Victor leaned back in his chair for a moment and stretched his arms out, and as he did so the chair gave a light groanunder his shifting weight. ¡°How exactly is she finding me, this makes what, the sixth, Seventh time she has gone to a location I am at or had been at since I was released a year and a half ago?¡± He stood up, giving his poor seat a reprieve from him; he then turned around and stretched, more fully than he was able to while sitting. Just like his father had done not so long ago he let out a long sigh while running a hand through his hair. When his father performed the gesture it made him seem nervous or frustrated, while his long hair gave the gesture a different feeling to it. ¡°Fine. Was this all you called me here for? You could have just sent one of your lackeys or underlings to send the message.¡± At that statement, his father became less than composed. ¡°Uh, we-well, I uh missed you.¡± Victor sneered in response to that and chuckled profusely before he managed to control himself enough to respond properly. ¡°Really? You missed me? That is why you deemed it appropriate to lower yourself to meet with one such as me? Well, Dear Padre it is too late for any sort of reparations, you lost me the moment you helped me get convicted of the rape of the one person I truly cared about that actually cared about me, and had no ulterior motives in doing so.¡± His father stood up abruptly and bellowed at Victor, seething in anger. ¡°Now see here, you Ungratef-¡° ¡°ENOUGH!!¡± roared Victor, and at that sound the majority of the men in the room unholstered their weapons. His father gestured at them to put them away as Victor continued speaking. His voice was gentler and softer, than it was before, and didn¡¯t contain any of roughness and sarcasm that it had when he addressed his father.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Just, enough, I told you it is too late, though if she forgives you I might be able to tolerate you a little. Anyways, I have to get going soon, or else people may get suspicious of why I am at the estate of one such as you, though I managed to lose most of my tails. That¡¯s another thing; please retract the people of yours that you have had following me.¡± After finishing that statement Victor started to head towards the doors leading out of the room after he spoke, with his father staring silently after him. As he approached the doors they opened outwards, it was at that moment that one of the men stationed near the door finally lost his composure and tried to attack Victor. He was one of the newer members of the organization and as a consequence he was not as familiar with Victor and his circumstances as the others in the room. The smaller man swiftly revealed his gun and turned towards Victor who was just passing by him. Though both his father and the other guards in the room made exclamations at the guards foolish actions they made no movements, as they knew what was going to happen. As the man cocked the gun, Victor went into motion. He pivoted on one foot, turning with a swiftness one wouldn¡¯t expect from someone his size. He swung his right arm knocking arm of the man hold the gun towards the ground before he grasped it hold it in place. He then kicked out with a leg, directing it towards the back of the man¡¯s kneecap, both a sickening crunch and a piercing scream could be heard as the foolish man felt it in full. He then twisted the arm holding the gun back and wrenched it upwards with his great strength nearly wrenching the arm off, but merely dislocating it. The poor soul fell to the ground as Victor released him; the fool was barely conscious and twitching. He turned back towards the door and spoke over his shoulder coldly saying. ¡°Deal with him how you wish, I am leaving.¡± He then left the room full with the doors closing behind him. His father sighed and returned to his seat, as he gestured away with one arm, leaving his men to exit the room and dispose of the fool. As Victor left his father¡¯s house, he paused as he heard an accented voice speak. ¡°Still as ruthless as ever, huh Vic?¡± Victor responded to the other man without turning back, though his voice was not quite as cold as it was when he left his father¡¯s office. ¡°What do you want Sebastian?¡± The elderly butler walked in front of Victor revealing his smaller seemingly frail form, before he responded. ¡°I want nothing in particular, just wanted to tell you to be careful, and to keep her safe, as always.¡± Victor¡¯s response was a snort, before he walked past the British man, while giving a near imperceptible nod towards him. After he left the estate he turned off of the road that led to the massive mansion. He walked into the city proper and away from the somewhat secluded estate. That place was not his Father¡¯s true home, but one of many places he had scattered throughout the Country and the world, to a lesser extent. He walked past several small stores and into a series of adjacent alleyways. He paused for a moment as his body shuddered, involuntarily and the hair on his neck rose. It was at that moment that he heard a strange cracking noise and a light descended from the sky. Time seemed to freeze as the Light enveloped him, then the pain started. Victor was no stranger to pain, he was actually rather familiar with it due to his life thus far, but this nearly eclipsed anything else he had felt before. It felt like his skin was being peeled with a vegetable peeler, strip by strip. Normally the summoning process was swift and painless, the main reason why it was so painful to Victor was that he was resisting with all his being, because of his promise to Her. As the pain reached a threshold he nearly lost consciousness and he finally left this plane of existence as the summoning completed on this end. When he regained awareness, it was rather apparent that he was no longer in the alleyway he had been in, or perhaps even on earth. He looked over at a man who had fainted and wet himself as Victor opened his eyes and gain his bearings. ¡°Well this is certainly new and unexpected.¡± He exclaimed, mostly it was towards the blue screens that had appeared, one contained a message, the other contained a status screen much like one out of a game or Light or Web novel of some sort.
Name Victor Armstrong
Race Human
Gender Male
Class Divine Guardian
Blessings ???
Stats Power: 97 Endurance: N/A (Due to Unique ability, Endurance is currently Not Applicable) Wisdom: 57 Intellect: 56 Agility: 45 Charm: 49
Title(s) Summoned Hero, King of Misunderstandings, Unfortunate One, Beloved by Fate, Harbinger of the Gods.
Abilities/Skills Aggression immunity
Chapter One: The Arrival of the Heroes Present Time ¡°Welcome Heroes.¡± Those were the first words that the students heard when the light dissipated and most of them regained their bearings. The majority of the 30 or so students were confused and many of them were yelling towards the people who said that. Only a little more than a half dozen or so retained some semblance of calm, 4 of them were female and the others were male. All of them stood straight and were calm, though each had different looks on their faces and different appearances. The students were of varying ages, some were in their late teens, others were in their early 20¡¯s, and there was one who was in his late 20¡¯s, though he was a T.A. As the noise from the students reached a crescendo a guard spoke out towards them. ¡°SILENCE¡± He roared, he was the largest of the Imperial Guard present, unlike previous summoning¡¯s, there were no Knights present, though this man still would be more intimidating than many of the armored Knights. As a hush fell over the assembled students he continued speaking, though in a slightly less brash sounding tone. ¡°Your concerns and your questions will be addressed shortly, though you have to give us a chance ok?¡± After he finished speaking the Guard looked over the crowd, more specifically towards the calm students in the middle of the crowd. In the center of the group, the tallest and most athletic of the youths looked at the others near him, before looking towards the guard and nodding. At that the large Guard shrugged and walked back to his original position behind the Prince and Princess, he looked back towards the students more accurately towards one of the girls. The young man who had nodded walked forward through the crowd of students and looked at the people in front of him before he spoke. ¡°Let me introduce myself first, I am Jonathan Adams, so why have you brought us here? While I am sure many of us have some sort of idea as to what the reason is, I would like confirmation, as I am sure my fellow students would.¡± His voice was soothing and smooth, it lent his words a certain charm. The mere sound of his voice caused a few of the female students behind him to blush, though others reacted differently. The most extreme of the reactions belonged to two of the female students that had been standing next to him in the center of the crowd. The two students were both rather attractive and were both well known throughout the university. One of them was short, much shorter than many college age students; it was just her natural size. She was less than 5¡¯ tall and had a petite build, she was well endowed for one her size, but not overly so. She was a dancer, and she was surprisingly well balanced and was a championship winning dancer. She was well versed in many forms of dance as well as a few martial arts discipline. She started learning them when young and picked them up well, her only demerit would be her inherit lack of strength, though she was still able to defend herself reasonably well. She had short black hair, as many of Asian descent do, though she was smaller than many. She reacted coldly, with a mocking sneer as the students behind and around her reacted like schoolgirls with a crush. The other student that reacted differently was taller, though still of somewhat shorter height than what many would consider tall concerning the female gender. She had long curly, blonde hair; she reacted indifferently to the actions around her, though it enhanced her noble aura. She seemed like a princess almost, untouchable and unsullied, pure. Although the student of Asian descent was well trained, many would say that she, Theresa Marie Nicoletti, known by a select few as Teri or Marie, was the infinitely more dangerous of the two. This was because of her Family, who were very protective of her, to the extent that the last schoolmate to act, less than savory towards her disappeared, along with their entire family. This caused many people to avoid her, though not many approached her to begin with, as her beauty and manners caused many to be disconcerted and hesitant. One of the few to actively approach her was the young man who spoke up to the people who brought them here.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He was called Jonathan Adams, son of United States Senator Brody Adams. Much like his father Jonathan or Jon, as he went by, was an accomplished and charismatic speaker. Despite the fa?ade he put up towards everyone at the University, he was known for unsavory acts towards female students, even going so far as to break up couples or blackmail people to get what he wants. He had been after Theresa for a long time, two years in fact, but she rejected him, and has repeatedly, but he can¡¯t act as he usually does due to her family. Once he attempted to go after the other young woman, Hasegawa Mina, but it did not end well for him or his men. This drew his ire, but whenever he tried to act against her, covertly or otherwise they were prevented mysteriously. She was well aware of his actions and she has repeatedly mocked him whenever he approached her. There have been many that have approached her due to her beauty and mystery, but she has rebuffed all of them, her origins are mysterious, but that simply enhanced her allure. She was also very successful in several athletic activities at the University; this made her known for something other than her beauty. She dislikes being approached by those seeking her affections, though she has on occasion become involved with people, both at and away from the University. At least she had until several months ago, when she became acquaintances with Theresa because of some strange and unique circumstances as well as some bonds they shared, she stopped dating and becoming romantically or sexually involved altogether. Such a strange occurrence caused many of their mutual fans to speculate that they had become involved with each other, which caused delight among a few of them. As Jonathan waited for the people to begin speaking, while still maintaining his amicable visage, he looked at those in front of him. The two in charge were definitely the pair in front; they had that sort of aura and look to them. They appeared similar, so they were probably siblings, they both were young, and neither of the two appeared to middle aged. He looked back towards Mina for a moment as a thought crossed his mind. ¡®Of course looks can be deceiving.¡¯He chuckled for a moment before he continued his appraisal of those in front of him. The most eye catching to him was the woman, was tall, not quite as tall as him, but still she was quite tall compared to most women he was acquainted with. Her long legs caught his attention, though her elaborate dress didn¡¯t expose their magnificence much. The next thing to catch his eye, aside from her pink hair and beautiful looks was her bosom; it was nicely sized, but not hideously large. He mentally sighed as he marveled over her elegant beauty and the aura she carried. ¡®Finally a woman worthy of me.¡¯He thought before he continued his appraisal of the two. He looked at the man, he carried an aura similar to the woman¡¯s, but his aura was sharper. Though he was no less handsome than his sister was beautiful, certain aspects of how he looked gave him a sharper rougher look. If you looked closely you would see old barely visible scars on parts of his face, they were a testament to just how much damage he had taken as healing magic could usually heal injuries without leaving any traces. Other far more noticeable signs of his past battles were on his appendages, on an arm and a leg, to be more specific. His left leg, what could be seen of it, was rather strange in appearance; it had the same shape and even the musculature of a normal leg. It was yellowish gold in color, though it wasn¡¯t a gaudy shadeit wasn¡¯t dull one either. His left arm seemed to be made of the same material as well, though through the robe he was wearing, you could see a subtle difference between his arm and the shoulder area where it connected. Jonathan had just finished his subtle appraisal when the woman stepped forward and bowed elegantly before she spoke in a voice as enchanting as her appearance. ¡°I thank you for your kindness Hero, I am Kara, Second Princess, and this man here is my eldest brother, The Crown Prince Julius.¡± Chapter Two: The Answers We Seek and The Questions We Ask The moment she began speaking the attention and gazes of nearly everyone, not just the students, turned to her. Her enchanting and elegant voice drew much attention, but once many of the students got a look at her, her appearance did the same and more. Prior to her speaking many of the students had been too concerned with themselves and the sudden situation they were in, a few of them were muttering amongst themselves. During the brief silence many of the students started to speak up, but that died down as Kara raised one elegant arm to gain their attention. ¡°I realize that you are confused and most likely are seeking answers, but please be patient.¡± She paused for a moment before she continued speaking in her soft and elegant voice. ¡°This world is called Aethion, and you are in the Kingdom of Light, Blessed Kingdom of our Goddess Tamara. We have summoned you to aid us in our time of need. I hope you forgive our selfishness and find it in you to aid us. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, are there any questions you Heroes have before we begin the more in depth explanation?¡± The first of the students to ask their question was Diego Montoya, a tall muscular teen of Hispanic descent. ¡°Tell me Querida Princesa, uh Dear Princess, Is there a way for you to send us Casa, home?¡± He spoke in an accented voice that flared when he spoke certain words. Kara chuckled slightly before she nodded briefly before she spoke. ¡°We most likely will be able to, unfortunately we are not certain as during past summoning¡¯s, nowhere near this many Heroes have been summoned before, and more magic was used to pull this off than in the past. I apologize if my chuckle offended you, but that question was essentially what the last Chosen to be summoned asked, but it was put less eloquently.¡± As she finished few of the students noticed the sad yet angry look in her eyes when she mentioned the previous Hero while she was speaking. Diego nodded and resumed his position back in the crowd. Jonathan opened his mouth to speak, but paused as Theresa stepped up, with the crowd parting around her as she walked forward, she stopped as she started speaking, and one could practically feel the chill from her cold and indifferent voice. ¡°Though you said you will give a more in depth explanation, tell me, what have you kidnapped us from our world for and why should we even help you in your endeavor?¡± Though Kara responded in an amicable tone as she had previously to the others, Theresa and a few of the other students who were trained in certain ventures could sense barely contained anger, superiority, and disdain. ¡°As I said I would get to that but seeing as how you lack the patience and graciousness of some of your compatriots I will answer you.¡± As she paused several of the students held back snickers, as few would talk towards Theresa in such a manner. ¡°We have always faced danger from Monsters and Demons and even other countries, though that has changed in the past few months. Up to 7 months ago the normal attacks we have faced from monsters and the like stopped." Kara paused as melancholy seeped into her voice as she continued. "At first we were overjoyed, unfortunately as we let down our guards several towns were attacked at the same time and nearly entirely eradicated. We later found out that our country was not the only one to suffer such losses and to experience this strange occurrence. Every country has experienced this and in the past few months we have formed an alliance, a Coalition of sorts to defend against this threat. To fight against the Demon King, every country is mustering their forces; we have used the secret Summoning Ritual granted to us by Our Goddess to that end. Does that answer your question?¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Theresa nodded slightly and gave a cold smirk before she turned around and walked back into the crowd, who parted around her once more. At the smirk several of the guards who saw it became slack faced and just stared after her as she walked back into the parted students. Many of the students had similar reactions as even though her smirk was cold; it was still a rarity for many to see. It transformed her indifferent look into something hauntingly beautiful. The Princess frowned briefly and shook her head as one of the guards behind the crowd move forward to apprehend Theresa. She then continued speaking in her elegant voice; it lacked the tone it had when she spoke to Theresa. ¡°Seeing as how I have already explained that far, I might as well continue shouldn¡¯t I.¡± She paused for a moment as a few of the students chuckled at that. ¡°Some of you may have noticed already, but you now have a status screen much like that of some games in your world we have been told. If you speak status into your mind, or out loud it will appear in front of you, for the most part it is only visible to you unless you choose to share it with others or someone uses a skill such as Identify or Appraisal to see it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Paladin¡ªMy class is that of a Ninja--.¡± Many statements similar to those two could be heard as many of the students started to check out their Status Screens they exclaimed their findings.Many of the students were excited, as the terms used for the Classes invoked a sense of anticipation for what adventures they might face. Kara once again raised an arm to get the attention of everyone. ¡°I am glad to see that some of you are excited about the changes and Blessings the Summoning has brought to you. I will need you all to get into an orderly mob and then when we call on you to say your Name and your Class. While this might seem strange to you, it is so that we can determine what path your training will go and who will train you, so that you can get stronger faster.¡± She stopped speaking to let them begin; the first to speak was Jonathan Adams. ¡°Jonathan Adams, Class Hero of Light.¡± At his words many of the assembled people glanced at him, as though others had impressive classes, he was the only legitimate ''Hero'' among them, so far. The next was Diego who spoke in his accented voice concisely. ¡°Diego Montoya, Conquistador, I think.¡± After he spoke several of the other students spoke up as well. Many of the students were Fighters or Archers or some variation thereof. The first two to speak had rather unique and impressive classes. Unknown to them a scribe was copying down the more unique classes in secret, while another one was copying all of the classes.
Name Class
Theresa Marietta Nicoletti Frost Witch (Elemental Archon of Ice)
Hasegawa Mina ShadowBlade Dancer
Jonathan Adams Hero of Light
Gerard Silverman Magnetic Mage
Diego Montoya Conquistador/Armored Blast Mage
Tracie Bronson Elemental Archmage
Richard J. Davidson Battlemage
Krystal Jackson Beast Enchantress
Jacyn White WarCrafter
After their questions were answered and everyone had calmed down, many of the students separated into their own groups to look at their Status Screens more in depth. Though they pretty much knew what class everyone was due to the sharing they had earlier. Though many of them were in their own groups, they were small, more students were gathered around the ones who had the more impressive Classes, probably to pander to them and gain some semblance of security in this strange world. Theresa and Mina were both separated from the others, though that did not mean they were separated entirely. They were in a corner of the room speaking to one another, although they were secluded many of the students and the Guards eyed them both, as the their appearances and auras seemed to change as they spoke, the mocking coldness and indifference they had sported was absent as they delighted in each other¡¯s company. Unknown to this group of students they were not the only beings summoned this day, nor were they the only ones that were summoned recently. In adjacent and nearby Kingdoms, similar summoning rituals were taking place at the same time. Nor were all these rituals were the same though, nor were the people summoned by them. Centuries later this series of summoning¡¯s would be known as the Dawn of the Chosen. It would mark the dawn of a new Era for Aethion, though it would not be all fun and games for all those involved. That however is a long story for another time. Chapter Three: Feasting and Sleeping Quarters Boredom was starting to set in when a large armored Knight entered the sanctum they were in and walked towards the Princess and the Head Guard. He bent down and whispered to the Princess, shortly afterwards she stood up and addressed the Chosen. ¡°I thank you for your patience and graciousness. Your quarters have been set up and are ready for you. First though, let¡¯s eat, unfortunately I may not be joining you, there is something I must oversee personally. You will be allowed some freedom to roam about the Castle, but each of you will be accompanied by a guard to some of the locations and after you get done eating," She paused in her speech as she gestured towards the large heavily built and just as heavily armored knight that had just entered. "Brutus, here, will hand you Artefacts that will let us keep track of you and your condition. ¡° She paused as the students erupted into disgruntlement; she raised her hand as she did before silencing them. ¡°While I realize that this may be considered an invasion of privacy to you, it is unfortunately a necessity. You see years ago with our first summoning, as the Hero neared completing his mission he did something that caused many problems to the kingdom, and the Goddess herself was forced to kill him.¡± Several of the students frowned at that, and a few others were thinking it was a lie. Kara finished speaking and turned away elegantly and left the room with the Head Guard, who spoke up earlier following her out. The eyes of the students, most of who had just stood back up, followed Kara briefly before they turned to the large Knight, Brutus who had just stepped forward as the other two left. He spoke in a surprisingly smooth and mellow voice from one of his size and appearance. ¡°If you Ladies and Gentlemen would be so kind as to follow me out, we will now be heading to the Dining Hall.¡± He then turned around and walked away with the students starting to follow behind. As they left the summoning room the guards who were still in there, as well as a few hidden guards left the room and followed behind the group for a moment. As the group advanced towards their destination they lost a few of the guards who had been following branched off and went to different areas. The corridors they went through were stonework; they were similar to hallways of the same nature in medieval castles. Some of the hallways had tapestries and paintings lining them as well as other things. Other parts of the hallways were bare, but they had wooden stands in front of them, usually with some antique or other ornamental piece on them. It took them some time, but they eventually left the lower levels of the Castle and reached the Dining Hall. The moment the students reached the hall many of them stopped abruptly and inhaled in awe at the sight of the doors alone. They were massive in size, and were extremely ornate; next to them adjacent to the walls were large wooden pillars of the same enchanting shade as the doors themselves. They were intricately carved with many scenes; some invoked a sense of majesty, while others made people feel awestruck. When they regained themselves and entered the feelings only magnified. The room was large, even larger than the room they were in when they were first summoned not long ago. It was rectangular in shape and was mostly stone, but there was wood of the same beautiful shade as all of the doors leading into the Hall. Each corner of the room had a square wooden pillar that extended towards the ceiling, and it met with an open rafter type area, with wood of the same type as is used elsewhere throughout the room. Along the walls there were similar supports laid into the stone, enhancing and complimenting the look of the room. In the center of the room there was a large table, it was circular in shape, but had an open center. There was also a portion of the table that was open to allow servers to come into the center of the table for easy serving of the people around it. The table was one they specially bring out when there are to be large amounts of guests to be served in this Dining Hall. This Hall as not the one used to entertain guests of vital importance, but it was still used for guests that held some stature. Usually it served as the entertainment and Dining Hall for the entourages and accompanying attendants of the truly important visiting dignitaries.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. This practice originally came about from the fact that centuries ago attendants and soldiers accompanying the previously mentioned diplomats would often take offence at the vaguest slight and things often got messy. The truly important guests would still be allowed to bring their own personal guards obviously, but the majority of their attendants would be elsewhere and they would be kept entertained so that a war would not be started due to a misconstrued insult towards someone¡¯s hairstyle. Though this practice did hold risk for those visiting, it still has worked well for the most part, during its centuries of use. Brutus took a position at the wall on the side of the room opposite of the entrance the Heroes entered from. He spoke up as everyone entered the room; his deep melodic voice rebounded about the Hall ensuring he was heard by all. ¡°Thank you for your patience, I realize this has probably been a trying day for you all. The serving staff will be in here shortly to bring you refreshments and food, but first take a seat.¡± It was as if the absence of his voice was the ripple caused by a pebble dropping into a still pool, everyone moved swiftly towards a seat. Surprisingly there were more than enough seats for everyone at the massive table; there were even some places open. As everyone got settled the maids and butlers arrived, many of them were carrying trays, laden with drink and a few holding bread and similar foodstuffs. They were all of different heights and skin colors, but there was a commonality to them all, each and everyone one of them was beautiful or handsome in a way, in short they were all rather attractive, but not excessively so. Everyone became silent as the staff lined up against the wall and waited. Shortly after the numerous servants took their positions an exceedingly beautiful woman in a maid uniform entered the room. She had shoulder length blonde hair, the color of sunshine; it was luxurious and appeared to be soft and well kept. While the woman was not exceedingly tall, she wasn¡¯t excessively short either, her body was curvy but she wasn¡¯t too voluptuous as some women tended to be. Simply put, her body could be considered perfect, or nearly so for a Mortal, her appearance as well as her skills were the reasons why she was kept in employment and not the mistress or slave of some lecherous noble. She spoke up in a somewhat commanding but accented voice. ¡°I am Matti the Head Maid. I am in charge of the servants here. To start everyone will get a beverage, alcoholic or otherwise, if you want to keep to your world¡¯s rules concerning drinking age do so if you wish. After the beverages are served different dishes shall be sat on the table and you will be served. In the center of the table, in the open space, there will be servants stationed to assist with dishing up your meals. The rest will be along the walls and if you need their assistance raise a hand and you will be attended to. Enough with my speaking you can begin.¡± After she finished speaking she turned on a heel and went towards the head of the room and waited. Soon enough everyone had their preferred beverages, most had water or fruit juice though a few had a sort of ale, while fewer still had wine or the like. Shortly after everyone had gained their drinks the servants departed and another group returned and with them came an assortment of tantalizing fragrances. There were many types of dishes being served, some were commonly seen such as roast chicken or sides of beef, others were rarer in this world, there were crude pizzas being served as well as other similar Earth dishes. During the previous heroes era the Kingdom of light had developed and experimented with many recipes and the like from Earth. They all enjoyed themselves immensely, a few of the less morally upright students flirted with and groped a few of the servants, but that was not a strange occurrence to them, it was pretty much in their job description. As the feast dragged on many of the students became drowsy, the drowsiness was not one of an artificial nature caused by drugs or magic, but one caused by great food and good company. As the festivities finished up the tables got cleaned and the students were led to their new quarters. The ones who had the more impressive and useful Classes were given the more sumptuous and luxurious quarters and the best attendants in terms of skill and appearance. It took some time to get everyone settled as a few were unsatisfied with their temporary servants or wished to share quarters or exchange them. There were few who did the latter; the only ones who did that were the rare couple or siblings, though one pairing was of friends. That room was Theresa¡¯s and Mina¡¯s, though they weren¡¯t extremely close, they were still close enough to do that, that and the fact that they knew things about each other that could not be shared with others were the reasons for the decision thetwo of them made. As everyone got settled in the Guards patrolled the Hallways around their quarters to ensure they stayed safe and in their quarters. Despite their impressive vigilance they did not catch the shadowy near invisible figure leaving a certain room. Chapter Four: Suspicion and Revelations (And Poll) Soon after the Guards checked on the Heroes to make sure they were all sleeping one of them went to find the Head Guard. He found the Head Guard and reported to him briefly about the fact that all of the heroes were asleep. The Head Guard spoke briefly ¡°Good, I will report this to her Highness, for now return to your post and keep your eyes open.¡± The other Guard nodded and left returning to the hallway that many of the Heroes Quarters were located. The Head Guard left where he had been and made his way to where he knew the Princess was. She was in the quarters of the King, her father; he paused and slowed in his approach when he heard her speaking softly. ¡°Hello Father, we summoned a new batch of heroes today, there are a few who might be a match for him, but it is worrying as the names of one of the Summoned is identical to the name of someone he held dear. That being said, one of them has a class that could be particularly useful in the upcoming battles, a WarCrafter. They could perhaps replace my dear sister in the hearts of our army, as despite her death, some are still loyal to her, though we have been weeding them out.¡± The Head Guard entered as she finished speaking so as to not be too rude. For a time the shadowy figure simply wandered about the Castle. They did not do anything in particular they just wandered. They went all over; they went through one of the other Dining Halls and came out near the Kings Quarters. They happened to arrive not long before the Head Guard did and they heard what the Princess had said. They decided to stay while the man was giving his report to the Princess. ¡°They are all down and I have men watching them now.¡± ¡°Very good¡± she replied with genuine gladness evident in her voice. For the next while they spoke of menial things for the most part. The content varied from the efficiency of the servers to which servants would be granted and possibly sacrificed to which Heroes. From there they went on to discuss the training schedule that the Heroes would face in the coming days. The Shadowy figure began to leave seeing as how they were discussing nearly irrelevant things as far as it was concerned. The figured stopped however as the tone of the discussion the two in the room had been having changed suddenly. ¡°Milady will we go see Him again?¡± the Head Guard spoke these words hesitantly. The Princess responded with a sigh and stood up as she responded. ¡°Sure, with the information we got today I may be able to get a response out of the bastard.¡± The figure that had been following the Guard and the Princess stealthily crept behind them, while leaving little trace of their presence. The duo and their stealthy pursuer made their way into the lower levels of the Castle, where the castle¡¯s Dungeon was located. It wasn¡¯t a normal dungeon found in castles, but a Dungeon, a construct created from massive concentrations of Magic and what fuels it. This one was unique as it was created from a Dungeon Core granted to the kingdom, by Tamara their Patron Goddess. It was created years ago to house a being of great power, the Kingdom had tricked the being into the Dungeon and it had remained there since. The duo paused as they reached a large door made of iron, it filled the hallway and was solid except for a small area near the top that was open, but blocked with vertical bars. They paused as they approached it and the large Head Guard walked forward and knocked on the door. As he did so one of the Guards stationed on the other side looked through the opening above before nodding and moving backwards as they undid the seals on the door, the Guard nodded seeing the Princess and spoke to her. ¡°Hello Princess Kara, You here to see Him?¡± Kara nodded at that and walked forward as the guard closed the door behind her and the Head Guard, though that did not obstruct their unknown pursuer, who simply passed through the heavy door. The Dungeon held a far different appearance and atmosphere than the Castle on the other side of the door. The walls were stone, but they were moss lined for the most part, and they had a much different appearance from normal stone, they glowed slightly with the magic that is inherent to Dungeons and their structures. Several places on the walls had small holes and areas inlaid that contained lights, many Dungeons had such things, though Adventurers generally brought their own light sources as Dungeons were tricky things. This Dungeon however was different as it was controlled by the Kingdom, well the royalty of the Kingdom anyways. The room that contained the entrance was small, but it could still easily fit a dozen or so grown men comfortably. The Head Guard walked forward into the corridor leading from the entrance room. The corridor was made of the same stone that the entrance was. It took some time, but soon enough Kara and the Head Guard reached their destination deep within the Dungeon. They reached a long corridor with a dead end at the end of it, along the corridor there were cells lined up, like that of a prison. They stopped in front of the only occupied cell and the Head guard took a position at the only entrance as the Princess started speaking. This time her voice contained little of the elegance and refinement it did when she spoke to the heroes earlier. ¡°Hello Dear. We summoned a new batch of Heroes; many of them are gullible, much more so than you were. If only you hadn¡¯t liked my sister more than me, we could be married and you would be living a life most men only dreamed of, but no you made her become infatuated with you, even though she knew you were to become mine." She paused to catch herself before she continued in a saddened voice, which was surprisingly genuine. "It was because we had to do away with her that my father was rendered into his current state, not that I would tell our future soldiers that. Anyways I just came here to tell you that there are others that were Summoned despite your efforts all those years ago.¡± The princess turned around and started to leave before she turned back and shot a final phrase towards the cell. ¡°Oh and it seems that She is among them, Dear Victor.¡± A slight movement could be heard then all was silent. At that the princess huffed in annoyance and left abruptly the Head Guard trailing behind her. The stealthy intruder stepped forward as the Princess and her escort left the Prisoners area. As the intruder stepped forward they gasped at the sight that was displayed in front of them in the cell. There was a large man, strapped to a table of sorts that stood upright. The man was large, nearing a size many would consider to be monstrous. That was not the only thing that caught the beings attention though, the man¡¯s form was heavily scarred, though there was some unblemished skin, it was hidden under layers of caked on blood. The straps were not the only thing holding the man to the table; he was also pinned by several bladed instruments.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Some of the implements were medical tools while others were swords and daggers, as well as other similar weapons. The figure took a silent step back when the seemingly dead figure lifted its head and looked at them, for a moment they started until they remembered they could not be seen in this form. They stepped forward, this time with a bit more confidence, though that was shattered when the man started to speak. ¡°What have we here? A Ghost? No, you are something else aren¡¯t you? No matter, I don¡¯t get many visitors down here Little Ghostling.¡± The man¡¯s voice was intimidating to an extreme; it caused the figure to shiver at the promise of violence it seemed to contain. Despite that it was also soft and pleasant to listen to strangely enough, it also didn¡¯t hint at all at the pain he must have been feeling. ¡°No need to be so afraid Little Ghostling, even if I were inclined to violence, this place keeps me mostly contained and powerless.¡± The figure stepped forward once more and looked inquisitively at the strange being before it. They took another step back however as the man tensed his muscles and the straps holding him down broke, nearly disintegrating at the force put into them. He then stood up and grimaced as he removed the numerous weapons littered throughout his body. Many of the weapons were rusted; others were cake with so much dried blood that they were essentially glued to his body at the insertion point. He looked over at the figure who had let out a gasp during his actions ¡°As I said Little Ghostling mostly, they cannot afford to kill me, it would offend too many powerful beings. Anyways who and what are you and why are you snooping around this place, it is mighty dangerous here.¡± The figure opened their mouth to speak when the man¡¯s deep voice interrupted them. ¡°Sorry to interrupt but unfortunately you must have drawn the presence of the Dungeon, there are Guards heading this way. You would do well to leave now or bad things could happen especially to one such as you.¡± The figure nodded before glancing at the man once more before their form dissipated and vanished as if they had never been there in the first place. The glance had contained an appraisal, only two bits of information were available, they others were blocked, due to an apparent level difference and the fact the man was Sealed.
Race Enlightened Godling: Most Mortals have no chance of obtaining immortality or the power of True Divinity, but there are ways. Some Mortals can gain such power by being devoted servants of a Deity; others can simply become so powerful that they border on the Divine. There is however a third category, the Enlightened Godling. They are Mortals, or former Mortals at least, that through certain means have obtained divinity, yet still remain mostly Mortal. This process is caused by a Mortal channeling Divine powers of a certain magnitude for a long period of time, years. They are very rare as even if the Mortals mind and body remain intact many Deities grow jealous and angry at what they perceive as a mortal gaining godly powers through none of the hardships they had to go through to gain their vast powers.
Class Divine Guardian: An extremely rare and versatile defensive Class, granted by the Gods, this Class is rare for multiple reasons chief among them is that it requires many Deities working in concert with one another to Bless the same being. Another reason is that that being must be pure of heart and has been tempered through hardships that most wouldn¡¯t even imagine, and they have survived through them intact. The possessor of this class can not only use divine power to defend but also to support those close to them. The main thing about this Class is that its possessor can form Bonds with others, though the Bonds have strict requirements, and they can grant the other person in the Bond the same protection from the Gods that they are granted. Despite the fact that the possessor of this class is heavily protected from Divine powers, they are also in part heavily reliant on them.
As the Shadowy figure left him the man no, Victor chuckled over the shock the other party must be feeling upon seeing his Status before he put himself back on the table, it groaned under the strain of his weight. He had not been off of the table for a long time, but thankfully due to his Unique Skill he did not suffer many of the effects that people would normally suffer from for being in one spot for such a long time. Unfortunately he currently healed slower than he had in the past due to the damned Goddess and her interference. As the Shadowy figure left him the man no, Victor chuckled over the shock the other party must be feeling upon seeing his Status before he put himself back on the table, it groaned under the strain of his weight. He had not been off of the table for a long time, but thankfully due to his Unique Skill he did not suffer many of the effects that people would normally suffer from for being in one spot for such a long time. Unfortunately he currently healed slower than he had in the past due to the damned Goddess and her interference. Normally the Gods and Goddesses were forbidden from contacting and interfering with the events of Aethion directly, there were a few exceptions though. It was during one of those exceptions that Tamara set events into motion that caused the other Gods and Goddesses who had a hand in his powers to think he had died, thus she was able to imprison him in this Dungeon of her followers. He snapped his fingers causing the straps to repair themselves just as hurried footsteps approached his cell; soon enough several Guards came into view. They looked around briefly before one approached his cell while the others left to search elsewhere. The one that stayed boldly kicked the bars of the cell before speaking in a brash and arrogant voice. ¡°Oi Traitor did you see someone over here?!?!¡± The Guard then turned away as they weren¡¯t really expecting an answer, they shuddered and froze as a lazy and harsh voice reached his ears. ¡°Why would I tell you even if someone had? Be careful I don¡¯t want to have to smell you piss yourself again." Victor let out a dark chuckle as he continued with his statements towards the Guard. "Then again I won¡¯t be the one to clean it up; who knows the dungeon might clean it up automatically. Oh, never mind. Hey One of you might want to come and take this incontinent whelp away before your Dungeon decided it likes it meat marinated.¡± Victor yelled the latter part of his words down the hallway as the Guard had fallen against the wall opposite the cell and had urinated himself again. If one paid attention to the tone of his voice rather than just the content they would be able to sense that he was holding back laughter as he spoke. Chapter Five: Training: Introductions The morning after their arrival all of the Heroes were woken by specially assigned servants, the same ones that they had seen the night before in the Dining Hall. While some of the Heroes had slept well others had slept rather fitfully due to suspicions they had about certain things, others had nightmares that were the norm for them. The servants lead them all back to the Dining Hall they had been in the night before. After they ate their fill and fully awoke they were all taken to the parade grounds for something. There were soldiers all over the place, real soldiers that looked the part, instead of just the Palace Guard. Brutus, the Knight from before was there standing in the center of the grounds, but he was not alone. Standing with him were several other figures, while none of them had quite the impressive stature he did, they were each noticeable and impressive in their own ways. As the Heroes approached them and assembled Brutus stepped forward and spoke in his deep baritone voice. ¡°Welcome heroes, today your training begins, I know that some of you are reluctant to take the role you have suddenly been forced into, but even if you do not participate with the Assault, you still need to be stronger to survive, especially here.¡± He paused for a moment as he gestured at the figures around him before he continued speaking. ¡°These Ladies and Gentlemen will be your Instructors for now. They are the best available in their fields. We will get to introductions for them, but first we need to know what Classes you have and what they are capable off. Some of you may have more than one Instructor as many classes do not focus in a single field; Nightblades for example are speed based magic users, which can also be skilled as thieves, scouts or other such professions. Anyways onto your introductions, keep them simple if you would please.¡± It took a period of time, but they all introduced themselves, others more flamboyantly than the rest. Of the roughly 2 and a half dozen students more than half had classes that used magic, though a few were more specific than others. A few of them were simple mages or wizards, with a few having higher tiered magic classes, some were classes that utilized magic and physical abilities. A little less than half of the students were female and few of them had combat oriented Classes, that not to say they had no use, just that they only had use in certain circumstances. Among the students there were only a few classes that were pure, in that they focused on magic or other fields near exclusively, and what they did use only enhanced their specific abilities. These Classes were generally less versatile as a whole, but could be extremely powerful given the right circumstances. They were also easier to master in a sense, though difficult as well, as those capable enough can be rather proficient in the Class, but those with higher tiers are so rare that little knowledge remains. This poses a bit of danger to the Class user, one example of such a thing was when The First Elven Arch-Mage Oeric Kalyfir ascended to that Class. Soon after that he tested his powers and ended up destroying most of a country as well as an army that had the misfortune to be invading at the time. That incident also alerted the world as a whole that if one starts from a basic class and becomes a higher tier in that field then they hold much more power than those that start in that class. Oeric was once not even a mage, but a lowly Arcane Acolyte, but he became one of the most powerful mortals, able to match a group of Heroes in their prime. The story of how that happened is for another time however. After they all finished introducing themselves and their classes the Instructors did the same, stating with Brutus. ¡°You know who I am, partially, at least. I am Brutus a Knight; I will be in charge of most of your training involving larger weapons and armor.¡± As he finished speaking one of the other figures stepped forward. It was a tall well-built and rough looking man dressed in shades of green and brown. His face could only be called rugged, the various scars and imperfections as well as his unkempt beard and shaggy hair enforced that impression. He started speaking in a mellow toned voice that was nearly a whisper, but it had qualities that made people hear it. ¡°I am Richard; you have no need to know of my surname. I will instruct all of you on how to survive in the wilderness that spans several kingdoms. Some of you that have the talent and potential for it, I will teach you how to maneuver properly as well as a few other more secretive things for those deemed worthy.¡± The rugged man, Richard turned around, his dark green cape flowing behind him as he took his position among the other Instructors. The next to step forward was a smaller cloaked person in dark leathers and cloth, their gender could not easily be determined with a glance, though the grace with which they moved and their size would suggest a woman.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The Instructor was short, shorter even than Mina Hasegawa, though only by an inch or two. They spoke in a soft voice, which was strangely enchanting in its neutrality. ¡°Those that I will teach may call me Teacher; I have no need of things such as Names. I will be educating you on how to hide your tracks and remain unseen in appropriate areas, I as well will teach a select few some of my own unique things. Due to the fact that some of our teachings may intersect Richard and I will teach you all together, along with a few for more advanced and appropriate teachings.¡± They walked back into the lineup of Instructors, moving as silently as they did before; few of the students noticed this however. The next to step forward was a rather attractive and Voluptuously built woman in her late 20¡¯s to Early 30¡¯s though she could be far older in actuality as she was a master of many magicks. Her red and black robe tightly clung to her curves as she stepped forward; practically sashaying as she did so. She had long luxurious black hair that framed a face that could be described as gorgeous. As she advanced all he male students regardless of association were watching her bug eyed and a few were literally drooling. It was not only the male students that did that a few of the female ones did as well, though others had different expressions that varied from disgust to anger to jealousy and everywhere in between. The students were not the only ones to watch her many of the other people assembled did as well. She was the strongest spell caster that the Kingdom of Light had, she was an Elemental mage. They once had an Elemental Arch-mage in their employ but she left after certain events 3 years ago. She was a Half Elf and a descendant of Oeric Kalyfir; she also was only in her early 20¡¯s making her exceptionally talented and powerful. The women stopped and all eyes stopped with her, and she spoke. Her voice was sweet sounding, yet not overly sweet, it was also enchanting and many of the people whom heard her became dazed for a moment. ¡°Hello Heroes¡± she paused to give a short bow, which revealed some of her expansive cleavage before she continued. ¡°I am Veronica. I am not blessed enough to possess a surname unfortunately. I will be teaching you the basics of magic and how to use it. Most of you will then learn the specifics of your classes from the Instructors. A few of you will be my Personal pupils.¡± As she finished she put a slight stress on the word personal, and many of the male students visibly perked up at that. She then walked back into line, sashaying as she went, once more drawing the attention of everyone. The last instructor that stepped forward was simply put manly, that was the first thought that you would have if you looked upon him. He had a muscular and athletic build, and had slightly Asian features, though that was due to his genes, his ancestor was a Hero from Japan, summoned long ago in another country. He was wearing something similar to a gi from Karate, though it still had its differences. He stepped forward slowly, from a glance you could see the power his body contained, though once he began moving he seemed to possess a dangerous grace, like that of a Panther stalking its prey. Many of the Students followed his path with their eyes, though for a different reason than with Veronica. While a few of the students were attracted to him, most of the gazes had a measuring look in them, Mina¡¯s included. She had always been looking for a decent opponent, as she had defeated many people in fights, mainly those who sought to bully her or other similar things. When he started speaking everyone paused, there was nary a twitch among them. His voice was mellow sounding, though carried promise of violence for those that disturbed his peace. ¡°My name is Minato Roberts, no I am not what you would call Japanese, one of my ancestors was, and I inherited their skills. I do not have the benefit of magic, so I have adapted, I can use Ki, or it could also be called, Fighting Spirit, or Aura. I will teach those of you applicable for it to use it as well as teaching those of you who do not which to use weapons, but would rather rely on your physical assets.¡± As soon as he finished speaking e turned around and silently walked back to the group of Instructors. As the final Instructor introduced themselves Brutus stepped forward, his armor clinking and spoke. ¡°Today, was just for introductions and the like. It has been decided to fully acclimate yourselves the rest of the day and tomorrow will be for you guys to tour the City and get used to things around here. The servants we have assigned to you will guide you around, you are of course free to stay in the Castle, but you should probably learn what you can before we start the training in earnest for you.¡± At his words several of the students nodded, as it made some amount of sense. Each of the Instructors then left with their underlings, leaving only Brutus and his knights as well as assorted soldiers in the Grounds, with the Students. Brutus spoke once more after the Instructors and Company had left. ¡°You all can go back to your quarters to prepare and if you would like to stay alert your assigned servant and they will notify us with your plans. Hope you all enjoy yourselves.¡± As his words ended the students wandered off to their destinations. Many of them were excited to see what the City in a fantasy world would be like; they did not know how much their curiosity would change them. Chapter Six: Training: Power of Experience (Part One) The Day after the Heroes finished their festivities they began their training. To start everyone was going to be in a Group with Brutus, then as the training went on they would go to the specific Instructors based on their results. Though Brutus would be the one in charge of them to start he would not be the only one. The other Instructors would be present as well, but they would only participate in the sparring section. This was to ensure that the heroes got a feel for fighting against opponents of all types, from stealthy rogues to magic users to armored knights. This way, they would be able to at least defend against people who may seek to counter their abilities. Nearly every Class had what would be considered a natural predator, so to speak. An Assassin¡¯s for example would be a Frost Knight or the like. Frost knights have overwhelming defense, and they can also slow down and lock enemies and attackers in place with Frost and Ice based Auras and Spells. This would nullify the typical assassin¡¯s two greatest assets, their speed and high attack capabilities. No Class is without its faults, they all had their own weaknesses to balance their strengths. This was even the case for such legendary and revered classes as the Hero classes, they had their weaknesses. Those weaknesses just weren¡¯t always apparent, and usually they didn¡¯t stay around long enough to become apparent. There were some classes whose weaknesses were negligent to the point that many, the general populace as well as the possessors of the Classes themselves. This has led to the downfall of many promising youths, due to arrogance. This is not always the case, as on occasion the weaknesses are so rare, uncommon, or even unknown that it is not arrogance, but ignorance that caused their downfall some would say. The Heroes were assembled much in the same manner as they were when they last assembled on the Parade Grounds. Different from before, fewer of the students had dissatisfied looks on their faces. In Truth, due to what they had seen and experienced the past few days, many of them had changed their opinions, for now. Noticing this, the few students that were still rather disgruntled hid their still lurking dissatisfaction. Sadly, most of the students were seduced in a sense, either by what they can do here, or by their duties or other things, this led to there being few who still want to go back and to adhere to their principles. The student fell silent as Brutus stepped forwards, leaving the other Instructors behind him. He cleared his throat briefly before he started to speak. ¡°Over the past couple days, you lot have been given enough rest and relaxation to hopefully get anything out of your systems that were needed. So today your training shall begin in earnest. Though we are acquainted with the raw data and details of your individual Classes, we do not know exactly how they work or will work in actual combat or in general. Due to this the first part of your training will be Sparring.¡± At this a few of the less athletically inclined heroes groaned aloud, though they all remained silent. Brutus nodded at this and continued speaking. ¡°While we will do a series of one on one spar¡¯s to start I will fight against 5 of you on my own. I have already selected these five. When your name is called step forward if you would please, first up is Theresa Nicoletti.¡± At the Knights words she strode forward through the assembled students with the crowd parting around her like a certain sea parted by a biblical figure. As usual most eyes were on her, but unlike before several of the people, mainly the students had strangely conflicted looks on their faces. She stopped in the space in between Brutus and the Heroes behind her, as she did so, Brutus glanced at her briefly before continuing. ¡°Next is Hasegawa Mina.¡± As with Theresa the crowd of students parted as she stepped forward. She smirked as she took one step forward before she was enveloped by darkness, causing nearly everyone to gasp in surprise. She then appeared out of Theresa¡¯s shadow and took a place beside her. Brutus frowned for a moment, for a reason aside from the obviously showy display, and spoke. ¡°Very impressive. Next up is Gerard Silverman, for a slight challenge towards me.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. At Brutus¡¯s words a figure shoved his way through the crowd, with less politeness than the two before him. The only word that could describe how the man looked was Punk, crossed with an avid piercing enthusiast. He wore dark clothes that went with his equally dark eyes and hair, though his hair did have a streak of color through it. That was not the thing that made him truly noticeable however; he was clad in numerous piercings all over. He was of slightly above average height, but aside from that he would be nearly average in all aspects if not for his piercings and actions. As he became clear of the crowd he put both his hands in the pockets of his hoodie which was dark blue and black. He walked leisurely the short distance to where the two girls were standing and stopped. He spoke in a carefree sounding voice. ¡°I am sorry for my lack of a flashy or noticeable entrance. I lack the uh Showmanship of a few of my compatriots.¡± Though his words seemed mellow enough, those familiar with him would be able to sense the hidden barbs in his statement, as well as whom they were directed at. ¡°Richard Davidson step forward please.¡± At Brutus¡¯ words a thin nearly unnoticeable teen stepped forward. He wore thick rimmed glasses, but unlike the stereotypical geek or nerd his skin was unblemished. Though he seemed weak, he had a strange Aura about him, despite his appearance; his class was one that combined magic and close quarters combat, a Battlemage. As he took his place beside the other three he nodded politely towards Brutus, but remained largely silent. Though Richard seemed innocuous and harmless at first glance he was probably one of the most dangerous people in their school if you angered him. Brutus called out the final name. ¡°Lastly Diego Montoya step forward with the rest of us.¡± The Crowd parted around him as he moved forward suavely, if such a thing was possible. He winked towards one of the female servants present and she blushed. Diego was of Hispanic descent and by all accounts was an accomplished ladies¡¯ man, but had more integrity than many so called players. For being only in his 20¡¯s he was rather robustly built, but his build still paled against those possessed by many present as well as several students not present. As Diego took his place next to the other Heroes called up, Brutus spoke up. ¡°You all probably recognize these five as being among those who had the more powerful Classes, this was not on accident. They probably possess the most potential among you. These five were chose to have a somewhat balanced party. I will not be in charge of the Hero of Light¡¯s training, and most of the others don¡¯t have the right circumstances to be combat viable yet.¡± At his words several of the Heroes frowned, but they accepted his words none the less. Brutus looked at the five Heroes he had called up for a moment before he broke the brief silence that had been created. ¡°I will give you 5 some time to become acquainted with one another¡¯s abilities. Be aware that this will not always be the case however, during the sparring we may throw you together randomly and not allow you the time to acclimate yourselves, such things may happen on the field of battle.¡± He then turned around and walked the short distance back to where the other Instructors were. After several minutes of discussion and debate amongst the five heroes Brutus stepped forward once more and spoke. ¡°That should be enough time for now. Everyone clear out of the immediate area, as this may get a bit messy.¡± He paused for a moment to let everyone but himself and the heroes to move to the edges of the Parade Grounds. ¡°NOW BEGIN!!!¡± At his shout he drew the large broadsword from his back and took a position. As he did so the Heroes burst into action, Gerard held one hand out with his palm up as several of his piercings detached themselves from his body and flew towards the unprotected visage of the Knight. Richard¡¯s body was covered in a light blue Aura as he burst forward at high speeds towards Brutus. The Knight twitched as he blocked the initial strike of Gerard¡¯s metal piercings. Mina who had vanished as the fight started appeared out of Knights large shadow, swinging a dark dagger that seemed to be made of shadows. Theresa gave a cold look and raised one hand as a large spike of ice formed and flew towards Brutus. In front of the Knight a dust cloud arose as Diego threw a blast spell at ground in front of him, obscuring his vision. Chapter Seven: Training: Power of Experience (Part Two) As the cloud of dust rose in front of him Brutus raised an armor covered forearm to prevent the dust from obscuring his vision in a more harmful way. Brutus stumbled back as the Ice Spike from Theresa impacted against the shield on his raised arm. He stumbled back into Mina¡¯s Shadow Blade; it impacted against his armor, but dissipated soon after. It left a much defined scratch on his silvery armor, marring the once pristine surface. Just as he was regaining his footing, Richard¡¯s aura clad form broke through the dust, dissipating it further, before it struck him. Mina stumbled and froze, as Brutus¡¯s massive, armored form, fell backwards towards her. She was only frozen for a moment however, until a determined look crossed her face and she stepped backwards into her shadow, vanishing and reappearing near Theresa. Richards form rebounded swiftly after striking off of Brutus¡¯s armored form. He landed on the ground, before kicking off the ground to throw himself backwards; he retook his position by the others. Just as Brutus was about to thud against the dirt on the ground, time seemed to stop, literally. The dust around him compacted into a ring, which started to revolve around him, faster and faster. His body seemed to levitate for a moment, before he moved his arms to his sides with blinding speed, before pushing himself up. Brutus spoke up as he landed back to a standing position. ¡°Not bad, for being paired together for such a short while. That being said, you could use a lot of improvements, such a-¡° His statement was interrupted by Richard saying something. ¡°Uh sir, I don¡¯t know if you noticed, which you should have, being the recipient of that ass-kicking, but we just handed your butt to you.¡± At his not so innocent statement, the others who had fought, as well as a few of the other Heroes nodded and voiced their assent, well some of them. Theresa and Mina, both were aware that it had been too easy, not that they had not done a good job. Brutus Smirked before he replied. ¡°Oh, really? Well I was going to take it easy on you for a bit, though I suppose I can show you the difference between us as you are now.¡± He walked away until he was a suitable distance away, then he turned back around and made a gesture signifying them to come at him. This fight began in much the same way the previous one did, Gerard raised a hand and the Piercings that had fallen, meters in front of Brutus, rose up and came hurtling towards the Knight. Theresa extended both arms and a multitude of Ice Spikes formed around her and flew towards Brutus. Mina patted Theresa on the back before vanishing into a shadow and appearing behind Brutus. This time Diego, much like Theresa sent a flurry of Magical explosions towards the massive Knight. Some of them hit the ground, kicking up more dust, others went towards Brutus himself. Richard appeared above Brutus, clad in his aura, and sent a leg swinging downwards at Brutus, the air whistling as he did so. Mina sent a slash of darkness towards Brutus¡¯s back, right at the area her blade scratched previously. Just as it looked like the Heroes would be victorious, it all changed. As the numerous projectiles were about to him he calmly raised his shielded arm before making a downward slamming motion with it. A corona of light emanated from it, making the shield larger, as he did this Brutus gave a smile before yelling. ¡°Bulwark of Light.¡± At his words the corona of light expanded around him. A pillar of Light extended from him into the sky, it expanded swallowing all the attacks. When it disappeared, there was a crater around him and no remnants could be seen of the attacks, feet away lay Richard, a gentle steam rising from his prone form.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. While the Heroes in the Kingdom of Light were ending their first True sparring match, they were being watched in a sense. In one of the nearby Countries a young Japanese man was standing atop an impressive mountain and he was currently gazing towards the Kingdom of Light as he had sensed something peculiar not long ago. The youths name was Ryuuhiko Akagawa, he was raised in the US, so his name was arranged first name last name as was per Western customs. His name had had a rather pretentious meaning, it meant Dragon Prince of the Red River, or that was one meaning of it, it was the one he used, and he was like his name, arrogant, pretentious, and noble. His arrogance was not underserved however, especially in this world. Even before he became the strongest current hero in Aethion he was rather exceptional, he was greatly skilled in athletic venues and was exceptionally charismatic as well, and his background was also nothing to sneeze at. While not that well known the Akagawa¡¯s had stock in nearly every major company and had ties to many politicians throughout the world, giving them much influence. When he was Summoned Ryuuhiko had stats surpassing any of the other Heroes overall and they were greater than those that the strongest warrior in the Drakon Kingdom possessed. It was named as such due to the incidents that lead to its founding millennia ago. A Hero, one of the first to ever be summoned from Earth, was a Samurai, as well as the Grandson of Nobunaga Oda, called Nobuatsu Oda. He possessed no magic or anything and succeeded in his quest using only his Blade and his immense physical abilities, they were a Gift from Dib¡¯hur Var¡¯tash God of Destruction. His existence on Earth was kept secret, as he was the Twin of the Heir of the clan at the time. Due to how things were done he was exiled after a time, and he eventually became a Samurai under a different name until he suddenly disappeared. He along with his companions founded what would eventually become the Drakon Kingdom. Ryuuhiko¡¯s name as well as his Class has led to him being well favored in the kingdom. His Class was Dragon Knight, which was rare as a Class, but it was his not exceptionally strong, but it was with him due to two Titles granted to him by a Dragon God, of which there are 5. One Title was Herald of the Dragon God, which strengthens all actions with and against Dragons and their Kin. The other Title was Dragon Prince, which causes most Dragons and Dragon-kin to be subservient towards him or to be hesitant to attack him, it does not affect all Dragons however, and many above a certain level of power would be unaffected or may even react hostilely towards him. While Victor languished in his cell, and the Various Chosen and Heroes went about their duties, in the ruins of a dungeon located in the Kingdom of Light movements were happening. In the Bottom floor, a massive room decorated akin to a throne Room, a female figure seated on the Throne rose up languidly. She stretched her elegant form, reveling in the sensation. She opened her crimson eyes and gave a little smirk as she mumbled aloud the words. ¡°So it begins.¡± Interlude: The Shadows Beneath the Light It was the third day of Sparring, the training for the day had just ended not too long ago. Within a secret chamber several of the influential people of the Kingdom were meeting. They were discussing the Heroes, though they were currently weak, they still held promise. The room was set up much like a modern office would be, but obviously without the modern amenities. The Princess was seated at the front of the room; the others were seated in front of her. She opened her mouth and spoke in her elegant and charming voice. ¡°I have called you all here to discuss the Heroes. We have hooks in many of them, due to certain actions taken when they were in the Town. However a few of them will not be so easy to coerce. Chief among them are the Ice Witch, Theresa Nicoletti and the girl name Mina. We believe the two of them have possible connections to Him, the former hero, but we are not sure. The Ice Witch seems to not suspect anything, which is good, but we believe that the other might be the ghost that has been frequenting the Dungeon; it is her or the Ninja. Any suggestions on how we should deal with her? Do not worry about speaking your minds here, I have had Veronica and the others enchant this room so as to prevent such things.¡± The others in the room tossed around many ideas. They varied from executing her and making it look like an accident or assassination from the Demons to simply adding certain magicks that would restrict her actions in the castle. The discussions were getting heated when the Princess spoke up once more, her elegant voice silencing them. ¡°While those are certainly good ideas, we cannot just kill her, or make it look like an accident or that the Demons did it. We have guaranteed them safety within these walls, we could lose those we have coerced if one of their peers goes missing or is mysteriously assassinated.¡± She stood up then, and started pacing, elegantly, the dress she was wearing caught the eyes of the men in the room, most of whom were old enough to be her father, easily. ¡°No, I have already thought of something we could do.¡± She paused as she sat down once more. ¡°I assume you have all heard of the Dragon Prince?¡± At her words the others in the room began nodding. ¡°It seems that he has a certain thing for those of his nationality or that look like it. In a few months when they go on their first training run through the Forest, we shall set things in motion.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. She paused to level her gaze at the others before she continued. ¡°She shall disappear, making it look like an accident, and hopefully, if the Goddess Favors us, which she should considering we are ridding her Kingdom of one who carries the Blighted Darkness, after a few months of training, she will be suitable for being sent to him.¡± She stood up again and stretched sensuously as she continued. ¡°This way we will rid us of a nuisance while also gaining ourselves an ally of sorts for when things change later. This is acceptable I assume?¡± At her words the others nodded and voiced their assent. Below the Castle in the Dungeon, Victor was having a conversation with his Shadowy friend. He was lying on the table, though both eh and it were much cleaner than before. He was speaking lazily. ¡°Why do you hold such an interest in me, little one? I hold few memories of the old world, due to what turned me into what I am, but you seem familiar. Well as familiar as a figure cloaked in shadows and darkness can be I guess. I might have known you once, but I lost much when I became what I currently am.¡± The figure opened their mouth to speak, but instead gave a melancholic sigh before turning and leaving. As they left Victor¡¯s voice echoed throughout the Corridor reaching her. ¡°Be careful little one, I worry that they might know you have been visiting me.¡± She paused for a moment before she continued walking. It was just as the passageway sealed behind her that she heard some words, words that only Victor would know and say, as he was the first to call her by them. ¡°Stay safe, my little Kunoichi.¡± Interlude: Story of the Past (Part One) In his cell Victor sat up on the table he was usually strapped to. He faced the person who had awoken him, his only visitor really. Though they were cloaked in shadows, he knew who they were, or who they might be, that¡¯s why he called them by that nickname when she last visited him. Once, long ago, before his argument with his father and the incident that lead to that, he had helped a girl. At the time she was but a classmate of his, she went by the name Naomi Fujiwara. He had been walking to the place he was staying, when he saw her get attacked by several masked men. Being the protector he was, he saved her, though afterwards they did not see each other much, because she moved several months after the incident. During the time she was there though, they became close. They remained friends, close friends, but still friends. It was at that time that she picked up her training in the martial arts. Afterwards she would constantly try to sneak attack him, regardless of where he was. It was because of her tendency to do this that he teasingly called her his little ninja, or Kunoichi. He looked over the shadowy figure and spoke. ¡°Do you really want to hear my full story? If I tell you, you will no longer be safe here. They are already after you because you discovered me, but if I tell you, they will know and you will be targeted even more than you are now. What I will tell you is a secret of sorts, it involves betrayal and the breaking of bonds, are you sure you want to hear my story?¡± The figure stilled momentarily in thought, before she gave a dainty nod, indicating her assent and agreement. Victor gave a sigh and started to speak. ¡°When I first came here 3 years ago, I was panicky; I mean who wouldn¡¯t panic after discovering they were summoned to another world. I calmed down after a week or so, when they showed me the results of the Dungeon Overflow. That was the threat at the time; the dungeons were releasing monumental amounts of monsters. At the time I was pretty much the only person summoned in several centuries. Due to certain factors, several gods came together for the purpose of summoning me. It was all planned by Tamara, the Goddess of Light, though everyone but her most devoted were unaware at the time. Unlike how it is now, with there being only one dungeon, at that time there were several dungeons, of various types. Most Kingdoms only have a single type of dungeon, such as beast or slime, or undead, but the Kingdom of Light has all those types and more. The reason why this is more dangerous is because different types of dungeons grow differently and require different things to fight against. The variety of foes proved difficult for the forces of the Kingdom of Light to fight against. It was for this reason that I was summoned, well one of the reasons. Anyways, I trained for a while, both with the head of the Knights at the time and the Archmage who helped the Kingdom on occasion. After a few months I started fighting in actual combat, against both the Dungeon monster Hordes and the Bandits. That took me a while to get used to the combat; I was mostly used to protecting others, not being the one who attacked. The ability granted to me upon my arrival certainly helped though, especially against the aggressive bandit and unreasonable monsters. With the help of the First Princess, at the time she led the armed forces of the Kingdom, I learned to cope.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Due to that and the circumstances forcing us to work together, we became friends, well as much as similar aged people of the opposite gender can be anyways. Though the forest around the Capital of the Kingdom Of Light was home to many monster Warrens, there were no true dungeons there. The dungeons were mostly beyond the Forest, or located underground in tombs or caverns. The dungeons varied in strength, from Greentooth Cavern, which was once a Goblin stronghold and generally had weak monsters, to the Whispering Abyss, which housed untold horrors and dangerous threats, including but not limited to demons. Demonic Dungeons were a rarity then, as most Demons do not like being tethered to one area. Enough about that though, the first Dungeon we went to was Greentooth Cavern. Once long ago it was a Stronghold of the Goblin King, though he was killed centuries ago, by the first Chosen. Though it had been considered one of the weakest Dungeons, whatever caused the Overflow changed the goblins, not only were they more numerous than normal, but there were more Variants, or stronger monster evolutions. This coupled with their already natural superior numbers and reproductive abilities made them one of the foremost threats. The reason why that dungeon was targeted first, aside from the threat it presented, was because it was relatively small and unlike the other dungeons it was almost entirely mapped out. The first several levels went smoothly with me being the vanguard. See most monsters are inherently aggressive, they can¡¯t help it, this coupled with the ability granted to me made things easy. We did not realize it at the time, but there was a reason it was too easy. When we finally reached the end, where the Stronghold was located, we were ambushed. The Princess and I, were the only ones who were captured, the others were pushed back, though not without casualties. Neither mine, nor the Princess¡¯s abilities worked, the ruler of the Dungeon was a sort of Shaman Variant. Whatever Dark God he drew his power from let him not only block the blessings of most Gods, but to take them for itself or its servants. The two of us were kept separate, probably so we could not plan an escape together. I don¡¯t know how long we were down there, but after some time had passed, we were given a chance to escape. It happened when we were taken out for some sort of ritual, probably the one that let him steal the Blessings. They had just strung Tara up, when the Shaman started groping her. She struggled to no avail, it delighted the shaman who laughed, it was at this time that she spit in his face. The Shaman raged in anger and smacked her, he was about to plunge a dagger into her when I felt it. The anger and aggression he and the other Goblins felt made me strong, filled me with power, whatever had been stopping my abilities was broken, probably due to the sheer power flowing through me at the time. What followed as a massacre, simply put, all the Goblins were killed and afterwards the Dungeon was sealed to prevent such a thing from happening again. We became closer due to that, though not to the point of lovers. Afterwards, it became an open secret that she had feelings of sorts for me, though I did not reciprocate them, not quite anyways. Regardless, her feelings for me became a problem for certain members of the Court, as well as other beings. Normally it would not be a problem, as traditionally the Eldest prince or Princess would marry the most powerful of the Chosen. However Tara had renounced her claim to nobility and was a Princess in name only. It was at that time, that things started to change, and not all for the better. Interlude: Story of the Past (Part Two) Victor paused in his story both to take the drink Mina offered and to gauge her reaction to his tale, thus far. It was easily apparent that she was curious, but she also had a look urging him to continue on with his story. Victor gave a sigh before he continued with his tale. ¡°Where was I, Ah yes, the Aftermath of Greentooth Cavern. There was much celebration when we returned, though some nobles were disgruntled at the fact that the Princess and I got all the attention, it was to be expected. Due to what happened there, in the cavern they changed the plan a bit. Instead of simply brute forcing the Dungeons, as they had planned, they started scouting them out more. This was mainly due to almost losing the Princess, as while she was one in name only, she held the attention and loyalty of nearly the entire army at the time. In the Months afterwards we cleared most of the other Dungeons, a few we sealed, others we destroyed. Through that time we became closer, though we hadn¡¯t progressed to lovers yet. Tara had wanted to wait until it was all over. We discovered what had caused the Overflow, or what could have caused it, I am still not sure." It was when there were only 3 Dungeons not dealt with. They were the Whispering Abyss, the Elemental Labyrinth, and the Cave of the Forgotten. The Labyrinth was home to several sentient beings, ranging from Elemental Golems to true Elementals, that was why it was only watched and not assaulted. The upper levels housed primal elementals and there had been an agreement that the Kingdom could hunt and train there, as long as they did not try to go to deep into a place they did not belong. The Whispering abyss was saved to be the Last, as it was and probably is the most dangerous Dungeon in the Kingdom. The only choice that was left was the Cave of the Forgotten. Myths told that long ago before most of the current Kingdoms and Empires rose up, there was an Imperium whose name has long since been forgotten. Due to unknown events, this powerful and awe inspiring Imperium fell, in a single night. Its forces scattered, and legends tell that some tried to make a home in the Cave. Now all that was left of them were the ruins and vengeful spirits that roam the once peaceful cavern. It was not quite as dangerous as the Abyss, but it was not far off. The Cave was different from the other Dungeons, it, like the Elemental Labyrinth was a, well a Labyrinth. Labyrinths are technically a sub-type of Dungeon. Normal Dungeons had levels, which were mostly set, with some small variations from time to time; Labyrinths on the other hand were far different. Labyrinths were ever changing, even while people were inside. Once there was a time when the Kingdom tried to map it by keeping an Exploration team in there then sending other teams in to map it. However the initial Exploration team vanished, mostly, only one man survived. His story shed some light on the subject, as the other Teams entered the Labyrinth shifted and crumbled. It had started reshaping itself, this caused most of his Team fell to their deaths, but he somehow survived. This gave some insight into Labyrinths, suggesting that unlike Dungeons, Labyrinths had a set amount of space and material they could occupy at a time. Normal Dungeons on the other hand were seemingly endless and unlimited in a sense, but are more limited in certain ways that Labyrinths weren¡¯t. Normal Dungeons can be taken control of by Mortals through certain rituals. Certain ancient Dungeons on the other hand can have developed sentience and can make contracts or bonds to make a mortal into their Dungeon Master.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Dungeon Masters are unique beings, I don¡¯t really know much about them. Even after encountering one in the Labyrinth, but anyways, enough about that. Despite the ever-changing complexity, we somehow made our way through the levels. The first few levels only contained weaker types of Spirits and Ghosts as well as Skeletons. Normally, Skeletons are somewhat frail monsters, though they come in nearly as many variants of goblins do. It was only when we reached the 5th level that we started encountering traps and Variants. Typical traps in a Dungeon can vary from simple pitfall traps to more complex ones involving random teleportation traps. They can take you to a random hallway or perhaps even a Summoning room. Those are particularly dangerous as the room you arrive in will be full of monsters. Some such rooms are only constrained by the mana received from the core; this can make the room spawn near endless amounts of monsters. Luckily we didn¡¯t encounter anything like that, though once more the Princess and I were separated from the rest of the group. The two of us wandered, for an untold amount of time. Despite how it sounds, the Wandering was not without threat. We encountered many monsters, of different types, not just the undead variants we had been encountering up to the separation from the rest. The place she and I were did things to us, made us see and do things that we wouldn¡¯t normally do. We fought our way to the depths of the Labyrinth. Both of us had been heavily injured in the last fight, due to some peculiarities of my abilities and what that creature had been. It was during that fight that the two of us bonded on level that had been missing before. Though I was hesitant to use that aspect of my abilities, it was needed at the time. Despite the fact that I was ripped away from my world and brought here, I had grown close to some. The Arch-mage was a friend as was the Captain of the Guard of the time. They like many subservient to the kingdom were less than agreeable with the actions the Kingdom took. Despite that we became friends, from what I understand none of them are here anymore. Anyways, we had stopped to rest and recover outside the Final chamber. We thought it was the Final chamber, at least, and in a sense it was. What lay within it was a sight to see, there were massive stone rings that housed portals of sorts. They were not unlike those seen in several popular Sci-Fi shows, though of a more magical origin. There were many of them, they numbered beyond counting. The Portals were set up flanking a large stone Throne of sorts. Seated on the Throne was a gauntly clad figure, who was naught but skin and bone. The Figure wore and ornate crown that despite its apparent age gleamed in what little light graced the room. That was not what was truly startling about the scene. What made us pause was that from each port Hordes of monsters poured out. They weren¡¯t just the base monsters, but many Variants as well. Most of them broke off and went down corridors leading from the room. Interlude: Story of the Past (Part Three) "Not all of them did so; the strongest among them paused and bowed to the Figure. It was at that moment that we realized this was the main reason behind the Overflow. This being, whoever or whatever it was had somehow attuned the Portals into either different Planes of existence or areas where the Monsters pouring from them resided. The Bowing Monsters left and the figure turned its cold regal gaze onto us. It froze us in our place; it opened its mouth, seemingly to speak. It shook its head and remained silent as it stood up. As we fought this being who tried to bring ruin to the Kingdom, glimpses of its past flowed through both of us. It was what many would call and Arch-Lich, a warrior mage corrupted in death and given false life. In life it had been a Prince of sorts, belonging to the Ancient Imperium. When it fell, his guards had rushed him out. The calamity followed them to this place; it was then that he made a deal with the devil so to speak. When his people had started digging here, they had discovered an ancient decrepit dungeon, which was near death. He made a deal with it to become its mortal servant, in order to save his people. For a time this worked, but his people began to view him in a different light. AS their treatment of him changed, so did his resistance against the Dungeon Core. He turned into a Tyrant and his people ended up rising against him. Most left the Cave, but many remained to combat him. They defeated him, but at a great cost, they expended their life force to end him, but the Dungeon Core¡¯s influence would not be so easy to subvert. Centuries later he rose again, as the being he was when we fought. The fight and subjugation took us a while, longer than the other dungeons had taken us, and it was not without cost. We all lost something, physically or mentally, that we could not get back. After that time passed swiftly, in the blink of an eye almost 2 years had passed. I had been assisting with the reparations of the once destroyed villages and towns, when I got a summons from the king. There was to be a celebratory feast of sorts held in my honor. I went, reluctantly, but then I had no choice, Hero and Chosen though I was, I did not want to rile up those who at the time were my benefactors. He feast was sumptuous, far more so than others I had visited in my time there. The celebration and feast lasted for hours, if not longer. They pulled out all the stops; there were exotic foods and wines, as well as certain forms of entertainment. I still do not know if they were for my benefit or for that of all the nobility, visiting or otherwise. After the feast I and several others, the princesses included, were brought to the King¡¯s chambers for a private matter. Shortly after we entered, the King told me to list what reward I wished for and I would receive it, within reason.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. For certain reasons, mostly relating to a few abilities unique to my class I had asked for the hand of the Princess. The King and Cara were delighted for a moment, until I elaborated, that I wanted Tar to be my bride. That was the first time I saw Cara lose her composure, but it was not to be the last. The King had swiftly recovered his composure, and dismissed me and the others, saying he would discuss it with his daughters and the others of the Court. That, that was when things really took a turn for the worse, as while the nobles had shown some animosity towards me there was still a feigned politeness,. Once it became known I chose the Wrong Princess, the feigned politeness vanished. Due to this Tara and I had planned to leave the Kingdom. When this became known there were a few attacks on me, to no effect, the only reason the Nobles didn¡¯t publicly go after me, was because the normal peasants and villagers idolized me, as did the majority of the Army. Over time the attacks died off in part, but that was not the end of everything. It culminated into me being invited by Cara, she had wanted to apologies for her actions. I was brought to what looked like a normal sitting room, though the location making it deep within the bowels of the Castle mad it somewhat suspicious, I was confident in my ability. The moment I sat down straps appeared and I was bound to the chair. Slowly the room walls and furnishings bled away to reveal the room I am in now. The Princess arose with a sinister look and explained things to me, saying that all would have been well, if only I had chosen her instead of her savage sister. She said that it was no matter as her sister would be dealt with soon enough. I have been here ever since, lone but for the occasional visitor and torture session, until you visited.¡± He looked at Mina as he finished his story. He gave a self-mocking smirk as he continued. ¡°So are you happy that I told you everyth-?!?¡± he paused as he felt a petite, yet firm hand grasps his. Mina stayed silent, yet gave him an easily decipherable look. He broke his hand away before patting hers and speaking. ¡°I know Little One, I know, you better go. I have kept you here enough and the Dungeon will probably get on to you soon enough.¡± Mina nodded before the shadows cloaking her darkened and she vanished as she took a step backwards. As she vanished Victor gave a deep sigh as he sat back on the table that had contained him for so long. ¡®I need to get out of here¡¯ this thought crossed his mind, and stayed there. He shrugged for a moment before falling into deep contemplation. As he came out of his thoughts a look of determination came over him as he looked around what had been his prison for so long. Update and Another Story The Adventures of Steve, a Lovecraftian God Book One: Summoned to Another World Prologue: My Pet ate the actual Hero so I was Summoned Instead. There are many things in this world that people do not understand. One of these things was resting in an obsidian throne in his personal dimension. He was in his true form, well one of them, and it was a sight to behold. This one invoked Fear and Terror, he had pale almost purplish blue skin. His facial features were nearly nonexistent. Instead of a nose there were fingers and other appendages, as he breathed they moved and wriggled grotesquely. He was a Lovecraftian God, though not exactly a Great Old One. No beings bound by sanity could look at his name let alone pronounce it. He chuckled as the moniker his worshippers called him rose to his minds forefront. They called him Steve, he does not know why they called him that, but it amused him so he let it be. He gave a long bored sigh before he arose, his grotesque form wriggling and crackling as he did. As he fully stood up he gave a loud Sharp whistle, or as close to one as he could without actual lips in this form. The black stone walls of the dimension shook and shuddered as the being answered his call. A mawed tentacle made its way around the corner, until its owner appeared. It was grotesque, a bizarre amalgamation and fusion of mouths, tendrils, and other fleshy appendages, looking like something depicted in an illustration from Lovecraft. That is pretty much what the creature is, the closest direct appearance would be some depictions of Azathoth. ¡°Come here boy, come on.¡± At Steve¡¯s urging the monstrosity crawled towards him, it started licking him with one of its fleshy tendrils. ¡°Down, Boy.¡± As Steve reprimanded the being it gave a sad whimper and held itself lower to the ground. Seeing his pet obeying He praised it. ¡°Who¡¯s a good little Eldritch Abomination, you are yes you are.¡± He paused to grab its leash, an ordinary leash that looked for to small for something of its size. ¡°Do you want to go for a walk around Earth, with all the walking Snacks?¡± At the question the Horror wriggled in a way that could be construed for joy, though it was hard to tell. Amidst its celebration, its grotesque form contorting and twisting into a smaller form. It took a while for it to take the smaller more Earth Friendly form.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. It took the form of a small dog, barely out of its puppy years, it was part Malamute and part Charpei. Though this form would normally be considered cute, if not utterly adorable, the way its maw was currently unhinged with countless tentacles burrowing into it, made it much more disturbing. Soon enough its light golden brown fur wriggled and contorted as it fully took a more mundane shape. It gave a slight yipping bark in excitement, Steve chuckled in response before he moved towards the harmless looking puppy before hooking the leash onto a collar that had appeared as if by magic and putting that on the excited ball of fur. He rubbed the animal¡¯s fur before he snapped his fingers to open a portal to Earth. He gave a click of his tongue as he stepped through the Portal, the furry monstrosity followed him through. They appeared in what was the picture of a typical American street, well an alleyway off of one. The puppy started yapping as someone entered the alley. He turned to look at the direction Fluffy had been barking at, a tall athletically built man with light blond hair entered the Alley. They man froze upon seeing him and let out a scream that was girly in nature, contrasting heavily with his masculine appearance. Steve frowned and felt at his face for a moment, trying to see what was wrong. He got his answer when some of the appendages on his face started to grab at his hand. He turned around and started to shift into his Human form. His grotesquely formed and hideously tall body cracked as it condensed. When it was all done an above average in height and athletically built young man was standing where he was before. He had slightly tanned skin short spiky hair; it was a dark bluish black. He was wearing a black jacket over a light blue shirt and dark jeans. He felt his face once more and quickly pulled the areas where his face was on wrong to correct it. He turned back around and started to ask something. ¡°There is that bett--?!?!? Damnit Fluffy.¡± The reason for his exclamation was Fluffy was in the middle of consuming the formerly unconscious young man. ¡°I told you not to eat anyone unless I gave you permission. Haaah, fine just go ahead and finish him, since he is already dying.¡± Steve turned around as he felt a surge of magic in another direction, then back as a magic circle started to form under the dying young man. He frowned as Fluffy and the young man¡¯s corpse vanished, back to his personal domain. The magic circle relocated underneath Steve, it happened to quickly and he wasn¡¯t able to gather enough of his power to combat it. He went along with it, it could be rather interesting. The process was painful, more so that any summoning magic he had experienced before, this was in part due to how crude it was. IT took a moment for him to reorient himself; he was in a different plane of existence, one far removed from the source of his power, mostly. He heard an enchanting voice somewhere in front of him saying something. ¡°-elcome Heroes, may the Gods guide your path.¡± His response was rather succinct, as he face palmed he said ¡°You gotta be shitting me!!¡± Chapter 8: Training: The Results of the Spars It has been almost a week since the Sparring sessions began. For the first couple of days it was only those five against Brutus, but soon enough the others were involved. Most of their training revolved around the sparring, though heroes with certain classes sparred in different ways. The Magic oriented classes could only use their magic to attack, with some exceptions. Those more attuned to stealth and tracking had to use those skills when sparing to attack stealthily and track the Instructor to do so. Those with other Instructors and skill sets did similar things, which were suited for their powers. Currently however everyone was in the Parade Grounds once more. The five who fought Brutus originally were fighting him again, this time however they were not being as overwhelmed as they were when they truly fought the second time. They were able to work better as a team and were working better against Brutus. They still weren¡¯t quite his match, none of the Heroes were a match for their respective Instructors, but that was to be expected. Each of the Instructors had decades or more experience in combat and usage of their abilities than the Heroes currently did. The natural talent and perception of the Heroes narrowed the Gap a bit. Brutus had just blocked a magic strike from Rodrigo when he spun to the left, moving out of the strike path of Mina¡¯s dagger. The Battlemage, Richard moved swiftly to block the Knights path. He gave a spinning kick, his aura drawing a trail through the air. Just before the impact Brutus took a stance with his shield and pushed forward. The magically enhanced strike impacted heavily against the shield, though that was all it did, Brutus¡¯s stance and momentum launched the smaller Battlemage out of the way. He went hurtling through the air a fair distance, impacting heavily against the ground. That marked the end of the Battlemages participation in the Spar. He was not overly injured but the impact had rendered the young man unconscious. Gerard sent a barrage of metal shrapnel at the large Knight. While before he was only able to harness his own piercings and that only because of his familiarity with the metal pieces, after some training he could rip metals from the ground for his usage. Brutus moved his shield to block the projectiles, which it dead for a time, until he felt a force pull the metal shield away leaving him vulnerable. He froze for a moment as he lost the Shield; this moment of inactivity gave enough time for him to be pelted by the metal pieces. They impacted against the magical aura that cloaked his form like a second skin. This was a spell that was always active on him, but it only took effect when he lost the shield, this was to prevent a rapid loss of mana. It was only a temporary fix though, and unfortunately he could not retrieve his shield at this time. He felt a tingling at the back of his neck, alerting him to an unseen danger, in the form of Mina conjuring appendages out of Darkness to restrain him. He rolled to the side, tearing the fragile hold they had on him, preventing them from binding him fully. At that time Gerard sent another barrage at Brutus, this time the Knight crouched down and received all the damage. That was how it seemed at least, the projectiles were impacting against his magical shield, but not in the same way that they had before. The difference was made apparent when there was a flash of light, similar but smaller than when he used the ability Bulwark of Light, during the second Sparring match against them. The glow expanded, taking each of the projectiles with it, before there was a larger brighter pulse that expanded and shattered. The projectiles were launched from him, at a greater speed than when they first hit him. Though the glowing bubble around him had shattered after expanding one last time that was not the end of it, as the initial projectiles went flying, something else happened. A magical shockwave of sorts was released; it picked up the metal pieces still being launched at him as if they were leaves being carried by a strong breeze. They flew back towards Gerard, cutting into him and sending spurts of blood into the air.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. This only lasted for a moment as he cried out at the pain. Afterwards he drew a sizeable amount of them towards himself. As he did so, Gerard closed a hand into a fist, and the metal projectiles gathered into a sizeable lump before they spread out and formed a circular shield of sorts. He flattened a palm out and used it to control the metal, as the pieces impacted against it they seemed to melt into it. This allowed it to become larger and larger, letting it block the projectiles more effectively. Though the makeshift shield allowed him to prevent most of the metal bits from hitting him, a few did. They hit below the shield, burrowing into what little exposed flesh there was, he let out a help as he fell. At the end of this, the only two who were relatively unscathed were Theresa and Rodrigo. Rodrigo due to the strength of his barrier and armor magic, Theresa¡¯s lack of injuries was due to other means. Mina had willingly intercepted most of the attacks that would have injured the Ice Witch. Despite that Mina wasn¡¯t all that injured, a special quirk of her class and the magic she used. Adding on to that is the fact that she had acquired a Blessing, from a certain goddess of Darkness and Vices. Though the two domains may seem unrelated, she governed Darkness of all kinds, the Darkness cast by light and the darker side of the nature of mortals. This was a precarious thing for her to possess, especially in the Kingdom of Light. Due to the relatively, uh loose morals and nonexistent inhibitions of her followers many Countries dislike her. The Kingdom of Light however had a vendetta of sorts against their Patron Goddess¡¯s Sisters followers. It was a deeper sort of antagonism than they held towards most other beings of Aethion. As Brutus started to rise, the incapacitated Heroes started to recover as well. He made a gesture and his shield flew to him. They were connected in a way, but he could not recall it before as it had been influenced by a foreign magical force. Soon enough all of them, except for Richard were up and at attention. Soon after they took positions in front of him, some taking longer than others, healers broke away from the castle Guard to ensure that they were all fine. Richard¡¯s unconscious state and Gerard and Mina¡¯s injuries were dealt with in short order. As soon as Richard fully recovered and took his place among the five Heroes, Brutus began to speak. ¡°That was a good job; you guys have definitely improved since we first fought. You guys have shown excellent teamwork in the sparring matches.¡± Brutus paused and turned towards the other assembled Heroes before he continued. ¡°I had this spar done in front of all of you to demonstrate three main points. One, no matter how strong you get or become, there will always be someone or something stronger than you or holds an advantage against you, this applied to me as well as the five that I sparred against.¡± Brutus paused a moment to take a deep breath before he continued. ¡°Two, do not rely too heavily on your equipment. Even if you do have a set of Soulbound Dwarf forged weapons and armor made from some sort of Devine Ore, it is useless if you leave it elsewhere or it is taken from you. In this battle an example of that would be my shield being taken from me; luckily I had something else to protect me, which brings me to my third and final point. Unless it is necessary do not reveal all of your abilities in combat unless you are sure your opponent will not be one you will combat against at a later time.¡± He stopped speaking to allow that to sink in before continuing. ¡°However If you are about to die or be beaten and you haven¡¯t used all means at your disposal to ensure your victory or survival then you are a fool.¡± As he paused this time, shock was displayed on the Heroes faces at the callousness in Brutus¡¯ voice. As he continued his voice softened. ¡°As harsh as this is, it is true, more so when it applies to you lot. Remember, when you finally go into combat against the Demons and their ilk, the hopes and future of not just our Kingdom, but others as well rise with you,¡± As he looked over the heroes, he saw that several of them were shaken. He silently scoffed at the fact that some of them were just now realizing the pressure that was on their shoulders. ¡°Anyways I have other things to speak to you all about. The next stage of your Training will commence soon, in fact it is sooner than I and my compatriots thought, you all have great potential, exceeding even a few past heroes. I will go more in depth once these five take their spots among you.¡° As he ended his speech he gestured for those standing in front of him to join the rest. Chapter 9: Training: Next phase As the Heroes took their places within the Group of Heroes, Brutus took a position in front of them and started speaking once more. ¡°As I was saying before, the majority of you have done well so far in the training. The next phase of our training will help to; uh weed out any of you who don¡¯t have the stomach for this.¡± As he paused worried looks appeared on the faces of a few. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, though if you are not fit to be a hero nothing bad will happen. You will be given a job here in the Castle or something of the like.¡± Brutus paused once more before he continued. ¡°This will be to ensure that nothing happens to those of you who can¡¯t cut it until either you become able to handle it or the threat is ended. The place we will be going is the Forest bordering the Capital. ¡± He paused as several of the Heroes started voicing complaints and confused utterances. ¡°I realize that some of you may be confused as to why we will not be going to Dungeons or some similar thing, as is a regular occurrence in stories of your world about incidences such as yours.¡± Richard and a few others smirked at that, Brutus frowned momentarily before he continued. ¡°Unfortunately due to certain events years ago, the only dungeon accessible at the moment is one that is far too dangerous for even the Elites of the Kingdom to visit, let alone you lot in your current state. In the past we have lost far too many people who thought they could brave it, amongst their number is the late First Princess. She became distraught at the loss of her fianc¨¦ and sought to subjugate it herself. ¡°Amongst the Heroes there were a few who imperceptibly frowned at Brutus¡¯s statement, the action went unnoticed by many, but a few saw the gesture. ¡°Anyways.¡± Brutus continued after a brief moment of silence. ¡°All of you will be divided into groups, and not the ones you have worked with over the past week, but new ones entirely. Though this may seem somewhat unfair to some of you, as you have just started to get used to your current pairings, this is needed. It will help you to adapt, for when you are put into true combat situations, you may not be familiar with your compatriots and allies in the battles to come. Hopefully, though by the time your Training has ended, you will be able to easily adapt to any combination of abilities among your allies in the future.¡± He gave an apologetic look as he had stared to go on a tangent of sorts. ¡°Sorry, about that, anyways. In the Forest we are going to, while there will be no real dungeons, there will be Monster Nests and Warrens, this is an unavoidable fact. Most of them will be of corrupted animals, in the form of wolves, foxes and perhaps even once cute bunnies. This will be difficult to overcome for you, killing a living thing, but it is something you must do to advance.¡± He paused for a moment as his serious gazed rifted over the crowd, noting those who were eager for the chance and those who dreaded. Strangely enough there were those who were indifferent, coincidentally they were nearly all among those who he had chosen to spar against him in the beginning. It was not too unexpected for them to be somewhat familiar with such things, but to have so many in the same group was somewhat concerning. Then again the source of their knowledge about the other world Earth may not be entirely correct. It was not too farfetched to suspect that the source had fed them false information considering what happened in the end. Brutus only started here after the chaos involving the former hero and the Princess came to an end.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Brutus gave a minute sad frown as he thought of the past. Before he rose to this position he was one of the Crimson Princess¡¯s many admirers. Before the previous Head Knight resigned due to what he called the stupidity and self-centered nature of the arrogant nobles, Brutus had been a talented Mercenary. At the time he was not that well known and he only became a soldier of the Kingdom and started to become well known after he took part in the events that led to the demise of the Crimson Princess, who he had admired so much. Eventually he came to serve under the current Princess, in more ways than one. For a time he was glad that he had her advances, as she looked so much like her sister, whom he held dear. Their relationship changed, taking on a more warped nature when he discovered why she favored him so. At the time he had born a certain physical resemblance to the last Hero. Needless to say when he heard her call him by that fools name as he brought her to the peak, he was more than a little irked. Certain things happened between the two of them. It had changed them both into what they were now, though their true natures were hidden beneath a thin veil of cultured civility. ¡°It will change you, though considering that they are little more than animals and not true sapients like everyone here, I hope you will not let it burden you too much. As I had said before most of them will be animals of sorts, corrupted by excess mana and Demonic influence. However you may encounter beings such as Kobolds or Goblins, perhaps even other stronger Variants, they are humanoid which will be more difficult for most of you.¡± Brutus continued speaking once more as he returned his serious to the Heroes assembled before him. ¡°However before we begin, there will be one final sparring match of sorts.¡± He gave a sweeping glance over the heroes to gauge a few of them, to see if any of their thoughts were visibly displayed. ¡°Unlike the previous ones however, that took place against myself and the other Instructors, the next one will involve all of you and we, the Instructors will not be involved. You will fight against each other and the results will dictate who is placed with whom in the expedition into the forest.¡± ¡°In the forest you will be followed by the Kingdom¡¯s Elite. They will not assist you, most likely, though an Instructor, will be with each group. There will be no strict-" Brutus broke off mid-sentence as he noticed one of the Personal Servants of the Hero whispering to one of the servants present, before taking her away. The servant¡¯s older sibling, one of the Instructors, glared darkly at the sight. Brutus chuckled briefly, imagining the conflict that would happen. He shook his head before he continued speaking once more. ¡°Sorry about that, now where was I?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, there will be no strict guidelines concerning the Expedition. What this means essentially is that there will be no rules, other than to stay with your team and to do what you must to survive. That does not mean that you can kill your fellow heroes, incapacitate them, certainly, but not injure them beyond all means of reparation. As soon as a Hero is incapacitated they will be retrieved by a separate team and taken from the Forest, back to the Castle. Now if you would all clear the area for a moment so that it may be prepared. You might want to take this time to ready yourselves as well.¡± The Heroes all prepared for the mass spar, while the Guard and the other soldiers cleared the Parade Grounds. A group of the Castles magic users, Witches, Wizards and other Arcane classes, entered the Parade grounds and began setting up a massive Magic Circle of sorts. Soon enough the area was cleared and Brutus stepped forward and began speaking. ¡°Be careful when you fight, though the Magic Circle you saw being put up will limit the damage you can deal to each other be careful nonetheless. With that being said BEGIN!!!¡± As the mass combat began, the Hero of Light was doing far different things than they. Interlude: Perks of being the Hero and Penalties of the Past While his compatriots were training hard and growing stronger through their personal suffering, the one with the Hero class, Jonathan Adams, was not. While all of the heroes had certain privileges and perks, he had the greatest of them by far. He had the most luxurious chambers and his female servants were among the most beautiful. While the others trained hard, he was lazing around and partaking of the amenities the Castle provided. He was lounging around on a bed of sorts which was more comfortable than any to be found on Earth. He had just finished chewing a pastry of sorts that one of the servant girls had given him when the door opened. As he looked up 3 beautiful servants of the Castle entered. Two of them held the looks and maturity of adult women, the third, who was between the other two still held the looks of a young teenager but was still no less beautiful in her own way compared to the other two. She was tall for a woman, but was still easily dwarfed by most men. She had long curling tresses of pure silver that trailed down to her back. Her ears were slightly rounded, but still held a slight point evidencing her elven ancestry. As the three came in front of him, the two flanking the silver haired teen kneeled. The Hero¡¯s eyes brightened as he gazed upon the silver haired teen and stood up. ¡°Ahh welcome.¡± He said in greeting. ¡°You are here because I could not get who I wanted to serve me to do that.¡± He held up his hand and interrupted her as she opened her mouth to protest. ¡°Ah, Ah, Ah. You see, I have not been merely indulging myself while my lesser compatriots train. I have discovered how much many in this Kingdom dislike Elves and those of their line.¡± He paused for a moment as the realization crossed her face. ¡°Unless you want your sister to be revealed for what she is and expelled from the kingdom you will serve me, do you understand?¡± He raised his voice as she hesitated. ¡°DO YOU UNDERSTAND?¡± At his bellow the silver haired girl started shaking and nodded as she kneeled much like the other servants in the room were doing. Soon enough he approached closer to her and released himself from his pants. The girl tried to back away as he grabbed her head, before his grip tightened on her hair, causing her to wince. He brought her face closer to his groin and as she started he whimpered softly in pleasure and appreciation. ¡°Good, Good.¡± Aside from wet sucking sounds, the only sound to be heard was the faint one of tears hitting the floor. As the events were happening in The Heroes Chamber, another covert meeting was happening involving the Princess. Brutus had entrusted overseeing the mass Spar to his subordinate before he headed off to speak with the Princess. She was sitting at a desk, looking as ravishing as ever, though she was wearing rather informal clothes. That was not a problem, not between the two of them at any rate. She had been doing paperwork when he entered. He did not wait for her to speak or give him permission to do the same before he spoke, his normally deep voice taking on a growl.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Tell me, were you the one who gave that little punk of a Hero permission to take Her sister?¡± She moved her pink tresses out of the way as she glanced up at him. She then gave a sigh before she set aside what she had been working on. ¡°Yes I did Brutus. Why? Not that your opinion would matter, but tell me why does it concern you so?¡± Brutus stared at her dumbfounded; he did not think she was that foolish. He raised one large palm to his face before he responded in earnest. ¡°It concerns me.¡± He growled ¡°Because You gave one of the few people that this Kingdom¡¯s most dangerous and fearsome Spy and assassin cares for to a little punk of a Hero, who will probably break her in some way. Do you know how stupid of a decision that was?¡± The Princess¡¯ once serene and elegant gaze took on a harsher element as she responded. ¡°I know that it was foolish, but I had no choice. I had to appease him somehow, he had asked for that Shadow dancer girl, but the deal has already been made with the Dragon Prince.¡± His growl softened somewhat as he responded ¡°Still why her? If anything happens, you know her sister will be able to cause problems. She was here when you tricked the object of your unrequited love into the dungeon below. She could cause-¡° His response was broken off as a stinging pain erupted on the side of his face. The Princess had slapped him, she had stood up to do so and she glared at him. Her modest chest heaved at her labored breathing, an obvious product the frustration and anger she was feeling. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare mention him you Brute!!!¡± As the discussion climaxed, if it could be called a discussion, Brutus¡¯s frustration and desire overwhelmed him. His face still tingled from where she had slapped him. He forcibly grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her over the desk. Uncaring for the injuries she occurred as she hit the desk, he cruelly crushed her lips against his. He wrapped one massive arm around her and lifted her without breaking their kiss. His free arm swept across the mostly bare desk knocking what little was on it off. He turned her around and pushed her onto the desk, which groaned with the force used. He muttered a spell and his armor vanished, leaving him in only a pair of faded breeches and an equally faded tunic. He stepped out of his pants and hiked up her sundress revealing her nether regions in all their glory. During all this she was still fighting against him, but this was also arousing her, this was their mating ritual and had been since he found out the truth. He thrust his length into, uncaring for her groans of discomfort. Soon enough the room was filled with only the sounds of their pleasure and frenzied mating. Thankfully the office wards served more than one purpose. Update, news in General So I got good news adn kind of terrible news. I recently got a better computer than what i hadd so my pc troubles are mostly solved. I also got a better mouse recently so I am able to do some things easier. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The terrible news is recently a relative passed away, jsut after i returned from the comitments i previously said i would be away for. That is also how i got the new pc, but anyways. I will probably have to extend teh Hiatus indefinitely for now, If i am in the mood or time permits i will try to pump some more chapters out. If anyone has suggestions for the story i will take them under advisement,. Not a Chapter, an Overdue Update So, uh, Hi guys, I am going to try to continue with this story. I have part of Chapter Ten done, But I am including a poll here. Additionally, I have gone back and done a cursory Edit and Check of the past chapters, have fixed most misspellings and such, there might still be typos, as Microsoft Word and my own editing skills are rather fallible. In the Glossary and Info chapter, I have added two of the Mentioned Deities, and have added some of the more relevant Characters under a new section.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Chapter 10: Training: Deciding the Teams. After Brutus announced the beginning the Heroes froze, none of them had actually fought against the others before, mostly. The silence was broken, by Mina, as shadows silently enveloped her form as she vanished. Panicked screams and bellows erupted as she popped up behind a group of men who had teamed up, they had some of the more normal Classes. The only one, who reacted fast enough, was the Rogue of the Group, an assassin variant, with many perception related abilities. Unfortunately he was not able to react in time as a mass of Shadows headed towards him. The Rogue was thrown back by the force of impact. He vanished just after he impacted heavily against the ground, with a crack and thud that was audible. The rogue appeared in what amounted for an Infirmary or Medical center, within the Castle. This would happen, if the injuries were too severe, compared to what the healers present could deal with. The other members that had been teamed with the Rogue, panicked, some ran, others tried to attack, futilely and foolishly. The two members of the group who stayed engaged Mina. Though they were both skilled for having such common classes, Monk and Warrior, respectively, none of their hits connected. Mina¡¯s lithe form vanished and appeared, dancing amongst their strikes. Though a melee had started shortly after Mina made her move, there were those who were entranced at the sight of her dancing. It held a dangerous grace to it, not dissimilar to that of a big cat stalking its prey. The pause was brief, it was interrupted, by the sound of the ground crackling and groaning as frost spread across it. It was situated in front of where the other two members of the Rogue¡¯s group had fled. The frost was crawling up the legs of the unfortunate duo, too fast to fight off, not that they would have been able to anyways. Certain classes pertaining to the elements, would forgo the usual weaknesses elements have, towards other elements. Elemental Archons, were one such class type, only eclipsed by similar variants of the rare Archmage or the legendary Overlord classes. The sight of the two students, who were now akin to ice sculptures caught the eyes of a couple of the more senior mages. Though Ice Witches were skilled in their element, they were not usually able to show such versatility. This was especially the case when they were still learning. Witches and Wizards did not have the potential and speed that more advanced magic classes gave. Their attention was diverted as a loud agonized cry was heard. By the time they diverted their attention, the Monk had fallen to the ground, joining the already unconscious Warrior on the dirt ground. Afterwards Mina stepped into her own shadow and disappeared, before reappearing next to Theresa. Around the Parade Ground, similar scenes were playing out. They were similar in the fact that those with the rarer and less common classes were dominating the battles. However, there were those, with more mundane classes that were holding their own. Though most were in pairs of two or more or larger groups, that was not always the case.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. There was one individual who was holding his own, that student was Diego Montoya. His class was among the most heavily armored, in a sense. His class dealt with armor and defensive spells, but also blast magic, which was a sort of type of wind and fire magic, that specialized in what would be considered AOE effects. The spells ranged from being able to unleash a wall of force that would create shockwaves and push things back, to blasts of force, which would form a sphere that would shoot out in a wave pushing things back. It was a versatile and destructive class, which was known for its ability to hold its own, but was really rare. Diego was wading through the melee, a shimmering barrier around him. Those who made contact with it were pushed back, the more force directed at the barrier, the more force was used to push back. The barrier was extremely effective, but it was not without cost, it took magic power to sustain it, and each impact against the barrier took a certain amount of mana. The greater the impact the more mana was needed. This was one of the major weaknesses of the class, it had an insane mana consumption, in addition to the fact that magic attacks were only weakened by the barrier, not deflected entirely. Though it had not seemed like long, the battle had been going on for at least an hour, if not longer. There were only around ten people left, including six of the 9 people with exceptional classes. The other 4 were all on a single team, and had classes that had excellent synergy with one another. Aside from those 4, Theresa ad Mina were together, Diego was still solo, but was panting from exertion and such. Richard J. Davidson, the Battlemage, and Gerard Silverman, the Magnetic mage, had teamed together with Tracie Bronson, the Elemental Archmge, she had survived thus far due to luck and well-aimed strikes. The field had gradually been cleared of the unconscious and groaning casualties thus far. None of the remaining students were in top condition, those who were closest were Mina Hasegawa and Theresa Nicoletti, though they weren¡¯t unused to similar situations, albeit with less magic involved. The ten were standing in a circle, roughly, each group or person eyeing the others. This standoff continued for a time, and then there was movement, this time not from Mina. Diego, made the first move, he launched a series of blasts, around him and in front of the others, obscuring the view. Groans could be heard, coming from the group of four. The cause for the noises, could be seen as the dust and debris cleared, helped along by several bodies beign sent flying out of it. One, a Guardian, had been able to stand strong against the barriers recoils, but only slightly, after the waves of force ended, they fell unconscious, still supported by their tower shield. During this time the others went into motion as well. The group of three went against Mina and Theresa, Tracie conjured a series of lightning bolts that headed for Mina, who stepped behind Theresa as a shell of ice formed over the two of them. Though it held admirably, it started cracking under the destructive force. Chapter 11: The Expedition begins It had been 3 days since the Group fight ended and the various groups formed. Each of the groups of students had around a score of soldiers and knight accompanying them, only for guidance, not for actual protection, well not exactly anyways. Some of the groups, had more potential than others, so they had actual combat hardened guards and guides. Most of the groups were formed around one or two of the final contestants of the mass sparring before. Every student was involved, even the Hero of Light, though his expedition group was more lavish, than the others. The 30 students were split into 6 groups in all, the lone teacher and the T.A. had been kept behind, though they had not been seen since the second day, after the Students went into town to explore and such. Four of the groups were heading to the north of the Capital, through the forest towards the dungeons. The other two groups were heading south of the Capital, towards the more abandoned parts of the forests that cover much of the Kingdom of Light. Jonathan¡¯s group was heading towards the Elemental Labyrinth; it would help to bolster his potential the most. Tracie Bronson, was accompanying his group, her potential for mastery over the elements would be handy there, as long as they did not go too deep, foolishly. The other 3 Students within the group were some of the more exceptional among those that had the more common Classes. One was the sole Ninja of the Summoned; the Ninja could be considered a combination of the Assassin, Rogue, and Alchemist Classes. They used stealth and had rather high perception, as well as items of their own creation, to assist them, much like Alchemists could. They were an uncommon hybrid class, but still less rare than most Hero classes. The other two were uncommon variants of common classes. One was a Brawler, which was a more close combat oriented warrior style class. They were akin to the monk, in that they usually fought unarmed, but they often used whatever was at hand as well, such as cups or silverware, to great effect. The last of the students was a Ranger, a common variant of the Rogue Class. They were great at long distance fighting, but not too bad with being able to survive in close combat easily enough, against certain foes. Rangers, had rare higher tier variants, such as the Tracker, and Survivalist classes, which were used by the militaries of the world, as elites. Though they had voiced their dissent, Theresa and Mina were put on separate teams. Theresa was put on one of the southern teams with Diego and a few others, while Mina was put with one of the Northern groups, heading deep into the forest. Neither of the two, were entirely aware of what was to happen, but they were cautious. One of the reasons why they were so outspoken against their separation was because of this, but they were still around allies, of a sort. Mina¡¯s group was one was the least potential, aside from Mina herself. They were heading towards what was arguably the most dangerous Dungeon in existence; The Whispering Abyss where the Crimson Princess fell. They were to undergo a baptism of blood and death, fighting for their lives in there, in the hopes that they would be able to break free of their limited potential. They had long since been made aware of how dangerous this would be, but all of them, except for Mina had agreed to it. Truthfully speaking, there was little real choice in the matter, aside from Mina the others were afraid of getting left behind and ridiculed, by their more successful classmates, so this was a necessary evil.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. One of the northern groups was heading towards what was the Greentooth Cave dungeon. Although, it was no longer considered a true dungeon, that place had an instinctual draw to the native Goblins and their variants. The other southern group was heading more southwest of the Capital, as though there was mostly forested area around there, there was a massive glade, that held a formidable array of creatures. Many of them were docile, but others were far from it, and had bounties on them, they were variants of normal wildlife, but far more dangerous. The fourth of the Northern groups was heading more east than the others, towards one of the abandoned Borders, with another kingdom. This border, was along a massive cliff of sorts, called the Chasm, the thing is, that certain monsters have been known to crawl out of it on occasion, though it was not a dungeon, or did not seem to be one. Many expeditions, joint and otherwise, had been sent down many a time, over the years, to little effect, what groups that had returned often are changed, but they were the only survivors. Unknown to everyone, there was a certain person moving about back at the Castle. This person, was one of the instructors, she was the sister of the Maid the Hero had taken advantage of not long ago. She was an elf, just as her younger sister was a half elf, but she was allowed, despite the Kingdoms policy against non-humans due to several things, namely the fact that the kingdom had ties to her for certain reasons. She was still wearing her hood and cloak, but she was walking past all the guards, without being noticed. She stopped before one of the doors leading into the dungeon, and then walked forwards, through it. Victor opened his eyes as a magical alarm started blaring, and the dungeon shook around him. From beneath inhuman groans could be heard, and they were certainly inhuman, they were from the dungeon itself, something was harming it, which was a rare occurrence. The only things that could harm a Dungeon, without directly attacking the Core, were weapons crafted from Dungeon Cores, and divine powers, of which few were truly held that were combat oriented. Victor stood up as his cell shuddered around him; the bricks making up the cell shook at their seams. The sound of men in full armor running towards his cell could be heard under the groans made by the dungeon and its constructs. The walls around him crumbled as the men in armor arrived, they all drew their weapons as they caught sight of Victor¡¯s massive figure. Two of the men charged as a set of impressive armor formed around Victor. Their weapons clanged uselessly off of his armor, as Victor got used to the long lost weight. He merely cast a single glare at them and they all fell down, trembling, he walked past them, as the Dungeon shimmered around him. He heard the steady tapping of shoed feet on the stone floor approaching him. He looked towards the end of the corridor, to see a cloaked figure approaching. The Instructor, stopped in front of him and removed the hood from her outfit, she lifted it past her pointed ears, revealing a head full of bluish silver hair. She shook her hair out, as she looked at Victor, he hair fell framing her delicate elfin face. She spoke in an elegant and unquestionably feminine voice this time. ¡°Hello Victor, It certainly has been a while.¡± She paused as she took a new in front of him. Victor¡¯s armor dissipated as he glanced over her. Victor responded in his deep soothing voice. ¡°I must say, I was not expecting you to rescue me Kass, you must have struggled much.¡± She trembled slightly as she glanced at him; she abruptly rose and hugged him tightly. He gently patted her back before he continued speaking ¡°I know Kass, I know, but come, we must leave before the Goddess is able to react, I really do not want to go back.¡± Kass nodded before blushing slightly and disengaging herself from him. ¡°Follow me, I need to grab my sister and you might want to leave a message for your friend, I will show you her room.¡± Victor gave a nod before stretching thoroughly, groaning slightly as he did. Chapter 12: Mina鈥檚 Expedition (Part One) While certain things, that no one in a position of power within the Kingdom of Light wanted, happened, and things were set into motion, the Expeditions had made a decent amount of progress. Strangely enough, it was Mina¡¯s Expedition, the one that was travelling the farthest distance, was the one which made the best time. This was due in part to the group of around 25, making use of Mina¡¯s abilities using the Shadows. Though it was costly, it was also the most efficient way for them to arrive fast enough. Although there was no exact time limit for them to do their training expeditions, this group was the one that needed to make the most of what time they had, at least as far as those of authority in the Kingdom were concerned. Each of the soldiers in this group were highly trained, and they were utterly devoted to the Kingdom, well, certain members of it. They were members of the Nutricii Luminus; they brought the word of the Goddess of light to the masses. There were also rumors that they were responsible for the purifying of the faithless. The group approached the entrance to the cave which housed the entrance to the Whispering Abyss. The vegetation and ground all seemed to darken and dim as they approached the cave, and haunting whispers could be heard leaving the cave, though they disappeared as soon as someone tried to hear what was said. The soldiers started to set up a camp a few meters outside the cave opening. The 5 Students approached the mouth of the cave, not yet entering, but standing just outside it; peering into the darkness that they would soon enter. The jutting rock formations around the entrance resembled the crooked teeth of a massive maw of some long dead beast. The whispers from the cave picked up in intensity, as one of the group, a tall lanky woman, took a step forward. She was shaken out of her trance as the leader of the Soldiers, a shorter man, with a broad build, called out to them. ¡°Oi, not time to enter yet, fall back, don¡¯t want to lose you lot so early.¡± He spoke with a less cultured tone than most of those in the Kingdom who had some standing. Though it was not too strange, considering where he was from, his accent and way of speaking was still a harsh difference from the eloquent flowing speech most of the Capital possessed. Mina stepped back from the cave and walked over to where the campfire was set up. The other students grabbed ahold of their daze friend and stepped back from the cave. As they did, the ambient animal noises picked up and the ominous whispers vanished, as if they were but a figment of their imaginations. Mina settled down in her spot, opposite the others, with the camp to her back, facing the cave. As everyone settled in for evening, the leader approached the campfire and spoke in his rough voice. ¡°You lot better rest up for tonight, in the morning we will start the incursion into the Cave, before making our way towards the abyss. Try not to go anywhere alone, or in small groups for that matter. We will keep the camp safe, but outside it, that is for something for you lot to worry about, not us.¡± He left, walking away with long strides, surprising for one his size, he made his way towards one of the largest tents, which would serve to house him, and act as a command tent as well, if needed.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As the soldiers moved away from the Campfire, the 4 students started talking amongst themselves. Mina was doing nothing, simply idling by the fire and keeping an eye on the cave, while nibbling on some rations. As the students stayed by the Campfire, several figures entered the command tent, as the last of them entered the Leader sat a prism shaped artifact on the table. It released a gentle pulse of light, which flickered before solidifying into a sphere around the tent that vanished into the surroundings soon after. The shorter man looked around at those assembled before nodding curtly. He spoke in his gruff uncultured voice. ¡°Good now we can begin.¡± He paused as he looked at each of them before continuing. ¡°You all know why we are here. Officially we are escorting and guiding this group of Heroes, to help them bring out their potential. In truth the Kingdom could care less for these weaklings, if they happen to become stronger through a baptism of death and fighting, so be it. Our target and their main concern is the only one of strength, Hasegawa Mina, one Blessed by one of those in opposition to our Goddess.¡± He paused for a moment as he sat a map, one of the few existing of the Cave, on a table they were all centered around. ¡°We will not be acting right away, if it was just a matter of killing her, it would be simple. We could just make it look like an accident, lure some monsters or demons from the depths of the cave, or perhaps even the Abyss itself. Unfortunately they want her alive; she is to be traded to one of the surrounding countries, to their Hero, to cement relations.¡± He paused as one of the other rolled another map over the first, and placed some figurines on it. ¡°From how she fights, she will most likely operate separately from the other fools. Those 4 will probably stay together and stay in the upper levels for a while, this will aid in our purpose. She is stronger than them, and is more skilled than some of us even. What we will do, is tail her, as she descends, our stealth abilities are no less than her own, so we should be capable of doing this with relative ease.¡± The others in the tent nodded in assent before the Leader raised a hand and spoke out. ¡°However we should still wait to act, probably until the second day or so. This will be better, as we will be able to get accustomed to her actions and figure the best way to do what we need to. We have done this before, so I don¡¯t need to tell you your roles.¡± He paused for a moment before crossing an arm to his chest and exclaiming. ¡°For the Light.¡± Each of the others present did the same, before he disabled the artifact and the others filed out of the tent. Unknown to those waiting outside the Cave, within the Abyss, a figure that had until recently languished, was making movements. A figure, dressed in crimson, and with a figure most would either be envious of or gawk at, depending upon their gender. She had long hair, down to her waist, colored the crimson of fresh blood, a dark vivid red. Her skin was pale and smooth, unmarred, but for the horns emerging from her head. She was standing in front of a throne, the same one she had been draped over before. She strode over to the throne and grabbed something behind it, a massive crimson broadsword. The Sword was longer than she was tall and it was wider than she was. It was more akin to a strangely shaped shield than a sword. Despite its size and her apparent lack of muscles, she could move it about with long practiced ease. She swiftly strapped it across her back before she started walking forward. As she left the Throne room, fluttering words could be heard. ¡°Come old friend, let us find my love.¡± When her presence disappeared a raucous noise could be heard, it sound like the roaring and screeching of demonic beasts. The walls started to crumble as the sounds picked up in intensity. Chapter 13: Mina鈥檚 Expedition (Part Two) It was early in the morning when the students started to get to work preparing for their day. The other 4 students were shaking the grogginess from themselves as they stumbled out of their shared tent. Mina had stayed at the Campfire all night; she had chosen to sleep out in the presence of the night, rather than sleeping in a confining tent. She was safer in the dark, than most would be in the light of day, one of the many perks of her Blessing. As the other students approached the Campfire, Mina rose from the spot she had been in and stretched, her lithe and graceful form resembling that of a cat. Her movements caught the eyes of those around her, soldier and student alike. Though she did not possess and astounding beauty like Kara and Theresa, she had an alluring quality about her, and an innate gracefulness, that drew attention. As she sat back down, the Leader of the soldiers exited his tent and made his way towards the Students. ¡°You guys got your day of rest yesterday,¡± He paused briefly before continuing. ¡° For now what will happen, is you lot will head into the Cave to begin your training. We will for the most part stay out here and keep watch, but a few of us might accompany you inside. Ultimately however, you will be in this alone, what choices you make and how you choose to operate once within the cave, will be up to you, and we will not interfere, barring extraneous circumstances, but it is doubtful that anything of the sort will happen. That is all.¡± As the Troop leader finished the 5 students went about and stated there preparations. After some time the Students finished their preparations and the five stood at the mouth of the cave, decked out in their respective equipment. The four students wore armor suited to their classes, the tall lanky woman, which had been entranced by the Whispers, wore a set of faded, yet sturdy leather armor, with a long bow strapped to her back, her class was Archer. To her left stood a man slightly taller than her, wearing a set of scuffed and dented metal armor, a large kite shield was strapped to his back, while a sword was strapped to his hip, he was a Warrior. Next to him, stood a pair of twins, one of them was male, the other female. Despite their gender differences, they looked remarkably similar to one another, to the point that people often doubted what the others true gender was. Before they got summoned the two of them had gotten into much trouble and mischief for skipping classes and trading places with one another, confusing teachers and all sorts of other, similar shenanigans. Their Classes, were peculiar, it was not known exactly what their classes were, as they possessed many abilities, more than any other class. Additionally, their abilities included ones specific and unique to certain classes. The two of them wore simple robes, which were mixed with a leather cuirass of sorts. While their equipment was strange, it was no less scuffed or scratched than the others. The only of the students here that was garbed in anything that didn¡¯t look old and mistreated, was Mina. The others were geared with equipment from the Castle¡¯s Armory, it was obviously second gear, but Castle gear none the less. Mina was equipped with things created by her own powers. Her lithe form was clad in something that looked like leather armor, but was the color of Darkness. It was pure black, and seemed to absorb the light around it, so much so, that there wasn¡¯t even the glint of the sun¡¯s rays off of it, but it did not have any sort of dullness to that would be expected. In her right hand a wicked looking dagger was displayed, and a pair of blades, similar in style to rapier¡¯s, but were more like sabers than anything else. Unlike her armor the sabers had a natural sheen to them, and they seemed to pulse with a sinister light every so often. Mina was the first of the group to step in, she walked forth, with no hesitation in her stride as the Whispers picked up in intensity and her form vanished into the dark mouth of the cave. The other four hesitated, wanting to enter, but lacking the sheer confidence and surety that Mina possessed. Eventually they entered the cave, their figures vanished slower than Mina¡¯s had, but inevitably, just as surely as the sun would set, the darkness of the cave enveloped them, and they vanished. A short time later, a handful of the Soldiers, moved into the cave as well, though a flash of light could be seen emitting from each of them before they vanished into the cave.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Within the cave, the students had already started fighting against its denizens. The cave branched several ways after one enters, Mina went through the central passage, while the other students went towards the left-most passage. They had only been in the passage for a short time before they were attacked. The things that attacked them, were of all shapes and sizes, despite their variety, they were all actually the same type of being, Shadow Phantoms. They were a low grade Elemental Demon, but they were particularly dangerous beyond their designation, most demons were. Compared to True Demons and their kin, Shadow Phantoms were to Goblins, what Goblins were to Feral Drakes. Despite this discrepancy concerning the power gap, Shadow Phantoms could take the form of beings that they had killed and gain a portion of their abilities. They were much like doppelgangers in that aspect. If it was just one or two, even the most inept Farmhand could hold them off for a time, given favorable conditions, but barring certain circumstances, they more often than not appeared in groups of tens or more, some groups of these Demons have been recorded to have reached hundreds or thousands in number, depending upon their forms. When they take a certain form, they also tend to take on certain traits of that form. Luckily the tunnels were too small for any shape really large to be taken. Most of the Phantoms were in the shapes of Imps or other smaller Monsters or Demonic creatures. The team of students had been travelling down the earthen corridor for several minutes, when the shadows cast by the light of their torches and magic started to twist and squirm. The shadows leapt from their places and started to take a physical form. At first there were only a few, 5 in all, despite the fact that their weapons had no effect on them physically, the Twins were luckily able to do something with their peculiar skills. Unfortunately they just kept coming, and no matter how varied and skillful the Twins were, they still had a limited mana pool, even when taking into account certain, rather unique skills of theirs. They had their backs against the wall, and were struggling against the seemingly endless pack of Phantoms, when suddenly, they all vanished. The silence afterwards was particularly ominous, this was only enhanced when guttural noises could be heard emanating from somewhere below them as the cave started shaking. The four of them started to back up hesitantly and cautiously the way they came, as they did so, interesting things were happening beneath them. Mina had advanced farther than one would think even someone of her skill would be capable of. This was in part due to the fact that many of the Demons and Monsters in the cave literally could not attack her. The elemental affinity that she held, was so absurdly high, that by all rights and logic of this world, she couldn¡¯t be human. She was mostly human, still, but the Blessing she obtained, had irrevocably changed her. She had been changed in ways most mortals could not even begin to understand. Though most of the beings instinctively avoided her, others sought her out, wanting to consume her and gain her strength. The first beings she encountered that attacked her, were called Daemon Archons, they were large demonic beings, which often served as leaders or chiefs over lesser demonic beings. She entered into a well-lit cavern, it was extremely tall and rather long as well. In the center of the room stood a massive being, it stood at least 8 feet tall if not more. A massive set of reptilian style wings sprouted from its back, and large, curved horns came from its bestial head. The moment Mina entered the room fully; it gave a bellowing roar and rushed towards her. In one of its massive hands it held an equally massive Warhammer. The head of the hammer came crashing down towards her, its shadow engulfed her. As the warhammer thundered towards her, Mina merely looked at it and gave a brief smirk. Just as the Hammer would have impacted against her, Mina vanished, she reappered from the shadow of the Archon''s wings. She gracefully flipped through the air, her blade flashing as she did. She landed on the earthen floor, and as she did, a massive wing impacted against the ground as well. The Archon gave an anguished pain filled bellow, before it fell to a knee. the Massive Chamber started shaking as other beings answered the cry. Chapter 14: Mina鈥檚 Expedition (Part Three) Mina did not show fear or anxiety at the roars, rather she showed anticipation at the prospect of a fight. What surprised her however was the Archons severed wing growing back from the severed stump. Flesh bubbled from the wound as it regrew at a visible rate, by the time the other Archons made their entrance, and the once injured Archon rose again. Now there were over a dozen of them present, each of them hulking monstrosities that dwarfed her easily. Some of them were armed with weapons similar to the first, while others were bereft of conventional weapons but still no less dangerous. The Archons attacked her in unison, some moved towards her at blinding speed while others sent blasts of dark magic at her. She was easily able to move away just before their physical strikes were about to connect. The magical strikes, on the other hand, were much more difficult to deal with. They were unattributed, well in a sense anyways; they were Dark attributed, but not darkness, just the Corrupting Dark that is a part of all demons. They homed in towards Mina, and would always redirect whenever they were about to hit something other than her. Their homing mechanism was not foolproof however, due to the peculiar changes wrought to her physiology, whenever blasts travelled past the shadows of an Archon, they detonated in a powerful blast of magic. Despite this, both the shrapnel and the sheer number of the blasts were able to take a steady toll on Mina. The damage was not only on her end however, as she moved about dodging and flitting through the shadows, she was able to inflict damage of her own. Two of the Archons were prone on the floor, they were not dead however, the force keeping them alive was what aided the regeneration of the first Archon that was injured. It was rare to see this many Archons this soon in the cave, before even reaching the Abyss. Usually you would only find one or two Archons, but they would be in command of numerous smaller demonic beings. Here however, Mina just encountered a group of over a dozen Archons, which is an amount that would not be encountered throughout the entirety of the cave. This so far brief encounter with the Archons was costly for Mina. The constant use of her abilities was taking its toll on her, truthfully, someone of her power would be able to clear the cave, and even go through the first floor of the Abyss with no troubles. Unfortunately she encountered a group of Archons, the real trouble concerning them, was that they healed from nearly any injury as long as there were other creatures fighting them. They also had an aura that both healed and protected demonic beings and affected humans, even corrupting them if they were weak willed. Though troublesome, they were easy enough to defeat if there was only one of them, or even two, with a mass of small fries, with just a group of them however, it grew much more troublesome. A massive battle axe wielded by one of them sheared the air as it cut towards Mina.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Mina had grown noticeably slower in her transitions and her anticipation for the battles had vanished a solemn seriousness taking its place. Just as the blade was about to cleave her in two a mass of darkness and shadows burst from her minute form, it obscured her and physically pushed the Archons away. As the dust and darkness cleared, a very changed Mina was revealed. Though her height and shape were relatively unchanged, no real features of hers could be made out. Her appearance was as if liquid darkness had been poured over her, it hugged her form. It was one of the many abilities granted to her by the Blessing.
Skill name Description
Advent of the Shadows: User becomes not just cloaked in shadows, but becomes the shadows themselves. They become nearly immune to physical or magical attacks for a time, and physical and skill related abilities are enhanced by a factor of 3. This skill is not without its costs.
The Archons all arose from where they had been flung towards. They all rushed towards her, using the same strategy that they had before. This time however, Mina did not dodge, or even make an attempt to, she just let all the blows and magical blasts impact against her. No that is not right, they went through her, the magical detonations did anyways, the physical blows she blocked with ease. The Archons showed surprise, a rarity for Monsters not many showed expressions beyond rage or anger. A snort of derision emerged from Mina before she vanished entirely. She moved about swiftly between each of the massive creatures. Her blades flashed here and there as she inflicted one wound after another on the Archons. Some of them bellowed, while others fell down due to accumulated injuries, but in the background noises could be heard from below, from the Whispering Abyss itself. All the Archons still standing fought against her unceasingly. At the start, they only wanted to consume her, an aggressive hunger drove them forward, now other feelings were emerging within them. As the fight went on, one Archon fell after another, even the ones that rose, were of know help, Mina was unstoppable and no matter what they tried she brought death to them. As the last Archon fell down, the darkness slowly bled away from her. Though relatively uninjured, her Shadow Armor was shredded and in tatters. She was breathing extremely heavily, and she fell from the standing position she had been in to fall onto a single knee. As time passed the cave around her shook and groaned, the sounds growing louder by the second. She was not able to move, let alone escape, one of the costs of that ability she used. The sounds fell silent for a moment, and she breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly a large piece of rock came crashing towards her. She slowly looked up, her body trembling as the rock came crashing towards her. Just before it was about to crush her, the rock shattered. The pieces crashed to the ground around her, she looked back up only to see a massive sword above her. A few feet away stood a devastatingly beautiful woman, with long crimson hair, and a body that would enchant most men. She opened her charming lips and her lyrical voice flew out. ¡°Tell me, Who are you, and why do you reek of my Love¡¯s Power?¡± All around them both the groaning and shaking of the cave picked up again. Chapter 15: Epilogue (And Poll) 2 months later. ¡°What do you mean she went missing?!?!?!¡± This bellow came from Theresa; her group was the last to return. Her group, much like the Hero of Lights group had not suffered any casualties. The first thing she did when she returned was ask about the others, mainly inquiring about Mina¡¯s group. What she heard was most disheartening, what remained of the bodies of the other four were brought back, well most of them, only an arm was brought back of the groups Ranger. Mina however was nowhere to be found, no sign of her or what exactly had happened to her. Princess Kara spoke at that moment, ¡°Please calm down, Miss Theresa, we will do all we can to find her, but unfortunately certai-¡° At that moment the room was forced into silence as an Aura of Frost exploded from Theresa at the words of the Princess. The floor cracked and groaned as it flash froze, the only sound aside from that was the steady rhythm of Theresa walking forward. She spoke in her usually cool voice, but this time the inherent charisma she possessed was offset by the cool rage flowing through her. ¡°Do you really think I will believe your lies?¡± She paused for a moment as the Aura around her exploded in intensity; the air around her was visibly freezing and shattering from the cold. ¡°Do you? I knew you had something planned, Mina and I both did. I swear upon the gods, that if you or anyone of this Kingdom were responsible for what happened, all that will remain of you, any of her, will be your shattered remains and this kingdom will be underneath a glacier.¡± After she finished speaking she turned away, and the Aura died down, but was still present. The guards present wanted to act, but that show of power left them frozen in place. Soon after hurried whispering and speech from those present erupted and filled the silence as the room gradually warmed up. Soon enough a few of the students gave wary looks of confusion at the Princess and the others. As Theresa walked to the quarters she had shared with Mina, the places she had stepped froze behind her, slowly thawing as she walked. She entered their room and closed the door behind her as she fell to her knees and started crying. Since the two had fully met years ago, they were near inseparable, due to the bond they shared. Eventually she recovered and rose; she saw something she had missed before, a letter sitting at the head of her bed. She slowly approached it, she could sense the power radiating from it, but it was subtle. She reached out a slender hand to touch it, as she did it burst with a golden light. It radiated power, enough power that she staggered, it was not harmful however, it had a warm feel to it and caressed her gently. She closed her eyes to bask in the feeling; she opened them abruptly when she heard a voice that she had not heard in years. In front of her stood an apparition, it was in the form of a rather large man, even with the lack of details, one could tell how strong the figure is by the sheer amount of muscle that could be seen. ¡°So, uh hi Teri, it¡¯s been a while. I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t be there, I wasn¡¯t sure if that Bitch Princess was lying when she said you were one of the summoned this time around, I would always talk about you, back when I first came over. Anyways, hey, I¡¯m alive, if my little Ninja didn¡¯t tell you, several years ago I was summoned, I don¡¯t know how long it has been Earth time, but around three years here.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The apparition of Victor paused for a moment before sheepishly scratching his chin. ¡°I couldn¡¯t stay; I just got out of imprisonment, with help from Mina and an old friend. Tell the Little one thanks when you see her next, by the way. When I escaped, the Goddess had not caught onto my escape from the prison she made for me. I am still too weak currently to take on one of the Deities of this world. As for you, stay safe and become strong, try to escape if you can, but I will try to arrange something for you.¡± Victor¡¯s figure made a waving gesture before pausing. ¡°Ah, right, The Kingdom of Light was not the only one that summoned people like you. Most of the Kingdoms and Nations of the world did, you will want to show caution should you meet any, the fools you are currently with had had plans to pawn off some of you to other Heroes, as slaves. I will find you as soon as I can, stay strong Little T.¡± The sound of weeping filled the room once more, this time however it was not due to frustration, rage, or grief, but due to happiness. She had been trying to find him for years, even before the time he disappeared on Earth. When he utterly disappeared though, she changed, though she had always possessed a coldness to her, previously it was a playful coolness rather than a frosty demeanor. When she was summoned she had given up what little hope she still had of finding him, but now it was returned to her, the anticipation and possibility of seeing him again. She arose from where she had been, on her knees beside the bed, a resolve and determination she had been lacking before filled her. Elsewhere in the Castle, the Princess and Brutus were questioning the Leader of the soldiers, and what men that had come back with him. ¡°So what happened exactly? I am not too dissatisfied with what happened to those four, but the loss of Mina will set back some of our plans.¡± The Group Leader scratched the rough goatee he sported and answered somewhat sheepishly. ¡°We don¡¯t know, Princess.¡± He shrugged before continuing. ¡°Me and a few of my boys were in the cave when it started. The cave started groaning and shaking, like a dying creature, we were monitoring the Girl. She started fightin¡¯ against some Archons, killed them all. After that we were about to move in, when someone arrived, a horned woman clad in crimson, she saved Mina from a falling rock, then asked a question.¡± It was at that point, that Kara started shivering. It was not the trembling of one who was cold, but the instinctual shaking of one gripped by a great fear. The Group Leader continued on, not noticing the Princess¡¯ shaking. ¡°We did not get to hear the answer, as it was at that point we were attacked, only myself and one other, were able to escape.¡± The Princess recovered and spoke. ¡°Thank you, you can go now.¡± The Group Leader nodded, and he and his men left. Brutus had an incredulous look on his face, and turned to ask the Princess something, but she had started trembling again. ¡°She¡¯s back, I don¡¯t know how, but she is back.¡± The Princess was about to continue, when a voice from behind the two of them spoke. ¡°This cannot be a coincidence; She showed herself the exact day that Victor was released.¡± The voice paused as a figure emerged from a hidden passage. It was the Prince, he continued as he fully emerged. ¡°We thought she had died, this was reinforced when the curses on my wounds gifted from her, faded. I do not know how, but she survived somehow, or changed. Brutus, escort my sister back to her quarters, then arrange for an increase in the vigilance of the Guard, and send out as many men as you can for patrols.¡± Brutus nodded, but was more concerned about Kara at the moment. Interlude: The Fall of the Crimson Warrior A Year ago. She did not know how long she had been here, in the Abyss; it could have been days or weeks, maybe even years. As with all dungeons time worked differently, but she had figured out long ago that she and Victor had been betrayed. She had rushed here out of worry for him, though she knew that it would take nothing less than a god to truly kill him, her emotions were getting in the way of those logical thoughts at the time. She had left the Castle initially with a sense of anticipation, as Victor had been acting secretive but in a good way. When she returned and was told that he had rushed to the Abyss, to conquer it, to obtain a betrothal gift for her, she was distraught. She had been expecting a proposal from him, but when she heard the lies they spouted, she had reacted with anger. Though she harbored dislike towards her siblings and father, they were still family, so she had not acted upon her emotions concerning them. When Julius called her love a fool, after delivering the news, she struck out. Tara¡¯s fury was so great that had she meant to kill him, instead of simply maiming him, not even the protection of the Goddess would have been able to save him from her wrath with the aid of her Blessing. She left Julius in a pull of his own blood, missing an arm and a leg. Kara had been huddling in a corner, frightened when she left, though Tara had not noticed the glee in her sister¡¯s eyes. Afterwards Tara, the Crimson Princess had left the Castle and gathered her army before heading to the Abyss. Through much effort and coordination, she and her forces were able to clear the Cave, and secure the entrance to the Whispering Abyss itself. Though her loyal soldiers wished to follow their Princess and Leader into the Abyss, at the time she did not want to put her soldiers in danger. She advanced through the Abyss, her fury lending her strength as she cut down all who stood before her. Even the Archdemons fell before her, their raw power paled before the Crimson Warriors wrath. Eventually she reached the bottom level, which not unlike the Cave of the Forgotten was styled as a throne room. While the other Throne Room was elegant in a dark way, this was styled to be foreboding and cruel. When Tara entered the room, the figure seated on the Throne rose. The figure was unquestionably masculine, having extremely broad shoulders and apparent musculature. His name was Rahdon, and he was a Golem, though a peculiar. He was the result of an experiment to implant the soul, the very essence of a demon into a Golem; Rahdon was the result of that.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. As he rose he extended one arm and made a grasping motion, a large earthen hammer materialized in response. The two fought for an indeterminate amount of time, there was no gracefulness or eloquence in how they fought. It was brutal; they fought using pure strength and power, Great Broadsword against Earthen Great Hammer. Tara was unquestionably the weaker of the two, but her Blessing kept her in the fight. Whenever the Hammer would smash into her, the injuries would be healed, while her sword could barely scratch Rahdon¡¯s rocky hide. Eventually however Rahdon was worn down, however as his form crumbled away, he caught Tara in the chest with his Hammer. She was launched into the air, the impacted against the few stalactites on the ceiling being skewered in place, if only temporarily. As Rahdon finally fell, he uttered the words. ¡°My thanks to you Princess.¡± After uttering his parting words his form crumbled fully, and became scattered across the floor. His remains bore little resemblance to the intimidating figure he once bore. That was how the Crimson Princess Tara fell, her form collapsed onto the shattered remains of her demonic foe. Though she died, this was not her end, the Abyss could not go without a Master, and Tara¡¯s Patron would not part with their Champion so easily. She was changed, made stronger, the Abyss gave her a new form, but at a cost, she would be bound to it, but her Patron gave her power, and freedom to roam. She woke up soon after, she wanted to rush out, but the Abyss¡¯ hold on her was strong and she was still weak, that coupled with the absence of the fledgling bond that had started to form between Victor and herself kept her there. It was at that point that Mina woke up, the vivid, informative dream still fresh in her mind. She sat up abruptly and looked around at the makeshift camp she was in. It was located in a small Glade just north of the border the Kingdom of Light shared with the Elven Kingdom of Sivell. On the other side of the campfire Tara stirred. She looked towards Mina with half closed eyes and spoke. ¡°So, you enjoy my tale, Little One, yours was just as interesting. It seems the slight bond we share with my Love, has connected us to one another.¡± Tara shook away the sleep as she paused and stood up. ¡°Come, we must make haste to catch our Love.¡± Update and Announcement (Not a Chapter) I was hoping to get the last Intermission out of the way, but certain things have waylaid those plans. I am going to be taking a Hiatus from writing, ''new'' chapters for this, it will not be wholly unproductive however, as I am going to be redoing the format as well as adding more chapters, possibly.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I have been meaning to add interlude chapters concerning the students initial adventures in the Capital and why so many of them decided to go along with the Kingdom''s decisions so soon. Might also perhaps include some more interludes involving Mina and Victor talking, possibly him sharing some of his misadventures that came about due to a certain title of his. So, I ask you, my readers, what would you like to see more of or just see in the earlier chapters? Interlude: How the Little One met the Giant 6 years ago. Mina was young, in her mid-teens when she met Victor. She had not yet learned of what it was that her parents did, and they were lenient, so they did not send many guards with her when she went out. As she left her parents mansion she headed towards a game and comic shop that was next to the dance studio she often went to on the weekends. She looked younger than she was, mostly due to her height, she was even shorter then than she is when summoned to Aethion. She stood at around 4 and a half feet in height, being much shorter than many adults and even those her age. Soon enough she arrived at the Heroes United Comic Shop, she stood back as one of her guards opened the door, while the other stepped in to the shop first. After he gave a nod signifying it was clear, Mina stepped in. As the door closed behind her and her guards Mina took in a deep breath as she basked in the atmosphere. Loud thumping steps could heard before a deep gruff voice spoke. ¡°Excuse me Little One, could you move, please?¡± Mina opened her eyes, and looked up, and up, the figure of the man in front of her was tall and imposing. At the sudden appearance of the man, her guards began to enter their stances for close combat. The man was at least two feet taller than her, but her small frame his pronounced musculature seemed to make the height difference between the two of them much more pronounced. She raised a hand to gesture for her guards to let it go. She cleared her throat and started to speak, ¡°A- ah, yes, I apologize Mr? I am sorry, I think I have seen you before here, but do not know if we have actually met.¡± As Mina and her guards stepped away and to the side the taller man paused briefly before speaking. ¡°My name is Victor Armstrong, Little One. You seem to truly enjoy your time here, so I shall not hold you up any longer. I also apologize for interrupting your enjoyment of the atmosphere.¡± With those words Victor left. As he did so Mina¡¯s guards started to breathe easier, that man just had an inherently aggressive atmosphere about him, despite the soft and gentle words he had spoken before leaving. Mina looked towards the silhouette of Victor briefly as he walked away. He held the body of a warrior of old, all brawn and sinew that shifted under skin that barely contained it. She was broke from her thoughts as one of her guards tapped on her should and gestured into the interior of the shop. She nodded before walking into the shop, beyond the foyer area. The shop sold Comic books, and as the name suggested, it mainly sold Hero related comic books, as well as Anti-Hero and Anti-villain Comics. They sold some amount of video games as well, but they were the most well-known for a Tabletop RPG they created, called Heroes United. The game was complex, but has evolved since then, so much more. It spawned an online MMO and a Comic Series. Mina was not here for that however, she was here for a particular Comic Series that had been made into a movie, Elektra. She was an admirer of the character, and a bit of a fan, she often came here to read the issues the store had. She could simply buy them, but it felt more, normal to just go to the shop to read them. It also served to take up time before and after her dance classes before their ride would show up. She had just crossed the street walking past an alleyway just after she exited the comic shop, when it happened. A high pitched sound could be heard followed by a thump and a grunt after which one of Mina¡¯s guards stumbled before falling forward. The other guard was in the process of turning with one hand on his gun when a bullet hit him between his eyes. His corpse fell forward and Mina gave a slight scream as one of her attackers grabbed her. A cloth was put over her mouth muffling her screams, before the chemicals soaked into it took effect. She awoke in an abandoned garage off of an Apartment building that was being renovated. She was strapped to a chair with zip ties and duct tape holding her arms and legs. There was a strip of duct tape across er mouth as well, but she was unharmed aside from that. She was alone in the room except for one person who started yelling to another when she began to stir. ¡°Hey man, the kids waking up.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After he yelled some noises could be heard in an adjoining room. Soon enough a door opened and a slimly built man entered the room. He was relatively tall, probably standing at close to 6 foot in height, he had short brown hair and features that could be considered handsome if not for a large scar from some sort of blade crossing an eye and most of his face. ¡°Greetings Ms. Hasegawa.¡± The man paused for a moment to give a brief bow before he continued. ¡°Due to your father¡¯s inability to back down, I was forced down this path. If there is anyone to blame, your father should take that spot. I apologize for what you will experience, but it is necessary.¡± Mina¡¯s eyes opened wide in panic as the realization of what the man had said settled in. The man held a finger to her lips before he spoke again. ¡°Please, be quiet, if you stay silent, this will be so much easier.¡± The man and his partner left the room for a moment, at that time Mina¡¯s struggles intensified to no avail. Eventually her limited stamina and strength ran out, it was then that the two entered once more. The shorter and more overweight one, the man who had been in the room when she awoke had a camera and a tripod. The taller almost handsome man had a syringe with him, along with a series of small ampules full of different liquids with him. ¡°You need not worry too much Ms. Hasegawa, this shot you are about to receive, will make things so much, better for you, now hold still.¡± After speaking the man stepped towards her, while the other man set up the camera a few feet from her. Though she struggled, the fear of actually being injured by the needle, as well as the fact that she was still weak and tired from her previous struggles, made her current ones not last long. There was a sharp pain for a moment as the needle entered her skin, followed by a rush as the chemical entered her veins. The man removed the strip of tape from her mouth, but Mina was too groggy and affected by the shot to do much. He then stepped back to where his partner was, who had just finished setting up the camera and tripod. As they waited a slight flush crept onto Mina¡¯s skin, and she started breathing heavier. The man pulled out a knife and stepped towards Mina, he first cut her clothes a bit, and removed them, revealing her lithe form. He then cut Mina¡¯s bonds, he was about to lift her from the chair and push the chair back when a rattling noise started. It was the sound of the Garage door to the place being moved, the man and his partner froze for a moment. The man brought his knife back out and slowly crept towards the door. It was at that time that large hand grabbed the bottom of the door and shoved up forcefully. The force was so great that the pulleys and such broke, but they still held the now askew panels to the door up. The man held the knife he was holding up and rushed the large figure that had just broken in. The large figure who was in fact Victor, grabbed the wrist of the man holding the knife. The man tried to struggle, and succeeded in escaping the strong grip of Victor, but not before he was disarmed. The man swiftly swung around and punched at Victor trying to catch him off guard. He swiftly blocked the jab then grabbed the smaller man¡¯s arm and swung him to the side near effortlessly. As he did so he wrenched the arm up and stabbed the shoulder joint, the man screamed as it happened. Victor let go of both the man and the knife, the man grabbed the knife from his shoulder and tried to stab at Victor again. Victor swatted the knife away and lifted the man up and forcibly threw him to the side. A gunshot rang out, it missed Victor completely, he turned towards where it originated from. The shorter overweight man was shaking and was holding a gun, Victor just gave the man a look. The man fired again, this time however his shaking and trembling threw off his grip, so the recoil forced the gun back into his face. Victor merely shook his head and then went to where the girl was, she was on the floor next to the chair, sobbing. Victor picked ehr up and cradled her small frame effortlessly, He paused as sirens approached, followed by the shuffling of footsteps, and muttering of several people. He sighed as a voice yelled towards him. "Put the girl down and put your hands behind your head." Victor sat Mina down in the chair and kneeled and placed his hands behind his head. Even kneeling he was taller or almost as tall as most of those present. His blood spattered clothes lent an ominous air to him, and increased how intimidating he was. Victor spoke as one of the officers approached him, "I really must stop trying to be a hero one of these days." As more people showed up, the surviving member of Mina''s guards arrived with the police, he had only been hit in the back, instead of the head like the other man. Update and News So, i have been going back over my earlier chapters and come to a realization. I will stop writing this, kind of, now hear me out, please. When i first started the story, it was intended to be a relatively serious story, with slight comedic undertones. This was meant to tie into the MC''s title, King of Misunderstandings, unfortunately, I am not much suited to comedy, as can be gleamed from my rather verbose writing style, I am more suited to and more comfortable with rather detailed prose. Another issue, is that these last 15-20-ish chapters, were only meant to be around 5, just to set the vibe of the story and the general character of the other, newer heroes.Which, as can be seen, did not happen, and things got out of hand. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. What i am going to be doing, is going over the chapters, and rewriting them, to a point. I will remove them as i do, and i will eventually reupload them here, with all the Chapters, of this first arc together. I do not know how long it will take, it shouldnt be long, but my other comittments and such have a way of impedign my writing. So, i will continue writing this, in a sense, once i change what is needed and figure out how i want the story to go now, I also might put this on hiatus for the next while, I just do not quite know as of yet, what i will do. For those of you that actually liked and enjoyed this story to a certain extent, I apologize for this, and i thank you for reading this, story, thus far. Update So, I have decided, i may drop this variation of the Story, annd rewrite it. If rewritten the story would still follow an MC who has a lack of offensive abilities, but it would follow more along the lines of a traditional Hero Summoning Novel. Despite that, there will still be parallels to this version of the story, many of the characters will be transferred over, as well as many of the events.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. It will start with a summoning, with the MC being involved, and he will be a part of the action from the start, unlike the confusing chaotic start that this began with. I will be writing that on another account, if you wish to know it, pm me. F.A.Q for Rewrite (Not a Chapter) Some of you have contacted me about the Rewrite, i am working on it, just am not at the point of writing it yet. What i am currently doing is working out the plot progression, so that the rewrite (Under the pending/working title "The Divine Protector") will avoid certain issues this story had, such as the path of the story beng changed and uncertain and such.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. As detailed in my previous updates, the Story will follow a more conventional Her Summoning style, but will still have several events and such thta this story had. What did you guys like about this story, and what did you guys dislike? I would like answers not pertaining to the erratic schedule or such, as those were unavoidable issues, at the times. Teaser (Not a Chapter, Kind of) The Divine/Godly Protector The World of Aethion, is home to many wonders absent from the mundane world we live in. It is home to monsters and magic, but also so much more. The world of Aethion, is a place of rich culture and beauty, both in its inhabitants and its scenery. Humans exist in Aethion, but they are not the only inhabitants. There exist the long lived and beautiful Elves, the industrious and trade minded Thangar, as well as other races of a more alien nature to us, such as the reclusive and enigmatic insectoid Nah¡¯ni. Despite the overwhelming beauty and exoticness, it is a harsh and dangerous place. Though the gods have Blessed the Races, some more than others, they are not selfless, in Aethion, the strong must struggle for their strength. This is not always the case, there are those who are Blessed by the Gods, these individuals are rare, but they are more talented and generally stronger than others, in certain ways. The other exception, are the Summoned, also called Heroes, they are brought into the world by the Gods, through the Races of Aethion. The First Summoning was of a man from Earth, he was a Japanese born man, from the Warring States era. He was blessed by many Gods, and was astonishingly powerful in battle; he fought against the First Demon Lord. Demon Lords were the Titles given to Monsters that evolved to become near godlike in power. The Demon Lords name was Rahdon, well, that was the name he gave himself, he was an actual demon, but not all Demon Lords are Demons, there have been Ogre Demon Lords, and even Goblin Demon Lords. After the man killed Rahdon, he founded a country, the Drakon Empire, the Land of Dragons. It took heavy influence from his experiences in Japan, and was a feudal nation. It has remained a great power over the years, and has helped the world as a whole. It is one of the reasons that when the Overflow came, the Countries, Nations, and Empires of Aethion performed a Summoning. That was nearly millennia ago, and a general peace has reigned between the countries. In recent years, skirmishes have happened between several of the Countries, just as War was to begin, the Overflow struck once more. Though Dungeons and the monsters within are a potential source of strength for the people of Aethion, they are dangerous. The most dangerous aspect of them however, is the Overflow, a period of time, usually after a Demon Lord is killed, when monsters usually confined to Dungeons and Labyrinths burst forth. Though there is once more a threat against the Races, they are still far from united. Many of the Countries have performed the Summoning to bring Heroes, both to fight the Overflow and as a defense against other countries. Chapter One: The Summoning On Aethion Within the Kingdom of Light, one of the Great Powers of the Continent of Estau, the main landmass of Aethion, much work was going on in the Castle. In the castle proper the numerous slaves and servants and other people were running about in a scurry finishing last minute preparations for the day. It was a rather important day, the Day of the Summoning. Most of the nearby countries on Estau had conducted their Summoning¡¯s many months prior. The Kingdom of Light had to take additional time to prepare as they were ordered by their Patron, Tamara, Lady of Light. They were attempting to common a very specific individual, though they did not know that. They, like all the other countries would attempt to bring many Summoned to their side. The Summoning Chamber was located deep within the bowels of the Castle. Once the Summoning was held the Throne Room but after a certain incident when they summoned a rather inhuman being, that practice was changed. Now the Summoning was held in a circular room, many feet below ground. It was large, more than 40 feet across; the floor was stone with an intricate magic circle engraved into it. The magic circle had branches leading off into adjoined rooms, each with heavy metal doors. The rooms all had a magic circle similar to the larger one in the Chamber, which they were all connected to. The rooms were all secured and reinforced, there were 5 rooms in all, some larger or smaller than the others. In the Chamber 10 holy men were arranged around the large magic circle. 9 of the men were Priests; they were all on their knees, silently channeling their magical power into the magic circle. The 10th man was standing, while the Priests were dressed in plain white robes, he however was wearing more ornate garb. His robes were a brighter white, with gold trim along the fringes of the robes, his headpiece was rather ornate as well. He was reading aloud from a large golden tome weathered with use and age, its pages were frayed and dog-earedHelp support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Oh Tamara, Lady of Light, our Patron, we beseech thee and your fellow Gods for their Blessings in this Summoning. We shall need Your Champions, Your Blessed, to survive against the heathens that seek to bring ruin to your Children, WE BESEECH THEE!!!¡± As the Bishop¡¯s words ended, they echoed about the room, during this the magic circle glowed brighter and brighter. An accompanying glow could be seen emanating from the smaller separated Summoning Rooms. The others attending, looked on with expectation, among them were the current members of the Royal Family. There were 4 of them; the most important of them was the King, Richard Luminus, a shorter jovial looking man, whose weathered face bore the stress of leadership. To his left stood his eldest child, his only son, the Crown Prince Julius Luminus. He stood nearly a foot taller than his father; he was in his early 30¡¯s. He was thinly built, and rather handsome to boot, most members of the Kingdom called him Julius the Blessed, which was one of his titles granted to him by the Lady. He gained the title nearly 2 decades ago when the Wildmen of the North pushed south with a massive army. The Wildmen were mostly disorganized barbarians that roamed the Northern countries of Estau. Occasionally a Champion would be crowned, one Blessed by Aslak, the Old God of the North who held dominion over Survival and Winter. It was one such Champion who organized the Wildmen, his name was Moldof, a giant amongst men. He alone united them through sheer force of will and the power he possessed. They swept across Estau like a plague, they dealt much damage before Moldof fell assaulting Drakon. The remains of his army fled west into the Kingdom of Light. It was at this time that Julius, who had been visiting a border village, earned his Title. He only had a few Knights with him at the time, just as the Prince and the village were both about to fall a pillar of Light descended from the heavens and enveloped him. From there the tide of the battle turned with the Prince rallying those with the will to fight and held out until reinforcements arrived. Behind the King and the Crown Prince stood the Twin Princesses, they were widely regarded as being the most beautiful women in the Kingdom. On the left stood the Crimson Princess, the general of the Kingdom, she stood at around 5 foot 8. She possessed long crimson hair with hung down her back like some wild mane. Her hair was not what gave her that title however, it was her actions during an event only 5 years ago that did that. It was when an OverSpill happened, they were similar to the Overflow, but localized to only one dungeon, usually ones inhabited by weaker faster reproducing Monsters such as Imps, Goblins, or the inhabitants of the rare Dire Animal Dungeon. The young Princess Emma, only 15 at the time, was at the estate of an Earl, visiting a friend when it happened. She had been in the town below the estate when they showed up, the Krystalou. The Krystalou, were mutated Dire Animals, which were animals corrupted by magic, the Krystalou however, took that a step further. They were rare beings, they could only come into existence when a powerful Dire Animal consumed a Dungeon Core, or a portion of it. They could however be coerced into being formed, a Dungeon Master or Dungeon Lord, could feed a piece of the Core to a Dire Animal with a large Brood. Just as in humans, drugs could affect a feeding child; the power of the Core mutated the Mother and the Children, as they fed. There were many Krystalou, around 50, more than had been seen since the First Overflow, where theyw ere first seen. They attacked the village, along with thousands of other animals, Dire and otherwise. They killed most of the villagers, but ignored those that escaped; they marched on the Estate, which was manned by only a few hundred soldiers. Emma was trapped in the village; she was attacked as she tried to flee back to the Estate. A Krystalou in the shape of a massive wolf lunged at her; the Princess fell back and dropped the dagger she had been holding. She scrambled to recover it, she let out a cry of pain as the Krystalou latched onto her leg, she strained to reach the dagger, finally grasping it before she was pulled back by the monster grabbing her. The beast let go of her leg as she flew through the air, she impacted against the ground, somehow still holding onto her weapon. It pounced towards her once again, this time aiming for her throat, to finish its pitiful prey off. The princess was trembling as the world seemed to slow and the deadly teeth inched closer and closer to her. Suddenly she heard a sharp yelp and a massive weight collapsed on top of her. She opened her eyes after a time, the Krystallou lay dead atop her, she was covered in its blood. As the body vanished into dust, her wounds healed and she picked up her weapon, a voice echoed within her mind. ¡°Rise up Warrior, Rise up, slay your enemies and become forged through blood, become my Crimson Warrior.¡± As the words of Denek, the Crimson God reverberated about her mind, more and more Krystalou and other Animals showed up. They gathered around her forming a circle with her and the fading pool of blood from the Krystalou in the center. There was a silence and a tranquility that descended, then it was broken as the animals all rushed towards her. That was how her Trial began and how she became the Crimson Princess. Whereas Emma was a fighter, a warrior through and through, Caitlin, was the more societal of the two. While Emma was brash and prone to violence, she was also rather honorable and virtuous, Caitlin was cunning and manipulative. Truthfully, Caitlin was the only Princess, of the two of them; Emma gave up her claims when she gained her Title. Caitlin was the more suited for the role, but those of the Kingdom still liked to call the two of them the Twin Princesses. As the light from the ritual grew brighter shapes and figures started to form. The King and Julius watched on with expectations in their eyes. Emma looked on with apathy, being relatively uncaring about those that would be summoned. Caitlin waited and gazed on with anticipation as the figures became more solid amidst the aura of light. During this the glow in the accompanying rooms died down, in all except for one that is, which glowed slightly brighter than the Chamber itself. Update, not a chapter So, I am still working on the Rewrite, The Godly/Divine Protector, and have the first chapter done and the framed work for two other chapters finished as well. (TFW the first 3 chapters for the rewrite will have the same word count as the first 6 of this story) However, i will not be able to actively post the chapters for some time, unfortunately. A few months back I unfortunately lost my internet at my house, thankfully I am able to make a trip to my local lobray 1-2 times a week, at the most, and i will have an internet connection there. However, due to policies and such, it is difficult to transfer stuff from my pc to the library to post it, though i have some thoughts on how to get past that. Though i have been working on and writing for the Godly Protector, i have thought of other story concepts set in the same verse. Saga of the First Hero: Would follow the travels of the first hero summoned to Aethion, to combat the first Demon Lord. The character would be a japanese samurai by the name of Nobuatsu Oda, grandson of Nobunaga Oda. He will have been summoned to the world after being exiled by his twin brother, for an attempted coup.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Rebirth of the Forgotten God: Would take place in the far far future, after a devestating event Aethion was reformed into the world of Iseth, but a war betwee the gods followed and afterwards only 12 known gods existed. The story will follow the power of the 13th god given flesh, and how he fights and corrects the mistakes made by those before him. Legend of the Heroic Custodian: Will take place in between Saga of the First Heroe and the Godly Protector, with a group of 15 students being summoned. the Main character will have the class of Custodian, and will not be able to fight using conventional weaponry. Thought of this because the concept of a character fighting hordes of monsters with a broom and mop seemed hillarious to me. Anyways, just posting this to let you lot know that i am indeed still working on the concept, but that i have had some difficulties crop up, additionally, i might post the rewrite with this account for simplicities sake, instead of using the relatively newly created alt. Not a chapter, Rewrite is up Some might have noticed already, but i submitted the rewrite and its first chapter a few days ago.Unfortunately it was not approved in time for me to link here, so i will do that now. Rewrite Get to reading it if you want, or havent already, leave any comments or such that you want, i would prefer if any criticism is constructive, but if not, eh. Now onto the obligatory filler content needed in order to submit this update. I have had way to many ideas for stories as of late, there are the fantasy ones, most set in the smae verse as the Godly protector, but then there are others. In the City of Masters: Neo noir stlye story set in a mystical, fictional world that draws heavy influence from ancient china. There would not just be one single story or MC, but several, with everything taking place around the same time and being roughly interconnected. Story concepts for this include a once ordinary farmer turned assassin getting vengence on those responsible for the death of his fiance, to a figure of legend passing through the city.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Of Artefacts and Antiquities: BAsically magic existed, but hs been dying out, but 2 years prior, something woke up and magic in all its wonder adn terror has returned to the world in full force. A group that once regulated magic has reassembled to keep the Mundane people safe from the returning magic, and the changes it will wrought. Saga of the World Traveller: The mc involuntarily travels to different worlds and universes, taking things from each world he passes through while trying to find his way home. Welcome to Mellow-brook: Mellowbrook academy is a place for troubled youths to get their deviancy out of their systems, so as to not embarress their influential parents, the catch, they all have abilities that come with certain compulsions. Rise of the Survivor: Will follow a relatively ordinary soldier who has survived one of the greatest conflicts the continent of Pahara has seen. He just also happens to be a Blessed of the Old God of Survival and ths it is nearly impossible for him to die of anything but antural causes. Awakening of an Archon: Magic has been nearly dead for centuries, but the last of the beings responsible for the creation of Mortal magic has awoken, instead of dying peacefully as he wished. (bears similarities to of Artefacts and Antinquities) Ashes and Gunsmoke: a western set in the final days of the west following a posse trying to track down the last powerful bandit gang in the West. Hot Lead and Cold Hearts: Dark film noir following the former partner of a recently deceased PI has found out things about his dear friends past, things that have put him and other, far more innocent people in danger. Still as of yet unnamed Supernatural noir story: Follows an anything but ordinary PI working in the far darker and fantastical world beneath our own. And others. At the least if i run into writers block for this i have other things i could work on until i can continue this, so yay?