《Tales of the Path to Godhood》


 Chapter 0001 Fateful Encounter

    The grey sky was sullen; clouds grumpy.


    The bare trees in the thinly packed forest stared at me like silent sentries.


    No wind and no leaves were blowing. Silence dominated this forest. It sent a shiver down my spine.


    Reluctantly, I threw my light backpack over my shoulder and made my way into the forest. Tightly clutching the straps of the backpack gave me some sense of not being alone.


    One step after another, I slowly moved into the forest, trying my best to not make any sound. I avoided the dried, bladder-brown leaves on the ground and only set my feet on soil.


    Carefully my feet moved between the leaves, not making a single sound - one step after another.


    Suddenly something sharp stabbed into the side of my neck. It dug its sharp claw slowly into my flesh, forcing a tearing pain into my body.


    Suppressing the urge in my heart to cry out and alarm others, I gritted my teeth with gnashing noises. I dodged to the side, drew my knife, and stared at my foe.


    Nothing. There was nothing.


    My heart calmed down; the beating against my rib cage became softer. Wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I stared at the tree before me in a daze.


    A broken tree branch defiled with my blood on its tip erected proudly from the old tree. No living soul was to be seen. Only the black crows sat in the trees, crying in their horrifying voices.


    With the faint smell of my blood in the air and the noisy crows, I had to move - and that fast. I put the knife back into its sheath and ran as fast as I could, ignoring the burning pain at my neck.


    The eerie trees flashed by my vision and noiseless I moved even further away from that spot.


    "Rooargh!" A distant howl scratched at my ears and startled my tense nerves.


    ''They are here.''


    With no time to lose, I continued my sprint and ran as far away from them as I could. Huffing and puffing, my breath got weaker and fainter.


    My lungs had now the same burning sensation as the wound at my neck. But I had to fight against it ¨C sprinting further and further.


    Seconds bled into hours and night-time arrived.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    A casket-black veil of darkness hung over the starless sky. The darkness in the bare forest made it hard to see anything. I could see neither my hands nor feet. There was only a single dot of light shining in the distance, glowing bright in this darkness like a firefly.


    ''Are there people?''


    I clutched the shirt near my heart and took deep breaths, extinguishing the burning sensation in my dry lungs. The only burning sensations left were the ones on my neck and calves.


    *growl~~*


    ''I''m hungry.''


    The smell of baked apples came from the light and assaulted my nostrils, caressing and seducing my nose with its scent. Loudly I swallowed my saliva and licked my lips in desire.


    It was truly the smell which enticed me: the freshness of the apples, as if they were plucked on a sunny day after a long day at work; the faint aroma of cinnamon, giving the smell a spicy note; and a wispy fragrance of caramel, giving the smell the finishing touch.


    Slowly gliding my hands along the rough bark of the trees, I made my way to the source of the light.


    Leaving the eerie forest, I came out at a clearing in which''s middle stood a slightly wrecked farmhouse. Creaking noises echoed from it, giving me a sense of danger. It was surrounded by tall grass that reached to my hips, swaying to and fro.


    The light shining through the windows and the ash-grey smoke rising from the chimney clearly indicated that someone was living there.


    Normally I would avoid people as much as possible; they always got me into trouble. But this time it was me who was in trouble. I had nothing to eat and drink in days; my strength was fading with each day. If I would go another day without food and water, I would definitely die.


    Weakly I drew my knife and brushed the tall grass with it to the side, sneaking closer to the house emitting the heavenly fragrance. Each step was taken with caution, trying not to alarm the inhabitants of the house.


    Arriving at the veranda of the farmhouse, the smell of baked apples lied dense in the air and was mouth-watering. It was accompanied by a melodious voice, humming a lullaby.


    ''A girl?''


    My curiosity was peeked and I couldn''t help myself from sneaking a glance through the dusty window.


    A girl in her early twenties stood before the stove. Swirls of cinnamon-brown hair flowed over her right shoulder. Her dreamy, galaxy-blue eyes were fixated at the pot standing on the stove, decorated by pencil-thin eyebrows.


    A kind smile was formed on her kiss-inspiring, red lips, humming the soothing lullaby. With her glossy skin and slender body, she seemed like a healthy person, living a calm live here.


    ''I''m not dreaming, right?''


    I couldn''t believe my eyes. It had to be weeks since I saw another person. Crouching nearer to the dusty window, I tried to get a better view of the inside; my nose nearly touched the glass.


    *achoo*


    I sneezed. Panic shot into me and my heart started to race, beating against my chest. I held my breath and pressed myself against the wall, hiding from the view of the window.


    "Who is there?!" cried the girl.


    "I have a weapon and I will use it if necessary," she warned me.


    In my dilemma I didn''t know what I should do. Should I pretend to not be there? No, that''s not possible. What other than a human can make a sneezing sound? In addition, my empty tummy and dry lungs begged me to seek refuge here.


    Giving in to my desires and logic, I raised my arms and stood up, showing myself in front of the window.


    The gentle-looking girl held me at gunpoint with a handgun; it looked like a Desert Eagle. Her hands holding the gun were shivering in fright and her eyebrows were knitted. It was clearly her first time pointing a gun at a person.

 Chapter 0002 Sympathy over Selfishness

    The fairy-like girl stared with her watery eyes at me and pointed the gun with her shivering hands at me.


    "Who are you?" she asked with her slender finger at the gun''s trigger.


    ". . ." I opened my mouth but no words came out, only a soft breath escaped my lungs.


    ''Oh right. I''m mute,'' I remembered. It seemed that not talking for weeks made me forget this.


    Not knowing sign language, I could only move my hand and tap on my throat, hoping that she will understand what I mean.


    "Who are you?! I will shoot!" she cried.


    She didn''t understand me¡­ My heart was sent into turmoil and beat like crazy.


    ''If I can''t make her understand me, she will shoot me.'' My thoughts raced. ''What can I do? I have no technology with me that can speak.'' It seemed that I would be dead either way: starve to death or shot to death.


    Accepting my fate, I closed my eyes and waited for the shot to come. Each second felt like eternity.


    Even though I was ready, my heart couldn''t be at ease. It beat faster and faster¡­


    ". . ."


    ". . ."


    ''Huh? Where is the shot?'' Bewildered I slowly opened my eyes again and stole a glance.


    The brown-haired girl''s finger tightly clenched the trigger, her eyes were tightly shut, and her face turned to the side.


    ''Why is she looking away? Why doesn''t she shoot?'' I was both, relieved and confused, that she didn''t shoot.


    Her dreamy eyes shyly opened again. But when she saw me still standing here in good condition, she looked bewildered at her gun.


    Biting her soft lips, she threw her gun through the window at me and screamed, "Go away!"


    The glass shattered and the gun was flying at my face. I reacted fast and caught it with my hand. The gun was heavier than I thought.


    It had a lot of scratches on the metal and also some dirty parts. It seemed that it was used often a long time ago but not in recent times.


    ''Huh? The safety is still on?''Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I moved the switch, and a clicking noise was made. ''She really forgot about the safety switch¡­'' Looking at the girl again, she looked terrified.


    Not only did she not shoot me, she also gave me the weapon. If I would be an evil person, it would mean her end.


    ''I should give it back to her or else she won''t trust me.''


    I turned the gun around and pointed the handle at her, intending to give her the gun back. But she moved away from me, slowly taking steps backwards.


    She probably didn''t trust me. So I laid the gun on the windowsill and stepped away from it.


    Seeing me distance myself from the gun, the girl clutched the edges of her dress tightly and warily stepped to the windowsill.


    ''*sigh* Now she should understand that I mean no harm.''


    Arriving at the windowsill, she put her hand through the broken glass of the window and grabbed the gun lying on the other side.


    As soon as she held it in her hand, she retracted her hand rapidly, scratching her tender skin against the broken glass.


    "Ahhhh! *clank*" A pained cry left her sweet lips and she let the gun fall down.


    A long cut stretched across her forearm. Blood flowed out from the wound and trickled onto the floor. She clutched her wound and distorted her mouth and eyebrows in pain.


    Lifting her gaze, she stared with her watery eyes at me and screamed in a brittle voice, "Go away! *sniff* Just g- Just go away! *sniff*"


    She fell onto her knees, closed her eyes, and sobbed. Tears flowed down her tender cheeks, and her blood continued flowing down and stained her dress.


    ''How could I leave you alone? You are in pain! And with blood here, the Creepers will come soon enough too.''


    Having sympathy for her, I walked to the door of the house to come to her aid.


    I put my hand onto the door handle and pushed it down, trying to open it. It was locked; it didn''t move in the slightest.


    ''Guess I have to do it the hard way.''


    I drew my knife and rammed it between the door and its frame. Turning the knife to the side, the door creaked and shot open without the lock on it, leaving the lock hanging on the doorframe.


    I ran to the kitchen where the girl was at. The smell of baked apples was now very clear in the air. It couldn''t make me lose direction of the kitchen.


    The girl was lying on the ground now in a small puddle of blood. Her skin had already turned to a ghastly white and her lips to a pale red.


    Her hand was no longer clutching her wound; it was lying lifeless with her on the ground. She didn''t lose much blood and probably only passed out from the pain.


    ''I promise you that you will be fine!''


    This is the first time I found a sane person after the apocalypse started. I can''t let her bleed out and loose her.


    I kneed by her side and checked for pulse and breathing: both were there but weak.


    Feeling relieved that she was still alive, I put down my backpack and opened it.


    Knowing its contents by heart, I grabbed a needle and thread from it and started to stitch her wound and wrapped it in bandage afterwards.


    ''She should wake up in a few hours,'' I thought and carried her to the bench near the dining table, putting her down there.


    *growl~~*


    Smelling the sweet scent of baked apples from the oven, my hunger resurfaced and made me drool.


    ''No! Those aren''t for me. They are for her and I don''t steal food,'' I said to myself and resisted the urge to eat.


    I went to the oven and lowered its temperature so that the food won''t be burned when she wakes up.


    Moving back to the dining table, I took a seat next to her and put my backpack onto the table, sorting the things I took out of it back into it.


    "Rooargh!" a howl sounded out from not far away.


    ''They are here,'' I said to myself again and grabbed my knife with full confidence.

 Chapter 0003 Blood in the Mist

    I gave a last glance at the pure girl, assuring myself that she is save; I stood up and went to the door. It was still wide open from when I came in.


    After I stepped through the door, I pushed it close, but it creaked open again.


    ''Oh right. I damaged it.''


    ''But if I don''t shut the door close, the Creepers will get into the house. I can''t let that happen; it would mean her death.''


    Anxiously I looked around in hope to find something that I can block the door with.


    ''Ah. The table from the veranda,'' I thought and grabbed the rough, wooden table, dragging it in front of the door.


    ''That should do it.'' To be absolutely sure that the entrance was blocked, I put my hand on the door handle and tried to open it.


    It didn''t budge in the slightest; it was tightly shut close. This way, even the Creepers shouldn''t be able to get in.


    Feeling more assured about the girl''s safety, I readied my two knives and confidently stood still on the veranda. I surveyed the surroundings and looked for the slightest abnormality.


    The sky was pitch black and brooding. Even the clouds gathered and seemed upset.


    Staring at the forest, ghost-grey mist crawled out from it. It spread its spineless tentacles and grasped everything in its way, wrapping around it.


    It turned the grassland into a maze of mist. Growing in density, dewdrops formed on the grass, showing that the mist had gone too far.


    Then the drizzle came; it was sizzling. The beauty of the nature was ruined by the rain drippling like the saliva of a demon.


    Through the thick mist, I could roughly see the outlines of human figures. But looking at their hands, I could see fingers which are longer and pointer than those of humans.


    The hunchbacks slowly creeped through the mist, drawing nearer towards me. My heart pounced against my rib cage, my neck hairs felt like sharp pins drilling into my skin, and my blood rushed through my veins.


    As soon as the Creepers spotted me, they shouted; "Rooargh!" in an inhumanly deep voice. It rattled the grass around them and made the dewdrops fall.


    Not waiting any longer, I ran to one of them with my knife drawn. He had a buffalo''s neck and dishevelled hairs, looking like a typical Creeper.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Arriving in front of him, I dipped right and slashed towards him.


    He raised his claws and blocked my knives.


    I followed up with another slash and another one, keeping his claws busy. I kicked at his foot and sent him to his knees.


    He followed up with a swift rising uppercut.


    I jumped back, evading it, and he stood up. Quickly, I moved back to him and swung the knife to his neck while my foot swept to his foot.


    The Creeper held his claws up and blocked again.


    My foot swept him off his feet and he fell onto his back. I raised my knife and bore it into his chest, penetrating his heart.


    A fountain of magma-red blood sprayed out from where I stabbed him, dying my clothes in a hellish red colour.


    My clothes were now wet with blood and stuck to my skin, giving me an unpleasant feeling.


    Not feeling bad after killing, I straightened my back and looked at my other foes. One, Two, ¡­ Ten, ¡­ Fifteen, ¡­ The numbers of them kept rising. They appeared one after another from the clouded forest.


    ''There are too many. I can''t defend the house like that.''


    I knew there was no other option besides luring them away from the house to keep the girl safe.


    I slashed at the empty air. The blood from the blade flew like spit from it, making my knife look a little bit cleaner.


    ''I can''t scream to get their attention. It looks like I have to bleed so that they run after me and not her.''


    Unafraid, I pushed the knife into my shoulder and blood oozed out from the fresh wound.


    Instantly, all the Creepers focused on me, glaring with their glacier cold eyes. I sprinted away from the house and the Creepers. The Creepers kept getting faster and faster.


    After running for a minute tightly followed by them and the mist, I arrived at a tall cliff. I couldn''t see the ground beneath it because the mist blocked my view.


    I turned around and already saw a Creeper not far from me. I readied my knives again and pierced them between the shoulder blades of him. I kicked him into his hip and shot him out of the way and down the cliff.


    Another Creeper came and sent his claw towards my face. I held up my knives and jumped a bit backwards. Another claw came at me. I jumped back again, nearly falling off the cliff.


    Gritting my teeth, I slashed at the nearest Creeper''s face. Blood spritzed. I followed up with another slash, hitting his neck.


    A pain assaulted my shoulder; it was his claw. With my other knife I penetrated his hand and kicked his chest.


    The Creeper was sent flying backwards, taking two others with him to the ground.


    I moved forward and held up my knives to kill them. A breeze blew by my face. Reacting fast, I held my knives in defence in front of my face.


    *clink*


    The claw hit my knives and pushed me backwards. Feeling the force decrease, I withdrew my blades and bore my teeth into the foul flesh of his hand, holding it in place. I slashed his neck open and let go of his arm.


    *spit*


    I spat out the rotten and bloody taste from my mouth. The next Creeper came. I split open his belly and his guts rolled out.


    He dropped dead.


    I looked to my right and saw three more Creepers. I slashed at one of them and hit his claws. My foot swept over the ground and sent him falling.


    The claws of the other two Creepers came flying at me. Moving nearer to them, the claws missed me and only their forearms hit me. I lowered my head and sent each knife into one of their hearts.


    Meanwhile, the fallen Creeper stood back up and shot his claws like a needle forward. I slid to the side and the claws only pierced my shoulder. I bore my knife into his throat and moved back.


    My clothes were now not only covered in blood but also in sweat, tightly sticking to my skin. A putrefying stench was in the air, and sweat stung like a viper into my eyes.


    Another dozen Creepers came running at me.


    ''There are too many! I can''t kill them all. What should I do?''

 Chapter 0004 Mistakes were made

    The horde of Creepers was rushing towards me and I felt the muddy ground tremble under their weight. Their deafening roars were still louder than their trampling.


    The drizzling rain washed the blood from my hair and made it stick to my head.


    ''If I die here, then the Creepers will run back to the girl. I don''t want that. I think I can only take them down with me to my death.''


    *inhale* . . . *exhale*


    After taking a deep breath, the first hideous-looking Creeper was already in front of me.


    This was the first time I took a clearer look at a Creeper''s face. All the other times I was more focused on killing and didn''t bother to check the appearance clearly.


    On his buffalo-like neck sat an ashen-black head with uncountable bumps; it somehow reminded me of a certain plague.


    His pop eyes looked serpentine and glacier cold. His lice-infested hair stuck wet over his pug nose, hiding a part of it.


    His mouth was agape and between his razor-thin lips hung a grey and slimy tongue out, letting saliva drool down. He was probably ready to bite into my tender flesh, filling his tummy.


    Without a second thought, I leaned back and let myself fall off the cliff with all the Creepers jumping after me.


    The wind whizzed and whistled by my ear and threw my hair around. I saw the cliff getting further and further away and the Creepers jumping down it one after another.


    Parting the mist in two, I fell further down and could smell the faint fragrance of sap, reminding me of the vast ocean.


    ''Water?'' I wondered and turned around. The wind was now hitting at my face and I had to clench my eyes to protect them from their raging strength.


    With a bad view and tears streaming out from my eyes, I could see . . . nothing. The mist was just too dense.


    I kept staring down and hoped that there will be a sea or ocean; something that would help me in surviving this fall.


    And then it came.


    I could see tips of trees, then I could hear rushing water, and lastly I saw a big river flowing under me.


    *splash*


    An unbearable pain assaulted my belly. It felt like I was nearly losing my guts. Blood spritzed out from my mouth and mixed with the clear water.


    Clenching my tummy, I tried to take a deep breath. Water came gushing into my mouth and nostrils, invading my lungs.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I lose the grip on my knives as my strength left me. My torso, filled with the remaining air I had in me, turned to face the surface and my limbs spread out, hanging towards the deeper parts of the river.


    My eyes widened in shock and pain and lost focus. I couldn''t register anything that was going on now.


    Suddenly, a shot of energy filled my body. It was probably the adrenaline rushing into my blood and through my veins.


    Disoriented, I threw my arms and legs in panic around and tried swimming upwards. Slowly I let the last remnants of air slither through my lips, buying me some few more seconds of life.


    It felt like an overwhelming primal urge packed me and whispered: ''Survive!''


    I refocused my glassy eyes towards the surface in hope to see some light; but there was none, only darkness.


    It got harder on my lungs and it felt like I was nearly out of air. The salty taste of seawater was not only in my mouth and nose; it was now also in my deflated lungs.


    *bam* *cough*


    The flowing river hit my back against a spiky rock and the last air escaped my lungs. A swarm of air bubbles floated upwards from my cough.


    I yearned to get them back into my lungs. It was all I wanted now: those air bubbles. I slowly watched them escape from my weak self and leaving me die here.


    ''So this is it¡­'' I thought to myself and felt no pain anymore. Peace filled my body and thoughts, calming my trembling heart and soul down. It soothed me like a lullaby soothes a crying baby.


    All of a sudden, my body felt weightless and the water around me was sparely there anymore. A thunderous noise penetrated my wet ears.


    With nearly no water around me anymore and air in my reach, I tried to breath; but it wasn''t possible. My lungs weren''t responding.


    *bam*


    *cough* *cough*


    A hammering pain hit my back and left me coughing out water. With each cough I could feel life re-entering my body as if I came back from the dead. I coughed and coughed.


    Feeling the pleasurable air again in my lungs, heaving my chest up and down, I took a deep breath and calmed my panicked mind. My eyes were now nearly back to their normal state; the view was still a bit fuzzy.


    Looking in front of me, I saw a thunderous waterfall tumbling down and furiously hitting the rocks beneath it. And I was on one such rock.


    My gaze still focused on the waterfall, I saw multiple Creepers falling down with the waterfall and hitting the rocks near me.


    I crawled a distance back and continued watching the bodies drop. It really seemed that all Creepers from the cliff also jumped down.


    After collecting my thoughts, I planned to stand up. But the stench of rotten blood penetrated my nose and had left me gagging, trying my hardest not to throw up.


    I looked around and saw a mountain of corpses left and right. It looked like a deathbed for monsters. Slowly I made my way jumping over the rocks to get to the shore.


    The corpses grossed me out the most. Flies crawled on them and laid their eggs into their flesh. Maggots were digging through the corpses and made it seem nearly alive; moving. I avoided those corpses the most.


    With a last jump I arrived at the shore and plummeted down, lying on my back.


    ''I hate this day.''


    My thoughts flashed back to the girl. I thought I was happy to see someone sane after the apocalypse started. With this mind-set I forgot my principle: ''people only bring me trouble.''


    I regretted it that I took pity on her and tried to protect her. I nearly died because of her. I mean I was ready at first, but actually feeling it changed my mind.


    But- But remembering her singing and looking happy and carefree, a smile blossomed onto my lips.


    More memories flooded into my mind, replaying the scene of meeting her: The smell of baked apples, her song, her appearance, the gun, her wound ¡­


    ''Wait! Wait, wait!! The shattered window! I didn''t close the big hole in the window! The Creepers will get into the house through the window!'' it struck me.


    Anxious about her well-being, I heaved my pained and weak body up and looked around me, thinking of a way to go back to her ¨C saving her!

 Chapter 0005 The Devils Domain

    Looking at the other side of the river, an unclimbable cliff stretched out from the edge of the river and ran along the horizon. It didn''t look like I would be able to climb the cliff.


    Looking at my side of the river, there was sand everywhere. Sand stretched over the entire horizon, filling my field of view.


    ''A desert?''


    ". . ."


    *sigh* I heaved a sigh of unwillingness.


    There was no other choice than going through the desert.


    The river seemed as if it attracted a lot of Creepers in the past with all the dead bodies around it. And I don''t want to find out if there are more Creepers along the river.


    So, not able to climb the cliff and not able to walk along the river, I was only left with the desert.


    I kneed beside the edge of the river, cupped my hands, and took a few mouthfuls of water to drink, knowing that it would be my last ones until I leave the desert.


    If I were not so dumb to leave my backpack at the girl''s house, I would have packed some water and taken it with me. But it seemed that this wasn''t the first mistake I made after I met her.


    After having my fill from the spring-clean water, I felt my energy rising up a bit and was ready to go.


    Turning towards the desert and facing the sunrise, I walked forward into the barren-brown land of the devil''s oven.


    . . .


    . . .


    . . .


    ''WHERE AM I?'' I screamed in my mind and turned in circles. Everything I saw in the horizon looked the same: sand; Lots of sand.


    This desert is killing me. I had seen neither human nor monster for hours and had nothing to drink. It was the most desolate place I had ever seen and been in.


    It was more lonesome than being in the woods. At least there were some monsters in the woods, but here¡­


    Even the devil''s grill couldn''t have scorched away the landscape and nature like this place had done: No cactus, no water, no tree, nothing.


    The only thing I saw in the last couple of hours was a lonesome tumbleweed. And even that didn''t keep me company for long before it was blown away.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The desert hates me.


    As far as I could see, everything was roasted and burned. I felt like a steak on a grill which was slowly becoming tastier to eat. Sweat poured out from my pours and drenched all my clothes.


    I felt like I started to see hallucinations. I could see prints of hoofs in the sand which made a straight line towards the horizon.


    But this led to an internal struggle in me: Maybe this isn''t a hallucination and there were really riders here. Or it was the devil wandering through his domain and collecting some snacks.


    *Neigh* A cry of a horse knocked at my sun-burnt ears.


    ''Great! Not only do I see hallucinations, I also hear them now.''


    Being in a bad mood from the heat, I kept mumbling curses in my mind and trudged forward through the sand, occasionally kicking the sand away.


    *Neigh*


    I heard that noise again and gritted my teeth. Swiftly turning around, I saw roughly a dozen people riding on shadow-black horses coming in my direction.


    The horses kicked up the sand and left a screen of smoke behind them. Each of their movements sent their mane into motion and made them look as if they came from a fantasy book: proud and majestic.


    As the silhouettes drew nearer, I discarded the thought of them being illusions.


    With each passing second and them moving nearer, I could see more details of the riders. Every rider had the same clothes and looks. They seemed as if they were clones.


    They were clad in complete black. From their black shoes to their black jacket everything was in a deep black. Even their silk gloves and hoods were black. It gave them a devil-may-care kind of feeling. The only part of them which wasn''t hidden were their faces.


    Their skin was bone-white and the mussed hair, which peeked out from under the black hood, was even whiter than that.


    A penetrating gaze came from their fire-red eyes which were wide open and seemed as if they never blinked.


    ''Are the devil''s riders collecting my soul?'' I questioned myself.


    *Neigh*


    They pulled their reins and all the horses stood still like clockwork, not moving a single muscle.


    The jaw from their leader clacked open and he roared; "GET HIM!!" in a scratchy and hoarse voice.


    Simultaneously, all the riders drew their spears and pointed them at me. Throwing sand into the air, the horses sprinted towards me and weren''t afraid of hitting into me in the least. I saw multiple spear tips pointing at my throat and rushing towards it.


    Not having a weapon with me, I readied myself to steal one from them.


    Everything seemed like it was moving slower and I could see the details of everything in my surroundings. Be it the scratch at the tip of the spear, the blood on the horse''s hoof, or the bead of sweat on the horse''s head. I saw it all.


    I dipped right, grabbed at the nearest spear, and pulled.


    The rider flew with the spear from the horse and landed flat on the barren ground.


    I stomped onto his back and tore his spear away from his devilish clutches.


    Swinging the spear in a circle, I deflected all spear tips which pointed at me.


    Without missing a beat, I rammed the spear tip into the ground and used it as a pole vault to jump high into the air.


    With my body in the air, I swept a quick glance over my attackers and landed precisely on the horse from the fallen rider.


    Slipping the spear through my fingers and letting it dance around my body, I deflected one spear after another. I gave a gentle kick with my foot to the horse and it galloped towards the leader of the troop.


    I raised my spear like a lance and pointed it at his throat, intending to pierce him and take him down.


    The shadow-black horse wheezed and kept running and throwing dust, moving closer to my target.

 Chapter 0006 The Battle With the Riders Leader

    Rushing with my spear tip raised, I focused my attention at the leader. He and his black horse didn''t move in the slightest.


    As I drew nearer, the air got hotter and hotter. It was as if I was no longer in a desert but in an actual oven where someone turned on the heat.


    Small embers of yellow fire flashed from under the leader''s horse''s hoof and spread like a water ripple outwards.


    The burning sand was scorched and changed from a yellow-brown colour to a melted, red-glowing mass. As the fire ripple moved outwards, it crashed against my horse.


    *Neigh*


    The horse cried in pain. Reacting fast, I jumped down from the horse before its body hit the ground. Its hooves were now glowing red and it struggled in pain to cool them down.


    ''From where came that fire?''


    I have never seen anything like that. In the days since the apocalypse started, I only saw a few people and a lot of Creepers, but I never saw something like that. I wondered if those people are monsters too; like some kind of new species?


    Gritting my teeth and standing on the scorched sand, I rammed the spear-shoe into the ground and stood with my chest out. A taste of iron filled my mouth and I spat the bloody taste out.


    *spit* *tzzz*


    The ground was so hot that even my blood vaporised after coming into contact with the sand. This wasn''t the heat a desert should have. This is not normal at all, even in an apocalypse.


    A grin crept onto the leader''s cracked lips and a drop of blood flowed out from the cracks. He stuck his slimy tongue out and licked the blood from his lips, nearly in ecstasy.


    His pupils enlarged and he put his feet onto the horse''s back, standing like a savage on it.


    He clutched his spear with his right hand and held it wide into the air above him. His other hand made an aiming motion towards me.


    He jumped up and was now more than 2 meters above me and came crushing down with a spear aimed at me.


    I held my spear horizontally, deflected the spearhead with the shaft, and redirected it towards the ground, leaving him wide open.


    When his spear pierced the ground beside my feet, I drew my spear from a horizontal position sideward and aimed at his unprotected heart.


    Thrusting my spear forward, it pierced his chest and embedded its head in his clothes, before I withdrew it again.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Blood was running down his black clothes and trickled onto the scorching sand, ending with a sizzling sound.


    He growled like a beast and gnashed his teeth. Even though I pierced his heart, he still stood there like I only gave him a slight push.


    ''What is he?'' I asked myself.


    ''Even the Creepers died when I pierced their hearts; so, why doesn''t he die?''


    He seemed more and more like a monster to me. Either he doesn''t have a heart or he is a zombie.


    Unwilling to accept that I can''t kill a measly monster, I tightened the grip around my spear and my fingernails drilled into my skin, letting blood flow down the spear''s shaft.


    The leader clutched his spear and held his other hand against his gaping wound to stop the bleeding.


    His jaw dropped and he howled, "HOW DARE YOU?! I will kill you for that!"


    He lifted his foot high up and above his hip. Small, yellow embers gathered at the sole of his foot and he stomped heavily onto the ground. Sun-yellow flames gushed out from his foot and shot outwards in a circle.


    As the flames drew nearer, I got into a horse stance and pointed my spear towards him again.


    Shortly before the ring of flame arrived before my feet, I jumped as high as I could into the leader''s direction. Ignoring the burning pain on my feet, I lifted my spear higher up and threw it at the leader''s throat.


    The spear shrilled and sizzled through the bloodless air, parting it in two. The leader couldn''t react fast enough and the spear rammed itself into his throat, spritzing blood into the air. The impaled leader fell lifeless to the ground.


    With the leader being taken down, all the other riders shook their reins and galloped away, leaving their dead leader behind.


    I watched on as their silhouettes left my field of view and became a speck in the horizon.


    I mocking smile sneaked onto my lips and I kneed beside the leader''s body.


    ''Let me see what we have here.''


    I glided my thin fingers into his pockets and searched for something edible or water; anything of that sort would do.


    But there was nothing in his pants'' pockets. I slithered my fingers up his body and searched his jacket''s pockets. Something big and square entered my hand.


    ''A water-box? An old bread?'' I asked myself and drool flowed over my lips. I had to swallow my saliva and pulled out the thing from his pocket.


    ''A handy?''


    All excitement: my smile, my heartbeat, and dimples; disappeared. A lifeless expression paved my face. All my joy was for nothing. All he had was a small and dumb phone in the middle of a desert.


    ''Wait. Phones have maps. I could look for a city or water on the map,'' I remembered and sat on the ground, unlocking the phone.


    The screen which popped up after unlocking it looked not in the least like the one I remember from normal phones.


    There should have been a screen filled with app icons and such things. But the screen I saw looked more like a stats page from a game:


    [Name]: Regretful Desert Blade


    [Clan]: Devil Desert


    [Level]: 15


    [HP]: 0/150


    [MP]: 0/10


    [Coins]: 200


    [Occupation]: Rider


    ''He must have been bored that he even played a game during the apocalypse.''


    Thinking that he left the game open before locking the phone, I clicked on the home-button and saw multiple apps there: message, maps, profile, market, ranking, clan, ¡­


    Without further ado, I clicked on the icon called Maps and the screen changed to an aerial image of the desert, pointing to my location.


    Seeing that a city was not too far away from me, my mood got better and with newly gathered motivation I stood up.


    Looking at my horse that fainted from pain or even died, I swiped my glance to the leader''s horse. It stood there still and waiting for instructions.


    Hopping onto the shadow-black horse, I rode towards the city in hope to find food and water.

 Chapter 0007 Shamo City

    << A few hours later >>


    A sand-brown city with a wall higher than a hundred meters towered before me.


    The entire city was taller and bigger than I could have imagined. Even though I stood a few hundred meters away from the city wall, I felt as insignificant as an ant before an elephant.


    Striding towards the entrance, three armoured people who looked like guards stopped me.


    The ones to the left and right were in full iron armour, hiding their appearance. They looked like typical guards from the middle-ages in full silver armour, shining in the desert sun.


    The girl in the middle looked more like an aristocrat than a guard. Her wheat-golden hair was braided and toppled over her right shoulder down to her hip.


    Her clothes were the same deep black as my horse, making her look thinner. She also didn''t wear as many armour as the guards beside her.


    A waist fauld consisting of multiple silver plates flowed down her belt like a waterfall and protected her hips.


    Silver shining gauntlets covered both her hands, and with her right arm she held a spear pointing to the sky.


    "Stop!" she shouted.


    I stopped my horse and jumped off it, holding its reins so that it can''t run away.


    "Identify yourself!"


    ''*sigh* Great. The same problem like with the girl in the forest¡­''


    But this time I had a smartphone with me. I pulled it out and searched for a text app to write my name in to. I swiped left and right, but there was none. Not even a browser.


    ''Wait. She wants a name. And there was a name in the game that was left open. I''m sure she wouldn''t notice the difference.''


    I opened the Profile app and showed her the page with the information from the rider.


    The girl grabbed my phone and looked at the info. Her expression changed, and she stared at me with a raised eyebrow.


    "This isn''t your dumbphone, right?"


    I was puzzled. ''What is a dumbphone?'' But it had to be the smartphone, so I shook my head because it wasn''t mine.


    "Haven''t you read the tutorial? To link a dumbphone to a new account you have to logout and login again. You are not allowed to enter the city until you identify yourself."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ''They want me to create an account? What a weird city is this?!''


    I took my phone back, clicked on logout, and then on ''login/register''.


    [Message]: Please put your thumb onto the middle of the screen.


    ''What a strange method,'' I thought and did as said.


    [Message]: Loading . . .


    [Message]: User found.


    [Message]: Logging in¡­


    [Message]: Welcome Shen Chao[1]


    [Message]: Loading profile¡­


    [Name]: Shen Chao


    [Clan]: --


    [Level]: 10


    [HP]: 10/130 (starving)


    [MP]: 0/0


    [Coins]: 17000


    [Occupation]: NPC (Elite)


    ''What?! Since when do I have a gaming account there? What is all this?''


    My eyebrows knitted and a weird smile was on my lips. Completely confused, I looked at her and thought, ''Let''s just show it to her. What could go wrong?''


    I gave her my phone and she looked at it again. This time her face remained expressionless and she gave me the phone back again.


    "Welcome to Shamo City ¨C the city of sand and fire," she said and moved with her two guards to the side.


    I put my phone back into my pocket, pulled the horse''s reins, and strode into the city.


    The houses and building were all made of sandstone, even the floor was made of sandstone. People littered the streets and the atmosphere was deafening.


    Merchants screamed to advertise their products on the edge of the street, and people flocked over every market tent.


    Next to one shabby looking market tent, looking as if it would break down at any moment, I bound my horse to a pole and went to the entrance of the tent where no people waited.


    I grabbed the dirtied curtain of the tent and slid it to the side. Ducking my head, I went in and saw a completely empty tent where only one girl sat with crossed legs at the end of the tent.


    She wore polished, grey armour, covering her entire body. Beautiful carvings in gold were engraved on her armour, depicting winged beings and ivy. Two pointy ears stuck out from the helmet''s holes and ruby-red hair flowed out from under the helmet.


    But the most eye-catching was the halo. It was a ring of pure iron and four prongs, floating above her head as if gravity was nothing to it. This was something I never saw before.


    Her heavenly figure was accompanied by a peerless face. She opened her sharp eyes and raised her slender eyebrow.


    Giving a slight smile with her sweet lips, she asked, "How can I help you?"


    Her angelic voice woke me up from my daze and I pulled my phone out. I showed her my profile page and pointed at my HP which stated: starving.


    The girl lifted her hand and tipped onto the screen of my phone.


    *ding*


    A message notification rang out on my phone and I looked at it again.


    [Message]: You received (3) Bread Loaves from Anauel.


    ''Is she kidding me? I want food for me and not my game character!''


    I showed her the phone again, pointed at the word ''starving'', and then pointed at myself.


    She tilted her head and asked, "Are you new here?"


    She took my phone away and pressed on the inventory app. She selected the bread from the inventory and a white card came out from the phone like a printer.


    The card was nearly as big as the phone and as thick as a fingernail. The white card had a silver circle in the middle where an image of bread was depicted.


    *crack*


    With a cracking noise she broke the card like a cracker in two, and under a silver flash of light, the card turned into a loaf of bread.


    Dumbfounded by what just happened, my pupils enlarged and my mouth gaped open.


    ''W- What?''


    "A newbie should read the tutorial. I would advise you to do so," she said to me and pointed towards the exit of the tent.


    Still confused about what just happened, I grabbed the bread and my phone and left the tent.


    ''What is this game? ¡­I think I will give that tutorial a read,'' I thought, sat beside my horse on the scorched sandstone, and stared on my phone screen.

 Chapter 0008 Learning the System

    Tipping and scrolling through my phone, I searched for the tutorial. There were apps for many things, but there was no app called Tutorial or something like that. I opened every app and looked in there, but I still found nothing.


    ''Oh well. I don''t want to bother the person in the tent again. Then I will have to explore the apps on my own.''


    Having already seen the Map app and the Profile app with my stats, I opened the Market App.


    [[ Marketplace ]] (Coins: 16990)


    -[Potions]


    -[Armours]


    -[Weapons]


    -[Food&Drinks]


    -[Skills]


    With my gaze focused on the upper right corner of the screen, I saw that my money has been decreased by 10 coins.


    ''So she charged me ten coins for 3 loaves of bread.''


    I raised my other hand with the bread in it and took a large bite. The texture of the bread was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.


    Chewing on the crust of the bread, loud cracking noises came from it. The inside of the bread was so soft that it made my mouth drool.


    With a freshly baked smell in my nose, I asked myself, ''Who is that person to make such good bread and have a lousy tent?''


    My curiosity was peeked and I walked back to the tent while taking another bite from the bread.


    I grabbed the curtain again and moved it to the side. Ducking my head and going in, I saw a whole new view than before.


    The girl was gone and the room was now full with stacks of cards and an old geezer sitting cross legged behind the towers of cards.


    The cards were stacking before him like he had built a skyline from a big city: some big towers and some small ones all next to each other, tightly packed together.


    His winter-white hair was sparse and was nearing to bold. His wrinkled hands supported his chin as he looked lifeless with his eyes at the cards.


    There was not a single trance of emotion on his timeworn and wrinkled face. The crow''s feet under his eyes showed clearly that he doesn''t sleep much or maybe not at all.


    ''Where is the girl? And who is he?'' I asked myself and snipped with my fingers to get his attention.


    "Hah?! Ah! A customer! Welcome! Welcome! Have a seat!" he welcomed me with a big grin over his face and pointed to the ground, inviting me to sit down.


    I sat cross legged onto the ground and scrolled on my phone to the message logs.


    When I found the message which I got from the girl, I turned my phone around, showed him the message and pointed at the name ''Anauel'':Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    [01:13PM] [Message]: You received (3) Bread Loaves from Anauel.


    The smile faded from the old man''s face, and devoid of emotions he answered, "Are you searching for the shop from that person? Sorry, I don''t know him or her."


    ''What? He doesn''t know her? . . . Well, I guess it''s fine. I still have more bread and I can check out this store too. ''


    I laid my phone to the side and looked over his goods. Most of the cards were grey in colour and had a picture of weapons on it. Some of those had a black circle and some a purple one. There was even a grey card of a dagger with a black circle and one with a purple one.


    I grabbed both cards and held them towards him, pointing to the circles of both of them in the hope to find the difference.


    The old geezer stared at me, and when he saw that I grabbed something of his stack of cards, his emotions bloomed forward and there was a bigger smile than before, showing his few teeth.


    "You want to buy them? Because the black one is the lowest level, I will charge 5 coins per card. As for the purple one, it costs 10 coins because it is a level higher than the black one and therefore way more powerful."


    I tilted my head to the side and made a confused expression while knitting my brows. I hoped that he would continue his explanation that way.


    "Oh. You see: Cards have levels. The colour of the circle tells the level of power of the item. Black circles are the lowest level. Afterwards are Purple, Green, Blue, Red, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Some people even say that there are items above gold-level."


    ''So my bread is what? A godly food?!'' I was shocked with my jaw dropping down. Before I could even process this information the geezer continued with his explanation.


    "As you can see here in the stack of cards, nearly all my cards are grey and have a black circle."


    "Grey cards mean that they are weapons. White stands for Food and Drinks, Orange are potions, Yellow are armours, and skill books are colourful like a rainbow. Depending on the effect of the skill, the colour can vary."


    "If a skill focused most on protection, then the colour will be like the one from armour. If the skill focuses on attack, then its colour will be more like the one from weapons."


    I looked over the cards and saw that what he said was right.


    The only cards here which weren''t grey were orange. And there were only two of them: one black-circled health potion and one black-circled mana potion.


    Slipping my fingers through the stack of cards, I grabbed the health potion card, 200 black-circled dagger cards, and 1 purple-circled spear card.


    After grabbing most of his cards, the old man stared at me and asked, "You want to buy them all?"


    I nodded and stretched out my phone. But the old geezer shook his head and his sparse hair flew through the breeze.


    "First you pay me. Then I will give you my items," he said with a hoarse voice. He stretched his bony hand out and showed me his phone.


    [Small Health Potion] x1 (Black circled) = 20 Coins


    [Simple Dagger] x200 (Black circled) = 1000 Coins


    [Desert Spear] x1 (Purple circled) = 15 Coins


    [Payment]: 1035 Coins


    "Press your finger on the screen."


    Doing as he instructed, I pressed my finger against his phone''s screen. And after a second a message came to my phone:


    [Message]: You received (1) Small Health Potion from Lao Tong.


    [Message]: You received (200) Simple Daggers from Lao Tong.


    [Message]: You received (1) Desert Spear from Lao Tong.


    All the cards which I grabbed before flashed in a white light and disappeared, moving into my inventory.


    The old man was smiling over both ears with small dimples showing on his wrinkled face.


    "Because you bought so much and are probably new here, I will give you a tip: There is an arena in the middle of the city where people fight against monsters to show their strength. You can make decent money there and if you are good and the prince likes you, you can work under him."


    ''Fighting against monsters sounds perfect. I need to know what types of monsters exist and what they can do. This sounds like a good place to gather some knowledge and gain money in the meantime.''


    I politely smiled and nodded to the old man, giving him my thanks.


    I stood back up and went through the curtain back to the busy and loud street.

 Chapter 0009 Battle of Monsters (1)

    Walking towards my horse and opening the map on the phone, I saw many things in this city. There were uncountable amounts of shops, some smiths, schools, and restaurants.


    Zooming to the middle of the city, I found a big structure in the shape of a circle. Above it stood the words ''Desert Cloud Arena''.


    ''It isn''t even that far away. Probably only a 10 minute ride.''


    I took the reins of the black horse and jumped onto its back, sitting comfortably.


    Pulling the reins, the horse galloped along the street, producing clacking noises with its hooves at every step. People parted before the horse and made way for it to gallop through.


    After a long-felt ride, I could finally see the arena. It was as big as the city wall and towered higher than all buildings in the vicinity.


    Booming voices of cheers rang from the arena and pounded against my ears.


    ''That should be it,'' I thought and went towards the entrance.


    "Stop! No horses are allowed in the arena," a guard in silver armour, like the one from the gate, said to me.


    Hopping off from the horse, I stretched my hand out and wanted to give him the reins.


    "Just bind it on the pole to your left."


    Turning to my left, there were dozens of horses bound to multiple poles. Small boxes of clear water stood near the poles and no food was there.


    A pungent smell of horse excrements assaulted my nose and made me pull my nose up.


    Moving closer to a pole where only one white horse was bound to, I circled the reins around the pole and tightened it with a knot.


    After I made sure that there is still enough water in the box, I walked back to the guard.


    "Stop!" he said and blocked my way with his silver spear.


    "The entrance fee is 10 coins. If you want a VIP seat, it would be 1000 coins," explained the guard and held his phone out on which stood:


    [Desert Smoke Arena Ticket] x1 = 10 Coins


    [Payment]: 10 Coins


    ''1000 coins?! I mean I could buy it, but that would just be a waste of money. I would see the same with the cheap ticket too,'' I thought and pressed my finger against his phone''s screen, making the transaction.


    *ding*


    [Message]: You received (1) Desert Smoke Arena Ticket from Bao Ling.


    After checking the message on my phone, I stepped past the guard and walked into the arena.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    With every meter I stepped forward, the cheering got louder and louder, nearing the deafening point. The pungent smell from horse was replaced by a dense smell of blood.


    "Kill him!"


    "Slit his throat!"


    "Kill him!"


    "Kill! Kill! Kill!"


    Loud screams crashed against my pained ears and I could finally see the centre of the arena.


    A big circle of barren ground was there and two people fought against each other.


    The person on the losing side was a bulky-looking fighter using a heavy hammer.


    Wearing nearly no armour at all, his bronze skin with iron-hard muscles was put on showcase. His short, ashen-black hair danced through the air with his every moment, swinging left and right.


    Sweat ran down his skin and made it sparkle in the sunlight. Telling from his knitted eyebrows, the bloody spots on his body, and blood leaking from his mouth, he was near his end.


    The person on the winning side looked to be between 20 and 30 years old and had a beautiful face, looking rather relaxed.


    With his serpentine eyes glowing in a red colour, he looked most of the time towards the spectators and not at his opponent.


    His bone-white skin looked as if he never saw the sun from this desert and was locked away till today.


    Even though he acted arrogant, nobody seemed to hate it. It was the other way around. The people here encouraged him to kill the other person and bring everything to an end.


    Swinging his bat-black cape back, he jumped high into the air and stepped onto the bulky man''s face. With his next step he stepped onto his hammer and then back onto the ground, standing behind him.


    A smirk crept onto his lips and he announced, "Give me another opponent! This one is SHIT!"


    "What did you say?!" the bulky man howled and flew into a rage; blue veins popped on his forehead and neck.


    Heaving his hammer above him, it started to glow in a fading red hue. The hammer trembled and shook, seeming as if it would explode at any moment.


    The man screamed; "Haaaaah!!" and thrusted his hammer towards the proud man''s head.


    *boom!*


    A deafening voice echoed through the arena, startling most viewers and letting them hold their ears in pain.


    A cloud of sand rose from this strike and covered the scene of the fight.


    "Was he killed?"


    "What is happening?"


    "I can''t see anything!"


    The smoke cleared and revealed the shocking truth. The proud man blocked the trembling hammer with a single hand of his and stood motionless there as if he only caught a floating balloon.


    *crack*


    Cracks spread out from the man''s fingers and broke the hammer into smithereens, leaving only dust and pieces from the once mighty hammer.


    The bulky man fell to his knees and buried his head into the remains of the hammer, running his fingers through it.


    "This hammer was worth more than my life¡­" he mumbled and squeezed the parts so tight that blood trickled down his hands.


    "You will pay for this! I will come again!!" he howled at him and stamped away, leaving through a gate.


    The serpentine-eyed man stepped towards the middle of the field, spread his arms wide open, and screamed, "Who is the next one?! I will fight anyone!"


    ". . ."


    Silence.


    No one even dared to breathe, let alone speak. The hearts of many spectators fell into their pants and looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with the fighter.


    Seeing all the scared people, curiosity packed me and I turned my gaze back to the man on the field.


    He stood with his hands akimbo and his bat-black cape flickered in the breeze. His serpentine eyes scanned the crowd and swiped towards my direction.


    "YOU! You look like a fighter! Came down here!" he howled towards me and pointed his thin finger at me.


    Shocked, I turned around and checked if he was really pointing at me. But behind me was nothing and looking back forward, everyone avoided eye-contact with him. So, it could only be me.


    ''If I turn his request down, I will become a laughing stock. People will laugh at me for running away. I don''t want that!!''


    I straightened my back, lifted my chin, and stared back at him.


    Slowly moving onto the field, everyone looked at me with shocked eyes. But buried in the shocked expressions was relief. Relief that they don''t have to fight.

 Chapter 0010 Battle of Monsters (2)

    The winds began to howl and throw sand from the field into the air. The man''s bat-black cape shook from the wind and his neck-long, black hair danced with the breeze. He ran his hand through his hair and combed it backwards.


    "You have no idea how happy you make me right now," he whispered to me and grinned widely.


    ''What''s with him?'' I asked myself.


    Suddenly, a loud voice announced, "Attention! The time-limit for this fight is 10 minutes. The winner will get 1000 Coins. His Highness the Prince will announce the start of the battle."


    With the announcer''s last words, everyone looked towards the VIP-section of the arena.


    A topless and inhumanly fat man sat on a pompous, golden throne. His skin looked oily and jelly-like; fat wiggled on his belly with every breath he took.


    With his chicken-leg thick fingers, he fumbled in a bowl of nuts. Taking a fist-sized nut, he squeezed his greasy hand together and cracked the nut open. He took the inner part of the nut and stuffed it into his fat mouth.


    His cheeks remembered me of pigs, wobbling up and down with each bite. While he chewed and chomped on the nut, he glanced to his left with his grape-shaped eyes and looked at the female servants next to him.


    The girls looked really pretty. They all wore colourful, thin clothes of silk with small, decorative chains, leaving their bellies uncovered.


    The fatty licked his lips and threw the nut shells at the girls'' faces.


    Wiping his fingers at his double-chin, he turned his gaze back to the field and announced with a greasy voice, "The fight starts when the next nut hits the ground!"


    He buried his fat fingers into the bowl and grabbed another nut. This time the nut was black and looked rather unappetizing.


    ''So he just said that so that he can throw the ugly nut away?!''


    He threw the nut in an arc towards the field, whizzing through the air. Swiftly I pulled my phone out, went to inventory, and retrieved the spear-card.


    I put the phone back into my pocket and broke the card, grabbing the spear which appeared. The spear was completely brown and looked otherwise like every other spear; nothing special.


    *pak*


    The nut hit the barren ground and the unarmed man flew like a tempest towards me.


    I pointed my spear at him and waited for him to come. Shortly after, the man arrived before me.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Before I could even stab at him, he stepped onto the spearhead and intended to step onto my head next.


    I raised the spear with him on it and threw him over my shoulder, catapulting him towards the wall of the arena.


    *Boom!*


    With a loud echo, he crashed into the stone wall of the field, and cracks spread out from the point of the impact.


    With debris falling from the wall, the man stood slowly up and patted the dust from his clothes.


    "It seems I misjudged you. But that won''t happen again," he gleefully said and spat a mouthful of blood towards the side, wiping his mouth afterwards.


    He sprinted towards me again. I readied my spear and held it lower this time; it''s tip touching the ground.


    He came nearer and nearer. When he was directly before me, I ducked, shoved the spearhead under his shoe, and catapulted him high into the air.


    ''Shit! I shouldn''t have done that!''


    Looking towards the sky, I instantly regretted my decision of sending him upwards.


    The sun shone so bright that it made me lower my gaze and I couldn''t see him anymore. I rammed the spear-shoe into the ground, making it stay tall on the field and pointing upwards.


    ''If he falls down where I think, the spear should do the rest,'' I thought, produced two dagger cards in my pocket with the phone, and broke them.


    Having two new daggers in my hands and the spear on a possible landing position, I retreated a few steps and tried to look for the man in the sky.


    Suddenly something sharp drilled into my neck. Out of reflex I turned around and looked behind me.


    Nothing.


    *Shnk!*


    A tearing pain cut over my entire back and blood gushed out. I wanted to cry out, but no voice left my lips, only blood dripped down.


    I gnashed my teeth, turned around, and saw the man standing there with a bloody sword.


    In a rage, I jumped with my daggers drawn at him and aimed towards his shoulder and hip.


    Nonchalantly, he turned the sword clockwise and blocked both my daggers with a single blade.


    I pushed with the dagger near his shoulder against the sword and stabbed with the other dagger towards his other hip.


    He turned the sword again; the handle was above his head and the sword tip was nearly touching the ground.


    He blocked both my daggers, let them slid over his blade, turned around, and slashed towards my neck.


    Swiftly, I blocked the sword with my daggers and redirected it above me.


    Shooting forward, I cut into his hand which held the sword.


    He lost the grip on the sword and it fell downwards. Nearly instantly, he grabbed the sword with his other hand and chopped sideward towards my hip.


    I held my dagger in a defensive position on hip-level and when the sword crushed against my dagger, I leaned my balance over the sword, making me roll over his flying sword and evading it.


    As soon as my feet touched the ground, I sent my two daggers towards his neck while it was still unprotected.


    Copying me, he changed his balance and flew with the momentum of the sword towards the side, evading my blades.


    He drew his sword behind his back and slashed with all his might towards my hip again.


    Scoffing at his brainless act, I defended my hip with the dagger again, changed my balance, and rolled over the sword.


    But before I ended my roll and could touch the ground, he changed the direction of the sword and shot me into the sky.


    ''Heh. You think you can copy my earlier moves? Well, you made a mistake here!'' I scoffed at his knowledge while a smile came to my lips.


    While still in air, I pulled my phone out and retrieved all remaining 198 dagger cards.


    With a flickering hand motion, I sent each card from one hand to my other, broke it, and shot it towards him.


    Repeating this motion, I shot all 198 daggers at him, piercing his body over a dozen times.


    I felt the gravity pulling me down again and landed beside my spear, nearly being impaled by it. I stuck my two daggers into the sheaths on my belt and grabbed the spear.


    Looking at the impaled and motionless, but still standing, man, I saw a smile creeping onto his lips and he said, "Keke. You missed!!"

 Chapter 0011 Battle of Monsters (3)

    ''What? I missed him? What is he talking about?'' I felt confused and stared at him.


    Dozens of daggers penetrated his body, but no blood was coming out. There were daggers stuck in his limbs, tummy, and chest. But he still stood there as if nothing happened at all.


    Bat-black darkness creeped over his skin and changed his skin colour from a bone-white to a deep black.


    His limbs and body twitched and bulges formed on his skin, looking as if something tried to escape from his body.


    Suddenly his clothes started to move too. His black cape twitched and flew into dozens of parts.


    Looking more closely, I saw little teeth on the parts and wings spreading.


    ''Bats!'' I concluded.


    His entire cape turned into countless bats, squirming in the air above him. His body fell apart too and turned into dozens, maybe hundreds, of bats. They flew above the arena like a hive of bees and blocked the sunlight.


    Darkness took over.


    With him gone, the daggers which penetrated his body before plummeted onto the barren ground, untainted by blood.


    I completely lost sight from him and turned my gaze towards the squirming and moving patch of black in the sky.


    Hundreds of bats screeched horribly, sending shudders down the viewers'' spines. Everyone from the onlookers had an expression of despair plastered onto their face. Some even fell onto their knees and prayed while others pushed people aside and ran away.


    A big mass of bats flew towards the same point in the sky. Before they touched each other, they turned into a liquid mass of darkness, mixing with each other.


    With the bats turning into liquid darkness, they melted together and formed limbs, then torso, and lastly a head. It had the form of the man from earlier but he was in complete black.


    He stretched his hand outwards and grabbed a bat, squeezing it tightly. Dozens of other bats joined together and liquefied to form a cauldron-black sword, completely void of light.


    He shot the hilt of his sword towards his chest and cracks spread from his chest.


    Like a shell, the darkness crumbled away and there was the original appearance of the man from before. The only difference was his amour.


    Blood-red leather armour covered his arms and torso, giving him a blood-curdling aura of death. The body of a dragon was engraved on his chest armour and each shoulder pat was in the form of a howling dragon''s head.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Proudly he stood with his dark sword in the air and looked down on me.


    Hundreds of bats gathered at his back and melted together to form bat-like wings, more than 4 meters wide each.


    Seeing this, even the former calm viewers were sent into panic and had a look of horror on their faces.


    Everybody pushed and squeezed in the masses of people and ran away from the arena. Some unlucky ones were trampled in the process.


    Deafening screams came from the onlooker and overshadowed the horrible voices of the bats.


    "It''s a vampire!"


    "RUN!!"


    "ARghhhh!!"


    "Run!"


    Now I understood. This isn''t a human, but a monster created by the apocalypse. Or maybe he was even here before the apocalypse.


    I gulped my anxiety down, and calmness returned to my face.


    ''So he said I missed him because I didn''t hit his heart?'' I thought and readied my spear.


    I drew my leading foot forward with crunching noises coming from the barren ground.


    Slowly I lowered my hips and got into a lower stance, pointing my spear at him.


    The vampire''s wings flapped once and he shot like a tempest towards me. He drew his sword over his shoulder and came rushing towards me.


    I raised my spear and thrusted it at his sword. The spearhead glided along his sword, deflecting its path. With my spear being longer than the sword, I had the advantage.


    With his sword now being off-target and his body being unprotected, I continued my thrust and bored the spear into his lead shoulder, missing his heart.


    I retracted my spear and moved a few steps back into a defensive positon, holding my spear horizontally before me.


    Black darkness gushed out from the wound. Suddenly, wings came out from the wound and a dead bat dropped to the ground.


    Instantly a new bat flew towards the hole at his shoulder and replaced the dead bat''s position.


    The wound was gone.


    ''What is he? That is totally unnatural!'' I got agitated and gritted my teeth.


    No matter where I would strike him, he would just change the parts with new bats like a car changes its parts. I can only kill him by hitting his heart and nothing other.


    The completely healed vampire raised his sword with a grin on his face and came rushing at me again.


    Seeing his blade coming from above me and flying down, I raised the shaft of my spear and blocked the sword with the spear''s body.


    *pak*


    A sudden pain assaulted my chest and I flew backwards. Squinting my eyes and looking at him, I saw that it was a kick from him that hit my chest.


    As soon as I had ground under my feet again, I stabilised my position and came rushing back at him.


    With my spear raised, I feinted a thrust towards his head. And as expected, he moved his sword upwards, trying to reflect my strike.


    Swiftly changing the course of my spear, I targeted his heart. A bat separated from his chest and pushed the spearhead off target, missing the heart again and drilling beside the heart into his chest.


    Dead bats dropped from the wound to the ground again and the hole was replaced by new bats.


    He stepped over the corpses of the bats and thrusted the tip of his sword towards me.


    I swiped my spear towards his sword of deflected it.


    He grabbed with his free hand towards the shaft of my spear and clutched it tightly, pulling me closer to him.


    In my panic, I let go of the spear and retreated a few steps backwards, standing with raised fists before my face in a defensive position.


    ''Shit! I made a mistake! F*ck!!'' I panicked.


    My thoughts raced to come up with a solution. My heart pounded against my rib cage and pumped pulsating blood through my veins.


    I gritted my teeth with gnashing noises and my fingertips bored into the skin of my hands; blood trickled down from my hands and dyed the barren ground red.

 Chapter 0012 A Sudden End

    My wide opened eyes scanned the surroundings. My 200 daggers were still spread over the entire field, penetrating the scorched ground.


    The nearest dagger was directly between me and him. It would be a matter of speed: Will I be faster at the dagger or will he be faster.


    ''This is my only chance,'' I concluded.


    Pushing all my strength into my foot, my veins bulged, my muscles tightened, and I shot forward with great speed.


    Wind sizzled by my ear and left a ringing tone in it. I focused my squinted eyes at the dagger, wishing I could grasp it with a look alone.


    The vampire flapped his eerie wings and shot with greater speed than me forward, pointing his sword at me.


    He held the sword in a raised position, ready to hack down at me. His eyebrows were knitted and his eyes radiated with hatred.


    I reached my hand out for the nearest dagger, desiring it more than anything at this moment.


    The vampire came closer and closer, nearly being in front of me.


    Finally, my fingertips touched the handle of the dagger, giving me a feeling of bliss and security. In the next moment, my hand gripped around the dagger, tightly holding onto it as if it was my treasure.


    But my blissfulness didn''t hold long. The vampire''s sword came crushing down at me, cutting the wind apart.


    Swiftly I rolled towards the side, evaded his blood-seeking sword, and stabilized my position like a tiger. With hands and feet on the ground, I pushed with all my strength against my feet again.


    My veins bulged again and my muscles tightened as I shot forward. But this time a snapping sound came with it accompanied with a tearing pain in my calf.


    My muscles tore at my right foot''s calf, sending a whipping pain through my body.


    With gritted teeth and focus, I slit my blade through the vampire''s knee. It was cleanly cut off and bats gushed out from the opened part, making room for new bats.


    Having lost his balance and falling backwards onto his wings, he was left unprotected and was wide open now.


    Without losing this opportunity, I stepped onto his sword, fixing it in place, and sent my dagger towards his chest.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "STOP! TIME''S UP!!" a clear but deafening voice pounded against my ears.


    I stopped my dagger with its tip on the vampire''s chest; not moving a millimeter. I turned my head around and looked towards the source of the voice.


    The topless, fat prince stood up from his throne; his rolls of fat jiggled like jelly. He smacked his wet lips and clapped his inflated hands together.


    *clap* *clap*


    Sparks came from his claps and incinerated the bats from the sky in a split second. Dead bodies rained like torches down upon me, hitting my body ¨C pounding it.


    Dead bats littered the ground with my daggers. The flames on the bats crackled and raged; it scorched their skins and burnt them down.


    With the bodies dropping, the once bat-filled sky cleared up and the blazing sun came into view. Light brightened the surroundings and tore the darkness away.


    I moved my foot from the sword and stood aside, glaring at the pig of a prince.


    The fat on his cheeks jumped up and down while he spoke, "The match is a draw! No price! And you ¨C you mortal ¨C are now a gladiator for this arena too."


    ''WHAT?! NO!'' My rage flared up and I glared with gritted teeth at him.


    Why should I stay here?! I still have other things to do. I still have a place to be at. I can''t stay here!


    The vampire beside me stood up emotionlessly and patted his clothes. His wings squirmed and turned into a black cape; his armour wiggled and changed into the one from before. He now looked totally normal again; and not in the least like a vicious being or a vampire.


    He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, silently waiting for something to come.


    I couldn''t stand being here anymore and sprinted towards the exit. A sudden weakness and pain assaulted me when I stepped too heavy on my foot. The muscles in my calf were still torn apart.


    I gnashed and grounded my teeth and shot a glance towards the prince again, despising him with every fibre in my being.


    If I would have had the strength, I would fight him personally to death; but I hadn''t.


    The amused prince raised an eyebrow and happily continued gorging down the nuts, cracking open one after another.


    He turned his head and looked at one of the female servants, commanding her, "Do your part."


    She lifted her bare foot and began walking towards me. A silver bell tied to her ankle ringed at every step. The melodious and high ringing of the bell tore at my heart strings and sent a shudder down my spine.


    I rumpled myself back up again and stood on one foot. I held my dagger ready and got into my fighting stance.


    Slowly she drew nearer towards me, and when she was within my range, I shot forward towards her.


    Meanwhile, she lifted her palm, holding some powder in it, and blew it towards my face.


    A biting pain nagged at my eyes and left them tearing up, blurring my vision. My brain was getting drowsy and my feet and arms were getting weak.


    I collapsed.


    My body didn''t obey me anymore. Only my senses were still present and nothing else.


    I continued to struggle, but my body didn''t move, not a millimeter. I could only helplessly watch as the beautiful servant took my weapon away and tied me up.


    My vision went dark.


    Now I could only hear and not see any more. With my strengthened hearing-sense, I could understand a short conversation.


    "Just put him into an empty cell."


    "Yes, master."


    "His next fight will be next week at the same time against the same opponent."


    "Yes, master."


    My ears went deaf.


    Nothing remained with me and everything was taken away: the control over my body, my vision, my hearing. Not even my pride got spared. My heart was filled with rage and my brain with revenge.

 Chapter 0013 One who has Kindness

    ". . ."


    Slowly I heaved my eyes open, taking a glimpse of my surroundings. First I saw a floor made of stone squares. The stone was mouldy and ice cold, sending me a shiver down my spine.


    Lifting my gaze a little bit up, I saw iron bars circled around me, trapping me inside like a wild animal. Rust spread over the iron bars and turned the once silver metal into a dull brown.


    Spiders creeped in the corners and between the iron bars, spinning their death-traps. Patiently they waited in their nets, hoping to have a feast and fill their tummies.


    With a creaking sound of a door, a black clothed guard in his early twenties walked into the room. He wore a ragged uniform in a sloppy manner, stained with bloody spots.


    His bone-white hair was disorderly and stood in every direction as if he just woke up after a long sleep. But contradictory, his sleepy eyes and heavy eye bags clearly showed that he doesn''t sleep at all.


    His face, devoid of emotions and expressions, looked mesmerizing. If he wasn''t looking so tired and sloppy, he would totally be a beauty amongst men.


    Slowly he pulled a metallic trolley behind him. Wooden bowls with probably food were placed on it and emitted a mouth-watering fragrance.


    The rattling and clanking of the trolley pulled nearer and the guard stopped before my cell. He took a deep breath, wiped his hand over his face and eyes, and sighed heavily.


    When he saw that I was looking at him, he put up a smile which was clearly fake but still a sight to behold.


    Carefully he glided his hands under a food bowl, treating it as if it was the holiest thing on earth. He lifted it up, squatted before my cell, and placed it on the ground, not spilling a single drop of the soup.


    His emotionless, sky-blue eyes looked clearer than any sky I have ever seen since the apocalypse. He shot his gaze once left and right, checking if someone looked at him, and whispered to me, "I put a few HP-Potion drops in there. That''s all I can do for you. Good luck at next week''s match."


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Hastily he got back to his trolley and pretended that nothing happened at all. He went to the next cell, put the food before the cell, and whispered to the person. It was probably the same he said to me.


    ''Why is he doing this? I don''t even know him¡­'' I felt confused.


    I went towards the edge of my cell, squatted down, and grabbed the bowl of soup. The wood from the bowl was warm, clearly indicating that the soup is still hot and probably freshly cooked.


    The warmness of the bowl gave a comfortable feeling towards my cold hands and warmed them up. Inside of the bowl was a soup of a healthy, dark-yellow colour. I lifted the bowl towards my face and sniffed, checking if it was truly a normal soup and nothing else.


    A warm vape filled with aromas stormed at my face, warming it from its stiffness. A pleasant smell of chicken and vegetables filled my nose. It remembered me of the homemade cooking from my mother back at home before the apocalypse started: peaceful and safe.


    I closed my eyes and brought the bowl to my lips, taking a sip from it. The warm feeling spread through my body and warmed me from inside up. Unnoticed by me, a small smile came onto my lips.


    I enjoyed every sip I took from the soup and savoured the feeling to remember it for later. Even though I am now locked in a cell and far away from the girl I was searching for, I was happy.


    It was not the soup which made me happy, nor the feeling of home I got from it. It was not the aroma or taste of the soup. It had absolutely nothing to do with it.


    It was because of him. He had what other people lacked: Kindness


    This was the first time since a long time that I was treated kindly. Some people were scared of me, some called me weird, some called me emotionless, and some just liked treating people like toys. But in him I saw kindness and goodwill.


    Deep in thought, I put the bowl back at the spot from where I took it, making a wooden clacking noise which echoed through the silent vicinity.


    Satisfied, I went into a corner of the cell and leaned my back against the iron bars. It wasn''t comfortable at all and felt wrong. But I remained in this position and pulled my phone out to check my stats.


    [Name]: Shen Chao


    [Clan]: --


    [Level]: 10


    [HP]: 130/130


    [MP]: 0/0


    [Coins]: 15945


    [Occupation]: NPC (Elite)


    ''So there really were HP-Potion drops in there¡­'' I felt stunned that the guy told the truth.


    Nowadays it wasn''t totally normal for a person to speak the truth. Many people lied and spun stories to get other people to like them or to appeal to them. Some even lied to get onto peoples good sides or gain power.


    But this guard was clearly none of them. He was truthfully and kind. Two attributes hard to find in people these days.


    Since I had nothing to do here in this cell besides waiting, I explored the phone a little bit more. My curious gaze raced over the app names and suddenly stopped at one: Marketplace.


    ''I have a lot of coins. I might as well spend them.''


    With a click on the marketplace-app, a simple but fancy looking interface spread out over the phone.


    [[ Marketplace ]] (Coins: 15945)


    -[Potions]


    -[Armours]


    -[Weapons]


    -[Food&Drinks]


    -[Skills]


    Since I already had a tasty soup, I didn''t feel the need to browse the Food&Drinks section. What I really needed right now were weapons and armour for the fight next week.


    But my curiosity was stronger than my will to search for weapons and armour. I already saw and bought a potion card, food card, and weapon card. But I never saw a skill card.


    What would a skill card look like? What will skill cards do? Can they give me insight into new fighting styles? Can they teach me some magic like the one the rider or the prince used? Or could they maybe make me a vampire like the one from the arena?


    I couldn''t stand my curiosity anymore and clicked on the Skills section. Uncountable pictures of cards showed up in a list with prices and descriptions, looking like a well-designed interface.


    The skill cards were sorted by rank and price. The cheapest and lowest ranked skill card was the first one from the top.


    Fixing my sight on the first card, my breathing stopped, my mouth gaped open, and my thoughts died down. I was stunned into utter silence.

 Chapter 0014 Skills and Genes

    [[Cooking Skill]] (black circled)


    [Levels]: 10


    [Description]: Teaches the skill of cooking every food according to the level.


    [Price]: 100 Coins


    ''Cooking is a skill here? What else? Cleaning? Gardening?''


    In my bad mood, my gaze went to the top of the screen and I saw a filter option.


    [Magic]


    [Fighting]


    [Gene]


    [Others]


    ''What is Gene? I have an idea for Magic Skills, Fighting Skills, and Other Skills. But what does Gene do?'' I questioned myself and curiously selected it.


    Uncountable number of cards spread out over the screen. I looked at the first card and scrolled through the list, glancing at some cards.


    ...


    [[Skills of the Cockroach]] (black circled)


    [Levels]: 10


    [Description]: Gives the user the ability to alter his gene at any moment to grant specific body parts the abilities of a cockroach.


    [Price]: 15 000 Coins


    ¡­


    [[Skills of the Bunny]] (black circled)


    [Levels]: 10


    [Description]: Gives the user the ability to alter his gene at any moment to grant specific body parts the abilities of a bunny.


    [Price]: 15 000 Coins


    ¡­


    [[Skills of the Eagle]] (purple circled)


    [Levels]: 15


    [Description]: Gives the user the ability to alter his gene at any moment to grant specific body parts the abilities of an eagle.


    [Price]: 20 000 Coins


    ...


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ''This is simply overpowered! If I can have the shell of a cockroach, I won''t be injured that easily. If I can fly like an eagle or have the vision of an eagle¡­ But those prices are just too much¡­''


    I looked at my amount of coins and sighed heavily. With all my money, I could only buy a black circled card.


    ''I wonder what a golden circled Gene Card looks like¡­''


    I was too curious and scrolled downwards for a long time. I scrolled so fast that I couldn''t read a single name of a card in the meantime. Cards flashed over the screen and left it as soon as they entered it.


    Suddenly I couldn''t scroll any longer. I hit the end.


    [[Skills of the Vampire]] (red circled)


    [Levels]: 15


    [Description]: Gives the user the ability to alter his gene at any moment to grant specific body parts the abilities of a vampire.


    [Price]: 150 000 Coins


    ''WHAT?! This is the skill from the guy from the arena, right?! He bought this skill for 150 000 Coins? How can he have so much money and still end up here?!''


    ''And why is the skill only red circled? Where are the bronze, silver, and golden ones?''


    I scrolled downwards again, hoping to see more powerful skills. But I couldn''t scroll any further.


    Disheartened, I scrolled back up and looked at all the black-circled skills which I can afford. There were really a lot of black-circled skills, but most of them seemed useless to me.


    After long consideration I decided for a card. I clicked on the ''Skills of the Cockroach''-Card and made the payment.


    [Message]: You received (1) Skills of the Cockroach Gene from the system.


    Swiftly I navigated to my inventory and clicked on the card. Slowly it was printed out from the phone while I patiently waited for it to finish.


    Even though the card wasn''t completely printed out, I already clutched the card with my greedy fingers and pulled a little, checking if it was finished.


    As soon as the resistance went away and I could pull it out, I broke it in two halves and with a white light it disappeared.


    ''Where is it?! Is it gone?!''


    Desperation showed on my face. My pupils contracted and nervously swiped the gaze over the ground, looking for the Gene thing.


    My hands wiped over the cold and dirty ground, staining my hands with some muddy texture. I searched the entire ground in my cell, but there was nothing.


    ''Maybe it is already used? Yes, that has to be it!'' I comforted myself and checked my skills page on the phone.


    [[Skills]]:


    [Skills of the Cockroach] (black circled):


    [Level]: 1/10


    [Description]: Gives the user the ability to alter his gene at any moment to grant specific body parts the abilities of a cockroach.


    [Upgrade]: 1000 Coins


    ''So I do already have it.''


    A heavy weight fell from my heart and I felt relieved. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my torso. I pictured myself with the armour of a cockroach.


    Slowly I opened my eyes again, but there was nothing different on me. I pinched the skin on my belly and it still hurt. I didn''t gain the abilities of a cockroach at all.


    ''What did I do wrong? Why is there no manual for this?!''


    I felt utterly wronged. I bought a very expensive skill and couldn''t use it at all. I could have bought a very powerful weapon or armour instead. But what do I do? I bought something useless instead.


    I gazed at the ceiling and thought about the card. I pictured myself with awesome-looking armour which cannot be penetrated.


    My thoughts started to drift further and I ended up thinking about genes; those spiralling things which look like noodles.


    *cling*


    A sudden noise startled me and I shot my eyes open, expecting someone near me.


    A floating, illusory gene was before me. It looked surreal and slowly spun around its axis. The gene was really big, looking like a really big toy.


    I reached my hand out and tried to touch the floating projection. My finger went straight through it as if it was a ghost.


    A small emblem picturing a cockroach was next to the spinning gene. Curiously I clicked on the emblem and it floated into the gene.


    *cling*


    The same noise from before sounded out again and the gene disappeared into uncountable dots of light, melting into the air.


    A warm and comfortable feeling spread through my torso and illusory armour of blue light expanded out from my body, covering my torso like a second skin.


    The glowing armour didn''t look in the least like a cockroach. It had no resemblances with it whatsoever.


    The illusory armour looked like any normal leather armour with thickness. The only difference was that it looked surreal and had the emblem of a cockroach on the chest.


    I lifted my arm up and patted at my chest, checking if my hand would go through the illusory armour like it did with the gene.


    *pat*


    A warm feeling stopped my hand and I couldn''t move my hand further. The surreal armour stopped my hand completely.


    ''Now, this looks really cool,'' I thought and glided my hands over the entire armour, feeling its warmness and checking its hardness.


    *BAM!*


    A door shot open, hitting the wall behind it with a banging noise, and a black clad figure stepped in, startling me awake from my daydream.

 Chapter 0015 Consequences Of Acting Impulsively (1)

    The black clad person wore the same uniform as the guard from before. The only difference was that he wore it neatly without a single stain or dust on it.


    His hellfire-red hair was short and stood upwards like a blazing flame. A pugnacious smile was on his lips, showing his sharp and ghost-white teeth.


    He pulled a trolley behind him with food bowls on it. He pulled it so fast that the rattling and shaking from it made some bowls fall of the trolley, spilling the food on the ground.


    The guard didn''t even bother to pick them up or glance at them. He continued pulling the trolley with a grin and went towards my cell.


    When he arrived before it, he didn''t even stop. He just grabbed a food bowl from the trolley and tossed it towards my cell.


    The food bowl crashed with a rattling noise against the iron bars and fell towards the ground. The rice from the bowl spilled over the dirty ground and emptied the bowl.


    "Enjoy your main dish!" he haughtily said to me and snickered with a grin on his face. "And put the bowl before the cell so that I can collect it later!" he added.


    He kept striding forward and tossed the next food bowl at the iron bars of the next cell. The food spilled over the floor again, and he giggled haughtily. He did this to every other cell, and each time he felt it more hilarious.


    My blood boiled in rage and with gnashing teeth I stared at him. I engraved his expression into my mind to never forget him. I was already at a low point in my life: imprisoned in a cell; and he kicked me while I''m down.


    Now I understood why the guard from earlier put HP-Potion drops in the soup. If he hadn''t done that, we wouldn''t have had enough food to regenerate our HP. He knew that the next guard would spill all the food, leaving us with spilled rice.


    My gratefulness to the earlier guard grew bigger and my hate towards the new guard grew immensely. I still have a week to stay in here before I have to fight again. So, I made up my mind to teach that guard a lesson.


    Remembering him saying that he would collect the food bowls later, I thought of a plan. I could either buy a weapon and kill him with it, or I could buy a grenade, hide it under the bowl, and blow him up with the iron bars of my cell.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    With my motto: Safety first; I went to the Marketplace app and bought a spear and a grenade with the remaining 945 coins I had. I was now broke, but I acquired a green-circled spear and a green-circled grenade.


    I moved to the edge of my cell and grabbed the two bowls. I put the grenade in one bowl and covered in with the other one, hiding the grenade.


    Slowly, I pulled the pin from the grenade. Sweat rolled down my face as I tried to suppress the urge of shaking my hands from nervousness.


    This grenade wasn''t like a normal grenade. This one would explode at the simplest movement after the pin is pulled. It was obviously not a grenade made for throwing, but for traps.


    Finally I pulled the pin completely out. I put it into my pocket and kneed before my work. I put my fingertips against the bowl. I pushed it cautiously ¨C oh, so cautiously; cautiously that it won''t explode.


    I did this bit by bit; step by step. Not too hastily; not too slow. My fingertips trembled and I stopped. Shaking my hands and shaking the fear out, I returned back to work.


    Again, I pushed cautiously, even more gently than before, against the bowl. Only the scratching noise of wood against stone echoed in the silence.


    My heart raced, my lungs deflated, my breathing stopped, and my blood pulsated. Stuffy air filled my lungs, trying to calm my heart to no avail.


    I gulped, swallowing my fear. I took a deep breath, sighing the air slowly out again when a sudden scream startled me, "WHO''S FINSHED?!!"


    My hand slipped. My sweaty palm pushed a little too much. A scratchy noise came from the wooden bowl scratching at the stone ground. But nothing happened.


    I felt relieved. My eyes fell closed, my shoulders drooped, and a deep sigh rolled over my lips. It was as if a heavy burden was taken away from me ¨C freeing me from its grasp.


    Hastily I turned my widened eyes towards the source of the voice. ''It''s him! He''s back!''


    I stalked his every movement. Patiently I waited for my prey to tap into the trap. He began collecting the bowls starting from the other end of the room.


    Even though I had an emotionless expression on my face, my pulse and heartrate acted the opposite. My patience was limited, but I remained calm nevertheless.


    My gaze was as focused as a hawk stalking his prey. I slithered my hands around the iron bars on the other end of the cell. Coiling my fingers around the bars and tearing spider nets down calmed me in no way.


    I could feel my heart pounding against my rib cage. The noise it made grew louder, louder, and louder!


    ''Can he hear it?'' I panicked.


    ''Yes, he hears it!'' I went insane.


    I stuck my thumb into my mouth and gnawed at it. I paced up and down in my cell while he drew nearer.


    The beating of my heart got louder. Louder! Louder! Louder!


    ''Oh God! What if he notices? What if it fails?!'' I raved ¨CI swore ¨CI shouted!


    ''He sees my nervousness! He knows I am up to something! Yes, he knows! HE KNOWS!!'' I couldn''t stand the pressure anymore and my mind went mad, crazy even!


    This would be the first time I killed a person after all. A person like me!


    ''What did I do? I shouldn''t have done that! It was a mistake!! I- I- I only did that because I was in a grumpy mood¡­'' I began to feel remorse and guilt.


    The guard wasn''t far away now and I hastily looked at the explosive. ''It''s already too late. I can''t move it now¡­''


    I continued to gnaw at my thumb. The bitter taste of blood filled my tongue.


    *creak--*


    A creaking sound interrupted my train of thought and I gazed towards the source of it. Seeing the good-natured guard walking in through the door, my heart stopped and I remained motionless.


    "I will help you, Ling," said the sleepy-faced guard to the other one.


    He glanced at me and a kind smile blossomed onto his otherwise emotionless face.


    ''No. No, no. no. NO! I have to warn him!''

 Chapter 0016 Consequences Of Acting Impulsively (2)

    I jumped to the gate of the cell, clutched the rusty iron bars, and stared into his eyes. I shook my head heavily. My hair flew left and right.


    But he didn''t look.


    I slithered my hands through the iron bars and shook them with all my might, signalling him to stop. I stared into his eyes in the hope that his pupils will face me again.


    But he didn''t look.


    I struggled and pushed my body against the iron bars. I tried to scream, but only a ghastly sound of wind came from my mouth.


    He didn''t look¡­


    I gritted and grounded my teeth, knitted my eyebrows in pain, and threw my phone at him. The phone hit his shoulder and plummeted with a clanking echo onto the ground.


    He looked! Finally he looked at me.


    I shook my head and pointed at the bowl. I opened my mouth and imitated the word ''No'' with my lips.


    The guard squatted down, picked up my phone, and slowly went in front of my cell. He stood directly before me and asked curiously, "Are you deaf?"


    I shook my head and pointed at my throat.


    "So you are mute," he concluded.


    He knitted his eyebrows and asked confused, "Since you have a phone, why don''t you fix your voice?"


    My mouth gaped open, and my eyes stared at him¡­


    ''What? I can fix that with a phone?''


    Clearly the guard understood me and he tipped and swiped on my phone. He turned it around and showed me the display.


    [[Skills of the Siren]] (black circled)


    [Levels]: 5


    [Description]: Gives the user the ability to alter his gene at any moment to grant specific body parts the abilities of a Siren.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    [Price]: 15 000 Coins


    "Sirens are known for their enchanting voices and their songs," he explained and added, "if you change your vocal cords with those of a Siren, you could talk again."


    ''What? . . .'' I was stunned into silence.


    I had enough money to buy me a voice, but I bought a shell instead? I bought a cockroach''s shell? I could have finally talked again, but I bought the shell of a cockroach!


    Regret filled my heart. I was too spontaneous and bought the best thing I could see at that moment. If I would have thought things more over and read all cards and not only some, I could have a voice now.


    With my hand grasping the iron bars, I banged my head in regret against a bar. I felt really dumb at that moment.


    He turned his head, checked if the other guard looked, and whispered to me, "I have a quest which could help you in getting the money."


    "I saw your fight and think that you could help me with it."


    He pulled his own handy out and clicked on it. Then he held my phone next to his and clicked at mine.


    *ding*


    He gave me back my phone and a ''Missions & Quests'' interface was shown on it.


    [Message]: Bao Lie shared a quest with you.


    . . .


    [[Quest]]: Shamo City''s Freedom


    [Mission 01]: Find the King and Prince of the city (Completed)


    - King''s Location: Throne room


    - Prince''s Location: Arena


    [Mission 02]: Kill the King and Prince of the city (In Progress)


    . . .


    "At the fight next week, after you win against the vampire, you will have to fight the prince. Meanwhile I will keep his servants occupied."


    "If everything runs smoothly, we will get a lot of money and maybe even rare cards."


    I considered his enticing offer and because the quest was already on my phone, I accepted it. The only problem now was to win against the vampire, and defeat the King and Prince.


    The only advantage which I had against the vampire was the knowledge of weapons and real combat experience. The prince was probably the same. He probably bought many skills and hopefully isn''t trained in combat.


    I nodded at the sleepy guard and squatted down to carefully pull the bowl containing the grenade towards me. As soon as it was near enough, I lifted the upper bowl, pulled the pin from my pocket out, and put it back into the grenade.


    Meanwhile the guard watched me as I put the grenade back into my pocket. He was probably shocked that I tried to kill someone.


    We both acted as if nothing happened and he collected my food bowls. Seeing that the other guard was now very near, I avoided eye-contact and sat with crossed legs and closed eyes on the ground, waiting for them to go away.


    The clacking noises of wood continued to echo into my ear and when they stopped, a metallic sound of a door creaking entered my ears. The guards were probably gone now.


    I peeked a little bit and saw no guards anymore. They really were gone now.


    I pulled my phone out and checked my inventory. There were still some silver-circled bread in there and a spear which I just bought.


    . . .


    [[Heaven''s Pride]]


    [Type]: Spear


    [Grade]: green


    [Special Skill]: Heaven''s Strike


    -[Description]: Summons lightning and thunder from heaven. (Cooldown: 1 Minute)


    . . .


    I clicked on the card in the inventory and as it got removed from the list, the phone printed it into a physical form.


    In no time it was finished and I broke it. Under a flashing green light, a spear taller than me appeared in my hand.


    The shaft was pitch black and emerald-green clouds were engraved on it. At the end of the spear was a pure white horsetail whisk swinging.


    When I turned the spear around, the horsetail whisk swung in the air, making the weapon look alive ¨C as if it was a living thing.


    The spearhead was so clean and polished that I could see my own reflection on it. This spear was truly worth its money. Not only felt it good in my hands, it was also sharp and well balanced.


    I dragged my right foot backwards, going into a battle stance, and thrusted the spear forward. A whistling sound came from it breaking the air.


    I repeated the thrust dozens of times. Each time my arm would ache more and more. After I finished a hundred, I moved to my next battle stance and continued training.


    With each movement, a whistling noise came from the spear and a heavy breath escaped my lungs. After multiple sets, sweat poured down my skin and my muscles ached enormously.

 Chapter 0017 Rematch (1)

    The days flew by and it was now a week since I arrived here.


    Every day I trained with the spear. Each second I was awake, I improved my familiarity with the new spear.


    Even though my muscles ached and my breath got short, I continued my training. The guards came every time like clockwork to give out the meals.


    And at every meal, the sleepy guard, Bao Lie, put an HP-Potion drop into the soup while the other guard defiled our meals every time. Mostly he tossed the meal against the bars or spit into the food.


    I sat cross-legged on the ground and scrolled through the marketplace app to get a better understanding of all available cards.


    Suddenly a creaking noise echoed into my ear. I moved my gaze away from the phone and looked up at the door.


    It was Bao Lie again. He pulled a rattling trolley behind him with a lot of food bowls like always. Stopping before my cell, he took a bowl of soup and squatted down.


    "I mixed an HP-Potion drop in. Good luck at today''s match," he said, gave me the soup, and went to the next cell.


    Grasping the bowl of soup gave me this pleasant feeling again. I moved it towards my lips and took a slight sip.


    ''HOT!'' I cried inwardly.


    I nearly dropped the bowl and spilled the soup. It was scorching hot and burnt my upper lip and tongue. It felt as if I tried to drink lava.


    With pursed lips I puffed my cheeks and blew at the steaming hot soup. My breath made waves in the soup and made the lava-like soup seem like an erupting volcano.


    My still exhausted body from the training thirsted for this soup. Even though it was scorching hot, I wanted to drink it nevertheless.


    *BAM!*


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    The door shot open again, crashing against the wall and sending debris flying. The guard with the fire-red hair pushed his trolley in and announced with a bellowing voice, "Listen up! Today will be a quick meal! I have a place to be at!"


    He pushed the trolley towards my cell, spit into his hand, and grabbed the sticky rice from the bowl with his bare hand, and threw it towards me.


    I didn''t think much of it because he does this more often lately and every time the food ends up on the floor.


    I watched on as the sticky rice flew towards me and this time it didn''t hit the bars but flew between them, aiming at my face.


    The food grew bigger in my vision and I panicked. I raised my hand to protect my face from the food.


    *pat*


    A searing pain assaulted my face and I wiped the steaming hot rice as fast as possible from my face. There were still some rice grains in my face and I tried to remove them all.


    Meanwhile the guard started to laugh insanely and his provocative eyes glared at me. His loud laugh echoed through the room and replaced the silence.


    My hatred flared up and I stared at him with widened eyes. The guard thought nothing of me and continued to do the same at the other cells.


    ''I will get my revenge. Just you wait¡­''


    After I removed all rice grains from my face, I continued to drink my soup. It was now much cooler compared to before and not as hot.


    A refreshing feeling entered my body and blew the exhaustion from my body away. I could feel my strength returning to me and regaining new energy.


    *ding*


    A message came to my phone and I put the soup aside to look at it.


    . . .


    [Message]: Bao Lie sent you a private message.


    [Content]: The prince is already at the arena. He has three servants with him, and Ling and I will be the guards.


    . . .


    ''So, everyone is waiting for me.''


    "HEY, YOU!" the red-haired guard, Ling, came back and screamed at me.


    "Your fight will begin soon. Come with me," he said and unlocked the gate of the cell.


    Before he opened it, he pulled his phone out and held it ready in one hand. With a creaking noise, the rusty gate creeped open.


    He pointed his phone at me and said, "Move!"


    Unmoving I glared at him and stared into his eyes. He screamed at me, "Are you deaf? Move!"


    Slowly, I stood up and straightened my back. Proudly I stepped towards him and looked down at him. He clearly didn''t like this and I could hear his teeth grinding.


    "This way," he said and pointed towards a door at the end of the room.


    As I was in no hurry, I took my time while I went towards the door and looked into every cell which I came by.


    Most of the people looked as if they haven''t bathed in months. Some had mud and blood on their clothes and some had dried blood on their face. But all of them shared one thing in common: a lifeless look in their eyes.


    It was clear to me that every one of them had already given up on leaving the arena. But today is the day where we will change that.


    I arrived at the door, pushed the handle down, and opened it.


    A glaring light blended my view and left my eyes squinting. I moved my hand before my eyes to shut the sunshine out.


    As I stepped through the door, I could feel the warmness of the sun on my skin and the clear and refreshing air in my lungs. I took deep breaths and enjoyed this feeling.


    My eyes got more accustomed to the light and I could see my surroundings. A circular field stretched out before me and hundreds of people sat on the arena spectator stands.


    Deafening cheers pierced the air and crashed at my ears in pain. I turned around and looked at the whole vicinity.


    Some people sat on their seats while others stood and cheered loudly. But nobody looked at me and no cheers were aimed at me.


    They all cheered for the vampire and wished my death. Not a single one from the viewers was on my side.


    Turning my gaze a little more, I saw the prince sitting in his throne like last time and chewing on some nuts. He looked fatter than last time; or maybe it was just my imagination.


    I focused my sight back onto the field and waited for my opponent.

 Chapter 0018 Rematch (2)

    The deafening cheers and screams blasted at my pain-ridden ears. Hundreds of people shouted and yelled at the same time, making it difficult for me to understand them.


    With a loud squeaking noise, which made my hair stand on ends, the vampire strode through the door on the other side.


    He wore the same attire from last week: a black cape, normal armour, and no weapon. He raised his arms up and encouraged the crowd to cheer louder.


    With a wide smile on his face, he enjoyed the cheers of the spectators and bathed in the glory. The cheers got louder and louder. But he seemed as if he wasn''t satisfied with it. He rooted for louder cheers.


    When he arrived at the middle of the field, the screams turned so loud that I wanted to rip my ears off. The men shouted cheers to kill me while the woman screeched their admiration towards the vampire''s looks.


    Everybody from the crowd wanted to be him or be with him. A proud smirk came onto his lips and he howled at me, "You hear that?! They want me to kill you!!"


    "HAHAHA~" he mockingly laughed at me.


    Rage flared up in me and my blood started to boil. With grim eyes I stared at him and imagined his death.


    "What?! You''re not saying anything?" A heinous grin crept onto his lips and his bellowing laugh echoed through the arena.


    ''Just you wait¡­''


    ''I will let you taste defeat. And by "taste it" I mean it literally.''


    Suddenly the cheers stopped and silence returned to the arena. An announcer stated, "Todays fight will have no time-limit. The fight will continue until one of you is dead."


    "All kind of weapons, armours, and skills are allowed. The use of potions is strictly forbidden and if anyone of you breaks this rule, he will be killed on the spot."


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "The winner of this match will receive a purple-circled skill card of the magic category: Nine Sun Chasers!"


    With the name of the card announced, the crowed flipped out and screamed their envy. It seemed as if everybody knew of that card and everybody wanted it.


    Sneakily I pulled my phone out and searched for the card.


    . . .


    [[Nine Sun Chasers]] (purple circled)


    [Levels]: 9


    [Description]: Summons (x) blazing orbs of pure fire. Each orb has a temperature of 1000*x degrees Fahrenheit. At level 9 they will roughly have the temperature of the sun. The orbs can be moved according to the host''s mind.


    (''x'' refers to Level)


    [Price]: 30 000 Coins


    . . .


    ''What?! Why is something like this only purple circled?!'' I was utterly stunned and desired this card now even more.


    "Contestants! Please get ready!"


    I swiped on my phone and changed the page to my inventory. In there I clicked onto the spear which I stored back in there, and a card was printed out from my phone.


    Cracking the card apart, my spear appeared under a green light in my hand. I rammed the spear-shoe with force into the ground.


    A thunderous and dull noise crashed through the arena, startling the viewers. A small shockwave travelled through the ground and tore a crack into the barren ground, leaving a nasty scar in the earth.


    The vampire felt the vibration and raised an eyebrow in response. He stretched his phone out and an illusory gene of light appeared before him.


    Gently, he tipped onto the emblem near the gene and the illusory gene exploded into thousand particles of light.


    His black cape flattered and turned into hundreds of bats. The screeching of the bats was horrible to hear and raised the hair on my neck.


    The bats flew around him and stuck onto his body like a second armour. Slowly their bodies disintegrated into darkness and turned his being pitch black.


    He clutched a bat from the air and squished it tightly. The bat seeped into a black mass and turned into a lightless, black sword.


    The black crust on his body crumbled away and revealed his vampire-armour. The only difference from his transformation last week was that he had no wings this time.


    A proud smile creeped onto his lips and he mockingly looked at me.


    ''Then I will use my gene too,'' I thought and stretched my phone outwards.


    The illusory gene appeared before me again, and with a click on the cockroach emblem, it floated into the gene and disappeared with it.


    A warm feeling spread out from my body and an armour of blue-light covered my torso. The glow from my armour looked as if it was created from pure light.


    Many spectators covered their mouths as soon as they saw this. Whispers rang through the arena and people threw judging glances at me.


    ''What are they whispering about? Have they never seen this?'' I wondered.


    But I quickly discarded that idea because the "Skills of the Cockroach" Card is one of the cheapest skill cards there is. So it would be impossible that nobody ever saw it.


    I retrieved the Grenade Card and HP-Potion Card from my phone and stuck the cards into my sleeve. This way I can use them whenever I want without waiting for them to be printed.


    I know that the HP-Potion Card is forbidden, but after I defeat the vampire I have to fight the prince. Thus I stored the card into my sleeve so that I can use it after I receive the ''Nine Sun Chaser'' Card as a price.


    I had everything well planned out in my head, but it still didn''t mean that it will succeed.


    I tore my spear out from the ground and grinded my right foot backwards, making a scratchy sound. I slowly lowered my hips and got into my fighting stance.


    Swinging the spear once around my body and grabbing it with the other hand sent the horsetail whisk flying in the wind. I pointed the spearhead at the vampire and cleared my mind from all emotions, being fully focused on the fight.


    As my eyes formed to crescent moons, I grinned, and hissed in my mind, ''And now dear viewers, cheer for the funeral of the vampire!''

 Chapter 0019 Rematch (3)

    "START!!" howled the announcer.


    I shot forward, kicking the dust into the air, and thrusted the spear towards his heart.


    The vampire raised his sword in defence. The spearhead glided along his blade and redirected the attack.


    Quickly, I clutched his pulsating neck with my other hand, pulled his head down, and pounded my knee against his rib cage.


    He screeched in pain; blood oozed out from the edge of his mouth. I could tell that I injured his heart.


    I sent another kick at his chest. He grabbed my ankle and pulled it upwards, making me lose my balance.


    Swiftly, I raised my other foot, kicked at his face, and rammed the spear into the ground to keep me balanced while being in the air.


    He loosened his grip on my ankle and retreated a few steps. I positioned the spear in a defensive stance again and shot forward.


    Seeing me coming back, he swiped his sword towards my waist. I pushed the spear shaft against his blade and rolled over it, evading his attack.


    Still being in the air, I kicked his face. He flew a few meters backwards and crashed onto the ground.


    Losing no time, I sprinted towards him to maintain my momentum.


    Still lying on the ground, he swiped his sword towards my feet. I jumped over the incoming blade and pounced at him, aimed the spear at his chest.


    *Shnk!*


    The spear bored into his chest and penetrated his body and armour. A mocking grin cracked onto the vampire''s lips and he chuckled maliciously.


    His pupils contracted and bled into a magma-red colour. The hideous teeth in his mouth sharpened and turned into fangs.


    He howled at me; "Ha! You missed!" in a bellowing voice.


    His body blasted apart and morphed into hundreds of bats. Screeching and shrieking cries of the bats filled the arena.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Their ghastly screams sent everyone a shudder down their spines. My veins felt like they froze over and would fracture at any moment.


    Suddenly, a stinging feeling of pain assaulted my neck. Instantly, I turned my head and saw a bat sinking its fangs into my vein.


    Swiftly, I clutched it bare handed and tossed it onto the ground. I raised my foot and stomped it flat. Black blood gushed out from under my foot.


    I raised my chin and surveyed the surroundings. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of bats swarmed in the sky and turned it as black as the devil''s soul.


    The screeching bats clustered together and mixed into boiling darkness, forming a human-shaped entity.


    Eerie wings the size of a van crawled out from its shoulder blades and spread proudly apart. The pitch-black darkness dripped from its body and revealed the vampire in perfect shape without a single scratch.


    With no weapon in his hands, he spread his arms out and his fingernails sharpened to claws.


    His enormous wings of bats flapped once and sent a gust of wind through the bloodless air, storming at my face. The cool breeze flung my hair left and right, partly blocking my vision.


    Savagely, he pounced at me with his bared fangs and his glacier cold eyes left my soul trembling.


    His ash-black nails swiped towards me and enlarged in my vision, drawing nearer towards my eyes. I leaned my head backwards and saw his fingernails slicing past my eye lashes.


    I grabbed his forearm and thrusted my spear at his chest. Again, my spear missed the heart and only impaled his lung.


    My muscles tightened and my biceps enlarged; with great force I pulled the impaled vampire from the air down and smashed his body into the barren ground.


    I could see a glimmer of despair in the vampire''s distorted face. He clutched my spear with his hands and tried to push it away.


    In his despair, he sliced with his claws at my body. The clanking and clashing of his nails hitting my armour of light pierced through the horrible cries of the bats.


    Seeing that my armour took no damage whatsoever, I was ready to use my spear''s skill.


    The emerald-green clouds on the black spear lightened up in a dazzling shimmer. The white horsetail whisk at the spear-shoe floated upwards as if gravity didn''t affect it.


    *BAMM!*


    A thunder detonated in the sky. It purred with energy and whipped in its anger at the mass of bats in the sky.


    It''s grumbling and rumbling above my head left my ears ringing. The thunder hummed deeply in a terrifying way, silencing the horrible screeches of the bats.


    Carcasses of blazing bats dropped from the sky, plummeting onto the barren ground and pounding against my back.


    Everything smelled burned and blasted.


    With the corpses of the bats crashing down from the sky, a scar of light tore into the mass of the bats, letting a glimpse of sunlight through.


    The single ray of light tore its way towards us and roasted the vampire. He screeched; "Aieeeee!" in agony.


    His sweat evaporated, his armour ignited, and an eerie expression of pain filled his distorted face.


    His skin smelled burned and ghastly bubbles formed on it, spritzing black blood when popped. The scorched skin contracted or left only his muscles and nerves protruding out.


    The skin turned brown and then ashen-black. I couldn''t look at this anymore and had to turn my head aside.


    Even though I wanted to kill him and win this fight, it wasn''t planned in a inhumane way like this. It was just wrong.


    I pulled the spear out from his chest and retreated a good distance backwards; so far that I can''t see the details anymore.


    With the vampire at death''s door, the bats in the air loosed their form and every one of them melted into the darkness.


    The rumbling of the thunder ceased and only the shrieking cry of the vampire rampaged through the air. He clutched his head and wiggled on the ground in agony; his bones popping and cracking.


    After a few seconds of struggle, the vampire crumbled apart and only ash remained on his spot; no bones, no armour.


    I single gust of wind carried his ashes away, spreading them over the field. Deadly silence dominated the arena. Not a single soul dared to breath or make a noise.


    I closed my eyes, discarded the thought of the vampire, and opened them with reignited will.


    I tightened my grip on the spear and rammed the spear-shoe into the ground. A dull and rumbling noise echoed through the silent arena, waking the viewers from their stupor.


    The announcer shook in fright and shouted, "W- We have a winner!!"


    With the announcement of the winner, the crowd stood up and applauded. Deafening cheers of admiration plunged at my ears.


    I focused my gaze at the sleepy guard, Bao Lie, and gave a slight nod at him, which he returned.


    ''As soon as I have the skill card which I won, the fat prince will be the next.''

 Chapter 0020 Which Prince?

    The deafening screams of cheers and praises blasted at my ear drums. I could not understand a single thing which was spoken. The blasted and scorching smell still lingered in the air, making it hard to breathe through my nose.


    I glided my gaze towards the prince. His expression was listless - as if he didn''t even care that someone just died a horrible death.


    Stuffing another nut into his mouth, his cheeks bloated up and made him look even more like a pig. Lazily he heaved his right hand upwards, calling for silence.


    The cheers died down and only the crunching and chomping noises from the prince''s eating echoed through the arena.


    Under a thinking glare, he stared at me - judged me ¨C while he continued to munch, and munch, and munch. Crumbles rained down his lips and rolled over his protruding belly.


    Smacking his flabby arms onto the armrest, his fat wobbled and the crumbles streamed down his body.


    He leaned a little bit backwards while clutching the armrest. Taking a deep breath and holding it, he leaned back forward. Using this momentum, he grunted heavily and heaved his body up.


    When he left his throne completely and stood on the ground, he released his breath in a rumbling moan, clearly showing his struggle.


    A little smirk made its way onto his face. He licked his greasy lips and roared, "You did well!"


    "And as promised, the ''Nine Sun Chasers'' Card will be yours. Additionally, as the winner of this fight, you are from now on the strongest fighter of the arena."


    "Serve under the great me - the second prince, Li Fu! Be one of my guards. If you do so, I will make sure that you live well."


    ''Wait, wait, wait! What?! "The second prince" you said?'' I was left totally confused.


    ''But the mission only stated to kill the prince. It didn''t say which prince¡­ So which prince should I kill?''


    I didn''t know what to do. ''I can''t just kill the prince in front of me on a guess. Maybe if I kill him, the mission remains the same because I killed the wrong prince. I can''t do that.''If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    In my distress I looked at Bao Lie in hope that he knows what to do. But he looked frozen like a statue and didn''t move in the slightest. He was probably stunned by this too.


    "So, ahhhh¡­ what was your name again?" the prince asked and licked his fingers afterwards.


    How could I answer that? It''s every time the same! Every time I''m asked for my name, but never can I answer¡­


    I pointed at my throat and tapped at it while shaking my head.


    "Okay. Never mind. I''ll just call you Jingyin[1]. What is your answer, Jingyin? Do you want to serve as my guard?"


    ''If I am his guard, I will always know where he is and simultaneously earn money with this. I will just research in my free time who the prince mentioned in the quest is,'' I thought.


    ''If it really is the prince before me, I will kill him by surprise. With the money earned from being his guard, I could also buy me a new voice.''


    It all made sense in my head and I nodded at the prince, agreeing to being his guard.


    "HAHAHAHA!!" A bellowing laugh rang out.


    His laugh sent layers over layers of fat jiggling on his body. He grabbed his belly and held it, as if he tried to stop the motion or else he would break a sweat from laughing.


    He roared, "Great! Great! Little Ya, give him the price!"


    Following his words, one of his female servants came down onto the arena''s field.


    Her dark brown hair was woven into a braid and cascaded down her shoulder. A thin cloth of green silk spanned over her chest and stretched outwards to each of her index fingers, giving the impression that she has wings of silk.


    Her flat belly was in full view, not covered by anything. Her hips swung at every step like a waving tide.


    An emerald-green skirt of thin silk flowed over her hips and down towards her ankles where a single silver bell was attacked.


    Every single step she took made the bell ring and chime heavenly.


    She walked further and further towards me. She only stopped when she was a few centimeters away from me.


    My face was now directly in front of her. I could see every single eye lash by her eyes. I could feel her breath on my skin. She smelled like fresh oranges and a tinge of cinnamon.


    Her rosy lips parted and she whispered nearly inaudible, "You made a mistake."


    Suddenly something hard and edgy was pushed into my hand, and she turned around and went back to the prince''s side.


    ''I made a mistake?'' I wondered myself.


    Looking down into my hand and checking what she gave me, a grey card with spots of yellow laid in my hand. The purple circle in the middle contained an image of 9 blazing orbs floating in an arc.


    Quickly, I crushed the card, and it crumbled apart. A sudden flash of purple light blended my vision and left my eyes squinting in pain.


    *ding*


    I heard the ringing of my phone and looked at it.


    [6 unread messages¡­]


    ''What?! Why six? What happened?'' I asked myself and opened them.


    [Message]: You killed Yun Hua (LV 15)[Vampire (Elite)].


    [Message]: 3000 Coins gained from kill.


    ¡­


    [Message]: Level limit already reached. No experience gained.


    [Message]: Please complete the breakthrough-quest to breach level 10.


    ¡­


    [Message]: Occupation changed from [NPC(Elite)] to [Guard(Elite)]


    ¡­


    [Message]: Magic skill was gained and unlocked MP of the player.


    ¡­


    ''I got money from killing? And since when do I need to do a quest in order to become stronger in level?''


    The rest of the messages weren''t so important to me. The occupation change couldn''t possibly affect anything and unlocking MP for a magic skill was only logical.


    Before I could even look at the breakthrough-quest or test the new skill, the announcer shouted, "The fight is over! Everybody, please leave the arena."


    The prince gave a slight chuckle and cracked another nut open, stuffing it into his face. With a full mouth he said; "Let''s go!" with spit and food shooting out from his mouth.


    He turned around and walked towards the VIP exit. His servants orderly lined up behind him and followed him obediently.


    I sprinted towards Bao Lie and the red-haired guard, and we lined ourselves up behind the female servants, walking out of the arena.

 Chapter 0021 A Little Girl and her Tiger Cub

    The clean buildings were tightly packed, leaving only narrow alleys. In the bustling street, women went to and fro between street shops, buying fruits and other food.


    A group of children played ball in the middle of the street, laughing joyfully and having the time of their life.


    As we moved closer to the busy street, the noises died down to hushed whispers. The women at the shops whispered between them and avoided looking in our direction.


    The kids stopped playing and their smiles left their faces. Quickly, they ran to the side of the street and made way for us.


    With knitted eyebrows and glassy eyes, they balled their tiny hands to fists and avoided eye contact with every one of us. Their head was lowered and their wet eyes stared onto their feet.


    As we moved closer to the people, even the whispers of the women died down. They pulled their hoods over their head and turned their back to us.


    The streets turned so silent that I could even hear the prince''s wheezed breathing. He sounded like he finished a marathon and was near his collapsing point.


    "Zhenli!" a feeble female voice cried out.


    Suddenly, I saw a tiger cub jumping from a roof onto the prince''s head and onto the ground. Noiseless, it padded towards a little girl in dirty clothes.


    She exclaimed, "Zhenlie, where were you? I was worried¡­"


    She patted the tiger cub''s head and stroked its fire-red and coal-black striped fur. It coiled around her foot and raised its tail in pleasure.


    *crack!*


    The cracking sound of a nut pulled me away from my thoughts, and I looked back at the prince. The fat on his body quivered and the nut in his fist crumbled apart.


    Rage made its way onto his face and turned it blood-red. He focused his widened eyes at the animal and howled, "Guards! Kill the both of them!!"


    The red-haired guard broke a card. Under a green light, a cleanly-polished sword appeared in his hand.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Wait!" screamed Bao Lie, grabbed the guard''s arm, and asked, "Why kill them? What have they done wrong?"


    The prince''s anger was now at its peak. He panted heavily, patted his chest, and yelled, "It defiled my body! It has touched my head with its dirty paws! My body is a temple and this thing has defiled it!!"


    I scoffed inwardly, "Your body surely is a temple ¨C ancient, big, and crumbling apart; maybe even haunted."


    Bao Lie turned his head towards me and looked at me with a pleading gaze. It was as if he wanted me to help him in saving them.


    I made my way towards the red-haired guard. With my spear standing tall, I grabbed his shoulder, shook my head, and pointed at me.


    Looking back at the prince, his head trembled in rage and his fat cheeks and double-chin quivered uncontrollably. He threw the crushed nutshell at the tiger cub and shouted at me, "You do it, Jingyin! Consider it a test!"


    A weight lifted from my heart and I sighed in relief. I had the situation now a little under control and nodded at the prince.


    I stepped towards the girl and her tiger cub.


    The little girl wore ragged linen clothes stained of mud. Her petite face was covered in filth and a putrefying stench came from her.


    She held the tiger cub tight against her chest and said in a brittle voice, "B- Bai Mei is very sorry for what Zhenli has done. Please don''t- *sniff* Please don''t kill us."


    Snot ran down her nose and tears streamed down her eyes, washing off some of the filth. She wiped her nose with her sleeve, kneed down, and leaned over the tiger cub, protecting it with her body.


    Pity quelled up inside my lonely heart and filled it with unwillingness. I tightened my grip on the spear and gritted my teeth.


    ''Maybe the prince pities her too. Perhaps he changed his mind,'' I thought in hope and turned my head to look at the prince.


    He was baring his teeth and clenched his jaw, nearly grinding his teeth in rage. His eyes were now bloodshot and glared at the duo, wishing to tear them apart with his gaze.


    He turned his gaze at me and barked, "GO!"


    Spit flew from his mouth and rained down onto his servants'' clothes.


    Seeing him being even angrier than before, I turned my head back at the duo and closed my eyes shortly. Taking a deep breath, I calmed my heart somewhat and made up my mind.


    When I opened my eyes again, the little girl''s lips trembled; no, not only her lips, her entire body shivered in fear. Her eyes were tightly clenched and she snuggled the tiger cub dearly, pushing its soft fur against her face.


    ''I shouldn''t do this out here where everybody can see us,'' I thought.


    I raised my spear and slowly reached the spear-shoe towards her, tipping at her leg to gain her attention.


    *tap* *tap*


    "AAAhh~!" The girl screeched in a high pitch and jumped in fright.


    After one or two seconds, she slowly opened one of her eyes to look at me. I pointed my spear towards the nearest alley and shook my head in that direction.


    The girl sniffled a few times and stood up while holding the tiger. With trembling feet she walked unsteadily towards the alley, nearly falling at every step.


    I followed shortly behind her; and before I entered the dark alley, I turned my head a last time to check on the prince''s mood.


    It got even worse.


    Each servant held a bowl of nuts towards him and he was stuffing them without pause into his mouth, wolfing them down without even removing the shell. His bloodshot eyes stalked my every movement and stared unblinkingly at me till I disappeared in the alley.


    The stench in the alley was so strong that it nearly burned my nostrils. The ground wasn''t paved like the street; it was just slimy mud, sticking to my shoes.


    The barefooted girl stomped through the sticky mud and stained her small feet. She turned around to face me and buried her face into the tiger''s fur, hiding her face from me.


    In a silent and brittle voice, she muttered, "Please don''t kill Zhenli. *sniff* Zhenli only jumped onto the prince''s head because- *sniff* because Bai Mei called him."


    A sudden pain assaulted my heart. It felt as if someone pinched it. I clutched my chest, trying to cool my heart down.


    The pain subsided slowly and got weaker. I knitted my eyebrows in pain of knowing what had to come now and raised the spear, pointing it forward towards Bai Mei and Zhenli.


    Bai Mei looked with a pleading gaze at me and cuddled closer to her tiger cub, holding it tight to her heart.

 Chapter 0022 When a Girl Cries...

    My heart raced and I could feel its raging strength pounding at my chest. It got harder for me to breath, and it felt like my heart tried to escape from my throat.


    I swallowed my saliva down and forced my heart into steadiness; but to no avail. My chest heaved heavily up and down, making me look like a savage.


    I shot my eyes close and clenched them so hard that it started to ache. With my teeth pressing together, veins budged on my neck.


    I strengthen my grip on the spear and my knuckles made popping noises; my tendons jutted out. My entire arm couldn''t stand the pressure; uncontrollably, it shook, it trembled.


    I raised my spear higher and it began to tremble from my flexed muscles. Not only was my heart against it, even my body was against it.


    I lowered my head, turned it aside, and shot my spear downward.


    "Ahhhhhhh~" a high pitched screech drilled into my ears and left them aching.


    A sudden pain jolted into me and left my mouth wide open, screaming noiseless at the air. Only a ghastly breath rolled over my lips.


    A shudder ran over my skin and sent me goose bumps all over, leaving my hair standing up. I breathed but no air would enter my lungs. My heart raced at high speeds, starving for salvation.


    As my muscles loosened up, I slowly open my eyes and peeked.


    The spearhead was deeply buried in my foot and blood oozed out from the wound. The trembling of my hand stopped, and my heart calmed down a little.


    ''*sigh~~~* The prince should have heard her scream,'' I thought and pulled the bloodied spear out from my foot.


    I lifted my gaze and looked at the girl. She had her eyes shut and sat in the mud. Her body was turned to the side, putting her back before the tiger cub as if she wanted to protect it.


    Her entire body quivered and shook in fear.


    Now she opened her eyes too and looked with her wet eyes at me. Her eyebrows were knitted and made her look miserable.


    With a quivering jaw, she tried to talk to me, but it was hard to understand her. "Why¡­ Why didn''t you k- *sniff* Why¡­ didn''t you kill Bai Mei?"


    I squatted in front of her, looking deeply into her glassy eyes. They were forest-green and seemed to contain a tinge of pride buried in the innocence.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I sighed deeply from the bottom of my heart and set up a weak smile. Putting my spear aside, I stretched my hands towards her tear-stained face.


    When my thumb touched her cheek, she flinched a little but didn''t retreat. I wiped the tears from her cheeks and shook my head. I didn''t want to see her crying.


    Bai Mei sniffled once and explained in a feeble and trembling voice, "I can''t stop crying." With an even weaker voice, she repeat, "I can''t stop crying¡­"


    Even though I was a man and have seen many things which strengthened my heart, I wasn''t immune to a little girl crying her heart out.


    ''Maybe food will soothe her a little,'' I thought and retrieved the silver-circled bread card from my phone. The silver circle shimmered in the light and looked in contrast to the muddy alley like a treasure.


    Stretching my hand with the card out, I offered her the bread.


    Bai Mei blankly stared towards me, and her pupils shifted between me and the card. The tears stopped coming out from her eyes and she looked frozen.


    Seeing that she had no intention to grab the card, I laid it onto her lap. Grabbing my spear, I stood back up and straightened my back.


    She continued looking in a daze at the card on her lap and didn''t move; not a tiny bit. Only the tiger cub in her arms looked at me and raised its paws.


    I turned around and walked out of the dark alley, leaving the small girl in her daze.


    As I stepped out from the alley, all eyes focused on me. When the shopping women and the children saw the blood on the tip of my spear, a soft cry escaped their mouths. Everyone held their hands before their mouth in shock.


    Hushed whispers floated into my ears, which I couldn''t understand. The gazes of the people stared at me as if they were looking at a bloodthirsty monster.


    *whump . . whump-whump*


    A sudden noise in the deadly silence made me turn my head to its source. A ball bounced before a kid who still held his hands before his body and wide apart, as if he held the ball a short moment ago.


    His mouth was agape and his skin looked pale. He was clearly frightened and shocked from seeing me coming out of the alley with a bloodied spear.


    I swallowed. Turning my head back and looking at the prince, a wide grin stretched over his round face and he said in joy, "You did well. Let''s go to the Palace of Cards and get you equipped like a real guard of mine. "


    The prince, Li Fu, laughed heavily and broke the silence in the street. He patted his massive belly and grabbed a few more nuts from the servant''s bowl.


    He broke the nuts with his bare hands and stuffed the inner part into his mouth, letting saliva dripping down his mouth, which he wiped away shortly after.


    Li Fu and the servants started walking further along the street. Bao Lie and the red-haired guard shortly followed while I lined up behind them.


    As we walked through the street, the people continued staring at us and pointing fingers. Children ran away from us and hid behind barrels or in alleys. Women covered their heads with hoods and whispered.


    ''Why are the women hiding their appearance?'' I asked myself.


    It seemed rather normal to me that they whispered between them and that the kids ran away. The prince''s reputation seemed bad after all. But why hide their faces?


    Still deep in thought, I saw that Bao Lie turned his head toward me. He swung his pupils to the side, pointing at the alley.


    ''Are you really asking me if I killed the both of them?'' I was stunned.


    ''What are you thinking of me? I would never do that!'' I thought and shook my head.


    A genuine smile blossomed onto his lips. His sleepy eyes looked a little more awake now and it seemed to me that he was truly happy.


    He turned his head back around, and we continued our walk towards the Palace of Cards while people stalked our every move.

 Chapter 0023 Being in a Dilemma

    As we walked further along the street, being watched by every pedestrian, we arrived at a city square. The place was booming with people, and every one of them seemed like they were ready to go to battle.


    Some of them had cards stuck to their forearms, some had cards rolled around the shaft of their staff, and some strange ones had the cards hanging down their belts on a thread.


    Market stands were placed at the edge of the square and people gathered the most there. The merchants of those markets loudly advertised their goods and made potential buyers come closer.


    Instantly, numerous thoughts filled my head: "Sticking cards onto the forearms seems like a really good idea. And since when can cards bend around a staff? Why don''t they break? And what is up with the cards hanging on the belt?"


    "Jingyin, hurry up!" screamed Bao Lie.


    I turned my head and saw that everyone was already further away from me. Bao Lie was waving at me and signalled me to hurry up.


    I ran toward them and managed to join up, positioning myself back into formation. The red-haired guard, Ling, turned his head back to me, scoffed, and turned back.


    Before I could curse inwardly at him, Bao Lie turned around and asked me, "Is this your first time being here?"


    I nodded my head, and he explained, "Well, this is the city square of Shamo City. It''s quite popular for people like us who have phones. The reason for this is the teleportation platform," and pointed towards the middle of the public square.


    A big, circular platform of clean granite stood grandly there. Three enormous statues of gold circled around the platform, facing into the center of it.


    The first statue depicted a good-looking man wearing a skin-tight breastplate and gauntlets resembling the scales of a serpent with claws instead of fingers.


    His hair cascaded down to his hips and horns grew out from his head. The arms were spread wide open and the gaze fixed towards the heavens.


    The second statue showed a beautiful woman dressed in a robe. She also had long hair and was in the exact same position as the other statue. The only difference was that she held a staff in her hand.


    The third statue was of a hooded being. I couldn''t tell the gender because a robe covered its whole body and the hood hung so low that it covered its entire face.


    It stood in the same position as the other two: spreading the arms wide apart and looking into the heavens.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Bao Lie continued his explanation, "Each of those statues is a portal to a specific space. We are heading for the Palace of Cards."


    "The Palace of Cards is guarded by the statue called Tu Shu. He is something like the librarian of the palace. You can ask him about any card you want, and he has it."


    "The difference from buying cards from him and from the marketplace app is that you can test it beforehand. For example, if you see a skill in the library which you like, you can test the skill out. But in the marketplace app, you can''t test cards; you can only buy them."


    *ding* *ding* *ding*


    Message notifications came ringing into my ear; but it wasn''t mine. We all looked at Li Fu who pulled out his phone and looked at the messages.


    His face turned pale and his hand began to tremble. He seemed as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out from his mouth.


    He looked anxious.


    "Jingyin, buy your equipment alone. I need to return to the City Palace. Lie, Ling, you guys stay with me," he said and shot a card at me.


    I caught it with my fingers and gave it a glance. The card was totally black; neither a circle nor picture was on it. Nothing.


    ''What is this? Is that even a real card of the game?'' I asked myself and raised my head again.


    They were gone. At the place where they were earlier was now a group of fighters discussing something. I looked around, searching for a familiar face, but I couldn''t find anyone.


    ''Did they really just ditch me?''


    ''Well, who cares? I will just go into the Palace of Cards and look around,'' I decided and walked into the middle of the platform, standing encircled by the statues.


    And then it hit me: ''They didn''t tell me which one of those three holds the entrance to the Palace of Cards. And they also didn''t tell me how to use the transportation¡­''


    I looked around again, hoping to see someone using the transportation so that I can copy them. But nobody stood with me on the platform. I was all alone here.


    I wanted to ask someone for help, but I couldn''t think of a way to actually ask them. I had no voice after all.


    So I discarded that thought and remembered what Bao Lie told me: The entrance to the Palace of Cards is guarded by the librarian called Tu Shu.


    But this didn''t help me much. I only knew that Tu Shu was a man which eliminated the woman from my list.


    So I looked at the statues again. The first one with the horns didn''t give me the impression of a librarian. What does a librarian need horns and gauntlets for?


    He seemed more of a fighter kind of person. I could picture him fighting a horde of monsters or killing a massive beast.


    But as a librarian? No chance! He would be bored in a library.


    The third statue actually gave me the impression of being a librarian. A robe and a hood made that person seem mysterious, and I could picture him or her in a library, working with old books.


    With the outfit, the person seemed like he or she had no need for all those rare cards in the library. As if the person wasn''t tied to worldly desires like dressing in the rarest armour.


    Stepping towards the statue, I looked at the hooded being and just gazed at it. ''Maybe something will come to my mind when I stare long enough at it,'' I thought and continued with it.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ''Oh! How about my phone?''


    I pulled my phone out, opened the profile app, and showed it at the statue. ''If it worked at the city gate, maybe it works here too¡­''


    Seconds flew by and nothing happened. The statue remained still.


    "Jingyin~! ¡­ Jing~yin~!" shouted a familiar, female voice.


    I turned my head around and looked at who called me.

 Chapter 0024 A Dazzling Show of Light

    From not far away, a small girl was running toward me. It was Bai Mei from earlier. She cuddled her tiger cub to her chest and clumsily ran into my direction.


    ''Is she calling me?'' I thought, because ''Jingyin'' is only the name that the prince uses for me.


    "Jingyin~!" she screamed and waved at me.


    "Jingy-" *fa-thud*


    While she was trying to scream the name again, she fell over her own feet and landed face first on the pavement. Her tiger cub was squeezed between the ground and her.


    Seeing her fall made my eyes flinch a little. I could clearly imagine the pain of hitting the stone-hard ground with my face. It would surely hurt.


    With trembling arms and tears welling up in her eyes, she stood back up and patted the tiger. She probably wanted to comfort it or apologize for the fall.


    Bai Mei looked at me again with glassy eyes and her cheeks turned beet-red. She snuggled closer to Zhenli and watched her feet at every step she took; slowly and cautiously.


    Arriving before me on the platform, she looked up at me and asked, "What are you doing here, Jingyin?"


    ''That''s what I wanted to ask you. You look much better than before¡­'' I thought and answered her question by pointing at the hooded statue.


    "Are you planning to travel? Can Bai Mei and Zhenli come with you? Bai Mei owes you a lot and wants to compensate you!" she begged and looked with a pleading gaze at me.


    Her eyes were round like an orb, dazzling from the reflected sunlight in her teary eyes. She also smelled much better now compared to before ¨C like nothing. The stench from earlier was just gone.


    ''I don''t need a travel companion. But I need to know how to use that portal." I pointed at the statue again and shook my head into its direction.


    Tears flowed down her cheeks and she asked in a brittle voice, "You''re sending Bai Mei away? ¡­Why? Bai Mei promises she won''t be a burden to you! Bai Mei can help!"


    ''No. No! That''s not what I meant!''


    I squatted beside her, took her tiny hand, and pointed it at the statue.


    "Oh¡­ *sniff* So you aren''t sending Bai Mei away? You want to go there with Bai Mei¡­" she wiped her tears away and returned to her former cheerful self.


    As I nodded my head, a wide grin blossomed onto her face. Her white teeth were in full view from her smile. She was definitely happy about this.


    "Okay. Let''s go! I will enter first!" she told me and went in front of the statue.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ''Wait¡­ Did she just stop referring to herself in third person and said "I"?'' I was bewildered. ''So she can speak normally¡­''


    Bai Mei ran at full speed to the hooded statue, showing no intention to stop. With her tiger cub in her arms, she closed her eyes and continued running.


    ''What is she doing?!''


    My foot made a step forward, getting into position to run to her and stop her.


    *flomp*


    Before I could even start my sprint, Bai Mei disappeared in the statue. It was like the statue was an ocean and swallowed her whole. Only a single water ripple, with the epicenter being her former position, spread over the statue''s surface.


    She''s gone.


    ''Did she just walk into the statue?'' I have never seen before that someone can walk into a solid-looking surface and disappear.


    Full of curiosity I walked nearer to the statue and touched it. A single water ripple formed near my finger and spread over the statue like it did before.


    But my finger didn''t feel any resistance from the statue - nothing at all. It was as if my finger was submerged in water.


    Slowly I pushed my finger further in, then my arm, and lastly the rest of my body.


    For an instance my entire view turned black. Shortly after, I stood inside a spacious hall. It didn''t look in the least like a library. There were no bookshelves, no books, nothing; just a big, empty hall.


    *ding*


    A sound came from my phone, and I pulled it out to check the message.


    ¡­


    [Message]: Mission "A New Beginning ¨C The Starting Line" was completed.


    [Message]: Mission "A New Beginning ¨C The First Step" was added.


    ¡­


    ''I completed a mission?! When? By entering the Palace of Cards?'' I wondered myself and looked at the Quest&Mission interface. And there it was:


    ¡­


    [[Quest]]: A New Beginning (breakthrough-quest)


    [The Starting Line]: Enter the Palace of Wisdom (Completed)


    [The First Step]: Meet the master of the palace - Zhihui. (In Progress)


    ¡­


    ''Wait¡­ This isn''t the Palace of Cards but the Palace of Wisdom?!'' I was shocked.


    ''The prince isn''t here anyway; so I can finish my breakthrough quest before going to the Palace of Cards.''


    I scanned my surrounding and looked for the Palace Master Zhihui. But the only person I saw was Bai Mei. She stood before me with Zhenli in her hands and gazed at me.


    When she saw that I was looking at her, she suggested, "Why don''t I start? I only just got my phone from selling the card you gave me. So I only need to register an account."


    ''She did it again! She talked normal again! But why?'' I wondered myself and didn''t give her suggestion any attention.


    Bai Mei took my silence as a ''yes'' and stepped towards the middle of the empty hall. She pulled her phone out and held it up above her head.


    A dazzling, golden light emerged at the ceiling, illuminating the entire hall in a bright light. Sparkling dots of light filled the ceiling like stars in the night sky and rained slowly like snowflakes down at us.


    Curiously, I lifted my finger and moved it towards one such dot of light. My finger came nearer and nearer, nearly touching it. And then the sparkling dot flew away from me.


    Looking back at Bai Mei, all the dazzling spots of light were sucked in by her phone like a vortex, devouring every single dot, not spearing even one.


    Suddenly a thought came to my mind: "How come I have an account but never did or saw this play of light?"


    It was really confusing. I couldn''t figure out from where I got that account from¡­


    When all the dots of light entered Bai Mei''s phone, an ethereal voice echoed through the hall, "Your phone is set up and ready to use. Please put your finger on the display to create your account."


    Bai Mei lowered her phone and held it in front of her chest. Suddenly, the tiger cub in her arms began to struggle in her grip. Maybe it was scared of the lights or disliked the voice.


    "Zhenli, what''s the matter?" she asked and moved her hand with the phone towards its head. She probably wanted to pat its head to calm it down.


    And right at that time, when the tiger cub saw the phone coming nearer to its face, it stretched out its paw and pushed against the display of the phone.

 Chapter 0025 The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly

    At the same time as the tiger cub touched the phone, the ethereal voice sounded out again. "Setting up account for Zhenli¡­ Account created¡­"


    Bai Mei froze. The tiger continued struggling in her grip, but she didn''t give it any heed. Her eyes remained fixed on the phone and didn''t move at all.


    ''Should¡­Should I do something?'' I asked myself and went to Bai Mei''s side.


    I put my hand on her head, patting her, and looked at her dazed expression. She seemed as if she was shocked silent.


    Curiously, I tilted my head and looked at her phone.


    ¡­


    [Name]: Zhenli


    [Clan]: --


    [Level]: 1


    [HP]: 100/100


    [MP]: 0/0


    [Coins]: 0


    [Occupation]: Pet


    [Owner]: Bai Mei


    ¡­


    My mouth gaped open and I wondered, ''Why does it have nearly as much HP as me?!''


    Bai Mei woke up from her daze and asked the ethereal voice, "Can I set up another account? One for me?"


    The answered instantly followed. "One person can only own one account. Owning more than one account would cost coins. Do you want to buy the right to own a second account?"


    Bai Mei vigorously nodded her head and shouted, "I do! I do!"


    *ding*


    The message notification rang out from Bai Mei''s phone.


    ¡­


    [Additional Account Owner Space] x1 (Silver circled) = 100''000 Coins


    [Payment]: 100''000 Coins


    ¡­


    ''What?! 100''000 Coins?!'' The number was just too high! With that amount of money, I could buy around 200 green-circled weapons or 5 purple circled Gene Skills.


    However, remembering that the ''Skills of the Vampire'' Card, which was red-circled, already cost 150''000 Coins, it did actually seem cheap in contrast to it.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ''I wonder how much a golden circled Gene Skill would cost¡­ maybe 1 million Coins? What could a skill that expensive probably do?'' I wondered.


    Suddenly, Bai Mei looked at me with her starry eyes full of confidence and told me, "I will just work hard and buy it then!"


    With a light smile on my face, I nodded at her and boosted her confidence a little. She was only a kid after all; she still has enough time to gather the money.


    "Now you, Jingyin!" she urged me and pushed against me, wanting to shove me into the middle of the hall.


    Because she was still small and weak, she couldn''t push me even a little bit. But I played along and went into the direction in which he wanted me to go.


    When she let me go, she said, "Now you."


    ''She doesn''t seem sad or upset about the earlier incident at all. It''s as if she is happier than before¡­''


    Ending my thought, I grabbed my phone and held it into the air.


    "Breakthrough-quest detected¡­" the voice echoed and fell silent after it.


    A sea of dots of golden light emerged in my surroundings. They didn''t fall from the ceiling like before, but they suddenly appeared in the air.


    Swiftly, they converged in front of me and formed a human shaped entity. As more dots of light joined it, the shape took form and became more detailed.


    The first thing I could spot was the robe it wore. It was the exact one as the one from the statue. It covered the beings whole body and the hood hung so low that I couldn''t see its face.


    *ding*


    A message showed up on the phone which I held above me.


    ¡­


    [Message]: Mission "A New Beginning ¨C The First Step" was completed.


    [Message]: Mission "A New Beginning ¨C Stepping into new Land" was added.


    ¡­


    [[Quest]]: A New Beginning (breakthrough-quest)


    [The Starting Line]: Enter the Palace of Wisdom (Completed)


    [The First Step]: Meet the master of the palace - Zhihui. (Completed)


    [Stepping into new Land]: Complete the test from Zhihui. (In Progress)


    ¡­


    ''A test?'' I wondered. ''That shouldn''t be too hard. I defeated a Level 15 Vampire after all.''


    With high confidence, I lowered my phone and looked at Zhihui before me. It was hard to look at pure light and I had to squeeze my eyes a little bit.


    "Young One, with the following test, you will be able to unlock new levels. And additionally, you have the chance to gain a rare card depending on your performance," explained Zhihui.


    "To have a balanced fight, your opponent will be an iron chained Blood Grizzly."


    ''What? The grizzly will be chained? What balanced fight would that be?! Do you take me too lightly?!'' I became agitated at his statement. Maybe he wanted to make fun of me.


    The Palace Master swung his arm to the side, making a gesture, and a single dot of light separated from his body.


    It floated elegantly through the air to the other side of the hall. When it reached the wall, the light began to shine brighter and brighter, blending my vision.


    Under squinted eyes, I continued to look at it and I could feel my heartbeat increasing. ''Oh, who cares?! If he is giving me a chained opponent, then it will be an easy mission with no struggle. Why am I even complaining?''


    ''I bet the people before me had more difficult opponents. If I make this fast, I could even get a rare reward,'' I thought and a smile came to my face.


    Finally I got a fight where I don''t have to wage my life on it. I remembered the times where I fought against a horde of Creepers; against Riders in the desert, where I was dehydrated and without a weapon; and the two Arena Fights.


    I definitely didn''t have an easy life. But it seemed that luck was on my side today and I got a perfect opponent.


    Meanwhile, the dot of light turned from a golden color to a reddish black one. It expanded and grew bigger in size. From the size of a dot, it grew continuously bigger. The growth only stopped when it reached 5 meters in height.


    It towered over my head, and I had to lift my gaze a good way up to see the top of the being of light. I gulped my saliva in awe when I stared at the impressive size of my opponent.


    The light began to bubble and shape into a different form. First, the ball of light grew four limbs and then a head. It took the shape of a formidably big bear; or more like: the form of a massive grizzly.


    The grizzly-shaped entity of light was as large as a truck. It loomed over me and made me feel insignificant before it; as if I was a mouse in front of an elephant.

 Chapter 0026 A Fight of Terror and Horror (1)

    The bubbling of the reddish black figure of light stopped. Its light grew dimmer and adjusted to the entity it enshrouded.


    And now I saw it!


    The massive grizzly towered over me. Thick, rusty iron chains were bound over its entire body, acting as armor.


    The chains didn''t seem to bind the grizzly in any way. They curled around its limbs, torso, and head, making it seem as if the streaming chains were its mane.


    The loose ends of the chains slithered up into the air. Dozens of them twisted and squirmed like snakes, protecting its iron-chained body.


    This was the moment when I understood what Zhihui meant with the name of my opponent. ''It isn''t an iron chained Blood Grizzly. It''s an Iron Chained Blood Grizzly!! ¡­ It was part of its name and title!''


    *zzzt* *zzzt*


    Suddenly, my phone vibrated and I gave it a glance:


    ¡­


    [[Iron Chained Blood Grizzly]] (Elite)


    [Status]: Aggressive


    [Level]: 20


    [HP]: 10''000


    [MP]: 200


    [Category]: Animal


    ¡­


    ''What? 10''000 HP and it even has mana?!'' I screamed internally, discarding the thought why this message only appeared now and not at the fight with the vampire.


    Instantly, two crimson-red eyes, thirsting for blood, opened amidst the cauldron-black chains on its head. Its intense glare drilled deeply into my soul.


    A shudder ran down my spine, leaving me rooted to the ground. With my head looking up, I gazed at the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.


    In its eyes I could see power and terror deeply engraved in it. Its streaming mane of black chains clattered and clanked, piercing the silence of the hall.


    The former carefree atmosphere was teared apart. Horror and terror creeped into the hearts of Bai Mei and me. Neither of us dared to utter a noise in this gloom, nor breathe, nor voice.


    A thin mist of blood crawled out from under its paws, coating its limbs in red smoke. A putrid stench of rotten flesh assaulted my nose. I gagged; I coughed; not able to rid myself of the smell lingering in my nose.


    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly bared its ugly fangs. It bellowed in rage and fury, tearing the space asunder. The bellow sounded as if it came from deep within its guts, grumbling and rumbling.


    Spit flew out from its mouth, shooting in my direction. The floor shook; marble tiles cracked and burst in their miseries.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The bellow rippled like thunder through the air and pounded against my ears. Instinctively, I clutched my ears in pain.


    My heart desired it to stop ¨C but it didn''t. The pain of the roar raged and raved through my consciousness. My nails drilled into my scalp, hoping to shut out the noise.


    I shot my eyes wide open and howled my pain out; but no voice left my mouth. Only a ghastly noise came over my lips.


    It got harder for me to breath. My lungs felt deflated, not able to grasp a single breath from the storming air.


    Is seemed as if an icy fist clutched my heart; its nails drilled into my lungs, stealing my breath. My heart was getting slower; yet the pounding at my rib cage felt more intense.


    I tightened the grip on my ears. But I couldn''t shut out the onslaught of sound.


    Then it stopped¡­ It finally stopped¡­


    I loosened the grip on my ears and felt a wet sensation on my palms. Holding them in front of me, I saw why.


    Blood!


    There was blood on my hands.


    Suddenly, a thought struck me: "If I''m level 10 and the sound did this to me¡­then Bai Mei¡­"


    Swiftly, I turned my head in horror to check on how Bai Mei is doing.


    Gone! She''s gone!


    The master of this palace, Zhihui, and Bai Mei were nowhere to be seen. I was completely alone with the monstrosity of an Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.


    Looking back at the monster, it snarled ¨Cit growled.


    The chains rampaged through the dead air. They whipped at the floor and pounded spider-cracks into the tiles.


    Its teeth were still bared and saliva dripped down from its miserable mouth. The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly fixed its bloodcurdling eyes at me. It clearly targeted me as its prey.


    Savagely, it lifted its front paws, standing up into an upright position. It was already enormous when it stood on all fours; but now it towered higher than ever before.


    Its head nearly touched the ceiling, which was already on the height of a small house. The beast growled from deeply within, shaking the ground and my body.


    Like a meteor, it fell forward onto its front paws, stomping the marble tiles into dust and smithereens. A ground-shaking earthquake left the ground trembling in fright.


    ''You want to play with me?! Let''s play!!'' I screamed in my heart and tightened the grip on the spear.


    I strengthened my heart and glared at the beast. Even though I seemed much weaker in the stats, I was determined that I could breach this gap with my fighting skills and experience.


    Swiftly, I summoned the illusory gene before me. I tipped on the cockroach emblem, sending it into the gene, and watched them burst apart.


    A blue-glow of light emerged from my torso and took the form of a tight fitting armor. It wrapped around me in a warm embrace, letting me feel safe.


    ''You want it? You get it!'' I whispered in my thoughts.


    And to let the beast know that he has an opponent now, I pounded the spear-shoe against the floor. The doom-doom-doom of it hitting the marble tiles echoed through the otherwise silent hall.


    The drumming of the spear filled me with resoluteness. It gave me the feeling of power and strong will.


    But it wasn''t pleasing for the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly. The mysterious pounding echoing through the hall incited its rage.


    The grizzly''s eyes widened. It bared its fangs wider than ever before. A deep, grumbling snarl came from deep within it.


    It was mad!


    Jumping in its rage forward, tiles were lifted into the sky, teared out from the floor. Immediately, the beast was sprinting at me with its mouth gaping wide open. Saliva drooled onto the side of its snout.


    In wide strides I moved into its direction. The strides turned wider ¨Cfaster! Seconds after, I was sprinting towards the beast.


    The beast''s stomping pounded the tiles to smithereens. My steps were swift and silent, not wasting too much energy.


    While hearing the snarl of the beast, I grinded my teeth, tightened my clutches on the spear, and flexed my muscles.


    Even though the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly and I were on a course of collision, neither of us showed intention to stop or slow down. Nobody wanted to show neither weakness nor fear!

 Chapter 0027 A Fight of Terror and Horror (2)

    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly heavily wheezed every time it lunged forward. The sheer weight of its massive body left the ground trembling under its paws.


    Savagely, the saliva dripped from its ugly fangs into the air. Its chains rattled and clanked at every motion it took, deepening the horror in my heart.


    But I had nothing to fear!


    With my next step, I put all my strength into my foot and leaped far into the air. The spear arched behind me, ready to be thrusted forward.


    The hideous grizzly pounced up towards me. It shot its mouth wide open, baring its fangs which dripped with saliva. The yellow teeth came rushing at my neck, and its claws thrusted towards my body.


    Swiftly, I rotated my spear, pointing the spear-shoe at its incoming paw. With all my might, I rammed the dull spear-shoe into the monster''s paw, thrusting myself with the backlash higher into the air.


    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly''s mouth rushed past my feet, missing me by a hair''s length. Now being high in the air and above my opponent, I had the advantage.


    Without losing this opportunity, I activated my spear''s skill "Heaven''s Strike". The emerald-green clouds shimmered on the black shaft, and the white horsetail whisk flew weightless up.


    A deep rumble echoed through the hall. The ceiling vibrated and cracks spread through the stone. Debris came flying down at us, sizzling by me and storming at the massive body of the grizzly.


    The slithering iron chains on its body smashed every piece of debris apart. Not even one hit connected on its body.


    I screamed in my mind, ''What''s the use of lightning when it can''t enter a building?!''


    Suddenly, I felt gravity pulling me down again. The grizzly was still beneath me, savagely staring at me.


    Its chains rattled, and it pounced upwards with its fangs directed at me. Its maw was wide open, letting me see down its throat.


    It was pitch-black and as deep as the abyss. Spit sprayed out from its mouth as it gave a rumbling bellow.


    With doom drawing nearer and nearer, I activated my newly gained skill: "Nine Sun Chasers".


    A football-sized orb of blazing fire flared up next to me. Its flames raged and sent a massive heat at my body. I could feel as the air around me turned hotter.


    The grizzly''s maw was now directly in front of me, letting me feel its breath. Its ugly fangs moved over my being, enshrouding me in its mouth. The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly only needed to close its mouth and swallow me whole.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Instantly, with a slight motion of my finger, I sent the orb of fire towards the grizzly''s maw. The orb thrusted against its cheek and pounded the beast''s maw aside.


    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly''s mouth surge by me, but the danger wasn''t gone. The iron chains on its body seemed to come to life. They slithered through the air and thrusted themselves at me.


    I slightly bended my body and the chains sizzled by me. My hands clutched onto one of the chains and pulled, thrusting myself towards the grizzly''s body.


    My arm bent back; the spear arced behind my back. Under a noiseless scream, I thrusted the spear at its chain-covered body.


    The clanking and clanging of iron hitting iron boomed through the air. My spear drilled through its thicket of iron chains and bored into its flesh.


    The grizzly howled in pain. It shook the air and left my armor trembling.


    Blood gushed out from its wound and dripped down from the chains. After pulling out the spear, its tip was covered in thick, red blood, flowing down the blade.


    I pushed my feet against the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly and used the force to jump away from it. The wind whistled by my ears and I prepared for my landing. Feeling ground under my feet again, I slithered backwards until the force from the jump decreased.


    Proudly, I stood and stared at the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly falling down onto all fours again. The tremor left the ground shaking and some remaining of debris fell from the ceiling.


    Through my mind, I controlled the orb of fire and let it protect me from the debris.


    With clarity returning to my mind, I remembered my trump card in my sleeve: the grenade. My best chance would be to shove it down its throat. That would be a sure kill.


    I focused my sight back onto the grizzly. It lowered its body and was getting ready to pounce forward ¨C but it didn''t.


    Some of its iron chains flared up and turned fire-red. The blazing chains rampaged through the surroundings, tearing the floor apart and whipping at the air.


    ''Is that its magic skill?'' I wondered and sprinted towards it with the spear behind my back.


    Even though the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly was in a position ready to pounce at me, it remained still. A deep snarl, rumbling from its stomach echoed through the hall.


    It was hungry ¨Chungry for me.


    Baring its teeth and bellowing at me, it pounced forward. Drool dripped into the air again and spit flew towards me.


    Its red glowing chains whipped towards me. I raised my spear and turned them off-course, letting them hit the ground beside me.


    I reflected one after another while we came nearer and nearer. The clanking of metal sounded out continuously, filling the hall with it.


    The constant contact of blazing hot iron onto the tip of my spear evaporated the grizzly''s blood which was on it.


    The stench assaulted my nostrils and I had to control my gag-reflex and stay focused on the fight. Each mishap would be fatal.


    While I swallow heavily, I reflected another incoming chain. The spearhead glided along the chains, sending sparks flying.


    Suddenly, a gut-wrecking pain pounded at my hip. I could hear the cracking and popping of my bones. Blood-curdling pain struck through my nerves and left me shrieking nearly noiseless in pain.


    Something liquid wanted to escape from my mouth. The taste of iron let me know that it wasn''t puke from the stench. It was blood!


    I gnashed my teeth and was shot to the side. Wind whistled by my ears and I smashed into the wall. Another surge of pain assaulted my other side this time; yet I couldn''t hear the breaking of bones.


    Weakly, I glided down from the destroyed wall and fell into its debris. My vision turned fuzzy and slightly red. My hands lifted my body slightly up; enough for me to steal a glimpse of the onrushing Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.


    It sprinted savagely towards me, ready to devour me. Its chains lifted into the air and readied themselves to pounce at me. Saliva drooled over its ugly fangs and dripped down from its mouth.


    With each time it lunged forward, I could feel doom drawing nearer.

 Chapter 0028 A Fight of Terror and Horror (3)

    I had to act fast.


    Each wasted second could mean my death. Ignoring the gut-wrecking pain in my hip, I hastily pulled the HP-Potion card from my left sleeve.


    As soon as I had a good grip on it, I crushed it apart. Black light (or rather darkness) spread out from it; and as it disappeared, a red potion appeared in my hand.


    I pulled it close to my lips and bit into the cork. A dull taste mixed with the sweetness of my blood filled my mouth.


    Tearing the cork with my teeth out from the bottle, I pressed it against my lips and drank its content. It was spicy and burned my throat. It didn''t give me the impression of healing in any way.


    But I kept going.


    In a matter of seconds, the bottle was emptied. My throat burned and felt as if it was set ablaze. Beads of sweat rolled down my face, and tears welled up in my eyes.


    ''What did I just drink?!'' I howled in my mind.


    But now I realized: the pain in my hip was gone. It felt as if nothing happened at all and nobody ever hit me.


    The only difference from before the hit were the cracks in my illusory light armor. Even though the potion could heal my body, it couldn''t heal my armor.


    The trembling of the ground intensified and the wall''s debris near me quivered and shook.


    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly was not far away from me now. It savagely lunged towards me with its maw wide open, showing it disturbing teeth.


    Quickly, I pulled the Grenade Card from my right sleeve, twisted my fingers which held it, and shot it into the grizzly''s mouth. Nearly simultaneously, I rolled to the side and went out of the beast''s way.


    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly pounded into the spot where I was earlier and swallowed the card in the process. A tremor shook the floor from the impact and the last debris from the wall crumbled down on to the grizzly''s head.


    It got even madder!


    Popping noises of bones echoed from it and its claws scratched over the marble floor. A deep, throaty snarl came from the beast and it bellowed at me; spit flew out from its maw.


    ''It didn''t explode?'' I wondered.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ''I thought it would break in its mouth or belly¡­''


    The truth was hard to digest. I just wasted an expensive, green-circled grenade¡­


    But I still had hope. If I could manage piercing its body and hitting the card, it would definitely explode inside it.


    With new-found determination, I stood up again and clutched the spear tighter. The spear arced behind me, and I thrusted it towards the grizzly''s belly.


    Multiple blazing iron chains came shooting at me and I had to change the spear''s path to deflect the incoming chains.


    Clanking of metal sounded out and flashing sparks sprayed into the air. Even though I deflected multiple chains, I couldn''t get nearer to the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly''s body.


    Suddenly, a short bellow pounded against my ear. The grizzly''s body turned, and it pounced towards me, flashing its fangs and targeting my neck.


    My legs reacted fast and I jumped back. The beast''s mouth missed me by a hair''s length and shot by me.


    My only chance to pierce its body was to get rid of the chains or at least keep them occupied. But it wasn''t as easy as it sounded.


    The orb of fire, which floated above my head, got weaker with each second as my mana decreased. It seemed that I couldn''t maintain it for any longer.


    But judging from the time, I could soon use my spear''s skill again. This would be my only chance to keep the blazing chains occupied.


    I managed it once to pierce it while debris occupied the chains; so I felt confident in repeating it. I only had to stall for time until I can use the skill again.


    The blazing orb charged at the grizzly''s snout; and before the beast could react, the orb crashed against it.


    The sizzling of skin raised my hairs and gave me goosebumps. But how could I miss this opportunity? I rushed to the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly''s side as fast as I could. The chains slithered through the air and pounced at me again.


    This time I knew it better. Before, I reflected the chains just so that they don''t hit my body. But this time, I let the chains glide along the spearhead and shot them with all my might back at the beast.


    Clanking and clanging of scorching hot metal echoed through the lonely hall. The reflected chains whistled through the air and whipped at the monster''s body.


    It snarled and squealed in pain.


    The blazing orb kept its mouth occupied and I its chains. The seconds slowly bled by, and the temperature of the orb decreased as well as its size. Finally, my mana depleted, and the orb vanished with a flickering noise.


    ''NOO!! Not yet! Not yet!'' I screamed inwardly and cursed.


    I still couldn''t use the "Heaven''s Strike" skill. There were only a few seconds remaining until I could use it again. But those seconds impacted my life greatly.


    I no longer had anything with me that could distract the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly. The only choice left was to fight the chains and the beast without anything other than my spear.


    As the next chain shot towards me, I jumped back to gain distance. The beast''s blood-red eyes glared at me, sending a shudder through my skin.


    I drew my foot backwards and a scratching noise came from this motion. I bended my knees lightly, going into a horse-stance, and held the spear with one arm.


    It arced to the side, and I drew the spear behind my back, ready to slash forward.


    Meanwhile, the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly shot its mouth open, baring its teeth, and growled deeply. It rumbled and grumbled with a slight vibration in the floor, travelling through my shoes.


    Saliva dripped down its mouth and its ugly tongue wiped over its scorched snout, easing the burn.


    I rammed the spear-shoe against the marble floor, cracking it apart, and made it known that I''m ready ¨Cready to tear the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly apart.

 Chapter 0029 A Fight of Terror and Horror (4)

    The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly was enraged. It scratched ¨Cit snarled ¨Cit bellowed.


    The clanking and clanging of metallic chains rattled through the air. The blazing chains whipped at the ground with booming noises.


    The chained grizzly glared at me with its vicious eyes and pounced towards me. Its paws with razor-sharp claws stretched towards me; and its bared, ugly fangs aimed at my neck.


    I let it come nearer and nearer. Its wheezing became heavier, and its stomping shook the ground more and more.


    Its maw was now directly in front of me, shooting its teeth towards my head. A putrefying stench came from its breath. It was way worse than from before.


    From above it and both its sides came blazing chains shooting towards me. They cut off every possible way where I could jump to.


    If I would evade the beast''s mouth by jumping up or to the side, the chains would attack me. And in this short distance, they would probably come at me in dozens ¨C more than I can handle with only one spear.


    Jumping back was no option either. The grizzly was faster than me and would get me sooner or later.


    So, I took my only chance. I rammed the spear like a rudder into the ground and used the recoil to slide under the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.


    Its iron chained body whizzed over me while I slid on my back over the ground. None of the chains on its belly moved or even showed the intent of attacking me. They seemed completely lifeless.


    ''That''s my chance!'' I thought and thrusted the spear into its belly.


    The spearhead drilled through the thicket of chains and penetrated its armor of chains. The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly gave a thunderous bellow in pain.


    Blood oozed out from the wound and dripped down from the chains.


    Drop after drop came the blood flying into my face. Each drop smacked into my face. I had to shift my body to avoid the dripping blood.


    ''I haven''t hit the card?'' I thought and rammed the spear further into its belly.


    A sloshing sound came from its belly and blood gushed out from its wound like a fountain. The smell of blood etched into my nose. I plugged it with my other hand to avoid the stench.


    ''I''m glad I moved my head away from there¡­'' I heaved a sigh in relief.


    But there was still no explosion heard. I missed the card again. It was really difficult hitting a card in a massive body of a grizzly.


    However, it was not impossible. The only thing I needed was a little bit of luck. The "Heaven''s Strike" skill was ready to use now too.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    So, I tore my spear out from the beast''s body; and with a push of the spear against the grizzly''s body, I slid out from under it.


    The grizzly turned around and savagely snarled at me with bared teeth. Its red eyes filled with hatred and rage. The chains raged around it, yet the blazing on them stopped. It seemed that its mana ran out too.


    Its legs trembled and quivered, clearly indicating that it is losing its strength. The loss of blood hit it harder than I imagined.


    I could probably kill it now without targeting the grenade card in its belly or using my spear''s skill. But why should I? To prove myself? To proof that I am good enough without relying on cards or skills?


    I raised my spear into the air and the emerald-green clouds on it lit up. A thunderous rumbling and grumbling vibrated the entire hall.


    A sudden explosion blasted the already damaged ceiling apart, and a humming lightning whipped into the hall, crashing into the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.


    But that was to be expected. The grizzly was insanely tall and iron chains surrounded its body which reached far into the air. It was like a moving lightning rod. How could the lightning not hit it?


    The iron chains on the grizzly''s body flashed with white electricity. Humming and crackling noises penetrated the otherwise silent hall.


    A blasted smell came from the grizzly and the red light in its eyes intensified. Not even a snarl or bellow or whatnot came from it. Noiseless it stood there with widened eyes.


    The lightning probably electrified its muscles so that it can''t make a noise or even move.


    Suddenly, an ear-shattering explosion crashed against my pain-ridden ears. The chains on the grizzly''s body violently shook and expanded outwards.


    Blood gushed out from each side and every slit on the grizzly.


    ''The grenade exploded?!''


    A feeling of happiness warmed my heart and a smile came onto my lips. Finally, the fight would be over¡­


    The lightning disappeared and only the burned and blasted smell of grizzly lied dense in the air. The monster''s corpse sagged onto the ground. Only the rattling of the chains followed it.


    *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*


    ¡­


    [Message]: You killed an Iron Chained Blood Grizzly (LV 20)[Elite].


    [Message]: 5000 Coins gained from the kill.


    ¡­


    [Message]: Mission "A New Beginning ¨C Stepping into new Land" completed.


    [Message]: Quest "A New Beginning" completed.


    ¡­


    Seeing all these messages gave me a feeling of accomplishment. I gained a lot of money and finished the quest after all. How could I not be happy? There may be a reward from Zhihui too.


    And right as I thought of him, his voice sounded out through the hall. "Young One, congratulations on passing my test."


    "Everyone who can land a single hit on the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly''s body and injure it even a little bit passes the test. And people who surrender will never be able to breach level 10. This test tested your courage and heart."


    "But you surpassed it by all means and even killed the monster. As a special reward, I award you three lottery draws from my card collection."


    "The rewards span from unique and rare occupations to every card in existence. The higher the level of the card or occupation, the slimmer is the chance for it to be drawn."


    Suddenly, three illusory cards of golden light emerged before me. Each card shimmered in a mesmerizing glimmer. There was neither a color-circle nor an image on it. Every card was completely empty; it was just a simple, golden card of light.


    "Tip on a card," the voice said.


    ''I hope I get something overpowered,'' I thought and swallowed my saliva in excitement.


    My fidgety fingers kept moving around, playing with the spear''s shaft. This was a moment that could change my life after all. How could I not be nervous?


    If I draw a rare or even unique card, everything would change in my life. I would never have to worry about dying by monsters anymore. And I could finally safe everyone dear to me; nobody would have to die or suffer.


    But if I draw only common cards like black-circled weapons, I would stay as I am¡­ Not that that is a bad thing¡­ but it could be better¡­

 Chapter 0030 Drawing in the Card Lottery (1)

    Slowly and steadily, I reached my finger out towards the left card. My index finger came nearer to the golden glowing card; and right before I touched it¡­ I hastily pulled my finger back.


    ''If I would have touched it just now, I would have definitely gotten a useless card. I''m sure of it.''


    ''But what if it would have been a unique, golden-circled card?!'' I berated myself.


    ''Okay. I will draw a good card now. I know it!''


    Again, I reached out for the left card. My finger began to tremble and shake. There was just too much pressure, which I couldn''t handle.


    I mean, sure; I didn''t feel pressured or afraid when facing the vampire or the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly. But now is something totally different.


    Fighting a monster and drawing in a lottery are two completely different things. A fight depends fully on the individual. I have everything under control in a fight and can predict some things.


    But in a lottery? The only thing I have under my control in a lottery is the time when I touch the card ¨C nothing else.


    My finger steadily moved closer to the left card¡­


    ''NO! Not yet!!'' I screamed in my mind and pulled my finger back, forming a fist. I clutched the fist with my other hand and pressed them tight to my chest.


    ''sighhhh~ What am I doing? I am totally overthinking this.''


    Suddenly, Bai Mei''s voice came from my side and cutely said, "What are you doing?"


    I turned my head and looked at her. A bright smile hung on her lips and her finger was on her chin, giving her a puzzled look.


    ''Where did she come from?'' I wondered.


    Discarding that thought because I couldn''t ask her anyway, I pointed at the three golden cards before me, showing her that I am pondering over my lottery draw.


    Her eyes shimmered and her smile brightened, showing her angel-white teeth. In a sweet and happy voice she said, "What? You want me to touch them? Yeyyy~!"


    ''What?! No! That''s not what I meant!''


    Bai Mei leaped forward; and before I could pull her back, she grabbed a golden card and pulled it out from the air.


    My heart missed a beat.


    But I was curious nevertheless. So, I stepped behind her, patted her head, and glanced over her head onto the card in her hands.


    The golden shimmer on the card changed. It turned from golden, to grey, to white, orange, and yellow. The card''s color changed rapidly, indicating that it''s on the way to decide the card''s category.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ''Please don''t be white. I don''t need food or drinks,'' I begged and chanted; ''please be yellow! Please be yellow!'' in hope of it turning out as armor.


    The pace at which the colors changed slowed down and seemingly stopped at the border of grey and white.


    ''No. No. No!! Don''t be white! Please stop! Grey is okay!''


    Slowly, the grey color started to fade and turned white¡­


    ''Nooo~~!''


    I gritted my teeth and snatched the card from her. My muscles tensed up and my arm holding the card trembled.


    ''It can''t be white!'' I screamed.


    Suddenly, a circle emerged on the white card. It turned black and changed to purple, green, blue, red, bronze, silver, and gold. The circle varied between every of those colors.


    It got slower and slower. The bronze color was already shown for half a second, and then it changed to silver, nearly being a full second on that color.


    ''A little further¡­ Just a little further¡­'' I hoped for it to change to gold. Even though it was already long on silver, it could still change.


    And just as my heart desired, it changed! The circle became golden!


    ''Yes! At least it''s not a trash card in the Food&Drinks category!''


    But the color didn''t stop. The golden luster became darker and darker, indicating that it didn''t stop yet. It could change to black at any time.


    ''No! Stop! Stop it!''


    My clutches on the card tightened and my heartrate increased. The tension stole my breath and I stopped breathing.


    And suddenly¡­ rapidly changing pictured emerged in the middle of the circle. It meant that the color of the circle was fixed now!


    ''It''s golden! Golden!!'' The heaviness on my heart fell off and my breathing became ragged. I finally obtained a godly card, a golden one!


    A stupid smile came onto my lips and left me in happiness, until¡­


    "You know that it is just food, right?" Bai Mei said with an evil grin on her lips.


    ''You had to ruin it for me! You just had to!'' The smile on my lips disappeared and my eyebrows knitted while I shot her an angry glance.


    But Bai Mei didn''t look at me. She just ignored my berating look and fixed her eyes on the card in my hands.


    "Huh? That doesn''t look like food," she said.


    ''What?'' I was puzzled and turned my gaze back to the card.


    The picture on the card was¡­ a card.


    ''Since when do people eat cards? What''s with this?!''


    Curiously, I crushed the card apart to take a look at the edible card. A blinding white light flashed and turned my vision white. I couldn''t see a single thing.


    My eyes squinted and shut the light out. I could feel the physical form of the card in my hand disappearing. It probably turned already into the food.


    When I opened my eyes again, I looked into my hand.


    -Nothing. There was nothing.


    ''Where is it?!'' I desperately screamed in my mind, and my mouth gaped open.


    *ding*


    ''What now?!'' I thought and pulled my phone out.


    ¡­


    [Message]: Learned occupation "Card Smith".


    [Message]: Occupation "Card Smith" unlocked hidden skills.


    [Message]: "Gatherer" skill unlocked.


    [Message]: "Looter" skill unlocked.


    ¡­


    [[Occupations]]:


    [Guardian](purple-circled):


    [Level]: 1/100


    [Description]: A guardian protects and secures. With this occupation equipped, every defensive skill or armor will be increased by x%. (x -> Level)


    [Card Smith](golden-circled):


    [Level]: 1/100


    [Description]: A Card Smith creates and crafts cards. With this occupation equipped, there will be no divine retribution killing the user if he creates a card. At every 10 levels, hidden knowledge of cards will be unlocked.


    ¡­


    ''¡­'' I stared in a daze onto my phone. I found no words which can express my feelings right now¡­


    ''Does that mean I can create skill cards and gene cards? I could also create a card which can give me a voice¡­''


    But then it hit me. The smile faded from my face as I realized, ''But how do I craft cards? Where is the manual?!''


    I scrolled and tipped on my phone, but there was nothing. Nothing at all¡­

 Chapter 0031 Drawing in the Card Lottery (2)

    "Can Bai Mei touch another one?" Bai Mei asked shyly and reached for another golden card.


    ''That''s my lottery! Don''t touch it!'' I slapped her hand away which was about to grab another golden card from the air.


    "Ah! How dare you hit Bai Mei?" she cried out in a trembling voice while tears welled up in her eyes.


    I knew that she just acted and pretended to be cute and innocent. But I''m sure she isn''t. She already touched one of my lottery cards; she won''t touch another one!


    I reached for the next golden card and grabbed it without hesitation this time. I pulled it out from the air and held it in front of me.


    The golden shimmer on the card changed and iterated every category-color. It was truly a spectacular show of colors.


    And then the rate at which the colors changed gradually began to slow down. My gaze fixed on the color of the card; I hoped for it to be yellow again.


    Slowly, the color changed to orange and creeped into yellow with grey stains. Then the circle emerged.


    ''Yes! Armor! A skill related to armor!'' I was overjoyed from seeing the yellow and grey color and watched the circle changing colors now. It was now time for the grade of the card. As long as it isn''t black, anything would be perfect.


    And it became¡­ green!


    ''Yes! Something good!'' I couldn''t hide my excitement in the least and a big smile blossomed onto my face.


    Now, it was the picture''s turn. Rapidly, the images in the green circle changed between various images of animals and some other images, which I couldn''t see clearly.


    And it slowly halted at¡­ at¡­ a whale!


    ''A whale?'' I wondered and tried to imagine what a whale-armor would look like. But nothing came to my mind. Whales are big, but that''s it. They don''t have a hard shell or skin. Their skin may be tougher than other animals, but it''s not one of the strongest.


    "Can I have it? Can I have it? Can I have it?" Bai Mei clutched my clothes and begged me. Her eyes were big and glassy, gazing full of hope at me.


    She tugged my clothes and kept asking me in a sweet voice, "Can Bai Mei have it? Please, please, please~~. You already got the last one. I want this one! It looks so cute~!"Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    My heart felt heavy, and I knitted my brows before I shook my head.


    "You meanie! Unfair! You take everything for yourself! Wahhhh~" she cried and plummeted onto her butt, crying on the floor.


    *sighhhhh~*


    After a deep sigh, I made up my mind. The card was only green after all; so, I could buy it later on in the market. It wouldn''t be like I lost something great. A green card isn''t that expensive after all. After killing a few monsters, I would have the money again.


    I set up a weak smile and poked her with the card.


    Bai Mei turned her gaze at me and looked deeply into my eyes. She wiped her tears away and blankly stared at me.


    And before I could do anything, her hand shot like a tempest towards the card and snatched it from my grasp. Instantly, as soon as she had the card in her hand, she shattered it.


    A green light flashed from the card and it disappeared.


    Bai Mei stood up with her hands on her hips and smirked at me. A mocking giggle came from her, and she said, "Another victory for Bai Mei! Hahaha!"


    ''What?! You played me?!'' My smile was replaced by a grim look. Wrinkles spread over my forehead and my eyebrows shot downward.


    But Bai Mei didn''t look at my angry face at all. She summoned the illusory gene of light before her and a whale emblem appeared beside it.


    Already knowing what she has to do, she dragged the emblem into the gene and both disappeared into thin air.


    Suddenly, the tiger cub, Zhenli, near Bai Mei''s feet began to grow rapidly. It grew from the size of a cat, to a dog, to a deer, all the way to the size of the grizzly from earlier. It was around 3 meters tall and longer than 10 meters. It was truly huge.


    ''The whale gene is for growth?!'' I was surprised. But whales were the fastest growing animal after all. So, remembering that, it wasn''t that surprising anymore.


    ''If I had used that card, wouldn''t I be able to become a giant?'' I asked myself and shuddered from that thought. I liked my size after all.


    Bai Mei and I both raised our heads slightly to look up at the tigers face. It shot it head left and right, looking around and checking the surroundings. It looked rather disoriented.


    "Zhenli!" Bai Mei shouted and waved her hand with a big smile on her lips.


    The big tiger lowered its head and stared at Bai Mei. It gave a low growl, which was really deep sounding and let the ground slightly vibrate.


    "It''s me, Zhenlie! It''s me - Bai Mei!" she shouted and stepped nearer to it.


    Zhenli lowered its head even further and touched Bai Mei with its snout, shoving her a little bit back. It let out a deep breath, and wind gushed out from its nose, sending Bai Mei''s clothes fluttering.


    Having checked Bai Mei''s smell, it closed its eyes and plummeted onto the ground, lying on its belly. The head rested on the ground and something which seemed like a smile formed on its mouth.


    "Zhenli~~" she happily screamed and ran towards its shoulder. She pressed her face tightly against its cozy fur and rubbed against it. Her hands moved up and down and stroked it.


    ''At least she''s happy¡­'' I thought and smiled at the both of them.


    Because I wanted to pet it too, I stepped towards it.


    A rumbling snarl came from Zhenli, and it bared its fangs. The tiger''s hairs stood up, making it seem even fluffier. However, it clearly didn''t like me.


    Bai Mei held her hand before her mouth and suppressed her laughter to a giggle. "Zhenli doesn''t like you. Hahaha."


    ''Hey! At least show some gratitude that I gave you the card!'' I scoffed and turned around, stepping back to my last lottery card.