《Earth to Rae》
Prologue
In a dark candlelit cavern, there was a young boy with short black hair and a painfully average face wearing a black hooded robe that looked like it was smoking, a throne and a floating crystal ball on a podium. The young boy was pacing back and forth with anxiety.
"Shit shit shit shit shit. Big Sis wants me to bring her a new champion." The young boy said aloud from panic.
¡®Where am I supposed to find a suitable champion on such short notice?¡¯He thought and sat down on a thrown in front him while and slumped down in it while sighing.
¡®Well, I might as well start now.¡¯ and proceeded to scan Earth with his senses. Yes, this young looking boy clad in darkness, despite his appearance, could actually scan the entire Earth and every living being in it with just his mind because he was an incredibly powerful being - a god. Although it sounded like quite the feat, Earth was a very small planet compared to the other ones. To a powerful god like him, it was as simple as snapping his fingers.
He searched nook and cranny on Earth and before his senses reached a certain garbage dump,he came across a pair of long silver haired daughter and mother.
The mother was incredibly beautiful with ocean-blue eyes, round face, small nose high cheekbones, well-sculpted jawline and a slim waist despite being so buxom. The daughter, despite being so young, was also incredible eye-catching as well. She looked to be 5 years old and was a spitting image of her mother with the potential to be even more beautiful than she was.
¡®Oh, well what do we have here? That little girl has potential. I¡¯m sure Big Sis would be pleased. Hmmm, her name appears to be Mary Greyfield.''
He pulled out a large book from thin-air. It was pitch-black with a large white skull on the cover and it was oozing with an ominous aura. He opened it up and flipped through the pages trying to find a name.
¡®Looks like I only have to wait about 10 years. Good! Both incredible looks and potential. Hah! I really lucked out. I should tell Big Sis about her to ease her mind so she doesn¡¯t bother me about it again and ruin my time here.¡¯
He hurried to the floating crystal ball on the podium. ¡°Hey Big Sis, I have good news! I found you someone for you!¡± He said with fawningly to the crystal ball. Seconds later the crystal ball flashed with a bright golden light and he heard a voice.
¡°Kahlos, did you really?¡± She asked. Her voice was feminine yet dignified. Graceful yet overbearing and powerful. So much so that just her speaking made the air around the crystal ball reverberate and the young boy wince.
¡°Of course I did! I would never lie to you, Big Sis. She has both looks and talent! This girl¡¯s talent in magic would be considered amazing even on Altera!¡± Kahlos said while vigorously nodding his head.
¡°Excellent! Altera is painfully lacking in new and young talents that I can nurture since trouble is brewing on Alabastra. I had even asked the other gods on their planets to send me someone but they could not as they needed them. That is why I was desperate enough to ask you to find me someone on thatbarren planet. To have someone as arrogant as you compliment this person is incredibly rare. Therefore, you even havemelooking forward to her,¡± she said with interest.
¡°So when can I expect the girl?¡±
¡°In about 13 Earth years I¡¯ll send the champion to you,¡± Kahlos said carefully.
¡°Is that so? That is sooner than I expected. Well, this could be considered that person¡¯s good fortune as their talent would only be wasted on Earth anyway,¡± she said and went quiet as if she was pondering something.
Shit, did she find out?Kahlos had gotten scared when she did that. ¡°Is there anything else you need, Big Sis?¡± He asked trying to hide the tenseness in his voice.
With her thoughts interrupted, she spoke. ¡°Did you find out why Mana would rarely leak from Altera to Earth and disappear quickly?¡±
The Mana from Altera had been leaking to Earth for almost as long humans became conscious. The reason Earth had ¨Cnot all- but many of its fantasy worlds through a myriad form of entertainment was because very rarely some humans would be able to traverse through the cracks with their minds with dreams or a burst of creative inspiration. Said humans would go on to create works of fiction based on Altera, albeit very imperfectly for two reasons: first is that Kahlos would seal them up quickly and the second is that humans from Earth would not be able to completely remember or decipher what they saw from Altera.
Kahlos inwardly sighed that he had not been found out and replied, ¡°I have not, despite the many years this has been going on. I have not figured out the other oddity as well either.¡±
What he was referring to was something that she and Kahlos had been wondering for a while now. Although Mana leakedfromAlteratoEarth, some humans could peek into Altera but humans from Altera could not do the same.
The owner of the female voice waited about 10 seconds before answering. ¡°Well like you said, it has been many years since this has started and nothing has come about it aside from what you told me about the Earthlings creating stories from Altera. Still, do not drop your guard and continue to monitor them when they do happen. Also, remember to send the champion or else ¡ Hmph, what happened all those years ago will look like child¡¯s play.¡±
********
In the middle of a heavenly area with clouds as the floor and the constant blue sky and a shining sun as light, and nothing but a chair, table and a crystal blow that slightly dimmed black, sat one ofthemost beautiful women to have ever existed that radiated majesty. She had long blonde hair that was just a bit wavy that went down just below her shoulder. Round face with high cheekbones and a well-matchedjawline that complemented her facial structure. Deep blue eyes and a small nose that perfectly curved. Her body was also buxom like the mother of Mary but even more so. Her seductive red lips had a small mole above the right side of them that accentuated it almost infinitely.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
After the black light had dimmed from the crystal ball, the heavenly woman fell into thought.
''That little muscle headed brat dared to lie to me about the date he could send over the champion.Well, he did contact me first so he might have lied so he could surprise me sooner, get into my good graces and get out of punishment. If the champion he sends is really as good as he says she is then I might consider it as long as he sends her no later than the intended time.¡¯
When she was thinking of the suffering she had inflicted to Kahlos all those years ago and changing his form and thought about how she would punish him if he failed this time, an enchantingly beautiful and seductive yet dangerous smile appeared on her face.
********
After the call had ended, the Kahlos felt a shiver run down his spine until the golden light from the crystal ball dimmed all the way down to disappearing and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he called this woman ¡°Big Sis,¡± he was terrified of her. He had been ever since he had fought her all those years ago and lost. After he had lost, she put him through excruciating pain and made him take on a form that made him look like a 14-year-old boy. The pain was not that bad as he was a god and could endure much but what made him depressed was what he looked like. From his gigantic and majestic form to a boy who looked like he barely hit puberty. She knew he was extremely prideful and that the form change she made him have was the biggest one she could have given him. That is why he said ¡°13 years¡± instead of 10. Just in case something went wrong, it would allow him some leeway to fix things so he would not have to face her wrath.
When he thought about the way his body looked, he became down and decided to walk into a different room to the left of his throne. What was odd was this door was not made of stone despite it being in a cavern. It was an upholstered leather home theater double door with a sign above it with what looked like Kahlos holding a controller.
When he pushed the double doors open, walked in and flipped a switch, the room became bright with flashing lights and screens. There were handheld consoles lying everywhere with candy and popcorn all over the floor. Soda on every counter, table, and couch with a cup holder. 50inch smart TVs on every single wall, including the one with the door and consoles PS4s, XBOXs and PCs connected to all of them.
He smiled as wide as he possibly could. Then he grabbed a bucket of popcorn automatically prepared for him from a machine, grabbed a cup of soda from the counter and walked to one of the TVs and sat down on a couch in front of it. He was watching a bunch of animated characters fighting and a yellow-haired boy with a headband, and a pink haired boy with a scarf yelling ¡°THE POWER OF NAKAMA!¡± Then he sighed contentedly.
¡®This is the life. I hope Big Sis never finds out about this. She still thinks she¡¯s ¡°punishing¡± me.
Truthfully, Kahlos actually enjoyed his time here on Earth despite it being barren of Mana aside from the occasional Mana crack from Altera and Big Sis forcing him to stay here to watch the Mana cracks as punishment. He had found the humans on Earth quite ingenious when creating entertainment for themselves. Using human entertainment was his favorite thing to do.
¡®I¡¯ll just wait for Mary Greyfield at the appointed time, shove her off to Big Sis, and I can be free of worries and live a life of human luxury!''
Little did Kahlos know that he would never meet that girl at the intended time because she had changed her fate.
********
¡°Mary! Why do you want to go into the alley?!¡± Helen yelled.
¡®This usually so clever girl has gotten a bit unruly since her father died,'' Helen thought and sighed.
¡°But Mommy, I think I saw a little girl jump into a garbage!¡± Mary exclaimed. She thought she saw long silver hair rushing into the garbage.
¡°Honey, don¡¯t be silly. Why would someone jumpintothe garbage? Especially a girl?¡± Helen asked incredulously. She thought that her daughter had an overactive imagination or maybe was acting out in some way to cope with the loss her father.
¡°But Mommy, I¡¯m not lying c¡¯mon!¡± Mary continued to say but turned to see the look her mother was giving and she could feel that she did not believe her.
¡°I¡¯ll prove it to you then!¡± Mary forcefully grabbed her mother and pulled her to the garbage dump in the alley.
Helen was about to quit her nonsense but remembered that it was one her very rare days off and decided to go to the park with Mary. If she continued to show distrust in her, it might ruin the day so she gave in.
When they got near the garbage dump Helen could actually hear something! ¡®Oh my god! Is there actually a little girl in there?¡¯
¡°See Mommy, I told you there was someone inside!¡± The girl said with a smile on her face while giving her a mother a ¡®know-it-all¡¯ look.
¡°Okay honey, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She said with a sad smile while looking at the girls face. ¡®I should trust my daughter more.¡¯
With a resolute look, she turned toward the garbage dump and reached a hand over the cover then turned to Mary. ¡°Mary, step back a bit just to be safe okay?¡±
Although from what Mary had said, the person in the garbage dump was a little girl, she did not want her daughter to be in danger in case the person was dangerous.
¡°Okay, Mommy,¡± Mary said while stepping back.
Helen turned back to the garbage dump grabbed the lid and lifted.
What she saw almost made her burst into tears.She did not see a little girl.Instead, what she saw was a little boy with silver long hair, skinnier than bones with nothing but a small t-shirt and ripped jeans that only went down to his knees. What was worse was that he was battered and bruised almost to the point you could not see what his normal skin color. She was also sure that he had broken bones as well.
She tried to reach out to the boy but he flinched heavily, ran into the corner, hugged his knees, and cried, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I promise I won¡¯t go in your garbage anymore! Please don¡¯t hurt me!¡±
¡®This poor boy. What did he have to go through?!¡¯Shethought in sadness.
She decided to change her approach and in her gentlest voice, she could possibly muster said, ¡°Hi, my name is Helen. I am not going to hurt you, I promise. Can you tell me your name?¡±
That¡¯s when the boy looked up and she could see his face in the same state as the rest of hisbody.She could only sigh in sadnessat the thought that someone could do this to a child.
Heresponded in a voice as quiet as a mouse, ¡°My name is Rae. Are you going to take me back to my parents? Please don¡¯t take me back. I promise I¡¯ll be good!¡±
Helen¡¯s face twitched at the revelation that his parents had done this to him, but she tried her best not show it on her face.
She reached out her hand ever so slowly and startedpatting his softly with a gentle so smile on her face.
¡°No Rae, you¡¯re not going back; you''re never going back, I promise.¡±
Rae really thought she looked like a goddess at that moment.
Chapter 1 - 10 Years Later, And It Begins
10 Years Later
A handsome young man was sprinting after a beautiful girl down a strangely empty sidewalk after he caught up to her; he had his hands on his knees while struggling to breathe.
¡°Rae, you¡¯re getting faster! Before you took Kendo, you never would have caught up with me.¡± The beautiful girl complemented.
¡°Kawazoe Sensei has been tearing me down almost every day! Before, all I did was play video games and read manga and novels in my free time, and when wasn¡¯t doing that, I was doing schoolwork or prepping myself for Helen¡¯s company. It was an absolute nightmare when I first started.¡± Rae said.
¡®Kawazoe Sensei is an absolute monster despite being such a tiny and cute looking woman,¡¯Rae thought.
¡°Well, whose fault is that, huh?¡± Mary said. ¡°I wonder what the pining ladies at Ford Ash Academy would think when they find out their lonely and solemn idol is used to be just regular bookworm otaku at home?¡± She asked with a taunting grin.
In fact, Rae was more than "just" handsome. With a well-chiseled jawline (like this, for picturing \_/ ), high cheekbones that made his cheeks sink ever so slightly, straight nose and blue eyes, white skin, most of the ladies in the academy were quite attracted to him. Even some of the female teachers thought he was handsome as well. Not that they would cross ¡°that¡± line, anyway. What his most eye-catching feature was his silver hair that went down just a bit past his shoulders that he swept behind his ear on his right and leaving his left side hanging. All these put together and he was a bonafide lady-killer at the age of only 17.
Well, he would be if he took advantage of his looks.
Mary thought of how he looked when her mother had pulled him out of the dumpster and then compared to how he looked now. She couldn¡¯t help but smile deep inside.
¡°Well, I wonder what thepining gentlemenwould do if they found outtheiridol was just a tom-boy with a smart mouth. I still remember when you punched Neal Halden and knocked one of his teeth out on my first day of elementary school for calling me ¡°Dumpster boy¡± and screamed to the rest of the room, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bully my big brother!¡± He retorted in a playfully and nostalgically after he caught his breath from the sprint.
¡®Although I said that, I love you just the way you are,¡¯Rae thought to himself.
Actually, even if they did know, Mary would still be incredibly popular. She was almost the spitting image of her mother except without the graceful aura that came with a maturity that her mother had and although she was not as buxom as she was, she still possessed a shapely figure despite only being 15 years old. In addition, like Rae, her long silk-like silver hair that went down to her back was eye-catching as well. In fact, she was probably more popular than Rae was as she had not only gorgeous looks but also an outgoing personality.
Mary crossed her arms and looked pointed her nose in the air in a smug way and said, ¡°And nobody ever called you that again. Mom had never been angry, but more so proud at the same time as that day.¡±
They both chuckled and as if she knew what Rae was thinking before, Mary closed the distance between them, bent over slightly so she was face to face with him and said with a sly smile, ¡°And although you say that, you love me just the way I am, don¡¯t you?¡±
Rae became dazed for a few seconds because her beautiful face was so close to him.¡®Whew, if I didn¡¯t have self-control¡¡¯but he stopped his thoughts, and then smiled in a way he didn¡¯t even realize he was doing. ¡°Yeah, I do.¡± Afterward, he turned away and restarted their walk home from Ford Ash.
Mary froze up at his dazzling smile, stared at his back with a deep blush on her face, and couldn¡¯t help but think about how handsome Rae was.
She then smacked both sides of her face to wake herself up.¡®I have to stop doing that.¡¯She inwardly sighed at the thought and started walking to catch up to him.
Normally, students would stay in the high-class dorms but Mary and Rae weren¡¯t comfortable with that so Helen had set up a regular chauffeur, but since Rae started practicing Kendo, he decided he should start walking home for extra exercise as their home was only about an hour away on foot and Mary decided to join him as well.
On the way, Rae spotted a garbage dumpster in an alley and it reminded him of that day 10 years ago. He knew it wasn¡¯t the same dumpster or the same alley yet he still wanted to see it for some reason. Rae then started walking into the alley.
When Mary saw this, she knew what it meant to Rae as it also reminded her of the important day he cameintoher and her mother¡¯s life so she followed him in.
After they were in front if, Rae and Mary just stood there in silence. When a few minutes had passed, Rae turned to Mary; he took both of her beautiful soft white hands and held them together. Then he looked into her eyes and smiled, and just when he was about to say something he saw a figure cloaked in all black with a ski mask on running towards them from behind her.
¡®What the hell?!¡¯Was all Rae could think of before the man pulled out a Taser, but before he could fire, Rae pushed Mary out of the way and then swiveled his backpack in front of him as quickly as possible as he didn¡¯t have time to propel himself in any other direction after pushing Mary out of the Way.
Luckily, the man couldn¡¯t stop the motion of aiming the Taser at him and firing, thus hitting the backpack.
¡®Holy shit! The kendo lessons with Sensei Kawazoe paid off,¡¯He thought excitedly. Then, realizing the danger of the situation pulled out his Shinai while shouting to Mary as loud as he could. ¡±Mary! RUN NOW!¡±
¡°BUT¡ª¡°, but before Mary could finish, the man looked at her said something that made the situation seem much worse than a random mugger.
¡°Stay. If you leave, your brother dies,¡± The man said ominously.
¡®How does he know Mary is my sister?!¡¯Then Rae realized this manactually never asked them to hand anything over.
¡°Mary, run now!¡± Rae yelled again. ¡°B¡ª¡°She was cut off again.
¡°Mary, you need to run and get any help can and look for one of the Ford Ash guards that patrol the area! I will stop him! This isn¡¯t a random mugging!¡± Then shouting in the loudest and angry way he had ever done towards his little sister, ¡°SO LISTEN TO YOUR OLDER BROTHER AND RUN, DAMN IT!¡±
He said it with all his soul because he truly wanted to keep Mary safe. His little sister that would knock out bullies for him when he could not defend himself as children. The only other person he has ever loved in the world that saved him from being and eating literal trash. He would die for her. He always felt that he owed Mary and Helen his life anyway.
¡®Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay,¡¯Mary kept hoping and telling herself.
Then, she took a deep breath and with tears in her eyes, she ran as fast as she possibly could toward the man. The other side of the alley was a dead end so Mary had no choice but to go in the direction of the man, and they had not walked too far from the academy and Mary was athletic so if she tried her hardest, she could get there in a few minutes.
When she got close to the man, the man pulled out a combat knife and thrust his left hand towards her, hoping it would deter her from running but before it got even close, Rae jabbed the man¡¯s hand with his Shinai and the combat knife fell to the ground.
However, it wasn¡¯t enough to stop him and the man started moving his other hand to grab her.¡®Fuck, you piece of garbage! Since you really want to do this then don¡¯t blame me afterward because you¡¯re not touching a hair on Mary¡¯s head.¡¯Rae cursed inwardly. He hardened himself and in the next second, there was a scream.
¡°AHHHHH!!! MY EYE!¡± the man screamed. The man clutched his right eye and screamed in agony while blood was flooding out from his eye socket. He started writhing and looked like he was about to collapse.
Rae had thrust his Shinai into the man¡¯s eye to stop him. His Sensei had told him doing this was taboo but he did not feel guilty. In fact, he was happy it did that much damage as it allowed Mary to get away.
¡®I¡¯m glad she got away,¡¯Rae sighed inwardly in relief. However, was not the time to relax as he was still in trouble.
When Rae regained focus, he noticed something strange; the man was not screaming anymore.¡®How is that possible? The man had just lost one of his eyes and was screaming like a maniac. Now he¡¯s as quiet as a lamb?¡¯Then he heard a sinister laugh coming from the man.
¡°Kept me from my one and only Mary! I wasn¡¯t going to let you off since you¡¯re her brother, but you had to take out my eye, didn¡¯t you? Well, that¡¯s okay. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll forgive me when I cut her upand eat the pieces so we can be together forever.¡± The man creepily said in a singsong voice.
¡®This guy is one sick bastard. I¡¯m going to try and disable him as fast as I can.¡¯
When Rae decided on his next course of action, it was already too late. The crazed man had pulled out a gun and shot him in the stomach.
Rae was shocked.¡®Huh? He had a gun? Seriously? How am I supposed to fight against that?¡¯
When Rae grasped the reality of the situation, he clutched his profusely leaking stomach. Then he started to feel the sting and his legs could no longer support him through the pain. He then fell down on his side and then onto his back.
Rae looked up at the sky.¡®Well, the last 10 years of my life were absolutely fantastic. I wish I could have spent more time with Helen and Mary and told them many things I haven¡¯t done yet, but oh well. Dying for them isn¡¯t such a bad thing anyway.¡¯When he was lost in thought and looking back at the last 10 years of his life, he heard footsteps coming toward him. He turned his toward the source of the sounds and looked at him up and down.¡®Well, if I had one regret, it would be that this fucking bastard is still alive. It¡¯s, somewhat fine I suppose since it¡¯s not like he¡¯ll have a chance in hell to get near Mary after this as Helen and Ford Ash will have her protected 24/7.¡¯
The crazed man looked down at him, then slowly took off his ski mask and smiled.
Rae was shocked! He would never have thought that this crazed and obsessed man was our chauffeur!¡®What the hell?! It¡¯s the driver! This guy was always so nice! He drove us to and from school every day for years and we never noticed what kind of ¡°thing¡± he is?!¡¯
¡°HAHAHAHAH! This is what you get for coming in between us.¡± The crazed man gloated. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve always been jealous of you? What with being so close to my goddess and all. Moreover, that face. Who gave you the right to be so damn handsome, huh?! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Rae looked at the man with contempt and squeezed out two last words.
¡°Fuck. You.¡±
The crazed man then pointed his gun, shot him four more times in the chest, and started to laugh crazily again.
¡°HAHAHAHAH! This is what you get for coming in between us. How dare you act so cocky in death! HAHAHAHA¡± The crazed man gloated.
However, what the man didn¡¯t notice was that Rae had secretly smeared blood on both of his shoes and pants. He had prayed to himself that this would help in some way in capturing him. Though he also understood the possibility of the man ditching the clothes, if he didn¡¯t do it fast enough, the patrol would catch him.
The crazed man had had enough gloating and chose to leave before Mary returned with the guards.
********
¡®Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.¡¯Mary was still praying while shouting as loudly as she could for help along the way to Ford Ash Academy, but no matter how loud she was, no one comes.
That wasn¡¯t the strangest thing. She also couldn¡¯t see a single person around. Since this area was near Ford Ash Academy, it would usually be busy no one could be seen today but no one was around.¡®I don¡¯t have time for this. I¡¯ll just run straight to the academy for the rest of the way.¡¯
A few minutes later when the academy gate was in sight, she started screaming to the guards about how Rae was in trouble and took them to the alley where they were attacked.
Mary didn¡¯t seem to notice or remember the fact that she couldn¡¯t find anyone when searching for help but when she returned with guards, they all returned and nothing seemed out of place.
¡°It¡¯s over here in this alley!¡± Mary screams as she led the guards.
********
An old man with a Ron-Swanson mustache and no hair on his head that was wearing very small round glass, a small brown top hat, a brown suit, and brown dress shoes was watching everything from afar.
¡®That youngling, Kahlos is too ¡°preoccupied¡± to notice I did anything. Well, it¡¯s not like he could even if he was attentive.¡¯Thought the old man. He looking down on a powerful god-like Kahlos. One could only imagine how powerful this old man was.
¡®I hope you¡¯ll forgive me for allowing you to die, one day, Rae. It¡¯s for the greater good. You have a future you couldn¡¯t possibly imagine. Well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have a little bit of selfish motivation but it¡¯s only a small wish I hope you can grant this old man one day. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll use my gift well.¡¯The old man who was there one moment was gone the next and no one in the area noticed.
If Rae were to see this old man, he would recognize him as the one who ignited the fire in his heart to change his life.
********
When Mary went into the alley and the pool of blood beneath Rae¡¯s body, she broke down and harder than she had ever before.
¡®*Sob* he *sob* died *sob* for *sob* for *sob* me!¡¯
She could still hear him yelling to at her to run while at the cost of his own and it only made her more depressed.
¡®*Sob* Mother *sob* will *sob* be *sob* devastated *sob*¡¯
********
When Rae woke up, he found himself in a dark room with only a leather upholstered double door on the left, a throne and a podium with a floating crystal ball.
¡®Where am I? Moreover, what the fuck am I doing here? I died, didn¡¯t I?Rae had many questions but no one to answer them until a certain someone appeared a moment later.
¡°Behold, mortal! I am the great Kahlos, watcher of Earth and you are here to be rei¡ªeh?¡± While Kahlos was in the middle of his grandiose speech, he realized Mary Greyfield was not here and became slightly panicked.
¡®Wait, where the fuck is she?! She was supposed to bite the dust this very moment! Oh, shit shit shit shit shit. Okay, Kahlos. Calm down. There was a 3-year safe period. So let¡¯s just find out what happened and fix it and Big Sis won¡¯t fuck me up.¡¯Kahlos eventually sorted out his thoughts and finally noticed the person whowasin the room.
¡®And who the hell is this brat? Looking at his face pisses me off for some reason.¡¯
¡°Mortal, who are you?¡± Kahlos asked in a demanding tone. It was normal, as he was a god and Rae was just a puny mortal after all.
When Rae saw the person who was speaking as if he was god, he couldn¡¯t help but turn his to the side and wonder,¡®this puny brat is a god?¡¯
Rae could feel something definitely strange was going on so as he was sure he died to the chauffeur.
¡°I¡¯m Rae Greyfield,¡± Rae answered.
¡®Greyfield? I wonder if he knows Mary Greyfield¡¯Kahlos then pulled out the black book in search of Mary¡¯s name¡¡¯Found it! Why are her death time missing and her name marked in red?! This has never happened before. Let us search for this ¡®Rae Greyfield¡¯ as well¡ His name is marked by even darker red! I have to find out what happened.Kahlos then turned to Rae and asked, ¡°How did you die?¡±
Rae then told Kahlos what happened.
''This Rae Greyfield somehow subverted Mary Greyfield¡¯s death, but that still doesn¡¯t explain why there is no time stamp on Mary Greyfield¡¯s name. Even though her time of death was subverted, it should have just changed to a different date¡ That either means my book of death cannot read her date because she is supposed to die on another planet or¡no. That has not happened in a long time.''He inwardly sighed.¡®What should I do? I promised Big Sis, Mary Greyfield, there¡¯s only 3 years left for that, and since I can¡¯t read her time stamp, it means I have no clue when it will happen and it¡¯s not like I can kill her myself because the Akashic System would punish me severely¡''
Rae had been waiting there quietly for quite some time since he told Kahlos how he died.¡®What¡¯s this shrimp thinking about?¡¯
As if Kahlos had heard the rude remark by Rae, he looked up all of a sudden and had an epiphany.¡®I can just send Big Sis, Rae! This boy is clearly not normal if he could subvert someone¡¯s fate, and although his talent in magic doesn¡¯t seem to match up to Mary, it¡¯s pretty good even among Alterans. If I can groom him a bit and send him to her, although she might be a bit disappointed with his magic skills, she won¡¯t punish me! Also, I told her 13 Earth years. Therefore, that means he¡¯ll have 9 years to get stronger on Altera! This should work. Okay, now I have to convince this brat.''
¡®Why has this boy-god been staring at me so long? Does he roll ¡°that¡± way? Is that why he looks like a kid? I mean, I have been told I¡¯m handsome but I don¡¯t want that! No no no no no, nuh uh!
¡°Rae Greyfield, I, The great amazing awesomely talented great god Kahlos, need you to be my hero and want you to reincarnate into a magical fantasy world called ¡°Altera¡±! Kairos said while activating his¡¸Godly Aura¡¹to make it seem as epic as possible. If the other gods knew what he was using his ¡¸Godly Aura¡¹for, they would gang up on him and beat him silly. Especially his ¡°Big Sis.¡±
¡°I have a few questions, Kahlos,¡± Rae said. This had been too sudden and he just needed to be sure of some details to be safe.
¡®Kahlos, GAME TIME! We just need to convince him he wants it himself.¡¯ In his most dignified voice, combined with his¡¸Godly Aura¡¹he said, ¡°You may speak, Rae Greyfield.¡±
¡°The first question: is it possible to return to Earth from Altera and if so, then how?¡± This was Rae¡¯s most important question, as he would not want to be in a world without Mary and Helen.
¡°Yes, it is possible. There is the reincarnation method that you would be using. The strength method where you become strong enough to traverse worlds yourself. There are also other methods aside from these two but they are extremely special circumstances so there would be no point in telling you.¡± Kahlos answered honestly. He needed this bugger on his side to stave off the catastrophe that is ¡°Big Sis.¡±
¡°Second question: what is the time difference between Earth and Altera?¡± His second important question, as there would be no point in him coming back to an Earth when Mary and Helen had already died.
¡°Altera is faster by 3x. So 1 year on Earth is 3 years on Altera,¡± answered Kahlos.
¡°Last question: will you give me cheat like powers like in novels?¡± His final question. As to why? Isn¡¯t that obvious? What kind of reincarnation adventure didn¡¯t give the person cheat like powers?
Kahlos had thought about it for a second and said, ¡°I can only give you three.¡±
¡°What are they?¡± asked Rae curiously.
¡°Increased Perception of Eyes,¡¸Appraisal¡¹and ¡¸Status Concealment¡¹¡± Said Kahlos. He didn¡¯t want to give straight up overpowered ones so he could at least rely on himself somewhat.
¡°Oh! Appraisal, the tried and true classic reincarnation cheat ability. Status concealment is also good forreincarnatorsgoing into hiding and increased Perception of Eyes sounds basic but useful.¡± Said Rae in excitement. He had always read about reincarnation and cheat like abilities in novels, now he was going to have all of that! How could he not feel excited as a tried and trueotaku.
¡°Right, right! ¡¸Appraisal¡¹ is a classic and your novel knowledge isn¡¯t bad to know the uses of ¡¸Status Concealment¡¹and Increased Perception of Eyes.¡± Kahlos also excited as an otaku.
¡°Hmm? Kahlos¡ are you an otaku?¡± Rae¡¯s otaku meter went through when Kahlos was just speaking.
¡°Huh? Oh *Cough*, I just look at some stuff here and there.¡± ¡®Where would my dignity if I admitted to liking mortal entertainment, huh?¡¯
¡®Definitely an otaku. Will keep it in mind in the future,¡¯Rae thought to himself.
¡°Oh yeah, what do I need to do as a hero?¡± Rae asked.
¡°Just go about your business and focus on getting stronger. The hero business will come naturally like it does for everyone,¡± Kahlos said carelessly.
Rae thought about is some more and Kahlos was right. That is how it is for most heroes and it completely fell in line with his primary goal of getting strong enough to return to Earth.
¡°Okay, Kahlos. I accept being your hero on Altera.¡± Rae said with an adventurous smile. If there were any women around right now, they would probably swoon.
Kahlos could barely contain his excitement at the achievement of his plan.
¡°Alright kid, hang on tight. I¡¯m sending you right now. Any last question?¡± Kahlos asked.
¡°Yeah, why do you look like a kid? Not becomingofa god and all to look like a shrimp,¡± Rae asked thoughtlessly. He had forgotten he was talking to a god because he found out he was an otaku.
¡®You just had to go and say it didn¡¯t you? Only Big Sis is allowed to mention the way I look, fuck! Well then, let¡¯s see how you like itbeingthe size of a middle schooler!¡¯
Rae thought Kahlos was just concentrating on reincarnating him. That¡¯s why he ignored him.
¡®Mary, Helen, just wait for me a bit. I¡¯ll be back,¡¯Rae thought before a burst of light flashed around him and he disappeared.
********
Rae found himself in an enclosed and wet space. After struggling to move around but failing heard a female mechanical voice.
¡ºAkashic System¡» Initiating...
¡ºAkashic System¡» Initiating...
¡ºAkashic System¡» Initiated
¡ºAkashic System¡»Scanning Host...
¡ºAkashic System¡»Detected residual traces of previous body vessel in host soul, and detected mutation in host soul.
''Huh?!''
¡ºAkashic System¡»Identified mutation as ¡ºOrigin Vampire Soul¡»
''How the hell did I get that?! Uhmm, let''s try this out; activate¡¸Appraisal¡¹on¡ºOrigin Vampire Soul¡»
¡ºAkashic System¡»: ¡ºOrigin Vampire Soul¨C Increased attributes. No weaknessto sunlight or fire. Grants¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹and¡¸Absorption¡¹¡»
''That''s a bit overpowered. A bunch of positives with none of the weaknesses of a normal vampire.''
¡ºAkashic System¡»Would host like to assimilate mutation and residualtraces into the new vessel, or discard them?
''Do I get to keep my old appearances because of the residual traces? Moreover, this¡ºOrigin Vampire Soul¡»seems overpowered, but I don''t know where it came from or how I got it...? Oh well,ACCEPT!''
¡ºAkashic System¡»Now adjusting host Body to synchronize and accept host soul.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host body and soul synchronization 20%...
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host body and soul synchronization 40%...
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host body and soul synchronization60%...
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host body and soul synchronization80%...
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host body and soul synchronization100% Complete!
¡ºAkashicSystem¡»Host body has undergone mutation to accept host soul.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has gained ¡ºTitle¡»:¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»
''Ooohh, that sounds cool. Hmmm, let''s see if this works: STATUS!
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»[Hidden]: ¡ºElectra''s Gift¡»¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Rae[Hidden] Gender: Male Age: In Womb Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 1 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»[Hidden]:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 30%¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»[Hidden]
Health Points: 380 / 380 (+11.4/s)
Mana Points: 540 / 540 (+5.4/s)
Stamina Points: 240 / 240 (+3.6/s)
Origin Vampire: Fledgling
¡ºAttributes¡»[Hidden]
Strength: 110
Endurance: 80
Intelligence: 150
Dexterity/Agility: 130
Perception: 300
Charisma: 105
Wisdom: 90
Luck: 100
¡ºSkill List¡»[Hidden]
¡¸Blood Manipulation LV1¡¹¡¸Blood Absorption LV1¡¹¡¸Appraisal LV5¡¹¡¸Noble Aura LV1¡¹¡¸Status Concealment¡¹ ¡¸Perceptive Eyes LV5¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸EnhancedSix Senses LV1¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV5¡¹¡¸Darkness Magic LV1¡¹¡¸Universal Language¡¹
''FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK! I got reincarnated as a goblin. How?!''
Chapter 2 - And Im a Slave...
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºElectra''s Gift-[Hidden]¡»¡ºOrigin Vampire-[Hidden]¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Rae Gender: Male Age: In Womb Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 1 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A
¡ºResistances¡»[Hidden]:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 30%¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»[Hidden]
Health Points: 380 / 380 (+11.4/s)
Mana Points: 540 / 540 (+5.4/s)
Stamina Points: 240 / 240 (+3.6/s)
Origin Vampire: Fledgling
¡ºAttributes¡»[Hidden]
Strength: 110
Endurance: 80
Intelligence: 150
Dexterity/Agility: 130
Perception: 300
Charisma: 105
Wisdom: 90
Luck: 100
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Blood Manipulation LV1¡¹¡¸Blood Absorption LV1¡¹¡¸Appraisal LV5¡¹¡¸Noble Aura LV1¡¹¡¸Status Concealment¡¹ ¡¸Perceptive Eyes LV5¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸EnhancedSix Senses LV1¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV5¡¹¡¸Darkness Magic LV1¡¹¡¸Universal Language¡¹
¡®Wait, the ¡®System¡¯ said,¡°Host Body Has Undergone Mutation To Accept Host Soul.¡±, so does that mean I get to keep my old appearance despite being of a different race? I thought my soul had issues with my body because of the¡ºOrigin Vampire Soul¡»but it also had to do with the fact I was a human and now I¡¯m a goblin and I¡¯m sure that I overlooked some other¡ºTitles¡»in my excitement.¡¯Rae thought to himself.
He had to stay calm and not make rash decisions. Especially because he was in a new world, with different cultures, creatures, and who knew what else. After a while, Rae had managed to calm down. He decided to¡¸Appraise¡¹everything that seemed questionable in his status when he heard a notification¡
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
After thinking about it for a bit, he understood. How could anyone raise their attributes without leveling up and how could they kill monsters if they were stuck with the attributes they were born with? Therefore, it would be safe to assume that there were at least three ways to gain attributes: first is to level up. Second is to apply those attributes to life like going through training. And the third is somewhat related to the second as you could gain attributes by naturally growing up. Of course, this was all speculation on his part.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
¡®Looks like I¡¯m right,¡¯He thought proudly. Satisfied with his own deduction skills and knowledge on fantasy worlds as an otaku lord. What he did not know was that those novels and games, and manga he read with fantasy worlds were based on Altera.
After he was done being proud of himself, he proceeded to appraise the two things he was most curious about.
¡®Appraise¡ºElectra''s Gift¡»!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡ºElectra''s Gift¡»- You are Electra¡¯s Gift.
Rae honestly did not know what to make of the straightforward yet mysterious response the System gave him.¡®Who¡¯s Electra? Moreover, why am I this person¡¯s ¡®gift¡¯? Maybe it¡¯s from that shrimp.¡¯He thought and moved onto the more mysterious of the two.
¡®Appraise¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»- Origin Vampires are Princes of Darkness and Sovereigns of blood and vampires. They are the beginning of the vampire race. Only one Origin Vampire has ever existed before now.
He was baffled at both his¡ºTitles¡»as they were completely mysterious and he had no idea he had gotten both of them. Maybe there were serious repercussions for having them.¡®Luckily, I have¡¸Status Concealment¡¹, butwho cansay nothing in this world could bypass it, and peek at my secrets?For example,an advanced appraisal or something.¡®After that thought,Rae then decided to worry about it when he needed to as worrying about it now would not change anything.
After he appraised his titles, he moved onto his most pressing issue now -his goblin race.
¡®AppraiseMutated Goblin!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host body has mutated due to Origin Vampire and human soul synchronization. Host has mostly retained physical qualities from the previous vessel despite being a goblin.
He breathed a sigh of immense relief. Although, it said, ¡°¡mostly retained physical qualities¡,¡± as long as he was not green, he would be okay. How could he go back to Earth and continue being with Helen and Mary if he looked like a hideous green creature? Now, with his biggest worry abated, or so he thought, he decided to wait until the moment of his birth, as he could not do anything other than think while he was a fetus. He knew from Earth that goblins had very quick births and maturation rates compared to humans but had no idea exactly how quick they were.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
********
3 Months Later
Rae had stayed in this goblin woman¡¯s womb for 3 months. 3 months of nothing. Absolutely nothing in a dark and damp enclosed space that would even bump him around sometimes. What made it even worse was that it was crowded. There were other goblins in this womb. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt irritated at the fact that he had to share this space with those other goblins. He could not wait to leave to leave this place and he could feel that the moment would come soon as his ¡°brothers and sisters¡± were also seemingly restless.
He started to hear voices nearby. Rae had become able to hear a few days ago because his body parts became more developed but all he could find out through hearing was that the goblin female he was inside of was being taken care of by humans, strangely.
¡°Mr. Crane, this breeder is about to give birth in a moment. Are they going to be up for auction?¡±, asked the voice in a very respectful tone.
¡°Yes, Mr. Dralomere wants to get rid of all of them so there are no leftovers for the next batch,¡± responded the other voice. He was a tall and thin man. He wore expensive clothing and had a very plummy voice sounding like someone who came from high-society.
The other man then nodded his head and yelled, ¡°Doctor! A breeder¡¯s about to pop ¡¯em out!¡±
¡®I¡¯m finally getting out!¡¯Thought Rae excitedly. So much so, that he started kicking around the womb and that made the mother yelp, ¡°AH!¡± The female goblin started rubbing her belly in pain. She could also feel her children wanting to see the world. Her legs then gave out to the pain from her children wanting to break free and fell on her butt and started gasping.
An old man wearing gloves and a brown coat long coat, and a young chubby boy with short-cropped black hair big eyes and chubby cheeks, carrying around tools and a basket, came out greeting both Mr. Crane and the other man by lightly tipping their heads. Then the doctor went up to the female goblin and crouched, grabbing both her knees and spreading her legs open to form an ¡®M¡¯. After that, a light engulfed the goblin and her gasping lessened almost immediately. Her face showing relief.
¡°The magic isn¡¯t going to last forever so keep pushing until they¡¯re out,¡± the old man said in an uncaring tone despite being a doctor. ¡°And Tim, remember to grab the babies and use the collars with Mr. Crane¡¯s magic signature on them. Then put them in the basket for the auction house to rear them.¡± He said the young man following him.
¡°Yes, Doctor,¡± Tim replied.
Hearing what the doctor had said, the goblin started pushing with all her might and after a few minutes of struggle one screaming goblin came after the other, but then something strange happened.
A pale white baby with deep crimson eyes and thin strands of silver hair came out from the female goblin. Everyone was shocked and silent. The only sound that could be heard were goblin babies crying.
Rae took a deep breath of fresh air when he "escaped."¡®After 3 months of being stuck in there, I¡¯m finally out. Now, where am I?¡¯
When Rae opened his eyes to take in the surroundings, he found himself face to face with a chubby looking boy.''Right! I was just born! I should probably act like a normal baby for now. But how do ''normal'' goblin babies act''?
''Right! I was just born! I should probably act like a normal baby for now. But how do ''normal goblin babies'' act''?Rae thought. Then he looked at the other goblins and saw they were all crying, butnoticed their collars.''I''ll focus on this current hurdle and figure the rest out later''
"WaaahWaahWaah!" Rae screamed as loud as he could to disguise himself.
Tim looked at Rae and didn''t know what to do with him. He had never seen a goblin look white before and not just white, if it wasn''t for the ears, and the fact that he had seen the birth of this baby, he would think it was human.
"D-Doctor! I''ve never seen a goblin-like this. Do you know how it was born like this?", Tim exclaimed. In fact, Mr. Crane and the Doctorwere just as surprised as he was.
''Wow, I wonder how Ilook?''Rae wondered.Then he had an idea. He had no idea of the average strength of this world so he didn''t know if his current stats were considered strong so he decided to appraise everyone in the room. He had found out that the strongest person in the room was the one called Mr. Crane, and he only had average stats around 50. ''They''re probably weaker than me because they''re not fighters or adventurers.'' he thought and decided to keep crying for appearances.
"Mr. Crane, do you know who or what mated with this female goblin?" The Doctor, paying no mind to the crying goblins as he was very used to it, as was Mr. Crane, asked curiously.
Mr. Crane thought for a moment and said, "I have no clue. Mr. Dralomere came here business as usual and dropped off the batch of goblin breeders to give birth, and auction the babies off after they grew and we reared them a bit."
Then he added, "But I don''t think he knew this was a possibility as he would have said something or kept the goblin to himself."
The Doctor looked at Mr. Crane and offered with a hint of anticipation and expectation in his voice, "Well, if that''s the case, then how about I take him off your hands?"
He really wanted Rae. As he believed him to be a naturally mutated goblin whichwas unheard of. There have been cross-breeding between goblins and other species before, but the offspring between them would always be, and look, likeregular goblins.
Mr. Crane guffawed, "Doctor, although I''m not a healer and have no medical knowledge, I do know a thing or two about rarities, and I believe this little bugger is a naturally mutated goblin, right?" He looked at the Doctor with a hint of mockery.''Trying to fool me, eh?''
"Tch, it was worth a shot." The Doctor wasn''t foolish enough to fight againstSilver Ridge Auction House by himself and possibly lose his life. He then asked, "So, are you going to sell it, keep it, or notify Mr. Dralomere?"
"Isn''t that obvious? We''re theSilver Ridge Auction House, and here we have an incredibly rare specimen." Mr. Crane said with a greedy look on his face.
"Oh, is that so. Hmm, you know I¡¯m quite stressed out from being shocked by the white goblin. I was hoping you could give me some shiny objects to relieve it or I might have to find someone to confide in to get it off my chest."
Mr. Crane looked at the Doctor and frowned at him for what he implied. Truthfully, the Doctor had servedSilver Ridge Auction House so he didn''t want to get ''rid'' of him.
The Doctor, noticing Mr. Crane''s look, hurriedly said, "C''mon now, Mr. Crane. Think about how much you''re going to make off this specimen. What you give me will just a drop from an ocean."
"Alright, fine. But not a word about this until the auction. Do I make myself clear?" Mr. Crane said. Both the Doctor and Tim nodded their head.
The doctor then looked at Tim. "Okay, now that that''s settled, Tim!"
"Yes, Doctor?" Tim answered.
The Doctor then looked at Rae and said, "Take him, and the rest of this batches goblins to the goblin slave rearing center and collar them."
''FUUUUUUUUUCK! I''m a slave now?!''Rae could not think ofwhat he had done to receive this kind of luck despite it being high. At least, compared to the three people he appraised.
Chapter 3 - Sixth Sense
¡°Is the slave collar going to work on him, Doctor? I mean, he is a mutated goblin.¡± Asked Tim worriedly.
Tim¡¯s question was valid, as they had never used a slave collar on a goblin that was mutated, so it was new territory.
The Doctor chuckled and made a disdainful smile as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. ¡°Tim, my dear apprentice, although it is mutated, a mutated goblin is still a lowly goblin in the end. This one is white on the outside, but it is still green on the inside.¡±
Rae had grown furious hearing the Doctor mock him like that. It was as If the Doctor thought he was trash, albeit a rare piece of trash.
And something inside him couldn¡¯t stand the humiliation like it was roaring to get out. Which was strange because after he had stayed with Mary and Helen for a while, he never really cared about what other people thought about him before, and he was never prideful either, but it had been a very long time since he was treated like this. Although he knew it was because he was a goblin, it still made him angry.
¡®Breathe in¡ breathe out¡¡¯ Rae did a breathing exercise he practiced when he had anxiety before, as it worked just as well for anger.
The Doctor and Tim thought he was wheezing and ignored him, as baby goblins were quite resilient physically.
¡°Yes, Doctor." Tim put Rae into the basket with the other baby goblins and Rae had a chance to look around.
There were dirt and mud covering the entire floor, and the building looked to be a barn house. The wood was dilapidated and some spots cracked so badly, cold air could get inside. And lined up against the walls were what resembled pig pens. In each of them was a female goblin. Now that he had a clear look at them, they resembled the vicious creatures had seen from back on Earth. All they were wearing were just rags tied around their breasts and women¡¯s area. Most of them were pregnant and the ones who weren¡¯t, but all of them had blank looks in their eyes as if were empty vessels.
Rae realized what was going on.
It was actually quite smart, really. With the goblins fertility and growth rate, they would make an extremely replenish able workforce either through labor, or war. The collars also seemed to be imbued with magic that helped keep them in check. Enslavement, essentially.
And this place he was born in, was just part of an auction house to both birth and rear them for them to sell to the highest bidder.
Rae honestly did not know what to feel. If he had been human, he probably would have agreed and applauded the idea, but he was born among them and also currently being treated like them.
He wondered how the goblins even ended up in such a situation in the first place.
''What are you thinking about, Rae? You still have to get back to Mary and Helen,'' he thought and refocused his attention.
Rae had almost laughed at himself for worrying about goblins - the fantasy creatures notorious for being cruel and vicious.
After Tim left the barn house, they went into another barn house that resembled the first one and had more ''goblin'' pens, but this time they have just boxed off fences with a trough in the middle. There were pens lined up in three columns with enough space in between them to walk through.
Tim then went to an empty pen and had practically dumped me and the other baby goblins in there. Then he called someone over and that person dumped a bunch of pellets into the trough and left, leaving just him and the babies.
Rae was glad to finally be alone. He could finally test some ideas he had.
He used the breathing technique he was familiar with to help him focus.
After a few moments of repetition, he activated both ¡¸Magic Perception¡¹and ¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹,
And what Rae experienced was incredible. He could feel and see the Mana in the atmosphere all around him. The beautiful blue particles emitting power and just waiting for beings to consume them. It was a euphoric feeling being able to utilize the nature of the world to perform abnormal feats of power no normal human could ever possibly achieve.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Enhanced Six Senses LV1¡¹ Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Magic Perception LV5¡¹ Leveled up!Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Perceptive Eyes LV5¡¹ Leveled up!
Then everything turned for the worse. ''AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Turn it off!'' Rae screamed inside.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Endurance +1!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Pain Resistance LV1¡¹
Rae had felt the worse pain he had ever felt. Even worse than when he was abused. It felt as if needles were stabbing at every skin cell he had in his body and then they would go deeper over time.
When Rae was birthed into the world, he had noticed all his senses get better, especially his eyes, so he wanted to see the effect it would have if he activated both ¡¸Magic Perception¡¹and ¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹and it would seem like the sensory overload was too much for him.
''Maybe I can only activate one at a time.¡¯ Rae thought.
Moments later, there was a loud cry that rose over all the other babies in the barn house.
''Okay, I cannot activate either of them, but why does it hurt when I activate ¡¸Magic Perception ¡¹? It makes sense for ¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹ as I''ve noticed that my eyesight has become crystal clear and I''m able to see farther and pay attention to little details thanks to¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹already, but why¡¸Mana Perception¡¹?''Rae contemplated.
''¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹,'' Rae kept muttering to himself in question.
Then he figured it out, ''Of course! It''s called ¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹so the sixth sense must be being able to sense Mana!''
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
Rae was happy he could identify the problem, though he didn¡¯t know what he could do to solve the issue of sensory overload. Maybe increase his intelligence? He decided to appraise Intelligence.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Intelligence - Affects the rate and ease one grasps knowledge, memory capacity, and Mana capacity.
It didn''t exactly answer his question, but he had nothing else to go on.
''Since I can''t utilize ¡¸Mana Perception ¡¹ right now, I''ll use my Sixth Sense on its own for the time being,'' Rae decided.
He then tried to recapture that beautiful moment, and after a few moments, he was able to feel the Mana around him, but not see it.
''It''s a bit disappointing the feeling isn''t as powerful as well as before, and I can''t see those beautiful blue particles, but that''s only for the moment. Now, on to the next step, ¡¸Appraise¡¹¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹and¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹!''
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹- Utilize darkness.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹- Manipulate blood.
Rae was slightly disappointed by the fact he could not use ¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹as there was no blood around to manipulate but immediately perked up when he remembered he could use ¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹.
Rae closed his eyes and imagined the Mana converging into a small point the size of a bullet and firing into the ground in front of him.
Immediately after he heard a *Dush*.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Mana Control LV1¡¹
''YEEEESSS! HAHAHAHAHAHA, I CAN USE MAGIC NOW! I BET ALL THOSE OTAKU LORDS ON EARTH WOULD KILL THEMSELVES JUST FOR A CHANCE AT BEING REINCARNATED ON ALTERA!'' Rae was giddy at the thought that he could create magic. What person wouldn''t be happy about being able to control and utilize nature itself? Anyone! And Rae, despite his current circumstances, was no different!
''One step closer to returning to Earth! I also gained a lot of skills and attributes. Status!''
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºElectra''s Gift - [Hidden]¡»¡ºOrigin Vampire - [Hidden]¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Rae Gender: Male Age:1 Day Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 1 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»[Hidden]:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 30%¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»[Hidden]
Health Points: 382 / 382 (+11.7/s)
Mana Points: 540 / 540 (+5.4/s)
Stamina Points: 240 / 240 (+3.6/s)
Origin Vampire: Fledgling
¡ºAttributes¡»[Hidden]
Strength: 110
Endurance: 81
Intelligence: 150
Dexterity/Agility: 130
Perception: 300
Charisma: 105
Wisdom: 93
Luck: 100
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Blood Manipulation LV1¡¹¡¸Blood Absorption LV1¡¹¡¸Appraisal LV5¡¹¡¸Noble Aura LV1¡¹¡¸Status Concealment¡¹¡¸Perceptive Eyes LV6¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Enhanced Six Senses LV1¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV6¡¹¡¸Darkness Magic LV1¡¹¡¸Universal Language¡¹¡¸Pain Resistance LV1¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV1¡¹
''I should hide ¡¸Pain Resistance¡¹¡¸Mana Control ¡¹ before I forget. Also, the way I obtained¡¸Pain Resistance¡¹was terrible. The pain was so excruciating that I got a skill from it. I hope I don''t have to raise it in the future,'' he thought pitifully.
After checking his Status, Rae decided that his immediate goal was to increase his levels to raise Intelligence to use ¡¸Mana Perception¡¹and ¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹, as he had some direction to rectify it, although a bit vague. Then he decided on a much-needed rest.
It had been a long time since he had one. From fighting against Mary''s stalker and dying, to meeting Kahlos and reincarnating here. There were no gaps for rests and he was exhausted physically from the sensory overload and mentally as well.
Chapter 4 - Swordsmanship
After Rae had woken up after last night¡¯s exhaustion, he felt amazing after sleeping off like having rain after a drought. Rae got up and noticed something. He was standing up on two pudgy legs.¡®I can stand now? Yesterday, I could barely crawl.¡¯
Then he looked down and saw that his ¡®little brother¡¯ had grown. He felt around his body and found out the rest had as well. Even his silver hair had grown longer.
¡®We¡¯re goblins, so I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised, but it¡¯s still weird.¡¯Rae thought it was because of his perspective as a human who grew at a snail''s pace compared to a goblin. ¡®Well, this works out excellently for me as I don¡¯t have to wait years like humans would, to get stronger.¡¯
He looked around and saw that all of the other goblins had grown about the same size, but they still couldn¡¯t stand let alone walk. The reason he could do it because remembered it naturally from his previous life.
That¡¯s when Rae heard a group of six people coming towards the barn house with buckets of the pellet food with his enhanced senses.
¡°Holy shit, the little bugger can walk now,¡± one of the people said.
Another person said, ¡°Mr. Crane is gonna be happy. The more exceptional it is, the more money Silver Ridge Auction House is going to make.¡±
A third chimed in, ¡°Yeah, the guest list for the auction this time is really big. The Humble Foxes mercenary group are coming.¡±
¡°No shit! I wonder ifSelena Colts is coming. That woman is a goddess,¡± a fourth person said. Almost drooling at the thought he could see this ¡®goddess¡¯.
The first person looked at the fourth person as if he was seeing an idiot. ¡°Idiot. As if she would look at you. Plus, the leader of The Humble Foxes would cut your eyes out if he heard you.¡±
The four-person couldn¡¯t help but shiver at hearing that. The leader of The Humble Foxes just so happened to beSelena Colts¡¯ father, Landis Colts. He was known to be extremely protective of his daughter, despite her being very capable herself.
¡°I would be protective of my daughter too if she looked like Selena. Also, she¡¯s definitely going to be the next leader. The Humble Foxes have been traveling around and have built quite the reputation so Landis is probably grooming her and wants to keep her safe,¡± said the second person.
¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough chatter. Let¡¯s just get this done and report to Mr. Crane about its progress,¡± said the first person.
The group then finished up their work and left. Unbeknownst to them, Rae was listening to their entire conversation.
¡®It¡¯s no surprise they¡¯re keeping track of me, but what should I do about it? Should I show exceptional progress or try and lay low? And that Humble Foxes mercenary group sounds interesting¡,¡¯Rae mused.
After giving it some thought, he decided to be exceptional, but nottooexceptional. He thought it was best chance to leave and see the bigger world to get stronger. Although it carried some risks like his captors being afraid he would overthrow them, if he played it right, he could deceive them.
He then decided he would spend this time they were giving them alone to practice¡¸Mana Control¡¹and¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹and come up with a plan.
********
One Week Later
A week had gone by and the auction house employees only came by to drop off food so the goblins wouldn¡¯t starve, but Rae appreciated that.
He and the other goblins grew up to around 4 feet tall which made him in awe of their monstrous growth rate. Although, for some odd reason, he was bit smaller than them.
Because of this, and the fact he didn¡¯t look like them, he had gotten into multiple fights with some of the goblins who tried to pick on him. With his stats though, he didn¡¯t need much to beat them. After a while, he beat so many of them up, he got¡¸Barehanded Combat¡¹. As he had expected and hoped for, the employees saw and reported all of this.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Speaking of skills, Rae managed to level up ¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹and¡¸Mana Control¡¹once and gained ¡¸Concentration¡¹and¡¸Breathing Technique¡¹ as well. He obtained ¡¸Concentration¡¹through nonstop practicing¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹, as all he had done was eat, sleep, poop in a corner, and fight off goblin bullies. He obtained ¡¸Breathing Technique¡¹very quickly from practicing for one day. He believed that it was so easy to obtain it was because he originally used it in his previous life for his anxiety. But still practiced for years after he had gotten rid of his it because he was used to practicing it every day. This made him think¡
What would happen if he managed to get ahold of a sword and practice Kendo? Would he get a skill?
Rae would not have to wait long to get his answer.
After Rae had woken up, he felt something uncomfortable around his neck. When he shook off his grogginess, he saw what it was.
A slave collar.
The heavy, cold iron collar, pressing against his neck. A physical manifestation of a brand, wrapped around his neck as someone else¡¯s belonging.
Obviously, he hated it.
What was strange though, was that the collar had a red crystal the size of a fingernail embedded into it. He could feel a strange pulse coming from the red crystal and surmised it was crystallized mana or something similar and is what kept the collars magical in the first place.
When all the other goblins had woken up, Mr. Crane came into the barn house with a cart full of wooden swords.
Now that the goblins were much bigger after a week, they needed a way to control them from being too rowdy. ¡®This will probably be the time when the auction house begins conditioning the goblins to follow orders as well,¡¯Rae thought, and he was not wrong.
Mr. Crane proceeded to yell to all the goblins in the barn house, ¡°I know you all can understand me through the collar, so stand and listen up!¡± Although the goblins had yet to learn the human language yet -as they were only a week old- they could understand Mr. Crane because he was bonded with all of the collars they were wearing and the goblins could ¡®sense¡¯ what he meant. The goblins being bonded to him through the collars was also why he could command them.
After he had said that, all the goblins stood up very stiffly.
¡®Why are they all moving like that?¡¯Rae asked himself.¡®Is it because of the collars? But it¡¯s not doing anything to me.¡¯
That¡¯s when he sensed a gaze on him and swiftly decided to follow suit.
¡®I don¡¯t know why the collar doesn¡¯t affect me, but I have to pretend it does,¡¯Rae decided.
When Mr. Crane turned his head toward Rae, he thought the collar wasn¡¯t working on Rae but thought the collar was foolproof after he saw him standing up as well.
¡®What am I thinking? Even if he is mutated, he can¡¯t fight the collar,¡¯thought Mr. Crane.
After all the goblins stood up, he ordered them again. ¡°Each of you takes a sword.¡±
The goblins each took a sword.
¡°Now fight until there is only one of you left standing.¡±
That¡¯s when all hell broke loose and all the goblins started swinging their swords wildly.
Rae was almost swept up in the tense and adrenaline filled atmosphere but was able to stay clear headed. He then took a deep breath and took a stance.
He sensed two goblins coming in front and behind him.
When they got closer, both goblins swung downwards. Rae slanted his body to the side, with both goblins swords sliding through the air beside him, nearly clashing, he slashed the goblin on its neck. Before the front goblin collapsed, Rae twisted his body, struck the goblin from back on his ribs.
Rae had carried out his sword strikes extremely fast, and they both collapsed at the same time.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained¡¸Swordsmanship LV1¡¹
Rae had no time to think about the notification when two goblins were fighting each other. He toned down his speed so he wouldn¡¯t reveal too much, and dashed at them. He kicked one goblin in the stomach, making it collapse instantly and slashed across the other¡¯s stomach. After the two of them collapsed he had a brief respite before he heard a yell from Mr. Crane.
¡°Enough! All goblins stand down and drop your weapons except for you!¡± Mr. Crane yelled pointing at Rae.
All the goblins dropped their weapons and were ¡®removed¡¯ from the force of command from Mr. Crane, they started to look at Rae with a bit of awe and fear. The prowess he showed was something no week old goblin should have. They definitely would not ever attempt to bully him again. Not that they could really do anything before, but now they would not even try an attempt.
Mr. Crane while pointing at Rae, said, ¡°Swing your sword to the best of your ability.¡±
¡®Looks like he noticed my¡¸Swordsmanship¡¹skill,¡¯ thought Rae. But he was happy as this was what he wanted. And he didn¡¯t need to hide his swordsmanship either unlike his magic skills.
Rae then held the sword with both hands, went into a stance and slashed downwards with force. He held his raw strength back, of course, as that would only cause problems.
Mr. Crane looked at the lone, beautiful goblin, and its silk-like silver hair standing there with a huge grin on his face and greedy light in his eyes.
¡®I¡¯ve really lucked out!Dralomere dropped a golden egg on my lap without even realizing it! This mutated goblin is not only human looking and beautiful to look at, but its fighting prowess is prodigious. It gained¡¸Swordsmanship¡¹from only swinging the sword a few time,¡¯exclaimed Mr. Crane.¡®I wonder if it can use magic. Maybe I should ask for an aptitude stone from the auction house superiors¡ No, the goblin is already weird enough. It¡¯s impossible for it to know magic as well,¡¯reasoned Mr. Crane. But he still couldn¡¯t help but wonder deep down¡
Then he decided to train further Rae''s¡¸Swordsmanship¡¹so he would be of more value at the auction in a month.
¡°You, come with me,¡± said Mr. Crane to Rae.
¡®I wonder where he¡¯s taking me,¡¯ wondered Rae as he followed him.
Chapter 5 - Taboo
Before Mr. Crane led Rae away from the barn house, he had Rae put on a ragged linen sleeveless shirt and pants, that went down right above his ankles.
After they left Rae got the chance to observe and find out a bit more about the area he¡¯d been staying in for a week.
The auction house was actually keeping the goblin slaves on an extremely large compound surrounded by stone walls. The barn house he was staying at was only one of a dozen, possibly more. He saw goblins with collars walking and rushing from place to place. Some goblins were even standing guard, but they were quite large compared to normal ones, and their features were more ferocious, instead of the cunning look normal goblins had.
He appraised the goblin and was surprised.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºSlave to Eric Crane¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Drom [Guard 3] Gender: Male Age: 3 Years Race: Hobgoblin Level: 4 Class/Level: ¡¸Spearman LV2¡¹¡¸Guard LV4¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0%¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 276 / 276 (+2.76/s)
Mana Points: 118 / 118 (+1.18/s)
Stamina Points: 207 / 207 (+2.07/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 84
Endurance: 54
Intelligence: 26
Dexterity/Agility: 46
Perception: 39
Charisma: 10
Wisdom: 28
Luck: 5
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Pain Resistance LV3¡¹¡¸Hand-to-Hand Combat LV2¡¹¡¸Spear Techniques LV3¡¹
¡®This goblin has two classes! I wonder how you obtain a class. But what¡¯s surprising is his race!¡¯ Rae wondered how it was possible that it was a hobgoblin and if he was capable of becoming one too. ¡®Appraise ¡®Hobgoblin¡¯!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»Hobgoblin - The evolved form of ¡®goblins¡¯ when they have gained enough experience. Hobgoblins are bigger, faster, smarter, and stronger than their predecessors.
¡®So can I evolve? How come it doesn¡¯t say how much experience?¡¯ questioned Rae. ¡®Oh well, it¡¯s still incredibly important information as I don¡¯t want to be stuck as a puny goblin forever,¡¯ Rae said to himself with encouragement.
They walked past a few barracks separated into two groups. He saw humans on one side and goblins on the other. It was clear the human¡¯s side was much cleaner and in better condition while the goblin¡¯s side was dirty and dilapidated. Rae thought it was to be expected as they were slaves.
As he and Mr. Crane kept walking, they finally stopped in front of an open field where the humans and goblins who evolved into hobgoblins were training. There were over a dozen sparring sessions happening between goblins and humans but it was clear the humans were just abusing them.
¡°Weak as fuck green skin!¡± Rae heard a man yelled as he was kicking a hobgoblin that was already down.
¡°I need to release some stress, so I¡¯m gonna have a good time breaking your bones today, green turd,¡± Rae could hear another.
Rae could only sigh at the happenings as he knew what it was like to be in their position and wondered, ¡¯is it like this in the rest of the world? Or just in this area?¡¯
As Rae was thinking to himself, a tall man in his middle ages walked up to them. He had short brown hair and he looked experienced as his armor and face were rugged.
Rae appraised and was extremely impressed.
And terrified.
Terrified that he had actually met someone so strong having just been born into this world.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºCaptain of Silver Ridge Auction House¡»¡ºWar Veteran¡»¡ºSurvivor¡»¡ºHuman Slayer¡»¡ºRescuer¡»¡ºMonster Slayer¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Norton Clemons Gender: Male Age: 38 Years Race: Human Level: 34 Class/Level: ¡¸Warrior LV37¡¹¡¸Captain LV21¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0%¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 2096 / 2096 (+20.96/s)
Mana Points: 842 / 842 (+8.18/s)
Stamina Points: 1572/ 1572 (+15.07/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 576
Endurance: 472
Intelligence: 254
Dexterity/Agility: 297
Perception: 523
Wisdom: 325
Charisma: 42
Luck: 15
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Pain Resistance LV6¡¹¡¸Hand-to-Hand CombatLV4¡¹¡¸Swordsmanship LV6¡¹¡¸Raise Morale LV5¡¹¡¸Fear Resistance LV3¡¹¡¸Commanding LV5¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV4¡¹¡¸Enhanced Hearing LV5¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV7¡¹ ¡¸Bow Techniques LV3¡¹¡¸Axe Technique LV4¡¹
¡®This man could poke me to death if he wanted too.¡¯ Rae thought. ¡®I need to be careful in this world. Although me being reincarnated and an Origin Vampire has given me huge potential, there are much stronger people than me in this world than this man. There¡¯s no point to potential if I¡¯m dead,¡¯ he warned himself.
¡°Eric, what are you doing here?¡± asked Norton in a gruff and straightforward manner. Norton actually disliked greedy noble types, so naturally, that carried over to Eric Crane as well. The only reason he didn¡¯t act in disgust with Eric, is because the higher-ups of the Silver Ridge Auction House would not tolerate personal feelings getting in the way of professionalism.
Eric ignored Norton¡¯s tone as he did not care. ¡°I¡¯ve brought someone train with you for a month,¡± he said.
Norton then noticed a beautiful child beside Eric and said in surprise, ¡°You want me to train an elf girl that¡¯s only a child, for a month?¡±
¡®I haven¡¯t looked in a mirror because I haven¡¯t had access to one, but this Norton fellow seems to think I¡¯m an elven girl. Did my looks change that much? Not only that, apparently there are elves in this world, too. That¡¯s good to know. Anyways, I hope Mary and Helen will be able to recognize me when I return,¡¯ Rae thought worryingly.
Truthfully, you could not blame Norton for believing Rae was an elven girl. His sharp jaw line had rounded out, and while still extremely handsome, had made him look a bit androgynous. Coupled with his silver hair, and pointed ears that he had from being a goblin, Rae could easily pass for a beautiful elven girl.
Eric burst into laughter after hearing what Norton said. ¡°Norton, you fool! This ¡°elf girl,¡± is actually a mutated goblin male who was just born a week ago!¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Norton was not convinced. ¡®How could a goblin look so much like an elf? Not only that, extremely beautiful to boot! Also, what¡¯s up with those deep crimson eyes? Is it because it¡¯s mutated? There¡¯d had never been records of one before so it¡¯s possible I suppose. But what if he¡¯s just saying that to cover for himself?¡¯ He took a closer look at Rae, but he still could not tell the difference.
¡°How can you prove that this is a mutated goblin?¡± Norton asked questioningly.
¡°The Doctor and his apprentice, Tim, were the ones to birth him. Not only that, there are multiple employees who have seen it since it was a baby. Also, upper management had already come up with a solution for authenticity with a blood resonance test with its mother.¡± Eric said convincingly. ¡®This is why you¡¯re the muscle, you muscle head. You don¡¯t use your brain!¡¯ Of course, he would never say this out loud as Norton could snap him like a twig with his bare hands.
¡°I see. It does indeed look amazing, and should fetch a high price, but why are you telling me to train it personally?¡± Norton asked with raised eyebrows. Normally, when goblins needed to be trained for auctioning off or for their own personal forces, they would train with the rest of the grunts.
¡°This mutated goblin managed to gain¡¸Swordsmanship LV1¡¹while only wielding a sword for less than five minutes. If this goblin isn¡¯t a prodigy then I don¡¯t know what is,¡± said Eric with an amusing and unknown proud tone in his voice.
¡°What?! That¡¯s not even just prodigious! That¡¯s monstrous! Are you sure?¡± exclaimed Norton. Then he realized the irony in what he said. ¡®Well, it is a monster, and a mutated one at that.¡¯
¡°Exactly, the higher-ups told me that if it was extraordinary, I should take it to you for training. If it became stronger, it would increase its appeal to the auction house guests next month,¡± Eric said.
Norton was about to say something, but another thought came to him. ¡°If it¡¯s so amazing, why not keep it as an elite guard?¡±
Eric then sighed, ¡°Norton, the Silver Ridge Auction House¡¯s main priority has ¨C and always will be, gold. With the commission we could get from selling such a rare specimen, the auction house will be very happy. Or where else, did you think the gold for you and your men came from?¡±
As Rae was standing there, pretending he didn¡¯t understand what they were saying, he couldn¡¯t help but feel conflicted at hearing their conversation. ¡®I¡¯m not sure how I feel about being discussed like a commodity¡¡¯
Norton had almost forgotten how greedy these people were but thought it was fine in the end. His main concern should only be feeding himself and his men thought have followed him into battle since he could last remember, and the greenhorns he was bringing up now.
¡°Alright, I see your point. But I want to see what the thing¡¯s got before I decide how I want to train him. Follow me,¡± said Norton.
¡®Luckily I don¡¯t have to fight a life and death match with him. I suppose I could test my physical limits,¡¯ Rae decided.
Eric brightened up at the good news. ¡°Good! I may not be a warrior, but I¡¯ve seen and been around enough to tell that this mutated goblin¡¯s abnormal,¡±
He and Rae followed Norton to a large ring outlined with rocks, away from the training area.
¡°We¡¯ll do it here. Does it understand our language, yet?¡± asked Norton.
¡°Not yet, as it¡¯s still young,¡± said Eric.
¡®I bet he wouldn¡¯t expect that I already understand everything they¡¯re saying right now,¡¯ Rae said while smirking inwardly.
¡°We¡¯ll give it a¡¸Universal Language¡¹Crystal after you finish your fight,¡± said Eric. Then he looked at Rae and ordered, ¡°Spar with this man using your full strength.¡±
Rae nodded his head expressionlessly, and they both entered the arena.
Rae then took a deep breath, exhaled, and took his stance.
Norton was extremely surprised at Rae. ¡®This goblin¡ It¡¯s preparing itself. Usually, unless trained, they would just charge in, swinging.¡¯
But Rae¡¯s next action surprised him yet again.
¡®If there¡¯s any chance I can beat him through physical means, it¡¯s through surprise. He has no idea of my actual stats and I can make him misjudge my strength,¡¯ thought Rae, and he decided on a plan.
Rae dashed at him and slashed downward, but held back. Norton parried it effortlessly and didn¡¯t counter attack.
¡®That blow was definitely from¡¸Swordsmanship LV1¡¹and its strength was higher than average too!¡¯ Although Norton had heard it from Eric, experiencing it was different than someone telling you.
Although he had held back, Rae was surprised at the newfound understanding in their gap after that blow as well.
He dashed at him again, and instead aimed at Norton¡¯s right leg. Norton parried him again.
This back and forth exchange kept going on for another minute. Norton had not moved from his spot, and Rae looked like he was exhausted.
Rae decided it was time, and bolted at Norton with full speed. This had actually caught Norton off guard. When Rae got closer, he attempted to do the same thing he did to Mary¡¯s stalker: he tunnel visioned on a single point and thrust out his wooden sword with all his might, blocking out all external noises or visuals and only able to see Norton¡¯s eye right eye.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Dash LV1¡¹
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Swordsmanship LV1¡¹ Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Concentration LV1¡¹Leveled up!
Sadly, with the strength and experience gap being a wide chasm, it still could not work.
Although Norton was taken by surprise, he was not an experienced Warrior for nothing. He tilted head to the side to dodge the blow. ¡®Oh, shit,¡¯ cursed Rae in his last moments until Norton chopped Rae¡¯s neck; knocking him out.
After the spar was over, Norton had figured out Rae¡¯s reason for pointlessly slashing at him for a full minute. He planned to lull Norton into a sense of security and have him used to a certain speed. Then, when Norton least expected it, he would bring out his full capability and take him by surprise. It almost worked, as Norton had definitely underestimated him since he was only a week old with¡¸Swordsmanship LV1¡¹, but Norton himself was a veteran of many wars and faced many life and death experiences.
¡®This little bastard is only a week old, and he could think of such a strategy. He knew he couldn¡¯t beat me in a straight up fight, so he had come up with this. Even almost took out my eye in the process if I was even just slightly less attentive than I already was,¡¯ mused Norton.
Norton then thought about the strength of each of his blows and they were definitely stronger than even some of the hobgoblins.
¡°Eric, have you appraised its stats yet?¡± Norton asked while pointing at the unconscious Rae.
¡°No, as Appraisal Stones are rare, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could get permission to use it,¡± said Eric, while still a bit surprised at the fight. He didn¡¯t think Rae, could fight that well despite only being a week old and having barely touched a sword.
¡°You should report what happened today and try to get one. This mutated goblin is stronger than hobgoblins while only being Level 1 and Classless,¡± Norton said with seriousness.
¡°I¡ I¡¯ll let the higher-ups know and see what they decide,¡± said Eric with a shocked expression.
Norton picked up and put the still unconscious Rae over his shoulders and said, ¡°Alright. Also, remember the¡¸Universal Language¡¹Crystal as it can make training and communicating with it easier. I don¡¯t want to bond myself to its collar.¡±
Norton did not want to communicate with it through the collar as it was based more on ¡®sense¡¯ rather than proper communicating, and never liked doing it for training goblins.
¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make sure to get one,¡± confirmed Eric, and they both went back to the training area.
********
After Eric Crane reported everything to an Elder of the Silver Ridge Auction House, the elder then walked into a room with a round table and four chairs.
There were three old men with grey hair and long grey beards and different colored robes, sitting in each of them. The Elder who walked in sat down on the remaining seat and initiated the conference.
¡°I think we should sell it. Think of how much we could make? There are many people who would want it for its fighting prowess or experimentation,¡± said an Elder with a black robe.
¡°Nonsense! What if they find out through experimentation? I think we should just kill it and let history rest,¡± said an Elder with red robes
An Elder with blue robes responded, ¡°Relax, Berkley. Experiments have been done on goblins before and nothing has ever been found out. It¡¯s just been way too long. The only reason we remember is that its history has been passed down to us directly from the founding members. Plus, the goblin in question isn¡¯t even green. Apparently, it looks like an elf.¡±
The elder, who walked in last, wearing yellow robes, retorted, ¡°Goblin? Don¡¯t you mean N¡ª,¡± before he could finish, he was interrupted by the Elder in blue robes.
¡°Brandis, as old as you are, you should know that some things are just taboo!¡± The Elder in blue robes spoke harshly. Berkley was about to retort but realized the Elder in blue was right and quieted down.
The Elder in blue robes sighed. ¡°I think we should follow what we have always been taught and focus on profit.¡±
He paused and looked at the rest of the Elders before continuing. ¡°The goblin is not green, so it¡¯s probably just an abnormal and one of a kind, mutated goblin. Even if someone does run experiments on it, they won¡¯t find anything out, as it has been mutated, further moving away from the truth. If we do kill it, we¡¯ll have to deal with that merchant, Richard Dralomere. So, why not just sell it? It¡¯s exceptional, so imagine the commission we¡¯ll get. Also, if we announce that we¡¯ll have an especially rare specimen at the auction, we¡¯ll get all kinds of attention. This is the first mutated goblin and one that can fight as well. Moreover, The Humble Foxes mercenary group would be coming to our auction next month too. In addition, we can just appraise its status to make sure. And if it indeed one of ''them'', we can just kill it. As for those¡ ancient ones among the Elves, they won¡¯t make a fuss. So, everyone in favor of selling it, say ¡®aye¡¯."
The rest of the Elders, after hearing the elder in blue¡¯s words, were convinced.
¡°Aye¡±
¡°Aye¡±
¡°Aye¡±
The elder in blue smiled when he heard all of three of them. ¡°Okay, Brandis, give Eric the¡¸Universal Language¡¹Crystal and the Appraisal Stone he asked for and approve Norton''s training of the goblin. Now, let¡¯s adjourn this meeting for today,¡± said the elder in blue.
Despite all of them being Elders, the elder in blue had always been the de facto leader of them.
Chapter 6 - Anli Tuldaas
When Rae woke up from his fight with Norton, he found himself lying on the ground, wet from the water that came from the bucket in front of his face. ¡®Couldn¡¯t they have woken me up normally?¡¯ Rae complained.
Eric then pulled out a crystal from his pocket and ordered Rae to stand up. ¡®Is that the¡¸Universal Language¡¹Crystal they mentioned yesterday? Interesting, if¡¸Universal Language¡¹could be learned in this way, does that mean other skills can too?¡¯ questioned Rae.
He was just born into Altera not too long ago, so learning a new way to get stronger would be valuable information.
After Rae did as he was ordered, Eric said, ¡°Accept all of the information that is coming forth into your mind.¡± Then he put the crystal on Rae¡¯s forehead, making the two touch. The crystal glowed a brilliant light blue for a few seconds and turned to dust.
Rae didn¡¯t feel anything. He figured it was because he already owned the skill.
Norton spoke to Rae in a gruff tone. ¡°Goblin, do you understand me?¡±
Rae sighed in relief inwardly. ¡®Looks like everything looked normal¡¯
Rae then looked at Norton and smiled enthusiastically. ¡°Yes, Master.¡±
Rae thought it best to reply in a simple manner as Norton looked like a no-nonsense kind of person.
But when Eric and Norton heard Rae¡¯s pleasant voice and saw his resplendent smile, an odd feeling overtook them. As if they were building a favorable impression of him even despite his dry reply. After a quick moment, they laughed at the thought. As goblins had always been treated as things; nothing more, and nothing less.
¡°Good. Remember to call me ¡®Captain¡¯. Now Eric, use appraise on it,¡± Norton said. He was shocked at the strength Rae had shown yesterday, so he was extremely curious about this mutated goblins stats.
¡®Oh shit, they can do that?! What should I do?¡¯ Rae panicked for a bit at the thought of his secrets being exposed and being made a target for it. Truthfully, he could easily escape if Norton was not around as the humans had an overwhelming trust in the collars that did not work on him, but he was ignorant of the state of Altera. He didn¡¯t know if goblin slavery was accepted in the rest of the world and would maybe have wanted posters of him everywhere and especially tracked down as something that could defy their all-powerful collars. He would not take any drastic actions until he found out as much as he could.
Then he decided.
After Norton was done confirming that Rae could speak, Eric took out another crystal that fit perfectly in the palm. This one was filled with a multitude of colors, unlike the only blue¡¸Universal Language¡¹Crystal.
Eric repeated the same actions as before. This time, the light that was flashed was also rainbow like the stone itself, but the color became grey and dull as it crumbled to dust. Just like the ¡¸Universal Language¡¹Crystal, Appraisal Stones also crumbled.
But he and Norton were surprised yet again by Rae.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Gender: Male Age: 9 Days Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 1 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
All they could see was his gender, age, race, level and nonexistent class. What was this? They had no clue what was happening before, nothing could escape an Appraisal Stone. But now? This ¨C albeit very strange and exceptional ¨C lowly goblin had subverted that truth.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Rae had hidden everything except his general information, even his own name. They knew Rae had¡¸Swordsmanship¡¹from observations and wouldn¡¯t find it unreasonable to see¡¸Dash¡¹and¡¸Barehanded Combat¡¹, but he thought that if he showed them that, they would find it even stranger that they couldn¡¯t see the rest of his information.
¡°I command you to tell me why the rest of your status does not appear,¡± Eric said in a grave tone. The implication that a goblin could hide from the Appraisal Stone was serious.
Rae made the most heart-rending puppy dog face he could make that would fluster even Helen, who had grown immune to Mary¡¯s puppy dog face when she got in trouble. ¡°Master, this one has no clue either,¡± Rae said in his most pitiful voice that would even impress Mary.
Although it irked and wounded Rae¡¯s pride to refer to himself as ¡®it¡¯ and continuously calling someone ¡®Master¡¯, bullshitting his way through the situation right now took precedence.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Charisma +2!
*Bang*
This time, Eric and Norton could not resist Rae¡¯s beautiful face and voice and their hearts took a hit.
¡°Norton, what do you think? Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s a mutated goblin,¡± Eric said in a skeptical but much less serious voice.
Norton was also less tense but was still extremely curious. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not an expert on mutated creatures, but it could be possible. It is the only mutated goblin and it¡¯s not like mutated creatures have a standard anyways, since they¡¯re so rare.¡±
¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. And its Race does say ¡®Mutated Goblin¡¯. Alright, fine. Can you tell us your attributes then?¡± asked Eric.
¡®Damn, they bought it? I guess that explains why I received a notification about my Charisma. Mary would be proud of my natural abilities at lying,¡¯ Rae thought triumphantly. Actually, he had never lied much, or at all in his previous life. He made a mental note to make use of the skills he learned from Mary from now on.
¡°Yes, Master,¡± Rae said then told him that his physical attributes rounded to about 100. While the rest of his attributes were in their 20¡¯s
¡°Is that so¡,¡± said Eric as he fell into thought.
Norton then asked, ¡°Tell us about your skills.¡±
¡°I have ¡¸Swordsmanship LV2¡¹,¡¸Dash LV1¡¹ and¡¸Barehanded Combat LV1¡¹,¡± Rae said. He wasn¡¯t necessarily lying either, as he really did have those skills. He just didn¡¯t list all of them.
¡°Okay, I¡¯ll just train those three skills since we only have a month. And a dungeon is too far away for it to level up its attributes,¡± Norton said after some thought.
¡®Damn, these people really have absolute faith in these collars! They don¡¯t believe it¡¯s possible in any way for them to be lied to as long as the person they¡¯re questioning is wearing one. Well, I also have high Charisma. I can take advantage of both of these factors,¡¯ Rae thought. He was glad for their faith in the collars and high Charisma.
But then he remembered one word Norton had said: dungeon. ''There are dungeons in this world? I wonder how those are like. Usually, there are monsters and a dungeon boss with a core at the end,'' Rae imagined. But then he thought he would worry about them when the time came.
¡°Since this is settled. I¡¯ll go back and tell the Elders,¡± said Eric. And he left the two of them to train.
********
In the Elders conference room, the Elders were discussing what Eric had reported about Rae¡¯s hidden status.
¡°Only his general information was shown?¡± asked Berkley in a doubtful tone.
¡°Yes,¡± replied Brandis blankly as he was processing what he heard. He also believed the Appraisal Stone to be absolute.
¡°Well, what was its status?¡± asked the Elder in black.
¡°It said it was a ¡®Mutated Goblin¡¯,¡± said Brandis.
¡°Well then, isn¡¯t it all fine?¡± said the Elder in black in a very carefree manner. He honestly did not care and only gold mattered to him.
¡°I agree as well,¡± said the Elder in blue.
Then he continued. ¡°Even though his status not showing from the Appraisal Stone is unprecedented and strange, it is, after all, a mutated goblin. Also, it was wearing the slave collar when Norton and Eric questioned it, and although its attributes are much stronger than a regular goblin, there was nothing strange about its skills either. Thus, we can just sell it. All who agree, say ¡®aye¡¯,¡± said the Elder in blue.
¡°Bruno, what if the collar malfunctioned or something and the little bastard lied about its attributes and stats?¡± Berkley asked. Although he was a bit doubtful, this mutated goblin proved too strange.
The Elder in black laughed out loud, ¡°Berkley, although you¡¯re usually uptight, don¡¯t be ridiculous. Ever since Anli Tuldaas invented the enslavement spell and collar for the goblins, they have never failed.¡±
¡°Brandon is right, they have never failed. So let¡¯s just drop this and sell it. Again, all who agree, say ¡®aye¡¯,¡± said Bruno.
¡°Aye¡±
¡°Aye¡±
¡°Aye,¡± Berkley said hesitantly.
¡°Alright, then meeting adjourned.¡±
Berkley did not know why, but he had a strong premonition that something terrible would happen as a result of today¡¯s vote.
Chapter 7 - More Than...
After Eric left, Norton had turned very different which set Rae¡¯s instinct off instantly as he had very high perception and senses.
Norton radiated a ferocious aura. ¡®As expected of a person with his titles and strength,¡¯ thought Rae.
Norton picked up two steel swords that were lying around and handed one to Rae. Rae had only ever held a wooden sword and shinai before and felt that the sword was much heavier, both physically and insignificance.
¡°I¡¯m going to beat you black and blue for a month. Prepare, goblin!¡± Norton shouted.
Rae did his breathing ritual and prepared himself.
This time it was not Rae who initiated, but Norton. He dashed at him with about half his strength, as he could easily demolish Rae if he went all out. Assuming Rae didn¡¯t utilize his magic, that is.
Norton slashed downward at Rae, but Rae sidestepped to the right attempting to slash at his neck, but Norton grabbed Rae¡¯s left hand and tossed him out of the arena they were in and into a tree that was nearby so hard, it made an indentation.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Endurance +1!
¡®Oi, you muscle freak! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be training me, not killing me?! That hurt like hell even with¡¸Pain Resistance¡¹, you know?!¡¯ Rae cursed inwardly. If Norton hadn¡¯t used only half his strength and Rae didn¡¯t have high endurance and regeneration, a normal person would have had most of their bones broken. Rae being able to come out of that aside from intense pain, proved the resilience of his mutated body and¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»title.
After Rae separated himself from the tree, he got up and took his stance again with both hands on the handle of his sword.
¡®Looks like this bugger¡¯s body is stronger than I thought. I used a bit too much power on accident since he¡¯s so aggressive and tiny. If only the greenhorns were this sturdy,¡¯ thought Norton in disappointment. If Rae heard him, he would have cursed him even more.
Although it was an accident, Norton looked at Rae in his stance and said, ¡°You can take a beating, goblin! Good!¡±Stolen story; please report.
What Norton had said, irritated Rae a little, but he had no right to speak out against him as a slave, and more so as someone stronger than him.
Rae used a full powered¡¸Dash¡¹, but this time instead of using his sword, he threw it as fast as possible. As the sword was flying through the air, Rae swerved to Norton¡¯s left to get behind him but was met with a kick in the abdomen afterward as Norton deflected the airborne sword.
It spun and plunged into the ground a few feet away from them with a slight metallic ring.
¡®FUCK! Damn it, that hurt too,¡¯ Rae complained. He got up again to think about what happened.
Why was he being so aggressive against someone obviously stronger than him? ¡®I suppose I was a bit excited at being in a new world and doing things Earthlings only dreamed possible, but if I wasn¡¯t training and facing off against someone who wanted to kill me, I¡¯d be dead already. Well, I am training, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to go about it in a foolish manner. If Kawazoe Sensei were to see this, I¡¯d be beaten by her like before,¡¯ reminisced Rae.
He walked over to his sword and slapped himself on both sides of the face to calm himself down before pulling the sword out. He then turned to Norton, calmed his breathe and focused his mind. He should run if he was fighting against such an overwhelming opponent like Norton, but they were training so he decided to take it more slowly instead of being all out aggressive. Yes, this was training. Not a life or death battle. Rae just needed to gain experience which he sorely lacked.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
Norton noticed the change in Rae. ¡®Looks like he¡¯s calmed down and focused now. I¡¯ll start off slowly and work my way up see how much he can handle.¡¯
Norton charged toward Rae and again slashed forward, but this time Rae blocked his strike with his sword. They then began to exchange blow after blow. The sound of metal clanging and bouncing off each other and sparks flying permeated the surrounding area.
After a full hour of sparring, Rae collapsed. ¡®Even Kawazoe Sensei never worked me this hard and we¡¯re using real swords instead of a shinai.¡¯
¡°You have 5 minutes of rest and we¡¯ll do ¡¸Barehanded Combat¡¹.¡± While Rae was collapsed, Norton was standing without a drop of sweat on him as if they were doing nothing for the past hour.
Although Norton had a blank expression, he was actually very impressed with the goblin. ¡®This goblin was so aggressive at the beginning but after his failed attempt, he quickly realized we were training and focused more on learning than winning. Even when we first sparred, he planned from the very beginning to take out my eye. Granted, he was told to go all out by Eric, but still. Thegoblins I''ve trained take much longer to get his idea into their heads and all of them only get it when they evolve into a hobgoblin. To be able to adapt and adapt well is what makes us humans so strong in the first place. This goblin is more than ¡°just a mutated goblin¡±.¡¯
As Norton was thinking about how Rae was upending his preconceived notion of the goblin, Rae was barely able to let out a groan, ¡°Yes, Master.¡±
Chapter 8 - Dire Boar
Three Weeks Later
In the arena, Rae and Norton were currently in a deadlock. Norton had the upper hand, but Rae was holding his own just fine.
Norton was anticipating the next action, of this monstrous goblin that exceeded his expectations.
Rae decided to break the deadlock by sending his left fist across Norton¡¯s face. Norton dodged it but was met with a headbutt.
Except, out of Rae¡¯s expectations, he was the one who became dazed. With Rae unfocused, Norton took that opportunity to send Rae flying with a kick to his chest.
Rae managed to gain his bearings on time and blocked the kick with the flat side of his sword. He was flying through the air until his feet met the ground and he slid across with his hands and feet fighting against the dirt for so long, there were trail marks.
Norton didn¡¯t let this chance slipped and¡¸Dashed¡¹at Rae. Rae was in no position to clash again, so all he could do was to back step while dodging Norton¡¯s strikes.
Norton kept slashing until his blade traced horizontally. That¡¯s when Rae ducked, swiping his legs across Norton¡¯s. Norton¡¯s physical attributes were too strong for Rae, but the kick did make him momentarily lose his balance.
Rae saw that and attempted to strike Norton in his abdomen with his fist, unfortunately, what Norton did was a faint and Rae felt a fist making contact with his face.
*Bang*
He went flying into a tree. Around the tree Rae was planted in, there were other trees surrounding the arena with indentations of a 4 ? ft. body.
Rae groaned as he pulled himself from out of the wooden shell he had been all too familiar with over the past three weeks.
¡°Hahaha, got you there that time didn¡¯t I? That was a feint. Not everyone fights cleanly. Also, both of the moves you pulled just now didn''t work because my Strength and Endurance are out of your league. You¡¯d do well to remember that, goblin,¡± Norton said.
Over the past three weeks, Norton had been constantly impressed with Rae to the point he no longer saw him as a mere goblin. He was even disappointed that he would have to stop training such a promising elite within Silver Ridge in a week, because of the Auction.
¡°I will remember, Master,¡± Rae said genuinely and bowed his head with his hands to his side. Although they had a ¡°teacher/master-slave¡± relationship, Norton had sincerely trained him and never treated him badly. He had learned a lot while increasing his attributes and skills and saw him as his second-half teacher. The first being his Kendo instructor, Kawazoe Sensei.
One of the things Norton liked about Rae was his sincerity at the advice given to him. He would even show manners that goblins should not have by bowing, despite Norton not being bonded to his collar. ¡°Good! Rest up for five minutes and we¡¯ll work on your¡¸Dash¡¹,¡± Norton said. Norton turned to look at a boulder almost taller than Rae and then turned to Rae with a mocking smile. Then he sat down, waiting to see Rae¡¯s miserable face while he kicked back and relaxed.
¡®FUUUUUUUCK! The boulder is bigger than yesterday¡¯s.¡¯ Rae hated training his¡¸Dash¡¹because, although it was actually quite good training as it could raise up Dexterity/Agility and Endurance, all it entailed was pulling a boulder for over an hour while performing ¡¸Dash¡¹. He then sighed inwardly and decided to look at the boulder as one really big pebble on the road to get back to Earth.
After Rae was done complaining, he performed his regular breathing exercise and pulled up his status.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»[Hidden]: ¡ºElectra''s Gift¡»¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Rae[Hidden] Gender: Male Age: 31 Days Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 1 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
¡ºResistances¡»[Hidden]:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 30% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»[Hidden]
Health Points: 406 / 406 (+12.18/s)
Mana Points: 494 / 494 (+4.94/s)
Stamina Points: 304 / 304 (+3.04/s)
Origin Vampire: Fledgling
¡ºAttributes¡»[Hidden]
Strength: 115
Endurance: 88
Intelligence: 152
Dexterity/Agility: 137
Perception: 304
Wisdom: 95
Charisma: 110
Luck: 100
¡ºSkill List¡»[Hidden]
¡¸Blood Manipulation LV1¡¹¡¸Blood Absorption LV1¡¹¡¸Appraisal LV5¡¹¡¸Noble Aura LV1¡¹¡¸Status Concealment¡¹ ¡¸Perceptive Eyes LV6¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Enhanced Six Senses LV3¡¹¡¸Magic Perception LV6¡¹¡¸Darkness Magic LV2¡¹¡¸Universal Language¡¹¡¸Pain Resistance LV2¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV2¡¹¡¸Hand-to-Hand Combat LV3¡¹¡¸Concentration LV3¡¹¡¸Breathing Technique LV5¡¹¡¸Swordsmanship LV3¡¹¡¸Dash LV2¡¹
¡®My attributes and a lot of my skills have been raising quite steadily. Unfortunately, my¡¸Darkness Magic ¡¹and¡¸Mana Control¡¹have not made any progress since that one night because I¡¯ve been constantly training with Norton. There¡¯s also the skills I haven¡¯t used like¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹,¡¸Blood Absorption¡¹and¡¸Noble Aura¡¹,¡¯ thought Rae.
But then he came up with an idea. ¡®Why haven¡¯t I thought of it before? Can I use my own blood for¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹? I¡¯ll have to test it after they auction me off since that¡¯s when I¡¯ll be done with this training. And if it does work, will I cut myself every time I want to use the spell? I do have high regeneration, but... I''ll decide on it when I first see it in action. As for¡¸Noble Aura¡¹¡? I actually have no clue what it does. Appraise ¡¸Noble Aura¡¹! ¡®
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Noble Aura¡¹- Host may send out an aura of nobility. Those affected by it will begin to hold the Host in awe and high esteem. The effect is amplified or lessened depending on Charisma.
¡®Well, I should probably not use that often, or at all,¡¯ thought Rae. It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t find it useful; he found it incredibly powerful, but with his status as a slave goblin, it would only begin to draw suspicion should the people around him begin to worship him. Worship and treat a slave goblin as a noble? What kind of nonsense was that? Also, he had some slight reservation if he should use such a manipulative skill. Thus, he decided to shelf the skill for now.
As he was contemplating when he would be able to make use of the powerful skill, he heard someone running towards the arena with his enhanced hearing.
It was Eric Crane.
Rae then got up to greet his ¡°Master¡± and Norton got up as well.
¡°Eric, why are you in such a hurry? You¡¯ll ruin those pretty noble clothes of yours,¡± said Norton as a jab.
Eric ignored him as he always did. ¡°I have news! Vice-Captain Thomas that you left in charge since you¡¯ve been training the goblin, has heard reports of a Dire Boar at the edge of the Dark Forest to the south of the compound.¡±
¡°Why are you telling me instead of a grunt? Matter of fact, why are you telling me at all? Thomas could¡¯ve handled it.¡± Although a Dire Boar was a strong creature to the average soldier or adventurer, it was nothing to Norton.
Eric almost blew up on Norton for his lack of foresight but took a deep breath. ¡°I remember you saying that you didn¡¯t have time to train the goblin¡¯s levels because there were no dungeons you could go to within a month. So, you should take the goblin and hunt the Dire Boar,¡± said Eric.
¡®I¡¯m going to be hunting my first monster?¡¯ Rae became excited at the thought of getting his first level and killing his first monster but realized he had never killed a monster before nor did he even know what a ¡®Dire Boar¡¯ exactly was. ¡®Breathe¡ Calm down. It would be the crappiest story if you died from recklessness.¡¯
After Rae managed to calm his excitement, a notification popped up.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Breathing Technique LV5¡¹Leveled up!
After Norton thought about it for a second, he decided it was actually a good idea. ¡®The goblin has gotten much stronger in the past weeks so he should be able to kill a ¡®Dire Boar¡¯ easily with his natural abilities and what I¡¯ve taught him despite being only Level 1 and Classless.¡¯
Eric had a big smile on his face thinking about the gold that was going to come from selling such a rare and strong slave, but as he was counting gold coins in his mind, he was interrupted by Norton.
¡°Did the report say why a Dire Boar was at the edge of the forest?¡± wondered Norton. The Silver Ridge compound was a bit to the south-east of Frento, one of the cities they ran their auction in, and south of the compound was the Dark Forest. Because the compound was close to the east side of the forest, the Silver Ridge guard usually made sure the edge of the forest was clear, but never dared to enter further than that because it was vast and unknown; very few people survived when they wandered deep into it.
¡°No, but it should be fine. You¡¯re personally going.¡± Although, he and Norton didn¡¯t really get along. He recognized Norton¡¯s ability as the Captain of Silver Ridge Auction House¡¯s Guard.
¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. Okay, Eric. I¡¯ll get one of my Rangers to come with me to track it. We¡¯ll set out tomorrow.¡±
Chapter 9 - Rule Us
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºUnseen Bow¡»¡ºWar Veteran¡»¡ºSurvivor¡»¡ºHuman Slayer¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Roland WrightGender: MaleAge: 32 YearsRace: HumanLevel: 28Class/Level: ¡¸Ranger LV27¡¹¡¸Scout LV21¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0%¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 982 / 982 (+9.85/s)
Mana Points: 444 / 444 (+4.44/s)
Stamina Points: 738/ 738 (+5.07/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 255
Endurance: 223
Intelligence: 227
Dexterity/Agility: 297
Perception: 331
Wisdom: 217
Charisma: 53
Luck: 11
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Hand-to-Hand Combat LV3¡¹¡¸Bow Techniques LV7¡¹¡¸Fear Resistance LV2¡¹¡¸Dash LV3¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV6¡¹¡¸Enhanced Hearing LV5¡¹¡¸Enhanced Smell LV5¡¹¡¸Enhanced Eyesight LV5¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV4¡¹¡¸Trap Disarm LV3¡¹¡¸Trap Detection LV4¡¹¡¸Trap Creation LV4¡¹¡¸Tracking LV5¡¹¡¸Dagger Technique LV3¡¹¡¸Assassination LV5¡¹¡¸Silent Steps LV5¡¹
Standing in front of Rae and Norton was Roland Wright. A Ranger under Norton¡¯s command and one of the people serving under him the longest. He carried a long steel bow and a quiver of arrows. He was wearing leather boots, pants and a chest piece with a steel pauldron on his right shoulder and a hooded cloak draped over his left. His oily and shiny looking black hair was slicked back. He had a pointy nose, that, when coupled with the rest of his face and hair, made him look like a playful womanizer.
Rae wasn¡¯t one to judge someone by only their appearance, but when Roland opened his mouth¡
¡°Yo, Boss! I heard we¡¯re hunting a Dire Boar out in the Dark Forest,¡± he did not deviate from Rae¡¯s imagination.
¡°Eric and the higher-ups want me to use this opportunity to Level him up for the auction in 5 days,¡± said Norton while pointing at Rae.
Rae was perplexed at how such a guy could obtain¡¸Assassination¡¹and was also curious about the skill as well.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Assassination¡¹- Deal bonus damage depending on the level of¡¸Assassination¡¹when the enemy is struck unaware.
¡®Given his skill list, it makes sense now. He strikes people from a hidden location and that triggers¡¸Assassination¡¹. Dangerous. While a Warrior like Norton warrants precaution with his high stats, a man swinging a blade in front of you is much easier to deal with than someone striking from the dark. It¡¯s surprising his Classes aren¡¯t assassination-related,¡¯thought Rae.
While Rae was thinking, Roland was also stunned at Rae appearance.
When Norton drew attention to Rae, Roland was dumbfounded with eyes nearly popping out. He had heard rumors of the elf-like goblin that was training under his Captain but seeing it was another thing.
¡®Is this thing really a goblin? It¡¯s more beautiful than the women I¡¯ve slept with! And those crimson eyes that draw you in¡ No wonder the Big Bosses want to sell it. It¡¯s bound to create an uproar at the auction.¡¯
After they were both done evaluating each other in their own way, Roland asked, ¡°Does it have a name?¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡®I do¡¡¯Rae answered in his mind but would never say out loud.
¡°No, the goblin that gave birth to him was sent by a merchant for the auction while she was pregnant so he never received his name,¡± answered Norton.
Roland noticed something in the way Norton was speaking about the goblin, but decided not to mention it.¡®Does the Captain realize what he¡¯s doing?¡¯
¡°I see,¡± answered Roland. Then he stepped closer and looked Rae up and down as if he was examining the rare creature. ¡°Hey, are you male or female? I mean, look at you,¡± said Roland with a suspicious glint in his eyes.
¡®Bastard! I see that look in your eyes! I¡¯m a man!¡¯cursed Rae. Rae could only sigh at his appearance that he had never even seen before. ¡°I am male, Master,¡± Rae said with his most amiable smile possible while cursing Roland on the inside.
Roland nearly choked at the sight.¡®Damn, this thing is too beautiful.¡¯
Norton began to scold Roland. ¡°Roland quit fooling around. And he¡¯s a goblin for crying out loud. I know you have a hard time keeping ¡®it¡¯ in your pants, but don¡¯t go too far. Also, watch what you say. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because he¡¯s mutated or what, but he¡¯s a lot smarter than average goblins. His intelligence is comparable to humans.¡±
¡°Oh? That¡¯s interesting. I¡¯m even more excited for the hunt now,¡± said Roland.
¡®If he didn¡¯t screw around so much, he definitely could have become an outstanding figure somewhere else.¡¯Norton lamented at Roland¡¯s seemingly wasted potential.
After the odd introduction, the trio began to run for about a day and a half straight, south of the compound to the edge of the Dark Forest. Only making occasional stops to eat and rest. The reason they ran instead of using horses was that it was also part of Rae¡¯s training.
Rae wasn¡¯t surprised he could run for that long and that fast as the¡ºAkashic System¡»gave them Attributes and Skills that would make someone a superhuman on Earth.
When the trio reached the outer edge of the forest, it was night mid-day.
¡°Roland, do you have a trail?¡± Although Norton scolded Roland a lot, he trusted his tracking abilities.
Roland walked around the area and while looking at the ground and sniffing the air. ¡°Yeah, I have its scent. It¡¯s this way. We¡¯re close to White¡¯s first kill,¡± he said with a smile on his face.
While they were traveling, Roland had taken to calling Rae, ¡®White¡¯ since goblins are often times referred to as ¡®green skins¡¯. Norton had tried stopping him but was given the excuse that it didn¡¯t matter since he was the only one that was going to call him that anyway. Norton only sighed at his mischievous subordinate when he heard that. Rae actually thought it was better than being called ¡®goblin¡¯ constantly, but showed no emotion at the name.
Roland then led the way into the forest after confirming it was the scent of the Dire Boar.
As they walked past the tree line, Rae felt something hanging at the edge of his perception, but when he tried to focus on it, it went away. He passed it off as his lack of experience being in the wild.
While Roland was following the scent of the Dire Boar, he signaled everyone to stop and held his ear to the air. Rae also noticed something strange in the atmosphere as well but didn¡¯t show it to keep his abilities hidden.
¡°Boss, there are no animals in the area. No birds, insects, nothing,¡± Roland said with a rare seriousness in his voice.
Norton thought for a second and then looked at Norton. ¡°Maybe the Dire Boar scared the surrounding animals,¡± he said, but he was a bit skeptical at this reason.
¡°Maybe, or maybe there¡¯s something bigger out there...,¡± Roland hypothesized.
¡°There hasn¡¯t been any sighting of something stronger than a Dire Boar being near the edge of the forest though. We¡¯ll see if there¡¯s anything else after we deal with the Dire Boar,¡± Norton decided.
¡®I should focus my¡¸EnhancedSix Senses¡¹as much as possible since someone, as experienced as Roland, is feeling off,¡¯Rai said to himself.
Roland kept leading them and they began to see fallen trees. As they walked further they saw a puddle of blood that had a trail of it leading somewhere.
Roland walked to the puddle, crouched down, and touched it. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s injured from something,¡± he said while touching the blood. ¡°And it¡¯s fresh.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s hurry. If it¡¯s alone, we¡¯ll have White handle it, and if there¡¯s something else¡ it¡¯ll depend on what it is,¡± Norton said as the leader.
¡°Well okay, I¡¯ll lead on. Oh, and Boss, you said ''White'',¡± said Roland with a smirk.
"Shut up..."
As the two were about to continue on, they noticed Rae wasn¡¯t moving and was staring at the blood from the Dire Boar.
¡®I thought that vampires would feel an urge to gorge on blood at the sight of it, but I don¡¯t feel that. In fact, when I look at the blood, even though it¡¯s not connected to life-force, it feels like it¡¯s calling me.¡¯Rae felt the blood whispering in his ears in a tiny voice he couldn¡¯t hear. Trying to tempt him, to act on his instincts as an Origin Vampire.
Before he knew it, he was walking closer to the blood. The whisper became louder as it called him when he got closer.
When he was a step away from the blood, he reached out with his hand, and that¡¯s when the whisper became loud enough for him to understand it.
It whispered, ¡°Rule us, Sovereign.¡±
Chapter 10 - Buckle Up, Or Die!
¡°White!¡±
¡°White!¡±
Rae awoke from his stupor when he heard Norton and Roland calling him. He pulled his hand away and got up.
He then bowed and apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Masters. This one became nervous at the thought of my first kill.¡± And lied out of his teeth, again.
¡°It¡¯s alright, White. Make sure you buckle up in front of the Dire Boar. Or it¡¯ll be your life,¡± Norton warned with good intentions.
Roland just looked at Rae for a few seconds, then smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s all good, White. What Norton said. Don¡¯t drop the ball with Dire Boar. We can¡¯t help you if you want the full experience. That will ruin the point of this hunt.¡±
They then they started tracking the Dire Boar again.
While the trio was walking, Rae couldn¡¯t help but think about what happened. ¡®What was that? Was blood really whispering to me and telling me to ¡®rule¡¯ them?¡¯
Rae was thinking he might¡¯ve gone crazy, but he remembered the description of Origin Vampire. ¡®¡±A sovereign of blood,¡± the System said. I¡¯ll find out soon enough,¡± Rae said to himself in a determined manner.
An hour later, they tracked the Dire Boar to a cave.
¡°Okay, White, looks like the Dire Boar¡¯s in there. Make sure not to die,¡± Roland said with a snicker.
Norton smacked the back of Roland¡¯s head and turned to Rae. ¡°A Dire Boar should prove no problem to you, now go,¡± Norton said sternly.
¡®This might be easier than I thought. If they¡¯re not going to be around, I¡¯ll be able to use magic,¡¯ thought Rae.
He proceeded to walk up to the cave, and a dense scent of blood washed over his body. ¡®The Dire Boar is definitely in here.¡¯
As he walked further in, Rae could hear gruff breathing and grunts among sounds of water dripping off the walls.
When the sounds of the breathing got closer, Rae quieted his footsteps. When he got to the end of the cave he saw the Dire Boar and it was the size of a cart. The Dire Boar had thick legs with muscle creasing its thick grey hide. There was hair lining its huge chin and neck. It had a ferocious set of teeth with two tusks sticking out from the corner of its mouth. The Dire Boar had a long mane brown mane that made the beast look old, and hair lining its spine. The hooves were large enough that they could probably squish a human head like a watermelon. The Dire Boar¡¯s savage appearance was further amplified by the blood dripping down its face.
Rae looked at the beasts face while he was hiding. ¡®Looks like it¡¯s resting. Most likely recuperating from whatever put it in that condition. Let¡¯s appraise it.¡¯
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»:¡ºFerociousElder Beast¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: ¡¸N/A¡¹ Gender: Male Age: 8 Years Race: Dire Boar Level: 63 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 456 / 2237 (+0.37/s)
Mana Points: 345 / 345 (+3.45/s)
Stamina Points: 324 / 1650 (+2.50/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 472
Endurance: 632
Intelligence: 152
Dexterity/Agility: 542
Perception: 304
Wisdom: 163
Charisma: 0
Luck: 0
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Charge LV6¡¹¡¸Enhanced Smell LV5¡¹¡¸Hoof Stomp LV5¡¹¡¸Ferocious Chomp LV6¡¹¡¸Roar LV4¡¹¡¸Tough Hide LV 7¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV5¡¹¡¸Pain Resistance LV6¡¹
¡®Hm? Uh, Mr.Norton, Sir. I think there¡¯s something off here about this beasts stats. I thought you said it was relatively weak. If that¡¯s so¡ WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE STATS?! His hooves could accidentally nick me and I would die! He could spit and it would have the same impact as a bullet! Okay, breathe, Rae. Just breathe.¡¯
After Rae managed to calm himself down, he looked at the Dire Boar¡¯s status once again and noticed that it was severely weakened. ¡®That other beast really did a number on him. It seems I have a chance. I should use¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹and strike it down in one blow. I can go all out in this cave so I just need to use everything I¡¯ve got on it. The only thing I need to worry about is¡¸Crisis Perception¡¹... I¡¯ll just have to hope my ¡¸Darkness Magic¡¹is faster than the Dire Boar¡¯s¡¸Crisis Perception¡¹ .¡¯ The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Rae focused on his sixth sense. He felt the Mana in the air and power he could wield. He concentrated on condensing all the mana he could into the shape of a bullet, just like the first time. Except he would concentrate most of the power on the point, so he could penetrate the thick hide the Dire Boar had.
The atmosphere began to change as Darkness started to converge in the shape of a bullet. When Rae felt the shape was right, he directed all the Mana he could to the point.
When he felt the bullet was at critical mass and would backfire on himself if he went any further, he pointed his hand at the resting Dire Boar and fired at its head.
The black bullet flew so fast, even Rae couldn¡¯t follow it with his eyes.
As the black bullet got closer the center of the Dire Boar¡¯s forehead the Dire Boar¡¯s eyes flew open.
The Dire Boar didn¡¯t have time to dodge from its resting position and because of the bullet¡¯s speed, so it curved its head and the bullet flew into the Dire Boar¡¯s right side of its neck. There was a loud *Bang* as the bullet entered and exploded, but it only went a few inches deep. So it didn¡¯t do enough damage. Still, there was blood everywhere.
*ROOOOAAAAR*
The Dire Boar was furious.
When the Dire Boar roared, Rae felt a momentary fear consume his body and he couldn¡¯t move. Rae contemplated as fast as possible. ¡®Rae! You¡¯re scared of something much worse than this! Not getting back to Earth. Norton was right. BUCKLE UP OR DIE!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Fear Resistance LV1¡¹!
Sadly, the Dire Boar was not going to let the enemy that disturbed its rest, get away.
The Dire Boar ignored its injury and went into a¡¸Charge¡¹ towards Rae. Rae felt he was about to die the next moment if he did not move and rolled in the opposite direction of the exit, moving further into the cave.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Crisis Perception LV1¡¹!
¡®SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡¯ complained Rae. ¡®It¡¯s too fast! Even when it¡¯s wounded that much!¡¯ Rae got up while trying to think of a way to kill the rampaging beast.
¡®It¡¯s bleeding profusely from the wound I gave it, coupled with the wounds it had before. It will die no matter what. The question is: will I be alive by the time that happens?¡¯
After the Dire Boar charged towards Rae¡¯s direction, it turned its head around and found that he was still alive.
*ROOOOAAAAR*
The Dire Boar roared in anger again at the still alive prey. It began another¡¸Charge¡¹.
¡®Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit, it¡¯s too fast for me to make a Darkness Bullet strong enough to pierce its hide. The sword I¡¯m carrying will never pierce the Dire Boar. And I¡¯m out of Mana as well from the first shot.¡¯ Rae tried to think as fast as he possibly could in this life or death crisis. And tried to think about anything that could cause damage to the Dire Boar.
As the Dire Boar was inching closer to reap Rae¡¯s life, Rae began to look around the cave for anything whatsoever that could help him until he spotted red.
¡®That¡¯s it!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Thought Acceleration LV1¡¹!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Intelligence +1!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
Rae had no time to curse the System. ¡®¡¸Mana Perception¡¹¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!¡¯ Rae was in immense pain, but he had to endure.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Pain Resistance LV2¡¹Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡» ¡¸Pain Resistance LV3¡¹Leveled up!
There were the beautiful blue particles Rae had seen the last time he activated ¡¸Mana Perception¡¹, but in the next millisecond, all the blue particles in the surrounding area had turned blood red.
¡®¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹!¡¯ Rae pictured every single drop of blood in the cave and on the Dire Boar¡¯s body as hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of blood red swords bombarding the Dire Boar¡¯s body, specifically its wounds.
Blood sword after blood sword, converging, then destroyed from the collision with the Dire Boar¡¯s body, then coalescing only to repeat the cycle again.
After 10 seconds of the onslaught of crimson, the cavern was painted with blood, and the Dire Boar was nothing more than a meat paste.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Blood Manipulation LV1¡¹Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Mana Control LV2¡¹Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Concentration LV3¡¹Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has gained ¡ºTitle¡»: ¡ºBeast Conqueror¡»
After Rae saw that the Dire Boar was a pile of paste, he collapsed onto the blood painted cavern floor and sighed in relief, but before he could lose consciousness, he began to hear whispers again.
¡®Rule us, Sovereign. Rule us, Sovereign. Return to your rightful glory¡ wield us and gain power¡¯
¡®Power¡? I want power¡ lots of it¡¡¯
¡®As you desire, My Lord¡ take us, My Lord. Take ALL of us¡ Absorb us¡¯
When Rae heard the whispers, he felt an instinct gnawing at him from the inside.
An instinct that told him to take what belonged to him.
¡®¡¸Blood Absorption¡¹!¡¯
When Rae activated ¡¸Blood Absorption¡¹, the puddle of blood beneath him disappeared. Rae got up and he felt better than ever! All the Mana he had lost from the fight was recovered and the exhaustion and pain he felt from using ¡¸Mana Perception¡¹was gone.
¡®So this is what happens when I absorb blood? How does it taste?¡¯ Rae dipped a finger into a puddle nearby and sniffed it. ¡®It smells¡ delicious. Odd, it didn¡¯t smell like this before. Is it a side effect of absorbing blood?¡¯
Rae put the finger in his mouth and thought it tasted good, but not enough to make him go insane. ¡®Maybe because it¡¯s beast blood¡ I should stop that line of thought,¡¯ Rae said to himself. Then he looked at the cavern covered in blood and came up with an idea.
Rae used¡¸Blood Manipulation¡¹and willed all of the blood to gather and condense into a small ball in his palm.
¡®¡¸Blood Absorption¡¹!¡¯
Rae immediately collapsed and heard a voice in his head before blacking out.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has absorbed enough blood. Host will now advance from ¡®Fledgling¡¯ to ¡®Adult¡¯.
Chapter 11 - I Dont Want To Be Like Them
After Rae had entered the cavern to slay the Dire Boar, Norton and Roland were left alone.
Roland had been wondering something ever since he met ¡®White¡¯, so he decided to ask. ¡°Boss, why do you refer to White as ¡®him¡¯, instead of ¡®it¡¯?
This question could not totally be blamed on Roland. Goblins were referred to and treated as things long before he had even been born. So when he saw that Norton, who normally didn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about goblins, treating ¡®it¡¯ differently, he was curious.
¡°Roland, have you ever thought why the goblins are our slaves?¡± Norton had been thinking of the status of the goblins, and his own thoughts about himself since he had spent time with Rae.
Roland replied instantly. ¡°Nope, it¡¯s just always been that way, y¡¯know? And since it¡¯s always been that way, why think about? I try hard not to think of existential and philosophical questions in my free time. Only booze and women for me,¡± he replied in his trademark carefree manner.
Norton looked at Roland with a solemn face. ¡°We humans have mistreated goblins like tools for our own use and have thrown them away when they provided none, ever since we could remember, but why?¡± Norton paused for a moment and then said, ¡°I¡¯ve given it some thought, and it¡¯s because we can.¡±
He added, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make us the same as the shitty noble types who used and threw us away during the wars we¡¯ve been through?¡±
Roland looked at Norton in disbelief. He had never thought of it like that. He would always go on about the nobles he hated in a drunken stupor but would never think too deeply about them. He just knew he hated the way they treated him after they fought so hard during the War of Belikaan. The ¡°higher-powers¡± who fought over mount Belikaan for the resources in it and their greed. It was the tipping point for him.
He could only sit there quietly, contemplating on the goblins, the way they treated them, and himself.
¡°I don¡¯t want to be like them,¡± said Norton.
¡°Also, he¡¯s strong. He deserves my recognition.¡±
While they were thinking, there was a monstrous roar from the cave.
*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAR*
Norton and Roland looked at each other with surprise.
¡°Boss, was that really the roar of a Dire Boar? That seemed pretty powerful¡ even had me shaking in my boots for a second,¡± said Roland while not noticing he was quivering slightly.
Norton looked at the cave while pondering. ¡°That was definitely the¡¸Roar¡¹of a Dire Boar, but it was many times stronger than a normal one. That shouldn¡¯t be the case since the stronger beasts that lie deeper in the forest never come this far out¡¡±
As Norton was lost in thought, they both heard another booming cry.
*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAR*
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Norton pulled Roland up and the two dashed into the cave.
When they arrived at the end of the cavern, all they saw was a dried up pile of what looked to be organs and meat, and Rae, unconscious on the ground.
¡°What the hell happened here? I thought a Dire Boar would be a cinch for the little guy, but after hearing those roars, I would beg to differ. Yet, he managed to turn it into bloody oatmeal,¡± exclaimed Roland.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
¡°It was probably weakened from whatever else is out there judging from the blood we saw earlier,¡± Norton said.
Roland and Norton went and inspected Rae. They saw that he had no major wounds, only one on his head for falling over. They also noticed that Rae looked different.
¡°Boss, does White look a little different? I also feel like it¡¯s taller,¡± said Roland with a puzzled expression on his face.
Norton responded. ¡°He¡¯s a monster so it¡¯s not too surprising that his appearance changed after leveling up.¡±
When they were done looking over Rae, Norton decided they should search the cavern for clues on what happened.
After searching for about half an hour, they couldn¡¯t find anything except slash marks around the pile of boar that was left.
That was when they heard Rae groaning.
¡°Roland, wake him up,¡± ordered Norton.
¡°Got it, Boss¡±
Roland crouched down to Rae and slapped him. The echo of the slap reverberated throughout the caver.
¡°Not like that¡,¡± sighed Norton.
¡°Didn¡¯t specify ¡®how¡¯, Boss,¡± retorted Roland with a devilish smirk.
When Rae came to, although he felt invigorated, there was a slight stinging sensation on his right cheek.
He looked around and only saw Norton and Roland standing over him.
He then turned to see the remnants of the Dire Boar and felt a headache at the thought of trying to explain how it ended up like that. ¡®Looks like I¡¯ll have to channel my inner Mary and bullshit my way through again before figuring out what happened after absorbing all the blood,¡¯ thought Rae.
Norton looked at the now awake Rae and asked, ¡°White, what happened?¡±
Rae turned to make eye contact with Norton with his crimson eyes and said in his most distressing voice, ¡°Master, the Dire Boar was extremely weakened when I got here. There was strange magic eating at its wounds so I thought I could kill it easily if I snuck up on it, but it was stronger than I thought. It noticed me and charged. Before I was hit, I managed to stab my sword into the wound that looked most serious on its neck. I was knocked back and losing consciousness, but it would appear that one strike was enough to kill it and it let out a last howl before dying. Its body started disappearing and that¡¯s what I saw last before everything turned dark.¡±
Rae looked at Norton and Roland and could see the doubt in their face. He decided to kick it up a notch and forced himself to start tearing up and quivering his lips. ¡°I-I h-h-hope¡ M-Master¡ isn¡¯t d-disappointed¡ t-t-this one¡ w-wasn¡¯t able t-to...k-k-kill it on¡ its own.¡±
Norton was mystified at what to say. Rae looked like an extremely beautiful elf. Coupled with the tears that were streaming down his face. ¡°It-it¡¯s alright, White. Even though it was already weakened, you still did well killing such a strong beast on your own,¡± Norton squeezed out with a wry smile.
Rae made a 180 in his appearance and let out a resplendent smile. ¡°Thank you, Master! Master¡¯s praise makes this one incredibly happy!¡± Rae nearly vomited at spouting out such lines but he reasoned that a momentary disgust with himself would be preferable to the suspicion that could lead to much more trouble. He didn¡¯t notice, but there was a subtle yet larger resistance to his current behavior.
Roland was standing there in wonderment and nearly coughed blood at the face Rae was making. ¡®FUCK! This is supposed to be a damn goblin?! And I could swear it looks more beautiful! Is that because it leveled up? I need to head to Daisies and spend this entire month¡¯s earnings when I get back, or something might awaken in me¡¡¯ Daisies was Roland¡¯s preferred brothel at Frento.
Roland turned to Norton who was visibly better, now that he didn¡¯t have to deal with the crying Rae. ¡°There have been known sightings of serpent beasts with acidic attacks, but they never come out this far. They¡¯re mostly located on the west side of the forest. Also, I didn¡¯t notice any tracks or signs of a serpent beast.¡± he said. Although he did not doubt Rae, he still felt inconsistencies in the situation.
Norton deliberated for a moment, then said, ¡°We¡¯ll need to do an investigation on why there are beasts as strong as this Dire Boar and something that managed to weaken it to such a state that White could kill it, wandering around the edge of the forest. Even if you didn¡¯t see any serpent tracks, you have to realize, you didn¡¯t notice tracks of any other beasts either. That means this other beast is specialized in stealth.¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s true! This is why you¡¯re the boss,¡± flattered Roland.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back to the compound. And be vigilant! That other beast, whatever it is, is dangerous,¡± instructed Norton.
Rae sighed in relief. ¡®Whew, looks like they bought it. I need to check my status before we exit,¡¯ thought Rae.
Chapter 12 - Yva Darkstrider
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»[Hidden]: ¡ºElectra''s Gift¡»¡ºOrigin Vampire¡»¡ºBeast Conqueror¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Rae[Hidden] Gender: Male Age: 32 Days Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 8 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»[Hidden]:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 35%¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»[Hidden]
Health Points: 876 / 876 (+26.28/s)
Mana Points: 984 / 984 (+9.84/s)
Stamina Points: 657 / 657 (+6.57/s)
Origin Vampire: Adult
¡ºAttributes¡»[Hidden]
Strength: 236
Endurance: 202
Intelligence: 274
Dexterity/Agility: 258
Perception: 489
Wisdom: 218
Charisma: 174
Luck: 100
¡ºSkill List¡»[Hidden]
¡¸Blood Manipulation LV2¡¹¡¸Blood Absorption LV2¡¹¡¸Appraisal LV5¡¹¡¸Noble Aura LV2¡¹¡¸Status Concealment¡¹ ¡¸Perceptive Eyes LV6¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Enhanced Six Senses LV3¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV6¡¹¡¸Darkness Magic LV3¡¹¡¸Universal Language¡¹¡¸Pain Resistance LV5¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV3¡¹¡¸Hand-to-Hand Combat LV4¡¹¡¸Concentration LV4¡¹¡¸Breathing Technique LV6¡¹¡¸Swordsmanship LV4¡¹¡¸Dash LV3¡¹¡¸Fear Resistance LV2¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV2¡¹¡¸Thought Acceleration LV3¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV1¡¹
Rae noticed that next to Origin Vampire that used to say ¡®Fledgling¡¯, now said ¡®Adult¡¯. ¡®I thought it said ¡®Fledgling¡¯ because I was just born, but it¡¯s because I haven¡¯t absorbed enough blood.¡¯ Rae felt he needed to be clearer on his status as a vampire so he appraised it.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Adult Vampire ¨C The second stage of the Origin Vampire. Faster, stronger, smarter and more charismatic and perceptive than a ¡®Fledgling¡¯. An adult Origin Vampire is at the beginning steps of becoming a Sovereign.
¡®Beginning steps, huh. I guess that means my status as an Origin Vampire makes me the Sovereign of Blood, but I don¡¯t actually have the power of one. Sort of like a figurehead king or something.¡¯ Although not an apples to apple comparison, it was close to Rae¡¯s situation.
Rae then became aware of the implications of what the system had told him. ¡®If being an ¡®Adult¡¯ is just the second stage, how many more stages are there?¡¯ Rae felt overwhelmed at the thought. He could see how much has stats had raised after the advancement.
¡®This is a good thing I suppose. Advancing will make it that much easier to get back to Earth,¡¯ Rae thought with melancholy. He had been on Altera for only a month but missed Mary and Helen immensely. The two were his raison d''¨ºtre.
Rae snapped out of his reverie as it would not help being depressed, and looked over the rest of his status.
¡®¡¸Hand-to-Hand Combat¡¹and¡¸Swordsmanship¡¹leveled up despite me not using them. So have a bunch of other skills too.¡¯ Rae thought it might be because of his enhanced stats.
He also obtained three new skills but already knew two of their effects. He appraised the most interesting of the three.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Thought Acceleration¡¹¨C Accelerates thoughts and perceivable time is slowed down.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
¡®Whoa, overpowered. It doesn¡¯t seem to be a passive skill as I don¡¯t notice any difference. Let¡¯s try activating it.¡¯
As Rae, Norton, and Roland were walking, Rae could barely notice the time slow but felt it was noticeable enough to make a difference in a fight. And that was only at level 3! If he could get it to higher levels, then maybe he would get to a point to where he could feel time not moving at all. He deactivated it and was thankful it was an active skill. Living in slow motion permanently would feel terrible. He decided that he would only use it in a fight or dire circumstances.
That¡¯s when he remembered he also gained a new Title.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡ºBeast Conqueror¡»¨C Slay a beast that is over your level by a bast amount. Effect: You deal 10% more damage to beasts and 20% more damage to beasts that over level you by 50.
¡®Sweet! Looks like not all titles are only titles. That¡¯s a good thing to know. Now, there are only two things left to do.¡¯ Rae had reached his short-term goal of gaining Intelligence and wanted to test out his theory.
Rae activated ¡¸Mana Perception¡¹and ¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹.
The world became filled with beautiful blue Mana particles that were much bigger than Rae had seen last time. They were the size of snowflakes now, just floating in the air. He could also feel the energy being radiated them much better than the other times. He could feel the particles pulsating as if they were alive. There was no more hell inducing pain as well. The power Rae felt at his fingertips again made him feel exhilarated.
¡®Wonderful....¡¯ That was the only way Rae could describe what he was seeing and feeling. He felt like he could wave a hand and send destruction everywhere he went.
But then he shook his head inwardly. ¡®Okay, Rae. Don¡¯t get lost in it. There¡¯s no point if you¡¯re dead so don¡¯t get cocky,¡¯ he cautioned himself. Had the Dire Boar been in tip-top condition, Rae would have been turned into an unrecognizable state instead.
He also remembered appraising the Dire Boar and seeing its status. A beast that could put the Dire Boar in such a state was incredibly dangerous so he wanted to be wary at all times.
By the time the time they reached the entrance to the cave, Rae was done looking at his status.
As they exited, Rae had felt a headache strike him out of nowhere. It felt like something was trying to burrow into his mind. This ''something'' felt familiar though... He recognized it and realized it was the same presence he felt when they first entered the forest. He thought he was just imagining it at the time, but since he was stronger, he understood that it was the same. And it was real.
Rae turned his head in the direction he felt the presence. Since he could activate¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹with his¡¸Enhanced Six Senses¡¹, it was easy to see that far.
What he was greeted with was a pair of narrow and vertically slit yellow eyes. The beast was a pitch black feline only slightly smaller than the Dire Boar. ¡®Appraise!¡¯
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºHunter¡»¡ºAssassin¡»¡ºElder Beast of Shadow¡»¡ºHolder of Arteriax¡¯s Will¡»¡ºCalamity of Beasts¡»¡ºHuman Slaughterer¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Yva Darkstrider Gender: Female Age: 46 Years Race: Shadow Panther Level: 98 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: -55%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 65% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 4018 / 4018 (+80.00/s)
Mana Points: 3680 / 3680 (+36.88/s)
Stamina Points: 3013/ 3013 (+30.43/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 1034
Endurance: 975
Intelligence: 934
Dexterity/Agility: 1254
Perception: 953
Wisdom: 865
Charisma: 183
Luck: 43
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Shadow Strike LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Agility LV10¡¹¡¸Greatly Enhanced Agility LV10¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV10¡¹¡¸Silent Steps LV10¡¹¡¸Assassination LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Smell LV10¡¹¡¸Telepathy¡¹¡¸Dark Magic LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Dark Magic LV10¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV10¡¹¡¸Presence Concealment LV10¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV10¡¹¡¸Human Form¡¹¡¸Enhanced Hearing LV10¡¹¡¸Shadow Blink LV10¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Leap LV10¡¹¡¸Claw/Fang Techniques LV10¡¹¡¸Sense of Balance¡¹¡¸Dash LV10¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV10¡¹¡¸Evasion LV10¡¹
Amidst the horrifying panic he was experiencing while he appraised the Shadow Panther, a ¡®will¡¯ slipped into his mind and he heard a voice.
¡°Oh, I managed to enter. I''m glad I didn''t have to force myself in. You''re much stronger than I thought, Little One.¡±
A deep, seductive and mature sounding voice appeared within his mind. Rae could immediately guess whose voice it was.
Chapter 13 - Chaotic Times Are Ahead (Anger and Disgust)
Rae kept walking along with Norton and Roland with a calm face so as to not warn them.
He figured that if this Shadow Panther really wanted to kill them, it would not matter if they knew about her or not and thought it best to not incite any hostile actions.
¡°Uh, h-hello, ma¡¯am,¡± Rae said as he was trying his best not to freak out.
¡°I was chasing a ¡®toy¡¯ in my boredom, but who would¡¯ve thought that I would come across you. I was intrigued with you since you entered the forest; I¡¯ve been following you ever since.¡± Not minding admitting to stalking him.
¡°Oh, and call me ¡®Yva¡¯. ¡°Ma¡¯am¡± just makes me sound so¡ old,¡± said the Shadow Panther.
¡®How could I draw the attention of this monster of monsters?!¡¯ thought Rae but would never say it out loud.
He decided to introduce himself despite finding it strange to speak to a beast through telepathy. ¡°I apologize¡Yva. My name is Rae.¡±
¡°Your name is Rae? I heard those humans refer to you as ¡°White¡±. And from what I can tell from that collar around your neck and the fact you¡¯re a goblin, you appear to be their slave. How can you have a different name than the one they gave you?¡± asked Yva curiously.
¡®Shit, she just said she had been following us since we entered and with her abilities, listening in on us is easy.¡¯ Rae felt anxiety creeping up on him.
Rae channeled his inner bullshitter. ¡°I was named before I became a slave. So my true name is Rae.¡±
Yva could tell the difference in his tone when he spoke. ¡°Liar,¡± she said in a harsh tone.
Rae¡¯s heart dropped when he heard her, but then she spoke again. This time in a voice completely opposite of what it was before. ¡°I''m just teasing you, Rae. Well, it¡¯s okay. You¡¯re obviously different, and we all have our secrets don¡¯t we?¡± Yva said gently.
¡°Thank you for your understanding, Yva,¡± Rae wasn¡¯t sure if he could find respite from what she said, but he decided to be as amicable as possible.
¡°So, Yva, I was wondering what you wanted to speak to me about. That headache from earlier was you trying to communicate, right?¡±
A beautiful laughter resounded throughout Rae¡¯s mind. ¡°I apologize for the headache. When I use¡¸Telepathy¡¹, I must get permission from the other party to form a two-way connection or force my way in. The latter of which causes headaches and is only one way. Luckily, you had a slip in your concentration and I got in.¡±
She continued, ¡°As for why I¡¯m interested in you¡¡± Yva paused before she finished her sentence, and then whispered the next words slowly. As if toying with Rae¡¯s already incredibly tense nerves.
¡°I was wondering why you...¡±
Yva could hear Rae¡¯s heartbeat begin to stir.
¡°¡smell...¡±
Rae began to feel a cold sweat forming.
¡°¡absolutely¡¡±
¡®Don¡¯t say it, please!¡¯ Rae hoped she wouldn¡¯t say what he was thinking.
¡°¡positively¡¡± Rae¡¯s heart began to beat rapidly
¡®Please don¡¯t say it. Please don¡¯t say it. Please don¡¯t say it. Please don¡¯t say it.¡¯ Rae prayed with all his heart.
¡°¡delicious,¡± Yva finished saying.
Rae was able to discern the faint sounds of the Shadow Panther wiping her lips over with her tongue. His heart began pounding and racing with all haste.
Rae tripped from the fear and gathered Norton and Roland¡¯s attention. ¡°White, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Roland.
¡°Nothing, Master. No trouble at all. Just slipped,¡± Rae said with a wry smile.
Norton looked at Rae. ¡°Be careful.¡±
¡°Yes, Master,¡± replied Rae. They continued after that.
¡®Is she going to kill all of us? She said she was toying with that Dire Boar out of boredom. Maybe this is like that one 1996 horror movie ''Squeal'', where the pig-masked killer talked to his victim beforehe ¡®offed'' them?'' Rae couldn¡¯t help think of the worst-case scenario.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Yva¡¯s sultry voice turned into laughter echoed in his mind at his reaction. ¡°Relax, Rae. You¡¯re just too fun to tease. Your smell isn¡¯t what caught my curiosity. Although you really do smell delicious, you¡¯re much too cute for me to just eat. Also...¡± Rae didn¡¯t know if he should be thankful for that.
¡°...what did catch my attention was your ¡°aura¡±.¡± Yva continued. ¡°I felt drawn to you the instant you entered the forest. When I ran to you, I overheard you and your two human ¡°masters¡± talking about the Dire Boar I was playing with. So I decided to let you have at him,¡± she said nonchalantly.
Her tone then changed and inquisitiveness peaked. ¡°Frankly, I¡¯m quite surprised you were able to kill it alone in that cave despite being a tiny goblin. And also¡ I felt that attractive ¡°aura¡± on you get much stronger afterward.¡± Rae could hear the suspicion in her voice.
¡°I¡¯m a mutated goblin so I¡¯m a lot stronger than I look and I leveled up a bit after killing the Dire Boar so I got stronger. Maybe that¡¯s why you¡¯re attracted to me?¡± Rae actually didn¡¯t believe what he just said but he wasn¡¯t going to tell her his actual conjecture. Despite her saying that she did not want to eat him, he still had no reason to trust her.
Although Rae did not necessarily lie, he didn¡¯t tell her the truth either. Yva could feel that was the case.
She spoke up. ¡°Rae, you¡¯re a tricky little goblin aren¡¯t you? Well, no matter. I¡¯ll just kill those humans in an instant and free you. I''ll get to know you slowly for myself.¡±
Rae panicked. ¡°WAIT!¡±
Yva was surprised at Rae¡¯s outburst. ¡°You don¡¯t want me to free you?¡±
Although it would be nice to be free, he didn¡¯t know Yva well enough. Not only that, he had hopes for the upcoming auction. He could gain better information from the humans or whatever else civilized species exists on Altera.
Also, he did not want her to kill Norton or Roland. Norton treated him well, and even though Roland acted like a bit of an ass, he was not a bad person. He wouldn¡¯t feel right if they died on a whim.
He had to come up with an excuse to stop Yva.
Rae decided to tell Yva part of the reason he had not escaped yet. ¡°The humans that are currently keeping me are part of an auction house called Silver Ridge and they¡¯re planning on auctioning me off in a week. That¡¯s why they brought me out here. It was to kill the Dire Boar to level up and appeal to them as a strong slave. The two humans that are with me, aren¡¯t bonded with my collar. A collar owner can kill them instantly with just a thought as a failsafe.¡±
Rae was not lying. While he was traveling with Roland and Norton to the Dark Forest, he overheard them talking about it. It was part of the reason Eric allowed Rae to go despite neither Roland nor Norton being bonded with his collar.
He thought that the person who created the collar was not only ingenious, but a real bastard as well when he found that out. Luckily, the collar did not affect him.
Yva could not spot any omissions or lies in what Rae said. Actually, Yva had already known about the collars, but she thought his owners were Norton and Roland.
¡°Silver Ride Auction House, huh. I see¡¡±
That was the last he heard from her before he felt her leave his mind.
¡®Whew, things could have gone bad. If Norton and Roland died with me missing, I could have become wanted. That would not have been good.¡¯ Rae felt relieved as he could not feel her presence in the area anymore.
Rae was honestly curious about Yva. How did she learn¡¸Telepathy¡¹? And there was that strange Title he didn¡¯t have the chance to appraise. He wondered if they would meet again. He didn¡¯t know if he was unlucky or lucky to have run into her.
¡®First Norton, then the Dire Boar, and even worse, Yva. Are strong people in this world cabbages or something?! I¡¯ve already run into so many already,¡¯ he complained.
By the time the trio made it back to the compound, it was midnight.
********
In the Silver Ridge¡¯s Elders conference room, Bruno had just finished being briefed by Norton about the Dire Boar and unknown beast.
Bruno exhaled heavily. ¡®The Dark Forest is acting up while Astoburgh and Fahrareta are showing signs of war again¡ Chaotic times are ahead.¡¯
********
In Fento City, a woman was walking down the street, drawing the attention of every male, and even some women.
Her dark skin and voluptuous and alluring body glistened against the torch lights along the street lamps. She had pitch black hair that ran alongside her back with a short braid on each side that went down to her shoulder. What really made her stand out though was her outfit that accentuated her figure. All she had keeping her chest in place was a cloth that was connected to a ring on her back. Two sides wrapped around in front of her, over each of her large breasts, across her collarbones, over her shoulder, and reconnected to the ring behind her. As for her pants, she wore none. She had a cloth wrapped around her waist and the two ends were connected with another ring. Despite that though, the right side still showed off her physically well-toned, tanned thighs and legs as she walked. (Essentially, a belly dancer outfit.)
Her face drew just as much attention. With her beautifully carved jawline, small curved nose, succulent and full lips that gave her a sensual look. Her yellow eyes with vertical pupils that slightly narrowed at the corners, magnified the sensual look many times over.
¡®I don¡¯t know why Arteriax¡¯s Will makes me so drawn to you, but I will heed it. I was getting bored with those Old Ones in the Dark Forest, anyway.¡¯
********
The next day, Rae woke up with Eric hovering over him.
The first thing Eric said was, ¡°Goblin, how many levels did you gain yesterday and did your skills level up?¡±
Rae nearly twitched his eyebrows but kept his irritation in check.
¡°I gained 7 levels, and ¡¸Barehanded Combat LV4¡¹,¡¸Swordsmanship LV4¡¹and ¡¸Dash LV3¡¹,¡± he said with a smile on his face.
Eric nearly fainted from shock.
He stood there, frozen until he burst into laughter all of a sudden. ¡°Hahahaha, I can smell the gold you¡¯re going to make for us. Just rest until the auction so you¡¯re in perfect condition.¡±
This man reminded him of ''those people'' in his own way. Looking at Rae as if he was nothing but a thing, and one to throw away the instant it benefited him. It brought about an immense amount of anger because of what happened to him. Then it also thoroughly disgusted him.
¡®Breathe, Rae. Just breathe.¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Breathing Technique LV6¡¹Leveled up!
Chapter 14 - Father and Daughter Colts
Day Of The Auction
In an expensive carriage pulled by majestic white horses along the streets of Fento, Humble Foxes captain and his daughter were discussing Silver Ridge¡¯s auction that day.
Landis Colts was a man of 6 ft. He was a middle-aged man but the scar running down from his right eyebrow, across his eye, down to the middle of his cheek, made him look much older. The scars on his bare arms did not alleviate the misconception either. All he wore were leather boots, pants, and a strap across his white shirt that had many pouches that were filled with only he knew what.
Selena Colts, on the other hand, had a very beautiful and youthful appearance despite her tough but well-earned reputation. Her body was while on the slim side, was shapely in the right places. She had an oval shaped face with slim eyebrows, a small nose, and attractive rose-colored lips. Her long fire-red hair made it impossible to ignore her in a crowd. She had a leather cuirass on. Beneath it, she sported a black arming shirt to keep the leather from chafing the crap out of her skin, a black waist-cloak or battle-skirt keeps her legs warm and safe while traveling or in combat. Additionally, she wore leather vambraces to protect her arms from severing blows and leather boots for traveling in all kinds of weather.
¡°We need to make sure we get our hands on Inferno¡¯s Tongue. It would have perfect synergy with your ability to wield fire and sword, together,¡± said Landis.
¡°It¡¯s not that important. We should spend the money on to better fund our men,¡± the warrior maiden stubbornly said while shaking her head.
Landis looked at Selena¡¯s deep green eyes and felt exasperated towards this willful daughter of his. He sighed inwardly. ¡®She inherited that from her mother¡¡¯
¡°Sunshine-,¡± hearing Landis refer to her like that made Selena snap.
¡°What did I say about you calling me that?!¡± she yelled while glaring at Landis.
Selena hated it when her father called her by the nickname her mother used to say.
¡®She definitely inherited her temper too¡¡¯ Though Landis would never say that out loud for fear of his daughter getting angrier.
¡°You¡¯re right, Selena. I¡¯m sorry. But, you gotta understand that you¡¯re going to lead the Humble Foxes one day. It¡¯s about time you had a reliable weapon with you,¡± he said with a concerned look on his face.
Selena¡¯s anger simmered down and thought about what her father said. It was true that she needed a reliable and constant companion by her side. One that she could take to battle fell her enemies wherever she went. An icon that represented her as a catastrophe to her enemies, and saving grace to allies.
Even her father had ¡®Stormcaller¡¯. A Warhammer imbued with the power of storms, which became so synonymous with him, he was nicknamed after it as ¡®Thunder¡¯.
But even though she understood that¡
¡°A weapon made of bones from a fire dragon, forged by Thorog Silverbrand, is bound to be raised to a ludicrous amount. We should spend that money on the Humble Foxes,¡± she said with a neutral expression.
¡the Humble Foxes always came first in her mind.
Landis sighed. As a leader, he should be happy for his daughter¡¯s dedication towards the Humble Foxes, but as a father, it made him sorrowful because of the reason towards her dedication.
¡°Alright. We¡¯ll bid for it, but we¡¯ll try to keep the cost low. Besides, we¡¯re the Humble Foxes. I¡¯m sure we won¡¯t see too much competition when we make our intentions for it, clear,¡± he said with a smile on his face.
Notwithstanding his worry for his daughter, he was extremely proud of the Humble Foxes accomplishments and the renown they have gathered.
After a few a minutes, they heard three knocks from the coachman. ¡°Sir, Miss, we¡¯ve arrived at the auction house.¡±
The father and daughter pair exited the carriage and was greeted by a rugged looking man.
Landis walked up to him and gave a light punch on the shoulder. ¡°Norton! It¡¯s been a while, old friend.¡±
¡°So it has been, Landis. Thanks for coming early like I asked,¡± Norton said while returning the punch. He then turned to Selena.
¡°Girl, you¡¯ve become just as beautiful as your mother!¡± Just as it was said, Norton knew he had made a mistake.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
Selena walked up to Norton and lightly bowed. ¡°Greetings, Uncle Norton. I hope you¡¯re doing well,¡± she said in an almost monotone voice.
Norton sighed inwardly. ¡®I can¡¯t believe this is the energetic girl who used to nag me to give her piggy-back rides. They¡¯re not gonna like what I have to say¡¡¯
Norton laughed awkwardly and then let out a light cough. ¡°Ahem. I¡¯ll take you both to your booths now. Also, there¡¯s a reason I sent a message to come early. I need to tell you some things personally.¡±
They walked up some stairs until they reached the entrance of an entire marble building. The height of it was nearly 200 feet along with pillars spaced out along the front of the building to hold it up. The pillars were wide enough that 8 adult men couldn¡¯t wrap their arms around it together. The pillar itself was engraved with various patterns depicting warriors slaying enormous creatures. The two 50 feet doors were engraved with a lion on each side standing on two feet, facing each other. The building evoked a grandiose feeling in whoever stood in front of it.
Landis whistled at the sight. ¡°I tell you, Norton. The sight of this building amazes me every time,¡± he said with an amazed look on his face.
¡°Yep, Silver Ridge is all about the gold and showing off.¡±
¡°Is that something you should say as the Captain?¡± asked Landis.
Norton just shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Eh¡±
¡°Same ole Norton.¡±
The three walked into the building and then walked up some stairs on the right, and down a hallway until they reached a room that was labeled ¡°24¡± above.
The room had lavish furniture and decorations that would probably bankrupt a normal man if he were to ruin even one of the pieces only further proved Silver Ridge loved spending gold almost as much as making it. They walked into the room and sat down on chairs at the front of the room, near an opening overlooking a large but empty auditorium.
¡°So what¡¯d you want to tell us?¡± asked Landis.
¡°First, let me be sure. You¡¯re here for the Inferno¡¯s Tongue, right?¡±
Landis raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah, why?¡±
¡°If you can, spend very little or none of your gold on it. I¡¯m sure you two have heard the announcement by Silver Ridge about a one of a kind mutated goblin, right?¡± Norton said.
¡°Of course. Silver Ridge made a big deal of it, and it generated a lot of publicity for the auction, but what does that have to do with us?¡± Landis knew Norton wasn¡¯t one to turn nothing into something. There must be a reason.
¡°I can¡¯t say too much, but you¡¯re an old buddy, and I figured that out of everyone I know that¡¯s attending the auction, he would have it best in your care.¡±
Landis looked at Norton with some suspicion. ¡°You¡¯ve never cared about goblins before. Why now?¡±
¡°This goblin is¡ very different. He has made me think about some things and I acknowledge him. You won¡¯t regret having him; I can assure you.¡±
Landis and Selena appeared shocked. They knew how stubborn and inflexible Norton was. To be acknowledged by him, and be a goblin no less? They were incredibly curious about this mutated goblin.
While the two were still in a daze at what Norton had said, Norton changed topics quickly.
¡°Now, the second thing. And before I say it, both of you promise not to do anything. Otherwise, I can¡¯t let you know,¡± Norton said with a dour face.
Selena and Landis exchanged glances and then faced Norton and nodded.
Norton looked at them for a few seconds and then sighed. ¡°I was notified that Quintin Hunt of the Dark Cloaks is going to be attending the auction.¡± Quintin Hunt was the leader of a rival mercenary group. Although, they are considered ¡°rivals¡±, there is more of a blood debt between them.
The instant that was said, a table that sat in between them, flew against a wall and burst into flames and ashes by a fiery kick from Selena.
Opposite of Selena though, Landis was perfectly still; but Norton knew that deep down, he was raging inside.
¡°Selena, we promised your Uncle Norton. Don¡¯t cause him trouble and take a deep breath to calm down,¡± Landis said calmly.
Selena inhaled deeply and then exhaled in a controlled and calm manner and then sat down again. Her face was still scowling slightly, but she managed to calm down somewhat. But on the inside, only she and Landis knew what she was thinking.
Landis looked at Norton and laughed a bit. ¡°Haha, sorry about that. We¡¯ll repay the chair.¡±
¡°It¡¯s¡ understandable. No need to blame her. I just hope you won¡¯t do anything during the auction. If you do, it will be incredibly difficult to get you out of trouble since you never found any proof for what he did,¡± Norton said reasonably.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, friend. We won¡¯t cause trouble,¡± Landis said with a smile.
Norton looked into Landis¡¯ eyes for a few seconds and then nodded and stood up. ¡°That¡¯s all I ask. Well, I have to go now and set some things up for the auction. It was good seeing you, Landis.¡±
¡°Same for me, Norton.¡±
Norton turned to look at Selena who was still scowling for a bit then turned around and left.
¡°Father, we''re just going to let that traitorous bastard and his Dark Cloaks sit across from us?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, Selena. Our Humble Foxes isn¡¯t small in influence anymore. I¡¯ve received information from Fahrareta that war is brewing; the Dark Cloaks happen to be on the opposite side of them¡¡±
********
A Few Hours Later
Rae had been waiting hours in a dark room to be sold. He had never even been allowed to set sights on the city of Fento as he was in a cage the entire time and only released when he was inside the auction house. And even then, he was placed in a dark room afterward.
Luckily he had super senses so he could focus and hear the auction. He was genuinely curious about it as he could hear the descriptions of various items of the world and know about them.
The auction sold potions, books, antiques, weapons, armors, and even appraisal stones.
What he was most curious about were Mana Stones. He didn¡¯t have a chance to learn much about them from Eric when he auctioned it, as apparently, their uses were ubiquitous. He just knew that they were capable of enchanting items and being enchanted as well since the Mana Stone being sold was highly sought after since it was imbued with a powerful enchantment by a wizard.
He was sitting cross-legged patiently until it was his time.
That¡¯s when he heard Eric call out a weapon called ¡®Inferno¡¯s Tongue¡¯.
Chapter 15 - The New Fox
¡°I present to you all¡ Inferno¡¯s Tongue!¡± Eric lifted the cloth hiding the sword and its sheath.
The crowd at the bottom floor of the auditorium burst into an uproar. The people in the private booths were just as intrigued but remained calm for the sake of appearances.
Inferno¡¯s Tongue was graceful yet simple in appearance. The handle was a lighter shade of black with a red stone - an inch in diameter ¨C on the pommel. The blade was slim and beige in color from being made of dragon bones. Lightly carved from the bottom to the tip of the blade, were elegant lines and swirls that seemed to give off a very faint red glow. Inferno¡¯s Tongue¡¯s sheath was simple as well. The sheath was made completely from the red hide of the fire dragon that was used to make the sword. Near the entrance of sheath was a red waist strap adorned with simple carvings of a red dragon breathing fire.
When Landis first laid eyes on the sword, he felt that it was the perfect weapon for Selena. A faint but intense sign of desire could be seen from Selena¡¯s eyes, but it was quickly snuffed out when she thought about how much it would cost.
¡°Now, now, ladies and gentlemen. I request that you all quiet down to continue the auction.¡± The auditorium quieted down at the behest of Eric.
Eric continued to advertise Inferno¡¯s Tongue. ¡°For those of you who do not know: Forged from the skin, bones, and heart of Drogar of Mount Kilreth by Thorog Silverbrand of the Silverbrand blacksmithing family!¡± He continued. ¡°Terrorizing our city-states for many years, the mighty dragon was slain by the hero, Aubrey Dalton. Renowned for her¡¸Ice Magic¡¹! But that isn¡¯t all! The pommel of Inferno¡¯s Tongue lies the heart of Drogar that allows any¡¸Fire Magic¡¹related user to increase their powers by at least two-fold!¡±
Eric pointed at Inferno¡¯s Tongue. ¡°Who will own this mighty blade that will surely make the one who wields it, legendary? I have no clue¡¡± He then paused for dramatic effect. ¡°But today, we will find out! Starting price will be 50,000 gold!¡±
People began shouting prices like madmen.
¡°75,000!¡±
¡°100,000!¡±
¡°150,000!¡±
¡°200,000!¡±
It kept going up until Landis shouted from his booth, ¡°500,000!¡±
Landis was too quiet up until now, so no one knew that the leader of the Humble Foxes was there.
¡°Friends, as you know, Selena can use both fire magic and is a capable swordsman. I will remember everyone¡¯s face and will promise a discount for our services should no one fight over Inferno¡¯s Tongue with me,¡± he said with a smile.
Selena looked at her father and felt embarrassed by his shameful actions.
Landis saw the look his daughter was giving him and wryly smiled inside. ¡®It''s fine, Sunshine. I can be as shameful as possible for you.¡¯
The bidding crowd thought for a moment and could only back-off. One: the gold count was going too high. Two: the favor and discount from the leader of the Humble Foxes was no small thing. Everyone knew their reputation. Everywhere they went was a victory for their side. Whether it was man, beast, or monster.
Eric looked at the sight and felt a bit disappointed. He felt that it could have gone higher but it was still a good price nonetheless.
¡°Inferno¡¯s Tongue for 500,000 to Mr. Colts of the Humble Foxes!¡± Eric began to countdown.
¡°Going once¡¡±
¡°Going twice¡¡±
¡°Sol ¨C, ¡°
Just as he was about to finish, he was interrupted by a voice that Landis would recognize anywhere.
¡°Tch tch tch, Landis, it¡¯s no good to bully people, you know? 1,000,000!¡± The voice was venomous just as much as it was sarcastic.
Landis and Selena looked at the booth across from them open their curtains to reveal a scrawny and pasty looking man with sunken cheekbones wearing an all-black leather outfit and two daggers at his side. The man had about a dozen men behind him dressed in the same outfit.
¡°Quintin¡¡± Selena spat the name out with her fists gripped so tightly, she almost pierced the skin.
Landis put his hand on her arm and shook his head to remind her of the promise they made to Norton. Selena nodded back, albeit reluctantly. Although she hated the Dark Cloaks and Quintin, she wouldn¡¯t break her word.
Landis turned his head back to Quintin and laughed. ¡°Hahaha, what are you talking about, Quintin? If I was bullying, it would be something like...¡±
In the next second, an aura of bloodlust permeated Quintin¡¯s booth. His entourage was sweat profusely and could feel death looming over them. Without him noticing it, sweat began to drip from his forehead as well. Even the unseen man all the way at the back of the room, away from the balcony could feel the pressure emanating from Landis.
¡°¡that,¡± said Landis, and retracted his aura. Afterward, he looked at Eric and yelled, ¡°1,250,000!¡±
Quintin¡¯s eyebrows twitched and he looked behind him. The man at the back nodded his head.
¡°1,500,000!¡±
Landis was surprised. ¡®What the hell? The Dark Cloaks can¡¯t be doing that well, could they? And Astoburgh hasn¡¯t paid them since the war hasn¡¯t even started yet. Or have they?¡¯
He didn¡¯t know, but he gritted his teeth and yelled, ¡°1,600,000!¡±
Quintin looked behind him and the man nodded his head again. ¡°2,000,000!¡±
¡®Fuck, where are they getting on that gold?! Quintin keeps looking behind him every time before he bids; is the person funding him in that room too?¡¯ Landis contemplated.
Eric remained silent and smiling at the two¡¯s bidding war while being ecstatic on the inside. ¡®The commission I¡¯m going to get for this auction will be amazing!¡¯
Just as Landis was about to yell something, Selena spoke out. ¡°Father, it is okay. Remember what Uncle Norton said? We can still get the mutated goblin.¡± She continued. ¡°Besides, we¡¯re only letting Quintin ¡®borrow¡¯ it for now.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Although she didn¡¯t say it, Landis knew she was a bit disappointed. He had seen the look she had when she saw the sword. That¡¯s why Landis decided to disregard what Norton had said about the mutated goblin.
¡°Alright,¡± he said quietly.
After a few seconds of silence, Eric began counting down. ¡°Inferno¡¯s Tongue for 2,000,000 to Mr. Hunt of the Dark Cloaks!¡±
¡°Going once¡¡±
¡°Going twice¡¡±
Eric then waited just in case Landis wanted to make another bid. But after more silence, Eric yelled, ¡°Sold! To Mr. Hunt of the Dark Cloaks!¡°
Quintin looked at Landis and Selena with a smug look on his face and turned around and left but his expression turned to a puzzled one. ¡®I¡¯ve already bought the last thing worthwhile here, so why are they staying? Is it for the goblin? It might be a bit stronger than your average goblin, but that¡¯s it. Only the scientists and wizards would find it interesting to dissect.¡¯ With that thought, he left with his entourage and the unseen man.
¡°Now, for the last ¡®item¡¯. I present to you all, the only one of its kind¡ a mutated goblin!¡±
********
Minutes Before
Rae heard the locking mechanism in the door to his room *click*.
When the door opened, he saw Norton¡¯s big frame standing there.
¡°It¡¯s your time, White. Let¡¯s go,¡± he said.
Rae stood up and followed behind Norton.
The two kept walking until they reached a door with a big sign above that read ¡®Auditorium¡¯.
As the two were standing there, Norton spoke up. ¡°Sigh, it sucks that the higher-ups aren''t keeping you. You¡¯ve taught and made me realize some things without knowing it.¡±
Rae looked at Norton and was a bit surprised. ¡®I never knew Norton was such a sentimental fellow, but he¡¯s a decent one.¡¯
A few moments later, Rae heard Eric yell. ¡°Now, for the last ¡®item¡¯. I present to you all, the only one of its kind¡ a mutated goblin!¡±
Norton opened the door and Rae could see the lights from the auditorium breaking through the gap.
Norton walked through first and Rae followed behind him.
When Rae appeared on the stage next to Eric and Norton, he could see finally see some of what Altera had to offer.
He saw dwarves, elves, and even people with animal features. ¡®Otaku heaven...¡¯ Rae whispered to himself.
What Rae didn¡¯t know was that the rest of the auditorium was just as shocked seeing him as well.
A loud yell broke Rae out of his reverie. ¡°How is this a goblin?! This is clearly an elf!¡± someone screamed.
¡°Yeah! Is the Silver Ridge in the business of scamming now?!¡±
The auditorium became rife with doubt and arguments against the auction house¡¯s credibility. Even Selena and Landis were a bit skeptical of Rae¡¯s appearance.
¡°SILENCE!¡± Until a Norton put an end to it with a yell that reverberated with power throughout the auditorium.
Eric followed up. ¡°Everyone, the Silver Ridge Auction House prides itself on credibility. I can assure you that this is the mutated goblin,¡± he said while pointing at Rae.
¡°I have witnessed the birth of it with my own eyes. I have also personally used an Appraisal Stone on it to confirm its race. If anyone feels any doubt, I, Eric Crane, will appraise it again, in front of everyone in this auditorium.¡±
Eric pulled out an Appraisal Stone and held it up to Rae¡¯s forehead. A rainbow light flashed for an instance and then dimmed into nothingness a moment later and the stone crumbled.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Gender: Male Age: 39 Days Race: Mutated Goblin Level: 8 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
Everyone was silent.
¡°Like I said. We, at the Silver Ridge Auction House, pride ourselves on reliable services,¡± Eric said with a smile.
¡°Wait, why can we only see his¡ºGeneral Information¡»?¡± someone asked.
¡°We don¡¯t exactly know. It might be because it is mutated, but I can also promise you that its capabilities are exceptional as well!¡± He turned to Rae. ¡°Goblin, list to me all of your skills and attributes.¡±
¡®Alright, time to strut my stuff¡¯ thought Rae. He then listed his attributes. Strength, Endurance and Dexterity/Agility in the 140¡¯s and the rest in their 30¡¯s. ¡°This one¡¯s skills are ¡¸Barehanded Combat LV4¡¹¡¸Swordsmanship LV4¡¹and ¡¸Dash LV3¡¹.¡±
¡°As you can see, with the collar, it does not matter that you cannot see all of its ¡ºStatus¡».¡± Eric continued to advertise Rae¡¯s good points. ¡°So not only are its combat abilities exception, but there are its looks too,¡± he said with a half smirk. Even he realized that Rae was beautiful.
The auditorium was too focused on the fact that Rae was a goblin that they half ignored his actual appearance. When Eric mentioned it, they took a closer look and were in a daze.
Eric took in their reactions and glad it worked. ¡°With its looks, you will be able to walk with pride with it by your side instead of the hideous looks normal goblins have. Or, if some of you have *ahem* - other interests ¨C I¡¯m sure it would do well in those activities too.¡±
¡®Oi, what the fuck are you implying, you greedy bastard?!¡¯ Rae could feel lecherous gazes when Eric said that. From not only females, but many overweight, and pig-faced males as well. Rae promised that if he was ever sold to these people, he would kill his ¡°owner,¡± and then murder Eric in retribution.
¡°This one-of-a-kind mutated goblin¡¯s pricing will start out at 75,000 gold!¡±
¡°100,000¡±
¡°200,000¡±
¡°400,000¡±
¡®Holy hell. The bidding is much more intense than the last one,¡¯ thought Rae. Rae was undervaluing his worth. He was the first mutated goblin ever. Coupled with his looks and capabilities, he was quite valuable. There were not only perverts who wanted him, but people who wanted him to fight. There were also many extremely passionate scientists and wizards who wanted to dissect him and learn all they could.
¡°1,000,000!¡±
Everyone followed the voice that just yelled and traced it back to Landis¡¯ booth.
Landis coughed awkwardly. ¡°Friends, my Humble Foxes group have been in need of some help. My previous promise still stands.¡± Even Landis himself could not help but feel embarrassed that he was trying this twice, but the previous time did not work so he thought it didn¡¯t count.
Selena sighed and palmed her face at her father¡¯s behavior. ¡®Let¡¯s hope this doesn¡¯t ruin the reputation we¡¯ve built,¡¯ she thought dejectedly.
No one else had the money or clout to go against him so they could only give up once again. The only people who dared to offend him was Quintin Hunt, but they were already enemies so it didn¡¯t matter.
Eric glared at Landis for his shameless behavior and cursed him in his mind at the potential loss of gold. ¡°The one-of-a-kind mutated goblin for 1,000,000 to Mr. Colts of the Humble Foxes!¡±
¡°Going once¡¡±
¡°Going twice¡¡±
¡°Sold! To Mr. Colts of the Humble Foxes. And with that, the auction has officially ended. We would like everyone who hasn¡¯t already retrieved their items to stay behind.¡°
¡®Whew, my luck stat finally came into play,¡¯ thought Rae. When he heard about the Humble Foxes before (Chapter 4), he wanted to join them. Not only could he learn more about the world by traveling with them, he could get stronger as well. What was the main thing mercenaries did? Fight! And in turn, level up!
He could also maintain his ¡°slave status¡± and blend in without being a goblin fugitive who managed to subvert the slave collars everyone believed in. If some people found out the collar didn¡¯t work on him, wouldn¡¯t they worry about other goblins as well? Or how he might influence them and maybe form some kind of rebellion? Neither of those things he would do, but would they believe him? He didn¡¯t think so. Even if they did, they would never allow the potential threat from a race they have mistreated for so long. He thought it was better to maintain his guise - for now, at least.
********
¡°Father, now that we¡¯ve gotten the goblin, what are we going to do? You said Fahrareta and Astoburgh are going to war and Fahrareta hired us; shouldn¡¯t we prepare?¡± Selena asked questioningly.
Landis stood up and looked at her. ¡°We still have space before they truly come to blows.¡± He continued. ¡°Also, I¡¯m extremely curious about the goblin. If what Eric said is all that the goblin had to offer, the goblin would¡¯ve never gotten Norton to acknowledge him. My instincts tell me there¡¯s more to that goblin,¡± he said.
He thought for a moment. Thinking about what they were going to do next, he decided. ¡°I¡¯m going to send a message to the rest of the Foxes and have them sit tight until we return.¡±
Selena got up as well and asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡±
¡°We¡¯re heading to the dungeon north-east of here to see what he¡¯s truly made of,¡± he said. Then he turned to her and asked, ¡°He¡¯s already more powerful than a high-level hobgoblin. So what would happen if he evolved as well?¡±
"We¡¯ll find out soon enough,¡± said Landis. Then he walked out of the room with Selena right behind him.
Selena couldn¡¯t see it, but there was a look of anticipation on Landis¡¯ face.
¡°Time to meet the new fox.¡±
Chapter 16 - Silk Dungeon (Your Name Is ‘Rae’)
In a room inside the auction house, Rae was surrounded by Eric and the two people who bought him.
The older man with a scar on his face was extremely powerful. Even before Rae appraised him, he felt that the man was a savage beast just waiting to be let loose and tear its opponent limb from limb.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºLeader of the Humble Foxes¡»¡ºCalamity of Beasts¡»¡ºCalamity of Monsters¡»¡ºHuman Slaughterer¡»¡ºWar Veteran¡»¡ºDungeon Conqueror¡»¡ºA Ranked Adventurer¡»¡ºThunder¡»¡ºSurvivor¡»¡ºRescuer¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Landis Colts Gender: Male Age: 43 Years Race: Human Level: 39 Class/Level: ¡¸Berserker LV42¡¹¡¸Elite Mercenary LV38¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 25%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 2992 / 2992 (+29.92/s)
Mana Points: 1650 / 1650 (+16.50/s)
Stamina Points: 2244/ 2244 (+22.44/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 764
Endurance: 732
Intelligence: 345
Dexterity/Agility: 642
Perception: 423
Wisdom: 480
Charisma: 58
Luck: 15
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Enhanced Agility LV5¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV9¡¹¡¸Leap LV7¡¹¡¸Sense of Balance¡¹¡¸Enhanced Strength LV10¡¹ ¡¸Intimidating Aura LV10¡¹ ¡¸Lightning Manipulation LV8¡¹¡¸Lightning Infusion LV6¡¹¡¸Two-Handed Affinity¡¹ ¡¸Warhammer Techniques LV10¡¹ ¡¸Warhammer Mastery LV8¡¹ ¡¸Hand to Hand Combat LV6¡¹¡¸Pain Resistance LV8¡¹¡¸Berserkers Rage LV10¡¹¡¸Rage Control LV10¡¹¡¸Strength From Pain LV10¡¹¡¸Armor Penetration LV10¡¹¡¸Rage¡¯s Avatar LV6¡¹¡¸Enhanced Endurance LV10¡¹¡¸Battle Spirit LV9¡¹¡¸Dash LV9¡¹
¡®Strong! Although this man¡¯s stats aren¡¯t nearly as strong as Yva¡¯s; that vicious aura he¡¯s emitting makes him ¡®feel¡¯ more dangerous than her.¡¯ The aura Landis was releasing actually wasn¡¯t something a normal person could feel without him purposefully directing it. It was just that Rae¡¯s perception and senses were too sensitive so he could feel the very faint danger Landis was exuding.
He was also surprised by the fierce and beautiful red-headed woman who came with Landis as well. ¡®Even this young woman is powerful¡¡¯
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºCalamity of Beasts¡»¡ºCalamity of Monsters¡»¡ºHuman Slaughterer¡»¡ºWar Veteran¡»¡ºDungeon Conqueror¡»¡ºC Ranked Adventurer¡»¡ºMaiden of Flames and Steel¡»¡ºSurvivor¡»¡ºMage¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Selena Colts Gender: Female Age: 24 Years Race: Human Level: 29 Class/Level: ¡¸Blade Dancer LV30¡¹¡¸Flame Elementalist LV28¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 20%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: -15%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 1422 / 1422 (+14.22/s)
Mana Points: 1888 / 1888 (+18.88/s)
Stamina Points: 1066 / 1066 (+10.66/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 403
Endurance: 308
Intelligence: 475
Dexterity/Agility: 437
Perception: 446
Wisdom: 469
Charisma: 65
Luck: 32
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Enhanced Agility LV6¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV5¡¹¡¸Dash LV5¡¹¡¸Sense of Balance¡¹¡¸Fire Infusion LV6¡¹¡¸Fire Magic LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Fire Magic LV2¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV7¡¹¡¸Swordsmanship LV7¡¹¡¸Hand to Hand Combat LV4¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV7¡¹¡¸Footwork LV7¡¹¡¸Body Flexibility LV6¡¹¡¸Sword Manifestation LV5¡¹¡¸Evasion LV7¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV6¡¹
¡®I suppose strong people in this world are just cabbages¡,¡¯ thought Rae. ¡®Well, at least my ¡°owners¡± are quite reliable, judging by their strength alone.¡¯
¡°I just need to remove my bond with his collar,¡± he heard Eric Say.
Rae stood still as Eric placed his index finger on the red crystal embedded within his slave collar and said in a low voice, ¡°I revoke this bond.¡±
The crystal¡¯s red color began to fade in an upward motion towards Eric¡¯s finger until it became completely blue.
¡°There, now his collar is bondless,¡± he said. Eric then turned to Selena and Landis. ¡°Which of you two are going to bond with him? Or will it be both of you?¡±
Landis looked at Selena with a smile. ¡°Just you. You will be his only master. Think of it as making up for the loss of Inferno¡¯s Tongue,¡± he said.
Selena placed her attention on the elf-like goblin standing before her. She honestly did not know what to make of this mutated goblin that looked like he could be the prince a kingdom. ¡®He¡¯s obviously quite special, but¡¡¯ She then thought about what her father asked before. Norton also seemed to have high expectations of him; she decided to trust their judgment.
¡°Alright,¡± she said.
She then took out a dagger from her boot and made a small cut on her finger. A droplet of blood began forming from the opening. Selena placed the cut finger on the blue crystal and spoke. ¡°I place my rule on this one.¡±
The crystal flashed briefly and a reverse of what happened earlier took place. From where Selena placed her finger, the blood from the cut began disappearing while crimson invaded the crystal until it was completely red.
Rae looked on at her as she bonded with his collar and began thinking. ¡®So bonds are formed through the owner¡¯s blood¡ Is the reason the collars don¡¯t work on me because I¡¯m an Origin Vampire? It must be. I¡¯m the Sovereign of blood. How could I be controlled and ruled by it?¡¯ ¡¯ Rae reasoned.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Wisdom +1!
After the bonding was complete, Landis spoke up. ¡°Haha, welcome to the Humble Foxes, little fella. We bought you for quite an amount, so I hope you don¡¯t disappoint. Or¡¡± Then he took a finger and ran it horizontally across his neck.
Rae knew he was joking around, but with Landis¡¯ scarred face and that aura, Rae felt, Landis appeared extremely vicious. He shivered at the sight.
¡°Y-yes Master,¡± he replied timidly.
Selena looked at Landis. ¡°Father, enough. You¡¯re scaring him.¡±
Landis laughed. ¡°I¡¯m just messin¡¯ around with the new fox,¡± he said while patting Rae on the back hard enough to break the bones of a normal man.
¡®Just like Norton, a muscle freak,¡¯ Rae complained to himself. ''Well, at least they don''t seem like the type to abuse and treat me like trash.'' Then he thought about what just happened. ''Not on purpose, at least...''
Selena sighed inwardly. ¡®Embarrassing¡¡¯
Eric interrupted the father and daughter banter. ¡°It has been a pleasure doing business you. I hope the Humble Foxes do come back someday.¡±
Selena bowed politely toward him.
¡°I suppose it¡¯s time we get going now,¡± Landis said.
As the three were about to walk out the door, Eric made a complaint. ¡°Mr. Colts, I do hope you remember to¡ behave the next time you¡¯re at one of our auctions,¡± he said with a smile that was not a smile. He was referring to how Landis essentially strong-armed the auction twice.
Landis rubbed his head and smiled awkwardly and chuckled. ¡°Heh heh, I¡¯ll be sure to remember. Give my regards to your captain,¡± he replied. And then they left.
''So he''s acquainted with Norton. That explains their seemingly decent nature toward me. I''m gonna miss him a bit,'' thought Rae.
********
¡®¡±Remember,¡± my ass!¡¯ Eric cursed afterward.
********
When they left the auction house, the group was greeted by a very ample and beautiful, scantily dressed, dark-skinned woman.
¡°Mr. Colts of the Humble Foxes, correct?¡± she asked.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
¡®This woman¡¯s voice is very familiar for some reason¡,¡¯ he then appraised her and was shocked.
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡ºHunter¡»¡ºAssassin¡»¡ºElder Beast of Shadow¡»¡ºHolder of Arteriax¡¯s Will¡»¡ºCalamity of Beasts¡»¡ºHuman Slaughterer¡»
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: Yva Darkstrider Gender: Female Age: 46 Years Race: Shadow Panther [Human Form] Level: 98 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: 0%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: -55%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 65% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 0% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 2410 / 2410 (+24.10/s)
Mana Points: 2208 / 2208 (+22.08/s)
Stamina Points: 1807 / 1807 (+18.07/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 620
Endurance: 585
Intelligence: 561
Dexterity/Agility: 752
Perception: 571
Wisdom: 519
Charisma: 183
Luck: 43
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Shadow Strike LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Agility LV10¡¹¡¸Greatly Enhanced Agility LV10¡¹¡¸Crisis Perception LV10¡¹¡¸Silent Steps LV10¡¹¡¸Assassination LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Smell LV10¡¹¡¸Telepathy¡¹¡¸Dark Magic LV10¡¹¡¸Enhanced Dark Magic LV10¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV10¡¹¡¸Presence Concealment LV10¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV10¡¹¡¸Human Form¡¹¡¸Enhanced Hearing LV10¡¹¡¸Shadow Blink LV10¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Leap LV10¡¹¡¸Claw/Fang Techniques LV10¡¹¡¸Sense of Balance¡¹¡¸Dash LV10¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV10¡¹¡¸Evasion LV10¡¹
¡®Fuck, I was so tense when I first saw her stats, I failed to take note of the¡¸Human Form¡¹skill she has. And is she here for me?¡¯ he wondered.
Landis became wary. From his experience, he could tell this woman ¨C despite her appearance, was incredibly dangerous.
¡°That¡¯s me,¡± heanswered with a finger over a ring he wore.
Selena also readied her finger over her ring.
Yva noticed their caution and laughed. ¡°I apologize for appearing out of nowhere. My name is Yva Darkstrider.¡±
After introducing herself, she continued. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡ I¡¯ve been on my own for quite a while but there¡¯s been word of a band of mercenaries doing quite well for themselves. I thought I would try and join up to spice up my life.¡±
¡°You have?¡± asked Selena in doubt.
Yva frowned. ¡°Why, yes. Are you not willing to accept me?¡±
Rae could see black particles begin to condense around Yva¡¯s fists.
¡®This woman is crazy! She¡¯s really going to attack these two if they don¡¯t take her.¡¯ Rae was really worried that he would have to go on the run if all hell broke loose because of her.
Luckily, Landis stepped in. ¡°Selena, this woman is clearly strong. Why not take her in?¡±
¡°Father, we have no idea where this woman comes from. And someone as powerful as her, wants to join us right when war is about to break loose?¡± Selena said with severe skepticism.
¡°Maybe that¡¯s all the more reason for her to join us,¡± he said with a smile. He continued. ¡°Plus, it doesn¡¯t look like Ms. Darkstrider will take no for answer, right?¡±
Landis gave in because when he sensed how Yva responded to Selena¡¯s resistance, he could tell Yva would have started a fight. Although he didn¡¯t necessarily think this woman could best him ¨C that was only if he was alone.
¡°Hahaha, Mr. Colts is certainly one of reputation. I really wanted to join the Humble Foxes,¡± she said with a hinting smile. She continued. ¡°But do not worry. I mean your Humble Foxes no harm. I just wish to take part in your activities and travels.¡±
Not minding the undertone of her threat just now, Landis laughed. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re attracting such strong people. It seems our hard work is paying off.¡±
¡°But Father ¨C,¡± before Selena could finish, Landis shook his head.
He turned to look at Yva. ¡°Welcome to the Humble Foxes, Ms. Darkstrider. We¡¯re currently headed to the Silk Dungeon north-east of here.¡±
¡°Oh? May I ask why?¡± she asked with curiosity.
¡°We are taking this goblin that we purchased to evolve.¡± He pointed at Rae who was just standing there as if he had nothing to do with Yva.
That¡¯s when Yva looked at Rae since she had appeared before them. ¡°This is a goblin?!¡± she said while feigning surprise.
¡°Yes, he¡¯s a mutated goblin,¡± said Landis.
She walked up to Rae and started rubbing her soft hands on his white cheeks. Her dark hand and his white skin made for a nice contrast.
¡°He¡¯s quite handsome for a goblin, no?¡± she said teasingly.
Yva in her human form was incredibly beautiful so Rae started to blush.
¡°I was planning to kill the person who won you at the auction, but that strong human got ahold of you. He¡¯s not someone I can kill in my human form and I can¡¯t afford to wreak havoc in my true form. So, this is the next best thing to be near you.¡±
Rae heard Yva¡¯s voice in his head again. ¡®So she''s here for me. What is it about me that interests her?¡¯ Then he remembered something that he forgot to do. ¡®Appraise¡ºHolder of Arteriax¡¯s Will¡»!¡¯
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡ºHolder of Arteriax¡¯s Will¡»- Holds Arteriax¡¯s Will.
¡®¡¡¯ Rae couldn¡¯t help but feel that the System was being a smartass now. He remembered when he appraised ¡ºElectra''s Gift¡»and it gave him the same sort of answer.
Rae¡¯s cursing of the System was interrupted by Yva.
¡°Does he have a name?¡± asked Yva.
¡°No.¡± Landis and Selena answered at the same time.
Yva gave Rae a wink and said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then how about ¡®Rae¡¯? That¡¯s a good name isn¡¯t it?¡±
Rae''s eyes twitched a little when he heard her.
Landis shrugged and looked at Selena. ¡°The goblin is bonded with Selena. It¡¯s up to her.¡±
Selena thought for a second and she didn¡¯t really care what his name was. She also thought ¡®Rae¡¯ wasn¡¯t a bad name.
¡°Alright. Goblin, from henceforth, your name is ¡®Rae¡¯,¡± she said.
Rae felt a twang in his heart. Despite his slight wariness toward Yva, he was truly grateful. One of his worries in this world was going about it without anyone knowing or saying his real name. And he couldn''t offer up his own name as that would be extremely odd and out of place as a "slave."
He looked at Yva and he mouthed the words ¡°thank you¡± and smiled.
¡°I¡¯ve created a connection between us with¡¸Telepathy¡¹. As long as we are not too far away, I will be able to hear you as long as you direct your thoughts towards me,¡± she replied. ¡°Also¡ you¡¯re welcome,¡± she uttered. But this time she said it without her usual teasing tone or seductiveness. It was almost like a sweet whisper.
Rae thought nothing of her change of tone as he didn''t know her well enough.
Despite Yva''s feigned surprise earlier, Selena was expecting a bigger reaction from Yva toward Rae. "You don''t find it too strange that a goblin looks like he does, do you?"
Yva smiled at Selena. "The world is quite a big place. Who''s to say there aren''t weirder things out there."
Yva then released Rae¡¯s cheeks and clapped her hands. ¡°So, when do we leave for Silk Dungeon?¡±
ThenRae remembered what Landis had said before. ¡°Didn¡¯t Landis say ¡°evolve¡± and ¡°dungeon¡±?!¡¯
Selena looked at the new addition and still felt vigilant to the woman, but couldn¡¯t go against her father¡¯s orders as he was still the leader. It also didn¡¯t help that Yva¡¯s assets were much bigger than hers either¡ But that definitely doesn¡¯t have anything to do with her dislike of Yva! Definitely!
¡°We leave this instant,¡± she said in a neutral tone. Trying to hide her dislike of the idea of Yva joining them.
********
A Day Later
Three white and majestic looking horses were racing across a dirt-covered plain. The horses ¨C Instead of hair for manes and tails, they had strands of glowing green particles that sparkled and shined in the sunlight. Every time when of their hooves hit the dirt, green dots of light would spring forth out of nothing. It made for quite the moving scene.
On the back of two of the three horses were Selena and Landis. While Rae rode with Yva with his hands wrapped around her waist.
Landis did not want the pretty goblin riding with him. And Selena was not comfortable with Rae. That left the more than happy Yva, to take him.
While Rae was riding with Yva, sometimes her breasts would rub against his arms. He would move his arms down but the Sylph Horses were incredibly fast, so his arms would shake their way upwards again. Not only that, he found Yva to be quite¡ soft.
He had to try and think of unpleasant things to not get a reaction.
Sometimes it worked¡ Other times it didn¡¯t.
During their journey, Rae heard Yva snicker in his mind. ¡°And to think, I called you ¡°little one¡± when we first met.¡±
The blush on his face made him look like a tomato.
While Rae was thinking of ways to fight his body, he heard Landis yell. ¡°We¡¯re close to the dungeon!¡±
After about an hour while the sun was still high, they finally arrived in front of a cave. The cave was surrounded by webs and if you looked closely, skeletons with outstretched hands could be seen, buried within the webs.
They got off the Sylph Horses.
¡°Finally! Those Sylph Horses were too rough,¡± Yva said while rubbing her behind.
¡°You¡¯re just a poor rider,¡±retorted Selena.
Yva responded by sticking her tongue out at her.
¡°Enough. We¡¯re all going in, but we¡¯re going to stay far behind,¡± Landis said to the group. He continued. ¡°Remember, let Rae handle everything. Don¡¯t want to share the experience.¡±
Selena and Yva nodded.
¡°Rae, you lead. We¡¯ll be behind you,¡± said Landis. He tapped the ring on his finger and a steel sword instantly appeared.
¡®Their rings are some kind of storage device? Neat. After this is over, I need to ask Yva about some things in this world.¡¯
¡°Good luck, Rae. I¡¯m sure you can handle it,¡± Yva said through telepathy and quickly winked at him.
Landis and Selena tapped the rings on their fingers and a torch appeared in their hands.
Landis handed a torch over to Yva and Rae. Although Rae did not need one as he had¡¸Night Vision¡¹. Selena then used her magic to light them.
The group then entered the cave, torches in hand.
¡®Okay, first dungeon. Breathe, Rae.¡¯
The cave was almost completely covered in webbing. Rae had to wave his torch around constantly to walk through.
As he walked further in, the cavern corridors began getting wide. Wide enough that the cavern no longer looked like a cavern. It looked more like a large hallway about 50 feet in height and 40 feet wide.
Rae began hearing clicking noises echo against the cave walls. ¡®That¡¯s definitely not something bad.¡¯
*Click*
*Click* *Click*
¡®That¡¯s definitely, definitely, not something bad.¡¯
*Click* *Click* *Click*
The noise kept getting closer.
*Click* *Click* *Click* *Click*
Rae could now sense something crawling on the ceiling, moving toward him at a rapid pace.
*Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click*
¡®Okay, it looks like it¡¯s coming toward me. I don¡¯t have to go toward it. This way, I hold the initiative.¡¯
*Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click*
Rae looked at the ceiling and managed to catch a glimpse of a hairy eight-legged creature. ¡®Appraise!¡¯
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡¸Human Killer¡¹¡¸Thread User¡¹
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: ¡¸N/A¡¹ Gender: Male Age: 2 Months Race: Giant Spider Level: 14 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: -40%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 15% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 458 / 458 (+4.56/s)
Mana Points: 268 / 268 (+2.68/s)
Stamina Points: 193 / 193 (+1.93/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 126
Endurance: 103
Intelligence: 50
Dexterity/Agility: 175
Perception: 150
Wisdom: 84
Charisma: 0
Luck: 0
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Thread Control LV4¡¹¡¸Spider Thread LV4¡¹¡¸Leap LV3¡¹¡¸Thread Sense LV4¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV3¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Poison LV4¡¹¡¸Poison Strike LV4¡¹¡¸Poison Magic LV3¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV3¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV3¡¹
Chapter 17 - Eight Legged Frecks and a Chest
The spider was a light brown color and 4 feet tall with each of its legs almost as long. Four ¨C relatively small, eyes, were in a 2x2 formation and with two larger eyes on each side.
The spider turned around and pointed its abdomen toward him and shot out a thin web, hoping to immobilize him in secret, but Rae had seen and heard him with his enhanced senses.
The web that was shot out was fast, but Rae was faster. He leaped and rolled to the side, dodging it with sword and torch still in hand.
The spider was surprised at its missed shot.
It crawled to the side of the wall and began shooting more webs from the dark, believing Rae had no idea where it was.
Rae kept dodging for another thirty seconds before he realized this couldn¡¯t continue.
¡®Is this thing going to come down anytime soon? If I weren¡¯t being watched, with my stats and abilities, knocking it down and killing it would be much simpler,¡¯he grumbled.
But then he thought it about it some more and realized he should take it seriously. Although he killed the many times stronger, Dire Boar, it was only because it was weakened by Yva. He also did not want to waste this time to gain battle experience by developing a bad habit of looking down on his opponents. It was an easy way to die.
After another ten seconds of incessant web shooting, the spider stopped.
¡®Is it bored now?¡¯thought Rae.
The spider began crawling to the cavern walls on the left side and pointed its mandibles at Rae. Rae could see green particles gathering in front of its mandibles.
Rae could see where this was going and he leaped to the side with haste.
A ball of green liquid flew by him and splattered where he was previously.
¡®More ranged attacks?! How long is it going to keep this up?¡¯
Rae appraised its status again.
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 458 / 458 (+2.56/s)
Mana Points: 104 / 268 (+2.68/s)
Stamina Points: 193 / 193 (+1.93/s)
¡®It¡¯s running out of Mana.¡¯He decided to stall until it was finished shooting. Afterward, it would probably come in for a melee fight. That¡¯s when he would take it down.
While Rae kept dodging, the spider lost mana with each shot and kept crawling down the wall for an easier shot on Rae. When it finally ran out of Mana and Rae was still standing, it let out a battle cry. Its fangs extended from its large mandibles, ready to devour Rae.
Loud clicking sounds could be heard as each of its legs charged toward Rae. Rae also felt a bit of blood rush from the previous monotony and took a stance.
He waited for the rushing spider while he stared it down. The clicking sound made by the spider each time it slammed its legs in a stampede toward him, sped up his heartbeat.
After the spider closed in at about 15 feet, Rae inhaled and exhaled deeply and gripped his steel sword with both hands even tighter.
When the spider came in at 10 feet, it lunged at Rae.
Waiting for this exact moment, Rae activated¡¸Thought Acceleration¡¹.
The spider in mid-air slowed down while Rae became much faster. He calmly stepped to the side and sliced off all of its legs on one side.
The spider screamed in pain as it slammed into the ground. It began flailing around with the other half of its intact legs until Rae Dashed toward it and thrust his sword into its head. Ending its struggle.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡®Finally got it,¡¯he thought in exhaustion. Running around and dodging the spider''s attacks for minutes really tired him out mentally.
After checking his surroundings for any other creatures, he deactivated ¡¸Thought Acceleration¡¹and continued down the large passage.
********
Some distance away, Selena, Landis, and Yva observed the fight.
¡°Selena, what do you think?¡± asked Landis. He had his own thoughts but wanted to hear his daughter¡¯s input first.
¡°At first, despite hearing about Rae¡¯s stats at the auction, I thought he was a bit unlucky to have run into a Giant Spider just as he entered since he has no experience, but¡¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
¡°But?¡± inquired Landis.
¡°He handled it extremely well. Methodically, even,¡± responded Selena, and elaborated further. ¡°He realized he was never going to be able to kill the spider while it was attached to the ceiling, so he waited for it to run out of Mana so it would come down and enter a brawl with him. He then calmly crippled and executed it. Although it sounds obvious to do, for a recently born and not evolved goblin to think that far ahead, it¡¯s¡ impressive,¡± she admitted.
¡°Hmm, I had the same thoughts. A normal goblin ¨C even a hobgoblin or other green skins, would have charged in and swung wildly. But I think you¡¯re forgetting something, Selena,¡± Landis said sternly.
¡°What?¡± she asked in surprise. She thought she had covered all of what happened.
¡°The fact he managed to dodge the web shot in almost pitch darkness. The spider came in closer, thinking it was unnoticed. Rae dodged it as if he knew it was there.¡±
Selena thought about it for a second and realized that her father was right. How did Rae realize the spider was there with his skills?
¡°Is it possible that he lied about his skills?¡± she asked.
¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case. The bonding spell is specifically made for green skins to be obedient. It could have just been his natural abilities. Let¡¯s observe him longer. I¡¯m starting to think we got our money¡¯s worth,¡± Landis said happily.
Yva watched silently as the father and daughter discussed Rae. She was not surprised at Rae¡¯s abnormal abilities as a goblin. He had killed the Dire Boar in the forest that was many times stronger than the spider.
********
As Rae was walking, he came across two doors. The two doors were grey in color with a black spider carved into each of them.
¡®Which one should I go through?¡¯
While Rae was thinking, the other three caught up with him.
Rae turned to Landis and asked, ¡°Master, which door should we pick?¡±
¡°We¡¯re following your lead so it¡¯s up to you. Also, don¡¯t call me master.¡± Landis pointed to Selena. ¡°She is. Just call me ¡®Captain¡¯.¡±
Rae nodded his head. ¡°Yes, Captain.¡±
Landis smiled. ¡°Good.¡±
Since Landis wouldn¡¯t help him, presumably Selena, as well, he directed his gaze back to the doors while sending a message to Yva.
¡°Any advice on which door I should pick in dungeons?¡±
¡°There¡¯s really no advice to give in this sort of situation. Just have to rely on your luck,¡±Yva said without a care.
¡®¡±Rely on your luck,¡± she says.¡¯ Rae sighed inwardly.¡®Well I¡¯m right-handed, so right it is.¡¯Rae walked up to the right door and pushed it open. The door creaked heavily as it was forced to move.
Rae entered the room with the group following him. The door shut and locked when the last person entered.
Rae took a few steps before feeling the presence of dozens of creatures.¡®¡±Luck,¡± she said¡¡±
He focused his eyesight in front of him and saw brown spiders, much like the one he fought earlier except they were about the size of puppies, rushing toward him.
¡®Appraise!¡¯
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: ¡¸N/A¡¹ Gender: Male Age: 29 Days Race: Lesser Spider Level: 10 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: -40%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 5% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 308 / 308 (+3.08/s)
Mana Points: 70 / 70 (+0.70/s)
Stamina Points: 231 / 231 (+2.31/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 86
Endurance: 68
Intelligence: 15
Dexterity/Agility: 90
Perception: 70
Wisdom: 20
Charisma: 0
Luck: 0
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Thread Control LV2¡¹¡¸Spider Thread LV2¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV1¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Leap LV1¡¹¡¸Poison Strike LV2¡¹¡¸Poison LV2¡¹
¡®Luckily, it seems like they¡¯re the predecessor species of the one I fought before. They don¡¯t have any ranged abilities except their threads, but they¡¯re much weaker and not as smart to utilize that to their advantage.¡¯
After appraising them, he focused his attention on the spiders and noticed that they were coming at him in an upside down ¡®U¡¯ formation. ''Why are they only coming for me?'' He then thought about it and determined that the spiders subconsciously knew they couldn¡¯t deal with the group behind him, so focused their attention on him.
Looking at the Legion of Legs, he figured it would not be a good idea to be surrounded by so many of them so activated¡¸Thought Acceleration¡¹and ran to the side that looked thinnest.
When he got closer, a spider jumped at him and he slashed it down the middle, cutting it half.
Rae kept running and cutting his way toward the middle while spiders jumped at him, and he eventually received several notifications.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
While he was distracted for an instant, a spider leaped onto his back and sunk its fangs into him, injecting him with poison.
¡®Keep running!¡¯With his¡¸Pain Resistance¡¹being relatively high, the bite felt like a pinch, so he kept running so he wouldn¡¯t become surrounded and mauled.
Hetook his torch and stabbed it behind himself, into the spider that latched itself onto him, causing it toscreech and let go.
After several minutes, he managed to take out all of the spiders, receiving more notifications.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Swordsmanship LV4¡¹leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Dash LV3¡¹leveled up!
¡®I could have died if I was facing a stronger enemy from that last pop-up, you damn system!¡¯ After a few seconds of silence, he realized he was speaking toan inanimate supernatural system and decided to put it behind him.¡®It was really my fault anyway. I need to focus moreinbattle. A mistake like distraction could have cost me my life,¡¯he thought.
After reprimanding himself, he looked at the corpses of all the spiders he killed, splattered across the room. As he looked around, he noticed two things that were not in the room when he first entered. One of which made him giddy with excitement.
First: another grey door on the opposite side of the one he entered from, but this one had a black spider with a white skull on its abdomen.
Second: a large golden chest in the middle of the room.
Chapter 18 - Loot
¡°Yva, do you know how the chest appeared here?¡± Rae wondered why the chest appeared after he killed everything. He played quite a few RPG¡¯s on Earth and it wasn¡¯t too strange to run into a trapped chest.
¡°You¡¯ve no need to worry about this chest in particular. Dungeons often times reward an adventurer after they clear a room, with a chest. Though there can be times where there is something funny at play, that usually depends on the nature of the dungeon itself. This dungeon is primarily inhabited by arachnids.¡±
Rae felt that made sense. He then moved to the most important part. ¡°How rare is a golden chest?¡±
¡°There are six rankings for dungeon chests. The least rare are plain wooden chests. The second least rare are bronze chests. Third are silver chests. Fourth, you have golden chests. Next up are diamond chests. Then, you have the rarest of them all. Very few people have seen them. They aren¡¯t considered ¡®just rare¡¯. They¡¯re considered legendary. They are oremith chests.¡±
Rae had heard of all the other types of metals, but he wondered what ¡®oremith¡¯ was. Rae decided to put it in the back of his mind for now.
¡°Also, don¡¯t go and try carrying a chest out of a dungeon. They¡¯re just indicators for the type of loot they carry and will become smoke when they leave.¡±
He didn¡¯t have that idea but thought it was good to know nonetheless. ¡°Thanks for the info, Yva.¡±
Yva chuckled lightly. ¡°It¡¯s no problem at all, Rae.¡±
For some reason, Rae felt that she didn¡¯t answer out of the kindness of her heart, and he was not wrong.
¡°I¡¯ve answered two of your questions so you owe me two questions as well. The next time you need something from me, you¡¯ll answer one question by me from now on.¡±
While Rae was speaking to Yva, Landis¡¯ laughter echoed throughout the room.
¡°Hahaha! Gold chest on his first dungeon, the lucky little bastard!¡± shouted Landis in elation. He rushed toward the chest and put his hands on it, but before he could open it, he heard Yva.
¡°The leader of the Humble Foxes just ups and snatches loot from his subordinates?¡± snorted Yva.
¡°Father,¡± Selena sighed. ¡°That was quite unbecoming of the captain.¡±
Landis realized what he had done and got up quickly. He coughed awkwardly. ¡°W-what are you two talking about? I was just a bit excited that¡¯s all. What¡¯s this talk about ¡®snatching loot¡¯? I¡¯m just going to ask him.¡±
He turned toward Rae and cupped and rubbed his hands together. Despite Rae¡¯s initial impression of Landis as a strong and vicious man, Rae thought he looked like a greedy merchant right now.
¡°Hehe, Rae, you know, since you¡¯re part of the Humble Foxes and a direct subordinate of my daughter, shouldn¡¯t you give this chest to me as a tribute to joining?¡±
¡®Oi, isn¡¯t my new ¡°Captain¡± a bit too greed and shameless?! Well, at least he isn¡¯t outright taking it from me, but still, I slaughtered those spiders on my own!¡¯
As if on cue, he heard Yva¡¯s voice. ¡°I could help you get the entire chest for yourself if you agree to answer a question for me,¡± she said in a laid-back manner.
Rae began to consider Yva¡¯s offer. ¡®An entire chest worth of treasures just to answer a question? Hmm¡¡¯ It sounded simple at first, but he knew there was more to it. ¡®But what will she ask is the important thing.¡¯ He pondered it for a second and decided to counter her offer.
¡°Fine! But only if I retain the right to refuse four times per question. If that happens, you may pose another question. And if I use all my refusal rights for a question, I must answer the fifth time you ask me.¡±
¡°Say, Rae, I know you¡¯re special, but aren¡¯t you a little too smart for a recently born goblin?¡± inquired Yva.
¡°Is that one of your question?¡± Rae retorted.
Yva¡¯s laughter rang in his mind. ¡°You¡¯re quite brave compared to when you first met me. Alright, it¡¯s a deal.¡±
Rae thought it was better to go through Yva to retain ownership of the chest rather than himself since he was still only a slave, after all. This was why he made the deal with Yva. She could do things for him and provide information when he couldn¡¯t break his slave character.
Yva turned to Landis who was eying the chest greedily. With arms crossed under her bountiful chest and tapping her right foot, she began to scold him (Like how your mother or teacher would posture to lecture you). ¡°Hmph, even when you know you¡¯re in the wrong, you¡¯re still trying to take his loot.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Landis looked Yva as if he was wronged a thousand times. ¡°I asked fair and square! No coercion here, Ms. Darkstrider!¡±
He turned to Selena for reinforcement, but she only shook her head. She agreed with Yva. She felt that it was fair to let Rae keep the chest since he had been the only one to fight while they watched.
¡°Although Rae is a slave, he is still a Humble Foxes member. He deserves the normal policy for loot distribution within the group.¡±
Rae looked on in appreciation for Selena sticking up for him, despite being her ¡°slave.¡±
As Landis saw that Selena was not on his side, he felt hope fading but didn¡¯t give up.
¡°How ab¡ª¡° Yva cut him off before he could finish. ¡°Are you still not backing down,¡± she said while glaring fiercely at the man.
¡°Since that¡¯s the case, how about you let him keep the entire chest without a percentage. Think of it as a ¡®newbie¡¯s gift¡¯ from the Captain of the Humble Foxes,¡± insisted Yva with more force in her tone. ¡°Would that be okay with you, Selena?¡±
Selena was a bit irritated that Yva did not use her proper title but let it go and just shrugged her shoulders.
¡®What kind of a newbie ¨C and a slave no less, get¡¯s an entire fucking golden chest?!¡¯ cursed Landis, but he could feel the same threatening pressure he had felt before when they first met and knew he lost.
He let out a barely audible mumble. ¡°Fine¡¡±
¡°But for any other chest found in the dungeon, he must give 40% to the Humble Foxes,¡± he declared.
¡°How fair, Landis,¡± said Yva with a roguish grin. Not even bothering to show the slightest respect to her new captain.
¡®Landis¡? Shouldn¡¯t you be calling me ¡®Captain¡¯? Aren¡¯t I the leader of the famous Humble Foxes mercenaries? Why don¡¯t I feel like it right now?¡¯
Rae laughed inwardly at Landis. He really had to give it to Yva. She really had a way with words. Yva had reminded him a bit of Mary just now. How Mary would give a fist to the faces of the boys who either didn¡¯t listen to her or bullied him when they were younger.
Yva turned to Rae and nodded her head.
Rae walked over to the chest and prayed with every single point of luck he had to whatever deity or system that governed dungeon loot.
He placed both hands on the top of the chest and opened it with an eager heart.
Rae saw an extremely smooth and soft, white sleeveless silk shirt. Black silk pants that scrunched up at the ends like sweatpants. A black short jacket lined with white fur at the hems. And brown leather boots that went up to the shins, to finish. Oddly, there was a thin, black string about eight inches long.
¡®It¡¯s an entire outfit,¡¯ he thought.
Looking at all of the loot, Rae got an idea. He wondered if he could appraise items. He decided to start with the shirt.
¡®Let¡¯s see if this¡¯ll work. Appraise!¡¯
¡ºArachni Shirt¡»
Made from the silk of spiders. Effect: Endurance +5.
¡®So,¡¸Appraisal¡¹works on items as well. That¡¯s good to know. Wonder what else it works on.¡¯
¡ºArachni Pants¡»
Made from the silk of spiders. Effect: Endurance +2, Dexterity/Agility +3.
¡ºWolf¡¯s Jacket¡»
Made from the fur and hide of dire wolves. Effect: Endurance +5.
¡ºKron Elk Leather Boots¡»
Made from the hide of a kron elk. Effect: Provides adequate needs for traveling.
¡ºAranaeis¡¯ Thread¡»
A thread specially made by the Mother of Spiders, Aranaeis. Effect: Near indestructible.
He was quite happy with his loot since had been wearing only rags since he had reincarnated into Altera. But he was quite curious about Aranaeis¡¯ Thread. It was clearly special, but it was just a string. Still, he decided to keep it.
He took all of the items from the chest and chose to put them on. He didn¡¯t know what to do with the thread, so opted to use it as a hair tie. His hair was starting to go past his shoulders anyway, and he didn¡¯t want it to get in the way when he fought.
After he was dressed, he felt Yva¡¯s eyes on him. ¡°My, my, Rae cleans up quite nicely. Don¡¯t you think so, Selena?¡±
Selena gave a quick frown in her direction. ¡°Call me Vice-captain.¡±
Yva stuck her tongue out in reply.
Selena ignored it and turned to Rae. She ran her gaze all over him. ¡°And yes, he does look good.¡± Despite her knowing Rae was a goblin, she couldn¡¯t help but admire how handsome he was. It made her feel a little proud that she was his ¡°master.¡±
Although one was technically a best in human form, and another, his ¡°master¡±, Rae felt his heart quicken at the two gorgeous women¡¯s gazes.
While he was in a daze, he heard a shout.
¡°Rae!¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°I asked: What are the effects of each clothing, Rae?¡± repeated Selena in an irritated manner.
Rae¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡®Does she know that I can appraise items?¡¯
Selena saw the look on his face and mistook it for one of ignorance. ¡°Oh, right. You probably don¡¯t know.¡± She had temporarily forgotten that Rae was only born a month ago because of the capabilities he showed.
¡°You can view the effects of your items by holding or wearing them, thinking about it, and then thinking: ¡®effect¡¯.¡±
Rae sighed in relief inwardly. ¡®That was close. Though, I am surprised that I didn¡¯t need to appraise an item to know its effects; I can appraise items without holding or wearing it. I¡¯ll be able to get information on an enemy¡¯s equipment from afar. That should prove incredibly useful.¡¯
After he pretended to check out the status of his equipment, he told Selena their effects but kept Aranaeis¡¯ Thread a secret. He told her that is was made from regular spider silk.
Rae took one last look around the room and looked at all the spider corpses littered across the room. He could see all the spider blood and was curious as to know if he could absorb it since it was blue, but couldn¡¯t since he was with a group. He sighed at the waste and tied his hair into a pony-tail, preparing to enter the new door with a white skull.
¡°Master, Captain, I¡¯m ready.¡±
As they were all walking to the door, Yva reminded Rae of their deal.
¡°Rae, aren¡¯t you forgetting something? My questions.¡±
Rae grumbled inwardly. ¡°Fine. What are they?¡±
Yva¡¯s playful voice resonated in his mind. ¡°You¡¯re immune to the slave collars command effects, aren¡¯t you? I know you tricked me in the forest that day.¡±
Rae¡¯s eyes widened in shock and his footsteps halted. He turned around and saw Yva wearing a broad smile that spoke, ¡°gotcha.¡±
Chapter 19 - Stalking and Space Magic
Rae had a feeling that Yva might know. She knew he killed the dire boar, and since she was at the auction, she must have seen how he lied about his attributes and skills. She probably deduced that there was no way he was able to kill the dire boar with only that and assumed he lied somehow. Coupled with his intelligence as a newly born being and his status as a mutated goblin, she had reasonable suspicion that he had subverted the slave collar.
Even so, the collar was one of his deepest secrets and was tied to the rate of his survival in this world.
Rae¡¯s face quickly became stonefaced and he turned back around, resuming his steps.¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°Still playing hard to get, I see. I suppose that means you refuse to answer. Well, I already got my answer from your reaction anyways and since you didn¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll ask you something else.¡±
¡®What a shrewd woman,¡¯ complained Rae. He had the feeling that Yva wouldn¡¯t quit until she found out all his secrets.
¡°Hmm, what should I ask¡?¡± Her humming occupied Rae¡¯s mind for a bit. He then heard the excitement. ¡°Oh, I know! When we first met, you said your name was ¡®Rae¡¯. Who gave you that name? I¡¯ve always wondered.¡±
Rae felt certain emotions surge up as he heard Yva¡¯s question. Although he loved his name, he loved it because it was the name he had when Mary and Helen found him.
Still, even though he didn¡¯t like bringing up ¡®that woman¡¯, he owed Yva for helping him out. Ironically, it was her who helped him keep his name in this world.
With much resistance, he answered. ¡°The woman who gave birth to me.¡±
Hearing that, Yva felt even more curious now. ¡°A goblin woman named you? How?¡±
Rae ignored her further questioning and walked up to the door. He could feel an ominous sensation looking at the black spider on it, unlike the previous doors. Especially the white skull on its abdomen.
He pushed the heavy door open and entered. They were greeted with an incredibly spacious passage. The height, nearly 70 feet tall with pillars dotted across the passage evenly. As for how far the room expanded, Rae could not tell.
Rae also felt an eerie atmosphere in the room. Before, lesser spiders rushed at him, but here ¨C it was quiet. Too quiet¡
He didn¡¯t know what felt ¡°off,¡± but since Landis told him to lead, he chose forward. Whether or not that was the right way, Rae had no clue.
As he walked on, an hour had already passed and there was no end in sight. Rae wondered if it was possible to get lost in a dungeon.
He was about to ask for Yva¡¯s advice but remembered that he would owe her a question and decided against it. If something really went wrong, he believed they would step in, so he continued.
After a while, Rae did not notice anything aside from the towering pillars and empty space ¨C that was until something entered his perception and hearing.
*Click* *Click*
He stopped and tried to get a look at it, but pillars were blocking his vision. ¡®Tch, my¡¸Perceptive Eyes¡¹eyes don¡¯t allow me to see through objects.¡¯
Rae decided to stop walking to try and bait his enemy into attacking, but after waiting for about fifteen minutes, nothing happened. ¡®What¡¯s it doing?¡¯Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
He looked at the group behind him about 20-25 feet away, to see if they noticed, but they either didn¡¯t know or were pretending not to know so he could deal with it himself. Judging by their abilities, he believed the latter to be more likely.
¡®Looks like I¡¯m not getting any help. Which makes sense since this is some kind of test.¡¯ Rae began walking a few steps, and he started hearing noises in the direction of the spider.
*Click* *Click* *Click*
Rae stopped to get a better sense of the distance of the spider, but the clicking noises stopped. He commenced walking for a few more minutes.
*Click* *Click* *Click* *Click*
¡®Annoying, little shit!¡¯ he swore.
Rae took a breath to calm himself from his irritation. He reflected on how the spider was behaving, and after some thought was convinced that it was stalking them. He sat down and rubbed his chin in deliberation. After about ten minutes, an idea popped into his head. He didn¡¯t know if it would work, but he wanted to experiment.
Rae got up and walked back to the group. ¡°Master, Captain, may we take a rest now?¡±
¡°Up to you,¡± Landis said while looking at Selena.
Selena raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment. ¡°Okay.¡±
She then pressed a finger toward her ring and a bedroll materialized. ¡°Take this.¡±
Rae remembered Landis also using a ring like hers as well, from before they entered the dungeon. ¡®I want a ring like that one day. Appraise!¡¯
¡ºIntermediate Gold Inventory Ring¡»
Made of gold and a¡¸Space Magic¡¹enchanted Mana Stone. Effect: An independent mobile space of 21000 cubic feet. May place and remove items from inventory. Restrictions: May not place living beings in inventory.
¡®¡¸Space Magic¡¹¡? There¡¯s such a thing? What is¡¸Space Magic¡¹? And what exactly is someone with ¡¸Space Magic¡¹capable of?¡¯ Flooded with questions, Rae was again reminded of the fact he was ignorant of his new world.
After the realization, Rae decided it best to focus on the task at hand and took the bedroll. As he walked away, he was stopped by Landis.
¡°Where are you going?¡± he asked.
¡°I was going over there.¡± Rae pointed to an area 30 feet from them.
Landis thought that was strange. ¡°Why ¨C¡°
Selena waved her hand. ¡°Father, it¡¯s okay.¡± She looked at Rae with a stern face. ¡°Be careful.¡±
Rae nodded and bowed with his right arm touching his stomach (Like how a butler bows) and then left.
As he was walking away, he heard a worried voice in his head. ¡°Watch out. It¡¯s strong ¨C well, not compared to me, at least,¡± cautioned Yva.
Rae took the warning to heart. ¡°Mm, will do.¡±
When he arrived at the designated spot, he set up the bedroll and put out his torch. Then he laid down and shut his eyes, patiently waiting¡
********
¡°Why¡¯d you let him stay over there?¡± questioned Landis.
¡°There¡¯s a huntress lurking around. It seems he wants to take out himself,¡± replied Selena.
Landis let loose a big grin. ¡°So he can even sense a huntress. I wanted him to be your personal bodyguard, but he¡¯d make for an excellent scout.¡± He continued. ¡°Well, it¡¯s up to you what he becomes.¡±
He let loose a loud yawn and pulled out a bedroll from his ring. ¡°Wake me up if something goes wrong.¡± Landis unpacked the bedroll and laid down on it. Seconds later, light snores could be heard.
Selena turned Yva. ¡°What about you? Do you need to rest? I¡¯m going to put out the torches so he has a higher chance of drawing it out.¡±
Yva shook her head. ¡°Nope.¡± She smiled and licked her lips. ¡°I¡¯m going to be looking after the little guy."
Selena rolled her eyes. ¡°Ugh, do you have to be so sexual?¡±
Yva stuck out her outstanding breasts toward Selena with a smug grin. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just jealous?¡±
Selena¡¯s eyes couldn''t help but be drawn to them, and a part ¨C just a small part, deep inside of her, couldn¡¯t help but resonate with what Yva said. Of course, she would never admit to any of it.
¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a salacious woman.¡± With blushed cheeks almost as red as her hair, she waved her hand toward their torches. The flames faded until they dimmed into nothing but a speck of light, and a stream of smoke.
Only darkness could be seen now.
********
Hours Later
On the ceiling of the room ¨C directly above Rae, a pitch black spider only slightly bigger than the Giant Spider Rae faced earlier. It was dark as night, with a white skull on its abdomen. It eyed Rae as he lay there. It turned to the group trailing behind its ¡®meal¡¯, and they seemed to be resting as well.
It shot a web onto the ceiling and began setting itself down. It was almost salivating at the thought of sinking its fang into the delicious smelling meal below it.
Chapter 20 - Host Has Qualified For Evolution
Frankly, Rae was not a patient person. Though, he was not an impatient person either. But spending months in a womb had really tempered it.
He had lain there, pretending to be asleep by regulating his breath with the¡¸Breathing Technique¡¹for hours on end ¨C until now.
¡®Patience truly is a virtue.¡¯
Rae could hear the webs being spun as the spider he had been waiting for, made its way down.
As the spider came closer, Rae¡¯s¡¸Crisis Perception¡¹began to warn him of immediate danger.
He activated¡¸Thought Acceleration¡¹and opened his eyes. What greeted him was a set of eight deep red eyes in two rows of four, staring at him no more than ten feet away.
Rae quickly shouted in his mind. ¡®Appraise!¡¯
¡ºStatus¡»
¡ºTitles¡»: ¡¸Human Slaughterer¡¹¡¸Thread User¡¹¡¸Hunter¡¹¡¸Assassin¡¹¡¸Kin Eater¡¹¡¸Kin Slaughterer¡¹¡¸Insect Slaughterer¡¹
¡ºGeneral Information¡»
Name: ¡¸N/A¡¹ Gender: Female Age: 4 Years Race: Arachni Huntress Level: 27 Class/Level: ¡¸N/A¡¹
¡ºResistances¡»:¡¸Lightning: 0%¡¹¡¸Fire: -40%¡¹¡¸Wind: 0%¡¹¡¸Water: 0%¡¹¡¸Earth: 0%¡¹¡¸Light/Holy: 0%¡¹¡¸Darkness: 0% ¡¹¡¸Poison: 20% ¡¹
¡ºStatus¡»
Health Points: 1132 / 1132 (+11.32/s)
Mana Points: 540 / 540 (+6.76/s)
Stamina Points: 849 / 849 (+8.49/s)
¡ºAttributes¡»
Strength: 301
Endurance: 265
Intelligence: 164
Dexterity/Agility: 365
Perception: 303
Wisdom: 106
Charisma: 0
Luck: 0
¡ºSkill List¡»
¡¸Thread Control LV6¡¹¡¸Spider Thread LV6¡¹¡¸Leap LV5¡¹¡¸Thread Sense LV6¡¹¡¸Presence Perception LV6¡¹¡¸Night Vision¡¹¡¸Poison LV10¡¹¡¸Acidic Poison LV1¡¹¡¸Poison Strike LV7¡¹¡¸Poison Magic LV6¡¹¡¸Mana Perception LV6¡¹¡¸Mana Control LV5¡¹¡¸Enhanced Hearing LV5¡¹¡¸Enhanced Flexibility LV5¡¹¡¸Iron Limbs¡¹
The spider lifted one of its claws and slashed toward Rae¡¯s neck. He got up immediately and dashed under the spider.
With its underbelly exposed, Rae took the opportunity and thrust his sword. The sword managed to pierce 4-5 inches deep.
An air shattering screech came from the spider. It slid one of its hind legs below itself, aiming at Rae¡¯s head. Rae retracted his sword and used the side of it to block the leg with his left forearm against it as resistance.
A spark flashed as the leg hit the sword, but there was too much force in the blow and the leg slid past the sword and into Rae¡¯s arm.
Poison much stronger than the one Rae had felt before began working its way into his arm.
Rae screamed in pain as the poison attempted to ravage his arm. ¡°Ahhhh!¡±
The spider, still in a fit of rage, dragged Rae by his arm from out under it and flung him against a pillar.
Rae hit the pillar and the air was knocked out of him as blood spurt from his mouth. The sword he was holding now clanging on the ground.
¡®I may have underestimated the enemy. That acid and poison combination is killer to my health regen,¡¯ he thought wryly. He had killed all the spiders before with ease, so he thought he could do the same with this one despite not knowing its attributes or skills. ¡®Hope I don¡¯t have to take drastic measures.¡¯Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
He got up with much pain and picked up the sword next to him. He looked at Yva who was watching everything with Selena, who had a worried look on her face and was reminded of the last look Mary gave him before she ran.
¡®I didn¡¯t think she cared that much. Well, let¡¯s try not to die for the second time.¡¯
Rae placed his focus back on the spider and gripped his sword.
Much less angry than it had been before ¨C or appearing to be, the spider also placed all eight of its eyes on Rae. Eying each other, the spider made its first move by conjuring up three balls of poison and shot them at Rae.
Rae ran behind the pillar he had been tossed into earlier, for shelter.
He heard a splash a second later. Then he heard the sound of stone sizzling and cracking.
The spider, seeing the effect of its magic on the pillar, continued shooting¡¸Poison Magic¡¹at the area.
¡®Oh shit.¡¯ Hearing the cracking intensify, Rae knew what was going to happen and dashed behind another pillar.
The pillar he was hiding behind then tipped over and the loud crashing and crumbling of stone could be heard.
The spider screeched at its escaped prey and shot webs with a faint blue glow over on them around the pillar Rae was behind.
Rae dashed way but the webs followed him and wrapped around his legs and pulled him down. He tried cutting the webs with his sword, but the spider created them too fast for him to keep cutting.
The spider dragged Rae as it maneuvered the webs around him. He eventually ended up completely wrapped up in front the hungry predator.
As Rae was being dragged toward the spider¡¯s mouth a few feet from him, he could feel his life ebbing away from the strike he took earlier. Rae decided his immediate survival was better than keeping a secret in death. ¡®Looks like its drastic measures¡¡¯
He looked off to the side and saw Selena attempting to help him. Funnily enough, Landis was still snoring like nothing was happening.
¡°Yva, stop her! I need the full experience from this thing!¡±
¡°Are you sure you can handle it?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
"How?" she inquired.
"...You''ll find out," not bothering to explain as he was inching closer to death every second.
¡°Fine, you owe me another one then,¡± Yva said.
¡®I¡¯m gonna owe you two, for what I¡¯m about to do,¡¯ he said inwardly.
********
Yva grabbed onto Selena¡¯s arm to halt her.
Selena gave Yva an intense glare. ¡°What are you doing?!¡±
¡°Just trust him.¡±
Selena tried yanking her arm away from Yva, but Yva¡¯s strength proved too much.
She continued scowling at Yva and felt the rage building up inside her for being so helpless. ¡°Are you going to take responsibilities if he dies?!¡±
¡°Relax, he won¡¯t die. He¡¯s¡,¡± Yva paused because she felt something familiar coming from the direction Rae was in. She saw what was happening and her eyes widened in surprise. ¡°¡more than... what you... think.¡±
Selena was surprised at Yva¡¯s reaction and turned her eyes toward the ensuing battle.
********
With Yva¡¯s confirmation that there wouldn¡¯t be interference, he pictured the way Yva moved the black particles back at the auction. He focused and concentrated with full effort to move and condense particles into his hand.
After a few moments of struggle, he could feel the Mana and immense strength, coursing through his hands.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Gained ¡¸Darkness Infusion LV1¡¹
Rae wiped the notification and swung his hands upwards, cutting through the webs.
Completely free, Rae saw his hands, and they were now layered with a black glow.
Being face to face with the spider, Rae reacted instantly after being free and jabbed both of his hands into the spider¡¯s eyes. One hand on the top set of eyes and the other on the bottom, and swiped both hands across each other, taking out six of its eyes.
The spider let out an ear piercing cry and thrashed about and eventually crashed itself into a pillar. The pillar wasn¡¯t able to take the brunt of the spider while swinging its poison and acid infused legs, and it collapsed on top of it.
Unfortunately, one of its legsfound its way into Rae¡¯s thigh in its crazed state.
Rae grit his teeth and dashed to the spider while it was still weakened. He found the spider crushed beneath a pile of rubble, with only its head sticking out.
His life still slipping way, he kneeled down next to the spider, took his right hand, and thrust it as far as he could into one of the spiders damaged eye sockets.
The rubble on top of the spider began moving as the spider struggled.
¡®Fucking die already!¡¯ he screamed inside, and with his hand still buried in the spider, he controlled the Darkness surrounding his hand to expand into spikes. Skewering the spider from the inside.
¡ºAkashic System¡»¡¸Mana Control LV3¡¹Leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has leveled up!
Breathing heavily from the wounds he received, he barely spoke in relief. ¡°Ha¡ ha¡ sweet¡¡±
A smile formed on Rae¡¯s face. ¡°I¡ suppose its¡ lights out now¡¡±
He heard one last notification before losing consciousness.
¡ºAkashic System¡»Host has qualified for evolution! Will now begin the evolutionary process.
Important Update
First of all, I''m sorry for no word for two weeks. I took down the novel so I could better focus on the editing and revisions I was doing, but I didn''t think it would take this long.
An explanation of why I wanted to start this process.
1. Small grammar and punction errors riddled all the chapters. Although they were small, and probably not noticeable to the average reader, there were many of them.
2. Many missed opportunities for development, for characters and worldbuilding. I also mean Rae''s skills too, and that leads me to my 3rd point.
3. No sense of discovery for Rae''s powers in the beginning except for Chapter 3 - Sixth Sense. One of my favorite things to read about in RPG novels is when the MC adapts and experiments with their powers in the beginning.
4. Probably the biggest reason, and that is skills/power levels. I wrote the skills and stats without forethought and would have been a huge detriment and roadblock when writing future chapters. It''s not like cultivation novels where there''s a general title for how powerful someone is, e.g, Stage 5 Gold Core. For LitRPG there''s a quantifiable number of how powerful someone is (Although skills do matter, even the skills have a number attached to them, e.g, levels). I just need some time think about it.
At first, I contemplated a rewrite, but after much thought, I decided not to. I really like the current story, so instead, I decided to do an editing and revisions overhaul. For the new version, I will be trying to fix all of these and adding new things as well. I''ve already completed the edits/revisions up to Chapter 7.
New things I will (I''ve already done) add/change:
1. Rae starts out with Shadow Magic instead of Dark Magic. Dark Magic will not be going away though.
2. Resistances will not be listed out. Instead, they will only be shown if they have a change in a category. This will be so that it won''t be like "Oh, so there are only so and so elements," and put myself in a creative box. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
3. I''ve written a (a few paragraphs of old stuff, but mostly new) new chapter. It''s Chapter 4, it comes after Chapter 3 - Sixth Sense, hence, all the other chapters will have their number bumped up. There might be more new written chapters, who knows?
4. I''ve added many new lines and changed a few to sound better throughout Prologue - Chapter 7. Ranging from tiny lines only expanding on Rae and other characters to foreshadowing larger things. Although, Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 have the least changes. Mostly just a heavy polish. Starting at Chapter 3 is where the changes take place. Prologue only has a heavy reduction. Reduced about 500 words. A lot, in the beginning, did not need to be said.
5. Changing Selena to Half Human/Elf. Important. I was actually planning on making her a Half-Elf in the beginning but scrapped it for some reason. I forget why though.
6. Because Selena is a Half-Elf, The Humble Foxes, and Dark Cloaks initial relationship impression will change. This is kind of minor since there were only mentioned and seen in two chapters, but it''s important in the long run.
7. Some Changes to his Rae''s Appraisal Skill to make it less OP.
8. May or may not overhaul everyone''s stats, I''m still thinking on this one. If there are changes to someone''s stats, one will definitely be Yva''s.
There will probably be a lot more changes, as I''ve still 14 chapters left.
After I''m done and have written past Chapter 20, I will make a new page, as I feel there are enough changes (and more to come) to warrant it and keep this one for posterity''s sake. Then, I''ll mass release the first 20 chapters in one day (or two), and we''ll go on from there.
I know a lot of you were waiting for Chapter 21, like, a lot. So much so, that when I dropped the two edited Prologue and Chapter 1 that I received my first 0.5 and multiple 1/2 ratings T_T. A lot of you probably feel that the original versions were fine and only want the newest chapter, but I want to put the best out here even though its a hobby. Just think of it this way, better to do this at Chapter 20 than 100 or 200 chapters down the line lol.
Oh yeah, if you''ve any issues that you want to bring up about the novel, now''s the time to do it! If I feel they''re appropriate, I''ll definitely incorporate them. I''ve already done so with a few ideas in the new version.
I *think* that''s all I wanted to say...
Anyways, sorry again for the disappearance, and I hope you''ll wait a few more weeks for Chapter 21.