《Battling for Survival in a New World (On Hiatus)》 Prologue I was heading home after picking up some groceries from a nearby store. The temperature was frigid, it was the middle of winter after all. I walked at a rather slow pace taking in the scenery of the massive cityscape covered in a thin layer of snow. The sounds of the city seemed more dull than usual, the cars, the chatter and the sounds of construction in the distance just all seemed quieter than usual. It was probably due to the snow blanketing everything. I arrived at the apartment that my mom was renting for us to live in. It was on one of the higher floors of an apartment building. I walked into the elevator, pressed the button and waited. I arrived at correct floor and walked to our apartment opening the door. "I''m home!" I shouted into the empty apartment. Hearing no response I assumed no one was home as i kicked off my shoes and slipped into some slippers. I decided against working on the homework due tomorrow and walked to the fridge, opening it and closing it without grabbing anything from it. I decide to head to the balcony to observe the city''s activity. It''s as chaotic as usual, just a bit muted. I lean onto the railing to relax. The railing suddenly shudders slightly and leans dangerously forward. Before I can react I feel it falling completely. My balance broken, I manage to catch myself partially before following it downwards. As I fall back first my mind is racing as fast as possible. I thought there were safety regulations about things like these. Even if stuff like this happens why did it have to happen to me? What did I do to cause this?Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The wind rushes past me as i fall downwards. It''s pleasantly quiet, almost as if I was falling to nothing. That silence is eventually broken. A large crack rings out as I impact into the snow covered sidewalk. Sharp pain flows through my whole body before starting to numb. I let out a silent scream in pain from the impact. I can''t seem to shout. I can''t move anything as my consciousness flickers. I hear a scream from what I assume to be a passerby. I stare blankly at the sky as the pain fades into nothingness with my consciousness. I hear faint sounds of a phone call coming from where the scream came from. Why me? Why? are my last thoughts as my consciousness finally fades into nothing. ...... .... It''s dark. Why can I still think? Aren''t I dead. I mean falling from thirteen floors is usually pretty fatal. Maybe I''m in a coma or something. Or maybe this is death? Just being alone in darkness for all eternity. I hope not. Time passes. How much I''m unsure. It could have been seconds or it could have been centuries. There was no way to tell in this darkness. Eventually after what felt like an eternity but could have been seconds something happens. I hear a delicate sounding voice talk to me. "Oh, so you''re the promising one... Hm you don''t seem as good as he said you would be but you would work.... probably" I can''t identify where the voice came from or what it was talking about. I try to respond but find myself unable to without a physical body. "Well, seems you''re ready. Anyways good luck and don''t die to quickly. Even if you do get reincarnated again you won''t get to keep your memories next time. This time is special, your going to a place where all those "special" people are. Don''t fail me and hopefully I won''t see you soon. Bye!" As soon as they finish I feel movement and then darkness in which I can''t think. Chapter 1: The New World I slowly start regaining my senses. First it¡¯s touch, I feel the stiff feeling bed beneath me and the warm temperature. Next is smell, it smells slightly musty, like old wood or something. Finally I open my eyes. I¡¯m lying down on what feels like an old bed. I look around as I sit up but it¡¯s hard to make out my surroundings due to the darkness. I hear sounds of what I assume to be talking coming from somewhere else in the room. ¡°Hello? Anyone there?¡± I ask tentatively ¡°Yah, we¡¯re right over here.¡± someone replies They sound to be around my age. Thinking of voices isn¡¯t mine higher then it was before? I mean it still sounds like a guy just a bit higher. Hm, wonder what that¡¯s about. ¡°So, do you know what¡¯s going on or where we are?¡± ¡°Not really, only that we just woke up here after we died.¡± This roommust be larger than i originally thought if it had at least two other people in it. I wish there were some lights in here. I decide to try and go over to where their voices are coming from. I stand up and take small steps in the dark with my hands in front of me tokeepmyself from walking into anything. However right before I arrive I hear lights click on with a loud whirring sound blinding me temporarily When my eyes recover I take in my surroundings. The room seems fairly large, about the size of a normal high school classroom. There are around twenty beds most with their occupants still on them. The occupants though¡­ don¡¯t exactly look normal. Some look completely normal and human while others have pointy ears like an elf and others have even weirder features likelight blue skin. Wait.. I don¡¯t have anything like that do i? I quickly look over my body discovering some new things about it. First it seems like I¡¯m shorter, I¡¯m around 5¡¯7 now, by my estimate at least. Second I¡¯m quite a bit paler than i was before. Third I seem to have longish black hair with a red tint at the end rather than my previous short black hair. It''s almost long enough to reach my back. Last and most importantly, my ears are pointed, like an elf¡¯s or something. What the hell is this¡­. I mean seriously, This is weird¡­ very weird. At least thought I could keep my humanity coming to another world. I mean at least the changes aren¡¯t that bad. This is manageable. I ignore the obvious changes to my body and decide to find out what¡¯s going on. Before I can go and question every last person in this room a booming voice catches everyone''s attention, mine included. A large man wearing a fancy outfit is the source of the noise. ¡°Everyone! I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all confused but unless you wish to meet a quick end I suggest you listen to me. You all died in your previous lives, and now you have to live this one. Everyone grab a weapon from the pile and leave, unles, of course, you wish to die by my hand. I suggest you group up for this, it won¡¯t be easy. By the way I''m your groups proctor¡± ¡°Haah?! You think so lowly of us do you? What makes you able to so easily ki-¡± The questioning man is cut off by a sword impaling him through the chest. They were all the way across the room from each other but the Proctor somehow appeared right in front of him, swiftly silencing him. The opposing man falls to the ground, dead. I look away disturbed by the lack of empathy for life. A few of the observers reacted with terror and tried to flee but they were quickly caught and thrown back by the proctor. ¡°Don¡¯t make me kill too many of you, I might get less¡­ Anyways get your weapons and get out¡± He points to a large pile of weapons of all varieties. Although nothing modern seems to be there. I tentatively walked forward and grabbed a simple sword, even though I didn¡¯t know how to wield it well. It seemed like one of the easier weapons to use and wasn¡¯t big enough to slow me down. At least that was my thought process. The rest of the people also grabbed weapons before heading for the door. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I arrive at the door which leads into another room, this one smaller than the last. The multitude of people cram inside of the small room, attempting not to injure each other with their newly acquired weapons. It was a mildly comical sight. I follow inside after glancing at the poor soul who was just killed. A twinge of pity greets me along with this sight but I decide that I should just move along. Why is the only door in this room the one we came in from? I mean that doesn¡¯t exactly seem very normal¡­ As soon as everyone arrives inside, the door slams shut behind us, sending us into darkness once more. I can hear some people starting to panic and scream for someone to let us out. After a short amount of time a strange series of symbols glow on the roof and we hear an emotionless, androgynous voice talk. The voice seems to originate from the glowing symbols. ¡°Hello, and welcome to the new world. I¡¯m here to teach you the very basics of this world. First off say ¡°Status¡± to view your stats and classes.¡± The voice waits patiently for everyone to say status. A few people tentatively said it before looking either confused or amazed. I decided to give it a try. ¡°Status¡± Before a table appeared detailing my current ¡°Status¡±.
Name: Lykos Nyx Race: Shadow Elf Class: N/A
STATS:
Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Mana Control: 10
Dexterity: 12 Wisdom: 10 Constitution: 8
Agility: 12 Charisma: 14 Vitality: 10
The voice continued when it was satisfied that everyone had followed its directions. "Now that you see all of your stats, I''ll explain what each one does. First strength affects your physical strength and ability to strike. Dexterity affects your precision and accuracy of movements. Agility affects the speed of your movements. Intelligence is your knowledge capacity and what you''ve learned, it also affects spell strength. Wisdom is your processing time and ability to put things together, it also affects mana regeneration. Charisma is your physical attractiveness and way with words. Mana control is your level of control over mana. Constitution is your durability and vitality is your stamina." I absorbed the knowledge as it would likely be important for my potential of living. Wait, what about classes then? That seems at least as important if not more so then the stats. Someone else in the crowd voiced my thoughts. "What about our class then? I don''t have one yet?" "Say "Class select" to choose a class based of your current self. It''s based on your achievements, your current capabilities and your race. You can also choose a random class if you wish." Following his statement everyone in the room started saying "class select" and discussing all their "class options" with others. Following their example I decided to try it out as well. "Class select." Before me appeared another window.
Possible Classes: Description:
Beginner Thief Learn basic thieving skills and stealth.
Beginner Courier Run letters back and forth
Beginner Fighter Learn basic fighting styles and basic swordplay.
Beginner Inn Keeper Run an inn.
Beginner Bard Play music and sing tales of journeys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~RANDOM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Completely random class not from your list.
Hmmm... some of these might help me survive but I doubt there''s an inn to run waiting for me... Also that random option looks really tempting right now... I really wanna press random..... I mean it''s not like I have bad luck or anything right? I mean I used up all my bad luck by falling 13 floors from a building.... I decide to press random even if it could completely screw me over. I was too curious about it. Also didn''t that weird voice say I was promising or something? As soon as I think of selecting random, a roulette style spinner game appears before me in a blue window. When I think "spin" it starts spinning extremely fast through a large list of classes. It slows down over time before finally landing on a class called "Beginner Shadow Wielder". Doesn''t that seem kind of edgy? I mean.. I guess It''s fine... Alright I''ll do my best to not die using this class! After I complete my internal monologue I turn my attention back to the glowing symbols. The voice starts again. "Classes affect your skills and abilities. You level up your class by doing what your class is meant to do. If you''re a combat class you gain strength through combat and so on... Anyways good luck and try not to die." An even larger set of glowing symbols appear beneath our feet. I assume it''s some kind of magic formation or something akin to it. The light grows brighter before completely blinding me. I feel as if I''m falling through space and my consciousness fades once more. Seriously how many times is this reincarnation thing gonna make me go to sleep? Is my last thought before losing consciousness. Chapter 2: The First Encounter I slowly regained consciousness. I felt the cold, hard floor beneath me as I opened my eyes and pushed myself up. I glanced around to get my bearings. I seem to be in a cave or something similar to one. I can see a light in the distance that seems to be the cave entrance. I pick up my sword in my right hand before deciding to go towards the light. As I walk I go through my mind to discover if my class gave me anything new. I have some memories that weren''t in my head before. It''s a rather simple memory that doesn''t seem like an actual memory it''s more similar to being something instinctual. It seems to have the very basics for shadow manipulation. Out of curiosity I decide to try using my new found ability. I raise my hand and attempt to focus. I imagine the shadows moving, sliding, and darkening. The shadows around me seem to grow darker in color, and shift slightly. Subsequently I feel a slight strain on something. It feels as if I''m losing some kind of energy. I try to manipulate the darkened shadows to form a spike. However all I can manage is being able to congregate them in one spot of darkness. The strain grows and I quickly release my control on the shadows. Kinda like the mana in video games so I''ll just call it that for simplicity''s sake. Also seems like I could only use this to hide, for now at least... Is there a skills list or something? I decide to check if something like that exists. "Skills... Abilities..... Attacks..." With none of them working I decide to give up on the idea. I continue walking through the cave towards the light. After about five minutes of walking I arrive at the exit. The light quickly grows in strength as I walk towards the exit. I stop for a second to regain my vision before exiting. I''m greeted by an awe-inducing landscape. I seem to be rather high up as I have a great view. There''s a large luscious forest to the left that has massive trees. They seem around the same size than the redwoods I had heard about, if not bigger. To my right are rolling plains filled with fresh green grass. The sun rising over the landscape gives it a rather peaceful feeling. However the most obvious feature I can spot are the massive walls I see on the horizon. They seem to be at least 1,000 feet tall if not more and made of some type of stone. They seem to surround this whole place. The closer I look at the landscape the more lively it seems, with ancient ruins lying around, a strange tower in the distance and what seems to be the decimated remnants of a town quite nearby. The town is on the outskirts of the forest. However the town itself is lying in the plains. I can see some movement in the town, peaking my curiosity. As there isn''t an obvious path to take I decide to head to the destroyed town. It''s probably best if I sneak there rather than just waltz in. It could be a bandit hideout or something for all I know. I make my way towards the town not knowing what to expect. I try to be as aware of my surroundings as possible to prevent myself from dying from something stupid again. Thirty minutes into this journey I realize I''m rather thirsty. Finding no convenient solution in sight I place my hopes on the town. I mean if there''s movement that means there''s something alive and if something is alive that means water! I arrive at the outskirts of the town shortly after. I decide to try and figure out what the movement was while staying hidden to the best of my ability. I don''t think it would be a good idea to use the shadow manipulation in this situation as it would probably only attract attention in the daylight.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I head towards where I saw the movement, which was the town square, while hiding to the best of my ability. I sneak around running from wall to wall to hide behind and probably looking quite stupid all the while. The closer I get to the town square the louder it gets. The sounds are rather screechy and painful to listen to. I finally arrive close enough to the town square to get a look. I slowly peak my head around the corner of a collapsed house. The sight I was greeted with was not a pleasant one. A group of short, green, disgusting looking creatures with pointed ears were in a circle. I decide to just call them goblins as that''s what they most closely resemble. The half dressed goblins were surrounding two people. They seem to be chanting something as the two people fought each other desperately. It seems I was witnessing some kind of tournament the goblins held. The two people in question were both bloodied and bruised but one was much more injured than the other. One of them was a human looking man wielding a club and the other was a woman with bark like skin wielding a similar club. They seem extremely desperate as they fight, the woman completely weeping throughout the whole ordeal. I watch the spectacle, stuck in a feeling between curiosity and horror. The woman was winning and had substantially less injuries than the bruised and bleeding man. She continued utterly destroying him, making him more and more malformed by the minute. Her weeping never stopped once throughout this rather one sided massacre. Eventually she stopped when the man had stopped standing up. He also seems to have stopped breathing. His body was completely destroyed. Smashed arm, caved in head and blood pooling beneath him. I almost threw up from the sight. I quickly turned away, extremely nauseated. I sit leaning on the wall of the destroyed house for a minute to catch my breath. The sight of the man getting brutalized would probably be stuck in my dreams for quite some time to come. I close my eyes temporarily to calm myself. When I reopen them I''m greeted by the sight of a goblin standing directly in front of me and staring at me. It opened its mouth, to presumably shriek for its comrades and I reacted by putting all my strength behind my sword and impaling it through the chest. The blade let out a sickening *shunk* sound as it sunk inside of its chest. A loud, pained shriek echoed from its mouth as it died. "Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" I instantly start sprinting away at top speed. I glance behind me as I sprint only to find a small army of them at my heels. I look back ahead only to find myself at a dead end of an alley. When the hell did I get here? Seriously.... Well shit this might be game over already..... Guess I''ll try and go out fighting.... I turn back around tightly gripping my sword and getting into my best guess of what a fighting stance is. One of the goblins with a dagger charges towards me. I dodge it''s initial slash by backstepping and slash down at it''s head with my improved reach. As it sinks into it''s head I feel a sharp pain coming from my torso. It seems I was stabbed by a dagger. I quickly kick back the goblin who was the perpetrator and jerk my sword out of the previous goblin''s head. "Damn that hurts like hell..." I slash towards the goblin that stabbed me in an attempt for revenge only to get stabbed in my left shoulder. I slam the offender with my elbow backing up to the wall of the alley. The goblins suddenly part way and bow towards a taller and stronger looking goblin. The goblin in question was walking ominously towards me. He''s about my height and is wielding a rather large sword with both hands. He arrives before me raising his sword and slashing down before I can attempt to attack him. I try and use my sword to block in desperation. The sword is knocked from my hands due to the force of the impact. Panicking I try and back up even more only to meet the wall once more. The goblin ominously raises his sword once more causing panic to set in. I want out, I want out, I want out, I NEED OUT! GET ME OUT! I grit my teeth and raise my arms to block as the blow whistles towards me. I feel a humongous strain on the energy that I had dubbed mana. The sudden strain causes my mind to overload momentarily as I felt the shadows envelop me. My mind reduces to chaos and confusion as the darkness envelops both my body and my mind. For the third time that day I pass out. Chapter 3: The Great Escape A blaring headache was the only thing that greeted me as I awoke from my slumber. Not knowing how long I had been asleep I quickly struggled to sit up and look around. I seemed to be in the attic of one of the nearby houses. At least that was my first assumption because of the slanted ceiling above me and the collapsed side of the roof. It seems to have collapsed where the ladder originally was to get inside of the attic. Thankfully the part of the roof I was under seemed sturdy enough. At least for now anyways. My body still aches in pain but the bleeding from the stab wounds seemed to have stopped for now. Though the wounds did look like they would open quite easily. I decided to check my status to see if any great change had occurred from the fight. "Status" The blue window appeared before me once more.
Name: Lykos Nyx Race: Shadow Elf Class: Beginner Shadow Manipulator Lv 2
STATS: (3 To Distribute)
Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Mana Control: 10
Dexterity: 12 Wisdom: 10 Constitution: 8
Agility: 12 Charisma: 14 Vitality: 10
I decide to place 1 into intelligence, 1 into wisdom and one in agility. I do this just by thinking. No words are required to control it, which is rather disconcerting. My reasoning for choosing where to put the stat points is rather simple. Running faster would help me in my escape and I''m curious about the strange shadow magic I used previously. I mean it did save my life after all. Thinking back to it, that magic I accidentally used was something akin to a warp right? If so it obviously didn''t take me very far. The house I''m located in has a window in the attic that looks into the alley of where I almost lost my life. The alley is completely empty and the sun seems to be setting, showing that a decent amount of time had passed. The setting sun casts a large number of shadows around the town, perfect for my magic. The goblins seem to be searching the area in an attempt to find me, but since the house I was in had no way to get inside of the attic anymore, I was safe for now. My thirst from earlier had only grown. I was left with a completely parched throat, two stab wounds and a manageable level of hunger. This was not a very fruitful venture. I search the attic to try and find something to assist in my escape. All that I can find are a dresser, a person sized mirror, an old looking clock on the wall that somehow still works, and a small box containing some unidentifiable dried meat. I decide to not eat it for now as that would only increase my thirst. Oh I almost forgot about my new body! Time to check it out. I look at the mirror closely observing my new features. Like I earlier observed I have messy black hair that goes to the back of my neck. The tips of my hair have a slightly red tint. My bangs are almost to my eyes, but not quite. I have pale skin and pointed ears. My face is slightly effeminate giving off a ¡°pretty boy¡± feel to it. My eyes are the most startling feature of my new body, they¡¯re rather large and are a vivid red color. My body is rather small but not abnormally so. My apparent age seems to be somewhere around my early teens. What the hell happened to me? I mean I don¡¯t particularly mind the pretty face... but seriously¡­ I don¡¯t wanna be short¡­.. Maybe my body is just younger than my previous one or something¡­ I¡¯ll just tell myself that I¡¯m not fully grown yet¡­. Yah it¡¯s gotta be that! I mean elves do age slowly, right? RIGHT?! Coming to terms with my new appearance, I realize I need to get out of this situation somehow. Should I try and escape now or wait to find out if they have a pattern or patrol path or something¡­ I think I¡¯ll wait one day to see if they have any apparent patrol routes. Living up to my statement, I did my best to observe their patrol routes from the one window I had available. They seemed to have a patrol come by this area hourly, likely to either search for me or to protect themselves. Which one it was, I wasn¡¯t quite sure. Besides that they seem to have some goblins set up in certain house¡¯s second floor to act as spotters. They were equipped with some sort of horn thing carved from wood and sometimes a weapon. They shifted positions of the spotters around every four hours. The time of the shift of the spotters was around the same time when the patrol came by so there was little room for me to attempt my escape. I thought about attempting the strange ¡°warp¡± thing with shadows again but decided against it as I may accidentally warp somewhere I didn¡¯t mean to. I also might pass out again which contrary to how often it happens, I do not enjoy. Conveniently though the mana I used for the warp was completely recovered. After a day of making observations and a quick nap, I was ready for my escape attempt. I waited for the spotters to switch and for the patrol to pass by. I quickly opened the window, and slipped out, I hang onto the edge of the windowsill, and drop down as quietly as I can. I land on the ground crouching and rolling to absorb the impact. It seems I wasn¡¯t noticed yet.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Suddenly from where the town square was I hear a loud clamor and the sound of horns going off, they all seemed to be originating from that area. The goblins all start congregating towards the town square. Curious, I follow. I do my best to be careful as to not give myself away. Because it¡¯s sunset I stick to the shadows and darken the around me if a goblin gets too close. I currently can¡¯t hold it for longer than a minute before I start to grow tired. I could probably control the shadows for two minutes but I might pass out again if I do that, so I avoid overusing it. I arrive at the edge of the town square once more. The sight I see this time is actually kind of hopeful. What seems to be a ¡°party¡± of adventurers has appeared and are currently engaged with the goblins. They¡¯re striking the goblins down left and right, though not without sustaining injuries of their own. When one of them are injured the rest of them defend the injured while someone who appears to be the healer uses magic to close any wounds and assist them. The largest issue though seems to be how fast the healer is tiring. The more they heal the more tired they seem. Their mana doesn¡¯t seem to be in a good state and the amount of injuries sustained isn¡¯t dropping. The party consists of a noble looking women with blonde hair, wielding a large sword in one hand and a fairly large shield in the other, a quick, fishy looking man wielding a dagger and throwing what seems to be some kind of acid in a bottle, a hooded man in a robe casting some kind of fire attack magic and the healer who was kind looking girl with what seems to be bunny ears. Should I help them? I mean... I don¡¯t know how much of a help I could be¡­ The goblin numbers don¡¯t seem to be dwindling by much either.. I want to help this time though, I still feel kind of guilty about the other dude¡­ Deciding to do my best to help even if I couldn¡¯t do much, I snuck behind the goblins. Without a weapon I¡¯m basically completely useless so I decide to acquire one first. I search around for any sort of weapon lying around. I spot my sword lying next to something akin to a throne. I assume the throne was built for the goblin boss. It seems the goblin boss wasn¡¯t here yet for whatever reason as his sword wasn¡¯t there and there was nobody around the throne. I quickly swipe my sword before returning to the shadows. Shortly after, I arrive back to where the party was. I join the fray by slipping through the shadows to arrive to where the conflict was taking place. I step into the adventurer¡¯s lines unnoticed. To prevent myself from getting labeled an enemy I quickly explain myself. ¡°I¡¯m here, have no idea what¡¯s going on, and was assaulted by the goblins. So I¡¯m on your side.¡± The noble woman who seems to be the leader just nods slightly, focusing almost completely on the combat. I stand besides the women and the shifty man slashing towards a goblin charging towards me. My sword slices into its shoulder causing it to let out a shriek of pain. It slashes its rusted shortsword towards me in retaliation. I jerk my sword free and stumble back in attempt to dodge. The slash however still opens a shallow cut on my chest. I grit my teeth and withstand the pain. I slash my sword out once more, this time decapitating the goblin I previously attacked. Another goblin just takes its place. The battle continues this way for a while as I slowly sustain more and more minor injuries and kill more goblins. Although i kill the least goblins unless you include the healer. ¡°Why don¡¯t we retreat for our safety?¡± I suggest hoping that they¡¯ll agree. The noble-looking women answers. ¡°We¡¯re here for our friends. They were captured by the goblins.¡± ¡°Are they by chance a woman with bark skin and a human man?¡± I feel slightly nauseous as I realize what likely happened. ¡°Exactly¡­ How do you know that?¡± A feeling of guilt flows through me before quickly disappearing. I could have done something¡­ I don¡¯t regret my actions though. I shouldn¡¯t put someone else''s life who I never met before my own. ¡°They were forced to fight each other, the man¡¯s dead and I assume the woman is too, though I¡¯m not sure about her.¡± I answer as levelly as I can manage. She grits her teeth tears slightly forming at the corners of her eyes. ¡°Fine¡­ We retreat for now¡­¡± She glances at her comrades before continuing ¡°My party and I will avenge them later, and we¡¯ll also see if our other party member is still alive¡­¡± We slowly retreat while fending off the following goblins. Eventually we arrive at the exit of the town but standing there blocking our way is the goblin boss. Standing at my height wielding his claymore. He raises his weapon standing ominously before us. ¡°Shorty, you take care of it, we¡¯ll fend off the goblins so we don¡¯t get overrun.¡± the shifty man instructs me. ¡°Eh? I don¡¯t think I can fight that thing alone¡­¡± ¡°Well if you don¡¯t, we¡¯ll get overrun by all these green bastards¡­ We all have our hands full here and you¡¯re the only one we can let and still maintain our defenses.¡± I glare at him slightly but have to admit I¡¯m doing significantly less than the rest of the party. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± I ready my sword and charge towards my enemy. My first slash is easily deflected by his sword. He kicks me backwards with his foot before slashing towards my head in an attempt to decapitate me. I swiftly duck under the slash before charging forward with a stab towards his stomach. He dodges to the right of my stab, so I only graze him slightly. He slashes downwards towards my open back to end me. Let¡¯s see how well this works. I direct almost all of my remaining mana towards the shadow at my feet using all of my willpower to appear behind the goblin boss. It succeeds as I sink into the shadow. It¡¯s a rather strange experience if you¡¯re conscious during the process. It feels as if I sink into a world of nothingness before rising back up from it. It¡¯s almost like going into a dark pool of nothingness before breaching the surface. I rise from the goblin¡¯s own shadow slashing quickly with my sword to decapitate him. My sword slides through his neck with difficulty but it manages to succeed. I drop to one knee from the strain on my mana. I drop my own sword and grab the goblin boss¡¯ claymore as it seems higher quality. A feeling of exhaustion overtakes me as I find myself falling over. The ground rushes towards me as my legs collapse. My head hurts, my body hurts, everything hurts¡­. Shit if I die this way that would be really embarrassing¡­ Unable to move my body I feel myself getting picked up. I¡¯m flung over someone¡¯s shoulder as we retreat. It seems to be the noble woman¡¯s shoulder as she was the only one with metal armor and I can feel her metal shoulder pad digging uncomfortably into my wounds. It¡¯s better than being dead though. After a while of this rough carrying I¡¯m set down. ¡°Thanks for carrying me¡­¡± ¡°It was repayment for your help. Think nothing of it.¡± I hear her coldly answer. Seems like I made it out alive, that¡¯s a relief. I¡¯m not going into another goblin camp ever again, unless I somehow get strong enough to beat one hundred of them easily¡­ The healer girl approaches me while I contemplated and heals me. I swiftly thank her for the help. After she was done she quietly left, tears in the corner of her eyes. I guess she¡¯s grieving¡­ I hope stuff like this isn¡¯t an everyday occurance in this world but I can¡¯t deny the possibility. I glance over to the rest of the party, and they seem to be silently making camp. None of them dare to break the silence. The shifty man throws me a bedroll as it¡¯s already getting quite late and tells me ¡°Don¡¯t worry about watch or anything, we got that covered, you rest¡­ You did well for a beginner, night.¡± ¡°Thanks, and goodnight.¡± I unroll the bedroll i just obtained and curl up inside. Shortly after I fall asleep while watching the flickering fire that was made. Chapter 4: The Companion and The Town I slowly woke up from my deep slumber. My body, while still weary, was in a much better state than yesterday. That healing magic had worked wonders, it¡¯d be nice to be able to heal myself¡­ Deciding that I should probably get up I force myself into a sitting position. I glance around the camp only to discover the party from yesterday seem to be gathered and were planning something. After a bit of deliberation, I decide to go and see what they¡¯re discussing, after rolling up the bedroll of course. I walk over to the group and give them a small greeting as I sit down on the ground. The shifty man nods to me before going back to their discussion. It seems like they¡¯re making a plan to attack the goblin camp again. They seem to be in a consensus that they need to at least check if their other party member is still alive. I decide to give them the info about the goblin¡¯s watch just in case they didn¡¯t already know it. ¡°About the goblin¡¯s watch, they have spotters that switch every four hours and I¡¯m assuming hourly patrols. The patrols come along the same time that the spotters switch. Also just so you know I don¡¯t plan to participate in this.¡° I interject. ¡°Thank you for the information, we knew about the patrols, but not about the spotters, where are they located?¡± the noble looking women replies. ¡°In certain houses on the second floors, I¡¯m not sure which houses exactly but I thought it best that you at least knew that much. Aside from that, do you know the closest way to a safe town or something?¡± She nods slightly before responding ¡°Head northward until you arrive at the forest, than search around the outskirts of the forest for a large boulder with a star carved into it. After you locate it, go directly into the forest, you should find a creek that you can follow to the town. If they ask about you just say that Rayna sent you.¡± I nod before deciding to introduce myself because I already learned her name. ¡°I¡¯m Lykos by the way, kind of odd name, but that¡¯s just because my mom was an archaeologist.¡± She nods before handing me a small pouch. ¡°It has enough food and water to get you to town safely, good luck.¡± ¡°You too.¡± She nods and turns around, preparing to pick up camp. I take that as my queue to leave, and I start heading northward towards the forest. I take the claymore with me. It seems they had carried it along with me when I was injured. I was currently walking through the plains, the grass is actually taller than me in some places so I have to advance slowly and also make sure I¡¯m heading the right direction quite regularly. I sip on the water I was given while I walk to quench my thirst from yesterday. It¡¯s a rather soothing feeling after not drinking water for a day. After about two hours of peaceful walking I decide to sit down and have a quick lunch in a small clearing. I devour the food quickly due to my hunger, though it tastes rather plain. While I eat, I notice some movement in the grass that seems to be coming towards me. Growing wary I quickly pack the food and pick up my claymore in both hands. It¡¯s quite heavy and a tad unwieldy for me, I''m surprised how easily the goblin used it. So I decide that if I level up again, that I should probably put some more stat points into strength. Emerging from the bushes and standing at a rather short height, even shorter than myself is what appears to be a young girl. She has a rather adorable appearance and large mouse ears sit on top of her head. She has short brown hair and large black eyes. I lower my weapon and greet her. ¡°I¡¯m Lykos Nyx, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°U-um¡­ I¡¯m Chisai¡­. Chisai Shira¡­¡± ¡°Chisai it is then. So did you need something?¡± I look over her noticing she seems rather battered. She seems quite young, perhaps pre-teens. She doesn¡¯t seem to have anyone with her either¡­ Am I supposed to look after her? I mean There¡¯s no one else here... ¡°U-uuummmm¡­¡± She shyly looks away. ¡°Did you want some food and water or something?¡± She nods aggressively as I hand her some food and the waterskin. She quickly eats what she was given, and drinks the rest of the water. ¡°T-thank you¡­ I¡¯ll do my best to repay you!¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I nod and decide to take her words with a grain of salt. After we finish I get up and offer her a suggestion because of her apparent nervousness. ¡°Wanna come with me to town? I just figured out how to get there myself.¡± She nods vigorously once more. Taking that as a sign of agreement, I start walking towards the forest, glancing behind myself to make sure she''s following. We continue towards the forest calmly. How are children treated in the town? Is anyone gonna take care of her? Are orphanages run well? Is she young enough for an orphanage to take her in? Would I be able to take care of her? These questions and many more plague my mind as I stress over my small traveling companion. We arrive at the boulder inscribed with a star that was described by Rayna. After that we search for the stream, quickly locating and delving into the forest. We followed the path through the large, tranquil forest. The massive trees loomed over us, though the branches still let patches of light hit the soft forest floor. It was an enjoyable walk, we drank from the creek if we grew thirsty and snacked on the food I was given if we got hungry. We arrive at the town around nightfall. As we approach the walled town we were called out to by a guard standing on the walls. ¡°Halt! State your name and purpose!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Lykos, this is Chisa. We¡¯re here for a place to stay and we were sent by Rayna.¡± The guard instantly brightens up at the name, and hurries to let us in. The walls themselves seem to be constructed from wood and use the massive trees as parts of the walls. There are a couple of houses sitting up in said trees but the majority seems to be on the ground. The whole town is a rather beautiful sight to see. The guard lets us enter safely before closing the gates behind us. ¡°So, are you both new to this world? Or are you just new to this area?¡± ¡°I¡¯m new to this world¡± I glance over to Chisai who gives me a quick nod before continuing. ¡°She is as well.¡± The guard sighs slightly in exasperation, before explaining ¡°I suggest you both meet with the town elder if you wish to learn about the world. He can also explain to you our town and its rules. It¡¯s right over there.¡± He points to a rather nondescript building made of wood. I nod towards the man, thanking him as we head towards the building. We quickly arrive at the building and I knock twice on the wooden door. Shortly after I hear some shuffling, and the door opens, revealing the old man inside. He seemed human, had a long beard and was dressed in a rather plain outfit. He greeted us with a kind smile ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Earnest, the town elder¡± He bows towards us politely. I return his bow before replying ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too. I¡¯m Lykos and this is Chisai. We¡¯d like a rundown on how the basics of this world, and also to learn the rules of your town.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll start with this world. It¡¯s a strange place and purpose is unknown. The goal of it however, seems to be to strengthen us or test us in some way. To test us they put us in these large areas surrounded by massive walls and give us a goal. The goal is usually a boss fight or something similar. For example if we wished to fell the current walls around us we would have to fight and defeat the boss that resides in the old tower. We have a time limit in the form of the monsters themselves. More and more arrive or are created from magic daily. A large majority of the monsters originate from which we call a dungeon. If you destroy the dungeon core it buys us some time before it restarts itself. After the walls of an area are destroyed the current area your in forces a mass teleport on all of the people inside. We wake up in a new area that starts of easy but eventually gets up to a difficulty higher than the previous. If our numbers dwindle to much they drop in some new people and lower the difficulty for a while.¡± I absorb as much of the information as I can before the elder continues ¡°For our town, our rules are rather simple. Work for the town and you recieve from the town. It¡¯s pretty easy. The only universal currency in this world are dungeon symbols, which you receive for defeating difficult enemies or clearing dungeons. Those are all the basics I believe that are necessary.¡± ¡°Thank you, honestly it really helped. But what about Chisai? Are there any places for a child to stay?¡± The elder looks grim as he responds ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, and everyone who would take care of her are already either dead or busy with the village. The rest are all fighting to get to the next area. I trust that you can take care of her. Please do your best.¡± I grimace slightly before nodding. I wouldn¡¯t abandon her, though I do plan on being an adventurer so would I take her with me? Hm, I¡¯ll have to think about it. I give a small smile to Chisai before turning back to the elder. ¡°Is there any place we can stay for the night?¡¯ ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go set it up for you two. Fol-¡± Suddenly a loud horn blows from outside. The elder¡¯s face darkens considerably before turning towards me. ¡°Can I ask for your assistance if it¡¯s necessary? Rayna wouldn¡¯t give you her name if you weren¡¯t somewhat capable.¡± I nod in response. The elder goes outside, heading towards the walls and I follow, claymore in hand. We quickly arrive. When we do there seems to be a large group outside the walls arguing with the guards on post. The tensions seem to be rising quickly and both sides are armed. Deciding it would probably lead to conflict I mentally prepare myself in case it¡¯s required of me to kill someone. It would likely be quite different from killing a monster after all. I close my eyes to calm myself. After a couple of seconds I open them glaring towards the gate with a determined expression set on my face. Let''s do this! Chapter 5: A Battle and A Surprise I quickly glance behind me to ensure Chisai¡¯s safety. ¡°Hey, Chisai, would you mind hiding somewhere until the fights over? I don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± She looks slightly hesitant before nodding. As she goes to find a place hide she adds ¡°B-But if you¡¯re in danger... I¡¯ll help you. I-It would be a way to repay you after all!¡± That would kind of make hiding useless. If that¡¯s the case I just won¡¯t let myself get into danger of any sort! Besides that though, wonder what¡¯s going on between the potential attackers and the defenders? I turn my attention back to the argument between the two sides. I climb up the wall quickly and look down at the opposing side. ¡°Well you¡¯re the assholes who stole the only safe place to make a town!¡± ¡°It¡¯s first come first serve, anyways why don¡¯t you idiots just join the town?!¡± ¡°That would be a sign of disrespect. I WOULD NEVER BETRAY OUR LEADER!¡± ¡°Well isn¡¯t that a shame? It seems we¡¯ll have to settle this with our strength then.¡± The guard arguing with them looks over to the elder. ¡°Is it alright with you if we settle this with a battle than?¡± The elder wearily nods in compliance. The guard turns back towards the other group of people. ¡°If you want this place, than COME AND GET IT!¡± The defenders let out a war cry and finish preparing their defenses. ¡°Perfect, that sounds like a great way to settle it. Everybody, ATTACK!¡± A large roar echoes from the attackers as they charge towards the walls. *BAM* They crash into the walls, using siege weapons in an attempt to get through the wall. A couple of them use ladders in an attempt to go over the walls. However the defenders kill anyone who comes over the ladders and push the ladders off the wall when possible. The defenders fire a rain of arrows down on the attackers. It wipes out a small amount of them, as they had a large group of warriors with shields to block the majority of them. Following the wave of arrows the defenders fired a massive burst of magic. There was a large variety of magics, ranging from an acid burst, a large fireball and a massive icicle. The attackers raised what seemed to be some sort of defense magic to block the spells. A few unlucky souls however were still killed. They advance towards the wall with a large battering ram. They protected it to the best of their ability as spells flew towards it. A group of mages stood together chanting some sort of magic on the defender¡¯s side. Shortly after a massive bolt of fire launched towards the battering ram. A large, holy looking, glowing shield rose conjured from thin air before the massive bolt of fire impacted the ram. A massive explosion ensued and I was slightly pushed back from the wind pressure. The dust cleared revealing the ram unhurt. What the hell? How am I supposed to fight with people of that level? Can I even defeat one of their common soldiers? I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out¡­. I jump off of the wall into the town area. I stand away from the gate, claymore in hand. I glance to where Chisai hid before looking back at the gate. It buckled under the ram¡¯s force and seemed ready to collapse at any moment. I focus on my mana willing it to flow throughout me so I could access it faster. A grim expression settles on my face as I glance around. Only a small group of soldiers were inside preparing to defend. It seems like most were on the walls. *BAM* The gate buckles dangerously once more. The battering ram swings once more a large crack echoing throughout the town as time seems to slow. The gate collapses to the ground. Standing in the debris are the enemies.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°CHAAAAARRRGGEE!!!!¡± The enemies flood into the town. One particularly average looking warrior charges me. They wield a shield and sword. As soon as we I get in range I slash towards him using my claymore¡¯s greater reach in an attempt to stop the fight before it even started. However it was easily blocked by their shield. I seriously need more strength¡­ I¡¯ll do my best to level up faster! They respond to my blow with a slash aimed at my torso. I dodge backwards avoiding the blow. I respond with another slash but it¡¯s parried by the shield, leaving me completely open. They stab straight towards me. Unable to dodge I attempt to use the shadow warp. Around half of my mana leaves my body in an instant and I feel myself sinking downwards. Shortly after I rise from the shadow behind my foe and slash towards his open back. Before my attack hits however, I feel a massive force smash into me from the side. It seems a few of my ribs cracked as I¡¯m flung towards a nearby building. DAMN! That hurts like hell. Before I crash into the wall I focus on the shadows around the walls and use them to fly straight into another shadow warp. I use the remainder of mana in that one move. It seems I don¡¯t have enough for anything else in this fight. I sink through the shadows before quickly rising from them again. I''m back in the position I started in. The thing that hit me seems to be a giant, bald and muscular man wielding a massive warhammer. My original opponent stands before me shield at the ready. He seems more wary of me than before, likely due to my use of the shadows. The large man however charges me and swings towards me once more. I roll to the side to avoid the blow. The area I was just standing in looks like a small crater¡­. I should probably not get hit by a full power blow. My ribs still hurt like hell from before but I manage to ignore the pain for now, probably due to adrenaline. I decide to go on the defensive and only strike if I spot any openings, as I still don¡¯t wanna die quite yet. I dodge another slash from the warrior, but as I regain my bearings I feel a massive fist smash into my face. I¡¯m sent stumbling backwards before falling over. It seems like the large man gave up on hitting me with the warhammer due to its slow speed. I start to struggle to my feet but I collapse once more from the pain. Shit¡­. It hurts so much¡­. Why do I have to fight these people? The large man approaches me, warhammer in hand, with large, ominous steps. I continue trying to struggle to my feet, but sadly fail. I see movement in the corner of my eye but am in too much pain to register what it actually is. The large man arrives, raising his hammer. I put up my claymore in front of me as a feeble attempt at defense. Before the blow hits a figure slides in front of me wielding a shield as large as they are. The hammer slams into the shield letting out a gong-like noise. The figure wielding the shield is pushed back slightly but stands tall. I finally manage to struggle to my feet and see the face of who saved me. ¡°Eh? Chisai? I- I¡¯m interrupted by a fit of coughing before I continue thought you were staying safe?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let my friend die!¡± The large man, not one to listen to dialogue slams down once more with his hammer. Chisai blocks his attacks with an unwavering figure. Though she does seem to be growing more tired from each subsequent attack. I pick up my claymore once more, and dash to the side of the shield. After all I don''t wanna be an embarassment who did nothing. I swing in an arc towards the large man. He, being to focused on breaking the shield''s guard takes a large cut across his arm and chest. He roars angrily in response towards before swinging at me once more. I dash back to Chisai and she blocks any blows that he sends my way. ¡°STOP¡­ HIDING¡­ YOU¡­ COWARDS!!¡± The large man shouts in between swings. The swings however stop quickly. I glance from behind the shield to see the reason. The large man¡¯s head is no longer connected to his body. It¡¯s laying on the ground¡­ Our savior is the village chief, standing there as if nothign just happened. ¡°Thanks for saving us¡­.¡± I manage to struggle out in my surprise. He nods before turning around and walks towards the horde of enemies. He dances through their attacks, stabbing and slashing at any openings. It¡¯s almost like it¡¯s a performance. He quickly ends all of the attackers that had gotten inside the village. After he''s finished, he leaps to the top of the wall easily, even though it¡¯s around thirty feet tall. Well¡­. Can¡¯t say I expected an old man to be that strong¡­ I glance over to Chisai who seems tired, but fine. I assume she got the shield from one of the defenders who had perished in the battle. Didn¡¯t really expect her to be so strong either. Hearing a loud voice from the wall I look at the source. The village chief seems to be saying something. ¡°Attackers, if you wish for more losses, we can gladly indulge you. However I strongly suggest against it as it would weaken us both for the coming monsters. It is your choice to make.¡± It seems his display of strength had earned him quite a bit of respect from the enemy. The enemies heeded his words but not before throwing some insults and promises for revenge that likely wouldn¡¯t be kept. He calmly watches them leave before turning back to the village. ¡°Well now, It¡¯s time for clean-up and healing, is it not?¡± His words seem to set the whole village into action. Chapter 6: Resting and Preparing After the battle was over I was lead to a small medical building to get looked over. I was given light healing magic to reset my ribs and recommended at least a week to rest my body. I was forbidden for any hard work for at least five days though. Chisai was in a good condition and stayed with me as I recovered. We chatted a lot and I discovered a variety of things about her. Her class is called ¡°Beginner Guardian¡± and gave her the basic knowledge on how to wield shields. She was also determined to be an adventurer like me. Also, her actual age seems to be fifteen even though she looks around twelve. I kind of understand her pain. I explain my actual age as well to her just in case she thought what I thought about her. The place we were given to stay was a small hut with basic commodities. Although it didn¡¯t have running water or anything like that. It was definitely better than sleeping outside with nothing at least. I was visited by the elder who invited Chisai and I to a training group, for the newer people. Chisai and I agreed and we were told to meet in the town square in a weeks time. Meanwhile I experimented with my shadow magic in an attempt to learn more about it. My discoveries were rather interesting. First it seems shadows are required to be where I¡¯m using my magic to be able use my magic. Second I could use two shadow warps and have a small amount of mana left, or I could use basic shadow control for about one hundred and ten seconds before running completely dry on mana.Third and lastly It took me ten and a half hours to completely regain my mana. I also slightly refined my control over the shadows. My magic wasn¡¯t quite to the point of being able to make a spike of shadow, but it had definitely improved. After a relaxing week the time for the training group. I woke up early in the morning to prepare. I first woke Chisai before having a hearty breakfast of eggs and bacon with her. It was provided by the town. I grabbed my claymore and she grabbed her shield. After our preparation we went directly to the town square. When we arrived we noticed a group of people standing with the village chief. I walk over with Chisai at my side and throw out a greeting. ¡°Hello chief, and hello to everyone else as well.¡± The group¡¯s attention shifts towards us as a result. The chief responds shortly after ¡°Ah, Lykos and Chisai, seems you made it in time. Anyways let me introduce you to the group you¡¯ll be working with.¡± He goes on to introduce the group to both of us and us to them. After introductions are finished we can ask questions about this world or anything in general. I decide to ask something that had been on my mind for quite some time. ¡°So do classes do anything else other than just give us basic starting knowledge?¡± ¡°Yes, they can evolve and grow with you at certain key levels. At every key level your class will have something important happen to it. It could be a new ability or an improvement to an ability you already have. Most classes grow more and more unique as you reach these key levels.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Hmm, that makes me curious about what my class will become.. ¡°What are the key levels?¡± ¡°Generally they are every five levels, though there are exceptions. I¡¯m currently level fifty, you can use that for a way to measure your current power. The attackers were generally around their twenties or thirties in levels.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for the info.¡± ¡°Now, everyone get into pairs and spar. I have a set of wooden weapons over here that you can choose from. We¡¯ll have a large number of spars for you to try all of the weapon types.¡± I paired up with an adult that had strange glyphs all over their body. It seems their race or class allowed them to imbue certain attributes in their body using tattoos as a medium. It increased their physical stats but at the cost of permanent mana reduction. At least that¡¯s what they told me. We sparred with a variety of weapons, the strange man usually winning. Though I did win a couple of times when he went with a weapon he was poorly matched with. After testing out such a large variety of weapons I discovered my favorites. I enjoyed wielding a scythe the most, even if it was awkward sometimes. Though also enjoyed long swords, short swords, claymores though they were tiring and spears. I decided to obtain a scythe that was of decent quality and wieldable as soon as possible. After the sparring was complete we were brought back together by the village chief. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ve all decided on weapons I can get everyone a basic order for their chosen weapon from the blacksmith. Though you would owe us if you decide to order a weapon. We would accept a payment of two dungeon symbols or one month of work for the town. Work can include going on hunts, building, cooking or anything similar. I¡¯ll give everyone five minutes to decide.¡± Taking in this info I decide to ask Chisai about her opinion on it first before deciding. I¡¯m also curious if she will accept it, and if she does what she would want made. I walk over to Chisai and ask ¡°So, what do you think we should do? I rather like the scythe, and am considering accepting so I can obtain one of decent quality.¡± A thoughtful look appears on her face and her mouse ears twitch slightly as if deep in thought. I can¡¯t help but find her focused expression rather adorable. ¡°Hmmmmm, I-I think you should accept it¡­ I¡¯m not sure what weapon I would want though¡­ maybe a spear or something? O-Of course we would continue partying for this right?!¡± ¡°Of course, I think we make a good team!¡± I guess I¡¯ll accept and try to get some dungeon symbols. I decide to accept the offer from the village chief. After we accept we each tell the chief which weapon we want. I decide to look around for a way to get some form of armor as well while I wait for my weapon to be made. Chisai alos ordered a spear to go with her shield. I find a rather quaint armor store and ask the man at the counter my question. ¡°Do you have any cheap and light-weight armor for someone my size. Also do you have any cheap, medium to heavy armor for my companions size?¡± ¡°I do have both. The armor for you would cost one dungeon symbol and the armor for the girl would cost two.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll return when we have the money to buy them. Thanks for the help.¡± Damn, everything seems to require dungeon symbols¡­ Chisai and I return to our hut and wait for our weapons to be finished. We decide to set out on our dungeon raid as soon as the weapons are ready. We do need to get plenty of dungeon symbols after all.