《A World Without Them》


 Chp 1 The Rumor of Gods

    The Rumor of Gods


    I grew up in Haruna village by myself. I lived by myself since something happened to the rest of my family. The chief had told me that my family was all killed out in the woods while on a trip. He never told me the particulars about it, and ever since then I¡¯ve been on my own in this world. I have always heard stories of gods and higher beings, but none came to fruition until I was seventeen in Haruna village.


    Haruna village was nothing special on the map. In fact, if there weren¡¯t a map I¡¯m pretty sure nobody would ever find it because of how small it was. Haruna village consisted of twenty houses all made from wood and the central hall where things are decided on. The hall was a simple building, however it was rather large. I hear there are buildings far bigger than it in the bigger cities. My house was the smallest of them all since I couldn¡¯t afford to keep a whole house organized. It had lots of decorations though because when i was a kid I grew into a habit of collecting ornaments and the like along with my friend Ritsuko.


    Today I was supposed to go to the Hall for an errand. Once I got in the hall, I looked at our chief and glanced over him, since I have only seen him a few times before. He is a man probably around forty years old and he is rather muscular. He looks like he could easily kill a troll if he had to. After looking at him with his shirt off, this time I realized I never noticed the scar on his chest. It stretched from the top of his collarbone all the way down to his belly button and there were smaller scratches off to his sides. I asked him how he got his scar and he said, ¡°Maeno, I got this from a scaled beast long ago when I worked as a goods transporter. It came out of nowhere and sliced my chest open and stole all of our cargo. After it left someone said they had spotted it, but it was moving so fast that no details could be made out on it¡±.


    The Village Chief looked at me and said, ¡°Maeno, I have an important mission for you.Go to Barui and have them send a shipment of supplies to Haruna Village. Tell them I will pay them after the shipment is delivered.Look for a man named Glen Baitor once you get into Barui. He is the person in charge of supply deliveries.¡± The chief looked at me and said, ¡°Once you complete this task report back here and give me any new information that the guild hall has.¡±


    I looked around the room for a brief second and he says ¡°Maeno, I have something for you that I should¡¯ve given you years ago. Your dad found this and said that you would need it should you ever leave the village.¡±


    I looked at the object in his hand with curiosity since I didn¡¯t know what it was. The stone itself felt strangely familiar even though I had never seen it before. It looked like some form of carved rock with black painting all over it. It had one star and the number five in the middle, along with a long, curved L that looped around it. I reached over and gently took it out of his hand. The stone didn¡¯t seem to be anything special, but my dad probably knew more about it than I did.


    If magic did exist this, would probably be considered a magic item. I put it into my pocket and started to leave the hall. Before I leave entirely, the chief tells me ¡°Maeno, be careful when you leave the village. I hear monster activity has gotten worse¡±.


    I nod and continue out of the hall. I look down at the stone again and find that the markings are gone. However there is a word on the rock. The word is Lucci, it could possibly be a name. I shrug and put the rock into my pocket and head over to Ritsuko¡¯s house.


    Ritsuko is a brownish red haired girl who always wears girly clothing and is into everything that she thinks is cute. She is around my age and I¡¯ve known her since we were five. She always wears the black ribbon in her hair that I gave her we were eight, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen her take it out. Ritsuko is fairly nice to me but she doesn¡¯t really like anyone else.


    She lives with her grandparents because originally her parents ditched her in Haruna Village on a trip to see her grandparents. Once they got into town they left her with her grandparents and her brother. She didn¡¯t like living there, but since she didn¡¯t have anywhere else to go she stayed there. Her brother once he was old enough eventually left as well leaving her with her grandparents who died when she was eleven.


    Before her brother left he trained her in swordsmanship. She didn¡¯t really talk much about her training so it was probably pretty bad. After he left though she continued training in all of the things he taught her. However since she didn¡¯t have an actual sparring partner she never improved past what he trained her. She always came with me on my journey¡¯s and carried that sword with her. She did this because she thinks I¡¯m defenseless.


    I am going to need Ritsuko¡¯s help on this journey because she knows how to fight with a sword, and I don¡¯t. Ritsuko tells me to wait so she can get changed before we leave. She comes back out in a black cloak, some light armour consisting of black leather, and cloth. She has a sword in her sheath at her side along with the bags she packed for us.


    Ritsuko asks me ¡°Do you need anything else before we head out.¡±


    I of course tell her ¡°No¡± and we embark off on our journey heading out of the village. It should be roughly two or three hours walking distance before we get to where we need to go. That would be the large city of Barui. I take a glance at Ritsuko to see how she is doing and from the looks of it she is doing well. She seems happy that I invited her along. That may also be because of the fact she has always wanted to go to a big city like Barui.


    As we are walking I decide to take in the view. The trees are lush and green. The plants are just as vibrant and lively as I remember them. There aren¡¯t any animals that I would normally see. This does not upset me, but it is a tad bit unsettling. The forest should have some form of life, but I haven¡¯t heard any life from it since we left the village. I continue walking on the path right next to Ritsuko and pull out the stone again. I look down and nothing more has changed. The stone still says Lucci on it and the markings are still gone. Ritsuko sees me pull out the stone and looks at it briefly.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    She asks me ¡°Maeno, what is that?¡±


    ¡°No Idea¡± I respond. ¡°It changed though after I touched it and now it just has a name on the stone. I don¡¯t know how to pronounce it though.¡±


    She says ¡°It looks like it is pronounced Lu--chi from what I can tell.¡± I nod and try it out for myself. I say Lucci and then say it again so I can get used to it.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    We have been walking for a while by now and we decided to stop for lunch. Ritsuko pulls out the bread and cheese she brought for us along with some freshly collected berries. The bread has gone a tad stale so it¡¯s hard to chew, but it isn¡¯t all that bad. The cheese is rich and flavorful, but has a slimy texture to it when it¡¯s chewed. After we finish the bread and cheese we eat the berries. The berries taste sweet, but were a little ripe. While we are finishing off the remnants of what Ritsuko packed for us, I start small talk with her. I tell her ¡°The weather¡¯s pretty nice today¡±, and then ask her thoughts about the task the chief gave to me and this weird stone my dad gave me. Ritsuko simply thinks the chief gave me the task to make sure I was competent enough to go journeying on my own and as for the stone she only has a faint idea about it.


    Ritsuko says ¡°I know a story about some stones that I heard long ago¡±. ¡°It was about how gods couldn¡¯t intervene in the lives of mortals so they sent all twenty of each of their familiars amongst the world. In total, there were three hundred and twenty familiars, but only three hundred were actually known of.¡±


    ¡°There were sixteen gods and each god had twenty familiars. All total there were three hundred-twenty familiars, but only three hundred of them were ever known. However the sixteenth god was said to be death and wouldn¡¯t send his familiars out to find masters, but rather decided he would choose who possessed his power. Different sects were formed under each god, but eventually when the gods no longer showed people started questioning if they were ever even real at all¡±, Ritsuko said sullenly.


    ¡°So as of now nobody believes in those gods anymore and because of it the gods powers weakened. Truthfully they may have even decayed to the point they could no longer fend for themselves so It wouldn¡¯t be hard to imagine that they don¡¯t show up anymore¡±. Ritsuko said.


    ¡°Do you believe in the gods?¡± I ask Ritsuko.


    She says ¡°Yes, Maeno, I believe in them, but I wish they would reappear some day.¡±


    I say ¡°Well, then I believe in them too.¡± she looks up and smiles at me. We get up and continue walking toward Barui. The rest of the trip is completely uneventful on the way to Barui. When we get there I realize this city is far bigger than I originally thought:


    Barui is humongous compared to Haruna village. It¡¯s regular business buildings are twice the size of our central hall and the guild halls are way bigger. I get so caught up in the sights I almost lose sight of Ritsuko and have to run to catch up. She was the one who carried the map of the town after all. Once I catch up to her is I ask her if she knows where the shipment and trading good place is.


    She quietly continues studying the map while she shakes her head. I look around through all the department stores. Everything in these stores are super expensive. I¡¯m not even sure I¡¯ve seen one hundred pecunia before. I continue window shopping while Ritsuko tries to figure out where we are trying to go.


    ¡°Everything about the big city is awesome!¡± I remark, looking at how well made the cobblestone streets are, and how nice all of the buildings look. Everything is made from some form of timber here except the castle, but how they got it to look so pretty is beyond me.


    Ritsuko finally finds the trading center Chief Ranga asked us to find, and it appears to be located inside of a guild hall. We head over to the guild hall and the outside is so shocking I can¡¯t even move to bring myself to go into it. I want to stand outside and stare forever at the guild hall.


    The walls are polished so cleanly that they sparkle. The stones that make up the bottom supports were neatly laid, and cut so well that you could not tell where one stone stops and another ends. The wood that makes up the large doors looks more expensive than the cost of our village. The roof on it appears to be one solid black stone and the inside is even more impressive.


    The whole inside is clean, and everything looks eloquent from the candlesticks used to light the room, to the rugs that people walked on. This whole place is perfectly laid out. The guild has the appeal of a palace. Even though so many people must come through daily I don¡¯t even see a speck of dust, or dirt anywhere in this guild hall. The sign on the guild hall is Dragon¡¯s Fang.


    After I regain my senses I look and see Ritsuko. She is also in awe of it. I myself have never even seen ornamental candles, but I¡¯m sure these are definitely the expensive kind. I look around for the trading part of the guild hall. It is to our left further up the stairs. I head up there along with Ritsuko.


    Neither of us talk because of how much we admire the place in its glory. Once we actually reach the trading center inside of the guild hall I ask for a person named Glen Baitor at the front desk area. He says to me you need Mr. Baitor? Yes, I respond our Chief Ranga from Harun village wanted me to come and ask for the next convoy to drop off the items needed at the village and that we should pay them when they get there.


    The man looks up at me and says ¡°Ah Haruna Village huh? Hold on a minute let me go find Mr. Baitor and I shall be up here again shortly.¡± He leaves the room and I look over at Ritsuko. She seems to be thinking so I decide to leave her alone. A few minutes later the man upfront says ¡°Glen can¡¯t come up here he is busy at the moment. However he said he would get your delivery set up today.¡±


    I then ask ¡°Do you know of the recent news?¡±


    He responds, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t?¡± and I give him a questioning glance.


    The man looks up at me and says ¡°It¡¯s just a rumor right now, but it¡¯s spreading like wildfire. Supposedly the gods made an appearance and are coming back.¡±


    I am in shock from this news and ask ¡°Ok, do you have anything else?¡±


    He replies with ¡°Other than the gods returning, people claim someone killed a god and became one. The other part to the rumor said killing the gods should be easy since they are weak and so here in a month or two guilds are going to start going on raids and are going to start trying to hunt the remaining gods for a chance at immortality. Magic has also started springing back up again so everyone thinks that the gods are definitely back¡± the man says.


    I thank the man for his information and leave the guild hall. I look at Ritsuko and say ¡°We need to hurry back to the village.¡±


    She agrees and says ¡°I can¡¯t believe people are actually hunting god''s right now. If that rumor about someone becoming a god is true we need to stop them.¡±


    I say ¡°Yea and if magic is coming back like they claim, then we are going to need to learn magic in order to protect the gods.¡± Ritsuko nods in agreement and we decide after we get back to Haruna Village we will plan on leaving and what to do after that.

 Chp 2 A Secret to Keep

    Chp 2 The Gate of Truth


    I start heading back towards were we came from the forest and into the city, but Maeno stops me. I look back at him and he says ¡°Ritsuko, that¡¯s the wrong way.¡±


    I give him a confused glance. I mean this city is really big and all, but I know the way we came from or at least I should know. I had the map when we were coming into town. I ask Maeno for the map real quick. I grab it out of his hands and quickly unroll the map.


    I look up at Maeno after finding my discovery. The map doesn¡¯t show any exits out of the city. I look up and say ¡°Maeno what happened to the map? It doesn¡¯t have any exits out of the city.¡±


    He nods and says something is definitely at work. ¡°Let¡¯s try going the way we came in still.¡± I have a good sense of direction so I know the way out of town. I just hope we don¡¯t get lost in here. Chief Ranga would be very disappointed in us if that were to happen.


    I look up at Maeno to study his face for a moment since that always helps me calm down. I have to protect him since he doesn¡¯t know how to fend for himself. Maeno has always been brave and I pray it never gets him into a dangerous situation. I mark his hair length mentally. It is white, around six inches, falling perfectly on his face without obscuring his eyes. It is semi-parted in the center , but not enough to fall over his blueish green eyes. His jawline is very slim, and kind of boney. Maeno hasn¡¯t grown any for about a year now, and he stands around 6¡¯2. He is about two inches taller than me.


    After I am done I am calm and able to think rationally. Staring at his face always makes me feel at ease, but I don¡¯t like doing it often because I don¡¯t want him to think I am weird. I wish Maeno would stare at me sometimes though, because he never does. I sometimes believe he thinks of me as just his best friend and not a girl.


    I start walking towards where we came in and the closer I get to it the louder the area is. I decide to start running to where all of the noise is coming from to see what the ruckus is about. There is a whole crowd of people standing in the road and they are just staring up at a wall that is surrounding the city. The wall is really high and I can not see the top. I say ¡°Maeno I think we are trapped in here,¡± as I turn around towards him.


    Maeno is nowhere in my sight. I yell for him and get no response. I head back towards the way we were coming from and see him standing in front of a shop looking in at one of the items. I walk over to him to see what he is staring at. There is a rock with engravings on it for a really low price. It has the number three on it, and the letter on it is Z. The engravings are in the form of a triangle, and at each end there is a different symbol on each of the vertices on the triangle.


    He seems really fascinated with it and it was fairly cheap in comparison to everything else. That¡¯s probably what he wants it for. The price on the stone is only thirty-five pecunia so I¡¯m willing to buy it for him. I ask him why he wants it because I¡¯m curious about his response. Maeno says ¡°It is like the stone I got from Chief Ranga, and I feel like this stone belongs to me. It¡¯s like it is calling out for me to buy it¡±, he says.


    I pull out all of the coins I brought along with me and I have around forty five from collecting them and from my brother. This will cost most of my money, but I¡¯d rather Maeno be happy then have a full coin pouch. I hand him thirty five pecunia and he quickly runs into the store and within about thirty seconds comes out of the store with the stone in his hand ;beaming with pride.


    He looks over at me smiling about the stone and slides it into his pocket. He walks over and embraces me. He is standing close enough I can feel his heartbeat. I wrap my hands around his backside and hug him back. After around five seconds he lets go and says ¡°Ritsuko you¡¯re the best¡± with that smile that¡¯s brighter than the sun.


    I smile back at him and say ¡°Maeno it was no problem¡±. Maeno remains happy pulling out the new stone out of his pocket and admiring the intricate designs on it. After a couple minutes he slides it back into his pocket and continues walking beside me.


    I tell him what has transpired while he was window shopping. He looks up at me and asks ¡°Does that mean we can¡¯t leave?¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    I tell him ¡°Yea, we probably can¡¯t leave.¡± I decide to go and check the wall. So far I don¡¯t believe anyone has touched it yet. We get to where the crowd is gathered and I look back at Maeno. He doesn¡¯t seem too alarmed considering the situation we are in. I smile at him and grab his hand so he doesn¡¯t get lost in the crowd.


    His hand is warm and I wish I didn¡¯t have gloves on so I could feel it up against my bare hand. His hand of course is bigger than mine so I can¡¯t entirely hold on to him when going through the crowd. I make sure not to lose hold of his grip though while we make our way through the crowd because I don¡¯t want to lose him in it and I enjoy the comfort of it. As we delve deeper into the horde of people I start hearing the conversations I hadn¡¯t previously been paying attention to.


    :A man somewhere to my right ¡°This must be that rumor about the gods.¡±


    :A different man around the same area ¡°Yea, but to think they¡¯d trap us in here.¡±


    All around people were muttering comments about the gods return and how that could mean bad news. After pushing through many people we were at the front. Still people have yet to touch the wall and are still in awe. It¡¯s almost like they view it as a house of cards. The slightest touch might tear it down on top of them.


    However I know something that they haven¡¯t seemed to realize yet, and that is a wall of this size would be either really sturdy or it wouldn¡¯t be there at all which means touching it is the only way to find out which is which. The moment has arrived for the truth about this mysterious wall. I slowly start reaching out for it. My hand draws ever closer, but right before I touch it I pause.


    I almost don¡¯t want to know if the wall is real. If it is we are trapped in here, and it¡¯s the worst news we could have imagined. Not only would there be no excess food I can¡¯t even imagine how the towns people might respond. I hesitate a moment more and look back to Maeno for confirmation. He says ¡°If you are unsure Ritsuko we can find out together¡±.I nod at him in agreement. He stands next to me and we both reach forward towards the wall at the same time.


    I glance up at the wall again one more time before I finally push my hand forward touching it. The wall is just a grey stone wall that reaches up to the heavens. It really is nothing special. Maeno and I touch the wall at the same time in unison. The second I touch it, an electrical spark goes down my arm. When I reopen my eyes the area around me has changed.Maeno is no longer beside me and the environment I am in, is quite different than I would have expected.


    The area in front of me is has another wall. The rest of the area is kind of grey and seems to have a dead atmosphere around me. The area around me seems to have no other life other than me and the grey atmosphere is unsettling. In front of me is an image of Maeno. I run towards it and try and grab it. Before I can even get to it a, shadow sweeps in, and snatches it out from my reach. I look around to see where the shadow went, and see a skeleton in golden armour, covered by a robe. To his right he has a sword sheathed. Where eyes should be grey dots. After glancing over how he looks I ask the skeleton where I am at.


    It looks at me and says ¡°My name is Morte and you, Ritsuko, are in the Gate of Truth¡±.


    ¡°How do you know my name?¡± I ask Morte.


    ¡°I know you because I have been awaiting your arrival for years. You wish to hold power strong enough to protect Maeno, is that right? Regardless of cost, even if you had to kill; you would do it to protect that boy right?¡± I didn¡¯t know what to respond with. If he knows me this well he must have been studying me for quite some time.


    There was no point in lying, so I say¡± Yes, I would do anything to protect Maeno even if I had to kill. He is the only one I have in this world and he means everything to me.¡±


    Morte makes a face that appears to be a smile and says to me ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all I need.¡±


    Morte reaches out and touches my hand and on it is a skull smiling wickedly at a door. The same image appears on the wall in the area. He then whispers softly in my ear¡±Now that you have that mark on your hand you will be able to use magic from your gate. My magic is very powerful, and so yours will be too, within time.¡±


    I ask him ¡°Did someone actually kill a god and replace them?¡±


    Morte says to me ¡°Every thousand years god¡¯s start dying and need to be replaced. When time comes for this they make their presence known and spread magic out through the world. The successors of the gods are the ones who kill the gods. This time, around the first god died a little early,¡± Morte says. ¡°Eventually I will be replaced too, but not any time soon¡± He says with a chuckle.


    ¡°Why I am here?¡± I ask Morte. His laugh is very dry, and crackles, but not loud in any regard. ¡°You reached for the gate, didn¡¯t you?¡± He asks me. ¡°You chose to reach for the truth and this is where it has lead you. Anyone who reaches for the truth will be granted a gate. You¡¯d better be wary, the other mages will kill if they are given the chance just so that you don¡¯t get in the way of their plans.¡±


    I look at him and say ¡°Well I don¡¯t care about myself too much, but Maeno is a different story¡±,


    Morte tells me ¡±There are sixteen factions. ¡°You are from the sixteenth faction. If you do not wish for conflict between factions you need to keep your mark hidden beneath that glove of yours¡±, Morte tells me. I nod at this and pull my glove tightly over my hand. Morte then tells me that I¡¯m lucky,because people can¡¯t tell my faction based of magic type since anyone can learn any type of magic.


    Morte says ¡°I speculate this time around however, this generation is going to be fun because of your difference of opinions with Maeno. I just hope it doesn¡¯t tear you two apart.¡± He cackles. I don¡¯t understand what he means, but I¡¯m sure he is correct. Morte looks at me and says ¡°I don¡¯t have anymore time Ritsuko.¡± He raises his boney hand and I see a light pulse of purple light.When I open my eyes I am in the real world. I quickly pull my glove down to check and see if the mark is there, and it is.


    I look over at Maeno and he has his hands in his pockets. I can¡¯t check which mark he has. I hear a voice behind us ask if the wall is real. The wall itself is not real, but it is a boundary of sorts from what I know. However it wouldn¡¯t keep us here if we tried leaving. I can¡¯t risk having more enemies of Maeno. I look back at the people and say ¡°This wall..this wall is real.¡± The people start panicking and I walk away grabbing Maeno by the hand.

 Chp 3 A Problem Arises

    Chp 3 A Problem Arises


    The second I touched the wall I knew something would happen. Energy raced up my arm and paralyzed my whole body. I became temporarily numb, and then it vanished. When I looked around however, I noticed that everything was entirely different. The area around me was filled to the brim with life. I saw lush grasses and felt vicarious feelings of joy from my environment. The whole place gave off an aura that told me that I was entirely safe.


    While I was surrounded by all of the plant life there was something that bothered me about the wall in front of me. The wall itself glowed a faint energy of mixed colors. It was bright, vibrant, and furthermore called out to be touched. I looked around my surroundings for Ritsuko to see if she might also happen to be here to see this sight, but sadly she was nowhere around.


    I walked forward towards the wall making sure to be cautious as I did. This wall however while it was strange also dispelled any doubts I had. I walked closer to it until I was standing directly in front of it. The wall itself was blank and had no markings on it however also seemed to radiate immense energy to the point I could feel vibrations in my bone. The wall stood around ten feet tall, but for some reason I knew that wasn¡¯t it¡¯s actual height.


    I slowly reach my hand forward to touch the stone, ¡°Maeno, this wall will give you great strength, but there will be a terrible cost for it¡± I hear the voice say.


    I turned around to see a woman in a silky white dress sitting atop a nearby stone. I walk over to her and greet her, seeing as how she seems friendly enough. She has auburn hair that falls to her knees. Her hair is braided and seems to be have a shiny gleam to it.. Her skin is the color of almonds, and her eyes are a fierce brown.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask. She says ¡°My name is Caroline. I am the guardian of the ¡®Gate of Truth, which is where we are.¡± I¡¯m not really puzzled as to how she knows my name, if she really is the guardian she would know everyone who enters.


    I look up at Caroline and ask her ¡°What is the Gate of Truth?¡±


    She smiles and says ¡°The Gate of Truth is your magic seal. When you use any form of magic it comes from this gate.¡±


    I nod my head excitedly and then ask ¡°Magic really exists?!¡±


    She starts laughing and says ¡°Of course it exists Maeno; it always has.¡± I am excited ever since Ritsuko told me about gods and magic I¡¯ve wanted to learn magic.


    ¡±What kind of magic can I use?¡± I ask.


    She says, ¡°You¡¯ve been gifted with a very powerful magic known as ¡®Summoning¡¯ magic. If I am not mistaken, you gathered two stones on your journey, did you not?¡± I nod excitedly and she replies ¡°Alright, first you need understand that you are responsible for what happens when magic is used. With magic, everything has a value and a cost¡± she says.


    ¡°With summoning magic the cost is that the longer you have your familiars out the more magic energy will be consumed. This can be resolved by simply training your body and using your magic to build up a tolerance¡±, she says. ¡°If you do get knocked unconscious your familiars can only remain here with their own power and once they lose all energy, they must come back here to recharge, or they will slowly die¡± Caroline says.


    ¡°Since you have been gifted with magic I must ask what you plan on using it for before we continue¡± she says.


    I think about it for a moment. I then look at her with a smile and say ¡°I¡¯m going to protect the gods from the people.¡±


    She responds ¡°Well, then it¡¯s a good thing you are a ¡®Summoner,¡¯ you¡¯re going to need all the help you can get. Go touch your gate and then your magic will start flowing. I reach my hand forward and touch the gate. The second I touch the gate, sixteen different symbols appear and the lines connecting each of them. I feel the symbol on the wall burn into my left arm. ¡°Don¡¯t show your mark to anyone else regardless of reason¡±, Caroline says to me.


    ¡°The reason there are sixteen marks is because summoners are allowed access to each god¡¯s magic abilities unlike any other magic user. They must open all of the different sections of the gate in order to summon familiars because of how much power they require to control¡± Caroline says to me.


    I nod understandingly and ask her ¡°How do I summon my familiars?¡±


    ¡°First you must hold the stone they are contained in. Once that has happened you read aloud the names of each familiar on the stones along with their numbers and its gate type. After that the stone disappears and their gateway into this world is you.¡± Caroline said wryly.


    I pull out the stone with Lucci on it and said,¡± Open Gate of Water Fifth Star Lucci come forth¡±. Out of the rock springs a water pike surrounded by floating water encasing it.


    Lucci looks at me and says¡± Fifth Star Lucci reporting in!¡± In an excited girly voice that is mostly covered by the gurgling of the water.


    ¡°Who is your god¡± I ask Lucci


    ¡°My god is Aquarius the water bearer¡± Lucci squeals


    I pull out my other stone to see its name. The engravings on it are no longer there and it reads: Zere.


    ¡°I wonder what Zere looks like,¡± I remark. ¡±Open Gate of Light Third Star Zere.¡±


    From the stone comes a shimmery liquid. It is grey, transparent and glistens when all of the light refracts off of it. It also appears to be lifeless at first, but as it stretches out it seems to be more animated. The liquid crawls behind me to where my shadow laid and takes the shape of my it and stands up. Zere seems to slink over when standing up as he is getting use to his new form and then straightens up when he is about to speak. Zere looks at me and says ¡°Third Star Zere here to serve.¡± I look at zere and reach out my hand for him to shake.


    Zere says ¡°It would be a great honor to shake your hand Master Maeno.¡± The shadowy figure reaches his hand forward and even though I expected to feel nothing, I feel a human hand grabbing mine when we shake. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you along Zere.¡± Zere nods his head and remains silent.


    Lucci garbles ¡°Master Maeno, what about me¡±, in a whiny, uncertain tone.


    I look back at Lucci and laugh. ¡°I¡¯m glad to have you along as well, Lucci.¡±


    Lucci does a little dance inside of her water bubble and I hear Zere say ¡°Contain yourself in front of our new master, Lucci.¡±


    Zere has a rather assertive manner about him when addressing me, I note to myself. Lucci on the other hand seems to be carefree, provided I¡¯m giving her attention. Zere looks at me ¡°If I may ask, what is your desire for summoning us, Master Maeno?¡±


    ¡°We are going to save the gods from dying if at all possible.¡± Zere looks at me and says ¡°Master Maeno, you are a man with great ambitions, I only hope I live up to your expectations.¡±


    ¡°I do as well because I¡¯m going to need both of you on this mission of mine.¡±


    Zere nods his head and says ¡°Master Maeno, I will take my leave now. I will come forth again when you require me. Is that alright with you?¡±


    I tell him ¡°You have permission to leave if you want, I of course don¡¯t plan on forcing you to do anything against what you wish.¡± Zere nods and disappears into a beam of light returning to his rune mark on my left forearm. Lucci, on the other hand, does not leave and remains in her bubble. She looks up at me expectantly. ¡°Lucci, are you wanting me to give you your first order?¡±


    Lucci shifts uncomfortably in her bubble before muttering ¡°Yes.¡±


    I look at her and say ¡°Lucci, your first order is to cheer up and stop writhing uncomfortably¡±. Lucci straightens up and then looks at me again.


    I ¡°Lucci, you are on standby until I call for you.¡± She seems please by this and disappears into the rune on top of my right hand. I take notice of each of their signs. Lucci¡¯s sign is some form of serpent and Zere¡¯s is an embroidery mirror. I look up around for Caroline to see where she had gone. Lucci¡¯s sign is on the back of my right hand and Zere¡¯s is on my left arm just below my shoulder.


    Caroline is gone, but I hear her voice in the distance, far off ¡±Now that I¡¯ve given you the tutorial on how to use your magic you need to return to your world.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for teaching me Caroline!¡± I exclaim with joy.


    ¡°No problem, Maeno, but now you need to return to your world¡±, Caroline says to me.


    I immediately put my right hand in my pocket to hide Lucci¡¯s sign and Zere¡¯s sign is already hidden by my shirt. Behind me I hear the voice of a girl ask ¡°Is this wall real.


    Before I can respond, I hear Ritsuko falter and say, ¡°This wall...this wall is real,¡± and starts dragging me away from the outer gate while everyone drifts into a panic. Ritsuko makes sure that nobody sees our faces as we leave. I know that she just lied to them because I myself touched the wall and know it is fake. I look to Ritsuko to see if she will make any kind of response, but she doesn¡¯t.


    Ritsuko continues dragging me along by the hand until we are in an alley. The alley itself is dark enough that you can¡¯t see the whole street. It is cluttered with items people had dropped and trash littered every inch it could find. It was honestly kind of dirty in here, but I don¡¯t really mind all that much considering my room is also a mess back in Haruna village.


    Ritsuko turns around ¡°Maeno, we can¡¯t tell these people the wall isn''t¡¯ real,¡± she whispers, If we do, that¡¯s just more people we will have to fight to protect the gods! If they reach out and touch that gate, they will be granted the powers from it. We can¡¯t let that happen.¡±


    I paused to think for a moment. I then came to the conclusion that at least one more person will touch the wall.¡°Yes, but you just caused a panic inside the city, I¡¯m sure that by now a few of them have touched it, soon the whole city will place their hands on it.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we need to get out of here when that happens,¡± Ritsuko says to me. ¡°Maeno I¡¯m just trying to keep us safe now please listen to me and leave before we get in any trouble¡± she says earnestly.


    I decided to go with what she says for now and she leads me to the next closest exit and we slip through the fake wall.


    She looks back at me ¡°What happened to you while you were in the gate?¡±


    I don¡¯t want to lie, so I tell her what Caroline had told me ¡°I¡¯m not suppose to share that information.¡±


    Ritsuko frowns and says ¡°Maeno, I¡¯m your best friend I would never do anything to hurt you. I¡¯ll show you my mark if you show me yours¡± she says. I have known Ritsuko for many years, I have no reason to doubt her word.


    I pull up my sleeve to reveal my mark. She asks in distaste ¡°It¡¯s just a dot? I thought it would be something more obvious.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about Ritsuko?¡± I ask her in surprise.


    ¡°Maeno, it¡¯s just a dot¡±. I understand what Caroline meant now. Only I know what my mark is.


    Ritsuko pulls down her glove and I see a wicked skull smiling down at a door. ¡°You got the mark of the ¡®God of Death¡¯ I presume?¡± I ask. She nods her head slowly. ¡°At least that¡¯s more interesting than mine¡±, I joke.


    She half-heartedly smiles at me and says ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I ask her if we are going to the village and report the news. ¡°Unfortunately we can¡¯t go back now,¡± she said, a sad glint in her eyes. ¡°We have magic now.¡±


    I ask Ritsuko ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    She looks down and says ¡°If we tell anyone about that gate, then we are merely making more enemies. If possible, I¡¯d like to keep you as far from danger as possible,¡± Ritsuko said sullenly.


    ¡°I agree. We need to make a guild then¡± I state.


    Ritsuko ¡°Yes and that will also help us out since we won¡¯t have to take quests all the time. She looks at me to see if I am following and then continues. ¡°In order to create a guild however we would need to go back into town to check out what the standards for creating a guild are at the moment,¡± Ritsuko says.


    We head back to where the main guild hall is. The guild hall is in a bit of panic after the news that magic has started to appear again. I hear one of the people in the hall say that someone found out they had magic by touching the front gate and now everyone was touching it.


    This causes most of them to head towards the wall that had appeared. As for the ones who do stay I ask ¡°If it would be possible to start a guild up¡±. The person I¡¯m talking to points us to a girl across the room who is sitting behind a counter, she had fallen asleep while sitting on a stool. Ritsuko and I walk across the room to where she sits. Before I wake her I take a look around once again. ¡°This guild hall really is remarkable¡± I say aloud


    I look down at her and say ¡°Miss, wake up, we need help with something.¡± The lady looks up at me groggily.


    She frowns at me ¡°You¡¯re that kid from before that came in earlier, right?¡± Now that she is sitting up I know what she looks like. She has blonde curly hair, and her skin is a cream color. She has a beauty mark below her right eye that is a single brown dot. Her lips are cherry red, and she has a weird aura about her. The other thing I notice is she is packed with ballistics as I glance across her chest area. She is wearing a blue dress with buttons down the center and it is frilly. The lace atop her chest runs across her breast in a cross manner. She seems pretty young to have this job title. In all honesty, she looks around twenty five or so.


    I say in response to what she previously said ¡°Yes, do you know how we could create a guild by chance, miss?¡±


    She seems interested in what I said as she flips through a book she pulled out from under the table. ¡°At the moment there is only three guilds; This one included and there hasn¡¯t been a new one for at least thirty years. What¡¯s your reason for wanting a guild?¡± She asks me. That is going to be tough to answer. If I say we got magic, she would believe us considering this rumour, but I¡¯m not sure we would have access to a guild.


    Ritsuko butts in before I can open my mouth, ¡°We would like to be able to amass lots of money by killing monsters,¡± she said, looking around to make sure no wandering ears were nearby, but we wanted our own guild to take on missions instead of simply applying for missions here all the time.¡± The lady gives me a questioning glance and I agree with Ritsuko.


    The lady says ¡°I just realized i never introduced myself. My name is Karla. I¡¯m the guild owner¡¯s daughter.¡± she says.


    I ask her the price for a guild and she says ¡°Well there is no price perse for a guild there is merely a few tasks that must be done. First you must have at least three people for a guild. Second, you must , at least, complete one quest and have proof of it. Lastly, you must have made your guild icon before coming in here so we can hand over the rights to have a guild. As far as making the guild house, we don¡¯t provide you with one so you will have to make your own,¡± Karla says.


    ¡°I see. And do you by chance happen to have a quest we could do to get the guild?¡± I ask.


    Karla looks up at me and says ¡°I don¡¯t have a quest for two people.¡±


    I look at Ritsuko and she turns back to the woman ¡°We will be back with a third person in due time. Could you reserve a quest for us so we can take it when we get back?¡± Ritsuko asks Karla. Karla responds with ¡°You only have three days to reserve a mission before it becomes public again.


    We leave the guild hall and I look at Ritsuko. I shift near Ritsuko and whisper in her ear ¡°It¡¯s going to be difficult to find someone who supports our cause.¡±


    She looked away as she replies: ¡°We have to find someone if we are going to save the gods. We are going to need more help anyways,¡± Ritsuko says.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯d better get searching then,¡± I said. I look around and the streets are complete hell. With all the people in the streets Barui is ten times busier then normal.

 Chp 4 On Deaths Door

    Chp 4 On Death¡¯s Door


    I knew finding a recruit was going to be hard because too many people crave power and would want to the destroy the gods. Truth be told I did too because if I had power I could guarantee Maeno would be happy. Having the power of a god would guarantee that I could keep Maeno happy for as long as he lived. The problem with it however was that it was the exact opposite of what Maeno wants. Even so I did want the power of a god to protect him.


    The recruit we will find will have to have the same or equal values to Maeno or they wouldn¡¯t be around for long. I can¡¯t have anyone putting him in danger. If anyone were to endanger his life I would kill them unless Maeno told me not to. I love Maeno too much to lose him and since he is that important to me I must make sure that nothing bad happens to him. I look at him and view his face so I can once again calm down and focus on my objective a teammate.


    After glancing over his carefree face a few times I decide that before we actually look for a teammate we are going to need to practice our magic in case we run into danger. I myself do not know how my own magic works and I am not about to run into a situation where I can not defend myself or Maeno. I look back at him and ask him if he would like to go into the forest to start practicing magic so we at least can defend ourselves and have something to showcase if we do find a willing member for our guild. Maneo looks up at me with a look of glee and exclaims ¡°Yea lets, go and start training Ritsuko¡±.


    He looks incredibly happy and I¡¯m glad in all honesty for him.I lead him by the hand because I like holding his hand and he doesn¡¯t seem to mind. Knowing him he is probably too excited to start trying out his magic and doesn¡¯t even notice I¡¯m dragging him along. The face he made when I suggested training was very similar to the face when I bought him that stone earlier ;which was complete fascination and happiness. I¡¯m glad he is happy because that is all I want for him in life. We start heading for the main street since now everyone knows of the gate.


    As I look around from where all the people are gathered around that fake luming wall I notice a lot of people yelling , shouting and cheering over how they now have magic. From the looks of it none of them have actually started practicing their magic yet so we might end up with a head start. I walk around the crowd so I can head through the wall along with Maeno. I¡¯m mildly concerned as to how so many people found out so quickly, but I realized I hadn¡¯t taken into consideration one very important fact when I made the statement about how the wall was real. The thing I didn¡¯t even think about is that someone must have had doubt the wall was truly real and tried it for themselves.


    After they learned it was fake they weren¡¯t the type of person who kept things to themselves. So they shared it with the rest of the crowd and it caused a mass uproar. The crowd was no longer focused on the fact someone had lied about the wall, but were more interested in the fact they could possess magic themselves. After that it spread like wildfire and the few minutes I had left to talk with Maeno it had spread massively. This honestly concerned me a lot. While everyone right now was merely in the starting stages of gaining magic I also viewed everyone of them as a potential enemy. The size of this crowd was huge and it was growing by the minute.


    I decided that we needed to start training on the double since if we didn¡¯t get a head start on our magic training that we would fall behind and be consumed by the mass following in our wake as far as power came. I said to Maeno something to spark his resolve for training which was: ¡°Maeno when we go out to train we aren¡¯t going to come back for a while because we are going to be the strongest guild out there¡±.


    Maeno¡¯s bluish green eyes light up and he pumps his fist in the air and yells ¡°Yeah¡±.


    This nets us a bit of attention for a few moments, but afterward people ignore us and keep talking about their experience in the gate.As we are getting closer towards the front I notice person after person trying out their magic in the air. I see fire be thrown up into the air which explodes, strong wind gusts in the air, lightning sparks, swords being summoned and as each person uses their magic I only become more unerved. I¡¯m starting to get anxious because I think about what would happen if right now all of them recognized me as the one who lied and was being selfish about keeping magic to myself. I start shaking a little bit and then I feel Maeno¡¯s hand on my right shoulder.


    I turn around and look at him and Maeno looks at me with a smile. Maeno says to me ¡°Ritsuko you have no reason to panic since I¡¯m here and I have your back¡±.


    Even though this is true I¡¯m still uncomfortable with the crowd practicing magic. I look at Maeno right in his eyes for a moment to see if he truly meant what he said. He had no doubt in his eyes at all so I trust him.


    I say ¡°You¡¯re right Maeno¡± and I relax. Maeno nods his head at me and we continue around the outside of the crowd until we get to where the wall was.


    A few people turn towards us and notice we are heading towards the wall. At first they must think we haven¡¯t gained our abilities yet because they wait in anticipation, but when we actually walk through the wall the people go ballistic. The thing is they know the wall is an illusion and yet they hadn¡¯t tried to go through it. I figure nothing should happen to us provided we stick together. People start following us and trying to also go through the wall.


    I need to think of something quick. If people know they aren¡¯t limited to the city we can¡¯t get a head start on training. Maeno looks over at me almost as if he read my thoughts and says to me ¡°Ritsuko there is no reason for you to worry about them if we really do go out and train for as long as you say we will then we will already be ahead of them in magic talent.¡±


    Maeno is right I have no reason to freak out about this and so I decide to ignore them and proceed with Maeno outside of Barui. The people give suit of course to see where we are going, but it makes no difference because even if they do follow us we can still do training. Before we entirely cross the wall I have one last thought about Maeno. It is nothing but a fleeting thought which is that I realize even though I know Maeno very well, I still don¡¯t know what he thinks about or what keeps him going. I glance in his direction and his face has a smile across and I also notice a firm determination.


    After I step past the wall I notice something entirely different about the Cestor Forest this time I entered it. It feels far more lively and on top of that it also seems to be brighter than usual. The trees normally are just green and lush, but right now they were glowing a faint green aura and seemed to reflect a lot more light. I did not see any animals however I knew they were there. The whole atmosphere of Crestor Forest had changed and I had the feeling that it was due to the magic outburst from the gods.


    The people who had followed us outside of the wall remarked about this as well. ¡°Let¡¯s go and show everyone the outside world now¡± a man said to the rest of the twenty or so people who had followed us.


    The people asked us if we knew anything about the change to the forest. Maeno looks back at them and says ¡°Sorry, but we don¡¯t know anything.We are going to go explore it right now however¡± he says. The people then ask if they can join us in our exploration efforts. Ritsuko completely turns around and looks at all of them. Maeno says, ¡°Sorry, but I think it would be better just me and her.¡± Maeno points over at me to indicate he is talking about me and then turns around and starts walking off.


    I join up beside him and wait til we are out of distance before I speak. I say to Maeno ¡°We need to hurry and go find a place to start training¡±


    He nods his head at me and says ¡°I¡¯m going to have fun training with you Rits.¡±


    He has a pet name for me now.I like the name and I¡¯m glad he gave me one so I will have to make one up for him. I love him so much and I want to tell him, but I don¡¯t want it to get in the way of training with him. I smile at Maeno and say ¡°I will also have fun training with you as well Eno.¡± I wonder if Eno is a good pet name for him. He is adorable so it kind of fits him. Maeno looks over at me and starts laughing.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I ask him what he finds funny and he retorts your pet name for me sounds ridiculous. I pout and say ¡°Well it¡¯s hard to come up with a good pet form of your name since its so weird¡±.


    This makes him laugh even harder and he says ¡°Don¡¯t take everything I say too seriously Ritsuko¡±. He puts his hands behind his head and continues walking along side me. I take note of our environment so that we don¡¯t get lost walking in the forest. At the moment we are still following the path.


    The path is just a simple dirt path with the occasional rock here and there. It is partially overgrown because the plants have started growing faster. This is guess is probably from the magic they are intaking. I pull out the map from earlier to see where we are on the map. If we continue about five miles we can branch off and there is a lake nearby that we could train at. Since the lake is formed by a waterfall we could also do some training there.


    I tell Maeno about this and he exclaims ¡°That sounds fine with me I can¡¯t wait to show you Zere and Lucci!¡±


    ¡°You mean you already summoned them?!¡±I ask since I¡¯m shocked about it.


    Maeno gives me a sly grin and says ¡°Yea I already have summoned them out.¡±


    I look at him with fascination and say ¡°I want to start training as soon as possible!¡± He also appears to be excited and I can tell he is itching to summon them out.


    We continue along the path and nothing eventful happens for a while. We travel about four miles talking about various parts of our experience while inside our gates of truth. I tell him about my time in my gate and Maeno says ¡°Yours is entirely different from what happened in mine¡±


    He then started talking about how he met Caroline and she talked about the summoners gate. He also mentioned how he summoned Zere and Lucci. He tells me Lucci is like a fish in a water bubble and Zere is some form of reflective grey liquid. I don¡¯t exactly understand all of what he is talking about however he seems rather enthusiastic about it.


    I say ¡°We are getting close to our destination we should almost be at the break off point on the path.¡±


    He looks up at me excitedly and says ¡°We are really close to being able to train.¡±


    I agree with him and say ¡°If we can wait about twenty minutes we should be there¡±


    He stays silent, but I know is he is really anxious right now. I take a glance around the forest. The plants are still glowing green I still see no animals. Actually I don¡¯t hear animals either. This is unsettling to me as I know for a fact I haven¡¯t heard any on the trip here. I didn¡¯t really think about the animals not being seen or making any noise since I was excited about the trip out into the forest to train.


    Maeno appears to have noticed my unease and asks me what is wrong. I tell him that I haven¡¯t heard any animals or seen any since we entered the forest. He says ¡°Yea I¡¯ve noticed that as well , but I am still excited about the training we are suppose to be doing.¡± Nothing ever seems to really bother Maeno all that much. He has always been really courageous and almost nothing upsets him.


    I only remember one time I¡¯ve ever seen Maeno get upset and that was the time I broke my arm while in a creek. I saw a shiny coin in the creek and I went out to get it. The water was only to the bottom of my shins so I didn¡¯t really think much about it. I walked out into the creek to get the coin and on my way back I slipped on one of the rocks and fractured my arm when it hit the stones. I was bleeding really bad and Maeno picked me up and started running for the village.


    After we got there my arm was treated and after a month it healed. Maeno was really upset that he let me get hurt even though it wasn¡¯t his fault. At that point in time we were only around twelve years old. I know Maeno hasn¡¯t forgotten it, but nonetheless it''s the only time I have seen him get upset. I think he was just upset for my sake at the time. That is one of the many traits I like about him.


    I need to get Maeno to safety! I have a gut feeling and he is in danger. I need to act on it. I yell at Maeno ¡°Run now!¡± He gives me a confused look and then starts running ahead of me. I tell him to stay on the path. I pull out my sword and start listening for where the danger is coming from. About half a mile away I hear rustling that is steadily closing the distance between where it is an I am. It appears to be moving in a straight line and should be here in about thirty seconds.


    I take one last look back to make sure Maeno is running away and he is. I¡¯m glad he listened to me, but I don¡¯t want to die until I tell Maeno how I feel about him. I ready my sword and backup a little bit on the path so I have enough time to dodge whatever is coming. It is almost here and so I raise my sword into a fighting stance and position myself in a manner that I can slide to the left or right with relative ease. Finally it reaches me and comes diving out of the bush.


    It looks like a snake, but it has legs underneath its body. It dives straight forward towards me and I roll to the right and keep my sword up and at the ready. It runs past a tree and then coils its body around the tree so that it can turn around. I get a better look at the creature while it is stationary. It has rounded black scales, six legs all with rather sharp talons, red eyes that have a thousand yard stare and don¡¯t seem to be focused on anything in particular. It also has a jaw big enough to bite me in half. The creature from tip to tail is probably thirty feet long or so and it is around eight foot tall.


    I have not seen anything like it before however I think I know what it is. There had been a sighting of a rather large lizard type monster in the forest that was said to move so fast nobody could get an accurate description on it. What doesn¡¯t make sense is why I am able to see it if it really does move that fast.


    I had already backed up against a tree to prepare myself for its next attack. It remains coiled around the tree looking around the area. I continue to wait for it to move, but it does not. The creature must have poor eyesight if it can¡¯t see me I thought to myself. I grab a rock from the ground and throw it across the path at a tree in front of me. The rock bounces off of it and before it hits the ground the creature had already swallowed it. It¡¯s speed was nothing to scoff at and I am in some serious danger right now. If Maeno comes back it will be on him in a second so I need to kill it before that happens.


    The creature continues looking around. It appears to be waiting for its prey to make the first move. I know I need to get a fatal blow on it, but it''s going to be hard to hit something that fast. It looks towards the ground and licks it with its tongue. Unlike a typical snake it has a spear shaped tongue and it is not parted in the center. I make a slow step forward to see if it notices.


    It notices some form of vibration and looks directly at me, but it doesn¡¯t move. Instead it slowly opens its mouth revealing three rows of sharp teeth. As I look into the center of its mouth I notice that it is entirely pitch black in its mouth and no light seems to get in. I see some shadow start pouring out of its mouth onto the ground. I don¡¯t know what it is, but I know that it is not good. The shadow continues to pour out of its mouth slowly moving towards me. I can no longer stay still because if I do the shadows will consume me.


    I run forward two steps and then turn to guard against its attack. It turns around and whips its tail at where I am. I¡¯m not fast enough to get out of the way and it hits me at least thirty foot into a bush which catches my fall. My ribs are broken and my left arm is fractured. The creature then rushes forward to finish me off while I am laying in the bush. I weakly put my sword pointing forward where its open mouth is coming from and close my eyes. It gets approximately to where I fell at and then stops. It knows where I am at laying on the ground and yet it doesn¡¯t pursue me for the kill.


    It lowers its head to where I am at and once again opens its mouth. It pulls back up and starts looking around the area almost as to make sure nobody sees it. It looks down at me and then it runs off. I don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t finish me off, but if I don¡¯t get any healing soon I¡¯m going to die. I think my lung got punctured by part of my rib because I am finding it hard to breathe.


    I try and get up to move, but my ribs hurt too much and my arm got a beating as well. The second I move upward to try getting out of the bush a rush of pain goes through my chest like lightning and I am in utter agony. I need to get out of this bush however because if I don¡¯t, chances are nobody will see me. I don¡¯t have enough energy to get up by normal means right now. I lay there for a few moments thinking about a way out of the bush and finally come up with and idea. I move my legs downward through the bush which sends another rush of pain through my chest.


    I grab for my sword which is lying right next to me. It¡¯s just out of my grasp. I slide a little to the left and grab ahold of it. I stab it into the ground and then with all of the strength from my sword arm I throw myself forward. I get out of the bush but the pain from my ribs causes me to topple over. I end up landing on my left arm which causes me to gasp and I am now laying on the ground trying to regain my breath.


    I desperately want to call Maeno¡¯s name, but I can¡¯t retain enough breath to actually call out for him. While I am suffocating on the ground I start crying thinking about how I won¡¯t get to hold his hand again. I am in agony and I can barely breath, but all of this would be worth it to see Maeno just one more time. I¡¯d love more than anything to see that smile on his face and his white hair. I haven¡¯t even had the chance to see his familiars yet. I can¡¯t die yet because Maeno needs me to protect him.


    I reach my hand out and start trying to pull myself forward to where he was running away. My ribs are burning up and the pain is hell, but I need to see him one last time. I continue crawling forward through the pain and my ribs start to go deeper into my lungs. I start choking on my blood because I¡¯m making the wounds worse. I spit up a puddle of blood and continue clawing the ground. I get another few inches forward and my eyes start to blank out. I slam my hand onto the ground as hard as I can which wakes me up a little bit.


    Since I can only crawl with one arm it makes moving harder than I could have ever imagined. I move one more inch forward and then start crying harder. My face touches the dirt soaking it and my face is now covered with wet dirt. I slam my hand down a few more times out of anger. I can¡¯t believe I was so careless in my fight with the serpent that I would let myself die. I lay there trying to choke out enough air to call for Maeno¡¯s name, but I can only gasp. I cough up a little bit more blood and my head starts becoming very dizzy. My mind is cluttered with thoughts about Maeno and my body is starting to become numb.


    I try my best to stay awake, but the haze is slowly envelopes me. I need to stay awake right now no matter the cost. If I black out its over because I won¡¯t probably wake back up. I try and hold them open, but they are so heavy. My vision starts to black out and I think I am asleep. The last thing I remember is Morte¡¯s voice saying ¡°Are you really going to give up on Maeno?¡± After I hear that everything is still and I no longer have consciousness.

 Chp 5 Determination of The Strong

    Chp 5 Determination of The Strong


    I am a well trained assassin from the big city of Stranten. Stranten was one of the five large cities scattered throughout the continent of Crios. In Stranten making money is easy if you¡¯re in the right business. My line of work is blood. Everything around me is blood. In my time I have been order to kill a lot of different people. I may do things for money, but I¡¯m not heartless.


    I was once asked to kill two children. The parents didn¡¯t want their kids around and paid me to do that. I am not the type to kill children so I simply killed the parents. I gave the authorities a note to find the killer and gave a description of myself as vague as possible. I didn¡¯t ever tell the two children why I did it, because I¡¯m not sure they would have believed me. Ever since then I haven¡¯t taken killing jobs because some people are disgusting and I don¡¯t want to deal with them. I went off on my own with the purpose of me leaving to enjoy life. I can¡¯t enjoy life if I have to keep killing people.


    I made a promise that I would never selfishly kill again for things like money or pride. I never told the children about that clearly, but not killing people is hard. Some people try my patience and I just want to take them out back and strangle them. I truthfully just want to go out into the forest and live a life of luxury. I would have everything I need there and I¡¯m sure there¡¯s plenty of strong monsters for me to fight there.


    My real name is Soren, but I think crow fits me better. There are two things I love in this world. Those two things are sweets and good fights. I love sweets because they are the only thing I can buy that actually makes me happy. I love good fights because killing people gets boring if they don¡¯t fight back. Since I can¡¯t kill unless I absolutely need to, the thrill of a good fight is even more valuable.


    I use to belong to a guild called called Dragon¡¯s Fang. This guild has been around for around three hundred years. It first started when a dragon from old was terrorizing a village. A subjugation party came forth and fought it off. After the battle was done the dragon had been wounded and left. The only piece to remember the battle by however was a dragon fang. It became the guild¡¯s icon and that¡¯s what the guild named themselves.


    I heard someone slayed a god. That wouldn¡¯t be too difficult if someone had learned magic. I use magic every day. I actually met with my god when I first set off exploring a couple months ago. Apate was the god of trickery and deceit. She first gave me my mark when I set off out of Stranten. A large wall had appeared to me. Curious about whether it happened to be real I touched it. I ended up getting her mark which was mist curled around a mask.


    After a brief discussion with her I trained in the forest for two months so I could effectively use my magic well enough to fight. After that any experience I gained using my magic came entirely from battles I got into. I was able to control shadows and darkness along with changing my appearance. The neat thing I learned about the illusions I can cast was that if someone wasn¡¯t strong enough to resist my illusions, they became real. I can also change myself into any animal or monster I want without any consequences too. My favorite form is a crow. I love soaring through the sky and if I need to scout out any place, being a bird is perfect for that. This earned me the nickname Crow.


    I pack up the things around my house that I will need such as bread, berries, and my weapons. I have many weapons ranging from spears to shuriken, but I only grab the essentials. I find my way to the two short swords I always use. They are slender, but since they are also made from durable material I have never had to repair them. They never were wrapped with leather so I had done it myself with white cloth scraps and red string. The blades weighed around seven pounds each and were three and a half feet in length.


    After I had grabbed my short swords I decided I might also need my twin blade. I also grab my buckler shield in case I run out of magic and need to defend myself. I have all of the weapons I should really ever need so I decide to set off to Barui and check up on my guild. I had other reasons for going there like how they have really awesome sweets. Thinking about it makes me light up with joy. I, however, also had an important mission as well. The chief from Haruna Village hired me to protect a teenager on his way to Barui. I was suppose to make sure he got back to his village as well. Considering the amount the chief payed me I don¡¯t think this will be an easy mission.


    I was payed six hundred pecunia just to watch over him. I¡¯m not even sure why they paid me to do the job in particular. I¡¯m a known killer and my services don¡¯t come cheap. I wondered why this kid was so important to the Chief, but he never did say. The Chief from what I could tell was not his father so I don¡¯t understand why he cared so much. Anyways I¡¯m not really supposed to ask questions about my job. I¡¯m just suppose to take the money and do my job.


    This kid must be something special if the chief wants him kept alive at the cost he paid me for. I just hope he isn¡¯t a let down. From what I know the kid has blueish green eyes and white hair. He should also be accompanied by a girl with reddish brown hair who is wearing a black cloak and leather armour. The descriptions are vague, but I already have a mental image of what they look like, considering where they were from.


    After I step outside into the sunlight I¡¯m ready to set off. I put my gear and armour onto the ground along with my clothes which leaves me naked. I use a shadow spell to put them into a pocket. The spell I am using only works for gear and is really only helpful for objects so I don¡¯t need to carry them.


    I start my change into a crow. I feel the feathers grow on my skin, and my mouth contort into a beak. I feel the bending of my bones, and my muscles shrinking inwards. While it is a strange feeling to transform the change itself is not painful. I flap my wings and take off into the air. My body feels light weight as I start soaring through the trees. I gaze down upon the land below me as I raise in height.


    The tree tops look like waves on a green ocean. I can¡¯t see any animals through the forest tree top. I fly lower towards the trees to check and see if there are any visible animals. I still don¡¯t see any animals. I raise higher again since there is no point in me endangering myself trying to fly through the forest. The wind bristling through my feathers picks up momentarily making it harder to fly forward.


    I continue glancing down at the forest admiring it. As I am looking down however I see a large shadow below me on the tree tops. I glance upward and see a larger predator above me. I look up at it to see if it noticed me and sure enough it did. This is going to be troublesome if tries to attack me. I vere off to the right to try and get a better look at the creature following me. The creature looks like a dragon, but it has a few differences in looks. It¡¯s scales are curved in a manner that reflects light. The head on it has four sets of horns atop its head and in its mouth it to has no teeth. The wings are transparent, but still cast a shadow which is strange to me.


    It glides over top of me to keep me from seeing its next move. I can¡¯t look up anymore at it since the reflection is blinding me. I dive down towards the forest to gap the distance between us. The creature pursues me as I go down. This is going to suck if it keeps pursuing me I think to myself. I don¡¯t even recall it catching up to me initially. It just appeared out of nowhere. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    I start to have concerns about the creature that is pursuing me. I am just a normal crow in its eyes so why is it trying to follow me. I need to fight back if this thing is going to try and kill me. As I am diving down towards the forest I cut to the left and then prepare to do a quick summon. I summon forth shadows around me and then quick equip my gear. I then use shadow step which is an ability allowing me to teleport using shadows so that I can evade.


    I dive to the left and shadow step again. The creature turns around and starts to circle back. I don¡¯t have time to fight this monster so I decide to use an illusion. I summon a large dragon around the creatures equivalent size. It dives straight ahead towards to dragon. The dragon is only an illusion, but it should be able to fight back if this creature thinks it is real. The large creature comes over to the dragon and opens its mouth. It starts absorbing all of the magic I used to create the dragon. The dragon dissolves and I realize I need to get out of here.


    I come to the conclusion that creature just seeks out magic for consumption and that¡¯s why it targeted me. I need to get out of here now before it consumes me. I don¡¯t think that this thing can be hurt by magic so I use shadow step to warp down to the forest floor. I then turn off my magic gate when I warp down. The problem with warping to a location I don¡¯t know is I have no idea where I will end up.


    When I used my shadow step I ended up skewered to a tree. The branch itself went through my left leg. I use shadow step again to get to the forest floor. My leg hurts and I¡¯m going to have trouble walking, but I¡¯ve got something for this. I lay up against a tree until I¡¯m sure the creature has passed by. I then open my magic gate again and use it to pull out a potion I had gotten from Agate. She had told me it was god tears, and supposedly it has healing properties. I have a full bottle of it since I¡¯ve never had to use it before.


    I don¡¯t have time to wait around for my wounds to naturally heal since I¡¯ve got to watch over that kid. I pour a drop on my leg and it completely heals. My magic also feels replenished as well. This stuff works wonders I think to myself. I should be about seven miles away from Haruna Village based off where I am right now. If Maeno has already left the village, provided he has stayed on path, should be there in about an hour. I need to hurry to where he is.


    I use a spell to turn myself into a cat along with a shadow spell so that I can move fast without being obscured. I dash forward and the forest around me is a blur as I move. I can¡¯t afford to be slowed down right now since I am still being paid to protect Maeno. However if I use too much magic before I get there It will be all for nothing.


    It is risky to move as fast as I am even in my shadow form for the simple reason it burns through my magic quickly. I should be able to catch up with him in about fifteen minutes of running though at my speed. As I run through the forest I also project a barrier within a certain radius that silences all noise around me. I¡¯m burning through a lot of magic I¡¯m going to need to rest once I catch up.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I finally get to the path Maeno took and see two sets of fresh footprints headed towards Barui. I follow his tracks making sure not to move too fast so that I don¡¯t expend much needed energy. I follow his tracks for awhile, but I need to catch up quicker than this. I use shadow step again and warp to the front gates of Barui. I usually need to avoid warping repeatedly in a row due to magic drain which can make you sick, but that potion I used earlier gave me more than enough energy. I warp on top of Dragon¡¯s Fang since it¡¯s the tallest building in Barui.


    As much as I want to go in and check the place out I have a mission that needs to get done first. I have to find Maeno and Ritsuko along with protecting them. On top of the roof I can get a better view, but as a cat I don¡¯t have nearly good enough eyesight to see Maeno or Ritsuko. I change myself into a falcon and then continue to watch from above.


    I¡¯m still feeling drained and being on top of this roof isn¡¯t helping either. Since the whole roof is black i¡¯m just absorbing most of the heat. I start sweating after around three minutes up here. I¡¯m limited on magic consumption until I either get sleep or eat a really good meal. I frankly don¡¯t have time for either though. I don¡¯t need any more magic than I already have, but I remember the energy boost I got from the gods tears in case I need more magic. I really want to use another drop in all honesty, but those tears are far too rare for me to be using all the time. I continue to look around for Maeno.


    Before I can locate Maeno I notice a magic energy spike and I see walls form around the whole city. I look down towards the crowd gathering around the base of the wall. This wall is the same as in Stranten. It is entirely composed of energy and it is not a physical barrier. However it will give people access to magic if they reach out and touch it. I watch the people crowd around the gate and nobody touches it. They all just scream in panic.


    I start laughing which comes out as a squawk. I laughed because this is just way too funny. I see two people start pushing through the front of the crowd. I can¡¯t see them very well. When they reach the front of the gate the hesitate for a moment. This is interesting to me because I like seeing what people choose. I have a feeling they will touch the wall. That is to say they will be the first to gain their powers.


    I lean forward almost falling off the roof. I flap my wings for a moment and regain my footing. I look at them intently to see if they actually touch it. They take a moment and seem to agree on something and both reach for the wall at the same time. I wait a few seconds and they turn around and whatever was said caused the crowd to go crazy. Both of them decide to leave the area. I pay interest to them since they were the first to touch it. Other people over by the wall continue to bicker until another person touches the wall. After that everyone starts doing it and the magic influence starts spreading.


    As they get closer I notice that the two people are Ritsuko and Maeno the people I was assigned to protect. ¡°Well my day is going great¡± I think to myself. I wait on top of the roof until they decide to leave. They head out through the gate area and I follow behind them. After they get out of the city I shadow step to where they are and follow along behind them. More than anything right now I want to test them. They probably set out this way to train anyways so why not give them a lesson.


    The girl is showing limited power right now, but the boy Maeno has considerable power for just awakening. I decide to test Ritsuko¡¯s power really quick which requires me to be alone with her.I will need to put Maeno to sleep. I cast an illusion and summon a snake shadow beast to attack Ritsuko. She seems to be the protective type because she tells Maeno to run.


    He starts running away further down the path. I wait till he gets out of distance from my illusion and I shadow step over to him and knock him out with a quick chop in the nape of his neck. I pick him up on my shoulder and carry him over to where Ritsuko is to see how well she faires against my shadow beast. I turn around and walk to the outside of my sphere of influence in the illusion and set Maeno down.


    I sit on the ground next to him and watch the fight. Ritsuko dodges its first attack and rolls to the left. This particular shadow beast I summoned was rather strong, but mostly had killer speed. This particular shadow beast that I made was based off of a creature I heard attacked many people in the forest. It was some form of reptile that moved fast and nobody could really give a good description of. Since nobody knew what it looked like I just took a guess and tried to make it look as close as I could imagine.


    Ritsuko tests its speed before deciding on a course of action. She throws a rock at the tree. This particular beast did have high speed, but it was also blind. She probably figured that out since it didn¡¯t immediately attack her again. Before the rock hits the ground the serpent swallows it. She notes its speed and makes a careful step to the side. I don¡¯t make it pursue her because I¡¯m curious if she can use her magic or not.


    Ritsuko doesn¡¯t use her magic and instead just stands in place. This is going to get boring if I don¡¯t spice things up myself. I cast shadow breathe out of its mouth. She runs two steps and turns back to guard. It was already on her before she turned in time. It smacks her into a bush with full force. She doesn¡¯t seem to handle this well because she doesn¡¯t get back up. She only took one hit from it and no can no longer fight. Since Ritsuko can no longer fight back I just end the fight. I make it get up close to her to scare her a little bit and then have it run away. Once it exists my illusion it disappears.


    Ritsuko manages to get out of the bush she was in and starts trying to crawl forward. I¡¯m pretty sure her left arm is broken because she isn¡¯t using it while trying to crawl. She coughs up some blood onto the ground. I feel sorry for the girl, but this should serve as a learning experience that she is weak and needs to get stronger. She seems to be trying to say something, but over here gasping for air nothing comes out. Ritsuko looks around in a daze and then falls asleep.


    I walk over to Ritsuko and check her condition after she passes out from blood loss. I look down at her while crouching to check to see how badly she is injured. She has eight broken ribs by the looks of it, a fractured left arm and I¡¯m guessing internal bleeding. I remove her cloak and armour then pull up her shirt to see if she does have internal bleeding. The bruises are rather prominent on her abdomen and rib cage so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a rib pierced her lungs.


    She is far too weak right now and as she is now she will die if she doesn¡¯t get help. She needs to get stronger so I¡¯m going to train her myself. I also plan to train Maeno as well. However I will only heal Ritsuko¡¯s injuries and train her if she awakens before suffocating on her blood and dying. Ritsuko has around thirty minutes to wake up before she dies. I just hope she is strong like I think she is and she doesn¡¯t let me down.

 Chp 6 A New Ally

    Chp 6 A New Ally


    I was walking along the path with Ritsuko and all of a sudden she seemed to start acting frantic. I didn¡¯t know what was going on at the time so I asked her ¡°Ritsuko is something the matter.¡±  She looked at me with pure fear in her eyes. Whatever was going on was something terrible.


    She yells at me ¡°Run Maeno.¡± At first I didn¡¯t know what to do. I didn¡¯t want to leave her, but she was very stern in her judgement. I have never doubted her gut on things so I turned to start running away. I hope she is ok, but if I¡¯m not there to slow her down she can go all out. As I am running I don¡¯t look back at whatever is happening, but a thought occurs that makes me slow down. I have familiars I can summon to help her out.


    She doesn¡¯t know my magic type yet so she probably didn¡¯t figure I¡¯d be helpful. I slow down almost to a jog while I think. I can summon both Zere and Lucci into the fight and I¡¯m sure they would help Ritsuko considerably. I decide to turn around and go help her. As I slow down something hits me in the back of the neck and I am paralyzed and fall to the ground. Once I hit the ground I fall asleep, but before I am entirely asleep I feel someone pick up my body.


    After I fall asleep enter the Gate of Truth. I look around the place and once again see Caroline on the same rock beforehand. I ask her ¡°Caroline what just happened to me in the real world?¡±


    She says ¡°Maeno you were knocked out by a man. Right now Ritsuko is in danger so you need to wake up and help her¡± Caroline says.


    I ask ¡°What do you mean she is danger?¡±


    Caroline responds with a hint of concern ¡°Ritsuko is going to die if you don¡¯t wake up and help her.¡±


    I am shocked beyond belief. I am the reason she is going to die. I shouldn¡¯t have listened to her. I should have just summoned out Lucci and Zere and helped her with whatever she was fighting.


    Caroline, almost as if reading my mind say to me ¡°Maeno don¡¯t beat yourself up about Ritsuko. Remember she was the one who told you to leave and you listened to her trying to be respectful of her feelings¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but if I hadn¡¯t left her she would not be in peril right now¡± I say with anguish.


    ¡°If she means that much to you then you need to wake up and help her out¡± Caroline says. Caroline is completely right about what she said. I need to wake up and help her out.


    ¡°Caroline can you wake me up?¡± I ask her with worry.


    Caroline says sullenly ¡°Alas you are the only person who has control over whether you wake up.¡± I need to wake up as soon as possible. A thought occurs to me that I might be able to use my gate to warp myself back to reality. I would have to ask Caroline about it, but it might actually work if it is my gate.


    I look at Caroline in her eyes with determination and ask ¡°Can I use my Gate to go back?¡±


    Caroline smiles at me as if I figured out the answer she was waiting for and says ¡°That is a path back home. Touch your gate and hold it there to go back to the real world.¡±


    I hold my hand on the gate for a few moments. I feel energy pulse through me. The sixteen symbols then flash green and I am facing upward towards the forest canvas. My vision is blurry since I just awoke. I look around the area I am in a daze. My head kind of hurts, but Ritsuko is more important right now. I see a man off to my left about five feet away.


    He is wearing a black ragged cloak. He has black hair and skin the color of coconut. He is currently sitting with one leg bent and the other outstretched. He is resting his arm on his bent knee and looking ahead at something. I glance further to my left and see Ritsuko laying on the ground. There is a puddle of blood next to where her face is and she is unconcious.


    I hop up off the ground and start running towards Ritsuko. The man stands up abruptly and grabs me by the back of my shirt and keeps me from moving forward anymore. I turn and face him. I look at his face and notice a scar on the side of his face running from the edge of his eye to the middle of his jaw. He looks at me briefly and then pulls me backward away from Ritsuko.


    I ask him ¡°Who are you?¡±


    He looks at me and says ¡°I¡¯m an assassin that was paid to protect you. My name is Crow.¡±


    ¡°Why are you keeping me away from Ritsuko? I she dead.¡±


    Crow says to me earnestly ¡°No, but if she doesn¡¯t wake up she will be.¡±


    I say ¡°I might be able to heal her then so get out of my way.¡±


    Crow starts chuckling and looks directly at me. ¡°Maeno I¡¯m going to suggest once and only once for you to take a seat. I¡¯m waiting on Ritsuko to wake up right now. If she does wake up I¡¯ll heal her, but if she doesn¡¯t I¡¯m going to let her die. If you really believe Ritsuko will make it through this than take a seat and patiently wait for her to wake up¡± he says.


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


    ¡°Open Gate of Water Fifth Star Lucci come forth¡± I exclaim. Lucci comes out and hesitantly waits for an order.


    ¡°What can I do for you master?¡± She gurgles.


    ¡°Do you have any healing magic?¡± I ask desperately.


    ¡°Yes I do master¡± Lucci says indignantly.


    ¡°Alright I need you to heal Ritsuko for me. Do you think you can do that?¡± I ask


    ¡°Her condition is pretty bad, but I should be able to¡± Lucci tells me. ¡°It will definitely take me a while to heal her back to her full state assuming I can.¡±


    Crow says ¡°Maeno I¡¯m sure your fish can heal her, but I¡¯m not going to let anyone heal her. This is a test of her strength. If she can¡¯t wake up she is weak and not worth saving. If however she manages to wake up I can heal her completely¡± Crow says with assurance.


    ¡°How did she even get hurt this bad? I¡¯m fairly sure I was only knocked out for a few moments ¡°I say.


    ¡°She was attacked by a large shade beast. Most likely she knew it would be attacking and told you to run. It knocked you out and I healed you back to full strength¡± Crow says.


    ¡°Why would you heal me when you are trying to test her?¡± I ask furiously.


    Crow responds ¡°I already know you¡¯re strong, but I¡¯m not so sure about the girl.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to heal her and you better not get in my way¡± I say with anger. I¡¯m not sure how strong this guy is, but I¡¯m willing to fight him if I can heal Ritsuko. I take two steps forward towards Ritsuko and he stands up.


    ¡°Maeno don¡¯t make me do this¡± Crow says pleadingly.


    ¡°Crow get out of my way so I can heal her¡± I demand.


    ¡°Maeno I don¡¯t want to fight you. I¡¯m positive she will wake up from her stasis. I would bet my life on it. However I need to see for myself how strong she truly is¡± He says with desperation.


    ¡°Why do you need to test her strength? Why is it so important that you must test her strength to the point she might die?¡± I ask angrily.


    Crow looks down at the ground and says ¡°Maeno listen to me for a moment. I know how much she means to you I really do. You don¡¯t want her to die. I don¡¯t want her to die either because Ritsuko''s blood would be on my hands. As much as I want to save her right now I can¡¯t. I need strong allies for my cause and I want to train you both. She will go through much worse than this in later periods so I have to test her now¡± He looks down at the ground briefly as he says.


    ¡°Screw your cause. You would let a innocent girl die just to see if she is strong enough to wake up from her injuries¡± I say fiercely. ¡°I¡¯m tired of talking with you because it is clearly not going to get me anywhere.¡± Right now I¡¯m really pissed off and I don¡¯t want to hear another word from his mouth. Lucci remains silent off to my side.


    ¡°You want to save the gods right?¡± Crow asks expectantly.


    I drop my guard for a second and ask ¡°How do you know about that?¡±


    ¡°My god Agate told me that in my future I¡¯d meet a boy with white hair and fierce determination. That kid would be the one to save the world and I should not be his enemy, but instead join his cause. That boy is you Maeno. You are trying to save the gods from being killed right?¡± Crow asks me.


    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be some prophesied hero? Well if that is the case I still need Ritsuko by my side¡± I say.


    Crow looks as though he is about to open his mouth and then he shuts it again. He just nods his head and walks over to Ritsuko. He pulls out a bottle and lets one drop fall on her. Immediately her breathing gets better and she seems to be sleeping peacefully. I sit up against a tree and start waiting for Ritsuko to wake up. Crow walks over to me and kneels down.


    Crow says ¡°Sorry about not healing Ritsuko. I was being selfish¡± He says apologetically. I look over and see Ritsuko starting to wake up. He asks me ¡°Where are you guys headed out to train?¡±


    ¡°A lake nearby¡± I respond. I look over at Lucci and say ¡°You can go back if you want Lucci.¡±


    Lucci shakes her head and says ¡°No, I¡¯ve got to protect you if anything comes back up.¡±


    This makes me happy and I say ¡°Alright then Lucci I am in your hands.¡± She seems happy about this.


    I look to Crow. He nods his head at me and says ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time alone with her. I¡¯m going to head to the lake and wait for you guys there. We will have a talk about Ritsuko at a different time.¡±


    I see him dissipate into shadows. I know he was lying about Ritsuko and how she got hurt, but I am honestly curious as to why he didn¡¯t heal her. He had a potion for her to drink if she did wake up. I¡¯m sure he did want to test her strength, but I¡¯m sure there was another reason for it as well. I walk over towards Ritsuko and sit down next to her. I hear Lucci say ¡°He is kind of an asshole¡± and I start laughing.


    She finally opens her eyes and looks at me. She rolls onto her back and reaches up for my face. She starts crying tears of joy while looking up at me. I tell her ¡°You were exhausted from the trip and fell asleep here.¡±


    Ritsuko says ¡°Maeno I had a terrible dream. I fought a monster while trying to protect you and it broke my ribs and arm and I wanted to see you. The monster left, but I fell asleep before I could see you again¡± She says sadly.


    I look down at her and smile warmly. I tell her ¡°Ritsuko it was just a dream nothing bad would ever happen to me.¡± She seems comforted by this notion and lays still. It is about night time in the forest and I don¡¯t want to risk getting into any more danger so I decide that I will camo here with Ritsuko. ¡°Open Light Gate Third Star Zere come forth.¡±


    Zere asks ¡°What can I do for you today Master Maeno?¡±


    ¡°Do you know how to start a fire?¡± I ask curiously.


    ¡°Of course let me get to it.¡± He turns into a shadow figure and walks off into the forest to start gathering wood.


    Ritsuko sees Lucci and says ¡°Aww your so cute¡±


    Lucci makes a sound similar to a grrr from a dog and says ¡°I¡¯m not not cute¡± I start laughing at this. I get the feeling Lucci will be a great familiar. At least for comic relief I suppose. I keep this thought to myself and wait while Zere makes our fire.


    I ask him ¡°If it¡¯s not too much trouble could you also make a tent for us?¡±


    Zere responds ¡°That is not an issue Master Maeno.¡± He goes off once again to gather materials for our tent. He returns in about five minutes with a lot of leaves about fifteen branches. He sets the branches up in a tent format. He then walks over to the leaves and chants something in a different language. He rests his hand on the branches and the leaves fly over and start applying themselves to the branches until they make a full tent cover.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡± I remark to Zere.


    He laughs and says ¡°It was nothing Master you don¡¯t need to flatter me.¡±


    He is nice, humble and willing to serve. He reminds me of a butler. I honestly want to see him where a suit now. This makes me chuckle out loud. Zere asks me ¡°What do you find humorous may I ask Master?¡±


    I retort ¡°I just think you¡¯d look nice in a suit.¡±


    Zere says ¡°I can if you¡¯d like¡±


    ¡°Really!?¡± I exclaim.


    He snaps his finger and is wearing a full set of butler attire. He has a black overcoat with white buttons all the way down the inner folds along with a white dress shirt underneath. He is also wearing slacks and a bow tie around his neck. Other than the fact he has no face he looks nice. I tell him ¡°You look nice.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Master Maeno¡± he says unflustered.


    I look over at Ritsuko and say ¡°I¡¯m heading to bed.¡± I crawl in the tent and lie down on the left. Zere had also made makeshift pillows out of twine and leaves. He really does pull all the stops. Well I¡¯m just glad he is a good butler for me. I look up at the top of the tent and start reminiscing about days when I use to play with Ritsuko. I had a lot of fun with her back in the day, but I¡¯m past the age of playing around.


    What happened earlier in the day with Crow I¡¯m not going to tell her. I don¡¯t want her to panic about it. I really just told her I was going to bed because I don¡¯t want her asking questions about what happened earlier in the day. I continue to lie in the tent looking up at the top. She starts walking closer to the tent and I shut my eyes. She pops her head in the tent and asks me ¡°Maeno are you still awake?¡±


    I don¡¯t answer her. I just lay still and keep my eyes closed. She says ¡°Sleep tight dear¡± and then pulls back out of the tent. She walks a couple feet away and sits down. I want to talk with her, but it would be too hard to explain what happened today. I¡¯ll try talking with her tomorrow. I slowly fall asleep in the tent.

 Chp 7 One Step Closer

    Chp 7 One Step Closer


    When I black out from the pain and blood loss I find myself in the Gate of Truth. I see Morte standing next to my gate. I walk over to him. I ask him ¡°Am I still alive?¡± I want to know because if I really did die here Maeno would have nobody to protect him. It tears me up inside to think of the pain he would go through if I were to die. ¡°I want to see him again¡± I say.


    Morte says, ¡°One of the paths you may end up taking might result in death, but your fate is not to die here.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean I can see him again?¡± I ask with desperation.


    ¡°Most likely yes. However, you need to tread carefully¡± Morte says callously. ¡°You need to know about part of your power. If you are near death, but don¡¯t end up dying your magic usage and power will be increased by half of the current amount¡± he says.


    ¡°You are the God of Death right?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yes, I am the God of Death¡± Morte says laughing at me


    ¡°If that is true then don¡¯t you have control over how strong I am?¡± I ask


    ¡°I do to an extent, but even a god has to follow the rules. Think of life like a string. Everyone''s life is a string with a certain length. People''s actions determine where the knot in the string is. The knot represents where your life ends. There are many knots along the way, but there is a very big knot at the end. The little knots can be avoided and removed depending on your actions, but the big knot can¡¯t be undone. It would take a force greater than a god to change one of the big knots. Once a string hits a big knot I have to cut the string no matter who the person in question is¡± He says.


    ¡°So I can avoid certain potential deaths, but if it hits the big one I die?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°That is correct¡± Morte says calmly.


    ¡°Can I see my string¡± I ask him with a bit of anxiety.


    ¡°Morte says, ¡°Ritsuko I can show you your string, but I¡¯m not sure you will like it.¡±


    ¡°I want to see it¡± I state blatantly.


    Morte grabs a ball of twine and reaches into the center of it somewhere. He searches around in it for a moment and then pulls out a red string. The string from start to finish has nothing but knots in it. There is a little bit of room at the start of the string and then the rest of the string is filled with knots ending at the big knot.


    ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± I ask with disbelief. ¡°Are you telling me that from now on I could die at any second?¡± I ask with fear.


    Morte says to me ¡°Unfortunately there are some very strong forces that would oppose Maeno. Your protective nature will get you in a lot of trouble. It is very likely you will die before you ever reach the end of the line¡± He says sullenly. ¡°However everytime you overcome death the reward is the power you seek to protect your beloved Maeno. Your life string fits you perfectly since you will need strength to protect Maeno¡± Morte says with slight anticipation.


    ¡°That means he needs me right?¡± I ask.


    ¡°More than you know¡± Morte says with assurance. ¡°You are going to be saved from your fate, but you should treat this all as a dream¡± Morte says.


    ¡°What do you mean¡± I ask cautiously.


    ¡°Talking about this incident in the future will later cause great strife among you and your guild mates. Consider this as advice from a friend. Treat all that happened as nothing more than a dream and you¡¯ll be fine¡± Morte tells me.


    ¡°Why will it cause problems?¡± I curiously ask.


    ¡°I can not tell you in detail, but this incident in particular could forever ruin your relation with your future guild¡± Morte says, his voice wanning. The Gate of Truth is starting to become hazy and the next time I open my eyes I¡¯m awake in the real world.


    The first thing I notice is that I am no longer in pain and all my wounds are healed. There is no blood where I coughed up. I feel energetic and there is a magical surge of energy rushing through my body. I look up and see Maeno sitting at my side. I roll over onto my back and reach up to touch his face. I¡¯m so happy to see him that I start crying. I wanted while I was dying to see him again and I have gotten the chance to do just that. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I open my mouth to start speaking and Maeno says to me ¡°You were exhausted from the trip and fell asleep here.¡± I know this isn¡¯t the truth. I know I fought a beast to save his life. I know that he knows that this isn¡¯t the truth and knows what actually happened, but I play along.


    I say ¡°Maeno I had a terrible dream.¡± I go into depth about it. I tell him how I fought a monster to save him along with my ribs being broken.


    He tells me¡±Ritsuko it was just a dream nothing bad would ever happen to me.¡± I know this is also a lie because my life is filled with dangers as is his. I smile at him though because this partially comforts me. I look around the camp and see a shadow and a water pike inside of a water bubble. These must be Zere and Lucci. Lucci is definitely the fish so Zere must be the shadow. Maeno doesn¡¯t introduce me to them though.


    Maeno walks off and starts talking to Zere about something. After the conversation ends Zere heads off into the forest. I study Maeno for a second because something seems off. I know he isn¡¯t an illusion, but he is acting a little weird. He didn¡¯t even really try to comfort me. I am curious, but I decide to ask at a later time. I look over towards Lucci.


    Lucci is a water pike with silver scales. The light that refracts off of the water bubbles glistens on her scales. She has a slender body so I¡¯m guessing she is still pretty young. I look at Lucci and say ¡°Aww your so cute.¡±


    Lucci makes a grr sound similar to that of a dog and says something I don¡¯t understand. Whatever Lucci said sounded like a different language. Even if I knew what she was saying the gurgling sounds of the water mostly cut out what she says. I hear Maeno laugh at this. I do wonder what her relation is with Maeno, but I don¡¯t need to ask right now because it will be revealed soon enough.


    I see Zere return and walk over to Maeno with lots of branches which he uses to start a fire. He says something to Maeno in the same language that Lucci spoke in and then he walks off back into the forest. He returns a few minutes later with branches and leaves . He throws them into a pile. He puts the branches in position and then casts a spell to cause the leaves to form a casing outside the tent. Maeno says to Zere ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± Zere nods his head once.


    Zere says something to Maeno that once again I can¡¯t distinguish and then Maeno starts laughing and says ¡°I just think you¡¯d look good in a suit.¡± Zere says something and then Maeno becomes excited and asks ¡°Really!?¡± I have no idea what they are talking about so I decide to leave them be. I start thinking about Maeno.


    I know Maeno is hiding something from me, but I don¡¯t know what it is. I don¡¯t want to pry because that¡¯s insensitive of me. I also don¡¯t know what his familiars are saying because they speak a different language then I do. I¡¯m not sure what it is considering I¡¯ve never heard it before, but it could be the language of the gods. I¡¯m not going to ask Maeno about anything tonight. I will wait til tomorrow before I talk to him.


    Maeno walks over to me and interrupts my train of thought. He says ¡°I¡¯m heading off to bed¡± and then walks towards then tent and crawls inside. I want to follow suit and go to bed with him, but I can¡¯t sleep in the same tent as him. If I did I wouldn¡¯t get any sleep because I would want to watch over him and make sure he is safe. I wait about five minutes before I go and check on him. I wanted to go sooner, but I don¡¯t want to appear clingy.


    I walk over to the tent and see Maeno rolled over to the left. He could be exhausted, but i don¡¯t know if he is actually awake or asleep. I ask ¡°Maeno are you still awake?¡± He doesn¡¯t respond. I glance at his face to try and see if e is awake, but since I don¡¯t want to go all the way in the tent I don¡¯t worry about it. When I look across his sleeping face I get  a strong urge to kiss him. I resist it and pull my head out of the tent. I say ¡°Sleep tight dear¡± and walk over next to a tree and sit up against it.


    Lucci is to my right in her bubble, but she isn¡¯t moving. She doesn¡¯t appear to be sleeping either so maybe she is meditating. That¡¯s a strange thought though. A fish meditating is just really weird to think about. I look around for Zere and he is nowhere in sight. I get the feeling he probably left. Lucci on the other hand is probably here because she is protecting the campsite. Since she is protecting us I decide to go to sleep. I pull my cloak close to my body and let myself drift off.


    I awake in the morning and Maeno is already getting ready to leave. ¡°Ritsuko get ready to go I¡¯m excited to start training today and I want to get there early¡± he says when he notices I¡¯m awake.


    I get up, grab my bag and start walking over to him. ¡°I¡¯m already good to go¡± I tell him with a hint of excitement. ¡°So your familiars are Zere and Lucci right? Which one is which?¡± I ask curiously.


    ¡°Lucci is the water pike and Zere is the shadowy one¡± He responds.


    ¡°Do you know what they say when they speak. I don¡¯t understand them at all¡± I state.


    ¡°I can teach translate what they say until you can understand them¡± He says assuringly.


    I smile at this and remark ¡°Thanks Maeno.¡±


    Maeno looks to Lucci who is still in a trance and tells her ¡°Put out the fire Zere created.¡±


    Lucci uncurls inside the water bubble and goes over to the fire. She spews a small stream of liquid onto the fire. Maeno is standing over by the fire so I stand next to him and watch her put out the fire. The stream she is spitting is super small so it''s barely having any effect on the fire. Maeno says  ¡°Lucci come on hurry it up¡±


    Lucci chants in her language something and then closes her mouth. She then quickly opens it and with the force of a flood drowns the fire and us. The water quickly knocks us over causing us to fall under the water and then dissipates as it soaks into the ground. Maeno gets up and says half serious ¡°Lucci come on was that really called for¡± and then proceeds to start laughing.


    Maeno summons out Zere ¡°Open Light Gate Third Star Zere come forth. Zere can you get us some towels to dry off with please?¡± Zere nods his head and from shadows pulls four towels for us to use. Maeno says to Zere ¡°Could you also dry our clothes after we change?¡± Zere nods again.


    I Walk off a bit into the forest to change clothes. I remove my armour and cloak. I feel a significant breeze since I am soaked with water. I don¡¯t have a change of underwear unfortunately, but I am going to make a trip to the city tomorrow to buy clothes. I use the towels Zere gave us to dry off.  I am going to need more clothes since I only have one other pair. I change into a white dress. The dress goes down to my knees and has frills on the bottom around it as well as on my chest next to where the buttons are..The frills on the dress are black. It buttons up the center where the lace would normally be.


    After I change I head back to camp slowly as to make sure that my dress does not get snagged on any branches or the like. I get back to camp and see Maeno in a regular black shirt and pants. He looks up at me and says ¡°You look nice Ritsuko.¡± I try to hide my blush, but I am unable to. He starts laughing and says ¡°That¡¯s nothing to get upset about Ritsuko.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t upset¡± I say defensively.


    ¡°Sure looks like it¡± Maeno says while trying to contain his laughter.


    ¡°Shut up idiot. Lets get go start training¡± I say.


    ¡°Race you¡± Maeno says. He bolts, running down the path through the woods.


    ¡°Maeno¡± I yell. ¡°Maeno get back here.¡± I start running after him through the forest. As I am running I am also trying to make sure my dress doesn¡¯t get caught. This slows me down considerably. Eventually I lose sight of Maeno. I know where the training spot is even though I don¡¯t have the map, but I wonder about Maeno. I slow down to a walk and head towards the training site.

 Chp 8 Training Begins

    Chp 8 Training Begins


    I wake in the morning. I look to my left and see if Ritsuko slept in the tent. I get outside of the tent and find her wrapped up in her cloak against a tree. That probably isn¡¯t comfortable I think myself. I summon out Zere ¡°Open Light Gate Third Star Zere come forth. Zere can you pack up the tent?¡± I ask him.


    Zere nods his head at me and says ¡°Of course.¡± He snaps his fingers and the leaves from the tent disperse amongst the area. The branches then follow suit and go in different directions of the forest. I grab my bag with clothes in it. I look over and see Ritsuko waking up. ¡°Ritsuko get up I¡¯m excited to train and I want to get there early¡± I say to her. She gets up with her bag and walks over to me.


    She says ¡°I¡¯m already good to go¡± with a brief smile on her face. ¡°So your familiars are Zere and Lucci right? Which one is which?¡± she asks me curiously.


    ¡°Lucci is the water pike and Zere is the shadowy one¡± I respond.


    ¡°Do you know what they say when they speak. I don¡¯t understand them at all¡± Ritsuko states.


    ¡°I can teach translate what they say until you can understand them¡± I say trying to be ensuring towards her.


    Ritsuko smiles at this and remarks ¡°Thanks Maeno.¡±


    I look over to Lucci who is curled up in her water bubble. She seems to be in a trance of sorts. I think she was meditating while trying to stay on guard. I say ¡°Lucci put the fire Zere created out¡±. Lucci uncurls from her fetal state and slowly starts creating a small trickle of water on this. Frankly the progress of which the fire is going out is maddening. I say ¡°Lucci come on hurry it up¡±.


    Lucci bends backwards for a moment and the yells ¡°Channel Forward Flood¡± She closes her mouth briefly and then inhales as much air as she can. Lucci then makes a small roar and a flood comes out of her mouth. Not only does the flood drown the fire it also temporarily flows over top of us. My clothes are now soaked and since Ritsuko was standing right next to me she is also soaked.


    I¡¯m not mad at Lucci since I did tell her to hurry ,but I do say semi-seriously ¡°Lucci was that really called for?¡± I start laughing about this and then summon out Zere. I ask him ¡°Zere can you get us some towels to dry off with please?¡± Zere nods his head and from his shadows pulls four towels for us. I say to Zere ¡°Could you also dry our clothes after we change?¡±


    Zere nods again and says ¡°Sure thing Master Maeno.¡± Ritsuko grabs two towels and then heads off into the woods to change. I pull off my shirt and my pants and change into a regular shirt and some black pants I grabbed on my way out of Haruna. After I get changed into my new clothes I hand my clothes to Zere. He dries them off and hands them back to me. I put the clothes back in my bag. ¡°Lucci and Zere can you head off ahead of us and go to the lake?¡±


    ¡°Master Maeno no offense, but I don¡¯t like the idea that you could get in danger before you get to the lake¡± Zere says making a concerned expression.


    ¡°Master Maeno please let me remain by your side in case of danger¡± Lucci squeaks mostly garbled by water.


    I sigh and say ¡°Alright Zere head to our training point Lucci you will remain in your summoning seal unless I call for you¡±


    Lucci says ¡°Thank you Master¡± and disappears into my summoning seal on my right hand. The serpent glows temporarily and then fades back to black. Zere fades to shadow after a brief nod and heads on ahead of me to the training spot. In all honesty I¡¯m excited for training and want to get there as soon as possible. I just hope Ritsuko can change soon.


    Ritsuko comes back in around five minutes wearing a white dress. It has black frills around the bottom and up the center of the chest. It suits her, but I wonder why she took such nice clothing with her on the journey to Barui since we originally were only supposed to be there for a couple of hours before heading back. Chief Ranga is probably also worried about us since we haven¡¯t come back in a whole day.


    Crow was payed to keep us safe and escort us back, yet hasn¡¯t even attempted taking us back to the Village. It makes me wonder what he is planning. If he did come to train us then why did he accept the mission to take us back in the first place. Him accepting a mission to take us back makes no sense considering the fact he was paid to take us back.


    I¡¯ll have to ask Crow when we are alone that way Ritsuko doesn¡¯t hear us. I mean I don¡¯t want to go behind her back, but I know that Crow was the person who made the beast attack her. I am pissed off at him, but I¡¯m sure he was hiding something more on the matter. Ultimately he still healed her which means he didn¡¯t want to make me mad. Crow seems to understand how I feel on matters, but I don¡¯t know what he thinks about. I¡¯ll ask him after training some time.


    I look up at Ritsuko and say ¡°You look nice Ritsuko.¡± She starts blushing and looks away. I start laughing because she is so girly. I say ¡°That¡¯s nothing to get upset about Ritsuko.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t upset¡± she says defensively.


    ¡°Sure looks like it¡± I say while trying to contain my laughter.


    ¡°Shut up idiot. Lets get go start training¡± Ritsuko says blushing even more.


    ¡°Race you¡± I offer. I start running down the path through the woods. I cut off the path and head to where our training spot is.


    Ritsuko calls out for me and yells ¡°Maeno. Maeno get back here¡± she says calling out for me. I continue running for where the training site is. I didn¡¯t really think about it, but in her current apparel she probably can¡¯t run. She is in a dress and I doubt she wants it to get ripped. I slow down to a walk and continue forward towards the training site. I don¡¯t want to get too far ahead of her. As I am walking I feel a presence.


    I say aloud ¡°Come on out .¡± I look down at my right hand and see it flashing. Lucci really wants to come out I¡¯m guessing. She probably doesn¡¯t feel comfortable staying in my summon seal right now. I don¡¯t release her however because I don¡¯t feel as though I am in an actual danger.


    A shadowy figure comes out from the shadow of a tree. To be honest it looked like the figure was part of the tree and just simple detached itself. I look at the figure and try to figure out who it is. ¡°Who are you I ask calmly?¡± The figure starts to approach me slowly. It makes no sounds as it moves in my direction. Although it is ominous I don¡¯t find it scary. Lucci¡¯s serpent sign starts pulsing even more. It keeps flashing a blue light.


    ¡°Lucci calm down, that is an order.¡± The sign stops flashing and she grows still. The person stands in front of me about four feet away. The figure reaches up grabbing its cloak and then throws it to the side and it disappears. ¡°Crow if you wanted to talk with me you could have just said so instead of being creepy¡± I remark.


    ¡°Maeno you need to learn how to use your magic quickly. Unfortunately I don¡¯t have much time to train you before we need to set off on our journey¡± Crow says quietly.


    ¡°What do you mean Crow?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°The new group of magic users in Barui are starting to train using magic and you can¡¯t afford to fall behind.¡± Crow tells me.


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°The reason I can use my magic effectively is because I was part of the first group to receive magic. I received my magic around three months ago.¡± Crow says to me.


    ¡°If you really did receive your magic three months ago how did the other big cities not find out about it?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Barui was the last big city to get magic. Everyone who received magic could not tell any non magic user about the Gate of Truth until all cities were afflicted by the gate. Those who were not in the city during the time the gate showed up can not receive magic. They must physically touch a gate of truth to do so. The Gate will only be there for three days. After three days are up the gate disappears and nobody else in this world will be able to receive magic unless they are born with it.¡± Crow explains.


    ¡°If the previous magic users can¡¯t talk about magic or the gate with non magic users how did the rumours about the gods get out in the first place?¡± I ask with confusion.


    ¡°One of the gods takes temporary control of someone so they can spread the word. Of course nobody believes it at first, but once word is out the gate gets dropped and then magic is spread to those who touch it.¡± Crow tells me.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Then is the rumour about someone killing a god really true?¡± How could someone amass enough power in a few months of time to kill a god?¡± I ask Crow.


    ¡°The rumour unfortunately, is true about that person killing a god. I don¡¯t know much about it, but I do know that the person could apparently absorb the magic power and abilities of those they defeated. They probably killed lots of people and gained power from them so they could amass power quickly.¡± Crow says while scowling. ¡°Look Maeno I need to to train you quickly. You are going to run into the god slayer at some point in your journey. It is your fate to fight them. You are in a lot of danger so we need to find your future guild mates and I need to train you Maeno.


    ¡°How do you know so much about my future and I don¡¯t¡± I ask Crow in disbelief.


    ¡°I asked my god Agate to take me to the Gods of Fate. In exchange for her reading my fortune she asked me to watch out for a kid with white hair and blueish green eyes. She didn¡¯t go into much further details, but told me the kid would be a summoner. You can summon familiars right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡± I say compliantly.


    ¡°Well your the one I¡¯m looking for then Maeno. I know I was payed to take you back to Haruna Village, but you can¡¯t go back. It is not your destiny to go back there. Maeno if you work with me and let me train you I will join your guild. You need three people anyways right?¡± Crow asks me.


    ¡°That is true however I will only accept your offer under one condition, you must tell me why you almost killed Ritsuko. I know you have a reason other than testing her strength.¡± I say as calmly as possible. I do want him to answer me, but I also need him to join our guild. I made this proposition because we need a third member of our guild before we can create our own.


    ¡°I know she means a lot to you Maeno really I do. I have my reasons for attacking Ritsuko, but even if I told you I¡¯m not sure you¡¯d believe me. I don¡¯t want you to distance yourself from her.¡±


    ¡°Look Crow,... I can¡¯t trust you if you don¡¯t tell me why you attacked her. From my perspective it looks like you attacked her for no reason and although that may not be I can¡¯t be expected to understand if you don¡¯t tell me¡± I tell him.


    ¡°I understand that Maeno, but I really don¡¯t think you¡¯ll understand¡± Crow says while looking down.


    ¡°Just tell me your reason and I promise no matter how ridiculous it sounds I¡¯ll listen and believe it¡± I say with confidence.


    ¡°Very well Maeno I will tell the truth. I attacked Ritsuko because I think she is a danger to you. When I visited the gods of fate told me one other thing about you before I left. Someone very close to you who was perceived to be your protector would be your ultimate betrayer. I believe with absolute certainty they were referring to Ritsuko. The test was about Ritsuko¡¯s strength, but I mainly did it to see if she was strong enough to kill you. See the thing is if she was your betrayer she would have awoken because it was not her place to die. If she however did not awake I would be mistaken and in that case revive her in exchange for a serious punishment or task from a god.¡± Crow explains.


    ¡°You believed Ritsuko was the traitor the gods spoke of?¡± I ask uncertainty. ¡°Well regardless I made a promise so I am going to believe you. If you honestly feel she is the traitor amongst our future guild just keep an eye on her and report back to me.¡± I tell Crow.


    ¡°Very well Maeno I shall do just that. I¡¯ll see you at the meeting point Ritsuko has almost caught up with you.¡± Crow tells me. He steps up against the shadow of a tree and fades into nothingness. Further off I hear Ritsuko walking towards me. I wait for her to catch up while taking in the scenery of the forest.


    I still haven¡¯t heard a single animal in this forest, however everything still seems peaceful. The forest is still quiet, but it glows a green color that¡¯s very dim. My guess is due to the magical intake the forest is full of life. The animals aren¡¯t here though and that¡¯s what makes the forest lively. I want to know what happened to them, but I don¡¯t have time to wonder about that. I need to start training with Ritsuko.


    Ritsuko comes up beside me in her white dress. I don¡¯t see any rips on the dress which means she probably didn¡¯t want it to get damaged. She seems a little annoyed, but when I look up at her she smiles at me.


    ¡°Maeno thank you for waiting on me¡± She says exuberantly with a beaming smile. He hair is a mess though because she didn¡¯t take any time to comb it this morning since I rushed her.


    ¡°As I was running ahead I realized we were suppose to be training together so I stopped.¡± I tell her.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s try and get to the training spot soon¡± Ritsuko says trying to be polite. She lifts her dress up about an inch to make it easier to move and keeps pace with me while I¡¯m walking. We walk through the forest for another ten minutes or so when we come to a clearing. The clearing opens up further to a lake. At the edge of the clearing I see Zere waiting for us. He is standing next to a tree and standing there waiting for us.


    I hear Lucci say ¡°Master do you need me yet?¡± I can tell from this Lucci is a familiar that likes always being around their master. I say ¡°Lucci you don¡¯t have to wait for me to summon you here. If you want to come out just tell me so¡± I tell her.


    Lucci says ¡°Open Gate of Water and jumps out of the summon seal.¡±


    I look further ahead towards Zere and say ¡°Zere revert to your normal form so Ritsuko knows what you look like.¡±


    Zere reverts back to his grey liquid from and says ¡°Is this sufficient Master Maeno?¡±


    Ritsuko says ¡°So he¡¯s actually like a slime?¡±


    I say ¡°Yes¡± to both of them.


    Zere turns back into a shadow butler form.


    I continue walking forward towards where the lake is. The lake is beautiful. You can see clearly most of the way down to the bottom. The trees in this area are strong with magic energy. I see Crow in front of the lake. He summons a shadow blade and slams it onto the water and perfectly cutting the lake in half. It remains this way for a moment and then splashes back together causing a huge wave. He does this a couple of times. I don¡¯t know whether he is trying to showcase his power or actually training. I look over at Ritsuko and she is in awe.


    I walk up behind him about forty feet away and hear his magic chant before finally casts his spell. ¡°Open Gate of Shadow Black Star.¡± a black pentacle stretches out across the water he then says ¡° Black Streak¡± The pentacle starts glow a purple color and then a blast hits the water causing a water explosion that reaches at least two hundred feet in height. The beam of light hits the water so fast it is only there for a brief second. The water starts falling in buckets. He calls out ¡°Open Gate of Shadow¡± All of the water goes into the gate. He then drops it back into the lake and turns around to me.


    I ask him ¡°How are you so powerful?¡±


    Crow smiles at me and says ¡°I have trained a considerable amount and I don¡¯t stop¡± he says.


    When I look back over at Ritsuko she is in a defensive fighting stance. She has her hand on her sword and is ready to attack Crow. ¡°Maeno do you know this guy?¡± I hesitate and start thinking about how to explain who Crow is. If I tell her I met him while we were separated she will get suspicious. I don¡¯t have long to think though because she might just attack him anyways. I decide to tell her part of the truth.


    ¡°He found us while we were out in the forest during the time you were asleep. He offered to train me and you if we were cool with it, but said he had to be somewhere. He told us to meet us here if we were interested in learning from him.¡±


    ¡°You decided to train with him without asking for my opinion on it?¡± Ritsuko says in disbelief.


    ¡°Sorry, but you were asleep and I thought we could learn faster if we had a teacher. He also said he would join our guild and since we are in need of new members anyways It makes sense for me to have him train us¡± I tell her.


    ¡°You trusted what he said even though he is a stranger?¡± Ritsuko asks me with discontent.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem like a bad guy¡± I tell her.


    ¡°Fine whatever¡± Risuko pouts.


    Crow looks up at me and says ¡°Maeno are you ready to start training?¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah¡± I shout excitedly.


    Ritsuko doesn¡¯t seem to be too happy about this, but she says ¡°I¡¯m in if he is¡±


    ¡°Alright Maeno already knows how to summon his familiar so I¡¯m not going to start training you both at the same time. Ritsuko I¡¯m going to fight you and during this time I want you to try and awaken your magic while you fight. Maeno you may give her help if you think she needs it, but if you do decide to help her out you are not allowed to heal her if she is hurt. I will still also primarily target her.¡± Crow explains.


    ¡°Where do you want me to wait?¡± I ask Crow.


    ¡°Over there¡± he points to the edge of the lake.


    Ritsuko pulls out her sword and gets ready to combat him. Crow pulls out two twin blades and tosses them to the side along with a twin blade he pulls out from underneath his cloak. He also throws off his shadow cloak and it disappears. He is now wearing a regular black shirt with black pants and a belt. Over top of this he is wearing a white coat. The coat stretches all the way down to the back of his heel. Crow says to Ritsuko ¡°I¡±m going fight you with my fists because if I don¡¯t it would be an unfair fight. You probably have a lot of training with weapons, but I am far more experienced in fights than you are.¡±


    Lucci calls my name out. I turn towards her and ask ¡°What do you need Lucci?¡±


    Lucci asks me ¡°Who do you think will win?¡±


    ¡°Crow will win this fight if they both go all out. You saw what he did to that lake. If he wanted to he could easily kill Ritsuko since she can¡¯t even use magic. She probably doesn¡¯t stand a chance in melee combat either since Crow is an mercenary.


    Lucci says ¡°You don¡¯t think Ritsuko could win?¡±


    I tell Lucci ¡°It''s not that I don¡¯t think Ritsuko could win. I just believe Crow can easily overcome her in power and that she isn¡¯t ready to fight an opponent of his calibur¡± I say quietly to her.


    Ritsuko says to Crow ¡°I¡¯ll beat you even if you are stronger.¡±


    Crow laughs and says ¡°I like your fighting spirit.¡±


    Crow runs forward towards Ritsuko at a regular speed and throws a punch for her chest. She jumps back about two feet dodging his first attack and then lunges forward with her sword and stabs at his throat. He summons shadows around his hand and smacks her sword away from his throat. He then abruptly thrust punches her in the abdomen and she goes flying backward about five feet. She recovers by rolling backward and assuming her fighting stance again with her sword positioned directly in front of her.


    Her dress gets mud on it because she hit the ground. She is clearly annoyed about this,but doesn¡¯t complain about it. It doesn¡¯t really matter if he clothes do get messed up because I can just have Zere fix them. So far Zere has done anything I requested so I don¡¯t put it past him to be able to easily take mud out of a dress. Zere right now is intently watching the fight. I wonder what he is thinking about.


    Crow runs forward again and throws another punch. She moves to the left and he follows up with a roundhouse kick. She moves just out of the reach and then slices downward where his eye is. He stops the sword by catching it between his hands. Once he stops it he kicks Ritsuko in the gut and grabs the sword out of her hand. He then throws it over his shoulder and continues walking forward towards her. She swiftly gets up and runs directly at him. She makes like she is going to grab him around the waste and then dashes to his left to try and run past him. He waves his hand and she is knocked to the ground by shadows.


    Crow says to her ¡°Your opponent in battle is not going to let you pick up your weapon if you are disarmed. You should keep that in mind for future reference¡± Crow says to her callously. .


    She raises her fists to try and fight him. She rushes forward and tries to punch him in the face. She throws punch after punch and each one he knocks out of the way. Finally she throws a fist with her left hand instead of her right to try and catch him off guard. He grabs her left hand and says ¡°Ritsuko this fight is not about attacking me, but trying to awaken your magic abilities.


    She says ¡°Shut up¡± and tries to kick him.


    He catches her leg with one hand, twisting it to the left, and then tosses her up in the air. She starts spinning and then lands on her shoulder. She screams out in pain. He probably broke her shoulder with that flip just now. I really want to get out there and help her, but this is her fight.


    She says ¡° I¡¯m not finished yet¡± while huffing and trying to ignore her pain.


    Crow says ¡°Ritsuko stop trying to hit me and start trying to use your magic to fight me. If you continue uselessly trying to attack me I¡¯ll start by breaking your other arm and then continue with your legs. He pulls out a small shadow orb only about the size of a nail and flicks it at her. It moves so fast she doesn¡¯t have time to move and hits her in her injured arm. She screams in pain and falls to her knees.


    Crow says ¡° Ritsuko I¡¯m not trying to be mean, but you need to start learning how to use your magic.¡±


    Ritsuko looks up with a small tear in her eye and asks ¡°How?¡± While trying not to break down in tears.


    ¡°Channel your emotions through your body and use it to summon your magic. The easiest way to bring your magic forth is to think about something you hate and use that to come forth your magic.¡± Crow says.


    Ritsuko closes her eyes and starts thinking. After awhile she says ¡°I can¡¯t come up with anything¡±


    Crow says¡± Alright then I¡¯ll help you out then.¡±


    I feel a power spike in the area and hear Ritsuko yell ¡°You Bastard!¡±

 Chp 9 An Old Friend

    Chp. 9: An Old Friend


    The truth about why I hurt Ritsuko was that I believe she is a traitor. The three Gods of Fortune told me that the person closest to Maeno would be his biggest enemy. If Ritsuko had woken up from that beating my shade beast gave her then she was the traitor. It was told by fate that the traitor would end up hurting Maeno. That means even if I had almost killed Ritsuko she would have lived it because she was meant to hurt him.


    I¡¯m not really all that attached to Maeno, but I do need to protect him because that¡¯s my job. I wasn¡¯t just paid to keep him safe. Six hundred pecunia is a hefty amount of money, but I take missions for far higher pay. Maeno is suppose to be the kid that changes this world. He may not change it for the better, but maybe he can. If Maeno truly can change this world I would go through hell to make sure he could complete his purpose.


    Maeno seems like a good kid in all honesty so I think he can make this world a better place. He doesn¡¯t act like someone capable of betrayal. He also always is honest and says what is on his mind. However he is way to trusting of others. It makes my mission easier that he can trust me, but if he just trusts everyone he is bound to get himself in trouble eventually.


    Ritsuko is a problem though. I am almost certain she is the traitor that is going to hurt Maeno. I don¡¯t understand how she could hurt him though. She definitely does love him a lot and I know she is very protective of him. I know her feelings aren¡¯t an act, but I do know one thing. I am sure Ritsuko has romantic feelings for Maeno, but with those feelings I wonder how she could bring herself to hurt him. Maeno is harder to read about his romantic interests. If he also likes Ritsuko there should be no reason for her to hurt him.


    After I heal Ritsuko I ask Maeno ¡°Where are you guys training at?¡±


    Maeno pulls out a map and says while pointing ¡°A lake nearby.¡± His finger is on Lake Nanne. It is a fairly large lake and the area around it is perfect for training. It also has a nice view. I have been to Lake Nanne three times before in the past and each time I wondered why I didn¡¯t just move and live there. The area around Lake Nanne is perfect in more ways than one.


    It has really sweet berries I love eating called reka poma berries. The berries are so sweet; almost like an explosion in your mouth. The first bite of one of them is crazy good and if you eat them quickly the flavor expands and lasts a while. I love most of the sweets in Barui and the other large cities, but nothing is better than the reka poma berries. While I¡¯m here I should probably grab a couple so I can take them back with me. They do have a few small seeds in them since the berries are about the size of my fist, but I wouldn¡¯t have time to grow them. The berries also make some killer juice. If the juice is made correctly and the pulp is concentrated the juice is better than any kind of alcohol and could probably get you drunk.


    Other than the berries Lake Nanne also has many other attractive parts to it. It has really clean water this is because it is untainted with fish. I¡¯m fairly sure there is no aquatic life in there. That is part of the reason it is untainted. People only really come to Lake Nanne for water. Since there are no fish people only take the water and leave. Many don¡¯t even stop to view the scenery. It is a real shame too because I want to make a house and live here.


    Lake Nanne also has rare plants that have curative properties to them. It has trees unique to its area. The trees are a brownish red. Their leaves are a beige color. The trees also don¡¯t grow any taller than fifteen feet either because their roots don¡¯t go down all that far. The Lake has many wonderful parts to it, but I don¡¯t think that many people know about it.


    The interesting part of the Lake though is entirely the water. No living animals go into the water because if they do the don¡¯t live very long. Supposedly when Aquarius originally created the lake she cursed it to avoid it being tainted. If any living creature without magic energy stepped into the water they would be killed on the spot and their soul energy would be used to keep the lake alive. The curse specifically says steps. This means they can drink from it, but not bathe in it.


    Lake Nanne also absorbs any magic energy directed at it. I have tested it before by firing at the lake with my strongest energy attack. It didn¡¯t do anything to the lake. The lake took the hit and not even a ripple occured in it. I wonder what kind of magic protects it from a magic blast of that degree. I¡¯m sure I will find out in due time though.


    I realize I have been thinking too much and look back up at Maeno. I notice Ritsuko is starting to wake up as well. I say to Maeno ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time alone with her. I¡¯m going to head to the lake and wait for you guys there. We will have a talk about Ritsuko at a different time.¡± I use shadow step and teleport to Lake Nanne. The second I get to the lake my attitude changes.


    The magic of this area has changed considerably. It is a lot weaker than it was the time I visited prior. It has enough magic energy that it should continue to sustain itself for awhile. I will feed the lake with my own energy though tomorrow after I wake up. Right now I want to go find some Reka Poma berries. I¡¯m excited thinking about it. I walk over around the lake to its west side and find the reka trees. I grab one of the berries and take a bite of it. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The sweetness hits me and I almost fall over because of how strong it is. The sweetness lingers in my mouth for a moment and then becomes a gentle bitter. The bitterness of the fruit is not overpowering and it doesn¡¯t taste bad either. Strangely it complements the fruit. It is almost like the bitterness is there to help you recover from how strong the sweetness. If I had to compare this berry to something it would be like getting hit really hard in the face. It knocks you senseless for a moment and then the bitterness kicks in and helps you recover your senses.


    It tastes as good as I remember, but something about the fruit itself seems off. The fruit is as big as it normally is, but instead of being circular in shape it is more ovular. I wonder what brought about this change in the fruit. A lot of things about this world are changing after magic has come into existence again. I don¡¯t know how people are obtaining meat anymore considering there are no animals. The plant life is growing thicker and becoming more vibrant in colors and it nows glows a faint green color. At night time the faint light of the trees are bright enough to provide light even though normally they don¡¯t give off any kind of light.


    It is almost dusk now so before Barui closes down its shops I¡¯m going to go visit. I do want to visit my guild and see the sights, but I am also interested in sweets. I however also want to know how people are still getting food if they don¡¯t go out to hunt animals. I haven¡¯t seen any animals in at least three months. I tried asking Agate about it about two weeks after I started learning magic because it was strange not to hear a single bird chirp in the air.


    There are no animals, but I have still seen monsters roaming about. The wyvern that attacked me in the sky and swallowed my dragon honestly scares me. I am strong without my magic, but that creature was something entirely different. I get the feeling if I were to go head to head with it I would lose. I don¡¯t know what that creature is called, but just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. When it opened its mouth all I saw was blackness. It is not the kind of blackness that you see when enclosed in a dark room without light. Its mouth was like a void. Very similar to my Gate of Shadow ability except I get the feeling that it didn¡¯t lead to another place, but instead broke down magic into a consumable form.


    I need to head to Barui since most of the good sweet shops close down in about twenty minutes. I am going to fly over there. I could warp in, but there are two issues with that. First if anyone sees me I will immediately be branded a magic user. I know that shouldn¡¯t be a big deal, but considering I¡¯m trying to keep my notoriety down I really shouldn¡¯t do anything to attract attention. Most people in Barui probably can¡¯t even use a basic low level spell and I¡¯m using a high level teleportation spell. The second reason I don¡¯t want to warp in is that I¡¯m going to burn through too much magic. A single teleport for me over a course of five miles takes around three percent of my total energy. Just today I have hopped around twelve miles along with burning magic turning into a crow, running, summoning an illusion dragon and the illusion I used to beat up Ritsuko. That isn¡¯t really all that costly for me, but I prefer not to use over twenty five percent of my energy on traveling each day.


    I realize I also still haven¡¯t put on clothes yet. I¡¯m still wearing my shadow cloak I made earlier today. I can¡¯t change now though because I need to turn back into a crow. I change into a crow and take off into the sky. Right now the sky is a dark red almost the color of blood. The sun will probably set in about fifteen minutes so I need to hurry to Barui. I use a magic boost to increase my speed.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I am now less than a mile from Barui. I am flying just above the treetops because I am honestly scared to go further up in the sky after earlier today where I could have been consumed by a magic devouring beast. I look around for a deserted alleyway to go into so that I can turn back into a human and change into clothes before anyone sees me. I remember the alley that Ritsuko lead Maeno in to speak with him and decide to change there.


    I touch down on the ground and start changing back into a human. ¡°Open Gate of Shadow¡± I reach into the portal and pull out my clothes and my gear. Since I don¡¯t need my weapons right now I prop them against a wall. I start putting on all my clothes starting bottom up. Before I can put my shirt on my swords fall off the wall causing a clutter. I quickly put my shirt on and a white jacket I always wear. I put my swords in their sheath under my jacket and put my twinblade back into my Gate of Shadow.


    I step out into the street and I decide I need to head out to the sweet shops first. The whole street is still busy since the Gate of Truth hasn¡¯t been removed yet and everyone is going hysterical over it. I have to actually push people out of my way to get to the confection store. I decide I¡¯m not going to buy any warm pastries since i won¡¯t have time to eat them.


    I decide to go in and buy some mints and some berrie paste. I choose whiti berrie flavor. Whiti berries are sweet and have a nice aroma to them ,but its a well known fact that they are good when mixed in with sugar as a paste. This particular berry paste goes good over bread recently baked. Along with the paste I buy one loaf of enriched grain bread. I spread the paste over it and wait.


    The bread soaks up the flavor nicely and the heat of it causes it to become almost a glazing. Once it reaches the point where the paste starts to harden again on top of the bread I take a bite into it. The paste from the berries softens the bread a little bit making it easier to chew. The paste mostly overwhelms the taste of the bread with its sweetness, but the hint of bread flavoring gives it a very fierce taste. This is comparable to a gardener harvesting fresh fruit and taking a break for lunch to rest; so he can back to work. The first bite of the food I¡¯m eating makes it seem like I haven¡¯t eaten all day and awakens my appetite for more.


    I quell this urge and take my time eating the loaf. I enjoy it until the very last bite and it leaves a taste in my mouth along with the urge to drink some water. The cost of this whole dinner for me is one hundred and fifty four pecunia. I have lots of money from my time as a assassin well over the thousands. I don¡¯t really use it for much other than sweets though.


    After I finish my loaf of bread covered in whiti berry paste I leave the confection shop and head over towards Dragon¡¯s Fang to see my old guild mates and also to get information from our Glen Baitor who is the leader of our information section in the guild. As I push my way through the streets I stop outside the guild. I don¡¯t walk in because I forgot something very important. I left the guild without reason and I never came back. I left two years ago after I quit being an assassin.


    None of my friends in the guild ever knew I was a killer. The reason I even made so much money was that I was in the guild taking high ranked quests for money and I had my off time job of killing people for money. I quit stopping by the guild because I never needed to. I forgot how long it has been since I¡¯ve been in here. After two years I¡¯m not sure that my guild will accept me coming back. The worst part is that even if they do accept my return, I¡¯m quitting to join Maeno¡¯s guild when he comes back in to take his preliminary quest. I turn around and start pushing away. As I do I hear a familiar sounding voice call out to me and ask ¡°Soren is that you?¡± I turn around and see Karen who is the guild master¡¯s daughter.