《Neiero: The Journey(Dropped)》 [1] An Experience To Remember ¡°Holy sh*t¡­That¡¯s a huge whale.¡± Under the brilliant blue sky, looking down from the fluffy clouds, an ocean lied there. Deeper than the caves, larger than the Earth itself. Filled with wildlife of many different species, this was a heavenly place! There, in between all the water, and the crashing waves, one could see a boat just floating there calmly. *Wuuuuoooooooo* On that little boat, a young boy with an oddly casual looking outfit, stood there with his mouth open and his eyes blank as he stared at the madness before him. His hand not letting go of the paddle, he slowly paddled the boat backwards. *Wuuuuuooooooo* ¡°¡­I¡¯m out.¡± And before that young boy, stood a giant whale, much bigger than any whale he had ever seen, except for those whales on National Geographic. Those guys who record those stuff are the pros we all need! With barnacles in the count of the millions, the whale¡¯s mouth slowly creaked open! *¡­WuuuoooooOoOOOOOOOO!!* ¡°¡­Sh*t.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ In the wide reaches of space, the empty void that houses the stars and planets, there existed one solar system, standing in the much larger Milky Way Galaxy. Inside that solar system, is a small blue and green planet, happily orbiting around it¡¯s sun. Looking much closer, the planet widened, and the land and the seas of the planet became clear to the naked eye. Hovering above, was a large moon that looked like it was going to crash onto Earth like it had a bad day at work. Poor guy, it¡¯s morning though. On the far left side of the world, there was a large continent, housing some of the most richest and most prosperous countries of the world. Let¡¯s take a look at Canada, shall we? And here, is where our story starts! Too long of an explanation? In the city of North Vancouver, a school was going along its usual activities under the raging sun above. It was very hot that day, okay? Even with the cold air¡­ The school was quite small, only opening its doors for junior and senior students that wanted to receive some education about this world. You know, normal school stuff. By then, it was already noon, and the lunch break had already begun! *Tuk¡­Tuk¡­* Inside the public library of the school, as one would expect, rows after rows of bookshelves occupied any given space. Books of many kind inhabited its shelves. Many tables were set up for those wanting to spend their time reading. Sadly, it was nearly empty at this point. *Tuk¡­Tuk¡­* From one of the tables at the west side of the library, a soft tapping sound of a pen hitting a table echoed through the nearly empty halls. ¡°¡­Hah¡­¡± Behind that table, a boy could be seen sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, occasionally tapping his pen against his table as he stared blankly at the grey ceiling. He casually took the paper on the table and stared at it. ¡°¡­What to do¡­¡± The boy sighed as his mind had run out of ideas on what to draw. It seems he was experiencing an artist¡¯s block! An impenetrable wall had appeared! Damn you, creativity blockade! Moving on, as he realised that he had hit a giant wall on his creativity, he slowly set down his drawing and his pen on the table. Getting up from his chair, he carefully examined his new creation. A couple weeks ago, because he was suffering a severe case of utter boredom, he decided to try and draw something he had never drawn before. With his pencil and pen ready, he brought out his drawing book and started experimenting. The picture he drew was based on a fantasy novel he read a long time ago. It told a story about a young boy, who was chosen to defeat the evil ¡®Demon King¡¯, set out for his journey and blah, blah, blah. Long story short, the demon king is defeated, world is saved, story over! But there was always one scene that he had taken a deep liking to. And that, was the first encounter between the protagonist, and the ¡®Demon King¡¯ himself. Locked in a deadly stare, their eyes transfixed on each other as they found the one thing left in their way! He wasn¡¯t sure why, but that moment intrigued his small little brain back in the day. Looking at it now, it wasn¡¯t the most interesting story, or the most unique, but the way the writer describes the world was amazing, in his opinion anyways. The words were fluid, the world felt vibrant, and the things the heroes go through were at least interesting. With that in mind, and after two whole weeks of nothing but brainstorming, he finished this new work of his! In the picture, it illustrates the young hero, with his faithful companions, meeting the ¡®Demon King¡¯ for the first time as he stood on his throne. The heroes looked at the Demon King, terrified, but determined, knowing that the end of their journey is coming. The hero draws out his sword, and pointed it at the demon king with a determined look shining on his face. His eyes showing no darkness, and burning with compassion. The demon king, sitting on his throne, gazed at the heroes, his gaze alone sent fear creeping on their minds. However, the picture felt quite bland. Because he had run out of ideas, he had to cut the amount of space he wanted to colour, and limited the amount of things he wanted to draw. In the end, there was always a sense that something was missing from that encounter. What was it?! It almost drove him crazy!If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Never mind! It did drive him crazy! But just as he was about to suffer from a mental break down, the floor he was standing on suddenly shook with terrific force. The chair he was sitting on shook and tipped, and he fell back first onto the cold floor. ¡°Ah¡­That hurt¡­¡± Rubbing his aching spine, he pushed himself back up. Tapping the floor with his toes, the vibrations from before was completely gone! But then, just as his eyes turned towards the windows, a spectacular sight greeted his eyes! ¡°What¡­the hell?¡± From the windows, he got a nice clean and crisp view of the city he lived in, and from a top down perspective too! It¡¯s as if he got to see it from an observation deck, thousands of meters above the ground!...Wait, what? *BOOM* And then, from behind him, a loud explosion occurred, and debris was flung across the room. *Bak!* Along with the flying debris, an insanely thick history book crashed onto his back! The sounds of cracking bones echoed in his ears. ¡°Agh?!¡± In sudden shock, and pain, he collapsed onto the cold floor once more, his face kissing the ground. *BOOM* *BOOM* ¡°Agh¡­What the hell?!¡± He pushed away the large book on his back and pushed himself up. And then it happened. *BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!!* Just as he turned around to see where the explosions were coming from, an explosion, much bigger and louder than the rest resounded behind him. ¡°Gah?!¡± His body was flung across the room, stopping as it hit the side of a bookshelf and dropping onto the ground once more. He really does love the floor¡­ The world he saw was in shambles. His eyes failed to adapt itself after the large force he felt, and his ears wouldn¡¯t stop ringing. His back felt like he had a really bad day at the gym, and his head felt like he had just failed a math test. It was super effective! -20 HP! Wait, he''s not in the other world yet! ¡°G-Guh¡­¡± As he slowly turned his head away from the pile of books above him, he got a nice and full view of the utter devastation before him. *Wuusshh!* A strong torrent of wind was gushing out of an opening on the wall! Tables, books, chairs, bookshelves, nothing was safe from being sucked out of the ascending school! And neither was this boy! ¡°Nononono¡­Sh*t! Stop!¡± As he continued to struggle, a large bookshelf tipped over, and crashed straight onto his back! More sounds of breaking bones sounded in his ears as he screamed in pain. *BOOM* *BOOM* More explosions continued to happen out of nowhere. Combustions of air happened with no causes. The books burned into crisp as the flames lit them in flames. This was just like the ending in 2012! Except it wasn¡¯t 2012! Whatever that means. ¡°Ah?!¡± As he continued to drag himself along the scorching floor, he felt an insanely strong pull forcing him away from the fallen bookshelf! He was saved! ¡°¡­Sh*t.¡± Never mind. He was actually heading straight for the opening in the wall! The force that pulled him out was actually the wind gushing out of the library! This would¡¯ve been fine if this was a game show! But it wasn¡¯t! *BOOM* This time, the sounds of the explosions sounded much more distant. Seems like explosions are also occurring outside of this library. Odd, what¡¯s really happening? No time to think! He¡¯s heading closer to the outside! And then, the inevitable happened! *Wush!* Out from the side of the rising school, the figure of a young boy just flew out! His body flailing as all energy was cut out! Let the rag doll physics commence! And then, as his body continued to spin endlessly as he fell farther and farther away from the school, his eyes caught the figure of a shadow. His body was invisible, only darkness surrounded his figure. His eyes were blood red, and his mouth split like the crescent moon. His sadistic smile piercing through his mind, as if a predator had just found its prey. And then, all disappeared. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ *Wuusshhh¡­* *Buusshh* The sounds of the crashing waves filled the glistening night. The melodies of the wind echoed through the cold seas. The sky tore open, and the moon looked down to the oceans under. *Buk!* In the midst of such a serene feeling, a sudden thud sounded. Flying past the oceans, reflecting back the moon above, the figure of a boy just suddenly emerged onto an island in the middle of this ocean. Looking from the clouds above, one would see that this was no normal appearance. Contrary to the disappointing sound his appearance made, there were large cracks surrounding his landing location. Now that there was no movement, the boy¡¯s figure was clear to see. From his appearance, this boy was about 17 years of age. He had jet black hair, and his eyes were ocean blue. Although, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see that, since his eyes are closed! I¡¯m the narrator, so what? His height was around 175 cm, and his body build was average. He wasn¡¯t a huge tank with bulging muscles, but he wasn¡¯t some bones covered in skin either. Though, right now shouldn¡¯t be the time to judge his appearance¡­ After suffering that horrible experience a couple minutes ago, his body was covered in dirt. His clothes were in tatters, and his black hair was a complete mess. His back suffered heavy internal and external injuries from the blasts. All in all, he was not okay. His consciousness was slowly drifting away. His eyes opened and closed slowly, his eye lids felt like 5 ton metallic poles. His whole body felt sore, and impossible to move. His energy was completely depleted with no remains. Finally, as his mind couldn¡¯t hold on for any longer, his consciousness drifted away into the realms of dreams. The first day of Damian Alexander, had ended spectacularly! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ And so, time passed by naturally. The moon above slowly moved along with time, and the starry midnight sky was soon replaced with the shining glow of the morning sun. The gradient of yellow and orange overtook the black. The clouds dispersed with the stars, and the new day rolled along. Soon enough, as the sun¡¯s light came into full effect, the skies were coloured complete bright blue. The ocean too, changed from the black colour of night, to the water blue colour of daytime. Ah¡­What a beautiful world! As the wind brushed against his tattered clothes, his eyes slowly lifted. ¡°Uah¡­Wh..ere¡­am¡­I¡­?¡± His mind struggled to form words as it was still trying to comprehend the events that had led him here in the first place! Just picture it, you, getting blasted, pinned down by a fallen bookshelf, and then shot out from the sky. Would you be shocked? Of course you would! Who wouldn¡¯t?! ¡­Back on track. Alex slowly moved his hands and rubbed his eyes. Looking up, the shining sun waved hello as he continued to laid there unmoving. His eyes staring blankly at the slowly changing and moving clouds that drifted in the skies. Slowly, he forced himself to sit on the sand. He arched his body forward, cracking sounds sounded as he could still feel the phantom pain from the dropped bookshelf. That was something he would gladly not feel, ever again. ¡°F*ck¡­That hurt.¡± He commented jokingly as he softly tapped on his back, before squirming in pain. The pain wasn¡¯t that sharp, but he wouldn¡¯t be running for now. For the first time, he turned his head around to see the beauty of the oceans, stretching to beyond the horizons. For some reason, he began to feel slightly emotional as he watched the waves crash into the sand and pull back. Pushing those feeling aside, his mind was thrown out of loop as he viewed this unknown sea before him. Sure, he had felt what it was like to be thrown of a building at terminal velocity and see his own school rise into the air, but this was still shocking! The shock factor aside, where was he really? This place didn¡¯t look like those Vancouver beaches he had visited when he was a kid, nor had he recalled seeing an ocean like this on google. So where was this? If only Mr. Google was here¡­ But nooo! He wasn¡¯t allowed to bring his phone into school, so that means that his phone is back at home! Agh! So annoying! As he was poking fun at himself for not bringing his phone, he felt a small vibration coming from within his brain. By reflex, and fear, he clutched his head tightly and waited in suspense. ¡°What¡­is it¡­this time¡­?¡± And then, his vision was covered in a long wall of blue text. ¡°¡­The hell?¡± Status: Damian Alexander Lv 1 Health: 11/30 Mana: 35/35 Strength: 5 Intelligence: 15 Resistance: 5 Agility: 10 Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (0%) Titles: ¡°¡­¡­¡± His mouth dropped open as his eyes scanned and read through the wall of text. No matter how you looked at it, doesn¡¯t this feel like a game status or something? Curiously, following a small voice in his head, he tapped on the one skill he had in his tab, the {Illustrator}. And then, this popped up. {Illustrator} Rank 1 Allows the user to conjure their drawings into reality by tracing an outline of the wanted object. Amount of effects applicable: 1 0% to Rank 2 ¡°¡­¡­The hell?¡± [2] A New Confusing Reality {Illustrator} Rank 1 Allows the user to conjure their drawings into reality by tracing an outline of the wanted object. Amount of effects applicable: 1 0% to Rank 2 ¡°¡­¡­The hell?¡± To Alex¡¯s surprise, the wall of blue text from before melted together to form this new wall of text, describing what this {Illustrator} skill is. Wait, just wait a sec! What the heck is a skill?! What¡¯s with those stat numbers?! Why is my defence so low?! Wait, why is that even a worry?! I¡¯m stuck with this wall of text damnit! ¡°Ah. It¡¯s gone.¡± And, just after he wished for it to go away, it went away. Convenient! To fulfil his curiosity, he wished for the same wall of text to reappear, and there it was, shining in front of his eyes like some menu popping up in his internal mind. Then, he wished for the wall of text to disappear, and it disappeared! He repeated this action for about 5 minutes before forcing himself to accept that something like this exists. But, if this is reality, and what he felt before was reality, then where was he? Looking around, all he could see was the glittering oceans. Actually, that¡¯s a lie. Around in the waters, he would occasionally spot a small spot of sand standing in the middle of this ocean, or as humans call it, an island. Looking around from his location, there would be around 500 or 600 islands around him, and in the far distant, he could spot a particularly large island. Squinting his eyes a bit, he managed to see something standing on that large island far away. As his sight got clearer, he realised that those things he saw were actually wooden houses! Civilisation?! Hell yeah! His heart jumped for joy as he realised that he wasn¡¯t alone! He wasn¡¯t trapped on an island alone, just like those survival movies he decided to watch when he¡¯s bored! ¡°Alright! Time to¡­Agh.¡± As he was about to declare his idea to himself, a pain surged in his back from standing up too fast. His face froze from the searing pain. Seems like going swimming won¡¯t be an option then. He let out a sigh in annoyance and sat down, crossing his legs on the sandy bed. If this was reality, then trying to survive would have to be his main priority. If that¡¯s the case, and going swimming there was impossible, then he would be out of options, but that was if this was his reality. However, this wasn¡¯t the reality he once knew. Whatever or wherever he is, the norms have changed. Bringing up his status, or whatever it is, he took a closer read this time. From a single glance, the strength, resistance, and agility numbers were quite obviously power, defence, and speed respectively. Then, was intelligence magic? Magic? Now that he questioned it, HP and MP stood for ¡®Health Points¡¯ and ¡®Mana Points¡¯. Using a simple thought process, does that mean Magic exists in this reality? ¡°¡­That¡¯ll be cool.¡± Moving past that, it seems like he only has one skill available, and no titles. If he levels up, will he unlock more skills? Is that how it works? He scratched his hair as he discarded the thought. Knowing that the norms in this reality are completely different from the ones he had back on Earth, simply jumping to conclusions won¡¯t bear any results. If thinking about it won¡¯t answer anything, he needed a new approach! Then, how about field experimentations? ¡°Hmm¡­That should work.¡± Once again, he brought up his status and opened his {Illustrator} description. {Illustrator} Rank 1 Allows the user to conjure their drawings into reality by tracing an outline of the wanted object. Amount of effects applicable: 1 0% to Rank 2 ¡°Hmm¡­¡± But, what exactly does ¡®Conjuring an object by tracing their outline¡¯ mean? His mind just couldn¡¯t wrap around that jumble of words. Not only that, ¡®Effects applicable¡¯ is one? What? Rubbing his chin for a while, he sat there thinking about what and how this skill really works. Sure, it sounds incredibly powerful, but if he can¡¯t use this, doesn¡¯t that just render it useless? Oh, hell no! For a start, he tried drawing a square in the air! And then¡­Nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing! How does this work?! But then, he took into account that this was a world different from his. And if this reality has magic somewhere rooted in it, does that mean this skill needs magic to use?Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡­And how is he supposed to do that exactly? His mind continued running in circles as more and more if his ideas turned out to be incorrect. And after about an hour of just sitting on the sandy beach, his mind started going insane and he started clutching his head in pain. In the end, he just wished that it would just damn happen already! *¡­Wiiiiiii* ¡°¡­Huh?¡± To answer his wish, a soft hum started to sound, and opening his eyes, he realised that there was a warm sensation in his right hand¡¯s index finger. Looking at it, his eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. His finger, was shining a bright white light! What the hell?! In shock, he tried shaking his hand around to shake the warmth away, but where his finger passed through, a tracing was left behind as a mark! As the lines of white light merged into one object, the tracing exploded into light! He forced his eyes shut, and then, a soft thud was heard. *Thud* Slowly opening his eyes, he realised that there was something sunk in the sand. Picking it up, it looked similar, if not the same as the object he created by flailing his hand around. But this time, it isn¡¯t made of air, but of rough and unclean stone! ¡°¡­¡­¡± Staring silently into his finger, he tried repeating what he did earlier, which was just literally pleading for the magic to appear. And to answer it, his finger began glowing! Now that he knew what it does, he slowly traced the air until it formed a small cube. As the lines met up with each other, the tracing exploded into light, and another small thud was heard. Right in front of him, he could see a small wooden cube sitting there on top of the sand! ¡°Odd¡­I can¡¯t create the material I want?" His suspicion grew as he realised that the two objects he conjured were made of two different materials. One was made of stone, while the other was made of wood. If he can¡¯t control the object¡¯s material at will, that would be one hell of a handicap for a skill like this. Sure, it may be powerful, but isn¡¯t this a bit too much? ¡°Hmm?¡± {Illustrator} Rank 1 Allows the user to conjure their drawings into reality by tracing an outline of the wanted object. Amount of effects applicable: 1 0% to Rank 2 ¡°¡­Effects?¡± Effects? What effects? Am I missing something? Alongside being able to conjure any objects he drew, he would be able to ¡®Apply an effect¡¯? But then again, what does that mean? Doesn¡¯t an effect go along the lines of ¡®Explodes¡¯ or something? He scratched his head as he continued to brainstorm over what ¡®Applying an effect¡¯ means. Not long after, the scratching got more violent, and his head started hurting, so he stopped himself. His HP was low enough! He didn¡¯t need to lower it even further! But then, just as he stopped scratching his head, a sudden thought came barging in! ¡°¡­¡­¡± He thought about something silently for a moment, before activating his skill and tracing a small cube once more, but this time, before he let go, he wrote the word ¡®Iron¡¯ on it. *Wiisshh* With a flash, a small iron cube fell into the sand! It was a success! ¡°I see¡­¡± After seeing that writing the word ¡®Metal¡¯ allowed him to control the material of the object, he came to the conclusion that the word ¡®Effects¡¯ also stemmed to ¡®Adjectives¡¯, which also meant the material of the object. It was probably not 100% correct, but it was a better conclusion that simply saying nothing, right? *Buushh* But just as he was about to inspect the metal cube he conjured, something came out from the ocean and walked onto the sand, stopping on the coast line of the small island he was sitting on. His body tensed up immediately as he slowly turned around to see what it was. Slowly, he turned his body around, and then finally, he saw what it was! It was a crab. Just a crab with an orange shell. ¡°Oh. You scared me there.¡± Alex said in relief to the crab, who only pinched its claws and looked at him in suspicion as it got closer to inspect him. But, he quickly noticed, that beneath that orange shell, he could see its eyes gleaming red with bloodlust. This thing was out for his blood! ¡°Woah!¡± *Wish!* Alex used his hands and pushed himself back, barely avoiding the swing of the crab¡¯s claw. He somehow succeeded in doing a back roll, and landed on his two feet. His hands never stopped shivering as their gazes locked. ¡°¡­Al-¡° *Wish!* ¡°Ah?!¡± Before he could finish his sentence, the crab¡¯s claw was swung and hit him straight in the gut! His face warped in pain as he quickly backed away from the crab. He quickly opened his status, and to his misfortune, his HP had dropped to 3. ¡°Sh*t¡­This sucks.¡± He cursed to himself as he watched the crab slowly crawl to him, its claws ready to swing. Was he going to go down like this? No! Of course not! As he did his best to keep his calm, he conjured a sharp stone with his magic and hit the crab down. The crab only flinched slightly, but Alex kept on smashing down the rock onto its hard shell! ¡°Just die already!¡± He continued to smash the rock down, the shell of the crab becoming dented, and some cracks became visible on its hard exoskeleton. ¡°Pii!¡± *Wish!* In a rage, the crab swung its claw, enraged by the damage this lowly human managed to do to it. Alex somehow managed to scrape by, but his HP dropped dangerously from 3, to only 1! This was very bad! But, on the door of death is when the potential of every human shows itself! His mind worked on thing he needed to do, and his finger moved accordingly to conjure another object. He drew large arcs in the air, leaving behind traces of his magic in the air. *Wiii!* ¡°Pii¡­?¡± As his magic went to work, the crab suddenly hesitated to attack. That was because, out from the light, came out a gigantic machete about 1 meter long! He began questioning himself as to why he didn¡¯t just do this earlier. ¡°Ha¡­Ha¡­¡± Putting that aside, taking up the machete with his hand, he used his 5 strength points and swung down the machete, not towards the shell, but to the arm holding its claw! *Puuusshh!* The machete sliced through cleanly! The crab backed away in fear, watching its claw twist and dance gracefully in the air before dropping onto the sand, detached. The crab shivered in fear as it saw Alex standing, the large machete in hand. *Puuuusshh!* The machete was swung down once more! ¡°Pii?!¡± The crab cried out in pain and fear as it saw its other claw dance in the air. Now, it knew, that this man standing before it was no ordinary man. He was Alex! A high school boy from another world, damnit! ¡°Die¡­You little sh*t.¡± The words that came out of his mouth were made out of his raw emotions. If he was still on Earth, he would have never dared to say those words, but now, near death¡¯s door, no morality will hold back his pure emotions. With his machete pointed down, he impaled the 1 meter long machete into the sand, taking along with it the crab the decided to make him prey. Now, the crab is the prey! Staring up into the sky, Alex took a deep breath and watched the sky silently. He seemed to be deep in thought, as if it had just dawned on him that he had just defeated the crab that had nearly killed him. He was in such a deep thought, that he didn¡¯t notice that a white orb had flew out of the crab and into his chest. A soft warmth surged in his chest, before dying out completely, leaving no traces on the outside. In a trance, he brought up his status unconsciously. Status: Damian Alexander Lv 2 Health: 1/35 Mana: 21/45 Strength: 7 Intelligence: 18 Resistance: 8 Agility: 13 Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (03%) Titles: ¡°¡­¡­¡± Alex read his status menu in a daze. His eyes were completely blank, his energy levels dropping dangerously. His legs began to wobble slightly. And then, as the last drop of his energy left his body, he lost all support and fell onto the sandy beach, his back resting once more on the sand. He let out a deep sigh and stared silently into the moving waters. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ And so, the hands of time continued to move on without him. The sun moved along the skies, and soon enough, it was beginning to set. The clouds above dispersed as the skies turned into a gradient of red and orange. The seas adapting that same colour on its surface. The oceans were still as calm as before. There were hardly any waves, and the seas were mostly calm, with only the night breeze moving the waters along. On that one island, Alex was calmly watching the moving waves as he softly hummed a song he really liked back on Earth. His eyes watching the crashing waves, he turned his eyes up into the skies. ¡°¡­Evening already¡­?¡± Alex said in a daze as he rubbed his eyes groggily. With the recovered energy, he pushed himself up and sat on the sand. Looking forward, his eyes fell upon the long machete he impaled the crab with. Seeing the crab impaled dead by the sword, he let out a long sigh. He had survived, for now. ¡°¡­hah¡­¡± *Gruuuuu* ¡°Oooff¡­¡± It seems like healing his lost HP and energy took away most of his food supply. Sighing once more, he pulled out the machete and took the body of the dead crab. At the least, he does have some food, right? [3] New Skills Everywhere ¡°¡­Salty.¡± A brilliant fire blazed on that small island. Dancing around and waving in the wind as the moon slowly rose into the sky, the sun slowly setting into the darkness. Is the planet rotating or is it the sun and the moon moving around? How should I know? This isn¡¯t Earth. The seas were calm. Small waves were crawling up onto the sand, before pulling back into the waters. The cold breeze blew through, moving through the quiet air. There, on that same island in the middle of this huge archipelago, Alex was slowly eating his meal, sitting around the fire he managed to light with a stick and a log of wood he conjured. What was he eating, you ask? The crab, of course! After hearing his stomach growl, he used his magic and lit a fire. Conjuring a couple sticks and a light metal plate, he made something closely related to a grill. Conjuring a small knife to aid him, he cracked open the shell of the crab and took out the meat. He placed the bare meat on the metal plate and hanged it over the fire. After waiting and turning the crab around, his dinner was ready! Although, he cringed as he realised that the crab was insanely salty! His tongue practically screamed for this taste to go away. But he continued eating, for survival! He didn¡¯t care how much salt was in this thing, he needed to eat! After he finished the last bite on that crab meat, his muscles were screaming to move. Was this an effect of the crab¡¯s meat? He wasn¡¯t sure. Whatever it is, he needed to move! Randomly, he picked up the empty crab exoskeleton and threw it into the ocean. He was about to move on to something else, but then, he saw something novel. As the crab made contact with the water, it skated beautifully on the night sea! ¡°¡­What?¡± As he looked further, he noticed that it was surfing, not skating. The back part of the body was dipped slightly into the water, while the front part was sliding above the water. Eventually, it began to pick up speed and crashed onto another island. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ And so, that was the end of that night. Since he didn¡¯t have anything to do, and his back was still stinging slightly, he decided to sit around the fire until he felt tired enough to sleep. He conjured a small bed by tracing a huge rectangular prism, big enough for him to sleep on, wrote the word ¡®Cotton¡¯ and let go! And so, for the first time since he got here, he slept on something somewhat comfortable. I say ¡®Somewhat¡¯, because midway, his bed crashed and he eventually just slept on the sand. As the sun began to rise, he was woken up by a familiar sound coming from the ocean. ¡°Pii¡­¡± ¡°?!¡± Rising out of his broken bed, he looked to the right, and there it was! The crab! Noticing his presence, its gaze locked onto him and it slowly approached him. Getting up, he took the large machete on his right and pointed it at the crab. The crab suddenly hesitated. ¡°Die.¡± He drove the machete down and cut off one of its claws. ¡°Pii?!¡± Crying in shock, the crab backed away as quickly as it could, watching its claw fly through the air. Taking the machete out, he drove it once more onto the crab¡¯s arm, cutting off the other claw it had. The claw danced gracefully in the air before dropping onto the sand. Defenceless and powerless, the crab could only await as Alex prepared to drive the machete down one last time to ensure the kill. With his newfound energy, he plunged the machete straight into the sand, impaling and nailing the dead crab down onto the sand, unmoving. Food is secured! Pulling the large blade out, he picked up the dead crab and prepared his breakfast. Using the same technique as last night, he spun a stick as quick as he could, and a spark lit. Fire ready, he prepared his hand-made grill once more, and cracked open the crab with the knife he conjured yesterday. Setting down the meat on the plate, he hanged it over the grill, and the cooking process has begun! ¡°¡­¡­¡± As the meat was cooking, he decided take a look at the crab¡¯s empty shell. After seeing what happened after he threw it into the ocean, his mind was intrigued! And he¡¯s not backing down without a result! To survive, you must know your surroundings! So, what to do? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After thinking about it for a while, he came upon this conclusion. ¡°Can¡¯t I just use my magic?¡± ¡°If an effect can be used, can¡¯t I just write something like ¡®Appraises¡¯ or ¡®Decodes¡¯?¡± And so, he decided ¡®Why not?¡¯. Tracing a rectangle with his magic, he finished it off with the word ¡®Appraises anything touched¡¯, since, once again, ¡®Why not?¡¯. Also, apparently an effect doesn¡¯t only mean one word. Cool! *Thud* And there, sunk partly into the sand, was the object he drew. Just like he drew, it was a perfect rectangle, just made of stone instead of air this time. The crab¡¯s shell in hand, he tapped the stone tablet with the shell. And then, the magic occurred! The stone¡¯s face started shining brightly! Squinting his eyes, he managed to make out that something was moving on the stone tablet! As the light slowly dimmed, he realised that those moving objects were actually words! They arranged themselves beautifully, from simply a jumble of letters, to a jumble of words, and then to arranged sentences. And then, with one final flicker, the light died out completely, leaving behind a description for the crab¡¯s shell! ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± [SeaSurfer Shell] A shell used by the [SeaSurfer Crab]. Its special quality lies in its ability to surf on water.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± To his surprise, although he had seen it with his own eyes, these crabs were able to surf on the sea! That¡¯s incredible! *Psshhh* ¡°Ah. Its ready.¡± Putting that aside for now, his breakfast is ready! If not slightly burned. Taking the metal plate in his hand, he slowly ate the hot crab meat with a fork he conjured. Once again, as the meat came in contact with his tongue, a huge surge of salt invaded his mouth, and his body cried to move! Cringing from the pain, he continued to eat the hot crab meat, his nerves pumping in anticipation as more meat went down his throat! With the last bite done, his energy levels skyrocketed into space! His body shivered to move! ¡°AAAHHH!!!¡± With a resounding shout, he did a literal marathon around the coast line of the small island. His legs moved like sound as he trotted through the sand as clouds of sand were left behind. His figure blurred into the dust! This lasted for 3 hours. ¡°Hah¡­hah¡­hah¡­¡± His hands on his knees, Alex panted heavily as he felt his nerves calming down. Sweat rolled down his forehead and his hands. His shirt was wet from sweat. He wasn¡¯t very sure where all the water came from. Was it from the meat? Still panting from exhaustion, he brought up his status to check up on himself. Status: Damian Alexander Lv 2 Health: 40/40 Mana: 47/60 Strength: 9 Intelligence: 21 Resistance: 11 Agility: 15 (+0) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (05%) [Agility] Rank 1 (06%) Titles: ¡°Hmm?¡± As his eyes scanned through the wall of text, he felt that something was different about it, and something was different about himself too. And then, he found something different in his skill list. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± [Agility] Rank 1 The speed of the user is slightly increased. Agility is increased by 0.25 based on the level 6% to Rank 2 ¡°¡­¡­¡­What.¡± His eyes turned into dots as he read the description for this new skill. His mind blanked out for a moment as an error just occurred in the search engine. ¡­Did I just get a new skill?! On the second day?! What the hell?! Is the system broken?! That¡¯s way too fast! The cogs of his brain got jammed as his mouth dropped open in shock, and slight excitement. Without his knowledge, the corner of his lips slowly lifted upwards. And then, the thought finally got through. Why should he care?! If the system¡¯s in his favour, he should be grateful! But putting that new skill aside, something struck him as odd as he read through his status once more. If he recalled, the gap between his HP and MP wasn¡¯t that big. How did it suddenly become a gap of 20? Is the system broken? Or is it he that¡¯s broken? Whatever it is, doesn¡¯t matter! It still helps! Besides that, looking at his stats now, it¡¯s practically begging him to use magic with such a high magic stat. After all, it¡¯s over two times his strength! Not that he had any other magic skills besides his {Illustrator}, but hey, a man can dream! ¡°¡­Phew¡­Alright.¡± After all that was done, he walked over to his Stone tablet and picked it up. This thing was an essential for his survival, so he¡¯ll gladly take this. Also, the writing seems to have disappeared from it, leaving it blank just like it had been before he tapped the shell onto it. Convenient! He conjured a small leather backpack with his magic and carried it on his back. Using his spare hand, he put the stone tablet comfortably into the bag. He didn¡¯t want this thing to break! Hmm? What was he trying to do? After strapping the backpack safely onto his back, he activated his magic. His finger lit a brilliant white light as he traced an object in the air. He drew arcs in the air, shaping the curved object. Before letting go, he wrote the word ¡®SeaSurfer Shell¡¯. Do you get it now? He¡¯s going to leave this island! Why? To get closer to that big island of course! Exploding into a bright light, the object he drew slowly formed and then, *Thud*, a dull sound was heard hitting the sand. Taking up the object with his two hands, he smiled happily as the object turned out as he wanted it to be. The SeaSurfer shell was shaped as a surf board! On the description, it did say that the shell was able to ¡®surf¡¯ on the water. Well, he took that description literally and actually drew a surf board! With the board in hand, he turned towards the large island in the far distant. His eyes gazed there, holding both fear and determination. He knew, that if he wants to leave this archipelago, he needed to jump right into the lion¡¯s nest. There won¡¯t be any escape. He can either sit here and wait until death comes by, or he can try to secure a chance of survival by leaving this place. Even before diving in, he could already feel the dangers lurking deep within. Although he knew that there will be those surfing crabs, but he knows that there will be more monsters lurking inside this ocean. One species lives here? No way! He¡¯s smarter than that! No ecosystem lives on with only one species inhabiting in it! Taking in a long breath, he stepped back once. With the surf board on his chest, he ran towards the ocean and jumped in! ¡°Please work!¡± Saying his prayers, he closed his eyes as he waited for the board to make contact. And after what felt like a century, the sound of splashing water was heard, along with a strong torrent of wind! ¡°Yes!¡± His lips curved upwards as he realised that he hadn¡¯t sunk, and he wasn¡¯t only floating, but he was surfing along the waters! His legs were slightly dipped into the water, but he was very far from sinking! Looking past the board, he slowly turned the board to point it towards the closest island. He let out a sigh of relief as the plan actually worked! But then, just as he was getting comfortable with the water splashing around him, a chill suddenly creeped up his spine. No, it was not because the waters were cold. Instead, he felt something watching him from afar, as if a predator had set its eyes on its prey. Actually, it wasn¡¯t just watching, it was chasing after him! He quickly turned his head around to see what was chasing him, and his face froze and paled in an instant. His eyes became dots as he saw what was behind him. Besides the obvious waves, he could see a group of crabs! They were all surfing on the waters, just like he is! Seems like they caught onto the waves he was making and made chase! This was bad! Really bad! But then, he felt something else as he got closer to the island. *Wuuuuusshhh* ¡°What?¡± Not far behind him, he could feel something chasing him, fast. It was as if a torpedo had locked onto him and was now chasing him! Actually, never mind! It was a torpedo! ¡°What the hell?!¡± From below, a figure slowly emerged from the oceans, breaking through the waves even faster than he is! As it got closer to the surface, his eyes became blank once more. The thing chasing him, besides the crabs, was actually a dolphin! It looked just like any dolphin he had seen in his life, but this time, it was a first real experience! But then, just as its eyes finally creeped out of the water, it began to speed up drastically. It was heading straight towards him! ¡°W-Wait! Don¡¯t co-¡° *BOOM* ¡°AGH?!?!¡± It quickly dived into the ocean, and struck his board from under, exploding him up into the air! His board easily broke into two! His body was flung high into the air, and with the already fast speed he had when surfing, he was coming down at an insane speed! ¡°¡­F*ck.¡± And then, his eyes darkened in despair as he realised where he was heading. *BOOOM* And so, face first, his face dove right into the sand. His mouth was filled up with mountains of sand as his backpack was flung away before hitting a palm tree some distance from him. Hey, at least he reached the island, right? ¡°Pii!¡± ¡°Piii!¡± ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°¡­Scwiiht.¡± Mouth still filled with sand, he cursed to himself as he watched 4 crabs come up to the island he was on. And then, just like a switch, his brain kicked into full gear! The cogs of his brain rotated quickly as his hands drew long arcs in the air, leaving behind the tracing he knew all so well. Writing it off with the word ¡®Steel¡¯, he conjured a weapon he wasn¡¯t even sure he could lift. Seeing this, the 4 crabs hesitated to come closer to him as the light slowly died down, to reveal a weapon much bigger than himself. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Oddly, Alex was silent. His eyes were fixed onto the 4 crabs, his gaze alone for some odd reason sending shivers into their shells. His hand coiled around the long handle of the sword he conjured. Something felt different about him, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it, nor did he care. With some force, he managed to lift the weapon, larger and longer than he is! This was the berserker sword! Totally not a reference to berserk. *SWISH* His eyes staying emotionless, he swung the sword in a huge arc, slicing back the 3 crabs in the front. The last crab was terrified as it saw the huge marks that sword left on the 3 crabs. Their shells were heavily damaged from just a single slice. ¡°I just survived from a meteor impact. Just die already.¡± He commented jokingly with his emotionless face. This time, picking up the sword was much easier as he felt a huge surge of strength coursing through his whole body. Raising the sword in the air, he swung it down with intense force. *Bam!* ¡°Pii!¡± 2 crabs were sliced cleanly by his large sword! Blue blood spurted out like a fountain! The remaining 2 shook in fear as they watched his eyes slowly turn towards them. His eyes seemed to glow red as he raised the sword once more. ¡°¡­¡­Die.¡± He said lowly as he swung down the sword, killing off one of the crabs. ¡°P-Pii¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± His eyes never looked away from the crab. His eyes opened wide, blood pulsing through. The glow of red, signature of blood. Under the light of the glowing sun, his berserker blade shined radiantly. The metal reflecting back the coming light, shining white. ¡°P-Pii..?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± And then, ¡°Fall into the blazing fires of hell.¡± *Bam!* The sword was brought down. A loud bang sounded as the crab¡¯s shell broke open, and blue blood came gushing out. It wailed and cried out desperately, before dropping dead onto the glittering sand. ¡°¡­¡­¡± In a daze, his eyes turned up to see the clouds. His hand lost strength and let go of the sword, dropping it onto the sand. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Status: Damian Alexander Lv 4 Health: 40/50 Mana: 52/75 Strength: 14 Intelligence: 26 Resistance: 17 Agility: 22 (+1) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (06%) [Agility] Rank 1 (07%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (02%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (00%) Titles: ¡°Ah¡­That¡¯s why.¡± ¡­¡­ Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be a magician? [4] Hey, New Monsters! ¡°Ah¡­That¡¯s why.¡± Alex said softly as his eyes skimmed through his status. Eyes blank and emotionless, his mind still trapped in a daze. His whole body slightly shaking. Oddly, even though he had just gained two new skills at what felt like a minute, he wasn¡¯t surprised. His whole mind was calm, no thoughts were present in his mind. Although, right now, his mind could hardly differentiate between what was calmness, and emotionless. His eyes stared into the blue skies with no real intentions, his heart simply wandering around trying to ascertain itself. And then, a small question suddenly came barging in. Why am I being so calm? ¡­And then, it all ticked. ¡°What was with that cheesy ending line?!¡± His eyes opened in shock as he shouted in retort to himself. He quickly covered his face with his hands and turned around in shame. What was with that ending line?! Ah! It¡¯s so embarrassing! If his friend was here, he would¡¯ve probably laughed until his throat blew open! Ah! Just trying to imagine that makes his head hurt! That was so not him! He cringed painfully as he forced himself to accept that what he said was really said by him. The cringe he felt was probably more painful than the crab¡¯s meat! Actually, which one was more painful, really? Wait, this isn¡¯t time for that! With his face burning red like that of a tomato, he slowly moved his hands away and brought back his status. His eyes slowly read through, this time truly noticing the changes to his status. His hands still shivering, he slowly moved his finger and tapped on the two new skills, and their descriptions were brought up. [Cleaving] Rank 1 The user handles cleaver-type weapons much better than before. The user¡¯s strength is doubled when holding a cleaver-type weapon. 2% to Rank 2 [Blood Hound] Rank 1 Taking advantage of increased blood pressure, the user¡¯s status is increased by 50% when active. Fear and hesitation becomes none-existent. 0% to Rank 2 ¡°O-Oh¡­¡± With a frown, he acknowledged that he really did say that¡­before dropping onto the sandy shores in shame and rolling around on the sand. Whether because of a skill, or just because he was caught in the moment, he still said it! And if he said it, means that it¡¯ll forever be stuck in his memory! Ack! Just leave already! ¡­¡­ After around an hour of just tossing and rolling around on the sand in embarrassment, he finally stood back up and sighed deeply. He dusted off the sand from his somewhat dry jeans. His face was still burning red though. ¡°Phew¡­Right.¡± Back on track! Turning to his front, he saw that his backpack had just landed on the sand right before a tall palm tree. He walked over to it and opened the backpack, and to his surprise, the stone tablet was somehow still intact! What a nice turn around! With his backpack back on his back, he walked around the island and picked up the dead bodies of the crabs. After all, he didn¡¯t have any food left, and although the meat makes him want to run a marathon, they were a great source of food. He put them inside a plastic bag before putting them in the bag of course! No one wants a smelly bag! That done, he gently placed down the backpack next to the giant berserker sword, still impaled at the coastline. Sighing deeply, he shrugged his shoulders and dropped onto the sand. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. He just¡­needed some rest. ¡°Hah¡­¡± And then, without him realising it, his eye lids began to feel heavy. Slowly, they began closing, and soon, his world turned dark. ¡­¡­ ¡°Quuaack!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Quack!¡± *Pak!* ¡°Ack?!¡± Not even an hour passed by, and his sleep was interrupted! His eyes were forced open as a sharp pain was felt from his head.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Ouch¡­¡± He covered his stinging head with his arms. His eyes looked around for the enemy with tears slowly building up. And then, he turned his head up, and there he saw it! It was a damn seagull this time! ¡°Quack!¡± Closing its wings, it descended at an astounding speed and directed its beak at him. By reflex, he jumped forward and dodged the attack, his body sliding on the sand before stopping. ¡°Tch. Another one?¡± Before he could even get his berserker sword, the seagull opened its wings gracefully and flew into the sky! It was out of reach once again! ¡°Damnit.¡± He needed to attack! But how? How about a ranged weapon? But what though? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± His mind brainstormed for ideas for a ranged weapon, going from a primitive hunting bow, to a modern sniper rifle. Easy to say, as a simple high school boy, he was unable to use a bow, nor can he use a military style sniper rifle. Then what can he use? ¡°¡­Does that even work?¡± Suddenly, his mind came upon a cool idea! Problem is, does the effect he thought of even work? Well, no time to waste! It¡¯s going to dive down any second now! ¡°Quack!¡± It dived down once more. Alex saw this and rolled forwards, letting it dive into the sand. Shaking away the sand, it flapped its wings and flew back up in style. His finger lighting up, he traced a simple model of a gun. I say simple, it was more like two rectangles stacked on each other, one as the body, the other as the handle, with a small trigger in between on the bottom. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­[Shoots a bullet using MP by pulling a trigger]-¡° *Wiishh¡­* ¡°What?! That counts?!¡± To his surprise, the long sentence he wrote actually counted as one effect?! That¡¯s not even an effect anymore! That¡¯s a function, not an effect! Is something wrong with his skill description?! Whatever, at least it works! "Ooff...I feel slightly strange..." Out from the light, came the simple stone gun he created. Being the simple thing it is, it didn¡¯t have any fancy writings on it, nor did it have any cool looking features. But, it should work! ¡­Right? It¡¯ll be insanely embarrassing if this thing didn¡¯t work. Wrapping his finger around the trigger, he pointed the barrel of the gun at the hovering seagull. He closed his left eye and aimed carefully. Being an amateur, his hand was shaking, and his aim wasn¡¯t perfect. His finger slowly pushed on the trigger, and then, magic occurred! His hand nearly let go of the gun! *Bang!* ¡°Quack?!¡± In shock, the seagull was frozen from the sudden sound of the shot. Out from the muzzle, came a pointed bullet, made completely from his MP. Cutting through the air, it made contact with its wings, and a hole was blown open! ¡°Qua?!¡± With a hole on its right wing, it was unable to hover correctly, and began dropping! ¡°Q-Qua¡­¡± Even after the seagull had crashed onto the sand, Alex hadn¡¯t moved a single inch. His mind was unable to catch up to the sudden development. His eyes and mouth were wide open in shock that this thing had actually worked! No, seriously, how did that long sentence of an effect work?! ¡°¡­¡­¡± In the end, he nodded in approval to his inner self about his conclusion. He didn¡¯t want to waste any more energy trying to think up for a reason as to why that dang effect worked. In simple terms, he just said ¡®It¡¯s magic. Deal with it, me.¡¯ And nodded in approval. Walking over to the downed seagull, his eyes looked straight at the crying bird. Its black eyes were wide open, and he could see it begin watering slightly. Was this thing crying? Ha! What a baby! *Bang!* With a pull of the trigger, the bullet shot right through the seagull¡¯s head, and ended its life spectacularly. Oddly, as more time went on, he found it harder to feel sympathy for these monsters. He became slightly worried for himself, but shook the thought away in denial. And then, the white orb came out from the seagull and entered his chest, releasing a soft warmth before disappearing completely. With some excitement, he opened up his status to get a look. Status: Damian Alexander Lv 5 Health: 42/55 Mana: 13/80 Strength: 17 Intelligence: 28 Resistance: 20 Agility: 25 (+1) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (08%) [Agility] Rank 1 (08%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (02%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (02%) Titles: Surprisingly, after shooting the seagull down with a gun, he hadn¡¯t gained any new skills related to shooting, or something along those lines. Does that mean that gaining a skill takes a lot of time? But he got cleaving in such a short time though¡­ Maybe he got lucky! He felt slightly more optimistic about his current situation as that thought came in. If getting a skill would allow him to use things like this gun better, then he would gladly acquire said skills! Besides that, did his MP just drop drastically? Meh, must be his imagination. And mine too, I have bad memory... But, what to do? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± As he inspected the gun, his eyes swam around to search for a target. And just as he looked behind him, his eyes settled on the palm tree. His lips curved upwards as he slowly made his way to the tree. He tapped his hands on the tree, testing whether this thing could actually stand getting shot with his gun countless times. *Pak¡­Pak¡­* It doesn¡¯t seem like it, but this tree was the best target he could ever have for a target practice. Well, besides actual gun targets anyways, but he didn¡¯t have that here! So, with that in mind, he began his preparations. First, he conjured 3 different things, a circle target, a wooden mallet, and a couple nails. He picked up the target and nailed it onto the bark of the tree, using his wooden mallet and the nails he conjured. ¡°Ack?!¡± Although, he wasn¡¯t very skilled at his job. He ended up hitting his finger a couple times. After all that was over, his target was finally ready! Picking up the gun, he slid his finger around the trigger guard, and settled on the trigger. Being made from stone, it wasn¡¯t the most pleasant feeling to say the least, but he dealt with it. Taking his aim, he closed his right eye. Carefully taking aim, he pointed the muzzled for the smallest circle in the middle of the target. Pushing against the trigger, a shot was fired! *Bang!* ¡­¡­ Three minutes later, *Boom* ¡°¡­Oh.¡± To his annoyance, the tree held on for far shorter than he had expected. After getting shot a couple times, the target broke along with the tree, before slowly falling back. On landing, a loud boom sounded, and the broken tree slowly drifted away into the ocean. Was what he was doing bad? ¡°Wh-¡° ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°?!¡± Just as he was about to do something, a familiar foe came lurking out of the ocean. By reflex, he turned around to face the enemy he faced many times, and the first enemy he had ever fought. The SeaSurfer Crab! But this time, it had backup! The 3 SeaSurfer Crabs were carrying a large clam, about 20 cm in width, requiring the 6 claws of the crabs to carry it. Slowly, as the crabs continued to tap onto its shell, the clam¡¯s shell slowly creaked open. ¡°¡­¡± The clam looked on silently, before closing its mouth once more. Alex only stared at it silently as it stood there idle. But then, The clam¡¯s shell opened, and a jet of water was shot out! ¡°Woah!¡± Because of the sudden shot, he was unable to dodge and received the hit. Although the attack didn¡¯t send him flying, like a certain dolphin did, it did chip away 10 HP away from his HP count. Now that he knew about that attack, he couldn¡¯t afford to get hit again! *Puushh!* And then, the second shot was fired! This time, now that he knew what it could do, he dodged the attack by moving to the side. He quickly moved his hands over to the large berserker sword¡¯s handle, and picked it up with a great force. ¡°P-Pii¡­?¡± ¡°P-Pi..¡± And then, as his eyes slowly moved onto the clam, his eyes began pulsing red. All his emotions withered away, and his world turned black and white. The sounds from the outside were dulled. So much so that he could hear his own heart beating deep in his chest. Pointing his blade at the crabs, his gaze locked on. His [Blood Hound] skill had activated! ¡°¡­¡­¡± Pushing off the ground, he leaped at the clam. His sword raised, the clam hurriedly opened its shell and shot out a burst of water. The water hit him straight in the gut, but he was unfazed and swung down his giant blade! *Bam!* In a single slice, the clam¡¯s shell broke away, from two halves, into four pieces, each dropping into the sand. ¡°P-Pii¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Now with their backup destroyed, the three crabs stared in fear at the predator before them. Now, they finally realised, they caught the attention of the wrong enemy! ¡°¡­Die.¡± *Bam!* [5] A Kind LIttle Fellow ¡°Mmm¡­¡­Salty.¡± There, on the same island Alex had crashed onto, Alex could be seen stuffing his face full of crab meat. His face warped in pain as the overbearing saltiness of the crab meat overtook his tastes! This battle probably took even more energy than actual fighting! Swallowing the last chunk of meat, he felt his nerves burn. His heart began beating quickly, and his energy levels rocketed into the skies! This was the same thing that happened last time! He needed to move! He dropped his bag onto the sand and began running like a mad man. He circled the island¡¯s coast line in seconds! But that wasn¡¯t enough! After struggling to keep his muscles from tearing apart from the insane energy burst, he got on his hands and did quick push ups. The veins in his hands started showing splendidly. ¡°AAAHHH!!¡± But that wasn¡¯t enough! He needed more! After push ups, he did some random sit ups, and then did another marathon around the coast line. He grit his teeth roughly as blood slowly began to gush out of his mouth. Soon after, he began coughing out blood. He continued coughing out more blood as a small puddle of red liquid formed under his feet. His hands clutched his chest tightly as a sharp pain stabbed his heart. ¡°W-Wha..Guhe?!¡± His sight began blurring as he began to suffer from anemia. His teeth were painted red from blood. His whole body began to lose energy quickly as his blood failed to catch enough Oxygen to suffice his needs. Little did he realise; his eyes began bleeding out too. Actually, there was a lot of blood simply coming out of his body. But within all that pain, a small feeling began to emerge. As his eyes were clouded with tinges of blood, the feeling grew even more intense. His heart pounded furiously in his chest. More blood gushed out of his mouth. ¡°W-What¡¯s¡­hap..gua?!...penning¡­guhe?!...t-to¡­me?¡± He somehow managed to squeeze out as he coughed out more blood. And then, his body lost strength, and he fell down. His body was soaked inside the pool of his own blood. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The world around him was dark, as if he had just fallen into the abyss itself. His eyes swam around the area, but it saw nothing. ¡®Where am I?¡¯ Just as that question passed through, the void was suddenly coloured in, and what looked to be a prosperous kingdom was seen down below. Birds were chirping happily. Laughter filled the air. But, as prophecies have told, no peace holds on forever. Out, descending from the sky, came a man cloaked in darkness. His face was black, a void of any colour. His eyes shining a devilish bright red. The clouds above broke open as he emerged. His hands were stretched out wide. What is this? Alex could hardly do anything, not even move. His none-existent body failed to respond to his calls. The people below looked up to see the man, and they were all terrified. They fell onto their knees, and pleaded solemnly. ¡°Why, Why have you come!?¡± The people below cried out like children. Without a word, the man¡¯s right hand was lifted, and out from the sky, came a dragon. The dragon¡¯s scales were dark like the night. Its body stretched out, covering out the skies above. Slowly, it looked down to the people below, its blood red eyes showing no emotions. The people below continued to cry. Their faces wrapped in despair. Alex looked on from above, his mind struggled to comprehend what this is. ¡°Man, had become corrupt. Indulging in desires of the world¡­I have come to judge you.¡± ¡°The time has come. The end, has arrived. All, shall be reborn.¡± The man¡¯s hand slowly lowered, and stopped to point at the kingdom. With an astounding force, the dragon followed his directions and crashed itself onto the face of the Earth. Shockwaves beyond any capabilities shook and tore the Earth. Dust of destruction arose into the air. None were left. His heart was deeply shaken. Just as the clouds of dust dispersed with the wind, the man¡¯s eyes turned to him, and the world faded away into the dark abyss. But then, just as he was falling¡­ A bright light came shining in, breaking apart the void. His eyes slowly opened. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°N..Nnghh¡­What¡­the hell?¡± Alex slowly lifted himself up from the ground. His head hurt terribly, as if a 500 ton hammer had just been pounded onto his head several times. He slowly moved his hands and held his chest tightly. His heart nearly stopped beating. The sight of a kingdom, full of life, just disappearing like that? His mind couldn¡¯t comprehend such a fact. Looking down, he saw his pants drenched red. Looking around him, he finally noticed the huge puddle of blood surrounding him! His mind was thrown once again in turmoil! ¡°W-What the¡­?¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Slowly, he crawled himself out of the pool of blood. Beads of sweat rolled down his face like rain. His hands shivered with every step. And then, as he finally got out of the pool of blood, he let out a long sigh of relief. He was out! He held his hands over his chest, feeling the heart beat deep inside. His heart continued to beat away quickly, his mind was still tense from fear. He quickly regulated his breathing, slowing it down until it wasn¡¯t too fast. Although he didn¡¯t want to admit it, he knew that all that blood was his, and that he was not in the best of positions. ¡°I-I¡­need¡­t-to leave¡­¡± His voice trembled as his eyes looked over the pool of fallen blood. His heart began beating quickly once more. A creeping feeling of fear and despair slowly seeped into his mind. Making his way onto the blade of his large berserker sword, he let rest his back on the blade, and slowed his breathing. But it never worked. His mind knew something was wrong, and that he needed to run. But he also knew, that if he ran, he would attract the monsters lurking in the sea. What to do?! Slowly, as the anemia began catching up, a severe feeling of exhaustion struck him. His shoulders drooped, and his eyes began feeling heavy. In seconds, his eyes fully closed, and he was back in the realm of the unconscious. Little did he realise that the colour of blood had changed him permanently. His hair forever dyed red in blood. ¡­¡­ ¡°U-Uuah¡­?¡± As his consciousness returned back into his physical body, he felt the cold touch of the large blade impaled into the sand. There next to it, was his backpack, and his simple gun model that was sticking out of the bag. Seeing that his essentials hadn¡¯t disappeared, his heart calmed down slightly. These weapons were the reason he had lived until now, he couldn¡¯t be more grateful. Turning back to his front, he noticed that the large pool of blood, had drifted away into the sea, dissipating into the endless sea. His mind calmed down greatly as he let out a deep sigh. Slowly, he turned his head up, and his eyes watched the sun starting to set in the distance. Has that much time passed? He did not know. Using his right hand, he traced a small walking stick with his index finger, and finished it off with the word ¡®Wood¡¯. Out from the bursting light, came the wooden walking stick he needed. Holding the handle tightly, he forced himself to stand on his feet. Even without walking, he could feel himself struggling to stand up straight. His hand holding the walking stick was slightly shaking. Walking over to the west side of the island, he stopped at the coast line and stared at the setting sun. His eyes silently watching as the skies above were slowly changing from the blue he knew, to the orange and yellow gradient of the setting sun. The breeze washed over him, his new red hair blowing in the wind. Of course, he hadn¡¯t noticed such a fact yet! Without him knowing, a weak smile was painted over his face. His eyes stared calmly into the moving waters, small waves moving along the endless waters of the ocean. But then, at the corner of his eyes, he noticed something reflecting off the water. Slowly turning his head down, his eyes stared right into the reflection, his blue eyes looking back at him. But something was different about him. Looking slightly above his eyes, he noticed a slight change in his hair. Wait, what do you mean slight?! His hair colour just changed! ¡°W-What the f*ck?!¡± In shock, he slipped on the sand and fell onto his back. Quickly, he crawled back onto the island. ¡°Nope, nope, nope, nope! That is NOT me!¡± He continued to shake his head in denial as he slowly made it back to the coast line. In fear, he looked straight into the reflection, and once more, he saw himself reflected off the waters, but his hair was completely red! In absolute fear, he slowly moved his hands to his hair, and plucked out a single strand. Shivering, he brought the strand down to his sight, and to his fear, it was completely red! Ah! What the sh*t?! His hair just turned red! After sitting there, curled up into a ball with tears in his eyes, he picked up his walking stick and dusted off any sand that got onto his clothes. Turning around, he left the coast and went back to his impaled sword. But then, just as he was getting close, he noticed something next to the sword! No, it wasn¡¯t his backpack, it was a crab! ¡°Tch. This appears when I¡¯m like this?¡± He complained slightly as he prepared himself for battle. But to his surprise, as the crab turned to see him, it didn¡¯t flash out its claws, or tried to attack him at all! Instead, with its beady little eyes inside its shell, it stared at him in curiosity. ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Noticing that Alex was shocked to see him, it instantly waved its claws around, as if to say hello to him. Still stuck in that state of shock, his hands moved without his attention and waved back. ¡°Pii!¡± It began jumping up and down while clapping its claws, calling him to sit beside it. Alex¡¯s eyes pretty much turned to dots at that moment. In disbelief, he continued to stare silently at the surprisingly friendly crab. Doesn¡¯t everything want his blood here? Ah¡­Is there really a monster that¡¯s kind? What a relief¡­ Wait, it might also be a trap¡­Damnit. In suspicion, he slowly put away his walking stick and sat next to the crab. It seems quite delighted to see him sitting there, although the reason was still unclear. Hey, he can¡¯t speak crab language, alright? Suddenly, it jumped up to his crossed legs and tapped its claw on his belly. ¡°Huh?¡± Alex only stared at the little thing, which continued to tap onto his belly. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°Pii!¡± In approval, the crab repeatedly shook its head up and down. It doesn¡¯t seem like this little crab was out for his blood. ¡°What do you even eat?¡± ¡°Pii?¡± As if it understood what he said, the crab walked off his legs and pointed into the ocean. ¡°What? That¡¯s the sea.¡± ¡°Pii!¡± Using its claws, it looked to the sea and began holding its right claw in front of its left one, imitating the action a fisherman would normally do when fishing. ¡°Fish?¡± ¡°Pi!¡± One more, it nodded happily in approval. ¡°Seems like this crab eats fish.¡± He thought silently as his eyes stared into the moving waters. After debating over it for a while, he decided ¡®Hey, why not?¡¯ With his magic, he drew a wooden rod and a thin line of string. Using the small hook he placed at the end of the wooden rod, he tied the string tightly around the hook. And then, conjuring a metal hook, he tied it to the end of the line. ¡°Here we go.¡± Raising his rod above his head, he aimed carefully into the waters, and with a swing, he launched the hook into the ocean! *Bloop* Making a small splash, the hook floated on the surface of the waters. Seeing that he was successful, he stuck the end of the rod into the sand to hold it in. And so, begins the waiting game! ¡­¡­ Thirty minutes later, ¡°¡­Nothing.¡± Alex said softly as he reeled back the untouched hook. He looked at the hook sadly, before setting it down on the sand. Seems like the fishing was a failure¡­ ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Without him noticing, the crab had made it all the way to the hook. With its left claw, it tapped softly onto the metal hook. ¡°Hah¡­It doesn¡¯t work. Just give it up.¡± ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°I said¡­Wait.¡± Just as he was about to say something, a light bulb suddenly lit up in his mind. Quickly, he brought the hook closer to him. Using his free hand, he traced a small circle using his magic and finished it with the word ¡®Fish meat¡¯. With a flash, out came a small ball of fresh fish meat. Looking closer, the meat seems to be slightly spoiled, but that didn¡¯t really matter right now. Sticking the fish ball onto the hook, he raised the rod above his head, and threw the hook into the waters once more! *Bloop* ¡°Right¡­I guess ti-¡° *Triiik!* ¡°What?!¡± Not even a minute has passed, and his line was being pulled! Quickly gripping his hands around the rod, he began pulling the fish closer to land. The fish too put up a fight, doing its best to swim away. And then, the world around him turned dull, and all senses were focused to their limits. His eyes pulsed red in the colour of blood! His [Blood Hound] has activated! He''s putting his A game on! ¡°¡­¡± Silently, he pulled strongly on the rod, the fish having a much harder time to cope with the increased strength he has. After a minute of constant struggle, the fish gave up, and was pulled out of the water with a splash! *Buuf!* Landing on the sandy shores, the fish could be seen! The catch was a success! Quickly, crawling onto the shore line, he conjured himself a set of plastic gloves and took hold of the fish. Slowly, he brought the fish back to the crab. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Pi!¡± As it saw Alex coming closer, the crab¡¯s eyes lit in happiness and closed in quickly. Even from afar, it could easily smell the scent of its favourite meal! Alex set down the fish on the sand. ¡°Pi!¡± Coming closer, the crab saw that he had only caught one fish. Its mood seemed to decline slightly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± *Pish!* ¡°Pi!¡± Shockingly, without answering him, the crab used its sharp claws and cut the alive fish into two! Blue blood came gushing out of the huge wound, and the fish died in an instant. Gripping one half with one claw, the crab presented one half of the fish to him. ¡°Eh?¡± He said randomly as the crab insisted to have him eat this half, while it ate the other half. What a kind little fellow! ¡°¡­Gee, thanks.¡± With a happy mood, the relationship between Alex and this little crab begun under the setting sun! [6] 44 Magnum ¡°Mmm¡­It¡¯s slightly bitter.¡± ¡°Pi!¡± Under the sea of blinking stars, where the moon was watching silently from the space above, a fire gracefully danced with the passing wind. The darkness around it illuminated by the light of the fire. As the waves came crashing in, there on the centre of the island, one could see the figure of a young boy and a crab, both eating quite a large piece of fish. Try, picture it. How does it look there in your head? Weird? Ha! This is still the beginning! Those two were obviously Alex and the little crab! Going back an hour, after Alex¡¯s and this little crab¡¯s relationship had started splendidly under the glow of the setting sun, Alex got himself some logs and a stick with his trusty magic. Seriously, this skill is broken. Spinning the stick furiously on the log, a spark lit off, and a fire blazed gracefully. Blowing in some air to keep the fire lit, he added some more pieces of wood and, with a big blaze, his fire was ready! Using his magic once more, he conjured some sticks and a large metal plate for his grill. Assembling it quickly with finesse, he put the fish on the plate and hanged it over the fire. Conjuring a small spatula, he turned and spun the fish around in boredom. After his meal was ready, he tried asking the crab if it wanted to eat it cooked too, but it denied happily and started digging into its own piece of fish. Looking at the cooked fish, his heart started to race slightly. After feeling the terrible experience of having countless drops of blood burst out from every pore of his body by eating meat from this ocean, he began to slightly fear eating anything. Could you blame him? He almost died! Slowly moving the fish closer, he closed in and took a small nibble at it. Tasting the fish for a couple of seconds, he was surprised to find that the fish wasn¡¯t salty at all! Only slightly bitter¡­ Anyone have soy sauce? Looking to the side, he watched the crab happily eat away at the fish meat. From his sights, the crab seemed to be quite sloppy, getting many little chunks of fish out and about around itself. He wanted to say that wasting food was bad, but this was a crab. Would it even understand? ¡°¡­Phew.¡± As his mouth took the last bite to the fish, he let out a sigh of relief. He had survived! Quickly taking a look around his body, it doesn¡¯t seem like there was any blood coming out. Success! While waiting for the crab to finish up, he began to recall what had just happened to him. No, not his meeting with the crab, but about his hair turning red, that odd dream, and him coughing out mountains of blood. The last one was the one he feared the most, for obvious reasons. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Status: Damian Alexander Lv 6 Health: 43/90 (+30) Mana: 63/90 Strength: 25 (+5) Intelligence: 39 (+8) Resistance: 30 (+6) Agility: 36 (+7) (+2) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (10%) {Blood Borne} Rank 1 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (09%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (04%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (05%) Titles: (Blood Borne)| ¡°Ah¡­¡± Looking at his stats now, it¡¯s become very clear that he had gone through many changes. From a simple glance, his stats had grown quite greatly. For the first time, he had gained a title! And a new skill too! (Blood Borne) ¡°A man born out of blood, carrying the title of those awakened¡± |Perk|: Any skills related to {Blood Borne} gains experience faster {Blood Borne} Rank 1 The User¡¯s body had become more resistant to any diseases. Skills gain experience slightly faster User¡¯s HP has been increased by 50% permanently. User¡¯s stats have been increased by 25% permanently. % to Rank 2 ¡°¡­¡­¡± As his eyes read further down the descriptions, his mind struggled to catch on. His mouth hanged wide open, and he rubbed his eyes instinctively to confirm the reality. Ah! It¡¯s still there?! So, it¡¯s real?! What the hell?! How did this happen?! How did it even appear?! Isn''t this thing overpowered?! His mind practically flipped the table and freaked out. He shouted in shock internally as his eyes swam around in confusion. All that was going in his mind, went something along the lines ¡®What the hell?!¡¯ ¡°¡­Pi?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°Ha?!...Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± Looking to his left, he hadn¡¯t realised that it had just finished eating. Crumbs of leftover fish meat sprayed out around the remaining bones. He felt slightly sorry for the fish. It didn¡¯t get eaten correctly¡­ ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re going to¡­oi.¡± ¡°Ppp¡­¡± Just as he was about to ask it something, it suddenly went to sleep! What the hell man?! Have some manners, would you?! He¡¯s trying to ask something here!This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Oi.¡± ¡°Ppp¡­¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s getting up soon.¡± After nudging the little thing a couple times, it didn¡¯t seem to move at all, and kept on sleeping comfortably on the sandy bed. Looking up, he noticed that the moon was starting to move along the sky. The night was moving on without him. Now, with the fire put out, the air grew silent, and cold. ¡°I guess I should head to sleep now.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ As the hands of time moved along, the stars in the sky flew past the dark night. The shining night diamond slowly moved along the sky. The night breeze blowing in and out, the waves pulling onto land and back into water. As time moved on, the night began to meet its closing. The moon began to dip back into the horizons, and the giant sun began rising. The dark black skies were coloured in a gradient of orange and yellow, clouds began reappearing once more. The morning breeze followed soon after, blowing the leaves of the palm tree. Small waves came crawling onto the sandy shores. Deep under the sea, countless different species of fish began to swim around, searching for food, or simply running away from the monsters that lurked within. The small kelps deep within danced along with the moving tides. Deep in that oceans, the gleam of a pair of eyes lit in the sand, and deeper than that, a small shine was reflected off the bottom of the oceans. Looking back above the waters, staring down from the skies high above, the hundreds of islands of this archipelago could be seen. With the skies turning back to the blue colour of the morning skies, the waters down below reflected that colour, turning a beautiful ocean blue as a wave passed by. With all that, a new day had arrived! ¡°¡­Morning already?¡± With his eyes half-open, Alex stared up into the sky as the clouds slowly moved by. His mind quickly kicked into full gear. Slowly pushing himself up, he crossed his legs and sat down on the sandy bed. Looking to the side, he got to see the crab still sleeping. It seems like this thing hadn¡¯t run away from him. It truly casts him out as an odd one out. But then, now that it was quiet enough, and that he had enough energy, he finally realised something was different about this little guy. Although it wasn¡¯t very clear, there on the bottom part of its shell, he could somewhat see a cross marking carved under it. Seeing that, it really makes him wonder about what had really happened to this little guy. Normally, this little crab should have left him by now, but it decided to stay. Was this thing not scared of humans, or did something happen to it? He wasn¡¯t very sure, but if it wasn¡¯t out for his blood, he would gladly accept any company. He began feeling slightly lonely deep inside, but he convinced himself otherwise with his elaborate delusions of other people. Having a good imagination helps sometimes for things not art related¡­ Was it healthy? No, probably not. *Ahem* Anyways, now that he was awake, he didn¡¯t have anything to really do. Thinking about it, he really didn¡¯t have too many options. He could try go to another island, but that¡¯ll attract more monsters, but if he stays here he¡¯ll rot in absolute boredom. What to do? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After sitting on the sand with his hand on his chin for a while, he took out his simple gun model out of his backpack. Taking a small look at it, it was clear that this thing wasn¡¯t the most efficient, or even the most comfortable thing to use in battle. After inspecting it for a while, he thought that it was time for this thing to step down. It was time for a new gun to take over its place. But what model should it be? ¡°¡­¡­¡± Brainstorming about if for a while, he decided on a model he liked, and activated his magic. His finger lit a soft white light, and a soft warmth surged in his index finger. He began carefully tracing a model in the air. There wasn¡¯t any margin for error, he needed to do this in one fell swoop. Carefully tracing out the design, he started from the muzzle, slowly heading to the barrel of the gun, adding some little carvings on it, continuing onto the grip of the gun, and finally making a sleek design for the trigger and the guard. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Letting out a deep breath, he finished the model off with the awfully long effect of [Shoots a bullet using MP by pulling the trigger], an effect he still couldn¡¯t believe actually worked, and let go. *Fwiishh* Shining a brilliant light, the model of the gun began to materialise. The model exploded into light, and out of that light, came a sleek black gun, muzzle stuck into the sand. His gun was a succe- "GAAHH?!" Just as his fantasy delusions were coming in, his head was suddenly struck by an awful headache. Clutching his head tightly, he dropped right onto the sand, his brand new gun landing close to him. Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks as he struggled in agony. He struggled like that for about 2 minutes...And the crab didn''t even notice. Having survived that painful ache, his status appeared suddenly. "W-What..hah...h-happened...?" Status: Damian Alexander Lv 6 Health: 23/90 (+30) Mana: -11/90 Strength: 25 (+5) Intelligence: 39 (+8) Resistance: 30 (+6) Agility: 36 (+7) (+2) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (10%) {Blood Borne} Rank 1 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (09%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (04%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (05%) Titles: (Blood Borne)| "......" Wait...Just...wait a minute. Doesn''t his MP count look slightly...odd? Alright, what am I saying?...It''s negative?! What the hell?! Wait, Did he also take damage?! "C-Could...this be...hah...a...drawback...of...hah...using...long...effects..." It was a possible explanation. After all, just using that long effect without any drawbacks would be kind of overpowered, don''t you think? Still, how did his MP go negative? Is that even a possible number to achieve? Hah...Who knows...But putting that aside, he slowly moved his hand to his brand new gun. With a weak smile, he picked up the gun from the sand. The model he picked for the gun was that of a desert eagle, a gun that nearly everyone and their grandmothers knew from its sheer fame. The type of the desert eagle was that of the 44 magnum L6. Since it was the only design he knew, he was forced to pick that one. Usually, this gun would have a bright silver white colour, but because of his effect limit, he couldn¡¯t control the material and the colour of the gun. Luckily, he got quite a good looking one, completely made out of carbon steel! But he didn''t care right now, his mind felt like it would break if he thought any further. If it hasn''t already broke... "I...should...let my...MP..." Not bothering to finish his words, he laid his head back onto the sand. What a troublesome situation... ...... After his MP had recovered from his negative state. He looked back towards the gun in his hand. Firstly, he needed a nice holster to put his gun into. This one was quite easy, with him completing it in only 5 minutes and finishing it off with the word ¡®Leather¡¯. With a flash, he picked up the leather holster and strapped it onto his right pocket. Thankfully, it seems the headache wasn''t there. Phew...He would rather be spared from feeling that ever again. Cleanly and sleekly, he inserted the black desert eagle into leather holster. Having an actual desert eagle strapped onto his side made him want to shoot down some zombies, but there were no zombies here, so he had to refrain from being an idiot. But next, is the testing phase! He swiftly got up and pulled out his brand new gun. To test it out, he put his hand over the grip, and pulled out the gun in a single quick motion. Aiming the desert eagle, he shot a bullet into the air, disappearing into the clouds above. Seems like this thing works just fine! ¡°Quaaack!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Turning around, he saw that a seagull was flying above him, it too looking down at him. Quickly, he realised that shooting that bullet into the sky was probably not a very good idea, not that shooting a gun in any occasion was good idea in general. Unless for self defence. Hey, even a grandpa can hold a shotgun, alright? ¡°Quack!¡± Closing up its wings, the seagull dived down beak first towards him. Easily, he jumped to the side, letting the bird¡¯s beak to get stuck in the sand. Aiming straight for its wings, he pulled the trigger. ¡°Quuuaaaackk!¡± The bird screamed in pain as holes after holes blew open in its body, before Alex got tired of hearing the screams of the bird and shot it in the head. Soft smoke blew off the heated muzzle. Heartless? What do you mean? He¡¯s just trying to survive, alright? Letting the white orb to fly into him, he turned back around to the morning sea. Aiming his gun with one hand, he pointed his gun at various different locations, areas with an imaginary target he made up in his mind. Once again, a nice benefit of having a large imagination! *Bang!* ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* He began firing off bullets in rapid succession, destroying the imaginary targets and moving onto the next one. His eyes swam around quickly to confirm where his next imaginary target was, and fired rapidly. Hopefully his MP doesn''t run out instantly because of this. Actually, doing this in general was probably a bad idea... *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* ¡°¡­Pii¡­¡± Once again, shooting a gun into the ocean wasn¡¯t a very good idea. Disturbing the wildlife wasn¡¯t a good act, you know? ¡°Piii!¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± Out from the ocean, came out 3 SeaSurfer crabs, surfing on the waves in an attempt to get closer. Behind them, the figure of a dolphin slowly emerged onto the surface, its fins grazing along the waters. As his eyes caught sight of the dolphin, his [Blood Hound] skill activated unconsciously as he pointed the gun at the moving torpedo. With blood red eyes, he continued to fire more shots. And then, one bullet out of the rest, penetrated right through its fin. ¡°Guua?!¡± *Bang!* *Bang!* As the dolphin struggled to control itself, more shots were fired off. Smoke blew off as his MP was slowly getting chipped away. Under intense fire, the dolphin couldn¡¯t hold out for long, and finally bled out, slowly getting slower before stopping completely. ¡°Pi?!¡± The three crabs noticed that the dolphin had died without even touching anything, and they got scared as they looked over to the one who did that. They shivered in fear as a cold creeping chill creeped up their shell as his blood red eyes pierced their confidence. ¡°You never learn.¡± *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* Firing off some more bullets, the crabs fell over like flies. Not even a minute passed, and the bodies of a dead dolphin and three dead crabs floated on the moving sea, getting pulled under by the speeding waves. Silently, he turned back around, and walked back to his sleeping friend. Slipping back his gun into his holster, his [Blood Hound] deactivated and his emotions returned once more. However, little did he know, Not far across from him, a large cloud passed over the sun, blocking off the incoming sunlight. Circling around the covered sun, the clouds began to form a vortex in the sky. Purple thunder began coming out. A huge storm was brewing. [7] Deadly Purple *Byuuur* And so, the hands of time continued moving onwards. The day had passed by, and another came to replace it. The sun happily viewed the inhabitants of the world below, shining a beautiful golden ray. The clouds above slowly moved along the large sky above. The seagulls flew through the giant clouds, soft winds moved past. The leaves of the palm trees waved in the slow wind. *Bang!* *Bang!* ¡°Tch¡­My aim sucks.¡± However, not every place was as peaceful as the rest. At one side of the archipelago, loud gunshots can be heard from afar. Waves crashed onto the surrounding islands as a single object broke through the calm waters. ¡°Pipipi!¡± ¡°Piii!¡± ¡°Tch.¡± Looking behind him, Alex clicked his tongue as he noticed the crabs¡¯ pursuit. He has been shooting for around about¡­5 minutes? And he has only taken down around 3 or 4 crabs. That would have been fine, if not for the increasing numbers of crabs. But besides the increasing numbers of crabs, he felt another presence watching him, something much more, powerful. *Bang!* *Bang!* ¡°Gah, fine.¡± Seeing as his aim was failing him, he quickly put his newly conjured pistol into his holster on his waist and activated his magic. His index finger lit a soft white light. While still steering his surfboard, he conjured a small cube. ¡°There.¡± Looking back once more, he aimed the cube he conjured, and after waiting for them to group up, he threw it out. Even worse than before, the cube didn¡¯t even make it to the crabs, but as it made contact with the water, *Boom!* An explosion sounded across the waters. A powerful wave swept across the water¡¯s surface, causing him to lose control over his surfboard for a moment, but he was quick to response. Looking past the cloud of white vapour, he spotted the group of crabs previously chasing him, now simply floating on the waters, unmoving. ¡°Why aren¡¯t I using this more?¡± Silently contemplating his life choices until now, he returned his focus back to steering the surfboard, only to realise that he had become off-course. In a slight panic, he quickly tried to adjust his path, but it only made it worse. In the end, he missed the island he was aiming for, and crashed onto another island close to his target. Oh well, at least he got somewhat closer, right? ¡°Pi¡­¡± ¡°Oh, shut up.¡± Sighing deeply, he pushed himself up and dusted off any sand that had gotten on his shirt. Sadly, his shirt was wet, and the sand seemed to cling even further. By the end of it, he simply gave up and threw away his clothes, and wore another set he conjured quickly. ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°What is¡­¡± Just as he was fixing up his belt, the crab suddenly shouted out. Slightly annoyed, he turned around to see what it was calling to, only to tense up as his eyes set upon an enemy he had never seen before. ¡°Grruuruu¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­a big octopus.¡± ¡°¡­Pi.¡± Just as he put it, the enemy that had appeared from the ocean depths¡­was a big octopus with purple coloured skin and beady black eyes. Its body was practically attached to a huge number of tentacles, but most of them were used as its legs. Yeah, legs. But what was most terrifying about it, were the eight tentacles not used for movements. Instead of being simply jelly-like tentacles, the ends of the tentacles were equipped with a sharpened edge, like that of a blade. A shine gleamed off its shiny surface. ¡°¡­¡­Well, sh*t.¡± Gulping down his saliva, he took a stance and prepared for battle. The crab seems to have noticed, and it too raised its claws in preparations for battle. Wait, this thing is gonna fight?! Woah, that¡¯s amazing! ¡°Grrururu!¡± ¡°?!¡± After releasing an odd collage of noises, the big purple octopus sent 4 of its bladed tentacles towards them. By instinct, Alex took a step back and quickly traced a thick square, big enough for him to hide behind. Out from the shining light, came a thick wall of bedrock. *Prang!* ¡°Oof, that¡¯s dangerous.¡± The bedrock wall he conjured successfully blocked the incoming tentacles, but the blades dug quite deep into the bedrock. A couple more centimetres, and he would have been hit. ¡°Piii!!¡± To his surprise, while he was still hiding, the little crab took advantage of the reduced tentacles and charged in. ¡°Gruru!¡± The octopus sent its 4 remaining tentacles, but the crab¡¯s little body and agile movements allowed it to dodge the incoming attacks.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°PI!¡± With its claw prepared, it slashed down on its jelly-like skin. ¡°GRRUU!!¡± A surprisingly big wound opened up on the octopus¡¯ skin. Purple blood flowed out of the wound, but the wound quickly closed up in seconds. ¡°P-Pi?¡± ¡°GRRUUU!!!¡± Seeing as its attack was ineffective, the crab quickly backed away while dodging the enraged octopus. *Bang!* ¡°G-Gru?!¡± From behind his bedrock wall, Alex drew out his desert eagle and shot. The bullet somehow hit with his terrible aim, but it hardly did any damage. The octopus¡¯ skin seems to have the ability to easily repair itself. If so, then how is this thing supposed to die?! ¡°Grruuuuuu¡± ¡°¡­?¡± While he was racking his brain for ways to take down this beast, his ears caught an odd sound coming from behind the wall. Carefully peeking his head out from the wall, he took a glimpse at what the octopus was doing. And- ¡°GRRUUU!!!!!¡± *Buuuuuusshhhhhh* ¡°Gah?!¡± To his surprise, the octopus used the time he gave it and fired off a small yet powerful jet of water at his bedrock wall, after it took out its tentacles of course. Under the intense power of the water cannon, the bedrock wall was pushed back, and as a result, he was forced to plant his face against a block of incredibly hardened soil, or something along those lines. Luckily, he was spared from being crushed under it, as the bedrock wall was blown off the island and landed into the waters. Seeing the tough wall slowly drift away, a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he was forced to open grounds once more. ¡°Take this!!¡± Activating his magic, he quickly conjured a handful of explosive cubes. Setting his sights at the idle octopus, he threw the handful of cubes at it. ¡°Gru?¡± In pure curiosity, it watched as the cubes flew across the air and landed on its jelly skin. But to its surprise, ¡°Gru?!¡± *Boom!* *Boom!* A group of explosions occurred upon the octopus, sending a large cloud of sand and dust into the air, blinding the figure of the octopus. ¡°Is it¡­?¡± *Wiiish!* Just as he was starting to feel slightly secure, a chill crept up his spine, and following it, came a pair of tentacles, all aimed at him. Quickly, he conjured another wall of bedrock and hid behind it. However- ¡°Gua?!¡± *Puchi!* One of the tentacles made it through the thinner wall of bedrock, plunging straight into his chest. A splash of blood came out and hit the wall of bedrock. *Puchi!* And right after the first tentacle, the other tentacle broke through the wall and stabbed right into his left arm. An explosion of pain surged through his veins as blood splashed out into the air. His face paled as his eyes fell upon the red liquid. ¡°Pii!¡± Seeing its comrade injured, the little crab quickly jumped back into battle and sent a flurry of slashes to one of the tentacles. After several cuts and slashes, the tentacles caved in, and was torn off. A burst of purple blood exploded out. ¡°Gruu!¡± In pain, the octopus withdrew its tentacle, leaving the other one behind, still stabbed into his chest. ¡°H,Haa¡­¡± With shaky hands, he quickly pulled off the bladed tentacle and backed away. Blood poured out of the open wound. ¡°G-Grruuuu¡­¡­¡± Seeing its injured tentacle, the octopus¡¯ eye narrowed dangerously. A slight tinge of red could be seen glowing from its eyes. To prepare for an upcoming attack, it began to suck the surrounding waters, before letting them out and gathering more. ¡°Huh? Why is it¡­Wait.¡± Just as he was watching it gather even more water into its mouth which was¡­somewhere, his brain suddenly received a brilliant idea from his deep-rooted index of random knowledge he picked up from reading countless random books. After spending some time waiting for its water beam to appear, and also for his pain to ease up slightly, he quickly conjured a set of cubes. Out from the shining light, a group of small white cubes. ¡°Grruu!¡± And then, using the water it soaked up, it formed a small and dense ball of water, floating closely to it, but far enough to not hit itself. That would be stupid. ¡°Please hit.¡± Praying to the heavens above, he aimed his cubes, and after a moment of tension, he threw out the cubes. Just like before, because of his terrible aim, most of the cubes went flying off, but one fateful cube, managed to hit the water ball it was forming, and the results were- ¡°BOOM* Devastating. Upon contact, the cube suddenly heated up and exploded. The same goes with the cubes that landed into the waters around the octopus, causing a large explosion to occur on impact. The surrounding air was covered in a thick cloak of steam. ¡°¡­Is it¡­over?¡± Putting his hand over his eyes, he patiently waited as the cloud of steam slowly dissipated. The battlefield turned silent, so quiet that he managed to hear his own heart beating. The soft howls of the winds echoed in his ears. And then- *Puchi!* ¡°W-What?!¡± To his surprise, a single bladed tentacle flew out and hit his right arm. Luckily, because he was holding up his arm, his eyes were spared from any damage, but a surge of pain exploded in his mind as the tentacle dug into his right arm. ¡°G¡­Gr..uu¡­¡± And, as the steam finally ascended into the skies, he realised that the octopus was, in fact, still alive, just barely holding onto its consciousness. Beads of sweat rolled down his pale face as he felt his blood slowly drip down from his wounded arm. ¡°T-Tch¡­¡± By instinct, he withstood the pain in his left arm and used it to pull out the tentacle, which was, to his surprise, not attached to the octopus. It seems that it shot out its tentacle as a last attempt to score a kill, but his arm got in the way. By now, the two sides were injured, with Alex near unable to move both his arms, while the octopus was holding on barely. The crab simply watched from the side-lines. Hey, weren¡¯t you in the battle? Finish this! ¡°P-Pi.¡± ¡­Seems like it¡¯s reluctant to attack. ¡°D-Damn i-it¡­¡± Seeing as the octopus was wide open to any attack, he wanted to take advantage of this moment and send the finishing blow, but the only thing he could move was his left ring finger. He couldn¡¯t even feel his right arm anymore¡­ ¡°M-Move¡­¡± Using his left ring finger, he traced a badly morphed cube, and finished it off with a terrible writing of ¡®Explodes on contact¡¯. Shining brightly, a small cube dropped onto the sandy bed, but he was unable to pick it up. ¡°G-Gruu¡­¡± Finally seeing its defeat, the octopus slowly begun to move back, withdrawing from the battle. Alex grit his teeth seeing such an attempt. ¡°D-Damn it¡­MOVE!!!¡± Shouting a shout of pure determination, he fought against the agonizing pain and moved his left arm. Oddly, the pain seems to have lightened, and an odd sensation could be felt eminating within his left arm. Not bothering to question what this was, he quickly picked up the cube, and with one look, he threw the cube. ¡°G-Gru-¡° *Boom!* And so, with that last explosion, the octopus¡¯ figure blurred into the dust cloud. ¡°Hah¡­hah¡­hah¡­¡± Panting in exhaustion, Alex looked over to the octopus. With the cloud now gone, he got a good view of the octopus, floating across the waters, lifeless. This was¡­his victory! Realising his victory, he sighed in relief, and showed a faint smile as he brought up his status in curiosity. Status: Damian Alexander Lv 10 Health: 23/120 (+40) Mana: 31/165 (+55) Strength: 42 (+14) Intelligence: 60 (+20) Resistance: 51 (+17) Agility: 57 (+18) (+3) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (14%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (13%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (05%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (09%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (03%) Titles: (Blood Borne)| ¡°¡­¡± [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 Allows the user to control the user¡¯s own Magic. Allows the user to learn Magic based skills. 03% to Rank 2 {Blood Borne} Rank 1 The User¡¯s body had become more resistant to any diseases. Skills gain experience slightly faster User¡¯s HP has been increased by 50% permanently. User¡¯s stats have been increased by 25% permanently. Rank 2 User¡¯s MP has been increased by 50% permanently. User¡¯s stats have been increased by 50% permanently. Resistance to poison has been increased. % to Rank 3 ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that a bit¡­too OP?¡± [8] Towards the Town! ¡°¡­Amazing¡­¡± With the octopus finally taken down, the seas turned calm once more. The body of the lifeless octopus slowly drifted away, carried by the small waves moving across the waters. He was left alone once more. Well, the crab¡¯s here and all, but¡­ Now, with the cold breeze washing over his torn and bloodied shirt, Alex lied there on the sandy bed with his eyes staring straight at the clouds. His ocean blue eyes reflected the brilliant blue sky above. As another cold breeze passed over his slightly closed wound, he cringed as he felt the pain all over his chest. Luckily, he hadn¡¯t moved at all since the defeat of that giant octopus. He showed a faint smile as he recalled that. But after he survived the encounter, he was left with a wounded body, with a big wound opened on his chest and some more wounds on his two arms. With time, the wounds started getting clogged up by the freezing blood, but they were still very dangerous to his long-term survival. But exactly because he couldn¡¯t move, it allowed him to focus on his new skill, [Magic Manipulation]. If what the description said was true, that means that he should now be able to control his magic voluntarily. By that thought, he focused on what he had. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t control magic yet. Heck, he doesn¡¯t even know what magic looks like! But putting that aside, he still does have magic circulating in him, and it was present in his blood, that was the one thing he managed to notice. Although he had just got anemia from the huge loss of blood, there was still quite some blood left in his veins. Using that, he began simply moving the magic to several different places in his body. He started by focusing his magic into his fist, and then to his legs, to his bloodied chest, which surprisingly decreased the pain, and then all around to his whole body. Because he was stuck like this, he was unable to test out what moving the magic to his limbs would do, but he knew, that circulating his magic evenly throughout his whole body was the most effective out of all. For a simple description, once he evenly circulated his magic, he began feeling odd. The world around him seemed to slow down, as if he was a guy from the matrix or something. His senses perked up to superhuman levels, allowing him to notice any small changes in the environment. Can he perhaps shoot a laser beam from his fists?! ¡­Maybe not yet. A man can dream though! That advancement aside, he really was unable to do anything now. His whole body felt numb, and nearly impossible to move. He could move his fingers, but only slightly. Letting out a silent sigh, he brought up his status. Status: Damian Alexander Lv 10 Health: 23/120 (+40) Mana: 51/165 (+55) Strength: 42 (+14) Intelligence: 60 (+20) Resistance: 51 (+17) Agility: 57 (+18) (+3) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (14%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (13%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (05%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (09%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (05%) [[Concentration]] Rank 1 (01%) Titles: (Blood Borne)| [[Concentration]] Rank 1 Evenly circulating magic throughout the body increases reaction speed, thinking speed, and a slight boost to reflex. Is a skill derived from [Magic Manipulation]. 01% to Rank 2 Although he already knew, having that skill description always helps. Oddly, this time, he didn¡¯t freak out as much when he saw a new skill pop up in his skills list. Perhaps after seeing him gaining many skills so quickly, he began to feel numb from the shock. Was that a good thing? Yeah¡­Probably. ¡°Hah¡­Guess I won¡¯t be moving for a while.¡± The thing is, he won¡¯t be staying there for a while. He¡¯ll get up soon enough¡­ Meanwhile, Not far from Alex, but far enough out of his field of vision, a great storm was brewing. Thundering clouds were circling around, forming a giant vortex in the murky and dark sky.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Purple lightning jumped from one cloud to another. The wind was getting hectic and unpredictable. The leaves from the palm trees blew violently, if the tree hadn¡¯t got sucked by the wind, that is. *Wwwwuuuuuuoooooo* And then, in the midst of that purple thunderstorm, a loud and long sound was heard coming out of the violent waters. Slowly, the water began rising, as a large and imposing figure appeared out of the turning seas. With its large mouth open, its sharp teeth were wide open to view. The giant fins on its side sent waves, adding onto the already hectic wave storm. The whale had two tails, covered in hideous spikes, which were most likely its own bones. Yikes. The whale had no eyes, but it was able to easily determine that something was going on above in the sky. After looking at it for a while, it dove back down into the ocean. Swimming through the turbulent tides, it swam away from the vortex, towards to the calm area near to it, which happens to be where Alex was located. It seems like Alex will be in trouble soon! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ After about 4 hours of lying down in pure and utter boredom, Alex was finally able to push himself up to sit on the sand, with his legs crossed. He took a deep breath in, and stretched out his finger. Drawing long lines in the air, he traced a long rectangle circling around him, finishing it off with the word ¡®Cloth¡¯. Out from the shining light, came the one strip bandage he wanted. Using his magic some more, he conjured 10 more strips. ¡°G-Gahh¡­¡± Using his still injured hands, he wrapped the bandage strips around his chest wound. Gritting his teeth, he tied it all around his bloodied chest, and kept it in place using a small metal clip he conjured. He¡¯s not a doctor, but he at least knew this much from the action movies he watched! Now that that was done, he went onto his second most wounded part of his body, his arms. Conjuring some more strips of bandages, he wrapped them around his arms as he cringed in pain. Using [[Concentration]] also seems to ease some of the pain. ¡°G-Guh¡­¡± After his right arm was fully bandaged, he moved onto his other arm. Using the leftover bandage strips, he wrapped them neatly around his injured arm. ¡°Hah¡­hah¡­Ouch.¡± Clipping the strips of bandages together with a metal clip, he took one last look around his body before getting up. Fortunately, it seems like his legs were spared from the massive injuries! Yay! After waiting there silently for a while, he looked around awkwardly. Noticing that his shirt and pants were pretty torn up, he quickly conjured himself a new set of clothes to wear. Out from the light, came a pair of black jeans and a white T-shirt. Taking a look around once more, he stripped away his torn shirt and jeans, and quickly put on his new set of clothes. Luckily, he was stranded in an archipelago. So hopefully no one saw him doing that¡­ That done, he walked over to his fallen backpack and took it up. Wearing it on his back, he picked up the little crab who was sleeping on the sandy beach and placed him in. He turned to his fallen desert eagle and picked it up. Conjuring a new holster, he slid the gun back to his waist. ¡°Alright¡­What to do¡­¡± -2 hours later- ¡°Just a little more¡­¡± Once again, on that little island, the figure of Alex was seen, this time pushing something into the ocean. What was he pushing, you ask? *Byuur* After about an hour of pushing, he finally managed to get his boat into the waters! Quickly, he made sure tied the edge of the boat was tied to the wooden stake with a rope he conjured earlier. To put it simply, after suffering from two attempts at using that surfboard, he concluded that doing so would attract monsters. Pretty obvious, huh? But that wasn¡¯t the thing he was concerned about. While he was thinking about what to do, he began to recall his past attempts at travelling the sea. At first, there were only a couple crabs, and then a dolphin appeared, and then the seagulls came, and finally he blew away the giant octopus from existence. Oddly, he felt that the monsters he faced was slowly increasing in strength. It felt just like a fantasy RPG game, where the monsters¡¯ levels slowly increase as you go through the game. It was as if¡­The ocean itself knew about his growth. It was definitely farfetched, but it felt quite odd that as he progressed, more and more monsters began appearing. Gah¡­It¡¯s as if there¡¯s an administrator to this place¡­ But putting that aside, he knew that travelling about with that surfboard was probably his safety option to get away quickly, attracting the monsters as a cost. That was something he would rather avoid, even after getting this strong. He wasn¡¯t in that much of a hurry either. That in mind, what other ways can he use to travel the ocean? Well, obviously it¡¯s a boat! His target in sight, his finger lit up a bright light and he began tracing the boat¡¯s hull. He didn¡¯t need to be that fancy, and drew a simple canoe-shaped hull. He also added two holes on the side, for paddling. The hull done, he quickly conjured a pair of wooden paddles. With both paddles in hand, he slid them into the two holes he put on the hull. Next, he traced a small sail to put on the boat. Ending it with the word ¡®Cloth¡¯, he held the blue said in his hands. Setting it down for a moment, he conjured a nice long wooden pole and strapped it onto the middle of the hull with some rope. But feeling like that wasn¡¯t enough, he conjured some nails and a wooden mallet. Nails and the mallet in hand, he nailed down the wooden pole. ¡°Ah!¡± He also hit his hands sometimes. After tapping on the wooden pole, and deciding that it was strong enough, he conjured himself a strong rope and tied the cloth said onto the wooden pole. The end result was quite sloppy, but it stretched out the said and made it work. And after all that, his small wooden boat was finished! He conjured himself a large wooden stake and impaled it into the sandy shore. Tying a rope he conjured around it, he tied the other end onto the edge of the boat. He needed to make sure this thing didn¡¯t just suddenly drift off into the sunset while he wasn¡¯t looking. That would suck. And so, that brings him back to the present. ¡°Alright.¡± Looking confidently into the seas, he took a deep breath and walked onto his boat. Carefully, he set down his legs onto the wooden hull, although the boat sunk in slightly, it was floating! It¡¯s working! Stretching out his left hand, he tried to feel whether there was any wind coming. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡± Pulling his hand back onto the hull, he untied the rope on the edge of his boat, and held onto his two paddles. With a single push, he was away! Well, one push wasn¡¯t getting him anywhere, so he began paddling slowly through the calm seas. He made sure he wasn¡¯t going too fast, or else he might get himself captured by a giant tentacle and pulled down into the depths of the ocean. He shivered slightly as he thought that. Shrugging the thought away, he continued to paddle towards where the town was. He silently enjoyed the soft howl of the occasional wind. But then, suddenly, the seas began turning violent. A wave crashed onto his wooden hull, and he was shaken out of the peaceful atmosphere. Snapping back to reality, he looked to his side to sea many waves travelling across the once calm sea. ¡°What the hell?¡± Holding his two paddles, he braced himself for the waves. His boat was carried away by the moving tides, away from where the town was! ¡°Hey!¡± Paddling forward, he battled against the moving waves. His boat was getting bumpy, a small water puddle formed inside his wooden hull. A bead of sweat rolled down his white knuckles. ¡°Tch.¡± He began to feel tired as the waves got stronger. Biting his lip, he concentrated his magic onto his two knuckles. With a sudden surge of strength, he pushed his boat against the crashing waves! His [[Concentration]] skill was activated! Although it was on his two hands this time. Can this still be called [[Concentration]]? His boat rode on the passing waves as the waves began getting larger and larger. The winds passing by turned hectic and violent. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He narrowed his eyes as he paddled the boat with his increased strength. His knuckles grew whiter and whiter as a creeping feeling of fear began seeping in. ¡°What the he-¡­eh?¡± Just as he was about to curse, the waters some distance away from him began to rise dramatically. The giant water bubble tore open, and out of it came a giant twin-tailed whale. His eyes instantly turned to dots. *Wwwuuuuooooo* ¡°Holy sh*t¡­That¡¯s a huge whale.¡± [9] Definitely a Bad Choice ¡°Holy sh*t¡­That¡¯s a huge whale.¡± Under the brilliant blue sky, looking down from the fluffy clouds, an ocean lied there. Deeper than the caves, larger than the Earth itself. Filled with wildlife of many different species, this was a heavenly place! There, in between all the water, and the crashing waves, one could see a boat just floating there calmly. *Wuuuuoooooooo* On that little boat, a young boy with an oddly casual looking outfit, stood there with his mouth open and his eyes blank as he stared at the madness before him. His hand not letting go of the paddle, he slowly paddled the boat backwards. *Wuuuuuooooooo* ¡°¡­I¡¯m out.¡± And before that young boy, stood a giant whale, much bigger than any whale he had ever seen, except for those whales on National Geographic. Those guys who record those stuff are the pros we all need! With barnacles in the count of- ¡­Wait, haven¡¯t I said this before? *Sounds of flipping paper ensues* ¡­Yes I have. Damnit, I didn¡¯t realise. Anyways, with his eyes turning into dots, he watched as the mouth of the giant whale slowly creaked open! The millions of barnacles attached to its mouth slowly sunk into the waters below! *¡­WuuuoooooOoOOOOOOOO!!* ¡°¡­Sh*t.¡± As slowly as he could, he began paddling away from the whale. He didn¡¯t care if he wasn¡¯t heading to the town anymore, he just needed to get away from this thing! His heart pounded heavily in his chest. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as his instincts told him to escape. And escape he will try to do! Code word, ¡®Try¡¯. *Wuuuuuushhhh!!* Just as he was starting to move the boat away, the whale¡¯s mouth fully opened, and the water around it began getting sucked in! Alex was obviously included! ¡°W-Wah?!¡± As the waters began moving towards the whale¡¯s mouth, his boat was carried along for the bumpy ride. His hull shook violently as a strong torrent of wind moved him closer and closer towards that giant mouth! As the whale noticed that Alex already close to it, it closed its mouth abruptly, and the suction was stopped entirely. ¡°Woah!¡± Even after stopping, the waves around Alex had never calmed down, and was still crashing violently onto his wooden hull. *Byuur* His boat shook as another strong wave crashed onto the side of his boat. A part of the wood was blown away. Luckily, it doesn¡¯t seem like any water was leaking in. That¡¯s a relief¡­ ¡°Sh*t.¡± Quickly, he pulled out his desert eagle from his holster and aimed. Targeting the whale¡¯s fins, he fired off some quick shots. However, just like a pellet hitting a metal wall, the fins were hardly damaged. Heck, it wasn¡¯t damaged at all! The bullets he shot using his magic didn¡¯t even make a scratch! Seeing that, his mind instantly recalled the scene with the octopus, and the results in brought, along with a mountain of blood. He shivered in absolute fear. Although he had already knew, but he had no chance of beating something like this! He needed to run away! Quickly, he sat down onto the wooden hull and gripped onto the paddles. Concentrating his magic onto his knuckles, he paddled away as fast as he could. But that wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°WUUUUOOOOO!¡± *BUUUSSSHHHH!!* Just as he finished turning the boat around, the whale¡¯s mouth opened suddenly, and out of it, came a giant speeding hydro laser! What that means is simply a giant laser of water. Wait, but a laser¡¯s supposed to be hot and¡­Never mind. ¡°Guuah?!¡± The water jet made contact to the water near him, and he was rocketed up into the sky. His boat suffered a lot of damage and flipped, huge cracks could be seen on its side before sinking into the depths. *Gulp* He gulped down some saliva as he watched his boat sink. Beads of sweat continued to roll down his already wet face. His eyes darkened in despair as he watched the surface of the water get closer and closer! And finally, the inevitable happened! *Byuur!* Alex plunged right into the ocean, face first too. He forcefully closed his eyes and nose with his hands as he slowly swam back up with his legs. Fortunately, his bandage didn¡¯t come off, or else he would be in a world of pain by now. Imagine it, having huge wounds on your chest, and then being thrown into seawater, filled with salt. That¡¯s going to hurt¡­ ¡°¡­Buuaah!¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After about a minute of constant swimming, he managed to get his head out of the water. Taking some deep breaths, he turned his head around to the whale, and his face froze in fright. ¡°WWUUUOOO!¡± *BBBUUUSHHH!!* The whale¡¯s mouth opened once more, and another jet of speeding water was shot out. In fear, he held his breath and dived into the waters, letting the hydro jet crash into the waters above him. He sighed in relief, but accidently opened his mouth and was forced to go up. ¡°Buuah! That thing is violent!¡± He looked on with fear as he watched the whale silently sit there. Alex tilted his head in confusion as he watched the whale just sit there, doing nothing. And then he finally noticed, that thing has no eyes! ¡°Wait, then how can it see me?¡± To try and get its attention, he conjured a small cube and threw it. Sadly, because of the moving wind, the cube was unable to reach the whale and dropped into the water. But even so, ¡°Wuo!¡± *Buush!* It still shot out its hydro laser and blew away the cube he threw. Seeing its suspicious act, his mind instantly kicked into full gear. He also activated [[Concentration]] to help with his thinking speed. He wasn¡¯t sure how that works, but it works! As he was thinking about it, a seagull was flying high above the slowly darkening clouds. ¡°Quack!¡± Down in the ocean, the whale slowly turned its head to the seagull. ¡°Quack!¡± After hearing it quack for some time, the whale looked back down. ¡°¡­Hmm.¡± His suspicion grew as he watched the whale return back to its original position. He found it odd that it turned to the quack of the seagull, but not to him, who was literally sitting there defenceless and wet. And then, a small theory developed in his head. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Tracing a small cube underwater, he finished it with the word ¡®Explodes after 10 seconds¡¯. He felt his MP decrease slightly as the exploding cube formed in his hand. Quickly, he threw the cube close to the whale. Right after it made contact, *Boom!* ¡°Wuuo!¡± *BUUUSSH!!* The cube exploded, just like he planned, and the whale just as fast shot out a hydro laser at the explosion. Splashes of water danced in the windy air. ¡°¡­I see¡­¡± Watching whale close it mouth, he felt confident that his theory was right. To put it simply, because the whale was unable to see, it used its other senses to find out where its enemies are. No, not using smell, he wasn¡¯t even sure if it could smell, but using its hearing. He had heard of it before. If his memories served him right, then it should be similar to what bats use back on his home planet, a technique called ¡®Echolocation¡¯. What that means is to hear the noises around it, and form images based on the bouncing noises to help the bats navigate around. But the thing is, the whale hasn¡¯t been sending out noises to make sounds bounce off the waters. That could be the case, or the howling wind and the crashing waves are making it hard for it to focus on using ¡®Echolocation¡¯, forcing it to rely completely on the sudden noises created close to it. If that was really the case, then he was extremely grateful to this storm. Although he had a hard time paddling because of it, but he lived from this whale¡¯s attacks because of the noises it made! Hah! What luck! ¡­Or not. Out from the opposite side, came a pair of giant tentacles, soon followed by many more tentacles that stretched out to the skies, metaphorically. His perception of depth was just very messed up at that moment. The tentacles that came out was about 10 meters in height, and was about as wide as a telephone pole he would occasionally see back on Earth. The edges of the tentacles were bladed, similar to that octopus he fought not long ago. His face warped in fear as he recalled his encounter with the octopus, and what results it brought to him. He could barely win against that thing, and now something about 10 to 20 times larger than it just appears out of nowhere?! Madness! ¡°Wuuuooo!!¡± The whale instantly noticed the new enemy that just surfaced, and readily opened its mouth. Sucking water from the outside, it fired away another giant water jet, this time at the giant tentacles! The giant tentacles, or where the tentacles came from, noticed the incoming attack and formed a wall with the tentacles, blocking the water jet from passing. ¡°W-Woah¡­¡± He stared in awe as it saw the tentacles come out unharmed. Slowly, from behind the tentacles, came the main head of the monster, surfacing from the violent waters. Although it should¡¯ve been obvious, but the tentacles belonged to a giant octopus! Now, Alex was blocked from two sides, both the North and the South. He stared longingly at the town, blocked by the giant octopus standing aggressively as it eyed the giant whale who was doing the same, except without its eyes. He could¡¯ve sworn that he saw sparks fly off, but that was surely his imagination. Right¡­? But that aside, he really was forced to a corner. With two giant figures on two sides, and his path to the town blocked off, he only had two choices left. Should he go West, or East? If he picked the wrong one, he could very well land in an even worse situation than what was currently happening. And that would suck¡­ ¡°Tch¡­¡± He stayed silent for a while, desperately deciding on where to go. Meanwhile, the whale was first to act, and fired another water jet! Easily, the octopus blocked the water jet and sent off its bladed tentacles at the whale. It too, easily blew away the tentacles with a wide spread shot of its water jet. The two giants were evenly matched! ¡°¡­Damnit.¡± Gritting his teeth in defeat, he stretched out his finger bitterly and two traced a small cube. Before letting go, he wrote the word ¡®Explodes into mist after 10 seconds¡¯. With both cubes in hand, he threw both of them towards the two giants. His eyes desperately swam around to catch sight of the two cubes, watching them land into the waters. Both the giants didn¡¯t even notice. Finally, as the countdown reached zero, the cubes exploded, and a mist covered the ocean. For extra safety, he also threw in an exploding cube into the waters next to him. *Boom* With the explosion sending water into the air, he quickly conjured a surfboard and wrote ¡®SeaSurfer Shell¡¯. Holding the board tightly, he raised the board into the air, and splashed the board onto the water. And after that, the board sped beautifully across the dark oceans. Because of the mist, the octopus was unable to determine where Alex was, and because of the explosion, the whale¡¯s ears were ringing like never before. This was his chance to escape! Guiding the board away from the two giants, he surfed along the waters, going away from the giants. The whale was first to notice, and readied its hydro jet. ¡°Wuuooo!¡± *BUUUSHH!!* Looking back in fear, he guided the board away from the trajectory of the water jet, and watched a large splash of water explode into the air at an astounding speed. Beads of sweat rolled down his face like rain. The octopus soon noticed that Alex was speeding away, and tried to swing its bladed tentacles at it, but Alex had gotten far enough from the colossal giants, and the blades merely swung at air. Seeing that the two figures of the giants slowly disappear, Alex let out a sigh of relief as he had gotten out safely! He was alive! ¡­But that safety was short lived. Because the area he was headed to, was where the giant dark vortex was! ¡°What the f*ck?!¡± He shouted in shock as he looked up to the sky. The dark clouds circling around as purple lightning jumped from one cloud to another. The wind was blowing violently as the waves soon followed. His heart drowned in fear as he began closing in to the vortex, literally. ¡°¡­Sh*t.¡± And then, when he came to, he was already airborne. He and his surfboard were flying through the air with his hair flapping in the violent wind. Ah, but the little crab¡¯s still asleep, despite all this¡­ His body froze in terror as he was pulled farther and farther into the air. He unknowingly let go of his surfboard, letting it fly off to who knows where. He was never scared of heights, but looking down at the ocean as he was getting sucked into that giant vortex in the sky, this was what nightmares are made of. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Alex smiled in desperation as all his thoughts withered away. His eyes turned to dots and he felt inclined to put his desert eagle to his head and fire. ¡°Actually, this seems rather fun¡­I wonder if this is what it feels like to get sucked by a tornado...¡± He jokingly thought to himself as he waited for his death. His mentality broke completely as the islands below him only looked like little dots. Surprisingly, his [Blood Hound] skill hadn¡¯t activated yet. That¡¯s odd¡­ His eyes let out a tear as he ascended into the skies. His eyes merely watched in absolute terror, and some excitement, as the vortex grew bigger and bigger as he got closer. And then, just as he turned his head around, he noticed something flying close to him. ¡°Oh hey¡­It¡¯s a palm tree.¡± And that line was the last thing heard from Alex before he disappeared into the vortex. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ [10] Finally, the Other Main Character Just Alex¡¯s figure disappeared into the giant vortex, on the other side of this same world, there stood a large kingdom. It was very large, covering several hundred Kilometres worth of land. The land around the outer walls were clear, but there was still grass growing. Some distance from the walls, was where trees began to populate the area. Looking deeper into the kingdom, one would notice the abundance of people walking around the streets. Inside the many buildings around the streets, merchants of many different profession opened up their own shops and did business with the people. At the middle of the kingdom, one could see a large castle, much taller and larger than any buildings ever built in this country. This was the home of the royal blood, and their personal guards. But, that wasn¡¯t the only large building in this kingdom. Several Kilometres west from the castle, there was a large wooden building that looked like a giant Japanese dojo. The walls were built from wood and the roof was flat. On the front of this building, a giant emblem was built into the front wall of the building, shaped like a giant golden flower with 4 diamonds surrounding it. This building, was the kingdom¡¯s public guild. Once more, looking from the clouds far above, one would call this kingdom as prosperous. And indeed, it is! Many of the people here were living comfortably, or at least had enough sustainability to carry themselves along life. The number of people in poverty only took on about 1% of this kingdom¡¯s population. This is, the grand kingdom of the Human race, {Tordge}! At this very fine, and windy, day, we close in on a certain young boy, walking around the streets of {Tordge}. His almond coloured hair flapped with the wind, and his dark golden eyes continued to stare into the bustling streets. In his hand, was a piece of bread with a slab of meat cooked within. He quickly took his last bite and got up. This boy, was Jake Darryl. Like Alex, he was also a senior student in his second year. His height was around 170 cm, and his body build was quite similar to Alex¡¯s, not too muscular, but not a stack of bones either. As a close friend of Alex, if not the only close friend of Alex, he had built quite a good relationship with him. Both being interested in the world of Arts, just in different categories, they both naturally got along. Although, he would always need to start the talk. Being an introvert at heart, Alex would never speak first, and Jake had to try and start a conversation with him. Alex would always reply with a short sentence, and would never talk lengthily, which annoyed him slightly as the conversation would end instantly. But one day, he found out why that is. His heart felt sorry instantly. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Thinking that, he brought his mind back to the present and merged with the crowd. On this day, he had an appointment he had to fulfil with a person he met a while back. Following the familiar streets, he stopped right in front of the public guild. His eyes stared at the giant golden flower, which he was told to symbolize prosperity. Their golden colours matched together. Shaking away the thought, he stepped into the large building, and he was bombarded with a loud sound. *BOOM* The wall on the right of him broke away, and a man flew out. His body was twisted in an unnatural way, but his eyes were constantly looking back inside. Like a raging beast, he landed gracefully and rushed in! *BANG* More explosions sounded! At first, Jake was terrified at this display. Never in his life would he ever think of seeing a man with such a good build being launched out of a building. It was absolute madness! But after a while, and after actually learning of who these people are, his shock was lightened, but he would always receive the chill when watching these battles. Apparently, the two people who constantly fought against each other were the infamous Boston brothers. Infamous for breaking walls in a mere second, although reluctant, the kingdom would call for their help when in need! The one who just got launched out was the younger of the two, Temprano Boston. Famous for his high ranked defensive skills, he gained the title (Iron Blooded Fortress) at a young age. His body was practically bulging with muscles. But, if you were close with him, you would feel his goofy and easy-going personality. Finally seeing past the dust, he saw the older of the two, Luego Boston. He was the other side of the same coin. Having become famous instead for his large and high ranking explosive offense. He didn¡¯t have a large quantity of skills, but his raw strength alone already made him a monster. Just like his brother, his body was also bulging with muscles. You wouldn¡¯t spot any difference between them, if not for the red hair he has, instead of the blue hair his brother has. Just like his brother, he was also quite easy-going, but he was much quieter and calmer than his little brother. Just as the fight began getting interesting, a man from his left called out to him. ¡°Young Jake, over here!¡± ¡°Huh? Oh! Zed!¡± Quickly rushing past the crowd, he met up with his partner. From within the crowd, a man wearing a blue leather T-shirt and a pair of black jeans covered by some thin armour waved at him with a large smile plastered over his face. Jake waved back at him and did a quick high five. This was their personal greeting, to see if the one meeting up with them was an imposter or not. This was mostly because of the delusions Zed keeps having, but it seemed plausible, so he went along with it. That aside, Zed¡¯s full name was¡­Zed. Actually, Jake had never heard his full name, and even when he introduced himself, he would refer to himself as simply ¡®Zed¡¯. Zed was a man in his early 30¡¯s. His height was no more than 190 cm. He has short black hair. His hair was also slightly messy too. His eyes were bold green, which displayed a great sense of wisdom in him from a simple stare. The first time he met him, was at a public church. To his surprise, this man standing before him was actually a prophet! What a twist! With his loud and confident personality, he displayed his passion and wisdom with great force, which gained him some unnecessary popularity, which he actually wishes he doesn¡¯t have. That time, when they met gazes, Zed could tell that Jake was a special case, even between the summoned heroes. This shocked him, as he correctly guessed that he was one of the summoned people from another world. They talked about it for a while, and he soon found out that he had a powerful skill called {Foresight}. On lower rankings, all this skill could do was foresee an attack that was coming. But on a higher rank, he could start seeing into people, just like a form of mind-reading. That was how he found out about Jake¡¯s status. And even more, it could view events that had happened in the past!This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Hearing this, he asked suddenly to foresee into something. Zed was intrigued, as this was his first time meeting a summoned hero, so he listened in. Surprisingly, Zed accepted his request and started his foresight. What Jake had asked him was if he could perhaps find the location of his missing friend. Intrigued by his request, Zed asked him about him, his appearance, and what he meant to him, as a friend of course. With that, he put his finger on his forehead, and {Foresight} was activated! What he saw, was the sight of Alex battling against the giant octopus as the little crab watched uselessly from the side. Both of them seemed to be quite beaten up, with Alex injured and bleeding, while the octopus was slowly trying to get away from him, fearing its own death. Staring intently with determination, Alex conjured one final cube, and with his battle cry, he forced his left arm to move, and threw the explosive cube at the octopus. The cube flew through the air, waving and wobbling slightly, before making contact. And then- *Boom!* The cube exploded brilliantly, cloaking the figure in a cloud of sand and dust. Alex panted in exhaustion as he waited for the dust to blow away. Second after second, the dust slowly faded away, revealing the octopus, floating lifelessly over the waters. ¡°Hah¡­hah¡­hah¡­¡± Although he was extremely exhausted, and his body was injured and bleeding, this was still his victory! Zed¡¯s eyes sparkled in astonishment. Seeing that unique magic along with that odd way of fighting, his heart was instantly intrigued. He began to recall what the olden prophecies had told him in the past. In a rush, Zed began asking various questions about this mystical young man, where he came from, who he was, and what powers he holds within. Jake was unable to answer any. And then, that was the start of their relationship as partners. To his surprise once more, it seems like he wasn¡¯t just a prophet, but also an adventurer! This was the title given to anyone registered into the guild. Jake was no different. And so, with their extroverted and competitive personality, they got along pretty well, but that doesn¡¯t mean that Alex was pushed out of his mind entirely. After he registered, he was ready to embark to find Alex, but was stopped by the kingdom. He fell into a fury because of this, but Zed held him back. And that brings them here today. ¡°Well, shall we depart?¡± ¡°Heh, yeah!¡± Jake never minded Zed¡¯s royal-like speaking, but today, it fit quite well as today was going to be their starting point. Plan find Alex, begin! ¡°You must remember, we must train you to survive. We must not rush carelessly.¡± ¡°Ah, sorry¡­¡± He scratched his head and laughed heartedly. The thought of training had completely slipped out of his mind! He may be a musician, but he was no warrior. Walking out of the guild, the rays of sunlight flashed in their eyes. ¡°A fine day has shown itself.¡± ¡°I, guess?¡± ¡°Ah, before I forget. Jake, how are your stats?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Status: Jake Darryl Lv 08 Health: 155/155 Mana: 150/150 Strength: 32 Intelligence: 30 Resistance: 28 Agility: 48 Skills: {Jester} Rank 1 (Max) [Assassin] Rank 1 (07%) [Shadow Step] Rank 1 (11%) Titles: (Summoned One)|(Shadow)|(Noiseless)| ¡°It¡¯s, alright¡­I suppose.¡± ¡°Doubt, perhaps? Do not worry! For I am here!¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Jake sent a dubious stare at the confident Zed. He didn¡¯t seem to notice it though, and continued to mutter some words filled with wisdom, which he did not understand. After forcing his mouth shut, Jake and Zed headed for the west exit of the kingdom. Once they reached the end of the road, there was an open path in between the large concrete walls that protected the kingdom. There were also some golden flower insignias attached around the walls. Both Jake and Zed showed their adventurer¡¯s license to the guard, and he let them through. And now, they were out in the wilderness! ¡°Jake.¡± ¡°Yea?¡± ¡°Remember, this place isn¡¯t as safe as it looks. There are many shrooms waiting to ambush us. As of now, I can sense the presence of about¡­22 shrooms around us.¡± Jake didn¡¯t have a sensory type skill, so he didn¡¯t sense any enemies around them, but Zed said that there were at least 22 of them. Where are they? ¡°Puuu!¡± And then, something burst out from the ground close to him! Its head was rounded, and it had a short and cylinder-like white body. There was a red and white polka dot pattern over its head. This was the shroom! ¡°Burst!¡± With a simple command from Zed, the shroom¡¯s body shook intensely before exploding into a puddle of purple liquid. Jake¡¯s eyes widened in shock as the first shroom was taken out in an instance. What is this power?! ¡°Puuu!¡± ¡°Pupupuu!!¡± Several more shrooms came out of the ground to avenge their fallen friend. In a swift motion, Jake drew his knife from his back pocket and poised his body. But, there was no need, as Zed¡¯s arm was raised in the air. ¡°Surround!¡± Like a chant, he shouted his magic attack, and the air shook intensely! The bodies of the shrooms began shaking before bursting into more purple liquid. Immediately, the rest of the shrooms jumped up to try and take them out. They all landed on the ground and began running at them. ¡°Young Jake, jump!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Jump!¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what was going on in Zed¡¯s mind, but he followed and jumped. Pushing his fist on the ground, Zed muttered something and a great force was transmitted from his fist, and into the ground. ¡°Scatter!¡± The earth wailed as the earth shook. The ground was becoming unstable! The shrooms incoming were either blown away, or suffered a fatal blow from the shockwaves. The shrooms that survived suddenly exploded into more liquid. It was a one-sided massacre! What was that?! Jake was completely blown away. Who would ever think, that this prophet who seemed way over-confident of his abilities, actually had the ability to back it up?! It just shows that he still has a lot to learn¡­ ¡°I do not suggest fighting these shrooms on close combat. Their toxic gas are able to paralyse us.¡± ¡°I¡­see.¡± Not just powerful, Zed seems to be quite acknowledgeable about many things. It really was lucky to have met this man. ¡°Well, let us continue on. Our destination is that small cave.¡± Jake looked to where Zed was pointing, and sure enough, there was a small cave opening just standing there in the middle of the grassy plains. It was quite small, and it will probably only barely be enough for a small van to fit in. Zed and Jake went over to the cave, and Zed pressed his hand against the inner walls. He stayed silent for a moment, before letting go. ¡°Excellent. It does not seem like there is anyone in this cave.¡± ¡°Nice!¡± ¡°Let us continue.¡± Following behind Zed, Jake went into the cave. As they went farther in, the sunlight found it harder and harder to get in, and soon enough there were no sunlight inside. But the cave was still lit. As they stopped descending, Alex awed at the beauty of the cave. He had never gone to a cave before, and that¡¯s understandable, but he has never heard of a cave with shiny blue crystals as a replacement for lanterns. That¡¯s right, the inside of the cave was lit because of these blue crystals, which gave off a nice warm blue light. Other than that, the cave was a completely normal cave. ¡°If an encounter occurs, you shall be the fighter.¡± ¡°Heh, I got it!¡± Jake gripped his knife tightly and went in deeper into the cave. The first couple minutes were quite calm, meditative even. But soon enough, the first monster of the cave shows itself. The monster that appeared before them looked like a giant crab carrying a giant blue crystal. Its claws are much sharper and larger than any normal crabs, and they were quite nimble too. It had two small eyes, which poked out from within the hard shell. Zed withdrew from the battle and watched Jake battle. Using his [Shadow Step] skill, his steps became silent and his figure became blurry. This was a skill he obtained from the many attempts he made to escape the castle! Appearing behind the crab, he pushed the knife into the back of the crab. However, the knife only made a dent and left only some scratches. The crab quickly turned around and slashed its claws. He barely dodged its attack! ¡°I do not suggest attacking the shell. It is very strong, and hard to penetrate.¡± Zed gave his words of advice. Taking that in mind, he decided to try something else. He disappeared with his [Shadow step], and appeared right in front of it! He drew an arc with his knife, and it hit its eyes! ¡°Chhiii!!¡± The crab withdrew a couple steps back as it tried its best to cover its bleeding eyes with its large claws. Not giving up his attacks, Jake attacked the thinnest part of its claws continuously. Fearing more damage, the crab flailed its claws around. ¡°A little more!¡± Jake stepped back and disappeared. The crab stiffened as it felt a chill creeping on its back. It quickly turned around, and realised that it was its worst decision ever made! ¡°Ha!¡± Eyes exposed, he pushed his knife into the thin slit for its eyes, and blood spurted out like crazy. Luckily, the blood was blue, so his disgust wasn¡¯t that bad, but he took a step back for safety. After flailing around its claws like crazy, it slowly stopped its attack and limped on the floor. His first enemy has been taken down! ¡°Woah!¡± A small white orb floated out of the crab and into Jake. He felt a slight warmth surging in his body, but he didn¡¯t feel any changes in his body. ¡°Congratulations! Your first enemy has been defeated!¡± For some reason, he felt like his victory was missing something, like a victory board or something, but he humbled himself and stopped complaining. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Jake said excitedly as he ran ahead at full speed. Zed didn¡¯t lose and closed in quickly, and soon overtook his speed without much effort. He even seems to be enjoying it¡­ ¡°What kind of stats does this guy have?!¡± Jake thought to himself as Zed was now leading him deeper into the cave. He sighed softly and threw the idea question aside. After all, he would soon find out, right? But, he would never expect that this prophet had such high stats! Looks can be deceiving you know? [11] Isnt he a bit OP? ¡°Ha!¡± *Puchi!* The crab monster wailed around as it tried to shank out the knife. Sadly, because of its unnatural body, its claws couldn¡¯t reach its eyes, and soon enough all blood within had escaped onto the cold stone. The body limped weakly onto the ground. And then, just like any other crabs he had fought before, a white orb flew out and entered his chest, a warmth surged in his chest, but it disappeared just as fast. ¡°Let us return.¡± As Jake finished retrieving his knife, Zed emerged from the shadows. He put his hand over the crab¡¯s crystal, and it began shaking before breaking apart from the crab. He quickly took the shards and put it into a pouch in his other hand. ¡°Really? But it hasn¡¯t even been that long¡­¡± ¡°No. The mother of these crabs will soon emerge. Fighting it is unnecessary.¡± Jake was slightly annoyed by this. After all, if these small fries are these easy, then the boss of these guys shouldn¡¯t be that tough, right?! Was what Jake thought. Zed continued to warn him about the mother of all these crabs, and how powerful it is. He said that he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against it, and there was a high chance for a severe injury to be inflicted on him. ¡°Hey, we can just work together, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± For the first time, he heard his voice turn serious. Normally, he would be putting up a relaxed attitude, or an odd accent, but he has never heard him speak seriously about something. After spending some time thinking about it, he sighed and gave up. Zed smiled and turned around, but didn¡¯t move an inch. ¡°..Zed?¡± ¡°Young Jake. Stand back.¡± As his words reached his ears, a chill suddenly creeped up his spine. Using his [Shadow Step], he blurred his figure and moved behind a large rock. He wasn¡¯t sure why he did that, but he knew, that something big was coming. ¡°GIIIII!!!¡± *BOOOM* Suddenly, the wall a couple meters away from Zed collapsed, and a large shadow emerged from the dust. As the dust settled down, Jake got a good view of what had just entered, and his whole body tensed in an instant. ¡°GGIIII!!!¡± The monster that had just appeared looked similar to the crabs he had been fighting recently. However, instead of having no mouth, it had a large razor filled mouth that looked like it belongs to a horror movie or something. It was several times larger, almost completely filling up the space in the cave. From his distance, the crab looked about 5 meters tall, and had claws as big as a van. The crystal on its back was no different, being about 5 or 6 times larger than the little crabs. Undoubtedly, this was the boss of this cave! ¡°Come.¡± Zed still looked relaxed in this situation, while Jake could only stare from the back. His fingers shivered as he imagined what it would be like to be grinded in that large mouth. How is it that he was able to stand before that thing without shaking on bit?! ¡°GGIIII!!¡± In delight, the mother crab rushed in. It readied its claws and began swinging it furiously. But, his figure seemed to flash in and out of existence! He avoided all the furious attacks of the mother crab, and in style too! ¡°Break.¡± Pointing his hand at an incoming claw, a huge wave was shot out, and broke apart the claw! ¡°G-GII?!¡± The remnants of the claw dropped onto the floor and shattered, like glass. The mother crab stopped its careless attacks and stepped back using its eight spider-like legs. It seemed like it was considering something. ¡°W-What?!¡± Jake was shocked to see that the broken claw, was beginning to regenerate! And in a couple seconds, the claw looked brand new! Zed looked at it with calm eyes. ¡°Scatter.¡± This time, his words sounded stern, cold even. The ground under it began shaking, and caved in. ¡°GII?!¡± The eight legs of the mother crab were trapped in the broken stone. ¡°Shatter.¡± With each word he said, the mother crab fell into an even worse situation than before. After getting its leg stuck, the ceiling above broke and fell onto the mother crab. Its legs were shattered by the unseen force. And soon enough, its mobility was hindered completely. It stopped trying to move, and began to concentrate on healing its broken legs. It now knew, that it had picked a fight with the wrong person! ¡°Tear.¡± After waiting, he pointed his finger straight at its eyes. The mother crab realised what it was trying to do, and tried to cover its eyes with its claws. But there was no need. ¡°GIIIIIIIII!!!!!!¡± A small explosion occurred, and one of its eyes exploded! Blue blood spurted out randomly and painted the stone blue. It struggled in vain as more and more stone began dropping onto it. Half of its body was covered by stone. ¡°Cave in.¡± He didn¡¯t wait any further, and caused more stone above it to shatter and drop onto the mother crab. It quickly raised its claws and broke away the stone, but then its claws suddenly shattered! ¡°G-Giii¡­¡± Soon enough, the stone was up to its claws. No matter how much it tried, its body wouldn¡¯t move even an inch in any directions. It was completely trapped!This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. As the last of the stones fell, its body was no longer visible. It wasn¡¯t dead yet, but it was close to being dead. As a last resort, it began charging its core with excessive amounts of energy, and it began to expand at astounding speed. But Zed wouldn¡¯t allow his new partner to be hurt! Just like a cold-blooded killer, he said his final words to it. ¡°¡­Die.¡± And then, the whole mountain of stones began vibrating violently, as if it was a large volcano ready to erupt! Although Jake couldn¡¯t see it, the mother crab was twisting violently as its body was contorting in a painful and unnatural way. Its whole body shook intensely, until it couldn¡¯t hold out any longer! *BANG!* The large rock mountain exploded, and chunks of stone and crab meat flew in many directions. Shards of its previous crystal could be seen gracefully emitting its last light. The body of the mother crab was no more. Zed had won, without moving his legs at all! ¡°W-Woah¡­¡± Jake could only open his mouth and stare blankly at the complete massacre of the mother crab. Heck, was massacre even appropriate to describe what just happened? ¡°It is safe now. Let us return!¡± Once again, his old attitude was back, and he walked out triumphantly. Alex stared blankly for a moment, but as he realised that his figure was beginning to disappear, he quickly followed his steps into the darkness. As they walked, they would usually encounter another one of those crabs, but they wouldn¡¯t attack them at all. As if the death of their mother became a warning to them to never mess with these people. On sight, the crabs would run back into the darkness, and those that failed to run, stood there like a beaten dog and stared blankly at them. Jake felt quite bad for them. After all, their mother just died! Then again, they are monsters, so he didn¡¯t understand completely about their family ties and what not. Walking through the maze-like cave system, Zed somehow managed to lead Jake through the same they went through when they went in. The remains of the previous crabs could be seen as they walked past. How Zed was able to do this, he wasn¡¯t sure. Now that he thought about it, there were many things that he didn¡¯t know nor understand about Zed. For one, his attacks were completely invisible to the naked eye, and the monsters that faced him seemed to explode on command. It was just his speculation, but when he saw that last attack on the mother crab, he felt an oddly strong vibration coming from the air around him. If that was true, what could his true powers be then? Was he holding back? That thought terrified him. If Zed was actually holding back, then what was his true strength? He shivered as he looked at him. Who would¡¯ve thought that this prophet was actually a monster?! Besides that, his {Foresight} ability. He said that it was able to see incoming attacks, but as he demonstrated it more and more, he began to doubt whether that really is true. After all, he managed to sense that the mother crab was coming, so was that really its true potential? ¡°Hey, Zed?¡± Jake asked as they were beginning to climb back up to the entrance. ¡°Yes, Jake?¡± ¡°What level are you, really?¡± This was something he needed to confirm. If this guy was actually super strong, then that would make sense actually. He did kill the mother crab without moving too much after all! Status: Zed Lv 96 Health: 96/96 Mana: 8975/9600 Strength: 2400 Intelligence: 2400 Resistance: 10 Agility: 2400 Skills: {Supernova} Rank 4 (11%) {Foresight} Rank 3 (27%) {Heart of Despair} R*n$ % (%%%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 4 (21%) [[Concentration]] Rank 4 (53%) [[Third Vision]] Rank 4 (44%) {[Demon Wave]} Rank 3 (66%) Titles: (Prophet of Neverland)|(Death Defiant)|(Executioner)|(Final Days)|(Last one Standing)| ¡°¡­You shall know in due time, young Jake.¡± Zed seemed reluctant to reveal his level, so Jake didn¡¯t question it further. Soon, as they climbed further, they could see more and more sunlight rushing into their eyes. Jake was forced to cover his eyes and slow down, but Zed didn¡¯t seem to be affected by this change in light. Just what is this man? Not much after, the walls disappeared, and the field of grass from several hours ago was back in view. His eyes stared blankly into space as he felt, first-hand, the dangers this world had within. ¡°I need to be careful from now on¡­¡± Jake thought as Zed led him back to the kingdom of [Tordge]. The walk was completely silent. Zed didn¡¯t say any of his wisdom, and with nothing to hear, Jake listened to the rhythm of the passing wind. He needed to calm his mind after witnessing such a slaughter. Going past the guard, Zed and Jake finally finished their first day, and what a first day this was! ¡°Well, I shall be going now. I bid you farewell!¡± ¡°Yeah!...¡± ¡°Remember, we shall meet here once more tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± As he waved goodbye, he watched as Zed slowly blended in with the crowd. He felt slightly hungry, so he decided to go and get some food. He merged in as just another face in the crowd, and pushed along the people to get to his destination. After some manoeuvring, he stopped in front of a cafeteria-type building and went in. He sat down and loosened his shoulder. He still could feel the tension he felt back in the cave, as he watched Zed slaughter the mother crab with one command. It truly was a spectacle to behold. ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Ah¡­Sorry.¡± He ordered a bowl of fish soup and a glass of water. He wasn¡¯t going to buy anything spectacular, and only wanted to fulfil his hunger. Bowing to him, the waitress took his order to the chef. He put both of his hands on the table and slouched down. This first day had drained him mentally, even if he didn¡¯t get hurt, but the aura that mother crab gave out was something beyond anything he had felt. He sighed as he shook away the thoughts. Besides the amazing display he got to see today, he did manage to gain some experience in battle, and some level ups too! That was nice and all, but after seeing just how powerful Zed was, it really showed to him that he still had a long way to go. And he wasn¡¯t even sure if that was his full strength! What the hell man¡­ ¡°Hah¡­¡± Status: Jake Darryl Lv 10 Health: 175/180 Mana: 150/170 Strength: 38 Intelligence: 35 Resistance: 34 Agility: 55 Skills: {Jester} Rank 1 (Max) [Assassin] Rank 1 (10%) [Shadow Step] Rank 1 (19%) Titles: (Summoned One)|(Shadow)|(Noiseless)| Still, although he gained a couple levels, was this really enough? After learning of the dangers lurking behind the darkness, he began to doubt if he really was strong enough to try and go searching for his friend. Sure, Zed was there, but when he goes down, what can he do? He sighed deeply and shook his head in acceptance. ¡°Here you go sir!¡± Just as he finished his internal processes, the waitress from before came back, this time holding a platter with a bowl of fish soup and a glass of water. ¡°Thanks!¡± With some excitement, he gladly took the bowl and the glass. The waitress giggled softly and walked back to her station. As he looked over the steaming soup, he grabbed his spoon and dipped it in. ¡°¡­Heaven¡­¡± He said unconsciously as he took a quick taste of the fish soup. And his mouth was overtaken by taste. He really did like fish. As a fact, fish was his favourite type of meat. Whether it was tuna, or some salmon, or a nice fried fish from another country, he always enjoyed fish-based dishes, especially soups! Especially soup. As he ate from his spoon, his mind wandered around and began to think about the kingdom. Soon enough, that thought led him back to the day he was brought here. He almost spat out the soup as he recalled just how surprising it was to suddenly see his school disappearing into thin air and being replaced by the walls of the castle. Looking around, he could see the soldiers celebrating over this. He didn¡¯t understand at first, the others were the same, but he soon learned that they had tried this technique many times in the past, and after 29 failed attempts, this time, it worked! And the soldiers and magicians were overjoyed. But the one who was the happiest, was the king himself. He laughed happily as he continued to tap on his son¡¯s back. The son seemed to hold out, but his ears and face were completely red. From what the king said, they were actually summoned here by the orders of the king. After realising that the end of the world was near, he ordered his men to begin the preparations for a magic spell his ancestors had handed down, from one generation to another. That was all he could remember, because he was freaking out over the fact that Alex was nowhere to be seen! Sure, there may be 400 students or so in that room, but after asking the teacher and fellow classmates about him, they said that he was nowhere around! And he clearly remembered waving to him as he went up to the library in seclusion! His heart nearly jumped out of his throat! But, after the faithful meeting with Zed, he realised that Alex was actually alive! And not only that, he seemed to have survived a tough battle in the wilderness! What a man! But then, his mind snapped back to reality, as he realised that his bowl was already empty seconds ago. Finishing the water from the glass, he paid his expenses and went out. As he stared into the clear blue sky, he silently promised his friend. ¡®No matter where you are, I will find you, one day!¡¯ ¡®Even if it takes many years, I will meet you!¡¯ ¡®So, don¡¯t you die yet!¡¯ He proclaimed as he raised his fist into the air. His eyes glowing golden in confidence and determination. He won¡¯t give up just because of this! [12] I smell Trouble, and Ocarinas! *Puchi!* Some distance underground, inside the caves of the crystal crabs, the sounds of gushing blood could be heard bouncing off the walls. Looking closer into the dark caves, one could see the figure of a man and a young boy standing there. The man was gathering some fallen shards, while the boy was wiping off the blue blood that got stuck on his knife. This was the duo, Zed and Jake! After their first expedition to this cave, two whole days had passed by. This was their third time going into this cave. With the mother crab gone, crushed under the fingers of Zed, the crabs living here had become increasingly hostile and careful, but their numbers had severely decreased since that day. Was he supposed to be happy about this? He wasn¡¯t too sure. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s enough for now!¡± ¡°Hmm? Are you sure, Young Jake?¡± ¡°Yeah! I have something I want to do too after this, so I can¡¯t spend too much time!¡± Zed became slightly happy after hearing him. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was thinking of doing, but that surely meant that he¡¯s taking a more careful approach to this plan. He was very glad, because he would surely have perished instantly if he went out now. That thought shook his mind slightly. ¡°I see. Let us leave then.¡± After bowing splendidly, Zed turned around and retraced his steps, followed closely by Jake who was simply staring into empty space with thoughtful eyes. He seemed to be quite deep in thought. As they reached the end of the cave, they began ascending back to the surface. Climbing these steps were never easy, and Jake did slip a couple times when climbing, but he got better with time. Soon, the sunlight blasted their eyes, and they were back on the surface! The green plains were back into view! Walking across these grassy plains, they made it back to the kingdom of [Tordge]. But, as they were beginning to approach the walls, Zed sensed a group of shrooms hiding underground. ¡°Young Jake. Be careful.¡± Jake stopped instantly and took out his knife. He knew, that if he warned him to be careful above the ground, then that means that some shrooms are going to burst out of the ground sooner or later! And just like expected, a group of 5 shrooms sprouted out of the ground! ¡°[Shadow Step]!¡± He activated his [Shadow step] and blurred his figure. He sped across the grass and stabbed one of the shrooms on the head. A burst of poisonous liquid came bursting out. He quickly stepped back and avoided the rain of blight. He cautiously waited for the poison to stop coming out as he dodged the many charges of the other enraged shrooms. Zed only stayed back and watched the fight with a bottle of water in hand. ¡°Pu¡­puu¡­¡± And then, the shroom finally died and poison stopped spurting out of its head. First shroom down for the count! He swiftly blurred his figure and took out his knife. He waited for another shroom and stabbed the knife into its head. Second shroom has begun losing HP! ¡°PUU!!¡± The three other shrooms began trying to corner him closer to the dying shroom. It seems like these guys have some intelligence, but they weren¡¯t fast enough to cover him. His figure blurred into the air as he appeared behind one of the remaining shrooms. ¡°Ha!¡± He sent a kick to the shroom and sent tit flying to the dying shroom. The poison began dripping onto the shroom¡¯s head, and it wailed loudly in pain. As the second shroom died off, the third shroom was already severely injured. He shanked out his knife and stabbed it into the head of the injured shroom. Two left! The two shrooms jumped and tried to hit his head. Rolling over, he made sure to avoid both the shrooms and the spurting poison. Taking out something from his back pocket, he threw out a shooting star! It spun gracefully and plunged straight into one of the shroom¡¯s eyes. ¡°Pupupu!!¡± With that, there was only one shroom left. The other shroom was losing its life, while the one with his knife already lost. They battled with their gazes, piercing into each other. The last shroom came running! Blurring out, he took back his knife and sent it at the shroom. But, this time, it rolled back and barely avoided his attack. But such a flimsy dodge was fatal! *Puchi!* ¡°Puuu!¡± The last shroom struggled in vain as the knife sunk deep into its head. Poisonous blood came flowing out like a fountain. In seconds, its body lost all life and limped onto the ground. All shrooms, dead! ¡°Magnificent!¡± Zed clapped happily as he drank some water. He was proud to see that he had even begun to explore into the territories of throwing attacks! ¡°Is it really that impressive?¡± ¡°It is! Adventurers of your level would have quite a hard time fighting them off alone!¡± Jake smiled in doubt. He wasn¡¯t sure if what he was telling was a fact, or if he was just trying to put him on a pedestal to make him feel proud. Either ways, this wasn¡¯t enough! I need more training! The world outside is still much stronger! Even if what he told was the genuine truth, it still wasn¡¯t enough! He needed to get stronger, stronger to try and finally venture out! ¡°Well, let us continue!¡± Following Zed, Jake was led back to the kingdom walls, and they went their separate paths. For now, Zed¡¯s session was over, but Jake wasn¡¯t done yet.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. He quickly sold off the crystals he got from the cave and walked along the roads. Today, the streets weren¡¯t as crowded as normal, as today was working day, so there were hardly any people walking around casually. Doesn¡¯t mean that there are no people though. As he followed the one large street, he found himself standing before the large castle standing in the middle of the kingdom. He was back at home, or the home given to him anyways. Waving at the guards, once they recognised that he was one of the heroes, they immediately did a salute and opened the gates. Imitating their salute, he went into the castle. He didn¡¯t enter the main castle yet, and sat at a nearby bench in the park. He wanted to have some time to check his stats. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Status: Jake Darryl Lv 14 Health: 195/225 Mana: 177/200 Strength: 44 Intelligence: 40 Resistance: 40 Agility: 129 (x2)(+3) Skills: {Jester} Rank 1 (Max) [Assassin] Rank 1 (22%) [Shadow Step] Rank 1 (35%) [Agility] Rank 1 (31%) [Shinobi] Rank 1 (11%) Titles: (Summoned One)|(Shadow)|(Noiseless)|(Masked Ninja)| Besides some skills that sound like they belong in an anime, he really did gain some experience. But the same question arose, was this enough? {Jester} Rank 1 ¡°Reverberating Music sounded in our ears. Be glad, for this will be your last memory.¡± The user is able to play musical instruments to cause several different effects. Skill with the knife is bolstered. Any skills related with this skill will gain a boost. Increases the amount of experience gained for everything. [Assassin] Rank 1 ¡°Fast as sound. Hidden in the shadows¡­¡± The presence of the user has been thinned. Skill with any knives are bolstered. 22% to Rank 2 [Shadow Step] Rank 1 ¡°The shadows are running deep. There is no escape.¡± When used, the presence of the user is dulled. The speed of the user is tripled on use. 35% to Rank 2 [Shinobi] Rank 1 ¡°The ways of the shinobi are that of deceptions. The nights stretch ever longer.¡± Weapons thrown are slightly more accurate. Speed is doubled. 11% to Rank 2 (Summoned One) A title given to a foreign man brought into this beautiful world. |Perk|: Stat increase every level ups are bolstered until a certain level. (Shadow) ¡°The shadows cutting deeper. No sound was heard.¡± |Perk|: Sounds created by the holder of this title has been dulled slightly. (Noiseless) ¡°As fleeting as the wind, my presence fades¡­¡± |Perk|: Sounds created by the holder of this title has been dulled slightly. (Masked Ninja) ¡°One who rebels against the laws, a feat carried by the most cunning.¡± |Perk|: The presence of the holder becomes slightly harder to sense. All the titles are nice and all, and the perks these skills he had gave him quite the advantage, although¡­ Don¡¯t all these titles belong to a certain show about an orange jumpsuit wearing ninja? Also, why are these titles unnecessarily edgy? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After thinking about what to do for the rest of the day, he got up from the bench and did a quick stretch. Looking into empty space, he sighed softly and shook his head. Being lazy will get him nowhere. He walked past the castle entrance and walked into the training grounds. By then, it was already lunch time, so all the students and teachers previously training here had gone off to get some food. He didn¡¯t have that much luxury. Drawing out his knife, he began practicing. He drew beautiful arcs in the air with his knife, and leaned and rolled to dodge the imaginary attacks he saw. He is an assassin type class, so dodging and rolling was natural for him. He continued to slash his knife into the air as he continued to jump around. But, something felt off. As if something was missing from his attacks. What was it? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ An hour passed by in an instant, and the group of students and teachers are back at the training grounds to start practicing. However, just as they got there, they immediately noticed a drastic change that had occured to the training grounds they always went to. Scattered around the field was a tremendous hole, as if a meteor just decided to quit living and plunged straight into this training field, forming this 2 diameter radius crater in the middle of this whole area. There at the centre of it all, was what seemed to be a black miasma, scorching out from within the earth. Inside the castle, ¡°Hmm? A person capable of bypassing our magic?¡± The king asked with doubt. After all, even the most notorious criminals were caught by this technique, and this ¡®Shadow¡¯ just bypassed it without any problems? Impossible! ¡°Yes, my king. We have searched this once again, but we found nothing¡­¡± The man looked distressed about it, but the king instead laughed it off. The man was wide open with shock, but the king kept on laughing gleefully. ¡°Tell me. What kind of criminal would come in and attack the training grounds without anyone in it?¡± As he heard the words of the king, the man started to think about it, and he too found it odd. What kind of thing would attack the training grounds when there is literally no one there? If it was a monster, it would have left immediately. If it was a criminal trying to kill the students, then why did he randomly start slashing apart the ground? The more he thought about it, the more it seemed odd to him. ¡°Then, who do you think did this, my king?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The king held his chin and thought for a moment. The man patiently waited, and the king soon opened his mouth. ¡°It might be one of the heroes!¡± ¡°One of the heroes?¡± The man parroted the king in surprise. After all, one of the heroes? Didn¡¯t all the heroes go and have lunch within the walls of the castle? ¡°But my king, weren¡¯t all those heroes inside the castle?¡± ¡°That may be the case¡­But, that doesn¡¯t mean that there are one or two heroes still outside. Don¡¯t you think so too?¡± The man¡¯s eyes widened in realisation. He hadn¡¯t thought about that possibility! Even if 99% of the heroes were in the castle, that still leaves the 1% somewhere else! ¡°Find out who this is!¡± ¡°Yes, my king!¡± The man gave his salutes and went out of the room. He walked over to one of his soldiers and gave the king¡¯s orders. ¡°The shadow may be one of the heroes¡­Find out who he is.¡± ¡°Yes sir!!¡± The soldiers quickly ran and left the man behind. Now that they were gone, the halls were left dead silent. The sounds of footsteps from the soldiers withered away as they got farther. Soon enough, the sounds of the wind overtook the air. ¡°Hah¡­I wonder if it¡¯ll be alright¡­¡± The man¡¯s voice turned pessimistic. Looking with darkened eyes, he stared longingly into the hidden stars. ¡°The heroes may be here¡­But are they enough?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Somewhere in the shopping district, ¡°Hmm¡­I swear it was here yesterday¡­¡± Jake muttered silently as he passed through the small crowd of people standing in the middle of the street. It seems like something strange was happening in the middle of the streets. Jake simply wasn¡¯t interested in it. Walking past the ruckus, his eyes searched around for the store he saw yesterday. There was something he wanted to buy yesterday, but since the store was practically jammed with people, so he had to withdrew to today. ¡°I hope it hasn¡­Ah! There it is!¡± As his eyes stopped on a certain building in the middle of the street, he quickly turned around and diverged from the path. In excitement, his legs brought him to a certain store he had been searching for. ¡°Here it is!¡± ¡®Dorky¡¯s Yard¡¯ That was what the sign read. It wasn¡¯t the most beautiful name in the history of names, but the stuff it sells, from what he saw anyways, was quite amazing! Walking in, he pushed open the door and let the dust out. *Cough* He fanned away the dust and walked in. As his eyes moved onto the inside, a wide smile appeared as he saw the one item he wanted to buy. ¡°You new?¡± Just as Jake was celebrating over the item not being sold, a rough old man¡¯s voice called to him. ¡°Huh?¡± From behind the counter, he saw an old man standing there with a pipe in his mouth, smoke rising out of the outer pipe. Taking it out, he blew off some smoke into the room and coughed. ¡°Hmm¡­Definitely new.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The man chuckled softly as he put the pipe back into his mouth. Seems like this man is quite the smoker. ¡°So, what ar¡¯ you looking for?¡± Realising that the man was asking him, he snapped his mind back to reality and walked across the room, to the thing he had been eyeing since yesterday. As the man realised what he was trying to buy, the man¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°That?¡± ¡°You guessed it!¡± ¡°¡­Look kid. I don¡¯t even ¡®now what that is¡­Phew¡­¡± The man said as he blew some smoke. Jake was quite surprised. After all, who wouldn¡¯t know what this thing is? The main body of the item looked similar to a hairdryer, except without the hole the air comes out from. The handle is¡­just like any handle you would see from a hairdryer, short and curved. There were about 12 or 13 holes dotted around it. Who wouldn¡¯t know such a classic? It was the ocarina! ¡°Phew¡­Then, ya¡¯ know what it is?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± The man raised his eyebrows as Jake happily took the ocarina from the shelf. He brought the ocarina over to the man¡¯s desk and put it down. ¡°This is the ocarina! It¡¯s a musical instrument.¡± ¡°Music, huh¡­¡± The man picked it up and inspected it for a moment. No matter how much he looks at it, all he could see was an oddly shaped item with 12 holes around the body of the ocarina and a one hole on the handle. How can this odd thing be a musical instrument? ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really cost this nything¡¯. ¡®fter all, I don¡¯t know what this is¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­What?¡± ¡°Well, if you want it that much, ya¡¯ can take it kid.¡± The man¡¯s eyes looked over to Jake, as if trying to say ¡®Just take it.¡¯. It didn¡¯t seem like he wanted to keep this ocarina anyways. But getting this free?! Really?! ¡°Really? You¡¯re not gonna charge me anything?¡± ¡°Hm? Nah, I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s for anyways.¡± Jake looked down at the ocarina for a moment, before picking it up and putting it into his pockets. Jake just received something for free! It¡¯s just like that moment in the Legend of Zelda when Link receives the sword! This is amazing! Just, with an ocarina this time. Hey, that¡¯s fitting! ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± ¡°No problem, kid¡­Name¡¯s Kelvin.¡± And so, began the relationship between Jake and this shopkeeper named Kelvin! [13] Music Brings Them Together After the ruckus from the guards who came to inspect the marks on the ground died down, the captain of the guards came in and told them that it might be someone they know, so there was no need to worry. That didn¡¯t ease their mind though¡­ And so, the teachers and students began training once more. The trainers elected by the king soon came and their training session went on smoothly. The students whose stats had grew to be that of a warrior, received training from the main captain of the castle. The students who were capable of using magic were trained by the kingdom¡¯s greatest magicians. The students able to use, or wanted to use, any type of ranged weapons came and trained at different personal areas around the kingdom. There were also some students capable of using healing magic, and they trained with the kingdom¡¯s field medics at every chance they have. As for the rest¡­No one knows. ¡°It¡¯s finally done!¡± A girl shouted happily as she slouched her head onto the table they were eating at. She sighed deeply and lazily took another bite from the food she ordered from the cooks of the castle. The taste was certainly godly, but the exhaustion from the training made it quite hard to focus on that factor. ¡°Charlotte¡­Are you really okay? You look really pale¡­¡± From the other side of the table, another girl called out to her. Her voice was tinged heavily with worry as she stared at her friend who looked very closely like a dying fish on the surface. Wait, what? ¡°Agh¡­I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m fine, Marie!¡± Charlotte shouted, before slouching back to the table. In short, she was not fine. But putting that aside, these two girls were obviously students who came from Earth, brought here to ¡®Save¡¯ the kingdom. Actually, they didn¡¯t know what they were trying to take down, but whatever it is, it¡¯s probably dangerous, right¡­? Charlotte sighed as her mind reached that thought. Taking the last bite from her food, she stood up from her chair and did some random stretches. This ecstatic girl is Charlotte Francis. Before being sent to this world, she was a student in the second grade of senior high. Her hair was brown in colour and slightly wavy, and her eye colour was pure green. 165 cm in height and an alright body, she didn¡¯t really stand out that much in her school life. But because of that, her personality was what stood out most. She was always showing an optimistic smile, at any situation, and would always encourage her peers to do their best. She was also elected to be one of the school¡¯s student counsellor. Finally finishing her random stretches, she tidied her messy long her long black hair and let it flow down along her back. Her pure green eyes stared at her friend and called her with a smile. ¡°Come on Marie!¡± Charlotte said as she stretched out her hand towards her. Looking up towards her, Marie sighed softly and took her hand and stood up. Her full name was Marie Sylvia. Her eyes. Just like Charlotte, she was also in the second grade of senior high before getting caught up in this mess. She has short blond hair and was about 160 cm tall. Unlike her, Marie didn¡¯t have an astounding personality, or was even brave enough to stand in front of a crowd to say a short speech. Her body was slightly curvy, but being the shy girl she is, she didn¡¯t have many long lasting friends in life and simply devoted her life into the studies given to her. However, if there was one thing she liked, it was astrology! She was very interested in physics, specifically the topic and subcategory of Astrology. As a kid, she would always be fascinated by the many stars and the occasional shooting star flying in the sky. Now, being able to understand physics, she was very devoted to the studies of astrology. ¡°Alright¡­Just wait¡­Geez¡­Where do you even get all this energy from?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­It¡¯s a secret!¡± Charlotte winked as she hopped along. Marie sighed softly and slowly followed her. She never understood how she was able to get up so fast right after the training session. Did she have a power-bank in her body or something? She shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Trying to think it through will only waste energy¡­ But then, suddenly, Charlotte stopped hopping around. Being shocked, Marie accidentally bumped onto her. ¡°S-Sorry¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine!...But do you hear that?¡± ¡°Hmm? H-Hear wha¡­Huh?¡± Just as she wanted to ask, she heard a subtle sound coming from the next floor. It wasn¡¯t very clear, but she could faintly hear it from the second floor. ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± ¡°H-Hey!¡± Gripping her hand, Charlotte dashed off with Marie. She quickly stopped at the stairs and walked up. ¡°Ah¡­Where is it coming from?¡± Charlotte opened her ears and listened carefully. Marie too followed her and tried to listen. But then, something ringed in Marie¡¯s ears, telling her to head¡­left? ¡°Left?¡± ¡°Left? It¡¯s on the left? Alright! Let¡¯s go!¡± Charlotte quickly turned around and ran off to the left. ¡°H-Hey! Wait for me¡­!¡± Marie turned around and ran as fast as she could. Her agility stat wasn¡¯t as high as her, so she was beginning to slow down. But the sound reached her ears once more, and she suddenly felt her exhaustion wash away. ¡°Huh?¡± She wanted to think about it more, but her friend was already far away! Better run fast!The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. After running for a while, Marie stopped to see Charlotte, staring at¡­Something. She couldn¡¯t see what it is because of the corner walls. Running past the turn, she stopped and turned around, to see something quite, extraordinary. ¡°Woah¡­¡± Charlotte let out as she listened in, Marie doing the same next to her. The sound they heard, was actually music! And that music, was being played by Jake as he fumbled around with the ocarina he got from Kelvin the shopkeeper! His fingers moved gracefully from one hole to another as he blew in air to keep the song going. His face showed no exhaustion, and kept playing with his eyes closed. His mind entered full concentration. It¡¯s been about 2 hours since he received the ocarina, he wanted to try it out right away, so he ran to a spot in the castle that seemed empty and tried out the ocarina. Just like any other instruments, he learned them all by himself, with no outside force helping him out. Just like the rest, he tried learning the ocarina by first blowing into it. Then, he tried closing some holes, and got a different sound. He noted every different sound in his head and continued trying out the many different combinations of melodies he could make by simply changing the holes he covered. He also tried changing the amount of air he blew in, and that changed some sounds too. And so, that leads him here, playing the ocarina with his eyes closed, purely relying on instinct to carry him on. ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­¡± ¡°I know right! How does he even do that with his eyes closed?!¡± They both whispered to each other with the smallest noise they could make. They didn¡¯t want to break his flow, and they wanted to hear more of this song too! It made them feel quite relaxed, and they began to feel their bodies revitalise from the song. The song he tried out after noting down all the different chords was a song he heard while playing a game on his hand-held console. From when he was little, he always enjoyed listening, and playing slow and relaxing songs. Doesn¡¯t mean that he doesn¡¯t play fast songs too though. Other than slow, ambient songs, he also enjoyed Electro music, which was odd. And now, switching from one chord to another, he continued the song. He kept the amount of air he blew in as minimal as it could, so that it didn¡¯t attract too much attention. Seems like his plan didn¡¯t work, am I right? And so, with his song reaching the ending, he slowed down his song, and slowly softened the sound, until it was no more. Slowly, he withdrew the ocarina and sighed. ¡°That was amazing!¡± Suddenly, his mind was brought back to the present as a voice complimented him. Didn¡¯t he try and play the ocarina as soft as he could, then why was there someone else here?! His eyes widened in shock as he saw the two girls happily watching him, Charlotte clapping excitedly, while Marie simply smiled. ¡°Uhh¡­Who¡¯re you guys?¡± ¡°Us? I¡¯m Charlotte, and this here, is Marie!¡± She said enthusiastically as she wrapped her arms around Marie, who displayed an obvious shocked expression at her sudden actions. ¡°M-My¡­na¡­Mar..ie¡­!¡± ¡°O-Ou.¡± He nodded his head slowly, his eyes more focused on Marie who was struggling to breath. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you let her go now?¡± Was what Jake wanted to say, but Charlotte continued laughing as she watched Marie suffocate. ¡°*Cough**Cough*¡­Charlotte¡­Don¡¯t do¡­that please¡­¡± ¡°Hehe! Sorry, sorry!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem sorry.¡± Jake thought to himself as he put back his ocarina. Now that was done, he didn¡¯t have anything to do¡­ ¡°What should I do¡­?¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, the name¡¯s Jake Darryl! You can call me Jake!¡± ¡°Jake, is it? Nice to meet you! ¡°You too!¡± They exchanged handshakes and explained about themselves. After hearing that there two girls were second grade senior students, he felt slightly more comfortable speaking with them. After all, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a second grader too?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m from class E.¡± ¡°That¡¯s odd¡­I have never heard about you¡­¡± As their talk continued to move on to random topics, Marie sat there silently hearing their conversation. Perhaps some dog ears would be fitting? ¡°He¡­So that¡¯s why¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t really perform a lot.¡± ¡°But why? You¡¯ve got such amazing skills!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± And then, their talk soon diverged into Jake¡¯s reasons to not perform. And then it jumps back to their school life, and then about his hobbies, and her hobbies, and then Marie was brought in, and then it jumped back to the present day, and so on. There were too many topics, okay? ¡°So, you¡¯re something like a ninja?¡± ¡°Not¡­necessarily. But I am focused mainly on speed.¡± ¡°Then you are a ninja!¡± ¡°Nah, I would say I¡¯m more of an assassin!¡± ¡°But assassins are more cunning then speedy!¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± And then, it diverged once more into their stats and what their classes are! Or something. Remember, there was no classes in this game system. ¡°Well¡­Whatever, how about you?¡± ¡°Me? Hehe¡­I would say I¡¯m a magician, but I¡¯m a special case?¡± ¡°Special case?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡± Status: Charlotte Francis Lv 06 Health: 43/100 Mana: 22/100 Strength: 32 Intelligence: 42 Resistance: 30 Agility: 33 Skills: {Illusionist} Rank 1 (11%) {Tarotology} Rank 1 (18%) [Precision] Rank 1 (07%) Titles: (Summoned One)|(Illusionist)|(Card Magician)| ¡°¡­I¡¯m also an Illusionist!¡± ¡°Illusionist?¡± ¡°Yeah, something like¡­¡± Suddenly, her figure exploded into many cards. Jake stepped back by instinct, but behind him, he felt a hand pushing against his back. ¡°This!¡± ¡°W-What?¡± To his surprise, Charlotte appeared behind him suddenly and placed her hand on his back. When did she get there?! He didn¡¯t know for sure, but he knew, ¡°Her magic¡¯s amazing¡­¡± ¡°So, what do you think?¡± ¡°Well¡­That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°Thank yo¡­huh?¡± Before she could thank him for the compliment, just like she did earlier, his figure disappeared. She began looking around, but he was nowhere to be found. ¡°Looking for me?¡± And then, from behind her, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She shivered slightly, but she still looked behind her, and Jake¡¯s figure creeped out of the shadow. ¡°T-That¡¯s amazing¡­¡± Charlotte said, still shivering from the sudden shock. After all, when would she ever expect to see a shadow put its hand on her shoulder? Never! ¡­Wait, shadow? ¡°Wait¡­Shadow?¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± She stayed silent for a moment, before turning around and putting both of her hands on his shoulders. This shocked Jake, as her face began drawing close. ¡°Could you be¡­The one who did that stunt at the training area?¡± ¡°¡­He?¡± As his eyes locked onto hers, her eyes sparkled in the golden light his eyes gave off. Actually, was that just his imagination or are there really sparkles on her eyes? Wait, what the hell? ¡°Stunt? What stunt?¡± He could only tilt his head in confusion. It made sense, after all, he wasn¡¯t there when the captain of the guards explained that it might be one of the heroes. He was having some time off to get the ocarina! ¡°Hmm¡­I guess not then!¡± She giggled happily as she let go and stepped back. Jake could only stare with a ¡®?¡¯ over his head. Doesn¡¯t matter on Earth or here, the scene of a girl getting really close to him will never be normal unless they¡¯re in a relationship. That¡¯s normal, right? Well, except their brother and sister, but still¡­ ¡°Ahem¡­So, what about Marie?¡± ¡°M-Me?¡± Marie was drawing something on the floor before he asked her, so when she heard him say her name, her whole body stood upright and stiffened. ¡°W-Well¡­¡± Status: Marie Sylvia Lv 05 Health: 23/85 Mana: 28/70 Strength: 35 Intelligence: 37 Resistance: 32 Agility: 33 Skills: {Astrologist} Rank 1 (07%) {[Asteroid Belt]} Rank 1 (11%) Titles: (Summoned One)|(The girl dreaming of stars)| ¡°I¡¯m nothing too special¡­¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say that! Your magic¡¯s amazing!¡± Marie seems quite down after explaining, and Charlotte noticed that instantly and started to comfort her. Although, he didn¡¯t get any explanations about her powers. That¡¯s fine though. Better not venture deeper if she didn¡¯t want it! He learnt that the tough way. Anyways, now that Charlotte was doing her best to comfort her, Jake was left out. And so, his mind wandered back as he was reminded of something. ¡°Hey, I might be intruding, but¡­¡± ¡°Huh? What is it?¡± Charlotte stopped comforting Marie for a moment, and Marie too looked at him. ¡°What¡¯s with this sudden silence?¡± ¡°¡­I have a friend who might be willing to help.¡± ¡°H-Huh¡­?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too sure, but you¡¯re probably a magician, right? I can ask him to teach you!¡± Marie¡¯s eyes widened as his words made it into her ears. Help her? Why should he go to such lengths? There was no need¡­After all, she¡¯s just¡­ ¡°Nice, that¡¯ll help her a lot!¡± Before Marie could answer herself, her friend had already accepted the invitation for her. She gave him a thumbs up, and he nodded, as if they exchanged a conversation without any words! What a powerful magic! ¡°Don¡¯t you want to join?¡± ¡°Huh? Me?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­I guess why not, right?¡± Charlotte answered as she shrugged her shoulders, as if she didn¡¯t mind if she missed the training session. Judging from her actions, the training doesn¡¯t seem to be that fun. Jake was very glad to have met that prophet. ¡°Alright then! We¡¯re leaving early tomorrow!¡± [14] Shadow Ballet ¡°So this is an adventurer¡¯s license¡­What is this even made of?¡± ¡°Not too sure¡­I don¡¯t exactly know myself.¡± ¡°W-Well¡­Whatever it is¡­Will this really allow us to leave the kingdom¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah! I have one too¡­here!¡± Jake happily said as he showed her his own adventurer¡¯s license. Marie looked at it for a moment, before looking at her own license. She seems to still be doubtful about it, but she¡¯ll know soon enough. Moving past that, a day had passed by. After both Charlotte and Marie accepted his invitation to join him, they woke up as early as they could and went down to the castle¡¯s gate. To their surprise, Jake was already there. After they met up, he told them to follow him to the guild first. He told them that normal people are not allowed to venture out into the wild. However, if you have an adventurer¡¯s license with you, you¡¯re allowed to leave. And so, with Charlotte still sleepy and Marie being the shy girl she is, the group went and entered the guild. Since it was still sunrise, there weren¡¯t many people just randomly sitting around in the guild. Jake quickly met up with the receptionist and requested the making of the license for both of them. The woman did a quick interview with the girls, and then led them into another room. He stayed in the main room and ordered a nice coffee. Why was there a coffee shop here? He knows not. Why is there coffee here? I don¡¯t know. Actually, who cares? After sipping the last drop of coffee from his cup, the girls came out of the room, both holding their own personal adventurer¡¯s licence. After they listened to the woman about what the license can give them, they left the guild and went through the streets leading to the west exit. But because it was still quite early in the morning, the person they were waiting for hadn¡¯t come yet. ¡°So, who¡¯s this guy you¡¯re talking about? Is he powerful?¡± ¡°Insanely powerful¡­That¡¯s an understatement¡­¡± ¡°Ho¡­What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Well¡­Oh, hey, Zed! Over here!¡± As Jake called out, Zed turned around to see Jake already waiting there, this time, with two girls standing beside him. Zed was quite surprised, but he kept his usual smile and walked up to them. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake, young Jake. May you introduce me to these two girls?¡± ¡°This is Charlotte, she¡¯s a friend of mine. And she¡¯s Marie, also a friend.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Zed silently stared at them for a moment. And then, a chill creeped up her shoulder as she felt his eyes shift colours. Suddenly, Marie felt like something was happening and quickly hid behind Charlotte, who was confused at her actions. To Zed¡¯s surprise, Marie actually sensed that he was examining their stats! ¡°¡­It seems your senses are much greater than that of any human being, Young Marie.¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± To his comment, Marie let out a small squeak as she slowly let go of Charlotte¡¯s back. Charlotte was doing her best to comfort her, after all, she¡¯s a shy and insecure girl! It¡¯s her job as her friend to be at her side when she needs it! Meanwhile, Jake only eyed Zed with suspicion. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean, Zed?¡± ¡°Just like I have said, her senses are much stronger than any other humans. She was able to sense my {Foresight}.¡± ¡°He¡­¡± Jake thought about it for a moment. If what he said aligned with what he thought, then does that mean she has a sensing type ability? That¡¯s awesome!...Wait, {Foresight} is able to do that?! ¡°But, her magic is also oddly strong. Her friend there is no different.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± After Marie was able to stop hiding behind Charlotte, Zed introduced himself, and explained that he used his {Foresight} to see into their past, and their future. He wasn¡¯t very sure if that was true, but it is called ¡®Foresight¡¯! That should be one of its ability, right? The more this goes on, the more powerful this skill seems, doesn¡¯t it? ¡°Woah! You¡¯re able to do that?! That¡¯s crazy!¡± ¡°Yes! After all, I am a prophet!¡± Zed said proudly as he stuck out his chest in pride. Whatever, prophet or not, this man is definitely broken in terms of his power level. Is it perhaps over 9000? ¡°That aside, Zed, are we ready?¡± ¡°Hmm? Quite so! Do you wish to leave now?¡± ¡°Mmm¡­Yeah, sure, why not?¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. With his confirmation, Zed led the group towards the guard. They showed the guard their personal licenses, and he let them leave. Now, they were out in the wilderness! ¡°Woah! So this is what it looks like outside!¡± ¡°I-It looks amazing¡­¡± Just as the two girls were marvelling over how beautiful the flowing grass looks outside, Zed¡¯s senses picked up something, and Jake¡¯s instincts began tingling. Something was coming. ¡°C-Charlotte?¡± Marie began to grow nervous as her senses picked up too that something was coming close, but Charlotte didn¡¯t hear her and continued staring into the wilderness. And then, it happened! ¡°Pupupu!¡± Out from the ground, a single shroom came bursting out of the ground! It readily charged straight at the two girls, but because she knew pre-emptively, Marie pushed them both away from the shroom¡¯s charge. Saved at the last second! ¡°M-Marie?!¡± ¡°T-Thank goodness¡­¡± Realising that it had missed, the shroom quickly turned around, but before it could finish, a knife was stabbed onto its head. ¡°PUPU!¡± ¡°Marie. Charlotte. Please, kindly stay behind me.¡± Zed said as he approached the shocked girls. Marie instinctively held onto Charlotte¡¯s clothes. Her senses told her that more were coming! ¡°H-Hiii!¡± ¡°Puuu!¡± ¡°Pupupu!¡± ¡°Pupuuu!¡± And then, one after another, shrooms began sprouting out of the ground. They made formation and circled them, Jake being the only one outside. Charlotte felt a shiver crawl on her back. This wasn¡¯t good¡­This was very not good! But then, with confidence, Zed looked at them and said, ¡°Leave this to him. Let him be an example.¡± And then, from the shadows, a shooting star was thrown out! It cut through the air, weaving itself into one of the shrooms, breaking the circle! Poison spurted out, and splashed the other shrooms with the agonizing liquid, and they too began wailing in pain. In an instant, one shroom has died, and two were disabled! *Wuussh!* From somewhere, a knife came and stabbed the head of one of the remaining shrooms. Several shooting stars flew in unison and hit two shrooms, the rest missing completely. Seconds passed, and only 5 were left! 2 were disabled, and the rest were cowering in fear! What was this hidden shadow attacking them? They did not know! One thing they knew, was that they picked on the wrong enemy! *Puchi!* And then, the same knife stuck on that dead shroom was plucked out and was stabbed into one of the three shrooms. It cried loudly to its friends as it easily lost its life. The two remaining shrooms looked to the two disabled shrooms, but they weren¡¯t disabled, they were dead! A couple shooting stars could be seen sticking out on the shrooms¡¯ heads. And then, from the shadow of the rising sun, a boy appeared with a knife, dripping with the blood of their fallen friends. A smile slowly formed as he threw away the blood. Alex had finally reappeared! His levels raised way above the levels of the shrooms, he was now a monster to them! But was that enough to catch up to Alex? ¡°Holy¡­How fast is he?¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know¡­He¡¯s so fast¡­¡± The two girls could only stay there quietly as they watched the two remaining shrooms cower in fear, just like a beaten animal waiting to be preyed on. Readying his knife, he raised his knife into the air. And then, the sight of a knife piercing their heads was the last feeling they felt before dropping dead. A complete victory! Sheathing back his blade, a mirage of white orbs came flying out of the dead shrooms and into his chest. A warmth raged, and his body felt slightly stronger, but the feeling was fleeting and soon died out. ¡°Beautiful!¡± Jake felt slightly uncomfortable as he felt that the praise was unworthy. After all, this man was a man capable of destroying that mother crab with a snap of his fingers, and that might not be his full strength. Impossible? Certainly not! ¡°That was amazing!¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­!¡± And then, Charlotte and Marie soon joined in and praised him too. A small itch could be felt creeping on his back. He scratched his cheeks awkwardly as he pleaded for them to stop. They didn¡¯t listen. ¡°Anyways¡­Zed, what should we do now?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­With this many people, the cave has become impossible to explore.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± As Zed was about to open his mouth, a lone shroom came sprouting from the ground, fiercely targeting Jake to avenge its fallen family. *Snap* However, the vengeance was short lived, as with a snap, the body of the shroom shook violently and exploded from the insides! Green poisonous blood spread outwards like a fountain. Its body was no more! ¡°Holy¡­¡± Ignoring Charlotte, who¡¯s eyes were sparkling intensely as she witnessed the instant kill of the shroom, while Marie was looking awkwardly from behind her back, Zed and Alex continued their conversation. ¡°The caves are meant to trap groups of people. We were able to enter because only you and I were inside.¡± ¡°I see¡­So, where are we going to next?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­The forest of Principles should suffice!¡± ¡°Forest of¡­What?¡± ¡°The forest of Principles. Look over there, Young Jake.¡± Looking at the place Zed was pointing at, all he could see was a lush forest, with a thin but visible road leading into it. The inside looks extremely dark. For some odd reason, doesn¡¯t that place look like something out of a horror movie? ¡°W-We¡¯re going¡­there¡­?¡± Marie said softly, her voice trembling slightly. Jake put his hand over his head, as if to say ¡®Ah, as expected.¡¯ Well, it is expected. She is quite shy, and cutesy at times, so being afraid of ghosts and what not shouldn¡¯t be that far of a stretch, now would it? ¡°Do not worry, Young Marie! For that place simply houses feral wolves and spirits!¡± ¡°W-Wolves¡­and s-spirits?¡± Marie¡¯s face turned incredible pale, almost as white as paper, but not enough. Slightly poor-quality paper perhaps? ¡°You do not have to worry! For I am here!¡± Zed said with his chest stuck out in pride. Normally, Jake would cringe at that display, but after knowing just how powerful this man is, perhaps his pride he carries around as his baggage was appropriate¡­ ¡°Shh¡­It¡¯ll be okay¡­¡± ¡°B-But¡­¡± ¡°After all, Zed and Jake there are with us today!¡± ¡°M-Mu¡­¡± Marie let out a soft purr and nodded slowly. Zed and Jake looked at each other, before shrugging their shoulders and sighed. ¡°Well, follow me!¡± Zed courageously led them all towards the forest of Principles. Actually, move back a bit. Why was the forest named the ¡®Forest of Principles¡¯ again?! I mean, how does that fit into the context?! *Sounds of flipping paper* Ah. Because it¡¯s the first area the adventurers are recommended to go too¡­ Moving on, Zed led the group onto the road that led there. Zed was being as prideful as ever, Jake was casually following the walk, Charlotte was enjoying the nice breeze washing across, and Marie was being the little cat she was and was hiding behind Charlotte. And then, trees began filling up the area around them. The area got slightly darker. They had just entered the Forest of Principles! ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Meanwhile, somewhere elsewhere, ¡°Ah¡­That feels good~¡­¡± Under the forever falling waterfall, coming from the cliffs above, the figure of Alex could be seen bathing himself in the falling water. He displayed a peaceful smile as he enjoyed the cool feeling of the water washing across his body. Although, he wondered if doing this is really fine. His chest is completely covered in bandages, after all¡­ And then, right in front of him, where a small lake was constantly filling up, the sight of a little crab surfing across the clear waters could be seen. ¡°Pii!¡± The crab happily surfed around the lake, raising its small claws in the air as it continued to circle around endlessly. It looked quite bored. Alex sent a lukewarm gaze at the little fellow. And then, as he did one last wash over his hair, he stepped away from the waterfall and swam back. He wasn¡¯t the best swimmer, so he could only do small paddles to move himself. Hey, he couldn¡¯t use the surfboard, alright? He¡¯ll die. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed onto the earth and stepped out of the water. Letting the water drip down his bare chest, his eyes stared out into the world before him. ¡°Now¡­Where am I exactly?!¡± [15] A Short Trip, Gone Horribly Wrong ¡°H-How much l-longer until the e-end¡­?¡± ¡°Not much longer! Right, Jake?¡± ¡°Pretty sure.¡± ¡°B-but still¡­S-Something about this p-place feels weird¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything though.¡± Inside the dark and lush forest, the sounds of a chatter echoed under the canopies of leaves. Inside, there was 4 different figures traversing through the dirt road, probably carved out thousands of years ago. There were two people standing in the front, while the two girls stayed behind their backs, one cowering in fear and the other being simply ecstatic. Looking back at the terrified Marie, Jake began to think that bringing her here was probably a bad choice. And it certainly is. *Bang!* *Boom!* *Poof* *Boof!* In front of the students, a man was leading them all. His hand held out in front, he snapped his hand continuously as more and more enemies appeared to attack them. Wolves, spirits, normal insects, none were safe from this slaughter. Although, can anything be called normal here? Jake sighed as he watched a poor little spirit burst into light as Zed¡¯s magic did it justice. Seems like this man was a merciless destroyer, but he¡¯s also a prophet¡­ ¡°C-Charlotte¡­P-Please¡­¡± Marie muttered helplessly as her senses kept on tingling. From the first second they all entered this forest, her ears couldn¡¯t stop ringing, and she could hear some soft voices talking to her, but Zed easily dismissed them as the spirits¡¯ voices. Another chill crept up her spine. ¡°C-Charlotte¡­¡± Her voice got quieter as her energy was sapped away by this creepy atmosphere. So much so that even her friend right next to her didn¡¯t even hear a glimpse of her whimpering. Her eyes began watering slightly. But then, they suddenly stopped in their tracks. ¡°Zed, is something wrong?¡± Jake quickly asked as he stared at Zed, not moving. He didn¡¯t reply to him either. Was something going to come? ¡°Everyone, kindly, stay behind me.¡± And then, as he said his last word, the atmosphere around them got heavier. Literally. ¡°A-Ah!¡± ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°..?!¡± Their bodies suddenly felt insanely heavy, as if a there was a really large magnet pulling them all to the ground. Even with his higher level, Jake was having a hard time trying to move a single finger off the ground. ¡°What¡­is this¡­?¡± And then, something ticked. He didn¡¯t know why, but this felt oddly familiar to him. Why is that? He had never even felt something like this in his life, why would a sense of small nostalgia build up in him? His mind began paving away, and then it stopped at a certain point. This was just like the time they were summoned to this world! His eyes widened in shock as he realised that revelation. And the more he thought about it, the more it made sense! Who would do this? *Grrrrr* But there was no time to think about that, as a large shadow suddenly emerged from the trees. Zed stepped back and prepared himself. He should¡¯ve realised this sooner, but something was wrong. VERY wrong. ¡°GRRAAARR!!¡± ¡°Fall!¡± *Snap!* Zed quickly stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers. His ultimate magic was unleased!...... Or not. ¡°What?!¡± For the first time, Zed let out a surprised voice. Never in his life had he seen his internal magic attack be cancelled out that easily! Just what is this monster?! And then, as it got nearer, all their faces turned grim. The monster standing before them had the body of a wolf, just about 2 or 3 times bigger than an adult wolf. His tail was covered in many sharpened spikes, and it had two heads! Each with 3 eyes! What the hell?! Wait, golden fur too?! ¡°Grraa!¡± It didn¡¯t wait, and charged straight at them. I say charge, it was more like ¡®Leaping at the speed of sound¡¯. ¡°Push!¡± Zed sent a shockwave at the wolf, and its movement began to slow down. Its legs began trembling, but it kept going!Stolen story; please report. Zed gracefully jumped into the air and landed behind the wolf. The wolf¡¯s first head turned around and looked at him, its eyes beading red just like a balloon ready to pop from too much air. ¡°Ha!¡± And then, from behind the wolf, an air punch was sent, and hit the wolf¡¯s buttocks! Must hurt. And it¡¯s a woman too! ¡°GRRAAA!¡± ¡°Come here, foul beast!¡± The wolf charged straight at it, its golden figure blurring away. Zed was no slacker, and blurred out too. The two figures dashed towards each other! As he ran, Zed sent a wave of air punches at the wolf. It was unclear how he did this, but it was his magic at work. The punches landed on the wolf¡¯s three heads and stopped its momentum, slightly. *RROOAAARR!!* And then, it sent an earth-shattering roar! The ground around was torn, and many trees were blown away from its roots. The only ones left were the wolf, Zed, and Jake¡¯s group. ¡°Is this¡­What his full power is¡­?¡± Jake muttered silently as he witnessed, for the first time, Zed fighting something that forced him to actually move. ¡°Shatter!¡± With his command, the ground under the wolf broke, and revealed a hole! The wolf quickly realised this and jumped away, but the area it was about to land on, was another hole! ¡°Grrr!¡± In fury for being played, it created a black gap in the air and jumped in. ¡°What?!¡± And now, the wolf was gone. Zed carefully used his {Foresight}, searching around for the wolf¡¯s presence. And then, a gap opened behind him. ¡°Mr. Zed! Behind you!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Turning around, he sent a punch straight to the wolf¡¯s face, blowing it away a couple meters. The wolf shook its head mid-flight and landed on its four legs. ¡°I thank you sincerely, Young Marie!¡± Zed said in gratitude before rushing towards the wolf. He sent several waves of air at the wolf, and the wolf jumped into another gap. This time, he got to see the inside, which was dark, just like the void. But that meant that his {Foresight} got through! ¡°There!¡± Turning to the left, he sent a kick to the ground, and earthen spikes were sent out from the ground. Just as it appeared, a large earthen spike pierced its belly and sent it flying. Black blood rained down. Using his fists, he sent a wave of air fists, punching the defending wolf further into the air. ¡°Grrrr!¡± The wolf continued to tank the fists before slashing its claws in the air. Its claws painted black, a shadow claw was sent out! ¡°Slow!¡± He easily jumped aside and let the claw touch the earth. But then, the shadow began expanding rapidly, and soon exploded. Zed quickly made it out of the explosion radius. ¡°Teleportation, shadows, explosions. What an odd combination.¡± Zed muttered in thought as he dodged more explosions. His figure blurring into nonexistence as he moved from one area to another with no effort. ¡°ggggrrrrrRRRARARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!¡± And then, it opened its mouth and roared like a beast. Well, it had already been a beast. As if its mouth was black hole, chunks of the earth began ripping out of the ground and sucking them into the wolf¡¯s mouth. Never mind, it is a black hole! ¡°This is bad!¡± Zed sent a punch and two into the black hole, but just like a black hole, nothing can escape against its powers! The punches were sucked straight in and disappeared! Zed switched his priorities and closed in on Jake and the group. ¡°Do not move!¡± As he reached them, he stood in front of them and crossed his arms. A barrier of some sorts was launched! ¡°Seal!¡± The barrier got bigger, and sent fluctuations into the air, causing ripples like a stone thrown into a lake. Vibrations sounded gracefully. ¡°GGGRRRRRRRARAAAAAA!¡± The hole got bigger, and engulfed the wolf whole, leaving the black hole to get bigger and bigger. It soon reached the ground, and it sucked it all in without remains! ¡°Hold on!¡± The barrier he created was sucked in as well, and a strong pull was pulling them in. Somehow, Jake managed to move his arms at the last moment and took hold of everyone. Then, the ground under them was ripped out. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°W-Woah!!¡± ¡°D-Darn it!¡± ¡°Everyone! Hold on!¡± The four was carried along with the ground and was brought closer to the black hole. Jake kept holding on, but then, at the last second, a shard stabbed into his left palm. ¡°Agh!¡± In pain, his arms let go. And the world turned dark from there. ¡­¡­. Nothing was left behind. All the trees, earth, plants, and people, were all sucked in. There was only a huge crater left behind. A perfect flipped dome on the soil. Several kilometres away, Charlotte was lying on the grass unconscious. Deep in her mind, it all felt stagnant, but there was a sense of movement. She could feel her body being moved around. And then, she could hear a small voice in her ears. ¡°Cha¡­Wa¡­p..¡± ¡°Ar¡­o¡­alri..?¡± ¡°Char¡­wa¡­up!¡± And then, her eyes opened slightly. ¡°Uuu¡­Where am I?¡± Charlotte asked groggily as her eyes did their best to adjust to the sudden change in light. She blinked a couple times, and her vision cleared up slightly. And then, she realised that a hand was holding her shoulder. With a soft voice, she called out to the familiar boy in front of her. ¡°Ja..ke?¡± ¡°You¡¯re awake! Thank goodness¡­¡± Jake let out a long breath as he felt his worries leave him. She was alive! ¡°What¡­happened?¡± Charlotte forced her body upwards and looked at him. But, as she was getting up, her shoulder felt, soggy. She could feel something liquid-like sticking on her shirt. She looked to her shoulder, and saw tinges of red. ¡°What..?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s just me.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Slowly, she began to piece together what this muddy liquid was. Red, muddy, sticky. It was blood! ¡°Sorry for getting your clothes dirty¡­That¡¯s my fault.¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s fine!¡± She quickly shook her head and apologised too, for the fact that she blacked out without knowing it, and he too shook his head and apologised. This continued for a couple of minutes. After that was over, Zed came back with a roll of bandages in his hand. He did a quick wrap around his bloody arm and cleaned off the blood on his hands. Zed told him to not move too much, and left again. Just as Charlotte was getting happy, she felt that something was missing, or rather, someone was missing. Looking around, she realised something very important. Where was Marie?! ¡°Marie?!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Marie?! Jake, where¡¯s Marie?!¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡­¡­¡± Jake couldn¡¯t finish his sentence. After all, it was all his fault that Marie wasn¡¯t here anymore. It was all his. He grit his teeth in complete and utter defeat. ¡°While we were being sucked by that attack, a shard of stone stabbed into Young Jake¡¯s hand, and he let go in pain.¡± ¡°N-No way¡­¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Charlotte¡¯s mouth was wide open. She hadn¡¯t even been with her for a month, and she had already separated with her?! Wait, that¡¯s not it! She¡¯s her friend! ¡°Marie¡¯s okay, isn¡¯t she?! She is, right?!¡± Charlotte asked desperately. Her voice sounding more like a plead. Zed closed his eyes for a moment, and muttered out something in another language they didn¡¯t understand. And then, in his mind, an image was formed. ¡°Ah! Young Marie has met up with¡­Hold on.¡± ¡°With who?¡± ¡°¡­¡­It can¡¯t be¡­¡± ¡°Who is it?! Just say it!¡± Zed opened his eyes, looking shaken and shocked. His eyes lit up a bright flame as a wide smile formed on his face. And then, he began laughing happily. ¡°I cannot believe it! I simply cannot believe it!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°To think she met up with Master Alex! It truly is a miracle!¡± As his words pierced his ears, Jake snapped out of his depression and looked at him in shock. ¡°Alex?!...Wait, master?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Uuu¡­¡± On the other side of the world, Marie was tossing and turning all over. Her whole body felt incredibly tired, and a terrible headache was piercing her mind. Slowly, she began opening her eyes. ¡°W-Where¡­am I¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake.¡± Still in a daze, she looked straight at the young boy standing next to her. Her eyes weakly observed the red-haired boy, his bare chest wrapped with many bandages. His blue eyes looking straight at her with a relieved expression. Knowing that she was alive and well, he pressed his hand onto his chest and exhaled in relief. He silently thought ¡®I managed to save her! Haha!¡¯ in his mind as a soft smile floated on his face. After all, she just fell from the sky and straight into the lake, his heart jumped 3 beats when he saw that while trying to conjure a new shirt! ¡°W-Where¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± The boy didn¡¯t wait for her and simply shook his head in defeat. He himself didn¡¯t even know where he currently is, how can he answer such a question? Brushing his hair away from his eyes, he looked at her with a sharp gaze, his voice pretty much boiling with hostility. ¡°So, who¡¯re you?¡± [16] A Fated Meeting? ¡°So, who¡¯re you?¡± Cutting straight to the chase, Alex looked over to her and asked, his voice bolstered by a tinge of hostility. No matter what a person may look like, they could be an entirely different person on the inside. If she was someone dangerous, then he''ll take her out, here and now. ¡°M-Me¡­?¡± As her eyes matched his, the fog lingering in her mind lightened. Her thoughts became clear once more, and the figure of Alex looking straight at her became clear. She stared awkwardly for a moment, before her cheeks reddened like a tomato and curled back in shame. ¡°P-Please don¡¯t l-look at me¡­¡± She said shakily as she covered her eyes with her hands. ¡°¡­Ha?¡± Due to the sudden action of this girl, who had just survived falling from an inhumane height, he was left dumbfounded as he watched the girl continue to curl up into a ball. What was she so afraid of? He asked silently. Slowly, she opened up her eyes, but immediately closed them back as her eyes fell upon him once more. ¡°Oi. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Y-Your chest¡­¡± ¡°Ha? My chest?¡± Alex looked down to his chest in confusion. ¡®What? Are my bandages falling off?¡¯ He tilted his head on confusion. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong with his chest, so what was she so scared of? Was it¡­blood? He shuddered as his mind ventured into unforseen places. ¡°Y-You¡¯re¡­n-naked¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­Oh.¡± After a long pause, he quickly turned around. {Illustrator} activated, he conjured himself a new leather T-shirt. He forgot that he lost the other one. Oh hey, it¡¯s also blue, his favourite colour! Putting on the shirt, he made sure his bandages were fine and turned back around. ¡°There.¡± Twitching slightly, Marie slowly moved her hands away from her eyes, and seeing that he wasn¡¯t bare-chested anymore, she let out a relieved sigh. Does she have a phobia of men? ¡­I¡¯m not going to dive further in. Intruding into personal matters is a no no! ¡°¡­Ahem. So, who¡¯re you?¡± He swiftly readjusted his slightly wet jeans and stared back at her. Her cheeks still red from the lingering image, she shyly pointed to herself and asked ¡°M-Me?¡± Alex narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The black pupils he had focused in onto her. A slight tinge of red could be seen in his eyes. ¡°Yeah. Who¡¯re you?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m Marie Maple!¡± ¡°Marie, huh.¡± Alex displayed a somewhat shocked expression upon hearing her name, which sounded oddly normal. An odd thought cropped up in the back of his mind. As a test, he decided to say something completely unrelated. ¡°¡­Do you know Earth?¡± ¡°E-Earth?¡± Marie was taken aback by that word. Earth. It was a name she thought she would¡¯ve never heard again in this new world. ¡°T-That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± He didn¡¯t need to wait for her to answer him. Just from her expression, and her reluctance alone, he knew that she was someone, one of the students transported into this world. A small ray of hope shined in his clouding heart. ¡°A-Are you perhaps¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah. I was also a student. Name¡¯s Damian Alexander. Just call me Alex.¡± ¡°A-Alex?¡± Just like he did, she too was surprised to hear such a normal sounding name. All the people she knew from this world had such¡­unique names. Although he wasn¡¯t someone she knew, which was pretty much the entire school, she somehow believed that he was a student, just like her! Now that her identity was proven, there was no need to show any hostility to her. And just like that, the [Blood Hound] skill was quickly taken down. Although he couldn¡¯t control it yet¡­ Oh well, he¡¯ll do it later! But now that he knew that she was a student, another creeping question barged right in. A question he had been wanting to ask, but didn¡¯t have the chance to. ¡°By the way, do you know someone called Jake Darryl?¡± Her mind perked up instantly as a name she knew was heard. ¡°Y-You know Jake?!¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s my only¡­Wait, I was the one who asked! Answer my question correctly!¡± ¡°H-Hii!¡± To the sudden outburst he had, she let out a shriek and curled back into a ball once more. Scratching his cheek in confusion, he quickly bent down and tried to comfort her, only to realise that he had never comforted a girl. Sh*t¡­ ¡°Uh¡­Sorry about that.¡± ¡°Uuu¡­?¡± Slowly moving her hands away, she looked up to him in fear. Seeing the pitiful girl, he awkwardly scratched his cheek and stretched out his arm. While still looking down, she took hold of his hand and stood up.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Um¡­¡± Just as she let go of his hand, her legs began wobbling once more. She shamefully turned her eyes away from his. He turned around and scratched his hair in defeat. What would someone do to comfort someone else? It was a question he had never really asked consciously. Because of his lack of interaction back in school, this was a question that had never really popped up, especially with someone like Jake as his friend. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned back. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°E-Eh?!¡± Suddenly, Alex closed in and wrapped his hands around her, drawing her closer to him. Because of the shock, she wasn¡¯t able to pull away, and even if she tried now, his strength was much higher than hers. A couple seconds passed silently, and her cheeks reddened in an instant. ¡°Are you alright now?¡± Alex asked calmly as he kept hugging her. Back in his younger days, his mom would do something similar if he cried, and he hoped the same effect would take place here. Oddly, there was a warm feeling on his chest, but he ignored it splendidly. ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± She managed to whisper softly to his ears. Hearing her, he sighed in relief and let go of her. To her surprise, she felt much calmer now, and being hugged like that felt oddly¡­nice. ¡°N-No! What am I thinking?!¡± ¡°¡­?¡± She slapped her cheeks unconsciously and looked back at him, her cheeks still blushing slightly. He wondered if he really did manage to comfort her, but she looked alright. So, I guess it worked! But just as he was about to open his mouth, a loud shriek sounded in the air. ¡°Quuuuaa!¡± ¡°?!¡± Alex turned his head over to the source of the noise, and there up in the air, he could see a grey bird-like figure, flapping its sharp wings in the air. Its black eyes stared directly at them. Its sharp grey beak shimmered in the sunlight. ¡°Tch. I don¡¯t have any weapons.¡± He complained silently as he stretched out his finger. Due to the vortex, his desert eagle was lost. Luckily, the little crab was fine, but it couldn¡¯t fight¡­ ¡°Quuaa!¡± Sensing the magic coming off his finger, the bird-like monster shrieked and dashed at them. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he saw the bird quickly closing in. Did this bird have magic sensors or something? Who knows? Whatever, it¡¯s coming! ¡°Tch, Marie. St-¡° ¡°{[Asteroid Belt]}!¡± Before he could finish his words, Marie stepped in and activated her magic spell. A dust cloud circled around her, before merging together into 10 different rocks, floating around her. Each rock was about 10 cm in diameter, and they were all grey in colour. Perhaps calling them rocks wasn¡¯t very fitting. A belt of asteroids circled around Marie! ¡°Quua!¡± ¡°Please!¡± The rocks circling around her closed in on each other. The asteroids stopped right above her head, forming a grey asteroid wall. The bird¡¯s beak stabbed right in, breaking away 2 or 3 asteroids, but the wall was intact! ¡°Ha!¡± From behind, Alex jumped above the asteroid wall and swung down his giant cleaver. The bird easily broke away and flew back up. His sword cut through empty air. ¡°Fast.¡± He commented in annoyance. His eyes narrowed dangerously as the colour red spread all over his eyes. [Blood Hound] was active! ¡°Buy me time.¡± ¡°S-Sure!¡± Marie quickly reformed the broken asteroids and repaired the asteroid wall. The bird saw this and moved to the right, trying to attack them from the side. Noticing this, she moved the asteroid wall to the right, letting it take the full brunt of the peck. ¡°Qua!¡± Easily, it broke off the asteroids and flew back up. But just as it was flying up, *Bang!* A shot resounded from behind her. Turning her sights to her back, she saw Alex standing, his left arm pressing against his skull as he aimed a weapon she would have never expected to see again in his other arm. He pulled the trigger, sending a shower of magic bullets at the bird. But this bird wasn¡¯t like the monsters in the oceans. It easily flew aside and let the bullet fly by. Alex clicked his tongue in impatience. *Bang!* *Bang!* More shots were fired off, but the bird easily flew through the air. All the bullets simply hit the clouds above, disappearing into the sun. ¡°There¡¯s no chance¡­I need to stop its movements.¡± He thought silently as he watched the bird¡¯s movements. Ever since his {Blood Borne} skill ranked up, observing slight movements had become much easier for him. But even then, he didn¡¯t have the speed to stop such a fast moving monster. What should he do? ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°W-What do we do¡­?¡± Alex silently watched as Marie continued to reform more and more asteroids to defend from the bird¡¯s attacks. The bird¡¯s attacks were simple, but they came at a quick succession. Their margin for hitting was tiny! ¡°¡­Marie.¡± ¡°W-What is it?¡± ¡°Can you perhaps¡­form the wall just as the bird comes?¡± ¡°E-Eh?¡± Marie asked back as she reformed another asteroid. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as her MP dropped drastically. Forming and reforming these asteroids over and over again tore down her MP count. Her MP was already below 20%... ¡°I mean¡­Can you trap the bird?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not¡­too sure I can¡­¡± Alex scratched his cheeks. ¡®This girl doesn¡¯t have any confidence¡­¡¯ He silently commented to himself as he watched the bird hover in the air. Its beak pointed, ready to attack at any moment. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when to form the wall.¡± ¡°W-Will you¡­?¡± ¡°Ou.¡± Marie looked at the bird desperately. Slowly, she separated the asteroids slightly, forming holes and openings in the wall. The bird saw this and charged right in. ¡°Yosh.¡± Alex carefully observed the incoming beak. The sharpened grey beak, shining in the light like the edge of the blade, cutting through the air. ¡°Now!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Staggering slightly, she moved the asteroids back into place. The bird pointed its beak right at the one remaining opening, and stabbed its beak right in. ¡°H-Hii!¡± But that was its biggest mistake! ¡°Q-Qua?!¡± Suddenly, with an astounding force, Alex gripped his hands around the beak, and broke the asteroid wall entirely. The beak still in his hand, he slammed down the bird straight onto the ground. *Bam!* ¡°Qua?!¡± Alex pinned down the beak with his hands, and stepped onto its two wings. The bird struggled to get out, but his combination of [Blood Hound] and {Blood Borne} kept it in place. He freed one of his hands away from the beak. Shining brightly, he traced a small blade in the air and wrote the word ¡®Steel¡¯. Out from the shining light, his hand gripped the handle of a small steel knife, its edge gleaming under the sun. ¡°Q-Qua¡­?¡± *Puusshh!* With one swing, he stabbed the knife straight into the bird¡¯s head. Blood came gushing out like a fountain, tainting his whole left arm red. He stepped his leg over the knife, and pushed it further in. Struggling uselessly, the bird¡¯s life was ended. Marie could only silently watch as the bird died away. With beads of sweat rolling down and his whole body shivering, he let go of the dead bird and stepped away. With his shaking hand, he conjured a napkin and wiped away all the blood on his hand. He also drew a new shirt to wear, he couldn¡¯t stand the blood all over it. And it seems like she can¡¯t handle seeing his bare chest for some reason¡­ Throwing away the bloody napkin, he let out a sigh of relief and looked back at her. But he wasn¡¯t wearing a smile, and his eyes were still painted in deep red. ¡°A-Alex?¡± ¡°¡­There¡¯s more coming.¡± Just as his words reached her ears, her whole body screamed as it felt an incoming danger. Somehow, her instincts told her to jump to the side, and knowing her previous experiences, it¡¯s better to follow! *Burr!* Just as she jumped away, from where she was standing on earlier, a blue monster came sprouting out. This time, the monster looked similar to a mole, just with 3 large claws on the end of each of its arms, which were also covered in bluish black scales. Its head was covered in what looked like a helmet made out of the same scales, with two small slits for its eyes. In simple terms, it¡¯s a mole on steroids. *Bam!* But with no hesitation, Alex picked back up the giant cleaver from earlier and swung it down. The steel edge collided with its tough scales, tearing apart some of its armour. ¡°Gucho!¡± The mole clasped its arms together and intertwined its claws. Pointing them at Alex, it rotated violently and jumped at him. The claws merged together into a drill! ¡°Guh.¡± Standing firm, he blocked the drill with his large blade. Taking the chance, he slipped under the drill and kicked the mole¡¯s body, sending it flying into the air. Raising his cleaver, he sent a wide slice straight at it. More scales were torn off. ¡°G-Gucho!¡± The mole gracefully landed on the dirt and prepared to attack once more. But Alex closed in quickly and stepped onto its stubby toes. *Pwush* The mole screamed in agony as it felt Alex¡¯s brutal crush. Lifting his leg, the moles toes were left all swollen and twisted. Walking with those toes should be impossible now. Without showing any emotions, he jumped to the side and swung his blade horizontally, braking through the already torn scales and slicing the mole into two. The innards spewed out like a pi?ata. With his hands over his mouth, he turned around in disgust as he contemplated over his actions. Meanwhile, Marie only stood by the side with her eyes wide open. Just like that, another monster was taken down! [17] Turmoil On Both Sides ¡°I-Is it¡­over?¡± Under the forever present sun, the gleaming skies far above, the stench of blood drifted in the air. Sounds of dripping blood collided against the hard soil. The days grow ever longer. Under the sea of unmoving clouds, a world wonder was present. Islands hovered in the air, carrying on them their own wonders. Lakes and waterfalls decorated the already plant-filled islands. Bounding the islands together, were a group of 3 different water bridges. Moving water glided with no support, connecting one island to another. On that same island Alex had landed on, as the sounds of splashing water filled the air, Marie could be seen standing there, nervously watching Alex. Without turning his head around, he nodded his head gravely and brandished his blade. And then, ¡°Gucho!¡± ¡°Gucho!¡± ¡°Cho!¡± Out from the soil around them, came a group of 8 scale wearing moles. Their claws on their hands shined in the daylight. Inside that group, one of the moles had a slightly different look, having 4 claws on each hand instead of 3. ¡°Gucho!!¡± The moles clashed its claws together, giving a signal to its allies. In unity, the moles divided into two groups and approached the two students, the group with the leader surrounding Alex. ¡°Eeek!¡± Using the only technique she knew, she formed a group of 10 asteroids and surrounded herself. The moles looked at her in excitement as they found an easy prey. She even heard them chuckle a bit! How rude! ¡°Tch.¡± Clicking his tongue, Alex held his blade over his face and defended against the moles. They attacked all at once and slashed their claws. The sounds of clashing metal echoed through the air. As he was defending, one of the moles slipped past him and tried attacking him from behind. Without looking back, he jumped to the side, letting the mole fly past. Activating his [[Concentration]], Alex dodged more of the incoming claws. Stepping to his left, he freed one of his hands and prepared his {Illustrator}. His finger lit a warm white light. ¡°Gucho!¡± Not letting this chance slip by, the closest mole prepared itself and charged at him, spinning violently through the air. Grunting softly, Alex quickly conjured a wooden wall and stepped aside. The speeding drill easily broke the wooden wall. *Brrak!* It doesn¡¯t seem like they were willing to let him use magic. ¡°Tch.¡± He silently cursed under his breath as he took a stance. His right foot behind his left, he gripped his large cleaver, his knuckles turning white from tension. ¡°Ha!¡± *Pang!* Jumping forward, he swung down his mighty blade at the leader. Clashing its claws together, it commanded one of its allies to step forward, letting it take the full brunt of the attack. His eyes widened in shock. ¡°Guchhoo!¡± Quickly, from under him, a mole jumped out with its claws targeted at him. Taking full advantage of his increased reflex, he let go of the blade and pushed himself off the blade, the drill easily drilled through the large blade. ¡°Damn it.¡± Although that blade was made from iron, but seeing it break that easily from one attack really crushed his confidence. If that drill could easily break through iron, then what would it do to his flesh? He shuddered at the thought. Seeing that his blade was broken with such ease, the mole leader chuckled loudly, as if to scoff at him, its allies doing the same. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Being scoffed at was nothing new, but in this situation, losing his cool could very easily lead to his death. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Keeping his eyes on the moles, he took a step back, his finger stretched out and ready. Quickly, he activated his magic. The leader mole quickly noticed and sent one of its allies at him, its claws ready to slash away his bare flesh. A wide grin was plastered all over its face. ¡°Gucho!¡± Its claws intertwined, it jumped into the air and rotated violently, its claws merging together into a deadly drill. His blade broken and his magic invoked, he silently prayed to the heavens. He sincerely hoped this works! *Bwuek* ¡°G-Gucho?!¡± And then, to its surprise, just as his finger let go, its movement was stopped entirely! As the light died down, it was surprised to see that its drill was stuck inside a white cube! ¡°Awesome.¡± Not long after, the white cube began to fall apart, turning into a liquid and dripping onto the ground. The surprised mole was unable to move away as its claws was suddenly freed from the odd substance. But Alex would never allow it to escape! ¡°G-Gucho!?¡± With both of his hands, he tore off one of its claws. Blood came gushing out from its hands, tainting his fingers red. With his face turning pale, he plunged the claw straight into the opening it had on its neck! *Puchi!* The sounds of cutting flesh sounded from its neck. Blood came flowing out like a waterfall, dripping down onto the odd white substance. ¡°¡­¡­¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Sweat dripping down his face like rain, he quickly wiped away the blood off his hands. Stepping away from the dead mole, he turned his focus once again at the moles. ¡°Gucho¡­¡± Just like a commander, the mole leader looked onto its fallen ally with insincere eyes, as if it didn¡¯t consider it at all. He grit his teeth in disgust. If that mole was a human, he would¡¯ve sent a kick to his balls a long time ago. Not that he knew if this mole was a man or anything¡­Might be a woman. Conjuring himself a new cleaver, making sure it was made of steel, he pointed his blade towards the moles as his eyes wandered to where Marie was. ¡°It looks like she¡¯ll be alright¡­¡± Commenting internally, he looked over to the 3 remaining moles and brandished his cleaver. His eyes stared down the moles emotionlessly. ¡°Guchoo!¡± Clashing its claws together, it commanded another one of its allies to attack him. Hesitating slightly, the mole dashed straight at him, spinning violently as it got closer. The metal blades merged together. ¡°G-Guchooo!¡± With a shout filled with hesitation, the moles drill made contact, but not with his sword. *Bwuek* ¡°G-Gucho?!¡± Just like earlier, Alex easily conjured another block of the odd substance, trapping the incoming drill and stopping its movements entirely. As time passed on, the cube melted away and dripped onto the ground. ¡°Haaa!¡± *Puchi!* Taking advantage, he pinned the mole down and stabbed his blade straight into its neck. Blood came rushing out, cloaking his large blade in blood. His heart shook tensely. With this, there were only two moles left! On his side that is. Seeing that two of its allies had fallen, the leader mole clashed its claws together. The moles that were attacking Marie heard this, and two of the moles broke away and joined its leader. Standing firmly, the moles sent a piercing gaze at him, who stood there unfazed. ¡°Gucho!¡± Under the command of their leader, two of the moles dived down and dug into the soil. The leader mole brandished its claws and charged straight at him, its last minion following closely. ¡°Tch.¡± Alex clicked his tongue and quickly reached out to his blade. Seeing this, the leader mole jumped into the air and held its claws together. The one remaining mole jumped up and kicked the leader mole, sending him flying towards him. ¡°What?!¡± The leader mole began rotating violently, its figure blurring into that of a blue drill. Keeping his calm, he quickly took hold of his blade and jumped sideways. *BOOM* A large dust cloud was sent into the air upon contact. ¡°Gucho!¡± Just as he was about to land, a mole from earlier came sprouting out, its claw pointed straight at him. Holding his hand over his blade, he shielded himself with the cleaver¡¯s blade. The sounds of clashing metal echoed once more. ¡°Gucho!¡± The mole took hold of the blade, and threw it away, before diving back down into the soil. ¡°Gucho!¡± The one remaining mole took this chance and rushed at him. Keeping his concentration, he slid past the incoming mole. ¡°Ha!¡± To its surprise, a bright light exploded from under it, forcing it to look away. Using that, Alex tied a rope he conjured around its neck. Pinning the mole down to the ground, he forcefully pulled the rope, crushing apart the bones inside its neck. Another kill! ¡°G-Gucho!¡± Out from the ground, the emerged, with their leader looking straight at him. Clashing its claws together, it called the other moles. They immediately complied and stopped attacking Marie. ¡°Yosh¡­¡± Now that all the attention was on him, he didn¡¯t need to worry for Marie, who was panting heavily as her asteroids slowly crumbled away. And now, it was purely them against Alex! Taking a deep breath, Alex let go of his large cleaver, letting it drop onto the ground. With his finger stretched out, he activated his {Illustrator}. ¡°Gucho!¡± Quickly, the five moles rushed to attack him in unison. The four moles led the charge, while the leader stayed closely behind. ¡°Kuh.¡± Alex focused entirely on dodging, avoiding the many attacks the moles threw at him. Looking at it now, it seems the moles were getting desperate, but one misstep could still cause his death. And then, from behind his back, he let a small cube go as he was dodging. Seeing this, the moles quickly sliced apart the cube, but on contact, the cube exploded into a cloud of mist. ¡°Gucho?¡± ¡°Add another one...¡± He said to himself jokingly as he threw in another cube, further exploding the mist, causing it to expand. ¡°And now, the last ingredient.¡± Conjuring one last cube, he threw the cube into the mist, and what happened after, was dazzling. ¡°G-Gucho?!¡± An intense blue fire danced in the air. The air blazed a dazzling blue light as the screams of the moles were engulfed in the flames. Alex smiled triumphantly as he watched the blue fire. ¡°G-Guchoo¡­¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Out from the fire, the leader mole weakly slouched and dropped onto the soil. Its scales were burnt up and most of its claws were melted. Half of its face was burnt completely. His eyes displaying no emotions, he conjured a thick rope and tied it around the dying mole¡¯s neck. Pinning down the mole with his leg, he forcefully pulled the rope up, breaking apart the mole¡¯s spine! And so, the battle ended a flare! Letting out a silent sigh, he brought up his status. Status: Damian Alexander Lv 15 Health: 77/157 (+52) Mana: 53/202 (+67) Strength: 66 (+22) Intelligence: 81 (+27) Resistance: 71 (+24) Agility: 76 (+24) (+4) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (31%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (36%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (16%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (11%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (13%) [[Concentration]] Rank 1 (09%) Titles: (Blood Borne)| ¡°¡­Guess that¡¯s over.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ At that same exact time, back in the kingdom of [Tordge], ¡°Hah¡­hah¡­¡± The day had already reached noon, the sun was at its peak. However, the light it gave off couldn¡¯t break through the dense sea of clouds high above. The ground below was painted in a large shadow. The wind was picking up slightly, the leaves blowing silently. Droplets of water dropped down onto the stone pavements. The streets were quiet. It was empty, a void of people. The laughter of children, the exhausted voices of men, all sounds had disappeared as the sounds of splashing water overtook the air. In the centre of it all, inside the large castle of the royal blood, the rough breathing of a man could be heard bouncing off the long hallways. The usually noisy castle grew eerily quiet. ¡°Hah¡­damnit¡­hah¡­¡± Inside the west side of the castle, a soldier was panting heavily as he leaned his body against the cold stone wall. His face was covered in sweat and blood as his body shook from severe exhaustion. Normally, this man would be wearing his helmet, carrying his sword and displaying his Sigil as a proud captain of this kingdom¡¯s army. But at that moment, one would not be able to distinct him from an average soldier. His once proud helmet was blown away, shattered into many pieces. His normally clean and neat blonde hair turned messy and dirty. His chest plate was heavily damaged, leaving his already bloody chest open to attacks. His durable body was highly damaged, blood slowly dripped out of his many wounds. Panting heavily, he stared silently at the broken hallways. Clouds of dust rose into the air as small pieces of rubble fell from the shattered ceiling. A puddle of water began piling up from the rain. But not far from him, he could see the dead bodies of other soldiers. Their bodies were torn apart, their limbs were bisected and thrown around like confetti. Blood splattered all across the broken and shattered walls. The once beautiful castle he knew was blown away in an instant. ¡°I¡­must return¡­to his majesty¡­¡± Gritting his teeth, he mustered up his remaining MP and fortified his injured legs. Fighting against the pain, he slowly made his way to the king¡¯s room, moving past the broken areas of the castle. Luckily, from the many holes in the walls, it didn¡¯t seem like the city itself was damaged. He let out a sigh of relief knowing such a fact. Using his bloody legs, he slowly made his way to the king¡¯s door. But upon sight, his heart shook in fear, and his face warped in terror. The once beautiful door, built with many carvings and fortifications, was completely blown away. The walls around it had completely collapsed. And inside, ¡°Y-Your majesty!¡± The once majestic throne room, was only barely holding on. The walls had many cracks on it, only being supported by some flimsy pillars. The many paintings and sigils placed along the walls were torn apart. At the end of the room, he could see a group of people surrounding a single man. Beads of sweat rained down his face as he fought off the pain. Quickly, he rushed over to the group of people. ¡°C-Captain?!¡± Upon sight, one of the soldiers in the room immediately stood up to salute, but stopped upon seeing the injured figure of his captain. The other people too turned around to see him, only to be horrified to see his injured state. But he did not care! ¡°Your majesty!¡± His whole body froze as his eyes fell upon the once proud king. His body was completely covered in scars, not that it wasn¡¯t already. One of his eyes had been gouged out, and his right leg had disappeared completely. His golden robe was torn apart, blown away to none-existence. An enormous amount of blood was rushing out of his scarred chest. The floor around him was painted red in blood. ¡°Your-, Gah?!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t move, captain!¡± The soldier quickly tried to stop him, who suddenly felt an intense pain surging in his chest. It seems his MP wasn¡¯t enough to stop his pain, as he bent over with his hands pressing against his chest. ¡°D¡­Damn¡­it¡­¡± Cursing with his last breath, the world around him slowly faded black. [18] The Teams Have Been Established! The sounds of dripping water echoed through his ears. His vision blurred in and out, his eyes lids opened and closed. His whole body felt numb, his senses dulled. ¡°¡­ah¡­.w¡­where¡­?¡± With a ragged voice, he tried to call out. But his call came back unanswered. Slowly turning his head, his eyes stared weakly at the room around him. Bricks of stone stacked over one another, the feeling of isolation creeped into him. The lamp on the far end of the room merely lit a small flame. The creeping shadows surrounded him. Putting his hand on his head, he slowly rose out of the bed. The soft feeling of the blanket drifted away as it fell onto the cold stone floor. ¡°¡­?¡± His sights still blurry, he looked around to the room once more. Besides the one lamp at the far end of the room, there wasn¡¯t really anything else inside this room, besides the bed and the door anyways. Looking to his left, his eyes fell upon the one window inside the room. Although, even with this window, the room inside was still very much cloaked in darkness. Droplets of water ran across the transparent glass panes. The skies outside was dark. The night sky loomed over the silent kingdom. The stars above glimmered around the moon high above. He stared out silently in wonder, not realising that the door near to the lamp had opened. ¡°A-Arthur¡­?¡± Snapping out of his daze, he turned around to see a beautiful woman had just entered into his room. She was wearing a worried smile as she approached him. ¡°Saya¡­?¡± Without answering back, Saya quickly embraced him, tears flowing out of her eyes. Under the moment, he awkwardly hugged back. ¡°T-Thank goodness¡­You¡¯re alive¡­¡± ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Separating from him, she wiped away her tears and explained, his eyes opened in shock. From what he heard, it seems like while they were operating on him, his blood lost had become so severe that they had to use around 5 blood packs! His heart jumped a beat after hearing that. But that wasn¡¯t the most shocking part, she said that while they were doing their best to keep him alive, his body began radiating a dark aura, and a strong force began rushing out of him. She said that the force was so strong, that even she felt it, although he wasn¡¯t sure if that was true or not. The priests became scared of him, and decided to keep him isolated in this empty room, which was supposed to be given to one of the missing heroes. ¡°That explains why this room¡¯s empty¡­¡± ¡°Yes¡­But¡­I really am glad¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she hung her head shamefully. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Fearing that she was about to hug him again, he put up his arms in defence. ¡°I¡­I couldn¡¯t help¡­even¡­even when¡­¡± Before she could finish, tears began flowing out of her eyes again. She shamefully covered her face as she continued to cry. Feeling a rising guilt in his gut, he stood up against his injuries and hugged her. ¡°Shh¡­It¡¯s fine¡­At least I¡¯m alive, right?¡± ¡°Hic¡­Y-Yeah¡­!¡± Leaning her body against his, she continued to cry her tears out. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ And so, the night moved on. The stars in the sky faded away as the rising sun illuminated the darkened ground in a new light. Birds were happily chirping along as they flew across the sky. The streets of [Tordge] grew noisy once again. People of many ages roamed the bustling streets. Merchants desperately tried to attract customers as the people walked along the paved streets. The doors of many stores opened as the day went along. Although, not one of the citizens knew about what had transpired. The devastating destruction was expertly hidden with an illusion by the kingdom¡¯s mages. But they were unsure how long they could hold it up. The gates to the castle was completely quiet. Not a single guard was standing guard by the gates. The flowers silently waved in the wind. But under that illusion, the sight of a devastated castle could be seen. The once proud stone walls were broken down and shattered, held up by temporary pillars on its sides. ¡°Hah¡­This really is bad.¡± Inside the training grounds of the castle, a fairly tall man stood there with his hand over his face. His blonde hair waved in the wind. Because today he was surprisingly off his duties, he grew bored of waiting in the castle and decided to take a stroll around the castle. But he could only look in despair at the utter chaos that had occurred, and the fact that he was unable to stop it weighed on him heavily. All those lives that were lost, was because of him. ¡°Arthur? Why are you here?¡± As he was deep in thought, a voice called out to him from behind. He turned around to see his friend standing there, her eyes staring at him filled with worry. ¡°Saya? What¡¯re you doing here?¡± Right in front of the arch gate leading back to the main castle room, Saya stood there, her heart still wrapped in worry. To his surprise, Saya wasn¡¯t wearing her usual priestess outfit. Today, she was casually wearing a one-piece silk white dress, with pink frills sewed to the end of her dress. Her long black hair was let down, but he could tell that it was expertly combed.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. It felt somewhat unnecessary. ¡°I¡¯m off duty today!¡± ¡°I see¡­I guess we were let off from our duties¡­¡± ¡°For now.¡± ¡°For now.¡± They both laughed about it for a moment, before sighing and hanging their heads down in defeat. I don¡¯t think I need to describe what they go through every day¡­ That would take a looong time. ¡°But it¡¯s rare for you to wear those clothes! I haven¡¯t seen those for so long!¡± ¡°¡­This?¡± Because he was off duty today, he felt that it would be quite redundant to wear his usual knight captain armour. After thinking about it for a while, he decided to just wear some clothes he still kept in his wardrobe. After searching for a while, he ended up wearing a plain black T-shirt, with an odd picture of a star sewed into it, and a pair of grey jeans he found at the bottom drawer of his wardrobe. He needed to blow away the dust first however¡­ ¡°Aren¡¯t you embarrassed to wear that?¡± ¡°¡­Why would I?¡± Saya pouted in discomfort and sighed. This was one side of Arthur she always hated! ¡°Arthur, we¡¯re in the royal castle. Wouldn¡¯t the soldiers laugh at you for wearing that?¡± ¡°¡­So? If they do, I¡¯ll just beat them up and put them into solitary confinement.¡± ¡°W-Wah¡­Scary¡­¡± Shivering slightly, she gave her prayers to those unfortunate enough to meet his punishments. Even though he said it jokingly this time, she wasn¡¯t sure if what he said was truly a joke or not. He has a bad habit of laughing something off¡­ He¡¯s just the worst at times. ¡°Anyways, someone¡¯s waiting for you, Arthur.¡± ¡°¡­Who?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see!¡± He looked to her dubiously, not really wanting to indulge in any work in his day off. It¡¯s not every day this opportunity arises, you know? Seeing his hesitation, Saya forcefully gripped his arm and pulled him back into the castle. With a tired expression, he silently followed the happy Saya, walking through the broken halls of the castle. His expression darkened as he was reminded of his failures. He grit his teeth unconsciously, not realising that they had reached the main room of the castle. And there, standing by the entrance gate, a familiar face could be seen staring back at him. ¡°Z-Zed?!¡± ¡°Ah! My old friend! It has been quite a while!¡± Out of anyone else, to see Zed, an old friend he hadn¡¯t seen in about 5 years, standing there with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, his mouth was left open in shock. I mean, it¡¯s Zed! ¡°How have you been, Arthur? Has life treated you well?¡± ¡°You sound like an old man¡­But yeah, I¡¯ve been better.¡± Zed dismissed his comment and looked over to Saya. ¡°How have you been, Saya?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been fine! I promised after all!¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± And so, the three went on to talk about random things, and about how they miss the old days, back when they were still learning as a team together in the magic academy. Saya teared up slightly in nostalgia. After the talk was over, Arthur quickly jumped to the case and asked Zed. ¡°So, what¡¯re you here for? Please don¡¯t say it¡¯s work.¡± ¡°Haha! You haven¡¯t changed, Arthur!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Ugh¡­I-I mean¡­Ahem¡­I have some people who wish to meet you.¡± ¡°So it is work.¡± He said in a sinister tone, his eyes narrowed dangerously, as if he was ready to bite him at any moment. ¡°No. They are the heroes.¡± ¡°?!¡± Arthur, and Saya widened their eyes in shock and stepped back. They quickly closed in and began whispering something. As if he knew about their talk, Zed interrupted them. ¡°Do not worry. I found out myself. There has not been a leak.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­Thank goodness¡­¡± Saya sighed in relief after hearing so. The king had made it clear that no one was allowed to leak the heroes¡¯ arrival, and anyone who did, would be imprisoned for their crimes. Although, that sounded much better than what Arthur would do. ¡°So, where are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re waiting outside.¡± ¡­¡­ Outside the main castle building, the figure of a boy and a girl could be seen sitting together on a wooden bench, placed around a garden of flowers. The mirage of red and yellow blended quite well together. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Sitting on the right, the boy put his hand over his forehead and sighed. His eyes had black circles piling up under it, and his face looked quite pale. The girl sitting next to him was no different. These two were Jake and Charlotte! As he let out another sigh, he failed to notice a group of 3 people approaching. ¡°Young Jake? Are you alright?¡± ¡°¡­haa?¡± With his energy squeezed out, he looked up to see Zed slowly approaching him, this time with two people he wasn¡¯t familiar with. But then, as they got closer, he immediately recognised these people and stood up. Somehow seeing another person besides Zed had given him a burst of energy. After all, he was drained both mentally and physically because of Zed. ¡°Y-You¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°Ah. It really is one of the heroes.¡± Upon seeing him, Arthur said commented with a somewhat shocked voice, although it sounded more like he was simply uninterested. But Saya on the other hand, immediately rushed to him. ¡°Thank goodness! You came back!¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± ¡°¡­? What is that supposed to mean?¡± Hearing their responses, she looked down grimly and turned around. Zed seemed to understand what she was getting at and stood back, staying silent. With a sad voice, she explained what had happened. ¡°The heroes¡­have disappeared.¡± ¡°¡­Pardon?¡± ¡°W-What¡­?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Hydrogen?¡± Far from the kingdom of [Tordge], where no amount of travelling would ever reach such a surreal place, was a world filled with sky islands, connected by three large water rivers, floating there without any outside support. Not that other places weren¡¯t surreal, just that this place took it to another level. ¡°Yeah. If hydrogen gets lit, it¡¯ll burst into flames.¡± On one of the islands, the sounds of splashing water echoed through the air. The leaves rustled as the wind flew by. ¡°I see¡­T-That¡¯s amazing!¡± Sitting down by the lake he first landed in, Alex sat down together with Marie and explained to her about the fight with the 8 moles. She constantly bugged him about how amazing his fight was, and how she wanted to learn how he did such amazing feats. ¡°It¡¯s not that amazing¡­I¡¯m sure Jake could do something more spectacular.¡± Alex said sincerely as he stared into his reflection on the water. His face staring back at him. They both sat there silently for a while, watching the water fall down from the cliff above. Actually, how does this waterfall even work? Ah, whatever. As he was blankly staring into his reflection, his mind began to wander aimlessly. Random thoughts began cropping in and out of his mind as he watched ripples spreading across the lake, the water from above crashing onto the surface. Wait¡­Crashing. ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± With confidence, Alex suddenly stood up on his two feet, his eyes sparkling with a brilliant idea he just came up with to solve an ever-present problem. ¡°A-Alex?!¡± ¡°Marie, do you still have any MP left?¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­?¡± ¡°Come here for a moment.¡± Stepping his feet onto the dry soil, he walked away from the lake. In confusion, and a slight curiosity, she pulled her feet out of the water and followed him. After he was about 5 meters away from the lake, he turned around and faced her. ¡°Can you activate you asteroid thing for a moment?¡± ¡°S-Sure¡­?¡± Her MP slightly recovered, she activated her {[Asteroid Belt]}, forming a group of 10 small asteroids to orbit around her waist. ¡°Can you shoot out one of your asteroids?¡± Hearing his request, she hung her head silently and looked down in defeat. Looking at her like this, it seems like the answer is no. ¡°How far can you move them?¡± ¡°H-Huh? W-Well¡­¡± Stretching out her hand, one of the asteroids flew slightly forward, stopping right when it was about 1 meter away. ¡°I see¡­¡± Alex quickly took note of this. ¡°A-Alex?¡± Without saying anything, Alex suddenly threw a short metal pole at her. Nervously, she brought her asteroids together and formed a wall. The metal pole crashed right into the asteroid wall, stopping its momentum. ¡°No. Not like that.¡± ¡°W-What do you mean¡­?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you try spinning your asteroids really fast? You know, to try and hit away the pole?¡± Right after he said so, he threw another short metal pole he conjured as he talked. Once more, she was about to form her asteroids into a wall, but she then recalled what he said, and instead, commanded her asteroids to orbit around her. Quickly, the asteroids began building speed, and when the metal pole finally reached her 1 meter mark, the metal pole was hit away by the sheer speed of the asteroids, flying away and splashing into the waters. ¡°W-Woah¡­¡± Although she was the one who did it, she was still very shocked to see the outcome. She would¡¯ve never expected her flimsy little asteroids, to be capable of attacking in that manner, even taking into account her small range. And so, although the kingdom had suffered many casualties, Marie and Alex were casually chatting along while sitting on a giant floating island in the middle of a world connected by 3 giant water river bridges. This world sure is weird¡­ [19] Time To Move ¡°Quack!!¡± ¡°{[A-Asteroid Belt]}!¡± Under the presence of the forever shining sun, under the endless sea of clouds, in the midst of the blowing wind, the shout of a girl resounded through the air. The sounds of splashing water softly played in the back. On one island, where a blue flame once rose, Marie activated her skill as her eyes followed the enemy flying above. A group of 10 small asteroids formed and orbited around her. Nervously, she commanded the asteroids to move, orbiting around her. ¡°Quack?!¡± The bird like monster above quickly noticed the sudden change in movements, and stopped its descent and quickly flew back up. Turning around, its eyes stared straight at her, carefully observing her. And then, just some distance behind her, the bird noticed the figure of a young boy, his right index finger stretched out. ¡°Quack!¡± Showing a wide grin, it closed its wings and dove down towards him. ¡°Alex!¡± Marie tried calling out to him, but he didn¡¯t listen, his focus directed at his magic. The bird happily took the chance and sent its sharp beak at him. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± Still deep in thought, Alex noticed the bird quickly charging at him. With ease, he stepped aside, letting the bird¡¯s beak peck right into the soil. ¡°Q-Quack!!!¡± In a rage, it took out its beak and pushed its beak towards him. But, *Pak* ¡°Q-Quack?!¡± Just as it was getting close, a bright light shined between it and Alex. By instinct, it tried to pull away, but its beak wouldn¡¯t budge. The light slowly faded away, and the bird soon realised its mistake. And that this was its last mistake it will ever make! Seeing that the bird¡¯s futile struggle to escape, Alex silently laughed at the fact that the word ¡®Sticks to objects when touched¡¯ somehow managed to trap this guy in one go. Although the MP consumption after he used that word was oddly high¡­ ¡°Gotcha.¡± With the bird¡¯s beak, and his right leather glove stuck to the ceramic slab he conjured, he swung down his arm like a hammer, smashing down the slab onto the soil with terrific force. The bird¡¯s body was crushed under his incredible force. *Krak!* The bird¡¯s beak was easily crushed as he pummelled the ceramic slab repeatedly onto the hard soil. With every smash, and with every shockwave, the bird¡¯s body became slightly more deformed than before. Soon enough, its whole body was misshaped. Its beak was bent and broken in an unnatural way, and its eyes was completely white. ¡°¡­Did I go too far¡­?¡± He asked sullenly as he tried to let go of the ceramic, only to realise that it was still stuck to his gloves. Sliding off his leather glove, he picked up the leather glove together with the ceramic slab, and the dead bird, and threw it away. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s done.¡± Taking off the other glove, he threw it away and turned around to Marie. Seeing that he was alright, she sighed in relief and stopped her magic skill, her asteroids slowly crumbled away into dust. ¡°¡­C-Can I ask something?¡± ¡°Hmm? Go ahead.¡± ¡°W-Well¡­I¡¯ve watched you fight¡­but I still don¡¯t understand your unique skill¡­¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Alex quickly activated his magic and traced a small cube. Letting go, a white light shined, and out of it came a small stone cube. ¡°This, is my skill.¡± He said as he picked up the cube and gave it to her. ¡°So¡­you can create things¡­?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah, somewhat.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s amazing! It¡¯s much better than mine at least¡­¡± ¡°No, your skill¡¯s much better.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± This conversation continued on for a while, before Alex simple got tired and mentioned Jake, saying that his is probably much better. Marie stopped speaking after that. ¡°Phew¡­Anyways, do you mind waiting near the lake?¡± ¡°E-Eh? Why?¡± ¡°I want to look around.¡± With his words said, he turned around and left. Watching him walk away, Marie awkwardly sat there for a while before she too left the area. ¡°Alright¡­¡± After he had walked several meters at a random direction, he stopped for a moment and looked around. Luckily, there wasn¡¯t that many trees, allowing him to see farther. Although, this island he had landed on was oddly massive, probably around the size of a modern city. And that in itself is insane! But that wasn¡¯t the only insane part. Right after he awoke drifting inside that lake he landed in, he stepped out and decided to look around. After about an hour of walking, he reached the end of the island, and there, he saw other islands! He immediately went back to the lake and had a nice shower under the waterfall to ease up. That was nice. But now that he realised that he wasn¡¯t alone, the mission to find the exit to this place just became even more important. Not that he was lonely in any way, especially not with that little crab sitting by the lake, but he needed to find a way out. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After some time spent deep in thought, Alex shrugged his shoulders and continued walking forward, letting his legs take him somewhere else. Walking past the occasional rocks and trees, he journeyed across the enormous island he was on. On one occasion, as he was walking aimlessly, his eyes caught the sight of a tree dangling with apples.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. To sate his hungry stomach, he took the gamble and chewed on an apple he plucked off. Tasting the sweetness of the apple, and smiling triumphantly at the fact that he didn¡¯t die, he happily ate the rest of the apple. Conjuring a small leather pouch, he gathered himself a nice batch of apples. Because he felt slightly bad, he decided to leave about 5 or 6 apples on the tree and went away. Now with a pouch of apples strapped to his back, he walked on, feeling the soft wind silently blowing against his body. And then, just as he was about to somehow fall asleep walking, he reached the end of the island, and the view he got was surreal. ¡°Damnit¡­I don¡¯t have a pencil.¡± Out farther than where his eyes could see, there was a world of floating islands, floating in the sky with three giant rivers flowing in mid-air. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± But just some distance away from him, he could see a small island floating there. The island didn¡¯t look to out of place, if not for the stone altar sitting on top of it. Squinting his eyes, he also managed to catch sight of a purple shine coming from the altar. ¡°That might be my best chance for an exit¡­¡± He softly muttered to himself as he backed away from the ledge of the island. Going there would probably be his best chance at an escape, but the path leading to it was none-existent. Unlike the other islands, which has at least one or two floating rivers connected to it, that little island had none. Does that mean he has to fly there? Yikes! As he was about to leave, not far to his left, his eyes caught sight of the floating river connected to this island. Walking closer to it, he slowly followed the river to its next stop. ¡°¡­Guess that¡¯ll do.¡± Although it¡¯s not going to lead him to the altar, going on this river would get him closer to the altar. That was already enough for him. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to get to work.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ 2 hours later, ¡°Hm~m~¡± Following what he said earlier, Marie went back to where the waterfall was. Deciding to wait patiently, she took off her shoes and dipped her toes into the water. ¡°Pii!¡± Not far from the shores, Marie watched as the little crab Alex introduced her to was surfing across the waters, its claws raised up. It raised a happy cry as it did random spins and jumps on the water. She giggled softly as she watched it have fun. And then, from behind her, a voice called out to her. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°O-Oh! You¡¯re back!¡± Nervously, she pulled her legs out of the water and put on her slippers. She quickly stood up and walked to him, but her legs were still wet, and she slipped as she was trying to walk to him. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Careful.¡± Noticing her slipping, he quickly closed in and caught her. Bashfully, she broke away from him and looked away. Alex awkwardly watched as she ended up slipping once again. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Not wanting to watch further, he conjured a warm blanket and gave it to her. Looking at it bashfully, she softly thanked him and dried her toes. Was this what it felt like to have a little sister? Meh, who knows? He shrugged his shoulders thinking that. ¡°Anyways, once you¡¯re done, we¡¯re going to leave.¡± ¡°L-Leave?¡± ¡°Yeah. I found something interesting.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Seeing her agreement, he looked past her and called the little crab. The crab quickly got back to land and walked up to him, who picked it up and put it inside the backpack on his back. Backpack on his back¡­That sounds redundant. Either ways, after waiting for Marie to dry her toes, Alex randomly took out an apple from his leather pouch and gave it to her. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡± Her cheeks still burning red, she nervously took the apple and chewed into it. She seemed quite happy with the apple. ¡°Pi!¡± From inside his backpack, the crab cried out to him. Guessing what it wanted, he took another apple out and dropped it into the backpack. ¡°Pi!¡± Wait, does a crab even eat apples? Wait, how is it going to eat it in the first place? Questions, questions. After Marie finished eating her apple, Alex led the way and walked on, with Marie following not far behind. This time, now that he actually knew where the floating river was, the time needed to reach it was much shorter. Doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯ll be a short trip, but faster than before nonetheless. Sadly, there¡¯s no motorcycles here¡­ Is he even allowed to drive? I don¡¯t think so¡­ But moving past the occasional trees and rocks, and walking across the grassy plains growing above this enormous floating island, they finally made it back to the floating river bridge¡­thing. There isn¡¯t really a name for it. But, upon sight, Marie began to question whether his plan was really a good one. Why, you ask? Well, ¡°W-We¡¯re going on that¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°R-Really¡­?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± With a slight pause, he answered so as his eyes fell upon the boat he made, floating on the river while being anchored by a giant, anchor. Yeah, that sounded really redundant, alright. Design wise, the boat looked exactly the same as the boat he made back when he was back at that archipelago. Just this time, it didn¡¯t have a sail and a paddle, since it didn¡¯t need those. His plan was, for both of them to get on, cut off the rope tying the boat to the anchor, and said across the rivers. By the time they reached the next island, he would tie another anchor to the ship and throw it onto the island, and done. Success rate? About 57% I should say. The plan could either work, or they could crash and the boat could break, or they could just continue to drift along the floating river. Did he consider this? Yes, very much so. Why is he still trying to do this? Because he¡¯s obviously not sane. But hey, sitting here forever would probably get them killed! He would rather die trying than die without any effort! He¡¯s got pride, alright? ¡°Well, get on.¡± ¡°A-Are you sure¡­¡­.?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yeah.¡± With a slightly longer pause, he answered so as he got on the boat. After staring at it for a while, she simply accepted it and got on. It isn¡¯t like she could do anything herself¡­ People can¡¯t be too picky in these kinds of situations. Nervously, she stepped onto the wooden boat, wobbling slightly from the extra weight. After confirming that the whole thing wouldn¡¯t just collapse, Alex sighed deeply and conjured a small steel knife. Holding it dubiously in his hand, he cut away the rope attached to the anchor. Instantly, ¡°W-Woah?!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The ship was let loose, and drifted along with the river current. Marie couldn¡¯t hold her ground and fell onto the wooden hull, while Alex managed to somehow keep himself standing by focusing his MP onto his legs. Was this going to become a new skill? That¡¯ll be great! Not that he could check right now! Splashes of water made it into the wooden hull, forming small little puddles of water inside. Hopefully no holes are created, or else their doomed. *Brak!* ¡­Shit, seems like a hole was made. Luckily, it seems like it was on the side, so there wasn¡¯t too much water seepi- *Brak!* ¡°A-Ah!¡± ¡°¡­Well, shit.¡± *Brak!* More and more cracks and holes were formed as the boat¡¯s wooden hull failed to withstand the crashing waves coming from the moving waters. *Brak!* ¡°Oh, come on¡­¡± But, just as another hole was formed on the bottom of the hull, their boat closed in towards the next island, with only about 200 meters of distance left between them. Mind you, from the previous island, this next island was about 10 kilometres away. So the fact that holes and cracks were made as they travelled at insane speeds shouldn¡¯t be too shocking. That is, if you ignore the fact that the wooden hull was already half broken! I mean, their lives are on the line here! ¡°Tch.¡± Clicking his tongue, he stretched out his finger and began his magic. Quickly tracing the outline of a typical anchor, he finished it off with the word ¡®Lead¡¯. Out from the light, came a large sized anchor, usually used in naval battleships. Too big for a small boat? What do you mean? ¡°M-Marie! Tie the rope there to this!¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± Lowering her hands to see, she noticed a small pile of thick rope simply lying there, somehow still on the nearly broken boat. Reaching out her hand, she took the rope and pulled it. ¡°T-Tie it!!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Like her life was on the line, which it was, she tied the rope as fast as she could to the end of the anchor. Alex grit his teeth as he held the anchor above his head, his hands sweating heavily from the amount of stress he was putting on them. Following his directions, she tied the other end of the rope to the end of the boat, the intact one on the back. The front end of the boat was already crushed beyond repair at this point. Yeah, they¡¯re gonna die, aren¡¯t they? Well, not today! ¡°HaaaAAA!!¡± With a strong battle cry, Alex threw the giant anchor straight onto the island. After the small explosion it caused upon landing, the ship was suddenly pulled onto the shore, and crashed. *Bang!* ¡°H-Help mee!!¡± Marie helplessly cried out as she was flung off the boat, which was further broken apart by the sudden force of the crash. Chunks of wooden planks flew in the air. ¡°Guh.¡± For some reason, his [Blood Hound] skill activated in the middle of his fall, causing his stats to rise. Fixing his posture mid-air, he landed gracefully with a cloud of dust following shortly after. Marie meanwhile, ¡°Gua?!¡± Landed with a much less than graceful landing. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t land face first, and fell onto her back instead. ¡°Pi?¡± And out of his backpack, the crab looked on in confusion with apple crumbs all over its face. And so, in the duration of about 10 minutes, they moved from one island, to another island. Damn, 1 Km/minute? That¡¯s fast! [20] Its Tiring Work, Man (Part 1) ¡°Kuh.¡± Using his focused state, Alex fixed his posture mid-air, and landed on his two feet. A small cloud of dust was formed as he touched down. ¡°Gua?!¡± Marie meanwhile, landed much less gracefully onto her back. Luckily, she didn¡¯t land face-first. Gotta savour the little victories. ¡°Pi?¡± With apple crumbs all over its face, which was mostly its shell by the way, the crab peeked its head out of his backpack and looked on in curiosity. How was this thing able to eat in that shaky environment? Hah¡­Who knows. This crab¡¯s full of surprises it seems. It might be the last boss for all I know¡­ But putting that all aside, he and Marie, and the little crab, had successfully made it to the next island, even if they sacrificed their both. Not that it matters anyways, Alex can just conjure a new one. Isn¡¯t his ability broken? Although, he can¡¯t really control asteroids. Looking back to the small island, he easily noticed a small change in distance. There was still a long way to go, but getting closer, even if slightly, was already an accomplishment, along with the fact that they survived a trip like that. Yeah, that was something he didn¡¯t want to fell ever again. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Pushing aside his thoughts, he walked up to Marie and helped her up. She staggered slightly after he let go, but it seems she was able to stand on her own. ¡°T-Thanks¡­¡± Marie softly said as she fixed her shirt, her hands shaking wildly as she did so. Beads of sweat formed all across her pale face. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll walk around for a mom-.¡± ¡°W-Wait! I-I¡­uuu...¡± ¡°¡­?¡± Hearing her suddenly call out like that, he turned around to face her. Realising that he had actually listened, she shamefully looked away. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± ¡°Come on.¡± ¡°A-Ah!¡± He took her arm and pulled her away from the edge. A slight resistance was felt, but Marie gave in and followed him. After they had walked a fair distance away from the floating river bridge thingy, Alex let go of her hand and conjured a set of two wooden chairs. With her still looking away in shame, she silently sat down, her cheeks burning red. Letting out a soft sigh, he dragged the chair and sat down. ¡°Pii!¡± Suddenly, the crab jumped out of his backpack, and landed on his shoulder. ¡°Pi!¡± With a cheerful cry, it waved around its claws in the air. ¡°Geez¡­What do you want now?¡± ¡°Pi!¡± Jumping down from his shoulder, the crab raised its claws into the air and ran around. ¡°Huh? You want to run around?¡± ¡°Pii!¡± It immediately rejected his answer and kept running around. After a while, he came up with another guess. ¡°Swim?¡± ¡°Pi!¡± This time, it jumped up into the air and clasped its claws in delight. Seeing it being enthusiastic like this, he awkwardly scratched his neck and looked around to see if there were any lakes around. From what he saw, it doesn¡¯t seem like that¡¯s the case. Actually, this island was pretty barren. As of now, he didn¡¯t really feel like walking too much, and it doesn¡¯t seem like Marie was either. They both had just survived through that insane boat journey, having a moment of respite would probably be a good idea. No, that is a good idea. They¡¯re humans, alright? Marie is, but how about Alex? Does being a bloodborne count as a race? Hmm¡­ ¡°Hah¡­¡± Sighing deeply, he nonchalantly conjured a small cube. Aiming it to the right, he threw the cube out. *Bang!* ¡°A-Ah?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Upon contact, the cube exploded, and formed a small hole in the soil. Standing up from his chair, he walked over to the hole he made and stretched out his finger. He traced a medium-sized ball in the air, about the size of a basketball. Finishing it off with the word ¡®Water¡¯, he let his magic get to work. And out of the light, came¡­water. Wait a second, what? ¡°¡­Odd.¡± To his surprise, the thing that came out was actually water, not ice. Normally, all the things he conjured would be in a solid state. Once, he tried writing ¡®Liquid Oil¡¯, because simply writing ¡®Oil¡¯ didn¡¯t work, but that whole object broke apart when he wrote that.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Seeing that, he simply dismissed it as his lack of effects. Since his Rank 1 only allowed 1 effect, and, in theory, ¡®Liquid¡¯ and ¡®Oil¡¯ are two effects, which should mean that ¡®Liquid oil¡¯ doesn¡¯t count as one effect. Ironic, because ¡®Shoots out bullet using MP by pulling the trigger¡¯ counts and one effect. I know, insane. The logic behind this world is just plain weird man¡­ If so, then why did the word ¡®Water¡¯ work? His mind was intrigued immediately. Curiously, he drew another basketball in the air, but this time, he wrote the word ¡®H20¡¯, which, for those who forgot, is the molecule for water. Letting it go, a bright light shined. And out of it came¡­a basketball made of ice. Wait, what? Why does that work like normal? What the hell? ¡°¡­Huh.¡± Once again, he traced another basketball in the air, this time ending it with the word ¡®Ice¡¯. Just like expected, a basketball of ice came out. Normal stuff. He already knew this mechanic. Wait, this isn¡¯t a game. Or is it¡­? No, this ain¡¯t a virtual reality game. This time, he wanted to try something different. Just like before, he traced a basketball in the air, but he ended it with the word ¡®Water vapour¡¯, which somehow counted as one effect. And out of the light came, nothing, or to be exact, water vapour, just not visible. ¡°Hmm¡­Does that mean that ¡®Water¡¯ works because I simply know it as a liquid?¡± As he thought about it more, it was reinforced that the knowledge he knew about his own unique skill was very tiny, and that the applications he can use are very diverse. Putting that aside for a moment, he conjured some more water and dumped them straight into the hole. Oh well, at least there¡¯s a small pool of water now! ¡°Pi!¡± Happily, the crab jumped straight onto the pool, and played around. Although, the pool wasn¡¯t very big, probably just enough to cram in a normal-sized jet ski, but the crab was happy nonetheless. ¡°¡­Hmm, does this work?¡± Pulling his wooden chair closer to the pool, he sat down and crossed his legs. With some excitement brewing in his heart, he focused his magic into his eyes, and the world around him seem to fade to grey. ¡°¡­It does.¡± The sight he saw closely resembled that of old classic movies, when the movies were still black and white and there would occasionally be static playing, just without the static this time. That would be insanely annoying. How would he look if he saw himself in this greyed-out vision? Marie looked completely fine there, just sitting silently with her eyes staring into the wind. So, I guess he looks normal too? Yeah, probably. He¡¯s just lost his colour. Also, somehow he pictured himself wearing a tuxedo and a black top hat, along with a golden monocle over his right eye while he was sipping tea. Wait, what¡¯s with that imagination? This isn¡¯t some classic olden movies! This isn¡¯t even a pictured media! ¡°Hmm?¡± But then, just as he was having a debate with himself, he noticed something odd with his new enhanced vision. His eyes carefully observed the crab, and there on its eight legs, he could see what looked like a coat of¡­something. Squinting his eyes slightly, he managed to make out a better view of this strange phenomenon. The energy that was evenly coated around its eight legs was light blue in colour, and he could see slight movements in the energy, slowly moving around, but still keeping the coat on its legs. If he could give a very simply summary, he would probably say something along the lines of an ¡®Aura¡¯ or ¡®Plasma¡¯. Either would suffice. But the main point of interest was on the bottom of each legs. The energy that coated its leg formed into a surfboard-like shape on the bottom of its legs, and every time it moved or turned, the surfboard-like energy thing would turn and wave around. Was that how it ¡®Surfed¡¯? ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Pi?¡± ¡°Come here for a moment.¡± Following his call, the crab quickly stepped out of the small pool. Using his enhanced vision, he carefully observed as the energy coat slowly disappeared when it got to land. Using his left hand, he clumsily drew himself a set of explosive cubes, each with different colours. Would have been nice for a party! If it exploded into confetti that is. *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* Throwing out the cubes like he would with bread crumbs to a flock of pigeons, explosions after explosions occurred, expanding the small pool into a much larger one. Hey, its about 5m by 5m now! Nice! ¡°Wait a second.¡± Using his magic once more, he drew some more water basketballs, adding up the water level until its limit. Okay, he surpassed it a bit, and a little bit of water spilled out, but he doesn¡¯t have perfect eyes, alright? That, or he¡¯s just too lazy to make a border. I say it¡¯s the latter. ¡°There, it¡¯s much bigger now.¡± ¡°Pi!¡± Quickly thanking him, it swiftly dashed towards the pool and jumped straight in. Once more, just like before, eight surfboard-like shaped energy formed under its eight legs. *Byuur* ¡°Pii!¡± Happily, it raised its claws and surfed around the much bigger pool. As if it was a pro surfer, it did some swift twists and turns as it surfed around the pool. Huh, a pro surfing crab¡­I wonder how that¡¯ll look. Oh gosh, never mind. Don¡¯t picture that. ¡°I wonder¡­¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Muu~¡± And so, a total of 6 hours passed by in an instant. If this was back on Earth, or that other world, it would¡¯ve turned evening by now, maybe. But with the ever-present sun shining above, it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯ll be able to view a sunset for a while. That sucks. Sunsets are dazzling spectacles! ¡°Muu¡­Mua?¡± With her back slouched against the chair, Marie slowly opened her eyes. The shining sun above greeted her a warm welcome. Heh, ¡®warm¡¯ welcome. You know? Since the sun¡¯s warm and all. ¡­I¡¯m sorry. I Should go to the corner and reflect now. Be right back¡­ *¡­¡­* ¡­I¡¯m back! Ahem, did I miss anything? No? Alright, let¡¯s continue! With her mind finally back on, she slowly got off the chair and stretched. ¡°Muu~¡± She let out a pleasant purr as she raised her arms into the air, oblivious to the boy watching her by the pool. ¡°Finally awake?¡± ¡°Wa?! A-Alex?!¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Y-You were watching?!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­?¡± ¡°Uuu¡­¡± ¡°H-Hey, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°N-Nothing¡­¡­¡± She answered weakly as her voice slowly trailed off. Worriedly, he tried calling to her several times, but she remained silent. Awkwardly, he tried calling her once more. ¡°Hey¡­If you¡¯re worried, I can help¡­Just¡­not now.¡± ¡°¡­Eh¡­?¡± Pushing aside her shame for a moment, she turned her eyes towards him, but what she saw was¡­bizzare. ¡°I¡­Can¡¯t really move from here¡­¡± Showing a weak smile, Alex hung his head in defeat as he failed to move closer towards the end of the pool. Why couldn¡¯t he move, you ask? That¡¯s because¡­ ¡°H-How¡­did¡­?¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­ha¡­hah¡­¡± He¡¯s floating in the middle of the pool! Yeah, I know. ¡°Pii!¡± In a cheerful manner, the little crab circled around him. Seeing that a little crab doing such fantastic manoeuvres across the waters, his heart was further beaten in defeat. ¡°Oh, shut up.¡± In shame and defeat, he silently said so. After all, this little guy had eight legs, and he had two, but this thing was able to control itself so well! Him meanwhile, he couldn¡¯t even get the surfboard to be in sync! ¡°Hah¡­¡± Status: Damian Alexander Lv 21 Health: 154/203 (+68) Mana: 19/248 (+83) Strength: 89 (+30) Intelligence:108 (+36) Resistance: 92 (+31) Agility: 101 (+32) (+5) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (57%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (47%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (17%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (19%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (22%) [[Concentration]] Rank 1 (18%) [[Third Vision]] Rank 1 (03%) [[Sea Surfing]] Rank 0 (34%) Titles: (Blood Borne)|(Illustrator)| ¡°Oh, what the hell.¡± Ah, that explains why he can¡¯t surf correctly. His skill rank isn¡¯t even 1. It¡¯s 0. Also, getting the title (Illustrator) took long enough. Not that he expected him to even gain a title like that. He already had the skill {Illustrator}, why would he need a title too? ¡°Hmm¡­¡± (Illustrator) A title awarded to an accustomed user of {Illustrator} |Perk|: The skill {Illustrator} gains experience slight faster [[Third Vision]] Rank 1 By focusing the user¡¯s magic into the eyes, he/she is able to see things unseen to the naked eye The flow of magic is now visible When activated, it is impossible to visualize colour The clarity of the user¡¯s vision has become clearer 3% to Rank 2 Derived from the skill [[Concentration]] [[Sea Surfing]] 34% to Rank 1 Thing is, he already knew all this, but having these description about his skills always helps to clarify if they are real skills or not. Also, [[Sea Surfing]] description, you¡¯re not helping. ¡°Hah¡­Alright crab, push me to the shore, would you?¡± ¡°Pi!¡± ¡°Thanks little guy¡­¡± [21] Its Tiring Work, Man (Part 2) ¡°Thanks little guy¡­¡± While he was focusing his hardest to maintain the surfboards under his shoes, the little crab slowly nudged him across the water, getting him closer to the shore where Marie was, standing with her eyes wide open. ¡°And...¡± And finally, after what felt like several hours, he managed to get back to the shore without dropping right into the pool. Seeing as Alex had made it back safely, the little crab went back to the pool and started playing around once more. It¡¯s just like trying to learn swimming all over again¡­ Wait, can a crab swim? Hmm¡­Now that¡¯s a question I can¡¯t answer. ¡°A-Are you alright?¡± ¡°¡­yeah.¡± ¡°R-Really?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­yeah.¡± With an even longer pause, he replied back weakly. His eyes stared aimlessly into the moving wind. Using some of his leftover energy, he conjured another wooden chair and sat down, not realising that his previous chair was still waiting for him. Taking this chance, Marie dragged her chair close and sat down. ¡°A-Alex¡­?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°U-Uh¡­Well¡­I¡¯m-¡° ¡°¡­It¡¯s alright.¡± Without waiting for her to finish, he cut her off, as if he knew what she was about to say. Not that he knew what she was going to say, but he knew the general idea. He didn¡¯t have {Foresight} alright? ¡°E-Eh?¡± ¡°I¡­won¡¯t do that anymore.¡± ¡°W-Wait, I-I mean I¡­¡± Quickly feeling that something bad was incoming, he picked up his backpack, which was on his previous chair, and took out an apple. He gave the apple over to her. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°E-Eh?¡± ¡°You¡¯re hungry right? Here.¡± ¡°¡­T-Thanks¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind it.¡± Successfully diverting her attention, he showed her a warm smile as he took out another apple. She blushed slightly as his eyes locked onto hers. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°N-Nothing¡­I-It¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t smile often?¡± ¡°H-Huh? I-I mean¡­yeah.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not a robot alright?¡± He said jokingly as he took another bite from the sweet apple. Looking at her apple bashfully, she took a small nibble. ¡°Pii!¡± ¡°Here.¡± Without looking back, he took out another apple as he took another bite at his. With his spare left hand, he set it down beside him. ¡°Pi!¡± Happily, the crab got back onto the soil and began munching straight at the apple. Little crumbs came flying out. Can¡¯t this guy eat cleanly? ¡­Oh, it doesn¡¯t have a normal mouth. That¡¯s why¡­ Crabs don¡¯t even eat apples! ¡°¡­I guess the next island will have to wait¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Taking one last bite, he conjured a small leather pouch and threw away the remaining into it. ¡°When you¡¯re done, put the remains in here.¡± He said as he placed the pouch between him and her. She nodded in agreement as she took another bite. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Slouching his back against the wooden chair, he brought back up his status page, I¡¯ll be calling it that now, because saying only status sounds a bit odd to me. I¡¯m the narrator alright? Status: Damian Alexander Lv 21 Health: 154/203 (+68) Mana: 12/248 (+83) Strength: 89 (+30) Intelligence:108 (+36) Resistance: 92 (+31) Agility: 101 (+32) (+5) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (57%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) [Agility] Rank 1 (47%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (17%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (19%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (22%)If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. [[Concentration]] Rank 1 (18%) [[Third Vision]] Rank 1 (03%) [[Sea Surfing]] Rank 0 (34%) Titles: (Blood Borne)|(Illustrator)| ¡°Uwah¡­It¡¯s getting close to 0¡­¡± He shuddered as his eyes noticed how low his MP had gotten. It reminded him of that time his MP dipped right below 0, into what he calls the ¡®Negative Zone¡¯. Alright, that was probably not its name, but it sounded cool, so he stuck with it. But he vividly recalled the intense headache he felt because of it. Even if he had only experienced it once, the pain he felt was not something he could tolerate, especially not in battle. If by any chance his MP dips below zero in the middle of a battle, the battle would be a lost cause, and since there are no save stations, once that happens, his life would be long gone. He shivered when he thought so. ¡°Using my magic would probably be a bad idea.¡± When he had reached such a conclusion, he sighed in defeat and rested his back against the chair. His magic exhaustion seems to have caught up. ¡°Quuuaaack!¡± But the world doesn¡¯t seem to agree. ¡°¡­F*ck.¡± Cursing under his breath, he stood up weakly to see a single bird monster flying in the air. Closing its wings, it dove down with its sharp beak pointed straight at him. ¡°I¡¯ll have to make do¡­huh.¡± Using the magic he had left, he activated [[Concentration]] and dodged its attack. Not bothering to fly back up, it used its beak as a sword and swung it around. He quickly evaded the sharpened edge. ¡°Marie!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± With her asteroids orbiting around her, she charged straight at the bird. Opening up its wings, it flew back up. Marie arrived a second too late. ¡°Tch. I¡¯m too tired.¡± ¡°W-What do we do?¡± As they were worrying about their battle strategy, the crab looked on in curiosity. ¡°Be ready.¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Taking his stance, he carefully observed as the bird began to dive down once more. Making full use of his boosted reflex, he dodged the incoming attack. ¡°Quack!¡± Not letting up its attacks, it began swinging its beak at him. He continued to dodge as he waited. ¡°Mar-¡° ¡°Pii!¡± Just as he was about to call her, a familiar sound was heard from the pool beside him. Both Alex and the bird turned around to see, only for the bird to suddenly scream. ¡°QUA?!¡± ¡°Pi!¡± It seems like the little crab had his own plans! Using its built up speed from continuous surfing, it lunged off the water and straight towards the bird! Using its sharpened claws, it tore apart one of its wings! Blood sprayed out into the air. ¡°Umu?!¡± Putting his hand over his mouth, he turned away in both disgust and fear. His heart began beating abnormally as his face grew pale. ¡°QUUAA!!¡± ¡°Piii!¡± Pushing away the shock it felt, the bird swung down its beak. The little crab easily dodged to the side, before jumping straight to the bird¡¯s other wing. With its orange claws, it opened up a hole in its wing. ¡°PII!!¡± Shouting a strong crab battle cry, it relentlessly attacked the beaten and bleeding bird. ¡°Qua¡­¡± Weakly, it tried to fend off its claws, but the crab¡¯s speed far surpassed its. ¡°PI!¡± *Gra!* With one last mighty swing, the birds body was sliced in half. The battle was over, and the crab was the victor! ¡°Pi!¡± Cheerfully, it watched as a white orb flew out of the bird¡¯s remains, and into the little crab. After it did a little victory dance, it jumped straight into the pool and cleaned off the blood on its shell. ¡°A-Alex?¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± Seeing the little crab jump happily right after a battle, really made him wonder what kind of things that little guy had went through. Could this guy be a survivor of war or something? Its attack pattern was quite different from the crabs he remembered. Oh well, he¡¯ll find out soon enough. ¡°A-Are you okay?¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll be sleeping now.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Cold. The air around him felt oddly cold. Slowly, he opened his eyes. ¡°W-Where¡­?¡± But to his surprise, the sunny scenery of the floating islands he was just in several seconds ago was nowhere to be seen. His two companions were nowhere to be found. Instead, what surrounded him, was a dark and empty room. The walls were built out of steel, reaching up to about 5 meters. The room itself was around the size of half a badminton field. Where could this be? Is this perhaps, a dream? A lucid dream even? He didn¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t want to know. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Looking down, he was surprised to see himself sitting, on what looked to be an armchair built out of pure steel. His hands were resting on the two sides of the armchair. Oddly enough, there seems to be what looked like a shackle, perhaps placed to restrain him. But it was now long gone, the shackle broken and torn in half. Specks of steel could be seen lying around him. Standing up from the armchair, he turned to see what this really was. And what he saw before him, raised some truly terrifying questions. ¡°W-What¡­is this¡­?¡± Behind the chair he was sitting on, he could see an enormous machine. Although, because of the dim lighting, he could only barely see the face of the machine, while the back remained shrouded in darkness. The machine seems to be far past its life span. The multiple scanners and displays built into the face of this machine was broken far beyond repair. The steel had turned a yellowish brown because of the rust that had built up. The cables connected to it was torn and twisted. Just what is this machine? What is its purpose? Questions after questions rose inside his mind, but with no answers to back up his speculations, he simply left them unanswered. Turning his back to the machine, he turned to see the other side of the room. He slowly made his way to the other side, making sure that he wouldn¡¯t slip on this slippery cold steel floor. The one light bulb hanging above shined dimly, poorly illuminating this room to aid his eyes. *Puchi* ¡°Huh?¡± And because of the dim lighting, he failed to notice what was in his path. In both curiosity and tension, he looked down to see what he had stepped on. The colour red tainted his black shoes. ¡°C-Could t-this be¡­?¡± Fearing the possibilities of what he could have stepped on, he quickly pushed away the thought and walked on. His shoes left red trail marks in its path. ¡°H-How far is this- Gofuh?!¡± Just as he was about to ask himself, his face was greeted by the cold embrace of the steel wall. Rubbing his face a couple times, he squinted his eyes to see if there was anything special on this side of the room. And there sure is. ¡°Is this¡­¡± Right before him, Alex could see a pair of sliding steel doors, about 3 meters in height and 1 meter in length. Honestly, what could be the reason to install such a uselessly large door? And to be honest, he didn¡¯t know. The machine, that chair he was sitting on, and this room itself, he failed to see what their purposes could have been. Could this room perhaps be a prison room? He wasn¡¯t sure. The one thing he knew was that this was, even if he wanted to deny it, his own dream, and every dream had its own meaning. If that¡¯s so, then what¡¯s the meaning of this dream? His mind failed to comprehend such a thought. ¡°Oh well.¡± Shrugging the thought away, for now, he placed his hands on the door, and pushed, only for him to realise that this was a sliding door. He silently thanked the dim lights and slid the door open. And what greeted him on the other side was¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Ugh¡­w-what¡­?¡± And that was it. He never managed to see what was on the other side of that door. Slowly, he opened his eyes, to see the ever-present sun he knew all so well, greeting him with a warm welcome. No, that was not a pun. He felt a small comfortable feeling course through his body as he felt the warmth of the sun, washing away the coldness of that steel room. But still, what was that room? ¡°Muu¡­¡± ¡°Ppp¡­¡± ¡°¡­Seems like their asleep¡­¡± Looking around, the dark and cold steel room was no more, and the sight he knew was back into view. The floating islands around him floated in the air with no support, with the three giant rivers flowing in the air. In front of him, he got to see Marie, who was making soft sounds as she peacefully slept on her own wooden chair. The crab seemed to have taken advantage of her and used her lap as a pillow. What a cheeky little guy¡­ Either ways, now that that dream was over, he moved on to the next thing he had in mind. His MP. Before his sleep, his MP had dropped below 10%. And he dearly hoped that it would never drop below zero ever again. That painful headache isn¡¯t something he wanted to feel on a daily basis. Actually, if he somehow managed to get his MP below zero once again, would the painful headache grant him a new skill? Like, pain resistance or something? Hmm¡­Now that¡¯s a tempting choice. Although, if doing that required him to undergo such an intense headache again, I wouldn¡¯t suggest it. ¡°Oh well.¡± Status: Damian Alexander Lv 21 Health: 203/203 (+68) Mana: 160/248 (+83) Strength: 89 (+30) Intelligence:108 (+36) Resistance: 92 (+31) Agility: 101 (+32) (+5) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (68%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) {%^&#$ &f &^(p@%r) R$3^ Y (&&& [Agility] Rank 1 (57%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (17%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (23%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (28%) [[Concentration]] Rank 1 (30%) [[Third Vision]] Rank 1 (10%) [[Sea Surfing]] Rank 0 (34%) Titles: (Blood Borne)|(Illustrator)| ¡°¡­The f*ck?¡± [22] Feeling Dreamy ¡°Muu~¡± And so, the hands of time ticked on. The ever blue skies stayed ever present. The fluffy white clouds slowly drifted along with the slow and quiet wind. The soft howls of the wind were accompanied by the occasional sounds of splashing water. The floating islands hovered there, staying unmoving. The three giant sky rivers flowed along with the swift and dangerous current. Stretching her hands into the air, Marie let out a cute purr as she felt a warm feeling coursing through her body. She displayed a blissful smile as she continued to stretch her woken body. This was a routine she always did upon waking up. It felt quite comfortable. But then, in the middle of the warm feeling, she recalled the last time she did this, and the embarrassment that soon followed. In a hurry, she snapped herself out of her trance and looked around. ¡°C-Could he be watching me again¡­?¡± That was what she thought at that time. And that couldn¡¯t be more wrong. ¡°H-Huh?¡± To her surprise, her surrounding was silent, eerily so. The boy she had acquainted with, the one who fell asleep before her, was nowhere to be seen. And that crab that would always go into his backpack, wasn¡¯t here either. She was, all alone. Just to make sure, she took another look to her surrounding, and to the pool he made with explosions, and just like before, there was nothing around her. The soft howls of the wind echoed in her ears. ¡°Where could they be?¡± She silently asked so as she took a small walk around the area. From the quick session she took to walk around, the items Alex had left, his backpack, and that pouch with the remains of those apples, all of them were missing from sight. Where could those two have gone two? She began to worry slightly, but knowing those two, and how powerful they could be when they¡¯re actually fighting, the worry never really stayed. Not the same could be said for the crab though. Although she hadn¡¯t noticed this, but something felt, how to say it, off. Something didn¡¯t feel just quite¡­right. Something¡­was- Once again, where are those two? ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± But then, from behind her, she heard a voice, a familiar voice she had come to know in these past few days. That calm, soft, yet also slightly tinged with worry tone he would always use to talk. ¡°A-Alex?¡± ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± Turning around, she came face to face with the person she was trying to find, and there, along with the little crab companion he would always be with, stood there. Alex titled his head in confusion upon seeing her slightly worried expression. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°H-Huh? N-No¡­¡± ¡°Something is definitely wrong¡­I see.¡± ¡°Uuu¡­¡± Somehow, that quick and collected response made her disappointed. Somewhere deep in her heart, she wished he would react more, but it doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯ll be granting that anytime soon. ¡°¡­You¡¯re blushing.¡± ¡°E-Eh?¡± What did he just say? She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she failed to notice him calling out to her. And just to approve his point, he even conjured a small circle mirror and pointed it to her, and just like he said, her cheeks were deep crimson. ¡°A-Ah¡­¡± ¡°¡­Is something on your mind?¡± ¡°N-Not really¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°R-Really¡­¡± Wah¡­Why did his voice just sound so¡­warm? Uwah¡­Something is definitely wrong with her. She slapped her cheeks to, hopefully, try to snap her out of this trance. It seems that only made it worse, and Alex continued to question whether she really was okay. ¡°Ara¡­She¡¯s going to fall¡­I can feel it¡­¡± ¡°A-Ah¡­I-I was just¡­¡± Her thoughts began to jumble up, so much so that she failed to notice that she had begun to step backwards. And then, ¡°Ah?!¡± ¡°Woah there.¡± Just like he expected, Marie seems to have something on her mind, and failed to notice that she was about to fall into the pool he made for the little crab. Luckily, he had a hunch that this would happen, and quickly caught her as she was about to fall. ¡°A-Ah¡­T-Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Once again, he answered with a quick and straightforward answer. She felt a slight disappointment rouse up in her heart. Not that she noticed it at all. Pulling her away from the pool of water, he brought her away from the water¡¯s edge and conjured her a nice green sofa. She displayed a genuine surprised expression, but she quickly became bashful and her cheeks turned red. Why was that?Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Was he missing something? For some reason, he could feel a bad feeling in his gut. He quickly threw away such feelings. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°W-What is this for¡­?¡± ¡°Ha? It¡¯s for you. To, sit.¡± ¡°A-Ah¡­¡± With an awkward smile on her face, she silently moved to the small sofa and sat down. Somehow, the size of the sofa was just right to fit her. How did he manage to get such precise measurements? It was boggling for her to see such perfect and refined skill to utilise his unique magic. Actually, now that she had seen it several times, she could confirm that his ¡®Creation Magic¡¯ was much more in depth than he made it out to be. Every time he would ¡®Create¡¯ something out of thin air, he would quickly stretch out his index finger, and start to draw something in the air. By the end of it, a bright light would shine, and the object he wanted would simply, appear. It was¡­bizarre, to say the least. But putting into perspective her own magic, which allowed her to control asteroids and make them orbit around her as if she was some sort of star, it didn¡¯t really surprise her as much. But still, a ¡®Creation¡¯ type magic would grant the user an enormous amount of tactics to use. And that just so happens to seemingly fit his collected and tactical style of battle. Unlike Jake, or Zed even, Alex¡¯s battles didn¡¯t rely on pure strength or speed. Or that¡¯s what she thought anyways. She had seen him lift a giant metal anchor without any help while standing on a moving boat. It really made her question whether he really was just a student and not someone with some background of martial arts. Actually, that might explain it. Hmm¡­ I guess she¡¯ll find out soon enough. ¡°Phew¡­¡± While she was still deep in thought, Alex took his time and conjured another sofa, this time with the colour red instead of green. Hey, he can¡¯t control the colours yet, alright? Not that he wanted to do so, it would be such a waste. But looking to Marie, who was oddly silent and deep in thought, he decided to stay silent and enjoy this oddly tranquil moment. Previously, while she was asleep, he had taken his time to walk around this island. From his time taken to survey the surrounding, this island was, just like he saw from the boat, was quite barren. The number of trees on this island was even fewer than the previous island. As for why the crab was with him, it was simply because of his clumsiness. While he was trying to tip toe away from the sleeping beauties, the crab somehow managed to hear him walking away, and cheerfully followed him around. Luckily, this guy was considerate enough to not wake Marie up. This guy was somehow able to read the mood for once! Putting that aside, this island was also oddly empty. From the several hours he spent aimlessly walking around, he didn¡¯t even find himself encountering another inhabitant of this island. Those moles that had put up quite a fight on the previous island, was nowhere to be seen on this one. It sure struck him as odd, but he gladly accepted the proposal of an empty island. If the only enemy encounters he had would be with those annoying birds, then he could probably spend most of his time training to use this annoying skill called [[Sea Surfing]]. Getting that skill to Rank 1 would mean that he wouldn¡¯t need a wooden boat to carry him across those rapid rivers somehow floating in mid-air. Yeah, he¡¯s not going to question the logic behind this world anymore. Anymore thinking and his brain would probably explode. Although, the scene of a floating river seemed quite pale to a gigantic octopus with bladed tentacles fighting against a giant whale who¡¯s somehow able to shoot out water beams from its mouth without having a pair of eyes. Yeah¡­This world is weird¡­ Has that been made clear to you yet? Putting his hand over his eyes for a moment, he silently waited for Marie, who was somehow still deep in her own thoughts. Just what could this girl be thinking about? Not that he wanted to know by force, but it¡¯s not every day he would get to see such a serious expression on her face. Oh well, at least he gets to experience something new with every passing day he spends in this new world. It¡¯s not like Earth wasn¡¯t interesting, but this world brought him many new things to think about, and many new things he hoped dearly to capture with his paint and brush. He¡¯s still a painter, remember? But that aside, it really made him wonder just what could the situation be like back on Earth. After the incident of his school being sent into the sky and suddenly just disappearing, he wondered just how the media would react to such a ludicrous story. Oddly, despite the many life and death situations he has been faced with until now, he felt glad that he was sent into this new world. The home back on Earth, didn¡¯t feel like home to him. He couldn¡¯t feel like home back there. Not after- ¡°¡­No good.¡± Quickly noticing that his thoughts were spiralling down into dangerous territories, he quickly snapped himself out and pushed the thought away, before dumping it into the trash bin and emptying said bin. Wait, he isn¡¯t a computer. After he dumped out all those thoughts he had earlier into the bin, he sighed softly and rested his back against the sofa. Luckily, it seems his eyes are as good as ever. The sofa he conjured was the prefect size for his body. And it seems the same applies for the sofa he conjured for her. Ah, that¡¯s nice. His cheeks loosened up slightly as he shrugged his shoulders. This sofa was just the perfect thing to sit on right after such a long and somewhat boring journey around this surreal island. Although, Marie had just woken up¡­ Ah, whatever. All that matters was that this sofa was comfortable. Isn¡¯t this skill nice? He doubted any other skills would have such a nice utility purpose, unless said skill was somehow able to control wool and materialise into a sofa. Actually, that somehow seems possible. Hmm¡­I wonder what a sheep with the unique skill to control wool would look like. Uwah¡­That prospect somehow seems scary. Trashing those thoughts once again, he emptied the thought bin and turned his eyes to Marie, who was showing a blissful and loosened smile. Her previous serious expression seemed to have crumbled away. She also seems to be blushing slightly. Arara¡­She seems to be asleep. Wonder what she¡¯s dreaming about? He¡¯ll never know. ¡°Fwuu~¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Did she also just purr? ¡­Could this be because she just woke up? A possible explanation, but didn¡¯t she wake up before he arrived? She doesn¡¯t seem to be too groggy either¡­ This girl sure is mysterious¡­and cute, if he had to admit. He wondered what she would react like if she realised that he was watching her like this. Would she be start blushing again? Ah, she¡¯s already blushing though. Hmm¡­ I wonder what would Jake say if he saw this? Oddly, his thoughts began to spiral down into odd territories once again. Realising this, he quickly shook his head and filed all those thoughts away for some other rainy day. Not that he¡¯ll get any rain here but¡­ That¡¯s an expression damnit. ¡°Muu~¡± ¡°¡­She seems to be enjoying herself.¡± He smiled softly as he watched Marie purr once more. Was she even aware that she was letting out such cute soft purrs? Meh, who knows? She might be a cat for all I know. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Somehow, that got him to picture her with cat ears, and it suited her quite well, especially if her cat ears were yellow, matching the colour of her hair. ¡°Ah.¡± Quickly, he realised that his thoughts were beginning to derail once again. Blushing slightly, he filed away the thought of a cat girl Marie into another file and kept it for later. For some reason, he was unable to throw that picture into the bin. Was something wrong with him? ¡°Kuh.¡± Seeing as his thoughts were starting to derail even further, he placed his hands over his eyes and calmed himself down for a moment. All he needed to do, was take a step back, and relax. Just let that soft and comfortable feeling seep in. ¡°Munyu~¡± ¡°Kuh.¡± I-Impossible. Trying to calm down while hearing such cute noises was impossible! Was this another challenge he had to overcome? ¡°W-What?!¡± Without his notice, his hand was suddenly pulled and hugged by Marie, who displayed a peaceful smile as she tightened her grip on his hand. Somehow, he was still able to restrain himself from screaming like a girl, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to keep this straight man act for any longer. ¡°Muu~¡± ¡°¡­¡± A chill crept up his spine as a bad feeling washed over him. Never in his life would he ever imagine his hand being pulled and hugged like some sort of teddy bear, even if it was because of someone like a little sister. Was this how it felt to have a little sister? If so, it didn¡¯t feel too bad¡­ ¡°What am I even thinking?¡± His mind continued to derail further and further, starting from his thoughts about this oddly empty island, somehow ending up to his thoughts about having a little sister. Just how did this even happen? ¡°Must¡­keep calm.¡± He continued to repeat those words to himself, hoping to the heavens that she wouldn¡¯t wake up now and just see his cheeks blushing bright red like this. Heck, he even activated [[Concentration]] for this! ¡°What is she even dreaming about?¡± -Inside Marie¡¯s dream- ¡°So many little kitties!¡± ¡°Meow!¡± Seems to be quite the innocent dream she¡¯s having there. [23] Princess Carry? [[Sea Surfing]] 87% to Rank 1 ¡°Kuh¡­Even after this much¡­It¡¯s still hard.¡± Alex complained to himself as he balanced himself on the calm waters. Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks as his MP was slowly decreasing. The little crab viewed him carefully as it surfed around him, putting its claw against what seems to be its chin. With the little crab as the mentor and his guide to mastering this skill, he continued to slowly drift and move across the calm waters. It was quite a sad sight, but he ignored it. Going back a couple hours, after Alex couldn¡¯t handle the overflowing cuteness anymore, he carefully slipped his arm out of Marie¡¯s grip and got up. Deciding to drive his thoughts away from the previous event, he softly called the crab and began training his [[Sea Surfing]] skill once again. This time, with a much better and clearer understanding of what he needed to do, the percentage left to reach Rank 1 decreased tremendously. Now, with 13% left until Rank 1, Alex¡¯s last remaining task was to master the ways to move around! He was already capable of balancing himself over the water and making slight movements, but finishing the final act and drifting over the waters was still a mystery to him. Thankfully, the crab was here! ¡°[[Concentration]]¡± Activating his [[Concentration]], he further increased his focus on training. If possible, he wanted to reach Rank 1 today, and better yet, in this hour. But he wasn¡¯t setting his hopes very high for such a miracle. ¡°Muu~¡± ¡°¡­¡± However, it seems there was another obstacle in his path to mastering this damn skill. Back on the solid ground, Alex could hear the cute purrs Marie was making as she was sleeping peacefully, showing a blissful smile. ¡°I wonder what she¡¯ll say if she knew this¡­¡± ¡°Mukyu~¡± ¡°hah¡­¡± He let out a sigh of astonishment as his eyes looked over to the sleeping Marie. After all, she has been making those cute purrs for up to 2 hours now! Seriously, is she something of a cat girl or not? That¡¯s a serious question he needed to answer. ¡°Kuh.¡± Realising once more that his thoughts had derailed, he quickly dug himself back up and buried those odd thoughts in the deepest parts of his mind. He also still has that image of cat girl Marie too. He shook his head and once again trashed those odd thoughts away. ¡°Hah¡­Let¡¯s hope for the best, I suppose¡­¡± -3 hours later- ¡°Muu~¡± And so, time continued to move forwards, moving those left behind in the past. Back on Earth, if her mental clock was still going strong, then it should be around evening by this point. However, with the ever-present sun hanging up there in the sky for all eternity, her clock might have some mistakes. Oh well, that didn¡¯t matter too much. At the least she got her beauty sleep, right? ¡°Finally awake?¡± ¡°Muu~¡­¡­A-Alex?!¡± ¡°Hi.¡± Immediately, right as she opened her eyes, she could see Alex standing there, his eyes looking at her with both curiosity and amazement. Eh? Why does he seem slightly groggy? Wait, that doesn¡¯t matter right now! I-If he¡¯s here¡­that means he heard her purr like that right? Right?! ¡°Wawawawa, I, I was just¡­uh¡­uh-¡± ¡°Woah. Calm down.¡± Uwah¡­Hearing such caring and soft words, her heart calmed down slightly. Although, she didn¡¯t mind if he was the one to hear that¡­The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°W-Wait, what am I even thinking?!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± With her cheeks turning bright red, she turned around and dug her face into the back of the sofa she was sitting on. ¡°Oi.¡± He called out to her, but she didn¡¯t seem to have listened to him, or even heard his call at all. Arara¡­This girl sure is troublesome. Not that he minded. Jake was always troublesome, so he was quite experienced in dealing with troublesome people. ¡°So-¡° ¡°Haha?!¡± ¡°¡­Ahem. So, are you okay now?¡± ¡°Uh¡­Uh¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Need more time?¡± ¡°N-No! I-It¡¯s okay! I¡¯m really okay now!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± In a somewhat enthusiastic, and also slight bashful act, she stood up and reached out her hand to him, only to pull back seconds later and dig her face back to the sofa in embarrassment. Was this girl really okay? And then, for some random reason, he decided to ask her a totally normal question. ¡°¡­Piggy back ride, or princess carry?¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± ¡°Piggy back ride, or princess carry? Which one do you want?¡± ¡°E-Eh?! W-What do you mean b-by p-p-pri-¡° ¡°¡­hah¡­¡± Seeing as she was reluctant, either that or she was just too embarrassed to answer, he sighed softly and walked up to her. Using his better than normal muscle strength, he carried her in his arms and walked towards the pool. ¡°A-Alex?! W-What are y-you doing t-to me?¡± ¡°¡­Just wait.¡± With him now standing at the ledge of the dry soil, he made sure that Marie was safe in his arms. From her bright red cheeks and shocked expressions, he concluded, that she was not okay. But either ways, let¡¯s begin, shall we? ¡°[[Sea Surfing]]¡± ¡°W-Waah!¡± Just as he activated his newly learned skill, he jumped off the ledge and onto the water surface. Forming a pair of surfboards on the soles of his shoes, he made contact with the water surface, and what followed after, was truly a miracle. ¡°W-Wha-¡° ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Shouting happily in his heart, he smiled in satisfaction as he drifted across the calm waters, with the little crab also happily joining in. It seems that this guy was also really happy for his successful attempt. But Marie was lost, completely lost. One moment she was one the sofa, and seconds after that she was now in his arms and drifting across a body of water, with her hands tightly holding onto his clothes. In both shock and amazement, she watched as they swiftly raced around the pool of water, the moving wind washing over Alex¡¯s crimson red hair. His hair danced and flapped in the wind. Somehow, she felt comfortable in his arms too. ¡°Ah¡­His hands are warm¡­¡± She comfortable rested her head against his chest, the beats of his heart reaching her ears. ¡°Pii!¡± And of course, the little crab had to snap her out of the moment. ¡­¡­ ¡°Marie?¡± ¡°Muu¡­¡± ¡°Marie. We¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Uwah?! O-Oh, i-it¡¯s over?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Rather awkwardly, he gently lowered her to the ground. With a bashful expression, she let go of his hands and stood back up. She seems to have lost track of time. Seeing as she was still quite antsy from the ride he gave her, he decided to cut straight to the chase. ¡°So, how was it?¡± ¡°H-How was what?¡± ¡°¡­The ride.¡± ¡°O-Oh¡­W-Well¡­It was quite nice¡­and comfortable¡­and warm¡­and-¡° ¡°N-No, I mean was it okay?¡± ¡°O-Oh¡­I-I mean¡­yeah¡­it was¡­¡± What was with all those she just said earlier? Nice, warm, comfortable? In a moment of realisation, he placed his hand over his face, hoping that she wouldn¡¯t notice his blush. ¡°How could I not realise¡­That must have been embarrassing¡­¡± He did an internal facepalm in retort to his absent-mindedness. ¡°A-Alex?¡± ¡°¡­Nothing.¡± Letting out a deep sigh, he moved his hand away from his face. Somewhat shamefully, he turned to her and summarized her words. ¡°So¡­I guess the ride was decent?¡± ¡°D-Decent? That was amazing!...Y-Yeah. I-It really was.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks.¡± To the sudden thank she got from him, she was genuinely surprised to hear it, but she later replied with her own thanks, in which he returned the thanks and thanked her, and then- Yeah you get the idea. This exchange of thank you¡¯s took about 2 minutes to conclude. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s a success.¡± Status: Damian Alexander Lv 21 Health: 203/203 (+68) Mana: 160/248 (+83) Strength: 89 (+30) Intelligence:108 (+36) Resistance: 92 (+31) Agility: 101 (+32) (+5) Skills: {Illustrator} Rank 1 (72%) {Blood Borne} Rank 2 (%) {%^&#$ &f &^(p@%r) R$3^ Y (&&& [Agility] Rank 1 (64%) [Cleaving] Rank 1 (17%) [Blood Hound] Rank 1 (25%) [Magic Manipulation] Rank 1 (34%) [[Concentration]] Rank 1 (34%) [[Third Vision]] Rank 1 (12%) [[Sea Surfing]] Rank 1 (Max) Titles: (Blood Borne)|(Illustrator)| In a state of satisfaction, Alex read his status page with a tinge of excitement in his eyes. Never in his life would he ever learn how to surf, but seeing as the two places he has been in were in someway filled with water, this was a skill that was needed. But either ways, he really was glad he managed to get it to Rank 1 Although the fact that Rank 1 was its max level was quite shocking. [[Sea Surfing]] Rank 1 The user is now able to surf and drift across the waters. The amount of MP used depends on the amount of time and the speed the user is travelling at. Huh, for once, the skill description actually explained the rules and regulations of said skill. It¡¯s quite rare to see those rules, you know? Take for an instance, his {Illustrator} skill as an example. Although it did tell him that he was able to conjure an item by tracing the object, it didn¡¯t really tell him how to apply the effects, or what was even the amount of MP needed to use it. But, oh well, at least he has the skill. Putting that all aside for now, he looked over to Marie, who was still looking away bashfully, playing with her short blonde hair as she showed a warm and happy smile. It seems like he went a bit too far, didn¡¯t he¡­? He was caught in the moment, alright? Oh well, at least she looks happy about it! That¡¯s all that matters, right? ¡°¡­?¡± But, as he was about to derail once more, a sudden chill crept up his spine. Without any words spoken, he activated his [[Third Vision]] skill. The world around him turned monochrome. ¡°What¡­is that?¡± Far in the sky above, although it didn¡¯t look very clear, at all, he managed to see a silhouette, probably a beast of some sort, standing on four legs. It was oddly large for any normal beasts he has encountered ¡®til now. Waves of energy moved and circled around it like a miasma. What could that be? But just as he asked such a question, the beast disappeared, along with any traces of magic around it. Just, what was that? ¡°A-Alex?¡± ¡°Huh? What is it?¡± ¡°N-Nothing.¡± She answered softly and looked away once more, her cheeks still burning red. Will this girl be alright? Hah, who knows? The future is still unknown. Letting out a sigh, he grabbed the pouch of apples he placed nearby and took out an apple for her. ¡°Want one?¡± ¡°E-Eh? I-I mean, sure¡­¡± And so, he managed to get her to look at him, even if for a slight moment. [24] Nightmares, Imagined and Reality ¡°Pipi~¡± ¡°Pipipi!¡± Zooming back to the world of Neiero, the kingdom of Tordge peacefully stood there, surrounded by the defending stone walls, bricks after bricks layered above one another. The happy chirps of the flocking birds were heard in the air. The soft winds blew east, the leaves of the nearby trees flapped gracefully. The fluffy clouds above slowly moved across the morning sky. The sun slowly peeked above the horizon, painting the ground with a beautiful gradient of orange and yellow light. The skies above painted in a mix of orange and red. Since Jake¡¯s and his group¡¯s return to the now devastated castle, a whole day had passed by. The people still blind to what had truly occurred to the main castle of the kingdom. But as they say, bliss is peace¡­or something like that? I think it¡¯s called blissful ignorance, if I¡¯m not wrong. Either ways, inside one of the rooms, within the corridors built and prepared for the now missing heroes, a young boy slowly moved out of his bed. His messy almond coloured hair flapped from the sudden motion. The warm feeling of the blanket he slept in slowly faded away as it fell onto the cold stone floor. Rubbing his dark golden eyes, he looked around to the room he was brought into. Not having any memory of how and why he was put here, a pile of questions cropped up immediately as a sense of distress began to bud. But with a single look to the one window in the room, his cheeks loosened as he came to know that this was Tordge. ¡°Uaah¡­¡± Stretching his hands far into the air, he let out a long yawn as he left his bed. Standing on his two legs, he turned towards the one mirror in his room. From the looks of it, it seems like he was in a good condition, if not slightly tired. ¡°What¡­did I do yesterday?¡± Every time he tried to look back, all he would see was a faint and fuzzy memory of what he had done in the past few days. There would be some small glimpses from time to time, but he couldn¡¯t grasp the full picture. Did something happen? Where¡¯s Charlotte? Zed? Marie? How much time has passed? Even more questions began to crop up as a sense of fear and distress overtook his heart. Whatever has happened in these past few days, he at least needed to find out the safety of his friends! And¡­Maybe find Alex too. He showed a small frown as he was reminded of his best friend, Damian Alexander. A boy who he befriended, and admired at the same time. The one student that has gone missing, leaving him to wonder where he truly is. Thankfully, he had confirmed that he was indeed alive, but Zed was unable to determine his location. If he could, he would¡¯ve ran away from this place to find him, but he didn¡¯t know where to go. So, he was stuck, here, waiting in wonder and suspense as he awaits his return. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Staring intently at his reflection upon the mirror, his heart began to question if he truly was capable to find him, or even if he was needed at all. From Zed¡¯s happiness when he spoke about him, it simply indicated that he was surviving on his own. If so¡­was he needed? That question sent a rainstorm of fear into his heart. ¡°No¡­¡± Seeing this pitiful sight, he quickly wiped his eyes and ran out, slamming the door when he left. The thumping sound of the wood crashing against the stone echoed across the silent halls. With his eyes cast down, he didn¡¯t bother to look around and ran further through the empty halls. A sense of loneliness seeped into him as he recalled the once bustling halls, filled with maids and soldiers. Where had these people gone too? Gritting his teeth, he shook away these foul thoughts and continued running through the halls. His steps echoed against the stone walls, making its way back to his ears. A creeping feeling of dread creeped into his heart. ¡°W-What¡¯s wrong with me today¡­?¡± He silently questioned himself as odd thoughts began to appear in his mind. Along with his fuzzy and blurry memories, he finally realised how weird he has been acting this morning. Something didn¡¯t feel right¡­ W-Why was he¡­? W-Where¡­ ¡°Oh Jake¡­Why did you even leave me to begin with?¡± ¡°?!¡± In shock, he turned around to see the source of such a mocking voice. But once his eyes fell upon the person who said it, he was shaken. ¡°If only you followed me on that day¡­hah¡­What was I expecting?¡± ¡°A-A-Al¡­ex¡­?¡± ¡°Good morning¡­¡¯Friend¡¯.¡± The way he emphasized the word ¡®Friend¡¯ shook him to his core. His eyes swam around in both fear and confusion. Why¡­Why was he here? Wasn¡¯t he¡­The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Missing?¡± ¡°?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even bother¡­Not like I bothered anyways.¡± ¡°W-What do you¡­?¡± ¡°Say¡­You don¡¯t actually care about me, do you?¡± ¡°O-Of course I do! You¡¯re my best friend after all!¡± ¡°Ho?¡± With a face as if he was ready to burst into laughter at any second, he placed his hand over his face and grinned. This time, with a much darker and more malicious tone, he spoke to him. ¡°You have many friends, don¡¯t you? Why bother hanging with me? Why bother come to me?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s¡­because-¡° ¡°Sshh¡­Don¡¯t need to say it. I know it all¡­You¡¯re¡­alone¡­aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°w-what¡­do¡­?¡± By instinct, he began backing away from his friend. But ¡®Alex¡¯ easily noticed his attempt, and walked up to him in an instant. His face only inches away from his. His maddening smile was carved into his mind. ¡°Don¡¯t even lie¡­You¡¯ve always been such a pussy, you know that?¡± ¡°H-Hey!¡± ¡°I find it cute sometimes¡­especially after you learned the truth about me¡­¡± ¡°¡­!¡± His eyes grew wide open, hearing those words coming from his mouth. Seeing him like this, he displayed a mocking grin and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He tried to struggle free, but his oddly strong grip prevented any movement. When had he gotten so strong? ¡°Every time, you would try to cheer me up¡­try to talk to me¡­¡± ¡°U-Ugh¡­¡± ¡°But, really, what can a pussy like you do? You¡¯re just a little bitch, thinking that simply coming to me with a smile will change anything. Ha! What can you even change?!¡± ¡°I-I¡­¡± With tears now leaking from his eyes, he tried to form words to speak, but his mouth failed to follow. Weakly, he tried to break his grip, but instead, ¡®Alex¡¯ tightened his grip around his neck. And then, he finally heard the words he didn¡¯t want to ever hear. ¡°I don¡¯t need you.¡± ¡°?!¡± ¡°You have many other friends¡­Why don¡¯t you find another ¡®Best Friend¡¯?¡± So, with the largest grin he has ever seen him make, Alex put his other hand on his head, and with one motion, *Krak!* Alex broke his neck. ¡°Huha?!¡± ¡°Jake! You¡¯re finally awake!¡± But to his surprise, he was still alive, and very much so. Putting his hand over his chest, he felt his heart beating irregularly, the sounds of his pounding heart reached his ears. Beads of sweat rolled down his pale face. W-Was all that a dream¡­? If so¡­Why did he¡­say such painful words¡­? W-Why¡­? ¡°Jake? You¡¯re¡­crying.¡± ¡°h-huh¡­?¡± Pressing hand onto his face, he felt his hands getting wet. Realising this pitiful act, he quickly tried to cover himself and wipe away those tears, but more kept on coming. ¡°I-I was j-just¡­¡± ¡°Do¡­you want me to leave you?¡± When she said those words, his ears perked up instantly, and his heart immediately recalled the words that ¡®Alex¡¯ said to him. ¡°Don¡¯t need to say it. I know it all¡­You¡¯re¡­alone¡­aren¡¯t you?¡± In fear, his body moved on its own, and he called out to her. ¡°W-Wait!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I-I¡­¡± Seeing this oddly sad and terrified Jake, Charlotte became incredibly surprised, but she did well to keep her cool act. Seeing him vulnerable like this, she finally recalled her job back at her school, and what was the appropriate action she must do now. With a caring smile, she took a chair and sat down next to him. Putting her hand over his, she calmly asked him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Jake?¡± -1 hour later- ¡°I-I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­quite surprised myself.¡± On the opposite side of the castle, which was on the west side, by the way, the conversation between a man and a woman played out. The woman sounded quite shocked, with the man sounding just as surprised. Seeing the man revived, she put her hand over her chest and sighed. Straightening her posture, she displayed a warm smile to the man she served under, also known as the King of Tordge! And the woman who stood before him, was Saya! Having the title as a ¡®Priestess¡¯, she had the task of serving and aiding the king in his time of need. And at this moment, the King very much needed her aid. ¡°But¡­To think we suffered this much casualties¡­¡± ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡± Recalling the report Arthur gave him, he sighed softly. Never in his life would he ever expect such a devastating event to occur, especially not after the summoning of the heroes. And to add more troubling news to the already distressed king, the heroes, all 400 of them, had disappeared. Luckily, he heard that two of them managed to return with the aid of an old friend, but still, where were the rest? Lifting his uninjured left hand, he placed it over his missing left eye, the one he had given up to protect his son. In a moment of silence, he looked over to his other missing body part, his lost right leg, now gone from sight. Sometimes, he would feel phantom limb pains coming from his right leg, but after the treatment he had received, the effects have been reduced, but not terminated completely. ¡°Hah¡­How¡¯s Aurum?¡± ¡°Your Majesty¡¯s son? Umm¡­He should be doing fine¡­¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± To Saya¡¯s surprise, the King began to move out of his bed. Using a walking stick placed next to his bed, he stood straight up. ¡°Y-You shouldn¡¯t move yet, your majesty!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Moving past the worried priestess, he opened the door and left the room. Outside, just like expected, the halls were completely empty. The signs of life previously inhabiting this castle has disappeared as such. It was his failure as a king. From the thousands of soldiers he had under his command, the surviving was only about a couple hundreds. And to know such a fact, truly spoke as to how bad the attack had been. This was the worst attack they had suffered. And he was unable to do anything. With his pent-up anger taking over, he moved his injured right hand, and hit the stone wall beside him. A surge of pain came running through, but his anger negated such petty feelings. With the help of his wooden walking stick, he walked through the empty hallways. The cold unfeeling stone surrounded him, but he was used to such emptiness. This was the aftermath of a war, and he knew it all too well. Not bothering to view the reconstructions happening around the castle, he continued to make his way to his room, and to the room where his only son was sleeping in. But to his surprise, half-way through his walk, he encountered someone he didn¡¯t expect. ¡°M-My King?!¡± ¡°Ho¡­Zed, huh¡­You¡¯ve grown.¡± Upon seeing the pitiful sight of the king walking with only one leg, Zed displayed a pained frown, but quickly returned a smile to the king. ¡°I¡¯m¡­quite surprised to see you here, my king.¡± ¡°I could say the same¡­Zed.¡± The two stared at each other in silence. They both looked at each other without any words, as if their thoughts were connected. With a slightly tired expression, the king sighed deeply and spoke. ¡°¡­So¡­What made you come back here?¡± ¡°I have met an intriguing individual, my king.¡± ¡°Hmm? And who might that be¡­?¡± Zed stayed silent for a moment, thinking as to what to say to this man he owed his life to. For the first time in a while, he answered vaguely. ¡°A red-haired young man.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Hearing those words, the king raised his eye brows in curiosity. He knew, as a fact, that this man was someone who did not consider others as much as he may make it out to be, but for him to be interested in someone else, especially a young man, as he puts it, truly surprised him. He wanted to know more. But looking at his somewhat complex expression, he withdrew himself from making any comments regarding him and quickly shifted the conversation. ¡°Either ways, I must sincerely thank you for bringing back those two.¡± ¡°Those two¡­Ah, you¡¯re talking about Young Jake and Charlotte, are you not?¡± ¡°Yes, yes I am.¡± ¡°I see¡­It is my pleasure to do so.¡± With a faint smile on his face, Zed exchanged a hand shake with the king, who displayed a similar faint smile. After several seconds, the king bid him farewell and left him. As he watched the king slowly leave, a voice called out to him from behind. ¡°I¡¯m surprised.¡± ¡°In what way might that be, Arthur?¡± ¡°To think you managed to stand straight in a conversation with your majesty is truly shocking.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll interpret that as a compliment.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Letting out a soft laugh, Zed turned to face Arthur. The blonde-haired man stood there with no expressions displayed upon his face. He seems to be off duty today, inherent by the fact that his armour and his proud sword was nowhere in sight. He also seems to be slightly relaxed. Both of his arms were covered in bandages, and although he couldn¡¯t see it, he could tell that his chest was bandaged completely. He was lucky enough to not have been turned into a mummy. Ara¡­He seems slightly angry now. ¡°Did you just think of something?¡± ¡°N-Nothing.¡± Narrowing his gaze dangerously, Arthur glared at him for a couple seconds, before letting it go. Zed sighed in relief after that. And then, out of nowhere, he decided to ask. ¡°So, mind to follow me to find some food?¡± ¡°I do mind, thank you.¡± And he was instantly rejected. [25] A Battle, A Crisis, and Worry ¡°Ho? Are you sure, my friend? You¡¯ve been standing for quite some time, have you not?¡± ¡°¡­I do not mind.¡± ¡°Ha! You never change, Arthur!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Seeing the awfully ecstatic Zed laughing before him, he narrowed his gaze and readied his fists. Loading a whole fist load of Magic into his clenched fist, he threw a punch straight at him at an astounding speed, his movements causing small shockwaves to pulse through the air. ¡°Hup!¡± Using full use of his {Foresight}, he easily dodged the explosive attack, stepping back as quickly as he could. Looking over to his slightly annoyed face, Zed let out another laugh. ¡°Hmm¡­How long has it been?¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Our last battle. Perhaps¡­Around 6 years ago?¡± ¡°¡­About right.¡± The two shared a moment of silence with each other, before the silence came to a sudden close. Snapping his fingers, a small explosion occurred right next to Arthur, who put up his hands as protection. With his hair blowing in the wind, Arthur locked gazes with his rival. He tapped the ground lightly with his left foot, and soon after, *Bur!* A metal long sword erupted from down beneath. Picking up the sword with one hand, he pointed his blade towards him, who merely grinned and took a stance, his left foot behind his right one. ¡°Are you ready¡­Arthur?¡± ¡°¡­Always been.¡± After those words, their battle begun. Dashing in with his sword in hand, Arthur swung his blade down. With ease, Zed jumped back and landed, the sword merely cut the air. Grinning widely, Zed punched the air several times, sending a wave of invisible punches towards him. Putting up his guard, he slashed down the incoming air punches. ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Right after, Zed appeared behind him, before sending several more air punches, this time the numbers reaching around 20, however, he did not flinch one bit. ¡°[[Third Eye]]¡± Using his increased vision, he slashed away all incoming attacks. Landing on the ground, Zed quickly rolled left, avoiding a metal pike that sprouted in the spot he landed on. Putting his palm over the bottom part of the iron pike, he sent a shockwave and broke it apart. Picking up the pike with one hand, he aimed quickly and threw out the pike. Taking a step to the right, he let the pike fly by. His eyes still focused onto his opponent, he brandished his sword and charged in. He sent a flurry of swings and slashes towards Zed, who easily dodged the incoming attacks. ¡°Quake!¡± As he was dancing along, dodging his incoming sword, he tapped the ground with his right foot, and a terrific shock was sent outwards. Cracks began emerging as the ground below began to tear apart. Arthur merely stood still and waited for the waves to come to an end. ¡°[[Piston]]¡± Using his spare right hand, he activated his magic once more. A metallic glove emerged on his fist. Using his magic to add some extra force, he sent a devastating punch towards him. Wanting something different, Zed didn¡¯t bother to dodge, and instead readied his fist. With his unique magic coming into play, he traded fists with Arthur. As their fists met, an air explosion occurred, sending waves of wind outwards. The surrounding guards, or what remained at least, quickly took cover, or simply ran away. ¡°Have you dulled, Arthur? Did you think this would be enough to defeat me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Without saying any words, Arthur simply stared back to his rival, who was grinning excitedly. But then, he caught something with his {Foresight}, and stepped away immediately. ¡°[[Eject]]¡± ¡°Woah!¡± Muttering that word, the metal glove on his right hand was ejected out, flying towards Zed, who barely managed to dodge the speeding metal bullet. The metal glove instead landed into a wooden box filled with tools, and broke it apart. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll fix that later.¡± Putting that aside for now, he tightened his grip on his sword and dashed in once more. This time, he decided to add some more twists onto his blade. It¡¯s been lacking lately. ¡°[[Saw]]¡± Holding his sword up into the air, a huge amount of spikes suddenly emerged on the edge of his sword. Applying some magic into it, the spikes began to rotate around the blade, forming a deadly chainsaw-type weapon attached to a sword, not that a sword wasn¡¯t already deadly, but moving on. With his customized blade, he took a stance and swung it down. Upon impact, the sword sent a cloud of dust into his eyes, forcing Zed to close his eyes. Taking this chance, he pointed his sword to him slashed. ¡°Not yet, my friend.¡± Taking use of his {Foresight}, he easily dodged the incoming attacks as he was protecting his eyes from the dust. Once they were out, Zed quickly returned the favour and sent one strong shockwave at him. Putting up his guard, he withstood the shock attack. ¡°¡­Tch.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Clicking his tongue in a slight annoyance, he blew away the dust cloud. Glaring dangerously at him, Arthur set down his blade, and clapped his hands together. Seeing this, Zed felt a sense of nostalgia rise in him, but he quickly set it aside. ¡°Finally. It took quite some time, did it not?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Silently accepting his comment, he prepared the activation of his magic, and this time, it would be catastrophic. Zed seemed to realise this, and he too prepared his own devastating attack. It seems these two are about to end it now! ¡°Sonic Bo-¡° ¡°[[Iron Gro-¡° ¡°Hey! Stop it you two!¡± To their surprise, before they could finish their activation chant, someone else interrupted their exchange. The two, both knowing who this is, turned to the person standing by the door leading back to the castle. ¡°Geez. Have some consideration, would you? This castle is being rebuilt!¡± ¡°Truly, I knew such a fact already.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll just fix it when the time comes.¡± ¡°What is that even supposed to mean?!¡± Seeing as these two men were unable to express any worry for this castle, she sighed deeply and looked back to them. With a stern voice, she began to ramble on about the castle¡¯s safety and whatnot. -Meanwhile, inside the king¡¯s room- ¡°F-Father?!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Somewhat puzzled by the shocked reaction of his son, he raised his eye brow in suspicion. Looking back, everyone seems to be quite surprised to see him walking like this. Just how long has it been since the last time he was awake? ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°N-No! I-I just thought that¡­y-you know¡­y-you should be in bed r-right now¡­¡± ¡°And why might that be? I am able to stand like I am now.¡± ¡°D-Did you not hear about y-your injuries?¡± Now that he said it, it was true. Upon his wake, he hadn¡¯t bothered to ask the priestess about his injuries, or what had happened to him besides his obvious loss of his right leg and left eye. ¡°No, I have not.¡± ¡°H-Huh? W-Well¡­T-They said that, y-your liver was¡­uhh¡­c-completely shattered and torn.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°A-And¡­uhh¡­a-a lot of b-blood leaked out¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see.¡± Somehow, hearing those words seem to trigger pain within his body. When he said liver, he felt an acute pain in his stomach area, and when he said blood, he suddenly felt tired. Has his child gained a new skill, perhaps? Hmm, who knows? Not that it matters at this moment. He seems to be extremely worried because of those words. ¡°H-Huh?¡± Without saying anything, the king patted his head and gently rubbed his hair. After the sudden moment of shock, he quickly showed a smile in delight. ¡°Although he is 14 years of age, he really does still act like a child.¡± Seeing that happy smile plastered on his face, the king himself showed a soft smile as he continued to comfort his worried child. But looking at him now, he managed to notice some slight differences from the last time he saw him. First, his short white hair, which is usually combed neatly, was slightly messy and rough. Second, his green eyes looked slightly darker than usual, as if he had gone through a lot of physically and mentally draining activities. And lastly, although he was still wearing some neat clothing, his dark blue coloured top wasn¡¯t buttoned correctly, and his red cloak that he gave him when he turned 13 was worn quite hastily. He wasn¡¯t very well versed into nobility, but he could at least tell that much. ¡°Aurum, where¡¯s Laura?¡± ¡°H-Huh? M-Mother? Well¡­uhh¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m here, Valdov¡± Although he had asked for her location, it seems such a question was unnecessary, just like it has always been. No matter where he calls her, she will very likely show up. He found it odd, but he pushed it aside. Turning around, he faced his lovely wife and smiled. ¡°Are¡­you sure you¡¯re even allowed to walk.¡± ¡°Surely not¡­but this is my kingdom. I must stand strong.¡± Laura knitted her eye brows slightly when she heard him say such strong words while standing with only one leg. Honestly, she was worried, very worried, so much so she wanted to force him back to his resting bed, but it seems he has his own sense of duty. But, she liked that side of him. ¡°But really¡­Are you alright? Can you even stand properly?¡± ¡°¡­For now, no. I¡¯m forced to make use of this stick. But I¡¯ll make do.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Hearing his response, Laura gave him a bitter smile as her eyes fell upon his missing eye and leg. Seeing him impaired like this, forced to use a walking stick to even move, broke her heart. This nation has participated in many battles, and he himself has fought many times, but this is the first time she had seen him take permanent damage. It just goes to show her just how devastating this attack has been. And if more attacks came, what would happen? It was a terrifying thought, but she casted it aside for now. At the least, her beloved husband was still very much alive. But putting all that aside, she finally recalled what her purpose of coming here was, and quickly informed him of some news she had found. ¡°By the way, we¡¯ve received confirmation on another group of heroes.¡± ¡°Hmm? And where might they be?¡± ¡°They should be in a nearby village. I¡¯ve sent my personal guards to come and pick them up.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± Although he was grateful that some more of the heroes were found, it still begs the question, who launched this devastating attack? Even though he had battled that ¡®Thing¡¯ as seriously as he could, and used as many magic spells as he could muster, but all the attacks he sent were easily sucked away, as if that ¡®Thing¡¯ didn¡¯t even realise. With one flick of its ¡®Fingers¡¯, his whole leg was blown off, and with another, his eye was gouged out. Luckily, it seems his son, who was hiding behind him, came out uninjured, but who, or what, could have launched such intense killing attacks? The more he pondered about it, the more it boggles him. The ¡®Thing¡¯ that he fought looked like a humanoid monster, something he had become familiar with throughout the many years he had went battling, but he had never seen something like that. Just, what was that? ¡°Valdov?¡± ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± It seems she noticed that he had gotten silent, and decided to call out. Her expression seems quite complex, a mix between worry and curiosity. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± ¡°I am, do not worry.¡± -Back in Jake¡¯s room- ¡°I¡­see.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± And so, after the one hour she spent talking with him, she came out, more confused than anything. To summarize, Jake had a dream, where he met ¡®Alex¡¯, who seemed to mock him and in the end of the dream, presumably killing him and waking him up from that nightmare. But she couldn¡¯t quite understand the meaning behind such a dream. In the past, she had dealt with several people, coming to her and asking about advice on nightmares they had experienced. At first, she was quite confused, so she decided to learn more about the context behind ¡®Dreams¡¯. By the end of her research, she learnt that dreams contained many meanings, and different dreams held different meanings depending on the person and what they saw. However, what does a dream containing such specific descriptions mean? For once, she wasn¡¯t able to truly give advice to the terrified Jake, and only managed to encourage him to stand up and walk around, but she wasn¡¯t able to dispel the worry he had floating around in his heart. Right now, Jake was simply walking around, aimlessly trying to get his mind away from the nightmare he had experienced. Meanwhile, Charlotte was still sitting in his room, intently pondering over what to say to help him recover. When it comes to encouraging someone, one must be incredibly careful to not instil false hope into the troubled ones. Her mindset told her to always help someone, putting aside anything they¡¯ve done to her in the past, no matter how terrible they have been to her. Jake was innocent, so she wanted to at least get him out of that terrified atmosphere. Especially after seeing how powerful he could be in a battlefield, seeing him like this felt wrong to her. ¡°Hah¡­I can¡¯t think of anything¡­¡± With a tired expression, she complained silently and dropped onto the bed she was sitting I front of. The bed felt quite rough against her cheeks, but it was still quite comfy nonetheless. Although, the blanket¡¯s still resting on the cold floor. Probably should make the bed¡­ Getting up from her seat, she quickly picked up the blanket and set it down on the bed. After moving it around a bit, she managed to get it to fit perfectly. Seeing the job well done, she sighed in relief. Doing this felt natural to her. After all, she was the one to neat the bed when Marie and her woke up in the morning! ¡°Marie¡­¡± But just as her thoughts reached that point, she frowned as she was reminded of her friend, which was separated from her when they encountered that golden wolf. Luckily, it seems she had become acquaintances with Jake¡¯s best friend, Alex. And from the small descriptions Zed managed to leak out, she managed to at least conclude that he was no pushover. And also, the fact that Zed calls him ¡®Master¡¯ causes some discomfort. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Seeing as there was no hope of finding her now, she sighed deeply and dug her face into the pillow. Well, at least she¡¯s somewhat protected now, right? Yeah¡­ [26] Well, Sh*t Far from the human kingdom of {Tordge}, there existed a surreal world of floating islands, all suspended in the air. Not that {Tordge} wasn¡¯t surreal already, but I digress. Three giant floating rivers flowed from one island to another, creating an odd connection between each island. And there in the middle of all those islands, floated one little island, holding on it an ancient stone pedestal. A couple hundred kilometres away from that island, the island Alex and Marie reached some days ago could be seen. However, the once empty island was no more, and in its stead, was a giant floating body of water, with some small islands floating over the floating lake. Just like the rest, the water floated magically without any support. And there, on one of the small islands, Marie could be seen, sitting there helplessly. ¡°A-Alex!¡± Marie shouted, watching as her friend was blasted away. By a spark of luck, Alex was able to throw her away, but in return, he was faced with the full brunt of that attack. Putting his arms up to guard, he was blasted away, and fell into the waters below. Slowly, his consciousness began to fade away. -Several minutes before- Standing there silently, Alex stared out into the world around him, taking in the world he had gotten himself into. If he were to compare, which one would be deadlier, the archipelago, or this world of floating islands? He wasn¡¯t too sure. Not that he wanted to know. But the reason he was simply staring out like this wasn¡¯t because he wanted to spend some down time to think. Instead, from the moment he went walking around this island, he felt an odd feeling, emanating from down below. It somehow reminded him of that encounter he had with that purple octopus, but that was in the past. This one far felt much more ominous. ¡°Hah¡­¡± Actually, he had actually tried to search for this odd feeling, using his newly gained skill [[Third Vision]], which allowed him to visualise magic current in exchange for the visualisation of colour. But no matter how many times he looked around with it, he wasn¡¯t able to catch anything strange from this island. ¡°Pii!¡± Ah, and just like that, he was brought back to the present. Behind him, the crab was playing around, surfing around the makeshift pool he created, just like always. And there by the edge, Marie could be seen dipping her toes into the waters as she watched the crab surf around. She also seems somewhat lost in thought¡­ Is she having the same problem as he is? Meh, we¡¯ll never know. ¡°Hah¡­What the hell¡­¡± Sighing once more, Alex turned away from the edge of the island and walked back. Standing there wouldn¡¯t accomplish anything anyways. Now, what to- ¡°Piiii?!¡± Just as he was about to think about something, something odd suddenly surfaced from the waters and swallowed the little crab whole, which was quickly followed up by the crab shrieking in fear before it disappeared back into the waters. ¡°E-Eh?!¡± ¡°¡­¡­What?¡± Marie and Alex could only view as the little crab suddenly disappeared into the waters below. They stared on for a moment, questioning their own sanity before Alex finally acted up. His whole body froze as an ominous presence loomed over them. Marie soon felt this not long after. ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°E-Eh?! A-Alex?!¡± Without wasting any more time, Alex quickly ran up to Marie and carried her up. Marie was, obviously shocked at this sudden development, but didn¡¯t mind it that much. Instead, it felt quite warm in his arms¡­ Wait, this isn¡¯t the time to think about that! And just to be careful, she wrapped her arms around his neck. I-It¡¯s just for safety, okay? *Gururururururu* The island around them began shaking. The dirt below began cracking and tearing apart, causing small and large chasms to appear across the whole island. At first it was subtle, but as more and more cracks began spreading across the island, Alex could clearly feel something, some energy pulsating from under them. *Puuushhhh* And then, as the island continued to fall apart, water began to sprout out from within the many chasms, filling in the now expanded pool. ¡°What the¡­hell¡­?¡± Alex watched silently as the island continued to fall apart, enlarging the already large pool of water at the centre of the island. Soon enough, the whole island collapsed, leaving only the huge body of water behind, suspended in the air. The water on the edges of the island seemingly stood unmoving, as if there was an invisible barrier blocking the water from flowing out. Or maybe there was, who knows? *Gururururururururururu* The tremors however still persisted, getting even bigger and even more powerful. Strong waves were sent out from the centre of the island, where the little crab was first swallowed up. Alex and Marie watched as they floated above the waters, thanks to Alex¡¯s new [[Sea Surfing]] skill, taught and inspired by the one and only Mr. Crab! Which is probably dead now. ¡°BUVOO!!!¡± And finally, from the centre of this floating lake, the perpetrator behind all of this came out. And Alex was certainly not expecting such a massive worm-like creature to appear from this island. But the more he thought about it, it made sense that this island was so, empty. All the monsters were probably either driven away or eaten up by this monstrosity. Appearance wise, this worm looked more like an earthworm, having a slimy body that was shaped like tube that was around 1 metre wide in diameter. Its skin was brown, with some occasional black spots peppered across its skin. He could also visibly see some nearly transparent scales, covering the slimy body of the worm. Also, the mouth, which is usually nearly invisible, was wide open and covered in sharp teeth. Yikes¡­Did the crab get eaten by this? Well, I guess it¡¯s in a better place now. ¡°BUVOOO!!!¡± For the first time in several years, the giant worm spotted its food, something it had been yearning for dearly as it rotted away in the depths of the now empty island. Well, I guess it wasn¡¯t really an island anymore. It¡¯s more like a floating lake now¡­ So, in both rage and excitement, the giant worm swam across the water, in an attempt to reach them. Sadly, Alex was also adept at moving across bodies of water, and quickly moved away. With a much larger pool to play in, both Alex and the giant worm practically played cat and mouse as they swam across the giant pool, just this time if Alex loses, he¡¯ll die. ¡°BUVO!¡± Quickly realising that its prey was just as fast as it was, the giant worm stopped. It knew that chasing it in a speed contest will only result in it losing, so it needed to take him down first. With that thought in mind, the worm began to suck the surrounding waters. ¡°Oh, come on.¡± How many times has he met monsters that are like this? It hasn¡¯t even been a month yet, and he¡¯s already seen the same attack pattern about 3 or 4 times! Are all the monsters just asking for some sodium?! Conjuring a small cube of sodium in his spare hand, he aimed carefully and threw the cube into the water it was sucking. As a result-If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. *Boom!* An explosion occurred, sending splashes of water into the air. Alex triumphantly looked on, only to realise that such petty techniques will not damage a monster of that level. ¡°GUUVOOO!!!¡± *Buuuuuusshhh* Out from the gaping mouth it had, an insanely fast stream of water was shot out. Alex was barely able to react due to his [Blood Hound] skill, allowing him to react faster. The water jet landed into water, causing a giant explosion of water. His eyes gleamed red. ¡°I guess not¡­huh¡­¡± I suppose those scales it had wasn¡¯t just for show. Somehow, he felt like this monster knew he was coming, and had that prepared so that it couldn¡¯t use sodium as a viable weapon. What a cheat. Cursing lightly, Alex turned around and continued to dodge the incoming jets of water. Explosions of water happened all around the floating lake. ¡°Marie!¡± ¡°Awawa?! W-What is it?!¡± ¡°Prepare your asteroid belt! We¡¯re closing in!¡± ¡°E-Eh?!¡± Turning his direction back to the giant worm, Alex charged some MP into his [[Sea Surfing]] skill, and sped towards the giant worm. Marie could only watch on in horror as they closed in on the giant worm, who just shot out another water jet. *Boooooom!* Avoiding the water jet once more, Alex continued to speed up, closing in on the worm. Obviously, the worm noticed this, and stopped its attack for a moment. Instead, it began to suck in a huge amount of water, causing a large whirlpool to form around it, with the worm in the centre. Alex was instantly thrown off balance the instance he touched the whirlpool. ¡°K-Kuh! [[Concentration!]]¡± To increase his mental focus, Alex activated his [[Concentration]], allowing him to concentrate even further¡­[[Concentration]] to concentrate, wow, that sounds absolutely redundant. ¡°Marie!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± While making sure not to hit Alex, Marie formed a group of asteroids around them, and made them revolve around them, quickly building up momentum. With that prepared, Alex charged into the swirling waters, making sure not to lose balance as he moved across the dangerous waters. And finally, after they traversed through the whirlpool, they got close enough to hit the giant worm! *Papapapapapapa* However, the asteroids barely made a dent in its tough scales. Instead, Marie¡¯s asteroids were the one being damaged, having chunks of the rocks blown away from the huge amount of momentum they had built up. It seems, this wasn¡¯t a viable strategy either. With that realisation, Alex quickly made it out of the whirlpool. ¡°BUVVOOO!!¡± *Buushh!* Noticing them leaving, the giant worm stopped the whirlpool and began to fire out its deadly water jets. Explosions of water flew into the air. ¡°What now?¡± Alex quickly began racking his brain for any more things he could try, as he was doing his best to dodge both the giant worm¡¯s attacks, and also the small chunks of floating dirt, probably still there as the remains of the island. Actually, how did the water even appear? Ah, who knows? Woah! Better dodge that! *Buuuuushhh!* ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Seeing as Alex was able to dodge even its ranged attacks, the worm began growing impatient. Although it didn¡¯t mind battling something for a long time, it despised persistent preys that held out for longer than it needed to. Luckily, it still had many attacks left unused. Stopping its water beam attack for a moment, it leaked some of its magic reserves into the waters, and using its [Water Manipulation] skill, a skill a tier below that of [Water Magic] it controlled the water it was in. But, just like it did, Alex was able to visualise magic. Once he felt something was off, as the worm had stopped firing, he immediately activated his [[Third Vision]] and saw a burst of water coming from underneath. He easily dodged the incoming water torpedoes, as he called it. It sounded pretty appropriate! ¡°Guuuu¡± Seeing as its underwater attacks were also failing, it moved on to its next technique. ¡°What?¡± Just as he finished dodging the last water torpedo, the direction he was heading at was suddenly blocked as 4 chunks of floating dirt crashed into each other and formed a wall. Although this looked good on paper, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, as he could just jump on the floating dirt clump and then jump off again onto the water. The worm clearly forgot he had legs. ¡°Guuuuuuuuuuuuu¡± Alex jumped back onto the water surface, and continued moving across the waters. Being honest, he could¡¯ve stayed on the island and began sniping the worm from afar, but seeing as his sodium explosion was stopped, he judged that such a plan probably wasn¡¯t a good idea. Being irritated as all hell, the giant worm sent some more magic into the water. Since it can¡¯t catch him, and since it can¡¯t shoot him, then it¡¯ll just block and stop him entirely! ¡°¡­Again?¡± Since Alex was still using his [[Third Vision]] along with his [[Concentration]], he instantly noticed a clump of magic waiting for him just a couple metres in front of him. Without advancing any further, he turned around and surfed away from the clump of magic. Seeing this, the giant worm grew even more irritated. If it could generate heat from anger, its whole body would be covered in steam by now. Right now, the giant worm can¡¯t kill him, and he can¡¯t kill it. The match is locked on a stalemate. Or that was how it looked to be. ¡°BUUUUUVVVOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!¡± In a complete fury, the giant worm sent a tremendous amount of magic into the waters, and using its [Water Manipulation] skill, it controlled the water to form into 3 other clones of itself. Now, with 3 more worms on its side, it was ready to turn the match on its head! ¡°BUVOOO!¡± Returning to its root, the worms began to suck in the water from the giant body of water, building up more water to prepare for an all-out attack. A giant whirlpool, spanning around 10 metres in radius was formed from the tremendous amount of water they were pulling in. Alex simply watched from the side-lines, somewhat marvelling at its actions. ¡°GUUVVOO!!!¡± In unison, the 4 worms shot out a jet of water at him, who once more, easily dodged the incoming attacks. But, just as he thought, the barrage wasn¡¯t over. They continued to fire more and more water, causing huge explosions of water to occur all across the floating lake. But, Alex soon noticed that the water jets weren¡¯t the only attack it was launching. From his [[Third Vision]], he caught sight of hundreds of waters torpedoes, all moving through to catch him. From that moment, his job just got much harder as he was now forced to dodge both the water beams and the incoming torpedoes. Sweat was beginning to build up on his back. And, just like before, the torpedoes weren¡¯t the only thing it had in mind. Out across the floating lake, walls of water began to form, hoping to force him down a narrow path to hopefully blast him away. And it did succeed to a certain degree. ¡°Tch¡­¡± Alex began panting as exhaustion began to pile up, both mentally and physically. His legs felt like mush, and his magic reserves wasn¡¯t looking too good either. If this goes on for any longer, he might lose this, and most likely fall prey to the cold touch of death. ¡°Come on¡­¡± But, just like the worm, Alex too had a plan. Right now, all he was doing was pretty much waiting for the worm to die out, but it seems it¡¯ll take much longer than- ¡°BUVVOOO!!¡± ¡°Gufo?!¡± To his surprise, he failed to notice a water torpedo charging below him, and he was blown up into the air, where 4 jets of water were targeted directly at him. As a last attempt, Alex spotted the nearest floating chunk of dirt, and threw Marie over there. Praying silently in his heart, Alex readied himself and accepted the full brunt of all those water beams, blasting him away and ultimately causing him to fall into the waters. ¡°A-Alex!¡± Marie helplessly shouted as Alex floated slowly sank into the water, his consciousness already gone. Terrified, Marie slowly turned around to look at the giant worm, who was merely staying there, not moving one bit. ¡°¡­E-Eh?¡± Why isn¡¯t it moving? Alex and her was completely vulnerable now, so why isn¡¯t it moving one bit? But not long after she asked that, her answer was revealed. ¡°B-Bu¡­vooo¡­¡± *Byuur!¡± The 3 worm replicas began to morph, before dropping back into the water. The one remaining worm let out a weak noise, before falling straight onto the water surface, dead. ¡­Eh? W-Wait, how did it die?! ¡°¡­!¡± Although it was barely visible, Marie noticed a pale blue, near transparent liquid slowly leak out of the worm¡¯s open mouth. She herself wasn¡¯t very well versed into chemistry, but she at least knew that the liquid she could see was definitely some type of poison! ¡°W-Wait, Alex!¡± But enough of that, Alex about to sink in! Forming an asteroid in her hands, she began to use it as a paddle to slowly move closer to him. If this water was contaminated with poison, it might not be a good idea to dip her hands in. Just before Alex sunk in completely, Marie extended her arms and dragged him back onto the floating island. But even if he was out of the water, will he be alright? After gulping in some poison too? She seriously doubted he would come out alright. And so, while keeping herself as optimistic as she could, she waited for his consciousness to return¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­It was silent all around him. Darkness shrouded his vision, only a single poorly lit light bulb could be seen, shining dimly above him. Where is this? Was the first obvious question that popped up inside him, but soon enough, he recalled something similar happening in the past. Squinting his eyes slightly, he sat up from the metal armchair he was sitting on. The cold feeling washed away from his arms and legs as they left the cold and rusty foundation. Turning around, he once again saw a gigantic machine, broken and way past it¡¯s ages. Its cogs and wires were visible, and many of its tubes and cables were scratched and bare open to the cold and dark air around him. And looking to the opposite side of this dark room, he could just barely see the twin sliding metal doors he struggled up to the last time he was here. However, he didn¡¯t get to finish his journey, as he was brought back to reality sooner than he wanted. If he wanted to see what¡¯s on the other side, that time is now. ¡°¡­Phew¡­¡± Taking a breather, he gathered his courage and made his way to the metal doors. This time, he did his best to make no attention to the sticky substance he was stepping on, coating his shoes in a red coat. Placing his hands into the gap in between the slightly opened doors, he stood to the left and began pulling the door open. Sounds of grating metal echoed across the darkened room, bouncing back into his ears. *Krriiiiiiiii¡­¡­Bang!* After one final pull, the door he was pulling reached its limit, and stopped, before the door decided that it didn¡¯t want to act like a door and collapsed face first onto the floor. Luckily, he somehow managed to dodge that in this shrouding darkness. And there, walking through the now open doors, he saw another corridor, dimly lit by only one light dangerously hanging off the ceiling. ¡°What the f*ck is this place¡­?¡± Taking several steps into this new room, he looked around, hoping to find something interesting in this dimly lit corridor. And sure enough, he did find something, or someone to be exact. Although that someone must surely be dead by now. ¡°?!¡± On his right, he could see a man¡¯s lifeless body, hanged up with a noose tied around his neck. His tongue was let out, dried and torn off by¡­something. His chest was ripe and open with bullet holes. Blood flowed out like a waterfall. And, he was seemingly hidden behind a pane of glass, as if he was some sort of animal in display. It made him sick. His stomach twisted and turned as his eyes continued to stare at this dead body, the remains of a man once alive. Putting his hands over his mouth, he turned around and vomited for a moment. Although the concept of a dead body didn¡¯t scare him as much, getting to see one this close, truly made him sick to the core. No matter what, he would not become like that man. Quickly turning away from the sickening display, he inhaled deeply, and continued his walk deeper into the darkness. Slowly, his figure blurred together within the darkness and disappeared. That was the last moment of memory he could recall before he woke up.