《A Magic Sniper in Another World》 Poll#1: To rewrite or not to rewrite Okay so this whole page is just dedicated to this one poll. It''s just that i''ve read some books here in RR as well as some reviews about them that made me reconsider continuing this series, thankfully, since I already have the magic theory created and written in my laptop and i''m too lazy to delete it, I am now considering whether to rewrite or not. The rewrite won''t make any HUGE changes, just little bits and bops. Also i''m thinking about dropping the whole harem thing... I''ve thought of the first romantic interest for Zack and got good romance and character development in my drafts, but after that, I can''t think of a way to introduce other girls into his story.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Also, that huge info dump in chapter 4... or was it 5.... anyway, that huge info dump didn''t look thatpleasing to my eyes. The only things i''ll change will probably be the structuring of my writing, I don''t know whether that that could be called as a rewrite though... anywho, the things i''ll be focusing on in this series is grammar, the structure and style of writing, and for the future i''ll focus on chap. 6 and writing longer chapters. Please vote in the poll, but do know that I am indecisive and the results of the poll may or may not affect my judgement, but it will still hold an opinion. Lastly, if you want me to add/remove something or to fix something in this story, please comment your suggestions. [EDIT]: No matter what this poll brings the harem is OUT until further notice. The romance part of the story is still far out. Author notes and Questions. (1/24/18) Okay, so again I shall say that harem is OUT... until I find a way to incorporate Random Sniper Gal(RSG)? into the storyline as a romantic interest. If you don''t like harem, pray to every god you know that I''ll be lazy and forget. [Edit:] Btw, if it''s gonna be harem, it''ll only have 2 girls.[EDIT(again):] Someone said that 2 girls doesn''t count as harem, Also, for those who read this story before the first 3 chapter have been edited, you may notice that the lone sniper atop the building now got a partner. Next, for those asking for his bullets: Spoiler: He might use magically created ones, dwarven created ones, homemade enchanted ones, or a mix of all.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Lastly, I have questions: 1. What''s a good name for a knight? 2. What''s the average amount of clips a Barette has? 3. If a planet is twice as big as earth, is gravity doubled? How will it affect the number of days in a year? Or the number of hours in a day? 4. If it affects gravity can I just reason out that it''s magic so the gravity is still the same as Earth? T^T I forgot physics when worldbuilding... damn, i''m better at chemistry.
Edit: I noticed that Ch. 3 had 900 views and Ch. 4 have 969 views. Like, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, PEOPLE?? Why are you skipping chapter 3?! You 69 bastards. What the hell did chapter 3 do to you??? She was innocent! Just because she was named ''Death'', you ignore her??? Ch. 3 is crying over here, you know! Apologize, you ruthless bastards! ........ .... .. Okay, rant done. Author notes and questions (1/27/18) Ranked 841 (now that I say it, it doesn''t sound that impressive... oh well.) 233 followers 17,000+ views 19 favoritesTaken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. 32 ratings Rated 4.4/5 And TWO HUNDRED THIRTY SIX comments.... damn, am I talkative. I could never have reached this without you guys. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! As promised, I''ll try to write short stories/side stories. They will hold some extra information and will give you some new characters. Oh and don''t worry, I''ll still post real chapters alongside them. Please continue reading and I hope you have a good time! Extra Information Skill levels: Level 1-3: Better than average Level 4-7: Skillful Level 8-10: Master/Veteran EX: Better than a Master
EX level skills have been said to level mountains and split oceans (Yeah, Moses was probably had EX Level on water magic). However, EX skill holders are very rare and so dangerous that not enough data is present.
Personal levels: Level 1-10: Average villager/commoner Level 11-20: Minimum requirement for basic guard force (Gate guard, City guard, Security guard, etc.) Level 21-30: Average level for Adventurers and Footsoldiers Level 31-40: Average level for basic knights (As strong as D ranked monster)If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Level 41-50: Average level for Elite knights and can single handedly defeat a D ranked monster, and can win against a C rank one. Level 51-60: Average level for Royal guards and B rank adventurers Level 61-70: Average level for A rank Adventurers and Imperial or Elite Royal Guards. Level 70+: The so called Realm of Heroes, most of the people that reached these levels were heroes. Most.
The highest level to have been attained by anyone from any race is Level 84 by a Human hero.
Hierarchy of beings: (Decreasing) -Unknown- Death Overseers Gods Elder beings Various Races Magical beasts Magical plants Animals Plants Other creatures
Rank of monsters/Magical Beasts: (Increasing) Rank F Rank E Rank D Rank C Rank B Rank A Below are Ranks for Elder Beings: Rank S Rank SS Rank SSS
Currency: 1copper coin=1 Lor 10 copper=1 bronze coin 10 bronze=1 silver coin 10 silver= 1 gold coin 1 gold= 1 royal coin
Lor is the most common currency in the Lorian continent, where Zack is on right now.
Status: 10 points is the average for a normal commoner child of age 13. 20 points is the average for a normal commoner adult at age 30. 30 points is the average for a worker or laborer. Prologue+Ch.1: "The Beginning of it All" [Edited] I woke up and realized I was lying down, but it seems my eyes are still shut. "Ugh. My chest hurts," Still in a daze, I put my right hand over my chest. ''Where am I? Is this the Hospital?''A cusion similar to a bed can be felt from where I was lying down. A gentle voice called out to me, "Does it still hurt?" "A¡­A little,¡± Still lying down, I answered. My voice sounded raspy and I stuttered. "It must be hard on you, eh? This is your first time dying after all" ¡®What? Dying?¡¯ As I thought of that, memories of what had transpired earlier came gushing into my brain. "AHH!!," My eyes opened, muscles tensed up and my head throbbed in pain, I had spasms. ¡®My whole head is in agony! What is this?!,¡¯ I held my head in my hands, "Ahhh!..ghh..ugh!..." I bolted straight up, sitting while clutching my head with my hand, I breathed heavily for a while, and looked at the place where I''m at. "...What... the?," I looked around the ¡®room¡¯ and went slack-jawed. It was white. Everywhere I looked it was white, even the bed was white. It was different from a hospital. There were no machinery, nor were there medicine or anything of the sort. Heck, there''s not even a roof or a wall. It wasn''t even a goddamn room. Everything was white, save for me. And her¡­ Actually scratch that, she¡¯s white too, not the racist way but with the white hair, white skin, and white dress thing she has going on, I don¡¯t have any words except white. And beautiful. Beauty that could even put super-models at shame, she was sitting on a chair beside the bed. Her feet were crossed and she was staring at me with furrowed brows. Her gaze had a hint of worry, but the dignity in it didn''t even seem to be fazed. "Hello, Zack. I''m an Overseer named Alia. And welcome to my realm" The white girl leaned closer amd said.
Hi, The name''s Zack. Zack Blake. Well, as you might be wondering how I died, let''s go back to a few hours before the incident...
Arriving quite early for school at 6:30, like usual I walked towards our classroom, "Uwaah..." I yawned as I went to my seat, hmm... I really shouldn''t have read that novel until midnight. Anyhow, I sat on my chair at the edge of the room. If your asking, then NO. I''m not sitting at usual protagonist seat, I was seated in the front near the door.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Yo! The Honor Student still looks sleepy huh? For how long did you study last night?," A guy came near me and nudged me in the shoulders. "Yeah, yeah, instead of asking me, why don''t you study yourself?" Retorting idly, I shooed him away with my hand. Brown hair, green eyes and a handsome face, he was popular between the girls. His name wad Elliot John Greenwood. The principal''s eldest son. He was one of the few people that can put up with me, but he''s certainly annoying, and often teases me like this. This school is one of those prestigious schools that housed the children of some high ranking government officials, or for those who are just rich or those that are extremely talented. My dad is the Defense Secretary and he applied me into this school. "Hahaha, don''t be so straight laced, Honor Student," He grinned and teased me, I swear he teases me all for the entertainment. "Oh, shut up, will you?," Still shooing him away, I sat at my chair. I was often called ''Honor Student'' by my classmates, teachers, or just anyone in particular too... I didn''t like the title though... I admit that I''m always high ranking in grades, a bookworm and generally silent, so it''s not weird to call me that but... being called an honor student is annoying and just puts excessive pressure on you as you try to meet the public''s expectations. It just puts a lot of burden and stress into me. Well, being an honor student, and another thing. <> A voice came from an earphone that was in my ear. "Roger that, What''s the matter?."I whispered at the comm. I was a Special Lieutenant in the defense force and was hired about a month ago by my father. It''s always been kept as a secret since I mostly gather information, also, if the press finds out about this, no doubt they''d come in flocks and talk about things like Child Labor or something. It''s really bothersome. <> The officer at the end of the line seems to be hurrying, however it was interrupted. Kriiiiiiiing. The call was cut short as the school bell rang and signified the start of classes. "Ah sorry, classes is starting. Anyway, Dad''s there right? Then you wouldn''t have to worry." I pulled out the earphone cord from my phone and turned it off, even though I already started working since a month ago, I still don''t really know what ''urgent'' means for them, I''m new! What did you expect? There was even this one time where they called ''urgent'' and I was only given a rulers worth of paperwork. I looked around, and before I noticed everyone was already present. The teacher arrived and reached her table. "Hello again, everyo¡ª" And was interrupted. BOOOM! Before she could even finish, a loud bang was heard from outside. "AAahh!" "Wh-what the hell?!" "What was that?!" A chorus of voices shouted in fear, confusion, and panic. "Everyone! GET DOWN!" The teacher desperately shouted at her students who were panicked or dazed. The students complied and ducked down, just then, gunshots was heard. After 5 minutes gunshots still resounded around the campus. Then... BOOOM! "Ahhhh!!" Screams resounded in the room yet again. During all this, I was turning on the phone that I turned off earlier. Ding! It generated a high-pitched sound as it turned on. "Finally!," I shouted to myself. I wore the earphones and started calling the number that did so earlier. "This is Zack! Do you copy?!" <> "I don''t know!, is this the ''urgent'' thing you said? Is this a fucking terrorist attack!?" I asked the line in a hurry. <> A different voice came through the comms, it was deeper and stricter, it was undoubtedly my Dad on the other end. Ughh. Shit, what now, shit, shit, shit, shiiit... wait... I have to calm down first... I breath heavily while closing my eyes. Then I replied with a tense expression. "Roger that." It seems that the circumstances just keeps getting worse for me though. "ALL OF YOU! Don''t move!, " A voice boomed over the room and a burly man wearing a ski mask and bullet proof vest came through the door, holding a semi-auto rifle. "Ughh. This is too troublesome, you better give me a raise." I rolled my eyes and secretly pulled out knives from my vest. Ch.2 "The Beginning of it All"(Part 2) [Edited] A voice boomed over the room and a burly man wearing a ski mask and bullet proof vest came through the door, holding a semi-auto rifle. "Ughh. This is too troublesome, you better give me a raise." I rolled my eyes and secretly pulled out knives from my vest. My classmates were scared out of their wits. Everyone has probably already imagined saving the school single-handedly from a terrorist attack such as this. But when facing the truth of the situation, it seems that they can do nothing but cry and cower in fear. Knowing what''s going to happen next, I wait. "Umm, wh..what is happening and what do you want??" Just as I thought, a hero pops up. Who? Of course it''s Eliott. During times like this, the leader of the class would usually speak up first. It might be because of a sense of responsilbility, plain bravery, or just astounding stupidity. He would be the calmest guy in the class if I wasn''t here, though. (Let''s forget my panic earlier, alright?) Standing up while raising his hand, Eliott said that. Everyone''s attention gathered onto him. The man that was standing right in front of me, also turned his body to Elliot who was at the middle of the room. "Elise. Elise B. Tyson. Where is she?" The man''s rough voice resounded in the silent room. Elise B. Tyson was the name of the president''s daughter. It seems that they really were aiming for her. I wonder, is it for revenge? money? or morality?. Whichever it was, let the guys at HQ figure that out, there are things that needs to be done first. Grasping my knives, I sprinted towards the man. He looked over to me and saw me running towards him, he quickly turned his gun to me. "Zack!" "Watch out!!,"Panicked screams and expressions came from my classmates. With only a 3 meter gap between me and the man, I could easily sprint to him in a second. I parried his rifle with one knife and stabbed him with the other. Blood gushed from the wound and he clutched it with his hand. I let go of both the knives in my hands and grasped the barrel of the gun. Plling the rifle away from his hand, I took a shot at him in the head, blood and gra(e)y matter splattered to the white board behind him. I rested the rifle over my shoulder and turned around to look at my classmates. There was fear, disbelief and confusion from their looks, even the teacher was looking at me with frightened eyes. "Is everyone fine?" I looked towards them and asked, but it only seemed to fan their fear. Well... with me smiling softly at my classmates after just killing a man and still being bathed in his blood, it would be stranger if it didn''t... I might be a sociopath...If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I shrugged and walked towards Elliott after picking up both my knives with one hand. "Here, take this, protect them." I nudged the unstained knife to Elliot, who was apparently dumbfounded, with eyes wide and his mouth hanging. Elliot was the most trustworthy guy in class, though he likes to tease people, he''s social and doesn''t necessarily act arrogant or haughty. He''s frank and would often even say unnecessary words, but he was a good guy. He still to spoke to me, even when i''m emitting what some call a "Please-go-away-don''t-talk-to-me" aura. I''m an introvert okay? I''m not lonely... or anything. Shut up, go away. *sniff* Anywaaaay. I turned away from him and towards the fallen man after giving the knife. I searched his body for useful items or something that indicates an organization of some sort. After the communication from Dad earlier, they''ve cut the line already. Probably to keep it secret that they are contacting someone from the inside. A secret from both the terrorists and the media. I look towards my classmates. Some of my them were crying, someone vomited and some were still at a daze, those who have calmed down to some degree have been called Elliott, they were trying to calm the rest. The teacher, well... she''s having a panic attack. It can''t be helped, they saw a murder for the first time after all. But to my defense. Technichally, it was self defense. The first time I saw happen with my eyes, I was 10 years old. It was traumatic to say the least. It was a gory and unclean murder. I cried and vomited after seeing that. I lost appetite and was even having nightmares, I couldn''t sleep and eat properly that I became too sickly and was even hospitalized once. To summarize, it was horrible. It wasn''t weird that they had these expressions and reactions, they would probably even have traumas about these. No, scratch that, i''m pretty sure that most of them will.
I gathered all the useful things that was on the man. 1. A knife. It''s a bit bigger than mine. 2. The rifle. It was a semi-automatic assault rifle. Silencer equipped. 3. Comm. Device. No communications have been recieved. 4. Bulletproof vest. With a stroke of luck, it was the same size as one I would wear. It was a light weight kevlar vest that has no ceramic plates. ...The man was definitely feeling tight while wearing these. 5. 5 magazines with 20 rounds each That was all the things that was in him, to be honest, this guy had pretty poor gear... he''s probably just a goon sent to see whether Elise was here or not. He had bad luck though. He was sent to the wrong room. Elise''s classroom was supposed to be beside ours, it''s so I could monitor her. I''m the so called ''guardian'', but they placed me in another room so it wouldnt be too conspicuous. I still monitor her, but only through hidden cameras, just so you know, I don''t invade her privacy, if I did, the president might even kill me personally, you know? *shudder* Unfortunately, I only started putting up the cameras about a week ago, only the ones in their room was working. Their class sometimes have chemistry where they would go to the lab at the 3rd floor, and today, fortunately or unfortunately, is such a day. I''m currently at our room at the left edge of the second floor, by the way. After collecting the materials, equipping them, and covering the dead body with a curtain taking from the windows, I once again went towards Elliot. "Elliot, stay here. Do not leave this room. I''ll take care of this mess." "What!? You''re going out there?! It''s fucking dangerous, you know! Are you stupid or something?! I know you''re quite skilled but you just can''t do it!," He looked towards the covered corpse but quickly returned his gaze onto me. "Hey, I know. But it''s my job. Plus," I tapped the rifle i''m holding in my hand. "It''s what this is for." "But without you here, our classmates will panic! The teacher''s having a panic attack, if there is no leader, they''ll completely break down!" He was desperate now, He grabbed my shoulder with one hand and gestured towards everyone with the other. "That," I grinned at him, "Is your job. Sorry, but i''ve got to go out a little bit." I moved his hand away from my sholder, turned my body towards the door and went outside. I''ve got a job to accomplish. Ch.3: "Death" [Edited] I''ve got a job to accomplish. ¡°Wait!,¡± He yelled and rushed after me just as I was about to close the door behind me. ¡°What is it?,¡± I scowled at him, ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, someone might die.¡± ¡°I know, but you¡¯re going to secure Elise right?,¡± he asked as he put his hand on his back pocket, ¡°You might need this.¡± He handed me a card that looks like an ATM card, it had a magnetic strip on it as well. After seeing that, I recognized it almost instantly. ¡°It¡¯s the key for the chem. lab, isn¡¯t it?¡± I put the card in my pocket. After that, I sighed. ¡°I was planning to destroy the mechanism, but I guess this is easier, isn¡¯t it? But I thought that only Elise and the principal had one because it was dangerous for it to be publicly open?¡± I narrowed my eyes and looked straight into his. ¡°What were you doing with one?¡± ¡°Well, I am the principal¡¯s son, and my dad doesn¡¯t even go there. So I just took it.¡± He shrugged, ¡°Hurry up, I¡¯ll try to do my best here.¡± As I thought, Elliott really was a good guy. ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± I said and waved at him, I ran towards the stairs. The school is heavily guarded and barricaded, so just what could have possibly allowed invaders to infiltrate? There would be approximately 50 guards all around this school at any given time, 100 staffs and teachers and just about a thousand students. How could they invade this place without someone noticing at least until the first blast? I peek outside a window on the corridor, this one pointed towards the front entrance of the school. Outside the school were media and policemen surrounding the whole place, traces of an explosion could be seen on a crater on the lawn. Mangled and full of holes, corpses littered the ground. Just above the building in the front of the school, there was a glint of light. I look towards it and recognize faint figures of a two people lying down; I guess they''re snipers. That guy probably noticed my figure looking over the window. I hope he recognized my face though¡­ Right after looking at him, blinks of light came from their direction. AH! It¡¯s morse code. After a minutes, they were able to convey: ¡°ARE YOU OKAY¡± Since he could probably see me through his scope, I just nodded at him (or maybe her). After that message, I walked onwards again towards the stairs. It¡¯s located right up this corridor and after turning left at a corner, I would reach it. As I was about to walk around the corner, I heard voices and footsteps in that direction. I quickly halted and put my back against the wall. ¡°Carl, the boss says they still ain''t done with preppin'' yet. We¡¯ll probably stay ''ere to guard til they do.¡± A raspy voice came around the corner; they¡¯re walking towards this bend and they¡¯re getting closer. ¡°Leo, I know, but it¡¯s too boring just to idly be watchdogs here. Come on, let¡¯s have some fun~. We can think of an excuse later.¡± Getting closer. ¡°But what if someon¡ª¡°The raspy voice¡ªLeo tried to make an excuse but he got interrupted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand that the defense force is helluva lot strong but they won¡¯t act if we have the kid.¡± ¡°But still¡­¡±Leo was still trying to make an excuse. They¡¯re probably about 3 meters away. ¡°Oh shut up, come with me, and let¡¯s have some fun with some students¡± Right as they were coming around the corner, I hit one man''s head with the stock of my rifle, I shot the other in the chest with a spray of bullets. ¡°Who are you?!¡± Ah!, this one is Leo. He held his bleeding nose with one hand and the other was searching for his gun. ¡°Just a student¡± I said, just before taking aim, his head splattering. I ran towards the stairs and hurried up towards the chem. lab. I encountered around 5 other terrorists; I disposed of them like the ones before, all of them had the same weapons so it was possible to change weapons or reload. After the 3rd one, I switched to knives and hand to hand combat to preserve ammo. They might have ammo, but of course they already used some when fighting off guards and me. The same goes with my own bullets, they''re slowly getting depleted from all the gunfights. There were no used classrooms in the third floor; a third of it is used by the chem. Lab, another third by faculty/staff rooms, and the last third by empty classrooms. As I came closer the entrance to the lab, I see 4 guards stationed. ¡°Stop! Who are you?¡± One aimed their gun on me and the others followed suit. Shit. They saw me... putting my hands up in a surrendering gesture, I walked towards them. ¡°Sorry, who are you guys? I¡¯m just a student here.¡± I said, smiling wryly and looking at them with fake curiosity. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re not fooling us with all the knife, blood, and Kevlar vest thing you¡¯ve got going there.¡± Another guy said as he scowled and took aim at me. ¡°Well, I have cooking class, my girlfriend is on her period, and I just picked this up on the way here.¡± I shrugged my shoulders at his retort.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Yeah, right.¡± He snickered, He then proceeded to pull the trigger but before he did, to simplify, his head and chest of the guy beside him went,BOOM! Splat!. You see, this place was in the sights of the snipers from earlier. They followed my path and was giving support fire. What good guys, though they were probably just under orders¡­ Taking the opportunity that they were in a daze, I grabbed the rifle I had and shot a torrent of lead. Coming out of the daze, the other two returned fire. I ran to the side of the walls, behind a beam, to get cover. I was able to dispatch one guy when I ran out of bullets, the other guy noticed the silence coming from my side and stopped shooting, trying to confirm if I was eliminated or incapacitated. He went nearer and nearer towards the beam I was standing behind, I could hear his footsteps gradually going nearer. Not waiting for him to come any closer, I ran out of my cover and towards him, he aimed his gun in a hurry and started shooting me once again. I ran in a zigzag line to avoid getting locked on. I was able to come near him, with only minor grazes from bullets. The guy dropped his gun intentionally and started to grapple me, probably forgetting the fact the that I had knives...I stabbed him at the back. The body had spasms and slumped down the floor. I was going to run to the door when an all too familiar click from cocking a pistol was heard behind me. A man stood there, holding a black pistol. I thought I already brought him down; he¡¯s clutching his shoulder while aiming at me. ¡°End of the line. You piece of shit.¡± The man snickered at me. A gunshot resonated. And he fell down¡­ with his head splattered. I look beyond the window and towards the pair of snipers. I smiled at them and mouthed ¡®thank you¡¯. Now, I owe them for saving my life. I grabbed one rifle and went towards the chem. Lab¡¯s door, it was broken apart and pieces of it littered the floor. This is probably where the explosive sound came from earlier. AH! I need to hurry. I ran towards the room and came to another room. As entered, I see rubbles of concrete and bullet holes in the walls; a couple of corpses of guards were lying down. Right when I was going to a corner, someone rammed me to the wall, I lost my breath and the gun slipped out of my hands. I kicked him away to create distance. That¡¯s when I saw his face. ¡°So it was really you, huh,¡± I snarled at him and lowered my stance, ¡°Why? Why did you do this?¡± ¡°Haha kid, it¡¯s just business,¡± He ¨C the guards captain, Peter Myers, grinned at me and readied his stance as well. ¡°So that¡¯s how they got in so easily, huh? The grunts, it also explains why they were so weak though.¡± We both circled each other, looking for openings. This guy was trained military, unlike the goons, he wasn¡¯t weak. The goons had probably been trained for just over a week, way below a standard training exercise; they were essentially just salary men with guns and bullet proof vest. Fights with inexperienced persons are terribly easy, but fight with trained men will take minutes. I don¡¯t have that much endurance. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re pretty quick on the uptake,¡± He scowled, still trying to circle me, ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t have time to train them just as you think, but I did have enough money to gear them up, and with laxatives given to the guards and most of the staff out for vacation, it was easy as pie, I didn¡¯t account for you to be this good though.¡± ¡°Well, people underestimating me often gets me an edge over them.¡± I shifted my stance and punched him in the chest; we were less than a couple of meters apart. He blocked the attack, and counterattacked by punching me in the face. I dodged by ducking and tried to punch him in the stomach, the punch went through but he kneed my face. We both pushed away from each other. He spat blood, and I wiped blood from my nose. After that, we circled each other again, he started by punching me at the temple, I dodged be sidestepping to his dead side and grabbed his outreached hand, I then proceeded to kick his side. I then twisted his hand and broke it, it made a crude snapping sound. He fell down the floor and I punched his temple to make him unconscious. We need him alive for questioning. I ran to a door at the side of the room; this is probably where Elise is being held at. I opened it and found a girl tied up in a chair and had duct tape over her mouth, Yup, this is definitely her. I ran to her and untied her bindings, purposely letting the duct tape be removed last. And when it was removed¡­ ¡°You fucking moron! Where the hell have you been?! I got beaten and tied up and you just arrive now!?¡± she bellowed, still trying to get the ropes on her legs. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± I said, uninterested, ¡°At least be thankful for being saved.¡± ¡°Like hell I will!¡± She screamed at me, she finally untied the bindings at her legs and stood up, ¡°Goddamnit, Zack! Be a little faster next time, I could have died!¡± ¡°I sincerely hope there won¡¯t be a next time,¡± I looked at the wound on my shoulder and smiled wryly, ¡°Besides, they would never have killed you, you¡¯re their bargaining chip.¡± ¡°Ughh, who cares, just get me out of here,¡± She sat back at the chair, she put her elbow on her thigh and her chin on her hand. She seriously lacks a sense of danger. ¡°Wait a minute, I need to report to my superiors.¡± I dialed the number earlier and put the phone to my ears, ¡°Can anyone hear me?¡± <> Voice from the line seems to be the same officer from earlier, fortunately or unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t my dad. ¡°Affirmative, sir. You guys take the lead form here on out,¡± I confirmed. <> ¡°I don¡¯t know their entire amount, but I¡¯ve killed ten of them and incapacitated the ringleader, turns out it was Myers.¡± <> ¡°Copy that, Third floor, Chem. Lab. Oh, by the way sir,¡± I had to confirm something. <> ¡°Who were the snipers stationed at the building at the front side of the school? I have to give them my thanks,¡± I smiled when remembering that pair. They saved my life a couple of times. <> ¡°So they weren¡¯t part of the defense force?¡± <> ¡°No problem, but if you do find them, tell him my thanks.¡± <> ¡°Thanks, Zack out,¡± I terminated the line and looked at Elise, ¡°They said we wait here until they extract us.¡± ¡°So we have to wait here??¡± She bellowed. ¡°You heard me. Don¡¯t worry, They¡¯ll be fas¡ª¡° BANG, BANG, BANG Dry gunshots resounded and interrupted me, A warm feeling was transmitted from my abdomen. I turn around to find Myers limply holding the rifle I dropped with his remaining hand. ¡°Zack!¡± Elise called out to me. ¡°Haha, I ain¡¯t goin down with just that much, kid.¡± Myers snarled. ¡°Go to hell.¡± I got my knife from my vest and threw it to his face. It landed squarely in his eye and it was a critical hit. I had been careless, I should have restrained him, I even forgot the gun¡­ shit. This is where my inexperience shows... The ground seemed to sway below me and I fell to my knees. ¡°Zack! Oh ,oh my god, oh my god, you¡¯re bleeding what am I gonna do?!¡± She went near me, held my back and looked at my wounds. One bullet scraped my side, one hit my abdomen and one hit me at the thigh, it struck my femoral artery. ¡°Call¡­ call the previous number. Tell them I may not¡­ make it¡­¡± I struggled to say my words and I feel my body going cold and limp. I¡¯m losing a lot of blood. Elise tried to call out to me but I¡¯m literally am not hearing any of it, I slumped to the floor. My body feels cold but my back is warm, ¡®it¡¯s probably because of my blood¡¯ I thought. Everything is becoming a blur and my eyelids are becoming heavy. Damn it, damn it. It¡¯s scary, I don¡¯t want to die, please¡­ But then, everything went dark. And that day, I died. Ch.4: "Alia, Info and Transportation" [Editing] ¡°And that¡¯s about all I can remember.¡± I responded, when she asked what I could remember before ¡­ before I died¡­ she had explained to me that I had already died and that my soul was transferred to this place. ¡°It¡¯s good that your memories have returned,¡± She shifted in her seat as if to make herself comfortable, ¡°Now, I will give you a choice, reincarnate in another world far from your own, or to die normally to whatever afterlife your realm has. Choose.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I shuffled out of the bed and stood up on the white floor, I look towards her, ¡°Wait a minute, ¡®to whatever afterlife your realm has¡¯? Does that mean this doesn¡¯t happen normally?¡± ¡°You pick up things fast, don¡¯t you?¡± She chuckled ¡°I do get that a lot, thanks.¡± I scratched the back of my head. ¡°Well, you are quite correct, I don¡¯t know exactly why but you just suddenly appeared here.¡± She said and shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Aren¡¯t you like the god or something? Shouldn¡¯t you know these things?¡± ¡°No, Zack. You misunderstand,¡± She stood up from her seat and walked towards me, the chair disappeared. Yeah, disappeared, like a bubble, poof, it¡¯s gone. ¡°I am not a god, I am above them, we overseers rule over the whole universe, while gods rule over worlds. Most gods does not even know of our existence, and there might even be an entity that is greater than us overseers, and that entity might have sent you here.¡± ¡°What the hell? I don¡¯t understand any of this¡­¡±I put my palm over my head. ¡°Zack, not everything can be explained, much less understood,¡± She continued. She walked nearer towards me and stood by my side, ¡°Now, like I said, I can send you to, what you might call, an alternate or parallel universe, a universe where new components of matter exists, where magic is possible, and to a world of swords and knights. Or. If you choose, I could send you to the afterlife that your realm has. I do not know what your realm¡¯s afterlife is, but each realm can only have one. Some have reincarnation, some have paradise, and some have eternal damnation. Hurry and choose, mortal souls should not stay at this place for too long.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯ll choose, just¡­ give me minute to sort everything out¡­,¡± I gestured for her to stop for a moment and I sat at the edge of the bed, ¡°Can¡¯t you just like, send me back?¡± ¡°Zack, you¡¯re dead, I can¡¯t send a dead man back. Everyone probably already knows you¡¯ve died. Your body may have already been six feet under the ground.¡± She sat next to me and answered. ¡°Okay, you do have a point¡­ but what does this world you speak of look like? What does it contain?¡± I turned towards her and inquired, I¡¯m leaning to choosing the other world¡­ I might find a way to go back using that magic that she said¡­ ¡°I cannot tell you any more information than what I had told you, you would have to choose first.¡± ¡°Fine then, I choose the other world. Now, tell me.¡± I insisted for her to tell me. I won¡¯t risk possibly going to an eternal damnation instead of just living normally.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Are you sure about your answer?¡± She narrowed her eyes and looked straight into mine. ¡°Probably¡­¡± I averted my eyes away from hers, it seems like my soul would be sucked into that deep black eyes she had. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± She nodded to herself, ¡°Now, this world¡ªAetheria, looks almost just like Earth, of course it has to be for it to be habitable. Anyway, the only thing that differs is that this world have monumental amounts of mana and it has magical hotspots, these hotspots can range from castles to forests, anywhere that has surplus of Mana.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I interrupted her, ¡°Mana? Is that what is supposed to be like the ones from RPGs where you need to consume it to use magic?¡± ¡°Yes, exactly. In this world, Aether, as a raw material can be converted by humans and other entities and transform it into usable Mana. Just like how a plant converts CO2 into Oxygen. When humans use Mana, the Mana is then released into the atmosphere where it gets converted into Aether. Like a cycle.¡± She then looked at me. ¡°Yes, I understand. Please go on.¡± ¡°Okay then, now, the inhabitants are humans, but just like I said, they can convert Aether into Mana, something that Earthlings cannot do. There are also different races like elves and dwarves, much like the stories in you world. Your overseer probably incorporated this world into your world¡¯s fantasy literature,¡± She paused, ¡°Knowledge about these races would be better if you gained them in that world instead of here. What I want to clarify for you is this, much like your games, this world is ruled by levels, statistics, skills and titles. However unlike your RPG games, the statistics in this world always changes, it¡¯s due to the inability to truly judge the abilities and talents of any sentient being.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re telling me, even if I¡¯m there I wouldn¡¯t be able use magic? And my stats might just be average?¡± I interrupted her; this is something I need to clear up. ¡°Oh, heavens no. That¡¯ll just be rude don¡¯t you think? With monsters around, you¡¯ll surely die too easily without magic and having average statistics. While being sent there, your body will be optimized to suit the planet, the gravity, climate, natural resistances to bacterium and viruses, and the ability to convert Aether to Mana. Your training will not be wasted and will be optimized fully to your stats. You will also receive your acquired, unique and innate skills and titles based on your past life¡¯s experiences, your level will also be increased to optimal. Does that sound good to you?¡± She looked towards me once again and asked me. ¡°Yes it¡¯s quite enough, actually. Thanks,¡± I softly smiled at her, ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to know, one last thing, I won¡¯t be able to give you currency or living things, but I can grant you something from your world¡­ What do you want?¡± She managed a smile and asked me. ¡°My gun, absolutely, grant me my rifle. Please. Oh! And bullets! I can¡¯t use it without bullets.¡± I grabbed her shoulders and looked straight at her eyes. ¡°Uhh¡­ umm¡­ okay? Umm¡­¡±She looked troubled and her smile turned into an embarrassed one. Oh shit, I got too carried away. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry¡­ ¡° I took my hands away and put it up in a gesture of surrendering. ¡°umm¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­ uh, here,¡± She snapped her fingers, and a sniper rifle materialized in the bed, ¡°The rifle, it¡¯s a custom Barrett rifle, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yup, Anti-materiel, semi-auto, .50 cal. Sniper rifle.¡± I picked up the rifle and scanned it to check if it was mine, I was astounded, ¡°This one really is my rifle¡­ ¡° ¡°Of course it is, there¡¯s probably no problem with it except that it went missing from earth¡­ anyway,¡± She handed me a small leather pouch, ¡°Here you have one hundred rounds, the pouch is magical, you can store about 50kg more of anything not living, they will be preserved and stopped in time.¡± ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s neat, thanks again.¡± I smiled, grabbed the pouch and put it in my pocket. ¡°Great, now you¡¯re ready to go¡± She smiled sweetly and stood up and I followed her lead, we were facing each other when she leaned in closer, closed her eyes, and kissed me on the lips. I was surprised, very much so. And then everything went white.
Ch.5 "A New World" Author POV Thunder boomed and a flash of light decimated any in its path. After the lightning had died down, Zack was in the place where it hit, it seemed that after, or during, kissing him, Alia had transported Zack into the other world. ¡®What the hell was that?!¡¯ Zack thought, evidently flustered, he covered his lips with his hand, ¡®Ugh, that might be part of a spell or something¡­ anyway¡­ ignorance is a bliss.'' On his hands is the rifle, on his pocket, the pouch, and on his vest, a knife and a handkerchief. Strangely enough, his cellphone and earphone weren¡¯t there. ¡®There was probably some restrictions on that¡­¡¯ he thought to himself. And then¡­ DING A high pitched noise interrupted his thoughts; He looked for where it had come from but he couldn¡¯t see anything noteworthy except trees around him¡­ and then he saw it, a floating number in his vision, he tried to look away from it but couldn¡¯t, it simply stayed within his field of vision, in his upper left hand sight specifically. ¡°Umm, okay. What do I need to see my status again?¡± He mumbled to himself, ¡°This number is probably a notification¡­ Ah! Status!¡±
Name: Zack Blake
Race: Human(Earthling/Aetherian)
Job: Sniper|Assassin|Scout
Level: 15
Condition: Normal
HP: 65
MP: 135
Stats: Strength: 50
Agility: 66
Defense: 30
Endurance: 29
Magic: 57
Intelligence: 61
Skills:If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Acquired: Throwing(Lv.2) Shooting(Lv.5) Sneak(Lv.3) Hide presence(Lv.3) Knife techniques(Lv.2) Dagger techniques(Lv.1) Hand-to-hand combat(Lv.2) Reconnaissance(Lv.2)
Innate: Ranged attack up(Lv.3)
Unique: Integration(Lv.1) Assimilation(Lv.1)
Gifted: Appraisal(Lv. 1)
Titles: Otherworlder
Overseer¡¯s Blessing
Kissed by the Divine
Equipment: Otherworldly Uniform
Custom Sniper Rifle
Treasure Bag (Medium)
Military-Grade Knife
He was flabbergasted by the popup. ¡°As I thought, that really was the process, huh¡± he thought to himself; there was an ethereal black panel in front of his eyes. He decided to look at it further, however his eyes wandered to a blinking icon just beside the panel, it had the shape of an envelope. ¡°Is this mail?¡± he said and tried to press the icon with his finger, however he remembered that he was still holding the heavy rifle and tried to put it down the ground, the it dawned on him, ¡®The pouch could contain the rifle!¡¯ He grasped the pouch in his pocket and spread its mouth; he then tried to insert his rifle. Slowly, he inserted the rifle in the pouch; he was astounded that it could really fit the rifle. After putting away the rifle, he looked at the button again and pressed it, the status panel disappeared and a new panel title ¡®Messages¡¯ was now in its place. On it is one message named ¡®Alia¡¯. Zack pondered for a moment but pressed the message nonetheless. And it said¡­ {Zack, did you receive the message? If you did, then good. I now have to tell you some more important things. First would be the status screen, you would need to say ¡®Status¡¯ with the intent to look at it. In it is what you probably have already seen. Now, I need teach you about your status. Let¡¯s start with skills and titles. To put it simply, skills are representations of what you can do well and titles are achievements that you have obtained. You can get skills from titles and vice versa, skills and titles give special effects to the holder, some of them are passive and some are needed to be activated, to activate them, some might need special chants or rituals, however the most basic ones, only needs their name to be said to activate. Now, the levels besides skills indicate how proficient you are at them, Lv. 1 being above average, 10 being master and EX as top class. Next, in the statistics section, normal villagers and commoners have an average of 1 to 25 in each statistic. Some stuff may still seem unclear for you, but it¡¯ll be better if you learn about them yourself, won¡¯t it? Oh, and in case you were wondering, there¡¯s a town about 10 miles north of where you are. Goodbye and I¡¯ll try to keep in touch.} Zack POV I look up at the sky and determined that it¡¯s still early morning. She said that there is a town up north of here, but where the hell is north? This world might not rotate like Earth, so I can¡¯t rely on the star of this planet¡­ ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take the gamble and assume that this planet rotates like Earth,¡± I tried to look up at the sun, but seeing that it is still early morning, I couldn¡¯t really see where it was exactly; ¡°I may have to climb a tree.¡± I looked for the highest tree in the vicinity and decided to climb it. I looked beyond its foliage and saw one of the most enchanting views I¡¯ve ever seen. To my front and right is an almost endless sea of trees, to my back are huge snowcapped mountains and to my left is a forest where the density of trees gets smaller and smaller. I grasped the Treasure Pouch and took out my rifle. I steadied myself in the branch of the tree and looked through the scope of my rifle, I looked towards my left. If this planet is the same as earth, then to my left should be north. As I peered into the scope, beyond the trees, I saw a walled city. I judged its distance to be 10 miles away, just like Alia had said. However, about 5 miles away, north-east of me, is what seems to be a road. Since Alia mentioned that there were monsters that exist here, I should probably be careful, and a maintained road would be safer than a forest. Plus, roads mean that someone may pass there, maybe I can ride their vehicle or something, and that way, I wouldn¡¯t need to walk all the way to the city. I put my rifle back in the Treasure Bag and climbed down the tree. I now have a destination in mind, but before I set out, I checked out the trees of this place. Some look exactly like trees on Earth, but of course, I can¡¯t recognize all of the trees here. A certain flower to my right caught my attention. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s glowing.¡± I went towards it and looked at the plant closely; the flower and its glow had a bluish hue. ¡°I think this is the perfect time to try a skill out, Appraisal,¡± A small panel appeared in front of me.
Name: Chill Flower
It seems that this was all that my appraisal could do. Anyway, I picked the flower up and put it in Treasure Bag. It looked magical¡­ with all the glowy stuff and whatnot and if it was expensive, I might be able to use it as fare when I reached the roads. I put the Bag in my pocket. It seemed that the Bag can actually shrink and enlarge to fit my pocket. Magic, it''s really weird. And thus started my adventure in another world. Ch.6 "Encounter" And thus started my adventure in another world.... ''Huff, huff'' I leaned on the side of tree and tried to catch my breath. I never thought 5 miles was this far... i''ve been walking for an hour and i''m only halfway there. Let me put that into perspective for you, you fought a band of terrorists, died and was summoned into another world, simultaneously, without water, nor food, and was left in a forest. My only saving grace in this hellhole was the chill flower I got, it became an air conditioner... How? I don''t freaking know. It''s magic, don''t ask. I put it in the hidden pocket in my vest that used to store my knives. ''Haah,'' I sighed after I caught my breath. "This is really happening huh," I said seating down the forest floor and leaning into the tree. "My old life, it''s gone. Dad, he must be grieving right now," I muttered to myself, Outside, he''ll just say ''a sacrifice is always needed in times of distress''. But inside, he''s probably bawling his eyes out. It''s what he did when Mom died years ago. I felt droplets fall down my thigh, "Huh? It''s raining?" Looking at this forest, it must have decent amount of rain and water for it to develop, it''s not strange for it to rain now. I look up the sky but it only contained little packets of clouds, no rain cloud was in sight. I wiped my eye and notice that it was wet, I laughed bitterly and muttered, "Hahaha, so it was tears... damn it." I looked up to the sky once again and covered my eyes with my arm. 5 minutes passed like so, after that I wiped my wet eyes and shook my head side to side as if to release my thoughts.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "Okay," I stood up from the ground and propped myself up, "I can do this. If this so called ''magic'' is as versatile as I think, I might be able to go back." I smiled at my new found goal, having a goal is nice, don''t you think? Now, let''s get back to adventuring. ........... Or not. The bush ahead of me started to shake. Reaching towards the Bag, I grabbed it and took out my rifle and 3 bullets. Putting the rifle to my shoulders, cold sweat rolled down my back uncaring for the effect of the flower, I aim towards the disturbance. The hope of it being just a bunny rabbit was crushed when a small greenish-brown humanoid emerged from the brush a couple of meters away. ''Holy mother of god! What the fuck is that?!,'' I screamed internally, I stepped back unconsciously and almost tripped. That something took the chance when I was outbalanced. It screamed something, lunged at me and hit me with some kind of blunt object in the thigh. Due to it''s diminutive stature, it wasn''t enough to break my bones, but it certainly was painful. I winced at the pain and smacked the monster in its head using the stock of my rifle. The monster stepped back in pain. Without any more thinking, I shot it. A bullet hit its chest, but it didn''t fall down. Another bullet, through and it finally fell down with a thud. It''s ugly face still contorted by a mix of expressions, confusion, anger and fear. Releasing a breath I didn''t know I was holding, I took a peek at the corpse. It''s body was as big as a elementary schooler, with ears pointed upwards, a long lose, dangling arms and a face only a mother could love... And the smell! Damn...It was an amalgamation of blood, sweat, semen, urine, and rotten eggs. I quickly ran away from the scene. Yes, the smell was that bad and I''m scared that other creatures will come after smelling the blood and hearing the noise. Who knows what else lurks at this forest, I need to be more careful. --Author POV-- After a half hour of non-stop walking, Zack finally reached the road. He didn''t stroll down it, but instead alongside it, still in the cover of the trees, in fear of thieves are setting up an ambush. He was walking towards the direction of the fortified city., hoping that carriages will pass by him and let him have a ride. After another half hour of walking, he''s still only a halfway from the city and no carriage in sight. And that''s when he heard it. The clinking of metal hitting metal and the sound of whistling arrows. Ch.7: "Unknown Savior" --Author PoV--
As soon as he heard the sounds of battle, Zack tensed up, he remembered that Alia said this was a medieval fantasy world. ''There''s no way that''s not a battle going on.'' Thinking to himself, Zack contemplated on ignoring the batlle or helping. However, the sounds of horses neighing sealed the deal. ''If there''s a horse, then there''s transportation.'' Smiling at himself, he climbed a tree yet again and found a good vantage point. When he was perched on a sturdy branch, he took out his rifle, still loaded with two bullets, and decided to put some more in the magazine. Putting the rifle to his shoulders he looked through the scope and aimed towards the noise. About a hundred meters away, a wooden carriage is being attacked by rugged looking men, and was being protected by guards or knights of some sort donning black armor with white accents. Looking at the scene it was easy to discern who was being attacked. The thieves numbered in the tens and the guards were at a measly seven. But despite that, Zack noticed that they were holding off pretty well, but soon enough, they''ll eventually lose from accumulated wounds and fatigue. Zack cocked the rifle and aimed towards one thief who was going to take a swing at a guard. Pulling the trigger, the bullet flew faster than the speed of sound. The thief''s head exploded before he even knew what happened. Zack was surprised, when he shot the goblin, its head didn''t go BOOM or splattered... ''Was it magic?,'' He thought to himself, ''I better study this magic thing...'' He added another number to his lists of goals. The next thief he shot was an archer, they were skillfully hidden atop a tree but when they shot an arrow, Zack noticed the reflection from the iron arrowtip. Their head, as expected, also went BOOM. The corpse fell down the tree, it''s head, or what remains of it, was a mangled mess.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Everyone stopped what their doing in surprise, and fear. The thieves looked around warily, trying to guess who killed their comrades, the guards were confused and was looking towards each other. Everyone stopped, save for Zack, he shot another thief mercilessly, and his head splattered towards the others at his back. Taking that as an opportunity, the guards went on the offensive. If a guard is cornered, Zack would help, or if a guard is going to get hit, he would help, but if he knows that they can do it themselves, he doesn''t do anything and just observes. Zack knows that he only has limited number of bullets, it might be 100 rounds, but it''s still limited. He has to find a way to create more bullets easily before he spend them without thought. ''Another goal on the list, huh,'' He thought to himself. He already used 13 bullets, one on the green monster and 12 in this support fire. After 5 minutes without any more intervention on his part, the guards eliminated all the thieves that haven''t fled. They turned towards themselves and pat each other''s shoulder, they talked to someone inside the carriage, "Now who might that be?" Zack muttered to himself, still looking through his scope. The guards then turned towards his general direction, knelt down and bowed with their hands over their chest. "Are they... thanking me?" Zack asked himself, slack-jawed. The guards then went back to talking amongst themselves, after that, they went towards the carriage, some went to the coach''s seat while the others surrounded the carriage, the coach then flicked the reigns and urged remaining horses to move. Move... in the opposite direction he wants them to go... they went towards his side of the road, away from the city... "Goddamnit!" He shouted and almost fell off the brach. He wouldn''t try to approach the carriage now that he knows they wouldn''t take him to right direction, he wondered why they didn''t go back to the city if they had wounds or to buy a new horse, but he figured it was none of his business. While the carriage passed by the road near him, he got a glimpse of the inside. Where a silver-haired girl was seating. "NOPE," Zack looked away at the beauty, he removed his eyes from the sights but stayed at the branch, "Last time I met someone like that, I was dead. Nope, No way." He put the rifle back at his Bag, and put his hands up in a surrrender gesture. He climbed down the tree after that and collected the cartridges that fell, he might be able to use it later. And, once again he walked towards the city. Ch.8 "Carriage" I walked towards the city once again, but not before looting the thieves, there might be useful stuff. Turning over the body of one, I noticed it''s a rough looking man with a scraggy beard and scarred face; his skin was cold and signified no life. I searched the pockets in his studded leather chaps and found a few silvery coins stained with blood. After looting 3 more thieves, all in all, I got a dozen silvery coins, one gold-ish coin and a couple of bronze coins. I also got a knife, a couple of daggers, and a long sword. I put them all in the Bag. ''''Better get out of here, a few more minutes and it''ll be a real stink fest,'''' I muttered. Did you know that a few minutes after dying, your muscles would relax and release all your... nasty stuff? Well, now you do. Running back to the side of the road, I continued trekking to the city, though a bit tired and bloodied (from the looting). I started to contemplate this world''s mechanics. I mean, there''s obviously magic, though I haven''t seen anyone using it yet... is magic not wide spread? No, scratch that, I can''t make that conclusion after only seeing 2 groups of people. Anyway, speaking of people, they really looked human... How is that even possible? Did this world follow the same evolutionary pattern as Earth? Then how come goblins? With my thinking bringing more questions than answers, one last question came to mind. "What is their language??" I stopped in my tracks. There''s no way the language here would be English... right? Ding! A high pitched notification sound was heard. "Status" I said hurriedly, willing the translucent screen emerge. And emerge, it did. I ignored my status pages and pushed the blinking envelope button. And in the ''Alia'' tab, this¡ª {
  1. No, it''s not English.
  1. Yes, it''s because of your ''remodeling''
  1. You''re speaking the Lorian language currently.
  1. Yes, you can still speak English.
  1. Yes, I''m watching you but not always
Is that enough answers for your curious little mind?} ¡ªWas her message... can she read my mind? She''s really suspicious.. Ding! {I can''t}¡ªis her response. Yup, definitely suspicious, but, she''s a being greater than gods right? She might have mind reading capabilities. Having some of my questions answered, I walked towards the city again... You know, I¡¯m really getting tired of saying that sentence. I''m still only halfway when I heard horses once again, this time, not ahead but from where I came from. A carriage was being driven towards the city. I once again stopped my tracks and inspected it, from afar, I could only see a dark brown carriage being pulled by similar colored horses, it had a flat roof and stuff are placed over it. When it''s only about a dozen meters away, the coach and I had eye contact. I waved at him and shouted, "Hey, can I hitch a ride?!" He slowed the carriage but still over shot me by a couple of meters, I ran towards the front and talked to the coach, from his looks, he was a middle aged man, he sported hard leather clothing, a short beard and a bald head... "Hi, can I hitch a ride towards the city?" I said while smiling wry, I can''t let this chance go. I''m tired of walking. "Kid, where did you come from?," he said suspiciously while raising an eyebrow, "Did you walk from Falon to here and all by yourself?"Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. "Hahaha, " I laughed wryly, "I''m a traveler, did you see those corpses back there?," I pointed towards the way we came from, he had a shocked expression, "Oh! No, no, no. I didn''t kill them, my horse ran away to the forest after being spooked by that, it threw me off and now I have to walk towards the city..." I waved my hands in front of me, scratched my head and looked down. I''m a good liar, you know? Else, how did you think I made Elliott believe that he can protect a whole classroom of people from armed men? It''s all psychology. (At least that''s what I¡¯d like to think.) "Hahaha, kid, why should I give you a ride? You''re already halfway there! You can do it!" He laughed at me. "Hey, Arnold, just give the kid a ride! Come on! Let''s hurry to town!" A voice of an old woman came from beside me, the window of the carriage was open and an old lady with already gray hair was looking out of it. "Haaah," Arnold sighed, "Alright grandma!" He shouted back and beckoned at me to seat beside him in the coach''s seat. I sat and gave him my thanks. "No problem, I was only joking earlier. Hahaha." He laughed again. ''What a jolly guy'' I thought as he flicked the reigns of the horses. "HYA!" He shouted and the carriage moved onwards.
After 30 minutes of riding the carriage and chatting with Arnold, we finally reached the city. My first reaction to it would be: Tall. The walls were at least 100 meters tall! When I asked Arnold why that is, he said that it¡¯s because we¡¯re at the border. Then he grew suspicious because, ¡®How can you not know that? That¡¯s common sense!¡¯ I dodged the question by saying, ¡®I never thought it would be that high, you know?¡¯ I noticed that there was a huge gate at the side of the wall. Armored knights were stationed to guard it, and a line of carriages were in front of them. We lined up with the other carriages and waited in line. The guards are probably inspecting everyone to make sure there are no smuggled goods and they have the proper documents. After another 30 minutes waiting in line, we still haven¡¯t moved an inch, another carriage has arrived and lined up at our back, one person then got down said vehicle, went towards the cart in front, and started talking with the coach of the other cart. I could hear the words ¡®Battle¡¯, ¡®Monster¡¯, ¡®Corpses¡¯ and ¡®Pancakes¡¯¡­ I¡¯m not sure about the last one, but they probably talking about the battle earlier, there¡¯s no doubt they saw the bodies that littered the dirt road. In the end, I decided to ignore them and be as low-key as possible. After another half hour, we were almost at the front of the gate, the two merchants; at least I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re merchants, that were chatting earlier were already back at their respective carriages. ¡°Hey, Arnold, what¡¯s up with this really long wait time? And do you have water? I¡¯m parched, I can pay.¡± I looked towards him and asked, we became close during this short amount of time. He was even willing to trade the long sword for some silver. He got surprised when I took it out of the Bag though, he said that a Treasure bag of this size was as expensive as his yearly income. When I was asked where I got it from, I said that it was from a friend with LOTS of power. He grew just a little bit wary of me ever since. ¡°I dunno, we just got here. But it would usually only take a half hour at most,¡± He put his hand to his chin and pondered for a while. ¡°Oh, okay, ¡°I nodded at his answer, ¡°What about the water though?¡± ¡°Water?¡± He looked at me questioningly and then remembered, he pointed towards the back, ¡°Oh! Go towards the back, there¡¯s a keg there, I used it to transport wine to Falon and then used it as a water container when my jug broke during the ride back here to Krilka. You don¡¯t have to pay, it¡¯s just water.¡± I got down the coach seat and went inside the carriage. ¡®Krilka¡­ That¡¯s the name of this city huh?¡¯ ¡°Hello, grandma Helliot, Do you know where the keg that has water is?¡± I waved at the old lady, during the travel, I found out that she was ¡¯86 winters old¡¯ which I guess is just a fancy way of saying ¡¯86 years old¡¯, By the way, when I asked Arnold how old he was, he said that he was ¡¯25 winters old¡¯¡­ I know, MIND BLOWN. On that day, I learned not to judge a book by its cover. He said ¡®It¡¯s because of the bald head isn¡¯t it¡­¡¯ with a really serious tone. I could only nod in shock. Okay, back to the present. ¡°It¡¯s the one on the right most side near your end of the cart,¡± Grandma Helliot replied to my inquiry and pointed to the keg in front of me. ¡°This one?¡± I pointed at the keg and looked towards her to look for confirmation. ¡°Yes, son, it¡¯s that one. Do you have a cup with you?¡± She nodded and handed me a clay cup. ¡°Ah, thanks Grandma,¡± I received the clay cup and laughed wryly, ¡°I¡­ was planning on using my hands.¡± I just realized how stupid that idea was. ¡°Hahaha,¡± She laughed at me, I pay it no mind and filled the cup with water. After drinking, I thanked her, returned the cup and went back to the coach seat. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m back,¡± I sat beside Arnold again, ¡°Thanks for the water, did I miss anything?,¡± ¡°No problem,¡± He nodded at me, ¡°And we¡¯re next now.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± I just replied at him and leaned back. After 10 more annoying minutes, I was finally able to go inside Krilka, the fortified city. Ch.9 "_____" After looking at some papers that Arnold passed over, one guard, took off their helm and a black haired woman emerged, smiled at us and let us pass faster compared to the other carriages, looking at Arnold, he had an embarrassed expression. OHHHHH, I see what¡¯s happening here. I grinned and nudged him in the shoulder; I then raised my eyebrow up and down repeatedly. This is where Elliott¡¯s teasing techniques come in handy. ¡°Oh shut up, kid, ¡° He ignored any kind of teasing from me the next 5 minutes. ¡°By the way, do you know any good inns here?¡± I stopped teasing him and inquired about a place to stay. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s one near our shop in the commercial district. We¡¯ll take you there, ¡° He answered, ¡°You would also like to register at a clan guild, to earn a stable income.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll take on your offer.¡± After 5 minutes of riding through the city, we reached a shop named ¡®Crescent Cross¡¯, just like its namesake, a logo is drawn with a cross surrounded by a crescent moon. ¡°We¡¯re here, welcome to our shop!¡± He got down the coach seat and lead the horses to a stable beside it. ¡°Nice naming sense,¡± I said as I got down the seat and stared at the logo. ¡°Thanks, I named it myself, you know!¡± Grandma Helliot responded with a grin and her hands on her hips. Just for you guys to know, she¡¯s not slumping and she reaches my shoulder, okay? ¡°Come, help me unload the cargo,¡± Arnold¡¯s voice came from near the carriage. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s the least that I can do,¡± I went towards his direction and helped him carry some heavy crates, after 4 of them though, I was already panting. Arnold had already unloaded 6 of them and didn¡¯t even break a sweat. ¡°Ha.. Hey, How high...ha¡­ is your endurance stat?¡­ ha¡­¡± I asked him while panting, this dude is strong¡­ no wonder they didn¡¯t need to hire guards to escort them. ¡°Endurance stat? hmm¡­¡± He looked up as if remembering something, ¡°Last time I checked using a status scope, it was around 89 that was a year ago though.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Status scope? They can¡¯t see their status? And his endurance is high! Let¡¯s investigate more on this later, if I ask him now, I¡¯ll really sound like a weirdo. We can¡¯t have that now, can we? After helping out some more after catching my breath and drinking some water, we finally finished unloading all of the cargo into the shop, all in all, it took an hour. It¡¯s already noon. ¡°Come on, Zack, I¡¯ll guide you. Let¡¯s walk.¡± Arnold beckoned me to follow him, ¡°We¡¯ll be back grandma, I¡¯ll bring some food.¡± Grandma Helliot only nodded and went inside the store, probably to organize the goods. ¡°So, where are we going?¡± I walked beside him (I should also include that he¡¯s a head taller than me.) ¡°White Rose inn. It¡¯s a best inn around here that you could afford,¡± He said that while grinning. Oh, I have a suspicion about this. ¡°Is it that one in the front?¡± I saw it about 20 meters away. ¡°Yeah, the one with the flower logo.¡± He pointed at it and continued walking towards it, ¡°Hurry, I need to buy food for grandma.¡± ¡°Does the guard earlier live there?¡± I grinned, nudged him in the shoulder and raised my eyebrows up and down again. ¡°What? No!... Wait, I mean yes!. But she doesn¡¯t rent there, her parents own the place.¡± He got flustered at first but easily recovered. ¡°You¡¯re really into her, huh,¡± I shrugged my shoulders and stayed silent. ¡°Well, yeah¡­ We were childhood friends; Of course I would like her.¡± He scratched the back of his neck. ¡°Who likes who?¡± A gentle voice was heard near Arnold, he stopped at his tracks immediately. A black haired woman appeared, she didn¡¯t wear her armor this moment. She was a little taller than I am. ¡°Lau¡­ra?¡± As soon he saw her, he tensed up and stuttered, ¡°Ah! Umm¡­ ughh¡­ This is Zack! He¡­ uhh¡­ likes porcupines! Yeah! Zack likes porcupines!¡± I like what now? Laura and I looked towards him with a ¡®What-the-hell-is-this-guy-talking-about?¡¯ look. ¡°Haah¡­¡±I sighed, at this embarrassing sight, I looked at Laura who was giving me a suspicious look and said, ¡°He likes you, alright?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Laura scratched the back of her head and looked towards Arnold, ¡°Umm¡­ Is that true?¡± ¡°No! ah! I mean yes! Well, yes and no¡­ but. Haahh,¡± He was flustered and looked terribly stupid, He then sighed took a deep breath and said, ¡°No. I don¡¯t like you Laura.¡± Laura looked so betrayed; her mouth was hanging open and eyes wide, her hand to her chest. Her expression was terribly confused and looked pained. However, he grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him. He kissed her. After the kiss, he separated from her and said, ¡°I don¡¯t like you Laura, because I love you.¡± Damn¡­ that was real smooth¡­ I swear he practiced for this moment or rather, I swear he has a skill for that. Laura fainted just then and there. Arnold caught her while she was falling. ¡°Thank me when you have the baby,¡± I smirked, put my hands on my pockets and walked towards the inn, like the badass I am.
Ch. 9: "Cupid is a Sniper" Ch.10 "Analysis" I walked towards White Rose, followed by Arnold, who was now carrying Laura in a piggy back ride. The two clearly liked each other, I¡¯m starting to wonder how the two didn¡¯t become a couple earlier¡­ Arnold just needed a nudge in that direction. An opportunity, and he took it and showed his love for Laura. It was really cheesy, smooth If I may add, but cheesy nonetheless. I entered the inn and noticed that it looked like a tavern, or a bar, some noisy men were drinking merrily while eating their lunches. When Arnold entered however, the noise died down, You could almost hear a pin falling ¡°What happened to her?¡± The old man in the counter was glaring at Arnold. Arnold could only flap his mouth open and close, while looking for a suitable answer to escape his predicament, the men who were drinking before are now glaring at him ¨C and me as well. He looked at me as if asking for help; he pleaded me with his eyes. I shrugged, and said, ¡°He kissed her. ¡° I said quickly and clearly. ¡°FINALLY!¡± Someone shouted, the tavern erupted in cheers and whistles. This is not what I was expecting. Well, I expected it a little bit, but you know what I mean. I walked towards the counter where the old man sighed in relief. He asked me, ¡°How did that happen specifically?¡± ¡°I gave him an opportunity, ¡° I answered briefly and shrugged again, ¡°By the way, I need lodging, How much?¡± ¡°Thanks lad, I never thought they would be together, he never approached her that much and she never showed her feelings,¡± He shook his head thanked me, ¡°Now then, how long is your stay?¡± ¡°No problem,¡± I gave him a thumbs up, ¡°For seven days please.¡± ¡°That would be 3 bronze coins, ¡° He calculated using his hands, ¡°And what did that gesture you did earlier mean?¡± Education isn¡¯t widespread here huh, they still count using fingers. I handed three coins that I think were bronze. I got them from the thieves. I handed them over and said, ¡°The thumbs up?¡± I repeated the gesture, ¡°From where I came from, it means approval of something or simply a ¡®yes¡¯ ¡° ¡°Okay, that''s 3 bronze coins, thanks, hope you enjoy your stay, ¡° He nodded at my explanation and said, He then reached towards a wooden drawer behind the counter, ¡°Here¡¯s the key to your room, it¡¯s the last room on the right on the second floor, the toilet is at the back of the building and food comes at sunrise, noon, and sunset, after looking at your room, come back down, it¡¯s already lunch.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I smiled at the old man, received the keys and noticed that Laura is gone and Arnold was talking to some of the drunken guys who were asking him questions, he probably brought her back to her room already, this is her house after all. I went up the stairs and into my room, I used the key on the knob and the door opened, it wasn¡¯t grandiose nor was it shitty, if there were words for it, it would be ¡®plain¡¯, but the nice kind of plain, alright? It was about 4 meters wide and 4 meters long, it might be a little bit cramped for some but it was perfect for me, there was a bed right across the door and a window overlooking the bustling town below was beside it. I went towards the bed and touched it. It was made from some sort of soft material, probably wool, it wasn¡¯t as smooth or soft as those back on Earth, no, it would pale in comparison, but it¡¯s comfortable enough for me, It was around a meter and a half wide and 2 and a half meters long. At the right side the wall, there was a desk and a gas lamp. A chair was placed under the desk. The walls, ceiling and floor was made from some kind of hard wood. There were two pillows in the bed and I decided to lay down on it for a while. I almost dozed off when I heard my stomach grumbling, ¡®That¡¯s right I haven¡¯t eaten yet¡­¡¯ I stood up and opened went out of the room.I locked it using the key and walked down the stairs, I went towards the counter where food were displayed, I picked a dish of rice and fried pork. It was self-service, I got an iron spoon and fork from a container at the side of the counter. I noticed that Arnold was nowhere in sight, The old man said that he already went home after chatting a little bit and buying some food. Finding an empty seat, I sat at the chair and started eating. The rice tasted differently than those back on earth, it was bland. I could eat it, without much thought, but it was bland, the pork tasted a little better but it also didn¡¯t taste the same like those back home. It still tasted like normal pork but it was just that, plain pork without any real taste. Because of this, I realized that agriculture and cooking in this world is absolutely very far behind. I finished eating, thanked the old man and went back to my room, next time, I need to find spices.
After locking the room from the inside, I took off my vest, I noticed that the chill flower inside the secret pocket haven¡¯t even wilted a little bit. I forgot to ask Arnold about it. I¡¯ll try tomorrow, I placed the vest it the chair and lay down on the bed, I set my lets in a 4 position and put the two pillows under my head. I need to analyze my ¡®Status¡¯¡­ ¡°Status¡±, I looked up the ceiling and muttered, the same ethereal black screen appeared. Looking through the tabs, it seems that it changed a little bit. The first change would be my level:
Level: 17(15)
It increased by two¡­ hmm¡­ was it because of the thieves I killed? I used my appraisal skill on the word ¡®Level¡¯
Based on experience and skills.
A tiny black box appeared beside the status screen. It only gave me a brief description. It seems that my level increases as my skills and experience increases and not the other way around. After looking at my Level, I looked over to my stats:
Stats: Strength: 50
Agility 67(66)
Defense:This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. 30
Endurance: 30(29)
Magic: 57
Intelligence: 61
If you noticed, not much changed except for both my endurance and agility, probably from all my walking and climbing. The parenthesized numbers beside them were the previous stats. Can exercise also increase stats? As much as I hate to train, I need to increase both my defense and endurance. Alia did say that stats can change easily; they¡¯re relative to the average human¡¯s statistics. Anyway, next to see is this ¡®skills¡¯ section. It looks like it changed a quite a lot.
Skills: Acquired: Throwing(Lv.2) Shooting(Lv.5) Sneak(Lv.3) Hide presence(Lv.3) Knife techniques(Lv.2) Dagger techniques(Lv.1) Hand-to-hand combat(Lv.2) Reconnaissance(Lv.2) Deception(Lv.1)[new] Climbing(Lv.1)[new] Aura(Lv.0)[new] Archery(Lv.0)[new]
Innate: Ranged Attack Up(Lv.3)
Unique: Integration(Lv.1) Assimilation(Lv.2)[1+]
Gifted: Appraisal(Lv.2)[1+]
I got new skills and other skills¡­ leveled up, I already know the uses based on their name, but some are enigmas. I got the ¡®Climbing¡¯ skill from¡­ well, climbing trees, and the deception skill probably from lying to Arnold about myself, yeah, I¡¯m not guilty for what I did. I used appraisal on the ¡®Aura¡¯ skill first.
To coat one¡¯s body with magic to reduce damage dealt by an opponent.
Oh! So it acts like armor huh? I¡¯ve never used it though, so how did I get the skill? And it¡¯s not even at level one¡­ I decided to appraise the unique skill ¡®assimilation¡¯ next.
Gives a random skill from someone that the user has killed. Skills will be on 2 levels below the original. Higher levels of Assimilation will allow the user to get higher level skills and the ability to choose which skill to assimilate. If the skill level is equal to or less than 2, the user will recieve the skill at Lv. 0. The user can assimilate 2 skills of level 2 or below per day.
Oh, now that¡¯s a good skill. Is this why the goblin was able to decrease the energy of the bullet that I shot? Though, how can I even know what skills a creature has? Can appraisal do that? Let¡¯s try it tomorrow. I tried to appraise ¡®integration¡¯ next.
Combines and integrates 2 or more level 5+ skills into a new and better skill. Skills that are integrated will go back to level 1. Other things can be integrated using this skill. There are currently no things to integrate.
Another cool skill!I smiled at this. But I need to level up some of my skills to use it¡­ Next to appraise are my titles in the respective section
Titles: Otherworlder
Overseer¡¯s Blessing
Kissed by the Divine
Slayer of Thieves
Assassin from Afar
Unknown Savior
3 new titles are added, I wonder what this is about. I appraise ¡®Slayer of Thieves¡¯
Slayer of Thieves
Title is granted to those who completed the requirements: 1.) Kill 10 or more thieves without getting attacked or damaged. Effects: 1. +10 Fameafter being acquired and appraised
Oh, so this was about the support fire earlier, but what is this Fame? I noticed a blinking icon in the ¡®Stats¡¯ section. Below it, a section appeared named ¡®Sub-statistics¡¯. On the section was ¡®Fame'' and ''Infamy'', with Fame having 10 points. I appraise it but nothing appears, ¡®Maybe my appraisal level is too low?¡¯ I thought to myself. I shrugged and continued to appraise the other titles.
Assassin from Afar
Title is granted to those who completed the requirements: 1.) Kill 10 creatures from more than 100 meters away without them knowing who you are. Effects: 1.) +20 Fameafter being acquired and appraised. 2.) +5 agility after being acquired and appraised. 3.) Assassination, Ranged, and Hiding skills will be easier to gain and level up. 4.)Assassination, Ranged, and Hiding skills will be 1.5x more effective when title is activated. Title can only be activated for (Personal Level) minutes per day
Unknown Savior
Title is granted to those who completed the requirements: 1.) Save someone or a group of people without them knowing who you are. Effects: 1.) +20 Fameafter being acquired and appraised. 2.) +5 Defense after being acquired and appraised. 3.) Hiding and Supportive skills will be easier to gain and level up. 4.) Hiding and supportive skills will be 1.5x more effective when title is activated. Title can only be activated for (personal level) minutes per day.
Kissed by the Divine
Title is granted to those who completed the requirements: 1.) Be kissed by an entity that is as strong as or stronger than a God. Effects: 1.) +1000 Fameafter being acquired and appraised. 2.) Skills and titles will be easier to gain and level up. 3.) Skills will be more effective. 4.) +10 affinities to fire, soil, water, air, life and death afterbeing acquired and appraised
Overseer¡¯s Blessing
Title is granted to those who completed the requirements: 1.) Obtain the favor of an Overseer, an entity that is stronger that a god. Effects: 1.) +1000 Fameafter being acquired and appraised. 2.) Ability to see the user¡¯s status screen without external help. 3.) +10 affinities to fire, soil, water, air, and life after being acquired and appraised. 4.) +30 Affinities to death after being acquired and appraised.
Otherworlder
Title is granted to those who completed the requirements: 1.) Travel between two worlds/realms/planes/ etc. with memories of the previous world Effects: 1.) +500 Fameafter being acquired and appraised.
Status!
Name: Zack Blake
Race: Human(Earthling/Aertherian)
Job: Sniper | Assassin | Scout
Money: 1620 Lors
Level: 17
Blessing: Overseer¡¯s Blessing
Condition: Normal
HP: 75/75
MP: 135/135
Statistics: Strength::Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. 50
Agility: 72(67)
Defense: 35(30)
Endurance: 30(29)
Magic: 57
Intelligence: 61
Sub-statistics Fame: 2550
Infamy: 0
Affinities: Water: 20 Air: 20 Life: 20
Fire: 20 Soil: 20 Death 40
Skills: Acquired: Throwing(Lv.2) Shooting(Lv.5) Sneak(Lv.3) Hide presence(Lv.3) Knife techniques(Lv.2) Dagger techniques(Lv.1) Hand-to-hand combat(Lv.2) Reconnaissance(Lv.2) Deception(Lv.1)[new] Climbing(Lv.1)[new] Aura(Lv.0)[new] Archery(Lv.0)[new]
Innate: Ranged Attack Up(Lv.3)
Unique: Integration(Lv.1) Assimilation(Lv.2)[+1}
Gifted: Appraisal(Lv.2)[+1]
Titles: Otherworlder
Overseer¡¯s blessing
Kissed by the Divine
Slayer of Thieves
Assassin from Afar
Unknown Savior
Equipment: Otherworldly clothes
Custom .50 caliber Anti-materiel Sniper Rifle
Treasure Bag
Military-Grade Knife
Iron knife
Iron dagger (x2)
.50 Caliber Bullets (x88)
Ch.11 "Knowledge" I looked at the rest of my titles and was astounded, Bonuses for my stats? Affinities? Fame? Increased effectiveness? Easier skill gain and level up? Isn¡¯t this too good to be true? I checked my statistics and saw that my agility and defense both increased by five. So by training you can increase your statistics, and by acquiring titles, you can also increase them? Is this the embodiment of the saying ¡®You define your tool, and the tool defines you¡¯? How does that even work? Below the ¡®stats¡¯ tab was the ¡®sub-stats¡¯ which contained both ¡®Fame¡¯ and ¡®Infamy¡¯, my Fame was in the thousands¡­ Am I that famous now? The next thing I saw is the ¡®Affinities¡¯ section. This I can understand easier, it¡¯s probably about magic. It had to be. Though why is do I have more affinity with death? Is it because I died? Or is it because I kill? Looks like I can also activate some titles like they are skills, I noticed that some titles both have passive and active effects and some had no effects at all except for an increase in Fame. Is it because my appraisal level is too low? Or are there really no other effects? ¡°UGHHH,¡± I ruffled my hair with both of my hands, ¡°I don¡¯t know anymoooooore. All I get are more and more questions! I need answeeeersss.¡± I stood up from the bed, wore my vest, and went downstairs after locking my room. It¡¯s been more or less an hour after I ate. The old man in the counter was replaced by an old woman, if the old man earlier was Laura¡¯s father, then this should be her mother. ¡°Hello,¡± I went towards her and greeted. ¡°Hello, young man,¡± She smiled and greeted back, ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Is there a library around here?¡± I raised my eyebrows and asked her. ¡°Oh, there is, it¡¯s not as big as the one in the capital though, ¡° She looked up the answered me, ¡°Are you new here?¡± ¡°Yup, I just arrived earlier with Arnold,¡± I nodded at her, ¡°Do you know where it is?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re the kid that Paul mentioned huh? Thank you for what you did, I¡¯m glad that there might be a chance to see my grandkids before I die. We tried everything with those two, we even tried telling them both that they liked each other, but both just denied it¡­ stubborn little rascals.¡± She grumbled and I could only smile wryly. Paul must be the name of the old man earlier ¡°Hahaha, no problem, how about giving me a discount instead,¡± I looked at her, hoping that I may be able to gain some discount¡­ ¡°Discount? Oh, Paul already did that earlier, you were supposed to pay three hundred and eighty five Lors but he only charged you three hundred,¡± She looked back at me and replied with an almost undetectable smug look in her face. ¡°Hmm, okay then, ¡°I just shrugged, ¡°What about the library though?¡± ¡°Go towards the plaza about 300 meters away south then go East about another hundred meters, The 3 story building there is the library,¡± She looked up with a hand in her chin and answered me. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll be right back,¡± I went out the door and went south. ¡°What a peculiar young man¡­" her mutter reached my ears just before i closed the door. After leaving the inn, I observed my surroundings more than before; most of the buildings here are made up of stone, with the occasional wooden ones. I also noticed that the establishments here in this area are almost always stores and shops. I reached what I assume to be the plaza, It was a grass patch around 10 meters in diameter and 1 statue was placed in the center, it was a bearded man riding a horse facing north with his sword pointed forwards and the horse in the middle of a gallop. It was a cool statue, but I didn¡¯t decide to dwell in it further. Two trees were in the Plaza adjacent to each other, street vendors littered the streets and kids were running around a tree and playing a game similar to tag with their mothers gently smiling at them. I decided to look away immediately.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I hurriedly went towards east and located the library; it was 3 stories tall and was made from bricks compared to the other establishments, I entered the building. Inside were bookshelves, 6 of them to be exact, each containing around 50 books each. I walked towards the counter that was on my left side. ¡°Hello, ¡° I greeted the bespectacled brunette beauty that was reading a book in the counter. There are actually eye glasses in this world? ¡°What is it? ¡° She answered me coldly. She didn¡¯t even look away from the book. ¡°I¡¯m new here, is there an entrance fee?¡± I just shrugged at her rude attitude. ¡°No,¡± She replied briefly, I shrugged again and just left her alone, I like these kind of people best, clear and concise without much chitchat, something tells me there¡¯s something else about her, but I decided not to add questions for myself now that I¡¯m looking for answers. I went towards the first bookshelf on the far left corner of the floor, I picked up some books that sounded interesting like ¡°Diary of a Traveler¡±, ¡°Lorian¡¯s Lore¡±, ¡°The Battle of Esogtris¡± I picked those three books plus a couple more and went towards a table situated just in front of the counter, the girl looked at me suspiciously as I seated. ¡°What?¡± I furrowed my brows and asked her. ¡°Those books,¡± She furrowed her brows as she pointed to the books I brought, ¡°They¡¯re for little kids. Why are you reading them?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s not like everyone has the luxury to read, alright?¡± I looked at her condescendingly and then pointed to the book she was reading and said with a smug face, ¡°You¡¯re also reading one, right?¡± In her hands was a book named ¡°The Hero of the Continent¡±, I noticed that there was a spot in the first bookshelf that was missing a book, and if I¡¯m correct that every book in that shelf are children¡¯s book, then that book must be one too. ¡°¡­ Fair enough,¡± she widened her eyes for a little, answered then returned to reading her book. And once again, I just shrugged and started reading.
Many years ago, when men lived in the darkness of caves and trembled in fear of the mighty beasts that roamed the land, one man had enough of the life of fear and hunger. He thought, ¡®If the beasts can hunt us, then why can we not hunt them?¡¯ He led a group of young and brave warriors, armed with spears and morale. But alas, not even morale can make them win, one by one, the warriors fell and in the end only the man and the beast were left, both battered and wounded. The beast lunged at him and he prepared himself for his death¡­ But it never came, opening his eyes he saw a golden light surrounding him, the beast could not penetrate this mysterious light and only clawed at it, as if it was rock. The man, though confused, took the opportunity and stabbed the beast with his spear. The beast flailed in protest but finally, he won; he skinned the beast, much like he did for animals, and brought the corpse back home, his tribe rejoiced at his new found power and at the thought of obtaining it as well. The man learned more and more each time he used his power, he could mold rock to his will, blow wind into the enemies, burn trees to ground and drown his opponents, he understood how to use it. He thanked the gods for giving him this gift and swore that he would nurture it, he spread the knowledge of this new found power and soon enough, they were out of the caves and lived in crude houses of earth and wood, years after, small settlement turned to towns, towns to villages and villages to kingdoms. It was the birth of Thalis, the Great Kingdom. And it was the birth of magic. The man never lived old enough to be the king, but his descendants did. And they ruled the continent til this very day.
I finished reading the last book, ¡°Lorian¡¯s Lore¡± I didn¡¯t know if it was true, but I think that if this is a children¡¯s story, most people should believe it, there was a plot hole in the story though, did they forget about the other guys who helped the man wound the beast?. It was already sunset, the books were short and I could finish one in half an hour, I returned to the bookshelf once or twice during that time and picked up a couple more books. I learned a lot today. There was one book that was actually a history book; It talked about the earliest records to the present day. I learned that this kingdom is named ¡®Thalis¡¯ that was centered on both knowledge and military power, they also mainly export clay and iron products. By the way, the continent I¡¯m in right now is named ¡®Lorian¡¯. There are more kingdoms that surround Thalis, but it was said that they currently are the strongest. I also read about that guy who was able to circle the world and prove that it was round. There was also one girl who saved the continent from a plague and one man who was able to reach level 84 --- the highest recorded level of a person. Oh! And I also learned the name of the cold girl, it was Lilith Y¡¯savas. I first thought of it as weird but then I thought, ¡®Who am I to call her name weird, I¡¯m from another freaking world! Who knows if that¡¯s a normal name around here¡­¡¯ She got tired of me calling her ¡®Hey¡¯ after asking if there are history books that she could recommend. She just sighed and gave up her name. She also stood up from her chair a couple of times and grabbed some maps and other books for her to read. I stood up from my chair and bid her farewell, she just looked at me and nodded, she returned to reading her book soon after. I walked back towards the inn, I think it¡¯s time for dinner already¡­ I hope it¡¯s good¡­ I didn¡¯t find anything about magic or skills today but there¡¯s still a tomorrow, I¡¯ll come back then to read some more. After going inside the inn and greeting Paul, I ate dinner, it was a little bit better than lunch, but still not enough to suit my tastes. Going upstairs after eating, I opened my room, took off my vest, lay on the bed and slept like a log. SS.1 "The Guards and the Noodles" 5:56 a.m. Greenfield Academy, East gate, Guards house. Three guards are resting inside the guard house, one was sleeping in a wooden couch, one was keeping watch while holding a SMG, and another... was sitting while eating chips. "Heeey, what time will we change shifts? I''m already sleepy, and hungry... and tired," The one eating chips grumbled. "Still 3 hours away, don''t worry Ben, the other two''ll get some food." After turning towards Ben, the guard that was keeping watch smiled at himm. Named Lester, this guard is his older brother. They are both trained military personnel, it''s one of the requirements for this high paying job. He recommended Ben this job since it has both low risks and high rewards. "Haah, fine, i''ll help you keep watch til Dave wakes up." Ben just sighed and tossed put chips down a table. He grabbed his SMG as well, after that he went beside his brother. The guard house only had thick walls at the height of his waist, so the two can look out easily. There are 4 posts on each corner that holds up the roof. The guard house is raised a meter above the ground for a better vantage point. Ben wasn''t actually that tired nor sleepy, they were trained to handle fatigue and drowsiness, it was true that he was hungry though. However, Dave had to cover for someone''s shift since another guard apparently had a cold. He''s been awake for a whole 24 hours, he at least needs a nap, drowsiness makes you less alert. Students are now arriving one by one, some of them greets Lester as they pass by the guard house, some female students even flirted with him. He shot an accusing glare at Lester.Sure ,Lester was handsome with short brown hair and brown skin, but he was married! He himself was as handsome as Lester, but if he had a wife, he wouldn''t dare flirt with students. "How dare you, I''ll tell May about this," Still glaring him, Ben reached out for his phone. "Hey! It''s not like I''m asking for this alright! They come to me all by themselves! And it''s not like I like them! So for the love of god please don''t call May, " he looked at me pleadingly and grabbed Ben''s shoulders, he then spoke with a stern expression, "I don''t want to see a plate flying towards me like frisbee ever again...."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Ben shuddered at the thought. May was not a delicate woman, she was part of Lester''s batch when they were training. Their love blossomed during that time. In the 4 years that Lester has worked here, May worked in the military. She stopped when they had a daughter named Lara two years back. Ben laughed dryly and retuned his phone to his pocket, at this time, the other two came back. "Mike, did you get food?" Ben looked towards one of the men and asked. Mike was holding a grocery bag. "Yeah, the captain gave us some cup noodles," He handed one from the grocery bag he was holding to the two. "Oh, cool. I haven''t had one since training. " He opened the cup and got the hot water from a thermos they had, "Do we wake Dave up?" "Yeah," Lester did the same with his cup, "He might be hungry too. " "Ok, i''ll do it," The guy beside Mike volunteered. "Thanks John, " Lester thanked the guy and returned to pouring hot water over his cup noodles. John only nodded, he wasn''t a very talkative guy. He walked over to Dave while Mike sat in the chair Ben used earlier and prepared his own cup. Dave woke up shortly after and prepared his cup. 5 minutes more and the cup is already prepared. Just before Ben could eat his fill, Dave stopped him. "No wait!" Ben stopped what he''s doing immediately, with his fork just inches away from his mouth, "Something is wrong with the noodles, it tastes... different.might be expired or something, don''t risk it." Ben, though looking crestfallen, heeded his warnings. Everyone did the same and didn''t eat the noodles. Dave was the most experienced of them here and he''s also the oldest. At 47 years old, he''s worked here for a decade. "How often do you eat cup noodles again?" Ben asked, he lay his cup in the table beside him. "Everyday," Dave had a smug look at his face. ''I don''t think that''s something to be proud though...'' Ben thought. 20 minutes pass and Dave went back to sleep. Mike and John also grabbed their guns and joined taking a look out. Students are still coming, though only one or two passes, every student in this school is early. After another 10 minutes, no more students were coming through their gate, so they decided to lock it down. During this time, someone spoke through their radios. <> At this transmission everyone tensed up, even Dave woke up from the sudden message. They all looked towards him. "Told you," He stood up and pick up his gun, "Hurry, call HQ. Be ready for a shoot out." Ben nodded and tried called HQ, but he was all too late. Ch.12 "Knowledge"(Part 2) Yawning, I sat at the bed. I gazed outside the window and realized it was still dark. I patted my pockets and grabbed the Bag, I needed to take inventory. I stood up and grabbed the chair that was under the desk; I sat in it and faced the bed. I took my rifle out first and lay it in the bed,, second is my own knife, next I took out the looted knife, then a dagger, and finally, a bullet. Remembering the chill flower, I took it out of the vest behind me and lay it in the bed as well. I started to appraise each one.
Custom .50 caliber Anti-materiel Sniper Rifle
A custom Barrette Sniper Rifle made for accuracy and versatility. 11.3 Kilograms (1)
Okay, it¡¯s correct. It even shows the object¡¯s weight, and I guess the parenthesized number is the amount I own?
Custom Military-Grade Steel knife
A black blade made up of phosphated carbon steel and custom calibrated to allow accurate throwing. 580 grams (1)
Ohhh, so that¡¯s what this knife is made of, huh¡­
Iron Knife
An iron combat knife. 400 grams (1)
That¡¯s all? Seriously?
Iron Dagger
An iron combat dagger. 700 grams (2)
This too? Is that all you¡¯ve got? Or is my appraisal level too low?
.50 Caliber bullet
A 660 grain .50 caliber bullet. 205 grams (88)
Okay,wait¡­ didn¡¯t I use 13? I looked back at what had happened. I climbed a tree, readied my rifle, added two more rounds in the magazine¡­ and cocked the gun¡­ Oh¡­ so that¡¯s what happened. Fair enough. What about the flower?
Chill flower
A rare magical flower that can be used for potions and enchantments. 6 grams (1)
Oh, now that is interesting! I¡¯ll make sure to visit a shop that deals with those today. For now, let¡¯s just go down and eat breakfast.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I brought all the things I have, including the chill flower, back to the Treasure Bag and went out the door. I used the key on the knob and went down the wooden staircase. I could see no one in the counter. I went towards it and saw red splotches of fluid in the counter trailing towards a door opposite of the front door. I grabbed the Bag and took out my knife. I put the Bag back to my pocket and slowly went towards the door. With silent steps, I opened the door. A as it opens, I immediately ready myself for a fight. Only to see a woman butchering¡­A chicken over a tree stump using an axe. I calmed down when I noticed that it was the old woman and after guessing that she¡¯s just here to prepare a meal. ¡°Haaah¡­¡± I sighed at her and slumped my shoulders. She noticed my presence and looked towards me, her eyes then darted to the knife I was holding and was now filled with terror. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked her, she looked hella scared. Her eyes were locked to my knife and I realized the problem, ¡°Oh.¡± I flipped the knife to a backhanded grip and put it in a sheath in my vest. ¡°Sorry about that, ¡°I scratched my head, I didn¡¯t move towards her. I might scare her further, ¡°I noticed the bloodstains in the counter and I became worried. So I followed them here and I found you.¡± She pointed to vest, towards where I sheathed the knife. ¡°Cursed¡­¡± She muttered with her outstretched hand visibly shaking. ¡°What? The knife is cursed?¡± I touched the knife without taking it out of its sheath. Is it because of my death attribute? How could she tell that it¡¯s cursed? ¡°¡­Yes... yes,¡± She retracted her hand and nodded. ¡°How could you tell?¡± I asked her suspiciously. When I checked the knife earlier, appraisal didn¡¯t say that it was cursed¡­ ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s black¡­ All cursed weapons are black¡­¡± She started to distance himself away from me. ¡°Oh, is that it? I thought you saw something magical in it, ¡° I grabbed the knife once again. Maybe people here don¡¯t know how to blacken blades? ¡°Haha, no need to worry. It¡¯s not cursed. It¡¯s just a chemical reaction.¡± ¡°Chemical reaction? Are you sure it isn¡¯t cursed?¡± She calmed down when I said the knife wasn¡¯t cursed. ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ let¡¯s see¡­ Do you have vinegar?¡± I asked her. After five minutes of convincing, and some more time to prepare and execute a forced patina using vinegar and explaining that it¡¯s the same process as rust, she wasn¡¯t scared anymore and started to cook breakfast. While I was explaining, Paul came along and had the same reaction as the old woman, who was apparently named Martha. Martha snickered him and told him to just listen to my lecture. When I finished the lecture, it was still dark outside but the it¡¯s already bustling. Shops are opening, and some people are buying food in hopes of acquiring the freshest ingredients. Paul was one of those people and as soon as I finished the lecture, he went out to buy some vegetables. I asked Martha if they have some bread and if the library is opened at this time. ¡°Oh, we have some over there, near the utensils,¡± She pointed towards a wooden container near some spoon and forks. I walked towards it and opened the container; I grabbed some bread and ate it. ¡°Thanks.¡± I munched on the bread. The taste wasn¡¯t much different from those back on Earth. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± She just nodded, ¡°As for the library, I don¡¯t really know. I don¡¯t go there much.¡± ¡°Thanks anyway, ¡° I grabbed another chunk from the container and went out of the kitchen, ¡°I¡¯m off to the library, I might not make it for lunch.¡± ¡°M¡¯kay.¡± Was her response. Once in the streets, I walked towards the library while happily eating. Once there, I noticed that it was already open. I went inside and saw that Lilith was asleep on her chair at the counter. Did she leave the door open all night? Well¡­ who steals a book from a free library? That¡¯s just stupid. Though looking at her sleeping face, my heart skipped a beat¡­ Damn¡­ *Ahem* ANYWAY. While thinking of those things, I walked past the counter and to the second bookshelf. I picked up five books and returned to the table I previously used. I was able to read a couple of books before she woke up. She stretched her hands and looked around. Her head was still messy and her glasses were in the counter. Drool was visible on the side of her face and I couldn¡¯t help but let out a chuckle. She noticed my presence and went wide eyed for a moment, she then looked at the door, sighed, then mumbled something to herself She glared at me, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± With her hair still messed up and the drool on her face, one really can¡¯t take her glare seriously. ¡°Why don¡¯t you look at yourself?,¡± I said to her, with the edges of my lips curled up in a grin. She had a confused expression at first and then touched her face. She blushed, quickly wiped the drool off the side of her mouth and glared at me yet again. I shrugged and returned to the book I was reading. I usually am not this teasing and/or talkative to someone I don¡¯t know much¡­ I wonder what¡¯s gotten into me. ¡°Fix your hair too,¡± I said, still looking at the book. ¡°Shut up,¡± she replied coldly. ¡°Suit yourself,¡± I just shrugged and let her be. The book I¡¯m currently reading is title ¡®Bestiary of Magical Beasts¡¯. Some of the beasts in the book are recognizable, like dragons, goblins, sirens, griffons and even zombies and skeletons. Like those previously mentioned, some beasts in this world are mythical creatures back on Earth¡­ How could that have happened? I don''t know. The creatures drawn also closely resemble the pictures back on Earth, though the illustrations here show them off as more dangerous. Some creatures were also like normal animals except with some mutations and the ability to use magic, like fanged wolves and umbral cats. And of course, some are just unknown to me like Rhestis or Shadowstalkers. I turned towards Lilith after reading this particular book, she was looking at a map. ¡°Lily, can I call you that? Yeah, I¡¯ll call you that, can I buy books here?¡± She put the map down the table and narrowed her eyes at me, ¡°You¡¯re a weird guy¡­¡± I shrugged, ¡°Meh, So¡­ Can I? ¡°A gold for that one,¡± She returned to looking at the map. I opened the Bag with one hand without removing it from my pocket. I willed my only gold coin to come out. I drooped the book to the table and stood up. I walked towards her and handed the coin, ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re actually rich? Casually spending gold for a book?¡± She narrowed her eyes, ¡°Are you a noble?¡± I stared at her with a deadpan expression, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll go here personally if I was a noble?¡± ¡°Illegitimate son?¡± ¡°Hell no!¡± ¡°Thief?¡± ¡°Nope¡± ¡°Pickpocket?¡± ¡°¡­No?... I think¡­ Is it considered pickpocketing if I found someone dead and stole form their pocket?¡± ¡°You what?!¡± She shouted and leaned closer. Ch.13 "Teacher and Danger" "You did what?!" She leaned closer and shouted at me, "Please don''t tell me you killed a noble!" "It was a thief, calm down, "I put my arms in front of me and gestured her to calm down, My eyes was glued to hers, not daring look away lest expose my lie, "The thief was already dead when I found him!" She narrows eyes, (is that her favorite gesture?), scrutinized me and said, "You''re lying," ¡°Everyone knows the fact that if someone¡¯s eyes are sweeping all over the place, then they¡¯re lying, ¡° She continued, ¡°It became so well known that now, the opposite is true.¡± "I didn''t kill him! Maybe..." I couldn''t really remember which of the thieves I killed, "I''m not really sure..." "Haah..." she sighed and sunk back to her seat, "Just... don''t get involved in your troubles." "Yes, ma''am" I mocked a salute with a wry smile. "Here," she grabbed some silver coins from beneath the counter and handed them to me. "It''s only worth half of a gold coin, it isn''t that thick." She replied and went back to looking at a map. Since we''ve already initiated conversation, I''m not going to let this chance go, I asked her a question. "By the way, do you know Chill flowers?" "Yes, those flowers are pretty rare but you can buys some from the capital for about 10 gold coins," She really seemed a lot more talkative today, though right now she''s absorbed back to looking at a map. "What else about them? I heard they could be used to make potions or in enchanting." I grabbed one chair from a nearby table and put it near the counter. "They could be, but only an experienced alchemist with at least a level 5 on alchemy can create potions out of it, same with enchanting." She paused for a little bit, "They''re filled with mana and cools the air around them, an ice snake always guards a chill flower though." I gulped and quickly flipped through the bestiary, I found the entry for the ice snake. Ice snakes¡ªformidable creatures of soil and ice. Do not engage if not prepared with cold resistant armor and weapon that has an electric enchantment. Adult Ice Snakes can reach up to the length of two houses and as big as an adult¡¯s head. It¡¯s fangs can be as long as an adult¡¯s index finger and can inflict both paralytic and cold poisons. They leave a trail of ice in their wake that will vanish after half an hour. They would also hunt for an hour every day. The Ice Snake¡¯s poison, scales, fangs, and eyes are valuable and can reach up to a gold coin when stacked up. The most redeeming features about Ice Snakes is that they guard a Chill flower. It can be used for potions and enchantments and sold for 50 gold coins to some very specific markets. All chill flowers are guarded by an Ice Snake but not all Ice Snakes guard a chill flower.
Why didn''t I see the snake? Where was the snake? I put my hand to my chin and pondered the possibilities. Could it be hunting? But the book said it always leaves a trail of ice wherever it goes. That means I should have at least seen a trail.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Dead? Possibly, but I¡¯m guessing that whoever killed the snake should have known what it was guarding,. Being scared off by the lightning when I came down, could be a possible idea, but then again, there was no trail. Without answers, I returned to thinking about the knife I had. The ¡®cursed¡¯ one. ¡°Lily, how are things ¡®cursed¡¯?¡± I need to know more about it. Martha said that some cursed weapons drive their user insane or devour their souls. Some armor were said to be permanently attached to their users and drove them berserk. However, Martha mentioned one ¡®cursed¡¯ item that caught my attention, an obsidian black ring that, when worn, makes the user ¡®dream¡¯ about a world where technology was far greater and massive colossuses of stone rose up to the sky. I theorized that it was some way to see Earth from here. Lily had a sour look but answered nevertheless, ¡° ¡®Curse¡¯ is just a skill that can be achieved by having an Enchanting level of 8 and a death attribute higher than 40. ¡°That¡¯s if you¡¯re talking about the skill, if you¡¯re asking about superstitions, then black weapons or armor are said to be cursed. Black hair was used to be called a curse and bad luck but it changed when the king of Thalis a hundred years back, summoned a black haired hero from Earth.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± I exclaimed, ¡°Earth?!¡¯ How did they even knew it existed? Was a hero really summoned here? Then that means¡­ there might be a way to go back if I can reverse its effects! ¡°Yes, What about it? It¡¯s the place where Heroes come from. My¡­ The current King of Thalis is right now planning to summon Heroes again. The demons have been acting up from the south.¡± She said, now in full lecture mode. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just that I never thought that it was real¡­¡± I blatantly lied, ¡°Please continue.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± She furrowed her brows at me, ¡°Anyway, since the Hero saved the continent from the demons in the south. Black hair was now treated as a gift rather than a curse.¡± ¡°What happened to Hero after defeating the Demons?¡± My bullshit senses are tingling. She smirked, ¡°They said they returned the Hero back.¡± Her tone was full of sarcasm and she even did air quotes on ¡®said¡¯. ¡°Thought as much.¡± The hero probably died. Either by the hands of the demons or the kingdom. ¡°Now, If can continue with what I was saying.¡± At this point, she has stopped looking at the map and full on started a lecture, ¡°Silver hair is also being thought as cursed. ¡°The look on your face asks ¡®why?¡¯ Well let me tell you, what color did hair turn to when nearing old age? Silver, Grey. What color did the moon, the beacon of darkness, take when it is full? Silver. What hair color did R¡¯teesh, Bringer of eternal sleep, have? The color, shade, whatever you call it. Silver, in terms of hair, is considered cursed. It¡¯s even really funny how people fear silver hair, especially nobles, when they use silver as utensils, as their armors and as their weapons!¡± Now, at this point, she was just ranting. I do understand why silver hair is considered bad luck and an omen of death. Probably much more so than anyone in this world. It was Alia; she probably governs death or something. She was the one I met when I died, her blessing gave me more Death attributes than others, and she had white hair. It was probably silver, but since there was no actual source of light in her inhabitance, maybe it just didn¡¯t shine? The thing in my mind is the question of ¡®Why is she so upset about silver hair?¡¯ ¡°Why are you so worked up about it? It¡¯s still early morning, calm down.¡± She took deep breaths and calmed down gradually, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± She said meekly, ¡°Once I start talking about something, I can¡¯t stop myself¡­¡± She became shy all of a sudden¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, ¡° I said, standing from my chair, ¡°Wanna go grab some food? Bread is not really enough for me. I¡¯m still hungry and you look like you could you need some food too. ¡° ¡°Ah¡­ no, I don¡¯t really need to eat. Mages have slower metabolisms than normal humans.¡± She said and returned to her map. ¡°Are you sure about that? It¡¯s my treat. You could eat some juicy fried pork or some sweet, savory¡ª¡° Before I could finish, a rumbling noise was heard. It wasn¡¯t mine. I looked towards Lily and noticed that she was now glaring at me while clutching her thin stomach. ¡°You did not hear anything. Understand?¡± She was glaring, but if you look more closely, you could notice that her face was flushed. ¡°Umm¡­Okay?¡± I just nodded at her behavior. She dropped the map she was holding into the table and went out of the counter. She was wearing some clothes that looked like what Villager A¡¯s daughter would have worn, a one piece skirt that reaches her shins and an apron above it. ¡®Why are you even wearing an apron? You¡¯re a librarian for god¡¯s sake.¡¯I thought to myself. ¡°Come on, hurry up!¡° She walked out the door and smiled a little bit mischievously, ¡°Your treat, right?¡± Is she cold, shy or mischievous? I really don¡¯t know. I¡¯m having a really bad feeling about this breakfast.
Somewhere, south of Krilka, the ground is rumbling and trees are toppling over. A load roar resounded, followed by the simultaneous roars of smaller but more numerous beasts. Somewhere, south of Krilka, the Horde started its march. SS.2: "the Guards and the Devastation" 6:34, Greenfield Academy, East guard house The gate had blasted open and debris flew out like irregularly shaped bullets. The guards had ducked down; prepared for the worst. Through the smoke and the scattered remains of what used to be a steel gate, figures emerged and started raining bullets down the guard house. Though suppressed, one of the guards ¨C the quick witted Lester, threw a black canister to the general direction of the would be attackers. He covered his ears and as the others mimicked him, a bright light flashed then followed by a deafening noise. The enemies had stopped firing and rough grunts could be hear from a distance away. Taking this chance, the guards stood up and shot their rifles. They were now on the offensive. It only took a moment to take away their initiative, and now they¡¯re on the run. They had managed to dispatch a dozen enemies, but the onslaught of bullets never seemed to stop. They were cornered into the proverbial wall, and not willing to take the risk and being killed on the spot, they ran. They ran north, to the most used gate of the Academy. They expected to meet another guard, someone who was perfectly fine and had not eaten the laxatives, but alas, they found none. Screams and shouts resounded along with the sounds of gunshots and explosions. The group has been running for five minutes through shrubbery and avoiding places without cover. The guys knew that their main mission right now was to secure all the students in the school, but no matter how devoted they were at doing just that, they all knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to do it with just the five of them and by barging through the front door. If they corner an enemy and the enemy decides to kill a student, the death will be placed on their hands. They will be blamed, scrutinized, or worse, imprisoned. And that¡¯s if they could even manage to get out alive. They could kill three dozen, maybe even four if they got lucky but they didn¡¯t knew the enemy¡¯s exact numbers, hell, there could be a hundred of them there! This isn¡¯t some small scale operation, they all knew that fact. No one would terrorize a place so important and risk angering powerful families and officials. Whoever planned this was prepared, and had backing.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it As soon as the group neared a clearing, Dave motioned his hand to stop. Everyone did as they were told and froze. Dave walked slowly and scouted the area; he walked under the cover of the trees and saw nothing but bodies lying on the ground. He waved the others to come and they walked carefully to the guard house beside the gate. The gate, or what remained of it, was hanging uselessly on its hinges. The guard house had vomit near it. If they continued eating the noodles, they would end up similar to the bodies lying on the ground. Dave went inside the guard house, with his rifle on the ready and motioned the others to secure the perimeter. They didn¡¯t say a word and just nodded. Hand gestures was the only thing they needed, talking would just increase their already high tension and might alert the enemies of their presence. The sound of chaos and gunfights still resounded throughout the academy, but less loudly. Reporters are and journalists are already gathering outside the Academy and being regulated by the police. Black SUV¡¯s and stylish cars marked the arrivals of the parents. At the guard house, both blood and noodles were spilled; Dave furrowed his brows and shifted uncomfortably. He looked away and leaned towards the radio in his shoulder then stated, ¡°North Guard house, Clear.¡± Simultaneously, the others keeping guard outside replied ¡®Copy that.¡¯. They knew what Dave meant, it was both clear of hostiles and of friendlies. After this brief exchange, Dave grabbed a satellite phone from a table and dialed a call. ¡°Dav--Hawk to Bird house, over.¡± He said, he furrowed his brows even tighter when he remembered to use codenames instead of real ones. ¡°Hawk to Bird house, we need reinforcements! Over.¡± He gripped the phone tighter and talked faster; he needed to hurry, else more blood will be spilt. ¡°Hawk, this is Bird house. We already sent Falcon to eliminate hostiles and secure Hummingbird. Assist him and secure the students.¡± A voice came out of the radio at last; he breathed a sigh of relief. His face warped into a scowl, he tried to refrain from showing any kind of discontent when he talked. ¡°Hawk to Bird house. Copy that, over and out¡± He managed to sound calm, though a little panicked. He knew who Falcon was. That lousy recruit was a failure. He can¡¯t even handle much of the recruit¡¯s training, nor was he able to marathon 10 miles. Dave knew that Falcon was still a teenager, but still, military is military. The only redeeming qualities that recruit had been his smarts and his talent for shooting and hiding. Surely, if he wasn¡¯t that talented or if his father was a low ranking official, he would never be able to be a part of the defense force. Dave finished the call and radioed back to his group to converge at the guard house. They will need a solid plan if they are going to do this mission properly.