《Sand (Hiatus-2/01/18)》


 Chapter 1: Does Fresh Meat Taste Good?

    Empty, flat, and the high temperature that purges water instantly. The dryness breaks the earth and turns it into smaller bits flowing with the desolate wind. In this land called Oblivion, an area secured from the other worlds, was a man named Tus Gilgar. Unknown to him, his age is 218 years as of this year, but despite the age, his appearance looked to be in his late teens to mid-twenties. Wearing tattered clothes showing skin that has been tanned underneath the non-existent sun that shrouded the world in light, he ran huffing, and puffing as the earth behind him was sprayed into the air occasionally. If one watched close enough, they would be able to see something slithering under the surface of the soil where its outline could vaguely be seen by the movement of the ground.


    Determination and an abstract craziness was fully expressed by his eyes. He stopped in a rare place where there were rocks which spread out a mirage of water into the air more strongly than the sand. Tus turned back to the slithering shadow and picked up a rock hot enough to bake food with in his callused right hand.


    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you who your daddy is!¡± Saying such words, Tus brought himself to a battle ready posture, bending his knees and elbows like he was ready for a wrestling match. Just beyond his sight, a green light lit up, flashing a glow bright enough to compete with the sun.


    Sensing it, he looked in that direction and his pupils shrank. ¡°That is¡­¡± An indescribable excitement and hope swelled in his heart as his gaze fully focused on the light that appeared as a diamond that was just hovering in the air.


    The sand in front of him burst with a snake that had sharp bone spurs that came out of its back. Its entire body resembled that of creatures in legends, five feet in width, and twenty feet in length. Its bared teeth emanated like death¡¯s scythes as it bit down upon Tus. However, even though Tus was caught by surprise by the green diamond, he was still prepared to counterattack.


    Swiftly dodging to the side and fixing his gaze upon the behemoth that ate dirt, he hopped forward swinging his insignificant rock. His action appeared like throwing a pebble at an elephant, but against expectations, the rock hit the snakes¡¯ weakness, a delicate scale right behind its head. The instant that the rock made contact, the snake stiffened and fell onto the ground, paralyzed.


    Tus grabbed one of the scales on its body and skillfully pulled it off. A large chunk of raw meat dripping with blood was in his hands. With a rumbling stomach, he indecorously ate it all in one bite, including the uncomfortable scale, while running to the green diamond, jumping right into it.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°I can finally go home¡­¡± Tears welled up in his eyes as he touched it. The portal rippled and Tus was violently pulled into it by a strong force.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Surrounded by old trees, a perfectly preserved altar showcasing a vast desert with hundreds of terrifying monsters stood alone. It was just this altar with no other features around in the overgrown forest. Even though this area seemed to not be much, it was declared to be a forbidden land long ago, and isolated from the rest of the world by many allied forces.


    The allied forces included the hegemons of the surrounding areas, Families that made lineage the most important, Organizations that defined techniques and discipline of the self as the most important, and Countries that brought forward the idea that governments, whether a kingdom or a democracy ruling everything was the most important. The reason why they were allied or protected this area is due reasons that have long since been forgotten by the public besides a few vague stories.


    At this time, the altar flickered with a green light as the eyes of the monsters portrayed glowed with the color of red. They appeared to move, converging on a single point on the altar as if they wanted to keep something from getting out. The green light flickered once more as the faint sound of roaring came from the forest. The monsters all opened their mouths simultaneously with it, seemingly emitting the loud sound.


    For a third time, the green light flickered, but this time the surroundings around the altar glowed with its color. The air rippled like water, converging on a single point with the intent of rejection and restraint. The atmosphere in the surroundings became heavy with tension, forcing the neighboring creatures to issue high pitch cries as they fled.


    For a fourth and final time, the point where the ripples gathered was forced apart by a green diamond, as if hands were ripping and tearing the gathering ripples. Tus shot out of the portal that was soon crushed by the rejection of the world, hitting the ground with a force that made an indent, and causing him to bounce three times before being stopped by a tree.


    The ripples that appeared in the air disappeared along with the roaring monsters that returned to their positions with apparent dissatisfaction. A faint ripple came off of Tus¡¯s body that no one could see. It was a smaller form of the same rejection that occurred before. However, Tus couldn¡¯t feel it, but anything else could only sense it.


    After coughing a couple of times, Tus slowly stood up with his trembling body. Although his face was pale with blood flowing out from the corners of his mouth, his eyes were alert, checking every nook and cranny in the vicinity. The actual wounds he sustained were minimal as the portal gave him physical protection, but the moment of hitting the ground still allowed for pain to be felt and a bit of physical trauma to be left.


    He felt like a heavy burden was lifted off of his shoulders and he breathed a sigh of relief while sitting down, his eyes resting on the altar. Looking around once again to check the surrounding, his face slowly revealed doubt.


    ¡°Where am I?¡±

 Chapter 2: What To Do When You Are Stalked.

    The area was entirely overgrown, unlike the well-kept conditions of his memory. The doubt lingered as Tus scratched his scraggly hair. He walked to the altar where the beasts imprinted on the altar seemed to stare at him in hunger. He then moved around the trees and crouched to the ground. He dug up a half a foot of dirt and found a stone slab with no identifying marks on its smooth surface. With its appearance, Tus heaved a sigh of relief.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would have done if I wasn¡¯t sent back here, but why did everything around the Oblivion altar change? Really, the only bad thing is that I didn¡¯t gain any those mystical powers.¡± He said with brief melancholy.


    He looked at the sky, studying the stars, and remembering a navigation lesson that his grandfather taught him. He nodded his head with a grin and walked in a direction, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to eat their food again.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Tus followed a somewhat familiar route that bypassed red-black-white towers that reached the sky when he finally came to a main trail. It was still night without any notice of the rising sun, so the traffic going through here was entirely absent. However, the signs of deep depressions following this trail signified its use.


    ¡°At least this is still here. Now, which direction do I have to go? I can¡¯t believe I forgot where my home town is.¡± With a puzzled countenance, he examined both directions. No signs were in sight, so the choice of direction would be 50-50 gamble.


    When he was about to make his choice, he turned his head to the left to see a completely black clothed figure staring at him. After a moment, they started walking with a gait that was even. Before long he came to be in front of Tus who stared at the figure strangely.


    After being silent for a few minutes, Tus couldn¡¯t hold back but ask impolitely, ¡°What do you want?¡± The black clothed figure who was entirely covered didn¡¯t say anything, but stood in front of Tus without any change.


    An eerie feeling creeped out with Tus¡¯s chest. He chose the opposite direction of the black clothed figure and started walking. He walked for about 2 miles while listening to the footsteps behind him.


    ¡°What is this weirdo doing? Or did I go insane while I was in the Land of Oblivion?¡± He asked himself.


    Tus turned his head slightly to glance at the figure who was six feet away from him and increased his own pace. The figure also increased their pace, keeping the six foot distance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this fella is part of those allied forces and I don¡¯t think there are any Families or Countries who produce people like this.¡± After muttering to himself, he stopped in his tracks, and turned around.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Tus demanded.


    ¡°You come from Oblivion.¡± The figure said in a hoarse voice, as if they haven¡¯t drank any water for days.


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know what you are talking about. How can anyone survive Oblivion?¡± He was shocked for just a moment, before coming up with his reply.


    ¡°I sense it. The world is rejecting your existence. I¡¯ve been waiting for one to succeed the first trial for countless years.¡± The figure took a step forward.


    ¡°Good luck with your waiting, I need to get going now.¡± Feeling the creepy sensation intensifying, Tus took two steps backward


    ¡°Hold on a moment, can I eat you first?¡± The cloth covering the figure unfurled, revealing a four armed gorilla that was smiling sinisterly. It stood straight, towering about seven feet with its muscles bulging underneath its pitch-black fur. It took another step forward with its evil expression that created a chill that would crawl up anyone¡¯s spine.


    ¡°I taste like dirt, you know!¡± Not expecting the first weird person he met was a monster from the Land of Oblivion, Tus was disappointed in his luck. He kicked the loose soil on the ground, shooting the dirt up at the face of the monster. However, one of its arms already blocked it with a dazzling multicolored shimmer surfacing from beneath its fur. This was the use of internal energy in its body, simple reinforcement.


    This world has two substances simply called external energy and internal energy. External energy is abundant in the air, water, and soil. Internal energy is the conversion of external energy within a creature using a special manifestation of a cell bestowed upon birth, located on the other side in regards to the heart, which also makes it known as the ¡®second heart.¡¯ This grants those creatures that could harness the external energy with great abilities. For those that don¡¯t or can¡¯t, cease to exist sooner or later while within civilized society.


    Seeing this, Tus¡¯s face paled, because the use of the thing called internal energy was something he couldn¡¯t utilize as he was born without the second heart. He went to the land of Oblivion in secret, because he heard and researched that those who survived, all received great abilities that didn¡¯t depend on this magical cell. He didn¡¯t know whether he got what he wanted after going there, but he felt that as long as he was alive, it was fine. The only reason why he could survive there, was coincidentally due to the lack of the external energy for the creatures to convert, allowing him and the monsters to be on equal footing, more or less. Here, in the world where he was from, any simple house pet could kill him.


    Not to mention this gorilla with four arms that utilized the ability to use internal energy. The reason why it was so dangerous, was that this simple reinforcement augmented its muscles and thinking speed, allowing it to perceive and react at least two times the normal. This was also shown by the gorilla when it blocked the sneak attack done by Tus when he kicked the dirt.


    Almost immediately after doing so, he ran into the forest as running on the straight road would be suicide considering the gorillas¡¯ potential speed. Although that action probably still did not help much in the long run¡­


    The gorilla crouched to the ground with its four arms and back legs in sync, it let out a roar that caused the rocks on the ground to jump. After it was finished roaring, it looked forward while grinning. The internal energy showed through its skin at an ever-increasing luminescence, and in a single motion of its arms and legs, it already traversed ten feet. The trees, shrubs, and grass were ripped up from the ground with its passing.

 Chapter 3: Attention! I Have a Question, Would You Consider Drool Disgusting or Attractive?

    ¡°Shit! Why did I have to meet a blood thirsty monster when I first got here?¡± As he lamented, Tus randomly changed directions in order to evade the pursuit of the gorilla. That was a futile action in this employment in the game of cat and mouse.


    The gorilla with its evil grin, leisurely gave chase while trying to make as much noise to scare Tus. Its light from the internal energy created a ghastly atmosphere as it spread throughout the nearby pitch-black forest. Even though it was as so dark, Tus¡¯s own perception allowed him to dodge trees and avoid tripping on anything above ground.


    ¡°I only want to nibble on your bones! Come on!¡± The gorilla spoke while taking a deviation in its running that was similar to walking and suddenly lunged. Tus, with his trained instincts that screamed at him, took a dive to the left escaping from the sudden assault from the gorilla.


    Having fallen to the ground, Tus quickly stood up, and took a single glance in the direction of the attack. That single glance caused his heart to shudder as an area of fifteen feet was cleared of all vegetation. A crater was created on the ground where the gorilla made its impact. The crater of compressed dirt was lower by a foot from the incredible weight and force.


    The gorilla had an admiring expression while drool came out of its mouth as it looked at Tus, ¡°For such a weak, escaped deity of Oblivion, you have already gained such heights in your basic abilities. I really can¡¯t wait to eat you to acquire them!¡±


    Not taking heed to what the gorilla was saying, Tus was already trying to increase the distance. However, the gorilla had other ideas as it easily pulled a boulder out of the ground that weighed over four hundred pounds and with a casual wave of its arms, threw the rock at a rockets speed.


    Tus felt the danger, but his body was not capable of moving away from the boulders direction. All he could do was turn his body marginally, where the boulder just grazed his left leg. This small touch was still enough to cause him to twirl in the air like a leaf, heavily hitting a tree with his head that rendered him unconscious.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Laughing, the gorilla moved with light steps. ¡°Although you escaped from that place, you don¡¯t know how to use your divine ability. It was your bad luck coming out of there when it was my turn to wait.¡± Speaking up to here, ten feet away from Tus, the gorilla¡¯s body stiffened, and started trembling fiercely. Its eyes turned in all directions and panted with frustration.


    ¡°Who is the bastard daring to interrupt my meal?!¡± The gorilla roared at a figure that moved in between it and Tus.


    The light coming off of its body in the dark forest showed a metal-armored female with auburn hair and golden eyes that stared at the gorilla. She had a three foot sword drawn in her right hand, the blade seemed to emit a sensation that stung the skin.


    With a grave voice she said, ¡°You grade 3 beast, have you and your guardian Hive finally lost your minds! Your sadistic hunting game is coming to a halt!¡±


    Seeing the woman, the gorilla¡¯s rage burned out instantly and a bit of fear enveloped its eyes. ¡°Captain Haya, this unimpressive beggar is an intruder who broke curfew. I was merely trying to capture him due to suspicion and unlawful conduct.¡± It took a couple of steps back and kneeled on the ground with its head lowered to the ground. Around the same time, the five-manned squad under Haya Kirm, came out of the forest with varying expressions.


    ¡°This person was obviously a beggar walking the main road and no such curfew exists. You chased him into our zone with such audacity! If our tracker did not find the commotion in time, our Organization of Rotalia would have suffered backlash! The alliance law clearly states that your guardian Hives in the territory can¡¯t attack civilians! What is your reasoning?¡± The vice-captain Talian Rul, a man of tall stature with blond hair and green eyes that glowed in the darkness, said in a mimicking tone similar to Haya¡¯s. The tracker he referred to was a man who stood off to the side with a taut bow and glowing arrow aimed at the gorilla. He wore loose garments that were camouflage and he was also a mute whom they nicknamed Arl.


    As he said so, Haya¡¯s expression twitched slightly in irritation, she casually thought to herself ¡®Why did the branch have to be in Rul?¡¯


    It was reasonable that Tus would be observed as a beggar. His clothes were tattered, dirt covered his body, and he carried a smell that was rotten. Anyone who saw him, would make it out to be poor and unrefined. He probably walked along the road for any lost coin.


    ¡°He seems to be fine expect for a couple of cracked ribs, the gash on the left leg, and the awful smell. I should be able to heal him promptly, although it will take a few hours for him to wake up.¡± A short girl with green hair, pointed ears, and a small voice kneeled next to Tus and extended her right hand. She was the healer of the group, Ruia Vine, and was part of the elven race in the continent.


    A green tendril extended form the palm and entered Tus¡¯s chest, causing a small sheen of green to appear over his entire body. The gash on his leg and the cracked ribs quickly mended back together perfectly. As she did so, her expression changed drastically when she glanced at the left side of the chest.


    ¡°I can only beg for mercy. I forgot that beggars were still considered off of the food chain¡­¡± The gorilla glanced at Tus and couldn¡¯t contain its drool that started unconsciously pouring out of its mouth. It licked its lips in order to stop, but to no avail. Its expression and intent were both obvious to the group.


    ¡°Tulian, what should we do?¡± Haya turned to Tulian Rul, Talian¡¯s brother and a stout looking man with brown hair and brown eyes. He had a large broad-axe slung over on his back, showing that he was the berserker of the group. He also specialized in the discipline of any newly formed squads, while knowing every law and regulation in the area. He administrated punishments both civilly and bloodily, a battle-bureaucrat so to speak.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Rotalia allows Hives greater than grade 2 to do their own punishments on their individuals with a first offense. All we can do is leave this beast alone as it comes from a grade 4 Hive.¡± Tulian emotionlessly gave an explanation that was choppy.


    In the world, grades referred to the overall strength of something. On individuals, it includes weapons, degree of specialization, skills, effectiveness of tactics, experience, etc. While for forces like Families, Organizations, Countries, and the one not considered to be a force and is most commonly subservient, Hive. The grade refers to the total accumulation of everyone with their individual grades and/or by the strength of their absolute best at the head.


    The grades are placed thusly; a force had one person who was grade 6, but everyone else were grade 1, they would be considered to be grade 6, even if though there is only a single grade 6. A force that had two grade 5 leaders, would also be a grade 6 force. The reason is that with each successive grade, the requirement to take on a higher grade would require at least two of a grade that is a single level lower. While mentioning this, all of the individuals in a force are counted towards the grade as well.


    A grade 1 standard is based on a person with average abilities and is completely healthy. A grade 2 would be someone with 100% better abilities than the calculated average, being two times stronger than the grade 1. A grade 3 would be another 100% increase in capabilities compared to grade 2 and so on. This may sound ridiculous in the long run, but it isn¡¯t exaggerated when the use of internal energy is factored in, as internal energy can augment the body, while having other effects... In the case where there is a person without a second heart, they would be universally rated as a grade 0.


    Of course, Hives are another matter entirely as their grades are based off of their Hives type of congregation, the different kinds of monsters that are together. Their grades are based off of the combat of equivalent human individuals with the different types.


    In the alliance, Hives are not directly a part of it as they usually follow those who control the land, albeit not willingly. However, the alliance still protects some of the Hives rights due to the other forces using their discontent to destabilize regions in the past, allowing for opportunities to arise. This was agreed by all of those under it, including this Organization called Rotalia.


    ¡°Then, what should we do with the beggar?¡± Haya asked while gesturing.


    ¡°We should just leave him be out here. We saved him from the monster, but that is where our responsibilities end. It would be a waste of effort to go any further for someone who may die in the future.¡± Tulian suggested.


    ¡°I agree, if we take it any further, the rest of the mercenary squads would laugh at us. Even more than that last incident.¡± Talian concurred with the same emotionless tone as Tulian, along with his expression becoming a little gloomy from a past experience.


    The tracker also nodded his head, obviously also thinking along Talian¡¯s line of thought. The gorilla licked its lips while listening to their conversation with its eyes obsessively watching Tus who wasn¡¯t aware of the situation.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s drop this monster somewhere else, and leave the beggar.¡± Haya announced with a disappointed expression. Although she didn¡¯t agree with what they were saying and had a weird feeling coming from Tus, risking demoralization for a random stranger wouldn¡¯t do any good, and if their own ranking in the Organization went any lower due to morals, they would probably be expelled.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Ruia interrupted the almost unanimous decision, ¡°I think we should take this so-called beggar with us.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Talian was confused regarding this.


    She stood up and faced Haya with a pleading look, ¡°This person lacks the second heart, but they survived the onslaught of the grade 3 beast showing that he has great combat and perception abilities¡­¡±


    ¡°So you want him to join our squad?¡± Talian finished her sentence with her voice and an expression of disbelief. ¡°Are you out of your mind?! That would really make us a laughing stock, not to mention that it would be against regulations, and he is a grade 0. Just because of some old emotional attachment you had with a sibling, does not mean that you can recommend him. Right, Tulian?¡±


    ¡°Yes, unless the beggar can receive direct permission from our branches¡¯ Leader.¡± Tulian shook his head, ¡°However, lacking the second heart would make the chances of him being accepted a lot lower than the average, probably around 30% would be the best chance in the best condition. Personally speaking, I¡¯m also really questioning your state of mind.¡±


    Rotalia is a mercenary Organization, receiving monetary compensation for duties received from the other forces. To such an Organization, the ability to complete missions is the thing required for its existence. Like a business, they would screen people and only recruit those who have the ability. Having a good staff allows for success. However, recruiting someone who was a beggar, the lowest rung of society, and had no prospects of improving themselves due to having no second heart, resulting in said state of being a beggar, it would tarnish the reputation of the Organization.


    ¡°And,¡± Talian continued with Tulian¡¯s expressionless voice, ¡°Your argument towards him having exceptional abilities is without justification. The monster was just toying with its food, so the beggar was able to survive when we found him.¡±


    The gorilla, still kneeling, nodded its head incessantly, ¡°Yes, I was only playing with it.¡±


    As the group was discussing, a faint sound of stones breaking apart could be heard coming from underground. The earth cracked and sand was flowing through the surface right next to Tus, swirling just above his body. Nobody from the group noticed this at all, except for the gorilla whose eyes were growing wider by the second. It watched as the sand entered into Tus¡¯s nose, mouth, and ears. Tus¡¯s his body trembled as his skin rippled like water and he silently blew apart in chunks of sand that flowed back into the ground, leaving behind the tattered clothes.


    The gorilla¡¯s mouth gaped open in shock for a moment and then suddenly roared in extreme madness, ¡°My golden pork ticket! You bastards made me to lose my chance of freedom!¡± It then rushed at Haya who stopped it earlier.


    Before it could take a step, it froze on the spot with a light flash of light coming from Haya¡¯s sword. An intense stinging sensation spread from a linear line on the gorilla¡¯s waste to the rest of its body. With a ¡®puff,¡¯ the gorilla turned into a gray dust and a blue orb flashed from the center of its body.


    If looked at closely, the gorilla¡¯s face could be vaguely seen soundlessly screaming at every member of the squad before it flew and disappeared toward the altar of Oblivion.


    This was part of the primary reason why monsters weren¡¯t exterminated. The monsters could never be killed off and would reappear sooner or later, just as before or even stronger. Killing them would also result in no benefit as the body would disperse into nothingness, leaving nothing behind worthwhile, besides a peace of mind.


    The group turned toward where Tus was and were silent with puzzled faces. They couldn¡¯t make sense of the situation. The disappearance of an individual who lacked a second heart right under their noses was incomprehensible. The slightest movement would alarm them of anything, but it was like he disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 4: Something to be afraid of?

    10 miles away from where Tus disappeared, along the main road, sunrise.


    In the forest near the road in between three trees, low rumblings emanated from beneath the ground. After five minutes of the continuous sound, cracks emerged and covered six feet. Then, golden sand flowed out, filling the space with a dehydrating air. The trees bulged toward the dehydrated air, causing their sides to become uneven. With the sound of a tree falling, water was ripped from them, making them burst from the roots to the canopy. The remnants became dust when they hit the ground and black pits were what was left of the trees. The water that came from them streamed through the air like snakes and formed a large ball in the middle of the floating sand. The water extended into the basic outline of a human and the sand conglomerated on the surface with some sinking into it. Bone, muscles, eyes¡­ A basic human body was made in three minutes with the other details such as skin tone and hair color. Soon, Tus¡¯s body was laying on the ground with his eyes rapidly fluctuated under his eyelids like he was dreaming.


    Then they stopped and his eyes slowly opened. He said in a whisper, ¡°Why am I so cold?¡±


    He looked at his own naked body and his eyes widened, ¡°Did that monster chase after me just to steal my clothes? Dammit! If I find that monster¡­ I¡¯ll give it money! Oh, wait I don¡¯t have money¡­ Why would I buy broken clothes in the first place?¡± After yelling out such things, he noticed that the injuries he had were gone. He patted his ribs, looked at his left leg, and touched his head. ¡°Looks like I didn¡¯t get hurt. Although, why am I clean and where am I?¡±


    Looking around the surroundings, he realized he was right next to a paved road. He stood up and walked to it. He looked both ways to find that on one side where there was an intersection, a sign was posted on a pole. It was the standard arrow type, directing toward each road with a name.


    Tus read them one by one and found the one was close to his destination. On it with bold writing was ¡®Froir.¡¯ Froir was a major neutral city, which was on the borders of Rul and Erkshem, two large forces that had significant influence on the surrounding areas, and held their lands like feudal lords. The position of Froir allowed it to be prosperous when he left as it worked with the Rul Family and the dictatorial Country on a daily basis.


    The reason why the city of Froir was familiar to Tus, was because it laid in the same direction as his home town. In light, but excited footsteps, he quickly walked in that direction, not even bothering about his appearance. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any monsters in this direction, right?¡± He stopped for a moment, then shrug his shoulders ¡®whatever.¡¯ He was in the middle of nowhere with no one to protect him, so meeting an undefeatable monster would be possible either way.


    ¡°Might as well accept it.¡± Tus said to himself.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    After 3 hours.


    Tus walked along the empty road when he noticed something up ahead. His eyes had a glint pass as he stood in silent deliberation. The thing he saw was a moving horse carriage that had a good level of decoration; with a reddish wood as the frame and hand carved birds around the top and sides.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He hastened his footsteps while fixing his imaginary shirt, moved around the structure, and soon he was noticed by the drivers.


    ¡°That is indecent.¡± Sitting in the posture of directing a line of horses pulling the carriage, a black haired fifty year old man, wearing a suit with a cane strapped to his back muttered under his breath. He quickly stoped them from running over Tus with their slow but constant gait. Next the man was a woman who desperately looked in a different direction after seeing Tus¡¯s astringent style.


    ¡°Are the laws of Rul becoming more lax?¡± The forty year old red-haired woman in traveling clothing asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± The man replied in a steady voice.


    While the woman continued observing a random but interesting butterfly, the man kept watch of Tus who stood in their way with a broad smile on his face. He did an exaggerated bow, kneeled on both knees, stood up to salute, and placed a hand over his chest.


    His strange actions quickly made the man furrow his brows. ¡®What¡­¡¯


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± After a moment of silence, while keeping his broad smile even after noticing the cramped gaze, Tus said ¡°Would either of you be good citizens, allowing a poor, but upright traveler like me, to travel in some semblance of protection? Recently I was mugged of everything I had and left in the forest by a monster. Would you please be considerate?¡±


    ¡°Are we allowed to kill him for interrupting our trip to Froir?¡± The woman asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t detect any sort of lie coming from him or the common feeling that the regular people would have.¡± The man said as he seemed to notice something. ¡°Maybe we could do something else.¡±


    Tus then had the vague feeling like he chose the wrong couple to ask. It grew stronger as the man gazed at him, like he was appraising some object. Tus took a couple steps back and saluted once again, ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m sorry for stopping you¡­¡± He turned around only to find the middle-aged man standing in his way and silently groaned.


    ¡°Hold on.¡± The middle aged man said as he waved one of his hands that was covered by an immaculate white glove, ¡°Don¡¯t you want this?¡± After turning the palm up, a folded purple colored servants clothing appeared in it with a shimmer.


    ¡°Oh, I was thinking so until I noticed that both of your presences are too majestic for me to handle. So I¡¯ll keep going on my merry way¡­¡± He stopped speaking as another feeling cropped up. A feeling like he was locked in place by ice.


    The man with an indifferent expression walked forward with the clothing and looked at Tus straight in the eye, ¡°All you have to do is follow us for a couple of days in Froir. Doing so will earn you some capital, earn you this royal clothing, and then you can be on your way if you choose to do so.¡±


    His eyes became colder, ¡°Or else you can disappear here, right now with your pathetic existence ceasing to occupy the world. What do you say?¡± The middle-aged man took the cane from his back with his other hand. He made it explicitly clear, one way servitude and one way death.


    Tus thought about it for a moment in lamentation, ¡®Who did I encounter this time! First, the stupid monster who stole my underwear and now this random weird person who also says he plans to kill me. If he has the same attitude as the monster, what else can he take in the same situation? I have no clothes or any money, the only thing I do have is¡­¡± Tus looked at the man in weirder manner, ¡°He shouldn¡¯t be planning to sell off my virginity, right?¡± Thinking up to here, Tus became very frightened at once. He started shivering as he then tried to come up with his best smile which was in reality, a twisted mess. He stuttered, ¡°W-where do I s-s-sign up?¡¯

 Chapter 5: Can Such a Feeling Be Defeated that Easily?

    ¡°So, where are we going?¡± Tus spoke up while he warily looked at the man and woman who sat beside him.


    At this point, Tus was completely changed into his new clothes that were purple and reflected light like a clean mirror. For the past hour, the people beside him didn¡¯t say anything besides their names. The man named Worill Musonker, while the woman was named Shel Eorl.


    Shel glanced at Tus in disgust before looking away while Worill politely replied, ¡°I¡¯m the chief of servants for milady while this woman beside us can be said to be a bodyguard and an assassin for milady. We¡¯re heading to Froir for the meeting between the ambassadors of the three forces.¡±


    ¡°Three forces and ¡®milady¡¯?¡± Tus lived in the area for sixteen years before he entered the land of Oblivion and there were only two forces, Rul and Erkshem.


    A hint of surprise flashed across Worills¡¯ face, ¡°You don¡¯t know the three forces?¡±


    ¡°What would you expect? He¡¯s probably insane and so are you for taking him with us.¡± Shel said on the side.


    ¡°Now, now, my intuition that was praised by our lord. How can I be insane?¡± Worill chuckled to himself before explaining very seriously. ¡°Around fifteen years ago, a civil war erupted within both forces of Rul and our Country of Erkshem simultaneously. The civil wars lasted for nine years until in the end, both ended in victory for the rebels, and they joined the ¡®neutral¡¯ city of Froir that became the capital of a new Country named Confine. It has been six years since then, but we¡¯re still going through different agreements to improve relations and open trade, while also getting rid of any remaining open hostility. That leads to us and milady going there.¡± Speaking up to here, Worill¡¯s eyes shown in reverence and admiration, ¡°The story of milady could be said to be outstanding. Four years into the war, our Country was losing, and our household was chosen to battle and defend Eielm city which was encroached on. Our lord and his daughter, our milady, lead the city to defend against forces that outnumbered us by three to one. Milady at the time was ten years old, but she was already grade 4 after receiving her mother¡¯s blessing. She became among the top twenty percent of the new generation! When the enemies came, she and our lord rushed into them with a part of the city¡¯s defense, and slaughtered over fifteen-thousand enemies in two days of constant battle, forcing the rest to retreat.¡±


    Hearing this, Tus¡¯s complexion became paler and paler. For one, he didn¡¯t know how long he was gone for from this world after hearing about this struggle that also encompassed his town, while the other was the person who he was supposed to serve, someone who already killed so many people at ten years old. Even he himself fought against countless amount of monsters in Oblivion, but he has never killed, much less harmed, any person.


    He couldn¡¯t help but silently exclaim ¡°Is she a monster in human form?!¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    After going through his shock, Tus asked, ¡°What year is it?¡±


    Worill nodded, coming to his own unique understanding that someone that was naked and didn¡¯t know about the three forces would not know what year it was, ¡°The year is 367 EA.¡±


    After a moment, Tus realized just how long he had been Oblivion. It has to be said that in Oblivion, that there are no day or night cycles, just all-encompassing day without any celestial object. Tus¡¯s features became as white as fresh snow and he felt his body became heavier than lead. His stomach convulsed and he threw up yesterday¡¯s dinner. ¡®367 EA? I¡¯ve been gone for two hundred years?!¡¯


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you eat something rotten?¡± Worill didn¡¯t know what was happening as he asked. Shel continued to pay attention.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. Are you sure about the year?¡± Tus motionlessly sat in his spot on the coach with his eyes appearing increasingly empty.


    Worill waved his right hand, taking out a book that was a calendar. He skimmed through it until he reached a page, showing it to Tus. ¡°This is the year 367.¡±


    ¡®All that time spent in that hellhole and yet came back achieving nothing into a place where I have nothing left for me, not even my clothes.¡¯ Tus¡¯s empty eyes glistened in tears, his body convulsed, and he began sobbing.


    ¡°I told you, he is insane.¡± Shel spoke still staring ahead.


    Worill patted Tus¡¯s back and spoke consoling, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you serve with us now. There is no reason to be upset.¡±


    ¡°I wish we can arrive in Froir faster.¡± She spoke exasperatedly.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Near evening, Froir.


    The city of Froir held a grand hub of trade with a hint of growing royalty with its current status as the capital of Confine. The streets were filled with hustle and bustle with active merchants who enjoyed the high wealth of the average populace who bought their wares. The activity had especially skyrocketed in recent days when there was the ¡®new¡¯ tradition of the three forces coming together to pass new agreements.


    After the civil wars and the merge between the rebels and this city, a draft was written where there would be two meetings every year for, at least, the next thirty years. There wouldn¡¯t be any further fighting or sabotage. At least that was one of the core elements of the draft.


    This was to allow for stabilization, recovery, and for connections to grow between the three forces. Nevertheless, even though there was this draft, the forces of Rul and Erkshem still showed hints of hostility and anger, but they couldn¡¯t do anything at all to the new Country. It was already too powerful for them to threaten in their supremely weakened states, so they could only opt for the peace.


    At this time, a conspicuous carriage with three individuals on the coach entered with a steady pace. Of course, they were Tus, Worill, and Shel.


    Tus was still pale, but his condition has already improved compared to earlier in the day. This was a needed adaption to Oblivion or else he would have long completely broken down while fighting for his life by himself for such a long time. He looked around the city as the remains of his gloom were slowly pushed aside by curiosity of the city. His heart gradually grew more excited as he asked, ¡°Is this Frior?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Worill nodded while looking at Tus¡¯s complexion, ¡°It¡¯s good that you are feeling better or else I was afraid that Shel would have killed you if you kept up that depression.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±

 Chapter 6: How Can Such a Thing Exist!

    ¡°Of course, I feel just fine! Hahaha¡­ ha.¡± Tus responded hastily while giving a forced laugh. He looked at Shel who stared at him with an indifferent face.


    ¡°I was thinking about it, maybe tomorrow morning.¡± She said serriously.


    ¡®They¡¯re really this serious and bloodthirsty?¡¯ Tus thought about it in his heart as he continued staring around the city. Even though it was night, the amount of traffic stayed consistent in a high density.


    ¡°I think our inn should be around the corner.¡± Worill announced as they neared the corner.


    ¡°Oh yea, what are my responsibilities?¡± He asked after his mind resumed its clarity due to feeling the threat to his life.


    ¡°That is simple.¡± Worill tapped his chin in pondering. Seeing this, Tus¡¯s instincts were shouting at him to leave immediately. ¡°Just stay around in close proximity with milady for the next few days.¡±


    Tus¡¯s left eye twitched as he thought, ¡®Am I still going to live after two days next to that killer?¡¯


    ¡°Nothing else. At all?¡± Tus asked.


    ¡°Nope. Shel and I will take care of the rest.¡± Worill reaffirmed as a light flashed in his eyes while Shel showed her discontent, but didn¡¯t say anything. Within the decision making, this Worill, who was the servant chief, was above her in status. Even if it concerned the safety of the one she had to protect.


    Very quickly, they came to the designated inn. It was rather tall compared to the neighboring buildings, standing at about seven stories. The outside of it was decorated in imprints of golden flames. The entrance to it actually had golden flames burning using an unusual material. In bold letters, sharing the same color, was the simple name ¡®Golden Flame.¡¯


    Also in front of the entrance were greeters and guiders. The only way to get into this inn was through prior reservation and a large lump sum upfront. Anyone who came here were people of influence, or at the very least, people with a lot of capital. As so, the customers were tended to very carefully and in a very extensive manner.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re here.¡± Worill and Shel quickly hopped off as Tus clumsily perched at the edge of the carriage like a bird before jumping. The coach was quickly taken over by some of the greeters while Worill opened the door to the carriage.


    As soon as he did so, the air in the surroundings became so intense that the wind seemed to stop. The greeters and guiders near the entrance gulped and looked down to the ground while trembling like there was a predator about to take their lives.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The only exceptions to this were Shel, Worill, and¡­ Tus who was closely observing the golden flames at the entrance.


    ¡°Wow, there isn¡¯t any heat coming from this.¡± Tus exclaimed while Shel looked at him surprise.


    Soon, a woman who looked around twenty came out of the carriage. Her hair was white as snow, eyes of crimson, and she wore a black dress. Her face was indifferent, without any hint of emotion, as she proceeded towards the entrance of the hotel with an air of tyranny.


    ¡°Milady.¡± Shel followed right behind her as Worill dragged Tus who really wanted to keep studying the flames. ¡°You should really pay attention to the situation.¡± He told Tus.


    ¡°I was, but I also really wanted to ignore it.¡±


    With that they entered the inn while the greeters and guiders heaved breaths of relief¡­ That is until they forgot that no one guided them inside.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°What grade are you?¡± After they entered a room that could be called its own house, the ¡®milady¡¯ asked Tus calmly after hearing the situation from Worill.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been told¡­ I¡¯m grade 0.¡± Not wanting to answer, but he feared that he might die before he knew it.


    ¡°Odd.¡± A single cold word came out ¡®milady¡¯s¡¯ mouth before she extended out her hand. Her arm glowed a multicolored light which abruptly disappeared. When it did, a blue crystal spike grew from her hand.


    ¡®What is she planning?¡¯ A slight fear built up inside Tus before it disappeared, ¡®Is she going to kill me after I answered her question? That wouldn¡¯t be right, at most one of these people would do it for her¡­ Unless she is a sadist who enjoys doing it herself?¡¯ The fear that disappeared reappeared in a second.


    ¡°This is odd. The World of Em doesn¡¯t seem to have any effect on you.¡± She said indifferently while she narrowed her eyes. Almost instantaneously, the woman blurred from where she stood and appeared in front of Tus with the spike just an inch away from piercing his forehead. ¡°Only grade 5¡¯s can suppress the effect of Em. What grade are you?¡±


    ¡°Grade 0. I lack the second heart.¡± Tus explained in cold sweat.


    ¡°I affirmed it when we picked him up off the road.¡± Worill said like he got a bag of groceries.


    ¡°You mean when you picked him up off the road.¡± Shel spoke as if they retrieved a dirty stray dog.


    ¡°You are kind of interesting¡­ I suppose you can stay around for now. My real name is Yarla Erkshem, but you should call me ¡®milady¡¯ or whatever you want as long as it doesn¡¯t have to deal with flowers, animals, general nature, emotions, colors, or symbols.¡± Yarla instructed.


    ¡®If you want me to call you milady, then just say so.¡¯ Even though that is what he thought, he kept it deep in his mind as he nodded to Yarla.


    ¡°Tus never call milady by her name, lord will sever your head.¡± Worill spoke sternly.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be interesting to see?¡± Shel said aloud.


    Yarla stayed silent as she left to her own room.


    Tus asked himself, ¡°So¡­ is my luck good or bad?¡±

 Chapter 7: Eggs Make a Good Breakfast

    Inside the land of Oblivion.


    ¡°How did you die?¡± Asked a neutral voice that seemed to exist, but at the same time made any living person who heard it feel nauseated from confusion as it didn¡¯t have a presence at the same time.


    A phantom form of the four armed gorilla kneeled before a spire of green light that shot into the depths of the sky, with the consequence of the reflection of the light to spread into the surrounding desert. Numerous other indistinct phantoms were in the same situation as they also kneeled speaking to the spire. When they finished, they would either enter the spire of light for reformation, losing their memories for the chance of becoming stronger, or leave directly into the sands for rebirth of their old bodies before reentering the Land of Trials, the world where Tus was in.


    ¡°I chased after an escaped deity of Oblivion and was obstructed by mortals with my weak form.¡± The gorilla replied hoarsely, the sound also acting like it didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°I keep track of all of the deities that were born here. Are you sure?¡± The voice asked with a hint of interest.


    ¡°Yes. The unique characteristic of World Rejection proliferated around his body, however it was weak and he doesn¡¯t seem to consciously control the awakened power that he has.¡± The gorilla explained.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ a new deity?¡± The light of the spire fluctuated and a formless pressure placed itself across the land. It made some areas of sand to swirl into whirlwinds while causing all the phantoms and corporal creatures to shudder and do kneeling postures out of fear. ¡°I see.¡± The voice came to a realization that was full of surprise, ¡°Such a rare thing happened. It was a crippled mortal who came from the Land of Trials seeking power, nothing new there, but he actually survived for a long enough period to succeed in his first trial, allowing the land to burn into his body. I knew someone entered a while ago, but I didn¡¯t expect that he succeeded. This new deity will go through the trials that no one has activated for countless years¡­¡±


    The light around the spire fluctuated again. This time, a cone shaped image appeared, surrounding the spire with a young man sleeping on a golden laced couch.


    ¡°Alright, as you have given me something to watch, I¡¯ll give you any request you want concerning your revival.¡± The voice resounded strongly, causing faint ripples to go through the air.


    ¡°Demon of Oblivion, I just want to be reborn as something strong with my memories intact. Maybe as strong as I was when I was a deity¡­¡± The gorilla asked looking down.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do so¡­ generously.¡± The voice said. Afterward the surface of the spire writhed, rippled to a single point, and a black beam shot out, striking the gorilla¡¯s phantom. The phantom writhed and painfully wailed as it transformed into an egg which grew bigger and bigger. The spire fluctuated once more and the egg was wrapped by a green energy and disappeared. The egg continued to grow in the place it was sent to until it stopped and the egg solidified into an orange color, with a height at over a 100 feet. After a moment, the egg turned into a web of cracks that shown light coming from the inside as a powerful roar sounded, causing the land to tremble.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Ahh!¡± An unnecessarily loud yawn echoed in the living room. Through the windows, beams of sunlight flowed in almost like water. In the early morning light, not a speck of dust floated in the room that was meant for the high class.


    ¡°Be quiet!¡± A tired, aggravated voice sounded out of one of the bedrooms before the door was opened to a disheveled Shel angrily looking at Tus who rubbed his eyes. ¡°All night long, you incessantly spoke in your sleep about depressing things, and I couldn¡¯t sleep at all.¡± Signs of wear and tear shown as dark circles on Shels¡¯ face spoke the truth.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t control my nightmares.¡± Tus replied helplessly.


    ¡®I thought I saw that monster again... with one of those annoying light towers.¡¯


    ¡°Next time, we¡¯re moving the couch next to Worills room¡­ I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡± Shel shook her head as she shut the door. Before the door closed she said quietly, ¡°Good morning.¡±


    Tus sighed before he shot straight out of bed (couch), ¡°Now, I¡¯ll use the restroom, eat breakfast, and wait right here.¡±


    ¡°No one needs to know what you are doing! Stop talking to yourself!¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­ Now, where do I go for the complimentary breakfast.¡± Tus talked to himself, accidentally.


    After three hours.


    Tus sat impatiently on a side of the folded blankets on the couch. He was fully dressed and had already eaten breakfast, but after three hours, no one else made any movements at all.


    He looked at the large clock across the room which read 8:01 and shot up from the couch again.


    Maybe, this is a chance for me to study the layout of the city.¡¯ Realizing this opportunity, he grabbed a piece of paper and a quill. He wrote a note explaining that he would be gone for an hour and that he would be exploring the city.


    In one excited, rushing motion, he flew out of the room, and before he knew it, he was on the streets of Frior looking about the busy streets. He sung an old nursery rhyme to choose a direction and went to the right.


    Following the crowd, he looked at different shops that sold everything from humble farmer seeds to cold blooded military equipment. All of which fascinated him as he hung his head closely at the display windows before being chased off by annoyed shop keepers.


    ¡°Where am I?¡±He walked the streets for an hour before he came to the conclusion that he was lost.


    There were no signs or foot traffic that were evident. There was even a chill of desolation hanging in the air that made the area seem gloomy.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll head back to the inn¡­ although how do I get there again?¡± He scratched his head and as soon as he was about to turn around, someone screamed in a high pitched voice, ¡°Help!¡±


    It was a little boy with blond hair and green eyes, about seven years old. He wore clothing that was heavily decorated in obscure symbols that was clear at first but blurred as someone looked at it, forgetting what the symbol was. Despite the decoration, there was evidence struggle as some of it was damaged. When the boy saw Tus, his eyes shined in hope as he cried, ¡°Mister save me!¡±


    Turning around the corner, two people in concealing clothing were chasing after the boy. Their eyes glowed in malice and their faces carried heavy frowns as they quickly gained in distance.


    ¡°I have no choice.¡± Tus couldn¡¯t help but decide aid the boy. Seeing such straits with the people chasing him, filled Tus with dissatisfaction, and reminded him of the constant chases of the monsters. Other than that, the boy reminded Tus a little of his own childhood.


    Tus retreated behind a corner out of sight after signaling for the boy to lead them to the spot. Soon, the boy came around with the pursuers close by. In a flash, Tus kicked off the ground and landed briefly on the alleyways¡¯ wall. From there, he jumped off like a grasshopper off grass, and turned his body. Using the centrifugal force, he landed his shinn on the head of one of the men. That man only saw a wave of stars as he crashed into the ground unconscious with a swell coming off of his head. Tus knew that he only had a limited amount of time before the other one activated his internal energy, which would spell a one-sided defeat. He threw out a quick punch aiming at the other man¡¯s throat who was following closely behind the first.


    The other man could barely react before Tus¡¯s fist struck his throat, just strong enough to make him paralyzed in pain, and not enough to crush his windpipe. Tus followed with a punch at the man¡¯s stomach, making him bend over and then kicked his jewels, while hitting the man¡¯s jaw, making him incapacitated. In the brief moment he was still awake, he almost wished he was dead.


    ¡°Hey kid, are you okay?¡± Turning around in a cool and stylish fashion of a hero, Tus asked the dumbstruck boy.

 Chapter 8: Some Rewards? Awesome!

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. Thank you mister!¡± The boy couldn¡¯t get over what he saw. This person used less than reputable means to take down the two hooligans. The first person was taken down by a surprise attack and the second was done in by fast attacks aimed at the universal weak points of the human body, or at the very least, a man¡¯s body. Even so, he felt gratified for the man saving him.


    ¡°It poses no problem.¡± Tus answered boldly and then asked, ¡°Why were they chasing you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry mister, but that is tied to my Family, and they would kill me if I answered. My name is Fifth Rul, may I know yours?¡± The boy became very serious before politely asking his own question. The response of Tus surprised him.


    ¡°My name is Tus Gilgar.¡± Besides answering the Fifth¡¯s question, there was no other reaction, causing surprise in the latter. ¡°Is there a place that you can go? I¡¯ll escort you there.¡±


    Fifth pondered for a moment, ¡°Do you know where the Golden Flame is, mister?¡±


    ¡°Actually I slept there last night and I think I can find my way back.¡± Tus replied in a manner less than confident, making Fifth show a face full doubt.


    At that moment, he closely studied Tus¡¯s attire, and he came to the conclusion that he was some kind of high class servant. ¡®Perhaps one of the Golden Flames¡¯? That can¡¯t be it.¡¯ He thought to himself. His green eyes mysteriously glowed as Tus lead the way.


    After about twenty minutes, miraculously Tus and Fifth stood in front of the Golden Flame, causing Tus to have second thoughts.


    ¡°That was easier than I thought. Maybe after dropping off this kid, I can leave this city and head to my home town. Even if it has been 200 years, there might be something left for me. If my grandparents are still alive... At least this thought gives me a bit of hope.¡± Tus muttered to himself. The real reason, might actually be that he is scared of the fellow humans he has associated himself with recently than what he said.


    ¡°Mister, you have awesome memory!¡± Fifth exclaimed in a child-like manner.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Tus puffed out his chest and boasted, ¡°I have the capabilities of navigating the grand seas for thousands of miles, the endless great sands to their abstract boundaries, and the sky piercing mountains that threaten humanity with insanity. For a little city like this, I can read it like the back of my hand.¡±


    ¡°You are amazing!¡± With the previous occurrence of beating down the threat and finding this inn that counts as a needle in a haystack in this complex metropolis (unless of course they asked someone, which neither did), Fifth¡¯s impression of Tus could be considered to be high. ¡°Mister, if it wouldn¡¯t be inappropriate, I want you to become my personal servant.¡± He asked with large eyes.


    Hearing this, Tus broke out in a sweat as he felt a pair of scary eyes land on him from somewhere. He hurriedly replied, ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t mind doing so, but I¡¯m afraid I would become stew by my captors, I mean friendly peers!¡± After saying so, the feeling of the gaze disappeared.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Disappointment filled Fifth¡¯s face, before it brightened, ¡°If that is the case, then take this.¡± Fifth handed a card to Tus which was yellow bordered with the green writing of ¡®Rul.¡¯ ¡°All you have to do is bestow a drop blood onto this card and I¡¯ll immediately be able locate you if you choose to become my servant or if you need help. Oh, I need to repay you with something. Here.¡±


    Fifth took out a circular wooden piece that had a center symbol of an open hand. Around the hand, at the tips of the fingers were different words such as ¡®general ¡®knowledge,¡¯ ¡®plants,¡¯ ¡®animals,¡¯ ¡®voice,¡¯ and ¡®hear.¡¯ The piece itself appeared as though it had aged a thousand years and was ready to turn into dust.


    ¡°Mister, this talisman will aid you in identifying almost anything that is known to my Family. From what I¡¯ve read from you, you don¡¯t seem to know anything besides unfair fighting skills. Just place it against your forehead and direct your attention to anything, and you¡¯ll receive a description of that. I was given this as a study tool, but I have already activated all of the contents and memorized them, so I don¡¯t need it anymore.¡± Fifth showed a proud expression after stating so.


    Tus was amazed as he really needed something like this, but felt complicated. He took it and said, ¡°Thank you Fifth. Although I helped you, you don¡¯t really need to give me anything.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Fifth said. ¡°Half of my Family¡¯s power pertains to knowing people, or at least knowing whether or not they¡¯re good. I¡¯ll have to give you my farewell now. Remember to contact me if you want to reconsider being my servant.¡± He then walked into the inn, guided by one of the attendants.


    Looking at this, Tus thought, ¡®This Golden Flame is for the rich and well connected. I¡¯m now a little curious about Rul.¡¯ Tus glanced at the Talisman, ¡®At least my morning was fruitful. I now have good knowledge of the city, so I can escape if need be, and now with this¡­ I should test it out.¡¯ Before he could do so, a casual voice said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get too involved with them.¡±

 Chapter 9: What Kind of Non-Fiction Includes Dragons?

    Worill soundlessly emerged out of the ground right next to Tus, without breaking the ground. His held his cane that was always strapped to his back in his right hand. On it, a few drops of could be seen, but they quickly disappeared into it. He used the other hand to clasp Tus¡¯s shoulder with a smile on his face.


    ¡°You choose wisely, although you should really pay attention to your surroundings. The Family of Rul has many complicated dealings within their lineage with a lot of diplomatic warfare. One of the enemies of that young ruler were tailing you.¡±


    Hearing this, Tus wasn¡¯t surprised given the circumstances, but he still looked around. He didn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary.


    At this, Worill said with a chuckle, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, I¡¯ve already took care of it. That was a nice exercise, ha.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ glad that you had a good exercise.¡± Tus was unsure of how to respond.


    ¡°Come, milady is already on her way to the capital building.¡± Both of them silently disappeared into the busy street, with no one paying attention.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Somewhere in Rul. The Branch of Rotalia


    When Haya¡¯s squad walked into their temporary encampment, which was situated by tents in a spiraling formation toward the center, they were surprised by the activity going on with the other squads. Everyone was running around like headless chickens, grabbing their weapons, necessary supplies, and quickly leaving out of the entrance in panic.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Talian, the vice-captain, asked someone who was passing by, but that person just hurriedly said, ¡°Report to your manager,¡± before running off with the rest of their squad.


    ¡°We were already heading there anyways. Let¡¯s go.¡± Haya instructed.


    They moved through the spiraling formation, weaving through the other oncoming squads, before they came before a tent which was lined with pictures of blue hurricanes with red eyes. Haya entered by herself with the squad waiting outside.


    ¡°Haya, reporting to Manager Welsh.¡±


    An old man, who wore a pendent with the same hurricane, sat at a wooden desk that had piles of papers scattered about. He was frenetic as he read through various documents and writing on others at the same time.


    He glanced at Haya impatiently, ¡°Why are you here? I thought I told you to go with the search?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°I just arrived here, sir.¡± Haya said without any hint of negative emotions. ¡®This manager is too unreliable when he¡¯s like this.¡¯


    ¡°Sorry, since we received the news from the branch I¡¯ve been dealing with all of my squads today.¡± He stopped his actions and faced Haya directly with his hands folded. He spoke quickly and seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll go directly to the point and this is confidential information. There are potentially two major disasters we¡¯re facing. Two nights ago, the alliance found a disturbance of a direct entry from the Altar of Oblivion. The last time that happened was eleven-thousand years ago, and what came out was the demon H¡¯raol. Just this matter alone is grave enough to send the entire continent into panic.¡±


    Haya¡¯s face became solemn as she listened with traces of shock. The demon H¡¯raol, who nearly killed off all of the people in just three months, was something of a ghost story told to children, so nearly everyone knew about it. If it wasn¡¯t for the last stand of humanity with support from lands across the seas, the continent would have fell entirely to the monsters. At some point a surprise attack was launched on H¡¯raol and it was eventually sealed into a relic by the heroes of the time. The reason why it wasn¡¯t killed and was sealed, was because its life force was different from living creatures and rendered it immune to mortal injury.


    ¡°However, this can still be seen as a false positive as the alliance can¡¯t find any traces of a demon around the area, and there hasn¡¯t been any stirring among the Hives. So this matter has been temporarily settled as ¡®non-important.¡¯ This second matter is not the same case, though.¡± Welsh brought out a map of the area with the various cities around it in three hundred miles. On it, besides the cities, was a large red dot to the North, near the city of Froir.


    ¡°Last night, there was a rebirth of a dragon, and right now it is hidden somewhere around Froir. The rebirth of a dragon, similar to the first matter, hasn¡¯t happened for at least fifteen-thousand years. Not to mention, this dragon can be considered to be one of the rarest types, a Gradual.¡±


    Haya at this moment was struck dumbfounded and asked, ¡°Gradual?¡±


    ¡°Yes. As the information about dragons is not strictly kept under wraps by the older forces, we know enough information to classify it. Although the amount of information after that can be considered vague, there is one point that makes it terrifying.¡± Welsh sighed, ¡°That is, a Gradual grows stronger from whatever damage it receives. This makes them impossible to defeat, unless they¡¯re sealed like H¡¯roal. The two other methods are to convince it to leave, but as a monster, it will probably not listen, and to ask a demon or a devil to kill it for compensation, but that would bring about even worse things.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, this entire thing is just¡­ I¡¯ll let you choose whether or not you want to stay with us and I¡¯ll give you a mission based on the branch leader¡¯s conjecture. The amount of danger for the mission is very high.¡± Welsh looked directly at Haya, waiting for her answer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Haya said directly


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll tell you. The coincidence of the entry from Oblivion and this dragon are too close together. We think that whatever came out caused this dragon to search for it and the thing that came out might be in Froir, disguising itself as someone to gain insights into the continent. Your mission is to enter Froir to search for the disguised creature, report it to me, and get the hell out of there.¡± Welsh threw a coin to Haya who subsequently placed it into a pocket. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the dragon, even though it is a Gradual, it would still fear entering the city as it was just born. Making this to be the most opportune time for it to be sealed. Time is running low for this as it probably knows that the alliance is making measures to trap and seal it, so it may make some moves. You are dismissed.¡±

 Chapter 10: Follow Me into the Architectural Garden

    The capital building of Confine, center of Froir.


    The capital building has had a long history. Initially it was a mere school house of a settlement, teaching anyone below the age of twelve the arts of literature and simple mathematics. As time goes, modifications were made to it, and it was rebuilt several times. Each remodel being larger than the last, just like the city that it was in.


    Around it were gardens with artificial waterfalls and every kind of flower imaginable. Guard posts could be seen on the outskirts and at ¡®choke points¡¯ inside. The structure and property took over eight acres of land and the way it was engineered, made the property and the structure is very hard to tell apart, so the phrase ¡®structure and property¡¯ was made to identify such a place. The structure spread over the land from one main box-like building, similar to plant tendrils, and enclosed a circular area.


    Just outside one of the sixteen gates around the establishment, Yarla and Shel just arrived when Worill and Tus came out of the ground. The latter was unsteady as he was held up by the white gloved palm clutching his shoulder with a pale pace.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that again.¡± Tus muttered himself.


    Yarla casted an indifferent glance at him, before turning around, heading towards the gate. The rest quickly followed behind with Tus being dragged.


    The exterior of the gate was made of white marble with two large brown doors that prevented anyone unqualified from entering. On two sides of the gate were guards that watched the newcomers come out of the crowd to stand in front of the gate.


    ¡°Name?¡± In a flash of light, one of the guards jumped from the top of the thirty foot post to the ground. No evidence of impact was made as there wasn¡¯t even a ¡®thump¡¯ noise. The guard who jumped down was wearing silver and yellow armor. He asked curtly, not wanting to spend time away from the lunch that he was having. However, once he made it down to the ground the thought of lunch went out of his mind as he felt his entire body go cold. He moved his own internal energy to mitigate the World of Em, but he still felt the suppression to a certain degree.


    ¡°Yarla Erkshem.¡± Yarla said emotionlessly.


    The guards¡¯ face distorted before returning to normal. He thought to himself, ¡®Why do I have to deal with the Massacring Witch?¡¯


    He said aloud, ¡°I need to know your groups basic attributes to allow entry.¡±


    Basic attribute refers to the second hearts¡¯ primary composite, in other words, the element. When the external energy is converted, it become a form that resonates with the persons¡¯ body and soul, so it wouldn¡¯t cause conflict. It turns to such forms such as water, earth, fire, air, life, death, wood, etc. When the internal energy takes effect outside the body, in this case the person is using a method to extract its potential, that element is expressed. Of course, besides the most basic elements, the primary composite of the second heart can become much more varied and abstract. Just take Yarla¡¯s second heart. It exists as a spatial primary deposit that causes mental and body suppression passively, the World of Em enhances those effects while also granting personal abilities by utilizing the spatial property.Stolen story; please report.


    What the guard asks for is the general outline of the primary composite, not really the exact details. In this way, the security, even though they have an idea of the members coming for the meeting, they can do guard changes to fit any conflict.


    Worill stepped forward, ¡°Pressure, ice, spatial, and non-existent.¡±


    The guards eyebrows shot up, ¡°Non-existent? I¡¯ve never heard of that before.¡±


    Worill pointed to Tus and explained, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a second heart, so there is no basic attribute.¡±


    The guard nodded before sending a scornful and a curious look at Tus and his body flashed with light and disappeared.


    Before entering Oblivion, Tus was very much used to such looks of disdain. In fact, outside of his home, he was bullied and ignored most of the time by ordinary people, with only a few childhood friends who gradually merged with the crowd as they grew older.


    Remembering such times, Tus felt relieved and melancholy at the simultaneously. Relieved because he found the memories hazy due to the passage of time, but also sadness due to experiencing them in the first place. In the past, he thought that if he could gain strength and change the world, than that would be wonderful. As things stand to him now though, all of that was a pipe dream. Not being able to gain any kind of power from being within Oblivion for 200 years, all of his hopes for a miracle are down the drain. Sure, he can brag that he lived while fighting countless monsters night and day, but who would he brag to? No one would likely listen to him and even if they did they would ignore him for not biologically fitting into society.


    The group waited for a while before the gate was finally opened revealing an elderly man in a clean silver, golden robe and flowing white hair that reached his shoulders. His nose and brown eyes were pointed like a bird as he walked in front of the group. He surveyed the group of four with his interest primarily on Yarla and Tus.


    ¡°My name is Eor Iator, at your service.¡± He introduced himself before bowing, ¡°I¡¯ll take you directly to the first day¡¯s assembly. Right this way, please.¡± Then they all entered the gate before it closed.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Why do you think they brought something like that?¡± In one of the two guard posts above the gate, three people stood at a window watching Tus enter. The person who spoke wore a military uniform of silver and yellow. His hair was a bit grayed, but overall he appeared fairly young, around thirty to forty years. He was a general of Confine¡¯s military, Marcas Yal.


    ¡°I think it is interesting.¡± Said a female who wore a robe with the same silver and yellow design. ¡°People who lack the second heart essentially don¡¯t exist nowadays with their forced extinction. Well, except for the sanctuaries.¡± She is the director of the servants and guards, Mali Trest.


    The third person was entirely covered in black clothing as their silver eyes glowed with a particular obsession. This was a ¡®tamed¡¯ monster, named Gargoyle. It said vaguely, with a hidden sinister smile that showed two rows of shiny razor sharp teeth, ¡°There might be some surprises for us during these next couple of days.¡±

 Chapter 11: Where Were they Saying?

    The group followed the old man into a circular chamber somewhere in the capital building. The circular room had rows of seats following the curvature that surrounded a center platform, similar to that of a stadium. In the seats were the Rul Family, the Erkshems¡¯ regiment branches, and the ¡®neutral¡¯ Confine¡¯s republic congressmen. The room was more or less silent with the different sides whispering within their groups.


    The Rul¡¯s side was made of people who seemed to be familiar to each other and quite of them looked similar with blond hair and green eyes. Generally they were all fairly peaceful and were the second most active group besides the Confines who all wore the silver and golden colored garments.


    The Confines could be considered to be fairly obnoxious in how they looked at the other two forces with their deriding expressions. It seemed that the war that occurred a few years earlier was something that they took pride in. The ¡®neutral¡¯ group seemed to be the most aggressive in their attitudes.


    The opposite of the Rul and Confines were the Erkshem. Most of them were completely silent with their eyes closed and they carried a type of ferocious undercurrent that could rip anything apart once it was stepped into. Some of them would open their eyes from time to time check on the situation around them before closing their eyes again.


    Until now, Tus didn¡¯t believe that he was really going with the group that he was swallowed into, to an important meeting that decided the relationship between the three forces. Before he went into Oblivion, he was a just commoner after all with a physical defect that directly affected his social status. So the idea of actually being in a place like this, to him, was surreal.


    ¡°Here are your seats.¡± Eor directed them to sit on the Erkshems¡¯ side where there was an isolated group of four chairs. ¡°If you have any questions or want any services, then please ask. I¡¯ll be standing right here.¡± He stood off to the side, directing his vision to the center of the room.


    Worill nodded and the four took their seats with him and Yarla sitting in the middle, Shel and Tus sitting at the sides where Tus was next to Worill who seemed to emanate a feeling of a guardian as he alertly, but subtly shifted his eyes.


    Time passed as more of the seats filled up with the different representatives. Tus recognized one of them as the little kid he rescued earlier in the morning, who now was in a group of three. One was a masked guard, while the other was an older male who appeared to be Fifth¡¯s father. He also wore the same gown with the same obscure symbols that seemed to gather waves of faint multicolored light. His face was serious as he looked at the other people of Rul.


    The man then seemed to have felt Tus¡¯s gaze and turned around. He saw Tus and nodded with a faint smile before he sat down in his chair, resuming his stern expression.


    ¡°Tus it is best if you don¡¯t speak with anyone here.¡± Worill began a conversation. ¡°Any kind of offense can result in your instant death if milady or I can¡¯t help it.¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡®I¡¯m already worried about you or your master trying to kill me! Why else would I remain this quiet when I want to speak my reasonable thoughts!¡¯ Tus thought so, but he said ¡°Thank you for the reminder¡± instead.


    ¡°It is no problem at all really. When you were on the road before, Shel almost killed you on the spot.¡± Worill spoke honestly. ¡°Even though you sometimes seem to be insane, I know you have a good nature¡­ The primary reason why I brought you into our circle is because I have a feeling that you are a bringer of good luck. I always trust my gut, and having you with us to give your good fortune, even acting as a lucky charm¡­ it would be worth it for milady.¡±


    ¡®If you knew I came from Oblivion and monsters are tempted to steal my clothes, then you would probably jump out of your skin. Although, I think I already told you about the clothes part... Wait! How did I become a lucky charm! Am I some sort of accessary? Who are you calling insane?! Bastard¡­¡¯ Tus¡¯s belligerent internal monologue continued for a while as Worill looked toward the center platform.


    At this time, a middle aged man with a fair complexion and wearing a robe with a symbol of a empty cage that had silver and gold bars stood in the center of the room. When he appeared, everyone felt a pressure wash over their bodies. Eor, who stood to the left, waved his hand, and a protective transparent barrier enveloped Tus, with the latter accepting it peacefully. They expected this as the one who stood on the platform was a grade 11, a so called tier 1, basically a god amongst even grade 5¡¯s. Any ordinary person who came near him would be blown away to bits and pieces due to the internal energy¡¯s volatile expansion in the environment. It is like when a lightning bolt crosses the sky, the theory of the sound of thunder says that it is due to the intense heat that creates a temporary vacuum that has matter crash back to fill the gap. In the case of the internal energy, the air flow would shift with ¡®hot¡¯ energy sporadically spreading in the wind. It doesn¡¯t create any sound, but anyone who isn¡¯t far above the releaser in regards to strength would feel it.


    He is the vice-president of Confine, Astar Fiel. What he did was a ¡®greeting¡¯ or a ¡®your attention, please¡¯ and it was effective. At most times, once someone reached a grade where their internal energy would leak out and cause harm to those without the proper resistance, they would keep it inside of themselves unless they are provoked by a threat. However, the best way to grab everyone¡¯s attention at once, at least in this situation, was by utilizing the volatile energy, as everyone could feel it faster than they could hear the persons¡¯ voice. Not to mention, the feeling of yourself being pressed down by an oceanic pressure would be more direct than someone yelling at you.


    ¡°I welcome everyone to the twelfth set of meetings. Today, we are going to discuss any further disputes concerning boundary and trade. If there are any other problems that need to be said, then please say them.¡± Astar spoke with a voice that seemed to engrave into the soul, making any normal person feel awed.


    At this introduction, a person of Rul¡¯s side stood up, ¡°Since we discussed about the movements of your Confine near our Family¡¯s holdings during the last meeting, there hasn¡¯t been any change at all. I¡¯ve received a report from my nephew that a group of your soldiers actually crossed the observed boundary¡­¡± As he spoke, auite a few people on his side agreed before he was interrupted by an ¡®energetic¡¯ individual.


    ¡°Now, now, you old¡­ Excuse me, comrade. I know that our Country¡¯s dealings have only been within our borders as we have strict handling of our military. Maybe your nephew has suffered from too much inbreeding and hallucinated from some mental disorder?¡± One of the higher ups of the Confine¡¯s congressmen stood up and ¡®politely¡¯ refuted.

 Chapter 12: Is everyone Angry or Scared? Make Up Your Minds!

    ¡°!!!¡± The people of Rul almost all stood up with their faces red from anger. They glared at the other side with growing aggression.


    It has to be said that the Families that existed in this world almost always retained their own bloodline, hence the name Family, but it isn¡¯t done through inbreeding. When a Family first starts, they spread out to marry and have kids with others, bring them into the Family, increase the number of members, and increase their holdings. Once it reached a certain point, they would then stay within their holdings, allowing outsiders to enter, but not one of their Family members could leave. Over a lengthy period of time, this caused certain traits to appear and spread within the Family that became its own kind of flag or representation. Those who exhibited such traits with the appropriate talent would land in leader positions.


    In the Family itself, there were universal rules that stated that actual inbreeding was not acceptable, as the consequences of such actions would lead to immediate repercussions in the next generation. However, the term ¡®inbreeding¡¯ was still used loosely to signify the fact of the dominate traits appearing that would be recessive in the general populace. The Countries and occasionally, Organizations, would use it as a derogatory term which the different Families eventually started treating as a grave offense.


    ¡°Milthan! If you start another pointless argument, then your position here will be dissolved!¡± Astar warned the congressman with internal energy appearing in his eyes.


    The man shivered as he sat down, not speaking another word. The Rul Family, upon seeing this, had their anger dissolved by a large degree, but the residual resentment made the outcome of the meeting even less likely to be productive.


    ¡°Those soldiers used to live in your lands, so they might have had the impulse to intrude for nostalgia. We¡¯re still working through our own systems¡­¡± Usually in these meetings, the vice-president would act as the mediator, directing the flow of the conversation, but not actually joining. The intrusion of Milthan obstructed and reduced the confidence in a civil conversation regarding the topic, so Astar took charge of that part for the moment. The Rul family calmed and sat back down.


    The three groups then went onto several topics over similar issues, with the Erkshem Country being the quietest, and Confines elected officials being the loudest. Tus considered to be boring and ¡®going nowhere¡¯. He then had a strange feeling when the discussions suddenly halted. He looked around wondering why everyone was silent when he saw them gazing in a direction when, in that direction, the doors were pushed opened.


    The one who opened the door was a man who appeared to be in their thirties followed by another man who appeared to be in their early forties. They didn¡¯t appear to be like the Ruls¡¯ with their physical traits, or the Confines¡¯ and Erkshems¡¯ with their gold-silver and black attires, respectively. Both of them were completely different, from the way they dressed, their apparent attitudes, and their vastly different body builds.


    The last one to enter was an older looking male who was chubby, wearing a gown reminiscent of metal with no other forms of personalization, besides the lack of clothing that didn¡¯t cover the arms or anywhere beneath the shin. He appeared to be mentally abrasive and looked upon everyone in the room with a high and mighty arrogance with his chin raised. His footsteps made the floor tremble with an exaggerated weight as well as causing the fat on his body to move like gelatin.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The younger looking man could be defined as skinny and bad health with his sunken eyes and his cheekbones that almost seemed like they wanted rip through the skin like two blades. The rest of his body was covered in what looked like a blue blanket which was dragged along the floor.


    Tus watched them enter, feeling apprehensive, ¡®Do these two actually exist? Why are they so¡­ mismatched? And where is this foreboding feeling coming from?¡¯


    The skinny man walked forward, just beyond the door, and spoke in a high pitched voice that could shatter rock, ¡°I¡¯m Velfor and this is my excellent colleague Drel. It is good that all of you are here in one place as we from the alliance need to make an announcement.¡±


    The fat man, Drel, also walked forward, and the doors behind him shut with a bang. Still keeping his arrogant posture, he talked as if he was the avatar of an earthquake that had a hint of joyful expectation, ¡°Within this city, there is suspected to be a denizen of Oblivion that is not a monster, but perhaps a demon or a devil. None of you may know this, but demons and devils can take the forms of anything, including us, making them awfully hard to track. The most characteristic aspect is that demons want destruction while devils want to conspire. If we don¡¯t find it in this city, then all of you should prepare for your deaths as we can¡¯t allow any form of corruption to sprout.¡±


    Those of the alliance, including Erkshem and Rul, are a number of forces that exceed 100. It expands all across the continent hoping to prevent catastrophes like those in the past. When dealing with situations where the risk of another continent wide threat appears, the alliance would decide immediately who to send. They chose to send these two, who were not originally from the area so they could be detached, and had them come here to ¡®scout¡¯ out the threat. If they did find it, and couldn¡¯t deal with it, then the consequences for the area would be awful to unimaginable proportions as the alliance would take drastic action to wipe it clean, to ensure it doesn¡¯t escape and become something else. The same process would occur if the threat couldn¡¯t be found, then it would be better to cleanse the area, then leave roots unturned. They thought as long as they could get to the threat before it establishes itself, nullify it, then the sacrifice would be worth it.


    At least those of the higher standings knew this policy and if they had known in advance that the alliance would come, then most of these people wouldn¡¯t be here right now. The alliance didn¡¯t care about two measly forces and another force that wasn¡¯t part of it, as they weren¡¯t even the secondary dominant forces. The loss of such would prove to be inconsequential to the greater picture.


    The room was deathly silent with fear bursting within every person. It made their minds stand still and their hearts stop for a beat. The power of those nurtured within the alliance, those who weren¡¯t tied to any of the forces, were individuals strong enough to take on any of the countries single handedly. Even if their fear turned into ferocious anger, they would immediately die without leaving anything behind.


    ¡°None of you have to worry too much. The thing could be weak as an ant for all we know and we might be able to find it and kill it. If we do kill it, then your city will be exempted from the annihilation status. You can go about your business as per usual now, but not any of you are allowed to leave the city or else we will kill you. If we don¡¯t find anything for a few days, then we¡¯ll check amongst you. We know you all have your pride and such, so we won¡¯t spoil anything. Have a good day.¡± Velfor reassured everyone before he and Drel left, each one of their steps shattering everyone¡¯s¡¯ mind to pieces, making them not return to their senses for a while.

 Chapter 13: Okay... Can I have Four Bodyguards too? Particularly for Free?

    Tus was mentally shivering in fear inside as he calmly watched the two figures who could shake the land walk out of the room. He couldn¡¯t figure out how they could find the area he was in already, but he knew he had to lay low and disappear when they chose to search through the higher-ups. Even though the danger was high, he ¡®knew¡¯ that he was safe. He didn¡¯t have the so called demonic energy that he read about or the ability to control monsters like the infamous H¡¯raol. There was essentially no way for them to find him, but it was better to be safe than sorry.


    After the intrusion of the duo, the meetings were called to an end until the alliances¡¯ search was over. Tus felt relieved as his group left the capital building, because he felt that the entire time he was there he was being watched with increasing intensity.


    ¡®Was it only my imagination?¡¯ Tus thought to himself.


    ¡°Alright since the meetings have indefinitely stopped, we should probably return to the Golden Flame.¡± Worill suggested.


    Yarla shook her head slightly as she stared in a direction towards one of the gates. When Worill and Shel saw who was coming, their faces subtly distorted. Tus looked over and found a group five people who were leisurely walking over.


    The one in the lead was a man in his mid-twenties whose skin had a paleness that appeared to have never greeted the sun. He wore black robes with the crescent of a waning moon that was yellow. His face was proud as he walked in front of the four others who kept in step. They all had masks that denied their identity and were his bodyguards.


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t it the Massacring Witch, the blundering butler, the grandma assassin, and...¡± The man furrowed his brows as he stared at Tus who also blankly stared at him. ¡°Well, no matter.¡± He switched his gaze back to Yarla, ¡°Massacring Witch, I have been allotted the dueling token from the head regime, and I can finally bring down your false prestige.¡±


    The man showed a black diamond that had no particular designs. Besides its color, it looked like a regular gem, but the ever worsening expressions of Worill and Shel said otherwise.


    ¡°Why are you doing it here in the enemy¡¯s¡¯ capital city!¡± Shel exclaimed while Worill kept silent. Tus looked between them, still wondering what was going on.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Are you scared of your master losing to me?¡± The man momentarily switched to Shel before he looked back at Yarla, ¡°When I attained this token, she got the right of no refusal, especially since she recently became the same grade as I... Remember this, Massacring Witch, come to the center plaza in the city on the afternoon two days from now. I¡¯ll give you chance to do your preparations.¡± The man then promptly left with a self-satisfied smile on his face.


    ¡°¡­¡± Tus didn¡¯t dare ask what that was about. The atmosphere seemed to be extremely delicate as any disruption on his part might spell his demise.


    Worill heaved a sigh, ¡°I should¡¯ve predicted that scoundrel would have done this.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Yarla started speaking with the same indifference as usual. ¡°He has the right to challenge me. I have to use the power mother has given me to crush him and not disappoint father. If I lose, then I have no choice than to become an outcast of our family.¡±


    ¡°To increase his own ranking within the regime like this is despicable. Milady, you have to crush his skull.¡± Shel spoke her own part with her teeth grinding together, mostly from Yarla¡¯s circumstance and some from being called ¡®grandma assassin.¡¯


    ¡®Can she talk about something besides death, insanity, or crushing skulls? I came back to this world to get away from monsters, not to join more. If it isn¡¯t these people who kill me, then it will probably be those alliance assholes.¡¯ Tus seriously debated about his surroundings.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    It was near evening when Haya¡¯s five-manned squad stopped in one of the streets with Froir. They entered smoothly without any interruption using the authority of Rotalia and began their search for the ¡®demon¡¯ immediately.


    ¡°Captain, we should take a rest and search more tomorrow.¡± Talian suggested dispiritedly. The city was large and looking for something that could change its appearance would make the situation a lot more exaggerated than finding a needle in a haystack. It would be like trying to find a very specific hay straw within a haystack.


    ¡°I think we can stop here.¡± Haya agreed after thinking for a moment. ¡°We already went through quite a bit of the city.¡±


    As they were leaving, the tracker, Arl, stood in place with a confused expression as he looked down one of the alleyways connecting to the street.


    ¡°Arl, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Haya noticed his strange behavior and asked.


    He responded to Haya by making a few gestures and pointed to the alleyway.


    ¡°Beggar?¡± Talian also stopped as he yawned while he sarcastically said, mimicking Haya¡¯s voice, ¡°There are beggars and this is a city.¡±


    Arl shook his head vehemently and repeated his other hand signs while adding a few more gestures. All of them stopped and their eyes widened in disbelief.

 Chapter 14: Concussions for the Win!

    With disbelief written all over their faces, Arl took the initiative to walk into the alleyway. His keen eyes and the twitching nose allowed him to pick up a faint trail. He moved and darted past corners until he came to a stop and he kneeled down.


    Haya, Talian, Tulian, and Ruia kept right behind him until they saw him stoop to the ground, and placed his palm to the ground. After doing so, Arl continued up the alleyway like a hawk, moving swiftly with light steps.


    ¡°Is it just a coincidence? The same night when the altar was opened, we met the beggar. Yet, here we are in the same city where the thing that came from Oblivion, the beggar is also probably here.¡± Tulian started plainly speaking while they followed Arl. ¡°That monster also acted like it was unnaturally obsessed towards him.¡±


    ¡°That beggar also disappeared when we resolved the situation. Maybe trying to escape from suspicion¡± Talian added.


    ¡°How can that be? I checked his physical condition personally, yet he lacked the second heart.¡± Ruia retorted while staring ahead.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the demons and devils from Oblivion don¡¯t use internal energy. They have something that was blessed upon them. Each one had a different form to their power, much more pronounced than the second hearts¡¯ primary composite. Another thing is that they don¡¯t have physical forms until they come here and can change their own structure at will.¡± Tulian explained. ¡°It is possible he is a devil and moved with the intention to form suffering through manipulation. It would explain why he would act weak without the second heart, to fool us for a time, and come here when the three forces are having their meetings, in order to plant corruption amongst the leaders.¡±


    ¡°We need to find a creature like that?!¡± Talian exclaimed. ¡°What happens to those who become corrupted?¡±


    ¡°They become puppets fueled by their desires. Unable to ever wake up from their dreams.¡± Haya solemnly said. ¡°However, I don¡¯t think he is either a demon or a devil. Devils are known for their corruption of all living things and demons for consuming all flesh and controlling all monsters. However, we weren¡¯t corrupted or eaten as far as I know, signifying that we weren¡¯t dealing with a demon or devil. I might be, at the very least, a different variety.¡±


    All of them went deep into thought for a while before Arl stopped before a stone warehouse. The outside was full of cracks and holes from old age and neglect. However, most of the windows that were on the outside were not in bad shape, except for one that was shattered.


    Arl signaled for them to be silent as he crept along the outside of the building. The others quickly did the same action. The arguing voices of three people could be heard from inside.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Tell me again, why ya¡¯ll came back here after hours with no child? No child, means no payment!¡± A gruff voice demanded.


    ¡°Boss, the child¡¯s guardian came and blew us away with a single round.¡± A hurt, kind of high pitched voice reluctantly said.


    ¡°Yea, boss, I was slapped into the wall easily by that person!¡± Another voice angrily followed up.


    ¡°Enough! If that person really was a protector of the Rul family, both of you would have died without even knowing how. I still can¡¯t believe ya¡¯ll were fooled around by a child. Now we¡¯re probably going killed or at least have our base of operations uprooted from the city by those two.¡± The gruff voice was dejected.


    ¡°It sounds like they kidnapped a child from Rul?¡± Ruia whispered, ¡°Despicable!¡±


    ¡°They might know whether or not it is the same beggar as the one we found.¡± Haya handed down a command, ¡°Secure them!¡±


    After two minutes.


    Three men were down on their knees with confused, bloody faces. The one in the middle, the ¡®boss,¡¯ was a large man with a bald head and black beard. His shirt was a mess from the stains of blood, but the other two¡¯s black clothes could still be observed to a certain extent of their original discreet design that hid such things.


    ¡°Okay, you three are going to answer all of our questions succinctly and to the point. If not, your head will immediately be severed.¡± Haya warned as she stood in front of them with her three foot sword that stung their skin without touching them.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that! This is the just city of Froir, a place of laws and regulations.¡± One of the black clothed people unashamedly argued.


    Haya brought the blade dangerously close to the man¡¯s neck, ¡°Try me. Spit out everything.¡±


    The man gulped and breathed deeply before speaking long windily, ¡°Our two clients met us with the proposition of keeping some of their ¡®cargo.¡¯ The cargo being a kid named Fifth Rul from the Rul family, the fifth promising candidate for becoming the next Family head. We kept him here and he said he needed to use the bathroom. He escaped from us, but we chased after him. We nearly caught the bastard when some servant of Erkshem saved him by a surprise attack on us. The reason why I know it is Erkshem was because of his clothes and our prior experiences with meeting with such amoral people. I got kicked in the face, while my colleague here got his nuts crushed, so I don¡¯t know if he is a man or not any more. Although I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll do fine later. My boss here then came here and found the kid missing while we just came back after sleeping uncomfortably on the ground. My bones also ache from such an experiences, so I can say so. I¡¯m afraid that when I reach old age, I¡¯ll have arthritis or something. Recently I¡¯ve been getting a cold and started asking for a day off¡­¡±


    While listening, everyone stared at the person with wonderment. ¡®Does he have a concussion?¡¯


    ¡°Shut up!¡± The ¡®boss¡¯ couldn¡¯t take it anymore and yelled at his ¡®employee.¡¯


    ¡°Does this look like your ¡®assailant¡¯?¡± Ruia stood forward while before extending a small palm forward. A green tendril moved out of it and expanded into a human figure, the exact replica of whom they assumed was a beggar.


    Seeing the image, the two men who ran into trouble nodded their heads several times.

 Chapter 15: Long... Explanations... Are Painful...

    Although the figure was in tattered clothes and had dirt all over his skin, the two who were taken by surprise by his assault were still able to tell at a glance.


    As one person¡¯s grade increases, so does their use and power of the second heart. The second heart, the cell, acts just like a muscle. When exercised, a part of it would break down, and come back stronger. Its efficiency, force of exertion, and supply of energy increases, while also heightening the body¡¯s capabilities. Unlike a muscle, the second heart can increase in all of these infinitely. From such a thing there is one problem, and that is the cap on such growth.


    At some point the body won¡¯t be able to handle and there are four paths. First is death, where the body directly bursts apart from the surges of power that flow. Second is to directly stop trying to exercise the second heart, meaning to use it but not to the extent of causing it to break down.


    The third path is to become a monster, which can be done by stopping the soul of the monster from being reborn by directly consuming it. Such an action would allow a person to gain the potential of a monster, changing their body to handle as much power as they want. Although there are disadvantages such as being something not considered even remotely close to society and they would inherit the fixed growth rate of the monster that they consumed. Only being able to increase their strength at a constant rate. The most awful thing in such a situation, is neither the identity crisis nor the fixed growth, if that is a problem, but the lack of control of the body, as each monster has to absolutely obey the will of something stronger. An absolute law among monsters.


    The fourth, but the rarest concept of the world, is to transcend ones¡¯ humanity or state of being.


    There have been a few who have actually transcended, but there is only one who was almost thoroughly recorded. By recorded, is to mean by word of mouth as the period of that they lived was a turbulent time.


    The reason why this person was recorded more in comparison to the other transcended was because they helped the primordial civilizations to establish themselves, defending the people from the rising monsters, demons, devils, and the attacks from other continents and lands.


    The funny thing is that the method to transcend was never shared besides a close circle and it was mostly forgotten from the influence of time.


    Besides those definite outcomes, there are other ways to increase the potential to a certain extent, such as bloodline and medicines. Actually, this partially lead to the formation of Families in the world, as each Family would selectively ¡®breed¡¯ with the intention of allowing their future generations to be able to progress further than their predecessors.


    The squad, after seeing the confirmation of the two scoundrels, then gained a new objective; to find the beggar and confirm his identity.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Afternoon, Froir, Golden Flame Inn.


    Tus stood, walking back and forth in the living room while Shel sat in a corner of the room with a downcast expression.


    ¡°So~, we¡¯re just going to stay in here? Why not let me go outside?¡± Tus whined like a dog who needed to use the bathroom.


    ¡°There is nothing out in this damned city that even interests milady. Plus, you are weak as hell, why would you want to be hunted down by one of those shit faced bastards¡¯ men? I¡¯m not going to escort you around, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Shel impolitely said while rapping the armrest of the chair she was sitting in.


    ¡°Fine!¡± Tus sat, or more like crashed, down onto the floor while heaving a sigh filled with frustration. He thought, ¡®I won¡¯t be able to get away from the city at this rate... but I don¡¯t have a choice.¡¯


    Tus looked to the side as footsteps rang from the entry of the door. Worill came into the room with his hands behind his back, followed by servants of the inn who carried the customary silver platters that seemed particularly dazzling to Tus.


    Worill personally carried a plate to Yarla¡¯s room and the servants set them down at the table. As soon as they did so, Tus charged over with the momentum of a savage beast, and lifted one of the silver lids. He reached in like lightning and started stuffing his face voraciously.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Since he came from Oblivion, he has been eating like this every time he encountered the target known as food. He would us both hands to grab anything and everything, chew it, swallow, and then grab again in such a fast motion that anything near him would be perfectly laid clean. Just like the two platters that he ate through in around a minute.


    The servants stood off to the side in a daze as they observed Tus¡¯s actions. When they heard the new ¡®monster¡¯ of the kitchen yesterday when Tus came for the complimentary breakfast, they couldn¡¯t believe it. The ¡®monster¡¯ ate the entire line of prepared food that morning without stopping or with decorum.


    Pieces of food flew around, covering the nearby walls, and a couple of indignant servants who kept silence.


    Tus¡¯s eyes briefly focused away from the food, and he dodged to the side as a fist nearly hit him on the head. When he dodged, he ripped a chicken leg off a random platter, and swallowed it bone and all without any sign of discomfort.


    ¡°Wha¡¯ er o daing?!¡± Tus said with some food flying out from his mouth. The ¡®missiles¡¯ were blown away from some invisible force before it landed onto Shel¡¯s contorted face.


    ¡°You are disgusting!¡± She said with a bit of infused surprise. ¡°And don¡¯t eat all of the food!¡±


    Tus directly nodded before he thought about what he did. With a light of inspiration, he determinedly sat down at the table and clumsily picked up the utensil.


    ¡°How do I use this again?¡± When he tried to start eat again, the utensil kept falling out of his awkward fingers. He looked to Shel who angrily stood in place and asked.


    ¡°You seriously¡­ fine.¡± Shel appeared to have slightly accepted Tus¡¯s nature after the three days they¡¯ve been in contact and sat down. She picked up the same instrument and showed Tus how to use it while eating a bowl full of pasta.


    After a few more failed attempts, Tus finally managed it successfully. After he did so, he ate at almost the same intensity as before, however, no food was being sprayed everywhere this time.


    A few minutes passed before Worill came out of Yarla¡¯s room. He noticed the state of the room with the bits of food thrown everywhere. He looked at the table and he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. A feast, at least fifty pounds worth, was all gone. Usually, some leftovers would be left even after seven people joined but there was nothing. The culprits were only two people, or from what he recognized, one person.


    ¡°Oh, I have a question!¡± Without any current threat to his life, Tus contentedly leaned back in his seat after he burped. ¡°Who was that guy from yesterday and what are your things called regime branches?¡±


    ¡®Since I have to stay here for the entire day, I might as well get some first rate information.¡¯ Tus thought to himself.


    Worill sat down and studied the wasteland known as the dinner table. He then looked at Tus wondering if he should make Tus pay for the food with years of indentured servitude, ¡°Erkshem was formed by thirty members, who each made a three different regime branches. A head branch that ¡®governed¡¯ the lower branches, an outside branch that governed the head branch, and the regular regime branches that oversaw plots of land. Over a period of time, they agreed to a system of ranks among the regular regimes to determine a form of succession should the head branch becomes dysfunctional in some way.


    ¡°The regime ranking would be increased in two ways, both involving the younger generation below the age of thirty. They would either fight one another, who was of the same grade, or earn achievements from suitable acts to earn a higher rank agreed upon by the outside regime, who are also the retired heads of the branches.


    ¡°Once one became the highest ranked, they would be able to challenge the head branch to a duel of replacement, something that the current Erkshem regimes¡¯ are seeking.


    ¡°This is half the reason why milady was chosen by that person to duel with, to earn a sizable ranking from a duel. The other half comes from a method known as Passing of Generation. It is basically that one child in each family in a regime would be blessed by one parent or guardian and would be known as a Great or Blessed child. This blessing is the transference of a quarter of that parents¡¯ power. Our own milady gained her blessing from her mother at eight years old and fought in the war, resulting in her gaining a high approval, and raising our branches¡¯ ranking sufficiently.


    ¡°That person from yesterday was the Blessed son of one our rivals, Quln Erkshem. This person suppresses his own second heart and cultivates methods that are not considered part of his grade, making him nearly undefeatable against those of the same grade. Using his advantage, he preys on all the others who are a part of his grade to increase his own regime¡¯s ranking. He targets milady because of her also being a Blessed child, an actual thirst of competition.


    ¡°Thus here we are. He used this ambassador gathering of the three forces as his chance to lockdown our location and now he¡¯s watching and recording our movements to make sure we don¡¯t leave the city. If we do, then our own regimes¡¯ ranking would plummet, and milady would be put to death.¡±


    ¡°There is no way to decline?¡± Tus asked, dumbfounded by Erkshems¡¯ system of succession.


    ¡°She has no choice, it is mandated by the head regime.¡± Worill shook his head, ¡°It is either win or be humiliated. Besides, since her mother died in the war that was questionable, Yarla was left with the her mothers¡¯ wish to bring our regime at the top. If she can¡¯t win, then that will show weakness, resulting in less faith placed upon her by the outside regime, and she would lose faith in herself. It would make it many times harder to overcome boundary that is between us and the top.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± When Worill spoke of Yarla¡¯s circumstances, against his will, painful memories flooded into his mind, and his eyes momentarily became vacant.

 Chapter 16: First Flashback Ever!

    Year 163 EA, Neutral Area, Hoian.


    Tus Gilgar, age 14, stood on a deck at the edge of a lake with a fishing pole in hand. On various places on his arms, legs, and face were brown and green bruises of small and large sizes. He faced the waters motionlessly, deep in thought.


    ¡°Hey Tus, why are you out here?¡± A middle-aged man with a little girl who walked by his side, asked.


    The middle-aged man was Tus¡¯s father, whose name was Reus Gilgar. He appeared rather ¡®ordinary¡¯ without a hint of internal energy coming from his body. He and the little girl also had fishing rods in their hands with almost the same intent as Tus.


    Tus turned around and smiled, ¡°I just wanted to see the water.¡±


    ¡°Brother was bullied again? He got so many bruises this time.¡± The little girl who stared, concerned with large eyes. Her name was Bell, six years old, and Tus¡¯s little sister. She wore casual clothes that were carefully handmade, albeit not professionally


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk with the town master.¡± Reus sighed and said after shaking his head.


    ¡°It won¡¯t do anything.¡± Tus blankly looked back onto the water, ¡°You talked to him before, but the town doesn¡¯t care about our family. We are worthless to them. Every day, everyone we meet, look at us with those wretched faces! Even the children my age beat me and I can¡¯t fight back. I hate it! Why did we have to be born different from the rest of them? The only people with that power, who actually stand by our side, are mom, grandma, and grandpa.¡±


    Reus and Bell sat down next to Tus. Reus smiled with understanding, ¡°I had to deal with the same thing you had when I was your age. Just give it time and it will work out, I promise. If it doesn¡¯t, then you can have one free kick at me.¡± He looked to the noon sky and said, ¡°Let¡¯s catch dinner.¡±


    Tus¡¯s face brightened as he laughed.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Year 165 EA, five weeks later, Hoian region conquered by the Country of Felan.


    ¡°Kill the Gilgars!¡±


    ¡°Free the land of their blood!¡±


    ¡°Bust that door!¡±


    A large mob was outside a small house in the woods and they made loud, murderous cries as they carried torches, ropes, and improvised weapons ranging from shovels to harvester scythes.


    ¡°What do we do?!¡± Tus looked out the window in terror as the mob approached.


    Three people also peered out of the windows alongside of him. There was his and Bells¡¯ mother, Jul, with Bell and Reus. All of them, except for Bell, were stricken with fright.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Why are they saying they want to kill us?¡± Bell asked innocently.


    When Felan, a temporary Organization, expanded into the area, they followed the trend of the other forces with a genocide on those deemed ¡®unfit.¡¯ Everyone everywhere were encouraged to carry out the executions of hundreds to thousands. Even with such an awful act, people performed it passionately as they found themselves ¡®burdened¡¯ to protect those who couldn¡¯t protect themselves. Adding to that mindset was the thought that such people were not really human to begin with.


    Reus knelt down to eye level of Tus and Bell, and said sternly, ¡°Both of you have go to grandpa¡¯s place. They have the ability to protect you two and that land can¡¯t be touched these people.¡±


    Tus asked with tears in his eyes, ¡°What about you and mom?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Jul¡¯s voice shook as she said so. She knelt down as well, ¡°Hurry and take your sister. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± She repeated.


    ¡°¡­¡± Tus knew the situation they were in and knew what hopes and dreams they had of them, but a feeling so strong that it crushed his chest, planted his feet down to the ground.


    ¡°Tus!¡± Reus yelled at him, causing the feeling to break, Tus nodded his tear stained face.


    All of them silently hugged each other as the sound of the coming mob grew louder. Tus grabbed and carried Bell, running for the back of the house.


    Bell cried out, ¡°Mom! Dad!¡± However, the sounds were drowned out from the roars of the crowd that were already at the front of the house.


    Tus dashed through the door and ran through the trees with the yelling Bell. They quickly made their escape as Reus and Jul confronted the crowd.


    Whatever happened to their parents afterwards was unknown.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Year 367 EA, Froir, Golden Flame.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Worill noticed Tus¡¯s unnatural behavior.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Tus said with a darkened expression.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Worill nodded without asking further. ¡°Well, that is the situation with the regimes and that bastard.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re tracking us?¡± Tus asked while he looked outside.


    ¡°I checked the surroundings and that seems to the case. Three of his bodyguards are watching all the exits.¡± Worill answered.


    ¡®So I really can¡¯t leave the city right now. Maybe after the duel, I can sneak out.¡¯ Tus helplessly thought.


    ¡°Is there any food left? At all?¡± Worill seriously asked Tus and Shel.


    ¡°Only the scraps on the walls.¡± Shel said after glancing at the stained walls.


    ¡°Really?! Neither of you could give me a plate?¡± Worill once again gazed at the plates that were practically clean.


    Yarla¡¯s room.


    Yarla sat on the bed with her eyes closed and her legs crossed. Internal energy flashed sporadically over her body and blue scars formed in the air. From them, numerous crystalline claws reached out, desiring to come into the world. Faint, soul piercing cries echoed from within them.


    This was a power practiced by her regime, World of Em, as it was passed down upon those who meet the qualifications. It was one of the methods to take advantage of one of the second hearts¡¯ primary deposit, which was the abstract type, spatial. Its meaning is more than just matter and space, but more of the case of ripping apart the dimension, and control what comes across.


    World of Em was made to access the Land of Darkness and Imagination, a neighbor to the Land of Oblivion. Although it was a neighbor, this land was seen not as dangerous as the Land of Oblivion, as whatever comes from it can be perfectly controlled, and has to quickly return or else the thing would die.


    Yarla stopped and looked down at a blue pendent of a star. She muttered, ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll use your blessing to destroy this challenge and I¡¯ll avenge you of those who wished you harm. No one will escape from this retribution.¡±

 Chapter 17: Bad Luck Comes In Threes

    Afternoon of the duel between Yarla and Quln, Froir, Center Plaza.


    The center plaza was a platform made up of gray tiles. The structure itself was raised by a foot from the ground with a transparent barrier that linearly went up from the sides. It formed a type of box that contained any dangerous energy that could escape.


    The reason why there was something like this, which was a public area and directed by Froir, was to settle disputes between citizens. That is, if they wanted to get into a physical conflict. It was a barbaric way of going through with issues that couldn¡¯t, or if the people involved didn¡¯t want, to resolve in a civilized court system. During this time, the city¡¯s government allowed Quln to reserve the spot for the entire afternoon and made it look more like a show by informing the populace. To them, it would ensure that their citizens and soldiers who weren¡¯t part of the war to see the battle prowess of Erkshem.


    Although it would probably be in the best interest of Erkshem to keep such things concealed, the powers concerning Erkshem in general could be said to be conflicting in the first place. If it wasn¡¯t so, then the rebellion that occurred would have been mitigated by a centralized force. In fact, the Rul Family, which could be considered centralized, lost approximately 10% of their land, around two-hundred miles compared to Erkshem that lost more than 30%, or eight-hundred miles.


    The air still carried the morning chill as the crowd that liked to linger around the plaza most days alongside those who joined recently talked amongst themselves regarding the upcoming duel.


    ¡°So the ¡®royalties¡¯ are fighting amongst themselves here?¡± One of the common folk asked.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t why they do it, but I had a family member who used to live under one of their regimes. He said that this happened so much that their towns¡¯ store of food and medicine was all used up whenever they managed to save a little because of these fights. It was under the cover of ¡®the greater cause.¡¯ In my opinion, these bastards and their regimes can go to hell.¡± The other replied.


    ¡°Who¡¯s fighting?¡± Another person asked.


    ¡°It is that Massacring Witch and the Ghost Controller.¡±


    ¡°Wow, good thing I paid the entry fee.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an entry fee?¡±


    ¡°Yea, there is a toll stand.¡±


    ¡°What?! Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡±


    Soon enough, some of the merchants of higher grades started setting blockades to charge people to enter. The city allowed things like this since it would allow more money to flow into taxes¡­This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    In the center of the plaza overseeing the crowds was Quln in his black clothing representing Erkshem and the yellow moon representing his regime. He had his eyes closed as black scars in the air swirled around his body. Ghostly cries came out from them, causing everyone who was nearby to have goosebumps. Very quickly, a good distance was placed between the spectators and the plaza due to the uncomfortable atmosphere. At one of the deserted sides were three of his four bodyguards.


    Quln raised his head and opened his crimson eyes as one of the blockades, which was made simply of merchant stands, were desperately pulled aside. The merchants who set them up had pale, trembling faces as they didn¡¯t dare stand in the way of the four approaching figures.


    ¡°Why is there a crowd?¡± Tus complained as they moved through the sea of people like a knife.


    ¡°Even in the regimes, there would be a crowd, but usually, they would be the heads and higher ups of the regimes. Here, the city and Quln are capitalizing on such a show.¡± Shel said in scorn.


    Once they made it to the edge, Yarla passed through the barrier without any problems while Tus, Shel, and Worill stayed in the empty space.


    ¡°Is it cold here?¡± Tus observed the crowd with his eyes and found some of them to be shivering.


    Worill explained, ¡°All of those who practice World of Em gain a distinctive aura around them that brings out fear in those who are at a certain distance. It is a passive effect that helps in battles against those who don¡¯t have the appropriate amount or quality of internal energy to absorb it, making them upside-down chickens ready for dinner. There are also slight differences on how the fear manifests which depends on the person who practices it.¡± Worill noted towards Yarla, ¡°Milady practices the crystal domain of our regime. It brings out an aura of suppression from pressure, and also utilizes creatures that are made out of defensive crystal.¡± Worill then pointed towards Quln, ¡°That bastard uses the dark domain, with his being a variant using the undead. His domain is more direct, causing people to have momentary nightmares if they stay too close for too long.¡±


    ¡°If that is the case, then why am I fine?¡± Tus was confused.


    ¡°That, I do not know, but it also adds to my assumption that you will be a good luck charm for milady.¡± Worill announced.


    ¡®Ugh! I really need to get out of here. I should be free to do so when I¡¯m not watched¡­ damn it!¡± Tus looked towards the only exits to the place and he realized that they closed up again, charging people coming and going. ¡®I haven¡¯t had any good chances for awhile, can I get a break plea¡­ damn it!¡¯ Tus quietly stomped onto the ground when he noticed that the two alliance members were standing on the roof of one of the buildings, watching everyone in the area like high-tech scanners. ¡®Since they can¡¯t find me, I¡¯ll be fine. Even if they do, I don¡¯t think they can find any traces or anything incriminating.¡¯ He thought in relief.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Arl, are you sure that the beggar is this way?¡± Haya asked, with the latter nodding his head.


    They were quite the distance from the plaza, but they were slowly moving through the crowds that headed in the same direction.


    ¡°Captain, what should we do when we find him?¡± Talian asked with the same voice.


    Haya ignored his ¡®misconduct¡¯ and replied, ¡°We¡¯ll report it to the manager and let him handle it from there.¡±


    ¡°If our conjecture is correct, then our reputation in Rotalia will rise substantially.¡± Tulian nodded his head with a rare, but faint, satisfaction.

 Chapter 18: Now, What Are Contracts Made For?

    Froir, Center Plaza.


    Once Yarla stepped onto the plaza, Quln simply walked to the opposite side with the black scars following in the air like coiling snakes. Yarla closed her eyes and a wave of energy was released when she opened them. Blue scars ripped into the space around her and if one looked closely, several white dots that resembled eyes could be seen staring at Quln.


    As soon as both of them took to their spots, Shel and one of Quln¡¯s bodyguards stepped inside of the dueling square at two of the other ends. The barrier recognized them as judges and shrouded them, which would act as a restraint and a protector on them.


    After a moment, Shel and that bodyguard raised their arms simultaneously and brought them down, initiating the start of the battle.


    Immediately, Quln waved one of his arms initiating the ¡®invitation¡¯ to his World of Em. Screams and wails came out of his scars as numerous black skeletons crawled out of them. They fell onto the ground and stood up with their bones popping and shaking. Without any semblance of flesh such as muscles or tendons, they rushed forward. Black beams of light also shot out of the scars aiming at Yarla, moving with the intensity capable to bore through her instantly.


    Yarla, meanwhile, also waved one of her arms, causing a blue scar to spew out a mist that formed a barrier. She waved another arm and two more of the blue scars dropped to the ground. Once they reached the ground, they widened, and out of each, eight thin crystalline legs pierced into the plaza. The legs lifted whatever was inside the scars and it revealed two daddy longlegs, standing at fifteen feet.


    They stood still untile the black beams hit the shield created by the mist, causing it crack, and break like broken glass. With the collapse of the shield, the attack was visibly weakened by evidence of their faded light. Even so, the black beams still posed a threat, causing one of the daddy-longlegs to blur, moving in front of Yarla, while the other charged at the black skeletons similar to a mobile tower.


    The one that blocked the black beams cracked by the impact, but it absorbed the brunt without being destroyed. Right after the attack, it started repairing itself drawing in a blue mist from the scar it came from. The mist entered its fractured body, causing the damage to slowly fade.


    The other daddy-longleg raised itself up and swiped forward at the dozen or so black skeletons with four of its legs. The single movement rendered all of the skeletons into fragmented bones that spread over the plaza.


    On appearances, this single exchange made Yarla seem to have the absolute advantage¡­


    As he saw this happen, Quln smirked. He pushed a palm forward and raised it. The numerous black scars that surrounded him conglomerated together, forming a single large rip of dimension. The scar flew up into the air and the scattered bones that covered the plaza burst into black fog, obstructing the vision while bringing upon a bone chilling cold.


    ¡°Massacring Witch! If you can¡¯t defend against this next attack, then you don¡¯t deserve the handed down title!¡± Quln¡¯s casual voice echoed from within the fog as the massive black scar hovering in the air expanded, reducing the remaining visibility to nothing by fully blocking out the the sun. Then, a humongous pitch-black palm descended down from the scar in the darkness.


    Yarla with a serious expression, who was surrounded by the only source of light coming from the blue scars, kneeled with her arms extended out, palms up. She slowly stood up and raised her arms.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The action seemed to have caused a calling from the blue scars as thick blue mist poured out. The mist swirled and formed several visible lines that rotated around a ten foot area. If looked at from above, the mist seemed to have formed several blender blades. The daddy-longleg that was still outside retreated beneath the ¡®blades¡¯ safely.


    The pitch-black palm struck the formation and was torn to pieces, releasing more black mist into the already completely dark surrounding, causing the silent audience incapable of seeing anything inside.


    Seeing this, Worill¡¯s expression became increasingly grim. He muttered, ¡°Milady, you need to become more active in controlling the surrounding space.¡±


    Tus heard what he said and asked, ¡°What is going on with the World of Em¡¯s?¡±


    Worill glanced at the ¡®lucky charm¡¯ and explained, ¡°The World of Em relies mostly on the spatial internal energy to cause the space to fracture, which allows for utilization for the other world. However, the other part is relied on released essence from that world into the area. The more of it there is, the more powerful that World of Em becomes. This bastard chose to use a feint attack and a sacrificial approach to the duel and thereby released a lot of his World of Ems¡¯ essence early, while milady chose the defensive and then offensive approach. Her approach would usually fight on par or defeat most other strategies that lack practice.


    ¡°It would be like someone trying to hit you, but you deflect it, pushing the opponent off balance, and then making a critical strike on them. However, with the bastards¡¯ approach, he turned milady¡¯s attack into fuel for a bigger play on his part.


    ¡°The only way to reduce the power of his next assault would be to release as much essence into the dueling area as possible, destroy the current essence, or make an accurate hit on the bastard to make him lose concentration, resulting in the essence to directly disappear. That is what I meant for milady to take control of the situation


    ¡°Another method is time based. For the loose essence, after two minutes of time, it would start to channel back into the World of Em, and disappear, while the creatures like those daddy-longs require at least twenty minutes. The current role in this case would be Qulns¡¯ short term advantage versus milady¡¯s long term advantage.¡±


    Tus nodded his head, ¡°I see.¡± While he also thought, ¡®At times like these, I wish I had a hot dog or popcorn, while trying to understand what this commenter is saying.¡¯


    Yarla¡¯s eyes flitted about in the darkness as if she was trying to find something. The swirling blue top slowly expanded, desperately shredding the black fog into non-existence. She waved an arm and one of the blue scars that fueled the spinning top, shot a blue beam into the darkness.


    ¡°Too bad you missed!¡± Quln¡¯s voice reverberated in the surroundings. ¡°I¡¯m almost done spreading my control over the essence. Soon, I¡¯ll release a tier one behemoth!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Worill yelled out.


    Startled, Tus reflexively yelled, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Worill calmed down and hurriedly said, ¡°Tier is shorthand for grades of ten. A tier one creature is something that is beyond grade ten! Both milady and Quln are grade 8¡¯s. Quln bringing out something that is at least two grades higher than them would be something that milady wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand! It seems that the method he chose to increase his own power, but not increase his grade, was by using the power of the World of Em.¡±


    ¡°How does that make sense? Doesn¡¯t grade refer to the ability of something?¡± Tus was confused.


    ¡°Yes, normally speaking. However, when referring to an individual, it combines all of their strengths and weaknesses. Quln avoided officially increasing his own by not improving himself at all and instead sought for a contract with a creature in the World of Em. According to the Regime, that is considered not part of his own power, because it is unreliable.¡± Worill spoke offhandedly.


    ¡°A loophole?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡®What the hell?! Isn¡¯t that still part of his own strength?! He is still using it as one of his powers!¡¯ Tus complained to the non-listening government.

 Chapter 19: The Titan of Darkness Versus the Eight Legged Freak

    Yarla kept her silence as Quln spoke while making ripping motions with both of her arms and five more blue scars appeared in the air. The scars shined and over a hundred blue orbs flooded inside the spinning barrier from those scars, making it look like a piece of gel with bubbles.


    While Tus was complaining to himself, Qulns¡¯ voice resounded once more. ¡°By the contract with Welith, a sovereign of the undead, I beseech you, Hedoan, to come out of your tomb and destroy the enemy in front of me!¡±


    The black fog that kept twisting and turning stopped moving altogether. Then, it withdrew, allowing the daylight to spread across the plaza. Even so, a cold wind blew across within the barrier, causing frost to form on the tiled floor.


    The fog that withdrew transformed into a twenty-five foot twister that was shrinking. When it reached eight feet in height, black lightning bolted out of the single scar that Quln used to conjure the palm from before, and struck the tornado. It froze and suddenly contracted, forming an indistinct humanoid figure with a seven foot curved blade at its right side. The being stood there, completely silent as the rest of the fog transformed into a vague armor that covered its chest, arms, legs, and feet. Only the faceless head stared Yarla with a looming terror spreading out. The entire being a incarnate of darkness as its entire body, even the blade, simply absorbed the sun without any reflection of light.


    ¡°Hedoan, attack that girl, and make her unconscious.¡± Quln who spoke, was paler than before, and looked a little exhausted. He breathed heavily, as if he just accomplished a hard task.


    Hedoan nodded and charged forward faster than a dragonfly, crossing a distance of fifteen feet in an instant.


    Yarla backed to the edge of the plaza and moved her palm forward facing Hedoan. The blue orbs that continuously flowed out from the scars, flung themselves at Hedoan, moving at an even faster speed.


    Hedoan brandished its sword, swinging it at the pouncing blue orbs. The sword clashed with a majority of the orbs, with some striking its body without leaving any damage, while the rest moved past it, heading to Quln.


    Quln sneered and sluggishly waved one arm, causing mist to fly out from the scar that moved behind him, and formed a transparent dim barrier in front of him. The blue orbs struck the barrier, but different from the simple disappearance from when they struck Hedoan, they exploded, blocking Quln¡¯s sight.


    Seeing this he frowned, ¡®It¡¯s no use. Just accept it and it¡¯ll be over in two moves.¡¯


    When the explosion cleared a second later, he found Hedoan trapped within the barrier that Yarla used. It hit against the barrier with tremendous force, causing it to shake and fracture, seemingly about to break completely. However, it sat at the edge of destruction without yielding while being fueled by a river of essence coming from the scars.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡®What is she doing? That will only waste her energy.¡¯ Quln was dumbfounded, until he noticed that one of the daddy-longlegs that was near Yarla was gone, he consequently panicked as he saw something blur at his right side. It revealed itself as one of Yarla¡¯s fifteen-foot tall daddy-longleg¡¯s. It towered above himas it raised a leg that subsequently, and mercilessly struck down. It pierced through both, the barrier and Quln¡¯s right shoulder. Blood splattered on the ground and the scar that was behind him began to disappear and reappear like a broken television screen.


    Quln gritted his teeth to pass through the pain and swiped with his left arm. A river of black energy rushed out of the scar and crashed into the daddy-longleg. Right before it was pushed off of the ground, the daddy-longleg detached its leg and shattered upon coming into contact with the barrier.


    With its heavy, fifteen-foot leg still going through his shoulder, Quln helplessly fell onto the ground.


    He looked up at Hedoan who finally broke through the barrier while Yarla appeared pale, and without energy.


    Just like the scar that was on the verge of disappearing, Hedoan¡¯s body was turning into fog as it approached Yarla with its single mission. Quln desperately kept his consciousness and tried to keep the scar open through the pain.


    ¡°Another weakness that creatures from the World of Em have, is that if their connection is broken to the World of Em, then their existence is destabilized, making them weaker by at least eighty percent.¡± Worill¡¯s face had a smile as he spoke confidently, ¡°Even though they can survive in our world for a time, they can only do so if they have enough essence of their world. If their connection is severed, then the time they can stay here for is reduced significantly as well. It would be like us trying to breathe underwater, although some can, and we would find most of our strength leaving us until we die of suffocation. Not to mention, the creatures from the World of Em have to follow our instructions precisely, whether contracted or not. This would mean that the moment that Quln couldn¡¯t say anything because of trying to endure, he allowed that Hedoan to drown without the ability to swim against a calm lake. Ha, I shouldn¡¯t have been worried, and should have known that milady would be the one to finish it quickly.¡±


    Yarla still maintained a cold gaze as she raised an arm, pointing it at Hedoan. The other daddy-longleg silently threw itself forward. ¡°When you sent that contracted creature at me without any other instructions to defend itself or any sufficient protection for yourself, you¡¯ve lost. Your over-confidence in outside strength without the genuine ability to strategize, the experience to hold your ground to pain, and your lack of courage to go against your regime to increase your own strength, will all lead to your eventual demise. This duel should serve as an example to you.¡± Her emotionless voice resounded in Quln¡¯s ears, causing him to gain fear in his heart.


    Any ordinary creature that came from the World of Em would have a strength of their user. Yarla¡¯s daddy-longlegs are the same way as they are grade 8¡¯s. A grade 8 versus a tier 1 would normally end up in a quick-one sided conclusion. However, with the tier one with at least 80% of its strength gone due to destabilization of the scar, would descend from its hefty position to grade 2 trash. The odds would turn for the originally weaker side.


    Hedoan swung its fading and flickering sword at the daddy-longleg, but it was blocked by three of its legs, while another two legs pierced through its stomach and chest. With one smooth motion, Hedoan was split into three pieces that disintegrated into nothing while drifting in the air.

 Chapter 20: With This Bowl of Ice Cream, I Proclaim thee Misfortune.

    When Hedoan retreated back into the World of Em, Quln¡¯s body shook and convulsed on the ground as if he was being electrocuted.


    The cause was due to a backlash unleashed by the contract he agreed upon. It basically read, ¡®I¡¯ll support you with the price of being in your world, but if defeated, all of the pain my avatar experiences will travel back to you. I don¡¯t want to deal with it.¡¯ Quln didn¡¯t consider the sequence of what he had done. To conjure Hedoan into the world, he had to supplement it with a lot of the World of Em¡¯s essence which also cost him a majority of his internal energy. The amount of internal energy would need to recover over a period of, at least, six hours. The duel would offer no such time.


    This left him in a weak state, but his reliance on such a strong force to deal with opponents of his level left a basic, but fatal flaw. A single, very strong offense, but a lacking defense. He was blinded by Yarla¡¯s quick attack, and he couldn¡¯t react to Hedoan being locked down. He was caught unware by the daddy-longleg¡¯s attack. The primary purpose of which was to disrupt his concentration.


    Slowly, Quln¡¯s body relaxed, and with his paralyzed state, he watched as Yarla approached him step by step. She raised her right arm horizontally at her side and it glowed with internal energy that receded back into the skin. A long crystalline spike grew from her palm, encasing her entire arm, extending to the length of her height. The blue scars moved around her body, ready to also send Quln to death.


    ¡°I surrender!¡± Knowing that he would be ruthlessly killed by the Massacring Witch, he chose the path of fighting to another day.


    The black token that he showcased before flew up from his body and hovered in the air. With a dark glow, two numbers appeared at its side.


    1687 and 3954. The two numbers changed for a few seconds before stopping at 1723 and 3612.


    ¡°Milady! Congratulations!¡± Worill happily yelled at the side.


    Not understanding the situation, Tus decided to try out the talisman he got from Fifth. He looked at the black crystal and touched the talisman that he had in his servant shirts¡¯ pocket. As soon as he brought it up to his forehead, he was caught slightly off guard. An old man¡¯s voice echoed in his head: ¡®Broadcasting Token: A tool used by the Erkshems¡¯ outside regime to initiate and record duels. After a duel is finished, it would send the data back to the outside regimes¡¯ base, which would decide a change in rankings. The better or worse the performance, the more drastic the change in the individuals ranking which would be absorbed into the regimes¡¯ accumulated ranking.¡¯


    ¡®This thing is really neat.¡¯ Tus praised in his mind.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Massacring Witch, I¡¯ll challenge you again in the future, and I¡¯ll win!¡± Quln felt indignant for losing and tried to yell out such words after being picked up by his bodyguards. The leg that pierced his shoulder was forcefully removed by one of them, but they used their internal energy as an anesthetic to suppress the nerves, so there would be no further pain.


    ¡°Milady, I¡¯m sure Lord will be proud of your victory.¡± Shel said after coming from the side of the plaza.


    ¡°Congratulations.¡± Tus said after nodding his head. ¡®I was right about trying to avoid these people. Any one of those actions would have killed me without my corpse remaining.¡¯


    Yarla¡¯s face had the rare sight of being relieved as if she had broken through a heavy obstacle.


    As they were preparing to leave, among the crowds¡¯ loud chatter, an authoritative voice boomed from above, reverberating through the entire city. ¡°Hold it right there!¡±


    Everyone looked up and saw that the one who yelled was Drel. His clothes fluttered as the internal energy covering his body in multicolored light made him hover in the air. His gaze became the color of metal as it landed on Tus who was near the center of the audience.


    At a side of the crowd, Haya¡¯s squad stood and watched. They recognized Tus and saw that the alliance members were here as well, so they officially concluded that Tus was their actual target.


    During the match, they notified their manager about their suspicions who went through the processes to tell the alliance. However, they found that these two were already watching the area since the beginning, and it was before they sent out any kind of message.


    Tus¡¯s heart clenched as he thought, ¡®How did they find me?¡¯ He looked at Drel with a part of his focus drifting among the crowd, until he noticed a group, the unknown Haya¡¯s squad, of people staring at him. ¡®Are they part of the alliance?¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t struggle!¡± Drel made a grabbing motion and a transparent metal hand formed around Tus¡¯s body. Tus was lifted into the air as Drel ordered his colleague with his glowing eyes still focused on Tus, ¡°Velfor. Check with the identifier. I just want to make sure that this is that rat.¡±


    ¡°Already on it.¡± Velfor jumped from the roof of the building and floated in the air as well. He moved one of his ¡®skin and bones¡¯ arm into his clothes until he came out with a red and yellow orb.


    He came closer and extended the orb until it started to shine and shake. Seeing this Velfor started smiling sinisterly, ¡°It looks like we have ourselves a denizen of Oblivion!¡±


    His voice shook the minds of the crowd underneath them as they couldn¡¯t believe what they just heard. Especially Yarla, Worill, and Shel. All of them stared at the orb blankly.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be right!¡± Worill denied it directly and asked the alliance members, ¡°How can he be from Oblivion. He doesn¡¯t have a second heart or any kind of power.¡±


    Drel stared down with an elated expression, ¡°We know! The alliance allowed a powerless rat to enter Oblivion because we didn¡¯t feel the need to even stop him. But our luck in this era is so great that we now possess the greatest specimen of our kind, a transcendent human. Too bad he can¡¯t utilize it without the second heart, but luckily, we can.¡± Drel slapped his forehead like he rehearsed it, ¡°Oh, sorry, I felt so great that I spilled some information. Velfor, should we destroy the city?¡±


    Tus listened and was so shocked that his mouth hung open¡­ and a fly flew in¡­

 Chapter 21: Is That Rain? Why is it Sticky?

    ¡°Cough!¡± Tus immediately broke away from his shock and he quickly spat out the dumb fly. As he immediately felt uncomfortable, he tried squirming in the transparent metal hand, but each movement felt impossible to achieve.


    Velfor glanced at Tus before replying sinisterly. ¡°You know it is impolite to annihilate an entire city, but I feel that we haven¡¯t done anything like that for the past couple centuries, and we can¡¯t leak any information about the appearance of a transcendent human or our competitors might try something.¡±


    Drel¡¯s expression of elation became even more joyful as he looked down at the dumbstruck gazes. He raised his other arm that wasn¡¯t actively holding Tus with internal energy and opened his palm. It flashed with silver and a metallic gas drifted into the once cloudless sky. As soon as the small amounts of gas reached a certain height, as if they hit a ceiling, they expanded at speeds faster than the processing power of the eye. With a single blink, the entire sky over the city was covered by the metallic clouds. Oddly, the suns¡¯ light remained uninhibited as it passed through the layer.


    Drel said with expectant satisfaction, ¡°Once I lower my hand, your entire city will be encased in molten metal. If you have any screams or last words, then please share them. I¡¯ll give you the count of ten¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, an anxious voice that unleashed massive pressure yelled out, ¡°Stop!¡±


    A multicolored beam flew from the capital building and in an instant appeared before Velfor and Drel. The light toned down to reveal an elderly man, Eor Iator the ¡®servant¡¯ who guided Tus¡¯s group a couple of days ago. He had a nasty expression as he demanded, ¡°What are you planning to do to my city?!¡±


    Velfor appeared between him and Drel, and he explained politely, ¡°Oh, Mr. President of Confine, it is nice to see you. We¡¯re just planning to seal a few mouths, nothing too large.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re planning to wipe out the city!¡± Eor roared, almost like he was insane.


    A few more beams of multicolored appeared from the capital building, heading toward the plaza.


    Drel lazily looked at Eor, not stopping his palm from emitting the gas, ¡°Can you just let me do this for this one city? Besides, you are just a tier 1 grade 7, and none of your subordinates can¡¯t even match us ¡®scouts.¡¯ What right and by what strength do you have to challenge the authority of Velfor and me, not to mention the alliance?¡±


    Eor ferociously eyed Velfor and Drel. What they said was correct, their personal powers were in tier 3, over ten times the strength of his in relation to battle strength, and they are a part of the alliance that was a colossal group of forces that were larger than his. Just one of these scouts is enough to wipe out the city, anyone of the regular members would be able to destroy the country.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Even so, these two members of the alliance wish to kill everyone even though they detained the denizen of Oblivion, who turned out to be a useless transcendent human. The action of destroying everything did not fall into the protocol not being able to defeat or not being able to find. Both were achieved and now, the two want to fulfill their sadistic desires?


    It can¡¯t be tolerated!


    ¡­¡­


    In the forest, 20 miles to Froir.


    ¡°I think it is about time for my food to be served.¡± A large orange reptilian head with blue eyes extended itself out of the ground, casting a blanketing shadow. After yawning for a moment, tt extended a ten foot long snakes¡¯ tongue and its bright blue eyes constricted as it glared in the direction of the city. ¡°You fucking humans want to steal my food! That is in no way in hell going to fucking happen! I¡¯ll treat all of you as my appetizers!¡±


    The loud vice full of rage caused cracks to travel along the ground and tall trees to collapse with the birds fleeing to the skies.


    After the roar ended, a humongous body, around 175 feet in length, flew into the air. A dust storm was left in its wake, with the dirt flooding over two miles of land along with a deafening sound. When it left the ground, a crater that would look like an abyss to the average person was left.


    The thing that flew up, appeared to be like the mix of a snake, iguana, and a bat. Its entire body was a deep orange, like a low flame, with scales and spikes going from the very long neck to the tail. Its four legs that had powerful and toned muscles with talons like a hawks¡¯ that could grab, constrict, or rip apart any pitiful prey with ease. The wings that protruded from its back had five webbed appendages that gave the creature a great speed with the wind actually being cut behind, creating a high pitched whistling. The tail had a pointed end that appeared as though with a single swipe or a single pierce, nothing would be able to withstand the force.


    ¡°Just wait till I get there! I¡¯ll make sure take my deserved treasure and consume you fools who get in my way!¡± It talked aloud, essentially repeating to itself. The strong wind that hit it, didn¡¯t disrupt its penetrating voice. Remembering a past memory, drool pooled out of its mouth, with the people and animals below experiencing smelly showers


    ¡­¡­


    City of Froir, Center Plaza.


    Drel¡¯s face was ecstatic as he watched the so called army of Confines along with the several ambassadors of the two neighboring forces. ¡°Come! I can¡¯t wait to see all of you mummified in metal! Just show your best smiles!¡±


    Even with the force gathered, with all three of the different factions, they still didn¡¯t have hope of fighting against a single one of these scouts, not including two of them. Just the fact that Drel could unleash the hovering gaseous metal in the air that could wipe them out, made them unable to moving any further.


    ¡°Are you really going to kill us all?!¡± One of Qulns¡¯ bodyguards yelled out from the ground.


    Velfor smiled, the tight skin around his face making it look stiff and horrifying, ¡°My colleague here wants to do this. He¡¯s my superior so I can¡¯t say anything and he does make a point of not doing anything like this for a long time. So could you give him a break? It¡¯s not like you are going to suffer.¡±


    Tus looked at all of the furious and fearful faces surrounding the duo, he glanced down to the ground where the group he stayed with. His expression became more and more twisted as the fear that he always had for his life had started to change to anger that he hadn¡¯t felt since the time before he entered Oblivion.

 Chapter 22: Gross! Dont Tell Me!

    All of them had expressions of fear, sorrow, and confusion.


    The memories and rich experiences he had never encountered before through the past dreariness were all shoved into his life with the past few days. Even the overlaying sense of ¡®unable to anything against captors¡¯ didn¡¯t dampen this perspective. It only made him peer at everything with a greater intensity. Their attitudes and quirks were engrained in his mind.


    He looked at the duo who threatened to wipe out the first place he has been to, that humankind established. His own destined fate to be powerless in the face of such familiar circumstances where he couldn¡¯t save even himself or anyone else pressed itself upon him. His mind gradually grew blank and before he knew it he was in a different place.


    ¡­¡­


    Somewhere Unknown


    Tus¡¯s eyes peered around his surroundings and it felt like he has been here since he could remember, but there was also the feeling of never visiting this place. It was pure white with nothing existing and was boundless, but as he focused at one area, a little indistinct spot appeared in his vision. He instinctively wanted to go to it and was surprised that he moved, or rather, it moved toward him.


    The thing gradually came to view and it turned out to be a yellow stoned tablet with a colorless picture of sand, towering lights, monsters, and the outline of a person standing before it all, unfazed. He recognized the person as himself, only when he first entered the Land of Oblivion.


    ¡°What is this and where am I?¡± Tus asked himself as he turned around.


    ¡®You are in the Primal Setting, the Passage. I am the Trial Bearing, the lone overseer of the Lands, and the giver of rewards.¡¯ A sound that didn¡¯t exist from the ears echoed directly in Tus¡¯s mind and translated itself. ¡®The tablet before you is your reward for passing the first trial, simply the Trial of Passing.¡¯


    Tus accepted what it said without any lapse in understanding as the words embedded themselves deeply into his mind. ¡°What is the reward?¡±


    ¡®The reward is what you seek.¡¯


    ¡°That isn¡¯t very descriptive.¡± Tus mumbled to himself.


    ¡®What is it that brought you to Oblivion?¡¯ The voiced asked.


    ¡°To gain power to change the world and save those who I deem are the ones I should protect.¡± Tus said without control.


    ¡®What kind of power do you want?¡¯


    Tus was silent as he remembered the lack he visited all the time, the bruises he endured, the out casting of his family, and the eventual genocide. Normally all of these would be hazy or sealed by his consciousness due to the pain they would cause, but here, everything was laid bare for him to witness without feeling anything. He only felt a type of energy approaching him.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I want the power to heal the hearts and bodies of people and the power to fight against those who wish to oppress.¡± Tus said without control once again.


    ¡®What makes you worthy of obtaining of two powers instead of one?¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m worthy to receive two, but if I can obtain just something to liberate myself from their chains, then I¡¯ll be happy.¡± Tus said with overflowing determination and excitement that streamed from his soul.


    ¡®Your motives, thoughts, and state of being are pure and transparent. The Trial of Passing will grant you what you want. Your body was imprinted by the first trial with fate and now your body will also be changed ten times. The first time to bestow you basic power to serve both causes and act as your reward from the Trial of Passing, while the other nine times will be filled with danger. To pass the Trial of Reconstruction, you must survive during all of the changes using any means as they would render you powerless. Every time you go through a change after the first, you will gain greater proficiency in using your basic power, but the basic power won¡¯t be increased. You¡¯ll have to do that with your own effort. The first change will be after you leave this place while the rest will occur every full and new moon. As a reminder, the primal¡­¡¯


    With what was said drowned out by white noise, Tus found himself sinking from the plane into a world of darkness. He stopped sinking and a pain started pulsing through his body, originating from his left chest. The pulse was silent at first, but soon a sound similar to a heartbeat became prominent. With every ¡®badump¡¯ Tus¡¯s body scrunched together from the pain that was from his internal organs being displaced and new veins that were like invasive roots, growing without reserve. The new veins followed the route of the first heart veins from a bubble that was similar to a cell, except it was transparent as well as the veins with nothing inside it. However, it started pulsing as well along with the pain, the cell would contract, and a clear fluid would be created, filling the veins that were spreading throughout his body.


    After the cell finished filling the fully veins were finished forming, a greater pain assailed Tus¡¯s consciousness. That cell then made borders that crisscrossed within it, appearing like a pie with three equal slices.


    When the cell contracted once more, three areas filled with vibrant colored light that then spread through the veins to the three sides of the body. One side had a glaring red color that moved to the head and had the appearance and feeling of fire after it settled. Another side was occupied with a deep blue color that pushed flowed through the veins to the entire left side with the feeling and movement of cool water. The final side, the right side, was yellow that appeared like sand, and gratingly, slowly, moved through the set of veins.


    Tus felt like his head and shoulders were in an inferno with his head being roasted. His right side had the feeling of sand paper tearing his insides out. The only part of him that he found solace in was his left side that had the sensation of relief and relaxation.


    ¡®Thank you Trial Bearing for giving me hope.¡¯ Even though the pain was intense, Tus¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t disrupted, and he expressed his thanks with great gratification.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Country of Confine, Capital City of Froir, Central Plaza, 3 Minutes Before.


    Velfor smiled, the tight skin around his face making it look stiff and horrifying, ¡°My colleague here wants to do this. He¡¯s my superior so I can¡¯t say anything and he does make a point of not doing anything like this for a long time. So could you give him a break? It¡¯s not like you are going to suffer.¡±


    While he spoke, no one noticed that Tus¡¯s eyes became grey and they gradually closed. The social atmosphere remained as it was before while Drel continued to supply the gaseous metal to the sky. Everyone who were down below and flying in the sky were angered and scared of their impending doom.


    It was at this time that a profane and resounding voice boomed, ¡°You motherfuckers! If you touch a single hair on my delicious meal, I¡¯ll cook your entire families!¡±

 Chapter 23: It Happened So Fast?!

    The angry roar caused Velfor and Drel to exchange glances.


    ¡®The real threat finally came¡­¡¯ Velfor thought to himself.


    Drel understood what Velfor was thinking and stopped the flow of the metallic gas from floating into the sky. Instead, he directed the open palm at the rapidly approaching orange dot. The clouds of metal started swirling at a center point in the sky like a hurricane, but without the wind. The edges of the clouds that extended to the city walls shrank and a black ball formed in that center point.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be ready in four minutes. Stall the Gradual!¡± Drel commanded Velfor who nodded his head in confirmation.


    In a blue flash, Velfor charged forward with the blanket fluttering behind him. Within a very short time, he was half of a mile outside the city, and the two clashed against one another at once. The dragons¡¯ eyes fiercely stared at the insignificant creature that was coming to it and it unleashed an almost solid orange beam from its mouth.


    In the presence of the beam that was wider than five combined tree trunks, the air stilled, and the light from the sun seemed to dim, oddly bending around it. In the six hundred or so feet that was between the two, the beam appeared almost instantly in front of Velfor.


    Velfor saw the attack that was incoming and narrowly dodged, but part of the beam still struck his left arm. It disintegrated the blanket covering the spot, but his arm was protected by a bright brown light. Velfor glanced at the left arm that felt like it got hit by a hammer and frowned.


    ¡®Right now, its internal energy is around the middle of second tier, but the concentration that it released is in the early part of tier three. In just this confrontation, the grade of this beast should be close to mine, 34. According to the information, it¡¯ll only get stronger as it attacks and is attacked. If I attack too much, or it lands more attacks, it¡¯ll surpass me, and might be able to resist Drel¡¯s temporary sealing¡­¡¯ While Velfor was thinking, he dodged a few more orange beams that almost touched him.


    Drel who was concentrating on gathering all of the released internal energy to a point, watched the two, and his sight settled on Tus who seemed to have shut his eyes in the predicted resignation. Like Velfor, he also frowned at the sight of the Gradual¡¯s growth. ¡®Unless I finish this quickly or one of the Warriors come here, the Gradual will take this ingredient away.¡¯


    As he looked at Tus, his heart clenched. ¡®What is going on?!¡¯


    The low sound of a something similar to a beating heart came from Tus¡¯s body. It grew in strength and the faint ripple of rejection that could only be sensed expanded, pushing off Drel¡¯s internal energy that surrounded him. With the support released, Tus fell to the ground under the crowds watching eyes.


    Just before he was about to hit the ground, the worlds¡¯ rejection slowed his fall until he floated above the grounds¡¯ surface. The pebbles that were under him flew away and his body gently touched the ground.


    The faint heart beat became louder with every ¡®thump¡¯ and the dust in the area started flowing away with his body as the center. Then on his head, left side, and right side started being covered in light of red, blue, and yellow. As it happened, Tus¡¯s face twisted from the pain that rammed against his senses.


    Drel floated in the air dumbfounded. ¡®He¡­ he is forming a second heart? How is that possible?¡¯


    The crowds that were around in the plaza backed away with some taking the chance to flee as the attention of everyone was diverted.


    Yarla, Worill, and Shel stared at Tus with complicated gazes with Yarla appearing as though she was deliberating about something.


    Haya¡¯s squad mostly expressed shock throughout the course of events, from finding out that Tus was actually a transcendent and yet was being hunted by the alliance, and then there was the formation of a second heart that had three primary composites, something that they never heard of before.


    After Drel calmed himself with difficulty, his eyes pointed to Tus like an assassin facing someone who saw his face. ¡®I need to kill him, or else if he escapes, I¡¯ll be facing against something worse than that Gradual in the future. Although the boss said to capture him alive, a dead transcendents¡¯ body is better than nothing at all.¡¯


    With that thought, his freed hand opened to a palm. The skin gradually became a surface similar to metal and a silver spear grew from his hand. After it reached over five feet, a width of the shaft at two inches, and a pointed blade at about half a foot in width, Drel clasped it. He arched the arm and with the desire to kill, he threw the spear, aiming accurately at Tus¡¯s neck.


    Based on his level, theoretically, he could crush Tus by simply waving his hand and utilize the air to be the weapon. However people who reach higher grades and tiers have to face greater limitations brought by both, the resistance of the world and their own body¡¯s risk to injury, similar to the limitation of growth from the second heart. The difference is that this is a matter of the actual entity that lives in the world instead of the entity¡¯s pure physical body. This land being the Land of Trials is for those who are taking trials. Those who pass the Trial of Passing in Oblivion are qualified to bypass the worlds¡¯ limitations by status of both body and entity. They are thusly marked by the rejection, to have everyone and everything take notice, while, in this case, serve as protection as Tus receives his reward from the Trial of Passing.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    In regards to the entities that don¡¯t take the trials; their existence is merely ignored and/or allowed to live there to be part of the trial or the mercy of whoever is overseeing.


    In summary, Drel can¡¯t utilize his theoretical strength that is reduced by at least thirty percent, to penetrate the inflated rejection of the world by merely using the wind, and can¡¯t reduce his concentration away from the temporary seal anymore to produce anything stronger than this metal spear.


    ¡°Milady! What are you doing?!¡± Shel and Worill shouted. At some point, they were pushed back and Yarla was already next to Tus with the worlds¡¯ rejection allowing entry.


    Just as the spear was about to reap Tus¡¯s life, Yarla grabbed him by the arm while running, bringing him away from certain death. With one smooth motion, Tus was hauled away on Yarla¡¯s back, and the spear shattered the ground, embedding itself.


    After a single moment, Tus¡¯s and Yarla¡¯s presence disappeared from everyone¡¯s view, while Yarla used some kind of device to hide their presence from Drel.


    ¡°Where do you think you are going?!¡± Drel did not expect someone to take away Tus while he was concentrating on both forming the temporary seal and the attack. Consequently, he was furious.


    ¡°You bitches think a little skeleton like this can stop me! The nerve!¡± The dragon yelled as Velfor retreated with wounds all over his body. He flew at top speed to where Drel was.


    ¡°You have to stop it now!¡± Velfor yelled after he flew into the city. Before he could proceed any further, an extremely large figure appeared above him and the back part of a giant claw smashed against his side. He used the last remnants of internal energy to protect himself, but his body immediately shattered into a mist of blood and body parts by the strike.


    Drel looked at the now 200 foot long dragon that covered a tenth of the city with a vicious gaze. The sudden death of his colleague that he has been working with for over two hundred years and the loss of his target filled him with blazing fury that was ten times worse than before.


    It has only been a little over three minutes and the metal clouds above weren¡¯t ready yet. Facing such a situation, Drel was rendered desperate, and tapped an inconspicuous emblem that was hidden between the metal plating on his left shoulder. It shined with violet light before it discharged a massive lightning bolt at the approaching dragon with the latter¡¯s pupils constricting to the point of a needle.


    It struck the dragon and caused it to crash into the ground outside the city. It twitched uncontrollably from the shock while the emblem turned to dust.


    ¡®I need to stall it and try finding that vermin! I need to activate the seal prematurely.¡¯ When he thought so, veins popped up on his forehead while he groaned, while the nearly completed seal rushed together. With his palm still directed at the target, the originally black ball transformed, shining like a metal baseball in the clear sunlight until it blurred, pouncing toward the recovering dragon.


    Once it hit the dragon, it spread out like a slime, forming a metal membrane that quickly moved across its¡¯ scales, and prevented it from moving a single inch. The dragon released muffled roars and curses.


    Not sparing a single moment, Drel swept his eyes over the area underneath him to find that, at some point, all of the people who were down there had scattered, and ran in all directions kicking up dirt that obstructed any sign of unusual movement or the rejection of the world.


    Feeling intensely frustrated he yelled, ¡°Stop running around!¡± The people who he threatened before didn¡¯t take heed this time and continued fleeing.


    The current situation made him completely helpless as he was in the predicament of being unable to annihilate everyone due to several restrictions, such as the need for Tus¡¯s complete body, or else he would be killed on the spot by his superiors, and the eventual release of the Gradual.


    In the time that he was considering while flying around, the city was almost deserted. At the point where his fury was converting to despair, he then heard distinct cracking sounds coming from the metal seal he created.


    With the sound of shattering glass, a booming roar burst forth, ¡°You motherfucker! I¡¯m going to skin you alive!¡± In the span of a moment, the dragon furiously flew in the sky and was right before Drel.


    ¡®It became a tier 4 monster!¡¯ With that thought, he tried his best in fighting the dragon, but his internal energy was suppressed even further by the monsters¡¯ superior internal energy, and he only went through a couple of rounds before pitifully being chewed upon by the dragons maw.


    Even though the fight only lasted for a short time, the blasts still rang across the city, blasting apart most of it. The dragon reveled in its growing strength, but it soon redirected its attention as it stuck out its snake-like tongue.


    ¡°Where is my meal?!¡± It roared, flying about the city at the utmost frenzy, causing some of the already unstable buildings to collapse, but it couldn¡¯t find a trace of its quarry. After a couple of hours, it moved beyond the city, not ready to be defeated, and wanting to search further.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    In one of the streets filled with rubble, a transparent figure limped with blotches of blood following its path as it carried something on its back.


    End of Arc 1


    Sand

 Chapter 24: The One Thing to Possibly Solve All Problems

    5 Days Later, 80 Miles Away from Froir, in the Erkshems¡¯ Mountain Range.


    Within the depths of a vast cave system, a fire was lit spreading its light in one of the many natural and manmade chambers. The sound of dripping water could be heard from time to time, at some points sounding more like a stream of water going from the ceiling to the ground. Strangely against expectations, not a single hint of water could be found, almost like the sound itself was an illusion. Besides the weird sound of water, was the thick fog that roiled. As such, any kind of fire lit in this place could be difficult, but its essential use was practical from warding off the dampness, cold, darkness, and sickness.


    In that chamber were ten figures, one laid on the floor covered in a thick blanket with someone kneeling by their side releasing a green light. Another five sat around the fire and another two stayed by the entrance. The last leaned against the wall staring at the figure who laid on the floor with a hopeful light.


    They were Haya¡¯s squad with Ruia checking Tus¡¯s condition, Arl standing by the doorway with a black garment wearing stranger who helped in checking for intruders, and the rest who sat around the fire. Worill and Shel conversed with them from time to time. Yarla was the one who leaned against the wall with a bandaged arm and leg.


    ¡°How is his condition?¡± Haya asked with a bit of concern and guilt.


    Ruia who kneeled by Tus said while astonished, ¡°The condition inside his body is amazing! Even though he has conflicting attributes, the second heart is functioning appropriately. To his physical body, there are no injuries at all.¡± Saying this, she glanced at Yarla who stood away. ¡°Thanks to her.¡±


    Yarla remained silent. With the attack of Drel and the dragon that escalated over her head, some remnant volatile energy radiated out. Luckily, neither of them found Tus due to an heirloom of her family which made her invisible to all senses for a period of time. The only downside of which was that the heirloom requires at least a year before it recharges with the appropriate energy. Afterward, she was found by the squad when she was in the forest before the mountains with Arl''s continuous lead through her blood and Tus''s scent.


    ¡°Why are you helping Tus?¡± Worill couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°I feel guilty about bringing about such a catastrophe to him without any cause. All he did was go to Oblivion and survived. It shouldn¡¯t warrant his death.¡± Haya replied sullenly, while the others quietly nodded. ¡°Even though we¡¯re strangers, my squad has always helped those who need it. In fact, that is why in Rotalia, we were the laughing stocks.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe a person can become transcendent by going to that place, sounds too easy.¡± Shel said on the side, poking the ground with a stick.


    Tulian countered, ¡°Only the crazy would dare to. Oblivion might have been a place where transcendents are born, but you have to battle against beasts of a superior nature, devils that seek your soul, and the demons that just want to fulfill their appetite. The countless number of people who entered that place and managed to live beyond five years is almost zero, not counting the 200 that this guy did.¡±


    ¡°If I may ask, what do you plan to do with him?¡± Haya asked.


    Worill and Shel both looked at Yarla who leaned on the wall. Even they didn¡¯t know what the plan was.


    ¡°Plainly, I want to adopt him into my regime.¡± Yarla cooly said after turning her eyes.


    Hearing this, everyone in the room, except for Worill, had various expressions of disbelief.


    Tus was being hunted by the alliance, because their nefarious workings, and the Erkshem regimes are all out to get one another, degrading an already critical situation. It wouldn¡¯t be just Tus who is in danger, but the entire regime that Yarla is working under. The aftereffects from something like that would spread through the entirety of Erkshem, with the alliance, and the hostile regimes involved, tearing it apart.


    ¡°Milady, we can¡¯t do that!¡± Shel protested, ¡°That would you in danger!¡±


    Worill chuckled, ¡°We already adopted him, and we can¡¯t toss him back onto the street can we? That would be improper for we. All we have to do is dress him up a bit and keep him away from any monsters or sensitive talismans.¡±


    Shel placed her fingers to her forehead in exasperation.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t much, can I go with you too?¡± Ruia stood up and requested. ¡°If Tus gets injured again, another healer would be able to see his second heart, and that might put all of you in danger.¡±


    The squad jumped up in unison with all of them gaining another sense of disbelief.


    ¡°Ruia, what are you doing?¡± Talian stepped forward, ¡°We already discussed this. He can¡¯t take you to your brother, especially now since he gained the second heart. Unless he has the guardian inside give him permission, neither of you would be able get in.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± Haya started speaking, ¡°we might be able to get a bit of time off and use it to go to Erkshem with them. Right, Tulian?¡±


    Tulian stiffened and replied mechanically. ¡°Yes. Even though those two alliance scouts couldn¡¯t get a hold of Tus, we still fulfilled our purpose despite acting against ¡®two¡¯ devastating threats. The time off would be around six months to a year.¡±


    Arl also did some gestures in agreement while he stood near the entrance.


    Talian shook his head and sat back down. He thought listlessly ¡®We already helped them out here, why can¡¯t we go back and get some booze man¡­¡¯

 Chapter 25: Who Dares to Touch this Sanctity?!

    ¡®Why are there are so many voices?¡¯ With a light cough, Tus opened his eyes.


    In his vision, he saw quite a few people who were conversing with each other. He also realized that the dark place with camp fire in the center was a cavern with walls that were so smooth that they seemed hand carved. In the chamber, he recognized Worill, Shel, and Yarla, but he wasn¡¯t familiar with the rest.


    ¡°He¡¯s awake!¡± A short green haired girl who was the nearest to him exclaimed, causing the rest to look in his direction.


    Feeling pressured from the intensity of their stares, Tus immediately closed his eyes and laid his head back down while trying to breath in shallow breaths to make himself seem like he was sleeping.


    ¡°Is there something wrong with him?¡± Haya asked.


    Ruia crouched over Tus and placed one of her hands over his face with a green light spreading out.


    ¡®Why are you touching me?! Stop it!¡¯ Having felt someone actually touch his face, Tus reacted by grabbing Ruia¡¯s arm and peeling it off.


    ¡°He seems to be fine?¡± Ruia said uncertainly as her arm was being grabbed and the ¡®patient¡¯ giving her a death stare, although it really only contained slight irritation.


    ¡°Why were you touching my face?¡± Tus asked hoarsely, ¡°and who are you?¡±


    1 hour later.


    ¡°I see.¡± After eating and drinking like usual while he was listening to everyone¡¯s explanations, Tus said. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you told your manager, they were already targeting me. It probably started after I succeeded in the Trial of Passing in Oblivion. I have to thank all of you for concerning yourselves with me.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­ you¡¯re welcome.


    ¡°Trial of Passing?¡±


    ¡°What was Oblivion like?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they capture you the moment you came out?¡±


    The members of Haya¡¯s squad started asking various questions, mainly out of curiosity. Their faces showed relief that they weren¡¯t being blamed for their conduct.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any about the Trial of Passing, but I¡¯m familiar with Oblivion. Vast lands of sand, full of monster trying to eat me. I ate most of them, though. The motives of those flying freaks, I don¡¯t know. The reason why they didn¡¯t capture me at first might be because I already made my way out of the area, so they had to do some searching.¡± Tus answered briefly.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Tus you seem to be different.¡± Worill couldn¡¯t help but state. ¡°You are more¡­ at ease.¡±


    Tus moved his left arm and with a slight will, his second heart which was beating like his actual heart gave a larger pulse, and his arm shown with a dim blue light. On his palm, water started forming in droplets that grew bigger, eventually trickling off.


    ¡°I finally got what I wanted.¡± Tus said with his eyes glowing from the campfire in front of him, ¡°So how can I not be at ease.¡±


    ¡°Hey, watch it!¡± Talian shouted as the water trickled into the fire, causing hissing sounds to echo in the cave, and for it to nearly extinguish.


    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Tus apologized as he withdrew his arm and the blue glow. ¡®Damn it, I wanted to be cool for a moment.¡¯


    ¡°What are you planning to do now?¡± Yarla said, off to the side, ¡°The alliance seems like they really want to hunt you down. Luckily, they misjudged that monsters¡¯ strength.¡±


    Thinking back on it, Tus found the voice of the dragon to be somewhat familiar, only to be distorted by its brazen words.


    He tapped his chin, ¡°I wanted to go to the River Sanctuary, but you¡¯re right, I can¡¯t cross the distance as of yet. For now, I suppose I need to increase my strength before I can trek.¡±


    Hearing what he said, Ruia¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and she rushed and grabbed his arm.


    ¡®Why is she always touching me?¡¯ Tus complained as he was about to pry her hands off of his arm.


    ¡°Did you say the River Sanctuary? You know about it? Can you get inside?¡± She asked desperately.


    Tus stopped his movements as he saw her earnest gaze. He dropped his hand down, subtly rolled his eyes to say ¡®whatever¡¯, and answered, ¡°Yes to all three of your questions. I lived there for a time and know the Ancient Guardian. The reason why I¡¯m still alive, and the reason for how I found out about Oblivion was also through it. It said that should I succeed, a reward was that I could enter the Sanctuary without restriction.¡±


    ¡°Please take me with you?¡± Ruia pleaded while tightening her grasp.


    ¡°Do whatever you want.¡± Tus said while looking at the ceiling. ¡®As long as you stop touching me.¡¯


    Hearing his reply, Ruia¡¯s eyes glistened with tears and she felt like she got a banquet of flowers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± Tus sensed a movement and moved his head slightly, dodging the incoming attack.


    Ruia tried kissing his cheek from impulse, but immediately felt embarrassed. However, after hearing what he said next, caused her to feel a great sense of shock.


    ¡°I¡¯m like, a two hundred years old. Pervert.¡± Tus said directly.


    Hearing what he said, Ruia moved away while saying defensively to ignore the previous embarrassment. ¡°Pervert? You look younger than me. We of the elven race live to be about two thousand years old without the inclusion of internal energy. Age is not applicable.¡± Ruia said proudly, while also probably saying something even more embarrassing.


    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Tus turned his head and raised his head like a confident rooster that strutted around the hen house, ¡°We of the transcendent race can live forever. The concept of age is reinstated.¡±


    Hearing that, Ruia felt defeated as she couldn¡¯t come up with anything to rebuke, and directly sat down.


    ¡®That is counting if I don¡¯t fail the Trials or ¡®die¡¯ or else I¡¯ll be enslaved by Oblivion. Wait, wouldn¡¯t I still be alive then?¡¯ Tus thought back to when he first entered Oblivion and remembered the weird voice. Then he went onto a tangent.


    The crowd who watched on had a weird feeling rise that most of them didn¡¯t understand.


    At this point, Yarla spoke up with a hint of frustration, ¡°Tus, I have a way that you can safely increase your strength. Would you like to listen to my idea?¡±

 Chapter 26: I Move So Fast that You Cant Touch Me!

    ¡°What kind of idea do you have?¡± Tus asked. From what he saw, everyone here already knew about the question as their faces were left unchanged.


    ¡°That is for you to come with me to Erkshem and adopt yourself under my Regime¡¯s cause. You¡¯ll increase your strength through training from us. As you never handled the second heart before, it will be very helpful to you. At the same time, you will refine your skills through duels and after each duel, prizes will be awarded and you won¡¯t have to worry about being hunted by the alliance. When I rescued you, I activated a part of the heirloom I have and it disguised myself at the time when everyone was focused on that scout. No one, besides that monster behind, you saw my actions.¡± Yarla went on to explain, while Tus thought about what she was saying.


    ¡®So she saved me... Okay, I guess I could give it a try. Even though it might be just part of her own schemes¡­ What did she say? Monster¡­¡± Tus turned around to see a four foot tall black robed figure standing behind him.


    It took its hood down, showing stone-like skin, piercing grey eyes, lack of a nose, and two rows of razor sharp teeth that reflected the firelight. The entire being emitted a deadly and eerie presence that dictated that it could come and go as it pleased while ending lives.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, delicious transcendent.¡± Gargoyle said in a voice that revealed its obsession while looking Tus up and down.


    Shivers went through Tus¡¯s body as he stood up. He yelled, ¡°Why is it here?!¡±


    Worill spoke, ¡°Tus calm down. Its name is Gargoyle, a tamed monster. It won¡¯t harm you.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t an answer to my question. A tamed monster is still a monster of Oblivion. It¡¯s still dangerous.¡± Tus backed to the opposite side of the fire pit, staring at the still smiling monster.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Gargoyle pointed a thin arm that had sharp five inch fingernails to Haya, ¡°My condensed soul core was given to this female by my original captors. I don¡¯t have full control over my body, she does. Even though I want to cook you over this fire pit with some seasonings, I wouldn¡¯t dare to or have the ability under any circumstance.¡±


    Haya reached into a bag and brought out a pebble sized dark red crystal that had an invisible tether connected to Gargoyle.


    Gargoyle continued, ¡°My primary purpose is to be a bodyguard during your second trial. Even though these mortals are able to understand what a trial is, the second one is one in which they can¡¯t help you at all. So, in good faith, my mortal captors gave me to these mortals around you in order to have you strengthen. It is their hope to help raise a seed.¡± ¡®While also creating a tie that you must act upon.¡¯ Gargoyle refrained from saying this.


    ¡®So I was sent a bodyguard that wants to literally eat me¡­ I don¡¯t know how this can¡¯t go wrong...¡¯ Tus thought to himself.


    ¡°What do you mean no one would be able to help me?¡±


    ¡°That is just one of the restrictions of the second trial. You¡¯ll know what the second trial entails in a few days.¡± The monster chuckled.


    ¡°Anyway¡­¡± Yarla who kept losing control of the conversation was feeling a bit exasperated that was rare for her, ¡°You¡¯ll have protection from the second trial, a group who will serve to protect your new identity that I¡¯ll hand out to you, a warm place to increase your own strength with tutelage, and plus any additional privileges that you want.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Hearing the sales pitch, Tus was already pretty convinced. When he heard ¡®any additional privileges that you want¡¯ he was utterly persuaded. Still, he needed to clear something up.


    ¡°Based on what I know about you, you wouldn¡¯t make such an offering without some kind of string attached¡­¡±


    ¡°Tus you don¡¯t have to worry. The duels that milady spoke of before are the primary things she needs of you. Our Regime is close to being able to confront the head regime. However, the few who are able to get a higher ranking, besides milady, are limited. We need you to help push us up a notch so that we can finally end the head regimes reign.¡± Worill explained, obviously also trying to get Tus on their side. With a light flashing in his eyes, he went on. ¡°Besides, you are still a servant that I picked up off of the road and you still haven¡¯t repaid us for the food bill from the Golden Flame. It would be impudent for you to just run off, right?¡±


    Tus groaned inside, ¡®That food was so good. Definitely worth it.¡¯


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tag along.¡± Tus agreed to their requests.


    Yarla let out a slight smile that appeared to be unpracticed. ¡°Thank you for officially joining my family, Rolon Tusseria.¡±


    ¡°What the hell kind of a name is that?! I want a different one!¡± He openly complained with a fiery voice.


    In this cavern, two parties set apart. Tus, Worill, Yarla, Gargoyle, Arl, and Ruia set forth for Erkshem. Shel went with the rest of Haya¡¯s squad back to their encampment to collect the rewards, declare their ¡®vacation¡¯, and guide them back to Erkshem.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Those alliance bastards, I¡¯m going to kill them all!¡± An extremely loud roar made the land vibrate and the rivers run in the opposite direction. A four hundred foot dragon lied around thirty incomplete and pale bodies. The land was riddled in scars and mile deep holes that had heat rising.


    ¡°Please, Gradual, spare me!¡± In front of the oversized lizard a man was kneeling while holding the spot where his left arm should have been. By his side was a comrade who hate filled gaze directed at the man


    ¡°Why should I spare you?! You fucking ¡®scouts¡¯ caused me to lose my dinner¡¯s scent entirely!¡±


    The man trembled as he hurriedly cried out, ¡°I helped you out here and I know of a Warrior who is coming! I can help you avoid him!¡±


    The Gradual stopped roaring and looked down at the little human in front of it with its dominating gaze, ¡°Warriors? Pfft. What do I need to be afraid of your stupid Warri¡­¡± As the Gradual spoke, it realized that a presence that caused instinctual fear was moving at an astounding speed towards it. It growled, ¡°Fuck me.¡±


    The Gradual swiped in the air and created a yellow tear that had sand blowing out. Before it entered into the tear that was just enough to fit its entire body, it yelled out, enough for that person to hear, ¡°In the future, I¡¯ll claim this Land as my playground. Just wait!¡±


    At the same time that the tear closed, another man, kind of short with green hair, green eyes, and pointed ears mysteriously stopped in the air above the scout who had his head to the ground crying from the pain of losing his arm. He wore grey plated armor and a long sword on his back. All of which had brightly glowing white hieroglyphs.


    He surveyed the wasted area around and said solemnly, ¡°It¡¯s is a pity that I didn¡¯t arrive sooner and I¡¯m sorry that this land has suffered so. You¡­¡± The man looked down onto the crying scout and squinted his eyes, ¡°Willingly betraying us living beings for the dead is inexcusable.¡±


    The man who was kneeling on the ground opened his eyes in fear, raised his head, and tried to explain himself.


    ¡°Whatever you have to say does not matter anymore.¡± Upon saying those words, the man who tried to explain himself felt a pressure beyond his imagination, and was ruthlessly smashed into the ground. All of his bones, muscles, and internal organs were rendered into a gross paste.


    The ¡®Warrior¡¯ looked into a different direction, unfazed from what he had done as if it was a matter of course. ¡°I apologize to you as well on behalf of the alliance for trying to hunt you down and kill off your kind. For you to know, I don¡¯t go along with their greed and I¡¯ll give you a favor that you may repay young one. Escape as far as you can, and if I and the others don¡¯t succeed by the time you return for vengeance, then please destroy the corruption. I, Eol Dorial, am once again sincerely sorry.¡± His body briefly glowed a bright green light that spread into incalculable miles, restoring the land nearby, while at the same time, subtly erasing something.


    After he finished his soliloquy, his body vanished in the same way it appeared.

 Chapter 27: Hmm... Please. Go. On.

    ¡°We¡¯re finally out!¡± Tus jumped out of one of the many entrances to the cave system with joy and laid onto the ground, embracing the sunshine that showed through the empty lot, devoid of trees.


    Before the group separated, Tus was given a mask that changed his figure after he placed it onto his face. His frame metamorphosed into something more overbearing, his jaw bone became thicker and his nose became larger. Every portion of him made him to look more like the standard freelancing adventurer. Even his voice became deeper as he spoke.


    Worill exclaimed as he came out, ¡°Your abilities are astonishing! If it wasn¡¯t for you, it would have taking us at least a week.¡±


    Arl was the one who led them out for the past two days and he also sat onto the ground. He waved his hands and made a a few gestures that said, ¡®It was nothing.¡¯ Even though Arl couldn¡¯t say anything due to his throat getting injured as a child, the group still had a good chemistry.


    Even though the injury was non-threatening, and could have been healed easily, due to some unfavorable situations, Arl didn¡¯t have the resources, or anyone to heal it. The consequence was that it ¡®settled¡¯ and without determined, long term therapy, the originally superficial injury couldn¡¯t be healed. At the point when Arl could do something about it, he ¡®said¡¯ it would be troublesome as he was already used to it.


    ¡®When I manage to control my power, if what that Overseer said was right, I should be able to heal using this water attribute. Maybe I can heal his injury.¡¯ This was a thought that repeated itself a couple of times through Tus¡¯s mind as they walked through the caverns.


    ¡°Rolon, remember that when we go through any towns, keep your true identity from leaking out and make sure to use only one of your attributes.¡± Yarla warned once again with an indifferent face.


    ¡°Of course milady. This Rolon will bear in mind.¡± Tus said seriously as he got more into his role.


    Worrill¡¯s face twitched a bit, ¡°Rolon. You don¡¯t have to talk about yourself like that.¡±


    Tus answered solemnly, ¡°If this Rolon wants to speak like Rolon, then this is necessary to this Rolons¡¯ safety.¡±


    ¡®Hey if I have to take up a persona that I don¡¯t want, I at least have to make you suffer a little bit, right?¡¯ He grinned evilly on the inside. ¡®Besides, your master did say that I can have any additional privileges, this can be considered as one, right?¡¯Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Worill admitted defeat, ¡°As long as you keep talking like that.¡±


    ¡°This Rolon will pursue saying ¡®this name¡¯ as long as this Rolon has to.¡± Tus nodded. Upon coming outside, Tus realized something before he looked at Yarla, ¡°Oh, you did promise to teach this Rolon the basics when we got outside.¡±


    Yarla, as she expected this question, confirmed without emotion, ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll explain now. Sit down over here.¡± She gestured for a flat spot along the ground.


    By this time, Ruia and Gargoyle came out of the cave with the latter completely covered by the robe. Ruia looked around before she found a tree to sit next to.


    ¡°As you have three primary composites, there is no known method that you can utilize to bring your powers in an expressed manner.¡± Yarla began lecturing when Tus sat onto the ground. ¡°Even though that is the case, the three attributes can still be tapped into. Let me demonstrate.¡±


    Say till that point, Yarla suddenly outstretched one of her hands, pointing it at a nearby rock. A soft hum rang out as the air rippled away from her arm, bringing out gentle wind that blew across the area. She gracefully controlled the hand into a palm and the air took on a blue hue. Immediately after, the blue hue charged at the rock and upon contact, the rock itself turned blue before the area around it appeared as though it fractured. Black lines had spread away from the rock as the center, reaching a distance of about four feet, before they crashed back onto the rock. Soundlessly, the rock shimmered, and disappeared. The ground directly underneath the rock was still left as it was before the rock rolled there some time in the past.


    Tus gaped with his mouth open as he stared at the empty space. Yarla¡¯s voice range in his ears, ¡°My primary composite is spatial and it primarily destabilizes and fractures space. When I charged some internal energy that had the spatial attribute with enough control, I released it to the rock which was then dragged into either a void or into another world. The method I use utilizes its purpose to designate and control a dimension.


    ¡°If you use any kind of method that goes against your physical condition, your second heart will give you a backlash that may render you dead or crippled, although being transcendent may exempt you from this.¡±


    Tus subconsciously shook his head.


    Yarla continued, ¡°However, all methods have a universal beginning or foundation. That is simply to exercise your second heart through repeated use. Doing so will allow you greater and greater control over your powers, making it stronger.


    ¡°You should also find ways to make them expressed without conflicting with one another. Most methods came from personal understanding through trial and error, while others were gifted by those who have existed since time immemorial. The possibility of you having the latter is moderate or highly likely, but from what it seems, you weren¡¯t gifted with such, so you¡¯ll have to rely on yourself.


    ¡°One more thing, the portion of your body that has the attribute should be immune to that attribute. However, the rest of your body doesn¡¯t. So be careful breathing fire out of your head and not get it on your arms. That is all there is for me to explain to you. In the future, either I, Worill, or Shel will watch over you so that we can correct any extremely erroneous mistakes. Understand?¡±

 Chapter 28: The First Actual Rules, Go Represent Yourselves.

    ¡®I¡¯ll be able to breathe fire out of my mouth?¡¯ Tus nodded his head to Yarla¡¯s question while thinking about the cool aspects of his abilities that he hasn¡¯t begun to use.


    ¡°There is one thing that you need to go through first. That is to actively accumulate internal energy.¡± Yarla said.


    ¡°Actively accumulate?¡± Tus asked, cocking his head to the side.


    ¡°Yes. The second heart already has a nature to automatically take in the external energy to change into internal energy. However, this process can take long periods of time, spanning from ten days to a month or more. It makes life or death struggles even more severe. The amount of time it takes for your body to naturally accumulate won¡¯t change when you increase the amount of internal energy you have through exercise, as the second heart would take in external energy at a faster rate to compensate.


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, for you to fully accumulate internal energy at your current level is around three days, mind-numbingly fast based on Erkshems¡¯ average, but still not good enough, as you will probably burn through it in under a hour or so in an actual fight. This leads to active accumulation and there are two levels of complexity. The first level are the four states, or the four hyperstasis. They are baseline hyperstasis, automatic accumulation, half hyperstasis which is the slowest active accumulation, full hyperstasis which is the second fastest active accumulation, and the fourth state is finally stasis, or state of continuity. Stasis is the last level, and the hardest to achieve, as it is constant active accumulation whether or not you are conscious. The different states can be trained based on your own practice.


    ¡°The second level of complexity comes from the environment and is more of a support than anything else. For instance, take a look at Ruia.¡± Yarla paused for a moment, pointing at Ruia.


    Ruia who has been sitting underneath a tree since they came out of the cavern had her eyes shut. A green fog covered and entered her skin through her pores. The green fog was being brought out from the grass and the trees.


    Yarla continued, ¡°Her attribute more than likely lies with growth, which is good for healing wounds and fighting disease through increasing recovery speed while enhancing the immune system. She is actively accumulating internal energy using the specific external energies being emitted by the plants as they grow.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°You carry three of the most basic, but also most elemental of all creation. Earth, water, and fire. Earth is the most abundant for you, with water being second, and fire being the scarcest. That should be obvious as the earth is just underneath your feet, while water is in the air. Fire is harder, but still very easy when compared with most other primary composites when trying to acquire. It lingers in the air like water, but much less concentrated.


    ¡°The reason why I¡¯m telling you all of this is so that you can increase your training speed, as you won¡¯t have to wait quite as long to get enough energy to actually use. I¡¯ll now tell you briefly how to actively accumulate and more efficiently use your internal energy¡­¡±


    Tus, who was growing bored due to Yarla¡¯s seemingly incessant rambling, perked up his ears.


    After another thirty minutes.


    ¡°¡­then you send it out through your skin. We¡¯re not on a deadline, so start with earth, then move onto the others.¡± Yarla then walked away with a hint of cheerfulness before sitting and conversing with Worill, leaving Tus with his eyes nearly closed.


    ¡®That woman can really, talk. A lot. Good thing she was silent most of the time in Froir, or else I would¡¯ve died from my ears bleeding. Finally, I can begin.¡¯


    Tus straightened his back and fully closed his eyes. He slowly breathed in and out, trying to meditate for the first time.


    External energy, as previously described, is ubiquitous outside the body. It comes in different forms, such as ¡®earth¡¯, and are not usually visible to the naked eye unless it becomes excited in some way. The active accumulation is simply targeting and attracting the specific external energies in the air that is wanted. They draw it in into their pores and the second heart then pulls it in to be converted into internal energy. To do so, someone first would need to recognize that specific external energy, and then attract it using their internal energy in a ¡®passive form.¡¯


    To use the converted energy is also simple, but can be described as undeniably complex. To speak simply, all that is needed is a single thought. For instance, which part of the body to move it to, where to send it out, and how much. That is all there is to using it at a basic level. The methods merely make such thoughts more systematic and carry a abstractness that can be understandable. If it wasn¡¯t, then no one, besides the most determined or crazy, would try to understand and use it.


    So, Tus sat there for two minutes trying to focus on his breathing to clear his mind and sense the surroundings. However, the problems or irritations became evident very quickly. He got random itches on his head and other places, while all kinds of different thoughts intruded into his mind.


    For someone who never sat still for a couple hundred years, such a thing was extremely difficult.

 Chapter 29: Bring Out the Weapons and Blue Candles.

    After another three minutes of trying to sense the external energy, Tus finally said exasperatedly, ¡°This is unbearable!¡±


    Worill looked over and said, ¡°It can be difficult, but if you don¡¯t manage to do it, then trying to survive, or even trying to win against other opponents who have mastered half stasis would be all the more dangerous. Not to mention, your overall grade would be reduced in comparison, making it so that the access to superior weapons is locked for a longer period.¡± He detached the cane that was on his back to show, ¡°Like my beloved Muriem. This little beauty is so hard and difficult to break, that it can block most attacks while also hurting the other party through the best kind of pain, blunt trauma.¡± Worill started smiling creepily before continuing while stroking Muriem, ¡°Muriem is also capable of repairing itself. Regarding all of this, the best part about this series of weapons, called the Stagers, is that they can grow with the party that uses them. They become stronger in all ways, until hopefully one day, they become Independents. Gaining their own consciousness, soul, and go through a restructuring to gain a new body. After they are reborn, they imprint themselves onto you like a duck, and follow you around while also protecting you loyally, even at the cost of themselves.¡±


    ¡®That is so awesome!¡¯ Tus started drooling at the thought of having something like that at his side, primarily just to keep him company.


    Upon noticing Tus¡¯s infatuated look in his eyes, Worill chuckled. ¡°Of course, you need to become, at least, a grade ten to legally get one of these weapons. For most people, it would take fifteen years to get from grade 1 to grade ten, as they need to increase all of their skills alongside their second heart. All the second heart does, is give you another way of fighting, and if you can¡¯t use a sword or, for instance, Muriem which a kind of pole weapon, then you will always be lower than those who can. They will always be able to kill you.


    ¡°Okay, enough chitchatting, get back to your training. As you are now, probably around a grade 1 or 2, you need around thirty years if you don¡¯t get passed that baseline stasis.¡±


    Tus felt like a bucket of water with ice floating in it was dumped onto his head, drenching him completely, while Worill closed his eyes to do his own example training.


    ¡®Grade 10? It¡¯ll be no problem at all! I¡¯ll show you that your unknown idol is nothing compared to me!¡¯ Having reconsolidated his resolve, Tus began his own cracking down on the restless habit that he acquired after surviving countless life and death moments.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    South-East Erkshem, the Gem Regime.


    ¡°Lord, congratulations.¡±


    A spacious stone room with large standing shelves that contained thousands of books decorated the walls. It was neatly maintained by three maids who were going around like bees with feather dusters, not leaving a speck of dust behind. Along the center of the room was a carpet imprinted with a design of a pebble with five different colored thorns jutting out of it, red, green, blue, white, and black.


    The carpet led from the only entrance that had an old wooden door, which oddly smelled like the fresh forest, and extended past the numerous columns of bookshelves to a single desk. The desk was lit up by two candles by either side and they glowed with a light blue color, but yet, did not emanate any heat, only a light that strangely expanded throughout the room, erasing any darkness.


    Besides the two candles, there wasn¡¯t anything else besides a couple of folded hands that switched from being wrinkled and covered in spots, to the oddly expected condition of middle-age. Beyond the folded hands was an expressionless man whose eyes glowed in crimson and hair that changed through the five different colors on the thorns.


    In front of the desk, a youthful looking butler wearing a black garment with the pebble design, but with only a single green thorn on it, stood with his head bowed in respect.


    This butler who spoke before continued, ¡°Lords¡¯ seventh daughter bested that Quln Regimes¡¯ spawn and proved herself to be unparalleled to most of the early generation.¡±


    The Lord of the Gem Regime, was branded a single name, Revelith. He has lived for around three hundred and ninety-eight years with twenty-three children in total.


    ¡°It is good to see that the last child I¡¯ll ever have has been proving herself.¡± Even though he said it like it was pleasant surprise, his expression remained casted in stone. ¡°Where is Yarla now?¡±


    The butler with his head bowed, said, ¡°All traces of where she is or where she has been appear as though they¡¯ve been wiped out. The personal guards who were supervising her by your orders lost track of her presence. The unneeded inclusion of the ¡®act¡¯ by the Alliance Scouts allowed for confusion to set in and allowed for milady to use the Hirashia heirloom to hide her presence along with the Alliance¡¯s target.¡±


    ¡°That was transcendent, right?¡± Revelith mechanically questioned. ¡°Does anyone else know?¡±


    A brief look of surprise flashed across the butlers face, ¡°No. The Alliance and all of the other factions don¡¯t know. The Hirashia heirloom made her completely vanish from everyone except for our personal guards and her assistants.¡±


    ¡°Do not spread word of this.¡±


    ¡°Without question.¡±


    After the butler left, Revelith spoke out while he turned his eyes to a side of the room, ¡°I assume that Yarla will bring back this transcendent. Before that time, I want you to evaluate it personally, and see if it has any value to me. If it does, brand it, if not, release it to the Alliance for their reward.¡±


    A voice full of authority and overbearance replied, ¡°It will be done.¡±

 Chapter 30: Bandits and Hidden Schemes? Oh My!

    Tus continued sitting in the same spot for four hours with his eyes closed. Gradually, he started feeling different things around him that brushed passed his skin. These feelings were similar to pressure that came in various sizes and temperature. Generally, they made him feel uncomfortable as he imagined himself being grasped, squeezed, partially infiltrated, and released by innumerable hands.


    Even though his progress might seem quite fast, he still had a ways to go before actually absorbing the external energy.


    ¡°Rolon that should be fine for now. Milady said that we should go to a town soon to ¡®recuperate.¡¯¡± Worill walked over with an apologetic expression and when he said his last word, he brought himself closer to whisper, ¡°She wants to get an inn and doesn¡¯t want to sleep outside anymore. That is the primary reason.¡±


    Tus opened his eyes and looked at Worill with a strange expression before whispering, ¡°Why did you have to say the last part like it was something dangerous?¡±


    ¡°She is a bit defensive about such matters as she doesn¡¯t want women to look weak and fragile. If I were to say it out loud, she might say I was sexist or something.¡± Worill whispered again.


    Tus¡¯s expression became stranger as his mouth gaped a bit, ¡°Why would I care about something like that?¡±


    ¡°I care for my personal image.¡± Worill seriously stared at a bird in the distance.


    ¡°Good¡­ good luck on your image.¡± With a lack of words to describe this situation, Tus closed his eyes again.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    An hour later


    The group packed and walked along a relatively unused trail from the caverns. All of them moved in single file with Arl in the lead and Gargoyle overhead.


    ¡°The town we are heading towards is called Blemerm, under the Weirl regime. Typically, the Weirls¡¯ are on neutral to bad terms with us, but Blemerm is the closest town to us so it is kinda convenient. When we get there, try not to get into trouble, or stand out. Especially you, Rolon.¡± Worill started speaking suddenly from behind Yarla while his eyes darted back forth between the trees like he was looking for something.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°This Rolon understands.¡± Ro(Tus)lon, who was in the very back, said before jerking his head to the side.


    A whistling sound pierced through the air as an arrow flew while leaving distant after images, clueing in on its speed. Tus moved his head just in time as the arrow flew past him, splitting a sixty year old tree in half.


    ¡°This Rolon feels danger.¡± Tus whispered in an eccentric manner before snapping his eyes to the direction from where the arrow came from. The problem was that the only thing he could see was foliage.


    Ruia placed her palms together, formed a green light, and forcefully hit them against the ground. A green circle expanded from that spot deep into the surrounding area. She closed her eyes and her sharp ears started twitching.


    ¡°Forty-two enemies, the lowest being a grade three, and the highest a grade seven. Weak individually, without special skills that I can see, but they have good numbers, and group battle strength.¡± Ruia spoke quickly and judged the situation.


    ¡°I knew it, marauders. They must have spotted us when we came out of the caverns.¡± Worill smiled as he said, ¡°too bad we¡¯re the ones stealing from them.¡±


    Worill grabbed his cane, held it in the air, and blurred while standing still. The temperature in the area dropped as several serpents made of ice floated out from the cane before roaring soundlessly. They rushed into the nearby forest and several screams of pain arose from the surroundings all at once.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡®That is kind of scary.¡¯ Tus thought to himself as he looked at the twenty-two shivering people locked in shells of ice. They fearfully stared at the still smiling Worill.


    ¡°Tell me where your hideout is and place down all of your weapons, armors, trinkets, heirlooms, and, especially, money.¡± Worill said while checking his fingernails for dirt.


    One of the marauders dressed with a brown cloak hanging from his obviously stolen armor indignantly looked to the ground, ¡°We¡¯ll die before sa¡­¡±


    Another one who looked similar to a rat, excitedly cut off the other marauder, ¡°If you let me go, I¡¯ll say everything.¡±


    ¡°Idiot! Don¡¯t you see that this is a psychopath?! He¡¯ll kill all of us!¡± That one who was speaking before yelled.


    ¡°Maybe not!¡±


    Worill brought out a piece of wood and started using it as a fingernail file. He listened to the would-be robber¡¯s debate on the opposite side of the fence.


    Yarla, his master, looked onto the situation indifferently before speaking with a tone hinting with danger, ¡°We should probably get to Blemerm before nightfall.¡±


    ¡°Yes milady.¡± Like a dog facing his own crap, Worill rushed up to the rat-like man, and stood him up. He looked directly into that persons terrified eyes while emphasizing every word, ¡°Tell me, where is your treasure house?¡±

 Chapter 31: Trust Me. It is not the Seven Dwarves...

    The rat man, Micalas Trer, was a dagger man of the Ju Bandits, in the position of a forced sacrificial pawn. He joined them because he was primarily poor, but was also taken for his limited knowledge of a few people that entertained those who decided to bring him in. Such as one of the two who subdued his raiding party effortlessly. They were known far and wide across the country, but whose appearances were relatively unknown.


    Micalas was a very low tier servant of the Gem Regime around the time of the civil war and almost immediately left due to what he had witnessed.


    Yarla, the Massacring Witch, who killed countless people in two days, and Worill, also known as the ¡®deranged, bloodthirsty¡¯ butler. Worill¡¯s mindset was so erratic during those times that no one, but the core regime members could control him. From what Micalas has seen, when Worill met with enemies, he would use the most brutal means to kill them. That is, if they had no value. Those maids and servants under him, and those around him received either random dismissals, hiring¡¯s with the threat of death, harsh insults, and grand complements. Sometimes he would even become absurdly emotional for no reason and talk to some stranger like they were his dearest family member.


    Even though he showed unpredictability that tinged with obscene butchering, his loyalty was unquestioned, and his talents that he had shown were remarkable. His grade was rumored, but not known, as it was classified by the head of the regime.


    This staring into the eyes that Worill did, was also trademarked as the ¡®go with, die, or become servant¡¯ stare. Every enemy who encountered it faced those three choices.


    Micalas chose what he thought was the right choice. Ditch the jerks and maybe live, but also maybe die peacefully, or stay and have his body either dismembered or ever so slowly, be frozen to death by the grasp of ice. The last one was a torturing method where a persons¡¯ metabolism was slowed to the lowest point, so they wouldn¡¯t die of thirst for weeks, and ice would puncture the skin while expanding.


    ¡°It is to the south-east, near the old silver mines by Plateshire.¡± Malacas said as he shivered.


    Worill gave a warm hearted smile, ¡°Okay, you can go.¡±


    With quick footsteps, and without turning his head for his certain companions Malacas fled into the dense foliage.


    ¡°For the rest of you¡­¡± Worill thought for a moment before he gave another, very warm hearted smile that instilled more terror than before, ¡°You shall be our servants. Put these on, or cease to disappear¡­¡± With a wave of a white gloved hand, a neat stack of purple clothing appeared on the ground. After that, he gave a quick instruction, ¡°Make your choices.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡®Lord did tell me to get more hands at the palace and I really do like milady¡¯s idea. I might get some chump change to boot.¡¯ Worill thought to himself happily.


    Tus looked on the situation, at the same time thinking, ¡®Why does this look familiar?¡¯


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Hiho-hiho-hiho, off to be enslaved servants we go!¡± A long line of suffering people wearing purple clothes walked behind Tus¡¯s group. Every single person, excluding Yarla and Worrill, and including the monster Gargoyle, wondered what was happening.


    After the former marauders put on their uniforms, Worill clearly instructed them to chant a sentence that any proud man would choose death instead. Then he had them form a line while hitting a couple stubborn few with his cane.


    When the group reached the perimeter of Blemerm, Worill placed an obscure brand on each of their necks that disappeared underneath the skin. He then instructed them to camp here without talking to anyone.


    Oddly, a few of those brands lit up, the eyes those who had them dulled, and their faces contorted in pain.


    Tus used his talisman during the process, not wanting to openly ask as it made him terrified.


    After placing it against his forehead, Tus heard the old man¡¯s voice again. ¡®Erkshems¡¯ Branding: A few regimes in Erkshem practice an old magic that is considered to be evil by many. The origin of which is rumored to be from Oblivion, a way for devils to rule over monsters as they don¡¯t have the strength of demons. That is also partly the reason why it is considered evil. The other part is when a person, animal, or monster becomes branded. The brand locks down that things¡¯ internal energy, mind, and, theoretically, their soul. If a branded entity is instructed to do something, and they refuse to do so, their mind is locked in a mentally imagined chamber that has a torture method based on the intentions of the brander. A simple pawn is abused by imagined physical punishments that last, on average, an hour. A key power piece that the brander wants completely on their side, would be subjected to physical abuse in that imagined world while also being urged to submit, the amount of time of which lasts until the entity is on the verge of death or by the control of the brander.


    ¡®The strengths of this branding is that it can be set in almost permanently and the amount of people who can be branded by one is as much as the brander can supply and direct internal energy. Weaknesses is that if the willpower of an individual is strong enough to overpower the brander, the branding will be rebounded, killing the brander. A person who is mentally unstable will cause the effects of the branding to be diminished as their mind is harder to lock down. The last weakness is that if a branded entity dies, the brander will also suffer a part of their mind becoming dormant for at least five years, rendering them unable to think clearly or fluently as before.


    ¡®As a warning to those who under my Family¡¯s care. If you are going to be branded, do not under any circumstances, become branded. If you must, choose death.¡¯

 Chapter 32: Walking Around At Night in the Jungle

    ¡®That is really scary!¡¯ Tus was in a daze until he took to his room at Ray¡¯s hotel in Blemerm. ¡®A person who is branded cannot escape unless they have a willpower stronger than the brander or that their mind is unstable¡­¡¯ Tus recited what the talisman said and came to a realization as he sat down on the worn out blanket on the bed. ¡®That so called Gem regime will more than likely try to brand me if they come to know of my existence and I probably can¡¯t keep up this disguise for too long especially in front of those who know how to create it. If I¡¯m found, I also can¡¯t guarantee that my willpower is stronger than those higher-ups. What can I do to evade it?


    ¡®Maybe I don¡¯t need to, because it comes from the devils in Oblivion. Perhaps I can be somehow immune to it?¡¯ Tus immediately threw away that thought, ¡®I¡¯m not going to put my head out for the guillotine to chop off and doing so would be stupid of me.¡¯ Thinking up to here, Tus heard someone knocking on the door.


    ¡°This Rolon beckons for you to come in.¡± Tus said.


    The door opened and Worill stuck his head out. ¡°Hey¡­ Rolon, would you mind coming for a stroll?¡±


    ¡°Come for a stroll?¡± Tus cocked his head to the side with the repeated strange expression from before, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It is coded for treasure hunting, of course!¡± Worill stared directly at Tus, ¡°I¡¯ll give you half of whatever we find.¡±


    ¡®And maybe I¡¯ll get more servants.¡¯ Worill didn¡¯t voice this out.


    ¡°But this Rolon doesn¡¯t have any skills or even have any control of this Rolons¡¯ powers. How can I be of any help?¡± Tus countered.


    Worill looked at Tus pitifully, ¡°With that mindset, how can you help yourself?¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Knowing that Worill wouldn¡¯t leave him alone, Tus couldn¡¯t help but agree. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, but I do not know why you need me.¡±


    ¡°Splendid!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    3 hours later, sunset.


    ¡®I still don¡¯t understand why we¡¯re bringing the monster with us? How does that make the split 50/50?¡¯ Tus was confused and frightened at the same time.


    Gargoyle, who was draped in his black cloth, and walking by his side saw Tus¡¯s gaze. Seeing the expression, it snickered, ¡°My presence brings you no warmth? I wonder on how is that going to affect my bodyguard status.¡±


    ¡®I know I said I wanted a bodyguard at some point, but why does it have to be a weird dog like marble golem?¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take a bite of your delicious flesh.¡± Gargoyle creepily stated.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a bite out of dirt?! I heard it is even more delicious!¡± Tus angrily said.


    Gargoyle¡¯s serious voice came from underneath the black hood, rarely more humanlike, ¡°I think you fail to understand the significance. If I can eat you, we¡¯ll trade places, and I¡¯ll have another chance at succeeding the trials. Even if not, I can enjoy pure freedom for a few days.¡±


    After saying that, Gargoyle continued in a different direction, ¡°but, once you reach a certain stage in the trials, you will be able to free me as well. So, going along with my captors¡¯ desire, I will help you achieve success in this one.¡±


    ¡®That would be interesting, but I don¡¯t know how many monsters I would try to free if they keep saying they want to eat me!¡¯ Tus thought.


    Worill who was leading the way in exited steps told the two following him, ¡°The marauding base will be up ahead.¡±


    The mining area which took place on flat ground and was reserved for silver, at this time was covered in overgrowth as the last mining operation occurred fifty years ago to allow what the miners call the mineral resubstanctution. Basically, after depleting sixty or seventy percent of the ore that was around, the miners would close the quarry for a few decades to allow for the external energy to regrow the amount they took. Oddly, when concerning this, the ore that would regrow wouldn¡¯t grow over the original boundaries, and would be a perfectly replicated version. It might have resulted in lesser amounts taken at once, but the supply was potentially unlimited as long as it is not over-drafted.


    Usually during these times of rest, gangs, bandits, marauders, and other less than reputable characters would settle themselves in. Some of the regimes didn¡¯t mind this kind of situation, as it would allow them to harvest all kinds of different valuable commodities while appearing on the side of justice. Although, they might put up a direct bounty for the ones who don¡¯t have anything at all after a certain period. Can¡¯t have any ¡®unproductive¡¯ personnel.


    What Worill was doing was stealing the bakers¡¯ cookie before it gets to the customer during its stay in the oven. In this case, taking the valuables and personnel underneath the hostile regime¡¯s nose.


    ¡°What did you want this Rolon to do again?¡± Tus asked.


    ¡°Stand back and be pretty, baggage handler.¡± Worill flashed a smile.


    ¡°That is my primary role, is it?¡± Tus heatedly said as he also thought, ¡®I¡¯ll make you into a grocery clerk someday. Just wait!¡¯


    ¡°Oh, what is going on there?¡± Gargoyle disrupted the growing feud between the two and pointed up ahead.


    A column of smoke was rising into the clear sky that still had rays of orange sunlight. The smoke was black and foreboding as it relentlessly marched up like an army to conquer the sky. Intermittently, flashes of blue light could be seen escaping from within the cloud, and distant wailings of pain could be heard, fiercely sinking into the surrounding area.


    Worill smiled and whispered underneath his breath, ¡°As expected.¡± He then swiftly sunk into the ground.


    ¡°Hey! What is going on?¡± Tus asked.


    ¡°Stay there! I need to talk to someone!¡± A voice came up from the ground.


    After seven minutes.


    ¡°How long has he been gone for?¡±


    ¡°About ten minutes.¡± Gargoyle responded, crouched on the ground.


    The smoke was still rising into the air with the continuous wailing that stayed constant.


    Gargoyle suddenly stood up, ¡°We should leave at once!¡±


    ¡°Wh¡­¡± Before Tus could finish, Gargoyle extended a claw, and pushed Tus aside while unfurling his wings, flying like a sparrow into the air at the same time.


    The ground bulged and a humanoid blob made of shadow slowly rose from where they were. It released a heart clenching atmosphere that even the trees seemed to shake from.

 Chapter 33: Is it his First Actual Fight or Not?

    Tus fell onto the ground, something that he just realized happens a lot, and rolled. He came to a stop and shifted his eyes toward that shadow that rose from the ground like drop of water going in the wrong direction.


    Eventually, it halted its advancement out of the earth and supported itself seven feet above the surface. It almost had no identifiable features except for three blue balls of fire that floated inside the center of it. They released a dim glow that made the air chillier to breathe in, similar to fall just before winter. Faintly, sounds of people wailing came from it pleading for some sort of liberty.


    The blob trembled for a moment before spraying a black ink into the air. The small drops of liquid floated in the sky after they hit a height of twenty feet, just below the height that Gargoyle flew up to. They then trembled mid-air and interconnected into an elaborate web that went from the sky to piercing into the ground. The entire thing turned into a cage that blocked any form of escape.


    Tus stood up and kept an eye on the blob that stopped moving. Then, a voice so deep and faint that it seemed to be a whisper.


    ¡°Rolon, this minor avatar of mine will challenge you to a fight that you can¡¯t afford to lose. Prepare yourself!¡± The blob thusly extended a tendril, aimed at Tus¡¯s stomach.


    Sensing the danger before seeing it, Tus turned his body to the side, allowing the tendril to bypass.


    ¡®This thing wants to fight me? Okay fine. I haven¡¯t had the actual opportunity to fight something square since I got here¡­¡¯ Moving through his thoughts quickly, Tus came up with a analysis. ¡®It seems to be attributed with darkness with its color and the general theme, so fire might be a counter.¡¯ Tus immediately thought and willed his second heart, moving it as if it was one of his hands. It responded with a stronger pulse than usual that caused heat to flow through his shoulders into his throat.


    He opened his mouth, breathing out an incredibly small orange column of fire. It enveloped a section of the blob¡¯s extended tendril and it bubbled like acid before separating into two. One part of the fire went to the blobs body after following the limb while the other part quickly disappeared.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Tus didn¡¯t have long to celebrate the small victory when one of the blue fires in the blob moved from the center and absorbed the fire Tus breathed out.


    ¡°Not bad comprehension and good senses on the first move! However, you lack power and direction, but both can be corrected through time. How much time, that is the next question.¡± The blob said leisurely before sending out another tendril.


    ¡®How can I get rid of that blue fire? I won¡¯t be able to damage the body too much like this.¡¯ Tus dodged, but didn¡¯t use the second heart as, as he only had a small supply of internal energy. ¡®Maybe the talisman can tell me?¡¯


    Tus brought out the talisman from his shirt pocket as he circled around the stationary blob that kept sending out tendrils.


    When the blob saw Tus bringing out the talisman, the blue fires flickered, ¡°Isn¡¯t that one of that blonde Family¡¯s special trinkets. How did he get one?¡±


    The old mans¡¯ voice penetrated Tus¡¯s mind, ¡®Shadow Avatar: A high method utilizing the shadow in the World of Em, the Land of Darkness and Imagination. It bases itself on the foundation of the user, therefore, to damage the core, the need to know the users¡¯ primary composite is a must and I can¡¯t tell you what it is.¡¯


    ¡°What kind of bull-crap explanation is that?!¡± Tus yelled at the talisman that basically said ¡®no free rides¡¯, before shoving it back into his pocket.


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll try whatever is closest to me!¡± Tus angrily yelled before picking up a nearby rock and threw it accurately at one of the blue fires. However, before the rock hit the blue fire, the layer of shadow dissolved it.


    After seeing this, Tus stood still for a moment.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Why did you agree to milady¡¯s request so easily?¡± Worill couldn¡¯t help but ask the ground beneath him. ¡°And why are you still testing him?¡±


    A voice came from underneath, ¡°Our Lord¡¯s understanding of his daughter and vice versa really astounds me. Yarla Erkshem wouldn¡¯t make such a request without knowing his intentions. I also know that our Lord would agree to it as well.


    ¡°As for this¡­ this is a minor test, it is just so that I have something to report, and whether or not I should change my mind.¡±


    ¡°How is he doing?¡± Worill asked, somewhat hesitant with the voices¡¯ response.


    ¡°He just obliterated my avatar.¡± The voice spoke solemnly.

 Chapter 34: A Very Short Fight and Blunt Revelation.

    A few moments before.


    After glancing at the rock in his hand, then at the blob. Tus quickly thought, ¡®This monster seems immune to physical attacks and neutralizes fire very easily using those blue flames. There is probably a limit to it somewhere. If there is one, then as I am now, I can¡¯t utilize it, and if I did, it would also probably regenerate very quickly by using the darkness as a source. However, if I think along these lines, then the weakness of this thing could be very obvious, while also making it extremely easy to take down¡­ Oh, there should actually be two¡­¡¯


    Tus waited for the blob to shoot out another tentacle. When it did, he acted as before, except he breathed out a single line of fire with using barely any effort. It hit with the same effect as gasoline fumes meeting a spark. The tentacle split in half, with one end moving to its body, as the other disintegrated.


    ¡°That move of yours to bring the fire to yourself is too stupid. You should completely amputate the lost limb instead.¡± Tus said under his breath as he brought his right arm behind his back and willed his second heart. His internal energy moved through the pores on his palm and poured out. It conglomerated and spun, becoming solid. After three seconds, a stone with some unintentional rough edges was made.


    When the blob moved one of its blue fires to prevent the regular fire from spreading, Tus using speed limit of his body, threw the stone. It seemed to glide like a bird in the air when it hit the blue fire that was moved to the surface of the blobs membrane. The rock penetrated the blob and hit that blue fire.


    The result was catastrophic for the poor avatar. The blue fire scattered and extinguished without a sound. The fire that initiated from Tus quickly spread over its body and consumed that dark energy like wolves eating their prey. With the fire on its main body, the avatar couldn¡¯t isolate or detach the affected region fast enough, because of a limit the owner placed on it to make it more ¡®fair¡¯ to Tus.


    The natural response for the blob was to use the two other blue fires to deal with the problem. Tus was one step ahead. He grabbed a couple of stones off of the ground and threw them at those blue fire, extinguishing them one by one.


    The wailing voices that hung around the blob became sonorous as it suddenly grew several tentacles covered in flames. It intended to use them to beat Tus in a last ditch effort, but due to the limitation placed on it, its originally low level resistance to flames became lower. The belligerent tentacles turned to fading ashes.


    It spoke for the last time, ¡°I was this weak?! Brat, I¡¯ll be reformed into another avatar. Just wait and I¡¯ll show you that I¡¯m tougher than this.¡±


    Tus looked at the disappearing blob and said in response, ¡°This daddy, oops, I mean this Rolon is probably older than you brat.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡®Do I really look that young? Or is it actually older than me?¡¯ Tus touched his transformed face, startling himself for a moment as he forgot that he was disguised. ¡®I don¡¯t think they told me how to take this off. I can¡¯t believe that it only lasted that long! Definitely not long enough to even pick my teeth.¡¯


    Immediately after the fight with the blob, the web, along with the smoke in the distance were also gone. Leaving a tranquil, star filled sky.


    Tus suddenly had an idea.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°White Gloves, Grey Skin, what¡¯s for dinner?¡± Tus casually asked.


    The three of them were almost on their way back to the inn when Tus finally came to a decision to create new names for anyone he sees.


    Gargoyle didn¡¯t mind too much as he was already nicknamed with something that became his actual name.


    Worill was eccentric to begin with, so he didn¡¯t mind either, and he said while still critically analyzing Tus¡¯s state, ¡°Probably something good.¡±


    ¡°White Gloves, it is important to be more specific. Though this will create a goal for you to improve. Also, for the last time I¡¯m fine. That thing didn¡¯t touch me and was actually no biggie to take down.¡± Tus disappointedly said.


    Hearing the words, ¡®no biggie to take down,¡¯ Worill¡¯s left hand twitched.


    ¡°You know who that avatar belongs to, right?¡± Tus abruptly stopped and turned, ¡°That blob knew my made up name from a few days ago, and shouldn¡¯t know it unless it followed us, which is unlikely considering where we came from, and who you are. What I do know due from studying minions and such to strengthen myself before entering Oblivion, avatars are usually much weaker than their controllers. This particular one was so weak, but I felt that it was under several restrictions.


    ¡°If their goal was to kill or capture me, then that would¡¯ve been done fairly easily. They more likely had that avatar test me in some matter and they knew where to look, knew my identity. According to my instinct and the way you have been acting, you and in collusion, your master are working whoever that was for some purpose.¡±


    ¡°I think I have a general idea of who was behind this, but I¡¯ll ask anyway. Who was behind that avatar?¡± Tus¡¯s words made Worill start sweating.


    ¡®Is he becoming smarter? Why is he being so direct?¡¯ Worill thought to himself.


    ¡°It was my Lord¡¯s right hand man, Lyzland Furnerm, titled the Embodiment of Em.¡± Worill said truthfully, ¡°You are right about everything. Milady knew in advance what my Lord was going to do. That was either brand you or sell you to the alliance. She moved first and contacted Furnerm a few times. To talk and to set up a location, which ended up being that marauder base. We did it for your sake.¡±


    Tus was quiet for a moment before asking, ¡°If your Lord knew about my identity and that I was heading here, did he know from Yarla telling him, or from his own sources?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing to worry about.¡± Worill immediately rejected Tus¡¯s conjecture of ¡®there is someone else who knows where I am other than your family.¡¯ ¡°Yarla talked to Furnerm and came to the conclusion that no one besides my Lord knows where you are.¡±


    Tus thought with a headache, ¡®If their family, or regime, is screwed up, it could be the father manipulating the daughter to get me to come willingly. Or if someone else really does know where I am, then that lord would probably try getting me in his possession as soon as possible. Do I really have to look for a way to escape again? So frustrating!¡¯

 Chapter 35: Walking and Talking in Third Person. Can it be Done?

    Tus was on this thinking streak even after they left the hotel. Eventually, he came to the conclusion, ¡®You know what? I won¡¯t judge people by rumors or how they appear on the outside. Just take a look at stone face.¡¯ Tus continued his inner monologue staring at Gargoyle, ¡®Sure he is ugly and says he wants to eat me to free his soul, but really he is¡­¡¯ Before he continued, Gargoyles¡¯ face showed from beneath the hood, smiling with his monstrously large, sharp, and shiny teeth.


    Tus felt chills go through his body and hastily to turn around to find a different target to assure himself. He locked on to Ruia, ¡®¡­This green girl might have green hair, sharp ears, and short stature, but she is actually respectful and caring¡­¡¯ Then he remembered when he first woke up and she ¡®invaded¡¯ his personal space on multiple accounts. He sternly dismissed anymore thoughts vouching for her. He turned towards the rest of the group. Worill and Yarla were hard to classify. Arl was the only one who seemed normal in the group to Tus, but he also didn¡¯t have a negative points to show, so that didn¡¯t help Tus¡¯s case in finding a good example. Finally, Tus sullenly looked to the ground, ¡®I¡¯ll be a good person and see how this lord is¡­ I¡¯m sure that he will be an excellent individual. Above society¡¯s ruffians and schemers. Although, then again, that isn¡¯t a grand hope.¡¯


    ¡°Rolon, we¡¯ll begin more training when we make camp.¡± Yarla stated.


    Last night, Worill told Yarla about Tus¡¯s test and his show of insight. She then promptly apologized to him as such an example of manipulation that she showed could¡¯ve easily tore the arrangement they had if she didn¡¯t explain it herself. However, Tus didn¡¯t perform any kind of complaint. He even said, ¡®Thank you for the intervention.¡¯


    Tus turned his head up as he agreed. ¡°It is good as long as there isn¡¯t an excuse like last time for towns just to meet people.¡±


    Yarla nodded.


    Ruia, oblivious to the inference indignantly stated, ¡°I would like to be in towns as long as possible. There¡¯s plumbing, warm water, food that isn¡¯t rations. Why would you not want to be in any towns?¡±


    Tus was confused, ¡°Don¡¯t you like the forest?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She answered. ¡°If I had to choose, I would choose the forest, but a lot of towns have access to forest. There isn¡¯t a problem as long as the option is there.¡±


    ¡°This Rolon respects your opinion.¡± Tus said politely.


    ¡°Rolon, can you discontinue saying it like that.¡± Worill continued his conquest to change Tus¡¯s speech.


    It came to no avail and even became worse¡­This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    When the midday sun was overhead and they traveled for seven hours, they came to a stop, and camp was set up with five tents set up in a circle. The setup was slightly protested by Tus, because since monsters did not need to eat or sleep, he knew that Gargoyle was going to stand by his head again while he was sleeping under the pretense of protection.


    That protest didn¡¯t really work. The reason was due to his use of ¡°This Rolon¡± becoming ever more prominent, and aggravated the groups¡¯ ire. Tus could only drop the subject.


    Tus stated a curiosity directed at Yarla, ¡°This Rolon really wants to know why this Rolon¡¯s group stopped at this part of this Rolon¡¯s property at this Rolon¡¯s time period.¡±


    Yarla was usually a person who kept all of her emotions under a zero fly through zone restriction. However, for the past six hours, Tus continued this form of torture, and she could only restrain around a third of anger from flooding into her words. ¡°You¡­ will gain the half hyperstassis and go through the first part of the trial here.¡±


    Tus didn¡¯t notice the glare as he said, ¡°This Rolon understand this Rolon¡¯s teammates¡¯ arrangement.¡±


    ¡®Right, my second reconstruction will come in two days. I don¡¯t know what it entails or what would be the end result as Stone Face won¡¯t tell me.¡¯ Tus contemplated for a while before he reaffirmed something with Worill.


    ¡°This Rolons¡¯ teammate still has that soul core right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ it is right here.¡± Worill who was sitting nearby said that after he sighed and patted an unseen pocket.


    Gargoyle also sighed as he watched the nearby grass twist in the wind.


    Three hours later evening was approaching with the sun dyeing the sky an orange hue when the sound of horse hooves clopping against the ground reached their ears. A squeaky noise of something nearly falling apart accompanied the sound. Even though whatever it was couldn¡¯t be seen from the road, the approaching atmosphere was already depressing before it grew stronger.


    As it came closer, the sound of hooves became more numerous with more than one source of noises that made people imagine an empty city full of gloomy desolation.


    Eventually, whatever must pass must pass.


    It was a caravan that was in tatters. Seven wagons that had evidence of holding lots of valuables, including food, were gone. Although most of the people, which included men, women, and children, appeared uninjured, all of them had faces that showed fury that they couldn¡¯t let out. The others who were injured had their entire bodies beaten. They had bruises with some with their arms and legs occupied by makeshift splints.


    Some of the wagons had coverings were full of holes, with others only having the frame that used to hold up the sheet. Some of them were missing horses and the ones that remained resembled the living persons who directed them.


    Tus saw this scene and his face twisted. He tried to stand up, but Worill somehow knew that he would do so, and moved to his side. He pushed Tus back into a sitting position.


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Tus looked at Worill with a question-filled gaze.


    When he saw those people, he quickly realized that they weren¡¯t a merchant caravan, but a migration caravan.


    Migration caravans were nomadic tribes that lived anywhere they could settle for a time before moving again. This was either a means of tradition or a strategy for survival that appeared in a lot of societies on the land.

 Chapter 36: What to do When Harassed.

    Worill sighed before he spoke, ¡°Some regimes in Erkshem and some countries like to¡­ bear down on these kinds of people. Similar the continental feelings that occurred during your time with the people without the second heart. These communities suffer discrimination from their traditions and practices. They¡¯re viewed as beggars and thieves, that kind of thing. You can see the results.¡± He glanced in their direction.


    ¡®So that was the reason¡­¡¯ Tus was reminded of a few events in his memory that happened to other people like himself that was similar to this.


    ¡°Can we help them?¡± Tus asked.


    Yarla appeared at some point and plainly answered from the side, ¡°We don¡¯t have to. Look at their direction and you¡¯ll see that they¡¯re moving into my regimes¡¯ domain. There, they won¡¯t have to suffer the same.¡±


    Off in the grass, Ruia gave a sigh of relief before she continued her practicing.


    ¡°You should get back to training.¡± Yarla said before she left.


    ¡®Am I supposed to sit here day and night?¡¯ Tus complained to himself.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    South-East Area of Erkshem, Gem Regime, Lords¡¯ study.


    The blue candlelight reflected off of Reveliths chaotic face that changed from wrinkled to middle-age. Even though it was so, his ice cold expression never ceased its prevalence as he looked at the kneeling shadow that had five colored orbs circling around it. The colors were of the Gem Regime¡¯s thorns.


    ¡°Lord, what do you think of your daughters¡¯ proposition?¡± The shadow asked.


    Revelith thought for some time before he spoke, ¡°You tested the transcendent and he proved to have value to me, but a problem seems to have shown itself. Branding him would be good for a collar, but his will was forged from two hundred years in Oblivion. More than likely any kind of branding would prove futile, even from me personally.¡± He paused here and contemplated before he said. ¡°Concerning my daughters¡¯ proposition, I¡¯ll give it a try. If it doesn¡¯t suffice and the proposition shows that his usefulness would be better branded, then I will begin to gather the materials for that old connection. I want you to keep an eye on him and report his progress back to me.¡± Every time that he said the words ¡®that old connection,¡¯ his voice would shake slightly from either excitement or fear.


    ¡°As Lord commands.¡± The shadow, Lyzland Furnerm, said with respect before his body sunk into the ground, leaving no trace.


    ¡®Once I have this weapon firmly by my side, I can finally cleanse this country, and destroy those damned alliance! For killing my wife, they shall have the sky of the Land of Trials fall upon them!¡¯ Reveliths¡¯ icy countenance melted into a saddened expression when he looked at a locket that he wore around his neck. It was an azure color with white patches of clouds that appeared as though they could move in the background at any time.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Oh! I actually got something!¡± Tus yelled out when the almost-complete moon fully rose.


    The reason why he yelled was because he felt an uncomfortable pressure stab into his right thigh and move into one of his second heart veins called the meridian vein. It then abruptly disappeared.


    ¡°Congratulations of consciously taking in some earth energy.¡± Worill spoke from the side. ¡°How did it feel?¡±


    ¡°It was like the feeling of a buildup of gas in the stomach, except it actually moved through the skin.¡± Tus answered.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Keep the sense you had when it came into your body and you will attract more. When you get five of those for all three of your attributes once a minute, then you would officially move into half-stassis.¡± Worill smiled, ¡°Honestly, I thought you would begin getting something like that after another four or five more days.¡±


    ¡°This Rolon always surprises this Rolon.¡± Tus whispered to himself, just loud enough to pierce into his neighbors¡¯ ears.


    ¡°Rolon¡­ I know that you enjoy picking on us like that, but I suggest you stop real quickly.¡±


    ¡®What is he going to do? Threaten me? I¡¯m like the future god of this place who will make everyone suffer from the annoyance of my presence!¡¯ Tus self-consciously thought to himself before sensing a certain danger. He looked up to see Worill standing with a creepy smile while holding his cane and used one end as a catching point. It moved up and down, repeatedly being caught in his hand with a loud ¡®smack¡¯ sound. Tus felt goosebumps form over his skin from the sight. He stood up and did his sequence of respectful poses. He kneeled on both knees, stood up as fast as lightning, bowed ninety degrees, saluted from his head before he kept a fist over his heart. ¡°I apologize for my transgressions!¡± Tus gave a resolute shout.


    Worill who watched this felt at a loss and stopped his intimidation tactic. He scratched his head before he walked into the grass before he announced, ¡°I¡¯m going to check on the new servants!¡±


    The ¡®servants¡¯ had a camp of their own that was hidden in the field of grass. They were ordered to keep an appropriate distance away from the ¡®recruiters¡¯ camp at all times.


    ¡®No one can handle my sincerity.¡¯ Tus thought to himself as he cockily smiled.


    ¡­


    Tus continued to train in for hyperstassis and since he got one successful attraction, he came to become more proficient. After two days of persistently sitting with his eyes closed, he found himself drawing in two wisps of external energy every thirty minutes. Even though it was far from officially attaining half hyperstassis, it was still an improvement.


    He also found that there were three different experiences he felt when a wisp entered his body. The first that felt like a fart bubble was the earth external energy. The second was an isolated pocket of heat that moved from the top of the skin to the meridian vein. The last was comparable to the other two experiences, but was far more comfortable. Like the cool sea breeze after nightfall.


    ¡°What do you think about your reconstruction trial? It¡¯s going to happen tonight.¡± Gargoyle at some point walked over without making a sound. It then crouched in front of Tus while licking his lips.


    Tus slightly opened his right eye to look at the weird thing in front of him before closing it. ¡°I think it will be interesting.¡±


    Gargoyle was surprised, although not at the content of Tus¡¯s response.


    In the past few days, Tus maintained mostly silence. As if he was avoiding a problem.


    ¡®He actually didn¡¯t say this Rolon! It is a miracle!¡¯ Gargoyle felt overjoyed at this change.


    Tus slightly opened his right eye again when he heard a series of stomps on the ground. What he saw left him speechless. Gargoyle was celebrating the momentous occasion by hopping from one leg to the next, swinging his arms with each step.


    ¡°¡­¡± Tus closed his eye once more.


    After five minutes.


    ¡°Do you want to know what will happen to you in the trial or what you need to do?¡± Gargoyle was done with his dance that earned him strange gazes from the group and asked while crouched like a frog.


    ¡°Whatever it is, it will be explained by the overseer.¡± Tus calmly answered without opening his eyes.


    Gargoyle¡¯s inhumane face twitch a bit, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to know ahead of time? I mean, this could be an opportunity to prepare.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°That is because of the trial curse or the back check.¡±


    ¡°The what?¡±


    ¡°If I listen to you talk about the trial, the overseer will change it to something else or directly eliminate me from taking the trials. A way to catch any form of cheating.¡±


    ¡°When I did that, nothing happened.¡±


    ¡°Look at yourself now. You are a monster.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The conversation turned into back and forth with Gargoyle¡¯s defeat.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard of this before?¡± Gargoyle threw a questioning gaze.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t do enough research and didn¡¯t ask about the rules when you went through the preliminary role in Oblivion.¡± Tus said ¡®matter of factly.¡¯


    ¡°What are you going to do tonight then?¡± Gargoyle performed an abrupt change of the conversation, not wanting to go forward with the previous one.


    ¡°Probably rest mostly until the reconstruction trial begins.¡±

 Chapter 37: When the Full Moon Rises

    The night sky slowly encroached, bringing with it the tides of the wind moving the grass. The grass seemed to sing in the open spaces, almost as if welcoming something. The camp of the servants became quiet as everyone went to soft slumber.


    They did so, not knowing that a tense air hung about the camp near them. They only knew that they were told to sleep before the full moon rose into the sky. As it did so, with its appearance the same as ever in the past, nothing seemed out of place.


    Within that camp, Tus sat in a tent that was in the exact center with the others surrounding him in a circular formation. Each had a person within, silently listening for any unusual movements.


    Right next to Tus was a crouching creature known for keeping evil at bay, Gargoyle. He crouched near him, sometimes looking at him and consequently drooling. Other times, it looked around as if it was bored.


    As for Tus, he continued his training since earlier.


    All was peaceful until the moon suddenly vanished and the light it cast down was gone. The breeze stopped along with every other sound, the silence was all encompassing.


    A weird feeling rose up in Tus that caused him to open his eyes. The overseers¡¯ vague voice echoed in his mind. ¡®The first part of the reconstruction trial shall commence. The goal is to fight for seven hours until the sun rises. If this is accomplished, then you will undergo a phase of your body changing. If not, you will be cast into Oblivion.¡¯


    Tus thought to himself as he stood up, ¡®Another survival match? Sure.¡¯


    The overseer continued, ¡®Your granted powers will be temporarily sealed, but your opponents will not. In compensation, you will receive a weapon that has been determined.¡¯


    ¡°Oh a weapon! Awesome!¡± Tus almost hopped up and down in joy without really thinking about the restriction, as if it didn¡¯t faze him. ¡®What Worill mentioned before about weapons was very cool! I really can¡¯t wait to try it.¡¯


    A white ball silently appeared in front of Tus with its glow like a star. Bright and resplendent.


    Tus found himself in awe and he instinctively reached out, curling his fingers around it. The light flashed once, revealing something that made Tus incredibly shocked.


    In his hand, a feather with the length of half a foot appeared. Its entire body was grey with the border of a crystal-like transparency. It also had a small breeze moving over the entire body.


    ¡®What the hell kind of weapon is this?! Maybe that thing can tell me.¡¯ Tus immediately brought out the talisman to his forehead, but there was silence. ¡®Why isn¡¯t this working now?!¡¯ He complained and thought further about throwing both items away.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Rip!


    Tus waved the feather in frustration and a few feet in front, the tent was sliced open. Stunned with his mouth open, he looked at the opening and then at the feather with wide eyes. He waved it again in a different direction and the tent was ripped open in the same fashion.


    ¡®It creates a wind blade that can cut at range. Pretty good, although I suspect the range to be lousy. Only so far wind can go before dispersing.¡¯ Tus made a quick judgement while analyzing it.


    ¡°Well it seems that we entered a trial grounds.¡± Gargoyles¡¯ voice came from the side.


    This startled Tus for a moment as he wasn¡¯t paying any attention to his surroundings. He turned around to see Gargoyle warily looking around as if it could see through the tent.


    Then he continued, ¡°You were right. The grounds this time are different from what I experienced. It was also lucky that I could follow you here without being obstructed.¡±


    Tus said, ¡°It seems to be just another version of what I experienced in Oblivion¡­¡±


    Before he could continue, Gargoyle hastily interrupted him. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you will be getting into. Oblivion was an initiation trial, while this is the first actual trial. The scale and difficulty will be different. What did the Overseer say?¡±


    ¡°It said that my power is sealed in exchange for this feather.¡± Tus held up the feather without making any hurried movements, to avoid accidently activating it. ¡°And that I will have to survive until the sun rises.¡±


    ¡°So it is one of those.¡± Gargoyle nodded his head. ¡°The enemy will probably come in waves, each being bigger than the last with a grace period between each. You have to persevere with a handicap, but with the purpose of improving one of your weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really see how my battle skills are lacking though.¡±


    Gargoyle shook his head, ¡°Have you ever used a weapon besides throwing rocks?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Tus was deep in thought when he realized that he only used his bare hands and miscellaneous items that were laying around.


    The problem with this is that, some things couldn¡¯t be solved with the hands alone. A weapon to enhance the capabilities would be important and finding random crap on the ground to use in place of this isn¡¯t practical.


    ¡°The first portion of a trial sets the theme. In this case, the entire reconstruction trial should be preparing you to acquire a weapon that would require a strict requirements.¡± Gargoyle lectured.


    ¡°A feather?¡± Tus didn¡¯t know how to feel about the grey thing in his hand that could generate a wind that could slice.


    ¡°Not necessarily¡­¡± Before Gargoyle could continue, a horn sounded outside the tent. It echoed outside for two minutes before withdrawing.


    ¡°The first wave should be coming. As this is your trial, I won¡¯t help you until you are near death, and I¡¯m afraid I can only help you once.¡± Gargoyle announced.


    Tus looked back at him with a blank gaze before he moved out of the tent. ¡®I don¡¯t think he will be reliable at all.


    Once he was outside, Tus saw that the landscape had changed. The tent was the same with its support attached to the ground and the immediate grass around it, but the area beyond five feet of the tent was a dense forest that had a dim orange light coming off of every tree. A stale smell of a closed building permeated the air and the temperature was comfortable, not too hot or cold. The sky was pitch black without any stars and besides the sound of the horn from before, there was nothing else.


    ¡®The smell is the same as in the tent. That is a bit strange¡­¡¯ Tus thought to himself as he stopped at the border between the grass and the forest.


    Just as he was becoming bored looking into the forest, a pair of red eyes stared at him with bloodlust.

 Chapter 38: A Glowing Forest with Danger!

    ¡®What the hell is that?¡¯ Tus studied the red eyes poked their way around a tree. They were still for a moment, before the thing that controlled them gave a high pitched scream.


    Twigs broke as that creature charged forward. The light of the trees showed off its ¡®humanoid¡¯ body. It was small at three feet in height with very dark, red colored skin. Underneath it were four legs that ran in sync and it had four arms that each held a dagger. Its two eyes were purely red without any pupils to speak of. While its mouth was absent, a jawline could be seen. The other features on its face were its dog-like ears that were directed at the sky and a sharp pointed nose that could probably serve as a woodpeckers¡¯ beak.


    Its speed was slow at first, but that quickly changed as a red light enveloped its entire body. As it came closer to Tus, the ferocity that it showed kept increasing while its¡¯ scream grew more intense as if it had encountered its sworn enemy.


    Seeing the internal energy rising from the creature, Tus grew alarmed. ¡®Is his going to be another gorilla? How do I fight against the internal energy?¡¯ He glanced at the feather, ¡®I guess I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡¯


    Tus waved the feather and the silent blade of wind moved forward. Before it reached the creature, most of it had already dissipated. The remnants caused the creatures¡¯ internal energy veil to shimmer and distort. Its speed temporarily slowed down before it charged again with renewed vigor.


    ¡®If one doesn¡¯t do it, then I¡¯ll wave it again and again!¡¯ Tus grew agitated as it came closer and started frantically swinging the feather like a baseball bat.


    Invisible wind blades shot out one by one and hit the creature. By the time the first one hit, seven were already unleashed. The internal energy was pierced through and a gash opened up on its arm with purple blood spilling out. The creature gave a muffled scream as it continued to charge forward. However, the second and third hit that created even deeper gashes on its chest. The fourth and fifth hit its arms and legs. Two of each kind of limb separated from its body, causing it to stumble and fall. The six and seventh struck its shoulders while it was falling that appointed two slices of flesh that had the revealed its purple bones.


    The creature writhed on the ground before it stopped moving entirely. Once it did, both the creature and its blood vanished without leaving a trace.


    Tus waved the feather another ten times before he realized that the creature had already fallen to the ground. He panted as he watched the scene unfold. ¡®At least this feather works, or else I would have died.¡¯The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Gargoyles¡¯ cynical voice came from inside the tent, ¡°Why are you acting so flustered for? This isn¡¯t your first rodeo, is it?¡±


    Anger flashed in Tus¡¯s eyes. ¡°For one, I don¡¯t know what this rodeo is that you speak of. Two, that thing can use internal energy. Without this feather, I would have been killed!¡±


    Gargoyle sarcastically said, ¡°Oh my! Watch out for the guy with a feather! He can kill weaklings so easily.¡±


    Tus thusly ignored Gargoyle and sat back down in the grass.


    For a few minutes, peace and quiet returned to the landscape before another horn blew, signaling the next wave.


    Tus stood up and patted the dust off of himself. He moved back to the boundary between the forest and the grass, looking for every sign of the enemy. Soon, he was greeted by two pairs of red eyes.


    ¡®With every wave, there will just be more of these guys?¡¯ Tus saw the four armed, four legged creatures rushing toward him while glowing in the red energy. They moved in a single direction towards him.


    He swung the feather while being a bit calmer, and they were downed in the same way as the previous with their limbs separated.


    Tus sat down again, taking in deep breathes.


    This continued for two more rounds, each one adding a single creature every time. The fifth wave showed a change.


    There were four red creatures and one creature that looked like them except it was larger by a foot and it had a purple line that circled its head. The line emitted a dim light that wasn¡¯t internal energy.


    ¡®I¡¯m guessing this is a leader of some sort that will lead the regulars.¡¯ Tus thought.


    The creature with the purple band made a noise and the four regulars spread out with exact distances from each other. The leader roared and they all charged at the same time with their internal energy pouring more intensely onto their skin. The leaders¡¯ purple band became bright, spreading its own energy that purple. The purple energy and the red energy were light water and oil with the purple energy sinking closer to the skin


    ¡®Two different internal energies?¡¯ Tus was shocked for a moment before he started running to a side to make a larger distance from the furthest of the regulars on one side. He took a deep breath before he waved the feather three times, cutting off a few arms from the nearest regular. It disappeared as it fell to the ground.


    The others roared in anger and charged even faster. The leader fell back, allowing the other three to move ahead as it used them as a shield.


    ¡®That is inappropriate to use your kind like that.¡¯ Tus started another barrage of feather-waving as he fell back. Two of the regulars died while falling down and the last one had all four of its legs cut off. The leader overtook them and it made a muffled roar full of violence.


    The blades of wind hit it, but the internal energy of the creature reduced their cutting power, leaving only shallow cuts.


    ¡®I guess I¡¯ll have to move closer?¡¯ Since the cutting power was related to distance. Tus knew that he had to move closer to the creatures¡¯ striking range in order to actually harm it.


    When he came to this decision, he reversed his retreat into an advance.

 Chapter 39: Captains, Leaders, and Regulars. Just an Overview.

    The leader, upon seeing its enemy having advanced, increased its own speed. As the distance between them decreased, Tus started swinging the feather to gain more insight into its attack. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the feather past this trials¡¯ duration, but he still followed Gargoyle¡¯s idea that this trial was a means to increase his proficiency in using weapons. Whatever he could learn would help him in the future.


    The wind blades penetrated the creatures¡¯ internal energy more brutally as the scratches gradually morphed into deeper cuts with every swing. It felt the pain and staggered, but the damage was minimal. The leader roared to reassert itself before it sped once more.


    Tus¡¯s accuracy and use of the feathered weapon grew more with each swing. After killing a good number of these creatures, his attacks neared ever more closely to his desired attacking areas of the target, the legs and the head. The legs were a target, because if the enemy cannot walk and can only crawl, then the threat would drastically diminish, at least in theory. As for the head on some creatures such as these, it was a critical weakness. It was outside the protective flesh of the torso and stuck out like a lone hair. If it was struck, then the creature could die very easily.


    The creature lunged with raising wrath as it pointed all four daggers at Tus. Its four legs showed their usefulness as its jumping power allowed it to cross the rest of the distance in an observed instant.


    Although not prepared for it, Tus¡¯s body instinctively jerked to dodge the attack but as he was in mid-swing with his own attack, part of his chest was cut. Blood flowed out and he grimaced from the pain, but he counterattacked with the same instinct. His leg flew up and the sole of his foot hit one of the airborne leaders¡¯ legs.


    The impact caused it to spin in mid-air and collide with a tree. It then fell to the ground giving off muffled groans as it tried to stand up again.


    Tus didn¡¯t allow that to happen as he rushed over and mercilessly raised his foot. He slammed it down onto the creatures¡¯ back, causing it to fall back to the ground and before it could do anything, Tus waved his feather twice at the back of its neck. The head rolled away while purple blood with golden specks was pouring out.


    The danger had been temporarily taken care of, so Tus limped a couple of feet, and sat down. He checked his chest, but the bleeding already stopped and a scab was beginning to form.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Tus thought to himself, ¡®At least I have this healing ability from being a transcendent, hehe. Ouch.¡¯ He laughed a bit, but the resulting pain shocked him back to reality. ¡®Those things aren¡¯t hard to deal with, but that jumping power really surprised me there. Though, I should have been expecting it. As more of them will start appearing, the danger will also increase. I also can¡¯t discount that even stronger creatures will appear before the night is over. What can I do?¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t long before the next few waves came and went with another regular added to the formation. They used the same tactic as before by spreading out in order to attack from all directions. Tus dealt with it the same way by moving with the furthest one and striking at a distance at the closest in order to avoid being surrounded and having them group together.


    As the numbers of the creatures grew larger, the interval between waves also increased. This allowed Tus to rest and recover his injuries a little bit. By the time the tenth wave appeared, he had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious.


    This time, two creatures appeared at once. One was a leader and the other Tus decided to call a captain. It had the same purple band going around its bald head, but finger sized designs of curved hooks extended from it. Its eyes weren¡¯t completely red as a golden circle was where a pupil could be imagined.


    The captain was about the size of an average human and in its four arms weren¡¯t daggers but two short-swords and two shields that could cover a quarter of its body each. The swords were skillfully held in its two right hands with the shields held close to its body.


    Its muffled voice deeply bellowed at its companions. Each of the two leaders directed two subordinates, leaving four for the captain. The total force was one captain, two leaders, and eight regulars. They separated and ran to their positions, entrapping Tus in a triangular formation.


    Gargoyles voice echoed from the tent that was some distance away. ¡°Do you want some help?¡±


    ¡®Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a bodyguard or at least help during this trial? You practically didn¡¯t provide any help against that Lyzland fellow besides pushing me and now you are just casually sitting in the tent. Before you also said that you can only help once.¡¯ Tus¡¯s anger was pricked, ¡°I don¡¯t need any help from you stone face!¡±


    ¡°Okay then. You still have another four hours.¡±


    ¡®Four hours? Ugh.¡¯


    Tus stood up as different colored lights glittered in the forest from the internal energy of the enemies. The captain had three different colored energies on its body. The gold, spreading from its eyes, sunk closest to the skin, followed by purple, and then red.


    ¡®Just great. Just great. A quadrupled layered defense¡­ Just great¡­¡¯ Tus became dispirited when he saw this. He would have to break through the shields and then the veils of internal energy before any injury could be inflicted. ¡®Well here I go.¡¯

 Chapter 40: Oh the Unfairness!

    Since Tus recognized that the captain would be such a pain, then he figured he would have to kill off the weaker ones first. If he rushed to attack it directly, there would be a high danger of being stabbed in the back without any leeway to evade. If he attacked one of the leaders instead, he would at least have a higher chance of getting away. Consequently, Tus rushed to one of the lesser squads


    The leader and the two regulars gave muffled screams as they charged forward. Before the other leader, with the two regulars, could move to assist, they were shouted at by the captain. The captain stood still as it studied Tus with a critical eye.


    Tus glanced in its direction and thought, ¡®I guess it wants to see what I can do while setting the other leader to attack.¡¯


    He swung the feather, skillfully decapitating the two regulars at eight feet away. The leader roared as it hopped forward like a rabbit. Tus kept swinging the feather while aiming at its outer appendages. Purple blood sprayed as the leader came within three feet. It hopped once more and struck out with two daggers. Tus turned and slid underneath its airborne body. He used the opportunity to attack the creature with a wind blade, causing it to hit the ground and convulse before disappearing.


    The other leader and its regulars were enraged, but the captain and its regulars were quiet. The captain seemed to be pondering before it gave another shout.


    The leader seemed dazed for a moment before it tried to rebuke the captain by making meek noises, but it was silenced when the captain gave an even louder shout. The leader directed its resentment filled gaze at Tus.


    The leader then made the two regulars spread out before all three of them dropped their weapons and trembled like they were having seizures. Oddly, their bodies straightened and their four arms and two of their legs made a popping sound before they fell to the ground. There wasn¡¯t any blood flowing out of the stubs, but their muscles bulged with purple veins roiling underneath their skin.


    Tus felt an anxious feeling rise up in his chest and started retreating backwards step by step. ¡®What did that captain tell them to do?¡¯Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    The three creatures widened their eyes as the skin, of where a mouth should be, ripped apart. Again no blood flowed out, but instead a purple light filled the mouths of the two regulars and the leader, who also had sporadic golden specks moving about.


    Their bodies shriveled from their feet to their head as their chests expanded. The light in their mouths grew brighter and brighter before the sound of a popping bubble came from them. All three of them disintegrated into dust when three balls of light shot out from their mouths. The balls headed for Tus who had decided to run away ahead of time in zigzag pattern.


    He looked behind his back and found the three balls of light following him with tremendous speed. His heart missed a beat at the sight and he forcefully swung the feather. The wind blade hit one of the pure purple balls and it strangely stopped in place.


    The ball expanded before it covered a radius of ten feet in all directions before silently disappearing. Besides the seemingly impervious trees, the ground that the ball came into contact with was perfectly cut. Just after, the sound of thunder rolled through the forest, causing Tus¡¯s ears to ring. The sight caused his heart to beat faster than a hummingbirds.


    He waved the feather like mad at the other two balls that almost caught up to him. They expanded at the same time with a safe distance relative to Tus, but the ball that came from the leader did something different. The golden specks that were on its surface moved to one spot on it and blasted a golden beam with the width of a finger at Tus.


    Before he could dodge, the beam went into his left shoulder, and abruptly moved at a downward angle just after piercing the skin. The beam missed his heart by less than an inch.


    Tus fell and rolled onto the ground. After he came to a stop, he grabbed at his chest and wheezed.


    Thunderous steps shook the ground as a leader ran up to him.


    ¡®Where¡¯s the captain?¡¯ Tus looked beyond the leader to find the captain holding the head of one of the regulars with a hand that previously held a sword. The golden veil that enveloped the captain flowed and covered the regular. Over the course of a moment, that regular grew in size and the characteristic purple band showed itself. Tus groaned, ¡®That isn¡¯t fair.¡¯


    He staggered up while using his left hand to hold onto the open wound on his chest to stop blood flow from at least one side.


    The leader in front of him gave a stifled roar when it came within thirty feet before it started hopping. Tus retreated to increase his distance from the captain and the three future leaders while sending a few more wind blades.

 Chapter 41: Battle Guidelines 001- You Have to Hit Them While Theyre Down!

    ¡®These things hop too much!¡¯ Tus complained in his mind. The leader that was converted by the captain seemed to be more agile, or smarter, than the ¡®natural¡¯ ones. Every time Tus waved the feather to send out a wind blade, the new leader would see it before Tus finished and smoothly evade.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to predict where it moves to when I send one out and then send another in response. If it can avoid an attack in midair, then that means this will be much, much more difficult.¡¯ Following that thought, Tus swung the feather, and watched the movements of the leaders¡¯ muscles. Just after it moved, Tus sent out another wind blade.


    The leader never moved its eyes away from Tus and when it saw him make a new move, it twisted its body mid-air. The energy veil around one of its arms moved inward due to the wind blade and it separated. A moderate wound opened and the leader was send flying backwards. It turned its body once again to try to gain balance, but only managed to stumble when it came to the ground.


    ¡®Score!¡¯ Tus hurriedly closed the distance and attacked at the same time it touched the ground. The next attack made its already unbalanced figure fall to the ground. It tried to get up, but every time it did so, it was knocked back down and gained more wounds.


    It looked like Tus was about to make another kill, but before he could get closer to give a mortal injury, another leader closed in from the side. He had no choice but to back off. Just before he did, he made another attack that crippled its legs.


    The other leader ran forward with intense ferocity and its eyes were wide from rage. As it came within twenty feet, its mouth split open and the purple light and golden specks could be seen rising from the depths of its chest.


    ¡®I can¡¯t allow that!¡¯ Tus changed direction, desperately running to the leader. He aimed at the open ¡®mouth¡¯ as he sent his attacks.


    It seemed to not mind as it ventured forth in a suicidal manner. The ball of energy kept becoming bright like it was about to spew out.


    Before that happened, a wind blade managed to move through the veil that was thin around the mouth and struck the back of its throat. The leader immediately puffed up like a balloon before its skin tore apart and disintegrated. It left behind a purple ball with the golden specks moving together to shoot the beam.


    Tus thought ¡®Crap!¡¯ before he moved behind a tree.


    The golden beam exploded forth as the purple ball seemed to surge into it. The beam curved around the tree Tus was hiding behind like a bird. The head of the beam aimed to penetrate his skull when he forced his body to collapse onto the ground.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The beam just barely missed his head as it incinerated a few hairs. It consequently hit the tree that he hid behind and vanished without leaving any marks.


    Tus stayed laying down on the ground with his chest feeling like it was hosting a hardcore rock concert and the pain from the injury there nearly causing him to faint. He cried with rapid breathes, ¡°This. Is. Too. Difficult.¡±


    Gargoyles voice echoed in the forest. ¡°You are going to die if you keep laying down like that.¡±


    Just after he said that, the leader that Tus beat to the ground crawled on the ground using its four arms. Its speed was half of that of its running rate and it was acting with the last regular that ¡®turned¡¯ leader. Both were bearing down on him menacingly with their daggers raised.


    ¡®Crap!¡¯ Tus cursed again.


    The leader that was crawling on the ground was closest with a distance of three feet. The captain made its appearance in the distance as the healthy leader approached. Tus forced himself to his feet and attacked the one crawling on the ground first, hitting it four times on its head. Its skull was easily smashed to pieces with its blood and brain matter drenching the ground.


    ¡®Two more!¡¯ Tus ignored the captain and went straight to assaulting the remaining leader.


    This leader was just like the other one with its enhanced reaction speed. However, Tus expected this and he rushed forward. He accomplished in hitting it while it was mid-air after sending out the initial attack. The poor creatures¡¯ stomach was sliced open and an abundant amount of purple blood poured out. With the distance so close, Tus was able to finish it off very quickly.


    ¡®Last one!¡¯ The captain moved and was very fast as it closed the distance of a hundred feet with the dirt rising behind it. The two swords and two shields were extended from its sides like a praying mantis poised to strike. ¡®I already know that its defense will be very difficult to break down based on the three layers of internal energy and the shields. How do I defeat this thing?¡¯


    Tus began his attack when it came in ten feet, but the wind blades bounced off the veils like rocks hitting hard rubber. They only caused the veils to tremble a bit.


    ¡®The weakest part of this thing are probably the legs with only the layers protecting them¡­ but I still need to get in closer and the attack will only be able to cripple it.¡¯


    ¡°Do you want some help?¡± Gargoyles¡¯ voice boomed from up above. ¡°I¡¯ll only be able help you this once!¡±


    ¡®Yea, yea. I¡¯ll do that later. If I can¡¯t take this one down myself, then when I face stronger opponents, I will probably be helpless. Plus you are probably going to be unreliable anyway.¡¯


    ¡°Maybe next time!¡± Tus yelled.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Gargoyle disappeared from Tus¡¯s sight as he flew back to the tent that was now hidden behind the trees.


    Before the captain and Tus came closer for a physical clash, Tus surveyed the area around and changed his directions. The captain squinted its eyes and swept both of its swords from its right to the left when Tus came within striking distance.

 Chapter 42: Explosion and the Worried Compatriots.

    Tus waved the feather and a blade of wind hit the captains¡¯ eyes.


    The attack didn¡¯t do much damage as the three layers of veils mitigated a lot of the damage. It also had squinted its eyes in concentration, so only a moderate cut with golden blood that had purple specks was the result. However, the captain was temporarily blinded, and the swords went off course from their initial path.


    Both of them hit a leaning tree that was behind Tus. The tree wasn¡¯t harmed in the slightest, and instead, the rebound caused the swords to fly out of the captains¡¯ hands as it wasn¡¯t expecting it. The captain was stunned as its¡¯ body also turned from the rebound.


    Blinded and stunned, Tus took the chance to move behind it, and kicked the back of the knee of two of the rearmost legs. The captain lost its balance and fell down onto its back while groaning.


    Tus hastily swayed the feather as fast as he could at the captains¡¯ legs. He did it as close as he could without actually touching its skin. The veils were pierced and several cuts appeared on the creatures¡¯ knees and ankles. Coincidentally, the Achilles heels of three legs on the captain were severed.


    The captain quickly came back to its senses and shifted its body as it gave a muffled scream in anger. Tus quickly retreated as a blindly thrown shield flew past.


    With its chest heaving, the captain used a hand to unsuccessfully wipe the blood from its eyes. It turned its head where it sensed where Tus was and the skin around its suddenly ripped apart.


    ¡®Aren¡¯t you giving your life up too easily?!¡¯


    When Tus saw this, he immediately started running away as fast as he could. He weaved between the trees like how a dragonfly flies over the surface of water.


    The captain took a single deep breath and gave a cry of indignation. Along with the cry, its body shriveled into dust as an arm sized golden beam shot out with the momentum of a shooting star.


    Tus looked back for the second before it was about to hit his back and he cursed underneath his breath.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    He performed a dive with the beam nearly in sync with him. As it was going at such a high speed, the slight delay caused it to fly that much further ahead of Tus. It struck the ground three feet away from him and exploded in a bright gold.


    Boom!


    The blast, full of golden light, expanded as a semicircle across the ground. There wasn¡¯t any heat, but only light followed by a heavy shockwave. Tus was only three feet away and the shockwave smashed him like a truck.


    He was blasted away fifteen feet before he collided and slid across the ground.


    Tus laid on the ground and was covered in blood that oozed from his old wounds and new ones. His body twitched from the shock and he wasn¡¯t aware of his body or his surroundings, but he still remained conscious and moderately clearheaded.


    ¡®This trial really sucks. They can use internal energy, standard weapons, and they can spit bombs from their mouths. What do I get? A feather that can fling light breezes¡­¡¯


    Before he could complain further, the overseers¡¯ voice boomed in his head, ¡®Congratulations on making it through ten waves. As you have done it so ¡®skillfully,¡¯ you will be granted a grace period that lasts until thirty minutes are away from sunrise.¡¯


    Tus couldn¡¯t believe what he heard, ¡®There has to be something wrong here.¡¯


    The voice continued and proved his conjecture to be correct, ¡®Once the grace period is over, you will directly face a T¡¯Mnemoric that you would classify as a ¡®commander.¡¯ If you can¡¯t defeat it in thirty minutes, you will be judged as having failed the trial!¡¯


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it that I have to survive until sunrise?¡± Tus tried asking aloud, but it only came out as a wisp of air.


    ¡­¡­


    The Camp in the Grassland.


    Ruia and Worill were in the center tent where Tus resided. Tus was laying down with his body being wrapped in bandages by Ruia.


    Ruia heaved a sigh after she was done and said worriedly, ¡°If this keeps up, I¡¯m afraid he will die from blood loss. Even though his body recovers three times quicker than any other race that I have seen, but whatever happened caused over thirty bones to fracture and the loss of over a liter of blood.¡±


    When Tus¡¯s soul entered the other world, this one didn¡¯t change at all. Eventually Worill checked on him and found that he was wounded. He brought Ruia over and they watched over him. The wounds seemingly appeared randomly, but they were taken care of appropriately by just using Ruia¡¯s internal energy. That was until Tus convulsed and blood rushed out of every part of his body.


    This caused Worill and Ruia to have a great deal of terrifying surprise. The amount of damage done to Tus was too much to deal with by just the use of Ruia¡¯s internal energy. Worill ran around like he was prodded by electric tazers, gathering medicine and bandages to assist Ruia in the healing process.


    ¡°We can only wait until he passes this trial¡­¡± Worill said solemnly.

 Chapter 43: The Final Boss! What is a Final Boss?

    Tus slowly woke up and found himself in the tent. His body was covered scabs and his head felt woozy.  He looked around with his half closed eyes at the surroundings. Gargoyle was at the side lazily picking his teeth with one of his claws. He stared at Tus with that weird fascination that these monsters have shown to carry.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake. Sunrise is in another hour, but there haven¡¯t been any more waves of those things.¡± He said, still picking at his teeth.


    Tus closed his eyes to suppress the nauseousness that had a firm grip. ¡°The reason is, is that the overseer is going to send a commander of those things.¡±


    ¡°Oh, the final boss.¡±


    ¡°The final what?¡± Tus asked, confused.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what a rodeo is or what a final boss stands for? You really are uncultured.¡± Gargoyle said disdainfully. ¡°Anyway, it seems that the overseer has taken some kind of liking to you, or else you would¡¯ve been torn apart when you were unconscious, but you still have to deal with something that is extremely strong. Lucky for you, I should be able to help you with this one, although I can only attack once, and my power will be decreased by sixty percent.¡±


    ¡®Turned from helping once to attacking once, which is it? And only forty percent of your power? You are just becoming more and more unreliable. Soon, you will say that you can only cheerlead, but yet sit down to quietly have a cup of tea or something.¡¯ Even though this is what Tus thought he didn¡¯t say anything as to prevent that last prediction from happening.


    ¡°If you can only attack once, how will you be able to help?¡±


    Gargoyle rolled his eyes underneath his hood, ¡°Even though I will only be able to attack once with a small amount of my regular strength, it will serve the finishing blow quite well. All you need to do is avoid being hit and use that feather duster to exhaust its internal energy.¡±


    ¡®Does he not like this feather more than I do? He keeps calling it names¡­ Although I shouldn¡¯t say I don¡¯t like it. It has kept my life intact after all.¡¯


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree to your proposition.¡± Tus said.


    ¡°Damn right.¡± Gargoyle nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    The light of dawn was beginning to shine over the horizon of the world. The time before the sun could rise above the landscape was exactly thirty-one minutes.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Tus had half recovered from his injuries, or at least able to deal with them, and the nausea was gone, but he felt that his movements were a little too stiff.


    ¡®Can¡¯t help it now, though.¡¯ He thought.


    Gargoyle was flying in the sky with his robe fluttering in the wind. His wings made of stone carved with vague feathers, unrealistically carried him through the air.


    A minute had passed when the loud sound of a horn seemed to have passed through the earth.


    Tus turned his gaze to the south to see the commander rise up through the ground. The clumps of dirt fell off its body and revealed its appearance as well. It was a lot different than the previous captains, leaders, and regulars. Its eyes were a full golden color with no pupils. It had a golden band going around its head that had inch wide lines circling around the dog-like ears, woodpecker nose, and jawline. Its skin wasn¡¯t red, but a deep purple. It had two legs and six arms, with each set of hands holding onto a broad axe. Its entire body was covered in chainmail except for the head. Lastly¡­ its stature was over fifteen feet tall. After it rose from the ground, it activated its internal energy, and its body became completely covered in a dazzling radiance of purple and gold.


    Tus thought to himself, ¡®What the hell is that?¡¯ He looked at the feather, then at the commander. ¡®How am I supposed to harm that thing? Forget about weakening it, just surviving for five minutes will be a pain.¡¯


    The intimidating aura that the commander was releasing came to an end when it started moving forward. It took careful steps and moved at a snails¡¯ pace to Tus. The commander looked like it was avoiding stepping on fallen branches and leaves, and each step took ten seconds to land.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and use that feather duster!¡± Gargoyles voice came from up above and it woke Tus up from his wide staring.


    Tus moved forward to a distance of ten feet of the commander and did the usual waving of the feather as he closed in on his target. The wind blades hit the veils, but they didn¡¯t make the slightest advance to the creatures¡¯ skin. They simple bounced off to dissipate in the surroundings.


    ¡®Ten feet won¡¯t work, so I¡¯ll move to seven.¡¯ Tus approximated the distance between himself and the commander.


    After two more barrages, there still was no change. The commander kept slowly moving forward with the presence of a statue, without making the slightest sign of rash emotions. The broad axes were still raised in the air, waiting for Tus to move within range.


    ¡®I don¡¯t want to move closer as I¡¯m sure those arms are a lot faster than its legs. If I don¡¯t move closer, the situation will remain the same until that yellow orb kills me.¡¯ Tus glanced at the light that was gradually increasing in intensity from the horizon. ¡®Maybe I can do this?¡¯


    Tus jumped forward within five feet and attacked with the feather once before jumping back. Just as he expected, the air stirred and screamed as the broad axes swung down at the same time, nearly chopping Tus into pieces.


    ¡®That hurts!¡¯ A couple scabs reopened on his legs and another shock went through his body.


    Tus looked to see if his effort was worth it, just to realize that only a scratch was made on the commanders¡¯ unprotected face. It facial expression didn¡¯t show the least discomfort. Instead, there was a glint of contempt in its eyes.