《A lazy king》 Prologue (Yeah its pretty cruddy but back story is needed!) Thomas glanced down at his watch. Reflecting on humanity¡¯s obsession with time for what must¡¯ve been one of billions of times he had reflected on it during his life. It had read four-thirty. A smile kept creeping onto his face, some would say it was a creepy one while others would say it was the grin of a lunatic. But a few would understand that it was the smile of a man that was so happy and unbelievably satisfied that he couldn¡¯t contain it. The reason? To understand it, one must look back on his life. He had been born to a pair of organic farmers in northern Washington. His childhood had been pleasant but he had no interest in farming, fortunately his parents had been very understanding and encouraged him to find his passion. He had found it in robotics and computers. His family was poor however, so in order to pursue his passion his father had given him one requirement. ¡°If you want to do this you must do it by yourself, we can¡¯t help you. But if it doesn¡¯t work out, you can always take up farming!¡± The last part had been said with a laugh but Thomas had understood the implications. He was desperate to avoid farming for no other reason than he detested physical labor. The end result was a child prodigy. Thomas had earned money by doing freelance design and programming work over the internet to pay for books and components so he could pursue his passion in robotics. By nineteen he had graduated from Caltech with a degree in mechanical engineering and computer science. He proceeded to gain degrees in physics and math. All of which culminated in him attaining a senior position in NASA. This brings us to the present, Thomas had just walked out into the hazy D.C. summer sunlight after having finished presenting his project and plan to NASA¡¯s administrative board. The project? For the past decade since starting his doctorate program for physics and math, Thomas had been working on a singular problem. The Alcubierre drive, a mathematical formula that could be used to design a spaceship capable of faster than light travel, however it required near infinite energy and the ship in question upon reaching its destination would release enough radiation to wipe out an entire solar system. Thus the formula had been left as is while NASA had focused on other projects for travel within the solar system. That was until Thomas¡¯s presentation today. Over the past decade he and a colleague had worked together to work out a way to make the Alcubierre drive a tangible possibility. It had resulted in an amazing breakthrough. Thomas and his fellow colleague had worked out a new formula that would allow a ship the capability of faster than light travel by gathering energy from the radiation that it would pick up during its trip! The end result would be a ship that needed to be supplied energy virtually once since it would gain additional energy while it moved through space! This presentation had been to gain NASA¡¯s approval for funding for further research and development with a prototype ship as the ultimate goal! What had been NASA¡¯s reply? A resounding affirmative they had even gone so far as to freeze other lesser projects to provide additional funding. Thomas had given them something akin to a fountain of youth after all. For Thomas he was simply happy to get one step closer to his goal. His goal? Complete relaxation, zero mental or physical labor! No humans to bother him! Just himself!......well maybe if that one person wanted to come along it would be ok, but that was it! Thomas viewed himself as someone exceedingly lazy, however on earth it was impossible to be lazy since there was always some way for fellow humans to nag him to not be lazy. So then through some broken logic he had decided an uninhabited planet was the only choice for him to truly be able to laze about. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.So! Now that funding had been guaranteed for his future goal he had one last objective for the day. He looked to the other side of the road. Since leaving NASA¡¯s headquarters he had walked to a nearby caf¨¦ where he had agreed to meet with his colleague. And there she was¡­¡­.along with her niece! Thomas¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, he hadn¡¯t expected his colleague¡¯s niece to be with her. His hand slipped nervously into his pocket, seeking the reassuring shape of a small box that he thought he had put in there this morning. Unfortunately it wasn¡¯t there. As his complexion paled visibly he faintly waved at his colleague, her cheerful smile brightening the already sunny day. Then it happened¡­ ¡°Uncle Thomas!¡± The niece, Julie, had wrested her hand free of his colleague¡¯s grasp and came running towards him in excitement. Normally this would¡¯ve been fine¡­.that was if they were somewhere other than standing on two different sides of a busy street! ¡°Julie! No!¡± Thomas sprinted out before any other person could react. Faintly he could hear the roar of a sports car in the background. He reached Julie and picked her up. Just as he did so the roar of the sports car became louder. ¡°Thom!¡± His colleague, Cecily, cried out in alarm. Thomas turned from her horrified face to look to his right. The sports car! Time seemed to slow down for Thomas as he watched the car careen towards him and Julie. He saw the horrified look of the boy that looked had looked up from his phone to see Thomas holding Julie in front of his speeding car. Thomas had only enough time to toss Julie towards the horrified Cecily before the car smashed into him. First it hit and broke his hip before it send him flying up into the air only to land head first on the pavement. He lay there in a daze until Cecily¡¯s crying face entered his vision as she knelt beside him, her hands constantly reaching for him before retracting knowing that moving his body might only make the damage worse. Thomas, on the other hand, knew that there was no worse than the condition he was in. His right lung felt as if it was on the verge of collapse and his head¡­..well needless to say he was doomed. He suddenly began to laugh, though only for a short while before it transformed in excruciating gurgles as his right lung collapsed. He looked into Cecily¡¯s horrified eyes. ¡°Its funny¡­¡­..NASA approved¡­¡­..I remembered everything for it¡­¡­¡­I was even hoping you¡­..would approve¡­.today.¡± He began to feel the tears leaking down his cheeks, whether they were from him or her, he wasn¡¯t certain. ¡°Exc-*COUGH*¡­..Except, I forgot the¡­..most important part¡­¡­..of the presentation¡­¡­..for you¡­..I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Thom¡­Thomas¡­.it¡¯s ok, it¡¯s completely fine. You can at least forget one thing. It¡¯s fine!¡± ¡°Ha..ha¡­haha¡­.look at that¡­¡­¡­miss ocd¡­¡­.bending her rules¡­¡­.but¡­.that¡¯s what I¡­¡­.love¡­..about¡­.you.¡± Cecily¡¯s Tears began to fall even harder as she began to outright sob. With the last of his strength Thomas cupped her face and thumbed away some of her tears. In a gasping breath he spoke his last words. ¡°I¡­.Love You¡­.Cecily.¡± With that Thomas Ackerman passed away, the doctors would later report that it had been due to brain hemorrhaging. Cecily didn¡¯t care though, the man she had fallen in love with was gone. Years later she had still not found anyone, and the Alcumbierre Drive had still not been made. When asked why she would respond with a sad smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for that forgetful and lazy idiot to finish his presentation.¡± ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Interim: Upon the scale of souls I existed. That was the only way to describe it. For a time long past reason I existed as an immaterial being. I had no body. No form of physical existence. It was just the essence of my soul and the memories within. Until at some point long after I had relived my life for an incalculable number of times Something foreign entered my area of consciousness. I found myself on one end of a set of what must have been divine scales. It seemed my existence was being measured. Before me stood a being of incalculable size. It had six arms and blue skin, it reminded me of the deities from Indian mythology. As it pondered me, I pondered it. ¡®What exactly are you?¡¯ It was the first original thought I had had in what seemed an eternity. ¡°What¡­.you don¡¯t actually remember me? It¡¯s like this every time Einst¡ªah you¡¯re now called Thomas.¡± Suddenly as if cold water had doused me, I remembered. ¡®Rhicter¡­..Richter Kaufmann?¡¯ ¡°That is what you called me in your last life. You said I reminded you of a judging merchant.¡± ¡®Ah yes¡­.but why?¡¯ ¡°Always the forgetter, I am the one that¡­.I guess you would call it now by saying¡­I am the one who checks up on you¡­..makes sure you¡¯re ready for a higher existence.¡± Suddenly our setting changed. I had a material body now. I was on a bed. Not on any ordinary bed, on the bed that one would find in a doctor¡¯s office. Richter stood before me, checking what could only be guessed as my blood pressure. ¡®I suppose I should call you Dr. Kaufmann now?¡¯ There was a slight grin on the blue bodied doctor¡¯s face. ¡°I suppose. It seems your sense of humor improved since the last time we talked.¡± More memories flooded into my ethereal existence. ¡®I believe your right¡­..are you still checking for the same thing?¡¯ ¡°Yes¡­¡­ I am weighing your soul. You were quite close the last time. Remember?....I don¡¯t suppose you do. Anyways I had reasoned that one more lifetime and you would be ready to ascend to a similar existence as me.¡± ¡®Oh really?¡¯ At this point Dr. Kaufmann frowned slightly as he stepped away from my existence. ¡°Yes¡­¡­however, you didn¡¯t live the full life you were supposed to.¡± Now he gave me a more confused look. ¡°Except¡­you¡­.you didn¡¯t act how we had predicted.¡± He showed me a rueful grin this time. ¡°No¡­you took the one route that we predicted you wouldn¡¯t take, not in a hundred-thousand repetitions! Your life ended before it was supposed to!¡± His look now changed to one of exasperation. ¡°Because of it, humanity on earth has been set back nearly five hundred years! You and Cecily were a once in a thousand years combination! You would have solved the Alcubierre drive! And your children!...oh your children would have built the physical object! In truth¡­.you were supposed to have died on an entirely different planet from earth.¡± My non-existent heart sunk at this. ¡®So¡­ in reality, I would¡¯ve gotten what I had set out to do¡­¡­¡­.if I hadn¡¯t died.¡¯ ¡°Yes, if you hadn¡¯t died.¡± At this point we both looked down at the ethereal floor of the non-existent hospital room. ¡°But that¡¯s in the past. Anyways we can¡¯t drop you back onto earth anymore. Your accumulated memories would begin to resonate too strongly given your near ascendant state.¡± ¡®Uuhhhh¡­ok?¡¯ If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Dr. Kaufmann grimaced. ¡°It appears we will have to dump you in some planet with less chance of resonance. Hopefully it¡¯ll stop all memories from returning. If not only the ones from this life should originate.¡± I leaned back and crossed my non-existent arms. ¡®So where are you going to send me to?¡¯ At that point I watched as Dr. Kaufmann¡¯s expression zoned out as if he was focusing on something far off somewhere else. ¡°The consensus is to drop you off in a world that could use someone with a high soul density. This world has already been selected. It¡¯s really quite the problem child.¡± Dr. Kaufmann shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°For whatever reason the souls there have a very difficult time gaining soul density; I suppose part of the problem is that over there soul density can gift them very easily with tangible rewards on their plane of existence. It¡¯s quite annoying, given that they are so easily corrupted by these rewards and rapidly lose soul density once again.¡± ¡®What are these rewards?¡¯ He looked at me and gave a mischievous grin. ¡°You¡¯ll find out when you get there.¡± He let out a sigh as he removed the blood pressure cuff. ¡°Not that you¡¯ll remember that they¡¯re rewards, or even this conversation.¡± ¡®¡­..Hmm I suppose that¡¯s about right isn¡¯t it¡­..that I won¡¯t get to keep my memories.¡¯ Dr. Kaufmann¡¯s mouth gave a lopsided twitch to show that he at least sympathized. I sighed as I looked up at the ceiling before I recalled a bittersweet memory from my current life. ¡®Cecily¡­..she really would laugh if she saw this. Saying something like, ¡°of course you¡¯d lose all your memories! You¡¯re such a forgetful idiot.¡± I hope she¡¯ll be ok.¡¯ ¡°She¡¯s predicted to live to an old age. But she¡¯ll never marry and won¡¯t ever solve the Alcubierre Drive.¡± My ethereal body began to tear up as I looked back at Dr. Kaufmann. ¡®That¡¯s too sad¡­I would¡¯ve hoped she could have found someone to make her happy.¡¯ ¡°Unfortunately for you both, you and her are the only ones meant for the other. You are one of the few ¡®perfect¡¯ couples in existence, fated to be together throughout time and space.¡± It was then that he seemed to remember something. ¡°Oh.. yeah, congratulations on finding her again after looking for so long!¡± ¡®huh?¡¯ Dr. Kaufmann then pushed me away as an ancient memory briefly flashed in my mind, a memory that caused my essence to burn like fire in happiness. The love that I held for HER flared throughout my existence as I began to tumble through space, the non-existent hospital room receding to a point in the distance and then disappearing. I once again simple existed as an immaterial being. Though I now felt suffused with light as the memories of all my lifetimes before hand returned and I remembered HER. Then at some unknown point, given that time didn¡¯t exist nor could it ever. I completely ceased to exist as some immaterial soul. I was being born once again! ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Sorry for the wait, given the length. I decided since this was my second I''d try to write chapters based around ideas, or parts of the story I want to share in one sitting. Therefore bear with me as chapter length will be subject to drastic changed based on the content. Anyways do please rate, subscribe, review, and comment. I love seeing my story raise in ''stats'' as people pay attention to it and it motivates me to write more! Chapter 1: Enslaved Re-awakening I''ll preface this by saying that there will be a little bit of uncomfortable material in this chapter. I do hope you read it so you can gain the full effect of the story but I would recommend that those of you who typically try to avoid the mature themed fic''s on this site might want to skip to avoid the bulk and just read the opening and the ending. :/ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ It was year 99 of the second era. The long battle for freedom from the tyrannical being known as the overlord had finally ended at the dawn of this era. Though it had come in quietly as the overlord had died due to the passage of time rather than by the hands of anything in existence; even now though, the ravages of her reign remained present. Despite nearly a hundred years after the ending of her existence the forests remained untamed and uninhabitable. The lands west of the great Hindrun river were nigh uninhabitable due to malignant magical contamination. However life still persisted on the Western shores of the river, which was the least contaminated area in the whole of the western part of the continent. Several magicians that had taken interest in studying the malign magic contamination, suggested that it was the purifying mana found in the great Hindrun river which split the Gran continent in two was the cause of the relative habitability of the area. That was until this day. On this day¡­¡­men had come. Specifically, slavers. At first there had been a rumor here and there among the population along the western shores that children or women, sometimes an attractive male, would disappear when they went to the water whenever the fog rolled in. This had been a rumor that had continued through all ninety-nine years that the people that lived on the edge of the wasteland by the river. It had even begun to work its way into their bed time stories. Parents would admonish their kids to behave or the fog ghost would come for them. But on that day, the fog man came for them all. It was the single greatest enslavement of a people to ever occur since the beginning of the overlord¡¯s reign which had been an era ago. Men and women fought for their families desperately. Many a woman was brutalized that day defending her litter with tooth and nail, if it came to it. The abled body men of that generation were all but wiped out as they fell under the power of the corrupted magicians who had been hired by the slavers. Against that magical might no man regardless of how much stronger or faster he was than his human counterpart was able to obtain victory. In the end, the people that had eked out an existence on the destroyed lands by the Hindrun river were entirely enslaved. It was only natural; they who had no magic had no way to defend themselves from the magicians hired by the slavers. The humans to the east of the Hindrun river saw no problem with it. It could be said the majority may have even celebrated it. To them it may have felt that this was a higher power balancing the scales. For the humans, the people on the west side of the Hindrun river were beings of nightmare. They were the creatures that had been their overlords and they were the ones who had acted as the hands and feet of the Overlord. These people were, The Beast Race. When it had been confirmed that they no longer held the power that had once caused humanity to be ground underfoot, humanity had relaxed. When the first of the Beast race had been enslaved they began to be looked down upon. When nearly a hundred years had passed, humanity had truly begun to believe the Beast race were lesser beings. That they truly were nothing more than beasts, that a female of the Taurus clan was nothing more than a sow, good for only providing milk. A young girl of the Feline clan was broken. She had been a proud huntress. She would stalk the terrors of the wastelands and eliminate them with other clansman before they could even hear her. During the great enslavement a year ago, she too had fought. She had even nearly succeeded in killing one of the magicians at the cost of her brother. However, his magic had proved to overwhelming for her since she had no way to combat it. In the end she had been captured and the magician who had killed her brother kept her as part of his reward. Then began a life of days where she was experimented on and nights where she would be raped by the magician that had become her owner. She managed to hold out for a year of constant torture on both her mind and body, until there was nothing left. She had fallen into a doll like state, capable of movement only when the magician forced himself upon her. During those times she would move, but only to please her captor as if to just quickly finish the atrocity that was committed to her nightly. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. A few months passed and the magician grew tired of what he referred to as his play thing. Eventually he sold her to a brothel within the capital of the westernmost kingdom, Snaga. It was there that her body continued to exist until it ceased to function; her mind and soul already long dead. During that time however she birthed a child. A truly rare occurrence, it had already been discovered that the chance of success for a child to be born of a beast race and human was nearly impossible. Yet it happened. The child was a boy, which the brothel promptly sold off to a farming family, believing that a boy would be no use at the brothel even if it was one of the feline clan. The boy of the feline race had grown into a man. The farming family had been abusive of the slightest mistake, but they provided adequate shelter and food. They understood it was better for them to keep their slave healthy so their fields could be better tended. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It was around this time that the farming family had begun to sell the ¡®services¡¯ of their slave as a stud. This was in an effort to procure more money so that the youngest might be able to buy an apprenticeship with a merchant and have a shot at a better life. One of the females he had mated with belonged to a blacksmith¡¯s family. Perhaps it had been due to the part human nature of the male but this girl gave birth to only one child, a girl. The girl had now grown up and replaced her mother as the slave that minded the shop that sold the wares produced by their owner. It was during this time that She became acquainted with Him; a man of the feline race. Every other day He would stop by the store to deliver the bread that His owner made as a baker. Over the course of another five years they fell in love. An emotion that any human would scoff and declare that, ¡°no creature of the Beast Race could possibly feel that!¡± However, they did and eventually it bore fruit in the form of a daughter. With this new baby born into the world, the father became determined to free himself and his new family. This desire, however, never came close to coming true. On the night that he came to spirit away his spouse and their newborn child he was killed. The son of the blacksmith thought that he had been a thief. The Bakers were naturally enraged that they had lost what they considered their property. As compensation for their loss the blacksmith gave the now dead man¡¯s child to the Bakers. The now grown up daughter was the pride of the bakers. She was the perfect slave, never once did she attempt to resist and she followed every order perfectly. However¡­.. One night, the Baker¡¯s brother became particularly drunk while visiting and forced himself upon the girl. The Baker was naturally angry with his brother, worrying that his once perfect slave would start to resist against her enslavement. Much to his relief she did not. But. She did become pregnant. The boy She gave birth to was just as perfect a slave as She herself was. From an early age he had been very bright and was capable of accomplishing tasks most would consider too difficult for even a four year old of the Beast race. However he was able to! Now that he was five, he had been entrusted by the Baker to deliver sweet breads as a gift to the merchant family who were friendly with his family. The boy had eagerly set off to do his master¡¯s bidding. While the delivery had been successful, it had become dark by the time the boy left the merchant¡¯s house. It was a particularly cold night and snow started to fall. While walking home He saw a group of children a little older than he was playing in the snow. He paused and watched, there was a deep longing in his eyes as he desired friends to play with. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± The children noticed him. They paused in there play and suddenly began to discuss something. His sensitive cat-like ears could only pick up a little. ¡°Creepy¡­.¡± ¡°Disgusting¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­..let¡¯s play a game.¡± A little while later they all bent down and began to form snowballs; however, He could see they were including stones in them. A chill ran down his spine as he clung to a childish hope that they weren''t going to do what he feared they would do with the rocky snowballs. He was wrong. They began to through them at him, laughing each time one hit. He tried to run, but they kept chasing him. They were older and faster and stronger, despite being human and he of the Beast race who were physically gifted. Eventually, after they had completely bruised and battered every part of His little body with their loaded snowballs, one of them threw one at His head. It was then that He lost consciousness. It was hours until his master and mother found him in the snow, nearly dead. During that time between life and death, He found himself in a weird room on a bed that was hard but at the same time softer than anything he had ever felt. Before him stood a man with blue skin in a white piece of clothing with a bemused expression on his face. The expression seemed to say, ¡°didn¡¯t I just see you in here?¡± But then He was gradually nursed back from death by his mother. Correction, I was brought back from that ethereal doctor¡¯s office. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Yeesh! this story took an even darker turn than what I was expecting! I literally sat down and did this all in one sitting. I didn''t even plan when I wrote this! It was somewhat of a word vomit. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this dark and history laden chapter. Also see if you can find the english translation for two of the names in this chapter. They will have something to do with the story (I think) Chapter 2: Enlightenment from Lumberjacking I had been dreaming of Her, the one that during my lifetime was named Cecily. It had been of the time I had contracted a particularly bad bacterial infection while we had been visiting Geneva. I remember that during those days, we hadn¡¯t been all that close. She and I had merely partnered up with the intent of solving the problem of the Alcubierre Drive. Nothing else had interested either of us back then, but we each recognized two heads were better than one. But, that visit to Geneva had been the turning point. It was the first time I had felt Cecily¡¯s warmth. During the time I had interacted with her she had always been this cool intellectual who was the only person who was able to directly challenge me. Yet, during the time when I fell ill, I had been greeted with a clumsy girl who tried to feed ¡®healthy foods¡¯ to a person who was currently going to pray to the porcelain god every five minutes or so. Despite her unskilled handling of the situation, I felt it, the warmth she held in her heart as someone who would help others in need as best she could¡­¡­.even if it was no help at all. The dream ended when we shared our first kiss under the shadow of the Atlas experiment of the LHC, which had been on our second visit to Geneva a year later. Now though, I was awake. In a new body, one that was much smaller and had things attached to it that would¡¯ve suggested I had some weird fetish in my previous life. I also had been greeted with a fever and a resounding headache. It wasn¡¯t all bad though, a woman with the same attachments to her body had greeted me with a relieved smile and hot broth. With it, a torrent of foreign memories flew through my mind. I came to the realization that I had been reincarnated. The memories that flew through my head were the memories that my current self had built up since his birth. It felt weird to say the least. I essentially held the memories of the entirety of my life as the man named Thomas; yet my current life was now that of a small child, one with cat ears no less! But that was the current situation of things, unsurprisingly my previous life¡¯s personality had completely overwritten the personality of the boy. Err¡­..maybe not overwritten, more so fused. I still felt the unbelievably intense love that was held for the woman who was taking care of me. Correction, love for my mother who was taking care of me. One thing had changed though, instead of generally having a sense of fear towards all the human that my young self had met thus far¡­¡­.I felt nothing more than contempt and disgust. I thought to myself, ¡®Really, Kaufmann was right. The humans here are really shitty.¡¯ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Wait ¡­.who¡¯s Kaufmann!? I never once met a person by that name! I tried to wrack my brain for a memory of who this person was, but all I came up with was the color blue. I continued to lay in the hard cot that I had awoken in with only my thoughts for company. My mother had to leave me given that she was a slave and was expected to work, despite the fact that her son had been on death¡¯s door just a day or so ago. My eyes narrowed. On earth I had been a relatively understanding individual, meaning I accepted most of what I saw in the world even if it didn¡¯t sit quite right with me. However¡­.. Slavery was one of the things I could never accept. In my mind taking a person and forcing them from birth to serve your every whim, while barely providing them the necessities for survival¡­.even worse retaining the right to forcibly break apart families and loved ones. It was enough to make my blood boil, I could feel painful pricks coming from my hand. I didn¡¯t mind them, I was angry¡­.that was until my head started to throb again! Ok! Must calm down! BREATHE IN! *ssssuuuhhhh* BREATHE OUT! *pppphhhhaaa* Good! All better. My ears twitched as I picked up something¡­.ah yeah, my new ears are able to hear minute noises such as heartbeats. The one I currently heard was faint from the distance but it seemed¡­..excitable, almost like a little rodent. I didn¡¯t bother raising my head as I looked in the direction the heartbeat was coming from. Through a crack in the door I could see an eye and some delicate features. The eye widened and then whoever it was ran away. Ah wait; there is one person in my memories who would match that description¡­¡­Claura. She was the daughter of the Bakers. Ah! A small smile had unconsciously flitted across my lips! Claura had always been nice to me I recall. But she was shy of almost everyone though so we have never really interacted. I recall overhearing her mother despairing of whether she would ever make any friends. While I was on that thought tangent, the memories of all past interactions with the bakers family swept across my vision. Though now they held somewhat of a detached feeling. It truly is a weird feeling overwriting the personality of you current self with the personality of your past self. But then again the personalities were very similar, I suppose that¡¯s a given since they are both me. ¡­.ugh reincarnation is a complicated topic. Setting up an experiment to prove that energy has mass is easier. Anyways! Back to the family of bakers I was currently enslaved by. It seemed they treated me relatively kindly, though there was an odd part to the¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. I.WILL.KILL.THAT.BASTARD! The entirety of my being quivered in rage, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stick up as my claws dug into my palms again. My canines had already pierced my lip as my pupils contracted. My heart beat approached an absurd rate as I felt adrenaline pumping through my body. If I had had a tail it would be bristling, but I didn¡¯t. BECAUSE.OF.HIM That disgusting waste of life, a being that no longer has a right to exist within this world; a creature that should be hunted down, gimped, then lynched. The Bastard that I had the unfortunate occasion of sharing genes with¡­.ugh the mere thought begged me to rip my body apart to remove his essence. The one I refer to is the man who ¡­.. RAPED.MY.MOTHER That insufferable creature; just recalling the other instance when I¡¯ve seen him makes my skin crawl. The only thing that is holding me back right now is the simple fact that not once have I ever detected lust on him, in fact my memories show his expression to be almost apologetic. There¡¯s a possibility that he¡¯s actually¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. God damn this brain of mine! It¡¯s rationalizing the bastard who raped my mother! For now, I won¡¯t make him a priority. But I believe if¡­.given the chance¡­.I can do it. I probably will. Things like that need to die. *sssuuuhhh* *ppphhhhaaaaa* The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I calmed myself again. I need to remain calm from now on. After all it¡¯ll be necessary to accomplish my current priority. What is it you ask? Simple, before this life I bled red, white, and blue. There is only one priority for me right now. That is freedom! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. That being said, I know relatively little about this world. Before the accident, I was an undereducated, enslaved five year old from the feline clan. Not even a full feline¡­¡­¡­..calm down me! I climbed out of the cot. My brain was still addled so I had to catch myself against the wall. Ugh¡­.this is as bad as a hangover. While I was at it, I took a good look at my hands. It¡¯s quite an odd sensation being able to retract your own finger nails. My fingers were that of a human however, unlike my mother¡¯s. Hers were thicker and less dexterous than a human¡¯s. It seemed I got the best of both worlds? My nose gave an involuntary twitch I smelt something delicious¡­¡­¡­SOURDOUGH! Memories of San Francisco flooded through my mind. Oh how I missed there bread whenever I had to do business on the East coast! I concentrated and regained my footing, though the headache remained as I walked out of the room. Nothing, not even a headache or slavery, would stop me from sourdough! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Sunlight greeted me as I walked out of the hut that was composed of only the room that I slept in. Across from me stood the Bakery, to my left stood the shop front with the family¡¯s home above it. The layout was quite simple. A house facing the street with a small backyard to hold the kitchen and slave quarters, the fact that the slave quarters wasn¡¯t beside the kitchen baffled me. I¡¯d rather risk this shithole of a hut I lived in burning down than freezing to death. If my current memories served me correctly, it should be around the time my mom was busy cleaning the kitchen. The morning baking had already been completed and now was the time that she would clean while the owner inventoried. After this the baker¡¯s wife and my mother would go to market to buy any necessary ingredients that had spoiled or that they were low on. My shoulders slumped, there was no way I could get sourdough now! However, I''m out now and I should probably try not to raise suspicion. If I did, that could become something that required more effort than it''s worth! Right now.......if memory served....... my job was too¡­¡­.chop firewood. I actually laughed a little at this and shook my head ¡°Dad...it seems like no matter what, I always end up chopping wood when I¡¯m aggravated.¡± I felt a few tears stream down my face as I went to grab the axe. I recalled how when I was younger and living on my parents¡¯ farm it had typically been my job to help dad collect firewood and split it. Even in the modern era my parents had insisted on using a woodstove, saying gas heating was bad for the environment. My heart ached a bit, I missed them so much. Not only had I died before them, I wasn¡¯t even on the same world as them anymore. I quickly set up the first log, hoping that chopping would whack out this pain. As I looked down at the first victim of my frustrations; I felt it happening again, something that started when I was young. I liked to call in ¡®perfect model¡¯, but really all it was, was an application of my imagination. However by now it had been trained so that it was almost like second nature to me. I watched as an imaginary line traced from the axe head to the wood, showing me where the head would hit. On the top on log was a lightly shaded area indicating a margin of error in the strike due to my swing. I repositioned the axe in my hands and waited until the margin of error was at its smallest point. The axe glinted off the winter sun as it cut down almost perfectly dead center. The result was as expected, the log split cleanly in two. I admired the strength that must be inherent of the Beast Race as I set up the first half of the log that would be broken under the axe. I re-readied my stance and took aim, I concentrated again hoping to have another clean cut. Material: Wood Density: 710 kg/m^3 Heat per kilo: .014 Btu/kg Uses: Construction material, heating(fuel), weapon, crafting material ¡­¡­¡­ What the hell!? My margin of error widened until it even encompassed me. The axe dropped out of my hands and fell behind me. I could only stare in confusion as ¡®Perfect Model¡¯ not only didn¡¯t deactivate but highlighted patterns in the wood and imperfections, each time displaying a zoomed in picture of the area it had highlighted. As it did this, information kept trickling into my brain; the information ranged from supposed age of the tree the log had come from to making comparisons with trees that had existed on earth. I blinked my eyes a few times and the images went away as if they had never been there. I looked over towards the kitchen, the fragmented instincts of the little boy I had once been telling me to run to mommy. After all, I was confused and just a little scared that I was going insane. There it goes again! ¡®Perfect Model¡¯ reactivated and began detailing the structure of the kitchen as well as the materials and a running list of materials used in the construction began to filter through my head. What the hell is going on!? What is this? I¡¯m nearly certain that I¡¯m insane now. However, the information I¡¯m being fed isn¡¯t wrong; I new a little of construction since it had been one of my summer jobs before college. Also all the physics based information so far seemed to check out¡­. Could it be!? ¡®Perfect Model¡¯ has become an awakened power since I¡¯ve reincarnated! No, that¡¯s wrong. First of all ¡®Perfect Model¡¯ was just a strong mental visualization of an action I was about to take so I could expend the least amount of effort possible doing the task, my energy is important after all! This however, is quite different. I¡¯m constantly being fed information about my surroundings that no normal person would pick up on, even things that no one should be able to observe with the naked eye. If I had to compare it to anything, it¡¯s like the common identification skill seen in RPGs. However that seems wrong as well¡­..darnit! Think me! What is going on Ah¡­.it just popped in my head! Of course, whatever this crazy thing is once I focus on it, it¡¯ll identify itself! It seems that it is something granted to me based off of the weight of my soul? It also appears to run off of my mana pool¡­¡­. I didn¡¯t even know I had one of those! Its name is¡­. ¡°Grand Archive¡± _______________________________________________________________________________________ Next Chapter 3: Grand Archive, shopping, chocolate and freedom! Once again, it is just me and my enemy, my constant nemesis, the one who, no matter how hard I try, seems to have infinite reserves¡­¡­oh who am I kidding! It¡¯s just a fucking piece of wood! Yes, I¡¯m once again chopping wood. A bakery relies heavily upon this natural resource, therefore all the preparations in the world during the summer will never be enough to keep up with the hunger of the brick ovens it uses. However, this time is different. I¡¯m still wielding the same axe and the wood has about a¡­.10.23% difference from the previous log I had chopped, so not a huge difference. It also appears that the difference is caused because it was located lower on the tree by about ten feet¡­.. Oh yes, this time is definitely different! ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ keeps feeding me ridiculous amounts of data! I almost feel like removing the raggedy cap I¡¯m currently wearing because of my overheated brain! But¡­..it¡¯s still somewhat useful. Since it activated, my efficiency has experienced¡­.. a 4% growth¡­.and as I gain a better control of the ability, as well as have more samples a.k.a wood. It is projected that wood chopping will become more efficient. How is this possible? ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ allows me to pick out indistinct weaknesses within the wood. This allows me to spend even less effort chopping it, and chopping it faster! The effect is noticeable as well, the wood pile by the kitchen has gained on average¡­ 10 pieces more¡­ of wood than the previous average before ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ activated. But¡­..I still dislike it, ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is like a¡­a¡­..aaaa¡­¡­ah! It¡¯s like an un-sexy Cortana! Ugh! I just saw an unpleasant image! But anyways¡­yep! I¡¯m like Master Chief, except with an unsexy cortana¡­¡­a crappy UI for my HUD¡­¡­no Mjolner. Fuggit, I¡¯m nothing like the Chief. *Sigh* Guess that¡¯s what I get as a slave¡­¡­ Ugh, something unpleasant. I stop the axe mid-swing and take a look at the sky. It¡¯s overcast, ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ predicts snow but it still doesn¡¯t have enough data or meteorological knowledge to guess how much. I guess I should review what exactly ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is. It is an ability that could be said to have grown from ¡®Perfect Model¡¯, because this world contains magic ¡®Perfect Model¡¯ was somehow able to become this mental assistance that allows me to process and understand information available to me from any source on a level well beyond anything a human¡­¡­or otherwise¡­¡­could comprehend. The best way to think of it, is that I have a spell constantly activated. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ has already determined that not a single ounce of mana could be allocated for anything other than maintaining its own existence¡­¡­¡­greedy bastard. It¡¯s kind of nice though. It¡¯s been roughly two weeks though since I¡¯ve awoken with my memories from my time as Thomas into the body of this child. After the first week it was really rough, my last memory was of dying in Cecily¡¯s arms¡­.I think¡­..something like that would be rough on anyone. But, because of ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ I could retreat into a darker part of my youth when I nearly became a shut in and watch re- runs of my favorite shows from that time¡­..they had been of an eastern persuasion and were generally looked down on by ¡®normal¡¯ society. It did this by simulating the exact time I had watched a particular episode, so perfectly that I forgot I was even cold! Anyways, it got me through the rough patch that was my second week here. I also discovered the limits of ¡®Grand Archive¡¯¡­..it was incapable of telling me information from data I hadn¡¯t already collected. Meaning, that I could ask it what a dragon looks like in this world. But it wouldn¡¯t even be able to confirm if there were dragons at all in this world. Why? Because I had never seen one and no one had ever mentioned one. Therefore, it didn¡¯t even have the minimum requisite data to give me an answer. But, this appeared to be its only limit. Over the past two weeks I had gained a very deep understanding of certain things. Such as wood! Wood is an amazingly profound object, its existence has so many layers that the difference I have in understanding it now as compared to previously is like heaven and earth! But I learned all of this because I observed it closely and concentrated on it, which allowed ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ to collect richer data and generate a more complete understanding of it. It really is amazing, with it, back on earth I probably could have figured out the answer to the Alcumbierre drive all on my own¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. *GAH!* After I had thought about solving THAT particular equation, all of my senses shut off. I could almost hear the high pitched whir as ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ kicked into overdrive. I suppose that¡¯s its second limit, really complex problems require it to re-allocate extra resources to solving the problem. I also learned a soul shaking fact from this¡­¡­¡­..¡¯Grand Archive¡¯ was tied to my senses and my other bodily functions. It had forcibly shut down my senses to focus on just that one problem. My tiny body fell to the ground as I realized that I was no longer entirely in control of it. As the cold quickly worked its way through my threadbare pants, I stood back up. I shivered, whether from the cold or this recent revelation I¡¯m not sure. Looking down at the axe, I pick it up an begin chopping wood again. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The world had different plans for me though¡­.. ¡°Oi! Kitling!¡± That was the term for children of the beast race¡­.I look up, the wife of the Baker steps out from the house, her face covered in a faint sheen of sweat. It must be busy in the shopfront. ¡°Go with Claura to the market! Properly carry everything ya hear!? If ya don¡¯t it¡¯ll be a night in the open for you!¡± I involuntarily shudder at the thought of spending the night outside a building. I immediately reply back, playing the part of the good slave. ¡°Yes mam!¡± It must be absolutely swamped in the store right now for this to happen. I should¡¯ve guessed this since neither my mother nor the Baker had left the kitchen, which was unusual for this time of day. I quickly placed the axe in the shed beside the uncut logs and hurried over to the back entrance of the shop. Just as I reached it, Claura stepped out. Instantly all of the compiled information on Claura came to the forefront of my mind. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ had already gleaned the information from the memories of the child I had been previously. She was what could be described as the classic shy girl. In all my memories of her, she rarely said anything at all. Not only that, she was often afraid to show herself. It seemed the only people she would open up to were her parents and my mom. I, however, was not included. It almost made me feel lonely that I wasn¡¯t included in this circle despite the fact that I¡¯d known her my whole life on this world. Apart from this shy personality she had the cuteness of a child given that she was only seven and her hair was a rare strawberry blonde. She did have the blue eyes that were common for the people of this kingdom. That in itself was a genetic oddity, nearly every single person in this entire kingdom had brown hair. Which, looking back at humans on earth isn¡¯t all that odd. But still the classic blonde and blue combo rarely shows up, it leaves one feeling as though something is missing. As I return from my musings on the genetic state of the local population, Claura was looking at the ground and mumbling. Fortunately my ears are quite good at picking up small sounds. ¡°---S-s-s-So, anyw-w-ways l-l-lets g-g-go.¡± She briefly glances at me before hurriedly looking down and trudging off through the side gate and out into the street. I begin to follow her, resigning myself to the fact that I¡¯ll have to carry a bunch of groceries for the next few hours. Oh¡­wait¡­isn¡¯t the market the other way!? Arrggh, Claura must¡¯ve been so flustered with being sent to the market on her own that she went the complete wrong way! I increase my pace so I¡¯m walking beside her. I take a moment to remind myself to speak politely. Even if Claura is shy and wouldn¡¯t care, on the off chance that her mother finds out that I spoke informally to her¡­¡­¡­..I¡¯d rather not risk it. ¡°Excuse me Miss Claura, might it not be better if we go to the market this way?¡± She pauses for a few seconds before her skin blushes as red as her hair. Then she about faces and hurriedly walks in the correct direction. As she pulls ahead, I hear the smallest whisper from her. ¡°Thank you.¡± I smile briefly, she really is such a good girl! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. A while later we stepped into what could be considered the market proper. I winced as ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ went crazy. The sounds and smells, even more so than the visual data was causing it to immediately categorize and report on so many things that I was having a hard time standing. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I paused for a few moments, wrestling with the ability and finally managed to suppress it. I could still feel it ¡®ticking¡¯ in the background but at least I wasn¡¯t being assaulted with information. As I looked up, Claura was looking at me with a slightly worried expression. I give her a reassuring smile, to which she quickly looks away and towards the ground as if she¡¯s embarrassed. I role my eyes, how can this girl be so timid!? Looking back at her I say, ¡°Miss, if I may ask¡­.what are we shopping for?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± She begins to rummage in a small pouch at her side, trying to find the written slip with the necessary groceries we were supposed to buy. Ah yeah, this world¡¯s literacy rate seems to be low. At least in comparison to first world countries back on earth. However, the Baker family is capable of reading¡­.I suppose it¡¯d be difficult to run a business otherwise. As she continues to fumble, almost spilling out the coins she had been given to pay for the groceries with, I let out a small sigh. Truly, Claura would appear to be super adorable right now¡­.however the disparaging looks I¡¯m getting from every human in the area is making me impatient. Even the other beast men are looking down on me¡­why? Because I¡¯m one of those disgusting halfers. My mind briefly flashes back to the event that led me to re-awaken my memories as Thomas¡­.. The night when those little gremlins children had pelted me with rock filled snowballs. They had attacked me for the same reason everyone in this market was looking at me in disgust. I was less than either race in their eyes. I looked like a human except for my ears and eyes....but because of that it was like I committed a great sin. Don¡¯t these bastards understand!? It¡¯s not like I wanted to be born like this, it¡¯s not like my mother wanted to have a child who had been created against her will! I grit my teeth in frustration. I can feel a snarl forming in the back of my throat as my thoughts begin to become too focused on the racism and ignorance around me. It¡¯s at this point I feel a nervous tap on my shoulder. I glance to my right, my eyes narrowed in anger. Claura naturally steps back with a little squeak, good god does she act like a mouse! I recompose my expression and put a slight smile on my face, ¡°forgive me Miss I was¡­.feeling a bit unwell. Where are we to go first?¡± Claura seems to recover a bit from her fright and nervously glances down at the paper with the list on it. ¡°F-f-first w-w-wweee need to f-f-find s-s-some f-f-flour¡­..¡± Oh of course we do, it¡¯s not like we aren¡¯t shopping for a bakery or anything right? ¡­¡­..I doubt my sarcasm would be met well so I hold my tongue. At this point ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ delivers me a small bit of information. There were two places that sold flour in this market. It also identified the one that the Baker¡¯s wife frequented. Hmmm¡­.I suppose it¡¯s useful sometimes¡­¡­ I glance over at Claura, it seems as if she¡¯s unsure where to go¡­..honestly she¡¯s a mess! I quietly murmur so she could hear me, ¡°Miss, I believe the Master goes down the left side whenever she comes here.¡± A small flash of understanding shows in her eyes before she timidly steps into the crowd and begins making her way in the correct direction. ¡°Thank you.¡± My previous annoyance vanishes when she says that in her adorable little voice. I can feel my expression getting sloppy. It honestly reminds me of Julie¡­.ugh, it¡¯s better not to go down memory lane sometimes¡­.. After several minutes of forcing our way through the crowd, Claura and I made it to the correct stall. Like most of the others, it was quite simple. Out in front was a stepped box that held small sacks of what the merchant was offering. It seemed as though it was a merchant that sold the flour and other grains from a farming village outside of the city¡­¡­¡¯Grand Archive¡¯ once again gave me this from details it picked out this time and from previous knowledge from one or two other times I had been to the market¡­..ow! Oops! My concentration slipped and ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ started to give me a torrent of information! Phew, I was able to suppress it. This ability is really quite annoying. As I regain focus I find the merchant talking sweetly to Claura. It seems that he recognizes her since she looks somewhat like her mom. ¡­¡­Or at least that¡¯s his excuse. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is showing me that the man is producing sex hormones and his blood pressure is increasing, indicating arousal¡­¡­.Fuck! This guy is a loli-con! Wait now he¡¯s looking at me! His pupils are dilating! Forget loli-con, this guy is a friggin shota-con as well! I can feel a small chill run up my spine. Fortunately we get out of there quickly. For once, Claura¡¯s shyness and her fear of talking is useful! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After picking up a few other things necessary for the Bakery, we have only one more item on our list¡­..spices. Unfortunately not something like garam marsala or ground ginger. Instead we are to pick up nutmeg and cinnamon, along with sugar and salt. I feel a bit crestfallen, as far as my knowledge extends about this world it doesn¡¯t seem to have Indian or any form of Asian cuisine at all. Truly a shame! But I should be happy at least that it seems sugar is plentiful here, back on earth during a medieval time period like this sugar was a very rare ingredient. *sigh* Claura and I have made it to the spice trader. Interestingly enough, it doesn¡¯t seem that he was someone born in the kingdom of Snaga. The clearest indication was his dark skin, the other was that he was bundled up in so many furs that all you could see were his black eyes along with a small strip of his skin peeking out from all of it. By now a routine has formed, Claura will bashfully stammer out what is needed and the merchant, charmed by her cuteness, will offer a fair price rather than try to swindle her. Then, I will have another load added to my already burdened body. Despite the fact that I¡¯m strong for my age because of my Beast Race blood, that doesn¡¯t mean its easy carrying all this weight! So as she stammers out her request, I try to ignore the burning pain that is forming between my shoulder blades and look around the stall while still trying to form a plan on how to gain my freedom. It was something that I often thought about when I wasn¡¯t getting ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ under control or busying myself with a task that I was required to do as a slave. I absentmindedly took a sniff, curious what all of the arranged spices would smell like together. Wait¡­..that smells like¡­¡­!!! *BOOM* I could almost hear an explosion go off in my mind as ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ focuses in on one particular ¡°spice¡±. Something that I had no idea existed in this world, something that was even more important that Asian cuisine! Chocolate!! Or¡­..well¡­..cocoa powder, but that still means chocolate could be made! My eyes instantly locate the sack that contains the cocoa powder. The merchant notices my sudden fixation and surprisingly laughs. ¡°I¡¯ve seen several others of the Beast race have interest in this cokolada, it seems your kitling is the same little girl.¡± ¡°umm, uh, yes¡­¡­¡± I¡¯m vaguely aware of their conversation. My eyes however are still trained on the cocoa powder. I really want it! Chocolate is what kept me going sometimes while I was working with Cecily. On cold winter nights, whether in Geneva or in the U.S. the two of us would consume absurd quantities of hot chocolate to fuel our late night discussions on the Alcubierre equation. It could be said I was addicted. Sadly it was impossible, I couldn¡¯t even ask for it after all. Who would listen to me¡­a slave¡­.. Oh wait¡­. I just had a really good idea! Yes, with this I might get closer to freedom! _____________________________________________________________________ Next Sorry for the wait! I was feeling a bit lazy and had difficulties getting the ball rolling on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy! Ah yeah, please rate me as well. If I can climb higher more people can rate and comment....and if that happens! I''ll be even more motivated to write rather than feeling lazy! :D Chapter 4: Brownie Badge With the scent of the cocoa pow-¡­ err cokolada still in my nose I finally turned my gaze towards Claura. Just then, the spice merchant muttered something under his breath that caught my attention, ¡°Though, they seem to be the only ones interested¡­.¡± I reviewed everything in my archive¡­.indeed I had never heard mention nor seen any cokolada till now. The possibility existed that it was new to the region, the skin color of the merchant suggested that. Claura also had a bit of money left over, her childish charm worked wonders on people¡­..especially perverts. Alright! I guess this means all conditions are clear! ¡°Miss¡­I¡¯ve heard of cokolada before¡­..from that merchant before the accident¡­.anyways, if prepared properly it¡¯s supposed to taste amazing! I¡¯m sure the Masters would love to try it!¡± ¡°eh? I g-g-g-guess if y-y-y-you say s-so, w-we should buy s-s-some.¡± Her voice dropped off at the end as she looked down at her feet again. Really I wonder what is going through her head. She really should stop being so nervous, her heart is beating so fast I can hear it even in this crowd. Looking back at the merchant I could hear his heart rate pick up slightly. Even with all those furs covering him, I could still tell he was excited at the prospect at getting rid of some of the cokolada. Good. We should be able to get quite a bit for cheap!....however there¡¯s no way that Claura will be able to haggle, and I¡¯m a slave. Guess there¡¯s no helping it. I¡¯ll have to let this one slide. I could feel my ears flatten slightly on my head, if I had a tail it¡¯d be probably be flicking like a real cat¡¯s. Ahwell, I¡¯ll just have to wait. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ A while later, the fully burdened me and the nervous Claura made our way back to the Bakery. It¡¯ll be nice to get back there. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ won¡¯t be on the fritz because every little thing is new and more importantly I wont have to carry all this crap! I hate carrying things, literally one of the banes of my existence! I re-adjust the sacks I¡¯m carrying for the umpteenth time as we round the corner to get onto the street the Bakery is on. All of a sudden, the wind picks up and we¡¯re buffeted by a serious gust. I narrow my eyes against the wind, only to see Claura being blown backwards. Her little body is too weak to stand against the wind. Oh boy! This is bad! The streets are icy! Just as I¡¯m thinking this, she slips and begins to fall¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­..Then time seems to pause¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Ah! ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ just activated a new function! I can tell it¡¯s recommending that I throw the sack of flour, it should be able to protect her head from the fall. I watch as a line is traced to where it needs to be thrown, my margin of error is wide so I quickly readjust my aim and throw the sack. Time unfreezes and the bag flies through the air and hits the ground just before Claura does. It successfully protects her head and softens her landing overall. *hic!* Uh-oh! I hear the sounds of a cry coming on! I rush over to her, hoping to stop the waterworks before they start. ¡°Miss! Are you alright! Forgive me, I didn¡¯t have the time to reach you so I had to use that sack to break your fall.¡± I knelt down and went through the motions of showing concern¡­..which I was¡­ But I definitely exaggerated. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ already told me based on my knowledge of human physiology and physics that she¡¯d have a sore butt and that¡¯s about it. She gave a small sniff. It was very apparent that she was trying to fight back the tears. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear Miss, come let¡¯s get you inside.¡± I offered her my hand. To be honest it was a reflex reaction from when I was still Thomas¡­but whatever it¡¯s fine. ¡­¡­.or maybe not¡­¡­. Claura was staring at my hand as if it was the oddest thing and ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was informing me she was showing tell- tale signs of confusion and nervousness. ¡­¡­.oh boy¡­¡­¡­. I go to remove my hand, figuring that there was probably some rule against slaves touching their masters. However, Claura notices this and hurriedly latches on. Meh, whatever. I haul her up before bending back down to grab the sack of flour. Oof¡­. Hmm? For some reason I¡¯m feeling tired all of the sudden¡­.maybe it¡¯s just the cold? Whatever. I turn to see Claura looking at the ground like usual. Her heart rate still seems to be perpetually rapid¡­.she¡¯s gonna die early if it stays like this. However¡­¡­¡­her cheeks seem a bit flushed. Odd¡­¡­it¡¯s probably from the cold¡­..wait¡­¡­. That can¡¯t be right! ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is telling me lies now! I can only shake my head. ¡°Miss, would you like to head back?¡± ¡°Nnnn¡­¡± ¡­¡­¡­.¡¯Grand Archive¡¯ had better be wrong! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. It was another minute or so until we got back to the bakery, naturally we went through the side gate. The front door was for customers¡­..and also definitely not for me. Once in the back yard, Claura and I rushed towards the kitchen. Both of us were eager for the warmth produced by the ovens. When we entered, the first to greet us was my mother. Her fiery-orange ears twitched happily as she smiled at the two of us. ¡°Hello young Miss, I hope your shopping went well?¡± ¡°y-yes.¡± Much to my annoyance, I could tell her heartbeat slowed down significantly around my mother. I couldn¡¯t fathom how the only people she wasn¡¯t terrified of was my mother and her parents. My mother then turned her attention to me. ¡°Kitling, I hope you assisted the young Miss properly?¡± She asked this warmly, though ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ informed me that she was just a bit anxious¡­..I suppose that¡¯s just how mothers were. Ah yes, just to clarify once again ¡®kitling¡¯ was definitely not my name it is what describes me. Apparently slaves aren¡¯t worthy of names and after a hundred years of slavery, parents won¡¯t even secretly give their ¡®kitlings¡¯ names. Now, I was about to respond to my mother. But before I could surprisingly¡­. ¡°H-he helped! He s-saved me!¡± ¡­¡­¡­.Claura spoke for me. Hmm¡­. Odd¡­.. My mother naturally reacted with a surprised and slightly worried expression at the word ¡®saved¡¯. It was also at this time that the Baker himself came over. ¡°Claura, what happened?!¡± He also gave me a stern look after asking her. Jeez what¡¯s that for, not like I did anything to her! ¡°W-well, the wind w-was really strong, s-so I slipped¡­.but then he caught me!¡± Thankfully she left out the part that it was actually the flour sack that had saved her. I stifled a yawn as I paid attention. For some reason I was getting progressively sleepier, and a headache was starting to form. I grasped my head lightly after setting down the sack of flour. The Baker noticed. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, no Master¡­..I¡¯m fine.¡± He had a slightly perturbed expression on his face. But then again, that was always how it looked when facing me. I suppose it was due to the fact that I was technically his brother¡¯s son. The Baker wasn¡¯t all that bad, I would even consider him a good person if not for the fact he chose to have slaves. ¡°Oh! And then guess what daddy!¡± The Baker turned his gaze back to his daughter, his expression loosening in the process. ¡°What is it Claura?¡± ¡°Kitling suggested that we buy this stuff from the spice merchant! It¡¯s called c-c¡­cok¡­cokolada!¡± Uh oh¡­.. The Baker turned his gaze back to me, his brow furrowing slightly. ¡°Oh? And what do you think you¡¯re doing? Spending your Master¡¯s money on useless things!? That is a useless spice from that Forest kingdom!¡± Well¡­.I really wouldn¡¯t classify it as a spice¡­. I watched as the Baker¡¯s hand began to raise for a smack, my muscle began to tense up. ¡°Please Master¡­..I¡¯m sure he meant no harm.¡± Ah, mom would stick up for me! But now I¡¯m worried she¡¯ll get hurt! Now, he turned to glare at her. ¡°Yeah d-d-daddy! H-h-he was only t-t-trying to make you happy! H-h-he said you could make something tasty with it!¡± Good! Claura is on my side! Thank you wind! With her intervention, I could detect the Baker¡¯s heartbeat returning to normal. He absentmindedly rubbed his hands on his apron as he turned back towards me. ¡°Just because something is tasty doesn¡¯t mean my money should be wasted one it!¡± Oops never mind, still a bit angry. But in this state, it was a good time to strike! It was now or never, the path towards my freedom would be opened up now! ¡°It¡¯s not just that it¡¯s tasty Master! It could be used to make more money Master!¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°hrm?¡± The Baker deepened his furrowed brow, whether in anger or confusion¡­even ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was having difficulty determining. ¡°It¡¯s a thing called a brownie! It¡¯s sweet and brings out the flavor of the chocolate! I promise it will taste good!¡± I have to go all out, confidence was key. Even if the other party holds a much higher position than you, as long as you still seemed respectful it was best to present a front of overwhelming confidence. I should know, I had to wrest money out of the hands of the government back on earth. ¡°And?¡± I now gave a small calculating smile. I could see as surprise began to show on the Baker¡¯s face. Of course he would be shocked. Who would expect a mere, uneducated child to show suck a face. But it was necessary to give my words more weight, so I risked it. ¡°The ingredients are all readily available in your shop, furthermore. The merchant selling the cokolada seemed absolutely relieved that the Miss bought some. Meaning, that no one else is!¡± I now took a slight step forward, trying to appear larger than I am and give dramatic effect. ¡°This means that the rest of his stock could be bought relatively cheaply. Furthermore, since the cost of making the brownies is cheap but their flavor is absolutely luxurious¡­.you can sell them for a lot and make a lot of money!¡± ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ told me that the Baker was at the very least persuaded. I had already previously known that the baker was constantly concerned about profit margins. Though due to his lack in education he really had difficulty calculating all of it, but a simple declaration that I could make him more money would definitely pique his interest. ¡°Prove it.¡± YES! Inside I jumped and shouted for joy. I was on the path to FFFRREEEEDDOOOMM! ¡­ugh¡­ ¡­the headache was getting worse. Where are painkillers when you need them! ¡°Y-yes Master.¡± Damn, the pain was making this difficult. What¡¯s more ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ seemed to be fitzing out! I kept noticing that it was picking up and feeding me information on random things again! Oh wait¡­maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been repressing it¡­¡­ I released my control on ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ and let it give me all the information it wanted. Fortunately the kitchen wasn¡¯t as¡­.stimulating¡­.as the market had been. However it only brought a small relief. Damn¡­ at least I can concentrate now. I walked over to the table that was normally used for kneading dough and grabbed the cleanest looking bowl there and set it on in the place that the Baker normally uses to help dough rise right by the ovens. Then I went to the sink. Yes, they have sinks in this world and with it the boon of any densely populated civilization¡­plumbing! I pumped the handle to get the water flowing, and then I washed my hands. I knew the Baker was obsessive about cleanliness. It was also one of the reasons why his shop was frequented by people outside of this neighborhood. Therefore, doing this should earn some bonus points. I could practically feel the approving gaze from the Baker. Anyways I then made my way to the back of the kitchen. There I finally set the sacks I had been carrying for the last time. Then I grabbed a block of butter from the cold shed that was separated from the rest of the kitchen by a door. I also grabbed the vanilla extract and eggs. Yes, oddly enough a medieval bakery had vanilla extract. It was used in the sweet breads that they made during special events. After returning to the main part of the kitchen I portioned out some of the butter. This was where ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ showed its usefulness. Even without proper measuring utensils, it could accurately tell me the amount I was using. It also provided me with the recipe my grandmother had used to make back on earth. Ah, it truly was nice having this ability since it could perfectly recall everything from my memories and use it. It was like I was on NZT! The piece of butter I had portioned out was put into the bowl that had been warming by the ovens. I then grabbed a pot and filled it with water before hanging it over the open fireplace near the ovens. This kitchen was also used to prepare our meals so it had all the tools needed to make food other than bread. I stoked the fire under the pot and added more wood. I needed it to start simmering quickly. Ah, yeah. At this time I should mention that despite the fact that there was magic in this world it wasn¡¯t very wide spread in this kingdom. Furthermore, devices powered by magic were also expensive. The Baker had been relatively successful so he had been able to afford a singular magic oven. It took magic from someone to use it though so it had to be powered up regularly by someone. I glanced over towards the magic oven and watched as its power source began to recharge it¡­..or should I say Claura¡­.was the one charging. Oddly enough she had more mana than her parents and so her role in the household was to keep the oven running so the Baker could produce high quality breads for his richer customers. Right now the Baker was setting unbaked loaves in the magic oven. Obviously he had more important things to do other than watching me make something. However, he did frequently glance at what I was doing in suspicion. By now the water had begun to simmer so I placed the bowl of melt butter over the pot and added salt and the cokolada. I had retrieved both from the back while I was waiting. I stirred the ingredients together until they were well mixed then removed it from the pot. I took it outside to force it to cool quicker before bringing it back in and adding the eggs and vanilla extract. By this time my mom had paused in her work of kneading more dough to watch what I was doing curiously. I added the final ingredient of flour. Now came the hard part¡­..finding something that was remotely close to a baking tray¡­.. In the end I ended up just taking two bread tins and spreading more butter inside to prevent sticking before filling them with the brownie mix¡­.though not before having a taste. My eyes watered as the choclatey goodness spread over my mouth! It was enough to beat back the headache that was growing worse with the passing minutes. ¡°Master, it¡¯s ready to go in the oven. I recommend the magic oven since it¡¯s¡­.a delicate dish.¡± ¡°Hmmph, go ahead.¡± I quickly opened the oven and placed the tins on the lower rack of the oven. It had a similar layout to ovens back on earth, though it was heated from a fire-type magic circle rather than a heating element and electricity. ¡°Now we wait for half an hour and it should be done.¡± ¡°Uh huh. Get back to work in the meantime, I won¡¯t have you sitting on your hands and not earning your keep!¡± ¡°¡­Yes Master.¡± Ugh¡­this headache was getting worse. I began to sweep up the kitchen while the Baker and my mother continued to work. Claura stayed in there with us, when she¡¯d normally be somewhere off in the main house. Guess she must be interested in the brownies. To amuse myself, I had ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ show a countdown timer in the corner of my vision so I had something to watch to mark the passage of time. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Master, It should be finished.¡± I declared this as I took the two tins out of the oven and set them on the cooling rack amongst various loaves of bread that would soon be going out to the shop. I paused to clutch my head. The headache was getting to the point where just walking hurt; it was even holding back the waves of drowsiness that were attacking me. After a few minutes I cut into the brownies with a knife and offered a portion to the Baker. He stared at the brownie suspiciously¡­. ¡­..that is¡­.until he smelled it. Previously the smell had been masked by the scent of baking bread, but now that it was so close to his nose he could truly detect the brownie¡¯s unique scent. I watched as his eyes widened as he took the brownie I had offered in my hand. ¡­.he then took a bite. There was silence in the kitchen as both my mother and Claura stared at the Baker intently. That is until Claura broke it¡­ ¡°Daddyyy what does it taste like?!¡± The only sound that left the Baker¡¯s lips was¡­ ¡°mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!¡± He quickly cut himself and Claura another portion. He greedily ate his as he offered a portion towards Claura who eagerly took it and began to eat it. ¡°¡­.This is wonderful! This is so tastey!!!!¡± Claura began exclaiming in ecstasy from the taste. ¡­well¡­..I suppose these medieval commoners would¡¯ve never had the chance to try something such as this. ¡°Really? I¡¯m glad, I¡¯m sure that Ma---¡° Huh? Why is my vision darkening? Why is the ground so close? ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡± ¡°KITLING!¡± ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Hey guys! Shout out to Star3535 and Neva for reviewing and rating me! Thanks guys, I feel like I''m on the map with this fiction finally. Also just as a warning I''ve been feeling writers block coming on haha. So next week''s chapter may be delayed.. :( but fear not! I will valiantly fight it off and if you guys need something to tide you over. I do have another fanfic on this site. It''s one about Royalroad and may be worth checking out, I may even start writing it again! here''s the link New Roads . Well then, until next week! Chapter 5: The First Deal Ugh, I have that nasty taste in my mouth that you get from sleeping. Some call it morning breath, but I prefer to call it drago¡ª ¡°KITLING!¡± ¡­.Funny, I thought I heard that before I went to bed too¡­¡­.. WAIT, WHAT!? *GUFFWWAAAHH!!* My thoughts have been derailed! ¡°Mom¡­.can¡¯t¡­..breathe¡­..¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry Kitling!¡± *HUFF* ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°OH! I should go tell the Master! He¡¯ll be so happy to hear you¡¯re awake!¡± And then just as quickly as her embrace, my mom disappeared. Hm? That¡¯s odd, I¡¯m on something soft¡­..furthermore, isn¡¯t it a bit warm in the shack? As I wiped away the bleariness from sleep, I saw a plain wooden wall in front of me and positioned slightly to the left of it was a door. Is this the Baker¡¯s house? My gaze shifted downwards to what I had been sleeping on. It was soft and creaked slightly, it was a real mattress on a slatted frame! I quickly shuffled back down into the covers and rubbed my shoulder-blades into the mattress as I snuggled in. AAaaHHH! Though I have only been in this world for two weeks, a bed like this feels amazing! Though it is nothing compared to the Tempurpedic I had previously, it is leagues better than the cot that was thinly filled with old straw that I had previously slept on. I could feel myself growing tired¡­.so¡­.sleepy¡­¡­ Darn it¡­.I could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs. Most likely they¡¯d come in here. My ears flattened in annoyance. I was so comfortable! And now the door opens, lo and behold! It¡¯s my mom with the Baker¡­¡­and Claura? The Baker directly walked to the bedside and sat in the chair that my mother must¡¯ve been previously occupying. ¡°¡­Kitling, are you really alright?¡± Tsk, this guy bothers asking a stupid question like that. What does he think? I passed out and the woke up here! ¡°Yes master, I feel fine.¡± He leans back into the chair and looks relieved. ¡°Ahhh, that¡¯s good, that¡¯s very good.¡± Oh? It¡¯s good for you, you say? Well isn¡¯t that just great, I¡¯m so happy for you¡­¡­ ¡°Anyways kitling, about that food¡­.errr¡­..brownies was it?¡± Aahh and now we get to the crux of the issue, the reason why he was treating me so kindly. ¡°Be at ease master, the recipe is still safely locked in my head.¡± I leveled him with a calm and collected gaze. I now had the advantage, my beach head had been captured and my troops were ready to storm the beaches of Normandy! I watched as the shock of my actions registered on his face. From his point of view his slave just cut him off and replied in a way that could be perceived as rude. To him, it was like I sprung two heads. ¡°Furthermore, there are other recipes tucked up in here as well.¡± I tapped the side of my head at this and delivered a malicious smile. I had previously thought that maybe appearing the loyal slave and lulling him into a false sense of security would be the best route¡­. However¡­¡­ That was most definitely not my style. Rather I think this way would be better, while not feeble minded it was easier to guess who out of the two of us had the greater intellect. That may sound pompous, but in this case I don¡¯t really care. I will corner and trap this man who claims to be my master and then grab my freedom. ¡­¡­ Ah! Now he seems to be furious. Ha, I suppose that is to be expected. Ahwell, time to finish trapping this greedy but honest baker. ¡°You¡­..how dare you speak like that towards your master!?¡± ¡°Because, I have something master wants.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± His brow furrowed deeper as he glared at me. I could detect Claura¡¯s heart rate reaching a break neck pace. Actually, my mother¡¯s was doing the same! ¡°I have the means for you to potentially becoming one of the richest bakers in all of Snaga. Enough so that you may be able to become¡­.a land-owner.¡± At the mention of becoming a land-owner the Baker¡¯s expression stiffened. The similarities between this world and the middle Ages of Earth were pervasive, one of them being that only nobles or the very rich were capable of owning land. Therefore, the prospect of earning enough money to own land was a very enticing one. ¡°Furthermore, these are means known only to me. Therefore I naturally hold the upper hand in this deal. Currently the only possible way you could effectively retaliate against me is killing me. Selling me off would give someone else the ability to gain the fortune that could¡¯ve been yours and beating me would forever seal my lips. That¡­is why I believe I am Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.allowed to speak to you as an equal.¡± After this I lean back against the bed post with a satisfied smirk and watch the Baker¡¯s face as it goes through many expressions. He wasn¡¯t a bad sort of person to begin with, so it should be fairly easy for him to begin accepting this. After a while, the Baker sighed and looked at me sharply. ¡°I wonder what happened to that little kitling that was such a good slave before¡­¡± ¡°He never existed. This is what I am, though for you I imagine it¡¯s almost as if a devil is trying to strike a deal with you.¡± His expression relaxed a bit. ¡°I supposed your right.¡± In a lower voice, I could hear him mutter, ¡°I suppose this is my brother coming out in him¡­¡± I ground my teeth at that but I endured, despite my new found confidence. I was not certain that picking a fight about that particular subject would be in my best interests. ¡°So do you wish to strike a deal with me and make more money than you ever would in your life time?¡± He paused and looked at me, his face had a look of resignation on it. ¡°What is it that you want out of this?¡± I laughed slightly at this before replying¡­ ¡°Oh, I want various things. However, for the price of the knowledge of brownies I¡¯ll request only one thing¡­.This room.¡± He looked at me surprised and confused. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I want this room for my mother and myself to sleep in. This room doesn¡¯t contain yours, or Claura¡¯s scent. Meaning that it obviously isn¡¯t occupied by anyone in your immediate family. So, the price for the knowledge of how to make the brownies is¡­¡­..this room.¡± He gained a thoughtful expression at this. He had already recognized the potential earnings from brownies and must now be very interested in gaining the knowledge on how to make them. ¡°Then¡­.I suppose I¡¯ll allow you to live here.¡± Well, it seems he wasn¡¯t quite ready to speak to me as an equal. But whatever, I now have somewhere comfortable to sleep. It¡¯s enough for now. ¡°I look forward to working with you.¡± I held out my hand almost automatically. Like his daughter, he looked at it with an odd expression before returning the handshake. I wonder if handshaking when making deals isn¡¯t a culture in this world¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Aaahh, this is wonderful!¡± I reclined back into the bed in what had now become mine and my mother¡¯s room. My mother was sweeping downstairs in the shop and had told me to go off to bed already. Though I wasn¡¯t very tired, I had found out after the deal with the Baker that I had been asleep for three whole days after passing out in the kitchen. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ hypothesized itself as the culprit due to the fact that the only thing that could¡¯ve potentially exhausted me like that was the special function that ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ had performed in order for me to protect Claura. Damn thing was sometimes more trouble than it was worth! ¡°But at the very least it¡¯ll perfectly allow me to gain freedom!¡± I sighed this out as I rolled over on the bed. I could feel my ears twitch as it picked up a noise. It was Claura¡¯s heart¡­.uh-oh, I hope she hadn¡¯t heard that. I need to keep that desire under wraps for now. I lay motionless as I listened to her, waiting to see what she would do. Eventually the sound of receding footsteps could be heard as she retreated to her room. A few minutes later my mother came in. She smiled down at me as she gingerly crawled into bed, as if still not believing that it was ok for us to be sleeping in here. She then curled her body around me with her tail falling over my side and in front of me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to make you like this¡­.but you¡¯re definitely still my Kitling. So¡­. Thank you.¡± She purred this out as we slowly drifted off to sleep comfortably since for once we were out of the elements and in a proper bed. For now, everything in the alright in the world. ¡°Thank you for being my mother.¡± Then, I fell asleep with probably one of the most contented smiles I¡¯ve ever had. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Happy Valentines everyone! And sorry for the short chapter. Anyways, hope everyone had a wonderful time, either with their significant other. or for all you singles out there I hope you had a wonderful time with yourself and gave yourself a treat since you deserve it for being awesome! Also I have a question. Who is ''the group''? They all have these blue highlighted reviews on fanfic pages. They seem kinda pompous....but maybe that''s just me, at least they are giving a well thought out review of what they thought of the fic and are giving advice on what they think would make it better! Hope to here from you guys, and cya next week! Chapter 6: The Master Becomes the Student and the slave becomes the Teacher! WHAT!? The next day proceeded drastically different from the ones previous. At least for me and the Baker it did. His wife had found out the next morning about the new sleeping arrangements in her household¡­..needless to say she was¡­..angered. But she quieted down when the Baker raised his voice. Though¡­..she did continue to glower at both my mother and myself. Bigoted bitch. A small smirk and snort from me served to increase her fury, ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ predicted she may even have a heart attack if I continued. After all, she wasn¡¯t exactly the most active and healthy person I¡¯ve met in my 35 years. After that small fiasco, I spent the morning simply chopping wood before the Baker came to tell me that he had enough time to learn how to bake brownies. And so we baked! And baked? And baked¡­.. And why the fuck are we baking so much! ¡°Um, Excuse me Master. Why exactly are we constantly going over this?¡± ¡°I want to make sure I can get this right of course!¡± Ah what a professional¡­..wait! Can¡¯t I just write this down! It¡¯s not exactly difficult to make this. ¡°Umm can¡¯t we just write it down? That way even if you forget, you¡¯ll still be able to make it.¡± At this point he had a very thoughtful expression on his face, then he grimaced. ¡°Hide is more useful for other things and paper is expensive, so is ink. Why would I spend money on that when I can just memorize it this way?¡± There¡¯s something wrong with his expression¡­.ah ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ sorted it out. He¡¯s covering up the real reason! ¡°You can¡¯t read¡­can you?¡± Oops that came out a little flat! He doesn¡¯t look happy! ¡°What was that! It¡¯s not like you can!¡± Oooh! This gives me the chance to sell another idea. ¡°If you give me a book and what few words you know I can. Also I can sell you one other thing if you do this.¡± His expression lit up at the word ¡®sell¡¯, criminey! It hasn¡¯t even been twenty four hours and he¡¯s already been trained to reacting to that word! ¡°What exactly might you be selling?¡± ¡°The ability for your family to read.¡± His expression gained complexity after hearing my offer. He paused in the middle of placing the fifth set of brownies into the oven and leaned against the counter. I simply stood there with an expectant expression as I gazed up at him. ¡°Can you actually do that?¡± He said this in a disbelieving but almost hopeful tone. The ability to read can reap enormous benefits in this type of world. Sure, day to day life doesn¡¯t really require the knowledge of it. However¡­¡­ In order to advance in a world such as this, the ability to read and write is of incalculable importance. At the very least it could see Claura married into a richer family¡­¡­¡­. I took a step forward and tried to appear as confident as my little body was capable of. ¡°It will come at a price.¡± ¡°What is it? This price.¡± ¡°¡­..I¡¯ll name it after I have taught you to read. If you are incapable of learning, that will mean I have failed. Therefore let¡¯s just name the price at a later date.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The rest of the day was spent in an awkward silence broken only by me continuing to teach the Baker how to bake brownies when he had the spare time. Afterwards he disappeared for an hour before returning with what appeared to be a stack of papers tied together by string. ¡°This was the cheapest I could find¡­.also it had a few words I recognized.¡± Now you might wonder why a person incapable of reading would know a few words. It¡¯s simple, even though he can¡¯t read sometimes there are objects such as contracts that he must sign and understand what the contents of those contracts are. Naturally he¡¯d have to pay someone who can read to tell him, and whilst they are doing so he may pick up a word or two. Furthermore the names of things such as: Bakery, Blacksmith, and Tavern. These are commonly known since their names are listed under the picture that hangs above the doorways of such enterprises as advertisement. Even I knew those words¡­..I just needed a bit more to figure this language out. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get started before it gets much later.¡± We were now in the personal dining room of the house. The Baker¡¯s wife was putting Claura to bed and my mother was in the front wiping down the floors. I dragged a chair over by the one he had sat down on. He gave me a rude look. ¡°What? Think I have a sickness or something? How else are you going to point out the words you know?¡± His eye twitched at that. It¡¯s only natural, this ¡®book¡¯ probably cost him quite the pretty penny and here I was acting like a stuck up brat. I had better tone down the attitude, after all this is only the second day of our new relationship¡­..I can¡¯t move to quickly. ¡°So anyways, let¡¯s begin reading.¡± He grimaced but then turned back to the ¡®book¡¯ and pointed at a word on the first page. ¡°This one is ¡®money¡¯.¡± ¡°This one is ¡®contract¡¯.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­. It took us an hour to go through all the pages, there was only thirty but I made him carefully comb each one for words he knew. The words he knew were ones that, unsurprisingly, were related to contracts and business. That was the only type of words he¡¯d ever had explained to him after all. ¡°Alright, now just give me the ¡®book¡¯ and I¡¯ll figure it out.¡± He hesitantly passed the book over to me. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s going along this far. It must be because I¡¯ve been dominating our relationship since yesterday. He¡¯s probably so confused about how I¡¯m displaying such intelligence so suddenly. ¡­.I had best not slip up¡­.or I¡¯m finished. With my personal feeling of tension raised slightly I began re-reading the ¡®book¡¯. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ then activated and began to rapidly analyze it and comparing it to all my knowledge of languages back on earth. After about five minutes it delivered to me the instantaneous knowledge of the Snagan language. Though only with about 75% accuracy¡­¡­. that¡¯s fine though, for simple daily use it¡¯ll be more than enough. The written language itself is quite beautiful and reminded me of the Arabic alphabet. It¡¯s probably because of that similarity that I was able to get such a high accuracy. This is due to the fact that I had a friend who worked at the same institute as I and Cecily who was originally from the UAE. We had visited his family during one of our rare vacations at his invitation. It had been a fun time and he had explained some of the words to me. At the time I naturally forgot, but ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was, of course, the archive of all my knowledge whether I remembered it or not. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So?¡± The Baker was losing patience. Jeez he¡¯s so impatient, if it was anybody else it would take them weeks if not months to figure this kind of thing out. ¡°I have the capability of reading. The title of this story is ¡®The Unfortunate Merchant¡¯.¡± Go figure, no wonder he knew some of the words in this ¡®book¡¯. A hint of suspicion showed on his face. Ah yeah, this guy isn¡¯t a complete idiot. Naturally he won¡¯t entirely trust what I say. ¡°Let¡¯s prove that what I say is the truth by having me write down the instructions on how to make brownies. Then you can take it to someone who can read. You already know the directions but can¡¯t read the words for it. I shouldn¡¯t previously have known the words either. Therefore this will prove I can write.¡± He mulled it over before nodding his head. ¡°This is becoming expensive¡­.¡± ¡°But the end rewards are great. Without taking a risk you won¡¯t gain anything.¡± He gave me a weird look then. ¡°You¡­.are you really that kitling? I don¡¯t think anybody could act that well. Furthermore you speak as though you¡¯re someone closer to my age!¡± Well technically I¡¯m older than you¡­¡­ ¡°I am the same kitling. I have just now decided to remove my fa?ade. If you wonder where I have gained this knowledge from¡­¡­well let¡¯s chalk it up to revelations from the cooking god.¡± I slipped out a smile and my ears twitched slightly. I nearly cracked up from my own sarcasm! ¡°Haaaa¡­.fine, fine. After what I¡¯ve seen in just these two days I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if such a being actually existed¡­¡­ I¡¯ll get the ink and paper tomorrow. Once you write it down I¡¯ll take it to be read.¡± ¡°Good. After that we can begin your and your family¡¯s lessons.¡± ¡°You seem too confident¡­..you better pull through¡­..otherwise¡­..¡± ¡°Otherwise what? I already showed you brownies¡­.there are other baked goods that could even be more profitable. Even if I were to be wrong about teaching you guys how to write, I should think it wouldn¡¯t be wise for you to punish me for it.¡± His expression darkened, but after a deep breath it returned to normal. ¡°I suppose your right¡­¡­.well let¡¯s see what happens.¡± ¡°Goodnight Master.¡± ¡°¡­¡­..Goodnight Kitling.¡± After that, without so much as a bow I returned to my and my mother¡¯s room. I once again slept contentedly; I have gained the knowledge of reading this country¡¯s language. It will be a valuable commodity, regardless of what happens in the future. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The next day preceded much the same as they usually had in the past, though there was one significant difference¡­.. ¡°Delicious!¡± ¡°What are these!? I¡¯ll have ten! No a dozen!¡± ¡°These ¡®brownies¡¯ are unbelievable!¡± I listened from the backdoor to the customers inside clamoring over the brownies. I had suggested the day before when I was showing the Baker how to make them that offering small pieces as free samples would drum up business. Obviously it worked, this world had never experienced the marketing ploys or food, for that matter, of an industrialized nation. They had absolutely zero resistance to it. I continued to chop wood for the mundane ovens that were now working overtime since the magic oven was being exclusively used to produce the brownies. One thing had surprised me today though¡­..the pricing for the brownies. I had completely neglected to discuss that point with the Baker the night before. Furthermore my grasp of the economics of this nation was very hazy given the fact the my sum total of interactions with money was watching coins leave Claura¡¯s hand and entering a merchants hand the one time I had been with her to the market. It¡¯s something I¡¯ll definitely have to get a grasp of at a later date¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. That the night the Baker left the house¡­..my guess was so that he could confirm the truth about my claim that I could now read the Snagan language. ¡°Fufufufu.¡± ¡°Hiii!¡± Whoops! I must¡¯ve scared Claura with my evil laugh! I reach my hand out to calm her down before she runs off into the external kitchen. Meh, whatever, there¡¯s almost no use in trying with her. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I was sweeping up the front of the shop, my mom had asked me since she was busy cleaning the brownie tins¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­PAM doesn¡¯t exist here so it¡¯s a bit difficult to properly grease them. *BAM* The front door slammed open and a very flushed Baker walked in. His breathing was heavy a he walked towards me. He then made as if to reach out to me before stopping and pulling back his hand. I turned to face him, my ears flicked to one side in confusion over his odd state. ¡°You¡­¡­what exactly are you.¡± ¡°Two thirds human, one third beastman....why?.¡± ¡°What is a third¡­¡­No wait! Nevermind.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What I meant was, how can you possibly be the kitling that I once knew! Not even human children should be able to figure out a language in a few minutes! Much less a kitling!¡± ¡°So it seems you believe me now. Also, I am still myself¡­..I guess that head injury must¡¯ve just knocked everything into place¡­¡­as it were.¡± I said this as I turned around and began to leave, I had already finished sweeping. ¡°Ah, by the way¡­¡­let¡¯s start the first lesson tomorrow night around this time. We¡¯ll hold it for one hour every night following that.¡± I walked away after saying this. I¡¯m sure if I had had a tail it would¡¯ve been bobbing in a very pompous fashion. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ also picked up traces of fear pheromones wafting my way as I walked out of the room. Hmmm, the air was flowing from the door towards me. Good, things seem to be going my way. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Next Sorry! I know it''s late! I was too busy being a student this past weekend and doing fun...student...things..... Anyways! I''m really sorry! I''ll make sure next week''s one is right on time. As always please comment and rate! Edit: Found out something new, RoyalRoadl has a limit on how long your title can be..... Chapter 7: First Lesson The following day was markedly different from ones previous. The Baker seemed to be in a bad mood for little to no reason. This in turn affected his wife who tried to ¡®vent¡¯ on my mother. I held myself back because I needed to make sure things kept moving smoothly, for my sake and hers. However, the Baker didn¡¯t. He chastised his wife, something I¡¯ve rarely, if ever seen him do¡­¡­¡­..this could become a problem. There seems to be a very real possibility that things going my way so easily may have consequences. Very well, I¡¯ll just have to make the necessary corrections from here on out. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I feel like today has been longer than usual, it¡¯s most likely because of the tense atmosphere created by the Baker and his wife. Both of which are now in ¡®bad¡¯ moods. Ugh, I can feel the anxiety rolling off of both my mother and Claura¡­..grow a spine you two! ¡­¡­¡­..It seems I may be in an irritable mood as well¡­¡­.. ¡°Alright! It¡¯s now time for our nightly lessons! First off, thank you master for agreeing to go searching for slate and chalk in the market. This¡¯ll make everything easier!¡± ¡°You better put it to good use!¡± ¡°Now, now don¡¯t be like that¡­¡­.alright! Let¡¯s get started!¡± We were sitting in the back room at the small table. I was on one side with the Baker across from me, his wife on his right and Claura on his left. In the middle of the table was a thin slab of slate that I had asked the Baker to get. It seems he had to get it at a roofer¡¯s workshop but whatever. Actually I find it a bit humorous, they use slate to roof houses, something not done till well after even the renaissance period. Yet they haven¡¯t even thought of using it as a medium for writing. Or maybe it¡¯s just not popular. After all it¡¯d be a bulky and heavy affair. Anyways I begin by writing out the basic alphabet for them. I go through each letter and give its phonetic pronunciation and have them repeat it back. Claura responds with enthusiasm, even though she seems uncertain as to what she is doing. Geez! Know what your doing before getting excited! Actually isn¡¯t this a little out of character? ¡­¡­¡­.Anyways¡­ The Baker responds questioningly but still seriously. Good, that¡¯s right it¡¯s best if he¡¯s trying to figure out what I¡¯m doing, it shows he¡¯s actually using his brain, thank whatever is up there that he¡¯s not an idiot just uneducated. If only I could say the same for his wife, she responds without much enthusiasm and even directs an ignored look at me. I wish she wouldn¡¯t, I mean if it¡¯s that much of a chore she can leave. After all, no one is forcing her to stay¡­.or at least I¡¯m not. Maybe it¡¯s FOMO? Meh I¡¯ll just ignore it and continue, I¡¯m not a teacher that needs to make sure every student passes their standardized test after all. After we went through the whole alphabet, I went back through and drew a picture with its name written below it. The first letter of the name would correspond to the letter we happened to be on. In this way I went through and had them memorize the letters with an associated image. After all this is how I was taught when I was five back on earth. It should work the same way. At the end of the lesson, Claura was falling asleep in her seat. Well she was a kid after all¡­¡­in fact my body needs sleep as well! One of the problems with this young body is it requires a lot of sleep. ¡°Well that¡¯s the end of the lesson today. To summarize¡­tonight was spent learning each specific letter in the alphabet. Furthermore we have also associated a picture with it to help remember it better. Any questions?¡± The wife rolled her eyes at this one and left¡­¡­it seems she doesn¡¯t appreciate these lessons¡­.hmph. ¡°Well, this is all well and good but how is this teaching us how to read or write?¡± Ah, good. The Baker really isn¡¯t an idiot, he¡¯s trying to understand what he¡¯s learned so far fits in with the ultimate goal. ¡­¡­If only he wasn¡¯t okay with slavery and didn¡¯t ¡®own¡¯ myself and mother¡­.I might actually begin to like him. ¡°Simple, this is the basics. I¡¯m giving you and understanding of the little pieces so you¡¯ll understand the bigger piece when we get to it¡­..think of it like this; bread has five separate letters in it, each one of those letters are necessary to form the word. If any others were used or the letters weren¡¯t put in order, the word wouldn¡¯t be bread anymore. The same goes for the object itself right? You need yeast, water, flour, salt, and heat to make it. If those are used in the wrong order you won¡¯t have bread now will you. I am teaching you first about the ingredients and then I¡¯ll teach you how to make the bread or biscuit or brownies, whatever! You see?¡± He had a befuddled expression on his face. It seems his bad mood had dissipated somewhere along the line in the lesson. Ah! His expression just brightened! I think he gets it! ¡°Yes, I think I understand.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll leave the alphabet with the associated picture by each of the letters on the slate. I recommend looking at it occasionally tomorrow. I¡¯ll tell the same to Claura as well.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± The Baker then stood up, after gently picking up Claura he headed upstairs. After finishing the alphabet on the slate I headed towards my room. It seems a crisis has been averted though tension still seems to be in the air. If it¡¯s just at this level it should be fine though. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Several weeks have passed. According to ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ It¡¯s been nearly two months since its activation which is around the same time my consciousness merged with the me that was previously in control of this body. The days progress relatively peacefully and they¡¯ve been getting longer as spring begins to melt away the cold from winter. During this time there has been only a little progress with the Baker¡¯s family and learning how to read. It¡¯s difficult since they didn¡¯t learn from a young age¡­.well except Claura. At the same time it¡¯s easier with the Baker himself since he can reason through things more so than Claura can. His wife, on the other hand¡­¡­¡­¡­.well she¡¯s stopped coming. She said something like. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be putting on airs as a common family. Besides, why should I be learn¡¯in from a creature like that? The thing goes against the rules of the world.¡± I see, I am regarded as a ¡®thing¡¯ am I? Furthermore she went on to call upon the name of a ¡®holy¡¯ existence who her husband supposedly sinned against by letting me teach him to read. Great religion once again rearing its ugly head¡­.damn thing is present everywhere. It caused a lot of problems for a friend of mine who was a geneticist back on earth. Religion should stick to helping the poor and the sick. As well as giving something for people to believe in. As soon as it sticks its nose into politics it doesn¡¯t end well¡­¡­¡­¡­.the crusades are more than enough of an example of how shitty things can get. Anyways, the father and daughter have made some progress. It isn¡¯t much but it¡¯s a start. I pause in my sweeping of the storefront and look around. It¡¯s become a new routine for me to sweep the storefront before reading lessons. My mother now spends her nights getting brownie gunk out of the tins we use to make them. The profit made from them is already starting to show in the shop. The shelves and countertops that held bread during open hours; while well taken care of were beginning to show their age. Now new shelves and countertops had replaced them, these ones had even been varnished! This was nice on me since I could now actually wipe them down rather than sweeping them off. A less apparent but almost more important addition to the shop front was the addition of little placards on them listing the names of different kinds of bakery items. It was another way for the Baker and Claura to practice. Naturally I only suggested that the Baker do this after both of them had gotten better handwriting. Interestingly enough Claura had better handwriting over all¡­¡­or maybe that¡¯s not very surprising, the bulk of girls I¡¯ve none had better handwriting than guys after all. The use of the placards was two-fold. First it let the two practice their writing with something they were interested in. The second was that it subconsciously advertised to the customers that this was a shop with someone who had intelligence. To the more affluent it said, ¡°Look! I¡¯m ¡®smart¡¯ and can write! I obviously have better bread than those ¡®dumb¡¯ merchants down the street!¡± Or at least, that¡¯s what I hoped it would tell them. The main point is that I want more affluent people coming to the shop. With people like that, more money will be brought in. More money means a happier Baker and a happier Baker¡­¡­well it¡¯ll be one step closer to my goal. I want to slip out of slavery with minimum problems. Plus I still need to figure out what the other countries surrounding Snaga are like. Rich people solve this need for information since they¡¯ll have a higher chance of having traveled to those places. All I need to do now is find a spot inside the house where the Baker¡¯s wife won¡¯t find me so I can listen in on conversations going on in the shop. Hopefully I¡¯ll pick up some useful information from them. Ahwell, that¡¯s for later. For now I need to get the Baker and Claura up to a respectable level of education so that they can handle the higher class clientele I¡¯m sending their way. Maybe we¡¯ll eventually even have nobles or some such buying from us! With positive thoughts I head off to the back to continue the father and daughter¡¯s nightly lessons. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Next Howdy Y''all! The chapter is a little earlier and a shorter. Why? Because it seemed like a good stopping point. That''s the tricky thing with growth periods, ya wanna show a bit of it instead of just saying something like ''two years later'' but at the same time ya don''t want to bore people with all the annoying details. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter. I also hope it helped give a clearer idea of how the Nameless hero is going to get his freedom. I noticed some people in the comments were confused about that. Chapter 8: Lemonade Stands and Magic Insights! Winter is now officially over! Or at least that¡¯s what I say. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ would beg to differ, saying that spring had ¡®officially¡¯ started several weeks ago. But I don¡¯t agree! Spring starts when it¡¯s warm enough that snow melts and things start growing! Which it has been doing for the past two weeks; the backyard is no longer just a brown patch of land it now has grass beginning to grow everywhere! Mmmm, I love spring. Everything is alive in spring and the feeling as your body gradually gets used to the warmth after all that cold is the best! I wonder if lemonade exists in this world or, for that matter, lemons. If at least lemons exist it won¡¯t be too hard for me to ¡®invent¡¯ it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯d make a good sell to the baker, especially if I use Claura to sell it. Mmm¡­¡­a cute little girl selling lemonade outside her parent¡¯s shop to earn extra spending money¡­¡­.that sort of heartwarming scene is enough to make anybody happy! With such fluffy thoughts in my head I continue to chop away. Yes, I¡¯m still cutting wood. This chore is something that must always be done regardless of the season. I really wish I could use the price of writing to get out of this. But, that price is something I¡¯ve already selected. Besides someone needs to do this and the Baker¡¯s family isn¡¯t going to do it and I sure as hell won¡¯t make my mother do it. Besides in a way this reminds me of my previous life¡­.. huh? My eyes feel a little leaky. Aahhhh, here it comes. I¡¯m reminded every so often that I had a life previous as a human named ¡®Thomas Ackerman¡¯. For the most part I try to not think about that life. After all I have to live this life now, despite having all the memories of my previous one. Cecily¡­.I hope you¡¯re okay. I really truly hope that you¡¯ve been able to find happiness back there. Haa, now is not the time to be depressed. I¡¯ll have plenty of time later once I and my mother are free. I go back to wood cutting. This time, my expression is no longer so light....... even I can tell that. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Aaand the merchant picked up his last few coppers, loaded his donkey, and left. The end!¡± ¡°Great! Nice job Claura! You¡¯ve done well.¡± The past three hours had been grueling, or at least for myself and Claura. It was her turn to try and read the whole book, ¡®The Unfortunate Merchant¡¯, from start to finish without messing up. While she made a few mispronunciations, overall it was good. The reason it took so long was because her reading speed was abysmal. Her father was faster, though he did make a few more mistakes than she did. Honestly though, I was proud of the two. The father and daughter pair had really impressed me. We had started only four months ago but they had already begun to get the gist of it. Granted they were both at what Claura¡¯s reading level would be back on earth but that¡¯s ok. It¡¯s not like they need to be much better than this, especially for this world. ¡°Well with this, the two of you can now read I¡¯d say. What¡¯s more you can also write! What comes next is just practice. With a little bit more, I¡¯m sure you could even do better than some nobles!¡± ¡°ehehe, thanks! You¡¯re the best big brother!¡± Uh oh¡­..I could feel my ears prick fully alert as my body stiffened. The Baker was oddly silent. Claura had just dropped a veritable bomb. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was already observing every minute muscle movement in the Baker, waiting to see if an attack was coming. It had already ascertained that the Baker had hostile intentions; I guess you could say it was detecting a great amount of bloodlust from him. Claura on the other hand was stupidly oblivious. Stupid Claura¡­..shit I¡¯m done for. My eyes are locked on the form of the Baker, my muscle are ready to move in a second. Oddly enough ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is detecting a weakening amount of bloodlust coming off of him. ¡°Claura.¡± ¡°Yes Papa?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s time for bed, be a good girl and head upstairs.¡± ¡°Alright..¡± She seemed unhappy about being told to go to bed, but thankfully she was obedient and left with little fuss. The Baker turned his head to watch her go up the stairs. I kept my eyes firmly locked on the Baker. Though my ears were following that little cataclysm¡¯s footsteps as she left the room where she had potentially laid waste to my future. After sight of her was lost and her footsteps receded past human hearing, the Baker turned his eyes towards me. I think as far as this situation goes, I must strike first. ¡°Just to be clear I didn¡¯t have any hand in that.¡± The Baker merely raised an eyebrow and continued looking at me. Ugh, I wish he¡¯d stop. I feel very uncomfortable right now. We sat in utter silence for a few more minutes. ¡°ha ha, hahaha! Hahahahaha!¡± He¡¯s laughing? ¡°So even you, you damn Kitling can get nervous. Don¡¯t worry, I know you had no hand in her deciding to call you that.¡± I relaxed at this, though now I felt a bit of annoyance as I realized he was toying with me. ¡°Well, then that¡¯s good.¡± I made to leave, eager to escape now that a slight weakness had been exposed. ¡°Ah, you will remain seated. I¡¯m not finished yet.¡± His tone annoys me, but in this situation¡­..well I have to comply for now. After taking in a breath the Baker leaned forward. ¡°She probably said that because you¡¯ve taught her something new and amazing. Even at her age she recognizes that. Furthermore you protected her somewhat beforehand. You also happen to be the only ¡®child¡¯ around her age that she¡¯s warmed up to. It¡¯s little surprise that she¡¯d call you something that is usually only used within a family.¡± He then fixed me with a piercing stare. ¡°But you are not family. Don¡¯t ever be mistaken about that. Even if you have my brother¡¯s blood running through you.¡± Wow, he¡¯s really exuding that mob character aura right now. I feel like I¡¯m talking to an information broker in the back of some European bakery. Does that make me Bond? Enough of that! *Phew!* At least the situation has unfolded like this. This makes everything easier. I lean forward as well, I wish I could steeple my hands but unfortunately I¡¯m a little too short for that still. ¡°Oh believe me, I am well aware. If you¡¯ll forgive me I¡¯d go so far as to say that I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not part of your family¡­¡­¡± I paused for a second or two as I looked him directly in the eyes. ¡°No, we are definitely not family. We, are business partners. I have things you want and you have thing I want. That¡¯s it.¡± I now settle back into my chair. Man it¡¯s really difficult to seem serious or intimidating when your not even five feet tall yet. ¡°Now, keeping in line with our business arrangement. I will name my price for teaching both you and your daughter how to read and write. In fact this conversation was the perfect opening for it.¡± The Baker raised his eyebrow. ¡°hoh?¡± I leveled him with as serious an expression I could make. ¡°The price this time is¡­..that I will now refer to you and your wife by name. There will be no Master or Mistress crap. We are business partners, I¡¯d say it¡¯s high time we refer to each other by our names. Oh but you can still refer to me as Kitling, that¡¯ll do for now.¡± His eyes narrowed slightly as if he seemed unwilling. ¡°Naturally this will be kept to when not in public. Though I won¡¯t refer to you as master in public either. Do you understand? This is the price.¡± Now he too leaned back into his chair. ¡°Very well.¡± I gave a small nod before standing up. ¡°good. Now then I¡¯ll be heading to bed. Ah, before I go I have something else for you to consider.¡± He raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°You have two options ahead of you. I could give you another bakery item¡­.or I could show you a drink that will entice the senses. Though I will say the drink has a higher chance of existing in the world, it may not necessarily be prevalent here. We would have to discuss it with our cokolada merchant. After all it contains an ingredient that he would be more likely to come across than what we ourselves would have.¡± I began to leave but paused at the entranceway to the back room. ¡°Anyways, take your pick and inform me sometime tomorrow or later. We can also go more in depth into what they are tomorrow should you have any questions.¡± Now this part was acting, I made as if to leave before pausing and turning around to look at the Baker who was still seated at the table seemingly lost in thought. ¡°Oh, and by the way; have a good night Clyde.¡± His eyes narrowed again for a fraction of a second before he mumbled out between his hands. ¡°Goodnight Kitling.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Nufufufu! Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Awe isn¡¯t she adorable! Of course I¡¯m referring to Claura, sitting outside with a little lemonade stand! There are two pieces of slate with pictures of lemons and writing on it facing the two sides of the street. Naturally the writing and the adorable little girl attract people to the stand. Recently more wealthy people have been frequenting Clyde¡¯s bakery for the mysterious but ultimately delicious brownies as well as the fact that the names of the different kinds of bread and their prices are sitting beside baskets that contain them. The sight of the writing makes them think that Clyde is also well to do and would naturally want to frequent his bakery rather than a bakery run by someone supposedly uneducated. Why? Because they unconsciously associate knowing writing as a sign of intelligence, then by relation they associate it with money, cleanliness, and quality. All of which factor into them choosing to select this shop; by now it¡¯s already gained critical mass and wealthy people show up just because other wealthy people are But back to the more important bit! Claura is so adorable! She¡¯s wearing a little pink dress with delicate white lace fringes at the cuffs and neck, further adding to her cuteness factor. Her blonde hair has been well brushed and positively gleams in the sunlight! Her shyness even helps! The way she timidly asks passerby if they¡¯d like a cup of lemonade causes both man and woman to swoon alike! I¡¯d have to say operation: make money by fluffy cuteness is a success! That isn¡¯t to say it wasn¡¯t difficult accomplishing it. At first Clyde hadn¡¯t been entirely sold on it. But had decided to go along with it after I described the potential benefits it could provide in the form of not only making more money but causing people that already came to his shop to spend more than normal since something so tasty was right in front of them and seemed so cheap. Another side benefit I mentioned is that it might help Claura become more social. Which would raise her value as a bride prospect¡­¡­. That last bit left a bad taste in my mouth, but sadly in this world much like earth had been. Men and woman didn¡¯t share equal power, at least not in this kingdom. This is a fantastical world after all, for all I know there could be a nation where the roles are reversed. After convincing Clyde the two of us went to the merchant who had been selling us cokolada. Thankfully after describing the qualities of lemons to him, it turned out he had something similar on hand. Translated from his native language to Snagan it seemed that it was called a ¡®puckerberry¡¯. Defying most of the rules I knew about plant biology it was a fruit much like a lemon except that it grew on vines like a grape. Furthermore the toughness of its skin was somewhere between that of a grape and a lemon and was slightly smaller in size. After tasting it, I found it to be far sourer than even an atomic warhead! Though, these were all only minor bumps on the path to the liquid Eldorado. The real setback was the realization that this world doesn¡¯t have plastic cups! Not only that It doesn¡¯t have ice cube trays or for that matter, freezers! The cups issue was solved relatively quickly. We bought a large amount of relatively cheap cups at a pottery store, the idea being that the people would drink there or could pay extra to take the cup along with them. The biggest problem facing us was how to keep the drink cold. This singular thing stood in our way. To some it might seem like a minor issue but if I met someone like that I¡¯d declare them mentally disturbed. Who in their right mind would ever think warm lemonade was fine!? Anyways it was singlehandedly the biggest problem. But at the same time, there was already a solution¡­¡­.magic. Claura was already used to using her own mana. She was even better than her parents by now, despite the fact that they were the ones that taught her. This is probably due to the fact that they entrusted her with powering the singular magic device in the house, the magic oven. It seems that using mana leaves you exhausted if you use to much of it. So the parents naturally were hesitant to use it since they had to be able to efficiently bake and serve customers. Therefore they decided to have their daughter become their ¡®battery¡¯. After some minor questioning I found out from Claura that whenever she gave power to the magic oven, it felt warm. Curious about her description I asked if she could try infusing a slice of bread with the same kind of mana. None of us really knew how magic works¡­¡­. ¡­Well I did but that involved a lot of british accents and wand waving¡­..not exactly the same as how magic seems to be here. At first she said it didn¡¯t work, something about how it couldn¡¯t leave her without a reason. This stumped me for a bit before I suggested she tried replicating the exact feeling she gets when giving power to the magic oven, except with bread. Lo and behold after a few tries it worked! I had had a hunch that magic might require some kind of construct before it could be used. This was given by the magic circle that Claura infused her mana into to power the magic oven. When Claura had said that the mana needed a reason before it could leave her body I hypothesized that what it actually required was a construct or, in this case, a will imposed upon it. That¡¯s where replicating that warm feeling she got whenever she powered the magic oven came into play. I believe she was willing her mana into ¡®fire¡¯ mana which seems to be the case because when she succeeded with the piece of bread it was promptly burnt to a crisp. Though, afterwards she had to rest a while. It seems doing that much on her own without a magic circle had exhausted her. ¡­¡­¡­¡­. Fast forward to the present and you¡¯ll see that I was able to successfully train her to cool things rather than burn them by changing the feeling she had when infusing it with her mana. I was pretty happy about this, except for the part where ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ began making extrapolations about the magic of this world based on that from memories I had from reading certain books, from a certain country that, instead of just words, had lots of pictures in them. They weren¡¯t comic books though, no they definitely weren¡¯t. Anyways I read them at period in my life where I didn¡¯t really want to interact with anyone. I honestly didn¡¯t want to remember it, but that damn archive forced me to! I guess I¡¯ll just look at Claura¡¯s cute image! Aaaah, the sight of her soothes the soul! ¡°Damnit you useless cat!¡± Oh boy there goes Gertrude, Clyde¡¯s wife, she¡¯s in a particularly bad mood because she now has to pick up some of the slack left by her daughter not being able to focus all of her mana on powering the magic ovens. Really, she is a rather annoying twit. Furthermore I don¡¯t appreciate her taking it out on my mother. Though I can¡¯t do much a peel my eyes away from the rosy glow around Claura and head over to the kitchen. The sight of me stops any continued harassment of my mother. It seems in the month since I had finished teaching Clyde and Claura to read, my status in the household has been elevated. To the point where the sight of me, while its enough for disgust to be plainly etched on her face, causes Gertrude to cease any hostile actions towards my mother. After narrowing my eyes slightly I run up to my mom and talk about inconsequential things like a normal kid would until Gertrude leaves. Thus the first day of the lemonade stand passes and it¡¯s a resounding success! I should also mention that I finally have a grasp on the monetary system in Snaga. The smallest form of currency is ¡®copper chits¡¯. They¡¯re nothing more that a square piece of copper with a face stamped in them. Above that there are silver deniers, which are proper coins with another face stamped on them! At least the other side had some interesting designs. Finally there was the Snagan Crown, which was the biggest monetary denomination. This coin was made out of gold and had the Snagan flag on one side with the face of the current king on the other. In terms of relative value to each other it went; twenty chits for one denier and fifty deniers for one crown. As can be seen the crown is a form of currency only nobles use. It could be thought of like a hundred dollar bill. While cool and flashy, it isn¡¯t really used in day-to-day transactions. Also, it was five chits for a nice quality loaf of bread. A brownie square was worth then chits now. Clyde had bumped up his prices after he started noticing that his typical customer was richer than it had been previously. Things have been looking really pleasant. It¡¯s already been almost half a year since I re-awoke in this body. Hopefully my plans will proceed smoothly into the future as well! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Well here you have it, no matter how you look at it this is definitely a more respectable chapter than the one from yesterday. But man is my brain tired!! Also shout out to Kylelust and dune291 thanks for reviewing and rating me. I hope I''ll get to hear the opinions of the rest of you guys out there as well. Also on a side not to Kylelust, it''s funny I numbered my chapters and then saw your review! Guess great minds think alike! ;) Chapter 9: Plans in the Brew Air-Con! Air-Con! I NEEEDDD AIR-CONDITIONING!!!! This feeling! I haven¡¯t felt it since I lived on my parents farm! AAAaarrrgghhh! Too hot! Snagan summers! I¡¯ll Boycott them! If only ¡®Grr¡ª¡®¡­¡­!!!! Aaaaahhhh, Thank you ¡®Grand Archive¡¯! Its triggered memories of the cold! It feels so much cooler now! Oooh! It had this function! It seems ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is also forcibly slowing my metabolism to keep myself cooler. This ability really is such a wonderful thing. Now with my ability focus back, I set about finishing up the blue prints for the new shop. We¡¯re in the height of summer right now and we need to quickly get the building that is going to be turned into the shop renovated. It¡¯ll be so nice having the new shop¡­..especially after I had to go an use two of my prices to get it done! Gaaahh! Why should I have to front such a precious resource! It¡¯s all because Clyde is slowly breaking under pressure from that hag of a wife of his¡­¡­ I really shouldn¡¯t say that. It¡¯s quite rude. The problem is that she¡¯s an ignorant bigot and doesn¡¯t know her head from her ass! Calm down, Calm down. Ahwell, even she¡¯ll see the benefits of moving the shop closer to our new higher paying demographic! That¡¯s right, once we leave the commoners district and move to Mercer¡¯s street everything will be better! Now you may wonder, why would we move to a street like that? Because one of the cloth shops there recently went out of business. To others it may seem odd to put a shop that sells food in the middle of a street filled with clothing shops. Well at least to those of this world. Anyone from earth would know not to underestimate the power of an Auntie Anne¡¯s in the middle of a shopping mall. That being said, I obviously have already shown Clyde how to make soft pretzels in its both salty and cinnamon-y form¡­¡­. I¡¯ll reserve the odder versions for later. Arrgghh! I gotta focus! Clyde wants these by today! What is the problem you ask? Clyde¡¯s worried about where to put the kitchen, after all in this world it¡¯s the height of stupidity to have a kitchen attached to another building. It might catch fire after all! The problem is already half solved; I suggested that for the regular breads they can be made at the kitchen here. All the ¡®specialty¡¯ breads and foods can be made on site. To get him to accept this I convinced him to buy two more magic ovens. With the one already owned we¡¯ll have three! They¡¯ll all then be moved to the new shop. The superior control of heat will allow the bagels, brownies, and pretzels to be made more effectively. The bagels are sub-par to a New York City fresh made bagel¡­.but hey, I made it through extrapolation based on the little bit I knew about them. The harder part was figuring out how to make cream cheese and then convincing Clyde to try it. Thankfully Claura helped me there, she¡¯s really so helpful! ArrghhH! I did it again! I went off on a tangent! I looked down at the papers in front of me again. A 3-D model of the building with the renovations highlighted floated off in the corner of my vision. I brought the model to center focused and opened it up so I could see what the plan was on the interior. The visual aid helped with these drawings. Though honestly I think ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ could just feed me all the information, rendering the model unnecessary. But it served a purpose, in a way it made me feel like Robert Downey Jr. when he was seen creating the first real Iron Man suit in the movie. I narrowed my eyes as my ears twitched in displeasure and I got back to drawing. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Do you see how this¡¯ll leave the shop open for future expansion if you need it?¡± ¡°Hmmm, I can see what you¡¯re saying¡­.but do you really think expansion will be necessary?¡± ¡°Huhuhu, this is me we are talking about. It hasn¡¯t even been a full year since we¡¯ve started working together and look how things are progressing.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­..you¡¯re right it hasn¡¯t even been a year! That¡¯s why I¡¯m saying this! Do you really think this rate will keep going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one that taught you rates and trends! I¡¯m sure it will.¡± ¡°You also explained how trends only give an estimate and that reality could be different especially with people involved.¡± ¡°Geh! You, you¡¯re really smart.¡± ¡°Hmmph! Of course I am! Don¡¯t push your luck!¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡­anyways. It leaves the option and doesn¡¯t impact the ease of service too much I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°Hmmm I suppose. But really keeping two houses! How can we afford this!?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have a greater client base. And we¡¯ll be selling from both locations. This shop will be going back to the way it was and the new shop will be raking in all that extra money! Based on predictions I¡¯ve made, we should have a nice tidy surplus! ¡­¡­¡­.It could even pay for Claura¡¯s apprenticeship.¡± ¡°!¡± It was now night, I had been reviewing the plans that I had FINALLY FINISHED with Clyde. Over the past two or three months I had been teaching him about accounting and other business related skills that I remember from the singular business class I took as a free elective my freshman year of college. It made explaining the reason for opening this next shop a lot easier than it would¡¯ve been if he couldn¡¯t understand what trends were. ¡°Besides, haven¡¯t you already agreed to do this? I used up two prices on this, but that¡¯s fine. When I¡¯m right, the payout for me will be much larger than the two I spent on it¡­.correct?¡± Clyde frowned, he hates it when I bring up prices but he knows that the only way he will keep gaining money is through my ¡®revelations from the cooking god¡¯. Somebody was already able to figure out how to make bagels, cutting the predicted initial profits from it in half. Thankfully brownies still seem out of reach for the other bakers in the city. ¡°Yes, as we agreed I will owe you a comparably larger ¡®payout¡¯ this time.¡± ¡°I look forward to it!¡± ¡°That smug grin pisses me off!¡± Yes, things have truly relaxed in the Bakery¡­¡­well except for Gertrude, but screw her, I didn¡¯t like her. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Just sign here mister Clyde and then the shop will be yours.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for all your help mister Lars.¡± As the door clicked shut and what passed for a real estate agent in this world left, I turned to face the front of the store once again. The difference in the quality of the building between this one and The Bakery could clearly be felt. The Bakery was a home with a store on the first floor. But this was a STORE. In the very front of the store was a massive array of windows to allow those on the outside to clearly see in. While it wasn¡¯t just one big window, the many smaller windows were still made with clear glass with no diffraction to be seen. The interior also seemed to be geared towards service, in the first room stood a solid wooden counter, completely unlike the rough wooden table used in The Bakery as the purchasing counting. Also there wasn¡¯t just one room, through a wide archway; a second room could be accessed. This room had plenty of regular windows to allow plentiful sunlight to shine in, truly a perfect place for what I was intending to turn this shop into. I stepped over towards the counter where Clyde was still staring at the deed to the store. One other good thing about this place¡­..the floorboards didn¡¯t creak. ¡°So, ya ready?¡± ¡°I suppose I have to be, I just spent more gold on this building than I used to make in a year.¡± ¡°The key word there is ¡®used to¡¯ and with this¡­.well I imagine the return on investment will be high.¡± ¡°How can you be so confident?¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Argh, he really is too pessimistic sometimes! ¡°Because I researched our clientele.¡± ¡°Researched¡­clientele?¡± ¡°What did you think I was doing when I gained free reign to roam the city after I introduced lemonade to you?¡± ¡°Looking for a way to escape?¡± ¡°Ah! You wound me Clyde! Why would I ever think of such a thing?¡± I did, but those fucking guards at the gates are huge! No way could I get myself and my mother past them the way I am now! ¡°But truthfully, I was listening in on conversations of people I have regularly seen at the shop or the servants they send to our shop. The servants would talk to their friends about the shop and how the bread is amazingly good and the noble ladies that they would buy brownies or now cinnamon pretzels would lament to their girlfriends about how they have yet to try a brownie or pretzel fresh out of the oven since they¡¯re hesitant to walk into a commoner¡¯s district. Thus! Clearly a shop devoted to ¡®specialty¡¯ baked goods right smack dab where those young noble ladies would be located on an average day seems like a darn good idea to me!¡± ¡°Hmmph I suppose.¡± Gah! Just admit I¡¯m right! I haul myself up onto the countertop, recently I¡¯ve grown a bit¡­..about ?¡±, I swear it was more! Darn you ¡®Grand Archive¡¯!......anyways despite the growth, things like a countertop are still a bit high for me. This tiny body is annoying! ¡°Anyways, you¡¯ve purchased it. Though, it still won¡¯t be open for quite some time¡­.meh, well we should probably have that craftsman company come in and work their magic!¡± ¡°Another expense!¡± ¡°Chill out! No great gain comes without great risk!¡± Clyde continued to grumble about it the whole way back ho---! Oof, I just barely caught myself there, back to The Bakery! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The seasons changed as we headed towards fall. The store on the mercantile street remained empty and desolate. Why? Because the craftsmen that Clyde had selected to run the renovations said that they would be unable to get to it till sometime in the winter. Why hadn¡¯t we gone to another craftsmen company? Because he was friends with people in this one so he got a better rate. Stingy bastard. Anyways, it grew colder but business remained strong. Though I remained mostly unaware of it, currently I was staring at a massive copper cauldron that I had Clyde purchase and then have taken into the shack where I used to sleep. What might I be doing you ask? It is centered on a four letter word that starts with a ¡®b¡¯ and rhymes with ¡®ear¡¯! That¡¯s right! You guessed it! BEER! This world doesn¡¯t have it! I¡¯m a god-damn west coaster! I need my hops! This world doesn¡¯t have good beer. Fortunately like any self-respecting male who grew up in the countryside I happened to read a bit about how to make beer and other alcohols¡­.for educational purposes only. It also helped that my dad grew hops and that my friend¡¯s family owned a micro-brewery. Normally that wouldn¡¯t count for Jack¡­..but normally a person doesn¡¯t have ¡®Grand Archive¡¯. Right now I¡¯ve been running through every detail I know about alcohol, from chemistry books to the times I was at my friend¡¯s house to when I was imbibing the stuff! The result is that it¡¯s taken a while but it¡¯s finally time to start! Surprisingly Clyde was very enthusiastic about me creating beer. Seems he finally has some faith in me! But really it¡¯s probably because beer is definitely a luxury item. ¡°Well, time to get to work.¡± I look over at Claura. ¡°Sorry to ask ya to do this Claura. But thanks for the help!¡± ¡°N-No, It¡¯s f-fine¡­.b-b-big brother.¡± I grimace slightly as I now directly face her. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t call me that. After all, what I am still hasn¡¯t changed.¡± ¡°N-no! B-big b-brother is s-still big brother!¡± This darn girl! It¡¯s been like this for the past several months! It has been causing me nothing but trouble! ¡°Fine¡­.but never say it around your mom and dad, you wouldn¡¯t want to make them unhappy?¡± ¡°Alright¡­big brother!¡± ¡°Then, please collect water in the cauldron.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Claura placed her little hands on the large cauldron and began to concentrate. A mist seemed to form faintly around her hands. I could feel the humidity in the shack dropping rapidly. Good. She¡¯s doing it as I attempted to instruct her. I noticed during her time cooling the lemonade during the summer that her direct attempts at keeping cold seemed to require a lot of mana. However, after two weeks of constant practice I was able to get her to instead move the warmth in the drink to her hand. After that the mana burden on her was alleviated and the heat dispersed from her hand rather than collecting in the drink. We also naturally applied it to her powering the magic oven. The ambient heat would be drawn into the oven and thereby reduce the mana cost to heat it up and also had the benefit of cooling the kitchen during the hot summer. Right now she was using a similar principle. Instead of temperature, I asked for her to sense out moisture. It seems with her mana pool increasing she is able to more clearly sense what she calls blue sparkles, red sparkles, and white sparkles. I¡¯m guessing that these are maybe some form of natural mana that is present in the air and contains the attributes of water, fire, and ice respectively. I may be wrong though. Who knows, I certainly don¡¯t. ¡°Alright big b-brother! T-the blue sparkles are all gone f-from h-here. I-Is it e-enough?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± I stepped onto a small step ladder beside the cauldron to take a look inside. Sure enough, there was water in it and my lips were seriously chapped. I guess all of the ¡®blue sparkles¡¯ were gone. The amount of water wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d call full capacity for this cauldron but it would be fine for now, after all this was a test run. I began to haul the grain, hops, and yeast up to the top of the cauldron and dumped them in. Claura continued to help by getting a fire started underneath the cauldron and ensuring that it would reach a high temperature with her magic. Eventually the two of us were finished and headed inside. Once inside, I used the small stove in the backroom on the first floor to heat some milk and then prepared some hot chocolate. This was something I had shown recently, what with the now cooling temperatures again. Gosh I hate the cold! But hot chocolate does make it more bearable. Now all to do is wait for that beer to be brewed and see how I did. ¡°Big brother?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Thanks f-for e-e-everything.¡± Hrm? This is odd. ¡°My, now what brought this on?¡± ¡°N-nothing!¡± She squeaked out her last few words before hurriedly hiding her now crimson face behind her mug of hot chocolate. This girl¡­ While she may be annoying¡­.. My god can she be cute! ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Special thanks to Gary for the Review! Here is the full chapter and sorry for the wait, real life was keeping me busy. YES BUT IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GO BACK TO WRITING DLEM00 OR YOU SHALL WALK ALONGSIDE SIR TERRY AS WELL! For some reason I saw a black desert there for a second! Gah! Also in case you haven''t guessed, R.I.P. Terry Pratchett. One of the funniest and best damn authors I ever read. Chapter 10: Pleasant everyday life Brrrrrrr! It¡¯s so cold now! Thankfully ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is helping me fight it by increasing my metabolism. I also seem to be in a sort of growth spurt. The end result is that I¡¯m eating absurd amounts of food! Thankfully, due to the increase in profits everyone in The Bakery is eating well. ¡­well Gertrude should maybe consider eating a bit less well. I may not know accurately what the life expectancy of this world¡­.but ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ indicates that she seems to be racing to the finish line. Aaahhh, now I¡¯m inside the Ale Shack. We¡¯ve taken to calling it that since this is where I¡¯m brewing beers now. It¡¯s warm in here, earlier today I had lit the fire under the pot to prepare my next brewing endeavor. It¡¯s been a little over four weeks now. Which is enough time to brew two batches of beer. ¡­¡­Needless to say the first iteration was barely drinkable. The second batch¡­..much better. It was drinkable and Clyde said it was about on the level of the Ales he¡¯s had in Taverns about town. Now with this batch I was about to brew something that defied this world¡¯s logic. I was going to use a liquor barrel to age the beer. Aging a beer in a barrel wasn¡¯t all that new, but re-using a liquor barrel seemed the height of folly. Why? Despite the lack of scientific progress in most areas of this world, they at least recognized that used barrels may make people sick unless used properly. So me using a used liquor barrel seemed foolish. Even Clyde thought I was being ridiculous to not even coat the inside with pitch to protect the beer from the flavors of the barrel. It had taken an hour to explain fully what was happening. In the end he had approved, now that we were approaching a year since we had been ¡®business partners¡¯ he was starting to realize that despite his misgivings I was constantly providing him with unique delicacies that hadn¡¯t appeared before. ¡°Alright Claura could you finish collecting the water? I want to be sure we have enough.¡± ¡°Alright big brother!¡± My ears twitched in slight annoyance. While I may not currently have a name per se in this world, there are still other forms of address other than ¡®big brother¡¯ and I really wish she¡¯d start using them! She placed her delicate hand near the copper pot, currently it was too hot to touch and began collecting the moisture from the air that had been building up since the water inside was already boiling. The temperature noticeably decreased as the humidity in the shack once again plummeted. While she was doing that, I hauled up the usual suspects. Unfortunately there wasn¡¯t much variety in terms of grains and hops and yeasts to choose from so I was kind of stuck with what I had. But this time was different! I brought along new friends for the three. Brewing standards! Meet roasted coffee beans and chocolate! Yes, it was time to unleash upon this world the godly combination of a cask aged beer with flavors of chocolate and roast coffee! Yes, it was truly the dawning of a new empire! And its ruler would be¡­¡­THE IMPERIAL STOUT!!!!! Well, a pale shadow of an imperial stout. Thanks to ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ I can remember when my friend¡¯s mom listed off the ingredients she was using to put together a batch of Russian Imperial Stout. But getting ahold of those ingredients in winter is too difficult. Plus a lot of the would probably have to come in through Vihk, the merchant who now constantly supplied us with cocoa powder. He was a really swell guy, he constantly gave us good prices and now Clyde buys most of his ingredients through him almost exclusively. Why? His ingredients were top quality and were given for a fair price. Why would Vihk not try to make more on us? Because of me his business was saved and was now booming. He had been the merchant from the southern country that had travelled north to sell his country¡¯s special spices and other ingredients. However business wasn¡¯t going so well since people were naturally suspicious. But after brownies took off¡­ well he became very popular with the people attempting to copy my recipe. Anyways, I¡¯ll have to ask Clyde to order the ingredients I¡¯ll need for a true Imperial Stout from Vihk whenever he¡¯s back up this way again. For now, this will have to do. With its high alcohol content and hopefully satisfactory flavor along with it not inconsiderable ¡®weight¡¯ as a beer it should wow the rich of this capital. ¡­Maybe it¡¯ll even find its way towards the castle. If Clyde gets noticed by the castle that would be good; he¡¯d be able to gain an immense profit and quite possibly a stable contract with it to supply our ¡®special¡¯ baked goods to them. If he got that, him accepting my ultimate price should be more likely. I¡¯ll have gifted his family with something far beyond what they could imagine and at the same time demonstrate that I no longer have any more things to give. It may sound na?ve. But, I have confidence I¡¯ll be able to convince him when the time comes. I breathe in deeply, appreciating the fragrant coffee or dark chocolate scents wafting out of the large cauldron now. ¡°Why did you put in those weird beans? Big brother?¡± I could feel my ears flattening in annoyance at her constant use of that word. ¡°Becaaaauusse, they will make the ale taste good.¡± Not that you¡¯ll be able to drink it. Honestly, why the hell does she keep calling me that? Technically she¡¯s the older one! I¡¯m coming up on six and she already turned eight! ¡°Doesn¡¯t it already taste good? That¡¯s what Papa says, I think it tastes yucky though¡­.¡± Of course you would, good job Clyde! Give her a taste when she¡¯s young so she won¡¯t want it till later! ¡°Yeah it does taste pretty yucky. Your dad thinks so too, that¡¯s why he¡¯s looking forward to this.¡± ¡°Really!? Your awesome big brother!¡± I can only grit my teeth. ¡°Well, thanks for your help¡­¡­aren¡¯t you supposed to be in the kitchen right now?¡± ¡°EEP!¡± With a heart pounding at break neck speed, Claura scurried out of the shack. Around this time she would normally go to the kitchen to help a bit and top off the charge on the magic oven. She¡¯d obviously forgotten until I reminded her. What a hopeless child. I chuckled slightly as I turned back to stirring the cauldron. Geez what am I? A witch in the woods!? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Your coat¡¯s going get rinkled.¡± ¡°Shut it ya little shit.¡± I could feel my ears flick to the side, halfway between annoyance and mirth. I re-folded my hands and rested my chin on them again. Clyde and I were in the back room behind the shop front. While I was sitting at the table, he was fiddling with his new coat for the hundr-¡­..eh no, thirty-first time¡­. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ makes hyperbole impossible. ¡°So¡­.today is the day for the interview then?¡± ¡°Not entirely, this is just a meeting to talk about terms and such¡­.plus about the formal interview.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­.So it¡¯s a meeting about scheduling a meeting?¡± ¡°¡­y-yes¡­.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± There was silence again as he now began to readjust his new shirt. His blood pressure and heartbeat were above normal. I guess that¡¯s to be expected, he¡¯s about to meet with someone that could supposedly turn him to ashes in as many words it takes to describe that. Why would he talk to such a dangerous man? A wizard?! Simple, it¡¯s for Claura¡¯s apprenticeship. Her parents had decided this recently. Her consistent use of mana to charge the magic oven was already increasing her capacity, but then apparently my interference had exacerbated the situation. The ¡®heating¡¯ and ¡®cooling¡¯ abilities that I had her develop seemed to have increased the mana at an exponential rate to the point where her parents could clearly feel it. It seem magic wasn¡¯t a gift everyone had in this world. Sure they all had mana, but not everyone had the necessary capacity to influence their environment with it. Even Clyde was like this, apparently Gertrude had slightly higher than normal levels ¡­¡­.Seems she was good for something. So when they finally were able to detect her comparatively large mana capacity with their own they were ecstatic. Wizards naturally held a relatively high position in society, they were better than the basic magicians which witch-doctors and alchemists were classified under, but then again they weren¡¯t as important as mages or even sorcerers were. This class system had been enthusiastically explained to me by Clyde when he had found out about his daughter¡¯s ¡®genius¡¯. Wizards occupied a sweet spot, many people wanted them but they weren¡¯t so powerful that governments were the only one that would employ them. Which meant his daughter would be able to live a very good life free from monetary concerns and political concerns. He seemed so happy I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him, that politics always found its way into bed with power. But that brings us to the present with Clyde constantly fiddling with his new clothes that he bought expressly for this occasion. ¡°Oh Dear! You look so dashing! It¡¯s such a pity though.¡± ¡°Hmm? What is?¡± Clyde smiled as he turned around to face his wife. My ears, on the other hand, flattened. ¡°Well you see, I too am all ready to go out. So I thought I¡¯d just go meet Mr. Darney myself. Besides wouldn¡¯t it be better for the wife to discuss such things about their daughter? Hmmm?¡± ¡°But w-wait, h-honey!¡± ¡°Also, shouldn¡¯t you be enjoying that Ale? I saw that Kitling drinking tasting it! Well, anyways I¡¯ll be off now¡­..toodles!¡± With a loud bang, the front door shut as Gertrude hurried, if it could be called that, off. Also, did she just say ¡®toodles¡¯!? Who uses that!? Even in this world that seems ridiculous! Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Furthermore something seemed off, there was something wrong with her eyes when she looked over here apart from their usual beady-eyedness . There had been something definitely off when they fell on me¡­. Well whatever she hates me anyways. Turning back I see a Clyde that could only be described as ¡­.¡¯put out¡¯. That was until the last bit of what she said registered and he turned to look at me. He eyebrows look like storm clouds¡­..I don¡¯t like where this is going! ¡°Kitlinggg, what did she mean by you ¡®tasting¡¯ the ale?¡± ¡°Ehhh-hehehe¡­¡­well you see, Clyde, I kept a small bottle of the current batch separate so I could taste test.¡± He suddenly approached me up until his hip nearly smashed into my face. This obviously forced me to look up. Damn this five year old body! ¡°Where is it.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Where. Is. IT!¡± ¡°Aaaah, well, ummmmm. I ¡­¡­uh¡­..drank the whole bottle?¡± I could see his arm twitch like he wanted to smack me as his heartrate quickened. However, he relaxed it and his heartrate went down again. Must¡¯ve remembered our deal. ¡°So? What did it taste like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just about there.¡± ¡­..wait, why is he grinning? ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is telling me that he¡¯s entering a euphoric state, almost like he¡¯s having flashbacks to times when he was drunk. ¡­.uh oh¡­ THERE HE GOES! ¡°No! Wait! Don¡¯t open one now! It¡¯s not entirely ready! Clyde!¡± Darnit! He¡¯s already out the door! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°An-and then¡­..I says to the wench, ¡®Well I supposes you need to go fishin¡¯ then!¡¯¡± ¡°BAHAHAHAAH!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Damn, drunks!¡± ¡°Hush Kitling! Don¡¯t speak of Master and his friends that way!¡± ¡°But-!¡± ¡°No Buts!¡± ¡°Ow!¡± I wrinkled my nose after my mother had flicked it. Right now, both of us were tucking in for the night. However¡­¡­¡­. Clyde and that damn merchant friend of his are getting plastered! Kkkuuuuu! The beer isn¡¯t even ready yet! I¡¯m definitely not angry because I wanted to get drunk too! Definitely not! ¡­.Haaaaa, not like I could anyways. This body is too young; I¡¯d prefer it to remain healthy for as long as possible. The healthcare system here is no existent after all. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go to sleep Kitling.¡± ¡°Yes mom.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile a bit. Despite the fact that I already had a mom on earth, that part of me that is still a five year old, can¡¯t help but feel happiness from this. The fact that right now, in this world. I¡¯m able to live in peace with my mother. It¡¯s kinda like that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when your family gets together after a long time apart. It¡¯s nice¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Goodnight mom, love you.¡± ¡°I love you too¡­.Kitling.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Hmmm-hmmm-hm-hm-hm! Hm, hmmmmmmm¡± I could feel my ears twitch with the tune I was humming. Furthermore there was a skip in my step. The reason? I turned six! It¡¯s always nice aging when you¡¯re young, each year it means you get a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, and a little bit wiser. Especially now that I get to go through it again after already experiencing the beginning of the downward trend that occurs when you get older. I certainly appreciated it more. ¡°Big brother! What are you so happy about?¡± I paused in my humming to look over at Claura. Right now it was one of those rare times when Clyde or Gertrude weren¡¯t in the kitchen. I had walked in to say good morning to my mother. But I guess she was in here as well. ¡°hummm? Just ¡®cause. Nothin special.¡± Wait¡­¡­..did my mom just raise an eyebrow? Her tail is twitching in an odd manner too! I didn¡¯t know she had that kind of personality! ¡°Ok! Let¡¯s play!¡± ¡°Ahh, uh-errr. I can¡¯t, I need to go chop more wood for the ovens.¡± ¡°Boooo, let¡¯s play let¡¯s play!¡± No you little brat! While playing may sound t-tempting¡­¡­I¡¯m an adult! Adults don¡¯t play! ¡°I think it¡¯s fine if you play for a while Kitling. Just stay in the backyard you two.¡± ¡°Oookkaayy~! C¡¯mon big brother!¡± ¡°F-fine, I guess for a little while¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said fine!¡± I could feel myself getting a little embarrassed! This is definitely that darn fiv ¨C I mean six year old part of me at work. ¡­¡­well whatever¡­¡­..I guess since it is our birthday I¡¯ll cede control to him. We are almost perfectly fused, but his will still somewhat remains. You could almost say he¡¯s like an outcropping of original soul. Eventually he will be entirely absorbed in. For today though, I guess I¡¯ll just let him play. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Phew! For a girl that normally doesn¡¯t do a lot of physical activity, Claura sure does have energy! We ended up getting carried away and went out into the city. We managed to keep some semblance of appearances as owner and slave. Ugh, knowing I have to do that still makes my skin crawl. Thankfully, Claura¡¯s cute smile made up for it just a bit. ¡­.just a little bit¡­..I swear! *CHOP!* However, because of that I didn¡¯t get to chopping wood until it was quite late in the day. The sky was already darkening and the temperature had dropped enough that I could see my breath coming out in great white puffs. Thankfully chopping didn¡¯t take too long anymore. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ made it so each strike hit the perfect weak point on the log. ¡°Kiitttllinnnggg! Time to come innnnn!¡± Huh? That¡¯s weird mom rarely calls me in like that! ¡°Okkaayy!¡± I give a reply half on reflex from when I was a kid on earth. I set the axe against the wood pile and ran inside. As I entered the back room something seemed off. It was well past the time when Clyde and his family had their dinner. His family and mine had separate dinner times, after all we were their slaves¡­¡­¡­.. Yet Clyde and Claura were still seated at the table. Furthermore, I could smell¡­. No there it was! The holy item! A full glass of the most recent beer I had made! The taste was close to replicating the imperial stouts that were back on earth! The rich and full flavor of coffee and chocolate blended wondrously with the bite of the alcohol! And was that!? It was! A STEAK! It wasn¡¯t that large but it was a much more significant hunk of meat than what I had ever seen before! I slowly stepped towards the table. While this feast was spread out right where the only empty seat left was¡­¡­.it didn¡¯t hurt to be cautious. ¡°What is all of this?¡± Clyde raised an eyebrow as if to say ¡®you know damn well¡¯. ¡°Hurry and eat it before it¡¯s cold.¡± I could feel my eyes going round as a massive grin plastered on my face. The little six year old in me couldn¡¯t help but rush over in delight! I could hear my mother laughing contentedly as Claura started giggling. I didn¡¯t look up until I went for the mug then paused. I understood what this was for, but I didn¡¯t really understand why. Why would Clyde do something like this? His motive was suspect, but I knew I should probably say some form of thanks beyond what was considered as polite. I raised the small mug that contained the glorious beer I had brewed and tried to seem much more casual and relaxed than was possible in this body. Especially with its high pitched voice. ¡°Thanks, and to good business!¡± ¡°heh.¡± Clyde breathed out a small left as his eyes squinted. He shook his head a little before replying. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Clyde really has come around from that man that looked down on me with a mixture of disdain and fear. The lifestyle now is quite nice, my mother and I have a warm place to sleep and I¡¯m making a good business with Clyde. He now looks at me with warmth akin to friendship. Things really have improved, freedom is almost in my grasp! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Hi guys! Yes I''m late! I''m so very late! I really am sorry. For the past few weeks I''ve been hit with the lazy''s, the writer blockers, and lots of RL work stuff! But I was finally able to churn out this chapter. Also I''m sure some are getting tired of this happy everyday life of a slave in another world. So I''ll tell you now, the fun is about to begin. P.S. I re-read some of what I''ve written so far and realize I haven''t been super descriptive of the environments in the world. So.........should I be more descriptive or do you think leaving a framework for your imagination is better? Chapter 11: ------- Welp, Sorry for the wait. life was busy with work and such. Also this past weekend was eso''s welcome back weekend. Anybody play that? I''m thinking about buying it but I''m not sure.... Anyways here ya go! Chapter 11! EDIT: Oh yeah, thanks to One Centimeter for reviewing! Or whatever it is now, thanks! :D _______________________________________________________________________________________________ I could really feel a change after my birthday. It wasn¡¯t the usual change that a kid this age feels when they become a year older though. No, it had to do with the atmosphere in the Bakery. Clyde and Claura acted much more naturally around myself and my mother. The kindness that they had begun to show me began to extend to her as well. It almost felt like the two of them began to truly view us not as slaves but more like¡­¡­¡­.employees I guess? Clyde had certainly come a long way. I think he¡¯s begun to understand that regardless of what society may think, the beast races are people too. I had seen it on the few times I had gone out; most viewed us as dumb beasts of burden. Fit for only doing heavy labor. However, Clyde has definitely come around to the realization that we are just as smart and feeling as humans. And Claura has become much less nervous around us. The ticking of her heart has completely calmed down now. Something that would normally only happen around her parents and sometimes around my mother. Now she seems and acts much more like how a seven year old should. Though now she calls my mother ¡®auntie¡¯ and isn¡¯t even afraid to call me ¡®big brother¡¯ around Clyde¡­.. It¡¯s a strange feeling after experiencing six years of slavery to see such an amazing turn around. Even Gertrude has seemingly mellowed out. Though it really is odd how it came about. It happened after she went to talk to the wizard who would be teaching Claura. She just came back and acted so much nicer. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ even noticed a trend of her blood pressure dropping gradually over the next few days after¡­.. ¡­..I wonder if the wizard gave her this world¡¯s equivalent of weed? It would certainly do her good¡­¡­¡­maybe I should find out if he actually did. ¡­.magic weed¡­¡­.hmmm that sounds tempting. I wasn¡¯t able to partake back on earth due to NASA¡¯s regulations but I had always been curious¡­¡­¡­. Enough of that!! ¡°Oh Clyde your back! How did it----Waahh!¡± The yelp rose out of me unintentionally as Clyde grabbed me and spun me through the air! ¡°What the hell are you doing!¡± ¡°AAAHHH Kitling you are amazing!¡± Well¡­. I mean I already knew that but what the hell does that have to do with the current situation! ¡°So?¡± Finally he set me down! ¡°Pah! You¡¯re no fun sometimes. Anyways, the Snagan Retreat is ecstatic they say they will pay for the infrastructure necessary to increase production and whatever else we need¡­.. on top of paying out fifty crowns a barrel!¡± *CRASH!* ¡°H-how much did you say?¡± Clyde rushed to Gertrude and gave her a massive kiss before shouting in excitement ¡°FIFTY CROWNS! WE¡¯RE RICH!¡± Yes, yes, you¡¯re welcome. Your resident genius provided you with a taste of true civilization and now you¡¯re reaping the benefits. Clyde finally calmed enough to turn around and bring himself to my eye level where he firmly grasped my shoulders¡­.. almost painfully I might add. ¡°Kitling¡­..thank you. It¡¯s barely been an entire year since you and I began this deal¡­..but we just finished our first big deal and are opening a second location. Heck even the words I¡¯m using come from you¡­¡­ I don¡¯t think I can thank you enough.¡± Aaarrrggghh, Clyde now you¡¯re making me feel all embarrassed! ¡°Hmmpphh, o-of course! J-just make sure to r-repay me later!¡± Who am I!? Claura! Seriously this is really embarrassing Clyde took a step back and gave me this oddly kind smile. ¡°Of course, just name it¡­¡­that was our deal after all.¡± He seems really thankful. Also his payments have stacked up, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s aware of just how much red is in his ledger¡­¡­.soon, very soon I¡¯ll be able to ask. ¡°W-well, let¡¯s leave that for later! Shouldn¡¯t we be celebrating?¡± ¡°HHMMMMMRMR?¡± Clyde¡¯s eyebrows nearly achieved escape velocity as he processed what I said! ¡°That is most definitely the case! Gertrude! Go and see if Claura can return for a night! In fact, invite her master along!¡± ¡°Yes Clyde.¡± Ah I guess one thing I should mention, wizards obviously had a high status so when going out to invite them to something or others of higher status in general a human would be usually sent. Beast races are considered so inferior that sending one out to call upon people of higher status is viewed as an insult. Thus Gertrude was sent running off to get Claura from the magic district. ¡­¡­.good she could use the exercise. ¡°Congratulations Master! You¡¯ve worked hard for this!¡± ¡°Nonsense Kitten! It was your son that put forth the most effort! If not for him¡­.well¡­.we¡¯d be living very differently right now.¡± Clyde¡¯s eyes held a reminiscent look in them, he almost seemed like an old man with that look in them¡­.. Which is weird¡­¡­.he¡¯s definitely not older than I was back on earth. Meh whatever. Hrm? Now it looks like he reached some kind of decision. ¡°Kitten¡­¡­Clyde is fine.¡± ¡°Master?¡± My mother tilted her head in confusion, her tail flicking slightly. ¡°I said¡­¡­Clyde¡­¡­.is fine.¡± Now my mother¡¯s eyes turned as round as saucers, a slight hint of both happiness and sadness were mixed in them as they narrowed and began to tear up. Odd. There seems to be much more emotion than what should be necessary for a slave that had its master just tell them to call them by name. ¡°Thank you¡­¡­.Clyde.¡± My mother¡¯s voice was lower now as she looked at the ground. But then with a twitch of her ears and the sway of her tail she looked back up with eyes filled with vibrancy but still holding back tears. ¡°Well, I should begin cleaning up the back room! A wizard will be here! Can¡¯t let him see a dirty house now can I!?¡± ¡°Very well, Kitling and I will take care of the rest.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With that my mother turned around and headed into the back room from the shop front. There was a slight spring in both her step and tail now though. Clyde and I just stood there¡­..almost awkwardly before he looked at me again. ¡°Kitling¡­..I know it¡¯s asking a lot but can you do me a favor?¡± ¡°What is it Clyde?¡± ¡°Is there something amazing you can make?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯d be great if we could have something truly amazing to eat to celebrate this deal.¡± ¡°Aaaahhh.¡± My mind began to search through all of the recipes in my repertoire, trying to think of something that we could have right now that would be satisfactory. It was winter currently, so that excluded any vegetable that couldn¡¯t be kept in cold storage. That meant mostly potatoes and meat were left over, though we still had a few carrots and onions as well currently¡­¡­ hmmmm. Oh! ¡°Yes, I think I have just the thing. In fact, this¡¯ll warm everyone right up since it¡¯s cold out!¡± ¡°Really!?¡± ¡°This one will come free of charge¡­..just for today.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­..really, thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, thank the cooking god!¡± ¡°Praise be!¡± Clyde had quickly picked up on sarcasm during our interactions with each other over the past year. Thank goodness, otherwise we definitely wouldn¡¯t be where we are now. ¡°Alright, I will require your help though.¡± ¡°Whatever you need.¡± ¡°I need masla and chile from Vihk¡¯s shop, we have the rest here.¡± ¡°Right! I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± Clyde quickly strode out of the shop like a man on a mission. I shook my head, he really can be slightly over dramatic sometimes. I walked back to the kitchen, though I briefly paused to talk to my mom. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the kitchen, Clyde¡¯s gone out for a bit.¡± I kept the fact that he was out on my request to myself. Previous experience had taught me that my mom didn¡¯t take kindly to when I ¡®ordered the master about¡¯. ¡°Really? Alright, be careful dear¡­. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt!¡± ¡°Yes mooomm.¡± No matter what world, mothers are always worry warts. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Alright, done!¡± I had just finished chopping up carrots, potatoes, and some chicken into bite sized chunks. I had also just begun to fry some onions in a large pot. ¡°All we need now is what Clyde is getting.¡± While I waited I decided it would be a good idea to begin cleaning the rice. ¡°It has been a while since I last had this, hope it tastes as good as I remember it to be.¡± I finished cleaning it and started heating up a pot to cook it. Thank goodness the magic oven had a stove top as well otherwise this would¡¯ve taken forever! Furthermore thank goodness it was charged!¡± *CLICK* ¡°Aah Clyde your back!¡± ¡°Yes, here¡¯s the stuff you asked for¡­.. the clerk at Vihk¡¯s gave me a weird look when I asked for this stuff, what is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± I dumped the chicken into the pot with the onions and began to brown them, the fragrance from the frying ovens tickled our noses as it wafted out from the pot. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Hmmm fine, do we have any beer on hand?¡± ¡°Stuff that isn¡¯t for the Snagan Retreat you mean? Hmm, there¡¯s a small bottle or two of an experiment that should be done. Be careful though, this stuff is¡­..shall we say ¡®hoppy¡¯ you might not like it.¡± ¡°Pah! What of yours haven¡¯t I liked before!?¡± ¡°Well I think this may be more of an acquired taste¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Baahh!¡± *SLAM* ¡°I warned you¡­.¡± The stuff I had brewed was my first attempt at an IPA¡­..which even among regular beer drinkers was an acquired taste. I had taken a sip before to test it¡­..very hoppy¡­.very¡­.very¡­very hoppy. Just as I was pouring in several cups worth of water into the pot with the now cooked chicken and onions, Clyde comes running in. ¡°Kitling! What is this!? It¡¯s too bitter!¡± ¡°That is called an IPA. It¡¯s quick to make and has a ¡®biting¡¯ taste as you¡¯ve seen. Actually it¡¯ll go quite nicely with what I¡¯m making right now.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain anything!¡± ¡°Look, it¡¯s a lighter beer that has had hops dry soak in it. It¡¯s highly carbonated and has a very hoppy flavor. That is what it is. Alcohol content is lower than a stout but at least it isn¡¯t like you¡¯re drinking liquid bread.¡± ¡°Better.¡± ¡°Whatever hand some over. Since we¡¯re celebrating I might as well have some.¡± Clyde hesitated a bit before handing it over. Even in this uncivilized world they know giving alcohol to a six year old isn¡¯t that great of an idea. I don¡¯t care, one night isn¡¯t gonna kill me. Besides with this small of a body, even one standard drink will get me sloshed. Oh! The pot¡¯s boiling! Time to add the potatoes and carrots! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Mister Darney declined but he does send his best wishes.¡± ¡°Ahwell, he is a wizard after all¡­..Claura! Have you grown!?¡± ¡°WaaahH! Papaaaa! Don¡¯t do that!¡± Clyde had lifted Claura high into the air before hugging her¡­¡­he really likes doing that to us kids¡­.doesn¡¯t he. Also he is correct, she did grow¡­¡­just not in height. She had clearly gained a bit of weight, ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ had determined this based on a change in her usual inertia and the force Clyde typically exerts to lift her. ¡­Guess she¡¯s been eating well at the wizard¡¯s mansion. ¡°Enough Papa!¡± Oh! She freed herself, but her muscles clearly aren¡¯t strong enough to push herself off of him. Magic? She must¡¯ve learned something over the past two months since she¡¯s been there. Eh!? For a second I thought I saw something flash¡­.. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ might be awakening a new ability. At least it¡¯s not all of the sudden like with the ¡®Instantaneous response¡¯ ability. That was the one that had allowed me to ¡®save¡¯ Claura a while back. I have only used it twice since to gather an understanding of what it is. No matter, I suppose I should just enjoy the party. ¡°Big Brotherrrrrr!¡± ¡°Whaaa-OOOMMMPHH!¡± I was tackled by the magical bundle of cuteness. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been only fifty-seven days, ten hours, and four minutes since we last so each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so long!¡± No that definitely isn¡¯t all that long¡­..though I¡¯m using the yard stick of someone who is nearly in their forties while she¡¯s still just an eight year old. ¡°O-ok then- aack! Too much!¡± She¡¯s definitely using magic! This is too much strength for her! ¡°Gaacck! C-Clyde¡­.help!¡± ¡°BAHAHAHAHA!¡± Damn you Clyde! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Ahem, anyways. Congratulations Clyde. You now have a large deal with an upscale bar. So without further ado, dinner is served!¡± Before each person was set a plate that had one half beautifully cooked white rice. The other side had and orange-ish red stew with meat and vegetables in it. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s curry! Thank whatever gods created this world that they saw fit to create these spices! ¡°¡­..What is this Kitling?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called curry. It¡¯s a spicy stew that you eat with rice. Also that IPA you tried earlier will help cut through the spice¡­¡­you¡¯ll probably need it.¡± *CHOMP* ¡°OOWWW! It¡¯s too spicy Big Brother.¡± *CHOMP* ¡°Really? I think it¡¯s about right. Try it with more rice, that might help.¡± ¡°Uuuu, ok.¡± We continued to eat in silence as everyone savored the dish, even Gertrude was trying it! Though I noticed both her and Clyde frequently sipped the IPA from their mugs. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not too bad. Certainly it¡¯s spicy¡­.but it¡¯s quite pleasant and the flavor is outstanding!¡± ¡°Mmm, Kitling the flavor is so complex¡­I really like it!¡± So says Clyde and my mother after a while. Thankfully my mother doesn¡¯t seem to be forcing herself, guess even with her sensitive cat¡¯s tongue she can appreciate the flavors. Claura and Gertrude seem put off though. I guess this time I missed the mark. Darnit! I like being right! Though the food was too hot to handle for some, the conversation wasn¡¯t lacking. Claura had nearly two months worth of stories to tell us. ¡°---And then, master Darni crushed the boulder with his pinky!¡± ¡°Woooww!¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± Everyone listened with rapt attention as she described her lessons with the wizard Darney. It seemed he specialized in body strengthening magic. Apparently the magic was accomplished by covering the outside of the body with a film of mana and manipulating it to assist a person¡¯s base strength as well as protect them from the new and stronger forces they were exerting. The magic didn¡¯t seem popular since it required a large mana pool to maintain and very fine control. Two things which were normally not present in most wizards. They either had a bunch of mana or very good control not both. Darney seemed to be researching how to make the magic easier and more efficient. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ had already compiled my ideas on the subject and had them sitting at the corner of my vision along with any knowledge I had about this kind of magic from fantasy novels from my old world. ¡­..thanks for the needlessly excessive information ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ ¡­¡­. Real helpful. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Eventually the celebratory dinner concluded with me serving up blonde brownies which I had made while making the curry. After that Clyde and Gertrude decided to stay downstairs as Claura, my mother, and I went up to mine and my mother¡¯s bedroom. ¡­..Or really, Claura followed us in saying she was lonely. This girl¡­¡­really I don¡¯t know what to do. Somehow all three of us managed to cram ourselves on the bed, it wasn¡¯t all that large. My mother than told us a little fairy tale about a wizard who protected the innocent and saved a village¡­blah blah blah. It was making me sleepy for a whole different reason than the usual for someone my age. ¡°Oh yeah, Big brother. Mother wanted me to give you something.¡± A necklace with a small gem on it flopped into my field of vision. ¡°It¡¯s really pretty right?!¡± ¡°Hmmm I think it¡¯d look better on you.¡± I really don¡¯t want to receive anything from that damn woman. ¡°naah try it on.¡± ¡°ooff!¡± Now Claura herself flopped over my mom¡¯s lap and thrust the necklace at me. Really why is she so insistent! Besides the real question is why did Gertrude get this for me!? ¡°Try it try it try it try it try it try it!¡± ¡°Ah wait¡­¡­.Claura!¡± She then forced herself on top of me and fastened the necklace in place. Then pulled back and looked at me with a childishly critical eye. She¡¯s really just too adorable! ¡°Hmmm, it doesn¡¯t look good!¡± Geh! She needs to learn subtlety! Though right now it¡¯s in my favor, I want to quickly get this thing off. ¡°Like I said, it¡¯ll look better on you. You should try it.¡± ¡°okayy~!¡± Good! Now I can get this necklace off me, for some reason it has been making my skin crawl. I quickly untie it though I paused to exam it. In essence it was just a piece of died leather with a small pendant on it with a red jewel inlaid into it. Really something that a little girl would wear. ¡°Ow that¡¯s my hair!¡± ¡°Sorry, just a second and it¡¯ll be on.¡± I had to help Claura put it on. Meanwhile my mother looked at us with a slightly amused expression. ¡°There we go!¡± ¡°Oh Claura it looks great on you!¡± My mother cooed praises for a while. Oddly enough Claura was un-responsive. ¡°Claura?¡± What¡¯s wrong with her? Suddenly her head snapped up and her eyes had an odd blankness to them. ¡°Mistress Claura?¡± *FFFFSSSSSSSS* I could smell something burning¡­¡­flesh. Also Claura was suddenly way closer to my mom. ¡°k-Kitling.¡± ¡°M-mom!?¡± ¡°I l-love, y-you.¡± ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Next Chapter 12: Volume 1 end: Closure In the end I couldn¡¯t do anything. ¡®Instantaneous response¡¯ was useless for something that was out of my field of vision. ¡­¡­then again, that may just be an excuse I cooked up for myself. I¡¯d been so complacent. Here I had been handed this unbelievable ability that could allow me to rapidly advance in skillsets that some devote their whole lives to mastering. I had been given the potential to, ¡®blink and move mountains¡¯, with the level of skill I could achieve. ¡­¡­.and yet I wasted it on just cooking. Only thinking of the next day. I was so stupid! The me from before would¡¯ve been analyzing this ability unceasingly, an ability like ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ that could give amazing abilities like ¡®Instantaneous Response¡¯ is something that me would have been starry eyed over. Yeah the me as Thomas would have been prepared for a situation like that months ago. Heck! That me would have been prepared within a day¡­¡­. Huh? What other me is there other than Thomas and the current me? I can only sigh and stop thinking about it. Currently my mental state is such that even ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ is like an analogue TV that lost its signal. I glance out over the holding cell I¡¯m in. Many other children are in here as well, unsurprisingly there are plenty of unwanted children crawling around in the underbelly of a capital city like Snaga. The injustice that these kids are about to face is enough that at one time I would¡¯ve already been on my soapbox ages ago. ¡­¡­that doesn¡¯t matter now¡­¡­¡­ My world is gone My home is gone My family is gone ¡­Cecily is GONE! ¡­..And now, just when I found a new place to take shelter. My own personal harbor in this new world¡­¡­¡­.it was taken from me. Now I was cast out into this world for the first time. I had no one now. ¡°Big sissss! When are we gonna get out of here!?¡± ¡°Hush Miran, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry I really don¡¯t.¡± A girl a bit older than me hushed her tearful brother. Continue to cry little boy, this will be the only time you have to be tearful. After this, the hell that we will experience will stain your soul so black that you probably won¡¯t cry again. *CLINK* A door in the hallway outside opened and a middle aged man came through. He was one I had seen before. I believe he was higher up in the command chain of the guards. His pant¡¯s size was certainly higher at least. Thankfully he wasn¡¯t the classic ¡®pig¡¯ guard that you¡¯d see in prisoner stories. He had a sunken face and frizzy, greying hair. His eyes seemed to be lanterns in a coal mine they were inset so deeply in his skull. In a lazy and almost gasping voice he called out. ¡°Kitlings come to the front.¡± When we didn¡¯t respond immediately a hint of annoyance entered his voice. ¡°Be quick about it.¡± The other beast-race children hurriedly ran to the front of cell, they had long known that slow responses earned them nothing more than pain. ¡­¡­.they had known that long before coming here. Self-preservation more than anything caused me to heave myself out of the dusty old hay that I had been lying in to walk to the front of the cell. I didn¡¯t even try to avoid stepping on the other children earning me several muted curses behind my back. What do I care, this world doesn¡¯t even accept me anyways. As I stepped into the torchlight from the hallway, the guard leaned forward and squinted at us. ¡°Damn¡­.your kind all look the same¡­..let me see, he said that it was a tiger stripe. Tiger stripe, tiger stripe, tiger stripe¡­¡­ah! Yinzes!¡± He pointed at a girl just a year younger than me, I couldn¡¯t confirm though as ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was still non-functional. Her tail bristled and stiffly straightened out behind her. Clearly nervous. ¡°Oh, but yinz have a tail¡­he said it didn¡¯t have a tail. Oi! Which of yinzes are halfers! Be quick about it!¡± The other kitlings stepped back leaving only me and two others. Both were girls, they seemed to be twins. Neither of them had tiger-stripes though, they were kitsune after all. ¡­well half-kitsune. The one of two beast-races that gained a special name for themselves, the other were the Lupines. The kitsune had warranted the name because they were the most high-class beast-race used in brothels¡­¡­apparently their bushy tails were a major turn on for some men¡­..a tidbit of information from when I had been able to wander the streets of Snaga. ¡°What!? Yinzes aren¡¯t cats! Go back!¡± Seems the guardsman was getting irritated. His gaze finally swept over to me. Then paused as if he was considering something ¡°hmm yinz must be the one. Though that¡¯s the weirdest tiger stripe I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± He was referring to the coloration of my ears and hair. Unlike a normal human¡¯s hair, mine varied like the pelt of a cat. I was a tiger stripe however, the coloration was abnormal. My hair was a dark red with gold stripes running through it and instead of white sub-coloration I had the darkest black. Truly I thought it was weird the first time I had seen it but hadn¡¯t thought much of it. ..She¡­..had¡­..had it as well¡­¡­ *CREAK* Thankfully the cell door creaking open broke me out of a reverie I had no desire to have. ¡°Get out here.¡± I shuffled forward as my shackles scraped the ground. The were heavy and had already rubbed my legs raw¡­¡­I have a tendency to ¡®run¡¯ in my sleep. ¡°Too slow! Hurry up!¡± *THWACK* ¡°kkhhh!¡± ¡°Arrhhnnn? Yinz say something?¡± No sooner did I get out before the fat bastard hit me! So he was this type after all or really, maybe, all guards are like this regardless of their inherent personalities. ¡°Get moving.¡± He shoved me towards the door. But without the roughness anticipated¡­¡­.. he¡¯s an odd one. He makes a very good distraction¡­¡­from other¡­.thoughts¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­damn. After getting through the door we ascended a long staircase before he led me down a long hallway with a bright light at the end of it. Our surroundings got brighter as we moved forward and so did the cleanliness of the place. ¡­.lazy shit-stains, don¡¯t they want their precious new money makers to be in good condition? What if we got sick from germs? My eyes quickly adjusted to the light and I found this to be some kind of break room for the guards. Though based on its location it¡¯d be more accurate to view this as the last line of defense for the guards should the prisoners down that long hallway, my cell included, break free. There was a fire roaring from a hearth to the right of us, I could smell some kind of mulled cider being warmed over it in a large pot. Off in a corner to the left a few other guards were playing some form of a dice game at a table, naturally money was involved. I could also hear, just barely, the roar of the crowd outside. Hmm, even in this weather a few matches are held? That also reminded me that it was a bit chilly despite the fire¡­..medieval insulation at its finest. Also the fact I¡¯m in the clothes I had on me when I was thrown in here, a set of linen bed clothes, doesn¡¯t help matters. Finally there is a non-descript sort of man sitting at the center table, he¡¯s gently swirling his mug of cider as if deep in thought. He¡¯s a little weird though, who keeps their hood up inside a room full of guards!? That¡¯s like begging to be arrested¡­.or so it would be if they were that kind of guard. ¡°Sit.¡± I had been led over by the deep-eyed fatty to the table with this shady character and forced to sit across from him. Then the guard moved off as if to give us some privacy¡­..though I doubt it as he probably just wanted to get back to the game of dice. ¡­¡­.based on the increase in sound from over there. I observed the man and tried to get a better look¡­¡­¡­.. Fuck! This scent, that chin! ¡°KKHHH!¡± ¡°Calm down Kitling, I don¡¯t want any more trouble.¡± ¡°Hmmph, those are some selfish words coming out of your mouth after what you did!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing I could do, there were so many witnesses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich. So instead you betray your business partner¡­..damnit you betrayed a friend! And what¡¯s more you dishonored someone who has cared for your family before their body had even grown cold!¡± Clyde takes a shaky breath and I can see his shoulders visibly slump. Good ya backstabbing bastard, regret your actions. ¡°You must understand I had to protect Claura! She has such a bright future!¡± ¡°It¡¯s one built on a grave and the ruin of another.¡± *BAM* ¡°Damnit Kitling! Just¡­.just let me finish.¡± Now he¡¯s finally looking me in the eyes, regret is all I can see in them. ¡­¡­.Yeah only now that he¡¯s realized that his money maker is gone for good! ¡°And now that I know the whole story I understand that there may have been another way, but please Kitling! Don¡¯t hate Claura for this it wasn¡¯t her fault! It was¡ª!¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°That cow Gertrude¡¯s doing.¡± His eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Random magical discharge? Ha that¡¯s a load of bullshit!¡± ¡°How¡¯d you ¨C!?¡± ¡°Simple, I¡¯m the one that taught Claura how to do that! Do you think I wouldn¡¯t understand how it works!? If it had been her leg or her arm, I might have believed it. But to directly gore my MOTHER¡¯S stomach and with enough heat to instantaneously cauterize it! THAT requires an intent to kill!¡± ¡°But ¨C!¡± ¡°How does that explain how I figured it out? ¡­¡­well, these cells are chilly they make it easy to cool off and think properly.¡± ¡°hhaaa¡­¡­ I¡¯m so sorry Kitling.¡± ¡°Damn straight you should be!¡± ¡°KIT! --!¡± ¡°WHAT!? Don¡¯t push my luck!? Ha, it doesn¡¯t matter. The guards won¡¯t kill a potential money maker and you don¡¯t have the money to bribe them! FUCK OFF!¡± *BAM* Clyde smashed the table again¡­¡­oddly enough, I felt repentant about my outburst. In the end, I guess it¡¯s really only Kitling that hates the world right now. The me from earth has already rationalized and understood the entirety of the situation. Gertrude is really the only one to blame¡­¡­¡­.everyone else¡­..they were just swept along by her scheme. It¡¯s simple when I think about it, I had long ago understood that small thing that some would pityingly call a human. She was nothing more than a ignorant, spiteful, and angry creature. The seed of this scheme of hers was planted the minute I re-awoke to my memories of earth. I am my own undoing in this case. All the gains I brought to the family and the change in treatment of me and ¡­..my mother. They were things that defied her understanding of the world. She couldn¡¯t accept them and so tried to fight back, but she was met with only the cold shoulders of her husband and daughter. For someone like her, a completely ordinary and weak human, she began to feel inferior not only to her family but her slaves as well. It led her to trying something as dark as purchasing a ¡®black-item¡¯. That was what the necklace had been, an enchanted item that would force the wearer to carry out a specific set of commands. In my case, it couldn¡¯t overcome a mind that contained The ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ but Claura¡¯s had been easy pickings. With that, Gertrude had got what she wanted¡­¡­mostly. ¡°It¡¯s funny¡­..or should I say¡­¡­.ironic.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Clyde looked up at me, his eyes seemed to shimmer a bit. ¡­.Was this guy crying? ¡°Even in the middle of all that, I still ended up having to save her.¡± I could only shake my head¡­..I might as well fill him in on the last bit of this story so he knows all of it. ¡°What do you mean!?¡± ¡°That necklace had one last set of instructions in it: COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER COMPLETING PREVIOUS ORDER.¡± I could remember it clear as day¡­..that night. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°NNNOOOOOOOOOO! Claura! What did you do!¡± Claura vacant gaze looked over at me, her eyes still glazed over. But then tears started to fall. ¡°Bye Kit¡­¡­.¡± Her hand reached for her own throat, already shimmering with heat. ¡°FUCK!¡± I propelled myself across the little bed and tackled her to the floor. I was enraged, but at the same time ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was already filling me in with what must¡¯ve occurred and all possible routes that happened before and would happen after this event. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU DARE DIE ON ME DAMNIT!¡± She continued to struggle, the entirety of her being focused on one task. Destroying the murder weapon. Which was her in this case. Despite what should be my vastly superior strength as a beast man, she struggled with unknown power! She was using physical boost! ¡°ALRIGHT!¡± I finally managed to grab the necklace. I didn¡¯t need ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ to tell me it was the root of evil. Fantasy books and murder mysteries had long ago honed my mind to identifying these things! *BOOOM!* ¡°KITLING!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU D¡¯ING!¡± A dead drunk Clyde entered then, all he saw was my mom¡¯s dead body and me on top of a struggling Claura. *BAM!* *CHRICK!* Clyde back-handed me across the room, luckily the necklace snapped and came with me. My head smacked against the wall. ¡°AAAAAGGHHHH!¡± I heard the sound of Clyde¡¯s pained roar as he held a limp Claura. Then I lost consciousness. Later I woke up in my present living quarters. It turns out Gertrude had taken me here while I was still unconscious and had sold me. All before Clyde could realize what was going on. ¡­¡­she really is the vilest creature I¡¯ve ever met. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡± It seems like Clyde is even more shaken than he had been previously. Though I can¡¯t be entirely certain¡­. Damn, ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ would be useful right about now. He looks at me again, anguish mixed in with the regret¡­¡­.I didn¡¯t know he was this emotional. ¡°I¡¯m so very sorry Kit¡­¡­.all my family has done is caused you pain. At the very least, this may make Dryfus feel a bit better.¡± My body froze, that was the name of the BASTARD that was responsible for my existence in this world. ¡°What?¡± My voice came out much darker than I had intended. Clyde seemed to stiffen for a moment before relaxing. ¡°Nothing¡­..don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I was about to ask what he meant by that. ¡­.Now I¡¯m more worried! But before I could he cut me off! ¡°I truly am sorry, at least this gives me some closure. And¡­..I don¡¯t know if this¡¯ll give you any, but I gave your mother a proper burial. There¡¯s this clearing see¡­. Near the forest¡¯s edge just outside the west gate. It¡¯s one of the few places your mother has ever been to other than around the Bakery. She loved that spot¡­.she really did.¡± He seemed to be reflecting on some memory from ages ago. ¡°She¡¯s buried there, with a small marker. Maybe¡­.one day¡­¡­ you¡¯ll be able to see it.¡± ¡°Yinzes time is up!¡± The fatty came back over without even pausing to be polite! ¡°Oh really!? Ha, ok. We were just finishing anyways.¡± Clyde just smiles and give a nod before suddenly grasping my hand and whispering in an urgent voice! ¡°Kit¡­..now¡¯s not the time to pray to the cooking god. It¡¯s now time to pray to the war god! If it¡¯s you I know you can get through this. It¡¯s not much but this should be enough to act as your key to freedom. This is my last payment.¡± I feel something hard being pressed into my hands before he stood up and strode out of the room without looking back. ¡°Alright up with yinz! Back to your cell!¡± The walk back to the cell was quiet except for some muttered breaths from fatty about Clyde being a weird one for associating with halfers. I kept silent and hurried back. *CLANG* I was once again locked in a room with a bunch of scared little children. They avoided me now¡­¡­..I was different¡­¡­.and different was dangerous. Oh well, given what we will be doing to each other later¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s better this way. I look at what clyde had given me, it was a piece of scrap leather wrapped around something. I opened it¡­¡­. Inside was a key¡­.. Not a real key mind you but a key nonetheless. A key to freedom. Bastard must¡¯ve figured out what my final price was! I couldn¡¯t help have a wry smirk form on my face. This wasn¡¯t the time to be depressed, I still had a path to freedom and now one additional objective¡­. Go see mom¡¯s grave. I looked down at Clyde¡¯s final payment, it was a single Snagan Crown. But that¡¯s fine, it could still buy my freedom. After all I¡¯m in a place now where only money and strength talk. A place where purses and lives are put on the line and anything could happen. I place of infinite chance and constant death. I was in¡­¡­. The Arena of Snaga! ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Next Thus ends the first arc and volume one. I apologize for it being so short, but that''s just how it turned out. Also sorry for the long delay after that cliff-hanger. That some of you rapidly figured out -_- , then again I did make it pretty obvious. Anyways It''s all over now! On to the next volume! YAHOOO. Next we''ll get to see our still unnamed hero begin to truly USE his ability ''Grand Archive''. Chapter 13: Volume 2 Start: Arena Training Part 1 *Drip, Drip* ¡°Phhhuuu, hhaaaa¡± *Cough, Cough* ¡°Huufffuuu¡± ¡°Get up ya little shits! You know the drill! If you don¡¯t finish, ya don¡¯t eat! We don¡¯t have the crown to feed a whole pack of whelps like you if ya can¡¯t put on a good show!¡± Silence greeted the grizzled guardsman¡¯s threat. We were all just too tired. It had only been two weeks here and already I felt like I was going to break! The strain my body was being put under was far more than a child at this point should bear. I glanced around at my fellow inmates, all of us were of a range of ages and race. The youngest was only 5, it was that little kitsune Miran. Miran¡¯s older sister, Alephi, was the oldest here at 10 years old. The rest of us were somewhere in the middle. As for clans, most belonged to the kitsune or the feline-race like me¡­..no surprises. The females of both clans were of particular interest to men¡­¡­¡­.with certain tastes. The only other notable denizen in our cell was a female lupine. Unlike most of us, she was a full blooded lupine except she somehow ended up here¡­¡­¡­ The story behind her¡­.or any of us for that matter was irrelevant. What was relevant was that we had to finish the training for the day. ¡°Rain, rain go away, come again some other day.¡± I mumbled off the words almost unconsciously as I heaved myself off the wet hard-packed sand of the arena floor. The ears of the other children around me gave an almost imperceptible twitch. No surprises there, in here¡­.. I¡¯m not the only one with exceptional hearing. I gave on quick look to the grey skies above. Yup¡­¡­still raining. Just like back on earth, every once in a while the weather goes weird. It¡¯s the middle of winter, though the new year had already passed, yet it was raining. Furthermore it was warm enough to do outdoors training! For the past two weeks we¡¯d been forced to do nothing but combat training! All we did, day in and day out, was swing weighted wooden staffs or swords until our hands bled! Our days had only been filled with the dull thump as our staffs struck scarecrows in the indoor facilities. We¡¯d be yelled at and lashed if we didn¡¯t continuously hit it. Therefore, two weeks later, most of us had nothing but raw skin on our hands. In that respect I was thankful for the rain. I could do some minimal cleansing of my hands and hopefully avoid an infection. It hadn¡¯t occurred to me till recently but I didn¡¯t have my tetanus or rabies shots! With no form of vaccination in this world it was a miracle I had survived this long! Though pure rain water should help I¡¯m still worried! ¡°Start moving again! Any slackers will get another stone!¡± *HUFF HUFF* We began to run again. That¡¯s what today was, a day many men on earth had avoided with an almost passion. LEG DAY. Though since these guys have no idea how to properly exercise the body in order to maximize its explosive power or strength for the least amount of effort¡­¡­.we were forced to run, a lot. Still it¡¯s better than swinging heavy sticks¡­..is what I¡¯d like to say but¡­¡­ why do we just have to be confined to the arena!? It¡¯s wet, cold, and the scenery never changes no matter how many laps we do! ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ still isn¡¯t working so it¡¯s a rare opportunity for me to enjoy all the raw data of this world without some ridiculous ability rambling off output data in my head! Though the fact that it¡¯s still not working is concerning. It seems that I must¡¯ve suffered a real trauma from that night¡­¡­¡­.. My steps faltered as I remembered the reason for why I¡¯m now a child slave at an arena. ¡°Oy! You there! Ya damn kitling with the red hair! No slacking off!¡± I heard the sound of heavy footfalls as someone ran up behind me and cuffed me over the head. I didn¡¯t need ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ to warn me of the attack, I knew it was coming easily, but experience had taught me that avoiding the first hit meant that the next ten were just that more brutal. As I stumbled forward from the blow, a counter weight suddenly found itself on my back. I could hear the faint crumble as the rocks in the basket on my back resettled when their new comrade in torment joined them. Yes, currently we were forced to do weighted running, I had always wondered what it¡¯d be like. But I think what I¡¯m experiencing isn¡¯t what a certain turtle-hermit had in mind! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. At least the bastards here had a somewhat primitive understanding of muscle fatigue and over exertion. They had finally let us go for the day and placed us back in the cells where we were given a fairly sized meal. It was by no means balanced, there were definitely way more carbs here than necessary. True we did do a lot of running today but their goal seems to have been mostly strength building from what I could understand. More protein would be nice. The small scraps of meat in the otherwise potato centric stew weren¡¯t enough. I need moar protein! Oh god¡­¡­did I just think that? Am I turning into a musclehead!? ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ please come back and return me to the wonderful world of intellect. ¡­¡­¡­.actually please just come back, without you I¡¯m just a normal being. I can¡¯t even use mana currently, which I know I had, since ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ took all of it. That would suggest it¡¯s still active, but if I can¡¯t access it¡­¡­. What good is it? I shook my head, hoping that the unhelpful and depressing thoughts would leave. They retreated, but only just¡­¡­¡­ to take my mind off of it I guess I¡¯ll do some more stretching. I had fallen into a habit of stretching every day. I think my time playing soccer back in high school had influenced the habit. After all, for a child, stretches weren¡¯t entirely necessary. Now though, I used them to increase my already extremely flexible body. Right now, that¡¯s pretty much the only advantage any of us have. The flexibility of a child. Well¡­¡­that and our overwhelming physical strength. Though the workouts were torturous for us, if a normal human child had done them they¡¯d be dead! I glanced over at the lupine, she was already asleep! While everyone else was groaning over their aches and pains, she had drifted off to the promised land! Well that¡¯s what you get when you¡¯re a full blood, unlike us she could do most of these exercises with little effort. That was also another advantage of my stretching. Unlike the others I was only a quarter beast-race. I had retained only a few features of that race. Which meant my strength muscles weren¡¯t nearly as tough. The two kitsune sisters were in the same boat. The youngest, Miran, was quietly sobbing as her sister tried to comfort her. The day¡¯s labor had rubbed the soles of her feet raw and her muscles were probably strained in a few places. I felt my heart clench, here there was a little five year old girl sobbing and suffering unbelievable pain only to have to fight for her life as a form of entertainment for a people who most likely had kids of their own! It made me sick knowing what the future held for us, but for children like her in particular¡­¡­.. ¡­it was unbearable. I continued to stew on my disgust at the race I used to be a part of and continued to stretch. There was no other sounds save for the two sisters, everyone else sat or lay on the ground of the cell in despondent silence. We all didn¡¯t even know each other¡¯s names, I was probably the only one who had remembered the two sisters¡¯ names since they were the only ones who talked to each other. I guess you could say we outright avoided talking to each other. We were beaten down, whether from what we had suffered in the outside world or from in here it didn¡¯t matter. We were defeated. Adding to the fact that we knew what was in store for us, it made even less sense to get to know one another. Like our predecessors, humanity has crushed us. I finished the last stretch and glanced over at Miran again. Her sobs had subsided into whimpers of pain as Alephi clutched her tightly like she was her most prized possession, tears were trickling down her face as well. WE ARE DOOMED. The words rang through my head as I watched the two sisters. This is what had happened to our race. Hell, not even our race! They were enslaved but half-lings and tailless, like me, we¡­¡­. We were not of any race. Just a bunch of souls that could be toyed with and then snuffed out when humanity grew tired of playing with us! It was so incredibly frustrating! I could feel tears getting ready to form, like dancers in the wings of a stage. No. No. No. I won¡¯t accept this. I already lost my old world and my mother in this one. I also lost the only thing that may have given me an edge in this world. I refuse to give up my dignity as a living being too! I stood up and strode over to the sisters. A few of the other children gave me cursory glances before returning to their own contemplation¡­.the rest¡­.well they were too far gone to react. Alephi noticed me and clutched Marin tighter. She even worked up the bravery to give me a glare! It was a terrified and hopeless one but there was still some fire in it. Good, at least she still had it, something to protect. I stopped just in front of them and knelt down. The difference in height wasn¡¯t that much considering I have a six year old¡¯s body but the threat I posed in her mind diminished with the motion. I began to reach out with my hand when I noticed her flinch and hold Marin tighter. By now she too had noticed my presence and was gazing at me with large, terrified eyes. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I retracted my hand and instead tried to put on my kindest smile. ¡°Hi there, I don¡¯t have a name¡­..they never gave me one. But you can call me Kitling, that¡¯s what my mom called me. Do you have names?¡± The proper pronunciation of words made an odd combination with the nonsensical ramble that spilt out of my mouth. But I was dealing with kids. ¡°Why do you care?¡± Oooh, looks like Alephi definitely still has some fight! ¡°Because, we¡¯re stuck in here together! Shouldn¡¯t we get to know each other?¡± I kept my expression as innocent as possible, kids are perceptive of those kinds of things after all. Alephi still just gave me a guarded look while Marin seemed to have become more curious rather than fearful. I looked back down at Marin¡¯s legs and feet. ¡°Also, I can probably help with the leg pain.¡± Treating the blisters on her feet was impossible, this world doesn¡¯t have medical tape or some form of anti-bacterial ointment. Furthermore I currently don¡¯t have access to sterile cloth or water which could at least clean and protect the wounds. Hopefully her natural healing ability is strong. ¡°It¡¯ll hurt in the beginning though, but afterwards it¡¯ll feel better.¡± Marin cocked her head to the side in confusion and her ears tilted in the same direction. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.She¡¯s actually adorable! No! Focus! ¡°No.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°No, why would I let you touch Marin! Stay away!¡± Alephi was having none of it. Where was that child naivety? Oh yeah¡­¡­¡­. for us that never existed. ¡°look, believe me it works.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Yesss!¡± ¡°NO!¡± ¡°Ye-¡° Am I a kid too!? *Cough* I gotta regain control of the flow of the conversation! I fell into Alephi¡¯s pace! ¡°Look, how about this. Since you obviously don¡¯t trust me enough to try and help your sister. How about I help you instead, that way you¡¯ll know that its safe for me to help her.¡± Her eyes were now scrunched up. Suspicion is max! Marin, on the other hand, had ceased all crying and was looking at us with confusion. ¡°Right now all we have in here is each other. So shouldn¡¯t we try to help out?¡± ¡°Where did you grow up!? No street brat would ever say that!¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Ah, there is that. I lived in a world of plenty and then even after coming here I lead what most slaves would consider a pampered life style. Therefore, for me, it¡¯s not odd offering to help others. But for these two who probably survived in the back-rooms of whore-houses and eventually on the street, to help others was a waist of precious resources. They were so busy trying to survive themselves and no one would help them either. For them, trust was a fairy tale. ¡°In a bakery, I grew up baking.¡± After a while I could only give that response. ¡°Ha, spoiled brat. Don¡¯t stick your nose in other¡¯s business!¡± Alephi looked at me murderously, her once cute face contorted in anger. That makes sense though, to her I am spoiled and have no idea how the world works. Well then, to give her belief of how the world works validation and to get my objective done¡­¡­ I might as well show an ugly face. My calm, smiling expression darkened as I tried to seem more menacing. ¡°Fine then, if you want to play it that way. Your little sister is an annoyance; her sobs keep me from sleeping. I was trying to offer a solution that benefited both of us.¡± She gave me a triumphant look. Stupid brat, it¡¯s you that doesn¡¯t entirely understand the world. ¡°Hah! So you¡¯re true colors show now!¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes.¡± Oops that was a bit flat! ¡°Yes! That¡¯s correct, so are we gonna do this the easy way¡­¡­..or the hard way?¡± On that last bit I let my claws flick out on my right hand. Unlike me they had no such natural weapon¡­.. a pity for them I suppose. Alephi now looked at me with disgust¡­.. Marin on the other hand seemed fearful, but at the same time she seemed to be gathering her resolve¡­¡­¡­. ¡­..just one more push¡­.. ¡°Seems it¡¯ll be the hard way then!¡± I make a violent motion forwards, but somehow Marin interposes herself between the two of us. Her high pitched voice shrilling out the words. ¡°No! I¡¯ll do it! Don¡¯t hurt my sister!¡± I quickly sheath my claws. ¡°Very well, lay on your stomach.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®eh¡¯ me! Do as you¡¯re told!¡± I flexed my claws for good measure. Marin quickly complied with a squeak. The other kids¡­..well some seemed annoyed at our antics but didn¡¯t say anything. Looking back at Alephi¡­.she seemed¡­..dumbfounded. Likely she thought I had perverted intentions but she seemed to realize that there was a very real possibility that I could hurt them more than they could hurt me. Her willpower crumbled and she submitted. ¡­¡­¡­just what kind of life did these two lead before¡­¡­¡­.if by any chance¡­¡­¡­no. At least I hope not¡­¡­¡­theirs was a garden that shouldn¡¯t be touched for a very long time. I looked down at Marin¡¯s legs. Her feet were dirty from the ground and rubbed raw in places. Her calves appeared slightly swollen and, along with her thighs, were covered in small scratches and bruises. I quickly recalled my memories of my time in the trainer¡¯s room at my high school. Soccer had caused me to strain a muscle or two. I even went so far as to recall my memories of health class and biology searching for any and all information. Despite ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ being MIA, my memories still seem to be in a condition where I can recall them absolutely perfectly. Just that now I have to go searching for information in them myself. It was like going from having the internet to having only a library¡­¡­¡­.a big pain in the ass. Anyways, thankfully I recalled as much relevant information. It really is surprising what they teach in high school biology! I had completely forgotten some of this! Oops! I sounded like an old man! Ahwell. I re-focus my attention on Marin, she had been obediently laying there. Though her expression showed that she was unwilling, Alephi also sat quietly. Time to work! First I started by gently rubbing up the leg. I was careful to avoid scratched or particularly heavily bruised areas. I could feel Marin tense in pain and fright as I started the massage. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta relax. It¡¯s gonna hurt a bit but It will get better soon after that.¡± That sentence¡­..could¡¯ve been interpreted¡­¡­¡­in various ways. Uh oh. She¡¯s even tenser! ¡°I¡¯m serious, this is called a massage. It¡¯ll relax all the muscles in your legs. But for it to work you¡¯ve gotta relax as much as possible first.¡± She¡¯s still tense. Ugh, bad guy coming out. ¡°Do it.¡± I growled out the words. She tensed up but then relaxed. Though that¡¯s not quite right the tenseness transferred to her abdominal area. Oh well, her legs are loosened and that¡¯s what matters right now. I continued to softly run my hands up her legs to promote blood flow. Afterwards I began the real massage by pin pointing knots and attacking them. Rather than the typical image most people have of when someone attacks a knot, I did not press all of my weight onto the knot and use brute force to beat it into unraveling. Rather, I firmly and gradually pressed down. Bit by bit, I wore away at the knots until they were all dispersed. Throughout the whole process Marin gave out quiet gasps and muffled moans. Had she been four times her current age I might¡¯ve even found it erotic. Instead I worried that each time she made a sound that I¡¯d been too forceful. After I¡¯d worn away the knots I went back to gently stroking her legs for a bit and them stepped away. ¡°So? Feel better?¡± ¡°Ah?!¡± Marin let out a small yelp. It seems she¡¯d nearly fallen asleep, seems I did a good job. ¡°Ow!¡± But moving also caused her bruises and scrapes to be bumped. She looked up hurriedly at me, as if fearing I¡¯d be angry since she¡¯d cried out in pain. Well I did use that as an excuse to help her. ¡°Good, if it¡¯s just scrapes or bruises that are the problem then that¡¯s fine. I can¡¯t do anything about those. If your muscles hurt again, just ask and I¡¯ll help.¡± With that I stood up and turned to go. From behind though, I heard a very faint, ¡°Thank you.¡± A small smile spontaneously came to my lips; seems that despite the rough life, someone cared enough about them to teach them manners. ¡°Anytime.¡± With that parting word I walked back over to my spot and slept just a bit more soundly. The world hadn¡¯t beaten me today and hopefully it won¡¯t be able to beat me tomorrow either. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can''t apologize enough for the delay! All I can offer up is that the excuse that LIFE and WRITER''S BLOCK met up in a cafe and had a nice chat about how to screw with me.......and then carried out their dastardly scheme! Anyways this was the beginning of Volume 2: Snaga Arena! Hope you guys liked it! Chapter 14: Arena Training Part 2 ¡°HAP!¡± ¡°EYAAA~!¡± Once again we were trapped in the underground training hall, fighting against the immortal wooden legion. Unlike last time though they no longer took an interest in how we were swinging our weapons, just so long as we were swinging it. Looking around I could see that most of the other children were still performing the same swings we had been forced into during the first two weeks we¡¯d started our time here. It had now been another week; yesterday the snow had started falling again. Thankfully they took us back inside. It seems this round up of halfers and other mutts was an occurrence that happened every five years or so. The city would be swept for us mixed breeds as well as the surrounding area. The soldiers would only pull the kids over five years old, the others would obviously be too small. What they¡¯d be too small for is obvious; they planned to use us as gladiatorial slaves. Looking at it from a horrible viewpoint, it¡¯s a good and productive way to clean up the¡­¡­ ¡®refuse¡¯ of society. Not only that, but it seems it would be profitable¡­¡­¡­..knowing how depraved the humans of this city are. I also came to learn that the Arena was particularly popular with the affluent of the nation and that gladiator battles were deeply ingrained in their culture. It seemed that to even gain the right to inherit the wealth of their parents, lordlings had to prove themselves by combat in the arena. Or at least that is what it sounded like when they were talking about how it would probably be someone from our ¡®generation¡¯ that would have to face against the young second prince of the kingdom. But I guess that is several years off. For now all I need to do is focus on the stick in my hands and the mannequin in front of me. *THWACK!* *FWISH* Now that there was some small ¡®freedom¡¯, I was focusing on remembered techniques. Countless fight scenes zipped through my head; the battle of Pelenor, the battle between Inigo Montoya and Wesley, Jackie Chan¡­¡­.being Jackie Chan. While they may be movies, the actions performed are those that a human body can make. Furthermore, when you have a perfect memory, they serve as useful reference material for what I¡¯m trying to achieve now. ¡­¡­..Which is making myself as deadly as possible. *THUMP!* *TWACK* I released a flurry of strikes at the dummy in the way a fencer might. Each attack was a light thrust that was quickly retracted. I was trying to understand how best to optimize damage with speed. While ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ was useful, even a little bit like a miracle for me, I had been capable of analyzing problems and generating solutions to those problems before it. With a perfect recollection of my past life, that makes this much easier. *FWISSH* Jackie Chan, Jet Li, the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or the IP Man movies; the Chinese martial arts films were some of the most helpful. While the movies were choreographed, the moves were based on actual martial arts and on top of that they had many duel scenes in these films. While the Lord of the Rings or something similar may provide me with good reference material as well, it was focused more so on warfare. Which, to the best of my knowledge, is a completely different beast and so the knowledge wouldn¡¯t be as useful. Ugh, if only I could move like one of the people in those Chinese films. They fly through the air and perform such crazy tricks with throwing daggers; it¡¯d definitely be a huge advantage. *FWAHP* I continued to move through the various forms that floated through my head, trying to figure out the purpose behind each strike and each block. I can feel an understanding coming from it all; I¡¯m beginning to see the patterns. ¡°Alright you louts! Return to your cell!¡± *CLATTER!* Tens of wooden swords and staffs dropped as the exhausted children heard the call for an end to the day. I held onto my wooden sword for a bit longer, still trying to understand the moves. I dropped it after a few seconds and followed the others as we filed out of the room. We were silent as we returned to our cell; the only thing to be heard was the soft tapping of the guards¡¯ boots and the labored breathing of us kids. The corridor was cold but, thankfully, we were all so hot from the hours spent in the training hall that it was more so refreshing than chilling. After the short walk through the dark stone corridors we reached our smelly cesspool of a cell. The one corner had become a bio hazard area from the defecation of all of us in the cell. After the tasteless gruel had been passed out and eaten I walked over to where Alephi and Marin stayed. Over the past few days since that first night, I had come over to help Marin with her legs and now her arms. Her body was so small and weak that if I didn¡¯t she would probably damage something permanently with the training we¡¯ve been forced to undergo. ¡°Alright then Marin, turn onto your stomach and I¡¯ll start.¡± ¡°Ok!¡± Her mood had improved greatly over the past few days, I guess the massaging must have some effect. ¡°Ow!¡± ¡°Hey what¡¯d you do to Marin!¡± ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m just trying to get the knots out of her back. The combat training today gave her some.¡± This was a typical exchange between the three of us, if Marin showed any signs of discomfort Alephi would get riled up and lash out at me and then it¡¯d take a few seconds of explaining as to why it hurt Marin and why it was okay. Honestly it was quite the exhausting exchange but it was necessary. I don¡¯t want to give in, and helping these two out was my way of fighting against this situation. The others while certainly not fine weren¡¯t as bad off as Marin and Alephi were. I had already seen several times that Alephi gave Marin an extra portion from her bowl at every meal, she was weakening. Marin¡¯s weak body didn¡¯t help much either. As I thought about the difficulties of the two sisters, I finished up with massaging Marin. ¡°Alright, you can move now.¡± ¡°Yay! Thanks Kitling!¡± ¡°Are you okay Marin? He didn¡¯t do anything weird right?¡± Tsch, girl still suspects me. ¡°No sis. It felt really good.¡± Daawwee! You don¡¯t have to look so cute when you say that Marin now I¡¯m embarrassed! ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah! Try it!¡± ¡°But¡­¡­¡± ¡°Kitling do it to Sis!¡± ¡°Um¡­..but.¡± ¡°Please.¡± Don¡¯t give me those eyes! They¡¯re my weakness! ¡°Well if she¡¯s okay with it.¡± I look over at Alephi, her face showed that she wasn¡¯t willing but that she felt she should do it for her sister. It was odd to see such a complex expression on a ten year old, what had forced her to grow up? ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°Ummmmm.¡± Her head hangs in defeat! ¡°If you try anything¡­¡­..I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Never mind, she is still dangerous! Well, I guess I¡¯ll get it over with to make Marin happy. Actually, Alephi¡¯s probably thinking the exact same thing! As I pause to consider this, Alephi already rolled onto her stomach. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t work if you¡¯re stiff as a board.¡± ¡°HMPH!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± This damn girl! If you¡¯re gonna be like this, then I¡¯m gonna do this! I reached down and lightly stroked along her spine. ¡°Hyahn!¡± Her entire body stiffened and her black tipped fox ears stiffened, I could even see some of the hair on them prickling at the unexpected sensation. The reaction was oddly over exaggerated¡­¡­..was this maybe her ¡®weak¡¯ spot? ¡°You bastard!¡± ¡°Easy, easy. Hahahaha, calm down¡­ppfffftt hahah, I wasn¡¯t expecting that exaggerated of a reaction!¡± I couldn¡¯t contain my laughter as Alephi¡¯s young face flushed. For a ten year old she had remarkable depth, or maybe I just wasn¡¯t looking hard enough at the little kids I knew back on earth. ¡°Kh, I¡¯m only doing this for Marin so just hurry up.¡± Unexpectedly it seems she was interested in the massaging as well. Despite her depth of personality, she was still a child that was easily read. ¡°Very well.¡± I could only slightly sigh as I reached down and began to warm up the muscles. I had gained confidence over the past few days that I had been doing this to Marin so my hands lacked the un-assured jerkiness that the first two days had suffered. My hands firmly rubbed her muscles so that they were in a relaxed state and ready for me to begin dispelling knots. After I had judged that her muscles had been properly warmed up I began to focus on detecting each and every knot present along her back and down through her thighs and calves. I didn¡¯t even go near her butt. I value my life after all. After locating the sources of annoyance I began to steadily knead the ones in her legs. I figured it was safe place to start since it was well away from her ¡®weak¡¯ spot. ¡°Hnnmmpphhh.¡± ¡­..This girl is ten right? ¡°UnnnmmppphhH!¡± Those are groans of pain right!? RIGHT!? ¡°NNnnmmmmha.¡± The six year old in me is seeing something he shouldn¡¯t see yet! Give him back his innocence! ¡°Haaummphhh.¡± I could feel steam rising from my frazzled brain. To the me from earth this much shouldn¡¯t have an effect¡­¡­.however, to the six year old it¡¯s like his world is violently expanding. More importantly¡­¡­¡­.. a kid shouldn¡¯t be making sounds like this! *THWACK* ¡°Ouch.¡± I flicked myself on the side of the head to regain concentration, this was a good opportunity to pull Alephi out of her shell and help her. She had already stretched herself so thin helping her sister. I glanced over at Marin. ¡°Hm?¡± Her ears tilted in confusion as she gave me the vacant look of a child. I could only shake my head and looked back down at the task at hand. ¡°Hnnnn.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­this is going to be difficult. __________________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Aaahhh my hips hurt.¡± I stretched all the tense muscles in my lower back as I looked down at my handy work. Alephi had fully relaxed a few minutes in and it had made the job amazingly easy. The only thing left were the glutes¡­¡­¡­..ugh this is a quandary. On the one hand I should be thorough¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­on the other¡­¡­..well I think it¡¯s fine to leave it as is. ¡°Alright Alephi, you can get up now.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­..¡± ¡°Alephi?¡± ¡°Big Sis?¡± Marin and I looked curiously down at Alephi¡¯s face. ¡°tssuu.¡± It was completely loosened her cheeks still slightly red and even a tiny bit of drool dropping out. Her ears twitched cutely every once in a while. She was the epitome of relaxation¡­¡­¡­in short¡­¡­¡­..she had fallen asleep in the middle of the massage. I glanced towards Marin. ¡°Well, I should leave you two to sleep.¡± I got up to move back to my usual spot when Marin suddenly grabbed my arm. ¡°Wait! Kitling shouldn¡¯t be alone¡­.it¡¯s lonely!¡± ¡°Uhhmmm, but, well, what?¡± ¡°Sleep heerrree!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think¡ª¡° ¡°It¡¯s ok!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Marin was oddly firm with that statement. Well whatever, I guess if it makes her happy its ok to go along. I settled down beside Marin across from the oblivious Alephi; though as soon as I did I could feel something warm and bony press into my back. ¡°¡­¡­..Marin?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± The bony object shifted as she popped her head over her side and looked down at me. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Cold!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ok.¡± My best response was a wry smile as I settled back down to sleep, mine and Marin¡¯s tiny bodies providing each other some small warmth on the cold stones of the cell. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Hyah! What are you doing here!¡± Naturally this next morning, Alephi woke and noticed the extra in her sleeping area. ¡°Muuu¡­¡­ Big Sis what¡¯s going on?¡± She also naturally woke Marin who was sleeping between the two of us. ¡°Why is he here?!¡± Alephi¡¯s face was tinged with red, though the exact emotion that was causing this was unknown. ¡®Grand Archive¡¯ would¡¯ve been useful for this kind of thing¡­¡­ I rolled over completely so I was facing Alephi rather than just having my head turned. I grunted in pain slightly, the cold stone of the cell was not the best surface to sleep on. I lazily propped up my upper body with an elbow and looked at the two. Crap I feel tired, last night was ¡­¡­¡­¡­draining. Someone over here likes to kick! ¡°Because! Kitling shouldn¡¯t be alone!¡± ¡°Tha-that¡¯s¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Please?¡± ¡°But he¡¯s---¡° ¡°Muuu..¡± Marin started to become teary eyed¡­¡­is she¡­¡­¡­..is she manipulating Alephi?! ¡°F-fine then.¡± Uh oh she¡¯s looking this way, and that is not a nice look. ¡°If you try anything¡­¡­.I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°I-I won¡¯t.¡± Damn, this ten year old is terrifying. Ah if only she be as cute as Julie. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ I just remembered something unpleasant. I could feel my mouth frowning at the unpleasant memory and so tried to quickly correct it. A frowning face wouldn¡¯t help me right now. ¡°Yay! Kitling can stay with us.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Alright you little curs! Get up! Breakfast then Training!!!¡± And so our day began. Like every day it began with that rude awakening. Then the sloppy gruel served in dirty, cracked bowls. After a few minutes they would then come in and force us out, regardless of whether we had finished our food or not. After leading us through the dark corridors of the Arena they¡¯d leave us in the room with the mannequins. Once in there¡­¡­our day was spent attacking a human-like wooden object with a wooden sword. I¡¯m not sure if the others knew, but I was sure of it. At some point that wood would become steel, flesh, and bone. Instead of the sharp clack of wood on wood we¡¯d be hearing the dying screams of our enemies. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.at least for me I understood this eventuality and tried to prepare myself. I¡¯d like to make it to old age this time! I reviewed what I had been working on yesterday. It had felt like I was finally going to reach a breakthrough on how a martial art worked. There were always specific steps, stances, and motions in each one. On earth they had just been as much a mystery to me as the language the people who created them spoke. The worst part was that swords had not been often used in the memories I had of martial arts. As such I¡¯ve tried to figure out ways to add in punches and kicks into the style I¡¯m trying to create. ¡­¡­though I say that, I¡¯m still using a six year old body. It¡¯s short¡­¡­VERY short. So most of my kicks are awkward since much of my body is still my torso rather than legs; my arms are also short. In short¡­¡­.it¡¯s very difficult. I continued attacking the dummy, sometimes imagining that it was the one attacking and trying to envision defensive postures that would work for someone of my sized. The midday feeding came and went. The flavorless gruel simply squelching down my throat as I was lost in thought. I need to get better. As I was preparing to begin again I felt someone poke my side. ¡°Uwwaa!¡± Like any normal person my sides are sensitive! Who is this insensitive person! I turned to look and found myself face to face with Alephi. She was slightly red in the face. ¡°Help.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Teach me!¡± ¡°Teach you?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because!¡± I gave her a flat look. She in turn squirmed under my gaze as if embarrassed? I¡¯m not sure, she¡¯s a little young for her to be feeling that. That usually doesn¡¯t come till puberty¡­¡­¡­¡­.. FOCUS! ¡°Because you look like you know something!¡± Ah so that¡¯s the reason. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t¡­.er not very well at least. I guess just follow what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°Ok¡­¡± She seemed a bit put out but was still compliant for some reason. After lunch she and Marin took up positions of the dummies to the right of me, the previous owners moving off to different ones after sharp glares from Alephi. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alephi awkwardly mimicking my moves. With my understanding of physics and having the good fortune of swinging a bat in my previous life, coming to a conclusion on how to best hold the sword¡­¡­.Alephi¡­¡­ on the other hand¡­¡­¡­ Well, she¡¯ll figure it out. I¡¯d try to help but I believe that the guards would yell at us, possibly beat us even. The best I can do is hope that she pays attention to my movements. I can talk to her later about it in the cell anyways. *Thwack* *Tat* *POW* It wasn¡¯t until I executed a kick that something interesting happened. Alephi had mimicked it. But being a girl and slightly older, her body was much larger than mine. Meaning¡­¡­.. her legs were at the right length! Unlike my body with still has quite stubby legs, hers had already grown quite long¡­..actually very long for her age. Hmmmm, I wonder how well she¡¯ll do with punches? *paf* *PAPT* Her arms are longer too; she¡¯s doing much better at the martial arts forms since her limbs are at a better proportion to her torso than mine. ¡­¡­¡­.. After the realization that Alephi might be better off learning martial arts moves I began to incorporate more of them into my movements; if she could gain an understanding of how to fight with kicks and punches it may be better for her in the long run. Furthermore, it seems that she¡¯s a natural with fighting this way, her body moves unnaturally gracefully for someone still growing. ¡°HAP!¡± *CRRAACCKK* ¡­¡­.yes, her body is more than a lethal enough weapon. SHE¡¯S TEN RIGHT?! RIGHT!? *SRCICK!* ¡­¡­.I guess I can¡¯t say much either. I look at the now useless wooden sword, the fracture lines tracing a web like pattern from the midpoint of the blade and radiating outward. In the end all I could do was sigh and walk over to the guards by the doorway. They gave me a curious glare¡­.. if that¡¯s even possible. Thankfully they didn¡¯t yell at me and kick me like they had done in the first few weeks. ¡°It¡¯s broken.¡± I held up the wooden sword as proof. I could only hope that this was a regular occurrence. I mean, they were training people with beast race blood in them how to fight. Even as someone with¡­¡­¡­diluted blood¡­¡­..I was still stronger than I had ever been in my previous life. The guardsman then reached out. I unconsciously flinched expecting a fist. Instead I got¡­¡­..a pat on the head!? ¡°Good job! You¡¯re the second one! Here¡¯s another sword.¡± He pulled another one from a box I hadn¡¯t noticed behind him and handed it to me. ¡­¡­¡­.what¡¯s with this sudden pleasantness? ¡°This one too.¡± Suddenly a soft and slightly husky feminine voice sounded from behind me. ¡°Ah! This is the third one! My you¡¯re doing a good job!¡± As he bent to grab another sword, I turned to see who had also broken their sword. Much to my surprise¡­. Or maybe my lack of it, it was the lupine girl. As the only person with a full beast-race bloodline it would make sense that she would have more strength than even these guards. I wonder if she ever thought of trying to escape. Unlikely, after all they were everywhere. ¡°Hmph.¡± My glance received a cold snort from the girl. I wonder what¡¯s got her riled up. ¡°Here you go! Better watch out or this cat will catch up!¡± The guardsman handed the girl a new sword. Upon hearing his words she looked at me a glowered before her eyes shifted briefly to the guardsman¡¯s hand and then just as quickly looked back to me. Her expression darkened further and I thought I heard a low growl before she padded away to her spot and began to furiously whack at the mannequin. ¡­¡­aaahhhh I see. So that¡¯s how they¡¯re playing it. These bastards are actually just a bit clever. I shrugged and went back to training. There wasn¡¯t much else to do. ____________________________________________________________________________________ The next week continued like this: eating, training, eating, training, eating, massaging, sleeping. My skill as a masseuse has been increasing if I do say so myself and Alephi has slowly begun to accept me. It¡¯s nice seeing smiles on her and Marin¡¯s faces. Also Marin has been doing better so Alephi now has managed to start eating her full portion at meal times. Because of this she seems to have even more energy. The lupine girl and I now seem to be enemies; We both continuously break our wooden swords now. She seems to resent the fact that I can do it and that I¡¯m getting her ¡®doggy treats¡¯, i.e. head pats. With the end of this week though there was a change¡­¡­.. ¡°Alright next week is the last week of training! You lot are going to have practice spars!¡± I could almost feel the fiery stare from the lupine girl from where I stood beside Alephi with Marin in between us. ¡­.Fuck. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ So screw me right! I haven''t been on here in so long. and I apologize. I finished up my internship and then moved back to my parent''s house for the summer and so its been all hectic. but in the end that''s just an excuse I am very sorry for makin ya''ll wait and hope you enjoyed to latest chapter! Chapter 15: End of Training ¡°Alright you scrubs! Pick a partner and fight. If ya don¡¯t, no meals for the rest of the day.¡± I yawned slightly as I glanced around at the other children. They had that classical panicked look on their faces that some children would get when they had to pick a partner. Normally there would be some who would naturally sidle up to their friends and form pairs that way. However in this place the concept of a ¡®friend¡¯ typically never enters someone¡¯s mind. Then again maybe Alephi, Marin and I could be considered friends¡­¡­. I eagerly turn towards them, I guess I¡¯m a little worried about having to pick out someone different as well. ¡°Let¡¯s practice together Marin. It may hurt but I¡¯ll go easy on you.¡± ¡°Okay Big Sis!¡± Marin! You shouldn¡¯t have such a pure smile on your face when someone says they might hurt you! Alephi! How can you be such a brutal sister! ¡­Wait¡­¡­¡­¡­THEN WHO AM I GOING TO PARTNER WITH!? ¡°Oi shitty cat be my partner.¡± I turn to see the lupine girl trying to give me a glare, her minutely extended facial features were scrunched up as if she was snarling. The mess of the silvery grey and white hair on the back of her head rose slightly as well. ..her hackles are raised¡­¡­¡­ ffffff! ¡°I decline.¡± ¡°Ha?¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°Sorry but I am unable to comply with your demands. I am unable to acquiesce your request. In short¡­.NO!¡± Uh oh she¡¯s more pissed! Better find someone fast! I continue to scan through the ground and¡­¡­¡­nothing. Nooooo! ¡°Oi you shitty brats start sparring!¡± Damnit! You stupid guards! Can¡¯t you see she¡¯s going for blood!? You¡¯re going to lose a precious human resource if you let this continue! ¡°Haha! Serves you right!¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to beat you shitty cat!¡± Time to deploy verbal tactics that have been honed by my years of experience in the real world! ¡°No I¡¯m gonna beat you!¡± The lupine paused mid charge. Her face grew more creased in her confusion. Around us the sounds of the other kids already fighting could be heard. ¡°No! I¡¯m gonna beat you!¡± Ah so she fell into it! The greatest debate of all time! ¡°Noooo! I¡¯m gonna beat you!¡± Drawing out the ¡®no¡¯ really does help establish my position on the argument. I wonder what her response will be! ¡°NO! I¡¯m beating you!¡± Oh! She changed the tone of her argument. Unfortunately she¡¯s too na?ve. Her word bank has already been used up! I have a plethora of words with which to provide compounding evidence for my argument! ¡°It is I who will defeat you!¡± She completely stopped and tensed up. I could see her hands going white from their grip on her practice sword. Maybe that was too much? ¡°Aaargghh! I¡¯m beating you!¡± It was! The lupine girl dashed forward as nothing more than a grey blur. Eh? *BOOM!* ¡°Guffwwaa!¡± I could feel spittle coating the corners of my mouth and chin. My back and the back of my head screamed in pain. Furthermore I could feel something hard behind me¡­. A wall? How did I end up against a wall? Wasn¡¯t I standing over there? I look over to the position I had been at about ten or so feet away. What greeted me was the image of a very shocked lupine girl. Her jaw had dropped and her practice sword was held limply in her hand. At that moment the front of my abdomen decided to start smarting in pain. I slowly stood up, trying to gauge if I had received a concussion or not. Not that I¡¯m any good at knowing that. A perfect memory can¡¯t remember things it doesn¡¯t know. I lightly ran my hand along my abdomen. Miraculously my ribs weren¡¯t cracked¡­..hopefully. I could feel a sharp line of swelling from where the sword had landed. Damn that hurt. ¡°H-how?¡± Dumb girl, you probably have the strength of one of earth¡¯s strongest men. I weigh less than a hundred pounds. It¡¯s a physics equation. However¡­. ¡°Pssshhtt.¡± I spat out the last remaining bile from my mouth. ¡°Nice move, but sorry. Now that I¡¯m ready you¡¯re going down.¡± I was so stupid; I¡¯d forgotten our physical abilities when I had brought her into that child¡¯s argument. *Crackle* Ugh, my spine!!! I need a chiropractor after this! ¡°HMPH!¡± Oops! She moves too quickly! I dived out of the way. *CRASH!* Of course the idiot dog girl slammed into the wall. Jeez serves her right for not understanding Newton¡¯s first law. ¡°ow!¡± Tch, like that actually hurt you. Thankfully it gave me enough time to regain my stance. I had lost my practice sword earlier so I was going to have to rely on my bare hands and my legs. Though, given that I had been training with them more for Alephi¡¯s benefit it makes sense. I could feel panic wanting to take over. The rudimentary techniques I had been trying to train¡­¡­I could almost feel them leaking out of my muscles, the memory disappearing. After all I was dealing with a child that had no idea how to properly apply a strength that no little kid should have. Which means, despite the fact this was training¡­..she could kill me! ¡°I¡¯m gonna get you for that!¡± Plus, she¡¯s also throwing a tantrum! Forgetting her sword, she leaps at me launching her right fist in a wide ark. Moment exists, create a point of origin and redirect kinetic energy. I lean to the side and place most of my weight onto my right leg, the left leg is slightly bent. I catch her wrist with my left hand and her forearm with my right. I then follow along with a spinning motion, using my torso muscles to begin the spin before my right leg kicked off and my weight was transferred to my left leg. There was a slight wobble, but as expected we turned. All of the force she and I had generated combined and spun us in a tight fast circle before I released her and sent her crashing into the wall again. *BOOM!* ¡°AARRGHH!¡± Naturally I was sent stumbling slightly. We are talking about several hundred pounds of force being generated by bodies that in combined weight don¡¯t even equal two hundred pounds! I regained my footing, ready for another attack. ¡°That hurt!¡± What greeted me was the tearful and reddened face of a little girl rather than an enraged lupine. Errr maybe not....... Her face darkened and she snarled! ¡°You¡¯re gonna pay!¡± She grabbed her sword off the ground; miraculously it hadn¡¯t cracked in all the action. She leaped towards me, her matted silvery hair streaming behind her, as she brought her sword up for an overhead swing. Potential energy is high, external force can provide higher kinetic energy. I side stepped, it was quite easy. She leapt far too high, leaving me plenty of time to dodge. As she began her descent I leapt into the air as well. When we crossed paths mid-flight she revealed a shocked expression before I kicked her in the back. This caused her arms to splay out, leaving her front unprotected to the ground as I rose higher towards the ceiling. *Thump* With a dull sounding thump she smacked into the ground, her sword clattering to the side. This was physics. This was my domain. ¡°Uuwwaaa, aahhh, that hurttttt!¡± This was also a place where I was giving a ten year old a thorough beating. She pulled herself off the ground and shakily rose to her feet. Her forehead and nose had connected with the ground first so her mouth had been spared. Instead though, her nose was twisted slightly and her forehead was already bruised. She wasn¡¯t the only one who had strength far beyond what their body should have. I should finish this quickly I can see the rage and tears building in her. Besides she probably already has a concussion! I dashed towards her. ¡°Uwwaa!¡± She tearfully rages as she swings a clumsy fist towards me. It carries enough force to cause a draft but was easily dodged. I slipped inside her defense and clothesline her with my left forearm before performing a arm-type blood choke. ¡°Guggugggglle..Aayyyewwwa!¡± A short screech leaves her mouth before she drops limply in my arms. The fight was over, I hope she will wake up. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. If she did have a severe concussion¡­.she might not. I could feel a sinking weight causing my stomach to drop down into my feet and then into the floor. I had never killed before and I may have just murdered this girl! I feel sick as I fall to my knees; my legs had lost all strength. ¡°Damn! That was amazing! Someone go get Zla, this bitch will be perfect!¡± ¡°Oi little shit¡­.yeah you ya damn cat. Are you injured?¡± Concern? No, he is looking at me more like a damaged object. ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m fine¡­..¡± I mumble out the words as I look back towards the wolf girl. Moments later an old man with a pock-marked face and a scar running in a slight crescent from by his right eye to his lips, giving them a permanent grimace, walked into the room with a guard that had rushed out. ¡°hmm, I see. The new stock is finishing training. The bloody bloom will be good this year¡­I hope?¡± It was almost like blood lust and depressed resignation warred in the eyes of the old man who I assumed was Zla. ¡°Yeah, bet right and you might make it out this time! Gyahhaha!¡± A narrow chinned guard gave off a nasal laugh as if he¡¯d said the most humorous joke of the day. Despite his comment lacking any actual humor the other guards seemed to grin evilly at the old man as well. The old man seemed to ignore them, though bitterness washed over his face before he bent down and placed a hand on the unconscious lupine. ¡°Her injuries are minor, I¡¯ll just make some adjustments and she¡¯ll be fine by the day after tomorrow if you let her rest.¡± The same old guard that had taken me out of the cell on that day with Clyde, his second chin jiggled as he nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll be dun.¡± Zla nodded before looking at the lupine girl and whispering something indecipherable under his breath. Maybe it was an incantation? It must¡¯ve been, because her nose rapidly repaired! This is amazing! I mean I had already seen magic, but a type which would not only encourage rapid cellular repair but also set bones? Never! Oops! Why is he looking at me!? Is it because I¡¯m the one that did that to her? Strangely enough the sick feeling in my stomach had disappeared. I guess the fact that he bothered to heal her had set my mind at ease. Wait this isn¡¯t the time to be thinking of that! He¡¯s walking this way! ¡°You, you¡¯re the one that did this.¡± It was said as a statement rather than a question, I suppose its pretty obvious. Looking around the other children weren¡¯t nearly as scuffed up. They naturally didn¡¯t want to be hurt so the fights hadn¡¯t escalated that far. Besides they were not only unskilled but they also lacked the lupines raw strength. They were only halfers or even less like me. I could only nod, there were many witnesses after all. ¡°Come with me. Fezr I¡¯ll be borrowing this one for a while.¡± The fat guard grunted in agreement. Hmmm, so his name was Fezr. I really fall into idle thoughts so easily! I feel Zla¡¯s grip on my shoulder as he drags me off with him down the dark hallway. After several turns we head up a flight of stairs, then down another hallway where we cross an open courtyard¡­.. I have never seen this place. Melting snow drifts covered most of it, though two stone paths had been cleared. What appeared to be a well was also free of snow in the left corner across from where we had entered. We were also walking towards it. Throughout this whole time, Zla never talked. He just kept one hand firmly clamped on my shoulder and led me towards a door that had a sign with what looked like a scalpel and a clover over it. Aaaahh, it was his office¡­ the office of a healer. *Creaakk* The door opened¡­if only grudgingly and Zla guided me inside. ¡°Sit.¡± He lightly pushed me towards a chair. As I sat down I managed to take a good look of the room. Upon entering one would have to pause to adjust to the lighting, the singular window had been draped. That window was also just to the left of the door on the same wall. It appeared that just inside the door was a form of front office, just enough room for a stationary desk and a few chairs around a low coffee table. The stationary desk was to the right and the chairs to the left of the doorway. Directly in front of someone who just stepped in was another open doorway leading to a back room. I couldn¡¯t really see much in there other than a few shelves, the sharp scent of antiseptic wafted out from it. I reasoned that must be where the things that magic couldn¡¯t fix were dealt with. ¡­..though what that was, I tremble to think of, after all magic is just so powerful. ¡­¡­.or at least I assume it is, I haven¡¯t seen much. But I can see its potential. I happened to be sitting in one of the chairs around the coffee table. I had hesitated for a minute due to the filth that caked my body but then reasoned if he¡¯d cared about it getting dirty he would¡¯ve left me standing. The chairs were whicker with a hemp cushion filled with who knows what. I didn¡¯t know if this was ¡®nice¡¯ furniture or not, I hadn¡¯t seen enough of the world. But it was better than what Clyde¡¯s family had and it was a heaven and hell of a difference between it and the cell where I¡¯d been sleeping. I could feel my ass relaxing for once Oh god it feels good to sit on something soft again! With a slight creak, Zla sat on the chair opposite me. ¡°You know, if I didn¡¯t have to I wouldn¡¯t work here.¡± ¡°huh?¡± ¡°But unfortunately, that¡¯s not up to me. After all I¡¯m stuck here like you.¡± He quickly pulled open his collar to show a tattoo in a weird script that seemed to circle about the base of his neck. He then just as quickly covered his neck with the collar of the shirt he was wearing. The shirt itself was almost as interesting. It was a dark forest green in color with no ornamentation, a style that I had noticed was common when I had walked the streets of Snaga. However, it oddly tightened around the chest and neck but was quite voluminous along the arms and abdomen. It kind of gave the impression of a very short robe¡­. Weird¡­¡­..anyways it was paired with a pair of equally voluminous pants of a darker shade, almost black. Those looked very comfy. Much better than what equated to a burlap sack that covered me. ¡°Uhuh.¡± ¡°What you just saw was a tattooed enchantment. Should I break my slave contract it¡¯ll kill me. But it will also harm my owner if they break their end of the arrangement. So maybe we aren¡¯t in the same boat.¡± Of course we¡¯re not you bastard! That¡¯s essentially indentured servitude that is corruption free! ¡°I suppose I should tell you how I ended up here.¡± ¡°uh-¡° ¡°You see it all started a few years ago when I had been going on a great run!¡± What the heck is this guy? I thought I was going to be examined for injury or punished for harming ¡®merchandise¡¯ that was obviously worth more than a mutt like me! My ears couldn¡¯t help but twitch in annoyance. ¡°Anyways, the fighter I had been betting on was on a winning streak so I kept raising the stakes¡­¡­.he died eventually. They had him fight against two beast from the twisted lands.¡± A glimmer of fear shown in his eyes at the mention of the twisted lands; I wonder where this place was. ¡°In short he was ripped apart and I lost a lot of money. I thought I could win it back and so I kept trying. Then when I lost that money I borrowed it¡­. A lot. Anyways I lost that too. I was kicked out of the clover field order and sold into slavery to pay my debts to the Snagan arena. Now I have been doing what I can to keep you gladiators alive.¡± He paused as he shifted in his seat and looked at me with a much more calculating expression ¡°Because of this I¡¯ve come to understand a great deal about injuries due to battle. I¡¯d also say I understand a good deal about how fighting actually works,¡± his voice trailed off slightly, ¡°Overlord knows but I¡¯ve seen enough of them.¡± Another oddity of this world, normally a religious figure on the ¡®good side¡¯ is used in that phrasing, however over here it is much more a curse as it uses a figure of ¡®evil¡¯, even I knew the Overlord had been some very horrible being from two hundred years ago. ¡°Today I witnessed a mutt child of a much younger age take a hit from a full blood who was also bigger than him. Then, I saw him in three quick moves turn her into nothing more than an unconscious sack of flesh. This already sounds slightly unnatural. However taking into account of how you beat that girl senseless it becomes inconceivable! I¡¯ve seen a lot, but you were obviously nervous and scared and yet you still were able to perform moves like you were some veiled-Mankoon!¡± His hands grasped the table and the veins that coiled along their bony top became more pronounced as he unconsciously gripped it and stared at me. It was almost like he was trying to bore a hole through my head, his dark eyes flickering with an odd light. ¡°Just what are you?¡± I leaned forward, paused then smiled and leaned back with a smirk into the wonderfully cushioned chair. ¡°I¡¯m a kitling.¡± ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for reading I suck at producing chapters. Please keep reading! hahahha :;^^: Chapter 16: Zla iscelitelja Zla¡¯s face contorted as a few incomprehensible sounds gurgled out. Eventually his head dropped and his shoulders slumped so far his head nearly touched the table. My ears twitched and realized he was rapidly muttering to himself. ¡°Advanced fighting method, intentionally snarky attitude. But body is in the form of a child¡­¡­.shapeshifting twisted beast?..... no, shapeshifting ability would have to be innate ability to allow complete change of bone structure. Physiology checks out thus completely ruling out any form of shapeshifting ability¡­¡­¡­..illusion? But then it would have to be greater than my search!¡± His head snapped up as he stared towards me. His bony hands now splayed out across the table. ¡°Did the order send you!? An assassin to clean up their little embarrassment?!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s no surprise. They must¡¯ve finally cracked the lock on that box¡­. I wonder if they even bothered to brief you on the contents. Hahahaha ohwell if this is how I go then fine! It¡¯s much better than this current trapped existence.¡± He started laughing hysterically as he slumped back into his own wicker chair, his legs accidentally shoving the table towards me. ¡­.Or wait¡­¡­ that was on purpose! With a clatter his chair fell to the floor as he rocketed out of the room. This old man was surprisingly spry as he sprinted into the second room. Honestly all I could do was sit in stunned silence. ¡­oookk?....... ¡°Fufufuf, You gave me time to prepare my magic! Prepare yourself!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you coming after me?¡± ¡­¡­After a bit, Zla poked his head out from the backroom and looked towards me. In his hand I could see several clovers floating. What¡¯s he going to do, lucky charm me to death? Looking closer I notice that they seemed to almost glint like glass, though no light fell on them. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Oi! Answer me!¡± ¡°ummm¡­..Mister Zla¡­¡­..err sir. I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on.¡± God I hate this child¡¯s voice! I sound like a complete imbecile with this high pitched squeaky voice! ¡°huh?¡± Ohwell, I¡¯ll just have to deal with it. ¡°What¡¯s this order you¡¯re talking about? Earlier you mentioned the¡­¡­.Clover Field Order¡­¡­.is it that?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­ummm¡­¡­yes.¡± He appeared to be getting flustered, his permanent grimace deepening which caused the crescent like scar to straighten into a ragged line. ¡°Can I go back now?¡± Seems like a valid question for the situation. Though I really hope he doesn¡¯t send me back! Let me enjoy this cushiness just a bit longer! ¡°So you¡¯re¡­.not¡­¡­.an assassin?¡± ¡°Yep, not an assassin!¡± I give him a big childish smile. I feel so fake right now! It seemed to calm him down slightly. The clovers shattered into green-gold sparks that blew away from his hand on a non-existent wind. His face returned to its usual grimacing self, though his body remained tensed, and he walked back to his now toppled chair. After righting it, he sat down with a sigh and kept his arms firmly clasped to the armrests as if ready to bolt at any moment. After a while he looked at me again and asked, ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°As I said before, a kitling.¡± His response was a flat look and then, ¡°No kitling I¡¯ve ever seen has spoken as clearly as you. Furthermore your bearing is not that of a child or even a slave.¡± Perceptive bastard, the guards were always too busy yelling to notice. But this guy¡­. He saw. Even now I could see him carefully observing my every move, his eyes seeming to weigh and measure me with unknown scales. Guess I¡¯ll just use the excuse I gave Clyde. ¡°Ah, well, I work for the War god.¡± I give off another beaming child smile. In returned I got a raised eyebrow. ¡°The War god huh? It¡¯s funny you should mention the word god.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nevermind, I¡¯ll explain later.¡± ¡°Uhmm.¡± He leaned back into his chair, the permanent grimace almost seeming to curve upward causing the crescent scar to become more curved. He continued to sit there and view me contemplatively. Eventually he stood up and walked over to the stationary desk at the other end of the room. Where he began to shuffle through some papers stacked to the side on the desk; suddenly he spoke. ¡°Despite the barbaric appearance of this place and what I can only assume are the horrendous conditions you find yourself under this place is still a business. As a business it has some smart people in it, very different from the thugs that guard you¡­ though Fezr seems to be a decent sort.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Where was he going with this? ¡°As such they keep records of all the kitlings collected. Usually just basic information such as height, weight, where they were taken from¡­. Etc. If a family sold them they¡¯ll even keep some more detailed records. Things such as occupation of the previous owner and bloodline are kept, should you survive long enough to be used as a stud¡­.well they wouldn¡¯t want inbreeding to occur.¡± O¡­K¡­? Eventually he seemed to have found what he wanted and returned to the coffee table. On the paper he placed on the table was a small and neat script. My eyes flashed over the contents, it was information about me! ¡°The lady who sold you¡­em¡­Gertrude claimed that you could read though she herself could not¡­¡­ it appears she was speaking the truth.¡± My eyes flicked up as I saw Zla¡¯s eyes boring into me. Damn, I just reflexively started reading the document. It was only natural¡­it was about myself after all! ¡°Also she listed that you knew of things that you should not and weren¡¯t¡­ ahem¡­. ¡®natural¡¯.¡± I leaned back into my chair, my secret had been exposed so easily. With Clyde it had been fine, they were a small inconsequential family and for the most part had seen me as a blessing. However¡­. This place was a business first and foremost. Either I¡¯d be exploited¡­..or, should they determine me a threat, destroyed. ¡°Fortunately for you, the one who was scribing that day was me. Despite the fact that I¡¯m a wizard they still had me doing a clerks work! Hmph!¡± He snorted at that. Seems someone has an issue coming to accept his position! Though more importantly it seems like he¡¯s getting ready to extort me! ¡°Ok?¡± ¡°So¡­ how about it? Really, who are you?¡± ¡°Why the sudden interest anyways?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t sudden; I¡¯ve been considering it for the past few months you¡¯ve been here. Also, I¡¯ve been observing you. You are very different than the other kitlings so don¡¯t you tell me you¡¯re ¡®just a kitling¡¯!¡± It looked like his patience was wearing thin, I could see his nostrils flaring¡­¡­ damn that was alotta bats in the cave! ¡°I plead the fifth!¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s the fifth!?¡± Oops¡­.. I think I¡¯m getting flustered! I guess Clyde, Gertrude, and Claura had spoiled me. They had gone along with what I said¡­.. it wasn¡¯t that they were dumb, they just never had a good sharpening. Zla, on the other hand, seemed to have an edge that could cut flying tomatoes like in those knife commercials. ¡°Ummm nevermind.¡± Ugh come on! Think! ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ll ask again¡­¡­. What are you?¡± Is that bloodlust¡­..no¡­.I know that look¡­¡­¡­..it¡¯s like Cecily when she gained a sudden interest in quantum foam! She couldn¡¯t quite grasp it for a few weeks and she had that look! The hungry look of a scientist. Kyyaaa! He¡¯s looking at me so intensely! ¡­¡­ahem. I need to think of something or I¡¯m screwed! ¡­¡­¡­.oh, that might work! I splayed my small hands out on the table and stood up so I was closer to his eye level. ¡°I was, I am, and I always will be¡­¡­¡­..a being beyond your comprehension.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. That¡¯s true, I doubt he can comprehend a person living in a world of science suddenly reincarnating over here¡­¡­¡­.though my memories from that time weren¡¯t supposed to ever resurface. ¡°huh?¡± ¡°The personality you see before you is not the original kilting, we may be of one soul but not entirely of one mind.¡± Zla¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at me¡­.. Yes, that¡¯s right¡­. Let your mind run in circles. Try to tell yourself I¡¯m lying, but with the evidence before you, you can only think that it may be true. After all, in this world there is magic¡­. Something as odd as what I just said is possible¡­. I AM living proof of that¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Hahaha! This is amazing! Never in my life did I think I would see evidence to support my claims!¡± ¡°¡­.eh?¡± ¡°Hahaha! You bind the mind to the soul! Not the soul to the mind! This must mean resurrection is possible!¡± ¡°Eh¡­uh no¡­.um.¡± ¡°So how did you do it? Who are you? You must be some great wizard!¡± After sitting upright in tense excitement Zla relaxed into his chair and then looked slightly apologetic. ¡°I¡¯m not even mad that you beat me too it¡­. Truly I respect you whoever you are.¡± ¡°Wait¡­.don¡¯t you already see the fault in doing it that way?¡± I can¡¯t let this rest! This guy is an idiot!! I sat myself back in my chair and palmed my face before dragging it down in exasperation. It must¡¯ve looked cute since I¡¯m six and I could feel my ears pressing against my head. ¡°What do you mean?¡± His tone was a hundred times more respectful. ¡°Binding a different mind to a soul¡­¡­¡­ don¡¯t you see the problem?¡± ¡°Ummmm.¡± ¡°The soul is the core of your being! If I bound my mind to someone else¡¯s soul it would fundamentally change who I was at my very roots! I would cease to be me! If I really was some great wizard, would I do something like giving up my current personality?¡± His eyes glinted with complete understanding now. ¡°I don¡¯t even know a single spell¡­. Hell I can¡¯t even use magic and I know that!¡± Uh-oh his eyes were sharpening up! This is bad¡­ ¡°So then what exactly are you!¡± Ok, breathe¡­. Just¡­. Breathe. Look imposing, look imposing, lookimposing! NOPE can¡¯t do that with a child¡¯s body! ¡­.Or actually¡­¡­¡­.I can! I leaned further back into the chair and stretched lazily as though I hadn¡¯t a care in the world before smirking at Zla. ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m a being far beyond your comprehension.¡± His eyes are narrowing! Eeek! ¡°Tell me¡­.. do you even understand what you did to that lupine child earlier?¡± I rested my head on my right fist¡­¡­¡­..the picture of control! ¡­.I hope. ¡°I healed her.¡± I palmed my face again¡­¡­¡­dumbass! If he can check my physiology with just a hand on my shoulder he should understand what he was doing when he ¡®healed¡¯ her. ¡°No¡­ I meant was, what was the healing¡­..doooinngg. What biological reactions were induced by your spell?¡± He only gave me a look of complete befuddlement¡­¡­. ¡­..oh dear god¡­¡­¡­he has absolutely no idea what I¡¯m talking about. ¡°Tell me, what kind of order is the Clover Field Order?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­.It¡¯s an order chartered by the kingdom to research healing magic and related subjects¡­..¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡­.well, what was your position in the order?¡± At this he gave a slightly pained look but still answered. ¡°I am--- I was a court consultant¡­. I was responsible for remedying ailments that normal medicine couldn¡¯t heal as well as all physical injuries of the royal family.¡± ¡°No wonder you¡¯re no longer in that position! Your knowledge of the body is surprisingly lacking!¡± He glared at me and stood in anger. ¡°Oh don¡¯t give me that, you can¡¯t even answer a simple question about healing a broken nose!¡± ¡°Fine then¡­. The mana is injected into the body and reattaches all broken objects as remembered in the mind!¡± He huffed slightly. I suppose it must be infuriating for an old man when a wee tyke like me makes fun of him. Serves you right for being so persistent! ¡°Aaahh¡­ that seems like quite the complex way about it¡­¡­ tell me, can that method¡­. Say....mmm¡­. fix a paraplegic?¡± ¡°A what?¡± Oops there¡¯s not a word for that in the language! Hmm guess I¡¯ll go with a different problem. ¡°Never mind, instead¡­ can that method regrow someone¡¯s arm even if they¡¯ve lived without it for years.¡± He hesitated at that, considering. Yeap, he was definitely a scientist despite his deplorable lack of knowledge. Some may find this expectation unreasonable. But I¡¯d say that¡¯s bollocks! In a world of magic it would make sense that a spell caster would understand exactly what their spell does. Claura¡¯s ability to heat and cool objects was a support for that belief. ¡°No, it wouldn¡¯t. Records stated that a small dismemberment¡­. Something no larger than a hand can be fixed, but not something like a whole limb!¡± I flopped my arms down onto the arm rests. This is getting annoying; playing the superior being shtick is tiresome! ¡°Hah¡­. Thought so,¡± then in a quieter voice, ¡°At least we could regrow arms¡­.¡± His head snapped up sharply, his eyes widening. That got his attention¡­.wellp now time to finish this charade. ¡°What is it you mean by that!?¡± I stood up and lightly patted my stomach before looking up at him with what I hope was a world wearied look. I even threw a sigh in for good measure! ¡°Look, I¡¯m tired. I nearly got my ass handed to me today by a psycho mutt girl.......which is probably the strangest sentence I¡¯ve ever said in my entire life¡­¡­ anyways, I¡¯m done with this line of questioning. I¡¯ve answered the same question in three different ways¡­ each of which were true. I¡¯d like to go sleep and recover my strength; this body is much different from my previous one and is difficult to fight in.¡± I made my way to the door¡­.. I feel like I¡¯m forgetting something. ¡°But that can¡¯t be right!¡± I turned my head back and rolled my eyes. ¡°Why?¡± He looked perturbed. ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a god, much less a War god in thousands of years!¡± Wait there were actually gods here!? They existed? ¡°the last gods were gone long before the Overlord came to power, though some thought she may become one as well¡­¡­ before she died that is.¡± What the hell!? What¡¯s going on? Uh-oh! Am I showing my surprise on my face? ¡°So you saying you are from the War god¡­¡­ that can¡¯t be.¡± Fake it till you make it! I projected my best knowing smile as I stepped out of the room. ¡°Like I said¡­. I¡¯m something far beyond your comprehension.¡± _____________________________________________________________________________________________ I felt like spoiling you for all the wonderful comments! I had myself strapped to a chair when I could and my girlfriend had to practically shut off the internet for me to finish the last bit! (I get distracted) But anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter! EDIT: oh yeah....about the title, it''s Bosnian (hint, hint for other words) Chapter 17: The Week Before Tomorrow ¡°Woof¡± I stuck my tongue out as I stretched on the cold stone floor. Talking with Zla was mentally exhausting and then reassuring Marin that everything was fine added on to that when he finally brought me back. I scratched the base of my left ear¡­. I finally get why cats like this so much! It really has been quite exhausting¡­ After convincing Zla that I was some ¡®Super Being¡¯ sent down by a War god, he had walked me back to my cell in a brewing silence for a long while. After a while he had even asked for me to show him a sign! Instead I told him to wait for the Blood Bloom¡­¡­..whatever that was and said I¡¯d show him there. ¡­..I think that scared him more than anything else. He had literally paled till he was whiter than paper! Though¡­¡­.. with the Blood Bloom only a week away I really have to get training! I¡¯d honestly rather not die and this¡­. Event¡­. It sounds very, very, very deadly. ¡°Hey¡­.kitling?¡± ¡°mmm?¡± I turned to see Alephi curled up on the other side of Marin. Everyone else had already fallen asleep including Marin¡­.and I had thought Alephi as well. She seemed deeply concerned about something, her face was all scrunched up and her fox ears were bent forward close to her head. In any other situation I think my mind would¡¯ve blanked by how adorable she looked with her big eyes and rusty colored ears. ¡­¡­..But¡­¡­..the intensity of the concer¡ªno fear in her eyes prevented me from doing so. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to us?¡± Huh? I cocked an eyebrow. She¡¯s asking me that? Little miss tough girl? I could only sigh with a reply. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t predict the future.¡± She started to tear up at that and her voice choked and cracked. ¡°I-I-I d-don¡¯t w-want to die-e-e. I-I mean,¡± *Sniff*, ¡°That¡¯s w-w-what¡¯s g-gon-n-na hap-p-pen to-to us r-right?¡± I could feel my heart clench and rise to my throat. Why? WHY!? To me who had come from earth where life was relatively peaceful the current situation was intolerable. Like a lot of things since coming here I¡¯ve put off thinking about it for far too long. I think deep down I didn¡¯t mind the life I¡¯ve been living here. It was like being a kid again¡­though in this case I was enslaved it was still quite similar. I had ¡®chores¡¯ I had to do¡­.but at the same time I didn¡¯t have to think about where food was coming from, or paying rent, or if I was going to be able to keep the funding for my research¡­¡­ In comparison this life was so darn easy, I could just relax my mind and work and at the end of the day I¡¯d get a pat on the head and a bed to sleep on. For the past six years I believe that I enjoyed the life of a kitling. That was another thing I don¡¯t even have a na--- *Uwwaahhh* While I had been caught up in thinking and branching off on tangents, Alephi had finally lost it. She broke down and was now quietly crying. Her body quivered as she quietly sniffled. Another kid across the room shifted, ¡°Shut up,¡± was all they mumbled. Alephi¡¯s sobbing quietened further but it only served to increase her quivering. Her large ears were completely flat against her head and quivering slightly. Massive tear drops were welling up from her eyes and dripping down her nose. That¡¯s where the adorableness ended as snot began falling down as well and I could see her choking back sobs. How¡­.wha--- what am I supposed to do!? I don¡¯t know how to comfort kids! Her sobs continued but through them I could hear her quietly saying, ¡°Kit¡ªuuuu ¨C kitling¡­.kit-¡° *Crrsshh* In the end I could only do what I could think of. I reached around Marin and pulled her in close. The three of us were in one tight bundle. It seemed to temporarily stop the crying and she looked me in the eyes. ¡°Alephi, the truth is I don¡¯t know either. But what I do know is that you don¡¯t need to cry.¡± ¡°W-why?¡± Somehow I managed to wrap both of my arms around her and Marin¡­..barely. At least it was enough to squeeze and reinforce my words. ¡°Because come what may, we¡¯ll face it together, I refuse to abandon either of you.¡± At least that much was true. Over the past few weeks these two had grown on me. After all, as of right now I might as well consider them my only friends in this world. Through the tears in her eyes, they now seemed to carry a glimmer of hope. A weak smile crept onto her face as she hugged back. ¡°Nnn!¡± At this point Marin¡¯s sleep was disturbed by the constant jostling. Her ears twitched in what appeared to be annoyance and her face scrunched up. ¡°Mmmm, stop it Big Sis¡­¡­.Kitling¡¯s nice!¡± Well¡­..I wonder what she¡¯s dreaming about. Our eyes met as we glanced up at each other. We both had a blank expression before breaking out into barely suppressed laughter. Her tears now completely disappeared as she smiled slightly. ¡°Well, I suppose we should sleep. Tomorrow we¡¯ll be busy as well.¡± ¡°Nn¡­..Goodnight.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but remember the last time I¡¯d been in this warm situation. Visions of that time with my mom flashed before my eyes and my grip involuntarily tightened on Alephi. She gave me a questioning gaze and I forced a smile. ¡°Goodnight¡­.. sleep well.¡± At this point all I can do is sleep and train and dare to hope that I¡¯ll be able to keep these two alive in the Blood Bloom when it comes. _____________________________________________________________________________________ After a surprisingly filling gruel we were herded into the underground training facility. I wondering if they are trying to strengthen us before the match¡­.bastards¡­ but I appreciate the satisfying meal! This time I was fortunately able to snag another boy before that psycho wolf girl could get to me. She was about to argue the point before one of the guards kicked her over towards another unpaired boy. ¡­¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry brother! But sacrifices must be made! Though I marveled at the girl¡¯s actions, or lack of it; she didn¡¯t even so much a snap at the guard who had kicked her. Even she must¡¯ve realized fighting is futile. We may be super strong, strong enough to kill all of the guards in this room with ease. But apparently she must know as well as the rest of us that despite being able to kill those guards there was still a magician in the room. Yes, Zla sat on a stool by the entrance and watched us with a disinterested expression. As beast-race, every child is taught to fear magicians. They are our bane as far as the stories even my own mother had told me go. We were extremely susceptible to mind control and illusion spells hence why most viewed us as dumb beasts rather than people. While spells of this nature were difficult to use, even the weakest ones could easily control us. It was why humanity was able to enslave us. It was why, none of us tried to escape. ¡°MMoooYyaahh!¡± The small Halfling from the Taurus clan came charging towards me. His ox-tail swayed behind him and his ears which were earmarked, I noticed, were flat against his head. Since he was only a Halfling, his face wasn¡¯t nearly so protruding as most of his kind. His nose was even human sized. I sidestepped quickly. Like the beast that he anthropomorphized he was very good at charging in straight lines¡­¡­changing directions¡­..not so much. Luckily we were near a wall so he ran into that rather than getting in between someone else¡¯s match. ¡°ow! Mooerr I¡¯ll get you this time.¡± He came back with a vicious swing to the point where I could feel a breeze off of it! Cripes this guy is as strong as the mutt girl! Then he stumbled when he tried to turn opposite his swing when I dodged and shifted over that direction. ¡­¡­.. but he lacks her agility¡­¡­ So will this fight be difficult¡­.or not? I clasp my hands behind my back and let my wooden sword clatter to the ground. This seemed to enrage the little Halfling and he came at me with vicious blows more terrible than the one before. ¡­.but they were just so easy to dodge! Within a few minutes he was panting heavily and his sword seemed as though it was ready to fall from his hands. ¡°huff, haa, Mooerr I¡¯ll get you!¡± He came at me again with an overhead strike. Once again I side-stepped; this time though, instead of simply skipping away I stepped into his guard. My right leg snaked out behind his and I struck him with my palm. The end result was he fell over my leg onto the ground. Due to abnormal formation of nose, application of minimal force will induce extreme pain. There it was again¡­.those cold thoughts. Where did they come from? Eh? My hand had already pinched the wall of the nasal septum. ¡°Mooerr w-what a-are you d-doing!?¡± The small Halfling squirmed under me in fear. This must¡¯ve happened to him before. Cows noses, like most animals were extremely sensitive. What AM I doing? This kid isn¡¯t even that much older than this body and I¡¯m thinking of tormenting him? I released his nose and wiped my hand on the back of my clothes, such as they were, and then put the hand back on his chest. ¡°I win.¡± I cocked my eyebrow and twitched my ears backward to appear threatening. He had looked like he was about to argue against it but had stopped when he looked into my eyes. ¡­maybe I¡¯m just a bit threatening? Well slitted cat eyes were already unnerving on an actual cat¡­. ¡°OOO told ya ta stop fightin! Get back up¡¯n¡¯go again!¡± Of course we aren¡¯t allowed to just pleasantly rest after the first battle! I let the Taurus boy stand up and retrieve his sword. I retrieved my own, I have a feeling it would be a good idea to get used to actually using it. We didn¡¯t talk after that initial bit. Maybe I should reach out to him¡­.to try and establish a relation¡­.but I was terrified. Alephi and Marin were a spur of the moment decision that I made and it somehow worked out. But now¡­. I didn¡¯t know if I could trust anyone else. I keep hearing whispers of the Blood Bloom. Things like, ¡°how many will survive this time you think?¡± Or, ¡°I¡¯ve already got money on that cat over there.¡± And finally, ¡°It¡¯s gonna be a pain in the ass dealing with the survivor¡¯s mewling afterwards!¡± Just¡­.just what were they going to do? ¡°oof!¡± I removed the butt of the wooden sword from the solar plexus of the boy and he fell to the ground for the umpteenth time. ¡°Alright you ingrates! Lunch is here!¡± Once more we were served a simple gruel. This one had a few actually discernible vegetable floating out of it! I¡¯m just so glad they think of giving us such a well-rounded diet! The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Thankfully it was a time I could be with Alephi and Marin. After Alephi¡¯s break down last night I was extra concerned for them. Thankfully Alephi had stopped the bad habit of giving Marin more of her portion and so now had more strength than before. Marin herself had seemingly improved by leaps and bounds in mood since they¡¯d started feeding us better. Alephi also seemed better in comparison to last night¡­..but I could see it. Fear. It was almost like it was written on her pupils. The stressed out and fatigued look she exuded was not something a small ten year old should bear. I myself could feel the crippling stress and found it difficult to fight against. ¡°So, how goes the training?¡± ¡°Mm! It¡¯s going great! Big sis is awesome!¡± ¡°ehehehe.¡± Alephi gave a slightly embarrassed expression to Marin¡¯s praise before glancing over at me and whispering conspiratorially, ¡°Thanks for the help last week. I¡¯m showing Marin everything you showed me!¡± Such a good girl! Always remembers to thank others and help her little sister! What a wonderful kid! ¡°No problem.¡± I grinned and went back to eating my gruel. We didn¡¯t need to talk a lot, I think just being able to sit by each other settled our nerves. Eventually though, lunch came to an end and it was back to the grindstone. The Taurus kid however had found another person to fight with and so that person¡¯s partner came over to fight me. Normally I wouldn¡¯t have minded¡­¡­however¡­¡­¡­. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get you today you shitty cat! Awoo!¡± The damn mutt was the partner! ____________________________________________________________________________________ ¡°AAaooooo.¡± I crawl across the dirty floor of the cell with no shame. My body is in shambles after all. After lunch I once again had to face off against that demonic bitch from hell. ¡­¡­actually couldn¡¯t she literally be considered a bitch? Whatever¡­¡­¡­. The end result is that all my muscle and joints are screaming at me for the torture I subjected them to so I could avoid the bit¡­.well that¡¯s not really polite¡­..the mutt¡¯s attacks. The only satisfaction I got from today was seeing the damn mutt¡¯s tail hanging limply and her ears bowed down as she walked back into the cell. Despite the fact that I probably got the worst of it I was able to score a hit or two in our fights and she wasn¡¯t able to land a single satisfying blow. But really, we have way too much strength. ¡°ouch!¡± The ball of my foot accidentally rubbed the ground. The raw skin on it was a direct product of our absurd strength. At one point I accidentally fell into a test of strength with her and locked arms¡­¡­ ¡­¡­.Ugh¡­¡­just thinking about it embarrasses me¡­.. The end result was that the rough padding of the underside of her feet which is similar to a dog¡¯s and her greater strength overrode my coefficient of static and then kinetic friction. In laymen¡¯s terms she pushed me so hard that my feet slid across the ground. Suddenly rusty hair and large fox ears cover my vision. Too close Marin! ¡°Are you ok?¡± ¡°..N¡ªmm yeah¡­.. completely fine¡­.hehe.¡± I could only look away as I slowly resume my crawling. Marin you¡¯re such a kindhearted girl I wouldn¡¯t want you worrying about little old me. Suddenly I felt someone picking me up by the armpits and then something soft rustle lightly under my left arm. ¡°Alephi?!¡± The black tips of her ears twitched slightly as she looked up from under my arm. Her expression was blank. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d help you.¡± Kuhhh¡­ really now. Both of these sisters are just too wonderful! ..ouch, ouch, ouch! Alephi I appreciate what you are doing but now my feet have to touch the ground! Eventually we got to our little section of the cell and Alephi set me down. The whole time I had to try and keep as straight a face as possible since I didn¡¯t want her to know that she was actually just causing more pain than helping me! After wiping the sweat off my face from holding back the gasps of pain I decided it would be good to help get their minds off me. I could see their concern slowly being etched into their faces. ¡°How was your sparring today?¡± ¡°nnn! It was great! Big Sis is awesome.¡± Alephi seemed to puff up at this. Though that¡¯s natural, any older sibling can¡¯t help but swell in pride when their younger sibling praises them. ¡°Fufufu, I did pretty well but Marin is improving.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Ooops! That¡¯s a conversation terminator¡­ damnit! I can see the concern returning! ¡°Get your slop you ingrates!¡± Thankfully chow time saved me! ¡­¡­ After dinner Alephi and Marin seemed to forget about their concern for my health and immediately fell asleep. Hmph, the little brats must be exhausted. This intense training before the Blood Bloom has been wearing everyone¡¯s strength a little thin. ¡°grrrrr¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­..¡± ¡°hhrrrgggrrrr.¡± What The Fuck is that? My ears swivel as I try to locate where the sound is coming from. Just one of the many advantages to having huge cat ears. Ah¡­¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s coming from the mutt-girl. I can see her two golden eyes glaring at me across the room in the almost total darkness. It had finally started to warm up so I was no longer desperately trying to stay warm at night and yet I found myself shivering slightly. ¡­¡­Am I afraid? I could feel a righteous anger swelling in me at the thought. I am already over three times this child¡¯s age, what do I have to fear of her? ¡°Gggrrrrggrr.¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. This fear comes from the fact that there is an animal in front of me that for all intents and purposes wishes to kill me. Why would it want to do that? ¡°Ggrr--!¡± The growling stops, the look in the mutt¡¯s eyes change. Confusion? Anger? Despair? No, it¡¯s a mixture of frustration and melancholy. Who knew it could have such emotions¡­¡­.. It? But that¡¯s a person. ¡°Fuck.¡± The words involuntarily fell from my mouth. IDIOT! For just a moment there I became one of THEM. I became a¡­. a¡­. human. I thought of her as an animal rather than a person. How to fix this¡­. How to fix this¡­¡­¡­. ¡°huurrhggglele..¡± *Cough* *Cough* Oh now she¡¯s looking at me weird ¡°Rrrrrraaoowwwwrrrrr!¡± Oh shit! That was too loud! ¡°Shut up in there you gits!¡± The guards at the door banged the wall with the butts of their swords. ¡°Nnn? Kitling what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°N-nothing¡­.go back to sleep.¡± After glancing towards Alephi and confirming her going back to sleep I look over at the mutt. I can see it in her eyes. Mixed in with the rage and animalistic instinct is¡­ gratitude. Well, you¡¯re welcome. But I¡¯m going to bed! _____________________________________________________________________________________ The days leading up to the Blood Bloom continued like this. A daily repeat of gruel, training, gruel, training, gruel, sleep. Towards the end, the other children started looking like they had an understanding of how to fight. Despite the training only being a little over a week long, their natural instincts had been awoken. To me who had a perfect memory of every fighting move I have ever seen, their form looked sloppy. ¡°I hope we¡¯ll get through this.¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We should sleep, tomorrow¡­..well tomorrow is going to be very important.¡± ¡°Okay~.¡± Marin obediently curled up between Alephi and I. A few minutes later her slow and deep breaths confirmed she was asleep. After double checking she truly was asleep I looked towards Alephi on the other side of her. In her eyes I could see it. Fear. We did our best to shield Marin from the snippets of conversation we had heard, but that just meant we ourselves were paying extra attention to them. ¡°Alright, remember to stay as close to me tomorrow as possible. Don¡¯t let Marin out of your sight.¡± ¡°Nn!¡± Alephi nodded her head almost violently. I could see tears being fought back. For a ten year old she is amazing. But I guess that¡¯s what makes the mind so outstanding, age doesn¡¯t matter to it, it matures rapidly with experience. ¡°Now what do you do if the mutt comes for me.¡± ¡°I take Marin away and stay away from the fighting.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I could feel frustration welling up inside me. This was the only other thing we planned out. Should mutt-girl attack, I¡¯ll stop her while Alephi and Marin run. The mutt-girl is the only one out of this bunch that can fight me as an equal. Her pure-blood gives her all the natural advantages of a beast-race, including fighting instincts that rival what I¡¯ve managed to train into this little body. Not to mention her over whelming strength can crush me within seconds if I let it. ¡°Alright time for bed, goodnight Alephi.¡± ¡°Goodnight¡­..Kitling.¡± As Alephi settles into a fitful sleep I watch the two sisters for a while. Again. I¡¯m accepting responsibility again. I¡¯m allowing myself to love someone again. In a twisted way I know this isn¡¯t quite like what happened with my mother on this world¡­.but the brain is weird like that. Over the past few months that is what happened. I¡¯ve fallen for these two sisters, I love them as if they were my own sisters. I¡¯ve also accepted the responsibility of protecting them. For my own sanity I hope I can. ¡°Tomorrow is the day, the day this little cell of frightened children will turn into a jungle of fierce beasts in the arena. All for the pleasure of monsters.¡± ¡°Grrrrrrr.¡± I ignore her growls. She is not what I need to focus on right now. I look back down at the two sisters before going to sleep myself. Tomorrow will be the day it ends. Tomorrow is the Blood Bloom! ~Gathering Data: 10%~ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ So I''m back........ish [th_059_.gif] . Don''t worry timely releases will definitely return! [th_113_.gif] ................. Oh who am I kidding. I''m back in college and as those of you at that age or older understand.....it can get busy. I finally managed to crank out this sucker. At the very least it''ll hopefully tide you all over. Please don''t leave me! Sorry! :boworpushups: :noei: Chapter 18: Blood Bloom ¡°Get up you mangy gits!¡± ¡°Yeah, this is your last meal! It¡¯d be a shame not to enjoy it!¡± My day started with this. The gruel crew coming in to give us our breakfast. Naturally the one with the snaggle tooth and freckles had decided to gloriously sow fear in the children. Fucking inbred bastard. ¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m rather cranky today¡­¡­¡­¡­ I did after all only sleep fitfully last night. ¡°Mnn!? What¡¯s going on?¡± Uh-oh¡­¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry Marin just eat and follow big sis and Kilting ok?¡± ¡°Mmm!¡± Phew¡­. Alephi diffused the situation¡­ Alright then¡­. *ppphhhhh* *hhhaaaaaa* Today is the Blood Bloom. I can feel the nausea and headache coming. I guess my wonderful anxiety attacks followed me over to here¡­¡­¡­¡­.fuck. Food. I need food¡­.and lots of it. Interestingly enough that inbred bastard dropped the huge cauldron of gruel in the middle of the cell while the other guy, whom I¡¯ve nicknamed ¡°Wilbur¡± after a certain famous pig, Distributed the bowls to all of us¡­¡­..empty. Oh you clever bastards. You¡¯re going to rile us up before we even step foot into the arena! I¡¯d better take control of the situation before it gets ugly. I¡¯ve seen plenty of these scenarios play out already, by now I¡¯ve figured out how to stave off the deterioration of order in the system. Which in this case is a bunch of children¡­¡­..greaattt~ ¡°Follow me.¡± Currently the other children are figuring out just what they are supposed to be doing. Thankfully they¡¯ve been so beaten down that they don¡¯t react like a kid normally would and immediately rush over. ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°kay~¡± The two sisters follow me as I walk casually to the cauldron. ¡°Alright now give me your bowls I¡¯ll get the gruel for you.¡± Alephi gives me a dubious look but complies. Marin just hands it over with a big smile. Awe Marin you¡¯re too cute! I use my bowl to ladle gruel into there¡¯s and then have them go back to our spot. By now the other kids have figured it out and are all tensed up as if waiting for a spark to set them off. Very well¡­¡­but this won¡¯t be an explosion¡­.rather a slow burn. ¡°Alright, who would like some gruel next?¡± ¡°me! ¡°ME!¡± ¡°Me!¡± And now I have a room full of greedy kids on my hands. Who all decide to rush over. ¡°Then line up!¡± Naturally only some listen, they¡¯re smart. The ones that don¡¯t get a whack on the head from me. Then like a light went off in their heads I get a squirming line in front of me. Good. Seems the reputation I¡¯ve built up over the past week of being the strongest has helped out. I¡¯ve heard them whisper to each other, debating whether myself or the mutt was stronger. That¡¯s why I knew I could pull this off. I¡¯m ¡®bigger¡¯ than them so they¡¯ll follow my lead. ¡­¡­¡­¡­Except for that one. I was mid-way through serving the other kids when the mutt decides to stick her snout into things. She decides she doesn¡¯t need to wait and comes for the cauldron directly. Damnit. I do not need this turning into a free for all like the gruel crew wanted! I can see them snickering at my predicament out of the corner of my eye. ¡°Wait your turn.¡± Might as well try and settle this peacefully. ¡°No!¡± Naturally it doesn¡¯t end up that way. As she reaches for the cauldron I drop my bowl and grab her hand. She looks up at me in frustration and I flick her in the nose. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Grrrr!¡± I get a snarl in return. Then I get a left hook. I sway to my left and grab her left wrist with my right hand. Then I quickly turn and grab onto the wrist with my left hand as well. I use my shoulder as a fulcrum and send her flying towards the wall. I regulate the strength just enough so that she doesn¡¯t throw a tantrum. With my perfect memories I was able to review all the fights I had with my siblings, I know just how far I can push her. If only I had Grand Archive there might¡¯ve been an even better way. Naturally she gets back up and growls again. I respond in kind. I win. Dominance finally established. The line goes back to normal. ¡­¡­. The gruel helps a little in curing my nausea. The fight with the mutt also helps, it got my adrenaline pumping. I was now sitting with Alephi and Marin. There was extra gruel left in the pot after I was done serving it. I took a bit extra and left the rest. The mutt took it. I don¡¯t care anymore. An all out fight in the cell was averted¡­¡­mostly. They must do this every time to get the children riled up before the Blood Bloom. I didn¡¯t give them the satisfaction. ¡°Get up! You¡¯re leaving!¡± The guards ousted us into the hallway. It¡¯s time¡­¡­. _____________________________________________________________________________________ The damp hallways were cold. That is all. I can¡¯t really process anything currently. It¡¯s all a mess. Today¡­¡­ I¡¯m going to kill¡­.. probably. I don¡¯t want this. I may be an adult¡­.. but right now I feel more lost and alone than a five year old alone in a supermarket. Suddenly I feel something warm worm its way into my hand. It¡¯s Marin. Her tiny hand clasps mine tightly, so much so that her little black nails dig into my skin. Such an interesting oddity of us Beast Racers. We look mostly human but we are clearly different. I look almost entirely human except for my eyes, ears, and nails. The sisters are similar but their facial structure is¡­..foxy? They also have this weird sensual suppleness, a trait I imagine of their kitsune clan. I glance up front to the mutt girl. She her hands were similar to paws with tiny little claws on them. She walked barefoot and if I listened carefully I could here the click of her pads and claws on the stone. Furthermore her legs were shaped oddly in comparison to a normal human. She also had a tail and the ears and eyes of a wolf as well. We truly were an odd race. Blood Bloom¡­¡­ Damnit! I had almost perfectly escaped into a tangent! But our reality re-surfaced in my mind. I gave Marin¡¯s hand a slight squeeze. When she looked up I gave a small smile and then glance up at Alephi. She¡¯s holding Marin¡¯s other hand. I can see the concern on her face but I give her a reassuring nod. She gives a weak smile. I truly admire her. She¡¯s old enough to understand what is going on, yet she¡¯s holding up. I can¡¯t imagine what she must¡¯ve been through before this while taking care of Marin. Compared to me¡­..well. Then again like me she¡¯s probably holding it in. ¡°STOP!¡± The guard¡¯s sudden shout startled me out of my thoughts. Like I thought, we had been lead to the gladiator entrance to the arena. It¡¯s about to begin¡­¡­¡­ ¡°You¡¯ll be given a weapon. You will then walk into the arena.¡± Simple instructions¡­.. I guess no real pleasantries are necessary. The line was quickly processed and each child received a short sword. No daggers for us, we were far too strong. Giving us one of those was just like adding another claw onto our hands. I could feel my own unsheathe and re-sheathe in tension. The swords were all about two feet long. From working on various machinery I could tell they had been cast rather than forged. They¡¯re brittle. I won¡¯t be surprised if they break within the first few hits. *RRRrrrroooooooooarrr* A raging crowd could be heard as we step out into the bright sun of noon. My ears instantly flattened as I heard the cacophony. Marin grabbed onto Alephi in fear. I will protect them. I glare up into the crowd. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m searching for¡­.. I guess, for the faces of the monsters who¡¯ve come to watch us. Along the majority of the arena it was packed with the unwashed masses. At four points along the lowest level were covered seating spots with cleaner monsters sitting in there with there fancy teacups and guards. At a fifth point a raised dais was positioned behind¡­¡­¡­glass? I haven¡¯t seen glass that well made since earth. It was obviously where the royal family would watch from. The biggest monsters of them all. ¡°They¡¯re all savages.¡± I growled out the words unconsciously. I could feel the worried look from Alephi but I ignored it. As the last of the children filtered into the arena, most of them awkwardly carrying their swords, the noise from the crowd picked up. ¡­¡­. ¡°Welcome LADIES AND GENTS! To the BLOOD BLOOM! As everyone knows we have entered the time of blooming! What better way to celebrate it than with a wonderful blood red rose!¡± The crowd roared at this point. Savages. ¡°It is my honor to welcome King Lyle Opasno Snaga and Queen Lorelli Prekrasan Snaga! As well as the First Royal Prince Everand, the Second Royal Princess Alectra, and the Third Royal Prince Abel!¡± Ah so that¡¯s the name of the big monsters and their spawn. The crowd slowly quieted down. The biggest monster rose to speak. ¡°As is tradition today is both a day of celebration and rememberence! Today¡­ two-hundred years ago, the nefarious forces of the Overlord were defeated by my ancestors and their followers. Today Snaga stands as the first line of defense against any and all threat from the west of the Great Baltic River! Today we celebrate our victory and remember the savagery of the Beast Race. May all of you remember what these creatures truly are!¡± After a short pause where that cesspool sat down in the crowd roared in enthusiasm. So¡­.was it really that bad? Did our ancestors really commit such atrocities that we must still be reviled? I doubt it. This is just propaganda to justify the subjugation of an intelligent race. ¡°Now¡­¡­LET THE BLOOD BLOOM BEGIN!¡± *WWWOOOORRRROOOAAARRRRRWHWOOO* In word the crowd of fiends went apeshit. In the arena it didn¡¯t seem like anyone was going to fight. In fact some of the younger children were about to cry. I could see Marin getting ready to burst. But then it began. It started as an annoying drone in the back of my skull. I could feel myself becoming enraged. Why though? Then just as quickly it disappeared. What the hell was that? I looked around. On the walls of the arena countless symbols were flashing red and black sparks arced between them¡­¡­¡­.. Oh shit¡­¡­¡­..those two colors are never a good combination! ¡°Hey Alephi¡­..Alephi?¡± I looked towards her, her eyes were unfocussed as her brow grew more and more furrowed. I could see her hackles rise. It wasn¡¯t just her though¡­¡­everyone was like that. ¡­¡­¡­¡­So this is how they¡¯re going to do this. ¡°ggggrrrrr!¡± A collective snarl was emitted around me and the crowd cheered with even more enthusiasm. ¡°Hey Aleph ¨C oof!¡± I was pushed into the ground by her. I could feel the hard packed sand dig into my back as Alephi pinned me with a strength I never knew she had. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Beserk style then? ¡°Sorry!¡± I head butted her. Ouch. She tumbled off of me. Before she could cause any more damage I chopped at her neck and knocked her out. Thank god I had practiced this move for the past two weeks. ¡°Marin!?¡± I looked and found her snarling and fighting another small child, their swords forgotten. The other was one of the lizard ¨C clan. Both of them sported small scratches from the others claws. While small they were deep. They¡¯re really going for blood¡­¡­ Before I can think too much more I dash towards them and kick the lizard boy away. Sorry I have more important things to worry about. Before Marin can do anything I knock her out and then carry her to her sister. Alright, now then¡­.. *BAM!* ¡°Guahhh!¡± It HURTS! HOLY SHIT IT HURTS! I blearily struggle up off the ground and find bovine boy stamping the ground and getting ready to charge again. I can definitely feel at least one rib is almost completely broken. My right side is scratched up and bleeding from the brush burn. He actually sent me flying over twenty feet! I pick the sword off the ground and grimace in pain as the mutilated skin on my right hand is stretched. But I need to stay strong, right now the sisters are defenseless! ¡°UUrrraaoo!¡± A feline clan member suddenly tackles Bovine boy and they go down in a flurry of claws and canines. It truly is a free for all. Suddenly I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I tumble forward. Above me I can hear a blade whistling through the air where my head had been. It seems not everyone discarded them. I twist around on the ground and roll up into a crouch ready to face my new opponent. My ribs don¡¯t agree and I end up kneeling on the ground panting as I look up. It¡¯s someone from the dog clan. Not to be confused with the lupines, he has large fluffy ears and a tail. A halfer. Shit, with my condition right now I can¡¯t take on someone with that strength. The dog-boy leaps towards me, his eyes blank of anything except rage. Placing the sword at a forty-five degree angle will pierce the breastbone and sever the spine with minimal force. Before I could even think what was happening, my body had already braced my sword at the required angle. Then it was over. There was a squelch and then a click as the sword hit bone. The boy¡¯s eyes bulged and regained clarity. ¡°Thank you.¡± Then he was dead. Why, why, WHY!? Why did it have to happen? Wasn¡¯t there anything I could have done? Damnit! These are just a bunch of kids! Slice with twenty pounds of force¡­¡­.. Protect¡­.. Goring in this manner ensures most efficient use of movement¡­¡­.. Protect them¡­¡­ Five steps back, target will charge. Side step then cut¡­¡­.. Protect them both¡­¡­ Guard left strike to generate necessary momentum to push right target into left, then stab. Eh? What happened? I look down at my body¡­..red, red, red, red¡­¡­ RED! It¡¯s all red? Why? Why are the demons silent? What happened to their cheers. What happened to Bovine boy? Where is that Dog k---¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°UaaahhhH!¡± Blood! It¡¯s all theirs! Corpses all around me! There¡¯s nothing left! ¡°GGfrrrrkkk!Heerrkk!¡± *CRITCH!* My eyes shifted to my right, then slowly did the rest of my body. Across the field there she was¡­¡­the mutt. Our eyes met. She snarled and then let her last prey drop from her teeth¡­¡­then she swallowed something. Was that the kids throat? What the hell have these monsters done!? ¡°Mmm? What¡¯s going on?¡± I hear a voice below me. It¡¯s Alephi, blood is splattered across her! No! Not her----- no wait it¡¯s everyone else¡¯s. Marin is still asleep, thank goodness. ¡°Stay down.¡± ¡°huh?¡± Alephi stands up and blearily looks at me. ¡°I said----¡° ¡°AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!¡± She screams when she finally sees me. As she looks around it only serves to fuel her screams more. She falls backwards and scrambles away. *Squelch* ¡°uuuaahhhH!¡± Her hands are covered in blood¡­..no that¡¯s not right. Her hands shouldn¡¯t be covered¡­¡­¡­only mine should be¡­ ¡°GGGGGRRRRRRRR! Aaaawwwoooooooo!!¡± A feral growl and baleful howl cut across the relative silence in the arena. The mutt. Apart from us she¡¯s the last one left. I don¡¯t want to fight anymore. I glance over, but she¡¯s no longer looking at me. All she sees is the prey near me. The screaming, weak, prey. She sees Alephi. Now, she pounces. Within the blink of an eye she crosses into our area as another guttural growl leaves her lips. Alephi doesn¡¯t notice and is still crying. She¡¯s almost upon her! ¡°GGrrrrwwwoooooaaarrrrrrr!!!!¡± A roar sounded out as I tackled the mutt. Grab neck and press hip into the target to generate enough centripetal force to snap the neck. NO! This is my body! I grab her shift instead and rotate her before sending her flying into the wall of the arena. My shoulder muscle screams in protest. It seems part of it was cut at some point. ¡°eh?¡± Alephi looks dumbfounded as I stride towards the mutt. ¡°Take Marin and run. Stay out of our way, this¡¯ll get ugly.¡± With that I run towards the mutt. She¡¯s just beginning to climb out of the wall. Heel press the nose to shatter nasal bone and puncture---- NO. I will fight on my own terms! This is my battle! I press the attack immediately with a right straight. Blood spatters as a popping sound occurs when her nose breaks. She slumps back into the wall. Is it already ov-----!! ¡°OOFF!¡± Her kick knocks the wind out of me an sends me flying for a whole ten feet before I tumble and skid along the ground for another five. ¡°Grruurrgggrrrr.¡± The mutt snarls and stalks towards me. The sword to the ------- NO! She charges towards me and then pounces on all fours. Her head is angled forward to bite my throat. I press my back into the sand and kick up. The action sends her flying over me to land in a pile of corpses. ¡°EEEAaaKKK!¡± Marin woke up. ¡°RUN!¡± I roar the command as I myself speed towards the mutt. ¡°Grraoorr.¡± She leaps off the ground, her messy silver hair splayed out and glinting in the sun. ¡°Raaaooourrr!¡± I respond with a roar of my own before feinting right then going left. I place my right leg behind hers and grab her throat, my claws digging into her. In the next moment I slam her to the ground. Suddenly she grabs my arms and then using her powerful legs she rips apart my front. Blood begins to drip down her legs and splatters her face¡­¡­my blood! Borrow force of the kick to twist, the bite arm and sever the vein. no¡­¡­ The action is completed. On the next kick I twist right and then sink my teeth into her left wrist. My lower canines find the vein. The mutt¡¯s blood floods my mouth. I can feel her heart beat with my tongue. Then she rips her arm free, making the injury worse. My teeth click shut with her arm no longer in between them. Sometimes brute strength isn¡¯t always the best. ¡°hhrrk!¡± She grabs me by the throat using her still good arm and throws me into the wall. ¡°Guaah!¡± The impact knocked all the wind out of me before I fell flat on my face. My head hurts¡­.. My arms hurt¡­¡­ My legs hurt¡­¡­¡­ My whole body HURTS! ¡°Nooo!¡± I summon just enough strength to look up. Blood covers my left eye so in reality I can just barely see anything with my right. What I see is Alephi clutching onto Marin and scrambling on the ground. The mutt has already shifted her sights from me to the sisters. Move¡­.. She¡¯s slowly stalking towards them as Marin starts to sob. Move!...... My arms refuse to move and even breathing becomes difficult. It seems the rib may have completely broke and is now puncturing something. Move!..... The mutt is almost upon them! MOVE!!!! >> Pausing data collection and extraneous applications >> Beginning energy(unidentified) dump in: 3¡­..2¡­¡­1¡­ >> Energy(unidentified) dump initiated *BOOM* ¡°RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAWWWWRRRRR!!!!¡± I moved. The distance between me and the mutt narrowed instantaneously. Then within the blink of an eye and a light tap she slammed into the Arena wall. ¡°CCCkkuuaa!!!¡± Blood spewed from her mouth and she hurled up whatever was in her stomach before falling to the ground unconscious. ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll live.¡± >> Data collection and extraneous applications resuming. I looked around at the Arena. The once golden yellow sand now carries a red hue as the field of corpses spreads across it. The corpses of children. Children I killed. ¡°No..¡± It came out as a whimper, a pleading whine that what I saw wasn¡¯t reality. My pleading went unanswered. ¡°Bbbllugrrrggghhh.¡± I vomited everything, but the taste of the mutts blood seemed to coat the interior of my mouth no matter how much bile I spewed out. Huh? That¡¯s weird, why am I on the ground? I feel so fuzzy¡­¡­. ¡°KITLING!!!¡± ~Gathering Data: 50%~ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Here you are my grateful followers! Muahahaha dead batteries and shitty internet on Megabuses won''t stop me from posting! ......................but laziness will [th_093.gif] anywho I banged this puppy out. Enjoy! Chapter 19: Aftermath + New room!! ¡°Waaaiii! Big sis he¡¯s awake!¡± ¡°The shitty cat survived!?¡± ¡°DON¡¯T CALL HIM THAT!¡± A ruckus greeted me? What happened? ¡°Kitling¡¯s good! You¡¯re the bad one!¡± ¡°Grrrraa¡­say that again you little shit!¡± ¡°Eeep!¡± ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough you vermin. I let you in here because you¡¯re the spoils of the victor but if this keeps up I¡¯ll lock you back in the cells!¡± Zla? Where am I? Whatever I¡¯m lying on feels good! Though, then again, ANYTHING feels better than those dungeon floors! ¡°Well then¡­.are you up¡­..errr Kitling?¡± I really gotta figure out a name for myself! I cracked my eyes open for the second time after Marin destroyed my ear-drum with her scream. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­..I see¡­..well good.¡± He seems oddly reverent? Ooohhhh¡­..yes, I did tell him something about how I¡¯d show him my power at¡­¡­..the¡­¡­¡­Bl---! ¡°Uaaaa!!!¡± *Bbbllleeerrrgghhh* I emptied what amounted to bile all over the side of the cot I had been laying on. I KILLED THEM!!! THEY¡¯RE ALL DEAD! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! I only saved Marin and Alephi¡­..and that bitch! I glared over at the mutt girl. SHE KILLED THEM TOO! I could feel fury building in me. She was to blame! Her expression showed confusion then fear. Then she began to wimper. That¡¯s right! Cower for what you¡¯ve done! ¡­¡­.what¡­¡­¡­¡­we¡¯ve¡­¡­¡­.done. I could feel my clenched jaw slacken and the anger in my eyes get snuffed out. It wasn¡¯t just her¡­.no¡­..it was equally my fault. ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°out.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°get out.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°GET THEM OUT OF HERE!¡± I slammed the bed frame as my voice shrilled the command. DAMN THIS CHILD¡¯S BODY! ¡°Alright you two¡­out! And you! You¡¯re fixed up! You go too.¡± I scrunched into a ball on the bed and refused to look up. I could hear Marin and Alephi struggling to stay but Zla forced them out¡­along with the mutt girl. I could hear raised voices as he forced them out the door into someone else¡¯s, supposedly a guard¡¯s, custody. What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE!? I can feel my throat choking and the tears ready to fall out. I can feel it¡­..but I can¡¯t let them out. Because my very survival depends on the next few minutes of interaction. Specifically¡­..with Zla. *Phew* I killed nearly a hundred children with nothing more than my bare hands and a brittle sword. The mutt girl also killed nearly as many with her own methods. She was under the influence of some spell. ¡­¡­..I¡­¡­¡­..however¡­¡­¡­.was not. Something else,¡­.happened. What it was. I don¡¯t know. But I do know, those thoughts. The thoughts that told me how to quickly kill every single child that was within range¡­¡­. Were definitely not mine. Wait¡­..perhaps!!!! ¡°KITLING!¡± ¡°huh?¡± Zla is standing over me. His crescent scar is straightened out as his brow furrows further. ¡°What is going on?¡± Mmm I see, in his eyes. I can tell. He thinks that just maybe I¡¯m not what I claimed to be a week ago. ¡­¡­..I¡¯ll need to change that. ¡°Hmph, you think placing myself in this form is so easy?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Confusion falls on his face. Good. Confusion is good. It will put me in a higher position since I appear knowledgeable. ¡°An ego developed during this body¡¯s first years. One which was sheltered from such things.¡± ¡°Ah! So then.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡­that from just a minute ago was due to a small error.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°This small body is incapable of containing the power that I displayed during the Blood Bloom. Did you really think that wouldn¡¯t cause any repercussions?¡± ¡°Aaaaahhh..¡± ¡°However, now that it has been used I know this body¡¯s complete limits.¡± ¡°A-aahh¡­..mhm.¡± Zla looks down. He¡¯s no fool. My implication there was that I can bring out more than the normal amount of power of a child my age. Furthermore the base strength of a beast-race even a mix like me is still greater than the average human. ¡°I must say though¡­.. that berserk spell was a nice touch.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh yes¡­. Wait¡­.. then that means!¡± ¡°You would do well to not attempt to influence me in the future.¡± I try to glare at him as best as possible with this body. Though maybe it was unnecessary. Zla is no fool he understands what the implications of a beast race free from the shackles of mind magic means. His face paler than an egg¡¯s white says it all. He has been cowed. Good, very good. Right now I can¡¯t care, I can¡¯t feel. I¡¯ve killed hundreds of children now. I am a murderer. It takes all of my will to not cry out in anguish at this. Merely a year ago I was giving Julie piggybacks across The Mall and now I¡¯ve slaughtered countless children that could have been her playmates. ¡°W-well then¡­..is there anything else y-you require?¡± Zla interrupts my thoughts, his manner of speech is much more respectful now. ¡°No, see that this body receives the necessary sustenance and it¡¯s other physical needs are met. Also inform me of what happens now that I have gained victory in this ¡®Blood Bloom¡¯. Anything else is not required and will be met with hostility.¡± I made sure to speak that hated title with as much derision as possible. Zla currently believes I¡¯m something close to a divinity of war trapped in a child¡¯s body. Of course I¡¯d hold something like that in contempt. ¡°Yes¡­¡­well then. Normally only one survives the Blood Bloom and is accorded their own chambers in the Arena. Though sometimes¡­.such as in your case¡­¡­there are the ¡®spoils of the victor¡¯. Those girls that you left alive. These too are given to you as property for you to do as you wish.¡± Zla paused as if waiting for some response. I waive my hand at him to continue. ¡°You will now be placed under intense training for the next year in all forms of combat popular within the arena as well as proper showmanship¡­.all so that when you make your true debut you will sufficiently impress the customers that pay to witness you and the others as you fight against man, beast,¡­.and each other.¡± So I¡¯m a mere circus lion for these people!!!!!! SHOWMANSHIP! I have to flaunt my killing before these people¡­..these¡­..these¡­¡­.SAVAGES? These thoughts thundered through my mind but I was forced to calm them, after all it wouldn¡¯t do to slip up here. I still have that coin Clyde left me¡­.. ¡°Tell me, are gladiators able to place bets upon themselves?¡± ¡°Well¡­..yes, it¡¯s common practice. With the money you earn through favors or bets you can purchase finery for your room, women, better weapons¡­¡­for some even freedom!¡± ¡°For some¡­..what does that mean?¡± Zla paled even further and gave a slight shake of the head. ¡°Explain!¡± I bark the order at him, a hint of unease coils its way around my belly. I can predict what he is about to say. ¡°Each gladiator has a price for freedom placed upon them when they are admitted into the arena¡­¡­.for a beast-race such as yourself, especially as a half-breed¡­¡­¡­¡­it¡¯s fifty-thousand crowns!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ After delivering an arrogant reply that I couldn¡¯t even remember, I fell into my own thoughts. I desperately sought a way to rationalize the irrational, to sanction the unsanctionable¡­¡­.to accept the reality of my situation now in some way that wouldn¡¯t break me. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. A few days later I was freed of the medical ward and sent to my personal quarters. Apparently the sisters and the bitch were cooped up in there this whole time¡­¡­¡­..oh boy. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. To say the room was a bit stifling was to put it lightly. Even before I entered I could smell something¡­¡­¡­unpleasant in there. Now having entered, the stench was overpowering as it coiled and curled its way about the room. My eyes were immediately attracted to the far right corner. Huddled there were the forms of Alephi and Marin. I did a quick scan of the rest of the room and noted the trash littering its entirety. Old bones, ruined clothing, plates and utensils that had been used already¡­¡­.in the end I guess I wasn¡¯t all that surprised. ¡°Kitling!¡± Marin was the first to react as she stumbled across the room bawling. ¡°W-where w-were you? They l-locked us in h-here with tha-a-a-tt scar-r-ryyy g-girl!¡± She sniffled into my chest, she must¡¯ve grown a bit since the first time I met her and her sister¡­.. tangent thought! I need to focus. I glanced up and focused on Alephi who was making her way over more slowly. Her eyes shifted about the room as if embarrassed, a nervous glint flashed across them as she looked at me. ¡°Y-you¡¯re not mad are you?¡± ¡°Huh? Why would I be?¡± ¡°W-well you yelled at us! A-and the room is a m-mess.¡± At this point Marin also stopped crying and looked at me with scared eyes. Finally I remembered how I had yelled at them to leave in the medical ward in my grief. ¡­..don¡¯t think about it¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Mmm, everything¡¯s fine sorry I made you worry. Also the room can be cleaned so it¡¯s no problem.¡± My ears swiveled as I detected the sound of sheets shifting on the bed. I looked over to discover the bi ¨C mutt had come up from under the sheets, though one was still pressed up to her nose. Now to deal with her¡­¡­ ¡°Hmm now this is odd, I come into this room to find a mess then again I guess that¡¯s to be expected when such an undisciplined mutt thinks it can sleep in the master¡¯s bed!¡± That elicited the expected reaction from her. Fear, anger, loathing both of me and herself. After all what I just said was a very charged message. It probably sounds like something she¡¯d expect from whoever her owner had been before she was sold to the arena. Stolen novel; please report. Now to reverse that response. Time to bury the hatchet, after all I have less of a right to judge her actions than most. ¡­¡­¡­don¡¯t remember¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Is what a human would say. I personally don¡¯t really care though, you can have the bed if you want. I guarantee the floor will be much cooler for the next few months.¡± Snagan summers as hot as the winters were cold, much like one of the flyover states¡­..like Ohio! ¡°However, could you help clean up the room? It seems that for the foreseeable future we¡¯ll be living together after all.¡± ¡°Gggrrr.¡± My¡­¡­..what an articulate response¡­¡­¡­..calm down, she¡¯s not even ten yet. As a matter of fact none of us are, hence why I¡¯m not surprised by how messy it is in here. ¡°Is that your response? Should I take it to mean you want to be treated as an animal?¡± The growling cut off abruptly. ¡°No.¡± Her voice was extremely petulant, but at the same time much softer than the previous times she¡¯s spoken. ¡°Good, now Alephi and Marin can you two explain what happened in here?¡± Alephi¡¯s face cramped. It¡¯s almost like she¡¯s hit her awkward puberty phase already¡­¡­¡­..she might¡¯ve already actually. She¡¯s about seven, has animalistic genes, and has been under massive amounts of stress all her life. Girls start earlier and combined with those factors then maybe¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­Geh! I¡¯m getting distracted from the main point! ¡°W-well, they shoved us in here and then locked the door. Someone would bring food but that was it! W-we opened the drawers and found pretty clothes in there but Yuli wanted one that Marin wanted so we got into a fight over that¡­¡­and the food¡­¡­and where to sleep¡­¡­¡­..and¡­¡­¡­..sorry.¡± Well she certainly still talks like a little kid still. Throughout this Marin looked very upset but hadn¡¯t stopped clinging to me. Though now she decide to pipe up as well. ¡°She took a really pretty dress I wanted to show Kitling!¡± Ah¡­¡­¡­.ok. Sorry Marin you¡¯re adorable but this just sounds like stupid kid problems. ¡°Uh huh¡­.. so Yuli¡­.. is this true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡± Uh huh. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re all gonna clean this mess up! So say sorry to each other!¡± My what glum faces! ¡°I mean it!¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Good job Marin and Alephi! I¡¯m sure you two will be fine ladies when you grow up! ¡°Why should I have to listen to you? I¡¯m older and stronger!¡± Ah¡­..so trying to bury the hatchet translates to weakness for this girl. Well then since you want to play it that way I¡¯ll make sure you understand who is the Alpha. ¡°I could¡¯ve killed you a few days ago. I can do so right now as well. Do you really want to play this game?¡± ¡°Hmmph! I don¡¯t remember this!¡± Clearly you do remember a bit of it, I can see the fear in your eyes. Even without Grand Archive I can at least read a child¡¯s emotions like a book. ¡°Well then. Alephi, Marin please get out of the way.¡± ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry everything¡¯s fine.¡± They stepped off to the side as I approached the bed. ¡°Is apologizing really that difficult?¡± ¡°h-hmph!¡± You just stuttered a hmph! I can tell you¡¯re terrified idiot! ¡°Do I really have to give you a reason why to do what I say?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a little kid!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s stronger and smarter than you.¡± ¡°Uh uh!¡± ¡­¡­Guess we are playing this game. ¡°Oh yeah!? Then can you read?¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°I bet you can¡¯t even spell your name! I can at least do that much!¡± ¡°I¡¯m still stronger!¡± I immediately launched myself onto the bed and tackled her. During the mess of limbs I placed her in the arm bar I had learned in the one MMA class I had attended freshman year of college. ¡°OOWWW!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll break if we keep going, say you¡¯re sorry.¡± ¡°Ggrrrr!¡± ¡°Hmmmm!?¡± I increased the strain on her shoulder joint. ¡°OWOWOW! FINE!!! I¡¯M SORRY!¡± I released her and sprung away. ¡°There we go, now that wasn¡¯t so hard¡­.. Alright, I¡¯ll be away for a little bit. Don¡¯t fight¡­¡­..ok?¡± I raised my eyebrow like my mother had whenever she said the same thing to my siblings and I. ¡°¡±ok¡­.¡±¡± My how enthusiastic! I stepped out of the door and located the guard stationed at the end of the hallway. Light streamed through the slits cut into the stone and it was significantly warmer here above ground than the damp hallways where we had previously been kept below ground. ¡°Excuse me, my understanding is that we can request items to be retrieved.¡± The guard raised his eyebrows in surprise. Clearly he hadn¡¯t expected a child such as myself to speak. My guess is he¡¯s also the one that had kept the door locked while I was still in the medical ward¡­..maybe an initiation of sorts? ¡°I need a small bag of salt, a dozen lemons, and three buckets of water with scrub brushes. Also I¡¯ll have clothes to send to the launderess.¡± His brows furrowed slightly before he seemingly leered at me. ¡°Well isn¡¯t that too bad, it¡¯ll cost you and I don¡¯t think you have the money runt.¡± I sighed inwardly. Corruption, speciesism, assholism¡­¡­ this country really does suck. ¡°It can just be added to my cost of freedom, as for you I do believe bribery is considered against company policy.¡± ¡°huh?¡± I made an act of sighing and looking very frustrated. ¡°What that means you dolt is that you aren¡¯t allowed to take bribes and are required to keep the gladiators assigned to you happy. I happen to be one of those gladiators and¡­¡­.I¡¯m not feeling very happy right now¡­..¡± He sneered at me. ¡°You¡¯re just some little shit who¡¯s gonna die in a year, why should I care.¡± ¡°Because, I can kill you right now and all it will do is make my value go up.¡± I had had Zla explain in great detail the position of a gladiator was in relation to the rest of the staff in the arena. The ¡®guards¡¯ that were charged with serving a grouping of gladiator rooms were actually quite expendable, especially the ones taking care of the low ranking gladiators. Should someone such as myself kill one unarmed, it¡¯ll cause my value to the arena to grow. After all these guards are cheap human labor that can be easily replaced and almost no time is placed in training them to fight. ¡°Hmph like you could.¡± This isn¡¯t working. New tactic. *BAM* I launched a fist at his stomach and not only cracked the shaft of the spear he carried but stuffed his leather jerkin far into his stomach he puked as he smashed into the wall behind him. As he slumped to the ground I realized the guy wasn¡¯t even an adult. He seemed to be sixteen years old at most. Must¡¯ve been a street urchin before getting employed here. ¡°What was that? Sorry I couldn¡¯t hear you over me breaking your ribs.¡± ¡°Y-es¡± *COUGH* ¡°sir.¡± ¡°Good, well hurry up I don¡¯t have all day.¡± ¡°Yesss.¡± The boy hissed through gritted teeth as he painfully picked himself off the ground and wiped away the bile from his face before stumbling down the hall. When did I get so violent? ¡­¡­.don¡¯t think about it¡­¡­¡­¡­. I stalked back to the room with a rather forced smile on my face. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. The entirety of the day afterwards proceeded rather simply. I had cowed both Yuli and the boy-guard so both were much more obedient to my commands. The room was tidied, the clothes picked up, and the chamber pot emptied before the boy came back with the stuff I requested. The girls were rather surprised when I combined the salt and lemons with the water. They were even more surprised when we had finished scrubbing down the place that it smelled pleasant. Like a lemon orchard by the sea perhaps. Thankfully the floors were made of the same stone as the walls so scrubbing them down was just as easy. Though I find it odd that so much of the buildings in the arena are composed of stone. It must be because this place is the main pass-time of the rich and powerful. At this point I took in the room in its entirety. A king sized bed was off against the left wall if coming in from the door. To the right was a massive armoire which had been stocked with risqu¨¦ female outfits and simple pants and shirts, all of which were just a bit too big for us. I surmised that this was intentionally left as rewards for the victor of the Blood Bloom. Material distractions perhaps to keep the victor¡¯s mind off of escape¡­¡­or perhaps guilt? ¡­¡­¡­..don¡¯t think about it¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. The clothes that had been destroyed by the girls would either be laundered or replaced two days from now and I had been informed to be up at sunrise for the intensive training that would commence for tomorrow. The girls on the other hand would be sent through some other ¡®training¡¯ if I so desired though it would cost extra. This place has a truly twisted economy, as expected of savages. Not much I can do now though. Escape is an effort in futility currently so the only other way is to win and to win big. I really do wish Grand Archive would start working again, maybe then I could figure something else out. With these thoughts constantly floating through my head I let the soft snores of the sisters lull me into sleep on the cool and now clean floor of our room. ~Data Gathering: 52%~ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Hello, I''m back once again. Finals are about to start so I wrote to de-stress. I''ve been having difficulty in thinking about how to progress the story and how I wanted the STILL unnamed MC to grow from his......experiences in the Blood Bloom. Actually if anyone wants to take a crack at giving him a name leave it in the comments! Maybe I''ll use one! Chapter 20:An Old man and a young Scrub *BAM* ¡°Wake up scrub!¡± *BAM,BAM* Not the pleasant alarm that I¡¯ve grown used to for the past few months, though I do admit the words used are marginally more polite than that jailer. I hoisted myself off the sheets I had spread across the floor to escape the heat of the early summer and made my way to the door. ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the trainer, you girls play nice and I¡¯ll be back later.¡± ¡°Nnnn¡­¡­¡± Alephi was the most alert of the three¡­.. I really need to figure out what to do with them. ¡°Yes?¡± I swung open the door. It¡¯s amazing how much killing kids improves your treatment in this place, the asshole actually didn¡¯t come barging in! ¡­¡­.fuck, I thought about it¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Oh! So the little lordling graces me with his presence.¡± ¡°Yes Sir!¡± Fuck, I¡¯m cranky this morning aren¡¯t I? As I tense for a slap or some other form of physical abuse, it never comes. Instead I¡¯m createdgreeted with a flat look that speaks volumes of what the old man before me thinks of my wit. ¡°Get moving, we have much to do.¡± I¡¯m still amazed they treat us like this, I mean really. If you woke up as a six year old like this on Earth he¡¯d be scared out of his wits. Then again the other, actual, children in the room seem much more mentally mature than expected. *SNAP, SNAP* ¡°Oi, I ain¡¯t got all day. Get a move on.¡± Drat, I keep going off on these tangents! I wordlessly nod my head and leave with a quick backwards glance and smile to Alephi who is worriedly watching from where she and Marin had been sleeping. Yuli hadn¡¯t even woken up. Several minutes passed before I found myself alone with the old man in what appeared to be a training courtyard on the outskirts of the south side of the Arena. ¡°So, a six year old won this year. Furthermore I heard you killed hundreds!¡± I remained silent, the guilt choking my throat. ¡°Hmmm¡­..you remember bits of it don¡¯t you?¡± I gazed up sharply at his words as our eyes met. Something was off¡­¡­.this man seemed to¡­¡­¡­think? It¡¯s odd thinking like that, but so far many people seemed to be acting off base instincts as if I and those around me weren¡¯t worth their time. ¡°No matter. This at least shows me where to start with a scrub like you.¡± He stroked the short and well-oiled grey beard that jutted out from his chin and sharpened to a fine point. ¡°You¡¯ll start by killing this.¡± *SNAP* With a snap and a point, a servant rushed to his side carrying a small cage. Within it was¡­¡­¡­ ¡°A monkey!?¡± ¡°hohoho yes. Damn thing was expensive with their increasing popularity¡­..but I don¡¯t train weaklings.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t at least kill this creature you won¡¯t be able to kill gladiators.¡± He turned to walk away. Though, he seemed to have sensed my various misgivings about killing the monkey. He paused for a moment before glancing back at me. ¡°Also, should you be incapable of killing it, you will be immediately cast into the arena without having received any training.¡± He slowly paced back into the shade of the hallways around the courtyard. The servant left as well after unlocking the cage door. Now that I look at it more closely, rather than monkey I should say baboon. The massive fangs coming from the extended snout were unmistakable. On the whole it was grey in color with dusty yellow streaks running along its pelt. Is that supposed to be some kind of camouflage? ¡°RRaaawwwhhoooO!¡± The hoarse cry sounded much like what the baboons of earth sounded like. Must be posturing. That is a common trait amongst primates, we make ourselves appear vicious without having to fight. It¡¯s annoying. However¡­¡­.do I have the will to kill it? If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll still end up having to kill to survive in the arena. However the people there will be skilled, unlike this baboon. So in a way this is killing to survive as well. ¡°Better get moving scrub. It¡¯ll escape soon.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked back up¡­¡­¡­the little bastard was scarpering! There¡¯s no time to think deeply about this. I¡¯ve killed people, I will kill more. I am blessed with almost the same absurd strength of the beast race and whatever Grand Archive is¡­. despite it appearing dormant, though mental magic has no effect on me. ¡­¡­..However, I don¡¯t currently have the strength to forcibly oppose an entire city. Therefore, this is the best choice. I must kill this creature and continue living. Eventually I¡¯ll have the power necessary to break free! *Psssshhhoommm!* ¡°Hhoo?¡± I heard an oddly amused sound of surprise from the old man as I covered the distance between myself and the baboon. Due to the vast difference between my strength and weight a single bound was enough to catch up to the little primate. Ha, funnily enough I guess I¡¯m no longer one myself. ¡°Ha!¡± I punch as hard as I can. With this, its spine should be broken. *ting!* ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Mrruuukkaaahhhh!¡± The baboon screamed in rage and pain as it was pressed into the ground by the attack. The opposing force of the collision caused me to fly back a bit before I landed lightly on the ground. ¡°OOOWWW!¡± I looked at my hand, the knuckles had been bloodied and they didn¡¯t move very well. Most likely they were micro-fractured, if I left them alone they¡¯d heal in a few weeks. ¡°The fuck was that!?¡± ¡°Gggrrhhh.¡± The baboon now turned to face me again. The dusty yellow streaks flashed slightly along its pelt. Magic? If I applied my old world¡¯s logic on the subject, that would be some kind of body strengthening magic. However, I doubt I can completely apply my old world¡¯s logic to this one based on what just happened. Though it¡¯s safe to say either its skin or fur or both were hardened to reduce the force of the impact¡­ ¡°Phew, at least it¡¯s only that bad.¡± My claws will be useless here and I¡¯d prefer to protect my hands from that skin¡­.. ¡°Concussion it is.¡± I lower myself and unsheathe my claws. The baboon is more vigilant now and is trying to make itself appear large and terrifying. Idiot primate, that won¡¯t work. *Psshh!* I dash forward again, this time though I¡¯m fully lateral. Thanks to this body I¡¯ve become much more coordinated! With relative ease I grab onto the ground with my claws and rotate the lower part of my body forward. With a push off the ground I vault over the baboon. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Gotchya!¡± I reach for its tail after landing, however it was quicker than I expected. It wheels about and bares its canines at me. ¡°oohAAH!¡± ¡°Grrraawww!!¡± I growl in return before charging in again, let¡¯s see if it¡¯s hard on its face! I extend my claws and rake them along the left side of its face. The baboon releases a pained howl in return before cuffing me on the side of the head! ¡°Gaahh!¡± I¡¯m flung across the courtyard for several feet before coming to a stop. Dazedly I hear its aggressive howls sound out as it nears. ¡°Urrkk.¡± I slowly push myself into a crouching position, wincing from the pain in my head. Thankfully it had missed my ear so I could still hear just fine. If I had been human, that blow would probably have boxed my ear out of commission. As it were, I could hear it bounding across the hard packed dirt towards me. I slowly raised my head and, despite wincing at the pain, was able to make out its figure. ¡°UuRAWHHhh!¡± It was on top of me! It widened its mouth, revealing its massive canines as it screamed directly at my face. It¡¯s warm, noxious breath wafted over me, making my lip involuntarily curl in disgust. ¡°SHUT UP!¡± With a roar I grasp at its neck! My claws are stopped by the hardened fur. ¡­..However¡­¡­ ¡°I knew it!¡± There¡¯s the adrenaline! ¡°Crush!¡± I roar as I exert the full extent of the gripping force my hand can generate! The creature¡¯s ability to resist my punch from earlier but not the scratch across its face confirmed everything. This baboon-like creature is able to harden its fur! But, the skin underneath is unable to. Even if the scratch could be discounted as a fluke due to the un-anticipated nature of the attack, the ability for it to move while under reinforcement shows that the skin would be unable to harden as well! ¡°Grraaoorrr¡ªcchh! Kggurrgee!¡± ¡°Tch!¡± The baboon¡¯s roar cuts off as I increase the pressure on its neck, the hardened fur gives an odd resistance but I can still choke it! It pounds at my back and attempts to cave in my stomach with its feet. We are both just trying to survive at this point! This child¡¯s body is such a disadvantage! If I had a bigger body I could stun it by beating its head off the ground, but as it stands I can only crush its windpipe! I can feel the jugular vein throb as it still desperately attempts to pump blood to the brain. Its neck muscles bunch in knots as it resists the force of my grip! ¡°AAARRRRGGHHH!!¡± ¡°Kraow¡ªhruuurrrkk!¡± I continue to compress and compress. This thing must die. It¡¯s either me or it. My future and their future rests on me gaining the ability to truly fight. I need to become a killer. It¡¯s the only way! ¡®Can you truly do it?¡¯ ¡­¡­shut up! Of course I can! I must. ¡®At the cost of what you once were?¡¯ ¡­¡­.We aren¡¯t Thomas anymore. ¡®¡­¡­Then who are we?¡¯ That¡­¡­.We¡¯ll have to see¡­..but one thing is for sure! ¡®What?¡¯ Thomas died, died protecting Julie, protecting someone he cared about. If this is what comes after that death¡­¡­then I think we must live with that as a guide. ¡®¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¯ It is our origin, but from here on out, we¡­¡­no¡­¡­. I ¡®I¡¯ Exist! ¡®Exist!¡¯ ¡°I WILL LIVE!¡± ¡°hwweeze¡± The fists pounding on my back faded away. A dull ache on my stomach was all that was left of the incessant kicking. I plopped back onto my butt and looked towards the old man. ¡°It¡¯s¡­..gah¡­¡­dead.¡± The damage it did to my stomach made it difficult to breathe. I truly wonder how its ability worked¡­¡­.. ¡°Hmm, one point for effort.¡± ¡°Eh¡ªhurk¡ªguffaw!¡± I fell into a coughing fit. ¡°You used only brute strength to kill it. What¡¯s more, you severely damaged yourself in the process.¡± I felt something warm on the hand that had been covering my face, it smelled of iron. ¡°Urrgghh.¡± ¡°Injuries to oneself are no good.¡± The old man was suddenly in front of me¡­¡­.when did he get there? ¡°However, you were able to kill it.¡± His hand reached down, I tensed up involuntarily. It hesitated for a second then¡­.. *Toongg* ¡°ow!¡± He flicked me! What¡¯s more it made a weird hollow sound! ¡°Be present tomorrow in this courtyard by the time the sun first reaches the western wall. I won¡¯t pick you up like some child like I did today. You are now a scrub, NOT a child.¡± I looked up at him¡­¡­it seemed he was expecting something¡­¡­..oh¡­yeah. ¡°Yes.¡± His eyebrow raised slightly. ¡°¡ªsir.¡± His expression scrunched in what seemed to possibly be confusion but then it seemed he dismissed whatever he was thinking about. Without any further words he strode off. The servant that had brought the baboon out stepped forward. ¡°I will be leading you back to your quarters.¡± ¡°Ah¡­um ok.¡± I glanced back at the carcass of the baboon. ¡°Is it alright if I come back for that?¡± The servant¡¯s mouth twisted in disgust. Fuck you too. ¡°You may do as you wish.¡± With that he turned around and walked back through the long corridors of the Arena complex towards where the gladiatorial quarters were. Along the way I had plenty of time to think as I observed the turns we took and any landmarks so I could make my way back. It was unpleasant. I had to confront the fact that I had once again killed. While I may have made my resolution while choking the life out of that baboon¡­¡­.it didn¡¯t make it any easier to accept. Eventually we reached the corridor where I and the girls resided. Without a word the servant strode off after pausing slightly to indicate that this was where I stopped following him. I¡¯d give this zero stars for the service and a horrible Google review! I shuffled down the corridor, pondering over why the old man had given me the rest of the day off and his odd reaction at the end. That was until it hit me¡­¡­. ¡°Ah¡­..he must¡¯ve been expecting me to call him master.¡± ____________________________________________________________________________________________ After a long winters hibernation I have returned! I also came up with a direction for the current few chapters that will connect it to the big events I want to write in the future! You all haven''t seen the last of me! Chapter 21: Learning through Dissection ¡°Kitling¡¯s back!¡± An excited Marin greeted me. ¡°Ah wait caref¡ª!¡± I tried to warn her off before she hugged me and worsened my internal injuries, however I was too late! ¡°Eh?¡± There was what felt like some bruising along my abdomen¡­¡­but the internal pain had subsided. What¡¯s more, I noticed that my head felt significantly clearer than it had after the fight. I was almost sure I had been concussed¡­¡­. What could¡¯ve fixed all of this? The head flick? That was the only unusual action that occurred after the fight, was it a form of magic? But it didn¡¯t seem like any magic I¡¯d seen¡­¡­ no wait, it could have been similar to Claura¡¯s? However that was a product of her being able to see the ¡®flecks¡¯ as she had referred to them and a small comprehension of how heat transfer worked, which I had taught her. ¡°Kiiitttllliiiinnnggg!¡± ¡°Uwah!¡± A surprised yip slipped out of my mouth after Alephi suddenly loomed in front of my face. ¡°Sorry¡­¡­what?¡± ¡°What happened¡­¡­¡­..you¡¯re all dirty and ¡­..is that blood on your hand!?¡± She had noticed the blood I had coughed up earlier on my hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, the damage¡­.well it¡¯s already healing.¡± Oh don¡¯t give that look Alephi, it pains me seeing you that distressed. ¡°Wuuu..¡± A small sound of distress also leaked from my chest where Marin had been glued to this whole time. ¡°Really I¡¯m fine.¡± I force out a smile to show I¡¯m ok. My eyes scan the room and I spot Yuli standing on the bed staring at me. ¡°The bedding will get dirty if you do that.¡± ¡°Hmph!!¡± She turned away, but still stopped standing. What a troublesome child! ¡°Kitling¡­..why are you back so early though? Don¡¯t get me wrong I¡¯m happy¡ªer well but¡­..um, I guess I never expected you back this early.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I mean it hasn¡¯t been that long since you left with that old man.¡± ¡°He was creepy!¡± ¡°He was strong.¡± Even Yuli chimes in now? Though they are right¡­.well at least Alephi and Yuli definitely are¡­¡­.sorry Marin. It really has been only maybe over an hour since I left, and that old man¡­¡­.. he definitely radiated something like power. It had been almost on an instinctual level, the whole time I was around him I could feel a small hint of danger. Could Yuli have sensed it better since she was a pure beast-race? ¡°Well in the end it doesn¡¯t matter, he¡¯s my¡­¡­.master¡­¡­¡­for the next year. I will be learning under him how to fight in the arena.¡± ¡°N¡­.nnn.¡± Well now there¡¯s an awkward silence. It¡¯s making me painfully aware how I smell a bit like that baboon. ¡°Well what¡¯s done is done. Anyways I¡¯m famished, has a meal been delivered yet?¡± ¡°No¡­..though it should be arriving soon.¡± As always Alephi is immensely reliable, promptly answering my question and giving me a lead time! ¡°Well, I supposed I should get cleaned up¡­.. I¡¯ll be back in a second.¡± The girls gave me slightly confused looks, though I suppose that¡¯s to be expected. In this area of the world, personal hygiene isn¡¯t a very high priority. However I¡¯ll be damned if I get an infection from that baboon! ¡°Oi guard boy, get me vinegar and water.¡± ¡°Hmmmph, why should I? What¡¯s in it for me?¡± ¡°You¡­..do you have a learning disability?¡± I raised my blood caked hand and slowly curled it into a fist for him to see. His expression paled nicely ¡°For you? It means what happened to that baboon won¡¯t happen to you.¡± ¡°F-fine!¡± The kid scampered off, I could only shake my head. He must¡¯ve thought something along the lines of ¡®I¡¯m prepared now, he won¡¯t be able to act like last time,¡¯¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ dumbass. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­... A long while later not only did the water and vinegar arrive, so too did the food. It turned out that it was apple vinegar, but I figured that it would accomplish the same task. Which, in this case, was hopefully providing something that would kill all the nasty germs that I may have received from that baboon. I mixed it in roughly a one to one ratio, the water would relieve some of the vinegar¡¯s corrosiveness. Now comes the oh so fun job of getting everyone to use it. ¡°Before you can eat you need to wash your hands.¡± ¡°Wash your hands?¡± Well I guess it isn¡¯t commonly used phrase or concept here. ¡°It means scrubbing your hands in the water to get rid of the dirt and grime on them.¡± ¡°The water is smelly though.¡± ¡°That means it¡¯s good for you.¡± Surprisingly¡­ or maybe unsurprisingly Marin was the chatterbox that seemed particularly opposed. However I eventually got her to wash her hands and the other two followed suit. Breakfast consisted of something similar to oatmeal that was unfortunately ruined by the fat that had been incorporated into it. Leaving you with a greasy, oatmeal flavored dish. That being said, the dish packed a punch in terms of being a good energy source¡­..though the nutrients weren¡¯t very diverse. However given that I wasn¡¯t someone who had been too particular about eating a balanced meal, whether here or on earth, I could only shrug and continue eating the grease-porridge. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The meal was eventually finished and now came a new problem I hadn¡¯t had time to think about¡­¡­boredom. I already had plans for what I was going to do with part of my day, however, they did not. I glanced around the room; Yuli had re-taken her position on the bed, I have no idea how she wasn¡¯t overheating in the early summer heat, and Marin and Alephi had secluded themselves to the far corner of the room. There was also a disgusting smell in the air which was quickly found to emanate from the chamber pot which had seemingly been used in my absence. God I wish toilets would have at least been invented here. Alright, must.find.something.for.them.to.do! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Nope, nothing¡­¡­¡­¡­. It should be fine if I just let them be, right? Kids can find their own entertainment¡­¡­.right? There¡¯s plenty of clothes in here¡­¡­.dress-up? Yeah¡­¡­.they¡¯ll probably be fine. After convin ¨C assuring myself that the girls would be fine, I informed them I would be gone for a while. ¡°Whyyy!?¡± ¡°Because that old man told me I had something else to do.¡± ¡°okkk¡­..¡± Geez Marin! Don¡¯t look so sad! It makes the pain of lying to you that much worse! It cuts me deep! Eventually she relented, the other two remained silent, though Alephi gave me a worried look. These girls are so young¡­.yet the stress they¡¯ve had had to deal with has matured them far too rapidly. With these thoughts I stepped back through the door and out to the hallway. I glanced up briefly at the guard-boy, he avoided eye contact however. Seems he¡¯s been properly cowed. It took me a few minutes to make my way back through the dimly lit passageways to the courtyard where I had my struggle with the baboon. Just like the servant had stated, the baboon was still left lying in the hard packed dirt untouched. As I approached it I realized something that puts a severe kink in my plans. ¡°I don¡¯t have a knife¡­¡­..¡± I stood there for a few moments as I looked at the corpse. A few flies buzzed about, one even crawled along the baboon¡¯s now glassy eye. It was odd, I didn¡¯t feel much now that it was dead. Before, while I was killing it, I had felt myself come to a peace with killing. However, I still thought I might feel something looking at the baboon¡¯s corpse. I just didn¡¯t though¡­. It¡¯s like now it doesn¡¯t matter a single bit, the corpse is just another part of the scenery. It was starting to smell¡­¡­ ¡°So now what?¡± I began rubbing my chin and cheeks, stroking at my now non-existent stubble. ¡­..oh! I glanced down at the hand I¡¯d previously been rubbing my face with. With a slight flexing of muscles along the hand and fingers my set of black claws unsheathed themselves. These were not the claws of a house cat. That much was clear from the coloration and the size. These were the claws of a big cat. The overall length of each claw was no more than half an inch, each forming an oblong crescent as I extended and retracted each one. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°These will work.¡± An awfully morbid way of looking at it is that these claws were to a killer what a crescent wrench was to an engineer. Not the best tool for the job, but one that can still do the job well. *ZZZZzzzz* The flies continued to circle about the carcass, some occasionally landing to take a nibble from the red line along its cheek. Some of them buzzed away when I suddenly knelt down beside the corpse. As a kid I remember when hunters would be allowed onto my parent¡¯s lands to thin the deer population. They would sometimes skin the deer they had killed on the property, and I was able to watch. I¡¯m not sure if it would aid me now, but at least it was something. Haltingly, I turned the body so its chest faced the sky and all of its limbs were arranged as if it were being crucified. The body had begun to stiffen slightly however, given my race¡¯s inherent strength, it was relatively easy to move the body. ¡°If I were a magic organ, where would I be?¡± With a slight twitch, the claw on my right index finger unsheathed. I lightly placed it at the hollow of the throat¡­¡­.and hesitated. ¡°Oh come on! I¡¯ve already killed the damn thing!¡± *Schlick* My claw went in surprisingly easy, though I guess that was to be expected given that the fur was no longer receiving some form of magical signal to harden. I wonder if the hair follicles themselves form part of the magic system of the creature? Or does it simply cast a spell upon itself? Though that¡¯s getting a bit far ahead, the logic of how magic might work in my world need not apply on this world where magic actually exists. *SSskkriippshh* I continue to cut along the skin, going over its sternum, along its stomach, and eventually to its pelvis. It was slow going given that my claws weren¡¯t exactly designed to cut rather to puncture. It was especially tedious going over the stomach seeing as how I didn¡¯t wish to inadvertently cut its stomach lining and thereby release its digestive acids which would probably burn me. The blood had already pooled to the back within the hour that I had been away with the girls so it was a relatively clean operation. Next came around the neck which was much easier going, the reason being that the skin was slightly thinner there. The next bit was much more gory as I was peeling the skin of the muscles and bone of the carcass. Once done, I was given the very unpleasant sight of the abdomen of the baboon. The muscles and organs glinted grotesquely in the slightly past noon sun and somewhere along the way I had nicked its lower intestine¡­¡­..it smelled horrible. ¡°Seeing as how it can¡¯t possibly be there¡­..¡± I quickly pinched the connective tissue of the stomach to the esophagus and cut it loose, leaving enough of the esophagus to tie into a knot. The action of which was so slimy and disgusting it nearly made me hurl the greasy porridge. Luckily I suppressed the urge. Only one of us needed to go spilling the contents of our guts today. ¡°haha¡­.¡± I think I¡¯m going slightly cuckoo! With that thought in mind I sliced the bladder away from the other connective tissues surrounding it and drug it, the intestines, and the stomach away from the rest of the corpse in a direction that I hoped would remain down wind. When I got back to the now mutilated corpse I almost didn¡¯t have the stomach to go on. However my curiosity won out. I wanted to know how the creatures here gained the ability to utilize magic as well. So I set back to work. Over the course of the next few minutes I had examined all of its internal workings, finding them to operate much like how I would expect of a primate. Meaning, it was very similar to the human body. By now my hands were caked in blood an organic matter that I¡¯d rather not think about. My search turned up nothing however, not even the heart contained anything that looked remotely like something magical. I had figured it might based on earth¡¯s fantasy novels, some help they were. ¡°Heads it is¡­..¡± I muttered musingly as I unsheathed the claw of my middle finger, the one on my index finger was starting to ache¡­.. It was much harder going this time. The skull is a very hardy bone, and I was afraid of scrambling the contents within so I opted to simply remove it from the spinal column and skin it as well. Another hour passed. Eventually with some heaving and ho-ing I managed to pop the baboons head off of the spine. The skinning took a long time given that I was attempting to detach each scrap of skin and hair. What I was left with was a bloody skull with hanging bits of the fat and muscle found under the skin. The whole thing smelt of nothing but blood. Just blood, blood, and more blood. Given the nature of my current reality, to me it just smelt like, well, like air. It¡¯s like when someone says your room stinks but you can¡¯t smell it since you¡¯re already acclimated to it. ¡°Let¡¯s see just how strong this body is.¡± I was already well aware of my current body¡¯s superior strength, a strength so great it even gave full grown men difficulty handling it. That, combined with its small size produced an insane explosive force. As for brute strength though¡­.that remained to be seen. *KKRrriiicggghh!* ¡°Haarr!¡± I managed to pop open the skull with a tug from either side it cracked open. Unfortunately blood also splattered across my face. ¡°Ewwww.¡± I suppose I should be thankful to my personality. My need to know how this magic works is beating out my disgust over what I am doing. Glancing down again, cradled between the two halves of what was once a skull was the brain of the baboon¡­a bit of brain stem was also still attached. I quickly dropped the pieces of bone and rotated the brain around. ¡°Finally!¡± I was awarded with what looked almost like a flexible gem that bridged the gap between the two halves of the brain. Upon touching the gemstone however, I found it to be hardened like a stone. Whether that was due to the creature¡¯s death or that was just how it always was remained uncertain. *ssschwiipp* ¡°Eh¡­!?¡± The gem disappeared. It went *ssschwiipp* and then melted into my hand. You can¡¯t be serious. ¡°EEeeehhh!?¡± Why do I feel so invigorated all of the sudden!? Like I just got my second wind!? It must be true! Grand Archive absorbed the mana! ¡°FUCK YOU GRAND ARCHIVE!!!!!¡± Dashed are my hopes of figuring out how this thing¡¯s magic worked. Now I¡¯m just left with a mutilated corpse that is starting to stink up the entire courtyard. What¡¯s more is my claws ached too from all of the work! ¡°I give up.¡± Without bothering to clean up I trudged back through the hallways to my room. I numbly ordered the boy-guard to bring me hot water and more vinegar. He complied readily this time, my blood covered body must have scared him this time. The water and vinegar quickly came back, and I entered my room. I was dimly aware that Alephi and Marin were asking me something but all I did was mumble something unintelligible and cleaned myself off. After that I huddled up in a blanket on the bed and ignored everything else for the rest of the day. My psyche was wrecked. The only reason I was able to do such grotesque things was because I thought there may be a reward at the end¡­¡­.but there wasn¡¯t! I think Yuli and the sisters got into some argument while I was having my pity party. At some point I fell asleep. Eventually I awoke to Alephi on one side and Marin beside her and, surprisingly, Yuli on my other side. The bed was more than big enough to fit us all comfortably together. ~Data Gathering: 70%~ _____________________________________________________________________________ I have another one for you! muahhahaha while in hibernation I was able to type out a bit more! I''ll be trying to pick up the pace so this story gets more face time. Also so the story progresses and ya''ll don''t get more bored than you already are with this portion of it. Chapter 22: A Coconut and A Swallow I was up well before sunrise. Though that wasn¡¯t all that difficult, given that I¡¯d spent most of the second half of yesterday doing what could loosely be described as resting. However, that bone chilling depression that most adults feel whenever they wake up early for work still pervaded me. Must be psychological rather than a sign of getting old. I slowly eased myself out of the bed, thankfully only Yuli stirred. She simply gave me a bleary eyed look down the length of her long nose before going back to sleep. I had changed into a new set of the oversized clothing found in the dresser yesterday, and having no food to eat or shoes to put on I simply left through the door. Outside, I began to walk the hallways back to the courtyard where I had killed then mutil ¨C dissected the baboon yesterday. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°If you wish to perform such activities in the future I recommend you perform them in the butcher¡¯s room.¡± I¡¯ve been yelled at¡­..though it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as I expected. He simply had me sit in an uncomfortable kneeling position while he stood there, looming over me. Hell, even the part leading up to this situation wasn¡¯t all that bad. I had arrived extremely early, so early in fact that I was definitely too early. So I¡¯d sat down in a cross legged position like I was doing some meditation bull shit. I had just started to doze off when I was greeted to the light tapping of a single pair of footsteps on the sandstone floors. Once I opened my eyes however, there were two people. Surprise, surprise¡­¡­¡­.. The Old man had given me a quizzical look, it seemed my nonplused reaction was not what he had been expecting. After that it proceeded into him commenting on my ¡®enthusiasm¡¯ for learning under him. He¡¯d asked me to sit in that kneeling position, which is when he¡¯d started looming and exerting a¡­.. ¡®pressure¡¯? Now the current situation. ¡°However it is interesting that you sought out that magic core. From the mess it looks like you knew it existed but weren¡¯t sure where¡­.¡± Almost correct, I was looking for an organ but ended up with that magic core¡­.. though Grand Archive, that useless cur, had consumed it. I was absolutely sure of that! ¡°Regardless, training begins now scrub.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Another raised eyebrow, ¡°teacher.¡± That engendered a slight nod while I stood up. ¡°First we¡¯ll see your strength.¡± The old man walked across the courtyard silently, eventually reaching a set of boulders that had been standing conspicuously in the far corner. ¡°Lift each of these, smallest to largest. Until you can¡¯t lift them.¡± You¡¯re shitting me! This is the training? ¡°Yes teacher.¡± So I began to lift them. The first stone being as my head, the next my torso, the third was as large as my entire body. It wasn¡¯t till the third one that it felt like the weight was getting difficult. I stopped at the third one. ¡°I can¡¯t lift the next one.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t even tried scrub.¡± ¡°My body is significantly smaller than it! How am I supposed to gain enough leverage!?¡± Oops my exasperation came out. It was true though, the boulder was as tall as the old man and its girth was quite large. Simply put, my little arms and hands couldn¡¯t grip enough of it to lift it. ¡°Do it.¡± Uggghh, this damn old man! I could only shake my head and attempt to lift it. I spread my arms out as far as possible and tried to grip the rough surface as well as I could. Then lifted with my legs. To my surprise it budged a little before my skin felt like it was being ripped from my bones because I couldn¡¯t generate enough of a grip on the rock. After releasing it I looked over at the Old man. ¡°So this is the extent of a half-breed. It almost makes me want to train that purebred that survived.¡± He continued to mutter a few things to himself as he paced back and forth. ¡­..is his head screwed on straight? ¡°Run as fast as you can from one end of the courtyard to the other.¡± ¡°Yes teacher.¡± Speed trial next. After that is it going to be hand-eye coordination? It turns out I was right, After whipping up what I considered to be a pretty respectable dust cloud across the courtyard the old man had me catch or dodge a barrage of stones! It wasn¡¯t an ordinary barrage though! Every time he threw instead of one stone he somehow threw ten! I was dodging and catching a literal wall of stones! At the end he had me sit. ¡°Hmmm, it is as that bastard told me. You half-breeds have absurd strength and speed. Nothing compared to a purebred, but the young ones are too precious to waste in the arena. Then again I heard that you have one as your ¡®spoils¡¯. If only she had won, she would definitely be a finer specimen to train!¡± Old man¡­.the glint in your eyes right now is concerning¡­¡­.. ¡°Is there a reason you can¡¯t teach her as well?¡± He frowned now. ¡°You talk too much for a scrub¡­. Fix that.¡± I nodded my head. His eyes narrowed further, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Now onto the actual training¡­¡± From there the only words that left my mouth were, ¡®yes teacher,¡¯ and that was it. The old man proceeded to display various weapons before me, his servant bringing out and returning the weapons to a room on one side of the courtyard. There were maces, tridents, swords, spears, shields, and even nets! He went over the function of each and then seemed to gauge my reaction. Eventually he brought out a set of daggers, there were four in the set. Two had a thick, rigid base with a single edge with one being serrated while the other was plane and the other two were double edged and significantly thinner. As one could guess, the thin ones were for throwing and the thicker ones were for close combat. ¡°This set of daggers is what is known as the naariyal aur nigala. Despite the fancy name, this set of weapons is quite efficient at killing opponents. The river folk up north are the originators of the set for use on their fishing vessels. However these were modified by a blacksmith serving the arena for the purpose of killing¡­.¡± With that he casually flicked his hand and one of the throwing knives flashed across the courtyard and imbedded itself in one of the wooden posts that supported the awning over the pathways around the courtyard. This set of weapons caught my interest. All the others had just been brutal ways to hack, smash, or stab the opponent. This Naariyal aur Nigala though would cut or pierce the opponent with a clean edge. If I had to kill I¡¯d rather it be as quick and painless as possible. If they had offered a bow I would have gladly taken that instead and obviously a gun would be too much to ask for, hence this would have to do. Thankfully, the old man had noticed my increased interest when he had made his little display of the throwing knives ability. He gave off a slight smile. A reaction that was irregular with the treatment I had come to expect for the better part of the year since I turned six. ¡°Typically those of mixed race within the arena utilize the enormous strength endowed by their bestial blood lines to wield massive weapons. Utilizing their oppressive power along with their ability to wield them like their human counterpart would a rapier to cow the opposition¡­¡­.¡± He then waved his hand and the servant gave him the knife that he¡¯d just thrown. When did he get it? The old man placed the knife back in its sheathe and held out the blade set towards me. ¡°However, I think one such as yourself would be better suited towards these. Your strength, while good by human standards, is not up to par with your predecessors from the Blood Bloom. But, you do have outstanding agility and dexterity for one your age.¡± I raised a quizzical eyebrow at that. I¡¯d assume that he was using the times of previous Blood Bloom winners as a form of metric for the strength and speed. However I felt that judging dexterity by my ability to catch rocks was a little far-fetched. Then again his skill with throwing said rocks and the knife suggested he probably knew a thing or two about how to judge someone¡¯s ability on the subject. He raised his brows in return. I accepted the (two swallows, two coconuts) and slung the accompanying belt and sheathes, knives included, over my shoulder. It had all been designed for an adult to carry, seeing as how I was just slightly taller than half an adult I obviously didn¡¯t have the necessary girth to use the belt. ¡°Thank you, teacher.¡± I minded my manners. The people here are trash, but I¡¯m not, therefore I will not act like trash. ¡°A thankful scrub is a good scrub.¡± At least the old man didn¡¯t seem to say this unkindly. ¡°Though it seems you¡¯ll need a belt made for you before your training is done. But for now this is fine.¡± With a slight twitch of his lips that could almost be mistaken for a smile the old man proceeded to run me through various forms of attack and defense with the knives. The sun was starting to set once he dismissed me. ¡°Be here by the time the sun reaches the western wall, no later AND no sooner. A tired scrub is a useless scrub.¡± After that he simply and silently walked off. The servant followed behind him, providing the only noise to the old man¡¯s exit. It was at this time that I realized something. *GGGRRRGGGGRROOOUII* I hadn¡¯t eaten a single thing today¡­.. I quickly returned to my quarters. Thankfully while I was away the girls had not gotten into a fight again and the room had been kept clean. Furthermore there was a set of dishes left by the armoire that Marin was quick to bring to me. ¡°We saved you yours! Big sis said we should!¡± ¡°Awe Marin you are so cute! Thank you!¡± Whoops looks like my inner thoughts slipped out for once. ¡°Ehehehehe.¡± Thankfully Marin just giggled. I looked over to Alephi and gave her a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Alephi smiled lightly back. I could see concern in her eyes along with a heaping portion of relief. Is my absence that stressful? I suppose so. I¡¯m the only form of support she has. Marin at least has her when I¡¯m gone and Yuli¡­..well she probably doesn¡¯t view me as such. The guard eventually brought dinner which was as bland as all the other meals of the day, which I thankfully got to eat if a bit late. At that time I informed him that I¡¯d need food for myself early in the morning each day now that I was training. He rolled his eyes but grudgingly agreed. I suppose to his angsty teenager self, being ordered around by a ¡®half-pint¡¯ in his eyes must be galling. Later on he returned with the clothing that was sent to the launderess¡¯. Has it really been two days already!? ¡°This is the one!¡± Marin innocently held up a deep red shift that had lace work done along the bust in a very¡­¡­.seductive fashion. ¡°That¡¯s¡­.nice Marin, really very pretty!¡± She¡¯s so cute but¡­.Marin I don¡¯t ever want to see you in that! Remain innocent for the sake of my heart! I glanced over to Alephi who seemed to slightly blush before looking away. ¡°Hmph!¡± Yuli, who had been sitting silent through all of the evening on the bed, voiced her discontent. Ah yes, this was the dress she had wanted as well. No matter though, they were all too young for wearing these kinds of clothes. Besides Alephi would be the first one old enough to anyways¡­¡­. Shit I just had a mental image of Alephi as a ¡®foxy¡¯ young lady. Damn you scumbag brain! ¡°W-well¡­.I think it¡¯s about time for bed¡­.or at least for me. I¡¯ll be up early again tomorrow and from now on.¡± ¡°Okay..¡± Marin¡¯s earlier excitement was subdued. Maybe I should have acted more enthusiastic¡­ ¡°Kitling! What¡¯s this?¡± Nevermind¡­.it¡¯s back. ¡­..uh oh! ¡°Ah! Marin don¡¯t touch that!¡± I swiftly dashed across the room and grabbed the throwing knife from the Naariyal aur Nigala set that had found its way into her hands. ¡°These are very sharp, it¡¯s dangerous for you to use them.¡± Naturally to a five year old, this is the worst argument in existence. Therefore she considered it invalid. ¡°But why?¡± ¡°Because these need to remain in mint condition. That old man who¡¯s my mas ¨C instructor said they need to be perfect and ready for every class, every time.¡± ¡°But I wasn¡¯t doing anything¡­¡± Why does annoying five-year old have to kick in now!!!?? Because there is something shiny and new in front of her and I said no. ¡°But look, see these finger prints? They came from you.¡± I began to wipe them off. The knives were of high quality and had a slightly reflective shine to them. That combined with Marin¡¯s greasy hands, inherent to any five year old, quickly gave rise to finger prints. ¡°Even these are bad.¡± Awe Marin don¡¯t look so sad! Her head is now bowed and her shoulders are hunched. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry that you can¡¯t have these¡­.I¡¯ll get you something nice when I can alright?¡± ¡°Okay¡­.¡± She trundled off despondently to her sister. Alephi gave me a slight grimace, but she understood. Yuli just snorted lightly and didn¡¯t deign to further comment on the topic. After that it was lights out for everyone. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Over the next few days we had fallen into a routine¡­or at least I had. I would wake up around the time the guard boy would bring breakfast in. He had brought it in late once, probably for the purpose of making me late. After giving him a lesson in the school of hard knocks the issue had been sorted out. Anyways, during breakfast Marin would get up and sleepily sit beside me on the ground, often times actually falling asleep. She never really said much but I guess she had her reasons for doing it. After breakfast it would be off to training with the old man. First would be ¡®warm up¡¯ which translated into intense strength and endurance training, along with agility training. He didn¡¯t know the existence of fast twitch muscles or burst speed, concepts that I had only learned about because one of the soccer coaches back in high school had also been the sprinter coach for the track team. Needless to say I decided to train them myself since if he didn¡¯t know about it, no one probably did. Which would give me an advantage. After the ¡®warm up¡¯ came actual combat training. Despite what I said to Marin, I wasn¡¯t allowed to use the Naariyal aur Nigala yet. Instead it was standard combat stances. Nothing as developed as the martial arts back on earth but a very primitive form of them. It was mostly just how to punch and kick correctly and how to guard against your opponents attack. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Surprisingly I was able to get lunch. I had thought the first two days were indicative that he would not be allowing any breaks for food. Luckily I was mistaken. During this time it would be just the two of us, three if you count the perpetual servant that stayed away under the shade of the awnings, sitting in the courtyard. At first he didn¡¯t say much, just sitting there gruffly and eating a significantly nicer meal than myself. But after the first few days he started talking. Rather than a normal conversation about the weather or something it was stories about gladiators. He¡¯d describe all these unimaginably horrible and gory fights and point out what the gladiator who won did right and what the one that lost did wrong. After lunch came afternoon sparring. The old man had bought another primate like creature. This one was much larger. It kind of looked like a cross-between a sloth and an orangutan. Most of its body was similar to the orange primate while its hands and feet had digits with long, sharp claws similar to those of a sloth. Its speed though was no joke, it was quicker than either species and therefore made a good opponent for me. Thankfully I was no longer required to kill it and rather we would fight each other until the old man stopped us. He did so by grabbing the slothutan, as I¡¯ve dubbed it until further notice, and tossing it into the cage. The action was often times so quick I had no idea how he accomplished it. On a side note, this creature did not have any magical powers. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ This routine continued for a long while, until one day¡­¡­ ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°It¡¯s boring in here.¡± Marin declared so one morning in the most adorable way possible. She slumped against me and looked at me with her baby blue eyes in the most pitiful was possible. Her russet furred ears were even flattened against her head in the most pitiful way ever! Too cute! ¡°Marin! Don¡¯t trouble Kitling! It¡¯s fine!¡± Alephi quickly interjected as such. Both her and Yuli were now sleepily sitting up in the bed, or at least Yuli was. Alephi, on the other hand, seemed a bit more alert and was looking at me again with worry laden eyes. ¡°Really Kitling, it¡¯s fine.¡± She looked at me pleadingly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry and go train.¡± So young¡­.and yet so worried. She must be still scared after my outburst in Zla¡¯s infirmary. I involuntary grimaced which caused Marin to clutch at my clothes in concern. I looked down at her and smiled slightly and tore another chunk out of the loaf that was my breakfast this morning. After popping it in my mouth and eating I looked up to smile at Yuli and Alephi. ¡°Then I won¡¯t!¡± I stood up and before making my way outside I left a despondent Marin with a wink. After leaving in a positive attitude my shoulders immediately slumped once I began walking through the hallways. I was mostly mad at myself for having let it go on so long. I was no idiot, I knew keeping a bunch of children cooped up in a bedroom all day would wear them thin. I¡¯d just chosen to ignore it because it was difficult and inconvenient to worry about. Well I better start worrying about it now¡­. Yuli would be an easy fix¡­..maybe. Marin and Alephi though¡­¡­ They would be more difficult. They weren¡¯t killers, or even fighters for that matter. Nor would I want to turn them into that¡­. ¡­.That may be irresponsible given their situation. But there must be some other way, and the ¡®training¡¯ Zla told me about was absolutely out of the question! By now I had reached the courtyard. It was time to train. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ With the morning training done we sat down to a meal of meat from some type of bird and potatoes that had been roasted in spices from the southern country. ¡°In the end, Wolf-hound ripped the throat of Corinth right out from his neck! Later he died due to the burns produced by Corinth¡¯s magic. But it shows that tenacity will win you a victory! However had he been more cautious and waited for Corinth¡¯s mana to be exhausted he would¡¯ve truly won the day. However, trying to give the crowd a good show from an intense fight is also admirable if foolhardy.¡± The old man pointed his knife toward me. ¡°Let this be a lesson to you scrub in correctly determining when to please the audience or to live and fight another day.¡± He then lead back and continued to eat. ¡°Teacher¡­.¡± He paused and glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Yes¡­.scrub?¡± ¡°The wolf girl¡­..she would be available to train as well¡­..if you so desired.¡± He placed his plate of to the side before standing up. He slowly paced about the courtyard, and as he did so he began muttering to himself. I could see a feverish glint in his eye whenever he glanced towards me. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck raise¡­.something was off. The old man seemed just a bit too¡­excited. ¡°Is she really!?¡± Woah too close! His face suddenly loomed in front of me and I hurriedly gulped down the food I had been eating. ¡°Ye-*COUGH*, hrc hrm¡­.yes she is. Currently she¡¯s just been sitting in my quarters all day. Since you expressed interest in training her I figured it would be more advantageous¡­.for the both of us if you did so.¡± He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth once again. Before just as quickly stopping and turning to face me. His expression was¡­.thunderous? ¡°And¡­.you are telling me this now!?¡± ¡°S-sorry?¡± ¡°You had better be! Another hundred stone lifts! Max weight! NOW!¡± ¡°Yes-sir!¡± As I ran to comply I heard him chuckle in a rather disturbing way. ¡°Huhuhuhu, looks like I¡¯ll get another fine specimen!¡± I glanced back¡­.the glint in his eye seemed¡­.perverse¡­. Uh-oh! He noticed me! ¡°What are you looking at scrub! Hurry up and do those stone lifts! Pretty soon you¡¯ll have some competition! Let¡¯s see who will be stronger! You or the purebred!¡± Aaahhh! He¡¯s a pervert! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Training let out much later today¡­¡­ I think I awakened something in the old man¡­. his inner sadist? ¡°Remember scrub¡­bring that purebred with you tomorrow! If you don¡¯t, so help me I¡¯ll give you the training of your sorry existence!¡± Those are some awfully heavy words old man! Also, couldn¡¯t you grab her yourself if you wanted her that bad!? ¡°Yes teacher.¡± I made my way back through the hallways. One down, two more to go. Rather than making my way back towards my room I headed towards Zla¡¯s infirmary. With him would lie my only hope of finding something else for the two sisters other than killing. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­............................................................................................ ¡°Oh come on! You must have something!¡± The voice of this child¡¯s body is quite annoying whenever I¡¯m trying to sound aggravated. ¡°There are very few uses for mixed race females here other than in the sack or in the sand.¡± ¡°Not even in the kitchens?¡± ¡°They already have plenty of help. Besides, wouldn¡¯t you rather have two beautiful young ladies serve your every pleasure once that body of yours reaches that age?¡± I could only glare at him as I slouched back into my chair. Zla¡¯s office was much the same as when I had last been here. Though when I was entering a female gladiator had just been leaving. According to Zla she had just been here for herbs that helped with the ¡®monthlies¡¯. Surprisingly for an establishment such as this, the amount of people that required long term care in the infirmary were next to none. Though that was mostly due to Zla¡¯s expertise in healing. It all started out fine, simple pleasantries about our respective lives here. I think Zla felt special as he was a confidant for what he assumed was some nearly divine being that had placed itself in a child¡¯s body. However once I complained about the needs of the two sisters I was met with apologetic but firm resistance. ¡°I should¡¯ve expected as much from savages. Forcing women to do a man¡¯s bidding.¡± That raised a quizzical look from Zla. His crescent shaped scar was oddly contorted by the expression. Further explanation would be required to further this ruse. ¡°In the plane of existence where I am from. A woman¡¯s worth is measured nearly the same as a man¡¯s. Furthermore we find the strength of character of the woman and the pursuit of her own passions to be¡­.attractive. Rather than some twit that has been inundated by the whims of perverts to satisfy the carnal desires of males.¡± His eyebrows raised slightly as he took a kettle off the small fireplace at the front of his office. ¡°I see¡­¡± He finished his sentence there, before placing the kettle and two mugs down on the table which the chairs we had been sitting on were placed around. ¡°Tell me, what are these ¡®passions¡¯ you speak of?¡± He stepped over to the desk and grabbed a small tin box that contained various dried herbs from the smell of it. He sprinkled some of them into the kettle and left it to brew before sitting down across from me. ¡°Things similar to what you are I would pursue. Of course some choose to pursue cooking and cleaning and other interests that are typically considered feminine. However I¡¯ve known women that pursued the martial arts with such intensity that even I would be hesitant to go a round with them in the arena. Others had pursued medical knowledge to such a high degree that they had the ability to reattach limbs! Even without the use of magic!¡± He chuckled slightly, ¡°Surely you can¡¯t be serious!¡± ¡°I am! Besides there is something¡­.. spine tinglingly sensual when those that pursue medical care decide they want to have a ¡®hands-on¡¯ study of the male body.¡± I gave him a wink before serving myself some of the tea. A gesture typically considered rude in this culture, but Zla wasn¡¯t particularly set on ceremony. Furthermore he was too busy chuckling once again at my previous statement. I had a sip of the tea. It was quite good, it certainly helped relax all the muscles I had over-exerted today. ¡°Ah that would certainly be a sight.¡± ¡°It is! But that is neither here nor there, I¡¯m here about two girls that need to be given something to do other than sex-slavery.¡± ¡°Well when you put it like that¡­.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound so attractive does it?¡± I leaned back into the chair after taking another sip. ¡°They¡¯re both quite intelligent, especially for their age. Furthermore Alephi is already ten years old. It¡¯s probably about time she started gaining some form of skills in a craft.¡± I made it look like I just had a brilliant idea. ¡°Actually, why don¡¯t they help you? You probably have many duties to attend to, I¡¯m sure have to cute little helpers would make it a bit easier. They¡¯ve already seen blood so they won¡¯t be squeamish. They¡¯re too young for the men here to take an interest in them and because they are cute young girls it might even have a pacifying effect! I¡¯m sure that would assist in your job!¡± Surprisingly this seemed to make him thoughtful. Though it may because he was also still thinking about our previous conversation about women from my ¡®plane of existence¡¯. ¡°However they can¡¯t read and I must carry many heavy things around with me.¡± Bullshit! The most you may have to carry around is a few herbs! Your magic does most of the work! Also both reasons are things easily remedied. ¡°I can teach them to read, all I need is plenty of ink, pens, and paper! As for heavy loads, you forget they are a mixed breed! Even if the kitsune aren¡¯t the strongest of the beast-race they still trump an ordinary human any day!¡± I reached out and took another sip, the tea was quite good. More so, considering the usually bland diet I eat here¡­.though the potatoes today were an exception. Zla swirled his mug as he sat back into his chair. It was at this point that he really did seem like a wizened old man. Though there seemed to be something sinister about him it was more like a mad scientist vibe. We sat in silence. An old man and a young child. Would¡¯ve made a cute hallmark card back on earth. But that didn¡¯t really matter. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll take the older one¡­..Alephi correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that is correct.¡± He sighed slightly before continuing. ¡°The other one is simply too young. Also, before I¡¯ll take her on as a helper she will need to be taught how to read. I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡± He placed his mug back on the table for getting up and moving over to his desk where he shuffled through a few papers, eventually selecting a few. Then he continued to root about until coming up with a worn down pen and a small inkwell that he had freshly refilled. He brought these pack to the table and placed them in front of me. ¡°See I¡¯ll even help get you started!¡± ¡°Many thanks Zla. At least now two of them will be out of my hair.¡± He had an odd expression on his face after my previous statement. ¡°What?¡± He shook himself slightly. ¡°Nothing, you just really aren¡¯t from around here. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard that expression used before.¡± ¡°Ah, well it is what it is¡­¡­¡­¡­you¡¯ve probably never heard that one either.¡± ¡°No but it¡¯s relatively easy to understand what you meant.¡± After saying so he went to grab a pipe and a small box off the lintel of the fireplace. He was just starting to tamp down what I assumed was this world¡¯s version of tobacco when I decided it was best to leave. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be off for the night then. I¡¯ll come back here once I¡¯ve properly taught her to read. I¡¯ll even add in math as a bonus!¡± He gave a dry laugh at that. ¡°If you can teach a child how to use math¡¯s then she would be truly useful!¡± ¡°Have a good evening Zla.¡± ¡°To you as well!¡± The walk back to my room was now worry free since I had figured out how to keep the girls busy¡­.mostly. Now my biggest problem was the constant exhaustion from physically exerting myself every day. Which wasn¡¯t very good for such a young body, but what was I to do? _______________________________________________________________________________________ Here is another chapter. I''m a horrible author who doesn''t give this story proper attention. I''m sorry to all of you who enjoy this story but...... it is what it is! Chapter 23: More of Living in the Arena ¡°Oh thank goodness your back!¡± Alephi was the first to greet me this evening. ¡°Yes¡­ sorry I was out so late?¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s completely fine¡­..we saved you your dinner.¡± She was still worried, Marin was subdued as well. Though maybe for different reasons, meaning because I¡¯d left her cooped up in here all day¡­¡­once again. I gave Alephi a reassuring smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± Yuli gave a cold snort from the bed. ¡°Where were you?¡± That got my attention. Yuli was interested in what I was doing. Maybe she¡¯s warmed up to us a bit? Or was she worried as well for her own reasons. Regardless I couldn¡¯t help but grimace when I looked at her. Seeing her¡­brought up unpleasant memories. ¡°I was, taking care of some issues.¡± At that I carefully laid the pen and paper down on the floor in the center of the room. ¡°Tomorrow you will be joining me for training with the old man.¡± ¡°¡±¡±Huh?¡±¡±¡± That elicited a confused noise from all of them. ¡°¡­..Yuli specifically. I won¡¯t force you two to train. I figured Yuli would find it particularly fun to fight.¡± She narrowed her eyes slightly at that, had I been off the mark about her? ¡°Thank you.¡± Maybe, maybe not. ¡°As for you Alephi, Marin. I was able to acquire some pen and papers. How would you two like to learn how to read?¡± ¡°REALLY!?¡± Marin was positively bouncing in excitement. ¡°That¡¯s only something rich humans get to learn right?¡± Awe, only you could make something so horrible sound so cute Marin. While I was appreciating Marins adorable smile I saw movement on the bed out of the corner of my eye. Yuli had turned away from us and her ears were flattened against her head, her silver tail had also curled around her protectively. ¡°Yuli..¡± Her ears slightly twitched. ¡°You are welcome to learn too.¡± ¡°Nnn¡­¡± Her head bobbed slightly, but that was good enough. Maybe there was more to her than met the eye. I suppose I should pay a bit more attention to her, considering that she was now my responsibility as well. ¡°Alright then, we will start learning tomorrow after training. I¡¯m sorry girls but I need the rest.¡± ¡°¡±It¡¯s ok!¡±¡± Alephi and Marin both responded brightly before moving towards the bed. I quickly scarfed down dinner and did the same. Like most nights the sleeping arrangement started with Marin to the far left, then Alephi, then myself, and finally Yuli took up the right part of the bed. Though tonight she was a bit closer to the rest of us than usual. Maybe she was warming up to us¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Ho-ho-ho, so you did bring her.¡± The Old man¡¯s eyes glinted with a dangerous light. I was beginning to grow concerned that I had misjudged what that glint was. However, seconds later I realized the concern was entirely unfounded. ¡°Work harder scrubs! Scrub-1 what is this! Scrub-2 has been here only since today and she can already lift twice your weight! It looks like I¡¯ve been too soft with you! Put some spirit into it!¡± As I thought! This old man is a sadist! Yuli seemed to be enjoying the workout like it was the best thing she¡¯s ever done. I, on the other hand, was suffering! She¡¯s so damn strong! Yuli lapped up the praise, her expression twinkling with an ¡®in your face¡¯ attitude. That was at least until the end of the day. ¡°Kill it.¡± The old man once again coldly stated those words. This time they were directed at Yuli. The slothutan had been brought out for what was going to be the last time. It left a sick feeling in my gut, but I knew that the old man was trying to force us past the trauma. He wanted to force us into being killers. But that was his job. It¡¯s the reason why I decided to do whatever he told me to do. ¡°Ooh Ooh Ooh!¡± The slothutan had already been let out of its cage and was pacing back and forth. It seemed to know what was about to come. It knew that it couldn¡¯t run. There was unwillingness in Yuli¡¯s eyes. Did she perhaps not want to kill? Previously I just assumed she was a born fighter. Someone who enjoyed conflict. It seemed she enjoyed learning how to kill. But the expression on her face showed that she was unhappy. Were those tears forming? ¡°Kill it, or leave. I teach killers, not fighters. Are you a scrub or are you a child?¡± Tearfully she looked to me. I could only grimace in sympathy. I remember when I¡¯d been in that situation. I had found my resolve. It seems that Yuli now had to find hers. If anything this would at least give her a chance at freedom as well. That¡¯s at least what I consoled myself with. I¡¯m the one that brought her to this after all, a seven year old child would become a killer under her own will because of me. Yuli¡¯s expression hardened, though a tear or two leaked out. The fight was over in an instant. The slothutan had no special ability like the baboon had. She came in swift and decisively, the small, hardened nails of hers raking a deep wound across its front. It only had time for a choked off cry of pain before both of her thumbnails pierced through its windpipe. She stepped away from it as it fell to the ground, convulsing and struggling for air. All it had was its own blood. When it finally fell still she looked up at the old man with a bitter face. ¡°Eight points. You left it to suffer. Most audiences like gore but not a death like that.¡± He sighed lightly before looking to me. ¡°That¡¯s enough for today. I expect both of you back here at the same time tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes teacher.¡± ¡°¡­..Yes¡­¡­..teacher.¡± Yuli barely mumbled out a reply before the old man and his servant disappeared into the hallways leading off from the courtyard. We stood there for a while. I eventually realized that Yuli wasn¡¯t going to move without some help. I walked over to her and took her hand. She numbly followed me out and down the corridor. This world was so insane. It was a place where it was acceptable for children to kill each other and for a mother to get away with murdering another mother. I didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Kitling¡­..¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Yuli.¡± She stopped us and I turned to look at her. Then she did what I was probably expecting the least. She hugged me. ¡°I¡¯ll work harder.¡± ¡°No¡­you don¡¯t have to do that ever again. We¡¯ll find something else for you, I promise.¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, this is what I was made for. It¡¯s all I¡¯m good for.¡± ¡°That is so horribly wrong! You¡¯re good for so much more!¡± Was this really the girl who probably would¡¯ve emerged victorious from the Blood Bloom if I hadn¡¯t been there? She gave me a sad smile. ¡°It¡¯s fine anyways.¡± She stalked off slowly, tail hanging limply, back to our room We walked in silence the rest of the way. I think¡­. I screwed up. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Yay! Kitling! You¡¯re back!¡± Marin greeted me with more enthusiasm than she¡¯d shown for the past week! But it wasn¡¯t only me that was returning this time. ¡°Welcome back Yuli.¡± Alephi probably recognized something was off. She gave me a slightly worried glance and then went to greet Yuli. She really is such a good girl. Definitely a big sister. Maybe for more than Marin now. ¡°Kitling?¡± Marin gave a worried query from below. I forced on a smile. ¡°Hey! Are you ready to learn?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Marin¡¯s smile helped, but I¡¯m not sure if it helped as much as it used to. ¡°Well great! I¡¯ll be back in a second and then we can start!¡± I stepped out to find the guard-boy returning with water and vinegar. It seems he¡¯d learned the routine by now. ¡°Thank you.¡± I¡¯m not sure who was more surprised. Him, for my civility or me, for my dropping of character. I was supposed to be an evil, hard-ass gladiator around him. I let it rest there though. I suddenly felt very tired tonight. Though my night wasn¡¯t quite done yet. I returned with the water and vinegar. Yuli almost eagerly washed her hands. Afterwards she went under the covers, her dinner left untouched. I sighed lightly before starting on mine and pulling the pen, ink, and paper out. The first lesson was very simple. The alphabet was laid out for them and I spelled out everyone¡¯s name. ¡°Kitling, why didn¡¯t you write down yours?¡± Marin, as innocent as ever asked. ¡°Because kitling isn¡¯t his name.¡± Alephi quick to follow up. ¡°Then what is it?¡± The inevitable counter-question. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡± Was the only reply I could give. I spent the next hour writing out common words that started with each letter of the alphabet. The two of them began to absorb it like sponges. ¡°Alright that¡¯s enough. Time for bed.¡± ¡°Okkaaayyy.¡± Marin¡¯s reply was less enthusiastic than it had been last night. But we all needed sleep. Me in particular. Or at least that¡¯s what I thought. *HIC* A series of choked back sobs and sniffles woke me in the middle of the night. The came from behind me rather than in front of me. It was Yuli. She must have waited till everyone was asleep to indulge in her tears. I rolled over to find her under the covers, her back shuddering. This was my fault. Hesitantly I shifted across the bed before I was beside her. ¡°Hey, hey¡­ssshhhh it¡¯ll be ok.¡± I repeated all the little things that I remember my mom telling me whenever I cried as a child. They sounded empty coming out of my mouth. ¡°B-bbut I killed so many people. I didn¡¯t want to! I didn¡¯t want to!¡± Yuli seemed to remember some of what happened that day. I guess today must of brought those memories to the forefront. I could feel mine creeping up and ready to overwhelm me to. I took a long tearful sigh. ¡°I know, I didn¡¯t want to either. But what¡¯s done is done. We have to live with it.¡± ¡°nnoooo..¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Yuli continued to mewl weakly. I tried to embrace her, maybe it would provide some comfort words couldn¡¯t. At first she struggled, before nuzzling into my chest. Her sobbing increased though it was a bit more muffled now. Vaguely I could feel movement behind us, but for the moment Yuli was my focus. It was the first time I looked at her. Really looked at her. I¡¯d been avoiding it I think. It was easier to blame her as some monster in a girl¡¯s body. But, the crying child that was in my arms right now shattered those thoughts. She¡¯d been hurting, just as much if not more so than me. ¡°It¡¯ll be ok. You¡¯ll see. We will get out of here¡­.all of us.¡± She continued to sniffle a bit, before pausing. ¡°Promise?¡± There was so much weight laden on that promise. I knew it was one that I very well may be unable to keep. But if it would help keep this poor girl going¡­. I¡¯d make it. ¡°I promise.¡± ¡°Nnnn¡­¡± That night, Yuli tearfully fell asleep in my arms. The next morning I found Alephi and Marin curled up together on the other side of the bed. A few tearstains made their way down Alephi¡¯s cheeks. It seemed all of us had had an emotional night. Nobody really said anything. Alephi and Marin stayed asleep while Yuli and I ate my breakfast and whatever was edible from her portion of dinner last night. I had forgotten to have the guard-boy bring her portion of dinner as well. After finishing it was off to training. Despite Yuli¡¯s and mine subdued appearances the old man was in high spirits. So we suffered through another day of hard workouts, stories of gladiators past and at the end, sparring. Though instead of a new primate like creature the two of us sparred against each other. Our hearts weren¡¯t in it. ¡°Put some damn effort into it scrubs!¡± ¡°I have never seen such shit-for-brains fighting in my life!¡± The old man continued to roar obscenities at the two of us. Something I hadn¡¯t ever seen him do. It was a little terrifying. ¡°Let¡¯s fight for real. It¡¯s all for getting out of here.¡± That finally seemed to wake Yuli out of her slump. Her eyes regained a little clarity as she focused. ¡°That¡¯s right. Us getting out starts here.¡± That elicited a small nod. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this!¡± My high-pitched voice made the last bit come out as more of a squeak rather than a roar. But it got the point across. Yuli beat me black and blue. ¡°Ow, ow, ow.¡± ¡°S-sorry¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°hohoho much better. You two were useless scrubs at the beginning of the day. But that ending made it worth it. Scrub-1 you¡¯ve gotta be quicker than that when she¡¯s on the attack. Scrub-2, stop falling for his feints! Use your head a bit.¡± ¡°¡±Yes teacher.¡±¡± ¡°Good, do better tomorrow.¡± ¡°twelve down¡­. Three-hundred-fifty-three to go.¡± ¡°Hrm?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Let¡¯s get back.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Yuli was much happier. The fight seemed to have raised her spirits. I think in part I was right. She is a battle lover, just not a killer. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°B-bed.¡± ¡°Good!¡± ¡°hehehe.¡± When we returned to the room, both Marin and Alephi were excitedly waiting. They¡¯d spent the entire day memorizing each word and letter I¡¯d left them with last night. It was cute, and exactly what I had been hoping would happen. The two of them seemed to be in better spirits then what I assumed they must¡¯ve been this morning. ¡°Alright! Then let¡¯s make a sentence?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Yuli joined us. ¡°What?¡± Naturally the other two looked at her funny. No matter, it¡¯ll be easily fixed. ¡°A sentence, Yuli. Is something like this.¡± I paused for effect. ¡°Yuli kicked my butt today.¡± ¡°hehehe.¡± That elicited a small bit of laughter from her and Marin. Alephi smiled slightly. ¡°A sentence is what you and I and everyone uses each day. It is composed of a subject and then an action the subject takes or a description of the subject.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡­..uh huh.¡± This is the tricky part. I remember when Clyde and Claura¡­.. I could feel a frown forming on my face. ¡°Kitling?¡± Alephi piped up now. Her expression was, as always now, one of concern. I smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ That night, I found myself getting squished by Yuli and Alephi. Both of them slept just a bit too close for comfort. I could feel it getting extremely hot under sheets. The summer weather made it bad enough already, but now it was quite a bit worse. ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± ¡°Is everything really ok?¡± Alephi was the one who stayed up extra late tonight. ¡°Mhm?¡± ¡°Kitling?¡± ¡°Nnn?¡± ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°Nnnhnnn.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Sorry, Alephi you¡¯re worrying too much. You¡¯ll get wrinkles.¡± A small enraged huff greeted my last comment. Despite the heat I wrapped my arms around her, much like Yuli last night. ¡°Really don¡¯t worry so much, everything will be fine.¡± ¡°Oo-o-o-ok.¡± Came her stuttering reply. ¡°Goodnight.¡± ¡°Nnn, goodnight.¡± It¡¯s amazing how quickly a day can reverse your attitude. A few weeks later, Alephi wrote her first paragraph. The grammar was so-so, but it got the point across and her handwriting was amazingly neat and legible. It was better than mine¡­¡­ A day later she passed her final math test. She was already quite good at addition and subtraction, but the engineer in me couldn¡¯t stop there. So I¡¯d had to spend another week explaining how multiplication and division worked. Marin and Yuli lagged behind, with Yuli lagging the most. That couldn¡¯t be helped though. She had training with the old man and I. I think it bothered her though. ¡°Shitty cat get back here!¡± ¡°Oops! Gotta be quicker than that!¡± Our afternoon sparring sessions got very heated, often with verbal abuse thrown in. Surprisingly the old man didn¡¯t say anything about it. Maybe he believed it was good practice for taunting in the arena. Now came the next problem¡­..Marin. All it would take is one introduction from me to Zla for Alephi to start her ¡®job¡¯ as his assistant. Yuli was already training with me. For the past week, while they stayed in high spirits in front of me, I could tell sitting around all day was starting to wear them thin. With Alephi gone, Marin would crack. I definitely would. From shear boredom before anything else. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Alephi, this is Zla. Though I believe you two met before.¡± ¡°I-I r-remember.¡± A shy Alephi managed to utter this out while trying to hide behind me. Which was pretty ineffectual considering that since she was a girl and older she would be taller than me until I hit puberty. Nonetheless it was still cute! If it was in a less formal situation I¡¯d probably fawn over her. However, this was a business meeting¡­..of sorts. ¡°I recall this little one. So she can read?¡± Zla was¡­..being less gruff? Maybe he was being charmed by Alephi¡¯s childish cuteness as well! ¡°Yes, not only that Alephi here can do basic math!¡¯ ¡°Prove it.¡± ¡°Quizz her.¡± ¡°Auh! Ki-kitling!?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine! You can do this.¡± I try to flash her my best reassuring smile. She seemed to calm down so¡­.maybe it worked? ¡°Very well, spell ¡®Pillswort¡¯.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Zla immediately fires off an atomic bomb from the get go! ¡°Zla¡­..just because she can read a word doesn¡¯t necessarily mean she can spell the names of medicinal herbs right off the bat.¡± ¡°Hmpphhh.¡± ¡°Alephi you don---.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡­¡­. ¡°P¡­..i? L? S? W-u-r-t?¡± ¡°Hmm close enough. Even I don¡¯t expect her to know something like that. For your information Pillswort is spelled p-i-l-l-s-w-o-r-t and is a type of fungus that is used in pain relieving medicines. It grows on willow trees and enhances the tree¡¯s pain relieving properties.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± Interesting, there wasn¡¯t a fungus like that back on earth. I¡¯m almost jealous of Alephi! However I should reign in my curiosity, this isn¡¯t the time nor the place. ¡°Well then, any more tests?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take her on for one week. She can figure out how to almost spell a word she has never heard before, furthermore it has only been around a month since you said you¡¯d teach her. Clearly she has a good head on her shoulders regardless of how good you are as a teacher. Her ability to handle what comes with being my assistant is the real test. Working as a healer in the Arena is¡­.well it can be quite gruesome.¡± Just as I was about defend Alephi¡¯s capabilities, she beat me to it. ¡°We of all people should be the most aware of that.¡± A slightly bitter and forlorn expression coated her face before she looked at me and her smile brightened. She is maturing too quickly. It makes my heartache when I think of that. An awkward atmosphere hangs over the room. The silence was so thick that the evening sounds of the Arena came into focus. ¡°W-well then. If that is all, Alephi and I will be off. I assume you wish her here early tomorrow morning?¡± ¡°Yes¡­yes, that will work just fine.¡± ¡°Well¡­..goodnight then.¡± With that I pulled the mildly melancholic Alephi along behind me and exited from Zla¡¯s infirmary. It was quite the awkward situation. The kind that only occurs when someone brings up a social injustice that everyone had been tacitly ignoring. We didn¡¯t really speak on the way back to the room. That night only Yuli snuggled up closely behind me. Alephi squirmed away and tightly clung to Marin. I didn¡¯t think too much of it. Everyone has their own way of dealing with frustration, anger, and pain. ______________________________________________________________________________________ TWO CHAINS! kidding, just a double release. Chapter 24: Fixing the Problem Child The next morning the four of us silently ate our simple breakfast before sunrise. I had arbitrarily decided that I would bring Marin along with Yuli and me to the training courtyard and hope the old man would let her sit and watch. It was the best I could do currently. It was odd honestly. In my previous life I hadn¡¯t lived long enough to have kids with Cecily¡­.but now it¡¯s almost like I have one. Marin really needs the type of direction a parent could provide. As for the other two, they just need someone to rely on. I broke out of my musings as we made it to the training ground. I had led a sleepy Marin by the hand here but dropped it soon after we entered. She continued to follow me though, the unfamiliar place seemed to make her anxious. ¡°This is where you guys learn to fight?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°U-uhn.¡± She seemed to be waking up and was now looking at her surroundings in rapt attention. As she started to look about the area Yuli and I fell into something of a routine that we had started before the old man would show up. It had started with just me doing some dynamic stretching and doing a few warm-up workouts to get ready for the day. Originally Yuli had scoffed at me. A week of seeing me consistently returning home with less sores and waking up with less stiffness had convinced her otherwise. It didn¡¯t take long though. Soon the old man and his perpetual aloof servant entered the courtyard. Marin immediately hid behind Yuli and I as we lined up to greet him. ¡°¡±Good Morning Teacher.¡±¡± As always an odd expression surfaced on his face when we called him teacher rather than master. Though since he never clarified what he¡¯d prefer to be called we continued to call him teacher¡­..master was an¡­..unpleasant word. ¡°Why is this young pup I see in my training grounds.¡± ¡°She is one of the girls who survived the Blood Bloom alongside me.¡± The Old man gave me a rather nonplussed look before it turned into one of stony indifference. ¡°That does not answer my question.¡± ¡°I was hoping that she may spectate from the sidelines.¡± ¡°I see.¡± With a few short steps he was looming over Marin. Him and his servant, they both had some absurd way of moving. Before I could react he had grabbed Marin by the chin and tilted her head back. Oddly enough Marin only gave off a small gasp, I would¡¯ve expected a scream. Her eyes did start tearing up as the Old man gazed into them. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What?¡± Without looking over at me he repeated himself. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Five-hundred lifts with your middle weight, go.¡± ¡°Bu-¡° His gaze shifted over to me, it felt like what a mouse must feel when being stared at by a snake. I was frozen by it, the cold ruthlessness in his gaze destroying any form of argument I could have made prematurely. Then, just as quickly as it came it retreated, his gaze now moved away from me to his servant as he stood up. ¡°Take this pup back to the scrub¡¯s quarters.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Once again before I had time to formulate a single coherent thought in my mind the servant had already grasped Marin by the shoulder and pulled her away. ¡°Waaa!¡± Marin cried out in surprise and fear and looked towards me with tears forming in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just do as he says. I¡¯m sorry you couldn¡¯t stay, just be a good girl and go back to the room.¡± ¡°Nnn.¡± Marin tearfully walked away with the servant. I couldn¡¯t figure out for the life of me what had elicited such a response from the Old man. Just as I was about to sink into my thoughts I felt a presence behind me, then a sharp pain in my shoulder as the Old man¡¯s hand clamped onto it in a vice like grip. Yuli received the same treatment. ¡°I believe you two ignored my commands, prepare yourselves. Today will be a hard one.¡± I only had to look upon the grim face of the Old man to know something was truly off. Normally he would have an evil, borderline perverse, grin on his face when he talked of something like a hard day of training. The same feeling grew stronger throughout the day. The Old man didn¡¯t even speak of tales from the Arena during the lunch break. He simply sat there in an almost contemplative silence. In the end, I couldn¡¯t puzzle out much more than it had to do with something he must have seen in Marin¡¯s eyes¡­.. ¡­..or he could¡¯ve done it just because he didn¡¯t want to deal with another kid, or because of the simple fact that I, the enslaved gladiator, had wanted it. By the end I was too exhausted to think. He had truly pushed us today, I could almost feel every bone in my body creak in protest to any form of movement. Yuli was doing slightly better, her wolf bloodline giving her far more strength than I could wield along with a recovery ability to match. It gave credence to a thought I had had a while back that perhaps the Beast-races were created simply as a warrior race. A tool for some being to use to dominate the world. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ When we returned to the room we found a disconsolate Marin being patted on the back by a weary-eyed Alephi. ¡°Long day?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Alephi practically sighed out the word. ¡°Did something happen, to be honest I¡¯m a little surprised that you are back so soon.¡± ¡°I¡­¡­I couldn¡¯t handle the blood¡­..¡± She was now using Marin almost like a stuffed animal to cuddle in her lap, her own face burrowing into her little sister¡¯s hair. ¡°T-there w-was just s-so much of it! I thought I could handle it¡­but then we came to the human who had been d-disembolled? H-his insides w-w-were everywhere!¡± She started to whimper softly, her anxiety and fear affecting her little sister who started sniffling quietly as well. ¡°T-then I thought t-t-th-that th-is m-i-i-i-ghht hhhaaa-peen¡ªnnn to k-k-kitling, a-a-a-annddd!¡± Her voice became incomprehensible as she bawled into Marin¡¯s hair. Marin herself started to wail, picking up on her sister¡¯s stress. I swallowed back saying something foolish like, ¡®that would never happen to me,¡¯ instead I walked over and hugged the two of them. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be expecting you to patch me up when that happens.¡± I gave her a reassuring smile when she looked up at me. ¡°So what did Zla have to say?¡± She wiped the tears and snot off her face and sucked the rest back in. Gross. But in a cute way that only children can accomplish. ¡°He let me go¡­..and said not to disappoint him tomorrow.¡± She still was sniffling slightly as she relayed to me what I was hoping to hear. ¡°Well then, that isn¡¯t so bad now is it? Do you still want to work with him?¡± ¡°YES.¡± She uttered the word with such force I was slightly taken aback. Yuli snorted slightly from behind me. ¡°What good is it if you can¡¯t even handle a little blood.¡± Always the rude one aren¡¯t you¡­Yuli¡­ you just can¡¯t play nice. ¡°I¡¯ll do it so that I can fix Kitling if he gets hurt!¡± Alephi, you are wonderful. Just as I was appreciating Alephi¡¯s innocent and na?ve desire her sister got my attention. ¡°What about me?¡± Yes what about you¡­¡­¡­that will be a problem that will have to be solved with time. ¡°For now, you will be getting extra lessons from me!¡± She frowned slightly, her face scrunching up. I sigh slightly, staying down on my knees like this taking most of what little energy I have left. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about today. For now you¡¯ll just have to stay here, but, I¡¯ll leave you with things to learn so at least you¡¯ll have that!¡± I put on what probably amounts to a desperate grin. I will do anything to keep her from going to those ¡®classes¡¯ Zla talked about. ¡°ok.¡± Marin only mumbled that one word out. Dinner was a very quiet affair that night. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The following day I had to put together a large pamphlet to keep Marin entertained. It consisted mostly of word games and math problems. Following that Yuli, Alephi, and I departed leaving behind a melancholic Marin. Eventually Alephi separated from Yuli and I, taking the path through the hallways towards Zla¡¯s infirmary. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard ok? Be careful.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be fine.¡± While Alephi said that her voice and body betrayed her, both quavering slightly before she marched stiffly down the halls. Yuli snorted again. ¡°Hmph, weak.¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.I could only sigh in response. ¡°Well not everyone is as perfect as you Yuli.¡± ¡°R-really!?¡± ¡­¡­¡­..It would seem she didn¡¯t pick up on the sarcasm, but I was just too tired to correct her. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. For the next week our days settled into a new routine of Alephi, Yuli, and I departing each morning for training or work and then returning home to an increasingly despondent Marin. It couldn¡¯t be helped though, there was only so much I could do to keep her entertained with words and numbers. I had written out an explanation of how poetry worked today. Maybe that would help her pass the time by using her childish creativity to write some prose. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Later that night I was back at Zla¡¯s place. This was also a habit that was starting to form. An evening cup of tea at the end of the week. The room would often be filled with the smell of the tobacco from Zla¡¯s pipe which he was fond of smoking on these occasions. The smell was actually pleasant, though that may have been the second hand high at work. We had just fallen into a slight silence after discussing a rather interesting herb that he had placed into the tea this time. It had the effect of increasing blood circulation and Zla had enjoyed its stimulating effect, leading to him trying it out in tea. It was actually quite relaxing for me, I could almost feel the increased movement of my blood flowing through my tired and sore muscles. ¡°You seem in an awfully good mood today Zla. Win some bets?¡± Zla returned his gaze from the cealing that he had been smiling dumbly at with his pipe clenched in he teeth. After taking a long draw he responded. ¡°Well no. I¡¯m waiting until the servant of a war god steps out onto the field once more¡­.¡± I raised my eyebrow. I¡¯m fairly certain he stopped buying that lie within a month of knowing me but it never hurt to continue the charade. After the pause continued for an almost uncomfortably long amount of time he finished his sentence. ¡°Actually it¡¯s about Alephi. That little kitling is an angel to the men in the arena. Each and every one adores her. She¡¯s gonna make me rich!¡± This¡­¡­ does not seem good. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Well several offered money for her to be transferred to their ownership¡­.naturally I refused. Though you may have earned the ire of some strong fighters within the arena now.¡± So pedophilic gladiators hate me now¡­¡­great. ¡°Though some just asked for her to directly bring them their medicines instead of myself. They also offered money for such a service.¡± ¡°And you accepted those offers?¡± ¡°¡­Yes?¡± I swirled the herbs that were at the bottom of my cup for a bit before looking up at him. ¡°And what? Did you think the money was really for just the delivery of medicine?¡± I unsheathed the claws of my right hand and tapped them on the armrest, allowing each one to slowly dig into the wood. Zla shifted slightly in his seat. ¡°T-they won¡¯t do anything to her. She¡¯s not their property.¡± ¡°¡­..Zla¡­¡­.are you serious.¡± ¡°Haaa, she¡¯ll be ok, there are guards at each hallway of rooms. I already warned them about her coming through with medicine deliveries.¡± ¡°We are going there right now.¡± ¡°I believe you are over-reacting.¡± ¡°She is my responsibility and nothing you can say will make me satisfied until I can confirm with my own eyes that she is safe.¡± I quickly stood up and began walking towards the door. ¡°Really she¡¯ll be quite fine---¡° ¡°Kitling what are you doing here!?¡± ¡°Alephi?!¡± Suddenly Alephi popped in through the door. ¡°Are you ok? Those bastards didn¡¯t do anything to you right?¡± ¡°Huh? The big sis¡¯s were scary at first but they¡¯re all really nice!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I may have forgotten to mention it was the female gladiators that asked for her to deliver the medicine. Most of them just can¡¯t get very comfortable around me. Their living situations here are¡­¡­¡­difficult.¡± I wheeled about to glare up at Zla. There was a slight glimmer in his eyes. ¡­.This bastard set me up¡­.. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, I was just coming to pick you up. We should be heading back now.¡± ¡°Eh? Umm ok?¡± ¡°Ah! Kitling wait!¡± I turned back again to look at Zla. ¡°What?¡± ¡°There was still business we needed to discuss.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°Well after seeing the ah¡­.. usefulness of Alephi I was hoping to take on the younger sister as well to help out.¡± ¡­¡­.This bastard¡­¡­but this also solves one more issue. ¡°Fine, she¡¯ll be here tomorrow with Alephi. If she wants to.¡± With that I slammed the door and stalked off with Alephi in tow. ¡°Wait Kitling! Marin can¡¯t go with me!¡± ¡°Why?¡± After walking through the halls for some time Alephi seemed to gather herself an halt me. ¡°Because she¡¯s just a little kid! She shouldn¡¯t have to see all this!¡± ¡°I¡¯m only a year older than her. Are you going to say I can¡¯t do what I¡¯m doing because it¡¯s too dangerous?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­..¡± ¡°Marin is going crazy sitting cooped up in that room all day. Even if it¡¯s horrible work it¡¯ll be better for her than sitting in that room. It¡¯ll toughen her up and give her a good skill to know. That¡¯ll help you guys in the long run, if I should¡­..well¡­.yeah.¡± ¡°Kitling isn¡¯t going to die.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± A teary eyed Alephi confronted me. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to die! I¡¯ll fix you up no matter what happens!¡± I think she¡¯s trying to appear confident when she says that but the tears destroy any projection of confidence she could muster. ¡°Well then¡­¡­thank you in advance.¡± ¡°Nnnn¡­.¡± We started walking again. ¡°So then, is it ok to ask Marin if she¡¯d like to work?¡± ¡°Nnnn¡­.¡± Alephi reached over and grasped my hand. Not in the way those in a relationship would, but more like a little kid would a parent for reassurance. Or at least, that¡¯s what it felt like to me. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°I get to work with Big Sis!? Yaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!!¡± Marin took the news with as much enthusiasm as I would¡¯ve expected. She really had been cooped up here for too long. I smiled slightly as I ate watching Marin animatedly talk to Alephi about how awesome she was going to be at healing people and Alephi giving her the slight and sad smile of a parent that knows what will actually happen. Yuli was sitting beside me neatly eating her food. Which considering her personality was a bit of a surprise. However I left it alone. Yuli didn¡¯t like to talk much about where she was from, none of them did. The most I knew about them was that Alephi and Marin came from the red light district and that Yuli had come from the central city where the more affluent people of Snaga lived. That was enough though. I could imagine their lives there, picture it in the way they acted. Alephi¡¯s furtiveness around men juxtaposed by Marin¡¯s trust in just about anybody. Alephi must have been the one to raise her in a place where women used their bodies as a tool to earn a living. Whether that was willingly or not was up for discussion. Yuli was probably the child of some slaves belonging to wealthy households. Given her personality it may have been she was always like she is now. Which led to her selling to the Arena since she wasn¡¯t obedient or she had become like that because of the selling. It didn¡¯t matter. What did matter, was that each of them now had a niche for themselves. At the very least if I were to lose on that first fight they would be able to continue surviving. Zla seemed like a decent sort, a little screwed up in the head but not in a way that would harm the sisters. Yuli had her battle prowress, she was improving by leaps and bounds under the old man¡¯s training. Her strength and speed seemed to improve exponentially, while her finesse lagged behind it would come as she aged. I think I¡¯ve provided the bare minimum for them. While I could waste time thinking something foolish like, ¡®I wish there was more I could do for them¡¯, it would be an exercise in futility. As it stood right now there wasn¡¯t anything I could do. They would be fine. I hoped. Chapter 25: The Day Before After that night at Zla¡¯s things really did settle into a permanent routine. The sisters would work at Zla¡¯s and Yuli and I would train. Then on the weekends Zla and I would converse over tea with pipe smoke filling the air. We covered a range of subjects from the flora and fauna used in most of his medicines to basic chemistry which I explained to him in great detail. From there we covered philosophy and politics as well. With him mostly explaining how the Snagan government ran. That was an interesting subject in and of itself, given that no family inherited the title of king. Instead strength of arms was what determined the right to rule in the form of duels. Or at least that was the intention of the laws that had been set down. However for the most part the kingdom was operated under two families which had started off in a blood feud in the beginning of the country¡¯s inception, however the following hundred years after war with the Overlord had led to many marriages between the two families. The now combined families led Snaga for the past eighty years with a challenger from one of the two families taking the crown. This semi-stable state had led to Snaga prospering as a militaristic country that justified its massive standing armies as a means to protect humanity from the twisted lands across the Baltic river. ¡°It also just so happens that, for the most part, Snaga is the only country with a set system of enslaving any and all members of the Beast Clans.¡± My ear pricked at this. ¡°Really?¡± Zla¡¯s crescent scar morphed into a jagged line as he slightly smiled. ¡°Yes, while most countries practice slavery it is more of the form of my enslavement.¡± ¡°So more like indentured servitude.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a practice I¡¯m familiar with. Indentured servitude typically operates as a form of loan. Where the servant, unable to pay some large expense such as traveling to a new¡­..area has it purchased by the master. The master then uses the servant and cares for their living expenses until such a time that the servant has paid off their cost through servitude. Which is typically pre-established in the contract they draw up in the beginning.¡± ¡°Hmmmm, I suppose a similar way of thinking could be applied to the slavery systems typical to the eastern lands.¡± I stretched slightly, my muscles a comfortable soreness after a long day of working out with the old man ¡°Aaahhh if only I¡¯d been born there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Well, in many of the eastern countries the Beast Clans are viewed as little more than intelligent animals and are kept more so as pets¡­¡­¡± ¡°Aah¡­.I see.¡± An awkward silence ensued. ¡°Ah there was something you brought up a few weeks back that I found odd.¡± ¡°Hrm?¡± ¡°You said the current order of the royal heirs had changed, how is that so?¡± Zla¡¯s crescent scar grew more ragged as he smiled. ¡°Ah yes it was just recent. The previously Second Royal Princess Alectra defeated a fully matured chimera while on a tour of the western side of the Baltic.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°Haaa, you¡¯ve been isolated all your life haven¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t be helped this body was enslaved when I came to inhabit it.¡± ¡°Well, as you know the next in line is chosen by strength of arms. Well the royal household is able to submit its own challenger in addition to the noble house challenger of whatever house the King or Queen is from.¡± ¡°So the strong get stronger and weak get weaker.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Meaning that since there are essentially two houses that rule the country they have a total of three challengers they are able to submit to become the next in line for the throne correct? That means it¡¯s easier for them to keep themselves in power since they have a numerical advantage and that allows them to continuously get stronger.¡± ¡°Aaah, I see what you mean by that phrase.¡± I gave a slight nod for him to continue. ¡°So, the order of the royal line is essentially an official declaration of who the royal challenger would be. In this case it is the now First Princess Alectra.¡± ¡°And she got that because she killed a mature Chimera?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as easy a task as your tone makes it sound. Chimera¡¯s are the blanket classification for what we consider typical animal species being twisted and malformed by the dangerous magics within the twisted lands. Those that are able to reach maturity typically have strength and powers far beyond the typical beasts that we see on this side of the Baltic. From what I¡¯ve heard she personally downed a lizard type. It appeared to burrow out of the earth and could launch the iron spikes along its back at foes.¡± ¡°That does seem difficult.¡± Zla stiffened slightly at my nonchalant comment about the battle. While it did sound impressive, seeing as how I¡¯ve never come across a chimera I didn¡¯t have anything to go upon and therefore couldn¡¯t find it in me to be impressed. He, however, probably interpreted it as that I¡¯d faced worse foes as a being that serves a war god. I wasn¡¯t going to correct that misinterpretation. ¡°So she killed the beast but what does that have to do with her position of succession?¡± ¡°The young of the noble houses aren¡¯t allowed to directly fight one another, this is especially true of the royal household. Therefore their rankings are determined by the difficulty of the things they killed, which usually translates into forays into the twisted lands to test their skills.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°I imagine that the now Second Prince Everand is on a mad hunt through the twisted lands to regain his position.¡± ¡°Ah, by the way how old are they?¡± ¡°Hmmm, I believe Everand is fifteen and Alectra is thirteen.¡± ¡°I-I see¡­.¡± ¡°The Third Prince is only ten right now, we should be expecting great things from him in a few years if his elder sister is anything to go by.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well the third prince will only officially enter the runnings after he turns thirteen. As can be seen from his elder sister though, he¡¯s probably already fit enough to take on his first challenger in the Arena!¡± ¡°In the arena?¡± ¡°Well yes. It¡¯s tradition that the nobles and royalty will have their children compete against a suitable opponent to establish their right to inherit in the Snaga Arena.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Oh¡­¡­.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s three years off.¡± Zla took a long draw of his pipe before releasing several smoke rings and then a fine jet of smoke that pierced through them all. ¡°So do you believe yourself ready for tomorrow?¡± I relaxed back into the wicker chair and swirled my tea as I thought for a few seconds. The past year had gone by in a flash. Though that was typical when such a regimented routine was kept. The only time I really noticed the passage of time was when the first snow falls of winter had made Yuli and I¡¯s training a living hell given that we had to clear out the massive snow drifts in the courtyard which we trained in. Thankfully it was warmer now, the winter had passed with no one getting sick and spring was well under way. In that time I had turned seven, Marin six, Yuli and Alephi eleven. Both Yuli and Alephi were well underway into puberty, the two of them shooting up like leeks at the start of the growing season. They both were definitively taller than me. Which Yuli enjoyed leveraging to no end, always patting the top of my head and using it as an armrest¡­¡­it infuriated me. Alephi on the other hand seemed almost apologetic about her new found height and would hunch over whenever she was around me. She had grown much gentler as time went on, Zla had said that her and Marin were adored by the gladiators as tiny little rays of light in the comparative darkness of the arena. Marin was growing up as well, throwing less temper tantrums and speaking more coherently by the day. It could almost be said that while we were slaves to this Arena, life had been pretty blissful. The only lurking stresses right now were the bill I had managed to accrue in the past year for attempting to maintain a clean lifestyle and teach the girls. Ink, papers, lemons, none of it was cheap and the debt collectors of the arena were starting to get rowdy. Then there was also the over-arching stress of knowing that you don¡¯t really have any freedom here. ¡°Kitling?¡± Zla called my name and broke me out of the reverie. ¡°Yes¡­..I¡¯ve grown¡­..bored of waiting. It would be good to fight again.¡± ¡°I see.¡± We talked for a bit longer, but both of us were wrapped up in our own thoughts. So, quickly, we called it a night. I made my way back to the room that I had now occupied for the past year, Marin had already drifted off to sleep while Alephi was combing Yuli¡¯s hair at the end of the bed, hers already done up in a braid. They had both let it grow out over the past year, Alephi¡¯s silky russet hair seemed alight in the candle light. Yuli¡¯s nearly white hair broke out in all manner of untamable cowlicks and swirls. Her ears were flattened and her tail was wound up tight in a clear sign of discomfort as Alephi tried to make it more manageable. ¡°Hnnff.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but snort slightly and chuckle under my breath. Seeing Yuli being obedient while clearly uncomfortable was just too cute. Each of them had made this year bearable. I had lost my mother and had done some terrible things in the arena, but these three girls had helped fill the hole in my heart. ¡°Gggrrrrrrr.¡± Ah Yuli noticed me. ¡°What are you looking at shri--- mmeeppp!¡± Before she could finish the insult to my stature, Alephi attacked one of the knots in her hair particularly violently. ¡°Now, now Yuli these knots are really hard to remove. You shouldn¡¯t move so much.¡± Alephi said this with such a beaming smile you almost didn¡¯t notice that it didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. However it seemed to have quite the impact on Yuli as she was immediately cowed and meekly sat there while Alephi continued to brush her hair. I take back what I said about Alephi becoming gentler! She¡¯s even more terrifying! ¡°Well, now the Kitling¡¯s back it¡¯s time for sleep. We all need our rest for tomorrow.¡± A hint of worry surfaced in Alephi¡¯s eyes before she squashed it with another smile. Alephi, you¡¯re too bright. ¡°Hmmph, tomorrow will be nothing special.¡± Yuli, you¡¯re so rough. ¡°Well even if that is the case. It doesn¡¯t hurt to have a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± Overlord only knows if I¡¯ll get any actual sleep. Ah, I¡¯ve started picking up the phrases from here! ¡°Well then come on, get into bed.¡± Alephi said so with such an innocent smile, but she¡¯s growing up fast! ¡°Nn-nn..¡± Yuli somewhat embarrassedly followed her in, leaving a distinctly me sized area between them. I glanced over to the other side of Marin. Alephi smiled even more sweetly when she noticed. Except it seemed like the room grew darker rather than lighter because of it. Yuli isn¡¯t the only one that¡¯s been cowed! I settled into my spot in between the two. It had been like this since we started living here¡­. But it recently has begun to feel a bit odd. Especially given the fact that they are significantly taller than me now. I¡¯ll find myself waking up suffocating in one of their embraces most mornings, sometimes both. Or Marin will have crawled in between me and Alephi, acting as a barrier. It really is unsettling, after all I am a grown man¡­.at least in mind rather than body. Besides Cecily is the only one for ¨C ¡°hrk!¡± I¡¯m being squeezed right from the get go! Yuli is snuggling in from behind and Alephi has pulled me into her budding chest. I glare up reproachfully at Alephi from my demeaning vantage point. But her eyes are already closed, her ears twitching happily. Ohwell, it can¡¯t be helped. Besides it¡¯s still a bit chilly at nights so being sandwiched between the two is keeping me comfortably warm. I gradually feel my eyes grow heavy despite the slight tension I¡¯m feeling. Tomorrow is the real thing, my and Yuli¡¯s true debut. Tomorrow both of us will fight within the arena as official gladiators for the entertainment and pleasure of a den of monsters. Tomorrow we begin our slave work to satisfy the blood lust of easily the most reprehensible creatures on the planet. Humans. I¡¯m disgusted I ever was one. With those dark thoughts I fell into a deep sleep. Sandwiched between two budding young women. Some might think this a kind of dream, I found it unsettling. Mother I will see you at your grave soon. Cecily I miss you. Chapter 26: Debut ¡°Now returning to the battlefield for the first time since the Blood Bloom! It is the Nameless!¡± ¡°Yoooowwwwhoooop!¡± Beasts¡­¡­every one of them, a creature, a demon¡­.an it. The most base forms of life. They were given intelligence¡­¡­and treated it as trash. Preferring to spend their time idly witnessing the demise of those less fortunate and those mad and vile enough to exist in this cesspool of an arena. ¡°Based on our records the Nameless is now 7 years old! Let¡¯s see how he can match up with today¡¯s opponent!¡± ¡°YYYeaaaaahhhH!¡± ¡°The opponent today is a Magrod from the Northern forests! It¡¯s most notable features are the massive claws which allow the creature to crush its enemies with impunity!¡± A creature was brought out in chains. It was happy marriage of a wolf-tiger-primate combo. The creature was gorgeous! It¡¯s massive frame sporting a darkly dappled pelt that seemed suited for snowy climates. It¡¯s thick and heavy claws certainly seemed suited for crushing, but the hooking of the claw seemed like it would help with climbing as well. A predatorial tree climber? Not uncommon just the form it took was odd. ¡°Let the match begin!¡± I¡¯d love to study it. Guess now I¡¯ll have the chance. I bowed to the creature. Sorry. ¡°Grraaaarrrrhh!¡± The Magrod charged furiously towards me after being released from the chains binding it. *Fwip* *Fwip* ¡°GGrruuu¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± The menagerie of demons ceased their cackling as the beast fell heavily to the ground. It makes sense though, I killed it with simply two Nigala. I had thrown both with enough force to travel through the Magrod¡¯s large eyes and enter the brain. Consequentially it died¡­..instantaneously. ¡°W-well there you have it! The Nameless has made his first kill!¡± The things in the stands eventually began to cheer when one of their number finally said something. Mob mentality. I, on the other hand, simply gave them a cool look and after retrieving my Nigala returned through the entrance I had come through. I glanced briefly over at the guard stationed there. ¡°See that the corpse is kept. I want it for later.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± The match had gone smoother than expected. Though that was partially due to the massive size of the creature. They say the eyes are the doors to the soul. In the case of this Magrod, its doors were left exceptionally wide open. The vermin were still cheering in the stands. For what reason, I don¡¯t know. There was hardly a ¡®show¡¯ as the old man would term it. No great struggle between gladiator and beast. I¡¯d simply put the poor creature out of its misery. There would be no life for it in here. ¡°I believe congratulations are in order.¡± I glanced up from where I¡¯d been looking at the ground thinking over the previous fight. The old man and his servant were standing in front of me lightly clapping. Yuli in tow. We were the first matches for today as the ¡®new bloods¡¯. ¡°You are now no longer a scrub, but a gladiator. Continue to produce good results. I¡¯ll be keeping my eyes on you.¡± As always the old man was terse and his servant silent. They made an odd pair in the arena. Everyone gave them a wide berth and a large amount of respect but Zla hadn¡¯t stated they were particularly high up in the Arena hierarchy. All he said was that he was a trainer and a very good one. ¡°Your showmanship was trash, but the kill was clean and swift. If you make that your personality in the arena it could earn you many admirers. There is a certain crowd attracted to the¡­.professional type.¡± I simply bowed my head. ¡°Yes teacher.¡± ¡°Scrub two, don¡¯t disappoint. I look forward to seeing your match.¡± The perverse glint re-entered the old man¡¯s eyes as he directed the comment at Yuli. ¡°Y-yes teacher.¡± Yuli was nervous. Though she¡¯d killed a few more creatures since that first one as part of our training. She never really got over it. The nights after a killing were long with me trying to calm her stifled sobs. She clutched her crescent halberd tighter as if the cold piece of wood and steel would give her some reassurance. Perhaps it would. I placed an amused smile on my face. ¡°You better win! I¡¯m putting all our money on you!¡± I tried to lighten it up with a laugh but the words seemed to have a crushing weight on her. By now the old man and servant had moved off to return to the spectator stands. I reached out and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry you¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll be cheering you on from here.¡± Normally the gesture may have seemed cool and reassuring. I¡¯m not sure how much it was with the height difference. I had to crane my neck to meet her in the eyes. She¡¯d grown so damn tall! ¡°Nnn..¡± Her tail still hung a little limply but at least her ears had perked up again and a somewhat resolute expression was on her face. With a final straining pat on her shoulder I left her to her own thoughts. It was time for her to focus. My match had gone so easily simply because my weapon and skill sets happened to hit on the largest weak point of that magrod. Yuli may not be so lucky. The waiting area for the arena was a dark affair, submerged in perpetual twilight. Or at least, the Beast race room was. The main arena had four separate waiting rooms. One for Beast race, one for human gladiators, one for monsters, and one for ¡®guests¡¯. Despite the perpetual twilight, my cat eyes allowed me to see the entirety of the room quite easily. It was a mass of legs. For the past year the only interaction I¡¯d had were with the girls, Zla, the guard boy, and the old man and his servant. Now I was introduced to the Arena at large. Before my match they had leered at me, sensing the ¡®fresh meat¡¯, particularly the female gladiators. Now however, they had a studied indifference towards me. I suppose eliminating my opponent before the first minute was up was a wise decision. One¡¯s killing ability was respected around here. After passing through the mass of legs I managed to find myself in front of the cell like booth that the gladiators had been crowded around. It was the internal gambling stand. Inside an old man with a cloth and hood covering most of his face was taking and organizing the bets being placed on different matches. ¡°chit¡­¡± The wizened eyes of the gambling man fixed themselves on me. I passed him over the small rectangular wooden board which was denoted as a chit. ¡°Aaahh, chit-22 a betting on yourself I see.¡± I nodded. ¡°Here is your cro --¡± ¡°Place it on the next new blood match¡­..the wolf girl.¡± If the old man was annoyed with being cut off, nothing in his body language betrayed it. He simply handed back the chit. ¡°You¡¯re quite hasty to be placing all your eggs in one basket.¡± I simply nodded again and scampered off. His dry laugh wound its way towards me through the crowd of gambling gladiators. That had been a close call. A crown was a lot of money, more so in the arena. I didn¡¯t have a reputation to back me up. I¡¯m sure there were plenty of unscrupulous people that would be more than happy to take advantage of their numbers to separate me from my money in here. By the time I made it back to the entrance gate Yuli was already in the arena. ¡°Now this! This is a rare opportunity! A survivor of the Blood Bloom was allowed to compete! The Nameless must enjoy very active nightly activities!¡± The crowd of creatures laughed uproariously and the grandstander¡¯s crude humor. I could see Yuli bristle slightly, but she kept herself under control. Thankfully she didn¡¯t fully understand these kinds of things yet. She just bristled at the perceived insult. In what appeared to be an effort to vent some of that frustration she planted her halberd into the ground and thrust her back out ramrod straight. She looked so small beside the weapon. While she was just barely over five feet, the weapon was double that. I was once again struck by the depravity of the situation. A small eleven year old girl was being forced to fight in a death match for the entertainment of a crowd of¡­..things¡­..that likely had children the same age as her. Zla had gone over the numbers with me, there had been only four separate instances where a child of the Blood Bloom had reached ¡®typical¡¯ gladiator age of twenty. In every single other instance the child had died in their first match. I felt a small prickle of pain on my palms as my claws dug into the skin. This wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Then without further ado! Here is her opponent!¡± ¡°RRAAAWWWRRRRAAARRR!!!¡± ¡°A Leopard from the southern lands!¡± A massive cat slinked out into the arena under the prodding of the arena staff in the monster section. It was unlike any leopard I¡¯d ever seen. The creature was easily two or three times the size of a regular leopard, its shoulder rising almost above Yuli¡¯s head! Furthermore no leopard I¡¯d ever seen had a dark green coat with earthen yellow spots. The odd coloration of its pelt put me on high alert. It was just like the baboon! ¡°Yuli be careful! It has an ability!¡± I involuntarily screamed out the words, I saw her ears twitch back in my direction slightly but her eyes never once left the opponent. Her hackles were raised completely, the halberd and her body now in straight stance. A stance designed for burst speed and a quick thrust attack. Too aggressive! The opponent is clearly agile! If she misses the initial thrust it¡¯ll tear her to shreds! ¡°Grrrrr..¡± ¡°rraaarrggg¡­¡± The two stood there in a stillness growling at each other. The crowd still jeering in the background. I could feel my eyes growing bloodshot as I strained to capture every detail of the battle. A tense minute went by. The demons began crying out for blood as the leopard and Yuli stared each other down. Suddenly Yuli shifted her weight ever so slightly and the Leopard pounced! Its instantaneous speed far faster than any creature with that much mass should have. If I had blinked I would¡¯ve missed it. But for all its speed, Yuli wasn¡¯t far behind! Rather than utilizing straight stance as an attack she used it to dodge! Her weight rapidly shifted from her back left foot to her forward right, but rather than utilizing the power gained in a straight thrust she translated it into a spinning motion! The heavy head of the halberd was used to assist in gaining rotational momentum. At the same time the leopard was upon her! However, it had reacted upon the communicated thrust and had dodged to her left! She twirled the halberd above her head and just as she completed a full rotation she brought the spear tip down into a vicious thrust! It connected with the leopard right forearm just as it was about to launch a raking blow with its massive paw! The leopard screeched in pain and leapt back stumbling slightly on its now injured limb. I could finally see Yuli¡¯s expression now that the two were facing off perpendicular to me. The nearly blinding blood lust was there. Her face contorted into the vicious snarl of a wolf on the hunt. However, it was tempered by an ice cold killing intent. She wasn¡¯t looking to battle and ravage her opponent, she was simply looking at how best to kill her prey. But as what happens in the natural world, so too does it happen in the arena. The hunter becomes the hunted. With a roar the echoed oddly within the confines of the arena the leopard¡¯s pelt flashed in an emerald splendor. Its yellow eyes released a green glow. It had activated its ability. Yuli had just enough time to bring the long haft of her halberd across her body when the leopard¡¯s uninjured forearm smashed its paw into her. It had happened so fast that I couldn¡¯t see anything. Yuli slammed into the arena wall, a choked off cry escaping her as all the air was forced out of her and she fell to the sandy floor. The demonic horde cackled a leered, their desire for blood being fulfilled. ¡°Get up¡­get up¡­get up!¡± I involuntarily whispered the words. The leopard took its time sauntering over to its prey. Just as Yuli started to rise on shaky legs the leopard was almost instantaneously beside her and its massive paw once again batted her to the other side of the arena. ¡°NO!¡± My small hands gripped the iron bars that blocked the waiting room from the arena until the knuckles were bone white. Yuli only whimpered slightly this time, her back a bloody mess from where the leopard¡¯s claws raked across her unprotected flesh. She looked towards me, I could see the fear in her eyes¡­.. ¡°Eh?¡± Her whimpering stopped as soon as her eyes looked into mine. They seemed to bore into me as the pupils constricted. A burning fury began to almost visibly shunt off her body. The leopard seemed to sense it. It crouched lower to the ground and released a guttural growl, getting ready to pounce. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Then it did, its speed shocking as it crossed the distance of the arena in a single bound. Its mouth was agape in a fierce roar and both forearms spaled out before it, ready to completely crush Yuli beneath it. Then, in what must¡¯ve been the STUPIDEST thing I have EVER seen her do. Yuli gave a swift uppercut, her fist connecting with the soft tissue just behind the jaw bone. I could almost hear the shout of, ¡°Shoryuuken,¡± and, ¡°C-C-C-Combo Breaker!¡± While she wasn¡¯t able to completely divert its forward momentum. She changed it enough so that it sailed over her head. Rather than recovering the halberd she simply sprinted at the leopard! ¡°The hell¡­!?¡± It was stumbling drunkenly around after the brain rattling punch and before it had time to recover Yuli¡¯s foot slammed into its head. She used it as a springboard! Gone was any of the killing intent from earlier, this was just pure, grade A, 100% Yuli being pissed off. Her small body sailed high into the air before gravity took ahold of her and she flipped at the apex of her climb. With her heel thrust out like a spear before her she slammed into the still recovering leopard¡¯s back. It released a pained cry as there was an audible crunch. Its two hind legs collapsed as its painful roar intensified, drowning out the crowd. My hands were still white knuckled but the knot in my heart was starting to ease. Yuli picked herself up slowly before limping over to her forgotten halberd while hunched over from the back injury. Picking it up, she used it as a crutch to shuffle her way back over to the stuggling leopard. With its two hind legs gone all of its previous vicious lethality seemed to have been a lie. It just wailed piteously as it scrabbled about, trying to escape from the arena. Yuli raised the halberd and then brought it down. The leopard¡¯s cries were abruptly ended as she severed its head from the rest of its body in one, lethal, showing of brute strength. A small crater had even formed from the force of the blow. Then a sandy and bloodied Yuli began making her way towards me, dragging the halberd behind her. ¡°See that, that beast too is kept for my use later.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I growled out the order in my child¡¯s voice. However after the showing from both Yuli and I, I think the guard would¡¯ve still been intimidated if I had asked in a sickly sweet voice. ¡°Good, have them brought to the south end training courtyard.¡± ¡°Yes¡­..sir?¡± I snorted slightly and nodded in acknowledgement. By now Yuli had made it to us. The bloodlust that had been emanating from her during the battle was receding slowly like an outgoing tide. Instead a beaming smile was plastered across her face. The guard stiffened slightly at the expression. No doubt that he believed she was smiling in some vicious and savage fashion. But if you looked closely you could see the tears at the corner of her eyes the smile was trying to cover up. ¡°Well I did it shorty.¡± While saying something rude so easily she ruffled my hair with a hand that still had sand and blood splatter on it. I frowned slightly, but I couldn¡¯t truly be mad. I was happy she was still alive. A sense of camaraderie had formed between us over the previous year under the old man¡¯s training. At first it had been her one sided respect for my battle prowess, and my pitying of her after her first kill. But both of us had come to realize the other wasn¡¯t everything we had originally thought. Once you got past Yuli¡¯s tough veneer she was actually quite gentle and socially clumsy. Eventually she touched a soft spot in me that finally allowed me to put what she had done in the blood bloom behind me. It wasn¡¯t her fault anyways, it was the vermin that ran this place. Unconsciously my frown deepened. ¡°Kit?¡± Yuli¡¯s concerned voice broke me out of my thoughts. ¡°Nothing¡­¡± I gave her a smile as I brushed her hand off my head. ¡°I¡¯m not a shorty, I¡¯m just lagging behind is all!¡± The concern melted from her face as a teasing light entered her eyes, eliminating any remaining bloodlust. ¡°So you¡¯re saying your slow then?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s not what I implied!¡± Darn this girl! ¡°Hnnn?¡± She gave a slight snort and a questioning hum. She¡¯s looking down on me¡­¡­¡­ ¡­..Literally! ¡°A-anyways, let¡¯s go see how much we earned.¡± She laughed lightly behind me and hefted her halberd before following. This time moving through the crowd was much easier. The bloody halberd declaring someone just came back from a victorious battle. The arena may have been little better than a jail that made sport off of the inmates. But even inside its walls there was an honor code of sorts. At least among the enslaved inmates. Respect was given to the strong. In particular those that had just proven their strength in battle were given a slight deference just after the fight. So it was that we made our way through the crowd to the wizened masked man. ¡°Aaahhh, chit-22 I see that you¡¯ve returned with the victor in tow. How lucky for you.¡± ¡°Thank you. The earnings if you please,¡± then in a lower voice, ¡°no need to announce it out.¡± This drew out a slightly sinister chuckle from the man but he simply turned about to the shelves and desk behind him. After a few seconds of transferring money about pouches and sliding beads along an abacus he returned with a leather pouch. ¡°The pouch comes with a price of two silver which has already been deducted.¡± His sinister laugh continued as he tossed the pouch through the iron bars with a practiced hand. I fumbled but in the end managed to successfully catch the pouch. I grimaced slightly at the money I was cheated out of, but that was the price for expediency and my rudeness. ¡°That bastard, cheated you out of your money! There¡¯s no way this moldy leather¡¯s worth two silver!¡± Yuli was in the grips of righteous fury when I turned around to leave. I could only sigh slightly. ¡°Starting a fight over it is worth even less. Let¡¯s go meet up with Alephi and Marin. I¡¯m sure the two are worried about those knuckles of yours.¡± I indicated the knuckles on her free hand. They were bruising and the hand was left in an awkward, half-gripped configuration that suggested ligament damage. ¡°Fine.¡± She grimaced slightly but still lead the way out of the crowd. ¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Kitling! Yuli!¡± ¡°Big bro!¡± Marin tackled me as Alephi followed up behind. After a quick scan of me her eyes immediately latched onto Yuli¡¯s hand. ¡°Yuli look at your hand! Come with me!¡± Alephi¡¯s tone, while gentle, brooked no argument as she pulled Yuli deeper into Zla¡¯s infirmary. I could hear the muffled groans of a few patients in the back along with Zla¡¯s gruff voice. ¡°Marin¡­..don¡¯t you still have patients to help with?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be fine, one just has a punctured lung and the other had the skin on his chest burnt.¡± The little girl I had come to look at as more of a niece than anything said something terrifying! ¡°¡­.Doesn¡¯t that mean they are in critical condition?¡± Marin shook her head as she latched onto my arm more tightly. ¡°Uncle Zla¡¯s taking care of the lung and Alephi and I already bandaged the burns! I did good, praise me!¡± I smiled softly and patted her on the head. ¡°Well then, good job.¡± ¡°Ehehehe.¡± Marin smiled sweetly as she dragged me to one of the wicker chairs in the front office. We sat there in what I viewed as a slightly awkward silence. Marin seemed oblivious to this and snuggled in tighter amidst the wet gasps of what I assumed was the gladiator with the punctured lung. The year of training had changed her and Alephi as well. Alephi became gentler and Marin became even more exuberant. It seemed Zla was feeding them quite well during the day, so both of them filled out from the waif like frames they¡¯d had before. Furthermore they had developed a complete lack of squeamishness to any and all forms of gory injury present in the arena. Marin had apparently paid particular attention to surgeries. Apparently broken bones needed to be physically moved into place before the healing magic could mend them. Quicker healing meant more pain apparently. The gasping stopped and after a few minutes Zla came through the opening, drying his hand off. Behind him Alephi and a pale faced Yuli followed. ¡°From the looks of things, it seems I¡¯ve made a bit of money today.¡± Zla remarked nonchalantly as he penned a few things down at his desk. ¡°I assume that means Yuli and I receive a cut? Seeing as how we did most of the work.¡± Zla chuckled slightly as he glanced up, then frowned. ¡°Marin¡­.your work isn¡¯t done yet. There are plenty of herbs to organize and catalogue. And look your contaminated now with the filth in the Arena!¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± Marin was immediately apologetic, though her grip didn¡¯t loosen as her ears drooped. Zla¡¯s expression softened. It was then that I had a terrifying thought. Was Marin¡­playing Zla? ¡°Remember it for next time. Now¡­go on.¡± ¡°Tsk.¡± Marin! I just heard you click your tongue! When did you get so manipulative! Has she manipulated me before? Suddenly the world seemed like an even darker place than it already was. Despite her misgivings though, Marin got up and moved towards the back. After admonishing Yuli not to fuss with the bandages Alephi followed. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t bother waiting for us. You should get some rest!¡± I smiled at Alephi¡¯s departing words and nodded. Yuli came over to stand beside where I was sitting. Zla finished writing a few things down and then made his way over to the mantle above the fireplace. He pulled a small cloth bag off of it and palmed it for a second before throwing it to me. ¡°Inside you will find two doses of what you requested. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t need me to tell you that one is more than sufficient for a body of your¡­¡­ stature.¡± ¡°Thank you for the preparations Zla. Though, fortunately, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be needing this tonight. It was just a regular ¡®hunt¡¯ today.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s good then.¡± ¡°I hope the sisters are still doing well?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve been quite helpful. Despite what you just saw with Marin.¡± ¡°Excellent. Then, we¡¯ll be going. Be sure to bet on us in the future.¡± With that I stood up and made my way to the door. I paused at the door frame after sending Yuli through. ¡°Oh by the way. Is there a resident taxonomist?¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Phew!¡± I wiped my brow of the sweat that had accumulated, no doubt leaving a bloody streak across it. Thankfully the air was still cool so the task at hand wasn¡¯t nearly so arduous, or smelly, as it would have been in a month or two. Before me lay absolute carnage. The magrod and the leopard had been deposited in the southern training ground as per my request to the guard. I had managed to successfully remove the skin from the magrod almost intact. Hopefully it would make a good rug. Unfortunately there was no crystal to be found anywhere in its body. I had discovered that it was quite similar to a sloth. Though rather than hunting for leaves, it probably hunted the leaf hunters. After carefully dissecting the head of the leopard, I wanted to have it mounted. I did manage to find a crystal. This time I delicately used my knives to remove it and hold it up to the late afternoon sun. It felt hard like the previous one from what I could tell through the knives. The coloration was different though. The previous one had a faint, yellow tint to it. This one was a deep translucent green. Interesting. I placed it down carefully to the leopard¡¯s decapitated head and pelt, and the complete pelt of the magrod. Now in front of me there was just a mess of gore and bones. ¡°Now what to do about this¡­¡± ¡°Inform the kitchen.¡± I wheeled around sharply to face the old man, his ever present servant a pace behind him. His eyes had a slight amount of humor in them. ¡°These are quite the trophies you¡¯ve collected for yourself and your property.¡± The mention of that word ¡®property¡¯ made my skin crawl, and instantly darkened my mood. ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± I suppose I should follow up with more, but I wasn¡¯t in the mood. He didn¡¯t seem to take offense, merely raised his eyebrow. ¡°As I was saying just inform the kitchens of the meat. They¡¯ll come and get it.¡± He turned to walk away. ¡°Also, next time just have them send the thing to the taxonomist, he¡¯ll take care of it properly. I expect you and¡­ Gladiator 2 here tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes teacher.¡± He walked off, the silent servant close behind. Chapter 27: The Silent Prince and The Blood Princess ¡°Well now. This will be the last training session we will have together.¡± The perverse glint was back! Both Yuli and I tensed, ready for a punishing workout. ¡°So today we will rest.¡± I almost stumbled as the tension left my body. ¡°Constantly exerting the body will damage rather than strengthen it, the same is true of the mind. Though¡­.Gladiator 1 you didn¡¯t really exert yourself at all yesterday. Gladiator 2 good job.¡± Yuli beamed at the praise. She was an odd one, hated killing, loved fighting, and any kind of praise made her swell up in pride. I shrunk in slightly, dreading the possibility that I may be forced to exert myself to compensate for yesterday. ¡°Furthermore, the Arena has seen fit to give you titles. Though in my opinion it should be after a few matches rather than the first.¡± The old man paused slightly before directing his steely gaze at me. ¡°For your quick kill, silent and aloof attitude, and the slight bow you worked into your fight. The Arena has named you ¡®Silent Prince¡¯. Be sure to remain in that persona through each of your matches, or you will earn the ire of the crowd. It¡¯s now the name they¡¯ll be paying to see fight.¡± He then directed his gaze to Yuli now. ¡°For the bloodlust and brutality you showed whilst fighting your opponent. For competing against it in brute strength and speed. Finally, for your bloody execution at the end. The Arena has given you a title to match your ¡®owner¡¯ the ¡®Silent Prince¡¯, yours is ¡®Blood Princess¡¯. I trust you to be able to keep that persona up.¡± He then waved his hand. His servant which neither of us had noticed ever leave suddenly appeared with a low wooden table and a trolley filled with dishes. The old man sat cross legged on the sandy ground. ¡°Today while resting, I shall regal you of tales of fighters past. You may sit.¡± ¡°¡±Yes teacher.¡±¡± We both sat. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...... ¡°So¡­.what happens now?¡± Just as I had been about to drift into sleep Alephi whispered into my ear. Yuli¡¯s warm back against mine shifted slightly at the sound. Whether she was awake or not I wasn¡¯t sure. It was still quite cold at nights this early in spring so all of us were snuggled into the center of the bed. Making Alephi¡¯s concerned face almost uncomfortably close to mine. ¡°Well¡­¡± I paused, summing up my thoughts of what the old man had said today on the subject. ¡°It¡¯s sort of like a bunch of separate schedules¡­.¡± Alephi¡¯s ears twitched to the side in confusion. ¡°Right now Yuli and I are on the bottom schedule¡­or circuit. It¡¯s called the ¡®Hunter¡¯s War¡¯. The gladiators on this circuit are either new or couldn¡¯t handle the higher circuit and somehow kept their lives long enough to be brought back down. In it we only fight against dangerous beasts that they bring in from all over the world.¡± Her eyes lit up with understanding and a little fear. ¡°Then above us is the ¡®Soldier¡¯s War¡¯. This is where the bulk of gladiators exist. The battles are more frequent but you don¡¯t necessarily need to kill your opponent, just defeat them. Group battles happen often. They do a celebratory battle at the end of summer called the ¡®Fall of the Overlord¡¯. They¡¯ll pit us of the Beast Clans or half-breeds against the human gladiators.¡± Now her eyes showed fear and disgust. ¡°The final circuit is called ¡®The Heroic War¡¯. It¡¯s comprised of the top, the elites of the arena. It¡¯s also mostly composed of humans. They¡¯re often gifted with special equipment and have some magical talent. This makes it nearly impossible for gladiators from the Beast Clans. A few survive but mostly due to the magical armor their eccentric patron¡¯s give them.¡± Her eyes showed befuddlement and her face scrunched up in concentration. Oops unfamiliar words. ¡°What I mean is their patrons defy the norm and support a Beast Clans gladiator rather than a human one.¡± ¡°Aaahh.¡± ¡°Yeah, but in the end it doesn¡¯t really matter. We are stuck in the ¡®Hunter¡¯s War¡¯ for now. They¡¯ll inform us a few days in advance of when we have a match. Until that time we train and rest and that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°Nnnn.¡± She mumbled out her understanding and then promptly passed out. I smiled slightly and snuggled my back into Yuli¡¯s. It was a very cozy bed that night. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I was the first to receive a summons to the arena. It had come nearly a month after our debut. By then my nerves were beginning to fray in the tension. Also, Yuli and I were beginning to grow rather bored of beating the snot out of each other day in and day out. You could almost say it was a welcomed summons. On the day of the match, Yuli was in the waiting room with me. Just as tense. From the sounds, it seemed the crowd wasn¡¯t that large today. Granted we were also in one of the three side arenas as opposed to the main one. The main one was only used for events, for top tier bouts in the ¡®Soldier¡¯s War¡¯, or ¡®The Heroic War¡¯. I had already placed the golden crown on myself at the betting booth. I kept the silver deniers in the room, should I fall it would be up to Yuli to get everyone out. Afterwards, the guard at the entrance to the Arena called for me by my title ¡®Silent Prince¡¯. I began to make my way over with a nod to Yuli when she grabbed my arm. ¡°Be careful.¡± I must¡¯ve had a stunned expression on because her face immediately became heated. ¡°Shitty cat, I¡¯m the one that¡¯s going to beat you.¡± I smiled gently. Yuli¡¯s barriers were falling more and more by the day. If only I could give her and the sisters a normal childhood. They had saved me, kept me sane in our captivity here. ¡°I will.¡± ¡°SILENT PRINCE GET UP HERE NOW!¡± With a wink I dashed up to the guard, my knives clattering against my thighs in their sheathes. He looked a bit befuddled at my short stature but didn¡¯t comment on it. I only gave him a reserved nod. Though that earned me a glare. He probably thought something like, ¡®damn beastling doesn¡¯t know its place¡¯. I didn¡¯t care though, I planned to use the ¡®Silent Prince¡¯ title to my full advantage. I stepped out into the shaded arena, cloud cover protecting the sand and walls from the spring time sun. ¡°Here he is once again! The youngest gladiator in our Arena! The ¡®SILENT PRINCE¡¯!¡± After the grand standers announcement a few in the crowd broke into cheering. I wasn¡¯t that well known yet to most so no surprises there. ¡°Today his opponent will be a scourge from the Eastern deserts! The great, venomous, gargantuan, desert lizard!¡± The demons came out. They cried for blood, whether it was mine or the lizard¡¯s didn¡¯t matter. I stood still and tried to appear as aloof as possible. I was a prince, a ruler, and rulers had no need to lose their cool against any mere lizard. ¡°TTthhhsssssssssss.¡± That became more difficult when it came out. There had been no hyperbole in the grandstander¡¯s words. The lizard was enormous! It towered over me at nearly three times my height, but its length was easily over ten feet! It had a thick hide of dirty brown and yellow scales. The head was broad and flat, the mouth massive and containing an assortment of very sharp teeth. It sucked in air that caused its barrel like torso to swell slightly before emitting a guttural roar. ¡°BBbbrraaawwwrrrgggg!¡± I think I kept my cool appearance, even though the sweat streaming down my back would tell anyone that it was a lie. I pulled out two of the Nigala, it didn¡¯t have nice massive eyes like the magrod had, but I didn¡¯t have any desire to near it. I bowed as calmly as possible, keeping my face a mask of indifference despite the sweat beading along my brow. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The lizard took that as the signal to attack! I had just enough time to take a diving roll to the side before its massive maw ripped through the space I had previously occupied. I sprung to my feet and wheeled around, one of the Nigala at the ready. The lizard was making a ponderous turn on its trunk like legs. I backed away to put some distance between us Then it did the unexpected, it took two massive bounds before diving into a roll. It transformed into a sand color disk with the scales along its spinal column raising into a serrated ridge. I jumped out of the way again. ¡°Oh ho! It appears our prince has lost his composure!¡± The beasts in the stands cackled, smelling the blood that was about to be spilt. The lizard wheeled about with surprising agility and continued rolling! Its arms providing small boosts to its speed. This time I wasn¡¯t fast enough. It caught me on a glancing blow, but the momentum behind the wheeling lizard was enough to rattle my teeth and send me careening to the other end of the arena. The fall did more damage visibly than the strike had. There were various cuts and friction burns all over my now exposed torso. My thin cloth shirt hadn¡¯t survived the journey across the rough arena floor. As I stood up it became apparent that the strike had done more damage internally. My breathing came out in painful gasps, I could feel the ribs along my left side creak with each breath. Not good. The lizard uncurled itself and did a corkscrew in midair to land on its feet and come to a sliding stop. ¡°Grrroouuurrwww.¡± The growl rumbled out across the arena and its slitted eyes narrowed and focused on mine. I straightened myself and checked that I hadn¡¯t lost any knives in the recent collision with the swipe of my hand. The crowing and trumpeting of the vermin in the stands had been completely filtered out. The spine-like scales that formed a ridge along the lizard¡¯s back flexed slightly as it did a sort of swerving approach to me. Is it trying to intimidate me? I had been intimidated earlier. But like a great man once said, ¡°fear is the mind killer.¡± The pain had brought back clarity. It was a beast and I was a hunter. Only one of us was walking out of here, and it was going to be me. My knives were ill suited to attacking scales, but they weren¡¯t my main weapon. That title was reserved, for my brain. ¡°GGGRRRAAWWRRR.¡± The lizard charged! Rather than diving into a roll again it opened its mouth wide as if intent on swallowing me whole! Rather than diving to the side this time I performed an overhanded and underhanded toss with the throwing knives I still had in my hand. The Nigala flew straight into its open maw! ¡°GGGeeerrrrttthhhhsssss!¡± With a screech the lizard¡¯s forward momentum halted as it reared in pain! I began to dash forward. Just as its upper body slammed back down into the arena floor I leapt. I had just enough height to use its now closed snout as a vaulting platform. I was on it head! Its two beady eyes focused on me. I smirked. Then I pulled out the two cutting knives from the set, the Naariyal. The blades were broader but sharpened on one end only. A hiss began to emanate deep within the throat of the lizard, I could feel its muscles contracting. With a diving leap I stabbed one of the Naariyal into its right eye! It shrieked and writhed in pain. Then it began to thrash about and the knife dug in deeper as I held on. Black ichor spurting out and coating my hand and arms. The thrashing continued as each time the dagger sunk in deeper new waves of pain would course through it. Eventually it shudderingly tensed up and roared! ¡°GGGRRRROOOOOAARRRRRR!¡± The scales along its back stood straight up and I took my chance! Leaving the first Naariyal wedged into its eye I clambered along its head to the base of its neck and stabbed down at the first scale! The flesh underneath was tough and leathery but gave way to the sharpness of my blade. It elicited a new kind of shriek from the lizard, almost mournful and desperate. Ignoring its pained cries I continued to stab and cut. Its flesh gave way and the black ichor spurted out everywhere as I stabbed deeper. The shrieks continued. Then became a chocked off cry. Its arms, torso, and tail¡­.all fell limp. I had severed the linkages between its vertebrate! The massive beast slumped to the ground, its neck weakly shifting about as it began to release a keening cry. My heart trembled slightly in pity as I stood atop its prone form. The poor creature hadn¡¯t asked for any of this. It had probably been starved and was just looking for its next meal. Or maybe it had been tortured until it was enraged beyond reasoning. Whatever had happened, this practice of pitting these poor creatures against equally poor people was sickening. Whoever did this willingly¡­..I could only hold the greatest contempt for. I strode down the body of the creature and back onto its head. It was no longer able to thrash about so violently. Its one good eye fixed me with a venomous glare as I pulled the Naariyal that I had left in its right eye out. Its wailing''s grew louder after that. Then it became utterly still. The shock from all the pain probably caused its brain to short out. I could still feel the thumping of its heart as I walked back along the head and neck. Time to finish the job. It would die slowly if I left it. I didn¡¯t want that, I wanted to ensure that its death was as quick as possible. So I knelt down at the bloody pool I had created at the base of its neck and using both knives began to cut. It took only a few moments when I felt the entire body completely slack after I had severed enough veins and arteries. By now the vermin in the stands had ceased cheering and were conversing as I finished my work. They didn¡¯t feel an ounce of pity for the poor beast. I retrieved the two Nigala from its fetid mouth as well and used its tongue to clean the knives of its blood. Then I retrieved the rags of my shirt and wiped off the black ichor coating my arms and chest as best I could. I¡¯d have to give it a very good clean later, I didn¡¯t want its blood getting into my system. Then after I had tidied myself up I gave a deep bow to the corpse. I¡¯m so very sorry. Then I left. The demons behind me crowed and cheered, ¡°¡¯Silent Prince¡¯!¡± I turned to the guard on my way in. ¡°Send it to the kitchens.¡± He nodded. I then made my way over to the betting booth. The masked old man cackled at my injuries and handed out my earnings for living again. By now Yuli had located me, but as she came running up she must have noticed my expression. She remained quiet as we left the waiting area in silence, the next gladiator already being called out to compete. We stayed in a tense silence until we made it to Zla¡¯s office. Then Alephi and Marin broke the silence with cries of shock and horror. I must¡¯ve cut a pretty sorry figure. I muttered out, ¡°You should¡¯ve seen the other guy.¡± But the words were muffled by the floor. Huh? Why am I on the ground? Why does my skin feel like its burning? ¡°¡±¡±KITLING!¡±¡±¡± _______________________________________________________________________________________AAAAannnnd There you have it! A run of 4 chapters all at once! I had sometime to sit down and contemplate where I would go next and what would happen so I could write again! A thanks goes out to Kari who broke me out of the tunnel vision I had on this story. So thanks to her/him, though I guess since they dropped this series they won''t see that.....eheheh. Anyways Hope you all enjoy, if you saw mistakes please comment on them, also rate and review and comment as you see fit! Cheers! Chapter 28: Reboot Kitling¡¯s dead! nonononoNONONONONONON! ¡°ssssssss.¡± Oh thank the heavens he¡¯s still breathing! If he wasn¡¯t around¡­¡­. ¡°Big sis! What are we gonna do!?¡± Little Mari was kneeling beside Kitling with her hands fidgeting over his body, unsure of where to touch. I could feel my hands clench, my body was rooted to the spot. I couldn¡¯t move. Please be alright¡­.Kitling! ¡°Move aside!¡± I was shoved to the side and, unable to catch myself, toppled to the floor. I could see Zla rolling Kitling over and placing a finger to his neck. Checking the pulse¡­. Then¡­..wounds. Bits of the training Zla had put me through surfaced to the top of my mind unbidden. There was a lot you could tell from a pulse. ¡°Pulse is erratic, small scratches along the hands, profuse sweating. Considering the lizard he faced today it¡¯s pretty simple to guess what happened.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± This time Yuli spoke. She had been standing in a shocked silence at the entrance. ¡°Venom¡­ Alephi!¡± ¡°YES!?¡± My voice squeaked out as I quickly went rigid, nearly falling over again after just righting myself. ¡°Get the blood from the lizard.¡± Zla¡¯s eyes stayed on Kitling. Little Mari started sniffling now, trying to hold back the tears. I was too. ¡°NOW!¡± He shouted with force since I hadn¡¯t started moving yet. I was still fixated on Kitling¡¯s still form. ¡°Yes!¡± It almost came out as a sob as I dashed out the door. ¡°It¡¯s in the kitchens!¡± Yuli called out after me. I glanced back to see her helping Zla lift Kitling, though his body seemed so small now¡­¡­ I made my way through the maze of the winding hallways, cursing my own uselessness. Kitling was YOUNGER than me. He was a little kid and yet he was the one taking all the risks to keep us alive here in the Arena. After growing up in my mother¡¯s workplace I know exactly what would¡¯ve happened to us if he hadn¡¯t been there. But still! I said I¡¯d be the one to fix him if he ever got injured! I told myself even though I can¡¯t fight, I¡¯d support him some other way. But I couldn¡¯t even see the signs when he came in! The labored breathing, the purpling and blackening wounds, the profuse sweating! Stupid! Useless! I sobbed a little. There were more serving slaves around now. The kitchens were close. I burst through the doors and entered the smoky kitchens of the arena. While other slaves barely paid attention to my entrance, the overseers certainly recognized a foreign slave. ¡°You! You¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± ¡°Please I need to see the carcass of the monster that just came in!¡± The man furrowed his brows. A slave talking back wasn¡¯t something he was used to. However he seemed to make up his mind on something and a weird grin took over his face. ¡°Why would you want some dead monster? I have a living one right here to entertain you!¡± I could feel the blood draining from my face. Of all times, now? But Kitling needs the blood. Without it, Zla can¡¯t¡­. Ah, Zla¡­..that¡¯s it. ¡°Zla sent me here to retrieve something from it. You can take it up with him if you dare. Where is that corpse?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°You Impert¡¯nent lil¡¯bitch!¡± ¡°OI! I don¡¯t want that insane sorcerer makin a mess in ma¡¯ kitchens! The corpse is over there.¡± A knife waving chef quickly defused any confrontation the overseer was about to start. Though the overseer seemed dissatisfied, the look on the older man¡¯s face gave him pause. ¡°Thanks!¡± I yelled back as I dashed in the direction he had pointed. Coming in through a set of double doors that had been hidden in the smoky haze was a massive lizard. Blood dripped from a wound on its neck and from its missing eye. Again I could feel my face go snow-white. Did Kitling really take down something this large? No! Now¡¯s not the time! A clay bowl was resting on one of the tabletops. I snatched it before the chef there noticed I had ever been there. While the slaves were still dragging the corpse in I scaled the side of the lizard and scooped blood and fleshy bits from the neck wound. I nearly wretched right there. I ran down the length of its head before hopping off and dashing out of the kitchens. All before the slaves could react to me climbing onto the corpse in the first place. By the time I returned to Zla¡¯s office, the hope I was beginning to feel had helped calm me down. The keening of little Mari shattered that. Bursting in I saw her draped over Kitling¡¯s body while Yuli attempted to remove her, her eyes red with held back tears. ¡°NO! I won¡¯t let go! Kitling needs me! He can¡¯t be dead!¡± ¡°De-?¡± The bowl slipped from my grasp. But was promptly caught by Zla. ¡°Not if I have anything to say about it. Now get that fool sister of yours off him. Otherwise he really will go completely still.¡± Zla¡¯s words jolted me into action. With Yuli¡¯s help I managed to force Marin to let go. Zla had already cleaned his wounds and after doing a few things to a portion of the blood with some medicinal plants I didn¡¯t recognize he chanted something over the remaining portion of blood. It bubbled a bit before becoming a milky white color that he directly poured into Kitlings mouth. Yuli and I held Marin steady against a wall. Though by now we all mostly held each other for comfort. Kitling had truly become our support. Without him we just broke down so quickly. I vaguely registered Yuli suppressing her own sobs while my eyes strained to see any change in Kitling. Once Zla finished pouring whatever the blood had become into Kitling¡¯s mouth he slowly stood. As he straightened his back he looked at us. ¡°Alephi, be a dear and make some tea using chamomile.¡± For a minute Zla seemed to be a very tired and kind old man. Completely different from the stern task master he was when we were learning under him. ¡°Does that mean..?¡± I left the sentence unfinished. I was trying to keep the rising hope in my chest under control. ¡°It¡¯s up to him now. It all depends on how strong his body is. I merely gave it the tools it requires to heal itself.¡± Zla sighed as he moved to the front room and slumped into a chair. ¡°Now about that tea.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± With a start I realized I had been frozen as soon as he said there was hope. I knew Kitling, he was strong. Way stronger than anyone else I knew¡­..except maybe Yuli. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Good girl.¡± Yuli and Marin slowly walked out and sat on the other chair. While they still appeared a little sad, there was some hope in their eyes now too. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ~Data Gathering: 100%~ ~Initializing Analysis~ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Kitling still hadn¡¯t woken up. It had already been two days since the fight. Zla had looked into exactly why such a dangerous creature had been used in a novice Hunter¡¯s second match. Supposedly that was all that they had on hand. But Zla said he smelled foul play. Yuli has already gone back to training. She seems to have lost all worry for Kitling. ¡°He¡¯s not dead after two days¡­.he¡¯ll be fine.¡± Was what she said. Little Mari has almost obsessively been beside his bed. To the point where Zla yelled at her today. I hope he wakes up soon. The guards were giving us the kinds of looks that the men who came to see mother had. It made my skin crawl. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ~Analysis Complete~ ~Compiling Results~ _____________________________________________________________________________________ A week has passed. Zla is starting to become impatient and strangely angry. It¡¯s like that brief image of him as a kind old man was a lie. He¡¯s even harsher with Marin and me. He smacked Marin for getting Ilia¡¯s Pearl mixed with White Bell when she was sorting through the latest plant shipment. I don¡¯t understand why he¡¯s gotten like this. I heard him muttering the other day while checking up on Kitling. Something about fake gods and Kitling lying. He seemed genuinely upset over it. That night Marin and I found the guard who usually was at the end of unconscious with his legs broken. After informing Zla we returned to our room. Yuli was hidden under the covers of the bed. The room looked like it had been ransacked. She was crying. I slipped into the bed behind her and hugged her. The pieces coming together. ¡°He didn¡¯t hurt you right?¡± ¡°That bastard didn¡¯t have a chance. I should¡¯ve killed him. The little fucker said that w-wi-with Kitling gone no one could protect us now.¡± Yuli started balling then and curled into an even tighter ball, her tail corkscrewing in stress. Marin slipped in on the other side of Yuli. ¡°It¡¯ll be ok! Kitling isn¡¯t gone!¡± Marin had calmed down over the week and was back to her usual self. A knock wrapped the door. I slipped out first with Yuli following behind. Her hackles were fully raised and her muscles seemed to vibrate with tension. I answered the door before she could. She might do something that was¡­.. stupid. ¡°Yes?¡± An older guard stood outside. ¡°The ¡®Silent Prince¡¯ is to compete tomorrow. Should he be unable to all of his property will be forfeit to the highest bidder within the Arena.¡± After finishing this, the guard leered down at Yuli and I before striding off. *BAM* The bedpost closest to the door shattered from Yuli¡¯s fist. I slumped to the ground, tears streaming down my face. I could here Marin begin to cry from under the covers. ¡°Oh Kitling.¡± _____________________________________________________________________________________ ~Results Compiling: 100%~ ~Re-booting~ _____________________________________________________________________________________ ¡°What did I miss?¡± A solid nugget of information had formed in my brain. But the more pressing matter was the three sniffling children surrounding me. ¡°¡±¡°KITLING!¡±¡±¡± Chapter 29: Getting Back on the Bicycle ¡°By the Overlord!¡± Zla shoved the girls aside as grabbed my arm, his thumb almost pressing uncomfortably hard on the veins in my wrist. ¡°Do you know how long you¡¯ve been asleep for?!¡± ¡­.one week¡­¡­during that time they all nursed me. Marin hardly left my side and Alephi constantly tried to keep everyone together¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­..I have a match today¡­¡­.. The information came unbidden from somewhere within. IT had returned. The Grand Archive had opened its doors and the knowledge and power contained within was accessible again! The three girls were clambering around me and asking a flurry of questions. There was a slight bit of consternation evident on Zla¡¯s face. Frustration was apparent too. Hmmm¡­..that will need to be seen to¡­¡­. I placed a lazy smile on my face before looking at each of the girls in turn. ¡°I¡¯m quite fine now. I¡¯ll be just alright. I¡¯m sorry to have worried you.¡± I flicked my eyes towards Zla and indicated for him to remove the girls. ¡°Out you three! I need to finish checking his condition now that he¡¯s awake. Move!¡± ¡°But we can --!¡± Alephi tried to resist but Zla cut her off. ¡°No buts, out.¡± His voice hardened. Almost unpleasantly so. Sorry girls! I need to make sure that this guy understands that I¡¯m still the one in power. Zla was not a good person. He also wasn¡¯t a bad one. From our talks I understood him a bit better. He is loyal and helpful so long as you appear strong or entice him with something. I used knowledge and the threat of divine force to keep him amicable and kind towards the girls and myself. But I was under no illusion that should I leave he may do something¡­¡­unpleasant¡­¡­to the girls. I adopted a colder expression after he had herded the girls out of the room. ¡°I understand that you were having some thoughts while this body was immobile.¡± Zla¡¯s expression fell. ¡°I am aware of all that occurs around me, regardless of whether this body is active or not.¡± The hint of frustration in his expression became more pronounced. My eyes narrowed to slits. ¡°I am grateful for you treating this body. Without your assistance it would have taken me a while longer.¡± This was not the entire truth. While the poison had some magical components it was Zla¡¯s magic infused antidote that was the straw to break the camel¡¯s back. In essence what I¡¯m saying is, Grand Archive wouldn¡¯t have been able to assist without Zla¡¯s contribution. I really could have died there! Thankfully in the end getting poisoned is what allowed the Grand Archive to finish its¡­¡­.data collection. ¡°However, remember that those three are mine. You would do well to cease having any errant thoughts about them.¡± It wasn¡¯t necessarily that Zla would molest them in the conventional sense. Zla is an eccentric wizard. From his mutterings it seemed he wanted to experiment on them. Both were not good courses of action. Thankfully, now more than ever before, I have the power to deter him. He opened his mouth in preparation to retort, I cut him off. ¡°It also appears that this Arena is under the misconception that they can do as they please. I have another one of those matches today?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I attempted to produce a satisfyingly blood thirsty grin. ¡°They wish to take what is mine? I¡¯ll show them their error.¡± Based on the information that Grand Archive had gleaned while I was unconscious, it seemed the last match had been a set up. That was definitely an advanced beast that they set me against. Furthermore they were sending me to fight again with the shortest time between matches allowable. Clearly someone higher up in the gladiators or someone with low-standing in the administration of the Arena wanted the girls. They had enough power to influence the arena but not outright break its rules. Those rules had been set down to ensure the enslaved gladiators wouldn¡¯t riot. I slipped out of the bed. My body had weakened from a lack of food. Furthermore not moving for a whole week left it stiff. Thankfully I had the perfect way to solve these issues. With a flicker of will I caused Grand Archive to forcibly relax muscle groups one at a time. On the outside I appeared to go slack and nearly sag to the floor.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Zla stepped forward whether to catch me or not I wasn¡¯t sure. But just as soon as it began it ended. I also induced my metabolic rate to heighten. The meager reserves of fat I had built up would be quickly burnt through. But As long as I got through the match, there would be plenty of food to be had afterwards. I flicked my eyes towards the advancing Zla. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Never mind.¡± There was a pause then. ¡°I trust you will want your knives?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± We made our way into the front room. I dissolved the frosty expression on my face to a slightly more wan look. Marin was the first to bound forward. ¡°Kitling! I knew you¡¯d be okay!¡± Her head nearly slammed into my gut. Thankfully I reacted in time. ¡°Whoa there! Yes I¡¯m fine. I heard you kept an eye on me this whole time.¡± She looked up at me with teary eyes. ¡°Nnnn!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I patted her head lightly before looking between other two. Alephi was overcome with tears and Yuli¡¯s eyes were red-rimmed from repressing them. ¡°Thanks for staying strong while I was out.¡± Yuli stepped forward with my knives. ¡°Y-you dropped t-t-these earlier. T-t-teacher w-wwould be angry i-if he knew-ew-w.¡± She barely managed to choke out the words while handing me my belt of knives. ¡°Thanks, and sorry.¡± She dipped her head before stepping back. By this time Alephi had gained some composure. ¡°They¡¯re making you fight again!¡± ¡°So I¡¯ve heard.¡± I flicked a glance over to Zla. He glanced back with a slightly raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°B-but you just woke up! Your condition!¡± ¡°Alephi¡­I¡¯m know, but I must fight.¡± I allowed a bit of the anger I was feeling to be expressed, my brows furrowing and my ears flicking back. ¡°They want to take you guys from me. Let them try. I¡¯ll crush any plans they have.¡± I separated myself from Marin and buckled up the belt. ¡°But¡­.¡± This time Yuli cut her off with a shake of the head. Leave it to her to understand this kind of thing. Alephi moved forward and took Marin by the shoulders and pulled her back. The three of them together were so adorable. Alephi¡¯s lips trembled slightly as she smiled. All three heads had droopy ears as they looked at me. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll be cheering you on!¡± Her head tilted slightly to the side as her ears straightened. The image of Alephi saying that had great impact. ¡­¡­but she¡¯s not Cecily¡­. I could feel my own ears droop for a bit. I forced them to straighten though. It hurt not being near her anymore but I still had all the memories of her to keep with me. For some reason I felt an even greater determination come over me. It calmed the twitchy energy that was starting to flow through me as I really started burning through my fat stores. I gave a strong nod to the girls. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± With that Yuli strode with me out of the Infirmary, Zla holding back Marin and Alephi to continue assisting him with processing medicines for the gladiators injured in the day¡¯s matches. _____________________________________________________________________________________ As we strode down the hallways Yuli kept her silence. It was odd, typically she was a chatterbox full of various ways to tease and annoy me. Truly she was an annoying child. Now though, the silence was even more uncomfortable. ¡°Oi Yuli.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± I had turned my head in time to see her snap her head up. She seemed to be thinking of something. ¡°Don¡¯t think so hard, you might pull a muscle.¡± ¡°B-b-brains aren¡¯t muscles!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°They¡¯re grey! Muscles are read.¡± While not wrong¡­that¡¯s still so disturbing that you know that¡­ on so many levels. ¡°True¡­¡± That effectively ended the conversation. An eleven year old that could identify that a brain wasn¡¯t a muscle because she had seen the inside of a creature¡¯s skull was decidedly unsettling. Rather than waste time pondering that, I reveled in the sensation of having the Grand Archive back online. So much more information was being delivered in a format I could understand. This body could sense so much that only on an instinctive level could it understand it all. With Grand Archive the information was filtered and compiled so that I could understand say, the exact composition of the air I was breathing. Which according to the information received from my nose¡­.was not exactly safe. There was a buildup of several noxious gases. Which stands to reason given that I¡¯m walking towards an area where a bunch of corpses rot. Though in my opinion, the greatest benefit of it returning is the ability to provide background music through an auditory hallucination. It¡¯s pure gold, and a guilty pleasure I didn¡¯t realize I had till I started hearing ¡®Danger Zone¡¯ blasting in my head while walking down the corridor! I found my subconsciously shuffling to the music. That is until Yuli gave me a weird look. I stumbled slightly before walking with more purpose down the corridor. After my initial outburst of anger it was hard to maintain tension. With Grand Archive backing me up it was difficult not to have absolute confidence in my ability to take on whatever they may throw at me. By now we had reached the arena. I tossed the money bag to Yuli. ¡°Put this all on me.¡± ¡°A-all of it!?¡± Yuli was understandably shocked, for the few matches we had competed in I had always insisted on reserving some just in case one of us fell. ¡°Yes.¡± But that was then, this is now. With an uncertain expression on her face and her ears flickering to the side to express as much, she peeled away from me to the betting booth. I continued through the waiting area The guard at the front noticed me, and grimaced. He must be in cahoots. Well now I have a face to put on the list of asses to kick¡­ Additional evidence to back this up is that his heart rate spiked when he saw me. How? When you have a super mental ability capable of sifting through all the sounds and information collected from your eyes and ears¡­.it becomes trivial. I made my way over to him. The anger I felt returned again. But it smoothed out, Grand Archive ensured I always maintained a clear head. ¡°So, when is my match?¡± I smirked slightly, no sense being polite to vermin. ¡°Now.¡± The word was growled out, like the man had swallowed gravel that morning for breakfast. That was awfully lucky on my part that I arrived in time. ¡°Good.¡± I proceeded forward. I had just stepped past him when he reached to grab me. ¡°Oi ya little shit!¡± Time slowed for a second, enough time to move forward ever so slightly. To the outside observer it was almost as though I teleported. Without glancing back I said. ¡°You would do well to keep your hands to yourself.¡± I continued walking. It was a struggle though. Being capable of moving forward at what appears to you a normal rate when your perception of time is slowed is difficult. It means that I burned through a ridiculous amount of energy to move my body that quickly. The action placed a great strain on my already weakened body. But I was like a kid who just learned to ride a bike. I had all these abilities return to me. I couldn¡¯t not use them. ¡°You can do it Kilting!¡± A shout followed me out of the tunnel. I turned briefly to smile at Yuli who now stood near the guard. It was game time now, the cold mask of the ¡®Silent Prince¡¯ returned. ¡°Aaaannnddd Returning to the arena shortly after his last match is The¡­¡­¡­SILENT PRRRRIINCCEEE!¡± The demons and filth cackled in the stands, baying for blood. ¡°His opponent this time is a beast from beyond the river! A Gnarled Appom!¡± Chapter 30: A Struggle and then a Rest The creature was ape like. Though it differed in several areas. Firstly, its forearms were exaggeratedly huge. *TONG, TONG, TONG* Furthermore, metallic growths could be found all over its body. The largest of these were the two chest plates which it was currently hammering. ¡°GRRAAOOOWWWWERRRR!¡± ¡°And the Gnarled Apom releases its roar of challenge! What will the Silent Prince do!¡± God that scum was annoying. *Gurrrggllee!* My stomach issued its own challenge. I was pathetically hungry. I would need to finish this quickly. My hands gripped the hilts of the first set of throwing knives. They smoothly rasped from the leather sheaths strapped along my waist and legs. The Gnarled Apom issued another roar. Poor thing. If it was at all like Apes on earth, it didn¡¯t actually want to kill me. It was merely trying to assert dominance and territory. That was what the chest pounding and baring its fangs was about. The metallic growths on its chest showed that the creature¡¯s evolution had been affected by mana. This was unsurprising as it lived west of the Baltic river. Though, I¡¯m curious as to what the growths help with¡­ No matter, I¡¯ll just kill it quickly. I threw the dagger in my left hand with a practiced flick of the wrist. ¡®Perfect model¡¯ had already traced its arc to strike perfectly at the soft tissue in its mouth. *Graaoowwrr!* *PCSSHHIN!* *Ruuuu* As expected the knife lodged itself in the back of the Apom¡¯s throat. What was unexpected was the Apom¡¯s reaction. The gnarled growths along its body suddenly writhed before several along its arms and shoulders rapidly lengthened and arced towards me! The ends of each growth carried a wicked tip, This beast truly lived up to the reputation of creatures west of the Baltic River! However¡­. ¡®Instance.¡¯ Time slowed rapidly; though the spikes still traveled at a fast, albeit more visible, rate. This thing was really dangerous! Burning through fat reserves that I couldn¡¯t really afford to burn I dodged the incoming attacks and closed in. ¡®Exit.¡¯ *BAM!* A deafening impact on the ground behind me rang out as the spikes connected with the place I had been. The shit bags in the stands marveled at the spectacle as I made my way into attack range with the Apom. It gurgled in anger as it glared at me. I could see its muscles shivering in exertion to keep it up right. Sorry, I¡¯ll end your suffering. I bounded forward, the other throwing knife still in hand. Its piercing capabilities were greater than the heavier knives meant for close combat that I carried. The Apom sluggishly sent a right hook my way. It was a simple enough attack to dodge. Using my free hand to vault the oversized forearm, I spun midair to face its exposed neck. There was a metal growth positioned over the point where the spinal cord connected to the brain, but nothing covered the rest of the neck! I¡¯ll paralyze it and finish this fight! I slammed into the Apom¡¯s back and drove my knife into its neck¡­¡­ *DING!* ¡°Eh?¡± The growth had expanded to cover the neck in an armor wrap! ¡°shit!¡± The knife broke from the force and the blade careened off to the side. My eyes traced it and saw the growths on its shoulders twitch! Grand Archive blared a warning through my head and I quickly pressed myself into the fur of the beast and clung for dear life. *shing!* Above my head the spikes scraped against each other. Then Grand Archive gave the solution. Thank god I have this ability back! I launched myself over its shoulders and slammed the heel of my foot against its forehead. The absurd strength of the beast-race blood wasn¡¯t as effective as one would hope. I launched myself far away from the creature while it seemed unfazed. Its own strength and weight making practically un-moveable for someone like me. SHITFUCKSHITFUCKSHITFUCKSHIT! Despite having a plan I was still beginning to feel terror beginning to form cracks in the cold veneer of the mask I was showing to the world. I could feel my stomach¡¯s gurgling growing more insistent and my muscles weakening. My breathing was becoming more labored as well.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Eh? My vision was growing fuzzy too! This is really bad! Though the Apom wasn¡¯t much better off, the knife at some point must¡¯ve dislodged from its place and fell down its throat. It was eerily silent, I could imagine that its throat now had multiple lacerations. It was probably suffocating to death. There wasn¡¯t really a need to follow through with the plan that had been concocted. The Apom seemed to be gathering the last reserves of its strength as it glared hatefully at me. I need to end its suffering. This world lacks kindness. At a base level this world is terrible, and I don¡¯t want to become like it. Therefore, I¡¯ll put it out of its misery! With a silent roar, the growths along the Apom launched forward, a veritable forest of spikes lancing towards me. ¡®Instance!¡¯ This time I barely moved, ¡®perfect model¡¯ traced the trajectory of every spike. Thus with minimal movement, I found myself in a gap in the forest of spikes. ¡®Exit¡¯ My breathing was more labored, my body strained from the abuse I was putting it through. I didn¡¯t have the luxury of moving excessively in ¡®instance¡¯ so this would have to work. Otherwise, I would be dead. My left hand quickly grasped the spike protruding from the beast¡¯s chest and my right drew a blade. Within the instant of me grabbing the spike, they all rapidly retracted. This Apom had two abilities that I knew of. One, was the ability to attack with the metal growths on its body. The second ability was to defend using those same growths. However, it couldn¡¯t use them at the same time! Therefore I¡¯ll strike in the opening! Despite my inner excitement, my outwards expression was cold. It was almost as if this wasn¡¯t that physically taxing of a battle. I am the ¡®Silent Prince¡¯ after all. With this last move, the fight was over. It was almost eerily smooth, the procession of events after grabbing the Apom¡¯s spike. The protrusion rapidly retracted into its chest and my dagger found its way into its jugular. There was even a dull clink as it hit the other blade lodged in its throat. With the large outpouring of blood and the severing of critical arteries, the Apom collapsed. I barely managed to step away in time, somehow still appearing in control. I didn¡¯t bother to collect the knife stuck in its throat. I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get back up if I bent over. So¡­.tired. I walked back through the gladiator entrance. Yuli greeted me with a cheerful smile and a bag of coins. I smiled tiredly back. *GGIRRRDGGGLLLLEEE* My stomach once again asserted its presence. I grimaced, the pain intensifying. ¡°Room, Food, Sleep.¡± The words left my mouth as a dry rasp. However, after a moment of confusion, Yuli understood my meaning. ¡°Ok shorty!¡± She turned, her tail swaying back and forth. She really does have a terrible sense of humor to be enjoying my pained state. I passed out upon reaching the room. It wasn¡¯t till later when an exceedingly loud grumble from my stomach woke me. Marin and Alephi crowded around me concerned until Yuli pushed through with a platter of cold meat. I had to force myself to eat slowly so I didn¡¯t do more damage than I already had to my overtaxed body. ¡°Victory really does taste better fresh huh? You¡¯re barely eating it!¡± Yuli¡¯s comment made me even less eager to consume the meat. The Apom had been bipedal and somewhat intelligent...it curdled my stomach just thinking about it. However, my feelings on the matter weren¡¯t all that important. Starvation is the best seasoning after all. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ That night, we slept on the floor in one giant mess of limbs and small bodies. The bed had been destroyed while I was passed out. Though the girls seemed hesitant to explain why. The next day it was a struggle to move. Each and every muscle complained. I could almost hear my body scream in torment as I attempted to move it. So I stopped. The girls were nowhere to be seen, but with my awakening and victory yesterday there would be few who¡¯d try something. Furthermore Zla had belief in my power had been restored, so he too would protect them. I lay in bed staring off into space. It had been a long time since I had time for idle thoughts. That had partially been my own doing of course. There were thoughts I¡¯d rather not think about. I had been in this world for two years now. But the pain of what I lost was still raw. Even more recently, the loss of my mother in this world made me feel empty. I hoped Claura was doing alright. It''s hard to reconcile the loss of my mother here at her hands. But it wasn¡¯t through any willful act of her own. Hot, impotent rage flushed through me, wiping out the empty feeling. Should I get my hands on her mother¡­.that¡­.THING! ¡­..I¡¯m fairly certain I¡¯d kill her. I would burn her at the stake and see how she liked it! What Clyde ever saw in that creature¡­.. I grimaced, my calm shattered and mood worsening by the second. This all coupled with the fact that my body was so stiff and difficult to move truly cast a shadow over my break from living in the arena. Fortunately, before my thoughts could truly take a worse turn, Yuli returned. She brushed the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, leaving her bangs in disarray. Her grey hair had become frizzy from the sweat, though her tail seemed as fluffy and soft as ever. ¡°Still in bed shrimp? Teacher would beat you from here to the other end of the arena if he saw you.¡± ¡°I would beat him if he had gotten up.¡± ¡°¡±WAAHH!!¡±¡± Both Yuli and I jumped slightly in alarm as the Old man appeared from seemingly nowhere. He allowed a small upturn of his lips as he observed us both. ¡°You have done well gladiator. Now is a time for rest, the road will progressively become more difficult from here on out. Should you survive till the ¡®Heroic War¡¯, I will be there to train you again. This, however, is my final assistance.¡± With that he was gone, immediately afterwards dozens of men stepped into the room, the lifted me out of the bed onto a stretcher before carrying me out, Yuli following behind. As we moved through the halls I could hear the sounds of construction from our room. The men carrying me left me in a courtyard heaped with a massive feast. They left with only one word ¡®eat¡¯. So I did. The meal was extremely rich in fat and I could detect several medicinal herbs within. Yuli dug in as well. Eventually, as the sun was beginning to set the men return and carried me back to the room. I was deposited on a now completely renovated bed. The rest of the room had been updated as well. There were two mannequins in the corner containing armor sized for Yuli and I. As she inspected the new wardrobe, Yuli found that it was filled with plenty of clothes in sizes that would fit the girls and myself. A desk with ink, paper, and pens stacked on it was also on the far wall from the bed. A few chairs had been placed around it. Alephi and Marin returned shortly after from Zla¡¯s. They were surprised by the renovation. I couldn¡¯t help but smile. There were bad things that had led me to this point in life. But there were good things, and kindness shown to me along the way. ¡°Well, we shouldn¡¯t allow this desk to go to waste! Lesson¡¯s are resumed!¡± I stiffly walked over to the desk and pulled over a chair. The sisters smiled and laughed, Yuli groaned but I could see her tail swishing. Today was a good day. The days in the future would be filled with struggle. But it wasn¡¯t all bad. I had these wonderful friends to keep me sane along the way. Yeah, despite the difference in mental age, these three were my friends. Today was a good day. Chapter 31: The Fall The Old man had said that the road would be long. However, maybe he meant for someone else. Or maybe my sense of time is just messed up. After all I am in my mid-forties¡­.technically. ¡°AAAaaannddd the final match of the day is particularly special! In just a short three years, the young victor of the Blood Bloom has once again returned to the main stage! At ten years old he truly exemplifies the killer instincts of a predator!¡± Fuck you too Azrack. I look like a person with a cat-ear headband on, rather than a halfling. My minor flare of annoyance dissipated quickly, like a solar flare over the hot core of rage I held in my chest. ¡°It¡¯s the ONE, the ONLY, SILENT PrrrRRRRRINNNNCCEEE!!¡± I stepped out to the stage. My eyes cut across the distance and I was able to make out my opponent. it was a man named Legolas, though despite his slim frame and blonde hair he shared no other similarities with the Elf. His brow was overbearing, his entire face in fact seemed big boned, like someone had transplanted the head of a giant and put it on the man¡¯s petite frame. He also happened to be a rapist. Which simplified things. He also used to be in training to be a wizard. Which complicated things. He¡¯d also attempted to kidnap Alephi. Had Zla not caught them in time¡­.. A hot flush ran through me, the rage and self-recrimination flaring through me again. Alephi was now thirteen. As she and the other two had aged, they had blossomed into startlingly beautiful young women. Yuli, with her ice-cold beauty outside of the ring and her feral bloodlust within it had dissuaded many of the male gladiators. She was simply to wild of a ¡®ride¡¯ to handle as some of the other men had put it. Alephi had only gotten more gentle as the years passed. Her initial tough front when it was only her and her sister melting to reveal an extremely empathetic and kind girl underneath. Coupled with her kind words and help healing the wounds of the gladiators who didn¡¯t die, she had developed an honorary guard. Not all the gladiators were bad, the halfling and beast-race gladiators in particular would go out of their way to be kind to her. However that didn¡¯t stop some of the worse ones from trying to take her. In those instances someone would always be there to block them...thankfully. Furthermore, they would be mysteriously found in their rooms at the edge of their life. Their room dyed in their blood from a thousand cuts. After a few instances, the message had been read loud and clear. NO ONE, was to touch Alephi or Yuli. Yet this man had nearly had her! He had overpowered the Canine type gladiator that Yuli had been visiting. The poor bastard was recovering from a gut wound, and had undid all the healing in his attempt to protect her. The he¡¯d been decapitated for his efforts with a thin blade of water. Alephi hadn¡¯t run, despite her weakness she still desired to help. It was both kind and stupid of her. Thankfully Zla had been in the area treating another patient and had come after hearing Yuli¡¯s screams. ¡°It¡¯s our fast rising star! A man talented in controlling magic! LEEEGGGOOOOLLAAASSS!¡± The bastard stepped out into the light of the stage. He pulled out a handkerchief¡­.there was something red on it. The ball of anger in my chest thrummed slightly. He raised it to his nose before inhaling deeply. His eyes fixed on me, almost leering at me. A slight breeze stirred the Arena¡¯s main stage. I caught a faint trace of a familiar scent. Yuli¡¯s bed in the infirmary had been filled with it. It was her BLOOD! My vision tunneled. I could feel the veins along my forehead threaten to burst. Zla could be said to have reached her in time to prevent her being violated. Or it could be said to have arrived after the damage was done. He had come into a room covered in blood, not all of it from the decapitated gladiator. Yuli¡¯s skin had been lacerated with numerous cuts. Her fox ears in tatters, It had been a miracle Zla was able to knit them mostly back together. With her blood, Legolas had written a message for me on the wall. ¡®WILL THIS END YOUR SILENCE? I LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING YOUR THRONE.¡¯ Yuli had been bound by some magic and incapable of crying out the whole time he¡¯d been cutting her. It was only her initial cry that saved her. Zla had been a court mage after all. So he had been able to quickly break Legolas¡¯s hold and subjugate him. But guards had made it there before Zla could be the one to kill him. But I was thankful. The rage suffused me, I could feel my claws involuntarily flex. Over my time in the hunter¡¯s circuit I had killed plenty of beasts. Since I entered the ¡®Soldier¡¯s War¡¯ I had refrained myself from killing humans. But with this creature in front of me¡­¡­ I could let those ¡®predatory instincts¡¯ out.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I opened my eyes. They felt so heavy, all of me felt heavy. Except, my head felt so light, fluffy even. ¡°Big sis!¡± I struggled, but was able to turn my head slightly. My cute little sister clutching the bed sheets so hard her knuckles were just as white. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t move, you...lost a lot of blood.¡± *Shiiiin* I could just make out Yuli. She was carefully sharpening her halberd. Her expression was¡­.cold. She seemed like she was trying to hold something in, her tail curled around her. It did that when she was upset. ¡°Why¡­?¡± I had been about to ask why they all seemed so concerned but. I remembered! ¡°NooooooO!!!¡± I couldn¡¯t contain the shriek of horror. It all came back, the pain¡­.the feeling of being defiled. I could feel him still¡­. in me. His whispers were so cold, restricting me. I could feel him freezing my body, making it move to his whim. But it was worse than that. He¡­.he had the spells. He must have them. The spells that had enslaved our ancestors all those years ago. I felt dirty. He had been inside me, rummaging around as he pleased. He had taken control of every aspect of me. He had stopped my breathing, then restored it. He had taken away my sight, then my hearing. He took away my ability to smell and even my ability to taste. He had robbed of everything except my ability to feel. Then he cut me, each stroke was almost gentle. It was carefully done like he was carving a choice meat. I wanted to scream, but I couldn¡¯t even contract my throat. I was a limp, lifeless doll. ¡°hehehehehe¡­.ehheheeheh, I¡¯m disgusting.¡± I could feel my body again...now. I could see, I kept my eyes wide open. If I closed them¡­.. I¡¯d be like THAT again. ¡°Sis¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why Kitling isn¡¯t here right? He wants nothing to do with me.¡± ¡°Idiot, he --- OW!¡± Zla came into view, Yuli was still grumbling in the background. ¡°He¡¯s facing against that scum right now.¡± Zla¡¯s voice was so soft. It was rarely like that, only when he was dealing with the worst patients. The ones who were broken¡­.. I could feel the tears dripping down my face. My sides heaved rapidly, I could tell I was going into shock. I¡¯d seen it happen to some of the gladiators before. Zla¡¯s had reached down with a gentle glow coming from it. He gently rubbed my head. I could feel a warmth flowing through me, calming me down. NO! ¡°Don¡¯t you touch me! You bastard!¡± I could feel the veins in my head pulsing. My eyes contracted till I could only see Zla¡¯s face *GGRaarrrhhh!* ¡°Sis!¡± I was on all fours in the bed now, my chest heaving. Pain was lancing through me. But I didn¡¯t care, no one would influence my mind ever again. I snarled again, I could feel the hairs on my neck rise and my nails dig into the mattress. ¡°Stay the fuck away from me.¡± ¡°Sis¡­¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Zla¡¯s eyes were dead, like I had hurt him too. That slightly calmed me¡­ ¡°Where is Kitling?¡± ¡°He¡¯s about to fight Legolas.¡± The words came from Yuli this time. Zla closed his mouth. ¡°No¡­.Kitling is¡­...Kitling is¡­. going to die.¡± ¡°Sis¡­.w-what do you mean.¡± I collapsed backward. It was strange. I was so reliant on a boy, three years younger than me. Though he was the one who taught me so much. He even tried to protect me. So many times he succeeded. This time he failed...and it would be his last. ¡°This is enough¡­¡­.nothing matters now.¡± ¡°Sis? SIS!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°LET THE BATTTTLLELEEE! BEGIN!¡± The demons brayed and honked as one of their own took to the stage. The creature¡¯s puffy visage was disgusting to behold. Particularly on its ill fitting, petite body. My stance shifted, the knives along my forearms were the first to be unsheathed. I had many of them covering my light armor now. Many battles had taught me the need for more knives. My body was still small, though it was much larger than my body on Earth had been at ten. ¡°Kuhahah!¡± Its voice was disturbingly deep. It struck a pose, Its one hand running through Its hair. The right hand was extended before it. Its eyes formed a crescent shape, nearly disappearing behind Its puffy cheeks. ¡°So this is the Silent Prince.¡± It ceased its pose. Grand Archive was optimizing Its battle parameters. Letting It grandstand for longer would guarantee it would have a slow and painful death. ¡°I, have come to take your throne! I¡¯ll be the one to ascend to the Heroic War!¡± It giggled like It had told itself a funny joke. It was completely unhinged. I regulated my rage, the cold fury of pre-battle chained it and contained it. That only served to refine it and burn hotter. But it was necessary, through my restraint¡­..I would be able to¡­¡­ ¡°You seem to only be trash, but¡­.before I kill you, I¡¯ll show you a lovely scene!¡± Its eyes widened unnaturally and Its gaze cut across the distance, becoming all I could see. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The blood was so fresh! So young, it was¡­..virgin. Oh what fun it would be to defile this creature! I couldn¡¯t possibly wait! But that was no good. I still need to deliver a message¡­..if I recall I had a great one written out. It wasn¡¯t with me. Ohwell! I had plenty of ¡®ink¡¯ here! Teehee! But this blood dried out so quickly¡­.and lost its luster so fast. This trash was just too weak. But that just meant more openings were needed! *SMACK!* It just didn¡¯t know proper manners and needed to be reprimanded. Humm hummm, so much blood! Teehee! ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ~~ Foreign element purged ~~ It was no use. The hatred couldn¡¯t be contained. ¡°Grraaahhh!¡± The muscles in my legs contracted, storing energy. Then with a crack in the ground as the only trace I had been at my previous position I launched forward. THIS BASTARD WILL DIE! *BOOM!* So quick! Before I even had a chance to cut It, It had slammed me into the ground. The stench of Its palm smeared all over my face as the force of Its counter cracked the ground beneath my head. ¡°Nighty night. You¡¯ve been a baaaddd kitty.¡± My vision suddenly went black, the last thing I saw was Its crescent eyes between its fingers. I caught a whiff of her blood before I lost that sense too. Alephi¡­.I¡¯m sorry. Cecily¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The tears just kept coming, even worsening. Somehow I could feel it. I could feel Kitling losing! ¡°No¡­..¡± Please¡­...somehow¡­¡­ No¡­¡­. Chapter 32: Name I Xi Hen, am an unlucky man¡­.. ¡°Oi! That brat is getting away!¡± ¡°Run Xi Hen!¡± ¡°Leave it, we already have the woman.¡± ¡°Kukuku, she may be used goods but still quite a stunner.¡± ¡°Probably the only thing of value in this back water village.¡± I Xi Hen, am not a man, I¡¯m a coward ¡°Mom¡­.¡± I choke back the sobs, futilely trying to keep some semblance of face. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The small Chinese kid ran through the forest. It was quite a surreal experience. While I was seemingly able to feel everything the child felt, I could also observe from afar. There was a dissonance in it, myself feeling detached from the events playing out and yet, I also felt all the frustration, terror, and self-loathing of the little boy as he ran. A part of me hated him too, turning back to the village I could see the bandits begin to ¡®sample¡¯ their haul from ransacking the village. How dare that child run, leaving his mother to be subjected to such a fate. It was hateful, but logic reasoned that it was his only choice if he wished to survive. I followed the child, who eventually stopped in a small glade. Where he promptly threw up. Through the link, if it could be called that, I could tell it was likely due to the stress of running so hard. The boy proceeded to cry as he collapsed to the forest floor. The bamboo and willows swayed in the slight breeze as time passed. Day turned to night. The little child who had eventually fallen asleep awoke. It seemed as if what little light reached the glade at that time had disappeared. There was only darkness in the boy¡¯s dead eyes. After several hours the boy had made his way back to the village. Through the link I could feel it¡­. HATRED. All of this boy¡¯s feeling had been forcibly assimilated into one overbearing, virile, indiscriminate hatred. The boy¡¯s footsteps were light, his frail body slight from hard work and a lack of nutrition despite his mother¡¯s best efforts. Not a single bandit awoke. Furthermore, they were small fry, they hadn¡¯t even set a guard. Room by room, the child walked with a blood soaked knife. With each ¡®schlicking¡¯ noise made as iron pierced flesh, his hatred gained clarity and focus. Hatred at himself and hatred at these bandits. Eventually, only one building remained unchecked in the village. It had been his family¡¯s hut, before his father had been cut down and his mother was defiled. In it, I could see the sleeping form of the last bandit, along with his mother. She too was sleeping, exhausted by the trauma subjected to her. She shivered as her skin was left naked to the night air and faintly whimpered, unable to escape torment even in sleep. It was this small release of her voice that caused the bandit to stir. In doing so, he saw the child coming with his bloody knife. The boy saw him rise and let loose a cry that communicated his hatred as he sprinted towards the bastard who lay in bed with his mother. With quick action, the bandit raised the readily available meat shield by the neck and interposed her between himself and the boy. A strangled gasp quickly turned to a wet gurgle as her son¡¯s knife plunged into her exposed chest, killing her instantly. Despite having killed his mother, the boy showed no hesitation. He rapidly pulled the knife from the now empty flesh and stabbed into the throat of the final bandit. He had been distracted trying to find his sword rather than facing the small boy with his fists. Committing this kind of amateurish mistake costed him his life. With that final act of fratricide and murder, the boy left the village. His anger now a thrumming molten core in his chest. Years passed though the hatred never abated. It sustained him while fighting in the war of some feudal lord. It powered him as he fought his way free of his former allies after victory. They had been looting and pillaging the village of the enemy and he took exception to their raping the local women His hatred flourished boundlessly. He never knew happiness, joy, or love. He never even knew sadness or madness. He just felt hatred. In his later years he infiltrated bandit groups time after time. Each time he would spend a few days with them and then leave. Only leaving cooling bodies as a parting gift. One day, he was resting by a wooden bridge. His once smooth childish hand now gnarled knobs like the roots of a great oak. His limbs, still slim from lack of food, still contained a feverish strength. He pulled the hemp shawl tighter about his body, his wispy grey beard fluttered slightly in the wintry wind. Above, people bustled over the bridge, going about there business. None paid attention to the old miser by the river¡¯s edge. A few days ago he had received a wound to his side while killing off a small group of three that had acted as highway men an hour or two up the road from the bridge. He had used the money left behind by the deceased to eat, but there had been little and prices were high due to the season. Each breath caused the now old man to wince in pain. ¡°Kyaaaa!¡± ¡°Hao Xixi! NOOOOOOOO!¡± The old man¡¯s head swiveled to track the noise and found that a young girl was rapidly being swept away by the turbulent currents of the river. Furthermore, that no one was jumping in after her. Before a truly coherent thought had passed through the old man¡¯s head, he found himself gasping as his body rapidly numbed in the frigid waters. Without being able to see clearly, he targeted the young girl by her cries. After a struggle he reached her and then pulled her to shore. He roughly heaved her onto the riverbank before struggling to haul himself out of the water. His vision began to blur and I could feel the onset of hypothermia through our connection. ¡°Oh! Xi¡¯er! Thank the ancestors that you are safe!¡± A lady in fine clothing wrapped a luxurious woolen blanket around the girl. Guards swarmed the area. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I gasped for air. The wound in my side had opened up, that damn pissant from the other day had truly gotten a lucky shot.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The mother and daughter were truly a pair, their fine dresses and skin fairer than the snow currently falling denoted them as nobles. What a worthless lot, why had I bothered to save someone from that class? I could feel my vision blurring even further, the only source of warmth was from the blood leaking from my side. Had I, Xi Hen, truly used what little of my life I had left on such a sow. Damnit! I couldn¡¯t die, there were rumors of a group harrying villages to the south of here. They were the next group to go after. The next ones that needed to die! All of those bastards needed to die! ¡°thank¡­..¡± What? Is someone touching my hand? Why can¡¯t I feel it? I scanned the area in front of me, my vision blessedly stilled for a moment so I could get a clear view. There was a small face, still wet and shivering. Delicate eyebrows were scrunched up in concern, causing milky jade-like skin to be marred. I small cold hand touched mine again. Lustrous black eyes stared into mine, they weren¡¯t marred in any way. They were¡­¡­¡­.. pure. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± ¡°He¡­¡­hehehehe. You. Are. Welcome.¡± That funny, I¡¯m looking at the ground now. Why? I can¡¯t feel that hand on mine any more. She was nice for a noble. It has been a long time since I ever saw innocence in someone¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s so cold, I¡¯m so sleepy. I Xi Hen am at peace. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The old man, once so full of hate finally felt peace. The softness of the new emotion that traveled through our bond was foreign after only feeling hate for so long. It was like I had become his past self. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°Rise boy, or you won¡¯t get to hunt!¡± ¡±Yes!¡± ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. A small boy in a viking village set off to hunt with his father. Unfortunately his father was gored by the stag they had been targeting. The boy was forced to drag both his dying father and the stag back to the village. After that he grew to become a heroic figure, desperately struggling to keep his fellow men alive. Eventually he died to a French horseman far away from his love, protecting their child. He had experienced a whole slew of emotions, the strongest of which had been courage. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°And so, due to the aether we can explain how gaseous water once again is¡­..¡± ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ A British school boy listened in rapt attention to the, incorrect, chemist explain natural chemical reactions. It was at a time when new elements seemed to be waiting to be discovered just around the corner. The boy eventually grew to be a successful chemist, but never new great renown. He merely worked at a college seeking to better understand the foundations of our universe before happily returning to home each night to greet his wife and children. His greatest emotion was curiosity. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°ooohhhmmmmm.¡± ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The young Buddhist diligently meditated. The cold winds off the Himalayan mountains no longer bothered him after having spent a year already in such a cold climate. He continued to be diligent throughout his life, subjecting himself to hardships in order to sharpen his mental state in hopes of attaining enlightenment. He lived over a hundred years and by the end of his life was in a near transcendent state. His death was of old age, he simply was healthy one day and dead the next morning. His greatest emotion was determination. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. A myriad of lives swarmed through me. Each one adding a layer to my soul, it would become denser and more nuanced. As each life came and went a shape began to form from my soul in addition to its lustre deepening. Eventually after hundreds of lifetimes I came to what I knew was the final one. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°Love¡­¡­..you¡­¡­¡­Cecily.¡± ¡°Tom?..TOM!¡­¡­TOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!¡± Everything was going black, I¡¯m so sorry Cecily¡­.to leave you. I truly did love you, with all my heart. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. My memory became flooded. A striking personality with a sharp mind and will but a gentle caring for those she loved. Then a warm voice that happily greeted me every morning and evening despite the long hours spent at the college. Then the brave face of the woman who gave me a healthy son, I could never forgive myself for being out on a raid while she was pregnant. Finally, those eyes so black against the jade like skin, so warm despite the rest of her being frozen by the river. Truly she supported me, stood beside me, saved me, throughout all my lives. It took till the last one though to fully feel her love though. The strongest emotion of my life as Thomas Ackermann was surely¡­¡­¡­Love. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. *FWUMP* The Book shut itself abruptly before resting silently on the podium. Before me was The Grand Archive. Despite it being my first time within its depths, I knew it for what it was. It appeared as an endless library, books occasionally shifted and floated through the air to other shelves. In what I could tell was the center of this infinite space was a sphere of shifting information, occasionally a new book would be birthed from its depths and find itself a place on the shelves. I inhabited the area before this sphere, behind a reading podium containing the most absurdly normal hardcover book ever seen. It¡¯s cover felt like the hardened cardboard used in modern times, its pages a creamy white color. It was neither thick nor thin, it was just right. Truly it was Goldilocks¡¯s book. I stayed there for a time, processing the emotions and memories of my past selves. I was no longer Thomas. Nor Kitlling. I was pure, unfiltered ME. At last my soul had a cohesion it had been missing. I felt as though I was an ancient oak, self assured that I would continue to grow towards the sky as I had done so for the past hundreds of years. I think I finally had a name, one that was all mine. It was one I liked, it was the one that I had selected. It held no meaning, it wasn¡¯t special to anyone other than me. It was MY name. My name is¡­¡­¡­.. ¡°Kill ¡®em!¡± ¡°Kill the filthy mutt!¡± ¡°Get ¡®im! Get ¡®im Legolas!¡± Ah, it appears that I still live. I can feel the pain as the sinner Legolas uses his magic to stifle my blood flow. It¡¯s a testament to the strength of my current body that he has so much trouble doing such a task. Clearly a waste of magic. The world of The Grand Archive thrummed in response to the riling of my emotions. The bastard had harmed those that Kitling had considered friends. He would have to pay the price. Unfortunately I couldn¡¯t leave here. I could only temporarily give former self the knowledge and power derived from here, within the depths of our soul. ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. IT HURRRTTTTTTSSSSSS! Whatever Legolas was doing was wrecking my body. Wait¡­..why can I feel it again? I thought he took away my senses!? I thought I was dead. ~Recovery complete~ ~Purging foreign energy~ ~Activating Defense Protocols: Grand Archive Unlocked~ *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM* ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Legolas stepped back in time to avoid¡­¡­.whatever was happening. He clutched his right hand as though it had been scalded The little scamp¡¯s body had suddenly stiffened. Then he had felt his power suddenly flowing in reverse and returning to himself. Shortly after he felt like a great beast was suddenly standing before him. It had surprised him¡­¡­¡­.. No, it had terrified him. Suddenly there was a faint black flash from the half-breed¡¯s body. Then there was a rumble and it suddenly stood up. A voice spoke from it, far deeper than the youthful voice, ¡°Legolas, I¡¯m sure you have made many transgressions, harming those I care about will be your last I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± *Shlick!* A knife suddenly sprouted from his chest. Legolas followed the hand attached to it back to the face of the small body that had stabbed him. The half-breed¡¯s face suddenly disappeared to be replaced by the face of a human, though one that looked more like that of an elf¡¯s. The black eyes of that face seemed like an abyss, cold and infinitely evil. ¡°This is my Hatred.¡± *Shwick* The knife slipped free of the wound and blood violently exited along with it. Legolas died within seconds of the blade exiting the wound. Silence pervaded the crowd. ¡°L-L-Legolas has fallen! T-t-t-the Silent Prince is Victorious!¡± ¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. I rushed to Zla¡¯s infirmary. I think I had gone into shock after seeing Alephi hurt like that. Going through similar pain I think served as a wake up call. I needed to be there. She needed someone to comfort her¡­¡­to help her process those feelings. It truly felt like someone violated you. I was fortunate to have been able to rise up and strike down Legolas. She hadn¡¯t¡­¡­¡­I can¡¯t imagine what that kind of feelings she would be left with. I slammed open the door. ¡°Ki-Kitling?¡± ¡°Kitling!¡± *Sniffle* Yuli and Marin exclaimed in surprise. Alephi looked up but then looked away in shame, tears streaming down her face. I ignored the others, un-belting my knives as I strode into the back room. In a fluid movement I was on the bed and had her in my arms. She resisted, so I let her free, the last thing I wanted was to constrain her. I did put my hand on hers though. ¡°Alephi¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry I was away. But it¡¯s over¡­¡­¡­he won¡¯t be able to harm you ever again.¡± She continued to cry. She refused to look at me. Disheartened I let up on the pressure in my hand that was on hers. She then fiercely grabbed it. Before burying her head in my chest and clinging to me. It was like she was terrified I would disappear. Then she began to sob, her small back shuddering with huge shuddering breaths. ¡°I-I was so scared! I..eh¡­ah¡­I thought you were dead!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯m here. I won¡¯t be going anywhere.¡± Her snapped up so fast she nearly clipped my chin. ¡°Promise me! Promise me Kitling! I¡­I don¡¯t think I can do this if you disappeared¡­¡­Ki-Kitling¡­..even if you hate me, please never leave¡­.I need you!¡± That¡­..was passionate but somethings wrong¡­.oh¡­¡­..I guess it¡¯s the name. I smiled at her. ¡°I promise.¡± ¡°I¡­¡­¡­..Albus¡­¡­¡­..promise.¡±